NFL Draft: San Francisco 49ers -- 7

The San Francisco 49ers have an immense amount of talent on this team. They've been drafting well the past few years, but these players have not gelled as a team and put W's on the board. Such a young team with immense amounts of potential can hopefully be tapped by new Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh did a great job with Stanford last season, and I really feel like he has the potential to be a phenomenal coach in the NFL. Personally, he's coming into a great situation. The 49ers have a great foundation of a team to build upon, they just need a few pieces here and there along with a franchise signal caller. With an offense ranked in the bottom third of the league in yards and points, a passing attack is much needed here in San Francisco. That's why I feel like (as I've said earlier) new regimes mean new Quarterbacks. Alex Smith isn't the answer here, so the 49ers should take Quarterback Blaine Gabbert from Missouri here at pick 7.

I think Blaine is a great fit here at 7 to the 49ers for quite a few reasons. Firstly, with the messy CBA period currently, the 49ers can't address the quarterback position through Free Agency or by trade. Going into the season starting bust Alex Smith wouldn't be a great option. Second of all, just a few years ago Harbaugh actually attempted to recruit Gabbert out of high school. Fortunately for Jim, he now has a second opportunity to get his team leader and franchise signal caller. Lastly, Blaine Gabbert is by far the best Quarterback in the draft in my opinion. He's got great arm strength and accuracy paired with phenomenal decision making skills. Gabbert has the ability to make all the throws at the pro level, but is especially impeccable at leading receivers on short to intermediate routes. This would fit in perfectly with Harbaugh's west coast offense system. With a quick release and fluid motion, Blaine has the potential to mature into a great Quarterback in the NFL. The only knock on him is that he came from a pro-style offense, limiting his snaps from under center. Also, if he improves his pocket presence Blaine Gabbert could be a great pick here in the Top 10 for the San Francisco 49ers..

NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns -- 6

The Cleveland Browns should have high hopes for the future. Mike Holmgren came into Cleveland and has made his mark in shaping this roster to his liking. Cornerback Joe Hayden had an outstanding rookie campaign with 6 interceptions and rookie Quarterback Colt McCoy looks to be the future face of the franchise. Obviously Holmgren has done a spectacular job so far in building this team from the ground up. With the emergence of Runningback Peyton Hillis, this team has the potential of becoming great very quickly. They have a wide array of needs going into the draft, but I'm confident that this new regime will address them. A main priority has to be another play-maker on offense. With an offensive line consisting of elite Left Tackle Joe Thomas and up-and-coming Center Alex Mack, they have the protection in front of McCoy from him to make the correct reads. So with that, I think the Browns take Wide Receiver Julio Jones from Alabama.

Julio Jones absolutely blew up the Combine. Prior to Jones' 40, Mike Mayock predicted that Jones would run a low 4.5, he responded with a 4.39. After notching a 38.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-3 broad jump, Julio has narrowed the gap between him and the consensus number 1 Wide Receiver in this draft class, AJ Green. He's got elite size at 6'3" and 220 pounds which allows him to easily beat press coverage. Julio Jones is an absolute game changer as he's fantastic with the ball in his hands. Willing to make the tough catch in traffic over the middle also makes him an ever more appealing prospect. Playing in a pro-style offense at Alabama will most certainly improve his stock, but he's still not the best of route runners. He seems to round out his routes at times and not stick his foot in the ground and make the quick cut. Another knock on Jones is his inconsistency, he seems to drop the ball more than he should if he wants to be an elite player in the NFL. Despite these minor concerns, I think Julio Jones will blossom into a great NFL Wide Receiver. He's got all the physical tools to become dominant, he just needs to stay focused and work hard at his craft. Pairing him with Colt McCoy should make the Browns offense much more dynamic and electrifying..

NFL Draft: Arizona Cardinals -- 5

Will someone please get the ball to Larry Fitzgerald?!! The Arizona Cardinals, one season removed from the Super Bowl, played horribly this past season. They couldn't get anything started offensively and couldn't stop anyone defensively. This team has some great potential though, they just need a few players at some key positions and they'll be back in the playoff hunt. Losing Quarterback Kurt Warner to retirement really hurt this team, evident in them starting three Quarterbacks this past season. It's obvious that John Skelton is not the future in Arizona, so there's the possibility of them going Quarterback here. I doubt it though as this team needs a veteran presence to compete this season and beyond. Per Larry Fitzgerald's request, I think Head Coach Ken Wisenhunt (knowing his job is on the line) will make a move for Kevin Kolb. I think he'd really fit great into the system they run there. With this, I feel like the Cardinals go defense. They need a high impact player who can really take over the game. Linebacker Von Miller has the potential to develop into one of the best rushing Outside Linebackers in the NFL, and that's the direction I feel the Cardinals will go with the 5th overall pick.


