Albany,n.y.

Anyone who watched all the games & thinks A-Train is even in the same league as Willis either wasn't paying attention or needs to see a good eye doctor ASAP. Thomas is a fair backup & nothing more. Willis can start for a lot of teams.

Dialidol numbers say Alaina Alexander, Amy Krebs, Nick Pedro & Paul Kim are gone. Amazingly, Sundance Head got the most votes for the guys. The guys were so bad that the vote for the worst crowd carried the night. Also shocking was Sabrina Sloan's low vote totals-she won't make the top 6 if the votes continue that way & she could be gone as early as next week.

I was wrong about Leslie-she's here for at least 1 more week. Top 5 women better than any of the men-Melinda Dolittle, Lakisha Jones, Sabrina Sloan, Stephanie Edwards & Jordin Sparks. One of them is the next Idol. I wouldn't be shocked if the guys are all gone with 5 weeks left. Worst performance-Alaina Alexander-definitely gone. Either Antonella Barba or Amy Krebs joins her out the door-probably Amy-really stiff performance.

Seacrest specifically snubbed Simon when he was thanking people (including Randy & Paula). Sundance better be packed because he's so gone. After a great audition, he's been horrible. I don't even have to wait until tonight when the women sing to know that Leslie Hunt won't be around next week. After last night I think the final weeks will be no man's land. The women have to have at least 3 or 4 better singers than we saw last night.

If SD was planning on dumping AJ, why is he the main guy conducting interviews for the Chargers' next head coach? The whole rumor is total BS.

If those addresses above don't pan out, you can send a letter to the Bills Alumni department at One Bills Drive & request his address or if they can forward a letter to Carwell if they don't give out addresses.

I never thought this would ever happen, but I have to correct you on this one (probably the 1st & last time ever). Plunkett was released by the 49ers on August 28, 1978 & signed with the Raiders on September 12, 1978. He was active for 14 games, but never played in any of those games during the 1978 season.

Carr is a more durable version of Rob Johnson. He just doesn't have enough pocket awareness to avoid getting sacked about 3 times more than the amount he should. He also just loses.

The Saints had more time to check his recovery out. He didn't sign with them until 19 days after the deadline to franchise a player, that could make a difference for a guy just coming off surgery. The Chargers, with another high paid QB already on the roster had to make a decision by February 23rd. They decided that Brees would not have trade value due to the injury. It's one thing for a team to risk $ on a guy who they get with no compensation, something entirely different when a team has the #2 pick in the draft & would be unwilling to trade it for a guy coming off an injury. Would SD have taken NO's 2nd round pick? The fact that Miami dropped out of the bidding, traded a #2 (a lot lower than NO's #2) to Minnesota & redid Culpepper's contract because they knew Daunte would recover shows that different docs have different opinions. The Saints docs thought (not knew because the Dolphins rolled the dice & lost on Culpepper) Brees had a good chance of recovering and they were right. But who would have dfealt for Brees & given him the big bucks?

So it's AJ's fault that Brees injured his shoulder & became a medical risk that made it impossible for them to do a franchise & trade deal?

What part of Bush Bad don't you understand?

It could mean he didn't want Wade Phillips (or Cam Cameron), who, just like in 1998, was the "obvious" choice. So. instead of firing Marty & getting stuck with Wade, like his mentor John Butler did, he figured one more year with Marty was better than three years with Wade. Once Wade left, there was nothing blocking AJ from choosing the guy he really wants. If it is Ted Cottrell, who a reporter from SD predicted to Mike Francessa would be the one by Friday(I caught this last night on YES around 11 pm last night) he doesn't even have to have a parade of candidates come in, he can hire him ASAP.

To all those people who have already declared McCargo a bust every time he makes a big play he should point to his foot & say "screw you"

I'm predicting Steve Mariucci. Getting fired by Matt Millen & Ford is a plus, not a minus, on someone's resume. Proven regular season winner who has won 3 playoff games with the niners. A QB guy to further the development of Rivers.

When the smoke clears, neither Hillary Clinton nor Rudolph Guilianni will be their party's nominees. It's too damn early for front runner to mean anything. Where did all those early front runners like Dean, Hart, Muskie, G. Romney, and Connally end up-not the nominee.

