Rob Gronkowski is arguably the toughest matchup in the National Football League. His combination of speed and pure strength makes him a near impossible one-on-one coverage. He is too fast for a linebacker and too strong for a cornerback. However, the Seattle Seahawks may have the only player in the NFL that can limit Gronk in man coverage. Safety Kam Chancellor is similar to Gronk on the defensive side of the ball. He is a physical freak. Gronkowski can drag four players on his back for five yards, but Chancellor can hurdle the offensive and defensive lines to get into the backfield and disrupt a kick. Gronk can catch a pass one-handed with his left hand while in double coverage, but Chancellor can knock a receiver coming across the middle into next week. They are two of the most physical players in the game. Read More at CLNSRadio.com
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The fact that this is actually a story is astonishing. Who would ever think that leading up to the best Super Bowl matchup of at least the last decade, we would be talking about the PSI of footballs? Yes, that is the topic of discussion. Not how the Patriots will defend Marshawn Lynch. Not the Rob Gronkowski-Kam Chancellor matchup that should be fun to watch. Instead we are talking about footballs. Coach Bill Belichick spoke this morning on the matter. After being ten minutes late to his 9:30 AM press conference, Belichick spent the next eleven minutes talking about deflate-gate and deflate-gate only, and he said a lot more than many expected. Granted, the bar is not set too high to Belichick pressers. Read more on CLNSRadio.com Follow @SamPericolo for the latest sports talk and news It has been eight years since that last time these two teams met in the AFC Championship game, a game in which the Indianapolis Colts came roaring back from a huge deficit to advance to the Super Bowl. Now, in 2015, they meet again. While the teams are very different than they were in that 2006 season, there are a few similarities. Bill Belichick is still the head coach of the New England Patriots, and both teams have elite quarterbacks. The Pats are still sending number 12 out there every Sunday; however, the Colts now have their own number 12, with 18 in Denver and watching from home with a chicken parm sandwich tonight. Andrew Luck and Tom Brady. Two of the better quarterbacks in the league will face off tonight for a chance to play in Super Bowl XLIX. The last time these two teams met, a man that nobody except Notre Dame fans had heard of rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns. Jonas Gray made the Indianapolis defense look like a pop warner team. The game before that, a divisional round game in the 2014 playoffs, LeGarrette Blount rushed for 166 yards and, you guessed it, four touchdowns. The moral of the story is you can run on this team. Or can you? Since the shellacking that took place in week 11 of this season, the Colts have allowed only 110.4 rushing yards per game (99 yards per game in the playoffs). While still only a number that would leave them in the middle of the pack in the NFL, it is much improved from what we have seen against them. Read More at CLNSRadio.com Follow @SamPericolo for the latest sports talk and news I never knew Stuart Scott. I will probably never meet his daughters Taelor and Sydni, or anybody related to him. Yet for some reason, hearing the news that Stuart Scott died upset me more than I thought it would.
ESPN really became big during my generation, so it is what the sports fan grew up watching. Every morning and every night I would find myself in front of SportsCenter catching up on the latest news in the sports world. There are some great anchors on ESPN, and like everybody else, I have my favorites. However, there is one anchor that we will always remember, and that is Stuart Scott. I grew up watching Scott. We all did. We all watched as he changed the way sports were reported, letting out an echoing “booyah” whenever somebody crushed a home run or threw down a dunk that made the arena tremble. We watched all the “This is SportsCenter” commercials that had him admiring Arnold Palmer mix an Arnold Palmer or pitching a dance move to Chad OchoCinco and the wide receiver using his own catchphrase to shut him down. We all knew who was as cool as the other side of the pillow. This was our childhood. Everybody who played sports had the dream of becoming a professional athlete. Scott made kids want to become a sportscaster. He made it entertaining to watch. I don’t get wrapped up in celebrity deaths. That’s not to say I’m insensitive and don’t care, they just never really affect me. This death was different. I couldn’t believe how sad I was hearing of Scott’s death. That is because he was part of my childhood. Despite never meeting him, I grew up with him. Anybody my age who grew up a sports fan knows what I mean and probably feels the same way. So when you go to bed tonight, do as Scott’s long-time partner Rich Eisen asked you to do, and flip your pillow over to the cool side. Rest in peace, Stuart Scott. You meant more to our generation than you ever knew. You will be missed. Follow @SamPericolo for the latest sports talk and news 1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
