Afternoon Beer with Andrew Hofheimer
Dennis joins us next from today’s Ask Vic. As a sidenote, I’d like to point out that Radford University is where you spend a night partying if you’re looking to double-fist Four Loko and a week later have your junk look like those pictures you saw in 9th grade Health class. But hey, glad we have some Jags followers up there.
"Dennis from Radford, VA I find it interesting that, last year during the draft, Mel Kiper called Tyson Alualu a huge reach that should never be taken that high, yet, just the other day on NFL Network, he called Alualu a “home run pick.” Just goes to show that draftniks are just entertainment; there is no reason to take what they say as some sort of indisputable fact. Vic: Indisputable fact? Absolutely not. It’s all opinion and that’s acceptable in the pre-draft phase because it’s a crystal-ball business and pre-draft statements will be judged according to the performance of the players that are the subjects of those comments. Kiper is admitting he made a mistake in his evaluation of Alualu and that’s commendable. Nobody gets ’em all right. Everybody makes mistakes and you have to be the type of person who can say, “I was wrong,” or you shouldn’t say anything in the pre-draft phase. Kiper is probably remembered more for his misses than for his hits. That’s what people want from a self-proclaimed expert. They want him to be wrong. Kiper has made a lot of money from being able to say, “I was wrong.” I admire his work."
No, the only thing to respect about Mel Kiper is his hair. But on a serious note, what does Mel Kiper do all year? Before I continue, first understand that everything you’ve been reading since March 1 and up until the draft is completely meaningless. There is not a single person employed by an NFL team speaking a word of truth this time of year, guys “moving up into the top 10” or “sliding out of the 1st round” has nothing to do with what team personnel is saying. It’s all an invention of the mockers of the world (not saying we aren’t just as guilty). It honestly has to be the best thing in the world to be Mel Kiper – the work he does during the season is minimal at best and by minimal I mean glancing at the box scores. His all-important mock 1st round is the same 32 guys everyone else is picking just in the order he’s picked and it’s easy to justify because it’s pure speculation. He clearly did no homework on Tyson Alualu last year and no one else really did (who isn’t employed by an NFL team) because there was nothing to see – he was a 3-4 end with an unglamorous role and a modest stat line. Picking him to be a penetrating 4-3 DT would have required research that their job DOES NOT REQUIRE. Mel’s still employed this year, why would he all of a sudden go doing that kind of groundbreaking, thought-provoking research when all he has to do is reorder the same 32 guys every other mock draft IN THE WORLD has in the first round. Pretty simple time/value equation, if you ask me. Especially when he can turn around a year later and just read what everyone else has written all year without watching a single second of game tape and say “YUP, THIS ALUALU KID WAS A HOMERUN”. According to this, he’s worth $7 million, too.
Kudos, Mel. You get it. I bow to you.
– Andrew Hofheimer