The 2013 NFL Thread

[ANNODAM]

6-foot-4 & 305 pounds.

Big boy for the big Blue!!

[Pies4shaw]

A-Rod has just signed up to a 5 year contract extension for a cool $110 Million.

"NFL.com's Ian Rapoport reported that Rodgers shattered Joe Flacco's six-year, $120.6 million contract as the highest-paid player in football. The new deal, which runs through the 2019 season, is for $110 million over five years, according to Rapoport, with $62 million in the first three years and a whopping $40 million in the first year. Rodgers' $22 million average beats Flacco's annual salary of $20.1 million. Rapoport also reported the Packers and Rodgers spent a long time working out figures in the two remaining years on Rodgers' current contract.

Another key part of Rodgers' contract is that his salary-cap figure never is more than $21 million, Rapoport reported. Flacco, on the other hand, has a cap number that reaches $29 million in the fourth year of his new contract.

The most valuable player in the NFL since taking the baton from Brett Favre, Rodgers boasts a gaudy 46-16 record over the past four seasons while tossing 142 touchdowns against 32 interceptions. No other quarterback matches his combination of arm strength, accuracy, mobility and football acumen."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000164097/article/aaron-rodgers-green-bay-packers-strike-extension

[Woods Of Ypres]

Jesse Williams picked up by Seahawks in the 5th round.
all the best mate, good club with plenty of upside

[Pies4shaw]

If you want to see who your team drafted (right through to the end of round 7), you can find out (and some statistical information about each player) at, among other places: http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft/teams/_/team/gnb/year/2013/green-bay-packers

The link I've given is to the Packers' picks but there is a drop-down menu you can use to see who your franchise selected.

Save to say that the Pack has tried to draft to fill its obvious weaknesses (as with last year), I'll leave the assessment of who has done well and who has not done so well to others like OEP who know the talent pool much better than me.

[OEP]

I probably won't be able to do any decent draft review until I get back home. The internet connection on-site is pretty bad this swing.

[Pies4shaw]

Please don't feel any pressure, OEP - I'm really just saying that there are other people like you who know much more about the potential of these draftees than I do. Naturally, I will be interested, as always, to read what you have to say, when you can get to it.

[Pies4shaw]

The Jets have released Tim Tebow from their roster: http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/9222870/new-york-jets-cut-tim-tebow

[OEP]

They should just bite the bullet and take the finacial hit and release Sanchez, make Geno their no.1 QB (even though he isn't) and move on from the Sanchez / Tebow circus they've become.

[Funkadelic]

In defence of Sanchez he didn't have much help last season, nothing to throw to and little time to throw it. Having said that he's not very good anyway, now at least with geno smith there he has some competition.

[OEP]

I actually think Sanchez is an above average QB, he's just never had a chance at the Jets between their style of play, Tebow mania, lack of talent around him, and a head coach that's an absolute loose head.

A fresh start for him would mean a backup role but also a chance to prove himself as a QB.

He's not elite, not by a long way, but he's better than some other starters out there who do better because they have the opposite of the problems he has at the Jets.

[OEP]

Finally home so instead of dealing with the negative s#$t on the main page I'm going to do my draft report. That's right sports fans the post you've all been waiting for is finally here

Instead of doing all the teams I'm going to do (in my opinion) the teams that had the best draft (top 5) and those that dropped the ball (bottom 5), and if the teams supported on this site aren't in those areas then a separate report on them.

Remember with this that this was an incredibly even draft with regards to the prospects with no real clear cut top end talent but an incredible amount of even talent at a lot of position, that went deep. So there are quite a few teams that aren't in either bracket of best or worst that could've been but I made the calls based not only on who they drafted but also who was picked up in trade and free agency which was then completed or complimented by draft choices.

Clear as mud....good

Top 5: (in no particular order)

49ers
With a plethora of picks and an already stellar list the 49ers were looking to fill some obvious gaps and gain some much needed depth at others.

