http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/03/21/...-deshaun-watson-pro-day-mike-williams-40-time

Why Do People Love Mock Drafts?
Loathed by many who produce them, yet loved by those who read them. The biggest names who cover the draft weigh in on the mock draft phenomenon
by Emily Kaplan

The draft is 37 days away, and already 195 outlets have published mock drafts online. That’s according to letsgoredskins.com, a blog that, inexplicably, has been charting such data since 2001. That count doesn’t include spinoff posts—other media outlets literally reporting on the results of said simulations. It also doesn’t factor in repeat offenders. I, for example, have published two mocks. SB Nation’s Dan Kadar, whose Twitter handle is, aptly, @MockingTheDraft, has authored one every Monday since Nov. 28.

If any of this sounds outlandish, imagine how ESPN’s Mel Kiper assesses a modern landscape littered with mocks. The godfather of NFL draft coverage, Kiper produced his first mock draft in 1978, as a community college freshman. He sold 100 issues of his draft guide, then quit school. A few other draft publications, such as Pro Football Weekly, included mocks at the time—but Kiper willed the niche into the mainstream.

“People talk more about the draft than NFL games,” Kiper says. “And for many people, how they talk about the draft is through mock drafts.”

If the NFL draft is the most popular non-sporting event in sports, mocks are the primary vehicle for the hype. This is not an industry secret: No matter the time of year, no matter the author, mock drafts draw a huge audience.

“If I wrote a thoughtful piece about how we marginalize black quarterbacks in scouting, people would read it,” says Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. “But 10 times the amount of people might read my mock draft.”

Adds Todd McShay, Kiper’s ESPN teammate: “I’m always mildly surprised by how many people read these things. But I know I shouldn’t be.”

And NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah says: “When I made the transition from scouting to the media, I learned to never read comments on anything I write. And for the love of god, never, ever read the comments on a mock draft.”

The question I’ve always wondered: Why do people care—and care so much—about mock drafts?

* * *

Mock drafts will always carry the stigma of a work-from-your-basement industry; wannabe analysts filling in Mad Libs. Insert some jargon, add a little bit of recycled wisdom citing trends, and make a series of educated guesses.

“I think my 3-year-old could make a pretty good draft,” Miller says. “I mean, picking out of a hat, you’d probably get a few right.” Insiders have legitimized the practice by picking up the phone and checking in with sources, and yet the distinction is still muddled.

Perhaps as confusing as why people like them is why they exist in the first place (besides the aforementioned traffic numbers). The editor of this column, Gary Gramling, likes to say a mock draft sets a baseline for fan expectations. NFL front offices conduct dozens of mocks; it helps project the market.

“I do see some benefit in going through the exercise,” says Jeremiah. “It’s easy to flippantly say, This guy is a first-round pick, this is guy is a second rounder. But when you put names to teams, including team needs, it’s like, Hold up, not all of these guys can go in the first round.”

Adds McShay: “I’ve always said, Chris Mortensen and [Adam] Schefter, the scoop guys, they should be doing these things if you want them to be most accurate.”

In the early ’80s, Kiper produced twin mock drafts: One version detailed what Kiper believed should happen. The other predicted what he believed would happen. It confused the hell out of his readers.

“I got so many letters,” he says. “I had to write people back. Having to explain myself became burdensome.” So Kiper benched his opinion. Miller, who also ranks the top 300 players based off his own tape study, says his rankings are his eyes and his mock drafts are his ears. Jeremiah, too, produces a popular top 50 ranking.

“I’ll defend any questions you may have on that, because that’s how I view the players after studying them,” Jeremiah says. “Mock drafts for me, are solely based off what I am hearing. So I can’t take offense if you don’t agree.”

Not that it matters. Readers will inevitably get upset.

* * *

A romantic might say the mock draft’s popularity is rooted in unbridled optimism. Just as, each August, hope springs eternal at training camp, approaching the draft, mocks give you a sense that your team could be one piece away.

A cynic’s alternative: America loves listicles.

Theories are sprinkled across the spectrum.

“Mock drafts are popular because the audience is larger,” McShay says. “It’s the intersection of college and NFL fans.”

“It has a fantasy football vibe to it,” Jeremiah says. “You’re trying to match up [players and teams] and see how many you get right.”

“Fans love mock drafts because it’s almost more fun than the draft,” says Kiper. “Like Christmas, it’s all about the speculation. You know you’re going to get a gift, but you wonder, Will it be perfect? Will it fit right?”

“I grew up in Cleveland,” says Kadar. “So the draft is our Super Bowl.”

Surmises Miller: “It’s the same reason we follow election polls. You want your thoughts to be validated by someone in the know.”

It’s not just fans tuning in.

“I'll get guys [in the NFL] calling me saying, ‘Bro we’re not taking that guy,’” Jeremiah says. “Most of them will deny it publicly, but they all read that stuff.”

And Jeremiah’s usual response: “That’s fine. I don’t really care who you take.”

It’s not as much apathy as a resignation that perfect prognostication is near impossible—especially on Jan. 19, when Jeremiah’s Mock Draft 1.0 was released. (Consider how much has changed in these two months—from the combine to pro days to teams addressing needs in free agency.) “But, it’s good for the website,” Jeremiah says. “No use complaining about it, just do it and move on.”

For those who are lukewarm on mock drafts, there is only one thing worse. “There is no way I would ever do draft grades,” McShay says. “Maybe three or five years later you could retroactively look, but how can you assess a grade before any of the guys play a down?”

And so when McShay balked at that assignment, editors offered an alternative—as McShay views it, a tradition unlike any other. “It’s my least favorite activity,” he says. “But probably does the best of anything I write.”

On Wednesday, May 3, he will publish his first mock draft for 2018.

Since the Free Agency feeding frenzy started, I don't recall hearing his name mentioned on any team's radar.

Is the reckless driving charge turning teams off?

Is Wade Phillips content to look elsewhere?

Have the Rams even expressed lukewarm interest in retaining him?

This inquiring mind wants to know....anyone?!?

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Benny the Bear. Sounds like a children's book.

This thread is in the backwater of ROD, but maybe some will see and consider. I hold in my hand figuratively, my Grandpa's Purple heart from Iwo Jima. He was with the 4th Division (Marines), and got shot by a "jap" sniper, and he had lain for 24 hours before getting any help, on March 6th, 1945. His Purple Heart never reached him before the end of the war, and his Mom and wife badgered the hell out of him, to write the Commandant of the Marine Corps......He received one in 1946, and It was one of the 500,000. You see, the government decided to create 500,000 Purple Hearts, in anticipation of landing on mainland Japan. 500 thousand at minimum American wounded/deaths were anticipated initially for this invasion, that present day snowflakes attempt to make Americans feel guilty about the nuke bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In 2003, there were still 120,000 + of these Purple Hearts still available for immediate awarding when an American was wounded in action.
Think about that...
Korea
Viet Nam
Grenada
1st Gulf War
Afghanistan
Iraq......

All of these were less, than the Americans that should have died in Japan. God Bless our veterans.

I think it's the all-22 look. It shows what he can do in a 3-4 when moved all over. I think this dude can still put up 10 sacks.
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Makes sense with what's available he should be a decent stop gap.

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New Rams cornerback Kayvon Webster has mainly been a special teams player for Denver in his first four years in the NFL. And while he won Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos, Webster has long felt that he can be more than just a role player.

And so when he decided to sign with the Rams, the first call he made was to his mother.

“She just knows what I’ve been through,” Webster said in a recent interview with therams.com. “She knows the type of player I’ve been throughout my career. Not that I want to say in the NFL [Not just in the NFL], but just playing football. She knows that I’m a hard worker. I take it very seriously. And I pride myself in being known as one of the top ones.”

Someone with a dynamic and engaging personality, Webster talked of wanting to become a star for the Rams. He said he knew about the talent already assembled on the club’s defense, particularly that of starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

But defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ presence on the coaching staff was perhaps the most significant factor in bringing Webster to Los Angeles.

“My coach came from Denver. He expressed the want that the Rams had for me,” Webster said, referring to Phillips. “And I took that into consideration, stepped out on faith, and I’m ready to come in and compete for a starting job.”


Video: The Route Home: Robert Woods

“He’s a legend in itself,” Webster continued on Phillips. “His dad was a great. He’s a great. And he accommodates the players’ attributes — what they do best.”


Though his on-field contributions mainly came through special teams, Webster says he still picked up plenty from being in the position room with some of the league’s best cornerbacks like Champ Bailey, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Aquib Talib, and Chris Harris — particularly how they approach the game.

