The recent LeGarrette Blount pro day fiasco should have taught us all a thing or two about jumping to conclusions when players, no matter how troubled they may be, no-show for important workouts that affect their future. It does not appear to be so.

Rogue cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, who was last seen failing to grab a roster spot with the Cincinnati Bengals, was supposed to be at a private workout in New Orleans today for a number of NFL teams. But, as James Varney of the New Orleans Times-Picayune first reported (hit that link quickly, before it gets pulled!), Pacman wound up blowing off the audition - yes, he was a no-show at his own workout.

There's only one problem with the story - it wasn't true. Not a bit of it.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first reported via Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network, the workout went off as planned on Friday afternoon. "He's running the 40 right now and just did an interview with the camera crew we have there," La Canfora told Florio via

Now that free agency is done - at least for the most part - it's a good time to head back to the Land of Mock Drafts and see how teams might fill their needs after a surprisingly busy player acquisition period. As always, the idea is to run these mocks as one would a real draft; with a mixture of need picks and "best-player-available" mantras, with the occasional shocker mixed in for good measure. Here are picks 17-32, the first half of the mock can be found here.

17. San Francisco 49ers: S Taylor Mays, USC - We're still not sure what kind of 40-yard dash Mays ran at the combine - it wasn't a 4.24, but it sure didn't look like a 4.43, either. Say he ran a sub-4.4, and does the same at USC's Pro Day on the 30th. At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, he'd be an irresistible pick for a San Francisco team that always valued raw athleticism in the Scot McCloughan era. No matter who runs their draft in 2010, here's betting that the Niners find Mays impossible to pass up.

18. Pittsburgh Steelers: OL

Now that free agency is done - at least for the most part - it's a good time to head back to the Land of Mock Drafts and see how teams might fill their needs after a surprisingly busy player acquisition period. As always, the idea is to run these mocks as one would a real draft; with a mixture of need picks and "best-player-available" mantras, with the occasional shocker mixed in for good measure. Here are picks 1-16; the second half of the first round will be along presently.

1. St. Louis Rams: QB Sam Bradford, Oklahoma -- As tempting as it might be for St. Louis to trade for Michael Vick(notes) or Kevin Kolb(notes) and go defensive tackle with the first overall pick, Vick really isn't the franchise quarterback a rebuilding team needs, and any team dealing with the Eagles on Kolb have to adjust to the idea that his current team is probably overvaluing him from a trade standpoint. Rams GM Billy Devaney has kept in close contact with Tom Condon, Bradford's agent, and everything points

Not surprisingly, the range of opinions when it comes to Tim Tebow's throwing motion and renewed NFL prospects were all over the place after his pro day on Wednesday. From what I saw (and you can see in the video below), Tebow displayed more nimble footwork, and it's clear that he's working very hard to overcome the severe kinks in his throwing motion. However, Tebow still hesitates before throwing, and he definitely pushes the ball -- his release isn't impressive at all. These issues are minimized when he doesn't have defenders in his face, but in the NFL, when a quick release is prized above all, it's something that will still need a lot of work.

Mike Mayock of the NFL Network, one of the most respected voices in draft evaluation, believes that Tebow helped himself immensely. Mayock said that his mechanics were greatly improved from six weeks ago during Senior Bowl week. But that doesn't jibe with former NFL GM Charley Casserly, who says on his same video that while Tebow has some

There's been more of a hue and cry about overtime in the NFL since ... well, since just about the time the New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game in the fifth period and sent Brett Favre(notes) back to Mississippi to torture us all for another offseason. While I don't believe there would be such sustained media outrage about this issue had Favre played in Super Bowl XLIV, the point is still valid -- a system that rewards the team that gets the luck of a coin toss to a disproportionate degree needs to be altered. At the owner's meetings next week, the league will vote on a different system. Today, Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay outlined what will be going before the owners -- a proposal (now for the postseason only) that would give the opposing team a possession if the first team only kicks a field goal in the extra period.

If both teams exchange field goals, sudden death rules will then go into effect.

Sure -- this has nothing at all to do

Now that Tim Tebow has completed his pro day, and the NFL is left to evaluate and wonder about the ramifications of his new throwing motion, I contacted a friend who was at the event to get his take. Charlie Bernstein writes for JagNation.com and hosts the daily CB Sports Radio Show on ESPN Radio 1420 in St. Augustine, Fla. (Full disclosure: You can hear me blathering on about all things NFL on Charlie's show every Friday at 6 p.m. EST.) I asked Charlie for his reasoned evaluation of His Tebowness, and here's what he said:

In a dark, dreary rain-filled day at Ben Hill-Griffin Stadium, Florida quarterback and local icon Tim Tebow hoped the sunny skies would come out and his prospect of being a top pick in this April's NFL draft would follow. After enduring an enormous amount of scrutiny from his lackluster week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Tebow vowed to re-work his throwing motion, footwork and delivery.

The early results were good, as Tebow shortened his delivery and showed good

It's probably accurate to say that only two things would change the wide swing of opinions on Tim Tebow's NFL future at his pro day. If he showed remarkable progress in his delivery, footwork, ability under center, and overall pro-ready fundamentals, many of the people who have downgraded him for whatever reason (he's not an NFL quarterback, he's just another spread offense guy, if I hear his name one more time, I'm gonna jump off a building, etc.) would have to at least perk up their ears and listen to the guys on the other side of the fence. And if he went out and plotzed in front of an adoring crowd ... well, whether they'll admit it or not, more than one NFL team was going to drop him down their draft boards. You can talk all you want about intangibles, but at some point, a guy's got to show enough to even bank on as a future NFL quarterback.

But if Tebow showed roughly the same kind of attributes he did at Florida, or even a slight improvement based on his off-season work,

For those draft prospects who disappoint for whatever reason at the scouting combine, pro days are the saving grace. You get to wake up in your own home, run on your home track, throw to receivers you're comfortable with, and you're more of the focus. This week, three players will be putting it all on the line, after they either underperformed or didn't perform at all in Indianapolis.

Tim Tebow, Florida, March 17 -- He didn't throw at the combine, but the patron saint of intangibles will unveil the new throwing motion that will allegedly set the world on fire, and bring Tebow the quarterback up to what everyone seems to want him to be. Or not. Certainly, when he's throwing to the guys he knows with no pressure in his face, it will be easier for Tebow to implement new mechanics. And to whatever extent teams go back to their own facilities and reconcile what they saw with what's on tape, that's when the real analysis will start. Such a mechanical overhaul is a lot to ask in a very short