We have to make more corrections to the report we did on the Stupak 11. First, the simpler errors. We have learned that there are additional errors in the spreadsheet we posted along with the story--there were a total of four numbers that were overstated by a factor of ten. This led to us erroneously listing Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper among the five members whose earmark request totals increased for fiscal year 2011--her earmark requests actually declined. We deeply regret the error, and thank Rep. Dahlkemper for pointing it out.We also overstated on the spreadsheet Rep. Steven Dreihaus's earmarks--the correct figure was $33.2 million. Again, we deeply regret the error. We have corrected the spreadsheet.It will not be of much comfort to either representative to know that in our original research, we had the numbers accurately, but when we converted the eight digit numbers like "$33227500" to more reader friendly figures like $33.2 million, we somehow managed to carry over another ten. We previously corrected numbers for Rep. Charles Wilson here; Wilson's totals were the two other inaccurate figures.We will provide a fuller clarification in the morning, along with a revised post.

Read more...

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Sean Weatherspoon, OLB - Missouri

Pick made by FineClub:

While Cincinnati was the AFC North's best team last season, in order to go further they are going to have to improve especially defensively. Enter Sean Weatherspoon.

 

The Tangible:

 

Weatherspoon is 6-1, 239LBS. He is a first team Big 12 player. He had 20 tackles in a game versus Buffalo. He is fast and strong. He is pro level out of the gate and should be exceptional with the right coaching.

 

The Intangible:

 

Weatherspoon is known for a great deal of enthusiasm and is viewed as a team leader. He is also known for having a great work ethic.

If Weatherspoon is taken #21 by the Bengals, it would be the 3rd LB taken in the first round by the Bengals over the past 6 years (David Pollack & Keith Rivers).  He would be the first LB taken in the 1st round ever from Missouri, and the first LB drafted at all since 1984 (Bobby Bell).

Weatherspoon's Scouting Report from Mocking the Draft

The Patriots, and skywalker, are on the clock...

Logo by coltsfan723

Dan Williams, DT - Tennessee

Pick made by Aerostar193:

The Texans need some major help in their secondary, but with all of the top prospects off the board (Taylor Mays doesn't cut it for me), they can switch their focus to defensive tackle and select Dan Williams. After trading the disappointing Travis Johnson to San Diego last season, there was no player left on the roster to replace him. Veterans Shaun Cody and Jeff Zgonina did their best to fill the hole, but neither of them are answers going forward.

Williams is a massive body with outstanding power and strength who could do wonders for a Texans team that is dead-set on stopping the Colts high powered offense. He's an excellent run-stuffer and dominates the line of scrimmage with ease, opening things up for his teammates to make more plays. And with already established stars like Mario Williams, Brian Cushing and DeMeco Ryans on the Texans defense, the addition of "Big Dan" could potentially vault their level of play, along with the inconsistent Amobi Okoye, to the next level. One issue with the idea of Williams going to the Texans is that he's mostly viewed as 3-4 nose tackle at the next level, often being pegged in mock drafts as the Dolphins or Broncos pick. However, I think he proved he had the athleticism to play in the 4-3 after he ran the 40 in 5.17 seconds while weighing 327 pounds. The Texans are only a few pieces away from becoming an elite team in my eyes, and Williams could definitely fit in as one of those pieces.

How would he impact the 2010 Texans?

There's really no reason for Williams not to start from Day 1. The Texans coaching staff has never been hesitant to start rookies in the past. Established players on the Texans defense like Cushing, Williams, Ryans, and Okoye all started their entire rookie seasons, and Dan Williams should be no different. I expect him to have a smooth transition to the NFL and become an immediate difference maker for the team.

If Williams is taken #20 by the Texans, it would be the 3rd DT taken in the first round by the Texans over the past 6 years (Travis Johnson & Amobi Okoye).  This doesn't include taking Mario Williams #1 overall in '06 as well.  He will also be the 2nd DT taken in the first round from Tennessee over the past 4 years (Justin Harrell).

Williams's Scouting Report from Mocking the Draft

The Bengals, and FineClub, are on the clock...

iTunes has the list up right now. I’m working on it…

See the complete list HERE.  Compete list below (125 songs)