“They study. They communicate with their guys. They just have fun playing the game,” Webster said. “I’m thankful that I was under them. But it’s time for me to take a new step and welcome a new era.”

But the enjoyment of playing football is ingrained in Webster for good.

“Can’t play this game if you’re not having fun,” Webster said. “It’s going to suck the life out of you. It’s going to make you retire early. And this is the game I’ve been playing since I was six. I’m fortunate enough to be able to get paid to do it. And I love it.”

While the Rams’ offseason program does not begin for another few weeks, Webster said he could feel a sense of urgency among the staff to develop a winning program during his visit.

“I think that’s why they brought me in, Webster said. “This is our second year out here. It’s time to turn it up a notch. I think we went 4-12 last year — definitely got to have a great turnaround. So that’s why they made some upgrades.

“They brought in coach Wade. Coach Wade brought Thad [Bogardus, defensive quality control coach] from Denver with him as well. And he brought me in as well, too. So we see a change already with three people coming in from the same organization,” Webster added. “So you can see that everybody’s serious about winning.”

That’s why Webster said he’s “super excited” to be a Ram.

“I’m here to prove everybody that believes in me right,” Webster said. “I’m ready to work.”

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...ime-rule-change-that-could-lead-to-more-ties/

For the second time in five years, the NFL’s overtime rule could be undergoing a drastic change, and if it happens, we could see more ties.

According to NFL.com, the competition committee is set to propose a rule at the league’s annual Spring meeting that would reduce the length of overtime. If the rule were to pass, the overtime period would be shortened from 15 minutes to 10 minutes for all regular season and preseason games.

For a proposal to become an NFL rule, it has to get a “yes” vote from 24 of the league’s 32 owners, who will all be attendance for the meeting, which is set for March 26-29 in Phoenix.

If the overtime rule proposal were to pass, it would have no bearing on the playoffs. The postseason would still operate with an overtime period that runs for 15 minutes.

The NFL is considering the change for regular-season games because the league wants teams to be on an even playing field for Thursday night games. According to NFL.com, the league feels that teams are at a “real disadvantage” when they have to play a Thursday game following a Sunday game where they played a 15-minute overtime period.

Of course, the obvious downside to having a shorter overtime is that it would likely mean that we’d see more ties during the regular season. There were a total of two ties during the 2016 season, which marked the first time since 1997 that there were multiple ties in a season.

According to NFL Research, 22 of of the 83 overtime games that have been played since 2012 have gone on for more than 10 minutes, which means those games would’ve presumably ended in a tie if the new rule had already been implemented. So, yes, if you love ties, this could be a good change for you.

If the rule does pass, it would be the second big change in five years. Back in March 2012, the NFL modified overtime with a rule change that guaranteed both teams a possession as long as the team that received the overtime kickoff didn’t score a touchdown on its opening drive.

Before that rule was instituted, NFL overtimes were sudden death, which means that the first team that scored won the game whether those points came by field goal, safety or touchdown.

The rule change in 2012 was actually implemented for playoff games in 2010, but the NFL didn’t make it the rule for all games until two years later.

With both teams getting a possession in most games that went to overtime, the 2012 rule change dramatically increased the number of ties in the NFL. From 2012 to 2016, there were five ties in the regular season, which is a huge number when you consider that there were only five ties from 1989-2011 before the rule change.

The leadoff story on Dwight Clark was posted in a separate thread. The rest of this is excerpts. To read the whole article click the link below.
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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/03/20/dwight-clark-als-catch-49ers-nfl-peter-king

Peter King: MMQB - 3/20/17

The Marshawn Lynch-Oakland Deal Makes Sense

Photo: Otto Gruele Jr./Getty Images

This Lynch-to-the-Raiders story, birthed by ESPN, is real. Late Saturday night I talked to an excellent West Coast source on this story. “He [Lynch] really wants to play for the Raiders,” the source said. “He also wants to do good things for his foundation in the area. This is a great chance to accomplish both things.”

It could happen one of two ways. Seattle could trade Lynch—likely for a conditional 2018 draft choice, since Oakland wouldn’t be eager to give anything this year, not knowing if the rusty Lynch would be worth it. Or Seattle could release him, which would void his contract.

It’s easy to say the Seahawks should try to get something for Lynch. And logical. But let’s say the Raiders want Lynch—and I hear they do, at the right price. The price is not going to be for an existing contract cost of $9 million in 2017. The Raiders would more likely want Lynch at a more reasonable number, plus incentives, by signing him to a deal after he’s cut from the Seahawks. I don’t think Seattle will stand in his way.

Lynch left Seattle with the front office and coaching staff grinding its teeth over him because Lynch was oftentimes a handful. But he was loved by most of his teammates, and there’s no way the club would stand in his way and risk the rancor of the locker room, seeing that Lynch has so many close friends still in there.

It’s a complicated dynamic, but in the end Seattle’s probably going to have to release him. Interestingly, the only team I think Seattle would do a release for is Oakland … as a favor to Lynch, and a nod to the fact that the Raiders wouldn’t pick up the existing terms of the contract.

With the business out of the way, it probably comes down to this: There are two potential veteran workhorse running backs available, with an intriguing but limited market. Adrian Peterson and Lynch both would fit in Oakland. The Raiders have a strong offensive line and potent passing game, and they’d be able to fit either player in their system, but I sense Lynch would be better. Three reasons:

1. He’s an Oakland kid. He loves Oakland. His foundation does loads of work there. Even when he played in Seattle, he was a bi-city person: Seattle and Oakland.

2. Lynch can exist in the shotgun just fine. Peterson is more of an I-back type, but Lynch can play in the I or as a shotgun sidecar, or anywhere in the backfield.

3. The Raiders will need all the Oakland they can get if they’re approved for a move to Las Vegas in league meetings next week—and a vote could happen there. The smartest thing Mark Davis could do is hold off the signing of Lynch (if he can) until the day before the vote to relocate the franchise or the day after.

That way, the locals will hate him and the franchise just a little less. But Lynch as a Raider, in the Coliseum, with a contender, for the next year or two, while the new stadium in Vegas is built? People will come. Oh, people most definitely will come.

* * *

A Free-Agency Trend Bad for the Common Player

Free-agent linebacker Zach Brown, 27, ranked second in the NFL last year with 149 tackles, playing for Buffalo. But nine tackles a game, roving the middle of the field, is not getting Brown rich. Though the average NFL team entered the weekend $19 million under the NFL’s $167 million per team salary cap for 2017, Brown is waiting for the phone to ring.

He’s not the only one. Big names with time left (Jay Cutler, Adrian Peterson) join contributors like wideout Kamar Aiken (27 years old, 104 catches over the past two seasons), defensive end Chris Long (played well for the Patriots in 2016), defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins (asking too much), and young safeties T.J. McDonald and Bradley McDougald. It’s not a gold mine, but we’ve gotten to the 30-cents-on-the-dollar portion of free agency quicker than any other year I recall.

“The middle class of the NFL is getting destroyed,” agent David Canter said Saturday. “So many of the contracts for all but the best players are similar, with so little guaranteed money after the first year.”

Check out the money for the middle- to upper-middle class of the wide receiver group:

• Markus Wheaton, Chicago: Two years, $11 million, $6 million year one, no guarantee year two.

• Brandon Marshall, Giants: Two years, $11 million, $5.5 million year one, no guarantee year two.

• Brandon LaFell, Cincinnati: Two years, $9 million, $5 million year one, no guarantee year two.

• Cordarrelle Patterson, Oakland: Two years, $8.5 million, $5.25 million year one, no guarantee year two.

• Torrey Smith, Philadelphia: Three years, $15 million, $4 million year one, no guarantee year two or three.

• Ted Ginn Jr., New Orleans: Three years, $11 million, $5 million year one, no guarantee year two or three.

• Terrelle Pryor, Washington: One year, $6 million, with $2 million in incentives.

See the pattern? The big stars get guarantees in years beyond the first year—not much, but certainly some—while the middle class often sign one-year deals with extra non-guaranteed years tacked onto the end, in part for image, in part for spreading the pro-rated signing bonus.

Our Andrew Brandt had a very good idea, I thought, in his Business of Football column last week. “One way to make incremental change is when the team says it will guarantee $25 million on a five-year deal,” wrote Brandt, “the agent demand that they guarantee $5 million each year, rather than all $25 million secured in the low-risk first two years of the deal.

Agents with this kind of leverage have to lead the charge toward fuller guarantees, and that continues to be lacking.” Brandt’s point is that—for instance—if Jason Pierre-Paul is guaranteed $40 million in his new four-year contract, the fact that $35 million is guaranteed in the first two years means the team can cut Pierre-Paul after two years with scant consequences toward future cap implications.

