Bad teams have roots in bad drafts
Posted: Friday December 18, 1998 08:46 AM
The NFL may be the only place in the United States where you are inversely
compensated for your success. The better a pro football team fares, the
worse its draft pick, the tougher its schedule and the longer it has to
wait to claim players on the waiver wire.
It's a good way to handicap the good teams, to help ensure competition.
Stacking the deck against the best teams makes for surprising results every
week and every year. It makes it all the more impressive when a team can
keep winning over and over, and all the more amazing how some teams just
can't get things right.
Take the NFL draft, for instance. In recent years, there are some teams
that have perennially picked at the top -- teams like the Bengals, Bears
and Colts. Other teams like the 49ers and Dolphins must wait hours for
their first pick. What it comes down to is this: you reap what you sow.
Draft poorly, and your teams will play poorly.
Consider the Bears -- two recent first-round picks -- Alonzo Spellman
('92), Rashaan Salaam
('95) -- didn't play a down in the NFL this year. They clearly didn't get
the top tailback available, though they took the first one in Curtis Enis. When they
traded for quarterback Rick
Mirer (since waived) they gave up the 11th pick in the '97 draft, which
could have been Warrick
Dunn.
The Colts finally made a good pick in quarterback Peyton Manning this year,
but they're still paying for horrible high picks like Steve Emtman and even
my fellow analyst Trev Alberts. The Bengals may be the best at botching
top-10 picks with selections like Ki-Jana Carter, Dan Wilkinson and David Klingler. They did
well by picking linebacker Takeo Spikes this year,
but then used their next pick, 17th overall, on another linebacker. Think a
guy like Randy Moss
would help that offense score points? All three teams are projected to have
top-six picks this year, so brace yourself for more of the same on draft
day.
Other teams, like the 49ers, consistently find better players dozens of
picks later. In the '90s, San Francisco has taken Pro Bowl defensive tackle
Ted Washington 25th,
tailback Ricky Watters
45th, pass-rusher Dana
Stubblefield 26th and receiver Terrell Owens 89th. The
Dolphins, meanwhile, took receiver O.J. McDuffie 25th, Pro
Bowler Tim Bowens 20th,
cornerback Sam Madison
44th and defensive end Jason Taylor 73rd. It
doesn't matter where these teams pick -- the results are the same.
Speaking as a coach, I can lament that teams are only as good as the
players put out there on the field. I feel that coaches get way too much
credit for winning and far too much blame for losing. Just the same, I can
appreciate a front office that finds talent where it shouldn't, plucking
Pro Bowlers out of the draft with lower picks.
When I was with the Patriots, we traded up to the No. 1 pick in 1985 to
take receiver Irving
Fryar. His best years came after I was gone in New England, but he was
-- and still is, 13 years later -- one hell of a player. If he can get 10
catches in his last two games, it'll make nine straight years with 50 or
more catches.
Another veteran who's found success long after I had the chance to coach
them is Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler. In my first
year with the Colts in 1988, we didn't have a pick until the third round,
but we used it on Chandler. I always liked Chris -- strong arm, good feel
for the field. I think a big reason for his success this season in Atlanta
this year is actually his marriage. See, his father-in-law is former 49ers
quarterback John Brodie, who played 17 years in the NFL. I think John's
helped him develop and mature into the leader he is today.
Back in '88, however, Chandler was just a rookie, though he did start 13
games in his first year. Unfortunately, I got impatient (when you work for
the Irsays, if you're not impatient, you're soon looking for work) and we
drafted Jeff George two
years later. I was lucky enough to engineer a trade that sent Chandler to
Tampa Bay for the No. 2 pick in the '92 draft. I was gone by the time that
draft rolled around, and the Colts used the pick on linebacker Quentin Coryatt, who sat
out this season with injury.
Again, it's a bad draft pick turning into a bad team. At least they'll have
an easy schedule and another high pick next year.
Start your NFL Sunday by watching Ron Meyer, James Lofton, Sports
Illustrated's Peter King and host Bob Lorenz on CNN NFL Preview. At 10 a.m.
ET, it's the day's first look at all the NFL action.
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