My favorite part of the draft are the stories of the guys who don’t get any attention from the scouts, but who go on to have fantastic careers. Here are five nfl picks who could fill that role this year:
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Month: April 2010
Here are five guys that will likely go today who should make their teams and nfl gamblers very happy:
1. Colt McCoy, QB, Texas – There has been little talk of him in the first round, but there really should have been. He’s a better player than Clausen in my eyes – more athletic, a better arm, more successful, and a much better leader. The arm injury in the championship game is irrelevant, and McCoy is ready to be a starting QB in this league.
2. Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama – Though he has the skills to get picked in the first round, size issues could make him a second day bargain. Cody is massive and may not be able to control that weight, and his body may not stand up to the strain of the league. He’s a run stopping machine, though, and he shows surprising bursts of athleticism for his size. He’s not a pass rushing demon, but he’s very useful as the relatively unique type of player that he is.
3. Brandon Spikes, LB, Florida – He has good linebacking bloodlines – his cousin is Takeo Spikes. Spikes is the leader of his defense at Florida, and could take that same kind of role in the pros. He has brilliant instincts, and knows where he needs to be almost before a play happens. He doesn’t have the flashy numbers to be a first-rounder, but he looks like he could be a long term solution in a crucial position.
4. Dexter McCluster, RB, Mississippi – This isn’t a great running back class, but McCluster could be the best of the whole group. What I love about watching him is his ability to read the line in the backfield, adjust instantly, and find the hole. He has downfield vision that is very rare. He’s also very patient, and is capable of throwing in a stutter step to wait for a hole to develop.
5. Navorro Bowman, LB, Penn State – He comes from a linebacker factory, so his credentials are sound. Bowman is an above average linebacker in all aspects of his game except for one – against the run he is absolutely incredible. It’s like he has running back sensors in his brain – he gets to them and almost never lets them past. That, along with solid skills in other areas, will make him a nice addition to any team. There are some concerns about his behavior, but the bulk of his issues were back n 2007 when he has going through hard times, and I think they are in the past. He’s worth a GM’s nfl bet.
All NFL Draft, all the time the next three days. The title make’s today’s offering self-evident:
Guys I Love
1. Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma – What’s not to like about this guy. He was brilliant from the very start at Oklahoma, and he has the look of a guy who can take that to the next level. He crushed the college football point spread at Oklahoma. He has a good arm, he’s mobile enough without using that as a crutch, he’s incredibly smart, and he just wins. Top rated quarterbacks aren’t always successful, but Clausen will be.
Continue reading “Five First Rounders I Really Love, And Three I Don’t”
I’m beginning to think that Donovan McNabb is stupid. Not just sort of stupid, either – cripplingly stupid. how else could you explain his suggestion to the Redskins that they sign Terrell Owens. There are about a million things wrong with that suggestion. McNabb and Owens were oil and water last time around. McNabb really needs to get off to a strong start for his new team. Owens has lost a step or three and clearly isn’t the player he once was. There isn’t a more divisive player in the league. Even at his best Owens wasn’t a great fit for what Mike Shanahan likes to do. Thinking that he’s up to the challenge of playing with Owens again, or that Owens would make an impact in Washington worth the heartache, is a sign of a stunning lack of awareness.
LeBron James is gong to get a title this year if he has to win it single-handedly. His efforts in the fourth quarter tonight couldn’t have been any more impressive. The pesky Bulls were tied heading into the fourth quarter, and they were causing real problems for the Cavs. They were only up by three points seven minutes later when LeBron took over. He amassed 15 points in the next six minutes to give his team the lead for good and to remind the Bulls who is boss. It was an impressive spectacle, though not a surprising one given what he is capable of. Also impressive in the game was Joakim Noah. He sounded ridiculous before the game talking trash about Cleveland, but he really backed it up with his play – 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Continue reading “Basketball, Basketball, and More Basketball”
I just can’t get over the contrast between the two playoffs that are ongoing. The NHL is totally haywire. The first seven series all started 1-1, and the eighth appears headed that way. Good teams have looked bad, and bad teams have looked great, and nothing is really making a whole lot of sense as of yet. On the flipside, the NBA playoffs couldn’t be more predictable. All six home teams that have played so far have won their first games reasonably easily, and the seventh looks like they will as well. The only one of those favorites that hasn’t covered is Orlando, and they only missed by a point, so you could probably have found a winning price somewhere if you got lucky. The public is having a very good start to the NBA playoffs and getting absolutely brutalized by the NHL.
1. There won’t be an upset throughout the playoffs – There is a big talent gap in the NBA. I don’t see an upset that is likely in the first round, and the standings lay out in such a way that the higher seeded team will be the better team if everything plays out as it is supposed to. It’s quite possible, then, that we could see a playoff race that runs exactly true to form. Something will probably disrupt it along the way, but it is definitely more possible this year than it has been in other years. The West could have had some big contests, but injuries are making that less likely.
