Month: April 2011

Bears

• Let’s start with video of the Halas Hall draft press conference yesterday from the Bears website:

• Bears west coast area scout Marty Barrett talk s about second round selection of Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea:

• GM Jerry Angelo talks Paea as well:

• Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune indicates that the Bears has Paea targeted:

“The Bears were so enamored with Paea that if Gabe Carimi had been off the board when their turn came up in the first round, Paea might have been their highest draft choice perhaps through a trade-down. Bears player personnel director Tim Ruskell said there was a draft room consensus on how well Paea fit what the Bears needed.”

When the Bears traded up I really wondered if they had actually wanted Marvin Austin and the Giants stole him out from under them. But Pompei’s comment jibs with that of his Tribune colleague Brad Biggs, who actually wrote yesterday morning that the Bears were prepare to take Paea had Carmi not been there at #29. The Bears were lucky he was still there for them in the second round.

• Pompei indicates that the Bears like Paea because of his combination of strength and quickness:

“And he is exceptionally strong. At the combine, he bench-pressed 225 pounds 49 times, the most by any player in a dozen years.”

I’ve got a little problem with judging strength by the bench press. He looks to me in the video below like he’s got short arms. That let’s you bench press a lot more weight than a guy who is stronger but has longer arms. I’m not saying he isn’t strong but I’m not buying the bench press as an indicator.

Having said that, here’s what Angelo had to say on the topic (via the Chicago Tribune):

“It does transcend, a lot of times it doesn’t, but in his case it does and not because we picked him with our pick. We call it functional strength, not weight room strength. In his case, he has been blessed.”

• Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times says that Angelo weighed the opinions of the college coaches more heavily than usual when he chose the draft’s second day prospects:

“Oregon State coach Mike Riley coached with Bears defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli at USC and gave Paea the highest possible recommendation, resulting in the Bears sending a fourth-round pick to the Washington Redskins for the right to move up nine spots to select the Tongan strongman 53rd overall. It took a similar vote of confidence from longtime NFL defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, now coordinating Cal’s defense, to convince secondary coach John Hoke and Angelo that [safety Chris] Conte‘s rare skill set made him the best bet in the third round.

• Angelo thinks he may have gotten lucky in an unusual way with Conte. Via Pompei:

“Conte was scheduled to play in the East-West Shrine game, but pulled out because he thought he had a chance to play in the Senior Bowl. The Senior Bowl invitation fell through, and Conte subsequently did not play in an all star game.

“Angelo indicated that might have worked to the Bears’ favor, because his athleticism on display in an all star game might have heated up Conte’s draft stock.”

• Angelo also had this to say about Conte:

“When you watch him on tape because he did play two years of corner they did play him outside in man-to-man coverage, they use him inside on the slot, so he has a lot of versatility and that is really what you look for in the safety position.”

I’ve been arguing that the Bears need a third corner to cover receivers in the slot man-to-man since the New England game. Looks like the coaches might be looking to Conte to fill that role when they’re in the nickel. Should be interesting.

• Conte talks about the difficulty of playing safety Vs. cornerback:

“For me it was actually pretty easy. Playing safety I always felt I was much more natural at. Coming in I had a great coach, coach Clancy Pendergast, who came from the NFL. He just really helped with my transition. He came in on the first day, he was like, ‘You’re playing safety from now on’ and really took me under his wing and really just showed me what it took to be a great football player and possibly an NFL-type player.”

I love this quote. I really think the key to the position is good instincts and if the position feels “natural”, then I think that’s a good sign.

• Ballard discusses about Conte in this video from ChicagoBears.com:

• Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes offensive line coach Mike Tice, who apparently understands at least one thing that needs to happen with Carimi:

“I think he’s an outside player, and we=92ll make sure the day he walks into the building the spot we put him at is the spot he’s going to play for the next 10 years.”

Former first round pick Chris Williams has been moved around quite a bit and I think its hurt his development.

• Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times writes that Carimi shares at least one characteristic with every great athlete:

“‘He’s one of the most unbelievably competitive people I’ve ever met,’ [Wisconsin center Peter] Konz said, recalling the endless debates they had just to see who could make better arguments. ‘It doesn’t matter what it is. Whatever it takes, however long it takes, he’s going to get the job done.'”

