Keefer Madness Examines Ryan Leaf And The History Of Drafting Quarterbacks No. 1 & 2
BOSTON (CBS) - It's been a long time coming, but Keefer Madness returned to the 98.5 The Sports Hub airways Thursday night on The Adam Jones Show.
On Keefer Madness, Rich Keefe examines the sad story of former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf, who was released from a Montana prison on Thursday.
You might remember a couple years ago when he went into prison, and the famed mugshot (pictured above) that went viral on the internet.
Leaf was busted on a handful of drug and related charges in Montana, and also in Texas where he was coaching at West Texas A&M -- not Texas A&M where Johnny Football played, but West Texas A&M. Leaf broke into one of his own player's homes and stole nearly 1,000 pain pills.
Things went very south for Ryan Leaf after being selected No. 2 overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, and even further south after his playing days were over. He's widely considered the biggest draft bust in sports history.
"They haven't done a '30 For 30' on Leaf yet, have they? I feel like that one is probably coming," Rich Keefe said on Thursday. "He was amazing at Washington State. He had a rocket for an arm. Maybe it was just because of my dislike for Peyton Manning and all things Tennessee, but at the time I really thought Ryan Leaf would be good."
This sort of spiraled into another conversation when quarterbacks are taken with the first two picks in the NFL Draft.
Rich Keefe has been fascinated by this topic, especially this year with what's happened to Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, and their divergent paths.
Quarterbacks taken back-to-back to start the Draft has happened 5 times, and Rich Keefe and Adam Jones examined all 5:
1971
1. Jim Plunkett (Stanford)
2. Archie Manning (Mississippi)
"Both guys were pretty good," said Keefe. "This example doesn't really fit the narrative, so I'm going to move on. I wasn't alive so it doesn't count. Besides this draft, one of the top two guys has sucked every time. Every. Single. Time."
1993
1. Drew Bledsoe (Washington State)
2. Rick Mirer (Notre Dame)
"Bledsoe threw five times as many touchdowns as Rick Mirer, who never started a playoff game. Even if you don't think Bledsoe was the greatest of all time, compared to Rick Mirer? He was."
1998
1. Peyton Manning (Tennessee)
2. Ryan Leaf (Washington State)
"Ryan Leaf basically spent more years in prison than he did in the NFL. Another one that's not even close -- even more so than Bledsoe-Mirer," said Keefe.
1999
1. Tim Couch (Kentucky)
2. Donovan McNabb (Syracuse)
"I don't think McNabb is a Hall of Famer, but compared to Tim Couch he is. This was a case when the first overall pick was a swing-and-a-miss, and the second pick was a lot better," said Keefe.
2012
1. Andrew Luck (Stanford)
2. Robert Griffin III (Baylor)
"Griffin is no longer the starter in Washington. He did make the Pro Bowl and was also Rookie of the Year over Andrew Luck, but these last two seasons have been a disaster," said Keefe.
"When this sort of thing happens draft experts always say, 'You can't go wrong with either guy. It's a coin flip.' The fact of the matter is you either nail it or it is just a complete whiff," added Jones.
Listen below!
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