0 comments The Rams Have Been Saved! Jeff "8-8" Fisher is Gone!

I figure I may as well acknowledge that Jeff "8-8" Fisher has been fired by the Rams. It's well over due and I don't know, other than Fisher's relationship with Kevin Demoff based on his father being Fisher's agent, how he lasted this long. Even by Jeff Fisher's mediocre standards, the Rams have been bad this year on offense. He's had nearly five seasons to fix it and has pumped out more excuses than wins. The most shocking part is the Rams had just given Fisher an extension a week before they fired him. I'm a jaded human being, so I can't help but wonder if the extension wasn't a way for Kevin Demoff to do his father a solid and allow him to churn some more commissions off a coach that was a dead man walking. A son would never help his father out though, would he? The excuses Fisher had were hilarious.

"We had a lot going on this offseason, a lot of stuff going on."

"WE WERE SO BUSY!"

But sure, you also had a month head start on some teams to sort through this stuff because your team didn't make the playoffs. Moving is a big deal, especially when Jeff Fisher is the one driving the truck from St. Louis to Los Angeles. He was the guy driving the truck, right? That's how it sort of seems. Expecting his team to tune out distractions and win games, while using those distractions as an excuse for his failures is peak Jeff Fisher.

“We’ve been through a lot. It’s not an excuse, but we’ve been through more than any other team in the National Football League this offseason and the moves and the travel and all those things. We’re dealing with those as best we can.”

Yes, that is an excuse. The Rams have not been through as much as Fisher wants to believe. Essentially, the entire team got traded and had to move. This happens all the time in the NFL, players and coaches moving teams. It's never an acceptable excuse. I can see a player telling Fisher,

"Well, I just can't focus because I'm looking for an apartment and I still have some stuff back in St. Louis. It's a lot right now."

How do you think that would go over?

“There was constant pressure. The coverage didn’t allow it. We had some shots. He (Goff) made a good throw to (WR) Kenny (Britt), and we didn’t come up with the ball. We would’ve liked to have seen pass interference called on that play, which is a field position change.” 

“Yeah, statistically, we had 10, I would acknowledge maybe six of them,” the coach said. 

Jeff Fisher is basically a comment section 10 minutes after the game is over, bitching about the officiating while trying to make it sound like's not blaming the officiating for his team losing.

Traveling to London is no quick hop. Fisher brought out his standard chestnut to excuse his team’s play after a trans-Atlantic flight.

Jet lag, travel, adjusting to the time change. “That’s the hard part of international games.” Fisher had that one in the bag. 

Did the Rams scrimmage themselves in London? If not, there was another team that had to adjust to jet lag and the time change. Also, HE IS BLAMING JET LAG AND THE TIME CHANGE! IF ONLY THERE WERE A WAY TO PLAN FOR THESE THINGS BEFORE THE TRIP OVERSEAS!

Why did no one tell Jeff Fisher about world time zones? He was so busy personally moving the entire Rams team from St. Louis to Los Angeles he didn't have time to research and understand basic World Geography. 

There are plenty of other excuses, especially based on the Rams roster, a roster he specifically had a hand in choosing of course. But nevermind that, it's not relevant. The key point is the Rams and their fans don't have to hear Fisher's bullshit excuses again. He was disengaged as a coach for the past year if you ask me and the fans deserve better. I would give the Rams front office credit for firing Fisher, but they gave him an extension a week earlier, so the broken clock principle applies here. 

Before I go any further, I wanted to highlight one of the paradoxes of this blog. I don't have a hand in getting any of these coaches or sportswriters fired of course. But when they are relieved of their duties, it gives me less to write about here. Gregg Easterbrook has been through three sites with his awful TMQ column, Jay Mariotti has shit all over nearly the entire online and print media industry during the time I have written here and Joe Morgan was relieved of his duties as the Sunday Night Baseball analyst for ESPN. This meant no more JoeChats, which really stunk. I don't think he deserved the Sunday Night Baseball gig based on his JoeChats, but they sure made for good material. 

I think the JoeChats are my favorite running item I had (have) on this blog. They were so awful and I was so underpaid, underworked, undervalued and any other "under" you can use in the realm of a job that I was able to get very inspired and focused writing them. Then Joe's contact wasn't renewed, I found a different job, and then found a different, different job and it's hard to find time to identify an analyst so bad at his job at the same moment I have time to write about how bad he (or she, women can suck at being an analyst too) is at his job. 

And yes, I know "Fire Joe Morgan" did JoeChats before I did. I don't think I've ever indicated I'm breaking new ground here. I was still inspired writing them, but then Joe abandoned us for a radio show and hating inconsistency on a different medium. Losing punching bags on this blog is not easy. Dylan always wanted to do podcasts, and I enjoyed doing them, but I think I would enjoy doing them more now than I did then. I'd love to do podcasts and post them here, but don't for several reasons: 

1. I have no idea how to set up a podcast to record, etc. 

2. I don't know if anyone cares at this point, mostly because I don't listen to podcasts myself. 

3. Time. I want to do them, but when would I REALLY do podcasts and who would I do them with? 

On that last note, before I continue bashing Jeff Fisher, I will share a regret I have. I had a couple "real" writers propose to do a podcast with me so we could discuss what I had written on this blog about what they wrote (after an email discussion about what I wrote about what he/she wrote) and I think I could have had some writers (featured here and not featured here) on a podcast to discuss sports issues, bad journalism, etc. if I cared enough to ask them. Okay, I would have mostly talked about the bad journalism. I didn't pursue it when I corresponded with these sportswriters for a couple of reasons: 

1. Again, I had no idea how to set up a podcast and was too lazy to figure it out. 

2. I felt it would be a betrayal of this blog's purpose. 

I had no urge to talk to sportswriters about their jobs, sports, etc because I felt speaking with them was selling out and not critiquing them like I wanted to do. It's a double-edged sword. To get a guy I bashed on the podcast and allow him to explain his reasoning for a column could be seen as me being soft. I've written what I thought already and then if we come to an understanding about what was written then I'm just Bill Simmons, a person who backs down when the person hits back against my critique. Still, at times it seemed fair to do the podcast, but I never did.

BUT, to invite a sportswriter I like on the podcast then I would see myself as a kiss-ass who simply writes on this blog because I secretly want a career in journalism and critiquing sportswriters is my bizarre way of getting attention for myself. This is, of course, not true at all.

Hey, I'm not saying it makes sense. I never cared to be a sportswriter and I saw interacting on this blog with sportswriters or journalists as a compromise against what I wanted to write. I write all of this while doing a cameo on my own blog to say I think I disagree with my line of thinking at the time and wish I had engaged more sportswriters when I had the opportunity, simply because it would have been fairly interesting content to post here. My wish to simply write and then be done with it, along with the concern that any interaction or feature from a "real" sportswriter" would diminish the intentions of past, present and future posts, prevented me from posting interesting content. I regret that to an extent. 

I bring this all up as a way of reinforcing the point that the content I post (posted/will post) here is reliant on the very people that I write about. Jeff Fisher gets fired, well there goes the Jeff "8-8" Fisher jokes. Joe Morgan is finally seen as the incompetent I viewed him as, well there goes a weekly post about his chats. I never wanted this to be about more than me writing on a blog about sports with no real long-term intentions, so I guess I succeeded in that goal. This all sounds like a eulogy, but it is not. 

Soooooooooooooooooooo...back to Jeff Fisher. There is a picture of me on my mom's fridge at home at a Charlotte Knights game in 1993. I had no NFL team at the time and didn't really watch football. I did love playing Super Tecmo Bowl and the Houston Oilers were my team on the game. So one day I saw a Houston Oilers shirt at the mall and had to have it. I bought the shirt and was wearing it to this Charlotte Knights game where the picture was taken. Maybe the reason I dislike Jeff Fisher so much is because there is an alternate universe where the Carolina Panthers never exist and I become a Tennessee Titans fan once I fell in love with football. In that alternate universe, Jeff Fisher is my head coach. Maybe that's why I don't like him and mocked his mediocrity. It could also be that Jeff Fisher has an extremely powerful agent who (I believe) encourages his sportswriter clients to only write positive things about Fisher in return for access to Demoff's other clients and Fisher's team. I tend to not like these types of things.

So here are some of the things I've written about Jeff Fisher through the years. Interestingly (okay, it's not interesting), there is no "Jeff Fisher" tag on this blog. I have 146 posts that mention him though, so it seems like I should have added a tag at some point. My comments at the time are in bold red italics and new comments are in non-bold normal font. I was probably harder on Fisher on Twitter than I was on this blog, but a lot of what was covered on this blog shows why Fisher was allowed to last as long as he did.

December 2008:

TMQ likes Jeff Fisher not only because he's the NFL's longest-serving coach, he is among the few who consistently gives straightforward answers to media questions. Against the Texans, the deciding down came when Tennessee, trailing 13-12, faced fourth-and-3 at the Houston 32 at the two-minute warning. Rather than let Rob Bironas attempt a 49-yard field goal, Fisher went for it and the Titans failed. The Reliant Stadium roof was open, and Bironas would have kicked into a swirling wind; he'd failed on long kicks in that direction during warm-ups. After the game, Fisher, who at halftime had the choice of the wind in the third quarter or fourth quarter, explained that he'd chosen the wind in the third quarter "because I thought by then we'd have the game locked up," and should have made the conventional choice of saving the wind for the fourth quarter.
Few coaches would be honest enough to admit they underestimated their opponent --

Notice how Easterbrook does not mention THAT is what happens when you go for it on fourth down all the time, you end up screwing the pooch a few times a year. I like how Jeff Fisher is complimented here for admitting he underestimated his opponent and making a bad decision that cost his team the game,

Even back in 2008, Jeff Fisher was not properly preparing to face his opponents. He's literally not changed. He does not plan before, during or after a game. It's inexplicable the amount of job security he had.

