A New Hope?

Like many others who found nothing else on TV this weekend, I watched a little bit of the NFL Combine. One of the more ingenious things the NFL has done over the last 8 years was airing The Combine live on NFL Network. It finally gave losers like me a chance to see with my own eyes how a NFL Prospect performed, rather than have one of their "experts" tell me what he saw on Total Access later that evening.

If you haven't seen the NFL Combine before, it mildly flirts with homo-eroticism by showcasing these over-muscled and super humanly strong/fast young men in skin tight clothing. While wearing said clothing, these prospects are then asked to go through a litany of football drills. Exactly what purpose does it really serve? Depends on who you ask since the actual evaluators won't let their true feelings be known until Draft Day. Either way though, the NFL Combine has become must-see TV for all NFL Draft Enthusiasts, and I count myself among them.

As I was watching today, I had a bit of an epiphany. Robert Griffin III (RGIII) became the story of the day, as he ran a 4.41 40 yard dash. Obviously RGIII is no stranger to anyone who follows college football since he's the most recent Heisman Trophy winner. Somewhere during the telecast, this question randomly popped into my head:

"Why is Tim Tebow worshipped, and RGIII isn't?

After all, there's nothing individually that Tebow had done in college that RGIII hasn't. RGIII also won the Heisman as Tebow did. RGIII set all kinds of conference records with his performance on the field. Here's the kicker though, RGIII graduated college in December of 2010 with a degree in Political Science, mainly because he wanted to "...get my grad school paid for while I'm already under scholarship". RGIII is aspiring to become a lawyer, and is pursuing his masters in Communications.

In terms of who impresses me off the field? That's not even a contest. There's Tebow and his incessant "I love god, blah, blah, blah" speech that seems to be stuck on "repeat" anytime a microphone is shoved in front of him. Then there's RGIII, who makes prescient statements like "This is unbelievably believable...It's unbelievable because in the moment we're all amazed when great things happen. But it's believable because great things don't happen without hard work." while accepting his Heisman Trophy. Game. Set. Match RGIII.

On the field? We'll have to wait until next season to find out for sure, but for my money I'm going on the record right now, RGIII will be a better QB in his first season than Tebow ever will be for his entire career.

Mark it down, right now. It's already a fact that RGIII is much faster than Tebow. It's already a fact that RGIII has a stronger and more accurate arm than Tebow, and it will soon be fact that RGIII will be drafted much higher than Tebow was.

Which brings me back to my original question. Why isn't RGIII worshipped the same way Tebow was coming out of college? The easy answer is the God Complex which Tebow suffers from appeals to the stupid out there, while I have yet to hear if RGIII mention any reference to an afterlife. The ugly answer is that RGIII's skin tone doesn't match Tebow's, but I don't buy that. Neither answer serves as a satisfactory one for me.

In my opinion, the answer appears to be that the NFL audience hasn't gotten a chance to get to know RGIII in detail yet. The good news is, they will get to know all about him very soon. When they do get to know RGIII, they are going to be very impressed with what they see and hear, on and off the field.

My hope is that they will be so impressed, that Tebow eventually becomes the "Oh Yeah Tebow....whatever happened to that guy?"

Bears/NFL Thoughts

Is anybody else tired, confused, and/or frustrated with the current state of the NFL? I know I certainly am. Even with the recent developments of the NFL Lockout being lifted by Judge Susan Nelson in U.S. District Court, this situation still sucks in my opinion.

Of course I understand that in light of the ruling, the NFL has announced that players will now be able to enter their respective team's facilities for workouts, OTA's/mini-camps, coaches meetings, and offseason rehab programs. The NFL has yet to announce when Free Agency will begin, but that announcement will be coming shortly. I understand and comprehend, that it's looking like the players may actually win this labor dispute at this point, but none of that really means anything to me.

The reason why it means very little to me is a simple one : both sides still don't have a labor deal in place. Both sides are STILL unable to figure out a way to divide a $9.5 BILLION DOLLAR pie. Both sides have wasted a tremendous amount of time engaging in meaningless and ego-fueled pissing contests. Both sides have actually tried to convince the public they're "the good guys" in this dispute, even though most forward-thinking fans see right through it...and that leads me to my own personal bottom line in this: no matter who "wins" this dispute, the fans end up losing.

We're the ones who are receiving the most damage from this. We are the ones that the owners will continue to price gouge once this is over. We are the ones the millionaire players will still complain to about being shortchanged by their contracts. We are the ones who will still be subjected to the blackout rule, one of the most antiquated and unrealistic rules the NFL still has in place. But hey, why should that matter to the NFL right?

Even tonight's draft, an event that is symbolic of the annual NFL Rebirth due to the influx of talent that emerges, has become an afterthought for me. I say this despite the Chicago Bears having a first round selection, and drafting an offensive lineman with that pick. An offensive lineman in Gabe Carimi, that might actually be able to play tackle unlike previous first round draft pick Chris Williams. The Bears still showed that they're the Bears however, by completely botching a proposed trade with the Ravens.

