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Lions Needs 2012

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Offensive Tackle

Jim Schwartz has been a huge Jeff Backus supporter for years, but he has to face facts. Even if he thinks Backus is good for some reason, he’s a 34 year old free agent who needs a long term replacement, even if he is resigned. Oh, and he’s not good, allowing 7 sacks and 39 pressures, while committing 11 penalties last season. If retained, he could move to right tackle, where Gosder Cherilus allowed 9 sacks and 27 pressures, with 5 penalties committed, while struggling as a run blocker. At least one new offensive tackle is needed.

Cornerback

If the Lions are serious about winning the Super Bowl, they need better cornerbacks than Eric Wright and Chris Houston. They have a great pass rush, but can you imagine if they actually had talented cornerbacks to match up one on one with receivers.

Safety

Cornerback isn’t their only problem area in the secondary. In fact, only Louis Delmas is an above average starter. Amari Spievey was pretty bad at free safety last year and needs to be replaced.

Center

Dominic Raiola is a 33 year old declining player at center. He used to be a solid starter, but last year he was pretty bad.

Middle Linebacker

Stephen Tulloch was a great one year resigning, but he’ll have to be resigned. If he’s not, DeAndre Levy will probably move back into the middle, his natural position, after a disappointing season on the outside, but they would need a new outside linebacker in that situation.

Defensive End

Cliff Avril is a free agent. The Lions seem hesitant to give him a long term deal and would prefer to use the franchise tag on him. However, Avril has suggested he may hold out if he’s tagged. Meanwhile, Kyle Vanden Bosch is 33 years old. They could use a long term successor for him.

Running Back

The Lions have used early picks on running backs in the last few years with little to no success. Kevin Smith was drafted in the 3rd in 2008, Jahvid Best in the 1st in 2010, and Mikel Leshoure in the 2nd last year. However, they still seem to always end up having to use Maurice Morris down the stretch. Best and Smith can’t stay healthy, while Leshoure will be coming off an Achilles tear. They could use another running back in the mix.

 

 

Martellus Bennett Giants

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Bennett was a 2nd round pick in 2008 by the Cowboys, but with Jason Witten in town he was largely underutilized, except as a run blocker, where he was a fantastic one. He’s been a top 5 run blocker at the tight end position according to ProFootballFocus in each of the last 2 seasons, including 2nd in 2010 and 1st in 2011. That alone is worth the 2.5 million dollars the Giants paid him, especially since they need tight end help with Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard suffering torn ACLs in the Super Bowl.

However, Bennett does have some natural pass catching abilities as well (49 catches during his final season year at Texas A&M), though he was underutilized in this aspect in Dallas. He’s got great upside to become a legitimate starting tight end in this league. I love this deal for the Giants. The only bad part is that it’s a one year deal so if he breaks out as a legitimate top-15 tight end, they will have to pay after the season to keep him.

Grade: A

 

Middle Linebackers 2011

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Updated 4/9/11

QB RB FB WR TE OT G C DE RLB DT 3-4 DE NT MLB OLB CB S K P

Scoring System 

100 Once in a decade prospect 
95-99 Elite talent 
90-95 Solid top 10 pick 
85-90 Solid first round pick 
80-85 Late 1st-early 2nd 
75-80 Solid 2nd round pick 
70-75 Solid 3rd round pick 
65-70 3rd-4th round pick 
60-65 4th-5th round pick 
55-60 5th round pick 
50-55 6th round pick 
45-50 7th round pick 
40-45 Undrafted, invite to training camp 
30-40 Career practice squader 
20-30 No NFL future 
0-20 No football future 

 

1. Greg Jones 83 (Michigan State)

2. Martez Wilson 83 (Illinois)

3. Casey Matthews 78 (Oregon)

4. Kelvin Sheppard 74 (LSU)

5. Josh Bynes 73 (Auburn)

6. Nate Irving 71 (NC State)

7. Mike Mohamed 69 (California)

8. Quan Sturdivant 68 (North Carolina)

9. Colin McCarthy 63 (Miami)

10. Chris Marve 61 (Vanderbilt)

11. Mario Harvey 59 (Marshall)

12. KJ Wright 58 (Mississippi State)

13. Chris White 55 (Mississippi State)

14. Alex Wujciak 54 (Maryland)

15. Scott Lutrus 51 (Connecticut)

16. Greg Lloyd 50 (Connecticut)

17. Orie Lemon 48 (Oklahoma State) 

18. Nick Bellore 47 (Central Michigan)

19. Elijah Joseph 44 (Temple)

20. Obi Ezeh 41 (Michigan) 

 

 

Murder Gillette Stadium

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By Kevin Harrison

This is how the Jets perform against the Patriots for the biggest regular season game in the Jets team history – they go out and suffer one of the most embarrassing loses in team history. 

