2017 NFL Mock Draft

The word around the horn is that there has never been this much uncertainty surrounding a draft in a long, long time. It is mostly because the 49ers are a total wild card sitting at the second pick. If they stay at two, they have so many needs that they really could take anyone. However, they are more likely to trade out of the pick, but who will move up? Will it be for a quarterback? Top defensive player? Or one of the top running backs?


ROUND 1
1. Cleveland Browns: Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M

There is a lot of quarterback talk around this pick, but I really see no scenario in which the Browns pass on Garrett. He is the best player in the draft and plays a premier position (pass rusher). You simply don't pass on these types of players.

2. TRADE ALERT: Carolina Panthers (from San Francisco 49ers): Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

Cam Newton is coming off his worst season as a pro and shoulder surgery. They need to protect him from taking a beating, especially in the red zone. In a weak offensive line class, the best way to do that is get a big, dynamic power running back. Everyone is mocking Christian McCaffrey to them with the eighth pick, but this is the team that gave Mike Tolbert a $10 million deal, aka they like power runners. The 49ers want out of this pick bad and I think the Panthers don't give up all that much to get here.

2015 NFL Mock Draft

New location, same drama.

Well here we are again, one day before the draft. The perfect, and only time, it makes sense to draw up a mock draft. Sorry for trying to ride the coattails of Mike Mayock (who also waits until 24 hours before the draft to release his mock draft), but I like the way the guy thinks.

This should be one of the more interest drafts in recent memory. There is so much depth at the top of this draft that teams could go in so many different directions. So many players who were once thought to be top 10 picks are falling fast, and could even fall out of the first round entirely.

Here is my best guess at what might happen tomorrow.

Best and Worst Picks of Day 1

What a Day 1! Tons of trades, lots of intrigue. The top quarterbacks went off the board, but a lot later than most had expected. Receivers and defensive backs flew off the shelves like hot cakes.

Here is my breakdown of the best and worst picks of the day:


BEST:

1. The Browns making moves like stock brokers.
Say what you want about the way the Browns strangely moved around the board, but they clearly got the two players that they wanted and still netted the Bills' first round pick in 2015 (which we all can assume will be a very high pick). That is a major haul for a team with a lot of needs, but maybe not as many as people think. Brian Hoyer will get every opportunity to start in 2014 and allow Johnny Manziel to develop. This team is looking for a quicker turn around than most expect.

2. In two years, the Vikings added five first round players.
They netted an extra pick to move down one spot with their first pick pick to still land the only remaining elite pass rusher in this draft, Anthony Barr (that's pretty sad considering it was only the ninth pick). Then at the end of the night, they took the Seahawks' pick and the last pick of the night to steal Teddy Bridgewater away from the Texans, who most likely would have taken him with the first pick tomorrow night. In a passing league, they added a guy to hit the quarterback and a franchise caliber quarterback only one year after adding a receiver, a corner, and a pass rushing defensive tackle. That's a lot of firepower.

2014 NFL Mock Draft ACE Style

Well it is less than 24 hours before the 2014 NFL draft. This is the time when people should start making mock drafts, not February. Either way, here are my thoughts on where the top 32 rookies will land.

Jadeveon Clowney will be the first overall pick, but
what team will have the pick when the card is turned in?

1. TEXANS: DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

The Texans might not make this pick with both the Falcons and Bills rumored to be interested in securing Clowney, but the defensive end will be the first pick in this draft. There are simply too many questions surrounding the quarterbacks to pass on an athletic freak like Clowney. It might not be the right pick for whatever team takes him, but he will be the pick.

2. RAMS: OT Greg Robinson, Auburn

St. Louis is waiting around for Sam Bradford to become a franchise quarterback and their stable of wide receivers to turn into playmakers, so they will pass on both positions and take the best tackle in the draft to attempt to help Bradford stay heathy (good luck). This draft is very top heavy when it comes to offensive tackles so the Rams will not wait until the 13th overall pick to address the issue.

3. JAGUARS: WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson

With MJD in Oakland and Justin Blackmon suspended indefinitely, the Jags are in desperate need of offensive playmakers. Watkins might be the best player in this draft when everything is all said and done, and he will immediately make whatever quarterback the Jags start better on day one of 2014.

4. BROWNS: QB Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

The signings of Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen were a sign of just how desperate the Browns organization is to simply find bodies to add to their quarterback room. The Browns have the best offensive tackle in football and the second best receiver in the league, so I'd be shocked if they took one of the tackles to play on the right side or reached for Mike Evans at this point. Khalil Mack will get a long look, but they took Barkevious Mingo with the sixth overall pick in last year's draft and paid over $40 million to Paul Kruger last season, so I have a hard time believing they would spend a top five pick on a player they wouldn't play all three downs. Manziel might not be the polished passer you want in a top 10 quarterback, but he has all the skills you need to be an elite quarterback and gives the Browns some optimism for their franchise.

Free Agency Breakdown 2014

Well it sure has been quiet some time since I have written anything about football, but truthfully I did not want to get caught up in the hype of offseason madness that always gets overblown. I have been waiting for the big chips to fall before I made any sort of reaction on how each team came out.

Here are my thoughts on the winners and loser of the 2014 Free Agency thus far:

WINNERS:

Guards might not be the sexiest human beings,
but Matt Slauson and Eben Britton were a big
reason the Bears offense made a jump in 2013.

Chicago Bears: There was not a team in the NFL that did a better job of addressing their biggest needs in free agency. The Bears' offense was fantastic in 2013. They managed to keep guards Matt Slauson and Eben Britton with low level contracts for at least 2014 and signed Jay Cutler to a mega deal to keep him in Chicago for the rest of his career, hopefully.

