That’s right, I’m gone … but no, not for good.  Tomorrow I’m leaving the continent for a much-needed vacation, where I will have limited access to the interwebs. As such, you won’t be seeing the same volume of posts that you’ve grown accustomed to around these parts.

So for the next two weeks, you’ll just have to find your biting NFL commentary elsewhere (which I’m sure will be quite difficult) … see you on the flip flop!

(Photo via SBNation.com)

Toward the end of the first round, the Rutgers WR – who was projected to be taken in the 2nd or 3rd round - received a call from someone pretending to be a member of the Cincinnati Bengals organization.

The caller told Sanu the Bengals were planning to take him with the 27th overall pick. Sanu and his family celebrated, and his agent even prematurely tweeted out the news, before learning that the Bengals had actually chosen Wisconsin OL Kevin Zeitler.  They had been pranked, and the call apparently came from a Rutgers student playing a misguided joke.

Ouch. So Sanu was forced to sit and wait.

After hearing the news, the Marvin Lewis and the Bengals reached out to console Sanu prior to the draft resuming on Friday. And when the bottom half of the third round rolled around, Cincinnati selected Sanu – for real this time – with the 83rd overall pick.

“Thank God,” when asked about his feelings about really joining the Bengals. “I got a voice mail with a 513 area code and then Coach Urban called me and I had the number in his phone and he asked me ‘Are you ready to be a Bengal for real this time?’ and I said of course, I’m ready to go.”

Sanu – who set a single-season Big East record with 115 receptions – said that he wouldn’t wish the previous 24 hours on anyone:

“I’m just glad it’s over and dreams came true this time.”

This awesome video of ESPN’s 1981 draft coverage does just that, showing us a loosely organized get together inside a hotel ballroom, struggling with technical difficulties … as opposed to the multi-million dollar Radio City Music Hall spectacle it is today.

Watch as Pete Rozelle kicks things off with the selection of George Rogers and Lawrence Taylor, while a young Dr. Z (SI’s Paul Zimmerman) provides the pre-Kiper-era draft analysis:

Watch Part 2 after the jump:

PART 3 | PART 4

[H/T Adam Schefter]

(AP Photo/Dave Martin via CBSNews.com))

After saying goodbye to Brandon Jacobs after the season, and with Ahmad Bradshaw‘s nagging foot problems, GM Jerry Reese said it was “a pretty easy pick for us” in selecting Wilson:

“He’s a terrific football player,’’ Reese said. “This guy loves to play football. He can do anything you want him to do. He’s a good piece to add to our running back stable.’’

Tampa Bay had jumped ahead of NY to snag Boise State RB Doug Martin with the 31st pick (who many had projected as going to NY), but Reese said Wilson was the number two running back on their board, behind only #3 overall pick Trent Richardson.

Wilson – who rushed for a school record 1,709 yards last season – brings tremendous speed and game-breaking ability to New York.  He is expected to contribute right away as a kick returner, and split time with Bradshaw in the backfield, where he sees himself as a “mix of Ray Rice and Arian Foster”.

DAVID WILSON 2011-12 HIGHLIGHTS AND BACKFLIP CONTEST AFTER THE JUMP

The last time the Giants used a first-round pick on a RB was on Ron Dayne in 2000. Giants fans hope Wilson will make more of an impact than Dayne did … and after winning two championships in five seasons, Reese and his staff have earned more than a little benefit of the doubt in their talent evaluation skills.

And if you have any doubt, perhaps this highlight reel of Wilson – including an impassioned pre-game speech as part of team USA – might just help convince you that he’s the real deal:

BONUS VIDEO: Wilson posted this video of himself earlier this week, executing 21 backflips, in an attempt to lay claim to “best acrobat in the NFL”. The display was in response to Giants DE Jason Pierre-Paul’s similar 2009 video, in which he did 13 backflips.  So Wilson beat his new teammate based on sheer numbers, but since JPP is a much bigger/taller athlete, you have to give him extra points for difficulty:

(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.

