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National Football League
Draft King Analysis
September 4, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
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The concept of Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount being a 2010 NFL first round prospect entirely disappeared because of what happened during (and immediately following) Oregon's loss at Boise State last night. In fact, Blount might not even be drafted next spring, and he won't be playing again for Oregon.
This isn't the first time Blount has run into trouble during his short tenure at Oregon (he transferred from a community college in Mississippi before the 2008 season). In February 2009, Blount was suspended from the Oregon football team for an unspecified "failure to fulfill team obligations" before later being reinstated with the program.
He worked his way back into the starting lineup, and Blount started at running back last night for Oregon, but the Broncos shut him down on their home blue turf. The stat line for Blount was rough: eight carries for -5 yards. That's right, negative five yards.
As if that wasn't bad enough, after the game Blount responded to being taunted by Boise State sophomore DE Byron Hout by cold-cocking Blount with a sucker punch that dropped Blount to his knees. From there, Blount nearly elevated the situation to a Ron Artest level by trying to go after fans in the stands who were heckling him; Blount had to be physically restrained by teammates and Oregon staff members.
 | Pacman Jones is missing in action in the NFL.
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The fallout has been intense. An ESPN Insider article written by Todd McShay and Kevin Weidl indicates a thought that, at least within some NFL organizations, Blount is now "undraftable". It's not just because of the sucker punch; Blount looked terrible and appeared to be heavier than he was last season, where he was already on the upper end of what typical elite running backs weigh.
Everyone in the U.S. sports world has now been exposed to the name LeGarrette Blount... and not in a good way. He has a long road to go to rebuild his name.
Last night's Titans/Packers game at LP Field was a typical pre-season finale, with many starters only seeing a series or two. Javon Ringer looked great, as he has for most of his time with the Titans, and the former Michigan State RB gives the Titans nice depth at running back.
Former Louisville QB Brian Brohm performed well in relief of Aaron Rogers, throwing passes that were mostly on the mark. Vince Young used his legs like he did as a rookie, running for multiple first downs and a touchdown. People forget that it's Young's mobility that helped him be such a special player both at Texas and in his first season with the Titans.
The highlight of the evening for me came in the long line to get through security and into the stadium. Normally waiting in the security line is an interminable experience, but I spotted a young fan hilariously wearing a Pacman Jones jersey with the name marked out. I snapped a picture to share with you all on here.
A bizarre new trend has started in the NFL: teams canning their offensive coordinator right before the start of the season. Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and now Buffalo have all canned their respective offensive coordinators during this pre-season. Has anything like this ever happened before in the NFL?
Tonight it's Tulsa at Tulane leading into a pretty good crop of college games tomorrow. Georgia at Oklahoma State will be most interesting to see -- it will be intriguing to see how Cowboys QB Zac Robinson and WR Dez Bryant will do against Georgia's defense.
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