Could Aaron Dobson be a big time receiver? Surprisingly, from what we saw in his rookie campaign, the answer is yes.
Early in the season, he was Aaron “Dropson.” He, along with Kenbrell “Dropkins,” got off to rough starts. Really rough. They were running the wrong routes and drop more passes than they caught. However, we definitely saw improvement over the course of the season and Dobson could be ready to make the jump to superstardom. The second round pick out of Marshall came in with high, possibly unrealistic, expectations. The last big name receiver to come out of Marshall was Randy Moss. Not only were people comparing Dobson to Moss, for no reason other than the fact that they went to the same school, but it was also assumed he would come in and be great for the sole reason that he had Tom Brady as his quarterback. With Brady having no serious weapons around him, Dobson was going to have to assume the role of Brady’s number one receiver, another outrageous expectation. However, like many rookie receivers, he played like a rookie. That is not surprising or a reason to be down on Dobson’s potential. Rookie receivers have struggled in their first seasons as of late. Take a look at what a few young receivers did in their first season compared to their second… Michael Floyd, Arizona Cardinals. Floyd was the second receiver off the board in 2012, after only Justin Blackmon. In 16 games his rookie season, he started only three. He caught 45 passes for 562 yards and only two touchdowns. Not so great, huh? His second year he caught 65 balls for over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. He did that with Carson Palmer as his quarterback. Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears Jeffery, in my opinion, slipped big time in the 2012 draft. I said that at the time. After a rookie campaign in which he caught only 24 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns, he took a huge jump in year two. 89 catches. 1,421 yards. 7 touchdowns. He became one of the top receivers in football. Kendall Wright, Tennessee Titans Wright, quietly, had a very good season for Tennessee. He caught 94 balls for 1,079 yards and two touchdowns. Yes, the touchdown numbers are low; however, look at the rest of the numbers. He just needs to be targeted more often in the redzone. In 2012, he caught 64 passes for 626 yards and four touchdowns. He clearly improved his second year. In 2013, Aaron Dobson caught 37 passes from Tom Brady for 519 yards and four touchdowns. If that is being compared to Floyd’s, Jeffery’s, and Wright’s rookie years, it is right there with them. In addition, Dobson has the best quarterback out of the bunch. Am I saying Dobson will explode for 1,500 yards? No. Is it possible? Yes. He clearly improved as the year went on. Before his foot injury, Dobson was running better routes and showed better hands. We should see great improvement out of Aaron Dobson next season.
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It looks as if the Boston Celtics are officially participating in Tankapalooza 2014. It’s about time. The Celtics, 14-29, have lost 15 out of their last 17 games. While Rajon Rondo has returned from his ACL injury, he is playing limited minutes and it is going to take some time for him to get his feel back; he is shooting under 26% (7-17) since his return. While the Celtics are still in the hunt for a top three draft pick, they can still look elsewhere to improve the team. Here are five outrageous and outlandish trades that, per the NBA Trade Machine, would be successful. The Celtics are looking to rebuild and put together a young team that will be competitive for years to come. This team is exactly that. The average age of this starting five is under 24 years old! The best part is who the Celtics give up to acquire the young talent. Four inferior players are being swapped for five, young stars. Yes please. I would play Curry out of position at the two guard and have Klay Thompson come off the bench. Not a bad option off the bench Rondo-Curry-George-Davis-Hibbert Similar to the previous trade, the Celtics are acquiring a ton of young talent for…well essentially nothing. Not only are you getting a young player with great potential at each position, you have other players that can work with the younger players to help develop their skills. Trey Burke is just a rookie, but with the likes of Rajon Rondo and Kyrie Irving around, he should be able to develop quite nicely. Now that is a deep bench. Does anybody actually believe that the Celtics’ win total would go down if they made this trade? Rondo-Hayward-Turner-Thompson-Noel Noticing a trend? Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace and Brandon Bass seem to be popping up quite a bit in these scenarios. What do the Celtics need? What have they needed for quite some time now? A big man. Here they are able to acquire the best big man in the game, even if he does have some attitude problems, along with the best point guard in the league, and arguably the best shooting guard. This trade originally was just going to see Paul and Howard in green and gold but it would not make sense to have Rondo and Paul on the same team (tell that to the last trade which had Rondo, Irving, Burke and Carter-Williams.), so I swapped Rondo for James Harden and his beard. Rondo-Harden-Green-Sullinger-Howard Once again I have traded for a star point guard and left Rajon Rondo on the Celtics. Hey, when I see a guy who can shoot like Lillard, I do not care if he is at the point or the two, he is going to be starting. Oh, and that guy from San Antonio isn’t bad from what I’ve heard. Jared Sullinger learning under one, if not the best power forward to ever play basketball is a dream come true. Rondo-Lillard-Batum-Sullinger-Duncan Ok, now if you think that the previous five trades have been ridiculous, you will be shocked by what was pulled off here. Arguably the four best players in the NBA are all coming to Boston. For what? Well, basically the entire roster. But who cares! If you can put a team together that looks like this, the players coming off the bench do not need to be studs; the Celtics can pick up just about anybody to be role players.