As you pore over Mike Mayock‘s one and only mock draft in preparation for this weekend’s festivities, keep in mind that pretty much none of these so-called “experts” have a clue as to how this draft, nor the players selected in it, are actually going to pan out.  For all the scouting and testing and poking and prodding, the draft process is really all just a high-budget guessing game, and we won’t truly know the winners and losers for at least another three years.

Case in point … after JaMarcus Russell was selected #1 overall in the 2007 draft, virtually everyone whiffed on the kid, including Mel Kiper who declared that Russell would be the next John Elway.  Enough said.

Meanwhile, the folks up in Bristol are all having a little fun and “Kiperizing” some of the ESPN anchors, like Trey Wingo, Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser:

PHOTOS AND VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP

(Photo via Twitter)

(Photo via Twitter)

(Photo via Twitter)

(Photo: NYDailyNews.com)

The period in question was 2002-2004, and now state and federal officials have opened up a wiretapping investigation on Loomis, to see if he violated any eavesdropping laws in the process.

For their part, and not surprisingly, the Saints vehemently deny these allegations. On Monday, Greg Bensel, Saints VP of Communications, had this to say on behalf of Loomis and the organization:

“This is 1,000 percent false. This is 1,000 percent inaccurate.”

Loomis himself flatly denied to the charges on Tuesday via an email sent out by the team:

“This report on ESPN is absolutely false. I have a monitor in front of me in my booth that provides the league issued stats for the game. I have a small TV with the network broadcast and I have an earpiece to listen to the WWL-AM radio (flagship broadcaster) game broadcast. To think I am sitting in there listening … and or doing something with the offensive and defensive play calls of the opposing teams makes this story and the unnamed sources that provided the false information that much more less credible … it just didn’t happen.”

Regardless of how this all shakes out, another scandal is not a good look for the Saints, whose image is already tarnished by the recent bounty scandal, nor Loomis, who is currently serving out an eight-game suspension for his part in that whole debacle.

Woof.  When it rains it pours in New Orleans (bad Katrina humor not intended).

(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)

(via Twitter.com)

Mind = Blown.

It really makes you wonder why anyone would ever want to be on the cover of Madden at this point … let alone campaign for it like Rob Gronkowski did this off-season.

Fortunately for Pats fans, Gronkowski got knocked out of this year’s voting in the quarterfinals by Calvin Johnson, who will now square off against Aaron Rodgers in the semis, prompting Packers Nation to flood the voting for Johnson to keep Rodgers away from the cover.  On the other side of the bracket, favorite Cam Newton is up against surprise #11 seed Patrick Willis, who narrowly defeated Victor Cruz to advance in the quarters, much to the delight of Giants fans everywhere.

I’m not sure if this is quite what EA Sports had in mind when they opened the cover up to fan voting, but it at least makes things interesting.

CHECK OUT A LIST OF MADDEN CURSE VICTIMS AFTER THE JUMP

• Garrison Hearst, 49ers – 1999: Broken ankle, out for two seasons
• Barry Sanders, Lions – 2000: Retired before the season. Never played again
• Daunte Culpepper, Vikings – 2002: Broke single season record for fumbles, 23 INTs in 2002
• Michael Vick, Falcons – 2004: Broken fibula in pre-season, played 5 games that year. Later sent to prison for dog fighting ring
• Donovan McNabb, Eagles – 2006: Sports hernia in first game of season, torn ACL and meniscus ending his year
• Shaun Alexander, Seahawks – 2007: Broken foot, missed six games. Never returned to form
• Vince Young, Titans – 2008: Injured his knee in first game of season. Benched for Kerry Collins and didn’t start again that year
• Brett Favre, Packers – 2009: Came out of retirement to play for Jets. Embroiled in sexual harassment scandal after texting pics of his junk
• Troy Polamalu, Steelers – 2010: sprained MCL in first game of season, missing four games. After returning, suffered a torn PCL ending his season.
• Peyton Hillis, Browns – 2011: hamstring injury in first game forced him to miss 6 games and was in the doghouse all season in contract disputes. Released without an offer.