I'm referring to the NFL college draft for all those non-believers. You know, the folks who say Bah! Humbug! whenever somebody mentions it's almost football season. You know the type. The miserly protagonists who only show a passing interest if their team is doing well. Otherwise they're just too busy to get involved in the festive season. Now, don't get me wrong, nothing will really take the place of Christmas, but football season is close. Real close. I was only comparing the two because of the similarities that I find a little more than coincidental. Such as the fact you get gifts, as it were, for both holy days. Sure, for the NFL draft they come in the form of potential super star players for your team, and yes some turn out to be as big of a clunker as your gift of underwear from your senile Aunt Connie who still thinks you're ten. Is Spiderman still in style? But usually they come wrapped in big contracts and eventually do make most happy. And also, with both holidays, somewhere along the lines there's usually a fat guy involved. Although for the NFL draft you're hoping this fat guy, instead of stuffing stockings with care, will stuff the opponent's running game repeatedly and on occasion gets a big sack or two of the opposing quarterback. Oh what joy...

And depending on how your team does in the draft, you will most definitely see the results at the end of December when you're either heading to the playoffs or sitting in front of the TV with a mitt full of Christmas cookies and some egg nog watching the playoffs.

But before I get all misty eyed and break into a chorus of 'O Holy Night' let's back up the sleigh for a minute shall we? We're sitting here now longing for the coming spring. And in spite of the giant squirrel clad in a raccoon coat, otherwise known as that blasted ground hog, having once again cast those extra dreaded weeks upon the already too long winter season, spring-time is quickly approaching with each passing day. The warmer weather, and the fact that your brother-in-law has painted his hair green and dug out the old curly-toe green leprechaun shoes from the basement, is telling us that we have a reason to be excited. Oh yeah, and there's that rabbit thing coming up but to be honest, a giant furry Leporidae passing out chicken eggs kinda scares me.

Now look, there aren't many things left in this life that gets me excited. Used to be I got excited when I realized it was almost time for me to got out and launch dozens of those expensive dimpled white balls into the nearest water hazard or dense patch of forest at my local golf course, (and of course blame it on my bent clubs) but now not so much. (have you seen the price of golf balls lately?) And there was the time I used to get a little excited when I saw the snow melting in the yard, revealing my lawn lying dormant underneath. Then I realized that there wasn't much difference between snowblowers and lawn mowers and now I don't look forward to that phase much anymore either.

But what still gets me excited, what gets the juices flowing and my heart racing, is fast approaching and I can't wait. And all true football fans, I mean true, blue football fans, know exactly what I'm speaking of...because true football fans are happy and excited just like me. And what is making me giddy like a school girl with a new dress?

Well, I already let the cat out of the bag but it's the NFL draft.

Oh, yeah....

It's that time of the year once again. The big official combine is over with. The assorted individual pro day workouts at college campuses around the country are through. The tedious ritual of poking and prodding, of approximating and comparing, of weighing and measuring and down right fantasying about the available talent this year's draft has to offer, has concluded. The talent scouts, the owners, the GM's and the coaches have all scurried back to their respective dens of draft-day scheming, their sacred war rooms, to plot out their plan of attack. And they must be cunning for there is treasure to be had. Now, this is where their homework will hopefully pay off. Carefully they're making a list (and checking it twice of course) of potential players they want. They have to sort through who's been naughty and who's been nice over the last couple of years leading up to this big day so they know all of the options available to them when they finally get to pick.

And as the time approaches, the one thing that all of these coaches and owners and general managers do not what to hear is how all of their time and effort, all of their scheming and conniving and plotting, was all for naught because of something outside the actual draft, something they had no control over, and Lord knows there's already too many variables the teams can't control, has derailed their plans and the guy they wanted is now being sought after by another team. And what makes matters worse, that other team is ahead of them in the pecking order. Good grief, Charlie Brown. It's enough make the mistletoe wilt. It's worse than the time your little brother beat you down stairs on Christmas morning and got to his presents first. Oh sure, you got yours too, but somehow you just knew his were better because he got there ahead of you.

So now these coaches and owners and general managers have to take pause. They have to think their strategy through thoroughly. They have to think and rethink and even out think everyone else in the league in order to beat them to the punch, to get down stairs first and get their present before anyone else can. So these men of men, the nucleus of your football team, sit back and ask themselves who's their best choice and yes, who's there second choice? They go over other teams needs and see where they might end up on Christmas, ah, draft day morning. Maybe they can get a deal worked out with another team to perhaps move up in the order to get to their guy first. However, maybe your team needs to address several critical issues and they need more draft picks. That means they might try to work out deal with another team to trade down and get more for their current top five pick. Then of course, there's always the old fashion way, to just sit tight and take your chances. But what fun is that? Anyway, I see that I'm getting ahead of myself again.

