Antonio Brown did his Lynn Swann impression though
Other than that though.....
Showing posts with label Bucs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bucs. Show all posts
Sunday, September 28, 2014
What The Buc? Steelers Lose
Remember that game against the Raiders a few years ago when Bruce Gradkowski and Louis Murphy at the Steelers secondary alive in the second half? This game was pretty much a repeat of that.
Gameday: Tampa Bay Bucs
1:00pm
Heinz Field
TV: FOX (map)
Radio: WDVE and other affiliates
What To Watch For
1. Momentum
The Steelers have some momentum coming out of a dominating second half performance in Carolina last week. On the other side, Tampa is trying to find some momentum after getting shelled by Atlanta on Thursday night. Tampa does have an extra few days of rest coming off their Thursday Night game and will be looking to restore some respect after the last game. The Steelers need to put their foot down right out of the gate and stomp out any hope Tampa has of keeping this game close, just like the Falcons did. If the Steelers offense can continue to perform like they did in the second half against the Panthers, this should be no problem against a Bucs defense that is nowhere near as good as Carolina's.
2. Mike Glennon vs Josh McCown
Josh McCown was the Bucs starter through the first three games. To get this out of the way, we'll always have a soft spot in our hearts for McCown because it was his game-winning TD pass for Arizona back in 2003 that allowed the Steelers to get Ben Roethlisberger. More on that below. Anyways, Tampa's offense was mostly stagnant under McCown who did not throw the ball down the field and relied on short passes to move the team. After McCown suffered a hand/thumb injury last week, Glennon took over and was a different animal. While he is not as accurate as McCown and will hold onto the ball forever (take note, Jason Worilds), Glennon has huge arm and is not afraid to take shots down the field. Given the size advantage that Tampa's receivers (Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans) have on pretty much every corner in the league, this presents a potentially dangerous combination if Glennon can be accurate.
3. The Replacements
The Steelers defense suffered 3 major injuries last week. Ike Taylor broke his forearm on a hit with Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Shazier sprained his knee when Timmons fell on him making a tackle, and Jarvis Jones separated his wrist. Taylor had surgery on his arm but is still on the active roster as the Steelers hope he will be able to return in 6-8 weeks. Jones was placed on the Injured Reserve-Designated for Return list which puts him out of commission for 8 weeks. Shazier's injury is a little bit more short-term but will still keep him out of the next few games. Sean Spence will get his first NFL start (and what a journey that has been) in replacement of Shazier. At Outside Linebacker, Arthur Moats will fill in for Jones. The Steelers signed James Harrison out of retirement this week to take Moats' backup spot. In the secondary, Will Gay will be an every-down player now at corner and it remains to be seen whether the Steelers will use Antwon Blake as the 3rd corner and play him on the outside, sliding Gay inside or use Brice McCain/BW Webb as the slot corner and keep Gay outside.
4. Fundamental Football
The Steelers played a great fundamental second half against the Panthers. At its core, despite everything you'll hear, the key to winning football is being able to run the ball and stop the run. If the Steelers can do those two things, they'll be set up to head into the second quarter of the season with a 3-1 record with games against Jacksonville and Cleveland up next. Stop the run, pressure the quarterback, force turnovers, run the ball, score touchdowns not field goals. The Steelers are 8-1 all-time against Tampa Bay, with their only loss coming in 1998. Also, Tampa has never scored more than 22 points against the Steelers.
5. The Other Bucs
Everyone will be scoreboard watching in Pittsburgh today, and not because of the Steelers. The Pirates enter the final game of the season (against Johnny Cueto and the Reds) just one game behind the Cardinals for the National League Central title. If the Bucs win and Cards lose, it would set up a one-game play-off for the division champion. The loser of the one-game play-off for the division would have to play San Francisco on Wednesday in the Wild Card Game while the winner would play Los Angeles in the 5-game divisional series. If the Pirates lose to the Reds, they will play host to the Giants in the Wild Card Game on Wednesday. #Buctober
Random n'at: the McCown-Roethlisberger Connection
Heading into Week 17 of 2003, the Arizona Cardinals were in position for the #1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The top prospect was Ole Miss QB Eli Manning. However, in Week 17, against a Minnesota Vikings team that needed a win to make the playoffs, Josh McCown threw a last-second touchdown to give the Cardinals the victory and send the Vikings home.
With the Cardinals win, they jumped to the #4 spot in the draft, giving the San Diego Chargers the #1 pick. Eli vehemently stated that he had no desire to play in San Diego, but the Chargers drafted him anyways. This prompted a draft-day trade with the New York Giants that sent Eli to New York and Phillip Rivers to San Diego. Eventually, the Steelers took Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall. But what if McCown hadn't thrown that touchdown pass? The Cardinals would have been hard-pressed to not pick Eli #1 overall (they certainly wouldn't have taken Larry Fitzgerald #1, who was their eventual selection at #4.) If the Cards took Eli, the Chargers likely would have taken Rivers with the #2 pick and the Giants, still in need of a quarterback, would have taken Big Ben at #5. Thankfully, Josh McCown did throw that touchdown and Big Ben fell to the Steelers.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Top Ten Drafts of the 2000s
In putting together the two-part analysis of the Kevin Colbert draft era (Part 1 - Colbert/Tomlin, Part 2 - Colbert/Cowher), I had to create data sets for all 32 NFL teams in order to find league averages and measure the Steelers performance against the rest of the league. In doing so, I wound up with a lot of extra data sets and rankings hanging around in an excel sheet. Since the NFL was kind enough to move the draft back two weeks this year, I have even more time to write articles that are timely and relevant relating to the draft. Therefore, I'm going to try to post some of the more interesting data sets and rankings that emerged from the Kevin Colbert Analyses. I used Pro-Football-Reference's Career Approximate Value as the metric for determining the quality of players drafted and the quality of drafts. The metric becomes more accurate the more years removed from a draft we get, since it is cumulative over a player's career, so today, I'm going to look at the best and worst drafts of the 2000s (based on Total Career AV) and what teams did in order to construct an outstanding draft class.
10. 2003 New England Patriots
The mark of a great draft class is not selecting one all-world talent but rather several very good players. In this class, the Patriots landed 4 players who posted Career AV's over 20 and wound up selecting 2 of the top 10 players from this draft class (Samuel and Koppen) in the 4th and 5th rounds. The Patriots were very active in the trade market in 2003 and entered the draft possessing two first round picks - the #14 pick which they got from Buffalo in exchange for Drew Bledsoe (paving the way for Tom Brady to start) and the #19 pick. The Patriots swapped the 14th pick with Chicago at 13 where they selected Warren and clearly won that trade as Chicago selected DE Michael Haynes (CarAV 8). Possibly the biggest win for the Patriots wasn't even included in this metric and came when they traded away the #19 pick to Baltimore (who drafted Kyle Boller) for the Ravens 2nd round pick and 2004 first rounder. The Patriots used that pick the next year to select Vince Wilfork (CarAV 76, 1 All-Pro, 5 Pro Bowls, 9 year starter). Wilfork's CarAV number was not included with this draft class, but it is important to remember that the Patriots were able to turn out a Top 10 draft class and simultaneously position themselves to select an All-Pro player the next season.
