Posts by Tom Mantzouranis at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Torry Holt took a hardline stance when asked his impressions of Rams' rookie receiver Donnie Avery yesterday, which is fine -- this "prove it" stuff happens between veterans and rookies every year, and Holt has the career and locker room respect to be brash. But how much longer will Holt have that respect?

This is merely an opinion, but if Holt continues down the path he's on, I'm not sure his reputation in St. Louis is going to be regarded as lovingly as it currently is.

It seems unlikely that Holt will ever be the bad guy in St. Louis as it stands, considering his production and seemingly benevolent demeanor. But the same was thought of Tiki Barber years ago, and that didn't stop him from embarking on a degradation campaign.

The seeds were planted last year, when Holt blew up on Scott Linehan in an incident that seems to go far deeper than either side portrayed. This offseason, Holt has publicly daydreamed about a future playing in Carolina.

Hmmm, a team trying to rebound from a bad year dealing with distractions because one player couldn't get along with his coach and was playing with one foot out the door. Where have we heard that one before? I'm not saying anything definitive, and of course I can be proven very wrong this season. But the parallels are there, and I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see hostility continue to rise.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the Saints have been rumored to be on the outs from New Orleans. Los Angeles, San Antonio, Berlin in the NFL Europa 2.0 league -- most people have been placing the future of the team in cities that aren't New Orleans (maybe that last one was made up).

Those rumors, in Katrina's wake, were justified -- and if insiders are to be believed, Tom Benson's plan to upheave the Saints to San Antonio was far more reality than rumor. Just google "New Orleans' crumbling economy can't meet the financial demands of a pro football team," and you'll get plenty of results arguing for relocation.

But those rumors haven't died even though the NFL, from the waaaay back days of Paul Tagliabue, has committed over and over to keeping the Saints in New Orleans for the long haul. When the specs were unveiled last month for the beautiful new stadium potentially coming to Los Angeles, some media reports had the Saints as potential tenants despite two consecutive season ticket sell-outs.

But the team isn't going anywhere.

We may still not know whether Jim Colletto was using the mechanics of Drew Stanton as another excuse to fire a shot in the ongoing war between the Lions and Mike Martz. But I think we've now got a better idea.

The Lions drafted him in the second round out of Michigan State, and offensive coordinator Mike Martz immediately altered his mechanics.

"He changed everything, and I didn't really understand why and I never really got explanations on how to work on it," Stanton said. "It was one of those things, 'Well, you're just doing this wrong.' "

Stanton said he "felt robotic" and struggled to think about the offense while thinking about his mechanics.

Hmmmm. Control freak? Check. Convoluted? Check. Egotistical? Check. Abrasive? Check. Yep, sounds like Martz.

Of course, now that Stanton is healthy from the knee injury that derailed his entire season, and working with quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler instead of the departed Martz, things are going much better. He even notes that working under Loeffler is such a relief comparatively that going to work is all "sunshine, puppy dogs, and cotton candy" (note: not in those words).

Say what you want about Shaun Rogers, but the team's biggest tumor the last two years was Martz.

It just wouldn't be a day at Lions headquarters without the team spending time that could prepare for the future instead looking to the past. Namely, the petty, childish back-and-forth between the team and jettisoned egomaniac Mike Martz.

On the topic of Drew Stanton, who redshirted his rookie year, and the difference between learning his mechanics from Martz last year and now quarterback coach Scot Loeffler, new offensive coordinator Jim Colletto noted that Stanton "looks like he's throwing the ball better."

A swipe at Martz? It could be that this is just an innocuous comment from Colletto regarding Stanton's progress as a player, and I'm reading way too much into it (I've been known to do this in the past). It could also be that The Free Press took that innocuous quote and framed it in a peculiar context to lure gullible readers like me into what they want the story to be (the media has been known to do this in the past, as well). I don't know, I wasn't there.

But it wouldn't surprise me if it was a tiny dig, seeing as how it seems like the team has incorporated Martz-bashing into its offseason training regime.

Randy Moss dances with hot chicks. Stop the presses.

That picture you see is Moss dancing with who TMZ thinks is Miss Kentucky Alysha Harris. The two were caught at some Kentucky Derby festivities this past weekend.

I could get into how I feel about our perversion with every single thing celebrities (or quasi-celebrities) do, and how much it irks me that people are so bored by their own lives that they need to live vicariously through others'. But that would make me a hypocrite, I guess (hey, I'm doin' it for the money -- at least that's what I say to fall asleep comfortably at night).

That being said, I implore the commentors to leave your "OMG look at what she's doing! What a slut!" and "He should be at home watching game film! How unprofessional!" comments at the door. The two are dancing. It's called "fun." People have it.

Instead, I'll just remind myself how awesome it must be to be Randy Moss. And she wouldn't even be the hottest WAG in the Pats locker room.

The news that Shaun Alexander (pictured right) is visiting the Saints has been met with concern and the overwhelming sound of an entire city groaning at the same time.

The concern stems from the fact that people seem to believe that the news that the Saints are "interested" means that the good vibrations from Deuce McAllister's restructuring are over, that this is the beginning of Deuce's demise. The groaning because, well, Shaun Alexander?

But let's not overreact. This is just a (flat) tire kicking. Alexander is making visits, the Saints might need a back at some point. The two sides are familiarizing. That doesn't mean either will like what they find.

