Before the NBA Draft, some leftovers from the NFL Draft

Quick, name your favorite moment of the NFL Draft.

Waiting...waiting...waiting.

Did Fan Man ever collide with a top pick as he strode onto the stage?

No?

OK, then maybe it's Peyton Manning being selected 1 OVER the immortal Ryan Leaf? No? Do you ever sit down listing great sports moments in your head and slot "Peyton Manning 1 overall to the Colts" somewhere?

Me neither.

Here's another test...name your favorite NFL team's top draft pick of 2007.

HURRY!

Sadly I can relate that I know this one, it was Leon Hall, CB out of Michigan to the Bengals in the first round. I don't even remember where the Bengals picked in the first round. Late teens I think?

All I know is that Leon was an OK player, certainly nothing special. He might turn out to be great. And he might turn out to be very, very mediocre. Neither result would surprise me in the least.

While I look forward to it with great anticipation every year, I think I may be over the NFL Draft. I missed it almost entirely this year due to a wedding. I read about it extensively of course and realized that having not watched it live, I missed…nothing.

What the draft does have is the ability to debate instantaneously major moves by an NFL team. And the best part? No one, particularly the numerous analysts covering the draft, is ever wrong because nothing about a draft pick is really known for years after they're selected. That's right, you and I are roughly as qualified to assess draft picks as the guys that get paid to do so. If you exhale carbon dioxide, you can analyze a draft.

The NFL Draft draws college football fans and pro football fans alike. And it does so approximately halfway between the end of the pro football season and the beginning of the college football season (training camp). Perfectly slotted for the football-deprived.

And yet the reality is even the best pro football franchises bat about .500 when it comes to draft picks. About half pan out the way you would expect them to. The rest are gone before you even memorize their names and numbers.

As a side note, it should be pointed out that late April is the start of the NHL playoffs, the start of the NBA playoffs and the first act of the MLB season. Oh, and March Madness wraps up in April these days too. So it's not as if there are no other options this time of year.

Is it worth mentioning that the weather starts to improve in April too? Well, at least it does where I live. In places like Florida and Arizona and Texas April marks the beginning of $800/monthair-conditioning-bill season. The south is great in March. See how much fun it is in June.

Anyway, the point is that it's not like you're stuck in the middle of an Alaskan winter when the NFL Draft rolls around to save you. There's PLENTY going on this time of year.

Back to my original question though, my favorite draft moment? That's easy, 2007, Ted Ginn Jr., 9 to the Dolphins. Brady Quinn? What'd you think of that pick buddy? You worthless jerkoff? Seriously, this is worth another look.

These five minutes worth of draft footage pretty much sum it up. Steve Young has BQ with the Dolphins before the Commissioner walks to the podium. The crowd goes nuts and Mel Kiper Jr. is incensed. The Dolphins according to him have just passed up Dan Marino. Easy Mel.

The best part is the panel knows absolutely nothing about how the rest of the draft will go. Wasn't Tom Brady drafted in the 6th round? Who's to say Tom Brady won't show up in a subsequent round for the Dolphins?

Again though, if you didn't check out the clip, you should. The look on Brady's face is priceless.

While you could easily make the argument that the Dolphins screwed it up, the truth is you still don't know. I went to the Jets-Browns game and there were more Brady Quinn jerseys in the stands then Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens jerseys, I know that much. Teddy Ginn Jr. would be considered a disappointment to this point but you have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Hard to shine when you're on the worst team in the league with no offensive line, no quarterback and no running back.

As I have just stated in previous paragraphs, no assessment of Brady Quinn vs. Ted Ginn Jr. would be remotely accurate until the two players have been in the league for at least three years. Even then we could be talking preliminary observations.

What I will never, ever forget about the Dolphins picking Teddy at 9 overall was the universally accepted notion that Miami would select Brady Quinn. To a man, the entire cast of the ESPN coverage knew (not thought, KNEW) that the Notre Dame QB was headed to south Florida. I don't know how many times we have to be taught this lesson but another chapter was served up yet again. NOTHING is certain when it comes to sports. And other then death and taxes, I'm not sure there are any absolutes in the rest of our lives either.

It should also be pointed out that approximately 20 teams passed on Brady Quinn, including the one that eventually saved him from his draft day free fall. I'm guessing if he was the uber-prospect he was purported to be, someone else would have taken him in the first 20 picks regardless of their own QB situation.