Hopefully Happy Returns

Several prominent players missed most, if not all, of the 2014 NFL season due to injuries. Some due to unfortunate matters other than injuries. Here are a few of those players that could make their teams very happy with their return.

Navorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco 49ers

-Bowman suffered his brutal knee injury in the 2013 NFC Championship game. He's been on the shelf for much more than a full calendar year. He's still not 100% but he's getting there. His complete return to health became even more crucial for the 49ers after the surprising and not-so-surprising retirements of Chris Borland and Patrick Willis. The 49ers need Bowman in the middle of their defense. When healthy he's one of the best linebackers in the game. 

Sean Lee, LB, Dallas Cowboys

-Lee always seems to be returning from injuries. When he isn't he's a terrific, play-making linebacker. He's been on the verge of joining Luke Kuechley as one of the best middle linebackers in the league but the injuries keep setting him back. This time it was a torn ACL. The Cowboys got solid middle linebacker play from Rolando McClain in Lee's place last year. McClain's return this year allows Lee to slide to the weak-side. A move that fits Lee's play-making abilities. It might also keep him out of the congestion in the middle of the field and hopefully injury free. Finally.

Kiko Alonso, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

-When Alonso suffered his torn ACL during offseason workouts last year he was a member of the Buffalo Bills. So he returns from a knee injury to a new team and system. He was a 4-3 middle linebacker in Buffalo. Now he's a 3-4 inside linebacker in Philadelphia. It's a crowded linebacker group in Philadelphia but Alonso is one of the most talented young linebackers in the league. He'll fit in nicely with whatever combination of Mychal Kendricks, DeMeco Ryans, Brandon Graham, and Connor Barwin the Eagles decide to put on the field. 

Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

-The Eagles traded for two prominent players that missed all of last season with knee injuries. Alonso and their new quarterback. As with Sean Lee, Bradford has never stayed healthy for very long in all of his time in the NFL. When he has managed to stay healthy he's played well but he's still such a mystery. With the Eagles he enters an offensive system that more closely resembles the system that he played in at Oklahoma. A system in which he won the Heisman and got himself selected #1 in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Victor Cruz, WR, New York Giants

-Before a torn patellar tendon Cruz was Eli Manning's go-to receiver. He was excellent in the role. A deep threat. A game-breaking threat. With Cruz on the sideline the Giants, Manning and the world discovered Odell Beckham Jr. Oh my. With the attention that will most definitely be paid to Beckham this year, Cruz could be running from single coverage like he never has before. 

Jadeveon Clowney, LB, Houston Texans

-Clowney is an edge rushing freak. He didn't get to show that last year because he got hurt so early. On a defensive front seven that includes J.J. Watt, Clowney can be downright scary. 

Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings

-The only good thing about Peterson missing all but one game of the 2014 NFL season is that it wasn't due to injury. He doesn't have to rehab. There's no question about his health. He'll be his usual beast self. For someone that doesn't need much motivation to get himself worked up into a game day frenzy he'll have a lot of motivation. He'll be playing angry. He'll be playing for redemption. Peterson lining up behind very promising second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has everyone surrounding the Vikings very, very happy. 

Here's to a hopeful, happy return for these players and all players returning from difficulties. 

Silence Broken

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson broke his silence.

Personally, I'd rather listen to Adrian Peterson bitch about something than the media speculate about anything.

Head coach Mike Zimmer likely triggered Peterson's "bitching"  when he stated that the running back could play for the Vikings or not play football at all. Zimmer is clearly tired of the non-stop media questions on this topic. He was probably tired of the questions last September. Hell, I'm tired of the questions and they aren't even asked of me. Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman couldn't be more clear about about the Vikings stance. The Vikings value Peterson. They want him on the team. They are a better team with him as a part of it. They'll continue to make him the highest-paid running back in the league. And, this is important, they are not trading him. The Vikings have been saying this for months. Yet, they are still asked the same damn questions at every opportunity. Peterson's idiot lawyer Ben Dogra has been a driving force behind the redundant nonsense and it only feeds the drama. Some of the more dogged in the media (Chris Tomasson and Charles Robinson) have been prying quotes and information from Peterson's "inner circle" and reporting it as fact. Adrian Peterson hasn't said a thing. Few seem to realize that. Peterson hasn't said a thing. That was until Zimmer listed his only option.

Peterson spoke. Actually he tweeted. Instead of a nice little sit-down with Bob Costas. Better yet, Mike Zimmer. Peterson spoke through Twitter. Perhaps the worst platform for communicating. Ever. But, it does get your thoughts, effectively conveyed or not, out there. It was clear from the start that Peterson's issues and absence from the Vikings practices this week were due to money and his future security.

"The reason I'm not attending OTAs has nothing to do with wanting to be traded. It's about securing my future with the Vikings. It's business, not personal and I understand that firsthand. Go Vikings."

Maybe that can put to rest all of the ridiculous trade rumors that has helped make this the most annoying NFL offseason since the 2011 lockout. Peterson spoke. That message was sent to ESPN's Josina Anderson and was released to a public thirsty for words straight from Peterson. From that brief statement there's little doubt that money and security are the issues. That statement was also the beginning of a rant. Some might call it "bitching" as Peterson tweeted more in a day than he's tweeted in months. He spoke of the one-sided nature of NFL contracts. He said that teams have too much power in what is supposed to be a two-way agreement between team and player. He's right. It used to be much worse but the teams still have far more control over a player's football future than the player. There was a time, not long ago, that there was no guaranteed money in the contracts. Players could be jettisoned at any time. Now, players get some guaranteed money, some future security. But, teams can still turn a lucrative six-year contract into a much less lucrative three-year contract as soon as the guaranteed money runs dry. The future security that a player felt the day that he signed the contract suddenly becomes not so secure when he's on the street with no team to call home. Peterson is absolutely right that current NFL contracts are very far from a two-way agreement. It's better than it once was but it's far from what most would consider to be fair. Maybe someday NFL contracts will be fully guaranteed. Maybe it takes Peterson "bitching" or the Seattle Seahawks wanting to get Russell Wilson signed long-term to bring about that first fully-guaranteed NFL contract. e

When a team let's a player go for "salary cap reasons" it's considered business. When a player wants to renegotiate his contract he's a malcontent. He's not honoring his contract. The team that releases a player isn't honoring that contract. Adrian Peterson isn't threatening to hold out. I guess that skipping OTAs is a holdout of sorts but anyone that thought that he'd be at any of the practices so far is incredibly naive. Many players content with their contract situation skip OTAs. They work out on their own and report to the team when they have to report. I wasn't expecting Peterson in Minnesota until the team's mandatory mini-camp at the end of June. Despite the insistence of some in the media Peterson hasn't asked for a trade. He simply wants the guarantees that obviously come with guaranteed money. He wants the security that it brings. In recent years he's seen valued teammates like Antoine Winfield, Kevin Williams, Greg Jennings, and Chad Greenway cut loose with years left on their contracts or forced to take pay cuts. Peterson isn't upset with the Vikings. They want him on the team. Despite missing all but one game last season they haven't asked him to take a paycut. A lost season for which he was paid more than any other running back. Peterson is apparently content with the amount of  money that he is scheduled to make over the next three years. He should be seeing as no other back is scheduled to make anywhere near his salary. He doesn't like the absence of guaranteed money. Which is something that he should have seen coming the day that he agreed to the contract. My feeling has been that Peterson will earn the money remaining on his contract if he keeps running with the football like I know that he can. He just turned 30 and I don't see him slowing down anytime soon. As soon as he steps on the field for the first game in each of the next three seasons his lucrative contract will become guaranteed. But, that doesn't account for what could happen before the first game of each season. He could suffer an injury in training camp and "poof!" no more guaranteed money. No more security. Peterson has valid concerns. He's just expressing his concerns at a bad time. Complaining about guaranteed money after being paid for a season in which he played a single game due to his own of-the-field actions just doesn't look or feel right. It feels more like a time in which he should simply come back to work for a team that is delighted to pay him a lot of money to play a game.

Top-10 All-Time NFL Players From Cal

I saw that the CFB 24/7 section of NFL.com was putting up the best players from Alabama and Miami. They skipped Cal. Strange. Anyway, I will tackle the Cal players here and now.

10. Ryan Longwell, K, Green Bay Packers/Minnesota Vikings
-A kicker! Longwell was one the most accurate field goal kickers in the history of the game. He might not have had the biggest leg but he made a bunch at big moments.

  9. Tarik Glenn, T, Indianapolis Colts
-Just as Glenn started to hit his stride he retired. And Peyton Manning didn't feel as safe. Glenn was named to the Pro Bowl his last three seasons. He would have made more.

  8. Craig Morton, QB, Dallas Cowboys/New York Giants/Denver Broncos
-Injuries might have kept Morton from the career that a player with his talents might otherwise have had. He still led two teams to the Super Bowl (Cowboys and Broncos).

  7. Chuck Muncie, RB, New Orleans Saints/San Diego Chargers
-Muncie played for a terrible Saints team and then a terrifically talented Chargers team. If he had played his entire career with the Chargers maybe he's remembered with the best of his era. He could run and catch with the best.