• At Your Best You Are Love – Aaliya
• Try Again – Aaliya
• Tell It Like It Is – Aaron Neville
• Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
• Tired of Being Alone – Al Green
• No One – Alicia Keys
• Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart – Alicia Keys
• Sweet Love – Anita Baker
• Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
• Respect Aretha Franklin
• You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin
• Every Time I Close My Eyes – Baby Face
• Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love – Barry White
• Stand by Me – Ben E. King
• Don’t Be Cruel – Bobby Brown
• My Prerogotive – Bobby Brown
• A Song For Momma – Boyz II Men
• I’ll Make You Love to You – Boyz II Men
• It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday – Boyz II Men
• On Bended Knee – Boyz II Men
• Have You Ever – Brandy
• The Boy Is Mine (feat. Monica) – Brandy
• Back At One – Brian McKnight
• Rainy Night in Georgia – Brook Benton
• Tell Me Something Good – Chaka Khan & Rufas
• Forever – Chris Brown
• With You – Chris Brown
• Treat Her Like a Lady – Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
• It’s All Right – Cutis Mayfield & The Impressions
• Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Diana Ross
• Let’s Groove – Earth Wind and Fire
• September – Earth Wind and Fire
• Knock on Wood  – Eddie Floyd
• I Heard it Through the Grapevine – Gladys Knight and the Pips
• Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight and the Pips
• (You’re Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher – Jackie Wilson
• I Want You Back – Jackson 5
• Never Can Say Goodbye – Jackson 5
• Who’s Lovin’ You – Jackson 5
• I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown
• On the Wings of Love – Jeffrey Osbourne
• What Becomes of the Brokenhearted – Jimmy Ruffin
• I Wanna Know – Joe
• Superwoman – Karyn White
• Here and Now – Luther Vandross
• If Only For One Night – Luther Vandross
• Never Too Much – Luther Vandross
• Stop to Love – Luther Vandross
• Love Won’t Let Me Wait – Major Harris
• Vision of Love – Mariah Carey
• We Belong Together – Maria Carey
• (Love is Like a) Heat Wave – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
• Dancing in the Street – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
• Nowhere to Run – Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
• Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
• I Heard it Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
• Mercy Mercy me (The Ecology) – Marvin Gaye
• Be Without You (Kendu Mix) Mary J. Blige
• I Am – Mary J. Blige
• My Guy – Mary Wells
• Human Nature – Michael Jackson
• Rock With You – Michael Jackson
• Angel of Mine – Monica
• For You I Will – Monica
• Because of You – Ne Yo
• Mad – Ne Yo
• I’ve Been Loving You Too Long – Otis Redding
• (Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding
• Georgia On My Mind – Ray Charles
• Unchain my Heart – Ray Charles
• Shut Up and Drive – Rihanna
• Umbrella – Rihanna & Jay-Z
• Hold On I’m Coming – Sam & Dave
• Soul Man – Sam & Dave
• Bring it on Home to Me – Sam Cooke
• Crusin’ – Smokey Robinson
• I Second that Emotion – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
• The Tears of a Clown – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
• The Tracks of My Tears – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
• Home – Stephanie Mills
• Superstition – Stevie Wonder
• I Wish – Stevie Wonder
• Living For the City – Stevie Wonder
• Uptight (Everything is Alright) – Stevie Wonder
• Easy – The Commodores
• Watcha See is Whatcha Get – The Dramatics
• Baby I Need Your Loving – The Four Tops
• I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) – The Four Tops
• Reach Out I’ll Be There – The Four Tops
• People Get Ready – The Impressions
• It’s Your Thing – The Isley Brothers
• This Old Heart of Mine – The Isley Brothers
• Shop Around – The Miracles
• You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me – The Miracles
• Could It Be I’m Falling In Love – The Spinners
• People Make the World Go Round – The Stylistics
• You Make me Feel Brand New – The Stylistics
• Back in My Arms Again – The Supremes
• Stop! In the Name of Love – The Supremes
• Where Did Our Love Go – The Supremes
• You Can’t Hurray Love – The Supremes
• You Keep Me Hangin’ On – The Supremes
• Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Temptations
• Just My Imagination – The Tempatations
• Papa Was a Rolling Stone – The Temptations
• Don’t Leave Me This Way – Thelma Houston
• I Can’t Stand the Rain – Tina Turner
• We Don’t Need Another Hero – Tina Turner
• Waterfalls – TLC
• Un-Break My Heart – Toni Braxton
• Burn – Usher
• My Boo (feat. Alicia Keys) – Usher
• Nice & Slow – Usher
• U Got it Bad – Usher
• U Remind Me – Usher
• Save the Best for Last – Vanessa Williams
• Greatest Love of All – Whitney Houston
• How Will I Know – Whitney Houston
• Saving All My Love For You – Whitney Houston
• In the Midnight Hour – Wilson Pickett
• Land of 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett
• Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett

One of the new Silverlight 4 features allows applications talking to native COM components through COM Automation classes. Perhaps one of the most interesting use case for this new COM interoperability feature in Silverlight LOB applications is interacting with locally installed Microsoft Office applications to work with their documents.

This article will focus on creating a new MS Word document using Word’s mail merge feature. Mail merging lets user create a number of personalized documents using pre-made templates. A template contains special placeholders (fields), which, in the process of mail merging, are populated with data from a structured data source.

