Hot off the presses Smith talks dead with niners Dallas Trade up possible

[jksmith269]

Has Edwards supplanted Smith?
PLAYER INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Braylon Edwards
Braylon Edwards
WR, Michigan 49ers
Redskins Apr. 22 - The Edwards and Alex Smith camps are getting the feeling that Edwards will now go No. 1, and not Smith, reports ESPN.com's John Clayton. All week, it's been Smith with the lead. No one knows for sure because 49ers coach Mike Nolan isn't saying. Edwards hasn't been offered a contract he can accept, but both sides know the parameters of a deal are in place in case Edwards is the pick. Even though Smith seems to be the preferred choice, it's not out of the question to have Edwards as the best player in the draft. The Dolphins have him No. 1 on their board.

PLAYER INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Alex Smith
Alex Smith
QB, Utah 49ers
Bucs Apr. 22 - Talks between the 49ers and Smith are all but dead, according to John Clayton. They've been going over the numbers and contract language for more than a week, and both sides know they can't reach a deal before the draft. Tom Condon, Smith's agent, said there will be no pre-draft day deal. The 49ers don't want to pay more than Eli Manning contract of a year ago. Condon wants the usual increase that goes with being the top pick.

The Bucs are still sitting in the weeds hoping to get Smith in a trade up at No. 2, and Smith believes he could end up in Tampa. The Bucs are willing to offer a third-round pick to move up now, but they may have to go with a second-rounder.

PLAYER INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Shawne Merriman
Shawne Merriman
LB-DE Maryland Cowboys Apr. 22 - The Cowboys have apparently settled on Merriman as their pass-rushing option at linebacker, but they are worried they may not be able to get him at No. 11. They are considering trade up possibilities just in case, according to John Clayton. Still, remember the Cowboys have the option of staying in a 4-3 and picking up Darren Howard in a trade.

PLAYER INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Fabian Washington
Fabian Washington
CB, Nebraska Jaguars Apr. 22 - Six cornerbacks could go in the first round, and John Clayton is hearing Washington could be the choice of the Jaguars at No. 21. The Jaguars love Washington's speed and raw ability. He runs 4.29 40s and is the second-fastest player in the draft. The Jags need cornerback help, and Washington could develop into a star.

PLAYER INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Derrick Johnson
Derrick Johnson
LB, Texas Lions
Chiefs Apr. 22 - Johnson could fall if the Lions don't take him at No. 10. It would be hard to imagine the Chiefs not taking him at No. 15 because he would be the perfect linebacker for Gunther Cunningham's system. Johnson isn't going to the Browns at No. 3 and may not go to them if they trade down in the first round. He's one of the best defensive players in the draft, but some teams prefer linebackers who take on blocks instead of run around and make plays.

[Rayman]

Man, I don't want to trade up unless it's for a receiver.

[dallasfaniac]

Still, remember the Cowboys have the option of staying in a 4-3 and picking up Darren Howard in a trade

Nope, I have a source (Nors) that says this is a dead deal. Never was an option for either 4-3 or Howard.

[TheSkaven]

I'm generally okay with most of our options this weekend, but I'll be sick to my stomach if this team trades up to get Merriman. Please, no.

[deadrody]

PLAYER INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Shawne Merriman
Shawne Merriman
LB-DE Maryland Cowboys Apr. 22 - The Cowboys have apparently settled on Merriman as their pass-rushing option at linebacker, but they are worried they may not be able to get him at No. 11. They are considering trade up possibilities just in case, according to John Clayton. Still, remember the Cowboys have the option of staying in a 4-3 and picking up Darren Howard in a trade.

My first reaction is Oh, please NOoooo. I don't have a preference one way or the other, re DJ, Merrman, Ware, etc. but there is no way they need to be trading away other picks to move UP when there will be a quality player available at #11.

My further reaction is, Clayton is a complete MORON. When was the last time Jerry moved UP to get someone ? It's been a while. Trade down ? Well that seems to be an annual occurrence.

Conclusion: Not.Gonna.Happen. Clayton = Idiot

[Cowboy from New York]

If there both there at #11 Merriman might get the nod but Ware and Merriman seem so close together ranking wise that I'd hate to see a trade up for Merriman. We dont have a third rounder to throw in anyways so we sacrifice our 2nd (no way) or lose are 3rd again for another year in '06.

