Thursday, April 22, 2004

Wow. I love starting out columns that way, but this past Monday was one of the most active days in Boston sports history. Definately the most active since April 2002 when the Sox, C';s and B's all played and won in the same day, and the pats traded Drew Bledsoe after just winning the Super Bowl. Plus there was that whole marathon thing... Let's just run down the list from this year.

11:05 AM - Sox v. Yanks IV. Yes, that was Bronson Arroyo outpitching Kevin "90 freakin' million dollars" Brown. Yes, that was A-Rod going 1-17 in the series, with the one hit coming in the top of the ninth inning in the last game. Was it really two weeks ago I was saying he could end up as the AL MVP? Oops.

Sometime around 2PM - This is something I've never understood. I can see the fun of having the annual Patriot's Day Red Sox game end in time for the fans to empty out into Kenmore Square and watch the runners from the Boston Marathon pass through. But it also creates one of the nastiest clumps of people you can imagine, with thousands of drunk college students squashed between 30,000 drunk Red Sox fans, squashing hundreds of thousands of sweaty, exhausted (and possibly drunk) marathoners. Dunno, to me, I'd prefer to have the seventh inning stretch be around the time the marathoners come through, and put the live feed up on the jumbotron.

Sometime around 2:30PM - A Kenyan wins the Boston Marathon? I'm stunned...

5PM-ish - I'm in my car leaving work when I hear the news. The Patriots have traded with the Bengals to acquire Corey Dillon, and I almost crashed my car. Let me tell you something; I love this deal. Think about it this way:

2002 - Patriots trade Tebucky Jones to New Orleans for an '03 third-round draft pick.

2003 - Dolphins decide that they need a 2003 third-round draft pick, and trade with New England. The Pats gave up an extra 2003 third-round pick, and get a 2004 second-rounder.

2004 - Bengals send Corey Dillon to Patriots for a 2004 second-round pick.

So, essentially, the Patriots got Corey Dillon for Tebucky Jones. Wow. And even better, if they decide they don't like Dillon, they can cut him and not absorb a cap hit, because they traded for him rather than signed him.

Boston sports radio has been split almost directly down the middle since this deal went down, because many of the "analysts" say Dillon is too much of a head case to warrant a 2nd round pick. I'll tell you what; in any situation where everyone is split down the middle, I''l defer to the expertise of Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli; I think they've earned the respect.

7PM-ish - The Bruins begin the end of what might have been a worse collapse that the Red Sox in last year's ALCS. How in the hell did they blow a 3-1 series lead? At least the Sox were down 3 games to 2 before coming back and ultimately failing. But the Bruins took command of the series, then just flat out didn't show up in the final three games! Game seven was good until Raycroft lost sight of the puck late in the third period after Marty LaPointe took an asinine boarding penalty. But I still put the series loss on two people: Head Coach Mike Sullivan, and Team Captain Joe Thornton.

After going up 3-1, the first thing a coach HAS to do is make sure his team doesn't get complacent. Thats exactly what the Bruins did; they figured they had enough time to close out the series, and they had no intensity whatsoever until Game 7, and by then, it was too late.

Joe Thornton has yet to show up for a playoff series, playing in all seven games this year and failing to record a point. True, he had an injury. But if it was that bad, he shouldn't have been on the ice, plain and simple.

And I refuse to comment on the Celtics' playoff showing. As a caller on the radio said yesterday, "No one can talk about the Celtics until the NBA actually makes the ratings book" For those of you who don't know, the caller was referring to the fact that the NBA playoffs are getting lower ratings than pro soccer in some NBA cities, and no, I'm NOT making that up.

Back to the NFL.

I know what I said last week about the Chargers not dumping the #1 overall pick in this weekend's NFL draft, but at this point, it looks all but inevitable. Especially now that Eli Manning and his father have come out and said that he doesn't want to play in San Diego, he wants to be in New York. I can't really blame him either. His father, Archie, and brother, Peyton, played their entire careers (to date) in relative marketing anonymity. Eli sees the dollar signs in the Big Apple and has decided he wants a piece of the action. Here's hoping he turns out to be more Jeremy Shockey (marketing magnet) than Kerry Collins (alcoholic, mediocre, at best, QB).

So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to write out a column today with my first-round draft board based upon the drafting order AT THIS VERY MINUTE (San Diego #1, NYG #4), but if things change, I take no responsibility for being wrong. Glad I absolved myself so easily...

Pick

Team

Player

School

Position

Grade

1

San Diego

Robert Gallery

Iowa

T

A+

Why:

Drew Brees can get it done, just get him some protection

2

Oakland

Larry Fitzgerald

Pittsburgh

WR

A

Why:

Who better to learn from than Jerry Rice, the man he was compared to in college

3

Arizona

Roy Williams

Texas

WR

A

Why:

Dennis Green swears he will stay with Josh McCown, but this pick might still end up as QB

4

New York Giants

Eli Manning

So. Miss.

QB

A+

Why:

Manning falls into the Giants' lap here after he cools on the Chargers.

5

Washington

Kellen Winslow Jr.

