Football

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First, let me state this is not a “Tim Tebow is God” post.  I think Tebow was a great college player, not the greatest but one of.  This post is simply about Tim Tebow’s draft stock, where I think he will be drafted and the windfall he will cause.

In all of the mock drafts I have seen, Tebow is going in the first two rounds.  It is amazing to me that despite the fact a lot of experts say he can’t play quarterback that they still have him going top two rounds.  While I think it is amazing, I do agree.  I think Tebow will be drafted in round one.  Tebow is determined to prove everyone wrong and that he can be an NFL quarterback.  The effort that he has gone through to improve his mechanics has done nothing but improve his draft stock.  With all of this being said, I still feel that Tebow is a fourth or fifth round quarterback.

The teams that are interested in Tebow could be endless.  This is simply my opinion and pure speculation as to who I think may draft Tebow.  New England, Miami, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Washington, and as an outside option Pittsburgh could all be possibilities.  Now, before you laugh and immediately hit the boards say I am absolutely out of my mind, let me explain my positioning on each and why I think they will or won’t draft Tebow.

New England-They run versions of the Wildcat and are looking to explore more of it to bring a new dynamic to their offense.  Not to mention having Tebow learn behind Brady for a few years could make him the heir apparent to the quarterbacking throne of the New England Patriots.

Miami-This would seem to be more of an outside option given the arrival of Chad Henne last year, his outspoken demeanor regarding Tebow and the drafting of Pat White, however, with Bill Parcells in control and his penchant for taking “players”, I would not be shocked if he picked Tebow in the second round if he is still around.

Kansas City-While most are laughing and ridiculing this idea consider the following, Cassel was almost traded to Denver before arriving in Kansas City.  His trade value while down would still be high.  Tebow would most certainly fit the definition of the right 53 and with three selections in the top 64 picks of the NFL draft they possess the picks to take him.  I don’t see this happening as KC has lots of other need and areas to address.

Jacksonville-The most obvious team to take Tebow, he brings fans to the stands, something they are terribly in need of.  With Garrard at the helm, drafting Tebow would seem to be unnecessary.  Imagine this though, Jacksonville drafts Tebow, trades Garrard and acquires more picks to fill their needs.  The problem in this scenario is while Tebow’s stock has risen, it does not mean he should be taken at ten and Jacksonville has no second round selection.

Buffalo-Trent Edwards has not quite been the answer Buffalo is looking for.  Tebow would not provide  the immediate answer, however, with the way that Gailey handled Thigpen in Kansas City, one would think he would be able to get the best out of Tebow.

Washington-To me, this seems like the most unlikely destination but with the odds seemingly high that they are in the market for a quarterback, I had to put them on the list.  I firmly believe Shanahan will find his quarterback in another place.

Pittsburgh-While everyone seemingly laughing at me for putting them on here, think about Roethlisberger.  With his situation in Pittsburgh and all of his legal troubles, the Steelers could be in the market for a solid back-up quarterback.  Tebow would be able to learn behind Roethlisberger and step in if needed.  Tebow in a way matches what Roethlisberger does.   He is a big, strong quarterback that can move inside and out of the pocket.

So now that we have identified some teams where do I think Tebow will land?  This is where the windfall will come.  I think Jacksonville takes Tebow but not at ten.  I think they will trade down with New England to twenty-two while also picking up the forty-seventh selection and a fourth round pick in the trade.  Farfetched I know but here is why.  Denver selects at eleven and with so many thinking the Broncos will draft Dez Bryant to fill in for Brandon Marshall, I think New England will trade up to tenth to draft Dez Bryant ahead of the Broncos.  While it may not seem like New England would trade up, the Patriots need to find a replacement for Randy Moss before next year and with Welker suddenly becoming injury prone the Patriots need a playmaking wide receiver.  Jacksonville can drop to twenty-two and draft Tebow respectively.  Following such the Jaguars can trade Garrard to possibly the Redskins for their second round pick and all of the sudden Jacksonville comes out smelling like roses.  With the windfall complete Tebow starts from day one for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010.

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With the NFL Combine in full swing, the St. Louis Rams, holders of the #1 pick in April’s draft have certainly been talking it up over the weekend.  General Manager Billy Devaney let it be known that the Rams had narrowed down their choices for the top selection (should they even keep the pick) to defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh or Gerald McCoy or quarterbacks Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen. Well, for whatever that tidbit’s worth in the next 2 months. For the sake of argument let’s play along with Devaney.

That’s a fine final four. Depending on the pundit and/or expert you read, those players are at the top of the 2010 draft class.  Several media outlets reported that Clausen and Bradford were charming teams they met with with their respective grasps of playbooks and ability to break down plays on a chalkboard.  And well, Suh and McCoy are just imposing specimens of defensive prowess ticketed for can’t miss stardom in the NFL.

On Saturday, head coach Steve Spagnuolo made the rounds and eventually spoke to the NFL Network’s main Combine coverage team.  What Spagnuolo addressed was the well publicized fact that the Rams have not drafted a quarterback in the first round since 1967.  It’s not that they haven’t had decent quarterbacks, just that they’ve never restocked the well to get one early in the draft like most every other team on the planet.  Jim Everett and Kurt Warner for example were acquired via free agency or trade.   Does that put the pressure on the Rams brass to take a quarterback? Because it’s clear what the implication is from that stat is, isn’t it?  That the Rams have whiffed in the draft on the likes of young quarterbacks such as Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco over the years, and for a team with a big fat question mark on the quarterback position whiffing on another class of quarterbacks could serve up a tough pill for the fan base to swallow, especially one being asked to stomach a rebuilding.

I’m not convinced the Rams need to take a quarterback here, history or no history. As I’ve mentioned before the Michael Vick option still intrigues me. Even the Josh Johnson deal would be nice in a way. However if the Rams front office is convinced one of the quarterbacks is a can’t miss franchise guy, then sure go ahead and draft him at the top spot or trade back to get him.

Speaking of trades, Devaney also spent time debunking the rumor that he’d consider packaging the NFC’s leading rusher Steven Jackson. Devaney in fact went on to say that Jackson should be the player he builds around. Since he’s debunked that craziness, I will not devote any more discussion to how absolutely dumb an idea it would be to trade the one good thing the team had going for it on either side of the ball and then try to sell fans on having enough faith in an alleged rebuilding plan so they continue to buy tickets. I just won’t say anything about that at all.

With the free agent market starting to flood with free agent running backs and other position players due large signing bonuses, the Rams have several directions they could go to fill needs outside of the draft, but after the skill position players complete their work at the Combine, here are five quarterback and running backs I think the Rams should consider picking after the first round:

• Tony Pike – Quarterback, Cincinnati. This guy, at 6’6” is one of the tallest signal callers at the party, and one of the few top names who actually is throwing while he’s in Indianapolis instead pushing all his chips to his pro day. Pike has a big arm, though his system with the Bearcats didn’t always utilize it. He’s another spread guy who’ll have to learn to play under center but his size and ability make him a nice second round pick up.

• John Skelton – Quarterback, Fordham. Ok, this is a stretch, but it might make sense in a backwards sorta way. Skelton is one of the other tall quarterbacks throwing at the Combine.  He’s got the big NFL arm and he can thread the needle with his passes but what makes this guy interesting is he can move out of the pocket ala another big quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.  The drawback is he lacks the full mechanics repertoire to make him pro ready any time soon. His throwing and running wowed at the Combine, but his knowledge of schemes and coverages and find another receiver did not. The fact that he played at 1AA Fordham doesn’t help his résumé that much either.  But as a project, he’s farther ahead of the curve than most. The Rams could go here in a later round if they have a veteran quarterback running the show.

• Jahvid Best – Running Back, California. Best was more than a quality back in the Pac-10, he was one of the nation’s leading rushers and big playmaker on the ground. What might scare teams off was his battle with concussions this past season that caused him to sit the remainder of the season after a scary fall into the end zone in a game against Oregon State.  The Rams are already dealing with that with last year’s first round pick Jason Smith who missed the Rams’ final six games with post-concussion issues, but Best could help them in the backfield.

