Rookies, Lynch and Mularkey, Oh My!

Interesting set of stories to toss your way this morning, so rather than provide my usual witty (read: boring) little intro to these types of post, let's just dive right in:

We're just two short days (!!!) away from the start of training camp, yet the main news around the team remains the fact that four of our seven draft picks remain unsigned. However, there is promising news on that front, as several draft picks picked near Marshawn Lynch and Paul Posluszny have inked deals. For starters, John Beck has signed with Miami; he was chosen six spots after Posluszny (#40 overall), so there is at least a baseline area where the Bills can further negotiations. Craig Davis, the #30 overall pick to San Diego, has also reached a deal as well. Davis got $5.5 million guaranteed on a 5-year deal worth up to $11 million; Beck got a 3-year deal with a fourth year option that gave him $2.5 million guaranteed. Poz will fall somewhere in the middle.

Along those lines, it appears that Ted Ginn is close to signing with Miami; chosen just three slots ahead of Lynch, the Bills will have a better idea of pricing in negotiations with Lynch as well. The team has 48 hours to get the process moving, and they're being helped out by other teams reaching deals. But there's still work to be done.

Interesting diary posted by one of our users, Daielsan, yesterday, on a nasty rumor surrounding Marshawn Lynch (full story here). Apparently, Lynch has been permanently banned from an unspecified bar in Buffalo, the latest in a line of weird stories following our most important rookie. Be sure to check it out, even if you're not much of a rumor-monger; the source of the article is indeed legitimate. Take my word for it if you can't take Danielsan's word. Very interesting stuff indeed, although I still have high faith that Marv Levy wouldn't have drafted this kid if he wasn't a stand-up citizen.

Remember last Friday when Matty I from The Phinsider and I had a nice little Mike Mularkey bashing session? That was fun. Really fun. To everyone, it seems, except one fan who e-mailed The Phinsider under the alias of "Shane Mularkey". "Coach" Mularkey does indeed have a son named Shane, according to the Dolphins' official site; however, it remains unclear at this point if the fan who e-mailed Matt was indeed the Son of Mike. Either way, be sure to check out that story if you're looking for a little humor this morning.

This has nothing to do with the Bills, but it deserves mentioning as well. If you hate ESPN as much as I do (and by ESPN I mean "Who's Now" and "Baseball Tonight"), be sure to check out this article by Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs blog. This isn't your normal ESPN bashing session (which are always nice); this article is incredibly well-presented, eloquent and intelligent. It points out every flaw of ESPN in a way that isn't derogatory, it's just true. One of the best articles I have ever read, mainstream media or not. You simply have to check this out.

The HB Battle write-up will be coming to you early this afternoon; be sure to vote for who you think will start the season at this critical position this morning!