(Getty Images)

(Note: The sheer number of people wanting to send thoughts, prayers, & messages of hope to Brian Price has been overwhelming. You can do so at Rajiv@Prestigefootball.com. Thanks.)

I remember interviewing then-UCLA defensive lineman Brian Price before the 2010 NFL draft, where he was taken in the second round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I remember thinking that this kid from the mean streets of Los Angeles had everything it took to succeed in the NFL -- talent, work ethic and great intangibles.

What Price hasn't had through his NFL career is good luck of any kind. He's suffered many different injuries in the last three seasons, had a revolutionary surgery in which both of his hamstrings were re-attached to his pelvis, and has played in just 20 of a possible 32 games. But last season, he played 15 games, starting 14, and racked up three quarterback sacks.

Price's personal life has been even more difficult. He had previously lost two brothers to shootings, and last week, his 30-year-old sister Bridget was killed in an auto accident in Inglewood, Calif. Price was so distressed, he eventually had to be hospitalized for dehydration.

"He physically broke down," his agent, Chuck Price (no relation), told the Los Angeles Times. "He had a high fever, was dehydrated, and couldn't hold anything down. That stress just plays a wicked role."

Price, who took his sister's 7- and 9-year-old children to a Dodgers game the night before their mother was killed, now plans to adopt the children.

Through all the difficulties of his life, Price has persisted and tried his best to get back in the game -- now, he has even more inspiration to do so.

"This guy has been in pain for literally a year," Buccaneers trainer Todd Toriscelli said in September of 2011, as Price tried to find his way back after injuries so severe, he couldn't put on his shoes by himself. "I'm not talking about just mild discomfort. I'm talking about driving home he's got to sit on those bones, laying in bed, you just can't get away from it. Certainly trying to play professional football … it's just an absolutely remarkable thing, and a compliment to his drive and motivation. He is a very special person, I can tell you that."

When I talked to Brian Price, I thought he was pretty special, as well. If you have a few extra thoughts and prayers to send his way, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

(AP)

With the draft over and all wrapped up, we thought it would be a good idea to get back on the phone with our buddy Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's "NFL Matchup," and talk about the NFL by division. Who did themselves the most favors in the draft, and who came up short when addressing their roster deficits?

The Shutdown Corner Podcast Greg Cosell on the NFC West draft

We started off with the NFC West last week, and we now move to the hyper-competitive AFC North. Appropriate, given Greg's recent post on the NFL Films Blog praising the Cincinnati Bengals' draft strategy. With that in mind, we asked Greg what he thought the Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers did to bolster their teams.

Related: [Cosell on quarterbacks, running backs/wide receivers, tight ends/offensive line, OLB/DE/DT stars, the ILB/DB class, and overall draft review]

Baltimore Ravens OLB Courtney Upshaw, and how he'll be tasked to replace Terrell Suggs: "The Ravens are very versatile with their fronts. Suggs would line up in two-point and three-point stances. He played a number of different positions and alignments -- that's what the Ravens do, and Upshaw fits that role. I don't think anybody's going to say that he's going to do what Suggs has done for a number of years -- Suggs is a pretty damned good player -- but the way Upshaw plays, I think he could eventually become similar to that guy."

Cincinnati Bengals OG Kevin Zeitler: "I seem to be in the minority here, and we'll never know how the Bengals felt because David DeCastro was gone when they picked, but I thought Zeitler was a little more complete than DeCastro -- I thought he was a better athlete. I thought he had more scheme-versatility, and he fits very well in a zone run game. I'm not sure DeCastro does. Now, DeCastro fits in the power run game better; that's what he did at Stanford. But given what the Bengals want their guards to do, I think Zeitler was the better choice, and would have been the better choice had DeCastro been available."

The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Greg Cosell on the 2012 AFC North Draft

The Cleveland Browns' first-round selections of Trent Richardson and Brandon Weeden: "Theoretically, you could look at it this way -- they ended up with Richardson and Weeden instead of Ryan Tannehill and Doug Martin. And I think Richardson/Weeden is the better combination ... in fact, I don't think, I know. Richardson, we don't need to discuss ... I thought he was the best player in this draft. Weeden has some concerns. He was the best pure pocket passer in this draft, but he's got meaningful and troublesome issues with pressure. That's a serious red flag when you transition to the NFL."

