The willing participants have all been emailed, teams have been assigned and selections are already being made. It's time to get started with our second annual Canal Street Chronicles community mock draft.
For those of you who don't know how this works, we will be simulating the first round of this years draft without the possibility of trades. A different member of CSC has been assigned to each team and is responsible for making that teams selection. They are also responsible for at least a brief explanation as to why they chose that player for the team they represent.
To get the ball rolling, we've got special guest and friend of CSC, Ralph Malbrough, from WWLTV making the selection for the St. Louis Rams. Make the jump to find out who he selected.
With the first pick in the 2010 CSC community mock draft, the St. Louis Rams select...
Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
I was watching the NFL Network last week waiting for, like, the 900th reply of the greatest, most spectacular, history changing game in the history of sports. Or as Saints fans like to call it: The 2010 Super Bowl. Instead, the NFL Network replayed the 2000 Super Bowl, the Titans-Rams game, which really kicked off an awesome decade of Super Bowls.
The memories are starting to fade but damn those Ram teams were good. Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Dick Vermeil crying after every game, and Mike Martz designing bombs.The Rams weren't a dynasty but from 1999-2001 they were an offense the NFL had never seen before. Warner would throw deep or if Mike Martz felt like it Faulk could gash you for 200 yards on the ground.
If you doubt just how special the Rams offense was watch the Saints-Rams playoff game from 2000. The Rams offense basically stunk for three quarters and then with 10 minutes to go Warner got hot and a 31-7 Saints lead was 31-28 with almost two minutes left and the Rams about to get the ball. We all know the rest of the story.
Flash forward to 2010.
The Rams are indescribably bad. How the hell can a team have a running back (Steven Jackson) rush for 1400 yards and only win one game? They were 28th in passing offense and only the Browns had a lower yards-per-pass average then St. Louis. The defense sucked too. They were 29th in total defense, 27th against the run, 25th against the pass. So just pick the best player, order a pizza, and wait for the beginning of the second round. Or trade back and get more picks.
Not so simple all the experts say. The Rams absolutely have to take a quarterback.
Why? Well you can't pay a defensive tackle 40 million dollars and more importantly the Rams have passed on Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan, and Mark Sanchez the last two years. They can't do that again they just can't; all the experts say.
Saying the Rams have to take a QB because they passed on supposed franchise QBs the last two years is incredibly dumb. It's like if I bought a sofa for my den instead of a TV, then decided to paint the walls instead of buying a TV. The next year everyone screams at me, "Dude you HAVE GOT TO GET A NEW TV to have a great den." I decide they are right and march down to the store and I'm buying a TV. Never mind the TVs the store has aren't the best or completely work. I'm getting a TV.
This will be the 2010 St. Louis Rams draft strategy.
They are going to pick Sam Bradford. Will he be great? Doubtful. When has Oklahoma ever produced a great QB? Bob Stoops is the same as Urban Myer in Florida: He runs an offense that doesn't translate into the pros. Oh and Sam Bradford is coming off shoulder surgery. As a Saints fan you might say I shouldn't knock a team for taking a quarterback coming off shoulder surgery because sometimes things work out but Drew Brees is the exception. When the Saints rolled the dice on Brees we all knew if he was healthy it was a homerun. I'll pass on the rookie QB with the busted up shoulder. Thank you very little.
Bradford will be playing QB behind an offensive line that gave up 44 sacks in 2009. I'm no doctor but I watch a lot of House and having 300-pound men repeatedly fall on you can't be good for a repaired shoulder. The experts say Bradford has bulked up, added a bunch of muscle, and will be better able to take an NFL pounding. Brady Quinn shredded up his body too and HE STILL REEKS.
Still not enough to make you believe Bradford is a bad choice? Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks tend to be of the Danny Wuerffel, Gino Torretta variety.
So go ahead St. Louis and pass on Ndamukong Suh. In four years when Bradford is an injury prone, interception machine and you are still picking in the top five, you'll wonder why you out thought yourself and didn't keep it simple. If you wanted an injury prone quarterback that throws interceptions you should have just kept Marc Bulger.
If Sam Bradford is a slam dunk to be the next great QB why aren't teams trying to move up to get him?
/crickets
Pick the best player. The Rams won't and in 2015 they'll be right back in this exact spot again. Let's go to the podium and the NFL Commissioner for the pick...
"With the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft the St. Louis Rams pass on the pass best defensive tackle to come into the NFL in years...I mean they select Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma. Good luck with that."
As a Saints fan I look forward to Bradford's October, 16 for 41, three interception game against the DEFENDING WORLD CHAMPIONS. Had to work that in, it's mandated by law that I mention the Saints are World Champs at least once in everything I write in 2010.
Thanks to Dave for letting me mock the huge mistake I think the Rams are about to make. When Bradford goes to nine Pro Bowls feel free to let me know how wrong I was.
But I'm not.
Ralph Malbrough is a contributing writer at WWLTV.com. He can be reached at ralphmalbrough@hotmail.com. He also hosts an internet radio show at http://www.blogtalkradio/forecastradio.com. You can listen live or download archived editions at itunes. He can also be found on Facebook.