The Mists of Time - The Ball Hawk

A sometime series highlighting players and games of yesteryear.

By Punk Raider

Having been an NFL fan since the mid 80’s I am A: Old and B: In the privileged position to have watched many of the sport’s greatest players and games over the years.

Jim won’t like this one, but let’s not let that get in the way of talking about one of the greatest defenders to ever play the game.

The Baltimore Ravens selected 6 time All Pro and 9 time Pro Bowler Ed Reed out of the University of Miami in the first round, 24th overall, of the 2002 NFL Draft. Over the next 12 seasons, Reed exuded excellence on the field and quickly became one of the most accomplished safeties in the league. From 2006-2012, he helped lead the Ravens defense that was vital to four AFC North Division titles, three AFC championship game appearances and one Super Bowl championship.

We’ll come on to his records later but for now suffice to say he was the epitome of a ball hawk. Reed had a natural ability to read a QB’s body language and eyes to the point where I swear he knew where the ball was going before the receiver he was defending against did. As QBs became aware of Reed’s exceptional ability, he realised he needed another trick and my god did he find it, Film Study! I’ve never seen anyone with the ability to bait a QB into a bad throw as well as the Ball Hawk did it and he did it through learning the QB and receiver tendencies during hours and hours of study.

The prime example of this is a play made against Peyton Manning in 2009 which showed Reed’s extraordinary moxie. On second-and-10 from the Ravens’ 40, he baited Manning into an ill-advised pass to Reggie Wayne, who ran a go route on the weak side of the formation. On the snap of the ball, Reed abandoned his pre-snap alignment on the weak side, intentionally opened his hips and turned his back to Wayne’s side of the field as he retreated in coverage toward the middle of the field. Then, as Manning began to unleash his pass to Wayne, Reed wheeled around with his back to the offence and out sprinted Wayne to the ball for the interception.

Reed knew the entire time where the ball was going. Through his film study, he knew that Manning’s primary read on the play was the free safety, so Reed knew he needed to be one step ahead of Manning to fool him. He also knew Manning habitually followed up a pump fake with a pass in the same direction.

“Reed knew that when he went to the middle of the field, Peyton would come back to the X receiver, so he ran to the middle of the field, and without even looking at the quarterback, turned and ran back over to the sideline and intercepted it,” Bill Belichick said years later. “Best play I’ve ever seen a free safety make. One of the greatest plays I have seen in the NFL.” Not bad when you can make the emperor of coaches himself gush praise about you!

Reading this far you may think that Ed Reed was ‘just’ a Hall of Fame Safety but you’d be very, very wrong! Ed Reed along with Ronnie Lott are for me THE Hall of Fame Safeties, proof of this can be seen in the records Reed has accumulated over his career and at the time of his retirement in 2013 he held the following NFL records.

[1st] Most Interception Return Yardage, Career – 1,590

[1st] Longest Interception Return – 107 (vs. Philadelphia, Nov. 23, 2008)

[Tied for 1st] Most Seasons Leading League in Interceptions – 3 (2004, 2008, 2010)

[2nd] Most Interception Return Yardage, Season – 358 (2004)

[2nd] Longest Interception Return – 106 (vs. Cleveland, Nov. 7, 2004)

[Tied for 2nd] Most Seasons Leading League in Interception Yardage – 2 (2004, 2010)

Post Season

[Tied for 1st] Most Interceptions, Career – 9

[Tied for 2nd] Most Consecutive Games with an Interception – 3 (2006, 2008)

He reinvented the position. He was the only player that scared the hell out of possibly the greatest coach of all time, He is Ed Reed, the Ball Hawk.

Bear Down Bad

By Jim

 It’s been 6 games of the 2022 season for Justin Fields in Chicago and I thought we should talk about him for just a little bit. The former Ohio State Buckeye has not had the nicest of introductions to the NFL to put it kindly. The Bears are in a catastrophically bad situation skill-wise, thanks to years of ineptitude by now former GM, Ryan Pace.

