Lies, Half-Truths and Rhetoric – It’s NFL Draft Time Again It’s that time of year again when the truth is hidden well away beneath a blanket of fabrication, misleading signals and general mischief making, and I’m not referring to Mark McGwire’s grand jury testimony. The NFL Draft seems to inspire more experts to spout forth on their opinions of what will happen when in truth most of them are picking gnat shite out of pepper, and the guesswork involved in this process based upon the supposed signals given by NFL GM’s and Coaches is both flawed and doomed to failure. If you want a good laugh print off some of the mock drafts selected by “experts” this week and then compare them to the real thing – if the “experts” hit on 8 correct selections for the first round then I’ll be amazed. Draftnik/Hairclub President/Idiot Mel Kiper Jnr will of course claim every pick was just as he predicted as he has produced around 350,000 “mock drafts” himself and has thus covered every possible angle by throwing more darts than Jocky Wilson. So what is the truth and where will the Bucs go? I have absolutely no solid idea at all, nor would I consider making any rash predictions. One alarming trend this week is the rumour that the Bucs are looking to trade up, when almost all the other 31 sides appear to be intent on trading down – it’s nice to stand out from the crowd isn’t it? Five things I think 1. I think the only way we will draft a QB in the first 3 rounds this weekend will be if we already have a trade partner who is willing to take on Chris Simms. If someones coming in, then Simms will be going out the other door. 2. I think if Ronde Barber did hold out for any time it would destroy my faith and belief that there are some good guys still remaining in Sports. I appreciate Ronde is grossly underpaid but everything I read about the man leads me to believe he will handle the situation the right way and reach a solution. 3. I think I’d like to wish the very best to Joe Jurevicius and his family. His stay was relatively short, and Joe barely played 50% of the time he was here but what a legacy of class, commitment and character he left behind him in Tampa. The catch in Philadelphia changed our franchises history, and illustrated what strength this particular player has as a man considering the plight of his son at the time. Good luck with the Seahawks Joe – you’ll always be a part of the Buccaneer nation. 4 The fact we are not on Monday Night Football this season does not really bother me one iota. I don’t care when we play our games, Monday nights, Sunday afternoons or even mid-morning on a Tuesday. The important thing is to win the games, not when they are played. 5. I think I’d like to congratulate our club President on getting married last week, and pass on the best wishes of all the Bucs UK to him and his family. It’s all downhill from now Paul! My educated guesswork, and it’s not rocket science, is that we need skill position players on offense and hence in true Mel Kiper fashion I’d narrow our potential first round selection to one of the pair of Auburn Running Backs Ronnie Brown or Carnell Williams, or instead go for the local boy and half man/half skyscraper Wideout Mike Williams. Any one of these would be a decent selection though if I was making the call the running back would get the go ahead. I must admit the prospect of drafting a player whose sounds like an Cockney Stand-Up comic from the 70’s, namely Ronnie Brown, would offer numerous opportunities for cheap laughs but as usual I’m going off on another tangent with this. Assuming we draft one of those three from then on it’s total guesswork as we don’t even know for sure what the Bucs draft philosophy is, either drafting for position need or best player available. The only prediction I will make is that a new running back will arrive either via selection or trade from somewhere within our picks in the first 3 rounds, though who this might be is in the hands of fate. Back in reality world at One Buc Place once the draft is completed we will have a better idea of where we might be going as a franchise next season, and what we can look forward to. The 2005 draft offers us our largest influx of young talent for the first time in over 5 years and it does give us the chance to believe we can be successful again sometime soon. Predicting what will happen is a futile exercise given the NFL community’s penchant for giving false signals, but enjoying the draft itself is another matter. Lets hope this weekend brings us a Derrick Brooks and Mike Alstott or two, and pray no Charles McRae’s rear their ugly heads amongst our class of 2005. Nod of Acknowledgement to - Sam Mills. The former Saints Linebacker and Carolina Coach passed away this past week having battled cancer for 2 years. Taking off my anti-Panthers head for a moment, the Fieldmouse as he was known played way above his size both on the field and off it, and left a legacy of class behind him. I vividly remember seeing him play what seems like only yesterday, which makes it even stranger and sadder of his passing as such a young age – RIP Mr Mills you were a class act. Get in the Real World Award – Terrell Owens. Now here’s a man totally in love with himself if I ever saw one. Granted his efforts in playing in the Superbowl were worthy of credit, but having begged to come to the Eagles and joining on a 7 year contract, Mr Owens now feels he is underpaid after just 1 year and is trying to hold the Eagles to ransom. If the contract was good enough to sign 12 months ago, it remains valid now and Mr Owens didn’t take long to reveal his me-first attitude once again after spending his first year with the Eagles pleading he was misunderstood. I think we all understand perfectly now Terrell.