As it’s been said many times before, the NFL is a business. Draft Day gives you the best view of which organizations know how to negotiate a good business deal, and which ones don’t. The ones that do end up obtaining better deals, better players, and more rings. Those that don’t end up sitting on the other side of the table buck naked.
Some quick notes on the 1st day of the draft…
- The Browns snagged both a franchise left tackle and a franchise quarterback in the first round. For a fan base that’s had little to celebrate over the last decade, that is reason enough to cheer, at least for now.
- Poor Brady Quinn. The Aaron Rodgers of the ‘07 draft…at least he had that hot blonde to keep him company.
- With tons of needs to fill, the Dolphins picked Ted Ginn Jr. at #9, a wide-receiver still nursing a foot injury who may only be a # 2 wide out at best. This video sums up Fins fan reactions pretty well (caution - colorful language ahead…)
- The Jets boldly traded up twice, getting coveted CB Darrelle Revis in the 1st round and ILB David Harris (whom I really wanted the Patriots to get) in the 2nd. It’s officially time for Pats fans to start worrying about the Jets.
- Meanwhile, the Pats traded away picks for future picks in ‘08; a 1st rounder to the 49ers, and a 3rd rounder to the Raiders. When it comes to holding value for their picks (and sucking the excitement out of draft day), nobody does it quite like the Patriots.
- The shot of Amobi Okoye and his family crying & celebrating after he was picked 10th by the Texans made my girlfriend cry (I’d cry to if I got drafted by the Texans).
- Fan reaction was FAAAAAANTASTIC on ESPN all day long. There were children booing the Packers selection of DT Justin Harrell at 16. Kids! That’s a bit early to have draft analysis skills, isn’t it?
Honorable mention to the Eagles fan who threw down his banner in disgust after they picked QB Kevin Kolb in the 2nd round.
- I have to say, the ESPN crew did a solid job with the draft coverage today. I thought Michael Smith and Jaws were the standouts (I missed Keyshawn’s reached when Carolina drafted WR Dwayne Jarrett, wish I’d seen that).
- Best of all, Berman didn’t give away ONE pick! Not one! Thanks, Boomer!
NFL Draft, Day One, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins, Brady Quinn, everytime I rip on someone they come through & shove it in my face
PLEASE, Boomer. Don’t do it. We’re begging you.
Earlier this week, I exchanged an article with Awful Announcing entitled, Chris Berman: The Beginning. It was an attempt to explain the unbelievably maddening habit the ESPN veteran has of giving away an NFL draft pick’s identity just before the official announcement. I’m not sure what’s worse; the fact that he does it, or the fact that we’ve been putting up with it since the “Miracle on Ice”.
Our final team preview comes to us from Josh Kirkendall and his ‘Unofficial Cincinnati Bengals Blog’, the Cincy Jungle.
Josh is partial to Snickers bars, which is good, because that’s all I can afford to pay him with for this article. Thanks Josh!
Peter King discusses draft rumors, and a Bill Polian rant on the draftee dope use ’scandal’ (what’s less surprising here? College athletes toke up, or Polian lost his temper?). King also mentions that various teams are looking to trade down, but there’s no one that really wants to trade up in the draft.
This just in: Mac Engel of the Star-Telegram reports that Jerry Jones is looking to trade up! (oops)
The KSK Gay Mafia provides a mock draft day itinerary (hummus?!).
Awful Announcing questions Keyshawn’s analyst qualifications (skills; dropping f & n bombs on menacing phone message, MS Excel)
Filling in for the absent Ron Borges, Michael Wilbon plays the role of turd in the punchbowl.
Joanna Krupa’s FHM Photoshot has absolutely nothing to do with the draft. I could care less.
Len Pasquarelli says defensive tackle is one of the more difficult positions to judge talent in the NFL Draft (unlike quarterback, which is cake…).
New Panthers QB David Carr climbs into a double-decker, pops the clutch, and steamrolls his former team. He should have finished with, “free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I am free at last!”
This one’s interesting: BC Sports writes 2 hypothetical articles dated in 2011 about Calvin Johnson; one as a bust for the Eagles, the other as a star in Oakland (man, Eagles fans can’t even catch a break in a fictitious future…).
Hog On Sports shines the spotlight on several key draft players, complete with video footage.
Fan favorite Pete Prisco compares JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn.
Think the Browns are confused about who they should draft? So are their fans.
MOCK DRAFTS gets it’s own sub-category:
Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News (as Boston.com’s Mike Reiss points out, Rick is good at these)
SB Nation Mock Draft (three rounds?!)
