NFL Draft 2010; Just Call Me A Football Geek

I'll fess up- I'm one of those (slightly) overweight middle aged guys who lives for the NFL Draft. Part of this passion comes from following the local NFL teams (Jets and Giants), and also seeing how my brother's teams (Browns and Eagles- he's a Jersey transplant now living in Ohio) make out in this big bucks crap shoot.

The 2010 NFL Draft has really become a creature of television- the first round was broadcast last night, live from Radio City Music Hall (minus The Rockettes) with a slew of potential first round picks on hand to hear their names called- hopefully. In addition, a who's who of NFL greats were on hand, including many Hall of Famers. The place was packed with loud and rowdy fans, and being held in New York there was a heavy presence of Giant and Jets fans...and nobody does loud and rowdy better than Jet fans, with the possible exception of "Agle" fans from "The City of Brotherly Love".

Was it over the top? To borrow a line from a certain former governor, you betcha.

But its a big event and a celebration of America's game. The season never really ends in the NFL. It goes from pre-season to regular season to playoffs to Super Bowl to NFL Draft mock drafts to the REAL NFL Draft to hanging out at the shore in the summer, drinking beer and eating shrimp, and counting the days until NFL training camps open.

And a second reason for watching the draft is to see where my beloved Rutgers Scarlet Knights will end up....and a couple of guys made history yesterday. But I'll talk about that later.

Rounds two and three start at 6 PM today (Friday) and the final four rounds will take place on Saturday. What was once a one day closed door affair in the 1970's is now a three day extravaganza; kind of a Woodstock for football fans.....we must be in heaven man.

Without further ado, here's a few comments about the 2010 NFL Draft.

Sam Bradford- I felt good for the former Oklahoma quarterback and former Heisman trophy winner for his #1 overall pick to the St. Louis Rams. Most people were saying "good for you" when he decided to come back for his senior year, and then many of the same people said "What did I tellya?...he should have come out early" when Sam was injured in 2009, shortening his season and seeing the Sooners fall short of expectations. He'll be tested in St Louis, which should be improved but are a long way from being a contender.

Tim Tebow- There are two trains of thought in the NFL draft. One is you draft your needs, the other is you draft the best player available. Many consider Tim Tebow to be the greatest college football player of all time. There are questions about his footwork and delivery; when he was drafted by the Denver Broncos at #25 overall as the second quarterback taken, many asked why. The Broncos have Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn as their two quarterbacks. Most observers say this....the reason Tebow was drafted is because head coach Josh McDaniels LOVES Tim Tebow. Maybe a guy of Tebow's character and with his leadership skills is just what is needed to finally escape from the large shadow of John Elway's legend. Tebow's a hard kid not to like; call him the "anti Rothlisberger".

Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy The question here is why these two quarterbacks were not first round picks, particularly the former Notre Dame signal caller Clausen. Some have said there are personal issues with Clausen; he has been called "a brat" by some, while his former Irish teammates think he's a great leader and love the guy. As for former Texas quarterback McCoy, some question his size....the last time I checked Drew Brees of the world champion New Orleans Saints is about McCoy's size. He seemed to work out, didn't he? Both Clausen and McCoy will be drafted early tonight in the second round.

A Whole Lot of Oklahoma Sooners - DT Gerald McCoy (Bucs), OT Trent Williams (Redskins), and Bradford- that's three of the first five picks from Oklahoma. Add to that TE Jermaine Gresham (Bengals) as #21 overall and that's four Sooners in the top 21. How did those guys ever lose a game?

The Big 12 In the Draft In addition to the four former Oklahoma Sooners, five other Big 12 players taken in the first round, the most notable being Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh going to the Detroit Lions as the second overall pick. For all the deserved hoopla about the SEC being the greatest conference in college football, the SEC landed seven, only second best in the first round. Still, to have half of the first round dominated by these two conferences was pretty impressive. And there will be many more to come over the next two days.

RU Rah-Rah! Two Rutgers players taken in the first round. I've been a season ticket holder since 1990. It wasn't that long ago that Rutgers only had five guys in the NFL. OT Anthony Davis (#11) went to the 49'ers and DB Devin McCourty (#27) was drafted by the Patriots (much to the anger of the Jet fans in attendance). Rutgers had a first round pick for the first time in its history last year with Kenny Britt....and they've doubled it in a year. Watch out Oklahoma....we're making our move.

Jets and Giants The Giants picked DE Jason Pierre-Paul (15) from South Florida, who played only one year of Division 1 football- his first two years were at two junior colleges. He is athletic, and has a huge upside...but could be a gamble. The Jets took Jersey guy DB Kyle Wilson (29) who played at Boise State. Wilson is from Piscataway...and the question was, how did he get away from Rutgers. Today on WFAN Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said that during a recruiting visit Wilson indicated that he preferred to go to college out of state. He seems like a solid pick for the defensively minded Jets and head coach Rex Ryan.

Piscataway High School, New Jersey Yesterday two alums were first round picks, Anthony Davis and Kyle Wilson. And last year fellow alum Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio State) was the first round pick of the Saints. Forget these Heartland and Florida and Sunbelt high schools....the "Home Office" of America's High School Football is in Central New Jersey, USA.

Well that's about it....I'm going to take a break, then watch some more draft. And when I'm not doing that, I'll be in my usual spot tomorrow watching Rutgers Spring Game.

Just a football junkie I suppose.

