Giants draft pick hoping to outrun his past
BY ARTHUR STAPLE

Ahmad Bradshaw knew the questions would come on Saturday, his first day on the field as a pro football player. Not football questions, but questions about character, that new NFL buzzword.

The 21-year-old running back answered them all Saturday, and again yesterday. But this time there were more football questions, more questions about his future rather than his past, because the seventh-round pick, No. 250 out of 255 selected two weeks ago, might have made the biggest impact of any player at the Giants' rookie minicamp.


"You'd have to say Bradshaw had a noticeable morning," coach Tom Coughlin said between practices. "He's been back on kickoff returns, on punt returns. He caught the ball coming out of the backfield. You saw a couple runs where he was able to turn the ball north-south. It catches your eye, for sure."

The 5-9, 198-pound Bradshaw put his name into the NFL draft after his junior season at Marshall, and one way to look at it is that he did so at just the wrong time. New commissioner Roger Goodell made character a hot-button issue, suspending Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones for a minimum of 10 games next season and Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry for six games for off-field incidents.

Bradshaw has been arrested twice, once for underage drinking while in summer school at the University of Virginia before his freshman year and again last January for taking a PlayStation 2 console from an unlocked dorm room at Marshall, where he walked on after leaving Virginia.

But another way to view Bradshaw's situation is that he's come to the NFL at just the right time. He was projected as a third- or fourth-round pick based on skill alone, and he had his comeuppance when he lasted through two days and nearly every pick in the draft.

"It's a very humbling experience, knowing so many people saw me a certain way," Bradshaw said. "It's a motivating factor to make people see me differently. This is my dream; this is where I want to be. I've seen guys get here and hurt themselves by making dumb mistakes. I feel like I learned from my mistakes."

Bradshaw could fill a very valuable need for Coughlin and the Giants. They have big, bruising running backs in Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns but lack a smaller, speedier back who can do what Tiki Barber did his first few seasons: provide a change-of-pace running style, catch the ball out of the backfield on third down and perhaps return kicks and punts.

General manager Jerry Reese had a brief but serious chat with Bradshaw on Saturday. "It was just a conversation where he said, 'This is the last time we're going to go over it, but character is a big thing around here,' " Bradshaw said. "I told him that I plan on backing him up as much as I can. This is a fair game. If you're able to do what you do out there, you'll get a chance."

#44 AHMAD BRADSHAW

Position: Running back.

Height: 5-9.

Weight: 198.

College: Marshall.

Hometown: Bluefield, Va.

Drafted: Seventh round, No. 250 overall.

Finished as Marshall's fifth all-time leading rusher, with 2,987 yards in three seasons ... Rushed for 1,523 yards, second in school history for a season, as a junior, and had 19 rushing touchdowns ... Caught 17 passes for 129 yards as a junior, and finished his college career with 86 catches ... Also returned punts and kickoffs as a freshman.

Jets sign five including former VCU hoops star
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The New York Jets signed five free agents Tuesday, including former Virginia Commonwealth basketball star Jesse Pellot-Rosa.

The Jets also signed defensive back James Ihedigbo, cornerback Rayshaun Kizer, linebacker Jared Newberry and wide receiver Renard Stevens. All five players received tryouts at rookie minicamp last weekend.

Pellot-Rosa, who tried out at wide receiver, helped lead the Rams to a Colonial Athletic Association title and a first-round upset of Duke in the NCAA tournament in March. He averaged 13.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and shot over 42 percent from 3-point range last season.

Pellot-Rosa last played organized football in high school. He was recruited by Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia to play football, but chose to play basketball at VCU, which doesn't have a football team.

"I love to play football just like I love to play basketball," Pellot-Rosa said during minicamp. "They are equal to me. I love to play both, and it's been like that since I was a kid -- you go out on the playground and love to play. It didn't really matter whether it was basketball or football. I would play either one."

The Jets also released defensive back Caleb Hendrix, defensive end Matt King, wide receiver Dustin Osborn and LB Mark Zalewski. All four had been signed to free agent contracts before minicamp.

Lions QB Gets 1st Look at Calvin Johnson
By Associated Press

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Jon Kitna got his first look at Calvin Johnson on Tuesday.

He was very happy with what he saw.

The Detroit Lions quarterback got to work with the draft's No. 2 pick at the first practice of a three-day minicamp.

"He's certainly going to be used to the best of his ability this year," Kitna said. "He's going to give us a lot of options."

Kitna acknowledged he couldn't get too excited after one non-contact workout, but he was impressed.

"He didn't break the huddle with the baffled look that most first-year guys have when they are trying to learn ... (offensive coordinator Mike) Martz's offense," he said. "Heck, there are guys who have been working on it for a year that still don't always know what to do, but Calvin knew where he was supposed to be. He's obviously been doing his homework."

Johnson joins a revamped receiving corps built around Roy Williams and Mike Furrey, who combined for 180 catches, 2,396 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

"Those are two men that proved what they can do last year," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "We don't need to ask what they are capable of doing, because they've done it. It is on film."

Detroit also added veterans Shaun McDonald, who played for Martz in St. Louis, and Marcus Robinson, who has 43 touchdowns in a 10-year career. They also picked up a pair of experienced running backs in Tatum Bell and former Michigan State star T.J. Duckett.

"This is exactly what you like to see as a quarterback," Kitna said. "I don't feel like I have to do everything by myself. I just have to get the ball into their hands."

The Lions also added players to the offensive line that was devastated by injuries last year. Detroit signed free agent guard Edwin Mulitalo, traded Dre' Bly to Denver for tackle George Foster and drafted Manny Ramirez out of Texas Tech.

"We've got a good blend of veterans who have shown what they can do in this league and young players on their way up," Marinelli said. "I think it is beginning to mold itself into a very good group."

On defense, the issue isn't new players as much as the health of the veterans. Last season, defensive tackles Shaun Rogers and Shaun Cody both missed large chunks of the season, as did several starting linebackers. All of those players are in camp this week, facing Martz's complicated offense.

"Martz is the greatest thing in the world for our defense, but he throws everything under the sun at them," Marinelli said. "We've tried to add as much speed on defense as we have on offense, and that seems to be happening."

Several players, including running back Kevin Jones (foot), tight end Dan Campbell (elbow) and Mulitalo (elbow) are attending camp but not taking part in drills. Marinelli said that Jones, who suffered a potentially career-threatening injury late last season, appears to be recovering well. "We're being told that the process is going well, but we also understand that those are only words," he said. "We won't know much more until training camp."

Defensive tackle Cory Redding is the only player not in camp after being made the team's franchise player.
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Ok so i'm quite happy that Calvin got back up on the horse, so to speak. If he's still out of shape,.at least he studied the playbook. Plus having Furrey and Williams as teammates can only help. It can only get better in Detriot at this point.......

Bill(draftnik)