A Little Bit Special Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 (edited) http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writ...spot/index.html Edit: to add article 1. The Saints pick Ricky Williams, and only Ricky Williams, 1999 It sounded like late-night bar talk. In the weeks leading up to the 1999 draft, Saints head coach/team czar Mike Ditka said he would trade all six New Orleans draft picks for the chance to draft Heisman-winning running back Ricky Williams of Texas. When the Colts passed on Williams with the fourth pick for Miami running back Edgerrin James (a decision panned by many at the time), Ditka found a willing partner in the Redskins at No. 5. The Saints even tossed in first- and third-round picks in 2000, just to move up two spots. But drafting Williams never paid off. Ditka was gone after a 3-13 season in '99 and Williams lasted just three years in New Orleans. The Saints then traded him to Miami, where he played two seasons before disappearing in a puff of smoke. 2. Vikings whiff on first-round pick, 2003 Minnesota should have learned its lesson in clock management from 2002. After the Cowboys ran out of their allotted 15 minutes at No. 6, the Vikings had a chance to snare the player they coveted, defensive tackle Ryan Sims. But the Chiefs, having traded for the Cowboys' pick, beat the Vikings to the podium (thanks to some boxing out by two Kansas City officials) to snare Sims. The Vikes then settled for offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie. Things got worse the next year. The Vikes let the 15-minute clock run out at No. 7, and the Jaguars (quarterback Byron Leftwich) and Panthers (offensive tackle Jordan Gross) each beat the Vikings to the punch to grab their men. Minnesota finally collected itself and took defensive tackle Kevin Williams at No. 9. 3. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?", 1994 Draft guru Mel Kiper has become as associated with one day as Punxatawney Phil and Santa Claus, but his opinions often rankle NFL execs. Never was that demonstrated more clearly than when Kiper kvetched that the Colts should have taken quarterback Trent Dilfer rather than linebacker Trev Alberts with the fifth pick. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?" thundered Colts VP Bill Tobin. "He's never been a player, he's never been a coach, he's never been a scout, he's never been an administrator, and all of a sudden, he's an expert. He has no more credentials to do what he's doing than my neighbor, and my neighbor's a postman." As a postscript, in 2001 the Palm Beach Post asked mail handler Calvin Falana to pick the top 10 picks, and he got eight of 10 correct (though not in order) compared to six for Kiper. 4. The Year of the Quarterback, 1983 Six signal-callers went in the first round, led by John Elway to the Colts at No. 1. (Elway, of course, threatened to play baseball rather than sign with the Colts, who eventually shipped him to the Broncos.) The other QBs were Todd Blackledge (Chiefs) at No. 7, Jim Kelly (Bills) at No. 14, Tony Eason (Patriots) at No. 15, Ken O'Brien (Jets) at No. 24, and Dan Marino (Dolphins) at No. 27. SI.com's own Paul Zimmerman, doing draft commentary for ESPN, explained Marino's fall by saying the quarterback had poor mechanics, that he was a "pusher" of the ball. Dolphins coach Don Shula reminded Dr. Z of his comment for years until Zimmerman finally waved a handkerchief around a pencil to surrender. 5. The Draft comes to TV, 1980 The NFL wasn't eager to make what had been a sleepy league-only meeting into a national phenomenon. In 1979, the owners voted 28-0 against televising the draft. But commissioner Pete Rozelle and a fledgling year-old sports cable station called ESPN had other ideas. Bob Ley anchored 12 hours of coverage that first year. Kiper came aboard in 1984, and the draft was moved from midweek to the weekend in 1988. Most of the moments on this list wouldn't have been nearly as memorable without the TV cameras and audience. 6. The Colts squander the first two picks, 1992 The 1-15 Colts had a golden chance to remake their franchise with the draft's first two picks. Indianapolis fans likely were thinking back to draft years such as 1981 (George Rogers and Lawrence Taylor) and '83 (Elway and Eric Dickerson). Instead, what they got was defensive tackle Steve Emtman and linebacker Quentin Coryatt. Emtman injured his knee nine games into his rookie season, the crowning blow in an injury-plagued career. Coryatt was just so-so, playing five mediocre seasons for the Colts. Gee, we wonder where Kiper got his view that the Colts didn't know how to deal with the draft. 7. The drafting of Brett Favre, 1991 This move didn't play out in the spotlight at the time but does shine a light on the draft's endless subplots. Jets GM Dick Steinberg actually rated Favre No. 1 on his draft board but didn't think there was any way the Southern Miss QB would last until the club's first pick at No. 34. Yet Favre was still available when Steinberg tried and failed to acquire the Cardinals' spot at No. 32. That left the Falcons at No. 33, and head coach Jerry Glanville wanted Louisville quarterback Browning Nagle, not Favre. But Glanville was overruled by Atlanta personnel man Ken Herock, so the Falcons took Favre and the Jets went with Nagle. Herock believes that his rank-pulling helped bias Glanville against Favre, and the Falcons traded the QB to the Packers the next year. To come full circle, the Green Bay exec who made that acquisition, Ron Wolf, had been Steinberg's righthand man with the Jets a year earlier. 8. Donovan McNabb booed, 1999 Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb had a rude introduction to Philadelphia fans when they lustily booed his selection at No. 2 while the player shook hands with commissioner Paul Tagliabue. McNabb is far from the only player booed on draft day -- Jets fans are especially notorious for their loud second-guessing -- but his catcalls were the most dramatic. Eagles fans desired the '99 draft's most-wanted man, Ricky Williams. Still, Eagles coach Andy Reid wanted a quarterback, and with Tim Couch gone to the Browns with the first pick, McNabb was his man. Eagles fans, of course, came to cheer the pick as years passed, as McNabb outplayed both Couch and the third-pick bust, Bengals quarterback Akili Smith, while outlasting Williams. 9. Eli Manning in a Chargers jersey, 2004 Never has the draft's first pick looked so miserable as when Peyton's younger brother uneasily held up his Chargers jersey and posed for the cameras. Eli's dad, Archie, told the Chargers he didn't want his son to play for San Diego, then steamed as the Chargers made that information public. San Diego seemingly wanted to play a game of chicken, but it was the Giants who blinked, trading for Manning within the hour. San Diego ended up with rookie quarterback Philip Rivers and several choice draft picks, then watched Drew Brees play lights-out in 2004. Eli, meanwhile, finally got to hold up a Giants jersey and smile with a little more feeling. 10. Thurman Thomas nods off, 1987 The Oklahoma State running back was projected as a first-rounder and had ESPN cameras perched in his home as he awaited his selection. Yet player after player was picked without Thomas hearing his name, spoiling the party. At one point during the many on-camera updates at the Thomas home, the player appeared to be sleeping. He was awake in time for the Bills to take him in the second round with the 40th pick, which worked out very well for both parties. Edited April 22, 2005 by A Little Bit Special Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 I knew Eli Manning's performance in the draft last year would be there!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meat Face Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 god, that ricky williams thing was about the dumbest thing I've ever heard of......trading ALL YOUR PICKS for one guy.......give me a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vote Quimby2 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 god, that ricky williams thing was about the dumbest thing I've ever heard of......trading ALL YOUR PICKS for one guy.......give me a break. 789980[/snapback] and another first from the following year. what up moran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swashbucklers Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 My top NFL draft moment was when the top pick in the draft struck the Heisman pose, and then fell down the steps! What year was that, does anyone know? I cannot believe that SI left that out!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 god, that ricky williams thing was about the dumbest thing I've ever heard of......trading ALL YOUR PICKS for one guy.......give me a break. 789980[/snapback] But the pic of Bride Ricky and Ditka was priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Little Bit Special Posted April 22, 2005 Author Share Posted April 22, 2005 My favorite is the Vikings. Two years in a row they ran out of time. How does that happen? Ironically, they actually ended up for the better because of it. Kevin Williams has been impressive and at this point I'm sure they're glad they have McKinnie instead of Sims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 My top NFL draft moment was when the top pick in the draft struck the Heisman pose, and then fell down the steps! What year was that, does anyone know? I cannot believe that SI left that out!! 790044[/snapback] That's pretty funny... Who was it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 My top NFL draft moment was when the top pick in the draft struck the Heisman pose, and then fell down the steps! What year was that, does anyone know? I cannot believe that SI left that out!! 790044[/snapback] Isn't that a commercial that is currently running? It didn't really happen. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 4 of the top 10 involve the Colts. And a fifth involves the Colts starting QB's brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHook Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 6. The Colts squander the first two picks, 1992The 1-15 Colts had a golden chance to remake their franchise with the draft's first two picks. Indianapolis fans likely were thinking back to draft years such as 1981 (George Rogers and Lawrence Taylor) and '83 (Elway and Eric Dickerson). Instead, what they got was defensive tackle Steve Emtman and linebacker Quentin Coryatt. Emtman injured his knee nine games into his rookie season, the crowning blow in an injury-plagued career. Coryatt was just so-so, playing five mediocre seasons for the Colts. Gee, we wonder where Kiper got his view that the Colts didn't know how to deal with the draft. 789840[/snapback] In all fairness, 1992 was a horrible year to have the first overall pick. Let alone the top 2. That draft was horrible. There isn't a stud player in the whole first round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skilly Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 In all fairness, 1992 was a horrible year to have the first overall pick. Let alone the top 2. That draft was horrible. There isn't a stud player in the whole first round. 790856[/snapback] I think teams have learned to be much more cautious with their first pick since then. I'm talking about a top 3 pick, too. It seems like defensive players, especially lineman, are just way too hard to predict. The safest picks will always be offensive lineman, qbs, and running backs. Maybe a top cornerback. Of course you can't factor in injuries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitztalk Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 3. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?", 1994Draft guru Mel Kiper has become as associated with one day as Punxatawney Phil and Santa Claus, but his opinions often rankle NFL execs. Never was that demonstrated more clearly than when Kiper kvetched that the Colts should have taken quarterback Trent Dilfer rather than linebacker Trev Alberts with the fifth pick. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?" thundered Colts VP Bill Tobin. "He's never been a player, he's never been a coach, he's never been a scout, he's never been an administrator, and all of a sudden, he's an expert. He has no more credentials to do what he's doing than my neighbor, and my neighbor's a postman." As a postscript, in 2001 the Palm Beach Post asked mail handler Calvin Falana to pick the top 10 picks, and he got eight of 10 correct (though not in order) compared to six for Kiper. LMAO! I have noticed how Kiper does alot of back peddling on draft day. Man, what a job if you can get it though, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitztalk Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 I guess I should comment on the Ricky thing. I understand having a guy you want REALLY bad but that was an terrible move. I was happy to have Ricky but all the other help would have been great. Actually, they pretty much sucked drafting with Ditka after the first round anyway but what really hurt is when it went over into the next year. Luckily Darren Howard was still there in the 2nd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Personally, I think the idea to trade all your picks for "that one player" is a good idea. Where the Saints screwed up was in not being more active in free agency with the unused money to fill the positions they needed help with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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