9. 2001 Arizona Cardinals
This is the first of two times the Cardinals appear on this list. Arizona used the #2 overall pick on offensive lineman Leonard Davis who became a 10-year starter and a 3-time Pro Bowler. Unfortunately for Arizona, Davis left in free agency in 2007 and signed in Dallas where he moved from tackle to guard and had his 3 Pro Bowl seasons. Similarly, the Cardinals second round pick (Vanden Bosch) also became a Pro Bowler after he left the desert, reaching 2 Pro Bowls in his first 3 years in Tennessee. Third round pick Adrian Wilson did stay in Arizona for his whole career and was a 5-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro player. All told, the Cardinals selected 3 of the top 20 players from this draft, though only one (Wilson) actually delivered a Pro Bowl season for Arizona. Nevertheless, we can not blame the scouting department or General Manager Bob Ferguson for the team (under General Manager Rod Graves from 2002-2012) for being unable to retain the quality players he drafted.
8. 2003 Chicago Bears
The Bears entered the 2003 draft with the #4 selection in the first round, but traded down twice in the first round (with the Jets and Patriots) before finally selecting Michael Haynes with the 14th selection. In doing so, the Bears netted both of the Jets first round picks (#13 and #22) and their 4th round pick (#116) as well as the Patriots 6th round pick (#193). In the end, Chicago exited the draft with the most players (12) of any team as well as the top player from this class (Lance Briggs) who they nabbed in the third round. Both Briggs and second round pick Charles Tillman were All Pro players and have been to 9 total Pro Bowls and both were decade-long starters. The Bears overcame a total bust of a first round pick in Haynes to exit with one of the best draft classes in the decade.
7. 2001 Cincinnati Bengals
This draft is best known for producing the receiving corps that brought the Bengals offense out of the dark ages. Say what you will about Ochocinco and TJ Douchemandzadeh, but they combined for nearly 1400 career catches, over 18,000 yards and 111 touchdowns. Much like the 2001 Cardinals, who also had a Top 5 pick in this draft, the Bengals were unable to maximize the value of their top pick as Justin Smith did not become a Pro Bowl player until he left for San Francisco in 2008 where he became an anchor for the 49ers 3-4 front. In his own right, Rudi Johnson was a very good running back for the Benglas and the offensive skill players from this draft laid the groundwork for the team that Carson Palmer would take over in 2003.
6. 2004 Arizona Cardinals
I would challenge you to find any team in this entire decade that had as good of a first three rounds as Arizona had in 2004. All three of the players they selected have started every year of their career with two becoming Pro Bowlers (Fitz and Dockett, though you could argue that Dansby should have been a Pro Bowler at some point too). Dockett and Dansby became anchors on the interior of the Cardinals defense while Fitz has had to struggle through some horrendous quarterback play, he was arguably the best receiver in the league while Kurt Warner was under center. Antonio Smith was a starter on the Cardinals team that went to the Super Bowl in 2008 but left for Houston in Free Agency in 2009 where he was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2011 playing opposite rookie JJ Watt.
5. 2000 New York Jets
The 2000 New York Jets have the disticntion of being the only team in NFL history to have four selections in the first round of the draft. The Jets entered the draft with four first round selections: their own pick (18th), two they acquired from Tampa Bay (13th and 27th) in exchange for Keyshawn Johnson and the 12th overall selection, and the Patriots first rounder (16th) which the Jets received in exchange for head coach Bill Belichick. The Jets would execute a draft-day trade with the 49ers to move up from 16th to 12th. To their credit, the Jets made the most of two of these picks, landing All Pro DE John Abraham and Pro Bowler Shaun Ellis, both of whom were decade-long starters. The Jets were the only team to select a quarterback in the first round, taking what many deemed as the best signal-caller available in Chad Pennington, who wound up being the third best quarterback in the draft behind 6th rounders Marc Bulger and......Tom Brady. The Jets also landed the second best WR from this draft in Laveraneus Coles in the 3rd round.
4. 2001 San Diego Chargers
This is the third team from the 2001 draft appearing on this list, which should be an indication of just how good that draft class was. The Chargers entered 2001 with the top pick but were unable to work out a contract with Virginia Tech QB Michael Vick, so they pulled the trigger on a trade with the Falcons, landing the 5th overall pick, Atlanta's third round pick and 2002 second rounder. The Chargers had traded away their 3rd round pick in this draft the prior year, so getting back into the third round was a good move for San Diego. However, it was really what the Chargers did with their first two picks that defined this draft. With the #5 selection they took explosive running back LaDanian Tomlinson who became a 3-time All Pro, 5-time Pro Bowler and 10-year starter. They added to the Tomlinson selection by taking Drew Brees in the second round, netting GM John Butler the two best players from this draft class. Unfortunately for the Chargers, they would find themselves back in the same position a few years later. Eventually, GM AJ Smith would under-offer Brees, prompting him to leave for New Orleans in Free Agency where he would become an All-Pro in his first season and reach 7 Pro Bowls in 8 years.
3. 2005 Dallas Cowboys
The 2004 Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the league, but they were fortunate enough to have two first round picks in 2005 after acquiring Buffalo's pick in a trade for their first rounder the year before. Dallas used their 3 selections in the Top 50 to revamp their front 7, drafting 3 players that would play in over 100 games. They added two more defenders that would anchor their front seven in Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff in the later rounds of the draft. The 2005 draft marked a watershed for Dallas' pass rush and they became one of the better defenses in the league over the second half of the decade, anchored by 4-time All Pro DeMarcus Ware.
2. 2006 New Orleans Saints
The Saints laid the groundwork for their Super Bowl Championship in the 2006 offseason. They started by signing QB Drew Brees and followed with one of the best drafts of the decade. The 2006 draft is notorious for the "busts" at the top of the draft - most notably Vince Young and Matt Leinart, and even though Reggie Bush never reached his full potential with New Orleans, he still played a role in their eventual championship team. Furthermore, the Saints found small school steals in tackle-to-guard conversion project Jahri Evans out of Bloomsburg and WR Marques Colson from Hofstra. Evans actually rates as the best player from this draft and was an All-Pro for 4 straight seasons from 2009-2012. Colston actually ranks as the 6th best player from this draft and Bush as the 10th, meaning that in addition to adding Drew Brees, GM Mickey Loomis drafted 3 of the top 10 players from this draft class.
1. 2004 San Diego Chargers
The best draft of the 2000s actually should score even better because it counts Eli Manning's CarAV of 89 instead of Philip Rivers' CarAV of 107. With Rivers included, this draft class would have a total CarAV of 396, blowing away any other draft class from this decade. For reference, the Steelers 1974 Draft Class (commonly thought of as the best ever as the Steelers landed 4 Hall of Famers) had a total CarAV of 441. The 2004 Chargers class (counting Rivers instead of Manning) has an outside shot of surpassing that number if Rivers can put together 4-5 more high quality seasons. The two examples of the Chargers on this list should be evidence that great draft classes can be had if the team trades out of the #1 overall pick. In fact, 3 of the 10 teams on this list had selections in the Top 4 and traded down. This year was essentially a redux of 2001 where Eli Manning publicly stated before the draft that he refused to play in San Diego. The Chargers picked him any way with the top pick and promptly traded him to the Giants for 4th pick Philip Rivers and 3 other picks. The Chargers turned the Giants 3rd round pick into kicker Nate Kaeding, who would have an All-Pro season. The Chargers used this draft class to totally rebuild their team and were able to become competitors based on the foundation they laid in the 2004 draft. Unfortunately for them, GM AJ Smith's thrifty ways (which played a role in Brees' departure two years later) would come back to bite them in the end as player after player departed in free agency because the Chargers refused to pay them.
