Stay Low to the Ground

Courtesy of www.espn.go.com

In a recent interview with a St. Louis sports radio talk show, ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer brought up the subject of Sam Bradford. "In my opinion," Dilfer said of Bradford, "he is not even close to the best player in this draft."

He also stated that the St. Louis Rams selecting Bradford - with the first overall pick on April 22nd - could be a "catastrophic mistake".

He also mentions that he "believes Colt McCoy will be the best of the four quarterbacks". Those quarterbacks include Bradford and McCoy along with Jimmy Clausen and Tim Tebow. While the majority of "draft experts" have Bradford and Clausen ranked far ahead of Tebow and McCoy, it is not uncommon to have widely varying opinions on quarterback prospects. 

While I don't have a problem with Dilfer and his ability to evaluate quarterbacks, I do have an issue with the P.S. at the end of the ESPN blog that I found this story in: "Note: As Lori indicates via Facebook and as Dilfer mentioned in the interview, he has worked out with McCoy. They share the same agent, David Dunn."

This is what makes any information from the football media void of any value this time of year. Though Dilfer might have honestly assessed McCoy as the best quarterback in the draft, the fact is McCoy and Dilfer share the same agent. Being human and knowning Colt McCoy personally, it would be natural for Dilfer to favor a kid he knows over other prospects he doesn't.

Worse yet, the Rams have shown interest in McCoy as a second round pick. If the Rams would pass on Bradford with the first overall pick and go with a position other than quarterback, then McCoy would most likely be available with the first pick in the second round (33rd overall). The sooner McCoy gets picked, the bigger his contract is, and the more money Trent Dilfer's agent David Dunn makes.

When that NFL Draft smoke gets in your eyes, it burns. Make sure to stay low to the ground.





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Loaded Colt

Two days ago Sam Bradford had a praised workout that led to rampant specualation, including on my part, that Bradford would be the number one overall selection in this year's NFL Draft.

Today the Rams announced that they would be privately working out former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. Since McCoy is widely considered a second round prospect, this would send the message that they would consider selecting McCoy with the 33rd overall pick next month.

It also sends the message to Sam Bradford's agent that the Rams could still select Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy with the first overall pick.

The fact is the Rams are going to start negotiating a contract with Sam Bradford. If they can dangle the "we can draft Suh and Colt McCoy instead of you" scenario in front of Bradford's agent, they possibly could get Bradford to sign a more "club friendly" deal before the draft.

Just remember this about draft time: where there is smoke, there is more smoke.  I doubt McCoy's private workout has much of an impact on who is drafted where, but this move solidifies my opinion that the Rams are going to draft Bradford.






Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.everymorningqb.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.everymorningqb.com.

Later than Sooner

Despite Sam Bradford's flawless workout, the Rams are not done playing NFL Draft poker.


Through some mysterious coincidence, Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported, right before Bradford's workout today, that the Rams don't intend to have Bradford's private workout with the team until April 19th, only three days before the draft. The article also states that the Redskins are working out Bradford on April 15th. 


This is typical draft posturing by the Rams. They are leaving open the possibility of Washington falling in love with Bradford. They could then orchestrate a trade, and the Rams would still end up with a premium pick (number four overall), and some extra picks to help out a roster thin on talent. 


I doubt this trade scenario will occur, but it is nice strategy on the Rams' part to keep their options open.


 


Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.everymorningqb.com.

Sam I am a St. Louis Ram

Gil Brandt is reporting that, in his opinion, Sam Bradford had the most impressive private workout "for a quarterback since Troy Aikman." We all know how that worked out.


Brandt stated in his blog, "Bradford threw more than 100 passes during the workout and, in my estimation, didn’t have one that was uncatchable. He moved around well, including throwing on the run out of the pocket, and went through the entire route tree. The scripted workout included three-, five- and seven-step drops, shotgun, and play-action plays, plus sprints and rollouts to both sides."


I hope that Rams' fans are excited. He is one of the most accurate college quarterbacks I have seen (at least up there with Troy Aikman and Drew Brees). There is nothing that makes a draft more juicy than having a quarterback at the top of it.


This positive media coverage is not going to make it easier to convince the Rams' fans that Ndamukong Suh should be the No. 1 pick. This is a quarterback driven league, and Sam Braford made himself and his family a lot of money today.






Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.everymorningqb.com.
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