Sports

[Spurt]

Yep we got our RB Samaje Perine -Oklahoma!  Oklahoma's all time top rusher....strong as a bull, determined, powerful, good blocker too....he needs to work on pass catching skills! 

[gardenman]

The Eagles ended the draft with five new defensive players and three new offensive guys. We have our new defensive end in Derek Barnett, a new defensive tackle picked up late, a safety we're converting to linebacker and two new corners. We added a shifty little guy at running back and two big, tall, fast wide receivers who can help stretch the field. 

The wide receiver spot will be interesting to watch for the Eagles. We signed Torey Smith and Alshon Jeffery as free agents. We had Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Dorial Green Beckham, Paul Turner and Bryce Treggs on the roster at the end of last year. We signed a few lesser known guys (Rasheed Bailey, Marcus Johnson, David Watford, and Don Williams) at the end of the season. Now we've drafted a couple of kids in Mack Hollins and Sheldon Gibson. Only five, maybe six of those guys will make the roster, so things could get kind of interesting as those final cuts come down. 

Our free agent wide receiver signings last year didn't make the final roster cut. Torrey Smith is coming off two less productive seasons in SF. He's got to play like his hair is on fire to make the Eagles roster this year. He's not signed for a lot of money and it's essentially a one year deal, so he can't coast through camp or he may not make it through camp.

By and large the Eagles roster looks pretty solid right now. There are no glaring holes. I'm a bit worried about the experience and caliber of the corners, but hopefully a few of the kids will step up and play well. The d-line is a strength and potentially a beast. Chris Long gives us a proven vet at the right defensive end spot with the kid Barnett right behind him. Jernigan and Cox at the defensive tackle spots will disrupt things up the middle. (I think Timmy Jernigan wants camp to start today. This is the first time in his career he's been told to beat the guard and get to the quarterback. In Baltimore his job was to contain the guard to keep him off the linebackers. He's drooling at the prospect of going quarterback hunting on every snap.)

Right now pretty much every team in the league is looking at their roster and believing it's better than the roster they finished last season with. Optimism reigns supreme for a few weeks. Then the first minicamp takes place and reality starts to set in. Teams that signed free agents start to learn why their old team let them go. Rookies who looked great in college start to look over matched when going against vets. Rookie quarterbacks get overwhelmed with the amount of verbiage and information they have to process and regress. By the time training camp opens a lot of coaches and GMs know their jobs are in big trouble as the roster is not shaping up well and they desperately look for more help.

The Cowboys will be interesting to watch. The back half of their defense pretty much all went bye-bye in free agency. The front half of the defense wasn't all that good either. They're going to be plugging and patching like crazy to fill the holes. Doug Free retiring and Ron Leary leaving lessens their depth on the offensive line. In a really good year, half of your rookies will come in and contribute right away. The Cowboys need to have their rookies step up big time and contribute right away. And they need help from pretty much all of them. Expect the Cowboys to be in a lot of high scoring games. Rod Marinelli can work miracles, and he may have to.

[teganslaw]

The Colts went all defense except for RB Marlon Mack from S. Florida. I'm not sure about a couple of the picks: Zach Banner G and Hairston, who I'm not familiar with. Otherwse, this was a very good draft; kudos to Ballard!

There is mixed reaction on the Colts announcing picks from the Indianapolis Zoo. Many people thought that havng a orangutan choose the players was disrespectful. I don't feel that way; I thought it was entertaining. (Irsay does charitable work around the Indianapolis area, and he one of the backers of the Indy Zoo.)  Mike Mayock didn't like it, which is fine to feel that way, but he wasn't very professional about it. He could have kept his opinions to himself and not talked though Indy's picks. or at least announced his thoughts afterwards, not during the draft.  I don't mind that he felt that way, but not how he handled it.

I'm surprised that the Bills fired their GM. Was it something about the draft they didn't like? Unusual timing.

[gardenman]

@teganslaw

This is typically when front office firings take place. Scouts, GM's and personnel guys get replaced this time most years. There's "Black Monday" for coaches right after the season ends and some GM's will get the axe then too, but by and large the GM's and personnel guys, scouts, and assoted front office types are kept around until after free agency and the draft. That's largely the end of their work year and they get axed and new people come in.

