I'll be updating this site soon....

So I only got to the first handful of draft picks, and it's been almost a year since my last post. I do plan on completing this project, but I need to revise some of my past posts (read: the Alex Smith post...who saw that turnaround coming?!). I don't know when I'll get around to it, but check back in the future with an updated and completed version of this blog. Thanks for your understanding!

-Ted

Pick #4...

Pick #4: Chicago Bears select RB Cedric Benson of Texas
Quarterbacks on the 2004 season roster: Chad Hutchinson, Craig Krenzel, Rex Grossman, Jonathan Quinn

Like most teams with one of the first few picks in the draft, the Chicago Bears had many needs to fill following a disappointing 2004 season. The team was dead last in passing offense and 25th in rushing offense, which accounted for the reason that they were also last in scoring. Defensively they fared much better, having the 13th strongest defense in the league.

Drafting a quarterback wasn't a high priority, as they had selected Rex Grossman with the twenty-second overall pick in the 2003 Draft. Seeing as though Grossman had injury problems in his first two seasons (and got little help from other backup quarterbacks on the roster), the Bears did end up drafting a quarterback in the 2005 draft, selecting Kyle Orton out of Purdue. It was more of an insurance policy at the position, but it would end up being a very valuable pick to the team.

In the 2004 offseason the Bears picked up former Arizona and Tampa Bay running back Thomas Jones via free agency, and in his first season was their leading rusher and receiver. Jones didn't rush over 1,000 yards that season, however, and it was uncertain if he would ever become an elite running threat. With that mindset, the Bears in the 2005 draft decided to select Cedric Benson out of Texas.

Benson had an amazing career with the Longhorns, rushing for 5,540 yards during his four year run. At the time his rushing totals was the sixth most all-time in NCAA Division 1 history. At 5' 1" and over 220 lbs., Benson was a speedy but punishing running back, a style of runner that would fit well with the harsh conditions in Chicago.

His tenure with the team got off to a rocky start, as he held out for big bucks with his first contract with the team. His holdout caused him to miss all of training camp, and because he was behind in learning the Bears' offensive system the team went with Thomas Jones as their starter.

Through the rest of the 2005 season, Jones continued to be the starter, as he had impressed the Bears coaching staff. Benson's playing time was limited, and at the latter part of the season he he suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain, ending his year.

With contract issues popping up between the Bears and Thomas Jones during the 2006 offseason, Benson was poised to take over the starting role, but during routine drills Benson injured his shoulder, causing him to miss most of the preaseason. Jones reemerged as the team's starting running back, leading the team in rushing during their Super Bowl run. Benson was the second option at running back, collecting impressive yardage, but still playing second fiddle to Jones and had another year plagued with injuries.

Even though Jones led the team in rushing and was a leader in the locker room, contract issues became too much of an issue between him and the team and in the 2007 offseason the Bears traded Jones to the New York Jets and decided to keep Benson as their starting running back. The move was a very unpopular one, and with Jones finding new success in New York while Benson struggled to live up to expectations and avoid the injury bug.

Benson also ran into troubles with the law, having been booked for driving under the influence on multiple occasions. His legal woes, lack of production, injuries and bad chemistry with the Bears' upper brass resulted in him to be waived from the squad.

Benson would find success with the Cincinnati Bengals the following season and is still their starting running back. While he has proven successful with his new team, it is fair to say that the Cedric Benson experiment in Chicago was ultimately a failure.

Pick #3...

Pick #3: Cleveland Browns pick WR Braylon Edwards of Michigan
Quarterbacks on the 2004 season roster: Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Kelly Holcomb

Ever since the Cleveland Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, they have been a squad with very little identity or success to claim to. With only winning season since '99 (a 9-7 season in 2002) there was little to cheer for in the Dawg Pound, and in 2004 the team ended their season with a 4-12 record (going 5-11 the season before).

With many holes to fill on their roster, the Browns selected Michigan's star wide receiver Braylon Edwards with the 3rd overall pick. A reception and touchdown-producing machine while at college, Edwards looked like the downfield threat that the team desperately needed (in 2004, only one receiver surpassed 800 yards and the most touchdowns scored by a receiver was 5).

A rookie season holdout and injuries stunted Edwards's early growth in his rookie season, but he started to develop in 2006 by catching 61 passes for 884 yards.