10. 2001 Oakland Raiders
The 2000 Oakland Raiders had their first winning season since moving back to Oakland and reached the AFC Championship game where they fell to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Ravens. The Raiders made a few trades in the later rounds, trading their 4th round pick to St Louis for a reserve tight end, but on the whole this was just a bad draft class. There really wasn't a failing of management to put the team behind the 8 ball in this draft (which we will see as we move up these rankings), they just made terrible selections. Second round pick Marques Tuiasosopo is now more famous for being involved in Catfishing Manti Te'o than for anything he did on the football field. The Raiders had enough talent on their roster to ride out this bad draft for a few years (and even reached the 2002 Super Bowl), but the misses in this draft caught up with them and after they felt the salary cap pinch after their AFC Championship, the team lacked the depth on the roster to recover. The Raiders have not had a winning season since that 2002 year with the high-water mark being their 8-8 campaigns in 2010 and 2011.
9. 2009 Washington Redskins
The Redskins landed a fantastic player in Brian Orakpo who has been to 3 Pro Bowls in his 5 years in the league. The problem with this draft is that the rest of their selections have given Washington absolutely nothing. The Redskins traded away their second round pick for defensive end Jason Taylor from Miami. Taylor played only 1 season (starting only 8 games) for Washington in 2008 before going back to Miami in Free Agency. The Redskins had also traded away their 4th round pick to the Jets for guard Pete Kendell in 2007 who played two good seasons for the Redskins but was off their roster by the time the 2009 draft rolled around. This made two 2009 draft picks that the Redskins traded away that were no longer on their roster by the time the 2009 draft took place. One of the themes of the 10 worst drafts of the decade is that teams mortgaged their futures to make big trades or big moves up in previous drafts. While a 2nd and a 4th round pick aren't a huge price to pay, the Redskins have obviously had issues with defensive depth over the last few seasons, despite using most of this draft on defensive players.
8. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay gave up their first and second round picks in 2002 (as well as their 2003 1st, 2004 2nd and $8 million) to the Raiders for the coaching services of Jon Gruden. One could argue that the move paid off as Gruden led the 2002 Buccaneers to a win over the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. Gruden's first draft class with the Bucs was nothing spectacular, but the team was already so loaded that they still won the Super Bowl despite the terrible draft class (outside of 5th rounder Jermaine Phillips). Much like the Redskins 2009 draft, the Bucs landed one good player and got basically zero value from the rest of this draft class.
7. 2006 Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons pulled off a 3-team trade in 2006 to land defensive end John Abraham who had been given the franchise tag by the Jets. The Falcons sent their first round pick to the Broncos who gave their first round pick to the Jets in exchange for the Jets sending Abraham to Atlanta. Even though the Falcons had a poor draft class in 2006, Abraham played 7 seasons and had 68.5 sacks and had a Career Approximate Value of 62 during his time with the Falcons, almost double the value of this entire draft class. At the end of the day, only one defensive end from the 2006 class (Tamba Hali) has a better CarAV than Abraham had with the Falcons, so this is one of the rare instances where trading away a first round pick actually worked out. The Falcons did get a little trade-happy on draft day when they sent their 2nd, 3rd and 5th round pick to Green Bay for the Packers 2nd and 5th in order to move up to take Jimmy Williams, who never materialized as a starter. The Packers used the Falcons 2nd rounder to take OT Darren Colledge (CarAV 52, 8-year starter).
6. 2008 Cleveland Browns
In 2008, GM Phil Savage was entering his 4th year as Browns GM which was the longest anyone had held the post since 1992. The Browns signed Savage to a 4-year extension before the 2008 season and promptly fired him in December after they went 4-12. The Browns didn't have a selection until the 4th round of the 2008 draft. Savage traded away their first round pick the previous year in order to move up in the 2007 draft to select Brady Quinn. In an attempt to rebuild his defensive front, Savage traded his 2008 second rounder to the Packers for DT Corey Williams who played just 2 seasons for the Browns and his third rounder (along with CB Leigh Bodden) to the Lions for Shaun Rogers. In the 4th round, the Browns traded up (again with Dallas) giving up their 4th and 5th round picks. Inexplicably, the Browns then traded away their 2009 third rounder to the Cowboys (again!) to get back into the 2008 4th round. The only reason the Browns 2008 draft rates this highly is because they nabbed Ahtyba Rubin in the 6th round (in a pick they got for sending Charlie Frye to Seattle. Savage wasn't quite done though - he sent a 2009 5th rounder to the Eagles to get back the 6th round pick he had given them for center Hank Fraley. When the dust settled, Savage had dealt away 6 of his 2008 picks and 2 of the Browns 2009 picks along with QB Charlie Frye and CB Leigh Bodden for Brady Quinn, Shaun Rogers, Corey Williams and a draft class that netted only two players of value and only one that would become a starter.
5. 2008 Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville's struggle to find a pass rush is now reaching half a decade, partially because of the utter failure of the 2008 draft. The first mistake the Jaguars made was to trade away 4 picks (a 1st, two 3rds, and a 4th) to move up from 26th to 8th to take Harvey, the athletically gifted pass rusher out of Florida. One of the 3rd round picks the Jaguars traded away was one they had acquired from Buffalo in exchange for DT Marcus Stroud (who started 45 games in 3 seasons with Buffalo). At the time, Harvey was considered the second best pass rusher in the class behind Ohio State's Vernon Gholston, but both proved to be busts. On the whole, 2008 was a disappointing class of pass rushers. From this class, only Groves is still in the league, and in order to take him the Jaguars traded up (sending Tampa a 2nd, 5th and 2009 7th). The Jaguars accepted a trade down in the 5th round so that Dallas could trade up to take DB Orlando Scandrick (CarAV15, 88 games played) who drastically out-performed Trae Williams who Jacksonville took later in the round. The Jaguars traded away their 6th round pick to the Vikings for WR Troy Williamson who started only 2 games in 2 seasons and had 8 receptions for the Jaguars. At the end of the day, this draft serves as a warning against making big moves up the board (as Jacksonville did in the 1st round - moving up 18 spots, and in the 2nd round - 6 spots).
4. 2000 Dallas Cowboys
Dallas mortgaged their future in an attempt to win now in 2000, trading two first round picks (2000 and 2001) to Seattle for WR Joey Galloway. Galloway played in only 1 game in 2000 and only had 2300 yards receiving in 4 seasons with the Cowboys. The Seahawks used Dallas' first round pick to select RB Shaun Alexander, who would become the centerpiece of their offense. The Cowboys also dealt their 3rd round pick to Seattle for WR James McKnight who posted 926 yards and 2 TDs in 1 season with Dallas. All told, the Cowboys traded two first round picks (that became Shaun Alexander and Koren Robinson) and a third round pick (that became Darrell Jackson) for Galloway and McKnight. Dallas got a combined 94 games, 203 receptions, 3267 yards and 14 TDs from Galloway and McKnight wile Jackson alone was a 7-year starter who had 499 receptions, 7132 yards and 51 TDs. The Cowboys only drafted one player in 2000 who would become a starter, easily making this one of the worst drafts of the decade.
