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Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,109
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

And the draft is nearly here! Rumors are running wild about who will go where with no real consensus. The latest rumors have the Texans passing on Clowney and looking more towards Khalil Mack. The Raiders are letting it be known they're not taking Manziel or Bortles with their fifth pick. The Cowboys are reportedly hoping Manziel drops to them, but don't plan to draft him instead they hope to be able to convince a team that does want Manziel to trade up to their spot to pick him. (Good luck with that!)

It's looking more and more likely that quarterbacks will drop in this draft. There are too many question marks about pretty much all of the quarterbacks to make any of them a 'sure thing' pick. There are enough really solid football players in this draft that you can find a good position player through most of the first three rounds who can come in and compete for a starting spot right away. About the only quarterbacks a team could feel comfortable plugging in right away would be Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger, but with both of those guys coming off torn ACL's no team can be completely sure how ready they'd be. (Of course having said that, now watch the first five guys off the board all be quarterbacks.) If there's not a big difference between a first round and fourth round quarterback then why take one in the first round?

This promises to be one of the more interesting first rounds to watch. Lots of teams seem interested in moving around in the first round and that movement will likely destroy most of the mock drafts.

My gut says that corners, pass rushers, and offensive linemen will go early. Defending the pass by either covering receivers or rushing the passer is a big priority for most teams. With four and five receiver sets becoming more and more common, teams can't have too many cover guys. You also can't have too many pass rushers putting presser on the quarterback to disrupt the passing game. To counter the pass rushers teams need offensive linemen.

The fact that it's a receiver heavy draft may have one of the two elite guys (Watkins or Evans) drop a bit farther than currently projected. Very few rookie receivers just hop into the league and start off big. It typically takes college receivers a year or two to adjust to the game. Coaches who are on the hot seat now, may not want to wait a year or two for a kid to develop. A lot of the experts are predicting the Bucs take Evans, but I'm thinking they may prefer a nose tackle like Aaron Donald. He's reportedly an ideal defensive tackle for a Tampa two type defensive scheme and those guys don't come along all that often. Evans is a very good receiver, but the drop-off between Aaron Donald and the second best defensive tackle suited to the Tampa scheme is probably bigger than the drop-off between Evans and a guy they can get later in the draft.

Any player trades where a player is moved for a first round pick will likely go down today or tomorrow so the teams involved can get the guy/guys into their city and get them examined to be sure they're healthy before formalizing the trade. Player trades could still occur a bit later, but those would likely involve later picks in the draft.

Locally everyone pretty much is still saying the Eagles have to draft a wide receiver in the first round. I still don't see the pressing need that others see. The theory is that since we let DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant go, we must replace them. People forget that we're getting back Jeremy Maclin and Arrellious Benn from their torn ACL's suffered in camp last year. We lost two and got two back, so by my math we're just about even. If there's a really good receiver there we won't likely pass on him, but I don't see the desperate need so many others seem to see.

At least the press has gotten off the "We must draft a quarterback!" bandwagon that everyone was on for the first few months of the off-season. Signing Mark Sanchez pretty much muted that war cry, but I still wouldn't be shocked to see the Eagles use a third or fourth round pick on an Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger if they're still hanging around. One of those guys in the third or fourth round would just be too valuable a player to pass up. I'm not sure either will drop that far, but if one does, then I wouldn't be surprised to see the Eagles make the pick.

This should be a fun month. We've got the draft up first, undrafted college free agents signing as soon as the draft ends, then the first rookie camps and OTA's taking place where "real" football related work can get done. Any unsigned veteran free agents who have any real value had best find a roster slot soon or they may have to wait quite a while. Once the draft ends and undrafted free agents are signed those ninety roster spots are likely to be filled leaving no room for those unsigned veteran free agents. They'll need to wait until someone gets injured or implodes to find a home and there won't be many options for them.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,631
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

HEY GARDENMAN---

Thank you so much for the explanation of the 5th year option.....you made it easy to understand....

I don't think this is a stellar year for QBs.....and if I were a GM I'd wait....not only Sanchez, but Gabbert, Ponder, Weedon, never panned out----the surprise was the Bill's EJ Manuel....

Arizona is also in the mix for a QB too since Palmer is 38.....but no one stands out and Manziel has too many question marks....I'd wait and hope Palmer can stay healthy

I agree with you, I think the Eagles need to go defense, rather than WR.....and now they are reporting the Eagles will trade up to get a WR {#emotions_dlg.confused1}

Redskins needs are DE, CB-Pierre Desir, Stanley-Jean Baptiste, Louchiez Purifoy--are some names of interest, Safety, Right Tackle-Morgan Moses, and Cyrus Kouandjio are the names that are possibilities there...ILB-Chris Borland keeps coming up over and over---but some of the experts are not overly fond of him.

As they scrolled through each teams stats for 2013, one of the Redskin's stats I thought interesting and APPALLING was turnovers-- 34 TURNOVERS!!!--2nd WORST in the NFL---SHEESH!!! Whether it be a basketball or football---take care of the darn ball!!! Just ask the Spurs --- perhaps they could have finished the task in shorter time than going to a game 7 in playoffs--I keep thinking of that game with 24 turnovers! {#emotions_dlg.angry}

After the delay in the draft, now the NFL workouts and camps will be here quickly---YEAH!

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,415
Registered: ‎11-25-2011

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

I listen to a sports-radio station here in Dallas, The Ticket (1310 AM, 96.7 FM). One of the hosts, Norm Hitzges, does a 3-day draft show up in New York....and broadcasts all 7 rounds. Those that love the draft, like you (!), are in hog heaven during those 3 days!! Thursday/Friday evening & all-day Saturday.

