The last in this series for the NFC West, it's time to take a look at the St. Louis Rams draft class.
Now the Rams came into this draft in pretty good shape after last year. They narrowly missed out on the playoffs in 2010, thanks to a much improved offense under the leadership of rookie QB Sam Bradford. The addition last time around of OT Roger Saffold was also a handy little pick that helped set the Rams up for a more open draft this year. With their offense looking a lot more healthy, they could devote a bit more time to defense.
They went straight for the jugular with the first pick, taking Defensive End Robert Quinn from North Carolina, in order to find a foil to work opposite Chris Long and exploit opposing teams over attention to the left side.
But I have a funny feeling they whiffed this one. Stick with me on this. Quinn played pretty well in College. On tape he looked pretty good. He was quick. He was strong. He at times made some opposing offensive tackles look foolish. So what can we take from that?
Not a lot is my opinion. See, good luck finding any game tape of Quinn that has a date on it past say March 2010. That's not because the Tar Heels are jealously hoarding any film of their team from last season. Instead it results from the fact that Quinn didn't play a down during the 2010 season.
He was suspended after being found guilty of taking over $5000 in gifts from an agent, then lying to NCAA investigators about the matter. That means that Quinn has done nothing more demanding in the last 12 months than basic drills for a defensive end and has no recent experience on the field. That for me is a problem.
The NFL is the top level of football in the world. It demands the absolute best from every player. 12 months out of the game, even for a good player with natural physical talents like Quinn, may just be too much. But there is another concern as well that I just can't shake.
In 2009 Quinn had 11 sacks. 10 of those sacks came in games played at home, just 1 away. 8 of his sacks were picked up in three games. Six of them (over half) came in just two games, three in each. While that's still not to be sniffed at, my problem is the consistency. Will Quinn consistently pitch in with sacks over the course of the season?
I'm not convinced and that's probably the biggest complaint I have. Notching up sacks is great, but to be a great player and to contribute to creating a winning team, you have to be able to bring that heat game after game, putting consistent pressure on the quarterback almost every down. I just don't think Quinn brings that to the table.
In addition, his play against the run is very limited. Quinn appears on tape to be the kind of end who is more pre-occupied with getting after the QB and has a tendency to get man handled a little too easily in the running game. He often struggles to set the edge properly and keep containment.
Now remember again that all of this was during the 2009 season. He hasn't played since, so I can't see any of those factors improving. When you keep in mind that Ryan Kerrigan was still on the board (he went two picks later to Washington), then I don't see the case for taking Quinn. Kerrigan is probably a better outright football player and, all things considered, a much safer pick in the first round.
But let's move on, for we have another seven guys to cover. Next up is Tight End Lance Kendricks from Wisconsin and I like this pick a lot. While the Rams haven't exactly been short of tight ends, finding a really good one has been problematic. I think Kendricks may solve that problem.
The key feature is that he brings a lot of versatility to the table. He's very strong and this shows up consistently in game. His run blocking is very good and when he gets hit you can see him absorb the shock and continue on to plough over people.
His route running is good, which is handy given that new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is likely going to want to air it out on a regular basis. He has good hands and combined with that strength and run blocking I mentioned you can see Kendricks being a useful tool in and around the goal line, and also in short yardage. He gives the Rams offensive a bit of punch I feel.
To go with punch though, you also need a bit of finesse. The fine wine to match the stout bitter. Enter third round pick wide receiver Austin Pettis, Boise State. Not that the Rams needed a new receiver, given that they have about a thousand already on their books (that number may have been slightly exaggerated).
So, what's Pettis like? Honestly? There's good and there's bad. The good is his ball handling and concentration. If I wanted to get the ball to a safe pair of hands on third down or in the red zone, Pettis is the guy I would be looking at. He really does have a great eye for the ball.
The trouble is a) getting him open and b) getting him anywhere after he's caught the ball. Because Pettis lacks what I would describe as polished route running and his run after the catch skills are highly dubious. He just doesn't seem all that quick in pads.
That presents something of a problem. It's one thing to be able to make great catches, but if you can't get any separation from College defenders then it's not likely to get any easier at the next level. In addition, the ability to catch the ball and then immediately get tackled on short routes is of dubious utility.
Maybe their fourth rounder will fair better, wide receiver Greg Salas, Hawai'i.
I love Salas; this is my kind of football player. He's very fluid in all his movements, his route running has some high points and he has very good hands. But all that stuff pales into the background compared to his toughness and run after the catch ability.
At the risk of over egging the pudding so to speak, think of Wes Welkers run after the catch but combined with the toughness of a Hines Ward or Anquan Boldin. I just have so much fun watching Salas play, watching him absorb hits and bounce off tacklers.
He's just the kind of remedy that the Rams needed; a guy that can play underneath on some of the shorter depth crossing routes, while the rest of that corps stretches the field vertically and creates even more space for him to run.
When you factor in as well his middle round status, I think the Rams hit a winner here. Great pick. Damn them.
On to round five and safety Jermale Hines, Ohio State. Hines is someone I hadn't seen (re; bothered to look at) prior to the draft but have since. So what do I think of Jermale Hines? I think I resent him for the fact that I wasted a half hour of my life watching him run around not doing a lot.
I'm not saying he's bad. He's not the Mike Person of the safety world. But he doesn't make you jump out of your seat and shout "that's our guy!" either. His tackling, from a technical perspective, is pretty good. His pass coverage is a little random however.
It's like he's trying to look busy, but without knowing what to do. Against the run he often takes bad angles in pursuit and just generally he's kind of a run of the mill, practice squad type of guy. A wasted pick if I'm honest.
The Rams had no pick in round six due to a trade from last September, so it's on to round seven where the Rams ended up with three picks. The first of these went on Baylor cornerback Mikail Baker, who I can honestly say, hand on heart, I hadn't the faintest bloody clue who he was prior to the draft. I do now.
And I now know four things about Baker. He can run pretty fast in a straight line as a return man on special teams. He can run pretty fast in a straight line as a coverage man on special teams. He can tackle better than average for a corner. And his pass coverage is so, so.
You just get that impression that if he ran around with a sign round his neck saying "practice squad", then he wouldn't look out of place in the slightest. There is nothing caught on camera that suggests to me he will defy his seventh round selection and go on to be a pro bowler, or even just a dime package corner.
Maybe the Rams would have better luck with Jabara Williams, LB, from Stephen F. Austin University. I'll throw my hands up right now and say it; where and what the fuck is Stephen F. Austin University? More to the point, do they ever record their games? If so, can you send me one from 2010 to keepingthechainsmoving@live.co.uk If not, don't sweat it.
That just leaves us with one pick left and that is Jonathan Nelson, safety, Oklahoma. Now apart from having just the most ridiculously wide forehead you've ever seen, I don't get the interest in Nelson. What I saw was pure average. Again it bugs me because I think of all the players who went undrafted, some of whom are really pretty good, and instead they went with Nelson?
Even if a team could argue "well we have a need at safety" ok, you might have. But given the choice between taking another decent young receiver, or a promising young quarterback who could have been developed as a back up/insurance plan to Bradford, or a decent interior offensive linemen, or a crappy safety, surely you have to acknowledge that the crappy safety serves no use?
Maybe I'm being hard on Nelson. He's not a terrible football player. He's just, not a particularly good one either. Boring, non-impact player who barely got a sniff in despite being a pure first teamer. It just... I dunno, it just bugs me when teams take a player like this, who seems to have no discernable contribution to make, when guys like Chase Beeler are sitting out there in the uncertainty of free agency (whenever that starts).
Also, why is the spell checker highlighting "Discernable"? That's how it's spelt! I hate Blogger.
So that's your 2011 Rams draft class. Overall a few good players in there who might help out, but not really the draft I was expecting from the Rams. Having resolved many of their offensive problems last year I could live with them taking one or two offensive players this year, but using three of their first four picks seems dumb to me.
Also, while I do like Greg Salas, I do still have to question why the Rams felt the need to take two more wide receivers on top of their current crop. Maybe a guard or another tackle would have been useful? More to the point, why not invest some of those top picks trying to fix that defense and bring it up to par?
That's really what I was expecting from St. Louis, for them to put together a good defensive draft and make a run for the division title this year. I still think they are in with just as good a shot as anyone, largely thanks to being the only one of the four teams in the NFC West to have a decent QB.
But this was a missed opportunity to make a statement and perhaps put some bums in seats. I think they could have made the job a lot easier with more of a defensive focus. Rams fans will now be crossing their fingers I feel and hoping that their team can make a splash in free agency.
Next up is the NFC North, who all had pretty good drafts, and we start in the windy city with the Chicago Bears.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Why I don't like Blaine Gabbert
Before you wonder, no, I haven't skipped the Rams, the NFC North and East and gone straight to the Jaguars. I just want to clarify a point about why I don't like Blaine Gabbert despite his impressive college numbers and the fact that every NFL analyst on the planet has been creaming their pants over Gabbert.
There are two main reasons I don't like him, one of which will help lead into the other;
1) I sat down with a pencil and paper (remember those lead things from 20th Century?) and took notes while watching a Missouri game. I counted about 59 passes (I think one might have been called back for a penalty, didn't pay enough attention). Of the 59 passes I have, three were screen plays, two were chuck aways, and critically for this segment, forty-one were passes that travelled equal to or less than 10 yards past the line scrimmage. Thirteen went 10+ yards.
That means that despite his impressive passing numbers on paper for that game, Gabbert only threw about 20% of his passes anything more than a handful of "air" yards. Of those 13 passes only seven were completed. That for me is an issue. I accept it was only one game, but it is a reasonably fair representation of the offense Gabbert played in.
Small ball, is the word I would use. Of the 41 passes that travelled less than ten yards, 29 were completed and they took the form of a collection of quick outs and sometimes drag routes across the field. All in all a very limited range of passes and nothing that was particularly taxing. Compare with the types of throws asked of guys like Mallet, Enderle and Stanzi in college, which offer a much better approximation of what they'll see in the NFL.
I just don't trust Gabbert to convert very well. The range of passes he has been asked to throw in college compares poorly with what the Jaguars will ask of him. I haven't seen any of the dig routes for example that teams in the NFL like to make plenty of use of. No post-corner routes. And very little in the way of fades.
I just don't see how Gabbert can be considered a franchise QB at the NFL level? It'll take all the franchises resources just to teach him the bloody offense. His accuracy down the field is highly questionable. and the plethora of short routes that he was asked to throw in college lead me to the next point.
2) Gabbert will probably collapse in the face of pressure in the NFL. Very rarely did I see him stand in the pocket and let routes develop down field. Everything was coming out of his hands as quick as a flash. On the few occasions that he did try and hold the ball, he almost immediately bailed out of the pocket and ran for his life, even if it was just a three man rush.
He just seems to have zero experience of standing up to a proper rush. The fact that Missouri spent so much time in 5 wide sets doesn't help. He's used to having the defense clearly laid out for him where he can make easy reads and easy choices.
Do I blame Gabbert for this? No. His coaches maybe? No, their job (what the colleges pay them big bucks for) is to win college games, not serve as a player factory for the Pro's.
The people then that I blame are the people putting Gabbert up there on the pedestal as the number one QB in the 2011 draft class, because I don't think he's anything near that. With time he can improve and get used to the way the big leagues work. He might even carve out a career for himself, in whatever shape or form that may be.
But to tout him as a franchise QB at all, let alone a day one franchise kid, is a big mistake in my opinion.
P.S. Rams draft post will probably touchdown (see what I did there?) on Saturday.
P.P.S. See the labels at the bottom. Just above that is a little "f" icon. Click it. Trust me it'll make your day.
There are two main reasons I don't like him, one of which will help lead into the other;
1) I sat down with a pencil and paper (remember those lead things from 20th Century?) and took notes while watching a Missouri game. I counted about 59 passes (I think one might have been called back for a penalty, didn't pay enough attention). Of the 59 passes I have, three were screen plays, two were chuck aways, and critically for this segment, forty-one were passes that travelled equal to or less than 10 yards past the line scrimmage. Thirteen went 10+ yards.
That means that despite his impressive passing numbers on paper for that game, Gabbert only threw about 20% of his passes anything more than a handful of "air" yards. Of those 13 passes only seven were completed. That for me is an issue. I accept it was only one game, but it is a reasonably fair representation of the offense Gabbert played in.
Small ball, is the word I would use. Of the 41 passes that travelled less than ten yards, 29 were completed and they took the form of a collection of quick outs and sometimes drag routes across the field. All in all a very limited range of passes and nothing that was particularly taxing. Compare with the types of throws asked of guys like Mallet, Enderle and Stanzi in college, which offer a much better approximation of what they'll see in the NFL.
I just don't trust Gabbert to convert very well. The range of passes he has been asked to throw in college compares poorly with what the Jaguars will ask of him. I haven't seen any of the dig routes for example that teams in the NFL like to make plenty of use of. No post-corner routes. And very little in the way of fades.
I just don't see how Gabbert can be considered a franchise QB at the NFL level? It'll take all the franchises resources just to teach him the bloody offense. His accuracy down the field is highly questionable. and the plethora of short routes that he was asked to throw in college lead me to the next point.
2) Gabbert will probably collapse in the face of pressure in the NFL. Very rarely did I see him stand in the pocket and let routes develop down field. Everything was coming out of his hands as quick as a flash. On the few occasions that he did try and hold the ball, he almost immediately bailed out of the pocket and ran for his life, even if it was just a three man rush.
He just seems to have zero experience of standing up to a proper rush. The fact that Missouri spent so much time in 5 wide sets doesn't help. He's used to having the defense clearly laid out for him where he can make easy reads and easy choices.
Do I blame Gabbert for this? No. His coaches maybe? No, their job (what the colleges pay them big bucks for) is to win college games, not serve as a player factory for the Pro's.
The people then that I blame are the people putting Gabbert up there on the pedestal as the number one QB in the 2011 draft class, because I don't think he's anything near that. With time he can improve and get used to the way the big leagues work. He might even carve out a career for himself, in whatever shape or form that may be.
But to tout him as a franchise QB at all, let alone a day one franchise kid, is a big mistake in my opinion.
P.S. Rams draft post will probably touchdown (see what I did there?) on Saturday.
P.P.S. See the labels at the bottom. Just above that is a little "f" icon. Click it. Trust me it'll make your day.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
2011 NFL Draft: San Francisco 49ers
But first....
The league owners have got together for a meeting in Indianapolis and have voted to pass three new rules. For those that are already wondering; no, none of them is a fix to the tuck rule.
Instead we have:
1) 15 yard penalty for "launching", where a defender leaves both feet and makes contact with a defenseless receiver either helmet to helmet, or shoulder to helmet. As I understand it, if the defender "launches" but makes contact in the stomach of a receiver then there is no penalty.
2) The definition of a defenseless receiver has expanded to include any receiver who hasn't had time to protect himself or hasn't clearly become a runner, regardless of whether his feet are on the ground or not. In addition, the following players will receive special protection as defenseless players, and thus cannot be struck in the head or neck with either the helmet, facemask, shoulder or forearm (but presumably the hand is ok?);
- Players throwing a pass,
- Players attempting to make a catch but without time to avoid contact,
- A runner whose forward progress has been stopped,
- Kick off or punt returners while the ball is in the air (weren't they already covered?).
- Actual kickers and punters during the course of a return,
- A quarterback during a change of possession (but everyone else is not important enough and fair game? WTF?),
- Any player who is blindsided by a blocker who is moving towards his own endzone. It doesn't specify which of those two is moving toward their own endzone, but there you go.
3) Finally, one decent change, contact to the helmet of a QB with the hand or arm will now be judged on a case by case basis by referees, instead of the previous automatic penalty. So contact that appears incidental and without malice can be ignored at the officials discretion. Which means you can expect Brady and Manning to be protected like the President and everyone else to be told to shove it.
And don't give me all that "it's not like that..." bullshit. I live in a country where the richest and best soccer teams are renowned for getting favourable decisions from referees, while the small teams get crapped on consistently. I've also noticed that teams like the Colts and Patriots can get away with bloody murder as far as things like "offensive pass interference" and so called "pick plays" go.
Mark my words, this will work in the favour of teams like the Patriots and Colts.
Anyway on to happier and more innocent things, like me ripping the 49ers a new one over their draft class. Well, I would but I'm actually warming to various aspects of it. We start with Aldon Smith, the DE from Missouri. Now I'm just going to come right out and say it from day one. I love Aldon Smith.
The kid is great. He's quick as a flash off the line, he works really hard every play and never gives up. From a technical standpoint he uses his hands really well to defeat blocks and his footwork is very good. Tracks beautifully from sideline to sideline and just generally has a lot of utility against both the run and the pass.
That last aspect makes me wonder about just how the 49ers will use him. The expectation in the media world is that he will play as a stand up outside linebacker in the 49ers 3-4 scheme. But given his skill set I wouldn't be surprised to see them try him out as a 3-4 end opposite Justin Smith, who lead the team in sacks last year. Together I think they would make a great combination, but it's all speculation right now.
Regardless, I think he's gonna be a great player, a worthy top ten pick and a firm part of the 49ers franchise in the coming years. He also addresses a big issue with the 49ers which has been consistent pass rush. While that defense isn't exactly slacking in that area, it has been a bit of a struggle to make it happen with creative scheming being the word of the day. Hopefully the combination of Smith and Smith, in whatever form that takes, will bring some foundation to the pass rush.
On to round two and QB Colin Kaepernick from Nevada. Now I've always been sceptical of "running quarterbacks". Needless to say that I called the 49ers draft team, and I quote myself - "dicks" - for drafting Kaepernick.
But I've mellowed out a little. Or more specifically, I've been back and watched a broader spectrum of Kaepernick's games. He's growing on me now. His footwork is ok. It lacks a little polish but it's very close to where it needs to be. His throwing motion is hideous, but then so was Brett Favre's and so is Mike Vick's, and I don't complain about them. It is what it is.
It does however throw up (pun not intended) (wait, what am I talking about? Err, pun absolutely intended) a good question mark that I have on him. His arm strength is great, he can sling that ball with the best of them. But at short ranges he doesn't demonstrate the touch needed. He seems to have one power setting and that's "stupid quick". At long ranges it's not a problem as the combination of gravity and air resistance bleed off some of the speed.
But at ranges under say, 12 yards from the Line of Scrimmage, there isn't enough time for those factors to take some of the zip off the ball, so frequently you see receivers cursing Kaepernick under their breath for taking their fingertips off. The good news about this is that it's coachable. It's something that can be fixed with a little bit of practice, as long as it's recognised and addressed.
The other big question I have is over the range of passing. By this I mean the types of throws made, not the distance of them. What I saw was a heck of a lot of short throws and not a lot else. I saw dump offs, I saw out routes, I saw hooking patterns, I saw some 15 yard ins and outs, even a post route or two. But I didn't see what I would call a full gamut of passes.
Contrast that with someone like Ricky Stanzi or Nathan Enderele, who threw everything from quick slants to deep bombs and all the passes in between. Particularly worrying for me was a lack of deep fade passes which are a fairly regular component of most pro offenses. One of the things people are always banging on about is the ability to exploit one on one matches on the outside, and to be honest, they're right.
But to do that you have to have a high degree of confidence in your Quarterback to throw those king of deep passes to the outside, dropping the ball in over the head of the corner and into the hands of the receiver. It was something I saw Stanzi do to perfection several times. And something I never saw Kaepernick do once. That could be a problem.
A lot depends on how coach Jim Harbaugh runs the offense. He's promised to reintroduce the 'West Coast Offense' and the spirit of Bill Walsh to its birth place, which I find amusing given that a) it was developed mostly in Cincinnati, b) Bill Walsh hated the name 'West Coast Offense', and c) the true 'West Coast offense' hasn't really existed for years now.
But I'm digressing now and indulging in my own blatant 49er passion, so back on point, if Harbaugh goes with a short passing game that includes a fair amount of play action and rollouts, then that might suit Kaepernick quite well, providing he can dial back that arm a bit. He actually throws pretty accurately on the run and the space created horizontally on the field might give Kaepernick the chance he needs to get his legs going and run for a few first downs.
But that's an "if" and a big "if" at that. I'll recant for now on my "dicks" comment, but I'm not happy enough to put it away in a draw somewhere and forget about it forever.
I've also just realised that I've had a good old waffle about Kaepernick and it's probably time to move on to the next pick, which was third rounder Chris Culliver, cornerback/safety, from South Carolina. This helps to explain why this particular post has taken so long, as previously I hadn't seen a scrap of Culliver.
And I still haven't. Beg, borrow, steal, I cannot. So for all I know Culliver is a pro bowler in the making. Though to be honest I've snooped about and it seems most people had him rated as a 6-7th rounder prior to the draft, which is usually but not always a bad sign.
On then to round four and running back Kendall Hunter, from Oklahoma State. I'm a Hunter fan, I'll come right out and say it. He's just a plain fun back to watch. Short guy, but strong and fights hard on every play, which is my kind of running back. His agility is really good and his acceleration is excellent. He goes from dead stop to full speed in a flash.
That's the thing then that I'm most looking forward to with Hunter. His speed should be a good compliment and change of pace to the more bruising style of Frank Gore and Anthony "The Golden Mule" Dixon. He also makes a great receiver out of the backfield, with his physical skills taking over when he gets the ball in his hands. All things considered, as a fourth round pick I count him as a bargain.
In the fifth round the 49ers went with another guy I hadn't seen, Daniel Kilgore, offensive guard, from Appalachian State. Well, I say guard because that's what he's technically listed as now, but really he's a right tackle. Apparently the 49ers are planning to use him as a backup center or guard, but I'm not really sure how successful that will prove to be.
The trouble is that a guy with Kilgore's body type (re: a fat bastard like Kilgore) is really more cut out for working the end of the line as opposed to the inside. Guards are supposed to be nimble guys with nifty footwork who can step back from the line and pull on power plays etc, make double reads of linebackers versus 34 fronts, and just generally be a little more finesse orientated.
Kilgore is the opposite of finesse. He's a mound of fat and gristle, as tough as a pair of Vietnam jungle boots. He's the sort of person I can imagine wrestling a grizzly bear in the mountains of Canada or pulling a truck along with his teeth. He's a powerhouse. He may not have the fastest or most technical footwork with his kick slide, but if he gets his hands on you then there's only one place you're going, and that's wherever Kilgore decides he wants you to go.
Overall I say give him a chance at right tackle. God knows that O-line needs some help and Anthony Davis isn' t providing it. If it doesn't work then he can just spend the off season in Texas with Chad Ochocinco as a travelling double act touring the rodeos. Chad will ride the bulls for as long as he can, then Kilgore will come in and strangle them with his bare hands.
In the meantime it's on to round 6 and finally a player I've had a decent look at before, Ronald Jackson, wide receiver, USC. Jackson is another guy I like. Excellent route running I thought, including the adjustments he made to his routes. He's pretty tough and has good hands as well, so overall a nice package. I think he makes a good contrast to a guy like Crabtree and I always find that useful, to have two receivers who attack defense's in different ways. One to watch.
The 49ers picked again in the sixth round courtesy of an old trade with Seattle for Kentwan Balmer, and with this pick they took Colin Jones, safety, from TCU. Another one who I hadn't seen any tape of prior to the draft, so off I went once more.
And all I can say about Jones is this; somewhere, maybe on his iPod, maybe on his laptop I dunno, but somewhere Jones must have indecent pictures of his old Head Coach and possibly some of either Trent Baalke or Jim Harbaugh. Because that's the only way I can possibly see how he managed to get onto the field.
Now I accept that not everyone sees players the same way. I accept that attributes that one guy finds desirable are not so for someone else. People have certain types of quarterbacks, corners, defensive tackles etc that they're looking for. But seriously, Jones sucks. He just plain, outright stinks and I have no idea how anyone in their right mind can't see that.
He's timid, like a cat afraid of water. He's fine when it comes to chasing a running play from behind or sprinting after a defenseless quarterback, but he doesn't seem to have much appetite for any other contact. Add to that his general look during most pass plays of "What the hell is going on? Am I in a football game? What am I supposed to be doing?" and it really doesn't make good viewing.
I just can't understand how a guy like Jones makes it into the league when you look at the list of names of guys that went undrafted. You're seriously telling me that the 49ers didn't feel any of them was on the same level as Jones? Get the fuck outta here!
Anyway, onwards and upwards (I have to stop saying that) to round 7, where the 49ers had originally four picks, one of which was traded to Green Bay. The first of the seventh rounders was defensive end Bruce Miller, from Central Florida.
For some reason I covered Miller in my linebackers section when he should have gone in with the defensive linemen, but hey ho and away we go. To put it bluntly, not that I ever actually seem to sugar coat things, Miller is no more than average for his position. Primary among his problems is the fact that he's so slow off the snap. That's just asking to get yourself blocked. Which is what normally happens to Miller as it happens.
On then to the first of the compensatory selections and it's Mike Person, offensive guard, Montana State. Again, Person is another one of those players listed now as a guard but who was actually a tackle. And again, I hadn't seen a thing of Person prior to the draft. I'm beginning to wish I still hadn't.
Mike Person must be in cahoots with Colin Jones, because I shit you not ladies and gentlemen (Who am I kidding? Ladies?) Person is undoubtedly the single worst offensive tackle I have ever seen. He was just... just... I wish I could show you what I've seen.
If you wanted to make a lowlight reel to show people "This is how never to play offensive tackle. Ever," then it would just be a complete game tape of Mike Person. This guy is just indescribably bad. Balance is shocking. Footwork is terrible. Use of the hands is practically non existent. His mental awareness of the blocking schemes is terrible. Frankly I'm astounded that Montana State ever managed to score a single point with this guy on their O-line.
What's worse is this thought; if a team starts its best linemen at left tackle, what the hell must the backups on that team have looked like? It just doesn't bare thinking about. Honestly I'm still in shock. How in the hell does someone like Person end up in the NFL? There is someone on the 49ers scouting staff who needs to be out of a job.
For me personally the name Mike Person will forever more be associated with, and synonymous for - terrible. Puke inducing terrible.
Please God let 49ers final selection, cornerback Curtis Holcomb from Florida A&M, be good. Let him even just be ok. Or even poor. Just don't let him be Mike Person! Now as you've probably guessed, I hadn't seen Holcomb before the draft, which means that of all the teams in the NFL I'd safely say the 49ers, my own team, drafted the most number of players who I had never seen before.
Wait, what the fuck? Sorry, but I just noticed Mike Person received All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2011. How?
Anyway, back on schedule and Curtis Holcomb. Who I can confidently say... I still know nothing about, because I couldn't find a thing on the kid. Apparently Trent Baalke is quite high on him, largely because he was unknown and they think they dug out a diamond in the rough so to speak. As long as he's not Mike Person bad, I don't care.
So that then is you're 2011 San Francisco 49ers draft class. A mixed bag really. Some good, some bad. Some unknown. If you look at Kaepernick, he has potential. The 49ers have already said they'd like to bring in a veteran QB to start this year so Kaepernick can develop, which is probably for the best. Maybe in a year or two he'll be the guy. Patience is a virtue after all.
I love the pick of Aldon Smith and I also think the team made some good moves to bring in tools that eventually Kaepernick will get to play with such as Hunter and Johnson. That offense is slowly starting to shape together as one that can do the defense justice. All it needs is for Kaepernicks development to go relatively smoothly and then there is hope.
Maybe, just maybe, with an experienced veteran to guide the team they might make the playoffs this year, but sadly I'm not holding my breath. Seattle and St. Louis are both in stronger positions right now and have a better mix of options on both sides of the ball going into the 2011 season (if it ever gets going). The 49ers D is probably still the strongest individual unit, but the offense isn't in the right position to support it.
And we have Mike Person. Lord help us.
St. Louis is up next, then that's the NFC West done and it'll be off to the NFC North, who I think on paper might just have had the best draft as a division.
The league owners have got together for a meeting in Indianapolis and have voted to pass three new rules. For those that are already wondering; no, none of them is a fix to the tuck rule.
Instead we have:
1) 15 yard penalty for "launching", where a defender leaves both feet and makes contact with a defenseless receiver either helmet to helmet, or shoulder to helmet. As I understand it, if the defender "launches" but makes contact in the stomach of a receiver then there is no penalty.
2) The definition of a defenseless receiver has expanded to include any receiver who hasn't had time to protect himself or hasn't clearly become a runner, regardless of whether his feet are on the ground or not. In addition, the following players will receive special protection as defenseless players, and thus cannot be struck in the head or neck with either the helmet, facemask, shoulder or forearm (but presumably the hand is ok?);
- Players throwing a pass,
- Players attempting to make a catch but without time to avoid contact,
- A runner whose forward progress has been stopped,
- Kick off or punt returners while the ball is in the air (weren't they already covered?).
- Actual kickers and punters during the course of a return,
- A quarterback during a change of possession (but everyone else is not important enough and fair game? WTF?),
- Any player who is blindsided by a blocker who is moving towards his own endzone. It doesn't specify which of those two is moving toward their own endzone, but there you go.
3) Finally, one decent change, contact to the helmet of a QB with the hand or arm will now be judged on a case by case basis by referees, instead of the previous automatic penalty. So contact that appears incidental and without malice can be ignored at the officials discretion. Which means you can expect Brady and Manning to be protected like the President and everyone else to be told to shove it.
And don't give me all that "it's not like that..." bullshit. I live in a country where the richest and best soccer teams are renowned for getting favourable decisions from referees, while the small teams get crapped on consistently. I've also noticed that teams like the Colts and Patriots can get away with bloody murder as far as things like "offensive pass interference" and so called "pick plays" go.
Mark my words, this will work in the favour of teams like the Patriots and Colts.
Anyway on to happier and more innocent things, like me ripping the 49ers a new one over their draft class. Well, I would but I'm actually warming to various aspects of it. We start with Aldon Smith, the DE from Missouri. Now I'm just going to come right out and say it from day one. I love Aldon Smith.
The kid is great. He's quick as a flash off the line, he works really hard every play and never gives up. From a technical standpoint he uses his hands really well to defeat blocks and his footwork is very good. Tracks beautifully from sideline to sideline and just generally has a lot of utility against both the run and the pass.
That last aspect makes me wonder about just how the 49ers will use him. The expectation in the media world is that he will play as a stand up outside linebacker in the 49ers 3-4 scheme. But given his skill set I wouldn't be surprised to see them try him out as a 3-4 end opposite Justin Smith, who lead the team in sacks last year. Together I think they would make a great combination, but it's all speculation right now.
Regardless, I think he's gonna be a great player, a worthy top ten pick and a firm part of the 49ers franchise in the coming years. He also addresses a big issue with the 49ers which has been consistent pass rush. While that defense isn't exactly slacking in that area, it has been a bit of a struggle to make it happen with creative scheming being the word of the day. Hopefully the combination of Smith and Smith, in whatever form that takes, will bring some foundation to the pass rush.
On to round two and QB Colin Kaepernick from Nevada. Now I've always been sceptical of "running quarterbacks". Needless to say that I called the 49ers draft team, and I quote myself - "dicks" - for drafting Kaepernick.
But I've mellowed out a little. Or more specifically, I've been back and watched a broader spectrum of Kaepernick's games. He's growing on me now. His footwork is ok. It lacks a little polish but it's very close to where it needs to be. His throwing motion is hideous, but then so was Brett Favre's and so is Mike Vick's, and I don't complain about them. It is what it is.
It does however throw up (pun not intended) (wait, what am I talking about? Err, pun absolutely intended) a good question mark that I have on him. His arm strength is great, he can sling that ball with the best of them. But at short ranges he doesn't demonstrate the touch needed. He seems to have one power setting and that's "stupid quick". At long ranges it's not a problem as the combination of gravity and air resistance bleed off some of the speed.
But at ranges under say, 12 yards from the Line of Scrimmage, there isn't enough time for those factors to take some of the zip off the ball, so frequently you see receivers cursing Kaepernick under their breath for taking their fingertips off. The good news about this is that it's coachable. It's something that can be fixed with a little bit of practice, as long as it's recognised and addressed.
The other big question I have is over the range of passing. By this I mean the types of throws made, not the distance of them. What I saw was a heck of a lot of short throws and not a lot else. I saw dump offs, I saw out routes, I saw hooking patterns, I saw some 15 yard ins and outs, even a post route or two. But I didn't see what I would call a full gamut of passes.
Contrast that with someone like Ricky Stanzi or Nathan Enderele, who threw everything from quick slants to deep bombs and all the passes in between. Particularly worrying for me was a lack of deep fade passes which are a fairly regular component of most pro offenses. One of the things people are always banging on about is the ability to exploit one on one matches on the outside, and to be honest, they're right.
But to do that you have to have a high degree of confidence in your Quarterback to throw those king of deep passes to the outside, dropping the ball in over the head of the corner and into the hands of the receiver. It was something I saw Stanzi do to perfection several times. And something I never saw Kaepernick do once. That could be a problem.
A lot depends on how coach Jim Harbaugh runs the offense. He's promised to reintroduce the 'West Coast Offense' and the spirit of Bill Walsh to its birth place, which I find amusing given that a) it was developed mostly in Cincinnati, b) Bill Walsh hated the name 'West Coast Offense', and c) the true 'West Coast offense' hasn't really existed for years now.
But I'm digressing now and indulging in my own blatant 49er passion, so back on point, if Harbaugh goes with a short passing game that includes a fair amount of play action and rollouts, then that might suit Kaepernick quite well, providing he can dial back that arm a bit. He actually throws pretty accurately on the run and the space created horizontally on the field might give Kaepernick the chance he needs to get his legs going and run for a few first downs.
But that's an "if" and a big "if" at that. I'll recant for now on my "dicks" comment, but I'm not happy enough to put it away in a draw somewhere and forget about it forever.
I've also just realised that I've had a good old waffle about Kaepernick and it's probably time to move on to the next pick, which was third rounder Chris Culliver, cornerback/safety, from South Carolina. This helps to explain why this particular post has taken so long, as previously I hadn't seen a scrap of Culliver.
And I still haven't. Beg, borrow, steal, I cannot. So for all I know Culliver is a pro bowler in the making. Though to be honest I've snooped about and it seems most people had him rated as a 6-7th rounder prior to the draft, which is usually but not always a bad sign.
On then to round four and running back Kendall Hunter, from Oklahoma State. I'm a Hunter fan, I'll come right out and say it. He's just a plain fun back to watch. Short guy, but strong and fights hard on every play, which is my kind of running back. His agility is really good and his acceleration is excellent. He goes from dead stop to full speed in a flash.
That's the thing then that I'm most looking forward to with Hunter. His speed should be a good compliment and change of pace to the more bruising style of Frank Gore and Anthony "The Golden Mule" Dixon. He also makes a great receiver out of the backfield, with his physical skills taking over when he gets the ball in his hands. All things considered, as a fourth round pick I count him as a bargain.
In the fifth round the 49ers went with another guy I hadn't seen, Daniel Kilgore, offensive guard, from Appalachian State. Well, I say guard because that's what he's technically listed as now, but really he's a right tackle. Apparently the 49ers are planning to use him as a backup center or guard, but I'm not really sure how successful that will prove to be.
The trouble is that a guy with Kilgore's body type (re: a fat bastard like Kilgore) is really more cut out for working the end of the line as opposed to the inside. Guards are supposed to be nimble guys with nifty footwork who can step back from the line and pull on power plays etc, make double reads of linebackers versus 34 fronts, and just generally be a little more finesse orientated.
Kilgore is the opposite of finesse. He's a mound of fat and gristle, as tough as a pair of Vietnam jungle boots. He's the sort of person I can imagine wrestling a grizzly bear in the mountains of Canada or pulling a truck along with his teeth. He's a powerhouse. He may not have the fastest or most technical footwork with his kick slide, but if he gets his hands on you then there's only one place you're going, and that's wherever Kilgore decides he wants you to go.
Overall I say give him a chance at right tackle. God knows that O-line needs some help and Anthony Davis isn' t providing it. If it doesn't work then he can just spend the off season in Texas with Chad Ochocinco as a travelling double act touring the rodeos. Chad will ride the bulls for as long as he can, then Kilgore will come in and strangle them with his bare hands.
In the meantime it's on to round 6 and finally a player I've had a decent look at before, Ronald Jackson, wide receiver, USC. Jackson is another guy I like. Excellent route running I thought, including the adjustments he made to his routes. He's pretty tough and has good hands as well, so overall a nice package. I think he makes a good contrast to a guy like Crabtree and I always find that useful, to have two receivers who attack defense's in different ways. One to watch.
The 49ers picked again in the sixth round courtesy of an old trade with Seattle for Kentwan Balmer, and with this pick they took Colin Jones, safety, from TCU. Another one who I hadn't seen any tape of prior to the draft, so off I went once more.
And all I can say about Jones is this; somewhere, maybe on his iPod, maybe on his laptop I dunno, but somewhere Jones must have indecent pictures of his old Head Coach and possibly some of either Trent Baalke or Jim Harbaugh. Because that's the only way I can possibly see how he managed to get onto the field.
Now I accept that not everyone sees players the same way. I accept that attributes that one guy finds desirable are not so for someone else. People have certain types of quarterbacks, corners, defensive tackles etc that they're looking for. But seriously, Jones sucks. He just plain, outright stinks and I have no idea how anyone in their right mind can't see that.
He's timid, like a cat afraid of water. He's fine when it comes to chasing a running play from behind or sprinting after a defenseless quarterback, but he doesn't seem to have much appetite for any other contact. Add to that his general look during most pass plays of "What the hell is going on? Am I in a football game? What am I supposed to be doing?" and it really doesn't make good viewing.
I just can't understand how a guy like Jones makes it into the league when you look at the list of names of guys that went undrafted. You're seriously telling me that the 49ers didn't feel any of them was on the same level as Jones? Get the fuck outta here!
Anyway, onwards and upwards (I have to stop saying that) to round 7, where the 49ers had originally four picks, one of which was traded to Green Bay. The first of the seventh rounders was defensive end Bruce Miller, from Central Florida.
For some reason I covered Miller in my linebackers section when he should have gone in with the defensive linemen, but hey ho and away we go. To put it bluntly, not that I ever actually seem to sugar coat things, Miller is no more than average for his position. Primary among his problems is the fact that he's so slow off the snap. That's just asking to get yourself blocked. Which is what normally happens to Miller as it happens.
On then to the first of the compensatory selections and it's Mike Person, offensive guard, Montana State. Again, Person is another one of those players listed now as a guard but who was actually a tackle. And again, I hadn't seen a thing of Person prior to the draft. I'm beginning to wish I still hadn't.
Mike Person must be in cahoots with Colin Jones, because I shit you not ladies and gentlemen (Who am I kidding? Ladies?) Person is undoubtedly the single worst offensive tackle I have ever seen. He was just... just... I wish I could show you what I've seen.
If you wanted to make a lowlight reel to show people "This is how never to play offensive tackle. Ever," then it would just be a complete game tape of Mike Person. This guy is just indescribably bad. Balance is shocking. Footwork is terrible. Use of the hands is practically non existent. His mental awareness of the blocking schemes is terrible. Frankly I'm astounded that Montana State ever managed to score a single point with this guy on their O-line.
What's worse is this thought; if a team starts its best linemen at left tackle, what the hell must the backups on that team have looked like? It just doesn't bare thinking about. Honestly I'm still in shock. How in the hell does someone like Person end up in the NFL? There is someone on the 49ers scouting staff who needs to be out of a job.
For me personally the name Mike Person will forever more be associated with, and synonymous for - terrible. Puke inducing terrible.
Please God let 49ers final selection, cornerback Curtis Holcomb from Florida A&M, be good. Let him even just be ok. Or even poor. Just don't let him be Mike Person! Now as you've probably guessed, I hadn't seen Holcomb before the draft, which means that of all the teams in the NFL I'd safely say the 49ers, my own team, drafted the most number of players who I had never seen before.
Wait, what the fuck? Sorry, but I just noticed Mike Person received All-Big Sky Conference honors in 2011. How?
Anyway, back on schedule and Curtis Holcomb. Who I can confidently say... I still know nothing about, because I couldn't find a thing on the kid. Apparently Trent Baalke is quite high on him, largely because he was unknown and they think they dug out a diamond in the rough so to speak. As long as he's not Mike Person bad, I don't care.
So that then is you're 2011 San Francisco 49ers draft class. A mixed bag really. Some good, some bad. Some unknown. If you look at Kaepernick, he has potential. The 49ers have already said they'd like to bring in a veteran QB to start this year so Kaepernick can develop, which is probably for the best. Maybe in a year or two he'll be the guy. Patience is a virtue after all.
I love the pick of Aldon Smith and I also think the team made some good moves to bring in tools that eventually Kaepernick will get to play with such as Hunter and Johnson. That offense is slowly starting to shape together as one that can do the defense justice. All it needs is for Kaepernicks development to go relatively smoothly and then there is hope.
Maybe, just maybe, with an experienced veteran to guide the team they might make the playoffs this year, but sadly I'm not holding my breath. Seattle and St. Louis are both in stronger positions right now and have a better mix of options on both sides of the ball going into the 2011 season (if it ever gets going). The 49ers D is probably still the strongest individual unit, but the offense isn't in the right position to support it.
And we have Mike Person. Lord help us.
St. Louis is up next, then that's the NFC West done and it'll be off to the NFC North, who I think on paper might just have had the best draft as a division.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Keeping you Posted 05/24/11
The 49ers draft recap is on its way, but a significant number of the players I hadn't either seen before or seen enough of, so I've been very busy trying to get a good look at everyone before passing judgement. I've also tried to get another look at Colin Kaepernick. It'll be up in the next 25 hours though.
Why 25 and not 24?
1) Because that's how I roll,
2) Because I pressed the wrong key and was too lazy to delete it. Though in retrospect, if I had deleted it I wouldn't have had to type out this explanation.
Why 25 and not 24?
1) Because that's how I roll,
2) Because I pressed the wrong key and was too lazy to delete it. Though in retrospect, if I had deleted it I wouldn't have had to type out this explanation.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
2011 NFL Draft; Arizona Cardinals
I feel sorry for Cardinals fans.
Ok I'm lying, I don't. But if I wasn't a 49ers fan then I would feel sorry for Cardinals fans. From the big game in 2009 to the big slump in 2011. Last year the Cardinals sucked and to this day the only person who has the slightest idea how the Cardinals managed to win any games - let alone five of them - is God. And he ain't telling anyone.
The biggest issue was of course, Quarterback. After the giddy heights of Kurt Warner the Cardinals sank to the low ebb of Derek Anderson, a quarterback so bad even the Browns didn't want him. What they needed then was a half decent draft. It didn't even have to be the greatest in the world, just a pretty good draft to put them back on the road to success.
Picking up a new young QB was a desirable option. Arizona already had Max Hall, John Skelton and Richard Bartel, but none of those names really blows you away as an amazing young prospect. I saw more than a few comments around the interwebs from Cardinals fans hoping that their team would draft Ryan Mallett or Christian Ponder or etc. One nutjob even wanted them to get Cam Newton if he was still available.
As it turned out they were all to be sorely disappointed but at the same time elated, as their team used its number one pick (fifth overall) to select Patrick Peterson, cornerback, LSU.
I say they were elated because Peterson was hailed as the number one corner overall in the draft, so naturally that's a good thing. Except that personally I don't think Peterson is anything to write home about. He's ok, might even find a use as a nickel corner. Maybe make that a dime corner.
But as a first rounder? And the first corner taken off the board at that? No freaking way. I spent about five minutes watching the LSU Defense and thinking to myself "kid is ok, not bad", before I realised I was watching the wrong corner. Then I went back & watched through it again, and by the same point I was thinking "what the hell is so special about this kid?"
I just can't see anything that to me makes him a standout. He really isn't all that great. As a punt/kick returner, then yeah, I can definitely see the appeal. But as a pure corner I thought he was barely average. He often played too far off the man, close to what I would call "Sherman Loose". Sometimes that worked in his favour, as he was so far over the top of his man that an overthrown ball would provide the opportunity for an interception.
But really, is that how we're rating corners now? Because they occasionally have a pick thrown into their lap? I certainly saw nothing approaching what I would call NFL starting level play from a corner. I don't know where the Peterson hype came from, maybe the combine (where he did well), but surely not off the game tape? Or if it is then, shit, I got really unlucky multiple times with the games I saw.
But who knows? Everyone else seems to be creaming their pants over Peterson and hailing him as this pro bowl ready prospect who's going to excel at the next level, so I accept that I'm absolutely in the minority over this one. I just don't see it myself. I think he's going to be a flag drawing bust.
Onto round two and with the 38th pick overall the Cardinals took Ryan Williams, running back, Virginia Tech.
I like Williams. His vision is a bit so-so, but his power is really good and he plays with his pads down, running behind them not under them. In that sense he's quite like his fellow Arizona RB Chris "Beanie" Wells. Maybe Ken Whisenhunt is looking to build a power running game for the season ahead? Williams would fit that mold certainly. But don't be all consumed by the power side. When he hits the open field and has the room to get his legs going, Williams can really fire up the jets and move.
As indeed we will move - to round three - and with the 69th pick overall the Cardinals selected tight end Rob Housler, from Florida Atlantic.
Now the Cardinals could be in a tight spot regarding tight ends this year, as most of theirs are heading out the door into the occasionally lucrative world of free agency. So they needed someone like Housler. I just think they could have done better than Housler.
But it is what it is, and what it is, is (confused yet) an overall ok tight end. Hands are not bad. Route running is ok, if lacking a little in polish, especially at the "top" of the route. Housler's run blocking is a strong point and when taken in the light of the Williams pick, the lack of a decent QB and Coach Whisenhunts background with the Steelers, this might be part of a run-first grand master plan that is brewing in Arizona.
I know, I'm not convinced either.
In round four the Cardinals went with defensive end Sam Acho from Texas (Longhorns). In the NFL he'll likely play as a pass rushing outside linebacker and honestly I'm of two minds about Acho. What I've seen of him suggests to me that he will be nothing special. In fact, I suspect he'll be nothing more than a blip. But... one thing that has crossed my mind is that Acho seemed to be building himself up over time, getting better and better statistically as the seasons went by. Maybe Acho is just getting ready to break onto the big scene?
C'mon Cardinals fans, I'm trying to find the positives, I really am! Acho's gonna suck though. I'm sorry. I don't see it.
Round five saw the Cardinals dip into the running back pool again (more on this later) as they took Anthony Sherman, fullback from Connecticut. Sherman did well at the combine and certainly impressed me in the on field drills. On tape though? Ehhhh.... ok I'm just gonna come out and say it. A Fullbacks main job is, you know, lead blocking. Sherman's blocking sucks. He commonly comes charging in with his pads too high and just gets stood by the defender and driven back out of the hole. That's not good.
What the Sherman pick does help us with is to pretty much nod sagely and predict that the Cardinals are going to run the ball a lot more in 2011. Like, A LOT more. Still though, I'm not finished on this point which we'll pick up at the end.
Onto round six where the Cardinals had two picks. The first was Quan Sturdivant, inside linebacker from North Carolina.
Sturdivant is pretty strong which is obviously a useful trait for a linebacker. He sees stuff happening early and reacts quickly, showing good instincts against both the run and the pass. His coverage skills are good which is handy for a linebacker who will probably find himself dropping off to cover tight ends etc if he gets onto the field. His run defense needs a bit of work still, as he occasionally seems to come down quickly into a blob of players and then disappears beneath the ensuing pile. For where he was taken, not a bad pick.
The second of Arizona's sixth rounders was defensive end David Carter. I didn't get to see Carter prior to the draft but have since had a sit down with a nice big mug of coffee to watch him play, mainly as a defensive tackle. There are three things that I learnt during this moving picture adventure;
1) That Carter is incapable of tucking his shirt(s) in,
2) That he gets blocked very easily and lacks anything that might be discernable as technique or strength,
3) That Tesco value coffee is fucking horrible,
Though to be fair, I should have realised number 3 when I bought the stuff. They don't call it "value" coffee just for laughs. I was surprised about Carter though. My normal assumption about a player who I haven't yet seen is that if that some team picked him then he must have something of value to bring to the party, and must at least have something that made him appear better than the hundred or so legitimate prospects who were drafted after him or went undrafted.
I really, really - not in a million years - cant understand what in the hell anybody in the Cardinals organisation saw in Carter. All I saw was a guy who got stood up and turned sideways every time the ball was snapped. I mean he looked truly awful and how a team with legitimate needs, at quarterback and offensive line among other things, could blow a valuable pick on such a player is just beyond comprehension. It makes no sense.
Finally the Cardinals used their seventh round compensatory selection to take wide receiver DeMarco Sampson, from San Diego State. And perhaps mercifully after seeing their other picks, I cannot get a damn scrap on this kid, so maybe he's another Larry Fitzgerald in the making and he'll team up with the actual Larry Fitzgerald and thus save the Cardinals season.
Of course, that's being optimistic. Just slightly.
So what did I think of the Cardinals draft overall? I thought it sucked. I thought it sucked hard. And I'm left asking myself one simple question; how in the hell did people not rate that as a worse draft than the Seahawks?
Even if, unlike me, you didn't like the Seahawks draft, you still have to admit that this Cardinals draft was a pile of ass. It just.... sucks!
My main complaint is two fold. Number one, they didn't draft a quarterback. They had the opportunity to have the pick of the litter (excluding Newton) in the first round. Now even if they say they don't like any of those guys, what about Ryan Mallett who slid all the way to the Patriots in the third? Surely the Cardinals didn't hate him that much that they looked at him in the second and said "nope, not for us". Man alive.
My second complaint centers around the O-line. Or specifically the fact that the Cardinals wont have one in 2011 at this rate. They only have five O-linemen signed, none of whom is a legit center. Either the Cardinals are banking on bringing back a lot of guys, or they just feel really good about the free agent market. That's a hell of a risky hand to be playing.
I also don't get it in light of the investment in another running back and a fullback. Why, why in the name of God would you invest two picks in yet another running back when you already have three legitimate backs on your roster and have no O-line? Hell, you can go out and pick up a cheap back or two in free agency who can give you some service in a way that cheap O-line free agents generally can't. You even have one running back and two fullbacks as restricted free agents who aren't unlikely to go anywhere.
It makes no sense. None. Of all the players they could have picked, another running back and another fullback were just about their two least pressing needs. What about defensive tackle? I mean seriously, is David Carter the answer? You've got to be kidding me. What about the secondary? What about finding a decent young pass rusher?
This draft class sucks. It is absolutely hideous. From what I can recall just about the only draft that I hated worse than this was the Titans 2011 class. I remember the Raiders being pretty bad too. All I know is this, if I was handing out lettered grades this 2011 Cardinals class would get an "F" for "Fuck you Arizona for making our division look bad again, just as we were recovering a bit of Kudos".
I hate the Cardinals.
Ok I'm lying, I don't. But if I wasn't a 49ers fan then I would feel sorry for Cardinals fans. From the big game in 2009 to the big slump in 2011. Last year the Cardinals sucked and to this day the only person who has the slightest idea how the Cardinals managed to win any games - let alone five of them - is God. And he ain't telling anyone.
The biggest issue was of course, Quarterback. After the giddy heights of Kurt Warner the Cardinals sank to the low ebb of Derek Anderson, a quarterback so bad even the Browns didn't want him. What they needed then was a half decent draft. It didn't even have to be the greatest in the world, just a pretty good draft to put them back on the road to success.
Picking up a new young QB was a desirable option. Arizona already had Max Hall, John Skelton and Richard Bartel, but none of those names really blows you away as an amazing young prospect. I saw more than a few comments around the interwebs from Cardinals fans hoping that their team would draft Ryan Mallett or Christian Ponder or etc. One nutjob even wanted them to get Cam Newton if he was still available.
As it turned out they were all to be sorely disappointed but at the same time elated, as their team used its number one pick (fifth overall) to select Patrick Peterson, cornerback, LSU.
I say they were elated because Peterson was hailed as the number one corner overall in the draft, so naturally that's a good thing. Except that personally I don't think Peterson is anything to write home about. He's ok, might even find a use as a nickel corner. Maybe make that a dime corner.
But as a first rounder? And the first corner taken off the board at that? No freaking way. I spent about five minutes watching the LSU Defense and thinking to myself "kid is ok, not bad", before I realised I was watching the wrong corner. Then I went back & watched through it again, and by the same point I was thinking "what the hell is so special about this kid?"
I just can't see anything that to me makes him a standout. He really isn't all that great. As a punt/kick returner, then yeah, I can definitely see the appeal. But as a pure corner I thought he was barely average. He often played too far off the man, close to what I would call "Sherman Loose". Sometimes that worked in his favour, as he was so far over the top of his man that an overthrown ball would provide the opportunity for an interception.
But really, is that how we're rating corners now? Because they occasionally have a pick thrown into their lap? I certainly saw nothing approaching what I would call NFL starting level play from a corner. I don't know where the Peterson hype came from, maybe the combine (where he did well), but surely not off the game tape? Or if it is then, shit, I got really unlucky multiple times with the games I saw.
But who knows? Everyone else seems to be creaming their pants over Peterson and hailing him as this pro bowl ready prospect who's going to excel at the next level, so I accept that I'm absolutely in the minority over this one. I just don't see it myself. I think he's going to be a flag drawing bust.
Onto round two and with the 38th pick overall the Cardinals took Ryan Williams, running back, Virginia Tech.
I like Williams. His vision is a bit so-so, but his power is really good and he plays with his pads down, running behind them not under them. In that sense he's quite like his fellow Arizona RB Chris "Beanie" Wells. Maybe Ken Whisenhunt is looking to build a power running game for the season ahead? Williams would fit that mold certainly. But don't be all consumed by the power side. When he hits the open field and has the room to get his legs going, Williams can really fire up the jets and move.
As indeed we will move - to round three - and with the 69th pick overall the Cardinals selected tight end Rob Housler, from Florida Atlantic.
Now the Cardinals could be in a tight spot regarding tight ends this year, as most of theirs are heading out the door into the occasionally lucrative world of free agency. So they needed someone like Housler. I just think they could have done better than Housler.
But it is what it is, and what it is, is (confused yet) an overall ok tight end. Hands are not bad. Route running is ok, if lacking a little in polish, especially at the "top" of the route. Housler's run blocking is a strong point and when taken in the light of the Williams pick, the lack of a decent QB and Coach Whisenhunts background with the Steelers, this might be part of a run-first grand master plan that is brewing in Arizona.
I know, I'm not convinced either.
In round four the Cardinals went with defensive end Sam Acho from Texas (Longhorns). In the NFL he'll likely play as a pass rushing outside linebacker and honestly I'm of two minds about Acho. What I've seen of him suggests to me that he will be nothing special. In fact, I suspect he'll be nothing more than a blip. But... one thing that has crossed my mind is that Acho seemed to be building himself up over time, getting better and better statistically as the seasons went by. Maybe Acho is just getting ready to break onto the big scene?
C'mon Cardinals fans, I'm trying to find the positives, I really am! Acho's gonna suck though. I'm sorry. I don't see it.
Round five saw the Cardinals dip into the running back pool again (more on this later) as they took Anthony Sherman, fullback from Connecticut. Sherman did well at the combine and certainly impressed me in the on field drills. On tape though? Ehhhh.... ok I'm just gonna come out and say it. A Fullbacks main job is, you know, lead blocking. Sherman's blocking sucks. He commonly comes charging in with his pads too high and just gets stood by the defender and driven back out of the hole. That's not good.
What the Sherman pick does help us with is to pretty much nod sagely and predict that the Cardinals are going to run the ball a lot more in 2011. Like, A LOT more. Still though, I'm not finished on this point which we'll pick up at the end.
Onto round six where the Cardinals had two picks. The first was Quan Sturdivant, inside linebacker from North Carolina.
Sturdivant is pretty strong which is obviously a useful trait for a linebacker. He sees stuff happening early and reacts quickly, showing good instincts against both the run and the pass. His coverage skills are good which is handy for a linebacker who will probably find himself dropping off to cover tight ends etc if he gets onto the field. His run defense needs a bit of work still, as he occasionally seems to come down quickly into a blob of players and then disappears beneath the ensuing pile. For where he was taken, not a bad pick.
The second of Arizona's sixth rounders was defensive end David Carter. I didn't get to see Carter prior to the draft but have since had a sit down with a nice big mug of coffee to watch him play, mainly as a defensive tackle. There are three things that I learnt during this moving picture adventure;
1) That Carter is incapable of tucking his shirt(s) in,
2) That he gets blocked very easily and lacks anything that might be discernable as technique or strength,
3) That Tesco value coffee is fucking horrible,
Though to be fair, I should have realised number 3 when I bought the stuff. They don't call it "value" coffee just for laughs. I was surprised about Carter though. My normal assumption about a player who I haven't yet seen is that if that some team picked him then he must have something of value to bring to the party, and must at least have something that made him appear better than the hundred or so legitimate prospects who were drafted after him or went undrafted.
I really, really - not in a million years - cant understand what in the hell anybody in the Cardinals organisation saw in Carter. All I saw was a guy who got stood up and turned sideways every time the ball was snapped. I mean he looked truly awful and how a team with legitimate needs, at quarterback and offensive line among other things, could blow a valuable pick on such a player is just beyond comprehension. It makes no sense.
Finally the Cardinals used their seventh round compensatory selection to take wide receiver DeMarco Sampson, from San Diego State. And perhaps mercifully after seeing their other picks, I cannot get a damn scrap on this kid, so maybe he's another Larry Fitzgerald in the making and he'll team up with the actual Larry Fitzgerald and thus save the Cardinals season.
Of course, that's being optimistic. Just slightly.
So what did I think of the Cardinals draft overall? I thought it sucked. I thought it sucked hard. And I'm left asking myself one simple question; how in the hell did people not rate that as a worse draft than the Seahawks?
Even if, unlike me, you didn't like the Seahawks draft, you still have to admit that this Cardinals draft was a pile of ass. It just.... sucks!
My main complaint is two fold. Number one, they didn't draft a quarterback. They had the opportunity to have the pick of the litter (excluding Newton) in the first round. Now even if they say they don't like any of those guys, what about Ryan Mallett who slid all the way to the Patriots in the third? Surely the Cardinals didn't hate him that much that they looked at him in the second and said "nope, not for us". Man alive.
My second complaint centers around the O-line. Or specifically the fact that the Cardinals wont have one in 2011 at this rate. They only have five O-linemen signed, none of whom is a legit center. Either the Cardinals are banking on bringing back a lot of guys, or they just feel really good about the free agent market. That's a hell of a risky hand to be playing.
I also don't get it in light of the investment in another running back and a fullback. Why, why in the name of God would you invest two picks in yet another running back when you already have three legitimate backs on your roster and have no O-line? Hell, you can go out and pick up a cheap back or two in free agency who can give you some service in a way that cheap O-line free agents generally can't. You even have one running back and two fullbacks as restricted free agents who aren't unlikely to go anywhere.
It makes no sense. None. Of all the players they could have picked, another running back and another fullback were just about their two least pressing needs. What about defensive tackle? I mean seriously, is David Carter the answer? You've got to be kidding me. What about the secondary? What about finding a decent young pass rusher?
This draft class sucks. It is absolutely hideous. From what I can recall just about the only draft that I hated worse than this was the Titans 2011 class. I remember the Raiders being pretty bad too. All I know is this, if I was handing out lettered grades this 2011 Cardinals class would get an "F" for "Fuck you Arizona for making our division look bad again, just as we were recovering a bit of Kudos".
I hate the Cardinals.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
2011 NFL Draft: Seattle Seahawks
We've now reached the NFC West, home of my beloved 49ers. Whereas normally I try and do these things alphabetically, except of course when I did the first division, the NFC South, and accidentally ended up doing the Saints before I did the Panthers (I hate the Panthers), this time I'm going to deliberately skip Arizona and San Francisco, instead jumping straight in with the Seattle Seahawks.
The reason for this is because the Seahawks have taken a ton of flak for their draft, which overall I personally thought wasn't that bad. Some of the players I hadn't seen prior to the draft being made, but the ones I had I was impressed with. There are some good players in there, though I suspect much of the scorn was directed at their first round choice of James Carpenter from Alabama, who of the ones I hadn't had a good look at prior to the draft.
So I went back and finally did get a good look at him, their first round pick and 25th overall. So was he any good?
Hell yes he was! I honestly don't get why everyone is crying about Carpenter. Does he occasionally make mistakes? Yes he does. But guess what? So does Tom Brady. So does Peyton Manning. So did Joe Montana back in his day. So did Ronnie Lott, probably one of the greatest football players in the history of the NFL.
Nobody is perfect, so instead what we're looking for is a relatively consistent level of performance across a broad spectrum of plays. And that's exactly what you get with James Carpenter. You get a left tackle who barely put a foot wrong in pass protection and was very strong in the running game as well.
He gets great knee bend, has great leverage when he's blocking, uses his hands well and can cope with a variety of rush moves, including bull rushes and speed off the edge. He moves his feet well and sticks with his block for as long as legally possible. In the run game he cuts well, but really shines when he takes an angle and uses power on a D-linemen.
If I had one knock on him then it would be that sometimes he can get confused by overload blitzes, where he ends up picking up the wrong guy. But that isn't always true of those situations and in general his vision is really good.
So why is everyone getting all pent up over Carpenter? He may not have been the highest rated player on some peoples boards, but that's their boards and not the Seahawks. I didn't have this guy on my radar really going into the draft, but now that I've had a chance to kick back and watch a decent amount of his game tape I'm impressed.
I can easily see how a linemen like Carpenter would creep up someones board. And don't give me all that "but so and so analyst had him rated as a late second rounder". Well good for them, but two things; 1) Seattle didn't have a late second rounder, 2) if Seattle feels he's a first rounder, which I can agree with, then there's no reason why they shouldn't take him just because other people don't like him.
I go back to the whole Cam Newton thing again. I hate Newton as a quarterback. I think he's gonna suck. But that's my opinion, my board. If the Panthers thought he was the number one guy then I can understand why they would take him. I just can't understand what they see in him. But hey ho.
So yeah, I think the Seahawks actually did pretty well with their first rounder and God knows this team needs O-line help. They now have two young first round tackles to build their future O-line around & to protect their QB, so in the long run that's a really good starting point.
But without a second round pick in 2011 it became all the more important for the Seahawks to find the right guy in the third round. In keeping (the chains moving. Sorry) with their theme of working on O-line, they went with Guard John Moffitt from Wisconsin. I really like this pick, not just because I like Moffitt, but also because of the joined up way they're going about rebuilding their O-line. Having taken two tackles in two years, it made sense to go looking for a good interior linemen as well.
And believe me, Moffitt has the skills for that. Moffitt is strong and consistently demonstrated good technique throughout, especially the use of his hands. Footwork was good, in particular when run blocking. He has a real talent for getting inside the playside shoulder of the D-linemen and then flipping his hips into the hole and turning the defender out. Vision and awareness was also good, picking up blitzes and line stunts. I really like Moffitt and think that he'll be a great asset to that O-line.
Next, in round four, was linebacker K.J. Wright from Mississippi State, another player who I didn't get a look at prior to the draft. I've since had a look and I'm of a mixed opinion. Wright is quick and he seems to be pretty alert mentally to what's going on around him. He tackles really well and tracks well across the field, always taking good angles.
But.
The but is that he isn't very strong. You could clearly see that he didn't have the strength to fight his was through blocks at the college level. That's fine, providing you don't want him to do anything more strenuous than consume a block in order to allow a second rusher to come free. But if you're looking for a legitimate pass rush then Wright is not your man.
He also doesn't stand up to run blocks very well. He's just doesn't seem to have the size and strength to take people on. Even wide receivers look like they might be a handful for him. It's a shame really, because he looks like a very committed player, flying around the field and desperately trying to get stuck in wherever he can. He might have a future as a pass defending, weak side type of kid, but I just can't see him lasting as a legitimate linebacker in the NFL. Sorry.
The Seahawks picked again in round four, courtesy of the earlier trade with Detroit that saw them give up their second rounder for a third and a fourth (the third was used on Moffitt, with their original 3rd rounder given up in the Charlie Whitehurst trade last year). This fourth round pick was used on Kris Durham, the wide receiver from Georgia. Conveniently this was another player I hadn't seen, so it was off to do a bit more watchy, watchy. I think I'm watching more football now in a lockout than I did during the bloody season.
Anyway, what's Durham like? Well it doesn't help when you're on the same team as A.J. Green, let's put it that way. The trouble I have is that Durham really didn't get enough throws his way for me to be able to talk reliably about his hands. The passes that I did see come his way were caught, providing the pass was "catchable". You can't really blame the receiver when the ball is so high and behind them that they can barely get their finger tips to it.
The upside is that I got to see Durham running a lot of routes and also got a healthy look at him blocking, both of which he does really well. He doesn't appear to be bursting with speed, but his route running is pretty crisp and he has the technique to overcome tight coverage. His blocking on screen passes and run plays is also good. He's one of those kids who doesn't really have the raw strength to be muscling people around, but does so anyway because of how committed he is to the block and because he dives right in there.
I came away with a really good impression of him, which is good news for the Seahawks because they need more quality receivers.
Onto the fifth round and again the Seahawks are picking twice thanks to their trade with Detroit. Their first pick, 154th overall was actually the original Lions pick, and with it Seattle took cornerback Richard Sherman. Who I hadn't seen. So off I go again. Where's that Standford tape?
Oh my god that was hideous!! Ok, I'll give the critics this one. Sherman sucks. He plays the run almost as bad as Antonio Cromartie. But normally you can get away with that as a corner by providing quality pass coverage (it worked for Deion Sanders at least). Unfortunately Sherman doesn't do that. There is such a thing as loose coverage, but then there appears to be "Sherman Loose". In fact it's so loose it's likes he's not even on the field.
Come the end of training camp and time to make cuts, that might just be a literal statement.
Seattle's second pick in round five is one of my absolute favourites of the whole draft; Mark LeGree, safety, from Appalachian State. I love this kid, absolutely love him. Everything you see on game day is impressive, and importantly for me he brought that same high standard game after game.
Quick as lightning on the field, has amazing vision of what's going on around him (routes etc) and has great instincts for sniffing out plays. A truly great all round defensive player, I think he's going to be a solid hit in the NFL. Sitting back there alongside Earl Thomas, I can see those two causing people all kinds of nightmares. Really impressive.
On to round six and the Seahawks landed corner Byron Maxwell from Clemson. another good player to help boost that secondary, Maxwell is a tough, physical corner, which is right up my street. He closes quickly on the ball when it goes airborne and he has pretty good instincts to boot. Round six was a good place for him to land and maybe given a year or two he'll develop into an excellent corner.
Seventh round now and the Seahawks used their standard pick (they also had a compensatory selection) to bring in Lazarius Levingston, defensive tackle, LSU. And guess what? That's right. Back to the tape...
.... Annnnd he spent half the time on the bench and the other half doing nothing worthy of note. For such a big guy he has a worrying knack of becoming invisible.
Final pick for the Seahawks, their compensatory selection which they used to take Malcolm Smith, Linebacker from USC. As a seventh round pick I don't see how you can really argue with taking Malcolm Smith. He's a tough kid and despite his size he showed some nice speed in the open field, especially running back interceptions and fumbles.
The thing I like most about Smith though is his patience against the run. What I mean by that is that he sits back, sort of lingering on the five yard line while moving laterally across the field, tracking the running back as he comes up to the line. What this allows him to do is to avoid getting blocked up easily in the initial stages of a run play and instead he can follow the ball carrier to the hole and then meet him to make the stop.
This isn't such a desirable trait for 4-3 linebackers, who usually have one gap that they have to protect and so really just need to steam in and fill it, but for a 3-4 inside linebacker this is a really useful skill to have. In such a scheme, the defensive line are expected to occupy blocks and play a two gap scheme, leaving the linebackers largely free to move around and make plays. That's where someone like Smith comes in. With the freedom to track along the line and then stuff the running back for just a 2 or 3 yard gain, I can see Smith becoming a great asset to the Seahawks.
That then is your 2011 Seattle Seahawks draft class. And like I said, I really don't think it's that bad. a couple of misses in my opinion, but even then no team is expected to hit with all its picks. About a 60% success ratio is usually a pretty good rating and I personally think the Seahawks have achieved that with this class.
It'll be interesting to see where they go in free agency and to see if they try and hold on to Matt Hasselbeck or whether they just roll with Charlie Whitehurst. Either way I think the Seahawks have made some good moves here in the draft, especially helping to boost that O-line. If they can get the running backs that they picked up last year into the season healthy, then I think they have the makings of strong running game.
The defensive side has also taken a lift. Hopefully now with guys like LeGree, Maxwell and Smith they'll start to bring together the collection of good players that they have on defense and start building a regular winning unit. They have definitely made themselves even more competitive in the NFC West and I think now they might start to bring some surprises to teams on the road.
2011 could well be another great season for Seattle and its Bill-Walsh-A-Like Head Coach Pete Carroll.
Next up, the Arizona Cardinals. But just before I disappear I want to draw your attention to the new Videos section at NFL.com. I'm not sure how long it's been like this now because I haven't been over there in ages, but I dropped in because I wanted to see the clip of Chad Ochocinco "riding" a bull.
Now I thought NFL.com's video section was bad before. Now it's just plain ridiculous. It's an absolute, unintuitive joke. Even with some of the recent shitty updates YouTube looks like a model of efficient and well thought out design by comparison. It is just freaking awful.
I'd love to know who's in charge of all the video stuff on NFL.com, because if Roger Goodell ever bothers to check it out one day then he's going to be after that guys butt with a firey poker quicker than you can say "YOUR VIDEO SECTION SUCKS!!!"
Ahem. Now it's that time of the month/season/cycle/whatever where I shamelessly beg for people to share my website with as many people as they humanly can. C'mon! How hard is it to drop a link on your facebook page? There could be literally 200 of your friends just dying to read a witty, in depth, well thought out and illuminating blog about football.
And in the mean time they could be filling the void by reading mine.
The reason for this is because the Seahawks have taken a ton of flak for their draft, which overall I personally thought wasn't that bad. Some of the players I hadn't seen prior to the draft being made, but the ones I had I was impressed with. There are some good players in there, though I suspect much of the scorn was directed at their first round choice of James Carpenter from Alabama, who of the ones I hadn't had a good look at prior to the draft.
So I went back and finally did get a good look at him, their first round pick and 25th overall. So was he any good?
Hell yes he was! I honestly don't get why everyone is crying about Carpenter. Does he occasionally make mistakes? Yes he does. But guess what? So does Tom Brady. So does Peyton Manning. So did Joe Montana back in his day. So did Ronnie Lott, probably one of the greatest football players in the history of the NFL.
Nobody is perfect, so instead what we're looking for is a relatively consistent level of performance across a broad spectrum of plays. And that's exactly what you get with James Carpenter. You get a left tackle who barely put a foot wrong in pass protection and was very strong in the running game as well.
He gets great knee bend, has great leverage when he's blocking, uses his hands well and can cope with a variety of rush moves, including bull rushes and speed off the edge. He moves his feet well and sticks with his block for as long as legally possible. In the run game he cuts well, but really shines when he takes an angle and uses power on a D-linemen.
If I had one knock on him then it would be that sometimes he can get confused by overload blitzes, where he ends up picking up the wrong guy. But that isn't always true of those situations and in general his vision is really good.
So why is everyone getting all pent up over Carpenter? He may not have been the highest rated player on some peoples boards, but that's their boards and not the Seahawks. I didn't have this guy on my radar really going into the draft, but now that I've had a chance to kick back and watch a decent amount of his game tape I'm impressed.
I can easily see how a linemen like Carpenter would creep up someones board. And don't give me all that "but so and so analyst had him rated as a late second rounder". Well good for them, but two things; 1) Seattle didn't have a late second rounder, 2) if Seattle feels he's a first rounder, which I can agree with, then there's no reason why they shouldn't take him just because other people don't like him.
I go back to the whole Cam Newton thing again. I hate Newton as a quarterback. I think he's gonna suck. But that's my opinion, my board. If the Panthers thought he was the number one guy then I can understand why they would take him. I just can't understand what they see in him. But hey ho.
So yeah, I think the Seahawks actually did pretty well with their first rounder and God knows this team needs O-line help. They now have two young first round tackles to build their future O-line around & to protect their QB, so in the long run that's a really good starting point.
But without a second round pick in 2011 it became all the more important for the Seahawks to find the right guy in the third round. In keeping (the chains moving. Sorry) with their theme of working on O-line, they went with Guard John Moffitt from Wisconsin. I really like this pick, not just because I like Moffitt, but also because of the joined up way they're going about rebuilding their O-line. Having taken two tackles in two years, it made sense to go looking for a good interior linemen as well.
And believe me, Moffitt has the skills for that. Moffitt is strong and consistently demonstrated good technique throughout, especially the use of his hands. Footwork was good, in particular when run blocking. He has a real talent for getting inside the playside shoulder of the D-linemen and then flipping his hips into the hole and turning the defender out. Vision and awareness was also good, picking up blitzes and line stunts. I really like Moffitt and think that he'll be a great asset to that O-line.
Next, in round four, was linebacker K.J. Wright from Mississippi State, another player who I didn't get a look at prior to the draft. I've since had a look and I'm of a mixed opinion. Wright is quick and he seems to be pretty alert mentally to what's going on around him. He tackles really well and tracks well across the field, always taking good angles.
But.
The but is that he isn't very strong. You could clearly see that he didn't have the strength to fight his was through blocks at the college level. That's fine, providing you don't want him to do anything more strenuous than consume a block in order to allow a second rusher to come free. But if you're looking for a legitimate pass rush then Wright is not your man.
He also doesn't stand up to run blocks very well. He's just doesn't seem to have the size and strength to take people on. Even wide receivers look like they might be a handful for him. It's a shame really, because he looks like a very committed player, flying around the field and desperately trying to get stuck in wherever he can. He might have a future as a pass defending, weak side type of kid, but I just can't see him lasting as a legitimate linebacker in the NFL. Sorry.
The Seahawks picked again in round four, courtesy of the earlier trade with Detroit that saw them give up their second rounder for a third and a fourth (the third was used on Moffitt, with their original 3rd rounder given up in the Charlie Whitehurst trade last year). This fourth round pick was used on Kris Durham, the wide receiver from Georgia. Conveniently this was another player I hadn't seen, so it was off to do a bit more watchy, watchy. I think I'm watching more football now in a lockout than I did during the bloody season.
Anyway, what's Durham like? Well it doesn't help when you're on the same team as A.J. Green, let's put it that way. The trouble I have is that Durham really didn't get enough throws his way for me to be able to talk reliably about his hands. The passes that I did see come his way were caught, providing the pass was "catchable". You can't really blame the receiver when the ball is so high and behind them that they can barely get their finger tips to it.
The upside is that I got to see Durham running a lot of routes and also got a healthy look at him blocking, both of which he does really well. He doesn't appear to be bursting with speed, but his route running is pretty crisp and he has the technique to overcome tight coverage. His blocking on screen passes and run plays is also good. He's one of those kids who doesn't really have the raw strength to be muscling people around, but does so anyway because of how committed he is to the block and because he dives right in there.
I came away with a really good impression of him, which is good news for the Seahawks because they need more quality receivers.
Onto the fifth round and again the Seahawks are picking twice thanks to their trade with Detroit. Their first pick, 154th overall was actually the original Lions pick, and with it Seattle took cornerback Richard Sherman. Who I hadn't seen. So off I go again. Where's that Standford tape?
Oh my god that was hideous!! Ok, I'll give the critics this one. Sherman sucks. He plays the run almost as bad as Antonio Cromartie. But normally you can get away with that as a corner by providing quality pass coverage (it worked for Deion Sanders at least). Unfortunately Sherman doesn't do that. There is such a thing as loose coverage, but then there appears to be "Sherman Loose". In fact it's so loose it's likes he's not even on the field.
Come the end of training camp and time to make cuts, that might just be a literal statement.
Seattle's second pick in round five is one of my absolute favourites of the whole draft; Mark LeGree, safety, from Appalachian State. I love this kid, absolutely love him. Everything you see on game day is impressive, and importantly for me he brought that same high standard game after game.
Quick as lightning on the field, has amazing vision of what's going on around him (routes etc) and has great instincts for sniffing out plays. A truly great all round defensive player, I think he's going to be a solid hit in the NFL. Sitting back there alongside Earl Thomas, I can see those two causing people all kinds of nightmares. Really impressive.
On to round six and the Seahawks landed corner Byron Maxwell from Clemson. another good player to help boost that secondary, Maxwell is a tough, physical corner, which is right up my street. He closes quickly on the ball when it goes airborne and he has pretty good instincts to boot. Round six was a good place for him to land and maybe given a year or two he'll develop into an excellent corner.
Seventh round now and the Seahawks used their standard pick (they also had a compensatory selection) to bring in Lazarius Levingston, defensive tackle, LSU. And guess what? That's right. Back to the tape...
.... Annnnd he spent half the time on the bench and the other half doing nothing worthy of note. For such a big guy he has a worrying knack of becoming invisible.
Final pick for the Seahawks, their compensatory selection which they used to take Malcolm Smith, Linebacker from USC. As a seventh round pick I don't see how you can really argue with taking Malcolm Smith. He's a tough kid and despite his size he showed some nice speed in the open field, especially running back interceptions and fumbles.
The thing I like most about Smith though is his patience against the run. What I mean by that is that he sits back, sort of lingering on the five yard line while moving laterally across the field, tracking the running back as he comes up to the line. What this allows him to do is to avoid getting blocked up easily in the initial stages of a run play and instead he can follow the ball carrier to the hole and then meet him to make the stop.
This isn't such a desirable trait for 4-3 linebackers, who usually have one gap that they have to protect and so really just need to steam in and fill it, but for a 3-4 inside linebacker this is a really useful skill to have. In such a scheme, the defensive line are expected to occupy blocks and play a two gap scheme, leaving the linebackers largely free to move around and make plays. That's where someone like Smith comes in. With the freedom to track along the line and then stuff the running back for just a 2 or 3 yard gain, I can see Smith becoming a great asset to the Seahawks.
That then is your 2011 Seattle Seahawks draft class. And like I said, I really don't think it's that bad. a couple of misses in my opinion, but even then no team is expected to hit with all its picks. About a 60% success ratio is usually a pretty good rating and I personally think the Seahawks have achieved that with this class.
It'll be interesting to see where they go in free agency and to see if they try and hold on to Matt Hasselbeck or whether they just roll with Charlie Whitehurst. Either way I think the Seahawks have made some good moves here in the draft, especially helping to boost that O-line. If they can get the running backs that they picked up last year into the season healthy, then I think they have the makings of strong running game.
The defensive side has also taken a lift. Hopefully now with guys like LeGree, Maxwell and Smith they'll start to bring together the collection of good players that they have on defense and start building a regular winning unit. They have definitely made themselves even more competitive in the NFC West and I think now they might start to bring some surprises to teams on the road.
2011 could well be another great season for Seattle and its Bill-Walsh-A-Like Head Coach Pete Carroll.
Next up, the Arizona Cardinals. But just before I disappear I want to draw your attention to the new Videos section at NFL.com. I'm not sure how long it's been like this now because I haven't been over there in ages, but I dropped in because I wanted to see the clip of Chad Ochocinco "riding" a bull.
Now I thought NFL.com's video section was bad before. Now it's just plain ridiculous. It's an absolute, unintuitive joke. Even with some of the recent shitty updates YouTube looks like a model of efficient and well thought out design by comparison. It is just freaking awful.
I'd love to know who's in charge of all the video stuff on NFL.com, because if Roger Goodell ever bothers to check it out one day then he's going to be after that guys butt with a firey poker quicker than you can say "YOUR VIDEO SECTION SUCKS!!!"
Ahem. Now it's that time of the month/season/cycle/whatever where I shamelessly beg for people to share my website with as many people as they humanly can. C'mon! How hard is it to drop a link on your facebook page? There could be literally 200 of your friends just dying to read a witty, in depth, well thought out and illuminating blog about football.
And in the mean time they could be filling the void by reading mine.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Deal or No Deal?
The answer could be right around the corner.
The court of Appeals for the Eight circuit has granted the NFL a temporary stay on the lockout. A final, definitive ruling will come on June 3rd when the full appeal is heard. But judging (haha) by the ruling today and the wording of it, it looks likely that the Lockout will be kept in force and the Judge Susan Nelsons "enjoining of the lockout" (ending of it to you and me) will be over turned.
That's bad news for the players. That means the league can sit out the season while the main case takes its course and the players will start losing game checks. Those at the bottom end of the pay scale will start cracking and soon those at the top end will be forced to give in. Of course, it could end even sooner.
The players and the league are back in mediation under the supervision of a magistrate who has asked the league to come up with a deal to be offered to the players tomorrow (Tuesday, May 17th). There is a lot of speculation as to what that deal might look like.
It might be the same deal they offered back in March, just before the Union decertified. If you remember, that deal was described by DeMaurice Smith as "the worst deal in sports history". Well, it might just start looking pretty special to the players all of a sudden. The league could of course pitch a new deal, either better or worse than the one offered in March.
If they don't take that whatever is offered and instead chose to wait and see what happens on June 3rd, they could find themselves in a bad spot. If the Court of Appeals rules in the leagues favour, then expect the NFL to start offering increasingly worse deals. They would have all the momentum in their favour and the players would be staring at a lot of missing game checks.
This might only be a small thing for now and there is every chance that the Court of Appeals could find in the players favour, but don't count on it. I personally think this whole issue just swung dramatically in the owners favour.
Maybe I'm being optimistic, but by this time tomorrow we could have a new CBA. That would mean a beginning of Free agency. And it would mean my carefully laid plans for my draft series would be flushed down the crapper.
Ah well. If nothing changes then expect my review of the Seahawks draft class sometime in the next few days, most likely Wednesday or Thursday.
The court of Appeals for the Eight circuit has granted the NFL a temporary stay on the lockout. A final, definitive ruling will come on June 3rd when the full appeal is heard. But judging (haha) by the ruling today and the wording of it, it looks likely that the Lockout will be kept in force and the Judge Susan Nelsons "enjoining of the lockout" (ending of it to you and me) will be over turned.
That's bad news for the players. That means the league can sit out the season while the main case takes its course and the players will start losing game checks. Those at the bottom end of the pay scale will start cracking and soon those at the top end will be forced to give in. Of course, it could end even sooner.
The players and the league are back in mediation under the supervision of a magistrate who has asked the league to come up with a deal to be offered to the players tomorrow (Tuesday, May 17th). There is a lot of speculation as to what that deal might look like.
It might be the same deal they offered back in March, just before the Union decertified. If you remember, that deal was described by DeMaurice Smith as "the worst deal in sports history". Well, it might just start looking pretty special to the players all of a sudden. The league could of course pitch a new deal, either better or worse than the one offered in March.
If they don't take that whatever is offered and instead chose to wait and see what happens on June 3rd, they could find themselves in a bad spot. If the Court of Appeals rules in the leagues favour, then expect the NFL to start offering increasingly worse deals. They would have all the momentum in their favour and the players would be staring at a lot of missing game checks.
This might only be a small thing for now and there is every chance that the Court of Appeals could find in the players favour, but don't count on it. I personally think this whole issue just swung dramatically in the owners favour.
Maybe I'm being optimistic, but by this time tomorrow we could have a new CBA. That would mean a beginning of Free agency. And it would mean my carefully laid plans for my draft series would be flushed down the crapper.
Ah well. If nothing changes then expect my review of the Seahawks draft class sometime in the next few days, most likely Wednesday or Thursday.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
2011 NFL Draft: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
So finally we round out the NFC South, by looking at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa did ok with last years lot and with free agency, so I was expecting (perhaps unfairly) big things from Tampa this year. I think they lived up to the reputation.
It all begins in round one with Adrian Clayborn. I love this kid, I really do. I think it was a great pick, especially at 20th overall. Great value. Clayborn is a seriously talented Defensive End who could finally help the Buccaneers get the pass rush that they need to start taking advantage of what is an increasingly talented young team.
Probably Clayborn's greatest attribute is that of block destruction. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's unblockable, but he does have a real talent for using his hands to get unstuck. In particular he is very adept at fending off cut blocks while keeping his eyes up and in the backfield.
If I had one knock on Clayborn it's that his speed isn't great, but I think he makes up for that with his other skills, like his awareness against the run. If he finds himself on the backside he does a great job of sticking to the hip of the last blocker and making sure he plays his proper run contain assignment. Now there are a lot of pros who struggle with that, so I always find it impressive in a rookie.
It's a core skill for defensive ends and it gives you an insight into his maturity. See, my experience has been that players don't do the fundamental things unless you ram them home. If you want a DE to play backside contain, you have to relentlessly tell him and show him. If he does it, it means he actually listens. All too often it's too tempting for a young player in that position to crash down the line and go chasing for the highlight reel play.
Seeing him playing his run responsibility pitch perfect is impressive. When you couple that with the way he plays the run as it comes towards him, keeping his shoulders square to the line and tracking the running back across the field while fending off blocks, it tells me that Clayborn already has a very solid base of skills to work from and will listen to his coaches to learn everything he can.
When you consider all that, it makes Clayborn a tantalising prospect. My hope is that the Buccaneers will put Gerald McCoy on one side as a DE - a position he had some success with last season - then insert Clayborn opposite him. With those two coming off the edges and causing havoc, that could push the Buccaneers defense to a level it hasn't reached since the days of Warren Sapp.
Of course there's still the chance that the Buccaneers will want to keep McCoy at defensive tackle and that's made more likely by their second round pick; Da'Quan Bowers.
Bowers, a defensive end from Clemson, fell into the Buccaneers lap at number 51 overall. It was something of a miracle that he made it this far down, but then that's what knee surgeries in the off season can do to a kids draft stock. The risk with knee surgery is that you never know how it's going to pan out. It might get better and the player returns to normal, as we saw with Wes Welker in 2010. Or it can go decidedly down hill and the player never fully recovers their speed and agility.
The Buccaneers have taken a gamble, but a calculated one.
Bowers is a mixed bag if I'm honest. He plays pretty smart and seems to have a good grasp of everything going on around him. He sniffs out reverses well and has the speed and determination to pursue plays from the backside.
But generally speaking if you can get your hands on him then Bowers gets locked up. And that is quite an issue for a defensive end. If you can't beat the blocks, how are you supposed to get to the QB? My overall impression then of Bowers was that he often seemed to luck out.
If you don't block him on the blitz then he has the speed to get through, but you're kind of relying on the generosity of other people for that which isn't exactly a recipe for success. This problem is compounded by the fact that the Buccaneers are a 4-3 team who aren't going to be regularly calling on linebackers to bring pressure, confusing or tying up the blockers.
