Draft

[PonyGirl]

Josh McCown got drafted in the third round by the Cardinals. If Jake Plummer stays as erratic as he has been in recent years, Josh might get to play sooner than we think.

According to the other board, Joey Slaten signed Sunday night with the Cowboys - poor guy.

Jack Brewer, who as you might recall transferred to Minnesota after his freshman year in part because his father thought not enough passes were being thrown his way, thereby diminishing his draft possibilities, was not drafted. Neither was his cousin, Tellis Redmon.

Any word on if/where Kevin Aldridge and/or James McCarthy might end up?

[The Q]

Congratulations to Josh. Good luck in 'Zona.

Last I heard, the Buccaneers like Kevin Aldridge a lot. He could fit there. Hope he makes it.

[SMUPonyFan]

KA was signed by the Titans.

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Go Red, Go Blue, Go Mustangs, S M U

[Putt Choate fan]

The Arizona Cardinals, after Saturday, have staked their claim as the WORST franchise in the NFL.

--For the past how many years, they have stuck with an unreliable, erratic QB, in Jake Plummer, who has, not once, proven himself to be NFL caliber.

--They have drafted, I think, FOUR DE's in the past six years and all of them have not panned out, or have left. (I don't have the exact stats).

--They let Michael Pittman leave, they lost Aneaus Williams last year along with Simeon Rice. All these players want to leave, what does that tell us.

--Now, they draft, with their third round pick, a completely unproven, unintelligent QB to maybe take over if Jake fails for, oh say, the next three years, then put in a guy who couldn't throw more TD's than INT's in the WAC.

Listen, I have nothing against McCown personally, but I am tired of people blowing him on this webpage. He sucked at D1, and he did great at D2, what does that mean? Not much, expect he isn't that great of a player. D2 is NOT a competitive league, even compared to the WAC.

[PonyPride]

Tellis Redmon signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Jack Brewer signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

[Corso]

Not so fast, PCFan!

Arizona is the worst franchise in the NFL? Have you seen what they're throwing out on the field in Cincinnati? Or Detroit? Or Carolina?

Jake Plummer is erratic? True, sometimes he is. How do you like Quincy Carter's "accuracy"? Or that of Charlie Batch? Jon Kittna? Tony Banks? Matt Hasselbeck? The fact is that Plummer had one legit receiver last year: David Boston. Rob Moore missed the entire season with an injury. Frank Sanders was dinged all year with nagging injuries. MarTay Jenkins is a punt returner who's still learning to run routes. They had no tight end to speak of, and RBs Pittman and Thomas Jones have average hands at best. And the Arizona offensive line took half the season to gel, meaning Plummer was running for his life for a while.

You claim the Cardinals are terrible because they've missed on four defensive ends in six years. The fact is that defensive linemen, both ends and tackles, are in such demand that EVERY team drafts more than that. Check the local team: Shante Carver, Kavika Pittman, Peppi Zellner, Ebenezer Ekuban, Mike Myers (yes, he was drafted as a DE), Greg Ellis and a lot more who haven't even made the Dallas team that for years has been in desperate need of pass rushers coming off the edge. Out of that list, an argument could be made that Greg Ellis is the only decent player. Ekuban - maybe. The rest are horrible.

Losing Pittman is not a great loss. He's a decent player, but there are dozens more like him out there. Losing Williams hurts, but he was making $4-5 million per, and they rightly decided that there are better ways to spend that cash. Bill Bidwell is notoriously cheap, and wanted to spend his bucks on multiple younger players, rather than a corner in his mid-30s. Great player, but they weren't going to challenge for the Super Bowl during his career. What did they get for him? Two draft choices? Painful move for fans, but smart move.