• Tice has invented a new word. Via Pompei:

“‘There is a lot of familiarity,’ Tice said. We’re going to have to convert that family over to Bearism and knock off that Cheesehead stuff.'”

• Larry Mayer at ChicagoBears.com says that the Bears also liked Alabama’s James Carpenter. Most analysts thought the Seahawks drafteed Carpeneter too high at #25.
• Looks like the Bears won’t be having that team meeting on Monday.

One Final Thought

Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Sun-Times indicates that turn about might be fair play when it comes to the Bears botched trade with Baltimore:

“Maybe the final word on the subject should come from Newsome himself, by way of Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who unearthed an old quote from eight years ago when Baltimore failed to trade up with Minnesota in a similar situation.

“The deal was not consummated,’ [Raven’s GM Ozzie] Newsome said at the time. A deal is not a deal until I talk to [league executive] Joel Bussert, and I never talked to Joel Bussert.’

“Angelo couldn’t have said it any better himself.”

There’s so much Bears news today that I won’t be saying much about the rest of the draft. But over the weekend as I catch up you can bet the James Carpenter, Jake Locker and Christian Ponder will be addressed. I also foudn the pick of Nick Fairley to be intereesting. He didn’t look happy.

• The Bears first round pick of offensive tackle Gabe Carimi seems to be a popular one. The reaction of Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times was typical:

“It was obvious the Bears offensive line was missing a quality left tackle last season. It also lacked the one intangible that can allow a unit to overcome such a handicap.”

“By landing Carimi with the 29th overall pick, he injected attitude into a toothless unit that not only allowed a league-high 56 sacks but failed to consistently open holes in the running game. “

Maybe. Carimi is commonly perceived as a right tackle or guard (see comments below). But I’ll say this: he’s got as good a chance of being a solid left tackle as J’Marcus Webb.

• Larry Mayer at chicagobears.com got GM Jerry Angelo for this interview after the pick:

Bears midwest scout Jeff Shiver talks about Carimi:

Here’s are the highights from the Bears press conference:

• Todd McShay‘s opinion at ESPN on Carimi is consistent with my own:

 

• I don’t know how much there is to this statement from Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune:

“It’s possible Carimi dropped a bit because he rubbed some NFL talent evaluators the wrong way in interviews. Some said he came across as overconfident. But a heavy dose of confidence may be welcome in the Bears’ offensive line room.”

If that’s true they’re fools. But since they aren’t fools (generally), I’m guessing it had more to do with the fact that not enough of them thought he was going to be a left tackle and that’s where you generally want your first round talent to play.

• Michael C. Wright at ESPNChicago.com notes that the Bears benefited from the fact that four quarterbacks were taken in the first round.
• Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times notes that 60 percent of teams that drafted offensive linemen in the first round and had him start 10 games increased something called their “New York Life Protection Index”.  Apparently we’re sponsoring statistics now.
• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune notes that had Carimi not been there, the Bears would have taken Oregon defensive tackle Stephen Paea. He also thinks that Carimi will go to right tackle while J’Marcus Webb will get the first shot at playing on the left.
• Here’s hoping the Bears do a better job of settling Carimi into a position and keeping him there than they did with 2008 first rounder Chris Williams. Bears head coach Lovie Smith comments (via the Chicago Tribune):

“We wouldn’t move a guy [as a rookie]. We never try to move a guy from guard to tackle, unless we have to. When you look at our history a little bit, we’ve had to make some tough moves, asking a guy like Chris Williams to play tackle and guard, but that’s not the plan. Once we lock a player into a position we would like to keep him there and that’s what we will do.”

• Smith on whether Carimi will play left tackle:

“It is tough to find a left tackle, but he has of course started. So again, it is easy for me to say that we are going to put him at the left tackle position, but he has done more and when you have the type of ability that he has, he does give you more options. But looking at our offensive line, J’Marcus Webb can play a couple different positions, so I can’t wait to get that group together and they will tell us exactly where they need to play.”

