Monday, April 30, 2007

  Chris Leak, Jared Zabransky Among Snubbed
How do a National Champion, and a guy who engineered the biggest upset in years in college football get the finger from the NFL? With names like Kevin Kolb being called out early Saturday the absence of these two is strange to me. Granted Leak is smallish, kind of loses his nerve on occasion, and isn't fond of being tackled, but please! He won a National Championship! In the SEC even! At least a Mr. Irrelevant is in order. I even saw a kid from Coastal Carolina was drafted, COASTAL CAROLINA! I have no love affair for Leak, but did he deserve this? Head to head he ran Troy Smith out of town and Smith goes in the 5th round at least. Zabransky reminds me of Favre so much it's ridiculous and nobody could see that the guy is a winner? Don't even get me started on Darius Walker. I'm no Mel Kiper but this doesn't compute in my head. Someone explain this to me, please!

Comments:
Well, sure. Zabransky is not a pro quality quarterback. He has some slight scrambling ability which is totally negated by the pro game. He tends to throw picks at bad times and has only looked "pretty good" against teams like San Diego State. Remember, Boise State plays in the WAC.

Darius Walker has never been a very good running back. I don't know who told that kid to forego his senior year, but they were either smoking some amazing weed or had something against the kid. He should have enjoyed his senior year before moving on to the "real world" outside of football. That is NOT an NFL running back by any stretch of the imagination, and your reaction is the first I'd heard that indicated some kind of surprise over this.

Finally, my buddy Chris Leak, who as a Gator fan I obviously love. If I were a dispassionate GM or front office type with a hand in the decision to draft players, I would not have drafted Leak. His height, contrary to what some have said, HAS hindered him. He cannot see over the line of scrimmage. He doesn't throw a good pass unless he's not being pressured (usually.) He likes to throw on the rollout which as you know tends to blow up in the NFL.

He does "kind of" lose his nerve... a lot. Leak locks in on receivers, he misses open receivers, he tends to underthrow the long ball, and as soon as the pocket collapse and he starts scrambling around, the best you can hope for is a sack although a fumble is always a distinct possibility.

But he is a winner. You are right about that. And that's why I think he's being given a chance with the Bears.

I don't think he'll ever see the playing field except perhaps a few snaps in the pre-season, but I'm glad he's getting a chance to live out his dream.
 
Easy on Coastal bud - remember, South Carolina, just like Florida, is a great state for recruiting. People hate playing Central Florida because all of the guys passed up on Florida, Miami, and Florida State went there - they have something to prove. So Coastal may you have fine football players, beautiful beaches, and smokin bitches in bikinis - Go Chants!
 
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