A month ago, I would have seen the Redskins signing of London Fletcher to a 2 year, 10.75 million dollar deal with 5.25 million guaranteed as a great deal, but middle linebackers are not being highly valued on this free agency market. Curtis Lofton, David Hawthorne, and Stephen Tulloch all signed for less than I expected.

Fletcher is still a good player, but he’s 37 in May so when you compare what the younger Hawthorne got (5 years, 19 million) and the younger Lofton got (5 years, 27.5 million), Fletcher’s deals slightly overpays him this year, even if it is essentially only a one year deal (little to no guaranteed money after the first year). This is a good deal to resign a team captain and one of the league’s leading tacklers last season, but not a great deal. I feel like he could have been had cheaper over a month after the start of free agency.

Grade: B

 

 

Kiwanuka will have to prove himself after major surgery last year, but this is a fairly low risk deal, 8.6 million over 2 years with very little guaranteed, and if he can prove himself once again, this deal is going to be a bargain.

Grade: A

 

 

Offensive Tackle

Ohio State

6-7 323

Draft board overall prospect rank: #64

Draft board overall offensive tackle rank: #5

Overall rating: 73 (3rd round)

40 time: 5.40

Games watched: Michigan State/Ohio State, Ohio State/Miami, Wisconsin/Ohio State, Ohio State/Penn State, Ohio State/Michigan

Positives

·         Excellent height (6-7)

·         Huge (6-7 323)

·         Long arms

·         Massive hands (11 inches)

·         Good hand use

·         Physical freak

·         Excellent feet for his size

·         Mobile and athletic – played some tight end on unbalanced lines at Ohio State

·         Size/athleticism combo

·         Good 2^nd level blocker

·         Experienced out of a 3 point stance

·         Good knee bend

·         Wide base in stance

·         Heavily recruited (#10 recruit in 2008, #2 offensive tackle behind Tyron Smith)

·         Incredibly dominant at the Senior Bowl

·         Flashes excellence

Negatives

·         Incredibly inconsistent

·         Allows way more sacks and pressures than he should

·         Disappointing Combine (only 19 reps of 225, 5.40 40)

·         Suspended on 2 occasions

·         Has a prior arrest

·         Failed The Combine’s drug test

·         Past injury history

·         Questions about motor and passion for the game

·         Work ethic concerns

·         Maturity concerns

·         Not a ton of experience (due to suspensions and injuries)

·         Has had some issues with speed rushers

NFL Comparison: Jared Gaither

Mike Adams has the talent to go in the top 5. He’s an absolute athletic freak who has mobile feet on the level of Matt Kalil, only he’s 20 pounds bigger. He’s 6-7 323 with 34 inch arms and massive 11 inch hands. He was the #2 ranked offensive tackle coming out of high school, in between Tyron Smith and Matt Kalil, both of whom went in the top 10.

However, he never lived up to this at Ohio State. He was in and out of the lineup with suspensions and injury and gave up way more sacks and pressures than you’d like. His senior year was especially disappointing. He only played in 7 games because of a suspension from the Ohio State tattoo scandal, and only faced two draftable pass rushers in those 7 games, Whitney Mercilus and Jack Crawford. He allowed 1.5 sacks to Mercilus and 2 sacks to Crawford, two speed rushers who were able to blow right past him and get the best of him.

He really just seems like one of those prospects that doesn’t get it. He has the off the field issues, a 2 game suspension in 2009 for breaking a team rule, a 5 game suspension in 2011 for the tattoo scandal, and a run in with the law in 2009 for drug possession (the charges were dropped). He also failed a drug test for marijuana at The Combine. The issue there isn’t that he smokes marijuana. It’s that he didn’t care enough about football to stop smoking marijuana in order to pass a drug test he knew was coming.

Going off the concerns about his passion for the game, his Combine workouts were really poor. For someone with his natural athletic gifts, 19 reps on the bench and a 5.40 40 with an awful 1.84 10 yard split, is incredibly disappointing. There are concerns about his ability to keep himself in elite football shape. Add in all this to his disappointing play on the field and you’ve got a prospect with serious passion and love of the game concerns, which is a huge red flag. He was a disappointing player for Ohio State in college and I have to think that he’ll continue to disappoint in the NFL as long as he’s drafted in the first 2 rounds.