With an incredible blend of size and athleticism, Von Miller can really get after the Quarterback. He has lightning quick speed and an incredible first step. Pair this with a relentless motor and a plethora of pass rushing moves and you have the perfect mold for a 3-4 Outside Linebacker. He's got a knack for setting up Offensive Tackles, and once engaged has great counter moves. Miller has fluid hips which will allow to play very well in coverage, both man and zone. The only knock on him is his strength, which slightly effects his defense against the run in block shedding. Despitse this though, Von Miller has all the intangibles to become a great player in the NFL. If he makes it to the 5th pick, the Arizona Cardinals can't pass up a player of this caliber at a great need of theirs..

NFL Draft: Cincinnati Bengals -- 4

Despite one of the most attention-whore'ish Wide Receivers of our generation in Chad Ochocinco making an appearance on television shows and MLS tryouts, he has yet to do anything in the NFL Playoffs. His Cincinnati Bengals, previously led by Quarterback Carson Palmer who now wants out, just flat out couldn't win games this past season. While being average in the league both offensively and defensively, they just couldn't find ways to win close games and put Ws on the board. Runningback Cedric Benson didn't have near the gamebreaking impact he did just a season ago and he could possibly be a Free Agent this season. Honestly though, I think this roster has a lot of young talent going forward. With the Wide Receiver diva-duo (Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco) possibly leaving this year, I think the Bengals, with an infusion of some talented good character players, can really turn a corner and become a great team. Jordan Shipley, despite playing very well as a rookie for the Bengals, can not be Cincinnati's main receiving threat outside of Tight End Jermaine Grisham. That's why I think with the possible ending of the Ochocinco era will come the AJ Green era in Cincinnati.


From the University of Georgia, Green might be the best Wide Receiver prospect to come out since Calvin Johnson. He has some of the surest hands I think I've ever seen as he rarely drops a pass thrown his way. Such a big target at 6'4" combined with his great leaping abilities makes AJ Green a great deep threat with the way he can go up for the ball. Unlike most of the bigger Wide Receivers, he's willing to go over the middle as well and make the tough catch in traffic while getting hit. Green's route running isn't quite as polished as you'd like, but he came from a pro style offense so he has had some experience running the route tree. He's a great athlete, but not an elite one which makes me believe Larry Fitzgerald is a great NFL comparison. If he turns out to be even half the player Fitz is, AJ Green will have a great career with the Cincinnati Bengals..

NFL Draft: Buffalo Bills -- 3

Despite coming in the Top 5 of the draft this year, there's something about this Buffalo Bills team that makes me believe they'll turn the corner here very soon. They have some great talent on both sides of the ball right now, they just need to continue to develop these players and continually infuse more young talent through the draft. Talent-wise, the defensive back corps for the Bills is their strong suite. Statistically, they were the 3rd ranked defense against the pass last season. They've got Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence starting at Cornerback with Leodis McKelvin in the nickel, as well as Donte Whitner and Jairus Byrd deep at the Safety positions. Even with Patrick Peterson being my favorite prospect in this draft, I think the Bills pass on him here to take a player at a bigger need. Right now, the Bills need trench work on both sides of the ball. Unfortunately I don't have any of the Offensive Tackles graded anywhere near the Top 5 this year, so I don't think Castanzo or Smith would be the right selection at this point. For the last ranked defense against the run this past season, I think the Bills have to go with a big-time defensive clogger who can eat up multiple blockers. For their 3-4 and 4-3 mixed scheme, they need a player with position flexibility. Defensive Tackle Marcell Dareus from Alabama gets the selection here from me if I were the Buffalo Bills.


