Patriots draft OT Nate Solder, trade 28th pick to New Orleans Saints

from Boston:

The Patriots selected Colorado offensive tackle Nate Solder with the No. 17 pick in the NFL draft.

 At 6-8 and 319 pounds, Solder fills a gap for the Patriots with uncertainty on the offensive line. He's a converted tight end and a three-year starter on the line, allowing just five sacks in that time span.

This last year he was a consensus All-American as Colorado's starting left tackle. He was one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy and a unanimous All-Big 12 Conference first-team choice. He also received the Zack Jordan Award as Colorado's most valuable player. The 23-year old is from Buena Vista, Colo.

Some of his stats from the last year:

- He led the Big 12 with a 94.3 percent grade for blocking consistency, the highest grade by a Colorado blocker since All-American Andre Gurode in 2001.
- Led the nation with 142 knockdowns.
- Produced 10 touchdown-resulting blocks.
- Allowed just one sack in the season.
- Allowed only three pressures in the season.
- Flagged for only one penalty in 2010.

A couple of notes on Solder from Pro Football Weekly:

- He has outstanding feet, moving much like (you guessed it) a tight end.
- Excellent second level blocker, getting downfield and able to hit moving targets.
- He's hardworking and coachable.
- Plays too upright.
- Lacks base strength.
- Struggled in one-on-one team drills at Senior Bowl.

Looks awesome to me.  


Also from Boston:

The Patriots traded its No. 28 pick in the NFL draft to the New Orleans Saints for two later picks.

The Patriots give the Saints their No. 28 in the first round for the Saints' second round pick (No. 56 overall) and a first round pick in 2012.

The Saints selected Alabama running back Mark Ingram with the pick. With the trade, that should be the end of the Patriots' day in the draft.

Now, the Patriots have five picks tomorrow in the second and third rounds. The Nos. 33 (from Carolina), 56 (from New Orleans), 60, 74 (from Minnesota) and 92.

Despite "end" to lockout, nobody reports to Foxboro

(Unrelated picture of Matt Light with a firearm)

from Providence Journal Pats blog:

Patriots spokesman Stacey James said today that no members of the team had reported to the team's facilities in Foxboro today, on the day after a federal judge ordered an end to the NFL lockout. The league is requesting a stay of that decision and intends to appeal it.

Matt Light, the team's player representative, said at a charity event that he is advising his teammates to "give it a little time" before reporting back to New England.

"Guys are wondering, 'Do I need to get on a plane today? How do I proceed?'" Light said at the Lockout Breakfast, an event he planned earlier this month to benefit the Light Foundation, according to reports. "I can't give them answers to all those things, but hopefully later on tonight I will have more of them."

Light said NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith will be on a conference call tonight to provide updates on the situation.

The judge who yesterday ended the lockout, Amy Nelson, has announced that she will take at least a day before making a decision on whether her ruling should be put on hold pending appeal; the players have until tomorrow morning to file their response to the owners' request for a stay.

Meanwhile, according to reports, a few players for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers have trickled into their team facilities today. They were allowed to enter but not allowed to work out.

Union reps for some other teams advised players to stay away. And a player for the Buffalo Bills, Leodis McKelvin, was turned away when he tried to enter his team's facilities.

I'm imagining a couple of lawyers following the players around: "Now, you're allowed to look at the field, but you're not allowed to think about it.  You can use the space adjacent to the toilet, but not the toilet itself."  Madness.

Peyton Manning intentionally fails concussion test

from USA Today:

Four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning has admitted that he intentionally fails the NFL's baseline concussion tests.
Manning, the Indianapolis Colts QB who is currently unsigned, told ESPN (via PFT) that he low-balls the preseason baseline tests with the expectation that it may help him remain in the game if he suffers a head injury during the year.
Said Manning:

"They have these new (brain) tests we have to take. Before the season, you have to look at 20 pictures and turn the paper over and then try to draw those 20 pictures. And they do it with words, too. Twenty words, you flip it over, and try to write those 20 words.
"Then, after a concussion, you take the same test and if you do worse than you did on the first test, you can't play. So I just try to do badly on the first test."

Former NFL player Matt Bowen said in a column for the National Football Post this week that he used to do poorly on the baseline tests also.
Last month, the NFL unveiled new guidelines for assessing concussions and will implement a new standardized approach.
Last Week, Dr. Daniel Amen told Fox Sports he has clients with NFL teams who have admitted to him they tank the baseline concussion tests.

This, of course, is just Peyton's excuse for being unable to memorize words and pictures.

NFL Lockout Suspended (Temporarily)

from the LA times:

The players' request for an injunction to lift the NFL lockout was granted by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Nelson on Monday.

The decision is seen an early victory for the players in their fight for a new collective bargaining agreement, though the NFL owners will appeal Monday's ruling to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The league issued the following statement:

"We will promptly seek a stay from Judge Nelson pending an expedited appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. We believe that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes. We are confident that the Eighth Circuit will agree. But we also believe that this dispute will inevitably end with a collective bargaining agreement, which would be in the best interests of players, clubs and fans. We can reach a fair agreement only if we continue negotiations toward that goal."

The lockout could be reinstituted in the coming weeks or months if the Eighth Circuit rules in its favor.

Reports indicate that the players are not actually allowed to train at their facilities yet.  This is incredibly bizarre, don't you think?