Bears get defensive support

 

The Chicago Bears made a move to upgrade their defensive line in the second round of the NFL draft. And they added to their defensive secondary in the third round.
The Bears traded with the Washington Redskins on Friday night to move up from No. 62 to No. 53 and select defensive tackle Stephen Paea of Oregon State. The Redskins also got the Bears’ fourth-round pick, No. 127 overall.
The 6-foot-1, 295-pound Paea was an All-American last season for the Beavers. He had 14 sacks and nine forced fumbles in his career.
Chicago is looking for help on the defensive front after releasing former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris. Paea said he can play nose guard or tackle.
In the third round, the Bears took safety Christopher Conte of California with the 93rd overall pick. Conte had 72 tackles, one interception and blocked a punt that he returned for a touchdown last season.
In the first round, with the 29th overall pick on Thursday, the Bears beefed up their offensive line with Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi after failing in an attempt to trade up three picks with the Baltimore Ravens in order to select the 2010 Outland Trophy winner.
“I had a great feeling I’d end up with the Bears,” said the 6-foot-7, 314-pound Carimi. “It’s a great organization. I can’t be happier than to play for them.”
Carimi started 49 games for Wisconsin at left tackle.
“We loved Gabe from the start,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “Picking as late as we did, we just didn’t know if we’d have an opportunity to get him.”
So they asked Baltimore about a trade. The deal never went down, and the negotiations took long enough that the Ravens’ time to pick at No. 26 expired, causing them to drop down one spot behind Kansas City.
Bears general manager Jerry Angelo took the blame for the situation, calling it a “glitch” and said he apologized to the Ravens.

Lockout limits Miami Dolphins’ intro for Pouncey

By DAVID J. NEAL

Shortly after Dolphins first-round pick Mike Pouncey finished meeting with coaches and Dolphins front office personnel and the South Florida media Friday evening, the NFL got its court ordered stay that restored the lockout.
Perhaps somebody slipped Pouncey the playbook between the time he met with the media and the time he left the Dolphins Davie offices. The resumption of the lockout means teams and players must again act like they have restraining orders against each other.
“I just came in here and really just visited the facility and met everybody,” Pouncey said about an hour before the lockout was restored. “I guess we’ll handle the playbook sometime down the line when it’s time for camp.”
When that will be is up in the air. The Dolphins originally planned to have rookie camp next weekend, and several players had been at the Davie facility Friday. The players’ side has filed a brief arguing against the stay and the NFL will have a chance to file its brief by Monday morning. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will rule next week on whether or not to grant a full stay.
Two things about Pouncey: He wants to wear No. 53, the same number as his twin brother, Pittsburgh’s starting center Maurkice Pouncey. And he’s only been to one Dolphins game: last October’s 23-22 loss to Pittsburgh that ended in controversy.
Pouncey recalls early game rain giving way to oppressive heat and “[ Ben] Roethlisberger fumbled.”
Mandich tribute
To announce the second round picks, the NFL brought in a retired player from each franchise. Former Dolphins Hall of Fame wide receiver Paul Warfield read the picks for Cleveland, where he started and finished his career.
When the Dolphins moved into the second round, 1997-2005 cornerback Sam Madison didn’t immediately announce the pick. He first echoed the efforts of the late Jim Mandich to lift retired Dolphins from the economic mire common to so many retired NFL players.
Madison finished with “It’s in honor of Jim “Mad Dog” Mandich, who passed away Tuesday, that I announce with the 62nd pick, the Dolphins select, Daniel Thomas, running back, Kansas State.”
Thursday night, general manager Jeff Ireland opened his meeting with the media with an “Alll-right, Miami” and kind words about Mandich.
Dalton snapped up
Thoughts that Texas Christian quarterback Andy Dalton would continue to tumble to the Dolphins — or that the Dolphins would move up and take Dalton — ended when Cincinnati snatched him with the third pick of the second round.
That gave the Bengals a new quarterback — with Carson Palmer threatening to retire if the team doesn’t trade him — to go with a new wide receiver, first round pick A.J. Green. Miami Beach High graduate Chad Ochocinco also has asked out of Cincinnati.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said on ESPN that the Bengals had to move forward as if they wouldn’t have Palmer. Lewis also chuckled that Ochocinco had been talking “with his thumbs,” a reference to the Liberty City native’s active Twittering.

NFL Draft: Ryan Mallett to New England

 

After an awkwardly long wait throughout the first two rounds of the NFL Draft (and into the third), Ryan Mallett ended up getting picked by the New England Patriots with the 73rd overall pick. Despite the general unpleasantness of the moments leading up to his selection, Mallett really wound up in an excellent spot.
So much of a person's pro career depends on the good fortune of going to a solid organization, with strong ownership and good coaches, and teams don't come much more solid than the Patriots. In the best case, Mallett works hard, learns from masters like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, and eventually inherits the starting QB position of a championship team (we'll call this the Joe Montana/Steve Young scenario).
If not that, it's still an excellent chance to learn from the best and possibly get traded to another team looking for a starter in a couple of years (we'll call this the Matt Cassell scenario). Either way, it's hard to imagine a better place for him to get immersed in the NFL game and shake off those infamous "character questions" that cost him several million dollars along the way. (We suppose there's another scenario where he proves the naysayers right and completely flames out in an epic binge of drugs, skanks and bad Vanilla Ice-style attitude, but to anyone who actually followed Mallett at Arkansas that seems unlikely.)
Mallett may not be a starter in the NFL as soon as some of the six (!!!) QBs taken ahead of him, but thanks to this bit of draft luck he's better positioned to have a successful long-term career than most. As you watch the NFL over the next few years be sure to remember these names...we're sure Mallett won't forget them any time soon:

