I really dislike Cam Cameron. Back at the Combine he was giving some song and dance about how he wanted to work with the media and be friends. What a bunch of bull. I’m part of the media and I can tell you that’s no different than saying let’s have peace on earth. It’s nice in theory but it will never happen. It just rubbed me the wrong way. I mean the media in Miami is going to be like the media everyplace else. If you win, they’ll write about what a great coach you are and if you lose, they’ll call for your head. Let’s see how long that honeymoon lasts.

Then today, Cameron is doing an interview on TV and he has his kid sitting on his lap. I’m sorry but give me a break. Do you really need to have your son on your lap when you are on TV talking about the draft? That was such an obvious attempt to take some of the heat off of him for Miami’s awful draft. By the way, I guess that love affair with the media is over with, huh? I don’t think everyone has to act like Bill Belichick but can you imagine Belichick, Jimmy Johnson or Bill Parcells doing a post-draft interview while holding their kid? I mean, Miami wasn’t even done drafting yet. Didn’t Cam still have work to do and more bad picks to make?

If you want to know what a cocky, self-indulgent coach Cameron is, let me take you back a few years ago to when he was the head coach of Indiana. The Hoosiers were playing Purdue and had the ball at on the 10-yard line with the game on the line. They faced a fourth and half an inch and needed a touchdown to win. This is back when Randle El was the quarterback. So instead of doing a simple QB sneak, Cameron calls an option. Well, Purdue had everyone at the line shooting the gaps and Randle El lost seven yards. You know what that was? A head coach trying to be too smart. Instead of just getting a yard and giving your team four downs to win the game, genius outsmarted himself trying to be too cute.

I think we saw that in the draft as well. The Dolphins picked ninth, which means they stunk last year. So Cameron drafts a guy in Ted Ginn who isn’t even going to start. Now, no one loves Ginn more than Tom Casale but not even I would take him that high when my team had so many more glaring needs to address and good players on the board. However, Cameron’s ego once again came into play because he fell in love with Ginn’s speed and now he has a new toy he can use to show people how smart he is. Go back and look at Mike Martz’s drafts and you’ll see a lot of the same kind of picks (Anyone remember Trung Canidate?)

Cameron is a great offensive mind and I’m sure the Dolphins will put up points during his short regime there. However, they won’t win with this guy running things. Cameron is just another in a long line of egomaniacs who make better coordinators than they do coaches. I hope for Cameron’s sake that Miami doesn’t start the year off 1-5 because I don’t think the media down in South Florida will be too friendly if they do.

Thanks for following the blog and all the comments. We will also be doing blogs during the upcoming mini-camps and training camp. Make sure to keep checking back at those times for updates on everything Patriots. Thanks again for the support.

Now that the Patriots picks have mercifully come to an end, New England will turn its attention to priority free agents and players to invite to town for tryouts at rookie mini camp. With the questionable depth of the draft itself, the level of the free agents available probably isn’t as impressive as it has been in other years. Randall Gay, Mike Wright, Corey Mays and Pierre Woods are all guys who contributed on the New England roster after joining the team as undrafted free agents in the recent past.

While undrafted free agents are long shots on any roster in any year, it’s worth watching what the Patriots might target in the next couple days. Positions like linebacker, tight end, defensive back and skill positions on offense are always possibilities to create depth and competion in mini camps and through the summer.

Local prospects are always worth watching for teams. With that in mind New Hampshire wideout David Ball, Northeastern tight end Kendrick Ballantyne and UMass running back Steve Baylark could all get a call from the Patriots or elsewhere across the league as teams target free agents.

Some of the best available talent in other players not drafted that might interest New England include Ole Miss linebacker Rory Johnson, Georgia Tech cornerback Kenny Scott, Baylor cornerback Anthony Arline, Hampton corner Travarous Baine and Louisville linebacker Nate Harris. Notre Dame third down back Darius Walker also went undrafted, but seeing as Charlie Weis wasn’t too happy with the back leaving school early I’m not sure Weis would call in a favor with Bill Belichick to land Walker in Patriots camp.

