Man sometimes I forget about this over here.  Still unclear what will become of the There is No Offseason site.  Spammers just got waaaaayyy to out of hand.  There is a thought of moving it from a Football site to an All Sports site.  Don’t know yet.

Anyway, as you may have noticed, my primary site now is Football Jabber.  Thought I would post some of the latest over here since we still have a good load of subscribers.

• Football Jabber has joined Corey at The Fantasy Football Goat for The Fantasy Football News and Advice Show.  A Podcast for you year round Fantasy Football Jabber heads.  The second show is up now.  You can subscribe free at iTunes HERE, listen along in the widget at Football Jabber in the sidebar, or go to The Fantasy Football Goat.  Michael from The Hazean joined in this week with his vocal rendition of Monday Morning Rehab.

• Poll results and discussion as to who people think the Top Fantasy QB will be this year.  YOu can also drag and rank your Top 15 Dynasty QB’s.
• We have our NFL Draft Grades rolling in.  NFC West, AFC North, and NFC North are in so far.
• Right now we have Linkage for all the NFL teams so you can keep up on them.  In the near future each team will have it’s own page.
• Just added out Fantasy page that is going to have tons of Rankings and mock draft Jabber before it is all over.  Currently the Top Dynasty QB’s are listed.
• The FORUMS are still rather new.  Jump in and get some football talk going!

So there is a little update.  Stop by and say Hi!

Forums for your Football Jabber

College Football, Fantasy Football, National Football League Comments (0)

 Subscribe to Jabber in a reader

The guys that bring you Football Jabber all came together in Forums for fantasy football leagues. Football Jabber has really taken off since the start of the year, with that we have decided to add some forums for your Jabber. Come on in and share your knowledge and wit on Football and Fantasy Football.

Discuss the NFL, NCAA Football, and Fantasy Football. Find a league or owners for your league. Also, if you would like to have a free password protected forum for your league, surrounded by the awesomeness that will be the Football Jabber forums, hit the contact link above and shoot me one of those electronic messages and let’s talk!

FOOTBALL BLOGGERS! Feel free to sign up and post your content!

JOIN THE FOOTBALL JABBER FORUMS NOW! 

3 Round NFL Mock Draft Updated

NFL Draft, National Football League Comments (2)

Subscribe to Jabber in a reader

The Football Jabber Three Round NFL Mock Draft has been updated. There has been quite a bit of movement with all of the Free Agency activity. Sink your choppers in as the wait for the 2008 NFL Draft enters it’s final month!

Round One | Round Two | Round Three
Round 1

#1 Miami - QB Matt Ryan

Do I think this is the best choice for the rebuilding Dolphins? No. But the fact of the matter is that Ryan is the most NFL-ready QB available for the Dolphins who are desperate for playmakers on the both sides of the ball. Parcells isn’t a stranger to drafting a QB 1.01 and I think the hype gets to him. I still believe that the Dolphins best course of action is to trade down.

#2 St. Louis - DE Chris Long

It isn’t a well kept secret that St. Louis is enamoured with Chris Long. Drating a defensive end would allow Adam Carriker to have a home position and would also take some pressure off of Leonard Little.

#3 Atlanta - OT Jake Long

Atlanta has signed a whole schwack of defensive tackles through free agency. I doubt they waste time to bring in these guys if Dorsey or Ellis is the pick. Gandy and Weiner aren’t getting any younger and both experienced injury-problems last year. Head Coach Mike Smith is a power running guy; offensive tackle serves his purposes.

#4 Oakland - RB Darren McFadden

Crazy Al Davis strikes again! Hurry, hurry, hurry; all cap space for the next four years must go! No guaranteed money deals refused! Despite having Echemandu, Justin Fargas, Mike Bush, LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes on the roster, I fully expect Oakland to draft McFadden. Davis loves offensive playmakers with speed and DMac fits the bill perfectly. Look for LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes to be given their walking papers if this happens.

#5 Kansas City - DT Sedrick Ellis

The Chiefs get put in a tough spot at 1.05. Do you reach for Clady or Otah? Or do you draft one of the falling blue chip tackle prospects? The Chiefs can’t resist pulling the trigger on Ellis; the lesser talented but much more durable tackle prospect. A trade down would better suit the Chiefs in this situation so they could draft a Chris Williams or Jeff Otah, but I don’t think they find a buyer.

