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| Courtesy of the Associated Press |
1. The beauty of the NFL P.R. machine: After a week of negative stories about players and their conduct, the NFL snuck Ben Roethlisberger's suspension between the schedule announcement on Tuesday and the first round of the draft on Thursday. By the end of 32 selections, the NFL got us to ignore the elephant in the room (except for the "'no' means 'no'" chants during the selection of Maurkice Pouncey) for a few days.
2. Awkward Relationships: Roethlisberger and Albert Haynesworth were rumored to be on the trading block and carried some hype into the first round. Then absolutely nothing happened with both of them. I have to say it would have taken this draft to another level of intriguing. Now Roethlisberger has taken his spanking from the Steelers and can focus on getting back on to the football field. Haynesworth, on the other hand, is on shaky ground, and I expect him to be moved for a 2011 draft pick before the season starts. The settlement hasn't been worked out , but - trust me - the divorce is final.
3. Oklahoma, Florida, and Alabama were the real winners of this draft. Can you imagine Nick Saban coming to a cornerback recruit's home and giving him this speech: "This is a National Championship ring. If you want one of these, I can get it for you. If you want to play in the NFL, I can help you with that, too. Not only did my best corner get drafted, but the guy who played across from him got drafted and EVEN my nickel back got drafted (and he barely played). So just sign on the dotted line -- here."
What Florida senior didn't get drafted? And for a while there, I thought that only Oklahoma players and Ndamukong Suh were going to be selected.
If you're a fan of one of these schools, know this: your future recruiting classes just got better, and your season tickets just got more expensive.
4. No Respect I Tell Ya! - Because of the lack of offensive skill players at the high end of this draft (just one quarterback and two running backs in the top twenty), the Clausen/Tebow/McCoy story was made overly important and pushed to the top. The real story of this draft was the "big uglies" aka the offensive and defensive lineman. Suh and McCoy are rare talents, and the fact that Detroit and Tampa's selection didn't receive more attention was foolish. Everybody knows you don't make 300 pound men - that hit people for a living - angry.
5. The Anti-Redskins - The Seahawks stole the show by not making the big move and giving up a bunch of draft picks. They did it by staying put and letting the draft come to them. You never can tell how good a draft pick will ultimately be before he plays, but based on the Seahawks needs and the players' college production, Seattle had an excellent draft. You throw in the fact they acquired Lendale White and Leon Washington for a Verizon smartphone, a case of Red Bull and a pair of Reebok Zigs, and it makes it a successful three days on paper.
6. Rooting For The Good Guys: The Denver Broncos made one thing clear: if you're not with us, you're against us. After jettisoning Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler, Denver made high character the priority pick after pick. Often overlooking more NFL ready guys for projects, the Broncos will be a team full of hard-working, nice guys. The picks of Demaryius Thomas and Tim Tebow will make or break Josh McDaniels. Unfortunately the saying goes "nice guys finish last".
The three-day format was a hit on television. I'm not so sure I'm a huge fan, but it is here to stay. Tomorrow I will get more in-depth with a draft overview of each division. I also want to thank my wife for typing an insane amount of information this weekend. We lived. I hope you guys enjoyed the posts.
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