The message was clear?

Here is Peter King today discussing, for some reason, backup quarterback Brad Smith and the, apparently, amazing impact he will have on the terrible football team, the Buffalo Bills:



On Sunday Smith stood in shotgun formation on a sweltering afternoon at St. John Fisher College, with four receivers spread across the line. At the snap he felt pressure, rolled right, took a step toward the line as if he'd run, then stopped in the face of a strong rush and flipped the ball ... 55 yards in the air. It fell shy of Stevie Johnson, but the message was clear, and the threat. Buffalo has a new toy.



That new toy is ... an incomplete pass machine? I am confused.



However: Where can I get one of those?!

Lede of the ... month? We'll see

I am mildly obsessed with ledes, mostly curious ones. A lede is the intro to a written piece—something that’s supposed to grab the reader’s attention and urge them to read on.

In working at a community newspaper, I have come across my fair share of great ledes, even more so considering my responsibility in uploading material to our websites. So, I figured, when I come across one of particular interest, I should share it. Here is one from a few weeks ago that sparked my fancy. Please enjoy.

Shelley Petersen knows a thing or two about naming chickens.

You know you can change that, right?

Trust me that this post is not in retrospect, considering Round 1 of the NFL Draft is finished. I just never got around to mentioning this yesterday.

Besides, I would never hold anyone to any sort of accuracy standards when it comes to mock drafting. They are silly, but apparently required if you are a sports writer. But I just cannot let this doozy from Peter King slide.

Keep in mind that a mock draft is, for those unaware, a made-up scenario regarding how a particular person thinks the draft will pan out. With that in mind, here is what Peter King has to say regarding the 29th pick in his mock draft:

29. New York Jets
Jahvid Best, RB, Cal

This pick makes no sense -- unless you think Leon Washington and LaDainian Tomlinson are short-timers.

This pick. Makes no sense. Indeed it does not, especially considering that it is your own pretend pick. I mean, who are you talking to, Peter King? Because it seems as though you are harshly criticizing the New York Jets for making a pick that they did not, and most likely will not, make. Because you made it up.

I think -- and correct me if I'm wrong -- that a mock draft is an attempt to outline a draft that makes sense. So to do a mock draft, and openly admit that at least some of it doesn't make sense, just...doesn't make sense.

It should also be mentioned that the Jets have three running backs, lest we forget about their projected starter, Shonn Greene. So this whole thing makes no sense on a number of levels.

The Underground

This is the first line of Peter King's Friday column:

Brett Favre's pretty much gone underground this week, except for his regular Wednesday press conference, Thursday's NFL Network interview with Steve Mariucci and a one-on-one with Terry Bradshaw, which will air on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show.

That guy is like a hermit!