|
|
Well Texan fans, I'm with you....what the hell happened? Mario Williams is a monster, a beast, a force at a young age as a defensive end. Any other year this would have been a decent pick. But you DO NOT pass up a player like Reggie Bush!! Anybody who ever watched Bush play in college, with his Vick-esque ability to dazzle and his soft-spoken yet fiery leadership would have been salivating to have the chance to draft him whenever they could. Imagine Bush and a rejuvenated David Carr in the backfield for years to come. Would've been sweet for the Texans, huh? Apparently, they didn't see it that way. Regardless of their reasoning and no matter how good Dominick James is as their incumbent running back, they blew this one. Maybe the Texans felt bad for New Orleans after Katrina and wanted to give them a gift. They certainly did in Bush, who will be revered in New Orleans. He's a young, charismatic and uber-talented player that is just what the city needs right now and if he can stay healthy (a long-time concern for New Orleans running backs. See Deuce McAllister) the Saints will immediately improve. By adding Drew Brees (a vast improvement in consistency at quarterback) and now having Bush land in their laps, they will perhaps improve by leaps and bounds. The releasing of Aaron Brooks, as he's been replaced with the more proven Brees, will have no ill effect whatsoever (incidentally, Brooks is now a Raider. Hopefully his talent and not his inconsistency followed with him). Bush falling to pick #2 wasn't the only major surprise of the draft, but it was certainly the biggest shock.
His teammate, Matt Leinart, fell all the way (#10) to a waiting and smirking Cardinals franchise that improved immensely last season and has a cadre of young talent that could be scary in a couple of years. The Titans, Jets, Raiders, Bills and Lions all had a chance to draft the deft lefty as the franchise quarterback they need for years to come. Those teams instead drafted, in order: #3 Vince Young (QB) #4 D'Brickashaw Ferguson (OT), #7 Michael Huff (SS) #8 Donte Whitner (SS), and #9 Ernie Sims (LB). Young is a major talent and was perhaps too sexy to pass up, but he isn't as game-ready as Leinart and the Titans need someone to step in right away. Ferguson is a monster, but there are many who claim he's overrated (we'll see, I personally don't think so. I think he's gonna be a pro-bowler for years) and the Jets NEED a quarterback more than any other team in the league with Pennington's body being unreliable. The Raiders (my boys for many years now) got a really tough, hard-hitting guy in Huff, but they also let their starting quarterback go and have only castoff Aaron Brooks and an inexperienced (yet grizzled veteran), Marques Tuiosisopo under center this season. The Bills are putting an awful lot of faith in JP Losman, who hasn't shown any consistency or leadership since acquiring the starting QB role. After the Joey Harrington debacle, and with all those young athletic wide receivers, Detroit is the team that would've benefitted most from Leinart for years to come. Instead they drafted Sims, who is an outstanding linebacker and could be a pro-bowl player. Not a bad pick if they didn't so desperately need a quarterback, but they DO. All of these teams would have benefitted more from Leinart than from the player they drafted. Instead, they allowed him to fall to Arizona, and now Arizona can be mentioned as a team to watch out for without falling on the floor laughing.
The first round of this draft was the most defensive-oriented in recent memory. Only 13 of the 32 first round picks were used on offensive players, and 3 of those are offensive lineman. The first 10 picks are usually made up of skill position picks like quarterback, wide receiver and running back, with the occasional defensive player that has monstrous ability (Jevon Kearse, example) squeezing in there. This time we see only Bush (RB) Young (QB) Vernon Davis (San Francisco 49ers, #6 pick, TE) and Leinart (QB) selected in the Top Ten. In an almost unprecented lack of talent at wide receiver, this draft saw the first taken with the #25 pick, WR Santonio Holmes to the Steelers. Perhaps teams are scared after watching Indy have such a potent offense the last few years and still not win the big one (not even MAKE it to the big one). Seeing the Patriots win with defense and passion has turned the tables on what teams look for when drafting players now, and that appears to be character and defensive ability. To wit: Winston Justice of USC is a monster offensive lineman who has Top 15 talent and would've gone high in previous drafts on his mind-boggling combine workouts alone, but he wasn't even drafted in the first round because of off-the-field concerns about his character and personality. He went to the Eagles in the 2nd round with the #39 pick, a steal for Philly and further proof that NFL management have tired of young men with baggage enough to match their prodigous talent. Another trend in this draft is the high drafting of Tight Ends, in a desperate attempt to find the next Antonio Gates. There are an increasing number of young tight ends that are more skilled and athletic than in the past, so expect this trend to continue for a few years.
All told, it was a surprising first round. The players of USC seemed to get dissed a little here, with Bush falling from top pick and Leinart lasting all the way to tenth, plus the aforementioned Winston Justice situation. Snubbing Bush and Leinart was not a wise move, and expect those young guys to flay the teams that passed them up alive in the next few years. They're the kind of players that don't forget, and take things personally. That's bad news for the Texans, Titans, Jets, Raiders, Bills and Lions.
On a personal note, I was devastated when the Raiders passed Leinart up. True we haven't had the greatest luck with surfer-boy lefty quarterbacks (see Todd Marinovich) but Leinart is different. He's mature, savvy, and used to celebrity. He's got roots in Southern California, having lead the Trojans to 2 straight national titles, and you can tell he loves it there. This should've been a no-brainer pick for the Raiders. Michael Huff is a great young defensive backfield talent, but he's not a potential franchise quarterback. You just can't pass guys like this up, and I'm upset with my team. With the notable exception of Robert Gallery and a few defensive pickups (Stew Scweigart, Napolean Harris) they haven't been the savviest draft-day movers.
I'm not going to get into details about the subsequent rounds, because the NFL draft just goes on and on and on. Suffice it to say, the Panthers, Patriots and Steelers all drafted very well as usual (there's a REASON why those teams are perennial powers and it's not payroll) and once again the Raiders concentrated mostly on defense, although this year (unlike others with the same kind of draft-day decisions) they needed it. The team to watch out for is the Cardinals, after scoring Leinart and excellent pieces for their offensive line to protect their new quarterback. As always there were winners and losers on draft day, but never before have the losers so blatently put themselves in that position. Bush and Leinart were disrespected, and that will haunt the teams that passed on them for years to come.
Technorati Tags
nfl
nfl draft
football
reggie bush
bush
matt leinart
Sir Smittius
|
|
|
