ax4782

You know that Jerry Rice ran a 4.7 40 don't you? Hate to tell you but looking at the tape, and the statistics, Byrd was clearly the better safety. Check out the stats from last season. Here are the links to both of their stats. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/stats?playerId=169696. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/stats?playerId=173394. I'll point you to the INTs. Last season, Byrd had 5 INTs, Chung had a staggering 1. In three years Byrd had 197 tackles. In four years Chung had 370 in four years. The disparity was caused by what each player was called on to do in Oregon's defensive scheme. Chung played more at strong safety, and if you watch Oregon's games, they use the SS to help up on running and short yardage downs. The end result is a higher tackle number. But look at the percentage of their tackles that were solo compared to their total. Chung had a total of 232 solo tackles, for a rate of 62%. That's not bad. But look at Byrd's statistics. he had a total of 143 solo tackles for a rate of 72.5%. That means that almost 3/4 of the time Byrd did not need an assist to make a tackle on the opposing player. That shows good physical strenght, and instincts to play the ball and be in position to make the tackle where necessary. The stats show that they were at worst equal and that in some areas of the game, Byrd was actually better than Chung. Not saying Chung is going to be better or worse than Byrd, or vice versa, I just think that you should keep your Patriots' bias at bay when analyzing players. Both are good, but Chung was not CLEARLY better in really any phase of the game. That's telling, considering Byrd was a junior last year and Chung was a fourth year senior. Nothing about Chung's play stood out that much from Byrd's. Most people thought that Byrd and Chung were excellent picks and very good value where they were taken in the second round. I know that you are a Pats* homer, but at least try to be objective. Also, keep in mind that Byrd is not coming in to play corner, he's coming into to play safety in a Tampa-2 Cover Zone Scheme. Speed is not as essential in a zone coverage scheme. Good technique and instincts are much more important. Silva wasn't that good in college, even against the weaker competition in the ACC. He just was the best of a weak class that year, though I'm sure you'll concoct some lame argument against that fact as well.

Nothing in my post said anything about my opinion of Belicheat. I think he is a cheater, but he's also a good coach. Stop making assumptions based on things that weren't said. Second, if you are going to post on a message board and respond to someone, try reading the posts before yours. I said, just prior to your post that Wilfork wasn't going to suck, but that he was getting close to 30 and would begin to slow down. As was pointed out, speed is what goes first. No one said he wouldn't play into his thirties. I merely said that he wasn't going to be as fast and be able to use his size AND speed as effectively. As for Walker, I don't know what two games you were watching last year, but I don't actually think that Walker gave up a sack against NE in either game last year. He has been very good on the right side of the line. That said, I don't know how well is going to do at LT replacing Peters. Either way, try actually watching games and seeing how players do before you open your mouth. No one said it was just your interior line that was getting old. I said you have some age problems on the OL. No Pats* fans want to admit that there is one thing wrong with your team, but you all do have faults and weaknesses just like everyone else. The fact is, both teams are going to be competitive next year. We'll see where the chips fall at the end of the season, but I'm hoping you guys are still hurting about losing the Division crown to the Dolfags.

Josh Reed. Hardy, Johnson, and Parrish will split time as the number four and probably wide out in goalline situations.

Yes. Unlike Cry Baby Peters, who was under contract, which he signed and agreed to, Peppers is not under contract. He has been given a franchise tag offer which he can choose to sign or not. The contract would be for one year 16.7 mil. A lot of money, but not if Peppers thinks he can make more elsewhere. If his agent thinks he can legitimately get Peppers a better deal elsewhere, and another team is willing to pony up the money, then why not?

Right on. And most likely completely true.

As I stated, I didn't say he was going to start sucking. I said he is coming out of his prime. Ted Washington was a completely different kind of NT. Size wise they aren't even close. Washington was listed at 340 but played more like 380. Wilfork is not even close to that, and they aren't playing for the same type of role either. Washington's job was to stop the runs up the middle. At 380, that's not that hard, even at 35. Wilfork is asked to do a lot more than that, and after six or seven year of battling in the trenches you start to lose a step. Watch some tape of Walker playing in Oakland, and you'll quickly see that he was beaten not when he was covering for his primary responsibility, but rather trying to do another persons job who couldn't hold up at the line of attack. You are obviously talking from an outsider's perspective on this board.

Okay, okay. Maybe it wasn't so dumb afterall. Just saying they seemed to have bigger needs with players they should have kept rather than holding onto their kicker, who we, by the way, thought was so bad we cut him. I can admit when I'm wrong and since no one else seems to think this was a stupid move, maybe it wasn't.

Cheatriots, Belicheck (partly because he cheated), and Brady. Don't care if it's the obvious choice or not.

