Final Thoughts on the Chargers' Draft

The NFL draft is a once a year thing, just like me updating this blog, so since they're so alike I thought I might use one to talk about the other one.

After surfing the net to look at draft grades, I found one that was the closest to what I thought about our draft (before I read anyone else's opinions). To make it easier on me, I'll just c/p that part (it's from cbssports):

Best pick: Third-round pick Donald Butler is a quality inside linebacker who could move one of the starters aside and take their job.

Questionable move: Trading so many picks to move up to draft running back Ryan Mathews in the first round. He better be LaDainian Tomlinson.

Third-day gem: Cam Thomas is a big nose tackle who the Chargers got in the fifth round. I think Thomas might push for time right away.

Analysis: I think to move up and trade so many picks to get Mathews was too pricey. They did make up for it later in the draft with some nice picks.

Grade: B-

When it comes down to it, draft grades and analysis are really educated guesses. Only time will tell the actual quality of a team's draft. So I do agree with the initial grade, but to me the Chargers' draft could turn out to be a "C" draft or even a "A" draft. It makes sense to average those out, getting my "B" grade.

Now time to talk specifically about Ryan Mathews, b/c that's the person everyone seems to care about most, even though Cam Thomas could really be the key player of this draft. In my personal opinion, Ryan Mathews needs to gain 1,200 total yards and 7 TD's in his FIRST year to live up to his 12th pick price tag. I came up with those numbers two different ways. One way is a little complicated and involves math, which I doubt you guys would care about. The other is simple and makes sense. Knowshon Moreno was the 12th overall last year. He split time at some points in the season and started as well in the Denver backfield, but tallied 1,100+ total yards and 9 total TDs. So, Mathews should at least hit 1,200 and 7, being the featured back. Of course, a big part of his production really depends on his pass protection and 3rd down ability to make the catch out of the backfield. Those numbers shouldn't be too difficult to reach considering we play in the AFC West and our elite passing attack should open up the run game. That's all I have to say for now. Is it football season yet??

I Guess This Is The Life Part

Hey friends, it has been awhile I know. I've been busy with my last semester of college, winning my main fantasy football league to complete my dynasty of a PQ fantasy championships in all 3 major sports (sorry guys, had to plug that), and playing MW2 whenever I'm not sleeping, eating or at the gym. But I finally found the time to update this thing and for good reason. I wanted to tell you My Big Plan.

My plan to....TAKE OVER THE WORLD!....jp. My post-college plan. Before I dive into it, there's two reasons why I'm blogging about this. One is to let people know so everyone doesn't have to keep asking me the big question that everyone asks after you graduate, "So, what are you gonna do now??". The other reason is for myself. I learned in my exercise class that if you're trying to lose weight it's a good idea to let other people know, that way you feel like you're being watched and will be more likely to stay on your weight loss program. Well, I'm just applying that same concept to my "life program". So, if I stray away from my plan, I can always look at this entry and hopefully get back on track. And when I say "stray", I mean negatively stray, because you never know, I can get my big break as a professional football player and that would be a positive stray....jp of course. So here goes my big plan, I must warn you, it's not exciting.

I plan on becoming an actuary. I won't go into details of what an actuary is other than they work with insurance. You can google the description if you're really interested. But here's an idea of what I'm getting myself into.

"Actuaries are responsible for massive amounts of other people's money. Billions of dollars. It makes sense for actuarial examinations to have very high standards. And actuaries are paid very well, while having prestigious, comfortable jobs, with low stress levels, and no unemployment. There has to be a catch, and the catch is: it is hard, very hard, to become a fully qualified professional actuary."

So, the good is obvious from that quote. And the bad is what I'm going to start preparing for soon. I plan on taking my first test this year on probability. This test as a pass rate between 30-40 percent, so passing on your first attempt is both difficult and important. So, it's that "simple". I need to study like I've never studied before and pass test after test (around 7 exams throughout my career). I also plan on finding a normal job in the near future because these tests and study material aren't cheap. Ideally, it would have something to do with statistics or being an actuary, but in the job market nowadays, I might have to take whatever job I could find. So this is going to be a long process that's going to take patience and diligence and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens. I'm probably 70% looking forward to the future and 30% scared. And I understand that things don't always go according to plan, so whatever happens from this point on, all I hope for is what everyone hopes for...happiness (cliche, but true).