UNC STAR MAY HAVE SCREWED THE POOCH & JUST HOW BADLY WILL THE LOCKOUT AFFECT PLAY IN THE FALL?
Last spring, North Carolina DT Marvin Austin was spotted at a lavish private party in Miami. The NCAA began snooping around Austin & found that he was in Miami on the tab of some sport's marketing people, which is strictly forbidden. He was ruled ineligible & was forced to sit out the entire season. Further investigations led to other suspensions in the UNC football program. In fact, on opening day, the starting defense was missing 5 starters, 2 of which became high NFL draft picks last April, Austin & OLB Robert Quinn. Think any of these suspensions & shame brought upon the program made an impact with the current Tar Heels? Sadly, it appears it did not. The NCAA is now looking into reports defensive end Quinton Coples attended a high-dollar celebration hosted by Austin's agent the weekend of the draft. College players are not allowed any contact with agents or sports marketing people, especially partying on their dime. Is this as big a deal as Austin & Quinn who sat out the entire season last year? It might be worse, draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. currently has Coples listed as the 2nd best player in the entire nation, number two. If he is forced to sit out the 2011 season, it will most likely cost Coples at least $10 million when he slides down draft boards around the league. What are they feeding these kids in Chapel Hill, idiot pills?
Coples sacking Va Tech QB Tyrod Taylor
Think football players can't get any bigger? Seeing Phil Taylor get drafted at 6' 4" & 334 was pretty impressive. I got a guy for you that will make Taylor look almost normal. The Buffalo Bills took Michael Jasper out of NAIA Bethel College of Tennessee in the 7th round. Jasper was listed on the Bethel Royals roster as 6' 5" & 448. Jasper's absolutely svelte now at 394. The Bills plan to move this mountain of a man from his college position of offensive guard to defensive tackle. Head coach Chan Gailey has asked Jasper to continuing slimming down to 360-pounds. His agent & his trainer both say that's too light for his frame. He ran a 5.45 forty & had a 28" vertical jump at 432-pounds, yikes. So how big is a guy 6' 5" & 448? Here he is leading a running play as a senior, this is pretty scary.
Truly the largest thing in cleats
Tho many NFL players have participated in voluntary workouts, many more are avoiding them in fear of injury. With the current lockout in place, if a player gets hurt, his medical expenses are out of pocket. Plus if any serious injury occurs, his team is not obligated to keep them after a new CBA is signed. Almost no defensive players around the league are participating in the workouts. No offensive linemen have been spotted either. Mostly it's offensive skill position players working with their quarterbacks trying to keep some semblance of timing.
So now we've missed the OTA's, the rookie mini camps & in two more weeks, all of the veteran mini camps would have been concluded. What effect can we expect from missing all this time? Realistically, we're probably in for some sloppy football whenever this mess gets settled. This is going to be especially hard on teams with new head coaches or ones changing their offensive or defensive schemes. I also think starting a rookie quarterback will be out of the question. We're in for a lot of penalties, timing on offense just won't be there. We'll probably see an increase in muscle injuries, hamstrings, quads & backs. They didn't do enough off-season lifting & conditioning. As this work stoppage continues into the summer months, head coaches will begin contracting their playbooks, just not enough time to get some of it installed. If the preseason is shortened to allow for a 16-game schedule, you'll see all of the above come true come opening day. Believe it.
The Arizona Cardinals aren't waiting any longer to cut expenses. All non-contract employees will start a 1-week unpaid furlough beginning Sunday morning at 12:01AM. All coaches & other contract employees have already been subject to a 35% pay cut, which was instituted the Monday after the draft ended. The Dolphins are poised to do almost exactly the same thing. A head coach that is making $2.5 million a year can stand a 35% pay cut, but for a secretary in the front office or a security guard, being forced into an unpaid furlough is brutal. They're already paying $4 for a gallon of gas & seeing grocery prices soar which is tough enough. Now the selfishness of ownership & the players will make their lives even more difficult. Believe me, neither the players nor the owners care enough about these workers to get off their "set in stone" stance. Same for the fans.
If anyone needs a sure tackling strong safety, Bernard Pollard will be available after the CBA is signed. The Houston Texans made it clear on Friday Pollard won't be back. His stats were freakish for a safety. Pollard led the team with 111 tackles, he contributed 2.5 sacks, forced 4 fumbles & blocked a kick. Why are the Texans so hell bent on dumping the former Chief second-round pick? Pollard gave up 8 touchdown passes in 2010, 3 by being physically beat by an opponent but the other 5 were because he was fooled & out of position. The position is "safety", meaning you're it, nobody behind you if you blow your coverage. I like Bernard, but 8 TD passes is really bad for a safety.
Bernard Pollard, soon-to-be ex-Texan
When & if the league begins regular business again, we should see a run on some quarterbacks. With Vince Young, Marc Bulger & Matt Hasselback floating around in free agency & Donovan McNabb, Kyle Orton & Kevin Kolb possibly on the trading block, there will be some action. Then there's Carson Palmer, who promised to retire if he wasn't traded from Cincinnati.
