D-Unit
11-23-2011, 01:34 PM
Destination for the #2 QB?
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/usc/sports/m-footbl/auto_headshot/3497336.jpeg http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/bay/sports/m-footbl/auto_headshot/6818351.jpeg http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-footbl/auto_headshot/6843253.jpeg
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/was.gif Washington (3-7) at http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/sea.gif Seattle (4-6)
I think there are 5 teams that will have QB near or at the top of their priority list in Round 1 of the 2012 draft (unless they address QB through FA or trade).
They are the Colts, Redskins, Seahawks, Dolphins and Broncos.
There may be some unsuspecting others like the Browns, Chiefs, or Cowboys, but they may or may not go that route. At least it's less certain in their cases.
So what does any of this have to do with this Seahawks/Redskins game?
Well, by the looks of things, the Colts are looking to be the team to select Andrew Luck right now (things could change), so the competition for the next best QB could boil down to the loser of this game. In Denver, Tim Tebow's success is taking the Broncos further and further away from picking at the top of draft and Miami looks intent on trying to win. They might end up being the hardest focused non-playoff spot fighting team all the way up to Week 17.
In the case that some of the other losing teams find their way to top picks, without needing to address the QB position...like the Rams, Panthers, Vikings, Jags, Cardinals or Chargers, you could always potentially see a trade up possibility from another team in need, but all things being equal... this game between Washington and Seattle could boil down to which team gets the 2nd best QB prospect in the draft, so watch this one closely!
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Indy out of Luck?
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/6172/andrewluck.jpg
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/car.gif Carolina (2-8) at http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/ind.gif Indianapolis (0-10)
Could this be the week that Indy gets their first win? Cammy Cam lovers won't like the sound of that to start their Holiday Season, but such just might be the case. The way the Panthers have been playing most of the season, I don't know if there's another team out there that better defines the term "playing to the level of your competition".
Let's take a look at their past schedule...
Week 1 - Arizona Cardinals @ Arizona (0-0) L 21 - 28
Week 2 - Green Bay Packers vs Green Bay (1-0) L 23 - 30
Week 3 - Jacksonville Jaguars vs Jacksonville (1-1) W 16 - 10
Week 4 -Chicago Bears @ Chicago (1-2) L 29 - 34
Week 5 - New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (3-1) L 27 - 30
Week 6 - Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (2-3) L 17 - 31
Week 7 - Washington Redskins vs Washington (3-2) W 33 - 20
Week 8 - Minnesota Vikings vs Minnesota (1-6) L 21 - 24
Week 9 Bye
Week 10 - Tennessee Titans vs Tennessee (4-4) L 3 - 30
Week 11 - Detroit Lions @ Detroit (6-3) L 35 - 49
Look at that schedule, 6 of their 8 losses have come within 7 points or less and the oddest thing is that those losses are coming from teams of all different kinds of varying strength levels. They can play toe to toe versus the likes of Green Bay, Chicago, New Orleans and Detroit... yet take losses against a 1-6 Vikings, or a weak Cardinals team who's 1 of 3 wins so far have come from none other than the Panthers, themselves.
If the Panthers continue that trend and play to the level of play of their opponents, then I could realistically see these Colts coming away with their first win of the season... at home... on Thanksgiving weekend. Afterall, it's just a win versus a team with a 2-8 record. Hardly the upset of the year.
Conspiracy theorists who think the Colts are controlling their willingness to want to lose and want to win will like this....
Wouldn't it be telling... that the Colts who seemingly look like they have been losing on purpose all year, would now get their first win...? This is their first time this season where they can afford to win AND STILL be guaranteed to be in last place!
Indy shouldn't get too cute though... because the last 3 games of the season come against inner division rivals... the Titans in Week 15, the Texans in Week 16 and the Jaguars in Week 17. Don't put it past your mind for one second to think that any of those teams wouldn't relish the idea of purposely tanking their meaningless end-of-season games against Indy just to spite the Colts attempt at getting the #1 overall pick and locking in Andrew Luck. What's a single game in comparison to a decade plus of facing the danger that is potentially there in having Andrew Luck as your division rival's QB? Especially to a team like Indy who has dominated the division.
If Carolina loses to Indy and if a combination of their AFC South rivals take season ending losses to Indy, the Colts might end up with 3 wins and muff thier chance to get Andrew Luck!