Wilfork is in his sixth year, and will be turning 28 this year. That's coming to the end of prime years for a DT of his size. Sorry, but that's the NFL. Not saying he can't be productive. You are conflating the two notions, just that he's going to start losing a step in the speed and power department. Walker was the only good player on that Oakland line. His LG was a sieve, as was his center. When he played at RT, his RG was even worse. Walker had a bad last year in Oakland, but has looked much better for the Bills. Statistically and technically he was one of the best players at his position last year. Agree with you to some extent about Ellison. Like I said, that will have to be addressed. As for the Pats* OL, Hochstein, Nathan and Kaczur are all on the wrong side of 30 or will be by the end of the season. That's the entire starting corps of your interior offensive line. Sorry bub, but apparently people who aren't NE fans can be objective about your team's flaws. That fact is explained by Belicheck's statements that he wanted to draft Eric Wood if he fell to the second round. Guess even your coach is more willing to address the weaker points of your team than you are.

I am slightly concerned about the DT position and think it will likely be a priority in next year's draft. That said, I want to see what McCargo does this year with a line coach who is willing to work with him. He had a lot of talent at NCSU. I went to school there and watched every game he played. He made Manny Lawson and Mario Williams better by doing what he did: getting fast penetration into the middle of the pocket. If the new DL coach can work with him this offseason, I think he may surprise some people. That being said, we should get Henderson in here, and then we should draft a young, talented DT with our first rounder next year.

Why not? There's better tangible evidence for that statement than the steaming crock of your trying to sell on special.

Somebody mark this day down. I actually think Sisyphean may have had a tinge of optimism when he made this statement.

Agreed. The fact that he says the kid can't block is moronic. AFC needs to watch some film and get educated about football before he talks. Some of those other TEs were considered blocking specific TEs, meaning they aren't going to have a significant impact in the passing game except as a rare outlet receiver. Nelson is a pass catcher, who was a former WR, but who has improved his blocking immensely. He can stretch the middle of the field and do alot of things when the football is thrown in his direction. Seriously. afcfan1 needs to go back to a message board that actually thinks his opinion is worthwhile.

I would consider Seymour and Wilfork to be getting older, particularly at their positions. Wilfork is starting his seventh season and Seymour his ninth. No one said anything about Whitner. Calm down. No one said anything about Meriweather either. The fact is, you do have some young talented players, but they have little experience. You are also getting older at other positions. Why so defensive? I can admit that my team has weaknesses. For example, Schobel is getting older and we will likely have to go after another DE in the draft next year to ensure that we have two solid young DE pass rushers. Same goes for our SAM OLB. Ellison is adequate but not good enough IMO to be an every game starter. That is also going to have to be addressed either in the offseason that is left, or next year. The jury is out on whether Walker will be good enough to play LT. I think he will, but only time will tell. Your OL is starting to get old as well, and they haven't held up to the pass rush as well over the last 17 games. See the Pats* last SB game for some clear evidence. Also, I'm glad to see that you had no response for the first 90 percent of my post and rather chose to make personal attacks about "letting truths get in the way." Strange words coming from a Pats fan whose team was exposed for cheating. Oh the irony.

Actually, they said he could play in either scheme. Pay attention. They thought that at the weight he played at PSU he might be better as a Rush LB, but that at his current weight of 250, if he could maintain his speed, he could be very successful as a DE. As for Nelson, the fact that he fell means those teams didn't have a need for a TE at their pick. That doesn't mean he wasn't the steal of the draft. I guess all those coaches and GMs were wrong about Brady too huh? Terrell Davis? Just because you were picked later in the draft doesn't mean you weren't talented enough to have been drafted higher or that the measureables weren't there. It means teams didn't have a need at that position to fill at that time. He was considered the third best TE prospect in the draft by almost every analyst, and the second best in terms of being an overall TE. That is he is a great receiver and has solid skill blocking but needs some work in that area. You are literally the only person I have seen who has not thought he was a steal in the fourth round. That means that you are either smarter than every draftnik at ESPN and NFL Network, or you know absolutely nothing about football, particularly the TE position. Based on your posts on this board, I'm going with the latter.

