A couple of additions to Wednesday’s post about site referrels. Rinnert’s website sent me some traffic this week and I found the Sock Drawer listed on this Yahoo Directory. I don’t know how I got on there or how long I’ve been there but that’s cool.

No new additions to the quote contest, but lots of movement. Johnny moved into a second place tie with Rinnert, Tom the Dog leapfrogs the log-jam in the middle of the single digits and moved into fifth.

dupree 21
Johnny 13
Rinnert 13
Jeff 12
Tom the Dog 7
Kelley 6
Amy 5
Kerry 5
Maderer 4
Greg Burgas 3
Z-Man 1
MOe 1

And here’s the standard explanation of the contest for those who got here and have no idea what is going on: At the end of every blog entry, I leave you with a quote. Be the first one to make a comment stating where the quote from and you get a point. Anyone can guess. Even if new entries are put up, all previous unclaimed quotes from 2005 are still fair game. Whoever has the most points at the end of the year is the winner.

I’m still thinking of tossing in an interesting wrinkle that could allow for some changes to the standings. I was thinking of talking about it now, but I don’t think traffic is very high on Saturdays so I’ll wait till a weekday to announce my brilliant plan. Watch this space for more info.

And don’t forget to check out the Man-Thing movie tonight on SciFi if you’re into that sort of thing… no pun intended.

“Sweetie, it’s broccoli, it’s good for you. Now open up for the airplane …”
“Never! Damn the broccoli, damn you, and damn the Wright brothers!”

I’ll have to do a little more research today to see if this is actually an amateur fan film. I’m not too familiar with AtomFilms so I don’t know if I should grade this or not. Found out about this at All Things Christie, figured I would pass it along while I do some more checking up. If you’ve seen Napoleon Dynamite and have ever enjoyed Star Wars, this is for you.

“I spent like three hours shading the upper lip.”

Once again, I have to question comic book publishers who collect their works in harback before trade paperback. Yesterday, two collections came out (Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Wolverine: Enemy of the State) that I would gladly buy except they were too expensive in that format. When they finally do put a softcover on them, will I still care? Probably yes for the EMH since I heard great things about that, probably not for Enemy of the State since reviews I’ve read were mixed, at best.

Invincibles #0 came out yesterday for only fifty cents. Pick it up and you find our why. Only, like, 12 pages. But it makes a nice jumping-on point for new readers. It summarizes the last dozen and a half issues like a really efficient trade paperback collection. Speaking fo trades, I think this is a title that I will now stop buying monthly and pick up the trade collections. Although, Robert Kirkman comics make great toilet reading. See, that sounds like a bad thing, but it’s actually a good thing. It’s just that he compacts a lot of words on the page. That mini-comic I just mentioned? I was able to take that into the bathroom and finish my business before I finished even that little issue. Try getting that from a Bendis book or anything else Marvel puts out. I usually can finish reading those decompressed stories in the time it takes to pee. A standard Kirkman comic can usually last me two trips to the bathroom. I wonder how the potential Invincible movie will compare to toilet viewing.

I see there’s a going to be another New Warriors series. This will be the third attempt to get this comic going. I jumped at the first title cause I was a fan of the established heroes they were using like Nova, Speedball, and Firestar. I loved the original Nova series, complete with all it’s foolish quirks. The second relaunch didn’t really grab me all that much. This third one, I’m not too sure about. The art is pretty damn goofy, but it seems like there’s an interesting take on the premise so maybe I’ll give it a shot for old time’s sake. Besides, I’m a sucker for the super-team of the 90s.

One title I will definitely pick up: the Spider-Man title written by Peter David. It’ll be interesting to see if he can bring the fun back to Spidey.

“Why would we want to help somebody? That’s what nuns and Red Cross workers are for.”

If you’re real observant, you’ll notice a new logo on the bottom of the left-hand column. That’s the Site Meter. I’ve always been curious how much traffic this site sees, or doesn’t see. The only way I could tell if someone stopped by is if they left a comment or actually told me in person.

So, I’m browsing sites on my blogroll and Lefty Brown had one of those “how you found my site” discussions. I finally ask how he figured out this info and he informed me about Site Meter. So, I signed up, attached the link to my site, and watched the folks come in. Almost literally.

Here’s a quick shout out to all those who sent me traffic in the last few days:
All Things Christie, Tom The Dog, I Do What I Can, Brill Building, Postmodern Barney, Dave’s Long Box (that’s a comic book term, you sickos), Delenda Est Carthago, House of the Ded, the NFFL blog, A View From The Ham, Ooh! Ooh! Look At ME!, Everything Is Unfinished, and, of course, Lefty Brown. And I think I saw I got a referral from that Catwoman-Copycat movie I previewed a few weeks ago.

Thanks to those sites for bringing folks over the Sock Drawer. I’d like to bring in some more traffic, so I’m willing to listen to suggestions how. Here was one of them: Karshner Triplets.

Did it work? Eh, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.

I also signed up at Technorati and cracked the top 100,000 ranked sites. Last I checked, the Sock Drawer was 99,039th. Make way world, I’m going for 98,000th!

“You wanna know what the worst part about childhood is? White people.”

