With the NFL draft right around the corner it is time to dust off the old notebook, check the batteries on the calculator and start putting together some lists. Vacation is over.

I haven’t checked with the big-shots on what their plans moving ahead are, but several weeks ago I got the green light to blog away on the front page. I won’t spend much time on the NFL draft as I’m a big believer that you can’t really pass out grades for the draft until at least two years after the fact and I would be doing little more than guessing on how goes where. What I will be doing is looking at some of the winners and losers from the free agency period and looking at some early season sleepers and busts I’m targeting.

A Couple of Random Bits

I was pretty high on Shonn Greene over the last quarter of the season and am even higher on him since the Jets dumped Thomas Jones. It is as clear a sign you need that Greene is the team’s primary back. I’m a bit confused though why so many people think the Jets made a mistake in dumping Jones and signing LaDainian Tomlinson. The main argument people have been making is that Jones has more in the tank and is thus the better running back. You would get no argument on that from me. Although, I would point out Jones’s 2.6 ypc average during the play-offs that he may be hitting the wall just as hard as LT. What people are missing is that Jones and Greene have two very similar skill sets. What the team needs is a back that can spell Greene and serve as a receiver out of the backfield. I think the Jets could have done better than LT, Chester Taylor comes to mind, but for what they need LT is the better choice.

I’ve seen more than a couple of people giving Jimmy Clausen props for how professional he was in talking with Todd McShay. What exactly were people expecting? Are expectations that low for professional athletes? I will admit that a re-run of this would have been highly entertaining.

That will do it for now. I will be back later this week with a first look at my preliminary top eight at each position so check back so you can be the first to tell me how stupid I am.