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Monday, November 11, 2024

Korked Bats

That Funny Sports Blog

Defending the Youth of the Nation

I enjoy the NFL draft very much. I used to always get sucked into the hype, but have not tried to keep my cool until that weekend.

A lot of people recently criticized underclassman quarterbacks, pointing back to recent history and saying that a lot of them fail. Furthermore, they applied that logic to this draft class and said that it is a much higher risk than a senior quarterback. This is very true that a lot of them fail. I can’t deny that. Even with that being the case, I still would not rule out Stafford, Sanchez, and Freeman. Here is why:

A lot of quarterbacks fail regardless of class standing. Underclassmen fail. So do seniors. See Cade McNown, J.P. Lossman, David Carr, Akili Smith, and Matt Leinart (Yeah I said it!).

The other reason why I believe more underclassman fail is because you see a lot of small school guys or people who played at weaker programs who had a monster year and want to capitalize on the hype. Andre Ware went to Houston, Ryan Leaf went to Washington State (not a perenial powerhouse, but a somewhat legitmate school), Alex Smith went to Utah, Tim Couch went to Kentucky (big school with very little football production), and I throw J.P. Lossman of Tulane in there because he only started his senior season.

The difference between all of those guys and Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez is USC and Georgia versus Utah, Houston, Tulane, etc. None of these guys were surprises. They have been legitimate talents their entire lives. The same is true with Josh Freeman. All 3 of those guys were 5 star recruits on rivals their senior years of high school.

Alex Smith, the only other quarterback on the list with a rivals profile I could find, was 2 stars. I know its a small sample size, but I still can’t imagine guys like Andre Ware and J.P. Lossman being much higher than that.

If the big 3 from this year did go back their senior years, they would still be first round draft picks (maybe not Freeman, but the other 2 are definite locks). The same may not have been true for Alex Smith, Ryan Leaf, or Andre Ware (Heisman and all).

I am not saying there is not a good chance that these guys could be busts. Using my same logic, Rex Grossman should have been a lock. I just think that the underclassman thing is not really all that valid. If the Chiefs did not have the best young arm in the league, I would gladly take any one of these guys (although I liked Bradford the most).

Anyways… I had a few more draft observations.

1. There has been this recent fad among analyst in saying that the combine actually does not matter as much as the fans think, and that a guy can only do so much. That in fact scouts base a lot of projections based upon performance in college.

That is ridiculous. Ray Maualuga was a top 5 pick on a lot of boards before the combine. I guarantee that you can not find a mock draft dated before the combine that him outside of the first round.

Also try to find me a draft that has Aaron Curry in the top 5 before the combine.

2. I am thankful that Jeremy Maclin slid all the way to the Eagles, and did not land anywhere in the AFC West. I am excited to see McNabb and the Cheat Code hooking up for long bombs all year.

3. There is no defending Al Davis’ crazy. That draft was abysmal. I normally think it is insane to try and rate drafts the next day, but to take a safety that no one has heard of at the very beginning of the second round is obnoxious. Prove me wrong, Al.

4. I got to give a shout out to my school… Did you know Mizzou had more draft picks than the rest of the Big 12 north combined, and the most in the Big 12? Anyone who says Nebraska is the still the king of the north is delusional.

Overall, a very fun draft. I am excited for next year, and can’t wait to see who the Chiefs will take with the 32nd overall pick.

9 thoughts on “Defending the Youth of the Nation

  • May 1, 2009 at 4:29 pm
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    The raiders took that safety because that’s who the Ravens were trading up to get. No so crazy.

    You’d think with all the talent at UGA and USC that both of these quarterbacks could easily win every game on the schedule if they’re that good.

    Maualuga fell because of off field issues and plenty of the draft is based on collegiate play. Not all of it (i.e. DHB) but a warranted amount is.

    Reply
  • May 1, 2009 at 4:31 pm
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    check check.. the Bears not the Ravens.. check check

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  • May 1, 2009 at 6:22 pm
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    Anonymous is a fool…

    Stafford and Sanchez both won more or equal to as many games at 87% of teams in college football…

    and if the Raiders need safety take one rated higher than 70th on the board by the top draft analyst. (see Kiper or McShay)

    Reply
  • May 1, 2009 at 10:07 pm
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    Time will tell… Time will tell. Where was Tom Brady ranked? Marques Colston??

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  • May 2, 2009 at 8:38 am
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    It’s good to see my little Zosbo is back in the swing of swinging his Korked Bat posts. You’re followers have missed you and now demand consistent postage.

    XOXO,
    John

    Reply
  • May 3, 2009 at 2:47 pm
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    Where was Peyton Manning and Randy Moss taken?

    Reply
  • May 4, 2009 at 9:01 pm
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    hey bozo! Manning and Moss have no effect on your bashing of Mike Mitchell.. He’s a no namer that will shock you.. Educate yourself

    Reply
  • May 8, 2009 at 1:46 am
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    Sanchez is legit. I think some analysts are secretly USC fans and wanna get on his case for leaving a year early.

    Reply

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