Ah, I now believe pigs can fly.
Dogs and cats are mating, it’s snowing in Eugene in April, Republicans and Democrats are getting along, and Cody Pickett and Keith Lewis are going to be teammates.
Well, so the theory goes. The two were drafted by San Francisco on Sunday; Lewis was taken in the sixth round while Pickett was grabbed in the seventh. Their selections have produced a unique situation in Santa Clara, Calif., the home of the 49ers.
They could both wear red and gold once the 2004 NFL starts.
We’ll get into that a little bit later. First, let’s look at their history together.
Both are almost afterthoughts in the drafting process, but the memories they’ll leave their respective schools will last a lifetime.
Here’s one for the books:
“Keith did not listen to me last year,” Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti told reporters in November. “We had a little chat about certain things that I don’t agree with, so he will not be available to the press or the TV or anybody.”
What was Bellotti talking about? Well, for those with selective memories, Lewis told Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Ted Miller “anyone can have one good season.”
It shouldn’t be hard to figure out who he was talking about there.
But, alas, Lewis ate his words for the second straight season. Pickett — although he didn’t play much due to injury — and the Huskies lit up Oregon for 42 straight points for the second straight season just days after Lewis uttered his now famous critique of the Washington offense.
Lewis also criticized receiver Reggie Williams, selected ninth overall by Jacksonville on Saturday.
But Lewis, should he make the 49ers this season, won’t have to face Williams, at least this year. Although he could very well do so soon, so watch out for that game. It should be a doozy.
Getting back to Pickett and Lewis, if both make the team, it could be a positive and a negative football marriage in the Bay Area.
Neither likes one another — no surprise there — and one knows San Francisco doesn’t need a situation that parallels in any way the one Terrell Owens created.
At the same time they could be the best thing that ever happened to the 49ers. Well, maybe close to the best thing. I don’t think Jerry Rice or Joe Montana can ever be topped.
Pickett had a poor 2003 season. There’s no doubt about that. He threw for 3,043 yards but was picked off 13 times in 454 attempts. He also threw for just 15 touchdowns, eight of which fell into the hands of Williams.
The season before, though, he proved he could hold his own. The Caldwell, Idaho, native became the first-ever Pacific-10 Conference 4,000-yard passer. He was picked off 14 times but passed for 28 touchdowns.
Twenty-eight. In 13 games. In just 612 passing attempts. That’s one touchdown strike for every 22 passes attempted.
Pickett is still a talent. With three relatively inexperienced quarterbacks on the roster — Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey and Brandon Doman — Pickett could slip through the cracks onto the roster.
“He has potential,” San Francisco general manager Terry Donahue told 49ers.com. “He had a torn pectoral muscle and he is a real tough guy; he played through it, but he did not have a good senior year. We knew that about him. During his workout in Washington he was very impressive to our coaches. (Head) coach (Dennis) Erickson was up there and said at the right value, if this guy is there, we ought to think about him.”
Erickson obviously knows Pickett well, having seen him during his days at Oregon State.
Lewis is a bit more of an
unknown, a rather peculiar selection for a team trying to get away from less-than-positive attitudes. He’s surely one who isn’t afraid to do a little talking.
Still, when he’s healthy, Lewis can be one of the fastest on the field. He can also be the toughest when he wants to be.
Some still argue that had he played against Stanford in 2001 — he was instead out with an injured ankle — the Ducks would have defeated the Cardinal and potentially gone on to play for the national title.
Now, Lewis was taken 198th overall, the fourth Oregon player to be taken in the draft. There are rumors circulating that the 49ers may release safety Zack Bronson, which would clear the way for Lewis to slide into a roster spot.
Both fell into the right situation with San Francisco. Neither, otherwise, would have the best of odds to land on an NFL roster.
Pickett’s been assigned No. 10, Lewis has No. 45.
Let the fireworks begin.