It's too bad that in Parade Magazine (2/11) someone asked how Barbaro was doing & they replied as if he's still alive. Those people really have to make Parade more current or not answer questions like that one when the horse's chances were 50-50 at best when they went to print.

Something I've heard John Murphy say more than a few times. especially on 3rd down.

It really doesn't matter what CBS, Mel Kiper and all the other people who mock the draft say. The only thing that counts is the name on the card that is sent up to the podium in April.

Then all those folks (led by Jerry Sullivan & the WGR boys-the ones who really annoyed me on this issue) who use his off the field stuff as a reason for Marv to dump him for virtually nothing in return should not use his 3 kids or say they're offended because they feel he's disrespecting Buffalo as an excuse for their true feelings. They should just say what you said above and leave the 3 kids & the Toronto stuff out of it. Instead they use that stuff to demand that the Bills give Willis away. The dumbest ones are the "Waive Willis" crowd.

PFW isn't that thrilled with Okoye. In the Senior Bowl analysis they called grouped him with the enigmas & said there are scouts who grade him as a second rounder.

Listen up pal, I posted because you got on another poster calling him a wiseguy and then proceeded to talk about stuff you are totally ignorant about. You're the rude one, throwing curses in your posts because you have nothing intelligent to say. Now I'm going to try to educate you so next time you can post something intelligent instead of getting on other people's cases because of your ignorance. Here are the rules when it comes to drafting players, read them, learn them & next time you want to post something related to the draft, remember them. ARTICLE XVI COLLEGE DRAFT Section 1. Time of Draft: There shall be an Annual Selection Meeting (the “College Draft” or “Draft”) eachLeague Year during the term of this Agreement and in the League Yearimmediately following the expiration or termination of this Agreement, with respect to which the following rules shall apply: Section 2. Number of Choices and Eligibility: (a) The Draft shall consist of seven rounds, with each round consisting of the same number of selection choices as there will be Clubs in the NFL the following League Year, plus a maximum number of additional Compensatory Draft Selections equal to the number of Clubs then in the League, with such Compensatory Draft Selections reserved for Clubs losing certain Unrestricted Free Agents. Each Draft shall be held between February 14 and May 2, on a date which shall be determined by the Commissioner. (b) No player shall be permitted to apply for special eligibility for selection in the Draft, or otherwise be eligible for the Draft, until three NFL regular seasons have begun and ended following either his graduation from high school or graduation of the class with which he entered high school, whichever is earlier. For example, if a player graduated from high school in December 2006, he would not be permitted to apply for special eligibility, and would not otherwise be eligible for selection, until the 2010 Draft. © If a player who was not eligible for the Draft in any League Year becomes eligible after the date of the Draft, he will be eligible to be selected in a supplemental Draft, if the League elects to conduct such a Draft, on or before the seventh calendar day prior to the opening of the first training camp that League Year. No player may elect to bypass a Draft for which he is eligible to apply for selection in a supplemental Draft. Any Club that selects a player in a supplemental Draft must forfeit a choice in the same round in the next succeeding principal Draft. (d) No player shall be eligible to be employed by an NFL Club until he has been eligible for selection in an NFL Draft. Section 3. Required Tender: A Club that drafts a player shall be deemed to have automatically tendered the player a one year NFL Player Contract for the Minimum Active/Inactive List Salary then applicable to the player pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. The NFL or the Club shall provide the player with notice of such Required Tender before or immediately following the Draft. Section 4. Signing of Drafted Rookies: (a) A drafted player may accept the Required Tender at any time up to and including the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season immediately following the Draft, at 4:00 p.m. New York time. In the event the exclusive negotiating rights to the drafted player are assigned to another Club through the NFL waiver system, the acquiring Club must immediately extend the Required Tender following assignment. If released through waivers, the player shall be treated as an Undrafted Rookie Free Agent, with the right to sign an NFL Player Contract with any Club. If the Club that drafted the player signs the player after he is waived and becomes a Rookie Free Agent, the player’s entire salary shall be counted against the Entering Player Pool, in the manner described in Article XVII (Entering Player Pool). (b) If a Drafted Rookie has not signed a Player Contract during the period from the date of such Draft to the thirtieth day prior to the first Sunday of the regular season: (i) the Club that drafted the player may not thereafter trade to another Club either its exclusive negotiating rights to such player or any Player Contract that it signs with such player for the player’s initial League Year; and (ii) the Club that drafted the player is the only Club with which the player may sign a Player Contract until the day of the Draft in the subsequent League Year, at which time such player is eligible to be drafted in the subsequent League Year’s Draft by any Club except the Club that drafted him in the initial Draft. (After the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season, the player and the Club may only sign a Player Contract for future League Year(s)). © If a Drafted Rookie has not signed a Player Contract by the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season, at 4:00 p.m. New York time, the player shall be prohibited from playing football in the NFL for the remainder of that League Year, absent a showing to the Impartial Arbitrator of extreme Club or extreme personal hardship. The determination of the Impartial Arbitrator shall be made within five days of the application, and shall be based upon all information relating to such hardship submitted by such date. The determination of the Impartial Arbitrator shall be final and binding upon all parties. Section 5. Other Professional Teams: (a) Notwithstanding Section 4(b) above, if a player is drafted by a Club