As those of you who have followed this weekly column know, several members of our community have repeatedly had their names mentioned when its come time to single out the most excellent posts. Typically, the various honorees will appear in the comments section, offering a humble thanks for the notice, remarking on the plethora of terrific posts, etc. One BTBer's posts have received several honorable mentions and, each time, he has responded as if he was dancing around the room with his hair on fire.
Yep, you guessed it. I'm talking about our version of the Energizer Bunny, the appropriately monikered ChiaCrack. On several occasions, Crack (as I like to call him) has claimed that he's saving his craziest dance for the much-anticipated moment when he finally receives his first FPOTW award. Well, Crack, you best break out your dancing pants, because the wait is over. In fact, this week is all about you, bro; the last seven days, you treated the FanPost board much like the Packers treated the Cowboys back in November--you dominated in every phase of the game.
Indeed, a quick look at the FanPosts authored in the past seven days will show a preponderance of postings from the illustrious Crack, several of which merit FPOTW notoriety. That said, I found his most impressive work in a piece that came out last Thursday, a set of bold predictions for the upcoming draft. Our man Chia clearly takes the draft seriously; his numerous draft-related posts are detailed and intelligent--and his player knowledge extends far beyond the first couple of rounds. That said, I felt that, in this post, he outdid himself; Crack offers ten observations, comparisons or assessments, each of which demonstrates a deep, fundamental knowledge of the draftable players and their relative merits. Moreover, many of them go against conventional wisdom (a move only the wise can make). And he includes pretty pictures.
One prediction which caught my eye (and a pony which Crack has been riding a lot of late):
Brandon Harris will be a great cornerback and will be undervalued in the draft- Brandon Harris is a big time talent at cornerback in a deep cornerback draft actually. Harris has lockdown capability and the speed, something Prince Amukamara lacks, but we will get to that in a minute. If Brandon Harris stayed in school, he easily would have been the first cornerback selected in the 2012 NFL Draft. He decided to come out and it's a fairly deep class at cornerback. Now Patrick Peterson is the clear cut #1, but then that's where scouts and draft gurus get divided. Some have Jimmy Smith as the #2 rated cornerback, but I don't think he is better than Brandon Harris. I actually would love for the Cowboys to consider taking Harris, and there is a rumor that if Dallas misses out on Amukamara, they would love to get a shot at Brandon Harris. Harris in my opinion has top 5 talent, he just might need some time to grow. He is similar to Joe Haden skill wise and at 5-11 195 he has the physical skills. Harris will run a fast 40 time as well, and I feel Harris will not fall past Houston or Detroit. Teams should value lockdown corners, because Harris will be one.
He concludes his discussion of Harris with a statement that echoes something I have been feeling recently as well: "As the draft approaches, my Brandon Harris man crush will grow even more, so be prepared."
Indeed, at every turn, I found myself in complete concurrence with Crack's assessments--so much so, that in the comments, I wrote, simply:
Dude
I feel like you opened up my head and stole my brain.
So, am I giving this week's coveted award to Crack largely because he agrees with me? Perhaps (I'm not above rewarding idle flattery), but I challenge you to find a more thoughtful, well-crafted meditation upon the draft this early in "draft season." I haven't seen one, not even from the big guns. I urge you to check out Crack's work here (and to continue to follow his draft posts, if you can keep up with his immense productivity.
All's else I got to say is: Cha-cha-cha-chia! CRACK!