Almost Draft Day

The NFL Draft begins at 4:00pm on Saturday April 25, 2009 which is right around the corner and there is much speculation regarding that special number 1 overall pick. The agent of Matthew Stafford and Jason Smith (which is coincidentally the same agent ) is expected in Detroit this week and Aaron Curry's agents were at the Lions facility over the weekend during a mandatory minicamp. So what does this mean. Absolutely nothing that we did not already know. The Lions are negotiating with Curry, Smith, and Stafford. I am still convinced that Stafford will be the pick officially on Saturday, but they are keeping it very interesting in the mean time. To see my mock draft just scroll down and take a look.

ESPN????

ESPN, you know the nations leader in sports is becoming a complete joke. They break stories that are never true anymore. Last season they said Brett Favre would be in Tampa by the end of the day and he ended up in NY. This year they said that Cutler to Washington was a lock and never even mentioned Chicago in the mix and that is where he ended up. There stories are becoming more and more rumor based than factual. There sources are terrible and now of all people to hire, they hire Matt Millen to analyze NFL and NCAA football games. Are you kidding me. It was bad enough when NBC picked him up for the playoffs and actually introduced them as a defensive guru. This is the same guy who drafted receiver after receiver and never built a defense in Detroit. This guy ran an average organization into the ground and proved that other than being a solid player, he knows nothing about putting a team together. Don't get me wrong, he was a good broadcaster and sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but anyone who knows football will not be able to take anything this guy says seriously in regards to football. It just goes to show that ESPN will put anyone on there roster. I also have heard that Adam Schefter may be bolting the NFL Network to join ESPN. If this is true Adam, please do not sell out and join that team. You actually seem to know what you are talking about and most of your stories actually happen. Please stay at the network. It is a much better channel.

Stafford to be #1 pick?

Word out of Georgia is that Matthew Stafford is telling some of his old teammates that he will be the #1 overall pick by the Detroit Lions and he will receive $40 million guaranteed. The Lions organization is still "mum" on the selection and there is nothing official, yet. The only true issue I have with this is that these player are getting so much money and have never taken a snap in the NFL. There are many upset Lions fans out there about the idea of selecting Stafford and paying him so much money, but I still believe that if you are going to pay this kind of money to anyone then it should be someone that you feel is going to be your franchise quarterback for the future. I think Goodall has to push this rookie cap idea across in the labor agreements, because this is getting a little out of control.

Well, I am not totally convinced that Stafford is going to be the pick on April 25th, but if he is I can understand the pick. Who else is worth that pick in this draft? Nobody stands out as the best player.

Updated Mock Draft

My 2009 NFL Mock Draft is finally here which means absolutely nothing. If I am able to get 10% of these pick correct I will be excited. So here it goes.

1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford/QB/Georgia
2. St. Louis Rams: Jason Smith/T/Baylor
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry/LB/Wake Forest
4. Seattle Seahawks: Eugene Monroe/T/Virginia
5. Cleveland Browns: Brian Orakpo/DE/Texas
6. Cincinnati Bengals: Michael Crabtree/WR/Texas Tech
7. Oakland Raiders: Jeremy Maclin/WR/Missouri
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: Chris "Beanie" Wells/RB/Ohio State
9. Green Bay Packers: Everette Brown/DE/Florida State
10. San Fransisco 49ers: Mark Sanchez/QB/Southern Cal
11. Buffalo Bills: Brian Cushing/LB/Southern Cal
12. Denver Broncos: BJ Raji/DT/Boston College
13. Washington Redskins: Aaron Maybin/LB/Penn State
14. New Orleans Saints: Malcolm Jenkins/CB/Ohio State
15. Houston Texans: Vontae Davis/CB/Illinois
16. San Diego Chargers: Andre Smith/T/Alabama
17. New York Jets: Josh Freeman/QB/Kansas State
18. Chicago Bears: Darrius Heyward-Bey/WR/Maryland
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tyson Jackson/DE/Louisiana State
20. Detroit Lions: Rey Maualuga/LB/Southern Cal
21. Philadelphia Eagles: Kenny Britt/WR/Rutgers
22. Minnesota Vikings: Percy Harvin/WR/Florida
23. New England Patriots: Clay Matthew/LB/Southern Cal
24. Atlanta Falcons: Peria Jerry/DT/Mississippi
25. Miami Dolphins: Louis Delmas/S/Western Michigan
26. Baltimore Ravens: Brandon Pettigrew/TE/Oklahoma State
27. Indianapolis Colts: James Lauranitus/LB/Ohio State
28. Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Oher/T/Mississippi
29. New York Giants: Knowshon Moreno/RB/Georgia
30. Tennessee Titans: Alphonso Smith/CB/Wake Forest
31. Arizona Cardinals: LeSean McCoy/RB/Pittsburgh
32. Pittsburgh Steelers: Eben Britton/T/Arizona

The Week in Review

The offseason can have some very exciting things happen, but if it wasn't for the Jay Cutler deal this week there would be almost nothing to talk about. The Draft is 3 weeks away and I am sure things will start to heat up but until then here are the interesting points from this week in the NFL.

