Chicago Bears Awarded Third-Round Draft Pick and 2 Seventh Rounders

Bears Awarded a 3rd Rounder and Two 7th Rounders

Today the Bears were handed a third-round pick (the 99th) and two seventh rounders in this years NFL Draft.

The Bears’ picks in the seventh round are as follows:

37th pick, 246 overall
42nd pick, 251 overall

Jerry Angelo has landed Alex Brown, Nate Vasher and Kyle Orton all in the third round. Not bad, considering Jerry Angelo’s struggles as GM.

Compensatory picks are handed out each year to teams for their net loss in free agency.

The Bears lost Bernard Berrian (Minnesota), tight end John Gilmore (Tampa Bay) and special teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo (Baltimore) as unrestricted free agents a year ago. The team did not sign any UFA’s, so they receive three draft picks.

The Philadelphia Eagles Will Be Super Bowl Bound If…

The city of Brotherly Love has been starving for an NFL championship for decades now. The past decade has been filled with our beloved Eagles coming so close but coming up short in the end.  Five NFC championship appearances, one super bowl appearance, and zero super bowl championships.

Now, all Eagle fans play the blame game. Some place the brunt of the blame on Donovan McNabb, some blame Andy Reid, and others blame the Eagles front office.  Now we could debate who is to blame for hours and hours, but the fact of the matter is the Philadelphia Eagles are VERY close to achieving the goal of an NFL championship.

First and foremost, for the Eagles to win a Super Bowl in ’09, they need to have a good draft this year.  They are going to need players that will produce in the NFL right away.  Not all the players will need to come in and start immediately, but they will need to be able to fill in for guys if they get hurt.

We need to fill the positions of need in the first round of the draft.  I know many people say that we need to take an offensive linemen with one of our first two draft picks in the first round.

No. 1, I don’t think so.  I think all that needs to be done with the offensive line is move Herremans to left tackle and slide Nick Cole or Max-Jean Gilles to left guard. 

With that being said, if somehow Oher or Andre Smith slides to the 21st pick, we should scoop them up!  I believe that the offensive line class this year is very strong and can be addressed in the second round of the draft.

With the 21st pick, I would draft Beanie Wells or Knowshon Moreno if they are there. If not, then I would trade away the 21st pick and a third rounder for one of the highly sought after wide outs (Anquan Boldin, Braylon Edwards). 

If we trade away the 21st pick for a wide out, then with the 28th pick we should select McCoy out of Pitt or Donald Brown out of UConn. 

Secondly, the coaching staff needs to be more committed to the run!  We do not need to be a run-first team, but we need to have a little better balance!  I would love to see a 55-45 percent pass to run ratio. 

Westbrook could carry the ball anywhere from 16-18 times a game and whatever running back we draft would get maybe seven to eight carries a game. 

I think the addition of Leonard Weaver is a sign that we will indeed be committed a little bit more to the run game.  He is a good run blocker as well as a good pass blocker. 

Weaver will also be an asset to our west coast offense that utilizes the fullback in the passing game, not to mention get some tough short-yardage first downs that we failed to convert in ’08.

Lastly, and most important, our key contributors need to stay healthy.  The fact of the matter is that if our guys aren’t healthy, we won’t win..just like every other team out there. 

 

Reggie Bush’s Fuse Is Lit, And He’s Ready To Explode

After being hampered by an injury last year, Reggie Bush is back and he’s ready to play some football.

His two punt returns for touchdowns against the Vikings last year (video on saintsscoop.com) were only a sample of what he can do.

With the releasing of Deuce McAllister, Pierre Thomas will most likely step into the starting role while Reggie becomes a one-two punch along with Thomas.

Bush will likely keep returning punts, but will likely not return kicks as the Saints re-signed kick returning specialist Courtney Roby earlier this year.

Bush hasn’t had “his” year yet, and while some may argue that his rookie year was his breakout year, I don’t believe that he has reached his full NFL potential yet. The Saints just have to figure out how to use him.

Before the knee injury last year, Bush looked to be trying to run more up the middle instead of trying to always run around tackles, and he was doing a pretty good job. Of course, he isn’t the Saints every down back, but along with Pierre Thomas, the Saints running game is looking pretty good this year.

Go No. 23 and go Reggie!

Joshua Joffrion writes Saints Scoop, a blog dedicated to the New Orleans Saints which can be found at http://www.saintsscoop.com. He also writes Tigers Town, a blog dedicated to the LSU Fighting Tigers which can be found at http://www.tigerstown.com.