  6. Ed White, G, Minnesota Vikings/San Diego Chargers
-There's an argument with merit that White is a Hall of Fame player. He's named one of the 50 Greatest Vikings. He's in the Chargers Hall of Fame. He was a perennial Pro Bowl player in the late 1970s.

  5. Nnambi Asomugha, CB, Oakland Raiders/Philadelphia Eagles
-There was a 3-4 year stretch where he was the best corner in the game.

  4. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Buffalo Bills/Seattle Seahawks
-He's simply a beast.

  3. Tony Gonzalez, TE, Kansas City Chiefs/Atlanta Falcons
-It took 48 years before a Cal player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In about four years Gonzalez will start a nice little run of Cal players heading to Canton.

  2. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
-The only surprise is that he's not #1. He will be.

  1. Les Richter, LB, Los Angeles Rams
-Richter is at the top of the list as long as he's the only Cal player honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Throwback Thursday: Greatest Player In Each Team's History

Here's another attempt to pass the slow time of the NFL offseason with a little trip down memory lane for each team. For some teams it's a short trip. Here is my look at the best player in each of the NFL's 32 team's history.

Minnesota Vikings
Alan Page, defensive tackle
-This spot might one day be taken by Adrian Peterson. Or, for the very optimistic, Teddy Brdgewater. For now, it's Alan Page. He was the first defensive player to be named Most Valuable Player. He could take over games like few defensive players that I've ever seen.

Green Bay Packers
Don Hutson, receiver
-Huston may be keeping the spot warm for Aaron Rodgers. You can't go wrong picking Don Hutson as the best Packer of all time. His statistics match this era far more than his. He changed the way that the game could be played.

Chicago Bears
Walter Payton, running back
-You could pick any one of several players from the Bears long, rich history. Luckman, Nagurski, Turner, Butkus, Sayers. Payton gets the nod.

Detroit Lions
Dutch Clark, quarterback
-Barry Sanders certainly deserves the pick here but I'm kinda partial to Clark. He might be the least known and least appreciated member of the first Pro Football Hall of Fame class. He could do it all on the football field.

San Francisco 49ers
Jerry Rice, receiver
-He's in the discussion for greatest player ever.

Seattle Seahawks
Walter Jones, tackle
-A few years down the road the discussion over the greatest Seahawks player will center around current players and Walter Jones. Maybe Steve Largent too. Until then, it's Walter Jones.

Arizona Cardinals
Charley Trippi, back
-Larry Fritzgerald is tempting. So is Ollie Matson and Paddy Driscoll. The Cardinals are the NFL's oldest team with continuous operations dating back to the 19th century. They also might have the most sad history. Three different cities in three different states. A lot of losses. I picked a great player from the team that won the franchise's only legitimate championship.

St. Louis Rams
Deacon Jones, defensive end
-You can't go wrong with Jones, Merlin Olsen, Marshall Faulk, or Eric Dickerson. Jones gets the nod for making the "sack" a thing.

New York Giants
Lawrence Taylor, linebacker
-Taylor simply changed the way that the game could be played on the defensive side of the ball.

Dallas Cowboys
Roger Staubach, quarterback
-Maybe it's because passing statistics are in a whole other orbit these days but I think that we tend to forget how good Staubach was. As an itty-bitty Vikings fan this guy killed me. There might not have been a better quarterback playing from behind late in the game.

Philadelphia Eagles
Reggie White, defensive end
-I wanted to pick Steve Van Buren. The Eagles won two NFL titles with him leading the way. Or Chuck Bednarik. That guy screamed football. In the end, I had to go with one of the best defensive ends to ever play the game. It's unfortunate for the Eagles and their fans that White spent nearly as many years with other teams.

Washington Redskins
Sammy Baugh, quarterback
-No offense to Darrell Green, Sam Huff, Russ Grimm, and other Redskins greats but there's really no debate here.

New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees, quarterback
-You could go with Hall of Famers Willie Roaf and Rickey Jackson but this current leader is the pick.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Lee Roy Selmon, defensive end
-Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks had each other as well as other great players around them. For most of his career Selmon had little talent around him and he was still great.

Carolina Panthers
Steve Smith, receiver
-Due to the Panthers short history and Smith's talents this is an easy choice.

Atlanta Falcons
Claude Humphrey, defensive end
-Deion Sanders is a possibility as his first five years in the league were with the Falcons but Humphrey is the pick. He was a pass rushing force.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Joe Greene, defensive tackle
-The Steelers might have the most talent to choose from over the last 40 years. Greene was the heart of those great Steelers defenses of the 1970s.

Cleveland Browns
Jim Brown, running back
-The only surprise with this pick is that it wasn't an easy choice. Otto Graham gets some consideration.

Baltimore Ravens
Jonathan Ogden, tackle
-I always have difficulty dealing with the Ravens history. Technically, they are an expansion team. In reality, they have more relation to the Browns history than the current Browns. And the Ravens personnel people that scouted Ogden were Browns personnel people. That commentary aside, picking the best Ravens player is a difficult choice between Ogden, Ray Lewis, and Ed Reed. It's a tossup and Ogden wins.

Cincinnati Bengals
Anthony Munoz, tackle
-This is an easy choice.

Oakland Raiders
Art Shell, tackle
-Shell was one of the best tackles to play the game.

Denver Broncos
John Elway, quarterback
-Another easy choice.

Kansas City Chiefs
Bobby Bell, linebacker
-The Chiefs defenses of the late 1960s were excellent. Five players from those defenses are in the Hall of Fame. Johnny Robinson should be the sixth. Bell might have been the best of the bunch.

New England Patriots
Tom Brady, quarterback
-Pretty easy choice here.

New York Jets
Joe Namath, quarterback
-Few quarterbacks have had the arm talent of Namath. He changed the NFL. On the field and off.

Miami Dolphins
Dan Marino, quarterback
-It's tough to pass on players that won a couple of Super Bowls in the 1970s. Marino was the sort of football player that forces you to pass on players that won a couple of Super Bowls.

Buffalo Bills
Bruce Smith, defensive end
-Picking Smith over Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas is difficult.

Indianapolis Colts
Lenny Moore, running back
-This was the most difficult choice of all. Tomorrow or later today the choice is John Unitas or Peyton Manning. Maybe Gino Marchetti on another day. Moore was one of the most versatile backs to play the game. If he had played only running back he'd be in the Hall of Fame. If he had played only receiver he'd be in the Hall of Fame. He's in the Hall of Fame for playing a lot of both.

Tennessee Titans
Earl Campbell, running back
-So a player that was never a Titan and never played in Tennessee is the greatest player in the history of the Tennessee Titans. Yep.

Houston Texans
J.J. Watt, defensive end
-The second active player on this list. The Texans' short history and Watt's tremendous football talent make this choice automatic.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Fred Taylor, running back
Another team with a short history. Taylor was one of the best, and most underrated, backs of his era.

Vikings Front Seven

Mike Zimmer, his coaching staff, and recent promising top draft picks have turned the Minnesota Vikings defense around quickly. The defense was horrible in 2013. Zimmer's unique ability to fix that side of the ball was one of the main reasons the Vikings hired him a few weeks after that sad season came to an end. The defense was much improved in 2014 and inspired hope for even better seasons to come. Zimmer and his coaches are a big reason. So is this front seven:

DE  Everson Griffen
DT  Sharrif Floyd
DT  Linval Joseph
DE  Brian Robison
LB  Anthony Barr
LB  Eric Kendricks
LB  Chad Greenway

Outside of another year in Zimmer's defense, the biggest change this year is the addition of rookie Eric Kendricks at middle linebacker and the hopeful return to health of weakside linebacker Chad Greenway. Robison (32) and Greenway (32) are the greybeards and leaders of the group. Floyd, Barr, and Kendricks are top picks from the past three drafts. They are the present and future of the front seven. This is a young, fast, explosive group. Griffen and Floyd will spend a lot of time in the offensive backfield. Robison can still hassle quarterbacks. Joseph will take up blocks, keep the linebackers clean, and provide some push up the middle. The Vikings have a strong tradition of good to great defensive lines. This group has the potential to be great. They did a nice job at getting to the quarterback last year. They should be even better this year. They didn't do so well at stopping the run. That has to improve and another year in Zimmer's system will help. So will the development of the linebackers. In experience and talent. Barr is about an inch away from being a superstar. Kendricks is a question because he's a rookie but he has the natural talent, the work ethic, and the desire to excel. As the younger brother of Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks he also has the pedigree. Greenway's presence in the starting front seven is the least assured. Many among the media and fans have written him off. He's obviously much closer to the end of his career than the start but the feeling here is that he can still make plays. He just has to stay healthy. He won't be asked to play every snap. and that should help him stay healthy. Before last season he probably played every defensive snap in the previous eight. He won't have to do that this year. In the Vikings nickel defense, Barr and Kendricks will likely be the only linebackers on the field. In today's NFL, teams are in the nickel more often than not. Even if everything breaks Greenway's way it might not be enough to keep Gerald Hodges off the field. Audie Cole will be in that mix as well. The Vikings have some depth at linebacker as well. That's a pleasant change. It wasn't that long ago that it was a struggle to put a competent starting group on the field. A linebacker trio of Barr, Kendricks, and Hodges is probably the future of the Vikings defense. It would be one of the fastest, most athletic groups in the league. Come September, it might be the Vikings linebacker group of the present but I still like the leadership and experience with Greenway on the field.

