RichNhansom":25i7k9r6 said:
Atayla, a couple questions about your post. Sorry I can't copy it on my cell and please excuse spelling but how much credit is the right amount for Balkes 2010 draft? No doubt he deserves credit but McClouhan was involved up to a month prior so it is likely safe to believe he had a hand in assembling that board and could be questioned if he had a huge hand in it. Letting him go a month before the draft kind of suggests they wanted his input but not his interference, doesn't it?
You also said Balke has brought in over 30 udfa's that were a big part of the last couple of years. Would you mind providing some examples? I am not arguing it but I can only think of a few that got regular playing time and none that would be comparable to BMW, Baldwin or Gaicomini for example.
From reports at the time, as well as those following the release of McCloughan -- it appears that the move at the administrative level was already made prior to the combine. The amount of influence McCloughan had in the 2010 draft is questionable. The organization was pretty tight lipped about the situation at the time, but after his release they downplayed his role in the 2010 draft. Now that could be just them trying to spin a decidedly odd parting of the ways. But there is no actual reporting that McCloughan did impact that draft.
If the decision to let him go was made around the time it was reported he was on the outs -- then it's more likely that McCloughan didn't have much to do with the draft. Baalke would have certainly been in a more authoritative position on prospects as Director of player personnel and being organizationally closer to the scouting department than McCloughan.
Remember, Baalke wasn't named GM until January of 2011. But he was a company man for the organization and had a strong hand in both signing and scouting players as part of his duties prior to McCloughan leaving. He was in essence an interim GM for 7 months -- and the reports say it was closer to a year.
As for signings:
T Alex Boone
LB Ahmad Brooks
CB Carlos Rogers
C Jonathan Goodwin
S Donte Whitner
Trades:
Kentwan Balmer to Seattle
Taylor Mays to Cincinnati
Those moves, outside of the normal garbage moves stand out. Getting anything for Balmer and Mays was kind of like us getting something for Tarvaris.
I don't want to make it sound like a niner apologist. Far from it. But SF didn't get to where they are by mistake. And because we see the older talent (Willis, Staley, Davis, Justin Smith) on the roster -- it's very easy to assume they are old. But the core of that team is still young as we are. Replacing Smith is going to be they key move for them. I'm gratified that they didn't do that this year.
I would agree, that we do far better at getting talent late. But I also concede that SF has done a much better job than we have of stockpiling higher picks that they don't waste. Literally, Seattle and SF are two halves of the perfect front office. They don't whiff on their day 1 picks as we do. They do a better job of getting more return for the picks they do trade away than we do. We draft much better than they do. And we develop rookie talent much better than they do.
I do think, that this 2013 draft is the one that will cement SF's drafting acumen. They had incredible draft capital in the first several rounds in a draft that was historically deep. If they fail to develop more starters from this draft than we do, then I'd say they got lucky early and are not capable of sustaining this rivalry. The one thing that cannot be said about Seattle, is that we are inconsistent. We get impact in every draft, in multiple areas of the draft. This year, despite a handicap on draft capital -- looks to be a typically great Seahawks draft.
