First Round Thoughts

I thought it was interesting that Jets fans who were at the draft didn't seem too perturbed that they didn't draft Matt Leinart. The way it was being reported was that skipping Leinart would be a public relations disaster for the Jets. Apparently not. Jets' fans in the stands cheered the selection of Ferguson (and later booed Herm Edwards) and later did the "overrated" chant when Leinart was picked by Arizona. Granted, the guys who take the time to go to the draft may have more football knowledge and realize how much line help the Jets need. By the way, the Giants are supposed to have the much bigger New York fan base, so why don't they seem to have as big a presence at the draft?

Speaking of Leinart to Arizona, it's becoming a trend. Every time Kurt Warner seems to solidify with a new team, they draft a quarterback early. First, it was Eli Manning in New York. Now, Leinart.

The other interesting thing is that Leinart supposedly fired Leigh Steinberg because he believed he should be the number one pick and thought Tom Condon could get it done. Then, one of the reasons given for Leinart dropping in the mock drafts was the fact that changing agents late in the game makes NFL executives nervous. And suddenly, he's the 10th pick.

Why is Ray Lewis griping about not being able to make plays without his defensive tackles keeping the blockers off him? Isn't he God's gift to defense? Shouldn't he be able to knock all five offensive linemen on their butt? Maybe he wants someone in front of him to mask his declining skills.

When Merrill Hoge was talking about Antonio Cromartie (a bit of a project at cornerback drafted in the first round by San Diego), he said that the highlight films showed Cromartie making interceptions of poor passes which he won't see in the NFL. Does Hoge watch the NFL anymore? Aaron Brooks threw a pass to the referee standing behind him, and he's projected to start for the Raiders.

ESPN really covered themselves in glory with their little Sportscenter break-in where they said Vince Young would get to play with his good friend Steve McNair at Tennessee. Let's see. I know that McNair hasn't been allowed to work out at the Titans facility because they are most likely going to dump him. Shouldn't ESPN know that?

I had an interesting thought during Sean Salibury's interviews with Trent Green. ESPN should fire Salibury and hire Green. Not only is he a better QB (Salisbury's five year career numbers were 3824 yards and 19 TDs; Green averaged 4023 yards and 22 TDs in each of his five KC seasons), he doesn't come across as a dick.

Do they let the guys waiting in the Green Room drink? I think they should have an open bar and a laptop for the players. Leinart really didn't have to wait long, but wouldn't Aaron Rodgers' five hour wait last year have been so much funnier if he got hammered and started surfing porn? Or asked Suzy Kolber for a lap dance (which would have been an improvement over her interview skills)?

Thank God. When they said the Steelers traded up with the Giants, I was really hoping it was for Santonio Holmes and not Lendale White. Maybe all the problems (laziness, getting fat) White has had since the end of the season are the result of a hamstring pull that he had diagnosed by a chiropractor, but it's been reported that White blew a pre-draft drug test.

Michael Irvin is such an idiot. He felt the need to ridicule Mario Williams by asking what N.C. State's record was last year after a third member of their defense was drafted in the first round. It was 6-5, but it doesn't mean the defense (or more specifically the defensive line) was the main problem. By the way, why didn't he ask that about Florida State since they had four defensive players taken in the first round, but lost to N.C. State? His drug ravaged brain can't process information as fast as a doorknob.

Now, Ohio State just had their fourth first round pick. Considering that they are losing all their starting linebackers and most of their defensive backfield, I'm not sure why so many are picking them as the number one team next year. Granted, at Ohio State, you re-load, but still, that's a big hit.

Okay. Once again, doesn't anyone at ESPN do research? They are discussing the possibility of Lendale White dropping out of the first round, and not one of them mentioned a newspaper report of him flunking a drug test. Trey Wingo and his staff of dummies do mention character injuries, but they only mention him not working out. The workout issue dropped him to later in the first round. The drug test report is dropping him out. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. It's causing a problem for him. Finally, Ed Werner mentions it. Wouldn't it have been better when they were having a group discussion on it?