5 different Yankees hit HR's against the Indians in a 14-1 beatdown, in Cleveland. The biggest blowout for the Yankees in Cleveland since 1931, when they won 18-1. Robinson Cano came into the series on Monday batting just over .100. In 2 games against the Tribe, he is 7-10, 3 HR and 7 RBI. Cano has got to stay consistent until the injured players can get back. That is the only way the Yankees can keep their head above water. Andy Pettite pitched a solid 7 innings giving some more firepower off the mound.
The Rockies once again, blew a lead late against the Giants. Linncecum got lit up giving up 6 earned runs, including a Troy Tulowitzki solo HR. This was the issue all last year, and if the Rockies don't get it out of their system here early in the season, it will be tougher to overcome after the All-Star break. But the bats look great, and you can see the influence that Dante Bichette has brought in the players swings. They are using their whole body and snapping the forearms a lot quicker. Dexter Fowler is definitely paying attention. Willian Rosario is developing into a well rounded catcher.
If the game was only 6 innings, the Rockies would be the best team in baseball. But it's 9, and the Rox just don't close it out consistently enough to win games. Until they figure it out, it's just gonna keep getting frustrating for the team and the fans.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
NFL Mock Draft:Horst Report Style FiINAL EDITION 4/25
Here we go only days away from the NFL 2013 draft and the Jets already traded Revis to Tampa Bay, so I honestly think it will be the first of many. So, I went through and looked up some player workouts with teams, and I am going to predict some trades here.
ROUND 1
1.KC-Luke Joekel OT Texas A&M- Protect the investment of Alex Smith, give him time to make the right throws, and KC will be drafting out of the Top 5 next year.
2.JAX-Geno Smith QB West Virginia- The Jaguars are dumb, they have no direction, and they think that Geno can help. Why not, he's local, and that will help bring in fans. You know cause Tim Tebow wouldn't do anything like that. As bad of a QB in his timing and accuracy, Tebow wasn't as bad as the critics said he was. Eric Decker, Dan Graham, and the Broncos WR's dropped a lot of his passes. Tebow is a leader and they should try to go get him, it wouldn't hurt them in this draft. Not at number 2, but at some point later on in the draft.
3.OAK- Chance Warmack OL Alabama- The last half decade of lineman production in the NFL has come heavily out of Alabama. Raiders have to protect Flynn, and keep Run DMC healthy all year. The Raiders' drafts over the past ten years have been bad. I believe they made a good decision getting Dennis Allen as a head coach, they are still hurting from the dumb ass trade for Palmer, so they will probably need another year in the shitter before they can start turning things around.
4.PHI-Dion Jordan LB Oregon- Chip Kelley needs a captain for his defense and none better than his own from college. Match made in heaven almost.
5.DET-Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah DE BYU-Vandedn Bosch is gone, and the Lions need all sorts of help on D. Nick Fairly can't stay healthy, so stay in the trenches. Get help to stop Forte, and Peterson in your division.
6.CLE-TRADE TO S.F.-Dee Milliner DB Alabama- Secondary helps all the time, and if you can find an elite CB its too hard to pass up. The Browns need players everywhere, and this is the draft to pick up depth. The Niners need more immediate impact, competing for the Super Bowl year in and out, so getting a quality corner will help that already solid defense. Now with Palmer in Arizona, Harvin in Seattle, the secondary will need to step it up.
7.ARZ-Eric Fisher OT C.Michigan- Give Palmer time to be able to throw to Fitzgerald, and success will soon follow.
8.BUF-Alec Ogletree LB Georgia- The Bills need all sorts of help on defense, and since no QB is worth drafting, let Vince Young do what he can, and build a solid defense,
9.NYJ-Xaiver Rhodes CB Florida St.- With the likely trade of Revis, the Jets will need to find a replacement. Only time will tell if it pays off.
10.TEN-Shariff Floyd DT Florida- Since Haynesworth left, they haven't been able to stop the run. Get a big body in there, and force passes. The Titans still have a long way to go though.
11.SD- Tavon Austin WR W.Virginia- The first WR off the board, and he can be an immediate threat for Phyllis Rivers and Mike McCoy's offense.
12.MIA- Jonathon Cooper OG N.Carolina- The Dolphins lost Jake Long, and with the signing of Mike Wallace, you gotta protect Tannehill long enough to get him the ball.
13.TB-TRADE TO NYJ-(Revis)- Kenny Vacaro S Texas- Trading Revis is gonna put a huge hole in that secondary, Kerry Rhodes is gone, the Jets need to have a strong secondary in the AFC East. Tampa will give up probably 2 picks in this draft and 1 from next year's for Revis, and it's honestly a good trade. Revis is an elite corner, and that is hard to come by these days. Vacaro is a solid tackler, and there is a ton of depth in this draft. (I called this trade a long time ago, no BS.)
14.CAR- Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma- The Panthers have to focus on their ground game if they want to be successful, and this is a good blocker for both run and pass protections.
15.N.O.- Bjoern Werner DE Florida St.- Florida State has a defense factory this year, and the Saints' D needs to bounce back from the wake of Bountygate, they have never really had a consistent pass rusher, and Werner's like a Jared Allen, just relentless.
16.St.L- Cordralle Patterson WR Tennessee-
Sam Bradford needs weapons, otherwise the Rams will have another lousy year on offense. Patterson is a big target deep, and in the red zone.
17.PIT- Jarvis Jones LB Georgia- This is a perfect fit. Pittsburgh prides themselves on linebackers, and Jones for some reason will drop here, and will fill Harrison's void, easily.