Mariota is not the best player in this draft. He is a good young quarterback, but there is definitely some doubt about whether or not his game will translate to the next level. However, quarterback is the most important position in sports and teams will always reach to get a good one. On the bright side, he will have two very good and big receivers in Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans to help him make the transition, assuming Chip Kelly does not offer his entire draft to move up for the Oregon signal caller. 2. Tennessee Titans – Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska Tennessee is also in need of a quarterback; however, the only first grade talent available at the position in Jameis Winston, and, personally, I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole. Tennessee wisely agrees and takes the best player available. 3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Leonard Williams, DT, USC The Jaguars, while they got off to a good start by taking Blake Bortles in last years draft, are still more than one player away. Williams is the best player available who could be a great building block on the defensive side of the ball. 4. Oakland Raiders – Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama Oakland had a great draft in 2014. They seem to have found their franchise quarterback in Derek Carr and got a great linebacker in Khalil Mack. It is now time to give their young quarterback a receiver, and, this year, there is not one better at the position than Amari Cooper. 5. Washington Redskins – Brandon Scherff, OT, Iowa Is Robert Griffin III the future quarterback in Washington? We don’t know because they can’t protect him. I believe that Griffin can be the guy he was in his rookie season, if they give him time in the pocket. Scherff is the best offensive tackle in the draft and could help Griffin keep his job in Washington. 6. New York Jets – Jameis Winston, QB, FSU Like I said, I would not touch Winston. The Jets, however, are not a smart team. Ok, that is not fair. We do not know what they will be like because they have yet to hire a new general manager and head coach. They need a quarterback and if he slips past the Titans, the Jets may have their quarterback. 7. Chicago Bears – Shane Ray, DE, Missouri The Bears need a lot of help on defense. While they could use a safety, seventh overall is too early for Landon Collins (or any safety for that matter). Ray is one of the best pass rushers in the draft and you can never have enough pass rushers. 8. Atlanta Falcons – Dante Fowler, OLB, Florida Atlanta has had one of the worst defenses in the league for the past few years. In 2014, they had only 22 sacks. Shall I put that into perspective? JJ Watt had 20.5 sacks. He almost out sacked an NFL team. (Actually, he did out sack the Cincinnati Bengals, who only had 20 sacks on the year.) 9. New York Giants – Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson What was the reason that the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, mostly in 2007? Their pass rush. If you have a good pass rush, you can mask problems in the secondary because they do not have to cover as long. Beasley is one of the best pass rushers in this draft and can either replace Jason Pierre-Paul (who is a free agent after the season), or team up with him, if he is re-signed, to make for a dangerous pass rush once again. 10. St. Louis Rams – Andrus Peat, OT, Stanford The Rams seem to be a quarterback away from contending for a playoff spot. However, whoever they find to quarterback their team, needs to be protected. There is no quarterback worth of this draft spot, so the Rams snag an offensive tackle to pair with Greg Robinson as the future of their offensive line. 11. Minnesota Vikings – Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Texas A&M Teddy Bridgewater seems to be the guy in Minnesota. Now it is time to make sure he stays upright and former first round pick Matt Kalil has not been what everybody thought he would be. 12. Cleveland Browns – DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville Is Johnny Manziel the future at quarterback for the Browns? Well, they need to give him some weapons to find out. Josh Gordon cannot stay on the field, whether it is a drug related suspension or a team suspension. Look for Gordon to be dealt in the offseason and the Browns address the wide receiver need in the draft. 13. New Orleans Saints – Alvin Dupree, DE, Kentucky New Orleans is another team that had trouble getting to the quarterback in 2014. Actually, they had trouble doing just about anything on defense. Dupree has a quick burst and should work with Junior Galette to improve the Saints’ pass rush. 14. Miami Dolphins – Danny Shelton, DT, Washington Jared Odrick is a free agent after the season. Some believe he will demand too much money to be brought back, so the Dolphins will have to look elsewhere to fill the tackle spot. CBS Sports compared him to Vince Wilfork. If Shelton can even come close to the player that Wilfork has been for the Patriots, they will have gotten a steal at 14. 15. San Francisco 49ers – Kevin White, WR, West Virginia Michael Crabtree is a free agent. Anquan Boldin is not getting any younger. Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd are not top of the depth chart wide receivers. White is a tall, quick receiver with big hands who can go up and win the jump ball. Plus, the Niners need to give Colin Kaepernick all the help he can get. 16. Houston Texans – Devin Funchess, WR/TE, Michigan Andre Johnson is on the wrong side of 30 and while DeAndre Hopkins has shown he can be a productive wide receiver, they need more than just one weapon. 