The Sports Capital

Happy Birthday, NFL!

2010-02-25T23:37:00.003-06:00

If the NFL had a birthday cake, this is how it would look.

There are two seasons that occur during the calendar year: football season, and waiting for next football season. Football season ended the moment the clock hit 0:00 during the New Orleans Saints’ historic 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. “Waiting for next football season” began one second later, before the first piece of confetti hit the Sun Life Stadium (hell, Joe Robbie Stadium) turf; while the lower jaw of the Manning face was still left hanging in disbelief. At that moment, my mind wandered… so many questions, so little time!

Yay, they won! "Man, I miss last football season already."

When does the combine start? Who is going to be drafted number one overall? Who is going to shoot up the charts and be this year’s Chris Johnson? What about this year’s Matt Jones? This year’s Mike Mamula? (That award is going to be renamed the “Vernon Gholston Award” in 5 years.) Which failure of a football player will the Lions choose this year? Which failure of a human being will the Bengals choose? Will the Vikings remember to submit their pick on time? Will the absence of Vinny Ceratto mean that the Redskins complete a competent offseason? How will the CBA situation play out? Which household names will be on new teams—or no team—following this wild offseason?

Needless to say, a fan can become downright giddy with the possibilities. And then today, new life was breathed into America. On Thursday, February 25, 2010, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the 2010 NFL season was born. Football season begins again. I woke up this morning, and despite the frigid 31 degree Nashville temperature, I had warm sensations emanating from within. (No, not that “warm sensation from within”.)

Happy 45th Birthday, modern NFL! You look great for your age—and like a fine wine, you keep getting better with time. NFL, I assume that you are a chick, despite the fact that you consist of 106 men in tights crashing into each other over and over again. I know that you're a woman, because I could never love a man this passionately. And even tough you’re quite a bit older than me, I’m not afraid to say I love you. I need you. You complete me. You had me at hello.

This is how I feel about the NFL. Assuming it's a chick.

So where do we go from here?

Feb. 24-Mar. 2 -- NFL Scouting Combine (Someone will run a 4.29 40-yard dash, someone else will bench press 225 lbs 35 times.)

Feb. 25 -- Deadline for designating franchise players. (Meaning someone is going to be pissed for making $9 million in one year.)

Mar. 4-Apr. 1 – Individual Pro Day Workouts and on-campus tryouts for athletes not invited to the NFL Combine. (QB’s who don’t want to get shredded at the Combine will take the easy way out and throw to their own receivers, on their own practice field.)

March 5 -- Free agency begins. If a new labor agreement is not in place by this date, there will be no cap on player salaries, but severe restrictions on free agent movement by players. Teams must tender a salary offer to Restricted Free Agents on their roster to preserve their right to match offers from other teams. (Expect more teams to accelerate towards the salary floor, rather than the nonexistent salary cap.)

Early April -- 2010 regular season schedule announced (250,000 people will incorrectly add three wins to their team’s estimated win total.)

April 22-24 -- 2010 NFL Draft (Jets fans will be pissed. Dolphins fans will be unimpressed. And the Lions fans who still find it in their souls to care will commit mass suicide. That’s the draft in a nutshell! Yet, I will be an immovable fixture in front of my television for all three days.

July 22 -- Deadline for franchise players to sign new contracts

Aug. 7 -- Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Canton, Ohio. Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dick LeBeau, John Randle and Floyd Little are this year’s enshrines.

Aug. 8 -- Hall of Fame Game. Cowboys vs. Bengals.

Aug. 31-- Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players

Sept. 4-- Roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players

Sept. 9-13 -- 2010 Kickoff Weekend

So drink it up, NFL. I think we’re about to share a beautiful year together.

Competitive Mock Drafts

2008-04-26T11:59:00.003-05:00

OK, below is McShay's mock that I'll be competing against.

I'm counting on my VA boys to set my draft apart early. Trades will throw wrinkles into the mix, but I'll keep you posted on the score.