18.DAL- DJ Fluker OT Alabama- Protect your $55 million dollars, and give Tony Romo time to make smart decisions, he's not as bad as everyone witnesses for their own eyes, he deceives us all especially Jerry Jones.
19.NYG- Star Lutelelei DT Utah-
The Giants lost some key linebackers and linemen. This would be a great start at rebuilding that.
20.CHI- Kevin Minter LB LSU- Brian Urlacher is gone, and they need a leader for that defense. Nobody could ever replace Urlacher, but Minter is a smart player from a college team that has an NFL pedigree for defense..
21.CIN- Eddie Lacy RB Alabama- The combo of Dalton, Lacy, and AJ Green would be next to impossible to stop, and they are all young.
22.St.L- Berkervious Mingo DE/LB LSU-Year 2 with Jeff Fisher, and he always does pretty well in the draft. He could go in a couple of directions, but linebackers are often injured, so build a good depth there.
23.MIN-Jonathon Hankins DT Ohio State- The Vikings love Buckeyes, and they need to shore up against the run, plus Hankins can take away from Allen's blocks.
24.IND- TRADE TO NYG(Victor Cruz)-Desmond Trufant CB Washington- This should happen! You give Luck a great target in Cruz, and the Giants get help because they got torched badly last year in the secondary. The Giants could probably finagle some sort of late round pick in the trade to pick up a WR themselves.
25.MIN-DeAndre Hopkins WR Clemson- Percy Harvin is gone, and they need to take away attention from Jennings and Randolph. He's a big body for the red zone as well.
26.G.B.-Justin Hunter WR Tennessee- Greg Jennings is gone, Donald Driver is gone, and the Packers love to have plenty of depth at WR, and Hunter is a great route runner.
27.HOU- Arthur Brown LB Kansas St.-Connor Barwin left for Philly and Brown has huge upside, Gubiak and Phillips get great role players.
28.DEN-TRADE TO CLE via S.F.-Tyler Eiffert TE Notre Dame-The Browns don't really have an offensive threat other than Trent Richardson, so once he gets shut down, they need to find somebody to get them quick first downs in short yardage. Eiffert is a big body, not really fast, but can move through to quick yardage.
29.N.E.- Alex Okefor LB Texas- The Patriots were last in pass defense last year, so they need to get some pressure on QB's otherwise Manning, Big Ben, Flacco, and others coming to New England are gonna light up the sky with TD passes.
30.ATL- Sheldon Richardson DT Missouri- The Falcons almost ran out of gas in the Divisional playoff against Seattle. Keeping fresh legs on the line helps out sooo much. Just ask the 2 time Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.
31.S.F.-TRADE TO DEN- Jesse Williams DT Alabama- The Broncos have the luxury of drafting best available instead of immediate need. Elway is not afraid to trade down, especially in this draft, where there is pretty significant talent throughout the first 3 rounds. Jesse Williams is a good player from a well coached system. He was on 2 Championship teams, and is big enough to stop the run, but can also move to end. Williams, Wolfe, Vickerson, Knighton, Ayers, Malik Jackson, and Jeremy Beal is returning from a knee injury, round out a real solid defensive line. Which is why they weren't that upset when Dumervil peaced out, and Freeney wants to much money for his age. Jesse Williams is strong, and has a pretty interesting path to the NFL. Wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos again trade out, but a lot of people were a little upset with no first day pick last year. They should avoid that this year for the fans.
32.BAL- Matt Elam S Florida- Here you go Ravens' fans! Fuck! Don't kill yourselves yet! I've heard, "We are gonna suck next year" from so many of those fucking guys! The team you knew from the past 15 years is gone. Joe Flacco took you to the Super Bowl, played extremely well on the way. Now you get Matt Elam, who is quoted as saying he crafted his game after Ed Reed. This would be a huge pick up for Baltimore. And Ozzie Newsome is a hell of a General Manager. Just take it easy, Ravens fans, it's gonna be OK.
ROUND 2
33.JAX- Melinik Watson OT Florida St-They have to protect Geno and MoJo Drew somehow.
34.S.F.-TRADE TO CLE - Keenan Allen WR CAL- Looks like the Browns are gonna stick with Brandon Weeden at QB for at least another year, so the Browns should give him a big weapon.
35.PHI- EJ Manuel QB Florida St.- Chip Kelly is taking over and Michael Vick can run the offense, but Kelly will bring in Manuel to either compete this year, or get ready for the future.
36.DET-Jonathon Banks CB Mississippi St.-As I said before, the Lions need all sorts of help on D, and picking up Banks would really help in a division with Rodgers and Cutler.
37.CIN-Jamarr Taylor CB Boise St.- Cincinnati needs help in the secondary otherwise they will just keep getting burned back there.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
38.ARZ- Matt Barkley QB USC- Let him study from the mistakes that Palmer will make, or he can also continue the tradition of shitty USC QB's in the NFL.
39.NYJ- Datone Jones DE UCLA- Rex Ryan needs to get that defense back to as good as it was 2 years ago, and Bart Scott is gone.
40.TEN-Jonathon Cyprien SS Florida International -Titans need help everywhere on D, they already got a linemen, so get some backfield help here.
41.BUF-TRADE TO WAS(Kirk Cousins QB) Margus Hunt DE Southern Methodist-The Bills get a decent young QB, and the Redskins pick up another pick. Hunt has first round potential, but in such a deep draft, he should be available here.
42.MIA-Giovani Bernard RB N. Carolina- Reggie Bush pieced out of Miami, I guess, the asses weren't big enough out there for him, so the Dolphins need to get some backfield help.
43.TB- Robert Woods WR USC- Josh Freeman needs another target to help take attention off of Mark Clayton on the other side.