The receiver room is taken up by a couple of 3’s and one maybe 2 in Darnell Mooney, but certainly nothing that the opposition have to scheme against. A 2nd round Tight End pick in Cole Kmet that is not considered a threat, posting under 46 yards a game so far this season. Add an o-line with more holes in than Dave’s defence of Russell Wilson, and it’s not hard to see why Justin Fields is struggling to stretch the opposing defences.

If that wasn’t enough, let’s sprinkle in a 1st time Head Coach, Matt Eberflus, who was a Defensive Coordinator in Indianapolis (no help to Justin) and a 1st time Offensive Coordinator in former Aaron Rodger’s towel holder, Luke Getsy. As Getsy spent years in Green Bay but was never trusted to call plays, this seems like a wholly typical Bears hire. Taking the Packer’s cast-offs and hoping for some success to rub off with osmosis? It’s been tough to watch. The Bears are averaging 15.5 points a game. Fields has scored 4 passing touchdowns and one on the ground. While also totalling 5 interceptions and 23 sacks. Just under 145 passing yards a game. It’s not enough.

It’s hard to watch for a player with such promise coming out of college, with 2 very successful seasons under his belt. His completion percentage has gone from 70% in Ohio, to just under 55% this year in Illinois. He only lost 2 games in college, the 1st was the Fiesta Bowl loss to Clemson and the 2nd was the National Championship game against Alabama. He played well in both those games by the way. So is it just the supporting cast that is scuppering Fields? I was willing to accept that as an answer at the start of this season. But as the games have progressed, I find it harder to keep that mindset.

So why can’t I keep giving Justin Fields mulligans like we’ve been giving to Trevor Lawrence? Well, I think it is because I can see how the Bears can win games and that is through their run game. David Montgomery is a solid number 1 back averaging over 1200 yards over his first 3 seasons. Add a genuine spark in Khalil Herbert who is starting to get more looks in this offence, he has already outdone his touchdown tally from last year and almost surpassed his total yardage too. These provide an outlet for Fields to have established more goodwill than I find myself able to provide him right now. The run game opens opportunities for the passing game, and if not, the chance for Justin to get in on the act and run the ball himself. He has the speed and smarts to move the ball with his feet as well as his arm and I feel that if he were to break a few runs for 1st downs, it would raise his confidence levels to overcome the shortcomings of the supporting cast in front of him and on the side-lines.

Of the five Quarterbacks that were drafted in the 1st round last year, perhaps Fields had the worst situation to deal with. If we discount the Urban Meyer saga in Jacksonville, no other Head Coach situation was more dire. Matt Nagy almost had Fields killed on his home debut against the Browns. The guy they have brought in to replace him is a defensive focused coach so Fields will not be getting the guidance and care that he desperately needs. It reminds me a lot of the Robert Griffin III situation in Washington, where a special talent was utterly wasted by coaching that didn’t know how to protect and support him. I hope that Fields is able to break out from that timeline and start showing the world that he was worth the Bears moving up for in the Draft, but he needs to show something soon or I fear he will endure a similar career to RGIII.

TFD 1st Round Mock Draft

The result of Jim & Dave submitting prospects to GM overlord, Punk Raider, sits in front of you here. No trades, No mercy!

Are you ok Hun?

By Jim

It's been a while since anything was written down on this site, videos have taken up most of our time and hopefully that isn't such a bad thing! We are only a few weeks away from the 2022 NFL draft, and while burrowing away, looking into all of the top draft prospects and some not so well-known draft prospects, it dawned on me that there are several teams that will not be involved in the first night of the draft as they have zero 1st round picks. With that in mind, I wanted to look at the eight teams that are not picking in round one and check whether they should be concerned or not with that situation. Without doing the research, I can't remember the last time that so many teams were not picking in round one. So, let's have a look through the list of GMs that will either have their feet up or be biting their nails on the 28th, and ask the question, “are you OK Hun?”

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are the first of five AFC teams without a first round pick this year. They did have the 29th pick before deciding to give five picks this year to Kansas City for Tyreek Hill to come over to Florida. As a result, they now have just one 3rd round pick, one 4thand two 7ths to play with. They have been busy though in free agency, winning the sweep stake for left tackle Terron Armstead and taking Guard, Connor Williams from Dallas. They did lose Wide Receiver, DeVante Parker with an in-division trade to the Patriots for a 3rd rounder. Jacoby Brissett has also left but the Dolphins moved to bring in Teddy Bridgewater as Tua’s backup.