* * *

Four Players, Four Thoughts

Photo: Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Nothing overwhelming here, just some loose ends to tie up after the hurricane of early free agency and before the final settings of the board for the 2017 NFL draft.

On Tony Romo

Nothing new. No news. No white smoke out of Jerry Jones’s chimney. But even though the Cowboys have not released him, I’m starting to wonder whether Romo might actually consider a TV career now instead of taking one last shot to win big at age 37 (and possibly 38). Adam Schefter reported recently that Fox wants to hire Romo to replace John Lynch on its number two NFL broadcast team, and Schefter said other networks are interested too.

The easy thing would be to say: He can do that after his career ends. No rush. And that’s true. This is just my opinion, but what if Romo is enjoying the family life (he is married, with two children, and a third on the way), realizes he wants to continue to live in Dallas, and thinks maybe it wouldn’t be so bad on 20 weekends a year to leave home Friday morning, get home Sunday night, do something he knows he’d be good at (talking about football in an amiable and intelligent way), and be able to make $2 million a year (at the very least).

He will be smart enough to know he can’t just walk into a big-time booth without some knowledge whether he’d be good right away, and I expect he’d do his homework on that, if he hasn’t already.

I still think it’s likely a released Romo will end up getting an offer from Houston, and possibly (but less likely) from Denver. And if I had to guess I’d say he’d end up signing with Houston and taking one more shot at a title. The Texans continue to be coy about their interest, but with a premier defense, they’re not going to enter 2017 with Tom Savage, Brandon Weeden and a rookie in the quarterback room—not if they have any chance to get Romo.

But I do not dismiss the TV stuff. I understand it. Romo loves talking about football. In Dallas’ training camp in 2015, he spent 30 or 40 minutes after our interview one afternoon talking to me about quarterback mechanics and the art of playing the position in language easily understandable, not all football-ese.

When I think of Romo, I think of a guy who, if he chooses TV, will make a good living for a long time explaining the NFL game to people. Who knows whether that will happen, but I do think it has to be tempting for Romo when a pretty big TV offer (or more than one) comes his way—knowing that this job or one like it may not be open in 2018 or 2019.

* * *

On Jason Pierre-Paul

When Jason Pierre-Paul permanently disfigured his right hand in a July 2014 fireworks accident, he missed out on a chance for a huge long-term contract. Instead, the Giants paid Pierre-Paul $8.7 million on a one-year deal, and then $9.7 million for 2015. Over those two years, he played 20 games, missed 12, had eight sacks and made $18.4 million.

On Friday the Giants signed Pierre-Paul for four more years, a deal that Pro Football Talkreports will be worth $35 million in the first two years, when virtually all of the guaranteed money will be paid. In all, a damaged Pierre-Paul, who has averaged one sack per 10 quarters since his accident, is being paid like a premier rusher.

In the first four years after the accident, Pierre-Paul will be paid approximately $53.4 million—even though there’s no assurance he’ll ever be a premier pass-rusher again. That average of $13.35-million per year over four years is more than some of the best and most productive defensive ends and outside linebackers in football, including Michael Bennett, Cam Jordan, Cam Wake, Everson Griffen, Ryan Kerrigan and Bruce Irvin.

The Giants have done way more than right by Pierre-Paul.

* * *

On Roberto Aguayo

“The mistake would be to be prideful,” Bucs GM Jason Licht told the Tampa Bay Times, with the news that the most inefficient kicker in the NFL in 2016, rookie Roberto Aguayo, would have a challenger in camp this summer, and a good one. Nick Folk, an 81.3-percent career field-goal kicker, was signed to go head-to-head with Aguayo. This was a curious and risky decision by Licht at the start, and he knows it.

He dealt third- and fourth-round picks to move up 15 slots to choose Aguayo in the second round last year, and the pressure of being such a high pick got to Aguayo. He led the league with nine missed field goals, and he was a miserable four-of-11 from 40 yards and beyond.

Can he be salvaged? Aguayo has seen a mental coach and talked to level-headed former kicker Ryan Longwell for advice. We’ll see. But good for the Bucs to not stick their heads in the sand about the problem. If Folk, 32, is better in camp, the 59th pick in the 2016 draft will likely be on the street.

* * *

On DeMarcus Ware

Ware’s first NFL coach, Bill Parcells, sent him a text this week upon his retirement from football. It read:

“Not bad for a wide receiver from Auburn High School. Pretty good career.”

True story: Ware played wideout at Auburn (Ala.) High School, and the local Auburn Tigers didn’t recruit him.

“DeMarcus was a defensive end at Troy,” Parcells said Saturday. He was coaching the Cowboys, and owner Jerry Jones, of course, had final say on the draft. “We were going to make him a linebacker. I’m not crazy about projections picked that high in the first round. I would rather have taken a lineman. But Jerry and them wanted to take him. Thank God they did.”

* * *

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* * *

This week: NBC’s Cris Collinsworth and Rick Maese of the Washington Post.

• Collinsworth on his aim during a telecast: “I don't want to give you a guest lecture on football. I don't. I don't think I am the smartest guy who has ever watched football in the world, and I don't want to come off that way. But what I do want to do is I want to give you something that you didn't hear from Al Michaels. I want to give you something that if you are watching the ball, now tell me something I didn't see. That is the way I have always interpreted my job.

“But more than that, I want to take the helmet off the players. The numbers say that men watch football at about a 70 percent rate, and back when we started, women probably watched at about a 35 percent rate. Well, women are watching at a 50 percent rate now, and not only are they getting smarter about football, but they want to know about the people and they want to know what the stories are behind it. They want the Olympic feel to what is happening.

Dick Ebersol and NBC have always lived by this storytelling mode, so if you can create human beings on the field … I think the thing Al Michaels has done great and that we try to do on a Sunday night, is to make the game about the people that are playing it, so there is this interpersonal relationship that you go through. But in order to do that, it is a lot of extra work. It is a lot of interviews, a lot of storytelling, a lot of building relationships where they trust you with stories, much in the same way that you did.

Tom Brady did a podcast with you because you had built a relationship. If that was the first time you just met, there's no way you'd be in Montana, right? You build a relationship, and that's what I think is the art of it. Yeah, I want you to see some football and learn a little bit, but I want you to learn about the humanity of the game, because that is what is really going to stick with you at the end of the broadcast.”

• Collinsworth on getting a law degree while he played: “I had this really hot girl I was dating who was in law school. [It was his future wife, Holly.] I had already been accepted to law school at University of Florida, and you know me, I can get a little competitive. She was at the University of Kentucky going to law school, and I went down to visit her. She is sitting in the library grinding away during finals, and I am ready to go out and have some fun and go out and party.

And she says, ‘There’s just no way. I have finals coming.’ And I said, ‘Well, I got accepted to law school. I could do this too.’ She goes, ‘Oh yeah, sure you could.’ I go through and I reapply and go to the University of Cincinnati and it ends up this cute young girl is now my wife, who ended up the number three student in our law school class, and I was somewhere just beneath her looking up as we graduated. But it was really her, it was some strange competitive thing that exists within me. I couldn't stand the idea that she was doing something that I had always planned to do.

By then I kind of knew my career was starting to tick down then too, it was my seventh year and I only played eight, and my knee was starting to hurt. It was crazy, but I did it. … It never crossed my mind for a second [post-career] that I was going to be anything but a lawyer. My degree is in accounting, and the classes I always aced were the taxes and business stuff, so probably something like that.”

* * *

Things I Think I Think

1. I think we know where Dallas is going in the draft after losing defensive backs Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne and Barry Church in free agency. And it’s not a bad calculated risk, drafting into the teeth of a stocked secondary pool in 2017.

But before these guys are a too-distant memory, I wanted to point out three things about Carr, a player I’ve grown to admire not because he’s a top 10 corner; he’s, in fact, a marginal starter. But he goes to Baltimore for two years and $12 million (though it was listed as a four-year deal), and here’s why he’ll be missed:

• Carr has played nine seasons since being a fifth-round pick out of Grand Valley (Mich.) State in 2008 by Kansas City. Games played: 148. Games started: 148. Games missed due to injury: zero.

• No cornerback has started more games over the past nine years.

• In all five seasons as a Cowboy, Carr led the secondary in snaps played. In order: 1,043, 1,148, 1,028, 1,072, 1,013.

• The best Dallas cover guy remaining, nickel back Orlando Scandrick, has missed 14 games over the past five seasons.