Miami

TE

B+

Why:

Bit of a head case, but he's going to be a star. Look for Joe Gibbs to fix Winslow up

6

Detroit

Sean Taylor

Miami

S

A+

Why:

Best athlete in the draft, period. See rumors section for an update

7

Cleveland

Philip Rivers

N.C. State

QB

A+

Why:

Jeff Garcia is not a long-term solution. Neither were Tim Couch or Kelly Holcomb

8

Atlanta

DeAngelo Hall

Virginia Tech

CB

A

Why:

Helluva player, and the Falcons need more of those. This secondary needs a major overhaul

9

Jacksonville

Rashaun Woods

OK State

WR

A-

Why:

They might make a move to get a D-lineman, but they need a receiver more

10

Houston

Kenechi Udeze

USC

DE

A

Why:

Best D-Lineman available, of course David Carr probably wants more targets first?/SPAN>

11

Pittsburgh

Ben Rothlisberger

Miami (OH)

QB

A-

Why:

A few months ago, he was #1 QB. Now? He's 3rd QB, 11th overall, and a Steeler. Ouch

12

New York Jets

Tommie Harris

Oklahoma

DT

B+

Why:

Very solid D-lineman who benefitted from a good system. He will fit in well, eventually

13

Buffalo

Reggie Williams

Washington

WR

B+

Why:

They wanted a QB to groom after Bledsoe, but they'll settle for a #2 WR. They need a O-lineman

14

Chicago

Vince Wolfork

Miami

DT

A

Why:

Not sure how he falls this far, but Chicago get a gift with the best run-stopper in the draft

15

Tampa Bay

Steven Jackson

Oregon State

RB

B+

Why:

Charlie Garner is not going to get it done over the long haul, and this is a good value pick

16

San Francisco

Dunta Robinson

South Carolina

CB

B+

Why:

Like I've said, their secondary is horrible. The offense won't be too good this year, either.

17

Denver

Kevin Jones

Virginia Tech

RB

A-

Why:

They'll lose out on Jackson to TB or Detroit, so they'll have to "settle" for Kevin Jones. Not too bad

18

New Orleans

Chris Gamble

Ohio State

CB

C+

Why:

Poor selection. He's a great corner who wants to be a grear receiver. Takes way too many chances

19

Minnesota

Johnathan Vilma

Miami

LB

A

Why:

No reason for Vilma to be available here, but if he is, the Vikes get him in a heartbeat

20

Miami

Will Smith

Ohio State

DE

B+

Why:

This D-Line is going to be ridiculously good next year. Let's see if they can make the playoffs

21

New England

D.J. Williams

Miami

LB

A-

Why:

Don't need a RB anymore, so focus shifts to younger Linebackers and O-Lineman

22

Dallas

Greg Jones

Florida State

RB

B

Why:

Maybe a little early, but they need a RB and he's best available. Unless Maurice Clarett is back in

23

Seattle

Karlos Dansby

Auburn

LB

B

Why:

They need defense, linebackers first. Simple as that.

24

Cincinatti

Randy Starks

Maryland

DT

B+

Why:

Nothing of value available, so Cincy fills in void with best available at the needed positions

25

Green Bay

Jason Babin

Michigan State

DE

B+

Why:

Pack needs defense (Hello 4th and 26), but Babin would probably be availabe in round 2

26

St. Louis

Will Poole

USC

CB

A-

Why:

Very good CB on a team that needs secondary help. Jason Sehorn just isn't that good.

27

Tennessee

Michael Clayton

LSU

WR

A-

Why:

Can you imagine Steve McNair if they give him an actual #1 receiver?

28

Philadelphia

Darnell Dockett

Florida State

DT

B+

Why:

Everyone ran on Philly last year, Dockett shores up the middle of the D-line

29

Indianapolis

Antwan Odom

Alabama

DE

B

Why:

Could have gone as high as 19, but Indy needs all the defense they can get. Offense needs nothing

30

Kansas City

Marquise Hill

LSU

DE

B+

Why:

See above...

31

Carolina

Jacob Rogers

USC

T

B

Why:

Only a "B" because of position in draft. Big, strong, impact lineman.

32

New England

Vernon Carey

Miami

G

B

Why:

Same as Rogers; New England getting two players from Miami in first round...

RUMORS AND LIES...

Few big rumors aside from the standard Giants / Charger swap...

Big new rumor involving Pats, 'Phins and 'Skins/Lions has New England packaging overall picks #32 (1st rd.) & #63 (2nd rd.) to get Miami's #20 overall, then taking #20 & #21 to move up to either #5 or 6 and get Sean Taylor OR DeAngelo Hall to make moving Ty Law that much easier. Very interesting moves here, but I don't see a guy like Belichick sacrificing that many picks for one guy. I mean, he's not Mike Ditka...

Cleveland is looking to move down and plan for the future, with possible trade partners being Houston or San Fran. If Taylor or Hall is still available at #7 though, don't be surprised if New England slides in to the fray too...

Dallas really wants a running back, and might not want to chance their position at #22. Big Bill could pull off a position swap with Minnesota or Miami if he thinks he can get a better back.

No question the guy getting screwed over the most this year is Mike Williams. He rode on the coattails of the Clarett decision, right up to a top 10 draft spot, only to find out he wouldn't be allowed in the draft. Now, he might get back in the night before, but teams probably won't be ready for him and will have their own plans in place. And in a supplimental draft, he'd go ahead of Clarett, but he won't get paid the standard "first-rounder" salary. Tough break kid. Go back to USC and wait a year...

So this weekend, we will have the newest crop of NFL'ers to join the group. But don't be surprised if one, two, or forty-eight trades are made between now and then, because this draft has the potential to switch everyone, everywhere. No one has made up their minds yet, and they're all on the clock...


posted by Big D @ 12:00 AM 0 comments