Well, the 2006 NFL Draft has come and gone. Now, for the next few days, we get to read the fallout. My recap is in two parts: part one involves draft coverage from the media, and part two is my opinion on how the Colts did.
For the most part, as I've shown in previous posts, the overall grade the pundit media gave Indy was about a "B-." These grades are, of course, meaningless as most of these media idiots, like Mel "Mr. Hair" Kiper or Fat Lenny Pasquarelli, know nothing about football, football players, or what constitutes a successful draft. One has to know the team, and how it works, in order to truly understand whether that team had a "good draft."
This is why reading idiots like Kiper is a waste. Reading SBNation blogs though isn't. Example, Grizz at Blogging the Boys is a big, fat Cowboy homer, and we all love the dude for that. Despite his homersim, he knows more about what the Cowboys need and want than someone like Mel Kiper. Kiper simply looks at players and says, This guy is good. He runs a 4.4. He's a linebacker. He'd be perfect for Dallas. Kiper then puts that linebacker on his mock draft board, and if the Cowboys do not take him Kiper claims they had a "bad draft."
Fat Lenny Pasquarelli works in a similar way. He gets his "insider info" from player agents and team staff. When those agents tell him Reggie Bush will get picked number one, and then Houston does something different and takes DE Mario Williams, Fat Lenny blasts the Texans for daring to go against his sources and thus making him look like a fat schmuck.
Television, radio, and print sports "journalism" has all the professionalism of a grade school playground.
Speaking of schmucks, I got a kick out of ESPN "analyst" Michael Irvin looking like a clueless fool during ESPN's TV draft coverage. It was always obvious that Irvin was an overhyped player when he won championships with Dallas. He'll never see the Hall of Fame, and this is a good thing. Receivers like Jerry Rice are Hall of Famers, and morons like Irvin can't hold Rice's jock. It is amazing how little Irvin has changed since his playing days in Big D. He's still a dumb, arrogant coke-head with the fashion sense of Bozo the Clown.
ESPN became a three-ring-circus a long time ago. So, when I see numbskulls like Irvin on as "analysts" I simply laugh and enjoy thier useless banter in the same way I enjoy watching mimes beaten to death with billy clubs. ESPN used to be a good network to get information on your favorite sports team. They had thoughtful commentators and strong TV personalities. Now, it's total entertainment at the lowest common denominator. The "fashion show" segments ESPN ran before going to commericals, featuring draftees Matt Leinhart in a Matrix get-up and Jay Cutler in a goofy cowboy hat, were laughably bad.
I knew ESPN had gone into the toilet when they hired Rush Limbaugh as part of the normal NFL Sunday pre-game show several years ago. I'm sorry, but no matter your politics, Rush Limbaugh has no business commenting on football. He's a fat drug addict. If I wanted to listen to a drug addict talk about tough guys hitting each other as they fight for yardage, I'd listen to Michael Irvin. At least he stays in decent shape, and doesn't make racist remarks against black players. Ever since that little Rush fiasco, I've only watched ESPN when I've had to, like a Sunday night football game or the draft. Limbaugh's stay in the ESPN studios was short lived, but it left an ugly impression.
So, let this be a lesson: don't go to idiots like Kiper, Fat Lenny, Michael Irvin, or Rush Limbaugh for good coverage of the draft. These people know nothing about the sport they cover. This is an especially sad indictment of Irvin considering he actually PLAYED football. The moron still thinks offense wins championships. Tell that to the Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, and Bucs. None had prolific offenses. Some had medicore quarterbacks. All have rings.
For real draft coverage, the people you should listen to are people who know their teams. The gents that run the football blogs for SBNation did a helluva job blogging the draft. I learned more about how Detroit operates on draft day in two days of reading Sean's Pride of Detroit site then in ten years of listening to Fat Lenny. Fat Lenny doesn't know the Lions. Sean does.
Each of these SBNation bloggers has a firm handle on their team, and I go to them when I want to know something about the Cowboys, Browns, Bengals, Steelers, Lions, Bears, or Patriots. I encourage you to do the same, and avoid the vapid, mind-sucking numbness that is ESPN.