THE AUDIBLE | COMMENTARY
Browns' pick not a 'glass-eater,' so is there any hope for him?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
A fun part of the NFL draft is to reflect on some of the scouting reports. The negatives are especially entertaining because you end up thinking that a lot of these guys have about as much chance to make it in the league as a middle-aged sportswriter.
The most bizarre I've seen this year concerned Martin Rucker, a tight end from Missouri who the Browns selected in the fourth round with a pick obtained from the Dallas Cowboys for next year's third-rounder.
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Rucker's father is a Congressman, so he's led an easy life, Pro Football Weekly's 2008 Draft Preview implies: "Has a sense of entitlement having come from a very successful family and must learn what it really means to work." Of course, he did work hard enough to lead the nation's tight ends with 84 receptions last season, but who's counting?
Ahtyba Rubin, a nose tackle from Iowa State taken by the Browns two rounds later "has a soft disposition and is not a glass-eater," PFW reports. That's code for "not tough" and refers to former NFL linebacker Tom Rossovich, who, legend has it, actually ate glass.
Rubin also has "questionable instincts and intelligence," the report says. Great. So he's soft and dumb. Of course, he's also 6-foot-2, 315 pounds and wide as a house, and since when must one be Einstein to play nose tackle?
How would you like to be Anthony Collins, the offensive tackle from Kansas selected by the Bengals in the fourth round? PFW says he's "immature, egotistical and has an inflated opinion of himself." Strange, considering "he's not physically dominant and does not finish many blocks."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.
