Draft Coverage: D-Lineman Rule the Day

As we prognosticated, defensive lineman were the prized commodity in the upper half of Saturday's NFL Draft.

We predicted that after the NY Giants undressing of NE in the Super Bowl, many of the less talented NFL teams would try to emulate the Giants success. Stockpiling and accumulating waves of powerful defensive lines; built in the image of the Giants' Tuck, Strahan, Omenyiora and the rest. Big, fast, quick and dominating. Certainly every team with even a perceived need would be taking a Negro warrior and hoping to enjoy the same type of success the Giants achieved.

Of the first 8 players selected, 5 were defensive linemen. Many believe that Glenn Dorsey will provide the inside anchor that Kansas City needs to reach the next level. The athleticism of Vernon Ghoulston gives the Jets a player that can get in a stance or (if needed) fill a linebacker spot. Derrick Harvey's polish and technique give Jacksonville another talent on their line, and could put the Jaguar's in contention. And Sedrick Ellis is the latest in a recent run of USC defensive line talent to go quickly on the market.

HBCU's were well represented with Hampton's Kendall Langford going to Miami and Bryan Smith of McNeese St. to Philly in Round 3. William Hayes of Winston-Salem St. going in Round 4 to Tennessee. And Alex Hayes of St. Augustine going to Cleveland in Round 7.

Perhaps the only surprise pick was NFL legacy Chris Long, the son of Howie. Long played on a mid-major ACC team, Virginia. Playing in the ACC certainly allowed Long to excel, but also raises questions about how he will compete against legitimate players from real Division I programs. On, paper, Long has all the tools. Only time will tell us how he will compare to the other Brothers that were drafted after him.

Long is the light skinned'd brother in the pic below. We congratulate him on going so high, and looking so fly.

West Virginia: Motoring Along

West Virginia had the good fortune to suffer their lone loss early enough in the season to give them time to build back their ranking. And now, a Backyard Brawl victory over Pitt will give the 'Eers the chance to play for it all.

At the start of the season, WVU's offense was considered good enough to win it all. Anchored by tremendously talented field general, Pat White, there was also the threat of the magnificently quick Steve Slaton. As the season has progressed, it's become clear that the motor behind the 'Eers rebound from the USF loss has been White. White has carried the load and come up with big plays at exactly the required moments.

Stats don't begin to tell the story of Pat White.

All season, the universally agreed upon weakness for WVU has been the D. Just adequate, it has been considered the potential Achilles heel for the boys from Morgantown. And, it has been a liability. No doubt.

Yet, White leads the Mountaineers higher and higher. Despite the weak defense. And despite Slaton's production falling off a bit this season.

Certainly, it seems crazy at this juncture to suggest that anyone would be higher up the list in line for the Heisman. Breathtaking big play ability? Check. Carrying the team on his back? Check. Working with a less than stout defense? Check. Impressive stats? Check.

It all checks out.

Yet, as the season winds down the media is saying Tim Tebow is the man.

How can this be?

We can only identify one reason.

The touchdowns.

Everything else tips in White's favor.

Tebow worshippers say that he wasn't responsible for the 3 losses, that he played well enough to win those games. The defense let him down.

We say, WVU's defense is just as porous as UF's. Yet the only game WVU lost was the one White was knocked out of!

Obviously, there is no argument -well, we'd listen to Oregon after watching them fall apart when they lost Dixon - that White is the Most Valuable Player in the land. And we know that the Heisman is for the 'best' player in the land.

How can it be that a man that has carried a team fielding an under average defense to the threshold of the title game, and is obviously the most valuable player to his team in the country, is not the best player in the country?

Gator fans love to throw the SEC into the equation. Trying to use smoke and mirrors to somehow maintain that Tebow has worked his considerable magic against the toughest conference in the country.