January 2012:

Simply put, Fisher wanted to avoid another situation like he had in Tennessee, where owner Bud Adams, if he chose, could tell him what to do on personnel. Adams told him in 2006 to take Vince Young in the first round. Fisher didn't want to do that, but it was Adams' call.

I think I would not give Jeff Fisher power over personnel. Ever. I am not normally a fan of coaches having power over personnel, except in specific cases and Fisher isn't one of those cases. So Fisher is bitter that Adams told the Titans to take Vince Young? Fisher does realize Young won a bunch of games for the Titans, right? It isn't like Young was a complete failure on the field. If "I didn't want Vince Young" is the main criteria for why Jeff Fisher should have the ability to get some control over personnel then I'm not sure I like his odds as a player evaluator.

Oh yeah, Jeff Fisher also blamed his failures with the Rams on the personnel he was given. Except, he took the Rams job because he wanted some control over personnel decisions. I can't make this stuff up. It's right here, as explained by Peter King, who as I have described repeatedly has the inside track on the Rams and Jeff Fisher. Jeff Fisher didn't want to draft Vince Young. Young burned out of the NFL, but I think this goes to Fisher's inability (along with his entire head coaching history) to effectively evaluate quarterbacks.

January 2012:

After spending five hours at the Rams' practice facility in suburban Earth City, Mo., Sunday, the former Titans coach returned to Nashville to consider his options. By Tuesday, I expect he'll have figured out whether St. Louis or Miami is the best place for him; and his agent, Marvin Demoff, will begin negotiating with one team, or both if it's every close. Expect a resolution by Thursday.

I always love it when coaches "retire" or leave a team before they have gotten fired. It feels like many of these coaches end up wanting to coach somewhere else. Teams are always after these coaches because they did the unthinkable and didn't leave their last team because they got fired. Jeff Fisher has a lifetime record of 142-120 and a career playoff record of 5-6. He coached for 16 years and made two AFC Championship Games and made the playoffs six times. He's not a bad coach, but is this the kind of coach a team should pay $8 million per year and also hand over personnel decisions to? I just don't think so. He's available though and since Cowher isn't coming back anytime soon, the fact Fisher has had more .500 or below .500 seasons than above .500 seasons doesn't seem to scare teams off that much.

Three things:

1. Peter King wrote the first part and the fact his agent, Marvin Demoff, was feeding him this information is so crystal clear. Demoff used Peter King (and others) to drive up the competition for Fisher.

2. I said Fisher was "not a bad coach" which is accurate...I guess.

3. I thought Fisher's record was bad back then. Little did I know how his mediocrity would continue and he would somehow manage to never have another winning record.

November 2012:

"It was two-fold,'' said Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who suspended Jenkins and Givens for an unspecified violation of team rules Saturday. "They weren't going to play, so they needed a workout. And I guess you can say it was part punitive. We still have to sort some things out about what happened, but hopefully this helps them get the message.''

"I didn't even know that happened,'' said St. Louis receiver Danny Amendola.

Well then, message received loud and clear.  

Jeff Fisher sent a message through actions his team didn't know occurred. He's the best. This is leadership.

March 2013:

Miami was in on Long aggressively, and one Dolphins official Sunday seemed confident Long would return for a sixth year. But no. And the Rams Sunday night were giving the credit for the migration to coach Jeff Fisher. "One of our players texted Jake and told him he'd retire if he had to play for any other coach besides Jeff,'' Rams GM Les Snead texted me late Sunday night. "Jeff gets veterans to Sunday ready to play ... Gets them to December ready to play ... So yes, he knows how to keep vets fresh physically, mentally and spiritually as good as anyone in the NFL."

The Rams are the only team with three picks in the top 50 of the draft (16, 22, 46), and they'll need a receiver upgrade after losing two in the first five days of free agency. Tight end signee Jared Cook is an expensive question mark, though Fisher had him in Tennessee and loves him.

Stop it Peter! Is Jared Cook's agent paying you to say nice things about him? If not, focus more on Jeff Fisher.

I am making this more about what I've said about Peter King than what I've said about Jeff Fisher, but they kind of go hand-in-hand. Jeff Fisher gets players ready to play in December, not January, because Fisher's teams don't often play in January.

April 2013:

I was here to write a story on the Rams for this week's issue of Sports Illustrated (shameless plug -- on iPads Wednesday and newsstands Thursday!).

So we get a preview of the article on the Rams in MMQB AND we get an entire full article in "Sports Illustrated" this week? It's going to be interesting to read about the Rams war room, but it is such a coincidence that Peter was embedded with Jeff Fisher's team. I'm interested to learn more about Jeff Fisher's plan to go 8-8 this upcoming year. I am kidding of course, the Rams seemingly did a great job in the draft and it is just a coincidence Peter breathlessly reported on Fisher's decision between the Dolphins and the Rams over a year ago. It was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with Peter throwing his agent a solid by driving up the interest in his client.

Well, I lucked out, as you'll read in the story this week, because GM Les Snead, coach Jeff Fisher and COO Kevin Demoff made stuff happen.

Wait, wait...Kevin Demoff? That must be a misspelling because there is a Marvin Demoff that represents Fisher and Peter King. It turns out this is not a misspelling and Kevin Demoff his Marvin Demoff's son.

So for those of you keeping track, Jeff Fisher was hired by his agent's son and now that same agent has another of his clients who is a respected reporter in the Rams war room reporting on the Rams draft day dealings and selections. A more jaded person would say Marvin Demoff worked this all out so his client, who is a reporter, could report positive things about another one of his clients, Jeff Fisher, so that his son who happens to be the COO of the Rams would look good. I am not jaded and would never suggest anything like this was ever thought nor happened. It was all just a coincidence.

You saw the Rams trade twice -- from 16 up to eight, to take wideout/returner Tavon Austin, and from 22 down to 30, to take versatile linebacker Alec Ogletree -- but what you didn't see was the glee in the room when both picks were made.

You also won't hear from Peter about the red flags that came along with Alec Ogletree and how Austin is a bit of a risk because he put up his fantastic numbers in a very wide receiver-friendly college system and is not built like the typical #1 wide receiver.

Of all the shady situations Peter King has been in over the years I wrote on this blog, his being embedded with the Rams for the 2013 NFL Draft is a close second to the time he wrote an article explaining exactly how opposing teams could match any offer the Browns made to Alex Mack (who was a restricted free agent at the time) when it comes to "conflicts of interest caused by Peter sharing an agent with the person he is writing about."

May 2013: 

Time will tell if they're right on the Jenkinses and the Alec Ogletrees, and I could be throwing stones at them in coming years. The Cardinals don't have a track record for taking questionable character guys. They thought the talent of Mathieu was worth the risk. That's one I think the team will end up regretting.

Jenkins has already missed a game for violating team rules, so we have evidence he hasn't stayed on the straight and narrow, but Peter thinks Mathieu was the bad risk. It's his opinion and he is entitled to it of course. I think Jeff Fisher could draft Jodi Arias and Peter wouldn't criticize the selection.

I cringe at the Jodi Arias reference, but I don't cringe at Peter saying the Cardinals would regret drafting Mathieu. This shows just how much deference Jeff Fisher was given over the years by sportswriters and why his firing was a year or two too late. And it's not a coincidence to me that most of the Jeff Fisher references can be found in MMQB, which is written by Peter King.

August 2013:

8. I think I keep hearing great things about two offensive weapons: St. Louis utility star Tavon Austin 

I've never heard of this Tavon Austin fellow. Why hasn't Peter mentioned Austin or what a great offensive weapon he could be before this very MMQB?

and the guy who, to me, is a sort of Tavon Austin Jr., Jacksonville wideout/multipurpose player Ace Sanders.

He's like Austin, but nowhere near as good as Austin is, right? How could he be?

The Rams practiced in the Edward Jones Dome Saturday and gave local fans a whiff of what to expect from Austin, playing him at several spots. “You’re going to have to come out, watch and see what we do with him,’’ said coach Jeff Fisher. “Obviously, there’s things everybody does across the league in camp that they don’t show until the regular season.” During draft prep in St. Louis, the Rams privately knew if they somehow weren’t able to get Austin, they’d have gone after Sanders, who is emerging in camp as the kind of versatile weapon Jacksonville hoped it was drafting last April.

So if Jeff Fisher had not drafted and then misused Tavon Austin, he would have drafted a guy who made little impact in the NFL and was out of the league in two years. But again, Jeff Fisher had no control over the personnel issues he insisted he have when signing a contract with the Rams.

August 2013:

Then there is this column. Just, pretty much any part that dealt with Jeff Fisher is what should be read. Peter calls out Bernie Kosar for being a drunk and marvels at the weapons that Jared Cook and Tavon Austin are. It's inexplicable how anyone can't see Peter is propping up Jeff Fisher.

November 2013:

o. Zac Stacy, proving the Rams were lucky Steven Jackson walked. Hope he’s okay after leaving with a head injury.

