When asked about San Francisco's quarterback situation on Monday, Niners head coach Mike Singletary responded: "We've got a ways to go. Alex [Smith] and Shaun [Hill] have to continue to compete, not so much against each other but against the best quarterbacks in the league, because that's what it's going to take to win."
I read that as saying that both QBs need to improve between now and the season, but that neither is guaranteed the starting job. Niner insider Kevin Lynch of SFGate.com had a much more definitive take on the declaration.
A year ago, Eric Mangini, still the Jets head coach, was contemplating making a quarterback change. Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens were scheduled to fight for the job, and Mangini, uninspired by his options, eventually traded for Brett Favre and released Pennington.
After an 8-3 start, the Jets, largely due to Favre's inconsistent play, finished 1-4 and missed the playoffs. Pennington signed with the Dolphins and promptly led them to the AFC East title.
Mangini is now with the Browns (and Favre is retired, at least momentarily), but last year's experiences may have influenced his decision with his new club. Leading up to last month's draft, speculation had Cleveland trading Brady Quinn. It didn't happen, and apparently there were plenty of opportunities.
The Jets have been in the market for a veteran blocking tight end for some time. They visited with such luminaries as Michael Gaines (who signed with the Bears on Monday) and Robert Royal, but missed out on both, which left them getting back together with a familiar friend. Bubba Frankshas re-signed with the team, according to Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star-Ledger.
The move is a bit of a surprise since Franks isn't really known for his blocking skills. At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, he's got the size, but he excelled as a red-zone option with the Packers, scoring 27 touchdowns from 2001-04. Injuries have limited him to just 16 games over the past two seasons, however, and he's only caught 24 passes in that time.
Tampa Bay has traded tight end Alex Smith to New England for an undisclosed draft pick in the 2010 draft. The Bucs had reportedly been looking to unload Smith ever since acquiring Kellen Winslow from the Browns at the end of February.
The Patriots weren't exactly bare at the tight end position before this move either. The Pats return Benjamin Watson and David Thomas, their two starters from last year, and signed former Jet Chris Baker to a free-agent deal.
We've already given a single post to each of the seemingly most relevant fantasy football impact players from the NFL Draft -- we say seemingly because bust-hood is always a possibility in this business -- but those are by no means the only players who might matter in this coming season. With that in mind, here are the rest of the guys who's impact will be felt:
LeSean McCoy, RB, Eagles (Round 2): If you end up with Brian Westbrook, you absolutely must have McCoy. The shifty stud from Pittsburgh is exactly the type of back Westbrook is, which means he can thrive in this offense.
Last summer, as Nate Davis prepared for his junior season at Ball St., some scouts thought he had the potential to be a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He got off to a fast start but shaky showings against non-MAC teams -- including Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl -- raised questions about his productivity.
Then, at the NFL Combine, Davis measured only 6'1", struggled through the passing drills, and that was the beginning of a tumultuous few months. In March, only one team attended his pro day, and the news that he might suffer from a learning disability further lessened his draft value.
Michael Crabtree was supposed to be a top five pick. He was supposed to be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks and slot right into the west coast offense that they run. Then the crazy first round of this year's NFL Draft happened and Crabtree was in a freefall.
He landed with the San Francisco 49ers and for fantasy owners, that's freaking horrible news (like finding out you posed for the picture to the right).
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.
Like their neighbors across the bay, the San Francisco 49ers are mired in a string of futility, failing to make the playoffs since the 2002 season. Thanks to a strong finish in 2008 and what is, perhaps, the weakest division in the NFL, there should be some optimism in San Francisco heading into 2009. What do the 49ers need to return to glory?
I mention this to reinforce the importance of the No. 1 pick; get it right and the Lions could emerge from Matt Millen's reign of terror faster than anybody imagined; get it wrong and Detroit's future will look a lot like its recent past.
When asked about San Francisco's quarterback situation on Monday, Niners head coach Mike Singletary responded: "We've got a ways to go. Alex [Smith] and Shaun [Hill] have to continue to compete, not so much against each other but against the best quarterbacks in the league, because that's what it's going to take to win."
A year ago, 
The Jets have been in the market for a veteran blocking tight end for some time. They visited with such luminaries as 
Tampa Bay has traded tight end 
We've already given a 
Last summer, as 
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call 
In less than two weeks, the Detroit Lions will have the first overall selection in the NFL Draft. Depending on who's telling the story, 
