INDIANAPOLIS - The Miami Dolphins own the first pick in the April draft, and while Bill Parcells hasn't put a "For Sale'' sign in the yard, the other 31 teams at the NFL scouting combine know it's on the market.

Parcells and his general manager, Jeff Ireland, face a major rebuilding job in South Florida, and would prefer to trade down to add extra picks rather than stay at No. 1.

That said, the likelihood of them finding a buyer between now and April 26 is about as good as Arlen Specter getting Bill Belichick to stop by his office for coffee.

Because of the cost - the top pick is expected to command about $35 million in guaranteed money this year - and because of the bust potential - nearly half of the No. 1 picks over the last 20 years have been disappointments - no one is in a rush to make the Dolphins an offer.

"Seven or 8 years ago, there might have been a huge market for that pick,'' said Colts general manager Bill Polian, who struck gold with the first pick in 1998 when he took Peyton Manning. "Now, I'm not sure there is quite the market there used to be, and it's because of the money. That's not what the draft was designed to do by Mr. [George] Halas and Bert Bell. But that's by the board now because these prices [for first-round rookies] are outrageous.''

There are more than a half-dozen very good players at the top of this draft, including quarterback Matt Ryan (Boston College), defensive tackles Glenn Dorsey (LSU) and Sedrick Ellis (USC), offensive tackle Jake Long (Michigan), defensive ends Chris Long (Virginia) and Vernon Gholston (Ohio State) and running back Darren McFadden (Arkansas). But it's hard to make a $35 million case for any of them as the clear No. 1 pick.

So, if the Dolphins can't trade down, who will they take with the first pick? You can probably forget about Dorsey and Ellis. While coach Tony Sparano has yet to say what kind of defensive scheme he will employ, Parcells has long been a 3-4 guy and Dor-sey and Ellis both are better fits for a 4-3. It would be ludicrous to give a square peg $35 million in bonus money and try to fit it in a round hole.

McFadden also is unlikely. There are off-the-field issues: He has been involved in two bar fights in the last 2 years and last month a woman filed a paternity suit against him. Also, scouts have questions about his ability to run inside.

Jake Long? History says no. In the last 40 years, just two offensive tackles have gone No. 1 - Orlando Pace in 1997 and Ron Yary in '68.

That leaves Chris Long, Gholston and Penn Charter's Ryan. Long and Gholston both were defensive ends in college, but are projected as 3-4 rush linebackers in the NFL.

"Bill's been around some pretty good rush linebackers,'' NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "He's got a good eye for it. I think the lure of a Chris Long or a Gholston would be difficult for him to pass up.''

Then there's Ryan. He's going to go somewhere in the top five, so why not first? He has all the tools to be a successful NFL quarterback.

The Dolphins drafted a quarterback - John Beck - in the second round last year. He started four games as a rookie. But the regime that selected him is gone, so all bets are off. Parcells, Sparano and Ireland have yet to weigh in with their opinion of Beck, but sources say Parcells isn't sure he's a keeper.

"If I take a quarterback at No. 1, I want a leader, I want the hardest worker on the team and I want a kid with a passion for the game,'' Mayock said. "And that's what [Ryan] is.

"I know the kid. He's going to lift with the offensive linemen. He's going to study as much tape as an assistant coach. So, if I'm worried about bust potential at the high end, he's the kind of kid I'm going to go with.''

 

Explaining the INTs

Ryan's biggest negative is his 2007 interception total: 19, more than any of the other top three-rated quarterbacks - Brian Brohm (Louisville), Chad Henne (Michigan) and Joe Flacco (Delaware). Ryan averaged an interception every 34.4 pass attempts last season. Flacco, who threw just five interceptions, averaged one every 104. Brohm averaged one every 39.4 and Henne one every 31.0.

Ryan's biggest negative is his 2007 interception total: 19, more than any of the other top three-rated quarterbacks - (Louisville), (Michigan) and (Delaware). Ryan averaged an interception every 34.4 pass attempts last season. Flacco, who threw just five interceptions, averaged one every 104. Brohm averaged one every 39.4 and Henne one every 31.0.

"As a quarterback, you never want to turn the football over," Ryan said. "We did that a good amount this year. But when you're aggressive with the football, some-times mistakes are going to happen. Ultimately, wins are the most important stat. But there's no question about it. You've got to work on that [throwing fewer interceptions]. You've got to improve. And you've got to become better. And you've got to turn the football over less if you want to be a successful quarterback in the NFL."

 

No lower than fifth

This much is certain about

This much is certain about

Ryan's draft situation: He will be taken no lower than fifth. If the Dolphins pass on him at No. 1, if the Falcons pass on him at No. 3, which really is unlikely considering their pathetic quarterback situation, he will not get past Kansas City at No. 5.

