The Room Where It Happens

22 hopeful prospects are set to be in Philadelphia for the 2017 NFL Draft. None of them are the still-expected #1 pick. Despite reports of indecision and in-fighting among the Cleveland Browns decision-makers, Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett is still expected to be the first pick in the draft. He isn't among the 22 that will be attending the draft. The following will be in the room where it happens.

Jamal Adams, S, LSU

Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama

Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado

Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee

Garrett Boles, T, Utah

Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State

Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan

Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC
Kevin King, CB, Washington
DeShon Kizer, QB, Notre Dame
Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA
Ryan Ramczyk, T, Wisconsin
Haason Reddick, LB, Temple
Cam Robinson, T, Alabama
John Ross, WR, Washington
Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
Mitchell Tubrisky, QB, North Carolina
DeShaun Watson, QB, Clemson
Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU

As was done last year, the NFL has invited the player's college coaches to wait with them in the green room. It's a crowded room. Here are the coaches that will be attending the NFL Draft.

Larry Fedora, North Carolina
P.J. Fleck, Minnesota
Butch Jones, Tennessee
Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Jim Mora, UCLA
Ed Orgeron, LSU
Chris Peterson, Washington
Matt Ruhle, Baylor
Nick Saban, Alabama
David Shaw, Stanford
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Kyle Whittingham, Utah

It appears that Chidobe Awuzie, Adoree' Jackson, Malik McDowell, and Ryan Ramczyk won't have their coaches with them in Philadelphia.

Best of luck to the NFL hopefuls in Philadelphia and elsewhere on their big day.

RIP Mr. Rooney

The NFL might have lost it's conscience yesterday. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney passed away at the age of 84. 

Several years ago I read a book about basketball coach Pete Newell titled simply and appropriately A Good Man. That underrated description describes Dan Rooney perfectly. Through the twists, turns, and decisions of the NFL's past six decades one of three commissioners could always turn to Rooney and ask what the league should do. Some times he just listened. Other times he suggested. It was always wise to listen. From labor disputes to minority opportunities Rooney was closer to the right thing to do than perhaps any NFL owner has ever been. 

Dan Rooney was born in 1932. That was the year before his father brought an NFL team to Pittsburgh. The team was in his blood and became his life's work. Art Rooney was a league pillar but he wasn't an effective owner. The team was terrible until his son took over the decision-making in the mid-1960s. Even before the kid took over those decisions the senior Rooney probably should've listened. Dan Rooney seemed to be the only person in Pittsburgh that saw something in a slope-shouldered, rookie quarterback from Louisville named John Unitas. Imagine how the league might've been different if the Steelers owner and coach had listened to the young Rooney kid. Art Rooney ran his team with his heart. Dan Rooney did so with his head and heart in apparent perfect harmony. He hired Chuck Noll to coach the Steelers in 1969. Five years later they had their first Super Bowl. Five years after that they had three more. Rooney hire three coaches. In nearly fifty years of football he hired three coaches. Three! His father hired his third coach in the team's third year. All three of Dan Rooney's coaching hires have won a Super Bowl. His first one won four. The Steelers have been the most consistently successful team in the league since they hit their stride in the early 1970's. That ridiculously consistent success started at the top. Three!

In the first decades of the NFL all of the teams were more Mom n' Pops than corporate giants. In the case of the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers it seemed that Tim Mara and Art Rooney bought the teams more for their sons than for themselves. Wellington and Jack Mara and the Rooney boys took to football like they were born to it. They were. Even though I came to the NFL at the time between the Mom n' Pop days and the corporate days I got a little view of the way things used to be. Wellington and Dan gave me that. Their ability to run their teams with head and heart was admirable. As a big fan of football's past it was wonderful. I miss them. 

The NFL lost a good man yesterday. Damn few left. 

