Sports
NFL pick off report: the draft
Sports Reporter
Alright, I said I’d do it. I don’t want to, but I am a man of my word; I will talk about this past weekend’s NFL draft. Mind you, I will speak of the draft this one time and one time only! The talking heads of the sports writing world will be dragging it out for months yet but not me! I’ll roll up my sleeves, clothespin my nose and dig into this steaming pile once.
Quarterback controversies
Funny title, isn’t it? Let’s look at the teams the top quarterback prospects went to: Atlanta, Baltimore and Green Bay. For their to be a quarterback controversy, there would need to be competition between quarterbacks. Matt Ryan will most likely be a starter in 2008 by default. He’s the Falcons new toy; they’ve already tried Chris Redman and Joey Harrington and thrown them to the other side of the sandbox.
Joe Flacco will likewise assume a starting role for the Ravens with the retirement of Steve McNair and the fact that Kyle Boller deserves about as much respect as a starting quarterback as Zach Braff would deserve as a professional wrestler. And Brian Bohm must be somewhat bummed about going to Green Bay where Aaron Rodgers has been branded the starter since Brett Favre hung up his jock strap. However, if Rodgers’ training wheels fall off early in the season, Bohm may see significant playing time. New England also drafted some quarterback as well. His name isn’t important; he’s probably having his blood drained out of his body right now.
Draft throws out some offensive lines
Regardless of quarterback’s status for their team, they ought to be well protected in 2008. The key to being drafted this year apparently was to have “offensive lineman” on your resume. These unsung heroes were grabbed with such voracity, it’s a wonder there is flesh left on their 200-plus pound bodies.
Darren McFadden: Welcome to Thunderdome!
The Oakland Raiders drafted this year’s top skill position player, running back Darren McFadden. Why? The Raiders already had three quality running backs under contract. Raiders’ owner Al Davis is, however, possibly the most spiteful man in the NFL, and likely drafted McFadden so he could say he has him and nobody else can. The signing of McFadden let to the cutting loose of Dominic Rhodes who should probably just swallow his pride and sign with the Bears out of pity. McFadden should also not make playoff plans anytime soon. There’s nothing like a stint in Oakland to suck the competitive spirit out of a player.
Chiefs high on the totem?
Not bloody likely! The Kansas City Chiefs have been being touted as having the best draft of any team in the NFL. Great. Good for them. It’s a real feather in their cap. What people seem to ignore is the fact that they are still the Kansas City Chiefs. They did not address their quarterback issues; Brodie Croyle sounds more like the name of the singer of a really awful band than a starting NFL quarterback. He also has played about as well as one. The Chiefs will have their flashes of brilliance before finishing with a sub par record.
There, happy? I talked about the draft. Now we can return to discussing real matters of the football off-season, like why T.O. is suing an internet porn company.
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