Sour Reunion for 2007 Sugar Bowl Stars

If you're eagerly awaiting the next mock draft, please note the big trade in the NFL over the weekend.

The most cerebral quarterback in the 2007 draft was reunited -- sort of -- with that year's "next John Elway." Al Davis will hire you as Raiders coach if you can name them.

Trent Edwards and Troy Smith? Moe Howard and Larry Fine?

Try JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn. They headlined the 2007 Sugar Bowl, a 41-14 LSU romp over Notre Dame, and not much since. They now find themselves on rival AFC West teams after a Sunday trade sent Quinn to Denver.

Their career dives trace back to that January night three years ago. Russell played great. Quinn played like he was already working for the Browns.

We could theorize how those performances altered the NFL universe. If Quinn had played like Russell, the Raiders might have drafted him with the first pick. They took Russell, who might have stayed in school if he'd played like Quinn.

I don't think it really mattered. The cities might have been different, but the aroma would have been the same.

Pee-yew!

All of which again shows why the next time you see Mel Kiper you should switch to Comedy Central. Not to pick on Mel more than any of the other 600,000 registered draft experts. He's merely the Al Gore in the biggest man-made fraud since global warming.

For all the billions of dollars, millions of hours, thousands of mock drafts and dozens of satellite reconnaissance photos of Gerald McCoy, the draft is still as big a crapshoot as it was 30 years ago.

Back then, teams showed up in New York and passed around a copy of The Sporting News to draft by. Yet the 1977 first round produced eight Pro Bowlers, one Hall of Famer in Tony Dorsett and the usual handful of busts.

(Steve Schindler, please pick up the nearest courtesy phone. Your list is missing).

Fast forward to the 2007 draft. So far it's produced eight Pro Bowlers and an even bigger collection of whiffs. Russell, Quinn, Jarvis Moss, Justin Harrell, Buster Davis and Gaines Adams, may he rest in peace.

The difference is that in '77, NFL got through 12 rounds before lunch. Then along came ESPN, the Internet and the modern media monster.

This year's draft will stretch three days, starting with a one-round prime-time extravaganza on a Thursday night April 22. I think Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are hosting.

The draft has become an industry unto itself, powered by fans' insatiable need to know what their team might be contemplating. Just treat the buildup for what it is -- entertainment.

You are welcome to watch Kiper yell "Todd, You Ignorant Slut," when he and fellow ESPN analyst Todd McShay disagree on one of their 367 mock draft updates heading into the Big Day.

They do occasionally agree, of course.

"Russell was the best pick for the Raiders at No. 1 overall," McShay said back then. "They won't regret finally addressing their need for a franchise quarterback."

"JaMarcus Russell's gonna immediately energize that Raider Nation," Kiper added. "You're talking about a 2-3 year period once he's under center. Look out, because the skill level that he has is certainly John Elway-like "

Yes, and Quinn was going to split the football atom.

"Arguably the most cerebral quarterback in the draft," one mock draft expert wrote.

The analysts get it right sometimes. It's just that for all the pro days, combine analysis and live draft trackers, drafting science is no more precise than it was 30 years ago. Much less three years ago.

"It hasn't hurt his future," Charlie Weis said after Quinn bombed in the Sugar Bowl. "I think they know this kid is good."

Apparently not. Much to the shock of ESPN's 593 on-site reporters, Quinn slid to No. 22 on draft day. He has played like he should have been drafted No. 222. That's still about 500 spots higher than Russell should have gone.

Now they're both in the AFC West. And guess who's joining the reunion? None other than Weis. The JaMarcus Russell of coaches is freshly hired as Kansas City's offensive coordinator.

It would be unkind to call them the Three Stooges. But if Curly had been alive in 2007, Kiper probably would have had him going No. 4 to the Bucs.