Draft dilemma: To QB or not to QB

Scripps Howard News Service

Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch is the first player drafted. He is tall, quick and athletic. He is one of the most accurate passers in college history.

And he is terribly flawed. ESPN analyst Joe Theismann tells us Couch's little finger is improperly positioned on the football. That's not all. He shows a revealing video in which Couch's ball "rotates five times" on a 20- yard pass. He doesn't know how to hold a football. He can't throw an adequate spiral. Forget mini-camp. The Cleveland Browns should send him to a veteran Pee Wee coach, who can at least teach him how to grip a football. Up next is Syracuse's Donovan McNabb, one of the most athletic quarterbacks in NCAA history. He is strong, fast and at his best when a game is on the line. And when the Philadelphia Eagles drafted him second in the first round, their fans at Draft Central booed McNabb as though he was incapable of holding a football, much less doing anything with it. Imagine how a hotshot high school quarterback with NFL dreams and hopes must have felt. The NFL's No. 1 prospect is criticized for how he positions his little finger on a football; the No. 2 prospect is booed because he isn't Ricky Williams. Tough position, huh?At least, the draft shows aspiring quarterbacks what they're getting into. It also shows them they better be able to run as well as throw. All five quarterbacks were taken among the first 12 picks. All five are adept at avoiding a pass rush and throwing accurately under duress. No one thinks of Couch as a runner -- except maybe former Kentucky coach Bill Curry, who tried him on the option -- yet he is exceptionally quick for his size and has a knack for eluding tacklers. Contrast that with the draft of 1983, the Year of the Quarterback. Six quarterbacks were drafted in the first round: John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Ken O'Brien, Tony Eason and Todd Blackledge. Yet only Elway had any running ability. Saturday's first-round quarterbacks provide hope not just for the teams that drafted them, but the entire league, as well. Couch, McNabb, Akili Smith, Daunte Culpepper and Cade McNown are all exciting, promising players in a league that invariably suffers from a quarterback shortage. Elway is on the verge of retirement. Marino can't be far behind. The new guys have come along just in the nick of time. The only puzzling quarterback pick was Culpepper. The Minnesota Vikings are poised to make a run at a Super Bowl, yet they used the 11th pick of the draft to take someone who will be nothing more than a third-string quarterback next season. Never mind that Culpepper could be a future star. How can you think long-term when you have a chance to win the Super Bowl next year?Of course, the Vikings were second-guessed even more last season when they gambled on wide receiver Randy Moss, whose off-field problems scared off so many teams. One season later, he was the best receiver in football for the most productive offense in NFL history. You're safer second-guessing the New Orleans Saints, who rank among the least successful franchises in any sport. If Culpepper is good enough to be drafted that high by the Vikings, he's good enough to start for the Saints -- as a rookie. Maybe the Saints didn't like him because of his name. He's no Billy Joe. The Saints will enter next season with Billy Joe Hobert as their starting quarterback and Billy Joe Tolliver as their backup. Yet coach Mike Ditka said the Saints were only a running back away from greatness. Ditka gave away the Saints' entire draft and next year's first- round pick for Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams. He obviously knows as much about NFL history as he does about NFL offense. But great QBs make a greater difference than great running backs. Take the Chicago Bears and Walter Payton, for example. Ditka says Williams reminds him of Payton, the NFL's all-time leading rusher. But in Payton's first nine years, the Bears only had two winning seasons. Hall of Famer Earl Campbell led the Houston Oilers in rushing six consecutive seasons and gained more than 1,000 yards five times. Nonetheless, the Oilers were 42-47 in those six seasons.

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