« Strong influence | Main | Scout moves on »

Quick hits

WILFORK/WILSON FOR BOLLER: Quarterback Steve McNair’s trade to the Baltimore Ravens has a connection to one of the best trades of the Bill Belichick/Scott Pioli regime in New England.

In 2003, the Patriots shipped their second first-round pick, No. 19, to the Ravens. In return, the Patriots received a 2003 second-round pick and a 2004 first-round pick.

The Ravens selected Kyle Boller with the acquired first-round pick, hoping he’d be their quarterback of the future. Wednesday’s acquisition of McNair, however, is an indication that the Ravens aren’t totally sold on Boller.

Meanwhile, the Patriots paired their 2003 second-round pick acquired from the Ravens with a 2003 fourth-round pick, and moved up in the second round to select defensive back Eugene Wilson.

Then, with the 2004 first-round pick acquired from the Ravens, the Patriots selected nose tackle Vince Wilfork.

So in a sense, it was Wilson and Wilfork for Boller.

Not a bad turn of events for the Patriots. Meanwhile, here's one perspective from the Baltimore side.

MORE ON LAW: The Kansas City Star (scroll to end of article) offers the latest on cornerback Ty Law, with Chiefs head coach Herman Edwards calling recent reports that Law might be close to a contract “just talk.” Edwards told the newspaper he believes Law won’t sign until the days leading up to training camp.

“Right now he doesn’t have anything on the table,” Edwards told the Star. “We’re like everybody. We’re sitting here waiting … for him to tell us where he wants to go. There’s not a lot of places to go right now.”

SULLIVAN FOLLOW: New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis talks about the trade of Johnathan Sullivan in this Times-Picuyane piece. The premise of the article is that a key for any successful organization is acknolwedging mistakes, and not being afraid to move on from them.