LOOK AT THE QUARTERBACK CROP, FEW MAKE THE PASSING GRADE
By: Dave-Te' Thomas

Every decade, the NFL is blessed with one draft that will fill the bare cupboards throughout the league with franchise-type quarterbacks. Who could forget the 1983 crop that featured five first rounders, including future Hall of Famers John Elway and Dan Marino. Probably those fans that saw their favorite teams waste those precious picks on the likes of Todd Blackledge (Chiefs), Tony Eason (Patriots) and Ken O'Brien (Jets).

The 1999 draft proved almost as eventful for this position as the 1983 draft, with Chicago taking Cade McNown, Cincinatti grabbing Akili Smith, Cleveland banking their future on Tim Couch, Dennis Green stealing Daunte Culpepper away for his Vikings with the eleventh overall pick and Donovan McNabb quickly silencing the boos heard by Eagles fans as he guided Philadelphia to the playoffs last season.

For every great one that the league has discovered, they also have a slew of high priced busts that haunt the teams forever. While Bobby Beathard has nary a care in the world these days, his old team, the Chargers, are very gun-shy in their assessment of Virginia Tech's Michael Vick, thanks mostly to Beathard's biggest blunder of his career - Ryan Leaf.

Vick is the best athlete in this year's class, but with the day and age of the dreaded salary cap and veteran free agency, can San Diego afford to invest mega-dollars in a player that they are questioning his ability to read defenses and run a pro-style offense? If they were, why did they invest close to $25 million in a guy that belongs up the road with Snow White and her seven dwarfs (Doug Flutie) rather than being on a football field. The signing of Flutie could be GM John Butler's way of telling the world that he is not sold on Vick's unlimited potential. With the huge contract that Vick can expect, how can Butler justify to his new bosses that a total package of $70 million invested in two passers is the way to go? It is obvious from the contempt that Rob Johnson and Flutie had for each other in Buffalo that the "little old guy" will not embrace Vick as his eventual successor, thus creating an instant quarterback controversy that this struggling franchise can ill afford, both on the payroll and on the playing field. The only possible solution is for Butler to burn the phone wires and entice a trade for the top pick, with possibly Atlanta being San Diego's best suitor in any deal.

Even though Vick is no sure bet for super stardom, the rest of this crop has "buyer beware" written all over them. Purdue's Drew Brees has very impressive passing numbers, but the one number that counts (size, 6:0) is what is scaring off quite a few teams. Rutger's Mike McMahon runs hot and cold in most scouts' opinions, based on great talent but a severe lack of maturity on his part. Chris Weinke is so old, you'd think he was a professor rather than a football player when he strolls across Florida State's campus. Florida's Jesse Palmer has great athletic ability, but you have to wonder how his confidence level will hold up after years of torture in Steve Spurrier's "yank the quarterback" system.

Like Weinke, Louisiana State's Josh Booty has a birth certificate that has a little bit of dust growing on it, thanks to several years of playing pro baseball. His performance in 2000 was acceptable, but he would have wasted away on the bench, if Rohan Davey was not banged up earlier in the season. David Rivers escaped the bench in Virginia to take over the starting reigns at Western Carolina in his senior year, but is it a matter of a big fish looking good while swimming in a little pond? Questions abound about the medical condition of Oklahoma's Josh Heupel, but then, he wasn't that highly regarded by pro scouts to begin with, thanks to an obvious lack of mobility. Georgia's Quincy Carter had a horrible junior year that was sidetracked not only by injury woes, but his running battle with former head coach Jim Donnan.

Teams looking for a late round find in the mold of Aaron Brooks (Saints) may take a chance on Washington's Marques Tuiasosopo, Iowa State's Sage Rosenfels, Oregon's super sub A.J. Feeley, Boston College's Tim Hasselbeck, Arkansas State's Cleo Lemon or small college pocket passer, Justin Coleman of Nebraska-Kearney, but the rest of the talent here will have to pray for a camp invitation on the free agency route.

THE POSITION REPORT CARD
Outside of Vick, I would not touch any of these quarterbacks in the first round, but someone will get desperate enough to take a gamble on Drew Brees there (possibly Kansas City). The rest of the talent base looks like struggling backup types, but someone could unearth a mid-round find if they are willing to show patience with David Rivers, Jesse Palmer or Quincy Carter. Overall, I say this is one of the worst quarterback crops in recent memory, giving the position a grade of C-. Complete QB Grades.

THE CREAM OF THE CROP
MICHAEL VICK Virginia Tech Institute Hokies

THE BEST OF THE REST
DREW BREES Purdue University Boilermakers

THE MOST UNDERRATED
DAVID RIVERS Western Carolina University Catamounts

THE MOST OVERRATED
MIKE McMAHON Rutgers University Scarlet Knights

THE SUPER SLEEPER
ADAM JOSHUA "A.J." FEELEY University of Oregon Ducks

FIRST DAY DRAFT POSSIBILITIES
JESSE JAMES PALMER University of Florida Gators
QUINCY CARTER University of Georgia Bulldogs

SECOND DAY DRAFT POSSIBILITIES
CHRIS WEINKE Florida State University Seminoles
JOSH HEUPEL University of Oklahoma Sooners
JOSH BOOTY Louisiana State University Tigers
MARQUES TUIASOSOPO University of Washington Huskies
SAGE ROSENFELS Iowa State University Cyclones
JUSTIN COLEMAN University of Nebraska at Kearney Lopers

OTHERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
JONATHAN BEASLEY Kansas State University Wildcats
RASHARD CASEY Penn State University Nittany Lions
SHANE GRIGGS Idaho State University Bengals
TIM HASSELBECK Boston College Eagles
BART HENDRICKS Boise State University Broncos
ORTEGE JENKINS University of Arizona Wildcats
DEONTEY KENNER University of Cincinnati Bearcats
BEN LEARD Auburn University Tigers
CLEOTHA "CLEO" LEMON, JR. Arkansas State University Indians
JASON McKINLEY University of Houston Cougars
DYLEN SMITH University of Kansas Jayhawks

WANT DAVE-TE'S COMPLETE SCOUTING REPORT?
Now, get Dave-Te's indepth scouting report, available for the first time on a CD diskette (Microsoft WORD format). Yes, you can receive Dave-Te's two-to-six page scouting reports on over 500 players eligible for the draft, his indepth position analysis, and ratings for the low price of $25. Interested? Now taking orders for both the pre-draft guide and the post-draft reports. E-mail the "Madman from Brooklyn" at nflscouting@aol.com for more details, but hurry! The draft is just a few short weeks away!