Beathard, Leaf, Manning, and Polian...

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

[Boltjolt]

Sure, thats why they traded up to #2 instead of #1. Beatherd insured that Leaf would be there for him. Great homework and scouting there Beatherd.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Could this be part of Archie's beef? We didnt want Manning over Leaf?

[Bolt-O]

See my reaction in the F thread.

[Beerman]

I have blocked those years of charger football. Please let the nightmare end.

[6025]

Beathard with the revisionism. He traded up one spot even with the knowledge from that psychological tester who warned him Leaf would be ill prepared for the NFL life. Easy to say now he wanted Manning all along but I don't believe that to be the case; I believe if we had the first pick Beathard still would have selected Leaf.

[Yubaking]

Sure, thats why they traded up to #2 instead of #1. Beatherd insured that Leaf would be there for him. Great homework and scouting there Beatherd.

We couldn't trade up to #1 because the Colts needed a QB. They weren't going to trade out of the first two picks and I sure as heck hope that we were not going give away a bunch of draft ammo to get to #2 and then try to give up even more to get to #1.

While Leaf was highly regarded going into that draft, Peyton Manning was even more highly regarded. There was no surprise when the Colts took Manning #1.

Steinberg's story does not seem very credible to me. Why would Leaf want to lose money (pay for the #2 player taken versus #1 player taken) and not want the distinction of being the first player selected in the whole draft? That makes no sense. I tend to believe Beathard on this one in that he has already freely admitted that he screwed up by picking Leaf.

What would be gained by not admitting that he had him valued even higher than Manning if that were the case? It does not make his colossal screw up of an evaluation of Leaf dramatically worse to say that he had him as the #1 rated player on the board versus being the #2 rated player on the board. The reality is that his evaluation was 200+ spots overvalued no matter which ranking he actually had.

[Mister Hoarse]

Held responsible???
How about holding him responsibly over a wood chipper?

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beer Holder

[richpjr]

Beathard with the revisionism. He traded up one spot even with the knowledge from that psychological tester who warned him Leaf would be ill prepared for the NFL life. Easy to say now he wanted Manning all along but I don't believe that to be the case; I believe if we had the first pick Beathard still would have selected Leaf.

I don't know about that. I think Beathard wanted one of the two QBs since both were highly rated. If you hear Beathard talk, he readily admits what a colossal blunder drafting Leaf was.

[6025]

I don't know about that. I think Beathard wanted one of the two QBs since both were highly rated. If you hear Beathard talk, he readily admits what a colossal blunder drafting Leaf was.

He admits that now because of the living hell Leaf caused him. Leaf basically killed BB's career.

Also, nearly every Chargers fan was firmly onboard with the Leaf pick, so there's really no shame in Beathard admitting he preferred Leaf.

[SDFan]

all the talk pre-draft was that you couldn't go wrong with either Manning or Leaf as your QB of the future: the difference being it was thought Leaf had a higher ceiling with better arm and Manning was highly polished but little upside to get better. Beathard traded up to #2 to ensure he got 1 of the 2 top QBs. I recall there was a LOT of discussion and speculation that Indy was set to take Leaf, and when Beathard was asked about it, he reluctantly said he would be happy with either guy.

[BlazingBolt]

Makes sense to me.

Colts could have been saying nonthing but Manning Manning Manning but they were not going in to that drat. Ryan Leaf's priorities were not football, so San Diego very well may have been more attractive to him than Indy.

Of Course Polian is going to say now, Manning Manning Manning. Of Course Beathard is going to say now, Manning Manning Manning.

And for Beathard to say after one practice he knew it was a mistake just makes him look like even more of an idiot. Did they evaluate him or work him out before that first practice or did his physical shape just instantly deteriorate in the week or so from when they drafted him to his first practice?

But my memory is that everyone was saying Colts are probably going to go Manning and the Bolts were plenty happy with whoever was left. Manning was the safer pick and Leaf was the guy with more upside according to the prevailing thoughts flying around at the time.

I don't kick myself over the whole thing too much because we didn't really have a shot at Manning and the other bluechipper Wadsworth was a huge bust too. Woodson would have been the best pick at that spot, the other players that were good at the top of the draft that year were not rated high enough for us to take with out trading down. I mean yeah you could have taken them, but if thats what you want to do you should trade down with someone desperate to move up for one of those top 4 guys Manning, Leaf, Wadsworth, and Woodson.