• Jensen rarely sticks his neck out to express an opinion but when he does it is usually worth listening to. He thinks Carimi will be playing right tackle:

“One of the pre-Combine knocks on Carimi is that he may not be athletic enough to play left tackle in the NFL. But at the Combine, Carimi did a very solid 29 reps on the bench press, a 31 1/2 inch vertical leap, and his best 40-time was a 5.18. Only six offensive tackles had a faster time than him, including Nate Solder, who ran a Combine-best 4.96.

Still, this is clear: Carimi isn’t the athlete that Webb is.

• Jensen quotes Angelo on a botched trade with Baltimore that really seemed to throw the end of the draft a little bit of a loop:

“‘We dropped the ball, I dropped the ball,’ Angelo said. ‘What has been done can’t be undone.

“‘[Baltimore] did everything according to the rules.”

Biggs notes that in the end no harm was done and both teams took the players they wanted. But had the trade happened that also would have been the case so one wonders if Baltimore won’t ask the Bears to give the 127th pick they offered to move up anyway. Biggs also invokes the “checkbox” errors in 2002 and the error contacting James Starks only to not draft him in last year as examples of how the Bears have made a bit more of a habit of botching things on draft day than usual.

• Jeff Dickerson at ESPNChicago.com thnks the Bears will most likely be targeting defensive tackle and cornerback today in the second and third rounds.
• Smith sounds like he expects Olin Kreutz to be back in this statement:

“We are not looking for a rookie to come in and set the tempo in that room, Olin [Kreutz] sets the tempo in that room and our vets, and I think he can learn from them but we would like for tough guys to come in and add something to the room. We only ask rookies to come add to the room, they are not going to be in a leadership role right away.”

• The  league intends to more or less return to regular business by Monday after a judge put an end to the lockout. Players are working out today and rules for free agency will be announced.
• Dickerson also notes that the Bears have scheduled a team meeting for Monday.
• The Bears will start their voluntary offseason workout program May 9.  Rookie minicamp will May 6-8 and mandatory veteran minicamp will run June 3-5.

One Final Thought

The Bears did something that they rarely do in the first round last night – they fell in love with one player.  To the point where they actually tried to trade up instead of trading down as they usually do.  Here’s Angelo, again, via the Chicago Tribune:

“We got a good handful of offers, mostly with trades of people wanting to come up to our spot. We entertained those. We had a couple of linemen that we thought were going to be on the board to maybe give us the flexibility to do that. But once they started to come off as quickly as they did, we just felt like we were going to stay where we were put and hopefully get the player that we got. We did try to move up in the draft and get a deal done with a team in front of us. We weren’t able to get that done. So we sat and we got the player we wanted.”

Biggs also noted the unusual move:

“The Bears wanted Gabe Carimi so badly they set out to do something general manager Jerry Angelo hadn’t done in nine drafts with the club.

“They tried to trade up in the first round. Fearing the Chiefs were targeting Carimi at No. 27, the Bears worked to swing a deal with the Ravens to move up three spots to 26.”

One wonders what is behind the change in philosophy. It could be new player personnel boss Tim Ruskell. But my guess is that it was offensive line coach Mike Tice whose presence was being being felt.

It isn’t that the Bears picked Carimi that’s unusual. He was probably the guy they would have taken in any number of scenarios. Its the way they did it that might represent a major shift of influence within the organization that may have begun last season when Tice reportedly convinced offensive coordinator Mike Martz to run the ball more.

It’s something to keep an eye on.

Bears

• Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Sun-Times says that the Bears have to do a better job of drafting defensive players, something which should be their forte and isn’t.  A couple excerpts stood out:

“Oddly, [GM Jerry] Angelo was a better at drafting defensive players before [head coach Lovie] Smith arrived despite the seeming advantage the two should share by working off a different blueprint than other teams.”

Insert your thoughts about Smith’s influence in the draft room here.

“One league source with a stellar track record for predicting the Bears’ drafts said the defensive coaching staff will be pressuring Angelo and [player personnel boss Tim] Ruskell to take a cornerback.”

Too many people are ignoring this need. The Bears need a third corner and they could very well take one early if the right guy is there.

• Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times has the Bears taking Marvin Austin.
• Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune has OT Gabe Carimi falling to them:

“This huge blocker will be a good fit on Mike Tice’s line. The Bears will be fortunate if he falls to them.”

