Gibbs

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Buster

Ryan Leaf was seen by some to be better than Peyton Manning.

Exactly, but to whom? Those people don't have jobs looking on the managment side of the game anymore.

Because those people also thought Akili Smith>McNabb, Vick>Brees, A. Smith>Campbell, Russell>Quinn...etc.

It was pretty solid opinion in league circles that Manning was the can't miss prospect, and that Leaf was the intriguing, more gifted prospect, but given the choice of the two, the can't miss prospect should be taken every time.

The better debate is whether or not Leaf was good enough to warrant the second overall pick. The Chargers obviously thought so despite all the red flags around him and they got burned. At the time, the Chargers had a knack for making moves like that. Then they got a smarter GM, ended by on the right side of the Vick vs. Brees debate, ended up getting Tomlinson out of the deal, and were able to add Gates, Merriman, Cromartie, Jamal Williams, Igor Olshansky, and Luis Castillo. 3 of which were first round picks.