Technologies, used for this article

The core of the sample application is of course Silverlight 4 and it’s automation features. WCF RIA Services will serve as a bridge between the server (where the data will be) and the client (application), while MEF (Managed Extensibility Framework) will serve as means of separating application components to be composed at runtime.

What are we going to build?

The sample application is about creating invitation cards to a child’s birthday. The birthday girl maintains a list of her friends in a database on a server and when her birthday is coming up, she updates the invitation template and picks the friends she’d like to have at the party. After a simple click on a button, a document, containing cards for all her friends, appear on the screen, ready to be printed.

The data

Rather than having a proper database on the server, this sample uses a simple sample data generator to create fake user data. Names and surnames are taken from www.namestatistics.com and paired randomly to avoid any unintentional reference to a real-world person.

 1: public static class DataGenerator

 2: {

 3:     private static readonly Random Randomizer = new Random();

 4:  

 5:     private static readonly string[] Names = new[] { "James", "John", "Robert", "Michael", "William", "David", "Richard", "Charles", "Joseph", "Thomas", "Mary", "Patricia", "Linda", "Barabara", "Elizabeth", "Jennifer", "Maria", "Susan", "Margaret", "Dorothy" };

 6:     private static readonly string[] LastNames = new[] { "Smith", "Johnson", "Williams", "Jones", "Brown", "Davis", "Miller", "Wilson", "Moore", "Taylor", "Anderson", "Thomas", "Jackson", "White", "Harris", "Martin", "Thompson", "Garcia", "Martinez", "Robinson" };

 7:  

 8:     public static Person Create(int i)

 9:     {

 10:         int nameIndex = Randomizer.Next(Names.Length);

 11:         return new Person

 12:         {

 13:             Id = i,

 14:             FirstName = Names[nameIndex],

 15:             LastName = LastNames[Randomizer.Next(LastNames.Length)],

 16:             Gender = (nameIndex < Names.Length / 2) ? Gender.Boy : Gender.Girl,

 17:         };

 18:     }

 19: }

The generator creates an instance of a simple Person class, which is declared as:

 1: public class Person

 2: {

 3:     [Key]

 4:     public int Id { get; set; }

 5:     public string FirstName { get; set; }

 6:     public string LastName { get; set; }

 7:     public Gender Gender { get; set; }

 8: }

The [Key] attribute over the Id property indicates that the Person class is going to take part in the RIA Services contract. I’m not going to dive into details on setting the Silverlight projects to use WCF RIA Services (and RIA Services in general) because that’s beyond the scope of this article; but at this point, I will include the domain service class, which is responsible for getting the data and exposing it on a server endpoint:

 1: [EnableClientAccess]

 2: public class PartyDomainService : DomainService

 3: {

 4:     public IEnumerable<Person> GetChildren()

 5:     {

 6:         List<Person> children = new List<Person>();

 7:         for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)

 8:         {

 9:             children.Add(DataGenerator.Create(i));

 10:         }

 11:         return children;

 12:     }

 13: }

PartyDomainService is a simple custom DomainService having a single method that will create and return a [mocked] list of 10 children that our birthday girl keeps track of in her database and would like to see on her birthday party. If RIA Services are set correctly, PartyDomainService should get replicated in the client project – see the Generated_Code folder:

[Hint: to see the above folder/file, check the “Show All Files” option button in Solution Explorer]

Bringing in MEF

One good thing about client-generated RIA Services code is that all generated classes are partial, thus extendable. That means that developers can easily make any DomainContext class a MEF export by extending the generated class and decorating it with an appropriate Export attribute. All you need to be aware of when extending partial classes is to put the extending class into the same namespace as the generated class:

 1: [Export]

 2: public partial class PartyDomainContext

 3: {

 4: }

Domain context will get imported into a MailMerge class, which is responsible for doing the actual data merging. Importing is done through constructor injection:

 1: [ImportingConstructor]

 2: public MailMerge(PartyDomainContext dataContext)

 3: {

 4:     this.dataContext = dataContext;

 5: }

When composition happens, the MailMerge class, which itself is an export too, will be imported into the MainPageViewModel as a property import. This way, the ViewModel will automatically have access to the MailMerge class without having to instantiate it by itself.

Mail merging

Mail merging in MS Word requires two things – a template and a data source to fill it. But before we continue with the MailMerge class, let’s take a look at the birthday invitation template our young girl has put together in Word:

Note the underlined text on the top – Title, FirstName and LastName are MailMerge fields that were inserted into the template; these are meant to be replaced with actual data from our “database” and correlate to Person’s Gender, FirstName and LastName properties.