Police, there was a murder last night in Gillette Stadium.  Actually, there has been a mass murder right on the field. 

I don’t know where to begin.  I started typing this at 38-3 and realistically, I should have begun typing it at 10-0.

What a joke.   This team played flatter than a girl who hasn’t started puberty yet.  You would think they would play with emotion.  They didn’t.  You would think they would play smart.  They didn’t.  You would think they would put up a fight.  Well, they were KO’d before half-time.

The coaching was an embarrassment.  Rex Ryan has no clue how to manage challenges and time outs.  Why would you challenge the spot of a short run if you were going to go for it anyway on 4th down?  And then, why wouldn’t you challenge the touchdown where he could have been out of bounds? Why?  Because he wasted one challenge that he shouldn’t have used and didn’t want to be left without one for the remainder of the game. And where was our game plan?  We had 11 days to prepare for this?  Did we not do any homework? 

The kicking was terrible.  Nick Folk missed one.  Nick Folk’s kickoffs were short.   Our punting was even worse.  The tackling was beyond miserable.  And a block in the back penalty negated the one nice run on a kick off. 

The loss of Jim Leonard showed.  He was missed on punt returns.  He was surely missed on defense as Eric Smith had a bad day with a bad penalty in the end zone and some poor coverage throughout.

The offense was pretty pathetic.  Yeah, it was cold but that’s December football.  Sanchez had 3 bad interceptions the last I counted.  The first was a killer as it would have put us within striking distance after half time and make a game out of it.  But, things got worse after that pick.  There was also too many drops on offense.  Not good.

But worse was the defense.  Were they still sleeping?  Maybe they were drugged.  Yeah, that’s it.  Kraft was still so pissed off from the whole Spygate Incident that he decided to drop a Xanax in each of the Jets Gatorade cups.  That’s what it is. 

The way we let Danny Woodhead look like a Pro-Bowler is embarrassing.  Yeah, I like the kid you can’t let him run you down like that.  We have absolutely zero pass rush.  We had a stint of two sacks in a row but that was about the size of it.  You’ll never beat a team like this if you give the QB all day to throw the ball.

The Jets just seemed unprepared.  The only good I take out of this game is that we split the season series with the Pats.  But, that’s it.  We barely beat bad teams the last 6 weeks and now got murdered by a good team. 

The Jets need to show that they can beat a good team.  They must first fry the fish and then go out and beat a team like the Bears and Steelers to convince me that they below in the playoffs.

I’m so mad I can’t sleep.  I’m sure every Jets fan is just and disgusted right now.

http://khbirdmantalkingjets.blogspot.com/

Go back to Jets Fan Spot 

 

2010 NFL Draft Overview

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Updated 3/28/10

This was starting to get a little bit out dated so I’m updating this page. I started with offensive prospects on Monday and I’m finishing with defensive prospects today.

Normally defensive ends are the toast of the defensive line class, because of their higher positional value, but all we are hearing about this year is the defensive tackles. Ndamukong Suh has burst onto the scene as the best defensive prospect in the country and a possible top pick option (if the Rams wanted to be stupid) after his 4.5 sack performance against Texas, which helped him set the NCAA record for most Heisman votes by a defensive lineman. Gerald McCoy is not far behind and probably would be compared neck and neck with Suh if Suh had not had that one game. Suh is the more dominant and more hyped prospect, but McCoy should make some team very happen. Brian Price would probably be a top 10 pick any other year as a defensive tackle with 6.5 sacks last year, the same amount as McCoy, but he could slip into the twenties this year. Jared Odrick is there as well with his scheme versatility. He would be a natural fit for a 3-4 team as a defensive end. LaMarr Houston and Mike Neal make up the 3rd tier defensive tackle guys and guys like Dan Williams, who can also play 4-3 defensive tackle, Terrence Cody, and Cam Thomas headline the nose tackle class.