This front seven has the talent and potential to be one of the best in franchise history. Perhaps the best. Zimmer's defense and coaching staff helps. The indications so far are that all of the players are buying into this defense and coaching.

The Vikings secondary is also progressing nicely and quickly. Th front and back of the defense will compliment each other well. But, that's another story.

Changing Line?

One of the Minnesota Vikings biggest weaknesses in the 2014 was the play of the offensive line. That shaky play damn near got rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater killed in consecutive weeks against the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills. Season-ending pectoral injuries to right guard Brandon Fusco and right tackle Phil Loadholt created a lot of problems. It didn't help that left tackle Matt Kalil has struggled with injuries and inconsistent play for the last two seasons. It also didn't help that Charlie Johnson was playing next to Kalil. In short, the Vikings offensive line was pretty sad last year and has to improve. They have to keep Bridgewater alive and on his feet.  They have to open holes for the running game. Adrian Peterson doesn't need a lot of help from his offensive line but it'd be nice if he got some.

Improving the offensive line was one of the primary offseason goals. Center is the only position that has few concerns. John Sullivan has been solid and figures to remain solid for a few more years. An offseason contract extension is a sign that the team feels that way as well. The return to health of Fusco and Loadholt will help a lot. The release of Johnson helps even more. The biggest concerns are focused on the left side of the line. Kalil simply has to improve. He was terrific as a rookie in 2012 but his play has been shaky ever since. Nagging knee injuries bothered him all year last year. So did playing next to Johnson. He had some "cleanup" surgery on both knees early in the offseason. He also received 'Regenexx' injections described as "advanced stem cell therapy for arthritis and injuries, including moderate to severe joint, tendon, ligament, disc, or bone pain" on its website, as well as platelet-rich plasma therapy. These offseason procedures have increased the concerns in many outside the Vikings facilities that Kalil will never reach the potential that he showed as a rookie. Those that know better and see him everyday appear to feel just the opposite. I'm optimistic that Kalil's best days are in front of him. Mostly due to his own ability as well as his return to health but also due to the changes that might be taking place around him.

Left guard was considered the one true hole in the offensive line. Charlie Johnson had to be replaced. Many assumed that the Vikings would find that replacement in free agency. That didn't happen. Although veteran backup Joe Berger was resigned. He filled in nicely as an injury replacement for much of last season. Others assumed that the Vikings would find a new left guard early in the 2015 NFL Draft. That didn't happen either. So, were the Vikings just going to sit back and let Berger, 2014 fifth-round pick David Yankey, and others duke it out in training camp for the left guard spot? Maybe. Post-OTA comments from head coach Mike Zimmer brought up another possibility. A possibility that has a lot of promise. Fusco might be on the move.

Brandon Fusco had been the Vikings most consistent offensive lineman before his was lost for the season last September. His play and development earned him that cherished second contract before the season. He's a player on the rise. He might also be moving to left guard. Fusco's consistent play should do wonders for Kalil. An improved left side of the line will also do wonders for Bridgewater's continued health and development. Some have questioned the ease with which Fusco could make the transition from right to left guard. He made a smooth transition from small school (Slippery Rock) center to standout NFL guard. I don't see why a right to left switch would be any more challenging than that. So, what about right guard? That's where fourth-round pick T.J. Clemmings enters the picture. He had first-round talent. Many draft analyst had Clemmings pegged as a first-, or second-round pick. Concerns over a stress fracture in his foot caused him to drop to the fourth round and into the Vikings lap. Clemmings has played on this stress fracture for years without issues. He didn't even know that he had it until it was discovered at the Scouting Combine. He was initially a defensive lineman at Pitt before switching to the offensive line for the last two seasons. His experience on the line is short but his talent for it is very high. He could be in the starting lineup at right guard as soon as week 1.

This offensive line movement creates a Minnesota Vikings offensive line that looks like this:

T Matt Kalil
G Brandon Fusco
C John Sullivan
G T.J. Clemmings
T Phil Loadholt

I really like the potential of this offensive line.

Minnesota Vikings Projected 53

This is a silly thing to do. But, it's the end of May. What else is there to do with football but silly things. So, here it goes. A way to early stab at the 2015 Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster:

Quarterbacks
Teddy Bridgewater
Shaun Hill
Taylor Heinicke

Running backs
Adrian Peterson
Jerrick McKinnon
Matt Asiata

Wide Receivers
Mike Wallace
Charles Johnson
Cordarrelle Patterson
Jarius Wright
Stefon Diggs
Adam Thielen

Tight ends 
Kyle Rudolph
Rhett Ellison
MyCole Pruitt
Brandon Bostick

Offensive line
Matt Kalil
Brandon Fusco
John Sullivan
T.J. Clemmings
Phil Loadholt
Joe Berger
Carter Bykowski
David Yankey
Tyrus Thompson

Defensive line
Everson Griffen
Sharrif Floyd
Linval Joseph
Brian Robison
Scott Crichton
Danielle Hunter
Tom Johnson
Shamar Stephen
B.J. Dubose

Linebackers
Anthony Barr
Eric Kendricks
Chad Greenway
Gerald Hodges
Audie Cole
Edmond Robinson

Cornerbacks
Xavier Rhodes
Trae Waynes
Captain Munnerlyn
Terrence Newman
Josh Robinson
Jabari Price

Safeties
Harrison Smith
Antone Exum
Robert Blanton
Anthony Harris

Specialists
Blair Walsh, K
Jeff Locke, P
Cullen Loeffler, LS

This silly version is going with the assumption that Rhett Ellison and/or MyCole Pruitt is going to play fullback on occasion.

The final cuts are going to be tough. I don't know about keeping six receivers. The top four of Wallace, Johnson, Patterson, and Wright are set. Diggs makes it. Thielen? He makes such an impact on special teams. All phases of special teams. And, he showed promise on offense last season. Only three running backs feels light. I hate to see players like Michael Mauti, Marcus Sherels, and Andrew Sendejo not part of the team moving forward but the talent level of the team has increased to the point that the final cuts this year will be brutal. Maybe the Vikings keep only two quarterbacks on the active roster and stash Heinicke on the practice squad. Who knows? I just know that considering these decisions in May when it doesn't matter is more fun than making these decisions in August and September for real.

Top-10 Quarterbacks

Three of the NFL Media analysts took a stab at Top-10 quarterback rankings. It's always interesting to see how others see these things like the best quarterbacks in the game. Everyone has their opinions. There's really no right or wrong. Well, the first analyst might wrong as he has Alex Smith among his top-10 quarterbacks. I'll start with that one.

Elliot Harrison
1.   Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2.   Tom Brady, New England Patriots
3.   Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
4.   Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
5.   Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
6.   Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
7.   Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
8..  Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
9.   Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
10. Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

Ha!

Dave Dameshek
1.   Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2.   Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
3.   Tom Brady, New England Patriots
4.   Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
5.   Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
6.   Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
7.   Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
8.   Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
9.   Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
10. Eli Manning, New York Giants
11. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
12. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
13. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
14. Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

-Dave Damshek. 14 quarterbacks. Overachiever.

Bucky Brooks
1.   Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2.   Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
3.   Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
4.   Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
5.   Tom Brady, New England Patriots
6.   Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
7.   Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
8.   Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
9.   Eli Manning, New York Giants
10. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos

It's amazing to see Peyton Manning fall down these lists. Times change. It feels like only yesterday that he was 1 or 2. Maybe 3.

Here's mine (the right one!)
1.   Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2.   Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
3.   Tom Brady, New England Patriots
4.   Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
5.   Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks
6.   Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
7.   Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos
8.   Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
9.   Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers
10. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

-If this ranking was based solely on postseason play, Flacco would shoot up to the top-3 or 4. His play and record in the playoffs is remarkable.

-I expect that Teddy Bridgewater will be in the top-10 mix by the end of the coming season.

"Hard Knocks" Finalists

HBO's "Hard Knocks" has become a training camp staple for so many. Putting an NFL team under the microscope of television cameras during the formative weeks of summer training rarely thrills the coaches but the fans love it. So, it isn't going anywhere. Where there's fans there's money. Where there's money there's the NFL. It's being reported that three teams are finalists for the 2015 edition of "Hard Knocks."

Washington Redskins
Buffalo Bills
Houston Texans

The Redskins have already said that they don't want any part of it. The Bills have basically said the same thing. The Bills have the added "out" in that they have a new coaching staff this year. Teams with new head coaches are exempt from being "forced" to allow cameras into their training camp lives. Rex Ryan is the new coach in Buffalo and he's been a "Hard Knocks" star. Perhaps it's biggest star. Ryan and a promising team with just about everything but a quarterback would be a hit. It doesn't look like they will be this year. NFL Films produces the show and quite understandably prefers working with a team that's completely on board with all that the show involves. Whether by default or not, it looks like the Houston Texans will be in the spotlight this summer.

