FOOTBALL IS BACK!

            
            The NFL Lockout came to an end early this week as the NFL Owners and Players Association came to a 10-year agreement. This was absolutely great news for everybody and anybody. Coaches, players, fans, team bus drivers, concession stand workers, limo drivers, gamblers, agents, are all making money now. It also means Super Bowl XLVI is coming to Indy!!!

               

                
            Going on a tangent here, hang on!

                
            The announcement was really unsatisfying to me. I was expecting ESPN and Sports Illustrated and other sports outlets to post on their websites celebratory headlines, stories and pictures. I was also expecting a set time as when it was over. Instead, it was made public knowledge Sunday night that the two sides would agree on a contract Monday. Then it was finalized Tuesday. Sure, there were many stories rejoicing the return of football, but there was nothing that was like my headline. Nor were there any stories about how long we’ve all waited for this decision to come.

                
            Most of the stories written after the decision were all about the teams signing draft picks and free agents (understandably). In fact, the Indianapolis Colts made moves immediately after the Lockout was over.  The Colts signed 12 undrafted players, but none of the players they actually drafted in April. A part of those 12 players were Nate Davis (Ball State), Darren Evans (Virginia Tech), Chad Span (Northern Illinois), and Mike Hartline (Kentucky). Davis and Hartline are both quarterbacks, and Evan and Span are running backs. I hope to God that Davis and Hartline turn out better than current back-up, Curtis Painter.

                
            On Wednesday, Indianapolis re-signed cornerback Melvin Bullitt and kicker Adam Vinatieri. There are still 10 unrestricted free-agents (players that are not under contract and are allowed to look elsewhere for a place to play). Those include running back Joseph Addai, offensive lineman Charlie Johnson, linebacker Clint Session (he may end up with the Jacksonville Jaguars), and defensive tackles Dan Muir and Antonio Johnson. Owner of the Colts, Jim Irsay, has indicated that Addai and Johnson are his top priorities right now.

                
            How could I forget the other free agent? Mr. Peyton Manning. It was expected by everybody in the western hemisphere that his contract would be completed very soon. It is now a few days after the Lockout’s end and Manning is still not really an Indianapolis Colt. There is no doubt that he will not be a Colt, but I would feel better if there was a legal agreement backing that up.

Less than 200 days away!

NFL Lockout: Day 100

            The NFL has been in a lockout for 100 days (on Friday, June 24). The disagreement is between the owners of the teams and the NFL Players Association. The two are not able to come to terms on who gets what the NFL revenue pie. 

Here is a timeline of what has happened in the past few months:

March 4, 2011- NFL and NFL Players Association mutually agree to a seven-day extension to try and avoid a lockout.

March 12- Lockout begins.

April 25- Judge grants injunction to end lockout.

April 28- NFL Draft.

April 29- Appeals court restores lockout.

                
            There has not been much else happen since April 29. The two sides are talking but are not able to agree on much. The days without football are turning into weeks, and into months. Training camp starts in August, and the regular season in September. Those two months are rapidly approaching.

            
            The people who would be most affected from a 2011 NFL Lockout? Hoosiers. The Super Bowl next season will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our city and state have poured millions into getting ready for the event. If there is no Super Bowl here, that will be millions wasted.

                
            Lucas Oil Stadium, The Conrad Hotel, The J.W. Marriott, and a new football facility on the south side of Indianapolis were all built because the Super Bowl will be taking place here. If there is no 2011 season, and no 2012 Super Bowl, the NFL owes Indiana an apology and hundreds of millions dollars."The effects could be consequential," said Michael Hicks, director of Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research. "We'll probably see a loss of $200 million if there is a lockout."

-After posting this I learned that if there is no 2011 season or Super Bowl, Indy will get to host the 2015 Super Bowl.

NFL Draft 2011: Review

    

            The NFL Draft in 2011 has come and gone. There were a few surprises in the early rounds, but nothing that made you jump off the couch, unfortunately. 

