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This is an absolutely crazy market. Kelley Washington for 4.5 mil a year? Even on a potential one-year contract, that's alot for a receiver who's done nothing in the NFL.

Absolutely we can. We went there and barely lost by 3 (though we exchanged leads with them multiple times). Not that I expect us to get past OSU, but I think it's entirely possible on a neutral court. Overall, I really like UT's bracket. We should take Long Beach St. and then either Albany or Virginia. Then it gets tough, though, with OSU and then (IF we get past the Buckeyes) Mem/TAMU in the Elite Eight. I think we've got a great shot for a Sweet 16 appearance at least and more if our guards play well.

They will still be safely in, but I do believe that all of the seed improvement that USC has been doing with their two previous wins in the tournament has been washed away with this performance-this is the sort of thing that could cost them a couple seed lines tomorrow night. What do you see for Tennessee after we crapped out in the first round Thursday? I figure probably a 6 seed. That seems about right, maybe a 5 since many of the other teams who were in that region also went out early in their conference tournaments and not many teams are making a huge run through the conference tournaments which would push them up into that range. Yeah, I think had we made a run to the weekend we could be looking at as high as a 3-4. That may be a bit optimistic though.

They will still be safely in, but I do believe that all of the seed improvement that USC has been doing with their two previous wins in the tournament has been washed away with this performance-this is the sort of thing that could cost them a couple seed lines tomorrow night. What do you see for Tennessee after we crapped out in the first round Thursday? I figure probably a 6 seed.

I usually catch my grammar mistakes as I type, but I do re-read everything after I finish (both for clarity and grammar). My mom's not an english teacher, but she very well could be and has always been a stickler for proper grammar (though as some of you can tell, I don't hold to it all the time).

Good time for the best cover safety in the draft. I still like Landry better overall, but this time solidifies Nelson as a mid to late (and possibly early depending on need) first rounder and the second safety taken. Depends on the need for the defensive scheme. This reinforces Nelson's image and anyone looking for a safety who is very strong in coverage would be advised to go with Nelson. True. But I don't think Landry's coverage skills are that much worse than Nelson.

Or JaMarcus if the Raiders are smart (unlikely) and take Calvin or trade down. I'm under the assumption that Oakland will be dumb until further notice. Yep, probably good thinking. :D

Or JaMarcus if the Raiders are smart (unlikely) and take Calvin or trade down.

Wrong. Given our current secondary, ANYTHING is an improvement. Let's compare: KK(2006, FS): 14 games, 63 tackles, 4 sacks, 6 int's Josh Bullocks(2006, FS): 16 games, 71 tackles, 0 sacks, 2 int's So basically, a part time player for the Bengals had a much better "playmaking" season compared to our current, full time free safety. Just a note, Bullocks is 24 and Kaesviharn is 31. But, in KK's favor, he didn't start in Cincy primarily because he was stuck behind one of the top young safeties in the game, Madieu Williams.

Good time for the best cover safety in the draft. I still like Landry better overall, but this time solidifies Nelson as a mid to late (and possibly early depending on need) first rounder and the second safety taken.

I'll agree with that. I don't know that it rules out Adrian Peterson. Jamal could still be a very productive running back, but the likelihood is he should split time with somebody. If they draft AD, the two could split time and the backfield is set for years to come.

I like Quinn and think he's the most sure thing of the QBs, but that blanket statement is a little too much in my opinion. I fully expect Quinn to have the better career. But he can't touch Russell talent wise. I see this as a situation similar to last year's with Leinart and Vince. Leinart was more of a sure thing, Vince had far more upside (but was less likely to be good). Except Young's upside came from unbelievable athleticism that Russel doesn't have at all. Russell is definitely very athletic, he just doesn't use it in the same way Vince does. Russell can be a very good thrower when he's on, Vince is frankly bad most of the time throwing the ball. Thus, Russell doesn't have the need to show his athleticism as often as Vince does. The #1 problem with Russell is his inconsistency and oftentimes poor decision-making. Vince, on the other hand, while a bad passer (though I've seen signs of him getting better slowly) makes the plays late in a game when he needs to. The run against the Texans in OT, the run against the Bills late in the fourth, multiple third down completions to keep drives alive. Russell is the better pure QB right now, but he's less consistent and falls apart when he struggles early. From the little of what I've seen of Russell he looks more like a big guy running the ball than he is athletic. Russell has some very nice stats but when you play for a big time school like LSU you often have a good line and good receivers and sometimes that skews the numbers. I like his arm but once you get to the NFL you have to be able to make those short passes with touch and be able to read the defense and I'd like to how he does in those catergories. I agree he is not worth the #1 pick and still has ALOT of developing to do. In that regard though, he's similar to Vince in that both can make the easy throws but both also struggle making the tough ones. Russell is just better at making the tough ones when he's on. And as for his athleticism, he'll never outrun or outjuke Vince, but from what I've seen he's very athletic.