12 Hours (I Mean 72 Hours) Later....RU Wins Bowl Game, "AD" Leaves For The NFL, The Big Dig Out, and Other Stuff

Rutgers celebrates its 45-24 victory in the ST. PETERSBURG BOWL (Star-Ledger Photo)

First my apologies for being away so long....you might have heard about a "slight issue" with the weather in the Northeast- a blizzard hit and dumped two feet of snow in much of the area, though we got about ten inches here, most of which fell Saturday into early Sunday. A good portion of Sunday involved digging out and waiting to be dug out, and Monday and Tuesday was dedicated to catching up with Christmas shopping that had to be scuttled because of the storm.

But I'm done....FINALLY. And some semblance of normalcy is returning to life.,,,and it feels good!

So, without further ado, lets talk about "some stuff".

(1). Five consecutive bowl games, four consecutive wins. Rutgers pounded Central Florida in the St. Petersburg Bowl 45-24. The win gave Rutgers a 9-4 record for the 2009 season, its best win total since going 11-2 in 2006. This was the the fifth consecutive winning season for Rutgers- you have to go back to the 1991-92 seasons for the last time they even had back to back winning seasons.

You can talk about some of the disappointments of the year if you wish, but I won't. Naysayers first said "when Ray Rice leaves they'll start losing again". Ray left, and RU went to another bowl game. The same cynics then said "when Mike Teel and Kenny Britt leave, RU will collapse". Mike and Kenny moved on to the NFL, and Rutgers won one more game than last year.

It was the young freshmen who shined brightest this year....not to take away from great old grizzled veterans like Ryan D’Imperio, Devin McCourty, and Tim Brown. But it was the emergence of new stars Tom Savage, Mohamed Sanu, and Steve Beauharnais that gave promise to the beginning of a new era where the success can continue. Head Coach Greg Schiano has said that you have to be consistent before you can be great. The Scarlet Knights seemed poised to take that next step- the building blocks and keys to success are there.

When Schiano came to Rutgers he had to build a program from the ground up. His way is a amalgamation of a little bit Joe Paterno, with heavy emphasis on academics, graduating his players, and getting the "right kind of players"- in Paterno-speak its called "we don't want any bigshots". An RU player has to love football, and he has to dedicate himself to the academic demands of the institution. Often Schiano asks the team leaders if a potential recruit is an "RU recruit". So far, Greg Schiano has delivered on all promises save one- a Big East Championship.

Another coach Schiano borrowed from was Howard Schnellenberger. When he took over as the head coach of the University of Miami in 1979, Schnellenberger declared South Florida to be "The State of Miami", and used that as his recruiting base. The beginning of "The U's" dynasty began with that philosophy, and Schiano incorporated it into his "State of Rutgers" campaign- it extends to all of New Jersey and to a three hour driving radius from New Jersey's borders. True, Schiano does recruit Florida and other some other states as well- but its about New Jersey first. Six or seven years ago you couldn't find Rutgers fans anywhere. Its nearly 2010, and walk around any parking lot in Central New Jersey and try to count the scarlet block R  's on the cars, or the jerseys, tee-shirts, and and caps on the people walking around.

So far....a job well done.

(2) Speaking of Schiano the disciplinarian...sometimes he'll let a thing or two slide. As the game was winding down of Saturday night, check Coach's reaction to linebacker senior Damaso Munoz's fielding of an on side kick, and taking it back for a touchdown. Munoz, who was razzed by his fellow linebackers for never having scored a touchdown finally did on what would be his last touch of the ball in his college career- he did a frontwards flip into the end zone and then spiked the ball. It resulted in a TD, but with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well.
In this video, Coach Schiano seems like he's trying not to laugh.



(3) Saying goodbye to "AD". In the worst football secret since Brian Kelly's latest coaching destination, Rutgers junior All-America lineman Anthony Davis has decided to forgo his senior season to enter the 2010 NFL draft. Davis is projected to be a first round pick. He follows Ray Rice and Kenny Britt, who also left early following the two previous seasons.

Thanks AD....and good luck.

(4) The Giants and Redskins. Was it possible for the Giants to play a better game, or the Redskins to play worse, in that 45-12 blowout on Monday Night football? I'll say it right now- the first 15 minutes of the game might have been the best opening quarter for a team that I have ever seen for any team at any level. The Giants opening drive lasted 9:13, was 16 plays , covered 80 yards, and resulted in a Giants touchdown. The ensuing possession for Washington was a three and out. Then the Giants got the ball back at the 4:21 mark in the first quarter the Giants got the ball back and went on a 5:00 minute, 67 yard, 11 play touchdown drive that lasted into the second quarter. This was the equal of a first round TKO. The Skins showed a little fight in the second half, scoring twice....but the Giants D came alive. and kept them contained, while the Giants offense scored at will. Eli Manning might be playing the best quarterback of his career.

As a Giant fan....a tremendous game, and kudos to Big Blue.

(5) And finally....goodbye Melky Cabrera , and welcome back to New York Javier Vasquez. I followed Melky from his days with the Trenton Thunder, and I hate to see him leave. But when the Braves were willing to deal Vasquez back to New York it was a move you have to make. Vasquez will be a solid number four starter for the Yankees, while the Braves essentially receive Melky, who was usually the number nine hitter in the Yankee lineup. Cabrera still has a world of potential....maybe a change of leagues will help him take the next step.

That's all folks....I'll be back with some "pre-Christmas stuff" ina day or so.