(Photo via Reddit.com/r/nfl)

Cleveland started things off Thursday night by making a big move to trade up one slot to select RB Trent Richardson with the #3 pick, much to the delight of the Dog Pound. But when their second pick of the first round came up, and when WR Kendall Wright - who they had been targeting - was snatched out from under them by the Titans at pick #20, the Browns were left with Weeden as the best available player on their board.

GM Tom Heckert says “there wasn’t really an afterthought”, but perhaps they should have given a bit more consideration as to how it would effect their incumbent QB. Because now, the Browns are apparently considering trading McCoy, and the Cleveland offense is looking like it will be totally re-vamped for the 2012 campaign.

BONUS LINK: Browns superfan Mike Polk (of “factory of sadness” fame) posted this video welcoming Weeden to Cleveland.

(Photo via Reddit.com/r/nfl)

Basic math tells us the picture was taken in approximately 1958, and in it we find young William, pre-hoodie, sitting and smiling in the front of the stands at what was likely the U.S. Naval Acadamy, where his father was an assistant football coach.

If you look closely in his eyes, behind that innocent grin, you can tell little Bill is already putting together defensive schemes in his head.

[H/T Reddit.com/r/nfl]

(Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers via SI.com)

This bumblebee-esque monstrosity was apparently inspired by the original 1934 Pittsburgh Pirates, and was chosen “to show a unique part of Steelers’ history”:

“We wanted to use a jersey that we wore early in our history as we celebrate our 80th season,” Steelers’ President Art Rooney II said. “We have never used those jerseys since the 1934 season and I think our fans will be excited to see our players wear them in action this year.”

More uniform pics here, and after the jump. And while our initial reaction was horror, the more we look at it … yeah, they’re still pretty bad. There’s a reason these unis were left on the shelves for 80 years. And the socks aren’t helping.

Unfortunately for fashion aficionados everywhere, the Steelers will don the throwbacks for not one, but two home games this year.

Poor Isaac Redman was forced to model the outfit, apparently in a bathroom:

(Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers)

(Photo: Pittsburgh Steelers)

(Photo: Nike)

There had been some concern among fans that Nike was going to redesign every team’s uniform to look like the Oregon Ducks, but in general the changes are barely perceptible.

The biggest change across the board is to the collar, where Nike added their “Flywire” design which supposedly helps keep the collar flat against the pads, and some teams have included a two-tone color scheme to go along with it.  There are some other updates to the construction, fit, fabric and color shadings that I’m sure are huge differences to the uni-geeks over at Nike, but nothing the average fan would really notice.

The fine folks at uni-watch.com have a detailed team-by-team breakdown of changes to the uniform, and you can VIEW UP-CLOSE PHOTOS OF ALL 32 NEW UNIFORMS HERE.

It turns out the Packers, Raiders, Eagles, Falcons and Panthers passed entirely on the opportunity to update their unis, essentially rejecting Nike’s proposed modifications. But the Seahawks decided to go for it, re-vamping their color scheme to include neon green and updating the helmet logo for a completely new look. You can check out more detailed photos of the Seahawks uniform at this gallery, but it’s not nearly as bad as some people are making it out to be (photo below).

(Photo: Nike via ESPN.com)

Lastly, if you’re really into uniforms, the Giants posted a neat video with equipment manager Joe Skiba giving an inside look at the changes to the team’s uniforms, including an infomercial-esque test of the materials’ waterproofing properties.

Just two days after being arrested for burglary and drug possession, the former #2 overall pick was arrested for a second time in Montana early Monday. And once again, Leaf was busted for … you guessed it, burglary and drug possession.

(Photo: thehollywoodgossip.com)

All of this trouble stems from Leaf’s long-running addiction to painkillers, which got him in trouble in 2008 while an assistant coach at West Texas A&M, ultimately leading to a 2010 drug and burglary indictment.

On Friday, Leaf was brought down in Montana for similar transgressions “after a month-long investigation that culminated with the former NFL quarterback breaking into an acquaintance’s home to steal prescription pain medication”.

But Leaf wasn’t done there … ater posting bail, Ryan apparently decided that he still needed his fix and tried to do the exact same thing, because now he’s facing yet another set of charges for burglary, theft and possession. Details of this latest arrest have yet to be released (a hearing is scheduled for later today) but thanks to the probation violation, Leaf won’t be making bail this time around, in case he wants to try this caper again.

As much as we love a good draft bust/train wreck story, the Leaf saga passed amusing a long time ago, and is now just plain sad.

___________________________

Via back-up linebacker Clint Sintim, comes this image of the Giants Super Bowl XLVI Ring, featuring all 4 Lombardi Trophies the franchise has won:

Not too shabby. Apparently Sintim jumped the gun with his Twitter post, and an official statement from the team is expected later today.

In the words of Bart Scott , I genuinely CAN’T WAIT to hear Rex Ryan explain their thinking on this one. Let the Big Apple circus commence!!!

