It’s Never to Early for Some...

We’re approaching that time of year when we start to think more and more about the upcoming football season and all it’s promises of excitement and fanfare. Sure, The NBA playoffs and finals are upon us but can they compare to football? Not really. No other sport captures our attention year-round like football. We get involved in other sports like NCAA basketball and maybe NHL Hockey for a few weeks as a distraction but let’s all admit it, in the back of our minds we’re thinking football. I can’t think of a day that has gone by since the Super Bowl that football hasn’t been on my mind. It’s discussed daily in the national media outlets. The off field drama with Arron Rogers and Lamar Jackson has kept people laser focused on next year’s match ups and is front page news day in and day out. Will the Giants get better? Can the Chiefs repeat? Will Joe Burrow ever get an offensive line? Can Tua survive another year? Basically you can discuss and read about football until you’re blue in the face and to be frank I see a lot of people with blue faces walking around these days. I suppose I’m one of them.

This year’s football off season has been dominated by free agency drama. Arron Rogers and Lamar Jackson have kept the league in limbo and most of us waiting like expectant fathers in a maternity ward. Frankly, I don’t see Arron Rogers taking any one team to the Super Bowl and certainly not the New York Jets who have a lot more issues then a quarterback problem. Lamar Jackson? Who knows what his problems are. I think Lamar may have backed himself into a corner. For me the time has come for both of these two to either fish or cut bait as they say. Rogers is old and way past his prime and frankly a little bit weird in my opinion. I just can’t see Lamar in a Colts uniform and Atlanta is a long way away from having a Super Bowl contending team. The recent addition of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Ravens roster may or may not change this. To be honest I think Lamar may be holding out to be a Dolphin in Miami, but that’s another story.

These two aside, it’s time to take a few minutes and have a mini mock draft to get us hyped up for football.

The first five picks in this years NFL Draft belong to The Carolina Panthers, The Houston Texans, The Arizona Cardinals, The Indianapolis Colts and The Seattle Seahawks, in that order. I believe that these five teams will set the tone for the entire draft falling in behind them not because they are the first five mind you but because they all need a transitional player. For these five teams this draft means everything. Once these five teams make a draft pick I foresee a lot of trading up and down by the other teams for spots in the draft order.

As is usually the case in these instances quarterbacks have taken the center stage. Frankly I don’t like any of the more talked about candidates. Bryce Young from Alabama and C.J. Stroud from Ohio State are over rated. Sure, they both played for championships programs and had great combines and pro days but let’s try and see them handle a 400 page NFL playbook and a 340 pound line backer running at them. Anthony Richardson from The University of Florida has played barely a year in college and thinks he’s ready for the NFL? Seriously? Hendon Hooker from Tennessee whom I really like is injury prone and Will Levis from The University of Kentucky is from, well, Kentucky. This leaves a couple of highly rated and over looked Quarterback prospects who are ready to step into an NFL offense, Stenson Bennet from Georgia and Max Duggan from TCU. Both of these guys are ready to go if you ask me, the only mark against them is that they didn’t play for ‘Bama or Ohio State. Mark my words, they’ll both be playing sooner and longer then CJ Stroud and Bryce Young. I think it might be time for the NFL to give each team one pick from their fan base. My pick for QB would be Duggan or Bennet. The rest of them can go hang out with Kyler Murray and his Game Stop.

This past weekend’s sporting events was dominated by The Masters Golf Tournament, an American classic as much as The Super Bowl and The Daytona 500. I’m not a golf player but I’m usually riveted to my TV watching it thru Sunday. This year was marked by some really bad weather in Georgia and by the sad and disappointing withdrawal of Tiger Woods who appeared to be in a lot of pain. It wasn’t pleasant to watch him try to muscle thru the course in his condition and in a way I was relieved for not only him but also for the millions watching when bowed out in the third round. It’s not easy watching a player like Tiger Woods fall from such a high pedestal. In many ways, his life has been like a Greek Tradgedy. A meteoric rise from no where, a dominating career at the very top of his profession, a very public and humiliating fall followed by a stunning, epic resurrection when he won the Masters again in 2019. Tiger brought the world of golf alot of joy and is responsible for making the game the international sport it is today. There are thousands of players playing the game of golf today who are participating because of Tiger Woods. May he recover soon and continue to contribute in a way befitting his career. Hats off to Jon Rahm of Spain who won his first Green Jacket. His come from behind victory over Brooks Keopka was made for TV drama and provided some great highlights.

Until next week, play on I say!!!

Kev