I'm going to close with some sad news. Oklahoma starting middle linebacker, senior Austin Box, was found "unresponsive" Thursday morning & was pronounced dead later at the hospital. No word from the medical examiner what caused his death. Norman Police said he did have in his possession a bottle of Hydrocodone, which was not prescribed to him. Box was an All-state player from Enid Oklahoma. Coach Bob Stoops & defensive coordinator Brent Venables faced the press on Friday & both barely made it thru the short meeting with the media. I watched the 8-9 minute tape & it was really brutal. This kid was a team leader & will be missed not only on the field but in the locker room. R.I.P.
Coples sacking Va Tech QB Tyrod Taylor
Think football players can't get any bigger? Seeing Phil Taylor get drafted at 6' 4" & 334 was pretty impressive. I got a guy for you that will make Taylor look almost normal. The Buffalo Bills took Michael Jasper out of NAIA Bethel College of Tennessee in the 7th round. Jasper was listed on the Bethel Royals roster as 6' 5" & 448. Jasper's absolutely svelte now at 394. The Bills plan to move this mountain of a man from his college position of offensive guard to defensive tackle. Head coach Chan Gailey has asked Jasper to continuing slimming down to 360-pounds. His agent & his trainer both say that's too light for his frame. He ran a 5.45 forty & had a 28" vertical jump at 432-pounds, yikes. So how big is a guy 6' 5" & 448? Here he is leading a running play as a senior, this is pretty scary.
Truly the largest thing in cleats
Tho many NFL players have participated in voluntary workouts, many more are avoiding them in fear of injury. With the current lockout in place, if a player gets hurt, his medical expenses are out of pocket. Plus if any serious injury occurs, his team is not obligated to keep them after a new CBA is signed. Almost no defensive players around the league are participating in the workouts. No offensive linemen have been spotted either. Mostly it's offensive skill position players working with their quarterbacks trying to keep some semblance of timing.
So now we've missed the OTA's, the rookie mini camps & in two more weeks, all of the veteran mini camps would have been concluded. What effect can we expect from missing all this time? Realistically, we're probably in for some sloppy football whenever this mess gets settled. This is going to be especially hard on teams with new head coaches or ones changing their offensive or defensive schemes. I also think starting a rookie quarterback will be out of the question. We're in for a lot of penalties, timing on offense just won't be there. We'll probably see an increase in muscle injuries, hamstrings, quads & backs. They didn't do enough off-season lifting & conditioning. As this work stoppage continues into the summer months, head coaches will begin contracting their playbooks, just not enough time to get some of it installed. If the preseason is shortened to allow for a 16-game schedule, you'll see all of the above come true come opening day. Believe it.
The Arizona Cardinals aren't waiting any longer to cut expenses. All non-contract employees will start a 1-week unpaid furlough beginning Sunday morning at 12:01AM. All coaches & other contract employees have already been subject to a 35% pay cut, which was instituted the Monday after the draft ended. The Dolphins are poised to do almost exactly the same thing. A head coach that is making $2.5 million a year can stand a 35% pay cut, but for a secretary in the front office or a security guard, being forced into an unpaid furlough is brutal. They're already paying $4 for a gallon of gas & seeing grocery prices soar which is tough enough. Now the selfishness of ownership & the players will make their lives even more difficult. Believe me, neither the players nor the owners care enough about these workers to get off their "set in stone" stance. Same for the fans.
If anyone needs a sure tackling strong safety, Bernard Pollard will be available after the CBA is signed. The Houston Texans made it clear on Friday Pollard won't be back. His stats were freakish for a safety. Pollard led the team with 111 tackles, he contributed 2.5 sacks, forced 4 fumbles & blocked a kick. Why are the Texans so hell bent on dumping the former Chief second-round pick? Pollard gave up 8 touchdown passes in 2010, 3 by being physically beat by an opponent but the other 5 were because he was fooled & out of position. The position is "safety", meaning you're it, nobody behind you if you blow your coverage. I like Bernard, but 8 TD passes is really bad for a safety.
Bernard Pollard, soon-to-be ex-Texan
When & if the league begins regular business again, we should see a run on some quarterbacks. With Vince Young, Marc Bulger & Matt Hasselback floating around in free agency & Donovan McNabb, Kyle Orton & Kevin Kolb possibly on the trading block, there will be some action. Then there's Carson Palmer, who promised to retire if he wasn't traded from Cincinnati.
I'm going to close with some sad news. Oklahoma starting middle linebacker, senior Austin Box, was found "unresponsive" Thursday morning & was pronounced dead later at the hospital. No word from the medical examiner what caused his death. Norman Police said he did have in his possession a bottle of Hydrocodone, which was not prescribed to him. Box was an All-state player from Enid Oklahoma. Coach Bob Stoops & defensive coordinator Brent Venables faced the press on Friday & both barely made it thru the short meeting with the media. I watched the 8-9 minute tape & it was really brutal. This kid was a team leader & will be missed not only on the field but in the locker room. R.I.P.
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