Oh yeah, Tua Tagovailoa, the elephant in the room. He managed three more games last year than 2020, five more touchdowns but five more interceptions. The completion rate is going in the right direction, and with a new head coach in first timer Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins will be expecting a massive production jump from their signal caller, otherwise there will be no excuses come 2023’s first round.

Verdict: Ok (IF everything clicks)

Cleveland Browns

I'm not sure whether you know, but the Browns have had a problem at the quarterback position since before a lot of us were born. The drafting number one overall of Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma in 2018 has given the Browns at least some consistency at the position for the last four years. However, with his fifth-year option exercised, and the annual salary just under $19 million, the Browns decided that they were not looking to give Baker a new contract. What they did, was dive onto the masseuse table with Deshaun Watson. Whilst an undoubtedly elite quarterback, Watson is currently facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. This trade has managed to alienate half the Cleveland fanbase, destroy any relationship between Baker and the Browns, and potentially split the locker room as well. Not to mention the three 1stround picks and multiple others that Cleveland felt they had to mortgage to bring Watson in.

It's hard to understate just how big a move this is for the history of the franchise. this was a team that made the divisional round of the play-offs just a year ago and many thought, had a good base of players to push again next season. We don't know how big a punishment the league will impose on Watson; he may not even play at all this year. So, get ready for some Jacoby Brissett action as Baker is unlikely to want to fill in for his successor. Luckily the Browns still have a second round pick this year, two 3rds, a 4thand two 7ths. Plus, they brought in Amari Cooper from Dallas for just a 5th rounder, so it's not been a completely controversial off season so far!

Verdict: Not ok (ask again next year)

Indianapolis Colts

After an unbelievably humiliating week 18 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, which kicked the Colts out of the play-offs, owner Jim Irsay, stated that things had to change and fast. It was fairly obvious who was going to carry the blame for the collapse and one of the first off-season trades saw quarterback Carson Wentz out the door to the Washington Commanders in exchange for just a couple of third round picks. A reaction like this from the owner will surely have taken some of the shine off Head Coach frank Reich, who pushed for Wentz just a year ago considering his relationship with Carson in Philadelphia. To be fair to Wentz, his stats did go back to a productive level with the Colts, but his mistakes were amplified behind a quality offensive line and the best running back in the league last season.

Irsay promised Colts fans that there would be an improvement but bringing in a 37-year-old Matt Ryan from the Falcons for a third-round pick just isn't blowing my skirt up. To me, this feels just like their move for Philip Rivers in 2020. An over the hill QB picking up one more cheque before ultimately calling it a day. There was also a straight trade with former 2ndround pick out of Temple, Rock Ya Sin going to Vegas in exchange for Defensive End, Yannick Ngakoue. The Colts do have quite a few picks this year, a couple of 5th rounders making for seven picks overall, so there is some value to play with, but will GM Chris Ballard find his mojo in the draft that he couldn't in free agency?

Verdict: Ok (If you love changing QBs every year)

Denver Broncos

As much as I would love to wind up Denver Dave at this point, how can I say that the Broncos are not doing OK now? When you are trying to prise away one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the face of a franchise, you are going to need to give up some high picks and players. But let's face it, the Broncos had a decent year that was held back by the position they had failed to address in the last draft. They still have a 2nd, two 3rds, two 4ths, a 5th, a 6th, and a 7th round pick this year. It will be fascinating to see how this team gels together and whether they can get out of one of the most competitive divisions in football. Landing Randy Gregory could also be a great addition, but I am personally unconvinced that he will see consistent game time. I hope I'm wrong on that prediction as Gregory is great to watch.