3. 2008 San Diego Chargers
For as good as the Chargers were in the 2001 and 2004 drafts, their 2008 slate was equally as bad. The Chargers were coming off a 2007 campaign where they won the AFC West by 4 games and lost in the AFC Championship game to the undefeated Patriots. Halfway through the season they executed a trade with Miami for WR Chris Chambers in which Miami got the Chargers second round pick in 2008. The Chargers were also without a 3rd round pick (traded away during the 2007 draft to move up for Eric Weddle) and 4th round pick (used to select DB Paul Oliver in the 2007 Supplemental Draft). Even if Oliver's CarAV of 9 is added to this draft class, the 2008 Chargers would still find themselves on this list (though in 9th place instead of 3rd). The Chargers best player from this draft, Antoine Cason, has only been the 51st best player despite being the 27th overall pick. The worst move came in the third round when San Diego traded their 5th round pick and 2009 second rounder to New England to move up to take LSU RB Jacob Hester. The next running back off the board was Jamaal Charles, the 10th best player from the 2008 draft class. In the end, San Diego mortgaged this draft to try to acquire players for the 2007 season then turned around and mortgaged their 2009 draft (which was only salvaged by their selection of All Pro guard Louis Vasquez in the 3rd round) in order to move up to take Hester.
2. 2005 Buffalo Bills
Remember the awesome draft the Cowboys had in 2005? Part of their ability to revamp their front 7 came from securing Buffalo's 2005 first rounder in a 2004 trade. The Bills traded 2 picks in 2004 and their 2005 first rounder to Dallas in order to draft QB JP Losman. Without a first round pick, the Bills had only 6 picks in 2005 and got zero value out of half of them. A year after picking WR Lee Evans in the first round, they selected Roscoe Parrish with their first pick, passing on Vincent Jackson. Only one of the Bills selections from this draft became a primary starter, and that was only for one season. The Bills have not had a winning season since selecting this draft class.
1. 2009 Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones finds his way on to this list once again. Amazingly, Dallas had more selections (12) than anyone else in this draft, but did not make a pick in the first two rounds after trading their first round pick to Detroit for WR Roy Williams (who they would release in 2011) and trading their second round pick to Buffalo for the Bills 3rd and 4th round picks. In a draft that produced 42 multi-year starters after the Top 70 picks, Dallas managed to draft none of them. Arguably, Dallas would have been much better served to not trade away their top two picks and would have had their choice of Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt in the first round if they wanted a wide receiver (or Clay Matthews if they wanted a pass rusher opposite Ware). At the end of the day, Jerry Jones trying to make a big splashes in free agency by trading for wide receivers is never a good idea.
The Creme De La Creme
10. 2003 New England Patriots
Total CarAV: 266
The mark of a great draft class is not selecting one all-world talent but rather several very good players. In this class, the Patriots landed 4 players who posted Career AV's over 20 and wound up selecting 2 of the top 10 players from this draft class (Samuel and Koppen) in the 4th and 5th rounds. The Patriots were very active in the trade market in 2003 and entered the draft possessing two first round picks - the #14 pick which they got from Buffalo in exchange for Drew Bledsoe (paving the way for Tom Brady to start) and the #19 pick. The Patriots swapped the 14th pick with Chicago at 13 where they selected Warren and clearly won that trade as Chicago selected DE Michael Haynes (CarAV 8). Possibly the biggest win for the Patriots wasn't even included in this metric and came when they traded away the #19 pick to Baltimore (who drafted Kyle Boller) for the Ravens 2nd round pick and 2004 first rounder. The Patriots used that pick the next year to select Vince Wilfork (CarAV 76, 1 All-Pro, 5 Pro Bowls, 9 year starter). Wilfork's CarAV number was not included with this draft class, but it is important to remember that the Patriots were able to turn out a Top 10 draft class and simultaneously position themselves to select an All-Pro player the next season.
9. 2001 Arizona Cardinals
Total CarAV: 271
This is the first of two times the Cardinals appear on this list. Arizona used the #2 overall pick on offensive lineman Leonard Davis who became a 10-year starter and a 3-time Pro Bowler. Unfortunately for Arizona, Davis left in free agency in 2007 and signed in Dallas where he moved from tackle to guard and had his 3 Pro Bowl seasons. Similarly, the Cardinals second round pick (Vanden Bosch) also became a Pro Bowler after he left the desert, reaching 2 Pro Bowls in his first 3 years in Tennessee. Third round pick Adrian Wilson did stay in Arizona for his whole career and was a 5-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro player. All told, the Cardinals selected 3 of the top 20 players from this draft, though only one (Wilson) actually delivered a Pro Bowl season for Arizona. Nevertheless, we can not blame the scouting department or General Manager Bob Ferguson for the team (under General Manager Rod Graves from 2002-2012) for being unable to retain the quality players he drafted.
8. 2003 Chicago Bears
Total CarAV: 287
The Bears entered the 2003 draft with the #4 selection in the first round, but traded down twice in the first round (with the Jets and Patriots) before finally selecting Michael Haynes with the 14th selection. In doing so, the Bears netted both of the Jets first round picks (#13 and #22) and their 4th round pick (#116) as well as the Patriots 6th round pick (#193). In the end, Chicago exited the draft with the most players (12) of any team as well as the top player from this class (Lance Briggs) who they nabbed in the third round. Both Briggs and second round pick Charles Tillman were All Pro players and have been to 9 total Pro Bowls and both were decade-long starters. The Bears overcame a total bust of a first round pick in Haynes to exit with one of the best draft classes in the decade.
7. 2001 Cincinnati Bengals
Total CarAV: 290
This draft is best known for producing the receiving corps that brought the Bengals offense out of the dark ages. Say what you will about Ochocinco and TJ Douchemandzadeh, but they combined for nearly 1400 career catches, over 18,000 yards and 111 touchdowns. Much like the 2001 Cardinals, who also had a Top 5 pick in this draft, the Bengals were unable to maximize the value of their top pick as Justin Smith did not become a Pro Bowl player until he left for San Francisco in 2008 where he became an anchor for the 49ers 3-4 front. In his own right, Rudi Johnson was a very good running back for the Benglas and the offensive skill players from this draft laid the groundwork for the team that Carson Palmer would take over in 2003.
6. 2004 Arizona Cardinals
Total CarAV: 291
I would challenge you to find any team in this entire decade that had as good of a first three rounds as Arizona had in 2004. All three of the players they selected have started every year of their career with two becoming Pro Bowlers (Fitz and Dockett, though you could argue that Dansby should have been a Pro Bowler at some point too). Dockett and Dansby became anchors on the interior of the Cardinals defense while Fitz has had to struggle through some horrendous quarterback play, he was arguably the best receiver in the league while Kurt Warner was under center. Antonio Smith was a starter on the Cardinals team that went to the Super Bowl in 2008 but left for Houston in Free Agency in 2009 where he was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2011 playing opposite rookie JJ Watt.
