FOR USE AS DESIRED-From NFLMedia.com
4/13/09
MOST SINCE ’96! – NINE TOP PROSPECTS TO ATTEND NFL DRAFT
Nine top prospects will attend Day 1 of the 2009 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 25, the NFL announced today.
This year’s group of nine college standouts – the most players in attendance at an NFL Draft since 1996 – includes the following invitees: Texas Tech WR MICHAEL CRABTREE, Wake Forest LB AARON CURRY, USC LB BRIAN CUSHING, Kansas State QB JOSH FREEMAN, Virginia T EUGENE MONROE, Mississippi T MICHAEL OHER, Texas DE BRIAN ORAKPO, Baylor T JASON SMITH and Georgia QB MATTHEW STAFFORD.
Two states with rich football traditions – Texas and New Jersey – will have strong representation at this year’s draft, as four Texans and two New Jersey natives will be at Radio City. Crabtree, Smith and Stafford hail from the Dallas area, while Orakpo grew up in Houston. Cushing (Park Ridge) and Monroe (Plainfield) were both raised in New Jersey.
Monroe may be an incoming rookie, but he’s already an NFL Draft “veteran.” Former Virginia teammate CHRIS LONG, who was selected No. 2 overall by St. Louis in 2008, invited Monroe to be one of his guests at Radio City last year.
2009 NFL DRAFT FACTS & FIGURES
WHAT:
74th Annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting.
WHERE:
Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas, New York City (Between 50th and 51st Streets).
WHEN:
4:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 25 (Rounds 1-2).
10:00 AM ET, Sunday, April 26 (Rounds 3-7).
The first two rounds will conclude on Saturday by approximately 10:00 PM ET. In 2008, the first round consumed three hours and 30 minutes and the second, two hours and 23 minutes. The draft will resume on Sunday at 10:00 AM ET for the final five rounds, ending at approximately 6:30 PM ET. Rounds 3 through 7 took eight hours and 33 minutes in 2008.
DRAFTING:
Representatives of the 32 NFL clubs by telephone communication with their general managers, coaches and scouts.
ROUNDS:
Seven Rounds – Rounds 1 and 2 on Saturday, April 25; and Rounds 3 through 7 on Sunday, April 26.
There will be 256 selections, including 32 compensatory choices that have been awarded to 16 teams that suffered a net loss of certain quality unrestricted free agents last year.
The following 32 compensatory choices will supplement the 224 regular choices in the seven rounds – Round 3: New England, 33; Cincinnati, 34; Chicago, 35; New York Giants, 36. Round 4: San Diego, 33; San Diego, 34; Tennessee, 35; Indianapolis 36. Round 5: Pittsburgh, 33; New England, 34; San Francisco, 35; Dallas, 36; Tennessee, 37. Round 6: Tennessee, 33; New England, 34; Dallas, 35; Cincinnati, 36. Round 7: Tennessee, 33; Washington, 34; San Francisco, 35; Seattle, 36; Chicago, 37; Seattle, 38; Seattle, 39; Cincinnati, 40; Jacksonville, 41; Chicago, 42; Cincinnati, 43; Jacksonville, 44; Arizona, 45; Detroit, 46; Kansas City, 47.
Denver (Nos. 12 and 18), Detroit (Nos. 1 and 20) and Philadelphia (Nos. 21 and 28) have two selections each in the first round. Carolina, Chicago and Dallas do not have first-round picks. All other teams have one first-round selection.
TIME LIMITS:
Round 1: 10 minutes per selection. Round 2: Seven minutes per selection. Rounds 3 through 7: Five minutes per selection.
PLAYERS AT DRAFT:
The following players will be at the draft at Radio City on Saturday: Texas Tech WR MICHAEL CRABTREE, Wake Forest LB AARON CURRY, USC LB BRIAN CUSHING, Kansas State QB JOSH FREEMAN, Virginia T EUGENE MONROE, Mississippi T MICHAEL OHER, Texas DE BRIAN ORAKPO, Baylor T JASON SMITH and Georgia QB MATTHEW STAFFORD.
TELEVISION:
NFL Network and ESPN/ESPN 2 will televise the draft on both days.