For Alexander, it doesn't make sense to sign with any team right now; his value is at its lowest. He'll wait until camp to capitalize on injuries, when he'll command more money. And if the Saints really had an interest in replacing Deuce, they would have surely been better off addressing the need in the draft or with a rookie free agent. They didn't bring a single back into the fold. Though I highly, highly doubt that this pairing will happen, it certainly could. But that would be the aftermath of McAllister's release (because of the health of his knee), not the cause of it.

For the past 10 years, I've hated Leonard Little. I've questioned why he was allowed to continue playing in the NFL. I've seen him as another (unprintable adjective) athlete who committed horror and got away with it. Sure enough, if it were Roger Goodell's NFL in 1998, he probably wouldn't be playing. Now, quite honestly, I'm not sure what I think.

Little has finally addressed for the first time what happened then, when he killed a woman while driving drunk, and the aftermath he's dealt with personally at a school in St. Louis.

"A few weeks later, I tried to kill myself," ... "I had gone back home to my mom's house outside Knoxville (Tenn.), and the first thing I did was just go down in her basement. It had no windows, just a bathroom, a sink and a television. I stayed in the dark for days. All I did was cry. I couldn't deal with what I'd done."

Little intentionally drives past the spot of the accident on the way to Edward Jones Dome to remind himself, and refuses to celebrate his birthday because it's also the anniversary of the worst day of his life ("What's there to celebrate? It's an annual reminder of what I did"). He tells the children at the school, "I killed someone and I constantly think about the hurt I caused that family. ... I made a bad decision, and it cost someone her life and ruined her family's lives. You don't want that burden on you."

This touches on two matters.

For all intents and purposes, the Rams were going to use their second overall pick on Glenn Dorsey last weekend. All of the pre-draft hype indicated an interest and, though all of the zany behavior every April has me doubting everything everyone says, it was apparently genuine. All of the teams' scouts and coaches wanted Dorsey.

But team president John Shaw wanted Chris Long. So when he arrived at headquarters the Thursday before the draft, he decreed it so -- Long would be the pick. Even if Shaw was stepping down from his ivory tower to get involved in football matters that are better left to, you know, football people, I agree with him.

The best teams find a way to merge the two divergent draft philosophies -- need vs. best player available. Even if Dorsey was the Rams' top-rated player, they already have a good, young pair of tackles in Adam Carriker and Clifton Ryan. On the outside? The ancient, brittle Leonard Little and the ancient, um, average (to be kind) James Hall. I know a push up the middle helps your ends, but the only thing that would help these ends at this point is the Career Kevorkian.

So it makes sense to draft Long. If the team wants to win now (ie, if Scott Linehan wants to provide his family hot food every night), they need to spread talent across as many positions as possible. What good is clogging the middle if teams can just attack the outside? Right?

Some of the last-minute rumor-mongering leading up to the first day of the draft had the Saints dangling All Pro left tackle Jammal Brown in trade talks with the Rams and Chiefs for their first-round picks, and the Eagles for Lito Sheppard. None happened, and Brown is still a Saint. Sean Payton insists it was never going to happen any other way.

"There is (so much) written leading up to the draft, and I bet it's about 50-percent accurate and 50-percent false," Payton said. "When it comes to a player like Jammal, I think it's a credit to him. ... but we're not interested in trading (him).

"I read a little bit of that, but you'll go crazy trying to pay attention to all of it. There was no interest on our part in trading him."

He may be telling the truth. I've got no knowledge of the situation (and very little knowledge in general). But I'm also not about to deem this an open and shut case. Simply, the team would never come out and say that it attempted to trade a player after failing, especially one as vital as Brown. That might create some acrimony, what scientists have dubbed the "Ocho Cinco Effect" (look it up in the next DSM).

But here's the truth -- Brown's knees have long-term uncertainty, he'll be looking for a big deal soon, and the team has stockpiled offensive tackles for what I believe are reasons that extend beyond the fact that it's good practice to build depth there. It might not be this year, but I don't think Brown is long for New Orleans.

San Francisco 49ers 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (29): Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina
Round 2 (39): Chilo Racal, OG, Southern Cal.
Round 3 (75): Reggie Smith, DB, Oklahoma
Round 4 (107): Cody Wallace, C, Texas A&M
Round 6 (174): Josh Morgan, WR, Virginia Tech
Round 7 (214): Larry Grant, OLB, Ohio State

The Good: Every pick was spent on a position of need, though I can nitpick a little. Racal was the draft's second-best guard and the 49ers desperately need some help there. Smith at one point was a solid first-round selection. He's talented and his versatility will allow the 49ers to let him roam the secondary. Balmer, if motivated, seriously addresses their need for a standout defensive end in the 3-4

The Bad: I'm not one of those people who has a lot of faith in Balmer. Some see him as an emerging player, I'm skeptical of a one-year star who was playing for a contract, but the jury remains out. I preferred Johnathan Sullivan over Wallace, though there's nothing wrong with that pick (plus, I'm an idiot). I don't think receiver was as big of a need as others were making it out to be, but I still think they should have addressed that and outside linebacker higher than they did. The team could have also stood to come out of the draft with a developmental offensive tackle.

The Grade: B+. Even though I feel like they really only nailed one pick -- Smith -- out of the park, their first five picks should all make the team and at least the first four will contribute. They did address their needs and improved them across the board. This isn't a flashy draft, but it's one that makes teams better.

Click here to read other Draft Grades.