Ravens offensive lineman Jared Gaither left Baltimore’s game against New England on Sunday after suffering an apparent head or neck injury. He was taken off the field on a stretcher.

Gaither laid on the ground for several minutes as trainers attended to him, but he never got up and had to be carted off. He did show movement in his arms and legs, but the severity of the injury is unknown at this point.

Michael Oher shifted from to left tackle, while Marshal Yanda replaced Oher on the right side.

The USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 college football coaches’ poll has been released and to no surprise, Florida ranks No. 1.

Here’s the top 15 (via ESPN.com):

1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. Alabama
6. Ohio State
7. Virginia Tech
8. Penn State
9. LSU
10. Mississippi
11. Oklahoma State
12. California
13. Georgia
14. Oregon
15. Georgia Tech

The most intriguing team to watch this year in the top 15 is Ole’ Miss. The have a solid quarterback in Jevan Snead a true playmaker in Dexter McCluster, a couple of quality receivers and several capable rushers. But the one thing that could keep the Rebels from taking that next step is the play of the offensive and defensive lines. They lost two significant pieces of both lines last year when Michael Oher and Peria Jerry were drafted into the NFL. Can they replace both of those players and make some noise in the SEC?

Another team to at least keep an eye on this year is North Carolina, who is ranked 20 in the preseason poll. They lost receivers Hakeem Nicks and Brandon Tate to the NFL, but their offense is still chockfull of potential and their defense was incredibly opportunistic last year. I’m not saying the Heels will challenge for a national title this season, but they’ll be competitive.

The Heisman race is going to be fun to watch all year, too. Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Terrelle Pryor hold the edge going into the season, but watch out for sleepers like Evan Royster, Jonathan Dwyer and Jahvid Best.

Oakland Raiders:
– Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell admitted that he reported to camp “a little heavy.” Hey JaMarcus, I know Jeff Garcia doesn’t look like much but he’s gunning for your job and I highly doubt he reported to camp “a little heavy.”

– The Raiders agreed to terms with rookie first round pick Darrius Heyward-Bey on a five-year contract. Now he can get busy on trying to make Al Davis look good for taking him instead of Michael Crabtree with the seventh overall pick in April’s draft.

Michael Vick:
– Free agent Michael Vick told the AP that he is getting close to deciding on a team to sign with. It’s unclear at this point if Vick meant an NFL team, or a flag football team in the Newport News, Virginia area.

New York Jets:
– Running back Thomas Jones reported to training camp on time despite skipping voluntary OTA sessions this spring. While this certainly doesn’t mean Jones is happy about his situation in New York, it appears that he’ll be in a Jets uniform this season and will be one leg of a tripod that also includes Leon Washington and Shonn Greene.

– Speaking of Washington, the New York Daily News confirms that the Jets are close to finalizing a contract extension with the running back.

New England Patriots:
– As expected, Tom Brady participated in the Pats’ first training camp practice on Thursday and will avoid going on the PUP list at the start of the season. He did practice with a brace on his left knee, but he’ll more than likely will be sporting that for the rest of his career.

Kansas City Chiefs:
– Larry Johnson is apparently thrilled to be staying in Kansas City and will report to training camp on time Friday. Maybe Johnson and the Chiefs can burry the hatchet in training camp and have a successful marriage this season.

Baltimore Ravens:
– The Black Birds signed rookie offensive tackle Michael Oher to a five-year, $13.795 million contract with $7.8 million in guarantees. Oher was a steal at No. 23, but he’ll need to work on his run blocking skills at the next level.

As spring practices wrap up across the country, Andy Staples of SI.com ranked the top 25 college football teams entering the 2009 season. You can see Staples’ rankings by clicking the link above.

I’m intrigued by a couple of teams on his top 25, most notably Ole’ Miss (No. 7), Ohio State (No. 9) and TCU (No. 11).

Ole’ Miss is going to give a lot of SEC teams trouble this year with 16 total starters (8 on offense, 8 on defense) returning from last year, including quarterback Jevan Snead, who enters his second full season as a starter after throwing 26 touchdowns last season. They lost key components in offensive tackle Michael Oher and defensive tackle Peria Jerry, but they essentially return the same team that beat Florida, LSU and stomped Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl last year. (Not to mention also gave Alabama a game in Tuscaloosa.)

Out of the teams Staples ranks in his top 10, Ohio State has the fewest returning starters at nine. But quarterback Terrelle Pryor will only continue to improve with more playing time and running back Dan “Boom” Herron will ease the loss of Beanie Wells to the NFL. The Buckeyes should also have one of the best defensive fronts in the Big Ten, with end Lawrence Wilson and tackle Cameron Heyward set to return.

TCU turned a lot of heads last year after compiling an 11-2 record, including impressive wins over BYU and Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl. They had one of the fastest defenses in the nation last year and they held opponents to a staggering 11.3 points per game. But they lost seven starters on the defensive side of the ball, which was obviously their strength, so it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll stack up with Utah again in the Mountain West.

Another team to keep an eye on is Oregon State, who returns two explosive playmakers in running back Jacquizz Rodgers and wide receiver James Rodgers. But as Staples writes in his top 25 rankings, quarterback Lyle Moevano is coming off offseason shoulder surgery and will battle senior Sean Canfield in preseason practice.

I’m going to channel my inner Peter King and dole out a crap load of quick-hit thoughts on last weekend’s NFL draft, which by the way, was one of the more unpredictable drafts I have ever witnessed.

Below are 65 observations from the 2009 NFL Draft. Why 65? I don’t know – don’t worry about it. Originally I came up with 62, but I know that some people freak out when things aren’t in round numbers, so I added three more. But the number 65 means nothing, so don’t waste time searching for its meaning.

Obviously these are all my opinions and feel free to debate them. But before you do, I already know that it supposedly takes three seasons to fully grade a draft and that no prospect is a sure thing. Again, I’m projecting here – so lighten up and let’s strike up some good debates.

1. Outside of the fact that he’s now a millionaire and could buy a small country, I kind of feel bad for Matthew Stafford. You know some halfwit fan or media member can’t wait to utter the comment, “For $72 million, he should have made that pass.” I hate the fact that money plays such a huge role in sports because when you get down to it, completing a pass, making a catch or kicking a field goal has nothing to do with how many zeros are on your paycheck.

2. I know I’m not saying anything new here, but the rookie salary structure is a joke. When teams don’t even want a top 5 pick anymore because of the financial burden that comes with it, there’s a huge problem.

3. The kid could turn out to be the next Ryan Leaf on the field, but Lion fans have to at least take comfort in the fact that Matthew Stafford is saying all the right things at this point. He did an interview with the NFL Network on Sunday and he talked about how he wants to be a starter right away, but also wants to learn and be patient in his development. From all accounts, he looks like he has a great head on his shoulders.

4. If Tyson Jackson turns out to be the next Richard Seymour like Chiefs’ GM Scott Pioli believes, then nobody is going to remember (or care) that he was taken with the third overall pick in a weak draft class.

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