This edition of “SB Nation selects” is a wonderfully simple. It’s a tale of two men trying to make each other look bad. The year is 1994 and the back-and-forth between Mel Kiper of ESPN and Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Tobin is one to remember.
SB Nation selects ... Mel Kiper vs. Bill Tobin slap fight
It’s beautifully voyeuristic to see people air their dirty laundry in public.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The trade
It started with a phone call. Indianapolis traded up into the fifth spot and everybody thought they were taking Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer, but no.
Okay, so lets break this down. The Colts decided they HAD to have Trev Alberts, so they traded to move up two spots in the draft and gave up a third round pick. The crowd is audibly laughing, but that’s not the star here. The REAL star in Kiper’s quote.
“BUT TO PASS UP A TRENT DILFER, WHEN ALL YOU HAVE IS JIM HARBAUGH”
Take that Harbaugh!
But wait, the fun didn’t stop there!
Normally when this kind of stuff happens it’s ho hum. Maybe a few jokes about the team, then we move on to the season.
Colts general manager Bill Tobin who made the pick was none too please with Kiper’s analysis and decided to spend almost three minutes berating the ESPN analyst.
Tobin goes for everything. He claims Kiper couldn’t get a job in the NFL, sources hundreds of unnamed NFL personnel people who agree with him and believes Kiper holds a grudge against the Colts because they moved to Indianapolis.
Tale of the tape
Immediately following the draft this slap fight was a draw. Nobody really had the knockout zinger. Tobin had an opportunity, but he bumbled through his rant too much and it came off more like a crotchety man playing bingo than a wordsmith.
In terms of the players, who got it right?
Trent Dilfer: 14 NFL seasons, 20,518 passing yards, 2000 Super Bowl winner, 1997 Pro Bowl
Trev Alberts: Three seasons, 49 tackles, 4.0 sacks
ouch
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