Now that NFL roster cuts have come and gone, the smoke is settling on just how terrible the 2009 NFL Draft was for the Denver Broncos.

When it happened, the team's first pick, running back Knowshon Moreno, looked like a good choice at No. 14 overall. While Moreno has been inconsistent, he hasn't been quite as terrible as most make him out to be. However, he also doesn't look like the game breaker he was at Georgia and clearly needs to be part of a tandem backfield.

That season, the Broncos were moving from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defensive system and needed a pass rusher. Sure, hindsight isn't fair, but with the 18th pick the team could have taken Clay Matthews who proved at USC he could stand up and get after the passer in 3-4 sets.

Instead, the team chose Tennessee defensive end Robert Ayers. It was a risky pick considering Ayers only had 7 sacks over his last two years at Tennessee. He also seemed too stiff to play linebacker. Both concerns have played out as truths as Ayers only has 1.5 career sacks. He'll at least get a shot at redemption as the Broncos switch back to a 4-3 system this year.

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I get some seriously strange press releases at times. For a long time, the oddest one was for a crap exhibit at a local zoo – get the scoop on poop!

Of course, the only thing that could top it is something from the Oakland Raiders. After the jump is text from a release sent out by the Raiders touting Darrius Heyward-Bey. The seventh overall pick in the 2009 draft managed to have a good game's worth of production spread across a whole season.

For $23 million guaranteed, the Raiders got themselves nine catches and 124 yards receiving. But that's apparently enough to garner praise from Raiderland. Eat your heart out Louis Murphy.

Also fairly amazing about this press release is that the team lumps great receivers like Tim Brown and Fred Biletnikoff with the likes of Jerry Rice and Randy Moss, who did nothing positive for their legacy while player for the Raiders.

Oh Al Davis, I love you.

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As the headline says the rosters are almost set for the 85th Shrine Game. As you may know, after the Senior Bowl this is considered the top college football all-star game around.

Find the West rosters here. You can find the East rosters here.

In these all-star games, the emphasis always seems to be on the quarterbacks. For the East it will be Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan), John Skelton (Fordham), Mike Kafka (Northwestern) and Jarrett Brown (West Virgnia). Clearly Skelton has the most to prove, and he could do so. LeFevour will likely be the East's starting quarterback, but Skelton could be the first signal caller off the bench.

Also for the East, make sure you check out Freddie Barnes of Bowling Green. He leads the nation in catches per game with 11.5 per contest. The East also features freaky tall Army tight end/wide receiver Ali Villanueva, who is a legit 6-foot-10.

Highly regarded cornerback Akwasi Owusu-Ansah of Indiana University of Pennsylvania is perhaps the top small-school player in the game.

The West's best small-school player is arguably Northern Iowa's James Ruffin. He had finished in double-digit in sacks the last two seasons.

For teams that run the 3-4 defense, Kansas State's Jeffrey Fitzgerald will be closely watched. A transfer from Virginia, Fitzgerald has good size and the ability to get after the quarterback. He's a really good sleeper player.

He's not the West's best defensive lineman, however. That would be Jerry Hughes of TCU. Although, it should be noted, many expect Hughes to skip the game to play in the Senior Bowl.

The coaches this year will be Romeo Crennel (East) and Marty Schottenheimer (West). The game is on Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. in Orlando.

Fair or not, no player selected in the 2009 NFL Draft may face more scrutiny than Oakland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Heyward-Bey was a good but not dominant wide receiver in college for Maryland. He was considered by most, myself included, as at best the third-best wide receiver in this year's draft.

However, in the mind of Raiders owner Al Davis, the NFL Scouting Combine changed all that. Heyward-Bey ran his 40-yard dash of 4.3 seconds and a 38 1/2-inch vertical leap. Davis is known for taking players like JaMarcus Russell, Michael Huff, Thomas Howard, Fabian Washington and, uh, Sebastian Janikowski. They are players who are largely style over substance.

Heyward-Bey, who was taken seventh overall, clearly fits the mold. And because of that he'll frequently be looked at under a microscope. More often than not, he'll be measured against two players -- Michael Crabtree and Louis Murphy.

Crabtree was taken 10th overall by San Francisco. Following a holdout, he's played in five games this season. On the year, Crabtree already has 22 receptions for 292 yards and a touchdown.