He's an athletic freak for his size, running a 4.92 40-yard dash at the Combine after weighing in at 319 pounds. Dareus's footwork is absolutely phenomenal for how big he is. His Pro Day reinforced this as he looked very quick and agile, moving exceptionally well in all position drills. Extremely explosive off the snap is Marcell, as uses his hands well in engaging defenders and disengaging from blockers. He's also great at occupying double teams, allowing other players around him to fly to the ball. From what I watched of him at Alabama, I see the potential for him to play the nose, but Kyle Williams is already incredible in that role which makes me believe that adding Dareus to the Bills defense would really open things up for their Linebacking corps. Buffalo would help solidfy their road to success in the future with the selection of Marcell Dareus at pick 3..

NFL Draft: Denver Broncos -- 2

Thank you Denver Broncos for firing Josh McDaniels and hiring former head coach of the Panthers John Fox (or any other head coach for that matter). The McDaniels era last two years to long in Denver. I've never seen a coach come to a team, impose his will on every football aspect, and proceed to get rid of all the talent on the roster. Unlike Mike Tomlin and Jim Caldwell who have followed the recipe for success, Josh McDaniels did a horrendous job in attempting to make the Broncos a championship caliber football team. What I find very interesting is how every assistant coach under to-be hall of fame coach Bill Belicheck has yet to find any success in the NFL. With newly hired head coach John Fox and VP of football operations John Elway, I think the Denver Broncos are making great strides in an attempt to turn this franchise around. Back in 2002 when John Fox was hired by the Carolina Panthers, they had the number 2 overall pick. Now in virtually the same situation, does John Fox proceed to pick a game changing defensive end once again? With the resigning of Cornerback Champ Bailey, I think the Broncos must draft someone on the Defensive Line to help improve their putrid defense that ranked last in points against, yards against, rushing yards against, and sacks last year. Defense wins championships in this league as teams with super front 7s continue to dominate in the post season. I feel that De'Quann Bowers the Defensive End from Clemson would be a phenomenal pick-up here for the Broncos.


De'Quann's junior season was exactly what was expected of him and muchhhh more. With 15.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss, Bowers was nothing short of spectacular. He dominated every aspect of the game this past season, stuffing the run extremely well and looked incredible rushing the passer. At 6'4" and 280 pounds, he's got an incredible speed, size, strength ratio. One of the few knocks against him is his initial step off the snap, but he makes up for it with great athleticism and quickness. For a primarily pass rushing Defensive End, he's very stout and strong against the run (he even played inside at Defensive Tackle). The Denver Broncos can't go wrong with selecting De'Quann Bowers number 2 overall in this years NFL Draft as he showed immense potential this past season to become an elite player..

NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers -- 1

With the first overall pick in this year's draft, the Carolina Panthers are on the clock. There's no clear cut number one prospect coming in, so I can see this pick going quite a few different ways. My initial feeling is that they'd go Defensive Tackle to help improve a run defense that ranked in the bottom third of the NFL last season seeing as "defense wins championships", but with Ron Rivera coming in I can see him wanting a new face to the franchise (especially since Jimmy Clausen played horribly last year). The Panthers ranked last in points scored last season and ranked last in passing and total yards as well, they need some sort of offensive spark. They've got a great offensive line to work with consisting of Tackles Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah and Center Ryan Khalil, they've got one of the best Running Backs in the game in Jonathan Stewart, as well as one of the best game-breaking Wide Receivers in the game with Steve Smith. The Carolina Panthers offense needs a Quarterback that can help them win games in the future, as they are currently going through a rebuilding phase. The Quarterback that I think fits well into the Panthers current situation is non other than Heisman winner Cam Newton from Auburn.


