The 2010 Draft

The draft is now over and as expected only about the 5 first picks went where they were expected to go. Coming into Thursday it was almost a lock for Bradford to go 1 and the DT's to fallow, then you might as well drew a name out of the hat. Nobody really went where the so called experts predicted them to go, and all day you kept hearing the retracting of their statements. With teams moving up and down in order, created for one of the more exciting drafts in recent years. So here is the final draft order and their picks from this years draft.


1 Rams Sam Bradford QB
2 Lions Ndamukong Suh DT
3 Buccaneers Gerald McCoy DT
4 Redskins Trent Williams OT
5 Chiefs Eric Berry SS
6 Seahawks Russell Okung OT
7 Browns Joe Haden CB
8 Raiders Rolando McClain LB
9 Bills C.J. Spiller RB
10 Jaguars Tyson Alualu DE
11 49ers Anthony Davis OT
12 Chargers Ryan Mathews RB
13 Eagles Brandon Graham DE
14 Seahawks Earl Thomas SS
15 Giants Jason Pierre-Paul DE
16 Titans Derrick Morgan DE
17 49ers Mike Iupati OG
18 Steelers Maurkice Pouncey C
19 Falcons Sean Weatherspoon LB
20 Texans Kareem Jackson CB
21 Bengals Jermaine Gresham TE
22 Broncos Demaryius Thomas WR
23 Packers Bryan Bulaga OT
24 Cowboys Dez Bryant WR
25 Broncos Tim Tebow QB
26 Cardinals Dan Williams DT
27 Patriots Devin McCourty CB
28 Dolphins Jared Odrick DT
29 Jets Kyle Wilson CB
30 Lions Jahvid Best RB
31 Colts Jerry Hughes DE
32 Saints Patrick Robinson CB

Cavs Snuggie Night

A month or so back, I went to the Cleveland Cavilers Snuggie night, the event was held at the Quicken Loans Arena but Key Bank sponsored the event. When thinking of snuggies the first name that comes to your head is not Key Bank, which is partially because they are not in the business of selling snuggies. One may wonder why Key Bank would sponsor such an event, because there is not a direct correlation between snuggie users and people taking out loans or starting up a checking accounts, but they chose to sponsor the event as an attempt at easy publicity. Every fan in attendance received a Cavs snuggie that had the logo of the Cavs on it, as well as right below it, it had the logo of Key Bank and now every time that snuggie is used or shown Key bank is still receiving advertising from it. Key Bank was also recognized as sponsoring the event and it was shown on many stations as well as talked about pre event. Throughout the event there were many advertisements, that ranged from papa johns signs hanging throughout the arena to local businesses offering discounts when you bring your cavs ticket shown on the jumbo tron, but the only guaranteed advertisement the 20,000 some people will remember from that night is the Key Bank logo, they have on their brand new snuggie.

Sponsorships For the NFL Draft

The NFL Draft has become a prime time event broken into three separate days shown on ESPN. Like any prime time event comes the opportunity for a company to affiliate their name with it. This year the NFL Draft is brought to you by COORS Light and Gillette, which means not only will you see those name beside the draft on any web page, but you will see an abundance of pub and plug ins throughout the event. With every team getting 10 min to make a pick, there are prime commercial opportunities available. One purchaser that comes to mind, EA Sports Madden Football Series, has been a part of the commercial scene since the early 2000s, with them plugging the upcoming video game that will be released the following fall. It is always the first opportunity for consumers to see images and clips of the upcoming game. With this year being the first year the draft moved to a prime time spot, it will be hard to predict who will be the companies that will be purchasing all commercial time, but the three listed will not be the only ones shouldering the load.

Could We Hear Tiffin University on Draft Day

With the upcoming draft starting on Thursday, it is highly unlikely we hear the names of Chris Ivory or Gregg Raspberry, at least for the first two days. When the draft resumes on Saturday is the best chance one of the two names may get called, with rounds 4-7 to be drafted on that day.

Not unless your a die hard follower of D2 football would you have heard that Christopher Ivory played at Tiffin University last year. After joining the team late, and eventually working himself into the mix he had his season cut short with a knee injury, which resulted in limited time for which he could collect the valuable stat line that one would need to create the average buzz around a possible future NFL player. But Chris Ivory hopes that it wont keep him from his dreams. Ivory is 5-11, 225-pound running back, who actually came to the Dragons last August after three seasons at Division I Washington State. After injuries prevented him from having the type of career at Washington State he hoped for, the injury this past season has rose a sense of doubt on a lot of scouting websites.

