Cornerback 

Florida 

5-11 189

40 time: 4.43

Draft board overall prospect rank: #9

Draft board cornerback rank: #1

Overall rating: 91*

3/18/10: Turns out that 4.57 40 from his Combine was a result of a sore back. Haden ran a 4.43 40 at his Pro Day, in the rain nonetheless, so I’ll move him back to his Pre-Combine status. He’s still, by far, my top cornerback.

3/2/10: Not going to knock him down too much, but the 4.57 at 5-11 193 hurts his chances to go in the top 10 as he competes with Derrick Morgan, Rolando McClain, and Jason Pierre Paul to go 7^th to Cleveland. I do expect him to run a little better at his Pro Day, but really his lack of speed today can be attributed to his running style, which shouldn’t hurt him on the football field. He doesn’t have good track speed, but he has football speed.

A former quarterback and wide receiver, Haden has all of the physical tools necessary for the NFL and he showed this year that he can be an amazing shutdown corner. He plays with great physicality and strength and uses those to shutdown the opposing wide receiver. He doesn’t scream #1 corner at me just yet, but he’s only 20 and in his 3^rd year playing the position so if his development continues as it should, the sky is the limit for him. He is good against the run and as a blitzer which are rare, but useful skills for a cornerback to have.

1/23/10: A former quarterback and wide receiver, Haden has all of the physical tools necessary for the NFL and he showed this year that he can be an amazing shutdown corner. He plays with great physicality and strength and uses those to shutdown the opposing wide receiver. He doesn’t scream #1 corner at me just yet, but he’s only 20 and in his 3^rd year playing the position so if his development continues as it should, the sky is the limit for him. He is good against the run and as a blitzer which are rare, but useful skills for a cornerback to have.

            10/26/09: Joe Haden may be the most athletic cornerback prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft class. He’s only a junior, but he should be a combine wonder before the draft. He has a great vertical leap, good size, good strength, and great speed. He has experience playing quarterback and wide receiver as well, as he played both in high school. He’s fast and hits hard. He has great hands and makes plays on the ball well. He’s very good in run support and as a blitzing corner. He’s more of a zone roaming corner than a man-to-man corner. He’s better at roaming a zone and making the big play, like a tackle or an interception or a pass breakup, than he is guarding receivers. He can get burnt easily and struggles some with man coverage. He hits like a safety and catches like a receiver, but struggles with some cornerback fundamentals. However, he is extremely athletic and in the right scheme can be a deadly cornerback. He has been starting for Florida since the day he stepped on campus which is quite an accomplishment. He’s been making plays since the day he begin to start which is even more of an accomplishment. He looks as much of a first round lock at corner as anyone right now assuming he declares. He is only 20 years old and a bit of a project so he might be wise to stay in school and improve, but he may be forced out by the threat of a pay scale in 2011.

NFL Comparison: Tracy Porter

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

By Paul Smythe 

The Miami Dolphins recently released Jake Grove who they signed in 2009 for a $29.5 million 5-year contract. Grove was guaranteed $14.5 million, so that is basically what he was paid for a year in the NFL. That is star quarterback money. 

While signing Grove was an obvious mistake, he will not be missed at all. That is because Joe Berger is ready to step in to his place.

Berger and Grove were competing for the starting center spot, and the position battle between the two was probably the most competitive battle on the Miami Dolphins squad.

That means that the two were similar in talent because they would not really be competing with each other if they were not equally talented. The Dolphins released Grove mainly because of his injury concerns.

That is a good reason in itself because we do not want to have to worry about losing our center for however long. We can be confident that Berger will stay in for the whole season.

Another benefit is the money. Berger’s contract is $700,000. That is significantly lower than what Grove would have made for the next few years. I do not know what Berger’s contract will be like next season if he is successful for this season, but it is likely not going to be as much as Grove would have made.

Berger is also two years younger, so while that does not make a huge difference it is still better.

Thanks to everyone for reading.

http://www.dolphinshout.com

3-4 Defensive End/Defensive End/Defensive Tackle

Wisconsin

6-5 290

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #15

Draft Board Overall 3-4 Defensive End Rank: #4

Rating: 87 (mid 1^st)

40 time: 4.78

3/14/11: JJ Watt is really a player who grows on you on tape. He can play inside and out on a 4-3 line. He has an amazing motor and a wide variety of pass rushing moves. He is very quick for a 290 pounder and he has the frame to project favorably to a 3-4. He doesn’t look all that athletic on tape, or at least he didn’t last season, but he really wowed in The Combine, not just in the drills, but with his measurables.

