The Blue Workhorse

The Atlanta Falcons have released Joey Harrington, the third overall pick from the 2002 draft who starred at the University of Oregon prior to learning that football isn’t easy. Coming off a season in which he threw for 2,215 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in 12 games (including 10 starts), Harrington will be forced to seek for a new team for the fourth consecutive off-season.

Harrington and #1 overall pick David Carr are the posterboys for what is likely one of the poorest quarterback classes in NFL Draft history. Along with Harrington and Carr, Patrick Ramsey also fits the bill as a first round draft bust from the 2002 draft class.

There is often a Cinderella-type story at the NFL’s Combine every year that gets an unlikely invite and makes a few waves. Mel Kiper gives the guy his own feature on Draft Day, he gets selected on the second day of the draft, and maybe makes it as a semi-successful professional backup.

This year, however, the Cinderella story, Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco may end up being a steal in the draft. The 6-foot-6 inch (and 3/8ths) fellow-who-is-quite-tall is also 236 pounds, and according to FanHouse’s Michael David Smith, Flacco says he plans to run his 40-yard dash somewhere between 4.6-4.7 seconds.