NFL Notes: McClain No Roll of Dice

You don't hear a lot of buzz about the guy, but maybe you should. All Rolando McClain did was help lead Alabama to the national championship.

And all he's done in the last three months is justify everything about his status as the runaway best inside linebacker in the the NFL Draft, despite the bombshell dropped on scouts at Bama's pro day last month that McClain suffers from Crohn's Disease.

"Anybody that would penalize him for that would be making a mistake," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban told reporters recently. "They way I always viewed those things is whatever the issue was -- whether it was behavior, medical -- does it affect the guy's ability to perform? And if it doesn't, because he's always on the field and doing a good job, then maybe we're over-analyzing all this."

NFL teams will due their diligence to fill in any blanks on the medical report. McClain has no such questions on tape, however, which might make him -- even with the med "flag" -- one of the safest picks in the draft.

The leader of the defense that undressed Tim Tebow and reigning national champion Florida in the Southeastern Conference title game walks, talks and (most importantly) plays like a guy who will step in on opening day as a starter in the NFL.

Sort of like he did in Tuscaloosa three years ago.
"I've been doing this since my freshman year," McClain said at the combine in February. "This is something I'm used to. I'm used to being the leader on defense as a Mike linebacker, the quarterback of the defense. The things I've done in college will carry over to the pros."

McClain won a starting job at 'Bama three months after leaving Decatur (Ala.) High as one of the centerpieces of Saban's first recruiting class.

"I had to lead seniors as a freshman," he said.

By the time McClain was finished, he was a two-time, first-team All-SEC selection, a first-team All-American and joined Derrick Thomas as the only Crimson Tide player to earn the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker after leading the nation's fourth-ranked unit with 95 tackles, 14.5 tackles for losses and four sacks.

Now the 6-foot-3, 254-pounder figures to go somewhere in the top half of the first round of the April 22 draft. Oakland (selecting 8th), Buffalo (9th), Denver (11th), Miami (12th) and the New York Giants (15th) are teams believed to have McClain high on their draft boards. His 3-4 background under Saban makes McClain all the more attractive, as he never came off the field at 'Bama.

"Obviously, I can do it because I did it in college," McClain said. "I guarded running backs, tight ends, slot receivers. Obviously, the guys in the NFL are a little bit better, but I know I can do it."

He can do it with Crohn's, a chronic condition that inflames the intenstine. That's what he's telling the pros, and given his draft stock -- McClain's projected status in the top half of the opening round has stood firm for months -- they must be sold.

"I don't think there were any problems with any teams," McClain told Sirius NFL Radio. "Crohn's isn't something that will kill you as long as you take proper medication and have a proper diet. Teams are fine with it."

And a defense will be more than fine with McClain in the middle.

YOUNG AND LEADING THE WAY

Tampa Bay's Josh Freeman, the '09 first-round pick who started the last nine games of his rookie season, is proving to be the anti-JaMarcus Russel. Freeman, the 17th overall pick who got a five-year, $36 million deal and nearly $11 million guaranteed, has been a fixture at the team's complex during the offseason.

"I don't know who's great in this league anymore, but I do know a lot of those guys under center are great. They change games," Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris said. "And [Freeman] has that type of ability. Is he there yet? No. Is he willing to work at it? Yes. He proves that to me every single day when I look out my window and see him out there by himself or breaking huddles with those guys on his own."

Freeman, who just turned 22, reported to offseason workouts trimmer and determined to improve on numbers that reflected a rookie quarterback (10 TDs, 18 INTs, 59.8 rating) on a 3-13 team. The organization, from the Malcolm Glazer family ownership to General Manager Mark Dominik to the coaching staff to the players, sees Freeman as the centerpiece of a mass rebuilding project. That's a lot of pressure on the kid, and he knows it.

Unlike Russell, the '07 No. 1 overall and mega-bust for Oakland who prefers to spend his offseason jetting to the craps tables in Vegas, Freeman has embraced the immense expectations and become a leader by example.

"I'm taking that very seriously," Freeman said. "This year, it's my show. It's my team and I want to win. I want to get things done the right way. And I don't believe you do that by sitting around at home. I want to come in and I want to work. I want to be as well prepared as I can be and get this thing going."

QUICK SLANTS

-- Couldn't help but wonder what Jon Gruden must have been thinking after Washington GM Bruce Allen gave up a second-round pick (plus a conditional fourth next season) to acquire Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb. While GM with Tampa Bay, Allen balked at surrendering a second-rounder for Brett Favre in August 2008, gambling no one else would. The New York Jets eventually did. Five months and a lot of frustrating red-zone trips with Jeff Garcia later, both men were fired.

-- Speaking of Favre, his oldest daughter, 21-year-old Brittany Nicole, gave birth to a baby baby boy, Parker Brett (7 pounds, 7 ounces). Assuming Favre, 40, returns to Minnesota, he would be a rare active NFL grandfather.

-- Anybody else curious with teams' (in this case, Detroit, Cincinnati and San Francisco) infatuation with Adam "Pacman" Jones?

-- The best unrestricted free agents who started on the market who are still on the market a month later: 1) safety Darren Sharper; 2) defensive end Charles Grant; 3) defensive end/outside linebacker Jason Taylor; 4) wide receiver Terrell Owens; 5) center Kevin Mawae.

-- Before Santonio Holmes got into his offseason, off-field mess, the former Super Bowl MVP was asked about teammate Ben Roethlisberger's issues during an interview with Atlanta radio station AM-790. Specifically, if athletes put themselves in compromising situations by going to clubs? "You say that now, but when you're out having fun, you're just having fun," Holmes said. "You're entitled to go wherever you want to go. You're not expecting those things to happen; you're going to have fun and enjoy yourself. And when they things occur, how do you defend yourself." Apparently (and allegedly), with a loaded drink.

-- Check out Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant (right). The controversial wideout, suspended for lying to investigators of the 2009 season, was said to be "out of shape" for his much-anticipated pre-draft workout last week. That body? Out of shape?

-- The Redskins, in 11 years under impulsive owner Dan Snyder, have shown no interest in developing their own players. The upcoming draft is the deepest in years, maybe ever, and Washington, following the McNabb deal, has one pick in the top 100.

-- Don't be surprised if Baltimore offensive tackle Jared Gaither, a restricted free agent tendered at the first-round level, is moved on draft day; maybe even for a late first-round choice or a package of picks. He's started 26 games the last two seasons at left tackle for a team that twice has reached the postseason and excels at running the ball. A case can be that trading a first-rounder for Gaither would be safer than picking from the lot of solid tackle prospects in the draft.

-- Alex Brown, with only one season of less than 5.5 sacks the last seven years, is a pretty good defensive end pick-up by the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints this deep into free agency.

-- Since the Redskins, picking fourth, don't need a quarterback now, and Seattle, at sixth, gave up a pretty hefty price (swapping second-rounders, plus a third) to acquire San Diego third-stringer Charlie Whitehurst, it's possible Jimmy Clausen could be in for quite a draft-night fall. Unless Cleveland, at No. 7, or Buffalo, at No. 9, are enamored with the Fighting Irish quarterback, Clausen could make like fellow Golden Domer Brady Quinn three years ago, who tumbled from a projected top-five to No. 22.

-- Bet Shaun "Lock and Loaded" Rodgers and Gilbert Arenas could trade some war stories.

-- Farewell, Giants Stadium.