My comparison for him is Jared Gaither. Like Gaither, Adams has elite physical abilities. Gaither was a high school tight end who came into the league at about 6-9 330. They both have excellent size/athleticism combinations, but Gaither fell into the 5^th round of the supplementary draft because of his lack of consistency and his off the field issues, the off the field issues that made him have to join the supplementary draft in the first place. Gaither has exceeded his draft range as he’s been a good left tackle when healthy, but he’s been consistent and off injured.

Adams won’t go in the 5^th round so I don’t like his chances of exceeding his draft range as much. He probably won’t go in the 1^st round, which once looked like an option after a dominant Senior Bowl. In the Senior Bowl, he shut down both Melvin Ingram and Courtney Upshaw, as well as Quinton Coples on occasion. I argued he should have been the MVP as the North won. However, after failing a drug test at The Combine, that no longer looks like an option. He now has competition for the #4 tackle spot from Bobby Massie, Mitchell Schwartz, and Jeff Allen.

He’ll probably still go in the 2^nd round because of his upside, but there’s a small chance he’ll last until the 3^rd round. Both Justin Houston and Christian Ballard fell 2 rounds below their previously projected draft range last year after failing drug tests at The Combine, but the Vikings still took Percy Harvin in the first round in 2009 after a failed drug test, so there’s no clear rule with this type of thing. It only takes one team to take a chance on him and I think one will in the 2^nd round, but there’s always a chance one doesn’t.

 

 

Wide Receiver 

Buffalo

6-0 189

40 time: 4.60

Draft board overall prospect rank: #236

Draft board wide receiver rank: #26

Overall rating: 50*

3/15/10: I still would draft him if given the chance, but a 4.60 at 6-0 189 doesn’t help him. He could have trouble getting drafted now, after a down year last year, but I like his hands and his upside. He could be a decent slot guy at the next level.

            7/25/09: Naaman Roosevelt knows how the fill the stat sheet. He had 104 catches for 1402 yards and 13 touchdowns last season as a junior at Buffalo. However, he is ranked as a mid round prospect at best right now for a few reasons. He’s very thin at 6-0 185 and does not have good timed speed. He also hasn’t played against the best competition, though he did have a good game last season against Missouri. He doubles as a good kick returner, despite his lack of timed speed. He’s very quick and can break long gains in the open field. He runs good routes and has very sure hands. He projects as a sure handed slot receiver in the NFL. Though he’s very weak and has a small frame, he isn’t necessarily short. At 6-0, he is going to be more of an end zone threat than most slot receivers. He’s a horrible run blocker and very injury prone because of his small frame. In a league where you can never have too many pass catchers, a sure handed receiver like Roosevelt is going to be heavily sought after in the mid rounds by almost all teams. Though I never see him as a starter in the NFL because of his frame, he can be a nice 3^rd or 4^th option/kick returner and that’s all you really expect out of a 3^rd or 4^th round pick.

NFL Comparison: Greg Camarillo 

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

Senior Bowl Preview

Weigh Ins Stock Up/Down 

Senior Bowl Practice Draft Stock Up/Down 

Senior Bowl Game Notes 

 

QB Ricky Stanzi DOWN

I want to see what he does in the game before I really knock him down because he is someone I liked more than most coming into this week, but he hasn’t looked good in practice. He threw several picks today. He checks down way too much. One of his picks was so horrible a coach told him “if you throw that, that’s going to get picked every time” and I have to agree with him.

QB Jake Locker DOWN

Again holding major judgment until the game, but he’s struggled in practice mightily. If he doesn’t perform this Saturday, all the blame will be on him, not his supporting cast, as was the case at Washington.

