Sunday, April 30, 2006

2006 NFL Draft Day Two Part One - Houston Is On The Clock

Unlike the sheer craziness of Day One, Day two of the NFL Draft feels more like a club. But for draftniks and football fans -- real fans -- the drama is still real. Where will Penn State's too-fast quarterback Michael Robinson go? Will be a QB?

Houston opened up the Fourth Round and Day two with the selection of Wisconsin TE Owen Daniels. She's 6-3 253 pounds and plays with a toughness much like the New York Giants Jeremy Shockey.

Today, only ESPN's working. There's no one at the NFL Network at this time -- 11:14 AM EST. Only a fraction of the media in attendance yesterday is here today. But the gallery and the seats to the far left of me are still filled with fans. I think ESPN convinced them to go over there.

The Niners are on the clock now. They selected Michael Robinson...as a running back. A running back, not a quarterback. I wonder if Robinson agreed to that in general. Interesting. And even more so considering the Niners need for quality backup signal callers. The Oakland Raiders are on the clock now. They've selected pick 101: Darnell Bing, Linebacker from USC -- well, he played safety.

One person who's here is Paul Salata, the creator of "Mr Irrelevant" week. In this year's draft, the Oakland Raiders have the honor of picking the last draft pick, called "Mr Irrelevant." Then, later in the year on June 11-16, Mr. Irrelevant will be sent to Newport Beach, CA, where he will be "celebrated with a shower of gifts from hundreds of sports teams, treated to a day at Disneyland, honored at the All Star Sports Banquet, and presented the Lowsman Trophy from the University Athletic Club," according to the press release.

A Brief Word On The Shortness of Day One

I can't believe we finished at 9:38 PM. In 2005, Day Two went on to about 11:10 PM. Plus, it was raining like crazy. It's a lovely day in New York City this time.

Back to Day Two

Unlike Day One, the NFL didn't provide food for the media, and on that note, their was less food on Draft Day One 2006 than on Draft Day One 2005. The point is I was hungry. So, after not being able to get a simple cup of coffe because Radio City Music Hall's security guard was less than helpful, I walked over to The Broadway Deli, just one block away and one block from the Ed Sullivan Theater, where David Letterman's Show is taped. It's a great place to get a cheap meal where you just pick what you want and put it in a dish, then pay and leave. I got a lot of food. Then as I returned Mr. Salada was kind enough to stop by with two cups of coffee for me.

We're still in Round 4 and at the 128th pick. Here are some updates on the Draft to date:

• For the second time in history, Ohio State had two linebackers selected in the first round, A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter. The last time that happened was 1974.

• Both Vince Young and Bobby Layne share two things in common: both are Texas Longhorns and both were picked number 3 in the NFL Draft. Vince Young is the fifth Longhorn to go in the First Round in NFL History.

• According to the NFL, Houston's new First Round pick, Mario Williams of North Carolina State breaks a streak of five consecutive quarterbacks taken with the top selection in the draft, and a string of seven QBs taken No. 1 in the past eight
drafts.

More soon!

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