[Thick 'N Hearty]

Nope, I have a source (Nors) that says this is a dead deal. Never was an option for either 4-3 or Howard.

I don't want to trade up or get Howard. Either way we are losing draft picks we can't afford to give up. If SM isn't there at 11, trade down, get more picks and get another hybrid.

[Cajuncowboy]

Man, I don't want to trade up unless it's for a receiver.

Man you and me both. This would not be smart.

[Nors]

Nope, I have a source (Nors) that says this is a dead deal. Never was an option for either 4-3 or Howard.

I have no Cowboy Sources.

At Saints demands, Howards contract this trade has been dead in the water for 2 months.

We will play both 4-3 and 3-4. BTW - Howard can play both schemes - he's played DT in college and with Saints.

[BrAinPaiNt]

If Merriman goes before our pick at 11...then I think we take spears.....heck we may take spears anyways at 11.

[jswalker1981]

If Merriman is gone, and MW is still there, I wouldn't be surprised if we took MW. Ware might drop down to 20, if not, we could always go with Pollack.

[austintodallas]

Merriman is not that much better than Ware/Pollack/Blackstock/Tuck that we should be moving up and giving away picks for him. If Merriman isn't there at 11 than take Spears (who is a commodity due to his size) and then grab the best edge rusher from the above list at 20.

Better yet, take Spears at 11 even if Merriman is there and still get our edge rusher at 20.

Spears is the key to completing dominant defense.

[StanleySpadowski]

What about the possibility of trading #11, Hunter and/or Morgan to Minnesota for #7?

Minnesota might go for something like this if the players that they targetting are off the board.

[johnnybluestar]

Whatever is reported in the press will not happen. Bill Parcells would never allow it. Not two months ago and certainly not the day before the draft. No one at Valley Ranch is tipping their hand. If all the news outlets start reporting we have settled on Merriman, I'd be willing to bet we have actually decided against him. Knowing what I know about Parcells and having learned the lesson last draft, I think we will not pick the popular speculation. Remember last year, the word was the Cowboys would jump all over Steven Jackson if available. In the days leading up to the draft there were even mocks that had us trading up to the low teens so we could take him. Never a peep that we actually preferred Kevin Jones. Never reported because no one outside of the most inner circle knew. I expect the same thing to happen this year. Just my 2 cents. Which is worth about half that.

[Rayman]

If Merriman goes before our pick at 11...then I think we take spears.....heck we may take spears anyways at 11.

Now Ed Werder is saying on ESPN Draft preview that we could trade up to take Ware. Says the Bucs could now want him.

This Ware stuff is insane. The guy goes from a second round pick to middle of the first, now a top ten?

By tomorrow the 49ers should be negotiating with his agent........lol

[arik1]

I just hope that whoever we get will make an impact and that we won't go exclusively to a 3-4 this year........if we go 3-4 full-time we're gonna get our azzes handed to us every week. The crazy thing is that we should've known what defense to play way before the draft cause learning a new scheme is not as easy as everyone makes it seem.

[DBoys]

Whatever is reported in the press will not happen. Bill Parcells would never allow it. Not two months ago and certainly not the day before the draft. No one at Valley Ranch is tipping their hand. If all the news outlets start reporting we have settled on Merriman, I'd be willing to bet we have actually decided against him. Knowing what I know about Parcells and having learned the lesson last draft, I think we will not pick the popular speculation. Remember last year, the word was the Cowboys would jump all over Steven Jackson if available. In the days leading up to the draft there were even mocks that had us trading up to the low teens so we could take him. Never a peep that we actually preferred Kevin Jones. Never reported because no one outside of the most inner circle knew. I expect the same thing to happen this year. Just my 2 cents. Which is worth about half that.

Couldn't agree more.... I believe it to be DJ or Spears at #11

[Alexander]

Nope, I have a source (Nors) that says this is a dead deal. Never was an option for either 4-3 or Howard.

Scary thing is, that sourse is probably about as credible as Clayton is here.

Nobody, I mean nobody knows what we are doing. Especially Clayton.

Clayton, along with the rest of the reporters at ESPN are the same people who got duped by Keyshawn Johnson's joking conversation with a trainer into meaning he was unhappy.

[lkelly]

Isn't pre-draft bullsh*t fun? Almost as fun as the actual draft. The kegerator will be taking a beating tomorrow.

[Alexander]

Isn't pre-draft bullsh*t fun? Almost as fun as the actual draft. The kegerator will be taking a beating tomorrow.