This is not to say that the defensive end class is full of scrubs. Terrence Cody was the most dominant defensive end in the nation last year and would go in the top 10 if he could play the 3-4 as a rush linebacker, which he probably couldn’t. Jason Pierre Paul is the upside prospect to Derrick Morgan’s proven prospect. I like Morgan a lot more and think of JPP, as ESPN calls him, as a Gaines Adams or Vernon Gholston type, all physical tools, but not much else, but there are places, like ESPN, who really like JPP. Brandon Graham is in the mix in the first round range, and he can also play rush linebacker, as are projects like Carlos Dunlap and Everson Griffen, but after those 5 guys, the defensive end class gets pretty thin, so we either aren’t going to see a lot of defensive ends go in the 2nd round, or we’ll see teams reach for guys like Austin Lane, Greg Hardy, and Jermaine Cunningham, or try to take smaller rush linebacker prospects like Jerry Hughes and Sergio Kindle and put them on the line. Along with Hughes and Kindle, the rush linebacker class is headlined by such athletic freaks as Ricky Sapp, Jason Worilds, and Thaddeus Gibson, as well as other guys like Koa Misi and Eric Norwood.

The outside linebacker class should be undervalued again this year as versatile playmakers like Sean Weatherspoon and Daryl Washington will fall about 10 slots lower than they should. Misi and Norwood could also play outside linebacker, as could Kindle. Roddrick Muckelroy is an interesting sleeper I like out of Texas, but he’ll probably fall into the 4th round after guys like Dekoda Watson, Navarro Bowman, and possibly Rennie Curran. Watson is very raw, but had a great Combine. The middle linebacker class is headlined by Rolando McClain, the highest rated middle linebacker in a long line and a good candidate to be the first middle linebacker to go top 10 since Brian Urlacher, though it’s more likely he falls to the 11-18 range. There is a lot of overlap between the outside linebacker and middle linebacker class, as the class boasts a ton of versatility at the linebacker position, but Sean Weatherspoon is the obvious candidate to switch to middle linebacker in the 3-4 or the 4-3. The 4-3 based Giants are reportedly eyeing him with the 15th pick. Guys like Pat Angerer and Sean Lee are good fits for the 4-3 in the 3rd and 4th round range as are Micah Johnson and Brandon Spikes for the 3-4. Spikes greatly fell out of favor with scouts after a 5.01 40 time at his Pro Day, while Johnson has sadly been battling knee injuries all offseason that have slowed him down in his runs and during his drills. He could be a steal.

Joe Haden sits firmly atop the cornerback class, but the second tier doesn’t look too bad either with Kyle Wilson and Devin McCourty, as well as my favorite sleepers Brandon Ghee and Donovan Warren, though Warren’s 40 times may force him into the 3rd round sadly. If your team doesn’t get one of those 5 guys in the first 40 picks, don’t worry, this is one of the deepest cornerback classes in recent memory with guys like Kareem Jackson, Perrish Cox, Domonique Franks, Jerome Murphy, Amari Spievey, and Chris Cook in the 2nd-4th round range. Those guys will all be drafted off of taste as they are very different style cornerbacks so anyone of those guys could slip to the 4th. I also happen to like Rafael Priest as a sleeper and I have not forgotten about Walter Thurmond who could be a steal if he can ever get healthy. Like the cornerback class, the safety class is very deep as well. After top safety Eric Berry and other first round guys like Earl Thomas and the high upside Taylor Mays, there is a vast amount of 2nd-4th round safeties who could start in the NFL someday, like Morgan Burnett, Nate Allen, Chad Jones, Major Wright, Darrell Stuckey, and Reshad Jones all available in the 2nd-4th round range, so, like with cornerback needy teams, this is a good year to need a safety as well.

 

 

 

Updated 3/27/10

This was starting to get a little bit out dated so I’m updating this page starting with offensive prospects today and defensive prospects tomorrow.

Remember earlier this year when everyone was saying this could have been the greatest quarterback class since 2004 (Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger) with guys like Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow, and even draft “sleeper” Jevan Snead. Well, look what’s happened since. Of those quarterbacks, only Sam Bradford is a first round pick lock and that didn’t even seem so earlier this season when his twice separated throwing shoulder was a huge question mark. Even Bradford may not be the top quarterback taken, as he’ll have to compete with Jimmy Clausen for that honor, though it appears he is winning. Clausen, somehow, was not on anyone’s radar before this season, yet now some, me included, would contend that he is the best quarterback in this draft class. Another thing proved wrong since the start of the season, this is not a strong quarterback class. If anything, it’s fairly weak. Even last year, we had three quarterbacks go in the first round (Stafford, Sanchez, Freeman) and this year, it’s looking like Bradford and Clausen will be the only ones taken in the first round, unless some stupid GM falls in love with Colt McCoy or Tim Tebow and takes them a round earlier than they could have gotten them (nothing against Tebow, I think he could be a fine player, but I am not a fan of making huge reaches for players). In fact, Tebow might be the only quarterback taken in the 2nd round. After him, it’ll all be a matter of taste for teams. Do they want a proven college guy with a weak arm and little upside (Colt McCoy, Tony Pike), a major project with a cannon for an arm (John Skelton, Jevan Snead) or an athletic mobile quarterback with mechanical issues (Dan LeFevour, Zac Robinson, Jarrett Brown). Because it’ll all be a matter of taste, we could see guys slip to the 5th round or so that maybe could have gone in the 3rd.

