Raiders Fans: We Want T.O.

A couple of days ago I wrote an article titled "Who Should Sign Terrell Owens." The article was syndicated on Bleacher Report and received a lot of positive feedback. One thing that struck me was how badly Oakland Raiders fans wanted Terrell Owens on their team.

In past years things would have been quite the opposite. For most of Owens' career the media successfully cast him as villain. Fans would literally protest at the thought of bringing Owens to their team. On the 49ers, Owens divided the locker room against Jeff Garcia who oddly was ousted from the Raiders in favor for Jamarcus Russell in his last NFL spot.

On the Eagles he was ousted in favor of Donovan McNabb after only returning from breaking his leg in three weeks to put up an all-time great Super Bowl performance. Owens next stop included the Cowboys who scapegoated Owens after they failed to meet expectations. Finally, he spent an uneventful year in Buffalo and still put up five touchdowns with Ryan Fitzpatrick as his primary Quarterback... and he didn't even make a peep about it.

Raiders fans could have a point. There is no leadership in their receiving corps. Tim Brown is not walking back through that door. Jerry Rice might, but you might not want to see what he has to offer at this age. T.O. would give the Raiders a true #1 target and allow speedster Darius Heyward-Bey to operate as a third receiver.

Will Al Davis bring in T.o.? There is not immediate indication he will, but Raider fans would love for it to happen.

Alleged Ex-Girlfriend of Colts Wayne Accused of Stealing $93k

In today's "news no one saw coming" according to ProFootballTalk a woman who is claiming she is Reggie Wayne's ex-girlfriend has been accused of stealing over $93,000 from the Colts WR. This would be a non-story except for the fact that Wayne is married.

Here are the details:

Metro Indianapolis police and FBI investigators are looking into claims of fraud against a woman who claims to be Reggie Wayne’s mistress.

After obtaining a search warrant, 15 FBI agents took materials from 26-year-old Natasha McKenzie’s home after she was accused of stealing his debit card, and charging nearly $93,000 on it, according to Fox 59 in Indianapolis.

The story isn’t simple, though. Wayne apparently had a relationship with the woman. He said she requested he wire her money. When he refused, he noticed “more than 300 unaccounted for transactions dating back to September 2009″ according to WISH-TV.

Ms. McKenzie has done a television interview in which she claims that Wayne knew exactly what she was doing with the card:

Patrick Crayton Wants His Release NOW

In today's "news everyone saw coming" WR Patrick Crayton has requested his release from the Cowboys just a month after the team drafted WR Dez Bryant in the NFL Draft. I said in the video below just a few days ago that Dez Bryant was causing problems in the Dallas locker room, and not the way we thought he was. The presence of the younger talented Bryant has caused all sorts of ruffles in the feathers of Pat Crayton and Roy Williams.



Here is a partial quote from ESPNDallas.com

DALLAS -- Wide receiver Patrick Crayton, who doesn't believe the Dallas Cowboys plan to keep him on the roster this season, said Friday the team is "messing with people's careers and people's lives" and that he wants to be released immediately.

Really Pat? Dez Bryant is messing with your life?

Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen Peace Out of Note Dame

Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate have decided that they will take their talents to the NFL next year. The wheels are falling off at Notre Dame. In my opinion this is a great move for the two of them to get the hell out of dodge as soon as possible. They aren't going to be competing for anything next year in South Bend anyways. On to their NFL possibilities...

Jimmy Clausen should be a top 15 pick in what some are calling a terrible QB draft (Clausen, Locker, Pike, Tebow, Bradford)

Golden Tate is a late first rounder to high second rounder right now. It is interesting because potentially he and Clausen could end up on the same team next year.

Keep Your Eye on Dwayne Harris

A player to keep your eye on is Dwayne Harris, ECU's WR/QB/Mr. Do It All. Remember two years ago I told everyone about Chris Johnson first. Dwayne Harris is no CJ, but he does have first round talent that will surely go under the radar because he plays in the C-USA. With the invention of the wildcat, this quarterback-turned-receiver has shown his many talents taking direct snaps at ECU and has scored on 4 runs this season already.

I'm going to say this now: Dwayne Harris will be a high second rounder at worst.

Braylon Edwards Traded for Chansey Stuckey

See Braylon. This is what happens when you decided to get agressive with your career (I kid, I kid). But who would have thought that he would get rewarded for going upside Lebron James' friend's head. Braylon should have been going Kimbo Slice on haters last season.