In 2007 Edwards had a phenomenal season, racking up over 1,200 receiving yards and scoring 16 touchdowns. It was also a successful season for the Browns, who finished 10-6 and 2nd in the AFC North, just missing the playoffs. Edwards was also voted into the Pro Bowl that season, and it looked as though the Browns had a star on their hands.

The following season didn’t go according to plans, however, and the Browns tumbled back into mediocrity. Edwards also had a less than stellar year, catching only 3 touchdowns and leading the league in dropped passes.

Things only got worse for Edwards in Cleveland. In the first four games of the 2009 season Edwards had only caught 10 passes. With Edwards not producing to the team’s needs, along with a well-publicized scuffle with the entourage of (then) Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, the Browns were forced to trade him to the New York Jets.

Edwards's tenure with the Browns is the perfect example of what Cleveland fans have been dealing with since their return to the league: A player with great potential and promise shows signs of hope but ends up disappointing in the end.

Pick #2...

Pick #2: Miami Dolphins pick RB Ronnie Brown of Auburn
Quarterbacks on the 2004 season roster: A.J. Feeley, Jay Fiedler, Sage Rosenfels

After an abysmal 2004 season, the Miami Dolphins had plenty of holes to fill in their roster. Miami's offense was 28th in the league in points scored and the defense was 20th. The team tried three different quarterbacks during the 2004 season, but none of them showed to be starter material. The team's rushing game was also abysmal. Their leading rusher, Sammy Morris, only ran for 523 yards, and the ongoing saga of Ricky Williams's erratic behavior plagued the team.

Prior to the 2005 draft, the Dolphins signed free agent journeyman quarterback Gus Frerotte, who was in 2003 2004 backing up Daunte Culpepeer for the Minnesota Vikings, and when was called upon was a very competent player and leader of the offense. With eleven years already under his belt, he was an established vet, but it was fair to say that this was just a short-term fix to the team's quarterback needs.

With a temporary fix at the quarterback position in place, the Dolphins decided to address their needs for a productive rusher at running back, so with the second overall pick they selected Ronnie Brown from Auburn. Standing at 6 feet tall and with a muscular frame, Brown looked to become the dependable workhorse the team needed.

Brown's impact on the team was immediate. In his rookie season he ran for over 900 yards and in 2006 he ran for over 1,000. While he missed half of the following season due to injury, he bounced back and was selected to the 2009 Pro Bowl as a reserve back and has since been a very important part to the Dolphins offense.

The Miami Dolphins have gone through many different quarterbacks since the 2005 draft, so one could argue that Rodgers would've benefited the team greater, but one could also argue that their selection of Brown was certainly a very wise choice.

Pick #1...

Pick #1: San Francisco 49ers pick QB Alex Smith of Utah
Quarterbacks on the 2004 season roster: Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey

With two busts on their hands, it was very clear that the 49ers needed to make a change at the quarterback position. So with the first overall pick they did just that, but instead of drafting Rodgers they went with Alex Smith, a QB with a strong arm and quick legs from an up and coming program at Utah.

The 49ers are a franchise with legendary quarterbacks in their history. Joe Montana and Steve Young are arguably two of the greatest to ever play the position, and the team thought that they had their next star in Smith.

Despite great promise and athletic ability, Smith never lived up expectations. He fell quite short of filling the shoes of Montana or Young (or for that matter, Garcia or Grbac), and in 2010 he was benched mid-season while another Smith, former Ohio State star and Baltimore Ravens cast-off Troy Smith, took over.

It's fair to say that he never had a fighting chance in San Francisco, given that there was a new offensive coordinator every year and that the task of being at the helm of a sinking ship like the 49ers was too great of a task, but then again he never showed the maturity the position demands or the quick decision making that separates the elite quarterbacks from the guys holding clipboards on the sidelines. It is very likely that next season if Alex Smith is still playing football, it won't be in San Francisco.

Before We Begin...

