Super Mario reigns supreme over wacky 2006 draft

So the Texans have made it clear this offseason that they are intent on re-signing pass-rush specialist Mario Williams. Of course, whether or not he stays, it’s safe to say the Texans can officially be crowned the winners of the great draft debate of 2006.

You remember, that’s when so many people thought they were crazy for making Williams the first pick in the draft instead of taking Reggie Bush or hometown hero Vince Young. Sure, Bush did get a Super Bowl ring before his days in New Orleans came to an end, but it’s hard to imagine the Saints wouldn’t have won that title without the former Heisman Trophy winner. Bush did have his best season as a pro with the Dolphins in 2011, but let’s see him do that again before we decide he was ever worthy of the second overall pick, let a lone the first.

As for Young, well, there’s no question he wasn’t worthy. After a nice enough start to his career, he will now go down in NFL history best known for having dubbed the 2011 Eagles the “Dream Team.” And we all know how that turned out.

But when you take a closer look at the 2006 draft, it’s a perfect reminder that this whole process is little more than a crapshoot.

Foundation for the future? After five NFL seasons, barely half of the first-round picks from 2006 were still with the teams that drafted them. Some were good picks who simply left via free agency or trade – like Johnathan Joseph and Jay Cutler. Others were just busts – Laurence Maroney, Bobby Carpenter and some guy named Matt Leinart.

But even more to the point is a quick look at some other players drafted that year. While the Saints got Bush with the second overall pick, they also got WR Marques Colston… with the fourth-to-last pick. That would be pick number 252. Earlier in that seventh round, New Orleans drafted Zach Strief, who would become a starting offensive lineman. So they got two guys in the seventh round who turned out to be more valuable than the second overall pick.

The Titans, after settling for Young with that third overall pick, got feisty CB Cortland Finnegan in the seventh round.

Denver got Brandon Marshall in the fourth round. While he’s been in Miami with Bush, Denver still has Elvis Dumervil, who they got later that round.

While the Jaguars did something I consider the worst draft strategy ever – taking a tight end (in this case, Marcedes Lewis) in the first round, they did get Maurice Jones-Drew in the second.

There is no rhyme or reason here, folks. Doesn’t mean teams shouldn’t do their homework. This is not about teams making bad decisions (except for those dumb enough to take a tight end in the first). It’s about those of us in the media who think we can pass judgment the minute a pick is announced.

Sure, it’s fun. And the fans practically demand it. But guess what? We’re hardly ever right. The 2006 draft proved that from the first pick to the (fourth from) the last.

Whitney Houston's Super Bowl moment

I was glad to see this blog post on NFL.com recognizing Whitney Houston's place in NFL history. The music legend died Saturday at the age of 48. Which means she was just 27 years old when she took the field at Tampa Stadium to sing the National Anthem before Super Bowl XXV.

If you'll allow for a little first-person indulgence... I remember this well because I was a 25-year-old kid at his first Super Bowl that year, and I was on the field as well. Since the United States had just embarked on the Gulf War prior to that game, it was the first Super Bowl that featured hard-core security as you entered the stadium. It was the first time this country had been to war since Vietnam (tragically, it's old hat for today's generation of 25-year-olds), and there was an air of anxiety.

What I remember most about standing on the sidelines as Houston belted out an emotionally-charged "Star-Spangled Banner" wasn't her incredible singing (truth be told, it was lip-synced -- but it was still Whitney's voice). What I remember most was watching the reaction of the fans in the stadium.

Watching on TV could not have done it justice. Many of the fans in attendance were crying. Many more than usual were singing along. It was truly a stirring moment.

I'm not big on patriotic events, but this was one for the books. With the crowd in a frenzy after Houston's anthem, two teams that both wear red, white and blue took center stage for America's greatest sporting event, and they proceeded to play what is still the only Super Bowl ever decided by one point.

Super Bowl XXV remains a shining example of how sports in our culture can help ease tensions and bring people together. And Whitney Houston played a powerful role in it.

