Teams must be kicking themselves for not drafting Rodgers 

By Pat Kirwan NFL.com
Senior Analyst
Published: Feb. 9, 2011 at 03:42 p.m. Updated: Feb. 9, 2011 at 08:26 p.m.

The Super Bowl is over, but the lessons learned from the Green Bay Packers' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers are still out there to be digested.

The thing that struck me the hardest was the impact of Aaron Rodgers throughout the playoffs, and especially when he was announced as the MVP of Super Bowl XLV. Every year, as soon as the Super Bowl is over, I love to study the winner's roster and really think about how the championship team was constructed.

[img_r]http://static.nfl.com/static/content/catch_all/nfl_image/a_rodgers_110206_IA.jpg[/img_r]Last year, there was a clear and resounding message that your team doctor needs to be ready to make the right medical decisions. Drew Brees took the Saints to a Super Bowl championship after the San Diego Chargers released him in 2006 because of a shoulder injury and the Miami Dolphins doctors suggested the team not sign Brees because of that injury. You see now that Miami is still looking for a quarterback to return the team to championship football.

This year, Rodgers pounded home another strong message too many teams, especially the ones that passed on him in the 2005 NFL Draft when he was the 24th overall pick. Do you realize how many things surround the decision not to draft Rodgers by the 23 teams that went before the Packers?

Seventeen of the 23 head coaches who passed on Rodgers are no longer with the team they were with when they had a chance to take the former California quarterback. There's no doubt a young, talented player like Rodgers would have saved any number of coaches their jobs.

Fifteen of the 23 players selected before Rodgers are either no longer in the NFL or have moved on to another team. Wide receiver Troy Williamson, who was taken seventh overall by the Minnesota Vikings, hasn't played since 2009. And he has just four touchdown catches to his career. Can you imagine where the Vikings would be today if they picked Rodgers over Williamson? To add insult to injury, the Vikings in the same draft also took Wisconsin defensive end Erasmus James with Rodgers still on the board. Now Minnesota has to chase Rodgers for the next six to eight years.

Then there's Matt Jones and David Pollack, taken by Jacksonville and Cincinnati, respectively, who are both out of football but were selected before Rodgers. Granted, neither the Jaguars, who had just drafted Byron Leftwich in the first round in 2003, nor the Bengals, who had just selected Carson Palmer No. 1 overall in 2003, had a reason to consider Rodgers. But both teams were unable to unload their picks because nobody behind them thought Rodgers was good enough to trade up. That's how the Redskins ended up stuck with Jason Campbell at No. 25, right behind Rodgers.

Then there are seven teams that picked a player with Rodgers still on the board who still have that player on their roster, but outside of DeMarcus Ware in Dallas do you think the others have some regrets right now? San Francisco (Alex Smith), Miami (Ronnie Brown), Tampa Bay (Cadillac Williams), Carolina (Thomas Davis), Kansas City (Derrick Johnson), and Dallas (Marcus Spears). The irony of the San Francisco situation is that Mike McCarthy was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers when the club selected Smith No. 1 over Rodgers.

The list of players NFL people thought were better than Rodgers, but aren't even with the team that drafted them back in 2005, is just staggering. Meanwhile, Rodgers is just entering elite status.

We all make mistakes, especially in personnel decisions, but if you don't learn from them quickly then you are doomed to repeat history. For example, look at the Raiders before and after Rodgers. In the 2004 draft, Oakland passed on Ben Roethlisberger and took offensive tackle Robert Gallery, who now plays guard. Roethlisberger has two Super Bowl rings. In 2005, they passed on Rodgers and selected cornerback Fabian Washington. Rodgers makes it three Super Bowl rings from quarterbacks Oakland passed on since 2004.


Washington only played three seasons for Oakland and is now a member of the Baltimore Ravens. In the 2006 draft, the Raiders passed on Jay Cutler and took safety Michael Huff. Cutler led the Bears to a division title this year. But in 2007, Oakland topped those other three years by selecting JaMarcus Russell No. 1 overall, and as we all know he was bust and isn't even in the league anymore.