44.CAR-Kawaan Short DT Purdue-The Panthers need help in so many places so get a DT early.
45.SD- Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame- San Diego has no leader for that D, and Te'o was a leader on that defense at Notre Dame.
46.DAL-Sam Montgomery DE LSU- With his comments about taking plays off doesn't help him, but the Dallas could use another LB opposite of Ware.
47.PIT- Jonathan Franklin RB UCLA- Probably the most underrated running back in this draft. He has explosiveness, and good strength to go along with it. Mendenhall is gone, and Pittsburgh is always in need of a RB.
48.NYG- Jon Bostic LB Florida- Giants lost a lot of personnel on defense this year, and they believe they can draft the right players at the right spots. They've been doing it under Tom Coughlin, and both his rings are shiny!
49.CHI-Justin Pugh G Syracuse- We all saw Cutler go all baby mama on his linemen after all those sacks. You can't blame him, they get paid to protect him. Beef up on the offensive line, and keep Cutler and Forte healthy.
50.WAS-Terron Armstead OT- Arkansas P.B.- Gotta keep RGIII healthy, otherwise he's gonna keep getting injured.
51.MIN-DJ Hayden CB Houston-He should be in the top 50, but if he slips here, this would be a hell of a pickup for the Vikings in a division with Rodgers, Cutler and Stafford.
52.CIN-David Amerson CB N.Carolina St.-The Bengals have an explosive offense, now if they can get more takeaways on defense, the Bengals could return to the playoffs for a 3rd year in a row.
53.MIA-TRADE TO K.C.(Brandon Albert G)-Kiko Alonso LB Oregon- The Chiefs don't enough spped at LB to keep up with TE's in coverage. Alonso would be a big help.
54.G.B.- John Jenkins DT Ohio St.- Geen Bay has a ton of holes in the front 7. At this point, get the best available player at the toughest position.(DT)
55.SEA-Zach Ertz TE Stanford- A big red zone target for Russell Wilson.
56.N.O.- Forfeited (BOUNTYGATE)
57.HOU-Terrence Williams WR Baylor- Here we go, get the local boy, and have a huge fan morale boost. He's fast, and would help Shuab opposite Andre Johnson.
58.DEN-TJ McDonald S USC- Remember last year's draft?!?! Nobody had Derek Wolfe on the board for the Broncos, that is the same case here. McDonald can play both Safety spots, not top speed but has great range, and he played in a pro style defense under Monte Kiffen. This would be a huge diamond in the rough. Broncos fans are screaming for Rahim Moore's head, and this is why McDonald would be perfect right here.
59.N.E.- Quitton Patton WR Louisiana Tech- Bill Belichick is just going to put the offense in Tom Brady's lotion sponsored hands. Belichick thinks that Brady can win with anyone. We'll see, I swear though, Tom Brady makes Kevin Garnett look like Seal.
60.ATL-David Bekhait OT Colorado- The Falcons released Tyson Clabo last week, which means they want to stay young on the front line.
61.S.F.- Travis Frederick C Wisconsin- San Francisco probably won't be using this pick anyway, with draft day trades.
62.BAL-Demontae Moore DE Texas A&M- Moore is gonna free fall after his poor workouts, and interviews at the combine. This would be a good pickup for Baltimore.
ROUND 3
63.K.C.- B.W. Webb CB William & Mary- The Chiefs missed Brandon Carr last year, so look for them to search for some help at CB.
64.JAX-Marcus Lattimore RB S.Carolina St.- The Jaguars just make bad decisions all the time. He's got injury problems but MoJo Drew is on his way out.
65.DET-Larry Wofford G Kentucky-Protect Matthew Stafford and help Reggie Bush get out of the backfield, he's a big bruiser.
66.OAK-Jordan Reed TE Florida- A big red zone threat with soft hands. Matt Flynn really has no targets anyway.
67.PHI-Ryan Swoope WR Texas A&M- Chip Kelly is building a fast offense, and he has Desean Jackson speed, in a Wes Welker body. Wouldn't be surprised if he goes earlier.
68. CLE-LaVon Bell RB Michigan St.- 1-2 POW POW, if the Browns are smart, they would build the entire offense around the run game. With Bell and Richardson, that is easliy 15 carries per game each. The less Brandon Weedon has to throw, the better chance they have of winning.
69.ARZ-Phillip Thomas S Fresno St.- Adrian Wilson is gone, and no you will never find a player of that caliber, you still need to search for a suitable replacement.
70.TEN-Jordan Poyer CB Ohio St.- This draft is loaded with DB's just go to the DB tree and pluck.
71.BUF-Aaron Dobson WR Marshall- Just like in Jacksonville though, no one to through it to him.
72.NYJ-Andre Ellington RB Clemson-The Jets won't be giving the ball to Tebow anytime soon, and they have no depth at running back.
73.T.B.- Jeff Baca OG UCLA- Protect your QB, and make way for the "Muscle Hamster" (Doug Martin) to the end zone.
74.S.F.-TRADE TO DEN(Picks&Knowshon Moreno)- Chris Harper WR Kansas St. - Peyton and Welker look to be getting along, another year with D. Thomas is gonna be sweet. Decker is a solid no. 3 WR, and he should do pretty well there. He can tackle himself and drop less passes in that spot. So the Broncos do need to grab another WR for depth. Chris Harper is super underrated, and has a ton of acrobatic catches. He could pop up in the right spots for Peyton at the right times. The Niners could use a RB since Brandon Jacobs didn't pan out, so Moreno, in the last year of his contract, is definite trade bait.
