We are less than 50 days away from the NFL Draft - and there's still plenty of news to talk about.
T.O. SIGNS WITH BUFFALO
As you all surely know, Terrell Owens signed a one year deal on Saturday with the Buffalo Bills. And as some of you probably noticed, I really haven't said anything about the move by the Bills.
Why? Because I simply don't care. Owens will spend the year playing in Buffalo. I'm not sure who I feel worse for - Owens, for having to spend a year in Buffalo, or the Bills, who are probably going to regret signing Owens once he starts acting like the egomaniac that he is.
And it's only a one year deal. So I don't see how this move benefits Buffalo - other than the extra tickets they will sell and the added media attention Owens will bring. The addition of Owens doesn't make Buffalo Super Bowl contenders; nor does it help them build for the future. So what's the point?
Here's what I know. Dick Jauron is still Buffalo's head coach. And more importantly, Trent Edwards is still their quarterback. If Owens wasn't happy getting the ball thrown to him by Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, and Tony Romo, then how the hell is he going to be satisfied with Trent Edwards (who has more career turnovers than touchdown passes) as his quarterback?
FINS SHOWING INTEREST IN THE DRAFT'S CORNERBACKS
Barry Jackson's latest article for the Miami Herald was filled with some good little nuggets. But I wanted to highlight two in particular - mainly because it seems the Dolphins are showing interest in the very two cornerbacks that I like the most in April's draft - Utah's Sean Smith and UCONN's Darius Butler.
Here's what the article reports about Smith:
Sean Smith interests the Dolphins, who met with him and want another private session Monday at Utah's Pro Day. ''There are not many 6-3 corners,'' Mayock said. "But he's got a chance to be a good NFL corner, though you cannot leave him in man coverage all day.''
It'll be very interesting to read reports on Utah's Pro Day. At the Scouting Combine, Smith, at 6'3, ran one of the better 40 yard dash times among the cornerbacks - clocking in a 4.53. But there are now reports that claim the Combine's equipment may have malfunctioned. But if Smith can run a similar - or even better - 40 time at his workout and package that with a solid display of technique during his "on-field" workout, his stock is really going to begin to soar.
As far as Darius Butler goes, reports indicate that the Dolphins also have a lot of interest in him. Per the article:
Connecticut's Darius Butler said Miami and Baltimore ''are showing a lot of interest'' in him, and NFL Network's Mike Mayock said Butler could be the best corner available to Miami at No. 25.
Butler, from Coral Springs Charter, said he saw general manager Jeff Ireland at some of his games; met with Ireland and Tony Sparano at the Senior Bowl and NFL combine; and got good feedback from Bill Parcells in January: ``The first thing he said was how much stuff he heard about me from [Dolphins guard and ex-college teammate] Donald Thomas.''
The article adds that Butler has spent time working out with Deion Sanders recently - and that Butler has said "Miami would be a dream." What's not to like about that?
In all seriousness, though, Butler's Pro Day - which is on March 25 - will be a critical day for Butler. Butler ran an unofficial 4.45 40 time at the Combine - but it was corrected up to a 4.53 "official" time. Again, with the timing equipment malfunctioning, Butler's time at his workout will be something to note.
Butler is also intruiging because of his 43" vertical leap - the 2nd best figure among all participants at the Combine. At a little over 5'10, that vertical gives Butler the ability to defend bigger receivers in the NFL.
For more on Butler, I suggest checking out this fanpost by one of our community members.
QUICK HITS
-Barry Jackson also writes that the Dolphins want Samson Satele to compete with Donald Thomas for the starting RG job.
-On his weekly television show, Drew Rosenhaus said that Samson Satele could be traded. He also claims that the Dolphins would be willing to welcome Jason Taylor back - but other teams might be more interested in him.
FINAL THOUGHT
One thing I really don't understand is why everyone is suddenly all panicked about the Dolphins' cornerback situation following the Bills' signing of Terrell Owens. This is nothing new. We all already knew that the Dolphins have some issues at corner. Owens being a Bill doesn't change anything. And it's not going to change the plan that Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland have in place.
A one-year rental of a 35 year old, loud-mouth wide receiver isn't suddenly going to panic Parcells and Ireland. They aren't going to deviate from their plan just because the Bills have a new receiver. That would be assanine and would reek of fear and desperation - two emotions that I'm not even sure these two gentlemen possess.