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An interesting draft was dropped Sunday morning in the Los Angeles Times. The dreaded journalist, Sam Farmer, had his annual Sports Editor Mockup project – he's been doing it for the past 10 years – asking long-time NFL writers to trust franchise cities to choose the team they cover. Kent Somers, who is now sports columnist for Arizona Republic, but a long-time player, Cards, has beaten this guy before, knows the franchise very well.
That was Somers' choice and his explanation to Farmer:
"Arizona: DT Quinnen Williams, Alabama. The Cardinals like Josh Rosen, and I do not see them taking a quarter in the first round two years in a row. They need help on the line of defense and Williams will provide them immediately. General Manager Steve Keim made mistakes in the first round by taking guys who were not so passionate about football (Jonathan Cooper, Robert Nkemdiche). So I can see them take Williams. "
Interesting … and although I disagree with Somers in my projection, swept away by Kyler Murray's tidal wave, I think there are good reasons to trade or take another player. Rosen could be 25% better in 2019 with Kliff Kingsbury as coach than last year as a green rookie who was given a new coordinator in the mid-season. The Cardinals have managed to keep quiet since it was announced to the combine seven weeks ago that Kingsbury had let slip that Murray's draft was a "done deal". I persist in my instinct.
Two other dramatic scenes: I have four quarterbacks, but lower than you think – at 1, 15, 23 and 31. And there is real competition to trade for the last single balloon that I have. hear going to the first round, Josh. Jacobs from Alabama. Continue reading. And enjoy the project that will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and the NFL network. It is probably better to say through which channels the project is not sure.
1. Arizona: Kyler Murray, Quarter, Oklahoma
We live in a company (I look like Costanza) who shouts "Fake News!" When something just seems too obvious. We have to face the reality, the people. When Chief Executive Officer Steve Keim went to Tempe to meet with the club's president, Michael Bidwill, today to discuss the fate of the first choice, he could do several things. They might decide to take Murray, the choice of head coach Kliff Kinsgbury. They might decide to choose the best player on board (Nick Bosa) – which, I hear, is the choice of many in the building – or the best player (Quinnen Williams) of the project. I will be surprised, as will the United States, if the choice belongs to someone other than Murray, especially because the Raiders, at four years old, will probably not want to trade for the price it would cost. I want to give you an edifying account about Kyler Murray, assuming he's chosen here. In the last seven years of football – three years of college football, a brief one-year stint at the Texans A & M, a year in Oklahoma after being transferred, mainly in 2017 behind Baker Mayfield, and the # 39, last year in Oklahoma – Murray started 60 games. He is 57-3. Who knows where it starts right now in the NFL? But in the NFL, he could lose more starts in a month than he had lost in the previous seven years. It will be interesting to see how Murray will adapt to adversity. Not sure he has ever had a lot, at least in football.
2. San Francisco: Nick Bosa, Edge Rush, State of Ohio
The Niners loved him since the Cotton Bowl in 2017, when Bosa had amassed 1.5 bags at the head of the Ohio State defensive defense by clubbing USC's Sam Darnold 24 hours a day in the final match. of the academic career of the star QB. I hear the Cardinals think of Bosa as a "generation player", which only speaks to their love for Murray if they want to pass on Bosa and leave it to the Niners. Edge-rusher is the element that San Francisco did not understand well. To strengthen the defensive front, the 49ers have chosen Arik Armstead 17th in 2015, DeForest Buckner seventh in 2016 and Solomon Thomas third in 2017 … and their biggest team need is to put pressure on the quarterback. Four selections in the top 20 on five runs along the defensive line. If Bosa does not put the defensive front above, it's a bad draft.
3. New York Jets: Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
Imagine Josh McDaniels, Chad O'Shea and Brian Daboll, AFC East's offensive brains, who are designing protections to prevent Leonard Williams and Oliver from harming the games over the next three or four years. I realize that with new coordinator Gregg Williams remaining with a 3-4 defense, this is not a perfect choice for Oliver, but Williams has touted himself for having been able to play 42 different defenses with his plan, and he would find how to make Oliver work. For a long time, I had drawn Josh Allen in pencil because of the urge of the Jets, but when you make fun of you, you are depriving yourself of it. And someone in whom I trust told me that the Jets did not like Allen. So it's the types of dump trucks that change the picture – and, most often, make me look like a dope Thursday night at about 8:45 am. We will see. Oh, and the Jets would like to be able to swap too, if they can get a ransom. I do not see it.
4. Oakland: Quinnen Williams, DT, Alabama
After talking to several teams, I guess Williams is at the top of more boards than any other player. ESPN's Jeff Legwold, one of the smartest guys in our industry, puts Williams on top of his top 100 list that was dropped on Saturday. As the Raiders have a screaming need to tackle – their best DT was not in the top 50 of the Pro Football Focus DT's 2018 rankings – Jon Gruden, who has the last word in Oakland, will give the green light to this choice , and GM Mike Mayock will be pleased Williams will take the first choice of his career in the NFL GM here.
5. Tampa Bay: White Devine, LB, LSU
Many people like White, a throwing machine that at 237 years old, attack the force of a 260 pounds. I guess what CEO Jason Licht would do if he looked at White and Josh Allen here … because the Bucs also need a sleight of hand. Jason Pierre-Paul is 30 years old and, apart from maybe young Carl Nassib, I do not think there is one guy with eight bags on the list. But White can replace the late Kwon Alexander and be the coordinator of the understated presence that Todd Bowles would like. In addition, White could be the best defensive leader of this project.