Texans coach Bill O'Brien might not be the spontaneous riot that is Rex Ryan but very few are. O'Brien is a terrific football coach and that alone is entertaining. Or, at least interesting. The show will likely focus on the Texans quarterback competition. Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer, and Tom Savage will compete and any one of them could come out on top. The Texans top star is one of the premier football players in the NFL. Defensive end J.J. Watt. Running back Arian Foster is one of the most interesting players in the league. The rookies are often the stars of "Hard Knocks" and the Texans had a very good draft. Cornerback Kevin Johnson. linebacker Benardrick McKinney, receiver Jaelen, defensive linemen Lynden Trail and Christian Covington, safety Kurtis Drummond, and the rest. Any could be household names before the NFL season even starts simply because of their sparkling personalities. Who knows what will happen? That's one of the things that makes "Hard Knocks" entertaining.

A lot of people bellyache when the team selected for "Hard Knocks" isn't one of the headlining teams of the NFL. The fact that we don't know much about some teams is the perfect reason to select those teams. There's no better way to get to know them than being invited into their training camp. I really think that any of the 32 teams would be a perfect choice. Every team has it's characters. Every team has it's stories. Thanks to the incredible work of NFL Films we are introduced to them.

Cheers For Kraft

The feeling here is that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft did the right thing in deciding not to fight the excessive punishment that the NFL saw fit to hand his franchise for the issues surrounding the inflation of footballs. A $1 million fine, a first round pick in 2016, and a fourth round pick in 2017 are a ridiculous price to pay for possibly violating an 80-year old rule that few even knew existed before January. It's a price that is made even more ridiculous in light of the 4-month long, NFL-sponsored investigation by gumshoe Ted Wells that exonerated the Patriots of any wrongdoing. Why was the Kraft's team hit so hard if they were exonerated? Excellent question. Who knows? Some say that it was because of past offenses. That just sounds like someone grasping for a reason when they have no reason. Most say that it was because the team didn't cooperate with the investigation. They say that the team didn't allow follow-up investigations with the knuckleheads that may or may not have deflated the footballs. One would think that with a fine so severe that the team didn't cooperate at all. They did. If the Wells investigation was more organized and better run those follow-up interviews that the Patriots refused wouldn't have even been necessary. The greatest wrong among all of the wrongs surrounding this nonsense was that Wells was paid at least $5 million for his investigation. He sounded pretty proud of himself for that. He shouldn't be. He did more harm than good with his work. The incompetence of the NFL under Goodell has been stunning. The Patriots were hit so hard simply because Goodell could.

Robert Kraft was right to walk away from this mess for the reasons that he stated. This asinine discussion has gone on far too long. The media and the NFL made more of this football inflation issue than it ever deserved. Even if Wells could prove that the Patriots tampered with the footballs it's a minor violation. If it provided a competitive advantage there would have been more than a handful of people that even knew that the rule existed. It's been around for a while and it's probably fairly likely that every single NFL game ever played has used a football that was under-inflated. Especially in cold-weather games. If the league really cared about the rule they would have checked every football before it ever passed through a center's legs. I actually question the league's intentions in all of this far more than the Patriots' intentions in what they may or may not have done. The league's actions are the greater threat to the "integrity of the game." The NFL had the result that they wanted and worked backward to make things fit that result as best they could. That's why the whole thing was a disaster from the pre-game clown show of the AFC Championship game to the issuing of excessive punishments. Kraft accepted those excessive punishments because it all needed to end now. During his six-minute address at the Owner's Meetings in San Francisco, Kraft stated that he might have come to a different decision a week ago. He'd cooled over the past few days. He still wasn't happy about any of it but putting an end to the nonsense now was better than talking about it even a single day more. I agree but I don't have to come up with $1 million and forfeit valuable draft picks. It's definitely better for the NFL if this nonsense ends now. So Kraft is taking one in the jibblies for the "greater good."

Cheers Mr. Kraft.

Throwback Thursday: The 1998 NFL Draft Today

According to the NFL Players Association the average career length is about 3.3 years. The NFL claims that the average career length is 6 years for players who make a team's opening day roster in their rookie season. The difference between the two figures makes sense as the players that give the NFL a shot but never actually have an NFL career are the player's that keep the numbers low. Some may only last a year or two in the league but so many never make it to the starting line. There have been 17 NFL seasons since the 1998 NFL Draft. Three players selected in that draft will be entering their 18th NFL seasons. That's a very long football career by any measure. Two of those players are among the best to ever play the game. When they retire they will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years later.

The 3 players that remain from the 1998 NFL Draft:

Peyton Manning
Charles Woodson
Matthew Hasselbeck

Manning and Woodson are the two that will be honored in Canton five years after they retire. Hasselbeck is a fine quarterback. He's had an excellent career. He led the Seattle Seahawks to Super Bowl XL. He just hasn't had a career like Manning or Woodson.

It should be acknowledged that Manning missed all of the 2011 season due to neck surgery and recovery.

The 1998 NFL Draft was a high quality draft. Randy Moss is another future Hall of Fame player selected in the first round. There were also an impressive number of football players that managed NFL careers of at least ten years. Here they are with their final NFL season:

Peyton Manning
Charles Woodson
Matthew Hasselbeck
Patrick Mannelly, 2013
Keith Brooking, 2012
Takeo Spikes, 2012
Vonnie Holiday, 2012
Randy Moss, 2012
Charlie Batch, 2012
Matt Birk, 2012
Olin Kreutz, 2011
Hines Ward, 2011
Fred Taylor, 2010
Alan Faneca, 2010
Flozell Adams, 2010
DeShea Townsend, 2010
Ephraim Salaam, 2010
Greg Ellis, 2009
Tra Thomas, 2009
Leonard Little, 2009
Jeremiah Trotter, 2009
Ahman Green, 2009
Mike Goff, 2009
Allen Rossum, 2009
Chris Draft, 2009
R.W. McQuarters, 2008
Corey Chavous, 2008
Patrick Surtain, 2008
Brian Kelly, 2008
Samari Rolle, 2008
Todd Weimer, 2008
Jeremy Newberry, 2008
Brian Griese, 2008
Michael Pittman, 2008
Jason Fabini, 2008
John Wade, 2008
Kyle Turley, 2007
Brian Simmons, 2007
Donovin Darius, 2007
Anthony Clement, 2007
Joe Jurevicius, 2007
Greg Spires, 2007
Steve McKinney, 2007
Michael Myers, 2007
Shawn Barber, 2007
Tim Dwight, 2007
Lance Schulters, 2007
Jason Simmons, 2007
Benji Olson, 2007
Chris Liwienski, 2007

50 football players. Nearly an entire team of football players that managed a 10+-year NFL career. There's also some terrific players in this list beyond those already mentioned. Hines Ward and Alan Faneca will have serious Hall of Fame support. Maybe Fred Taylor too. Takeo Spikes, Keith Brooking, Matt Birk, Olin Kreutz, Patrick Surtain, Samari Rolle, Kyle Turley, and Donovin Darius, and several others had terrific careers. Corey Chavous was fantastic in 2003 for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the best player on that team and at times looked like the only defensive player that was interested in playing each game. Only fans of the Chicago Bears and long snappers likely know Patrick Mannelly. He had a 16-year NFL career! It just goes to show what you can do with hard work and a willingness to view the football world upside-down.

By comparison, the 1999 NFL Draft has 0 active players entering the 2015 NFL season.

Best Players From The Pac-12

There are always stupid ways to pass the NFL offseason. Here's one of them. The best players in the NFL from each of the Pac-12 schools.

Cal
Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
-This is an easy one. Rodgers is the best quarterback in the game,

Stanford
Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
-This is an easy one as well. Luck is the heir to Rodgers as the best quarterback in the game. Some might have him there already.

USC
Tyron Smith, T, Dallas Cowboys
-I'd prefer to hand this one to Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen. I can't. Smith is arguably the best left tackle in the game. That's pretty big.

UCLA
Anthony Barr, LB, Minnesota Vikings
-This is as much about the UCLA players currently in the league as Barr's terrific play as a rookie. His ceiling is so high.

Arizona 
Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
-Gronkowski is such an east coast fixture that it's easy to forget that he went to Arizona. Like Rodgers and Luck this is an easy choice.

Arizona St.
Terrell Suggs, LB, Baltimore Ravens
-It might be a few years since Suggs was Defensive Player of the Year but he's still an impact pass rusher.

Utah
Eric Weddle, S, San Diego Chargers
-Weddle has gotten better each year that he's been in the league. Now, he's one of the best at his position.

Colorado
Nate Solder, T, New England Patriots
-Well, he's the blind side protector for Tom Brady. That's important. It's between Solder, David Bakhtiari, Jimmy Williams, and Mason Crosby. Solder gets the nod.

