Miscellaneous Draft Observations
*The Pats pick I can't wait to watch is Michigan LB Shawn Crable. I can't take my eyes off the kid, because he's a physical freak. No kidding, he's got the longest arms I've ever seen in my life. They're like Kevin McHale's except on a 6' 5" body. He looks like Kevin Kline in "Dave" when he uses the big, industrial robot arms to say "I caught a fish that was... this... big." Check Crable out in mini camp, his elbows start at his knees. He's like a pterodactyl.
*But as Stoolie Wisdom of Tom Jackson points out, Crable practiced every day against the No. 1 overall pick. That can't have hurt him in the Patriots eyes.
*The biggest superstar to emerge out of the 2008 rookie class will be Mini Muhammed, Darren McFadden's mother. She's not only an admitted "recovering" crack addict, she's never seen a live microphone she's not willing to say ill-advised things into. She spilled the beans that he was leaving school early, which was quickly denied, then the next day he announced he... was leaving school early. Mini openly lobbied for Run DMC to be drafted by Dallas and said she hated New York ...at a press conference in New York. While the Jets were holding the 6th pick. And she infamously was found driving a brand new Cadillac Escalade given to her by a Razorback booster, which almost cost her son the chance to play in the Cotton Bowl. Move over, Richard Williams; this chick is Crazy Sports Parent Hall of Fame material.
*There were doubts about McFadden's "character" which probably did two things:
1) Made some teams shy away
2) Guaranteed he'd be a Raider.
And on the way to the podium, McFadden committed three violations of the league's Personal Conduct Policy.
*The draft pundits are in their eighth big year of trying to come up with a Unified Theory to explain how Belichick and Pioli draft. Year after year the braintrust proves them wrong. The latest theory to fall is the one that says the Pats don't draft need. Clearly the biggest concerns on the Pats roster were LB, CB and back up QB, and they addressed them all. If there's one conclusion we can draw it's that Piolichick like guys from the big schools: Tennessee, Coloroado, Michigan, Auburn... the Pats gravitate to the NFL feeder programs. That's something to keep in mind when there's rumors they're interested in the '09 drafts equivalent of Troy's Leodis McKelvin.
*3rd round QB pick Kevin O'Connell is the most intriguing pick and it can't bode well for Matt Cassel. Belichick would never let us know for sure, but based on the pick and the way they seemed to give more snaps to Matt Guttierez, it's possible the Cassel experiment is coming to an end. But don't discount the idea of them being able to get something of value for him. During the Patriots Dark Ages, they were always willing to grab the backup QB on the best offense in the league, hoping it would cure all the team's problems, like transplanting a heart.
*The most fascinating comments of all the Pats draftees came from O'Connell when he said Josh McDaniel visited the San Diego St. campus and spent 45 minutes with O'Connell, giving him pointers he'd never seen before. I continue to marvel at the Patriots coaching staff. How does the OC of a Super Bowl team find the time to share QB-ing tips with some random college kid for free? They must get five minutes of REM sleep a month.
*Mike Felger told this story the other day. I repeat it here not because it's my favorite Belichick draft story and not because Felger loves Barstool Sports (though that doesn't hurt, I'll level with you). The year DeWayne Robertson was in the draft, the rumor mill was full of stories of the Patriots furiously burning up the phone lines desperately trying to work a deal to move up and grab him. The night before the draft, Felgie got Belichick on his cell phone. The Hooded One was on his way to his son's lacrosse practice. Meanwhile, the Jets gave up two high first rounders to grab Robertson in order to keep him away from the Pats, who in fact wanted Robertson so bad it wasn't worth missing a 12 year old's practice. Not a game... practice. Robertson of course has turned out to be a complete bust.
*Some have disparaged the pick of Jonathan Wilhite, wondering how the 129th pick in the draft is supposed to replace Asante Samuel. Which is a nice opportunity to point out Samuel was the 120th pick in the 2003 draft, which wasn't nearly as CB deep as this one.
*Also interesting that they'd take Matt Slater, whom no one expects will ever see the field except on Special Teams. You could argue a guy like him would be available after the draft, but you can't argue how much emphasis they put on teams. It's not just lip service if they're willing to move up the board to get him. And unlike a lot of guys taken in the 5th round, he'll be able to contribute right away.
*In the battle of TV draft pundits, I'd have to give the edge to Mike Mayock of NFL Network over Mel Kiper. It's amazing the extent to which Kiper has branded himself. Every time the draft is mentioned on a radio show, his name comes up in every conversation. And I do give him credit for the ability to talk extemporaneously, without notes, about all 252 picks. But that doesn't mean what he says is correct or his evaluations are accurate; just that he can spit out data as well as any of them. But so can Mayock, only I get the sense his job with NFLN gets him access to the people who actually make the picks that no one else gets. I wouldn't be surprised to learn Kiper goes years without a GM actually talking to him.
*If I can nitpick the Pats draft, I just wish they'd done something with their pick at the top of the 3rd round. They seem to have a history of finding gems on Day 2 that fell through the cracks, including Ellis Hobbs and Nick Kazcur. And this year Day 2 was an entire round earlier, so I thought they'd really be able to pull an impact player out of their ass there. But they did get two picks, one of them a 2nd rounder next year from San Diego, which gives more incentive to root against the Chargers, in case I needed it.
*The draft has all but cured my post Super Bowl hangover. When does mini camp start?