Spring Training!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
The Twins have now played 2 games already! They might not count for anything, but its awesome that baseball has started again. And tonight is New Year's Eve for the NFL which means FA signing begins tonight! In fact as I'm writing this it is now officially the new NFL year.
I was going to write about the Crede signing but Gleeman pretty much nailed it so it seems like a waste of effort now. Plus I was busy getting ready for my midterm over the weekend and didn't have the time or energy to write anything. Basically people are way to excited about it and while it could help, any gains over Buscher/Harris are likely to be on defense.
Supposedly Sage Rosenfels will become a Viking tomorrow. Bringing in a 30yo career backup isn't my idea of an exciting improvement. I also don't like his propensity for throwing interceptions. By pretty much any worthwhile metric he actually played worse last season than Tarvaris did. Combine this with the fact that he will be learning a new offense and we might be looking at another QB competition in training camp next year. That isn't the answer.
Plus, Tarvaris looked a lot better at the end of the season except for vs. the Eagles obv. But it doesn't look as bad when you compare it to what other QBs were doing vs. that defense at the end of the season:
K. Warner 21/39/235/3td/3int
E. Manning 13/27/123/1td
K. Dorsey 11/28/156/2int
J. Campbell 18/33/144
T. Romo 21/39/183/1int
T. Jackson 15/35/164/1int
E. Manning 15/29/169/2int
They were really on fire until Kurt got a second shot at them.
Basically, if you want to get a QB, quit taking shots on guys who aren't going to suck but who've never really had success anywhere. Go after Garcia, or Warner, or get someone who at least has some upside (ie draft someone or take a chance on an Alex Smith).
Finally, my final roster from the NFL Modern Draft. I think it was generally considered to be one of the better teams when people ranked them after the draft was done. I think only three people did complete rankings but it was ranked like #2, top10 and top15 by the three that did.
Offense:
QB: Steve Young
RB: Charlie Garner
RB2: Gerald Riggs
FB: Larry Centers
FB2: Lawrence Vickers
WR1: Derrick Mason
WR2: Santana Moss
WR3: JT Smith
TE: Eric Green
LT: Mark Tunei
LG: Mike Wahle
C: Jeff Christy
RG: Will Shields
RT: Lincoln Kennedy
Obviously I was going for a WC offense after drafting Steve Young. I think I had a huge step up on most teams due to having one of the few really elite QBs. I really focused on building a good OL for my offense and think it worked out pretty well. I think it will be very good at run blocking and solid at pass blocking. At WR I went for two guys who I think are good at getting open on any type of route and have good hands. I think having Larry Centers and Charlie Garner coming out of the backfield really gives my offense a unique twist as they are both prolific pass catchers. Gerald Riggs is a great change of pace from Garner (who was seriously the Westbrook before Westbrook) as he is 6-1, 230 and was a great power runner. Eric Green was an absolute monster for a few years. He was 6-5, 280, ran something like a 4.6 40 and was the Steelers leading in back to back seasons. Finally I added Lawrence Vickers, one of the best blocking FBs in the NFL right now, to help in the power run game. The basic plan for my offense is to have people running all over the place and let Steve Young figure out where to go with the ball...
Defense:
LDE Jevon Kearse
LDT Brad Culpepper
RDT Pat Williams
RDE Leslie O'Neal
SLB DJ Williams
MLB Patrick Willis
WLB Keith Bulluck
LCB Donnell Woolford
SS Adrian Wilson
FS Darren Sharper
RCB Terrence McGee
Nickle: Rod Hood
DT3:Corey Williams
The key to my defense is going to be that I have an elite-level pass rushing end on both sides. I also like that they were both solid in the run game though (especially O'Neal). After that I really built up the middle, getting P-Will, P-Will, Sharper and Adrian Wilson. My LB core is ridiculously athletic and are all tackling machines. They would be used in coverage more than they'd blitz. Adrian Wilson would probably be blitzing as much as any of my LBs. I also like the idea of having 4 players who all blitz some instead of one pass rushing LB who blitzes often. Corey Williams would come in for Pat on passing downs and probably for Culpepper in short yardage situations. The idea is to play a lot of cover-2 and cover-3 which is why I felt I could get by with below average (in this league) CBs, but considering where I got them I really like them. McGee has developed into a great CB in Buffalo and Woolford was the Bears best CB for like 5 years. Rod Hood is a really solid all-around CB and should be a great 3rd CB in zone or manned up on opposing team's #3 WRs.
My defense is all about the beast factor. Jevon was obviously the Freak, Pat just eats up opposing centers, O'Neal was sick, Willis is ridiculous, and of coarse Adrian is like the definition of beast:
Sharper will play center field and make the opposing QB pay when they make a mistakes, which will hopefully be often due to lots of pressure. Oh and DJ Williams and Keith Bulluck were awesome later round additions I think. Brad Culpepper is the captain of the defense and will be making calls for the defense line if/when he wants (stunts/etc.) He is a smart, high-motor guy who really understands the game.
The draft was a great idea and I learned a ton about NFL history, strategy, stats and a lot of other stuff as a result of it. I wasted a ridiculous amount of time on it (researching for my picks, reading about other people's picks, debating, etc.) but I think it was worth it. It was a lot of fun.
My favorite rap "CD" in a while is a mixtape put out by Clipse to both celebrate the launch of their new clothing line and promote their eventual 2009 release "Till The Casket Drops." You can download it here if you like.
Check out the Intro track:
Intro - Clipse
Posted bySL__72 at 9:38 PM
Labels: Joe Crede, NFL Modern Era Draft, Sage Rosenfels, Tarvaris Jackson
You suck Sam. Write something. I don't care if it is about you being homeless begining May 1. Just write something!
Yeah you suck I just sat and read posts that I have missed over the last 8 months and nothing new since Feb. How about your thoughts on I don't know the Favre rumors going on right now.