Their defense was a total mess and they jumped right out of the gate to lock up defensive tackle Lamarr Houston, who is one of the more underrated interior linemen in the NFL. They also resigned Jay Ratliff to further strengthen that interior. Even if he is never the player he once was with the Cowboys, he is at worst a solid rotational lineman, which is still very valuable. After cutting ties with Julius Peppers to save an astronomical amount of cap space, they signed Jared Allen to replace Peppers and Willie Young to be a rotational lineman on the outside.

All in all, they kept their offense in check and they massively upgraded their biggest need in the middle of their defense. With some young linebackers hopefully making progress, these defense could take a big step forward. Look out for the Bears in 2014.

Tampa Bay Bucaneers: Alterraun Verner and Michael Johnson might not be household names for the average NFL fan, but they are young players who have yet to play their best football. Verner is undersized, but he plays bigger than he is. He was one of the best corners in football last year and his physical play matches what new coach Lovie Smith likes out of his corners. Johnson is an athletic freak at 6'7 and I am sure reminds Lovie of a young Julius Peppers. They do not make many human beings like Johnson and he should be the pass rusher that the Bucs' have sorely needed since the Jon Gruden era.

Darrelle Revis: A Buc Killer

The Bucs have landed another playmaker in the back end of
their defense, but is Darrelle Revis worth his new contract?

The Bucs may have managed to give up less than the Jets wanted to acquire Revis, but it is his new hefty contract that could cause a lot of headaches in years to come. People will say that this is a great contract for the Bucs, but I think otherwise. Paying $16 million dollars a year for a corner back is ludicrous. Even if Revis is back to 100%, this is too much money for any defensive player. The NFL is a league in which you need a quarterback to win, and since winning quarterbacks cost around $17-20 million to retain, that does not leave much money for the other 52 players on the roster.

I strongly believe that Revis is the most dominant defensive player in the league, but with the majority of teams running some form of the spread offense, shutting down one offensive player does not have the effect that it used to. Teams will still be able to throw away from Revis, like they did for years playing against a once dominant Nnamdi Asomugha in Oakland.

Technically, there is no guaranteed money in Revis’ new contract, but since the Bucs gave up two high picks for him, there is almost no situation in which he is not on the team for the next two seasons, even if he is plagued by injuries and/or inconsistency. In that case, there is almost an assumed guaranteed $32 million. After those first two years, the Bucs will then still be paying a 30 year old player $16 million a season if they want him to stay on the team. 

Is Joe Flacco Elite?

Joe Flacco got rid of his moronic mustache and
then won a Super Bowl. Coincident, I think not.

The short answer, no. Now here is the long answer.

This will be a question that rages on all offseason long. With Flacco's contract up, he will certain want to be paid like he is elite after one of the most impressive runs by a quarterback in playoff history. However, I do not think it would be wise for any team to pay him with the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and I truly doubt the Ravens will make that mistake.

The conversation on Flacco's worth might rage on for another year or more because it is likely that the two sides do not find any common ground in their contract negotiations and Flacco gets the Franchise Tag for one more season before he is handed the elite money he desires.

Back to the question at hand. Let's start with what it means to be an elite quarterback. To be an elite quarterback, you must be the unquestioned leader of your team, you must be able to win by putting your team on your back, and you must make the players around you better. Has Flacco done all of that through the last four playoffs games? Absolutely. However, to be considered elite, you must do all of those things consistently. Four games, no matter how important those four games are, should not quiet the questions about Flacco's wild inconsistencies that he has shown throughout his career.

TOP 32 QBS FOR 2012

I love to do this every year because there is so much turnover from year to year. Players fall off the map (Donovan McNabb) and new faces jump into the mix (two players who have yet to even play a snap in the NFL). There are a lot of differing opinions when talking about quarterbacks but here is my list of guys who I would want leading my franchise in 2012 if I had to take them just for one season.

1. Aaron Rodgers (Last year: 3): If you could design the perfect quarterback, it would be Aaron Rodgers. He has a huge arm, he can accurately throw the ball anywhere on the field, and he is a threat to run the ball at any time. Rodgers is so good that despite going 15-1 and having the most impressive regular season of any quarterback ever, he is extremely disappointed with himself because he came up short in the playoffs. Look for him to be even more focused in 2012 on winning a championship. He could be the best quarterback the league has ever seen if he can continue to play anywhere near the same level as he has been the last two years.
2. Tom Brady (Last year: 1): Brady might be the best quarterback the NFL has ever seen, but Rodgers edges him out barely because of his superior athleticism. No one makes mediocre players look like Hall of Famers like Brady does. And most importantly, he still wins a ton of games in both the regular season and the playoffs.
3. Drew Brees (Last year: 4): Brees shattered Dan Marino’s passing record last season and people barely noticed thanks to Rodgers’ season. Brees always finds a way to improvise when a play breaks down and makes something out of nothing. He is helped by a great system and a lot of role players who fill specific needs, but do not underestimate how good this guy is. The Saints need to pay him whatever number he is asking and be happy they have a quarterback who will single handedly win them 10 games a year. 
4. Eli Manning (Last year: 9): People thought I was giving Eli favoritism when I ranked him at 9^th last year. Little did we know that 9^th was way too low for this guy. Eli carried his team to yet another Super Bowl in which they were an underdog in almost every playoff game. There is not a quarterback in the league who was more clutch when his team needed him most, but he needs to be more consistent before he jumps into the top three.
5. Ben Roethlisberger (Last year: 6): Big Ben continues to develop as a quarterback and is getting better every year. His size and his arm strength make him almost impossible to game plan around. He can break three tackles in the pocket and then throw up a perfect deep pass to one of his many speed receivers. He gives the Steelers the chance to score on every play. Again, more importantly, he wins a ton of games every year.