75.N.O.-Trevando Williams LB Connecticut- The Saints' have no speed at LB, aside from Vilma who is returning.
76.S.D.-Devin Taylor DE S.Carolina St.- The Chargers have been looking for a decent pass rusher for a long time.
77.MIA-Kenjon Barner RB Oregon- Reggie Bush is in Detroit and Barner's speed at his size would be too perfect for the Dolphins to pass up on.
78.St.L- Sio Moore LB Connecticut- Jeff Fisher is probably one of the best coaches at the draft in NFL history. He makes tons of smart decisions, Steve McNair, Eddie George, Vince Young was 33-16 as a starter. Young doesn't get enough credit.
79.PIT-Brian Winters G Kent St.- 3 year starter at guard., Pittsburgh has never had good blocking under Mike Tomlin.
80.DAL-Tyrion Matheu DB LSU- Jerry Jones is always willing to gamble on a big off field risk, especially what the potential payoff could be with Matheu. A solid tackler, great speed and a kick returner. It's a huge risk.
81.NYG-Vance McDonald TE Rice-Eli Manning knows how to turn sub par TE's into weapons, but only in New York. Shockey, Boss, and Bennett's numbers all increased under Eli.
82.MIA-Barrett Jones C Alabama- Jake Long is gone, and they need a leader for that offensive line.
83.MIN-Shammako Thomas S Syracuse- Good in run support, and that's Leslie Frazier's bread and butter.
84.CIN- John Simon DT Ohio St.- Scouts call him a project player, and Cincinnati loves to draft 'em.
85.WAS-Markus Wheaton WR Oregon St.- Almost a mirror of Pierre Garçon. The Redskins need to let RGIII dump it off more, and run a hell of a ton less.
86.IND-Chase Thomas LB Stanford- A good leader, a smart tackler, has injury, but reunite with his old buddy old pal Andrew Luck.
87.SEA- Kasheem Greene LB Rutgers- A great edition to an already stellar defense.
88.G.B.-Montee Ball RB Wisconsin- Why the hell not?! Keep your local boy, and get a really solid running back, which is what the Pack need.
89.HOU-Everett Dawkins DT/DE Florida St.- A good hybrid linemen and at 6'2 292 lbs., just a solid player to add to a line that already puts a ton of pressure with JJ Watt.
90.DEN-TRADE TO S.F.- Dallas Thomas OT Tennessee-The Niners are going to be great for a minute, and picks like this will only pay off in time.
91.N.E.-Corey Lemonier OLB Auburn- Big fast and good in coverage.
92.ATL-Jaimie Collins OLB So. Mississippi- Ray Edwards, and John Abraham are gone, Umenyora is gonna need help rushing the QB.
93.S.F.- TRADE TO DEN- AJ Klein LB Iowa St.- The Broncos could utilize that trade from earlier in the draft, to snag a pretty good linebacker here. Let him and Stewart Bradley compete in the middle. He's got great strength, but needs to be willing to take on blockers and shed better.
94.BAL- JJ Wilcox S Georgia Southern- Need a safety after Hall of Famer Ed Reed signed with Houston.
95.HOU-Spencer Ware RB LSU-A big body to relieve Foster at times, 3rd and short, goal line stands.
96.KC-Nico Johnson LB Alabama- Not good in pass coverage but great against the run.
97.TEN-Vince Williams LB Florida St.- Still looking for an identity on defense, Williams is good in the open field.
Shit, there you go. That took a long time to only do 3 rounds, and I'm sure I missed a couple players, but I don't think I did.
ROUND 1
1.KC-Luke Joekel OT Texas A&M- Protect the investment of Alex Smith, give him time to make the right throws, and KC will be drafting out of the Top 5 next year.
2.JAX-Geno Smith QB West Virginia- The Jaguars are dumb, they have no direction, and they think that Geno can help. Why not, he's local, and that will help bring in fans. You know cause Tim Tebow wouldn't do anything like that. As bad of a QB in his timing and accuracy, Tebow wasn't as bad as the critics said he was. Eric Decker, Dan Graham, and the Broncos WR's dropped a lot of his passes. Tebow is a leader and they should try to go get him, it wouldn't hurt them in this draft. Not at number 2, but at some point later on in the draft.
3.OAK- Chance Warmack OL Alabama- The last half decade of lineman production in the NFL has come heavily out of Alabama. Raiders have to protect Flynn, and keep Run DMC healthy all year. The Raiders' drafts over the past ten years have been bad. I believe they made a good decision getting Dennis Allen as a head coach, they are still hurting from the dumb ass trade for Palmer, so they will probably need another year in the shitter before they can start turning things around.4.PHI-Dion Jordan LB Oregon- Chip Kelley needs a captain for his defense and none better than his own from college. Match made in heaven almost.
5.DET-Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah DE BYU-Vandedn Bosch is gone, and the Lions need all sorts of help on D. Nick Fairly can't stay healthy, so stay in the trenches. Get help to stop Forte, and Peterson in your division.
6.CLE-TRADE TO S.F.-Dee Milliner DB Alabama- Secondary helps all the time, and if you can find an elite CB its too hard to pass up. The Browns need players everywhere, and this is the draft to pick up depth. The Niners need more immediate impact, competing for the Super Bowl year in and out, so getting a quality corner will help that already solid defense. Now with Palmer in Arizona, Harvin in Seattle, the secondary will need to step it up.
7.ARZ-Eric Fisher OT C.Michigan- Give Palmer time to be able to throw to Fitzgerald, and success will soon follow.