The Sports Blogger’s Round One Mock Draft
Sick of draft links yet? Take a breather, step outside, and learn how to kick a field goal at Every Day Should Be Saturday (Mike Vanderjagt gives this video 2 thumbs up)!
Finally, where oh where would we be without a cheerleader audition update?
For the grand finale of our YouTube NFL Draft Hits series, we look back at the greatest sneaker ad campaign in sports history: Terry Tate, Office Linebacker by Reebok (sorry, Spike Lee, but they’re even better than your Air Jordan ads. Did you know did you know did you know did you know?).
This series really hits home for anyone who’s spent time in a work cubicle and loves football. Here’s the original ad to get you started:
(Jeez, doesn’t EVERYONE know that TPS reports need a cover sheet?!)
Everything is going great for Terry at Felcher & Sons (That’s right, Felcher. I love how this made a nationwide ad campaign that aired during the Super Bowl. Good think none of the Reebok execs knew about Urban Dictionary). That is, up until draft day. In typical NFL fashion, Terry Tate discovers that he has some young competition to deal with. Tension and more office violence ensues.
(WARNING: For those of you offended by cultural stereotypes, please avoid the final minute of this video, which will greatly offend anyone of German descent)
Achtung, baby!
YouTube, NFL Draft, Terry Tate, Draft Day, pain cake, you won’t want seconds of that, WOOH!
Special treat today, kids! Our good friend Awful Announcing has volunteered to write a Redskins draft preview for TalkingNFL. Didn’t cost much either; just a case of Glenfiddich (go figure, AA likes the hard stuff) and an exchange of postings (mine will appear on his quality site later this week).
Go ahead, dig in. (mmmm…salty fan humor. Yum!)
This could be the greatest NFL Music Video to ever be posted on YouTube. I watched it three times in a row. Great work, BradyFan83.
I’m not even going to pull a Berman on this one & ruin it for you. Enjoy.
YouTube, NFL Draft, Mr. Upside, did Bobby Beathard make this?
If you had asked the average American male seven years ago how they felt about one Leonardo DiCaprio, they probably would have responded the way I do now when someone asks me what I think of Peyton Manning, Super Bowl champion. In other words, they would have puked on your shoes.
Most guys hated him. They called him DiCrappio. They thought he was the biggest fairy to hit Hollywood since Rock Hudson, and the worst actor since Pauly Shore. At the time, he was best known for two movies; ‘Titanic’, the most overrated film in modern history (which, due to my unstable dating tendencies at the time, I had the misfortune of suffering through not once, but twice), and ‘The Beach’, a movie based on the excellent book by Alex Garland that Leoplond & company turned into a horrific piece of dung.
He screeched & whined his way through that disaster in a way that made Ross from friends look like Steve Austin. Yet he was still every girl’s wet dream. He was on the cover of quality publications like Teen People every other week, and the piercing scream made by 13-year old girls at his public appearances would make your head explode like one of those zombies from Planet Terror. Dear god did I men hated him.
Lately, it’s been a hell of a lot harder to dislike the guy.
Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund
April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.
To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.
The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:
If you plan to give, please click the link below:
So I had a draft preview fall through at the last minute, and I’m just too crestfallen by the loss of Todd Sauerbrun to write anything.
So you know what that means, kids…some cheerleading audition pics. I know…I’m sorry; it won’t happen again, I promise (for another week, at least…).
Goddammit, how’d Dreamboat get in there?! Man, I hate it when my girlfriend figures out my password…
(pics from The Professional Cheerleader Blog, WireImage, and my own personal stash)
NFL, cheerleaders, auditions, seriously, what’s up with the goat?
I realize now that I should have posted the Jets classic when I started this gimmick, since by now it’s been passed around the internet more frequently than Paris Hilton at an all night rave. However, it’s just too good to pass up, so here’s the infamous ‘Worst Moments in NY Jets Draft History’ video.
Also, it’s worth noting that most sports bloggers, including myself, just love ripping on ESPN whenever we have the chance. But since they were the ones to compile this video, you have to give them props here. Will all due respect to Manning’s SNL United Way sketch, THIS is an instant classic:
Oh, the humanity! The anguish! (the hair, the mustaches…)
As an extra added bonus (yours FREE of charge! Much like this whole site!!), here’s a player audition video that was actually sent to the Carolina Panthers. Lucky for us, the intern responsible for handling such material found it hysterical & posted it on the internet for our amusement.
