UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday. April 17. 1997
5B
Jets juggle NFL draft options, may decide to bolster defense
By Dave Goldberg
AP Football Writer
NEW YORK — Bill Parcells, who always has taken defense before offense, has only four defensive linemen
under contract and has the first pick in the draft.
Does that mean the New York Jets' new leader ignores offensive tackle Orland Pace for far the
Remember this
best prospect? Does he feint at Pace and trade down for cornerback Shawn Springs, whom he really likes.
In 1981, when Parecells was a rookie defensive coordinator for the Giants, 27 out of 28 teams thought Lawrence Taylor was the best player that year. Bum Phillips, whose New Orleans Saints had the top pick, thought it was George Rogers. Phillips took Rogers, the Giants got Taylor with the second choice and Parecells became a superstar coach by winning two Super Bowls with Taylor as the cornerstone.
Parcells only follows form if the form calls for defense. He will take defensive tackle Derek Russell of Southern California.
Here are the rest of the projections for the first-round picks:
2. OAKLAND — The Raiders traded up to take Page, Parcells
to take Pace. Parcel
and AI Davis are good
friends. Does Al
know something?
Orlando Pace,
outside tackle,
Ohio State.
2 SEATTLE
3. SEATTLE This team moved
up, too — for Shawn Springs, cornerback,
Ohio State.
4. BALTIMORE — the Ravens want out of this spot because the team signed Michael McCraary and do not need Peter Boulware, defensive end, Florida State. But this probably is where Boulware goes — to someone.
6. ST. LOUIS — The Rams could trade
5. DETROIT — The Lions want and need Bryant Westbrook, cornerback, Texas.
some think Walter Jones, outside tackle, Florida State, may be just as good some day. Jones is one of them.
7. NEW YORK
GIANTS — Dwayne Rudd, the top-rated linebacker, is supposed to go here. Surprise ... James Farrir, linebacker, Virginia.
8. TAMPA BAY — The Bucs, who also
9. ARIZONA—The Cardinals are happy enough to find Dwayne Rudd, linebacker, Alabama, in this spot.
10. NEW ORLEANS — If Antowain
Smith, running back Houston, is available and the Saints do not take him, it will be an upset.
11. ATLANTA
— If only Dan Reeves, who drove John Elway
and Dave Brown to distraction, were 30 years younger, he would play quarterback. Jim Druckenmiller, quarterback, Virginia Tech, tech the age requirement.
12. SEATTLE — The Seahawks solved one problem with Springs. Can Rae Carruth, wide receiver, Colorado, solve another?
13. HOUSTON — The Oilers have had good corners for a
decade, which is w
the team needs
young ones. The
Oilers would
rather have
Springs or West-
brook but settle
for Tom Knight,
cornerback Iowa
14. CINCINNATI — The Bengals are going to a 3-4 defense; Steve Tovar, the team's best linebacker, still is recovering from knee surgery, and Jamie Sharper, the second of the Virginia linebackers, still is available.
15. MIAMI — History says Jimmy Johnson might trade up, down or . . . sideways?
If he stays: Reinard Wilson, defensive end, Florida State.
16. TAMPA BAY — More speed in Warrick Dunn, running back, Florida State, who also sells tickets in Florida.
17. WASHINGTON — The Redskins have spent the offseason bolstering the defense. Renaido Wynn, defensive end, Notre Dame.
18. KANSAS CITY — Tony Gonzalez,
light and Collison.
fits with Elvis Grbao in the Midwestern version of the West Coast offense. 19. INDIANAPOLIS —
aging, Ray Buchanan is gone to Washington, so they go for Chris Canty, cornerback, Kansas State, of whom one scouting report says, "He spends too much time acting cool and trying to be the next Deion Sanders."
20. MINNESOTA — The Vikings have been looking for a running back since Chuck Foreman a quarter-century ago (see
Herschel Walker.) But the team also is desperate for a guard like Chris Naeole, guard,
Colorado.
21. JACKSONVILLE — The Jaguars have beed it soon.
have had it eai (Tony Boselli and Kevin Hardy), picking second in its first two years. Now the team will choose David LaFleur, tight end, LSU, a risk worth taking.