If not for Tyree and Manningham, Belichick is the greatest

For starters, let’s get one thing straight. Bill Belichick is a Hall of Fame coach regardless of what you think about the videotaping scandal. And as far as I’m concerned, it does not minimize my view of the man’s coaching ability. He was an integral part of two Super Bowl champions with the New York Giants, he presided over a dynasty with the New England Patriots that won three Super Bowls in four years, and he has kept the Patriots near the top of the NFL for more than a decade. Enough said.

Two painfully close losses to the Giants in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI don’t tarnish any legacy. He is one of just three head coaches (along with Hall of Famers Don Shula and tom Landry) to appear in five Super Bowls. That’s impressive, to say the least.

For those who just don’t like Belichick and point to spygate as a bone of contention to his greatness, Super Bowl XLVI came so close to elevating Belichick to another level.

How cool was it when NFL Films captured Belichick on the sidelines before the Giants’ game-winning drive, imploring his defense to make Eli Manning throw to Mario Manningham?

“This is still a Nicks and Cruz offense,” he shouted. “Make them throw to Manningham.”

Simply put, if Manningham doesn’t make that once-in-a-lifetime grab and keep his feet in-bounds on a perfect Manning pass to start that drive, then Belichick’s genius status is stronger than ever.

It played out just the way he wanted it to. Same as when he had the Giants right where he wanted them in Super Bowl XLII before David Tyree made the greatest play in Super Bowl history.

Think about it. Belichick is two crazy, improbable, unbelievable catches away from being a coach with five Super Bowl titles and a perfect season on his resume. And don’t forget, it’s not like those catches were made by Plaxico Burress or Hakeem Nicks or even Victor Cruz.

Belichick’s status as the unquestioned greatest coach in NFL history is held back by David Tyree and Mario Manningham. That’s almost too ridiculous to comprehend.

But if two unfathomable catches by two unfathomable Super Bowl heroes is all that stands between Belichick and re-naming the Vince Lombardi Trophy after him, then he’s at least earned the right to be in the conversation.

Ricky's tale had a familiar ring

The retirement this week of Ricky Williams, the once-dynamic and always enigmatic running back, reminded me of a player from the late '60s who followed a similar path. Ralph "Chip" Oliver wasn't as decorated a player coming out of college -- nobody traded their entire draft board for him -- but he was a natural talent who could have been a force had it not been for a, shall we say, alternative lifestyle.

Chip Oliver, a linebacker out of USC, was part of the Oakland Raiders' amazing 1968 draft class, a group led by Ken Stabler, Art Shell and George Atkinson. After one season, Shell recalls thinking Oliver, a fifth-round pick, might have been the best player from that class. John Madden, then the Raiders' linebackers coach, agreed when I asked him about Oliver a few years ago: Oliver was a Pro Bowl talent on the field.

Off the field, however, he was moving in a different direction. Of course, we're talking about a quirky kid from southern California who ended up in northern California during the Summer of Love. Just as Ricky Williams a few decades later embraced the yoga/meditation/spiritual world, Oliver became a hippie and left the Raiders to join a commune.

Just like Williams, Oliver maintained at the start that it was a purely spiritual, holistic movement that had nothing to do with drugs. Just like Williams, he later admitted to being a drug abuser. In Oliver's case, true to the times, he was on LSD and all forms of hallucinogenics he could get his hands on.

And like Williams, he eventually attempted a football comeback. Oliver, who had also become a vegetarian and lost more than 50 pounds by the time he showed up at Raiders camp in 1971, had no chance. But Madden, now the team's head coach, did everything he could for a player he cared a great deal about. He tried Oliver at safety, but it just didn't work.

Unlike Williams, Oliver faded into obscurity at that point. He wrote a book, "High for the Game," chronicling his journey, and then he pretty much disappeared.

One other quirky note about Oliver: While attending USC, he had done a little acting. And he even earned a part in the pilot for Norman Lear's soon-to-be iconic sitcom, "All in the Family." Oliver played the role of Archie Bunker's son-in-law -- a.k.a, Meathead -- the role eventually played by Rob Reiner when the series actually aired.

The bottom line: Ricky Williams leaves the NFL with us all thinking, "What if...?" The same could be said for Chip Oliver.