2005 NFL Draft

[JD074]

Pittsburgh may end up going with an actual tight end in
Heath Miller, the top prospect at that position. Unfortunately he
had hernia surgery and couldn't work out for NFL teams, but
everyone knows how good he is.

Having him and Jones go in the first round would be great.
That's one of the keys to success for white athletes in the NBA
and NFL. Along with getting recruited by the top Div. 1
programs, getting picked early in the draft (lottery picks in the
NBA, first and second round in the NFL) is very important. A
team isn't going to be as quick to cut or otherwise damage an
expensive first round pick as they would a sixth or seventh
round pick, or undrafted rookie free agent. So let's hope these
guys can slip into the first round, as some people are projecting
they'll go.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I saw Wiper Jr's defensive pics today, he had four whites in the first round. He couldn't help but put Roth and Pollack down because they lacked "arm length" and "overall size."
This guy never quits!

 

[right winger]

The wide receivers at the Combine averaged 4.53 in the 40. Remember that next time you hear or read about some white wideout being "slow" because he runs a 4.50 or 4.55 in the 40.

 

[Highwayman]

http://oinkville.tripod.com/jones70.wmv

Here's a great video of Matt Jones in action--look at him blow by these guys!

 

[jaxvid]

Awsome video! He blows by the corners and then dunks after the TD! Why some team doesn't want this guy at QB is insane!

 

[Highwayman]

I'd like to see him throw the ball before I'd want him as a quarterback, but I can't seem to find any videos of that. :-/

Here's another one of him running:

(note I'm not responsible for the content of the newspaper 'headline' in the beginning. If you are easily offended you might want to skip this)

http://oinkville.tripod.com/mjtexas.wmv


Here's a short clip of him playing Basketball:

http://www.woopigsooie.net/mattslammajamma.mpeg

What an athlete!!!

 

[Highwayman]

Here's another one that really highlights his burst and acceleration. Boy is this guy fun to watch!

http://oinkville.tripod.com/jones54.mpeg

 

[Bart]

Nice clips, Highwayman. Never saw those. Gotta find a spot for him somewhere.

 

[Highwayman]

One interesting thing I found about Matt Jones while looking around for info on him is it's not true he's never played reciever. He played it in high school and again his freshman year at Arkansas, so it's not like he'd be moved to an entirely unfamiliar position.

I also came across something that said he suffered a shoulder injury at some point and since then his arm wasn't what it used to be. That might explain some of the conflicting reports I'm finding about his passing ability. Since the injury, some scouts have said he's had trouble with touch on his long ball.

If that's true, he'd probably have a more successful career as a reciever, as if you think about it at that position his potential is truly dominant, whereas running QBs with marginal NFL arms are a dime a dozen. They never get anywhere either, no matter how good they are on the ground, look at the abilities of QBs who take their teams to the superbowl: not a single team in superbowl history ever had a QB who was primarily a running threat with suspect passing abilites.

Tarkington was one of the finest passers in the game, as were Steve Young and Roger Staubach. When Donovan McNabb was one of the worst passers in the game (until last year McNabb's career yrds/att was one of the lowest of any starting QB in NFL history.) he could never get over the hump. While guys like McMahon and Dilfer didn't put up flashy passing stats they didn't make it up with their running ability: they had two of the finest defenses in the history of the modern game and just needed to hold on to the ball, control the clock and get into field goal range every once in a while.Edited by: Highwayman

 

[sunshine]

Mel Kiper mentioned that the tag franchise QB in draft talk only applies in rare cases--he cited Elway. In fact most great QB's arrive at that point --ie Tom Brady----unexpectedly at least in part. I agree with Kiper. With that in mind Alex Smith could be that special QB. Athletically superior to the top QB's everyone raved about in last year's draft, Smith is still very young and has not yetreached physical maturity. He will only get bigger, stronger and faster.The other noticeable thing about this guy is his poise. ESPN has been following him around and the guy reeks superstar.His mother wanted him to go to Harvard . But he isn't just smart. Buzz now is the guy has superhuman smarts. Put everything together and San Fran would be out of their minds not picking this guy. Unbeliveably quick minded which is why Utah went undefeated. Natural leader--just watch the guy for a few minutes and it is as obvious as snow.No brainer if you ask me. Number one pick in draft, case closed.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good points about Matt and Alex guys. Hopefully, Matt will be a receiver and Alex will be the number one draft pick.

 

[JD074]

I missed the Combine stuff on the NFL channel the first time
around, but I caught some of it today. It was so sweet to see
Matt Jones run. The only guys I saw outrun him were a few
sprinter-type WR's, much smaller than him. I also saw
Dan Sheldon. He can really move, too. I only wish I could've
seen Lyman and Lumsden. Oh well. They also showed some
clips of Jones abusing CB's during a Senior Bowl practice (or
whatever it was.) I'm rarely this hopeful about a young white
athlete. It's a big question mark, nobody really knows how
good he's going to be. But I can't deny that I'm excited about
him.

