Originally posted by Paul_Hofer:Originally posted by miked1978:Originally posted by brucesf49:
while the main subject is on his personal issue (while this is probably some family issue such as sickness/death) I have to make a comment on this bust thing. it is entirely possible that 1st round picks can end up being backups or role players. sometimes the blame is entirely on the drafter not the draftee. he should have been drafted later than he was. we have several 1st rounders who are backups on our team. I know he wasnt a high draft pick but it was a couple years till franklin got a lot of playin time.
This is true. If not mistaken Franklin sat the bench in Baltimore for 4 years and didn't make an impact with us until his 2nd year. Thats 5 years of non-productivity.
Balmer was selected too high but everyone knew he was a project and he probably would have been selected in the early 2nd round. Also he has Justin Smith and Isaac Soapaga in front of him at his position. Smith isn't going anywhere and Soap fits his role well.
I disagree that Balmer was picked too high. A concensus of major mock drafts that year had him in the first round at the 29th pick, exactly where he was picked.
I never saw him listed in any first round mock, the consensus to allot of people was that he was the 3rd best DT... still doesn't mean 1st round. And the majority of experts not named Keiper thought we reached for this pick.
That being said, good luck to him and whatever he is going through... I would still rather him be a productive player than get 5 minutes of laughter calling him a bust on a forum.
HOW DARE YOU!
This is the webzone. What do we have without an over-reactive, insatiable fanbase... Nothing