Throwback Thursday: Quotes From Pro Football: It's Ups and Downs

When Dr. Harry March published Pro Football: It's Ups and Downs in 1934 it was the history of professional football. The book established Dr. March as the authority on professional history for decades. He was born in New Franklin, Ohio in 1875 and grew up in Canton. He watched from the front row as pro football grew from the sandlots to the NFL. He was the Canton Bulldogs team doctor in 1906. He was part of the formation and running of the New York Giants in 1925. Not only was he a spectator of the early football days he was a part of it. Despite the first hand accounts Pro Football: It's Ups and Downs has some critics. More recent football analysis and research has found some inaccuracies in his recollections. Dr. March tapped John Brallier as the first professional football player. We now accept William "Pudge" Heffelfinger as the first. There's also questions concerning Dr. March's version of the Canton Bulldogs-Massilon Tigers betting scandal of 1906. Pro Football: It's Ups and Downs is a first hand account of the early days of professional football. It isn't researched so much as it's the observations of a man that saw the real thing. 10 people might see the same football game  and come away with 10 different versions of it. No greater authority than the author himself states in "The Last Play" of of his book:

"In later years may keener minds, younger hands and better and more observing eyes go over what is here written, to clarify, amend and add to it, that the next history may be more searching, more accurate and more entertaining!" -Dr, Harry March

Dr. March's book is a fantastic resource. It's also very entertaining. His humorous writing draws comparisons to the whimsical prose of Pro Football Researchers Association legend Bob Carroll. Pro Football: It's Ups and Downs is a fun read. There are quotes within and at the end of most chapters. Here are some of those quotes.

"A winner never quits. A quitter never wins."

"Losers count the first downs: winners point to the score."

"You learn to do by doing, and do best that which you do most often."

"A player is as good as his legs. Of course some brains are essential."

"A strong offense is the best defence-with reservations."

"It's a short trip home after victory-aches, pains, and bruises forgotten."

"The team which won't be beaten can't be beaten."

"When in doubt, kick."-Hagerty (Georgetown)

"College football is emotion largely; a pro game is motion."-Zuppke (Illinois)

"No game is better than the officiating."

"You can't carry the mail if you dally too much with the female."

"The smart team gets the breaks-the losing team counts first downs."

"Your merit is determined by your proximity to the ball; you can't recover fumbles ten yards away."-DeGrosso

"Some afternoon it will be wet and the field soggy. Practice sometimes with a wet and soggy ball."

"You can't make touchdowns across the side lines."

"Sports writers may make you a hero today and a goat tomorrow; don't care what they say so long as they spell your name right-they are generally just."

"Tis better to have passed and lost, than never to have passed at all."

***

That last one seems more appropriate in today's game than the one played in Dr. March's day. Although his Giants did have Benny Friedman flinging the pea on some of those days. 

Vikings Visits

NFL teams are allowed to bring as many as 30 prospects to their facilities in advance of the NFL Draft. As with many things this time of year the teams aren't always forthcoming with a list of those prospects. Any news of these visits likely comes from the agents of the players. They are the ones that benefit the most from the news. Well, the players do as well. The following are the prospects that have ventured to Minnesota for a visit.

Rodney Adams, WR, South Florida
Dylan Bradley, DE, Southern Mississippi
Pat Elflein, C, Ohio State
Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
Worth Gregory, P, East Carolina
Brian Hill, RB, Wyoming
Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo
Josh Jones, S, North Carolina State
Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee
Damontae Kazee, CB, San Diego State
Brendan Langley, DB, Lamar
Elijah Lee, LB, Kansas State
Mitch Leidner, QB, Minnesota
Jack Lynn, LB, Minnesota
Marlon Mack, RB, South Florida
Leon McQuay III, S, USC
Jaylen Myrick, CB, Minnesota
Dare Ogunbowale, RB, Wisconsin
Jonah Pirsig, T, Minnesota
Curtis Samuel, RB, Ohio State
Damarius Travis, S, Minnesota
Drew Wolitarsky, WR, Minnesota

Several University of Minnesota players have visited. If I recall correctly teams can have some pre-draft contact with local players that don't count against the 30-player limit.

Depending on how the local players count as many as 14 visits remain unknown.