The Ticket is on "I Heart Radio"....stream online? Check it out!! Right up your alley!!

http://www.theticket.com/common/page.php?pt=The+2014+NFL+Draft+is+on+The+Ticket&id=1413&is_corp=0

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,109
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

And the Eagles have once again combed the bushes to find a new player. This time it's Alejandro Villanueva a 6' 9" 277 lb. defensive end who played for Army four years ago and has been an Army Ranger since then with three deployments to Afghanistan. The guy's got the size you want in a defensive end and I'm betting he's in better shape than just about anyone, but he'll be playing a new position (he mostly played wide receiver at Army) and he's only played football on deployments over the last four years. He sounds like a good practice squad guy, but who knows? Maybe he'll light up training camp and make a big impression. A guy with that size should be pretty good at deflecting passes if he isn't getting manhandled by offensive linemen. Chip's defensive line coach will be working with the kid pretty much nonstop, and he should have as much coaching as he can handle by the time camp opens. He's raw as heck, but there's lots of potential there. High character guys with that size and strength aren't all that easy to find. His inexperience is the biggest issue, but if he can show a few flashes he could give the Eagles some extra depth.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,109
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

On 5/5/2014 sidsmom said:

I listen to a sports-radio station here in Dallas, The Ticket (1310 AM, 96.7 FM). One of the hosts, Norm Hitzges, does a 3-day draft show up in New York....and broadcasts all 7 rounds. Those that love the draft, like you (!), are in hog heaven during those 3 days!! Thursday/Friday evening & all-day Saturday.

The Ticket is on "I Heart Radio"....stream online? Check it out!! Right up your alley!!

http://www.theticket.com/common/page.php?pt=The+2014+NFL+Draft+is+on+The+Ticket&id=1413&is_corp=0

sidsmom. thanks for the info but I'm already overloaded with draft programming options. We have a local station that does nonstop draft coverage, ESPN does nonstop draft coverage, and Dave Spadaro from the Eagles website will be on the air nonstop during the draft.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,631
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

On 5/5/2014 gardenman said:

And the Eagles have once again combed the bushes to find a new player. This time it's Alejandro Villanueva a 6' 9" 277 lb. defensive end who played for Army four years ago and has been an Army Ranger since then with three deployments to Afghanistan. The guy's got the size you want in a defensive end and I'm betting he's in better shape than just about anyone, but he'll be playing a new position (he mostly played wide receiver at Army) and he's only played football on deployments over the last four years. He sounds like a good practice squad guy, but who knows? Maybe he'll light up training camp and make a big impression. A guy with that size should be pretty good at deflecting passes if he isn't getting manhandled by offensive linemen. Chip's defensive line coach will be working with the kid pretty much nonstop, and he should have as much coaching as he can handle by the time camp opens. He's raw as heck, but there's lots of potential there. High character guys with that size and strength aren't all that easy to find. His inexperience is the biggest issue, but if he can show a few flashes he could give the Eagles some extra depth.

hey gardenman,

I missed this story....we are getting another Eagle in our organization---is this guy any good?

Jay Gruden reached back to his days as head coach of the Orlando Predators to find a new offensive assistant. Bret Munsey will join the Redskins staff to work with Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay. Munsey most recently served as a scout in the Philadelphia Eagles scout, but Munsey worked with Gruden in Orlando during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,109
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

SPURT. I can honestly say I've never heard of him. We revamped the scouting department a few years back and he's apparently one of the guys we hired to replace some of the old guys.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 33,631
Registered: ‎03-20-2010

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

On 5/5/2014 sidsmom said:

I listen to a sports-radio station here in Dallas, The Ticket (1310 AM, 96.7 FM). One of the hosts, Norm Hitzges, does a 3-day draft show up in New York....and broadcasts all 7 rounds. Those that love the draft, like you (!), are in hog heaven during those 3 days!! Thursday/Friday evening & all-day Saturday.

The Ticket is on "I Heart Radio"....stream online? Check it out!! Right up your alley!!

http://www.theticket.com/common/page.php?pt=The+2014+NFL+Draft+is+on+The+Ticket&id=1413&is_corp=0

Hi sidsmom....thank for the info, but I am a Redskin fan and prefer our own 760 Ticket....since I'm in South Texas our local sports guys are free to criticize Jerry Jones and do often (even one that admits he's a Cowboy fan).....{#emotions_dlg.laugh}

Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, grateful. Difficult standards for people to live up to.”
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,415
Registered: ‎11-25-2011

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

Ohhhhh, a Ticket spin-off!! Ok guys....I'll leave you to your programming, but....the Ticket add so much humor to their programming, it even makes me listen...for a little bit! That's why I listen throughout the day....I mean...how many times can you talking about Johnny Football? The Ticket has a song parody...that what we're about. Love it. Good luck, guys! Happy Draft!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,109
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: NFL News and Notes for May 2014!!!

And the draft is getting closer! Today is pretty much the last day for any player trades involving first round picks to possibly take place. After today getting a player to a physician to pass a physical before the trade is finalized would be tricky. Even today we're getting kind of borderline on timing.

Still lots of speculation on teams moving up or down. A player who's in a bit of a free-fall right now is LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger. He had a diluted drug test during the NFL combine. A diluted test result can come from a guy drinking a ton of water before the test to hide drug usage. Mettenberger and his athletic trainer have said he was having severe cramping issues leading up to the combine and had been drinking more to alleviate the cramping. That could be accepted by some teams, but he also now has a back issue, spondylolysis, that's gotten the attention of teams. I'm thinking Zach may go from a potential first round guy (before the torn ACL) to a guy who may slide all the way through the draft and end up being undrafted. He's got the talent to be a good NFL quarterback, but the other issues may just scare teams away from him.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!