It’s a story as old as spring itself: Every April, usually within a day or three of my birthday, I plop down in front of the NFL Draft. And 48 hours later, I walk away shaking my head, feeling dumber and dirtier. Watching the Miami Dolphins draft is like watching a monkey F a football.
With the arrival of “Big Tuna,” Bill Parcells, and a cadre of his cronies led by coach Tony Sparano and general manager (and Ron Howard look-alike) Jeff Ireland, optimism abounded around Dolphins land. But hell, this was a similar script as the one laid down by Jimmy Johnson and Nick Saban, right? So optimism lasts for about 23 seconds as a Dolfan, or roughly the same amount of time that Trent Green can play football without sustaining a concussion.
That’s why I took a cautious approach to having the first overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. Not only does that “honor” come with the mandate that you have to guarantee at least $30 million to a player who has never put on cleats in the NFL, but you also have to do so in a year where you’re choosing from a lot of really good players, but arguably no great ones. So when Miami struck a deal yesterday with behemoth Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, four days before the start of the draft, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was the best, safest, smartest, solidest move for the franchise to make, and amazingly, one that the “big three” Miami papers — the Miami Herald, the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post — all endorsed.
And even though it means much of the drama that surrounds draft day has been taken away a few days in advance … it also might mean that I could walk away from the NFL Draft without shaking my head and cursing for the first time in a very, very long time.
So welcome, Jake Long.
Now … how are you at throwing the ball?
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