Now that the college football season is ending, we are getting the annual list of college football players announcing that they are heading to the NFL a year early. Some like Iowa running back Shonn Greene and Alabama pro/left tackle Andre Smith have already announced that like a debutante on the last stair, they're "ready for the next step."
Two big announcements came today from my new home state of Georgia, as both QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno have announced that they are taking their game, and I'm sure their undiagnosed cases of genital herpes (it's all about suppression), to the NFL.
If I can be as blunt as Michael Jackson, who ain't gonna live his life as a color, this is a very black or white decision. On the one hand, you have Knowshon Moreno. He has been one of the five best RBs in college football the last two years. Last year he had 1336 yards, this year he had 1400. Last year he average 5.4 yards per carry, this year he averaged 5.6. 14 TDs last year, 16 TDs this year. Last year his long run was 80 yards, this year it was 68 yards. He has very good size at 5'11" 207 lbs, but more importantly, he went through the past two years in the SEC as UGA's primary running back without surviving any major injury. This guy is an awesome talent and worthy of being a top 15 pick. He should leave early, since as a running back he has a short shelf life to begin with and staying for another year and taking 30 handoffs a game won't exactly extend the ol' career.
And on the other hand, you have Matthew Stafford. Let's play a game. Close your eyes. Let's pretend you have a college quarterback. Let's say he has great size, say, 6'3" 237 lbs. Let's say he also has great numbers: threw for 3500 yards, 25 TDs, and had a QB rating of 153.5. Let's also say he has a rocket arm. Let's also say that he makes a lot of bad decisions, like 10 INTS and took 17 sacks this year. Let's say in big games, like against Florida, he threw of 0 TDs and 3 picks. Let's say most of his numbers came in garbage time. He makes awful decisions. He has a great arm, but makes terrible reads and forces passes all the time. If I told you all this, you know who you'd think of? Ryan Leaf. Akili Smith. Tim Couch (PS, yes that's autographed. What's missing form the photo is the card: "To Mom and Dad-- May Your Life, Like My Career, Be a Perfect Downward Spiral. Love, Tim Couch #2. PS- I took out the garbage).
Stafford is a great talent. He has all the tools you could ever want, seems to be a good athlete, but he's not ready for the NFL. He needs another year in a pass happy offense, which UGA will be without Knowshon-ing who will run the ball, to learn how to read defenses. Also, by coming out this year, congrats: you're going to the Detroit Lions. I'm a Browns fan, and even I can make fun of the Lions. Basically, he's decided to take $60 million contract in exchange for being a cripple for the rest of his life. Like milk on a hot day, this was a poor choice.
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