5. 2000 New York Jets
Total CarAV: 299
The 2000 New York Jets have the disticntion of being the only team in NFL history to have four selections in the first round of the draft. The Jets entered the draft with four first round selections: their own pick (18th), two they acquired from Tampa Bay (13th and 27th) in exchange for Keyshawn Johnson and the 12th overall selection, and the Patriots first rounder (16th) which the Jets received in exchange for head coach Bill Belichick. The Jets would execute a draft-day trade with the 49ers to move up from 16th to 12th. To their credit, the Jets made the most of two of these picks, landing All Pro DE John Abraham and Pro Bowler Shaun Ellis, both of whom were decade-long starters. The Jets were the only team to select a quarterback in the first round, taking what many deemed as the best signal-caller available in Chad Pennington, who wound up being the third best quarterback in the draft behind 6th rounders Marc Bulger and......Tom Brady. The Jets also landed the second best WR from this draft in Laveraneus Coles in the 3rd round.
4. 2001 San Diego Chargers
Total CarAV: 300
This is the third team from the 2001 draft appearing on this list, which should be an indication of just how good that draft class was. The Chargers entered 2001 with the top pick but were unable to work out a contract with Virginia Tech QB Michael Vick, so they pulled the trigger on a trade with the Falcons, landing the 5th overall pick, Atlanta's third round pick and 2002 second rounder. The Chargers had traded away their 3rd round pick in this draft the prior year, so getting back into the third round was a good move for San Diego. However, it was really what the Chargers did with their first two picks that defined this draft. With the #5 selection they took explosive running back LaDanian Tomlinson who became a 3-time All Pro, 5-time Pro Bowler and 10-year starter. They added to the Tomlinson selection by taking Drew Brees in the second round, netting GM John Butler the two best players from this draft class. Unfortunately for the Chargers, they would find themselves back in the same position a few years later. Eventually, GM AJ Smith would under-offer Brees, prompting him to leave for New Orleans in Free Agency where he would become an All-Pro in his first season and reach 7 Pro Bowls in 8 years.
3. 2005 Dallas Cowboys
Total CarAV: 306
The 2004 Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the league, but they were fortunate enough to have two first round picks in 2005 after acquiring Buffalo's pick in a trade for their first rounder the year before. Dallas used their 3 selections in the Top 50 to revamp their front 7, drafting 3 players that would play in over 100 games. They added two more defenders that would anchor their front seven in Chris Canty and Jay Ratliff in the later rounds of the draft. The 2005 draft marked a watershed for Dallas' pass rush and they became one of the better defenses in the league over the second half of the decade, anchored by 4-time All Pro DeMarcus Ware.
2. 2006 New Orleans Saints
Total CarAV: 314
The Saints laid the groundwork for their Super Bowl Championship in the 2006 offseason. They started by signing QB Drew Brees and followed with one of the best drafts of the decade. The 2006 draft is notorious for the "busts" at the top of the draft - most notably Vince Young and Matt Leinart, and even though Reggie Bush never reached his full potential with New Orleans, he still played a role in their eventual championship team. Furthermore, the Saints found small school steals in tackle-to-guard conversion project Jahri Evans out of Bloomsburg and WR Marques Colson from Hofstra. Evans actually rates as the best player from this draft and was an All-Pro for 4 straight seasons from 2009-2012. Colston actually ranks as the 6th best player from this draft and Bush as the 10th, meaning that in addition to adding Drew Brees, GM Mickey Loomis drafted 3 of the top 10 players from this draft class.
1. 2004 San Diego Chargers
Total CarAV: 378
The best draft of the 2000s actually should score even better because it counts Eli Manning's CarAV of 89 instead of Philip Rivers' CarAV of 107. With Rivers included, this draft class would have a total CarAV of 396, blowing away any other draft class from this decade. For reference, the Steelers 1974 Draft Class (commonly thought of as the best ever as the Steelers landed 4 Hall of Famers) had a total CarAV of 441. The 2004 Chargers class (counting Rivers instead of Manning) has an outside shot of surpassing that number if Rivers can put together 4-5 more high quality seasons. The two examples of the Chargers on this list should be evidence that great draft classes can be had if the team trades out of the #1 overall pick. In fact, 3 of the 10 teams on this list had selections in the Top 4 and traded down. This year was essentially a redux of 2001 where Eli Manning publicly stated before the draft that he refused to play in San Diego. The Chargers picked him any way with the top pick and promptly traded him to the Giants for 4th pick Philip Rivers and 3 other picks. The Chargers turned the Giants 3rd round pick into kicker Nate Kaeding, who would have an All-Pro season. The Chargers used this draft class to totally rebuild their team and were able to become competitors based on the foundation they laid in the 2004 draft. Unfortunately for them, GM AJ Smith's thrifty ways (which played a role in Brees' departure two years later) would come back to bite them in the end as player after player departed in free agency because the Chargers refused to pay them.
Bottom of the Barrel
10. 2001 Oakland Raiders
Total CarAV: 39
The 2000 Oakland Raiders had their first winning season since moving back to Oakland and reached the AFC Championship game where they fell to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Ravens. The Raiders made a few trades in the later rounds, trading their 4th round pick to St Louis for a reserve tight end, but on the whole this was just a bad draft class. There really wasn't a failing of management to put the team behind the 8 ball in this draft (which we will see as we move up these rankings), they just made terrible selections. Second round pick Marques Tuiasosopo is now more famous for being involved in Catfishing Manti Te'o than for anything he did on the football field. The Raiders had enough talent on their roster to ride out this bad draft for a few years (and even reached the 2002 Super Bowl), but the misses in this draft caught up with them and after they felt the salary cap pinch after their AFC Championship, the team lacked the depth on the roster to recover. The Raiders have not had a winning season since that 2002 year with the high-water mark being their 8-8 campaigns in 2010 and 2011.
9. 2009 Washington Redskins
Total CarAV: 37
The Redskins landed a fantastic player in Brian Orakpo who has been to 3 Pro Bowls in his 5 years in the league. The problem with this draft is that the rest of their selections have given Washington absolutely nothing. The Redskins traded away their second round pick for defensive end Jason Taylor from Miami. Taylor played only 1 season (starting only 8 games) for Washington in 2008 before going back to Miami in Free Agency. The Redskins had also traded away their 4th round pick to the Jets for guard Pete Kendell in 2007 who played two good seasons for the Redskins but was off their roster by the time the 2009 draft rolled around. This made two 2009 draft picks that the Redskins traded away that were no longer on their roster by the time the 2009 draft took place. One of the themes of the 10 worst drafts of the decade is that teams mortgaged their futures to make big trades or big moves up in previous drafts. While a 2nd and a 4th round pick aren't a huge price to pay, the Redskins have obviously had issues with defensive depth over the last few seasons, despite using most of this draft on defensive players.
8. 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Total CarAV: 37
Tampa Bay gave up their first and second round picks in 2002 (as well as their 2003 1st, 2004 2nd and $8 million) to the Raiders for the coaching services of Jon Gruden. One could argue that the move paid off as Gruden led the 2002 Buccaneers to a win over the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. Gruden's first draft class with the Bucs was nothing spectacular, but the team was already so loaded that they still won the Super Bowl despite the terrible draft class (outside of 5th rounder Jermaine Phillips). Much like the Redskins 2009 draft, the Bucs landed one good player and got basically zero value from the rest of this draft class.