Verdict: Ok (Better than some with a 1st round pick)

Las Vegas Raiders

What a season for the Las Vegas Raiders. Losing your head coach to an email scandal (thanks Daniel Snyder) then losing your first-round pick to a DUI that resulted in a fatality. Seeing your interim head coach sneak your team into the play-offs before hiring one of the most polarising coaches in the league as you're new permanent Head Coach. My loathing of Josh McDaniels aside, I think it was a bit harsh on Rich Bisaccia that he wasn't given the chance to start this year considering the achievement. The Raiders did have the 22nd pick in the draft before giving it and their 2nd round pick to Green Bay in exchange for wide receiver Davante Adams. A player who has grown to be one of the top receivers in the league. Was that because he had two-time MVP Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball? We'll soon find out as Davante will have to bring in passes from Derek Carr next season, I'm sure the drop off is negligible.

They also brought in Chandler Jones the veteran outside line-backer from the Cardinals and switched out Yannick Ngakoue for a younger safety/corner in Rock Ya Sin. The Raiders do have picks in the 3rd, 4th, two 5ths and one 7th. For most teams I would call that a disaster, but I've seen the Raiders drafting before.

Verdict: Ok (If you thought last year was ok?)

Chicago Bears

After 5 AFC teams, we head over to the NFC and the 1stteam that is paying for a move made last season. The Bears made their play for a franchise QB in Justin Fields. Good news for Fields is that HC Matt Nagy is gone. Bad news is that he’s been replaced by the Colts Defensive Coordinator and 1st time Head Coach, Matt Eberflus. So, the jury’s out on how much more support Fields might get this year.

Though they don’t have a 1st round pick, they do at least have two 2nds, a 3rd, two 5ths and a 6th. That should allow new GM, Ryan Poles, to establish his philosophy on the team. They’ve lost Defensive End, Khalil Mack and Guard, James Daniel, with the only notable additions being Defensive Tackle Justin Jones from the Chargers and Receiver Byron Pringle from the Chiefs to help plug the Allen Robinson size hole in the offence. There are a lot of unanswered questions in Chicago right now.

Verdict: Ok (But don’t bet on the playoffs just yet)

Los Angeles Rams

You’ve just won the Superbowl with a GM wearing a shirt that says “F**k them picks”. We know what Les Snead thinks of draft picks. We also know just how successful he is with them (Tutu Atwell?). The last 1stround pick for the Rams was Jared Goff in 2016! This is a team that struggles finding talent through the draft, so it makes sense to stay out of it. Their 1stpick is at 104 in the 3rd round. They have 8 picks but don’t expect much out of them. The Rams do their business with trades and free agency. Their big moves were taking line-backer Bobby Wagner from the fire-sale that is the Seattle Seahawks for $50million, and freeing receiver Allen Robinson from the prison in Chicago.

Not everyone has stuck around though. Von Miller was crowbarred over to Buffalo for $120million, Robert Woods was traded to the Titans for a 6th round pick next year, but really to clear some space to hopefully bring back OBJ to go again for the Lombardi.

Verdict: Ok (The strongest team in the weakest conference. Congrats)

San Francisco 49ers

Last but not least, the 49ers are, like Chicago, paying for last years jump to grab a future franchise QB. Trey Lance found himself in a much better situation than Fields, maybe too good, as the availability of Jimmy Garoppolo, allowed Kyle Shanahan to keep Lance out of the starting line-up more often than not. With the season over and no-one coming in for an injured Jimmy G who has one year left on his current contract and nothing fixed beyond that, the 49ers are now in a position where they probably want to start Lance, but don’t want to completely tank any suitors for Garoppolo. That might be wishful thinking at this point, but I am hoping that Lance gets a full season to show some of the promise that saw him taken 3rd overall last draft.

There are still plenty of picks for GM John Lynch to work his magic on. A 2nd, two 3rds, a 4th, a 5th, two 6ths and a 7th. Plus, they brought in Charvarius Ward as a starting Corner from the Chiefs. There have been some losses along the offensive line so expect Lynch to sort that in this very deep o-lineman draft class.