Moral of the story: In football, one of the most important parts of ability is availability, and the Cowboys will miss that. Baltimore understands Carr, especially in his 10th year, will need safety help quite often. But the Ravens also know he’s a feisty player they can count on for the next two seasons, at least.

2. I think I’d like to wish Steve Gleason a happy 40th birthday. (The birthday was Sunday, and Gleason had a big party Saturday night at his home in New Orleans; Mike McCready of Pearl Jam played.) I have learned a lot from Gleason both before and after he was stricken with ALS … mostly that if you live life with passion and purpose, you can impact people regardless your walk of life, and your physical condition. Steve, I hope you’ve got another 40 in you.

3. I think, still, the best place for Adrian Peterson is with the Packers or Giants. Do it, Ted Thompson.

4. I think the shocking upset of the week is that Ben Roethlisberger told a reporter for the Washington (Pa.) Observer-Reporterthat he’s “leaning towards” playing in 2017. All those who think Roethlisberger was going to retire, raise your hands. Bueller? … Bueller?

5. I think for those of us of a certain age, it hits hard that Gale Sayers is in his fourth year suffering from dementia. The Kansas City Star’sVahe Gregorian tells Sayers’ story eloquently.

6. I think I’m a big fan of coaches doing what is best for their teams, but I wonder what, with home-court/field advantage on the line, Roger Goodell would do to, say, the Falcons if they held Matt Ryan out of a Week 15 game because Dan Quinn and the Falcons knew they were making the playoffs and figured resting Ryan was to the team’s advantage.

It’s not the same thing as LeBron James sitting three times in a 22-day span without being hurt, just because his coach wants him rested for the playoffs. I think a coach should do what’s best for his team, overall. But I don’t think it’s good for the game if the best player—or one of them—sits without being hurt three times in three weeks.

7. I think Rex Ryan, hired by ESPN the other day, would be better in the booth doing games than he would be in the studio bloviating, which I guess he’s going to do, on Sunday NFL Countdown. You can get lost on those pre-1 p.m. Eastern Time pregame shows, because there are so many people on every network’s set. (Just keep score: There were 20 desk people combined, not including information people, on Fox, CBS, ESPN and NFL Network last fall.)

8. I think there was an interesting note from Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News, via Pro Football Talk, about the 33-yard extra points from new Bills kicker Stephen Hauschka, who has missed 10 of them in the last two seasons. That led to his demise with the Seahawks. And I’m not calling Hauschka an excuse-maker, though I think it’s ridiculous to listen to some of the reasons why the 33-yard extra point is different from a 33-yard field goal.

Said Hauschka: “The 20-yard extra points, those were just chip shots. They really were. I don’t think many NFL guys were going to miss those unless something were to really happen with the snap and the hold. But a 33-yard extra point just brings out that precision. You need to be on it with the snap, the hold and the kick all need to be there and you can’t really get away with it.

Plus, I think the biggest difference is you used to have about 25 to 30 field-goal attempts a year and then a bunch of chip-shot extra points. Now you have 25 field goals and maybe 30 to 50 extra points. That can feel like 60 to 70 field goals in a season now, so you’ve got to be mentally sharp the whole game, the whole season and there’s really no room for error.” Here are two points why I’d be hesitant to have Hauschka be my kicker:

• In the two seasons since the NFL moved the PAT back, Hauschka is 69 of 79 on extra points, and 20 of 20 on field goals between 30 and 39 yards away. That’s ridiculously inefficient, particularly when the PAT—from what he told Carucci—is something challenging to him mentally.

• “You’ve got to be mentally sharp the whole game.” Last season Hauschka was called on an average of 4.5 times a game to kick an extra point or field goal. That’s 72 times in four months. I know it’s a job packed with pressure. I get it. But that is the life you’ve chosen. It’s not too much to expect a kicker to be “mentally sharp” for three hours and four or five opportunities once a week.

9. I think you never say never about anything in the NFL, but I’d be surprised if the Patriots brought back a desperate Darrelle Revis. I never sensed he was a big team guy and a big off-season conditioning program guy with the Patriots, and if he wasn’t that way in his prime, will he buy into that Belichick way three years later?

If I was the GM of a good team with both cash and a corner need, I’d do a two-year, prove-it deal with maybe $8 million guaranteed—just enough so that Revis makes more than he would be sitting out and getting the $6 million the Jets owe him, but not enough where the team couldn’t cut bait if he stinks again in 2017. Would he do it?

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/vahe-gregorian/article139455608.html

Former KU and Chicago Bears great Gale Sayers is battling dementia
BY VAHE GREGORIAN

WAKARUSA, IND. More than 50 years after Gale Sayers, the “Kansas Comet,” inspired awe as a Jayhawk, he was honored in January in Topeka by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas as one of its Kansans of the Year.

So this was overdue but due, nonetheless, which is why former Kansas Sen. Robert Dole nominated Sayers.

He has made “Kansas proud,” Dole said in a phone message, and his gleaming smile at the start of the night said that it made him proud, too.

At a table near the front, Sayers was seated next to his wife, Ardythe, as a mesmerizing KU-produced tribute played.

It included NFL and KU highlights, and it featured clips that transcend sports from the movie “Brian’s Song” — the mere mention of which might make macho men of a certain generation weep.

The 1971 movie, starring Billy Dee Williams as Sayers and James Caan as Brian Piccolo, told the tale of the friendship forged between Sayers and Piccolo as they became what is widely believed to be the first interracial roommates in the NFL … even as they competed for a job with the Chicago Bears.

Piccolo died of cancer at 26 in 1970.

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As scenes from his life both real and cinematic absorbed the crowd, Sayers sat with his hands clasped, head slightly bowed.

Occasionally, he peered up at one of the screens in front of the room but mostly he stared forward.

From two seats away, you wanted to believe he was averting his eyes out of humility or familiarity.

But the cruel truth is you don’t exactly know what he recognized during a trip in which he asked friends why he was there and on a night his wife spoke on his behalf.

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Gale Sayers, who 40 years ago became the youngest player ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was diagnosed with dementia four years ago, joining nearly 50 million people worldwide.

But Ardie Sayers has come to believe its onset was years before that — possibly even as far back as when he returned to Kansas in a fund-raising capacity for a time in 2009.

While she considers Sayers, 73, physically healthy “as a horse” and notes he is working out with a trainer several days a week, she added, “That brain controls everything, doesn’t it?”

Some of his days are better than others.

On Wednesday, he scarcely spoke during a seven-hour visit by The Star.

But other times, he can hold halting conversations, and Ardie Sayers and friends believe there is a lot happening inside that he just can’t get out.

She tries to pry that loose, or at least prime it, by seeking to engage his mind with anything from jigsaw puzzles to a documentary about Jacqueline Kennedy she hoped might draw out some memories.

That’s why she has been moving him home from a facility he’d been staying in for the last few months, and it’s why she works with him at such things as practicing signing his name.

“I say, ‘OK, come on, let’s fill up this page,’ ” said Ardie Sayers, who also is getting in-home care for her husband. “ ‘I’ll write one, and then you write one.’

“At times you can wait 30 minutes, or maybe 10 minutes. And then he’ll do it like there’s never been anything wrong. It takes a lot of patience.”

She demonstrated that with him on Wednesday, when just before dinner he went to wash his hands with carpet cleaner.

“It keeps you on your toes,” she said, noting the words of a wife of a former NFL player that have become seared into her mind. “‘Don’t let him out of your sight.’”

Other times, she’s learning to laugh to keep from “crying all the time” like she might want to do, and often she’s helped by the reassurance and support of family and this tight-knit, protective community.

Neighbors and friends at the United Methodist Church constantly offer help or prayers or cards of encouragement, a tendency you could also see in the way people treated him over at Cook’s Pizza.

“They know what’s happening, but you see the attitude they have toward him?” she said. “It’s not backing off. It’s embracing and saying to me, ‘Ardie, if you need some help, you know where I am.’”

Ardie Sayers and the rest of the family had made no secret of his condition, but they hadn’t it shared it for public consumption.

But weighing it all again recently, she determined that it’s important that his situation be known and understood.

For one thing, she wants to dispel false impressions people might have had about Sayers over these devastating last few years.

“Other people start making up stories, and people are asking about him more and more,” she said Wednesday. “People must know.”

She also meant that more generally:

For the sake of others afflicted by the same or similar issues and their families, people who need to know how important it is they stay vigilant.

As she learned painfully.

While family and friends were attributing his increasing forgetfulness to the normal aging process, others recognized vulnerability.

Over time, the family came to realize people they trusted had taken advantage of him in various ways.

“You have people who have a little less moral stature than you would like to see in society,” Sayers’ brother Roger said in a phone interview from Omaha, Neb.