Washington
Desmond Trufant, CB, Atlanta Falcons
-Trufant is a corner on the rise. He should have competition for the Huskies title in coming years from Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Danny Shelton, Shaq Thompson, and Marcus Peters.

Washington St.
Deone Bucannon, S, Washington St.
-It's actually a bit early for Bucannon but he doesn't have much competition. He's got the potential to be a terrific player in a very talented Cardinals secondary. He's also got the potential to become a trendsetter as a safety/linebacker hybrid.

Oregon St. 
Andy Levitre, G, Tennessee Titans
Levitre is one of the best guards in the league. He has competition from New Orleans Saints corner Keenan Lewis as the best Beaver but Levitre gets the nod.

Oregon
Haloti Ngata, DT, Detroit Lions
-It's difficult to imagine Ngata on the Lions. He'll always be a Raven to me. Also a Duck. Oregon has sent a lot of talented players to the NFL in recent years. Ngata is still the best.

Best Position Groups

As we cruise through the OTAs and the usual off-the-field bullshit of the offseason here's a celebration of the best position groups across the league.

Quarterbacks
Philadelphia Eagles
-Sam Bradford
-Mark Sanchez
-Matt Barkley
-Tim Tebow
-G.J. Kinne
This doesn't mean that the Eagles have the best quarterback situation. Far from it. They have three first round picks. They have two selected in the top-5. That's really no measure as a team with Ryan Leaf, Akili Smith, and Jamarcus Russell would still be looking for a quarterback. Bradford has had some strong moments but can't stay healthy. Sanchez has led strong defensive teams to two AFC Championship games. Tebow led a young, inexperienced Broncos team to a playoff win. Chip Kelly has created a strange quarterback stew. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. Bradford has to stay healthy.

Running Backs
Philadelphia Eagles
-DeMarco Murray
-Ryan Matthews
-Darren Sproles
-Kenjon Barner
-Matthew Tucker
-Raheem Mostert
If this group can stay healthy it's scary. Murray was unable to stay healthy until his breakout season last year. Matthews has dealt with injuries nearly every season of his career. The Eagles have three backs that can pull the focus of the defense.

Wide receivers
Green Bay Packers
-Jordy Nelson
-Randall Cobb
-Davante Adams
-Jason Abbredaris
-Ty Montgomery
-Myles White
It helps that Aaron Rodgers is throwing the football to these guys. Nelson and Cobb are among the best receivers in the game. Adams started stepping up in the playoffs. That's a good time to do it. His role should increase this year. Abbredaris and Janis had a bit of a redshirt year last year. They have the talent to contribute. Montgomery is an explosive football player that never could stay healthy at Stanford. If he can shake those injuries Rodgers has another weapon. The Packers do a remarkable job of selecting receivers outside of the first round.

Tight ends
New England Patriots
-Rob Gronkowski
-Tim Wright
-Scott Chandler
-Michael Hoomanawanui
-Fred Davis
-A.J. Derby
This ranking is due as much to the effective manner in which the Patriots use their tight ends as much as the talent at the position. And there is a lot of talent here. It starts with Gronkowski. He's the best tight end in the game. He's also one of the most dominant offensive players. He tilts the field. The Patriots don't have Gronkowski and a bunch of stiffs. They have talented players behind him. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has created an offense that highlights tight ends and Tom Brady gets the ball to them.

Offensive line
-Tyron Smith
-Zack Martin
-Travis Fredrick
-Ronald Leary
-Doug Free
-La'el Collins
-Ryan Miller
-Chaz Green
-Bernadeau Mackenzy
-Shane McDermott
A lot of people laughed when the Cowboys used first round picks on a guard and a center. No one is laughing now. The Cowboys have built a tremendous offensive line in a very short time. See what happens when you use top picks on a very important position group. This group got ridiculous when they added Collins after the draft.

Defensive line
St. Louis Rams
-Robert Quinn
-Michael Brockers
-Aaron Donald
-Chris Long
-Nick Fairley
-William Hayes
-Eugene Sims
-Louis Trinca-Pasat
-Martin Ifedi
It's a tough call between this group and that of the Buffalo Bills. The Rams get the nod for perceived better depth. Quinn has been a pass rushing beast but Donald is the one that has made this group special. He was unblockable way too often for a rookie last season. For anybody. He's going to get better. Scary.

Linebacker
Denver Broncos
-Von Miller
-Danny Trevathan
-Brandon Marshall
-DeMarcus Ware
-Shane Ray
-Lamin Barrow
-Danny Mason
-Lerentee McCray
The top linebacker group title used to be the sole property of the San Francisco 49ers. That was until this offseason's sudden retirements. The Broncos edge out the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles for the title. That's due mostly to the emergence of the Broncos inside linebackers. Miller is terrific and Ware is still terrific on the outside. Ray should contribute early.

Secondary
-Richard Sherman
-Earl Thomas
-Kam Chancellor
-Cary Williams
-Jeremy Lane
-Tharold Simon
-Dion Bailey
-Ryan Murphy
-Tye Smith
As long as Sherman, Thomas, and Chancellor are patrolling the Seahanks secondary they are the best. The Patriots might have challenged them last year but that group is gone. The Seahawks simply plug in a new corner opposite Sherman every year and let it ride.

Easy Rookie Signings

Perhaps the best result of the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement was that it brought rookie contracts back to reality. In doing so it took the difficulties out of the negotiations. All of the contracts are basically scripted. It's made the negotiations so easy that four of the rookies taken in the 2015 NFL Draft have decided to represent themselves in their negotiations. No agents. Yay! Those resourceful football players are New York Giants guard Ereck Flowers (#9 pick overall), Detroit Lions cornerback Alex Carter (3rd round), Washington Redskins receiver Evan Spencer (6th round), and Arizona Cardinals tight end Gerald Christian (7th round and last player selected). It's a whole new football world.

180 of the 256 players selected in the 2015 NFL Draft have signed their first NFL contracts. 70.3%. 19 of the 32 players selected in the first round have signed. It would take until late July to reach those numbers before the 2011 CBA.

The 13 first round picks not signed:

2.   Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans
8.   Vic Beasley, LB, Atlanta Falcons
9.   Ereck Flowers, G, New York Giants
10. Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams
13. Andrus Peat, T, New Orleans Saints
21. Cedric Ogbuehi, T, Cincinnati Bengals
23. Shane Ray, DE, Denver Broncos
24. D.J. Humphries, Arizona Cardinals
27. Byron Jones, CB, Dallas Cowboys
28. Laken Tomlinson, G, Detroit Lions
29. Phillip Dorsett, WR, Indianapolis Colts
30. Damarious Randall, S, Green Bay Packers
32. Malcom Brown, DT, New England Patriots

The Titans are expected to begin negotiations with Mariota's people today.

Several teams have signed all of their draft picks. Some, like the Minnesota Vikings, even had all of their picks signed before they were a week removed from the draft. Excellent. The Rams have signed a total of zero of their picks. They have had a policy under head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead of putting their rookies through some financial training. Upon completion of that training they sign their picks immediately. I'm surprised that more teams don't adopt this policy. A better understanding of how to deal with a sudden surplus of cash before you have it can't be a bad thing.

This easy rookie signings thing is a great new thing.

College Football Attendance

As a Cal student in the mid-1980s I was accustomed to seeing a half-full stadium on game days. That wasn't much of a surprise as the Golden Bears won a total of eight games during my three years on campus. Cal's Memorial Stadium capacity during those years was around 75,000. Games against Stanford, USC and UCLA in those days might approach 3/4 of that capacity. Attendance improved greatly when Cal experienced some winning ways with the guidance of Jeff Tedford in the early 2000s. Nearly every home game was close to capacity. A full football stadium is an unusual site in Berkeley. After recent renovations the current capacity of Memorial Stadium is 62,647. The capacity of Stanford Stadium is less than that at around 50,000. The level of college football interest in the San Francisco Bay Area fluctuates wildly. Especially in comparison to the rest of the nation. With this as my college football background it has always amazed me to see the tremendous college football enthusiasm in other parts of the country. I attended a Penn St.-Michigan game in Ann Arbor in the mid-1990s. It was incredible. The announced attendance was something like 105,000. I was a little shocked to notice that the posted capacity of Michigan Stadium was 102,501. How is that even possible? Or legal? It was a new and impressive experience. It was more than five times the attendance of a particularly depressing Cal-Washington St. game that I attended in 1984. Schools like Michigan, Ohio St., and Nebraska draw more for their annual Spring Game than Cal draws for rivalry games against Stanford, USC, and UCLA. College football is a blast. Cal football is a blast. It's even a blast when Cal isn't winning much which is unfortunately more often than not. It's just so fun to be a part of the college football environment. The more people that are involved in that environment the better. The more the merrier. It's no surprise that the SEC and Big Ten were more merry than other conferences.

