The Laurent Robinson Trade And Its Aftermath
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 7, 2009 8:00 AM EDT
51 comments
Make no mistake, trading Laurent Robinson isn't going to bring the Atlanta Falcon empire to its knees. By the time the draft rolls around, chances are pretty good most of us will have stopped thinking about him altogether. It becomes easy to do after a guy spends almost an entire season battling concussions and hamstring injuries.
Many have already pointed out that the team's offense was dynamic last year, which means they'll continue to roll right along without L-Rob. I can see the value in that line of thought, but it's not going to stop me from dissenting. I think we as a fanbase have gotten so comfortable with Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith that we just defer to their wisdom in all decisions, which is fine. In a single season, they turned a field of cow manure into the Taj Mahal. They've earned the benefit of the doubt, and even though we didn't get any picks outright, we did make a reasonable leap up in the fifth and sixth rounds to the Rams picks.
Despite that, I still don't like this move at all. When we drafted L-Rob in the third round, he flashed speed and pass catching skill in his rookie season. He was a complete non-factor last season, yes, and maybe he's going to turn out to be an injury-prone player. He had a lot of upside, though, and that's something we don't really have outside of Roddy White and Harry Douglas. Michael Jenkins is a quality option, but we know that his ceiling is a decent number two receiver with good blocking skills. Nobody else on the roster right now--and yes, I'm looking right into your soulful eyes, Eric Weems--has the upside Robinson had. Letting him go to move 20 spots up in two of the latest rounds of the draft immediately weakens the depth of our receiving corps in the short-term and long-term.
This all becomes moot very quickly if the Falcons use their 20+ spot leaps to score a major defensive need, an awesome project and tight end or receiver, or use it to draft me into the organization. I'll also probably get a face full of chloroform and a free trip to the bottom of the ocean for daring to question the Comrade, but I can't help it in this case. I don't see why we're giving up someone with so much potential for a very modest gain.
What do you guys think?
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Dont like it
but I think we have to pick someone up in FA for depth… whose out there?
" No, I think I'll sit in the balcony " - Abe Lincoln
by tapate50 on Apr 7, 2009 8:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I hear ya, but I'm not worried.
Let me start by saying that while I love our heroes (Comrade, Smitty, Ryan, Lofton) who showed us a lot last year, one year isn’t enough to give me complete confidence. I’m not ready to give them the God-like status many of us fans want to give them. They will surely make mistakes in the future.
That said, I do think they know what they are doing. This is their full-time job. While I sometimes pretend that it’s mine too, I don’t have nearly the expertise and information (or money) that these guys have. After last season, we can rest assured that they’re not frauds, and that’s all that matters. We need to let them build some history before we can pass to many judgments on their decisions.
Were we all stoked when they released all those guys last year (Coleman, Dunn, Crumpler, Hall, etc.)? Turned out well, didn’t it?
by TomQ on Apr 7, 2009 9:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh and...
I think that Mike Jenkins is under-rated. I think he’s a great #2 receiver. Ryan knows how to use him well and he will have an even better year in ’09 unless he gets injured.
by TomQ on Apr 7, 2009 9:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed ...
I was going to make that point. Why are you showing M Jenk any love Dave?!
As for the confidence a lot of people (myself included) have in TD and company, it isn’t about thinking they are infallible (see: Zinger and Fontenot) … it’s about realizing that these guys see/know things we’ll never see/know. Blind faith is necessary from time to time.
"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)
by FrankyWren on Apr 7, 2009 12:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The only possible way this makes sense
Is if the medical reports led them to believe he would be “injury prone” – or that last year proved to them that he wasn’t a fast healer. Parcells used to cut bait with productive/promising players who were injury prone all the time. Or maybe he was bad in the locker room (but I haven’t heard any reports of that).
Using the Draft Value Chart, we netted 15.4 points worth of picks – that’s the same value as the #190 pick (low 6th round). He was drafted in the 3rd round (2 years ago!!) at #75 (215 points on the chart). He had a really promising rookie year. Unless this is part of some bigger plan that we haven’t seen the results of yet, I am going to be upset about this for a while. Especially if he does anything of note in STL in the next few years.
by orang3b on Apr 7, 2009 9:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Speedy receivers like Laurent are a dime a dozen.
He was always gonna be on the fringe of our receiving core. Why not get the value and give the kid a chance to make it, and make some money in the league. This is what great teams do. Draft well, and then shop the talent that would start on other teams in the league to continue to get more talent.
