Mario Williams got his first sack in his fourth game. Reggie Bush is a ``disappointment'' in New Orleans because he's only been good, not great.
Vince Young is, predictably, struggling on a bad team. Matt Leinart gets his first start this weekend and, like most young quarterbacks, is likely to have problems.
So much for high-profile rookies in the first quarter of the 2006 season. Better to drop all the way to the bottom of the draft for Marques Colston, Bush's teammate with the Saints.
Taken 252nd in the draft, fourth from last, the six-foot-four, 231-pound Colston ranks sixth in the NFL with 336 yards receiving on 20 receptions, pretty elite company for a seventh-round rookie from Hofstra.
Thus is the way of the NFL, where the draft is more image than reality _ a two-day made-for-television event in which 32 teams engage in a guessing game in which they are right about half the time.
Colston, chosen so late on the final day that even Mel Kiper was low-key, is remarkable, especially because he's a wide receiver.
That's a position that normally takes a year or more to learn. Many wideouts who make NFL rosters dominate in college with their athletic ability and have to adjust to much better defenders and more complex offences at this level.
``It's hard for a rookie,'' says Pittsburgh's Hines Ward, the Super Bowl MVP. ``There's a lot of thinking. When you're doing a lot of thinking you're not running as fast. It's an adjustment. There's been only one rookie to come in and dominate the game, Randy Moss with 17 touchdowns. Most rookies come in and it's a learning curve.''
Ward was talking about teammate Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh's first-rounder who has five catches for 51 yards. He might have been talking about himself _ after being taken in the third round in 1998, he had 15 catches, then jumped to 61 in his second season.
Chad Jackson of the Patriots and Sinorice Moss of the Giants, the second and third wideouts chosen, have been bothered by injuries. And the only rookie wide receiver even close to Colston is second-rounder Greg Jennings of the Packers, who has 15 catches for 259 yards and two TDs.
A quick look at the big names and others:
_ Mario Williams, DE, Houston. A surprise choice over Bush as the No. 1 pick, he did very little in his first three games and was singled out for lacklustre play by coach Gary Kubiak after a loss to Washington. It helped: Williams had 1{ sacks against Miami last week and deflected an ill-conceived halfback pass by Ronnie Brown for what might have been a game-tying two-point conversion.
Williams may turn out to be an impact defensive lineman. But if Bush does what's expected, Williams probably has to be a combination of Reggie White, Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor and Deacon Jones to convince the world he deserved to go No. 1.
_ Reggie Bush, RB, New Orleans. ``Why hasn't he scored a touchdown yet?'' asks Bobby Hebert, the Saints' QB of the 1980s and now a talk show host in New Orleans. Bobby always was a bit excitable. Bush is averaging just 3.3 yards a carry as the outside alternative to Deuce McAllister. But he leads a team that's 3-1 in receptions with 23, three ahead of Colston, and he's bound to break a big one soon. No, he's not yet LaDainian Tomlinson, Marshall Faulk or Tiki Barber, but he will be. Or better. He's 15th in the NFC in yards from scrimmage and will only move up.
_ Vince Young, QB, Tennessee. He did some good things in his first start last week although the Titans were overmatched by Dallas. On a drive for a field goal late in the first half, he made a quick move to escape pass rushers and got off a 24-yard pass to Bobby Wade. But he has yet to learn to put air under deep passes, so he overthrew a couple of receivers and underthrew one for an interception that might have been a TD had he lofted the ball.
``When you go that high in the draft, by definition you're going to a team that's struggled,'' said Dallas QB Drew Bledsoe, who started for the Patriots as a rookie after being No. 1 overall in 1993. ``What he has to learn is how to get through tough times. It takes time. A year, two years, and then you come out of it.''
_ D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, New York Jets. He's started all four games at left tackle and, like any rookie at that position, has had both good moments and bad.
_ A.J. Hawk, LB, Green Bay. The No. 5 overall pick has improved with each game, although (again, a rookie mistake) he blew a coverage in Philadelphia last week.
_ Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco. Taken sixth, he had a promising start with five catches against Arizona in his first game, including a 31-yard TD reception. But he's out for a while with a broken leg.
_ Matt Leinart, QB, Arizona. Leinart fell to Arizona at No. 10 in the draft. He had a good preseason and makes his first start Sunday against Arizona. Don't expect immediate superstardom, especially with the Cardinals' leaky offensive line.
Some other first-rounders have done well, notably at running back, where rookies can excel as long as they learn to pick up blitzers.
Laurence Maroney leads the Patriots with 294 yards rushing and a 4.9 average; Joseph Addai leads the Colts with 207 yards and a 4.5 average; DeAngelo Williams, Carolina's first pick, is averaging 5.1 yards a carry as DeShaun Foster's backup.
Throw in Jerious Norwood, Atlanta's third-round pick, who backs up Warrick Dunn in Atlanta's option offence and is averaging 8.3 yards a carry: 217 yards gained, including a 78-yard TD run. And Maurice Drew of Jacksonville, a second-rounder who is Fred Taylor's backup and could turn into a full-timer like Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook.
Some first-round defenders are doing OK, too.
Kamerion Wimbley leads Cleveland with three sacks, and massive Haloti Ngata has anchored the Baltimore defence and has a 60-yard interception return. Manny Lawson has two sacks for the 49ers; Ernie Sims leads Detroit with 35 tackles; and Michael Huff of Oakland and Donte Whitner of Buffalo have been starting at safety.
In fact, Whitner has been a standout after the Bills were criticized for taking him eighth overall when he was generally ``considered'' a late first-rounder. (``Considering'' has been the downfall of more than one team.)
There are also lower-round rookies who have beaten out more highly rated players for starting jobs.
In addition to Whitner, Buffalo has three others starting on defence: fourth-round safety Ko Simpson; fifth-round tackle Kyle Williams; and sixth-round linebacker Keith Ellison. Williams is starting ahead of John McCargo, the 26th overall pick.
But that's not unusual either _ the Giants' Barry Cofield, a fourth-rounder, beat out William Joseph, the team's 2003 first-round pick at DT. And yet another fourth-rounder, Victor Adeyanju, is starting at defensive end for the Rams. Dawan Landry, a fifth-rounder, is starting at strong safety in Baltimore's standout defence.
Bruce Gradkowski, a sixth-rounder, will start at QB for Tampa Bay this week, but only because Chris Simms is hurt.
That's why the draft is always such a guessing game. So just wait until Marques Colston is voted offensive rookie of the year over Reggie Bush.
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DIRTY DOZEN: The top six and bottom six teams based on current level of play:
1. Chicago (4-0). Not just the best in a weak division.
2. Indianapolis (4-0). Tony Dungy is miffed about the defence. But 4-0 is 4-0.
3. Baltimore (4-0). It helps to have a clutch QB.
4. Denver (2-1). As with Bears and Ravens, defence wins.
5. New Orleans (3-1). Played well in Carolina loss.
6. Atlanta (3-1). At some point, will need a passing game.
27. Tampa Bay (0-3). Can't get the Cadillac started.
28. Detroit (0-4). Closer to winning, but 0-4.
29. Houston (1-3). Halfway to last season's win total.
30. Miami (1-3). Has anything gone right?
31. Tennessee (0-4). Will get worse without Haynesworth.
32. Oakland (0-3). Good: 21 points. Bad: blowing 18-point lead at home to a winless team.
