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Will This Year's New York Jets End Up Like the 2007's Cleveland Browns?

By Josh Dhani | June 15, 2009 | Colts Couch Crew

A lot of people probably haven't noticed this but I have. Don't you remember the 2007 Cleveland Browns? Well, let's start from the beginning. The Browns drafted a hot shot quarterback in Brady Quinn. The Browns expected him to be a huge star towards the squad, now that their other two quarterbacks didn't meet their goals with the franchise (Charlie Frye and Tim Couch). After a successful career in college, Quinn was drafted 22nd overall by the Browns and they looked to have a future with him. It didn't look a quarterback battle would be decided but Romeo Crennel insisted on it because he thought Derek Anderson had something in him. He was coming off an okay year but they decided to use Anderson and Quinn in a battle for the starting job. Derek Anderson won of course and the city of Cleveland also knew that Quinn was the...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Brady Quinn, Cleveland Browns, Derek Anderson, Kellen Clemens, Mark Sanchez, New York Jets, NFL, NFL Draft

Packers Position Analysis, Volume VII: Defensive Backs

By MJ Kasprzak | June 4, 2009 | The Frozen Tundra

Now for the seventh and final positional analysis of the Green Bay Packers: Defensive Backs. I began this series on player personnel grades for 2008 and outlook for 2009 before the draft and free agency, so here I will examine only those players on the roster in 2008.CB Charles Woodson, 6'1", 202 lbs., 11 years experience: seven interceptions (169 return yards, two touchdowns), 20 passes defensed, one fumble forced, one fumble recovered, three sacks (14 yards), 79 tackles (66 solo)If you are a wide receiver, you do not want to see this man crouching in front of you. Woodson is one of the five elite cornerbacks in the NFL, and if he is on your side of the field, there is a good chance the ball will not get to you.All of the above Pro Bowl statistics were accomplished playing through a broken toe, an injury that severely limits the...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Al Harris, Atari Bigby, Charles Woodson, NFC, NFC North, NFL, NFL Draft, Nick Collins, Ted Thompson, Tramon Williams

NFL Crystal Ball: Projecting the Rookie Quarterbacks

By Greg Trippiedi | June 1, 2009 | MVN Outsider

It was universally agreed upon by draft analysts that the 2009 NFL Draft's quarterback class was one of the weakest in memory. But when the first round was said and done, the results suggested that the teams disagreed: 3 quarterbacks picked in the first round, all before the 20th pick was made.On this kind of thing, history suggests that the majority draft opinion usually produces more first round names than there are actual first round talents. The bust rate for all rookie QBs is around 50%, but that figure is considerably lower in the top 20 picks of the first round, which more directly applies to the three gentlemen who will be the primary focus of this article: Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez, and Josh Freeman.I will rely heavily on historical draft position in this analytical and predictive column. Draft position helps to separate the elite prospects from the good prospects,...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Detroit Lions, New York Jets, NFL Draft, Predictions, Prospects, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Who Is Travis Beckum? You'll Know Soon Enough

By johnfennelly | May 31, 2009 | Big Blue 101

Alex Trebek : This player from the University of Wisconsin was a Mackey Award semifinalist in 2006. John Fennelly: Who is Travis Beckum? Alex Trebek: Yes, it was his first year as an offensive player, too. Not bad. That leads me to think...who exactly is this kid who's name is so eerily close to that of the character played by Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver? Here's what we know: He's an exceptional athlete. He started his college career as a defensive player and then switched to tight end in his junior year. He was named second-team All-American. As a senior, he broke his leg and fell off the radar of many pro scouts. But not everyone's radar screen went dark. No one seems to fall off the Giants' radar these days. Jerry Reese took Beckum with the second of his two third round selections (No. 100 overall). It wasn't...

