Published on January 19th, 2012 Comments Off
Updated: January 19
FIRST ROUND
1. Indianapolis Colts:
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Easy selection here for the Colts at the top of the first round. Andrew Luck is not only clear and away the best prospect in this draft class, but he might be the best prospect the NFL has seen in the past decade. Drafting Luck while the team has Peyton Manning might not make sense to most, as Luck is an NFL ready quarterback, but both Luck and Manning would demand a ton of attention in the trade market should the Colts want to deal one.
2. St. Louis Rams:
Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
The Rams once again find themselves with a top ten pick. Key needs for St. Louis are wide receiver cornerback and offensive tackle. Brandon Lloyd has been solid but Sam Bradford could really use an explosive playmaker like Blackmon going forward. Blackmon has dominated Big 12 defenses notching over 100 receptions the past two seasons (111 in 2010 and 113 and counting in 2011) and is the clear best wide out prospect this year. Morris Claiborne could be an option but corners are never taken in the top 3. With a now formidable supporting cast on offense, the pressure will be on Bradford to step it up in his third season.
3. Minnesota Vikings:
Matt Kalil, OT, USC
The Vikings have pretty much been in free fall mode since reaching the NFC Championship game just a couple seasons ago. Christian Ponder is shaping up to be the quarterback of the future in Minnesota. In order to protect their asset in Ponder, the Vikings will look to add the draft’s best offensive tackle here in the top three. Kalil headlined a stout USC Trojan offensive line that only allowed eight sacks as a unit in all of 2011. As an individual, Kalil did not allow a sack throughout the entire 2011 season. Impressive stuff.
4. Cleveland Browns:
Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
Colt McCoy was given a chance to be the franchise quarterback but the Browns offense is still as feeble as ever. RG3 tore up the Big 12 this year and became a household name winning the Heisman trophy. Really the Browns need more playmakers all over the offense, but that won’t matter until they find one at QB. Griffin put up crazy stats against admittedly not the best defensive conference but 37 tds to only 6 interceptions with a 72.4 completion percentage is impressive (higher completion percentage and less interceptions than Andrew Luck for those of you that like comparisons). Recent rumors suggest Cleveland could be looking to trade up with the Rams to grab Griffin which would be a good idea, because even though the Rams and Vikings are unlikely to draft a qb, plenty of other teams would be willing to part with multiple draft picks to secure RG3.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU
Something’s not right in Tampa Bay. I’m not exactly sure how the youngest squad in 2010 could regress in 2011 with the same players and coaching staff. Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber are both solid corners at their position. However, character concerns are always a concern for Talib, and Barber isn’t getting any younger. In today’s NFL, three above average corners are becoming more of a priority than a luxury. Claiborne was part of a stout defensive unit at LSU and figures to be one of the first (if not the first) defensive player off the board.
- Continue reading 2012 NFL Mock Draft 7.02
This post is archived under 2012 Draft, Mock Drafts. Tags: 2012 NFL draft, 2012 NFL Mock Draft, Mock Draft, NFL Draft
Published on January 4th, 2012 Comments Off
Aaron Rodgers has established himself over the past few seasons as a top three NFL quarterback. Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady, at any given moment could make the strong argument as being the top signal caller in the league. Fresh off his first Super Bowl win as a pro, Rodgers has put himself in a position to stake a claim as one of the game’s all-time greats. However, in a couple shorts months, Rodgers will not be the most talked about Green Bay Packers quarterback. Perhaps lost in all the NFL playoff jubilation this past week is the fact that Rodgers’ backup, Matt Flynn, will become an unrestricted agent this off-season. The former LSU National Championship winning quarterback has looked impressive in his limited action as a professional.
The NFL is unquestionably a quarterback driven league. Let’s not forget that we live in a world where Kevin Kolb gets handed a 5-year, $63 million contract only to be replaced by John Skelton weeks later. With Matt Barkley staying in school, Flynn will become one of the most highly coveted quarterbacks available this off-season, along with Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III.
