Observations from the Combie posted by Amari Harris

Okay, so I’m not reallyat the 28th annual NFL scouting combine but it sure feels like I am.  With the great live coverage of the event on NFL.com as well as the NFL network, I feel like a real pro scout.  I’ve also been very impressed with my ability to predict the unofficial 40 times of the athletes as they cross the finish line, but that is neither here nor there.  You want to know what can really be taken away from this year’s pre-draft extravaganza, don’t you?  Well let me give you my take on a few of the happenings over the last few days. 

Day 1

The star of this group was OT Bruce Campbell from Maryland.  He was considered a first rounder prior to the combine, but his physical attributes and athleticism definitely improved his stock.  Unlike most offensive lineman, he doesn’t look like a bag of doughnuts (no offense big boys) and he has the figure of someone who descended from Mt. Olympus.  He did 34 reps in the bench press and ran a blazing 4.85 in the 40 yard dash.  By comparison, the oft talked about Myron Rolle out of Florida State ran a 4.70 and he plays safety! 

The only question about Big Bruce is his lack of dominance on the collegiate level.  He didn’t allow a sack last season, but I supposed he just didn’t jump off the page as the dominant tackle in the draft.  He does look a little stiff in pass protection, but you could do much worse in today’s NFL.  He seems like a stronger, faster version of Flozel Adams, and for all intents and purposes he may end up being Adams’ replacement in Dallas.  But with the showing that he put on at the combine I’d be surprised to see him drop out of the top 20.

Bears End Season on Winning Note posted by richard Kagan

The Chicago Bears defeated the Detroit Lions 37-23 last Sunday to finish up at 7-9.  The win most likely saves head coach Lovie Smith's job.  QB Jay Cutler threw for four TD's looking like the QB fans thought he would be.  Devin Aramashado scored twice on passes.  He should be a featured wide receiver, not Devin Hester.  Hester is a valuable player and should be retured to his best position, running back kickoffs and punts.

Bears were leaky on defense this season, giving up huge yards in the passing game.  It certainly wasn't the Bears defense of old, and this needs to change if the Bears want to be competitive.  But the team did win its last two games, saving the season from sure disaster.  Now, one could say the season was disappointing.  And, Cutler's performances the last two games raises hopes among the Bears' faithful.  He finally seemed to get the hang of it in the end.  The Bears need a true power back, some good blockers, a few good linebackers, and at least two good defensive cornermen.  Other than that, the team looks good.  There will be some changes in the off-season, the question remains, who stays and who goes?

Joe's Gameday Preview: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions posted by Joe Anello

 With both teams out of the playoffs and nursing plenty of injuries, today's NFC North meeting between the Bears and Lions won't be aesthetically pleasing. Regardless, I'll tell you what to watch for at Ford Field. Get your Gameday Preview on! (6-9) Chicago Bears at(2-13) Detroit Lions The Lions won't have first overall pick Matthew Stafford on the field after his recent knee surgery, so Daunte Culpepper will start under center. He's nowhere near the talent he used to be, but he will be fired up and looking to impress the other 31 teams in the league. Without a consistent running game though, he'll have a hard time fooling the Bears' defense. (I hope anyway.) Marred by injuries (Charles Tillman and Israel Idonije out, Danieal Manning doubtful), Lovie Smith's defense will need to fill their gaps and avoid giving up big plays. If they can, it shouldn't be difficult keeping the lowly Lions under 17 points. Calvin Johnson will get 100 yards in receiving today. Take that to the bank. That should be more than low enough. Jay Cutler and the offense should have no trouble tearing apart the second-worst defense (worst pass defense) in the NFL. Matt Forte should get a ton of carries and a rare 100-yard game to end the regular season. Johnny Knox is doubtful with his ankle injury from last week, but Devin Hester will return to the field in his absence. Devin Aromashodu is going to see plenty of balls his way in the season finale. Odds: Chicago is favored by 3.5 on the road.  Prediction: The Bears Continue reading "Joe's Gameday Preview: Chicago Bears ..."

Heisman Winners Who Couldn't Hack The NFL posted by Colin Linneweber

The 2009 Heisman Trophy will be awarded to the most outstanding NCAA college football player by the Downtown Athletic Club at an annual ceremony at the Nokia Theatre in New York City on December 12. 

In recognition of college football’s greatest individual accolade, I decided to rank the five Heisman winners who ultimately had the smallest impact playing in the National Football League (NFL) over the course of the past 25 years.  

1)      Jason White- White, 29, won the Heisman Trophy in 2003 as a quarterback for the University of Oklahoma Sooners. 

White finished his collegiate career as the Sooners all-time leader in passing yards (8,012) and touchdown passes (81). 

Despite his stellar achievements in Norman, White garnered very little interest from the professional ranks and he was not selected in the 2005 NFL Draft.  

To compound the frustration of not being selected, White was further disrespected when he was not even invited to tryout for any NFL squad after he was snubbed in the draft. 

The Tennessee Titans eventually threw White a bone and signed the former Sooners superstar as an undrafted free agent before the start of the 2005 season. 

