By Fanspeak Contributing Writer Geoff Nelowet:

The Atlantic Coast Conference has been known as a basketball power for decades, and year after year, Duke and North Carolina take center stage. Either the Blue Devils or Tar Heels has won the ACC regular season title over the last six seasons, but this could be the first year in a long time that neither of the perennial powers wins the conference.

This year, parity is abundant, as Maryland, Virginia Tech and bottom-feeder Virginia are in the top four of the conference with Duke in second. Maryland is now 4-1 in conference play, and they have won against ACC foes by an average of over 17 points.

Senior guard Greivis Vasquez, who is averaging 17.8 points and 6.2 assists per game, leads Maryland. He is a frontrunner for ACC player of the year, and he is a shoe-in for the All-ACC team. Senior forward Landon Milbourne has also chipped in scoring almost 15 points per contest.

The Terps got off to a shaky start this season in non-conference play. Although four of their five losses came against proven opponents in Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Villanova and Wake forest, they also have a home loss to William & Mary, which instilled a lack of confidence of the team’s potential early in the season. Maryland has bounced back winning four of five conference games to sit alone in first place in the ACC.

The Virginia Cavaliers have also found good fortune this season, as they won their first three conference games – a feat UVA has not accomplished in 15 years. The Cavaliers are led by sophomore shooting guard Sylven Landesberg, who is averaging over 17 points a game. Junior forward Mike Scott has also played a major role averaging over 13 points and 7 rebounds per game.

The Cavaliers rely on their strong defense to win games, and at times their scoring ability can be problematic. When Landesberg is on the bench, the Cavs lose a noticeable dimension to their attack, and they have gone long stretches appearing inept with the ball in their hands with Landesberg off the court.  Virginia has now lost two straight ACC games. They are still fourth in the conference – just behind Virginia Tech, who they lost to at home this past Thursday night. The young Cavs will have to prove that their wins over ranked and ACC opponents were not a fluke.

Virginia Tech, now third in the ACC, is 16-3, and they have won three ACC games. They have played a relatively weak non-conference schedule, which brings into question how they will fair as they get into the thick of their conference schedule, as they are still virtually unproven. Junior guard Malcolm Delaney has dominated this season, and he leads the ACC in scoring at 19.9 points per game.

This may be an anomaly of a year in the ACC with surprises atop the conference and UNC falling back to the middle of the pack. Teams such as Virginia, Virginia Tech Maryland should look to take advantage of essentially a down year in the ACC with the conference title open to all takers.

If I told you that the score of last night’s Panthers-Capitals game was 4-1, that the Capitals had to start their 3rd string goalie, Ovechkin and Semin were held without a goal, and Mike Green left the game in the middle of the 2nd period, you’d probably conclude Washington’s win streak was snapped. But, that was not the case last night. Even with all the odds stacked against them, not only did the Capitals win, but they dominated the Florida Panthers to take their their 9th game in a row. Washington has a 6 point lead in the Eastern Conference, and has been playing their best hockey of the season, despite having to get starts in 3 of the last 4 games from rookie net-minder Michal Neuvirth.

Neuvirth, who was called up because the Caps ‘other’ young goaltender Seymon Varlamov is injured, has made the most of his time with the team going 8-4. Neuvirth actually has a better Goals Against Average (GAA) and save percentage, than the Caps top line veteran goalie Jose Theodore (though both are well behind Varlamov in both categories). While Neuvirth’s time with the team may be coming to an end, with both Varlamov and Theodore on the mend, one can not overstate his importance to the Capitals (especially during this streak).

Washington will go for their 10th win on Sunday against the Lightning. While it might seem like there is so much of the season left, and that it doesn’t matter as much that the Caps have a big lead in the Eastern Conference, but this season isn’t a normal one. With the Olympic break coming up in just over 2 weeks, there is extra incentive for the Capitals to jump out to a big lead in the Conference.