For those who have been burned out by my draft talk, I’ve got good news for you: I’m taking the next days off from football. Not in real life, mind you, just here. There were some interesting entertainment tidbits that occured while my nose was in all those mock drafts. Let’s catch up, shall we?

Look! Up in the Sky!! I think it looks sharp, but not everyone is as forgiving.

Can you smell what the Masters of the Universe are cooking!? The Rock as He-Man? I guess he would be about as good as anyone.

The Iron Man movie continues to run into roadblocks. Tom Cruise is no longer involved with the project, no matter how similar they try to draw him on the comic covers.

Wesley Snipes is suing over Blade Trinity. Always a good sign to see people who work together on a movie sue each other.

And, speaking of sequels, here comes Ben-Jen 2.

Switching over to 24, here’s fun with the Jack Bauer Power Hour: 24isms and the funny 24 Predictions Regarding 24. Please no spoilers about last night’s episode, still haven’t seen it yet.

And it looks like we might be seeing a Serenity trailer very soon. It looks like it will be in front of Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. Also online at 1:00 pm today. Unfortunately, that’s pacific time so I guess around 4:00 p.m. eastern time. UPDATE: Here’s the Serenity trailer for all you browncoats out there. Looks pretty sweet. September 30th can’t get here soon enough. Oh, here’s some other ways to see the trailer, which is nice since that Apple site was a pain in the ass to get what I want.

And could we be seeing a day where movies come out on DVD before they hit theaters?

“Trailers also normally employ a deep voice that sounds like a seven-foot-tall man who has been smoking cigarettes since childhood.”

The final choice has been announced, rookie free agents have been signed, and the biggest event in the NFL’s offseason is over. So, let’s break it all down, shall we?

First off, my personal experience. MOe and I watched it at Johnny’s and good fun was had. Nothing better than sitting around and talking football, even if there’s not an actual game. There’s a great picture over at Johnny’s site you have to check out as we use his Seahawk helmet-phone to create a possible draft scenario. I was pleased to see last year’s abysmal draft telecast was a abberation as ESPN got back on the ball and looked like they’ve done this for two and a half decades. Other than their slow reaction time to trades and Merrill Hodge’s hair, they did pretty well. Parts I wish we had seen more of include the NFL Live guys and the ESPNU coverage where they look at the day from the college angle. We only saw ESPNU once on Saturday. The NFL Live guys made more appearances the deeper we got into the draft. Both were nice additions to the overall presentation.

The draft itself was a little dissappointing. There were very few picks which made us, or the audience in New York, go “whoa!” in disbelief. It was low key, especially compared to drafts past where Mel Kiper would call out the Jets and Colts for their stupid picks and they would rip him back. I think that’s the downside of teams creating scientific systems to analyze prospects. Now we teams “staying true to their board” instead of going off the board and desperately reaching for a need year after year.

As for the Bengals draft, it’s a glass half empty/half full effect, but I’d fall on the half full side. We got a couple of terrific players from Georgia, addressed depth on the offensive line and in the receiving corps, but didn’t add any defensive backs. If I graded the draft, I’d probably put it in the B range. And yes, I know it’s not accurate to grade a draft less than a day after it’s over. But who actually spends time grading drafts that happened three years ago? Not me. Not yet.

I like the linebacker we got in the second round, Odell Thurman. He’s being talked about as a steal going that late. David Pollack is a terrific kid (did you see those ESPN outtakes with him? Or his interview with Suzy Colber the next day? He’s quite a cut-up.) who was a phenomonal college player. I am a little antsy about him switching to a linebacker, but I do have faith in Marvin Lewis’s judgement that Pollack could do so. But this looks to be the first guy Marvin’s taken in the first round who will actually contribute during his rookie year. The draft seemed to target the defensive side of the ball and looks like it accomplished that.

The receivers are a gamble, especially Chris Henry from West Virginia. He’s compared to Randy Moss, which is a good thing. But he’s compared to Randy Moss, which is a bad thing. The little I’ve read about Tab Perry seems like we made a decent selection with our sixth round choice. I’m glad we injected some youth into our offensive line, although I am concerened that the two guys were both from Central Michigan. I didn’t follow the MAC that closely last year, did the Chippewas have a dominant offensive line? I hope so. We rounded out the weekend with a defensive lineman who I know nothing about.

Unfortunately, as good as a draft we had, the other AFC North teams have had even better drafts. Each of them got a stud target in the first round and picked up nice players down the board. One thing that did irk me is all the credit the Ravens get for their drafts. Don’t give them credit to taking Mark Clayton. They needed a receiver, Clayton was there when they picked, they pulled the trigger. Not a lot of insight and stategery went into that. Every year, some great player falls in their lap and critics praise their decision. The same thing with Pittsburgh’s choice of Heath Miller. Yeah, way to sit around for six hours and then take the best player off the board. And Cleveland got real lucky getting Charlie Frye in the third round. Why do all these MAC guys go to teams I root against. How can I cheer for these players when they go to the Browns, Steelers, or Jaguars?