There were four quarterbacks taken in the first round; Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, and Christian Ponder Cam Newton, quarterback from Auburn, was selected first overall by the Carolina Panthers. He is expected to become a starter, change the whole dynamic of the team, and become the face of the franchise. Can you say pressure?

Jake Locker was taken by the Tennessee Titans. He may not be pushed to become a starter though, since Kerry Collins is still with the team. Gabbert was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals and his situation depends on what happens with present starter Carson Palmer. Ponder was selected by the Minnesota Vikings, but it is unsure if he will be the starter. The Vikings have Tavaris Jackson who has been decent, but whoever starts can be thankful they’ll have Adrian Peterson in their backfield.

-An analysis of these QB’s can be seen in my story “NFL Draft 2011 Preview”

One of the biggest stories of the draft came early in Round 1 when the Atlanta Falcons traded away five draft picks to obtain Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones. If Jones turns out to be a bust, then Atlanta will be harshly criticized. Last season the Falcons finished 13-3 and were the number one seed in the NFC, so there was not a lot of improving to do. Jones will line up with fellow receivers Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez, as well as have Matt Ryan throwing to him.

Another huge headline was the Detroit Lions picking up defensive tackle Nick Fairley, from Auburn. He was the MVP of the 2011 National Championship game and a Lombardi Trophy winner. He will line up alongside another great defensive tackle, Ndamukong Suh. He’s the 307 lb., 6-4 guy who was a monster in college, and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award last season. Those two young men should give the Lions a serious advantage against other teams.

                

              There were seven offensive linemen, and 12 defensive linemen taken in the first round, which made it one of the more boring first rounds to watch. The University of Southern California produced the most draft picks this year, with nine, followed by the University of North Carolina, with eight. The position picked the most was wide receiver, as 28 were picked, followed by running back.

    

NFL Draft 2011: Preview

So I’m sure after reading my last story, you’re probably asking, “Sam, how are you such a skilled writer?” well that article would have to be turned into a book. But perhaps you are wondering what’s going on in the draft world outside of Indiana.

There are several teams in the NFL that are in need of an elite quarterback, or in need of drafting at the least a good quarterback. Those teams include, but are not limited to; Arizona, Buffalo, Carolina, Cincinnati, Minnesota, San Francisco, Seattle, Tennessee, and Washington.  There is quite an abundance of QB’s in the draft, the problem is none of them have proven that they will be able to lead a team and become a franchise quarterback.

Below is a list of a few of the big name quarterbacks that are expected to make a splash in the Draft and NFL.

Cam Newton- Played only year at Auburn University after transferring from junior college. He won a national championship at that junior college, as well as with Auburn. He has shown some character issues and is a running quarterback, but has a cannon for an arm. I really liked this guy at Auburn, I watched several games and he never failed to impress me. I’m just unsure if his talents will translate to being successful at the professional level though. I’m hoping the Carolina Panthers, who have the first pick in the Draft, don’t pick this guy or any other quarterback. If they do, then former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen would probably lose his starting position.

Blaine Gabbert- I know absolutely nothing about this guy, except NFL scouts have been watching him since he was a backup to current NFL QB Chase Daniel. In his 2010 season at Missouri, Gabbert threw for over 3,000 yards and 16 touchdowns, with a QB rating of 127(ESPN.com). Peter King wrote that Gabbert “rarely threw downfield at Missouri, isn't as football-smart or as prepared to play in new coordinator Jay Gruden's quick-decision passing scheme as some of the other quarterbacks coming out”. So take that for what it’s worth, but I’m not buying on Gabbert either.

Ryan Mallet- Mallet enrolled at Michigan but transferred to Arkansas after his freshman season. In his two years at Arkansas he threw for 52 touchdowns, almost 7,500 yards, and just 19 interceptions. Needless to say, this guy likes to throw. He has the size to be a great quarterback, but he has his flaws, ones that come from off the field. There have been numerous stories that have linked Mallet to drug use, excessive partying, and have questioned his character.