The princess saved the template into the My Documents folder where she’ll be able to pick it from later. Our next task is creating the data source, which is going to be another Word document with the data table inserted in it. And this Silverlight application will be the one that creates it!

Accessing local file system to create the data source

Trusted Silverlight 4 applications now have access to local file system which means they are allowed to read and write files in those special ‘My’ user folders (My Documents, My Pictures, …) without having to explicitly ask the user for those permissions. With templatePath being the full path to the template file, here’s how the name for data source document is chosen:

 1: string myDocumentsFolder = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);

 2: string filename = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(templatePath);

 3: string dataFilePath = Path.Combine(myDocumentsFolder, filename + ".dat");

Running with elevated permissions, the application will be allowed to write to that file. The data source document won’t be created by our code, we’ll leave this to be done by Word.

Talking to Word

To instantiate the COM object, we’re required to call it by it’s name, and the syntax is very similar to what we were doing years ago with classic ASP or VB script. Except, this time it’s the AutomationFactory class that provides the CreateObject method:

 1: dynamic wordApplication = AutomationFactory.CreateObject("Word.Application");

The dynamic keyword is new in C# 4 syntax and provides the late-binding mechanism we knew back in the VB6/COM days. You can also see the use of dynamic keyword as a shorter syntax for reflection, all serving the purpose of dynamic objects not being type checked during the compilation, but rather at run time only.

Using the dynamic keyword also means you don’t get any intellisense help in Visual Studio which subsequently means you’ll end up reading a lot of help files to understand the API on objects you’re working with. For example, try this Word method for opening a single document:

 1: [application].Documents.Open(FileName, ConfirmConversions, ReadOnly, AddToRecentFiles, PasswordDocument, 

 2:                         PasswordTemplate, Revert, WritePasswordDocument, WritePasswordTemplate, Format, 

 3:                         Encoding, Visible, OpenConflictDocument, OpenAndRepair, DocumentDirection, NoEncodingDialog)

Not exactly the prettiest you’ve seen, right? Fortunately, all but the first parameter in the above method are optional and you can leave them out – C# 4 provided with yet another fine concept of having optional parameters in method calls. That means that instead of writing this:

 1: dynamic document = wordApplication.Documents.Open(ref templatePath, ref missingValue, ref missingValue, 

 2:                    ref missingValue, ref missingValue, ref missingValue, ref missingValue, ref missingValue, 

 3:                    ref missingValue, ref missingValue, ref missingValue, ref missingValue, ref missingValue, 

 4:                    ref missingValue, ref missingValue, ref missingValue);

we can now simply write:

 1: dynamic document = wordApplication.Documents.Open(templatePath);

Sweet!

To create the data source document, another method with 9 parameters has to be invoked. We only need to provide two of them, but they are a few parameters apart, so this is the best we can come up with:

 1: document.MailMerge.CreateDataSource(templatePath, Missing.Value, Missing.Value, header);

If you’re tempted to use named parameters at this point – you can’t. Currently, named parameters are simply not supported in Silverlight COM Automation scenarios.

OK, we successfully created the data source document. Let’s open it and write some data into it. The Person collection is converted to the two-dimensional array, transforming some of the data to fit what’s needed for the template:

 1: string header = "FirstName;LastName;Title";

 2: IEnumerable<IEnumerable<string>> data = p.Entities.Select(person => new[]

 3:     {

 4:         person.FirstName,

 5:         person.LastName,

 6:         person.Gender == Gender.Boy ? "prince" : "princess"

 7:     }.AsEnumerable());

Header string is used by the CreateDataSource for creating a table in the document. The array will be written to that same table as its data content:

 1: dynamic table = dataDocument.Tables(1);

 2:  

 3: for (int i = 0; i < data.Count(); i++)

 4: {

 5:     dynamic row = i == 0 ? table.Rows(2) : table.Rows.Add();

 6:     InsertRow(row, data.ElementAt(i));

 7: }

Almost done! One last thing needed to be done is doing the actual merge:

 1: document.MailMerge.Execute(false);

At this point, Word will take the template and the data source document, and if everything’s set up correctly, start creating a new page for every row in data source table.

It’s worth noting that COM Automation feature is only allowed with trusted application, and on systems that support it (currently that’s Windows only). To check if COM Automation is available to your code, check the following API:

 1: bool isAutomationAvaliable = AutomationFactory.IsAvailable;

Also, in order to use the dynamic keyword, a project should include a reference to the Microsoft.CSharp.dll.

UI / Conclusion

The accompanying project includes a piece of UI, which will let our young princess select a Word template and process it with the data from the server. Please see other code in there as well as it provides the complete solution presented in this article.

Full source code of the project is available to download here.