The Chiefs, who have a plethora of needs, haven't given up on Brodie Croyle. But they have serious concerns about his ability to stay healthy. If Ryan slips to them, they likely will take him.

"That's the one thing that concerns us [about Croyle],'' Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "[Getting hurt has] been his history. He didn't miss a whole lot last year. But he gets some freak deals. One time, he hit his hand. Another time, a guy kicked him in the back.

"You want a guy who's consistent and can line up every week and play. The only time I've had one go all the way through [a season] for me was [Vinny Testaverde] my first year [with the Jets]. He made every game. After that, the rest of my career, I've always had to have two or three quarterbacks have to play. That's not a good situation.''

 

Extending Brian

Eagles president Joe Banner said he has had zero discussions with Brian Westbrook's agent, Fletcher Smith, about a new contract. Don't look for any in the near future, either. Westbrook signed a 5-year, $25 million contract extension in November 2005. Yes, he's outperformed that deal. A year from now, the Eagles will be happy to talk to him about another extension. Right now? Unlikely.

Eagles president said he has had zero discussions with agent, about a new contract. Don't look for any in the near future, either. Westbrook signed a 5-year, $25 million contract extension in November 2005. Yes, he's outperformed that deal. A year from now, the Eagles will be happy to talk to him about another extension. Right now? Unlikely.

"We want to stay as open-minded as we can, but we're paying these players a lot of money up front,'' Banner said. "So they're going to have to get through a certain period of the contract, no matter who they are, before we're going to have a conversation about [another extension]. If somebody signed a 5-year [extension], they're not going to come in a year or 2 years into the deal and ask to do something about it.''

 

Around the league

* One of the more surprising agent choices was Penn State linebacker Dan Connor's hiring of Drew Rosenhaus. "I left it up to my parents to narrow it down,'' said the Strath Haven High product, who figures to go in the mid-to-late first round. "They talked to Drew and another guy [Eric Metz]. They met with both, did the research behind it. Drew's the best in the business.'' Connor is the highest-rated of Rosenhaus' six draft-eligible clients. He also has Miami safety Ken Phillips and Michigan State wide receiver Devin Thomas.

* One of the more surprising agent choices was Penn State linebacker hiring of "I left it up to my parents to narrow it down,'' said the Strath Haven High product, who figures to go in the mid-to-late first round. "They talked to Drew and another guy []. They met with both, did the research behind it. Drew's the best in the business.'' Connor is the highest-rated of Rosenhaus' six draft-eligible clients. He also has Miami safety and Michigan State wide receiver

* Titans coach Jeff Fisher, who co-chairs the league's competition committee, doesn't expect the league to do anything about those annoying timeout calls by coaches just before the snap on late-game field-goal attempts.

"We can't legislate when you can call timeouts and when you can't call timeouts," Fisher said. "I don't think it's going to be an ongoing issue. I think it was just an early-season trend. I don't think we'll see much more of it."

* Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore is 69 years old and had pretty much given up any hope of ever becoming a head coach. But a league source said he was so incensed by the Redskins' hiring of Jim Zorn earlier this month that he called super-agent Tom Condon and asked him to represent him. Zorn's hiring, like most things the Redskins do, have people around the league shaking their heads.

* The combine once again is sharing space in the RCA Dome/Indiana Convention Center complex with hundreds of prepubescent cheerleaders and gymnasts, who are here for competitions. There's nothing quite as odd as the sight of a hallway filled with 300-pound linemen, 10-year-old girls in leotards and their surgically enhanced mothers.

* The popularity of the spread

offense in the college game is making it more difficult for NFL scouts to evaluate offensive players. "It makes it tough to figure out some positions,'' 49ers GM Scot McCloughan said. "Tight ends, you don't see them on the line of scrimmage now, coming off the block. You see them spread out and running routes. You don't see a love of drive-blocking from offensive linemen. And quarterbacks are in the shotgun all the time, where the mind-set is entirely different than under center."

The NFL Network's Mike Mayock said spread offenses also make it tough to evaluate running backs, including Darren McFadden. "It was easy to evaluate Adrian Peterson last year because he lined up 7 yards deep [at Oklahoma] and came downhill like in an NFL offense," he said. "What you're looking to see with running backs is a guy see a hole, stick his foot in the ground and burst through the hole and show a second and a third gear. But you've got to look at a lot of tape to find that in a spread running back."

 

From the lip

"I doubt he's going to retire. The way he's playing, why wouldn't he play on? Am I holding out hope that he quits? No. I'm probably holding out hope he falls over on his lawn mower." - Vikings coach Brad Childress, on the possibility of Brett Favre retiring. *

"I doubt he's going to retire. The way he's playing, why wouldn't he play on? Am I holding out hope that he quits? No. I'm probably holding out hope he falls over on his lawn mower." - Vikings coach , on the possibility of retiring. *

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