First let me tell you that true football fans, those of us who have been going crazy since the final whistle of the Super Bowl in Detroit, know the college draft is the first big football related event of the new season. Oh sure, there's free agency and that's always fun. The possibility of perhaps bringing in a new face, a player from another team, who might help out in a certain spot on the roster. And in most cases you already know what you're getting. The present of years past has already been unwrapped and played with. But, and there isn't a team in the entire league that can't relate to this, maybe they've been played with too rough and when you get them on your team they break right away and you're stuck with a broken present that not only is worthless, it's costing you a lot of money, too. So while free agency seems like nothing more than a quick fix, true football connoisseurs know that it's through the college draft that true championship teams are built. And yes, it's a tricky business but that's why you've assembled the best supporting cast of assistant coaches and your general manager has kept his finger on the pulse of the college world all year. But even still, there's a chance that the present you choose on draft day is defective or flawed and they don't work like advertised once you get them home. Nobody wants that. But does it happen? Sadly yes. As a matter of fact, statistics show that it happens more times than not. And not just in the later rounds of the draft, either. There is plenty of history to prove that even those high-end glamour college guys who teams fought over to choose first or second turn out to be duds and are sent to Misfit Island along with the rest of the defective toys.

And so there are some who would ask the question: How come? How did our choice end up on the scrap heap? We did our homework. We saw the game films. We timed him in the forty. We poked and prodded and did everything right and yet once we got him home and unwrapped him, he wouldn't work like he had before. This guy was so talented in college and ate up the collegiate world, what went wrong in the pros?

Well, my take on that is simple. The stand-out player comes out of college and is dropped into a world where instead of facing a team with one or two really good players, he faces teams made up of all great players. Everybody on the other side of the ball is just as fast or as strong or as talented as he, and in some cases even more so. And everybody, even those on his own team, are hungry to prove they are the best in the new world of professional football. And this guy is hit in the face by reality and discovers he's not as good as those he's competing against in the pros. Now, it's not his fault, but it's a cruel lesson just the same. What compounds the problem is that the team that spent a draft pick on him, and paid him the big salary, is left swinging in the wind with nothing to show for it. Which is why in spite of all the pre-season hullabaloo, when it comes down to it the whole college draft thing is a lot like getting a Christmas present that doesn't fit but you can't exchange it because Aunt Connie bought it when it was on sale and now the store won't take it back.

Anyway, with that big day just around the corner, many wonder how are things shaping up for your favorite team. And there I wish everyone a lot of luck. As for my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, well as with most teams, it depends on who you listen to. Everyone seems to have their own opinions and speculations due mainly because up until now, General Manager Ted Thompson has kept his poker face in place whenever the press tries to pin him down on what's going on inside 1265 Lombardi Avenue. As he should, mind you. If the Packers, holding the 5th overall pick in the upcoming draft, let out their intentions others might try to derail things. You know, try to beat Green Bay down the stairs on Christmas, ah, draft day morning and get to the presents first. So it's wise to keep your wish list hidden from prying eyes and blabber mouth media reporters who couldn't keep a secret if their lives depended on it. It's a lot like telling your little brother Johnny what you got your parents for Christmas. You know damn well the first chance he gets he's going to go tell them everything you said. The little fink...

But anyway, there are a lot of outside factors that shape the draft as well. If you've been following the current events leading up to the draft, you know that New Orleans, sitting at the second spot, had all but inked a deal with one of the top quarterbacks coming out of college and things were pretty much set to roll down the line and the Packers would end up with Mario Williams, the monster defensive end out of North Carolina State. But again, you have to remember that Mario Williams was just a speculative player the Packers might be interested in. Ted Thompson never came out and said that was who the Packers were looking at or even mildly interested in with their 5th pick. It was a cast of others, those so-called experts who in all their wisdom had decided that was the guy the Packers would take. Side note here, it's not a bad choice if the Packers were to actually choose Williams. He's already being compared to Julius Pepper and the late great Reggie White.

However some Packer fans, and other interested people, should be reminded right about here that while he was at Seattle, Ted Thompson had a reputation for trading down to acquire more picks to play with. And seeing how the Packers only have 5 picks as it stands now, and plenty of issues on the team that went 4-12 last year, it seems to be a fair assessment that he could very well do that same thing with Green Bay's 5th pick. And again, maybe that's the way to go.