COM Automation in Silverlight 4 is big because of all the opportunities it provides to the developer. Due to its nature, it currently only works when the application is deployed to a Windows OS, but Microsoft is investigating means for providing similar stories on other OS’s as well. Elevated permissions are required to use the Automation.

The article discussed a process of creating birthday invitations; you can use exactly the same concept for issuing invoices, for example. Microsoft Office integration has never been so exciting as it is now, with Silverlight leading the way.

What's Ada Lovelace Day?

Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging (videologging, podcasting, comic drawing etc.!) to draw attention to the achievements of women in technology and science.

Who was Ada?

Ada Lovelace was one of the world's first computer programmers, and one of the first people to see computers as more than just a machine for doing sums. She wrote programmes for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, a general-purpose computing machine, despite the fact that it was never built. She also wrote the very first description of a computer and of software.

Use tag #ald10 in your tweets and posts, and share with us in the comments! Who's an inspiring woman in science or technology to you? Who do you wish to inspire with science in technology? Here are some of my favorite projects recently from techy ladies:

TearDrop by Leah Buechley, Tshen Chew, Hannah Perner-Wilson, Emily Lovell, and Jie Qi:

TearDrop is a kit that allows people to explore the creative and practical potentials of paper-based computing. What interfaces might we build if we could sketch functional sytems directly on paper? What will circuits look like when they are painted or drawn instead of etched or machined?

The kit enables people to paint functional interactive devices on paper. These might include painted sensors and actuators, functioning user interface sketches, beautiful drawings that integrate functionality and aesthetics, and working schematic drawings.

Monochron by Limor Fried/Adafruit Industries, enclosure by Amanda Wozniak, it's an open source clock platform! Adafruit is also celebrating 24 hours of Lady Ada Lovelace with a post about an inspirational woman every hour on their blog!

This Arecibo Message Scarf was embroidered on a fancy computerized embroidery machine by Evil Mad Scientist Lenore Edman. I wrote about her on CRAFT in our "Blogs We Love" series a while back, and still can't get enough!

Here's Elly Jessop and her augmented voice performance glove, I met her at MIT!

Diana Eng's Fairytale Fashion show wasn't afraid to blink, glow, and whir all the way down the runway.

• Today is Ada Lovelace Day, celebrating women in technology
• Blogs We Love: Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
• It's Always Ada Lovelace Day at O'Reilly (and at MAKE)
• Make: Online: Diana Eng Archives
• Fashionable Technology. The Intersection of Design, Fashion, Science, and Technology by Sabine Seymour
• Introduce a girl to engineering today

Logo by coltsfan723

Brandon Graham, DE - Michigan

Pick made by fiftycal2004:

The signing of Dunta Robinson filled the most pressing need for the Falcons. So, with John Abraham and Mike Peterson not getting any younger and Jamaal Anderson looking like a bust in the making, they will go after a DE or OLB in this slot. Ultimately, they pick Graham, who had a strong senior bowl, over Sean Weatherspoon in hopes of improving their pass rush which finished 26th in the league in sacks. Though shorter than some scouts might like, Graham's collegiate production, quickness, and good moves make this a good pick.

How would he impact the 2010 Falcons?

In 2010, Graham should push Anderson for playing time opposite Abraham. Also, look for him to slide over to DT in obvious passing situations to generate more pressure on opposing QBs.

If Graham is taken #19 by the Falcons, it would be the 3rd DL taken by the Falcons in the first round over the past 4 years (Jamaal Anderson & Peria Jerry).  He will also be the 1st DE taken in the first round from Michigan since 1985, when Kevin Brooks was taken #17 overall by the Cowboys.

Graham's Scouting Report from Mocking the Draft

The Texans, and Aerostar193, are on the clock...

Logo by coltsfan723

Kyle Wilson, CB - Boise State

Pick made by LV Steelers Fan:

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2010 offseason with numerous needs on the defensive side of the ball. Nose Tackle, MLB, Safety, and CB all were to be major Steelers needs, and O-Line wouldn't have hurt either. However, several offseason moves have significantly changed the Steelers' outlook. The re-signings of Ryan Clark and Casey Hampton, coupled with the acquisition of free agent Larry Foote, have reduced Pittsburgh's likely choices at pick #18 to CB and OL.

In our draft, Bryan Bulaga, Mike Iupati, and Bruce Campbell are all taken, leaving OT Trent Williams as the only remaining blue chip lineman. This would be the pick of most casual Steelers fans, but Willie Colon has developed into a decent tackle and Max Starks is locked up to a big deal for the next few years. Thus, Williams seems less likely to be the Steelers' choice than the man I am taking: CB Kyle Wilson out of Boise State.

