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Month: April 2008 (Page 8 of 30)
Every Friday, Anthony Stalter and I are going to pose the week’s most pressing question and each pick a side. With the NFL Draft coming up tomorrow, we were going to argue about who the Miami Dolphins should take with the first overall pick, but since they’ve already made their choice (tackle Jake Long), we’ll move on to #2. Who should the Rams select? Glenn Dorsey or Chris Long? Or should they thumb their nose at Stephen Jackson or Marc Bulger and take Darren McFadden or Matt Ryan? Here’s our take…
John Paulsen: This we know… Glenn Dorsey is a monster. He is super-quick for his size (6’2”, 297 lbs) and demands a double-team. He’s more of a pass-rushing DT, which is why he makes sense for the Rams. The team drafted Adam Carriker in the first round last season, and moved him from DE to DT, but he’s capable of playing on the outside as a run-stopper. Put the two players on the same side of the defense and the Rams D – with Leonard Little on the opposite side – will create some serious havoc. With Bulger and Jackson on the roster, the debate is between Dorsey and Long, so the question is what to do with Carriker. If the team thinks he can be effective on the outside, Dorsey is the right choice.
Anthony Stalter: The Rams weren’t enamored with Carriker’s speed on the edge, so they made him a defensive tackle. Word is that if the Rams take Glenn Dorsey, Carriker would move back to the end position, but why? Why teach him a new position at the pro level and let him get comfortable only to move him back to the position he played in college? I understand the learning curve probably won’t be that high since he’s already familiar at end, but at 6’6, 303-pounds, he’s more suited to play inside. Long is a true end that can play the run, rush the passer and is incredibly relentless. Dorsey would be a fantastic pick, but taking Long allows Carriker to stay inside and keep developing at a single position.
So who should the Rams take? We’ll discuss the draft in further detail during our live Happy Hour chat at 4 PM ET / 1 PM PT. We’ll also be blogging the Draft starting tomorrow at 3 PM ET.
Gregg Rosenthal of NBCSports.com has five reasons to watch this weekend’s NFL draft. And the feud between ESPN analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay is at the top of his list.
2. Friction on the ESPN Set
A few years ago, I made an important decision that all football fans will face eventually. I choose to watch NFL Network’s draft coverage over ESPN. It’s the way to go if you want more information and less noise — more cattle and less hat. That doesn’t mean ESPN can’t provide high comedy during commercial breaks.
Watching Mel Kiper Jr. and insurgent Todd McShay battle over the last few months was like watching the icy transition from Joe Montana to Steve Young. Usually when ESPN stages debates, all the yelling is contrived. But these guys genuinely don’t like each other. After all, McShay is essentially usurping Kiper’s job and diminishing his face/hair time. After Kiper’s last contract squabble with the Worldwide Leader, McShay’s star began to rise. Now I get the sense that Kiper will snipe at McShay’s favorite players just to annoy him, and vice versa.
And if Kiper and McShay aren’t battling, you can always watch the New York fans heckle Chris Berman.
I’m not a huge Kiper fan, but I think he’s been better this year than McShay, regardless of the bickering. I think Kiper’s projections thus far have made more sense and while nobody knows if he’ll have more correct picks in the end, the wily vet seems to be outperforming the youngster.
But Rosenthal is right on one thing – NFL Network’s coverage gives you less of a headache.
There were two sleepy games tonight, but a great one in Salt Lake City. It was tight the whole way, but the Rockets (behind some good mid-fourth quarter play by T-Mac) built a seven-point lead with under two minutes to play. But McGrady missed a couple of shots (badly) and the Jazz capitalized with back-to-back three pointers from Kyle Korver and Mehmet Okur.
McGrady committed a (dumb) offensive foul, giving the Jazz the ball with under 20 seconds to play and down one. Then Deron Williams made two uncharacteristically bad decisions. First, he missed Carlos Boozer wide open in the middle of the lane when Boozer slipped a ball screen, instead passing the ball to a well-covered Kyle Korver. Williams got the ball back and drove into the lane, AGAIN drawing Boozer’s man (Carl Landry) over to help. Instead of wrapping around a bounce pass to a wide-open Boozer under the hoop, Williams tried to put up a shot, which was blocked and saved by Landry. Game over.
I like the fact that Jerry Sloan didn’t call a timeout when his team got the ball back, as that usually favors the better-prepared team. But, on that last play, his point guard looked like a rookie. Otherwise, Williams had a great game (28 points and 12 assists), but when he sees the tape, he’s going to hate himself.
The Cowboys acquired former Titans’ cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones in exchange for a 2008 fourth round pick.
In the process, Pacman Jones and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones got what they wanted — for the player a fresh start in a new city, for the owner a quality cornerback he’d craved for his Super Bowl-contending team.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will eventually decide if everyone ends up happy. He suspended Jones in April 2007 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy and has indicated he won’t review the case for reinstatement until mid-summer.
Forbes.com raked the drunkest cities in the United States and Dallas-Fort Worth was No. 27 while Nashville, Tennessee was No. 35. Hmm, looks like Pacman just upgraded his nightlife. Ah, what am I thinking? As soon as he gets to Dallas, dude probably just wants to relax and settle in with a nice book.
Photo Courtesy of Flickr
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