22. PHILADELPHIA — Ray Rhodes needs a defensive end to replace William Fuller. Kenny Holmes, defensive end, Miami, is talented but not always motivated, a quality Rhodes is known for rectifying.
23. BUFFALO — The Bills usually do well picking low. They pass on Jake Plummer as Jim Kelly's replacement and take Kent Hull's replacement — Rod Payne, center Michigan.
24. PITTSBURGH—The Steelers have been losing cornerbacks in free agency. As usual, they plug holes, this time with Michael Bopker, cornerback, Nebraska.
25. DALLAS — The team would love to trade me for Tony Gwynne.
zalez. But it settle for Reildel Anthony, wide receiver, Florida, as the complement to Michael Irvin that the team has lacked for awhile.
26. SAN FRANCISCO — He scrambles like a right-handed Steve Young and has the clutch ability of Joe Montana. The 49ers would settle for either from Jake Plummer, quarterback Arizona State
27. CAROLINA — Bill Polian is drafting low again, Just as he did in Buffalo. He needs offensive linemen, wide receivers and young legs on defense. Jerry Wunsch, outside tackle, Wisconsin, is a Polian-type pick.
28. DENVER — Some day, the team will have to replace Steve Atwater. Try Rob Kelly, safety, Ohio
Kelly, safety, On State.
29. NEW ENG LAND — Anyone who watched the Packers race through the Patriots' secondary in the Super Bowl knows they could
30. GREEN BAY — Reggie White is not getting any younger. The popular pick is Trevor Pryce of Clemson. But take a chance: Marcellus Wiley, defensive end, Columbia.
use a defensive back like Sam Madison, cornerback, Louisville.
Vermeil tackles '97 NFL draft for St. Louis
New coach uses former job to help make good choices
ST. LOUIS  on his first draft day since 1982,
Dick Vermeil won't be playing catchup.
The Associated Press
The way the new St. Louis Rams coach and general manager has it figured, all those years in the broadcasting booth will give him an edge over the competition. Working last season as an analyst for ABC-TV, he estimates he saw more than 30 potential first-round picks in the flesh.
"I saw some of the top, top, top draft choices," Vermeil said. "I saw a higher percentage of the best kids because they were on television.
"The teams that go on national television are usually the teams winning, and that's where Brent Musburger and I would be most of the time, watching the Ohio States, the Michigan, the Penn States," he said.
Vermeil, 60, was far from a typical analyst. He approached that job as if he were still coaching, arriving at the game site by the middle of the week.
"I was overprepared," Vermeil said. "I couldn't use all the information I had if I did the team six weeks in a row.
"It didn't matter. I gained confidence by knowing. Whatever Brent threw at me, I had it. Whatever happened on the field, I had it."
Musburger, who worked with Vermel for seven years, said his ex-partner is not exaggerating.
"I was on CBS when John Madden started, and I worked with Billy Packer," Musburger said. "No one spent the amount of time and had the thoroughness of preparation that Dick did."
Like everybody else, Vermeil is viewing film of players the Rams have targeted. But he insists others won't have his insight: He said he's accompanied potential top picks at team meetings, watched them practice, and gotten to know them and their coaches.
"I have relationships with coaching staffs that I can call and get information that maybe some scout won't get." Vermeil said.
Some college coaches are at odds with the NFL, especially when players leave school early. Vermeil is another story, said John Becker, Rams director of player personnel.
"Dick has such great rapport with them, they'll speak more readily than with your average NFL scout." Becker said.
For the third straight year, the Rams have the sixth pick in the draft on Saturday.
Last year they took a chance on troubled running back Lawrence Phillips, who was jailed for violating his probation, stemming from the assault of a woman.
Becker said he's never seen a general manager scrutinize the entire field, from first-rounders to fringe prospects, like Vermeil.
"He has a lot of opinions on players because he's seen these guys throughout their careers," Becker said. "He's a bright guy and he sees a lot of things that other people don't."
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The staff of The University Daily Kansan wishes Jay Steiner the best of luck on all future endeavors.
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