"We're not maxed out, ... The best is still ahead of us."
Bobby Bowden
by NaGaNole on Apr 7, 2009 10:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I think everyone is forgetting..
TD made this decision and he earned his dues last year. Lets see where it goes before we make judgements.
go hard or go home
by TO falcon on Apr 7, 2009 10:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
More likely to get someone...
…who will contribute earlier in the fifth and sixth rounds than later.
by LetsGoFalcons on Apr 7, 2009 10:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
We won't know if this was a good year
until a year or two passes by, speculating is just moot at this point because of the unknown quantities now.
by Molly Flogger on Apr 7, 2009 11:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Indeed ...
"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)
by FrankyWren on Apr 7, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't see a problem with this move
We don’t run four wide sets, so you have to ask yourself if Laurent was better than Roddy, Jenkins and Douglas. If so, then you keep him, if not, then you try to get something for him. We moved up a significant amount in the 5th and 6th rounds. I would have loved to get something extra but with him being injured all last year, his trade stock was low.
by dwaltlhi on Apr 7, 2009 11:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Welcome to the site!
I think that Robinson had the potential to be one of the top three receivers on the team. I would have kept him around before Weems and guys like that, is all I’m saying.
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 7, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"Oh, come on guys ... I'm not so bad!"
"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)
by FrankyWren on Apr 7, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He looks so solemn
Don’t look at me like that!
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 8, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the welcome
I have visited the site for a while now but have never commented. Figured it was time to jump in.
by dwaltlhi on Apr 8, 2009 11:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Glad you did
We’re getting close to the draft, and I love to have as many folks as possible around for the draft live blog. It’s always a good time.
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 8, 2009 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ah...The draft
I am going to be reliving my spring break days, in Panama City, with the wife and some of her sorority pals, but I will have the lap top and will definitely be on. This is the first draft in a long time where I am optimistic. With McKay I was always sweating bullets and damn near passing out after each selection. If you ever need a good laugh, pull up our draft history for the last 10 years of so. It doesn’t get any funnier, unless of course, you are a Falcon fan.
by dwaltlhi on Apr 8, 2009 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Shocking Trade!
A mere switch in the 5th & 6th rounds for Laurent?? You have got to be kidding me. Obviously the Rams doctors OK’d him, so he must be healthy, right? Do you remember what Laurent looked like at the beginning of last season? He was the smoothest, fastest, most sure-handed accurate route-runner package we had (yes, including Roddy). I cannot believe we sold him for such peanuts. The Rams have made the deal of the year. My prediction: Laurent gets 1,000 yds. this season. What could TD possibly know that we don’t? I cannot believe he couldn’t get more for Laurent. I cannot believe even more that he wanted to get rid of him!
by gfweis on Apr 7, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
What could TD possibly know that we don’t?
Plenty …
"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)
by FrankyWren on Apr 7, 2009 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Y'all remember how many Birds fans were upset at the Ryan pick?
Only time will tell this if was a good move. I understand the frustration of some, but come on … this isn’t going to make or break the team.
"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)
by FrankyWren on Apr 7, 2009 2:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
apparently, we just traded away Jerry Rice. I get some frustration, but the guy was around 4th on the depth chart. I think a deep breath is in order.
by dwaltlhi on Apr 7, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wow..
This is a bunch of crying for someone who gave us nothing last year… Are you serious?
"If I disagree with you, it's because you are wrong..."
by Tybeaux on Apr 7, 2009 2:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Just to be clear
I’m not blaming anyone for feeling confident in guys who have far more knowledge of the team than we do. I’m also not saying the loss of Laurent Robinson is going to break the Falcons in half. I don’t think anybody’s saying that.
I do believe that L-Rob had the talent to make a difference for the Falcons, but he had to be healthy. I also think the bounty we received for him was not reflective of that talent. He could be hurt all year again or he could get 1,000 yards; either way, I still don’t like this move right now.
Life for the Falcons will march right along, and we may well be more successful without Robinson than we were with him. I let guys like Alge Crumpler depart without raising an eyebrow, but I hate to let go of young talent.
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 7, 2009 3:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
That's Certainly Fair
But I’m going to jump in the camp that says this trade is good for both sides. I have to admit that I am a huge homer for Comrade Dimitroff, but I really can see the logic in it. According to Pat Yasinskas, Robinson didn’t do two things well in camp (two things which, by the way, Michael Jenkins did very well), and that’s 1) block, and 2) go over the middle. With Harry Douglas’ break out year, the best Robinson was going to break in was as a fourth receiver, where you primarily need a possession receiver. It’s not that he isn’t a talented receiver, it’s just that he’s not the receiver we need.
