Epic Fail - 2005 NFL Draft

With the latest news that Niner QB Alex Smith is out for the season, and his career for the Niners is probably over, I decided to take a look at the 2005 NFL draft and check the status of the top ten picks in that draft. Smith was the top pick in the draft. Here are the rest of the top ten. It does not look too good:

2. Ronnie Brown - He is backing up Ricky Williams, of all people, for the Dolphins. While he has had a couple decent seasons, the second pick in the draft has to be considered a failure if he's not a starter and a consistent 1200 yard rusher.

3. Braylon Edwards - He's been great. No complaints. One of the few Michigan receivers that has lived up to his lofty draft pick *coughDavidTerrellcough* and the only one from this list who has made a Pro Bowl.

4. Cedric Benson - Released by the Bears this past offseason, and not currently on an NFL roster. Has been arrested twice this year for alcohol-related offenses.

5. Cadillac Williams - Suffered a patellar tendon tear last year while playing for the Buccaneers, and doctors are doubtful that he will ever come back to full strength.

6. Adam Jones - "Pacman" had an unspectacular rookie season, a very good second season, and was suspended for the entirety of his third season due to legal troubles. He was traded to the Cowboys for a fourth round pick. I'm sure that if you could find a Tennessee Titans fan, he would tell you that Pacman was a huge disappointment. Most well known for "makin it rain" in a Las Vegas strip club.

7. Troy Williamson - The Vikings needed a speedy receiver after trading Randy Moss to the Raiders. What they got was 79 catches in three seasons. He was traded this offseason to the Jaguars for a 6th round draft pick.

8. Antrel Rolle - Missed almost all of his rookie season with a knee injury. Played fairly well last season, but was moved to safety prior to this season.

9. Carlos Rogers - Serviceable cornerback, but has only 150 tackles and 4 INTs in three seasons.

10. Mike Williams - He was the third consecutive WR picked in the first round by the Lions. Two of the three are not only no longer with the Lions, but also no longer playing in the NFL. Williams is one of those. He totaled 44 receptions in three seasons.

By any measure, this has to be the worst overall top ten NFL draft picks in recent memory. One Pro Bowl appearance, two guys already traded, and two guys already out of the league after three years (and not due to injury). By comparison, the 2004 draft has already had six players from the top ten picks make the Pro Bowl, and even the 2007 draft already has two Pro Bowlers.

NFL Draft

Can it get any worse for a Michigan fan from Buffalo? All fine and good that Jake Long goes to the Phins #1 overall. A tackle can have a great pro-bowl caliber career while the team he plays for is good to mediocre or worse - we like when Miami is mediocre or worse up here in the Buff. However, quarterbacks are evaluated by wins - almost period. If the team isn't winning games, then QB is not going to be a long term starter. So when I heard Chad Henne went to Miami as well, it was terribly disappointing. I really wanted to see Henne do well in the NFL because I think he is good, took alot hell from Michigan fans for going 1-7 vs. Ohio State and bowl games, and he seems like a good kid. Unfortunately, two worlds collide here as Henne's success is a function of the Dolphins success. To make it even worse, If Henne and the Dolphins are successful, that elevates Bill Parcells even more, which is also a relatively vile thought.

I love seeing Mike Hart going to Indy. Seems perfect for Bill Polian to take this kind of character player, and I hope it works for all involved. I don't think Hart can ever be a feature back in the NFL, but I certainly thing he can contribute. I hope Mike Hart continues to prove people wrong.

Likewise, I like seeing Crable going to the Pats. Great organization that a guy like Crable will have as good a chance as any to be able to flourish in. All the 'extra' information the coaches can pass on to the players always helps!

Michigan obviously could have really used Mannigham and Arrington this coming year, and it looks as though could have used Micihgan as much. I think Mario is a very good college WR, but don't think he has the measurables and attitude (the attitude is mostly speculative) to be that good in the NFL. What was interesting to me is that he really only 10-12 very good to great games for Michigan over three years interupted with some nagging type injuries. To me that does not define a great player, but let's see what he does. Arrington on the other hand has no bussiness leaving a year with the projected drft position, let alone where he landed. Of course the coaching change had some impact on his descision, but he really could have used another year.

Go Blue!

Detroit Lions Draft - Kevin Smith

No, not that Kevin Smith - the one that plays football.


I'm not going to review the entire Lions draft board, but I would like to discuss the wisdom of one of their picks, third rounder Kevin Smith from UCF. The last time the Lions drafted a running back coming off a junior season in which he gained over 2500 yards, it worked out pretty well for them. His name was Barry Sanders. It's well documented that Barry Sanders had a great career, but he had what is widely considered to be the finest single season of any college football player ever. In fact, Smith had a great season last year - one that compares pretty favorably with Barry's last season.

• In 14 games (2007), Smith rushed for 2567 yards, and scored 29 TDs (in 450 carries). This includes his bowl game.

• In 11 games (1988), Sanders rushed for 2628 yards and scored 39 TDs. (in 356 carries). This does not even include the bowl game in which he rushed for an additional 222 yards and scored 5 TDs (bowl game stats did not count then).

While Smith's season was great by any definition of the word, Sanders' Heisman winning season was one that I feel comfortable in saying will not ever be duplicated. In twelve games, Sanders gained 2850 yards (237.5 yards per game), and scored 44 TDs. Those kinds of numbers are absolutely unreachable in the foreseeable future - even when bowl games counted in the stats.

The bottom line, and the point of this post, is that I think Kevin Smith is a very good pick and has a very good chance to be a star in the league - even if he is not Barry Sanders. Even if he turns out to be only half as good as Barry, he'll be the second best RB the Lions have ever had.