Knock a civilian out and get traded from the bottom of the NFL to the top of the AFC East. Good stuff. I just hope you catch on in NY. (I kid, I kid)

Giants Cut Plax. Terrible Move.

The Giants have officaly divorced their starting wide receiver Plaxico Burress. While Plax is in a very tough legal position, I do not feel that the Giants thought this one through.

Here are the facts. For one, if Plax cuts a deal this week and does 30-60 days in jail, he will still get out in time for the end of camp and the entire pre season. A great receiver like Plax doesn't need to do much but get his legs under him during mini camp anyways.

Two, who in the blue hell is Eli going to throw to? I know Steve Smith caught a lot of balls last year but they were all 7 yard comeback routes. Hixon has the speed but no hands, and Sinorice and Manningham can't crack the lineup. Their wide receiver lineup sucks. And that's me trying to be polite.

The Giants don't need to resign Plaxico Burress, they must. Where are you going to find a 6'5 game changing receiver? They don't grow on trees. My advice to them is to tell Plax to do the time, resign him to a incentive-laden deal and draft Kenny Britt to eventually be that #2 receiver aside Burress. Of course all bets are off if they can swing a deal for Braylon Edwards but I simply don't see that happening. For the sake of Eli Manning you got to get Plax in the fold next year.

Plaxico! We Miss You!

So after getting straight up bullied by the Philadelphia Eagles several Giants players have told the media they would like Plaxico Burress back with the Giants. Of course you do. You need him.

Domenick Hixon, Steve Smith, and Amani Toomer at wide out aren't scaring ANY ONE. Sorry. Combine that with Hixon and Smith's occasional cases of the dropsies when they do break open, and you have a 1 dimensional team: Brandon Jacobs or Derrick Ward running the ball.

Eli's not going to get you back to the Super Bowl without a legit #1 receiver. Teams will load up and stop Jacobs. You dont want Plaxico back, you frankly need him.

Rod Smith Ends Hall of Fame Career

Broncos all time leading receiver Rod Smith called it a career Thursday at a press conference among family and teammates. Rod missed the 2007 season with a hip injury which ultimately caused him to call it a career. Rod leaves the NFL leading the Broncos and undrafted players in every major statistical category.

Should he be in the Hall? One ESPN.com user thinks so.

"ROD should be in the HOF. He may not be a first ballot but he will be no later than a second ballot. Only one person won more games in a career of 11 years-Art Monk (going into HOF this year). Rod won 110 games in 10 years as a starter-11 a year!

Only 4 wr's ahead of him for receptions over the same period

only one has more SB rings. Nobody blocked like rod. So there you have it, wins, sb's, receptions, blocking.

I could go on and on but he better make it. The only thing against him is he played in Denver. He might suffer from the Gradishar-effect. Had he played in Dallas, he would be a "lock" and this article would have been front page on the four letter network."

Chris Henry wants to be a Saint or a Cowboy

I should add a new category on here, called idiots.

I don't know if it's a late Aprils fools joke or something, but Chris Henry has expressed interest in playing for the Saints or Cowboys. I don't think football is going to be in his future but we'll see.

From the perspective of the Cowboys, how much street cred do you need on one team? Henry, Tank Johnson, and Rainman Jones have more than enough issues for one lockeroom. I have posted that Jerry Jones likes working with players with issues, but not to Henry's effect. He is a guy that seems to find bad things, or bad things always seem to find him. I hope no team is dumb enough to really sign this guy.

There is no Calvin Johnson in this draft

Tisk, tisk. It seems like every week there is a new #1 wide receiver prospect on the board.

This week it's apparently Michigan State's Devin Thomas. I do not know if Devin earned that spot or if Malcolm Kelly lost it. Kelly's reaction to his 4.7 field turf 4o time looked very bad and some teams slid him down the board a bit for that. Blaming coaches is never a good thing!

I believe Malcolm Kelly is still 1 or 2 in this pool of wide receivers but even though there is no clear cut #1, there are a ton of great late round prospects.

The following receivers should be picked sometime on day 2 and could end up being steals:

• Steve Johnson, Kentucky
• Eddie Royal, Virigina Tech
• Darius Reynaud, WVU
• Dexter Jackson, App State

Will Ocho Force The Bengals To Take a WR?

Ocho, ocho. Good ol' cinco. The Bengals flamboyant WR has certainly caused a stir recently, going to ESPN and making comments against his coach and franchise. Chad may not be wrong when he says the Bengals are cheap and uncommitted to winning but he is certainly not going about trying to get traded the right way.

