The Allenphant in the room

Ok, having watched the first round press conference did anyone notice Paul sitting there by John and Pete, I cannot remember seeing Paul on draft day in the middle of the whole process. I have to wonder if we had a player that had skills but a questionable background on the board and if Paul would have been the yes or no guy on bringing him in with a pick. I know we have had him give a vote on Free Agents in the past but this is new.

Thoughts?

I don’t know if it’s new or not, but hopefully he stays out of the way. Blazer fans dislike Paul Allen because he meddles too much.

I've seen Paul Allen in the televised draft room in previous years. He takes an active interest and Pete and John like to involve Paul Allen in the process.

I remember seeing him there and thinking that with him being there, we had no plan to move out of the first round. I didn't think Allen would show up just to see them trade their picks til tomorrow.

As for whether he was making any calls on players, I think if he had issues with anyone on the board, he would have had them removed before yesterday.

I personally doubt it.

I didn't get the feeling that Pete/John made a change in weighing character factors because of any demand from Paul Allen. The feeling I got was that any shift they made was due to how badly the organization got screwed last year because of the chain reaction from what happened with McDowell.

In other words they are no less forgiving of character issues as men they are just evaluating the football risk differently.

Allen has been there every year since Pn'J have been here. The boneheaded comment on the NFL network that they've never seen him there is just that boneheaded and completely ill informed.

If anyone doesn't think PA doesn't stay informed about the potential new acquisitions to his billion dollar business they clearly don't understand Paul Allen.

Pete was explaining to PA why they didn't trade down again the Penny pick and Allen wasn't unhappy. He trusts his FO.

chris98251":3qnsfesv said:

Ok, having watched the first round press conference did anyone notice Paul sitting there by John and Pete, I cannot remember seeing Paul on draft day in the middle of the whole process. I have to wonder if we had a player that had skills but a questionable background on the board and if Paul would have been the yes or no guy on bringing him in with a pick. I know we have had him give a vote on Free Agents in the past but this is new.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

It's possible but really sounds like a reach.

Pretty standard stuff actually. He's usually there for rd 1. The hawks are his high profile toy! That will add to his fortune if he ever sells. Why wouldn't he stop by for the show!

He's teleconferenced in before as well.

I've seen him right there in past years before.

Interesting, but the rap on Allen is that he has always been pretty hands off vis-a-vis football operations.

Sure, he most likely makes his opinions known, but I doubt he'd pull an Al Davis or JJ on us. He trusts his experts.