No longer feeling the draft

This past week, the NFL draft was held in New York. Traditionally held on a Saturday, it was instead moved to Thursday evening and stretched out over Friday and Saturday. This led to unprecedented TV ratings (at least according to reports) and some of the greatest hype to ever surround a draft. Meanwhile, I, who more than once dedicated at least a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon to watch the picks come off the board, watched no more than about 10 minutes. For the first time in .... well ever... I was simply not captured by the draft.

The obvious question is why. Why did the 2010 NFL draft, supposedly filled with talent from rounds 1 through 7, featured in prime-time on multiple networks, fail to grab my attention when past events had me enraptured? After a little thought, I know the answer. A popular phrase coined around the time of Bill Clinton's first term as president was "it's the economy, stupid!" The answer to my sudden lack of interest in the 2010 draft is similar... "It's the players, stupid!"

Most drafts have one or two players that capture the imagination. And fair or not, these players are the ones at the glamor positions like quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. They usually have personalities and stories that add drama to the proceedings. Just last year, there were two names that jumped out at me: Michael Crabtree and Mark Sanchez. Crabtree was a playmaking wideout at Texas Tech who was known almost as much for his mouth and attitude as his hands. The question was whether this (and a perceived lack of speed thanks to an injury) would knock him down the draft board. It did, but not terribly far. Crabtree proved his doubters correct, however, when he perceived the drop as a personal slight and held out halfway through the season. It was real drama around a real character. Mark Sanchez was an accomplished quarterback at USC and while not having any national titles under his belt, was widely seen as a "Franchise" (or the "Sanchize") quarterback with a golden arm. Even then, he had to compete with Georgia's Matt Stafford for props as the top QB in the pool. A lot of folks questioned whether Sanchez was like the last big-name USC quarterback, Matt Leinart, whose frat-boy ways had marred his NFL experience. Matt Stafford's absolute cannon of an arm got him the call first. It added drama to the event.

And there were other stories and players to follow. Everybody (I hope) has by now heard the Michael Oher story, which was turned into a movie while the 2009 draft was taking place. Knowshown Moreno was the "failed" Georgia running back who was supposed to be the second coming of Jim Brown when he entered college. Where would he go? There were storylines last year, just as there usually are. But where were the interesting players this year? Where were the storylines and controversies? Where was the drama?

It didn't exist, because this year's group of players were, well...... boring. Who was the dominant personality of this year's draft? If there was one, it was probably Tim Tebow. That's the best we have? The 2010 version of Eric Crouch is supposed to be the compelling story of an entire draft? I still don't get the big deal about Tim Tebow. Supposedly, he's supposed to be hated by the masses because he's loved by the press, ala Brett Favre. But I don't see it. People don't dislike Favre because the press loves him. They dislike Favre because of his many flaws, which the press conveniently (at least until recently) ignored. Where is the press favoritism towards Tebow? He won titles at Florida and played very well. Reporting that is merely reporting the truth. I saw and read many reports that slammed Tebow for his awkward-looking delivery and simultaneously predicted NFL failure. Again, where is the favoritism? It's a non-story. So Tebow is a "goody-two-shoes?" Really? I'm supposed to hate the guy because he's good to his mom and has given his life to Jesus? Sorry, I'm not buying it.

And what about the rest of the players in this "deep" draft? I'm reserving judgment, but nobody captured my imagination enough to make me tune into the TV shows. Think about it: What did the top prospects bring to the table? The answer is precious little. To wit:

1. Sam Bradford -- He missed practically the entire 2009 season due to injury. Prior to that, he was wildly successful, but many folks questioned whether he was really that good, or if he was simply surrounded by great talent. And in any case, he was kinda boring, like a Robo-QB.
   
2. Ndamukong Suh -- Here is a guy who was truly dominant on the field, but plays at an unglamorous position. And since the draft order was well-known for weeks, there was no drama as to where he'd be picked.
3. Gerald McCoy -- This player was so dominant and powerful that his college team grossly underachieved all year and just barely even made a bowl game.
   
4. Trent Williams -- See Gerald McCoy. In fact, this is perhaps the only truly amazing thing about this 2010 draft. An incredible 3 of the top 4 picks were all from the same college, Oklahoma. But Oklahoma is coming off their worst season in years, having gone 8-5 and losing as many games in the regular season as they had in the previous 3 years combined. Either the NFL talent evaluators are WAY off their game, or the 2009 Oklahoma squad was one of the worst-managed groups in football history.
5. Eric Berry -- A safety? Really? With the fifth overall pick? I hope he's good.
6. Russell Okung -- Another offensive lineman from a middling college team.... yawn......
7. Joe Haden -- A solid cornerback from Florida, but not a "name" like mouthy players of the past (see: Deion Sanders)
8. And so on, and so on......

Am I making sense? This was a boring draft. The talent was not as good as advertised. The players were uniformly boring (NOTE: I'm not "rooting against" these guys. I actually expect most of these guys to succeed thanks to a good work ethic and solid skills, and I'm all for it). There were (apparently, as I found out after the fact) innumerable trades of little impact that mostly made sense. There weren't many major surprises. It was boring, much like this blog post.


Perhaps this year's draft was best epitomized by Dez Bryant, who was this year's poor substitute for the talented but temperamental wide receiver that might slide down the board due to "character concerns." In the past, this would've been Randy Moss, who played like a freak of nature but had questions about his work ethic, his past, and a whiff of criminality to boot. In the past, this would've been Keyshawn Johnson, a prima-donna who woofed at his own teammates when he wasn't getting the ball. In the past this would've been Matt Jones, an athletic marvel who played quarterback at Arkansas through a series of questionable incidents. In the past, this would've been Ted Ginn Jr., a speed rocket with hands of stone. There was controversy with those guys. There was indecision with those guys. There were quotes and allegations and subterfuge with those guys. In 2010 we got Dez Bryant, whose horrible offense (which caused him to miss most of the 2009 college season) was panicking when being grilled by NCAA rules investigators and lying about the time he spent with ..... Deion Sanders. Is that really what passes for controversy now? Is that supposed to make me dedicate three hours of my life to watch the NFL draft? I'm supposed to be captivated by the tale of a hard-working, productive receiver who is sliding down the draft boards because he .... lied about talking to Deion Sanders?!?!

Maybe I'm asking too much. Maybe we've advanced as a group. Maybe the real malcontents are being properly threshed out long before they get to the NFL draft. Maybe we've finally learned to watch out for players with dangerous pasts. Maybe NFL general managers have learned to moderate their draft moves and focus on focused gains. Great.

That's boring. If the NFL draft is going to be exciting, I need to see superstars. I need to see controversy. I need to see Mike Ditka throwing away his entire draft to grab reefer-mad Ricky Williams. I need to see Al Davis forcing the Raiders to pick yet another super-fast player with a head of rocks. I need to see Mel Kiper Jr. nearly start a fist-fight with a GM for passing on a pet player. The 2010 NFL draft didn't have ANY of that. And that's why it didn't have me.

SAH