I'mback.Actually, I was back yesterday. But five minutesinto the work day,I was clobbered by that Star Tribune computer virus. So, like the Detroit Lions, I wasdonealmost beforeI started.
I won't be attending the scouting combine in Indy this week. And I'd like to say I'll watch less coverage of the combine than I have the Olympics. But zero can't be beat, so I'll just say I won't be watchinganyfuture NFL starsor busts beingweighed in their underware or bench-pressing 225 pounds while some overcaffeinated muscleheadscreams for one more rep.
To me, the combinecan be summed up in two precautionary words:
Troy Williamson.
For every guy who runs real fast or causes a talking head to prattle on about how a player's draft stock is rising, just remember "Troy Williamson."
I hate to pick on Troy. It's not his fault he went to the combine, ran the 40-yard dash of his life and caused the Vikings to loose their minds and pick him seventh overall with thedraft pick they got in the Randy Mosstrade.Troy was a good kid who couldn't live up to thatselection because, well, he was a receiver who couldn't catch.
His selection in the draft had more to do with him running a fast 40 inFebruary of 2005 thanit did with anything hedidon the football field in the fall of 2004.
Troy isn't the only example of a "combine pick." Perhaps my all-time favorite example wasformer Gophers cornerback Willie Middlebrooks. I liked Willie Middlebrooks.I also knew there was no way in God'sGreen Earth that Willie Middlebrooks was a first round draft pick.
Willie didn't have the insticts or the desire to be an NFL star. But Willie was 6-2, over 200 pounds and could run like a track star. Willie went to the combine in 2001,ran like the wind and got selected 24th overall by the Broncos.
Willie lastedfive dismal seasons in the NFL, starting just one game. He's considereda big-time draft bust.But I'd put more of the blame on then-Broncos coach MikeShanahan forletting the combineinfluence his decision to take Willie in the first round.
Elsewhere around the league ...
. Randy Moss made headlines for saying he doesn't think he'll be in New England after2010. This tells you how slow the news is right now. Randy's contract is upafter 2010. Randy also will be 34 in 2011. So, yeah,logic would suggest this is the last year for him as a Patriot. Not even SuperFreakscan outrunFather Time.
. The Saints didn'tuse theirfranchise tag on Darren Sharper. Again, it only makessense. Like the Vikingsdid last season, the Saints areweighing the odds of Sharperbeing able to cheat Father Time for another season.I don't think there will be a serious market for Sharper.At least not one strong enough to make him leave the perfect fit he foundin New Orleans.
. Tim Tebowwon't throw at the combine because he doesn't want to hurt his draft status. I didn't think it was possible to hurt his draft status. Tebowshould have swaggered into Indy and did everything. Instead, he put his PRspinsters to work saying he's rebuilding his throwing motion for his pro day.Just another reason to ignore the combine.
.If you do watch the combine, you'll hear a lot of teams talk about "character" and"red flags" and other things to make it look like they'reabove takingplayers with questionable personalities. It's done to be politically correct. It's also a bunch ofhogwash.Every player acquisition, includingthe draft,comes down tothis simple equation: Risk vs. Reward.
Last year, Percy Harvin wasconsidered thegreatest character risk among potential first-round picks. The Vikingswere and still are a team that likes to brag about itsteamcharacter andhowthings have been cleaned up since the Love Boat set sail in 2005.
No way Percy and the Purpleend up together, right?
But when you're sitting at No. 22 and a great talentlike Percy is still on the board, whaddaya do? You pick him because: A, the object is to win games, and B, the Reward is greater than the Risk at No. 22.
In the top 10, the Risk would have been greater than the Reward. That's why Percy tumbled.
A similar thing happened in 1998 with Randy Moss and the No. 21 pick.The Vikings were there to grab a great player and it paid off.
.At No. 30, maybe there's another slider that the Vikings can catch. Personally, the Vikings' top priority should be exhausting all angles to get a quarterback worthy of thefirst round. It doesn't matter whether Brett Favre returns.That should be priority No. 1 in the draft.