Baltimore Ravens sign Marshal Yanda
Yanda is a valuable offensive lineman for the Ravens. He can play right tackle or move inside to guard depending on what happens with Jared Gaither’s health at right tackle. The Ravens focused on areas other than the line in the draft so they almost had to resign Yanda. 32 million over 5 years is reasonable considering he’s still only 26.
Grade: A
This is a 5 year, 40 million dollar contract with 19 million guaranteed. If any other team had signed Colston to this kind of deal, I probably would have given it a bad grade because he’s unproven out of New Orleans’ system, but in New Orleans’ system, he’s a legitimate #1 wide receiver. Dating back to his rookie year in 2006, he’s had 70 catches for 1000 yards and 7 touchdowns in every season except for 2008 when he missed 5 games. Those are #1 receiver stats. I have no problem with New Orleans paying him as such. This move likely means they won’t be able to resign Carl Nicks, but they wouldn’t be able to resign both anyway so credit them for getting at least one locked up long term.
Grade: A
I forgot to give a grade for this one. The Jets didn’t expect that Tebow would become available when they made this extension, so I won’t take that into consideration. This is partly a restructuring of Sanchez’ old deal because the last 3 years are team options, but what if Sanchez proves by then to still be a middle of the road quarterback. They’ll have to choose between cutting loose a serviceable starter and overpaying an average talent (3 years 40.5 million).
This deal also guarantees Sanchez 20.5 million over the next 2 years, fully guaranteed. That’s a huge guarantee for a guy who played so poorly at times last year that he might not even warrant a starting job. The deal does free up 6.4 million of cap space for the 2012 season for the Jets, but I don’t think that was the reason they did this. This was an apology extension and I don’t agree with it.
Grade: C
Running Back
Alabama
5-9 215
Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #20
Draft Board Overall Running Back Rank: #1
Rating: 85 (mid 1st)
40 time: 4.53
4/16/11: His knee problems are worse than previously though and his knee is being described as arthritic. Running backs have a short “life expectancy” anyway and a potential chronic knee problem like this one could make his career even shorter. It’s a shame because he’s such a talented player, but I’m moving him down some.
3/1/11: Left over from yesterday, I don’t know how I didn’t include him. Ingram’s 40 was decent, 4.58, but he did great in the drills and had the best first 10 yard split of any running back.
2/19/11: Mark Ingram’s career at Alabama started with him as Glen Coffee’s backup. You might remember Coffee as the running back who went in the 3rd round to San Francisco, retired after 1 year to follow a “higher calling” and then was later arrested for possession of a concealed weapon. Anyway, Ingram rushed for 728 yards on 143 carries in 2008 as Coffee’s backup, and rushed for 12 touchdowns, 2 more than Coffee.
After Coffee went on to the NFL, Ingram jumped into the limelight, with 1992 total yards (1658 rushing, 334 receiving) and 20 total touchdowns (17 rushing, 3 receiving), winning the Heisman as a true sophomore and becoming the first Alabama player to ever win the Heisman, pretty impressive considering their storied history.
Ingram stumbled out of the gate in 2010, missing two games with an injury and ceding more carries to talented young backup Trent Richardson. Ingram rushed for 875 yards and 13 touchdowns on 158 carries in 2010, an impressive 5.5 average and of course those 13 touchdowns were impressive. He caught 53 passes in his final 2 years at Alabama, showing he can help in that facet of the game as well.
In fact, there isn’t really anything he doesn’t badly as a running back. He can run between the tackles, outside the tackles, catch passes, pound it into the end zone. He pass blocks extremely well for his age, which will help him earn early playing time. The one thing that costs rookie running backs playing time early is pass protection.
He’s really a jack of all trades, though a master of none. He doesn’t have breakaway speed, or elite size, but that’s just being nitpicky, because he can be a true 3 down back in the NFL, something that’s really rare in this day in age. 5-10 years ago, he would have been a top 5 or 10 pick. Now he slips because of the lack of need for elite 3 down running backs.
NFL Comparison: Terrell Davis
By Vince Vitale
With the 2010 NFL season only 6 days away the St. Louis Rams have traded for Mark Clayton from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for “late round” considerations. Mark Clayton was selected 22nd overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, and has caught 234 passes for 3,116 yards and 12 touchdowns in his NFL career. This is a great pickup for the St. Louis Rams who have the least experienced group of receivers in the NFL. Mark Clayton has 64 more receptions than the entire group of St. Louis Rams receivers currently on the roster. Earlier the Baltimore Ravens picked up T.J. Housmanzadah which made Clayton expendable. The Rams will look to get the Oklahoma connection of Bradford to Clayton out on the field together as soon as possible. Mark Clayton should replace Donnie Avery on the outside. Mark Clayton is a pure speed burner with 4.45 speed, he has averaged 13.3 yards per catch in the NFL. While at Oklahoma Clayton set the record for career receiving yards with 3,241, many of those coming after the catch. This is a huge pickup for the Rams and at just the right time. The St. Louis Rams need to continue to surround Sam Bradford with more and more weapons.
Mark Anderson was actually one of the league’s better pass rushers last season, accumulating 15 sacks and 36 pressures over 19 games as a part time player on the Patriots run to the Super Bowl. Even though he only played 640 snaps in those 19 games (419 were rushing the passer), he made the most of them. In the regular season, he was ProFootballFocus’ 13th ranked defensive end.