Quite honestly, I don't think Cam Newton is the best prospect in this draft. I don't think he's even the best Quarterback in this draft class. The kid is oozing with potential though. He has the ability to bring thousands of fans to Bank of America Stadium on a weekly basis due to his confident attitude and his electrifying presence on the field. As a Junior at Auburn he rushed for 20 touchdowns and threw for 30. He is one of the most gifted athletes to come out of college in some time as he's a huge Quarterback at 6'6" 250 pounds with a 4.58 40, 35 inch vertical, and Quarterback high 10 1/2 foot broad jump. Mixed reviews came from the combine though as he went 11 of 21, missing on quite a few deep outs and some go routes. Cam Newton's deep ball is one of the prettiest I've ever seen though as he posesses great accuracy, trajectory, and speed on those throws. Despite these incredible positives, he is one of the least polished first round prospects possibly ever. His short and intermediate passes aren't very accurate at times due to him not always stepping into his throws. That is one of his biggest knocks on him as a passer along with his terrible mechanics, but these can most certainly be coached up at the next level if he's willing to put the time and effort in. What scares me the most though is his decision making. Yes, he does have the ability to make throws that no other Quarterbacks would ever dream of, but he makes some very poor decisions and throws at times. In college, he rarely had to make more than one read. If he didn't like the development of that route, he'd take off and run with it. Also, he came from a gimmicky offense that had him throwing to wide open receivers at times. If he puts the time, effort, and hard work in Cam Newton has the potential to be a phenomenal Quarterback in the NFL, but he's really a boom or bust prospect at this point. Is he worth the risk at number 1 overall to the Panthers? In my opinion, no. I don't think that'll stop Ron Rivera from absolutely falling in love with Cam though seeing as I have him going first overall to the Carolina Panthers on Draft Day..

Aaron Rodgers: Super Bowl XLV MVP

En route to their fourth Super Bowl title, the Green Bay Packers and Quarterback Aaron Rodgers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, bringing hte Lombardi Trophy home once again. Solidfying himself as a Top 5 QB in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers put on a near-perfect performance against the league's top defense. He absolutely carved up the Steelers zone blitz scheme, going 24 of 39 with 304 yards passing and three touchdowns. To make matters even more impressive, the Packers receivers were dropping multiple passes all night. A well deserved Super Bowl MVP Award for Aaron Rodgers just goes to show that he's a top Quarterback in the NFL today.

Colts put Franchise Tag on Peyton Manning

The Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning is on his way to becoming the highest paid player in the NFL. A long-term deal is currently in the works between the two sides, but Peyton is subject to make $23 million next season with this tag. Obviously the money is worth it as he's been arguably the top player in the NFL for quite a few years now, he's been voted MVP four times with one Super Bowl win under his belt, but this new contract is upwards of Tom Brady's six-year $60 million contract from last year. No wonder the team owners want more money in the new CBA.

Road to Super Bowl XLV Recap: Green Bay Packers

Ending one era and beginning another in Philadelphia didn't even take half a football game for this years second best defensive player. In Week 1 of the Packers season, linebacker Clay Matthews fought off a block on his eventual succession to chasing down quarterback Kevin Kolb from behind. Kolb sustained a concussion which ignited the start to phenomena quarterback Michael Vick's valiant return. Despite shutting down the Eagles 27-20, Green Bay took quite an injury hit as well. After just 8 carries on the day, running back Ryan Grant left the game with a season-ending ankle injury that would leave him on Injured Reserve for the 2010-2011 season.

While starting off 3-1, the Packers Week 5 match-up against the Washington Redskins would end in another injury bug disaster. Tight end Jermichael Finley went down with a season-ending knee injury, causing the Packers to lose one of the best tight end's in the game. At 6'5" and 250 lb, the man is an absolute head ache for Defensive Coordinators to game-plan against due to his ability to create mismatches with that rare blend of size and speed. To make matters even worse, Rodgers suffered his first of two concussions on the season. In dropping the next two games because of those detrimental injuries, the Green Bay Packers fell to 3-3.

Fortunately for Packer Nation, it didn't take long for Aaron Rodgers to recover from his injury. Even though they lost to the eventual Number 1 seed Atlanta Falcons in Week 12 by just 3 points, five of the Packers next six games landed in victories. And just as the team started to heat up, Rodgers suffered his second concussion of the season. Back-up quarterback Matt Flynn and the Packers lost by an embarrassing score of 7-3 to the Lions in Week 14, and in the following week Green Bay would suffer a similar fate at the hands of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Even with a valiant effort by Flynn, New England got the best of a beaten up Packers squad in a 31-27 contest.

The much needed return of Aaron Rodgers came in Week 16 as the Packers would go up against two playoff caliber squads in the next two weeks, thus defining their playoff-bound dreams. Back-to-back victories against the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears ignited life into the now 10-6 playoff team.

Facing three of the NFC's powerhouses, the Green Bay Packers found help from a new found rushing attack by way of Buffalo native running back James Starks in this years playoffs. With this, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have bravely defeated the Eagles, Falcons and Bears en route to Super Bowl XLV.