On principle, I don’t agree with a team with quarterback issues spending 44 million dollars, with 18.5 million guaranteed, over 5 years on a wide receiver. Rice won’t be worth that to them until they can get a reasonable signal caller. However, if they can manage to get one next offseason, I think Rice is worth this money and they needed another receiver other than Mike Williams.
Grade: B
I had Tulloch as my 20th rated free agent. He’s one of the best linebackers in the league. He’s only 26 and his 160 tackles last year were 2nd in the league. I have no idea how the Lions got him for 3.25 million dollars for the 2011 season. There’s no way he didn’t leave a ton of money on the table to join the Lions. My only guess is that he really wanted to rejoin former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who is now the head coach of the Lions.
Grade: A
Nose Tackle
Alabama
6-4 349
40 time: 5.64
Draft board overall prospect rank: #18
Draft board nose tackle rank: #1
Overall rating: 87*
2/27/10: Cody weighed in at 370 at his Senior Bowl weigh in after promising he’d be at 355 and his stock lowered. Cody weighed in at 354 today at the combine. He still needs to lose some weight, but I think I can move him back up a little after dropping him following the Senior Bowl. If you’ve ever seen this guy play, he might be the most agile 354 pound man you’ve ever seen.
1/26/10: He is a large man. One can only hope he keeps his shirt on when he runs the 40 at the combine.
5/19/09: At 370 pounds, Terrence Cody is an athletic freak of nature deadly against the run. He has been given the nickname Mount Cody because of his size and he eats opposing centers for breakfast. His amazing run stuffing ability doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, or at least his own stat sheet, but he was a huge part of why Alabama was the longest undefeated team in College Football last year, as well as a huge part of their amazing defense. He gets a great push on the offensive line and opposing ball carriers rarely, if ever, break his tackles. He doesn’t have a great reputation for having a great work ethic, especially because of his size and high body fat percent, but when he has needed to lose weight he has. When he was a 410 pound nose tackle in Junior College who couldn’t get a Division 1 job because of his size, he lost 30 pounds and got a scholarship to the University of Alabama. When Coach Nick Saban was taking him out on 3rd and longs because he is not much of a factor against the pass, he lost another 10 and will likely be an every down nose tackle next season. There are questions about his motor and his durability and he occasionally takes a few plays off. He is injury prone, which is typical for someone of his size. There are questions about his experience. He has only played one season at Alabama, 2 in junior college, so I think it was smart for him to return. As long as he doesn’t struggle or get hurt, his decision to return was smart. He is actually very mobile and agile for a 370 pound monster, and has great lateral movement, which helps against some of the quicker running backs, but he doesn’t have good chase speed at all and his footwork as a pass rusher is very subpar, so he won’t get a lot of sacks. Because of that, he can only realistically play one position at the next level, 3-4 nose tackle, which will be part of the reason why he is likely a top 20 pick and a top 10 pick like BJ Raji was in this past draft. Still, all in all, he’s a beast of a nose tackle and with more teams switching to the 3-4, he’ll be highly sought after. There aren’t that many pure run stuffing nose tackles like Cody out there and that is what a lot of 3-4 teams are going to be looking for in the 1st round.
Comparison: Kris Jenkins
*= For a breakdown of what this means, click here
After winning 8 of their last 10 in 2009, once they replaced Kerry Collins with Vince Young, hopes were high going into 2010. They started off by winning 5 of their first 7 and adding Randy Moss, in a very uncharacteristic move. Normally this team doesn’t like to add big name, big ego players in the decline of their career, especially not at skill positions, but most agreed it was the right move.
However, things fell apart in a week 11 overtime loss to the Redskins. Vince Young hurt his thumb, but wanted to go back in. Jeff Fisher didn’t let him and Young threw the ultimate hissy fit, throwing his pads into the stands and walking out of a post-game locker room team meeting. Fisher then placed Young on IR to get him to go away and banned him from team facilities.
Stuck with a combination of Kerry Collins and Rusty Smith at quarterback, as well as a supporting cast that largely sided with Vince Young and thus didn’t play hard for Fisher after Young was put on IR, the Titans finished 6-10. Jeff Fisher’s job is safe for 2011, but it has been announced that Vince Young is done in Tennessee. They will either try to trade him or release him this offseason.