Murphy, whom the Raiders took 117 picks later than Heyward-Bey, has 17 receptions for 261 yards and two touchdowns.

Then, there's Heyward-Bey. Through 10 games, as many as Murphy, he has seven catches for 103 yards and no touchdowns. He's only registered more than one reception in a game once this season. What's worse, Heyward-Bey has been given more snaps than any other receiver on the Raiders, according to Yahoo sports.

It still might be too early to say Heyward-Bey is a bust. However, there's nothing wrong with thinking it.

Sometimes a bust pick can immediately be identified. The best instance of that in the 2009 NFL Draft occurred when the Raiders used the seventh overall pick on Darrius Heyward-Bey.

When that pick happened, the NFL Draft world collectively giggled.

But, is Heyward-Bey already hurtling toward bust status, even before training camp has begun?

The case against Heyward-Bey began at his first mini-camp. He reportedly looked pretty bad, albeit against the league's top cornerback in Nnamdi Asomugha. His claim to infamy was dropping passes on three consecutive plays.

This led Heyward-Bey to utter the cringe-worthy line "I'm not in college anymore." Yikes.

The next day, Heyward-Bey was held out of practice for fatigue and soreness. That's not good. It's not like Heyward-Bey is some 38-year-old veteran. He's a fresh, 21-year-old. Should he really suffer from fatigue? Heck, even teammate Javon Walker was free of pain following the practice.

Heyward-Bey is also suffering from a hamstring injury he suffered last month. The injury has been so problematic for Heyward-Bey that he left practice last week after just one play.

Not a good start.

It also won't help that Heyward-Bey has a mostly unproven quarterback in JaMarcus Russell and a weak-armed on in backup Jeff Garcia.

Also consider that Oakland's first three opponents are San Diego, Kansas City and Denver, teams with pretty good cornerbacks. Or that Heyward-Bey has never been known to have great hands.

It might be too early to call Heyward-Bey a bust, but he's certainly not off to a good start.

The praise for Detroit's Matthew Stafford, the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, is beginning to roll in. New Lions head coach Jim Schwartz has been praising Stafford lately as the the finishes up minicamp.

"We've got two criteria for when Matthew will play,'' Schwartz told Peter King of Sports Illustrated. "One is he'll play when he's ready. The second is when he's the best quarterback for us. But so far, whatever the opposite of buyers' remorse is, that's what we have. We knew he had the terrific NFL arm. But we've found out his release is just textbook classic.''

Stafford has reportedly been placing the ball perfectly on tough passes and displaying a picture-perfect motion.

The Lions won't name a starting quarterback until training camp. For now, though, it appears Stafford has the lead on incumbent Daunte Culpepper.

NFLDraftBible.com should get ready to hear from linebacker Brian Cushing's legal team.

The newest Houston Texan plans to "take action toward" the site for falsely claiming he tested positive for steroids at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Almost immediately after the claim went public, Cushing and agent Tom Condon shot it down in an email to ProFootballTalk.com.Now with the draft out of the way, Cushing seems set on filing suit.

“I’m pretty tired of everything happening with all these supposed rumors [and] people trying to tarnish my reputation,” Cushing said on ESPN 1530 in Texas.  “I’m not sure what happened.  I’m don’t know if it’s my playing attitude [or] people just don’t like how I handle myself.  But you know that’s too bad for them.”

As someone who is a huge advocate for not only journalistic rights and also integrity, there's just no way you can back DraftBible. They stood by their claim all along and are likely going to pay for it in the end.

Still no word on whether or not Clay Matthews III, who was also falsely accused, also plans legal action.

I've done a tiny bit of work with NFLDB's head guy Rick Serritella and he seems like a good guy. His site at least gets a lot of interviews and they have a good radio show. But this could quite possibly be the end of the site for running with and backing some seriously false rumors.

And remember boys and girls, the words "allegedly" and "reportedly" are always your best friends in these kinds of situations.

h/t PFT

The clamoring to move second overall pick Jason Smith to left tackle begins ... now!

According to the Associated Press, Smith will the team's right tackle to begin the 2009 season.

The team will start Alex Barron on the left side, a position he's been inconsistent at. Whoever plays the left has the daunting task of replacing All Pro and probably hall of famer Orlando Pace.

Smith, a converted tight end, played two seasons at right tackle for Baylor.

The Rams begin minicamp today. Find more Rams coverage at Turf Show Times.