New England’s list of free agent invites and tryout players also often includes small school players, players with injuries or other unique situations and even guys from pipeline schools like Florida, Iowa, Notre Dame, Fresno State and others.

All teams will be working the phones hard to contact their priority free agents over the next few hours and days. New England doesn’t generally announce its list of free agents formally until the opening of rookie mini camp on the weekend of May 12-13. But the names should trickle out in the coming days.

With their final selection, the Patriots picked Iowa C Mike Elgin. I would love to tell you all about him but after 17 hours or covering the draft, I don’t have the energy to break down a seventh round center who probably won’t make the team. I have to go to Belichick’s press conference and then I’m heading home. I’ll come back later tonight before the Sopranos and give my breakdown of the Patriots entire draft. I’m sure that will be enthralling. Thanks for sticking it out with us, we really appreciate it.

Just an FYI on a player a lot of Patriots fans are interested in, Brandon Siler. I just heard that Siler has a bad knee that he may need surgery on, causing his monumental slip down draft boards. People questioned Siler’s speed to begin with, so if he needs surgery on top of that, it makes sense that he would slide this far.

If I were Mike Richardson, I wouldn’t be buying property in New England. I’m sure he’s a nice kid and I’m happy he got drafted but give me a break. Richardson got beat like a drum last year and in my opinion, has very little chance of making the team. I just don’t get this pick. I know the Pats made some weird selections on Day 2 but the Richardson pick makes absolutely no sense to me.

I don’t think Patriots fans or players will be able to play the respect card anymore. Have you listened to any media outlets today? I think many are already designing New England’s Super Bowl XLII rings. After today’s trade for Randy Moss New England has become everyone’s favorite to win it all in the Arizona desert next February. The team has added proven playmakers on offense, defenses and special teams. Not bad for a team that came up just short of another Super Bowl berth last winter. Most people think the strong have gotten that much stronger. Right now, I have to agree. If I had to rank the teams to beat I’d go with, in this order, the Patriots, Broncos, Colts and Steelers. The Patriots have a formidable schedule, but on paper it doesn’t look like anything they won’t be able to handle. I don’t say this too often, but I really feel like a homer right now.

It came much later than most fans had hoped but the Patriots finally took a linebacker with the opening pick of the seventh round, 211 overall, USC’s Oscar Lua (5-11, 245). Considered an overachiever and a bit of a bowling ball build, Lua has an injury history that remains a concern. At best he’s a developmental guy as a two-down run stopper. He reportedly has immeasurable qualities that shouldn’t be overlooked but will be a long shot and certainly didn’t fill the glaring need for a young, playmaking inside linebacker with the potential to start down the road.

Fans, you got your LB.

The Patriots used their final of four sixth rounders on Oklahoma St. tackle Corey Hilliard (6-5, 308). Hilliard played both left and right tackle in college but most project him as a right tackle backup in the NFL. Pro Football Weekly had him as the 25th ranked tackle in the draft. He’ll compete for a spot in Dante Scarnecchia’s offensive line development program.

The Patriots third of four sixth-round picks took the team to Central Connecticut State University, vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli’s alma mater, for productive running back Justise Hairston (6-0, 221). The Northeast Conference Player of the Year set single-season school and conference records with 277 carries for 1,847 yards with 20 touchdowns.

He may take some time to develop, but Hairston has the build of an NFL bruiser. And it can’t hurt to have Pioli in your corner when it comes time for cuts, roster spots, practice squads and sticking around. At worst he’ll probably look good in the preseason and gives a local angle to training camp.

The Patriots selected Notre Dame cornerback Mike Richardson with the team’s second of four sixth-round selections, No. 202 overall. Richardson was not a highly ranked corner for an Irish secondary that struggled for much of last season, although the coaching connection between South Bend and Foxborough can never be ignored here.

Pro Football Weekly had Richardson (5-10, 18 ranked as the 47th best corner in the draft and he’s likely not much more than a developmental guy to open his career.