6. New York Giants: Josh Allen, rusher, Kentucky
An experienced staff member who knows Dave Gettleman said the other day, "Dave wants a heck of a lot of fun. He is not going to look for one, but he will have one with his first three choices. The Giants choose the 6-17-37, and if they are serious about choosing one of the young quarterbacks – Gettleman, as usual, has a good poker player here, because even those who do not know which quarterback he likes, they should be able to reach him at 17 years old. Or maybe, if they play their cards well, return to the empty first round with this fifth choice in the second round as bait. (The Rams would like to separate from the 31st selection.) Another thing that Gettleman could love in Allen: no potential rider is more experienced: he has played in 51 college games.
7. Jacksonville: T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa
Daniel Jeremiah said the other day that he thought Hockenson could be the reincarnation of Jason Witten. He's the best blocker / catcher opponent to come out in the last couple of years, and he'll have to be good so the Jags do not regret having to fire a long-term tackle that Jawaan desperately needs. I think the decision of Tom Coughlin / Dave Caldwell goes back to Hockenson or Taylor and they have the best tight end in years: supporting their new quarterback, Nick Foles, who had a great tight end to Zach Ertz. Philadelphia cream.
8. Detroit: Jawaan Taylor, T, Florida
I'll be surprised if the Lions choose Taylor here. The Lions want to trade, and this is the pitch of the first offensive lineman – Taylor or Jonah Williams or, which could be a bit exaggerated, Andre Dillard – to choose. It could be Jacksonville, Buffalo or whoever chooses at eight o'clock. (Dude, I'm really selling Taylor to the Lions!) I just can not know which team is going to jump here. For a moment, I thought it was Atlanta, but the Falcons seem inclined to use all their choices, not to trade a high enough choice to go from 14 to eight.
9. Buffalo: Jonah Williams, T-G, Alabama
The bills like Quinnen Williams, but I do not see the Raiders parting with him if he's here at four. The bills could also be exchanged for Josh Allen, or choose T.J. Hockenson if he falls on them. But if they stay, Jonah Williams could be an upgrade from Spencer Long to the right guard or eventually, Ty Nsekhe, to the right edge. Many differing opinions in the Williams Scout community. I would ask Bills Nation to search for "quixotic" in the dictionary. He's a good player, better than Cordy Glenn, but Williams is not Walter Jones. That said, it's a wise choice from Bills, Brandon Beane, who is trying to build a playoff team, solid player at a time.
10. Denver: Devin Bush, LB, Michigan
There is no ideal player on the board for Vic Fangio's defense, but so many teams need a shady linebacker (Pittsburgh would like him to fall to 20, but I do not see him), and many think that Bush would be a great compliment for Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. Four or five teams between the ages of 10 and 20 would be serious about Bush if he fell above 10.
11. Cincinnati: Brian Burns, rusher, State of Florida
Last week, Burns was very hot … because he runs in the low 4.5 and there are not enough advanced drivers for this voracious market. He has some weaknesses, like his size (he will probably play around 248), but I think he will be eliminated at 20. I think his floor is Tennessee at 19.
12. Green Bay: Noah Fant, TE, Iowa
Scouts who have been to Iowa City over the past few months have said the staff were delighted with T.J. Hockenson and were kind but not like Hockenson about Fant. Maybe unfair because Hockenson is really ready for the job. During his last two seasons in Iowa, Fant averaged 14.7 yards per shot and 18 touchdowns. Compare this to the average of his teammate Hockenson on 14.8 yards in the last two years, with nine touchdowns. Very interesting. And Fant works best, in the range of 40 seconds in 4.5 seconds. It's probably 10 more selections for Fant, and it would not surprise me if General Manager Brian Gutekunst instead chooses long-range offensive tackle Andre Dillard. But in any case, I do not see Fant coming out of the first round.
13. Miami: Christian Wilkins, DT, Clemson
The Falcons, on the bridge here, cry. Wilkins to turn 13 would be a gift for Dolphins rookie coach Brian Flores, who learned, thanks to Bill Belichick, that people who move quickly in the defensive interior must be collected and valued. The dolphins have so many needs, and if an offensive tackle they like falls here, maybe that's their choice too. Regarding QB? According to what I've heard, no league team has spent more time looking for Josh Rosen in recent weeks than in Miami. Suppose my model is correct and Washington and the Giants use the repechage to take the young quarterbacks. Miami and the Chargers are the only teams that even have an interest in Rosen, and General Manager Chris Grier told Arizona General Manager Steve Keim at the repechage night: I'll give you our third pick tour – 78 in total – for Rosen. It's difficult. It was a difficult call for Keim, but knowing that Rosen would be an unhappy camper behind Kyler Murray and that it was a good deep draft in the first three rounds … well, that's a lot of things to think.
14. Atlanta: Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson
Four players from Clemson and "Bama" in the top 14 choices … with more to come. Atlanta needs size and power, and at 6-4 and 342, with a time of 5.05 to 40 yards, Lawrence is extremely rare. He appears to have convinced the NFL teams that he did not knowingly take a prohibited substance that provoked a positive PED test, which disqualified him from both of Clemson's playoff games. This is another place to watch the best offensive lineman fall as well.
15. Washington: Dwayne Haskins, QB, State of Ohio
Dan Snyder chooses the quarterback of the future in his Maryland backyard. Haskins' family left New Jersey for Maryland early in their high school years. Snyder's son and Haskins both went to high school at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland. The picking of Haskins could give Snyder a good man. history that the franchise would obviously like. I found this film footage of NFL quarterback, Dan Orlovsky, very useful and revealing about Haskins.