#6 New York Jets - DE/OLB Vernon Gholston

The Jets remain thrilled that Gholston slips to them at 6. Despite signing Calvin Pace, Gholston is still a huge upgrade for the team as their pass rush was abyssmal last year. Gholston would most definitely play with his hand up for the Jets.

#7 New England (from San Francisco) - CB Leodis McKelvin

Despite what Dallas’ leaked cornerback draft board would have you believe, I think Leodis McKelvin leaves the board first to the Patriots who need to replace two cornerbacks lost in free agency. McKelvin adds return skills to the mix as well as good coverage abilities.

#8 Baltimore - OT Ryan Clady

Baltimore has been advised to treat this year as if Pro Bowl tackle Johnathan Ogden will not be returning. Heeding that advice Head Coach Harbaugh drafts his replacement in Ryan Clady. Clady is a fluid tackle who always seems to be in position. The Ravens will continue to lean on their running game this year and Clady is a solid choice to ensure it keeps rolling.

#9 Cincinnati - DT Glenn Dorsey

Dorsey slips to 9 amongst injury concerns swirling around him. Even with the phantom injuries appearing out of nowhere, Dorsey at 9 is too much to pass up. The Bengals failed to pick up a defensive tackle via trade this offseason so Dorsey fill sin nicely here.

#10 New Orleans - OLB Keith Rivers

New Orleans complete sits reconstruction of the linebacking corps with the drafting of Rivers. Rivers would likely take the job of current strong side linebacker Scott Fujita. Alongside newly acquired MLB Johnathan Vilma, the Saints instantly gain some credibility on defense.

The rest of the order—>

tag: NFL Draft, Mock Draft, Football, footballjabber.com

NFL Draft Prospects | Top 10 QB’s

Draft Prospects: Quarterback, NFL Draft, National Football League Comments (0)

 Subscribe to Jabber in a reader

The interesting thing about this year’s draft class actually has nothing to do with this year. Scouts have lamented over the weakness of the quarterbacks coming out in next year’s draft; artificially inflating the value of this year’s offering. Don’t be surprised to see a QB get taken by a team you didn’t expect. Also, you might see some teams reaching for QBs and mining for gold with late round fliers.

#1 Matt Ryan, Boston College

Many feel he is the most NFL ready of all quarterbacks entering the draft. While I would agree, I don’t believe he is worthy of the top 5 selection he will likely command. Ryan’s pocket presence is by far the best in class but he tends to make poor decisions and force the ball on occasion. That being said, Ryan has the ability to make all of the throws necessary to be a solid NFL starter. Easily the best quarterback available, I’d be surprised if he gets by Atlanta at #3.

#2 Brian Brohm, Louisville

Injuries and poor play late in the season knocked Brohm out from the consensus number 1 QB spot. Brohm is talented enough to make throws many NFL QBs have difficulty making and if given time, he will destroy a defense in ways few can. However, he has difficulty escaping pressure and rarely is able to create outside of the pocket. I think the system of the team Brohm is drafted into will have much to say about his career in the NFL.

#3 Chad Henne, Michigan

I think Chad has done too much to not be considered a top 3 selection this year. His leadership and intangibles are rivaled only by Matt Ryan. He put up an excellent senior bowl and combine. Chad can consistently evade the pass rush and buy extra seconds to make a play. His arm is strong and his throws are accurate. Henne will become a solid starter in the NFL.

#4 Andre Woodson, Kentucky

A poor senior bowl and an injury keeping him out of the combine explain Woodson’s fall. His season at the helm of Kentucky was one to gawk at but questions of consistency and football IQ crept into the fold. However, when healthy, Woodson’s physical tools cannot be questioned. A bit of a project, Woodson should serve a patient team very well.

#5 Joe Flacco, Delaware

Flacco is a bit of an enigma. His size and arm strength are tops in the class but his accuracy and feel for the pocket are sketchy at best. Flacco will be drafted by the third based on physical tools alone but between the quality of his competition and the system run by Delaware, physical tools may be the few things Flacco has over other QBs in the draft. Expect a team looking for a high upside QB like Carolina or Minnesota take a flier on him hoping to strike gold.

More on page 182

Arena Football Power Rankings | Week 2

All American Football League Comments (0)

 Subscribe to Jabber in a reader

The numbers for week one are in and crunched.  We now present our first Arena Football Power Rankings for 2008.  we had some pretty good games on TV this week.  This weekend we can look forward to the #1 Rush to take on #4 Soul in a game that should shake up the rankings for next week on ESPN2.