17. Kansas City Chiefs – Jalen Strong, WR, Arizona State The Kansas City Chiefs did not have a touchdown caught by a wide receiver in the entire 2014 season. I think it is safe to say they could use a wide receiver in the draft. 18. San Diego Chargers – Ereck Flowers, OT, Miami According to Football Outsiders, the Chargers were the 31st ranked offensive line while run blocking and only a middle of the pack pass blocking team. They could use an upgrade on the line. 19. Cleveland Browns (from Buffalo Bills) – Shaq Thompson, OLB, Washington Cleveland is so close. They have a decent defense. Add a pass rusher coming off the edge and they could really jump to the next level. 20. Philadelphia Eagles – Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan St. Philadelphia may have had a high-powered offense, but they needed to. They couldn’t stop anybody on defense. They ranked in the bottom half of the league in interceptions and only Atlanta gave up more passing yards per game than the Eagles. 21. Carolina Panthers – La’El Collins, OT, LSU The Panthers’ offensive line ranked in the bottom half in terms of both run and pass protection. They need to keep Cam Newton upright and an upgrade on the line is necessary to do so. 22. Baltimore Ravens – Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin The Ravens stumbled upon a diamond in the rough in Justin Forsett. However, nobody believes that a journeyman change of pace back will, at 30 years old, continue to be the lead back in Baltimore. Melvin Gordon had one of the best seasons a running back has ever had in college football and should break the two-year streak of no running backs in the first round. 23. Cincinnati Bengals – Marcus Peters, CB, Washington Cincinnati’s defense was in the bottom third of the NFL in terms of passing yards per game. He was kicked out of Washington and is known to have character issues, so they would have to confident that the veterans can keep him in check. 24. Detroit Lions – PJ Williams, CB, FSU The Lions will have some re-tooling to do on defense. They could potentially lose both Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley this offseason, and could use an upgrade in the secondary already as it is. If they do lose both defensive tackles, that could be where they look in the draft. 25. Pittsburgh Steelers – Landon Collins, S, Alabama Collins won’t fall this far, but I have trouble projecting a safety as a top 15 pick. That may change in my next draft once I’ve see more of him. The Steelers have an aging secondary, which includes safety Troy Polamalu. They could be looking to grab his replacement in this draft, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they trade up for Collins. 26. Indianapolis Colts – Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan St. The Colts need a lot of help on defense. They were surprisingly in the top ten in sacks in 2014, but Robert Mathis will be 34 next season. 27. Arizona Cardinals – Malcolm Brown, DT, Texas Defensive line is one of the biggest needs for the Cardinals and Malcolm Brown would give them a great deal of options along the line. He has lined up in just about every possible position a defensive lineman can. As Todd McShay wrote in his mock draft, “he’s played nose tackle, defensive tackle, and defensive end in a 4-3 front and nose tackle and defensive end in a 3-4 front.” 28. Dallas Cowboys – Eddie Goldman, DT, FSU Dallas had only 28 sacks, 28th in the league, in 2014. Goldman can provide some pressure from the inside and is a solid run stopper as well. 29. Green Bay Packers – Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi St. Clay Matthews is not a middle linebacker. You cannot have your best defensive player, and one of the best pass rushers in the game, inside. They are limiting his production. 30. Denver Broncos – TJ Clemmings, OT, Pittsburgh It looked at the beginning of the season that the Broncos had one of the best lines in football. They proved to be false as they were exposed as the season progressed and teams were able to pressure Peyton Manning. 31. New England Patriots – Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor The Patriots could use another pass rusher. Chandler Jones is becoming a star, and Rob Ninkovich continues to be one of the most underrated players in football. However, you can never have enough defensive linemen. Ask the Seattle Seahawks, who have a rotation that keeps everybody fresh. Oakman is absolutely huge, but is very quick for his size. If he drops to the Patriots late in the first round, they should run to the podium. However, the more realistic pick would be a versatile offensive lineman, like Cameron Erving out of FSU. 32. Seattle Seahawks – Todd Gurley, RB, Georgia Seattle has a team of studs. They can afford to take a chance on an injury risk player. Many believed they were going to take Dominique Easley in last year’s draft, judging by the atmosphere in the room once he was off the board. With Marshawn Lynch’s future in Seattle uncertain, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks may be looking to find his replacement, and even though it’s been three years since a running back was taken in the first round, you better believe that if he was healthy, Gurley would be long gone by this pick. |
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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