He ran a 4.78 at 6-5 290, which stood out even on a day full of athletic defensive line performances. He also appeared to be in amazing physical shape. His strong work ethic really shows. Some suggest he could gain another 10-15 pounds without losing much quickness and play inside as a 4-3 defensive tackle, but he could also stay in the 285-295 range and still have a good career as a 4-3 left end.

A 3-4 is what he best projects to as most tweeners do. In a 3-4 he would line up about halfway between the 4-3 end and the 4-3 tackle spot and be able to provide a consistent motor against the run, with good technique, and an above average pass rush. His repertoire of pass rushing moves as a 290 pounder who just turned 21 is absolutely amazing and he’s only going to get better. His footwork and handwork are amazing and he’s actually quicker than he is straight line fast.

He’s not overly explosive and I don’t see him ever being a star in the league, but he’s the type of guy I want on me team regardless of what scheme I ran. He has an amazing motor and good character. He may get a repuation as a tweener, but I see him more as a guy who can play any scheme and play 3 different positions, the 4-3 left end position, the 5 technique (3-4 end), and the 4-3 under tackle position. At 290 he’s a little small for an under tackle, but as I said, I think he has room to bulk without losing quickness and could be that 300-305 pounder that you like out of a 3 technique 4-3 under tackle.

I would be very surprised if he busted and were a non-factor. He’s already ready to contribute in a moderate role in the NFL, despite just turning 21, and his upside combined with his motor and work ethic combine to make him a close to surefire starter and above average contributor in this league for a long time.

NFL Comparison: Brett Kiesel (no guarantee he’ll ever grow a beard as awesome as Kiesel’s though)

Cornerback

Colorado

6-2 210

Draft board overall prospect rank: #19

Draft board overall cornerback rank: #4

Overall rating: 85 (1^st round)

40 time: 4.38

4/11/11: Talent wise, Jimmy Smith is only a notch below Prince Amukamara and 2 notches below Patrick Peterson. He’s got similar size and speed to the two top corners with a 4.38 at 6-2 210, though he’s a little stiff in the hip on tape, and he produced for Colorado over the past 2 years, allowing 11 completions in a competitive conference. He doesn’t have great ball skills, but that didn’t matter much to him in college as guys just didn’t throw on him.

The problem is his character. He failed a drug test in college and was arrested twice and in interviews only admitted to one arrest. Word is that he doesn’t interview well and several teams don’t even have him on their boards. We’ve seen guys that think they’re above the law in college commit more serious crimes in the NFL, guys like Pacman Jones and recently Aqib Talib. That could scare teams away from taking this top 15 talent until possibly even the 2^nd round.

NFL Comparison: Aqib Talib

By Michael J Morris 

Change may not always be a good thing, but when your team is 0-3 and you’re the one staring down the barrel of a gun, the decision to make change may come a little easier.

49ers offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye was fired by Mike Singletary early Monday. 

“I came back here and basically spent the night here looking at film,” Singletary said. “And just kind of looked at an overall view of where we are, and looking at where we need to go, and felt that I needed to make the change.”

Although Singletary continued to show support even after the 31-10 loss to Kansas City, it’s hard to ignore the numbers.

The 49ers have scored a lowly 38 points this season—their lowest total for the first three games in 33 years. In Raye’s 19 games as offensive coordinator, the 49ers have failed to surpass 300 total yards 12 of the 19 times. And the running team that the 49ers have entitled themselves to be has only run for 78 yards per game, half of what the league leading rushing teams have accounted for so far.

Singletary chose Raye in 2009 and hired him because of the hard-nose run game they both had imagined.  Confidence is a good thing but you can be too confident. 

The 49ers let the league know what kind of team they would be and they advertised that they would run the ball down team’s throats.  But you’ve got two problems.  One, you can’t run the ball consistently if the ball can’t be moved through the air, and two, you drafted (and started) two rookie lineman to shape your future offensive line.  Another change may be in order if Singletary doesn’t fix the motionless ways of the 49ers offense.

Some new ideas may be needed if Singletary wants to be a part of the change and not the reason for change.

Quarterbacks coach, Mike Johnson, will be stepping in as offensive coordinator. Johnson, 43, has been an assistant for 10-years in the NFL, coaching in Atlanta, Baltimore, San Diego and now the 49ers.  Even though he may not be as experienced as Raye (or as old, however you want to put it) the players respect him and look forward to playing under him. 