QB Colin Kaepernick UP

I know the other two haven’t been very good, but Kaepernick seems like the best North quarterback at this point. He’s a project, but he could be well worth it. He’s being called Cam Newton of the West and if someone takes a chance on Newton in the 1^st/2^nd range, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if someone took a chance on Kaepernick in the 3^rd/4^th round range.

RB Roy Helu Jr. UP

Again, tough to tell with running backs without pads and full tackle, but he looks good and he’s made some nice pass catches. He’s one of those guys who makes this list because he’s had a solid overall week and not because he particuarly stood out just today. Intrigued to see more Saturday.

WR Greg Salas DOWN

Impressed me earlier this week, much to my surprise, but had a few bad drops today.

TE Lance Kendricks UP

His hands as a short to intermediate option are very impressive. The ball doesn’t make a sound when it hits them and he’s got good speed as well. He’s small, but bigger, more productive, and all around more impressive than DJ Williams. I think it’s between him and Luke Stocker for the #2 tight end spot behind underclassman Kyle Rudolph. I give Kendricks the slight edge at this point.

OT James Carpenter DOWN

Impressed me earlier this week, but was atricious today. I don’t think he won a single one on one.

OT Derek Sherrod DOWN

I’m not seeing a first rounder in him. I know he’s got good upside, but he’s getting beat too often. Had one extremely ugly play where his quarterback would have gotten murdered if Sherrod was left alone on a man (Acho). He’s the OL version of Bailey, athleticism, but not much else. He’s a 2^nd rounder in my book now.

G John Moffitt DOWN

Worked out as a center and let’s just say it didn’t work out. He belongs at guard.

G Danny Watkins UP

Single most impressive offensive lineman this week for the South. 4 fantasic days. Can’t wait to watch him on Saturday. He’s 26, but he hasn’t played a lot of football so what he’s doing now is really impressive. He’s not going to have the 12+ year career you’d like out of a 2nd round guy, but he can improve still.

C Kristofer O’Dowd DOWN

Nothing new here. Still sucks. Having a terrible week. He can’t play one on one against bigger guys and he’s not very athletic either. His technique is a lot worse this week that it was on tape. I don’t know what’s going on.

C Kevin Kowalski DOWN

Doesn’t seem very athletic. He’s not doing well in one on ones this week. Undersized, slow, and doesn’t have the technique to make up for it.

 

DE Sam Acho UP

Very quick today and looked like an extremely fluid athlete in every defensive line drill. He’s undersized, so I’m interested in seeing how he does with his hand on the ground in full game action Saturday. I think he is athlete enough to play the 3-4, but he needs to prove he can play a 4-3. If he can do that, his stock could be in the 2^nd round range. If not, he’s a 3^rd or a 4^th.

DE Brooks Reed UP

Impressive again, motor never shuts off and that makes up for his lack of size. Quick, fiesty, and annoying (in a good way). He’s going to tire O-Lineman out.

DE Pernell McPhee UP

Lost all the weight he put on this season and it’s paid off. He’s having a good week. If he can stay in shape for the Combine and his Pro Day, and not having any more major weight fluxes, he could sneak into day 2.

DT Cedric Thornton DOWN

Getting dominated in one on ones all week. He didn’t look very fluid in technique drills. This small school kid needed a good week to get drafted before the first 5 rounds. He hasn’t done that.

DT Stephen Paea DOWN

Hurt his knee Monday and will have it scoped. He is supposed to be ready for The Combine, but you never know. He’ll have to prove his health at The Combine if he wants to move back up. He might slip into the 2^nd round now.

DT Ian Williams UP

There wasn’t a lot of one on ones between the offensive and defensive linemen today, but Williams was someone who stood out. He’s quietly having a good week. He can play the 3-4 nose as well as a 4-3 as a defensive tackle. He’s a run stopper with adequate pass rush. Good size at 6-1 3/8 311.

DT Sione Fua UP

Another guy who continued his impressive week today. A lot more mobile than you’d expect at his size and a smart kid with good technique. Could sneak into the 3^rd round as a nose tackle, but can also play the 4-3 as a defensive tackle.