Zac Stacy was drafted by the Rams and the Rams are really good at drafting! You should read this article Peter wrote in May about how good the Rams are at drafting. They are on the right track to becoming a really successful team under Jeff Fisher. It's a rebuilding process though, so give Fisher another year or two after this year once he decides Sam Bradford isn't his quarterback of the future, at which point Fisher will be buying himself more time by pointing out Rams fans shouldn't expect immediate success with a new quarterback at the helm.

This is EXACTLY what happened! The Rams traded Sam Bradford to the Eagles and then Jeff Fisher started talking about how many young players the Rams had, while also holding back Jared Goff in order to fake there was some hope with him (Fisher) at the helm.

By the way, the amount of times I have gone out of my way on this blog to bash Jeff Fisher or call him Jeff "8-8" Fisher is tremendous. I would be embarrassed, but I'm not.

July 2014: 

It’s hard to find anyone to knock Fisher’s coaching ability, some of the great teams he put together in Tennessee, the identity they forged, or even the early results of the current reclamation project in St. Louis. It’s harder to explain how he only made the playoffs six times, and had six winning seasons, in 17 years with the Oilers/Titans. The record needs to catch up with the reputation at some point.

IT'S BEEN 17 YEARS!

This is the world we lived in. The jury is still out for Fisher's success to catch up with his reputation, but children are being born and getting ready to go to college while the jury on Fisher's coaching ability is deliberating. It's hard to knock Jeff Fisher's coaching ability, despite the fact his teams on average were not successful. And "the early results" of the reclamation project in St. Louis resulted in ZERO winning seasons. But still, it's hard to knock a record like that.

July 2014:

Might not show up in the record, but the Rams are going to be hell to play, and they’ll be a playoff team if Sam Bradford plays the way he was drafted to play.

Read that sentence and try to tell me Peter's relationship with Marvin Demoff doesn't come into play when he discusses the Rams. "It may not show in the record." He's already making excuses even if Fisher doesn't make the playoffs this year. For what Jeff "8-8" Fisher gets paid to coach the Rams, the team's talent sure as shit better show up in the record. Fisher gets paid enough for that to happen.

Almost three years later and I'm still stuck on this "might not show up in the record" comment. On what, pray tell, should Jeff Fisher be judged? He isn't judged on his win-loss record, so how should he be judged? By the manliness of his mustache? By how many excuses he could put forth before he got called on his bullshit? For a guy who worships the ground Bill Parcells walks on, Peter sure forgets the "You are what your record says you are" mantra Parcells preached...but only when it is convenient to forget it.

August 2014: 

“We don’t have any glaring holes. We do have a glaring lack of experience.”

—Les Snead, the general manager of the Rams, to me. St. Louis had the youngest roster in the NFL last season, and likely will again this year.

This is just a reminder Snead and the Rams have been using the same excuses for multiple years as to why the team couldn't succeed. Apparently the Rams organization believes the players on the team would never age, so this excuse could always be used to explain away the team's mediocrity under Jeff Fisher.

August 2014: 

“We’ve got to go on,” Fisher said, “and that’s basically what I told [backup] Shaun Hill. Shaun shifts gears, and we go. I told him, ‘This is why you’re here. Let’s go.’

Hill is 34. He’s started 26 games (13-13) with San Francisco and Detroit—but his last start was four seasons ago.

This is part of my issue too. Hill isn't the present or the future. The future at the quarterback position isn't on the Rams roster most likely. Jeff Fisher just bought himself three more years. He's a "name" coach who has suffered some bad luck and honestly hasn't done much to help his luck at the quarterback position, but that doesn't matter. The Rams are probably going to draft a quarterback in the upcoming draft, which they probably should have done this year, and Fisher will start over. I don't hate Jeff Fisher or the Rams, but Rams fans deserve better than this. Fisher is incredibly overrated as a coach. He's not a bad coach, but he and Snead have made crucial personnel mistakes at the most important spot on the roster. They've built a really good team around a quarterback who can't stay on the field. Logic would dictate the best backup plan isn't Shaun Hill. Hill is an okay backup and he very well may succeed this season. I feel like Fisher and Snead are getting a pass for completely counting on a injury-prone quarterback who may not even be very good when healthy. I'm not sure I could even tell you what kind of quarterback Bradford is because he can't stay on the field. That's the point. I would feel better about this situation if the Rams had a younger guy they wanted to see play (I don't think Austin Davis counts as that guy) if/when Bradford got hurt. It would give that younger guy a chance for some snaps to see if he can stick with the team.

The Rams are in the toughest division in the NFL. Don't they realize if they really want to compete they can't rely on Bradford so much? Why does this frustrate me so? It's just proof to me of how untouchable Jeff Fisher and Les Snead are. It's the third year of the Jeff Fisher era, where he is 14-17-1, is he really that cocky or unconcerned about his job security that he felt comfortable relying on Shaun Hill as the backup if/when Bradford gets injured? I guess he knows his buddies in the media will go to bat for him. Can't be on the hot seat if no one reports that he is on the hot seat.

October 2014:

q. Tre Mason. Not a lot to like about how the Rams are playing as we approach midseason, but the rookie has a burst and some power to him, as shown against Seattle.

Team...on...the...rise. See, no one should accuse Jeff "8-8" Fisher of not knowing what he's doing. The Rams drafted Isaiah Pead in the second round, then drafted Zac Stacy in the fifth round and pretended to want to play him, but Fisher really was sandbagging and wanted to have Tre Mason be the starter. It's just like how Fisher made idiots like me think he had built his team around Sam Bradford when that wasn't AT ALL his plan. He was really getting ready to build the team around the Rams' third-string quarterback, Austin Davis, and wanted to mask his plan by starting Sam Bradford and signing Shaun Hill to be Bradford's backup.

Another running back that Peter describes as having "speed/burst and power" because that's what Jeff Fisher wants in a running back. Of course, we will later learn Peter doesn't believe the Rams ever found the right running back until Todd Gurley came along. Despite the fact his words (at the time) said differently about Mason and Zac Stacy.

November 2014: 

b. Austin Davis continues to show he belongs, and not just as roster filler.

Look Jeff, Peter tried to hype these guys up. It's not for lack of trying.

November 2014: 

For the record, with all of the mayhem around Robert Griffin III and his fate in Washington, here is what the St. Louis Rams received in return for trading the second overall pick to Washington so Washington could select Griffin in 2012. Turns out to be an 8-for-1 trade, with five starting players (as of today) but no superstars harvested by Rams GM Les Snead. But any team that thought it had its long-term starting quarterback (as St. Louis did with Sam Bradford in the spring of 2012, pre-double-knee-injury) in the house would absolutely have made the trade if told this: Trading the number two overall pick will yield five starting players three seasons down the line. Amazing, to me, that as it turns out, St. Louis traded the number two overall pick in 2012, and got the number two overall pick in 2014—and seven more choices:

Again Jeff, Peter tried to hype your team up as if you were geniuses robbing other NFL teams for draft picks to build up a soon-to-be-great team. Jeff, you blew it.

And just because the Rams got "starters" out of the draft picks doesn't mean those "starters" would start for a team that could actually make the playoffs.

December 2014:

9. I think Rams owner Stan Kroenke must be thinking (though how would we know what he thinks—the man never speaks) this after the team’s 11^th straight non-winning season:

Why am I paying Jeff Fisher $8 million per year and not getting good results?

Of course not! It's not Fisher's fault and isn't Les Snead's fault and certainly isn't Kevin Demoff's fault. Nothing is.
 
I empathize with Jeff Fisher never having a good quarterback situation to deal with.

Really? You empathize with Fisher that he and Les Snead have chosen to do nothing with the quarterback position and continue to rely on Sam Bradford, a guy the Rams aren't even certain should be the quarterback of the future, to be the starter going into the season with little competition for his job? The conscious choice to waste the time and money of Rams fans by relying on a player who consistently can't stay healthy, you empathize with Jeff Fisher about that? I personally think decisions like that are why coaches and GM's get fired. There would be a good quarterback situation to deal with if Fisher and Snead had not relied on Austin Davis and Shaun Hill to be the options at quarterback if Bradford got injured.

April 2015: 

One big problem: coach Jeff Fisher was against drafting Young.

Jeff Fisher is never wrong and you take it back right now.

Still, Young often made me look pretty good. He was offensive rookie of the year. He made two Pro Bowls. He went 30-17 as Tennessee's starter.

And that's really what this is all about isn't it? Which quarterbacks made Skip look good and which quarterbacks didn't make Skip look good. Vince Young did have success for a while, but this doesn't mean Skip was right about him. I think Mario Williams was the right pick for the Texans. 

But predictably, he often clashed with Fisher. It appeared Fisher helped turn some in the local and national media against Young. His skin grew thin.

This is a reminder that Jeff Fisher didn't want to draft one of the two quarterbacks he actually had some semblance of success with as a head coach. This feels important to me.

June 2015:

St. Louis has been dying for a franchise running back. Since Steven Jackson left for Atlanta two years ago—and even before, actually; the Rams thought Jackson was declining in 2012—coach Jeff Fisher has wanted a back like Gurley.

It sounds like the Rams are a team on the rise. Next stop, Jeff Fisher's first playoff win in a decade. You can feel the tension in excitement in Los Angeles St. Louis as the team is ready to finally be the team on the rise that Jeff Fisher has always promised they would be. Jeff Fisher has always wanted a running back like Todd Gurley and he finally has him.

Fisher is a throwback coach.

"Throwback" meaning "Go back in the past to find where he has been successful, but only pay attention to the seasons where his team made the playoffs and ignore the vast majority of the seasons where his team had a .500 or losing record."

