NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Jason La Canfora of NFL.com reports that:

The Detroit Lions are strongly considering making a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for restricted free-agent guard Rob Sims, according to a league source.

Once the Lions expressed interest in restricted free agent Anthony Hargrove, I was a little surprised that they hadn't inquired about Rob Sims.  Sims is one of the best young guards in the game and he is tendered at a 4th round pick.

The deadline for signing a restricted free agent to an offer sheet is April 15th, and the Lions' decisions between now and then will provide great insight into their designs for the 2nd pick in the draft.  If the Lions sign Hargrove and surrender a third round pick, they would most likely not draft Suh or McCoy with the 2nd pick.  If they sign Sims and cough up a 4th rounder, they almost certainly won't draft a left tackle like Russell Okung or Trent Williams.  Don't rule out the possibility that the Lions are expressing interest in either player as a smokescreen.  Mayhew loves keeping people guessing what their plans are, what better way than this?

A few national reports, including one each from the two-headed ESPN reporting monster of Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen make it seem like the Rams have NOT in fact found a new owner.  And that also means that the limbo that the Rams were subject to over the past year and a half could continue for a longer, undetermined length of time.  This would be terrible for the Rams and their fans who were happy to finally have closure with a St. Louis-friendly owner.

But, the place where I am confused is, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has repeatedly busted the two growing concerns.  The first concern is the Khan's dispute with the IRS and the amount of debt that Khan would have to borrow against his company, Flex-o-Gate.

Here's Bernie from February 15th, 2010:

Khan also is embroiled in a tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS disallowed some tax shelters utilized by Khan and asked him to pay more taxes. Khan gave the IRS an additional $68 million but is appealing the decision. And he is suing the financial advisers who set up the tax shelters.

This wasn't, and isn't, a criminal matter. It's just a beef over a rather large tax bill.

Khan is haggling with the IRS — does it get any more "American" than that? And are we to believe that no NFL owner, at any time, has sparred with the IRS? Please. Heck, even the league has scrapped with the IRS.

Here's Bernie again, on the debt situation March 1st, 2010:

* Given the way that his purchase agreement is structured, Khan will not increase the current amount of St. Louis Rams' debt. That's a crucial aspect of this.

* Khan's companies, including the auto-parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate, are known for operating with low debt. And this is important because it means Khan has room to safely borrow against his companies to assist in his purchase of the Rams — if, in fact, that is something he needs to do, or wants to do. Sources tell me Khan has  established an excellent credit line and that he isn't worried about passing financial muster with the NFL.

The Rams and the Rosenbloom family retained Goldman Sachs to vet any potential owners (so that goofballs like me couldn't just bid one dollar).  Goldman Sachs should know what would set off red flags for the NFL and Khan passed all their tests.

So, when ESPN's Adam Schefter says on St. Louis radio that he would be "shocked" if Shahid Khan is approved by the NFL as the next St. Louis Rams owner, pardon me if I'm a little bit confused about why.

Reports have come in from various sources that Head Coach Marvin Lewis and Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer were on hand for the University of South Florida's pro day today.

Lewis and Zimmer were likely there to get an up close and personal look at DE Jason Pierre-Paul, who is one of the top defensive ends in the draft.  Pierre-Paul is expected to go in the first round, and could be available at number 21 when the Bengals are up.

Other players of potential interest to the stripes include DE George Selvie, S Nate Allen, CB Jerome Murphy, and WR Carlton Mitchell.  Mitchell had a particularly impressing workout, running a 4.40 40-yard dash and looking fluid and smooth in drills.

With DE Robert Geathers coming off a down year, and the other starting, DE Antwan Odom, coming off a ruptured achilles tendon, the team may be looking for more help with the pass rush.  Other DE's currently on the roster include Frostee Rucker, last year's 3rd round pick, Michael Johnson, and Odom's replacement last year, Jonathan Fanene.

The visit from Lewis and Zimmer indicates the team may go defense in round one, which up until recently seemed unlikely.

I know — this is a bit of fluff  – but let's face it there isn't all that much going on right now and we're all waiting anxiously for the draft to see who the Giants fortify their positions with. Speaking of which, here's the point of the post…

Bleacher Report has the Giants ranked almost at the top of their NFL draft success stories today — #4 to be exact.  [via]

One of the main reason the Giants have been so successful in recent seasons (including their 2008 Super Bowl win) is the way they build tremendous depth through the draft.

They haven't had an overly impactful first rounder since Eli Manning, but what they have brought in are great role players and backups that allow this team to flourish.

Guys like Aaron Ross and Mathias Kiwanuka have developed nicely into starters and lower-round guys like Kevin Boss, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Justin Tuck have really been huge factors in the team's success.

After a 2009 draft where I felt, based on where I had their players slotted on my board, was the best of any team, it looks as though the Giants are built for the now and the future thanks to the draft.

As followers of the team, we all feel like the Giants are an elite drafting machine — and even though 2008 and 09 were seasons that ended in bitter disappointment, we all recognize the talent level of the team that has been built through the draft.

Manning, Jacobs, Bradshaw, Snee, Diehl, Boss, Smith, Manningham, Nicks, Tuck, Osi, Kiwi, Alford, Webster, Thomas, Ross, Phillips…. the list of current and future great players go on and on.  And who knows what will become of Ramses Barden, Andre Brown, or even with the draft picks this year.

One thing's for sure, all eyes are on 2010 for this young Giants team.

As if we needed another indicator of the bad decisions made by the Redskins organization during the draft, The Bleacher Report has us covered. In today's case studies on the best and worst drafting organization in the NFL, the Redskins are bringing up the rear at #30 out of 32.  Only the Raiders and Rams are worse according to the report – which is horrible company to be associated with these days. [via]