Verdict: Ok (But give the kid his chance)

NFL Fantasy Draft Results 2019

Punk Si King Jim DD

QB

D. Watson J. Goff P. Mahomes B. Roethlisberger D. Brees

K. Cousins L. Jackson M. Stafford K. Murray S. Darnold

RB

L. Bell C. McCaffrey J. Mixon D. Williams E. Elliott

D. Henry P. Lindsay N. Chubb M. Gordon C. Carson

K. Drake K. Ballage L. Miller D. Johnson T. Cohen

I. Smith P. Barber L. McCoy J. McKinnon R. Freeman

J. Williams J. Howard T. Pollard

WR

A. Brown A. Thielen J. Gordon D. Hopkins T. Hill

TY. Hilton C. Godwin A. Robinson M. Jones C. Kupp

J. Landry D. Pettis K. Golladay B. Cooks M. V-Scantling

J. Crowder AJ. Green R. Cobb C. Kirk C. Beasley

T. Ginn A. Humphries D. Samuel M. Hardman T. Gabriel

D. Jackson M. Sanu J. Washington M. Gallup

S. Shepherd C. Samuel A. Wilson

TE

V. McDonald J. Cook OJ. Howard D. Njoku G. Kittle

M. Andrews TJ. Hockenson Greg Olsen C. Herndon E. Ebron

K

C. Boswell A. Rosas J. Tucker H. Butker S. Gostkowski

R. Succop M. Badgley M. Prater

DEF

Bills Chiefs Browns Eagles Broncos

Patriots

Top 10 Picks (No Trades!)

Pick Jim King Philly Dave

1 - Cards N. Bosa K. Murray N. Bosa N. Bosa

2 - 49ers Q. Williams N. Bosa Q. Williams J. Allen

3 - Jets J. Allen J. Allen J. Allen Q. Williams

4 - Raiders K. Murray D. White D. White M. Sweat

5 - Bucs D. White Q. Williams M. Sweat K. Murray

6 - Giants D. Haskins D. Haskins K. Murray D. White

7 - Jags J. Taylor J. Taylor J. Taylor J. Taylor

8 - Lions B. Murphy M. Sweat D. Haskins B. Murphy

9 - Bills E. Oliver E. Oliver J. Williams J. Williams

10 - Broncos J. Williams D. Lock E. Oliver D. Haskins

2018 4 GM Mock Draft Full 1st Round

Our 4 GM 2018 Mock draft based on who we would draft at each pick. No trades (until King changed the rules at pick 32):

Pick   Team              Player                         Pos    College              Picker

