Someone convinced a lot of smart reporters that Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone would take his college pupil Ryan Nassib in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft, or in the second round at least. Nassib didn't get scooped up until the fourth round by the New York Giants, where he can be Eli Manning's little brother at quarterback.
"I thought the situation in Buffalo was going to go a little bit different ... I was a little disappointed," Nassib said during a conference call with reporters Saturday.
SI.com's Peter King reported Monday that Nassib was more than a "little disappointed," which is to be expected. King describes Nassib as "wounded." This was Nassib's "Welcome to the NFL" moment. It was a tough decision for Marrone, too.
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"In one sense, you study all the quarterbacks and you get the one you believe is the best one, and you're happy. You're ecstatic," Marrone told King. "In another sense, you're hurting about Ryan. And it did hurt. ... It was very difficult after what we did together. It hurts. It definitely hurts. He's a special kid. Unbelievable worker. So smart. Very, very good quarterback with all the intangibles. He will win games in this league.
"The responsibility I had was to get the best player we could get."
You can't fault Marrone for doing what he felt was right for the Bills. You can't fault Nassib for being wounded after he had such high expectations. It's an early reminder to both men that the NFL isn't about personal relationships. It's a business, and it's often a cold-blooded one.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