Round 1

1. Miami Dolphins -- Jake Long, OT, Michigan
2. St. Louis Rams -- Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
3. Atlanta Falcons -- Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
4. Oakland Raiders -- Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs -- Chris Long, DE, Virginia
6. New York Jets -- Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State
7. N.E. Patriots (from 5-11 S.F.) -- Keith Rivers, OLB, USC
8. Baltimore Ravens -- Branden Albert, OT/G, Virginia
9. Cincinnati Bengals -- Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
10. New Orleans Saints -- Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida
11. Buffalo Bills -- Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan State
12. Denver Broncos -- Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers -- Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida
14. Chicago Bears -- Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State
15. Detroit Lions -- Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
16. Arizona Cardinals -- Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy
17. Kansas City (from 8-8 Minnesota) -- Jeff Otah, OT, Pittsburgh
18. Houston Texans -- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tenn. St.
19. Philadelphia Eagles -- Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- James Hardy, WR, Indiana
21. Washington Redskins -- Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson
22. Dallas Cowboys (from 10-6 CLE) -- Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers -- Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon
24. Tennessee Titans -- Limas Sweed, WR, Texas
25. Seattle Seahawks -- Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina
26. Jacksonville Jaguars -- Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC
27. San Diego Chargers -- Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
28. Dallas Cowboys -- DeSean Jackson, WR, California
29. S.F. 49ers (from 13-3 IND) -- Jerod Mayo, OLB, Tennessee
30. Green Bay Packers -- Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech
31. New York Giants -- Tyrell Johnson, S, Arkansas State

Round 2
32. Miami Dolphins Chad Henne QB Michigan
33. St. Louis Rams Dan Connor ILB Penn State
34. Atlanta Falcons (From Oakland) Tracy Porter CB Indiana
35. Kansas City Chiefs Brian Brohm QB Louisville
36. New York Jets Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
37. Atlanta Falcons Sam Baker OT USC
38. Baltimore Ravens Joe Flacco QB Delaware
39. San Francisco 49ers Jordy Nelson WR Kansas State
40. New Orleans Saints Dustin Keller TE Purdue
41. Buffalo Bills Justin King CB Penn State
42. Denver Broncos Antoine Cason CB Arizona
43. Carolina Panthers Jamaal Charles RB Texas
44. Chicago Bears Chris Johnson RB East Carolina
45. Detroit Lions Quentin Groves DE Auburn
46. Cincinnati Bengals Curtis Lofton ILB Oklahoma
47. Minnesota Vikings Duane Brown OT Virginia Tech
48. Atlanta Falcons (From Houston) Marcus Harrison DT Arkansas
49. Philadelphia Eagles Mario Manningham WR Michigan
50. Arizona Cardinals Ray Rice RB Rutgers
51. Washington Redskins Kenny Phillips S Miami
52. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Patrick Lee CB Auburn
53. Pittsburgh Steelers Jason Jones DE Eastern Michigan
54. Tennessee Titans Calais Campbell DE Miami
55. Seattle Seahawks Fred Davis TE USC
56. Green Bay Packers (From Cleveland) John Carlson TE Notre Dame
57. Miami Dolphins (From San Diego) Charles Godfrey CB Iowa
58. Jacksonville Jaguars Dre Moore DT Maryland
59. Indianapolis Colts Trevor Laws DT Notre Dame
60. Green Bay Packers Anthony Collins OT Kansas
61. Dallas Cowboys Tyvon Branch CB Connecticut
62. New England Patriots Reggie Smith CB Oklahoma
63. New York Giants Tavares Gooden OLB Miami

Here are a couple more that I'll add to the challenge. I hope they don't cheat and update this link with new info. In fact, I'm saving their pics to a Word doc for quality assurance. Trust died in 2001.

NFL Draft Countdown - http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/sub/mockdraft.html

Walter Football - http://walterfootball.com/draft2008.php

Can someone please find me a copy of Kiper's mock draft? That'll be fun. Kinda like throwing darts into a whirring fan.

My Official 2008 Mock Draft: Bring It On, McShay!

2008-04-26T11:04:00.003-05:00

After a long layoff from the site (playing husband, chef, employee, softball player and emotional support), I decided to hop back 0n in time for a mock draft. The NFL is an obsession, so I might as well give it its due reverence! I wish I could say that I will be posting every day now, but coincidentally, I broke my right hand 2 days ago, and now my right hand is engulfed in a cast. So I am typing this completely with my left hand, pecking at the keyboard like a third-grader. Good times! So with that being said, I think I'll pass on doing a live running mock draft diary this year, despite encouragement from a few friends to do so.

