NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
It was such a strange and long Saturday.

2008 NFL Draft day

Only 3 hours for round 1. Last year the NFL draft was over in 6 hours. No receivers taken in the first round. How odd. The fast guys must slow the draft down.

Jake Long

Jake Long officially became a Miami Dolphin. The first draft pick in 2008 for the NFL by Bill Parcells. Big Tuna could not get rid of the pick, so he overpaid a very good young tackle to the tune of 58 million bucks for 6 years. 30 mill guaranteed. 6 years of no playoffs for the Dolphins, but at least they have a tackle.

Jake Long - an even bigger Tuna

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Pacman - Ride ‘em Cowboy

Pacman is a Cowboy. It is official. Will Pacman even make the field is another question. The trade itself was very complicated.

The deal was agreed to in principle Wednesday. Then came all a convoluted series of talks between both teams, Pacman, the league and the union, a back-and-forth, forth-and-back series that team vice president Stephen Jones called the most complicated in his nearly 20 years in the league.

source

Brett Favre is gone

Brett Favre was placed on the Packer reserved retired list and no longer counts as part of their roster. It is so hard to imagine playing the Packers and not seeing Brett Favre slinging the ball around.

Detroit Lions had to pull something

Too gun shy Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Stealing a look at the USA Today Mock NFL Draft that involves 6 USA Today writers and 2 writers from NFLDraftScout.com, we can count which player is picked the most for each team and thus figure out the draft. Well, sort of anyway.

Today there is also going to be a comparison of Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm, the top two quarterbacks in the NFL draft.

My comments are in italics.

Here we go.

1. Miami Dolphins - Jake Long T, UM. 8 votes.
Stayed at UM to get a National Championship, but was denied when Hart and Henne suffered various injuries.

2. St. Louis Rams - Chris Long DE, Virginia. 7 votes.
Rams need defense bad.

3. Atlanta Falcons - Glenn Dorsey DT, LSU. 7 votes.
Falcons need everything bad.

4. Oakland Raiders - Vernon Gholston, LB/DE, Ohio State. 5 votes.
Nobody really wants to be a Raider anymore. It is sad.

5. Kansas City Chiefs - Ryan Clady T, Boise State. 3 votes.
Johnson needs a tackle for his 500 run attempts per game.

6. New York Jets - Darren McFadden RB, Arkansas. 5 votes.
Guess Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are just not getting it done. Jones had over 1,000 yards, but only 1 rushing TD.

7. New England Patriots - Leodis McKelvin CB, Troy. 3 votes.
Like the Pats needed a 7th pick anyway.

8. Baltimore Ravens - Matt Ryan QB, Boston College. 6 votes.
Not that McNair has retired, this is a perfect scenario for the young Matt Ryan to compete for the starting job.

Matt Ryan vs. Brian Brohm

Is Matt Ryan better than Brian Brohm because of all the extra brains up in his helmet?

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First we need to look at some stats. Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
More power to Jake Long. Power, as in 58 million bucks.

That is right. 58 million smackaroonies for an offensive lineman. That is a lot of dough. That is way too much dough. Jake Long will most likely be a great left tackle, but that is too much money to spend to find that out.

Jake Long can now afford those Gucci football shoes

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The draft needs to be fixed. It is a joke to pay a football player that has not even arrived in his first camp and make him the highest paid player at his position. It is an even bigger joke to make Jake Long the highest paid lineman and make him play for Miami, a team that does not expect to win a whole lot of games.

You realize that you just punished Miami. Now a fistful of dollars are tied up in an inexperienced rookie lineman.

Hey, give credit to Miami. They knew the fix they were in and put on their best face.

Long’s total contract package is for $57.75 million, said a person familiar with the negotiations who didn’t want to be identified because the Dolphins declined to reveal terms. Last year’s top pick, JaMarcus Russell, signed for $61 million with the Oakland Raiders but missed all of training camp before reaching a deal.

Long becomes the highest-paid lineman in the NFL and a 6-foot-7, 315-pound cornerstone in a rebuilding project for the new Dolphins regime led by Bill Parcells. Last season Miami went 1-15, and the offensive line has been a chronic problem in recent years.

source

As a big football fan, maybe this would have been easier to digest if it was a unique skill player like JaMarcus Russell and Calvin Johnson were last year. It would have been easier to take if Matt Ryan or Darren McFadden had been a little higher rated, but this is a left tackle.

So take heart out there all of you left tackles that Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
This draft stinks.

It stinks so much that the NFL has to be bummed.

You see drafts have turned into media events and this one has the makings of low ratings.

