Before
shooting the breeze about the upcoming NFL draft, I just wanted to say how cool
that was that Neil Diamond showed up at Fenway Park yesterday to sing the Red
Sox anthem – “Sweet Caroline.” What makes the story even sweeter is that this wasn’t
pre-arranged. About an hour before the game, Diamond arrived at Boston’s
baseball cathedral and called the Sox front office to ask if he could sing his
song live during the seventh-inning stretch.
Other
than David Ortiz’s F-bomb in his opening remarks - Big Papi can be forgiven for
getting caught up in the emotions of the moment – it was a marvelous way for a
wounded city to start the healing process after the Boston Marathon bombings
and subsequent spell-binding manhunt.
I
experienced first-hand the galvanizing power of sports in New York City in the
aftermath of 9/11 when my son and I attended the World Series game at Yankee
Stadium in which President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch. Baseball provided
respites from the tragedy of the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World
Trade Center towers and murdered 3,000 people. It helped bring people together.
The
same was true yesterday at Fenway. And Diamond’s trip to one of baseball’s most
hallowed diamonds made the day even more memorable.
***
Here’s
my take on the Bills in the upcoming draft: If you believe, as General Manager Buddy
Nix says he does, that there are two or three potential franchise quarterbacks
in this draft, then you better not wait; you better take the one you’re most in
love with right away.
A lot
of people believe that guy is Ryan Nassib because of his familiarity with Bills
head coach Doug Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, whom he
played for at Syracuse. Some see this as similar to the Miami Dolphins taken
Ryan Tannehill higher than projected last year because the Fish had just hired
his former college coach, Mike Sherman, as offensive coordinator.
Some of
the mock drafts also have the Bills taking Matt Barkley of USC or Geno Smith of
West Virginia. I’m not enamored with either of those quarterbacks. I’m really hesitant
to take a QB from Southern Cal, given the track record of Trojan alumni Mark
Sanchez, Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer, etc. What I saw of Barkley was a guy who
benefitted greatly from having athletic receivers. Smith seems to be a popular
choice because of the recent success of Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick
and Russell Wilson – guys who can run the read option with great efficiency.
But I think, given RGIII’s serious injury, the read option is going to be a
short-lived fad deemed too dangerous to a quarterback’s health.
There’s
also talk about using the eighth overall selection on an offensive lineman to
replace free-agent departure Andy Levitre. Alabama’s Chance Warmack and UNC’s
Johnathan Cooper are possibilities. It’s definitely a need, as is linebacker,
where Georgia’s Alec Ogletree has been mentioned.
But if
they do that they run the risk of losing out on their QB, which they
desperately need.
Again,
if they’ve identified one they love, they best not wait.
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