What Jimmy Johnson said is hearsay and irrelevant. Plus, provide a link to the actual statement. Even if he was doing it, that didn't make it right. You, apparently are a believer that the Lemming theory is an ethically viable one. The fact is, a lot of teams, including the Rams and Eagles who were cheated on in SB games did complain when they found out. Other teams have complained as well, including GB, Detroit and, yes, the Bills. The fact is, the only team they were able to catch doing it was the Patriots. That's fact. They cheated. Nothing makes that better or worse. Your team cheated to win games. That hurts the sport, it hurts the integrity of the game, your team, and it should make members of their fan base sick. I haven't seen that. Just more of the Lemming philosophy. You also didn't respond to my point. If the Patriots were the only ones doing it, and you have no proof other than hearsay that they weren't, then it would be the most common type of cheating. Who knows, maybe the Pats* were cheating in more than one way, and the league never discovered it. That would still make it the most common way, because they used it predominantly. The fact is, no Pats* fan can show any factual proof, other than one articles' supposition that other teams have cheated, then using lack of outcry based on that one article as proof. That's not proof. That's an unsubstantiated inference based on another unsubstantiated inference. You have nothing to show that anyone else in the league was doing this. The league investigated it. You were found guilty by the league and were (in my opinion inadequately) punished for it. Time to move on. As for the Cheatriots' team this year, yes you are getting Brady back, but your D is much older and getting slower. Not just at LB either. The Golden Boy will be able to do his thing on offense, but your D is weak everywhere. You will not be winning 12-14 games this year. I see 10-6 or 9-7 and another year without the playoffs. Still good, but just not good enough.

Why do all of "the sky is falling" people seem to come out on the same day? Here, yet again are the facts that show you are extremely pessimistic if not completely wrong in everything you have said in this post. First, would you PLEASE ACTUALLY CHECK A PLAYER'S STATS BEFORE YOU POST!!!! Hangartner has started 27 of the 54 games he has played, both at Center and at Guard for an exceptionally good interior line in Carolina. Here's the stats from NFL.com. http://www.nfl.com/players/geoffhangartner...le?id=HAN148149 Brad Butler is much better suited to playing the RT position. He was a three year starter at RT for UVa in college and has played some at that position for the Bills. If you think that teams don't play OL at guard and move them to tackle, then please see Michael Ogden and Jason Smith, this years #2 overall pick who will be playing GUARD this year for the STL Rams so that he gets a better feel for the NFL game before moving to LT. Langston Walker looked above average, though not great at LT last year spelling an out of shape Peters. Dockery was a revolving door and the combo of Fowler/Preston was TERRIBLE up the middle last year. These two rookies that are coming in are bigger, faster and smarter than either of those two guys. What more do you want. This crap about the OL getting suddenly worse is just chicken little BS. As for Maybin, I don't know what websites you've been trolling on lately, but Maybin was not predicted as a late 1st rounder by anyone with any sort of legitimacy. Maybin was consistently cited by Mayock and Kiper as the best pass rusher in the draft, who had the highest upside, even taking into account his slightly lower floor. He's got all of the tools to become a great DE. Why don't we wait and see how they actually look on the field this year before passing judgment. As to your third point, WTF? I don't even understand how this is a complaint. His speed, measureables, and skill set translate well to being a FS. How is this a problem? And since we didn't get to see Chris Ellis much on the field last year, how the do you know he won't be a solid player for us? Were you suddenly hired on as the talent evaluator at OBD? If so, they should seriously think about going another direction. Lastly, again, WTF? He was the third best rated TE in the draft and the concensus of people much smarter than you (aka Mayock, Kiper, McShay) all were in disbelief on draft day that he fell as far as he did. Buffalo was unbelievably lucky to get him. He has great hands, as you would know if you took the time to watch any of his film, which you clearly didn't. He's also been working to become a better blocker. Just because we didn't take Pettigrew doesn't mean we didn't draft a good TE. You are seriously the ONLY person who seems to think Nelson wasn't the steal of the draft. All in all, you made O points, and backed them up with nothing but your chicken little fears, suppositions and beliefs. Before you post again, try to actually have facts. I don't mind having discussions and arguments, but at least have something intelligent to say before you go running your mouth off.

Nicely stated. Don't look now but I think the trolls have gone back to hiding under their Pats*-poster-plastered bridge.

Still wishing we had acquired Cutler aren't you Alpha?

I don't know what "video vignettes" you were watching, but I enjoyed the ones they showed where he was putting people on the ground and punishing people in front of his RBs down field on long runs and screens. You are the only person I have seen making any analysis of him who claims that Wood doesn't look like he is going to be a solid player in the NFL. And MW had serious concerns about work ethic. This kid doesn't.

Yes, because Houston has a great track record in acquiring top notch coaches.

We were 14th against the run. Better than that when Schobel wasn't hurt and Kelsay wasn't getting faked out on EVERY play.

Yeah. I can see how you, as an obvious Pats* apologist would come to that conclusion. See, unlike you, I can acknowledge that just in terms of talent, the Pats* have had our number for a significant number of years. We have not played well against you and that has shown, though last year when BB wasn't cheating (theorhetically) the scores were a lot closer. That being said, I can at least admit my teams failings. Obviously, you can't. You clearly don't have an educated response to my post. Why don't you crawl back to a message board filled with Pats* fans where you can all continue justifying your behavior and acting like no one on your team did anything wrong.