While 12 teams still have hope that they will lift the Lombardi Trophy in February, the other 20 are left evaluating their personnel. Last year was an oddity, with free agency taking place after the NFL draft, but the NFL draft is usually largely based off what a team does or does not do in free agency. Considering the two events are highly linked together, we decided to outline the potential destinations for Flynn. In order of the likelihood of Flynn signing with them.
The Favorites:
- Washington Redskins – Was anyone really surprised when the quarterback duo of Rex Grossman and John Beck didn’t end up working out? The fact that Washington got to five wins (just enough to play their way out of Luck and RGIII, by the way) despite their quarterback play is somewhat of a miracle. These five wins really is a testament to the talent surrounding the quarterback. In comparison to some of Daniel Snyder’s other teams, this Redskins team wasn’t that bad of a team. Defensively the ‘Redskins have a front seven in place that could match-up with some of the best in the game. Enter Matt Flynn, and the Redskins would have a dangerous roster in 2012-13. Never a stranger to opening up the checkbook, I expect Daniel Snyder to make Flynn a hefty offer during free agency to be the ‘Skins quarterback of the future.
- Continue reading The Ascent of Matt Flynn
This post is archived under Columns, Free Agency. Tags: Free Agency, Matt Flynn, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins
Published on December 31st, 2011 Comments Off
Updated: December 18
Alright so here’s the deal. It’s generally a bad idea to do mock drafts with games still left to be played because of the fluidity of the draft order and unknown status of underclassmen. After a couple years of taking a mental hiatus from doing mocks, I guess we forgot this little tidbit. This mock draft was constructed based on all NFL draft assumptions as of December 18th. On December 18th, Matt Barkley was penciled in the 2012 draft. A couple days later, Barkley announced that he was coming back to USC for his senior season. And it threw a pretty big wrench into our mock. I have nothing against Matt Barkley personally, I mean I’m sure he’s a good kid and everything, but below is our first mock draft in our 7th year of doing mocks–The F-You Matt Barkley Edition.
FIRST ROUND
1. Indianapolis Colts:
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Easy selection here for the Colts at the top of the first round. Andrew Luck is not only clear and away the best prospect in this draft class, but he might be the best prospect the NFL has seen in the past decade. Drafting Luck while the team has Peyton Manning might not make sense to most, as Luck is an NFL ready quarterback, but both Luck and Manning would demand a ton of attention in the trade market should the Colts want to deal one.
2. St. Louis Rams:
Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
The Rams once again find themselves with a top ten pick. Key needs for St. Louis are wide receiver cornerback and offensive tackle. Brandon Lloyd has been solid but Sam Bradford could really use an explosive playmaker like Blackmon going forward. Blackmon has dominated Big 12 defenses notching over 100 receptions the past two seasons (111 in 2010 and 113 and counting in 2011) and is the clear best wide out prospect this year. Morris Claiborne could be an option but corners are never taken in the top 3. With a now formidable supporting cast on offense, the pressure will be on Bradford to step it up in his third season.
3. Minnesota Vikings:
Matt Kalil, OT, USC
The Vikings have pretty much been in free fall mode since reaching the NFC Championship game just a couple seasons ago. Christian Ponder is shaping up to be the quarterback of the future in Minnesota. In order to protect their asset in Ponder, the Vikings will look to add the draft’s best offensive tackle here in the top three. Kalil headlined a stout USC Trojan offensive line that only allowed eight sacks as a unit in all of 2011. As an individual, Kalil did not allow a sack throughout the entire 2011 season. Impressive stuff.
4. Washington Redskins:
Matt Barkley, QB, USC
The ‘Skins have tried unsuccessfully at trading or signing for a veteran qb for a few years now and should start over at the position through the draft. Barkley has been turning heads all year, highlighted by his 4 touchdown performance against Oregon. Robert Griffin III has moved himself into consideration as the best quarterback not named Andrew Luck but look for Mike Shanahan to go with a more traditional pocket passer to build around.