There is so much uncertainty when it comes to the Olympics, with the chance that star players could get injured, or that the rest of the team is rusty because they haven’t played meaningful hockey in two weeks. Also there is the very real possibility that the team’s chemistry is off given the players coming back from being on different teams. If the Capitals can maintain this big lead into the break, then I think that will help take some of the pressure off when the season starts up again in March. Right now Washington is the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, and with the way they’ve dominated their opponents during this 9 game stretch, no one from either Conference should want to play them in a 7-game series.

Simply put it was the wrong decision. There are two main changes and both are having a negative effect on the game. The first is moving the game from Hawaii. I know the hope was to get more fan support and make it easier to sell out the game if it was in the Continental United States, but the NFL took away the one tie they had with the islands, as well as an added bonus for players to go and play in the game. While I realize its cheaper for the NFL and fans alike to stay on the mainland with the Pro Bowl, I think it would be a mistake to completely ignore the tradition and benefit of Hawaii. If this year showed us anything, it is that players could use another reason to go to the game, with all the players not playing in the game.

It is a pretty sad sight when David Garrard is one of the three AFC Pro Bowl Quarterbacks (Vince Young isn’t much better of a choice either). Garrard hasn’t exactly set the league by storm in his career, and last year was no exception. Garrard ranked 9th in the AFC in quarterback rating (Young was 10th, but in fairness he played only two-thirds a season) and none of his other numbers were much better. What’s worse about Garrard is that this “Pro Bowl caliber” quarterback, might not even be with the Jaguars next season because of his ineffectiveness (more likely he will be warming the spot for some rookie for one more year). His own team questions his ability to lead yet, yet he is one of the field generals for the conference?

In actuality, moving the game from Hawaii isn’t the real reason why the David Garrard’s of league are playing in the game this Sunday. But rather the decision to move the game to the week before the Super Bowl. On paper I think the idea made sense (especially with playing the game in Miami). It keeps the NFL in the news during a week where little attention is given to it. More fans are apt to come out to the game and events with the Super Bowl in town the next week. But, I think the NFL forgot about the biggest issue of playing the game the week before the Super Bowl, and that is that none of those players are available for the Pro Bowl. This year that means 14 players who were selected for the Pro Bowl (and would have been more if the Vikings, Cowboys or Eagles were in the Super Bowl) won’t be available. That’s quite a big chunk of the rosters. What’s even worse is the NFL is making the Super Bowl Pro Bowlers to make an appearance at the game, even if they are injured. They should be healing up and working on getting ready for the biggest game of their life, not attending the Pro Bowl.

While it seemed like a good idea on paper to move the Pro Bowl, to increase attention and fan support, I think it ended up backfiring in the end. Hopefully the league will go back to the original format and look on ways to make that better. And hopefully we won’t be seeing anymore David Garrard sightings in the Pro Bowl.

Finally after a month of new stories and speculation, there is a resolution in the Gilbert Arenas/Javaris Crittenton gun case (though not completely since the contract issue still needs to be resolved). NBA commissioner David Stern announced that both players will be suspended without pay for the remainder of the season. This was a strong and bold step for the NBA, and was interesting on a few levels. The first being the length of the suspensions, which will be two of the longest in NBA history. Hopefully, they will send a bold and clear message that NBA players, either stars like Arenas or backups like Crittenton, aren’t above the law and consequences for their actions.

The other interesting thing about these suspensions is its based them breaking NBA bylaws of bringing weapons to the arena, rather than the criminal charges. Now whether they did this because the charges against Arenas and Crittenton were pleaded down so far, or they wanted to show the supremacy of the NBA is unclear. Either way it sets a smart precedent for the league, to be able to take action against a player regardless of the criminal case.

While a lot can be said about Gilbert Arenas for his actions and the way he handled himself with this whole situation, I do give him credit for admitting his guilt and supporting Stern’s decision to suspend him for the rest of the season. I think not having a protracted court battle, or players union fight is good for the League, the Wizards and Arenas himself.