Getty ImagesThursday on Sirius XM NFL Radio, legendary Ravens safety Ed Reed said he wasn't "100 percent committed" to playing football this coming season. It's not about money, he says. It's about other things happening in his life.

"I know that time is kind of inching away at me. We do have a mandatory camp coming up that I'm still in deep thought about because other things are important to me now. I still know I can play at a high level. I can still go for another couple years physically. But other things is kind of taking place in my life right now and making me think about things differently."

If it's truly not about money ‒ Reed is scheduled to make $7.2 million in the last year of his current contract ‒ that's not necessarily a good thing for the Ravens, because back in April, it was about the money.

"For what I offer on the football field, for what I give on the football field and for what they know they're going to get, it's much more than these young guys out here today and what they're getting. And I'm talking at any every defensive back position right now, not just safety."

So now maybe it's about two things.

Robert Griffin III was at ease in a Thursday appearance on "The Tonight Show," riffing with host Jay Leno, playfully teasing guest Hugh Laurie ("House") and revealing that two massage chairs will be his first big purchase with his NFL money.

In the first clip, Griffin talks about his marriage proposal and gives Leno and Laurie a gift. I don't know whether Griffin was fed the line about House's tie or whether he ad-libbed it, but it was impeccably timed and perfectly delivered either way. /swoon

Yes, his adidas shirt says "Don't be Trippin."

In the next clip (which is actually the first clip chronologically), Griffin talks about his socks, his biggest game and gives a shout out to military families.

When this man is not fired up, he's jacked up about QB competition. (Getty Images)

Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll breaks down his team's offseason moves.

PETE CARROLL: What an awesome day! The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! Let me give a shout out to all the folks at The Circle Perk coffee shop for working so hard to keep all of us energized! And to all the crossing guards making sure kids get to school safely! And to the Seattle-area sewer workers: you guys are the thin line that separates good citizens from their own filth, and I cannot thank you enough!

Fans really need to get amped about our three-way quarterback battle. The front-runner is Matt Flynn, who got America totally stoked in that awesome Packers-Lions game in Week 17. Next, there's rookie Russell Wilson, who is short but fiery. Isn't that right, Russell?

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrrrr...

PETE CARROLL: I love this kid! He's like a feral cat! And finally, there's Tarvaris Jackson, the Taylor Hicks of NFL quarterbacks. You don't like him, you keep expecting him to lose, and then bang! He finds a way to win a starting job, if not many games.

But enough about the offense. Let's talk defense!! We are going to have one of the best front sevens in the NFL!! Defensive tackle Jason Jones had a great, if quiet, season for the Titans last year. First-round pick Bruce Irvin may have seemed like a reach, but that is only because West Virginia had this crazy idea that a 245-pound speedster was a good fit at defensive end. I like my defensive ends Red Bryant-sized! When I am not being enthusiastic about everything, you can find me in my office drawing up creative defenses, and Irvin is going to be everywhere the offense doesn't expect him to be!!!

Irvin and Wilson had awesome rookie camps. In fact, all of the rookies had awesome camps, as did our parking lot attendants and the people who work so hard to make sure the office wastebaskets are clean enough to guzzle energy drink out of!! Let me dedicate my Song of the Day to the rookies: "Dog Days are Over" by Florence + the Machine! That's right: I'm a 60-year old man who listens to Florence + the Machine!!! Nicky Minaj, too! And don't forget Ke$ha, who is tiny and has a nasty attitude, just like Russell Wilson!!!

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrr…

PETE CARROLL: Excellent growling, buddy!!

Kevin Kolb, who lives life inside an "Angry Birds" app. (Getty Images)Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Cardinals quarterback (at least for now) Kevin Kolb breaks down the Arizona Cardinals' offseason moves.

KEVIN KOLB: Howdy folks. Don't mind me. I'm just tyin' a few flies, polishin' up the outboard motor, gettin' ready to hit the lake. Goin' fishin' right after we're done. It won't take long, 'cuz the Cardinals didn't do much this offseason.