   1      Browns          Sam Darnold              QB     USC                    King

   2     Giants            Josh Allen                  QB     Wyoming           Punk

   3     Jets               Josh Rosen                 QB     UCLA                 Dave

   4     Browns         Quenton Nelson           G      Notre Dame       King

   5     Broncos        Denzel Ward                CB    Ohio St.               Jim

   6     Colts             Saquon Barkley           RB    Penn St.              Punk

   7     Buccaneers   Bradley Chubb            DE    NC St.                 King

   8     Bears             Vita Vea                       DT    Washington        Jim

   9     49ers             Minkah Fitzpatrick       S      Alabama            Dave

  10    Raiders          Roquan Smith              LB    Georgia              King

  11     Dolphins        Tremaine Edmunds      LB    Virginia Tech      Punk

  12    Bills                Baker Mayfield             QB   Oklahoma           Jim

  13    Redskins        Leighton Vander Esch  LB   Boise St.             Dave

  14    Packers         Derwin James                S     FSU                    King

  15    Cardinals       Lamar Jackson             QB   Louisville            Jim

  16    Ravens          Calvin Ridley                 WR  Alabama            Dave

  17    Chargers       Taven Bryan                  DT    Florida               Punk

  18    Seahawks     Josh Jackson                CB    Iowa                   Punk

  19    Cowboys      Courtland Sutton          WR   SMU                   Dave

  20    Lions            Mike McGlinchey           OT    Notre Dame      King

  21     Bengals        Rashaan Evans              LB    Alabama            Jim

  22    Bills              Mike Gesicki                  TE     Penn St.             Jim

  23    Patriots        Sam Hubbard                DE    Ohio St.              Jim

  24    Panthers      Will Hernandez              G      UTEP                 Dave

  25    Titans           Da'Ron Payne               DT     Alabama           Punk

  26    Falcons        Hayden Hurst                TE     South Carolina King

  27    Saints           Mark Andrews               TE     Oklahoma        Dave

  28    Steelers        Mike Hughes                 CB    Central Florida King

  29    Jaguars        Connor Williams           OT    Texas                  Jim

  30    Vikings         Orlando Brown             OT    Oklahoma         Punk

  31     Patriots        Isaiah Oliver                  CB    Colorado            Jim

  32    Browns         Derrius Guice                RB    LSU                   King     (Trade with Eagles)

2017 Week 17 Picks

Let's Face It, You're Basic

By Jim

The life of a back-up Quarterback can be one fraught with danger. Alex Moran at Blue Mountain State told the fictional story of a talented player, determined to coast a career, doing as little as possible. To skate the line between being good enough to take up a roster spot, but not so good that you are actually challenging the starter for his place.

We seem to have quite a few Alex Morans in real life right now in the NFL. Back-ups that really don’t or can’t handle the limelight and pressure that comes with standing under center. Have a look at Brock Osweiler when he’s about to take a snap for further details.

So why are journeymen like Matt Schaub or Brandon Weeden still pulling in a wage in the NFL? Surely this trend should have been weeded out by NFL front offices with the end of leather helmets right? It doesn’t take long to hit a rogues list of, what I would consider to be, deadwood taking up valuable roster spots amongst the 32 franchises.

It’s not that they necessarily don’t understand the fundamentals of playing the position, or aren’t hard workers, they just never made it as a starter or a reliable fill in for when the starter is not available.

Look at Scott Tolzien. When Andrew Luck was not available to start week 1 this year, the Colts had to trade their number 1 pick in the 2015 draft, Phillip Dorsett, to go and get the Patriot’s 3rd stringer in Jacoby Brissett. The trade has worked so far, but why be in that position in the first place? Why is a guy who, in 7 NFL seasons and managed 3TDs (1 of them was a rushing TD) and 7 interceptions, starting week 1? Or even anywhere near an active roster? To only have that guy as your back up when Luck has a history of injuries is unacceptable.

Before you get too cocky all you non-colts supporters, take a quick look at your depth chart. If you had say Aaron Rodgers one minute, and Brett Hundley the next, how confident are you in coming out of any game with a win?

Even worse are the franchises that would love to try an alternative to their starter, but the back-up isn’t even a serious challenge. Carson Palmer should be sweating for his job every week, but Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert both have negative TD to INT/lost fumble ratios, so the Cardinals continue to stutter through another season when they could be competing.

Blake Bortles is considered such a liability that Leonard Fournette could be burnt out by week 8, yet who is the alternative? Chad Henne. Who, you guessed it, has thrown more INTs than TDs in his 10 year career.

Other back-up QBs you just guess have been around so long that no-one questions why they keep turning up. Derek Anderson has as many passing TDs as INTs in his 13 year career. Now just sat in Carolina, it feels like he is living off very old and minor glories. This is the same guy who couldn’t secure a starting role in Cleveland over Charlie Frye!

Speaking of living off old glories, Matt Cassel was thrust into action two weeks ago after Marcus Mariota went out with a hamstring injury. Suffice to say, his performance was enough to see Mariota back out last week hobbling around the pocket rather than starting Cassel again. It’s a long way from the Patriot back-up that put up some impressive numbers. Unfortunately for the Titans, the last season with a positive TD to INT ratio for Cassel was 5 years & 3 teams ago.

Isn’t it a good job that Tennessee brought in Brandon Weeden, just to “back up” Cassel. Of course it’s no surprise that he too, has more INTs and lost fumbles than NFL touchdowns in his six years through the NFL.

A quarterback never far from a packed suitcase is Chase Daniel. Having only started 2 games in 9 years with a total of 1TD and 1INT, it beggars belief that this is the only back-up to 37 year old Drew Brees in New Orleans.

It’s a similar situation in the Stub Hub stadium where Kellen Clemens is the next man up should Phillip Rivers go down with an injury. Or just shout so hard that that vein in his neck pops. Clemens is perfectly placed to be a number 2 quarterback because he too has more INTs than TDs in a 12 year span.