Most of the league craves an offense with a 60-40 pass-run split. Fisher would love it to be 50-50, or even 55-45 run. He likes to play offense with a back capable of wearing down defenses with long drives early in games and eating the clock in the fourth quarter.

And yet, it's taken Fisher four years to get to that point with the Rams. It must be nice to have such job security to know as a head coach you have four years to get the team you are coaching to resemble the team you would like it to resemble. I'm hard on Jeff Fisher, but at no point does Peter King acknowledge that Fisher has had three full seasons to get the Rams team how he wants it and has so far seemingly failed to do so? Why is this not a relevant point? Peter presents it as Fisher accomplishing the equivalent of a coup to get Todd Gurley so the Rams team can run it's offense how he wants it to. IT TOOK THREE FUCKING YEARS THOUGH! Why? Is this not a question that should be asked while up the organization's butt hole for drafting Gurley? What took so fucking long? It's the same thing as the quarterback position for the Rams. I feel miserable for Rams fans to have a coaching staff that seems happy to dick around for a few seasons knowing there is job security.

There are quite a few times I noticed in MMQB (as I was reviewing them for this post) that Peter referred to Zac Stacy as "the type of running back Jeff Fisher loves." So as I said earlier, it seems Peter will just forget he said that and keep moving the goalposts for Fisher, as if he had no control over which players the Rams drafted.

October 2015:

Now we know why Gurley went 10th

I'm not smart at all, but I knew why already. He's a stud. You know what I'm going to say about the Rams. Team on the rise! Give Jeff Fisher that contract extension and it's all downhill from there. I mean, uphill, it's all uphill. Wait, if it is "downhill" then that means things are bad, right? But going "uphill" means things are more difficult. Now I'm confused. Just give Jeff Fisher a contract extension.

“I got one game ball!” St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher said in the Rams’ locker room. “Where’s 30? Thirty! Come up!”

Fisher handed Gurley, No. 30, the football.

“This is just the beginning,” Fisher said.

JUST THE BEGINNING, RAMS FANS! JUST THE BEGINNING!

(The Rams pack up their bags and leave for Los Angeles)

(Shrugs) It happened, right?

Now the reign of Jeff Fisher as an NFL head coach is over...at least until a team like the Jacksonville Jaguars wants a head coach with experience and inexplicably hires him at a salary of $7 million per season. Let's hope this doesn't happen. Actually, maybe I should hope for it to happen, as it is good for the jokes.

I'll try to make the gap between posts shorter in the future.

7 comments Grading Mel Kiper's 2007 NFL Draft Grades

As you all know by now, I enjoy going back and re-grading the grades that Mel Kiper has given teams after each NFL Draft. It's a pastime I enjoy and I have regraded every draft grade column Mel has posted from 2001-2006. I have already re-graded Dr. Z's 2007 draft grades back when I didn't know this would be a thing I would do for Mel Kiper, but screw it, I'll do the 2007 draft grades for Mel too. I enjoy this stuff too much. So I found Mel's draft grades on this message board where a person posted ESPN Insider columns like this on the board. I'm sure the punishment for this is 3-5 years in jail, but he risked it anyway.

Mel is famous for not really taking risks with the grades he gives. He gave out B's and C's for this draft. No really, the only grades he handed out were some variation of a "B" or a "C." There is no draft grade that is an "A" or a "D." There are certainly no "F's." Zero NFL teams did very well or very poorly in the draft. This is what Mel seems to believe. Why the fuck would you even have draft grades if you are just going to say every team did slightly below average to slightly above average? It's a wasted effort, but Mel doesn't care. The best part is he wrote nothing that would come back to haunt him. That's all that matters, being right in retrospect by not outright bashing a player or team. What a farce.

Arizona Cardinals: GRADE: B-
 
Once Joe Thomas was gone, the Cardinals had to make a decision whether to take Adrian Peterson or Levi Brown.

Should I eat pizza or dog shit? Pizza has few nutrients in it and I already had pizza this week, so maybe I'll go with the dog shit because it has to have nutrients and I haven't had dog shit lately.

Peterson would have been a luxury pick, which they couldn't afford to do, and Brown fills a hole.

Because when you have J.J. Arrington and Edgerrin James, there's no need for a running back. The Cardinals did just sign James, but still, an offense with Kurt Warner, Adrian Peterson, Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and Steve Breaston. That's a pretty good offense.

There were quite a few teams that didn't think there was a lot that separated Brown from Thomas. Brown has a nasty streak and can play either tackle position.

But he can he play either tackle as well as Adrian Peterson can play running back? Brown was decent, but man, passing up Peterson...

Tight end Ben Patrick is a potential steal in the seventh round. He needs to work on his concentration and catching the ball, but Patrick could have gone in the third round and no one would have argued. 

Other than getting distracted while he's on the field and not being able to catch the ball, Ben Patrick would make an excellent tight end.

This is just the beginning of a lot of "B's" and "C's." What an embarrassment.

Atlanta Falcons: GRADE: B

Defensive end Jamaal Anderson was really the only option with Joe Thomas and Levi Brown gone.

(Bengoodfella coughs) Darrelle Revis, Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch.

I really liked what Atlanta did Sunday.

Okay, great. So when is a "B" grade, which is a grade that signifies the Falcons did "above average" mean that Mel Kiper really likes the draft? What is an "A" grade reserved for? Does there have to be another "really" thrown in there?

Baltimore Ravens: GRADE: B

Mel says literally nothing negative about the Ravens draft. Nothing negative. He loves it all. Every pick, yet the draft gets a "B."

Ben Grubbs:

Ben Grubbs is a great pick and pure guard.

Yamon Figurs:

Yamon Figurs has speed to burn and will be the returner the Ravens need with B.J. Sams coming off an injury and being a free agent after 2007.

Marshall Yanda:

Marshal Yanda possibly also could start at guard or right tackle.

Antwan Barnes:

Antwan Barnes is a typical hybrid combination between a defensive end and outside linebacker.

Le'Ron McClain:

Le'Ron McClain was the best pure fullback in the draft. Not only does he fill a need, but he could start since the Ravens lost Ovie Mughelli in free agency.

Troy Brown:

This was a good organization for Troy Smith to go to as a developmental quarterback. He also could push Kyle Boller, who will be a free agent after 2007.

Prescott Burgess:

Prescott Burgess had a nice career at Michigan, and getting him in the sixth round is a nice move because Burgess should have a solid NFL career. 

So how in the ever-living hell is this a "B" draft and not an "A" draft? Mel likes EVERY SINGLE PICK the Ravens made. What a joke. Why even have grades? Why even evaluate a team's draft if he is just handing out "B's" and "C's"?

Buffalo Bills: GRADE: B

Down the road, Trent Edwards could give J.P. Losman some competition.

To be fair, there are a lot of college quarterbacks who could have given J.P. Losman some competition.

And if Edwards develops in two or three years, the Bills could trade him, similar to what Atlanta did with Matt Schaub. 

Ah yes, 2007 when there was a possibility the Bills had such an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position that they could trade their backup quarterback.

Hey look, a "B" grade. Oh, look another "B" grade coming up! There are five outright "B" grades in a row, not counting the "B-" he gave the Cardinals. Such creativity from Mel.

Carolina Panthers: GRADE: B

I'm not enamored with linebacker Jon Beason, but he has the ability to be a team leader because he has a great attitude.

I love Jon Beason, but someone should create a Jon Beason Doll that signs a new contract and then immediately gets injured when you pull his string.

The Panthers did a good job in the second round, getting WR Dwayne Jarrett and center Ryan Kalil. I thought Georgia defensive end Charles Johnson was a steal in the third round.

I'm shuddering at the thought of Dwayne Jarrett. He was so horrible. Mel was correct about Charles Johnson though.

Dante Rosario is a backup tight end;

As are most tight ends drafted in the 5th round. Great analysis, Mel.

"This guy drafted in the 5th round, try to stay with me here, but I think he may end up being a backup. That's how I project him and feel free to argue with me if you would like. I would give your ability to make an argument a 'B' grade."

Chicago Bears: GRADE: B

The Bears didn't expect Greg Olsen to be available that late in the first round; he'll give Rex Grossman a solid pass-catching tight end.

Or he will be underused during his Bears career. You know, either way.

Defensive end Dan Bazuin is perfect for the Bears' scheme.

As a 2nd round pick, Bazuin never played a regular season snap for the Bears.

Corey Graham will fight for a roster spot at cornerback and on special teams.

Or he will still be in the NFL in 2015 and have played in 125 games while having returned one kick on special teams during his career so far.

Cincinnati Bengals: GRADE: C+

WHAT? A "C+" grade? You don't say?

Mel likes every pick the Bengals made, except for Jeff Rowe, because:

Jeff Rowe was a system quarterback at Nevada, and I didn't like this pick because there were better quarterbacks still on the board;

This is a good call by Mel, because Matt Moore, Tyler Thigpen, and Troy Smith were still out there. Still, it's a 5th round pick that Mel didn't like and also he knocked the Bengals' grade down because he didn't think they helped themselves enough on defense. This despite the fact Mel had nothing negative to say about the players the Bengals chose instead of focusing on defense.

Picking Michigan CB Leon Hall without having to trade up to get him turned out to be very good value for the Bengals. Running back Kenny Irons could have been a first-round pick but couldn't stay healthy his senior season at Auburn. Safety Marvin White was not a bad fourth-round pick;

The Bengals didn't have a 3rd round pick because they chose Ahmad Brooks in the 2006 supplemental draft. They used three of their first four picks on defense, but that wasn't enough for Mel. They got a "C+," or otherwise as it's known, they did just slightly worse than the Ravens did when Mel loved every pick the Ravens made.