If I were needing a running back from this year’s draft class, I’d wait until the mid rounds. There is not a lot of depth atop the draft class (though I do like Jahvid Best), but there are several starter caliber running backs who could be available in rounds 3-5 (Toby Gerhart, Montario Hardesty, Ben Tate, Deji Karim). CJ Spiller gets all the hype, but he’s not an every down back in the NFL, but rather a cool weapon who will be overdrafted. Teams looking for a speed Reggie Bush type guy like him would be better served waiting a round or two for a guy like Joe McKnight or Dexter McCluster. Jonathan Dwyer has physical upside, but he’s out of shape and his stats last year came in a weird offense that doesn’t translate to the NFL and he’s, at the very least, a question mark, but he could wind up being a steal in the 3rd. He could also wind up being a wasted pick though, so be careful.

Dez Bryant is the wide receiver with the most hype and though I don’t worry about him because of his character issues (which consist of eating lunch with Deion Sanders, which somehow resulted in him getting suspended for a year and occasionally hanging out with Pacman Jones) though I do worry about his focus on the field and his ability to transition quickly to a Pro Style offense after not running any real routes at Oklahoma State. He has the upside, but he’s also a risk. For a safer alternative, there are guys like Damian Williams, Golden Tate, Jeremy Williams, though Tate doesn’t have the size to be anything more than a #2 and Jeremy Williams has a history of nasty injuries. Williams is my top receiver (even though it seems ESPN has never even heard of him). He’ll probably be a 2nd round pick, but he has future #1 option written all over him. Guys like Brandon LaFell and Eric Decker should be available in the 2nd round as big possession receivers, though buyers should be aware of Decker’s history of injuries.

The tight end class adds depth to the receiver class this year. Jermaine Gresham is a lock first round pick, but Rob Gronkowski would have been a first rounder if he hadn’t gotten hurt and he looked healthy at his Pro Day. Dennis Pitta is the safe pick, with good reliable hands over the middle and underrated athletic ability, while Aaron Hernandez is a very one dimensional tight end. He can run and catch, that’s about it. He’s a horrible run blocker and lacks that elite height over the middle. There are very few tight ends in the NFL that can get away with that and because of that, I have doubts about Hernandez’s ability to do so, though his athletic abilities and history of production are intriguing. Ed Dickson should be a solid reliable tight end option in the 4th round range for teams needing tight ends, but having other more important needs (St. Louis, Kansas City).

The offensive line has always been the hardest position for me to scout because, admittedly, there are times I am watching football and the offensive line pretty much just looks like a big moving blob of fat guys. However, I do have some differing opinions on offensive linemen from the “experts” out there. I love Charles Brown, his footwork and his natural abilities as a zone blocking scheme, and I have him as my 2nd rated offensive tackle. I would definitely use a top 15 pick on him if I were a zone blocking team needing a tackle (Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle). Russell Okung is my top offensive tackle, just like everyone else. He should be a dominant, relative safe pick in the top 5 in the mold of Ryan Clady. Bruce Campbell grabbed everyone’s attention at the Combine with his measurables and though he has upside up to the moon, he’s a huge risk with his history of inconsistencies and injuries. Trent Williams flashed the athletic abilities at the Combine too, but I still think he’s a man without a position (too small to play right tackle, not a good enough pass blocker to play left tackle), though ESPN would never call him that. The upside is there though. Anthony Davis is plummeting down my board after showing up out of shape to the Combine and skipping his Pro Day (without telling anyone), bringing back memories of this team last year with Andre Smith (skipping the Combine without telling anyone, showing up out of shape to his Pro Day). I gave Andre Smith a 3rd round grade last year and I still stand by that even though he was drafted 6th overall (before getting hurt and missing most of last year). After those guys, and Bryan Bulaga, who should all go in the first, this offensive tackle class drops off like a cliff and we could see teams starved for offensive line help reach for guys like Jason Fox, Jared Veldheer, Roger Saffold, and Tony Washington in the 2nd. The guard class is headlined by easily the most hyped guard in the last 10 years, Mike Iupati, though I am more conservative on him than most because I don’t think his tape quite matches his upside. Mike Johnson is a very solid guard in the 2nd round range and would be a perfect fit for a zone blocking scheme. Vladimir Ducasse and John Jerry are big mauling guards who could be drafted in the 3rd round. As for centers, I have not bought into the Maurkice Pouncey hype and I still have JD Walton (not a glamorous or exciting prospect, but a get the job done, reliable team leader at center) as my top center prospect.