BEST MOVES OF THE 2012 NFL DRAFT

There were an incredible amount of trades in this year’s NFL Draft, some of them good, some of them not so good. I will stay positive for now and go over my favorite moves of last weekend’s draft.

The Redskins mortgage their future to get Robert Griffin III:

Robert Griffin III has been compared to Hall
of Fame quarterback Steve Young, but he
has a long road to get to that elite level.

The expression goes, “You can never give up too much to get a franchise quarterback.” Griffin has a lot of work to do in order to become a franchise quarterback, but he has all the skills, and more, to become one of the top quarterbacks in this league. He also has the benefit of a solid defense and an owner who spent a ton of money in free agency to get some offensive weapons to surround him with.

It may take longer than most people think for Griffin to get up to speed in the NFL, since people are already talking about a Cam Newton-esque rookie campaign. Let’s not forget how rare it is to see that type of a performance from a rookie signal caller. Expectations need to be tempered a bit for 2012, but I have very little doubt that Griffin will have a long and successful career.

With Morris Claiborne falling to the sixth pick, the Cowboys make a bold move to land the corner they coveted all along:

People are questioning this move simply because it is the Cowboys making this move. If Bill Belichick traded up with both of his first rounds pick, people would be saying it was the move of the draft to land possibly the best defensive player of this rookie class. Let’s not forget how incredibly talented Claiborne is and how badly the Cowboys needed to improve their defensive backfield after another disappointing season.

No one is happier than Rob Ryan about the Cowboys' move to
land Morris Claiborne. Maybe he will have less to be angry
about in 2012 thanks to a much improved defensive backfield.

Rob Ryan’s defense needs cover corners just to be able to function. We saw that last season when his defense gave up huge play after huge play, causing them to miss the playoffs yet again. The Cowboys gave a large contract to Brandon Carr in free agency, but even Jerry Jones admitted that they over paid him because corner was such a glaring need for his team. That is not much of a ringing endorsement from your owner, so they were clearly looking to add more talent at the position.

While giving up a valuable second round pick to get Claiborne is a heavy price, Claiborne has the potential to be a shutdown corner in this league for a long time. I am pretty sure the Jets do not regret trading up to grab Darrelle Revis in the first round. I do not think the Cowboys will be disappointed either.

BIGGEST SURPRISES OF DAY 1

Wow was Round 1 an absolute mess or what? There was a record setting nine trades in this first round (two of which came before the draft even started). I knew a lot of trades were coming this year, but I did not expect anything like this. However, it was not the trades or even the players teams traded up to get that surprised me. Let’s go over the most baffling topics from Day 1 of the 2012 NFL Draft.

The Seahawks draft Bruce Irvin with the 15^th overall pick:

Can Bruce Irvin put his past behind him and find a way to
be as productive in the NFL as he was at West Virginia?

Besides the sheer amount of trades on Day 1, this might have been the biggest surprise tonight. Irvin had been considered by many as possibly the best pure pass rusher in the draft, but at 240 pounds, no one really knew what position he would play at the next level. Irvin is not a three down player since he is questionable against the run and in coverage, so it will be hard for him to become a full time starter (not what you want to hear about a top 15 pick).

Most had considered Irvin a second or third round pick because of a ton of character concerns (he spent two weeks in jail for breaking into a drug dealer’s house), so taking him in the first half of Round 1 made little to no sense. Pete Carroll did something similar last season in over drafting two offensive linemen, so I guess I should not be so surprised.

Irvin will be used in a similar role as Defensive Rookie of the Year Von Miller in Denver, but I cannot see him having even close to the type of season Miller had last year, or even being on the field as often as Miller was due to his limitations. This is the type of bold move that tends to get coaches fired. Luckily for Carroll, he is good friends with the Seahawks’ owner so he has a long leash. However, that leash might get tested this season if Carroll’s picks don’t start panning out.

The Titans get offensive with Kendall Wright:

Drafting Kendall Wright seemed like a bit of a stretch at 20,
but maybe the Titans realized that to stay competitive in
this pass happy league, they needed to stock pile weapons.

This is a team that lost a ton of talent on defense in free agency. With so many great defensive line prospects left on the board, it was shocking to see them take an undersized speed receiver. Kenny Britt is recovering from an injury, but when healthy, he is an explosive big receiver. Nate Washington had a good year filling in for Britt and is a speed receiver similar to Wright. Even third year player Damian Williams showed potential as a slot receiver and has the ability to be a decent number two receiver.

So why would they add a receiver when they have so many other needs? Some will say that Wright has added value because he can return kickoffs and punts. However, Marc Mariani fills that role for the Titans and even went to the Pro Bowl as a returner in his rookie season (2010). So that does not add much value for the Titans.

Even if the Titans are afraid Britt will not fully recover from his injury, Wright does not add much of a new dimension to the offense because of his similarities to Washington. Why not trade down and get a big receiver like Stephen Hill if you wanted to add a receiver?

Michael Irvin called this pick right before the draft started, so maybe there is more going on in Tennessee than I cannot see. However, this was one of the picks that really stood out to me.