Cleveland Browns: GRADE: B+

The Browns were going to use the third overall pick on Wisconsin tackle Joe Thomas or Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn. At the end of the day, the Browns came away with both players.

Again, pizza or dog shit for dinner?

The Browns did, however, give up a lot of picks in this draft. 

The Browns wanted Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn at #3. They traded picks to get Brady Quinn at #22 and Mel didn't like this strategy. Of course he didn't. Mel also didn't like how many picks the Browns gave up, but thought they did better than the Ravens in the draft. So there's that.

Dallas Cowboys: GRADE: B

I really liked the pick of tackle Doug Free in the fourth round because he has a lot of talent.

I'm not all negative. This was a good call by Mel.

Dallas took place-kicker Nick Folk when Mason Crosby was still on the board;

They are both kickers and it was the 6th round. Let's take it easy with this type of criticism.

Courtney Brown has the necessary skills to be a developmental cornerback. 

So Brown has the necessary skills like arms/legs/hands/a head, he played college football in college AND played college football at the position at which he was drafted by the Cowboys, so he may one day become a cornerback who can be developed into a backup or starter? Thanks Mel, that's really, really enlightening to know.

Denver Broncos: GRADE: B-

The Broncos tried to strengthen the defensive line, starting with Jarvis Moss in the first round. In the Broncos' system, he has a chance to get 10-12 sacks next season.

Or 6 sacks for his entire career. That too.

Offensive tackle Ryan Harris had a first-round grade in August, but his stock dropped and Denver grabbed him in the third round. 

What does this sentence even mean? It's interesting Harris had a first round grade in August, and yes, we know Ryan Harris was drafted in the third round. Is there a conclusion to be drawn based on these two bits of information? Mel is getting so lazy with his grades he's just going to allow his readers to guess his conclusions rather than spend the precious time he has actually writing one more sentence for the Broncos' draft grades.

Detroit Lions: GRADE: C

Drew Stanton will be measured against Brady Quinn because the Lions could have taken the Notre Dame QB.

Dog shit or meat that isn't quite spoiled yet, but getting there quickly? Which one for lunch?

A.J. Davis could be a good nickel or dime cornerback;

Davis could be or could not be a good nickel or dime cornerback. Maybe or maybe not. Stop asking Mel tough questions and just let him finish giving every team a "B" or "C" grade.

Manuel Ramirez was a nice fourth-round pick who will be a starting guard in the NFL;

Mel was correct about this.

Johnny Baldwin was a good small-school linebacker at Alabama A&M who will be a good backup and special-teams player. 

Mel was not correct about this. But hey, it's a draft where Mel didn't like one of the Lions 2nd round picks, thought another 2nd round pick had low upside, and stated the other 2nd round pick was too raw. Sounds like a "C" draft according to the dartboard that Mel has which determines his draft grades. By the way, this dartboard only has "B" and "C" on it and Mel determines if a "+" or "-" will be added by the color of the dart he throws.
 
Green Bay Packers: GRADE: C+

Defensive tackle Justin Harrell didn't fill need, but the Packers chose the best available player over need.

This was a tough pick for the Packers. Harrell had injuries, was overweight and only ended up with 28 tackles and 0 sacks over his career with Green Bay. The list of players taken within 30 picks of Harrell is depressing for Packers fans. It's probably easier to sleep knowing they have Aaron Rodgers and a Super Bowl ring since 2007.

James Jones was a decent third-round pick, a good wide receiver with natural receiving skills;

Great analysis here. The Packers drafted a wide receiver, who just happens to have natural receiving skills. I'm starting to wonder why a team would draft a wide receiver who doesn't have natural receiving skills by the time he reaches the NFL, but that's probably a question better not asked.

WR David Clowney has a lot of speed, and inside linebackers Korey Hall and Desmond Bishop should make it in the NFL as backups.

Bishop ended up being a starter in the NFL. You know Mel is starting to get bored when he just describes a guy as "having a lot of speed" and then noting that 6th round picks should be backups in the NFL. I would say he's mailing it in, but the variety of draft grades already shows that.

Houston Texans: GRADE: C-

A "C-" is an "F" based on Mel Kiper's grading curve.

The Texans took defensive tackle Travis Johnson in 2005, and he hasn't played up to his potential. They took DT Amobi Okoye

It seems the Texans wanted a pair of defensive tackles who didn't play to their potential.

when they should have been looking at a cornerback such as Leon Hall or Darrelle Revis.

Yeah, probably.

Wide receiver Jacoby Jones played at Lane College,

This is all Mel has to say about Jacoby Jones. Why even mention him if you are only going to mention what college Jones went to? This is hilarious to me. What is the reader supposed to ascertain from reciting Jones' college?

This turned out to be a typical Houston draft. The Texans didn't help David Carr when he was their QB, and they didn't do much to help Schaub. Cornerback Fred Bennett was a good pick in the fourth round, and I really like linebacker Zach Diles. He had two productive years at Kansas State and might have flown under some teams' radar. Getting Diles in the seventh round was a good move.

Diles was productive for a 7th round pick. It seems like Mel hated the Texans draft, but he just couldn't bring himself to actually grade the Texans on his feelings about their draft. And why would Mel give a draft grade based on how he felt the Texans did in the draft in acquiring talented players who fit the team's needs? That's not the purpose of draft grades apparently. 

Indianapolis Colts: GRADE: B-
 
The Texans should take a page from the Colts. They win the Super Bowl and what do they do in the first round? Give Peyton Manning another weapon on offense by taking WR Anthony Gonzalez. This was a great pick, replacing Brandon Stokley in the Colts' arsenal. 

Gonzalez really didn't do much to replace Brandon Stokley and was out of the NFL by 2012. If you ask me, while Mel likes the strategy of the Colts, I think they should have spent more time drafting for defense than giving Manning more weapons on offense. Manning has the ability to make decent receivers look greater than they are. He can't help the defense like that. That's just my opinion.

Tony Ugoh could be the heir apparent to Tarik Glenn at left tackle,

He was not.

and I really like wide receiver Roy Hall, Gonzalez's teammate at Ohio State.

He caught one pass in his NFL career.

fifth-round pick Michael Coe has the chance to be a good developmental cornerback. 

One day, MAYBE, Michael Coe could develop into a cornerback. He has a chance.
 
Jacksonville Jaguars: GRADE: C

The Jaguars needed a playmaking safety. They not only got Florida's Reggie Nelson

Eh, can't win them all.

Not only do I like punter Adam Podlesh's strong leg, but he runs a 4.45 40 time, which will force defenses to always be thinking about a fake punt.

I have never heard this type of evaluation about a punter. Credit to Mel for at least being creative about it. There could be a chance that Podlesh runs a fake punt, so that's important to know I guess.

Uche Nwaneri as a guard or center made sense in the fifth round.

Nwaneri (who turned out to be a good player) made sense as a guard or center, mostly because he played these positions in college. Mel likes to write, "Player X made sense in Y round" and then lists the player's position at some point in the sentence. Yes, it does make sense to draft a guy who played guard and/or center in college as a guard or center in the NFL. It does sound counter intuitive, but sense has been made. Probably more sense than liking a punter who was drafted because he's fast.  

"Ah, fuck it, here's a 'C' grade. You know what? Here's another one." 

Kansas City Chiefs: GRADE: C 

Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is a good player, and he filled a need for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs first round pick is a good player AND he filled a need? Why did the Chiefs do that?

Justin Medlock is a good place-kicker, but I would have taken Mason Crosby. 

Yes, we know. Mel Kiper would have taken Mason Crosby #1 overall because it filled a need and Crosby can run fast in case there are any fake kicks the Raiders were looking to run. Actually, Crosby would have probably been a better #1 overall pick than JaMarcus Russell, but that's beside the point.

Mel liked most of the Chiefs picks and he gave them a "C." I have to wonder how they could have gotten a higher grade from Mel.

Miami Dolphins: GRADE: C

Passing on Brady Quinn was ridiculous.

It turns out drafting him in the first round was equally as ridiculous.  

The Dolphins were fortunate that QB John Beck was still available in the second round and they were able to salvage their quarterback situation.

Yep, consider the situation now salvaged. Wait, Mel wrote "salvaged"? I thought he meant the QB situation was "savaged." Nevermind.

Drew Mormino made sense as a backup center; Kelvin Smith has a chance to be a starting linebacker someday;

Ah yes, boring filler analysis. Mel's great at this type of thing.

and Brandon Fields has a strong leg but is inconsistent. 

BUT HOW FAST DOES HE RUN IN CASE THE DOLPHINS WANT HIM TO RUN A FAKE PUNT?

Brandon Fields has made a Pro Bowl and is still the Dolphins kicker by the way.

Minnesota Vikings: GRADE: B+

Vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman had an outstanding weekend.

But not outstanding enough to earn an "A" grade of course. That would be ridiculous to say the Vikings had an outstanding draft and then actually grade them based on this opinion.

Brian Robison is a pass-rushing defensive end and a very good Day 2 selection.

This was true. Robison has 43.5 sacks in his career.

and Tyler Thigpen is more of a developmental, third-string quarterback. 

What? You mean in the 7th round the Vikings didn't draft a capable backup or a sure-fire starter?