If you would like to do sort of a Pick’em with a different flava, go over and see our friends at The Fan Yard and get in on the AFL games.

# 1. Chicago
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
The questions about the offensive changes in Chicago were answered and the Defense was solid in what they are calling the best rivalry in Arena Football against the SaberCats.

#2. Dallas
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
Even an injured shoulder couldn’t stop QB Dolezel in the fourth quarter. The D stepped up beyond expectations when needed.

#3. Los Angeles
Record: 1-0
Last week: -
Erase the pick thrown with his first pass and Sunnie Cumby looks like the star we think he is going to be throwing 7 TD’s.

#4.  Philadelphia
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
Tony Graziani was on fire throwing nine TD’s, four to his new favorite target (and old teammate in LA), Chris Jackson.

#5. San Jose
Record: 0-1
Last Week: -
The SaberCats came back from an early 14-0 deficit and went blow for blow with Chicago until the second half. They are far from done regardless of the 0-1 start.

#6. Tampa Bay
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
Tampa takes away a close win on the back of their running game. Yes…running game. Four TD’s for Torrence Marshall.

#6. Tampa Bay
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
Tampa takes away a close win on the back of their running game. Yes…running game. Four TD’s for Torrence Marshall.

#7. Colorado
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
John Dutton spreads the ball around in a close game against Columbus. Bye week in week 2.

#8. Cleveland
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
In it’s first game since moving from Las Vegas, the Gladiators come away with a W. Raymond Philyaw starts the season hot.

#9. Georgia
Record: 0-1
Last Week: -
Looked like they were going to change the game in the fourth quarter but penalties will stack up against you.

#10. Arizona
Record: 1-0
Last Week: -
Eight TD’s out of QB Lang Campbell would seem like enough but it came down to a missed Utah FG to win the game.

More on page 180

NFL Draft Prospects | Top 10 RB’s

Draft Prospects: Running Back, NFL Draft, National Football League Comments (0)

 Subscribe to Jabber in a reader

I can’t recall in recent memory, a draft that has been so deep in quality runners. While 2006 produced many solid halfbacks, it is my belief that the players who will chosen in the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds of this draft are of much better talent and have a better shot of becoming legitimate feature backs.

#1 Darren McFadden, Arkansas

Despite what Mike Mayock says, I have difficulty pushing DMac down enough that Mendenhall or Stewart chases him down. Paternity suits and knocks on character aside withstanding, Darren McFadden is still the number one prospect for halfbacks in this draft. His vision, elusiveness and speed will allow him to be a productive NFL runner. Running a 4.27 forty definitely doesn’t hurt.

#2 Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois

Mendenhall has had his praises sung by many a scout over the past couple of weeks. He is described as “the entire package” and that may indeed be true. Mendenhall is about as fast as a 225 pound back can be. His rare mix of size, speed and agility allow him to run by you, dance around you or run you over if he so chooses.

#3 Jonathan Stewart, Oregon

The proverbial bowling ball runner, Stewart is an old school coaches dream. A guy who can pound the ball inside 30 times a game and tire out a defense. Stewart may have lost a position on Mendenhall due to Mendenhall’s great combine but make no mistake; Stewart is strong and runs a quick dash for a 230 pound guy. He is easily first round talent and will not be far behind Mendenhall.

#4 Ray Rice, Rutgers

Rice is a meat-and-potatoes kind of runner. His speed and agility good but not great. His size isn’t the best but he packs a lot of weight onto a smaller frame. What he does excel at is running the ball early and often and getting production. Many compare Rice to Frank Gore; a stocky, compact guy who is fast and agile enough to make you miss and leave you in the dust but also physical enough to take 25 handoffs a game and bruise your linebackers. His durability is unquestionable after taking nearly 1000 handoffs in three years without major injury. He should be a steal for a team in the early to mid second round.

#5 Felix Jones, Arkansas

I was very high on Jones until the combine. When north-south speed and big play ability are your calling card, you can’t run a 4.47 and expect scouts not to be disappointed. A few months aso, many postulated whether McFadden was even the best runningback on his own team. Jones is still a supreme talent but he has question marks. He hasn’t carried a full load at the collegiate level and may have difficulty transitioning into an NFL feature back. I still believe that Jones can bounce back and will be an impact player in the NFL but for now, Rice leapfrogs Jones into the 4th spot.