Around the NFL, at a cursorary glance, I feel like Arizona had the best draft. Sure, Dallas and Minnesota and San Diego did well but they had multiple first rounders so they better have. I like the players they drafted and they even signed Shazor from Michigan after the draft. Anyone know why he never got picked up? Reading comments that dupree left here and Gary left over on Johnny’s blog, it seems like Saban’s first draft went pretty well. Jeff’s up in the air about his Buccaneer’s picks. I know Nagel wanted his Lions to take a lineman but, c’mon, Mike Friggen’ Williams? You can’t be disspointed with that. You did get Shaun Cody in the second round. Johnny was pretty crestfallen about his Seahawks picks.

Then again, what do I know about these prospects? I’m no expert, as you can tell by the Sock Draft where I only correctly guessed six players out of the first 32! Unlike years past, I don’t know more about the draft than my favorite team. I trust Marvin. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with last year’s draft and that produced a lot of guys that could play. It may have even been better than the ‘03 draft, which I was enamoured with. Although, I did correctly predict that Aaron Rodgers would spend several hours in the Javitz Center waiting to finally get picked.

Local product Michael Munoz is quitting football. The son of the only Bengals Hall of Famer was not drafted due to injury problems and he’s stepping away from the game now. He’s had problems since his days at Moeller High school so I’m not surprised by the decision, just how quickly it was made.

He wasn’t the only big name undrafted. A former Heisman winning quarterback wasn’t selected while a career back-up was taken by the World Champs. Gino Guidugli, UC’s QB #8 went undrafted, but he’s going to try out for the Tenessee Titans. Three Bearcats were drafted.

Getting back to the professional Cincinnati team, it will be interesting who will be cut from our current roster to make room for these rookies. Nate Webster? Kevin Hardy? Peter Warrick? Kelley Washington? Someone else?

“I think he’ll fit right in with our team concept.”
“That reminds me, I was going to ask you. What exactly *is* our team concept?”

One day in the books, another one to go. No liveblogging today, just a recap of yesterday and some early picks today.

Athens, Georgia has moved northwest as we picked up two Bulldogs in the first two rounds. David Pollack is widely considered the best college football player and if his game translates over to the next level, he could be the defensive force we’ve been looking for. I am a little concerned that he’s going to be playing a different position from the sounds of things. Makes me a little nervous that, on top of all things NFL, he has to learn an entirely new position. But I’m sure Marvin will be able to figure out what to do to make him effective. The second round pick will help the middle linebacker spot that could be hurting, so that’ll help. And with the third pick, Marvin got first round talent with issues. If he can straighten out the baggage, this fella could be a steal. Center was addressed in the fourth round, grabbed his offensive linemate in the next round, and a couple more rounds to maybe grab a safety and find other gems.

Besides ESPN’s tag line, “You’ve Got To Go Deep”, here are some other good reasons to keep watching past the first round. Well, besides Mel Kiper.

I’m sure I’ll have more draft thoughts throughout the week, but I don’t feel like spending a lot of time blogging today. Too much overload yesterday. Sounds like dupree was happy with his team’s picks and Maderer congratulated me for my team taking players from his team. Any other opinions?

“That’s great, kid. Don’t get cocky!”

I come to you today from snowy Columbus as the NFL Draft is less than five minutes away. Bad news, I forgot my Special K jersey. Too bad, only so many opportunities to wear such a thing.

Johnny, MOe, and I are gathered around the ESPN stuffing Chick-Fil-A in our gullets eagerly awaiting today’s festivitieis. We’ll see how today goes compared the mock draft I posted yesterday. Or, as I like to call it, the NFL SOCK Draft. Yep, gonna be a looooong day.

12:00 Opening Montage: Nice analogy putting the prospects on Wall Street. Johnny was surprised it was not sponsored by Smith-Barney or something.

12:02 Mel Kiper gets a rousing round of applause from the fans. Why is Torry Holt on the main stage?

12:04 Boomer, Kiper, and Mort are in good form off the top of the show. Mel’s hair is in mid-season form.

12:05 The first snafu of the show. Boomer tosses to Sal Pal in San Francisco… silence. Even the crowd in New York yelled for Sal to start talking. Nothing big like last year, though. So far, pretty good. But Torry Holt just sitting there, not contributing, looks unnecessary.

12:09 First Commercial Break. This ain’t cool, the 49ers technically still aren’t even on the clock. That ain’t cool.

12:10 Wow. Impressive looking commercial for Madden Next Gen.

12:12 Tagliabue steps to the podium for the first time, Like I said, not thrilled that it takes this long to get them actually on the clock. They’ve been on the clock for months, why not have the fifteen minutes actually start at noon. Oh, well. Fourteen minnutes and counting.

12:14 We’re making fun of the offensice and defensive rankings listed on the bottom of the screen. The top three offensive teams (Indy, KC, and Minnesota) were not as good on the other side of the board (30th, 31st, and 28th, respectively, I think)

12:19 Back from another commercial break. The beer commercials are pretty weak. I liked it better when those guys were taking pot shots at each other.

12:23 Hey, look, they finally talk to Torry Holt again. Before now, he’s done a good job keeping that seat from floating up to the ceiling for the last twenty minutes.

12:25 San Fran chooses Alex Smith. No surprise. A few guys in the crowd boo. It seems like someone always boos. Now, it will be interesting to see how fall Rodgers could fall.