Before we begin looking back at the 2005 NFL Draft and what has become of the players and teams that drafted before the Green bay Packers, I want to give you a little overview on who I am as a football fan:

I am originally from New London, Wisconsin, which is less than an hour away from Green Bay. While the entire state of Wisconsin bleeds green and gold, I have been for years a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan. Maybe it's because there was too much lead in the water that I drank as a kid or that I was born under power lines that I chose a team several thousand miles away from my hometown to be my favorite football club, but in truth the main reason is that when I got into football they were the flashiest and exciting team in the league. Even though they broke my hearts four consecutive years by getting very close to winning the big game but falling short of doing so, I will always bleed Buffalo blue.

My blind devotion to the Bills has convinced me that Jim Kelly is the best quarterback of all time,

despite all the stats and facts that would prove otherwise.

This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the excitement of the local squad. I especially became interested in the Packers when my father took me to see them play against the Cincinnati Bengals in 1992. That game is a very special one in Packers history, because it was that game that an unknown backup quarterback from Mississippi came in to replace an injured Don Majkowski. In that game, Brett Favre in dramatic fashion helped the Packers come from behind and beat the Bengals. The next week Favre started his first game, and thus began is famous streak of 297 consecutive starts.

Don't they look like such good friends?

My support for the Green Bay Packers was always more of a devotion to #4 than the team itself, so when the team decided to end their relationship with Favre (which had grown sour with Favre's waffling and prima dona antics) and go with Rodgers, I had a hard time accepting the fact that this was a good move for the organization and was a slap in the face to a player that helped bring a team back from the brink of obscurity to perennial champion contenders. My allegiance followed Brett and not the Packers, and when he joined the Minnesota Vikings I cheered for Favre to stick it to his old team and to prove them wrong.

During the 2009 season Favre did that, showing that even at the age of 40 he was still one of the top quarterbacks in the league, and he took the Vikings to the brink of their first Super Bowl in decades. Had it not been for a twelfth man on the field, the Vikings had a shot at hoisting their first Lombardi trophy with their former rival leading the way.

Rodgers, on the other hand, had a very nice season in 2009, but he lacked the killer instinct that Favre had and had yet to prove to be the better choice under center. He lost both contests to the Vikings and it was his fumble that cost the Packers a victory against a very beatable Arizona Cardinals club. Rodgers had talent, but Favre was still the better leader.

Things changed drastically in 2010, as Rodgers bucked concussions and a roster riddled with injuries to take his sixth seed club on a six-game winning streak right when they needed it most, propelling them to Super Bowl champions. Favre, on the other hand, looked his age for the first time and ended his streak against my Buffalo Bills. I was in attendance when Buffalo's Arthur Moats crushed the 41 year-old Favre and ended his consecutive starting streak at 297.

I still feel a little betrayed by the Packers' upper brass in turning its back to Brett Favre and siding with Rodgers, but I can now see why they did what they had to do, and it was because of their decision they now have a fourth Lombardi trophy in their display case.

So, there you have it: I'm a Wisconsinite Buffalo Bills fan that to this day likes Favre over Rodgers but can't deny the amazing skill and ability of Green Bay's new superstar quarterback. I hope that gives you some perspective on who I am as a football fan, and I hope that you'll enjoy poking fun of all the clubs that thought they didn't need Rodgers in their lineup!

Let's Travel Back in Time...

The Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, and one of the main reasons why the Lombardi Trophy is returning to TitleTown USA is because of the man who took home the game’s MVP award, quarterback Aaron Rodgers. His outstanding play made sure that once the Packers took a hold of the lead that they would never let go.

He has proven to both the Packer organization and fans that he is a bona fide star and, assuming he can stay healthy, will be the leader of his team for many years to come. With such amazing talent, it’s hard to imagine that during the 2005 draft he was picked 24th overall, especially with all the hype that swirled around him prior to the draft.

If you remember that draft, you’ll remember the scene of Rodgers sitting at his table in the green room waiting for his name to be called, and the defeated look that was on his face the further and further he fell. When he finally was drafted, he was picked up by a team with a legendary quarterback already in place that was virtually invincible and who hadn’t missed a game since the first George Bush was in office.

They say that hindsight is 20/20, so it’s easy now to second-guess decisions made by team officials on draft day five years after the fact. Then again, the closer you look at each team’s situation going into the draft, it can become even more puzzling.

In this blog I will be breaking down the twenty-three picks and the twenty-one teams that decided to pass on Aaron Rodgers, and together we’ll see if those teams can justify on passing up such a great talent or if they’re still kicking themselves for passing up such a golden opportunity.