Outstanding job by Rick Spielman! Here's a grade that states you did above average, which in Mel's world is pretty much the same thing as doing outstanding.

New England Patriots: GRADE: B

Of the six picks the Pats had in the sixth and seventh rounds, they'll be fortunate if two of them pan out. The reason for giving the Patriots a B grade is they utilized the draft process by getting Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick as well as acquiring the 49ers' first-round pick in 2008. 

That's true, but I find it interesting that Mel grades the 2007 draft based on players the Patriots didn't select and them having the chance to select another player (a player who Mel had no idea whether he liked at this point or not) in the next year's draft. He grades this draft based on another draft basically. Just interesting. Brandon Meriweather was the only player the Patriots drafted who was on the team after the 2008 season.

New Orleans Saints: GRADE: B-

New Orleans went with Robert Meachem, the best available player on the board.

Other than Joe Staley, Ben Grubbs, Greg Olsen, Eric Weddle, and LaMar Woodley of course.

Antonio Pittman will give New Orleans more depth at running back;

Which basically means Mel thinks a fourth round pick who plays running back will make the 53-man roster. Thanks for the contribution, Mel.

Jermon Bushrod is a quality prospect at left tackle; and David Jones from Wingate was a good sleeper pick.

Bushrod was a good pick and Jones was a huge sleeper because he didn't even make the Saints roster during the 2007 season.

New York Giants: GRADE: C-

I would have gone differently with the Giants' draft.

Every single pick the Giants made was still on the roster until after at least the 2009 season. I'd be interested to know how the Giants could do better than that, in terms of depth of their draft, while having 8 picks.

Cornerback Aaron Ross has very good ball skills but not great catchup speed. I was surprised they didn't take left tackle Joe Staley because they need someone who can protect Eli Manning's blind side. The Giants took offensive tackle Adam Koets in the sixth round and even passed on left tackle Jermon Bushrod. If they had taken Staley, they could have drafted Eric Wright from UNLV instead of WR Steve Smith. I would rather have had Staley and Wright,

Yeah, maybe. It's not like the Giants made a huge mistake or anything drafting the way they did.

but Smith is a good receiver and will be someone who holds onto the ball.

That's always a nice quality for a receiver to have. Also, the Giants got Ahmad Bradshaw in the 7th round of this draft and Mel doesn't mention him at all. Definitely not a "C-" draft and this is why Mel doesn't like to take chances with his grades. There's a chance he could be wrong.

New York Jets: GRADE: B

it was quality over quantity for the Jets, who drafted only four players. They traded up to get their first two picks, CB Darrelle Revis and linebacker David Harris. I had Harris going in the first half of the first round, so this is a great pickup for the Jets.

And they were two good picks. Not good enough for an "A" grade of course.

Jacob Bender has a chance to be a nice developmental prospect at tackle. 

He has a chance to one day become a tackle. See? I told you Mel likes to write shit like this that may not mean too much.

Oakland Raiders: GRADE C+

JaMarcus Russell was a no-brainer because he has the chance to be a franchise quarterback.

"No-brainer" is how I would describe JaMarcus Russell too.

The Raiders have been trying for years to draft a tight end, and they took Zach Miller in the second round.

I'm confused by this. Who was stopping the Raiders from drafting a tight end? The team was handing in draft cards with a tight end's name on it and the NFL was changing the pick to another position that wasn't tight end? Was this all Todd Christensen's doing? Let's blame JaMarcus Russell for this too.

safety Eric Frampton was a solid fifth-round pick out of Washington State; and Orenthal O'Neal is a good lead blocker for a fullback. 

O'Neal is a good lead blocker for a fullback? That's nice to know considering a fullback's main role on the field is to be the lead blocker. I don't think Mel even knew where he was going with this sentence.

The Raiders did everything right except for one pick Mel didn't like, got a guy who had a chance to be a franchise quarterback and only got a "C" grade.

Philadelphia Eagles: GRADE: C-

It's the Mel Kiper version of an "F".

First, they made a trade with the Cowboys, who used the pick on defensive end Anthony Spencer. Then, the Eagles used the 36th overall pick (their first pick in the draft) on Houston QB Kevin Kolb when QBs Drew Stanton, John Beck and Trent Edwards were all still on the board.

Yeah, that was probably a smart move in retrospect.

C.J. Gaddis, I thought, would have been a priority free agent instead of a fifth-rounder; Brent Celek is an average tight end prospect;

Gaddis probably should have been a priority free agent, while Brent Celek is still being average on the Eagles roster and has 344 catches, 4300 plus yards, and 27 touchdowns on his NFL career so far.

Pittsburgh Steelers: GRADE: B

For the 3-4 defense, Lawrence Timmons was a good pick in the first round and using their second-round choice on LaMarr Woodley will give the Steelers some versatility in that Woodley could play as a defensive end in four-man fronts. I'm not sure how effective he can be as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme,

57 sacks, 9 forced fumbles, and 5 interceptions. He seems like he's been pretty effective as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

I liked the fourth-round pick on Daniel Sepulveda, a left-footed punter with a big leg;

BUT HOW FAST CAN HE RUN? FAKE PUNTS HAPPEN, YOU KNOW!

Another boring "B" grade...

St. Louis Rams: GRADE: C+

I really like the pick of Brian Leonard in the second round because he gives St. Louis options on offense. He can spell Steven Jackson at running back, play fullback when necessary, and also be used as a move tight end or H-back. 

Unfortunately, Leonard seemed to do more of that type of thing with the Bengals than the Rams.

Former wide receiver Jonathan Wade is still raw as a cornerback but was a decent third-round pick; center Dustin Fry is an overachiever; and Cliff Ryan should be able to contribute along the defensive line. 

That's it. If the "C+" grade didn't tip you off, then the lack of interest shown by Mel in evaluating these picks is a tip off that he was bored at this point in this draft grades. Mel just hands out "C's" and "B+" from here on out. Which really isn't straying too far from the grades he handed over this entire column.

San Diego Chargers: GRADE: C

Wide receiver Craig Davis was a slight reach in the first round, but he does fill a major need.

The need to draft a guy nicknamed "Buster" who ends up being a little bit of a bust?

Tight end Scott Chandler is a good pass catcher but a marginal blocker, and WR Legedu Naanee has long-range potential.

I guess there's not much to say about Naanee other than "He may be pretty good one day."

San Francisco 49ers: GRADE: B+

The 49ers got Patrick Willis, Joe Staley, Ray McDonald (for better or worse), Dashon Goldson, and Tarell Brown in this draft. It sounds like an "A" draft to me now.

After the 49ers took a tackling machine in linebacker Patrick Willis with the 11th pick, I liked seeing them move back into the first round (trading for New England's second first-round pick) and get Joe Staley, one of the best offensive tackles in the draft. QB Alex Smith needs someone who's going to protect his blind side, and Staley could do that for years to come.

And he did. He also protected Colin Kaepernick's blind side.

Dashon Goldson is more of a backup cornerback;

Or a starting safety. Either way.

Seattle Seahawks: GRADE: C

Mansfield Wrotto (4th round) went a little high for a player I think will be a backup;

A 4th round pick is too high for a player who will be a backup? Mel thinks NFL teams are expected to still find starters in the 4th round? I don't see how that's a reasonable expectation.

wide receiver Jordan Kent, son of Oregon basketball coach Ernie Kent, also has some ability. 

It's always nice that the Seahawks drafted a wide receiver with some ability. Mel's ability to give a fuck is growing weak right now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: GRADE: C

This was a bad luck draft. Gaines Adams never really produced for the Buccaneers and never got a chance to redeem himself with the Bears before he passed away. The Bucs 2nd round pick, Arron Sears had to retire due to a neurological condition.

Tanard Jackson is an aggressive cornerback who could move inside to safety;

And he did.

linebacker Adam Hayward is a marginal prospect;

He's still in the NFL.

and offensive tackle Chris Denman is underrated and an overachiever and I like his chances of making the team. 

He did not. He was placed on injured reserve, then released prior to the 2008 season.

Tennessee Titans: GRADE: C-

Vince Young needed help at wide receiver, and the Titans had Robert Meachem staring right at them. Michael Griffin is a nice safety, but he was a luxury pick and the Titans couldn't afford to take a safety when they needed help at other positions.

What's the deal with Mel Kiper and luxury picks? The Titans needed to take the best football player that was available to them and not try to shoehorn a need into a player who plays that position, especially in the first round. Maybe later in the draft they should draft for need, but drafting for need and not finding the most talented player is a good way to miss on a first round pick. Michael Griffin is a two-time Pro Bowler, has made an All-Pro team and has had a nice career with the Titans.

The Titans also needed a running back, but Chris Henry wasn't productive in the Pac-10, so I'm not sold on taking him in the second round. Wide receivers Paul Williams, Chris Davis and Joel Filani are good but not great.

These statements all ended up being accurate. Though I have to question why Mel was so worked up over the Titans passing on getting Vince Young weapons at wide receiver when they drafted three receivers and a running back. They didn't draft the right wide receivers and running back of course, but at least they tried.

Tennessee could have done a better job of helping the offense around Young.

What's funny is Mel is so worried about the Titans offense he didn't talk about four players (Leroy Harris, Antonio Johnson, Jacob Ford, and Mike Otto) who were drafted by the Titans and had productive NFL careers. Instead, Mel gave the Titans a Kiper "F."

Washington Redskins: GRADE: C-

Washington had only one pick in the first four rounds and made the most of it, getting LaRon Landry. (You could argue Landry was the best defensive player in the draft). Drafting Landry will allow Sean Taylor to play center field and roam the middle of the field. Landry will be in the box, and that will negate his weakness, which is judging the deep ball.