Walkosky said the injury made some wonder about Ivory's durability and if he had regained his quickness that set him apart. "Well, 4.47 is unbelievably fast enough for the NFL," Walkosky said. "It's top five in the country of running backs who were at the combine. And he's bigger than all the guys, except for one guy, the kid from Fresno [Ryan Mathews]." Ivory also had a vertical jump of 35 inches.

Even with all the question marks in the air, there is still a chance that a team may go ahead and take a chance at drafting him, rather then hopes of battling other teams to sign him as a free agent. Nothing is certain in the NFL, but all signs lead to Chris Ivory wearing an NFL helmet next season.

The Infamous Draft Day Trade

There you are sitting, waiting on your team to make their highly anticipated pick that is going to change the face of the franchise, when the alert buzzer goes off and Roger Goodell approaches the podium, just to tell you your there has been a trade. Your team suddenly has traded 15 spots lower for another 3 picks later in the draft, and your left sitting there with a feeling of betrayal. Well I'm going to point out possible teams looking to move up and down.
The Browns- with 10 picks in the draft, and already having been rumored to move up to the first spot in the draft to take Bradford, but Holmgren put an end to these talks. So look for the Browns to package picks and move up to take a QB at some point in the draft.
The Patriots- have four picks in the first two rounds of the draft and there’s a good chance the Patriots will packages one or more of those picks in a draft-day trade. They are not known for investing much of their franchise with the draft, partially because they never have high picks due to their success, but mostly because they are never rebuilding. But with two decent seasons and a team that looks like they couldn't possibly getting any older, it will be interesting to see them move up to take a early pick.
The 49ers- with their greatest need being a OT, and them having 2 mid first round picks, it would be hard for them not to trade up if the tackles start coming off the board as they are predicted to do before the 49ers pick at number 17.

Should Cleveland trade up for Bradford

The Browns have been recently discussing the option of trading up from their number 7 draft position to the number one spot to take the highly touted Sam Bradford with the number one pick. Which rumored to involve them having to give up their No. 7 pick, next year's first-rounder as well as a third- or fourth-rounder. Mike Holmgren who is the Browns newly hired president, is reluctant to put all his eggs in one basket by doing such a thing. Holmgren went on to state, “So the fans don’t get … I don’t want everyone to … then pull the rug out from everybody in our first draft,” “He’s a coveted young man. To be able to go up and change somebody’s mind ahead of us, you’d have to mortgage the ranch." Which may mean that either they couldn't work a trade out, or Homlgren put an end to these nonsense talks, once and for all.

Even though any fan can tell you that the Browns are in desperate need of a quarterback, it doesn't look like they will be finding one through the draft this year. Mike Holmgren has already said he doesn't think Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen is the right fit in Cleveland, so don't expect them to take him at No. 7.

But not trading up to grab the No. 1 overall pick from the St. Louis Rams to take Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford may be one of the smarter moves Cleveland can make. At the seventh pick there are still going to be right of the bat contributors, which will give them the possibility of landing Tennessee safety Eric Berry (if he falls), Texas safety Earl Thomas, or even a pass-rusher in Georgia Tech's Derrick Morgan or South Florida's Jason Pierre-Paul. Also, with Colt McCoy looking to slip into the early second round, it may give them the option of getting a better quarterback for their system there. Only time will tell what they decide, but with the draft this week, fans wont have to wait much longer to see who will be taking snaps this fall.

Cowboys on the clock

Taking a look at Dallas' upcoming first round pick in next week’s NFL draft is like trying to pick the powerball in the lottery. With not knowing who will be around when the 27 pick rolls around makes things even tougher. Dallas has made it clear that it plans to address the left tackle position, and USC's Charles Brown who some people have falling to this late in the draft, seem like he could be a natural fit here. Brown looks to slip because he is unpolished and most early teams cannot wait around for a project. Brown is a former TE with good feet and improving skills. With the Cowboys having one of the more talented offensive lines, it would not be a bad decision to see them draft a Brown and bring him along slowly, playing more of a back-up roll on an aging offensive lines. This might not be the exciting pick, but seems like a viable one.
Some discussion on where the Cowboys will go if Browns name is called before 27 leaves them with the exciting pick, in USC safety Taylor Mays. Mays is a physical specimen, with incredible size and speed. He has all the tools to become an instant star, which leaves people wondering why he could almost slip to the 2nd round. Mays had a low year in terms of production, which has lead to doubts about his pass coverage skills. If Brown is off the board it wouldn’t be farfetched to see the Cowboys taking risk on another safety with questionable pass coverage skills.

