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[John Katrus]

The offseason’s fix for the NFL Junkee

By: John Katrus


The Setup

What did you do last Saturday? Go for a walk? Play some basketball? Sleep off the awesome time you had Friday night? Perhaps some of you tuned into the NFL Draft to see who would go number one overall or to see if your...
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[mark_chalifoux]

Great draft epic. You know your draft stuff, so heres a ? Was Matt Jones really worth a first round pick? i just didnt see him being taken so high

[BtownJay]

Originally Posted by John Katrus

As I start perusing the folder full of top prospects by position, I pick up on a conversation between two guys sitting next to me. One of them a Raiders fan and the other a Vikings fan. Not surprisingly the Raiders fan was dominating the conversation, hoping Al Davis would just move up baby! The Vikes fan was doing his best bobble head impression with a constant nodding motion. The Oakland fan keeps on mentioning how badly he wants Luis Castillo and what a great value he thinks he’ll be in the draft. I ask him if the fact he tested positive for steroids provided any type of drawback for him. He quickly shrugged it off, I suppose after years of watching Bill Romanowski become bigger and bigger, and conversely dumber and dumber, had dulled this fan’s reaction to such actions.


Castillo appeared on most draft boards as a good value in the middle of the second round in a draft that was light on defensive tackle talent. The Northwestern tackle felt his surgically repaired elbow wasn’t healing fast enough naturally and decided to shoot up to speed things along. Castillo picked the worst time to have such an err in judgment since he made this decision at the NFL Scouting Combine where all pro prospects are poked, prodded, and examined in this giant meat market. Medical files are examined by physicians and Castillo’s dark little secret was thrown out into the light of day.


You’d think Castillo would have reconsidered steroids when he found himself in a bathroom stall, pants down, with Jose Canseco at his side.

Castillo didn't take steriods, he took Andro (Androstenedione). Andro is not a steriod, it is a precursor to testosterone. It is the same supplement that Mark McQuire took while he was playing baseball... and until recently it was not illegal in sports. Actually it wasn't until January 20th of this year that it was made an illegal "prohormone". PLUS, it is not a substance that you "shoot up".

Now i'm not trying to justify what he did, but it is not near as bad of a situation that most are making it. And honestly, i can't say i blame him. He had an elbow injury that was not fully healed yet. He would not have done as well in the combine if his arm was fully healed. And on January 19th, 2005 you could have walked into any supplement store and grabbed a bottle off of the shelf.

I'm not trying to start a problem, but I think if you are going to throw someone under the bus you should at least have some of the facts correct.

[John Katrus]

Originally Posted by BtownJay

Castillo didn't take steriods, he took Andro (Androstenedione). Andro is not a steriod, it is a precursor to testosterone. It is the same supplement that Mark McQuire took while he was playing baseball... and until recently it was not illegal in sports. Actually it wasn't until January 20th of this year that it was made an illegal "prohormone". PLUS, it is not a substance that you "shoot up".

Now i'm not trying to justify what he did, but it is not near as bad of a situation that most are making it. And honestly, i can't say i blame him. He had an elbow injury that was not fully healed yet. He would not have done as well in the combine if his arm was fully healed. And on January 19th, 2005 you could have walked into any supplement store and grabbed a bottle off of the shelf.

I'm not trying to start a problem, but I think if you are going to throw someone under the bus you should at least have some of the facts correct.

Medically speaking andro may not be a steroid but in the NFL you play by their rules. The NFL does inded consider andro to be a steroid, therefore illegal. Yes or no? Did he know this? Of course, and I wish he never had to have to resort to illegal substances to help along a bum elbow but that's sports. You are going to get injured and need to get yourself back naturally.

The guy picked the worst time ever to try this, at the combine. He knew he'd be tested for absolutely everything and secrets don't stay secrets for long, medically speaking.

And I didn't throw anyone under a bus, he jumped.

[John Katrus]

Originally Posted by mark_chalifoux

Great draft epic. You know your draft stuff, so heres a ? Was Matt Jones really worth a first round pick? i just didnt see him being taken so high

Matt Jones was a total draft phenom this year. He simply never lost steam in his push up the draft boards until he was scooped up by Jacksonville with the twenty-first overall pick. This kid had only a handful of receptions (four, I believe) in college and received all this attention based on potential and projections. The kid simply tested off the charts, 6'6 and 240 lbs, running on the freak side of 4.3 forties. His athleticism is simply unmatched for someone his size and every drill he ran as a wideout at the combine, the Senior Bowl or anywhere else was simply his raw ability. Teams completely fell in love with that, none more than Jacksonville who were convinced they had to pull the trigger or he wouldn't last into the second round.

It's a reach, a BIG reach at that. This kid has all the ability and athleticism but there is no tape to back any of it up. Then the questions arise, can he run sharp routes or does he kind of round them off? Can he maintain separation from the defender off the line? We know his straight line speed but how quick does he get in and out of breaks? Does he change directions well? Can he BLOCK? All these questions can be answered in about 30 minutes of tape but there isn't 10 minutes of it on Jones in an actual college game.

Jacksonville is quite aware of the risk they took but the took it anyway, that alone should tell you what kind of player they believe Jones can become. Mark Clayton, wide receiver from Oklahoma went with the very next pick to Baltimore. This kid has about three days worth of film that simply makes your jaw drop, and that's just his senior year. It's obvious that Jacksonville was tempted by the high risk/reward that is Matt Jones. I don't expect a whole lot from him this year, maybe a circus catch or two in the redzone but he'll need at least a year to get a strong feel for the position. I would have never taken him that high but I can understand why Jax did.

[mark_chalifoux]

well i wasnt wrong, you definitely know your stuff. As far as Castillo goes, that would just a bad decision. I wouldn't put him on the Canseco stage, but he definitely didnt do anything to help himself. Stupid