12:30 Third commercial break. Kudos to ESPN, this year’s production looks smooth and polished, like it normally does. Well, at least before last year. Again, we start with another crappy beer commercial. And I’d say the car commercial is crappy, but that seems a little redundant. Has there been a good car commercial since Joe Isuzu?

12:37 Fourth commercial break… less than 3 minutes before the Dolphins’ time is up? Not good timing, especially since Ronnie Brown got a phone call as they went to break.

12:39 Why can’t the Commissioner pronounce the player’s names? He always seems to stumble over something even though he only has two sentences to say. How hard is Ronnie Brown to say? An estatic Cleveland Browns team is on the clock.

12:44 Johnny just informed me that the cool air raid music to promote the ESPN sunday night game will probably be a casualty of the recent primetime shuffle. Please, does anyone have this song?

12:48 The Players On The Cold Pizza Set. Fortunately, they’re not doing the usual current players acting as General Managers crap. It never really adds to the draft presentation.

12:54 It took the Browns the full fifteen minutes to take the guy they wanted #1? Shouldn’t that decision have been made two seconds after the Dolphins passed on him?

12:57 So far, Edwards gets the award for largest posse on stage.

12:59 Kingdom of Heaven movie ad. I don’t know, I feel pretty burned out on all these knights and gladiators movies.

1:05 Longest Yard remake. We’re torn cause it seems like there’s some funny stuff but we’re morally opposed to remakes of good movies.

1:06 The NFL Live guys. We’re an hour in before we visit this set. This is a place that we should visit more often. The last thing I want to hear from is current players.

1:07 MOe has informed us that it is technically against NFL rules to use a horse as a running back.

1:09 Cedric Benson does not look that happy to be going to Chicago. Oh, okay, he’s crying. His mom is crying. Is that a good sign?

1:12 Jeff has just called and guarenteed the Bucs would draft Williams. He was a little less distinct on which one.

1:15 Wow. Benson is rambling. He doesn’t know who the real him is, he doesn’t know why he’s being compared to Ricky Williams… maybe cause you’re a whacko interview.

1:23 Cadillac is getting mugged by his friends and family. I guess he’s getting drafted next.

1:24 Well, the top five has basically gone the same way it was predicted to months ago. Some dissappointment is emerging in our war room here over the lack of trades or big shocks.

1:30 Johnny is currently checking the live blog progress. It’s like he’s living the last hour and a half again!

1:31 Another stellar interview. Suzy Kolber is asking questions Cadillac already answered and he is mixing his metaphors. “Ronnie may have won the war, but we’ve got more battles.” You do? Even though he already won the war?

1:36 The Titans pass on Mike Williams and pick the guy who has a T-shirt wiith his own picture on it. He looks like a character Dave Chappelle is playing. But Pac-Man’s got a cool nickname so we’ll let it slide.

1:38 Wow, four thousand Viking fans at a draft party? I know there’s nothing else to do up there but Yeesh!

1:42 Main desk critique update: Mort and Mel are doing well. Berman’s been solid so far. Holt’s getting better as the day is going on. The Primetime music is making us happy.

1:45 Why are the Vikings still deciding?!? Mike Williams is there! I know they’ve had clock management issues before but this is ridiculous. MOe said, and I agree, the clock shouldn’t have hit 14:00.

1:47 Merrill Hodge’s hair is NOT in mid-season form.

1:48 Johnny thinks Mel looks like Sam the Eagle from the Muppets.

1:48 Troy Williamson?! Finally, our first “whoa!” moment of the day. The Vikings party reaction was lukewarm but I can’t imagine they took him at this spot.

1:50 Why is Sean Salisbury off on his own? Is he being punished? Is this a time-out or something?

1:54 I can’t imagine the Cardinals aren’t going to take a long look at adding another stellar young receiver with this pick or maybe get your QB of the future. But, I don’t think they can afford to neglect other needs to augment positions of strength.

1:55 I was right. Mel just called out the Arizona corners: “There’s nothing on this team even remotely resembling a #1 cornerback.” Mike Williams is still on the board. If he falls to 17th, and we pass on him, I’m buring down Johnny’s house. Sorry, Amy.

2:00 No one’s at the podium now, but it’s getting old when they ring the Wall Street bell every time the Commissioner starts talking. It was cute the first time, it was old the second time, it’s grating now, and approaching irritating.

2:02 Torry Holt: “They got a football player.” Which is good cause the Cardinals are a football franchise… technically.

2:03 Our first erectile dysfunction commercial. Good thing they waited until the kids are in bed before showing it.

2:05 Apparently, Andrea Kramer stuck her finger in the light socket at some point today. They’ve revamped this segment of the draft, which is good. They pick one or two players and only talk about their team and the current roster. This approach is working much better than year’s past where players pretend they’re GMs.

2:09 “As long as I’m not going to Canada, I’m fine with it.” Prime Minister Paul Martin will soon declare war on Antrel Rolle.

2:12 Three corners in the top ten. Now Detroit will be tempted by Mike Williams. Do they go WR in the first round three years in a row?

2:16 Wow. Have I mentioned how sleepy these beer commercials are making me?

