The 2005 NFL Draft horror show/Mark Jalkanen
By Mark Jalkanen/DMG Web ColumnistHide the women and children, check under the bed and in the closet, turn on the night light, because you are about to read one of the scariest stories this side of Camp Crystal Lake. It is the story of the 2005 draft, and specifically the (mis)adventures of the NFC North. And unlike the draft of a week ago, this draft can now be judged based on the actual performances, or lack thereof, of the players.
The draft was not very productive on a league-wide basis, however, the North nearly took the entire year off, and suffice it to say that if every draft was like the North in 2005, the league would be on the verge of collapse.
The Vikings took seven players in 2005.
With the seventh overall pick that they received from the Raiders, the Vikings chose wide receiver Troy Williamson and later used the eighteenth overall pick to select defensive end Erasmus James.
James is no longer on an NFL roster, and while the Vikings did manage to pilfer a sixth round pick in 2007 for Williamson, the simple math reveals that the team managed to take a valuable asset, Randy Moss, and turn him into useless Williamson who became a mere sixth round pick.
Williamson is still with the Jaguars, however, that is only because they have the worst receiver situation in football. Free agent bust Jerry Porter, mug-shot Matt Jones, and Reggie "don't Tase me bro" Williams were all cut this year. It should be noted that Jones was the 21st pick in the glorious 2005 draft and Williams was the ninth overall pick in 2004.
Therefore, of the five other players chosen by the Vikings, three are clinging to other rosters, one is not on any roster, and one is with the Edmonton Eskimos.
The Bears drafted six players that year.
With the fourth overall pick they took running back Cedric Benson (currently with the Bengals) who was released after the 2007 season. Three years and gone for the fourth overall pick was not part of the plan.
Of the other five players, one is Kyle Orton, who was recently packaged as part of the trade for Jay Cutler, two are on other NFL rosters, one is not on any roster, and one is playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Apparently, the Canadian Football League had a good draft in 2005.
The Lions acquired six warm bodies in 2005, and the results suggest that picking up six cold beers might have been the better strategy.
Mike Williams was taken with the tenth overall pick, and was sent packing in 2007.
Of the other five players, Dan Orlovsky found a new end zone to run out of, as he was signed as a free agent by Houston this year, two are on other NFL rosters, one is currently out of the league, and one, Jonathan Goddard, died in a motorcycle accident in 2008 after playing that season with the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League.
As has been outlined in previous columns the only players remaining on North rosters from that draft are Aaron Rodgers (round 1), Nick Collins (2), Brady Poppinga (4), and Mike Montgomery (6).
The fact that the Packers found a starting quarterback and a Pro Bowl safety would indicate that they had a fairly successful draft. The Pack exercised a total of eleven picks, found two starters and two players still on the roster (with their fingers crossed) providing depth, giving them a 36% success rate (as determined by players still on the team).
The success rate of the North as a whole, thirty divisional draft picks only four players, or 13%, still on rosters, is undoubtedly one of the contributing factors to the overall weakness of the division.
On the other hand, if you look at the 2005 drafts for the last the last two Super Bowl winners, the Giants and Steelers, as well as the team (Patriots) that nearly went undefeated two years ago, and compare their drafts with those of the North it provides the differentiation between success and mediocrity.
Because of the Eli Manning trade the year before, the Giants only had four picks, however, they procured three starters: cornerback Corey Webster, defensive end Justin Tuck, and running back Brandon Jacobs.
The Steelers had eight picks and they landed four starters for their Super Bowl team: tight end Heath Miller, guards Chris Kemoeatu and Trai Essex, and cornerback Bryant McFadden who just signed (2 years $10 million) as an unrestricted free agent with Arizona.
New England had seven picks and they landed five players who started last year: tackle Nick Kaczur, guard Logan Mankins, and safety James Sanders and cornerback Ellis Hobbs (traded to Philadelphia during the draft last weekend).
Oh, by the way, they also chose USC backup quarterback Matt Cassel in the seventh round, with pick number 230 of 255, and they traded him for pick number 34 in the 2009 draft.
The Cassel choice is the perfect contrast to the Troy Williamson debacle. The Pats added value by drafting low and trading high, the Vikings vice versa, and essentially gave away Randy Moss in the process. On a related note, Moss was traded to New England for a fourth round pick in 2007.
The 2005 draft was part of the reason that the Patriots, Giants, and Steelers visited the Super Bowl. It was also part of the reason that nobody from the NFC North did (also contributing was the Favre overtime pick versus the Giants in the NFC Championship game).
Teams can afford to miss on a few players here and there, however, missing on entire drafts can quickly lead to mediocrity, and in some cases 0-16 seasons. The annual post-draft period is a time for optimism. There is no doubt that in 2005 many fans of the North were hopeful, and even confident, that their teams had created a foundation for long-term success. That is why grading drafts minutes after they occur is mildly entertaining and nothing more, however, assessing drafts after 3 or 4 years can be downright maddening and filled with woulda, shoulda, and coulda moments. Ask the North, and be sure to check back in a few years to see how your team did in 2009.
PEEVE OF THE WEEK
Is this what they mean when they say "good money after bad"?
Last December the Bush administration lit the fuse on this fiasco when they loaned Chrysler $4 billion.
Under a new plan the Obama administration will throw another $8 billion, and a copy of the Constitution, into the fire.
In the ultimate version of "you break it, you bought it" the United Auto Workers are set to be the majority owner of Chrysler, with a 55% stake, under the administration proposal.
The goal of the UAW is to maximize employee benefits and wages and, conversely, the goal of ownership is to maximize profits while keeping wages and benefits at a reasonable level in order to achieve that end. Will the union make concessions to the union or will the union make concessions to the union?