NT Phil Taylor UP

Looked like a 265 pound end in the fluidity and technique drills and then went out and dominated one on one with great size and adaquate pass rushing moves. Very impressed with this kid. He’s my #1 nose tackle over Jerrell Powe if he plays well Saturday. He looks like an early-mid 2^nd rounder.

MLB Casey Matthews UP

Continuing to be impressive. Had a nice goal line pick and has flashed good ability in coverage all week. He’s quietly become a 2^nd rounder in my book and having one of the better weeks this week.

CB Kendric Burney UP

Not very big, not very fast, but when you play like he does, who cares. 5-9 184 with a 40 in the 4.5s likely, but he had two picks today, one of which was a very impressive end zone pick, he got his hands on two other balls, making excellent late, quick, breaks on the ball. He’s sneaky quick which might actually be more dangerous than flat out fast and athleticism. He was on Titus Young all day and locked up everyone’s favorite receiver with the exception on one excellent back shoulder throw in the end zone where Burney didn’t have a chance.

CB Curtis Brown UP

Had a good day in coverage. Seems athletic, fluid, made some nice plays like week. Impressive week.

S Quinton Carter DOWN

A good kid with his own non-profit, but not very fluid or instinctual in coverage. Might be just a strong safety or even a tweener. 

 

 

32(31). Kansas City Chiefs 1-3

The Chiefs fall to 32 despite their first win of the season last week for several reasons. One, they beat lowly Minnesota and they didn’t do it convincingly. Besides, they were at home. If that game’s played in Minnesota, they lose. My point will essentially be proven this week when they lose in Indianapolis. Also, Minnesota has a glimmer of hope in Christian Ponder, who could come on late and win a few games for them. Kansas City is stuck with Cassel. I have Minnesota ranked slightly higher for that reason. Also, Seattle looked good in a home loss to Atlanta so they move up 2 spots to 30 right above Minnesota.

31(25). Minnesota Vikings 0-4

A lot of people are calling for McNabb to be benched, which I don’t agree with. Yes, Ponder might be the best quarterback on their roster, but they brought in McNabb because they didn’t feel Ponder would be ready early this season. It’s still early and they’re doing the right thing by not rushing Ponder just because they’re 0-4, especially since Ponder would have a terrible supporting cast should he be made starter right now. Besides, it’s not like they’re in a playoff race. If McNabb starts the season 0-7 (entirely possible with Arizona, Chicago, and Green Bay next on the schedule), all that really does is help their draft status and help them land the blue chip left tackle (Matt Kalil?) they desperately need.

30(32). Seattle Seahawks 1-3

Seattle reminded us this week what we should have shown all along, they’ve got a tremendous home field advantage. They almost beat Atlanta, a week after beating Arizona. Simply put, this is too good of a home team in too bad of a road division (8-30 in the last two years on the road), to consider them favorites in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, no matter how bad their team actually is.

29(30). Jacksonville Jaguars 1-3

If the field crew paints the field on incorrectly, but no one is there to watch it, do they still suck at their jobs? I’d say yes. How do you mess that up? The field obviously confused rookie Blaine Gabbert, who completed just 16 of 42 for 196 yards. That has to be it. It can’t be that he’s just a bad quarterback or anything. All the “experts” loved him coming out of Missouri. They can’t all be wrong even though he threw just 16 touchdowns in a pass heavy offense his senior year.

28(27). Denver Broncos 1-3

Is Tebow starting yet? Ok, maybe I’ll change up the topic for the Broncos this week. Knowshon “Know Show” Moreno has 26 yards on 10 yards this year and is averaging a mere 4.0 per carry for his career. This week, he also famously had major trouble with an exercise back on the sidelines. Can we call him a bust? Hell, can we just agree that drafting running backs in the first round is not a great idea. Sure, you hit on some occasionally (McFadden, Peterson, Johnson), but for every one of those in the past two years, there’s a Moreno, or a Marshawn Lynch, a Donald Brown, or even a Jonathan Stewart, Rashard Mendenhall, Felix Jones, Chris Wells type, yeah, they’re solid, but were they really worth a first rounder, or a Jahvid Best, Ryan Matthews, CJ Spiller, Mark Ingram type, they’re still young, but there have a pretty slim chance of being McFadden, Peterson, or Johnson.

