For any NFL fans who have lamented their teams’ draft busts, Tim Carr has got a movie for you. The film is being shown for free to San Diego Chargers fans, but the showing may just be too painful for the same fans who had to live through it. Yes, the film is about arguably the biggest draft bust of all time, Ryan Leaf. The film follows the highs and lows (mostly lows) of the young quarterback as he tries to recreate his college magic on the NFL stage. Leaf did not make a cameo in the film although Carr contacted him several times hoping to get the former NFL player in the film.
To fully understand the Chargers’ expectations for Leaf when they picked him as the second overall pick of the 1998 draft, it must be noted that he was picked just one spot behind perennial powerhouse Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. He was in the final running for the Heisman Trophy as well. It was no wonder that the Chargers picked him so early in the draft. Leaf had previously set the Pac-10 record for touchdowns in a season at Washington State University by tallying 33. He was a tall player who seemed destined for greatness. Leaf soon made a reputation as a difficult player to deal with, even after signing a multi-million dollar deal with the Chargers. If his fanfare on the field had matched the intensity of his temper, everyone probably would have looked the other way.
He played only four seasons in the NFL. That first year, he started in nine games and played in 10. He had 11 completions for 1,289 yards during that time and tallied two touchdowns and a staggering 15 interceptions. He also had a passer rating of 39.0. He didn’t play the entire 1999 season because of injuries, but continued to make the news for negative reasons other than football. He had the best year of his career in 2000 with the chargers where he played in 11 games and started nine. He had 11 touchdowns that season and 18 interceptions. From there, he went to the Dallas Cowboys, playing in four games and having one touchdown and three interceptions. With a career rating of 50.0, Leaf threw in the towel and walked away from the league that had such high expectations for him.
The movie was meant to have a thread of redemption running through it, which was based off of Leaf getting a job as the quarterbacks coach at West Texas AM. That happy ending wasn’t to be, however, as Leaf recently resigned. The resignation came after Leaf allegedly attempted to obtain prescription pain pills from one of the injured players on the school’s football team. He was put on a leave of absence before he announced his retirement. Not only do stories like Leaf’s make every fan remember draft busts, they also make everyone more thankful for good picks. So as Chargers fans re-mourn Leaf, take a chance to be thankful for Philip Rivers. See Rivers in action with San Diego Chargers tickets from http://www.stubhub.com/san-diego-chargers-tickets.
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this article was written by julie cudney and is sponsored by stubhub.com. stubhub sells tickets to sporting events, concerts and theater productions. go to stubhub.com for san diego chargers tickets.