The picks made in order -
Eric Reid
Cornellius Carradine
Vance McDonald
Corey Lemonier
Quinton Patton
Marcus Lattimore
Quinton Dial
Nick Moody
B.J.Daniels
Carter Bykowski
Marcus Cooper

Reid fills the void left by the departure of Goldson and he's better on the coverage side of the ball. Carradine (especially) and Lemonier give depth as OLB rushers and occasionally DE, while Dial will fit into the NT rotation. By doing this it means the two Smiths (Justin and Aldon) will play less and kept fresh for longer.
McDonald when he was first picked had me scrambling for the Internet to find out who he was but the fact is once I did some research I realised just how smart the 49er front office is. This guy is the new Swiss Army Knife and an upgrade on the previous one (Walker), he does need coaching on his blocking but has immense strength and a huge reach so he should be a natural with the right coaching.
Now comes two of the best steals of the draft, Patton and Lattimore. Patton will battle with Manningham, Williams and Jenkins for the slot position and I reckon he could be a significant 1st year contributor (A.J.Jenkins hopefully will grab the spot and be the flyer used to push defences deep when they start crowding the box). Lattimore IS the best back in the draft, by a margin, but a dreadful knee injury meant other teams were gun shy. Given the 49ers depth at the RB position (Gore, Hunter, and James) and the amount of picks they had it meant they could pick him and red shirt him for his first year and bring him back when ready rather than risk him early. Perfect pick for both the 49ers and Lattimore.
Moody, Brykowski and Cooper are depth or Practice Team players.
B.J.Daniels is a really interesting pick he could be depth player (and project) at the QB position but more and more I'm reading the 49ers are looking at him as a WR/KR/PR given his amazing speed and athleticism.

All-in-all they covered and improved the major holes at FS and no.2 TE and added quality depth and succession players at WR, RB, DE, and OLB.


Green Bay
They needed help on the OL to keep Favre...oops I mean Rodgers upright. No point have this guy under centre if you don't keep him upright. They also needed help at RB, LB, RB, DL, and RB. Obviously having a half decent RB behind Rodgers makes opposition LB's more honest and pulls the safeties down into the box to cover the run instead of just sitting deep and covering the pass.

The picks made in order -
Datone Jones
Eddie Lacey
David Bakhitiari
J.C.Tretter
Johnathan Franklin
Micah Hyde
Josh Boyd
Nate Palmer
Charles Johnson
Kevin Dorsey
Sam Barrington

Jones gives them help on the defensive side of the line both with a quality pass rush and as an above average run stuffer.
Bakhitiari and Tretter are both listed as Tackles but most experts believe they'll move inside to the Guard position for their NFL careers. Tretter seems to be a long term project who may start but most likely will be depth for a season or two, but Bakhitiari should start and provide some real nastiness to the OL as he likes to attack defenders rather than sit back in the crouch and wait for them.
Lacey and Franklin are both 3 down backs who can also block for the QB and will deliver a fantastic one-two punch out of the backfield. The Green Bay offence just got a whole lot better .
Hyde is listed as a CB but is more of a DB and will be a asset in that position, plus he be a great special teams player. Great value pick.
Johnson has great upside and could become a great depth player at WR which for a 7th round flyer is pretty good.
The other provide depth or Practice Squad duties.

Given the fact they added two high quality RB's this alone makes it an outstanding draft for the Cheeseheads but they also added a quality DE and OL (possibly two) while grabbing a couple of late pick project players.


Vikings
The Vikes needed a WR after losing Harvin but in essence they have a pretty complete team with no real other glaring needs.

The picks made in order -
Sharrif Floyd
Xavier Rhodes
Corderralle Patterson
Gerald Hodges
Jeff Locke
Jeff Baca
Michael Mauti
Travis Bond
Everitt Dawkins

Snagged my DL wet dream in Floyd at pick 23 and he'll team with Kevin Williams to make a real handful on the DL for opposition OL players, there's going to be a lot of sore QB's after facing these two.
Rhodes is a great press corner but could struggle when asked to play in a zone scheme (see Asomugha), thankfully the Vikes will won't him to play the press which he does well.
Patterson is one of my boom or bust picks in that he has the talent to be anything but also the potential to flop, but given the fact Austin was already gone (great move up the board by the Rams to beat the Jets to the punch) the Vikes had to pull the trigger given the offseason loss of Harvin. Wonderful athlete with excellent speed and a fantastic jump who can open the field but one of the common knocks I read on him was he's a body catcher whenever he can which means defensive players can get their helmet on the ball and either force it loose or cause a fumble. Though coaching at the next level might iron this out or the fact he might get sick of safeties trying to cave in his chest to dislodge the ball.
Hodges is a Safety converted to OLB and as such is still learning the his craft but even given that, and the fact he needs to put on some weight, he could develop into a very handy player. Solid 4th round pick.
Now this might sound weird but selecting Jeff Locke (a punter) in the 5th round was a great pick. This kid can literally kick the air out of the ball giving teams fewer chances to return the ball and with the number of quality PR in the league that's a big thing.
Mauti and Dawkins are great late pick project players while the others seem to be depth or Practice Squad players.