Now getting back to the outside factors of the draft, New Orleans did the unthinkable to some and went and signed Drew Brees away from the Chargers and now may not be looking to draft a QB out of college. That leads to a lot of other scenarios now. First, perhaps they stay where they are and draft other offensive help, which they need, such as the big offensive tackle out of Virginia, D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Or there's the chance they want to bolster their defense with the best defensive guy on the board meaning Mario Williams. Then who falls to the Packers? Good question but it's not like there aren't other choices either. We'll get to that in a second. Back to the New Orleans Saints' options. They could make a deal with another team who's in desperate need of a QB to trade up into their 2nd spot and do exactly what New Orleans was expected to do before they signed Brees. Then things could be set right back on the same course as before.

And just when that last scenario doesn't seem all that far fetched, let me just throw this in. What if that team that wants to come to the number 2 spot, as they are in search for a QB, would be the NY Jets? I know what you're saying, the Jets already choose at the number 4 spot. Why move up just to get ahead of Tennessee who picks in the third spot and aren't really looking for quarterback? Stranger things have happened. Maybe the Jets are afraid that the Titans might change their minds and take a quarterback, the same QB that the Jets wanted. Moving up then becomes very crucial to the Jets. What I'm getting at is, that puts the Saints at number 4 in the line, still ahead of the Packers. Great googly moogly... My head is spinning. (Could be the spoiled egg nog I saved from Christmas just for this occasion).

Of course, again with more speculation thrown in, the Packers might not be interested in Williams at all. They might be looking to bring in help for their depleted linebacker corps. That might mean they want to draft the very talented linebacker out of Ohio State, A.J. Hawk. There are very few so-called experts who see much wrong in the way this kids plays and are already comparing him to the other great linebackers in NFL history. And an added note here, a linebacker has won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors the last three seasons. A.J. Hawk may be next. And the linebacker corps of the Packers is nothing to brag about. Nick Barnett could use some help. Remember the Packers have already released Diggs and there's still the question of Poppinga is going to be the same once he returns from his horrendous season ending knee injury he suffered last year.

So perhaps a talented linebacker, and quite possibly a super star who can come in right away and make an impact on the team, is what Thompson's got in mind. In that case, he's not as concerned with what happens with the Saints and their pick wherever they may end up once they're officially on the clock.

And then what happens if the Packers get up to the podium and have a crack at choosing one of the talented quarterbacks left on the board? Nobody's quite sure if that won't happen if either. And as it stands, the only real guarantee is that Reggie Bush won't be around after the Houston Texans pick at the number 1 spot. It's all but a signed deal they'll choose Bush. An added note here, Packer head coach Mike McCarthy was the offensive coordinator out in San Francisco last year and passed on Aaron Rogers with their pick saying he wasn't convinced he was a good choice. Maybe he's still not sold on Rogers' ability to lead his team in the wake of Brett Favre and he wants to draft a young quarterback to be the team's future QB. That would make Matt Leinhart or Vince Young or Jay Cutler tempting.

So you see, there are plenty of things nobody can control in the college draft, just like Christmas. You can only hope that Santa got your wish list and the present you get on Christmas, ah, draft day morning is what you asked for and it stands the test of time. So until then, go ahead, join the rest of the so-called experts and speculate until you're satisfied you know exactly what your team will do on draft day. Then see how wrong you were... But whatever you do, go to bed early the night before so you can get up early and beat your little brother down stairs to get to the TV first or you might spend Christmas, ah, draft day morning watching cartoons instead.

And whatever happens during the draft, we as Packer faithful along with everyone else who has no control over the situation, will have to live with the decisions of our GM and supposedly crack staff of coaches and scouts. And we must remind ourselves that there's no such thing as a for-sure thing in the college draft. For Green Bay fans, looking at their high draft pick and all the possibilities that could do with it, nightmarish thoughts of Tony Mandarich spring up into our collective minds and suddenly you're wishing that whomever the Packers pick comes with some sort of guarantee. I know that I for one, am sitting here with my fingers crossed that this current regime at Lombardi Avenue will have the combined talent to find a young guy from somewhere nobody's heard of who will lead the Packers to the promise land in the near future. But whichever way it goes, the big event is close and still excites me. It means that the football season is just around the corner. And soon there will be more on TV to watch than just figure skating and bowling. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against either sport, but maybe to make it more interesting they should think about combining the two into one... Just a thought.

Until next time, Merry Christmas, ah, I mean good luck on Draft day morning...