Penn State's Wisniewski to join uncle with Oakland Raiders

 

Nepotism is alive and well - very well, in fact - with the Oakland Raiders.
But the fact Stefen Wisniewski's uncle, Steve Wisniewski, was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection for the Raiders and is now their assistant offensive line coach is not the overriding reason why Oakland selected the All-America guard for Penn State with their first pick of the 2011 draft, No. 48 overall, last night. Sentimentality is nice at family reunions, but productivity is always an NFL team's first consideration.
Oakland did not have a first-rounder in the draft, which opened Thursday night, having sent it to the New England Patriots last year in exchange for former Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour.
"Just because Steve was there didn't necessarily mean it was going to happen," said Eddie Johnson, of Eastern Athletic Services, which represents Wisniewski. "Need dictated the pick more than anything. And, of course, the Raiders had a lot of knowledge about Stefen, as a football player and as a person."
Stefen acknowledged being "thrilled" to be going to what was his favorite team growing up.
"It's pretty awesome, in general, to be drafted, but even more so, going to the Raiders," he said amid the clatter of "60 or 70" friends and relatives crammed inside a house in Bridgeville, Pa., where they gathered to watch the draft on television. "I grew up cheering for the Raiders because of my uncle. Now I get to play for them. I still can't believe it."
Wisniewski, a 3-year starter for the Nittany Lions, played center his junior season in Happy Valley and was a third-team All-America. He was switched back to right guard for his senior campaign, a position at which he said he felt most comfortable. Most projections had him listed as a center, however, and former Raiders defensive back and Hall of Famer Willie Brown announced him as such at the draft.
"Coach [Hue] Jackson told me I'd be playing center when he called," said Wisniewski, who graduated with a 3.91 grade-point average in secondary education. "I'm fine with that. I just want to be able to contribute wherever I'm needed."
The Raiders are coming off an 8-8, non-playoff season, but went 6-0 against AFC West rivals.
"It's definitely a team on the rise," Wisniewski said. "They're going in the right direction. I'm exciting about having the chance to help them continue going in the right direction." *

Bill Belichick throws a curveball by picking Ryan Mallett

 

Pass rusher? Nah, forget that. The Patriots [team stats] coach likes what he has in-house. He likes his young group of linebackers so much that he didn’t feel compelled to make a move. At least, that’s what he claimed after last night’s proceedings. We’ll respectfully disagree. But we’ve been beating that drum for a while.
So let’s move onto the pick that makes Belichick one of the shrewdest operators in the business.
You want sizzle? You want spice? You want the ultimate roll of the dice? Try Ryan Mallett.
While teams were scrambling for quarterbacks all over the board, jumping all over each other for kids who just might not be that good, Belichick merely swooped in during the third round and probably stole the best one of the bunch.
Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick were all gobbled up before the Pats locked in and selected the somewhat controversial Arkansas quarterback with the 74th pick.
Is this Tom Brady [stats]’s heir apparent? Maybe, maybe not. At the very least, he’s an intriguing possibility.
His arm certainly won’t stop him from being that guy somewhere down the road. If you’ve ever watched film of Mallett, he’s got an absolute cannon. He makes all the throws with ease. Of all the quarterbacks in the 2011 class, he easily has the best arm. It’s not even close.
Mallett, however, won’t win the character award. There’s been rumors of drugs and alcohol. But even with his troubles, there isn’t much risk for Belichick taking him in the third round and having him learn under Brady.
While he’s a bit shaky with his decision-making, Mallett would fit very well in the Pats’ vertical passing game, if he ever got the opportunity to relieve Brady for any period of time.
What this translates into is smart business. Having an eye out for grooming Brady’s replacement now is the wise thing to do. If Mallett can get his act together and realize his awesome potential, it’ll be an amazing coup for the Patriots coach.
If the 33-year-old Brady plays another half-dozen years, Mallett can always net a significant return in a trade. Last night, Mallett didn’t sound too bothered by having to wait for his chance.
“As a competitor, I want to play,’’ Mallett said. “But it’s an advantage to learn from Tom and gain as much knowledge as I can from him.”
He’s a nice chip to have in the stable for however long. So it’s a win-win situation for the Pats, assuming, of course, Mallett behaves and blossoms as a backup.
By the sound of it, Belichick has already begun the bonding process. He seems to like the kid and has a connection with him, given Mallett is also the son of a football coach, Jim Mallett.
“He’s definitely a football guy. He’s a great kid to talk to. He’s very into football,” Belichick said of Mallett. “You can’t wear him out. As long as you want to talk about it, he’ll be there, however many hours it is, he’s ready to go watch film, or go talk about a new technique or route, or read, or whatever.