Forgettng Thomas

LT Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns is probably headed to the Hall of Fame, but his career has many contradictions. After being the third overall pick in the 2007, Thomas has not only played in every game of his career, but he has never missed a snap.

At the same time, the Browns have never had a winning season during his tenure or made the playoffs. He has been selected to ten straight Pro Bowls, earned a lot of money, but will probably never be on a championship team.

In a recent interview, he indicated that he was already suffering some memory loss. He seem to shrug it off as part of playing the game or just an occupational hazard.

His attitude may come back to haunt him twenty years from now. He might be one of those players who has a bad time after retirement.

Nobody knows what will happen to anyone. It's not a good sign when you admit to memory loss at 32.

The Starting 90

This NFL Draft has been very exciting. There will be at least 10 new faces on the Pats final 53 man roster when they open the season. They need to work with the current roster of 90.

This is a very exciting time for fans as they see their team's roster built for the new season. So many new players.

A lot of these players will see their dream die when they never make a roster for any team. Others will keep getting chances until they stop.

Rounds 2 & 3 Draft 2017

Rounds 2 & 3 of the NFL draft will be held tonight. The Pats have two picks in the third round. So many "experts" thought the team would do something with QB Jimmy Garoppolo to get into the first round, but it didn't happen.

Some fans were panicking last night because the Pats didn't have a first round selection. They are saying the same about the second round.

They selected CB Cyrus Jones last year in the second round. How did that work out? In the fourth, they got WR Malcolm Mitchell. That worked out well.

You never with any player.

2017 NFL Draft

It's Round 1 of the NFL Draft tonight. So much is at stake for players who stand to gain or lose millions, depending on when they are selected.

Will there be surprises in the first ten? Will the Pats try to get into the fight? How will all the fantasy drafts play out?

The history of the NFL is filled with stories with players who heard their name called in this round, but they never did much once they had their opportunity.

Danny's Annual Pay Cut

Danny Amendola is a great example of a player who signed a long term contract, but never saw all the money. It's always a farce for most players.

He was billed as the replacement for Wes Welker when he signed his 5 year/$31 million contract in 2013.

He was forced to take a pay cut last year to $1.6 million to stay on the roster. His 2017 salary of $6 million was never going to happen. Instead, he reduced it to $1.7 million, including bonuses and incentives.

The best part for him is the $1.25 million base salary is fully guaranteed. He will be a free agent after this season and facing the end of the road.

Long Run Ends

College players await the NFL draft on Thursday. There will be elation and disappointment, based on where they were selected. Some will never hear their name called. Only one player will top the list.

Jake Long did that in 2008 when he was selected number one overall by the Dolphins. He began a career with four straight Pro Bowls as a member of their offensive line.

His venture into free agency after 2012 ended in disaster with the Rams as he missed the 2013 and 2014 seasons with a torn ACL.

He was a backup with the Falcons for 2015 and was having a good season with the Vikings in 2016 until he ruptured his Achilles during Week 10.

It all ended today when he announced his retirement. Eleven seasons went by too soon for him.

Usually Not Right

Every year before the NFL draft, we hear how so and so is going to be the next so and so. Most of these predictions are wrong. Some players never make it to the NFL, never mind stardom.

The media loves to pump up players. That's part of their job. They say things that are untrue. Mock drafts are the biggest joke. They should only be viewed as fun and for conversation. I can't take them seriously.

The Great Bill Speaks

It was great to hear the comments of Bill Parcells about the retirement of QB Tony Romo  He admitted that Romo should retire because of the toll the game takes on a player's body. He also said that the great TE Jason Whitten should give it up.

Romo is done. He moves onto a great gig with CBS.

A Giant Mess For Eli

Giants QB Eli Manning has himself in a big legal mess over trying to pass off helmets as game-used. It seems like a ridiculous thing for a guy like Manning to do.

Why would he get involved in such a nickel an dime operation? He has old emails that make him look bad. He is fighting all charges. The Giants are standing behind him.

Players do all sorts of crazy things. This one is very puzzling.

Only Brady Knows

Boston sports talk shows have wasted too much time talking about Tom Brady and the reason why he skipped the team's visit to the White House.

There have been all sorts of theories about Brady and President Trump. Nobody wants to consider that Brady's parents were in town to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

We will never know the truth, but there is only so much that can be said.

Right On Schedule

Only the NFL could create a two hour show about he release of the 2017 regular season schedule. The NFL Network always does it right with their programming. This one was no exception. They even had fans call in and give their opinion of their respective team.

There was a very good overview of how the schedule is created. It's a massive undertaking and handled by four employees at the NFL headquarters.

Aaron Hernandez

I woke up this morning to the news that Aaron Hernandez committed suicide in his prison cell. Last Friday, he was found innocent of a double murder, but was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd.

Investigators are looking into other scenarios, but it looks like a suicide. His conviction for the Lloyd murder was under appeal and will now be vacated according to Massachusetts law.

There are financial implications for his family based on his NFL pension, civil lawsuits and money owed to him by the Pats. It will be battled out in court by highly paid lawyers.

In the end, Hernandez will forever be an example of what might have been as part of the greatest tight end combination, along with Rob Gronkowski, in NFL history.