About that #2 pick in the 2012 Draft

Given my dearth of commentary on the Rams lately, you might conclude that I am not too particularly crazy about the coaching moves we've been making.  You would be right about that.

I got a text message from my apartment manager (who happens to be a 40 year Ram-fan) the other day.  It read: "Your silence speaks volumes."

Yep.

I like Gregg Williams.  That's the only positive thing I can say right now.  I think things would have been a lot better with Hugh Jackson at the helm offensively.

But this is not what I sat down to blog about today.  What I wanted to comment about is the up-coming 2012 NFL Draft.

If I understand things correctly, I take it that there will be three football teams engaged in a bidding war to acquire our #2 pick over-all in the up-coming 2012 NFL Draft.  Those three teams are the Redskins, the Dolphins and the Browns.  XM Radio combined with the Internet is pretty amazing stuff when it comes to intelligence collection.

The most fascinating rumblings of them all are radiating out of the Dolphins camp.  It would appear that Dolphin owner Stephen Ross has a massive man-crush on Baylor QB RGIII.  Scuttlebutt says that Ross believes Robert Griffin brings the talent and the star power necessary to make the Dolphins the talk of Miami again.  Rumor has it Ross is willing to give up a Roman Emperor's ransom to get him.  We're not talking about a King's ransom.  We're talking about a sum well north of that figure.

Many Dolphin fans seem to agree.  I am hearing outlandish talk about the potential offers.  I'm talking about the kind of offers that makes a season skeptic like your author salivate grotesquely...  all over the nice leather seats in my Hyundai Genesis.

Although I grimace as I write this...  We have to entertain those offers.  We have to be prepared to move down in the draft, even if it means losing Justin Blackmon.  You know I don't say that easily, or with a devil-may-care attitude.  I've wanted to draft this kid for a couple of years now.  It would hurt like hell to lose him now.

Nevertheless, the kind of loot they are talking about tossing in our direction is just too rich to pass up.  We have to be open to serious negotiations.

The Dolphins have totally lost my respect

So Jason LaCanfora just broke into NFL Total Access with a special report on the Miami Dolphins. He confirmed Michael Lombardi's report that the courtship of Jim Harbaugh has basically ended in Miami. They will retain head coach Tony Sparano.

I am left stunned, amazed and horrified by all of this. Count me ignorant, but I was under the misapprehension that Sparano had already been fired. Prior to their courtship of Harbaugh, they were knee deep in the quest to get Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden. Didn't that automatically imply that Sparano was out and someone else would absotively posolutely be the head coach in Miami?

Apparently, the answer is no. Tony was evidently hanging around at Shula's, waiting for the pink slip. Thrice turned down by expert coaches, the Dolphins turned back to Tony and said "You da man!"

You gotta be fucking kidding me?!?!?!? What kinda bullshit is that?

This is the bullshit of a Busch-League organization! That's what kinda bullshit it is. According to La Canfora, their Busch-League handling of the situation had something to do with the fact that all three of these outstanding coaches turned Stephen Ross and the Dolphins down. Particularly in Harbaugh's case, the mishandling of a currently employed head coach didn't sit well.

You don't do a leadership figure like that. If they did this to Sparano, they might well do it again to Cowher, Gruden, or Harbaugh. I would not sign with a fucking organization like that.

Now that the Dolphins have cut Sparano's balls off and paraded those very same testicles around in public, seeking anyone else who just might take the job, they are now expecting Tony Sparano to coach them to a better record in the 2011 season.

Fat chance! Who in the organization is going to respect Sparano now that you have danced all over town with other gentlemen, wearing Sparano's balls for earrings? How can this guy face his players with authority? You have completely undermined the guy's position. Now he no longer has the basic respect he needs to function as head coach...

And you are going to run with him in 2011?

Right now, I wouldn't pay you a rat's ass for the Dolphins' future options. Jesus Christ! What a fiasco! Stephen Ross is a horse's ass.

This is the most jacked-up story I have read since Pat Bowlen fired Mike Shanahan and allowed Josh McDaniels to systematically destroy his football team.

So Andrew Luck is returning to Stanford

The entire NFL establishment is reacting with dismay to Andrew Luck's announcement that he is returning to Stanford for the 2011 season. He says he wants to finish his degree. Insiders say that there are still elements of his skill set that he wants to polish before entering the NFL.

I'm proud of you kid! You made the right call. Stay in school! I knew you were a smart guy when I saw your chart. It's the Virgo thing you and I share. You just proved yourself wiser than your years. You just earned my respect. Now don't waiver. Lock out these guys who are yammering at you.

The NFL establishment continues to coax Andrew, describing this as a high-risk financial decision. I don't think so. I bet he doesn't either. Even in the worst possible case scenario, Sam Bradford still wound up being the #1 pick in 2010. I doubt such a situation will develop in Andrew Luck's case. His offensive line is far better than Sam's was in 2009.

Why was Andrew right in making this decision? Only one of two scenarios are going to play out in the upcoming 2011 season. Either we are going to have a lock-out that screws everything, or we are going to have a rookie Salary cap. In either scenario, Luck stands to make far less money that the pundits would have you believe. It's more than he will make in college next season, but in the long run, that doesn't matter.

There is another far more profound reason why Andrew made the right choice. Andrew needs to think about his long-term future, not short-term gain. If he wants to make a run at the Hall of Fame, he needs set himself a strong foundation. Just about 90% of all underclass quarterbacks go bust in the NFL. There is some statistical noise in that figure, but it essentially holds true.

We all know why. The quarterback post requires uncommon maturity, intelectual development and skill development. In this process, age is a good thing. Like fine wine, you would be surprised what a year or two of additional aging will do for the quality of a college QB.

Andrew has had two fine seasons. One more should clench it for him. Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford have proven a Red-Shirt junior is just about as good as a senior. Next year will be better for him.

Now everything hindges on what Jim Harbaugh does. Sources say he is close to signing with the Miami Dolphins. I sure hope not. I love the Dolphins, and I like Jim Harbaugh. Still, I consider this a bad move. It just doesn't feel right. I don't think it is good for either party.

I hope Harbaugh will return to the Stanford Cardinal also. Those two should finish together, and enter the NFL together. There is a great deal of dynamism in their relationship. Together they form a pretty devestating combo. It would be good to keep them together.