Taylor is going to be 31 in the middle of next season, but he doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear on his body with only 1028 career carries (the equivalent of roughly 3.5 years). However, Taylor is nothing but an average running back right now. He and Matt Forte will make a good running back combination and Taylor should also give the Forte that he lacked last year, which could lead to a rebound year for Forte (like drafting Donald Brown did for Joseph Addai in Indy this year). That being said, 4 years is still a long time for a back for 30, so I don’t love this move.

Grade: B+

Guard

Georgia

6-5 310

Draft board overall prospect rank: #87

Draft board overall guard rank: #8

Overall rating: 70 (mid 3rd)

40 time: 5.37 (projected)

3/27/11: There was a time when I really liked Clint Boling. I actually had him as my top rated offensive tackle (this is not a good offensive tackle class) heading into the season. As I started watching him more, it became clear, this guy struggled way too much with speed rushers to be a tackle in the NFL. He wasn’t athletic enough to play tackle and would have to move inside. Measurements at the Senior Bowl confirmed this. He had too short of arms to play outside.

Fortunately for him, he has so much experience at other positions that moving inside wouldn’t be that hard. He’s played tackle for the past 2 years, but he also has experience at guard and has even played some center, not a lot, but some. Guard seems like it’s going to be his position going forward, and he’s done well as a guard this offseason, especially at the Senior Bowl.

He is impressing in workouts and proving what there was never any doubt about, this kid has a good grasp of the fundamentals. He’s a good technician. He’s smart and versatile. He’s problem is, he’s just not that athletic. He’s rising on my board of late and that seems to be the general consensus. He could go in the 2^nd round and is most likely coming off the board in the 3^rd round.

NFL Comparison: Eric Steinbach

Cormac Eklof is an avid New England Patriots fan and creator of ‘Boston Irish’, primarily a Red Sox and Patriots blog.

He has compiled a 129-46 record pitching for the Dublin Hurricanes in the Irish baseball league and has pitched for the Irish National baseball team since 1996. He played three years in the Irish American football league as Quarterback for the DCU Saints, where they never called late hits on the Quarterback. He does not like hard tackling Middle Linebackers.

       Email: cormac.arthur.eklof@gmail.com

       Twitter: http://twitter.com/BostonIrishBlog

       Boston Irish: http://irishbaseballseason.blogspot.com/

It looks very unlikely that Goldson would return to San Francisco in 2011, but his starting opportunities had dwindled to none so he can no choice but to come back to San Francisco on a cheap one year deal, 2 million, and compete for the starting free safety job, one he’ll probably win. He’s familiar with the team and the personnel and is more talented than Reggie Smith and Madieu Williams. 2 million dollars is cheap for a starting safety.

Grade: A

Tulloch must have taken a pay cut to stay in Detroit and play for Jim Schwartz in a wide nine scheme again because 25 million over 5 years with only 11.2 million guaranteed is a steal for a player who ranked 7^th among middle linebackers on ProFootballFocus’ in Detroit’s scheme last season. The Lions did well to bring back 21 of 22 starters from a playoff team (only losing Eric Wright, who was overpaid by Tampa Bay). They’ll need another cornerback through the draft, an upgrade at safety, and some youth on the offensive line, but they’re in good shape for another trip to the playoffs in 2012.

Grade: A

11. Oklahoma City Thunder- C Cole Aldrich

This pick was acquired in a trade with New Orleans and I’ll grade the trade for both teams after I grade all the picks, but for now I’m just going to grade this pick straight up, as if the Thunder used the 11^th pick on Aldrich. Aldrich is a player that I don’t think will be anything special at the next level. He can do some things well, block shots, grab rebounds, hit the jumper, but he’s not a true power big man and there isn’t really one thing he specializes in. He’s exactly what the Thunder need however, a defensive big man that doesn’t need the ball and he’s probably better than any center they have on the team, but he wasn’t worth the 11^th pick.

Grade: B

12. Memphis Grizzlies- SG Xavier Henry

Not a bad pick. Henry provides a talented scorer off the bench that the Grizzlies lacked last year and he can play the wing for the Grizzlies should Rudy Gay leave as a free agent, but was he the 12^th best player in this draft? I don’t know about that. He’s a good scorer in flashes, but he’s inconsistent and pretty one dimensional. He’s also not going to be a starter for them any time soon unless Gay leaves so you’re using the 12^th pick on a bench player, which may or may not be a smart idea, but ideally you want starters in the top 12-14 picks.