One of the commentators mentioned that the average 40 yard
dash for tight ends last year was 4.9. If Matt Jones were to
excel at TE, I would accept that. As long as our guys excel,
that's what matters. But to put a guy so fast in a position that
clearly doesn't need all his speed, just seems silly to me.

 

[kevin]

I am one of the few who likes rogers over smith. Smith is more elusive and maybe would be a better pick in a west coast offense. However rogers is more accurate, has decent speed and is a better field general. Rogers did great things the last two years. Look at the great job he did against Virginia tech in the bowl two years ago. Rogers has also had to deal with injuries to his recievers and defense. When they win gameswith injuries it says alot about the quarterback.

 

[Highwayman]

Rumor has it there's an outside chance Aaron Rogers might fall all the way to #24. If that happens we'll have a new white guy playing in the smallest market for everyone else to beat up on.

That should make everyone happy.

 

[whiteCB]

Hopefully Fox will be drafted in the 3rd RD tomarrow by the Browns and then he'll be able to definitly play CB. Isn't funny how black coaches DON'T discriminate against white players and yet white coaches do it all the time. Browns DB coach Mel Tucker is black and was Fox's DB coach at Ohio St. I met the guy and had nothing but great things to say about Dustin as a CB and that he's a natural there.

 

[Don Wassall]

Nice posts, whiteCB. It's great to see the Browns finallygo after somewhite players on defense. They also have a good LB in Ben Taylor if he can stay healthy. Sounds like they might be the best team for Fox to be drafted by.


While black coaches might be less opposed to giving whites a shot at "taboo" positions, overall they're a mixed bag. Dennis Green's teams haven't been white-friendly in the least in both Minnesota and Arizona. The Jets have darkened noticeably since Herm Edwards became head coach. The Bears had more whites on defense last year under Lovie Smith than in previous years, butSmith also purged Brock Forsey from the roster after making a denigrating racial remark about him.

 

[Don Wassall]

Sports Illustrated this week has a feature article by Peter KIngabout Matt Jones, called "What's His Game?" with the subtitle: "The most intriguing prospect in a confounding draft is Matt Jones, a college quarterback with size and speed who might line up at wideout, tight end or H-back. Consider the possibilities." It's also on the SI website but for premimum subscribers only.


Overall it's pretty much the standard media stuff about Matt. King dismisses the possibility of Jones being an NFL quarterback in a single sentence: "Jones, a quarterback at Arkansas, doesn't throw the ball well enough to be a top prospect at that position." Hmm, how many top black QB prospects with running ability threw "well" in college? Culpepper is the only name that comes to mind and he played for a small program.


Several NFL coaches, coordinators, scouts, etc. are quoted about where Jones should play and all seem to have a different idea. Mike Martz, surprisingly, thinks he should be a safety!?! Gil Brandt, the longtime Cowboys executive now working for NFL.com, says, "I've been preparing for drafts since the late '50s, and there hasn't been a player this big this fast." But on NFL.com Brandt has Jones listed among the tight end prospects.


Nothing about race is mentioned, but there is the obligatory reference to Mike Mamula, whose name is always summoned any time the subject is a football player who had great Combine results but who flopped as a player, as if every single year there aren't highly rated blacks with chiseled bodies andexcellent Combine results who turn out to be lousy football players at the pro level.


Jones has a couple ofinteresting quotes. "Receiver, running back, quarterback, whatever, I don't care. If they want me to play more than one spot, or offense and defense, maybe nickelback, whatever, I'm fine with it. Eric Crouch wanted to play quarterback, and he ended up not playing at all. . . I just want to play." Also: "I understand why people wonder about me. I would too. I caught four passes in four years. But I say, Just watch me play football. I don't like to talk about myself, but I put up some numbers. It's not just at the combine that I did good.I'm not saying I'm the best wide receiver in the draft. But I honestly think that as a rookie, in the right system, I'll have 50 or 60 catches with 10 or 12 touchdowns."


I really like that last comment. And also, even though he just wants to play, he never mentions tight end as one of those positions. I really hope he sticks to his guns about that. This kid deserves a full shot at either quarterback, tailback or wide receiver. A smart team may use him at all three positions. At least we'll know in about 24 hours which team ends up drafting him.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

It's getting exciting getting ready for the draft show. Too bad I have to leave at about 12:30 and be gone for 3 hours. You guys will have to post on here tomorrow so I'll know what happened when I get in. I hope they don't cheat Matt. He's the guy I'm watching more than anyone, then the QB's and Lumsden.