Now it will be interesting to see how the contract situation plays out and whether or not the Wizards go ahead with plans to void his contract. They will probably wait until after his sentencing in March to see just how much legal standing they have. I think they will go ahead with it, regardless of how much time Arenas gets. His complete admission of guilt, NBA suspension, and felony conviction seemingly give the Wizards enough cause to void the contract. I also think its pretty clear that NBA will fully support the Wizards if they try to void the contract, as they have shown a no tolerance policy in this case and I don’t see them letting up. Also, I have to believe that with Arenas not having the players association to fight the suspension, it could make it harder for them to mount a case to fight the voiding of the contract.

It will be an interesting story to watch this spring and summer as to whether or not they can void the contract. Either way I commend the NBA and the Wizards for being strict and definitive in this process. Hopefully this will send a message to players and fans alike, that the League is serious about personal conduct and obeying the law.

When I tuned in last night to (1) Kentucky at South Carolina, I did so because I hadn’t seen them in a little while and I wanted to seee how their 4 potential 1st round picks in this June’s NBA draft were doing. PG John Wall and F/C DeMarcus Cousins did not disappoint, both having great games. While F Patrick Patterson and G Eric Bledsoe were both relatively quiet, they flashed talent that has NBA scouts salivating. Even with 4 potential lottery picks on the floor, the most impressive player and the guy who couldn’t be stopped was South Carolina’s PG Devan Downey.

Wall stands 6’4″ and is the prototypical size for an NBA point guard. And despite being a true freshman, Wall is one of the front runners for Player of the Year and easily considered the best point guard in College Basketball. His backup/back court mate Eric Bledsoe is 6’1″ and is thought of as potentially the 2nd best point guard in the nation. Last night though, it was pretty evident who the best point guard on the floor (in the nation) was, Devan Downey. Downey stands at just 5’9″ (I’m going to go out on a limb here and say he’s probably more like 5’8″), but could not be stopped by the bigger Wall or Bledsoe, one of whom was on Downey all night.

Downey went for 30 points last night, and added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Downey’s stat line doesn’t tell the whole story, as he literally carried the Gamecocks on his back to a 68-62 upset over the number 1 ranked team in the nation. His drive and determination were 2nd to none, and his heart made up for any size disadvantage on the court. Overall it was one of the gutsiest performances I’ve seen on a basketball court in quite sometime. While this might be the highpoint in the Gamecocks season this year, I hope people will take notice of Downey and look past his size and see just how good he is.

Now I know a 5’9″ (5’8″) point guard is unlikely to make it in the NBA, no matter how many times he can’t be stopped by Wall/Bledsoe (or any other guard in the country). But Downey should be an exception to that standard. Someone should draft Downey come June, and whoever does could get great value out of the 2nd round pick. He may never be a star at the next level because of his size, but his heart will allow him to play in the NBA.  Downey won’t be the biggest player on the court, but he’ll play like it, if you give him the chance.

There has been a lot of talk recently of the General Managers and commissioner Selig getting together on ways to fix Major League Baseball’s amateur draft (Buster Olney has an excellent article about the issue at ESPN, subscription required). The crux of the problem is that there is a major disparity between teams that spend money on big signing bonuses and those who don’t. As a result some of the best young talents slide 5, 10, even 20 spots in the first round. On top of that teams will handout signing bonuses of 1st or 2nd round money to players all throughout their draft class.

Right now there is a ‘slotting’ system in place, where each draft position has a ‘recommended’ bonus. Unfortunately, there is no real tangible penalty the league can enforce for going over slot. And the only teams the league can put pressure on are the small market teams (aka the ones who can least afford to go cheap in the draft) by withholding money or events. Now there are a number of ways the league could look to improve/fix the draft, but I think the area they should focus on; are the trading of draft picks and players rights.

Before I get into my proposal, I wanted to highlight the option that seemingly is the one most bandied about, hard slotting. Hard slotting is essentially assigning a bonus amount for each draft slot and if the player signs thats what they get. Now that is glossing over it a bit, but it would make the MLB Draft similar to the NBA draft. The problem with that is there are few similarities between the MLB and NBA in player development. In the NBA, players are ready to enter the league and for the most part begin their career from day one. In Baseball even the elite prospects need a year or more of minor league development time. There is a greater uncertainty of MLB prospects even making it to the big leagues, much less having successful careers. That is why the draft is 50 rounds (though teams sign traditionally between 25-35 players, sometimes more) compared to 2 rounds for the NBA.