16. Carolina: Ride Sweat, Rusher Edge, State of Mississippi
"Do not put it in the first round," I said a clever guy Sunday afternoon. "Many teams are afraid of him." Some teams worry about heart disease being discovered at Sweat after the season, and the NFL Network has announced that Sweat has been removed from the selection board of some teams. A manager said on Saturday, "We think that's a problem, but we were told that if we watched him closely, he could play." These are the kinds of things that different teams will have different opinions on. Another general manager said he felt the benefit of Sweat, if it was healthy, was better than that of Nick Bosa. With the retirement of Julius Peppers, Sweat would be a perfect addition to a needy team, if General Manager Marty Hurney could overcome the worry that Sweat was raising.
17. Houston: Andre Dillard, T, Washington State
BUSINESS PROJECT: Houston sends the 23rd and 55th choices to the Giants for this choice.
No NFL team is as much in need of a radical upgrade as the Texans. Per Pro Football Focus, Julie'n Davenport and Kendall Lamm, the crew leaving Houston last year, allowed Deshaun Watson to be disrupted by 101 quarterbacks (sacks, shots, fast passes), which is downright abominable, considering of one of the most mobile quarters of the league. Think of how much pressure he has avoided by simply being Deshaun Watson. From what I've heard, Dillard is the best striker on the Houston board of directors. The teams think that he has a chance of being a good left tackler.
18. Minnesota: Garrett Bradbury, C, State of North Carolina
Speaking of PFF, The center of the NFL's lowest-ranked league is by far last year, Pat Elflein of Minnesota. The Vikings choose the 18, 50 and 81 years old, and one can see on the scout trail that two of these three choices will be offensive linemen. They should be better. Bradbury is a pugnacious type, like Jason Kelce, with more speed than most centers in the league currently. He could start the first day. No, let me change that. With Elflein still in-house, Bradbury should start the first day.
19. Tennessee: Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan
Here is what is funny with the fake projects. Sometimes a wise GM tells me something like: Drew Lock is way too low! Ok, I answer by SMS. Who should I give it to? Tennessee. No way, I text. You can not write Mariota's successor yet. So, I thought and I made an extra call, and some said, of all the players that remained on the board: "Rashan Gary is Mike Vrabel's kind of player. Give them Gary. See the science I'm using here?
20. Pittsburgh: Rock Ya-Sin, BC, Temple
Imagine that the first half corner of the board is a guy who played a year at Temple after being transferred from the Blue Hose of the Presbyterian College (SC) and who will have one of the big names in history, whatever his form. According to rumors, Mike Tomlin adores Ya-Sin, and with White and Bush away from the table for a pressing need of Steeler (linebacker), Pittsburgh opts for a physically 6-2 corner that allowed his team to stand out. football (pretty) big-time.
21. Oakland: Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama
BUSINESS PROJECT: Oakland sends its 24th and 106th choices to Seattle for this choice.
So the best semifinalist in this draft will likely be picked somewhere in the twenties and three teams – Philly at age 25, Indy at age 26 and Oakland at age 24 and 27 – are very interested. The Raiders would have to win only three places to get there, and would probably not have to strip their mid-round choices to do it. I could see Seattle at age 21 or Baltimore at age 22 make that kind of deal, because Eric DeCosta, CEO of Schneider and Rookie Ravens, loves doing business. By the way, I met Jacobs last week. Charming companion. Want to be a great player in the NFL, and his versatile back too. Jon Gruden could turn him into a 1,700-yard rookie.
22. Baltimore: Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson
New England hopes Ferrell will lose 10 more places, but he will not do it. The Ravens could also trade – rookie general manager Eric DeCosta would like to accumulate more choices. But Ferrell is an ideal building block on a defensive front that needs a new star. I will not be shocked if Ferrell is gone if the Ravens take a 10-year center like Erik McCoy of Texas A & M; The career begins at a very high level, and the Ravens attach importance to the offensive line as much as to the football franchises.
23. New York Giants: Daniel Jones, Duke, Duke
BUSINESS PROJECT: New York gets this choice and the No. 55 Houston for the No. 17 overall.
The Giants could sit at 5 pm and pick Jones, or Drew Lock as well. In my scenario, the Giants will get their QB for 2020 and beyond after trading with Houston … and they will choose a late second-round pick to ensure long-term security that allows them to be matched to Jabrill Peppers, or maybe try their luck The right tackle Gettleman knows that he needs it. As for the player Jones, there is a great disparity of opinion among the 17-19 year old man who starts in the university. Very intelligent, but he does not have the deep arm of the other three candidates of the first round. In his annual, detailed annual summary of Bob McGinn, the veteran scribe quotes an NFL saying about Jones: "He reminds me of Ryan Tannehill. He just has something missing with him. Damning, but the top four players all seem to have problems this year.
24. Seattle: Johnathan Abram, S, State of Mississippi
TRADE PROJECT: Seattle gets this choice and the number 106 from Oakland for number 21.
This is CEO John Seattle's 10th draft with Seattle, and he traded his first-round pick seven years in a row. There is no doubt that he still wishes it this year. So I ask him to go from 21 to 24 years and get a choice early in the third day. At age 24, he must choose a player who can be a tonic immediately. Abram is that kind of player. Learn more about Frank Clark later, but the pressure will be on Schneider if he encourages Clark to find another decisive factor in Clark's production. Look for the Seahawks to choose a runner to be low in the round here, or with their loot in the third and fourth rounds.
