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is starks really that good? it seemed to me that roethlisberger barely survived the regular season. Ben basically refuses to throw the football in the first 6-7 seconds after the snap. That's why he barely survived the regular season.

Today was the first day of the combine workouts and a kicker, David Buehler from USC, benched 25 reps - better than a lot of offensive linemen. Here are the top performers from day one of the combine. Jared Cook (S Car) and Shawn Nelson (USM) both ran sub-4.6 40s as tight ends. Lydon Murtha (Neb) ran a 4.86 40 as an offensive lineman. Travis Beckum (Wisc) and James Casey (Rice) each topped the TEs with 28 bench reps. Louis Vazquez (TTU) was the top o-lineman with 39 reps. QBs, RBs and WRs will work out tomorrow (Sunday).

The Bears may apparently be comfortable with backups Brett Basanez and Caleb Hanie, according to Kevin Seifert's blog on ESPN: Asked if he would be fine with that trio in 2009, Smith said:

Michael Crabtree has a fractured foot that will sideline him through all pre-draft activities. There's some talk that he may slide a bit in the draft because of it.

It appears Kurt Warner is going to return to the Cardinals. Matt Leinart continues to rot on the bench (along with Vince).

If you wanted Max Starks before today, I really doubt you'll want him now.

Yay! The Raiders made a good decision!

Damn. The more options in the market (on either lines) the better for the Bears. Maybe the Bears are one of the unnamed teams he's interested in being traded to. Only if they're swapping over to a 3-4 defense. :D I would be so down with that. It'll never happen with Lovie in charge, I'd say.

I quietly wanted Hayden a lot. I didn't think it would happen, but he'd be the perfect fit on the Bears defense. Hayden's definitely a nice corner. And you know the Colts love him if they're willing to pay him. The only players they've given big money to are guys like Harrison, Peyton, Freeney, Mathis, etc.

Damn. The more options in the market (on either lines) the better for the Bears. Maybe the Bears are one of the unnamed teams he's interested in being traded to. Only if they're swapping over to a 3-4 defense. :D

It's spring training. The meaningless games haven't even started yet. What is wrong with a column like that? Do you really want the "Johnson really worked out extra hard this year in hopes of putting the disappointing 2008 season behind him" article, or the "Smith thinks he's ready to finally put it all together and translate his skills into success at the plate" column? I still expect a "How the Grittiness of Aaron Miles will vault the Cubs to a playoff win" article.

Good news for Colt fans: Indy has re-signed corner Kelvin Hayden to a five-year deal.

I'm just giving you a hard time. But seriously, with Tait's ~$5m coming off the books, the Bears have a great opportunity to take advantage of an unexpected increase in cap space. Yeah, Haynesworth will be a great signing for whoever gets him. I still think the Titans will (and should) shell out the cash for him, but I'm a bit more worried about it now. Albert and a healthy Tommie Harris would be really nasty in the middle of a dline.

What the heck do you think we've been talking about since yesterday? I hadn't heard this til just now. And it's not like people in this thread haven't been talking about interest in Albert before yesterday. the link is at the top of this page. Ah, sorry. I read the post but didn't click the link, assuming it would be on Tait retiring.

What the heck do you think we've been talking about since yesterday? I hadn't heard this til just now. And it's not like people in this thread haven't been talking about interest in Albert before yesterday.

Albert Haynesworth will test free agency. This is bad news for the Titans. In good news, though, the Titans re-signed kicker Rob Bironas to a multi-year deal. The Raiders are also going to make Shane Lechler the highest paid punter in the NFL.

Albert will test free agency. This is bad news for the Titans.

I was hoping he'd be a fallback option in the offseason (as a FA) in case the second base situation sucks. Now, we've got a whole heck of a lot riding on Fontenot playing well. Of course, I wouldn't have been thrilled with paying Roberts $10 million a year over 4 years, either. Maybe that's a bad value in this market, but I don't think that's overpaid. He is a very very good player. In DeRosa's career year last year, Roberts outplayed him in several areas. The problem is his age and the fact that speed is such an important part of his game. It makes him a very questionable bet to give that long of a deal to. He'll start slowing down both on the basepaths and defensively, and he'll have to hit as well as he did last year in those final 2 years to make up for that. The Orioles caved on this one. Roberts has been demanding a 4th year for months. Because of Hudson, the trade value for Roberts has been zero, so I guess they weren't willing to gamble on losing him for draft picks at the end of the year. Agree. Roberts would have been nice going into 2008, but he's 31 now, and I have little interest in trying to coax multiple quality years out of a 30-something middle infielder. I wouldn't even hate 3/30, but that fourth year bothers me. The way I figure it, you're looking at two good to very good years and then the third will be a dropoff (perhaps significant for the reasons CCP mentioned). The fourth could be awful, though if he were a free agent I'd probably look at a 3/30 with a team option for a fourth.

If he doesn't end up as the top paid defensive player in the league, he'll be really close. Jared Allen is currently the highest paid defensive player, and is making (I believe) right around $12 million a year. As for the injuries, he'll have a minor one every game (pretty much) that puts him out for a play or two. He'll also miss a few games a year, but he's never played less than 10 in a season and he averages 13 a year. Good Albert for 13 games is better than any DT in the game for 16. The question I struggle with is whether he'll put forth maximum effort after getting a massive long term contract. He's always been rather immature (even back in his UT days), but stomping on Andre Gurode's head seemed to be a turning point for him. He came back from that suspension vowing that he'd be more mature and responsible. Since then, he's been more consistent and dependable than I've ever seen. I think he'll be fine, but it's not a guarantee. Ultimately I think the Titans will re-sign him (all signs point to that), but he'd be a great addition to any team.

I was hoping he'd be a fallback option in the offseason (as a FA) in case the second base situation sucks. Now, we've got a whole heck of a lot riding on Fontenot playing well. Of course, I wouldn't have been thrilled with paying Roberts $10 million a year over 4 years, either.

For those of you salivating over the idea of Daunte Culpepper starting for your team at QB, the dream has ended.

Can't wait for the Combine to start. Hopefully I'll be able to watch some. It runs right through the time I'll be at work.

yes please to both, thank you I've never understood the struggles Garcia has had sticking with a team consistently. He's not a great QB, but he's been successful everywhere he's gone and he's got a career 61.6 completion % and a 2 to 1 career TD:INT ratio. He's never had success outside of the West Coast offense. That kind of limits the teams he can go to and be good. I think he's got what you referred to earlier as a problem as well-he's viewed as a short term option. Yeah, I'd still think a West Coast offense would latch onto him and keep him, though. He's just not exciting, though, and franchise QBs tend to need to excite the fan base.

Yea, but Hedey was the bad guy, so it doesn't count. I watched that part of Blazing Saddles the other day. The "on line" part stuck out like a sore thumb.

yes please to both, thank you I've never understood the struggles Garcia has had sticking with a team consistently. He's not a great QB, but he's been successful everywhere he's gone and he's got a career 61.6 completion % and a 2 to 1 career TD:INT ratio. He wasn't successful with the Browns or Detroit and let's face it he's getting old. I think he would be a better fit for the Vikings. You are correct and I should have said pretty much everywhere he's been. But then, who would be successful in Cleveland and Detroit lately? He'd be a great fit for the Vikings, but I think he would do pretty well in Chicago as well. If nothing else, I think he'd be an upgrade over Orton while ya'll looked for a QB of the future.