Mitch
Crawled Through 5 FB Fields
* Watched Gruden's QB Camp last night---highly entertaining---it almost feels like a football version of The Bachelor---who is Gruden going to give the final rose to?---well, this year it was a bit of a surprise---he gave the rose to Patrick Mahomes II, "the gunslinger." Gruden just loves the kid's extemporaneous way of throwing the football. He loves the mentality, even though he painstakingly took Mahomes through a film breakdown of two of the more regrettable mistakes he made last season in tight games that Texas Tech could have won.
* I thought that the best interviews Gruden had were with Deshaun Watson and Joshua Dobbs. Watson and Dobbs were the men amongst boys. Very mature, business-like, poised, charismatic and in command. Mitchell Trubisky is a likable kid but he looks starry-eyed. DeShone Kizer looks the part, but like Trubisky he seems like a junior headed to the senior prom. Nate Peterman was like the nice, try-hard guy on The Bachelor who you want to root for, but you just know he's not 'the one". But get him with the right coach, and who knows? Same with Brad Kaaya -- what a likable, very dedicated young man.
* Watched ESPN's draft room assimilation as their crew took the roles of the Browns', 49ers', Jets' and Saints' GMs, HCs and DOPPs (Directors of Player Personnel). The fascinating part was seeing them get on the phones to inquire about trades (The Pats wanted the #12, #33 and #52 picks for Jimmy G., for example---which the Browns shot down) and to field calls from teams about trading up (the 49ers wound up accepting a trade from Jets and got the #6 and #37 picks in return---the Jets took Trubisky at #2 and the 49ers wound up taking O.J. Howard at #6---both of which seemed very unrealistic, but entertaining none-the-less).
* The thing is---I would imagine that teams have already prepped for the various scenarios and wouldn't still be in full discussion mode about which players to pick. With each team there was a debate between 2 or 3 players and major division in the draft room. it made for interesting discussion---but I wondered what the players would think of this when Bill Polian was calling O.J. Hoard the "cleanest player on the board" in one breath and then calling Reuben Foster "an alpha dog filled with flies."
* I was hoping they would get to the Cardinals, but they finished with the Browns at #12. Just like ESPN to go to a commercial when the Cardinals are on the clock!
* Then when I crawled into bed, ESPN was playing the highlights of Super Bowl 43. 2:37. 2:37. Talk about game of inches -- and Antrell Rolle standing in the prohibited white sideline area preventing Fitz from making the tackle on Harrison ---and then Fitz going off in the 2nd half after Warner's nifty TD pass to TE Ben Patrick! Man, Fitz's TD bolt down the middle still gives me goosebumps.
* Was saddened to hear of Dan Rooney's passing. Early in my coaching career while at Trinity-Pawling School, in Pawling, NY, one day in practice 2 huge Mayflower moving vans pull up to the practice field and the next thing we know the drivers were pulling out brand new black and yellow 7 and 5 man sleds from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plus, Steelers' goal post pads, which we immediately put on the goal posts. The reason? Dan Rooney's son, Danny was our QB. Apparently Danny wanted this to be a surprise --- it sure was! What a team that was at TP --- on that team were Mo Vaughn (Boston Red Sox), Kevin McClatchey (became GM of the Pittsburgh Pirates) and Mike McQuade (now the Executive Producer at ESPN). The Rooney family is all class --- and Dan Rooney was the best of the best and the kindest of the kindest.
* I thought that the best interviews Gruden had were with Deshaun Watson and Joshua Dobbs. Watson and Dobbs were the men amongst boys. Very mature, business-like, poised, charismatic and in command. Mitchell Trubisky is a likable kid but he looks starry-eyed. DeShone Kizer looks the part, but like Trubisky he seems like a junior headed to the senior prom. Nate Peterman was like the nice, try-hard guy on The Bachelor who you want to root for, but you just know he's not 'the one". But get him with the right coach, and who knows? Same with Brad Kaaya -- what a likable, very dedicated young man.
* Watched ESPN's draft room assimilation as their crew took the roles of the Browns', 49ers', Jets' and Saints' GMs, HCs and DOPPs (Directors of Player Personnel). The fascinating part was seeing them get on the phones to inquire about trades (The Pats wanted the #12, #33 and #52 picks for Jimmy G., for example---which the Browns shot down) and to field calls from teams about trading up (the 49ers wound up accepting a trade from Jets and got the #6 and #37 picks in return---the Jets took Trubisky at #2 and the 49ers wound up taking O.J. Howard at #6---both of which seemed very unrealistic, but entertaining none-the-less).
* The thing is---I would imagine that teams have already prepped for the various scenarios and wouldn't still be in full discussion mode about which players to pick. With each team there was a debate between 2 or 3 players and major division in the draft room. it made for interesting discussion---but I wondered what the players would think of this when Bill Polian was calling O.J. Hoard the "cleanest player on the board" in one breath and then calling Reuben Foster "an alpha dog filled with flies."
* I was hoping they would get to the Cardinals, but they finished with the Browns at #12. Just like ESPN to go to a commercial when the Cardinals are on the clock!
* Then when I crawled into bed, ESPN was playing the highlights of Super Bowl 43. 2:37. 2:37. Talk about game of inches -- and Antrell Rolle standing in the prohibited white sideline area preventing Fitz from making the tackle on Harrison ---and then Fitz going off in the 2nd half after Warner's nifty TD pass to TE Ben Patrick! Man, Fitz's TD bolt down the middle still gives me goosebumps.
* Was saddened to hear of Dan Rooney's passing. Early in my coaching career while at Trinity-Pawling School, in Pawling, NY, one day in practice 2 huge Mayflower moving vans pull up to the practice field and the next thing we know the drivers were pulling out brand new black and yellow 7 and 5 man sleds from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plus, Steelers' goal post pads, which we immediately put on the goal posts. The reason? Dan Rooney's son, Danny was our QB. Apparently Danny wanted this to be a surprise --- it sure was! What a team that was at TP --- on that team were Mo Vaughn (Boston Red Sox), Kevin McClatchey (became GM of the Pittsburgh Pirates) and Mike McQuade (now the Executive Producer at ESPN). The Rooney family is all class --- and Dan Rooney was the best of the best and the kindest of the kindest.
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