25. Philadelphia: Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma
Some like it. Some think he's too optimistic at 166, and they fear he's going into the NFL with a foot injury, and he's at risk of getting hurt in the big boys league. But he is a big threat. Instinctive and fearless too. It may be that DeSean Jackson gives the Eagles a last season, and then Brown intervenes as the deep threat that Carson Wentz can grow reaches middle age. Two caveats: GM Howie Roseman hit the free agent he wanted, halfback Tevin Coleman, and he could steal his RB1, Josh Jacobs, Raiders and Colts in the trade. And Roseman is not afraid to recruit a guy (Sidney Jones, second round, 2017) who has to sit almost his entire rookie season with an injury. I would look at Jeffery Simmons here too.
26. Indianapolis: Greedy Williams, BC, LSU
He is 6-2 and runs 4.37 in the 40-yard dash. What does not love? S 'attack, maybe. But the Colts really need two things: a defenseman and half a corner stopped. Williams is better around the corner than other players to kick the quarterback. However, keep one thing in mind with Colts general manager Chris Ballard: he will not change his board to meet his needs. Ballard will take it if there is a significantly better ranked player here.
27. Oakland: Deandre Baker, BC, Georgia
Touches allowed in the cover during his last two academic seasons: zero. He could make defensive coordinator Paul Guenther crazy about his training habits, but his game production, at least at the university, made up for that. If the Raiders can get out of this first round with the best defensive tackle in the repechage, the best semi return to the repechage and a corner that should immediately plead for the time of play, it will be a first successful throw for rookie GM Mayock.
28. Los Angeles Chargers: Cody Ford, Oklahoma
Could be a strange change for Ford. He had protected Kyler Murray's fleet in Oklahoma last year and, if it did, he would protect the Philip Rivers statue from L.A. The Chargers must start by planning for the future; Russell Okung enters his 10th season and is 31 years old this year. Ford is a good pillar for GM Tom Telesco.
29. Seattle: Byron Murphy, BC, Washington
BUSINESS PROJECT: Seattle sends DE Frank Clark to Kansas City for this choice and the 63rd choice.
The race at the corners continues. Murphy is an interesting prospect. Very knowledgeable, but he played only 20 college games and his speed is barely acceptable (4.55) for the corners. The Seahawks are continuing the quest in this draft for Legion of Boom II. (More information about Clark after the 32nd choice.)
30. Green Bay: D.K. MetcalfMississippi
It would be very anti-packer. Last lap gap in the first round: 17 years ago, Javon Walker. They have not made a receiver in the top 50 in 11 years (Jordy Nelson, 2008, 36th overall). I could see Andre Dillard here too, but Brian Gutekunst is trying to supply himself for a final multi – year run with Aaron Rodgers, giving him the kind of weapons that will allow him to become Aaron Rodgers again. I could go with Marquise Brown if I was Green Bay, but I realize that a 166-pound burner may not have the life of a player's Sterling Sharpe as Metcalf.
31. Denver: Drew Lock, Quarter, Missouri
TRADE PROJECT: Denver sends the 41st pick and a second 2020 round to the Los Angeles Rams for this pick.
Feel bad about predicting that. Sometimes, during draw simulations, you want to get a player in the first round because you think that it will be a first round pick, and you block it and you put the logic in order after that. I do not think the Rams want to choose 31, and think they can use a compromise to get a two or three return after making choices in the fourth and second rounds in Kansas City in 2018 for cornerback Marcus Peters. Denver loves Lock, and could possibly acquire him as a two-year-old apprentice behind Joe Flacco while retaining the option to use the 71st pick this year on a potential candidate for a need job, like the tight Texas A & M, Jace Sternberger. A gesture like this would not surprise me, but I also think that, in the way that Denver's general manager, John Elway, could support a young quarterback to the richer QB project of 2020.
32. New England: Jeffery Simmons, DT, State of Mississippi
I do not think it's the likely choice of the Patriots, but I do not know who is, and I wanted to get that great player in the first round. The second-best DT in the repechage (behind Quinnen Williams) to tear his ACL earlier this year will not be available until 2020, and he must also have a personal rehab after a physical altercation with a woman. Simmons could have the same impact as Jaylon Smith on the Cowboys after a serious knee injury in his last college match. The team that chooses it will only wait one year for Simmons and not the two seasons Dallas has awarded to Smith. right. Smith was the 34th overall pick in 2016. We'll see if a team near the bottom of the first lap or the top of the second round takes a hit on Simmons.
In the end, I had trouble with Frank Clark's trade from Seattle to Kansas City. I had the trade in my first draft of the mock-up on Friday, then I released it for 48 hours and I put it back in on Sunday night. The waffle arrived before I sent Clark to the Chiefs because of the incidents of Kareem Hunt and Tyreek Hill. And I will not be surprised at all if the chiefs do not do it. But I take the bet, because the need for advanced rush in Kansas City is so pronounced. Hunt was injured by the Chiefs last year after the video showing he was hitting a woman at a Cleveland hotel last season. The league and local authorities are currently investigating the possibility that Hill was involved in a child abuse case with his three-year-old son. Clark was quoted in police reports in 2014 for a domestic violence case against his girlfriend at the time. Chiefs (or Colts or Jets) may have exercised due diligence and believe such charges are in Clark's past. But it was difficult for me to predict it and it was a feeling of discomfort Sunday night.
So I think the Cardinals, if they chose Kyler Murray as number one overall, would be inclined to make the best possible deal for the quarter they chose last year, Josh Rosen. It's easy to say that Rosen is a big boy and he's going to have to go back to the biggest job of snubbing the recent NFL story. But he heard Kliff Kingsbury take the post and say repeatedly: Josh is our quarterback, or words to that effect. Now you are developing a number one overall and asking Rosen to be a good soldier, hold the clipboard and help Kyler Murray win games for the team that misled him. by claiming to be the quarterback of the new coach? Embarrassing.
