Idiots Write About Sports

Ira Miller, one of the gems of the Chronicle sports section, explains why it’s no mystery that Aaron Rodgers fell so far in yesterday’s draft:

The 49ers took someone else, and other quarterback-needy teams with high picks chose players at other positions. There also were the familiar knocks on Rodgers, that he’s a little cocky, not tall enough, too mechanical and too much a product of Tedford’s system at Cal.
The knocks are silly. Rodgers is not cocky but confident, showing the kind of leadership coaches want from their quarterbacks. He’s not too short; at 6-feet-2, he’s the same height as Favre, Montana and Young, and a half-inch taller than the average height of modern-era Hall of Fame quarterbacks. “Mechanical” should be a positive rather than a minus; it means Rodgers has good techniques. And Tedford’s NFL quarterbacks have gotten a bad rap; one of them (Trent Dilfer) has a Super Bowl ring and several others are still at an early stage of their careers.

Some other nifty details from Miller’s article:

The crowd, mostly made up of vocal Jets and Giants fans, gave Rodgers a prolonged, standing ovation. They chanted, “Aaron, Aaron, Aaron.” Then they chanted “Aar-on Rod-gers, Aar-on Rod-gers,” several times.

And while Rodgers was the glamour candidate in the glamour position, let’s not forget the other Golden Bears who find themselves with new employers today. J.J. Arrington is now an Arizona Cardinal, normally a depressing career move. But you figure with Denny Green running the show now and the Cardinals in need of a running game, Arrington will have every opportunity to thrive in the NFL.
Other Cal draft picks — as of this writing anyway include Chase Lyman, now a New Orleans Saint, and Matt Giordano, who’s ticketed for Indianapolis. Both were fourth-rounders.