“I think Mike will help,” backup quarterback David Carr said. “He’s young. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s got some great ideas. I think just him being our quarterbacks coach, I think that we’ve got a pretty close relationship as far as him with the quarterbacks. So I think he knows how we feel about our offense and about how our personnel can be used. And he’s got some great ideas himself. So I think it’s only a positive.”

http://michaeljmorris.wordpress.com/

Quarterback 

Notre Dame

6-3 222

40 time (projected): 4.84

Draft board overall prospect rank: #2

Draft board overall quarterback rank: #1

Overall rating: 98* 

1/16/10: Didn’t step up clutch in close games last year, but still had a hell of a statistical year for a mere junior throwing 28 touchdowns to 4 picks and averaging 8.8 YPA out of a pro style offense. It’s safe to say that while he lost a lot of close games, all 6 of his losses were by a touchdown or less, Notre Dame would have gotten destroyed without him. He played his best in big games and got absolutely no help from his defense. He has experience playing behind a poor offensively line, which he’ll likely have to do in the NFL if he goes top 5 as he’s projected, and he played most of last season through an injured foot, showing his toughness. He’s the top quarterback prospect in this draft class and gets a 98 rating. For the record, Matt Stafford got a 97 last year.

            10/14/09: Jimmy Clausen is tearing it up this season for Notre Dame and is a Heisman candidate, maybe the favorite at this point, but I’m not completely sold on him as an elite quarterback prospect because I’m not sold on his decision making. Yes, he’s having a great year this year 5 games in with a 67.6% completion percentage and a YPA of 10.4, but you can’t forget about his first two years. His freshman year he didn’t even have a 60% completion percentage and last year he threw 17 picks. It’s obvious he has a good strong arm, but his decision making is questionable. He can be a bit of a gunslinger and forces a lot of bad throws when down. This year he has had the supporting cast, with a good defense supporting him, and amazing receivers, but if he goes top 5 next year, he’s not going to a team with a good supporting cast. He’ll be down a lot and I don’t know if he’ll play well from behind. The consistency hasn’t been all there this year as he has a completion percentage last than 60% in two of his 5 games. That being said, he does have an amazing arm. He can be accurate on the long ball if he makes the right read and doesn’t force things. He is accurate on short passes as well and can really air it out. He is putting up these stats in a pro style offense against BCS caliber defenses so talent wise and scheme wise he won’t face much of an adjustment to the NFL. He has a really good chance to go top 5, depending on how lenient scouts are when it comes to Sam Bradford’s injury. I would take him top 10 and I definitely think he has a chance to be a franchise quarterback, but I’m not sold on him as an elite quarterback prospect right now. I think Bradford’s decision making is about 10 times better than Clausen’s and a lot of the time that trumps talent.

NFL Comparison: Tony Romo 

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Jim Keller is a sports professional, and a lifelong Cowboys fan going back to the days of Tom Landry and Roger Staubach. I look forward to covering the Cowboys for Footballfanspot.com. I also maintain Respect The Star, Pirates Property and Memphis Blue Bears for Fanball. You can reach me at kenttekulve29@yahoo.com, follow me on Facebook or Twitter @PiratesProperty.

By Michael J Morris

Jim Harbaugh has agreed to a five-year, $25 million contract to become the newest head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

This news coming out the day after the consensus No. 1 pick, Andrew Luck, decided to return to school. Once that news came out, some, including myself, expected Harbaugh to follow suit. 

It was reported that Denver, Miami, and San Francisco were the NFL teams in contention, but as days passed during the week, Denver and Miami bowed out. 

The jump from the NCAA to the NFL won’t be too much of a leap for he and his family, as he will be able to stay close to he and his family. A job in Denver or Miami would have meant a relocation of home-base for him and his family.

Harbaugh has no NFL experience as a coach, but went 58-27 overall as a college coach and 29-21 in four seasons at Stanford.  Harbaugh took over as head coach for Standford in December 2006 and flipped the switch for the school. 

Harbaugh was a college star at Michigan but bounced around the NFL as a player in his 15 seasons, playing for the Bears, Colts, Chargers, Panthers, and Ravens. He was a first-round draft pick taken 26^th overall by Chicago in 1987, Harbaugh passed for 26,288 yards in his career and completed 129 touchdowns. 

The quarterback position is what will, as it did for Singletary, determine whether or not Harbaugh will see his contract all the way through. If the 49ers continue to play with mediocre pieces behind center, this team will continue changing coaches as often as one would change their oil.

Go back to 49ers Fan Spot 

http://michaeljmorris.wordpress.com/ 

Quarterback 

Mississippi

6-3 219

40 time: 5.01

Draft board overall prospect rank: #68

Draft board quarterback rank: #4

Overall rating: 74*

1/16/09: He had a great sophomore year and followed that up by just throwing the football. He threw 20 picks to 20 touchdowns this year and while he didn’t have a ton of help around him, on the offensive line and in the receiving corps, his decision making is a huge red flag for him. He has all the physical tools and then some, but whether or not he puts them all together at the next level is currently a mystery.