So to surmise the Vikes have solidified their DL and made it significantly more dangerous and given their in the NFC North that's important (and the fact the NFL is becoming a passing league again with the Read-Offence becoming more prevalent and the rules making it harder for secondaries to impede WR's), plus they grabbed a starting CB and a high risk but high reward WR, a quality (future) OLB, a future all-pro Punter, and some nice project players. An intelligent and productive draft.


Steelers
A team with a lot of needs and that seems to be falling behind the other top teams. The front office was under massive pressure to find quality everywhere but luckily for them this was a very even and deep draft.

The picks made in order -
Jarvis Jones
Le'Veon Bell
Markus Wheaton
Shamarko Thomas
Landry Jones
Terry Hawthorne
Justin Brown
Vince Williams
Nick Williams

Jones will compete for the starting job at OLB and is a high quality OLB. Bell doesn't have great vision or hands but he's a bruiser and that's the Steeler model for a RB so based on that it's a great pick. Wheaton looks to be a great slot receiver but is often overwhelmed by press CB's and is a lazy blocker but given the fact the Steelers like to run between the Tackles to wear down defences the latter shouldn't be a big issue unless they run a screen play to his side of the field.
Thomas could start at SS and this kid is one violent dude who is, as I've read a number of times, "a human missile". A real good news story given he lost both parents in his sophomore year in college and is now responsible for six children, I really hope this kid makes it.
Jones is a solid middle round pick as a project QB that can learn under Roethlisberger, though my view on him and all the other QB's is that their backup material.
The others are solid late round project players.

Given their numerous needs and limited picks I think the Steelers did a great job finding talent with all their picks, some will start most won't but they've fortified their team at most levels. Not a flashy draft but ticks all the boxes they could.


Bengals
Again another team with a lot of needs.

The picks made in order -
Tyler Eifert
Giovani Bernard
Margus Hunt
Shawn Williams
Sean Porter
Tanner Hawkinson
Rex Burkhead
Cobi Hamilton
Reid Fragel
T.J.Johnson

Eifert gives Dalton his safety net when pressured plus he's an accomplished blocker, then they pick Bernard to give Dalton another backfield weapon as a catcher and a blocker, plus he'll have defences alert for the run.
Hunt is a freak of an athlete but hasn't been playing that long. His abilities aren't in question, what concerns is he's going to be facing seasoned NFL quality OL players who won't be intimidated by his athleticism. The question is can he continue to dominate at the next level, but the Steelers got it right picking him in the 2nd round and not the 1st.
Williams is a starting calibre SS who likes hit hard and is above average against the run, though the question is how vulnerable he is to a speedy slot receiver.
Porter is a quality middle round pick who offers Cincy a starting calibre OLB with upside. Hamilton is a late round steal who has significant upside and could be a factor in the passing in his first season, as is Fragel (a TE that converted to OT) who is still learning the position and has massive upside. Two very good late round picks.
The others are again depth or Practice Squad players.

Again, as per the Steelers, given the large number of needs the Cincy front office did a great job getting maximum value for their picks and added some starters, project players, and quality depth players. Savvy drafting.

Given how long this has taken I'll do the "bottom 5" tomorrow night, but I will close out with the Patriots draft because I'm pretty sure someone on here supports them (though I can't remember who - sorry).

The picks made in order -
Jamie Collins
Aaron Dobson
Logan Ryan
Duron Harmon
Josh Boyce
Michael Buchanan
Steve Beauharnais

Collins is a great pass rusher from the edge though his success in College may not translate to the NFL when he's facing bigger and faster OL. Though after a couple of season learning and bulking up further he could be someone defences plan for.
Dobson and Boyce give Brady bigger WR's to aim at and while their production at College wasn't huge with Brady throwing them the ball they may become better WR's than otherwise may have been elsewhere.
Ryan is a heavy hitting CB who will have to progress to be a consistent contributor at the next level, while Harmon doesn't have a lot written about him so it's hard to make a call on him. I will say though that Belichick and the Patriots rarely get it wrong so I give this pick the benefit of the doubt.
Buchanan and Beauharnais both seem to be quality late pick project players.

While not an amazing draft still a very solid draft that fills some of their needs with possible starters while providing quality depth at various positions.

[Woods Of Ypres]

thanks for the insight OEP

any thoughts on the Colts? took Werner to fill need at OLB, my concern is at RB yet the Colts do play a passing game. looking forward to the new season.

[OEP]

[Funkadelic]

Great stuff OEP, as someone who is new to the game you have provided fantastic insight. Have only been watching NFL for the last two seasons, don't really have a team yet just enjoying learning the game atm.

[OEP]