Read more | 13 Comments | Tags: New York Giants, NFL Draft, Travis Beckum

Thoughts on roster construction, plus links

By Tom Gower | May 25, 2009 | Total Titans

Before the draft, I wrote a post wondering if the Titans had room for all their draft picks, and speculated the Titans would look to get rid of some of their draft picks by moving up, because they didn't have room for all of them. Of course, those wacky folks at Baptist Sports Park then went ahead and not only kept their draft picks, they traded one of the most valuable commodities the NFL has, a second round pick, from next year's draft to draft another player who'll beat out somebody who was good enough to play on last year's 13-3, #1-seeded team. Does this make any sense?...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: NFL, NFL Draft, Nick Schommer, Ryan Durand, tennessee titans, Titans

NFL Crystal Ball: Projecting the Rookie Quarterbacks

By Greg Trippiedi | June 1, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Detroit Lions, New York Jets, NFL Draft, Predictions, Prospects, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Great Debates: Harvin, Freeman Draft Busts?

By Staff Report | May 1, 2009 | MVN Outsider

NFL Outsider's Greg Trippiedi and Anthony Brown debate the issue: Which first round draft pick is likely to be a bust with his new team?Greg Trippiedi says Percy Harvin will struggle in Minnesota:Of all 32 of the players selected in the first round of the 2009 draft, historical statistics show that between five and six are unlikely to do anything in the NFL whatsoever. The riskier positions tend to be defensive lineman and wide receiver.I happen to think that this is a particularly good year for defensive linemen. There will be a pure pass rusher or two who busts, but the interior guys, and prototypical 4-3 defensive ends (Raji, Jerry, Orakpo) seem as safe as they've ever been. Receiver Michael Crabtree is every bit the prospect that Calvin Johnson was, and Johnson was great in Detroit this year on a team that didn't win.There's one player who I think who...Read more

Read more | 21 Comments | Tags: Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, NFL, NFL Draft, Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Five Questions: Talking Draft Winners, Heyward-Bey, Stafford and More

By Anthony Hall | April 29, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Who emerged from last weekend as a "winner" of the NFL Draft? Which first round quarterback (Stafford, Sanchez, Freeman) will have the best career in the NFL? And what on earth were the Oakland Raiders thinking? The NFL Draft left behind a plethora of unanswered questions, so to talk more about the weekend in football, we sat down with NFL blogger Reid Kerr of NFL Examiner, who was tracking the draft every step of the way with his Official Unofficial 2009 NFL Draft Timeline. Here's what Reid had to say about the draft in the latest installment of NFL Outsider's "Five Questions" series: 1. Give us a team and a player that you think have emerged from the weekend as "draft winners."Both of my main winners came through predraft trades. I think the Falcons adding Tony Gonzalez for a second round pick was a great move. The Eagles had a...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, New York Jets, NFL, NFL Draft, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles

Grading My NFL Outsider Mock Draft

By Greg Trippiedi | April 29, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Not many analysts will go back and see how much of what they thought would happen ended up being wrong, but sometimes, when you need something to write about, poking fun at what you don't know seems as good a topic as any.Here is my final, most accurate, mock draft. It was completed before Stafford signed his contract with the Lions, so I get to count that pick as correct.In total, I correctly predicted 7 players to their teams in the top two rounds, including all three QBs. I predicted the New York Jets would trade up for Mark Sanchez, but I thought they would get him at No. 7 instead of number five. I also correctly predicted that WR Ramses Barden would be a Giant, but gave him to them a round too early. I was 5 for the first 7, missing on Cleveland (who traded down), and St....Read more

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Grading the 2009 NFL Draft by Process Points

By Greg Trippiedi | April 28, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Yesterday, we looked at some teams who did well and other who did poorly, but how did process points score the draft?The average team scored 7 process points in this draft. The best division, according to points was the AFC North with 41, closely followed by the AFC East (37), and NFC West (35). On the low end, the worst division was the usually reliable NFC East (18), with the AFC West (20), NFC South (22), and AFC South (23). The NFC North had pretty run of the mill haul, overall.But since I know you are reading this to see how your team did, here are the 32 individual teams as graded by process points. Remember, points only grade the activity on the first day. Ultimately, the quality of the second day is all about results.1. Cleveland Browns (18)The Browns got the highest amount of points this year by, 1)...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: NFL, NFL Draft