Is this draft low on players? No, not really.

Is this draft low on talented skill players? No, there might be as many as 12 running backs taken in the first 3 rounds.

So, swami, just what is it that you do not like?Well, the simple answer is that Miami has the first pick and would love to trade down, but there are no sexy picks that make trading up all that worthwhile.

Darren McFadden asks, “You don’t find me sexy?”

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According to ratings by NFLDraftScout.com, the five top-rated players are Virginia defensive end Chris Long, LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long and Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston.

source

McFadden

Hey, what about McFadden? Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
USA Today ran a Mock Draft NFL 2008 with 6 writers from USA Today and two from NFLDraftScout.com.

What will be attempted here is to count the majority to get the pick for each team.

1. Miami - Chris Long DE, Virginia with 4 out of 8 votes.

Chris Long son of Howie Long. Long live the Longs

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2. St. Louis - Glen Dorsey DT, LSU (Chris Long also had 3, but was already off the board. See how this works?)

3. Atlanta - tie Jake Long T, Michigan and Matt Ryan QB, Boston College (giving preference to the NFLDraftScout.com guys the pick goes to Jake Long. They both picked Jake Long.)

4. Oakland - Darren McFadden RB, Arkansas with 5 votes.

5. Kansas City - Ryan Clady T, Boise State with 5 votes.

6. New York Jets - Vernon Gholston LB/DE Ohio State with 5 votes.

7. New England from San Francisco - Leodis McKelvin CB, Troy.

8. Baltimore - Matt Ryan QB, Boston College (Still on the board, because tie breaker for Atlanta had them take Jake Long).

9. Cincinnati - Sedrick Ellis DT, Southern California with 7 out of 8 votes. Almost a perfect score.

10. New Orleans - tie Mike Jenkins CB, South Florida and Keith Rivers LB, Southern California. (Applying tie breaker of the NFLDraftSCout.com guys gives us…drum roll please…a tie. Uh oh, New Orleans has a decision to make.

There it is, the consensus top voted ten picks for the NFL 2008 draft.

And isn’t Howie proud?

NFL Football special comment Don’t you love the intrigue of the draft?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

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The hot rumor revolves around the Raiders at pick number 4.

At a time when many league observers believe that the Oakland Raiders won’t be able to resist the 4.33 speed of running back Darren McFadden with the fourth overall pick in the draft, a league source tells us that there are “strong indications” that the Raiders will select Ohio State linebacker/defensive end Vernon Gholston according to Profootballtalk.com

source

Vernon Gholston to the Raiders?

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Still McFadden is hard to resist. Gholston would be a better long term build.

Meanwhile in Miami

Big Tuna is making a move or is he?

Parcells and the Miami Dolphins have begun contract negotiations with the agent for potential top draft pick Jake Long, a person familiar with the talks said Thursday. The person did not want to be identified because the Dolphins have been coy about their plans for the No. 1 pick.

Negotiations with Long’s agent, Tom Condon, don’t necessarily mean Miami has ruled out other prospects. The new Dolphins regime, led by Parcells, could use the talks to increase contract leverage with other potential picks.

The Dolphins also are interested in trading the No. 1 pick, but so far no suitors have surfaced.

source

Miami is so far from winning that Jake Long would be a good solid pick for years to come. My guess is that Miami wants to trade down to get additional players.

Baltimore Ravens

Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens need a QB. Matt Ryan is there for the taking if they can move up or get lucky.

In reality, the Ravens really only need to worry about three franchises: the Miami Dolphins (first overall pick), Atlanta Falcons (third) and Kansas City Chiefs (fifth). Everyone else currently ahead of the Ravens appears fixed on other areas, and the quarterback-needy teams behind Baltimore don’t appear to have enough ammunition to move up. And regarding the Ravens’ troublesome trio, there have been encouraging signs in recent days.

source

It has already been mentioned that Miami is looking at Jake Long, or even Chris Long. Atlanta is looking real hard at defensive tackle Glen Dorsey, and the Chiefs are looking at everyone, so Baltimore could sit still and get lucky.

It is all a jumble right now and teams keep positioning themselves for the draft.

Right now Miami holds the key.

NFL Football special comment Linemen are needed to build a team. So why are skill players so irresistible?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

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Chris Long points out the pain that the opposition will now begin to feel as he applies the heat

Here is the latest draft scoop out of Miami.

The Dolphins have scheduled private meetings with Long, Ryan and Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long in their college cities, according to officials who work with each player. (They have not requested similar sessions with Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston and LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, agents said.)

source

WalterFootball.com gives us the scoop on Chris Long, the most likely prospect.