8.BUF-Alec Ogletree LB Georgia- The Bills need all sorts of help on defense, and since no QB is worth drafting, let Vince Young do what he can, and build a solid defense,
9.NYJ-Xaiver Rhodes CB Florida St.- With the likely trade of Revis, the Jets will need to find a replacement. Only time will tell if it pays off.10.TEN-Shariff Floyd DT Florida- Since Haynesworth left, they haven't been able to stop the run. Get a big body in there, and force passes. The Titans still have a long way to go though.
11.SD- Tavon Austin WR W.Virginia- The first WR off the board, and he can be an immediate threat for Phyllis Rivers and Mike McCoy's offense.
12.MIA- Jonathon Cooper OG N.Carolina- The Dolphins lost Jake Long, and with the signing of Mike Wallace, you gotta protect Tannehill long enough to get him the ball.
13.TB-TRADE TO NYJ-(Revis)- Kenny Vacaro S Texas- Trading Revis is gonna put a huge hole in that secondary, Kerry Rhodes is gone, the Jets need to have a strong secondary in the AFC East. Tampa will give up probably 2 picks in this draft and 1 from next year's for Revis, and it's honestly a good trade. Revis is an elite corner, and that is hard to come by these days. Vacaro is a solid tackler, and there is a ton of depth in this draft. (I called this trade a long time ago, no BS.)
14.CAR- Lane Johnson OT Oklahoma- The Panthers have to focus on their ground game if they want to be successful, and this is a good blocker for both run and pass protections.
15.N.O.- Bjoern Werner DE Florida St.- Florida State has a defense factory this year, and the Saints' D needs to bounce back from the wake of Bountygate, they have never really had a consistent pass rusher, and Werner's like a Jared Allen, just relentless.
16.St.L- Cordralle Patterson WR Tennessee-
Sam Bradford needs weapons, otherwise the Rams will have another lousy year on offense. Patterson is a big target deep, and in the red zone.
17.PIT- Jarvis Jones LB Georgia- This is a perfect fit. Pittsburgh prides themselves on linebackers, and Jones for some reason will drop here, and will fill Harrison's void, easily.
18.DAL- DJ Fluker OT Alabama- Protect your $55 million dollars, and give Tony Romo time to make smart decisions, he's not as bad as everyone witnesses for their own eyes, he deceives us all especially Jerry Jones.
19.NYG- Star Lutelelei DT Utah-
The Giants lost some key linebackers and linemen. This would be a great start at rebuilding that.
20.CHI- Kevin Minter LB LSU- Brian Urlacher is gone, and they need a leader for that defense. Nobody could ever replace Urlacher, but Minter is a smart player from a college team that has an NFL pedigree for defense..
21.CIN- Eddie Lacy RB Alabama- The combo of Dalton, Lacy, and AJ Green would be next to impossible to stop, and they are all young.
22.St.L- Berkervious Mingo DE/LB LSU-Year 2 with Jeff Fisher, and he always does pretty well in the draft. He could go in a couple of directions, but linebackers are often injured, so build a good depth there.
23.MIN-Jonathon Hankins DT Ohio State- The Vikings love Buckeyes, and they need to shore up against the run, plus Hankins can take away from Allen's blocks.
24.IND- TRADE TO NYG(Victor Cruz)-Desmond Trufant CB Washington- This should happen! You give Luck a great target in Cruz, and the Giants get help because they got torched badly last year in the secondary. The Giants could probably finagle some sort of late round pick in the trade to pick up a WR themselves.
25.MIN-DeAndre Hopkins WR Clemson- Percy Harvin is gone, and they need to take away attention from Jennings and Randolph. He's a big body for the red zone as well.
26.G.B.-Justin Hunter WR Tennessee- Greg Jennings is gone, Donald Driver is gone, and the Packers love to have plenty of depth at WR, and Hunter is a great route runner.27.HOU- Arthur Brown LB Kansas St.-Connor Barwin left for Philly and Brown has huge upside, Gubiak and Phillips get great role players.
28.DEN-TRADE TO CLE via S.F.-Tyler Eiffert TE Notre Dame-The Browns don't really have an offensive threat other than Trent Richardson, so once he gets shut down, they need to find somebody to get them quick first downs in short yardage. Eiffert is a big body, not really fast, but can move through to quick yardage.
29.N.E.- Alex Okefor LB Texas- The Patriots were last in pass defense last year, so they need to get some pressure on QB's otherwise Manning, Big Ben, Flacco, and others coming to New England are gonna light up the sky with TD passes.
30.ATL- Sheldon Richardson DT Missouri- The Falcons almost ran out of gas in the Divisional playoff against Seattle. Keeping fresh legs on the line helps out sooo much. Just ask the 2 time Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.
32.BAL- Matt Elam S Florida- Here you go Ravens' fans! Fuck! Don't kill yourselves yet! I've heard, "We are gonna suck next year" from so many of those fucking guys! The team you knew from the past 15 years is gone. Joe Flacco took you to the Super Bowl, played extremely well on the way. Now you get Matt Elam, who is quoted as saying he crafted his game after Ed Reed. This would be a huge pick up for Baltimore. And Ozzie Newsome is a hell of a General Manager. Just take it easy, Ravens fans, it's gonna be OK.
ROUND 2
33.JAX- Melinik Watson OT Florida St-They have to protect Geno and MoJo Drew somehow.
34.S.F.-TRADE TO CLE - Keenan Allen WR CAL- Looks like the Browns are gonna stick with Brandon Weeden at QB for at least another year, so the Browns should give him a big weapon.
35.PHI- EJ Manuel QB Florida St.- Chip Kelly is taking over and Michael Vick can run the offense, but Kelly will bring in Manuel to either compete this year, or get ready for the future.