Tomorrow I update defense

 

November- Defense (2010)

November- Offense (2010)

May (2010)

 

2011 Week 3 Rankings

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32(32). Seattle Seahawks 0-2

Tarvaris Jackson vs. the pissed off Pittsburgh defense after a loss. Yeah, there was no way that would end well. And it didn’t. The Seahawks didn’t call a single play in Pittsburgh territory until midway through the 4th quarter. However, the Seahawks head home to the magic Qwest Field now. They lost 6 games by 14+ points last year on the road, but still went 5-3. They play 3 games at home against the NFC West this year and the NFC West is 6-30 on the road in last season and this season combined. If they lose the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, that will be why.

31(28). Kansas City Chiefs 0-2

The Chiefs have been outscored 150-30 in their last 4 games that have counted. Matt Cassel is 57-109 for 437 yards, 1 touchdown, and 9 interceptions. Remember when everyone thought he was an MVP candidate? Good times. And now the Chiefs have lost Jamaal Charles, in addition to Tony Moeaki and Eric Berry, for the season on IR. Charles tore his ACL in a collision with the opposing team’s mascot. For the record, on a bizarre scale of 1-10, that’s about a 13. 

30(29). Jacksonville Jaguars 1-1

Luke McCown completed 10 passes last week. 4 of those were to the other team. He’s been benched for Blaine Gabbert now, marking the 3rd starting quarterback the Jaguars will have in 3 weeks. David Garrard might not have been great and he might not have been worth the 8 million he was owed this season, but this team was hardly pressed for cap space, so I still don’t understand that move. Now Blaine Gabbert has to start before he’s ready and before they ideally wanted him to and the team could quit on the coach and the front office any day now with the consistently shifting situation at quarterback. They’re a mess.

29(31). San Francisco 49ers 1-1

If Alex Smith can’t throw for 200 yards against Seattle or Dallas missing 2 of their top 3 cornerbacks, I think it’s safe to say that he’s not going to be a functional starting quarterback in this league. Jim Harbaugh tried, but he did not succeed. Smith is doing nothing more than keeping the seat warm for raw rookie 2nd round pick Colin Kaepernick. The switch could be made any week now as the 49ers would be smart to see what Kaepernick has before they make the decision whether or not to draft one of the three talented signal callers in this year’s draft (Andrew Luck, Matt Barkley, and Landry Jones). Chances are, they’re going to have a shot to draft one of them this April.

28(27). Cincinnati Bengals 1-1

Andy Dalton is looking better than he did in the preseason, albeit against Cleveland and Denver, and the Bengals have an easy game with San Francisco this week and could easily be 2-1 at the end of it. However, with a recent arrest to Jerome Simpson and a recent 3 game suspension handed out to Cedric Benson, their fans are once again reminded that the Bengals are known more for their negative off the field behavior than anything, positive or negative (mostly negative), on the field.

27(30). Denver Broncos 1-1

TEBOW! TEBOW! TEBOW! Well, the fans got their wish last week…sort of. Due to lack of depth at the wide receiver position after injuries, Tebow came in as a wide receiver to block. He’s saying all the right things and being a good sport, doing whatever the team asks him to do, but you have to wonder when the Broncos are going to try to see what they have with him. I know they didn’t draft him, but he was a first round pick. It would be in their best interest to see what he can do in game action at quarterback, not to mention the right thing to do for a kid in Tebow who has never done anything wrong in game action on any level. Sure he doesn’t look good in practice, but, as Allen Iverson, would say, we’re talking about practice!

26(22). Miami Dolphins 0-2

Living up to his billing as extremely inconsistent, Chad Henne throws for 416 yards one week and then 170 the next on 12 for 30. Speaking of inconsistent, one week after proclaiming Reggie Bush a feature back, the Dolphins gave Bush 7 touches last week (after 20 week 1). The rookie Daniel Thomas, who had disappointed all preseason, got 19 touches week 2 after not getting a single one week 1. Who knows what’s going to happen week 3, but the smart money is on Reggie Bush’s days as a lead back being over (they didn’t last very long).