27(28). Miami Dolphins 0-4

Uh oh, Chad Henne is hurt and possibly done for the season. This is a huge hit to their chances in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. Credit the Dolphins for trying, they’ve contacted Trent Edwards, Brodie “0-10” Croyle, and Jake “pick six” Delhomme, but none of those look likely right now. They may have to resort to calling up our old pal JaMarcus Russell, because Matt Moore actually played decent (relatively) against San Diego (17-26 for 167 yards and a desperation time pick). He might win them a few games.

26(22). Indianapolis Colts 0-4

Can you win MVP if you don’t play a down, because if you can, Peyton Manning should be the clear winner. In 7 of the past 8 seasons, Peyton Manning has lost a minimum of 4 regular season games. Without him, the Colts have lost 4 in 4 games. The good news for Colts fans (unless they’ve really hoping for Andrew Luck), the schedule does get easier (Kansas City, Cincinnati), and Curtis Painter looked decently enough in his first career start where there’s potential for him to grow into a borderline sort of decent quarterback in the future, or at least one who knows how to utilize all the weapons the Colts have provided for him. They’ll win some games.

25(29). Cincinnati Bengals 2-2

Andy Dalton is having a Jekyll and Hyde type rookie season. He looked solid in the opener against Cleveland in a win, but then didn’t play as well in losses to Denver and San Francisco, before leading a big 2^nd half comeback against the previous 3-0 Bills last week. If Dalton can play well, the Bengals have the right combination of an easy schedule and a strong offensive line and running game to put up a decent wins total, but Dalton just isn’t someone I would trust to do that consistently at this stage in his career.

24(26). Carolina Panthers 1-3

All in favor of renaming Cam Newton “The King of the Backdoor Cover.” The Panthers are 3-0-1 ATS this season, despite a 1-3 record and there’s no one I’d rather have in the league down two scores with the ball against a prevent defense needing a “meaningless” touchdown to cover a line of 7 or fewer than Newton. New Orleans -6 provides his biggest test yet this week. Let’s see if he can keep it up. And this is not a slight on Newton’s abilities. For Newton to even be “The King of the Backdoor Cover” as a rookie is pretty remarkable considering he started just 1 season at Auburn.

23(24). St. Louis Rams 0-4

Sam Bradford might actually die in one of these games. He’s taken 18 sacks in 4 games. That’s actually 3 more than Jay Cutler and it’s not Bradford’s fault. He’s getting the ball out quickly, but this offensive line is not doing their part. What happened to them? Coming into the season they had 2 young, talented bookends in Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith, a big free agent acquisition in Harvey Dahl, and two other solid veterans in Jacob Bell and Jason Brown. Saffold especially has already allowed 7 sacks and 11 quarterback pressures in 4 games, despite only allowing 3 sacks all last year as a rookie.

22(20). Oakland Raiders 2-2

The Raiders thought they had a chance to beat Brady’s bunch, but you can’t turn the ball over in the end zone against them. They’re too good an offensive machine. End zone turnovers normally mean 14 point swings. I know Tom Brady wasn’t at his best last week, but the Patriots were smart and took what the defense was giving to them, which was a lot of yards on the ground. The Raiders rank worst in the league against the run and now have to face a healthy Arian Foster in Houston this week. At least they avoided Andre Johnson, who will miss the week with an injury.

21(18). Chicago Bears 2-2

The Bears beat Carolina last week, but they barely beat a poor Carolina team and they didn’t look very good doing it. Someone stole Mike Martz’ headset and called only running plays (31 runs to 17 to passes) and Matt Forte went off for 205 yards and a score on 25 carries. Cutler (9-17 for 102 yards and a pick) will actually have do to something in future weeks which will mean their offensive line will actually have to protect, so let’s not make too much from this win.