2:18 It only took two minutes for Detroit to jump on Mike Williams. Amy’s house is safe. If Joey Harrington can’t get it done now, I’m pretty sure it’s his fault. Man, they are stacked!

2:28 Demarcus Ware! I finally got a pick right! I called this yesterday. I think that’s the only one, though, so far.

2:30 Aaron Rodgers, still waiting to be picked. I’m pretty sure it won’t be with the Chargers here. Just a hunch.

2:36 Suzy’s asking Aaron what’s changed and why his name has dropped. Rodger’s says nothing has changed, but I blame his new soul patch. Johnny thinks he’s going to Green Bay. I think that would make too much sense.

2:39 They go back to the NFL Live studio to actually compliment the Detroit pick. I think this is a nice adition to the draft coverage. They should go to them more often.

2:42 Merriman should be happy at the 3-4 in San Diego. I’m two for my last two. Although, I’m five of the first twelve. We’re just five picks from the Bengals.

2:51 We finally get our first trade. Of course, ESPN went to break just as it happened and didn’t bother to tell us about it until they came back.

2:52 So much for my pick streak. I guess this shows how little I know about the offensive linemen in this draft.

3:03 Johnny just admitted he got into the Red Bull earlier. That explains why he’s riled up right now.

3:05 The Commissioner called Thomas Davis a linebacker, so I guess that’s where they’ll play him in Carolina. And I guess he won’t play safety for Cincinnati.

3:15 Sorry, I nodded off. Yep, you guessed it. Damn beer commercials.

3:19 The best linebacker finally goes off the board. Between this and the Surtain trade, Kansas City has to be better on the defensive side of the ball this year. Don’t they? Only one pick away from the Bengals. Heh, Fujita.

3:22 Tonight, a Pay Per View Event, pay $30 to watch some guy you never heard of fight another no-name!

3:28 I don’t understand advertisers who show how cool their product can make their environment when it’s so damn cold outside! The last thing I want right now is a beer that freezes over everything in the room when it’s already snowing!

3:29 Oh, good. The little lite beer commercial. Cause I missed it when you showed it the other time. You know, during all the previous breaks!

3:31 God bless the Best of Mel Kiper clip. I love when they trot out the “Who is Mel Kiper?” guy. I’ll tell that fellow one thing, Mel still have a job. You do not.

3:32 Half-Way Point. Houston takes Travis Johnson off the board. Thank you. Mark Clayton is still there. Let’s see, who else could the Bengals take… Erasmus James, David Pollack, who else am I not thinking of? I wouldn’t be surprised if we trade down, either.

3:42 Jaws is breaking down film. In April. Awesome. Supinated? How does one’s wrist get supinated?

3:44 Mort’s calling the Bengals a sleeper team. Thanks for the love.

3:45 David Pollack, very interesting. The three-time All-American. Marvin’s first defensive pick in the first round. Some compare him to Justin Smith. Johnny compares him to Charles Jefferson in Fast Time at Ridgemont High. Maderer just called me to congratulate me for getting one of his Bulldogs. Hopefully, he does better than Nagel’s Wolverine did last year. Wow, Pollack’s a bad singer. I will love to see him in a Bengal uniform, but not at a kareoke bar.

3:52 They cart out the players and Andrea Kramer and bring up the Randy Moss mooning again. I have Johnny switch over to ESPN radio cause I doubt anyone has anything new or interesting to say at this point.

3:55 Johnny is not happy that Erasmus James is off the board. The Viking gathering seems more behind this pick than their first round.

4:00 Tory’s Rams are on the clock. They go to bolster the offensive line. I think Mike Golic was just saying this guy could not play right tackle. Will he be right about Alex Barron?

4:06 They start up the Wall Street analogy again for another montage. Dallas tried to trade up a couple of times, I wonder if they tried with us.

4:09 Enthusiasm’s back in the draft room as Marcus Spears goes to Dallas. It’s deflating from Johnny as the guys he want are going to different teams.

4:11 Heh, the crowd’s chanting “Cowboys suck.”

4:14 Listening to ESPN radio right now, and they’re killling time until the TV side comes back from a looong commercial break. I wonder how many times they’ve done that today.

4:21 Amy brought custard for us, so I had to take a break to stuff my gullet. For the first time since 1:50, we saw Sean Salisbury. He was talking about another surprise pick, Jacksonville taking QB/HB/WR/TE Matt Jones. Good luck figuring out what you’re gonna do with him. He’s so athletic, he was too athletic for my Sock Draft.

4:25 Damn, the Ravens took Mark Clayton. What a bargain for them. Too bad my team has to face him twice a year.

4:27 Johnny’s Seahawks look like they’ve just traded down. Of course, ESPN will refuse to talk about the trade or give any details for several minutes.

4:31 Oakland gave up a fourth round pick to move up three spots and grab Fabian Washington. Was it worth the to pick a guy who probably would have been there anyway?

4:33 Amy alluded to the fact that Fabian being black and going to Nebraska, the guy must be able to run. And we here at the Sock Drawer appreciate all of our Nebraska readers. Send all hate mail to Amy, please.

4:41 It looks like Green Bay has a choice of QB if they want to actually find their replacement. But that wouldn’t really help them this year, would it? I hope Rodgers goes soon, they ran out of his video footage a few hours ago.

