Portrait of an NFL draft bustby Dick SuessHines didn't pan out In 1980 the Seattle Seahawks drafted offensive guard Andre Hines of Stanford University in the second round of the NFL draft. Andre Hines did nothing to impress his new employers and quickly fizzled out. Here is his story, and it's a funny one when you see what happened! Twenty-six years ago, offensive guard Andre Hines got the surprise of his life, the Seattle Seahawks were calling to tell him he had been selected in the second round of the draft. The Seahawks offered Hines a five-year contract worth $450,000 plus a signing bonus to play offensive tackle. He wondered why tackle, when he played only guard at Stanford University? Hines career with the Seahawks lasted all of nine games. Hines is considered to be the biggest bust among three decades of Seattle draft picks, a tag he still carries. But don't blame him, blame Jack Patera, Head Coach of the Seahawks who insisted Hines was the man they needed for their offensive right tackle position on the line. For the quickest and easiest depositing methods available, sign-up today at BetUS.com, "for over 14 years they have been the World-Wide Leader in Online Sports, Poker and Casino Gaming!" Always receive great odds, huge bonuses and fast payouts only at BetUS.com! BET ON FOOTBALL! First time deposits receive $75 free with a $200 deposit! Hines was a case of mistaken identity. Seems Patera had watched tape of several Stanford games looking for a offensive tackle that was recommended to him. After hours of watching he spotted the guy that was recommended to him by the Stanford coaches,who all said the guy was "can't miss" starter in the NFL. The guy Patera was watching was Brian Holloway, who was a junior and would be a first round selection by the New England Patriots in the 1981 draft. Patera thought Holloway was a senior. When he finally switched off his 8-milli-meter camera, Patera was tired and wrote down the jersey number of Holloway, or so he thought. Turns out he wrote down the number of the guy playing next to Holloway by mistake, who was a senior. The next day he told the front office the guy's number and told them to draft him. They asked Patera what the guy's name was, but he did'nt remember, he just remembered the guy's number. So the front office quickly contacted Stanford University and found out the jersey belongs to Hines. Hines had only played one season for Stanford. He was 6'6 and weighed in at 260lbs. He was not a good player, but he was all Stanford had at the guard position next to Holloway, so he started. The Stanford coaches wondered why the Seahawks were interested in Hines, he was not very good? So, when Hines received the call from the Seahawks during the 1980 draft offering him a job, a bonus and $450,000, he thought he had died and gone to heaven. And, Patera thought he had gotten a starting right tackle who was a sure be to be a starter. The time has come for betting on Belmont Stakes! The World's top 3 year olds return for the third leg of the Triple Crown! Check out the 2007 Belmont Stakes odds Today and come home a Winner!! When Hines showed up in Cheney, Washington for the start of practice in July 1981, he weighed 286 pounds, about 26 pounds over the prescribed limit for him. He was held out of the first 39 practices, one inter-squad scrimmage and an exhibition game, relegated to the injured list with a made-up ailment. He was put on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet and forced to run for long stretches in the dizzying Eastern Washington heat. "He was absolutely terrible," Patera said about him. "He had no intestinal fortitude. He couldn't push himself to do anything. I don't know if he could run down the field and throw a block, because he never did. He was in worse shape than I was," Patera said. Patera became incensed one day as he watched Hines slowly trudge around the field over and over during one workout session. He had someone time the rookie tackle. After practice, he grabbed a stopwatch and made a telling comparison. "I walked around the field and beat him by three minutes!" the coach said. "He was an impossibility." Of course, Patera still didn't know he had drafted the wrong guy. A guy who admitted later that he never really liked playing football. But he was not about to turn down the signing bonus and salary the Seahawks gave him. Click here to Buy NFL Football Picks from the World's Top Sports Handicappers! And receive ten Free NFL Picks from 10 World-Famous Handicappers! Hines took the money and bought a big house on a lake. He spent the whole $120,000 bonus money fast thinking more was on the way. After all, he was a second round draft pick. Hine appeared in nine of sixteen games as a reserve, drawing his lengthiest playing stint in a 51-7 Thanksgiving loss at Dallas. Afterwards Cowboys defensive stalwarts Ed "Too Tall" Jones and Harvey Martin laughed and said they were able to draw the Seahawks rookie offside simply by yelling "boo!" For his second Seahawks training camp, Hines showed up overweight again and abruptly quit after a week, deeming his repeated leg cramping unbearable. He was traded to Miami for a conditional draft pick and cut after three days. Hines later was cut during training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles and the UFFL's Oklahoma Outlaws, and kept on the roster but never used by the USFL's Oakland Invaders. Check out the 2009 Pro Football Playoff Odds and free NFL Playoff Predictions! The Seahawks moved quickly to introduce draft changes to ensure that nothing like the Hines pick happened again. Assistant coaches were added to the talent search, which already had four or five layers of scouts. Hines made a clean brake from Seattle. He gave his house on the lake back to the builder rather than to try and sell it, taking a big financial loss. He never returned to Stanford, leaving him a quarter shy of a communications degree. He lives alone in Kansas City. He never married, though he does have a son, Andre Hines II, who will play basketball for Lafayette College (Pa) next season. In January he quit his job for a collection agency. His legs started to fail him. He now walks with a cane and has a wheelchair within reach. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in October. He had this to say about his pro career: "I was willing to do what was necessary to play." I wasn't really excited to be a gladiator so to speak." Comments or Questions? Email FaceOff@BetUS.com. --- by BetUSradio at 1800-sports.com on May 4, 2006
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