The free fall of offensive lineman:

Tackles Matt Kalil and Riley Reiff were the top two
offensive lineman taken in the draft, yet somehow almost
20 picks separated the two of them on draft day. Why?

After Matt Kalil got snapped up by the Vikings with the fourth overall pick, we did not see an offensive lineman come off the board until 23 to the Lions. Riley Reiff was considered a top ten pick, but fell to the Lions at 23. David DeCastro was waiting there for the Steelers at 24 despite being considered one of the best guard prospects in years. Jonathan Martin, Cordy Glenn, Mike Adams, and Peter Konz were all considered to be first round talent, yet none of them heard their names called on Day 1.

With the NFL becoming a passing league, it is hard to believe that the guys who keep the quarterbacks off the ground would be devalued. That leads me to believe that these players simply are not all that talented. Reiff is a good prospect, but many think his arms are too short to play left tackle and is a better fit on the right side. Since left tackles are in much higher demand than right tackles, that pushed him down. Martin also looks to be a better fit on the right side and Glenn might be best suited to play guard. Adams fell out of the first round due to his poor work ethic and character concerns.

The one thing that all of these prospects besides Adams have in common is that they all seem to be better run blockers than pass blockers. So maybe it is not that these guys are not talented, but just old school players who do not fit what teams are looking for right now. With less of an emphasis on the run game, mauling run blockers have lost a lot of appeal.

I think there will be a run on these players at the start of the second round because a lot of teams at the top of the draft have offensive line issues. While these guys might have fallen out of the first round, the early run on these players might actually push up some lineman who were thought to be later round talents into rounds two and three. It should be an interesting Day 2. 

2012 NFL MOCK DRAFT FINAL TAKE

Last chance to get my final picks in. Here they are, with some interesting changes.

1. COLTS: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford

LAST MOCK: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford

This has been a done deal for months, let’s move on.

2. REDSKINS: QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor

LAST MOCK: QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor

Mike Shanahan said there is a 99.9% that they are taking RG3. That .1% is if Griffin gets arrested, injured, or dies before the Redskins pick. Let’s just assume none of those things are going to happen.

3. VIKINGS: OT Matt Kalil, USC

LAST MOCK: OT Matt Kalil, USC

Like I said last week, the Vikings will try to trade this pick because this team is simply awful. However, no one will trade up this high for anyone left on the board. Say what you want about Kalil, but he is the only surefire left tackle in this draft and is the Vikings only option to lock up that position in 2012.

4. BROWNS: RB Trent Richardson, Alabama

LAST MOCK: RB Trent Richardson, Alabama

Richardson is the best player available and the Browns have a huge hole to fill with the loss of Peyton Hillis. I would be shocked to see anyone else at this spot unless Richardson goes ahead of this pick.

5. BUCCANEERS: CB Morris Claiborne, LSU

LAST MOCK: CB Morris Claiborne, LSU

My top five stays intact with the Bucs taking Claiborne. Every team needs three good corners and with rumors of Ronde Barber moving to safety, corner becomes an even bigger need for a team in a division with a ton of offensive talent. The Bucs might move up with the Vikings to grab Richardson, but corners are way harder to find than running backs and they will not have to trade up to get a future Pro Bowler in Claiborne. 

2012 NFL Mock Draft Take 1

We are getting so close to the NFL Draft that it was 100% necessary to put in my first mock draft of the season. As always, I will mock it up as if there were going to be no trades, which I am sure there will be plenty of on draft day. Look for the Vikings and the Browns to trade down early, but after that is anyone’s guess on who will be making trades (not a single mock draft last season had the Jags trading up to the 10^th pick to nab Blaine Gabbert). Here is my best guess at who is going where.

1. COLTS: QB Andrew Luck, Stanford

This is a no brainer. People have been talking about this since Week 4 of last season. The Colts get the best quarterback prospect since, you guessed it, Peyton Manning. The Colts have to be the luckiest franchise in the NFL. Maybe it has something to do with that horseshoe on their helmets…

2. REDSKINS: QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor

This is already set in stone as well. Griffin has already been seen doing events in the Washington area and has been deemed the savoir of a once proud franchise. Let’s hope Mike Shanahan manages him better than he did Donovan McNabb.

3. VIKINGS: OT Matt Kalil, USC

The Vikings will look to trade this pick, but they are in desperate need at a franchise left tackle to help out last year’s first round pick, quarterback Christian Ponder. If they cannot get a great deal for this pick, they will gladly take Kalil and he will man the left side of their offensive line for the next decade.

4. BROWNS: RB Trent Richardson, Alabama

I really have no idea what the Browns will do here, but it will send a ripple effect throughout the rest of this draft. Richardson is the highest rated prospect on the board and they have a need at running back with Peyton Hillis gone for Kansas City. Wide receiver is a big need, but there is way more depth at that position and Richardson is the best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson. Ryan Tannehill will definitely be considered here, but they will realize that Colt McCoy should get at least one offseason as their starting quarterback before they completely give up on him.

5. BUCCANEERS: CB Morris Claiborne, LSU

No one will be happier than LeGarrette Blount when Richardson goes to the Browns, as he has publicly said that he “would not be happy” if the Bucs take Richardson. Cornerback is a huge need for this team, even with the signing of Eric Wright, and Claiborne could be a Pro Bowler for years to come. The Bucs’ defense needs to make huge improvements before this team can take the next step with all of their expensive free agent acquisitions. 

BROWNS: WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

The Dawg Pound has gone through a rough decade or so,
but will the Browns be able to turn their fortune around with
two first round picks and around $20 million in cap space?