 

[White Shogun]

Great clips, Highwayman! I take back everything I said about Brett Fav-ruh! (Just kidding with you!)



I know running QB's haven't been as successful at taking their teams
all the way to the Super Bowl as traditional, stand-in-the-pocket guys,
but I'd still like to see Matt Jones get a chance at QB,
nonetheless. I think he'd be great at the position.



I mean, if everyone says Ron Mexico is a good QB because he is "fun to
watch," and "makes the game more exciting," then Why Not Matt Jones??



Like Jones himself said though, I hope he just gets to play, period.

 

[white lightning]

Thanks also for the outstanding clips Highwayman.Do you
have any video clips of Jesse Lumsden by chance.He
averaged over 10 yards per carry.I would love to see
some of his long runs on film.I am very excited about
Matt Jones and alot of others in this draft.Sheldon
deseves a chance to be another Wes Welker at the least.
C.Lyman can be a very good 3rd receiver for any team
as his speed is incredible.Remember,even B.Stokely had
a bunch of injuries early on and look at him now.Dustin
Fox should be used as a corner.I'm pulling for him to
go to the Browns or the Colts.Lumsden has me as excited
as when Staley was in the nfl draft.They are predicting
7th round if at all.What is that all about.He is young
and may be a little raw but give me a break.7th round,
you have to be kidding me.We all know he needs a better
tan.Oh well,screw that,Jesse can and will break the mold.
Bring on the nfl draft.Let's get it going guys!

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Man, where to start! First, I hear Steve Wojo talking about the top three QB's in the draft, and he gives their order as Smith, Campbell, and the Rodgers. What is this guys on? No way, even on Mars, would Campbell ever be better than Aaron Rodgers. These guys really sicken me.

So I go to my room and turn on the radio to hear the local (Memphis) sports show, and some black caller says Drew Bennett is not starting material for WR. What? He only almost led the AFC in yardage. Just another example of how blacks try to belittle whites accomplishments and put them down. He said that if someone tried to develop him into a receiver, they would be insulting Drew because he just isn't good enough to be one. The white hosts totally agree with him, that Drew isn't starting material. Then this caller shows some brainage by saying that Matt Jones should be a QB somewhere because he's just like Vick as far as athleticism goes. The white hosts then gushed about Jones. So basically these guys are just panderers like so many ESPN jerks.

I would call into this show and straighten those guys out, but since its main focus is golf, I don't think it would do much good.

 

[Don Wassall]

Good old Mel -- his top picks at each position were listed as graphics at the bottom of the screen, and sure enough there's Matt Jones, #2 among the tight ends. Totally predictable. Maybe he'll fall to Tennessee early in the second round.

 

[Don Wassall]

The 21st pick of the draft, Matt Jones was the first white wide receiver drafted in the first round since Cris Collinsworth in 1981. Overall there were just five whites taken in the first round. Quarterback Alex Smith of Utah was taken by the 49ers with the first overall pick. The next white player wasn't drafted until defensive end David Pollack fell to the Bengals at number 17. The Steelers picked tight end Heath Miller at number 30, while the world champion New England Patriots selected offensive guard Logan Mankins with the last pick of the first round.


The second round was slightly better as eight whites were taken out of 32 players drafted. They were:


33. David Baas, C, taken by San Francisco


36. Barrett Ruud, ILB, taken by Tampa


41. Michael Roos, OT, taken by Tennessee


46. Matt Roth, DE, taken by Miami


47. Mike Nugent, PK, taken by the New York Jets


53. Dan Cody, DE, taken by Baltimore


63. Matt McCoy, OLB, taken by Philadelphia


65. Adam Terry, OT, taken by Baltimore


In the third round, 12 of the 37 players selected were white:


67. Charlie Frye, QB, taken by Cleveland


69. Andrew Walter, QB, taken by Oakland


78. Kirk Morrison, ILB, taken by Oakland


79. Evan Mathis, OG, taken by Carolina


80. Dustin Fox, S [sic], taken by Minnesota


81. Richie Incognito, C, taken by St. Louis


85. David Greene, QB, taken by Seattle


90. Jordan Beck, OLB, taken by Atlanta


91. Chris Colmer, OT, taken by Tampa


94. Adam Snyder, OG, taken by San Francisco


99. Dustin Colquitt, P, taken by Kansas City


100. Nick Kaczur, OG, taken by New England

 

[Don Wassall]

Chase Lyman went in the fourth round, to the Saints. Both Matt Jones and Lyman went as high or higher than common wisdom had them going, but tothe Jags and Saints! And Cody taken by Baltimore, Fox by Minnesota, Roth by Miami, all certainly not the teams we would have wanted taking these players. . .

 

[speedster]

There are four things that are guaranteed in life.Death,taxes,stepping in dog poop and the Dallas Cowboys never drafting a white defensive player.