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(GM Ken Argot takes the podium)
Argot: How’s everyone doing today?
Question #1: How do you feel about today’s draft?
Argot: Good. I feel good
Question #2: So you feel good that you need a Quarterback and passed on 4 of them when you had 3 picks in the top 11??
Argot: Yes. That’s why I didn’t say great.
Question #3: Ok, I’ll bite. So why DIDN’T you take a QB with one of your picks.
Argot: Well, here’s the truth. We never had a shot at Givgore or Cooley. Not that we would have taken Cooley. We had Givgore on our board as the #1 overall. But I’m still not sure he’s a sure thing. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t overly impressed with any of them.
Question #4: Are you serious? Mel Kiper had them all going in the top 5 picks???
Argot: Who the heck is Mel Kiper? Is he a GM? Does he actually interview anyone?
Question #5: (silence)
Argot: Ok, let’s break it down. Givgore should be a good quarterback, but in big game, crucial situations, he doesn’t say clutch to us. He would have been good in our locker room, but not a leader which is something we want in a QB. That was our problem with May. There were enough cautionary signs that made us not trade up to get him, though we had the picks to do so.
Cooley looked good but didn’t look like a good fit for our offense. His accuracy with his throws was a concern, and our scouts thought he was overrated. Again, leadership was an issue with us, so again, it’s a moot point since he was taken ahead of us.
That leaves Politopoulus and Williamson. Neither of these two was worthy of the number 3 pick, especially while Jeremiah Beyer was sitting there. With the loss of Dobranski to Pennsylvania last year, we stuggled a bit up front. Beyer was rated as our #1 player on the board and we were more giddy that Tulsa took Cooley than Beyer. We love this guy. AND he fit a need. Then we get to the 8th pick. We fell in love with Shaquille Wolfe from day one. Our original thought was that we could trade down and get him later in the round. That’s when we heard Norfolk was thinking about taking him at 10. That left us with a decision. Either we take Polito or Williamson here and lose out on Wolfe, or take Wolfe and possibily lose out on the QB. Truth is, the way things were playing out, we thought Politopoulus would still be there at 11. If he wasn’t, there were also two other players that we liked just as much as either of the QB’s. We liked Pedro Winters, the WR, and we liked Tre Reynolds, the tackle. With the two QB’s going right after Wolfe, that left us a difficult decision at 11. We have been impressed with last year’s pick Giordano, and with Wolfe being taken at 8, we decided that we would start the rebuild the offense the way we did 11 years ago, with an offensive line. Winters would have been nice, but without a franchise QB, his talents might have been wasted. I hate that our rivals got him though.
Question #6: So what ARE your plans at QB?
Argot: Well, the draft isn’t over, and Free Agency isn’t over. We haven’t ruled out trading for a QB either. One of our best quarterbacks with this franchise is Dennis Collela who we traded to get. I don’t mind getting a veteran. The first five years of a QB are often sketchy.
Question #7: Is there anyone you are looking at in the draft?
Argot: Well, if I told you that, then I’d have to kill you.
Question #8: I guess we buy Beyer, but what do you see in Wolfe that is so amazing?
Argot: Don’t even get me started. If I had to, I might have taken him #1. First of all, his name is Wolfe. He belongs on the Wolfpack right? We enjoy watching the Pac-10 out here, and have watched him play personally. Wolfe is the kind of Center that comes along once in a decade. Sammy [Gilman] has been that for us, but Sammy’s 34 in his 14th year. Sammy’s probably not losing his job this year, but what an opportunity for Wolfe to be mentored by one of the best in the league. The run game will always be a major part of the Wolfpack offense, which means we need an agile, powerful offensive line. We want to be able to wear you out.
Question #9: Speaking of being worn out, that seems to be the knock on Reynolds. Doesn’t that concern you?
Argot: It is an issue, but we don’t feel like it is a deal breaker. Our scouts think he is undervalued, and he already looks great! The only question for us is, can he make the transition to left tackle? If not, where will he play? That would be very unfortunate.
Question #10: We understand that Cleveland offered you next year’s first for the 11th pick, plus additional picks, and even Guzkowski! Why didn’t you take it if you had concerns about Reynolds?
Argot: That’s a fair question. We believe in Reynolds and trading 1st rounder’s is always messy. What if Cleveland ends up really good and that pick is 1.32 next year? The other problem is cap space. We are already against it, and adding Guzkowski would have been tough. But when you have Matthews and Laroque, do you really need another Corner?
Question #11: Can Matthews and Laroque still play? Or have they lost a step?
Argot: Listen, everyone ages. All I know is when the clock is running, these guys simply make plays. Until I see them stop making plays, I won’t be concerned.
Question #12: You mentioned rebuild. Is there any chance that you might actually trade any of those aging players for future draft picks?
Argot: We don’t have any plans on trading any of our players away. I don’t believe in fire sales. We are always going to plan on being as competitive as we can for our fans.
Question #13: (silence)
Argot: Ok, is that it?…Then we will see you again after the draft. (Argot leaves platform)
Argot: How’s everyone doing today?