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

The Colts went all defense except for RB Marlon Mack from S. Florida. I'm not sure about a couple of the picks: Zach Banner G and Hairston, who I'm not familiar with. Otherwse, this was a very good draft; kudos to Ballard!

There is mixed reaction on the Colts announcing picks from the Indianapolis Zoo. Many people thought that havng a orangutan choose the players was disrespectful. I don't feel that way; I thought it was entertaining. (Irsay does charitable work around the Indianapolis area, and he one of the backers of the Indy Zoo.)  Mike Mayock didn't like it, which is fine to feel that way, but he wasn't very professional about it. He could have kept his opinions to himself and not talked though Indy's picks. or at least announced his thoughts afterwards, not during the draft.  I don't mind that he felt that way, but not how he handled it.

I'm surprised that the Bills fired their GM. Was it something about the draft they didn't like? Unusual timing.

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@teganslaw

Regarding the Bills fire GM and their scouts and cleaned house.  It appears the Bill's coach, McDermott didnt see eye to eye with their GM from the moment he came on board, and the Bill's owner, Pegula, sided with the coach McDermott. And the owner gave Coach McDermott control of their draft.  

As for Mayock, candidate for Redskins GM job, he didnt like ANY of the hoopla or cutsey stuff done in the draft picks.....I liked it I thought it was fun!!! ..I was flipping back and forth between the two networks.....ESPN made it more business like ignoring some of he selection stuff and moving more to evaluatin...maybe Mayock is working for the wrong network..........

[Spurt]

I'm pleased with the Redskins draft....of course it will be a couple years before we can even tell how it all worked out.........Redskins got some help on the defense which was desperately needed! ....

On Jonathan Allen and his shoulder issues

 Dr. James Andrews basically said that’s some nonsense. Allen said he feels better than he has in four years and said every team cleared him medically. So he obviously does not think his shoulders will be a concern, nor do the Redskins. It helps that the Redskins are familiar with Allen. Director of college scouting Scott Campbell knows Alabama well, having attended practices and games there for years. He has a good relationship with the staff there, so his intel must be strong. And Allen played high school ball at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. Redskins broadcaster Chris Cooley has known Allen for a few years because of a connection at the high school

So I think we ended up with a steal here! 

Ryan Anderson OLB, Alabama---he'll help provide consistent pressure and pass rushing help the team desperately needs!

Fabian Moreau, CB UCLA--They will have to wait on him, he is coming off a torn pec (dont like that) so he wont be ready to start the season. Physical player excels in pass coverag is very aggressive.Before his injury he was scheduled to be a first round pick before his pro day injry. This was a pick for the future and it's going to make current CB Breeland a bit nervous about his future--maybe it will light a fire under him! Not overall enamored with this pick this high but there was a big run on CBs....

Samaje Perine RB Oklahoma---a physical back runs with power and can create yards after contact. Not real speedy, but good between tackles.....he and Rob Kelly will make a good duo...........(I liked this pick)!

Montae Nicholson S, Michigan State---this guy is a project. (not real happy about this pick)...............

Jeremey Sprinkle TE, Arkansas---Not in a hurry for him to develop--bigger than other TE's on the roster. Will probably play special teams. The Redskins have Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis and Niles Paul....With Davis's age, he will eventually replace him. Strong receiver needs to work on his blocking.

Chase Roullier, C Wyoming--smart (mechanical engineering degree, he will learn the playbook and be able to read defense quickly)  Plays well at both guard and tackle.  Has good size and is physical.   A real need the team had no backup center. 

Robert Davis WR Georgia State, Good height, weight, speed, He struggles with route running.

Josh-Harvey Clemons S/LB Louisville-Had speed the team needed, can play both S and LB will probably be used in nickel/dime LB.  Good size needs to add weight.  He was kicked out of Georgia after 2 Marijuana suspension (not good)

Joshua Holsey CB, Auburn-Redskins really stocked up on DBs........has medical questions torn ACL twice (not good!) .  Redskin needs to develop slot corners and although are ok on the outside need inside help.