In regard to your analysis of McCown: all PonyFans were frustrated by the offense's inconsistency. But let's also keep in mind that he was playing in an offensive scheme that was designed by Cavan and Kueck - not exactly Bill Walsh and Norv Turner. And for all the heroics of Comet, etc., he had some very small receivers to throw to (at least until Billy Ford moved over to offense) and no legitimate receiving tight end until Hampton arrived - he really emerged in McCown's final season at SMU. Plus, with Cavan's yo-yo approach to quarterbacks, McCown was always afraid that one incompletion would lead to a seat on the bench - not exactly conducive to building confidence.

None of us know how Josh will do in the pros, but we should all be proud of him and happy for him. The fact is that he has a ton of athletic ability, and with good coaching, he might develop into a fine pro quarterback. I don't think any of us follow Peter King's lead and compare him to Brett Favre, but he can do the job, if he's in the right system. I'm not predicting a great professional career for Josh, just hoping for one. I always root for former SMU players, and would encourage other PonyFans to do the same.

[jettison]

Actually, Plummer and Boston were starters on my fantasy team last year and I won my 12 team league championship... Now, I'm not going insane and basing any arguments on that, but their offense was deceptively productive in statistics and scoring. Now they've added a great tight end in Freddie Jones and their offensive line is behemoth...

However, it was their defense that was REALLY pitiful, which is what they concentrated on in the draft. And they will probably really struggle with two games against the Rams and 49ers every year.

Nonetheless, I think McCown has as good a chance as anyone to beat out Dave Brown and be the #2 quarterback there. Plus, he's guaranteed at least 8 games of great weather.

[ALL4SMU]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">In regard to your analysis of McCown: all PonyFans were frustrated by the offense's inconsistency. But let's also keep in mind that he was playing in an offensive scheme that was designed by Cavan and Kueck - not exactly Bill Walsh and Norv Turner. And for all the heroics of Comet, etc., he had some very small receivers to throw to (at least until Billy Ford moved over to offense) and no legitimate receiving tight end until Hampton arrived - he really emerged in McCown's final season at SMU. Plus, with Cavan's yo-yo approach to quarterbacks, McCown was always afraid that one incompletion would lead to a seat on the bench - not exactly conducive to building confidence.
</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You know, this absolutly blows my mind. For the last two or so years, everyone was saying what a poor quarterback Josh was. Now that he gets drafted, everyone is defending him. The fact is that when Josh arrived, he was a great athlete. When Josh left, he was still a great athlete. He proved this at the combine. In fact he proved everything that everyone has always known. His problems at SMU, and at Arizona, and wherever else he may go, is that he is an unintelligent quarterback, who gets rattled easily. He cannot read coverages, and will not make good decisions. His ineffectiveness had little to do with Cavan's system, and everything to do with him.

[Putt Choate fan]

I have heard some good arguments. I think ALL4SMU sums up my feelings about McCown pretty well.

As for Corso, you made some good points. Cavan was not an offensive genius, so I will chalk some of McCown's terriblness up to Cavan.

BUT, I wholehearedly disagree with your take on the Cardinals.

Jake Plummer IS erratic. Charlie Batch, Tony Banks, Matt Hasselbeck -- all have had their starting jobs taken away because they were erratic. That shows an organization whose eyes are at least open, as opposed to the Cardinals. As for Kitna and Carter, at the end of last year, they both played pretty capably, I think next year will be the deciding year as to whether they need to be dumped, especially for Carter. (Going along with the organization theme, the Cowboys have signed 3 QB's this summer [inlcuding Chad Hutchinson] to battle with Carter.)

I would also state that the reason that Plummer had good fantasy stats was because of Boston. Boston showed last year that he is one of the best, if not the best, receiver in the NFL. His ability to get open, glue-like hands, and incredible strength make him a great receiver.

A few stats:
-Of Plummer's 3653 yards, 1598 of them were to Boston; approx. 44%.
-Of Plummer's 304 completions, 98 were to Boston; approx. 25%.
-Of Plummer's 18 TDs, 8 were to Boston; approx. 45%.

Now, many teams have had dominant receivers who combine with their QBs for the majority of stats, this is just to prove that Plummer was only DECENT because of Boston.

Pittman is better than any running back they will have this year. Yes, he can run soft at times, but he is great as a receiver outside the pocket.