I’m not entirely sure why the Bears have Mark Sanchez as a 3rd QB but then nothing about their QB group really makes sense to me right now. I don’t know if they’ll keep him as the cheaper option over Glennon. But Mr Butt-fumble himself has that magic ingredient of more INTs and lost fumbles than touchdowns.

Last one I promise before moving on, is the back-up I feel more strongly about than any of the others in that list, Matt Schaub. Schaub is back with the Falcons that drafted him in 2004. Now I’m not saying that Matt Schaub has never been good. There were some great years in Houston. But from 2013, the man turned into an interception machine. In fact, in 7 of his 13 seasons he has not had a positive TD to INT ratio. As a result he got punted around the league. Showing up in Oakland just as they were drafting Derek Carr. A bit of irony after Schaub was traded to the Texans to replace David Carr in 2007. He then lost a 2nd string role in Baltimore for, wait for it, Jimmy Clausen. A Quarterback getting worse with age isn’t necessarily Schaub’s fault. My beef is really with the Falcons for taking him in. Giving a 1 year $2.75 million deal last year in return for one pass completion on three attempts for 26 yards, then offering an extension for another 2 years for…. $9million! So that’s the 36 year old Schaub, covering the 32 year old Matt Ryan. Last year’s Superbowl runners up have that as their QB group. Only Trevor Knight, and undrafted free agent has been added to the practice squad but don’t expect to see him if there is an injury to Ryan.

Teams run the risk of painting themselves into un-winnable situations if they continue to house has-beens and never-were’s. Losing your franchise QB to injury is something that can and has happened to every NFL franchise. But these names aren’t even a short term solution to that problem.

The answer has to come from re-stocking the pile on a regular basis through the draft. Every team should be looking to roll the dice once a year with a rookie QB. It doesn’t have to be a 1st round pick. Some of the best QBs today weren’t taken in the early rounds. But see if you can pick up a Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson or even Tom Brady. If not, move on to next year. There will always be a veteran available, but the chance to pick up even a competitive quarterback should be reason enough for General Managers to grow the cojones to use a pick on a potential future star.

10 teams picked up a Quarterback in this year’s draft. Only five had established starters already in place. That’s far too small a percentage of teams, future planning for life without their current signal caller. Why have a player on your team that pretty much guarantees a loss if they play? A Quarterback is arguably the most important position in all team sports. I just wish that back-ups were trialled and moved on with the same ruthlessness as other positions.

Jim & the King Mock Draft 2017

       Pick        Team                 Player                 Pos     College            Picker

1          Browns       Myles Garrett            DE    Texas A&M           King

2         49ers          Jamal Adams             S       LSU                     Jim

