Does Character Count Anymore?

I just finished checking ProFootballTalk and surprise, surprise!  Another Vikings has issues with following rules.  According to a report found on ProFootballTalk, Vikings first year cornerback Chris Cook has been arrested for brandishing a handgun during a fight.

This is the 2nd player from the Vikings 2010 draft class that has had a run in with the law.  Last month it was reported that Vikings first year DE Everson Griffen was arrested twice within a week.  Once for being drunk and another for beating a cop.

This is just a couple more things to add to the embarrassment that is the Minnesota Vikings organization.  We can start will the Whizzinator that Onterrio Smith was caught with and then add the sex boat party with McKinnie and Smoot.  Then when can look at Brett Favre and his sexting of his Peyton Man-thing.  While he is an idiot for sending pics in the first place, at least it gave us a great parody:

For a team that is struggling to make money and looking for a new stadium, low character guys are not helping.  It may be time to review the interview and selection process that Spielman and the Vikings staff use and start getting some high character guys.

Update!

I still hate Duke!

Why I Hate Duke....

My hatred runs deep for Duke.  Before I get into the reasons why I hate Duke and why they suck, I will preface everything you are about to read, with the fact that I am a Tarheel fan.  (As you will see, my sports allegiance is like a blinko chip on the Price is right).

Let's start with the obvious.  Duke players are ugly.  Scientifically, Duke has probably provided evolution supporters with the greatest link that we were once monkeys....I give you Sheldon Williams.  Then we have the hygiene issue where Reddick couldn't seem to wash his back (bad hygiene and ugly fall into the same category if you ask me).  Then we have the most recent example of ugly, Nolan Smith.  Has anyone seen the movie "Enemy Mine"?  Louis Gossett, Jr. plays an alien type beast who befriends an astronaut played by Dennis Quaid.  All last season and into the beginning of this season, Smith was driving me nuts.  Not just because he pushes off every time he drives to the hoop, but he drew a striking resemblance to someone, but I couldn't think who?  I give you Louis Gossett, Jr. (the alien) and Nolan Smith:

Let's talk about Coach K, that rat bastard.  He looks like a rat.  I was convinced a week ago that no one, not even Bob Knight liked Coach K.  Coach Knight couldn't look less interested in an interview he and Coach K had, which I took as a sign that Bob Knight really didn't care too much for him.  Then this morning I was wathcing college game day and realized, Bob Knight really doesn't care for anyone.  Regardless, anyone that coaches flopping during practice is taking advantage of the game in a bad way.  Practicing taking charges is one thing, but flopping is completely different.  Why don't you try game planning and let your intelligence shine through defense schemes or offensive plays, not flopping.

Duke fans....I am almost 100% positive, that less than 10% of Duke fans in attendance at Cameron Indoor actually understand what is going on in a basketball game.  I am convinced that the jumping up and down is caused by an announcement right before tip off.  I am sure it goes something like this:   "Due to the game this evening, the library will be open an additional 3 hours tonight."  I am all for prestige and getting a great education, but you have to learn social skills as well.  99% percent of Duke fans at a game lack the desired social skill ability to function in a setting with people they do not know (this is my fact and I have no documentation supporting this number).  All the time spent in the library and playing sports leaves little time to develop social skills.  I am sure no one dates at Duke, they probably don't know how to talk to each other without using math equations or the Pythagorean Theorem.

I just don't like Duke.

Go Heels!

1-10 Mock Draft

It's not the compelte 1st round, but it’s a start….the rest will come later.   Consider it an early Happy Hour for a Friday afternoon!

1.   Carolina - Nick Fairley, DT Auburn:  He is a safe bet.  While not a Julius Peppers clone, he is strong, big and pretty quick for his size.  He can move around and will be an immediate upgrade to a once dominant Carolina Defense.  Oh….and Cam Newton sucks, Gabbert is overrated, and George Mason standout Craig (NT) didn’t declare for the draft

2.   Denver - Da'Quan Bowers, DE Clemson:  Bowers versatility is key with him coming off the board at 2.  Denver desperately needs help on defense.  Peterson from LSU could be the pick here as well as the heir apparent to Bailey if/when he moves to safety.  At the end of the day, I think the ability to for bowers to play upright and out of a stance, fits what Denver is looking for.

3.   Buffalo – Marcell Dareus*, DT Alabama: This is a tough one.  Quarterback seems to be the popular choice here, but if you believe Bills’ great Thurman Thomas, Fitz has what it takes, and anyone in this draft at the QB position would be a downgrade.  I tend to believe him.  Marcell Dareus is a monster and the Bills will take him.  I think it wise for the Bills to wait for Luck next year and right Fitzpatrick out for at least another season.  Again, if Craig declared, he would fit great here.

4.   Cincinnati - Patrick Peterson, CB LSU:  to put it simple…he is too good to pass up.  Bengals can get a receiver in later rounds, I heard Craig is willing to convert to WR.

5.   Arizona – Blaine Gabbert, QB Missouri:  The Cardinals are not a good team.  Just to give you an idea of how bad they are, I heard they recently invited Craig, the Mason NT standout we talked about earlier, and had him run through some quarterback drills.  Turns out he sucks at quarterback, so by default, Gabbert lands in the desert.