2. Kevin Durant is going to make things fun – Despite the injury issues for the Lakers and the huge strides the Thunder have taken, Oklahoma City just isn’t ready to pull of an upset here. That being said, I think that Durant is going to be chomping at the bit to get his first taste of the playoffs, and to get some much deserved national TV exposure, and he’s going to make the most of it. We know that the guy is a big game player, and he and Kobe could have one heck of a showdown in this one. Kobe outscored Durant by just over a point per game in their four regular season meetings.
3. Vince Carter is going to be reborn – A guy as good as Carter is doesn’t have as much payoff success as he should have. He can’t always be accused of being a smart guy, but he’s smart enough to know that this is the best shot that he has had, and perhaps his last great chance to make a real impact. He’s matched up well in his opening series, and I look for him to really elevate his game in these playoffs. Orlando certainly could use some big play from him.
4. Derrick Rose will lead his team to a win in one game – The Cavs are clearly the best team in the league and are going to dominate the East, and likely the West when they get their chance. Rose and the Bulls are a feisty playoff team, though – remember the trouble they gave the Celtics last year – and I really do think that they will find a way to win one here.
5. The most vulnerable first round favorite is the Celtics – It’s hard to believe given how good they have been in the recent past, but the magic of Boston is clearly gone, and they are playing on borrowed time. They are still better than Miami and will win if both teams play their best, but if one team is going to lose series while holding home court advantage it will be Boston. They have struggled in the first round the last couple of years, and they just don’t have the margin of error now that they once did.
I absolutely love the Brandon Marshall deal – a true win-win for both teams. Denver obviously had to get rid of him, and getting two second round picks for him is impressive value all things considered. You’d like to get equivalent value, but that just doesn’t happen in the NFL. For Miami it’s a masterstroke. Ted Ginn Jr. was never going to be a number one receiver, so they needed to get someone. Marshall is an elite receiver – one of the top five – or fewer – in the whole league. It’s rare that you get access to a player like that, and especially rare that you get him at a price like this – one that is certainly fair. There is some risk that Marshall is going to be an attitude issue, but he should be happy to see new surroundings, Bill Parcells doesn’t take a lot of crap, and he does have the ability to play nice if he wants to. There is some downside risk, but it’s worth it to get a player of this caliber – a true game changer who can change an offense with his presence. As a diehard Michigan fan I’m obviously a big Chad Henne fan, and Henne – already a pretty solid NFL quarterback – has the opportunity to take his game to the next level. Henne looked pretty brilliant as a freshman throwing to Braylon Edwards, and Marshall is an even better deep threat than Edwards, so this pairing could be sweet music for years to come.
The NBA as a league is often ridiculous, but they have reached a whole new low with their latest move. Dell Curry is a broadcaster for the Charlotte Bobcats so he is able to vote for the league’s awards. He’s also the father of Stephen Curry, the likely second place finisher in the Rookie of the Year balloting. Because of the latter, the league has stripped Curry of his ROY vote this year while still letting him vote on the other categories. By doing that the league says that they are ensuring impartiality and saving him from a potentially damaging situation, but what they are really doing is saying that they don’t have any faith in Curry’s professionalism. I would have no problem if Curry decided to give up his vote himself – though I certainly don’t think that he needs to – but I think it’s insulting and ridiculous that the league felt that they needed to do it for him. Besides, by doing this they are suggesting that Curry is the only one who could potentially have any bias, and that’s just ridiculous. If they are going to take away this vote then they should also take away the votes of anyone from Memphis because they will be biased towards Tyreke Evans, and take away the vote of anyone who ever played for Milwaukee because they have been biased towards Brandon Jennings. Bias is absolutely and completely a part of voting for every single award there is – if not then every winner would be virtually unanimous. Besides, they are planning on giving the vote to someone else who covers the Bobcats. Do you honestly believe that that person won’t be at least a little biased towards Curry since they see his father every day? If you do you are naive. By isolating this one situation the NBA has made a joke of the whole thing. Why doesn’t the league focus on more pressing issues like making their perennially awful teams competitive or tightening up the playoff schedule so that teams don’t have five days off between games instead of sticking their nose in something ridiculous and meaningless like this?
Manu Ginobili got himself a three year, $39 million extension with the Spurs yesterday. Thus ends and interesting drama. Ginobili was heading towards free agency, and was understandably upset that the team wouldn’t have extended him sooner – he was looking for a deal last summer. The Spurs were nervous about the ankle injuries that had limited the Argentinian in the playoffs the last two years and were playing hardball. I can’t imagine that he would have been happy going into the playoffs without a deal, and he has been playing so well recently that he is definitely needed if they stand any hope of a playoff run. Ginobili is 32 so he would have been very attractive on the open market – especially as a consolation prize for the teams that have cleared space but don’t land one of the big prizes.
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