Inescapably at the center of all this is football, in which Sayers became one of the greatest who ever lived only to have his career cut short by knee injuries.

His achievements included a feat as a rookie that took 51 years to reproduce: touchdowns by rushing, receiving and returning in the same game, as Chiefs rookie Tyreek Hill replicated last season.

Football led to a lifetime of adventures for Sayers and Ardie, his second wife, who married in Lawrence in 1973, and the seven children in their blended family.

And it accounts for the ongoing love of friends made in football, from Lem Barney to Dick Butkus to Earl Campbell to Joe Namath to Paul Warfield and many more.

You can trace the game throughout their house otherwise furnished with vibrant, eclectic art, some of which has created by Ardie — a graduate of La Salle School of Interior Design in Chicago and formerly a collaborator with Gibson Greeting cards.

Here in the living room is his Hall of Fame bust, albeit in need of repair after being dropped in a move.

Down the stairs, there are endless photos of him in a Bears uniform, including one with Piccolo on the field and an artist’s rendition of them.

There, too, are the cleats — with dirt still on them — and a football from the day he scored six touchdowns at Wrigley Field in 1965.

The wall behind the bar of his basement commemorates his athletic career in Omaha and at KU, from which he also displays a helmet and a piece of the floor from Allen Fieldhouse.

Then there’s the Jayhawk icon on the back of their SUV, and the Jayhawk yard ornament and his Jayhawk recliner.

“He loves his Jayhawks,” she said.

This was all a long time ago, before his time in college administration and making his mark in business ventures and with philanthropy that continues through the Gale Sayers Foundation and other outlets.

But it also is an enormous part of his identity … even if it likely helped cause this.

“Like the doctor at the Mayo Clinic said, ‘Yes, a part of this has to be on football,’” Ardie Sayers said, adding, “It wasn’t so much getting hit in the head … It’s just the shaking of the brain when they took him down with the force they play the game in.”

But the dilemma of football, which inspires camaraderie and team spirit in its own inimitable way, is such that Ardie doesn’t hesitate to say she knows he’d do it all over again.

Despite the injuries that took him out of the game early, ultimately leading to seven surgeries and a knee replacement.

And even all this now.

The game led to countless highlights of their lives, including that night in 1982 they spent at the White House with President Reagan and a select few other guests for a celebration of “Knute Rockne, All-American,” in which Reagan played George Gipp.

Such recollections, though, now make for a new point of anguish.

“You build memories all your life, and the next thing you know you don’t remember anything,” Roger Sayers said. “It’s just tough.”

No known medication is going to revive that.

And no compensation will make up for it.

When people tell Ardie “it looks like these players are going to make a lot of money” from concussion lawsuits, she tells them this:

“‘What money they get, if they get any, believe me, ask me, it’s going to be for their care. It’s not going to be for taking vacations like people think … No way.’

“‘Every dime will be to make sure he’s taken care of the right way and lives as decent and happy of a life as he possibly can.’”

Hard as it was to do, Ardie last year grudgingly accepted a doctor’s advice that the best way to do that was to admit him to a facility.

“Maybe it had to be (done) so that I can learn and see what happens,” she said. “ … You learn as you go. Trial and error.”

She added, “I felt like I could do better here — give him more attention, give him more of the things he needs. I don’t want him to be just sitting around doing nothing.

“No, he’s still got a lot going for himself, and I don’t want him to forget it.”

So she thinks about new treatment possibilities, not just for Gale but for all the others now and to come.

And she looks forward to the spring, when she figures Gale will return to golfing and dozens of family members and friends will come to help him … and her.

She has to stay strong, after all, to be able to take care of him.

“That’s a part of relationships, that’s a part of marriage: You don’t walk away from a person when they’re sick,” she said. “That’s when you dig in and help and do what you have to do.

“It’s hard, yes, I’m not saying it isn’t. And it’s challenging at times.

“But then when I stop and think about the people around me and people that are willing to help and family that are willing to come … we’re blessed that way.”

From what Roger Sayers can understand, in fact, he thinks his younger brother by 13 months is probably comfortable and doesn’t realize the pain and heartbreak of all this.

Meanwhile, though, Gale’s smile still can change a room, and his moments of playfulness and connection are moving.

As Ardie spoke of “Brian’s Song” in the basement, Gale walked over to look at a picture of Piccolo.

“If the hands of time were hands that I could hold,” the theme song to the movie begins, “I’d keep them warm and in my hands. …

“Hand in hand we’d choose the moments that should last.”

Now, those words are part of Gale’s Song.

So maybe it’s not too much to ask now what Sayers asked of his audience after declaring his love for Piccolo in a speech in the movie.

“Tonight, when you hit your knees,” he said, “please ask God to love him.”

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/03/20/49ers-legend-dwight-clark-announces-he-has-als/

49ers legend Dwight Clark announces he has ALS
Posted by Darin Gantt on March 20, 2017

AP

One of the most celebrated football players of the 1980s, a man who made a single play which helped turn the fortunes of a franchise, now faces a more difficult fight than any on a football field.

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Former 49ers wide receiver Dwight Clark, known for “The Catch,” which helped forge a dynasty, announced that he has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a degenerative neurological condition with no known cure.

“I have ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease,” he said in a statement, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “Those words are still very hard for me to say.

“While I’m still trying to wrap my head around the challenge I will face with this disease over the coming years, the only thing I know is that I’m going to fight like hell and live every day to the fullest.”

In his statement, the 60-year-old Clark said he began feeling weakness in his left hand in September 2015. He initially dismissed it as part of the cost of playing football, like the pain in his neck he’s had since he retired. But as other options were dismissed and the possibilities of other diagnoses narrowed, other symptoms have shown up. He said he’s now experiencing weakness in his right hand, abs, lower back and right leg.

“I can’t run, play golf or walk any distances,” he wrote. “Picking up anything over 30 pounds is a chore. The one piece of good news is that the disease seems to be progressing more slowly than in some patients.”

Clark’s not the first football player diagnosed with the disease, with former Saints safety Steve Gleason having documented his battle, and former Titans linebacker Tim Shaw more recently diagnosed.

Clark played nine seasons in the NFL, all with the 49ers. And while he said in his statement he didn’t want to do interviews now, he said he thought the disease was linked to his playing days.

“I’ve been asked if playing football caused this,” he wrote. “I don’t know for sure. But I certainly suspect it did. And I encourage the NFLPA and the NFL to continue working together in their efforts to make the game of football safer, especially as it relates to head trauma. . . .

“I’m not having a press conference or doing any interviews. That time will come. Right now, I’ve got work to do. I’ve got to devote all my energy preparing for this battle and I would hope you can respect my family’s privacy as I begin this challenge. My ultimate hope is that eventually I can assist in finding a cure for ALS, which disrupts the lives of so many and their loved ones.”

If he can do that, he will have achieved something bigger than anything he did on a football field. And what he did there was merely historic.

The Rams should take a chance on former No.3 overall pick EDGE Dion Jordan

https://www.downtownrams.com/single...e-on-former-No3-overall-pick-EDGE-Dion-Jordan

The Miami Dolphins are reportedly going to cut ties with their former 2013 third overall pick Dion Jordan. Could a change of scenery help the disgruntled pass rusher?

The Los Angeles Rams are going through a scheme change with new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and because of it they now lack 3-4 outside linebacker depth. With Jordan likely to be cut the Rams may have to give him a chance. Why you may ask? The Rams have two starters on the outside with Robert Quinn and newly signed Connor Barwin but after those two...there is not much. Ethan Westbrooks is likely to be part of a rotation but outside of the that it would likely be a question mark after that. The questions to ask are: "Where does Josh Forrest fit?" and "Is there anyone else that will play on the outside?". If you can't envision Forrest or anyone else on the roster helping out on the outside then it is time to find someone.

That someone is Dion Jordan. Jordan again, disgruntled and has been a huge disappointment. However, I believe the 27-year old just needs a change of scenery and a great coach like Phillips. I had Jordan in my prediction to go to the Rams before the off-season even began and it just makes too much sense. Remember when the Rams signed a first-rounder that had some character issues and disappointment? That ended up paying off big time last season with Dominique Easley. Easley is a player who was brought in on a minimum deal to be a rotational defensive tackle. He ended up having a great year so he was brought back and will likely start as a defensive end in Phillips system. Jordan would likely be aiming to do the same, I'm not saying he should receive a huge deal but I am saying giving him a veteran minimum "prove-it" deal makes a lot of sense.

