BRACKET BUSTERS IN OCTOBER?

By Bryan Palmese- "The Grid"

March Madness takes the sports world by storm every Spring and keeps basketball fans on the edge of their seats for a couple of weeks in March. Brackets are printed out and submitted by everyone from rabid college fans to homemakers that submit sheets in their husband's office pool. Even though it's the eve of the college roundball season, seedings and upsets are dancing around the mind of The Grid this week. There is a twist however, and it involves the 2007 crop of rookie NFL players -- the first rounders to be more specific. It's sort of a slant on deciding who the rookie of the year will be for this season by utilizing the inexact science of predicting brackets and comparing players performances thus far during the 2007 campaign. Conveniently, there are thirty-two teams in the league which is perfect for this little game of chance.

There's still a lot of season left to play this year and there are other freshman standouts amongst the league who were drafted after the first round, but for this installment of "Pigskin Brackets," we will stick with the first round talent.

Well after sweating out his strength of schedule and some comittee doubts, JaMarcus Russell locks up the number one seed. His first round match-up will be against the upset minded ex-Ohio State receiver Anthony Gonzalez. Russell will be favored in the long run, but the speedy slot receiver has been helping Colts fans forget about Brandon Stokley. The number two seed, Calvin Johnson is the favorite coming into play and was the consensus top all-around athlete. The former Yellow Jacket has all the tools to excel in this league as he combines Terrell Owens frame with Randy Moss' skillset and Marvin Harrison's poise. Johnson draws the ambitious number thirty-one seed Greg Olsen. Joe Thomas representing the Wisconsin Badgers is the number three seed and will take on the thirty seed wide receiver Craig Davis. The fourth rookie in the rankings is Tampa's Gaines Adams and will battle the twenty-ninth ranked rookie, offensive lineman Ben Grubbs. Rounding out the top five is former Penn State offensive lineman Levi Brown. Arizona's tackle will go up against the twenty-eight seed, Joe Staley.

The sixth ranked player is the hard-hitting safety out of Baton Rouge, LaRon Landry. The Redskins' safety will be matched up against the twenty-seventh ranked cinderella story, Robert Meachem. Former Oklahoma Sooner Adrian Peterson is a little frustrated with his number seven seed, but injury concerns made the selection committee a little nervous. Thus, the ex-Heismann candidate will tangle with the fiery twenty-sixth ranked Anthony Spencer. Jamaal Anderson and his thunderous style of play on the defensive line earned him the eighth slot in the brackets and he will take on number twenty-five Jon Beason out of The U. The number nine ranking is dealt to Ted Ginn, Jr and the Dolphin wideout/return specialist goes head-to-head with safety Brandon Merriweather. The last of the top ten crew is the youngster, Amobi Okoye from the Houston Texans. The defensive tackle will see yet another Tiger from the Bayou in LSU wideout Dwayne Bowe.

By now, our brackets are falling into place nicely but there is a situation arising in that that the selection committee is overlooking a powerhouse player, Brady Quinn. Could it be that Quinn didn't prove himself to the committee versus the opponents that were put in front of him? Perhaps the former Fighting Irish signal caller lacks the skill package that teams desire in a franchise quarterback. For whatever the reason, Quinn had hoped to earn a top ten seed, but he is falling and contraversy is beginning to swirl. Alas, Quinn gets his place in the brackets, but it is not where he had hoped. He will travel out west and take on number eleven, Patrick Willis. At number twelve, former Cal Bear running back Marshawn Lynch finds his slot and will face former Gator safety, Reggie Nelson. Adam Carriker hopes number thirteen won't be an unlucky number for him as he draws Giants cornerback, Aaron Ross. At number fourteen the Jets send cornerback Darrelle Revis to go against another defensive back, Titans' safety Michael Griffin. Former Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons will look to advance to the Sweet Sixteen against ex-Wolverine cornerback Leon Hall. At number sixteen, defensive tackle Justin Harrell will go against the seventeenth ranked defensive end Jarvis Moss.

Well, there are the first round match-ups and only sixteen rookies will make it to the Sweet Sixteen. There will be tears of joy as upsets look to dance another day and tears of pain after being ousted from the tourney.

Well a history making event takes place in our first match-up as the number one seed JaMarcus Russell gets knocked out by Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez' playmaking ability fits well in Indianapolis and Russell hasn't even taken the field in a regular season game yet for the silver and black. And like that, we have our first upset. Ok, who's brackets have imploded because of this one? Moving on to our next game, Calvin Johnson versus Greg Olsen went to four overtimes and after the dust cleared, the wide receiver beat the tight end in a buzzer beater. Olsen will be an important cog in the Bears offense for years to come, but Johnson has shown the flashes of brilliance already that many hoped for in the Motor City. Joe Thomas and Craig Davis both improve their respective teams' at their position, but Thomas looks like he will help anchor the offensive line in Cleveland for the next decade. He has helped Jamal Lewis to a productive start already this season and kept Derek Anderson alive in the pocket. Davis is solid, but Rivers has two top targets already in Antonio Gates and LaDanian Tomlinson. Advantage- Joe Thomas. Number four versus twenty-nine is a battle of defensive end versus offensive lineman. Gaines Adams ousts Ben Grubbs in a dull game, but shades of Simeon Rice come to mind in Tampa. The five versus twenty-eight match is another borefest, but Levi Brown comes out on top in the battle of offensive linemen over Joe Staley.