As for the First Round itself,  I think all of the QB's taken in the first round suck to high heaven, and I'm shocked they were taken this high. I'm also shocked at what Atlanta did trading all those picks for Julio Jones. Julio is really not worth all those picks, and good for the Cleveland Browns for making a smart deal. The Niners still proved they have no clue what the draft is about, by taking a 20 year old project at the 7th pick. I'm also convinced that Patrick Peterson will be looked at as the best player to come out of this draft when it's reviewed 3 years from now. 

Until then, I'll continue to barely pay attention to the NFL until they work out a labor deal....even with their attempts to convince us that it's business as usual.

Got Me Wondering

LSU Cornerback Patrick Peterson ran a staggering 4.32 40 yard dash time at the NFL Draft Combine today. This is really remarkable considering Peterson features a 6'1" 219 lb frame which is very large for a cornerback. Obviously that's a very impressive 40 time. A big corner who can run that fast is more than intriguing to NFL Scouts, but the big question that invariably comes up, is this the mark of a football player or just another workout warrior who can do everything except play football at an NFL level.

Fortunately for Peterson, he has the game tape to back up his impressive Combine workout as he is projected to be a top 5 pick. Still, I couldn't help but wonder about how many workout warriors of Combines Past ended up being worth anything in the NFL. Then as if right on cue, NFL Network in conjunction with Realclearsports.com put together this list of Top Ten Workout Warriors. Click on the picture above to start your walk down memory lane or click here.

Some of the (ahem) highlights besides Mike Mamula, include the player that began my distrust of Lovie Smith....Adam Archuleta (pictured above with his smoking hot wife). ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Draft Grades

Ran across this fun little article on draftclass.com. It was written on May 1, 2007 and it serves as a huge reason why I will never give out team "grades" immediately after the draft concludes because it's just impossible to know if your team had a good draft until three years after the fact. Case in point, the Chicago Bears got a B+ grade even though now most Bear fans have come to accept that the 2007 draft was nothing short of a complete DUD.

"Chicago so desperately needed to add a playmaker to their offense to help Rex Grossman, and getting Olsen at 31 is a steal. The Bears expect to be back in the Super Bowl next season, and there was no single player in the draft outside the top-10 that would help them achieve that more than Olsen."

Keep in mind that Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch, Darrelle Revis, Michael Griffin, Brandon Merriweather, and Jon Beason were all taken after the top ten picks. They have also made Pro Bowls since that time, while the farthest Greg Olsen has gotten is 2nd Alternate in 2009 and is now on a team that does not have a use for him.

I won't crucify the author too much though because some of his projections were accurate i.e. predicting Revis would be a shutdown corner in the NFL. You can read the entire thing here. Kind of makes you wonder why Mel Kiper is as successful as he is doesn't it?

Draft Stuff

I think you realize where I'm going to start with this, but overall this was one of the weirdest drafts I can recall. Players that were drafted way above or below where they would normally be selected, and teams doing things in direct opposite of their normal Draft M.O. Not to mention I really didn't care for the Thursday & Friday Night Prime Time Airings which ultimately made the long event that is the draft, even longer. Also, I want to make perfectly clear that I'm not going to "grade" or give "winners and losers" of the draft because we just don't actually know if a team had a good or bad draft until three years from now.

With that said, here's some more observations regarding the 2010 NFL Draft :

• This draft managed to combine two sports entities that I despise, into one doomed-to-fail marriage with Denver trading three picks to Baltimore to move up and draft Tim "Jesus Christ" Tebow. There's so much to pick apart here it's baffling. Tebow, at best case scenario, is a three year project before he's ready to play quarterback in the NFL. That's the BEST case scenario. The worst (and most likely) scenario is that Tebow ends up a washout. For Denver to not only trade three picks to get him, but also commit first round guaranteed money for a guy who's a project is just silly. First round picks are spent on guys you expect to contribute right away, not for "Development". As a team, you just don't commit all that money to a guy like that, especially when the coach that's drafting him might not even be coaching the team by the time Tebow's ready! Like I said earlier though, this allows both Tebow and McDaniels to be put under one Umbrella of Hatred for The Beard, and for that I salute them.



• "Is Jimmy Clausen an Axe-Murderer"? That's probably the best reaction I heard during his notorious draft sliiiiiiide into the second round before he became a Carolina Panther. It was pretty remarkable seeing a guy who is way more polished as quarterback than Tebow be taken in the second round. Clausen has a good arm with a quick release, very accurate in the short passing game, has run a pro-style offense during his tenure, yet Tebow goes before he does? Not that I particularly like Jimmy Clausen, but if it were up to me and I needed to draft a QB out of this bunch, Clausen is a much more stable selection despite his perceived "Dickheaded-ness".



• Sorry Whitey, but the Baltimore Ravens continued to be a team that is willing to make bold, big-nuts, draft picks, with their selections of Sergio Kindle and Terrance Cody both in the second round. Kindle and Cody both have red flags attached to them, but red flags never scared Ozzie Newsome and he's been right more often than not as he's produced 11 Pro Bowl players over his tenure as GM. If they work out they might have shored up a defense, that finished as the #3 defense in the league last year.



• Is it me, or do the Detroit Lions look like they know what they're doing? Not only did they land Ndamukong Suh - who's been called the best college football player in the last twenty years - but they also traded up to get Cal Running Back Javid Best who is better than most people think. Couple those picks with the free agent signings of Nate Burleson and Kyle Vanden Bosch to go along with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson....and it's not out of the question to say these aren't your sisters Detroit Lions anymore.



• Speaking of knowing what they're doing, BOTH Bay Area teams really went against the grain and made logical need picks this time. The Raiders were expected to take Bruce Campbell at #8, and the got him at #106. They did reach by taking McClain at #8 because now McClain is the highest picked Inside Linebacker ever taken in the last 15 years. They did help him out though by selecting Lamarr Houston to play DT in front of him. Their best move of the draft though, was obtaining Jason Campbell from the Redskins. With Campbell, they finally get a stable QB that looks like he's played football before, and with this story on profootballtalk.com, the end of the JaJokeus Russell era may finally be over.



• On the other side of the Bay, the Niners made some pretty interesting picks as well. They still don't have a quarterback, but whoever lines up under center will have two new offensive lineman with Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati. Davis might end up a bust, but Iupati looks like he could be good. The pick that most intrigued me though was Taylor Mays in the second round. I like Mays because he's not only very talented physically, but I'll take my chances on a guy who opts to make a big hit rather than play the ball in coverage. A conversion to linebacker is not out of the question in my opinion...



• The one team that really impressed me this draft, as well as this entire offseason is the New York Jets. The Jets picked up Antonio Cromartie to lineup opposite Darrelle Revis at corner, so naturally they drafted a cornerback - some say the best corner in the draft - in Kyle Wilson. This pick actually makes sense simply because the Jets, and their #1 ranked defense, is a very blitz happy scheme which demands excellent man to man coverage from their secondary. With Wilson, they got deeper at a position that is pivotal for their defensive scheme to work. They also picked up Josh McKnight from USC, who I think his football speed is a lot faster than his 40 time. Their second round selection of Vlad Ducasse makes Alan Faneca expendable and there is one team in the Midwest that should be VERY interested in Faneca...



• ...And that team is the Chicago Bears. Faneca would be a huge addition for the Bears simply because they are going to need offensive lineman that know what they are doing. Faneca more than fits that bill. Hopefully they pull the trigger on him. As far as the Bears draft is concerned - ehhh...Major Wright joins the list of safeties they've drafted over the years in Chris Harris, Al Afalava, Danieal Manning, and Craig Steltz. Corey Wooten just strikes me as a "guy". Is it too much of a stretch to ask Dan LeFevour to be better than Caleb Hanie??

Things I'm Watching For In The NFL Draft

Tomorrow begins the 2010 NFL Draft. Yeah it still doesn't seem right. The Draft has always been an arduous all day event taking place on a Saturday and usually ends up with a lot of people day drinking, talking about how great their team is going to be next year. Now it's being divided up into a Prime Time event beginning Thursday Night.

Oh well, I guess we'll all have to make due somehow. With that in mind, here are some things The Beard will be keeping an eye on:

• The first and most obvious thing is not IF, but WHEN and WHOM will be trading for scumbag Ben Roethlisberger? Fresh off the heels of Goodell's 6 - but really 4 game suspension, the report is that the Steelers are taking The Beards' advice and are actively trying to trade him. Good for the Steelers and good luck for anyone that ends up with Captain Dick-Out. Odds are they can get the best return for him if they trade him during the draft. So I'm expecting it happens at some point this week.
• Speaking of character issues, I'm very curious to see where Jimmy Clausen and Dez Bryant end up? My sources say Buffalo take Clausen at # 9, and New England taking Bryant at # 22. Either way, any team that takes them will be getting guys with not only questionable judgement, but also need work too, especially with Bryant's 4.54 40 time.
• I'll also be curious to see if the Raiders are still stuck in the dark ages of "The Raider Way" and pick Bruce Campbell. Campbell wowed everyone at the combine during drills, and his measurables are off the chart. So what's the problem? Well he doesn't have ONE stinking award in college, and he never even made ACC All Conference. That has "Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane" written all over him. Then again Robert Gallery had a ton of awards, and that didn't exactly work either...
• And finally, I have a sneaking suspicion that someone will take Tim Tebow in the first round. I really don't want to think that, but I believe someone will be that stupid. Despite the report that one anonymous AFC GM said there is no way they would want Tebow in THEIR locker room, I just have a gut feeling he'll be selected in the first round. You heard it here first...