36.DET-Jonathon Banks CB Mississippi St.-As I said before, the Lions need all sorts of help on D, and picking up Banks would really help in a division with Rodgers and Cutler.
37.CIN-Jamarr Taylor CB Boise St.- Cincinnati needs help in the secondary otherwise they will just keep getting burned back there.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
38.ARZ- Matt Barkley QB USC- Let him study from the mistakes that Palmer will make, or he can also continue the tradition of shitty USC QB's in the NFL.
39.NYJ- Datone Jones DE UCLA- Rex Ryan needs to get that defense back to as good as it was 2 years ago, and Bart Scott is gone.
40.TEN-Jonathon Cyprien SS Florida International -Titans need help everywhere on D, they already got a linemen, so get some backfield help here.
41.BUF-TRADE TO WAS(Kirk Cousins QB) Margus Hunt DE Southern Methodist-The Bills get a decent young QB, and the Redskins pick up another pick. Hunt has first round potential, but in such a deep draft, he should be available here.
42.MIA-Giovani Bernard RB N. Carolina- Reggie Bush pieced out of Miami, I guess, the asses weren't big enough out there for him, so the Dolphins need to get some backfield help.
43.TB- Robert Woods WR USC- Josh Freeman needs another target to help take attention off of Mark Clayton on the other side.
44.CAR-Kawaan Short DT Purdue-The Panthers need help in so many places so get a DT early.
45.SD- Manti Te'o LB Notre Dame- San Diego has no leader for that D, and Te'o was a leader on that defense at Notre Dame.
46.DAL-Sam Montgomery DE LSU- With his comments about taking plays off doesn't help him, but the Dallas could use another LB opposite of Ware.
47.PIT- Jonathan Franklin RB UCLA- Probably the most underrated running back in this draft. He has explosiveness, and good strength to go along with it. Mendenhall is gone, and Pittsburgh is always in need of a RB.
48.NYG- Jon Bostic LB Florida- Giants lost a lot of personnel on defense this year, and they believe they can draft the right players at the right spots. They've been doing it under Tom Coughlin, and both his rings are shiny!
49.CHI-Justin Pugh G Syracuse- We all saw Cutler go all baby mama on his linemen after all those sacks. You can't blame him, they get paid to protect him. Beef up on the offensive line, and keep Cutler and Forte healthy.
50.WAS-Terron Armstead OT- Arkansas P.B.- Gotta keep RGIII healthy, otherwise he's gonna keep getting injured.
51.MIN-DJ Hayden CB Houston-He should be in the top 50, but if he slips here, this would be a hell of a pickup for the Vikings in a division with Rodgers, Cutler and Stafford.
52.CIN-David Amerson CB N.Carolina St.-The Bengals have an explosive offense, now if they can get more takeaways on defense, the Bengals could return to the playoffs for a 3rd year in a row.
53.MIA-TRADE TO K.C.(Brandon Albert G)-Kiko Alonso LB Oregon- The Chiefs don't enough spped at LB to keep up with TE's in coverage. Alonso would be a big help.54.G.B.- John Jenkins DT Ohio St.- Geen Bay has a ton of holes in the front 7. At this point, get the best available player at the toughest position.(DT)
56.N.O.- Forfeited (BOUNTYGATE)
57.HOU-Terrence Williams WR Baylor- Here we go, get the local boy, and have a huge fan morale boost. He's fast, and would help Shuab opposite Andre Johnson.
59.N.E.- Quitton Patton WR Louisiana Tech- Bill Belichick is just going to put the offense in Tom Brady's lotion sponsored hands. Belichick thinks that Brady can win with anyone. We'll see, I swear though, Tom Brady makes Kevin Garnett look like Seal.
60.ATL-David Bekhait OT Colorado- The Falcons released Tyson Clabo last week, which means they want to stay young on the front line.
61.S.F.- Travis Frederick C Wisconsin- San Francisco probably won't be using this pick anyway, with draft day trades.
62.BAL-Demontae Moore DE Texas A&M- Moore is gonna free fall after his poor workouts, and interviews at the combine. This would be a good pickup for Baltimore.
ROUND 3
63.K.C.- B.W. Webb CB William & Mary- The Chiefs missed Brandon Carr last year, so look for them to search for some help at CB.
64.JAX-Marcus Lattimore RB S.Carolina St.- The Jaguars just make bad decisions all the time. He's got injury problems but MoJo Drew is on his way out.
65.DET-Larry Wofford G Kentucky-Protect Matthew Stafford and help Reggie Bush get out of the backfield, he's a big bruiser.
66.OAK-Jordan Reed TE Florida- A big red zone threat with soft hands. Matt Flynn really has no targets anyway.
67.PHI-Ryan Swoope WR Texas A&M- Chip Kelly is building a fast offense, and he has Desean Jackson speed, in a Wes Welker body. Wouldn't be surprised if he goes earlier.68. CLE-LaVon Bell RB Michigan St.- 1-2 POW POW, if the Browns are smart, they would build the entire offense around the run game. With Bell and Richardson, that is easliy 15 carries per game each. The less Brandon Weedon has to throw, the better chance they have of winning.
69.ARZ-Phillip Thomas S Fresno St.- Adrian Wilson is gone, and no you will never find a player of that caliber, you still need to search for a suitable replacement.
70.TEN-Jordan Poyer CB Ohio St.- This draft is loaded with DB's just go to the DB tree and pluck.
71.BUF-Aaron Dobson WR Marshall- Just like in Jacksonville though, no one to through it to him.