The relationship between Young and Fisher was doomed from the start. Young gets more of the blame from the media, but I think Young, Fisher and owner Bud Adams are all equally at fault. Fisher never made an attempt to embrace Young as his starter after Bud Adams forced him to spend the #3 pick in 2006 on him. Young was repeatedly benched, even mid game like he was week 2. And that was when he was playing well. This is another lesson in the importance of good Coach/Quarterback relationships.
The Titans will start over with a new quarterback this offseason, but it most likely won’t be a rookie. Jeff Fisher is in the final year of his deal and needs a good year to keep his job. That pretty much eliminates the possibility of them drafting a rookie. Their veteran options are fairly limited as well. Donovan McNabb and Kyle Orton are the only experienced starters on the market this offseason, unless Detroit makes Shaun Hill available or Dallas makes Jon Kitna available or Philly somehow doesn’t resign Michael Vick. I can’t see the Titans rolling the dice with someone like Kevin Kolb.
As for Randy Moss, he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t insult his quarterback’s hair like he did in New England or insult a chef’s cooking like he did in Minnesota. The only problem, he didn’t play well either. Moss caught 6 passes for 80 yards in 8 games, was benched before week 14, and didn’t play more than a couple snaps weeks 16 and 17.
Moss kept his mouth shut, but after that terrible performance, it’s safe to say that Moss won’t be in high demand this offseason. His negatives have officially outweighed his positives and at 34 years old in February, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t have a job come September. It also is worth noting that after Moss left New England, the Pats went 11-1 and Moss’ teams went 2-10. Teams should just stop trading with Bill Belicheck. No one ever wins.
I was thinking someone would overpay Clabo this offseason after he made the Pro Bowl last season. He’s an above average right tackle, but I don’t think he deserved to make the Pro Bowl and he definitely didn’t deserve to be paid like a left tackle or anything. So did the Falcons overpay Clabo? Clabo gets 27 million over 5 years with 11.5 million in guarantees. I think it’s a pretty fair deal. It’s not a great value or anything, but they didn’t overpay.
Grade: A
Rush Linebacker
Texas A&M
6-3 246
Draft board overall prospect rank: #8
Draft board rush linebacker rank: #2
Overall rating: 93 (Top 10 Pick)
40 time: 4.46
2/28/11: Miller has been called the fastest prospect off the edge in years and this is why, a 4.46 40 at 6-3 246. To put that in context, that would have tied for the 7th best running back time if Miller were a running back. The scary part, I think he might actually be faster in games. He also had a 37 inch vertical…for what that matters.
2/26/11: Good job getting from 237 to 246. Again, we’ll have to see how he carries throughout the week, but this could continue to raise his stock.
2/15/11: I had a fairly low grade on Von Miller going into his senior season, like a mid 2nd round grade. That all changed this season. He helped himself in so many ways. I didn’t like him because I thought he only had one pass rush move, he was a one dimensional player, pass rush only, his college team even took him out on running plays, how was he going to be an every down player in the NFL, and that he was a one year wonder. He proved that all wrong.
Miller had 17 sacks in 2009 and only 11 in 2010, but the 11 was more impressive for me. Not only did it destroy the myth that he was a one year wonder, he didn’t even have a sack until his 5th game because of an injury. That means he had 11 sacks in 8 games, including a “KILL ALL QUARTERBACKS” rampage he went on with 9 sacks in his final 6 games.
He also became a more well rounded player. He played outside linebacker in addition to defensive end, which will help him translate to the NFL because he’s too small to play standing up. He really impressed in coverage as a linebacker and even improved against the run at 240 pounds. In addition to this, he developed secondary pass rush moves, into addition to his fierce speed rush. He is one of the fastest players off the edge I’ve ever seen and he also drops into coverage and stuffs the run well, especially for his size.
He’s a competitive kid, playing through injury, and going to The Senior Bowl even when he was already proven as a 1st round pick lock. He won’t fall past Houston at 11 and could go as high as #3 to Buffalo, whose coaching staff coached him at The Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
NFL Comparison: Cameron Wake
RB Brian Westbrook- San Francisco
Percent owned (ESPN): 12.1%
Westbrook ran for 136 yards and a score on 23 carries against a helpless Arizona front line and will be the lead back the rest of the way with Frank Gore set to go on IR with a fractured hip. With Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis blocking for him and 20 carries per week expected, Westbrook can go for 100 on any week, and he’s a threat catching out of the backfield. He faces Seattle, St. Louis, and Arizona (week 17) in his last 5 weeks.
