It seems already, every team in the NFL that feels its season is already a lost cause because of a poor start to the season, is thinking that Andrew luck, starting quarterback for the Stanford Cardinals, is the immediate answer to their losing woes. Sort of like, the morning after pill for teams experiencing a nightmare of bad football and losing game after game. The plan? Simple: Blow off the current season somehow, enter the "Suck for Luck" sweepstakes and coast to an Oh and 16 season with hopes of landing the biggest college prospect in the country since maybe John Elway, who incidentally is also an alum of Stanford University. It's true and even respected journalists are talking about this subject and its really put a wedge in my grundees.
Andrew luck certainly looks like the safest bet as a first-round, first selection pick in the upcoming 2012 NFL draft. However, I think the powers that be,the people that sit in their respective war rooms should approach this prospect cautiously, methodically and above all… realistically. Virtually every draft analyst on the planet; television, radio, Internet, magazines and newspapers has Luck atop every other player on the board as the safest bet to make the difficult transition from college to the professional level, and at arguably the most demanding position in sports, period… Quarterback. Many so-called "sure things" have crashed and burned in Pro football shortly after signing the lofty contract of a first-round signee, and playing the best of the best. Often, more than not, these superstar hopefuls run into football played at the highest level… and they falter and sometimes they falter miserably.
Some of the names are infamous and others are rather obscure, or at least they become that way after failing to deliver after all the hype created by the media. Some of the names that come to mind are; Rick Mirer, David Carr, Tim Couch, Jamarcus Russell and of course the notorious Ryan leaf. These are just a few of the quarterbacks selected high in the draft and expected to be impact players, but turned out to be only financial liabilities and failed projects. Then there are the quarterbacks that have won the coveted Heisman Trophy, yet only achieved moderate or no success at all at the pro level for a variety of reasons. Some, not even drafted to play football at all. Charlie Ward won a Heisman Trophy, but chose to play basketball. Gino Torretta also won a Heisman and managed to sit in his living room on draft day and watch 360 selections go by without being drafted at all. How is it possible for college football's chosen best player of the year to go through an entire draft without being drafted by anyone? You would think that the best player in the NCAA would be selected at least in the top five to ten picks, regardless of team need at any particular position.
The truth of it is that there's no such thing as a "sure thing pick" in the NFL draft. Andrew Luck might be the real deal and might be everything just as advertised, but he's just one play away from a separated shoulder, an ACL or MCL ligament tear or even getting hit by a bus on the way to practice someday. I wouldn't sell out the farm for any player, even if he was the second coming of John Elway, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Bart Starr or Johnny Unitas all wrapped up in one player. I still think football is a team game and you have to keep mind of that. As for coaches, assistant coaches or players tanking the season to get a shot at a great player prospect? It's just simply ridiculous and it is an insult to every ticket holder, season ticket holder or pennant waving fan that roots for their favorite NFL team each Sunday afternoon. Which is nothing to say of the way every team member feels about losing each and every game. Players are fighting for their position on the team and every play could mean they lose their job permanently. So, for every fan or television analyst or Joe blow standing around the water cooler that thinks an NFL team should pack in the season so they can get a better draft position should just shut the hell up and get a clue. There is no sure thing and even if there was, this is a team game and any team worth their salt would fight to the death in the last game of the season even if they were 0-15, if for no other reason than this… YOU PLAY THE GAME TO WIN!
