Tag: New York Giants (Page 31 of 55)

      NFL Draft: 5 Day 1 Winners

      April 25, 2009 /

      It’s absolutely ridiculous to claim that a team “won” on draft day when none of the players have even played one down in the NFL yet. But it is fair to debate which teams made quality decisions on draft day (i.e. trades, overall maneuvering, etc.), and below are five franchises that I thought made out well after the first two rounds.

      1. Cleveland Browns
      Alex Mack, C (21); Brian Robiskie, WR (36); Mohamed Massaquoi, WR (50); David Veikune, DE (52)
      The Browns became one of the day one draft winners the moment they were able to trade out of the No. 5 pick, because there wasn’t a prospect at that spot that Cleveland loved and they saved a ton of money getting out of the top 5. So they were able to make a deal with the Jets and landed the 17th and 52nd picks, as well as three players (Kenyon Coleman, Brett Ratliff and Abram Elam) that used to play for Eric Mangini in New York. The underrated Elam is the best of the group and should start at strong safety after the team decided to not re-sign Sean Jones. After the deal with the Jets, the Browns made yet another move, trading the 17th overall pick to Tampa Bay for the 19th and 191st selections. Still not satisfied, the Browns again traded back, this time dealing the 19th pick to Philadelphia for the 21st and 195th selections. When they finally did select a player at No. 21, they got the best center prospect in the draft in Mack, who joins a solid offensive line that already features Eric Steinbach and Joe Thomas. Although I was surprised that they passed on OLB Everrette Brown early in the second, they got a polished receiver in Brian Robiskie and then eventually filled their linebacker need with Veikune, who is raw but has good upside. Massaquoi was a bit of a surprise, especially considering the Robiskie selection earlier in the round, but it’s hard to criticize what Mangini and new GM George Kokinis did on the first day. It also must be noted how well the Browns played everything before the draft, keeping things close to the vest and not tipping their hand. Obviously that trade with the Jets for the No. 5 pick had to be in the works for a while given the players involved.

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      NFL, NFL Draft

      Official 2009 NFL Draft Post & Rumor Mill

      April 25, 2009 /

      As the NFL draft rolls on over the next two days, I’ll post picks, thoughts and stay on top of any rumors that I hear and post them here. Enjoy.

      2:55PM ET: Mike Mayock of the NFL Network claims that his “cell phone is blowing up” with reports that the Jets are trying to trade up to No. 2 for USC quarterback Mark Sanchez.

      3:19PM ET: According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Dolphins will select Connecticut cornerback Darius Butler at No. 25.

      3:22PM ET: The Rams could trade back into the first round for middle linebacker Rey Maualuga according to NFL Network’s Steve Wyche.

      3:38PM ET: I’m shocked the Chiefs passed on Aaron Curry, but all the pre-draft rumors that said Tyson Jackson would be their pick were obviously dead on. Jackson is the best 3-4 end in the draft and obvious was a commodity.

      3:40PM ET: The Browns got exactly what they wanted with this trade. They weren’t in love with anyone at No.5 and managed to trade out. Great move – I wonder what kind of ransom the Browns got.

      3:42PM ET: Mike Mayock just made a great point about the Jets trading up to No. 5. What team did they want to get ahead of to go all the way up to No. 5?

      3:45PM ET: DE Kenyon Coleman, QB Brett Ratliff, S Abram Elam No. 17 and No. 57. A sleeper in this deal is Elam, who is one of the more promising safeties in the draft.

      3:52PM ET: The Bengals select OT Andre Smith – another low character guy for their low-character roster. He is a tremendous talent, but he comes with a ton of baggage.

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      Fantasy Football, MLB, NFL, NFL Draft

      Edwards-to-Giants trade dead now?

      April 23, 2009 /

      According to the New York Daily News, a deal between the Giants and Browns involving wide receiver Braylon Edwards is all but dead at this point.

      According to a source familiar with the situation, the Giants no longer see any hope of acquiring the Cleveland receiver and are moving forward with their plans to take a receiver early in the NFL draft. The sticking point still appears to be GM Jerry Reese’s refusal to part with the Giants’ first-round pick and the Browns’ refusal to take anything less.

      It’s pretty much been that way since Reese and Browns GM George Kokinis first talked about Edwards in February, but until very recently there was at least some optimism inside the Giants’ organization that one of the two sides would blink. Reese has no plans to blink, the source said, and the Giants are now convinced that Kokinis won’t either.

