Offseason Thoughts

With the NFL draft coming up and ESPN's coverage of Florida's Spring Game, I decided to express a few things that have been sitting in my mind about football.

Matt Ryan is the top QB in the draft, expected to go in the first 4 picks. Everyday, Sportscenter focuses on each team and who they should pick. This consists of 5 guys sitting comfortably in room. Really, there are only two of them that are necessary, Chris Mortensen and Mel Kiper. Mort introduces each team and gives a little breakdown of last season, then Kiper just starts talking about his "big board." All the other guys try to say things but Kiper, the expert, cuts them off before they can finish a thought. The funny thing is, Kiper never really expresses his opinion on who the team should pick. He usually ends like this, "The Cowboys would really love to trade up for Darren McFadden, but they really need a second back or they could go for a linebacker or offensive lineman." As he says this, there are highlights of different prospects, but he never predicts who will be taken! He is my third least favorite person on ESPN, behind Skip Bayless and Stephen A Smith. Now, back to Matt Ryan...

Each of the first 8-10 teams could use a quarterback. Everyday, a different analyst predicts that he will fall to a certain team. I think someone has predicted Ryan going to every team in the top 10 at least once. I wonder if every team will pick him, then let him decided who he will play for...

Teams are scared to use a high pick on a QB because it is such a high risk. For some reason, no one seems to notice that these guys arent going to teams who are one player away from being good. They throw them into a no win situation, expecting many wins. Take the Dolphins, who have the number one pick. They won one game last season on a miracle catch and run in overtime. BYU's John Beck is their predicted starter for next season. When asked if the fact they arent choosing Matt Ryan shows they have confidence in him, Chris Mortensen responded, "At least until they have a chance to pick one of the other good quarterbacks available." How would you feel if you were John Beck? Hey, you are our starter, work hard and we will stand behind you...until we can bring in someone better.

Speaking of BYU, I saw their Football schedule for next season, and they are taking the Hawaii strategy to get to the BCS. This strategy consists of playing in a weak conference, not their fault, and schedule just as weak non-conference games. They play two big name schools early, UCLA and Washington. UCLA is coming off a let down season and has a new coach. They are in the middle of a quarterback controversy which will probably last all season. I dont know much about Washington, other than the fact that they have never recovered from the firing of Rick Neuhisel for participating in a March Madness pool. If BYU doesnt go undefeated, I will be very surprised. Really, the two toughest game will be at Washington and at Utah. I hope they go undefeated until that Utah game, then lose the same way they have beat Utah the last few years. If they end up in a BCS game, will they request that extra security be provided in case the opposing teams fans storm the field? In all seriousness, it would be a great thing for the conference because we would get massive checks for the athletic departments!