White’s stint as a Tennessean was extremely brief and he prudently decided to quit football altogether because of his balky knees.  

2)      Gino Torretta- Torretta, 39, was awarded the Heisman Trophy in 1992 because of his stellar play at the quarterback position for the University of Miami Hurricanes. 

Joe's Opening Drive: Week 11 posted by Joe Anello

After three quarters of a boring contest, we finally got some action late in Thursday's Miami v. Carolina game. To anyone who had Ricky Williams on their fantasy team, good job. Now, we look to the weekend in the week 11 edition of the Oepning Drive!

(1-8) Cleveland Browns at (1-8) Detroit Lions 

This is the 2009 Suck Bowl Rebuilding Bowl. AKA the only game where the Lions should be healthy favorites all season. Say what you want about Detroit, they can put up some points with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. I'm not sure Cleveland is even aware that scoring six points at once is possible. The best part about the game is that one of these teams will reach two victories. (Though how classic and awesome would a tie be?

(5-4) Atlanta Falcons at (5-4) New York Giants

After solid starts to their seasons, both of these squads are heading in the wrong direction and are in serious danger of missing the playoffs altogether. Tom Coughlin's Giants have lost four straight while the Falcons have dropped three of their last four. Big Blue's vaunted defense has failed in recent weeks, but the offense is the real culprit. They've strayed from the running game and Eli Manning has turned the ball over with regularity. Atlanta's Matt Ryan is in a similar boat, with more interceptions through nine games this season that he had all of his rookie year. Whoever loses will almost certainly miss the postseason.

(9-0) Indianapolis Colts at (5-4) Baltimore Ravens

The Washington Redskins - a perfect blue chip stock posted by Pablo Rotondaro

BAILOUT the Redskins! Such is the state of things in Washington DC. Like most of the stocks traded on Wall Street, there are many assets that have no real value but continue to produce millions for its shareholders and owners. The Redskins are just like the stock market, look great on paper and generate millions to the owner but filled with high price, former blue chip stocks that have no real value when put to the test. This team is worse than bad, they are horrible and with no young, up-and-coming players to pin our hopes on, no star QB in the making, no player ready to bust out, if there was ever a time to blow the whole thing up it is definitely now!

Fans of the Washington Redskins have grown accustomed in the past decade or so to expect that their team with have a fighting chance to squeak into the playoffs and then, as the cheesy and cliché statement says, anything can happen. This is the hope that fans of this once-proud franchise held, probably fooling themselves into believing that this system, one where the owner is GM and often plays with the team the way that some us enjoy our fantasy football leagues, could ever and will ever work. More and more people are coming to the realization that this is nothing more than a pipe dream and that this system in place will never and has never worked. 

Unlike some of the horrible teams in the NFL, like the Lions or Chiefs, the Redskins are not in rebuilding mode, they do not have a rookie quarterback with a lot of promise (Stafford, Detroit Lions) or a team filled with young defensive players that get better week by week (Chiefs). The Redskins are a team full of over-the-hill, over-paid players with no fight and little talent. The performance that Jason Campbell put up in one half yesterday was one of the most pitiful performances by a starting QB in the NFL this year, he looked like the twin of JaMarcus Russell (Raiders). He couldn't hit a single open receiver, even though he was constantly under pressure thanks to the porous offensive line, he couldn't even hit the receivers when he had the time.The best decision of the day was to bench him to at least give the offense a quarterback that can make the reads and pick a receiver, though the results were not much better, at least he looked like a real quarterback.

Bears Demolish Lions in Second Half of Blowout Win posted by Joe Anello

It was unimpressive statistically, but Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears dominated the Detroit Lions in the second half en route to a 48-24 win on Sunday. 

Even though Detroit’s offense ran 76 plays compared to Chicago’s 50 and racked up nearly 400 yards, it wasn’t enough to overcome losing the field position battle. All of the Lions’ 13 drives started from within their own 30-yard line. Out of the Bears 13 drives, only three started behind the 30. With that kind of field position, Jay Cutler didn’t have to throw for 300 yards to get the victory.  

It was a tale of two halves at Soldier Field, as the Bears and Lions engaged in a shoot-out in the first half. Matthew Stafford routinely found Calvin Johnson all over the field, including a 54-yarder on the first play of the game. A 61-yard Matt Forte run set up an Elway-like helicopter dive from Jay Cuter into the endzone. Despite that inspirational score, Detroit struck right back with a 72-yard drive for their second TD. 

After another short field, the Bears squared the game again with a Kellen Davis endzone snag. Tommie Harris intercepted an errant Stafford pass on the Lions following drive to set up another touchdown, this time on fourth and goal to Greg Olsen. (For the second week in a row.) Still, the Lions were not out. 

With 14 points in the first quarter, and a short Kevin Smith TD run to close out the half, the Lions held their ground. That would end when halftime was over.