Poor Sean Taylor. He was going to be considered such a great player by the time his career was over. 

linebacker HB Blades was a decent sixth-round pick although a bit undersized; and QB Jordan Palmer never really emerged as a potential starter. 

How does Mel know that Jordan Palmer never really emerged as a potential starter? It's true, but was Mel sent from the future to evaluate football players and tear down our very fabric of society by having the world laser-focused on the NFL draft so that the machines from the future can come and attack Earth while everyone is watching the draft? If so, he revealed himself here by using the future tense when discussing Jordan Palmer.

The least Mel could do if he really is from the future is be more risky with his draft grades (since he knows the outcome already) and not simply give every team some variation of a "B" or a "C." It's pointless to just say every NFL team did slightly above average or slightly below average when his only job at ESPN is to evaluate these players. He's supposed to have strong opinions based on watching tape over the year, not give out half-ass grades in order to avoid being seen as incorrect. I'm not asking for hot takes, just grades that seem to reflect his true attitude towards a team's draft.

0 comments An Old, Fiery Pre-Draft Hot Take on Cam Newton

(I didn't mean to post this, but it's been read, so go down to the next post and read MMQB for this week, it's really, really, really good (not at all) and I don't accuse Peter of loving young men this week)

I don't like writing about my favorite team on this here ol' blog, but this old Bleacher Report article must be addressed. This is representative of the type of articles Bleacher Report used to churn out on a more frequent basis. To call it trolling would be underestimating the terribleness of the writing. To call it any form of sports journalism would be laughable. This dude from Bleacher Report begged for pageviews by writing an article titled, "Cam Newton: Why Carolina Panthers' New QB is the Worst Draft Pick Ever." Sadly, this might be the highlight of this article and it is downhill from there. He's spitting fire and getting attention. That's what it is all about for the author. I wouldn't normally post something like this, but the author is so sure of it and continues his bullshit on his Bleacher Report profile. So, from May 9, 2011, here is a hot draft take.

The author is probably even more pissed-off now that Newton got a $100+ million contract. 

Cam Newton is a sure-fire bust.

A sure-fire bust. Close the doors, put the chairs up on the tables, because it's all over before it begins.

I am so certain of this that if he is the Panthers' starting quarterback in 2016, I will buy a Cam Newton jersey and stand in the stadium parking lot in my underwear when the Panthers come to Tampa Bay

I am certain that I would not want to see this. I am also certain that the author will have to do this unless Newton suffers a season-ending injury of some kind during the 2016 season. To be clear, the author would be cheering for a season-ending injury to Cam Newton.

and hold a sign proclaiming that Auburn rules over Florida and Carolina rules over Tampa Bay.

Not that he has this fiery hot take purely for the sake of attention, but if he's wrong then he wants the world to give him more attention. What's really happening is the author is a Buccaneers fan and doesn't like Auburn, plus Cam transferred from his favorite college football team. There is a lot of biased, irrational hatred towards Newton built up in the author.

This guy will be long gone by then. Here are just a few of the reasons why I believe he will make Ryan Leaf only the second-biggest draft bust in history.

What's really sad is the author spits out hot takes in an effort to gain attention and he can't even succeed at that. He has 11 followers on Twitter and even Bleacher Report doesn't seem to want him writing for them anymore.

1. Cam Newton has not had enough experience as a starting quarterback to warrant a No. 1 pick. He only really played one year of meaningful college football. Yes, it was a fantastic year. Yes, his team went undefeated and won it all. But it was still only one year. How do we know that it wasn't a fluke?

While it was a valid point that Newton didn't have a ton of experience starting in college, it doesn't mean he was going to be a bust in the NFL. He started at a junior college before he played for Auburn for one season. Maybe that's not "meaningful" enough to have played at a junior college.

How do we know that Auburn didn't win because of a fantastic supporting cast? We don't.

Yes, "we" don't, except for the fact there were probably 2-3 players other than Newton on that offense that would even have a chance of playing in the NFL. So a few years down the road, it's easy to see he didn't have a fantastic supporting cast. Even at the time, Auburn wasn't spitting out NFL prospects on offense.

2. Cam Newton has never lost a game as a starting quarterback. Wouldn't it be nice to know how he will react when he does lose a game?

Newton is TOO MUCH of a winner. This is an interesting reason to say he would be the biggest draft bust in NFL history. Newton wins too many games, what will it be like when he starts losing games? Because I'm sure Newton would have been the first college quarterback to come to the NFL and start experiencing losing at a higher rate than he experienced in college. This isn't a battle only Newton would face, so it's not a reason to claim Newton would be the biggest bust in NFL draft history either.

Is he going to learn from his mistakes? Is he going to repeat them?

Again, these aren't questions that would be exclusive to Cam Newton. Your reasoning sucks.

Will he go all "Vince Young" and threaten to hurt himself?

Yes, yes, will he go all "Vince Young." They are both black quarterbacks who won national titles. Will Cam Newton threaten to commit suicide when he doesn't become the winner in the NFL that he thought he would be? In fairness to the author, this question is still up in the air and will be until the day Cam Newton dies. Will Cam Newton, at some point, kill himself? The author asks the tough questions with no easy answers.

Will he lose all confidence? We don't know. Sure would be nice to know these things before using a No. 1 pick though.

Considering it's impossible to know these things about ANY NFL DRAFT PICK THAT IS EVER SELECTED, it would be nice to know these things. If only Cam Newton's future could have been predicted much in the same way most draft picks can have their future predicted. It would be nice to know how a draft pick will react to losing, but...ummm...that's impossible to know for any draft pick so the author's reasoning still sucks.

3. Cam Newton is no brainiac. From all accounts, he came off as an idiot on Jon Gruden's show on ESPN. He looked as if he had no idea what was going on. He was stumped by Gruden's questions. Some even said he looked bored.

Perhaps Newton was bored to death. Was Newton looking to go all "Vince Young" and threaten to hurt himself while on Jon Gruden's show? THESE ARE THE TOUGH QUESTIONS THE AUTHOR IS WILLING TO ASK THAT NO ONE ELSE WOULD TOUCH!

Did he get by at Auburn on sheer athletic ability? Of course he did. He's a freak athlete.

Actually, Newton isn't really a freak athlete in terms of speed or athletic ability. He doesn't run extremely fast, but he's fast for his size and hard to bring down. He has a great arm as well. Still, a lot of college players get by on athleticism. It doesn't mean that player will be a bust in the NFL.

But this is the NFL. 

THIS IS THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE WITH NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS!

There are many people alleging that the real reason Cam Newton left the University of Florida was not because he was caught with a stolen laptop computer, but because he was caught with papers written by other students.

This is a character issue, not a reason that Newton can't play quarterback at the NFL level.

Now, I don't know if this is true or isn't true. But before I used a No. 1 pick on this guy, I'd sure want to consider the possibility that it could be true.

And how on Earth would this brain dead author know that the Panthers didn't check on whether Newton really plagiarized another student's paper? Because the guy who writes for Bleacher Report has so many connections in the NFL that he is aware of every investigation every NFL team starts on every prospect they are considering drafting? It's ridiculous to think the author will criticize an NFL team for not considering a possibility he has no idea whether they considered or not.

It tells us that he is not smart enough to do his own work and get a passing grade. But you expect him to outsmart guys like Dick LeBeau?

A quarterback isn't expected to outsmart the opposing defensive coordinator. He's expected to run the plays that are called, recognize the coverage, and find the open receiver or audible to another play. Few quarterbacks are expected to outsmart the opposing defensive coordinator any more than recognize what the opposing defense is trying to do.

I like how the author thought Cam Newton is stupid because there is a rumor he was caught with papers written by other students and KNOWS Carolina didn't check up on this. Brilliant writing.

When things are going rough for the team, Cam is going to be the guy the other players are going to look to for leadership. How is that going to work? He has no credibility. His word means nothing.

Gee, this almost seems like a personal opinion of Cam Newton and not an opinion that he will be the biggest NFL bust ever because of his skill set.

5. Cam cannot hit the broad side of a barn with a football. All other issues aside, isn't the number one job of an NFL quarterback to complete passes?

His completion percentage was 3rd in the SEC. It's not like being 1st in the SEC, but Newton completed 66% of his passes to a group of receivers few have heard of or remember.

Did you NFL guys not watch the BCS title game? How many touchdowns did Cam leave on the table by missing receivers who were running free? That game should not have even been close.

His completion percentage was 58.8% in the BCS title game. I don't remember how many receivers he missed, but given the author's ability to be intellectually honest and fair, I'm sure he's telling the complete truth here.

On Newton's pro day at Auburn, there were reports of him missing receivers badly while throwing against air. What will happen when he has NFL defensive linemen with bad intentions bearing down on him?

With no sense of irony, the author is about to cape up for Tim Tebow. When Florida won the National title, Tebow's completion percentage was 60% in that BCS title game.

How can an NFL franchise waste a No. 1 draft pick on a guy with this many question marks? Last year all we heard was how Tim Tebow was not worth risking a first-round pick because of his throwing motion—not just the top pick, but anywhere in the top 32.

And what we have here is a University of Florida football fan who just doesn't like Cam Newton because he (the author) is a Tim Tebow fan. Mystery solved. Trolling reason now obvious.

Name another issue with Tebow. Character? Please. Intelligence? No. Accuracy? Not really.