Grade: B

13. Toronto Raptors- PF Ed Davis

Great pick. For the 2^nd year in a row the Raptors have drafted a very high upside player in hopes of being able to have a face of the franchise type player after Bosh leaves, which it looks like he will. Davis is raw, but still young, so that’s fine and I had him as one of the ten best players in this draft class so the value is good. He actually fills a need even if Bosh leaves because they were looking for more muscle inside.

Grade: A

14. Houston Rockets- PF Patrick Patterson

The Houston Rockets team is full of players like Patterson and that’s why they were competitive last year without Yao Ming. This was a weak draft class so while Patterson won’t be a star in this league, I think he would have been well worth a top ten pick. In this new era of power forwards where it’s less about size and strength and more about rebounding and hustle, Patterson will fit in just fine. He can also hit an outside shot. He gives them more options inside with Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, and possibly Yao Ming and I think Patterson will be a starter for this team somewhere sometime next year, whether it be as a 4, a power 3, or an undersized 5, or a mix of all 3.

Grade: A

15. Milwaukee Bucks- C Larry Sanders

This happens every year. A team takes a big man, who is very raw, on potential alone and nothing happens. Sanders has a 7-7 wingspan, but he is challenged offensively and has only been playing basketball for 6 years. That’s raw. He also has a very skinny frame and will need to bulk up. I don’t think he’ll be worth this pick in a few years, but he does fill a bit of a need as a shot blocker if he, offensively, can work his way into the rotation.

Grade: C

16. Portland Trailblazers- SF Luke Babbitt

Trailblazers got him in a trade, but still, I’m going to judge this pick for what it is. Small forward was the Blazers biggest need area and Babbitt was one of the best available. What more do you want from a team?

Grade: A

17. Washington Wizards- PF Kevin Sheraphin

I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t know very much about this kid at all. I know he was projected to be a late first round pick and that he can come over to play now if he wants, but based on how few Europeans have panned out in recent years and how weak of a European class this was, as said by experts, I’ll be skeptical.

Grade: B

18. Los Angeles Clippers- PG Eric Bledsoe

I don’t see why the Clippers had to trade what could possibly be a lottery pick in 2011 to get their backup point guard, but I’m not grading the trade, I’m grading the pick. Bledsoe is part of a weak point guard class and since they did need a backup point guard, they could have done a lot worse things than reaching for a guy who probably should have gone mid 20s. They don’t really have anything behind injury prone Baron Davis.

Grade: B

19. Boston Celtics- PG Avery Bradley

I wanted to see the Celtics take someone who can help right away, not an undersized shooting guard who is solid on defense and can put the ball in the hoop, but will have to convert to being a point guard at 6-2, something he is far from being right now. He won’t be able to play extensive minutes early and even if he matures into an extensive minutes type player, it’ll be at point guard, where they already have Rajon Rondo, and they should have him for a while.

Grade: C

20. San Antonio Spurs- SG James Anderson

Anderson struggles defensively, but he can be a solid sparkplug off the bench who can shoot the ball well from the outside. He struggles to create his own shot, but he’s exactly the type of players the Spurs needed off the bench, someone who can hit a shot, play a role, and play a role immediately.

Grade: A

There were questions about Winston’s ability to play left tackle, but the Chiefs are paying him right tackle type money to be their right tackle, where they have a huge need. Winston is one of the better right tackles in the league (11^th rated offensive tackle, 4^th rated right tackle by ProFootballFocus) so 4 years, 22 million is very reasonable for him, especially in a weak offensive tackle market that just give Jeff Backus 5 million per year.

With right tackle shored up, nose tackle is their biggest non-quarterback need. In fact, it’s their only big non-quarterback need after the Winston signing and the Hillis signing. That could signal that Dontari Poe will be the pick at 11, but it could also signal that they are planning a move up for Ryan Tannehill. The Chiefs pick at 11 and would only have to move up to 7 to leapfrog Miami for him. That would cost them their 2^nd round pick, but it might be worth it.

