Greg Cosell of NFL Films has an article on Wide Receivers in the draft and their use in the NFL. It is a very interesting read but I will share this part about Rueben Randle here:

A big wide receiver who I believe can align on the outside and run the complete route tree is LSU’s Rueben Randle (6-3, 210). The more games I watch, the more I like Randle. He is smooth and athletic, with better acceleration off the ball than either Jeffery or Sanu. In some ways, he reminds me of the New York Giants’ Hakeem Nicks, who was not drafted until the 29th pick in the first round in 2009. Nicks was the fifth wide receiver selected that year (after Darrius Heyward-Bey, Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin and Percy Harvin), but he’s clearly been the most productive of the bunch. Where Nicks has been very effective — and I project Randle playing a similar role — is at "x iso", the single receiver to one side of the formation. When you’re aligned at "x," you must be able to win versus man coverage.

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Jim Trotter at SI says that the NFLPA had acquired insurance for the players in the event that the 2011 season was lost. It appears now this information was revealed to the owners on Thursday morning and might had an impact on negotiations.

Was that the shove in the back that moved the sides closer to a potential agreement? Only the owners know for sure, but a source close to one of them said the disclosure definitely got that side's attention. Perhaps for good reason.

The common perception has been that the players' solidarity would crumble once they started missing paychecks. However the foundation beneath that line of thinking would be as solid as Jell-O if the players could couple the insurance with a large financial award from U.S. District Judge David Doty, who previously ruled the owners had illegally created a $4.3 billion lockout fund for themselves by renegotiating their TV deals at the expense of the players.

"Players Association leadership looked into this as a last possible resort to keep players together in case games would be missed," one players-side source said of the insurance war chest. "It was never intended to be used as a bargaining chip or negotiating point until things became critical."

Mike Freeman of CBS also commented on the story and it is fair to say that he was shocked by this revelation.

By playing this card, the players, at the last minute, outmaneuvered the owners. I'm told it completely stunned ownership.

Wow. Just wow, This is the second biggest piece of news to only the fact a deal is all but done. This was the players saying "checkmate."

MockingTheDraft had a live GM's mock draft about 10 days ago. The idea is that you make the pick that you expect your GM to make and I was the Panthers rep. I had meant to post the results earlier but it slipped my mind.

To channel the inner Hurney, I went in with the mindset that I will be looking at impact players at impact positions. However, I have to confess that some of these picks came off the list of players I was targetting at each pick that I sent to SetonHall (the guy who organized this). Power related issues in my area kept me from being there live for some of the picks.

I was still happy with our haul. Picks and explanations follow the jump.  You can also check the draft results by team or check the draft tracker.

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It appears that Smitty was prepared for the possibility that he would not be back with the Panthers. He was so well-prepared that he cleared out his locker and luxury suite of all his effects after the season.  The evidence just keeps piling up

• Smitty's conversations with Richardson and with Rivera.
  
• The repeated assurances that Hurney has made about keeping the our core players while taking a different tack when asked about Smitty.
• The impression that Thomas Davis gave in his WFNZ interview about him coming back.
  

The latest revelation from PFW makes this all very real. Could it be disinformation? I'm not so sure.

Sportsbook.com is taking bets on the NFL draft. The one that should interest us most:

Cam Newton: What Will his Draft Pick Position Be?

UNDER: 1.5 (-160)
OVER: 1.5 (+130)

The NFP article was posted earlier today. For live odds you can go here. At the time of writing this they are offering:

UNDER: 1.5 (-190)
OVER: 1.5 (+150)

Other interesting betting lines:

• Number of Offensive Linemen* taken in Round One: Over 6.5 (-160), Under 6.5 (+130)
• Blaine Gabbert - What Will his Draft Pick Position Be: Over 4.5 (-125), Under 4.5 (-105)
• Number of Defensive Tackles* taken in Round One: Over 4.5 (-155), Under 4.5 (+125)
• Number of Defensive Ends* taken in Round One: Over 7.5 (-115), Under 7.5 (-115)

*Positions as per NFL.com

Newton is the favorite for #1. Bills and Bengals are expected to pass on Gabbert. 7 OL  and 11 DL in the first round

What do you think?

With the draft about 9 days away, I thought we might recap some of the latest revelations from some of the more esteemed draft experts.

Rick Gosselin has released his first mock draft for the year. Bear in mind that he releases three versions using distinct methodologies. The first version follows his draft board which emphasizes B.P.A . The second version has greater emphasis on team needs than value. The third version is his final mock draft - his prediction of how the first round plays out.