Pompei’s probably right in that they will take him if he’s there. But I’m not sure he’s a good fit on a team that really needs a left tackle.

• The rest of the Tribune’s contributors make their picks. A wide variety of choices which seems to be typical of the unpredictable nature of this draft, especially when considering such a late pick. Most of the picks reflect one of the six scenarios which Pompei describes here.
• Mike Mayock at NFL.com has the Bears taking WR Jonathan Baldwin in the draft:

“The Bears want offensive or defensive line help, but at this point in the draft, those spots have been hit hard. If a trade down isn’t an option, they try to give Jay Cutler another target in the passing game. Baldwin is a talented wideout.”

Baldwin’s going to be a good player but I’m not sure he fits offensive coordinatorMike Matz‘s offense. And he’s a reach at that point. I’m not seing it.

• Jeff Dickerson at ESPNChicago.com has the Bears taking guard Danny Watkins:

“High character guy who fixes huge problem for Bears at guard. Age (26) not an issue.”

See One Final Thought below.

Meanwhile, Dickerson’s colleague Michael C. Wright has them jumping for joy at the chance of getting OT Anthony Castonzo.

“This could happen. Graded by some as a second-rounder.”

Dave Birkett at the Detroit Free Press disagrees (along with most of the rest of the world). He says that he woud be consider Costanzo a steal at 13. I don’t know about that but needless to say it would be the crime of the century at #29.

• No one should be surprised by the news but Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune got a statement from an unidentified team executive that says that the Bears have made it known that they are willing to trade down. The executive represents a team picking higher than #42.  I doubt anyone volunteers information like this without an ulterior motive.
• Michael C. Wright and Tom Waddle at ESPNChicago.com talk Bears draft needs and how they match up with who might be available to them:

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune reviews the 2008 NFL draft 3 years later. He believes it came up short:

“When the flurry of activity at Halas Hall ended, the Bears didn’t assign themselves a letter grade, but they did say they believed the draft would produce six starters for them. It was a lofty prediction, exceeding the usual goal [of four] Angelo has.”

“Unfortunately, the team can’t claim six starters from this group. Right now, it can’t claim four starters from an original group of 12. That’s not meeting the mark for Angelo.”

Biggs is judging this class according to what Angelo said and I think that’s more than fair. But I’m more inclined to judge it based upon my own expectations. I see four picks in the first three rounds. I expect a minimum of four starters from a draft which has that figuring some hits late and some misses early. I see three starters: Matt Forte, Earl Bennett and Chris Williams. I see two more solid contributors: Zack Bowman, Kellen Davis. All of the players from the 5th round up are still on the team. Its very debatable but I don’t think it was a bad draft.

• John Mullin at CSNChicago.com says that Green Bay defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins is expected to be targeted by the Bears in free agency.
• ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert had this interesting exchange regarding Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in a chat Tuesday afternoon. I think Seifert’s got the right on this one.  Your opinion may vary but remember the first half f the NFC Championship game (pre-injury) before answering to quickly.
• New Hall of Famer Richard Dent apparently forgot to pay his taxes. A lot.

One Final Thought

John Mullin at CSNChicago.com comes through with the pick which I personally think would be both the right one and the one which is most likely: Watkins.

“If Derek Sherrod somehow is there, the Bears will happily take him and start Mike Tice working J’Marcus Webb and Sherrod at left tackle as soon as lockout terms permit. But tackles go fast and the Bears will be satisfied with Watkins even at age 27 because he will be a day-one starter at guard and could be a factor at tackle even at 6-3.”

Mullin’s mock draft looks very realistic to me and, though he makes Watkins sound like a consolation prize, I think its the right pick.  Watkins is likely going to be the best overall blocker available (even if Sherrod is there).

True it leaves the Bears trying to fill a hole at left tackle with the younger guys they’ve got and/or a free agent.  But the’d be far from the only team in the NFL trying to make do at the position, which traditionally offers only limited options every year.  Sometimes you do what you have to to get the best five guys on the field.

Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times says that there have been discussions at Halas Hall about moving offensive tackle/guard Chris Williams to center. Its an interesting idea but I really question whether it will work.