7. 2006 Atlanta Falcons
Total CarAV: 35
The Falcons pulled off a 3-team trade in 2006 to land defensive end John Abraham who had been given the franchise tag by the Jets. The Falcons sent their first round pick to the Broncos who gave their first round pick to the Jets in exchange for the Jets sending Abraham to Atlanta. Even though the Falcons had a poor draft class in 2006, Abraham played 7 seasons and had 68.5 sacks and had a Career Approximate Value of 62 during his time with the Falcons, almost double the value of this entire draft class. At the end of the day, only one defensive end from the 2006 class (Tamba Hali) has a better CarAV than Abraham had with the Falcons, so this is one of the rare instances where trading away a first round pick actually worked out. The Falcons did get a little trade-happy on draft day when they sent their 2nd, 3rd and 5th round pick to Green Bay for the Packers 2nd and 5th in order to move up to take Jimmy Williams, who never materialized as a starter. The Packers used the Falcons 2nd rounder to take OT Darren Colledge (CarAV 52, 8-year starter).
6. 2008 Cleveland Browns
Total CarAV: 34
In 2008, GM Phil Savage was entering his 4th year as Browns GM which was the longest anyone had held the post since 1992. The Browns signed Savage to a 4-year extension before the 2008 season and promptly fired him in December after they went 4-12. The Browns didn't have a selection until the 4th round of the 2008 draft. Savage traded away their first round pick the previous year in order to move up in the 2007 draft to select Brady Quinn. In an attempt to rebuild his defensive front, Savage traded his 2008 second rounder to the Packers for DT Corey Williams who played just 2 seasons for the Browns and his third rounder (along with CB Leigh Bodden) to the Lions for Shaun Rogers. In the 4th round, the Browns traded up (again with Dallas) giving up their 4th and 5th round picks. Inexplicably, the Browns then traded away their 2009 third rounder to the Cowboys (again!) to get back into the 2008 4th round. The only reason the Browns 2008 draft rates this highly is because they nabbed Ahtyba Rubin in the 6th round (in a pick they got for sending Charlie Frye to Seattle. Savage wasn't quite done though - he sent a 2009 5th rounder to the Eagles to get back the 6th round pick he had given them for center Hank Fraley. When the dust settled, Savage had dealt away 6 of his 2008 picks and 2 of the Browns 2009 picks along with QB Charlie Frye and CB Leigh Bodden for Brady Quinn, Shaun Rogers, Corey Williams and a draft class that netted only two players of value and only one that would become a starter.
5. 2008 Jacksonville Jaguars
Total CarAV: 33
Jacksonville's struggle to find a pass rush is now reaching half a decade, partially because of the utter failure of the 2008 draft. The first mistake the Jaguars made was to trade away 4 picks (a 1st, two 3rds, and a 4th) to move up from 26th to 8th to take Harvey, the athletically gifted pass rusher out of Florida. One of the 3rd round picks the Jaguars traded away was one they had acquired from Buffalo in exchange for DT Marcus Stroud (who started 45 games in 3 seasons with Buffalo). At the time, Harvey was considered the second best pass rusher in the class behind Ohio State's Vernon Gholston, but both proved to be busts. On the whole, 2008 was a disappointing class of pass rushers. From this class, only Groves is still in the league, and in order to take him the Jaguars traded up (sending Tampa a 2nd, 5th and 2009 7th). The Jaguars accepted a trade down in the 5th round so that Dallas could trade up to take DB Orlando Scandrick (CarAV15, 88 games played) who drastically out-performed Trae Williams who Jacksonville took later in the round. The Jaguars traded away their 6th round pick to the Vikings for WR Troy Williamson who started only 2 games in 2 seasons and had 8 receptions for the Jaguars. At the end of the day, this draft serves as a warning against making big moves up the board (as Jacksonville did in the 1st round - moving up 18 spots, and in the 2nd round - 6 spots).
4. 2000 Dallas Cowboys
Total CarAV: 32
Dallas mortgaged their future in an attempt to win now in 2000, trading two first round picks (2000 and 2001) to Seattle for WR Joey Galloway. Galloway played in only 1 game in 2000 and only had 2300 yards receiving in 4 seasons with the Cowboys. The Seahawks used Dallas' first round pick to select RB Shaun Alexander, who would become the centerpiece of their offense. The Cowboys also dealt their 3rd round pick to Seattle for WR James McKnight who posted 926 yards and 2 TDs in 1 season with Dallas. All told, the Cowboys traded two first round picks (that became Shaun Alexander and Koren Robinson) and a third round pick (that became Darrell Jackson) for Galloway and McKnight. Dallas got a combined 94 games, 203 receptions, 3267 yards and 14 TDs from Galloway and McKnight wile Jackson alone was a 7-year starter who had 499 receptions, 7132 yards and 51 TDs. The Cowboys only drafted one player in 2000 who would become a starter, easily making this one of the worst drafts of the decade.
3. 2008 San Diego Chargers
Total CarAV: 29
For as good as the Chargers were in the 2001 and 2004 drafts, their 2008 slate was equally as bad. The Chargers were coming off a 2007 campaign where they won the AFC West by 4 games and lost in the AFC Championship game to the undefeated Patriots. Halfway through the season they executed a trade with Miami for WR Chris Chambers in which Miami got the Chargers second round pick in 2008. The Chargers were also without a 3rd round pick (traded away during the 2007 draft to move up for Eric Weddle) and 4th round pick (used to select DB Paul Oliver in the 2007 Supplemental Draft). Even if Oliver's CarAV of 9 is added to this draft class, the 2008 Chargers would still find themselves on this list (though in 9th place instead of 3rd). The Chargers best player from this draft, Antoine Cason, has only been the 51st best player despite being the 27th overall pick. The worst move came in the third round when San Diego traded their 5th round pick and 2009 second rounder to New England to move up to take LSU RB Jacob Hester. The next running back off the board was Jamaal Charles, the 10th best player from the 2008 draft class. In the end, San Diego mortgaged this draft to try to acquire players for the 2007 season then turned around and mortgaged their 2009 draft (which was only salvaged by their selection of All Pro guard Louis Vasquez in the 3rd round) in order to move up to take Hester.
Total CarAV: 29
Remember the awesome draft the Cowboys had in 2005? Part of their ability to revamp their front 7 came from securing Buffalo's 2005 first rounder in a 2004 trade. The Bills traded 2 picks in 2004 and their 2005 first rounder to Dallas in order to draft QB JP Losman. Without a first round pick, the Bills had only 6 picks in 2005 and got zero value out of half of them. A year after picking WR Lee Evans in the first round, they selected Roscoe Parrish with their first pick, passing on Vincent Jackson. Only one of the Bills selections from this draft became a primary starter, and that was only for one season. The Bills have not had a winning season since selecting this draft class.
