Don't expect the Pats to go south anytime soon.

Fryingpan Sports

Technorati Tags: NFL Draft,NFL,New England,Patriots,Belichick,Chiefs,Browns,Notre Dame,Crennel,Mangini,Capers,Jets,New York,football,Pioli

Don’t expect the Pats to go south anytime soon.

By Bill Smith

The Patriots have been losing key people faster than a two month old Christmas Tree drops its needles. Vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli left the team to become the head of football operations for the Kansas City Chiefs. Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels is now the head coach of the Broncos. It looks like special teams coach Brad Seely will be in Cleveland in that same position. In addition, the Pats expect to lose former Texan head coach Dom Capers among others. So this must mean that the Pats are going to fall like the Dow Jones from the NFL elite, right? Not so fast my friend.

The Patriots are used to this kind of attrition from their coaching and executive ranks. Former Browns coach Romeo Crennel was the D coordinator for the Pats before going to Cleveland. His replacement, Eric Mangini, broke from the organization and became the head coach of the Jets. The team also lost offensive coordinator Charlie Weis to Notre Dame. None of these have been able to duplicate their success … Read more at FryingPanSports

Myron Rolle ranks his NFL career behind his education

Fryingpan Sports

t

Technorati Tags: Florida State,Bobby Bowden,NFL,College Football,Maryland,Rhodes Scholarship,NFL Draft,pre-med,education

Myron Rolle ranks his NFL career behind his education

By Bill Smith

NFL scouts might question CB Myron Rolle’s 40 time, or if his hips are fluid enough but they can never question his intelligence. Rolle is a Rhodes Scholar. Today, he announced he would postpone his NFL career and spend 2009 in Oxford England getting a masters degree in medical technology.

But there is a lot more to this story than that. Rolle was told by the league’s NFL draft forecast that he would be a top 50 pick. That would mean a cash signing bonus of around 2 million and a 3 year contract worth about 18 million. That isn’t bad, but someone as smart as Rolle can do better.

Rolle came to Florida State from the Hun School of Princeton where he maintained a 4.0 grade point. At FSU he graduated in just 2.5 years majoring in exercise science with a focus on pre-med. He is currently finishing up his masters in Public Administration. At the same time, he became an All American corner back for FSU.

Sometimes football conflicted with his academic pursuits. His interview … Read more at FryingPanSports