The Dolphins need a 3-4 rush linebacker. They’ll be able to grab a quarterback, nose tackle and right tackle later in the draft, but they won’t be able to obtain a devastating sack-artist like Long or Gholston at selection No. 32. Long played the 3-4 at Virginia and it doesn’t exactly hurt that his father is Howie Long. The Tuna has a history of drafting players who have NFL bloodlines (Bobby Carpenter).

To summarize, Miami has to acquire a 3-4 linebacker here, and Chris Long is currently the top prospect at that position, edging Gholston out by a nose. This could change in the coming weeks. Stay tuned. source

Matt Ryan would take years. Too much for the impatient Big Tuna.

Jake Long is great, but not great enough to warrant pick number 1.

NFL Football Fan Question Who would you take?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

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The draft is here and where is everyone going? Time to check in on the experts.

Walter Football.com
Miami Dolphins: Chris Long, DE/OLB, Virginia
St. Louis Rams: Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State
Atlanta Falcons: Jake Long, OT, Michigan

Walter also has a 09 draft outlook.

NFL Draft countdown.com

Miami Dolphins: Chris Long, DE/OLB, Virginia
St. Louis Rams: Jake Long, OT, Michigan
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

The Matt Ryan pick is interesting with Atlanta having so many needs.

Draft King.com

Miami Dolphins: Chris Long, DE/OLB, Virginia
St. Louis Rams: Jake Long, OT, Michigan
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

Draft King also submits that Ryan will go number 3.

Looks like 2 out of 3 doctors of the draft recommend drafting Matt Ryan for the Atlanta Hawks!

NFL Football Fan Question After Adrian Peterson’s success, don’t you think McFadden will go earlier?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

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Did you check out Chris Johnson?

Chris who?

Chris Johnson from East Carolina in Conference USA.

Conference USA? Who cares?

Hey, they put out football players. Anyway Chris Johnson ran a 4.24.

A what? That is impossible.

Maybe not, because he did it and it is a whole tenth of a second faster than Darren McFadden ran. McFadden ran a 4.33.

Uhh, boss that is 9 tenths faster.

Got it, right, whatever. Still it is blazing fast.

Last year, Yamon Figurs, now a Raven, ran a 4.3 and that was the fastest time. That was enough to move him up to draft day one and into the NFL.

Check out some of this other stuff.

Vernon Gholston and Jake Long both benched 225 pounds 37 times. You ever try any exercise with any weight for 37 times? Go ahead and try it.

Quarterback Josh Johnson had the fastest 40, a 4.55 and the best vertical jump for the quarterbacks of 33.5 inches. Talk about an athlete. This is not your daddy’s quarterback anymore.

Anyway, not all of the positions have been tested, so the Squibster will be back with more.

NFL Football Fan Question Are these numbers fun or what?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

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Today we examine the Top Ten draft picks.

Michael Pitzer at USAToday will be our guide.

The Squibster will comment in italics.

Matt Ryan - The new face of the Dolphins?

1. Miami Dolphins -

Expect plenty of subterfuge from the Dolphins during the next two months; you’re better off not believing anything you hear from them. General manager Jeff Ireland threw open the door for a trade when he told the NFL Network at the Senior Bowl, “We’re open for business.” The Dolphins, who drafted John Beck in the second round a year ago, need to make a decision at quarterback. If they don’t like Beck or their options in free agency, then Boston College’s Matt Ryan would make sense. If not, look for Miami to go for defense. source

Isn’t it odd how Miami football and basketball have fallen on hard times. You can read about NBA Basketball at NBAObsessed, my other blog, but suffice it to say that Pat Riley has a plan to rebuild the team in 1 year after losing the Shaq. Does Bill Parcells have a plan? Well, most likely, but he has not told me in person, yet.

My guess is they go for Matt Ryan, even though that would go against conventional logic for building a team. (You build the lines first) Miami needs a new face and QB Matt Ryan could provide that face. Add in the fact that Bill Parcells believes in the quick turnaround. He has pulled it off himself, before. Logic still dictates trading down.

2. St. Louis Rams - Michael says no to the QB, and uses the level of health to determine whether they go for Jake Long, Virginia defensive end Chris Long, or LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

Make it Jake Long, you can’t go wrong.

3-5 (order to be determined by coin flip). Atlanta Falcons - Ryan or Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.

McFadden, with no QB, Atlanta will need some kind of run game.

3-5. Kansas City Chiefs - The Chiefs Read more