The number of running backs coming through the Vikings facilities might be the most interesting takeaway from this list. Brian Hill, Kareem Hunt, Alvin Kamara, Marlon Mack, Dare Ogunbowale, and versatile Curtis Samuel. They also spent some significant pre-draft time with Oklahoma backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. The Vikings running back depth chart is topped by Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon so adding another in the draft should surprise no one.

If the amount of contact during the draft evaluation process is an absolute indication of interest running back Alvin Kamara, defensive end Dylan Bradley, and linebacker Elijah Lee top the Vikings "want list." They met with Kamara at the Combine and worked out Bradley and Lee in addition to inviting them to Minnesota.

The visits could mean anything from a lot to nothing. That's a wide range. They are just part of the process. A team just wants to check some boxes. They just want to confirm that this is a player that they want in their organization. They might even want to confirm that this is a player that they DON'T want in their organization. I think that there is a "real" reason for every invite so I have doubts that any invite is a smokescreen.

I usually tend to focus more on the positions of the players invited than the players themselves. Since 31 other teams are involved the draft never goes as planned or hoped. It can be a mistake to focus on a particular player.

Visit lists aren't an exact blueprint of a team's draft day plans. They are just another part of the draft evaluation fun.

Preseason Schedule Released

To spice up this part of the offseason the NFL released the 2017 Preseason Schedule yesterday. Excitement abounds. Here's the four practice game slate of the Minnesota Vikings.

Week 1 at Buffalo Bills

Week 2 at Seattle Seahawks

Week 3 San Francisco 49ers

Week 4 Miami Dolphins

Here's the entire NFL preseason schedule.

2017 preseason national television schedule (all times Eastern)

Hall of Fame Game (Canton, Ohio)

Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals (NBC, 8 p.m.), Thursday, Aug. 3

Preseason Week 2 (August 17-21)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Jacksonville Jaguars (ESPN, 8 p.m.), Thursday, Aug. 17

New York Giants at Cleveland Browns (ESPN, 8 p.m.) Monday, Aug. 21

Preseason Week 3 (August 24-27)

Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks (CBS, 8 p.m.) Friday, Aug. 25

Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams (CBS, 8 p.m.) Saturday, Aug. 26

Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans (FOX, 1 p.m.) Sunday, Aug. 27

Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Redskins (FOX, 4:30 p.m.) Sunday, Aug. 27

San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings (NBC, 8 p.m.) Sunday, Aug. 27

2017 preseason week-by-week schedule

WEEK 1: AUG. 10-14

Atlanta Falcons at Miami Dolphins

Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams

Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions at Indianapolis Colts

Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers

Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots

Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints at Cleveland Browns

Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals

Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers

Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs

Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Chargers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals

Tennessee Titans at New York Jets

Washington Redskins at Baltimore Ravens

WEEK 2: AUGUST 17-21

Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh Steelers

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins

Buffalo Bills at Philadelphia Eagles

Carolina Panthers at Tennessee Titans

Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals

Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers

Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins

Indianapolis Colts at Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals

Los Angeles Rams at Oakland Raiders

Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks

New England Patriots at Houston Texans

New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants at Cleveland Browns

New York Jets at Detroit Lions

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Jacksonville Jaguars

WEEK 3: AUGUST 24-27

Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars

Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans

Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Redskins

Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Green Bay Packers at Denver Broncos

Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints

Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers

Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks

Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins at Philadelphia Eagles

New England Patriots at Detroit Lions

New York Jets at New York Giants

Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys

San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings

WEEK 4: AUG. 31-SEPT. 1

Arizona Cardinals at Denver Broncos

Baltimore Ravens at New Orleans Saints

Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts

Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys at Houston Texans

Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills

Jacksonville Jaguars at Atlanta Falcons

Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco 49ers

Los Angeles Rams at Green Bay Packers

Miami Dolphins at Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants at New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles at New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers

Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders

Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs

Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

***

Under four months until the preseason fun! The games that many celebrate now and bitch about later. 