6.   Cleveland - A.J. Green, WR Georgia:  I think I heard one of the guys on NFL Network call the Browns current corp of WR’s “slow”.  Upgrade taken here

7.   San Francisco - Von Miller, OLB Texas A&M:  I don’t think I have seen this type of talent since I saw Craig on the NatRider.  Regardless, Willis and Miller in the LB corp....to quote my friend Ross…”Nasty”!

8.   Tennessee - Prince Amukamara, CB Nebraska:  Value pick here.  Tennessee could take a gamble on a quarterback like Newtown or Locker, or Craig (his pro day was terrible though).

9.   Dallas Cowboys - Cam Newton, QB Auburn:  Redskins fans will thank Double J for taking the any potential of a dumb decision out of the equation.

10. Washington Redskins - Julio Jones, WR Alabama:  Perfect pick for the Skins!  Speed, strength, proven winner…just what the Skins needed, a playmaker!  The last time I saw a player mean so much to ones team was when Craig was playing NT for Mason, he was unstoppable, no one could touch him!

Skins sign Atogwe, another free agent bust?

We desperately needed a free safety. But, i am not even going to pretend that i am excited about this move it just feels like more of the same. Let review the pros and cons, and since i get to choose, lets start with the cons.

Cons:

• Another 5 year deal to someone who is going to be on the wrong side of 30 when the season starts
• His interceptions have been decreasing over the last 4 years (8,5,2,3)
• Another re-tread from past gigs (see: Buchanan, Phillip; Carriker, Adam)
• We still have holes everywhere else (quarterback, running back, linebacker, nickel back, nose tackle, d'end, receiver, running back, and o'line) -- I'm not sure if that if a pro or con as much as its just embarrassing.
• Looks like we are trying to win the off season championship again (one for the other thumb?)

Pros:

• Atogwe has accounted for the third most turnovers among NFL defensive backs over the past five seasons. (Charles Woodson and Ed Reed have more)
• For someone that productive, his salary isn't really that bad.
• When Haslett was his coordinator he had 13 picks over 2 seasons
• He isn't Kareem Moore

As you can clearly see, there are more cons than pros, which must mean this is a bad move. Its not just my opinion, its math.

What to do at no. 10?

With the exception of Orakpo and Silverback, there really isn't a position the Redskins can't upgrade.  So what do you target with the 10th pick?  I have a few ideas:

• Von Miller : Can you imagine Orakpo and Miller playing together in a 3-4?  Unfortunately, I think this is a pipe dream.  As the 3-4 defense has become the new sexy defense in the NFL, there are too many teams ahead of the Redskins that could use Miller.  I project Miller is off the board at no. 5 to the Cardinals...but one can still hold out hope!
• Cam Newton:  I am by no stretch of the imagination in love with Cam Newton (I keep thinking Andrew Ware and Akili Smith).  I will give him this, he is an athletic freak!  But...did anyone see him through at the combine?  Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  However, isn't this just the type of guy Al Davis Jr. (mental midget Snyder) loves?  I just don't see it, but then again, I can't justify giving a guy a $100 million contract either!
• Blaine Gabbert:  He seemingly has all the physical attributes you want in a quarterback.  Tall, strong, big arm...but unproven.  I remember hearing his name towards the end of the college football season as a "top prospect" in the upcoming draft, to which I thought to myself, who is Blaine Gabbert?  He is definitely a gamble, much like Newton is.  I also don't seem him available at the 10th pick.  I would like to think the Redskins will draft a quarterback in the later rounds and develop him behind McNabb/Grossman.
• Mike Pouncey:  This guy is going to benefit from riding his brother's coat tails, but is that really a bad thing?  Mike is regarded as one of the more versatile interior offense lineman in this draft, which is a huge need for the Skins.  The only way I see this happening is if the Skins trade back into the first round and pick up some additional picks.
• Julio Jones:  Was anyone else as blown away by Julio's combine like I was?  While not on the same "freakish" level as Megatron, Andre Johnson or Randy Moss, Julio killed the combine!  I have always been under the philosophy that you take talent in the first 15 picks over need, need you can fill in with later round selections.  If the Skins don't trade back, I think you have to seriously consider drafting Julio at 10.

Stay tuned, I plan to reveal my first round 1 mock draft this weekend!

Skins have 6 RB's on roster, none named Portis

The Skins currently have 6 running backs on the roster; Andre Brown, James Davis, Shawnbrey McNeal, Chad Simpson, Ryan Torian and Keiland Williams. This begs the question, will one of these guys be our starting running back in 2011?  Shannahan has shown that (with the exception of Portis) he usually doesn't draft running backs very high and he usually prefers to pick up a back later in the later rounds. Torian was productive when healthy, but he has shown that it is almost impossible for him to stay healthy all season long.

So, prediction time. It seems obvious that Torian will start the season, and history shows, he will get nicked up at some point. With a full off-season (if there is one) under James Davis, I think he will take over the #2 spot. Williams did a goof job when called upon last year, but Torian easily took his job back when he returned, so that tells me that he is expendable. I think another RB will be added via the draft to push Davis for the #2 spot and potentially could see some decent playing time before the end of the year. Look for someone like C.J. Gable from USC or Derrick Locke from KY, who both fit the Shannahan system.

Hello World

Welcome to our new sports blog focused on d.c. area sports and other random thoughts. We live in this area and embrace the suck that is washington area sports. We think we have a lot of interesting things to say and hopefully will enjoy a Tiger like rise to the top only to have it all come crashing down around us. For some reason that would feel like great success to us. Stay tuned and if all else fails, there is still profootballtalk.com.