What I will do, however, is challenge the experts at their own game. Todd McShay, whose opinions I value much more than Mel Kiper's, posted a full mock draft on Wednesday. (I would provide a link, but it's now an ESPN Insider page, and let's face it, if you were an ESPN Insider, you probably wouldn't be looking at Mocks on our blog.) Anyway, I looked at it and thought he did a great job. Then I looked at it a little longer, and realize that I disagreed with several of those picks. So then I got with my buddy Ryan Cassell, and we decided to do our own mock drafts. And since we're both some competitive bastards, we decided to make a challenge out of it.

We'll go head to head against each other and against the experts for the first two rounds of the draft. Below is the point scale:

Correct picks in slots 1-5: 10 points

Correct picks in slots 6-15: 7 points

Correct picks in the remainder of 1st round: 5 points

Correct picks in the second round: 3 points

Naturally, since Cassell is a slacker, I still don't have his picks. But below, you will find my picks. I'll be providing other competitive mocks shortly. I hope Kiper posted a mock--I know I'll kick his butt.

1st Round
1. Miami Dolphins
Jake Long OT Michigan
2. St. Louis Rams

Chris Long DE Virginia
3. Atlanta Falcons
Glenn Dorsey DT LSU
4. Oakland Raiders
Darren McFadden RB Arkansas
5. Kansas City Chiefs
Brandon Albert OG/OT Virgina
6. N.Y. Jets
Vernon Gholston DE/OLB Ohio State
7. New England Patriots (from S.F.)
Keith Rivers OLB USC
8. Baltimore Ravens
Matt Ryan QB Boston College
9. Cincinnati Bengals
Sedrick Ellis DT USC
10. New Orleans Saints
Mike Jenkins CB South Florida
11. Buffalo Bills
Devin Thomas WR Michigan State
12. Denver Broncos
Chris Williams OT Vanderbilt
13. Carolina Panthers
Ryan Clady OT Boise State
14. Chicago Bears
Jeff Otah OT Pitt
15. Detroit Lions
Rashard Mendenhall RB Illinois
16. Arizona Cardinals
Leodis McKelvin CB Troy
17. Kansas City Chiefs (from Minnesota)
Derrick Harvey DE Florida
18. Houston Texans
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB TSU
19. Philadelphia Eagles
Aqib Talib CB Kansas
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
James Hardy WR Indiana
21. Washington Redskins
Phillip Merling DE Clemson
22. Dallas Cowboys (from Cleveland)
Felix Jones RB Arkansas
23. Pittsburgh Steelers
Jonathan Stewart RB Oregon
24. Tennessee Titans
Limas Sweed WR Texas
25. Seattle Seahawks
Kentwan Balmer DT North Carolina
26. Jacksonville Jaguars
Lawrence Jackson DE USC
27. San Diego Chargers
Gosder Cherilius OT Boston College
28. Dallas Cowboys
DeSean Jackson WR Cal
29. San Francisco 49ers
Jerod Mayo LB Tennessee
30. Green Bay Packers
Brandon Flowers CB Va. Tech
31. N.Y. Giants
Kenny Phillips S Miami

