NFL Mock Draft Ver. Golteez

So, i haven't written a blog in a little bit, and the last one that i managed to write was somewhat, to completely irrelevant. The past couple weeks i've had university midterms, but during that span, a good friend of mine Matt Golt, and a full fledged sports freak/maniac, has produced this Mock Draft (Simulation of the NFL Draft, in April). It will be updated before the draft, and i'll post the changes as they are sent to me.

1. Detroit Lions – Matthew Stanford QB (Georgia)
· The Lions decide to go Wide Receiver…. Just joking. Lions have so many holes and so many problems but they take Matt Stanford because of his intangibles.

2. St. Louis Rams - Andre Smith OT (Alabama)
· Rams want to get their OT after missing out on Jake Long last year. Andre Smith will separate himself from the rest of the OL men at the combine because he will demonstrate his greater strength.

3. Kansas City Chiefs – Brian Orakpo DE (Texas)
· KC Chiefs want a steady force lining up beside Glenn Dorsey. Orakpo is the best DE in the draft and he’ll give the Chiefs a great combination similar to Amoki Okoye and Mario Williams for years to come.

4. Seattle Seahawks – Michael Crabtree WR (Texas Tech)
· Even if they had a healthy group of WR this year they’re still a weak group, Crabtree will add a consistent receiving threat.

5. Cleveland Browns – Malcolm Jenkins DB (Ohio State)
· Probably the best defensive prospect in the draft, the Browns get value and fill a decade long need.

6. Cincinnati Bengals – Chris “Beanie” Wells RB (Ohio State)
· Back to back players from THE Ohio State. Bengals want to continue the trend of having strong RB’s following Corey Dillon and Rudi Johnson. Cedric Benson is definitely not the answer.

7. Oakland Raiders – Eugene Monroe OT (Virginia)
· Tom Cable (former o-line coordinator) looks to beef up the offensive line to give time for DMAC and JaMarcus to make plays. Jeremy Maclin or Percy Harvin wouldn’t be a surprise here knowing Al Davis’s love for speed (Miami did it with Ted Ginn Jr. with their 10th overall pick).

8. Jacksonville – Jason Smith OT (Baylor)
· My sources (ESPN radio, I actually don’t have sources) tell me that the OT that Jacksonville loves is Jason Smith from the small college of Baylor. Aaron Curry would be solid value here.

9. Green Bay – Everette Brown DE/OLB (Florida St.)
· With the switch the 3-4 defense they’ll be looking to add an outside linebacker who can line up also at defensive end (DE/OLB tweener).

10.San Francisco – Mark Sanchez QB (USC)
· San Fran gets very lucky here since they have the option between a top quarterback or a top outside linebacker (Aaron Curry). I’m not sold that Mike Singletary wants to head into next season with Shaun Hill so he goes with the QB over his position the linebacker.

11.Buffalo Bills – Aaron Curry OLB (Wake Forest)
· Buffalo goes away from a need to grab the best possible player on the board who’s fallen. Curry is top two safest defensive prospects in the draft, who’ll be ready to play right away. If they don’t grab him, look at them to grab a Tight End.

12.Denver Broncos – BJ Raji DT (Boston College)
· Denver finds a match made in heaven. They can’t stop the run, BJ will finally help stop the run. No more signing failed Cleveland Brown defensive end/tackles to help them stop the run.

13.Washington Redskins – Michael Oher OT (Ole Miss)
· Looks like another OT will go, making it 4 in the top 13 (Record?). Michael Oher will be a suitable replacement for Chris Samuels and if he can overcome his maturity issues he will become a dominant force in the league (note: Read Blind Side).

14.New Orleans Saints – Vontae Davis DB (Illinois)
· Vernon Davis’s equally athletic younger brother will hopefully bring in his skill without the attitude his brother has. New Orleans is starting Randall Gay and Jason David at CB, they need to improve there and Vontae Davis is the best on the board.

15.Houston Texans – Michael Johnson DE (Georgia)
· The Texans are set on offense and now are set on the D-line, with a feared combination of Mario Williams, Amobi Okoye and Michael Johnson. Before the year began he was favored to go number 1, he’ll shine at the combine and the Texans look like playoff sleepers for next year.

16.San Diego Chargers – Ray Maualuga MLB (USC)
· The run defense and pass defense were both weak this year without Shawm Merriman. With Merriman and the adding of Maualuga they have the scariest and most athletic core of linebackers in the NFL (Lights out for opposing offenses?)

17.NY Jets – Aaron Maybin DE/OLB (Penn St.)
· Just like years past Rex Ryan goes best player available. Jets don’t have much need, except for Quarterback so look for them maybe trading out of this pick for Matt Cassel.

18.Chicago Bears – Kenny Britt WR (Rutgers)
· The Bears need a receiver. They will go with Kenny Britt because although he isn’t as explosive as Harvin or Heyward-Bay, he does have the most potential. Now the Bears still need a QB…

19.Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tyson Jackson DT (LSU)
· The Bucs will got with Defensive Tackle most likely unless they’re able to land Albert Haynesworth with the their 50 million dollars in cap room. Haye is a free agent and Hovan is once again on the downside of his career, just like with the Vikings. Moreno is also a possibility here with the aging of Dunn and the injuries to Graham and Cadillac.

20.Detroit Lions – Duke Robinson OG (Virginia)
· Lions look to continue to build and hope to add a run blocker for Kevin Smith, who can also provide additional time for Stanford to make some plays. Lions will go with who they feel is the BPA here because they have so many holes.

21.Philadelphia Eagles – Knowshon Moreno RB (Georgia)
· Looking for a back to compliment Westbrook, Moreno is the best value. He’s an all around back that is NFL ready who can run, catch and block. He will allow Westbrook to hold up more during the season.

22.Minnesota Vikings (Tr. New England Patriots) – Larry English OLB/DE (Northern Illinois) –
· I really believe this pick will be traded to the Patriots for Matt Cassel. Vikings want a Quarterback who is able to play now because they’re a young team and with a quarterback are super bowl contenders.

23.New England Patriots – Alphonso Smith CB (Wake Forest)
· Curry’s teammate goes to the Patriots because even though Smith doesn’t fit the cover 2 system well he is the best CB available. They don’t have many needs but CB is what they could use.

24.Atlanta Falcons – Chase Coffman TE (Missouri)
· Pettigrew is the better TE and the better blocker and fits Malarkey’s system better but he has character issues. Since he has character issues the Falcons will go with the almost as capable Coffman who will give Ryan an additional target and try and replace Alge.

25.Miami Dolphins – Peria Jerry DT (Ole Miss)
· Dolphins had a remarkable season but are getting old on defense and need to get younger. Ferguson is an aging Nose Tackle and although Jerry is not as large as him he will try to clog up the middle with the same size and power that Ferguson has/did.

26.Baltimore Raves – Brandon Pettigrew TE (Okloahoma St.)
· Ravens would love to have him and maybe even trade up to get him. If he falls here though it would be one of the steals of the draft. He’s the perfect compliment to Flacco, who’ll make time to find him open in the slot.

27.Indianapolis Colts – Alex Mack (California)
· Jeff Saturday is 33 years old and was injured most of the season. Mack will give him a replacement in the future and in the meantime he can move around the line.

28.Philadelphia Eagles – Eben Britton (Arizona)
· With their tackles reaching the end of their careers or leaving for free agency Britton has to be the choice here. If not they can go with William Moore to replace Dawkins at Safety.

29.New York Giants – Percy Harvin WR (Miami)
· Plaxico will most likely be traded the have a couple other options at WR but try and find a game breaker with Harvin.

30.Tennessee Titans – Darius Heyward-Bay WR (Maryland)
· They miss out on Harvin but get an equal although somewhat different talent. He will provide finally a somewhat capable target for either Vince Young or Kerry Collins.

31.Arizona Cardinals – James Laurinaitis OLB (Ohio State)
· With uncertainty surrounding Dansby for the coming season they add depth to the line backing core. Laurinaitis can move around the line backing core playing inside or outside which will give them depth.

32.Pittsburgh Steelers – Max Unger OL (Oregon)
· The only weakness that the Steelers possess is at offensive line. Unger doesn’t have a standard position yet but Steelers go with best offensive lineman available so they can give Big Ben some protection in the future.

Mock Draft by Matt Golt.

(ESPN Magazine Writer in 2015)

Sports Recap 101

OK... So, as all of you know (and I'm sure: your wallets know), Superbowl XLIII took place tonight in Tampa Bay Flaridaaa. Some were calling this one the classic offense vs defense battle, some were disgusted that Pittsburgh was back in the Superbowl. Yet most were just shocked that the Arizona Cardinals, with 97 year old Kurt Warner made it to the big game. 

1st Quarter: Blahhh...not much, couple good commercials.