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Before all you Jets fans out there go and purchase your new Tim Tebow jerseys, you might want to wait for the deal for the Broncos QB to actually be finalized.

(Photo: terezowens.com)

It seems that the trade between the Jets and Broncos that would send Tebow (and a 7th round pick) to New York in exchange for a 4th and 6th round pick has hit a snag.

And despite the fact that the Jets announced the deal on their Twitter page (which is still up at the time of this posting), they apparently didn’t really read Tebow’s contract before agreeing to the terms. And now they’re contesting a clause that would require NY to pay back $5 million in advance salaries from his rookie contract in Denver.

If this deal doesn’t end up going through, the Jets are going to end up looking really, really stupid.

I mean, did GM Mike Tannenbaum just get so geeked up about landing Tebow that he didn’t bother to read the fine print on the man’s contract? The Broncos – who even with Twitter-happy John Elway at the helm, have made no official announcement, by the way - feel as though the Jets need to hold up their commitment to the deal, since it’s their own fault they didn’t pay closer attention before signing off on it.

But apparently, the trade was never registered with the league, and was therefore never valid. So it’s all pretty much up in the air for now, with teams like Jacksonville re-entering the fray for Tebow’s services.

And even if the deal with the Jets does go through in the end, we have a feeling Tebowmania is not going to play very well in New York, what with the Ryan-Sanchez circus already in full effect … so this whole situation really feels like a lose-lose for the Jets.

Yup … pretty much.  Except replace “me” with “the Broncos”, since Timmy probably won’t be sticking around for whatever happens next in Denver.

Football’s top brass have all re-convened at Lucas Oil Stadium for the proceedings to assess more than 300 young men’s physical and mental preparedness for the rigors of the pro game. Each prospect will endure a battery of tests with everyone’s thoughts toward April’s draft, and each team’s front office looking to outsmart the other 31 franchises and improve their fortunes for the future. The Combine itself is a bit of a snoozer for the casual fan, but it’s become more and more of a spectacle, with fans attending the event for the first time ever this year, and reports that Roger Goodell is considering adding “Superstars”-style competitions at the event in the future to increase spectator interest (ie., revenue).

You can follow all the riveting action on NFL Network or NFL.com’s blog, and fortunately for us, TDH is on the front lines and has been able to snap a few pictures with his Blackberry along the way. We’ll continue to update this post with more images throughout the weekend as his schedule allows, when he’s not too busy hanging out with Bernie Kosar or preparing to smoke Rich Eisen in the 40 yard dash.

This year's "can't miss" prospect, Stanford's Andrew Luck (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

2011 Heisman Trophy Winner, Baylor's Robert Griffin III (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Jets head coach Rex Ryan looking svelte and somehow more modest (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Broncos VP of Football Operations John Elway patiently answers questions about Tim Tebow (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

New Rams head coach Jeff Fischer told reporters that trading Sam Bradford was "not an option" (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

Browns head coach Pat Shurmer looks about as forlorn as you'd expect (Photo: TheDarkHorse)

STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES … 

Which uniform looks best on Petyon? (Image via Adam Schefter/Facebook.com)

So far, the story of the 2012 NFL off-season is Colts QB Peyton Manning, and where he’s going to play next season. The back-and-forth between Manning and Colts’ owner Jim Irsay has reached a near-comical level of he said-she said, with Irsay saying on Thursday that they’re currently in negotiations with the veteran quarterback. But the general consensus seems to be that Irsay is just posturing for the media, and that Pey-Pey has likely played his last down as a Colt.

Vegas released updated odds today on where Manning will play in 2012, which place the Dolphins as the favorite to land Peyton at 2.5-to-1, barely edging out “Does Not Play” (currently getting 3-1 odds), for those who believe Peyton’s neck injury could force him into early retirement. The Redskins are next in what seems like a perfect Dan Snyder move, followed by the Colts and Cardinals at 5-1, and Jets at 6-1.

My gut says Peyton will end up in either Washington or Arizona … what do you think?

SEE THE COMPLETE PEYTON MANNING ODDS AFTER THE JUMP

[Via R.J. Bell at Pregame.com]

UPDATED Peyton Manning odds
(next season’s team):

Dolphins: 17% ($100 wins $250)
Does not play: 15% ($100 wins $300)
Redskins: 13% ($100 wins $350)
Colts: 10% ($100 wins $500)
Cardinals: 10% ($100 wins $500)
Jets: 9% ($100 wins $600)
Seahawks: 5.5% ($100 wins $1,000)
Chiefs: 3% ($100 wins $1,800)
Texans: 3% ($100 wins $2,000)
Broncos: 2% ($100 wins $2,500)
49ers: 1.5% ($100 wins $4,000)
Titans: 1% ($100 wins $5,000)
Any Other Team: 10% ($100 wins $500)

Biggest adjustments from opening odds:
Cardinals from (25-1) down to (5-1)
Seattle from (unlisted) down to (10-1)
Chiefs from (50-1) down to (18-1)
Texans from (75-1) down to (20-1)

(special thanks to Cal-Neva sportsbook)