1. 2009 Dallas Cowboys
Total CarAV: 18
Jerry Jones finds his way on to this list once again. Amazingly, Dallas had more selections (12) than anyone else in this draft, but did not make a pick in the first two rounds after trading their first round pick to Detroit for WR Roy Williams (who they would release in 2011) and trading their second round pick to Buffalo for the Bills 3rd and 4th round picks. In a draft that produced 42 multi-year starters after the Top 70 picks, Dallas managed to draft none of them. Arguably, Dallas would have been much better served to not trade away their top two picks and would have had their choice of Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks or Kenny Britt in the first round if they wanted a wide receiver (or Clay Matthews if they wanted a pass rusher opposite Ware). At the end of the day, Jerry Jones trying to make a big splashes in free agency by trading for wide receivers is never a good idea.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Pirate's Treasure Don't Make Much For Tragedy: Tampa Bay Bucs Season Preview
2012 Record: 7-9
2012 Rankings
Total Offense: 9
Passing Offense: 10
Rushing Offense: 15
Scoring Offense: 13
Total Defense: 29
Passing Defense: 32
Rushing Defense: 1
Scoring Defense: 23
Offense
On paper, the Tampa Bay offense should be one of the best in the league. They have a young running back in Doug Martin that can absolutely take over a game, a star WR in Vincent Jackson and a strong-armed quarterback in Josh Freeman. Freeman has been plagued with inconsistency and has not proven himself in the fourth quarter. Tampa has all the offensive weapons to be a competitive group this season.
Defense
The Bucs run defense was a deceiving stat because of how bad their pass defense was. They faced the 3rd fewest rushing attempts of any team and the 2nd most passing attempts. The Bucs went out and traded their first round pick to the Jets for Darrelle Revis, who seems to be recovered from his ACL injury. They also added safety Dashon Goldson from the 49ers in an attempt to boost their secondary. The biggest problem this team will have is in their pass rush, which tallied the 3rd fewest sacks in the league last season.
Intangibles
Defense is still the biggest question mark for Tampa Bay. They made huge upgrades to their secondary but haven't made many additions to their front seven.
Prediction
Last season was a tale of three parts for the Bucs. They started 1-3, dropping 3 games by 15 total points. After their bye, they won 5 of 6 to put themselves in the playoff picture before dropping 5 in a row down the stretch to fall back out of it. This team will ride or die with Josh Freeman and I just don't think he's ready for primetime. He is 1-12 after November 19 the last two seasons. 5-11.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
NFC South Draft Preview
With a week until the NFL Draft, we're taking a look at what to expect from all 32 teams come Draft Day, including some recommended blogs to read and folks to follow on Twitter.
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Scott Carasik, The Falcoholic
Draft Preview: The Falcons came up just short last season and have added weapons to an already dangerous offense in RB Steven Jackson and with the return of Tony Gonzalez. On defense, they signed DE Osi Umenyiora from the Giants who should improve their 26th-ranked pass rush. The Falcons need can use improvement on the defensive side of the ball, particularly at linebacker and cornerback. However, their offense is good enough (and in this division who really needs defense) that they have the luxury of being able to draft for depth rather than for immediate needs. Atlanta has been aggressive in the first round in the past, and with 11 picks it would not be surprising to see them make a move up the board.
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Saints Nation (Twitter / Blog)
Draft Preview: New Orleans is still feeling the effects of the bounty scandal as it will cost them their second round pick this year. The Saints have only five picks in the draft, most of which will likely be spent on defense as they transition to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The Saints had the worst defense in the league last season and the switch to a 3-4 leaves them in need of pass rushers. The Saints did sign Keenan Lewis to help their secondary, but the defense still needs a lot more.
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Ryan Terrana
Draft Preview: Tampa finished 2012 with the league's worst pass defense, and brought in the best safety on the market, Dashon Goldson, to pair with last year's first round pick Mark Barron. The Bucs still need help on the outside at corner, and they have been rumored to be connected to the Jets in trade talks for Darrelle Revis. The Bucs could also use a defensive end to generate some pressure on opposing quarterbacks after finishing 27th in the league in sacks last season. Their offense was not as bad as everyone made it out to be, and while Josh Freeman struggled, rookie RB Doug Martin was a bona fide star and the Bucs have weapons for Freeman on the outside.
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Cat Scratch Reader, Cat Crave
Draft Preview: Cam Newton regressed a bit after his stellar rookie season, but that was primarily due to poor offensive line play and having a maddeningly inconsistent running game. The Panthers have only five picks in the draft, and need help on their offensive line and at wide receiver opposite Steve Smith. On defense, the Panthers have a great linebacking corps, but need help on the interior of the defensive line and across the board in the secondary.
2012 Record: 11-4-1
NFC South Champion, Lost NFC Championship Game to San Francisco
Draft Picks: 30, 60, 92, 127, (133), 162, 198, 236, (243), (244), (249)
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Scott Carasik, The Falcoholic
Draft Preview: The Falcons came up just short last season and have added weapons to an already dangerous offense in RB Steven Jackson and with the return of Tony Gonzalez. On defense, they signed DE Osi Umenyiora from the Giants who should improve their 26th-ranked pass rush. The Falcons need can use improvement on the defensive side of the ball, particularly at linebacker and cornerback. However, their offense is good enough (and in this division who really needs defense) that they have the luxury of being able to draft for depth rather than for immediate needs. Atlanta has been aggressive in the first round in the past, and with 11 picks it would not be surprising to see them make a move up the board.
2012 Record: 7-9
Draft Picks: 15, 75, 109, 144, 183
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Saints Nation (Twitter / Blog)
Draft Preview: New Orleans is still feeling the effects of the bounty scandal as it will cost them their second round pick this year. The Saints have only five picks in the draft, most of which will likely be spent on defense as they transition to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The Saints had the worst defense in the league last season and the switch to a 3-4 leaves them in need of pass rushers. The Saints did sign Keenan Lewis to help their secondary, but the defense still needs a lot more.
2012 Record: 7-9
Draft Picks: 13, 43, 73, 112, 126, 147, 181, 196
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Ryan Terrana
Draft Preview: Tampa finished 2012 with the league's worst pass defense, and brought in the best safety on the market, Dashon Goldson, to pair with last year's first round pick Mark Barron. The Bucs still need help on the outside at corner, and they have been rumored to be connected to the Jets in trade talks for Darrelle Revis. The Bucs could also use a defensive end to generate some pressure on opposing quarterbacks after finishing 27th in the league in sacks last season. Their offense was not as bad as everyone made it out to be, and while Josh Freeman struggled, rookie RB Doug Martin was a bona fide star and the Bucs have weapons for Freeman on the outside.
2012 Record: 7-9
Draft Picks: 14, 44, 108, 148, 182
Recommended Blogs/Twitter: Cat Scratch Reader, Cat Crave
Draft Preview: Cam Newton regressed a bit after his stellar rookie season, but that was primarily due to poor offensive line play and having a maddeningly inconsistent running game. The Panthers have only five picks in the draft, and need help on their offensive line and at wide receiver opposite Steve Smith. On defense, the Panthers have a great linebacking corps, but need help on the interior of the defensive line and across the board in the secondary.