Cincinatti claims that under any circumstances they will not trade Ocho, but should they? I'd say yes. It's been proven time and time again that a great WR will not deliver a championship by himself. And when that WR wants to leave on the next Greyhound, things are worse. The Bengals could quietly end the Chad Johnson Chris Henry AJ Nicholson etc. era, build a team of great character around Carson Palmer and allow him to become the leader he needs to be to get them to the promise land.

A great WR cannot bring you championships alone. But a great QB, with a team of great character and talent at the skill positions will. With that said, the Bengals should trade CJ, grab a couple of WRs in the top of the 3rd & 4th rounds (they found CJ in the 2nd and TJ in the 7th) and draft defense exclusively on the first day.

If I were trying to fix the Bengals that's what I would do. Let CJ walk, he doesn't want to be there anyways and dividing your locker room is not worth it for any WR. Ask the Minnesota Vikings who seem to be doing pretty well now after letting Randy Moss go about 5 summers ago.

Random Analysis

I'm going to throw out some random analysis on my behalf... which comes from watching mainly C USA games and ACC games... but I also watched every SEC game I could get which was a lot of Arkansas for some strange reason... anyways.. here is my analysis from how they play, not the combine.

I have come around on Matt Ryan. I do not think he is benefiting from a weak QB class at all. He took a team with lackluster talent and made them look real good every Saturday. He moves well in the pocket and finds the open man, doesnt force it.

Chris Johnson is my homer pick. Ive watched is maturity from a freshman surprise all the way to NFL Draft Prospect so I have to support him. Is an effortless runner, with elite speed, and has soft hands. Waits for his blockers instead of trying to outrun everyone which resulted in the most all purpose yards in the nation.

I absolutely love Mike Hart as a prospect. He doesn't fumble and is tough. Built small and compact and gets those tough yards. He benefited a lot from Long but no one will deny he was a quality back in college. May never be the man in the NFL but will be a great #2 man.

Darren McFadden is an elite runner who comes once every five drafts or so. Big and strong with a great stride and the speed to house it when he gets to the second level. Unreal stiff arm as well and breaks the arm tackles with ease. Put his team on his back against LSU and cemented himself as the first runner taken.

I think Limas Sweed is the next Plaxico. He has great speed for his size and has good leaping ability. A terror in the redzone with 20 career TDs and would have broke the school record if he didnt get hurt. Came to the combine healthy and I have him ranked as my #1 WR.

I saw a bunch of WVU and I will join the Schmitt fans. He is a bull in a china house. In other news, Slaton looks like kick returner at the next level. I dont think he is big enough nor quick enough to make guys miss.
Kenny Phillips is a first round talent. Sure he played not to get hurt, but he has the size, bulk, speed, and experience you look for in a future safety. A hard hitter and sure tackler. I dont believe any of the misinformation about him. I will admit he needs work against the deep ball.

Thats all I have for now.. Ill think of more guys I watched later.

Mario Manningham- Falling?

Mario Manningham tremendously helped his draft stock at Michigan's pro day, running sub a 4.5 40 yard dash which is a huge improvement on the 4.6's he ran at the combine. In this video Todd McShay talks about where Manningham may fall. I still think that Manningham's numbers are too much to pass on and have him the #2 receiver behind Limas Sweed.

Limas Sweed Breakdown

Is Limas Sweed the #1 receiver in the draft? I'm certainly leaning towards ranking him that way and many other draftniks have thrown their hat in proclaiming Sweed the best.

His Resume

Sweed started 39 straight games at Texas before injuring his right wrist early last year. He has amassed 20 Td's (second in Texas history) and 1,915 yards on 124 catches as a collegiate performer.

The Lowdown

At 6'4 and about 215 pounds, Sweed is the biggest of the big 3 wide receivers in the draft. He's a little bigger than Malcolm Kelly and a giant compared to De'Sean Jackson. Sweed lacks elite speed but has more than enough speed with a 4.52 40 yard dash time. Sweed has also proven himself to have quite the knack for the endzone with 20 touchdowns.

Projection

I predict Sweed to be close to Roy Williams and Plaxico Burress in terms of skill and production as a pro. It may take him close to 5 years before he becomes an elite like Plaxico but I'd expect him to put up around 6 tds easily as a rookie. Sweed will come off the board in the top 15 picks, most likely to Buffalo at 11 and Denver at 12.