25(26). Carolina Panthers 0-2

Cam Newton had a rookie record 432 passing yards last week, breaking a record 422 yards, set by Cam Newton the week before. 2 weeks, 2 record breaking performances is a pretty good way to start a career, but I bet Newton wishes there was a W somewhere in there. However, with the lowly Jaguars coming to town this week, there’s a very good chance Newton gets his first win this season. The rest of the team is struggling, but Panther fans have to be happy with Newton’s progression as a starting quarterback. They haven’t had a franchise quarterback in forever.

24(24). Indianapolis Colts 0-2

The Colts have looked really bad in these first 2 weeks, getting destroyed by Houston and the losing to Cleveland in Indianapolis, a week after Cleveland lost at home at Cincinnati. However, I don’t agree with the naysayers who think this will be a 2-14 or 3-13 team. They still have Reggie Wayne. They still have Dallas Clark. They still have Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. They still have Gary Brackett. Kerry Collins is playing terrible right now, but he’s historically a slow starter and about a month ago he was retired. Give him a few weeks to warm up or worst case Curtis Painter comes in and plays better than Collins is playing now. This team will win some games.

23(21). Minnesota Vikings 0-2

Yikes! One week after Donovan McNabb throws for 37 yards against San Diego, the Vikings blow a 17-0 lead against Tampa Bay at home. Is it time to call up old man Favre yet? More likely this team just switches to Christian Ponder earlier than they’d like to. The good news is that Kevin Williams is back this week after a 2 game suspension, so they’ll get better. I don’t know if they’ll get a lot better though.

22(25). Oakland Raiders 1-1

The Raiders blew a 21-3 halftime lead last week on a last minute drive by Ryan Fitzpatrick and the once lowly Bills. That has to hurt. The Raiders really have to be concerned about their defense after giving up touchdowns on all 5 2nd half drives by the Bills last week. They face their toughest test this year with the Jets coming to town. It’ll be interesting to see how Jason Campbell does against a tough New York defense, especially since New York figures to be able to at least slow down Darren McFadden. Something tells me he won’t throw for 300 yards again this week.

21(23). Tennessee Titans 1-1

A week after losing to the same Jacksonville team that got demolished in New York week 2, the Titans bounced back at home against Baltimore, who was fresh off of beating the Pittsburgh Steelers by 28. However, I think Baltimore was just flat after an emotional win over the big, bad Steelers and they weren’t fully prepared for the lowly Titans. I still don’t think this team is all that great. Denver this week shouldn’t be much of a test, but Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Houston in their next 3 games will be tougher.

20(15). St. Louis Rams 0-2

The Rams were supposed to take a step forward this season. However, injuries have plagued their defense and with Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola hurt, Sam Bradford doesn’t have a lot of help around him on offense in terms of playmakers. They’re making stupid mistakes and Sam Bradford is cracking under the pressure of having to do it all by himself in just his 2nd season. Their first 2 games were both winnable games. Now they have to play Baltimore, Washington, Green Bay, Dallas, New Orleans and then go to Arizona and Cleveland. I know the NFC West sucks, but the Rams could be out of the race entirely at the end of that stretch if they sit at 2-7 or 3-6.

19(20). New York Giants 1-1

The Giants won the injury bowl against the Rams, but they could have easily lost if St. Louis hadn’t made so many mistakes. Needless to say, I don’t like their chances much in Philadelphia this week assuming Michael Vick plays. I think they just lost too many guys in the offseason and to injuries to field a competitive playoff team.

18(19). Washington Redskins 2-0

Lo and behold the Redskins are 2-0. I won’t consider them a legitimate playoff contender until they beat a legitimate playoff contender, but the work Mike Shanahan has done with Rex Grossman to make him a legitimate signal caller and also the work Rex Grossman has done to make himself into a legitimate signal caller is pretty remarkable. However, let’s see how they do against Dallas first.

17(16). Cleveland Browns 1-1

I had this team at 11-5 in the preseason, powered by a weak schedule. So far they’ve beaten one weak team, Indianapolis, and lost to another Cincinnati. I still hope they can put it together and make the playoffs, but realistically it’s looking like this is the Cleveland team were going to see all year. They’ll win some games against bad teams and lose some against bad teams and ultimately end up around 8-8.