Italian automaker Fiat could eventually own 35% of the new company. One definition of the word fiat is "an authoritative determination or arbitrary order, a dictate."
How apropos.
The government is attempting to dictate the terms of the bankruptcy.
The only problem is Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution which gives Congress the power "To establish...uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States."
Where there's smoke, there's a burning copy of the Constitution.
We already have uniform bankruptcy laws, and therefore, the courts are the proper venue to settle these matters, not the political arena.
The bottom line is that bankruptcy should have been done under the Bush administration; however, they feared having another massive failure on their watch so they gave the industry just enough bucks so they could pass the buck to Obama. Now the Obama administration is creating a debacle that will, in all likelihood, not end well.
Note: The peeve next week will dissect the GM "solution."
INDISCRIMINATE MUSINGS
"Don't Tase me bro" was yelled by University of Florida student Andrew Meyer as he was restrained, and Tasered, during a John Kerry speech at his school. Reggie Williams had a similarly shocking experience when he was recently arrested.
With the retirement of Justice David Souter, there is speculation that esteemed Canadian Jennifer Granholm could be looking at an appointment to the Supreme Court. I believe that Tom, the Canadian bartender, would deem this erroneous.
It is being reported that the Bengals are going to be the featured team on the HBO series "Hard Knocks." It is believed that HBO outbid the National Geographic channel's "Locked Up" series for the rights to film the team.
The First Family recently got a Portuguese Water Dog, however, the scuttlebutt about the dog possibly being named "Pretentious" has been proven false.
The last American auto manufacturer to seek bankruptcy was Studebaker in 1933.
St. Louis passed on Matt Ryan last year and Mark Sanchez this year. If Sanchez becomes a star then whoever the Rams pass on next year should be the pick of the draft.
Fiat also manufactures Ferrari.
The acronym stands for Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino or Italian Automobile Manufacturer of Turin.
On a related note: BMW, Bayerische Motoren Werke, is Bavarian Motor Works.
The annual Favre flu season is upon us.
Punxsutawney Favre was released by the Jets last week and said "at this time, I am retired and have no intention of returning to football."
"At this time" is actually Favre-speak for "I need to keep myself in the news" and "when I am no longer in this column I will unretire again (and again, and again, infinity) and have my revenge."
Good luck with big-top Brett Minnesota. It will distract, detract, and destroy the already fragile psyche of Tarvaris Jackson and make Sage Rosenfels wonder if signing with the Vikes was such a sage move.
A comeback would certainly add to the 2009 intrigue of the NFC North with Rodgers, Cutler, Stafford, and Favre.
Just think, if Favre does come back, we get to do this again in 2010, and again, and again, infinity.
There is some gossip about Favre retaining the services of a personal trainer, and also that he was seen eating at a waffle house in Eden Prairie. Neither report has been substantiated.
The Lions defensive backs are rooting for a Favre comeback. They could use some interceptions after only getting one (!!) during the 2008 season.
I wonder if Childress is renting.
Is Detroit becoming a suburb of D.C.?
Percy Harvin was reportedly hospitalized with severe dehydration this week on his way to rookie camp in Minnesota. There was celebration in the Twin Cities when they realized that he hadn't been arrested.
There has been at least one winner during the economic crisis. Lost in the plethora of newspaper bankruptcies, The Wall Street Journal is actually growing and will soon be have the largest circulation in the U.S.
Is the IRS going to return the fraudulent capital gains and dividend taxes collected from all of the Madoff clients that had fictitious appreciation in their accounts?
Your tax dollars at waste. The Houghton-Portage Township election is happening today and for those in Portage Township there is one person running unopposed on the ballot and nothing else. For a sum that will certainly run into the thousands of dollars, paid for by the school district, voters get to choose Mr. Mohler. Vote early, vote often, vote waste.
Is Lee Iacocca coming back to run Chrysler?
Due to the AH1N1 flu I was reminded of a character from the movie "Lolita" named George Swine. The Stanley Kubrick film, based on the 1955 Vladimir Nabokov novel, that was banned for two years in (of all places) France, and the movie which caused quite a stir, deserve a viewing. The subject matter may be a bit disturbing to some, then again, it would do us all some good to be disturbed once in a while.
The Ian Fleming criminal organization, SPECTRE, has officially managed to infiltrate the U.S. Senate in the body of opportunistic, and aptly named, Arlen Specter and is threatening the tyranny of the majority upon the country in the form of a 60 vote cramdown.
As some of you may know, Specter was once a Democrat, then became a Republican, and is now a Dem again.
Favre thinks Arlen should make up his mind.
The Republican Party is attempting to rebrand itself, which is a fine strategy, until one realizes that Sarah Palin and Jeb Bush are two of the chosen leaders.
Another thrilling Derby was run this weekend and a fortunate few made out quite well when 50-1 shot "Mine That Bird" won going away.
There were 46 players that declared early for the NFL draft and nine went undrafted.
At least V.P. Joe Biden waited 100 days to cause a national panic.
While administration officials clumsily tried to explain what Biden really "meant to say" I will defer to a synopsis of an editorial cartoon to give some perspective.
Biden: "Run for your life!"
Clarification from Administration: "Jogging is good for your health."
At least the White House waited 100 days before causing the entire city of New York to panic.
In the past 10 draft classes, there have been 40 wide receivers chosen in the first round and 16 are out of the league, and no, Lion fans, Millen didn't draft all of them.
Get the salt and lime ready, it is Cinco de Mayo, or in the world of the character formerly known as Chad Johnson, Ocho Cinco de Mayo.
Gotta go, it's time to feed the cats.