Jordan has some bigger red flags than Easley which could be the reason for not bringing him in. First off Jordan hasn't played since 2014. He's had some attitude problems and has been hit with substance abuse policy suspensions. However, it's real simple you give Jordan a non-guaranteed prove-it deal and you bring him into camp. When players have situations like Jordan they give all the leverage to the team that is interested in them, there wouldn't be negotiation with Jordan. He would either agree to come in and play for no money and on a prove it deal or he wouldn't because no one in the league is going to pay him more than the veteran minimum.

This is likely the last chance for Jordan, if he can't receive a wake up call, he will likely be done in the NFL. He has the talent and monster size (6-foot-6. 275 pound) that doesn't make it easy to pass up on. His next NFL team would likely ask him to shred ten pounds since he would be more of a tweener at that weight. If Jordan were to take this last chance seriously he could be the future starting outside linebacker for the Rams.

What are your thoughts Rams fans? Sound off below!

Preface: Kudos to Oldschool and his latest Mock. I loved it but at the same time realized I have 2 players in my Mock that are the same. No intent to plagierize, I just didn't get my Mock up soon enough. I had it all written and while attempting to post it Thursday night I had lost connection with the site and lost all of my work.

Free Agency: Not much to cover here other than to list some additional signings over the next few weeks and/or Months;

Center- Nick Mangold (Jets) Obvious selection.

LB- Zach Brown (Bills) had a break out season with the Bills last year as an inside backer in their 3-4

DE- Vance Walker ( Broncos) Played LDE for Wade in Denver before he tore his ACL. He should be ready by training camp.

Draft strategy: With the Rams having a new coaching staff along with being without a First round selection, I am guessing they will go for quantity in a deep draft like this and trade down at some point to acquire an extra pick. I am going to roll with the strength of the draft and double down on CB, TE, and Interior O-line.

Trade:

Rams trade send 2nd round - #37 overall

Eagles send 2nd rond #43 & 4th round #118


Draft:

2nd round #43 Evan Engram TE - Ole Miss

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Summary:

At this spot, Engram is the best player available. He will become a match-up nightmare for defenses. Playing mostly in the slot, he can run by any linebacker and/or big Safety. And, can overpower smaller, quicker defensive backs. In the attached highlight, he takes a throw back screen 60yds for a TD against LSU. An added benefit is that he is a willing blocker. He is not large enough to play in-line consistently and take on DE’s head on, but he is effective in blocking down on LB’s , and sealing off smaller DE’s.

3rd round #69 - Tarell Basham Edge - Ohio

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Summary: Basham has a great skill set for either OLB position. IMO, Robert Quinn will not last much longer as a Ram. His production has dropped in addition to his mounting injuries. He may be a Cap casualty at the end of this next season. Back to Basham, He has experience playing from either side of the LOS. In addition, he has played in coverage ; dropping back in a zone and mirroring RB’s out of the backfield. At the Senior Bowl, he displayed a quick inside move against a RT that would’ve been a potential sack on a QB.

4th round #112 Rasul Douglas CB - West Virginia

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Summary: Douglas is a big corner; 6’2” 205 lbs. He has long arms and is above average at making plays on the ball. He finished his senior season with 8 INT’s and 8 pass break ups. His strength is press coverage which will fit well in Wade Phillips scheme. He will drop drop a little bit due his 4.69 / 40 time at the combine. But, after watching tape, it is apparent that his 40 time doesn’t correlate to his playing speed on the field.

4th round #118 Damontae Kazee CB - San Diego St.

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Summary: I see Kazee as the Rams future Slot CB. He is a smaller corner, ( 5’10” / 180 ) that is very tenacious. After watching him in Senior Bowl practices, I saw a little bit of Jenoris Jenkins in him. What’s impressive about Kazee is that he had 7 INT’s this past season while playing off of the receivers, no press coverage. During Senior Bowl practice 1-on-1’s, he consistently got in the grill of the receivers trying get off of the LOS and deterred the route of many WR’s bigger than him. Also, on tape you can he see he is an aggressive tackler. He may put Lamarcus Joyner out of a job.

4th round #141 Josh Reynolds WR - Texas A&M


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Summary: Reynolds has the tools to be a solid “X” receiver in the Rams offense. Has shows a good combination of size, speed, quickness, agility, and hands. To go along with his 4.5 / 40 speed, he had a time of 6.87 in the 3-cone drill which was near tops among WR’s, and considering his height is impressive. This explains why on tape you can see him beating press coverage on a consistent basis. His ability to be the “X” receiver, taking on press coverage where the other receivers can go in motion, in certain formations would allow Robert Woods to be used in different spots on different plays giving the play callers more options.

5th round #149 Kyle Fuller Center - Baylor

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Fuller’s 2 reps in this 6 minute video are at 0:38 vs Stevie T (USC) and at 2:10 versus Jaleel Johnson (iowa) He is bull rushed both times and holds them off. It took Stevie T. over 2 seconds to push Fuller back approx. 4 yards.


Summary: I like Fuller as well as any Center in this draft. I am intrigued with Elflein, but I think he has hit his ceiling already. I think Fuller can only get stronger in his lower body. You think of Baylor being a pass first offense, but they lead the Big-12 in rushing yardage and Fuller was the leader of the unit being the only Senior on the O-line. In addition to being able to generate movement in the run game, Fuller has the ability to slow a DT’s Bull rush. The highlight above shows 2 examples. Some people here like Toth from Kentucky, but he had issues with speed and power from defenders most of the week at the Senior Bowl.

6th round #189 Matt Milano LB - Boston College

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Summary: Milano will provide depth in the LB corps while being a specials teams Ace. He’s a ‘tweener at 6’0 / 220 lbs, but he is a tenacious tackler. His body size and playing style remind me of Mark Barron. On tape, he shows ability blitzing and playing in coverage.

6th round #206 Greg Pyke OG - Georgia

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Summary: Pyke has experience playing both Tackle and Guard, but he would be played at Guard. He hasn’t received much press in comparison to the other Guards in most Mocks, but a couple of scouts have said Pyke can really move people in the Run game. An example of his strength is in the highlight video. While playing Auburn last season, he goes up against DT Montravious Adams and never gives up any penetration from him and moves him around on some of the running plays.

7th round #234 Antony Auclaire TE - Laval (Canada)

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Summary: Auclaire has a good balance of blocking skills and athleticism for catching the ball. Warning: the highlight tape above has many Pancake blocks…be prepared to be entertained. The man is a blocking machine. I think he takes to the ground almost every defender he comes in contact with in this video, which is broken down in to 3 segments, 1) inline & in space blocking 2) receiving, 3) pass protection. I know you have to take into account many of the defenders are smaller than him, but his effort to take them all to the ground is incredible. After watching the blocking, you move on to the receiving and you see him moving upfield with ease, with decent speed and has good hands. The additional video below is of Auclaire at the East/West Shrine game. He attempts to take a pass out of the flat and tries to hurdle a defender. His blocking ability alone warrants some Reps with the First and Second units in training camp.

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Starters:

Offense-

QB- Jared Goff
HB- Todd Gurley
Move TE- Evan Engram
X-WR- Robert Woods / Josh Reynolds
y-WR Mike Willams / Robert Woods
Slot WR- Tavon Austin
RT- Rob Havenstein
RG- Greg Robinson
Center- Nick Mangold
LG- Roger Saffold
LT- Andrew Whitworth

Defense-

SOLB- Connor Barwin
RDE- Aaron Donald
NT- Michael Brockers
LDE- Vance Walker
WOLB- Robert Quinn
LILB- Zach Brown
RILB- Alec Ogletree
RCB- Rasul Douglas / Kayvon Webster
FS- Brian Randolf / Lamarcus Joyner
SS- Mark Barron
Slot CB- Damontae Kazee
LCB- Trumaine Johnson

Knowing what we know so far about McVay,which prospects fit his criteria?
from what I have gathered he prefers the Heady,Disiplined route runner types.
I got to believe it will be someone who can take the top off a defense as well.
Or are we looking at that big play TE?

I usually do a better job of keeping up with prospects.I have been a bit slack this year.
So I was hoping some of you Guys could help me out.What say you Gentlemen?



@jrry32 @den-the-coach



EDIT: just wanted to add a link that some of you guys already use.
But in case you haven't,Its got some good film breakdown on alot
of prospects
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/f...ays-ezekiel-elliott-needs-to-stop-being-dumb/

Despite drawing rave reviews on the field, Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has not impressed everyone with his off-field behavior during his first year in the NFL.

Elliott, who remains under investigation by the NFL for an alleged assault that cropped up in July , drew more headlines this past week when he pulled down the top of a woman during a St. Patrick’s Day parade . And as a result, he got ripped into by former Cowboys defensive end Marcus Spears for “being dumb.”