20(17). Cleveland Browns 2-2

This might be the most boring team in the league. They don’t suck, but they’re not good and I don’t think they’re even average. Plus, it’s almost like people have forgotten they exist. Nobody ever says anything about them and to tell you the truth, I can’t think of anything to say about them. They’ll continue to go .500 against crappy teams and they’ll probably struggle against good ones. 6 or 7 wins for them.

19(19). Arizona Cardinals 1-3

The Cardinals could easily be 2-2 right now. That non-fumble call on Victor Cruz late in the New York game that set up New York’s winning touchdown was ridiculous. However, at the same time, they sit at 1-3 and 2 games back of San Francisco, who is coming off of a huge win at Philadelphia, so San Francisco leapfrogs them this week.

18(21). San Francisco 49ers 3-1

As weird as it may sound, San Francisco’s win over Philadelphia wasn’t extremely unpredictable. Philadelphia had the worst turnover margin in the league. San Francisco had the best. That’s why Ronnie Brown backwards “passing” a ball after getting stuffed at the line for a fumble was as predictable as a play as weird as that can be. I didn’t think they could actually win on the road on the East Coast, who I knew they could give them a game. Now they have a 2 game lead with Tampa Bay coming to town. If they start 4-1, the NFC West race might as well be over. 4 wins should clinch it right?

17(23). Tennessee Titans 3-1

It’s tough to tell if this team is sneakily good or sneakily bad. They’re definitely sneakily something. They’re 3-1, but their 3 wins are against Denver, Cleveland, and a Baltimore team they caught off guard. However, at the same time, they’re 3-1 and on a 3 game winning streak and playing what appears to be good football. Needless to say, their game at Pittsburgh this week is going to be huge. If they win that one, they’d be 4-1 heading into a game with Houston for early season divisional dominance.

 

16(16). New York Giants 3-1

This team could be easily 2-2 right now. I already explained the Victor Cruz play. They are 3-1, but I’m not picking them to win the NFC East because they have the right combination of a tough 2^nd half schedule and a team that always sucks in the 2^nd half. They could legitimately be 6-1 heading into New England (Seattle, Buffalo, Miami in their next 3), and still miss the playoffs.

15(14). Dallas Cowboys 2-2

Oops. Maybe I shouldn’t have written about how Tony Romo doesn’t deserve the blame for Dallas’ struggles this season last week. Romo gave the game away last week against Detroit, though he didn’t even have the game biggest brain fart. That came when Felix Jones ran out of bounds on 4^th down short of the sticks with less than 30 seconds left. Come on man!

14(15). Washington Redskins 3-1

Washington leapfrogs Dallas because Dallas looked hideous last week, even though Dallas did beat them the week before. I think Washington wins that game in Dallas. Meanwhile, we didn’t learn a lot about Washington last week because they didn’t play an actual team (St. Louis) and now they go on bye. Dallas always chokes. New York has a brutal 2^nd half. I don’t trust Grossman, which means that Philadelphia is still possibly the favorites in this division. They do have the most talent.

13(13). Pittsburgh Steelers 2-2

People disagreed when I put this time out of the playoff race before the season, but the NFL is a league of parity. Their defense is old. Their offensive line can’t run block or pass block. And they don’t do well after a Super Bowl appearance in the Big Ben era. Besides, Super Bowl runner ups typically struggle. If they lose at home this week to Tennessee, it’s time to hit the panic button. So far they’ve been better at home, but they’ve only played one game there and it was against Seattle.

12(12). Atlanta Falcons 2-2

You think they regret spending all that money on Ray Edwards? Edwards doesn’t have a sack this year and Atlanta has a team has 5, 4 of them coming in the opener against Chicago’s miserable line. Quarterbacks have had forever to throw on them, which is part of the reason why Tardvaris Jackson threw for 319 yards last week and almost completed a big comeback. The other part of it is their actual cornerback play. Brent Grimes has regressed after a breakout year last year in which he picked up the slack for Dunta Robinson, their big money signing. Meanwhile, Robinson has gotten worse this year and they have very little depth at the position.