Disclaimer: I am not advocating LeBron James to Boston. I simply wanted to see if it was possible to bring the four best players in the league to one team. Westbrook-Durant-James-Sullinger-Love While trade number five brings in the top talent in the league, I do not believe it is the best team I have listed in this article. Best lineup? Yes, probably. However, give me trade number one where the Celtics acquire young talent and still keep all of the talent they already have. Plus, you do not have to deal with the egos of LeBron James and Dwight Howard. I’ll leave you with this picture…imagine if the Celtics were to add Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, or Jabari Parker to any of these teams. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamPericolo Huh. I don’t even know what to say. This is disappointing. I prepared for the AFC Championship game by telling myself I would not get mad or upset. I told myself that the Patriots were not that good and were lucky to be there. Then the clock hit 00:00 and I was both mad and upset. Why am I so mad? I know that the Patriots are not that good. I know that even if they won the game, the NFC would probably pummel them, regardless of which team they would be playing. But there are still plenty of reasons to be upset about this Patriots’ team….
First of all, Bill Belichick is one of the biggest reasons I am upset about this season. Coach Bill Belichick will most likely win Coach of the Year. This is arguably his best season as a head coach. I am not mad at coach Bill Belichick; I am mad at general manager Bill Belichick. Bill did a great job with the talent that he has. However, he has the authority to get better talent. He is the general manager. He controls who the Patriots sign, trade for, or draft. He wanted to prove that he could win with a roster of mediocre talent. Come on, Bill. Brady is not 25 anymore. He is on the back nine, probably somewhere around the 15th green. You need to give him talent to work with. I am also upset because of the Peyton Manning/Tom Brady argument. This game could only help Brady’s legacy. If he won, he beat the best offense in NFL history with mediocre talent around him. If he lost, it’s not a big deal; they were an inferior team. However, it does help Peyton Manning’s legacy. He was able to win and go to his third Super Bowl. While they will still lose to the Seattle Seahawks, he was still able to get there. It boosts the argument for Manning as a better quarterback than Brady, which he is not. If you take everything the two have done (regular season, playoffs, statistics, win/loss record, surrounding talent), Brady is still clearly the superior quarterback. Finally, I am nervous for next season already. What will the Patriots be? Will Aqib Talib be back? How about LeGarrette Blount? Will they give Brady a decent supporting cast or will he again have three slot receivers on the field at once? It is infuriating watching Bill Belichick and the Patriots waste the little time we have left with Tom Terrific. I want the Patriots to prove they are all about winning. I want them to show me they are trying to put the best team possible on the field. They say that is all they care about, and then they put an average team on the field. I am aware I sound like an upset girlfriend asking her boyfriend to “show me you love me, don’t just say it,” but I really want the Patriots to show me they are doing everything they can to win. I believe they can do more than they are. We all knew it would come down to this. Yes, the AFC was wide open; however, everybody still believed it would come down to the Patriots and Broncos, or what is also known as Brady v. Manning IV. Nevertheless, contrary to popular belief, there will be more players involved in this game than just Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Who has the advantage?
Passing Game The quarterbacks in this game are just about even. Peyton Manning puts up the stats, but Tom Brady gets it done in the clutch (and would put up the stats if he had a receiving target over 5’11”). Personally, I would take Tom Brady. However, this is about the passing game as a whole, not just the quarterback, and the Broncos has a massive advantage in the receiving game. Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Eric Decker, Julius Thomas vs. Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Kenbrell Thompkins, Michael Hoomanawanui. That is not even an argument. Edge: Broncos Rushing Game LeGarrette Blount has become a legitimate threat in the rushing game. In week 17, Blount carried the ball 24 times for 189 yards and two touchdowns. It could have been passed off as a fluky great game if it were not for his game against the Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional Round. Blount once again carried the rock 24 times, this time for 166 yards and four touchdowns, including a 73-yard touchdown run. However, it is not just Blount; Stevan Ridley also looked good in the running game, averaging just under four yards per carry and punching it into the endzone twice against the Colts. The Patriots are averaging over a yard better per rush than the Broncos in the postseason and can dictate the pace of the game with it. Edge: Patriots Defense The defense for the Patriots has started to return to early season form, despite losing its best players for the year. Brandon Spikes was placed on injured reserve and the Patriots did not miss a beat. Dont’a Hightower took his place in the middle and Jamie Collins stepped in as the coverage linebacker and did a great job. While the Broncos held the San Diego Chargers scoreless for the majority of the game, but that was more ineptitude on the part of the Chargers’ play calling than it was a testament to the Broncos’ defense. Edge: Patriots Keys to the Game Broncos For the Broncos to win this game, Peyton Manning has to prove that he is more than just the MVP of the Pro Bowl. We all know he can put up the stats, but can he win the big game? History says no. He has one Super Bowl, and if I do say the Chicago Bears that year were the weakest competition in the Super Bowl in recent history. He has been one-and-done eight times in the playoffs. Patriots The key for the Patriots all lies within The Hoodie. Bill Belichick is a genius and hands down the best coach in the National Football League. He seems to be in the head of Peyton Manning after the Patriots week 12 win over the Broncos. He let Peyton Manning take the ball out of his own hands. Manning played right into Bill’s plan. Will Manning hand off to the running back whenever he sees two deep safeties again? Probably not. But it is also more than likely that Belichick comes up with a different game plan this week, equally as effective. Result The Patriots are in their eighth AFC Championship game in the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era. Of the seven they have already played in, they have won five of them. They have been the most dominant team in football over the last decade. They know how to get it done in the clutch. They will advance to their sixth Super Bowl since 2001. Patriots 35-31 |
SAMUEL PERICOLOSam is a graduate of Assumption College where he studied History, Marketing, and Political Science and was a Co-Producer on a weekly sports talk television show. Archives
March 2018
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