      So, barring a late drop in the Browns’ asking price – or a dramatic change of heart by Reese — the Giants will head into Day 1 of the draft focused on getting a receiver to help out a corps thinned by the losses of Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. Several sources have said they almost certainly will take a receiver in Round 1, though there’s at least a small chance they’ll draft a linebacker, depending on how the first 28 picks break.

      If a deal with the Giants is in fact dead, it’ll be interesting to see if the Browns can move Edwards at all this weekend or sometime before the season starts. His contract is up at the end of the year and it’s doubtful that he’ll want to re-sign with Cleveland. Of course, that might not be such a bad thing either, considering he’s largely underachieved up to this point in his career. Still, Cleveland would surely love to get something for him before he bolts at the end of the year.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      2009 NFL Mock Draft Version 3.0

      April 20, 2009 /

      This is it – the week NFL draft nuts have been waiting for. Soon enough, prospects will know what cities they’re headed to and draft mock experts everywhere will look like idiots when less than half of their predictions are correct despite spending hours of time researching the picks.

      I say it every year – the NFL draft is a crapshoot in terms of trying to make predictions. Nobody knows how high prospects are rated on draft boards around the league except the teams themselves. So while it’s fun to project who will go where, nobody has a clue – not Mike Mayock, not Mel Kiper and certainly not Anthony Stalter. (Did I just refer to myself in the third person? What a joke.)

      The following is my third and final mock of the first round. In my previous two mocks, I had some fun by predicting potential trades that could play out, but I won’t do it here. I’m playing this mock “straight up” because predicting trades in the first round is harder to do than predicting what kind of mood Billy Bob Thornton will be in when he sits down to give an interview. Zing!

      Some of you will inevitably feel as though that I have teams reaching with their picks. That’s fine, but realize that reaches are going to happen come Saturday because they’re just a part of the draft. If you disagree with any of my picks, go ahead and let me hear about it in the comments section. After all, the NFL draft is a spectacle and it’s supposed to be fun for fans. Enjoy all the action on Saturday and good luck to your favorite team on draft weekend.

      (Click here to see Mock Draft Version 1.0 and Mock Draft Version 2.0)

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      NFL, NFL Draft

      17 Intriguing Matchups on the 2009 NFL Schedule

      April 15, 2009 /

      The NFL released the 2009 NFL Schedule today, so I’ll do what the 4,000 other websites do and list some of the more juicier matchups of the year. (Although in the sake of being at least a little creative, I’ll list one interesting matchup for each of the 17 weeks on the schedule.)

      Before we get to the matchups though, let me state for the record that it’s a complete farce that the Cowboys get six nationally televised games next year despite not making the playoffs last season. I guess “America’s Team” opening a brand new stadium is worth major national exposure…six times a year.

      Week 1: Bears at Packers, 8:20PM ET
      Jay Cutler’s first game in a Bears uniform will be at Lambeau against the rival Packers on Sunday Night Football. How much will John Madden overplay the, “The Bears finally have a quarterback” angle after every pass Cutler completes?

      Week 2: Giants at Cowboys, 8:20PM ET
      One of the ‘Boys six nationally televised games, Dallas will open up their new stadium against division rival New York on Sunday Night Football. How much will John Madden overplay the, “Tony Romo and Wade Phillips must win now because Jerry Jones built this brand new stadium and he wants a contender” angle?

      Week 3: Falcons at Patriots, 1:00PM ET
      The over/under on the number of times Matt Ryan is compared to Tom Brady in this game has officially been set at 800,994,990.

      Week 4: Chargers at Steelers, 8:20PM ET
      AFC Divisional Round rematch in Pittsburgh – let’s see if the Chargers can hold onto the ball for more than 17 seconds in the third quarter unlike the last time these two teams met.

      Week 5: Patriots at Broncos, 4:15PM ET
      If Bill Belichick shakes Josh McDaniels’ hand at midfield after this game, I’m calling shenanigans on the behalf of Eric Mangini.

      Week 6: Bears at Falcons, 8:20PM ET
      Here’s hoping the Bears’ secondary figured out that they have to cover the out pattern when that’s the only route Matt Ryan can look for when there’s 11 seconds on the clock and he needs to get his team into field goal range.

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      Humor, NFL

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