The Landry Hat » andre wadsworth

NFL to invite 18 players to NFL Draft.

thelandryhat — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:02:53 +0000

By: Joe D.

The yearly exercise of inviting players to the NFL draft will continue in 2010. Previously 9 players were invited to Day 1 of the NFL Draft. The NFL performs a brief straw poll of GM’s to determine who is expected to be drafted in the first round and consequently avoid embarrassment for the player and the league. This year that number will jump to 18.

Some will argue that there is little value to inviting players to the NFL Draft. The players may speak to the NFL brass, but most decision makers, GM’s, coaches, and scouts have compiled their opinions regarding a player and have neatly placed them onto a draft board.

When a player is drafted, they will walk onto the stage, hold up a jersey, take a photo, and then get an interview that goes a little something like this, “I wanna thank god and my coach and my mom. The __’s are gonna be happy to chose me.”

Absolutely useless. If a player could pull back the curtain and give a peek to the public, it would be both ill advised and vastly more entertaining. “Fourth overall, that’s 22 mill guaranteed! I want to send a shout out to my entourage Jackie, Jake, Jimmy, James, Johnny, Johni with an I, Jamal, Jason, Jeremy, Jean, Jai, Jesse, Joey, and Francis. We are all going to get solid gold x-boxes and Hummers. And my girlfriend, Josette, I’m breaking up with you because I can do better, much better. And thanks to my mom. Dad… I bet you wish you showed up for my birthdays now. Too late, everybody get a car but you! One more thing, Jeffy, I need an order or your finest… Ciiigars…”

Despite all of the above, I wholly encourage the NFL to invite players to the NFL Draft. When a player drops late into the 1st round, it is a painful experience. Both Aaron Rodgers and Brady Quinn had to wait hours before finally hearing their name called. In both instances, they could have been a top three pick. Falling to the 20′s is an expensive afternoon.

Rodgers was seriously considered by San Francisco for the 1st overall pick in 2005. Immediately prior to the 2005 draft, the rumor was that Rodgers was more “sign-able”. Consequently, people believed San Francisco was settling for the lesser talented Rodgers over Alex Smith. San Francisco management seemingly succumb to the public pressure and drafted Smith. The difference in the contract value between the first and 24th pick is approximately $40 million dollars. 15 minutes (now 10 minutes) is allotted per pick. 23 picks x 15 minutes is 345 minutes. $40 million divided by 345 is about $116,000 lost per minute. If that’s not human emotional drama, I don’t know what is. Those on Wall Street may have had similar experiences, but it wasn’t televised for the world to see.

I personally don’t like seeing players drop; I’m not jealous of their success and upcoming riches (5 year @ 12 million isn’t a pittance). An emotional connection is made between the players and the television viewer. In a jaded world, the greater public connects with their empathetic side. Personally, I wanted Rodgers to prove his nay-sayers wrong. I wished for him to be successful and then he beat the Cowboys last year. At that point, I wished a plague on his house.

On the other side of the coin, a negative emotional connection can be made with the fans. The year Eli Manning was drafted, he and his father, Archie Manning, expressed the “preference” that the San Diego Chargers not draft Eli. The reason behind this is that Archie spent his entire career with a dysfunctional New Orleans Saints organization. It was believed by the Mannings that the Chargers were a modern day version of Archie’s Saints. Considering the Chargers record the past 6 years (12-4, 9-7, 14-2, 11-5, 8-8, and 13-3), the Mannings appear to have been naive and ignorant. Recent Chargers success doesn’t hide the decade of mediocrity that preceeded the past 6 years. This is the same team that drafted Ryan Leaf, the archetype of all draft busts. Even more notable is that they would have drafted Andre Wadsworth at #2 if the Colts drafted Leaf rather than Peyton Manning. Also, the Chargers organization were fierce negotiators with their first round draft picks, leading to several holdouts by the multiple players. Most notably was the holdout of Phillip Rivers which opened the door for Drew Brees to start the 2004 season. Brees played well leading the team to a 12-4 record which made him the defacto starter the following year. In the final game of the 2005 season, Brees suffered a horendous shoulder injury which allowed the Rivers era to begin. With a reasonable negotiating effort elminating the delay, Rivers may have participated in training camp and been the starter for the 2004 season.

The Chargers did draft Eli Manning with the first overall pick and the Chargers traded him an hour later to the Giants. But that hour of Eli and Co. stewing is just priceless entertainment. He was a rookie. What gave him the right to dictate terms? He would have been well served to drop to the bottom of the first round, but that storyline did not play out.

So to the NFL, bring the 18 to the 1st round. On day 2, bring another 9 to the second round. Can we find out who Mr. Irrellevant will be in advance and invite him? This is reality TV at it’s purest. Though the question should be asked, “What is the draft status of The Situation?”

Cowboys Trades that Won’t Happen, but Should…

thelandryhat — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:53:49 +0000

By: Joe D.

The NFL is allergic to trades. A brief look at the Cowboys recent history will clarify why. In 2000, Dallas traded 2 first round draft picks to Seattle for Joey Galloway. The Cowboys were looking to replace Michael Irvin and regain their offensive swagger. Aikman and Galloway were injured that season and a long run of mediocre quarterback play followed. Galloway’s tenure in Dallas is mostly considered a failure considering the two lost draft picks contributed to extending a painful rebuilding effort. In 2008, a trade for Adam Jones for a 4th round draft pick was widely publicized. While the risk v. reward was reasonable, the outcome of Jones getting suspended in 2008 and subsequently released further embarrassed a proud franchise. Again in 2008, the Cowboys sent a 1st and 3rd round pick to the Detroit Lions for Roy Williams. He has underperformed the value of the draft pics and his contract extension. Aside from being Super Bowl MVP, Williams may never redeem himself in the eyes of some Cowboys fans. Considering the above track record, the general manager would be shown the door. Bad trades more often than bad draft picks get GM’s fired. Not in Dallas.

What’s the common thread in the above trades? The Dallas Cowboys were buyers and not sellers. The greatest trade in Cowboys history was the Herchel Walker trade to the Vikings for a bevy of picks and players. This allowed for the resurgence of the franchise in the 90′s.

Beware of believing in the draft. Players like Ryan Leaf, Andre Wadsworth, Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, etc. never live up to their expectations. The Baltimore Ravens are arguably the best franchise in the past decade choosing players in the first round, and they even missed on Kyle Boller.

The Patriots of done an amazing job of coaching up players, and then trading them when they have an inflated value on the market. Deion Branch and Richard Seymour were closer to the end of their careers than the beginning when they were trade for first round picks. While Seymour wasn’t entirely the product of the Patriots system, he certainly won’t continue to have as much longevity as a rookie in 2011 entering the league.

And so that brings us to the Dallas Cowboys. The team is constituted with a large number of young players. The older players on the team are mostly along the offensive line. There is very little trade value for Flozell Adams, 34, or Marc Colombo, 31. At best, a team in need may offer a 4th round draft pick as a stop gap measure. Keith Brooking, 34, has limited trade value and will not being changing team colors either.

Recently the Cowboys have been suggested as a possible trading partner with San Diego. Antonio Cromartie for Tashard Choice. Wade Phillips coached Cromartie during his rookie year with San Diego. Reports indicate Cromartie has a questionable worth ethic and suspect practice habits. Perfect for the Cowboys you say? Hold on. The Cowboys should engage in a trade with the Chargers, but rather sending Choice, Marion Barber should be given the one way ticket.

Barber will be 27 years old at the start of the 2010 season, and that is an old 27. While 30 years old is the normal line of demarcation for a productive running back, Barber’s style has lead to injuries and he had proven in individual games as well as over the course of a season, that he is unable to handle the duties of a 20 to 30 carry a game back. Additionally, he has never been fast, but he appears to not hit the hole with the same quickness and ferocity as in previous years. Maybe the Chargers have no interest in this fading dinged back, but if they did…

The Cowboys should rely on Phillips to make the call on whether the rumors about Cromartie are justified. If they are, engage in a three team trade with a team like Green Bay who are in need of a talent upgrade in their secondary. The Cowboys, in my estimation, should be able to receive a 2nd round draft pick in the deal. Even if the pick is a third rounder, it is still value for a player on the downside of his career.

Alternately, if Wade believes the rumors are unfounded, the Cowboys would have a glut of talent at CB. I would wholly suggest trading Terrence Newman, 31, to the Packers and keeping Cromartie, 26. Yes Newman signed a contract extension 2 years prior, and Cromartie would be due a new costly contract, but in 5 years, who will still be in the league? Newman has never evolved into a shutdown corner. While Cromartie is unlikely to improve over his past performance with the Chargers, it is conceivable that he would be able to duplicate, if not better, Newman’s sometimes uneven performance.

This is all conjecture, and it is likely that the Cowboys have zero trades leading up to the draft. At some point, the Cowboys have to cut ties with older players and coldly trade them to other teams for draft picks. It’s a system that works in the salary cap era, trade high salaried players for draft picks who earn substantially less. In the 2010 uncapped year, the strategy may change in how the game is played off the field, but aging veterans in exchange for young talented players will always be en vogue.