We wonder if a conference in which Kentucky and Mississippi State were actually factors is truly the toughest in the land. We wonder if a conference in which Vanderbilt is able to at least be somewhat competitive is as stout as the Deep South would have us believe.

The Big East has been as sound a conference as anyone. The only knock is that several of the teams are new to the game of big time football. Heck, USF walked into the heart of SEC country, spanked Auburn, and came home wondering what the big deal was.

So, obviously the media is mesmerized by the 20/20 TD mark accumulated by Tebow.

Interestingly enough, TD's don't usually play such a large role in Heisman voting.

Clearly, there must be another major factor.


We wish the media would take a moment to truly look at the WVU QB's body of work. If they did, they would come away saying out loud what they really feel:


WHITE POWER!

West Virginia University: Culpable for Pacman?

As certain athletes are vilified in the press for their behavior, and the public is repulsed by the "entitled" attitude perceived from many athletes; we wonder who is responsible?

Certainly, these guys don't arrive to the NFL as humble, well-behaved individuals, only to allow the fame and fortune to go to their heads and develop a feeling of entitlement. Forgetting that they have a responsibility to themselves and to their teams.

That entitlement and feeling of a right to special treatment has to be fostered somewhere along the way.

And it is: In college, at the institutions that are supposed to be providing these young men with educations and helping them expand their world view.

West Virginia's Rich Rodriguez, who has dismissed criticism of his program based on the behavior of former Mountaineers Adam "Pac-Man" Jones and Chris Henry, supports the NFL's new policy and believes it will have a positive effect. "It is ridiculous people are still calling us about a couple of guys who we have no control over," Rodriguez said. "I mean, are people calling USC to ask about O.J. Simpson? How can you blame us for guys who we haven't talked with in years?

We may be wrong, but didn't Pacman have a misunderstanding or two while at WVU? And didn't WVU essentially do nothing about?

Certainly, despite Mr. Rodriguez desire to wash his hands of Pacman because he is no longer a member of the football team at WVU, one can't help but feel that the environment of that team played a key role in the development of Pacman Jones. Is it even arguable that Pacman's sense of self and the attitude of entitlement was stoked in that environment? That is was a learned behavior? That, moving forward with that learned behavior and adding millions of dollars to the equation may have been just the very formula that has led to the situation in which Mr. Jones now finds himself?

Mr. Rodriguez can dismiss the criticism to his heart's content, but he can't escape the effect he and his program had on Mr. Jones. Nor can he escape the fact that his program, as an extension of the university, failed to provide Mr. Jones with the type of education and self awareness experience necessary for Mr. Jones to move into the workforce and society equipped with the tools to succeed.

The gratuitous and completely irrelevant mention of OJ Simpson further fingers Mr. Rodriguez as either being oblivious or completely unconcerned with his own (and the university at which he is employed) responsibility in this. To compare a player that had issues at WVU and was coddled along so he could stay on the field, with a man who was charged with murdering his wife 30 years after a college career without incident is a most heinous juxtaposition.

The only commonality between Pacman and OJ...that neither has been convicted (as yet).

We hear the media and some fans say that players like Jones must be held accountable. That personal responsibility is what these athletes lack.

Well, if the institutions and individuals that unleash these athletes into the NFL prefer to "dismiss criticism", rather than acknowledge the role they played in the personal development of the athletes; how can we even expect the athletes to have any concept of personal responsibility?

We recruit quality kids who are quality students and we go to great lengths to make sure those are the kind of players we recruit and we've had very few problems. "There are bad apples but not nearly as many as some people would have you believe."

This, from the man who is bringing linebacker Pat Lazaar to WVU. Lazaar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery for his role in a robbery of a store and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and a 10-year suspended sentence and three years probation. And previously received 90 days of court supervision for using a stolen credit card to purchase $130 sneakers.

So next time you see a young athlete acting with an air of entitlement and a lack of personal responsibility, consider where he learned the behavior.

Rodriguez should receive the same suspension Pacman has.