Archive for November, 2020

Midseason 2021 NFL Mock Draft

Posted: November 23, 2020 in Uncategorized
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  • Jets – Trevor Lawrence, Clemson QB – Lawrence is widely considered to be the best quarterback in the class. Only him or Fields would really make any sense at number one.
  • Jaguars – Justin Fields, Ohio State QB – Fields is a strong downfield thrower who rarely turns the ball over.
  • Bengals – Ja’Marr Chase, LSU WR – Chase is the draft’s best receiver, and Burrow’s teammate in 2019 at LSU.
  • Cowboys – Penei Sewell, Oregon OL – Jerry has invested heavily in the offensive line. Because of injuries and departures the Cowboys no longer field a strong group up front. Sewell is this years’ Quenton Nelson.
  • Football Team – Trey Lance, North Dakota State QB – Lance’s ceiling is sky high and lets Washington start over.
  • Chargers – Jaylen Waddle, Alabama WR – The Bolts need to upgrade their offensive line, but this is an opportunity to draft an elite wide receiver.
  • Giants – Micah Parsons, Penn State LB – The Giants have an identity on defense and don’t want to move on from Daniel Jones yet.
  • Dolphins (from Texans) – Devonta Smith, Alabama WR – Tua gets a familiar face and an elite receiver.
  • Falcons – Christian Barmore, Alabama DT – The Falcons defense continues to be a liability. Barmore and Jarrett could be powerful together.
  • Panthers – Zach Wilson, BYU QB – Teddy’s been impressive in the Panthers’ offense. Wilson could learn from his mentorship and give the Panthers a bigger arm while still throwing with accuracy.
  • Lions – Patrick Surtain II, Alabama CB – It’s tough to predict whether Quinn/Patricia will be in town for the 21 draft. I think Surtain is a great value pick here no matter who is drafting.
  • Patriots – Dylan Moses, Alabama LB – We all know New England needs to draft a quarterback. Belichick feels at home drafting defense. Patriots might go cornerback here, Belichick loves his corners.
  • Vikings – Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech CB – Minnesota’s regretting the guaranteed money Cousins contract. Farley address a deep need in the Vikings defense.
  • 49ers – Elijah Moore, Ole Miss WR – Moore is on fire. He’s a slot receiver, but Shanahan will know better than anyone how to get him down the field.
  • Broncos – Gregory Rousseau, Miami DE – A stud pass rusher, Rousseau can alleviate the loss of Von Miller.
  • Bears – Mac Jones, Alabama QB – The Bears will never be competitive until they get a real quarterback.
  • Dolphins – Kwity Paye, Michigan DL – Paye can line up at End or Tackle. Flores will value Paye’s versatility.
  • Ravens – Richard LeCounte, UGA DB – LeCounte can offset the loss of Earl Thomas, and the Ravens’ secondary is generally not the strongest.
  • Eagles – Alex Leatherwood, Alabama OT – The Eagles have spent high picks on offensive linemen, but they always seem to be injured. No quarterback will succeed in that offense until they have a healthy, strong offensive line. Leatherwood has been Alabama’s left tackle for two seasons now.
  • Cardinals – Travis Etienne, Clemson RB – I know Etienne is a running back, but he would make Arizona so much tougher to defend.
  • Raiders – Rondale Moore, Purdue WR – Moore forces the defense to prepare for a multitude of different options. He’s a deep threat, he takes balls out of the backfield, he has great lateral agility.
  • Jaguars (From Rams) – Chris Olave, Ohio State WR – Assuming the Jaguars get an offensive coach, Olave is a premium slot receiver Fields is comfortable passing to.
  • Colts – Kyle Trask, Florida QB – The Colts are thriving with old man Rivers who may not be back next year.
  • Browns – Shaun Wade, OSU CB – The Browns offense is humming at about its peak. Wade is a value pick here.
  • Jets (From Seahawks) – Jalen Mayfield, Michigan OT – Joe Douglas will want a strong o-line for Lawrence. Mayfield has performed well as a pass protector and can start at right tackle right away.
  • Titans – Patrick Jones II, Pitt DT – The Titans are pretty strong all around. Jones is an excellent interior pass rusher to help Tennessee compete with Kansas City.
  • Buccaneers – Jay Tufele, USC DT – Tufele could finally take over for Suh as an elite interior pass rusher. He’s got the size and pass rushing chops to compete.
  • Bills – Jaycee Horn, SC CB – The Bills defense hasn’t looked as strong in 2020, and Levi Wallace may not return in ’21.
  • Packers – Rashod Bateman, Minn. WR – The Packers can go ahead and finally draft a wide receiver. Bateman is a deep threat.
  • Chiefs – Terrace Marshall Jr, LSU WR – The Chiefs can go any direction here. Marshall would give them some height outside of Kelce.
  • Saints – Kyle Pitts, UF TE – Whoever plays quarterback in 2021 for New Orleans will value the drafts’ best tight end. Pitts is an athlete and has plus height/wingspan, ideal for a younger QB.
  • Steelers – Chazz Surratt, UNC LB – The Steelers typically prioritize the front seven early in the draft. Surratt’s a playmaker who could transition to strong safety if needs be.

Other names to watch for: Christian Darrisaw – VT OL, Justyn Ross – Clemson WR, Wyatt Davis – OSU OL, Amon-Ra St. Brown – USC WR, Trevon Moehrig TCU S.

