Good morning, New York Giants fans! Just a couple of notes for you this Saturday morning before we send you on your way.
Team Needs 2012 ... New York Giants | ProFootballFocus.com
Khaled Elsayed notes the Giants' three main roster issues and how they can address them in the 2012 free agency period.
PFW's top 100 free agents - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
Updated March 2, 2012 @ 9:42 p.m. ET We can say this much for the 2012 free-agent class: There have been worse... - National Football League news
New Orleans Saints will be punished heavily for bounty program - Peter King - SI.com
The National Football League on Friday found the New Orleans Saints guilty of a wide-ranging system of bounty payments to between 22 and 27 defensive players from 2009 through 2011, and player-safety-conscious commissioner Roger Goodell could bring the hammer down very hard on the franchise.
The most alarming finding by the league, according to one club source who was briefed on the investigation late Friday afternoon, was this: Before the 2009 NFC Championship Game, Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma offered any defensive teammate $10,000 in cash to knock then-Vikings quarterback Brett Favre out of the game. Favre was hit viciously several times in the game.
NFL.com news: RB Stock Report: Wilson looks like No. 2 back after combine
There is no doubt that NFL teams are finding it more and more difficult to justify using a first-round selection on a running back -- even if an RB's physical attributes and running vision make him one of the 32 most talented players in a draft class.
Only seven NFL running backs eclipsed the 1,200-yard threshold during the 2011 season, the fewest since 1997. Just one of those backs was a former first-round pick. And that back, Seattle Seahawks beast Marshawn Lynch, did not even accumulate his 1,204 yards with the team that drafted him (Buffalo took him 12th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft).
Despite missing NFL Scouting Combine workouts due to minor knee surgery, Alabama running back Trent Richardson will still come off the board in Round 1. But the next running back very well may have to wait until the draft's second day (Round 2). Regardless, look for a couple of the players listed below to become workhorse backs (at least in 2012 NFL terms) after fine efforts at this year's combine.