Can Bryant make up for character issues and suspension?

Bryant missed the majority of the 2009 season after being suspended for lying to NCAA investigators looking into his relationship with former NFL star Deion Sanders. Now the Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant's pro day took place at an off campus site, Abe Martin Stadium in Lufkin, which was Bryant's high school, and his former coach, John Outlaw, was the man hosting the event. Some notables in attendance would be; Seattle's coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider, Packers coach Mike McCarthy and college scouting director John Dorsey, San Diego senior executive Randy Mueller, Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert, San Francisco coach Mike Singletary, Baltimore receivers coach John Hostler, a group from Oakland and at least one representative from 10 other teams.

Bryants numbers from his Pro day were very impressive despite him struggling with the short shuttle, almost as if he had never attempted one before, and needed four tries before completing the drill and recording a 4.46. However, the fact that he quit on his fifth attempt tells a much deeper story because most these scouts were not here to see his athleticism, but rather to see whether or not a guy who carries some character baggage, could check them.

Even with the one set back, Scouts left Abe Martin Stadium impressed and with only one question left to answer. Talent evaluators have to decide what kind of financial risk they are willing to make when taking on a player who is competitive and athletic but sometimes loses focus. However, enough teams seem to think Bryant is not a bad guy but simply the product of a tough life. Look for Bryant to be a first day pick, being the first WR off the board.

Raspberrys Pro Day

Greg Raspberry just participated in his pro day this week up at the University of Toledo. Greg is looking to further his future in football, and here are the numbers he posted while participating.

40yrd dash 4.52 and a 4.56
Vertical 37
Broad jump 10.2
Pro shuttle 4.3
3 cone drill 6.92
225 Bench test 11
60 yrd shuttle 11.89

These numbers are pretty impressive and when comparing them to the numbers posted in last months combine results, Raspberry would of been on the top performer boards in both the vertical where he would of placed 7th and the broad jump in which he would of placed 6th. His numbers in the other catagories would not of been that far off of top ten performer numbers. With an excellent performance in the this pro day, Raspberrys hopes may start to look like a reality in terms of the the NFL.

Jimmy Clausen Smarter Not Stronger

Every question around Jimmy Clausen involve whether or not his arm strength is ideal for an NFL quarterback. It is pretty much a given that Clausen will be a first-round draft pick, but his arm strength is enough of a question mark to cause his predicted draft slot status to vary significantly. For example, Mel Kiper's initial mock draft has Clausen going to the Buffalo Bills at the No. 9 spot because he possesses "an NFL arm." Scouts Inc.'s Todd McShay, on the other hand, has Clausen going in the No. 23 spot in part because "he doesn't have ideal arm strength." However it is hard to determine who is right because Clausen will not have his arm tested till later this month due to an injury that kept him out of the combine and pushed back his pro day till only a few weeks before the actual draft. However tape on clausen has showed different cases on where he made the long throws such as deep outs and there were other games when his arm strength was that of the ball boys.
When it comes down to it, tape can show both an upside and a downside to Clausen's arm, but one thing that can not be questioned is his ability to read a defense. Last year he had only 4 ints in 224 passes. Which says something in its own, that clausen is smart enough to put the ball where his arm will allow it.

Can the combine really make or break you?

With the NFL's combine coming up quickly, it is time to start looking at how it can effect ones draft status. Everyone clams that 40yrd dash is worth millions of dollars, but on average how many plays actually travel 40 yards. The average is around 3 plays a game where a play is busted lose and travels over 40. So why is there so much pressure on the dash? One may think that it is used, because at worst you will draft a guy that can run down in 4.3 seconds and cover kicks, granted there is still the chance they will miss the tackle.
With the NFL being the most physical sport in the world, one would think there would be more contact drills at the draft, but in all actuallity there are none. The draft is all about speed and what you can do with or without the ball when you have no fear of contact.
I personally believer that there should be way less pressure on the draft, because of such people like Hayward-Bay of last year. His combine was so impressive, he jumped from the second round all the way to a top 5 pick. Only to have a season of dropped balls and missed blocks.

Tebow Worth The Hype?