The Browns have been a seemingly cursed franchise since they returned to the NFL in 1999. They have only had two winning seasons and one playoff berth in that time period, and have been disappointing their fans on a yearly basis.

The Redskins have just made a move up to the second pick in the draft, a move that the Dawg Pound was hoping the Browns would make, in order to land Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. This leaves the Browns with very few options to find their franchise quarterback, unless they want to put their faith back in Colt McCoy after going after Griffin and Peyton Manning.

Despite a need for an upgrade at the quarterback position, the Browns have much bigger problems on the offensive side of the ball besides the QB. While the Browns have a solid offensive line, there is not a single offensive threat on this team right not that a defense has to game plan around. A lack of skill players on offense in the reason they were one of the worst offenses in the league last season and is the main reason they finished with just four wins.

REDSKINS: WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

The Redskins started the bumbling duo of Rex Grossman and
John Beck in 2012, meaning they will spend this offseason
scrambling to find a franchise quarterback to lead this team.

The Redskins beat the Super Bowl championship New York Giants twice last season, but that was about the only good thing you could say about Washington in 2011. Head coach Mike Shanahan said he would bet his career on getting production out of Rex Grossman or John Beck, and that blew up in his face big time.

Clearly the Redskins' top priority this offseason is finding a franchise quarterback, but they have so many issues all over their roster that this is a team that is not likely to have a huge turn around, unless they land a fully healthy Peyton Manning in free agency along with some other big name free agents.

The only good thing to say about the Redskins’ roster is that they have two young and extremely talented rush outside linebackers for their 3-4 defense in Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan. Every single other position on this team is at least sub par. So let’s get into specifically what they should be looking to accomplish in 2012.

COLTS: WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

Colts' owner Jim Irsay and new GM Ryan Grigson have a
very tough road ahead of them in rebuilding a franchise with
a fan base that is very accustomed to winning a lot of games.

The Colts lost their first 13 games this season, so they definitely have a lot of work to do. They were in the bottom five of almost every single major offensive and defensive categories. Rookie head coach Chuck Pagano and rookie GM Ryan Grigson do not have time to settle into their positions because the Colts probably have more crucial personnel decisions to make than any other team in the NFL.

While the big topic is what to do with Peyton Manning and his $28 million roster bonus, the Colts have to decide on what to do with their 13 free agents. Defensive end Robert Mathis, center Jeff Saturday, and receivers Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon are their biggest free agents. It will be interesting to see who gets the franchise tag, if any of them.

The Colts could go in a lot of directions with their offseason, but here is what I think they should do.

Free Agency:

As tough as a decision this will be for a franchise that has built their entire organization around one player, the Colts have to release Peyton Manning. His contract is simply too massive and there is no guarantees that he will even play another down in the NFL. The Colts are rebuilding, which is something you do with a young quarterback, not one that is turning 36 in less than a month. The team has no choice but to move on and attempt to use the money they would have paid him to retain their young players. 

JETS: WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

Well since free agency is about to start and draft talk is heating up, I thought I should start a new segment called, “What Should They Do?”

As always, the teams that did not make the playoffs, and many teams who did make the playoffs, are scrambling to figure out how to fill the holes on their roster. Since the amount of money each team has to spend has been increased as a part of the new CBA signed before the 2011 season, there are a lot of teams that need to spend a lot of money just in order to get above this amount.

As I am a Jets fan, I will start off with the Jets since I have a very good understanding of the deficiencies on their roster after watching their mediocre 8-8 season.

The Jets would love to see Mario Williams (90) in their uniform
taking down Dolphins the same way he did with the Texans.

Free Agency:

As strange as it sounds, the Jets are best off looking for ways to improve their defense, not their offense, in free agency. The Jets are desperate to get an elite pass rusher and signing Mario Williams would make this defense scary good. Williams has some injury concerns, but he has proven to be one of the best pass rushers in the league and is stout against the run as well.

It might be very hard for the Jets to find the cap space to sign him, and there is a definite possibility that Williams wants to stay in Houston, but the Jets should really focus on trying to convince him why the Jets would be a great fit for him.

If the Jets cannot sign Williams, there are unfortunately not too many other options to upgrade the pass rush in free agency, so they should turn to trying to find a starting safety. Michael Griffin should be their focus from the safety class because the Titans will have a hard enough time trying to lock up cornerback Cortland Finnegan, who will be their focus in free agency. Griffin would be a huge upgrade for this defense and Rex Ryan would feel much more comfortable with him in deep coverage instead of Eric Smith, who was atrocious for the Jets all season long.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY SUPER BOWL WEEKEND

The time has finally come to go over the last week of football until September (don’t even mention the preseason to me). As a Jets fan, I was in a bit of a lose-lose situation with this Super Bowl. I either got to hear trash talk from the rival Patriots’ fans or I got to watch Giants fans walk around my city all year long in their Championship shirts and hats.

Either way, I could not be happier for Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin, who have gone from having to worry about their jobs to all but sealing their names in the Hall of Fame. They deserved this win. Once again the underdog Giants found a way to come together as a team to put on a spectacular performance to knock off the top seeded Patriots. Let’s jump into it.

The Good: Three of Mario Manningham’s five catches come on the Giants’ winning drive, including a spectacular 38 yard catch along the sidelines.

It was hard for me to not put Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning here, but I think Manningham had way more to gain by his performance than Eli did. Everyone expected Eli to be perfect in this game, especially against such a weak defense. However, Bill Belichick game planned on “making Manningham beat us,” and that’s exactly what he did.

Anyone who knows Manningham’s story, knows he had a lot to prove in this game. Manningham was a highly productive receiver at Michigan and wowed Wolverine fans with his acrobatic catches and game changing plays. At one point, he was thought of as a first round pick, but fell to the third round because of character concerns and running a slow 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine, which was a red flag for a lot of teams that his work ethic was questionable.

After his first two seasons with the Giants, he became one of Eli’s favorite targets in 2010 recording almost 1000 yard and nine touchdowns. 2011 was the last year of his rookie contract and many people expected him to have the type of season that Victor Cruz ended up having. Manningham had a decent season in 2011, but still failed to reach expectations.

In the Super Bowl, Manningham clearly had a lot of pressure on his since the Patriots were going to do everything they could do to take Hakeem Nicks and Cruz out of the game, and after the Giants lost their only two pass catching tight ends, that only left Manningham to come up big for Eli.

Manningham had received criticism from the announcers during the Super Bowl on a play in which he ran his route too close to the sidelines so that Eli did not have enough room to fit the ball in to him, which resulted in a huge missed opportunity for a big play. Manningham clearly learned from his mistakes because on his 38 yard catch, he was running the same route, but managed to stay further away from the sidelines, leaving room for Eli to place the ball right where only Manningham could catch it. He had two other crucial catches on that final drive and has solidified himself in Giants’ history.

Manningham might not be on the Giants roster next season, but he definitely made himself a good amount of money with his performance in the Super Bowl. Whoever signs him this offseason will have to pay significantly more due to just a few plays at the end of this game.

Runner-Up: Giants’ defense holds the Patriots high-powered offense to just 17 points.

The Bad: Wes Welker’s confidence level.

Anyone who blames Welker for the Patriots’ loss is out of their mind. Was his drop a big swing in emotion for his team? Yes, absolutely. Would that play have put the game out of reach for the Giants? Not necessarily, but it certainly would have made it significantly tougher for them to come back. However, it is still just one play and there will always be missed opportunities whether you win or lose.

On that play, Tom Brady’s pass was off target and Welker made a great adjustment in order to just get his hands on that ball, like he always does. Nine out of ten times, Welker will pull that down for the Patriots, but he just could not handle it for whatever reason. There were plenty of other key plays that hurt the Patriots, but you could tell that this one had a huge effect on the team’s morale. If Welker is dropping passes, what can the Patriots count on?

As bad as the media criticism has and will be, there will not be anyone tougher on Welker than himself. You could tell after the game that Welker thought that he had lost the game for his team and was emotionally crushed.

Since Welker’s contract is up, I am praying that his drop at the end of the game does not hurt him in contract negotiations with the Patriots. Welker has been one of the most underpaid players in the NFL for the last few seasons now and I hope he finally gets his due.

As much as I would love to see Welker go elsewhere, there is no way this happens. Welker is the second most important player on this Patriots team next to Brady and Tommy Boy is significantly more productive with Welker in the lineup. Welker will get a big payday, I just hope he does not hurt himself in negotiations by blaming himself for the Patriots loss.

Runner-Up: The Patriots force three fumbles, yet fail to force a turnover all game long.

The Ugly: Rob Gronkowski’s dance moves.

In a game that did not have too many poor performances, the ugliest thing that happened Super Bowl weekend was off the field. And boy oh boy was it ugly.

Let’s look at it this way. Imagine you are a young player who has just had one of the greatest seasons anyone at your position has ever had. Your team has gotten to the Super Bowl, but you are still hobbled from a huge hit two weeks earlier. You play the game, but are unable to really contribute and your team loses. What would you feel like doing? If the answer is anything but get a good night’s rest and stay away from the media, you are doing something wrong.

Gronkowski not only did not try to get some rest and heal up his ankle, but he got drunk and jumped around the dance floor with significantly more energy than he showed at any point in time on the football field earlier in the day. He made himself look like a total moron and I am sure there are guys in the Patriots’ locker room who will think differently of Gronkowski after seeing his excitement right after such a devastating loss.

What Gronkowski does not appreciate is how incredibly difficult it is to get to a Super Bowl and have the type of season he had this year. After the Patriots almost went 19-0, it took them four years to get back to the Super Bowl. At age 34, Brady probably only has four or five years left at best and the Patriots are not nearly as strong of a team as they were four years ago. And once Brady is gone, the Patriots are going to have a hard time replacing him.

Tony Gonzalez is possibly the greatest tight end to ever play the game and he is most likely going to have to retire without ever winning a single playoff game. Gronkowski needs to appreciate the situation that he is in or else Bill Belichick will not hesitate to cut bait with a player who clearly does not abide by his code of conduct. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

I have been putting off writing this week’s “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” because like many football fans, I am in total denial about the fact that there is only one game left this year. This season seems to have passed even faster than usual, but what a year it has been. Considering there were a lot of new faces in the playoffs this year, it is funny that the Super Bowl will be a rematch of the historic 2008 game. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a look at last week’s successes and failures.

The Good: After playing second fiddle to Hakeem Nicks the last two playoff games, Victor Cruz hauls in a whopping ten catches for 142 yards.

All season long, the Giants had lived and died by creating long, explosive plays on offense. Eli Manning led a passing offense that had more 40+ yard plays than any other team in 2011, but he was going up against a defense that was the best in the league in stopping big plays, mostly due to their stellar play at the safety position. Hakeem Nicks had been unstoppable the last two weeks, accounting for 280 yards, four touchdowns, and more than 20 yards per catch. The 49ers clearly focused on stopping Nicks, and they did, holding him to just 55 yards.

However, they did not have an answer for Cruz all day. It was his ability to keep the chains moving that slowed down the fierce 49ers pass rush just enough for the Giants offense to keep them in the game. His ability to get open quickly gave Eli a reliable target to go to while he was being taken to the ground by defenders, which was quite often (a staggering 20 times to be exact). I almost went with Eli in this spot because he took such a beating and still led his team to a W, but he could not have produced much of anything on offense without Cruz coming up big for him over and over again. Cruz and Nicks should give the Giants a dangerous one-two punch in the passing game for a long time to come and it will be interesting to see if the Patriots struggling defense has an answer for either of them.

The Bad: Kyle Williams loses two punts, including one in overtime that set up the Giants with the game winning field goal.

I will not blame Williams as the sole reason the 49ers lost like many have done, but there is no denying that this was a really tough game for such a young and inexperienced player. His two turnovers accounted for 10 of the Giants’ 20 points, including the game winning field goal. Both were inexcusable mistakes, especially in such a huge game for a franchise that had not been in the playoffs since the 90s. His muffed punt during regulation where he simply failed to get out of the way and allowed the ball to be recovered by the Giants was in my mind significantly worse than the fumble in overtime. The golden rule of being a punt returner is either catch the ball or get the heck out of its way. He is not the 49ers’ starting punt returner, but he has still been around football enough of his life that he should have known better.

All that being said, the 49ers had many other problems that led them to lose this game. Most notably, the 49ers passing attack did absolutely nothing unless Vernon Davis was streaking down the field wide open. The 49ers have to figure out if they want to ride it out with Alex Smith or if they will bring in another quarterback to compete with last year’s second round pick Colin Kaepernick. Possibly more important, they need to find some decent receivers to help out whoever their starting quarterback is in 2012 because Michael Crabtree drops a lot of passes and their second best receiver has a lot of work to do to repair his image in the Bay Area. What’s his name? You guessed it, Kyle Williams.

The Ugly: The Ravens offense.

I could blame Lee Evans for dropping what would have been a game winning touchdown, or Billy Cundiff for missing the field goal that would have sent the game into overtime, or even Ray Rice for averaging barely over three yards a carry. However, it is much simpler to just say they all stunk and it took the entire Ravens offense to lose this game. Going into this matchup, the Ravens had to know that they were not going to win this game with 20 points. The Patriots offense had been unstoppable in recent weeks and the Ravens defense played out of their mind holding Tom Brady to zero touchdowns to two interceptions.

I have already mentioned Evans, Cundiff, and Rice as guys who could be blamed for this loss, but Joe Flacco needs to get at least some of the blame as well. Statistically Flacco had a good day, but anyone who watched that game saw him miss open receivers numerous times and often looked lost. His pocket awareness was pathetic and he often stepped up right into the Patriots’ blitz. He might have thrown for 306 yards, but the Patriots allowed 294 yards per game so he had nothing but an average game against them. Flacco has not helped himself in the media by talking about how he does not get enough credit for the Ravens success and speaking publicly about wanting a new contact before next season. Since he has not really backed up his big talk with anything but mediocre performances in the playoffs, it will be interesting to see what his future will be with the Ravens. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY DIVISIONAL ROUND

To say it lightly, I did not see the outcome of these games coming, although I guess I should have figured the Patriots were going to blow out the Broncos. Every game besides the Patriots game was a close one and probably could have gone either way had a few things gone differently. There is plenty to talk about so let’s get to it.

The Good: The Giants dominate the Packers in all aspects of the game and guide Aaron Rodgers to his worst performance of the year.

The Packers came in with a 15-1 record lead by a guy who will most likely be the league MVP. Despite their record and their regular season performance, the team came in with some glaring deficiencies. Despite how good Rodgers was all year long, the offense had struggled to get anything going on the ground all year long, which allows teams like the Giants to constantly blitz without fearing a running back breaking a long one. Also, their defense, which was a strength in their Super Bowl run last season, touted the worst pass defense in the league and allowed the most amount of total yards of any defense in 2011. The defense’s only strength was that they lead the league in interceptions. Basically this team lived and died by the play of their quarterback and their ability to force turnovers.

The Giants exploited those decencies to perfection. They made Rodgers uncomfortable all day with their plethora of pass rushers and it forced him into making big mistakes. Rodgers had two turnovers and his running backs who had been ineffective all season long had two more of their own. The Giants offense torched the Packers all day long with huge plays, most notably a 37 yard touchdown to Hakeem Nicks as time expired in the first half to put the Giants up ten instead of just three points. Eli Manning was inches away from being perfect and again made all the plays that he needed to in order to keep the Giants a step ahead of the Packers for 60 minutes. If I were the 49ers, I would be very scared of this team right now.

The Bad: The Saints turned the ball over five times and their defense couldn’t stop the Alex Smith to Vernon Davis connection in the forth quarter in a shocking 36-32 upset.

Before the Giants-Packers game, the last game of the weekend, I had Alex Smith penciled in my “Good” section. That all changed when the Giants came out and dominated the top team in the league, but that does not at all diminish Smith’s performance. However, his impressive performance was still way less surprising than the Saints completely dropping the ball (often literally) on offense, defense, and special teams. I knew the 49ers defense was tough and that the Saints would have some sort of trouble with them, but I assumed they would still manage to score a lot of points, which they did. I knew that Smith would have an above average day passing because the Saints defense has been the team’s weakness for a long time now. However, I did not think the Saints would let an opportunity like this pass through their fingers like it did last season.

