It’s 1st and 10 children for Jets' Cromartie

Fix the scoreboard: Now it’s 10 kids from eight women in six states.

SEATTLE -- Chris Polk's dream took root immediately.

The first time he touched the ball in an organized football game at age 6, Polk broke loose for a touchdown.

"From that moment on, my dream was to play professionally," Polk said. "I love football so much, I didn't play any other sport since age 6. I never tried basketball, never tried anything else but just football. I've been in love with football since that first carry."

Polk has broken loose with regularity ever since, through his high school days at Redlands (Calif.) East Valley High and the University of Washington, which he left as the second-leading rusher in school history.

Now the question is where football where carry him next.

He's regarded as one of the top handful of running backs available in the NFL Draft later this month, projected by some going as high as the second round. He's currently ranked fifth at the position by NFLDraftScout.com. (Positional Series: Evaluating the Running Backs)

Polk says the conjecture of where and when he'll be drafted doesn't really interest him.

"It's all speculation," he said just under two weeks before the draft. "You never know what this general manger or anyone thinks. I don't pay attention to it. I've been criticized and talked about my whole career and that is what's made me the person I am today. So I don't really let that worry me."

Indeed, in his early years at the University of Washington, the questions were about Polk's durability after he suffered a few injuries, including a dislocated shoulder that sidelined him for the rest of the season two games into his freshman year in 2008.

It didn't take long for Polk to put that tag to rest, carrying the ball at least 226 times each of his three full seasons at UW, finishing with more rushing attempts than anyone in the history of a school traditionally known for strong running games.

En route to rushing for at least 1,000 yards three consecutive seasons -- the only other player in UW history to do that was Napoleon Kaufman, a first-round pick of the Raiders in 1995 -- Polk became known for his tough running style, gaining innumerable yards after contact for a team slowly rebuilding under Steve Sarkisian from the 0-12 disaster of 2008.

Polk says he enjoys doing the dirty work.

"My favorite running plays are anything up the middle," Polk said. "As long as it's up the middle, I'm fine, whether it's inside zone or power or counter or anything up the middle."

At UW, Polk also showed an ability to make the big run, such as the 2010 Washington State game when he rushed for 284 yards on 29 carries, the second-highest yardage total in school history.

Some draft analysts, though, have questioned Polk's speed, whispers that increased after he arrived at the Senior Bowl weighing 224 pounds and called by some observers as "sluggish."

But Polk then slimmed down to 216 and turned in a 4.57-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in February and an even quicker 4.49 electronically timed 40 at Washington's pro day in March.

"I wanted to lose some weight and show them (NFL teams) that I really do care about my body and I really do take what I do seriously," he said.

He thinks he's shown that his speed should be a non-issue.

"I'm a bigger back moving at a good rate," he said. "I'm a game-speed type of person -- I'm not a track athlete."

And Polk can point to all kinds of long runs as proof of his ability to turn the big play -- he had touchdown runs of 46 and 61 yards in the first-half alone at Stanford.

Polk also lists on his resume a solid ability to catch the ball out of the backfield -- in fact, he was initially used at Washington as a receiver as a true freshman in 2008 before being turned into a running back permanently.

Polk caught 79 passes in his Washington career and helped the Huskies win games last season against Cal and Arizona with late touchdown receptions -- his 70-yarder against the Bears, in which he caught the ball 30 yards or so downfield, was Washington's longest pass play of 2011.

"I've always been very comfortable catching the ball," he said.

Polk was eligible for the draft after the 2010 season but decided to return. Having already been in college four years due to the 2008 season and injury, however, it was a pretty clear choice for Polk to leave after 2011.

"I just feel like I'm as good as all the other running backs in the draft," he said. "They are all great, phenomenal running backs and I feel like I fit right in with them. But at the end of the day, I just want to get drafted -- it doesn't matter what round. Then I can say that I'm a professional football player, a professional athlete, and that must makes the dream for me. Whatever team drafts me won't be sorry."

Pour Varino

'Before the Beginning' with Chris Polk

4. In the unlikely event Tannehill makes it out of the top 10, I believe he'll be the 11th overall pick. That spot belongs to the Chiefs. I don't see the Chiefs taking Tannehill. I see Kansas City taking the best offer for the pick, and there will certainly be offers for that pick if Tannehill slips. Still, the most likely scenarios are Tannehill to Cleveland at four or Miami at eight. But why 11? Because teams around the league know how much Seattle loves Tannehill. And you can write this down: If Tannehill were to be there at 12, Seattle would take him, even though the Seahawks just paid medium dollar for Matt Flynn in free agency. That's how much Seattle loves him. "At Tannehill's workout,'' one source told me, "[coach] Pete Carroll was giggling like a schoolgirl watching him throw. His attitude was like, 'What are we even doing here? He'll never be there for us.'

Sinon cette nuit, le calendrier de la saison sera dispo

Week 1 – Bills
Week 2 – at Steelers 4:15pm
Week 3 – at Dolphins
Week 4 – 49ers
Week 5 – Texans 8:30pm (MNF)

La ligue qui nous met exprès un calendrier avec que des défenses de fou (de la week 2 à 5 toutes top 10 de l'an dernier plus les Bills qui ont rajouté Mario et Anderson) au début de saison pour provoquer des défaites ou du moins des mauvais performances de Sanchez et que suite à la pression Tebow soit rapidement titulaire

Cro

Antonio Cromartie is about to add some depth to his roster of kids.

The wife of the Jets cornerback posted a sonogram photo on Twitter that suggests the couple is expecting twins. That would make it 12 kids overall for Cromartie, with four from his wife, and eight others all from separate women.

Le GB@NYG qui tombe mi-novembre

Sinon, 3 SNF, 1 MNF (les Hawks ) et un match le jeudi soir mais en week2 , c'est pas après les bye week qu'il y les TNF normalement?

And says ESPN: We will not show a draftee on the phone in the Green Room prior to the pick on the first night of the NFL Draft.