Yesterday this space thought Aqib Talib might be a good direction with the 21st pick in next year's draft based on the way the SBNation Mock Draft shook out. But we could have gone in a different direction, towards safety for instance:
Draft Kenny Phillips. Safety is quietly (arguably) a position of need and he wouldn't be a huge reach at 21. I realize that the naysayers will point out that we will have drafted 3 safeties in 4 years as our top pick, but unfortunately we have to judge the situation differently as Sean Taylor is tragically deceased. He is going to be a good safety, there's no doubt, and Reed Doughty is servicable, not elite.
I'll agree with mmford10 to the extent that I'm not yet sure that Doughty is a starter quality safety. He played like it for spurts last year, though I attributed that to him simply overachieving. However, at least one teammate thinks Reed Doughty has what it takes.
Chris Cooley said, in response to a question about who will have a "break out" season in 2008:
Of course being around the team year round I see a lot of things that no one else does. Down to the details of who works the hardest in the weight room. That said, it can still be a guess to who has a breakout year. Laron Landry will have a great season for us in his second year, but I think everyone expects that. The player that will surprise a lot of people is Reed Doughty. He is extremely smart as well as a very hard working player.
I wonder about the significance of our tight end listing two defensive players as potential break out stars of 2008, but it surely makes sense. Chris has to line up against the safeties in coverage and they account for him on the field more than, say, the defensive linemen do.
I still think that in the event we do draft a safety in the 1st round, it should signal that Reed Doughty's days as starter in Washington are numbered. He was drafted by Gregg Williams and was thrust into the starting position after the tragic death of Sean Taylor. The way he played in 2007 went a long ways towards justifying him at least the opportunity to compete for that starting position, but by no means solidified him as the Redskins' starting safety for the immediate and distant future. I am rooting for the guy, though.
This was all really just an excuse to post another one of Chris Cooley's 20 Q&As with readers of his site. Besides revealing that he loves beer, all beer, and I love beer, all beer too, he also provided the best of all possible answers for a hypothetical co-ed tag team match involving Chris and his fiancee vs. a well known rival couple:
7. Who would win in a tag team match between Chris and Christy and Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson? The tag team match would start off with Christy and Jessica in the ring. Someone would come out of the stands with a cooler of beer and a couple of stools for Tony and I. We would proceed to sit ringside and high-five while clothes were furiously ripped off. In my world the match would end in Jes tapping out to a vicious choke hold, and I wouldn't be surprised if Christy dropped an elbow on her before she poured beer all over herself to celebrate.
Per Wikipedia's entry on
The Great American Novel:
The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that most perfectly represents the spirit of life in the United States at the time of its publication. It is presumed to be written by an American author who is knowledgeable about the state, culture, and perspective of the common American citizen. It is often considered as the American response to the tradition of the national epic.
Putting to rest debate over the theme and concept of the
next Great American Novel, there can be no question that it will involve wrestling and beer and high fives and Chris Cooley will author it.