Matt Cassel is not a long term option and I don’t expect much from Brady Quinn. I really hope he was just signed to compete with Ricky Stanzi and Tyler Palko for the #3 quarterback job and the Chiefs are still planning to add a young quarterback  early in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Grade: A

By Cormac Eklof 

The Detroit Lions are going to win a few games in 2011. 

The Lions have been breaking their fans hearts for a good stretch now. They have suffered through some long, painful streaks of failure. However, hope is on the horizon. How does a 1-5 record thus far this season offer hope? Last night’s 20-28 loss to the Giants should tell you everything you need to know about this young, fresh and talented Lions squads’ moxy. With Mathew Stafford out and Shaun Hill sadly breaking his arm, the Lions were reduced to their third string quarterback (Drew Stanton). On the road. Against the Giants fearsome pass rush. Did they crawl into the fetal position and fold? No, they outscored the Giants 10-7 in the fourth and were a few plays away from causing one of the shocks of the season. Detroit has now kept it close against the Packers, the Eagles and the Giants, and has absolutely annihilated a St Louis team that then went out and beat San Diego . Watch for the Lions to play spoiler against teams in the second half of the season, and watch next year as Stafford/Johnson/Best and Suh form the nucleus of a team that can legitimately challenge for postseason play from next season on. No, seriously!

Suh had 1.5 sacks and hit Manning 3 other times last night

Aint nothin’ wrong with CJ

The last couple of weeks the questions started, asking basically, ‘What is wrong with Chris Johnson?’ – a question generally posed by fantasy football players who were going on numbers, as opposed to the actual games. Johnson had barely broken the line of scrimmage all season long. You could see exactly why last night, Jacksonville basically stacked nine in ‘the box’ (up tight to the line) and dared the Titans and CJ to run. The latter took the challenge and hammered out a hard earned 100 plus yard day. There is nothing wrong with CJ, teams are just keying on to him, stuffing as many as nine guys in the box and challenging him. If anything, he might be actually running better than last season. Just bear in mind that 35 yard touchdown last night came against a team that was selling out to stop the run. One thing is clear, Fisher and the Titans are going to keep feeding him the rock. The Jaguars were simply daring the Titans to throw, yet they kept handing off to their stud running back. Watch as CJ builds on this confidence boosting showing and breaks off a few 100 yard games in a row.

The NFL front office needs to get its priorities straight

How can you expend so much energy penalising teams on touchdown celebrations, and so little on player safety? A feature of this weekend pasts games was penalties called for fancy dance routines, and for the Cowboys, leapfrogging after scoring. Meanwhile, all around the league, defensive players were dishing out career and indeed life threatening blows at head height. When is the NFL going to get serious and focus on serious issues, instead of fining players for, basically, being entertaining? Rugby has a simple rule, no tackling or contact above the shoulders. The NFL should immediately eject any player that hits another player at head height. This would show they were serious about protecting their most valuable asset, their players.

Might be a bit early to count the Superbowl champions out, just yet. 

Sunday, on the road against a feisty Buccaneers team, the Saints (now 4-2) churned out a season-high 475 yards total offense and weren’t forced to punt until early in the fourth quarter. This was an impressive 60 minute showing, from a team that will soon get the explosive Reggie Bush back. They are also playing without Pierre Thomas. The Saints have struggled, no doubt, but they are still alive, and would you bet against them coming on strong in the second half of the season? I know I wouldn’t.

Tom Brady didn’t need Randy Moss as much as Randy Moss needed him

There were many, many football fans in the New England region, a place where second guessing a coach or a front office is almost a constitutional requirement, who thought the trade of Moss to the Vikings would mean Brady would never complete a pass in the NFL again, Well, those folk were pretty incorrect in their assessment. Brady to Branch had a nice old time ring to it, and was a crucial factor in the Patriots stunning come back win over the Ravens. Meanwhile Moss toiled the last couple of weeks with a fourty plus year old Quarterback with tendinits issues, who could go on the injured list at any moment. Think Moss will enjoy having Tavaris Jackson throwing to him? Imagine the chidlish hissy fits in that scenario! Still, at least Moss is getting paid, you know, since he must have been playing for free in New England, he was that ‘poorly’ treated.

http://irishbaseballseason.blogspot.com/

By Matthew Frank

For the first time in memory, the Giants defense was a complete mess last year.  The entire unit played poorly for most of the year and was an utter disaster.  Perry Fewell was brought in to coach this underachieving unit into shape.  To show you what type of urgency the Giants gave the defense, all of their draft picks except for one (which was in the later rounds) was for defense.  Also, the big off season signings were both to bolster a secondary and linebacking corp that needed drastic help.

