There was so much talk about ceilings and floors on Saturday,you'd swear Jerry Angelo was a building contractor instead of an NFLgeneral manager. Of course, general managers are often called thearchitect of the team, so maybe the metaphors were appropriate.
Still, it was a bit disturbing to hear Angelo brag about his first-round pick, Boston College offensive tackle Marc Colombo, by sayingthe Bears figure at worst we know he's going to be a good rank-and-file player in the league."
Angelo's draft philosophy centers on finding a player with littledownside as opposed to big upside--an acceptable floor instead of ahigh ceiling.
Angelo says the key to the Bears' success last season was the playof the offensive and defensive lines. Throw in the decision to dumpleft tackle Blake Brockermeyer in a cost-cutting move and the loss ofbackup Jimmy Herndon to Houston in free agency and the selection ofColombo makes a lot of sense.
It's not a sexy pick. Offensive linemen never are. Theorganization was so underwhelmed, they didn't even fly the BostonCollege star in for the obligatory back-slapping, hand-claspingphotograph with team jersey and team president. Come back on Mondayfor that magic moment.
Technically, Colombo will now compete with last season's fifth-round pick, Bernard Robertson, for the job that used to belong toBrockermeyer.
The job looks to be Colombo's to lose. Sure, the Bears loveRobertson, and they figure he'll wind up starting on their linesomewhere, someday. He was slated to step in for Olin Kreutz had thecenter not returned to the Bears for less money than Miami offered.Kreutz still got $22.5 million.
Colombo should make about 10 percent more than last year's No. 29overall pick, Ryan Pickett, was given by the St. Louis Rams. Pickett,who held out the first two days of training camp, signed a five-year, $5.995 million deal. So Colombo might get in the range of $6.59million on a five-year deal. That's millions more than Robertson.
The late George Young, legendary general manager of the New YorkGiants, called the NFL draft The Dance of the Elephants," a termreflecting Young's belief that the way to build a football team wasby taking large men capable of enduring the weekly car wrecks thatmake up an NFL season.
Angelo and director of college scouting Greg Gabriel are wellaware of the philosophy because both have backgrounds in the Giants'scouting system. Problem is, Colombo might be more giraffe thanelephant. He's about 6-8 and weighs 313 pounds. Tall tackles can runinto problems in the NFL because they are so susceptible to havingtheir long legs rolled from behind.
Colombo knows all about the problem because it happened to himlast season against Notre Dame. He tore the bottom part of his rightquadriceps.
Robertson, at 6-2, is short for a left tackle. But the Bears saythey like his squatty body type because it signals an ability to holdup to the wear-and-tear of the position. Now they say Colombo'sheight doesn't expose him to any more trouble than anyone else. Curious.
What the Bears love most about Colombo is the same quality theyhave found in Kreutz and James Williams--offensive linemen with nastydispositions. Colombo was ejected from a game against Virginia Techin 1999 for fighting. He's a distant relation to boxing great RockyMarciano. Well, actually he's a second cousin to former BostonCollege teammate Steven Marciano, a grandson of Rocky's.
To be honest, I don't think many offensive linemen do [have anasty disposition], and I think it's a plus when you find somebodywho does," Colombo said.
It might be a better quality than a good floor.
OVERVIEW
The longest first round in NFL draft history featured acontroversial delay when the Dallas Cowboys went beyond the allotted15 minutes to pull off a trade with Kansas City. The Chiefs were oneof five teams to move up in the draft for a player they targeted.They took North Carolina defensive tackle Ryan Sims at No. 6, secondsbefore Minnesota could grab him. The Vikings weren't thrilled withthe outcome, but got a nice parachute by landing Miami OT BryantMcKinnie (right) at No. 7. The New York Giants gave up a fourth-round pick to move up one slot and take Miami TE Jeremy Shockey atNo. 14 when they feared Tennessee would trade away their guy tosomeone else. Oakland moved twice in order to land Miami CB PhillipBuchanon, and Green Bay jumped up to grab WR Javon Walker at No. 20.New England jumped up 11 spots to take TE Daniel Graham at No. 21.The first surprise of the opening round was Detroit's decision tograb quarterback Joey Harrington at No. 3 after all but anointinglast year's fifth-rounder, Mike McMahon, as its starter. The biggestsurprise was Cincinnati's decision to take Arizona State OT LeviJones at No. 10 even though the player might have been available 10-15 picks later.
THE TOP FIVE
Dallas: Got the best S, Roy Williams, best G, Andre Gurode, andlanded WR Antonio Bryant, a projected first-rounder.
Oakland: The double trade was goofy, but the Raiders got CBPhillip Buchanon and LB Napoleon Harris.
Denver: The offense gets a big lift from the combination of WRAshley Lelie and RB Clinton Portis.
Baltimore: Miami S Ed Reed was a real value at No. 24 and need wasfilled with Notre Dame DT Anthony Weaver.
Carolina: Julius Peppers was right decision at No. 2 overall;DeShaun Foster was the top RB on the Bears' board.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
Tampa Bay: Bucs spent first- and second-round picks on coach JonGruden; a complete non-factor in this draft.
Miami: It got value in the trade for Ricky Williams, but didn'thave any impact on Saturday.
Cincinnati: Nothing wrong with taking an OT to improve run game,but why not get value from your pick?
Seattle: Traded down with an eye on Daniel Graham, but had toreach for character question Jerramy Stevens.
Atlanta: Paid a fortune for Warrick Dunn, then gave up on JamalAnderson by taking T.J. Duckett.
THE NFC NORTH
Detroit, A: Joey Harrington (right) was the right pick at No. 3,while second-rounder DE Kalimba Edwards could be a blue-chipper.
Minnesota, A: The Vikings preferred Ryan Sims, but landed a gem inBryant McKinnie.
BEARS, B: Landed a starting left tackle in Marc Colombo, a tallcorner in Roosevelt Williams, a nasty offensive lineman in TerrenceMetcalf and a high fourth-round selection.
Green Bay, C: Gave up a lot in trade up for boom-or-bust WR JavonWalker; the Packers could have gotten help at that position later.
**********************
**Fourth round (sixth pick within the round, 104th overall, fromDallas);
**Fifth (fifth within the round, 140th overall, from Dallas);
**Fifth (30th within the round, 165th overall);
**Sixth (27th within the round, 199th overall, from Miami);
**Sixth (31st within the round, 203rd overall);
**Sixth (38th within the round, 210th overall, compensatory).
STAT PACK
5
The number of players from Miami (Fla.) taken in the first round,which ties the all-time record set by USC in 1968. The fab five, inorder, were OT Bryant McKinnie (Minnesota, 7th overall); TE JeremyShockey (N.Y. Giants, 14), CB Phillip Buchanon (Oakland, 17); S EdReed (Baltimore, 24) and CB Mike Rumph (San Francisco, 27).
3
The number of tight ends taken in the first round, which matchesthe 1970 draft as the most in NFL history. The big three this year:Miami's Jeremy Shockey (N.Y. Giants, No. 14 overall); Colorado'sDaniel Graham (New England, 21) and Washington's Jerramy Stevens(Seattle, 28).
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