• Jay Cutler and a 5th round pick get traded to the Chicago Bears for 2-first round picks, a 3rd round pick, and Kyle Orton.
• Chicago also added Pro Bowl offensive lineman Orlando Pace to protect newly acquired Jay Cutler.
• Rumors out of the February Combines show that USC linebackers Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews tested positive for steroid use. Also Vontae Davis, BJ Raji, and Percy Harvin tested positive for marijuana use. This may or may not hurt there actual draft stock but it seems like every year these reports leak.
• The Detroit Lions had a private workout with Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford earlier in the week and reports out of Athens are that his workout was "flawless" but that is still no guarantee that he will go #1, however the fact that the Lions missed out on the Jay Cutler sweepstakes they might have more interest in Stafford now.
• USC held there annual pro day for scouts, coaches, and GM's to attend and Sanchez was the feature of the day. Brian Cushing, Clay Matthew, and Rey Maualuga were also on display and all 4 of these players will more than likely become 1st round picks on April 25th.

That is the week in review and I would expect more action moving closer to the Draft.

Cutler finds a new home

Well Jay Cutler has finally found a home and the NFC North is not going to be happy. The Chicago Bears gave up a 2009 1st & 3rd round picks, a 2010 1st round pick, and Kyle Orton to get him. The addition of Cutler instantly makes the Chicago Bears a strong NFC power but was the cost to high? There were many teams interested and many "experts" had him tagged to either Detroit or Washington and he ended up in Chicago. Go figure. The NFC North now becomes a decent division with the Minnesota Vikings coveting one of the best tailbacks in the game and solid offensive line and one of the best defensive lines in the NFL are good for 11 wins in 2009. The Bears now become a 10 win team and with some improvement from the Green Bay Packers this season the North could be very strong. Maybe the Detroit Lions should put in for a transfer to the NFC West so they can improve on there 0-16 season.

Jay Cutler is officially on the move

After all the discussion. After all the meetings. After all the phone calls. The Broncos owner Pat Bowlen released a statement on Tuesday saying that they will begin discussions with other NFL teams in regards of trading unhappy quarterback Jay Cutler. Bowlen and HC Josh McDaniels said that they have made many unsuccessful phone calls to Cutler and he has failed to contact them back. They have finally figured out that Cutler has absolutely no desire to play for the Broncos. Well now that it is finally official, the major question is where will he end up and what is the cost going to be. Are the Broncos going to require a starting quarterback in return? If so, there options will be very limited. Before Cutler was officially on the block there were a few teams interested such as Cleveland, NY Jets, and Detroit. I can't think of any reason why these teams would have changed there interest. The Bears, 49ers, and Buccaneers are also showing interest. So who is it going to be? I am sure that Bowlen will be very busy over the next few weeks and we may not see anything until Draft day, but it is almost definite that it will finally happen. So lets try to narrow it down a bit.

If the Broncos are smart they will not trade a Pro Bowl young quarterback to a team in the AFC. Remember that was a big factor in the Brett Favre trade a year ago. So that would eliminate the Jets and Browns form the list. That would leave the Bears, 49ers, Lions, and Bucs. Which of these teams has the most to offer? It reall depends on what the Broncos are expecting in return. The Bucs have a slew of average quarterbacks and the 19th overall pick so they probably do not have what it takes. The Bears have some solid defensive players and Denver has a poor defense, so maybe something could get done here and the 49ers have Alex Smith and a 10th overall pick to work with. Smith is no good and the 10th pick may not be enough. This leaves the Lions and they are so desperate for a franchise quarterback that they may be willing to give everything up for him short of Calvin Johnson. They do have the #1 overall pick and if the Broncos covet anyone at this pick they could jump all over this. Not to mention what better way to get back at your quarterback that is not willing to work out the differences and has said nothing nice about the organization since they shopped him for Matt Cassel, then to send him to the first team ever to go 0-16. Only time will tell, but it is apparent that Jay Cutler will wear a new jersey next season.