“The guy’s just gotta stop being dumb, man. That’s really what it boils down to. And I’m not going to speak on it like I know all of the particulars but I saw it and I don’t understand it,” Spears said on 103.3 radio in Dallas, via the Dallas Morning News. “I was talking to my wife last night about it. With all of the social media, all of the media coverage that we give because we have to and we have to talk about these things, you would think that these guys would have in their minds and they would understand that I have things that I can’t do. And not as a football player but just as a human. At the end of the day, the eye of the world is on Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott because of the success that they had. They not only have the eye of the world but they play for the Dallas Cowboys, who are always in the eye of public.”

The NFL’s investigation of Elliott is a strange one, because no charges have been pressed by authorities on the alleged incident. Elliott and his camp have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and Elliott’s said he wants “closure”when it comes to the NFL’s investigation.

But there’s no closure coming, because Roger Goodell said at the Super Bowl there’s “no timetable” to wrap up the investigation, and there is still a possibility that Elliott ends up facing some punishment . Jerry Jones believes the league hasn’t found anything in terms of the investigation, but there’s no real way to know how the wind blows on this one.

Having Elliott out in public behaving in a way that does not reflect well on his treatment of women is a sub-optimal way for him to behave while under investigation.

Which is why Spears believes Elliott needs to “lay low” when it comes to his behavior.

“So I think Zeke just needs to lay low. Have fun, man, have fun. He’s young. But do it in the right way and the respectable manner,” Spears said. “At the end of the day no one can fault you for trying to enjoy the hard work and the labor that you put in to put yourself in this position. But you also have a responsibility to not only yourself but your family to take care of business the right way and not get involved in stupidity.”

This is absolutely correct. Whatever happened in the past with Elliott will be handled through the investigation and he can’t change it right now. But he can make sure that he doesn’t further endanger his playing career and earning ability by making a mistake in public. He should also continue to show that treating women with respect is the proper way to behave.

2) TE - Davis Njoku, Mi. (4)
3) DE - Tanoh Kpassagnon, Vil. (1)
4a) WR - Kenny Golladay, N.I. (10)
4b) OLB - Vince Biegel, Wis. (5)
5) NT/DT - Eddie Vanderdoos, UCLA (4)
6a) C - Chase Roullier, WY. (2)
6b) CB - Brendan Langley, Lamar, Tx. (9)
7) WR - Robert Davis, G.St. (1)

The parenthesis at the end is where these players graded within their positional group using Sparq guidelines. For example, Robert Davis, not a widely regarded WR, finished 1'st among all WR's in the analytical measurables department. Langley graded 9'th out of 36 CB's, Rollier graded 2'nd of the Centers, etc.

For the sake of this draft, I was assuming a free agent or traded for Center being on the roster, either a Mangold (1 year contract) or Cameron Erving, or ... ?

Also for this Sparq draft, assume Tru Johnson back in his starting role.

For a 2017 starting WR opposite Woods, free agent Boldin on a 1 year contract. Will revisit WR with the 2018 1'st round draft pick.

jmo.

Downtown Rams Draft Profile: Marshall WR Michael Clark

https://www.downtownrams.com/single...-Rams-Draft-Profile-Marshall-WR-Michael-Clark

Our new massive series here at Downtown Rams will give you players that catch our eye. We will bring you bring you draft prospects, see where their fit is with the Rams and of course give you a player comparison.

Who is the 6-foot-6 and 217 pound WR Michael Clark?
He is likely someone you have never heard about before. To be quite honest I just found this guy this week and watched his tape and came away thrilled. Clark is a red-shirt sophomore transfer that is from the same school that produced Randy Moss and Aaron Dobson at the WR position. While Dobson may have busted extremely hard, Moss didn't and is likely headed to Canton in 2018. Clark shows up a crazy amount of athleticism in his 6-foot-6 frame and is able to take a play to the second level with his deceptive speed. This guy may have "undrafted" written all over him but you will see soon why that doesn't phase me in the slightest.

Strengths
Deceptive 4.5 speed
Massive body
Former basketball player, ability to box out defenders to the football
Ability to high point the ball
Superior body control makes him a serious red zone target
Solid hands
Great strength
Able to create yards after a catch
Enough foot quickness to quickly break off his route on a dime and school the defender
Underrated route runner
Sideline and endzone awareness are existent


Weaknesses
Needs to learn proper blocking technique
Can get a little too pushy and aggressive at times which could lead to PI's in the NFL
Production wasn't as high as it should've been
Weaker competition

How does he fit with the Rams?
The Rams would love to bring in a 6-foot-6 wide receiver to develop for the future. Clark gives the Rams the ability to have an instant red zone threat while they wait to fully develop him and refine the rest of his game. He wouldn't likely have to do too much but he would definitely receive some playing time in his rookie year if drafted. Right now the Rams have a smaller wide receiver group so Clark could add to that in a big way.


Draft grade:
7th round-UDFA

Player comparison
Danario Alexander

Michael Clark compares to a player that is one of my favorite all-time Rams in Danario Alexander. While Alexander didn't have the longevity...he showed the potential to be a top five receiver if he stayed healthy. As I see it Alexander in the NFL was more refined than Clark is right now but here is the thing. They both have that deceptive speed with that great big bodied frame. Clark was a red-shirt sophomore so he is still fairly young and of course Clark doesn't have the multiple knee operations that Alexander had to endure. Alexander ended up going undrafted do to the medical red flags so going undrafted shouldn't hurt Clark. Perhaps the Rams find their replacement finally for Danario Alexander and the type of play maker they hoped he could have been back in the day.

I think we all loved the bravado of Gregg Williams. Yet... while our defenses were "good"... we never performed "great" for extended periods. And... while respected around the league... not exactly feared.

Williams "bend but don't break" approach failed to hold any momentum we gained on offense (insert giggle here). If we scored, you could bank the other team would at least put a couple of first downs together on their next possession. It was frustrating to watch us "give cushion" to hope for a dropped pass or mistake to slow down the high percentage plays we were happy to allow.

In addition, how much "thinking" was required to play in the Williams scheme?

So...

While I've always felt we had a good defense... I was wondering if it was possible we'd step back under Wade... or will we perform better?

I found this article from 2016 describing the Phillips approach on defense. It's a good read.

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/20/broncos-defense-upended-nfl-simple/

It is the Broncos’ “Bear” call. Sylvester Williams, a hulking, 313-pound nose tackle, the largest player on Denver’s defensive line, a guy who gets paid to get in the way, drops into pass coverage.

“That ain’t normal,” Williams said. “But that’s one of my favorite plays.”

His job on this play is to keep a running back from catching the ball. No defense ever asks a nose tackle to play like a cornerback. The Broncos are not like everyone else.

“We’re different — a lot different,” he said.

When the Denver defense lines up next month to open the season in a rematch against Carolina quarterback Cam Newton and the Panthers, it will be trying to duplicate one of the most impressive playoff showings of all time, capped by a brilliant Super Bowl. In that game, Denver sacked Newton six times, intercepted one of his passes, scored a touchdown and nearly scored another. It put that defense in a discussion among the great defenses of the past 30 years.

But the league does not quite know what it sees in the Denver D. The Broncos are an outlier in the staid NFL. They confuse fans and hardcore insiders. With defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, a football lifer who learned from his dad, Bum, the Broncos are conservative radicals, a stick-to-basics defense that bucks the trend of complicated schemes in favor of beautiful simplicity.

The best defense in the NFL plays in plain sight. And nobody can pin it down.

“They say they know what we’re going to do,” Phillips said, “but can they stop us?”

JUST GO PLAY

To borrow a board game tagline, the Broncos’ defense takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. Bum Phillips upset the defensive order in the 1950s when he was coaching small town high school football in East Texas. He developed a way to number defensive lineman to make it easy for kids to know their roles. And he introduced a 3-4 defense — three linemen up front, four linebackers in the middle. His ideas trickled up the ladder.

Paul “Bear” Bryant borrowed Bum’s ideas at Texas A&M in the late ’50s. The NFL, with many teams still using five-man fronts built to stop the run and ignore the pass, soon followed. And the 3-4 defense began to take hold.

Wade Phillips, who also came up through the Texas high school ranks, spun the 3-4 even further. He recognized that the 3-4 can be the most adaptable defense in football. It’s built to let players do what they can do best. If a linebacker is good at coverage, let him cover. If a cornerback can rush the passer, cut him loose. And if a 313-pound nose tackle is quick enough to chase a running back, go for it.