and, during the period betweenthe Draft and the next annual Draft, signs a contract with, plays for or is employed by a professional football team not in the NFL during all or any part of the 12 month period following the initial Draft, then the drafting Club (or any assignee Club) shall retain the exclusive NFL rights to negotiate for and sign a contract with the player until the day of the Draft three League Years after the initial Draft, and shall thereafter have a Right of First Refusal as described herein, and the player may receive offers from any Club at any time thereafter. The player shall notify the NFLPA and the NFL of his desire to sign a contract with an NFL Club, and of the date on which the player will be free of his other contractual obligations of employment, if any. Within thirty days of receipt of such notice by the NFL or the date of the availability of such player, whichever is later, the NFL Club that drafted the player must tender a one year written Player Contract to the player in order to retain its rights to that player, as detailed below. (b) For a player to whom the drafting Club retains the exclusive NFL rights to negotiate pursuant to Section 4(a) above, the Club must tender a one year Player Contract with salary of at least the Minimum Active/Inactive List Salary for players with less than one credited season, as defined in Article XXXVIII (Salaries), within the thirty day period specified in Subsection (a) above. The amount of such tender and/or any Player Contract entered into with the player shall be subject to the Entering Player Pool, as set forth in Article XVII (Entering Player Pool). If the player is released through waivers, the player immediately becomes a Free Agent, with the right to sign an NFL Player Contract with any Club, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period. © For players with respect to whom the drafting Club retains a Right of First Refusal pursuant to this Section 5, during each League Year the player shall be treated as if he were a Restricted Free Agent not subject to Draft Choice Compensation, as described in Article XIX (Veteran Free Agency), Section 2, except as otherwise set forth in this Section 5. For such players subject to a Right of First Refusal, the Club must tender a one year Player Contract with at least the Minimum Active/Inactive List Salary for players with two or more Credited Seasons, as defined in Article XXXVIII (Salaries), within the thirty day period specified in Subsection (a) above. The amount of such tender and/or any Player Contract entered into with the player shall not be subject to the Entering Player Pool. If the Club does not make or withdraws the Required Tender, the player immediately becomes a Rookie Free Agent, with the right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period. Section 6. Return to College: If any college football player who becomes eligible for the Draft prior to exhausting his college football eligibility through participation is drafted by an NFL Club, and returns to college, the drafting Club’s exclusive right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with such player shall continue through the date of the Draft that follows the last season in which the player was eligible to participate in college football, and thereafter the player shall be treated and the Club shall have such exclusive rights as if he were drafted in such Draft by such Club (or assignee Club). Section 7. Assignment of Draft Rights: In the event that the exclusive right to negotiate for a Drafted Rookie under Sections 4, 5 or 6 above is assigned from one Club to another Club, the Club to which such right has been assigned shall have the same, but no greater, right to such player, including the Right of First Refusal described in Section 5, as would the Club assigning such right, and such player shall have the same, but no greater, obligation to the NFL Club to which such right has been assigned as he had to the Club assigning such right. Section 8. Subsequent Draft: A Club that, in a subsequent Draft, drafts a player who (a) was selected in an initial Draft, and (b) did not sign a contract with the NFL Club that drafted him or with any assignee Club during the signing period set forth in Sections 4 through 6 above, shall, during the period from the date of the subsequent Draft to the date of the Draft held the subsequent League Year, be the only NFL Club that may negotiate with or sign a Player Contract with such player. If such player has not signed a Player Contract within the period beginning on the date of the subsequent Draft and ending on the thirtieth day prior to the beginning of the regular season, the Club loses all rights to trade its exclusive negotiating rights to such player or any Player Contract that it signs with such player for the player’s initial League Year. After the Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season, the player and the Club may only sign a Player Contract for future League Year(s), except as provided in Section 4© above. If the player has not signed a Player Contract by the day of the next annual College Draft following the subsequent Draft, the player immediately becomes a Rookie Free Agent, with the right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period. Section 9. No Subsequent Draft: If a player is drafted by a Club in an initial Draft and (a) does not sign a contract with a Club during the signing period set forth in Sections 4 through 6 above, and (b) is not drafted by any Club in the subsequent Draft, the player immediately becomes an Undrafted Rookie, with the right to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any Club is then free to negotiate for and sign a Player Contract with such player, without any Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind, or any signing period. Section 10. Compensatory Draft Selections: The rules and procedures regarding Compensatory Draft Selections set forth in Section 2 above shall be as agreed upon by the NFL and the NFLPA. Section 11. Undrafted Rookies: Any person who has not been selected by a Club in a College Draft shall be free, after the completion of a College Draft for which he is eligible, to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any Club, and any Club shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any such person after such date, without any penalty or restriction, including, but not limited to, Draft Choice Compensation between Clubs or First Refusal Rights of any kind. Section 12. Notice of Signing: Promptly following but no later than two business days after receipt of notice of the signing of any Drafted or Undrafted Rookie, the NFL shall notify the NFLPA of such signing.