Its hard not hear the name mentioned in any draft discussion, but why does the 5th rated quarterback rated by Scouts Inc. get all the attention. Even with every discussion asking the same questions about whether or not his game can translate to the pro style of play. Tebow has not been able to showcase whether or not his game can translate, outside the horrible week he displayed at the senior bowl. Every clip showed Tebow fumbling snaps under center, over throwing receivers, lackluster steps in his drops, and his elongated release still had not been corrected. However, Tebow did not give up and showed some progress throughout the week, improving daily only to perform under par in the actual game.
Tebow will out perform everyone in the upcoming pro days and the NFL combine due to his freakish physical attributes. When looking at all the professional quarterback its hard to really take into account their 40 yd. dash times, considering looking at Payton Manning and Tom Brady did not post times on the better side of 5. So in my opinion being a quarterback should not be looked at as how they do in their combines but rather how they performed on the real game situations. Tebow has really only had one chance to prove himself in the pro style of play and he did the opposite.
I will be one person not to jump on the Tebow as a quarterback bandwagon, because of as of right now there are just simply too many issues with his footwork, elongated release and spotty accuracy. He will have to tear down and overhaul every part of his game just to have a chance, and I don't see it working out. However, I will note that if anyone could do a total overhaul of his game, it would be Tebow with his work ethic and desire. But the question with Tim Tebow was never his leadership, determination, competitiveness and other intangibles teams will look for in a quarterback. There is a reason Tebow has been slipping in the draft, and only time will tell how far he falls.

My Sports Autobiography

I have been involved in athletics ever since I can remember, which extends back to 1st through 3rd grade tee ball and biddy wrestling, in which were the only sports my school offered until 3rd grade. After 3rd grade is when I found my real love in sports, football. From then on I participated and excelled in other sports such as basketball, baseball, and track, but it was mostly just a way to be competitive and pass the time outside of football season. Upon leaving high school I choose to accept a scholarship here to Tiffin University, and it has been an odd career to say the least, I have lettered 4 times at three different positions, received a medical red shirt for a sophomore season I missed with mono 3 weeks before graduation. I would have never thought that a game would alter my life so much, I say this because there is a very little chance I would be here at Tiffin University if it wasn’t for football. After it is all said and done though, I’m glad that football brought me here and made me who I am. But now with my competitive athletic days fading away, which a year ago I thought was done anyways, I already knew that it was going to be a tough transition to the other half of my life, and I doubt I will ever be able to keep athletics out of my life and that is why I choose to return to school for my final year of football and receive my sports management degree.

Bottom Five First Round Preview

1. Rams- With the Rams needing help in almost every position, it’s very easy to believe they will chose the DT out of Nebraska Ndamukong Suh, who will make an immediate impact in the NFL. Suh being a no brainer for the first overall pick, leaves the Rams with the only other realistic option outside of making the mistake of skipping over him, by trading down to draft the quarterback everyone feels is a necessity for them in this draft. However, it is yet to be determined what they will do with this pick, but as of now, it is safe to say they will select Suh with the number 1 pick when April 22nd rolls around.

2. Lions- The lions are also in another tough spot. With Eric Berry being the best available it is hard to imagine them drafting a player in one of the few spots they do not need, with their surprising impact of their 2nd round pick Louis Delmas controlling the safety position, its beginning to look like another DT will leave the board in Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy. The Lions do need help on their defensive front, and this pick makes the most sense when looking at needs and players available.

3. Buccaneers- Finally, this is where I feel the best player in the draft will land, Eric Berry the safety out of Tennessee. It is unusual to see a safety come off the board this early in any draft, but Berry posses that type of raw talent. He resembles the likes of Ed Reed, perennial pro bowler, with his big play ability and ability to control the deep middle of the field. The Buccaneers offense began to click late in the season, so the addition of Berry to a struggling defense seems like the logical choice.

4. Redskins- With the Redskins needing a quarterback and a face lift to a struggling franchise, that has underwent many changes this offseason, drafting 2008 Heisman winner Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma makes perfect sense. The redskins can get a top valued quarterback here who would of more than likely been the top player taken had he opted to come out last year. Bradford is an exceptionally accurate passer with an underrated arm. Shannahan who has just taken the reins in Washington has been known for drafting quarterbacks successfully, and all arrows are pointing towards another.

5. Chiefs - The chiefs need help on both fronts as well as in the defensive backfield, but with Eric Berry being more than likely a top 3 pick, it’s hard to imagine them drafting the next safety, Earl Thomas out of Texas, on the board or the likes of Joe Haden the corner out of Florida. The most obvious choice and the one that seems to fit this position would be drafting Oklahoma States OT Russell Okung. Russell Okung is a physical specimen by standing 6'8 and weighing in at nearly 300lbs, with an ability to move. If the chiefs draft Okung, who has the ability to step into a starting role, it will allow for them to move Brandon Albert back over to the right side, fixing a huge hole in their line.