[Phil Fan]

Isn't Pittman really big, like 260 or 260? Running soft at that size is inexcusable, especially when you don't have breakaway speed to fall back on.

And, while we're talking about the Cardinals' offense, I found this in the Arizona Republic this morning:



Police say Boston drug test positive

By Brent Whiting
The Arizona Republic
April 24, 2002

Cardinals wide receiver David Boston tested positive for cocaine and marijuana but not for alcohol after a driving incident last month, police said Tuesday.

Investigators will recommend to the Phoenix City Prosecutor's Office that Boston be charged with driving under the influence of drugs, police said.

Boston, 23, could not be reached, but Larry Debus, his Phoenix attorney, said further investigation as well as independent blood testing will be needed in the case.

Boston, who joined the Cardinals in 1999, came under investigation March 13 after police received calls about a motorist driving erratically in Ahwatukee Foothills.

One of the people who called tailed the car until it came to a stop at Boston's house. Officers arrived a short time later and questioned the Cardinals player, saying that he did poorly in field-sobriety tests.

Boston was arrested and taken to a police station, where police drew a blood sample. He was later released but not booked pending the outcome of blood testing.

Police said a baggie of "white powder substance" was found in a patrol car used to transport Boston. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Lauri Williams said the powder was determined to be cocaine, but the baggie remains the subject of a separate investigation as officers have not yet linked it to Boston.

If charged and convicted of DUI, Boston could receive 24 hours in jail, nearly $500 in fines and surcharges, mandatory counseling and a 90-day license suspension.

Under NFL policies, first-time drug or alcohol offenders face mandatory counseling and urine screening. Positive urine tests can result in fines and suspension.

"The matter is in the legal system, and we will continue to monitor the situation," Cardinals spokesman Paul Jensen said.


Republic writer Lee Shappell contributed to this article.

[Putt Choate fan]

He's still a good player, just immature.

[Silk]

True, on both counts.
Hope the story turns out to be false, for his sake.
He should have a great career, if he doesn't mess it up.

[onceapony]

To All4SMU--"unintelligent quarterback" ?
I am curious to know wherein your expertise lies that you think you are a better judge of quarterbacks than any of approximately 12 NFL teams that called Josh Thurs. and Fri. of last week which had him on their list to draft if he was available. Perhaps you don't understand that combine invitees are put through extensive interviews and "chalk talk" in which their ability to "read coverages" and make decisions is exposed. Perhaps you didn't realize that combine invitees also have to take a battery of tests to determine intelligence. Perhaps you didn't know that a test is given at the Senior Bowl as well. Perhaps you didn't know that before teams invest the kind of money that they invest in a top draft pick, they do their homework. Maybe you should do yours before you get on here and bash Josh.
His former teammates at SMU, as well as the majority of the people who post on here, are proud for him. I'm sure the team has a true picture of why he needed to leave. I have never heard him publicly say anything bad about Coach Cavan or Coach Kueck. I'd say that's a pretty classy act considering what they put him through. You should take a lesson!

[Hal]

Way to go, onceapony. Judging by your address, I assume you're either (A) Josh, (B) a member of the McCown family or (C) a family friend. Whatever your relationship is to Josh, you're right -- most of us PonyFans ARE proud of Josh, and will remain that way. I didn't get to see any of his games last year since he headed down to Sam Houston State, but I always wanted to get down there. I saw almost every home game he had at SMU, and hope he does great in the NFL. As far as I'm concerned, Josh will always be a Pony. You're right, he could of ripped the coaches when he left, but he took the high road - which says something about his parents, brothers, coaches, teachers, and everyone else who helped him become who he is. I'm sure there's some hard feelings in Jacksonville, but please don't hold that against the current coaches and players. You call yourself "onceapony" - but hopefully you'll always be a PonyFan. (And while we're kissing butt here, send some more Jacksonville players to Dallas to play for Coach Bennett. He's a great coach and he'll treat them right.)