Henson was picked in the 6th round, pick 192 (out of 262). At the time Casserly said that since a 6th round pick has only a 10% chance of making it, Henson was worth a flyer there. As it turned out, Henson joined the other 90%, but Houston got a 3 from Dallas for his rights.

I'm going to repeat a post that I have in a different string that explains why you don't draft him at all: You don't understand some of the nuances of the draft. A team can only keep a guy's rights for 1 year-if he doesn't sign a football contract he goes back in the draft (see Bo Jackson who was the 1st player taken in the 1986 draft then was taken in the 5th round by the Raiders in 1987). Since it will take more than 1 year for Jeff to bomb out in baseball-and he has a contract that forbids him playing football-he's a totally wasted pick in this year's draft. Now go to the Drew Henson scenario-he was bombing in the minor leagues, to the point the Yankees were desperate to get him into the NFL and off their payroll. Henson played another baseball season after he was drafted, but signed his Dallas contract PRIOR to the next year's draft. Dallas had to make the trade before Henson reentered the draft. By the way, if a player goes through 2 drafts & doesn't sign, he can't be drafted a 3rd time & becomes an unrestricted free agent. So even if he bombs in year 1, it's to his advantage to stay in baseball another year where his bargaining position goes way up if he becomes a "draft dodger". I hope you now understand why this would be a totally wasted pick.

Houston traded his rights & he signed with Dallas. Houston didn't want his signing bonus on their cap because it would have accelerated onto their cap the second they traded him. So what happened was Dallas worked out a contract, Houston then traded his rights, and he signed with Dallas. He never signed a contract with Houston because of salary cap rules.

You don't understand some of the nuances of the draft. A team can only keep a guy's rights for 1 year-if he doesn't sign a football contract he goes back in the draft (see Bo Jackson who was the 1st player taken in the 1986 draft then was taken in the 5th round by the Raiders in 1987). Since it will take more than 1 year for Jeff to bomb out in baseball-and he has a contract that forbids him playing football-he's a totally wasted pick in this year's draft. Now go to the Drew Henson scenario-he was bombing in the minor leagues, to the point the Yankees were desperate to get him into the NFL and off their payroll. Henson played another baseball season after he was drafted, but signed his Dallas contract PRIOR to the next year's draft. Dallas had to make the trade before Henson reentered the draft. By the way, if a player goes through 2 drafts & doesn't sign, he can't be drafted a 3rd time & becomes an unrestricted free agent. So even if he bombs in year 1, it's to his advantage to stay in baseball another year where his bargaining position goes way up if he becomes a "draft dodger". I hope you now understand why this would be a totally wasted pick.