Those Who Are First Often Don’t Last

Rick Mirer is jobless. Cade McNown is friendless. Ryan Leaf is hopeless. Making NFL scouts look clueless.

They were all first-round draft picks, and all bombed. Mirer, who had one good season in Seattle, was cut this week by the 49ers.

McNown, who alienated teammates in Chicago, is No. 3 in Miami.

Leaf, who accounted for 13 touchdowns and 33 interceptions with the Chargers, was recently dumped by Tampa Bay and failed a physical in Dallas.

It all begs the question: Didn’t anyone see this coming?

Maybe some people did, but those people were not calling the shots in Seattle, Chicago or San Diego. Scouting a quarterback, it seems, is not as much a shaky science as it is a blind draw.

Sure, the AFC East features three starting quarterbacks who were No. 1 picks--Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, New England’s Drew Bledsoe, and Vinny Testaverde of the New York Jets.

But look at the AFC West, where the starters are San Diego’s Doug Flutie (11th round), Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck (sixth), Denver’s Brian Griese (third), Kansas City’s Trent Green (eighth), and Oakland’s Rich Gannon (fourth), whom the Patriots picked in hopes of turning him into a safety.

“I think the whole process of evaluating talent has gotten too scientific,” said former Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman, now a Fox analyst. “There’s more time spent on it now than there has ever been. I don’t know if the results are any better--in fact, they’re probably a little worse as far as being able to pick players.”

That should leave Atlanta jittery. The Falcons are hanging their hopes on rookie Michael Vick, the No. 1 selection who is bright and level-headed. But he played just two seasons at Virginia Tech.

Chris Chandler is the starter, but if the team loses a few games, just watch the Falcons shove the rookie into the huddle.

“Even Michael Vick, as great an athlete as he is, came out of college too early,” said former Bengal star Boomer Esiason, another Fox commentator. “I’m sure his growth will be stunted because mentally he’s just not ready to handle the things that are going to be thrown at him this year.”

Then again, Esiason--and a lot of NFL observers--thought the Bears got a steal in 1999 when they grabbed McNown with the No. 12 pick.

“He had the ability to move, and he reminded so many people of Steve Young,” he said. “What they didn’t realize is how immature he was going to be when he first got there. He committed the biggest sin a quarterback could commit. That was to lose the respect of your own teammates.”

Ron Jaworski knows quarterbacks better than most. He played the position, after all, and led Philadelphia to the Super Bowl. As an ESPN analyst, he spends at least 40 hours a week at NFL Films breaking down video. Sometimes, he might study a single play for a half-hour. He watched every snap of 220 games last season.

He also believed in Leaf. And McNown. So, over the years, Jaworski has grown increasingly wary of judging quarterbacks solely--or even primarily--by their game film.

“If I were scouting a guy, I’d spend a week at the campus and take his linemen out for dinner and beers,” he said. “I’d get them in a relaxed atmosphere, then ask them to really tell me about the guy.

“I don’t know Ryan personally. But I’m sure if I visited with his offensive linemen in college, along the way I would have gotten the inkling that this guy had a problem.”

Sometimes, a rocket launcher for an arm blinds coaches to all those fluttering red flags.

For instance, there were lots of warning signs that Jeff George lacked leadership coming out of college. Still, the Colts drafted him No.1. Just listen to Mouse Davis, George’s former position coach in Atlanta who worked him out when Davis was a Detroit assistant.

“He was a puffy kid, an ugly sucker,” Davis said. “He threw the ball two or three times and I said, ‘He’s getting better looking.’ After he was done, I said, ‘Gee, isn’t he a beautiful kid?”’

Eye-Opening Experience

Reaching the Super Bowl turned him into one of the NFL’s most more recognizable coaches, and that’s not always a good thing for Jim Fassel of the New York Giants.

He was at the Newark Airport in New Jersey in June, about to board a flight to Las Vegas to pick up an award, when a fan spotted him and asked if he might get his autograph aboard the plane. The coach said that would be fine.

Less than an hour into the flight, Fassel nodded off. Soon, he was jostled awake by someone shaking his arm. It was the fan.

“Coach, coach,” he said. “Can I get that autograph now?”

Fassel rubbed his eyes, shook his head in disbelief, then growled: “No, you can’t get that autograph.”

Later, the coach lamented losing his temper, but he said instant celebrity is as annoying as it is appealing.

“I felt bad about it because he was a good guy,” he said. “But I’ve got to draw the line somewhere. Sometimes, it’s hard to move around. I don’t have time for that stuff. There’s only one thing I want to do with my time, and that’s win a Super Bowl.”

Holding Out Hope

Kansas City receiver Sylvester Morris underwent knee surgery in June and the initial prognosis indicated he was done for the season.

But the Chiefs are wafer-thin at the position, so they are crossing their fingers he might be ready sooner. With that in mind, they placed him on the physically-unable-to-perform list, rather than injured reserve.

As a rookie last season, Morris was the team’s fourth-leading receiver with 48 catches for 678 yards and three touchdowns. Had he been placed on IR, he would have been barred from returning--although he now requires a roster spot.

That Old College Try

Dallas is trying to take advantage of quarterback Quincy Carter’s mobility any way it can. The Cowboys have several option plays in their arsenal, plays that Barry Switzer suggested when he stopped by training camp.

The Cowboys used the option in an exhibition game against the Raiders, picking up 19 yards on a pitch from Carter to Troy Hambrick. They used it again seven plays later, when Carter faked a pitch and ran 16 yards for a touchdown.

“It’s not a trick play,” Coach Dave Campo said. “It’s part of our offense, and it will be available every week.”

Age Is Just a Number

It seems Little League ace Danny Almonte isn’t the only New York athlete who fudged about his age.

Jet punter Tommy Parks has done a bit of fibbing too. Parks, who earned a roster spot because of an injury to veteran punter Tom Tupa, is listed by media relations as a 29-year-old free agent, born Oct. 14, 1971.

This guy likes to talk--and he has stories to tell--but some of his yarns simply didn’t compute.

For instance, he said he played for Mississippi State until 1989. If he’s 29, he would have been 17 when he left school.

Another hint something was askew: He was in training camp with San Francisco last summer, and the 49er media guide listed his birth year as 1970, not 1971.

Confronted by reporters with the conflicting information, Parks admitted he was born on Oct. 14, 1968, meaning he turns 33 next month.

“Pro baseball people advised me not to give a correct age,” said Parks, who said he played minor-league baseball from 1995-98. “I’ve been going by that age (29) so long, it’s become a part of me.”

Keep in mind, this guy is a little different anyway. For most of training camp, he wore long mutton-chop sideburns like his idol, Elvis Presley. He said he and The King were born in the same town: Tupelo, Miss., and said he does a mean Elvis impersonation at the karaoke bar. Parks also said he’s an orphan, and that he was recently adopted by a 52-year-old woman in Reno, Nev. He used to work security for her.

“I don’t care how old he is,” General Manager Terry Bradway said. “I really don’t have a problem with it. It has no bearing on what he’s done since he’s been here. He’s 29 in leg years.”