WR Mike Thomas- Jacksonville
Percent owned (ESPN): 21.0%
A weekly fixture here, despite 52 catches for 618 yards and 3 scores this year. Why is he isn’t owned in most leagues I have no idea.
RB Mike Goodson- Carolina
Percent owned (ESPN): 25.6%
Even with Jonathan Stewart back, Mike Goodson had 14 carries for 55 yards and a score and 8 catches for 81 yards. With DeAngelo Williams out for the year, it looks like it’ll be this duo going forward and Goodson certainly didn’t do anything to hurt his case for carries this week.
WR Davone Bess- Miami
Percent owned (ESPN): 25.6%
With Chad Henne back, Bess was back to normal catching 6 balls for 111 yards. Excluding the game that Tyler Thigpen started, Bess has 54 catches for 591 in 10 games and 3 scores. He’s a PPR starter at the very least.
RB Toby Gerhart- Minnesota
Percent owned (ESPN): 3.3%
AP is scheduled for an MRI this week, so Gerhart is worth being owned incase AP misses this week or any future weeks, as the Vikings don’t really have anything to play for. Gerhart had 22 rushes for 76 yards and a touchdown after AP went down early against the Redskins.
RB Mike Hart- Indianapolis
Percent owned (ESPN): 3.4%
Joseph Addai is expected to miss this week again and Hart looks likely to play for the first time since week 8. With how bad Donald Brown and Javarris James look right now, they’ll be giving Hart plenty of carries.
WR Brian Hartline- Miami
Percent owned (ESPN ): 1.4%
No matter the quarterback, Hartline is performing and finally coming into his own. He has 18 catches for 327 yards in his last 4 and hasn’t had fewer than 4 catches since week 4. He’s even more valuable with Brandon Marshall out as he becomes the #1 receiver.
QB Jon Kitna- Dallas
Percent owned (ESPN): 13.7%
Kitna threw for 313 yards against the Saints and is 61 for 88 for 787 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 2 picks since Jason Garrett took over.
WR Danario Alexander- St. Louis
Percent owned (ESPN): 0.8%
Alexander had 4 catches for 95 yards in his first game back. In the two games he’s started and finished he has 8 catches for 167 yards. The rookie looks very comfortable with Sam Bradford
RB Maurice Morris- Detroit
Percent owned (ESPN): 1.5%
With Jahvid Best out, Morris is the main man at running back. Best might be done for the season as the Lions have nothing left to play for, so Morris could be the guy the rest of the way as he was late last year. He had 9 carries for 55 yards and also caught 5 balls against the Patriots. He scored twice.
WR James Jones- Green Bay
Percent owned (ESPN): 9.4%
Every week Donald Driver looks less like his old self the more James Jones gets into the action. Jones caught 5 passes for 44 yards last week and has 2 100+ yard games this year, one in which he was the starter over an injured Driver.
QB Shaun Hill- Detroit
Percent owned (ESPN): 13.8%
He appears to be the man down the stretch for the Lions at quarterback and hasn’t had fewer than 227 yards in a game he’s started and finished. He had 285 yards against the Patriots.
TE Kevin Boss- NY Giants
Percent owned (ESPN): 23.1%
He hasn’t done much this year, but with both Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks, Boss had 3 catches for 74 yards and a score this week. Smith and Nicks will miss a few more weeks and Boss has 3 TD in his last 4 games.
TE Ben Watson- Cleveland
Percent owned (ESPN): 23.9%
Watson was dropped in a few leagues with the potential of him missing this week with an injury, but he caught 4 passes for 40 yards against Carolina. Despite going out early week 11, Watson has 40 catches for 474 yards this year.
Subject to change
9/8/11 8 PM ET
Arizona at Oklahoma State
QB Nick Foles (Arizona) #8
Foles appeared to be putting it all together last year, completing 75.3% of his passes for an average of 8.4 per attempt, 9 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions, before a knee injury cost him a couple games. He wasn’t the same after that. He has all the physical tools and a very good shot to continue his early 2010 run in 2011.