INTERNET:
Exclusive coverage and behind-the-scenes features on NFL.com and team websites for draft weekend will include: Streaming video of NFL Network's draft coverage both Saturday and Sunday on NFL.com/LIVE; "Draft Tracker" with real-time selection information as well as exclusive pick-by-pick analysis from NFL.com's experts; video-on-demand content featuring the nine college players in New York; exclusive interactive features, including “Fan War Rooms” where fans can discuss their favorite team's picks, chats with NFL.com's analysts, "NFL Predict The Pick" game and a "Fan Ballot" that allows fans to grade their team’s picks; and in-depth coverage from each team website.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
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Hot Stove Football #2
Hot stove Football #2: Oh Plaxico oh Plaxico... and why did the NY Jets think they needed Jay Cutler?
By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Managing Partner Football Reporters Online
The Ny Jets never seem to be happy with what they already have. If they feel that Kellen Clemens will never run the Jets Offense on a regular basis, try trading him for the extra draft pick.Then people will take you seriously when you say you need a QB. Until then, people only see the Jets as further behind the Giants in PSL sales.
I'm not so sure they were ever seriously considered a factor in the "Jay Cutler" Saga. The three way deal between the Broncos, Titans, and the Jets was talked about for all of 5 minutes and then dismissed at least on NY sports talk radio.
The Giants are doing their "voluntary" off season workout program, and 59 of the current roster players are in attendance. Osi Umenoria is confident that his knee is close to 100%. He was also sure that his teammate Plaxico Burress would return to the Giants after getting probation. Guess that one went out the door with the last gasp of winter. Burress was released after he won his case against the Giants to recover his withheld roster bonus of one million dollars(think Mike Meyers' Dr. Evil when you hear that).
General Manager Jerry Reese has not yet made a major attempt at signing a receiver in free agency, but will certainly address that in the draft. The Giants had college prospect Percy Harvin in for a workout last week. but there have to be other names on the radar. One such name should be Cal-Poly's Ramses Barden.before the superbowl no one even knew who he was except for a handful of scouts. Barden is the only receiver in this draft at 6'5" or above (6'5-1/2"-229lbs) and while he is still a bit raw, he has the potential to go a long way in the pros. We wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Barden heard his name called mid to late on day two of this years draft. The other is Rutgers' WR Kenny Britt. I'm not so totally sold on Mr. Britt . Although he is 6'4", he only weighs about 212 pounds, hardly someone who can out muscle larger defensive backs over the middle. He can jump, but would need to learn the mechanics of the "Jump Ball" game in the endzone.
Up In Buffalo, Terrell Owens has already missed a "voluntary" off season work out with his new team of choice. So i ask you, is this the way to start off on the right foot with your new team and coaching staff? I woulkd think you'd want to do everything you can to show the people of upstate NY that you are happy to be there. Sure the workouts are "voluntary", but it is also "strongly suggested" that players attend.
Down I-95, the Eagles' QB Donovan McNabb isn't too happy that so many veteran players are leaving. One media vet tells us that it's been building up to this for years due to poor management on the part of the Eagles front office. You have to feel bad
for Donovan because he puts his heart and soul into trying to make the Eagles a winner. It's shameful that the front office won't give them the tools to do so.
Some of the area college programs have already released their schedules for 2009. The Liberty Cup match-up between Fordham University (Patriot) and Columbia University (Ivy) is sure to be hotly contested as always. Columbia's Head Coach Norries Wilson is one of the hardest working coaches to grace New York City's college football scene in some time. He also gives a great post game press conference no matter what the outcome of the game, and always has a high quality of Insight into all phases of the game. As a college player, coach Wilson played in two bowl games at the University of Minnesota as an offensive lineman. Fordham's head man Tom Massella has been around winning football for years, and while the Rams had a tough 2008, they were the 2007 patriot league champs. Both teams also work hard on the recruitment front each year. Circle your calendars for September 19th at 6pm at Fordham's Jack Coffey field.
