Right off the start you just saw a draft that was unlike any other I’ve seen in 30 plus years of watching the event. If you caught the video of the 81 draft (which you still can below), you saw a little bit about what I’m talking about. Not even in 1987 and 1982, years the NFL would stop playing football over money issues, did the commissioner of the NFL get Booed on stage.
Goodell tried in vain to get rid of the chorus, by inciting a little excitement with lines like “Lets get to some football”, but it worked for only about 50% of the audience. The rest remained vigilent, chanting “We want football”. To be fair, this whole affair is as much Goodell’s fault as it was Pete Rozell’s. Football fans in New York didn’t want any part of it though.
Much like that 30 year old video, the first team up needed no time to make their first pick. Cam Newton was on the phone before we got tired of listening to Mel Kiper, which usually doesn’t take too long. You had to think Jon Gruden was sitting up there saying to himself “Why is this guy who never played football sitting next to me”?!
About 200 Draft books a year Jon, thats why.
While the first pick was being made, I was saying to myself..”And with the first pick in the NFL draft, Cam Newton, mark two easy wins for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers”. The Bucs eat rookie QBs for lunch, pretty much always have, even in the lean days in Pewter. Cam, and Jake Locker for Tennessee. ….and Christian Ponder.
And then the Atlanta Falcons come in and trade up in the draft, and take Julio Jones, WR from Alabama, and you could just hear Aqib Talib say “Release me now…” The Falcons just became really dangerous passingwise with Roddy White too. Yikes.
But the news of the day of course, for us at least, was the Bucs selection. I thought for sure Michael’s pick of Ryan Kerrigan was going to be ours, but when he came off the board at 16 I thought that maybe my choice of Ingram would be the guy. It was at that point I felt my pick was silly, the Bucs would go defense for sure, no matter what. Well, maybe not.
Once the Giants went out with their selection, the Bucs faced a choice, DE or RB, and either one would have been one of the best available.
And thus they did, making Adrian Clayborn out of Iowa, and Jon Gruden had him rated high! Sighting his Tremendous change of direction, his playing speed, Gruden surmised him to be an Excellent Pass rusher. The only concern he causes is medical, and you have to put faith in Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris that they looked into that and got the best advice money could garner. Besides, the medical concern has been around forever, he’s played with it all this time.
Many will point out my knock on Clayborn that I didn’t feel the Bucs would go after a guy with a character issue (you can see my cabbie joke by following links around), but that didn’t stop them from taking Blount or Mike Williams, so obviously Dominik and Morris were satisfied with Clayborn’s side of the story, and you simply CANNOT vote against our GM’s investigative nose! Its like fruit loops, ‘it always knows’.
Right Defensive end is a spot the Bucs have not had success with in the past despite addressing it with several high draft picks throughout the years. Oddly enough, the very first pick the Bucs ever took was a R DE by the name of Lee Roy Selmon, maybe you’ve eaten his ribs. Or his grits. Other DEs the Bucs have drafted have NOT had the same quality breakfast or lunch items from include Ron Holmes, Booker Reese, Eric Curry and Gaines Adams. That’s not to mention the no.1 picks that have been wasted for Booker Resse, or the No.1 John McKay gave away for one good year from former great DE Wally Chambers.
The draft continues tonight, but the Bucs addressed the one biggest need they have had since Simeon Rice left in 2006. Opposing QBs beware, your time to read the St. Pete Times and have a cup of Coffee in the pocket are soon to end.
Watch the video in your browser by clicking this link.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
