Originally Posted by LesterOfPuppets

I've spotted a couple of black bikes and lusted after them. Luckily they're a little big. The Miyata ad says 54 but looks 56ish to me. The Cinelli is just too much! OMG, deadly hot. Also too much money for me and too big...

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

You make good points thst I know represent common wisdom. I will say that hindsight is not at play here. I criticized the Williams and Clowney picks and general handling of those drafts immediately during each.

Originally Posted by LesterOfPuppets

The Miyata ad says 54 but looks 56ish to me.

Originally Posted by BillyD

Season's Greetings!

Originally Posted by patentcad

Still sidelined

Originally Posted by LAJ

You could get a puppy and a nice lens. Then take pictures of the new puppy.

Originally Posted by WhyFi

So instead of Williams, you would have taken...? Vince Young? Jay Cutler? Matt Leinert? Funny.

Instead of a potentially transcendent talent like Clowney, you would have taken Bortles, Manziel or Bridgewater? Yeah right (and I'm actually happy to have Teddy).

Originally Posted by sbxx1985

Full 2012 Record 11 is 20g lighter than Super Record EPS. That's interesting.

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

Saddle tilt is an odd thing. No matter how much we advise against it, some folks just have to have it. In my experience it is folks that haven't rigorously addressed other fit aspects. Whatever. "You can lead a horse to water..."

Originally Posted by rjones28

Not all saddles are flat.

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

Some team organizations are convinced they are smarter than conventional draft wisdom. The Texans for example insist on using their periodic very first picks to draft defensive linemen. First Mario Williams and now Clowney. That elevates that position to a status it doesn't justify with other teams. That means the Texans have devalued their first pick, or IOW thrown money down the toilet. Both in the eventual trade worth of the player as well as the salary and bonus they have to pay him. Unless you already have a 22 year old Peyton Manning under contract, the first pick in the draft should be used on the best quarterback in the draft unless he is just a dog, no ifs ands and buts. That is where you get the best value out of the pick even if he is just immediately traded for players more consistent with the needs of the team. Looking at it another way, if you don't need the best quarterback in the draft, you have no business drafting first. That pick should have been traded away for multiple good picks further down the draft where the defensive lineman live a long time before. And if there wasn't a good enough quarterback in the draft to justify a first pick, that would have been another reason to trade away the first pick for a lousy team's first pick in 2015 plus additional picks. There will be good quarterbacks in 2015. The Texans should have saved their early pick for then via the trade route.

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

Yes, I would have taken one of them. Because that is what had to be done. The Texans have to have a quality quarterback, and they have been screwing around not getting one for more than a decade. NO matter what it takes to finally get one, it all has to be done.

If Clowney had been so transcendent, then someone else would have surely wanted him with the first pick and would have traded 2015 1st round and another early round pick to get him. If you couldn't trade the pick that would have guaranteed the recipient they could get Clowney, then maybe he wasn't so transcendent after all. I don't mean actually, but rather in the hypotheticals of talent prospecting.

I never said I would always be right in my selection. I said that one's chances of getting what one needs are improved by drafting for the position that is needed. Yes, I would have taken Vince Young, and it wouldn't have worked out well. That can't be helped. But you have to do the right thing in the first place to hope for it to end up right.

But if I just had to have Williams as Kubiak did, I wouldn't have needed a first pick to get him. He wasn't a first pick talent. I would have traded the first pick to someone who thought they had to have it. And BTW, if not Young, then Leinart. And that wouldn't have worked out either. But they were both sterling QB prospects and that is what needed to be done.

Originally Posted by sbxx1985

Full 2012 Record 11 is 20g lighter than Super Record EPS. That's interesting.

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

But if I just had to have Williams as Kubiak did, I wouldn't have needed a first pick to get him. He wasn't a first pick talent. I would have traded the first pick to someone who thought they had to have it. And BTW, if not Young, then Leinart. And that wouldn't have worked out either. But they were both sterling QB prospects and that is what needed to be done.

Originally Posted by WhyFi

Dude, you're talking out of your butt. They were not sterling QB prospects. Here's good video to remind you of the specifics of that pick in particular - Dilemma of the No. 1 pick: Mario Williams - NFL Videos. And here's a timely article that does exactly what I suggested you do, which is to take a look back at the first rounders in the last 10 years. The gist of it -

Originally Posted by Bah Humbug

Please demonstrate that #1 overall QBs are better than late-first-round or later QBs. Please, I'll wait. Meanwhile, JJ Watt is an absolute animal on the field, plays like no one else, and you don't have the vaguest worry that your franchise player will cause a 3am call to the GM in the middle of July.

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

This makes no sense. So you suggest passing up the QB you think is best, because experience shows that is wrong. Instead you must pick the one you think isn't as good. If you think like that, the whole basis of the draft is destroyed. So the worst team shouldn't get the first pick bit rather the last pick, because that is where the REALLY good players are. Think about what you are saying. Oh, and you have to know to make an exception for people named Manning. Brilliant.

Originally Posted by Bah Humbug

Actually, what I'm really saying is that evaluating quarterbacks is really, really hard and we're really bad at it. Much better to get a blue-chip lineman and take a swing at a later quarterback. If he misses, you shrug and draft another, then revel in your awesome line play. You have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl with that strategy than with your strategy. See also, the Washingtonians, and how they mortgaged the farm for Griffin. They're no longer a franchise of any concern for the foreseeable future. Also, the Panthers. Meanwhile, Seattle grabbed boring linemen until a quarterback they liked appeared in the draft at a point they were comfortable with and... hey look, trophy!

Originally Posted by rpenmanparker

Makes sense. But it is still a crap shoot. There are supposed to be good QBs in the 2015 draft and the Texans will likely be too far from the top to get one. Sucks.

Originally Posted by Bah Humbug

Actually, what I'm really saying is that evaluating quarterbacks is really, really hard and we're really bad at it.

Originally Posted by Bah Humbug

Actually, I doubt this will be a good class. Winston is practically undraftable, and Mariota looks a little narrow for my taste (though he'd be my choice if I had to pick one). But cheer up. You have as good a chance of getting a franchise quarterback in the back half of the first round, or the second, as the first. That was my entire point. On the other hand, if Clowney gets healthy and you guys draft an O-lineman, you're better set for whenever you do find the quarterback of your dreams.

Originally Posted by WhyFi

Frankly, I think that possibly the pressure of being a really high draft pick doesn't help QBs, either. Really high draft picks are generally expected to be contributors from day one, yet QB is a position where it helps to have a lot of mentoring/coaching and time with the playbook.