72.NYJ-Andre Ellington RB Clemson-The Jets won't be giving the ball to Tebow anytime soon, and they have no depth at running back.
73.T.B.- Jeff Baca OG UCLA- Protect your QB, and make way for the "Muscle Hamster" (Doug Martin) to the end zone.
74.S.F.-TRADE TO DEN(Picks&Knowshon Moreno)- Chris Harper WR Kansas St. - Peyton and Welker look to be getting along, another year with D. Thomas is gonna be sweet. Decker is a solid no. 3 WR, and he should do pretty well there. He can tackle himself and drop less passes in that spot. So the Broncos do need to grab another WR for depth. Chris Harper is super underrated, and has a ton of acrobatic catches. He could pop up in the right spots for Peyton at the right times. The Niners could use a RB since Brandon Jacobs didn't pan out, so Moreno, in the last year of his contract, is definite trade bait.
75.N.O.-Trevando Williams LB Connecticut- The Saints' have no speed at LB, aside from Vilma who is returning.
76.S.D.-Devin Taylor DE S.Carolina St.- The Chargers have been looking for a decent pass rusher for a long time.
77.MIA-Kenjon Barner RB Oregon- Reggie Bush is in Detroit and Barner's speed at his size would be too perfect for the Dolphins to pass up on.78.St.L- Sio Moore LB Connecticut- Jeff Fisher is probably one of the best coaches at the draft in NFL history. He makes tons of smart decisions, Steve McNair, Eddie George, Vince Young was 33-16 as a starter. Young doesn't get enough credit.
79.PIT-Brian Winters G Kent St.- 3 year starter at guard., Pittsburgh has never had good blocking under Mike Tomlin.
80.DAL-Tyrion Matheu DB LSU- Jerry Jones is always willing to gamble on a big off field risk, especially what the potential payoff could be with Matheu. A solid tackler, great speed and a kick returner. It's a huge risk.
81.NYG-Vance McDonald TE Rice-Eli Manning knows how to turn sub par TE's into weapons, but only in New York. Shockey, Boss, and Bennett's numbers all increased under Eli.
82.MIA-Barrett Jones C Alabama- Jake Long is gone, and they need a leader for that offensive line.
83.MIN-Shammako Thomas S Syracuse- Good in run support, and that's Leslie Frazier's bread and butter.
84.CIN- John Simon DT Ohio St.- Scouts call him a project player, and Cincinnati loves to draft 'em.
85.WAS-Markus Wheaton WR Oregon St.- Almost a mirror of Pierre Garçon. The Redskins need to let RGIII dump it off more, and run a hell of a ton less.
86.IND-Chase Thomas LB Stanford- A good leader, a smart tackler, has injury, but reunite with his old buddy old pal Andrew Luck.
87.SEA- Kasheem Greene LB Rutgers- A great edition to an already stellar defense.
88.G.B.-Montee Ball RB Wisconsin- Why the hell not?! Keep your local boy, and get a really solid running back, which is what the Pack need.
89.HOU-Everett Dawkins DT/DE Florida St.- A good hybrid linemen and at 6'2 292 lbs., just a solid player to add to a line that already puts a ton of pressure with JJ Watt.
90.DEN-TRADE TO S.F.- Dallas Thomas OT Tennessee-The Niners are going to be great for a minute, and picks like this will only pay off in time.
91.N.E.-Corey Lemonier OLB Auburn- Big fast and good in coverage.
92.ATL-Jaimie Collins OLB So. Mississippi- Ray Edwards, and John Abraham are gone, Umenyora is gonna need help rushing the QB.
93.S.F.- TRADE TO DEN- AJ Klein LB Iowa St.- The Broncos could utilize that trade from earlier in the draft, to snag a pretty good linebacker here. Let him and Stewart Bradley compete in the middle. He's got great strength, but needs to be willing to take on blockers and shed better.
94.BAL- JJ Wilcox S Georgia Southern- Need a safety after Hall of Famer Ed Reed signed with Houston.
95.HOU-Spencer Ware RB LSU-A big body to relieve Foster at times, 3rd and short, goal line stands.
96.KC-Nico Johnson LB Alabama- Not good in pass coverage but great against the run.
97.TEN-Vince Williams LB Florida St.- Still looking for an identity on defense, Williams is good in the open field.
Shit, there you go. That took a long time to only do 3 rounds, and I'm sure I missed a couple players, but I don't think I did.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Nuggets Blast Off on Rockets!! 132-114
Without the two top leading scorers on the team, the Nuggets dropped the pick axe hard on Houston. After trailing in the 1st quarter, the Nuggets exploded and never looked back. Corey Brewer is so money that banks come to him to approve checks. Night after night he just keeps stepping it up off the bench, scoring 22 points in 28 minutes. I f Brewer starts playing over 30 minutes a game, he's gonna be able score a lot more. Corey Brewer needs to win the 6th man of the year, hands down, but probably won't even get nominated. Chandler started the game and had 21, he's getting ready to light it up down the stretch here watch, and Kenneth Faried is beginning to feel his dominance on the court again. Iguodala had a great night with 14 assists and 18 points. But the fucking free throws! The whole team, 61% and they still manage to drop 132 points. The pace was overbearing for the Rockets.
The depth just keeps stepping up. This is "Next Man Up" Mile High Style! Randolph and Fournier are rested and have fresh fast legs. With Gallinari down, Fournier will see more minutes in the playoffs. Andre Miller is playing the best basketball of his career, well at least of his Nuggets career, and age hasn't been a factor thus far. Ty Lawson should be back before the playoffs, at least George Karl wants him to be. But in the meantime let the kids play off the bench, because they can light it up. The Spurs and the Thunder are battling for that 1 seed, and if we win 2 more the 3 seed is ours. Home court is such a luxury, and we might play the Rockets in the first round. So the Nuggets sent a message to the rest of the West, Be afraid bitches, be very afraid!
