Even if the Bears decide there is a “special” quarterback in the draft–either Southern Cal’s Carson Palmer or Marshall’s Byron Leftwich–they might have to move up from the fourth spot to land one.
General manager Jerry Angelo doesn’t sound interested in that at all, not when he is convinced he can get “a good prospect” on the first day, meaning the first three rounds.
The Bears aren’t in a position to give up picks to move up a couple of notches. Angelo studies history and knows the San Diego Chargers are still reeling after trading up in 1998 to land Ryan Leaf. For moving one spot from third to second, the Chargers gave the Arizona Cardinals their second-round pick and their 1999 No. 1, hardly worth the price even if Leaf had been any good.
Since neither Detroit nor Houston, picking second and third, need a quarterback, they will entertain trades from teams that do.
Texans GM Charlie Casserly said: “We’ve already talked to some teams about trading the pick. We’ve definitely gotten interest.”
If the order stays put, the thinking during Senior Bowl week was the Cincinnati Bengals would take Palmer, the Lions would get Michigan State receiver Charles Rogers and the Texans would take Utah offensive tackle Jordan Gross. That would leave the Bears with either Leftwich or Arizona State underclassman pass rusher Terrell Suggs.
The guess is Suggs over Leftwich, and then the Bears could snag a quarterback like Louisville’s Dave Ragone or Texas’ Chris Simms in the second round. The quarterback who looked second behind Palmer during Senior Bowl week was Cal’s Kyle Boller. Leftwich was home nursing what agent Tom Condon called a cracked bone in his leg. The sixth “good” quarterback on most people’s list is Florida’s Rex Grossman, an underclassman and another certain first-rounder.
QB buzz: The longer scouts have to evaluate players, the more time they have to second-guess themselves. One scout said although Palmer looks impressive, the scout has questions about Palmer’s ability to pick up an offense quickly and his ability to improvise. There are times when Palmer looks mechanical, incapable of the spontaneity so valuable in today’s game.
“You go to USC and the first thing they tell you is he needs reps,” the scout said. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m not looking at Vinny Testaverde or Trent Dilfer.”
Angelo wasn’t the person who said that, but since Tampa Bay drafted Testaverde and Dilfer when Angelo was there, the thought is enough to haunt him.
Condon is representing Leftwich at the urging of another client, Marshall predecessor Chad Pennington.
Pennington’s impressive season with the New York Jets dispelled any misgivings scouts might have about quality of competition at Marshall.
“They say Leftwich is better,” Condon said.
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As for Pennington’s disappointing showing in last week’s loss to Oakland, he told Condon he “lost the game” and was in the weight room at Jets headquarters the next day trying to get stronger.
Bengals on the clock: For the third time in the last nine years, the Bengals have the first overall pick. Linebacker Takeo Spikes said it would be a big mistake if they took a quarterback. The first two times, they struck out on defensive lineman Dan Wilkinson in 1994 and running back Ki-Jana Carter in 1995. They also failed in 1999 at the third spot with quarterback Akili Smith.
During each of Spikes’ five seasons in Cincinnati, the Bengals have opened with a different quarterback. Last season they let Gus Frerotte start the first three games, gave Smith one start, then let Jon Kitna finish the season.
“All five years I’ve been there, they never did know who the starting quarterback was going to be,” Spikes said. “This year if they draft Carson Palmer, they might not know again who the quarterback is going to be. That kills the morale of a team.”
Spikes will be a free agent who doesn’t want a franchise tag placed on him. He is trying to lobby new coach Marvin Lewis.
“I don’t think they should draft a quarterback,” Spikes said. “Cincinnati can win with Kitna. Nothing against Carson Palmer, but if you draft a quarterback with the first pick, he’s setting the franchise back, and setting Marvin Lewis back, at least three or four years.”
McGahee plan: Miami’s hard-luck running back, Willis McGahee, entered the draft with little to lose. Although surgery on his left knee obviously will prevent him from being a top-five pick, he could still land in a good position.
The Lions and Texans would have been fighting over a healthy McGahee. The consensus is he won’t be drafted until the second day, fourth round or lower.
But McGahee still has leverage despite his devastating injury. If the team that drafts him doesn’t step up with a good incentive-laden contract to his liking, he can simply sit out the year and re-enter the 2004 draft.
Although optimistic he will be ready to play in 2003, it usually takes two years before a running back can fully recover from a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Several other things are in McGahee’s favor. He already has shown he can fully recover from an ACL injury, having endured one on his other knee. Other running backs–Edgerrin James of Indianapolis and Jamal Lewis of Baltimore–have come back recently. And teams that can afford to take a chance on damaged goods usually are the better teams, not the ones at the top of the draft desperate to make safe, solid picks in every round.
“The team that gets him will be taking a gamble, but they could be getting a Pro Bowl back,” said an agent and former scout.
Singletary close: Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary has interviewed with the Lions and Ravens, with Baltimore looking like the better choice for his first job as an assistant coach. The Bengals also are interested.
Although Singletary and his wife, Kim, have family in Detroit, Baltimore is a more stable situation. Lions President Matt Millen invited Singletary to visit during the season, but after Millen was warned by other staff members that Singletary’s presence might unsettle the current coaches, the trip was canceled.
Bye-bye to byes? Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney would like to see byes eliminated in the playoffs and overtime rules changed, but he’s not sure how. The Steelers lost in overtime last week to Tennessee, which had the advantage of a bye.
Since 1990 the top-seeded teams have enjoyed a 43-9 record in the divisional round after resting for a week. The NFL is the only major sport that uses playoff byes. Rooney said he is against adding playoff teams, although that seems to be the most convenient and lucrative way to eliminate byes.
“The bye really gives an advantage to a team,” Rooney said. “Every team that had the bye won, and every team but us got blown out. The bye is a tremendous advantage to a team. We should definitely look at it. I’m not for adding more teams, but we have to figure out a way to do that. I don’t know how, exactly, at this time.”