In other leagues, the draft is usually predicated on team needs, baseball is the exception to that rule, since they can’t predict the impact of a particular player. Another issue for baseball teams is that their prospects have considerable more leverage than other sports. In NFL or NBA if you are drafted, you sign or hold out. In baseball if you are drafted not only can you sign or hold out, but players can decide to go to/back to college, or even play in independent ball for a season. With this extra leverage teams have to pay a higher price for talent. If there was a hard slotting system, plenty of mid-round players who sign for first round money would simply just go to school instead of now signing for 4th or 5th round money. Hard slotting would limit the talent pool each season, and make it harder to rebuild through the draft (though I’m sure colleges would be happy). For these reasons baseball teams need more flexibility in building their roster, and a deeper talent pool, two things they can’t do with hard slotting in place.

What Baseball does need to do is allow the trading of draft picks or draft rights. As it stands now draft slots can’t be traded and any player who is drafted must not only sign with his drafted team, but also be with the organization for a year after signing until he can be traded. The one semi-workaround of this archaic rule is the “Player To Be Named Later” (PTBNL) rule that allows a six-month window to ‘name’ the player, so a player drafted in June could be traded the following December or January as a PTBNL. Even in that instance a player needs to sign with that original team, before he could be named as a PTBNL. This is easily the worst rule in baseball, and one that again hurts the wrong teams. The rule is in effect so small market teams won’t “sell” a player or pick to a big market team for just cash. And that I understand, draft picks shouldn’t be sold if the original team isn’t getting any ‘baseball’ value back. But is the eliminating of all trading the only way to ensure this? The league already must approve any trade of over $1 million dollars in cash changing hands…wouldn’t that bylaw stop any shady transactions? Now instead of a big market team like the Yankees or Red Sox having to trade up for a top prospect, and they stay where they are and still potentially get that player.

The best example of why this rule is out of date is this past year’s draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles, two rebuilding franchises, who had each spent big money on a single prospect over the past two years, selected 4th and 5th in the draft. With the top talents Strasburg and Ackley off the board, they were left looking at an industry consensus of a number of high potential pitching arms to choose from. The problem is most of those players were rumored to be asking for bonuses between $5-7 million, so instead of drafting one of those arms the decided to draft 1st round talents (though not considered top-5) who would sign for the recommended ’slot’. While it looks as though the Pirates and Orioles took the ‘cheap way’ out, they spent the money they saved on their 1st round pick later in the draft signing a number of players for more than ‘slot’. They ended up being the 5th and 6th biggest spenders in last years draft (according to numbers compiled by Baseball America). They ended up being punished for their not wanting to break the bank on a particular player, and going with quality-quantity over one big name prospect. If they had been able to trade back they could have still gotten the player they wanted, as well as additional draft picks later to further deepen their impressive draft classes. In addition they actually “overpaid” their draft picks, since if they traded back and drafted them 5-10 spots later their ‘slot’ value would be less. The trading of picks has no downside in today’s game of baseball and will allow teams who aren’t in love with the industry consensus player, to get extra value out of their pick.

Just How Good is Peyton Manning?:  When the Colts were down by 11, I think the Jets and their fans thought they could be Super Bowl bound, but they forgot about Manning. He absolutely went off on the number 1 ranked defense yesterday. And it didn’t seem to bother him that Darrelle Revis took away half the field, because Manning dominated the other half. For all we hear about Manning’s weapons of Wayne and Clark (a pair of former 1st round picks), it was Pierre Garcon (6th round 2008, Mount Union) and Austin Collie (4th round 2009, BYU) that dominated the Jets defense. It was just an all-around incredible performance by Manning yesterday, and showed why he is the best quarterback in the league.

