POSTED 7:34 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

LEAGUE STOMPS ON VICK'S LEG

To the surprise of no one, former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick was not among the 255 players selected in the 2006 draft.

Were there 255 players better than Vick last season?  Hardly.  But in an era where character means more than ever (except in Cincinnati), Marcus and his various misadventures equated to a one way ticket to street free agency.

Assuming, of course, that anyone will sign him.

Adding insult to indignity was the fact that the team for which the brother of Marcus is the starting signal-caller selected in the seventh round of the quarterback an athletic young quarterback who, like Marcus, was a starter at the college level for only one year.

So it was D. J. Shockley, not Marcus Vick, who'll get to play pro football in Atlanta.  And if Marcus truly thinks he can be a better quarterback than his big brother, Marcus surely believes that he's already a better quarterback, in every way, than Shockley.

It'll be very interesting to see what, if anything, Michael Vick has to say about this one.  Given that he's been popping off about anything else that's been on his mind this offseason, we figure that it's only a matter of time before Michael takes a swipe at management for dissing his kin.

POSTED 3:41 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

BENGALS CRITICIZED FOR COLLECTING TURDS

The recent addition of USC defensive end Frostee Rucker and Florida State linebacker A. J. Nicholson has prompted one high-level league source to question the continued collection of players of questionable character by Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.

"What the f--- are they doing?" said the source.  "Rucker and Nicholson?  Give me a break.  They are sabotaging the organization by picking bad players like [Odell] Thurman, [Chris] Henry, and those two."

Nicholson was suspended by the Seminoles prior to the Orange Bowl after an alleged sexual assault.  Rucker had been removed from the draft boards of multiple teams for reasons, as we hear it, unrelated to his performance or skill.

The Bengals selected Thurman and Henry in 2005.  Thurman was benched for the early portion of a game during his rookie season, and there were constant whispers and rumblings of repeated violations of team rules.  He was actually kicked off of the Georgia team during his freshman year due to multiple disciplinary issues, including a bar fight.  Henry was arrested in December for possession of marijuana, and he faces far more serious charges of felony assault in Florida after allegedly pointing a gun at a group of folks in the offseason.

Meanwhile, there continues to be concern that Lewis is showing excessively favorable treatment to receiver Chad Johnson, who recently scored an extension to a contract that still had four years left on it -- even after reportedly sparking a locker room brouhaha during halftime of the team's playoff loss to the Steelers.

POSTED 3:12 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

McNAIR TO BE A FORMER TITAN ANY TIME NOW

Agent Bus Cook says that he expects his client, Steve McNair, to be traded or cut by the Tennessee Titans as soon as Sunday. 

“Something could happen today, maybe a trade, or maybe being released,” Cook told the Nashville City Paper.

The most likely destination?  The Ravens. 

We've previously reported that McNair is a sure thing to land with Baltimore, which has refrained from signing a veteran quarterback in the obvious hope that McNair eventually will come free.

POSTED 1:18 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

RAIDERS MOVING BING TO 'BACKER

Adam Schefter reports that the Oakland Raiders will move fourth-round selection Darnell Bing from safety to linebacker.

Bing, who like most of his USC colleagues ended up sliding in the draft, is considered a little slow to be a safety, but he'll be regarded as fast for a linebacker.  And he's definitely got the size to make it work.

EAGLES FINALLY TRADE THOMAS

After weeks of dangling defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, the Eagles finally have swung a deal, sending him to the Saints in exchange for a flip-flop of fourth-round picks.

With the higher spot in round four, the Eagles drafted gigantic Georgia guard Max Jean-Gilles.

Hollis is entering the final year of his contract, at a base salary of $710,000.

POSTED 12:54 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

BRONCOS UNLIKELY TO DRAFT LITTLE MIKE

Although we were holding out hope that the Broncos would throw a second-day pick on Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, a move made by the team in round four virtually guarantees that Marcus won't be wearing a dark blue helmet with the Shannon Sharpe's profile on each side.

With the 126th pick in the draft, the Broncos selected Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil.

Dumervil is the guy onto whose leg Marcus stomped during the second quarter of the Gator Bowl, and that incident was the first step in a string of dominoes that resulted in Vick's exile from the Hokie program.  Vick later claimed that he apologized for the cleat treatment, but Dumervil said Marcus didn't.

Could the two players co-exist in the same locker room?  Maybe.  But from a media standpoint, the constant attention and jokes and references to the link between the two guys makes the move impractical.

Then again, the Broncos drafted Mo Clarett a year ago -- so we really can't rule out anything.

POSTED 12:42 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

RUMORS OF CARROLL RETURN TO NFL ALREADY CHURNING

In the wake of arguably that worst seven-day stretch that any elite college football program ever has endured, there already are rumors wiggling along the NFL grapevine regarding a possible return by USC coach Pete Carroll to the pro game in 2007.