          3         Bears           Solomon Thomas     DE     Stanford              King

          4         Jaguars       Dalvin Cook              RB     Florida State       Jim

          5         Titans          Marshon Lattimore   CB     Ohio State           King

          6        Jets              Leonard Fournette   RB     LSU                      Jim

          7        Chargers      Malik Hooker             S       Ohio State           King

          8        Panthers      Haason Reddick        LB     Temple                Jim

          9        Bengals       Reuben Foster           LB     Alabama             King

         10       Bills              Johnathan Allen        DE     Alabama             Jim

         11        Saints           Derek Barnett           DE     Tennessee           King

         12       Browns         Deshaun Watson      QB     Clemson              Jim

         13       Cardinals      Corey Davis              WR    W. Michigan         King

         14       Eagles          Mike Williams           WR    Clemson               Jim

         15       Colts            Christian McCaffrey   RB    Stanford               King

         16       Ravens        Jabrill Peppers            S      Michigan              Jim

         17       Redskins     John Ross                   WR   Washington         King

         18       Titans          O.J. Howard                TE     Alabama             Jim

         19       Bucanneers Quincy Wilson           CB     Florida                 King

        20       Broncos      Ryan Ramczyk           OT     Wisconsin            Jim

        21        Lions           Teez Tabor                 CB     Florida                 King

       22        Dolphins      Sidney Jones             CB    Washington         Jim

       23        Giants          Zach Cunningham     LB     Vanderbilt           King

       24        Raiders        Malik McDowell         DT     Michigan St.        Jim

       25        Texans         Mitch Trubisky           QB    N. Carolina          King

       26        Seahawks   Forrest Lamp             OT    W. Kentucky        Jim

       27        Chiefs         Jarrad Davis               LB     Florida                King

       28        Cowboys    David Njoku               TE     Miami                  Jim

       29        Packers      Garrett Bolles            OT     Utah                    King

      30        Steelers      Obi Melifonwu            S       Connecticut       Jim

      31         Falcons       T.J. Watt                     LB    Wisconsin            King

      32        Saints         Tyus Bowser               LB    Houston               Jim

Kickers Can Be People Too

By Jim

There are many head-scratching rules in the NFL. The catch rule, the Tuck rule, the excessive celebration rule, but not all that have come into the game recently are terrible for the sport. Extra point conversions being moved back last year changed them from being such a gimme that you couldn't automatically get up and grab a beer from the kitchen following a touchdown (That can happen when certain pundits are cut to in the studio).

This year the league is trialling another movement of a starting position with shifting the touch-back marker up from the 20 yard line to the 25 yard line. The idea I think was for player safety, but this hasn't turned out to be the case. The basic principle for most teams on a kick off, prior to this season, was to boot it out of the end-zone to minimise any chance that a kick returner could torch them with a big gain. The problem now is that 25 yards, though only an extra 5 from before, is seen as a big gain for the offence. If a kick returner was finishing on the 25 yard line then that was seen as an above average return. The only way to counter this on kick offs and punt returns, is with the rise of so called "Mortar Kicks". Long air time, landing between the 1 and 10 yard line to pin the return team deep. Rugby employs a very similar system where they kick for the corners to get the opposition starting as far back as possible. 

While some saw this rule as another step on the way to wiping out kick offs and punt returns all-together, I see this as a massive opportunity for both kickers and punters to come out of the shadows and become much more respected members of the roster. It takes very little skill to kick the ball out the other end of the field from the 35 yard line. But to get the ball to drop inside the 5 yard line and not go into the end-zone for a touch-back? that is much more impressive and will place more emphasis on getting a talented punter rather than just another guy with a cannon for a leg. Some have already taken advantage of this change in the rules to showcase their skills. Marquette King, Ryan Allen and Johnny Hekker are starting to show what a consistent punter can do to an opposition.

Kickers and especially Punters, are often much maligned as just periphery members of the team. They don't practice with the offence or defence, they are protected during kicks and until last season, they had a job that was successful 95+% of the time. With the move back of extra points and the move forward of touch backs, the kickers and punters can start to make an actual difference to a game, and show who the really talented ones are.

photo credit: MattBritt00 href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20456447@N03/8045708026"Jets Punter Robert Malone via href="http://photopin.com"photopin href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/"(license)

5 things NFL fans did this offseason

By King

1. Become a Draft analyst

Everyone loves to see who their team takes; it's exciting and and the risk/reward engrosses all. Some of us, (myself included) believe we know what's best. Together we've experienced the trials and tribulations of a sixteen game season plus or minus playoffs. This creates a sense of participation and that's justification enough to play GM.

2. Fanatically watch other sports

2016 was a prosperous summer for yearning NFL fans. A plethora of options from soccer on either sides of the Atlantic to the Olympic Games. Was it stimulating? Yes! Yet, the NFL thirst was left un-quenched.

3. Meet with 'NFL' buddies

You soon realise they're 'NFL' buddies for a reason. A common interest can bring an eclectic mix of people together. Which is great! However, you can quickly decide to segregate your true friends from the eccentric, flare wearing mess you share your Sunday evenings with.

4. Pine

Ultimately, all adopted offseason excursions are futile. The reason we love the NFL is because it's a cauldron filled with a mixture of ferocity, finesse and passion that produces a moreish concoction.

5. Start a Podcast

All signs lead to this destination. I mean, what else could I finish on? The culmination of the previous four points caused my frustration to boil over. Suddenly, an epiphany, why not provide some sustenance for other unfulfilled fans sat next to a flare wielding wierdo...you know who you are!