However, that is exactly what happened. The Saints, much like against the Seahawks last season, got down big early, managed to catch up, and again lost the game in the forth quarter despite charging back. I did not think that Alex Smith would be able to carry this offense when Frank Gore had such a pedestrian day. It was Alex’s play, not his defense, that won them the game. Smith was able to out-play Drew Brees all game long and that was the difference in the game. I simply did not think that would happen and that says a lot about the Saints’ defensive performance (I don’t care what you think of Smith, he is not even close to as good as Brees). Had there been another 60 seconds on the game clock, maybe the Saints would have won it, but you cannot expect to win a game when you are -3 in the turnover differential. The Saints have a lot of work to do on the defensive side of the ball, but they might have even more work to do in order to keep their offense together with Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Robert Meachem, and Carl Nicks all set to become free agents, along with eleven other players. This was a Tebow away from being an ugly performance.

The Ugly: Tim Tebow completed about one third of his passes and the Broncos defense gave up five touchdown passes to Tom Brady in the first half.

I don’t care how well you run the ball or how good your defense is, you will not win many games in the NFL completing less than 50% of your passes, let alone less than 35% of your passes. It would also be helpful if you could score points more than once a half. Tebow has to become a much more efficient passer from the pocket in order to become even a decent option at quarterback. Yes, he had an impressive season, but that had more to do with his team rallying around him than his individual performance. Leadership is an extremely important characteristic for a quarterback to possess, but when push comes to shove, the guy has to be able to pass the ball (that’s kind of one of the bigger job requirements for a quarterback). Tebow failed to get anything going on offense against one of the worst defenses in the league and the Broncos have to bring in a quarterback in the off season in order to push Tebow to become better.

Tebow at his best probably would have still lost this game because Brady was lights out all day long. The only reason the score wasn’t 70-10 was because Brady simply stopped trying to put up points after getting his team up by five touchdowns. The Broncos defense, which has been the strength of the team since their mid season surge, was unable to do anything to even slow down the Patriots offense. I mean allowing a 43 yard run by a backup tight end on the first drive of the game is unforgivable. The Patriots did not get much out of their run game outside of Aaron Hernandez (the backup tight end), who lead the team in rushing with 61 yards, despite the fact that he had only eight rushes in his entire career leading into this game. This might have been the ugliest playoff performance I have ever seen. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY WILD CARD WEEKEND

Sorry I missed the last week of the season, but I was extremely busy and was very depressed over my Jets falling apart at the end of the season. Let’s just say Matt Flynn was great, the Raiders blew a huge opportunity to win the AFC West, and the Jets took the ugly cake.

Moving on to the Wild Card round of the playoffs. I always think this is the most exciting round of the playoffs because you never know who is going to play up to their potential or fall on their faces. Despite all of the wild card teams being knocked out of the playoffs already, there were still a couple of upsets/surprising performances. Check out the highlights.

The Good: Tim Tebow throws for a career best 316 yards and an NFL record 31.6 yards per completions against the top ranked Steelers defense.

Drew Brees was amazing yet again against the Lions, but so was Matt Flynn the week earlier so I just had to go with Tebow’s performance. The Steelers made the mistake of trying to defend against what they had seen Tebow do this season instead of what he is capable of doing and it cost them the game. They kept all their defenders close to the line of scrimmage in order to stop the run and Tebow beat them with the deep ball over and over again. Not having free safety Ryan Clark really hurt this defense and Tebow exploited that early and often. This was by far Tebow’s best game as a pro and it shows his immense potential when he can throw the ball accurately. It also didn’t hurt that Demaryius Thomas averaged over 50 yards a catch and his offensive line was spectacular, but still a great day for Tebow.

The Bad: Andy Dalton threw a career high three interceptions to zero touchdowns against the Texans after throwing just 13 interceptions all year long.

Dalton had a better rookie year than he has gotten credit for, mostly because he plays in Ohio, and if it wasn’t for Cam Newton’s record breaking year, he would be hands down the rookie of the year. I know he had a pretty easy schedule, but he took a four win team to the playoffs in his first year which is no easy feat. This is also an offense that had no established receiver, yet he was extremely efficient and led his team to nine wins. He showed off an arm that was significantly better than he got credit for in the draft, which I am personally guilty of, and was the clear leader of this extremely young offense. It is unfortunate that his season had to end this way, but he has really struggled against the top defenses in the league so it will be interesting to see how he progresses over the next few years. The Texans defense confused him all day and since they could not get anything going on the ground, Dalton was forced to try to carry the team. It did not work out for the Bengals this week, but the future is still bright for this team.

The Ugly: The Falcons’ offense scores zero points against the Giants.

Wow were the Falcons bad all over the field in this game, but as bad as the defense was, the offense was way worse. Michael Turner averaged 2.7 yards a carry against a very mediocre Giants’ run defense and the Giants forced the offense to run through the passing game. Matt Ryan again had an awful performance in the playoffs despite all the talent around him and the Falcons as an organization have to start thinking about whether or not they actually have a franchise quarterback. The Falcons gave up basically two draft classes in order to get their hands on Julio Jones to help Ryan progress. Despite having his best statistical season, he was pretty inconsistent, especially early in the year, and might have had the worst game of his career last week. This team was not one player away from being a Super Bowl team, obviously, and their move to get Jones really hurts their chances of rebuilding an aging and ineffective defense. The future is not so bright for this franchise, who will also have to replace the soon to be retired Tony Gonzalez on offense.