Today’s Ask Fiu topic … Why did no one see Ryan Leaf’s bust coming?

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Q: Why was Ryan Leaf so awful, and how did nobody see it coming? Sure, he turned out to be a petulant man-child, but plenty of petulant man-children stick around the NFL and even thrive. – Ben D.

A: I went back into the library for the Pro Football Weekly 1998 Draft Preview, written by the late, great Joel Buchsbuam. He said that Peyton Manning was not a “rare talent” and was “not the long-range prospect John Elway was,” but he really wasn’t hot on Ryan Leaf.

Remember, this was just as the Internet world was kicking in and scouting was far different.

Part of the Negatives section: “Very self-confident to the point where some people view him as being arrogant and almost obnoxious. However, coach (Mike) Price swears that, once you get to know him, Leaf is a great person. Tends to hold on to the ball too long. … Misses too many open receivers. Ball placement and accuracy are not what they could or should be. … Gets too macho and thinks he’s a fullback. Overly emotional and has to be in the middle of everything.”

The final view on Leaf? He had upside and potential, but was “far from a polished product.” Also, he was, supposedly, “a better athlete and leader than (Drew) Bledsoe and (had) more upside and potential.”

No one was really quite sure, but Leaf looked the part.

There was no shrewder talent evaluator than former San Diego General Manager Bobby Beathard, and he gave away a first round pick in 1999 and a 1998 second round pick just to go from No. 3 to Arizona’s spot at the two.

What did Leaf do? He ticked off teammates and coaches to an all-timer of a level off the field, and he completed 48% of his passes with 13 touchdowns and 33 interceptions in two season for the Chargers on the field. But what went really wrong?

He got hurt, missed all of 1999 and didn’t seem like he really wanted to fight through his shoulder problems to come back, he returned, stunk, and San Diego was ready to launch him.

It’s not that no one saw it coming – it was that everyone overlooked his attitude and personality because he had skills that should’ve made him one of the greats.

He had the size, he had the arm, he had the mobility, and he had the ability to be the best player on the field and an elite passer who could carry the franchise. So he was sort of a jerk – isn’t that a positive in a way for top leaders and legendary quarterbacks?

Considering Leaf’s off-the-field issues since his football days, it’s easy to speculate that there were other issues involved, but drug use is part of the world of the NFL on several levels. It was a maturity problem with an inability to work through his issues on the field, and considering how he rubbed everyone the wrong way – to put it nicely – he was easy to launch once it became obvious that he was never going to become a good NFL starting quarterback.