As the rumor goes, Carroll has concluded that he has little or no control over the kids on the team beyond the white lines.

The problem is that Carroll's star has been tarnished (in our view) by the recent string of embarrassing episodes involving Reggie Bush, Winston Justice, LenDale White, Mark Sanchez, and Dwayne Jarrett.  Although Carroll likely will be in the mix for any vacancies that arise after the 2006 season, he might not be the top-of-the-list, no-brainer candidate that he was in 2005 -- and he also likely won't be in position to dictate the terms of his arrival (such as full control over personnel decisions and a front-office job for long-time pal Pat Kirwan).

Prime candidates for Carroll's services could be the Chargers, Cowboys, and Ravens.

"LIGHTS OUT" GUARANTEES SUPER BOWL APPEARANCE

In an appearance with ESPN's Sean "My Collar Is Open This Weekend Because My Shirts No Longer Fit My Neck" Salisbury, Chargers linebacker Shawn Merriman has guaranteed that the Chargers will make an appearance in Super Bowl XLI.

What does it mean?  Not much, since just about everyone these days is making sports-related "guarantees" on which they don't deliver.  Indeed, the stigma of a failed "guarantee" used to make them even more rare than the triple-dog dare. 

But not anymore.

Still, Merriman's comments put even more pressure on the coaching staff and the front office to deliver big in 2006.  Or else.

POSTED 12:16 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

BELICHICK CRAZY LIKE A FOX, AGAIN?

The New England Patriots burned a fourth-round pick on Memphis kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

Who?

Exactly.

The fourth-round is high to take any kicker this year.  For Gostkowski, going off of the board in round four is even more of a stretch, given that ESPN's Mel Kiper didn't even include Gostkowski among his five highest-rated kicking prospects.

Our take?  Pats coach Bill Belichick and V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli have eight Super Bowl rings between them.  Mel has as many as we do.

So we'll give the Patriots the benefit of the doubt on this one.

POSTED 12:09 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

HARRINGTON SITUATION GETTING UGLIER (OR LIONS GETTING STUPIDER)

John Clayton of ESPN.com reports that the Detroit Lions are considering a challenge to the financial arrangement that quarterback Joey Harrington has worked out with the Miami Dolphins.

The Lions decided several weeks back to part ways with Harrington.  Instead of cutting the No. 3 overall pick in the 2002 draft, the Lions have been trying to get value for him via a trade.  It's a foregone conclusion that, if the Lions can't trade him before June 15, when Harrington is due to receive a $4 million roster bonus, Harrington will be released.

So Harrington and his agent, David Dunn, engaged in talks with teams like the Bengals and the Dolphins in effort to work out a new financial agreement.  After all, no team is going to give up a draft pick and then assume a contract requiring it to cough up $4 million in less than two months.

Harrington and Dunn worked out a deal with the Dolphins, and Dunn recently announced that Harrington wants to go there. 

The only glitch?  The Lions and the Fins can't get together on compensation.

Now, the Lions are complaining about the deal that they invited Harrington and Dunn to make with the Fins in an effort to secure a trade.

Because Harrington has in hand an acceptable financial package with the Dolphins, Joey apparently is refusing to work with the Browns or Broncos or anyone else who might be interested in acquiring him.  But Harrington has no obligation to restructure his deal.  If Cleveland or Denver want to acquire his rights, they acquire the whole package -- including the $4 million roster bonus.

Obviously, no team will work out a trade until after they first work out an acceptable financial package.  In this case, the Dolphins worked out the terms with Harrington, but then reached an impasse with the Lions.

The best move for the Lions at this point would be to shut up.  They created this mess.  The blame for the fact that it's not being cleaned up in the manner that the Lions prefer falls only to the Lions.

POSTED 11:56 a.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

EAGLES DEAL TACKLE TO VIKINGS

A league source tells us that the Philadelphia Eagles have traded tackle Artis Hicks to the Vikings. 

Hicks was signed by Philly as an undrafted free agent in 2002, and has spent four seasons with the team.  He is under contract through 2009, at base salaries of $750,000, $750,000, $775,000, and $825,000.

No word yet on what the Eagles got in return.  We hope it was Fran Foley. 

POSTED 11:14 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:28 a.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

WROTEN HAD ANOTHER POSITIVE

A league source tells us that former LSU defensive tackle Claude Wroten, selected in round three by the Rams on Saturday, tested positive in a drug test imposed by one of the 32 NFL teams during a pre-draft visit.

Contrary to positive results generated at the scouting combine, which are communicated to all 32 teams, the results of drug tests conducted by specific teams are not made available to the rest of the league.

An industry source tells us that Rams coach Scott Linehan received specific guarantees from his former boss, Miami coach Nick Saban, regarding Wroten's character.  Saban coached Wroten at LSU before joining the Dolphins.