4:43 Soul Patch Aaron finally has a home. Most of the Packer fans seemed happy, although one was vehemenantly waving his arms no. There is some concern by some of the ESPN folks that they might be wasting the rest of Brett Farve’s window of opportunity by not taking a more immediate need.

4:58 I apologize to the Redskins for calling them idiots for trading to get this spot. I don’t see him helping them now, so maybe I can still call them dumb for something.

4:59 Johnny is bragging about his “ball placement.” His Seahawks are on the clock.

5:09 Johnny is thrilled to hear the ESPN folk insult Seattle receivers. He’s poised to throw his hat at the screen.

5:10 He threw some food instead.

5:11 Johnny seems surprised by the center choice. No reaction positive or negative.

5:13 He’s typing out his reaction over at his blog.

5:17 We’re seeing some coverage from ESPNU. Anyone have that cable channel? Is it any good? I kinda like taking a look at today from the collegiate level.

5:42 Took a little break, taking a beating on my Sock Draft. I only got five right out of 29.

5:45 Make that six right. The Bengals AFC North opponents are beefing up their targets. First, Braylon falling to Cleveland, Clayton drops to Baltimore, and Heath Miller lands in Pittsburgh’s lap.

5:49 These playoff teams are doing a great job of picking the guys they want and pulling the trigger without using up all the clock. It’s too little, too late, this is the longest first round in draft history. Only Detroit made a choice in a matter of minutes.

5:59 Researching the Bengals first round choice. 38% of visitors to Bengals.com give the choice an A, 28% gave a B, but 33% gave it an F. I wonder what they were looking for. Speaking of grades, Pollack scored a 30 on the Wonderlic test, so that’s good. I am a little concerned though, cause they’re going to convert him to linebacker.

6:02 The Patriots reach for an offensive line prospect, but I guess with their track record affords them some reservations.

6:05 I guess this wasn’t the longest first round ever because the actual draft didn’t start until 12:12.

6:13 Look what I just found:

I think, in honor of the newest Bengal, I may print this out and cover up Larry Fitzgerald.

6:15 Anyone play the Punisher video game? They’ve showed the commercial a few times a couple times.

6:19 The draft is picking up speed and the players are becoming more obscure to me. That’s kinda sad considering how much time I spent looking at mock drafts and whatnot.

6:59 Here’s a look at Pollack in a Bengals uniform.

I just drafted him in my latest dynasty so I’m pretty familiar with this view.

7:12 Seven hours in, the Giants are finally on the clock. The Bills and Jets haven’t even picked yet. Do the coaches even show up at the war room before five o’clock?

7:46 The Bengals just made a pick. Of course, since it happened during a commercial break, they won’t tell us what happened.

7:47 I had to go find it, but the Bengals chose linebacker Odell Thurman. We apparently really enjoy drafting Bulldogs.

7:54 The ESPN guys are making it sound like we got value with Thurman. But, it’s been eight hours so I think I’ll put this liveblog to bed. It’s been fun, but it’s been a long day. More draft talk tomorrow.

“Anyone who isn’t dead or from another plane of existence would do well to cover their ears right about now.”

I’ve talked an awful lot about mock drafts during my time on this blog, so I figured I might as well take at least one stab at creating one. As you can tell by last year’s Draft Contest of the Obscure (I only got one right),I am not that good of a prognosticator. I may also take a stab at the live blogging thing tomorrow during the draft.

Before I get into the phony picks, I did want to take this time to take some pot shots at ESPN. You can find my comments about last year’s television production on Johnny’s 2004 draft wrap-up. I really hope they get their act together this year. Maybe I’ll just turn down the volume and listen to Mike & Mike cover the event on ESPN Radio if the TV side gets bad again.

*via trades (no make believe trades here, only ones that have taken effect so far.)

1 San Francisco 49ers (2-14) Alex Smith, QB, Utah
As things look right now, Smith looks to be signed shortly. He won’t help you out this year, but I’ve got a theory that it’s always best for a coach to bring in “his guy” when he starts with a new franchise. Otherwise, he ends up getting stuck spending time trying to figure out whether or not he can work with what he’s got. By the time he’s found out the QB can’t, he’s fired.

2 Miami Dolphins (4-12) Braylen Edwards, WR, Michigan
If Smith is still here, I think they take him. Otherwise, all bets are off. Now I think they take Edwards, who many teams feel is the highest ranked player. Miami takes him, not necessarily cause they want him, but to maybe use him to get multiple picks. If not and they actually keep him, A.J. Feely could certainly benefit from a nice target.

3 Cleveland Browns (4-12) Antrel Rolle, CB, Miami
They’d love Edwards. They’d love to trade down. In this scenario where they get neither, they pick the best defensive player available.

4 Chicago Bears (5-11) Mike Williams, WR, USC
This is a big year for quarterback Rex Grossman. They’ve already given him a proven target, now they pair him with a potential playmaker and hope Jonathan Quinn doesn’t have to take any snaps.

5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11) Carnell Williams, RB, Auburn
Like I said on the NFFL blog mock draft, Jon Gruden loved this guy so much, there’s even allegations of player tampering to keep Cadillac from playing during the Senior Bowl.