“That’s our philosophy. Just do what the guy can do,” Phillips said. “I can think of a lot of different defenses. But it’s about what the players can do. I’ve always thought that way. When I coached in high school, some guys can’t play very well at all and you have to get by with what they can do. Maybe I got that from my dad. But when I started coaching, it just made sense to me that way.”

But the Broncos can play very well. They can do just about everything. So the simple structure of the 3-4 allows them to be unpredictable. Positions and roles are only words for roster sheets. In theory, the Xs and Os are starting points. In practice, players play everywhere.

“It is simple. That’s Wade’s goal. It allows you to just play,” Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby said. “The best defenses that I’ve seen, and the research that I’ve done, the common thing I get is they’re simple. Everybody knows their job, everybody knows their adjustments and everybody plays together. Wade’s defense, being simple, it allows our athletes to just go play.”

PLAYING TAG TEAM

This moldability allowed the Denver defense to baffle offenses last season. After the Broncos held Cincinnati to 200 yards passing in an overtime victory in late December, the Bengals’ receivers could not agree on what defeated them. The Broncos played a zone defense. No, it was man-to-man. No, they switched at halftime. No one seemed sure.

The truth is between the lines. Bill Green, a legend in Indiana high school basketball, developed a hybrid defense in the late 1960s and ’70s, that starts as a zone and morphs into man-to-man. Instead of defending one-on-one everywhere, a player defends face-to-face in his area, then withdraws if that player crosses a boundary.

Phillips loves this idea. If Broncos cornerback Chris Harris starts on the right side covering A.J. Green, for example, he can follow him around like a jacket until Green wanders too far, then Aqib Talib takes over.

“We play a matchup zone,” Phillips said, not afraid to reveal his playbook. “It looks like man until you pass him off to somebody else. We started it from basketball, way, way back. Everybody was playing 2-1-2 zone and if the ball went to one side, they stayed in place. But then later on they started moving over. We thought, “Well, we can do that. We’ve got five receivers going out, that’s the same concept as basketball.’ ”

The Broncos’ defense is a tag-team. It plays one-on-one until it decides to play two-on-one. This helped them hold opponents to the fewest yards and the fourth fewest points in the NFL last season.

“It’s simple, but it’s not easy,” Roby said. “There’s a lot of pressure. The heat is on. But that pressure is what makes us work at our best. We’re used to being in man coverage when the game is on the line. When I was younger, in college, any time I’d get a man call, I’d be nervous. But not now.

“In the end, it’s a one-on-one league. As a defense, we win those battles the majority of the time. If it’s a left tackle one-on-one with Von Miller, he’s winning that in two seconds. Teams have to catch us slipping, really.”

Even longtime veterans of the game get confused by Denver’s defense. During the Broncos’ first preseason game, at Chicago, former safety and now broadcaster John Lynch commented about how aggressive Denver was blitzing the quarterback. This set off a battle of semantics after the game.

Phillips retorted on Twitter, saying the Broncos never blitzed. They rushed four defenders, sometimes five, but they never blitzed. A rush is not a blitz. When a defense blitzes the quarterback, they are sacrificing numbers in the secondary in order to add an advantage at the line of scrimmage. It’s a gamble.

“The true meaning of a blitz in football is six guys are rushing and five guys are covering five receivers,” Phillips said. “If a backer or a safety gets a sack, they usually say it’s a blitz. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But a dog (rush) is five people. And a four-man rush or a three-man rush is different.”

Under Phillips, the Broncos rarely blitz. They don’t need to. They can send a four-man rush with Williams and defensive end Derek Wolfe and two linebackers, maybe Miller and Brandon Marshall, or two linebackers and two corners, or a corner and a safety with a lineman and a backer. The combinations are endless. It’s all a rush. And the Broncos can just as easily get to the quarterback without gambling on a blitz.

That way, they can keep their numbers advantage in coverage and still pressure the quarterback. Between options A and B, the Broncos choose all of the above.

“It’s simple — get to the ball,” Williams said. “That’s Wade’s No. 1 rule. Get to the ball. At the end of the day, if you get to the ball, you make plays, you do your job.”

Defenses are necessarily reactive. The offense possess the ball. It dictates the terms. It moves first. The Broncos’ defense, though, is impatient. It doesn’t want to wait for the other team to act first. So Denver often makes the first move.

“We’re a play-making defense,” Williams said. “We’re designed to get up the field. We’re not holding up blocks. We’re not two-gap. We’re making plays. I love this defense.”

SIMPLY CRAZY

Phillips, who was out of football and semi-retired in 2014 before he returned to the Broncos, waited a lifetime for a defense to match his philosophy. He was Denver’s defensive coordinator from 1989-92, then head coach in ’93-94. The Broncos reached the Super Bowl once in that span, in 1990, a blowout loss to the 49ers. His defenses were good. But they weren’t great.

This defense is great. The difference now is personnel. The Broncos have one of the best defenders in the league, in Von Miller, and the best cornerbacks, in Roby, Harris and Talib, and they have defensive linemen who can play in pass coverage and linebackers, such as Brandon Marshall, who can cover ground like a sprinter.

And unlike many other teams, the Broncos’ defensive playbook is thin. The scheme is straightforward. Players play. Chase the ball. Get it done. Phillips figured this out over decades. His idea is to turn over the defense to the guys on the field.

“He’s got a lot of swag,” Williams said. “We have very few calls. He says to the defense, ‘Just make plays!’ That’s his mindset. He’ll call the call, then let us play football. It’s a player’s defense.

“Coach Wade is a genius, man. We trust him because he trusts us.”

What do I mean?

The draft is a funny thing... we get excited about draft picks and imagine the ways they will help THIS year. Sometimes they do... but more often than not... players contribute more after they've gotten the rookie season out of the way.

Combine that, with the fact our 2016 offensive playbook was such a disconnected mess...

Could we possibly have more horses on offense than we think?

Specifically...

Gurley was a shell of himself in 2016. Think we'll see more out of him in 2017?

What about Goff? His rookie year is officially out of the way... which is HUGE for quarterbacks. Goff should look more like that #1 overall player in 2017. And... if we've got our franchise QB in Goff, the most difficult piece is in place.

Others? Tyler Higbee and Pharoh Cooper; both rookies in 2016. We should get a boost from their maturity. Same with Michael Thomas.

How about Tavon Austin? He's got some things to refine in his game, but I don't think anyone feels the 2016 playbook took advantage of Austin.

Bottom line; the whole offense from 2016 may have masked what's truly here - already. If so; the offensive roster may be stronger than we think.

https://3sigmaathlete.com/rankings/

SPARQ Rankings 2017


Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Line

Defensive Line

EDGE

Off-LOS Linebacker

Cornerback

Safety

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ared-cook-wants-to-buy-no-89-off-amari-cooper

Jared Cook wants to buy No. 89 off Amari Cooper

• By Conor Orr
• Around The NFL Writer
• Published: March 17, 2017 at 09:09 a.m.
• Updated: March 17, 2017 at 01:06 p.m.

Could there be a new No. 89 in Oakland?

New Raiders tight end Jared Cook, who has worn No. 89 each year since his rookie season in 2009, doesn't sound like a player unprepared to purchase his digits off Oakland's former first-round pick.

"I don't know," Cook said, via The Mercury News. "Me and (Cooper) are going to have to have a little conversation to see if I can get it off of him. Might have to bribe him a little bit, throw him like five bucks or something. We'll see if I can get it off his back."

Cook knows well that this will cost him much more than $5 and it's unlikely to happen, though one has to admire the 29-year-old tight end's bravado. After a miracle catch in Green Bay's playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, Cook reportedly misjudged his market and priced himself out of Green Bay before taking visits to Minnesota and Seattle. Now, we're talking about him swiping a jersey from the team's budding star franchise receiver.

It's important to take these tidbits with a sense of humor, which I think Cook is. It's difficult for a franchise to sign off on a number change for someone so popular like Cooper, especially when so many young fans have already purchased the silver and black No. 89.

Of course, in this business you never know. A Cook/Derek Carr love fest has underscored the days following his signings. Should he exceed expectations, fans might be willing to just hand it over.

"We sat in on a meeting and watched some film together today," Cook said Thursday. "Love the kid, man. He's cool. He's a real down to earth guy.

"(I'm) just another weapon for Derek to use, man. To be able to stretch the field, get down to the secondary at a fast pace, create separations off different routes ... it gives him a different elements to put the ball in different places and keep the chains moving."

Share anything obscure you'd like.

Did you know...

Between 1900 and 1920, Tug of War was an Olympic event.

Mod edit: I deleted my first post as it's possible it wasn't true. So... let's try again!