Future Looking Brighter for Sanchez:  Mark Sanchez has had a tough rookie year and has been the weakest quarterback in the playoffs so far. He had shown flashes of being a good quarterback, but that was mostly against weaker competition and had also cost the Jets a few games this season. Of late though he’d been fairly mistake free, not because of major improvement in his game, but rather because of a much simpler passing attack. Sanchez was pretty much regulated to ‘safe’ intermediate and short throws so far in the playoffs. Yesterday though Sanchez had his best game of the playoffs (and his young career), he showed much better decision making and poise in the pocket. He didn’t try to force the ball in to coverage, and really showed something against a big team in the biggest game of his career. Now Sanchez has some things to work on, accuracy being the primary concern, but in 2-3 years Sanchez could become a pretty good starting quarterback.

Saints Go Marching On:  Who would have thought it would have been the Saints defense and special teams that sent them to the Super Bowl? While their defense got torched with yards and penalties, they came up with enough big plays to win yesterday. And how huge was the Peterson fumble right before half after the Bush muffed punt? That Saints defense all season has just been relentless in getting takeaways, and showed it again last night. Gregg Williams and company deserve most of the credit for that victory, because Favre had a great game yesterday. Think of what he would have done if he actually had time in the pocket? The Saints pass rush completely dominated the Vikings offensive line and had Favre on the ground quite a bit. The Saints defense was the key to the game, and is why they will be making their first Super Bowl appearance.

Just How Tough is Brett Favre?:  Now I realize all the talk now is about that last interception, and on whether or not it was Favre’s last game (again). But really we need to acknowledge that yesterday’s loss was on two things:  the offensive line play, and lack of ball control. Not only did the Saints recover a fumble inside the Vikings 20 yard line, but Minnesota coughed it up twice when they were at the Saints 10 yard line! And the offensive line, which had begun to collapse at the end of the season, looked awful yesterday. They couldn’t handle the stunts and blitz packages New Orleans was throwing at them, and Favre paid the price. Not only was he getting hit hard (and sometimes illegally), but he was injured and in obvious pain. Favre played well enough to win that game by a couple of touchdowns, but his 0-line and the fumbles cost them dearly.

Colts Heading to the Big Game:

Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets have been the underdog team throughout this year’s postseason. Now their road to the Super Bowl goes through (ends) in the place where in many ways it started. After a tough Week 15 loss to the Falcons, the Jets playoff hopes were all but over. They had to win their next game, which just so happened to be at Indianapolis. At the time the Colts were 14-0, and seemed likely to keep up the intensity for at least one more week (at least that is what I believed building my fantasy roster that week). Instead with a 5-point lead in the 3rd quarter, the Colts pulled their starters, and the Jets responded, winning 29-15.

That victory propelled the Jets on their unbelievable playoff run (pretty sure the Bengals and Chargers have taken the Colts off their Christmas card list) that will now come full circle. The Jets have won with defense, running the ball, and a little bit of luck, and will need all three factors in place today if they hope to overcome their playoff benefactor. This time though the Jets will have to contain Peyton Manning and company for 60 minutes, and that is a task that no one has been able to accomplish this season.

The Jets defense is great and one of the best we’ve seen, but so is the Manning and the Colts offense. New York will get after Manning and try to disrupt his timing, but he is so smart back there I don’t think they have a chance. While Darrelle Revis will probably take away Reggie Wayne for most of the game, the Colts have too many other weapons. In fact the best defense against the Colts scoring attack is the Jets own offense.

As long as the Jets offense is on the field, Manning is not and their defense can stay rested. Time of possession usually is something that is unimportant to the Colts (they won a game earlier this season with having the ball less than 15 minutes), but against the Jets that could be an exception. The Jets defense is good enough to slow down Colts to the point where they will need all the possessions they can get. The problem with the Jets is their offense won’t be able to control the clock, with long time consuming drives. While they are an excellent running team, they lack the passing attack to be complete. So far they’ve relied on big break-away runs, which are nice and worth 6 points like any touchdown, but not the sustained drives that they need. Putting up points is always good, but taking minutes off the clock is just as important.

