Early Draft Thoughts...

Mario Williams #1?
Over Reggie Bush?

Well then. San Diego's pick of Ryan Leaf is no longer the dumbest pick in the NFL in the past two decades.

Could Williams wind up being Pro-Bowl caliber? Possibly. But he's far closer to Mike Mummola than Julius Peppers at this point. Peppers didn't quite put up NCAA record sack totals, but his numbers were decent, and he had the crutch of playing basketball. Williams had NO sacks in half of the games in his final TWO seasons, with no basketball to hurt conditioning. And while he's big and fast, he doesn't look anywhere near the physical freak that Peppers (and Peppers predecessor, Jevon Kearse) were.

And the bigger reason this was a bonehead pick: Reggie Bush is easily--let me repeat this, slowly and in large typeface
EASILY THE BEST PLAYER IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS OR MORE
and Houston says "nah, we need defense."
Houston, you won two games last year. You don't have "a problem", you have "many problems." And Bush would've fixed far more than Williams.

So, congratulations Houston Texans, you win the First Annual NFL Draft Red Foreman Dumbass Award
"Congrats, dumbasses"

In other news...as a Falcons fan, I'm glad they've traded for defensive help, because with the purging of Aaron Brooks, replacing him with Drew Brees, and most importantly, riding themselves of Jim "8-8" Haslett, the Saints were already improved. With Reggie Bush and Deuce they could easily be the next Kansas City Chiefs. At least that's my hope. A decent defense and they might be downright scary.

And finally, a word about the "new" Jets. D'Brickishaw may be a hell of a lineman. But ask yourself this Jets fans, even if your OLine was nothing but AllPros, are you really comfortable with Chad Pennington back there? After the shoulder injuries he's had, it's a toss up for who has the weaker arm between him and Johnny Damon. And Pennington doesn't get to throw baseballs. Matt Leinart, nit-picking about arm strentgh aside, could've been the next Broadway Joe. He was a college QB in LA that became a "local" celebrity. He lost all of two games and certainly held his own against a good Texas D. He's used to being a start in a fickle big city. Do the Jets need a star? Maybe not. But I think they'd be a lot better off going up against the Pats and the rabidly improving Dolphins with someone other than Chad.