Wilson is an aggressive corner whose great hips allow him to stay with a receiver and close in for the play. This can also be a liability, as he is vulnerable to double moves and significant coverage penalties. He is deceptively strong(25 reps at 225) considering his relatively modest stature(5'10", 190).

The William Gay experiment at CB failed miserably, and he simply cannot be used as more than a nickel corner. Deshea Townsend left in free agency, and second year men Joe Burnett and Keenan Lewis have not broken through yet. Simply put, the Steelers need a corner desperately if they want to get their defense back among the league's elite.

How would he impact the 2010 Steelers?

Wilson is likely not going to develop into an all pro, but could easily be a #2 corner opposite Ike Taylor in the Steelers defense, probably as soon as early in the 2010 sesason.  Wilson is a student of the game, which should help him master Pittsburgh's complex defensive schemes and slip into the starting role quickly. His leadership skills and penchant for trash talk makes him a perfect fit for a Steelers defense that is in desperate need of a vocal presence.

If Wilson is taken #18 by the Steelers, it would be the 1st CB taken in the first round by the Steelers since 1993, when Deon Figures was taken #23 overall.  He will also be the 2nd first round draft pick ever from Boise St., with the other being OT Ryan Clady by the Broncos in 2008.

Wilson's Scouting Report from Mocking the Draft

The Falcons, and fiftycal2004, are on the clock...

The tactic of playing right-footers on the left wing, and vice versa, is increasing widespread and effective. Why?

Football used to be an easy game. The big lads played at centre-half and centre-forward, the hard lads played at full-back, the bright lads played at inside forward, the hard lads who were a bit bright and the bright lads who were a bit hard played at wing-half, and the little, quick lads played on the wing. Left-footers played on the left and right-footers played on the right. And the one with no mates went in goal.

Eight decades on, and it's all rather more complicated, and not just because not all goalkeepers these days are entirely socially dysfunctional. Wingers disappeared for a while, and became a luxury item, almost a museum piece, but now they're back, all over the place, and the tendency is for them to play on the opposite flank.

There have always been a handful who did that. Tom Finney, for instance, played as a right-footed left-wing in the greatest English forward line there has ever been – along with Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen, Tommy Lawton and Wilf Mannion – but that was only because Matthews was already installed in his preferred position. Later, players such as Dennis Tueart, Chris Waddle, Marc Overmars and Robert Pires, operating on the opposite side through preference, were highly effective coming in on to their stronger foot.

But now these inside-out wingers are everywhere. At Barcelona, Leo Messi is proving himself probably the greatest individual talent since Diego Maradona, cutting in from the right on to his stronger left foot. Arjen Robben has resurrected Bayern Munich's season doing much the same. Cristiano Ronaldo is right-footed and plays on the right, but is so strong with his left that he too is constantly shifting inside, looking for shooting opportunities.

It's the same in England. Ashley Young is a right-footed left-winger. Adam Johnson is left-footed but has made an impact at Manchester City on the right, while Craig Bellamy, a right-footer on the left, has arguably been their best player this season. Niko Kranjcar plays on the left but drifts infield on to his right. Damien Duff spent most of his career on the left but has prospered on the right for Fulham. At Wigan, the left-footed Charles N'Zogbia is having a decent season on the right. Steed Malbranque has been a revelation in recent weeks on the left for Sunderland. At national level, Steven Gerrard has become the preferred choice on the left of the attacking midfield trident when Fabio Capello opts for 4-2-3-1. So why is the tactic so effective, and why has it suddenly become so widespread?

The death of the traditional winger

Herbert Chapman, who foresaw most developments, was suspicious of the winger even before the 1925 change in the offside law prompted the shift away from 2-3-5 to W-M. His Huddersfield team that won the FA Cup in 1922 and went on to lift three successive league titles featured two wingers in George Richardson and Billy Smith who eschewed the touchline-hugging stereotype. Inside passing, Chapman argued, was "more deadly, if less spectacular" than the "senseless policy of running along the lines and centring just in front of the goalmouth, where the odds are nine to one on the defenders".

Chapman's Arsenal side that itself completed a hat-trick of championships was thoroughly modern in the sense of having wingers who regularly drifted infield, making the most of the long, accurate passing of the inside-forward Alex James. Yet for all their success, the image of the winger, isolated, bandy-legged, sashaying his way past the full-back and crossing, remained to English eyes the creative ideal. Perhaps the hurly-burly of English midfields, or the fact that from autumn onwards the only firm ground was to be found out wide, meant flair was necessarily pushed to the flanks. Perhaps it was simply nostalgia.

In the year immediately following the World War Two, there was a great flowering of the English winger with Matthews, Finney, Len Shackleton, Bobby Langton, Jimmy Mullen, George Robb, Johnny Hancocks and Charlie Mitten. The problem was that they emerged just as the collectivist football of the Communist bloc was demonstrating the outmodedness of the English focus on the individual.