Week 8 NFL reactions

Posted: November 3, 2020 in Uncategorized
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The Upsets

Cincinnati limited Tennessee’s top five-ranked scoring offense to just 20 points in a surprising win over Tennessee. Joe Burrow did a good job spreading the ball around between a young trio of Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and Auden Tate. While legendary receiver A.J. Green has seen more usage in recent weeks, the Bengals offense doesn’t seem to need him to score points. This is not likely the Bengals’ year in a tough AFC North, Cincinnati’s defense showed some teeth and the team overall looks promising for 2021 and beyond. The Bengals get a rare win after Marvin Lewis’ departure.

The Vikings look like the Vikings again. In a defensive showout, Kirk Cousins threw the ball 14 times, which does not bode well for his long term future with Minnesota. Cousins has a lot of dead money tied up in his contract until the end of 2022. This performance demonstrated what Zimmer wants his Vikings to be, a grinding running offense and a defense to keep him in the game. Like Cincinnati, Minnesota’s not likely to go to the playoffs in 2020, but if they can win the bulk of their games for the second half of the season, Coach Mike Zimmer may very well keep his job.

The Raiders and Browns played a weather-impacted game of football with heavy winds. I assumed Cleveland would have the advantage with a healthy offensive line and being one of the most efficient rushing offenses in football when neither Baker or Derek Carr were able to push the ball downfield. I was wrong. Raiders’ defensive coordinator Paul Guenther may have saved his job by keying in on Cleveland’s rushing attack and limiting a Browns’ offense averaging 29 points a game to a WHOLE six points. The Raiders are still alive in a crowded AFC, and even have a coveted win over Kansas City.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins put the Rams to bed. While Tua’s numbers were ugly as sin, Miami’s scoring forced Jared Goff to throw 61 times, a deviation from where Sean McVay wants to be as a more run heavy offense. The Dolphins refuse to go away, extending their win streak to three. Miami is fielding one of the league’s top defense as Coach Brian Flores establishes himself as the Belichick acolyte who doesn’t try to copy the Patriot way, and the most successful one (RIP Bill O’Brien). The Rams Sean McVay has been among the league’s steadiest coaches, but a failure to make the playoffs again may put him on the hot seat to perform in ’21.

The Rise of Arizona

I was very critical of Arizona’s decision to hire Kliff Kingsbury as their next head coach. The young coach had failed to keep Texas Tech competitive in a softer college football conference and had just accepted a job as USC’s offensive coordinator. I compared the move to Oakland’s hiring of Lane Kiffin (thumbs down). At 5-2 with a QUALITY win over the Seahawks, the Cardinals look like the favorite in most if not all of their remaining games. Arizona is operating as a top ten team on both offense and defense and Murray’s elusiveness continues to give defenses fits. Never mind the Texans’ gift wrapped DeAndre Hopkins for free. The only weakness I see with Arizona is the lack of an obvious power run game, but that’s not slowed them down so far.

It HURTS to see

Eagles’ franchise passer Carson Wentz is having the worst season of his career. Even in games against awful Dallas or worst in the NFL Washington he’s putting up bad numbers. I wouldn’t venture to guess that Howie Roseman saw this coming, nor would I guess that Wentz is just DONE, as we’ve seen several seasons of high level play out of Wentz. Nevertheless, the drafting of Jalen Hurts gives Philly options should Wentz struggles persist into 2021. They still are on the hook for 70+ million dollars even if they did find a trade partner for Carson, but the Eagles have demonstrated they can be a bottom five NFL team and still win the NFC East, so having no cap space for a season wouldn’t even necessarily keep them out of the playoffs. Especially with Dallas actively working against themselves to be bad on purpose.

New England backing into a top 10 draft pick

The Patriots, even in their ‘down’ years have still been able to claim the AFC East crown for 19 out of the past 20 years. New England isn’t even likely to crack .500, never mind make the playoffs. Last NFL draft, I screamed and writhed in pain as Coach/GM/Dark Lord Belichick chose to not draft QBs Jordan Love or Jalen Hurts, and instead trade down to select safety Kyle Dugger. While Dugger is a fine safety, New England needs a Quarterback to at least give the club hope for the future. Belichick’s drafted 4-year juniors or seniors in the past (quarterbacks) who keep turnovers low, so Florida’s Kyle Trask, Miami’s D’Eriq King, or Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond may fit his profile. Patriots corner Stephon Gilmore has put his house up for sale, indicating Belichick may be looking to move him in the offseason. An additional first round pick may suggest Belichick wants to move up to draft Justin Fields or Trey Lance, or it may just be Belichick being Belichick accruing draft picks because that’s what he does. One criticism I have of Belichick is his lack of understanding for how important offense is. He’s had Brad who’s lifted his offensive castoffs year after year and Belichick’s been able to invest heavily in defense while still getting top offensive production from Tom. If he and Josh McDaniels don’t figure something out offensively in 2021, the ‘Belichick sucks’ crowd will have some fair criticism of his inability to win without the greatest quarterback of all time. I don’t feel that criticism is entirely fair, but the Patriots will have to show resilience in the face of a challenge they haven’t faced in 20 years.

I’ve started listening to this album on my drives home from work. I have a 45 minute-ish drive later in the night, and it helps me to get out of work-brain mode. Twisted Myths – Killigrew