In the end Manning will be too much for the Jets defense to handle. And while the Jets’ ground game may find some success, their lack of a passing attack will end up being the key today. Colts win 21-10 and begin packing for Miami.

By Fanspeak Contributing Writer Geoff Nelowet:

The New Orleans Saints Will Earn their First Super Bowl Birth:

The Minnesota Vikings have not made it to the Super Bowl since 1976, and the New Orleans Saints have not sniffed the Super Bowl in their franchise’s history. In 2007 the Saints played in their first NFC Championship – a game in which the Chicago Bears handled them with ease by the score of 39-14. In short, both franchises are overdue for a Super Bowl appearance. Unfortunately, one team has to be sent home on Sunday.

The Saints have been the team to beat over the course of the regular season, and they are the top playoff seed. Drew Brees has led one of the most prolific offenses in football, and the fast-paced aerial attack will be a different animal for the Vikings’ defense. Brees has been connecting with an assortment of talented receivers this season, and Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem have combined for nearly 3,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. Along with their production, Reggie Bush has been a major spark on both offense and special teams, and last week against the Cardinals, Bush looked dominant with 217 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Bush is the quintessential X-factor for the Saints.

The Vikings are coming off a dominant win over the Dallas Cowboys. In their 34-3 win, they proved that not only can they beat a good team, but they can dominate a good team on both sides of the ball. Their defense shut down a stellar offense, and Brett Favre led the Vikings down the field with ease against what looked like the best defense in the playoffs. The Vikings stumbled down the stretch of the regular season, but they bounced back resoundingly.

The Saints and Vikings are clearly the two best teams in the NFC, and Sunday’s match-up will be a narrowly decided game. The key to Minnesota winning comes down to how much pressure they can get on Brees. Last week, Jared Allen led the defensive line with an unyielding amount of pressure on Tony Romo, and if he can replicate his performance against the Saints, the Vikings will win. The Saints, though, have a better offensive line, and Brees delivers the ball much quicker than Romo, so it will be exponentially more difficult for the Vikings to shut down the Saints’ offense. Furthermore, Reggie Bush looked dominant last week, and when he is healthy, he adds yet another dimension to the Saints’ attack. Minnesota will not find the same success on defense this week, and the Saints will win at home for their first Super Bowl birth. Final Score: New Orleans 33 Minnesota 28.

Pitchers and catchers report in less than a month, so the Hot Stove is heating up again as players scramble to find jobs and teams look to fill out their rosters. Even though most of the big names are off the board, there are still a few free agents who can help a team get over the hump next season.

Catcher:  The catcher position wasn’t strong to begin with but there are still two names on there that could be starters or at least platoon players, Rod Barajas and Yorvit Torrealba. Neither Barajas or Torrealba are great options, but they are solid veterans who offer a little bit with the bat.

First Basemen:  The first base market has dried up pretty quickly and is left to only a handful of viable options. Russell Branyan had a big year last season, but has an inconsistent past as well as some injury history. Hank Blalock is another interesting option (some might think he’s a 3B, but he can’t handle the position) with big power but little else to bring to the table. Blalock’s inability to take a walk put him and Mike Jacobs in the same category. Carlos Delgado is a nice throw back option, but no one is even sure he’s healthy enough to play in the field anymore (or to hold up for at least half the season). Ryan Garko has for quite sometime been an interesting name among first basemen. He’s always been okay defensively and has good plate recognition. His problem is his lack of power, which has decreased each of the last two years. He might end up being the best choice among whats out there given his age and lack of injury concerns.