Mikhail Yakushin, the manager of the 1945 Dinamo Moscow tourists, for instance, was scornful of Matthews. "The principle of collective play is the guiding one in Soviet football," he said. "A player must not only be good in general; he must be good for the particular team. His individual qualities are high, but we put collective football first and individual football second, so we do not favour his style as we think teamwork would suffer." It took the 6-3 mauling at home to Hungary in 1953 to bring that message home – six months after what many saw as the apogee of wing-play, Matthews's performance in the 1953 FA Cup final.

What really did for the old-school winger, though, was the shift from the three at the back of the W-M to a back four, a process which began in Hungary, the Soviet Union and Brazil in the 1950s and was universalised after Brazil's successes in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups. The back three of the W-M operated on a pivot; the ideal for attacking teams was to switch play rapidly from one flank to the other, so "turning" the defence, and providing space for the winger so he could be travelling at speed by the time he reached the full-back. Add an extra defender, and that acceleration room simply isn't there any more.

It was that realisation that led Alf Ramsey and Viktor Maslov to develop the 4-4-2 (or, more accurately in both cases, the 4-1-3-2) in the mid-1960s. As their ideas took hold, the winger became a wide midfielder, a shuttler, somebody who might be expected to cross a ball but was also meant to put in a defensive shift. The lop-sided 4-3-3s of the 1970s could still accommodate something approximating to a winger, but by the 1980s they had become increasingly rare, evolved out of existence by the dominance of 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 – which Johan Cruyff described as "the death of football" precisely because it militated against wing-play.

The reinvention of the winger

As 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-2-3 came to vie with 4-4-2, so the winger could be introduced. Dribbling was a way of disrupting the predictability that 4-4-2 often seemed to engender, and the deployment of two holding midfielders provided the platform that enabled the incorporation of dribblers again. Why, though, do so many prefer to turn infield rather than doing what wingers used to do, trying to get to the goal-line and sweep in a cross?

With a lone centre-forward, of course, there is a need for the advanced midfielders to provide goals (and conversely, it may be that many of the players now operating as wide forwards would in a previous age have been second strikers), particularly if that forward operates as a false nine, so that perhaps, to an extent, explains the modern directness.

But it also seems hard to explain the idea that the most lethal cross was a ball dragged back from the goal-line. It can be dangerous of course, raising doubt in a goalkeeper's mind as to whether he should come to claim or not, but there seems no reason why it should be more threatening than an inswinger delivered at pace (I'm not sure any stats exist to prove or disprove this, but if they do, please post a link).

In fact, intuitively, it would seem a ball whipped towards the far post that requires just a touch to divert it in or that will sneak in if nobody touches it is more dangerous. It also feels as though that sort of goal has become more common over the past decade or so. That may itself be a result of an increasing number of inside-out wingers, or it may be a result of the increased spin that can be imparted on modern balls, or even perhaps of the liberalisation of the offside law which forces teams to defend deeper – an inswinger curving into the far post is obviously more dangerous if players are running into it six yards out than 15 yards out, both in terms of angle and the time a goalkeeper would have to react to a touch.

There are other advantages to a wide player coming inside. For one thing, given most full-backs still play on the traditional side, a winger taking him on on the inside is attacking his weaker foot. For another, a wide player drifting infield is opening space for an overlapping full-back, of whom there are an increasing number. The link-up of Pires and Ashley Cole at Arsenal was an early example of that; more recent examples include Ivan Rakitic and Danijel Pranjic for Croatia, Gerrard and Cole for England and, most obviously, Messi and Dani Alves for Barcelona.

And then there is the issue of acceleration room. A full-back pushed tight on a wide forward does not allow him to accelerate down the line, but by cutting inside on to his stronger foot, the forward opens up room on the diagonal. It is that, for instance, that allowed Messi to score his first against Stuttgart last week. It was rapidly obvious what he was going to do as he turned inside but the best efforts of four defenders couldn't stop him because of the pace he was going at by the time he got within shooting range.

The two types of inside-out winger

Not that the wide forward has to use the room to dribble into. Darren Bent's second goal for Sunderland against Birmingham on Saturday, for instance, came because Malbranque checked inside, and had space to measure an angled pass to the forward with his stronger foot. Earlier in the season, playing on the right, Malbranque looked past it, too slow to beat his full-back on the outside, so right-footed that when he came inside he resembled a canoe with only one paddle, turning always in a circle away from goal. Switching to the left means the lack of pace no longer matters, and he effectively becomes a playmaker who happens to operate wide.