Joe's Gameday Preview: Lions at Bears posted by Joe Anello

One thing is for sure going into this Sunday’s match-up at Solider Field: these aren’t the 2008 Lions. Know how I know that? The 2009 Lions have won a game. It happened just last weekend against the Redskins. Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz is hoping to turn it into a streak, with the Chicago Bears playing their second victim.  

For Jay Cutler and the offense, it should be a fairly simple philosophy: don’t turn the ball over. Detroit’s defense is allowing an average of close to 29 points a game and 400 yards to their opponents this season. Options on the ground or through the air should be open to Ron Turner and this still-developing offensive system. The wide receivers must continue to make strides with Cutler, but their progression has been a pleasant surprise after the fervor from writers (including me) over the off-season. 

Greg Olsen should see less double coverage as the receivers threaten more, and getting him open is paramount to Chicago’s success. Thankfully, tight end Desmond Clark is expected to return to action on Sunday, lessening the burden on Olsen’s shoulders.  

For the offensive line, an emphasis should be placed on opening up holes for Matt Forte and the running game. Their lack of cohesiveness has shown through three games, as the Bears are only averaging 71 yards on the ground per contest. With Cutler under center, there should be plenty of room to run if their blocks are executed properly. (That goes for you too Olsen.) Fortunately, Detroit’s big defensive tackle Grady Jackson is listed as questionable with a knee injury. At 345 pounds, he’s not an easy man to move around.

Tuesday Evening Hangover: Dallas Cowboys reveiw and other NFL news posted by Amari Harris

Tuesday evening hangover…

Here are some of my astute observations from the Cowboys’ Monday night victory against the Panthers:

     1. The Cowboys played a very gritty game.

They actually “out-toughed” the Panthers, which hasn’t happened since week 3 of last season against Green Bay.  Despite giving up a few plays in the passing game, the defense shut down a vaunted Carolina rushing attack and managed to keep DeAngelo Williams out of the endzone.  The offense managed to pound the rock at Carolina’s undersized front seven and take advantage of their depth at the running back position (Felix Jones and Tashard choice managed over 80 yards rushing a piece).  More importantly, Tony Romo showed toughness and focus, and did not make the critical mistake that could have swung this game in Carolina’s favor.

     2. There is still a lot of room for this team to grow.

The tackling was still pretty bad.  Terrance Newman is showing his deficiencies as a tackler despite having a hell of a game shutting down Steve Smith and getting a pick-six.  Ken Hamlin is supposed to be the enforcer on this defense but I saw him whiff on a couple of plays.  And Hamlin’s coverage was just awful.  He pretty much gave the Panthers their lone touchdown allowing two big plays right over the middle.  I have backed Hamlin since he came to Dallas but I’m not sure he is deserving of that new contract he received last off-season.  The drive killing penalties were also devastating in the first half and Jason Garrett has to find some way to correct that (more on him later). 

Bears Beat Seattle 25-19 on late Cutler TD Pass posted by richard Kagan

The Chicago Bears don't know how to win the easy way.  Apparently, that is not in their DNA, or at least until Buddy Ryan led the "46" defense.  However, this season they have Jay Cutler who threw a late TD pass to converted receiver Devin Hester for 36 yards and the winning touchdown.  And, the Bears defense held off Seneca Wallace and the Seahawks to win and go 2-1 for the young season. 

Two pluses.  The Bears beat Pittsburgh and they won on the west coast, not an easy thing for any Bear team to do.

Next up is the Detroit Lions, who broke their losing streak that seemed to last an eternity.  It was actually 19 games, and it took a revamped Detroit team to do it.  The Lions have an offense.  Way back when, the Lions and Bears would play in Wrigley Field and it was a slugfest.  Alex Karras played tough on defense, and they had great linebackers.  The Bears would usually win in a score close to 17-13. 

The Bears and Lions may still hit each other hard. But the Bears need to move the ball and pressure Detroit's defense.

But this recent win puts the Bears win the running for a post-season berth.  It's much harder to reach playing in December if the team is 0-3 or 1-3.  With a win, which may not come easy, over the Lions, the Bears will be 3-1.  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  First, the Bears got out of Seattle with a win.  Who cares if it was over an injury-plagued team.  That's what good teams are suppossed to do.  Instead, the Bears save the dramatics at the end, and Cutler does step up.

Vikings' Williams vs. NFL trial begins (AP)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Vikings vs. NFL trial set to begin (AP)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Vikings vs. NFL trial to begin Monday (AP)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Lions land DE Vanden Bosch, WR Burleson (AP)

It will take time to determine if the Detroit Lions started the offseason by making all the right moves. Without a doubt, though, the Lions got who they wanted. On Saturday, Detroit signed the players it coveted most in free agency -- defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and receiver Nate Burleson -- a day after acquiring defensive Corey Williams in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

WR Burleson tweets Lions deal official (AP)

Free agent wide receiver Nate Burleson has joined the Detroit Lions. Burleson tweeted Saturday morning: "It is official so "Go Lions." Media reports had the Lions agreeing to terms on a $25 million, five-year contract with Burleson on Friday, but the team wouldn't comment and his agent did not return a phone message. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports