Here comes the losing

NEW YORK — If there are two things the likely top selections in the NFL draft have in common, they are winning and losing.

Most have been winners throughout their football careers. Why else would they be chosen so quickly, even if their teams weren’t all that successful in college?

And many of them are about to experience — frequently — the disappointment of defeat in their early pro careers. They are headed for the likes of the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders, consistent losers for most of this decade.

So what do they think of possibly losing as many games in 2009 as they did in their entire amateur career?

Well, not much, simply because they don’t think about it at all.

“It’s an exciting time and we’re all anxious,” said Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, though he was not referring to anxiety about winding up on a bad team. “We’re football players and we’re all anxious to get all this over with and get back on the field and play the game we love.”

Stafford got things going Friday night when he signed a six-year deal that could total $78 million with the Detroit Lions, who have the first overall pick Saturday.

But will Stafford and the others still love it tomorrow, when their teams are scratching through 4-12 seasons? When they have played four exhibition games and a dozen in the regular season — already more times than they took the field in a college schedule — and are headed to a frigid clime in December?

“It’s a mind-set,” said offensive tackle Jason Smith, whose personal resume certainly reads better than his team’s. A third-team All-American in ‘08, Smith was a rare standout through four seasons at Baylor. The Bears went 18-31 in his time there.

“When you have to deal with losing, you know what it takes to not lose. You know how to get out of that losing frame of mind.”

Smith must bring along to the NFL some of that positive outlook to help erase that losing environment. He feels prepared to do so — not that he wants to go through any more time at the bottom of the standings.

“It makes me the person I am, what I went through (at Baylor),” he said. “Things are turning around at Baylor; I’ve seen what it was and what it is. My class took us up to another competitive level, and that level will be great in years to come. You have to develop a mind-set to do what others can’t do.”

What many of the other top prospects did a lot of in college was win. Stafford and fellow quarterback Mark Sanchez of Southern California, for example. Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree, Texas linebacker-defensive end Brian Orakpo and Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, too.

“I think Sanchez is a fantastic leader. He’s played in Los Angeles, which is like the 33rd NFL team, and he’s led that team,” Joey Clinkscales, the Jets’ vice president of college scouting, said.

“He’s big, strong, plays real good in the red area, catches with his hands, real good after the catch,” former Chiefs and Jets coach Herm Edwards said of Crabtree. “If you want a pure speed guy, this ain’t the guy. This guy is a T.O. (Terrell Owens) type of guy. A Michael Irvin kind of guy. A Dwayne Bowe type of guy.”

And a guy who might need to get used to losing pretty soon. How much does that bother him?

“I can’t wait to get into the NFL and get started,” he said with a wide smile. “No matter what, it’s a dream come true: the N-F-L.”