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11. SAN FRANCISCO. The 49ers may end up being a trendy choice to make the playoffs because they picked up so much in free agency. But they still need help on defense and some people think PATRICK WILLIS, LB, Mississippi, is Ray Lewis. (Those people should wait a while.)
12. BUFFALO. The Bills have done some strange things in the offseason, shedding CB Nate Clements because he was too expensive, then overpaying G Derrick Dockery. They drafted Donte Whitner "too high" last season and he turned out to be very good. "Too high" for MARSHAWN LYNCH, RB, Cal. So he'll be a stud.
13. ST. LOUIS. Buyer beware. ALAN BRANCH, DT, Michigan, is the poor man's Brady Quinn, bouncing up and down the board. He might be a run-stuffing catch here, although the Rams haven't had much luck with DTs taken high.
In 1969, (James) Harris was the first black person drafted as a pro quarterback and became the first black to start a season as quarterback with the Buffalo Bills.
"I remember one thing he (coach Eddie Robinson) said to me before I left to go to professional football and not knowing if I would get a chance. He said, 'Don't expect it to be fair,'" Harris said. "'You're just going to have to be better.'"
Takeo Spikes doesn't fit the profile of the kind of veteran player the Eagles normally go after. He's older (turned 30 in December), has a major injury in his recent past (ruptured Achilles tendon in '05) and is expensive ($4.6 million salary for '07.
But head coach Andy Reid knew he had to do something.
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