When three incidents come within 18 months, you start to wonder. When tapes get conveniently erased, you start to wonder. When bathrooms get cleaned up with PineSol before the police take evidence, you start to wonder. When the investigating officer is a buddy, you start to wonder. Some people accuse celebrities for cash. This isn't one of those cases. Roethlisberger's a rapist. The man isn't going to jail. I'd say he got a fair enough shake. That's why criminals who have celebrity status do it. They know people will accuse their victims of being out for money. Quite a nice set up.
Draft night! Denver has traded back 10 or 11 spots then up 2 spots. Unsurprisingly, Denver didn't get Dez Bryant.... with his character questions, I figured that McD wouldn't take him. They did get Demaryius Thomas in WR though, and McD apparently commented in a pre-draft meeting that Thomas reminded him a lot of Marshall, except that he is better than Marshall in some areas. I can respect that decision. ....And we just traded up for Tebow. I don't know much about Tebow, but I don't understand why we used such a high pick on yet another QB, when we already have 2 or 3 decent ones on the team already. I would have filled a different need.
Tebow will probably be the second string or starter if he impresses in the offseason. He's a VERY good quarterback despite what the "experts" say. They obviously wanted him over Clausen and McCoy.
Someone tell me Denver didn't waste a first round pick on Tebow. Please. Someone tell me they weren't so ungodly stupid. Yes, he's a very good college quarterback. These are the pros. His release is too slow. Why would Denver do that????
McDaniels made Cassel into a valuable asset during his stint in NE. I'm sure he'll muster up something with Tebow. Much to my dismay seeing as the fucking Broncos are kryptonite to the Patriots. -Jamman
And the look on Suh's face was kind of like "Yay I was drafted. Oh shit, I have play for the Lions." And I wish he had Cassel back. Will be interesting to see if the Chiefs draft Clausen today.
The unfamous vertically striped sock game still kills me from last year as a Pats fan. I did buy a pair of those socks though.
I haven't really been following this closely, but the speculation I've read in various news stories over the past year is that one of the existing NFL teams will move to Los Angeles very soon, possibly as early as 2011. The most likely candidate for relocation seems to be the Jaguars, as they're struggling in Jacksonville, and can't sell out any of their games. There was also speculation that Jacksonville might draft Tebow if only to sell tickets for their games, seeing as how he's quite popular in north Florida. Well, they passed on Tebow and drafted a comparatively obscure player in the first round. Is this a sign that the ownership is indeed seriously contemplating a move to LA?
Not necessarily. The Jags polled their season ticket holders, and they were split on drafting Tebow. Jacksonville may have just wanted to make sure they didn't enrage the people already giving them money. And, call me crazy, but the Tebow to Denver pick actually makes sense the more I think about it. Did anyone else see the bit from ESPN where Jon Gruden critiqued the top quarterbacks? During that, Gruden told Tebow that he might be better as a goal-line running back. Now, Denver shipped their goal-line back to Cleveland in the Brady Quinn deal. I think McDaniels decided he wanted a quarterback of the future he didn't have to purely redshirt for a few years. I think Denver is going to give Tim Tebow a ton of time with the QB coach and then give him the ball when they're three yards from the end zone to make him earn his pay.
It's a sign that Jacksonville has a radical point of view when it comes to the draft: they choose to draft players who will help the team. Denver has risked too much on a project who may well never pan out. Why in the devil did they waste a first round pick and first round money? You draft projects in the third round, not in the first. If they work out--that's great. If not, you haven't lost that much. Your first round picks are supposed to have legitimate potential at their position. The Tebow admiration in the media is absurd. He's not the only kid who works hard, but you'd think so from the constant circle jerk going on about him. Tebow will never make it as a pro quarterback. They'd better have that contingency plan for him or Denver will take the Raiders place as the laughingstock of the NFL. Forget drafting someone in the first round who can actually start and make a difference soon. Character is important, but football is a business. You have to combine some level of professional talent with the character. EDIT--Is it true that Denver traded away three picks in order to be able to draft in the first round to get him? That's nuts. What about addressing your team's needs? None of their quarterbacks have an arm that's worth a darn.
That is indeed true. We gave Baltimore a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks in exchange for Baltimore's one 1st round pick and the ability to get Tebow. That was one of the things that really blew my mind as well- we spent a pretty penny getting a guy that fills a position that we don't really need filled.
That's really true, huh? Wowza. The thing of it is, if they'd have drafted Tebow in the third round because he's got great character/work ethic and good "intangibles" I'd have thought, "Okay, I can understand that. He might be helpful in utility situations and they want to root out the bad apples. He's a talented athlete." That I could wrap my mind around. Give a good kid a shot to make the roster. But first round? Giving three of your picks away for someone who's risky at best to work out? When you have legitimate needs? No. If they were that desperate to have another quarterback and wanted someone without baggage (Clausen is apparently a snotty little douchebag) who'd work like a dog with your quarterback's coach, why not give Colt McCoy a chance? If you wanted a promising receiver for a bargain, why not choose Golden Tate? There were more attractive picks available that would have filled holes for Denver.
I guess the question is, from a business standpoint, can they actually afford to draft a player who will do the most to help the team, rather than the person who will sell the most tickets? In 2009, they were in the playoff hunt until the last week of the season, yet only sold out one or two of their games. That's an unbelievably bad sign for an NFL team. It's a sign that they could be doomed in Jacksonville unless they make a drastic gamble, like drafting Tebow. The fact that they didn't makes me wonder if the ownership is looking more seriously about leaving Jacksonville.