SCOTT on:

   It Ain't East

The NFL Draft was easy, but Alabama’s Andre Smith has made it hard.

Before Smith decided to monkey around with an agent and get suspended for the Sugar bowl, before he decided to sit on his fanny eating Moon Pie’s and playing X-Box instead of working out in preparation for the combine, before he decided to ditch the combine without telling anyone and was reported as missing, before he bailed on his post combine workouts despite the pleading of ex-pros in lieu of hanging out in the ATL at Club Dreams, and before he showed up at his pro-day workout looking like an early week contestant on “The Biggest Loser,” the draft was easy.

The draft was easy because at 6-5, 335 with superior athletic ability, light feet, super technique, three years spent dominating the toughest competition in college football at a position of extreme importance, Andre Smith was a no-brainer selection as the top pick. Smith was so good he would have been the number one pick in the 2008 Draft. He was surely the first pick of the 2009 draft as recently as early December.

Then the slide started.

Maybe’s he’s lazy. Maybe he’s unmotivated. Maybe he doesn’t like football all that much. Maybe he’s just distracted by all the grown-up decisions he’s being forced to make now that he’s out of school and he’s decided to handle it by extra trips to Popeye’s.

Whatever the reason, Andre Smith’s plummet down the draft boards has made the number one selection a prickly proposition.

Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford has a cannon for an arm and is a great athlete, but his results never equaled his potential even at Georgia and he has a decided lack of the “it” qualities necessary for great quarterbacks. Stafford excels in what can be measured, but when it comes to the immeasurable – the most important traits for any quarterback – such as leadership, moxie and moments, he falls way short.

USC QB Matt Sanchez has started just a relative handful of games and there are far more questions than answers with him. He’s got an upside, but he doesn’t “wow” anyone.

Baylor tackle Jason Smith is good, but not a once-a-generation talent. Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry is exceptional, but are you taking a linebacker first? There isn’t a corner, pass rusher, running back or wideout worthy of the top pick.

Andre Smith has made what was a simple question very difficult.

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