Accuracy was an issue for Tebow. One issue for Tebow is quarterbacking ability, which is a trait that most NFL quarterbacks need to have that Tebow seems to somewhat lack. Newton may be a terrible person who missed an open receiver in an important game, but his skills translated better to the NFL than Tebow's did.

Yet somehow because he came from a spread system he was deemed unworthy of a top pick. Guess what system Cam came from.

As always when it comes to Tebow fanatics, this is really about Tebow more than it is about Cam Newton (or whatever NFL player, usually a quarterback, that is being discussed). Tebow was deemed unworthy because he had a long motion and NFL teams didn't see how his leadership skills combined with his quarterbacking ability translated to the NFL.

So how is it we go from "Tebow sucks" to "Cam is awesome" in one year?

Cam Newton will be the biggest bust in NFL draft history because Tebow doesn't suck? Of course.

When these two guys played on the same team for two years, Cam was the one riding the bench while Tebow was breaking records and winning championships.

The stupidity of this statement can not be understated. Tebow was a sophomore and Newton was a true freshmen. When Tebow played on the same team as Chris Leak, it was Chris Leak who was the starter while Tebow only played sparingly in certain packages. Does that mean Chris Leak had a better NFL future than Tim Tebow did? Of course not. That's one reason why this statement is incredibly stupid. Tom Brady sat the bench at Michigan for Drew Henson at times. Drew Brees sat behind Billy Dicken at Purdue, so obviously that means Dicken would go on to a storied NFL career while Brees would bust, right?

So how is it that the treatment of Cam by the "draft people" is 180 degrees different than Tebow's? I don't know.

So what does this have to do with Cam Newton being the biggest bust in NFL draft history? I don't know. What I do know is saying Newton will be the biggest bust in NFL draft history based on questions that nearly every other draft prospect has about them probably isn't the best reasoning for coming to this conclusion.

Let's ask Denver Broncos fans if they would like to trade Tebow for Newton straight up.

Yes, after Peyton Manning retires perhaps you should ask this question. I'd be very interested to hear the answer.

They would laugh in your face. Football fans know even if the experts have no clue. We can spot a fraud when we see one.

I agree that football fans can spot a fraud when they see one. I'm looking at you, author of this column. I have spotted you. A fraud. You. Even Bleacher Report doesn't want you anymore. Right now, people are laughing in this author's face. Such is life for trolls.

In five years, when Tebow is leading Denver into the playoffs and Cam Newton is riding someone's bench, remember this article.

Oh, this article is remembered and will never be forgotten. This last sentence is the best. Notice how this article went from "Why Cam Newton is the Biggest Bust in NFL Draft History" to "Why Do People Like Cam Newton More than Tim Tebow?" It's almost like the author came to a conclusion on one player based on his feelings for another player. Football fans like this author would never do that though, because they can spot a fraud when they see one. In 2016, football fans can spot a fraud in the Tampa Bay parking lot wearing a Cam Newton jersey and only his underwear. 

2 comments Welp, Jay Cutler is More Like Tim Tebow and That's Not Good Enough for Rick Telander

You may remember a few weeks ago when Rick Telander wrote that he thought Jay Cutler should be more like Tim Tebow. Because, you know, Cutler is "an effective quarterback" and all of that. Well, it turns out that Jay Cutler has shown up to Bears training camp with big muscles and smiling in a picture. In a not-so-shocking twist of events, this isn't good enough for Rick Telander. It never is. That's the secret behind columns written with the premise of something like, "Coach X needs to address the media about Controversy Y." What the sports media really means is they want Coach X to have a press conference under the guise of "clearing things up around the controversy" when it's really just an excuse for the sports media to use their bully pulpit to ask the coach questions and continue to pass their judgment on in the form of a column. The guise is that opinions could change if the coach just speaks to the controversy publicly, much like Chip Kelly "should" speak to the accusations of racism, but those opinions aren't going to change. It's just an excuse to bait the coach into creating a media feeding frenzy.

When Rick Telander wrote "Jay Cutler should be like Tim Tebow" what he really meant was "Cutler needs to work harder and be nicer, but that's still not going to change my perception of him. But hey, he could try and that would allow me to churn a column or two out on the topic." It's the game the New York media played with A-Rod. "A-Rod should speak to his suspension and apologize at a press conference!" Why? So you have an exciting press conference to cover? Otherwise, there is no point.

So here is Rick not fooled by the "new" Cutler that he requested Jay become.

So we have a new Bears head coach 

A head coach that Rick became increasingly depressed about the Bears hiring.

and a new offensive coordinator and a new and wonderful wide receiver (Kevin White, whom no one has seen actually practice).

Oh no! No one has seen Kevin White practice and it seems the whole "Is Odell Beckham a huge bust?" idiocy from last year has been forgotten by Rick Telander. Being injured doesn't necessarily mean anything. That's my point.

So naturally we have a new quarterback.

(Rick Telander) "Jay Cutler needs to change who he is to be more like Tim Tebow."

(Rick Telander) "Jay Cutler has changed himself. I'll mock him for doing this now. Check out all this sarcasm I'm using, it's just like the sarcasm the kids use!"

Hello, Jay Cutler!

Jay had a bad year last year and he's trying to turn himself around. Let's mock him for it. 

So how is the 32-year old quarterback, now in his 10th NFL season, seventh with Bears, with his fifth offensive coordinator in seven years, abruptly new?

I like how Rick uses the word "abruptly" here. Rick wants Jay Cutler to change, Cutler appears to change and Rick is all like, "Whoa! Hey buddy, slow down with these abrupt changes. At least change at a slower rate so we can all keep up." 

Why, he looks rugged and jacked, 

Rugged and jacked like Tim Tebow!

and he hasn’t thrown an interception in practice,

I'm not a Cutler defender necessarily, but the fact he hasn't thrown an interception in practice is anecdotal evidence that Bears fans can somewhat be happy that the offense Adam Gase has installed is going to work for Cutler. I know it's fun to be sarcastic, but rather than have sarcasm about the situation, perhaps be cautiously optimistic. 

and he has been kissing reporters on both cheeks after cheery and informative interviews that he wishes would never end.

What is Cutler, Italian or something? 

OK, the last item isn’t true.

YOU GOT ME, RICK! I TOTALLY JUST FELL FOR THAT!

As usual, because Jay Cutler isn't friendly with the media then the coverage of him will reflect that. As someone who would be horrible at the media game if he were a professional athlete, I don't understand why Cutler is judged on his attitude towards the media while also acknowledging this has an impact on the coverage of Cutler by the Bears media.

But the glowing reviews of his on-field demeanor and “rebirth’’ as a field general who suddenly “gets it’’ are true. At least they have been bandied about like a volleyball over a backyard net.

More sarcasm. Telander wants Cutler to change, he seems to change in the short-term and Rick is all sarcastic about it. I know I'm sarcastic about a lot of stuff on this blog, but Rick specifically wrote a column requesting that Cutler change and Cutler seems to have tried to do that. Maybe it won't last. That's entirely possible. The secret is that Rick doesn't want Cutler to change who he is, Rick just wants to be able to bash Cutler for NOT being able to become a field general who "gets it." Rick wants to write about how Cutler needs to change, not actually have it happen. 

There’s a new photo of Cutler on Pro Football Reference.com that has him smiling like a teenaged girl who has just won free pedicures for life. Happy is the man with knowledge overflowing!

(Rick Telander) "Jay Cutler still doesn't smile nor is he nice to the media."

(Rick Telander) "Here is a picture of Jay Cutler smiling like a teenaged girl. I'm going to make fun of him for smiling like I have requested he do in the past."

Sure, John Fox may have called Cutler “Jake’’ back in January, but that was before he got to know the refreshed and refreshing QB who likely will never create a turnover again.

Keep moving those goalposts, Rick. Nobody said Jay won't create a turnover again. That's not a realistic expectation.

Also, calling Jay Cutler "Jake" is an easy thing to do, and not just because John Fox would rather his team not even have a quarterback so he could run the Wildcat or single-wing offense all game, but because "Jay" and "Cutler" can be run together to form "Jake" by not pausing between the two words. So the fact Fox called Cutler "Jake" doesn't mean a hell of a lot.

I don't just argue semantics, I murder semantics to death with my own nit-picking.

One is reminded of what former teammate/philosopher Brandon Marshall said of Cutler awhile back: “He’s the real deal.’’
And now, apparently, he’s so real, he’s chromed.

It almost sounds like Rick Telander doesn't believe it. Could that be true? 

Me, I don’t believe it.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? You don't believe it? I couldn't tell. 

I think Cutty is Cutty. A six is a six, not a 10. The spots are permanent, just like on your couch.

So when writing an article that says, "Jay Cutler needs to be more like Tim Tebow" you were essentially writing an article advocating for Jay Cutler to do something you had absolutely no doubt he wasn't capable of doing? So what's the point of writing the column then? You know Cutler can't ever be the "effective quarterback" that Tebow is, so outside of giving yourself a good reason to get pageviews by putting "Tebow" in the title of a column while bashing Jay Cutler, why write the column advocating for Cutler to change who he is?

We’ve heard this all before, haven’t we?

Maybe, but you are the one who seems to genuinely believe Tim Tebow is now an effective quarterback. You are the one who now believes Tebow doesn't have the world's worst throwing motion, a claim from Tebow's quarterback mentors that we had heard all before as well. Maybe one day Jay Cutler will be more like Tim Tebow, though that's clearly not really what Rick Telander wants.