More on page 175

We are getting there class! By now you can already have a league pretty much put together and even be drafting if you wish. What we cover today will be in season and offseason roster moves, Free Agency and Waivers. First let’s review and if you are joining late you should start from the beginning…

Part 1
Get your owners, Cost/Payout, Where to host your league
Part 2
Appoint a Commish, Communication, Rulebook
Part 3
Rulebook contents
Part 4
Franchise Ownership, Tanking, League Currency
Part 5
Using IDP or Team D/ST, Lineups, Roster Size, Developmental Taxi Squad
Part 6
Filling Rosters, Determining Draft Order, Rookie Draft, Vet Draft
Part 7
Roster Management, Contracts, Injured Reserve

STEP NINETEEN: FREE AGENCY

Any player that is not on a roster or Developmental Taxi Squad(pt.5) is considered a Free Agent. Your league needs to determine how often players can be picked up. Why not just do it like any other league? Because you are dealing with owners picking up the Free Agents using the league currency (pt 4). It is possible to have the currency entered into your league hosts software and kept track of that way. For our example league, each teams currency is tracked on the home page for the league for all to see. It is then manually subtracted by the Commish as it is used to keep track of it. Sounds like more work for the Commish but it isn’t much.

First determine your Free Agent dates. How often are teams allowed to obtain them? Since this is a year-round Dynasty league you are going to have some dates sprinkled out during the offseason and then weekly during the season. Here is the example of our Free Agency dates from the example league…

FA dates:
Feb 1
March 15
First Thursday after the rookie draft
First and 3rd Thursdays in June/July
Bi-weekly beginning on 1st Thursday in August
Weekly once season begins
FA ends last week of the league Regular season until Feb 1 the next
yr

How are free agents obtained? We do this as a blind auction to a dummy email account that is only used for free agency. The Commish and Co-Commish have to have their bids in a day earlier than the rest of the league. This is so there isn’t suspected foul play. Hopefully you are with a group of people you trust. Both the Commish and Co-Commish should check the dummy email account after the deadline (there should be a deadline time determined on the date). Bids can be sent all week from the end of the last deadline time up to the current deadline time. Only the last email should be accepted. For example, if an owner sends in three emails that week and changes things up in each one, only the last one will be accepted. This saves the Commish from sifting through trying to figure out for himself who the owner still wants and doesn’t. This rule is understood in our league (after some time) and myself, I don’t even open the earlier emails, I delete them and only open the last.

Things that need to be considered. Before an owner can pick up a player there has to be some things in place. #1, he needs the cash to pay for the player(pt.4), #2 he needs to have at least one year to assign him a contract (pt.7), and he must have an open roster spot(pt.5). Taking these things into consideration is one reason to have the commish making the moves with the dummy email account rather than the system doing it. If your leagues software can handle tracking this stuff, by all means, go for it.

In the email the owner has a template they should follow. In it is the team name, player they are bidding on, how much they are bidding, and the contract(pt.7) they are assigning. They can also add a conditional player if they are outbid on that player.

Example-Waiver Request #1

Player to be added: Joe Player/QB/Balt.
player to be dropped: Yo Mamma/S/Mia
Bid: $5

Contract: 3 years
Conditional Player-(You may add the players here, in
order of who to place the bid on if above player is
taken)

The owner can have several of these in one email as multiple emails will not be accepted.

Yes, you will run into owners bidding on the same player. You can determine tiebreakers. The player first should be given to the team with the high bid. If there is a tie on the high bid than the player will go to the team with the worst record. If there is still a tie, the player goes to the team that has scored the lower amount of points to that point in the season. If it is during the offseason, use the same tiebreakers but use the record and points from the previous season.

In the first preseason you won’t have records to go by. In this case the owners that tied can auction for the player with the bid in their original email as the minimum bid.

***Players obtained in the offseason do not need to be assigned a contract until the final roster cuts/ contract assignment date (pt.5). During the offseason roster size is unlimited. Owners will be deciding who they will and will not be keeping. If they add a FA in April for example, they do not have to give him a contract until it is determined he makes the final cut.

PART TWENTY: WAIVERS

More on page 173

More to get your Dynasty Fantasy League going in this offseason.  Check it out to see how to keep your fantsy football fix going all year round!