 

16(17). Arizona Cardinals 1-1

St. Louis is really banged up due to injuries and has a hell of a schedule coming up. Seattle and San Francisco both suck. Arizona should win this division by default, the 2nd year in a row this division has a default winner. Maybe it’s time we stop with this whole, all division leaders make the playoff things. The playoffs should be the best 12 teams regardless of division and conference (maybe not conference, but certainly division). That’s the fairest way. I’m tired of 7 and 8 win teams like Seattle last year and Arizona likely this year making the playoffs at the expense of good 9-10 win teams.

15(18). Buffalo Bills 2-0

The Bills are 2-0. Their reward, they get to be 9 point home underdogs to the Patriots and still have the majority of the public bet against them. They have to be feeling disrespected. This is a decent team, believe it or not. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the perfect fit for Chan Gailey’s offense and they’re going to be really motivated to prove the doubters wrong and end a ridiculously long losing streak against the Patriots. Don’t be surprised if the Bills give the Pats an early season scare for the 3rd straight year, or even win this game. Anything can happen in the NFL. We’ve seen it before. 

14(12). Chicago Bears 1-1

Yikes! One week the Bears were stomping on the Falcons, the next week Jay Cutler gets sacked 6 times by a New Orleans pass rush who was missing Will Smith and couldn’t get any pressure against Green Bay week 1. Cutler actually should have been sacked more than 6 times. He did a really good job of avoiding pressure and getting the ball out quickly. If it wasn’t for his moping around on the sideline, I’d say I was really impressed with Cutler last week. Now the Bears head home and play Clay Matthews and the Packers without right tackle Gabe Carimi, which means we could see a repeat of the Chicago/New York game where Cutler took 9 sacks and got hurt last season. Carimi was their only good offensive lineman last week. When he got hurt, everything went from bad to worse.

13(11). Dallas Cowboys 1-1

One week Tony Romo is the goat after throwing a last pick against New York. The next, he’s a hero leading a late comeback in 4th quarter and in overtime with a cracked rib and a punctured lung. By the way, I don’t agree with DeAngelo Hall saying he’s going to aim for Romo’s ribs this week. I don’t expect Hall to avoid his ribs. If he hits them, it’s football, but to aim for his ribs is to purposely inflict what could be very dangerous harm to Romo. There’s a lot your ribs protect and aiming for them is no different from aiming for a guy’s head. If it happens it happens, but you don’t try for that.

12(14). Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1-1

If the Buccaneers could show up in the 1st half of games, they’d be a pretty good team. One week after almost engineering a 27-13 comeback against Detroit, the Buccaneers succeeded in coming back from down 17-0 against the Vikings week 2 in Minnesota. At halftime of that game, they looked like just another team in a sophomore slump. Now they’re right in the playoff mix again. I think this team hangs around all season, but the NFC is really crowded. Beating Atlanta this week would definitely help.

11(13). Pittsburgh Steelers 1-1

The Steelers got the bounce back win they needed against Seattle, but again it was Seattle. There was nothing in that game that made me even think about reconsidering my stance that this is a 9 or 10 win team and could easily miss the playoffs. The good news for them is that the AFC is thin this year. With Indianapolis dropping out of the playoff mix, there are really only 5 teams other than Pittsburgh that have a realistic shot at making the playoffs this year out of the AFC, New England, San Diego, Houston, Baltimore, and New York. However, maybe a surprise team like Buffalo sneaks in.

10(9). Atlanta Falcons 1-1

The Falcons beat one of the 4 teams to beat them last year, Philadelphia. However, if Michael Vick doesn’t go down in that game, I think Atlanta is a 0-2 team right now looking at a must win game in Tampa Bay. Matty Ice is cool in the 4th quarter, but I don’t think they make that comeback if Philadelphia has a quarterback who can throw the ball downfield and complete 3rd and longs. They’re still just on the playoff border for me in a stacked NFC. Needless to say, a loss in Tampa Bay this week would be very bad.

9(10). New York Jets 1-1

The Jets defense looked awesome last week, but then again it was Jacksonville. Luke McCown sucks. Besides, if I were a Jets fan, I’d be more worried that Mark Sanchez only had 182 yards and threw 2 interceptions against a terrible Jacksonville secondary missing its best defensive back, Derek Cox. Also, Shonn Greene, who was supposed to be the lead back this year, has a mere 75 rushing yards and 1 score on 26 carries. I would say if Shonn Greene can’t get it together this week against a poor Oakland run defense, he’d be benched, but who would they bench him for. LaDainian Tomlinson is too old to be a lead back. Besides, he’s only got 24 yards on 11 carries this season. If they can’t run the ball, I don’t like their chances, no matter how good their defense is.