CBSSports.com's Jon Solomon broke down college football attendance:

2014 DIVISION I FBS HOME ATTENDANCE LEADERS (TEAMS)
TEAM	AVG. ATTENDANCE	STADIUM CAPACITY	FILL %
Ohio State	106,296	104,944	1.012
Texas A&M	105,123	102,500	1.026
Michigan	104,909	109,901	0.955
LSU	101,723	102,321	0.994
Penn State	101,623	107,282	0.947
Alabama	101,534	101,821	0.997
Tennessee	99,754	102,455	0.974
Texas	94,103	100,119	0.940
Georgia	92,746	92,746	1.000
Nebraska	91,249	87,000	1.049
Auburn	87,451	87,451	1.000
Florida	85,834	88,548	0.969
Oklahoma	85,162	82,112	1.037
Florida State	82,211	82,300	0.999
Clemson	81,752	81,500	1.003

South Carolina, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, UCLA, Michigan State, USC, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Washington, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Texas Tech and Kentucky filled out the top 30.

Top 30 broken down by conference:

SEC: 13
Big Ten: 7
Big 12: 3
Pac-12: 3
ACC: 3
Independents: 1

2014 DIVISION I FBS CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE LEADERS
CONFERENCE	TOTAL ATTENDANCE	AVG. ATTENDANCE	CHANGE IN AVG. (YOY)
SEC	7,769,362	77,694	+2,020
Big Ten*	6,419,447	66,869	-3,562
Big 12	3,776,610	58,102	-797
Pac-12	4,110,783	52,702	-917
ACC*	4,727,318	50,291	+309
American*	2,014,334	29,193	-4,519
Mountain West	1,868,733	25,254	-826
Conference USA*	1,472,759	20,455	-1,055
Sun Belt*	951,296	18,294	-1,565
Mid-American	1,172,750	15,431	-1,308
Independents*	1,269,175	52,882	+12,120

 *Different alignment than prior year

All figures via NCAA.org

Having a stadium with a capacity greater than 80,000 helps boost attendance and the SEC and Big Ten have a bunch of those. More important than having a big stadium is the ability to fill it. The schools in those conferences do that better than the rest. 

Stupidity Abounds

NFL Media scribe Mike Silver said that the New England Patriots rebuttal to the Wells Report was an insult to our intelligence. He may be on to something but stopped a little short. The entire football deflation business has been an insult to our intelligence. It starts with a stupid, arbitrary air pressure rule that dates to the early 1930s. A stupid, arbitrary rule that no one seems to care that it dates to the early 1930s. The NFL should care. Footballs have changed in 80 years. The manufacturer of the footballs has even changed in that time. Wilson didn't make NFL footballs until 1940. A lot has changed. The only thing that hasn't changed is a rule that no one cared about, let alone even knew existed, until this past January. Everything changed when Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson alerted the NFL that the Patriots might be up to something sneaky with the footballs. That's when the stupidity started to inflate.

Common sense and a career in science is enough for me to know that the lack of initial football air pressure readings AND two disagreeing pressure gauges is enough to render any of the air pressure data laughable. Not one air pressure reading from the footballs used in the AFC Championship game is reliable. That and a rule that is seriously outdated should have been enough to keep the NFL from falling down this hole. The entire pregame handling of the footballs will be changed as early as next week's Owners Meetings. The fact that the an overhaul is required is a pretty good indication that the current process is in a single word, stupid. It's also a pretty good indication that the league punished Tom Brady and the Patriots for supposedly breaking shaky rules based on unreliable data.

Roger Goodell has had a year that would get about 99% of those in the workforce fired. He keeps doing the same stupid shit over and over again. He's making everything up as he goes. He's making every bad situation worse. He's issuing punishments as a sign that he can rather than the punishments that he should. There's a big difference between fair, even tough, and being stupid. Goodell is being stupid. He wanted to show everyone that he won't show leniency to his supposed pal Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the team's star quarterback. Goodell should have fixed a faulty, outdated, stupid rule and process and moved on for the good of the NFL. He shouldn't have brought the hammer down for the violation of rules that are about to be changed. Changes that should have been made about 75 years ago when Wilson started making the footballs.

Under-The-Radar Rookie Contributors

All NFL teams expect significant and immediate contributions from the players that they select at the top of the draft. They hope for early contributions from the players that they select on the second and third days of the draft. Some are projects. Some dropped in the draft due to injuries. Some just slipped for reasons unknown or undisclosed. Here's a look at a player from each team that wasn't selected on the first night of the 2015 NFL Draft but could contribute as early as this season.

Minnesota Vikings
MyCole Pruitt, TE, Southern Illinois
-I didn't really know anything about Pruitt before the draft simply because I didn't expect the Vikings to pick a tight end in the draft. I like what I've heard and read. Comparisons to Charles Clay are great to hear. Pruitt will probably line up all over the place for the Vikings. Out wide, in the slot, in the backfield, on the line. He'll be a different sort of tight end from what they had on the roster. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner will have fun finding new and interesting ways to use his new weapon.

Green Bay Packers
Jake Ryan, LB, Michigan
-The Packers needed some help at linebacker and Ryan was one of the better "under-the-radar" linebackers in the draft. He's played inside and outside and is always prepared.

Chicago Bears
Adrian Amos, S, Penn St.
-He was cruising up draft boards as the draft approached at such a pace that I though he'd be selected well before the fifth round. Athletic and versatile, I could easily see him as a game one starter.

Detroit Lions 
Gabe Wright, DT, Auburn
-One would expect that defensive tackle would be a weakness after losing Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley in free agency. Trading for Haloti Ngata and drafting Wright should keep the position a strength. And a much more sane strength.

New York Giants
Owamagbe Odighizuwa, DE, UCLA
-The Giants found a defensive end that some thought could go in the first round in the third round. That's always a nice surprise. The Giants won a couple Super Bowls with a relentless pass rush. Odighizuwa should go a long ways in getting the pass rush back to that level.

Philadelphia Eagles
JaCorey Shepherd, CB, Kansas
I was alerted to Shepherd by NFL analyst Greg Cosell as one of his favorite "under-the-radar" corners. Shepherd could be a keeper that came out of the sixth-round.

Washington Redskins
Arie Kouandjio, G, Auburn
The Redskins interior offensive line should get better with Kouandjio as a part of it.

Dallas Cowboys
Damien Wilson, LB, Minnesota
-The Cowboys draft talk after the draft centered on the lack of running backs. I always find it sad when people bellyache about what a team didn't add and ignore the players that they did add. Wilson provides nice depth, perhaps even starts, at a position of need for the Cowboys.

New Orleans Saints
Davis Tull, LB, Tennessee-Chattanooga
-The Saints needed linebackers and Tull could be a very good one.

Carolina Panthers
Cameron Artis-Payne, RB, Auburn
-The Panthers have had a running back committee for so long it's tough to remember a time in which they had a primary ball carrier. They lost DeAngelo Williams in free agency. Artis-Payne should pair nicely with Jonathan Stewart to continue the running committee tradition in Carolina.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kwon Alexander, LB, LSU
Alexander looks like he could be a lot like Buccaneers current all-everything linebacker Lavonte David. The Buccaneers defense would be a nightmare with two linebackers like that.

Atlanta Falcons
Grady Jarrett, NT, Clemson
-It was a real surprise to see Jarrett still available in the fifth-round. The Falcons got a steal and Jarrett could start early.

San Francisco 49ers
DeAndre Smelter, WR, Georgia Tech
-When Smelter completely recovers from a December torn ACL he could become a terrific receiver for the 49ers.

St. Louis Rams
Cody Wichman, G, Fresno St.
-The Rams had holes across their offensive line. Their selection of four offensive linemen in the draft is proof of that. Wichman could start early.

Arizona Cardinals 
David Johnson, RB, Northern Iowa
-The Cardinals were fortunate to find Johnson still on the board in the third. He was one of the most complete backs in the draft. Big and versatile, Johnson's contributions should be immediate.

Seattle Seahawks
Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas St.
-Lockett should be an immediate contributor on offense and on returns. He's the versatile, explosive football player that the Seahawks thought they had with Percy Harvin.

Baltimore Ravens
Darren Waller, WR, Georgia Tech
-I'd sure like to have someone explain to me how triple option Georgia Tech produces so many receivers. Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas are two of the best receivers in the league. Stephen Hill was highly drafted. This year they sent DeAndre Smelter and Waller to the NFL. Waller is huge. 6'6" 238 lbs. Fast. 4.46 40-yds. You can't coach that sort of size and speed. Waller has a chance.

Cleveland Browns 
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
-Ekpre-Olomu has to recover from a serious knee injury before he can do anything. If he recovers, the Browns found the biggest steal of the draft in the seventh round. He's small but a healthy Ekpre-Olomu might have been selected in the first round. Certainly the second.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Anthony Chickillo, DE, Miami
-The Steelers defense has a lot of holes. Six of their eight draft picks were on that side of the ball. Chickillo can get to the passer. The Steelers like that.

Cincinnati Bengals
Marcus Hardison, DE, Arizona St.
-The Bengals didn't get to the quarterback much last year. Hardison has the talent to change that.

New England Patriots
Darryl Roberts, CB, Marshall
-The Patriots lost their starting cornerbacks this offseason. Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. Then they cut Alfonzo Dennard and Kyle Arrington loose after the draft. Could the Patriots start undrafted Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler and seventh-round pick Roberts this year?