Also be sure to check out his newest project, Eyes On The NFL. It can be found at http://www.eyesonthenfl.blogspot.com.

Greene wows NFL scouts at Pro Day

Why Josh McDaniels Got The Job and The Reasons Why The Broncos Are Doomed

Josh McDaniels is the recently hired 32-year-old head coach of the Denver Broncos and is the Sarah Palin of the NFL. When his conduct is compared to the most successful young coach in recent history, Mike Tomlin, you can see his mistakes. First of all, he got the job for a variety of reasons.

First, the main reason he was hired was the success of the New England Patriots and more specifically Bill Belichick. That combined with the intelligence and artfulness of the way they conduct business is very attractive to an owner.

The problem with this is, as we have seen with Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini, most of the success of the Patriots can either be attributed to Bill Belichick or the owner Robert Kraft. So there is no proven resume or any sign of Josh McDaniels succeeding leading a team combined with day to day tasks or ingame decisions.

The main reason he was hired was because of the incredible success of Mike Tomlin. Mike Tomlin was hired as one of the youngest coaches in league history by the steeler because they sensed when he walked into that interview, that this man would instantly earn the respect of the players just on the merit of his presence.

They realized that Mike Tomlin was incredibly intelligent, knowledgeable about the game and he was a natural leader of men. These are three attributes which seem simple enough, but are very very rare and exist in only the best of coaches in any sport.

The most important thing Mike Tomlin did was keep the defensive coaching staff intact. Even though he was a Cover 2 defensive coordinator in Minnesota, he realized the success of Dick LeBeau and the defense of the Steelers.

He did not try to put his imprint on the defense because he was intelligent and was not insecure in his leadership abilities. He only tried to build and give a new dimension to the defense. He gradually earned the respect of his players and led his players to the championship in his second year. He also brought none of his players from Minnesota or Tampa Bay to get more familiar with the system

Now compare this to Josh McDaniel’s conduct. First, he fired the offensive staff from the second rated offense in the NFL, when they did not have a solid or healthy running back. Second he released a few players who were leaders and who played positions like longsnapper and signed them from New England.

This yearning for familiarity, because he was insecure in the respect he could earn from his players, led to his biggest mistake yet.

Another reason he got the job was the success of Tom Brady and Matt Cassell. The part of Tom Brady’s success he got credit for was the monster 2007 season and Matt Cassell, which was mostly due to the talent of Randy Moss, which has made the likes of Mike Tice and Brian Billick look like offensive geniuses.

So he tried to acquire Matt Cassell mainly because he was not familiar with Jay Cutler. The people who underrate the extraordinary talent of this guy by citing his record and his zero playoff trips are stupid and only nitpicking. This team had one of the worst defenses and seven running backs over the past three years and he amassed a 87 passer rating.

And when confronted by Jay Cutler about it, instead of thinking about it intelligently, merely did an imitation that he probably saw Bill Belichick say to many role players over the years. He did not realize, you do not say that you could be traded at anytime to the best player on the team that you were just hired to coach.

All this tells me one thing, Josh McDaniels is inexperienced and not ready for this job for a glorified offensive coordinator. He already should have partly lost the locker room and since Pat Bowlen has confidence in him, the Broncos for at least the next three or four years are going to be mediocre at best  and then Pat Bowlen will realize that he made a mistake.

Atlanta Falcons Draft Analysis: Who Will Be Falcons’ First Pick?

Quick note: I will not mention any cornerback in this article. I do not believe that they would take any corner with the first-round pick, it is not a need (that the draft can fill).

The Atlanta Falcons have the 24th overall pick in this years draft. The Falcons are looking to re-work the defense this year after last year’s amazing resurgence of the offense.

By that logic, we can guess that the Falcons will pick on the defensive side—or will they? I will go over all of the players I think that the Falcons should consider and from that make my judgement. 

James Laurinaitis, inside linebacker, Ohio State:

First, I must say that if the Falcons draft him he would be moved to an outside linebacker position. James is an undersized linebacker who has a mean streak you cannot measure. He is a very instinctive player and more often then not is in the right place at the right time.

James would be a bargain at pick No. 24 The only question with drafting him would be can he make the move to OLB. I believe he can. 

Clay Matthews, outside linebacker, USC:

Matthews has everything you would want in an outside linebacker. He can rush the quarterback or drop back into coverage. That is all good, but what I like about him is the fact that he was a walk-on at arguably the best college football program.

This shows that he believes in what he can do and has the ability to show it. Matthews also could jump right into the starting lineup and produce. 

