I Catch The Beat Runnin' Like...

...Randy Moss.

Before I go into that, I'd like to provide an update on the workings of the incomparable Aaron...the often heralded nephew of mine who continues to find new and improved ways of courting my lady. As per usual, we stopped into my folks' house yesterday afternoon to watch the Sox and have dinner thereafter. I'll save you the boring details...Big A's newest move is take La into the living room, sit her down and then proceed to ask those who enter to immediately leave the room. I entered last night as they were sorting through various dinosaurs and he calmly looked up at me and said "please leave." At first I refused...who was he to tell me to leave? Then La informed me that he made my Dad leave the room earlier and since his word tends to be gospel 'round those parts, I complied. I pouted and assured him he wouldn't get away with that kind of stuff but who was I kidding? Of course he would. Genius...

Back to more pressing matters...

Anytime your team lands a future Hall of Famer just a few years removed from the prime of his career, it's news. When you get him to take a six million dollar per year pay cut, it's bigger news. Finally, when the move gives your offense the firepower it needs to stretch defenses (at last) and open things up for Laurence Maroney, it's mind-blowing.

Much like the Moss deal that stole the show at this weekend's draft, the nine picks the Patriots made were of their usual high-value caliber. They got what they needed to plug some holes in their secondary (complimenting their off-season FA signings) and they added some athletic lineman which we as Pat fans have become quite accustomed to when watching a draft. All in all, I'd say New England had the most success on draft day. Here are a few thoughts on how some other teams fared yesterday in New York City.

Three 'winners' in the draft were San Francisco, Green Bay and Cleveland. San Fran traded up for the Pats' 28th pick to get Joe Staley, which I thought was a great move for them. They got the best LB in the draft in Patrick Willis and with the success of their off season, they made some significant improvements to an already improved team during the 2006 season. Green Bay got the steal of the draft in Corey Hall, in my opinion. I thought he should have been regarded as one of the top 3-5 LB's in the draft, even though he played at Boise State. Say what you want about his size (6'0, 230), he's got the drive and ability that will make him an above-average player in the NFL. He could be converted to a John Lynch-like safety and look out if he is because he packs a wallop when he hits. Green Bay's other picks were solid in that they tried to address some of the offensive issues they have, but they won't be close to contending in what better be Favre's last year at the helm. In fact, their two best picks were Hall and kicker Mason Crosby out of Colorado...we know how valuable placekickers are here in New England and Crosby should be great. Finally, Cleveland...I group them in the list of great drafts because they managed to get Brady Quinn at 22, realizing that he probably wouldn't be picked before this if they didn't choose him. So instead of choosing him early, they took someone who will ultimately protect him for a the next several years in Joe Thomas. The problem with Quinn was that he wasn't rated that much higher than several other QB's in the draft, such as BYU's John Beck and MSU's Drew Stanton. I felt bad for Quinn when he eventually left the green room because he was all alone in there but this turned out the way he wanted it to: being chosen by his hometown team in the first round. I thought the rest of the draft was very Belichick-like for Romeo and the Browns, and that must be good. And I feel the same about the Jets' draft, even though they had only four picks.

There's no need to look any further than our friends down in Miami to pick out a loser in the draft. Ted Ginn Jr. at #9? Was this a joke? Did they say the wrong name to Roger Goodell on the phone by accident? Never mind that Ginn would have been available into the second round, more than likely. He's not even healthy and may not be available by the time the preseason rolls around. I know he's fast, but I just don't get this pick and it was apparent that not many other people did either. Honestly, I liked the rest of their draft but the Ginn pick spoiled it. Beck has a big upside and may be their QB of the future and their pick of Lorenzo Booker in the third round was a good pick. I didn't understand Indy's first pick of Anthony Gonzales from Ohio St. I thought they would go with a RB since they lost Dominic Rhodes to the Raiders, instead of piling on another receiver. That one was weird. I also thought that Washington might have traded up to take an offensive playmaker like a Greg Olsen or a big receiver. Having only five picks limited their choices, though. The biggest would-have-been loser of the draft is JaMarcus Russell, who donned all black in his assumption of being the first overall pick of the Oakland Raiders. It's a good thing he didn't go to the Browns...his hat wouldn't have matched because as we all know, nothing goes with brown.

Carl's quick draft day recap:

"I can't wait to play with Moss in Madden 2008! We won't even have to manipulate the rosters!"

That is pretty strange. It's also strange that people are talking about the Yankees as not being that good this year. Let's all get a grip. It's not that they're not that good this year, it's just right now. The Royals have a better rotation that the Yanks do at this point, but April isn't even over yet. We all know they're going to snap out of it and be contending by the time August rolls around. April in the sport of baseball is akin to the preseason in the NFL...it's a warmup. These games in the MLB may count towards the overall record but the season is just too long for the results to bear any weight. I will say this: their rotation, even when fully healthy, isn't all that great. It's their offense that instills fear and they haven't started to perform yet. With the exception you-know-who, they've got a bunch of guys who will eventually start to do what they've always done. There's nothing I'd like better than to admit that the Yanks are no longer in the upper echelon of the A.L., but it's not time for that yet.

EAST W L PCT GB HOME ROAD RS RA STRK L10

Boston 16 8 .667 - 7-3 9-5 125 84 Won 1 7-3

Toronto 12 12 .500 4 6-7 6-5 123 105 Won 1 4-6

Baltimore 12 13 .480 4.5 7-6 5-7 109 112 Lost 1 4-6

Tampa Bay 11 14 .440 5.5 5-6 6-8 126 162 Won 1 5-5

NY Yankees 9 14 .391 6.5 6-6 3-8 131 125 Lost 1 2-8

It is kind of nice to look at though, isn't it??