It's another edition of the Daily Dropback, where the guys take you through the day's goings-on in the world of the oblong ball. (Some of this is a day late, as the flu bug bit me (get it?!) over the weekend and rendered me virtually useless.)
 
Let's kick it off with some college rule changes. Anyone got thoughts on a 40-second play clock, and no more 15-yard facemasks? I despite the latter. ...

So much for teams looking for defensive line help (Cleveland?) aiming for the Chiefs' Jared Allen: They'll franchise him.
  
Is Zach Thomas done? Not according to Bill Belichick, who has a pretty darn good track record of turning aging players into contributors.
  
A real shocker: the Packers project as the 2008 NFC North front-runner. Who knew?
  
(And here's an archive to the above writer's projections in each of the other seven divisions. A quick recap: Seahawks, Saints, Giants/Cowboys, Chargers, Steelers, Jags/Colts, Pats.)
  
Monday Morning Quarterback: Virginia's Chris Long is a man. Sounds like a pretty fascinating guy. (He's also got a nugget on how tough the Steelers' schedule looks early on.)
  
Great: Keyshawn Johnson wants a job.