Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > April > 19 > Entry
Triple scoop: Mel Kiper Jr., Malcolm Kelly, Doc Rodgers
A LITTLE ELBOW ROOM, PLEASE; IT’S TIME TO VENT
A year after the fact, NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. remains stunned by the Miami Dolphins’ selection of Ohio State wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. instead of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2007 draft.
Quinn eventually went No. 22 to the Cleveland Browns, who traded their 2008 first-rounder to the Dallas Cowboys to get Quinn.
“To me, it was shocking,” Kiper said in a recent ESPN media conference call. “I had already written down Brady Quinn’s name (to the Dolphins). And I wrote it down in pen. I didn’t write it in pencil. I said, ‘There’s no way he falls in your lap at nine and you don’t take him.’
“I was probably more surprised or shocked by that decision than I had been in a lot of years in the draft, going back a long way. You thought he’d move up. You thought it’d be good fortune for him to be there with Minnesota (at No. 7).
“We had two players slide. You had Adrian Peterson slide to Minnesota and they took him. We had Brady Quinn slide to Miami and they didn’t. That to me was a big surprise and a shocking move. I don’t normally write down a pick before it’s made, but I did in that case. That’s probably one of the first times I’ve ever done that. I probably won’t do it again because I had to cross it out. I did something I don’t normally do for a reason. I thought for sure he was going to go to Miami.”
Mel drives draftniks bananas with his motor mouth. But you’ve gotta love his hair. I wish I had his wavy ‘do.
JURY OUT ON MALCOLM KELLY
I’m not sold on Oklahoma wide receiver Malcolm Kelly for a couple of reasons.
One, his attitude. Two, his speed.
One’s bad. The other’s worse.
After running a 4.68-second 40-yard dash during his April 9 pro day at OU, he didn’t accept responsibility for being slow. He blamed the surface.
Kelly expected to run on the AstroTurf infield at the university’s indoor track. Instead, he ran on the artificial turf inside the Sooners’ indoor football facility.
Hey, Malcolm, wake up! Pro football games aren’t played on AstroTurf anymore. Duh!
So he conducts another pro day and his 40 times ranged from 4.46 to 4.61.
Folks, it’s like taking the ACT and SAT college entrance exams. You can take ‘em 100 times and you’re not going to improve that much.
Kelly has the backing of a high-powered management team. But I don’t want agent hype. I want player performance.
He’s starting to remind me of USC’s Mike Williams, who went No. 10 to Detroit in 2005 and busted with the Lions and Titans.
Kelly’s 6-4, 224 pounds; Williams came out at 6-5, 229 pounds, but ballooned to 242 pounds.
Kelly could easily go to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 19. But it wouldn’t surprise me if he falls to the second round, where he belongs.
‘DOC’ RODGERS DISAPPOINTING
One word describes Darrell “Doc” Rodgers’ performance as host of Cincinnati Reds’ “Extra Innings” show on WLW radio: Disappointing.
He’s whiffed the two times I’ve listened to him, and there won’t be a third because I don’t like striking out.
All this dude does is talk about himself. That’s no way to serve loyal Reds’ followers.
What does Rodgers expect listeners to do? Bust into a rendition of, “HOW GREAT THOU ART,” perhaps? Gimme a break.
I absolutely don’t give a rat’s butt that “Doc” once served as Reds assistant GM (under GM Jim Bowden) as the club’s highest-ranking minority staff member. Doc was eventually demoted to special assistant to the GM before being dismissed altogether.
(Pssst! Dude, I’d keep that a secret.)
What I do wonder about is why pitcher Bronson Arroyo stinks, why pitcher Josh Fogg is in one, why the Reds’ bats are silent and what can be done to shake things up.
The Reds changed managers, but haven’t changed their lineup. They remain a station-to-station, slo-pitch softball team that only scores when it hits home runs.
The over-under line on Arroyo getting a “W?” June 1.
And somebody, anybody, please tell the Reds to stop worshipping Mario Mendoza. Hey, it’s OK to cross the Mendoza Line, as long as you’re going up.
If I were “Doc,” I’d concentrate on the game and the fans. Not myself. PUH-LEEZE give us some insight, not your resume.
He’s forgotten that the callers drive the show. Certainly not him.
UNTIL NEXT TIME …
This is the Chickster, quoting the Fordham Ram:
“We do or die.”
Contact Chick Ludwig at (937 225-2253 or cludwig@daytondailynews.com
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: General
Comments
By Doug Graves
April 19, 2008 8:15 AM | Link to this
Evidentally Chick hasn’t seen Malcolm Kelly play football, as I have so many times in my trips to OU games. Just wait and see, Chick. I guess if Kelly was from a Big-10 school you might have hyped him a bit more. Fortunately, Kelly came from a REAL football conference.By WOHBuckeye
April 19, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
Have to agree with just about everything in this post. Kelly’s attitude after his Pro Day workout should definitely concern Bengal fans, even more so than his terrible time. And Doc Rodgers has been horrendous. Never thought anyone would make me pine for the days of Tracy Jones and, excuse my gag refles, Alan Cutler.