Official NFL 2007 Thread

[Hellfire]

The Pats better be glad they got Moss. They're draft was nothing to sneeze at.

Nowhere near as bad as the Bengals draft looks though.

[TOG]

Nothing against Moss, but I hope he gets injured in the preseason.

[Vendetta]

Keyshawn Johnson cut by The Panthers.

Dhani Jones cut by Eagles.

Jauron Bolden and Blue Adams cut by Buccaneers.

Buccaneers and Cheifs agree to trade which will give the buccaneers DT Sims.

[NobBe Nobbs]

Well done, Carolina; you had a good draft and a sniff of potential success, so of course you had to undermine it by cutting a receiver who should have been a good tutor for Jarrett.

[ACCBiggz]

And during the NFL Draft Keyshawn was so excited by this pick and actually said that he was going to teach Jarrett how to be a NFL physical reciever to take his spot when he retires!!! Retarded.

[Green Demon]

Who knows maybe Keyshawn is retiring now and the Panthers are just letting him go, if not I hope that the Browns make a run at him. He might now be what he used to be but I think he still has some left in the tank.

[Michael]

So, as a mere Englander, should I buy into the Jamarcus Russell hype or not?

[NobBe Nobbs]

So, as a mere Englander, should I buy into the Jamarcus Russell hype or not?

[Tarheels.]

I'd say it's a bad move on Carolina's part, but they've still got Smith to tutor Jarrett. As a Carolina fan I wish they'd have kept Johnson though. Either way, we've got Smith still who seems to amazingly pull great catches out of his ass, and hopefully Carr can pick up where Delhomme slacked off last year.

[ACCBiggz]

Smith isn't the same type of reciever as Jarrett. As Keyshawn said to Jarrett during the draft about tutoring him and in time replacing him on the Panthers. And Jarrett was very excited to be playing with Keyshawn.

[NobBe Nobbs]

Smith isn't the same type of reciever as Jarrett. As Keyshawn said to Jarrett during the draft about tutoring him and in time replacing him on the Panthers. And Jarrett was very excited to be playing with Keyshawn.

[livid]

Yeah they are very similar and Keyshawn has been one of the guys to back him up since he first started at USC. The Panthers made a dumb move, "getting younger" or not and while he may have some issues, Keyshawn's a leader and would make the perfect mentor for a receiver coming into the league, especially someone so identical to him.

I hope the Niners make a run at him, as he could help their younger guys and he would just add to the revamped receiving core they have and would definitely help Alex Smith.

Edited May 2, 2007 by ROC's Mum

[Hellfire]

They should've kept Keyshawn for at least a season, to show Jarrett the ropes of being a professional football player. After that they could've traded him, he's still a productive receiver.

[Evil Chase K]

I'd rather have Keyshawn on my team than Randy Moss. No question.

Keyshawn's not known for quitting in the middle of games, he's the 2nd best blocking WR in the NFL, he's willing to go over the middle to make catches, and he has no problem being the 2nd or 3rd receiver.

If he'd take the vet minimum, which would never happen, I'd love to see the Steelers get him.

But I have a better chance of being named their Steelers starting right tackle than Keyshawn being signed by the Steelers.

[Michael]

So, as a mere Englander, should I buy into the Jamarcus Russell hype or not?

There are two schools of thought about Russell. One says that he's going to pan out like Kyle Boller, the other like Daunte Culpepper - this is in terms of skill, ignoring the team that surrounds him at the moment - and I'm part of the latter. I think that Russell was the best pick for Oakland and, while they've already started to gut his chances of performing there with the Moss trade, he should perform with what he has. Are you a Raiders follower or just enquiring?

[VerbalPuke]

Speaking of Keyshawn, I read on espn that he's going to possibly think about hanging up his cleats and taken a network job.

Brian V. (Australia): Matt, where do you think Keyshawn Johnson ends up now that he's been cut by the Panthers? And do you think his work on ESPN led to his dismissal?

Mosley: I think some teams will have an interest in a veteran receiver, but my gut and recent phone conversations with Keyshawn tell me that he'll call it quits. I think he'd love to land a job with one of the networks, but I don't think he'll ever ask to do the draft again.

He was completely drained by the end of the day -- and I think he has a newfound respect for Mel and the gang. And no, that's not what got him cut. From what I could hear from my seat, which was about 20 feet from the ESPN set, he hung in there. I've already mentioned to him that he struggled on the Dwayne Jarrett interview, but let's give him some grace because he had been on the air for about eight hours already.

There is the transcript. I think Keyshawn still has something left in the gas tank, and at the this stage in his career, is a fine possession receiver.

[ACCBiggz]

I think it depends on the contract offered. I don't think it'll be big enough for what he wants most likely.

[Vendetta]

(May 2, 2007) -- Leftovers sometimes can be tasty, especially when they come from a weekend's draft notebook.

* They despise him in Miami, but it's easy to understand why they love Nick Saban in Alabama. LSU players were some of the most coveted ones in last weekend's draft. Former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell and wide receivers Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis all went in Round 1. It marked the first time ever that one school had its quarterback and two wide receivers drafted in the first round -- and those players, along with the rest of them picked from LSU, were Saban recruits. This helps to explain why 92,000-plus showed up about two weeks ago for Alabama's spring game.