That certainly has been the role occupied by Kranjcar and Luka Modric at Spurs; in their case, the flank becomes an area where a playmaker can still be accommodated in the English game. Others, though, such as Ronaldo and Bellamy, are more obviously forwards, who just happen to start wide. Wayne Rooney's aerial ability perhaps means that centre-forward is his best position, but previous seasons have suggested that he too could occupy that role.

And in between, both playmaker and forward, is Messi, a genius for all the ages. It is hard to believe any player starting wide has had such an impact on games so regularly since Matthews (and even then you wonder whether British pundits, conditioned to see greatness in wingers, weren't seeing what they wanted to see).

Wide forwards can be stopped, but it takes a major change for the defending team. Alvaro Arbeloa's marking job on Messi for Liverpool in 2007 shows how effective it can be switching a right-footed full-back to play on the left flank, and Young's slightly stuttering form for Aston Villa earlier this season shows what can happen when full-backs get used to showing a player outside rather than inside.

But then a player of the class of Ronaldo or Messi (as he is today) will simply go outside (could that, in fact, be why Barça bought Zlatan Ibrahimovic, to give them an aerial presence if Messi were forced into crossing more often?), and playing a right-footer at left-back or a left-footer at right-back immediately impairs their capacity to overlap.

So, the wide forward is hard to combat, scores goals, can operate as a playmaker and creates space for attacking full-backs. All he doesn't do is get to the by-line and curl in away swingers. He seems such a potent threat that the real puzzle is why he didn't emerge earlier.

Alright B/R fans, you asked for it, so here it is, round two of our Fans' Draft. Round one was a success, and we’ll expect nothing less this time around.

Hopefully this will give fans a glimpse of what the second round could look like, and also  help pass the time until the real thing happens in April.

The same rules apply, and we’ll leave the list of first round selections so you can see who’s already off the board. Here we go!

Here’s the list of the selections so far.

1.      Rams take QB Jimmy Clausen

2.      Lions take DT Ndamukong Suh

3.      Buccaneers take DT Gerald McCoy

4.      Redskins take OT Russell Okung

5.      Chiefs take S Eric Berry

6.      Seahawks take OT Bruce Campbell

7.      Browns take CB Joe Haden

8.      Raiders take OT Anthony Davis

9.      Bills take OT Bryan Bulaga

10.    Jaguars take QB Tim Tebow

11.    Broncos take ILB Rolando McClain

12.    Dolphins take WR Dez Bryant

13.   49er’s take RB CJ Spiller

14.   Seahawks take OG Mike Iupati

15.   Giants take DT Brian Price

16.   Titans take DE Derrick Morgan

17.   49er’s take S Taylor Mays

18.   Steelers take S Earl Thomas

19.   Falcons take DE Jason Pierre-Paul

20.   Texans take WR Golden Tate

21.   Bengals take TE Jermaine Gresham

22.   Patriots take OLB Sergio Kindle

23.   Packers take OLB Jerry Hughes

24.   Eagles take OLB Sean Weatherspoon

25.   Ravens take WR Arrelious Benn

26.   Cardinals take OT Trent Williams

27.   Cowboys take ILB Brandon Spikes

28.   Chargers take DT Dan Williams

29.   Jets take DT Jared Odrick

30.   Vikings take QB Sam Bradford

31.   Colts take CB Devin McCourty

32.   Saints take DE Brandon Graham

33.   Rams take CB Kyle Wilson

34.   Lions take C Maurkice Pouncey

35.   Buccaneers take WR Demaryius Thomas

36.   Chiefs take DT Terrence Cody

37.   Redskins take OT Charles Brown

38.   Browns take QB Colt McCoy

Okay, Oakland, I’ll leave my thoughts on Al Davis aside this time around and get right to business.

In the first round, the fans decided to draft an offensive tackle to improve all aspects of their offense. Now, in round two, should the Raiders continue to build in the trenches, or  upgrade at a skill position?

The Raiders could even grab a huge value player by taking one of the two elite defensive ends that are still available.

Make sure to cast your votes soon!

Polls will close in 24 hours.

The Rules: Each day for the next 32 days, we’ll post a continuation of this article at 6 p.m. Eastern time where the fans can comment, discuss, and decide who their team will pick.

At 5 p.m. Eastern the following day, we’ll look at the best comments and opinions and announce the selection your team has made, along with the next team who will pick at 6 p.m.  A list of previous selections will be included and fans will not be allowed to vote for players who are already off the board.

Note: you do not have to use the player’s full name in voting for your vote to count. If there is a tie at the 5 p.m. cut-off, whichever player is ranked as the higher pick on CBS Sports' "overall player ranking" will be the selection.

Example: If the Bills have six votes for Ndamukong Suh and six votes for Gerald McCoy, then Suh, who is ranked No.1 overall, would be the selection over McCoy who is ranked No. 3.