No. Freaking. Way.

[HoosierCat]

http://www.ourlads.com/2006NFLMockDraft.html :jawdrop:

[GROIIIDayton]

we can always dream.

[TJJackson]

That was good for a long, hard laugh.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

if that happens ill have to change my pants

[schweinhart]

Sounds like OurLads are just using their eyes instead of slotting by hype. #24 is probably where Wholelotta Nada ought to go because he's got the makings of a 340 pound dud based on how he plays.

But for them to pick Ngata over Cromartie and Sims, that's the real funny part.

[ArmyBengal]

I don't know what you were watching in regards to Ngata, but the guy is a BEAST !!! BIG AND FAST !!! Demands at a minimum a double team every time he's on the field. Team him up with Big Sam in the middle and the d-line is almost there minus a pass rushing DE. I don't think there is any way in hell we would be able to pass on him if he were to drop to #24 !!!

WHODEY !!!

[HoosierCat]

I dunno. I don't think Ngata is any more overhyped than any other projected-top-ten-ish player ever is. Those guys are always touted as the second coming of (insert well-known Hall of Famer at their position here). It's one of the reasons I shy away from the bust label on a lot of players other guys crap all over, like Dan Wilkinson and Justin Smith. We pump them up so much it's practically impossible for them to meet expectations, and when they have the nerve to be just solid starters, they get hammered.

I think Ngata would be a fine pick, but no way in h*ll he's there.

[schweinhart]

Haloti Ngata is a Wholelotta Nada

Here's some game observation on a long gone thread:

Ngata made one tackle that I saw, and although it was a good one where he shed a single block, it also showed where his primary weakness is -- he has terrible balance. If he didn't grab the blocker and use him as a counterweight to change the direction his big a$$ was moving, he doesn't make the play. All a blocker has to do if Ngata does anything other than hold ground or bullrush is get him at an angle and push wherever they want him to go because Ngata can't stop his own momentum. He plays with zero leverage and way too high -- except for when he lines up man to man and drives dead ahead without trying to move laterally whatsoever.

If Ngata does come out, 3-4 teams will like his bullrush and the space he takes up. But they'll look long and hard IMO at what he can't do or just doesn't do. Another thing I don't get with Ngata is why he spins off of the line so much and drops back 5 to 10 yards downfield. If that's the scheme, it's ridiculous -- he lacks any speed to do anything positive from the position and exposes himself to cut blocks like the one that ended the game for him from a hyperextended knee.

But there's no doubt the GM types will covet his size and the fact that he does have some agility for a DT as huge as he is. He should get drafted early in a weak DT class year because there's really no one else like him available. His nose bullrush may prove to be a strength for him but ultimately he looks like he'll fit better in a 4-3 base where he can use his primary strengths -- holding a gap and quickness of the snap. He'll have to improve his techniques a whole lot to get around NFL guards but if he can keep grounded in a gap, he'll eat the space that team will want out of a 4-3 DT. But those qualities at the level Ngata provides should also be available to teams in Day 2 of the draft in players like LeKevin Smith and Steve Fifita.

[HoosierCat]

I remember the game, and caution certainly is warranted, but I wouldn't make too much out of one showing. Also, as you noted, the scheme apparently had some bizarre call for him to drop back constantly, which you rightly note makes no sense. I'm sure his technique needs some work, but virtually all rook DTs share that same need.

[schweinhart]

One showing does not a career make, no question. But I think scouts may find the same problem with Ngata when they watch tape of him vs. other legit NFL guard prospects like Fred Matua in the USC game.

But tape or not, Ngata is really the only DT with so much size who does possess enough athletic ability to make the draft decision makers covet him. Other DT comps aren't quite as big as Ngata is, even though they offer similar levels of the same strengths. It's highly unlikely that he'll slide all the way to #24 but it is much likelier that Bunk gets the nod over him as the first DT picked. Still, there's a supersize of potential there that should clear Ngata off the board by the middle of the 1st.

[Stripes]

I'd rather have Bunkley than Ngata. Still, I don't think either of them would get past the Browns and Ravens if either were to fall out of the top 10.

[walshfan]

Rams would grab Ngata instead of Greenway if they had the chance..