In light of the Miami Dolphins picking up Michigan OT, Jake Long, in the 2008 NFL draft, I thought we’d see how other top picks have done.

In my mind, the #1 pick in the NFL draft over the last 13 seasons has panned out three times.

In 1997, the Rams got a solid offensive lineman in Orlando Pace.

In 1998, the Colts got top-tier QB in Peyton Manning.

And in 2004, the Giants picked up QB Eli Manning who led them to a Super Bowl victory in 2007.

The busts and unproven players are:

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The new NFL season is almost here and I’m excited. In a couple of weeks, the New Orleans Saints will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Hall of Fame Game to kick off the preseason.

I’m not one to do much betting in the NFL preseason, but I still take a look at the football odds.

To me, the big game in week one will be the New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis on September 6. Both of these teams will be tested early.

I’ll be heading down to the Red Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to get my NFL football picks in. My first play will be a futures wager. I do one just about every year.

There’s not too much profit to be had. For the AFC Championship, the New England Patriots are 5/2 and the Indianapolis Colts are 3/1—so are the San Diego Chargers.

Over in the NFC, the Chicago Bears at 3-1 are the favorites to win the NFC Championship. The Saints and Seattle Seahawks are right behind them.

The interesting future bet of the season is the Oakland Raiders under/over 5 wins. Have they improved enough? How will the loss of Moss affect them?

Last season I predicted—and bet—that they wouldn’t win five games and I walked away a winner—a real nice winner.

The Raiders won two games last season. Doing some “quick capping,” I spotted three games that fall into the moderately winnable category—Detroit, Cleveland and Houston. Could this be another 2-14 season?

Get ready for some football.

In this year’s NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles took QB Kevin Kolb out of Houston in the second round.

The media has been all over this selection and what it means for McNabb. Is this even a story?

So what? They selected a QB. Since the most important position on the team is the QB position, shouldn’t teams work to get solid depth?

The Carolina Panthers and WR Steve Smith agreed on a three-year contract extension that will keep Smith in a Carolina uniform until the end of the 2012 season.

While official figures haven’t been released, I expect the numbers to be hefty. Smith was looking to be one of the highest paid wide receivers in the NFL.

Daunte Culpepper is under the impression that he’s “the” QB for the Miami Dolphins and that he’s an “elite” QB.

“I’m an elite quarterback when I’m healthy,” said Culpepper in a recent AP article.

Oh? When has Culpepper ever been an “elite” quarterback? Does this mean he’s never been healthy?

The Carolina Panthers have decided to part ways with wide-receiver Keyshawn Johnson.

This story is kind of sad. It was just the other day, during the NFL draft, when Johnson was beaming with pride, because the Panthers just selected Dwayne Jarrett from USC.

“This guy is much like me,” Johnson said.

Let me just go on record right now and say that the New England Patriots won’t win Super Bowl XLII. Five seconds after the trade for Randy Moss was announced, many NFL analysts crowned the Patriots as Super Bowl champs.

The line for the Patriots winning Super Bowl XLII was at 9-1 before the trade. Seconds after the trade the line dropped almost in half to 5-1.

Will Randy Moss make this much of an impact? Nope.

The Green Bay Packers had a present handed to them in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL draft and they decided to look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, they took Justin Harrell, DT, from Tennessee.

So, what’s this gift I speak of? Well, if you followed the draft, you knew that Cleveland passed on Brady Quinn with their selection, which was 3rd overall—they took Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin.

After the Miami Dolphins passed on Quinn with their selection—9th overall—the Cleveland Browns hit the phones. They wanted Quinn and they were willing to pay—big time—for him. And that’s where the Packers and their big mistake comes in.

With the 9th overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select . . .

You could hear boos the second the Dolphins’ first pick—number nine overall—was announced. With almost all the college players available, the Dolphins took Ted Ginn Jr., WR, from Ohio State.

Was a player who’s best contribution might be as a return man worth the #9 pick in the 2007 NFL draft, especially for a team with other needs?