But furthermore, in terms of the bounty we get in return, Robinson was a third year player who didn’t create a whole lot in the way of value for himself because of injury. Production talks in the NFL, so I can’t really imagine teams were just screaming to get him for anything more than a sixth-seventh round pick by himself. But by swapping picks it becomes low risk, low reward for another team, particularly one that could use a good deep-threat WR like the Rams now that they lost Holt. They keep their fifth and sixth round picks, albeit further back in the round, and have a player who has some upside to develop.
From our perspective, we now have the second pick of the fifth round and the third pick of the sixth round, which means that if there’s some fourth round or fifth round talent that has slipped down the draft board we can snatch them up at a discounted price, plus they’re more likely to be able to contribute right away. If there’s nothing there that we like or that we think is appropriately valued, then we have a greater bargaining chip with which to trade back and perhaps stock pile a couple more picks in the late rounds.
If TD and his staff are doing a good job on their talent evaluation (which they demonstrated they can do last year), then this trade provides us with more flexibility in the draft to either take a good player who has slipped or start stockpiling to fill in with some quality.
by LetsGoFalcons on Apr 7, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I definitely see your point
And you’re right, production talks, and Robinson just didn’t do anything last year. Time will tell if injuries will render him ineffective or not.
Just so this is clear, too, I like Jenkins. I think he’s one of the better blocking wide receivers leaguewide, and he’s a solid enough dude that he can stick at #2. My point was that he’s a known quantity at this point, and I don’t think he’s suddenly going to take a Roddy White-like leap into stardom. If you’re cool with that, I’m cool with that.
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 7, 2009 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
well said.
" No, I think I'll sit in the balcony " - Abe Lincoln
by tapate50 on Apr 7, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
meant well said dave...
" No, I think I'll sit in the balcony " - Abe Lincoln
by tapate50 on Apr 7, 2009 4:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Reminds me of the Josh Anderson trade
the Braves made. They probably didn’t get the most value for him possible but the bottom line is he wasn’t going to see much playing time anyway. Might as well get what you can for him.
All in all, its better for the player and for the team. Although how much better depends on the unforseeable (the draft in the Falcs case). In the long run it could give us more depth at positions we’re really, really thin at.
"When I played pro football, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something"
-Dick Butkus
by zooker on Apr 7, 2009 7:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Buck and Kinkaid...
of 680 the fan were happy about this move and made some good points. What if New England is high on one of them LBs we are drooling over and we now have a few more “draft points” to jump them – or Philly in a similar situation as Orang3b mentioned in an earlier topic discussion.
by TomQ on Apr 7, 2009 8:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well,
I mentioned Philly in the 2nd round. One of the 5th Rounders might not be enough to jump New England in the 1st, though. The #138 pick is worth 37 points (Draft Value Chart), and to go from #24 to #22 (Minnesota) is 40 points difference. It might get it done, though… they don’t follow that chart exactly.
by orang3b on Apr 8, 2009 7:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
5th and 6th round picks
I’ll say this. While I trust our upper management, Robinson was going to have a hard time making this team. Potential was there but remember this, Robert James (who is likely to be a factor in ST and LB rotation in ‘09) and DE Kroy Biermann (who layed very well) were taken 5th and Thomas Brown (another ST impact player in ’09) was taken in the 6th. This is TD’s sweet spot. Finding players in the later rounds who not only make the team but make an impact. Could you see a Kevin Olgetree from UVA or a Deon Butler from Penn State getting tabbed in these rounds.
by g state ben on Apr 8, 2009 10:09 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
*claps*
Excellent points. Where has your opinion been this whole offseason?
I completely agree with you too, “in TD I trust” – alright… I’m still a little sceptical, but he’s gonna make something happen.
by MentallyMIA on Apr 8, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is TD’s sweet spot.
Zinger? Fontenot?
"He's getting better, but he's not there yet ..."
- Bobby Cox (talking about Boyer)
by FrankyWren on Apr 8, 2009 12:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not sure
but completely and on the fly here mind you, in response I give you Brady?
Like I said, that was completely off the cuff so I have nothing to back that up. Because I said it, I’m sure that you will go look and see TD wasn’t the one who drafted Brady, but w/e. I’m lazy and at work so :P
"If Woody were Captain of the Titanic, he'd argue the boat sinking speaks to how effectively they put rich people in life boats and lock the poor folks below."
-jrauch commenting at Hoopinion on Woody's (non)logic in his post-game comments
by Jesse28 on Apr 8, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ok, who am I fooling here...
I was off by two years. TD showed up in NE in 02, Brady in 2K, so nvm on that one. Dangit.
But, I present you with two 4th round and later picks by TD after being promoted to Scouting Director in 03:
Asante Samuel – ’03 – 4th round
Matt Cassel – ’05 – 7th round
I don’t particularly follow NE so I can not attest to every single player picked in the 4th and later during TD’s stint there, but I’m sure there were probably more than the obvious two I mentioned. Does it mean much? To me, not really, but having a good deal of luck on your side never hurts, and if he picks more talent like he has in the past, I’m totally cool with it. Really though, if you are banking on 5th-7th rounders on a constant basis, your team is probably in more trouble than you realize.
"If Woody were Captain of the Titanic, he'd argue the boat sinking speaks to how effectively they put rich people in life boats and lock the poor folks below."
-jrauch commenting at Hoopinion on Woody's (non)logic in his post-game comments
by Jesse28 on Apr 8, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Really though, if you are banking on 5th-7th rounders on a constant basis, your team is probably in more trouble than you realize.
This about sums it up. As long as 5th-7th rounders are for depth and/or possible flier picks, then I believe we will be fine. If those become must haves, then we are in trouble.
by dwaltlhi on Apr 8, 2009 3:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Indifferent
As Falcoholic history points out, I have never been a huge fan of the dude. With the emergence of Roddy @ #1, Cookiehead Jenkins @ #2 and Harry Douglas showing some big play glimmers, I think L Rob was pretty obsolete. And hell, moving up 20 plus spots in any round isn’t the worst thing in the world.
I think it was Comrade making lemonade out of lemons as L Rob had become pretty obsolete.
In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face.
by runningback on Apr 8, 2009 5:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I like this trade, I think ATL has enough receivers, people are forgetting about Finneran, when hes healthy he is awesome, Harry Douglas will be great here in a year or 2 and Roddy white and Jenkins are already good.. I think its imperetive that we get good picks in the draft rather then keeping a WR that prolly wont play much in the upcoming seasons!!
by MTB33 on Apr 8, 2009 6:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Robinson!!!
Falcons need to think big, they need to go out in get Burress. He could come in handy.
by ATL-YO on Apr 9, 2009 2:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Welcome to the site
I don’t think Burress will be an option. Right now he’s refusing to take a plea deal, which could put him away for a bit, and he’d basically be a catching-heavy version of Jenkins at this point in his career. Considering Jenkins doesn’t have the legal issues and has better blocking skills, I’d rather keep him.
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 9, 2009 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Where were all the Robinson jerseys??
By reading these posts you would have thought the Falcons had just traded Roddy Don’t Call Me White…This guy didn’t do jack last year and don’t tell me he was fast bc the NFL is littered with burners who don’t produce…We have a Pro Bowl WR followed by a big possesion WR in Jenkins, a up and coming WR in Douglas and then Finneran at the 4 spot. Now we need to draft a TE for Matty Ice in the redzone and we are all set…Who the ‘f’ cares if we get rid of this guy?? I’m suprised we got as much as we did…
by ATLBoca on Apr 9, 2009 10:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Welcome to the site
I think it’s more the potential he flashed in his rookie year than anything else. We’ll get that tight end sooner than later, I expect, but it would be nice to have Finneran’s replacement waiting in the wings as well.
by Dave the Falconer on Apr 9, 2009 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
You're surprised we got as much as we did?
That’s because we traded him at possibly the bottom of his value (coming off a wasted injury year), unless he would’ve/does fizzle out of the league in the next few years. Like Dave said, he looked very good/promising his rookie year. I just hate to give away a guy entering his 3rd year in the league, who showed potential – and don’t try to comfort me with a guy that’s probably pretty close to the end of the road (Finn).
by orang3b on Apr 9, 2009 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
What's the big deal?
I really do not get all the fuss. So we trade Laurent Robinson, a 3rd round pick that was injured all of last year and most likely did not play into the Falcons future (or he would not have been traded). ATL was able to move up ~20 spots in the 5th and 6th rounds. Seems like a solid value play to me.
www.calvertgames.com
by jcalvert on Apr 9, 2009 8:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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