Quinn and Russell in classic draft debate
Brady Quinn isn’t ready to admit defeat in the race to be the top pick in the NFL draft.
Seven weeks since JaMarcus Russell shot up the draft chart after beating Quinn in the Sugar Bowl, Quinn delivered his first major rebuttal in the competition to be selected first overall in April.
“I’d tell them I’m the most prepared collegiate player in the draft,” Quinn said Friday at the annual NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. “There’s not one other player in college that’s had the coaching I’ve had in the last two years, and I feel I’m the best leader.”
Now it’s up to the NFL scouts and coaches to decide.
Like great draft debates of the past – Drew Bledsoe or Rick Mirer, Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf, Eli Manning or Philip Rivers, Vince Young or Matt Leinart – this one could be risky.
Russell offers a rare blend of size, mobility and strength. He measured-in at 6-foot-6, 265 pounds – 9 pounds heavier than his playing weight.
Like Russell, Quinn won’t work out in Indianapolis. He was measured at 6-3, 232 pounds and has scheduled two pro days at Notre Dame – March 4 and March 22 – in an attempt to reclaim top-pick status.
“I had three goals coming into the season,” Quinn said. “I wanted to win a national championship, win the Heisman and be the No. 1 pick in the draft. The first two didn’t work out so well. The third we’ll have to see.”
Coughlin answers Barber
Tom Coughlin has one regret about Tiki Barber: He couldn’t convince the New York Giants running back to keep his opinions from the media.
The Giants coach told reporters during the NFL’s annual scouting combine that he wished Barber hadn’t used the media to voice his strong opinions and wasn’t sure why Barber blamed the coaching staff for pushing him into retirement.
Barber’s latest comments came during a news conference when he was hired by NBC.
“I do not know what this is all about,” Coughlin said. “I was under the impression he was having a press conference to announce his new role with NBC, and then to find out that he turned around and talked about something like this … I think to give the illusion that I had something to do with his retirement, I don’t quite follow that.”
Barber, who retired after last season and will now work on the “Today” show and Sunday Night Football broadcasts, criticized Coughlin recently for not giving him enough rest during the practice week. He said there were days he couldn’t move and that Coughlin was upset he could only go half-speed, which forced him into what some considered an early retirement.
Smith seeks fair deal
All Lovie Smith wants is a fair deal to coach the Chicago Bears.
He thinks he’ll get one, but how long it takes is an entirely different question.
In Smith’s first public comments since his agent, Frank Bauer, said the two sides were at a stalemate in negotiations, Smith said he expected to get a more lucrative deal after his contract runs out next season.
“Of course I don’t like being the lowest-paid coach in the league,” he said at the annual NFL scouting combine. “I’d like to be in a different position. I look at it like I won’t be in that position long.”
Smith, the 2005 NFL coach of the year, led the Bears to a 15-4 record and their first NFC championship in more than two decades last season before they lost 29-17 to Indianapolis in the Super Bowl. He has one year remaining on his current deal, which paid him $1.35 million in 2006. He is scheduled to make $1.45 million next year.
Browns win third pick
Cleveland won a coin flip with Tampa Bay at the NFL Combine and will pick third overall in April’s draft. The Buccaneers will select fourth.
The teams finished with identical 4-12 records last season and their opponents had the same winning percentage, making the coin toss necessary.
Dillon wants release
Corey Dillon, who is 14th on the NFL’s career rushing list, is likely to be playing for a team other than New England next season.
Dillon’s agent, Steve Feldman, told the Associated Press that his client will ask the Patriots for his release and that the team is likely to grant it by Friday, the start of free agency.
Dillon told the Boston Globe that he would probably retire, but Feldman said it is unlikely.
Byrd pleads not guilty
Backup tight end Dominique Byrd of the St. Louis Rams will go to trial July 9 after pleading not guilty to charges that he assaulted a man at a downtown St. Louis nightclub.
Byrd, 23, faces charges of assault and armed criminal action.
The incident happened in December at the Pepper Lounge. Byrd was accused of hitting a bar patron in the face with a drinking glass.
Raiders sign players
The Oakland Raiders have signed two of their potential unrestricted free agents, agreeing to contracts with defensive tackle Terdell Sands and linebacker Robert Thomas.
The Raiders got the deals done before the start of the free-agency period on Friday. The team did not announce the signings, but the contracts were listed on the NFL Players Association Web site.
Sands got a $17 million, four-year contract that includes a $4 million signing bonus, while Thomas agreed to a $6 million, three-year deal with a $1.5 million signing bonus.
While neither Sands nor Thomas started last season, both played key roles as reserve players on the NFL’s third-ranked defense.
Unitas items auctioned
A helmet worn by Johnny Unitas in the 1960s sold for $54,050, and the quarterback’s first contract with the Baltimore Colts drew a bid of $29,900 at an auction of sports memorabilia in Exton, Pa.
There were 10 items associated with Unitas up for auction. An anonymous bidder purchased all of them for a total of $165,370.