Gosselin has the Panthers picking Cam Newton in his first mock draft (the BPA version). He states:

Carolina did not have a quarterback, so the Panthers did not contend. Carolina started three different quarterbacks on the way to a league-worst 2-14 finish.
The Panthers’ reward for that ineptitude is the first overall choice of the 2011 NFL draft — and the chance to select a franchise quarterback of their own.
Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football last season when he quarterbacked the Auburn Tigers to a 14-0 record and a national championship. So pencil in Newton as the first overall pick of the 2011 draft to the Panthers.
Newton is a junior college player who spent only one season at Auburn before deciding to turn pro. His inexperience is his only negative. Athletically and physically he’s off the charts, giving the Panthers hope for a much brighter future.

Newton Nation rejoice - Gosselin seems to have no qualms in the least talking up Newton. He also seems positive that the Panthers will take Newton.

Continued after the jump:

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Our regular discussion about the draft has resulted in my case, to an obsession with mock drafts. For the last week or so, I have been working on my own mock draft. It has been fluid throughout the period and will continue to evolve but I would like to present the current status.

I find this exercise fascinating and yet for someone who has not watched a lot of games and mocked many a draftnik in the past, this exercise is humbling. In creating this mock draft, I have relied on my eyes to some extent. However, I have largely depended upon the breakdowns and comments of draftniks that have impressed me. I have also relied on my understanding (probably not good) of what various teams need and would like to do. I am quite stunned so many draftniks out there that are able to do this without having multiple conversations with the respective coaches and GMs on teams. As you can imagine, this is a very fluid mock and perhaps even more so because there are so many uncertainties even within the top ten.

There is a sense of hype around the NFL Draft because the majority of these prospects will promise a lot and never come close delivering what was expected in the NFL. On the flip side, there will be one or two unheralded prospects that make the transition to the NFL and sometimes became stars for their teams. For me it remains another opportunity to learn more about this great sport. My 2 round mock follows and I have included a brief explanation for each pick in the first round. Appreciate your comments.

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Michael Silver's articles on the CBA did not go well with his readership and they let him know about. However, Silver did not take a step back and came up with a strong response.

 I believe most of us are aware of some regrettable accusations that Silver leveled at Jerry Richardson over the last few months. Before I go on, I would like to present his other side. Most interestingly,  Silver did not always hold Richardson in low regard:

A year ago, just before I unveiled these rankings, Richardson rocked my world by firing his sons, a clear sign of two things: He’s firmly back in the saddle after a heart transplant that saved his life, and he takes his role as the managing partner of an ownership group very, very seriously.

At the NFL owner meetings in Orlando last March Richardson, the management council’s point man on the labor front, made an even more emphatic statement, opening a session on the first day with a fiery speech that had some of his peers ready to run through a wall. Recalls one witness, "Jerry said, ‘We signed a [expletive] deal last time, and we’re going to stick together and take back our league and [expletive] do something about it.’ He was practically yelling. It was amazing, and it set an incredible tone." It helped that Richardson had as much credibility as anybody in the room. He’s a former player who has thrived in a small-market setting without whining about its challenges and has consistently stuck up for the interests and concerns of others. He’s also one of commissioner Roger Goodell’s closest allies and is the emblem of integrity and professionalism.

For what it’s worth I think Richardson likely had a potential lockout in mind when he resisted the temptation to fire coach John Fox after last season and throw tons of money at former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who lives in North Carolina. With Fox’s contract set to expire after the current campaign, this thing could go a lot of different ways, but I have little doubt that after the labor war ends and a new CBA is forged, Richardson will continue to push aggressively for a championship.

And for what it’s worth Danny Morrison, the former TCU athletic director who Richardson hired as team president after relieving his son Mark of those duties, has gotten positive reviews in league circles

continued after the jump...

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Given what has transpired over the last two weeks most fans would be convinced that Cam Newton would be the overwhelming favorite to go #1 in the draft with Blaine Gabbert and Patrick Peterson being outside bets. Going by all the visits and the dinners, the Panthers seem like they can't wait to have him come in and start practicing. However, recent draft updates from the likes of Todd McShay remind us that we are still early in the process. What follows is a recap of these changes:

It began with surprises in Mike Mayock's post combine top 32. Mayock definitely seems to have developed a man-crush for Marcell Dareus who is #1 on his board. Additionally, Von Miller has been slotted ahead both Patrick Peterson and A.J.Green at #2. Most interestingly, Jake Locker (#20) continues to be rated higher than Cam Newton (#21).

Other surprises: OT Anthony Castonzo is at #11 - note that Mayock and Castonzo share the same alma mater. CB Brandon Harris and OT Derek Sherrod do not figure in the list.

Von Miller appears to be a lock in the Top 5 (via raindogzilla1)

Continued after the jump...

