DaveJ

I was all for the NFL booting this nimrod out for life at the time he was convicted...... but they chose not to. I think they lost a golden opportunity to put a line in the sand there. Since that decision not to ban him has already been made, I see no problem with letting him back in now that he has served his time etc. So long as the feds and state law enforcement agencies are done with him, there is no reason he shouldn't be allowed to play if he can make the cut. You can go on about its an honor, not a right to play in the NFL, but the fact is its a job and if an employer wants to hire him and think he has the needed skills, that should be allowed. Related to this.... I was listening to an interview tonight with a member of PETA. I had to laugh, this chick actually thought that forcing Vick to get an MRI and a mental health exam to demonstrate if he was actually remorseful, or capable of remorse, should be part of his reinstatement. The woman obviously does not understand that once a sentence is passed and a convict becomes an ex-con, he has done everything he needs to do period.

Well its obviously a racial thing... Vick gets 2 years and Stallworth a month.. oh wait.... that doesn't apply. Comparisons to Lewis are meaningless. He wasn't convicted of murder or manslaughter. Little's situation is a good comparison though and the sentences etc are similar. The big lesson here is that the laws apply to everyone but quality of representation and ability to pay settlements etc DO weigh heavily. The big difference between the cases of Stallworth and Vick is in how they were handled. Stallworth took responsibility from the get go, didn't try to play stupid, didn't try to play games with the situation etc. Vicks case wouldn't have been so bad if he had handled it straight from the beginning. He received bad advice and paid for it in the end. As to the point about the family and the DA. The family is getting what they can out of it and what they are entitled to, good for them. If they have no issue with the outcome, the DA isn't going to push the issue as far as they can. Most DA's take the victims families into consideration a great deal in cases like this. Their main concern is a conviction and seeing that justice is done to the families and the public in general. Stallworth didn't get off easy, this cost him personally and financially now and into the future. It will be interesting to see how he handles this, if he goes the way of Little or learns from it and changes the lifestyle.

Take a look at this league. Its an IDP league that has been going for several years. We have a few orphan teams that are ready for new owners. The off-season drafts have not taken place yet, so you will have all your draft picks this year to make modifications and changes as you see fit. All the teams available have been competitive in the past and one has 2 first round picks as a result of winning the consolation playoff bracket. http://www11.myfantasyleague.com/2009/home/19200 Contact me here or via the league sit if you have any questions or are interested.

Gruden was lackluster during the Combine... about all he did was kiss the booty of Mooch and the other coaches. He may learn to be a bit more entertaining but unfortunately the best Gruden will not be shown on MNF unless they get someone with a well developed bleep finger and turn him loose. THAT would be entertaining to see him go off... perhaps they should put Chris Simms in the booth with him... that will set him off.

Highlighted bit and translation.... Just because they thought I was finished and moving on with another player, I had to prove to them and the world that I am a real douchebage by coming back playing so well. After all, it wasn't about me it was about what the Jets fans wanted and needed.

Yep we do.. I'll send you a line later this weekend with all the signup details etc. Thanks for the interest!

Not a knock on Sanchez... because I think he is a pretty good QB, but I think NY will kill him if he goes in anytime sooner than the second half of the year or even the later games of the year. NY is itching so badly for a winning team that they will absolutely slay anyone who does not give it to them. Sanchez may turn out to be that franchise guy all the talking heads seem to think he is, but not with that Jets group behind him. Say what you want about Diapers Favre, he was not a horrid QB when he finally left/retired/run out of town. He was still a better QB then, than Sanchez is at this point and look what happened with him..... Also let us not forget that the Jets are one of the QB mills around the league. That team, for whatever reason, simply chews QB's up much like Tampa, Detroit and Chicago have. Its just part of the history.... So to compare the two seasons, I would say he will end up under performing what Flacco did last year and lets be honest here, while Flacco had some good success, he was in no way near what Ryan did. He was more like Rivers his first year.

Guys, One of my leagues is looking to fill 2 or 3 spots this year before the rookie draft in the middle of May. The league has been around for 3 or 4 seasons now and is a Dynasty IDP. We score QB, RB, WR, TE, K, Coach, DE, LB, CB, ST and Punters. If you ever wanted a nearly full slate of stats in scoring, this is the league for you. If you are interested, please post here. The league does have fees and has a payoff to the winner and runner up positions, the draft picks are based on the standings at the end of the regular season and an additional pick is awarded to the winner of the losers competition. Here is the link to the league.. and the teams currently available are: Cant' Touch The Cats Playmakers 2 DogBoyz of Q-Town Teams are competitive, but a couple of them could use some work done by a good owner. One team owns 2 first round picks this year I believe. Here is the link to the league. http://football11.myfantasyleague.com/2008/home/29724

I don't know if this was posted previously, but I caught it on ESPN a couple weeks back and just got around to finding a video link to it. Man boobs have been a popular topic around this place in the past with LenDale White. I submit for your amusement and amazement, Andre Smith. The winner of the Golden Bra award for this years worst performance without his shirt. http://blackandteal.com/2009/03/12/andre-s...-pro-day-video/ This guy should have a clause in his contract that stipulates he will never be filmed or seen without his shirt on while moving at anything other than a slow walk. They remind me of the old bat in "Something about Mary".