Question #1: How do you feel about today’s draft?
Argot: Good. I feel good
Question #2: So you feel good that you need a Quarterback and passed on 4 of them when you had 3 picks in the top 11??
Argot: Yes. That’s why I didn’t say great.
Question #3: Ok, I’ll bite. So why DIDN’T you take a QB with one of your picks.
Argot: Well, here’s the truth. We never had a shot at Givgore or Cooley. Not that we would have taken Cooley. We had Givgore on our board as the #1 overall. But I’m still not sure he’s a sure thing. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t overly impressed with any of them.
Question #4: Are you serious? Mel Kiper had them all going in the top 5 picks???
Argot: Who the heck is Mel Kiper? Is he a GM? Does he actually interview anyone?
Question #5: (silence)
Argot: Ok, let’s break it down. Givgore should be a good quarterback, but in big game, crucial situations, he doesn’t say clutch to us. He would have been good in our locker room, but not a leader which is something we want in a QB. That was our problem with May. There were enough cautionary signs that made us not trade up to get him, though we had the picks to do so.
Cooley looked good but didn’t look like a good fit for our offense. His accuracy with his throws was a concern, and our scouts thought he was overrated. Again, leadership was an issue with us, so again, it’s a moot point since he was taken ahead of us.
That leaves Politopoulus and Williamson. Neither of these two was worthy of the number 3 pick, especially while Jeremiah Beyer was sitting there. With the loss of Dobranski to Pennsylvania last year, we stuggled a bit up front. Beyer was rated as our #1 player on the board and we were more giddy that Tulsa took Cooley than Beyer. We love this guy. AND he fit a need. Then we get to the 8th pick. We fell in love with Shaquille Wolfe from day one. Our original thought was that we could trade down and get him later in the round. That’s when we heard Norfolk was thinking about taking him at 10. That left us with a decision. Either we take Polito or Williamson here and lose out on Wolfe, or take Wolfe and possibily lose out on the QB. Truth is, the way things were playing out, we thought Politopoulus would still be there at 11. If he wasn’t, there were also two other players that we liked just as much as either of the QB’s. We liked Pedro Winters, the WR, and we liked Tre Reynolds, the tackle. With the two QB’s going right after Wolfe, that left us a difficult decision at 11. We have been impressed with last year’s pick Giordano, and with Wolfe being taken at 8, we decided that we would start the rebuild the offense the way we did 11 years ago, with an offensive line. Winters would have been nice, but without a franchise QB, his talents might have been wasted. I hate that our rivals got him though.
Question #6: So what ARE your plans at QB?
Argot: Well, the draft isn’t over, and Free Agency isn’t over. We haven’t ruled out trading for a QB either. One of our best quarterbacks with this franchise is Dennis Collela who we traded to get. I don’t mind getting a veteran. The first five years of a QB are often sketchy.
Question #7: Is there anyone you are looking at in the draft?
Argot: Well, if I told you that, then I’d have to kill you.
Question #8: I guess we buy Beyer, but what do you see in Wolfe that is so amazing?
Argot: Don’t even get me started. If I had to, I might have taken him #1. First of all, his name is Wolfe. He belongs on the Wolfpack right? We enjoy watching the Pac-10 out here, and have watched him play personally. Wolfe is the kind of Center that comes along once in a decade. Sammy [Gilman] has been that for us, but Sammy’s 34 in his 14th year. Sammy’s probably not losing his job this year, but what an opportunity for Wolfe to be mentored by one of the best in the league. The run game will always be a major part of the Wolfpack offense, which means we need an agile, powerful offensive line. We want to be able to wear you out.
Question #9: Speaking of being worn out, that seems to be the knock on Reynolds. Doesn’t that concern you?
Argot: It is an issue, but we don’t feel like it is a deal breaker. Our scouts think he is undervalued, and he already looks great! The only question for us is, can he make the transition to left tackle? If not, where will he play? That would be very unfortunate.
Question #10: We understand that Cleveland offered you next year’s first for the 11th pick, plus additional picks, and even Guzkowski! Why didn’t you take it if you had concerns about Reynolds?
Argot: That’s a fair question. We believe in Reynolds and trading 1st rounder’s is always messy. What if Cleveland ends up really good and that pick is 1.32 next year? The other problem is cap space. We are already against it, and adding Guzkowski would have been tough. But when you have Matthews and Laroque, do you really need another Corner?
Question #11: Can Matthews and Laroque still play? Or have they lost a step?
Argot: Listen, everyone ages. All I know is when the clock is running, these guys simply make plays. Until I see them stop making plays, I won’t be concerned.
Question #12: You mentioned rebuild. Is there any chance that you might actually trade any of those aging players for future draft picks?
Argot: We don’t have any plans on trading any of our players away. I don’t believe in fire sales. We are always going to plan on being as competitive as we can for our fans.
Question #13: (silence)
Argot: Ok, is that it?…Then we will see you again after the draft. (Argot leaves platform)
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