New York Jets
Bryce Petty, QB, Baylor
-If there's a starting rookie quarterback this year not named Winston or Mariota, he's probably named Petty.

Buffalo Bills
Dezmin Lewis, WR, Central Arkansas
-He might have come from a small school but I was stunned that Lewis wasn't drafted until the seventh round. He showed that he could play with the big boys at the Senior Bowl. He's 6'4" and can play.

Miami Dolphins
Tony Lippett, CB/WR, Michigan St.
-Lippett was one of my favorite players in the draft. You have to like any player that is talented enough to legitimately play corner and receiver in the NFL. The Dolphins could use help at both positions.

Indianapolis Colts
Josh Robinson, RB, Mississippi St.
-Robinson should give Frank Gore some breathers. Defenses will hate getting bludgeoned by Robinson after being slashed by Gore. The Colts have a nice running combination behind Andrew Luck.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Michael Bennett, DT, Ohio St.
-The greatest mystery of the 2015 NFL Draft was continued availability in the sixth round. He was too good to be drafted that late and he'll be too good to keep off of the field in Jacksonville.

Tennessee Titans
David Cobb, RB, Minnesota
-Cobb could be a starter in Tennessee. Shonn Greene and Bishop Sankey are there so he has some decent competition for the job. If nothing else, he'll get a share of the carries.

Houston Texans
Christian Covington, DT, Rice
-If Covington doesn't start opposite J.J. Watt he should make a nice contribution in the line rotation.

Denver Broncos
Darius Kilgo, NT, Maryland
-Kilgo has a chance to play early. The Broncos lost Terrance Knighton in free agency so the opportunity is there.

Kansas City Chiefs
Steven Nelson, CB, Oregon St.
-If Nelson was a couple of inches taller he might have been a first-round pick. The Chiefs found him in the third. With first-round pick Marcus Peters and Nelson the Chiefs got better and younger at corner.

San Diego Chargers
Kyle Emanuel, LB, North Dakota St.
-Another one of my favorite players in this draft. He should help the Chargers pass rush. His motor does not stop.

Oakland Raiders
Neiron Ball, LB, Florida
-Ball should pair nicely opposite Khalil Mack at linebacker. The two could form one of the top outside linebacker combos in the league.

Throwback Thursday: Flea Flicker All-Time NFL Team

These offseason soap operas that have become an NFL staple are getting depressing and tiresome. It's time for something fun. What better way to have some fun than to make up an All-Time NFL Team. So, hear it is:

Quarterback
Otto Graham
-Graham gets the nod this time simply because he led the Cleveland Browns to the title game in each of his ten seasons. Winning seven.

Running backs
Jim Brown
Walter Payton
-I usually pair Adrian Peterson with Brown but he gets a break because he had one last season.

Wide receivers
Jerry Rice
Don Hutson
-It's going to be a tall task to bounce these two from any All-Time team.

Tight end
Kellen Winslow
-With the way that the talent at this position is progressing it's going to be a very crowded field of candidates in the future. It's already tough to choose from Mike Ditka, John Mackey, Winslow, and Tony Gonzalez. This time the choice is Winslow.

Tackles
Roosevelt Brown
Art Shell
-I wish that I had seen Brown. I did see Shell play.

Guards
Randall McDaniel
Larry Allen
-I've never seen a more athletic guard than McDaniel. I've never seen a more powerful guard than Allen.

Center
Mel Hein
-He was the MVP of the league in 1938. Fercryingoutloud!

Defensive ends
Gino Marchetti
Reggie White
-I often alternate between Marchetti and Deacon Jones on these teams. Depending on my mood. White has become one of my All-Time Team staples. I can remember White damn near sending Cris Carter into orbit like it was yesterday. I didn't know that a man could fly like that. It was a mistake to have Carter chip Reggie White.

Defensive tackles
Alan Page
Joe Greene
-It was a real treat to watch Page simply take over games. Greene too.

Linebackers
Jack Ham
Ray Nitschke
Lawrence Taylor
-I think that too many people forget how good Ham was. He just seemed to do everything right. It's tough to pick a middle linebacker as the best of All-Time. Like quarterback, there are a bunch that are worthy of the title. Nitschke gets it this time. Taylor simply changed the way that the game is played.

Cornerbacks
Dick "Night Train" Lane
Deion Sanders
-It's tempting to put two giants like Lane and Mel Blount on the team. They looked like linebackers. Moved like corners. "Night Train" was a nightmare for receivers. Sanders just enveloped receivers.

Safety
Ed Reed
Troy Polamalu
-A well deserved nod to the just retired safeties. Both will be missed. We were so lucky to see both of these football players compete.

Kicker 
Jan Stenerud

Punter
Ray Guy
-The specialty positions are easy. Just pick the two that are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That was fun!

DBs Are People Too

In recent years Rich Eisen has pounded the table for proper respect for punters. His catchphrase "Punters are people too" appears on t-shirts. Shirts usually worn by punters but the word is out there. Mission accomplished. Punters have some respect. For nearly every one of the 55 drafts in the history of the Minnesota Vikings franchise the same cry could be made for DBs. Defensive backs. Cornerbacks. Safeties. DBs are people too. Saying that the secondary was secondary when it came to Minnesota drafts would be an exaggeration. Drafting cornerbacks and safeties has been an afterthought throughout the history of the Vikings. One could even go so far as to say that the Vikings have ignored these positions. That lack of support for the secondary has come to an end. It had to end. The NFL is a passing league. Offenses are moving the ball through the air far too often, far too effectively to ignore supplementing the players that are tasked with stopping it.

Since the Minnesota Vikings made their first ever draft pick in December 1960 they have selected a cornerback or safety in the first round on five occasions. Five! It doesn't take long to list them. Here they are:

1983-Joey Browner, S, USC
1994-DeWayne Washington, CB, North Carolina St.
2012-Harrison Smith, S, Notre Dame
2013-Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida St.
2015-Trae Wayners, CB, Michigan St.

That's it!

The Vikings selected football players for 22 years before they selected their first defensive back in the first round. They've selected more in the last four years than they selected in the first 51 years. That's astonishing. They might not have selected a defensive back in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft but they still brought home three in the later rounds. Since Rick Spielman was elevated to General Manager in 2012, the Vikings have selected eight defensive backs in the draft. Priorities have changed. There's been an emphasis on improving the level of talent at the back of the Vikings defense like never before. That emphasis should remain as long as Spielman and defensive-minded head coach Mike Zimmer are charged with selecting and developing players in Minnesota.

Bobby Bryant, Carl Lee, and Antoine Winfield are arguably the best cornerbacks in Vikings franchise history. Bryant was a seventh-round pick in 1967. Lee was a seventh-round pick in 1983. Perhaps this seventh-round success kept the Vikings from spending a first on a corner. Winfield was a free agent addition. Paul Krause and Joey Browner are the top safeties in franchise history. Krause was acquired through a trade. Browner ranks as one of the best draft selections the Vikings ever made. If injuries hadn't cut short his career, he would likely be honored in Canton. The current group of defensive backs has the talent to be the best that the Vikings have ever put on the field. It starts with the talent of those three first round selections. Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, and Trae Waynes. The Vikings have finally dipped into the pool of secondary talent at the top of the draft. It's working so far. Smith and Rhodes look like franchise cornerstones. Hopefully Waynes will join them.

For whatever reason, certain teams simply have tremendous success or luck at certain positions. The Chicago Bears have had a ridiculous run of good fortune at middle linebacker. The San Francisco 49ers have seen more than their fair share of excellent quarterbacks. The Vikings have had great success drafting defensive linemen. Many of those defensive linemen have been first round selections. Carl Eller, Alan Page, Doug Martin, Keith Millard, Chris Doleman, and Kevin Williams. Eller, Page, and Doleman are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Vikings have also had a decent number of complete misses. Busts. Jim Dunaway, Jerry Shay, Gerald Robinson, Derrick Alexander, Duane Clemons, and Dimitrius Underwood. No matter the success or failure of the first round picks the Vikings kept swinging. They've selected 19 defensive linemen in their 55-history. That's a 19-5 edge for the DLs vs DBs in the first round of 55 drafts. Stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback has long been step one for any defense. It still is but the importance of a strong secondary working in conjunction with that line seems to have increased. The Seattle Seahawks have really brought that into focus in recent years. The Vikings appear to have finally accepted that thinking. The secondary is really no longer of secondary importance in Minnesota.

Boom!

Roger Goodell and Troy Vincent dropped the hammer on the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady for violating an 80-year old air pressure rule. A rule that few knew existed until this past January. The Patriots will be fined $1 million and will forfeit a 2016 first round pick and a 2017 fourth round pick. Brady will be suspended without pay for four games for violating the NFL policy on the integrity of the game. Integrity of the game? That's a lofty title for an air pressure range that came from a manufacturers recommendation. A manufacturer that hasn't manufactured an NFL football since 1939. The supposedly improper handling of the football might be the headline reason for Brady's punishment but it's his withholding of his cellphone that's probably the real reason. The NFL doesn't like to be told that they can't have something.  