NFL Outsider's Draft Winners and Losers

By Greg Trippiedi | April 27, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Tomorrow, we'll take a look at process points to see who had the best draft objectively. Right now, I'm just going to give some off the cuff reaction on some teams that did really well and others who did not so well.Winners1. Arizona CardinalsI was amazed with the quality of player drafted by the Cardinals. They never moved up or down in the draft, but still managed to have great draft position to land great values at positions of need in every single round. Every one of their draft picks, except for RB LaRod Stephens-Howling, an intriguing prospect, was on the MVN Top 150 big board. There should be between 5-6 full time starters in this draft, and the Cardinals figure to be the class of their division in the next few seasons.2. Cleveland BrownsConversely, the Browns traded down three times in round one, and ended up picking four times...Read more

Read more | 3 Comments | Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, NFL, NFL Draft, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins

Priority UDFAs NFL Teams Need to Consider

By Greg Trippiedi | April 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The number is the ranking of this player on the MVN Big Board.54. Graham Harrell, QB, Texas Tech58. Darry Beckwith, LB, LSU59. Gerald Cadogan, OT, Penn State91. Tyrell Sutton, RB, Northwestern106. John Gill, DT, Northwestern107. C.J. Spiller, S, Marshall109. Zach Potter, DE, Nebraska110. Mike Reilly, QB, Central Washington113. John Parker Wilson, QB, Alabama114. Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State115. Dan Skuta, LB, Grand Valley State117. Otis Wiley, S, Michigan State118. Jonathon Casillias, LB, Wisconsin120. Devin Moore, RB, Wyoming121. Dominick Goodman, WR, Cincinnati128. Ryan Purvis, TE, Boston College132. Drew Willy, QB, Buffalo134. Augustus Parrish, OT, Kent State135. Kory Sheets, RB, Purdue137. Dannell Ellerbe, LB, Georgia140. Orion Harris, DE, Virginia Tech147. Herman Johnson, G, LSU...Read more

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Derrick Williams, Jarron Gilbert, Jared Cook Lead Round 3 Recap

By Greg Trippiedi | April 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Process points become negligible after the first day, so lets look at round three and the players that each team got in the middle of the draft.65. New York Jets -- Shonn Green, RB, IowaThe Jets traded up for this pick, so the Green pick was really disappointing. I didn't think he was anywhere near the best available, and with this being the first pick of the day, I expected a great pick here.66. St. Louis Rams -- Bradley Fletcher, CB, Iowa67. Kansas City Chiefs -- Alex Magee, DE, PurdueThe Chiefs pick their second 3-4 DE of the draft. So what does this mean for Glenn Dorsey? Will he split time with Magee and Tyson Jackson, or is he already on his way out?68. Chicago Bears -- Jarron Gilbert, DE, San Jose StateChicago moves forward looking for best player available, while making sure to add a defensive lineman every year. ...Read more

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Couch Crew Exclusive: My Exclusive Interview with Pierre Garcon

Mikell Simpson Interview

More NFL Mock Draft info than you can handle

Will This Year's New York Jets End Up Like the 2007's Cleveland Browns?

Packers Position Analysis, Volume VII: Defensive Backs

NFL Crystal Ball: Projecting the Rookie Quarterbacks

Who Is Travis Beckum? You'll Know Soon Enough

Thoughts on roster construction, plus links

NFL Crystal Ball: Projecting the Rookie Quarterbacks

NFL Great Debates: Harvin, Freeman Draft Busts?

Five Questions: Talking Draft Winners, Heyward-Bey, Stafford and More

Grading My NFL Outsider Mock Draft

Grading the 2009 NFL Draft by Process Points

NFL Outsider's Draft Winners and Losers

Priority UDFAs NFL Teams Need to Consider

Derrick Williams, Jarron Gilbert, Jared Cook Lead Round 3 Recap