CFB watchlist / NFL Draft thread (Veterans Day edition)

  Happy Veterans Day.  I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do on Veterans Day, so uh, I'm gonna have some drinks and do my thang.  On to college and draft talk; here's my watchlist for this week.

  - The biggest story this week has been the Cam Newton affair.  It's much like the SI expose from a former agent not too long ago in that it's really not that surprising to me.  We all know college football is crooked as all hell.  The BCS is a sham organization and that's at the top of the whole cartel, so how surprised am I supposed to be when these stories break?  I don't want to turn this into a rant, so I'm just gonna pull a quote and make a brief point and then we'll move on.  I'm taking this from a piece at Team Speed Kills, the SBN community for SEC football:

But there will now always be that doubt, that little whisper in the back of your mind that makes you wonder whether Newton broke the rules. (And like it or not, they are the rules, and not following the rules in sports is known as cheating whether they are good rules or not.)

  The rules?  Really?  Not following the rules in college football is the rule.  And secondly, when you build a pyramid of shit, don't be surprised that it attracts flies.  Who really thinks college football is the paradigm of good morals and honest living?  You do?  Go help build that shit pyramid and don't come back.  Let's just admit the whole construct is crooked and flawed, and then let's enjoy it for what it is.  The best semi-pro, minor league football system ever.  By far.  That should be good enough for anyone, if you're just honest enough to admit it.

  In any case, if you got this far and have no idea what I'm talking about, cheers.  But to fill you in, just check out the SBN StoryStream on the whole Cam Newton saga.  And if you're wondering what this could have to do with the Rams, just check out a recent piece on Cam's draft stock at Mocking the Draft, the SBN community for the NFL Draft.  WIth Charlie Whitehurst, Troy Smith and Derek Anderson the three starting QBs in the NFC West not named Sam Bradford, it's not hard to imagine Cam Newton as a starting NFL QB in our division in 2011.

 - Speaking of college football and SB Nation, the SBN BlogPoll is awesome, but more awesomer is the analysis that Brian Cook drops every week.  Just check his piece on the week 11 rankings and try and act like it's not incredible.  Try.

 - There's not a team that's more fun to watch in college football than LSU.  They have the worst clock management coach in the history of the sport who happens to eat the field in some kind of ode to his bovine predecessors.  They're stacked with NFL-level talent at nearly every position.  And it's one of the greatest sporting cultures on Earth.  Now yes, I'm biased because my family's from just outside of Baton Rouge.  But I don't care.  LSU is the most interesting team to watch every single week, hands down.

 - I'm going to start working on a mock draft soon.  So much has happened since my first and only 2011 mock, and I'm itching to do another one.

 - And lastly, much love to TSTers.  I see some of you guys around Mocking the Draft, and I'm always glad to see how much more aware and educated on draft stuff you guys seem to be than other commenters.  Word.

  I don't really have much to say about the watchlist this week.  Someone had suggested I note which sophomores are redshirted so that they can tell who's draft eligible and who's not when they watch the games.  Done.  And if you have any other critiques, any ways to make the list better, please let me know.  Then print a copy off and take some notes over the next three days while you're watching the ethically clean world of college football.  Ha.

  Holler.