Sportsattitude

Thank goodness the NFL finally saw the error of their ways and speeded up the time between picks of their annual roll-of-the-dice Draft.  I mean, considering the fact you’re throwing money at guys who in some cases may never start more than a handful of games in their “career” and you’ve had…oh…four solid months to talk day and night about who you want…how much time do you need?

One of the funniest things I saw/heard on ESPN’s coverage (yes, I went with the Evil Empire - with the sound up! - instead of the NFL Network) was analyst Cris Carter saying one of the key things he would look for in the Draft was if any teams made a panicked move by having less time.  He kept referring to this apparently gigantic decision to cut a few minutes off the selection process as “the new NFL.”  Please.

Another thing I found amusing was road correspondent Wendi Nix saying the Chiefs would not be drafting Boston College QB Matt Ryan because they did not believe they had the pieces around him for Ryan to be successful.  Did you hear that Chief season-ticket holders?  That’s the reasoning why you start the year at QB with Brodie Croyle, or whomever staggers to the top of your depth chart.  Rarely do you hear such an honest assessment of how bad off your team is, or such a dumb reason not to pick a QB when everyone in America is screaming there is no franchise quarterback potential next year (even though by next year at least a couple of guys will magically be deemed worthy).  Of course, since the Chiefs traded their best defensive player Jared Allen earlier in the week for a number of picks, that was the neon “REBUILDING” sign now hung out in K.C.  I don’t blame them one bit since I think they are awful and need a lot of help…and Allen did not sound like HC Herm Edwards’ kinda guy off the field…but I think they should have gone QB early on.

Teams who did go QB early on were fascinating to me…

Baltimore - Joe Flacco from Delaware, who I think has as much potential as Ryan.  Great pick…forget that I-AA stuff.  Remember the guy who just retired from there, Steve McNair?  Alcorn State.

Green Bay - Brian Brohm from Louisville, who I agree with everyone got a raw deal his last year with the Cardinals via a new HC, a new system, lousy receivers, a defense that rarely defended, etc.  It wasn’t enough for Aaron Rodgers to try to take over with legend Brett Favre asking him every five minutes…”hey, buddy.  Feeling ok?  Need a break?”  No, now there will be even more back-seat driving in the stands there.  Then again, maybe the Packers are doing everything they can to keep Brett away, driving as many human wedges between him and unretiring as possible.

Miami - Bill Parcells got his new Phil Simms in the form of Michigan’s Chad Henne, who just made current #1 (?) John Beck the South’s version of Aaron Rodgers.  Don’t hurt yourself looking over your shoulder, John. 

Continuing the Dolphin theme, the best line of the day for me came from of all people, Chris Berman (not exactly a SA favorite) who said during a shot of Parcells - “there’s Bill Parcells.  He’s not with us now…but he’ll be with us in about four years.”  Needless to say, it speaks to Bill’s M.O. to get GM cash, do what he can to get the Fish swimming in the right direction within a finite time frame, and then get more cash to go back to saying nothing of any relevance on national TV…for more cash.

Things I liked…

The Steelers getting Rashard Mendenhall from Illinois down at #23.  Great pick and I think he has as much potential as Darren McFadden, who went way, way earlier to the Raiders.  (Good luck with that, Darren)  Pittsburgh later got Limas Sweed, a big-time receiver from Texas.  Offense returns to the Steel City if these guys play up to the potential I and the Steelers believe they have.

The Ravens, after getting Flacco, picked Ray Rice from Rutgers.  I think pound-for-pound he displayed more heart during his college career than anyone drafted, and needless to say Baltimore also should see more points on the board down the road if these two turn out as I and the Ravens think.

Final draft thought is about Keyshawn Johnson’s outfit, from which my eyes are still bleeding.  Was that a cream-colored suit with a black & white patterned shirt and a pink tie?  Was it?