In my book, the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Most will focus on Brady's portion of the punishment. Four games? An appeal could knock it down to two. Maybe not. Who knows? We certainly won't know for a while. The NFL rarely handles these things in a timely manner. If it remains at four games those games will pass quickly enough. The Patriots often spend the first four games of each season trying to figure out what sort of football team they're going to be. If Brady can catch up with the team they'll be fine. Matt Cassel led the team to an 11-5 record in Brady's absence in 2008. This Patriots team is better than that Patriots team and Jimmy Garoppolo is a better quarterback than Cassel was at that time. The punishment that absolutely doesn't fit the crime is the one brought down on the Patriots franchise. A million bucks, a first round pick, and a fourth round pick? Seriously? It's my understanding that Bill Belichick and the team have been exonerated from any involvement in the air pressure shenanigans. Punishing the team for what a player may or may not have done makes little sense. It's like punishing a team because one of their players took a PED. I've never seen a team punished for the actions of a player. Especially after that team has been exonerated of any involvement. The Patriots are likely being punished for creating an environment in which the line between right and wrong is often blurred a bit. If that's the case, that's fine. Then say that's the reason. It's still pretty shaky but at least the league would be honest about it. The Patriots, as a franchise, did nothing to warrant the punishment handed them. A million bucks and a couple of top picks is a ridiculous punishment. That challenges the integrity of the NFL more than anything that may or may not have taken place in New England.

Enough already. It sure would be nice to have a football season, offseason too, without any of these sideshows. In the past year we've had enough to last about ten years.

Balls, Balls, Balls

Balls.

I'm so sick of hearing about balls.

The biggest problem that I have with this deflated footballs mess is that the rule in question is an old and stupid rule. The 12.5-13.5 psi air pressure range rule that is such the topic now was established in 1934 for a football that was slightly bigger than the one used today. Wilson manufactures the footballs now. They didn't manufacture the slightly bigger footballs used in 1934. Wilson didn't start providing footballs for the NFL until 1940. So, the rule that no one even knew existed in January was for a very different football than the one used today. The rule was established for a football that was about a quarter-inch larger, made by a different company, and made over 80 years ago. What are the chances that a football made today was made exactly the same over 80 years ago? The air pressure range rule really has no connection to the football used today.

The air pressure rule is a stupid rule because every change to the football over the last 100 years has been to make it easier to throw. Just as damn near every on-field rule change in the last 40 years has been to help the quarterback, the evolution of the football has been to make it easier to throw. It's become more aerodynamic and easier to handle. In the 1960s the AFL used an even smaller football than the NFL used to help their quarterbacks. The ball was meant to be thrown. It was meant to generate offense and excitement. The first 4,000 yard passing season accepted by the NFL was accomplished by Joe Namath with the Spalding-produced J5-V. Named like a jet. Traveled through the air like a jet. This football was a quarter-inch skinnier and longer than the NFL football. It was a missile designed as a football. No one one belly-aches over that very different football impacting the league's history. The NFL has allowed quarterbacks to scuff, rub, and alter game day footballs for nearly a decade. The NFL allows the quarterback to "alter" the football to their individual liking. The NFL wants the football to be easier to throw. They want it to be easier to handle. They love the offense that comes from that ease. Ever since teams started throwing the football the NFL has gone out of their way to "gift" the quarterback a competitive advantage. After all of these allowances the NFL suddenly pulls back. Why? And they pull back for a stupid rule that was established over 80 years ago. A rule that came not from a study but from a manufacturer's suggestion. A suggestion that was made more for the average Joe tossing a football to his son than a bunch of professional football players. A manufacturer's suggestion that came from a manufacturer that no longer manufactures the football.

The air pressure rule is a stupid rule due to the NFL's obvious inability to enforce it. Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson alerted the NFL before the AFC Championship game to the possibility that the New England Patriots might be under-inflating their footballs. What does the NFL do? They fail to document any of the initial pressure readings for the footballs. They allow the footballs out of their site before the game. They use two pressure gauges, one with a crooked needle, that produce very different readings. When they do actually record the readings at halftime the results mean next to nothing because of the questionable initial readings. There's no way to show any tampering of the footballs when there are no reliable readings. How is a multi-billion dollar business so incompetent? If this was a sting operation, the average two-year old could script it better. NFL gumshoe Ted Wells took over three months to investigate this mess and file his report. After seeing all of the holes, all of incompetence, all of the nonsense, it's obvious that all 243 pages of his report are worthless. All for a rule that is stupid to start.

By the books, the breaking of the stupid air pressure range rule is a $25,0000 fine but when was the last time that Goodell and the gang did anything by the book. They've been making things up as they go for far too long. I would be surprised if the NFL suits don't find a way to suspend Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for a couple of games. They shouldn't but they probably will. Some have speculated that Brady could get four games or more. That would be ridiculous. If it were me making the decision, I'd fine Brady. It may be a stupid rule but it's still a rule. There has to be some sort of punishment even though none of the air pressure readings are reliable enough to prove that any tampering was done. There was enough evidence in the text messages between the two locker room clowns to suggest that some air pressure noodling was taking place. If not for the AFC Championship game then for previous games. Most importantly, if it were me making the decision I would toss out this stupid air pressure rule. It didn't really have a place in 1934 and it certainly doesn't have a place now. Simple common sense can tell anyone handling a football whether it is inflated or not.

Vikings Draft

Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has made it routine to acquire extra first round picks in recent years. From 2012 to 2014, he brought seven first round picks to Minnesota. That sort of top end talent made for terrific drafts on paper and very good drafts, so far, on the field. In the 2015 NFL Draft, Spielman showed that he could effectively handle having only a single first round pick. A week after the selections, this draft looks great. Even with a single first round pick.

1. Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan St.
2. Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
3. Danielle Hunter, DE, LSU
4. T.J. Clemmings, T, Pittsburgh
5. MyCole Pruitt, TE, Southern Illinois
5. Stephon Diggs, WR, Maryland
6. Tyrus Thompson, T/G, Oklahoma
6. B.J. Dubose, DT, Louisville
7. Austin Shepherd, T/G. Alabama
7. Edmond Robinson, LB, Newberry

The Vikings entered the draft with needs at corner, middle linebacker, depth at defensive end, receiver and improvement on the offensive line. If Trae Waynes can refine some issues with his technique he could be a day one starter. If he becomes the player that his skills would indicate the Vikings will have a pair of corners in Waynes and Xavier Rhodes that will compete well with any of the excellent receivers in their division and across the NFL. The sort of coverage that will allow the rest of the Vikings defense a great deal of freedom. The Vikings have been searching for a three-down middle linebacker for so long. Too long. With Eric Kendricks that search is at an end. Head coach Mike Zimmer and defensive coaches George Edwards and Adam Zimmer will make great use of Kendricks' instincts, quickness, and coverage ability. Danielle Hunter is freakishly talented but very raw. If his play can scratch his potential he's an impact defensive end. T.J. Clemmings was supposed to be a first round pick. Word seemed to spread late in the draft prep process that he had a fracture in his foot. An injury that he's had for a while. It hasn't kept him off of the field but it caused a draft slide. Fortunately for the Vikings. He fell in their lap in the fourth round. He provides insurance at left tackle if Matt Kalil doesn't rebound from two sudpar seasons or he's the eventual right tackle. He might even move inside and fill the hole at left guard. Clemmings gives the Vikings excellent options of the offensive. Now and in the near future. Mycole Pruitt is a very productive small school tight end. He joins the battle at what has become a crowded position for the Vikings. Stephon Diggs is a talented, big play receiver. His best chance for immediate contributions is probably as a returner. Tyrus Thompson will provide nice offensive line depth at guard and/or tackle. He likely competes with David Yankey and Joe Berger for the left guard spot this summer. B.J. Dubose has a tough task in front of him. The interior of the Vikings defensive line is one of the most set positions on the team. His position flexibility helps his cause. Austin Shepherd joins Thompson in the competition to provide improved line depth. Last year, seventh round picks Shamar Stephen and Jabari Price not only made the roster but made contributions. Edmond Robinson is my pick as the player to emerge from the back of the draft to make the team and contribute. He's a raw player and he played at little Newberry but he's got skills. He entered my view at the East-West Game and remained in my view throughout the draft process. . It think that he's going to be tough to cut.

Spielman has made it quite clear that ten picks is a goal in each draft. They entered the draft with seven selections. They exited with ten. Goal reached. Waynes and Kendricks clearly highlight this draft. Both were drafted to become franchise cornerstones and each could reach that early in their careers. Hunter can make a splash in the defensive line rotation. If he can harness his great natural talent that could be a big splash. Clemmings might be too talented to keep on the bench despite the presence of established starters at both tackle spots. In a couple of years, the top four picks of this draft could be big-time contributors for the Minnesota Vikings. Pruitt and Diggs will likely have specific roles on the offense as early as this season. Diggs could impact special teams immediately. Very nice draft. I guess that Spielman doesn't really need those extra first round picks after all.

Oh yea. And Adrian Peterson is still on the team.