I couldn't tell you the first thing about Ras-I Dowling's skills on a football field. The Patriots released their 2011 2nd round pick (33rd overall) today which came as no surprise since the mysterious cornerback has suited up in just nine games over two seasons. In fact, both years ended on injured reserve for him making Julian Edelman look like an iron man in comparison.
I normally don't bother to write a blog post about a guy with 10 career tackles (0 interceptions) and one pass deflection but Dowling is a fine example of the crapshoot that is the NFL Draft. He was a second-team All-American at Virginia and the first player chosen in the second round so basically a first-round talent. The knock on him was that he often got injured so lo and behold, that scouting report proved to be prophetic.
Just for fun, I thought you'd like to know that Niners superstar quarterback Colin Kaepernick was taken three spots after Dowling. Then Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith and Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb were selected later in the second round. So yeah, needless to say the Pats would like that pick back but unfortunately that's not how it works in real life.
The entire NFL has their final preseason game (yes!) tomorrow night as the Patriots host the Giants in a contest that I couldn't give a rat's ass about. What I'm focused on is Saturday at 4 p.m. when New England will name its 53-man roster heading into the opener at Buffalo on September 8. Meaningful football is in the air, can you smell it? In fact, college football kicks off tomorrow night giving us a tasty appetizer before the NFL starts a week later.
Tweet
Follow @RichSlate
No comments:
Post a Comment