The official 40-yard-dash results are in, and Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey posted the fastest official time Sunday among wide receivers at 4.30 seconds.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke Sunday in the media room and spent the first several minutes of his press conference sending well-wishes to many of his former associates now scattered throughout the league.

Missouri WR Jeremy Maclin tripped and fell during a late-morning passing drill and was slow to get up before being helped off the field by two trainers, who immediately brought him to a training table.

After he was checked over, Maclin tested his left leg briefly on the sideline before returning to the rest of his receiver group for the next passing drill.

For all the information that flowed through Indianapolis this weekend, none was any more startling or alarming than the one regarding the state of the game.
This offseason, more than 40 percent of the assistant coaches in the league changed teams, a stunningly high number, according to numbers that the coaches association keeps. That in itself takes a moment to process. But the kicker to it is even more ominous.

Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli cast doubt on whether Patriots QB Matt Cassel had signed his franchise tender.

Texas Tech WR Michael Crabtree made a brief statement regarding his foot injury. It is a stress fracture in his left foot.

While Matthew Stafford and Mark Sanchez have received all the attention, a few other signal-callers could improve their stock with solid workouts leading up to the draft.

In sitting with NFL.com senior analyst Pat Kirwan, it became obvious that the trend of left tackles being drafted near the top of the first round is likely to continue.

It’s no exaggeration to say that all eyes of the NFL are on what takes place on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium this morning. From the view on the sidelines, it’s not difficult to see why.

A number of top-level players spoke today in the media room. Here are the highlights from those sessions:

USC has three linebackers that may go in the first round (Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews), and all three will workout here at the combine.

While the trio were teammates with the Trojans, they are now competitors.

If Brett Favre‘s consecutive starts streak can come to an end (assuming he remains retired), then so too can the University of Miami’s streak of producing first-round picks.

Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree and his advisers have decided to hold off on any surgery for the slight stress fracture in his left foot until after his March 26 Pro Day, those close to the player said Saturday. Crabtree is not feeling any pain in his foot and still wants to run the 40-yard dash for NFL coaches and scouts next month.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Rod Graves on receiver Anquan Boldin: “We have identified Anquan as one of our core players. We think a lot of him. We want him to stay with us long term. He is under contract for two more seasons. We have a list of issues to deal with in terms of their priority, with some contract situations that are more pressing than Anquan’s, who has two years left. I know that players like for you to deal with things on their timetable, but we have to deal with them on the organization’s timetable.” –Thomas George

Ray Lewis as a Dallas Cowboy might not be as far fetched as some think, at least not according to linebacker DeMarcus Ware.