I still don't understand this one. A 2nd and 7th for Wes Welker? He's a 3rd/4th receiver and average return man. Getting a 2nd for him is surprising. I don't understand it either. I doubt the Pats would have given up so much in a regular trade-Welker was a RFA, and for the Pats to sign him away would have required 2nd round compensation anyway, so the Pats were going to lose that. By giving up their 7th rounder as well, they were able to sign him to a much smaller deal than they would have had to by just signing him. The question is-what do the Pats see in him that they want to sign him in the first place? I'm not sure, but they are pretty good at finding talent, and so I'm worried to find out. Maybe he promised to give the Pats a Dolphin playbook to look at. Or they're just getting desperate. :D

I like Quinn and think he's the most sure thing of the QBs, but that blanket statement is a little too much in my opinion. I fully expect Quinn to have the better career. But he can't touch Russell talent wise. I see this as a situation similar to last year's with Leinart and Vince. Leinart was more of a sure thing, Vince had far more upside (but was less likely to be good). Except Young's upside came from unbelievable athleticism that Russel doesn't have at all. Russell is definitely very athletic, he just doesn't use it in the same way Vince does. Russell can be a very good thrower when he's on, Vince is frankly bad most of the time throwing the ball. Thus, Russell doesn't have the need to show his athleticism as often as Vince does. The #1 problem with Russell is his inconsistency and oftentimes poor decision-making. Vince, on the other hand, while a bad passer (though I've seen signs of him getting better slowly) makes the plays late in a game when he needs to. The run against the Texans in OT, the run against the Bills late in the fourth, multiple third down completions to keep drives alive. Russell is the better pure QB right now, but he's less consistent and falls apart when he struggles early. Agreed, Young has a ways to go in the professional passing game, while he developed a passing game in his senior year of college rather quickly, but that 6.7 YPC rushing will go a long way towards easing growing pains for the titans Oh yeah, he may be better at running the ball now than Steve McNair was in his first couple of years. Steve was a better passer though. Also, something that gives me more hope for Vince is that he struggled a year or two in college and then improved his junior year and broke out his senior year (technically beginning in the junior Rose Bowl visit). So it may take three to four years, but I am very confident he'll become at least another McNair.

:evil: It's amazing how quickly I've gone from very optimistic about the Titans to hoping we have some talent around Vince next year. EDIT: Oh by the way, we broke the bank today and signed Kerry Collins. Watch out Indy, the division is ours. ](*,) Vince doesn't need any help :wink: I know, but Vince hates beating everybody by himself. He's a very humble guy who would rather share the glory. :D

I am extremely underwhelmed with Mike Reinfeldt as GM so far. Since he took over we lost Drew Bennett and Travis Henry, and didn't go after Nate Clements or Patrick Kerney. There better be something good coming.

I like Quinn and think he's the most sure thing of the QBs, but that blanket statement is a little too much in my opinion. I fully expect Quinn to have the better career. But he can't touch Russell talent wise. I see this as a situation similar to last year's with Leinart and Vince. Leinart was more of a sure thing, Vince had far more upside (but was less likely to be good). Except Young's upside came from unbelievable athleticism that Russel doesn't have at all. Russell is definitely very athletic, he just doesn't use it in the same way Vince does. Russell can be a very good thrower when he's on, Vince is frankly bad most of the time throwing the ball. Thus, Russell doesn't have the need to show his athleticism as often as Vince does. The #1 problem with Russell is his inconsistency and oftentimes poor decision-making. Vince, on the other hand, while a bad passer (though I've seen signs of him getting better slowly) makes the plays late in a game when he needs to. The run against the Texans in OT, the run against the Bills late in the fourth, multiple third down completions to keep drives alive. Russell is the better pure QB right now, but he's less consistent and falls apart when he struggles early.