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Reading James' article on Geoff Schwartz, I was intrigued by the reference to Rivera's comment from earlier in the year, that "offensive line is a strength". I had been surprised at the time as I felt that the pass-protection in particular had been poor throughout the season, although I was not sure that it was necessarily due to the offensive line being poor. Reminded of this comment, I did some digging and found an article written by J.J.Cooper at aolnews that was related.

Panthers QB Matt Moore spent a lot of time on the ground (via 4screens)

Cooper timed every sack during the course of the 2010 season and filtered them using a 3 second mark. His reasoning for this was  "it's a pretty fair cutoff point for where a sack can no longer be blamed on a quarterback's blockers".So you have "short sacks" that occur within 3 seconds and "longs sacks" which occur when the quarterback holds the ball longer.

Cooper then tallied the results which, to say the least, are interesting. I sorted the list a little differently, taking percentage of short sacks to total sacks taken by the quarterback. I also filtered the results to those quarterbacks that have taken a minimum of 10 sacks. Tabulated results follow.

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There was a fanshot a few of days ago announcing that Hurney would be holding a weekly chat on WBT with John Hancock. Unfortunately it did not get as much attention as deserved because Rick Gosselin of Dallas Morning News was also on the show. Rick Gosselin may not be as famous as Kiper or McShay but he has been doing these for much longer than either of them and he has been the most accurate as per The Huddle Report.

His comments on the show are worth noting and so is his top ten and risers/fallers posted recently on the website for The Dallas Morning News. What follows is a rehashing of the comments he made on WBT.

Excerpts from the radio show:

- Says it’s a "pretty good board". Says that a "big name GM" told him many years ago "No such thing as a bad draft – only bad drafters". Thinks the Panthers are going to get pretty good players at the top of each round.

- Defensive heavy first round. As many as 12 defensive linemen could go in the first round. Thinks that Marty is probably looking at Marcell Dareus and Nick Fairly. Considers both guys who can come in and be dominant inside players. Believes that Suh’s performance has had a big impact on their draft stock. Likes Dareus a little better because of his size although it could be a bit of a toss-up. More after the jump...

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Mike Mayock updated his position rankings today. Needless to say that there is plenty to discuss. We have a surprise choice for #2 QB, the #1 ranked DT is not Nick Fairley, and a couple of Badgers have a made some gains.

Update by Jaxon: I didn't catch the significance of this at the outset but think its worthy of front page discussion. I tend to listen to Mike Mayock so if he's saying Dareus is slightly ahead of Fairley I would like to know what that is based on. I imagine its partly that Fairley has really only had one good great year at the college level.

Rankings are posted after the jump.

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We have progressed from Denial through Anger and past Bargaining. I think most of us are either in Depression or slowly moving onto Acceptance. Some thoughts to help with this process:

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Just wanted to share this clip from the 49ers-Hawks game from Week 1. I am pretty sure that we saw this on film and worked on attacking Nate Clements. I know little of Clements but apparently he is one of the better corners around although I don't think that either of the corners for the 49ers showed much last night. Nevertheless, it is good to see that we had a plan and were able to execute that plan well.

Hasselbeck to Williams

I have extracted the Panthers related portion from the chat and posted following the jump. My own thoughts on some of the points are in italics

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Don't want to get into everything that went wrong but I really feel bad for Matt Moore and I have to say something about it.

- It was not his fault that Davidson seems to like telegraphing our plays to our opponents.

- It was not his fault that D-Will and J-Stew were shut down

- It was also not his fault that the O-line turned into a revolving door for the last 20 minutes of the game.

So he had a really bad second half playing a highly motivated Giants team on the road - not the end of the world. This happens to young QBs playing good aggressive Ds. We all knew he is not going to be a Manning or a Brees. We can't blame the loss on him - there is no reason to believe a change at QB will solve all the other problems that are possibly even more critical. The dude was rattled, he tried to make some plays but made bad decisions.That is something we need him to learn from. Even Manning had days like this.

I think we need to accept that we are a young team that will struggle with errors. If I were a member of that OL, I don't know how I look Moore in the eye, because the 4th quarter was horrendous and I was starting to fear for his life. When Moore had to got the hospital (scary) and Clausen had to dance around in the end zone, I thought this was it - we might lose both these guys in the first game of the season.

Moore was let down by his OL yesterday. The dude just did not deserve that and he does not deserve the calls for Clausen to take over after the first game of the season.

Some of the action from Day 3.The first clip contains QB drills and second one has WR drills.

The QBs are practicing footwork and throwing on the move. Nothing really stands out here but I I think our receivers are going to have get used to different trajectories - Pike in particular seems to have a trajectory that is quite different from the others. Like everyone has said so far Clausen does look smaller than the other QBs. 

WRs work also looks tame until the Gettis pulls off a great catch at the end of the video. I like the look of Gettis - he should keep the guys ahead of him on their toes.

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