The War Room Scouting Guide

[Wraith]

I just picked this up at the news stand, presumably rates every veteren and every rookie (does not have Tony stewart though)

Here are their findings based on their rankings by position

Carson Palmer 14

Jon Kitna 26

Chad Johnson 4

TJ Houshmandzadeh 30

Peter Warrick 65

Kelly Washington 85

Matt Schobel 25

Reggie Kelly 47

Rudi Johnson 12

Chris Perry 45

Jeremi Johnson 6

Willie Anderson 10

Levi Jones 28

Eric Steinbach 15

Bobbie Williams 70

Rich Braham 28

John Thornton 32

Bryan Robinson 67

Langston Moore 71

Justin Smith 33

Duane Clemons 38

Robert Geathers 78

Landon Johnson 32 (MLB)

Nate Webster 33

Brian Simmons 12

Marcus Wilkins 92

Caleb Miller 123

Madieu Williams 32

Kim Herring 57

Kevin Kaesviharn 74

Anthony Mitchell 90

Tory James 16

Deltha O'Neal 31

Keiwan Ratliff 73

Rashad Bauman 102

Reggie Myles 123

Terrell Roberts 129

Shane Graham 8

Kyle Larson 20

I throw this out for discussion there are several evaluations I flat out disagree with (Levi Jones, Bobbie Williams, Madieu Williams, and Richie Braham all are WAY under-rated IMHO whereas Tory James and Duane Clemons are over-rated) . Not surprising they rate the Bengals having the best overall offense (best QB, WR, pair of tackles, and the second best RBs in the division) and having the next to worst defense in the division.

What do you think how would you adjust these ratings.

[Stripes]

I say the following players were ranked poorly:

Rudi, I think he's done all he can to make the top 10

Big Willie, at least a top 5

Levi, higher than 28th

Braham, Thornton, Robinson, Smith, Madieu, O'Neal, Ratliff, Graham, Larson

They did show some players some love, like Jeremi Johnson and Brian Simmons

[NJ29]

Madieu got absolutely screwed.l

[Spain]

Those guys take the lil bus to school!

[HoosierCat]

So...our starting d-line ranks between 32 and 67.

Ugh.

I hope they're wrong. I fear they're not.

[buck3y3d]

Madieu, Larson, Graham, and Rudi are underrated. I think they predicted defense pretty accurately, except for maybe Landon if he can show some persistent growth.

[HairOnFire]

I've purchased that guide in the past and might do so again. You see I've got more money than brains. But for those who buy the guide my advice would be to ignore the rankings completely and take whatever you want from the brief player analysis. Because far too often I've seen players like Courtney Brown or Andre Carter rated as the 8th best DE in the NFL OR even more ridiculous...Gerrard Warren rated as the 6th best DT one season and 24th best the next. If you prefer your crappy analysis to be offensive then ask yourself if Mike Vick was the 4th best passer in 2003?

As for the scouting notes, I think they're far too slanted towards past performance that isn't likely to be repeated OR ridiculously high rankings for young players based upon hype instead of production. (See the paragraph above.) But there's also plenty of lazy analysis that is more of a reflection of the roles a player is PROJECTED to fill and have very little to do with that players true capabilities. For example, the 2003 guide ranked Rudi Johnson as the 78th best RB in the NFL and claimed he might "end up being a short-yardage or goal-line runner." Well you know what? I think if I'm listening to a scout evaluate a RB who is capable of gaining nearly 1500 yards in a season...even if he hasn't played a down...I expect to read that he's capable of becoming a durable starter if needed.