As we consider this possibility, its worth noting the comments that Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano made about moving guards to the center position last month:

“It legitimately is the hardest position up front to play. People are going to tell you left tackle because of who they are going against, but if you draft the right left tackle, which we’ve been fortunate to do, that really isn’t the case.  If you’re trying to put a squad peg into a round hole then that makes left tackle a hard position. Not many of us try to do that.

“With center, everyone has this guard and can make him a center, or you can take this undersized (guy) and make him a center. That really isn’t the case. It doesn’t work in a lot of situations.

“You have to have some kind of center background in their history, in their past, for that to work well.”

“From a mental standpoint it’s challenging. Practice is one thing. In the game it’s a completely different, much like the quarterback. When it starts to hit the fan out there at that position things speed up and you need it to slow down.”

I’m not saying that the Bears shouldn’t try Williams at center. But I’m very wary of the idea.

Williams didn’t make the transition to guard very well and the move to center would be tougher. He really needs to be settled into a position and allowed to develop.  This kind of change would set his timetable back even further.  Williams may never reach his potential as the Bears shuffle him from position to position.

Its a big risk.

Bears

• Bears site has this rather nice summary video of what GM Jerry Angelo and Director of Player Personnel Tim Ruskell had to say at the Bears pre-draft press conference:

• Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Sun-Times says the Bears have targeted four to six players at four positions for their pick:

“‘And that is important,’  Ruskell said, ‘because when you start thinking about the possibility of trading down, you want to at least have half as many guys that you would like as the number of picks that you would go down. That’s kind of a rule of thumb. That’s not in stone, but Jerry and I have talked about that.”’

• Sean Jensen at the Sun-Times thinks those positions are probably offensive and defensive line, linebacker and cornerback.  I concur.

Angelo has never forgotten Parcells’ draft advice – Inside the Bears

• One of the things that Angelo said in the Bears press conference struck me, as it apparently did Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times:

“[Bill] Parcells made the statement a long time ago when I was with New York,” Angelo said during a pre-draft press conference at Halas Hall on Thursday. “He said, ‘You know what I like about this draft, Jerry? Every guy that we drafted, we like. You guys like him and we like him.'”

“That kind of stuck with me. That’s very important because for the player to be successful, he’s got to have a feel-good from everybody. It can’t just be from the scouts or one coach or the averages are working against you.”

One thing that is very evident about Angelo is that he has stuck with this philosophy from the moment he hired Lovie Smith.  Angelo is a consensus builder and this quote explains the root origin of that attitude.

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune quotes Angelo after he was asked about Derek Sherrod and Marvin Austin, the two players who have probably been connected to the Bears the most often in mock drafts.  Angelo certainly didn’t sound like he had ruled Austin out due to character concerns:

“I always say this: ‘We just don’t want any surprises on draft day when we bring a player in here.’ We’re not looking for halo players. We’re in a business to win football games. But we have to know what’s underneath the hood. That’s the challenge of scouting. The easy part is evaluating the tape. The hard part is knowing how the player is wired. He’s a great player, but there were concerns. We’re satisfied we know them.”

• Angelo indicated he’d be looking for a developmental quarterback in the late rounds.  Biggs points out some possibilities.
• After months of speculation from draft experts that there’d be nothing left for the Bears at #29 Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune thinks the Bears might have a shot at getting a very good player after all:

“With so many quarterbacks moving up, players at other positions — maybe even coveted offensive linemen — could drop to the Bears.

“Angelo said Thursday he expects up to seven offensive linemen to be chosen in the first round. They likely are USC tackle Tyron Smith, Colorado tackle Nate Solder, Boston College tackle Anthony Castonzo, Florida guard/center Mike Pouncey, Wisconsin tackle Gabe Carimi, Mississippi State tackle Derek Sherrod and Baylor guard Danny Watkins.”

• Angelo doesn’t see the Bears picking up a number 1 receiver but he does like the group and didn’t rule out taking one at some point.  Via Biggs.
• Richard Dent will join a number of other retired NFL stars to announce the second round picks Friday.
• Pompei reviews the defensive ends in the draft.  He thinks the Bears should grab one if he falls.  I’d agree with that most year even if I didn’t see a need.
• Both Pompei and Michael C. Wright at ESPNChicago.com go over the safeties in the draft.  Pompei didn’t pull any punches as he described the group:

“Front-office men are calling this one of the worst safety classes ever.”

