Arena League enters NFL draft discussion

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 27, 2008 | by Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The Arena Football League had a presence in Saturday's NFL draft when Sam Baker, son of AFL Commissioner David Baker, was selected in the first round by Atlanta.

The Falcons traded up with Washington to get to 21st overall for the Southern California tackle. Earlier in the round, Atlanta took Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, and now Baker will be among his protectors.

"He said, 'No matter where, don't let your draft position change who you are, whether you're the last pick or the first pick,'" Sam Baker said of his dad's advice.

Baker goes 6-foot-5, 312, which is significantly smaller than his dad. Baker played left tackle for the Trojans, had knee surgery following his junior season and missed three games and parts of two games with injuries in 2007.

He also was criticized by scouts for having short arms.

"If it wasn't for the combine and all that, I wouldn't have known I had short arms," he said. "I always thought I had long arms."

But the Falcons certainly liked him.

"I was going to be proud of Sam regardless of when he was drafted because he is just as good a person as he is a football player," David Baker said. "However, I am thrilled that he will be playing for such a quality organization as the Atlanta Falcons, which is filled with people of integrity, from Arthur Blank to Rich McKay to Dick Sullivan to Thomas Dimitroff to Mike Smith."

Coincidentally, Blank also owns the Georgia Force -- of Arena Football.

"I love it," Sam Baker said. "I've been watching those games since I was about 12 years old. I grew up on it. It is a different game, though. Not everyone who plays in the NFL can play in the arena game."

STREAKING CANES: Miami's run of having at least one first-round draft pick has survived -- barely.

Safety Kenny Phillips was the 31st and final pick in Saturday's opening round, giving the Hurricanes a first-round selection for the 14th consecutive year.

The streak began with Warren Sapp going 12th overall to Tampa Bay in 1995, and 33 more Hurricanes have been selected in the opening round since. It has been tested in recent years -- cornerback Kelly Jennings wasn't picked until No. 31 by Seattle in 2006 -- and many draftniks predicted the run would end this year.

But the reigning Super Bowl champions targeted Phillips, whose name was called 3 1/2 hours into the draft.

Phillips left Miami after his junior season, saying he believed the time was right for the NFL. He's a Miami native and was projected as a top-10 pick before last season. But the combination of less-than-stellar stats in his junior season and Miami's dismal 5- 7 record last fall hurt his stock -- just not enough to keep the Hurricanes out of the first round.

BY THE NUMBERS: Offensive tackle was the most popular position in the first round of Saturday's draft. In all, seven were chosen -- and it could wind up being eight if Virginia guard Branden Albert, taken 15th by Kansas City, is moved to tackle by the Chiefs.

The run on tackles began with Jake Long of Michigan going first overall to Miami. He was the first from that position to go at the top in 11 years (Orlando Pace to St. Louis).

The others drafted in the opening round were Boise State's Ryan Clady (12th to Denver); Vanderbilt's Chris Williams (14th to Chicago); Boston College's Gosder Cherilus (17th to Detroit); Pitt's Jeff Otah (19th to Carolina); Southern California's Sam Baker (21st to Atlanta); and Virginia Tech's Duane Brown (26th to Houston).

Five running backs, five cornerbacks and five defensive ends went in the opening round. There were two quarterbacks, two defensive tackles, and two linebackers selected. One tight end and one safety went.

For the first time since 1967, no wide receivers were chosen in the first round. But eight of the first 20 selections in the second round were wideouts.

Southern California had the most first-rounders, four: DT Sedrick Ellis (seventh to New Orleans), LB Keith Rivers (ninth to Cincinnati), tackle Sam Baker (21st to Atlanta) and DE Lawrence Jackson (28th to Seattle). Virginia (DE Chris Long, second to St. Louis, and OL Branden Albert, 15th to Kansas City) and Arkansas (RB Darren McFadden, fourth to Oakland, and backfield mate Felix Jones, 22nd to Dallas) had two selections. So did Boston College (QB Matt Ryan, third to Atlanta, and OT Gosder Cherilus, 17th to Detroit).

The Atlantic Coast Conference led with seven first-rounders, followed by the Pac-10 and the SEC with six apiece. The Big 12 had only one first-round draftee, which was the same as the Colonial Athletic Association and the Ohio Valley of the former Division I- AA.

SPELLING BEE: Jets fans, who are known for shouting their favorite cheer -- "J! E! T! S! JETS! JETS! JETS!" -- at the drop of a hat, are always at the draft in force. A fan, presumably of a rival team, was spotted holding a sign that read "The J-E-T-S can S- P-E-L-L."

FOOTBALL FAMILY: Darren McFadden brought plenty of relatives to the NFL draft. All of them might have been watching anyway.

There's no shortage of football fans in his family.