Tag: 2011 NFL Draft (Page 9 of 20)

Moon on perceived racial bias towards Newton: “Unless u have been black, u have no idea!”

April 1, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Warren Moon spoke out this week about what he perceives as a racial bias against Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.

From CBSSports.com:

“A lot of the criticism he’s receiving is unfortunate and racially based,” Moon said. “I thought we were all past this. I don’t see other quarterbacks in the draft being criticized by the media or fans about their smile or called a phony. He’s being held to different standards from white quarterbacks. I thought we were past all this stuff about African-American quarterbacks, but I guess we’re not.
“Of course there is racism in every walk of society. We’ve made a lot of progress in this country. But racism is still there. I just thought in the sports arena we were beyond it. I think the way Cam is being treated shows we’re not.”
Moon added: “The thing that makes me laugh is the question of can he [Newton] come out of the spread offense? Can he run a pro offense? Colt McCoy came out of the spread offense and very few people raised that issue about him. So did Sam Bradford. Same thing. Very few questions asking if Bradford could run a pro offense. Some of these questions about Cam are more about his intellect. It’s blatant racism, some of it.

Is Moon serious about McCoy and Bradford? Whether or not they could run a pro-style offense was the biggest question surrounding both quarterbacks last year. And it’s always going to be a question when a QB prospect ran the spread in college, so Moon has no basis for saying “very few people raised” concerns about McCoy and Bradford running the spread.

Moon has received plenty of backlash from his comments, but didn’t back down via Twitter on Friday morning:

College Football, External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

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Teams concerned about Mark Ingram’s knee?

April 1, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers isn’t the only prospect that might see his draft stock fall over these next couple of weeks due to concerns about a knee injury.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Lombardi, teams have growing concerns about the health of Alabama running back Mark Ingram, who had his knee scoped prior to the 2010 season. After rushing for 1,658 yards and a 6.1 YPC average on 271 carries in 2009, the former Heisman Trophy winner was limited to just 875 yards on 158 totes a year ago.

I’ve released three mocks and in all three of them, I’ve had the Dolphins selecting Ingram with the No. 15 overall pick. There’s a real possibility that Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams (who are both free agents) have played their last downs in Miami, making the selection of Ingram a popular one in many mocks – not just mine.

But if his knee is a concern for some teams, then he could easily fall into the second round. Plus, there’s growing sentiment that the Dolphins want a home run threat, which doesn’t exactly describe Ingram’s game. If that’s the case, then maybe the Dolphins will look to nab someone like Oklahoma State’s Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma’s DeMarco Murray or UConn’s Jordan Todman in the middle rounds.

If Ingram does slip into Round 2, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not a running back will even be selected in the first. Mikel Leshoure of Illinois is viewed as a potential first round pick, but Ingram is listed ahead of him in most pundits’ rankings so he may fall, too. It isn’t a great year for running back-needy teams, although there are always bargains in the middle rounds.

External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

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Report: Clemson’s Bowers removed from two draft boards

March 31, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

ESPN’s Todd McShay is reporting that two teams have already removed defensive end Da’Quan Bowers from their draft boards.

From Rotoworld:

“I already know of two teams that have failed him,” McShay said on Thursday morning’s SportsCenter. “He’s off their board.” McShay’s statement is eerily similar to Peter King’s in Monday Morning Quarterback. We’ll give McShay the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn’t rip the info off King. Either way, McShay makes it sound like Bowers’ knee problem is a big concern in league circles. Many in the media have tried to downplay the injury.

Dear Lord, are there any good reports on this poor kid? Every time I find an article on Bowers’ pre-draft status, it’s always negative.

There’s no doubt about it: his Pro Day on Friday is crucial. There’s one way for him to put rumors to rest and that’s by going out and proving to teams that his knee is fine. If he struggles, then there’s no telling how far he could fall in late April.

Two months ago this was a prospect that was seemingly guaranteed to be selected in the top-5 and now he might not even crack the top-10. We’ll have a good idea on Friday just where his draft stock really is. If Bowers slides, it’ll be interesting to see how far prospects like Von Miller, Julio Jones and Cameron Jordan will rise.

External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

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PFW: Newton “has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement”

March 30, 2011 / Anthony Stalter

Pro Football Weekly’s Nolan Nawrocki wrote a rather scathing review of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton for the publication’s annual draft magazine.

Under “Negatives,” Nawrocki wrote that Newton is “very disingenuous – has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted” and has a “selfish, me-first makeup.” But he didn’t stop there.

“Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them. Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and will always struggle to win a locker room . . . Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness — is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example. Immature and has had issues with authority. Not dependable.”

Wow, tell us how you really feel, Nolan. I guess he didn’t think that “has questionable character” quite summed up how he felt about Newton.

Pro Football Weekly is a well-respected publication and Nawrocki makes his living from giving his opinion, which is all he did here. Obviously somewhere along the line he thought Newton was being an immature kid with a sense of entitlement and Narworki decided to print what he saw/felt.

That said, could he have made it any more personal? It sounds like Nawrocki has a vendetta against Newton and that’s only going to shed negative connotations on PWF in some people’s eyes. You don’t talk about a prospect’s “fake smile” without sounding like a scorned lover and I wonder what kind of backlash Nawrocki is experiencing after writing the report.

College Football, External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

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What is a “pegged” cap and why should you care?

March 30, 2011 / John Paulsen

The latest scuttlebutt out of the NFL labor non-negotiation negotiations is the idea of a “pegged” cap, which was reportedly brought up by the players. A pegged cap is a stable salary cap that is based on revenue projections and goes up at a set amount each season. The last CBA had a salary cap based on actual annual revenue that could go up or down each year depending on which way the wind was blowing.

Why does this matter?

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio explains…

If the actual numbers come in lower, the players still get paid. One major area of dispute has arisen from the question of whether and to what extent the actual performance exceeds the projected revenue growth. The owners’ offer of March 11 omitted that wrinkle; the players want to share in the upside.
The players, we’re told, prefer a “pegged cap” approach to expense credits because it entails simpler auditing and fewer disputes.

I’m on the players’ side in this debate, but if they are getting guaranteed pay no matter how the league is actually doing, then they can’t really demand a substantial share of the upside. If they have no downside, why should they get considerable upside?

Of course, it all depends on the projections used to create the pegged cap. If they’re conservative, and revenue is very likely to be greater, then the players do deserve a share. If the projections are aggressive, then the players should be happy they have stable salaries with no downside and forget about trying to get a piece of the additional revenue.

Florio continues…

As of right now, the two sides are $10 million apart per team on the the “pegged cap” approach, which is driven by projected revenues. The owners have offered $141 million per team in salary and benefits, and the players have requested $151 million. If they can bridge the gap and devise a procedure for handling any excess growth, they should be able to do a deal fairly quickly.

Well, that’s awfully optimistic given the current status of the negotiations, which are at a standstill. The two sides need to get talking again, but that is unlikely since they’re waiting on the courts to decide the fate of the lockout.

Tick-tock, people! (Don’t they know I have fantasy football rankings to put together?)

External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

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Tag: 2011 NFL Draft (Page 9 of 20)

Moon on perceived racial bias towards Newton: “Unless u have been black, u have no idea!”

Teams concerned about Mark Ingram’s knee?

Report: Clemson’s Bowers removed from two draft boards

PFW: Newton “has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement”

What is a “pegged” cap and why should you care?

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