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The NFL Omnibus: A Q&A with ESPN’s Chris Sprow

By TheDarkHorse

With league OTAs in full swing, and the preseason around the corner, we talked with ESPN’s Chris Sprow, an editor and reporter who covers the NFL (with a focus on the Draft), along with a wide variety of others sports. Chris shared his thoughts on this year’s rookie quarterback class; assessed the bliss-level of the Holmgren/Mangini marriage in C-Town; and examined which head coach might soon be considered the league’s next “genius.”

THEDARKHORSE: Chris, thanks so much for joining us. You spent hours researching this year’s draft. As always, the rookie quarterbacks received tremendous hype — but five years from now, how will they be judged?

CHRIS SPROW: I recently touched on the subject of taking a year or more to develop a quarterback — not as a starter — and this year’s class offers a classic case in point for the belief that you can’t do anything better for a guy’s chances to be a really good NFL quarterback than to hand him a clipboard in his first year, and maybe his first couple. Sam Bradford has never really had to read defenses. I spoke for a while with his offensive coordinator at OU (Kevin Wilson) and Bradford — who is really a bright kid and should learn quickly — is a guy who was able to anticipate the open man in that system a lot more than he had to (yes, yes) read and react. He’s also never taken snaps under center, and that’s another massive change. I think Bradford has a chance to be really, really good. He’s super accurate, he’s smart, and he has plenty of arm. But if they rush him, it’s a mistake.

THEDARKHORSE: Some people suggest that Jimmy Clausen might be in the best scenario for success.

CHRIS SPROW: I think Clausen is going to be a good NFL quarterback. You just can’t forget that he really only had one year with competent surrounding talent in South Bend, he took a ton of hits, played in a pro style offense, and could have very well had a junior season where he threw 28 touchdowns and just one or two picks. He was unlucky on a couple of those. Again, he shouldn’t start as a rookie.

THEDARKHORSE: Then we’ve got a player who fell farther than some expected in Colt McCoy — and one who went much higher than initially predicted in Tim Tebow.

CHRIS SPROW: McCoy I find interesting because a lot of the reason he fell was the reason he was good. He simply didn’t have a lot of options or opportunity to throw the ball down the field as a senior given the ‘Horns personnel and, for the most part, he did a good job of taking what he was given. He’s another guy where, given a couple of years of marinating, he has as good a chance as any of these guys, because we know he has the head for it.

THEDARKHORSE: Looking at the hysteria surrounding Tebow, why the attention?

Click below to read the rest of our interview with ESPN’s Chris Sprow

CHRIS SPROW: Success breeds fascination. The guy is a flat-out winner. Always came up big in big situations, and — let’s face it — he’s a media maven in some senses. He was never not a story — whether it was the season, or what he was doing over the summer, or who he was getting his picture taken with. Then stir in his unconventional style; he got hit (or delivered them) 250-plus times a year. Plus, he was in the heart of SEC country. That always creates an extra storyline or four. And, at the end of it all, the fact that we simply have no reason to believe he should be a great NFL quarterback, but that nagging feeling that he somehow, some way could through sheer force of will — it just all adds up.

THEDARKHORSE: Working alongside Mel Kiper, can you explain a little bit about how he prepares for the Draft?

CHRIS SPROW: Mel’s amazing. He’s a machine. He strikes a good balance because sure, there’s an insane level of film analysis, but for a guy who talks so much, he listens a lot. It’s having relationships with people he trusts at every level — so he it’s not just about what he’s looking for. He takes stock of everybody else’s opinions — players, coaches, scouts, personnel people, from the people making the draft picks to the guys coaching or playing with the players at the college level — so his final assessments aren’t just about the tape. It’s an impossible science, but he tries.

THEDARKHORSE: What teams interest you the most in heading into 2010?

CHRIS SPROW: Random list, because there are about 15, but:

1) Seattle fascinates me, because they’ve done so much this offseason, that division looks vulnerable, and all of their first three picks will make an impact. Mostly, I just refuse to believe that a guy who went 33-31 in a very brief NFL career is somehow a “bad” coach. Look at the records of some good coaches early in their careers. It happens. As well, the strength of that team, their linebacker corp., was really ravaged last season. Combine all those and it’s a really interesting team.

2) Cleveland’s defense simply wasn’t that bad. If they can run the ball consistently — and between Jerome HarrisonMontario Hardesty behind that line, they have a chance — that could be a better offense. You can’t underestimate what “last chance” means to Jake Delhomme. and

3) Sorry, I can’t help but saying Detroit. Another great offseason. I’m convinced that Mayhew & Schwartz LLC is a really smart firm, and Jahvid Best is going to make some unreal plays. They’re just watchable. Problem: that division is really, really good.

THEDARKHORSE: I don’t recall a lot of people sitting around, comfortably picking the Saints to win the Super Bowl last summer. Looking ahead, who will be 2010′s surprise team?

CHRIS SPROW: I’m not sure it’d be a huge surprise, but Green Bay could be really, really good. This is a team that made the playoffs, looked like they could score on anybody, and really couldn’t block, didn’t have a dynamic running game, and were still breaking in some young guys on defense as they fill out that 3-4. If they can keep Aaron Rodgers upright, and run the ball a bit, they could be a scary team.

THEDARKHORSE: How do you see this Holmgren/Heckert/Mangini thing playing out in Cleveland?

CHRIS SPROW: It’s funny. A New York Jets coach goes 9-7 with a quarterback that was shaky all year, provides zero sound bites, and gets canned. A coach goes 9-7 with a quarterback that was shaky all year, provides a ton of sound bites, and is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I mean, isn’t that the case of Eric Mangini’s last year in New York and Rex Ryan’s first? I just don’t think we can say yet that Mangini isn’t a good coach or won’t be a good one in this league. You have to take the circumstances into serious consideration. Cleveland finished up well, Tom HeckertMike Holmgren knows what it takes to win. While, sure, John Fox could be linked to these guys for the next 12 months, there’s a real chance that Cleveland could surprise. These are smart football people — they just need time to put things together. And yeah, some decent quarterback play would help. comes from a great program in Philly (yes, I use the word “program” for the pros, too), and

THEDARKHORSE: There was a time, way back, when Bill Belichick was a laughingstock. Today, he’s the sitting “genius” of NFL coaches. Who’s next in line?

CHRIS SPROW: I’d sure like to see what Schwartz can do with a few years in Detroit. But, can’t we start to think that Sean Payton could reach that class? He’s already got a ring. It’ll just be interesting to see if he can survive defections the way Bill has. The problem with being a great coach in the NFL is you turn over so much of your staff year after year.

THEDARKHORSE: Which NFL fan base has the least amount to hopeful about?

CHRIS SPROW: There’s a part of me that feels like Jacksonville is one really bad season or two away from a new stadium in Los Angeles. So, I guess it depends on which fan base, right?

THEDARKHORSE: If it’s fair to say that the average fan isn’t worrying about the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement — should they be? Can this be solved without a fight?

CHRIS SPROW: No, it can’t be solved without a fight. But the financial health of the league is too good, the TV deals to lucrative, to see this all fall apart. They’ll get the billions divided and get it worked out.

THEDARKHORSE: Chris, thanks for taking the time. Enjoy the rest of the offseason, if there is such a thing anymore.