11(11). Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-1

It’s never flashy with the Buccaneers, but Josh Freeman always gets it done in the clutch. Some quarterbacks and teams have just a knack for close dramatic wins. If they can go into San Francisco and get a win this week, easier said than done, they’ll be 4-1 and hosting the Saints, who also figure to be 4-1, week 6 in Tampa Bay in a game that obviously could have major playoff implications. Tampa Bay beat New Orleans last year week 17. Let’s see if they can do that again.

10(10). New York Jets 2-2

I think it’s safe to say this is not the same Jets team as last year. Their run defense and pass rush aren’t nearly as good. They can’t run the ball as well and aside from D’Brickashaw Ferguson, every single one of their offensive linemen has had problems, including the always dependable Nick Mangold, who is out with an injury. More pressure had fallen onto the shoulders of Mark Sanchez, who is proving every year that he’s nothing more than Trent Dilfer. He can piggyback a defense to a championship, but if he has to do it himself, you’re in trouble.

9(8). Philadelphia Eagles 1-3

The NFC East is still wide open the way I say it and Philadelphia does have the most talent. Andy Reid teams are typically slow starters so even if they fall 1-4 in Buffalo this week, I don’t think it’s quite panic time for them. They can still put together a 10-6 season and win this division, but they’re running out of chances. They’re in my top 10 still, but on a very short leash.

8(9). Buffalo Bills 3-1

Buffalo actually moves up after a loss to Cincinnati. They were predictably flat against Cincinnati and other teams did worse than them this week. If they can come back and beat Philadelphia, I see no reason why this isn’t still a legitimate 10-6 or 11-5 team. If they can’t, well they could be in some trouble and closer to proving their first 3 games to be a fluke. The AFC is weak enough with Pittsburgh and New York fading and Tennessee still a mystery for Buffalo to make the playoffs with 9 wins.

7(5). Houston Texans 3-1

The Texans fall after a huge win over the Steelers for two reasons. One, and most obviously, Andre Johnson is going to miss at least a week, maybe 3. Their offense and their whole team is not the same without him. The second reason is getting ignored, they shot themselves in the foot a lot, a characteristic of previous Texan teams. First they blow a lead against New Orleans and then they commit 9 penalties, 8 in the first half, against a Pittsburgh team they shouldn’t blown out the way they were moving the ball. They actually had to lead a 115 yard drive to open the game to score, thanks to penalties.

6(6). Detroit Lions 4-0

With the Packers traveling to Atlanta, a very tough place to win, it’s extremely possible that Detroit could be the league’s last undefeated team, just 3 years after they became the first 0-16 team in NFL history. If anyone knows of a local nuclear fallout shelter, please tell me because I have a very bad feeling about the fate of the world in the next week. We might be in trouble.

5(4). Baltimore Ravens 3-1

The Ravens slide a spot after a convincing Sunday Night win over the Jets because Joe Flacco didn’t play well in the game. In fact, you could say he was complete crap. He was 10 of 31 for 163 yards and a pick, but still won by 17 because Mark Sanchez was worse and Flacco’s defense and running game bailed him out. They won’t have a record number of return touchdowns every week, so the Ravens should at least be a little concerned about Flacco.

4(7). San Diego Chargers 3-1

I have a feeling I’m going to be changing the order of San Diego, Baltimore, and Houston every week. With Baltimore and Houston slipping for reasons mentioned before, San Diego moves up. San Diego hasn’t fixed their early season struggles at all, but the schedule makers have gifted them with a ridiculous easily first half schedule. Aside from New England, they’ve played Minnesota (0-4), Kansas City (1-3), and Miami (0-4), and now they have Denver (1-3), a bye, New York (2-2), and Kansas City (1-3). They could end up 5-2 without breaking a sweat and if they can turn it on the 2^nd half like they normally do, this is a 12-4 team with upside heading into the playoffs. Nate Kaeding is on IR so he can’t ruin it all for them this year.

3(3). New Orleans Saints 3-1

Nothing new here. New Orleans took care of business in Jacksonville and will take care of business this week in Carolina. Their real test is Tampa Bay week 6. If they can come out of Tampa Bay with a win, well, I guess I can’t really move them up, but they’ll stabilize their hold on the #3 spot, where they’ve been all season.