Rey Maualuga, inside linebacker, USC: 

Another USC product that I could see the Falcons taking. Like Laurinaitis, Rey is an inside linebacker who would have to change, but again I believe he could make the change.

Rey is a true freak of nature. He is basically an angry bull that gets to hit people with no consequences. Could you even imagine being the running back that has to go against both Curtis Loftin and Rey Maualuga. I know, scary isn’t it. 

Michael Johnson, defensive end, Georgia Tech:

A home town name who can help with a major problem. Johnson can help with the Falcons poor pass rush right away. I mean this kid can pass rush.

He has all of the tools that are needed to be a master at it, but wait. I have heard this before, wasn’t it a few years ago this was said about Anderson. Hmm, actually as much as I like Kiper, I am going to have to disagree. We don’t need a defensive end this early in the draft. 

Brandon Pettigrew, tight end, Oklahoma State:

Easily the best tight end in this year’s draft. Pettigrew is the full package. He can catch and block with the best of them. The knock on him is that he is not a game breaker.

Well if you saw the Falcons last season you saw that we do not need more game breakers. Instead, we need more consistent players. If he is there when the Falcons pick will be quite tempting for he would complete the offense. 

Ron Brace, defensive tackle, Boston College:

I admit this is kind of a stretch. But he is 6-foot-3, 330 pounds. Those are numbers you cannot ignore. Remember he played along side a very complete tackle in Raji, which is what he would be doing as a Falcon (Jonathan Babineaux).

He would help clog the middle and create a push with Jonathan. I could see him being an integral part of the Falcons D-line rotation. 

Louis Delmas, safety, Western Michigan:

Could be a future play-maker for the Falcons. His upside is crazy and his downside is not that bad. So this risk might just pay off. He would be an ideal free safety, but we already have Erick Coleman so he would have to play the strong safety position.

This is only bad for the fact that he is not a big player. Also, the fact that he come from a small school which means he would more then likely not be able to start right away. 

Alex Mack, center, California:

The Falcons are young at every position on the offensive line except center. Mack would be able to be in the line rotation while fighting McClure for the starting job. He could make the Falcons O-line not only complete, but elite. He would also give Matt Ryan a chance to grow old with a center of his own. (Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday) 

OK, so I have gone over some of the many players the Falcons could consider at this point in the draft. All have their upsides and downsides. But there is one that if the Falcons have the opportunity cannot afford to pass on. And the pick is: Clay Matthews.

He has everything that the Falcons need. He is not only a dual threat but he is intelligent. I could see him becoming a premier linebacker in the NFL and would love for Atlanta to be his home. 

(This does sort of hurt my fandom a little bit. For I am a UCLA fan, but Falcons come first so go Clay.)

Some quick names that I would like to see the Falcons get in the later rounds.

William Moore, safety, Missouri: Big play potential and solid tackler. 

Chase Coffman, tight end, Missouri: A solid blocker with soft hands.

Eric Wood, center, Louisville: Solid player that could be molded to fit for Falcons.

 

 

 

 

Adolph Hitler Not Happy with T.O. Signing

Terrell Owens’s worries of not getting the ball enough may have to go unattended for a while, for it seems that he has bigger problems, much bigger.

Apparently, former Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler is still alive and is a Bills fan. He’s just one of the many who are unhappy with the signing of the troublemaking wide receiver.

This reporter saw shocking evidence in the form of a YouTube video that showed that Hitler is still as powerful as ever, and he isn’t happy.

Owens said Monday, “‘I’m not worried about Adolphy, he’s supposed to be dead, isn’t he?”

Yes, T.O., he is, but you know sometimes stuff doesn’t go the way that you think it should, take the “secret meetings” between Tony Romo and Jason Witten that supposedly took place. That probably didn’t happen either.

If you want to see the shocking video evidence, then please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okhiJjuefPw.

Joshua Joffrion writes Eyes On The NFL, a blog which strives to bring you the news of the NFL with a little bit of personality, it can be found at http://www.eyesonthenfl.blogspot.com.

Oakland Raiders Trade For Miami Dolphins’ Center Samson Satele (Updated Info)

In a trade with the Miami Dolphins, the Oakland Raiders have acquired center Samson Satele—who will likely be the Raiders’ new starting center.

NFL.com and even the Dolphins’ website is reporting that the trade involved undisclosed draft picks, but 2 Minutes to Midnight Green has learned that the trade was for a sixth round pick and a swap of fourth round picks.

The Raiders will now hold the 26th selection in the fourth round with the Dolphins taking Oakland’s 8th selection in the same round.

Satele was a second round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2007.

He has played in and started all 32 games since coming into the NFL.