Other quarterbacks expected to be taken in the early rounds of the Draft include:

- Jake Locker (Washington)

- Andy Dalton (TCU)

- Tyrod Taylor (Virginia Tech)

- Christian Ponder (Florida State)

- Colin Capernick (Nevada)

- Ricky Stanzi (Iowa)

- Greg McElroy (Alabama)

- T. J. Yates (North Carolina)

                 

           It’s crazy to see Greg McElroy, a guy that won a national championship two years ago, be so far down on the list of QB’s wanted. Tyrod Taylor won’t do anything in the NFL, he’s too small. I’m predicating Jake Locker will make the biggest positive impact of any of these players.

The 1^st Round of the 2011 Draft will take place Thursday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN. The 2^nd and 3^rd Round are Friday night, rounds 4 thru 7 will occur Saturday.

NFL Draft 2011: Colts Preview

Ah, the NFL Draft is here once again, occurring once a year like the annual excitement of Chicago Cubs fans for the upcoming season, and then their bitter disappointment by June. I am not a huge fan of the Draft. It’s just as asinine as all the college football “Signing Day” coverage. It’s insane to put so much media attention and emphasis into the unpredictable athletic futures of young men. I will watch the first round Thursday night and probably some of the second round Friday night. Beyond that though, my only concern will be seeing who the Indianapolis Colts decide is worthy of playing in the NFL.

Everybody and their mom think the Colts’ primary concern in the draft is an offensive lineman. I could not disagree more. For me, the biggest concern is on the defensive line.

Kerry J. Byrne, who writes for Sports Illustrated, also has the same opinion as he wrote “The Colts averaged 3.77 YPA on the ground in 2010 (27th league-wide). But plenty of teams have won Super Bowls with poor running attacks, including many worse than the one Indy fielded in 2010. In fact, as noted above, the Super Bowl champ Packers did not run particularly well, either: just a tiny shade better than Indy with an average of 3.81”. (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011)

               

You gotta believe that the reason for the poor run game was the lack of a dangerous passing game. Tight End Dallas Clark went down in Week 6, receiver Austin Collie in Week 10, and receiver Anthony Gonzalez only played in two games. When a star tight end like Clark goes down, teams that would usually use a cornerback to cover him can now bring in a linebacker to cover the slower Jacob Tamme (back up to Clark). That extra linebacker is able to play more of the middle of the field and is a better tackler than a cornerback.

               

Plus, it’s not exactly the Colts have a dangerous threat at running back. Maybe the Colts should try and find a legit back. Addai is never going to be a superstar, nor is Donald Brown, or any tail back on the Colts roster.

               

Byrne also brings up two important statistics concerning Indy’s defense. The first is the fact they gave up 4.57 YPA on rushing attempts. The second is that Indy’s defense forced quarterbacks to make negative passing plays only 7.1% of the time, only the Denver Broncos had a worse percentage! Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are fantastic defensive ends, but it was so glaringly obvious that teams were able to run right past them up the middle last season. The Indianapolis Colts front office and its fans need to look at all the statistics from last season before jumping into this year’s draft.

Peter King and Don Banks of Sports Illustrated have Indianapolis drafting offensive lineman Nate Solder from Colorado; who both say that Solder is a great pass blocker. Mike Maycock, Bucky Brooks, and Steve Wyche from NFL.com also believe the Colts will draft Solder. Only Pat Kirwan from NFL.com thinks the Colts will select a defensive tackle, that being Corey Liuget from Illinois.

It’s guaranteed that the Indianapolis Colts will draft either an offensive or defensive lineman in the 2011 Draft, but which will remain unknown until about 24 hours from now. The Colts will also be looking for help in the secondary, and perhaps at the running back position, and the heir to Mr. Peyton Manning.