2nd Round
1 (32). Miami Dolphins
Chad Henne QB Michigan
2 (33). St. Louis Rams
Sam Baker OT USC
3 (34). Atlanta Falcons (from Oakland)
Brian Brohm QB Louisville
4 (35). Kansas City Chiefs
Joe Flacco QB Delaware
5 (36). New York Jets
Chris Lofton OLB/ILB Oklahoma
6 (37). Atlanta Falcons
Tracy Porter CB Indiana
7 (38). Baltimore Ravens
Justin King CB Penn State
8 (39). San Francisco 49ers
Malcolm Kelly WR Oklahoma
9 (40). New Orleans Saints
Marcus Harrison DT Arkansas
10 (41). Buffalo Bills
Fred Davis TE USC
11 (42). Denver Broncos
Dan Connor LB Penn State
12 (43). Carolina Panthers
Jamaal Charles RB Texas
13 (44). Chicago Bears
Chris Johnson RB East Carolina
14 (45). Detroit Lions
Quentin Groves DE Auburn
15 (46). Cincinnati Bengals
Duane Brown OT Va. Tech
16 (47). Minnesota Vikings
Carl Nicks OT Nebraska
17 (48). Atlanta Falcons (from Houston)
Anthony Collins OT Kansas
18 (49). Philadelphia Eagles
Mario Manningham WR Michigan
19 (50). Arizona Cardinals
Ray Rice RB Rutgers
20 (51). Washington Redskins
Jordy Nelson WR Kansas State
21 (52). Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Patrick Lee CB Auburn
22 (53). Pittsburgh Steelers
Jason Jones DE Eastern Michigan
23 (54). Tennessee Titans
Calais Campbell DE Miami
24 (55). Seattle Seahawks
Dustin Keller TE Purdue
25 (56). Green Bay Packers (from Cleveland)
Martellus Bennett TE TX A&M
26 (57). Miami Dolphins (from San Diego)
Cliff Avril DE Purdue
27 (58). Jacksonville Jaguars
Tyrell Johnson S Arkaansas State
28 (59). Indianapolis Colts
Trevor Laws DT Notre Dame
29 (60). Green Bay Packers
Demario Pressley DT NC State
30 (61). Dallas Cowboys
Tyvon Branch CB Uconn
31 (62). New England Patriots
Antoine Cason CB Arizona
32 (63). New York Giants
Reggie Smith CB Oklahoma

Unofficial New Year!

2008-02-29T09:45:00.006-06:00

Welcome to the Sports Capital—a virtual tour into the mind of the mind of a sports fan who actually knows what he’s talking about. Shocking, but true! I guess I can be called a sports analyst—a sports analyst is one who analyzes sports, right? Well, that’s what I do… By deductive logic, I can thereby also lay claim to being a columnist, an enthusiast, a talent scout, a Madden/NBA 2K8/MLB 2K8 Expert, and a comedian, so needless to say, you’re gonna get all angles from me. My blogs may be anything from random musings, to proactive or reactive opinion pieces, to cleverly crafted fake news articles. And on occasion, they will have nothing to do with sports—not often, but this is just the disclaimer.

I can’t think of a better day to “kick off” my blog than today—an unofficial American holiday. February 29? “What holiday is this?” you may ask. Well my friends, this is the day that I get no work done at my job, for the mere fact that hours will be consumed scouring the news wire for blockbuster superstar signings and nifty role player contracts. LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, THE FIRST DAY OF NFL FREE AGENCY!!! Forget January 1st, THIS is the first day of the New Year! As the NFL has undertaken a metamorphosis into a 365-day-per-year obsession, today is when we officially turn the page from 2007 to 2008. Some people claim that December is the most wonderful time of the year. Are you kidding me??? Inconvenient snow, overcrowded malls and electronics stores, the first Larry Hughes injury of the year. Compare that with the journey that we are about to embark on: The start of NFL free agency, the start of the MLB season, March Madness, the stretch run of the NBA season, the NFL Draft, and tax refunds, all within a six-week span. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and HELL YES. I’ll take some of all of that. Check please!

We’re only a few hours into it so far, but we’ve seen some quality players change uniforms. Jonathan Vilma will be donning black and gold (Saints), DT Corey Williams goes from Green Bay to Cleveland, Tampa has signed C Jeff Faine, San Fran has snatched up RB Deshaun Foster, LB Dontarrious Thomas, and QB J.T. O’sullivan, and DT Kris Jenkins is going to the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS. Of course, all people want to talk about is Randy Moss, but believe it or not, there are several other people who are good at their jobs too. I’ll give extended thoughts about all these above and much more later. In the meantime, let me at least pretend to work for a couple hours—otherwise I’ll have to turn this blog into a paysite to supplement the income that I’m no longer getting. Later…

I got sent to what team? New Orleans? Is that the city with all the floods and sh!#?