Satele should go into Oakland with a clear path to the starting role for the Raiders. He has proven to be a quality starter during his short time in the league.

Good pickup for the Raiders. It seems like the Dolphins feel like they have another choice at center, possibly free-agent pickup Jake Grove.

In an interesting twist, Grove just happened to be Oakland’s starter in 2008.

Read this article and more only at 2 Minutes to Midnight Green!

Jay Cutler: Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Jay Cutler has been in limbo all week, as you probably have already heard. I was getting a little tired of all this back and forth ranting until today, when word out of New York was that the Jets had expressed interest in Cutler.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m more of a Giants fan than I am a Jets fan, but just the prospect of Cutler coming to New York is wonderful. If the Jets could get a wide receiver (preferably Jeremy Maclin) the Jets would have an above average offense and a great defense.

With Cutler, Maclin, Thomas Jones, Jericho Cotchery, and Leon Washington, “Gang Green” would be a fun team to watch.

Now I know there are skeptics out there. What if he can’t take the pressure from the fans and media, and that point should be taken into consideration. Many quarterbacks do not thrive in New York.

But, what if Cutler were to play well in New York. An AFC Championship would certainly be a possibility, and who knows, maybe one or two years down the line a Super Bowl wouldn’t be out of the question either.

All I’m saying is that the Jets’ quarterback position looks pretty dismal at this point and wasting a draft pick on one would be a waste.

Cutler has proven himself enough in this league to be given the shot to play in New York and if the Jets were to put the right pieces around him, I’m sure he and the Jets would share great success.

Raiders Get Steal With Satele

The Raiders acquired center Samson Satele from the Miami Dolphins yesterday, trading their sixth round draft pick and swapping fourth round picks with Miami (Raiders now hold the 122nd pick in the fourth round, with the Fins getting the 104th).

Satele was the second best center coming out of the draft in 2007 behind USC’s Ryan Khalil. The Dolphins took him in the second round that year (60th overall) to start immediately for former Head Coach Cam Cameron who implemented the zone blocking scheme (ZBS).

Ring a bell?

Well it should, considering that this will be the third year in a row that the Raiders will run the ZBS, with the man who started it at head coach now in Tom Cable.

Satele fell out of favor with the new Miami coaching staff due to his inability to grasp their power blocking scheme, at least to their standards. Some are speculating that they didn’t like Satele’s strength, particularly when handling the nose tackles in the AFC East.

In two years in the NFL, Satele has started all 32 games for the Dolphins. He was expected to compete if not at center, at guard for them until they realized there was a market for him as the Raiders came calling.

Raiders haven’t had a solid center since Jeremy Newberry in 2007. He had prior experience working with Tom Cable and the ZBS, and was able to overpower opposing big linemen such as Jamal Williams from San Diego on a consistent basis. Raiders cut ties with him after the ’07 campaign due to Newberry’s inability to practice at times and his knee being a wild-card.

With Grove having started in his place twice in ’07, the Raiders gave him an opportunity to compete for the starting job last year with former Buccaneer John Wade and backup center/guard Chris Morris.

Grove was coming off microfracture knee surgery last year, and was a good story to come back and later win the starting job. However, he still was nagged with injuries and finished the season with only 12 starts.

Due to injury problems, and Grove not being much of an upgrade over former starter Jeremy Newberry, the Raiders let him go test the free agent market. Tuna and the Fins came calling and gave him a whopping five-year, $29 million contract, with $14.5 million guaranteed.

I’m going to speculate that the Raiders offered him no where near that and gladly let him walk. Grove wasn’t really a good fit for Tom Cable’s ZBS anyways, considering he didn’t move well in open space and was inconsistent in his play, not to mention he couldn’t stay healthy.

Virtually the Raiders gave up a sixth round pick, and swapped fourth round picks and centers. Can anybody say STEAL?

Samson Satele is a ZBS center, who was an all-pro playing in the system in college, then looked very good his rookie year playing in it as well.

The Fins think they got a stronger player in Grove, but I wouldn’t be so sure considering they are both have the same weight (300), with Grove being an inch taller.

The Raiders got the better end of the deal here, considering they only had to give up a sixth round pick and swap fourths to get a former second round pick ZBS center in Satele.

The Dolphins should have asked for more, because Satele will prove to be much more valuable to the Raiders considering he will be playing in his most familiar system in which he was chosen in the first place to excel in.

Cross out a center from the NFL draft, as the Raiders just got their (essentially) sixth round steal in Samson Satele.

Two years experience with a rookie salary; nicely done Raiders, nicely done.

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