[DaddoRam]

OK, two things.

1. I know you'll roll your eyes and go "yeah, right" but I darn near put Greco as one of my possibilities with this 3rd pick, it's an excellent choice. This addresses the #1 need at offensive line with a dependable, durable kid. I don't have a lot on his senior season, but dug up the 2007 Toledo media guide, here's a few tidbits I can find--
"John is a legitimate All-American candidate who very well could join the growing ranks of Toledo's NFL players next year.
Coach John Amstutz says 'John is a proven All-Conference player, but we are going to ask him to take his play up to another level, We are going to ask him to be a special player. He needs to play with a lot of intensity, to play at the level of an NFL player. John has the potential to be an All-American player, so we are going to ask a lot of him.'"





Two-time all MAC (obviously now 3 time) All-American candidate
Second season on watch list for Lombardi award
Has started 37 consecutive games, including 24 straight at left tackle
***Filled the left tackle slot vacated by Nick Kaczur, now starting left tackle for New England Patriots
Bench presses 420 pds, leg press 1,050 pds.

2006
All MAC
Lombardi watch list
Started all 12 games LT
leader of offensive line that averaged 224 yards rushing in final 3 games
team co-captain

2005
first team all-MAC
starting LT on offensive line that powered #13 rushing offense (216.8 yds/game) and #10 scoring offense (35.8) in nation
Line allowed just 13 sacks, best in MAC

2004
***started all 13 games at right tackle as freshman
part of OL that powered #11 offense (459.2 yards/game) in nation
Norman Cohen award, Toledo's top freshman player

2003
redshirt

High School (Youngstown Boardman)
first team all-conference 2nd team all-region as senior
2nd team all-conference as junior
school was co-conference champ in junior year and runner up freshman year
lettered 2 years football, 1 yr basketball
Coach Gary Smith

Personal
Full name is John Patrick Greco
b. Mar. 24, 1985
son of John and Melanie Greco
father is chemical engineer, mother works in human resources
marketing major



The Pro Football Weekly draft preview lists him at #4 among available guards, projecting him as most did to guard rather than tackle, mainly because of lack of arm length, I suspect.

This is a GOOD guard prospect for the Rams, meets a need position well with a strong character and leadership guy, and I'm very happy with the pick, don't see how we could have done better.


2. The concerns about the "character issues" guys crack me up. Nicks had a tantrum at a party, once. He didn't kill anyone, fail 3 drug tests, beat up a girl, or any real serious problems. I think had the NU coaches not overreacted to the situation (for no real good reason at all except to be pissy towards a kid who didn't play for them and wasn't going to do them any good at all since he was leaving, so why not screw him over once before he leaves, he's not one of our kids anyway?) we'd not even be talking about him.

Moot point now...I'd be shocked if he's still around by the time the Rams pick again. But I hope we don't deny the team about half the NFL prospects by refusing to look at anyone with so much as a parking ticket. We can over-react to a few situations that are unavoidable...NO team is immune from having a few cases like wroten and Fakhir...who, by the way, is still on the roster and still a darn good corner if we can keep him off "the list."

There's an old saying..."You don't shoot a prize bull for ****ing in the yard." In the same fashion, if two guys of equal ability come up and one's a boy scout and one's a delinquent, you take the scout. But we cannot just draft boy scouts. An awful lot of the best players in the league had "character quetsions" when they came out.
Heck, by these standards nobody from Miami would ever play pro ball!