But we wonder whether Saban and any former LSU assistant coaches now working for the Fins told Linehan the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Wroten.  If, after all, Wroten is the shiznit, despite his apparent affinity for the whizneed, wouldn't the Fins want to grease his fall, so that they might get him at a lower spot?

The more likely explanation is that the Dolphins were happy to get him off the board at No. 68, since it pushed down toward them at No. 82 one of the guys that Saban and staff were targeting.

Bottom line -- the Rams should have stayed away from Wroten, especially if he tested positive not once but twice during the run-up to the draft.  

LENDALE DIDN'T TEST POSITIVE AT COMBINE

Although it's possible that published reports of a pre-draft positive drug test by USC running back LenDale White are accurate, a league source tells us reports that White tested positive at the scouting combine are completely and totally false.

The problem?  Because the results of tests conducted by individual teams aren't generally available, there's no way for anyone other than the team who conducted the test to know for sure whether White really did test positive.

We know what you're thinking -- so why did PFT then give credence to the information set forther above regarding LSU defensive tackle Claude Wroten's positive result during a team visit?  First, we know our source for that info well, and we trust him.  Second, the report of Wroten's second positive came out after he was drafted, meaning that the news would not impact negatively his status.  In contrast, the news about White broke on the eve of the draft, and possibly contributed to his slide to the middle of round two.  Third, Wroten's issues with a Mexican girl who changed her name to Mary Jane after she illegally entered the country and rented a house in the 'burbs are well documented.  For White, the suggestion that he tested positive for any banned substance was a new red flag in a growing sea of them.

POSTED 7:51 a.m. EDT, April 30, 2006

WORST WEEK EVER FOR ELITE D-I PROGRAM

Sure, there are a few NCAA football programs that have seen challenging days.  Once upon a time, SMU was a legitimate high-end powerhouse -- and then it got the death penalty for major NCAA violations.  And most of the Marshall football team and coaching staff died in a 1970 plane crash (including former Virginia Tech All-American Frank Loria, a cousin to Mrs. Florio).

But we can't think of a worse seven-day period for an elite, top-three program.

The USC Trojans are simply falling apart.  And based on everything we've heard from our various sources, this whole mess will continue to get even worse.

It started seven days ago, when Yahoo! Sports reported that Reggie Bush's family had been in a house owned by a man who was hoping to handle Bush's marketing work.  As the week unfolded, Bush and his people inflamed the situation through some ill-advised public comments, eventually prompting the owner of the house, Michael Michaels, and his lawyer to unload with allegations of $100,000 in cash payments to the Bush family and plans to file a $3.2 million lawsuit fraudulently inducing Michaels to spend more than $300,000 under the premise that his sports marketing company would be representing Bush.

On Friday night, we were the first to connect the dots regarding the timing of the initial $28,000 paid to Bush's stepfather and the possibility that the Trojans could, in the end, lose their 2004 national title.

And the Bush story has triggered broader scrutiny of USC players.  But by the time the media flipped the switch on the light over the kitchen sink, it was far too late for the cockroaches to scatter.

The most recent news?  Quarterback Matt Leinart and receiver Dwayne Jarrett were living last season in a $3,866-per-month condo, but Jarrett was paying far less than 50 percent of the rent.  Instead, both players ponied up $650 each, and Matt Leinart's father, Bob, picked up the difference.

The key here is that Bob Leinart apparently has taken a very active role in the representation of his son.  Indeed, the stories of LaMar Griffin's effort to put together a sports marketing firm to handle the representation of his stepson Reggie Bush reminded us of all of the reports and rumors we've heard of Bob Leinart's central involvement in the activities surrounding Reggie's quarterback.

So if Bob Leinart has somehow become an "agent" as a result of his work in connection with Matt, the provision of any benefit to Jarrett could give rise to the same eligibility issues that are now hovering over Bush's Heisman.

The difference?  Jarrett still has remaining eligibility, which means that the Trojans at some point might have to apply to get his eligibility reinstated.

Apart from the Bush and Jarrett eligibility questions, Trojans quarterback Mark "DJ Dirty" Sanchez was arrested on charges of sexual assault, and nearly every USC prospect was picked lower in the draft than expected, with the exception of only guard Taitusi Latui.

Last year's presumed No. 1 pick, Matt Leinart, fell to No. 10.  This year's wire-to-wire No. 1, Reggie Bush, went second.  Winston Justice plunged out of the first round, as did LenDale White.

Regardless of what happens next -- and we're convinced that there's still a lot of bad stuff to come for the Trojans -- this past week has been about as bad as it can get.

And, in the end, we're certain that one thing coach Pete Carroll and Matt Leinart will have in common going forward is that they didn't make the leap to the NFL at a time when their stock was at its peak.  Even though Carroll hasn't lost any more games on the field since the Rose Bowl, his image has taken an enormous hit, and there's no way he'll have the same amount of juice in the next NFL head coach hiring cycle.