The Chaser

A look at last year's Draft, plus news and notes from around the league



2008 Entry Draft:

WEY - Laurence Maroney - Complete bust, big things were expected, but ended up with 93 yards after 3 games and a shoulder injury ended his season

AZK - Laveraneus Coles - Pulled the silent treatment when they brought Farve in and jetted his good buddy Chad, but he had a decent season. Fewest catches in 8 years (minus an injury plagued 07-08), did tie career high for TDs with 7 (20th in FP amongst wideouts)

AAM - Matt Forte - Exploded onto the scene as a rookie, easily becoming one of the best player taken in the draft. Finished as the 4th best RB is FPs, was a dual threat on the ground and in the air

RU - Kevin Smith - Finished his season as a solid option as a RB2 option, finishing just under 1000 yards on the ground and 8 TDs (2st in FP among backs)

UM - Thomas Jones - While not much was expected from Jones with the arrival of Farve and his "Im gonna air it out so someone can go get it, I dont care which team" style, he quietly produced a spectacular season with over 1500 combined yards and 15 TDs (3rd in FP among backs)

DUBA - Julius Jones - Had a mediocre year, ended up splitting carries, and not getting any of the goal line work. Finished with just 750 combined yards and 2 TDs

BHU - Vincent Jackson - Jackson finally had that breakout season people have been waiting for the last 3 years. Finished with almost 1100 rec yards and 7 TDs, and its not unreal to expect an increase (12th in FP among wideouts)

BHU - Reggie Brown - Another major bust, he appeared in only 10 games, pitching in a measly 18 catches for 252 yards and a score

GS - Roddy White - By far the best wideout in the draft, period. He finished just shy of 1400 yards with 7 scores and a rookie QB. If these two can grow together, he will be on the same level as the elite WRs (8th is FPs among wideouts)

TCT - Ted Ginn Jr - A purely upside pick who didnt quite work out. He joined a team with two feature backs and a QB not known for slinging it around, yet still managed 750 all purpose yards, and 2 TDs in the air and 2 on the ground

BU - De'Angelo Williams - Another monster out of the first round, he had the best season statistically of any back in football. Many thought his numbers would diminish with the drafting of Stewart, but even with him pitching in 800 yards and 10 TDs, Williams was the man, with 1650 combined yards, and 20 combined scores (he was the only back to finish with over 200 FP)

SU - Eli Manning - A boring, safe pick, Eli was expected to be a solid contributor. He was, finishing 12th in FPs, however the two players above him were Pennington and Thigpen, while thee two below were Farve and Garrard. All could have been had much later in the draft or as free agents, so for a first rounder, a complete waste

Later Round steals:

R3P10 - Felix Jones - While not considered a steal for the past season since he managed only 6 games due to injuries, when he got the ball he knew what to do with it. On 30 rushes, he was averaging 8.9 a carry with 2 scores. He is expected to share the load this season and should be a very viable RB2 option

R4P3 - Matt Ryan - With Romo in town, DUBA took Matt Ryan as Jessica Simpson insurance. After a slow start to the season and being arrested for being to sober to be driving, he was cut. He finished the season with Kickery, and after throwing only 2 TDs and 2 picks in his first 4 games, he became one of the more dangerous QBs, compiling 14 TDs and 9 picks in his next 12

R4P7 - Philip Rivers - While much had always been expected of Rivers, he didnt live up to the hype his first 2 years as a full time starter after two years under Brees. Well in the 08-09 season, he realized that potential, becoming the 2nd best QB with and eye popping 34 TDs and only 11 INTs (he had 21-15 the year before)

R7P2 - Owen Daniels - He put in a very productive year, especially for a 7th round pick. He finished in the top ten for TEs, and only improved as the season went on. He is only expected to get better

R7P4 - Chris Johnson - This is by far the best value pick in the draft, getting one of the top 5 players of the entire draft in the 7th round. While splitting carries with White, he still amasses 1200 plus yards on the ground, as well as 260 in the air. He managed 10 TDs, even though all goal line carries went to White (15 TDs, almost 1/2 the yards)

R7P11 - DeSean Jackson - While he made some silly mistakes in his rookie campaign, he showed promise that he could be a very strong wideout option. He was light on TDs (2 receiving, 1 rushing), but still amassed 1000 total yards, even in the doghouse at times. He should show major improvement this season after an already quality rookie campaign out of the 7th round

*people in Mexico keep claiming that they win the title every other year, and are guaranteeing victory this year solely based on that assumption. When it was purposed that the team might struggle since they will be relying heavily on an aging star who many feel is on the decline (LT) and an aging QB (McNabb), who played 16 games for the first time since 2003 last year, the Wildcat fans began to riot. When the police were brought into disperse the rioting mob, they were pelted with empty bottles of tequila. One older gentleman, fully nude, was running right at the police barricade, throwing Dos Equis bottles screaming "Im the most interesting man in the world, mother f@ckers!"

*Many local pundits think the defending champs Golden didnt appear to do much to help defend their title. The only picks that have any upside are James Davis and Hakeem Nicks. Palmer is great Manning insurance, but losing Peyton can be detrimental no matter who your back up is, unless he is named Brady or Brees. However, many people in this area are still bitter over the first round loss in the playoffs last year. Going into the monday night game, DUBA had a strong lead with Golden only having Bryant left to play. He proceeded to have a career game, and his only game that season with 2 TDs and only game with over 138 yards; he finished with 200. Many refer to him in these parts as Antonio "F@cking" Bryant

*The first round was delayed nearly 6 minutes between the 3rd and the 4th pick since the Stardust AD could not be found. While the Commish would not comment on his where abouts when he made the pick for SUCH, judging by the pick (Cotchery, in the first, really?), which seemed rushed, rumors started swirling. It was circulating that Howe was in court over allegations that he had attempted to get every single cheerleader pregnant to start his own cult. When first reached, the AD's office declined to comment, further breeding speculation. After a day of more rumors, SUCH released a statement stating that "While we wont deny that Mr. Howe was predisposed in court, we assure the campus and public that it is by no means school related." We are just going to have to wait to see how this plays out.