Sunday, May 1
I would give the Packers a "B" grade.
Ted Thompson didn't screw around. It was a straight ahead draft - going strictly for need. I don't have a problem with that given how close the Packers are to a Super Bowl. I liked his aggressiveness in trading up for Jason Spriggs. There was a drop in tackles after him. The big thing is the intelligence level of these players. Look at the schools they're from - Stanford, Northwestern, UCLA, Indiana.
TT might have scored a coup getting Northern Iowa CB Makinton Dorleant as a free agent.
In a perfect draft, TT would have traded down in the first round - he still probably could have gotten Kenny Clark or one of those Alabama D-linemen - and had the extra pick to get a RB. But Clark was his man and he wasn't budging from 27.
TT gets it, though, that the Packers' window isn't going to keep open forever. These rookies appear to have the pedigree to pick up Dom Capers' complicated system very fast and contribute. It's actually a plus that Kyler Fackrell is 25.
So, all in all, I'm pleased.
On the handicapping site, I'm still fuming about the Padres-Dodgers not going over 7 1/2 runs on Saturday night costing me a Triple Star winner. Ross Stripling hasn't been good since his big league debut and he wasn't good on Saturday giving up five runs in 4 2/3 innings. The score was 5-2 after 4 1/2 innings. Both teams have shaky middle relief and setup guys. Yet not another run came in. The teams combined to strand 15 baserunners.
I'm looking to come back strong with my first NBA Triple Star in four days. I have cashed 60 percent of my last 43 Triple Stars and have had one of my best NBA seasons going 79-50 on my past 129 premium and free NBA plays. My plays and packages can be found here: /pregamepros/pro-bettor/bettor.aspx?id=7746#capper.
As always, let's have no damn bad beats!