Middle Infield:  The middle infield is actually one position that has a couple decent options for teams looking for a starter or platoon player. Ronnie Belliard (2B, UTL) is a solid veteran, and while he shouldn’t be a starter for a full season he’s a pretty decent option to give 350-400 at bats to. He can back up 3B and 1B as well, though lacks the power to play those positions long term. Belliard is a good choice for a team with a young 2B on the way that might need to start the year in the minors. Adam Kennedy (2B, 3B) had nice season last year, and showed that he can handle the hot corner for an extended look. Kennedy doesn’t have a big bat, but he’s traditionally a pretty good defender at 2B. His biggest problem is his inconsistency, the 2009 version is a great free agent buy, but if he ends up playing like the 2007 Adam Kennedy then that team is in for a big disappointment. Orlando Hudson (2B) is widely considered the best option on the market (though that might be a little high praise). Defensively he makes a number of tough plays, but misses a lot of routine ones at the same time. Offensively though he has more upside and could even be a solid 2-hole hitter. Orlando Cabrera (SS, 2B, 3B) is a former All-star, but his age is catching up with him. A position change to 2B may extend his career by a couple years. He could be a solid option for a team with unknowns at both middle infield spots. Felipe Lopez (2B, SS) is probably the best option on the market. His defense at SS is limited and for a guy with great timed speed he doesn’t get the most out of it (or much of anything), but he’s still a legitimate starter at 2B. He offers plenty of offensive upside and would be a good bottom of the order hitter for a playoff team.

Third Basemen:  Talk about a dried up market, the only players that make sense are Joe Crede (who has major health and on-base issues), Melvin Mora (whose age and defense/offense are a concern), and Miguel Tejada (who has never really played the position). Tejada in my book is the best option, his defense might be shaky and his offensive has fallen off some, but I think he can handle the hot corner.

Outfielders:  There are a few starting options still out there but lets get through the back-ups. First Randy Winn, Reed Johnson, and Eric Byrnes can all be solid defensive role player options. Jonny Gomes is a nice platoon corner outfield option. Jermaine Dye and Garrett Anderson are past the prime when they should be starting in the outfield (someone give them a DH job), but will get work given their consistent bats. Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady are the best options for teams looking for a starter. Nady is coming off an injury so, he will probably be a cheaper option. Nady offers some solid power and decent hitting numbers. His defense is average so he’s not a big liability in the field. Damon is probably the top overall player still on the market. While his range and arm regulate him to left field now, he’s a pretty good option for a team looking for a good bat. Though never a true power hitter he can hit 20-25 home runs in 550 at bats, he also has the on-base skills to go along with his moderate power. Despite being up there in age (36) Damon has a pretty clean injury history and still gets alot out of his speed (as seen in the World Series). Damon isn’t the perennial All-star he once was, but would be a great signing for 1-2 years.

Check back later for a report on the pitchers still on the market.

Quarterbacks:

1. Jimmy Clausen- 1^st round, Notre Dame
2. Sam Bradford- 1^st round, Oklahoma
3. Tony Pike-2^nd round, Cincinnati
4. Colt McCoy-2^nd-3^rd round, Texas
5. Tim Tebow-2^nd-3^rd round, Florida
6. Jevan Snead-2^nd-4^th round, Ole Miss
7. Dan LeFevour-3^rd-4^th round, Central Michigan
8. Sean Canfield-4^th round, Oregon State
9. Bill Stull-4^th-5^th round, Pittsburgh
10. Jarrett Brown-5^th round, West Virginia
11. John Skelton-5^th-6^th round, Fordham
12. Max Hall-6^th round BYU
13. Tim Hiller-7^th round, Western Michigan
14. Zac Robinson-FA, OK State
15. Joe Webb-FA, UAB
16. Levi Brown-FA, Troy
17. Ryan Perrilloux-FA, Jacksonville St
18. Jon Compton-FA, Tennessee
19. Mike Kafka-FA, Northwestern

Right now Jimmy Clausen has separated himself from the pack and should be the top quarterback taken in April. His big arm, and ability to play in a more pro style offense moves him ahead of Sam Bradford. Bradford’s arm injury also should give teams in the early part of Round 1 some cause for concern. While there are some holes in their games, I do think both Clausen and and Bradford are first round talents and could be Franchise quarterbacks down the line. While most people think the quarterback talent stops after Bradford in this class, I feel a couple of these arms will surprise some people. It would not shock me at all to see 3-4 of these quarterbacks (outside the first rounders) end up as good starters 3 years from now. Pike and McCoy are the next closest from the bunch, and may be ready to start within a year. Neither one possesses incredible arm strength, but both have the intangibles needed for the NFL. McCoy in particular reminds me of a right-handed Mark Brunell. Jevan Snead has taken a beating for coming out early, but he has all the tools needed to succeed at the next level if he finds a team that will be patient with him. Dan LeFevour I think could be the best quarterback of this group, and I see him developing into a top notch quarterback. LeFevour has a good (but not great) arm, and always makes smart decisions. He also has the mobility and foot speed to pick up chunks of yards on the ground, when nothing is open down field. Two senior quarterbacks, Sean Canfield and Bill Stull, stepped up their games this year and moved themselves into mid-round consideration. As for late-round targets, two names to keep an eye on are John Skelton and Max Hall. Hall is a gamer, and an extremely accurate passer. Unfortunately for Hall he stands just about 6 feet tall, making it unlikely he can transition into the pro game as a starter. Skelton on the other hand has no problems with his 6’5″ size, just his mechanics. His arm strength is spectacular (probably the best in the class), but he is a very raw prospect, that will need plenty of work to turn into a starter.

Running backs:

1. C.J. Spiller-1^st round, Clemson
2. Jahvid Best-1^st-2^nd round, California
3. Jonathan Dwyer-1^st-2^nd round, Georgia Tech
4. Montario Hardesty-2^nd round, Tennessee
5. Antonio Dixon-2^nd round, Mississippi State
6. Toby Gerhart-2^nd-3^rd round, Stanford
7. Joe McKnight-2^nd-3^rd round, USC
8. Ryan Mathews- 2^nd-3^rd round, Fresno State
9. Ben Tate-3^rd round, Auburn
10. Charles Scott-3^rd-4^th round, LSU
11. Javarris James-4^th round, Miami
12. James Starks-4^th-5^th round, Buffalo
13. Dexter McCluster-4^th-5^th round, Ole Miss
14. Chris Brown-5^th-6^th round, Oklahoma
15. Stafon Johnson-6^th round, USC
16. Keiland Williams, 6^th round, LSU
17. LeGarrett Blount,6^th-7^th round, Oregon
18. Curtis Steele, 7^th round, Memphis
19. Damion Fletcher, 7^th round, Southern Miss
20. Keith Totson, 7^th round, OK State
21. Shawnbrey McNeal, 7^th round, SMU
22. Brandon Minor, 7^th round, Michigan
23. Brandon James, 7^th round, Florida
24. Joique Bell, 7^th round-FA, Wayne State
25. Trindon Holliday, 7^th round-FA, LSU

This year’s running back class, lacks ‘star’ power and overall depth, but has a lot of interesting guys in the top 15. Any of the top 8 backs could be a feature back by year two. Spiller and Best are the home run hitters of this class, and have the added benefit of being return men. Dwyer and Dixon are your grind it out running backs, capable of getting the ball 25 times a game. Hardesty is a tough back that really seems to be getting overlooked in some circles. Gerhart should be in the mix with Dwyer and Dixon, but he’s the type of player that is consistently underrated. He might not have top end speed or the best short shuffle time, but when he runs, he runs like John Riggins and I think he has that high of a ceiling. Ryan Mathews is another back who should probably go higher then I have him rated, and he should have a bright future in the NFL, but he needs to learn some of the finer points of being a running back. His vision and decision making are average at best, and will need to improve to become an every down runner. McKnight is a back that has all the physical skill, size and speed, but lacks the intangibles to be an elite prospect. I still think he’ll come off the board in the 2nd or 3rd round given his pedigree (possibly by his old college coach Pete Carroll), but has a major bust label looming. One mid-round guy that warrants more attention is McCluster, a running back/receiver/return man hybrid. He will never be an every down back at the next level, but should excel in a specialty role (similar to Sproles and L. Washington), and in fact might be even better given his work as a wide receiver. Blount and Fletcher are two late-round guys, who should be going 4-5 rounds higher if not for off the field incidents. If they can show that they have pulled their lives together, they could end up being good late round steals.

Remember this is just a first look at where these guys should rank. We will get into greater detail on players and positions as the draft gets closer.