I have to disagree quite a bit here.
Yeah, I know its a bandwagon-type deal these days to dump on Mac and all the "terrible" things he did.
Any draft is a crapshoot, of sorts. You make educated guesses and hope the perceived talent develops.
Which brings me to a point I don't think a lot of people address much.....
That being that many of the present day football fans are a generation that seems more into fanstasy league play, Madden, etc.
In conjunction with that I see a leaning to a couple of major trends.
Everyone gets caught up in individual stats and the "team" dynamics don't seem to be given less and less importance.
Along with that seems to be an over-riding tendancy to expect too many college players to make an immediate impact in the pros.
Most of the time it just ain't gonna happen.
Its always easy to look back with 20-20 hindsight and say "what a crappy pick that was"...I see it all the time....and SOMETIMES it is indeed true.
The simple fact that more and more people seem to keep denying is that for most young players its going to take an average of 3 years until they really start realizing any "full potential" and THAT depends on a number of things, starting with the attitude of the player themselves, then the coaching staff and also the situation of the team itself.]
Many times players get pushed into the lineup before they really should be, out of supposed need.
Players like Quan, who make headlines with their immediate impact are really not the norm. For every Quan there is a "ton' of players that never start making much of an impact until they have spent 3 years in the league, adapting to the higher general talent level and the "speed" of the pro game.
There are a number of reasons why that development doesn't always go as planned, again ranging from the player's attitude, work ethic, etc, itself ...to the coaching they get. Which THAT, I will concede is a legitimate complaint about some of Mac's staff.
Also, to be fair and objective, I think if you compare other teams drafts, at the same time, anyone can find things to criticize if they look for it.
Each year there are what? about 250 players drafted out of college plus maybe another 100-150 undrafted free agents brought in for a look.
If you really take the time to calculate how many of them are impact players their first two years, I'll bet anyone that wants to bet, that the % is not going to be very high.
Looking at the Cards draft in 2002, here's my alternative "take".
Bryant: Now starting his 3rd year. This is the year most pro coaches really expect to start seeing major productive results. Couple that with the fact that Bryant came into camp late, had Joe Greene as a DL coach, and maybe wasn't mentally ready yet himself. I'm not ready to write him off just yet. In fact, during pre-season, I felt he showed flashes of showing some of the promise he was drafted for.
Fisher.....I put him in much the same catagory as Andre Wadworth. I don't think it's legitmate to criticise a draft when a player gets taken down due to injury. That's not something any human can project. Fisher, was also, I feel pushed into a starting role sooner than he should have been, out of perceived "need". As with all the players in this "class" this is their 3rd year, the year they should be expected to start living up to their "potential".
McCown...I say now like I said last year....he reminds me, in many ways of John Elway. Granted, few people will ever have the physical talent and tools of John Elway, but Josh does have a lot of similarities, and could very well indeed be one of the better QB's in the league.
Thankfully he wasn't thrown into the fire too soon.
Dennis Johnson....just suffice it to say, as I have several times already, I think cutting him was a big mistake. My impression is, for whatever reason, Green just never seemed to give him much of a chance. I still maintain he's going to be a quality player in this league.
Dwyer....as with everyone, you win some, you lose some. He just didn't pan out. It happens to all teams. I don't think drafting him was any bozo move...he just didn't pan out, for whatever reason.
McAddley....looked like a great pick. Everyone had high hopes for him. Actually flirted with being a starter. Not bad at all for a 5th round pick.
Scobey...this is a bad 6th round pick?
Mike Banks....likewise...showed some promise, but TE is one area on this team that has been very competitive. Once again for a 7th round pick, I can't see any legitimate complaint.
All in all, I think dissing that draft is way premature and if compared to other team's drafts really not all that bad at all.
