Boswell wrote an article the other day about unrealistic expectations for all the new, young, high-draft picks we have in DC now. Griffin, Wall, Harper, Stras; I highly recommend it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/blogsandcolumns/from-john-wall-to-stephen-strasburg-to-rgiii-to-bryce-harper-washingtons-young-stars-are-judged-by-impossible-standards/2014/05/17/af752640-dd25-11e3-8009-71de85b9c527_story.html
One of the most destructive fallacies in sports is that the highest draft picks in the NBA, NFL and MLB can quickly transform their previously awful teams into champions — or near champs — in their first half-dozen years as pros. Just the opposite is true. The yardstick with which Washington and other towns measure their most conspicuous and often most criticized young talents is calibrated all wrong.
Washington gets indigestion when it tries to enjoy or evaluate the wonderful young pro athletes who’ve come to town hyped to the heavens and picked at the top of the draft. We can’t figure out whether to praise or blame — and in what proportion — John Wall, Robert Griffin III, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper for the levels of success their teams have reached in the postseason in recent years.
In the past five calendar years, Strasburg (2009 draft), Harper (2010) and Wall (2010) were picked No. 1 overall in their sports, and Griffin (2012) was one of the most-hailed No. 2 overall picks in NFL history, accompanied by far more anticipation than most “1-1s.” How much should they have done by now?