I do not know how the project will fall, but if Miami, Washington or the Giants do not make a high quarterback, which seems fair to me, it's to offer a third round (78th overall by Miami, 95th in total). by the Giants, 96th overall by Washington) in Arizona for Rosen. And I guess Arizona would seriously consider doing the best job possible at that time.
I would really be interested if I were in Miami. Imagine that you are negotiating the 78th choice and that you have one year to see if Rosen had a chance to be the long term guy. If the dolphins are not convinced by the end of 2019, they could use a first round choice (plus other capital funds, if any) to draft the quarter of the long-term future a year where the harvest of the quarter is better than this year. .
Il y a aussi cette affaire: Au cours des quatre dernières années, Rosen a été coachée par six architectes offensifs. À l'UCLA à compter de l'automne 2015, Rosen a eu Noel Mazzone, Kennedy Polamalu et Jedd Fisch, suivis en Arizona par Mike McCoy et Byron Leftwich l'année dernière et Kingsbury cette année. Imaginez Rosen avec le même système et entraîneur pendant deux ou trois années consécutives. Cela ne lui est pas arrivé depuis le lycée. Semble un coup de feu pour moi.
Cela va être une semaine très intéressante dans l'histoire des Cardinals de l'Arizona, mais aussi dans l'histoire personnelle de Josh Rosen.
Quelques notes sur le calendrier 2019:
• Voici quelque chose qui ne devrait tout simplement pas arriver. Le fait que, après un examen plus approfondi, est un fléau sur le programme de 2019:
Jeux Raider à Oakland dans les 48 jours du 16 septembre au 2 novembre: zéro.
Jeux Raider à Oakland dans les 15 jours entre le 3 novembre et le 17 novembre: trois.
Je pourrais dire presque la même chose pour les Bucs, sauf que Tampa Bay suit le cauchemar de la route avec seulement deux matchs à domicile. Félicitations au vice-président de la NFL responsable de la diffusion de Michael North pour son admission à USA Today: «J’adorerais faire une telle répétition.» En six semaines consécutives, chaque franchise franchit le pas. Et à en juger par les réactions des deux équipes et de certains membres du public, vous pouvez être sûr que la NFL ne programme plus une équipe pour s’éloigner de son stade, même avec un match ajouté à Londres, pendant six semaines complètes. . L’équipe de planification de la NFL composée de cinq personnes a étudié 64 713 horaires possibles; l'ardoise que la ligue va jouer n'est en aucun cas une abomination. Mais aucune équipe ne devrait passer 48 jours entre les matches sur son terrain.
Je vais essayer d’interpréter pourquoi la NFL a fait ce qu’elle a fait à Oakland. Premièrement, les Raiders et les A sont les seules équipes de football et de baseball à partager un stade. Les Raiders n’apprécient pas beaucoup de jouer sur le terrain lorsqu’il est programmé pour le baseball, avec l’arrière de la peau et le tertre des lanceurs. Dans ce cas, la NFL a eu les Raiders à la maison pour les deux premières semaines, alors c'est arrivé:
Semaine 3: A est à la maison le dernier dimanche de la saison régulière de baseball le 22 septembre. Les Raiders devaient être sur la route et la NFL les a placés au Minnesota.
Semaine 4: La plupart des équipes de la côte ouest préfèrent ou acceptent de jouer sur la route, quelque part à l'est du Mississippi, le dimanche avant de se rendre à Londres. Cela rend le voyage en Angleterre plus court. La NFL a donc envoyé les Raiders à Indianapolis le 29 septembre.
Semaine 5: Toutes les équipes en situation de stade temporaire (les Raiders se déplacent à Las Vegas l'année prochaine) sont éligibles pour un match à Londres ou à Mexico. La NFL a programmé les Raiders contre les Bears à Londres le 6 octobre.
Semaine 6: La plupart des équipes qui jouent à l'étranger veulent avoir leur congé la semaine suivant le match pour l'Europe. Au revoir ici pour Oakland.
Semaine 7: C’est là que la NFL aurait dû diriger son processus de haute technologie pour ramener les Raiders à Oakland. Même s’il est possible que le septième match de la série de championnats de la Ligue américaine soit disputé à Oakland le dimanche 20 octobre, c’est extrêmement improbable. La NFL aurait dû programmer les Raiders à la maison à cette date plutôt qu'à Green Bay.
Semaine 8: le cinquième match des World Series est prévu pour le 27 octobre. Encore une fois, quelle est la probabilité que les A jouent dans ce match? Quoi qu’il en soit, c’est les Raiders à Houston ici. Comme North l'a dit, la leçon a été apprise. La NFL ne le fera plus. Et cela n’aurait pas dû arriver cette fois.
Imaginez si Al Davis voyait ce calendrier. Les Raiders disputeront cinq matchs consécutifs entre le 22 septembre et le 27 octobre, au milieu de la matinée, devant leur corps. Cinq matchs consécutifs, tous à 10 heures, heure du Pacifique.
