First off, I just want to say that I'm still ecstatic that the Cardinals somehow landed a top-ten pick at the 26th spot last night. Getting Dan Williams just adds to the recent string of steals in the draft for this Arizona Cardinals franchise(DRC, Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower, Steve Breaston, LSH, Calais Campbell). I love the pick, as an enormous player shores up an enormous need.
Now my next point has to do with the draft coverage. I'll start by saying that this draft was one of the most exciting drafts I've ever seen. Call it the primetime schedule, the hype surrounding so many players, the eyebrow raising picks, or the trades - this draft was good. The picks seemed to come in quickly and the transition from one pick to another was also great. As the Cardinals pick slowly approached, my enthusiasm grew, and the anticipation for stealing Williams with the 26th pick was also increasing.
One of the first big name picks was made before the Cardinals - wide receiver Dez Bryant. He's received a lot of coverage leading up to the draft so it wasn't surprising to see the media evaluate him after the Cowboys made him the newest member of their team. That, I could deal with. Then the Broncos traded with the Baltimore Ravens for the 25th pick of the draft and selected quarterback Tim Tebow - yes that Tim Tebow. Rather then briefly discussing the pick, I was a prisoner in my own home, being forced to hear about Tebow's throwing motion, how he'll fit into the Broncos' offense, and then watch an interview with him.
By then, the Cardinals time to pick had expired and I could see that their "pick was in". At one point they went to a commercial break and I questioned whether or not we'd even get to see the pick or the text would display at the bottom of the screen. When they returned, the draft "experts" were still discussing Tebow. They almost seemed irritated that they had to stop speaking for the commissioner to announce the Cardinals selection.
Of course, the Cardinals went on to draft Williams and we heard a brief two-minute evaluation before they moved on to the Patriots selection. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised at the lack of media attention. As Cardinals fans, we should be used to this treatment. It happens during the regular season with just about every game. Luckily we'll fly under the radar and make a run at winning the NFC West for the third straight year. How do you feel about the lack of coverage the Cardinals received?