My favorite parts are the shanked punt at the :35 mark, and the shining star effect at the :45 second mark. Oh, and that fake punt? I mean, flashbacks of Barry Sanders right there.
(Make sure Millen doesn’t see this clip, he’ll blow a 5th round pick on the guy)
YouTube, NFL, NY Jets, Draft Blunders, Punter, would you draft this guy?
Wrong.
“Tennessee Titans quarterback [Vince Young] has been told he’ll appear on the cover of Madden ‘08.” (from USA Today)
“Young’s agent, Major Adams, said they didn’t believe in jinxes.”
Yeah, but do they believe in curses? Because the Madden Curse is no run of the mill sign of bad luck, such as opening an umbrella indoors. It’s like, wicked powerful, and so real it’s not even funny.
Don’t think so? Try telling that to Chargers fans, who will be partying like rock stars tonight.
As Jim Wyatt pointed out, Vince has all ready broken the infamous SI cover jinx, so perhaps his superhuman powers extend beyond the football field. But in case they don’t, here are some suggestions for Titans fans to help protect their Franchise player this year:
- Pour 10 lb. bag of salt over shoulder
- Empty out 401k, convert into pennies, toss into wishing well
- Knock on wood (bang on wood, sport some wood; whatever works)
- Pull a Tanya Harding on Peyton Manning
(ok, that last one won’t help Vince, you’re right. Scratch that.)
Vince Young, Madden Cover, EA Sports, Madden Curse, black cat, broken mirror, Christening of The Flying WASP
Yesterday’s tragedy at Virginia Tech was a completely senseless act of violence. One that leaves people who are hundreds of miles away feeling helpless and angry. For those who work or are enrolled at the school, it’s a brutal reminder that horrific acts like this can happen anywhere at anytime. Even Blacksburg, Virginia, which seems impossible to someone like me who has been there before…
About 12 years ago, I got a job working as an Education and Leadership Consultant for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity (and yes, there is such a job, and it was a glorious one at that). For two years, I traveled to over 40 different SAE chapters (mostly in the Mid-Atlantic). During each visit, I gave advice to fraternity brothers on rushing prospective members, pledge education, risk management, and finances (and I may have had a beer or two along the way…).
Without a doubt, Virginia Tech was one of my favorite places to visit. Part of it was because of the natural beauty of the campus, located in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains. Another part was the quiet small town feel, despite having such a large & prestigious university square in the middle of it (think Northwestern in South Park).
Being a football fan, it was also great to watch the Hokies football program as it emerged as a national power under Coach Frank Beamer. I was there to witness their historic 13-7 victory over Miami in ‘95, the first time they had ever beaten the Hurricanes (they would go on to win their first Big East Championship that year). I watched the students pour into the stadium in a sea of joy and tear down the goal posts; much to the chagrin of the campus police. It’s one of my most vivid memories of Virginia Tech.
But what I remember most about Virginia Tech are the people.
From Dr. Tom Goodale, the former Vice President for Student Affairs, to the SAE chapter president, I’ve never met more accommodating or more gracious hosts. They had tremendous pride in their school and their fraternity, and went out of their way to show me everything their town had to offer. From Burruss Hall to Sharkey’s. I tailgated with them, helped with a community service street clean-up, and watched Super Bowl 29 with them (well, up until the 49ers’ 5th touchdown; then I just drank with them). Never once was I made to feel like an outsider.
I feel like one now, and it’s a sad, frustrating feeling. Knowing that such good people are going through such pain, and for what? Why?
Among those suffering is one of 451 Press’s own. 1P Start writer Kezins lost a good friend yesterday, and there’s no question that he’s hurting now. Please stop on by & let him know you’re thinking of him if you have a chance.
I don’t really have much else to say. Better men than me will write more eloquently about this day and those we lost. Just know that there are some very good people down in Blacksburg, and the suffering they are experiencing now simply isn’t fair. Our hearts go out to all of you after this terrible tragedy. Stay strong, Hokies.
Our Patriots draft preview is brought to us by Dennis D. Dennis does not write for a blog or a fan website. In fact, he has absolutely no writing qualifications whatsoever. However, he is (in his own words) my #1 fan. The Kathy Bates to my James Caan in Misery, so to speak.
And since I’d rather not have my left ankle turned into a bowl of applesauce, I turn the floor over to Dennis without any further hesitation…
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All that, and, uh….beer. Though not necessarily in that order. Oh, and cheerleaders, too. We like cheerleaders.
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