I don't know anymore.

It was fun a week ago.

Now with all of these unfounded rumors not fit to poop on are being thrown out there by the largest sports media outlet in the country, it is like fingernails on a blackboard.

[LA=Pancakemaker]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/buzz604/dosxxx.jpg
ok its officially time to get drunk! No more speculation!

:cheers: :cheers:

[Alexander]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/buzz604/dosxxx.jpg
ok its officially time to get drunk! No more speculation!

:cheers: :cheers:

I intend to have a few pints this weekend.

[Chuck 54]

I have to disagree with you guys....I'm not a big fan of Merriman yet, but if Parcells is convinced this guy IS what his numbers say he is, and if he is indeed the one player we really want, then we should move up to get him...that's how the game is played.

Parcells wouldn't move up for him if he thought Ware or Pollack or anyone else was just as good...he proved that last year. If Parcells moves up for Merriman, it will be because he sees a special player that is superior enough to everyone else that it's a dropoff to let him get away...I'm tired of letting great players get away in the name of bringing in more players.

I don't know if Merriman has GREAT written on him or not, but if he does, then we'd be foolish to let him get away from us.

Ware is not Merriman....Ware has never played LB, ever....he's played his entire career with his hand on the ground, and many who think he'll be a very good pass rusher don't think he'll hold up as an every down player in the NFL at his size. The same is true of Pollack...he hasn't played as a LB...he doesn't have the speed of Merriman or the size, and Merriman is known as a bigger hitter/nastier player than any of these guys.

Merriman has played most of his career up on his feet, but has the size to put his hand on the ground...there is no other player who has the speed and experience to play OLB and the size and physical strength to also take on the blocks of OT's and TE's...none.

I'm not saying the pick will be Merriman....not saying it's a bad move to trade down and take someone else or to stay put and take Ware or anyone else.

I'm simply saying that in this case, I don't have a problem with trading up a little if that's what it takes to get Merriman...if that happens, I'm trusting that Parcells knows this guy is the impact OLB/DE that he covets over any other defensive player in the draft...it can't be a mistake if the guy ends up being as good as BP would have to think he is in order to move up for him.

I also think there's a fact, whether all this Merriman talk is a smokescreen or not, that physically there isn't another player in the draft who can compare equally to Merriman as an OLB who is physical and takes on blocks and is a big hitter....and there's no tweener with speed who measures up in size and strength to hold up against the run.

Ware may even be a better pass rusher...time will tell...but I do believe Ware is a more 1-dimensional player.

I'm officially on the Merriman bandwagon, but if we go another route, I won't be disappointed...I'll just assume Parcells knows more about these players and what he wants to do with them than I do.

[Chuck 54]

What about the possibility of trading #11, Hunter and/or Morgan to Minnesota for #7?

Minnesota might go for something like this if the players that they targetting are off the board.
Unless we're drafting one of the top WR's, we can't afford to give up Morgan right now....we have absolutely nothing behind Key and Glenn.

[Joe a Cowboys fan]

I don't see it happening but I wouldn't be averse to Dallas offering both first round picks for Braylon Edwards if we can horn swoggle Miami. The last next best thing to a perfect WR for Dallas was way back in 1988 and Michael was good for us. It's not like we have invested any real picks in WR since then other than "the trade" for that broken down WR/PR now in Tampa. Granted this years WRs are not as strong as last years but sooner or later we need at least one WR we can hopefully depend on for the next 10 years. We didn't have this option last year. With a second first round pick it is at least theoretically possible this year with a player sweetner or a first day pick next year as a sweetner. If Bill is dealing missinformation then trading up is at least as likely as all this possibility of trading down I have heard. On the whole I would love to see this.

[conner01]

stay at 11,take the guy that falls to you.spears,ware,merriman,all can't be gone.if ware and merriman are both gone then williamson will be there and he could be the pick.i don't think they will even consider trading up at 11,but if they got ware or merriman at 11 and spears fell they may move up a couple of spots for him but otherwise it's all down

[Chuck 54]

stay at 11,take the guy that falls to you.spears,ware,merriman,all can't be gone.if ware and merriman are both gone then williamson will be there and he could be the pick.i don't think they will even consider trading up at 11,but if they got ware or merriman at 11 and spears fell they may move up a couple of spots for him but otherwise it's all down
If Spears fell???? Most are projecting Spears as a guy who will be there at 11...how many teams want a big DE who isn't a true pass rusher?

