It looks like the Broncos are up to their old tricks. After saying for years that you don’t need to invest a high draft pick to get a good running back, they’ve now moved on to kickers and punters who they evidently say you don’t need to invest a draft pick in at all. For that matter, they don’t even need any experience. Here’s a great look at the youngsters competing for the Denver Broncos kicking jobs this season. Good luck to them all.

With the 2008 NFL Draft over and done with, we’re taking a look back at the worst draft picks of the past twenty years. Since it is way too early to judge this year’s draft, we’ll look at 1988 through 2007. We’re going on a pick-by-pick basis here so, who do you think is the worst #1 overall pick in the last twenty years?

The Worst 10th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2005 Detroit Lions - Mike Williams - WR - USC
After so much hype coming out of the high powered Trojan offense, in 3 years he has been on 3 teams and scored two receiving touchdowns.

The Worst 9th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2001 Seattle Seahawks - Koren Robinson - WR - NC State
Showed promise early in his career but off field problems later caused on field problems.

The Worst 8th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1996 Carolina Panthers - Tim Biakabutuka - RB - Michigan
Highly touted, but in a six year career he had three seasons that he played in eight or fewer games.

The Worst 7th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1990 Detroit Lions - Andre Ware - QB - Houston
In four total seasons, Andre Ware played in 14 total games. He finished his career with five touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

The Worst 6th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2005 Tennessee Titans - Adam “Pacman” Jones - DB - West Virginia
This was a real no brainer, especially when you consider that also in the running for worst 6th overall pick in the last twenty years was David Klingler and Lawrence Phillips.

The Worst 5th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1998 Chicago Bears - Curtis Enis - RB - Penn State
Mostly due to injuries, it took three seasons for Enis to rack up less than 1500 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.

The Worst 4th Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2000 Cincinnati Bengals - Peter Warrick - WR - Florida State
While not having an overall terrible career, it did last six seasons and was somewhat productive, it did not come near the hype caused by his fantastic college career.

The Worst 3rd Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1999 Cincinnati Bengals - Akili Smith - QB - Oregon
Smith sunk to the bottom of the 3rd overall picks, despite stiff competition from Bruce Pickens and Heath Shuler. Through 22 career games over four seasons, Smith “amassed” five touchdowns and eighteen interceptions, only throwing for more than one thousand yards in a season one time.

The Worst 2nd Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
1998 San Diego Chargers - Ryan Leaf - QB - Washington State
Hands down the worst number two overall pick in the last twenty years, if not ever. In his entire career (all three seasons), Leaf played in 25 games, threw for 14 touchdowns, and a mind boggling 36 interceptions.

And now, it is time for the unveiling of the worst number one overall draft pick in the last twenty years:

The Worst 1st Overall Draft Pick In The Last 20 Years:
2001 Atlanta Falcons - Michael Vick - QB - Virginia Tech
He probably wouldn’t have made the number one spot without his legal troubles and subsequent incarceration, but when he is sitting behind bars he isn’t helping the team that drafted him.

There you have it, the worst NFL draft picks one through ten in the last twenty years.

A quick analysis:

There are two teams who appear twice in the above list; the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions. Is it any coincidence that in the past twenty years these are also two of the least successful franchises in the NFL?

BuffaloBills.com is reporting that their is a huge demand for tickets to the Buffalo Bills games that will be played in Toronto this year. The Bills and the NFL have entered an agreement with the city of Toronto to play eight games there over the next five years. The first game will be a pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 14th. More information can found at BillsInToronto.com.

Green Bay Packer fans won’t have to wait long to see new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a high pressure game. Rodgers leads the Packers in the Monday Night Football opener against the rival Minnesota Vikings. In a blast from the past, for years the Raiders and Broncos have had one of the more storied rivalries (especially for west coast fans) and they would seemingly always play a nationally televised game every year against each other. Last year, for the first time in a long time it didn’t happen. But Denver travels to Oakland this year to play in the second of two Monday Night Football games on the opening week of the season.

To follow up on yesterday’s post on the history of NFL wild card teams that make it to the Super Bowl, the Giants have now become the 5th team to win the Super Bowl as a wild card team (the others: 1980 Oakland, 1997 Denver, 2000 Baltimore, and 2005 Pittsburgh).  The Giants did it in dramatic fashion, with Eli Manning leading them down the field in the closing minutes of the game for the game winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress.  The Giants also join the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers as the only two teams to win three consecutive playoff road games and then win the Super Bowl.

Congratulations Giants!

In an NFL football game, usually it is odd for one team to be favored by too much more than 14 points. Oddsmakers use different formulas to come up with a point spread that entices people to bet on both teams for any given game. But, that’s all out the window for this Sunday’s Patriots vs. Eagles game.

Depending on your source, the betting line on this game favors the Patriots by anywhere from 23 to 29 points. One of the largest point spreads, if not the largest, in the history of the NFL. It’s a unique combination of a great team (Patriots) coming up against a sub-par team (Eagles), and having a coach (Belichick) who in the past has shown himself not to be shy regarding running up the score.

It’s so unusual in fact that some casinos have taken the game “off the board” and are not accepting bets at all. You know something is weird when a casino stops taking bets on anything.

But, now it’s up to see what happens on the field. Most NFL fans will tell you that anything can happen on the football field. All it takes is a freak injury or one team to play far above or below their abilities and the story can change quickly.