Oh I agree on the trading down part. If the right deal comes and the Raiders can get a ton in return for it, then by all means, go ahead and do it. But I don't think anybody is going to sell the farm to get the #1 pick. But like I said, if the right deal comes around, you have to do it. As for the extra picks, that's why I'm hoping a Moss deal will happen. I figure the Raiders should be able to get a second rounder for him (not great and nowhere near what they gave up for him but it's something they have to do). Good point on Moss. If you can get one to two high picks for him, there's really no need to trade down, just take Calvin.

:evil: It's amazing how quickly I've gone from very optimistic about the Titans to hoping we have some talent around Vince next year. EDIT: Oh by the way, we broke the bank today and signed Kerry Collins. Watch out Indy, the division is ours. ](*,)

This is a terrible move by the Pats. Welker is best at returning kicks, he's only a marginal receiver from what I've seen. Yet they're paying him in the same area as Drew Bennett, David Givens (former Patriot) and Deion Branch as you said. I certainly hope there are long time Pats that take exception to them throwing around money now. Welker is actually a pretty good receiver; good hands, solid route runner, deceptive speed but not a burner. He's essentially Wayne Chrebet. Worth that money? Doubtful. i'm a diehard Dolphin fan, and I'd be sad to see him go, but the WR corps is in disarray, so any openings that can be made for reconstruction are pretty much approved by me, especially if they can generate additional picks. Perhaps I underestimated Welker, but I still think its a terrible move simply for the amount of money and I just saw on NFL Network that the Pats are giving up a 2nd round pick along with the money for Welker.

Damn. I wanted the Raiders to sign Garcia in hopes that it would make them rethink their decision to draft Russell #1 overall. Oh well. That's quite a 180 by you. I argued a couple of months ago that the Raiders should trade down and get more picks. You told me I was cur-ray-zee. Don't want to speak for soccer here, but I'm pretty sure he wants Calvin Johnson with the first pick. And is also not enamored by JaMarcus Russell. Bingo. I still don't want them to trade down, I just don't want Russell. If they are going to draft a QB #1 overall, I want them to take Quinn. But if I'm running the team, I draft Johnson #1 and try to get Drew Stanton. I'm with you on not loving Russell at #1, but not so sure it would be bad to trade down. Calvin is so much better than any receiver in this draft that a team right on the edge of contention may see him as the piece to put them over the top and be willing to sell the farm (ie picks and young players stuck behind starting vets). With all the holes your team has, it may be best to move down and grab an extra 2nd and/or 3rd potentially. All that said, though, drafting Calvin Johnson with the first pick is never a bad idea (unless your the Lions :D )

Damn. I wanted the Raiders to sign Garcia in hopes that it would make them rethink their decision to draft Russell #1 overall. Oh well. That's quite a 180 by you. I argued a couple of months ago that the Raiders should trade down and get more picks. You told me I was cur-ray-zee. Don't want to speak for soccer here, but I'm pretty sure he wants Calvin Johnson with the first pick. And is also not enamored by JaMarcus Russell.

I don't think that's a shocking number at all considering the amount of money being thrown around right now. For a guy that's in his 30s and for a guy that has been ridiculously prone to injuries the last few years, I'm shocked at the number. This signing may guarantee Travis Henry isn't coming back to the Titans. If Green can get around $6M a year with his injury history and age, what could Henry get being two years younger and coming off a 1200-yard season. :shock:

This is a terrible move by the Pats. Welker is best at returning kicks, he's only a marginal receiver from what I've seen. Yet they're paying him in the same area as Drew Bennett, David Givens (former Patriot) and Deion Branch as you said. I certainly hope there are long time Pats that take exception to them throwing around money now.

C'mon now, ARod's not going to volunteer to take a 50% paycut, especially since the lion's share of the savings would not be realized by his new team, but by the Rangers. Think about it for a minute. If ARod voids his $27m/yr deal and resigns someplace else for $15M/yr, the Rangers get out from under ~$10M/yr, and his new team saves ~$2M/yr. Makes no sense. It's not all that far-fetched. True, the team he's going to saves around $2M but they also don't have the cost of giving up major league talent. If the Cubs could bring in ARod for $15M and that's it, wouldn't it be better than bringing him in for $17M and Aramis or Guzman and Marshall? As for benefitting ARod, by opting out he gives himself the ability to have complete freedom over which team he goes to. If the Yankees are shopping him and the Angels (for instance) offer Kendrick, Weaver and Santana, the Yanks would be stupid for turning it down and ARod would be forced to either stay there (via NTC) or using the opt-out clause.