We didn't get a new quarterback for one thing. Sure, the team chased Peyton Manning, but that was one big river bass with a lot of fight in him. So the quarterback job is mine to lose. And don't you worry, I'm gonna lose it.

It's not that John Skelton is any better than me: he may have led just as many fourth-quarter comebacks as Tim Tebow last year (four), but only city slickers and TV blowhards in fancy suits pay attention to those cow chips. I just have no idea what to do in the pocket. So the third or fourth time I roll to my right and get dragged down by Aldon Smith or somebody, Coach Whisenhunt's gonna decide it's time to cut some fresh bait.

I know Larry Fitzgerald's happy about our new second receiver, Malcolm Floyd. Floyd liked to hit the honky-tonks in college, but he's a big guy, and when he wants to be, he can be as fast as a boar gettin' flushed by three hound dogs.

(Getty Images)

If you thought that New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was going to take his year-long suspension for his alleged part in the Saints' bounty scandal lying down ... well, think again. Just one day after the Saints got their day in front of an arbitrator to appeal their penalties, Vilma filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (and not the NFL as an entity).

[Rewind: Jonathan Vilma suspended for '12 season for role in Saints bounty system]

The suit claims that "Goodell, speaking publicly about certain Saints executives, coaches and players, in relation to  purported efforts designed to injure opposing players, made public statements concerning Vilma which were false, defamatory and injurious to Vilma's professional and personal reputation."

The suit reviews the public statements Goodell has made about Vilma and other Saints players, coaches and executives, and it gets specific about statements made about Vilma.

Goodell, in the March 2 Club Report, also alleged that "prior to a Saints playoff  game in January, 2010, defensive captain Jonathan Vilma offered $10,000 in cash to any player  who knocked [opposing quarterback Brett] Favre out of the game." ("Favre Allegation.")

Goodell knew and intended that the contents of the March 2 Club Report would be disseminated publicly.

The contents of the March 2 Club Report, including the Favre Allegation, were reported, and continue to be reported, by essentially every major news organization, as Goodell intended.

Upon information and belief, Goodell told others that Vilma placed $10,000 in cash on a table during a team meeting in making the alleged offer concerning Favre.

The suit then goes on to claim the lack of evidence made available by Goodell and the league, despite repeated requests by the Saints organization, Vilma's attorney Peter Ginsberg, and the NFLPA.

Goodell did not reveal, and, despite repeated requests from among others, Vilma, has never revealed, any evidence purportedly corroborating that a Bounty Program existed, that Vilma participated in any such Bounty Program.

And if that is true, that's where things could get sticky for the NFL, especially since Goodell has said that he may make some of the evidence public record at some point in time. The players and NFLPA are clearly frustrated by what they perceive to be Goodell's continuing efforts to try this case in the court of public opinion, while denying those accused and penalized the right and ability to review the evidence and statements against them.

(Getty Images)

In an interview Shutdown Corner conducted with NFLPA lead outside counsel Richard Smith on May 4, Smith's frustration with the process was palpable, leading us to believe that as much as this lawsuit may actually be about implied damages to Vilma's professional and personal reputation, it's also an attempt to facilitate the discovery process the players and NFLPA has claimed to want all along.

(AP)

"We wanted something a little more modest," New York Giants captain Zak DeOssie said of the team's Tiffany diamond and sapphire encrusted Super Bowl XLVI rings, which players received in a private ceremony in Manhattan on Wednesday night.

Justin Tuck wasn't into humility.

"Stray [former Giant Michael Strahan] talked about the 10 table ring," Tuck said in a statement released by the team. "He wanted a ring you could see from 10 tables away. I talked about the restaurant ring. I wanted one that was big enough to see throughout whatever restaurant you go in and see it from each corner."

Tuck wins.

[Related: Former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor's Super Bowl ring up for auction]

Each ring features four Marquis diamonds in four Lombardi trophies (to represent the franchise's four titles), 37 blue sapphires and the dates of each Super Bowl title in franchise history. The inside of the rings include the words "finish" and "all in," psych-up words used by the team during its 2011 title