Monday, August 20, 2012
New Sheriff in Town: Tampa Bay Bucs Season Preview
2011 Record: 4-12
2011 Ranks
Total Offense: 21
Rush Offense: 30
Pass Offense: 16
Scoring Offense: 27
Total Defense: 30
Rush Defense: 32
Pass Defense: 21
Scoring Defense: 32
Offense
Tampa had one of the most disappointing seasons in the league last year, after being on the cusp of the playoffs the year before. The Bucs went out and spent a ton of money in free agency, landing WR Vincent Jackson and OG Carl Nicks. The Bucs also traded up into the end of the first round of the draft to take RB Doug Martin, who figures to supplant LeGarrette Blount as the starting back. Josh Freeman took a big step backwards last year, throwing 22 interceptions after throwing just 5 the year before. Tampa had the most turnovers of any team in the league and will need to improve their ball security under new coach Greg Schiano if they want to move out of the NFC South basement.
Defense
For as mediocre as the Bucs offense was, their defense was worse. They were last in the league in scoring defense and rushing defense. They also gave up 26 rushing touchdowns, the most in the league. On top of all that, they were last in the league with only 23 sacks. Rookie DE Adrian Clayborn led the team with 7.5 sacks, but besides that the Bucs front seven was basically non-existent. Part of this could be attributed to DT Gerald McCoy playing only 6 games, but the Bucs didn't do much in the offseason to address the front seven either, beyond bringing in Amobi Okoye, who has been mostly a disappointment in the league after being a first round pick in 2007. The Bucs did address their secondary, selecting Alabama safety Mark Barron with their first pick and adding CB Eric Wright in free agency.
Intangibles
Greg Schiano has his work cut out for him in his first season as a coach. This team pretty much gave up last year, dropping their last 10 games after a 4-2 start. This is Schiano's first venture into the NFL and with a brutal run through the NFC East to start the season, it might be another long year for the Bucs.
Prediction
If the Bucs can piece together a run defense and stop turning the ball over, they could put together a decent season. They have some playmakers on offense if Josh Freeman can cut down on his interceptions. All in all, it looks like another Top 10 pick for the Bucs. 5-11
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
2012 Draft Preview: NFC South
With Free Agency pretty much wrapped up, the NFL Draft is quickly approaching once again. As we have done in the past, we're going to take a quick look at the other teams in the league and preview their team needs and how they will likely approach the Draft. Today we take a look at the NFC South.
For reference, we compiled the draft picks each team currently has. Compensatory picks are listed in parentheses.
The Saints don't have a pick until the 3rd round of the draft, but don't expect them to just sit on their hands. Even though they were hit with penalties of 2 2nd round picks in connection with the bounty scandal, the Saints have shown the willingness to trade away future picks to move up in the draft and get the player they want. With Drew Brees' contract situation still up in the air, the Saints will likely look to address some of the positions they lost in free agency in the draft, especially the guard position where Pro Bowler Carl Nicks signed with Tampa.
Atlanta is also somewhat handcuffed heading into the draft as their first round pick belongs to Cleveland as part of the Julio Jones trade. The Falcons struggled down the stretch last year and had an unimpressive playoff performance against the New York Giants. Atlanta's biggest need is for pass rushers and defensive backs to help their 20th-ranked pass defense. They re-signed veteran John Abraham who has 9+ sacks in 4 of his 5 seasons in Atlanta. Nevertheless, the Falcons still ranked 20th in the league in sacks and have to find a way to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, particularly with Drew Brees, Cam Newton, and Josh Freeman in the division.
The Panthers took a big step forward last year on the arm and legs of Cam Newton who set numerous rookie records. Now, the Panthers attention has to turn to their defense where they were 24th against the pass and 25th against the run. Their defense is anchored by DE Charles Johnson who they just signed to a monster deal last year. However, they could do better at pretty much every other position. A bookend pass rusher or an interior run-stuffing DT are probably the biggest needs for the Panthers at this point as they added a few depth DBs in free agency. Don't believe the hype that the Panthers will be taking a WR early, as the team should be looking to increase the role of Brandon LaFell who had the lowest drop percentage in the league last year.
After a promising 2010 the Bucs took a major step back in 2011 as the team utterly collapsed down the stretch, losing their last 10 games of the season. This prompted the firing of Raheem Morris and the hiring of former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. With a new coaching staff, it's up in the air as to what the Bucs will do in the draft. However, sitting at #5 they have the good fortune of being able to take whichever player falls to them out of the Matt Kalil, Trent Richardson, Mo Claiborne group. All three would greatly help the Bucs and it's a pretty safe bet that one of those guys will be donning a Tampa hat on draft day. The biggest question here is - how long until Nike comes out with a Bucs creamsicle jersey?!
For reference, we compiled the draft picks each team currently has. Compensatory picks are listed in parentheses.
2011 Record: 13-3
NFC South Champion, lost to San Francisco in Divisional Round
Draft Picks: 89, 122, 162, 179, 234
Recommended Blogs:
The Saints don't have a pick until the 3rd round of the draft, but don't expect them to just sit on their hands. Even though they were hit with penalties of 2 2nd round picks in connection with the bounty scandal, the Saints have shown the willingness to trade away future picks to move up in the draft and get the player they want. With Drew Brees' contract situation still up in the air, the Saints will likely look to address some of the positions they lost in free agency in the draft, especially the guard position where Pro Bowler Carl Nicks signed with Tampa.
2011 Record: 10-6
Wild Card, lost to NY Giants in Wild Card Round
Draft Picks: 55, 84, 157, 192, 229, (249)
Atlanta is also somewhat handcuffed heading into the draft as their first round pick belongs to Cleveland as part of the Julio Jones trade. The Falcons struggled down the stretch last year and had an unimpressive playoff performance against the New York Giants. Atlanta's biggest need is for pass rushers and defensive backs to help their 20th-ranked pass defense. They re-signed veteran John Abraham who has 9+ sacks in 4 of his 5 seasons in Atlanta. Nevertheless, the Falcons still ranked 20th in the league in sacks and have to find a way to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, particularly with Drew Brees, Cam Newton, and Josh Freeman in the division.
2011 Record: 6-10
Draft Picks: 9, 40, 104, 143, 180, (207), 216
Recommended Blogs:
The Panthers took a big step forward last year on the arm and legs of Cam Newton who set numerous rookie records. Now, the Panthers attention has to turn to their defense where they were 24th against the pass and 25th against the run. Their defense is anchored by DE Charles Johnson who they just signed to a monster deal last year. However, they could do better at pretty much every other position. A bookend pass rusher or an interior run-stuffing DT are probably the biggest needs for the Panthers at this point as they added a few depth DBs in free agency. Don't believe the hype that the Panthers will be taking a WR early, as the team should be looking to increase the role of Brandon LaFell who had the lowest drop percentage in the league last year.
2011 Record: 4-12
Draft Picks: 5, 36, 68, 140, 174, 212
After a promising 2010 the Bucs took a major step back in 2011 as the team utterly collapsed down the stretch, losing their last 10 games of the season. This prompted the firing of Raheem Morris and the hiring of former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. With a new coaching staff, it's up in the air as to what the Bucs will do in the draft. However, sitting at #5 they have the good fortune of being able to take whichever player falls to them out of the Matt Kalil, Trent Richardson, Mo Claiborne group. All three would greatly help the Bucs and it's a pretty safe bet that one of those guys will be donning a Tampa hat on draft day. The biggest question here is - how long until Nike comes out with a Bucs creamsicle jersey?!
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