• Jour de la marmotte. «Quel choc!» A déclaré le président des Giants, John Mara, lorsqu’il a eu vent du premier match des Giants-at-Cowboys. Voyons comment six des huit dernières saisons de la NFL ont été ouvertes pour ces équipes:
2012: Dallas à New York
2013: New York à Dallas
2015: New York à Dallas
2016: New York à Dallas
2017: New York à Dallas
2019: New York à Dallas
• Factures La mafia va crier au sujet du respect. Les fans de Bills sont un lot insulaire, la faction des Bills est un groupe de supporters fidèle à celui de la NFL. Qu'est-ce que les mafieux devaient penser alors que Buffalo était la seule équipe de 32 à ne disputer aucun match en prime time? Les entraîneurs doivent aimer 14 matchs à 13 heures. ET commence, et cinq voyages d'une heure ou moins dans les airs. Mais les fans ne ressentent qu'un manque de respect. Le seul clin d’œil à l’attraction nationale est le premier match de Thanksgiving organisé par Buffalo en 25 ans – le tilt de CBS en milieu d’après-midi à Dallas.
• L'AFC East sera un foyer.Les Jets disputent 16 matchs dans le fuseau horaire de l’Est, les Patriots et les Dauphins 15 et les Bills 14. Aucune équipe de l’AFC East n’est disputée à la Montagne ou au Pacific Time cette année.
• J'ai une idée de diffusion CBS, si le réseau pour lequel je ne travaille pas est à l'écoute. À l’occasion de la 100e saison du football professionnel, l’équipe organisatrice a programmé un match d’une importance historique toutes les semaines. For instance: Week 1, Packers and Bears, the longest-standing rivalry in the game, meet for the 197th time to open the season … Week 2, Cleveland at the Jets on Monday night, a rematch of the first Monday night game ever 49 years ago. And in Week 4, a rematch of the one of the most memorable games in NFL history, from 38 years ago: Chargers 41, Dolphins 38, in the AFC playoffs, in overtime. Re the CBS assignment? I want Dan Fouts, the heroic Chargers quarterback in that heat-stroke of a game and now a CBS color guy, to do analysis for this game. It’s on CBS. It would be fairly perfect.
I
“As a kid, my whole dream was to win Super Bowls and play QB in the NFL. For me it was always football. But at the same time it wasn’t.”
—Kyler Murray, to Robert Klemko of The MMQB and Sports Illustrated in a magazine story this week.
Enlightening story. Murray’s been beyond quiet leading to the draft. Reminds me a little of Courtney Brown heading into the 2000 draft—he didn’t want to talk to anyone in the media, to the point almost of it being an issue with NFL teams.
His quote here is meaningful, because it says his father, who is his sporting adviser, has always urged him to have a fallback plan. And baseball, according to Klemko, remains that.
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“They’ve become not just relevant. They’ve become prominent.”
—NFL scheduling czar Howard Katz, after scheduling the Browns for four prime-time games this season, the most since they were scheduled for five in 2008. Cleveland was 10-6 in 2007.
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“Actually the owner is—he’s really a good guy. He’s been a supporter and he’s done a very good job. You have a good team.”
—President Donald Trump, to WMAL in Washington, referring to Washington owner Daniel Snyder.
In the last 13 seasons of Snyder’s ownership, Washington has not won a playoff game, and has won 10 games or more just one time.
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“I want to get it fixed because I don’t want to coach for one more year. I want to coach for a lot more years.”
—Alabama coach Nick Saban, who said he needs a hip procedure that will put him out of action for six to eight weeks. He should be healthy by the time summer practice begins for his 13th season at Alabama. He is 146-21 at Alabama.
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“Gronkowski’s parting gift.”
—Patriots defensive captain Devin McCourty.
Bill Belichick turned 67 the other day, which is about the time most normal human beings are seriously pondering retirement. There’s no indication Belichick is. With 56 more coaching victories (regular season and postseason), Belichick would become the NFL’s all-time winningest coach. Top three in wins now: Don Shula 347, George Halas 324, Belichick 292. Shula coached 33 seasons and Halas 40; Belichick has coached 24, and in fairness to the leaders, Shula coached half of his career in 14-game seasons, and the majority of Halas’ years were 12-game regular seasons.
What’s interesting to me is how few of the best coaches ever coached this late in their lives. In fact, 12 of the 15 winningest coaches have not coached, or did not coach, at age 67 or older. Belichick will make that 11 of 15 this fall.
Looking at the top 15, and how many seasons they coached after turning 67:
1. Don Shula: 0. Coached last game at 65.
2. George Halas: 6. Went 47-33-5 and won one NFL title after turning 67.
3. Belichick.
4. Tom Landry: 0. Coached last game at 64.
5. Curly Lambeau: 0. Coached last game at 55.
6. Chuck Noll: 0. Coached last game at 59.
7. Andy Reid: 0. He is 61.
8. Marty Schottenheimer: 0. Coached last game at 63.
9. Dan Reeves: 0. Coached last game at 59.
10. Chuck Knox: 0. Coached last game at 62.
11. Bill Parcells: 0. Coached last game at 65.
12. Tom Coughlin: 3. Went 19-29 after turning 67.
13. Mike Shanahan: 0. Coached last game at 61.
14. Jeff Fisher: 0. Coached last game at 58.
15. Paul Brown: 1. Went 11-4 after turning 67.
Belichick doesn’t talk about how long he’ll coach—surprise!—but those who know him say they think he’s not close to walking away from football. My take: Halas coached his last game at 72. I would not be shocked if Belichick matches that; nor would I be shocked if he coaches two or three more years and ends it. I never sensed the record mattered to him … but if it does, that means he’ll coach six more years. Seems like a stretch, but those who have been around him say he never shows the signs of stress even during big moments of big games that have made some great coaches walk away. Does he look or sound like a 67-year-old man? Not to me.