[MiStar]

James
Merriman
Ware
Spears
Pollack

There isn't much, if any drop off in value between these five. The more of these that get taken in the top ten, the more trade bait falls to us.

[Avery]

Really, does anyone believe any of this stuff? It's all false info. and unfounded rumors strewn across by journalists who need anything to print.

When it comes down to it, the logical will happen. Smith will go #1. Dallas stays put, etc.

Clayton wouldn't know his head from his buttocks if not for the glasses.

[CaptainComeback]

If Merriman is gone, and MW is still there, I wouldn't be surprised if we took MW. Ware might drop down to 20, if not, we could always go with Pollack.

If Mike Williams slides it will be no lower than #7 overall. Book it.

[Chief]

Clayton wouldn't know his head from his buttocks if not for the glasses.

It's hard for any of us to tell Clayton's head from his buttocks.

[MichaelWinicki]

We trade up for Mamula...er... Merriman and I'll snap.

[AsthmaField]

I have to disagree with you guys....I'm not a big fan of Merriman yet, but if Parcells is convinced this guy IS what his numbers say he is, and if he is indeed the one player we really want, then we should move up to get him...that's how the game is played.

Parcells wouldn't move up for him if he thought Ware or Pollack or anyone else was just as good...he proved that last year. If Parcells moves up for Merriman, it will be because he sees a special player that is superior enough to everyone else that it's a dropoff to let him get away...I'm tired of letting great players get away in the name of bringing in more players.

I don't know if Merriman has GREAT written on him or not, but if he does, then we'd be foolish to let him get away from us.

Ware is not Merriman....Ware has never played LB, ever....he's played his entire career with his hand on the ground, and many who think he'll be a very good pass rusher don't think he'll hold up as an every down player in the NFL at his size. The same is true of Pollack...he hasn't played as a LB...he doesn't have the speed of Merriman or the size, and Merriman is known as a bigger hitter/nastier player than any of these guys.

Merriman has played most of his career up on his feet, but has the size to put his hand on the ground...there is no other player who has the speed and experience to play OLB and the size and physical strength to also take on the blocks of OT's and TE's...none.

I'm not saying the pick will be Merriman....not saying it's a bad move to trade down and take someone else or to stay put and take Ware or anyone else.

I'm simply saying that in this case, I don't have a problem with trading up a little if that's what it takes to get Merriman...if that happens, I'm trusting that Parcells knows this guy is the impact OLB/DE that he covets over any other defensive player in the draft...it can't be a mistake if the guy ends up being as good as BP would have to think he is in order to move up for him.

I also think there's a fact, whether all this Merriman talk is a smokescreen or not, that physically there isn't another player in the draft who can compare equally to Merriman as an OLB who is physical and takes on blocks and is a big hitter....and there's no tweener with speed who measures up in size and strength to hold up against the run.

Ware may even be a better pass rusher...time will tell...but I do believe Ware is a more 1-dimensional player.

I'm officially on the Merriman bandwagon, but if we go another route, I won't be disappointed...I'll just assume Parcells knows more about these players and what he wants to do with them than I do.


The voice of reason.

Many people keep saying that there isn't that much difference between the pass rushers. Well, Parcells may think there is... and if he thinks Merriman is head and shoulders above every other pass rush candidate, then he may well think it's worth moving up a few picks.

People say the media doesn't have a clue as to what we're going to do... yet they think they've got it figured out. Funny.

So Parcells thinks Ware, Merriman, Spears, Pollack, and Blackstock are all about the same? Really...

That may be news to big Bill. Just because he thought the RB's were about equal last year and he traded down... don't think that has much to do with the pass rushers and this draft. He may think one of those guys is twice as good as everyone else and be willing to part with some extra's to get him. We just don't know.

[T-Bone 625]

Long time listener first time caller. I'm really beginning to think Spears may be the target at #11. He is not a pass rush specialist, but he is a 300 lb guy to anchor the strong side DE in a 3-4. We can then choose the best avaliable option at rush DE or OLB at the #20 slot. There are more of those guys to choose from. Spears will not make it to #20.

[Nors]

Thats how I see it

*Its Spears and Travis Johnson as opyions to anchor 3-4 DE with Spears more experienced.

*Then its Ware, Merriman, Pollack, Cody, Tuck in the other grouping.

Then you have to figure how to get 1 in each group.