NFL Draft

By Dan Rodgers

This will be a quickie considering there is less than ten minutes until the Panthers should be on the clock (8 p.m. on ESPN).

I have been hearing time after time that this draft class is overrated at the quarterback position, and I couldn't agree more with that statement. First of all, there is no consensus No. 1 overall pick, not to mention a lack of elite talent.

According to Mel Kiper, Patrick Peterson, LSU CB, is the best player in the draft. However, that doesn't necessarily mean he will be the No. 1 overall pick (no CB has ever gone No. 1). I expect, because NFL franchises are often stupid, the No. 1 pick to be Cam Newton.

If I'm running the Panthers I easily look for the player I think is the most talented and draft BPA (Best Player Available, which is everyone). Carolina will most likely be the worst team in the league next year and will have the No. 1 pick again. Andrew Luck will be coming out of Stanford and be available to draft. This way, Carolina can get their franchise QB next year, and a highly talented player at a position of need this year.

Cam Newton is a high-risk high-reward player. He is obviously talented, but will those talents transfer to the NFL level? I won't be the guy that says no and have Newton become the next Donovan McNabb, or say yes and have him become the next Akili Smith.

As far as everyone else...I'm not as well versed this year compared to last year. I don't know why, maybe it's the lack of talent this year. Expect a lack of excitement as well because players cannot be traded, only picks for picks.

However, I do expect a lot of moving around, particularly because there are teams that will look to move up from early second round to late first round.

I'll come back after the draft and talk about any surprises. Enjoy!

Rodgers That

Carolina not so LUCKy

By Dan Rodgers

Stanford QB Andrew Luck has declared that he will be returning to school for his senior season. This decision is said not to change after Luck learned that his coach, Jim Harbaugh, signed a contract to be the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Harbaugh signed a five year deal on Friday, worth approximately $25 million. It was speculated, especially by me, that he would choose San Fran because of the proximity to Stanford.

Back to Luck, who was said by many to be the consensus No. 1 overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. The Carolina Panthers have that pick and it was widely speculated that they wanted to take Luck even though they drafted Jimmy Clawful in the second round of last year's draft.

Carolina will now have to completely rethink their draft strategy because the other QBs available (Mallet, Newton, Locker, etc) aren't considered to be No. 1 status.

I respect Luck for his decision while other people have been ripping him a new one for it. One guy called in on 105.7 The Fan and said he would tell his son to go pro and get the money while he could.

I guess I understand why it would make sense to go pro. If Luck tears his ACL his draft stock will plummet. However, even a bad season could hurt him since he is already the consensus No. 1 pick there is nowhere to go but down. However, you have to respect a kid who knows he will probably be the first overall pick and is staying in school even though his coach has already left as well.

Good luck Luck...

Rodgers That

TNF is becoming a joke

By Dan Rodgers

In case some of you football fans are unaware of the Thursday night games so far this season, it is as if the NFL took some of the worst games each week and decided to put them on NFL Network. The level of competition in these games has been remarkably pathetic and at times I regret my purchase of the NFL Network.

The games have been absolutely pathetic; some have been just awful games between two subpar teams and others have just been bad football. The first game was one of the worst; week 10 the 49ers beat the Bears 10-6. Not to mention the fact that Jay Cutler threw five interceptions. The following week Miami edged Carolina 24-17 so you think it would be a good game. Besides the fact that the teams were bleh, it was just an ugly game of football to watch. The following week was Thanksgiving so you assume there has got to be some good football on television, right? Wrong, because the Lions are always on. They lost by three possessions to the Packers, the Cowboys embarrassed the Raiders, and the Broncos showed that the Giants are a mediocre team in their 26-6 win over the G-men.

After a disappointing holiday weekend, I got to watch my Jets on television and even though I thoroughly enjoyed their win over Buffalo, I can honestly say it was just bad football. To top it all off the defending Super Bowl champs, who had lost four in a row, were embarrassed in a 13-6 loss in Cleveland. I mean let's be honest, no one wants to watch the 49ers, Browns, Bills, Lions, or Raiders.

I can only ask myself one question here...why aren't the Vikings, Saints, Colts, etc on TNF?

Just so you know, the games the rest of the way are:

Week 15: Indy @ Jax
Week 16: Bolts @ Titans

Both of these are at least watchable games and could turn into interesting contests, but that surely doesn't make up for the games earlier in the year. Hopefully next year the NFL will do a better job creating the schedule.

Rodgers That