Update (11/2/09): He has a cannon attached to his torso for an arm, but I don’t think he knows how to use it. Forces things too much, reminds me of 1^st round bust Kyle Boller. Needs another year in school.

            7/27/09: Jevan Snead’s story is tied to the stories of top quarterbacks Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, and Matt Stafford. Snead was McCoy’s backup for a season at Texas and filled in very nicely for McCoy when he got hurt in 2006. Snead later transferred to Mississippi. More recently, Snead is getting attention as the guy who Steve Spurrier, coach of South Carolina, picked over SEC golden boy Tim Tebow on his ballot for Preseason ALL-SEC. Snead also was the quarterback who led Mississippi to a victory over Florida last season, Florida’s only loss of the season. Tebow gave a famous speech afterwards in which he guaranteed that you’ve never seen anyone play as hard and he’ll play for the rest of the season. Among NFL scouts, Jevan Snead is drawing comparisons to Matt Stafford, the #1 pick in the 2009 NFL draft. However, though he doesn’t draw the attention that those quarterbacks do, he’s a better pro prospect than any of those 3, with the exception of possibly Stafford and notice I say possibly. NFL scouts love his arm strength. He averaged 8.45 yards per attempt last season against the tough defenses of the SEC. In comparison, Stafford averaged 9.03 against the same defenses, playing out of a similar pro style offense. Snead needs to improve his accuracy. He only completed 56.3% percent of his passes last season. If he can get that up to the 60% Stafford had last season, which I think he can, he help his stock a lot. His footwork could use some work, but I think I’ve said that about every college quarterback I’ve ever written a scouting report about. He’s not a mobile quarterback. He can be a bit of a gunslinger, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Look at Brett Favre. Stafford, like most players, has a lot to prove this season. He’ll be playing with his top receiver from last season, Mike Wallace, as well as his left tackle, Michael Oher. Both are now in the NFL. He’s already cemented himself as a first round pick with his great arm, but if he can continue to led Mississippi without his top receiver and left tackle, putting up improved stats in the process, he could cement himself as a top 10 pick, with the potential to sneak into the top 5 in Mark Sanchez esque fashion.

NFL Comparison: Kyle Boller

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

By Kevin Harrison 

Jets against the Bills is mostly a let down game and a recipe for disaster.  There have been numerous trips to Buffalo when the Jets needed a win against a pathetic Buffalo team only to have their season crumble after a heartbreaking loss. 

However, this October day in Buffalo was quite different as the Jets dominated from the opening kickoff until the final whistle.

It was a beautiful first drive engineered by Mark Sanchez walking his team right down the field with a mix of the run and the pass in getting an early 7-0 lead after a short Tomlinson run.

This day, the story wasn’t the throwing game; at was all about the ground and pound.  LT had his best day in over two years notching 133 yards and 2 TDs.   Shonn Greene also rushed for 117 yards as the Jets total rush output hit a sweet 273 yards.

Sanchez did a solid job as well running the show and hitting Dustin Keller for a Touchdown as well as another long connect to Braylon Edwards.  Even Brad Smith got into the action with a TD pass to Dustin Keller.

The only complaint I had was a short Nick Folk missed field goal that would have given the Jets a 10-0 lead.

But, besides that, the offense moved up and down the field at will.  And it should even get better next week with the return of Santinio Holmes.

The defense did a solid job keeping their offense off the field.  This was a game of time of possession and we had the ball for 40 minutes compared to their 19.5 minutes.  A lot of Buffalo’s yards gained were during a team brain fart at the end of the first half allowing Buffalo to score quickly and stay in the game.  The rest of their yardage was gained in the final quarter when the game was all but sealed.

I loved the pressure on the quarterback and our defense did a nice job stripping the ball in route to 2 fumble recoveries.  Great play was made by Bryan Thomas, Nick Lowery, and Jason Taylor who is having a hell of a season.   I’m a little worried about Ellis who banged up his knee and we never did hear what happened to him.

Maybe they should call the Jets the Road Warriors as this is the 5th straight regular season road game this team has won.  The win against Buffalo was such a beautiful thing that there is not much to even criticize when so many things go right.

Next week, things get more interesting as we welcome Brett Favre back to the Meadowlands.  I hope Calvin Pace and Darrelle Revis are ready to play to help spoil Favre’s return.   

http://khbirdmantalkingjets.blogspot.com/