2(2). Green Bay Packers 4-0

Same old, same old. In a league where “sportsmanship” seems to mean pulling your starters in a blowout, as if to say, we’ll have mercy on you, I was glad to see Green Bay run up the score against Denver. If you can do it, do it. If you lose by 25+, don’t complain about it. You suck. You deserve. The NFL is not a league of mercy.

1(1). New England Patriots 3-1

I’m keeping the Patriots here until they prove they aren’t the best team in the league. I think they can beat Green Bay on a neutral field in the Super Bowl, and no, one loss to Buffalo didn’t change my mind. Green Bay is going to lose to someone too, at some point. Green Bay actually faces a losable test this week in Atlanta. 

 

 

Average total drafted in last 5 years: 16.2 

1. Coby Fleener (Stanford) 1-2

2. Dwayne Allen (Clemson) 2-3

3. Orson Charles (Georgia) 3

4. Ladarius Green (LA-Lafayette) 3-4

5. Michael Egnew (Missouri) 4-5

6. James Hanna (Oklahoma) 4-5

7. DeAngelo Peterson (LSU) 4-5

8. Taylor Thompson (SMU) 4-5

9. Rhett Ellison (USC) 5-6

10. David Paulson (Oregon) 6-7

11. Chase Ford (Miami) 6-7

12. Cory Harkey (UCLA) 6-7

13. Brian Linthicum (Michigan State) 6-7

14. Adrien Robinson (Cincinnati) 7-U

15. George Bryan (NC State) 7-U

16. Nick Provo (Syracuse) 7-U

17. Matt Veldman (North Dakota State) 7-U

18. Kevin Koger (Michigan) 7-U

19. Anthony Miller (California) 7-U

20. Beau Reliford (Florida State) 7-U

 

 

This move is being talked about as a good one because of Arizona’s struggles up front and Snyder’s versatility. After all, he has played every position. However, he hasn’t played any of them very well. Most recently, he was at right guard for the 49ers, ranking 73th or 75^th eligible guards on ProFootballFocus. For the Cardinals, he will probably play guard or right tackle, but he wasn’t worth 17.5 million over 5 years with 5 million guaranteed. He’s not very good.

Grade: C

 

 

Quarterback

TCU

6-2 210

Draft board overall prospect rank: #175

Draft board overall quarterback rank: #11

Overall rating: 53 (6^th round)

40 time: 4.84

3/28/11: As Mike Mayock says, Andy Dalton is someone who “grows on you.” The problem, so does mold. That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. Ryan Fitzpatrick grew on Bills fans, but that didn’t make him a franchise quarterback. Dalton is the exact same way. He doesn’t have good arm strength. In fact, his arm is weaker than Fitzpatrick’s. However, he’s got good short accuracy and he’s smart and more importantly, he doesn’t look like a typical NFL quarterback. People want this guy to succeed.

He seems to be growing on NFL scouts as now it seems he could go in the 2^nd round to a team like the 49ers, the Redskins, or the Vikings. He struggled mightily at the Senior Bowl. In fact, I’d go as far as to say he was the worst quarterback there. He has terrible arm strength and couldn’t hit a wide open Leonard Hankerson, who burned Richard Sherman on a deep route. In fact, Sherman, who, again, got absolutely burned by Hankerson, was almost able to intercept it and probably would have if Hankerson hadn’t turned into a DB and come back and deflected the ball out of Sherman’s grasp at the last second.

There are things Dalton does well. He wins. He led TCU to an undefeated record this year, albeit in the Mountain West Conference. He’s got good short accuracy and would be best fit for a West Coast offense. He’s also mobile. He possesses all the intangibles and is very smart for his age. However, his arm strength is way too limited for him to be an NFL starting quarterback, let alone an elite quarterback. The comparisons to Kevin Kolb are off because Kolb has a much stronger arm.

NFL Comparison: Bruce Gradkowski