Flea Flicker Second Round Mock Draft

Here's a Flea Flicker look at how the second round of the draft could fall. This is being done to get the Minnesota Vikings involved in a mock draft as well as for the sheer damn fun of it.

33. Cleveland Browns-Davis Webb, QB, California
34. San Francisco 49ers-T.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin
35. Jacksonville Jaguars-Dion Dawkins, T, Temple
36. Chicago Bears-Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC
37. Los Angeles Rams-Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida
38. Los Angeles Chargers-Taylor Moton, T, Western Michigan
39. New York Jets-Tre'Davious White, CB, LSU
40. Carolina Panthers-Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee
41. Cincinnati Bengals-Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida
42. New Orleans Saints-Adam Shaheen,TE, Ashland
43. Philadelphia Eagles-Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado
44. Buffalo Bills-Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State
45. Arizona Cardinals-Kevin King, CB, Washington
46. Indianapolis Colts-Malik McDowell, DT, Michigan State
47. Baltimore Ravens-Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama
48. Minnesota Vikings-Budda Baker, S, Washington
49. Washington Redskins-Marcus Williams, S, Utah
50. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma
51. Denver Broncos-Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn
52. Cleveland Browns-Tyus Bowser, LB, Houston
53. Detroit Lions-Curtis Samuel, RB, Ohio State
54. Miami Dolphins-Teez Tabor, CB, Florida
55. New York Giants-Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State
56. Oakland Raiders-Obi Melifonwu, DB, Connecticut
57. Houston Texans-Marcus Maye, S, Florida
58. Seattle Seahawks-Cordea Tankersely, CB, Clemson
59. Kansas City Chiefs-Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
60. Dallas Cowboys-Desmond King, CB, Iowa
61. Green Bay Packers-Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
62. Pittsburgh Steelers-Jake Butt, TE, Michigan
63. Atlanta Falcons-Tim Williams, LB, Alabama
64. Carolina Panthers-Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina

This is a very deep draft.

Another Flea Flicker Mock Draft

There hasn't been much time since the last mock but this could be a daily thing. A daily Mock? Besides, I wanted to do a second round mock tomorrow and felt that it should go hand-in-hand with a new first round mock.

1.   Cleveland Browns-Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
2.   San Francisco 49ers-Malik Hooker, S, Ohio State
3.   Chicago Bears-Jamal Adams, S, LSU
4.   Jacksonville Jaguars-Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
5.   Tennessee Titans-Mike Williams, WR, Clemson
6.   New York Jets-DeShaun Watson, QB, Clemson
7.   Los Angeles Chargers-Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
8.   Carolina Panthers-Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford
9.   Cincinnati Bengals-Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State
10. Buffalo Bills-Mitchell Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
11. New Orleans Saints-Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama
12. Cleveland Browns-O.J. Howard, TE, Alabama
13. Arizona Cardinals-Rueben Foster, LB, Alabama
14. Philadelphia Eagles-Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State
15. Indianapolis Colts-Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford
16. Baltimore Ravens-Haason Reddick, LB, Temple
17. Washington Redskins-Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
18. Tennessee Titans-Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Corey Davis, WR, Western Michigan
20. Denver Broncos-Garrett Bolles, T, Utah
21. Detroit Lions-Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
22. Miami Dolphins-David Njoku, TE, Miami
23. New York Giants-Forrest Lamp, G, Western Kentucky
24. Oakland Raiders-Evan Engram, TE, Mississippi
25. Houston Texans-Ryan Ramczyk, T, Wisconsin
26. Seattle Seahawks-Cam Robinson, T, Alabama
27. Kansas City Chiefs-Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech
28. Dallas Cowboys-John Ross, WR, Washington
29. Green Bay Packers-Gareon Conley, CB, Ohio State
30. Pittsburgh Steelers-Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
31. Atlanta Falcons-Charles Harris, DE, Missouri
32. New Orleans Saints-DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame

Three safeties in the first seven picks! That's an indication of the talent at the position as well as a changing NFL.