* Let's be clear about this: Miami might have made a mistake drafting wide receiver Ted Ginn ahead of Brady Quinn, but it did not reach for him. Had the Dolphins passed on Ginn, the Houston Texans very likely would have taken Ginn one pick later at No. 10. Ginn was the player the Texans wanted. They envisioned lining him up as the home-run threat opposite Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson and giving them a pair of receivers that almost could equal Indianapolis' Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.

* These are the semi-six degrees of running back Marshawn Lynch. Had the Bills not drafted him at No. 12, the Green Bay Packers absolutely would have picked him at No. 16. And had the Packers picked Lynch at 16, then the Denver Broncos probably would have been able to land Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell, the player they really wanted who wound up going to Green Bay. And if the Broncos had Harrell, then they never would have traded up to Jacksonville's spot at No. 17 to get Jarvis Moss, and he would have been available later in the draft for another team, while the Jaguars wouldn't have stockpiled all the draft picks they did. All because Lynch went No. 12.

* Very quietly, the Vikings drafted three wide receivers -- South Carolina's Sidney Rice in Round 2, East Carolina's Aundrae Allison in Round 5 and Florida International's Chandler Williams in Round 7. There's a little message there and it's that former seventh-overall pick, wide receiver Troy Williamson, might not make it out of training camp with Minnesota. Williamson, of course, was the player acquired in the trade for wide receiver Randy Moss.

* Words you never guessed you'd read: The Raiders traded a third-round pick for Florida State offensive tackle Mario Henderson and got back a fourth-round pick for wide receiver Randy Moss.

* More words you never guessed you'd read: Randy Moss got traded for Cincinnati safety John Bowie.

* Actually, the best thing the Raiders got in return for Moss was not the fourth-round pick but the $7.7 million worth of cap room. They're going to need it to sign Russell.

2007 NFL Draft

* Despite all the speculation about their negotiations, the Raiders and Russell made no significant progress in contract talks up to the draft. Their only discussions consisted of basic introductions, each side expressing it is looking forward to working with the other. But Russell isn't any closer to signing now than he was at this time last week. Still, it's worth pointing out: Russell's agents Eric Metz, Ethan Locke, Melvin Bratton and Vance Malinovic have had four top 10 picks -- Vernon Davis, Jordan Gross, Kevin Hardy and Joey Galloway -- and none was a rookie holdout.

* Once he started slip sliding away, Brady Quinn thought he would end up in Baltimore. The Ravens were on the phone with him, telling him they intended to draft him and as soon as Quinn hung up, thinking his future was in Baltimore, the Browns completed a trade with the Cowboys and Quinn's future was irretrievably altered. It marked the second straight year that a quarterback in the Radio City Music Hall had unexpectedly dropped -- remember Matt Leinart? -- and landed in an ideal spot.

* Quinn shouldn't feel too bad. He still went 177 spots ahead of Tom Brady.

* When Baltimore drafted Heisman-trophy-winning quarterback Troy Smith, it sent the message that he's going to have the chance to become, at the very least, the backup quarterback of the future. Former first-round draft choice Kyle Boller is entering the last year of his contract and his job will be within Smith's reach. The real prize would be the starting job down the line. Steve McNair is 34 years old, and the Ravens need a quarterback of the future. For now, Smith has a chance to vie for the job.

* After years of having the worst offensive line in football, nobody has a better left side than the Cleveland Browns. Third-overall pick Joe Thomas will man left tackle, free-agent acquisition Eric Steinbach will man left guard, and running back Jamal Lewis will run behind them all day.

* New Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and his trusted assistant Russ Grimm already have remade Arizona's offensive line. Last year's second-round pick, right guard Deuce Letui, will be the only Cardinals offensive lineman that starts in the same position this season that he did last season. First-round pick Levi Brown will start at right tackle, free-agent signee Mike Gandy at left tackle, free-agent signee Al Johnson at center and last year's left tackle Reggie Wells at left guard. And keep this in mind: At right tackle, Brown will be protecting the left-handed Matt Leinart's blind side.

* Aliquippa, Pa., has produced such NFL standouts as tight end Mike Ditka, running back Tony Dorsett and cornerback Ty Law. Don't be surprised to see cornerback Darrelle Revis, the Jets' first-round pick, join that collection of standouts. Law has befriended Revis and has been talking to him three times a week. Nobody is better equipped to debrief Revis on what to expect in New York, with Jets head coach Eric Mangini, than Law. Revis is poised to become a standout.

* The Broncos might as well be called the Denver Gators. Their defensive line now will be predominantly Florida made. First-round draft pick Jarvis Moss played at Florida, fourth-round pick Marcus Thomas played at Florida and Denver's starting defensive tackle, Gerard Warren, played at Florida.

* JaMarcus Russell can only hope he has a better year than other former No. 1 overall picks. This offseason alone, former No. 1 overall picks Keyshawn Johnson, David Carr, Drew Bledsoe and Courtney Brown all have been released. And former No. 1 overall pick Dan Wilkinson already has been traded. So it has been great to be a "1" in the past. Just not now.

Edited May 3, 2007 by Morning Wood

[deepfwiedsushi]

i remember hearing that stallworth might be suspended for a couple of games this season, so i wouldn't be surprised if either brown or gaffney makes the team. maybe even all of em would

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah I remember thinking Brady Quinn was coming to Baltimore for awhile there and was of course getting excited. Fortunately we have next year to draft another QB. I think putting our efforts behind Smith and another young QB is better in finding out who is our QB of the future.