I
A perk of being one of the 23 top draft prospects invited to Nashville for the draft is that each player gets 10 round-trip airplane tickets, plus corresponding hotel rooms for three nights for the player and his travel party, gratis.
So, 230 plane tickets plus roughly 180 luxe hotel rooms (some family and/or friends will be couples, and will share a room) … the cost of doing business for putting on the glitzy show in Nashville.
II
Thanksgiving game one, 2018: Bears-Lions.
Thanksgiving game three, 2018: Saints-Falcons.
Thanksgiving game one, 2019: Bears-Lions.
Thanksgiving game three, 2019: Saints-Falcons.
No traveling in the last few days (that will change this week), but I delight in bringing you highlights from Friday’s 50 States section of USA Today.
Arizona (Phoenix): Dairy farmer Sine Kerr was thought to be the favorite in a state cow-milking contest, but her chances were hurt when a scorpion stung her just below her left thumb. “Her milking thumb,” the paper said.
Colorado (Cherry Hills Village): The city has voted to drop “Swastika Acres” from the name of a subdivision.
Indiana (Seymour): Workers installing sewer lines across a farm have unearthed the fossilized bones of a roughly nine-foot-tall mastodon.
And that’s the news of the day.
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Send your questions or comments to me at [email protected].
Lots of Steve Keim criticism. From Ravven L.: “I find it interesting that you say the Cards personnel people are at ‘the upper end among personnel people in belief in their ability to pick players’ but then you detail the incredible lack of talent on that team. How are these two statements compatible?”
My statement was about how confident GM Steve Keim and VP of player personnel Terry McDonough are about their personnel acumen—not about their recent performance in the draft and free agency, which has obviously been lacking. I have had issues with some of the Cardinals’ recent personnel decisions, such as giving Sam Bradford so much guaranteed money last year. And GM Steve Keim, obviously, doesn’t have a lot of job security after a three-win season and the hiring of a coach last year that lasted only one season.
But let’s be fair. Arizona won 50 games in Keim’s first five years as GM, got Carson Palmer very cheap in trade with Oakland, and hired Bruce Arians as one of his first decisions as GM (along with club president Michael Bidwill). In his drafts, Keim drafted Tyrann Mathieu with the 69th pick, John Brown with the 91st, and David Johnson with the 86th. He traded the 61st pick plus guard Jonathan Cooper to New England for Chandler Jones; Jones has recorded 41 sacks in his three Cardinals seasons. It’s okay to say Keim is in a personnel slump, but overall, his six years have been better than average.
A cool email about the Ben Roethlisberger pro day. From Frank Corsoe (former sports editor of the Dayton Daily News and Toledo Blade): “As sports editor of the Dayton Daily News, I went to Ben Roethlisberger’s pro day at Miami in 2004. I swear, I thought the Giants were most interested in Ben. They must have had seven people there from Tom Coughlin, [offensive coordinator] John Hufnagel, [GM] Ernie Accorsi, front-office types, etc. There were more than 100 NFL-connected people watching Roethlisberger perform under leaden skies. Following the workout as the NFL Bedouins were off to the next pro day, I see John Dorsey, then director of college scouting for the Packers [and a former top player at UConn] walking up a hill to his car. So I introduced myself to him. Hi, John, I’m Frank Corsoe, I worked at a Connecticut newspaper and enjoyed your career there. I need to ask you a few questions.
What do you see as Roethlisberger’s future in the NFL?
“Are you his PR guy or something?”
No we cover Miami football and he’s an Ohio kid.
“He’s gonna have a good career.”
If you were drafting quarterbacks this year, how do you rate them?
“If I had the first pick, and this is me, it would be taking Eli Manning. He makes all the throws, reads defenses, has a football IQ off the chart and plays in one of the toughest conferences.”
Is that because he’s a Manning?
“Wait a second. If you think of taking a player because his brother is in the league, you won’t be employed for long. I love my job more than anything and wouldn’t risk it for anything that stupid.”
So how do you rate the quarterbacks?
“They will be drafted in this order: Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger.”
Good to hear from you, Frank. Moral of the story, I guess, and updated in 2018: Dorsey knows quarterbacks.
1. I think there was a lot of buzz Friday when NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Raiders would send home their scouts for the weekend, and for the days leading up to the draft, preventing them from leaking any of the information on the team’s draft board. “The belief is they [Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock] don’t know who to trust and wanted to clear the room,” Rapoport reported. A few thoughts:
• Understand that when Mayock was hired by Gruden and Mark Davis, Mayock took a staff of scouts that had preceded him into the job. For these first few months on the job, Mayock, essentially, was told to trust the scouting reports and counsel of scouts who in many cases he didn’t know. These scouts understand the business. Mayock and Gruden are likely to populate the new scouting staff with scouts who will be loyal to them after the draft. Those on the staff now in many cases were brought in by Reggie McKenzie, dismissed in December.
• Although there is generally good camaraderie between GMs and scouts, some teams do not allow scouts to see the draft board. When Al Davis ran the Raiders draft, according to former Raider employee Mike Lombardi, he didn’t keep an ordered draft board; he kept his list of players in order in a notebook, to keep it away from anyone else. The Patriots, another Lombardi employer, do not open the draft room to scouts unless Bill Belichick wants to see one of them to talk about a player. Coaches and scouts are in the building, but not in the room. “If you’re not a decision-maker,” Lombardi said, “you’re not in the room. Scouts are nearby and coaches are in the building, but the only people in the draft room are the ones who have business in the room. It’s like what Bill says, ’Do your job.’ “ Scouts are not picking the players, so they don’t have to be in the room when the players are picked, in other words.