6 Tennessee Titans (5-11) Cedric Benson, RB, Texas
They need a receiver, a cornerback, a linebacker, and a whole bunch of other things. Pretty much everything except a runningback. So that’s what they get here. But Chris Brown has nagging injuries and I read in a few places they’re high on this guy. Plus, the players they want are gone. Besides, they have ten other picks to get the other stuff they need.

7* Minnesota Vikings (8-8) Ronnie Brown, RB Auburn
Again, another team without a glaring runningback weakness picks a runningback. I wouldn’t be surprised if you dismissed my draft already. But the three-headed RBs aren’t as strong as they appear. Bennet is injury prone, Onterrio Smith is one more strike away from a one-year drug suspension, and many consider Mewelde Moore nothing more than a third-down back. If the Vikings felt the same way and the draft went this way, he might go to Minnesota. Then, one of those other three could be traded away. Cause, you know, it’s not like there are any runningbacks on the trading block right now.

8 Arizona Cardinals (6-10) Adam Jones, CB, West Virginia
Sure, the QB many considered a top overall pick is still waiting here and I don’t have the redbirds taking him. I think they have a bigger need in the secondary than they do under center. Warner will buy Denny Green time to figure out if Josh McCown is as good as he felt when he first came to town. If not, Rodgers won’t be ready in time to do him any good.

9 Washington Redskins (6-10) Carlos Rogers, CB, Auburn
Another team with another need at corner. The team is looking to replace the loss of Fred Smoot, who like every other player in free agency, signed with the Vikings.

10 Detroit Lions (6-10) Erasmus James, DE, Wisconsin
Nagel wants more beef on the line for his team. He doesn’t care if it’s offense or defense. Happy birthday, Nagel.

11 Dallas Cowboys (6-10) Demarcus Ware, LB/DE, Troy St.
Parcells reportedly likes this guy better than Merriman, who shot up the charts in the last month. Since he’s got a few more Super Bowl rings than me, I’ll let him have his guy.

12* San Diego Chargers (12-4) Shawne Merriman, LB/DE, Maryland
One of the few teams not *switching* to the 3-4 since they’re already there, they can use this guy to bolster an already-impressive unit. Heh. I said, “unit.”

13 Houston Texans (7-9) Alex Barron, OT, Florida State
Hey, look, they might actually spend some draft picks on a guy who will protect their QB. You remember him, David Carr Wreck. Yeessss, look at my clever play on words that is so original that no one in David’s life ever came up with that.

14 Carolina Panthers (7-9) Troy Williamson, WR, South Carolina
Not to totally copy what I said in the NFFL mock draft, but the regional guy will be asked to replace Mushin Muhammad’s output. Oh, look. I did totally copy myself.

15 Kansas City Chiefs (7-9) Marcus Spears, DE, LSU
This is the draft pick they should’ve made a few years ago. Well, not Spears, but a defensive lineman. Then maybe they wouldn’t give up more touchdowns than the Pope had mourners. Too soon?

16 New Orleans Saints (8-8) Jason Campbell, QB, Auburn
Yeah, pretty wacky pick here out of left field, huh? Maybe faking fifteen picks is making me a little loopy, but I feel like the Saints are gonna take a QB early this year. The Aaron Brooks experiment has not paid off (other than getting to see the worst two throws in NFL history) and New Orleans needs to push him to get better or push him out the door. Remember, this is a team that spent a first rounder on a runningback when they had a Ricky Williams who was more into turf than grass. So why Campbell over Rodgers? Just a hunch that they like his style better than the Tedford pupil and Cal product.

17 Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) Mark Clayton, WR, Oklahoma
Before taking his first head coaching job, Marvin Lewis was considered a defensive genius. The last two years, the defense stunk here. So, what will he do with his first pick? He’ll go offense again for the third straight year. I get the feeling from some of the stats mentioned this week that the way to help out the D is to put up a lot of points. It sounds like he’s starting to believe the best defense is a good offense. You know who said that? Mel, the cook on “Alice”. That’s also our quote of the day. Good luck guessing where it’s from. And, no, the answer’s not Alice.

18 Minnesota Vikings (8-8) David Pollack, DE, Georgia
Adding the best player in college football to a metric boatload of premiere free agents sounds like a good way to cap off the best offseason for an NFL team.

19 St. Louis Rams (8-8) Jammal Brown, OT, Oklahoma
They need help on the offensive line. Preferrably, during games and not after practice threatening their head coach. Although, some people would like Marts killed off by his own players. If they pulled that off, you can’t complain about their execution. Oh, me and my clever wordplay.

20* Dallas Cowboys (6-10) Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas
Why the hell did he fall this far down? This list must be broken. But I would guess that Parcells would not complain too much. Maybe just a little scowl.

21 Jacksonville Jaguars (9-7) Marlin Jackson, CB, Michigan
I hear the Jags need corner help. Jackson seems to be the next best guy at this position so I put him here. Not much thought here, sorry.

