NFL: I've Been Thinkin'...

It's the end of May, so the time to begin understanding everything that's going to shape the 2014 NFL season has started. Here at Turf Show Times, we'll be doing a few new things, and the round table discussion between the NFC West teams coming up next week is something you'll need to see. It's going to be a wild forum where ALL four SBN NFC West sites are going to gather in a SINGLE comment thread to ask questions during what will most likely be the largest Google Hangout in history...

As I glide between articles across the NFL section of the Internet, there's more than a few things which cause me to twitch a bit...

Jimmy Graham, the New Orleans Saints' tight end, wants to be paid like a wide receiver... Why is this a problem for the Saints? OK, MONEY would be the answer, but the way the argument is evolving between the two parties is close to ludicrous. It's as if the Saints are saying there's a barrier line between positions when it comes to pay? In an abortive reach - at best - the Saints seem to want to apply some of the position language from the 2011 CBA, and discount Graham's overall value? Call him a long snapper if you want; it shouldn't - and won't - change the fact Graham has the unique ability to play different positions in the Saints' offense. It would be ridiculous to think a wide receiver - who gets paid $10 million a season - would get his paycheck docked if he lined up a few times at tight end, right? So why is Graham being hit with a lower pay slot - which is more a figment of the Saints wishful thinking than anything else - just because he's listed as a tight end?

The recent article listing the value of top college football programs makes me think paying NCAA players isn't far off... The most shocking thing to me is the high value of the Texas Longhorns' program. These are the same Longhorns who didn't have anyone taken in the latest NFL Draft, right? But their program is valued at - Gulp! - $875 million? Missing from this list is USC, which seems rather odd? The Trojans are a solid program, and have garnered national TV coverage more than many on the list. Can anyone tell me why Notre Dame's program is worth $811.5 million? While they've experience a small renaissance in the last few years, I can't be the only one who can recall some more than dismal seasons over the past decade or so?

Is anyone else fed up with players who don't seem to have a single strand of self-control? Josh Gordon's latest legal blunder comes on the heels of Daryl Washington's year long NFL ban. He's driving a car - 74 mph in a 60 mph zone - with someone who gets cited for marijuana possession... Way to go Josh! There's no way the NFL will think about this - and your promise to turn your life around - as they consider whether to ban you for at least the coming NFL season... Washington has to be the dumbest player ever, and his recent year long ban should include making him remember just how special the chance to live an NFL dream truly is, and the thousands of fans who he let down - AGAIN! Aldon Smith:  get ready for a year long ban too. Your peers have made your suspension a virtual certainty... Frustration - at how cavalier some players are - is starting to make me think this isn't about 20-something young men making post-adolescent mistakes? I want a question added to the Wonderlic test NFL Draft prospects take during the NFL Combine:

"When you're an NFL player, you instantly become a wizard, and can make problems go away if you buy a genuine "Harry Potter wand" on Ebay." True or False?

Finally, I'll leave you all with what I think could be the best musically delivered book report EVER on Edgar Allen Poe... Enjoy your weekend!