The depth just keeps stepping up. This is "Next Man Up" Mile High Style! Randolph and Fournier are rested and have fresh fast legs. With Gallinari down, Fournier will see more minutes in the playoffs. Andre Miller is playing the best basketball of his career, well at least of his Nuggets career, and age hasn't been a factor thus far. Ty Lawson should be back before the playoffs, at least George Karl wants him to be. But in the meantime let the kids play off the bench, because they can light it up. The Spurs and the Thunder are battling for that 1 seed, and if we win 2 more the 3 seed is ours. Home court is such a luxury, and we might play the Rockets in the first round. So the Nuggets sent a message to the rest of the West, Be afraid bitches, be very afraid!
The Associated Press
2013-04-06Monday, April 1, 2013
Hip Hip Hooray! It's Opening Day!
For the first time in awhile, I really am excited for Opening Day, not just here in the Mile High City, but all throughout baseball. It seems as though we have moved past the steroid era, and the black clouds seem to be clearing out. So much hope and sense of renewal fills the air on these days. As far as I can remember, the weather was always nice(of course being in Colorado helps where we get over 300 days of sunshine!) and even when it wasn't, that helped with the memories of that season. It is a fresh start! The cold is slowly diminishing away, and the skin is beginning to embrace the warmth of the sun. Baseball teams are ready to put the past behind them, and focus on the present. Now, since all 32 teams each play 162 games a year, I won't be following each team as closely. I've just got better things to do. But, let's go ahead, and take a preview of the teams I will be following.
1. Colorado Rockies- I live here it's just that easy! I love the Rox as well, and if they can blend the strong young hitters, and somehow find a way to get at least halfway decent fucking pitching, the Rockies can make a run in the division. Tulo is returning, along with Cuddayer, and the youth between Josh Rutledge, Eric Young Jr., and Miguel Olivo, the Rockies will continue to excite LoDo. It's just going to be tough playing in the same Division as the World Series champion Giants, and a very rich LA Dodgers team.
2. New York Yankees- They've been my favorite team since I was signed by them at age 5 in the tea-ball league. The Yankees are baseball, whether you want to admit it or not. In sports, you try to win championships with building the best team. How do you build the best team? You get the best players! New York is one of the oldest cities in the US, and one of the most popular in the world. So why not try to build the best team in one of the most popular sports worldwide!?! The Yankees' symbol is so synonymous to baseball, people who don't watch sports know what it is. People may say they are the Lakers or Cowboys of baseball. No, they are the Yankees of those sports. The Broncos just paid a shit ton of money for Peyton Manning. The Lakers paid a lot of money for Shaq to stay in LA as long as he did. The best players want a lot of attention and money, and the Yankees can bring that too the table every time. Anyway, this is Mariano Rivera's last year he announced, and I would be surprised that if the Yankees win the series to see Derek Jeter return for another year. They need more pitching, Hughes and Pettite can't last an entire season, and CC Sabathia can only win so many games. If the Yankees are going to be successful, they have got to stay healthy, and Robinson Cano has to have a great year. Cano should and probably will be the face of the franchise continuing on after Jeter, so his health his very important.
3. San Francisco Giants- The defending champs have basically everything you need in a legitimate contending baseball team. That's why they've won 2 out the past 3, not playing 3 consecutive years in the series. The pitching between Joe Cain, Ryan Voglesang, Barry Zito, Madison Bumgardner and Tim Linncecum is so deadly. Putting basically the franchise around Buster Posey is genius, and Pablo Sandoval "Kung Fu Panda" who is coming off an epic World Series performance, lead what is a well rounded lineup. Now if they can find a way to resign Brian Wilson, they will need to get a solid closer. Defending the throne is never easy, but they have all the tools to continue this recent success.
4. Toronto Blue Jays- Man did they open up the checkbook this off season! They picked up Jose Reyes , Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson from the Marlins, signed knuckle ball pitcher R.A. Dickey, and signed Melky Cabrera who is looking to redeem himself after the suspension last season for steroid use. To go along with the huge bat of Jose Bautista, on paper this looks to be an immediate contending team. They do play in the AL East, and it is always a tough division. I think that they have a legitimate chance to make a run for the postseason. It will be good to see a team like this, that hasn't done very well for awhile, try to go far, and let's see if all that money they spent can take them far.
5. Detroit Tigers- Keeping Justin Verlander was smart. Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera, and Max Scherzer are All Stars in their own right, and if Victor Martinez can manage to stay healthy all year, they should be able to contend in what now seems to be a slightly weaker division. Can they defend the American League Pennant? They do have the pitching to get there, but the bats can't freeze the way they did in the Series last year. Valverde is no longer the closer, so that should be helpful to the bullpen.
So that's it boys and girls! Those are the teams that I'm gonna be following until the All Star Break at least. So grab your gloves, put on those ball caps, throw on the jerseys and get ready. Opening Day is here!!!
Shua Out!
1. Colorado Rockies- I live here it's just that easy! I love the Rox as well, and if they can blend the strong young hitters, and somehow find a way to get at least halfway decent fucking pitching, the Rockies can make a run in the division. Tulo is returning, along with Cuddayer, and the youth between Josh Rutledge, Eric Young Jr., and Miguel Olivo, the Rockies will continue to excite LoDo. It's just going to be tough playing in the same Division as the World Series champion Giants, and a very rich LA Dodgers team.
Shua Out!
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