22 Baltimore Ravens (9-7) Jerome Mathis, WR, Hampton
Maybe it’s the soft spot I’ve develloped for the Pirates during my dynasty. I’ve taken over the school in EA’s NCAA Football 2005 and have led them to national prominance. And if that could be accomplished, then maybe a player from I-AA school could get drafted in the first round. He’ll probably be a second rounder, which is fine with me. I’d be crestfallen if I had to root against the former Hampton Pirate.

23 Seattle Seahawks (9-7) Roddy White WR UAB
I don’t know all that much about what the Seahawks need considering they are still adding players as we speak, but this is a popular name around many mocks. Johnny, Mark, do your boys need more wide-outs?

24 Green Bay Packers (10-6) Travis Johnson, DT, Florida St.
The Packers need to address their defense and quaterback. But since this franchise is in denial and has never really spent any significant amount of time finding a QB of the future, I really doubt they’ll start now.

25* Washington Redskins (10-6) Aaron Rodgers, QB, Cal
I’ve read a lot of reports that the Redskins aquired this pick to get Jason Campbell. If that’s true, than they’re morons. You make a move days in advance to get a guy who won’t be guarenteed to be here. They should’ve held on to make sure their guy is here. Maybe that’s why I had Campbell going earlier. That way, at least in this piece of fiction, the Redskins suffered for their ignorance. Their punishment: perhaps the best QB in this draft. An added bonus, how awkward would this be if Rodgers is in New York and has to wait more than four hours to step onto the stage and hold up a jersey.

26* Oakland Raiders (10-6) Justin Miller, CB, Clemson
They just traded away a corner so it’s Miller Time in Oakland. Eh, what do you want? I’m running dry on material.

27 Atlanta Falcons (11-5) Brodney Pool, S, Oklahoma
Now that I’m dry, time to get in the Pool. Good thing Atlanta needed a free safety.

28 San Diego Chargers (12-4) Khalif Barnes, OT, Washington
Here’s a guy who will protect their quarterback of the future… whoever it will be.

29 Indianapolis Colts (12-4) Matt Roth, DE, Iowa
Yeah, offense ain’t their problem. Well, except at Foxboro. Their young defense was pretty respectable last year and an end here would add nicely.

30 Pittsburgh Steelers (15-1) Heath Miller, TE, Virginia
Another target for Big Ben would be the way for them to go here. The best tight end in the draft? Yeah, he’ll do.

31 Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) Thomas Davis, OLB/S, Georgia
I heard that Davis would actually get converted to a linebacker here. Either way, he’s gonna whack a few receivers in the mouth. Hope he starts with T.O.

32 New England Patriots (14-2) Channing Crowder, ILB, Florida
The Patriots are looking for linebackers who aren’t bleeding on the inside. Too soon?

We’ll see how the real thing goes tomorrow. MOe and I are going to be at Johnny’s and, technology willing, I will be blogging my thoughts as they happen.

“Yeah? Well, the best defense is a good offense. You know who said that? Mel, the cook on Alice.”

Sports

On draft day, Marvin Lewis is going to have fun with us. Maybe even pull a Gilligan cut. He’s got a secret he won’t tell, and it ain’t that Injun Joe is ticklish. Conventional wisdom says that the Bengals would go for a defensive lineman with their first round pick. Most feel that a big DT would be an obvious way to improve their pourous ways against the run. But Marvin seems like, if he would address defensive line, he would choose end over tackle to shut down opposing runners. But the closer we get to Saturday, it seems like Cincinnati would pick history repeat itself with offense over defense for the third year in a row. Sure, Marvin didn’t pull the trigger on the Levi Jones pick in 2002, which some experts still consider a reach, but he went QB and RB the last two years. This year, could it be wide receiver? Heath Miller?

And when it comes to the later rounds, center may not be addressed this weekend. Even if offense is the first round pick, a strong safety may be taken on the first day. But maybe they’ll stay put on tight ends.

Local beat writers collaborated on the Dayton Daily News mock where Erasmus James was taken. Same with the Bengals.com mock draft. He’s the new hot name tied to the 17th pick. ESPN.com’s mock today has Troy Williamson, the speedy receiver coming to Cincinnati.

Of course, the team’s future could hinge on what the rest of the AFC North does. What will the Browns, Ravens, and Steelers do? Will Cinci’s draft plan reflect match-ups with their rivals? Will we see the other teams take more MAC Quarterbacks? This is the time of year when NFL General Managers are made and broken. What will your team do?

If you know, head over to Mark’s Annual Draft Contest and tell him!

And will UC QB #8 Gino Guidugli get drafted?

Worst mock draft ever: Mike Williams falls to Atlanta with the 27th overall pick?!? Yeah, turn in your internet access license, genius.

Lots of trade rumors and even some actual trades. Washington now has two first round picks, supposedly to target Jason Campbell. Oakland trades a troubled cornerback not named Woodson, then gets back into the first round.

By the by, here’s some of ESPN’s plans involving their Monday night NFL coverage. And here’s a sneak peek at Madden ‘06 and something called Madden Next Gen. It looks like, once again, Madden will be a presence on draft day. Looks like there will be some new additions to the game even though it’s the NFL’s official and only game. And here’s a look at NCAA Football 2006.

I’d write more, but Movable Type is acting up again. Draft’s less than 48 hours away. My mock’s in less than 24 hours, Moving Type willing.

“These five words I swear.”