Draft-related notes
1) Rams head coach Scott Linehan says he's very encouraged by the progress of Orlando Pace in coming back from his torn labrum. But that doesn’t mean the great left tackle's health will necessarily dissuade St. Louis from taking Michigan tackle Jake Long.

Asked if he believed Long could play guard, Linehan – whose team selects second – said, "I'm sure. But I personally wouldn't want him playing guard. He's one of the best tackles I've ever seen."

2) Packers coach Mike McCarthy likes the look of quarterback prospect Matt Ryan, who formerly played at Boston College. McCarthy, who was on the Packers staff with BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski when Hasselbeck came into the NFL out of BC, said, "Matt Ryan physically coming out of college is ahead of Matt (Hasselbeck). Matt was always an instinctive, intelligent quarterback, but he did some things where he changed his mechanics in the NFL, and he's done a tremendous job with his body. Matt is a big, strong man. He wasn't that way back in 1999. Ryan's a little more ahead of where Matt was physically. Matt (Hasselbeck) was a guy you smack him in the ass and your hand would hit his tailbone."

3) One league GM said that with Bill Parcells controlling the first overall pick for Miami, there's tremendous uncertainty on how the first nine picks will play out. "He'll either do something completely obvious or do something nobody foresaw happening. There's no in-between."

Masters connection
Augusta, Ga. native and Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has been the cause of cheers and sighs at Augusta National. For three years in high school, he worked a manual scoreboard at the Masters Tournament.

He remembers the charge that would ripple through the "patrons" when he slid in a red or black number, signaling a big move by one of the leaders.

"They have the old-fashioned scoreboard, and you'd push a button and put a card in, and you push it back up," said Whisenhunt, who's headed to the tournament next Saturday. "Especially on the 18th hole, where everybody was keeping track of all the other players by watching the scoreboard because you had the top 15 on the scoreboard. And all of a sudden, you post a birdie and everybody's, 'Yeah!'' That was really neat. I did it three years working the scoreboard another year I worked on the grounds. The scoreboard was the highlight. It was really unbelievable. You could go anywhere on the grounds with your employee badge. I'd work and then go watch the tournament. But I really liked being up on the scoreboard because you knew what was going on."

Whisenhunt's played the grand course. Best score? A 75 from the tips when he was "about 20." He said he made it through Amen Corner 1-under.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Uncovering NFL's paper tigers, sleeping lions Novacek's picks: Ravens to drop Colts below .500 Madden's previews: Cards have shot to beat 'Boys Madden Mailbag: Big Ben now among the elite QBs Chiefs’ Gonzalez on trade block Hospitalized Winslow might be out Monday Browns brace for Giants, NFL’s road kings Middle name for Mangini's baby: Favre Bengals’ Palmer won’t start against Jets Eagles' Westbrook ruled out of Sunday's game NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: