Sunday Football Fever

I guess the Falcons really like Matt Ryan.  Today he signed a six-year, $72 million contract — $34.75 guaranteed!

While I think it’s a bit excessive for someone yet to take a snap in the NFL, I’m glad they came to an agreement now.  I’ve seen a lot of QBs ruin their rookie seasons (and often their entire career) by holding out.

Let’s hope he’s worth the money…

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Tags: atlanta falcons, matt ryan

Here’s the 35 best undrafted free agents, according to Fox Sports.

That’s a pretty spectacular list.  It includes 2 of my Alabama boys (DJ Hall and Wallace Gilberry) and one of the key defenders for the champion LSU Tigers (Ali Highsmith).

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Tags: alabam crimson tide, ali highsmith, dj hall, lsu tigers, wallace gilberry

1st round picks I liked:

Dolphins – Jake Long - He’s a great left tackle and will anchor that line for years to come. He’s a great building block for them.

Oakland – Darren McFadden -He’s a great weapon for Jamarcus Russell to utilize. He’s big and fast; he can run you over or run right past you. It makes sense that the Raiders would take an offensive player, given the tons of money they spent on defense in free agency.

NY Jets – Vernon Gholston - He’s a great defensive end and will immediately improve the Jets defense. He’s a monster pass rusher.

New England – Jerrod Mayo - They needed some youth at LB, given that all their starters from last year are over 30.

Dallas – Felix Jones - This makes the Dallas offense ridiculous. Barber and Jones in the backfield is scary (not to mention Jones as a returner). Dallas now has more than enough offense to win a play-off game. It’ll be up to the defense not to screw it up.

Pittsburgh – Rashard Mendenhall – He’s a great fit for the Steelers. He can pound that ball on the inside and will be a great change of pace from Willie Parker.

Dallas – Mike Jenkins - Jenkins gives them a great CB tandem with Terrance Newman on the opposite side. They are putting together the defensive firepower to match the offense.

1st round picks I didn’t like:

St. Louis – Chris Long - Don’t get me wrong, Long is a great player, but given how quickly that offense has aged, they really could have used an OL or a WR. They would have had to trade back to pick either of those, but more picks is never a bad thing.

Buffalo – Leodis McKelvin -Not the best CB in the draft. Given that none had been selected by #11, I’m surprised they didn’t go for one of the better CB’s, like Mike Jenkins.

Carolina – Jonathan Stewart -Stewart s a great runner, but they don’t need a great runner. They need OL help to create holes for their RB’s.

Chicago – Chris Williams -One the one hand, they need line help. But on the other hand, Cedric Benson is terrible and Mendenhall would have been a great fit in Chicago. At least now Grossman will have more time to make poor throws and bad decisions.

Arizona – Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – A great CB, but Arizona already has a solid D. They could have picked up Mendenhall with this pick to replace the washed up Edgerrin James.

Baltimore – Joe Flacco -Not to bash small schools, but I don’t think Delaware has remotely prepared Flacco for the speed and talent in the NFL. A more NFL ready QB like Brian Brohm would have been a better choice, especially this late in round 1. Baltimore will continue to struggle at the QB position.

Filed under: NFL Draft | 2 Comments

Tags: arizona cardinals, baltimore ravens, brian brohm, buffalo bills, carolina panthers, cedric benson, chicago bears, chris long, chris williams, dallas cowboys, darren mcfadden, dominique rodgers-cromartie, edgerrin james, felix jones, jake long, jamarcus russell, jerrod mayo, joe flacco, jonathan stewart, leodis mckelvin, marion barber, miami dolphins, mike jenkins, new england, new york jets, oakland raiders, pittsburgh steelers, rashard mendenhall, rex grossman, saint louis rams, terrance newman, vernon gholston, willie parker

Instead of boring you with full blown draft analysis, I’m only going to concentrate on the Falcons. Because that’s the only NFL team I really care about. Plus, you can get total draft analysis at ESPN, SI, etc.

With the 3rd pick in the draft, the Falcons selected QB Matt Ryan. I’m torn on this pick. On the one hand, he reminds a lot of Ryan Leaf, in that he had one really good year and is suddenly the top QB in the draft. Plus, it’s really hard to pass up Glenn Dorsey. Imagine a line featuring Jamaal Anderson, Glenn Dorsey and John Abrahm. That would be an immediate improvement for the Falcons D. But, on the other hand, if things go well for the Falcons this year, they won’t be drafting at #3 in the next draft and there really aren’t any franchise type QB’s coming out next year (at least not yet). So they had to take Ryan because you just can’t win with Joey Harrington, DJ Shockley and Chris Redman as your QB. I just hope that they don’t rush Ryan into service. It’s going to take several years to rebuild the Falcons, so they should give Ryan plenty of time to adjust and not throw him right into the fire.

The Falcons traded up into the last half of the 1st round to make thier second pick, OT Sam Baker. They needed a lineman badly. It would have been great if they could have traded up a little higher and taken Otah or Williams, but Baker will be solid. His stock dropped a bit due to an injury this past season. So the Falcons at least got some value at that pick. And you really can’t understate how badly the Falcons needed a good OL.

The next two picks filled needs for the team: ILB Curtis Lofton and CB Chevis Jackson. Outside of Keith Brooking and Micahel Boley, the Falcons don’t have any play-makers at LB. Lofton should give them some depth and playmaking. Lofton will be one of the CB’s used to replace DeAngelo Hall. He’s solid, but not spectacular. He’ll likely be used in Nickel and Dime situations to start.

Harry Douglas adds depth to the WR corp. He’s going to be more of a possession receiver and you’ll likely see him going across the middle as opposed to stretching the field. Thomas Decoud (safety), Robert James (OLB), Kroy Biermann (OLB), and Wilrey Fontenot (CB) all add depth to a depleted defense.

Thomas Brown adds depth at the RB position. He may get a few carries but will start the season no better than 3rd on the depth chart. Keith Zinger will join the rest of the Falcons TE’s in the unenviable task of making the fans forget the production that Alge Crumpler provided.

Overall, I think the Falcons did well in the draft. Again, it will take years to get the Falcons back to legitimate play-off contender, but the draft has me excited about the prospects of this team.

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Tags: alge crumpler, atlanta falcons, chevis jackson, chris redman, chris williams, curtis lofton, deangelo hall, dj shockley, espn, glenn dorsey, harry douglas, jamaal anderson, jeff otah, joey harrington, john abrahm, keith zinger, kroy biermann, matt ryan, NFL Draft, robert james, ryan leaf, sam baker, si, thomas brown, thomas decoud, wilrey fontenot

Rumor has it that the Falcons have received offers for he 3rd pick in the draft.

Should they trade the pick?  It’s hard to say.  On the one hand, there is no one player in this draft that will make enough of a difference for the Falcons to put them in the play-offs or to even contend for the play-offs.  So adding more picks will allow them to shore up multiple positions.

On the other hand a guy like Glen Dorsey or Chris Long could be the center piece of your defense and a franchise player for years to come.  So can you pass up on that type of talent?

I say the Falcons should keep the pick.  They’ve already got 11 picks total in this draft, so they’ll have the opportunity to add depth at multiple spots. They need to take one of the guys who could be a franchise type player with the #3 pick.

That being said, I’m hoping they pick Dorsey.  We need a defensive tackle and he was dominate in the SEC for 3 straight years – even when he was injured and double teamed.  You can’t pass up a tackle like Dorsey.  My fear is that they will take Matt Ryan.  Now I don’t have anything taking a QB with the #3 pick, but Ryan scares me.  He reminds me a lot of Ryan Leaf – he’s parlayed one good year in college into being a top 5 pick in the draft.  I think if you are going to draft a QB that high, he’d better have more than one year of success.  I want a proven track record.  And for me, one successful year doesn’t make you a “proven” QB.

The Falcons need Dorsey.  Use one of the second round picks (or package a couple of them together and trade up into the late first round) and draft Brian Brohm.  That immediately improves your team at 2 positions.  Plus, it saves you money.

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Tags: atlanta falcons, brian brohm, chris long, glen dorsey, matt ryan, NFL Draft, ryan leaf

With the first pick in the 2008 draft, a few days early, the Miami Dolphins have selected Jake Long.  He’s already got a contract and is good to go.  There was speculation that they’d choose someone else, but they claim Jake was their man the whole time.

I can’t remember a time in recent history when a player was already signed before the draft even began.  When was the last?

I felt kind of bad for Jake last season.  He came back for his senior season to help lead a senior-heavy Michigan team to the national title.  Of course, we all know what happened in their first game of the season against App State…

This should work out well for both sides.  Jake got a fat contract (5 years / $57.75 million) and the Dolphins have filled one of their many holes.

Filed under: NFL Draft | 1 Comment

Tags: jake long, miami dolphins, michigan wolverines

The media is making entirely too much of Jeff Ireland’s slip of the tongue.

Media members and pundits seem to think that now the Dolphins have narrowed their choice to Vernon Gholston, Chris Long or Glen Dorsey. imagine that, the Dolphins have narrowed their list to the same 3 guys who have been the consensus best players in the draft. Why make a big deal about this?

You also have to consider that Ireland purposely “let it slip” that they were targeting a defensive player. That news could trigger better trade offers from teams panicking that “their player” might not be on the board when they pick.

What it comes down to is that the Dolphins are likely going to pick one of the defensive players, since their defense is getting older and breaking down more. Does Ireland’s goof tell us anything more or different from what we already assumed?

Filed under: NFL Draft | 1 Comment

Tags: chris long, glen dorsey, jeff ireland, miami dolphins, NFL Draft, vernon gholston

NFL.com has put together a list of the 10 biggest steals in NFL draft history. They don’t specify if the list goes from 1-10 or 10-1, but here it is:

• Tom Brady – 6th round – 2000
• Joe Montana – 3rd round – 1979
• Terrell Davis – 6th round – 1995
• Deacon Jones – 14th round – 1961
• Dan Marino – 1st round – 1983
• Bo Jackson – 7th round – 1987
• Shannon Sharpe – 7th round – 1990
• Ray Guy – 1st round – 1973
• Larry Wilson – 7th round – 1960
• Roger Staubach – 10th round – 1964

The Bo Jackson entry is a bit shady, since he was the first overall pick the year before and simply didn’t sign a contract. Otherwise, it seems pretty solid.

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Tags: bo jackson, dan marino, deacon jones, joe montana, larry wilson, NFL Draft, ray guy, roger staubach, shannon sharpe, terrell davis, tom brady