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National Football League
Draft King Analysis
September 22, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
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It certainly has been an exciting first few weeks of football in both the NCAA ranks as well as on the NFL level. The NFL in particular has had a high level of action early on, without the rustiness and sloppiness that sometimes is associated with early weeks. It hasn't been a 1994 level of high scoring action (when the NFL made pass interference rules stricter, leading to a stat surge for a couple of weeks until everyone adjusted), but overall there have been some exciting games.
 | Adrian Peterson is an elite NFL RB. (Icon SMI)
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Arguably the most exciting NFL team to this point has been the New Orleans Saints. Hanging 45 points on the Lions at home is one thing; going into Philly and posting 48 against the Eagles is another. Meanwhile, in Minnesota it's quite interesting to see Brett Favre filling the huge hole at QB that the Vikings had curiously failed to adequately address for a second consecutive year coming into the pre-season. With Adrian Peterson at RB and a great defense, the Vikings (if the impact players stay healthy) have as good of a chance as any team to win the Super Bowl.
Another 2-0 team is San Francisco, and while it's a bit early to get too excited about a team with Shaun Hill at quarterback, it's certainly an interesting situation there. Mike Singletary could end up as the NFL head coach of the year if he can keep that up. And, what's more, the team has made a strong start without first-round pick Michael Crabtree, who remains unsigned as of this writing.
There are debates going on about where Crabtree would go in the 2010 NFL Draft if he remains unsigned in San Francisco all the way until next year's draft. Crabtree is a talented athlete, but it's inevitable that comparisons (fair or not) will be made to former USC WR Mike Williams, the last high-profile wideout who had a missing season between his college career and the NFL. Crabtree could still end up signing with the 49ers, but with the two sides remain far apart in negotiations from all indications.
The man responsible for bringing Mike Williams (and many other first-round picks) to Detroit, Matt Millen, has amazingly returned to the world of broadcasting and landed a number of high-profile broadcasting gigs. Millen is a very smooth television personality, but he lost all kinds of credibility with many people after his embarrassing run as the GM of the Lions. But, to his credit, Millen has managed to work his way back into the broadcasting mix.
At the same time, it can be difficult to hear Millen talk about evaluating college talent or NFL personnel moves without thinking about how his era as GM of the Lions culminated in the league's first-ever 0-16 season. Take a look at this article for a look at Millen's draft pick history. With the exception of OLB Ernie Sims (who is a great player) in 2006, Millen seemingly ignored defense with his first-round selections, a decision that ultimately proved to be most detrimental for the team.
My brother Matt is a season ticket holder for his alma mater, Mississippi State, and he will get to see some great teams come to Starkville in the coming weeks. Look at this remaining home schedule for the Bulldogs: #7 LSU, Georgia Tech (ranked until its loss at Miami), #17 Houston, #1 Florida, #3 Alabama, and #4 Ole Miss. There will be several future NFL first-round picks heading through Starkville this fall. Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen has his work cut out for him.
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