Yep... if Stafford drops that far, there will be some trades made. That's what is tough about this mock... If I were the Raiders and Stafford or Sanchez was there, teams at 10-13 would be looking to trade up to grab the top QB... while teams like the Jets and Bucs might want to jump up to grab Sanchez since if both are still there at 7, they won't make it past 13 I think. If you want one or the other you're going to have to move up to get them. If the Raiders move to 10-13, both Maclin and Bey, or at least one of them, will be there. If they move to 17 or 19, they may miss them. Not a bad pick for the Jags though and certainly a possible pick... though they do need WR help bad too, I think they would grab the QB first.

DE out of GT?? I hadn't heard that. That would be a HUGE stretch at 7.... perhaps their 2nd or 3rd round though. I think they will go O-line in the 2nd unless someone like Darius Butler is still there.

LOL... sorry about that guys.. a breakdown between the chair and the keyboard. I don't think Maclin is a lock, Al will take a long and serious look at those 40 numbers and the injuries Maclin has had to his knees. With Crabtree gone, I think there is a strong possibility they will trade down a few spots and grab Bey because he will add KR/PR to the mix with that speed. Maclin is a possibility, but my gut (for what that is worth) is that those 40 times will lead to Heyward-Bey being the pick, either at 7 or down a bit further. A lot depends on the QB's... if stafford slips or teams continue to be hot for Sanchez, the Raiders would be a good team to trade up on. I don't think there is much difference between Maclin and Heyward-Bey that they won't be willing to drop a few spots and take the faster of the two.

1.07 Oakland Raiders Sorry.. Al Davis alzheimers moment.... With the 7th Pick of the draft, the Oakland Raiders Selection Darrius Heyward-Bey - Maryland. Heyward-Bey brings size, strength and blazing speed to the table, all of which will be deciding factors by an Organization that historically has put speed over raw talent. Heyward-Bey tore up the combine and opened eyes posting a 4.30 in the combine. His 6' 210 lb frame fits the mold for height/speed and strength of WR's taken in recent years. While he lacks the demonstrated play making ability of Crabtree, he does provide multi-skill dimension and will provide the Raiders an excellent KR and PR resource. His off-field character is stellar and he has a few concerns with his football character but with proper coaching these probably won't be an issue. NOTES: While Maclin would be the popular pick here and a likely choice, I think that between his injury concerns, he had knee injuries in 2006 and was again injured in 2008, it makes him more of a risk than Heyward-Bey. He also lacks the breakaway ability at the line. While he can separate if he gets clear at the line of scrimmage, he has problems with contact at the line and getting open afterward. He also has had fumbling problems. He certainly could be the WR they take, but I think the combination of the speed and KR/PR skills that Heyward-Bey brings to the table will push him above Maclin on the Raiders board. If Crabtree is gone by this time and Heyward-Bey is above Maclin on their board, look for them to try to trade down a few spots and take Hetyward-Bey a few spots later. The trade down will depend on the QB's and where they are going at the time..

Screw ups are one thing.. the point against Kiper is his approach and how he fosters his opinion. He thinks he is gods greatest talent hound. If he managed to avoid words like, Sure Fire, HOF caliber, Can't Miss etc he would do himself a huge favor. In the broader view... what is his job? His job is to highlight talent, background college players and rank them etc. Basically the same job any NFL talent scout has. If they used that terminology and bet the house on the number of players he has that have been huge busts, you think they would still be employed in the NFL?? They would be picking up their pink slips. So the story here is not Do others make bad projections.. its how he makes his picks and puts so much of his 'reputation' on the line with them every year. Sure its entertainment, but he isn't all that entertaining and if he wants to be taken seriously in his job he needs to stop with the glorified claims on these guys and come back down to earth a bit. You can be wrong... but do so humbly. Especially when you are off the charts wrong so often, that list is a small sample.

This is news? Kiper is a tool... and always has been. He has no feel for talent at all. The epitome of the arm chair GM and the kid who was always picked last when it came time to pick teams.