Cleveland is hoping Colt McCoy is the real deal, but they took Kellen Winslow in 2004 with Roethlisberger on the board and Braylon Edwards over Rodgers in 2005. They were also just two spots away from Jay Cutler in 2006, but opted to stay put and take Kamerion Wimbley. None of those players are still in Cleveland, but they did select Brady Quinn in 2007 (no longer in Cleveland, either).

Sure there is luck involved, but at the end of the day the Packers had Brett Favre under contract and still thought it was a good business decision to take Rodgers. Now general manager Ted Thompson and the franchise are Super Bowl champions, and both McCarthy and Thompson are in line for big contract extensions.

One of those 20-20 hindsight articles. One item here that is potentially interesting is the suggestion that the Redskins got stuck with Jason Campbell at pick #25 because they were unable to trade up to get Rodgers. But Kirwan doesn't offer any proof that the Redskins actually tried to do that.

Kirwan never comes through with any kind of "lesson," which is what the article is supposed to be about. Apparently the lesson is that GMs need to learn how to see into the future before they make draft picks.

Even the lesson for the Raiders here doesn't make any sense. Kirwan criticizes them (after the fact) for passing on three good QB prospects, but then he also criticizes them for taking JaMarcus Russell. Seems to me that the Raiders learned their lesson and they were not going to pass up another chance to draft a QB in the first round, so they took the consensus #1 QB and #1 overall player. According to Kirwan's reasoning in most of the article, that's exactly what they should've done. How were they to know that he would turn out to be a dud?

"Greg C." wrote:

"Greg C." wrote:

Updated: February 26, 2007, 1:26 PM ET
Russell makes a big impression
 
JaMarcus Russell, who could be the No. 1 overall pick, made a big impression at the combine, writes John Clayton.

By John Clayton
ESPN.com
Archive

INDIANAPOLIS -- This was supposed to be Brady Quinn's draft, but JaMarcus Russell may have stolen it. Other than maybe Daunte Culpepper, the NFL hasn't seen a quarterback with Russell's size.

He checked into the Indianapolis scouting combine at 6-5 and weighed 265 pounds. Russell, though he looked a little flabby around the mid-section at his weigh-in, is the biggest thing in this upcoming draft and might end up going to the Raiders with the first pick.

"I started playing football at the age of six," said Russell, who played at LSU. "I've been playing quarterback ever since. I was always bigger and taller than the other kids, and I was always able to throw it a pretty good length of the field."

Even though Raiders owner Al Davis doesn't usually like to draft quarterbacks in the first round, Russell is going to be a hard talent to pass up. Few quarterbacks have entered any draft with this type of arm strength.

Russell said can throw the ball more than 80 yards. Randy Moss was always looking for a quarterback who could try to overthrow him on a deep route. Culpepper, who has one of the strongest arms in football, couldn't overthrow him in Minnesota. Russell can, and it's that type of deep throwing ability that intrigues the Raiders.

Browns general manager Phil Savage has watched Russell develop since high school and marvels at his abilities.

"JaMarcus' talent is substantial," Savage said. "He's a rare combination of size and arm strength. It's a little bit out of the norm to take somebody 6-5 plus, 250 pounds plus and can throw the ball around like he can. He is coming out as a Junior, which leads you to think there's upside to him. He's played in a pro-style system at LSU under Nick Saban and Les Miles."

Al Davis will forever be a fan of speed, so it may be hard for him to pass on a wide receiver as big and as fast as Calvin Johnson of Georgia Tech. But Thursday's release of quarterback Aaron Brooks leaves the Raiders with only Andrew Walter on their roster with any quarterbacking experience. Russell is a fit, and friends of new coach Lane Kiffin only hear Russell's name when they hear him talking about next season.

Russell doesn't mind the comparisons to Culpepper.