5. Carolina Panthers:
Quinton Coples, DE, UNC
Carolina struck gold with the selection of Cam Newton in 2011. As the NFL season progressed, it became increasingly clear that Cam is developing into the next poster child for the NFL. However, with that being said, Superman can’t play both ways. Adding a blue chipper on the defensive side of the ball would be the ideal scenario for the Panthers in the first round, and they have exactly that in Quinton Coples. Furthermore, Coples (or any defensive end really) would mean increased productivity for Charles Johnson and his new lucrative contract extension. Owners and GMs generally like when big money decisions they make pay dividends, and drafting an end to play on the other side of Johnson could go a long with in justifying his extension.
- Continue reading 2012 NFL Mock Draft 7.01 – The F-You Matt Barkley Edition
This post is archived under 2012 Draft, Mock Drafts. Tags: 2012 NFL draft, Andrew Luck, NFL, NFL Draft
Published on November 14th, 2011 Comments Off
Mark Sanchez has become almost immune to criticism through his first three years in the league. He’s won more road playoff games than any other quarterback and he’s barely 25, so he earns somewhat of a pass. But ask yourself, are the Jets any different in any of those playoff games if they have Kyle Orton, who has become this generation’s epitome of an average quarterback, at the helm instead? Probably not. The Jets would still pound the ball and rely on their defense to carry them to victory. Sure, Sanchez did an impeccable job of managing those games. However, you don’t spend the fifth pick in the entire draft on a quarterback that can just manage a game. By no means is Mark Sanchez looking like the franchise quarterback the Jets expected, and he is on the fast track to being labeled as a bust.
- Continue reading A New York-Sized Disappointment
This post is archived under Columns, Mark Sanchez. Tags: Mark Sanchez, New York Jets, Peyton Manning
Published on November 11th, 2011 Comments Off
Editor’s Note: Not everyday can you turn on CNN and find pundits talking college football instead of politics. The unraveling of the scandal at Penn State transcends sports. Within hours, Jerry Sandusky, Mike McQueary, and Graham Spanier have all turned into household names. On Wednesday night, as the situation at Penn State transgressed into the national spotlight, legendary head coach Joe Paterno was fired. Riots at State College then ensued at the culmination of the week that Penn State students and alums would love to quickly forget. S2S has a couple close friends that attend Penn State and witnessed the riots personally. I asked one of them to write a first-hand account of the riots, and he agreed under the condition of anonymity. For the record, the official stance of S2S remains that Penn State was correct in firing Joe Pa. However, since everybody on twitter/facebook is attacking PSU supporters, I figured I would provide a medium for which a Penn State student could defend himself and his peers.
Turns out, Happy Valley can get vicious. The Penn State campus was enraged on Wednesday night after it learned that its head coach for the past forty-five year, Joe Paterno, was fired. How enraged was the campus might you ask? There was enough anger to incite a riot that lasted over three long hours.
- Continue reading Happy Valley No Longer: An Inside Look on the PSU Riots
This post is archived under Columns, Penn State. Tags: Joe Paterno, Penn State
Published on October 14th, 2011 Comments Off
Pardon the terrible pun, it was inevitable. We’re approaching week 7 in the NFL season, and fans in Buffalo, Oakland, and Detroit are looking forward to football in January that’s not called the Senior Bowl. Meanwhile, the Colts and the Eagles are jockeying for the number one pick. Times are a little different in the NFL these days. OK — Andy Reid’s squad is definitely more than capable enough to string together a little win streak and make the NFC East more interesting, but for the purposes of this column they’re in the sweepstakes. Even though calling it a sweepstakes would imply there’s an underlying gambling aspect to this event. And there’s not.
- Continue reading Lucky to Take His Talents to South Beach
This post is archived under 2011 NFL Draft, Columns. Tags: 2011 NFL Draft, Andrew Luck, Dan Marino, LeBron James, Miami Dolphins, NFL Draft