Left to face an offensive tackle one on one, I'm not sure if Bowers has the technical ability to make things happen for himself. I just see him getting wadded up on the outside and not really being able to be of much use. And I'm not even talking sacks. I can't even see Bowers bringing much in the way of QB pressure.
Onwards and upwards then, into round 3 and the 84th pick overall, linebacker Mason Foster. Not a lot to say here really. Foster is a pretty good tackler, but his pass coverage is a definite weak point. That's problematic not just because he's a linebacker in a 4-3, but because the Buc's play a fair amount of "Tampa 2" coverage, which means their linebackers are needed to drop back and fill zones over the middle. That might expose Foster I feel.
Round four saw the Buccaneers take tight end Luke Stocker. An understudy to Kellen Winslow II it would seem. Stocker isn't very quick, but he is strong and has good balance, both of which aid good run blocking. He has good hands which is always a plus, and even though he's not all that fast his strength allows him to fight for extra yards. Not a bad pick in the fourth round.
In round five the Buccaneers went with Florida safety Ahmad Black. Black is a good tackler, who reads the plays really well. His range is pretty good and he breaks on the ball well, playing it well in the air. The Buccaneers made progress at the safety spot in 2010, but the addition of Black gives them that extra boost.
In round six it was running back Allen Bradford from Southern California. Bradford is very much in the same mold as LaGarrette Blount. He's big and strong, but also has a surprising turn of speed in the open field. His agility is also pretty impressive. That's a bonus because it makes him a legitimate second back to Blount, where he'll bring many of the same skills which should help his coaches blend him into their scheme without having to make special dispensations on his account.
In round seven the Buccaneers had two picks, courtesy of a compensatory selection. The first of these they used was on Florida international cornerback Anthony Gaitor. Now I warn you that I'm a confirmed fan now of Anthony Gaitor, so expect this to be glowing to the extreme.
Gaitor had a fast 40 time at his pro day, but I'm always a little wary of 40's in general and especially at pro days. On the field, Gaitor can sometimes look a little sluggish in pads, but don't let that fool you. Gaitors play and route recognition are absolutely superb. He's a great tackler and he plays the ball really well in the air.
Now I had a suspicion he would fall this low and I also mentioned in my cornerbacks post that I feel Gaitors late round evaluation is a huge mistake that shows everything that is wrong with scouting. For my money, I think Gaitor dropped because of where he played (at Florida International). If he was playing for a bigger college, he would have been much higher ranked.
The film is there. You can clearly see that Gaitor is a quality corner. He displays all of the skills that you would expect and also has safety potential in there. He easily looked better on game day than guys like Amukamara and Peterson. His intelligence and vision are plainly superior, yet he ends up in the seventh round.
I don't get it?
Lastly was Daniel Hardy, the tight end from Idaho. I first came across Hardy while looking at Nathan Enderle. Hardy has good hands and great route running technique. Speed is good, if not exceptional. In particular, Hardy seems to thrive in the rough and tumble world of catching over the middle. I really like Hardy. Is he an elite guy at the next level, like a Vernon Davis? I'm not sure. But I can see him on the same level as guys like Hernandez and Gronkowski in New England.
So that's it, the entire Buc's draft class done. Personally I think they had a pretty good draft. Clayborn to start was a great pick. Then came Bowers. I might not be a big fan of him, but the Buccaneers obviously are and importantly they got great value out of him because he was a projected first rounder who dropped to them in the second.
Mason Foster is another question mark for me, but other than that it's all good. The two tight ends they acquired have a lot of promise I feel. They got another good young back to share the workload with Blount and I think they really hit a home run with their selections of Black and Gaitor.
I like what the Buccaneers have done here for their defense. They've improved the defensive line and the secondary all in one go. Perhaps they didn't need two tight ends, but I can live with it because of the development potential there and because it's more weapons for Josh Freeman. An extra wide receiver would have been a nice addition, but the Buc's should do well regardless.
2011 is starting to shape up nicely for the Buc's. They'll be looking to reap the fruit of last years impressive rookie class, mixed with this one. On the basis of what I've seen, I think we'll all have to keep an eye on Tampa Bay this year.
It all begins in round one with Adrian Clayborn. I love this kid, I really do. I think it was a great pick, especially at 20th overall. Great value. Clayborn is a seriously talented Defensive End who could finally help the Buccaneers get the pass rush that they need to start taking advantage of what is an increasingly talented young team.
Probably Clayborn's greatest attribute is that of block destruction. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's unblockable, but he does have a real talent for using his hands to get unstuck. In particular he is very adept at fending off cut blocks while keeping his eyes up and in the backfield.
If I had one knock on Clayborn it's that his speed isn't great, but I think he makes up for that with his other skills, like his awareness against the run. If he finds himself on the backside he does a great job of sticking to the hip of the last blocker and making sure he plays his proper run contain assignment. Now there are a lot of pros who struggle with that, so I always find it impressive in a rookie.
It's a core skill for defensive ends and it gives you an insight into his maturity. See, my experience has been that players don't do the fundamental things unless you ram them home. If you want a DE to play backside contain, you have to relentlessly tell him and show him. If he does it, it means he actually listens. All too often it's too tempting for a young player in that position to crash down the line and go chasing for the highlight reel play.
Seeing him playing his run responsibility pitch perfect is impressive. When you couple that with the way he plays the run as it comes towards him, keeping his shoulders square to the line and tracking the running back across the field while fending off blocks, it tells me that Clayborn already has a very solid base of skills to work from and will listen to his coaches to learn everything he can.
When you consider all that, it makes Clayborn a tantalising prospect. My hope is that the Buccaneers will put Gerald McCoy on one side as a DE - a position he had some success with last season - then insert Clayborn opposite him. With those two coming off the edges and causing havoc, that could push the Buccaneers defense to a level it hasn't reached since the days of Warren Sapp.
Of course there's still the chance that the Buccaneers will want to keep McCoy at defensive tackle and that's made more likely by their second round pick; Da'Quan Bowers.
Bowers, a defensive end from Clemson, fell into the Buccaneers lap at number 51 overall. It was something of a miracle that he made it this far down, but then that's what knee surgeries in the off season can do to a kids draft stock. The risk with knee surgery is that you never know how it's going to pan out. It might get better and the player returns to normal, as we saw with Wes Welker in 2010. Or it can go decidedly down hill and the player never fully recovers their speed and agility.
The Buccaneers have taken a gamble, but a calculated one.
Bowers is a mixed bag if I'm honest. He plays pretty smart and seems to have a good grasp of everything going on around him. He sniffs out reverses well and has the speed and determination to pursue plays from the backside.
But generally speaking if you can get your hands on him then Bowers gets locked up. And that is quite an issue for a defensive end. If you can't beat the blocks, how are you supposed to get to the QB? My overall impression then of Bowers was that he often seemed to luck out.
If you don't block him on the blitz then he has the speed to get through, but you're kind of relying on the generosity of other people for that which isn't exactly a recipe for success. This problem is compounded by the fact that the Buccaneers are a 4-3 team who aren't going to be regularly calling on linebackers to bring pressure, confusing or tying up the blockers.
Left to face an offensive tackle one on one, I'm not sure if Bowers has the technical ability to make things happen for himself. I just see him getting wadded up on the outside and not really being able to be of much use. And I'm not even talking sacks. I can't even see Bowers bringing much in the way of QB pressure.
Onwards and upwards then, into round 3 and the 84th pick overall, linebacker Mason Foster. Not a lot to say here really. Foster is a pretty good tackler, but his pass coverage is a definite weak point. That's problematic not just because he's a linebacker in a 4-3, but because the Buc's play a fair amount of "Tampa 2" coverage, which means their linebackers are needed to drop back and fill zones over the middle. That might expose Foster I feel.
Round four saw the Buccaneers take tight end Luke Stocker. An understudy to Kellen Winslow II it would seem. Stocker isn't very quick, but he is strong and has good balance, both of which aid good run blocking. He has good hands which is always a plus, and even though he's not all that fast his strength allows him to fight for extra yards. Not a bad pick in the fourth round.
In round five the Buccaneers went with Florida safety Ahmad Black. Black is a good tackler, who reads the plays really well. His range is pretty good and he breaks on the ball well, playing it well in the air. The Buccaneers made progress at the safety spot in 2010, but the addition of Black gives them that extra boost.
In round six it was running back Allen Bradford from Southern California. Bradford is very much in the same mold as LaGarrette Blount. He's big and strong, but also has a surprising turn of speed in the open field. His agility is also pretty impressive. That's a bonus because it makes him a legitimate second back to Blount, where he'll bring many of the same skills which should help his coaches blend him into their scheme without having to make special dispensations on his account.
In round seven the Buccaneers had two picks, courtesy of a compensatory selection. The first of these they used was on Florida international cornerback Anthony Gaitor. Now I warn you that I'm a confirmed fan now of Anthony Gaitor, so expect this to be glowing to the extreme.
Gaitor had a fast 40 time at his pro day, but I'm always a little wary of 40's in general and especially at pro days. On the field, Gaitor can sometimes look a little sluggish in pads, but don't let that fool you. Gaitors play and route recognition are absolutely superb. He's a great tackler and he plays the ball really well in the air.
Now I had a suspicion he would fall this low and I also mentioned in my cornerbacks post that I feel Gaitors late round evaluation is a huge mistake that shows everything that is wrong with scouting. For my money, I think Gaitor dropped because of where he played (at Florida International). If he was playing for a bigger college, he would have been much higher ranked.
The film is there. You can clearly see that Gaitor is a quality corner. He displays all of the skills that you would expect and also has safety potential in there. He easily looked better on game day than guys like Amukamara and Peterson. His intelligence and vision are plainly superior, yet he ends up in the seventh round.
I don't get it?
Lastly was Daniel Hardy, the tight end from Idaho. I first came across Hardy while looking at Nathan Enderle. Hardy has good hands and great route running technique. Speed is good, if not exceptional. In particular, Hardy seems to thrive in the rough and tumble world of catching over the middle. I really like Hardy. Is he an elite guy at the next level, like a Vernon Davis? I'm not sure. But I can see him on the same level as guys like Hernandez and Gronkowski in New England.
So that's it, the entire Buc's draft class done. Personally I think they had a pretty good draft. Clayborn to start was a great pick. Then came Bowers. I might not be a big fan of him, but the Buccaneers obviously are and importantly they got great value out of him because he was a projected first rounder who dropped to them in the second.
Mason Foster is another question mark for me, but other than that it's all good. The two tight ends they acquired have a lot of promise I feel. They got another good young back to share the workload with Blount and I think they really hit a home run with their selections of Black and Gaitor.
I like what the Buccaneers have done here for their defense. They've improved the defensive line and the secondary all in one go. Perhaps they didn't need two tight ends, but I can live with it because of the development potential there and because it's more weapons for Josh Freeman. An extra wide receiver would have been a nice addition, but the Buc's should do well regardless.
2011 is starting to shape up nicely for the Buc's. They'll be looking to reap the fruit of last years impressive rookie class, mixed with this one. On the basis of what I've seen, I think we'll all have to keep an eye on Tampa Bay this year.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Keeping you posted; 05/14/11
Well Google gave me my Panthers post back. How gracious of them.
Work has begun on the Buccaneers post, but it's unlikely I'll finish it today/tonight. Expect it in the next 24-48 hours. After that I'll be moving on to the NFC West, because I want to tackle the issue about the Seahawks draft.
Work has begun on the Buccaneers post, but it's unlikely I'll finish it today/tonight. Expect it in the next 24-48 hours. After that I'll be moving on to the NFC West, because I want to tackle the issue about the Seahawks draft.
Friday, May 13, 2011
I hate blogger
I don't fucking believe it.
I wrote an article on the Panthers draft class.... which has now disappeared.
Last night Blogger were doing some kind of maintenance thing and now my Panthers post has gone. Looking around at some other sites on Blogger, I've noticed they've "lost" posts as well.
Typical. I hate Blogger. Fucking ass clowns.
For those that missed it, I'm not writing the whole thing out again. With any luck blogger will recover it of their own accord. Suffice to say the Panthers had a shit draft.
I wrote an article on the Panthers draft class.... which has now disappeared.
Last night Blogger were doing some kind of maintenance thing and now my Panthers post has gone. Looking around at some other sites on Blogger, I've noticed they've "lost" posts as well.
Typical. I hate Blogger. Fucking ass clowns.
For those that missed it, I'm not writing the whole thing out again. With any luck blogger will recover it of their own accord. Suffice to say the Panthers had a shit draft.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)