Outside of the one shocking upset, everything has pretty much gone as planned. Laron Landry takes on another SEC player in wideout Robert Meachem and shuts him down by maximizing his physical play over the former Volunteer wide receiver. Landry was arguably the top defensive prospect in the 2007 draft and his style will bring a tough ballhawk to team with Sean Taylor and give the Redskins one of the most feared secondaries in the league. Adrian Peterson puts his number seven ranking against the physical linebacker/lineman hybrid Anthony Spencer. Spencer compliments DeMarcus Ware in the Cowboys' 3-4 defensive scheme but Peterson has no problem with the former Boilermaker. Peterson's field of vision, north-south running style and gamebreaking ability are far too much of a match to Spencer. Jamaal Anderson is ready to punch his ticket to the Sweet Sixteen but the twenty-fifth ranked Jon Beason has upset on his mind. The Panthers rookie has shown an amazing ability to be the quarterback of that defense. Beason is fast, hard hitting and has a nose for getting around the ball at all times. Anderson has a great tutor in John Abraham in Atlanta and Anderson probably reminds Abraham of his days in New York playing with Shawn Ellis. In our marquee match, we have the young stud defensive tackle, Amobi Okoye taking the floor against the Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Okoye has blasted his way onto the scene in Houston and is helping that defense emerge as one of the best in the AFC. Okoye is young, he takes up space and can punish people at the line of attack. Bowe has amazing an amazing frame and improved his hands since lighting it up at LSU. Bowe has found the endzone this year and is one of the top young wide receivers in the AFC. After a game for the ages, Bowe comes out on top and moves onto the next round.

Ted Ginn, Jr and his number nine seed battles it out with Brandon Merriweather and this match is over before it started. The speedy receiver gets on top and never looks back as Merriweather is sent home packing. Ginn hasn't blown anyone away yet at the wide receiver but the former Buckeye should be a solid number two option and his impact on special teams is exactly what any team is looking for. Merriweather has all of the physical tools to be a top notch safety or he could be moved to linebacker in Bellicheck's hybrid defense. Patrick Willis is one of the most complete linebackers to come into the league over the past few seasons. At Ole Miss, Willis boggled the mind at his ability to cover the entire field. His quickness and ability to get involved in almost every play is what makes defensive coordinators drool and offensive players fear entering the middle of the field. Willis has tough competition in the now-underdog, Brady Quinn. Quinn has the mold of a franchise quarterback and played at a top collegiate program, and looked solid in pre-season play. The difference here is that Willis has accomplished more already and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. With the emergence of Derek Anderson as the starter in Cleveland, look for Quinn to pick up the nuances of the NFL and use this time to absorb as much as possible. Marshawn Lynch puts his number twelve ranking on the line and dukes it out with Jaguars defensive back, Reggie Nelson. Nelson is an athletic safety and was in that tier of safeties just below the amazing Laron Landry. Lynch has stepped in where Willis McGahee left off and looks like the next great Bills' running back. Lynch's elusive speed and quickness in and out of the hole allow him to exploit defenses that have slept on him so far this season. Lynch has his bags packed for the Sweet Sixteen after another nailbiter. Adam Carriker came into this draft and turned heads of scouts with his flexibility on the defensive line. The former Nebraska Cornhusker has the build to play tackle, but also posesses the speed and moves to play end. Carriker's opposition is Aaron Ross. The Giants' cornerback is giving New York their first shutdown corner since a young Jason Sehorn roamed the secondary. Ross has already housed one of his three picks this year and offensive coordinators are thinking twice when throwing at him. The win is a close one, but Ross moves on to the next round.

Darrelle Revis finds himself fighting it out with former Texas safety, Michael Griffin. Revis, hasn't flinched since being thrust into the Jets starting lineup. The former Pitt Panther enjoys physical play, is a true shutdown corner and is stout against the run. The corner shines should also add another dimension to the return game when Leon Washington isn't putting up SportsCenter highlights. Griffin, is good in coverage but amazing against the run. His presence has helped Tennessee's defense and like fellow alum, Michael Huff, will be avoided when game planning by opposing teams. Revis doesn't disappoint the crowd and waltzes his way into the Round of Sixteen. Number fifteen hopes to make it to the field of sixteen, but Timmons runs into a buzzsaw named Leon Hall. The latter, is a breath of fresh air in Cincinnatti and that porous defense. Hall is shifty and is never out of position. Now, if Hall could just get some help from the other ten players on defense, they might get out of their 1-4 hole that they are mired in. The last game of the first round are the middle players, numbers sixteen versus seventeen. The Packers' Justin Harrell takes on the number seventeen seeded Jarvis Moss. Harrell had a training camp injury and has been limited on the field so far in 2007. Moss has been rotated in and out of Denver's defense but hasn't contributed too much on the field either. After it's all said and done, Moss moves on, but it was a toss-up.

Well, the Sweet Sixteen is set. Here are the following players that will meet in the next round -- Calvin Johnson vs. Anthony Gonzalez in a battle of wide receivers. Joe Thomas throws down with Jon Beason, Gaines Adams versus Dwayne Bowe, and Levi Brown battles Aaron Ross. Laron Landry versus Leon Hall will be a great game as the two defensive backs match wits. Adrian Peterson versus Jarvis Moss, Darrelle Revis goes against division rival Ted Ginn Jr. and Patrick Willis takes on Marshawn Lynch. Several key matches will take place and a couple of gimme games are on the slate as well. Check back next week to see the brackets go from sixteen players to an elite group of eight and then on to a champion to be crowned The Grid's NFL Rookie of the Year.