At this point in the proceedings, less than 24 hours from Roger Goodell making his way to the podium to announce the first pick of the 2009 Draft, no one believes anything they hear. And yet the flow of misinformation continues unabated. In fact, it has intensified; almost as if NFL teams are running presidential campaigns, the election's tomorrow, and this is an 11th-hour, last-ditch effort to get the message out. Fans know this. The media know this. And presumably, NFL teams know this. But general managers, coaches and scouts are still ordering draft boards, quadruple-checking player references, and haggling over which need will be targeted in which round.
And it's this uncertainty that perpetuates the pre-draft deception. If, for instance, the Buccaneers truly think the Jets will take Kansas St. quarterback Josh Freeman with the 17th pick, they might work a deal to get to Freeman first. Probably not a problem John Nash considered when he published "Non-Cooperative Games."
As it turns out, the Bucs are interested in Freeman, and they're concerned that the Jets will get him first. At least that's the word on the street. Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris was the Kansas St. defensive coordinator in 2006 and has compared Freeman to Ben Roethlisberger. Well, I got some good news, Raheem: sounds like the Jets are in the Mark Sanchez business. Along with 28 other teams. (According to Jason Campbell's calculations, anyway.)
In an ESPN.com story titled, "Jets Could Be Focused on Sanchez," Sal Paloantonio quotes Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum as saying, "We are not fixated on Mark Sanchez." Interesting. There's more, of course:
But league sources say the Jets are competing with the Washington Redskins for Sanchez. The Redskins, at No. 12, are in a better position to move up to No. 4 to take Sanchez. "Moving from 17 to four is heavy lifting for the Jets," one general manager said.Yes, I've heard some mention of Washington's alleged interest in the USC quarterback. And there's also this: New York might swing a deal for Campbell should they lose out on Sanchez. Or maybe they will just draft Freeman at No. 17. Well, assuming Tampa Bay doesn't move up to get him. Of course, there's always the possibility Freeman goes to the 49ers at No. 10. See how this works? Eventually, we'll cover every first-round permutation and somebody will have to be right. Alternatively, we could just wait until tomorrow.