The NFLPA elected a new executive director 2 weeks ago named DeMaurice Smith. Mr. Smith is a talented litigator, but has no other football related experience other then being a rabid Redskins fan. So maybe there is some truth to the story that the election may have been "jerrymanded" by player association lawyers Kessler and Berthlesen. At least one retired player who is part of the suit against the NFLPA to recognize the lack of health care benefits to retired players believes it is true, and has gone on record to anyone who will listen. There is even another story that the 28.1 million dollar settlement will be reduced by 50% to the players.
As comedy man Yakov Smirnoff says "what a country this America is"
By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Managing Partner Football Reporters Online
The Ny Jets never seem to be happy with what they already have. If they feel that Kellen Clemens will never run the Jets Offense on a regular basis, try trading him for the extra draft pick.Then people will take you seriously when you say you need a QB. Until then, people only see the Jets as further behind the Giants in PSL sales.
I'm not so sure they were ever seriously considered a factor in the "Jay Cutler" Saga. The three way deal between the Broncos, Titans, and the Jets was talked about for all of 5 minutes and then dismissed at least on NY sports talk radio.
The Giants are doing their "voluntary" off season workout program, and 59 of the current roster players are in attendance. Osi Umenoria is confident that his knee is close to 100%. He was also sure that his teammate Plaxico Burress would return to the Giants after getting probation. Guess that one went out the door with the last gasp of winter. Burress was released after he won his case against the Giants to recover his withheld roster bonus of one million dollars(think Mike Meyers' Dr. Evil when you hear that).
General Manager Jerry Reese has not yet made a major attempt at signing a receiver in free agency, but will certainly address that in the draft. The Giants had college prospect Percy Harvin in for a workout last week. but there have to be other names on the radar. One such name should be Cal-Poly's Ramses Barden.before the superbowl no one even knew who he was except for a handful of scouts. Barden is the only receiver in this draft at 6'5" or above (6'5-1/2"-229lbs) and while he is still a bit raw, he has the potential to go a long way in the pros. We wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Barden heard his name called mid to late on day two of this years draft. The other is Rutgers' WR Kenny Britt. I'm not so totally sold on Mr. Britt . Although he is 6'4", he only weighs about 212 pounds, hardly someone who can out muscle larger defensive backs over the middle. He can jump, but would need to learn the mechanics of the "Jump Ball" game in the endzone.
Up In Buffalo, Terrell Owens has already missed a "voluntary" off season work out with his new team of choice. So i ask you, is this the way to start off on the right foot with your new team and coaching staff? I woulkd think you'd want to do everything you can to show the people of upstate NY that you are happy to be there. Sure the workouts are "voluntary", but it is also "strongly suggested" that players attend.
Down I-95, the Eagles' QB Donovan McNabb isn't too happy that so many veteran players are leaving. One media vet tells us that it's been building up to this for years due to poor management on the part of the Eagles front office. You have to feel bad
for Donovan because he puts his heart and soul into trying to make the Eagles a winner. It's shameful that the front office won't give them the tools to do so.
Some of the area college programs have already released their schedules for 2009. The Liberty Cup match-up between Fordham University (Patriot) and Columbia University (Ivy) is sure to be hotly contested as always. Columbia's Head Coach Norries Wilson is one of the hardest working coaches to grace New York City's college football scene in some time. He also gives a great post game press conference no matter what the outcome of the game, and always has a high quality of Insight into all phases of the game. As a college player, coach Wilson played in two bowl games at the University of Minnesota as an offensive lineman. Fordham's head man Tom Massella has been around winning football for years, and while the Rams had a tough 2008, they were the 2007 patriot league champs. Both teams also work hard on the recruitment front each year. Circle your calendars for September 19th at 6pm at Fordham's Jack Coffey field.
The NFLPA elected a new executive director 2 weeks ago named DeMaurice Smith. Mr. Smith is a talented litigator, but has no other football related experience other then being a rabid Redskins fan. So maybe there is some truth to the story that the election may have been "jerrymanded" by player association lawyers Kessler and Berthlesen. At least one retired player who is part of the suit against the NFLPA to recognize the lack of health care benefits to retired players believes it is true, and has gone on record to anyone who will listen. There is even another story that the 28.1 million dollar settlement will be reduced by 50% to the players.
As comedy man Yakov Smirnoff says "what a country this America is"