With Danieal Manning on the free agent market, the Bears might be looking for one anyway.  Thank heavens it isn’t imperative that it be a free safety.  They’re even tougher to find.

• Both Jeff Dickerson and Wright at ESPNChciago.com have the Bears taking Baylor guard Danny Watkins with their pick.  I’ve personally been riding high on Watkins and I’m seeing his name associated with the Bears more and more recently in mock drafts.  As far as I can tell his only real downside is his age, which is 26.

One of the reasons I like Watkins for the Bears is that he fits the Bears need for bigger players on the offensive line, something that John Mullin at CSNChicago.com highlights here.

• I’m not really writing much about the lockout except things that directly affect what happens on the field (once they get there).  But I can’t help saying that unless Robbie Gould is prepared to tells us that there’s been compromise and they’re getting ready to play football, I don’t want to hear any more about him or his finger pointing.

Elsewhere

• Elliot Harris at NFL.com points out what an incredible indicator winning and losing the Kickoff Game is for the kind of season a team is likely to have.
• Wright goes over the good tight ends in the draft.  He had to include a lot of the bad ones, too, because its a pretty miserable year.
• Matt Waldman at the New York Times ranks Adam Froman as the fourth best quarterback in the draft.  That’s the first I’ve heard him rated that high.  If Waldman’s right, someone is going to take this guy late and get a heck of a good value.
• Pat Kirwan at NFL.com talks about the fact that what you are looking for in a  defensive end in the draft varies from team to team:

“However, with half the league in a 3-4 defense and the other half in a 4-3, teams are looking for different types of ends to play in their schemes. The 3-4 teams want a tall, long-armed athlete who is stout enough to hold the line of scrimmage at the off-tackle run lane. The 4-3 teams are looking for more speed to get up field and will sacrifice some size for quickness.”

• Kevin Seifert points to what GM Martin Mayhew had to say at the Lions pre-draft news conference about defensive end Da’Quan Bowers.  Bowers is a developing story in the draft:

“[It was a] typical Mayhew answer that tells us the Lions have some concerns about Bowers but haven’t ruled him out as a possible draft pick. I wouldn’t expect him to say anything less, although it is interesting he has acknowledged that a medical issue exists. Bowers and his agent have insisted the knee is fully healed.“

• I found Mayhew’s comments via Chris McCosky at The Detroit News to be consistent with what teams are saying about cornerback Jimmy Smith:

“‘There is a threshold you can fall beyond where we would not consider a player,’ Mayhew said. ‘A failed drug test is a cause for concern, but it doesn’t knock you out of the running to be drafted.’

“Mayhew reiterated he has done exhaustive research into Smith and his character issues and he’s come away impressed.

“‘I had a great talk with Jimmy and I felt much better about him,’ Mayhew said. ‘I spoke with his position coach, Ashley Ambrose who is now coaching at Cal, and Ashley had nothing but great things to say about him. I definitely feel better about Jimmy now than before I met him.”

First of all, it wasn’t “a failed drug test”.  It was four.

Second, the line on him is that his trouble is that he’s a follower.  I haven’t a single doubt that this is a nice kid who means well when he says that he’s going to leave his bad influences behind after he’s drafted.  But is he really going to turn his back upon the first old friend to call him in his new home for help and friendship?  From what I’ve heard, I really doubt that he’s the type to do it.

I wouldn’t touch him anywhere higher than the end of the first round and then only if I really needed a defensive back.

• Lori Nickel at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel quotes Packers GM Ted Thompson with one of the many reasons to try to take the best available player at your slot in the draft rather than decide strictly on need:

“You don’t know what your needs are going to be. You might think you have a need at the end of April or you may think you have a strong position at the end of April, but you don’t know where that’s going to be come Aug. 1, as we found out this season.”

• In the spirit of the season, the boys over at The Sports Pickle have gotten athletes to talk about their favorite Easter candy.  Here’s a sample:

One Final Thought

How do athletes pick up the opposite sex in bars?  Now we know: