
Dr. Z's Draft Report CardWinners, losers and one glaring incomplete gradePosted: Monday April 30, 2007 9:57AM; Updated: Monday April 30, 2007 1:55PM
You will notice the generally low level of the grades for the 2007 draft. This does not reflect, I believe, the teams' drafting skill, just the overall level of talent. At one time you could find three or four genuinely exciting players on a team's list. Now there are many one-player drafts, and a few of those "one's" aren't even that scintillating. One team receives no grade and that's the Patriots. Sorry, but I'm one of the few analysts who has not collapsed in a kind of delirium at the Randy Moss acquisition, but the hordes of TV folks who viewed this as a religious experience have more than counter-balanced my skepticism PATRIOTS -- IncompleteI'll believe it when I see it. Belichick's magic wand is now about to transform one of the NFL's biggest dogs into America's sweetheart. Oh, I know the argument. The Raiders stunk, therefore Randy wasn't happy, therefore why should he give it much effort? I wonder how coach Belichick and personnel director Scott Pioli would have reacted to that argument before they heard the angel music. Since all NFL people believe in reincarnation, Moss is now being portrayed as an incarnation of Corey Dillon, who had a bit of a reputation before he joined New England and performed heroically. Sorry, the argument doesn't wash. Dillon never quit in games, walked off the field before a contest was over and admitted that he played hard only when he felt like it. If I'm wrong and New England cakewalks into the Super Bowl on Brady to Moss fireworks, OK, I'll be the first to tell you. But not yet. The rest of the Patriots' draft? Oh, one first-day choice, safetyman, Brandon Meriweather, whom they like to say has "character issues," a common NFL euphemism that's kind of like Adult Entertainment. BROWNS -- AAh, the never-ending mysteries of draft day. They get both Brady Quinn and the draft's most highly regarded blocker, tackle Joe Thomas. After that it gets a bit murky. Second-round CB Eric Wright ... great talent but here we go again, character issues. Hey, I thought Roger Goodell outlawed that stuff. Only one thing can dull the euphoria that Browns fans are feeling at this moment, and that is if Quinn turns out to be, as some have predicted, not a franchise player but a meticulously schooled system QB with a tendency toward occasional wildness.
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