Some interesting things afoot.
I somehow missed that the 1st round will happen on Thursday evening, April 22nd, 7:30 ET.
Hello, Earl and Sergio. Earl is sneaking into the Top 10, baby. Believe it.
Friday features Rounds 2-3 starting at 6:00pm ET. Look for Colt, Lamarr, Shipley.
Saturday has Rounds 4-7, starting at 10:00 ET. Wake up early to see Muckelroy and, perhaps, Ulatoski go. Could Tanner slip into the late rounds based on his incredible testing? More likely a signed FA.
This is change-up for the NFL and it's traditional weekend marathon paradigm. I'll be curious to see how it plays out in the ratings, and for obese Jets fans in starter jerseys taken from their customary fourteen hour foray into fried cheese, booing Jets draft choices, and attacking Masshole Patriot fans with calzones.
The Cleveland Browns have reached out to the St Louis Rams to express their interest in possibly moving up to #1 to select Sam Bradford.
This is a trade the Rams should do. The Rams don't have a QB problem, they have a football team problem. If they can get good value in one of the best drafts in NFL history, a favorable contract spot (compare #1 to #7), lots of extra picks, and a chance to rebuild the franchise, it's a no-brainer. Unless you believe Bradford is Peyton Manning junior.
Mike Holmgren poured some water on that fire:
"I don't want to then pull the rug out from everybody in our first draft," Holmgren said. "He's a coveted young man. To be able to go up and change somebody's mind ahead of us, you'd have to mortgage the ranch. Remember when Coach Ditka did that with 11 picks, then he went and played golf.
Translation: we're interested, but we're not going to get taken advantage of...
Speaking of taking advantage, Ben Roethlisberger continues his one-man assault on good taste and propriety. When Ben's not falling off of motorcycles sans helmet, he's pressuring inebriated young women into bathroom sex - sans helmet - while (off-duty cop) bodyguards run interference on her friends attempting rescue.
Rapist? Maybe not. But Kinda Rapey though, right?
Maybe it's like HORSE. If you manage to win, but you still have H-O-R-S on you because you missed some shots, made some mistakes, you're not unsullied. Ben is a R-A-P-I-S. No T.
I'm more comfortable with Michael Irvin slashing a teammate with scissors than that bullshit. Partly, because I'm a biased Cowboys fan, partly due to chivalry, mostly because I won't be disrespected in a makeshift locker room barber shop. Know this, readers!
Most NFL franchises would go into damage control mode and find a way to keep Roethlisberger. Send Ben to counseling for his semi-consensual sex addiction, mouth the right platitudes, and issue a statement that Ben is going to work with Elin to save his marriage - oops, anyone have an eraser? I need to tweak my all-purpose Making-A-Predator-A-Victim Gullible PR Strategy a tad.
But the Steelers aren't your typical franchise. They have morals, even briefly had Earl Morrall, in fact. They just sent Santonio Holmes, their best wide receiver, packing after a drug suspension and assorted buffoonery.
So it may not just be a Bradford dynamic in play next Thursday. Could Ben Roethlisberger be in play? Unlikely. Very unlikely. Yet, stranger things have happened.