• But I’ve had access to or knowledge of the inner workings of other draft rooms—Dallas and San Francisco most recently—in which the GMs or owners allow a wide swath of team employees and certainly the scouts to be in the room. So it varies.
• Re Mayock: One of his friends in the league told me the other day he felt this was Mayock’s attempt to take control over a process that he’s running for the first time in his life. “Wouldn’t you think it’s fair for Mike, with three picks in the first round, to close the circle and keep it as tight as he can?” this friend said.
• Mayock’s daughter Leigh tweeted over the weekend that she went out to dinner with her dad recently and when he went to the bathroom, he took his draft notebook with him rather than leave it at the table, where only his daughter was. “Don’t take it personal scouties,” she said.
2. I think for all of you, particularly in Packer Nation, who wonder why in the world Green Bay has never played in England or Mexico, you may not have to wonder that much more. I think Green Bay’s time is coming, likely as soon as 2020, to finally go on the road to play a game in London. The reasons why Green Bay has never had to make the trip are predictable—the Packers don’t want to give up one of eight sold-out home games, and no team hosting the Packers wants to give up that gate because the Packers travel so well and fill the stadium and local hotels with fans. But I think the NFL is conscious of not giving a prized franchise special treatment.
3. I think now, after the Russell Wilson deal in Seattle, there’s only one quarterback contract I expect to see soon: Ben Roethlisberger’s in Pittsburgh. He’s entering the last year of his current deal, he’ll likely sign only one more NFL contract, he’s on record as wanting to play three more years, and the Steelers want him for as long as he wants to play. I expect him to retire playing nowhere but Pittsburgh.
4. I think this is the time of year it is: I had an NFL coach whose team needs a quarterback tell me last week he didn’t like Daniel Jones of Duke, because though he was a smart quarterback, he wasn’t as accurate or as advanced with his decision-making as he’d like. Then I heard Gil Brandt, prepping for his 61st draft, say about Jones: “When you watch him and you go back [20] years and watch Peyton Manning, you are watching the same guy.” So who’s right? The coach who wouldn’t draft Jones even in the second round? Or the draft guru of all draft gurus, who has been at this as long as I’ve been alive?
5. I think that’s why the draft is so compelling. So many people. So many opinions.
6. I think, however, I haven’t talked to many people in this pre-draft period who have compared Jones to Peyton Manning. Like, zero.
7. I think the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will not be the same without veteran Steeler beat man Ed Bouchette, who departed for The Athletic last week. I value what Bouchette does so much, and I wish him the best to him in his new job.
8. I think my favorite quote of the spring, and nothing is close for second place, is Giants GM Dave Gettleman responding to a question about the strengths of the 2019 draft by saying, in part, “The wides are thick.” Meaning there are a lot of wide receivers on the Giants board. I just love the way he said it.
9. I think this was an interesting point, from ESPN’s T.J. Quinn on the Robert Kraft case, during an appearance on “Mut and Callahan” on WEEI: “There are people around him who have said to me they can’t believe he doesn’t just take this plea agreement, this diversion agreement that they offered and say, ‘OK, fine, I did this. I am sorry.’ And then move on with it. They are pretty amazed that he’s going to continue to fight it like this.” Man, I could not agree more. This story continues to be in the headlines, and it could have disappeared four weeks ago, when Kraft apologized for the incident. Why apologize if you didn’t do it, and why keep fighting it for four weeks and keeping it in the public eye when you’ve already apologized? It’s baffling.
10. I think these are my other thoughts of the week:
a. God help our country.
b. Important Columbine Story of the Week: Aaron Ontiveroz of the Denver Post, chronicling the voice of Columbine—the people and families who have been most impacted, with the more powerful messages.
c. The photos by Ontiveroz might more powerful than the words.
d. Profile of the Week: ESPN’s Baxter Holmes on the erudite Gregg Popovich, who might know more about wine than basketball, and that is saying something.
e. Story of the Week: The Rise and Fall of a New York Shock Jock, by Nick Paumgarten of the New Yorker. Great story about the downfall of Craig Carton, who teamed with Boomer Esiason on New York sports station WFAN’s morning show. Man, gambling is a one-way street to hell. Just read this piece. And an excellent job of taking us deep inside the story by Paumgarten.
f. “Are you Craig Carton?”
g. “Yes I am.”
h. “You’re under arrest.”
i. My wife and I watch “Jeopardy” most nights. We’ve been riveted in the last couple of weeks by James Holzhauer, the incredibly intelligent, lighning-fast-with-the-buzzer champion who already has the five most lucrative winning shows of all time. Holzhauer is a professional sports gambler, according to the show.
j. Joe Pinsker of The Atlantic with an interesting story about how Holzhauer, essentially, is so brilliant his games are not fair fights.
k. When the challengers get introduced at the start of the show, they’re lambs led to the slaughter. I’ve never seen anything like it.
l. Coffeenerdness: For some reason that is foreign to me, because it’s never happened in my 61 years on earth, I have been getting allergy attacks. And the only thing I want is orange tea packed with lemon and a dot of honey. Three times a day. Marvelous.
m. Good morning. It’s April 22, and Christian Yelich has 13 home runs on the 26th day of the season.
o. The Red Sox won Saturday night on a walkoff pickoff, catcher Christian Vasquez to first baseman Steve Pearce, nailing Tampa Bay’s Tommy Pham. Now there’s something you don’t see every day.
My mock draft stinks. Stinks!
Over/under on direct
hits: Four point five. Hmmmm.
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