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Volume 71, Issue 73,
Monday, January 23, 2006
Sports NFL draft outcome might not please
Silent Assassin Ronnie Turner The Houston Texans stand at a crossroads right now. To be more exact, they are stuck at the fork in the road with the top pick in the upcoming NFL draft, trying to decide whether to take the direction that leads to USC running back Reggie Bush, a move that seems to be advocated by many NFL top minds and scouts, or trekking toward University of Texas quarterback and hometown hero Vince Young and pleasing thousands of eager fans. Two months ago, there was no doubt who the Texans, who finished 2-14, would select. Bush had just took the nation (and supposedly the Texans) by storm and solidified his status as the No. 1 pick with his 513 all-purpose yard performance in his team's 50-42 hotly contested victory over Fresno State. Young, on the other hand, was just some kid over at Texas running over defenders, not yet ready for the NFL (or so the media said at the time). A month and half later, Young un-solidified Bush as the front-runner and threw his own hat in the ring after his 467 all-purpose yard performance against USC in the national championship game. And now, Bush is just another average, football player. Suddenly, Young is ready for the NFL and he's the Texans' "savior," not Bush. Forget about fair-weather fans; I saw more members of the media start clamoring for Young who had only just before sung the praises of Bush. You'd think the media, of all people, would maintain their sanity. Well, this reporter isn't changing his position. To be completely honest, I was never a fan of the Texans keeping that pick in the first place, and I'm still not sold on it. I like Reggie Bush and I think he'll be a fine player, but I don't see why the Texans need another running back (their running offense was ranked 15th in the NFL at 113.5 yards a game). The team would be better served by packaging off that draft pick in a trade for several other picks and players so that the team could address its real needs: Offensive linemen, wide receiver, cornerback, and defensive linemen. But now that both Bush and Young have been declared for the draft, this is no longer an option. The Texans will draft one of the two, and that's fine because both have the potential to be dominant players. For my money, I suspect that it will be Bush and here's why. It's pretty obvious that after four seasons of futility, the Texans would like to get into the playoffs by next year, if possible. Think that quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall can immediately come in and lead a team to the playoffs in their first season? History says no. The quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall since 1998 (Peyton Manning, Tim Couch, Michael Vick, David Carr, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, and Alex Smith) came nowhere near to pulling off the feat; as a matter of fact, they mirrored their team's struggles. It took Couch until his fourth season and Palmer until his third (he sat out the first year) before they laced up for the playoffs; Carr has yet to grace the postseason. The fact is, it took time for these quarterbacks to get their feet wet in the NFL. It took time for their teams to be willing to sacrifice a season or two until they got comfortable enough to carry a team to the playoffs. The Texans have no such time or willingness; they want to win now. In the end, the Texans will most likely draft Bush
and Young will be taken by Tennessee, where he will get the opportunity
to be mentored for a season or two by the wily veteran Steve McNair. This
will anger Texans' fans for a while, but they'll soon get over it if Bush
tears up defenses with his dazzling cuts and the Texans start winning next
season.
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