QB Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) #3
A former minor league baseball pitcher, Weeden would be a first round pick if he weren’t turning 28 in October. He completed 66.9% of his passes, for an average of 8.4 yards per attempt, 34 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions last season and has a chance to continue that this year as Justin Blackmon has returned for his redshirt junior season.
9/9/11 7 PM ET
Florida Atlantic at Louisville
WR TY Hilton (Florida International) #4
The 5-10 Hilton runs a 40 in the 4.4s and led FIU in receiving with 59 catches for 848 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also rushed for 282 yards and 4 touchdowns on 30 carries, but if he gets drafted, it’ll be as a kick returner. He returned both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown last season.
TE Josh Chichester (Louisville) #11
The 6-8 is a former college basketball player and a former wide receiver for the University of Louisville. He needs to bulk up from 240 to become a better blocker, but he can be a serious end zone threat and he caught 22 passes for 317 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2010.
9/9/11 10:30 PM ET
Missouri at Arizona State
TE Michael Egnew (Missouri) #82
Egnew’s 90 catches led all tight ends in 2010 and ranked 11th overall, including wide receivers. However, that only led to 762 yards, a really low yards per catch average. He isn’t a very good blocker at all and he’s only 240 pounds. It also remains to be seen how he’ll fare without Blaine Gabbert.
DE Jacquies Smith (Missouri) #3
Smith had 5.5 sacks and 10 tackles for a loss last season. The 6-4 255 pound defensive end with legit 4.6 speed will have a chance to shine with Aldon Smith now a member of the 49ers after being drafted 7th overall.
9/10/11 12 PM ET
Florida Atlantic at Michigan State
QB Kirk Cousins (Michigan State) #8
The big armed pro style quarterback completed 66.9% of his passes for an average of 8.4 yards per attempt and 20 touchdowns to 10 interceptions last season. He has a chance to make Michigan State a legitimate BCS Bowl team this season and could become a top 10 pick and the 3rd quarterback off the board in 2011.
S Trenton Robinson (Michigan State) #39
A leader on Michigan State’s defense, Robinson had 4 interceptions and 71 tackles last year. At 5-10 195, he’s undersized for a safety and will probably not be drafted until the late rounds unless he had a great season or can prove he can play corner.
9/10/11 3:30 PM ET
Alabama at Penn State
RB Trent Richardson (Alabama) #3
Mark Ingram’s backup could actually get drafted higher in 2012 than Ingram was drafted in 2011. The 220 pound runner runs in the 4.4s and rushed for 700 yards and 6 touchdowns on 112 carries and also caught 23 passes. He’ll be the lead back this season and if he plays anything like he did against Penn State last year, 22 carries for 144 yards and a touchdown while Ingram was out, he’ll be the first running back off the board and a first round pick.
OLB Courtney Upshaw (Alabama) #41
One of the most versatile linebackers in the country, the 6-2 260 pound Upshaw played inside and outside in Alabama’s 3-4 last season, compiling 52 tackles and 7 sacks. He’s best fit in a 3-4, but theoretically he could play outside linebacker and defensive end in a 4-3.
9/10/11 8 PM ET
Notre Dame at Michigan
MLB Manti Te’o (Notre Dame) #5
Te’o looks like a first round pick at first glance with 129 tackles and 8.5 tackles for a loss in 2010, but we’ve seen linebackers slip before so he’ll need to repeat his strong 2010 season this year.
DE Ryan Van Bergen (Michigan) #53
Van Bergen looks like a 4-3 left end or a 3-4 end in the NFL. He’s not very athletic or a great pass rusher with a 4.9 40 at 6-3 280 and 4 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss in 2010, but he’s very sturdy against the run and is looking like a mid to late round pick at this point.
Resigning Colon to a long term deal is a risk because he missed all of last season with an injury, but if he can stay healthy and bounce back from that injury as the player he was before the injury, he’s well worth the 29 million over 5 years the Steelers gave him, as one of the best right tackle in the league. Good news for Steelers fan, only 7.5 million of this deal is guaranteed so it’s fairly low risk.
Grade: A
Football Fan Spot 