2011 NFL Draft : year of the bust

Saturday night the NFL draft wrapped up it's three day event at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, NY. The event was less than extraordinary unlike most years, not only due to labor disputes and uncertainty over the upcoming season, but also because the event was dragged out into an ultra bore filled with at best, a mediocre draft class and a controversial number one overall pick.
From the number one overall selection, to pick 258, " Mr. Irrelevent", the later rounds proved to be stale, while most teams decided to gamble with upside and unproven talent over worthy, draftable players , who were not selected at all.  The baffled look on "draft guru" Mel Kiper Jr's face on espn's coverage throughout the draft explains my point dramatically. 
The one and only noticeable weak point ruined the draft for me.The news that confirmed my opinion was a few minutes before the draft started when I heard that the Carolina Panthers would be selecting former Auburn quarterback  and 2010 Heisman Trophy winner, Cameron Newton. The hype surrounding Newton after a one year glide through FBS college football was confirmed by the NFL now, and so was the negative conotations that came along with the selection.
Newton was a prized recruit when he enrolled at the University of Florida in the same class as the locally beloved former Gator quarterback Tim Tebow. He showed to me that he was a diva that couldn't wait his turn to be the next great UF quarterback when he transferred after his sophomore season. When he left Blynn Junior College last spring, he knew what kind of situation and opportunity he would have at Auburn University with then new head coach Gene Chizik.
Everything looked good in the beginning of the 2010 College football season for Newton as he racked up yards and touchdowns on his feet and in the air like no other had ever seen at the qb position at Auburn. Everything was looking perfect in toomer's corner, where the toilet paper flows on the pines like water down a rapid flowing river. Then, the news came out that Newton and his father had accepted improper and illegal benefits from the university. Newton's punishment? Nothing! His father accepted all responsibility and the problem disappeared. Not a game suspended, not a single post season accolade or game taken away, nothing happened to Newton's eligibility status and there were no sanctions to Auburn University's football program.
Why did nothing happen when Reggie Bush had similar allegations when he was a Heisman trophy winning tailback at USC, and years later had to give up his Heisman trophy, forcing the program into years of sanctions, including no bowl games and scholarship reductions? The Auburn Tigers won the 2011 national championship as USC did in '03,'04,'05. And the outcome was hyped as usual.
All the way from January to late April, when Newton was taken with the first pick in the '11 Draft, he continued to climb up draft boards around the country despite many critics breaking down his mechanics and work ethic and not liking what they saw. This was just one pick in a draft filled with overrated players who certain teams took complete gambles on in early and later rounds. Don't get me wrong, some teams did it right, and drafted smart and well, but some teams overlooked the problems the same way that Auburn University and the NCAA did in the fall.