For the Bills, he is expected to see more playing time, though he could still be taken out on obvious running downs for Chris Kelsay. The Bills now theoretically have one of the best defensive lines in the league with Mario Williams, Anderson, Kyle Williams, and Marcell Dareus. Anderson could have trouble transitioning to a bigger role, but that’s not my main concern with him.
Anderson is no sure thing. He’s been very inconsistent in his career. He had 12 sacks as a rookie in 2006 in Chicago, before managing just 13.5 sacks over the next 4 years in Chicago and Houston, before a resurrection season last year. How will he do outside of Belichick’s scheme? Was he just trying hard for the money last season? Besides, the fact that Belichick and the Patriots made little to no effort to resign him is a bad sign.
However, if Anderson repeats what he did last season or even comes close, he’ll well worth the 7 million per year he’ll be paid (4 years, 27.5 million) and if he doesn’t (strong possibility), there’s only 8 million guaranteed so the Bills have an out after every season. He might not pan out, but for so little guaranteed money, he was worth the risk.
Update: This deal is actually 19.5 million max so now I love this deal.
Grade: A
Mario Williams gets the richest deal in NFL history, 6 years, 100 million, with 50 million guaranteed, which dwarfs Julius Peppers’ 6 year, 84 million dollar deal with 42 million guaranteed from 2 offseasons ago. However, at the time of his signing, Peppers was a 30 year old with 81 career sacks. Williams is only 27, with fewer sacks, 53, but this contract will only take him until he’s 32, rather than 35 like Peppers’.
Elite pass rushers in their prime don’t hit the open market very often. In fact, Mario Williams is probably a once in a decade free agent. Did the Bills overpay a little? Maybe, but this move will both solidify their once weak pass rush and energize a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1999. Besides, the Bills probably had to overpay. How else would they get a free agent?
I’m not worried about Williams slacking off now that he has 50 million guaranteed. He was the #1 overall pick in 2006 and thus has played under a huge contract before. The Bills are likely getting a top tier pass rusher for the next 6 seasons. My only concern is that he’s coming off an injury plagued season, but that shouldn’t be a recurring problem as Williams had never been seriously injured before last season.
Grade: A
This is only 5 million over 2 years, but Barber is done so it doesn’t matter. Lingering hamstring injuries have sapped his explosiveness and caused him to average 3.3 yards per carry last year, though I guess that’s better than the 2.4 Chester Taylor averaged, so I guess they upgraded the #2 back position.
Grade: C
Last offseason, the 49ers did a good job of being patient in free agency and waiting for the bargains to come to them. They didn’t panic and they got guys like Carlos Rogers, Jonathan Goodwin, Donte Whitner, and Dashon Goldson for cheap later in the free agency period. They’ve done it again.
They knew it was a deep wide receiver market so instead of panicking and guaranteeing 14 million to Laurent Robinson or Robert Meachem or paying Josh Morgan 6 million per year, they waited for the odd man out (Mario Manningham) to be left without a home and got him for a bargain, 2 years 7.4 million with 2.45 million guaranteed.
Manningham, like Robinson and Meachem, is not a #1 caliber receiver, but the 49ers didn’t pay him like one. He’s a talented 2nd or 3rd receiver who caught 57 passes in 2009 and 60 passes in 2010, more than Robinson or Meachem ever caught in a season by the way. He had a down year in 2011 with injuries and the emergence of Victor Cruz opposite Hakeem Nicks, but he’ll still be a help to the 49ers with Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Randy Moss, and probably a rookie receiver some point in the first 3 rounds.
Grade: A
By Vince Vitale
What is not to love, this quicker than fast playmaker has St. Louis Rams fans having visions of the (GSOT) Greatest Show on Turf. At 6’1″ 180 Mardy is not an imposing specimen, nor was his 4.56 combine speed anything to write home about but this kid is a playmaker. Over the course of his last two seasons as a Cincinnati Bearcat Mardy raked in 168 balls for 2467 yards and 22 touchdown receptions. In addition Mardy returned 92 kickoffs with a 28.9 average and 4 TD’s as a Bearcat. Mardy will bring this and more to the St. Louis Rams.
After the Dez Bryant controversy over carrying Roy Williams pads Gilyard was asked about carrying pads, his response,
“I’m okay with carrying the pads, combing hair, tying the shoes, whatever it
takes. I know my role, I’m a rookie and I know I can’t say too much. Actions
speak louder than words and in the words of my momma, ‘I can show you better
than I can tell you.’ I’m cool with anything, that’s my role as a rookie.
How refreshing is it to here those words from a rookie.
I think the St. Louis Rams absolutely stole Mardy Gilyard with 101st overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft. Although he does not have the speed and is not as much of a deep threat I hope Mardy Gilyard can bring to the St. Louis Rams what Desean Jackson brought the the Philadelphia Eagles a couple of years ago and that is a playmaker, a baller, a difference maker. I look for Mardy to occupy the slot in 2010 and return kickoffs over the smaller Danny Amendola.
While talking to St. Louis Rams tickets account executive Jon Kruse I was told recently Mardy Gilyard was at the Rams offices at the Edward Jones Dome helping with a promotional ticket event and asked if he could go down on the field. While Jon was reluctant, La’Roi Glover said it’s ok let him go. I was told Mardy ran all around the field in his dress clothes and had tears streaming down his face he was that happy. He asked Jon where he was standing and Jon said on the field and Mardy said “in the end zone.”
Look for many more reasons to love Mardy Gilyard every Sunday this fall.
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