In the previous six lessons we have the basics down to get your league started, let’s review…

Part 1
Get your owners, Cost/Payout, Where to host your league
Part 2
Appoint a Commish, Communication, Rulebook
Part 3
Rulebook contents
Part 4
Franchise Ownership, Tanking, League Currency
Part 5
Using IDP or Team D/ST, Lineups, Roster Size, Developmental Taxi Squad
Part 6
Filling Rosters, Determining Draft Order, Rookie Draft, Vet Draft

STEP SIXTEEN: ROSTER MANAGEMENT

So we have filled our rosters. What do we do with them now? One of the great things about the Dynasty league is your going to be going year round. During the offseason teams are picking up free agents, trading, and watching the rookies to see if your going to use them in your active lineup or sending them to the DTS…or cutting them.

In part five we determined roster size. For the fun of it, during the offseason this should be unlimited. What you do need to determine though is a cutdown date. The logical choice is going with the final cut date for the NFL. this does bring you close to the start of the season so it’s going to be a busy time for the commish to make sure things are in order. You can have it sooner but you run the risk of players being cut in the NFL and still sitting on your fantasy roster. This makes things difficult with roster size and contracts (covering that next). So, determine your roster cutdown date. To keep people on their toes throw in a small penalty for those that don’t make the date. Take some of their league currency, whip them, whatever.

Your Developmental Taxi Squad (Part Five) should not reflect on the number of your roster spots. The should be able to be tracked separately. I’m not sure about other hosts but this is very easy on MFL.com. The DTS spots should be unlimited until the cut down date as well. What your going to have to determine in year two is if the allowed number of DTS spots goes up. Say in the first year you have a seven round draft and eight DTS spots (allow a spot for all draft picks and maybe an Undrafted Free Agent pickup). If you have determined that owners can keep a rookie on DTS for three years, in year two they are going to have another 7 rookies after the draft. Up the number in year two but you don’t have to allow for all rookies to be kept. Eventually owners are going to have to promote/cut/trade these rookies to make room on their DTS roster. In our example league, we have 8 spots the first year…13 spots each year after.

Here is an example from our league…

6.6 The final cut down date for rosters will be one
week prior to the first NFL game at 6:00 PM CST to
consist of at max 40 active players, 8 DTS in first
season,(13 DTS players after first season), and any IR
players. On final cut down day, each owner must post a
message listing their a) active players, DTS players,
and c) IR players, if any. If a team does not meet
these deadlines, said team will be docked one (1)
T-Note each day until they have done so.

You should also determine if there is a minimum of players a team must carry. You don’t want them coming into a 40 man roster league and carrying 30 with a bunch of contract years tacked on those guys. (See Contracts).

STEP SEVENTEEN: CONTRACTS

This is where it gets fun. Now you have to determine who is more valuable on your roster. Are you going to stick a big number of years on a few players to lock them up or are you going to spread the years around so you don’t take a big hit once they become restricted Free Agents (covered later)?

CONTINUED AT FOOTBALL JABBER—->

 Here is the Top Ten.  The Rest of it can be found HERE

Round One
#1 Dolphins - Chris Long, DE, Virginia

Long becomes the anchor end for the Tuna’s new 3-4 defense. Although many may argue that Dorsey was the more worthy 1.01 choice, Dorsey would not make a good 3-4 NT. Thus the choice is Long.

#2 Rams - Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU

The Rams happily snap up Dorsey facilitating last year’s 1st round pick Adam Carriker to play more end. The Rams defensive line will be feared if Dorsey is the choice and Leonard Little can stay healthy.

#3 Falcons - Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas

The Falcons take the best player available and gamble that they will be able to grab a decent signal-caller later in the draft. With an aging Warrick Dunn and unproven Jerious Norwood as the components of a lackluster RBBC, Atlanta needs more of a power back than rookie Jason Snelling can provide. McFadden gives them a solid thunder and lightning running attack.

#4 Raiders - Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC

The Raiders take Sedrick Ellis to shore up their poor run defense. Ellis have been skyrocketing up the top 100 charts lately and one needs look no farther than his performance at the Senior bowl to find out why. Ellis will make an impact on a heavily regressing Raider defense.

#5 Chiefs - Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

Word on the street is that Carl Peterson is feeling a bit of man-love for the BC pivot. Dwayne Bowe proved to be a pleasant surprise for the Chiefs last year and Peterson make look to grab a first round QB to get him the ball more often.

#6 Jets - Jake Long, OT, Michigan

The Jets grab Jake Long, the best offensive tackle prospect in the draft to bookend D’Brickashaw Ferguson. If Long pans out, the Jets may have one of the better offensive lines in the league for years to come.