"A lot of people say that," Russell said. "I guess they say that because we're both similar -- big and a little tall. To know that he's an NFL superstar, that feels great."

"I started playing football at the age of six. I've been playing quarterback ever since. I was always bigger and taller than the other kids, and I was always able to throw it a pretty good length of the field."

On the advice of others, Russell decided not to work out at the combine. History usually indicates the top three quarterbacks in each draft don't work out. Quinn isn't working out and he is Russell's main opposition at the position. There is a big gap to the next quarterback in the draft, a gap that could go well into the second round.

For now, it appears Russell is No. 1.

"I don't necessarily have to protect it because you never know what people think," Russell said. "It's an honor to go so high. I'm just honored to be here."

Truly, Russell made a big impression.

Around the combine

The Browns won the coin toss for the No. 3 overall pick in the draft over the Bucs, but it might not change too many of the early forecasts. The Raiders, with the first pick, look like they are leaning toward Russell. The Lions could go with Wisconsin left tackle Joe Thomas. The Browns appear to be leaning toward Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson. That leaves Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson for the Bucs at No. 4.
The 49ers are trying to work out a one-year deal with defensive end Bryant Young. Young voided the final two years of his contract, but he is a valuable leader to that team and Mike Nolan doesn't want to lose him. They definitely don't want Young to hit the open market.

The scary part of Lovie Smith's prolonged contract negotiations is that Smith has already lost five assistants and he still isn't any closer to a deal. Smith is the NFL's lowest-paid head coach at $1.35 million a year and his coaching staff was the lowest paid last year. Smith expressed optimism Friday about getting a deal done but only talked in generalities. "I have a contract, and I would like to be the Bears head coach the rest of my football career," Smith said. "It's a great franchise. I have a great job. I work for good people." But his contract runs out in 2007. Smith announced he hired former Bucs linebacker Hardy Nickerson as his linebackers coach.

The Chiefs are expected to put the first- and third-round tender on restricted free-agent defensive end Jared Allen, but they also realize the importance of getting a long-term deal. Allen is a valuable defensive end with a high motor. The Chiefs need to lock up that engine for a long time.

It's pretty clear Giants coach Tom Coughlin is hurt by the criticism of Tiki Barber. Coughlin explained it well. Barber had his three best seasons under Coughlin and finished each season strong.

Ohio State center Doug Datish learned a valuable lesson at the combine. Don't joke around. He was asked if his back ever stiffened. He replied, "Doesn't everybody's." Teams heard that and ordered two extra MRIs on his back that had him spend extra hours at the hospital. His back was fine. Teams are going to check on any stated injury, even if it's a joke.

NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw was pleased and a little surprised how vocal some players were at a Thursday meeting about trying to clean up the off-the-field problems. Players spoke up about how tired they are that players keep putting themselves in places where they could get in trouble. It's starting to lead to a possible three-strike policy for repeat offenders. Don't expect some penalties to come quick, though. Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin talked about an incident last year in which he was out and became a victim of a beating. He was with his family. He was well-behaved. His point was it's hard to define an incident because sometimes players are victims. This will be a hot topic during the offseason.

Back to the Giants. Coughlin has released the team's top two left tackles -- Luke Petitgout and Bob Whitfield. He said guards David Diehl and Guy Whimper could be candidates for the job unless they find a veteran or rookie left tackle to start.

The Bears figure it will be tough to get a long-term deal with linebacker Lance Briggs, who was franchised. With that in mind, they will let him play out the season and see what happens later. Briggs wants more than middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.

Don't expect the Bears to trade Thomas Jones either. Even though Jones wants out of Chicago to get an improved contract and a clear starting job, the Bears won't accept an undervalued deal. The Bears might not accept anything less than a first-round pick and another pick.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

"Greg C." wrote:

haha I sure hope I'm right or i will look like a straight jackass haha and thanks to nonstop, yes my argument is invalid and I am a jackass

"Felipe7777777" wrote: