Well the NFL Draft is for all intensive purposes in the books with all teams claiming glorious victory. I'm sure part is spin and part self-delusion (isn't it always). Now drafts are always hard to assess at least until 3 years down the road. It takes time for some players to develop and for some to get the opportunity. Nonetheless a few teams at least stood out for commentating:
New England
New England cemented itself as the topic of the NFL draft when they got Randy Moss in exchange for a fourth round pick. Moss may be the second most destructive teammate in the NFL but once upon a time had the physical skills to be one of the more dominant. Of course New England seems to have done a 180 for last year. This year they shelled out big bucks for free agents and brought in talent that has "character issues" namely Moss and First Round pick Mayweather. In addition they maintained their string of two first round picks as they traded with San Francisco and acquired the 49ers next years pick.
Cleveland Browns
For the first time in a looong time, the Browns were in the news and not for a bad way. GM Phil Savage decided to place his balls out for all to see and judge. The Browns traded away next year's number one and more for the free falling Brady Quinn. They then traded up for Eric Wright who had top 15 talent but Serious issues (i.e. acquittal on rape charges). Potentially Savage could have brought in 3 starters if not Pro Bowlers at 3 of the most crucial positions in the NFL. The Question of course are the players Savage drafted any good. Is Quinn better than the other QBs selected afterwards. Is Quinn better than any QB next year? Only time will tell but at least have to give Savage props for realizing how far the Browns have to go and throwing the dice.
Others
San Francisco brought in a starting left tackle and linebacker not to mention a trade for Darell Jackson. They may finally have the pieces in place to challenge if not pass Seattle this year. Oakland also gets props for sticking with Russell, nabbing a QB to give Russell time to mature (McCown), Michael Bush and a pass catching tight end. Finally I liked the Panthers finding value at every move to replace aging or of-injured stars.
Dallas v. Golden State
Just a quick thought on this series which is wild as possible. I'm trying to remember a bigger upset in the first round in the NBA and I'm drawing a blank. Dallas had an amazing regular season, the reigning MVP, playoff experience and a 7 game series to fall back on. Yet here they are on the brink of elimination. Nellie deserves some credit for whatever it is he's doing but the real story is the The Red Baron (Davis) is controlling the game while Dirk is shrinking like he's in cold water. If all you knew was the playoffs want to take a vote who really leads their team to victory and deserving of the MVP? Followed up by if Davis hadn't been ejected with Golden State have swept?
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