However, not of this will help if the Giants defensive line, which is supposed to be its strength, plays like they did last year.  Justin Tuck is a true stud, but was never the same after getting tripped and injured by the Cowboys.  He is supposedly back to fully strength and is excellent against both the pass and run.  Osi Umineyora will hopefully be back at full strength after knee surgery a couple of years ago.  It usually takes players two years to come back from that type of injury, so a dominant Umineyora may be in the cards.  And hopefully so because last year he was really pushed around; especially on running plays.  Teams would consistently target Umineyora and push him back several yards on each play.  Mathias Kiwanuka is actually projected to be a starter, but I don’t think anybody knows what to make of him at this point.  The one time (and briefly thank God) linebacker definitely has some skills getting to the quarterback, but you have to wonder about his overall play.  First round draft choice Jason Pierre-Paul was brought in to possibly replace these players due to injury and contract situations (for next year), but for now don’t expect him to see a lot of playing time on a team with a lot of defensive ends.

The tackles were the major source of concern last year, and were routinely pushed back and battered.  Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty must play like their contracts demand it if this unit has a chance.  Teams routinely pushed up the middle on running plays, and just pushed the ends to the outside on passing plays.  Bernard and Canty have to put their injury history behind them and really get some push up the middle.  Linval Joseph was a very smart draft choice and is another big body to clog up the middle.  Expect to see him a lot on the rotation.

The linebacking corp is still a major source of concern.  The Giants did go out and sign Keith Bulluck, but I’m not sure how much you can count on a player in a new system, that is 33 and coming off of knee surgery.  Michael Boley returns to the team after a disappointing first year with the team.  If he can play like he did in Atlanta, this will be a major coup for the team.  Clint Sintim had a good rookie year, but is going to be counted on a lot more for making big plays.  Let’s see if he can make the major transition up.  Chase Blackburn should start at MLB which is why Bulluck was signed.  Blackburn is an ok-enough player, but I don’t think the Giants feel he is a consistent starter as he can be thrown around.  Phillip Dilliard was drafted as a potential backup, but nobody seems to know if he is a good enough player moving forward.

While the secondary was a disaster last year, a lot of it had to do with Kenny Phillips injury and the defensive line applying no pressure to opposing teams quarterback.  Phillips is back this year and all reports are that he is back to full strength.  Just in case, Antrel Rolle was signed to start this year.  Rolle was a great, if not slightly overpriced, signing for a team that drastically needed depth to this unit.  He’s a bit undersized, but a good ball hawk.  Deon Grant also brings a lot of stability to this unit.  The cornerbacks are again a major source of concern.  Aaron Ross is already battling injuries and Corey Webster can have issues from game to game.

The Giants definitely upgraded the secondary over the year, but it still comes down to the dominance of the defensive line.  If the line can get consistent pressure and push, this unit should be ok.   The Giants had a maddening tendency to get a team into a third and long last season, only to give up an easy pass while the opposing quarterback had all the time in the world to scan the field.  Hopefully this year, with a refreshed team and defensive scheme, the unit will play cohesively again.

http://www.bigbluefootballreview.com/

Jabari Greer has been a pretty middle of the run cornerback over the past 2 seasons, but he was actually one of the best cornerbacks in the league in 2009, the last time the Saints had a respectable pass rush in front of him. In 2009, he ranked 9^th on ProFootballFocus. He’s not much of a ballhawk, but he’s a solid cover cornerback and the best the Saints have. He only had one year left on his deal and a 23 million dollar extension over 3 years, taking him through his age 33 season in 2015, is pretty reasonable. I’m also betting this extension lowered his cap number in 2012, important for a Saints team backed up against the cap.

Grade: B