2nd Quarter: Whatever, whatever... ok that interception was ridiculous. Changed the game completely. James Harrison's interception for 100 yard was a 14 point swing, and instead of the Cardinals going into halftime up, with momentum, and the ball for the second half, they were down 10. Crazy. FYI, if you were watching, you would have heard Madden and his ridiculous blatherings of i don't know what, say that James Harrison was cut 4 times (3 by the steelers and once by the Ravens). News to me, news to most of you I'm sure. Shows that if you can bench 490 pounds (fact..I'm not kidding) you can be scary on the football field.

3rd Quarter: OK Budweiser, enough with the horses. How many Bud commercials were there with the damn horse?

4th Quarter: All the buzz and hype for the Superbowl was lived up in this quarter. Where there were 55 lead changes and 165 points put up. Honestly though, the single greatest quarter I've ever seen in any Superbowl. I'm not going to recap because that's useless, but Ben Rothlesberger's pass to Santonio Holmes for the win, was one of the greatest passes of all time. Unbelievable

Superbowl Grade: 9.76/10

Other news today, at about 8:00 AM Eastern Time, Roger Federer Unfortunately lost to Raphy Nadal for the 75th time in a row. Honestly, Nadal has taken over the sport, as much as i love Federer, and wish that he can make a jump and take command of the the tennis stage again, it is not looking good. I felt awful for him, when he broke down trying to make his speech, he is the classiest athlete out there, it's hard to ever root against the guy. Catch the video here.

Federer-Nadal Rematch x20: 8.231/10

So now that football is done, I'm going to induce myself into a coma and hopefully wake up on September 14th when we can look forward to Superbowl XLIV.

The Legitimacy of our Professional sports

We are finally being be treated to fair professional sports leagues (Except Baseball), where dynasties are built based upon superb management rather than money or location.

It's something that bugs me when i think about dynasties in the 70's and 80's...not so much in basketball or football, but very much so in Hockey and in Baseball. The salary cap was established in 1994 for football and in 1992 for basketball, so right there all teams could only spend up to a certain allocated price limit, so this was not so bad. The problem with baseball is infuriating though and it truly is ridiculous that the same problem remains today.

Baseball:
Besides the steroid issue in Baseball, which is absolutely embarrassing for a "professional" league, Baseball has very clearly lost most of its ground to the NFL in every way possible.The once true and dominant sport of America is overshadowed by the spectacle and the drama on Sunday's, and the massive audiences of the Superbowl. I was never a fan of the MLB, and from my perspective, i have no reason to ever be one. With no salary cap limit for any team, it is a given, year in and year out that the Yankees and redsox will lead the bid for the best free agents. Yes, there is generally a new World series champion every year, which isn't the problem, the problem is with teams like Washington, and Pittsburgh, who may very well never have a roster that matches that of an uper echelon team. This is not the case in leagues that are governed by the salary cap. And consequently, teams do not become great from great management, but rather how far they reech into their wallets. The New England Patriots drafted Tom Brady in the 6th Round in the draft, and brought in a mastermind of a coach in Bill Bellichik, the two of them at the helms of their dynasty. The Yankees on the other hand this off season brought in A.J Burnett because no other team was willing to pay him 13.5 million dollars a year. As a result of the utter stupidity of not having a salary cap, these baseball players are getting paid like they discovered a way to teleport. Baseball will never catch up to the NFL, but until the sport establishes a salary cap and therefore has a league which wins based on skill and management, I can never lay my eyes on it.

Hockey:
We can finally say today, that in Hockey the great teams are built based on acquisitions and great management based moves (aka. Detroit Red Wings).. There are still some major issues with the league today and they stem from major problems in the past. I love the Montreal Canadiens. They are my home team, and hands down my favorite hockey team. But when people ask, why cant we be the same as we were in the 70's, 80's? There's a somewhat simple answer. A statistic recorded in 1987 showed that 81.67% of the NHL were Canadian born players, 59% of those from Quebec. So not only is there a problem that this insignificant province in a fairly insignificant country that is Canada is dominating this professional Hockey league. The problem is that Montreal was the obvious team to play for. Yes there were great signings and draft moves by the Canadiens, but it was virtually a team of all star quebecers vs the rest of the league. Is it fair to have the Canadiens up there with the Celtics as the second most winningest team in the history of professional sports? I wont answer that, i just know that in a more respectable, even league, like the NHL is today, it's taken the Canadiens 16 years and counting since their last Stanley cup. And like the NBA and the NFL, it's the Management moves that make all the difference.