• Dexter McCluster –Running Back, Ole Miss. This diminutive dynamo caught everybody’s attention at the Senior Bowl last month and hasn’t stopped catching eyes of scouts since. McCluster is an explosive runner, when given space. The question is how his build will hold up taking hits from and blocking against NFL defenders.   McCluster, though, showed he’s got the heart and toughness of a lion packaged in his 5’9”, 175lb frame as a blocker in the Senior Bowl.  He might be worth a look.

• Ben Tate – Running Back, Auburn. Another impressive candidate at the Combine, Tate’s problem is overcoming the perception that he doesn’t work hard and that’s what seems to be keeping him in the middle of the pack when his SEC numbers would suggest he’s probably deserves to be mentioned in the with those at the top of the 2010 running back class. Tate is strong and he has good speed and definitely could share the load with a veteran back like Steven Jackson.

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After what was a very successful seven round live draft over at Mocking The Draft, we decided to start up another one to see how our views towards certain players and draft strategies have changed.

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Much has happened in St. Louis regarding the Rams in the last few days as the franchise gears up for next week’s draft combine in Indianapolis and the draft itself in April. Let’s take a look a few major notables:

• ESPN’s Adam Clayton reported on Saturday that trade rumors are surfacing to indicate the Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be discussing swapping first round picks. The highlights of the deal would be the Rams getting Buccs backup quarterback Josh Johnson and the #3 overall pick plus some later round compensation in exchange for the #1. Why this makes sense: Rams have many needs to fill so stocking up with another thrower and extra picks allows them to do that.  As I mentioned in my report card post, the Rams have drafted high on the defensive side of the ball the last two years, going that route a third straight season when you have needs on the offensive side doesn’t seem logical and paying #1 overall pick money to a defensive lineman strikes many as ludicrous. Why this doesn’t make sense: Say you trade down to get one of the three projected first round quarterbacks Jimmy Clausen,  Sam Bradford or the rising Colt McCoy, these guys are all coming off injuries and will come at a high-price tag though not as high as Suh’s number.   Speaking of Suh, what if he is the second coming of a league-dominant defensive tackle.  The Rams defense wasn’t exactly stopping the world the last few seasons either.

• Take the For Sale Sign Down? -  Chip Rosenbloom and his sister, Lucia Rodriguez, the children of late owner Georgia Frontiere have struck a deal with Illinois businessman Shahid Khan to buy out their 60 percent stake in the club.  All indications are that Khan wants the team to stay in St. Louis and that his assuming ownership will not mean any clamps on spending that needs to be done to improve a team that has only mustered six wins in the last three years. While on the surface this seems an occasion for much celebration, minority owner Stan Kroenke and his 40 percent ownership stake have rights of first refusal on the deal and 60 days to let his intentions be known.  Further, reports are that Khan has some tax issues looming or at least somewhere in his not too distant past, which may make the league’s finance committee – which must approve the deal a little nervous.

• There were dueling reports from media outlets last week as to the status of current quarterback Marc Bulger.  Some local media had reported that Bulger had cleaned out his locker in preparation for his release from the organization.  Others later reported that Bulger had not in fact cleared his gear, but rather it was done for him equipment staff as part of standard operating procedure for all the lockers.  Steve Spagnuolo didn’t help matters when he spoke to the media last week and gave a less than ringing endorsement of Marc Bulger as his starter in 2010.  The best Spagnuolo could muster is that Bulger is one “all the scenarios” he sees for 2010.  One of the scenarios Billy Devaney certainly sees is the $8 million dollars he’d have to pay Bulger to be on his roster in the upcoming season.  That’s a heavy price tag for a guy who has had trouble staying healthy. Let’s be honest here. Bulger, when healthy, has pretty decent numbers and skill. And he would totally make sense if what the Rams were merely remodeling.  The Rams need a complete tear down and rebuilding and paying Bulger $8 million is pretty steep.Maybe the Rams hold on and try to get more compensation for Bulger, but I can't see why the prudent decision is to have #10 under center, even as a transition. Well, I could if I were sold on any of the Clausen, Bradford or McCoy trio, and right now I'm not.
  

• Expecting to lose Daniel Fells and Randy McMichael this offseason, the Rams picked up former Buffalo Bills tight end Derek Fine off waivers earlier this week.

Next up, who to watch for at key Rams need positions in the upcoming NFL Combine.