2008-12-04T20:35:42Z Emilio Garcia-Ruiz picks apart the draft each week tag:views.washingtonpost.com,2008:/theleague/redraft/43 Copyright (c) 2008, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2008-12-04T20:35:42Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-12-04:/theleague/redraft2008/12/week_13_ravens_flacco_up_in_class.html

At Redraft Headquarters, we spend all our time uncovering and then mocking the mistakes made by NFL general managers and their scouts. So when we screw up like we have with Joe Flacco, our policy is to admit it 0- and then offer an excuse as to why our mistake could have happened to anyone. Flacco (Baltimore, first round, 18th) was terrible for most of the first month of the season. In his first five...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-11-28T15:52:26Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-11-25:/theleague/redraft2008/11/week_12_falcons_dimitroff_star_of_draft.html

The staff at Redraft Headquarters has been tracking NFL rookies for 12 weeks, but even we are occasionally surprised when an unheralded pick suddenly changes a game. That happened again on Sunday when wide receiver Harry Douglas (third round, 84th pick overall) scored his first two touchdowns in the Falcons' 45-28 win over the Panthers. For the Falcons, it was just one more stunning contribution from a draft pick in what has easily become the...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-11-20T04:19:38Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-11-19:/theleague/redraft2008/11/in_week_11_rookie_value_clear.html

So after 11 weeks of fiddling, we at Redraft Headquarters believe we have the top of the first round about right based on actual performance on the field, not predraft hype. Lots of running backs and wide receivers up high. Three linebackers, although one got hurt. The player with the biggest gripe would be the Redskins' Chris Horton, who got jobbed out of millions of dollars because NFL personnel folks decided he was a...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-11-13T05:18:45Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-11-12:/theleague/redraft2008/11/falcons_ryan_outclassing_the_field.html

The election's over, but we at Redraft Headquarters are still making voting projections. And we're calling the Rookie of the Year race in the NFL for Matt Ryan. It's not just that Ryan is starting at quarterback as a rookie and performing well. But his play has saved the Atlanta Falcons, who were expected to be devastated for years because of the Michael Vick mess. Yes, credit needs to go to running back Michael Turner,...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-11-06T17:49:18Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-11-05:/theleague/redraft2008/11/no_defense_for_08_nfl_draft.html

Gil Brandt wrote this week that he thinks 2008 might be the best NFL draft class since 1983. We know he wrote this because we re-read the sentence about 15 times to make sure we weren't hallucinating. We here at Redraft Headquarters have long trusted Brandt's judgment but after weeks of analyzing every first-round pick's performance we just don't agree. Yes, the running back and wide receiver classes have been great, but what about defense?...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-10-30T16:53:16Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-10-30:/theleague/redraft2008/10/dorsey_gholston_proving_unworthy.html

Remember last spring when everyone was talking about how the 2008 draft was filled with great defensive linemen? On March 8, ESPN's Mel Kiper had five in the top 10 of his mock draft. It's eight weeks into the season and two of them are on their way to being complete busts. Chiefs and Jets fans have to be outraged by the poor play of Glenn Dorsey and Vernon Gholston, both of whom signed huge...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-10-23T19:07:15Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-10-23:/theleague/redraft2008/10/loss_of_rivers_latest_bengals_disaster.html

The Cincinnati Bengals' disastrous season had one thing go right: First-round draft pick Keith Rivers, who has started every game at linebacker and is second on the team in tackles. Then Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward crushed Rivers on a block Sunday, breaking his jaw and ending his season. We here at Redraft Headquarters have to believe that with the season lost, the Bengals, in hindsight, would still have drafted Rivers. After all, he'll be...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-10-16T14:21:58Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-10-15:/theleague/redraft2008/10/falcons_ryan_gains_redemption.html

We here at Redraft Headquarters admit we once believed that Matt Ryan was no better than a middle-of-the-first-round gamble. We didn't like his arm strength. Thought he had poor mobility. Thought his heroics in that miracle game against Virginia Tech were primarily due to bad defensive calls. Today, we're here to atone. Matt Ryan should have been the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. We were wrong. And Miami and St. Louis were wrong...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-10-09T04:31:49Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-10-09:/theleague/redraft2008/10/should_matt_ryan_have_gone_no_1.html

With every Atlanta victory the argument grows stronger that quarterback Matt Ryan should have been the No. 1 overall pick in the draft last spring, especially with the Miami Dolphins lacking a clear future at the position. Ryan has the Falcons at 3-2, which seemed like an impossibility after the Michael Vick/Bobby Petrino disasters. More clear is that it was a horrible idea to spend five of the first 10 picks on defensive linemen. At...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-10-03T17:11:07Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-10-02:/theleague/redraft2008/10/where_should_redskins_horton_go.html

As we redo the first round of the NFL draft using on-field performance, there is but one issue at Redraft headquarters this week: How high should Redskins safety Chris Horton go? We admit that the fluky nature of his previous interceptions gave us doubts. But his play Sunday against the Cowboys changed all that. For now, we'll put him 15th overall. But what do you think? As always, your Redrafts are welcome. 1. Miami...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-09-25T17:05:54Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-09-25:/theleague/redraft2008/09/week_four_ryan_stars_for_falcons.html

It was a very quiet weekend at Redraft headquarters. Matt Ryan looked good for Atlanta. Steve Slaton scored a touchdown and won the starting running back job for Houston (Ralph Freidgen had to be delighted to see him scoring on someone else). And Joe Flacco played well enough for Baltimore to win. Running backs still rule. Other than that? Not much. As always, we want to know how you would Redraft. 1. Miami 2008...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-09-18T08:20:47Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-09-17:/theleague/redraft2008/09/redraft_week_3.html

What a wild week for first-round draft choices, with performances ranging from brilliant to catastrophic. (Man, were we wrong about moving the Saints' Tracy Porter into the first round last week. Hello, Santana Moss. And teammate Sedrick Ellis? We're moving him back down after the Redskins turned him into a pinata.) It remains all about the running backs, though. Four of the top 10 rushing leaders in the league are rookies. 1. Miami 2008 Pick:...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-09-18T02:50:16Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-09-10:/theleague/redraft2008/09/redraft_week_two.html

Here at Redraft, where the second-guessing on the NFL Draft never ends, we're having a nasty argument about where to slot Chicago running back Matt Forte after his 123-yard performance against the Colts. The Bears got him in the second round, 44th overall, but we're redrafting him into some first-round money. As always, your thoughts are welcome. 1. Miami Dolphins 2008 Pick: OT Jake Long. He was called for two penalties, the line allowed...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz 2008-09-18T02:51:02Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-09-03:/theleague/redraft2008/09/redraft_week_one.html

Here at Redraft headquarters, where the second-guessing never ends, we'll redo the first round of the 2008 draft until we get it right. Already we've changed the Great Defensive Linemen Draft into the Great Running Backs Draft. And we've got a couple of players picked later who are ready to move up onto our board....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Emilio Garcia Ruiz