Dot...Dot...Dawg (4/29)

Obviously, the story of the night is the collapse of Chris Polk's draftability as the former UW star went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft. By now, you all know the story. Second or third round talent has someone question his health in spite of a record run of 38 straight starts as a college performer and, as is typical, the herd mentality takes over as over half of the teams in the NFL take CP1 completely off their board. It is a shame for Chris given how hard he has worked for this. It is also a hint that the world is changing in terms of how the NFL looks at draftable RBs - performance and production are not as desired, especially if it means that excessive wear and tear have occurred. These days, it is the measurables, the potential and the fit for a role that matter the most. This could have a lasting effect on how the position gets recruited and manned in the college game and raises the question as to how many true workhorses we will see in the future.

Enough of the soapbox stump speech. There were lots of interesting things flying around the web last night. Here are some dots...and tweets... to get your Sunday off right (after the jump).

• Condotta has the low down on the Spring game. It was all about the Defense.
• Lost in the madness of the Draft were two big football commits for the 2013 class. Sean Constantine adds needed muscle to the LB core. CB Derek Babiash potentially adds another stud to what is quickly becoming the strength of this football team.
• Ryan Divish writes about Chris Polk's free fall.
• The NFL.com story on Polk's situation. Interesting commentary in here regarding the actions that Polk took to try to clear his name once it became clear that there was a whirlwind of misinformation regarding his health ripping through war rooms.
  
• Jerry Brewer with a take on the whole CP1 affair.
• Lost in all the CP1 madness are the great stories of Alameda Ta'amu, who the Steelers traded up for in order to draft, and Senio Kelemete, who realized his dream.
• The Steelers are excited to add Meda to their defensive front. Some are calling him a clone of Casey Hampton. Really, you have to like how the Steelers go about their Draft business.
  
• A recap of draftees by conference. This turned out to be an exceptionally weak showing by the Pac 12 this year as they produced only 28 draft picks which includes only three from USC, just two from Washington and none from UCLA. Cal (6), Stanford (4) and Oregon (4) accounted for half of the Pac 12's drafted players as several very draftable players went undrafted including Polk, Delano Howell, Jermaine Kearse, Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Eddie Pleasant, Darron Thomas, Cliff Harris, James Rodgers, Vontaze Burfict (wow), Rodney Stewart, Marc Tyler, Chris Galippo, Derrick Coleman and Paul Vassallo. In fact, Utah St (3) had more draftees than Washington St (0), UCLA (0), Oregon St (1) and Utah (1) combined. This really can't all be about talent ... but maybe it is. Regardless, it is a continuing sign of the relative wave of weakness that the Pac 12 is riding.
  
• A run down of NFL Draft prospects with state of Washington ties. Included is some commentary on several Huskies and a few non-Huskies.
• For you basketball fans, Percy Allen recaps the NBA season from an Pac 12 point of view. Special congratulations to Isaiah Thomas who took hold of his opportunity, as the last pick in the NBA Draft, no less, and turned it into a fantastic campaign that sees him as a top contender for the year's NBA Rookie of Year Award race. IT is an inspiration and an interesting parallel to the Chris Polk story.
  

Twitter Madness - lots of great posts out there on Twitter. I picked a few for you non-Tweeters to peruse. Enjoy.

• CP got some love from a foe

@LaMichaelJames it's all good bro god has a plan for me and at the end of the day I'm still in the league with u I'll see u soon #Pac12RB's

— Chris Polk (@1ChrisPolk) April 29, 2012

• Ted Miller is in pain.

Bryce Brown over Chris Polk? That so stupid it makes my head hurt.

— ESPN_Pac12blog (@ESPN_Pac12blog) April 28, 2012

• Lawyer Milloy chimes in.

@1ChrisPolk It's what you do when you arrive bro! Stay humble and hungry. Adversity brings the LION out of men who handle it right. Go Get'm

— Lawyer Milloy (@LawyerMilloy) April 29, 2012

• Jermaine Kearse announces the next stage of his life.

12th man stand up!

— Jermaine Kearse (@Jkearse_15) April 29, 2012

• The Steelers announce the move they made to acquire Alameda Ta'amu

We traded up in the 4th round to take DT, Alameda Ta'amu.

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 28, 2012

• Hines Ward chimes in on the Ta'amu selection.

ROUND 4, PICK 109 ALAMEDA TA’AMU NT, Washington Ta’Amu is exactly what the Steelers need at… goo.gl/fb/UXVm6

— Hines Ward (@ReceiverHines) April 29, 2012