Thank you, God.
Thank you for the end of the two-month-long NFL draft.
Now, if you can do something about the ringing of Kiper and Berman in my ears, I'd appreciate it.
Whew.
The NFL draft and the final month before college's national signing day have about as much substance as an "Entertainment Tonight" marathon. Never are the words "maybe" and "could" and "possibly" and "chance" and "if" and "perhaps" and "possibly" and "should" and "might" and "can" so much part of alleged expertise.
How does a mock draft change daily? Because player personnel people fib to the crock draftmeisters. Why does it change daily? Because there's one born every minute and this is a nation of 300 million suckers.
I like some speculation. It's fun. Really, I do. But hourly? And with absolutely no accountability?
Perfect example of what a crock the mocks are is Macon's own Kareem Jackson. Mocks had him on average about 25th or lower in the first round, with several steering him to the second round.
Some said he was slow, others noted his quality speed. Some said he wasn't fundamentally sound, others note the elite technique from playing at Alabama.
He said before the draft that about half of the NFL had contacted him or his agent. One of the other half that expressed no interest? The Houston Texans.
Who drafted Jackson and spent two days raving about how thrilled they were?
The Houston Texans.
Vic Ketchman of Jaguars.com checked in on obsessive guessing:
"If you were able to look at every team’s board, I think you would be surprised at how different they are. It’s not just mine. I’ll give you an example. Kareem Jackson, the cornerback from Alabama, is a player of a wide diversity of opinion. Some teams think he might be the best of the cornerback crop. The Cal defensive tackle, Tyson Alualu, is another such player. Some teams wrinkle their nose at him, while others are crazy about him.
"What I give you are 32 names I believe would be on most boards. Then I call some people I know and check it with them, and I get comments such as, “I like what you’ve done,” or “You have him too low,” etc. Please, don’t take this too seriously." Sound familiar? Similar sermons have been been voiced from my soapbox for a couple decades.
Football fans bemoan the end of this draft period, and to a point, I agree with them. The post-draft talk was much more enjoyable, because now we can put names to teams and positions and needs, and start thinking about trading blocks and mini-camps and actual football.
But there is one great, great thing about this conclusion:
Berman and Kiper go into different lengths of hibernation.
LOUGHDMOUTHINGS
How Jacksonville didn't do something to get Tim Tebow does not speak well for the franchise's future, and that topic has been debated for months.
Do you take him with the 10th pick, when you have other needs? No. Do you trade up to get him perhaps late in the first or early in the second yes?
Did anybody think any other team would move up to get Tebow? Not a chance.
The Jaguars are on the precipice of folding or moving, and conventional wisdom was that Tebow - even while holding a clipboard - would revive the city's interest in the team, mismanaged as it may be.
Arrogance qualifies as mismanagement, so meet general manager Gene Smith, whose first pick of the draft of Tyson Alualu stunned absolutely everybody.
As he shared with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King:
"This is not a popularity contest. I don't give a damn about perception. I care about picking the right player for our team. My attitude is, 'You can outsmart people some of the time, but you can outwork them all of the time.' If you can't trust your ability to judge players after all the work you put in on them, you shouldn't be in this business."
Under most circumstances, a team can stretch a little bit, but not a full round or so and not at No 10 and not when - yes, in this case - you need to make a splash. This wasn't a normal draft for the Jaguars. ...
In the first place, Smith is right.
In the second place, Smith may very well be out of this business shortly.
Of course, we'll see. Of course, people melted down when Houston took Mario Williams over Reggie Bush in the 2006 draft. I didn't.
Williams, a defensive end, has averaged 50.5 tackles and 9.9 sacks a year since then, and the Texans are on the verge of the postseason. He's made the Pro Bowl and is having an all-pro career while the Texans have basically progressed every year.
The Saints - and this is wild - were in better shape back then, despite sucking enough to get the No. 2 pick. An established team always has the advantage over an expansion team, and it's shown.
But Williams was an easy gamble: he was a top-10 projection across the board. I agree with Smith's "philosophy". He just could have made 10 better gambles. ...
Who is more annoying: Berman and his outdated music references and bellowing and inside jokes to co-yakkers and pure redundancy or Lou Holtz and his lap-dog corny info- and substance-free Catskills comedy act?
They must be related. ...
Ryan Leaf has a strong idiot gene, but give him credit for some lucidity, as per an interview with T.J. Simers with the L.A. Times on being perhaps the biggest draft bust in history.
"I dodged a bullet," the 33-year-old told Simers. "A strong case can be made that Peyton Manning is the greatest quarterback since (Johnny) Unitas.
"It's bad enough as it is, but just imagine if I had been picked ahead of Peyton."
The Chargers would rather not. ...
Addressing the mortality of some folks in Atlanta this baseball season is coming soon. ...
A sad note from the Seattle Times: "Thirty-year ESPN vet Chris Berman signed a contract extension with the cable network.
"Actually, what they said was he'll be back, back-back-back-back."
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