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Florida CB Haden runs 4.4 forty at Pro Day

After he ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.57-4.60 range at the scouting combine, Florida cornerback Joe Haden rebounded with a solid showing at his Pro Day, clocking a time in the mid-4.4 range according to TFY Draft Insider.

There were some pundits that thought Haden would slip in the first round after his showing at the combine, but he was dealing with a lower back sprain that no doubt factored into his slow forty time. But he apparently ran on sloppy conditions at his Pro Day and proved to scouts that he has more than enough speed to be a starting caliber corner at the next level.

In my Mock 1.0, I have Cleveland taking Haden with the No. 8 overall pick, but I think his draft status will inevitably be tied to Tennessee safety Eric Berry. The Browns have major secondary needs and if Berry falls to No. 8, I don’t think he’ll get past Cleveland. If that happens, then Haden will likely fall out of the top 10 but won’t get past the 49ers at No. 14.

If Berry is selected before then (I have him going No. 6 to the Seahawks), I believe the Browns will take Haden at No. 7 and pair him with Eric Wright, whom they believe can develop into a top 10 corner. Either way, I envision Cleveland investing their first round pick on its secondary this April.


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Once again, Huston Street’s health a concern

While he proved to be a nice surprise in 2009 by staying relatively healthy on his way to racking up 35 saves, a 3.06 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP, Rockies’ closer Huston Street is once again an injury concern for fantasy owners.

The Denver Post reports that Street felt tightness in his shoulder while recently playing catch and has been shut down indefinitely. There’s now a good chance that he will start the 2010 season on the disabled list, pending the results of a MRI. With Rafael Betancourt also sidelined due to a shoulder injury, Colorado may have to turn to Manny Corpas to close games to start of the season.

How will Street’s injury affect your draft? Well, hopefully you weren’t overvaluing him on draft day solely based on his ’09 production. He was a top 10 closer before the injury, but now you might want to avoid him altogether on draft day. And with his early struggles last year, you might want to avoid Corpas until late in your draft as well.

Given his history and current injury issues, there are plenty of other closers that will be more reliable and offer more upside than Street will. That list includes the Giants’ Brian Wilson, the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol, the A’s Andrew Bailey and the Mariners’ David Aardsma. Any one of those relievers would offer you more value than Street in your draft, with less risk.

For The Scores Report’s official 2010 fantasy rankings of relievers, click here.


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Montana: Favre coming back, but wants to avoid training camp

Joe Montana is confident that Brett Favre will return to football this season, but believes the 40-year-old quarterback is playing coy with his plans because he doesn’t want to go to training camp.

“He says he’s not sure [about playing] because he doesn’t want to go to training camp. He’s smart,” Montana said. “I’m sure he already has that agreement with them. Nine chances out of 10 they already know and they’ve already had this whole conversation and they should just let everybody know because they know he’s going to come back.

“He knows he’s going to come back, but the reason they don’t say anything is because he doesn’t want to go through training camp,” Montana said. “If he didn’t have to go through training camp, his decision would already be made, but he should know by now going to training camp isn’t going to be hard. They’d never make it hard on him.”

Seeing as how the Vikings have shown zero signs of panicking about Favre’s pending decision, I think Montana is right on the money. Favre has always disliked going to training camp, so it would make sense that he would have an agreement with the Vikings that he’d return as long as he doesn’t have to go to camp.

The Vikings haven’t made any moves yet pertaining to their quarterback situation that would suggest Favre isn’t coming back. And with Favre’s familiarity with Brad Childress’ offense, it wouldn’t take him long to get ready for the season if he skipped camp and showed up when the team started their regular practices. Personally, I think he should be in camp with his teammates, but maybe that’s just me.


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Seahawks’ to pass on trading for Marshall?

FOXSports.com’s John Czarnecki writes that there’s no way that Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll will part with the sixth overall pick for Brandon Marshall.

Remember when Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall flew to Seattle once free agency began? Well, the Seahawks checked him out, but still haven’t made an offer. Yes, Marshall is available, but the asking price is steep. At minimum a first-round draft choice and there’s no way that Pete Carroll is parting with the sixth overall pick for a disgruntled receiver who really can’t stretch the field. The Seahawks already have enough of those types of receivers: overpaid route runners!

Is it just me or does Czarnecki’s reports usually leave a little something to be desired? He has the access to provide good information but the follow through usually comes up short. It’s almost like he fails to look at all the information before formulating his opinions.

Even though the Seahawks brought Marshall in for a visit a couple weeks ago, it makes no sense for them to put together an offer sheet when no other team has shown interest yet. Why would they compete against themselves in a trade like that? Plus, Czarnecki fails to mention that Seattle also has the 14th overall pick, which allows them to keep their selection at No. 6 and still attempt to work out a trade for Marshall. If they could get another team involved, the Seahawks could trade the No. 14 selection for a later first round pick, get more compensation (whether it be another second or third rounder) and then trade whatever first round pick they acquire from the third team to Denver for Marshall.

So while I agree with the sentiment that Carroll won’t give up the No. 6 overall pick for Marshall, he could still do a lot with No. 14.

Lastly, I wouldn’t call Marshall a true speedster but he can certainly stretch the field. I think what Czarnecki is confused about is the fact that Marshall isn’t explosive off the ball, which gives people the impression that he’s not a true deep threat. But he has more than enough speed and once he gets into full stride, his long legs allow him to create separation from defensive backs. So to insinuate that Marshall would just be another “overpaid route runner” is absolutely ridiculous.


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CBS analyst Seth Davis chats with The Scores Report

CBS analyst and SI writer Seth Davis is partnering with Coke Zero in promoting their Department of Fannovation Brain Bracket, where 64 hand-picked ideas to improve the fan experience will go head-to-head in single elimination format until a winner is announced. (My favorite is the one where arenas would have actual working decibel monitors pop up on the big screen to encourage the crowd to make more noise.)

Seth took time out of his busy schedule this week to chat with TSR about Kentucky’s youth, Duke’s versatility, tournament expansion and even the NBA’s age-limit rule.

The Scores Report: Hey Seth, how are you doing?

Seth Davis: Doing all right, man, how are you doing?

TSR: Good to talk to you. It’s an exciting week of basketball.

SD: Yeah, it’s always good this time of year. It’s the best.

TSR: I just saw your video of your Final Four picks over at SI.com, and it turns out we have the same picks.

SD: That is definitely the most popular combination, it sounds like. I don’t know if that’s a good sign for you.

TSR: Yeah I don’t know either. Is there any pressure when you’re doing these picks, not to pick four #1 seeds?

SD: You know what, there kind of is. There’s a little bit of pressure to look for upsets, but I try to do what I honestly think, and in the past, I’m usually Mr. Upset, but looking at this bracket, I wasn’t feeling it. I wish I felt otherwise. It might surprise people to learn given how brilliant my picks are, when they hand me that bracket in the studio, before the selection show, I take about four minutes to fill out the whole thing. I just go with my instinct and go with what I see, and that’s where my pen led me.

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