Wednesday, April 30, 2008
What Can You Say About the NFL Draft?
The NFL draft — every year without fail — stirs up football fans' most intense emotions. It is talked about, discussed, and argued over nonstop for pretty much 365 days a year. You can barely hear anything analysts say about it because they all talk — I mean shout — incessantly at the same time as if they on the verge of killing each other. Same thing on message boards all over the Internet, except thank goodness none of that, presumably, is done in the presence of fellow users. A subject of one thread on the Atlanta Falcons message board asks if the number of people banned from the board in the last week is over or under 100.
Speaking of Atlanta, that brings me to the point of this article. Normally I would say that there are simply some things you can say about certain draft picks and some things you can't say about certain draft picks. However, there is freedom of speech in this country and rarely is that freedom exercised more freely than in discussing the NFL draft. Rabid fans say whatever they want and whenever they want, especially when they're not happy. I can't flat-out say that there are things you can't say about certain draft picks. Therefore, I will say that there are some things you can't say about certain draft picks without forfeiting your right to refer to yourself as a sane person.
In the countless arguments surrounding the 2008 NFL Draft, none is more heated than the one pertaining to whether or not the Atlanta Falcons made the right choice with the No. 3 pick in the draft. They went with Matt Ryan. Most thought they would go — and still think they should have gone — with Glenn Dorsey.
You can say that they should have gone with Dorsey. You could back up that claim with valid arguments such as that the Falcons have too many holes all over the field to take a quarterback, or simply that you think Dorsey will turn out to be a better pro than Ryan. You can say Matt Ryan will be a bust.
What you cannot say is that Matt Ryan was a bad choice by the Falcons. Well, let me clarify as I did earlier. You cannot say Matt Ryan was a bad choice by the Falcons without forfeiting your right to refer to yourself as a sane person.
"Why can't I say that?" you ask. The answer is not complicated. If general manager Thomas Dimitroff and the rest of the Falcons front office did not think Matt Ryan is a "franchise" quarterback, they would not have taken him. If they think that Matt Ryan is a "franchise" quarterback, they had to take him. Quarterback is inarguably the most important position on a football field when you are mediocre at best — borderline awful — at the position, you have to do something about it and you have to do something about it immediately.
If it's your pick and you need a quarterback and you think there is a "franchise" quarterback available, you draft him. It doesn't matter what else is available (and this is beside the point but in my opinion that "what else" wasn't that great). So even if you think Matt Ryan is going to be a "bust," you can't say the Falcons made a bad, stupid pick because clearly they don't agree with you. That itself makes the Ryan choice a smart one.
By similar logic you can't say Joe Flacco was a bad pick by the Ravens. You can predict he will be a "bust" and cite poor competition at Delaware as a reason, but you can't say he was a bad pick. Why not? Because clearly the Ravens think Joe Flacco is a "franchise" quarterback. How is it clear? Well, the Ravens traded down from No. 8 to No. 26 in the first round and Flacco most likely would have been available at 26. Nonetheless, not willing to risk losing Flacco, the Ravens traded back up — to No. 18 — and took their man probably well before he otherwise would have gone. Yes, they think Flacco is a "franchise" guy. Whether or not anyone else thinks that is irrelevant.
There are some picks, on the other hand, that you have every right to say are bad ones. You can say taking Chris Johnson 24th overall was a bad pick by the Titans. It doesn't matter if they think Johnson is the next Eddie George because one, he isn't, and two, they don't need a running back. They also can't afford taking a running back when they have plenty of other holes to fill, not the least of which is the absence of a top-notch receiving threat for quarterback Vince Young.
You can — and should — say that Brian Brohm and Chad Henne were bad picks. The Packers drafted Brohm and therefore that means they don't believe in Aaron Rodgers. The Dolphins took Henne and that means they don't believe in John Beck. Newsflash to the Packers and Dolphins: if you think you have a problem at the most important position on the field, you address it immediately. You don't wait around to draft someone you think has a chance of being pretty good. You make a bold move and get someone you are confident is going to be great. If the Dolphins felt they needed a QB they should have taken Ryan, and if the Packers felt they needed a QB, they should have traded up for Joe Flacco. Another newsflash to the Packers and Dolphins: two mediocre quarterbacks do not equal one great quarterback.
People say a lot about the NFL draft. There are some things you can't say about it ... at least not if you don't want to sound crazy.
Here's to thinking just a little bit before spouting off and making yourself look foolish in NFL draft water-cooler discussions.