#7 Patriots - Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State

The Pats select Gholston to infuse some youth into their aging linebacker corps. Gholston will likely be moved to WOLB and I am betting that Adalius Thomas moves inside more often. Not that the Pats LB are ever stagnant anyways. This move is made in anticipation for the eventual retirement of Junior Seau and Tedi Bruschi.

#8 Ravens - Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State

Rumor has it that Johnathan Ogden will call it a career after this year. If that is the case, expect the Ravens to select Ryan Clady here. Clady has all of the makings of a franchise tackle and will be able to step in and take over for the former pro bowler, Ogden.

#9 Bengals - Keith Rivers, OLB, USC

The Bengals hand is forced to select a linebacker as injuries, suspensions and poor play had them signing guys off of the street last year. With lone bright spot Landon Johnson likely to leave via free agency and Odell Thurman expected to return to the team, the Bengals go with Keith Rivers as a more natural OLB fit to Lewis’ defensive scheme.

#10 Saints - Kenny Phillips, FS, Miami

The Saints are forced to upgrade a terrible secondary that was repeated torched throughout the season. It’s too early to cut bait with Jason David despite his poor play at CB last year so the Saints select Kenny Phillips to replace Josh Bullocks. Phillips’ good coverage skills will allow Roman Harper to play more in the box.

The first NFL Mock Draft for Football Jabber is up…

Football Jabber Mock Draft 1.0

by TJ Ford

*Order subject to change based on playoff finish.

#1- Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
The Fins will be forced to address their defensive line as they ranked dead last in rushing yards allowed. Dorsey has been the game-changing type of tackle this year and will instantly make an impact on the Miami line.

#2- Jake Long, OT, Michigan
This year’s edition of the Rams showed everyone how easily a great offense can crumble without good offensive lineman. Orlando Pace is getting long in the tooth and St. Louis would be wise to pick up a new franchise tackle.

#3- Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
The Falcons will be desperate to rebuild their shattered franchise after a horrible year. I don’t believe that Ryan is worth a 1.03-1.05 type of pick but the Falcons need a quarterback badly and this year’s QB class doesn’t offer the second round type of talent (Kolb, Stanton, Beck etc.) that last year’s class had. After Ryan, Brohm and Woodson, Atlanta may have to wait until the 4th round to get proper value in a remaining QB to warrant a pick. And with many teams, including the Ravens and Bears, heavily in the market for a signal caller as well, the Falcons won’t gamble with their pick, and will take the best QB available, Matt Ryan.

#4- Chris Long, DE, Virginia
I can honestly see the Raiders trading up to land Glenn Dorsey to shore up their own rush defense woes with Chris Long becoming a cornerstone for a new Miami 3-4 but for now, Oakland takes Long to improve a terrible pass rush and a defense that has taken a big step back from last year. The Raiders believe in Mike Bush and do not select McFadden.

#5- Sam Baker, OT, USC
The Chiefs need to protect their young quarterback better than their poor effort last year. The Chiefs gave up over 50 sacks last year and will need to give Brodie Croyle more time in order for them to be successful. Kansas City makes the first reach ala Levi Brown of last year to get Baker at 1.05.

# 6- Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
The Jets should go defensive line here as the Jets were not the best defensive team last year but I believe that Mangini likes the defensive personnel that he has currently. I look for the Jets to trade Johnathan Vilma use the pick coming back to get defense later in the draft. McFadden proves too much for Mangini to pass up and the RBBC waters in New York get murkier.

#7 (fr/49?ers) Patriots - Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State
The perfect Patriots linebacker. Gholston can stand up, is dynamite for pass rush and can tackle well. Belicheck drafts Gholston to get some young blood into his severely aging LB corps. Don’t count out the trade possibility also, the Pats always manage to do something.

#8- Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky
The Ravens are another team desperate for a quarterback. McNair and Boller are not the answer and Brian Billick’s firing will likely mean that the pick here will be a new franchise QB. Woodson’s physical abilities will be necessary to buy time for a weak receiving corps to get open.

#9- James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State
Laurinaitis gives Cincinnati the playmaker that they need to help out a badly depleted linebacker unit. His mean streak and leadership will make him the cornerstone of a rebuilt Bengal defense.

#10- Kenny Phillips, FS, Miami
The Saints are forced to upgrade a terrible secondary that was repeated torched throughout the season. It’s too early to cut bait with Jason David despite his poor play at CB last year so the Saints select Kenny Phillips to replace Josh Bullocks. Phillips’ good coverage skills will allow Roman Harper to play more in the box.

THE REST OF THE STORY—>