8(8). Detroit Lions 2-0

The Lions live up to the preseason hype once again, joining Buffalo and Washington in the group of teams it’s weird to think of as 2-0 teams. The majority of 2-0 teams make the playoffs and I like Detroit’s chances better than Buffalo’s or Washington. And for the record, I don’t have any problem with Detroit running up the score on Kansas City. You may say it’s unsportsmanlike, but I don’t agree. If you suck, you deserve to get humiliated and you know that huge win had to feel good for Lions fans after all they’ve been through. Even better for Lions fans, I like their chances to improve to 3-0 this week against Minnesota.

7(5). Baltimore Ravens 1-1

Baltimore lost last week, but that’s understandable because they were flat after giving 110% to win a huge game against the hated rival Steelers. John Harbaugh normally does well after a loss, especially a loss as a favorite, so I like their chances to get back to 2-1 this week in St. Louis. I still really like this team. The AFC doesn’t have a clear 2nd best team after New England. Baltimore could definitely be that team.

6(7). San Diego Chargers 1-1

The early season struggles haven’t gone anywhere for San Diego. A week after almost losing to Minnesota in San Diego in a game that Donovan McNabb threw for 37 yards in, the Chargers lost a winnable game in New England in which the yards totals were pretty even. It makes sense that the Patriots always beat the Chargers. The Patriots will kill you if you shoot yourself in the foot and the Chargers do that a lot. The fact that San Diego is still a legitimate contender to be the 2nd best team in the AFC shows how poor the conference is this year.

5(6). Houston Texans

My pick for 2nd best team in the conference after New England is Houston right now. San Diego always shoots themselves in the foot and I don’t know if Baltimore is talented or disciplined enough to really be an elite team in this league. Houston wins by default. I’m impressed with their ability to win in situations they shouldn’t be 100% in. The Texans could have easily coasted against the Colts with Peyton Manning out. They didn’t. The Texans could have easily coasted against the lowly Dolphins after an emotional win over the hated rival Colts. They didn’t. I really like this team this year. However, I think they’d be the 4th best team in the NFC if they were an NFC team. This week’s game against New Orleans should prove that.

4(4). Philadelphia Eagles 1-1

Speaking of the NFC, Green Bay, New Orleans, and Philadelphia line up 2-3-4 for the 2nd week in a row. The NFC is just better this year. Philadelphia probably wins last week in Atlanta if Michael Vick doesn’t get hurt. They have an easier game this week with New York and Vick should be back. This might be the most talented team in the league if their defense continues to play like it did last week. Julio Jones and Roddy White couldn’t do anything, but their front 7 did a better than expected job on Michael Turner, except for one big run. However, turnover and chemistry issues have them behind New England, Green Bay, and New Orleans. Their team still hasn’t been together long and plus Asante Samuel is unhappy that the Eagles brought in Nnamdi Asomugha and DRC and says he would be willing to play elsewhere. That’s not a good thing for team morale.

3(3). New Orleans Saints 1-1

The offense has always been consistent. They’ve scored 30+ in their first 2 games, a pretty common occurrence for this team. However, after Aaron Rodgers lit them up week 1, Jay Cutler couldn’t do anything against them week 2 anything thanks to New Orleans’ pass rush. It’s tough to grade their defense so far because most teams struggle against Rodgers, but then again, most teams can get pressure on Jay Cutler. Still, I think this is one of the elite teams in the league. Green Bay is better than them, but no one else in the NFC is.

2(2). Green Bay Packers 2-0

The Packers should be a little bit concerned about their pass defense. They’ve allowed the most passing yards in the league and free safety Nick Collins is done for the season with an injury. However, I wouldn’t be too concerned. Drew Brees is an excellent quarterback and it’s possible they were just sleepwalking against Carolina and that’s why they gave up so many yards to Cam Newton. I think their defense is good enough for them to win a lot of games as long as Aaron Rodgers is healthy and leading that offense.

1(1). New England Patriots 2-0

This defense bends, but does not break. Sure they gave up a lot of yards to Miami and San Diego, but they still won by 14 points. Besides, almost every time Tom Brady drops back to pass, something good happens for this offense. Their offensive line is playing very well and that should be a scary thought for the rest of the league. New England remains #1.

 

2012 Scouting Reports

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My name is Steven Lourie. I have been blogging for about 5 years now, writing mostly on Sportingnews.com, before starting this site on May 4th 2009. I write about football, baseball, and basketball, but this site devoted to football. Sports and writing are my two passions. Together, they are just awesome. 

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