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All eyes on Kalil
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4363/mattkalilutahvusc73nlcu.jpg
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/ari.gif Arizona (3-7) at http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/stl.gif St. Louis (2-8)
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/min.gif Minnesota (2-8) vs http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/atl.gif Atlanta (6-4)
The one position that is extremely weak at the top in this year's draft class is Offensive Tackle. Especially in comparison to recent prior years. There is Matt Kalil at the head of this class and then there is everybody else. Jonathan Martin's stock is losing steam so much so that there is budding talk that he could end up as a better Guard than Tackle in the NFL.
There will be draft ramifications for this weeks winners and losers in these 2 games. The benefit of being in position to draft Kalil is going to start to take shape. So this will be interesting to say the least. 3 of the 4 teams in this discussion could likely be the destination for Kalil. The Cardinals, Rams, and Vikings all need to address LT.
In the ARZ at STL game... you have two teams who are currently slotted to be picking close to each other and both would be near the top the draft in prime range to draft Kalil. So the winner, or should I say... loser this weekend... could be the team that lands Kalil and the other will have to settle for another position OR be forced to reach for the next best available Tackle.
Now, I don't think any of these teams will alter any game plans to lessen their desire to win during the season just to be in a better position to draft Kalil, but I did want to point to the direction where this thing could be heading depending on this week's results.
The MIN/ATL game looks like another loss for MIN, which keeps them in a tight race with the loser of the ARZ/STL game. That makes these 2 weekend games interesting in the eyes of those fans wanting Matt Kalil on their team next year for sure!
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/usc/sports/m-footbl/auto_headshot/3497336.jpeg http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/bay/sports/m-footbl/auto_headshot/6818351.jpeg http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okla/sports/m-footbl/auto_headshot/6843253.jpeg
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/was.gif Washington (3-7) at http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/sea.gif Seattle (4-6)
I think there are 5 teams that will have QB near or at the top of their priority list in Round 1 of the 2012 draft (unless they address QB through FA or trade).
They are the Colts, Redskins, Seahawks, Dolphins and Broncos.
There may be some unsuspecting others like the Browns, Chiefs, or Cowboys, but they may or may not go that route. At least it's less certain in their cases.
So what does any of this have to do with this Seahawks/Redskins game?
Well, by the looks of things, the Colts are looking to be the team to select Andrew Luck right now (things could change), so the competition for the next best QB could boil down to the loser of this game. In Denver, Tim Tebow's success is taking the Broncos further and further away from picking at the top of draft and Miami looks intent on trying to win. They might end up being the hardest focused non-playoff spot fighting team all the way up to Week 17.
In the case that some of the other losing teams find their way to top picks, without needing to address the QB position...like the Rams, Panthers, Vikings, Jags, Cardinals or Chargers, you could always potentially see a trade up possibility from another team in need, but all things being equal... this game between Washington and Seattle could boil down to which team gets the 2nd best QB prospect in the draft, so watch this one closely!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indy out of Luck?
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/6172/andrewluck.jpg
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/car.gif Carolina (2-8) at http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/ind.gif Indianapolis (0-10)
Could this be the week that Indy gets their first win? Cammy Cam lovers won't like the sound of that to start their Holiday Season, but such just might be the case. The way the Panthers have been playing most of the season, I don't know if there's another team out there that better defines the term "playing to the level of your competition".
Let's take a look at their past schedule...
Week 1 - Arizona Cardinals @ Arizona (0-0) L 21 - 28
Week 2 - Green Bay Packers vs Green Bay (1-0) L 23 - 30
Week 3 - Jacksonville Jaguars vs Jacksonville (1-1) W 16 - 10
Week 4 -Chicago Bears @ Chicago (1-2) L 29 - 34
Week 5 - New Orleans Saints vs New Orleans (3-1) L 27 - 30
Week 6 - Atlanta Falcons @ Atlanta (2-3) L 17 - 31
Week 7 - Washington Redskins vs Washington (3-2) W 33 - 20
Week 8 - Minnesota Vikings vs Minnesota (1-6) L 21 - 24
Week 9 Bye
Week 10 - Tennessee Titans vs Tennessee (4-4) L 3 - 30
Week 11 - Detroit Lions @ Detroit (6-3) L 35 - 49
Look at that schedule, 6 of their 8 losses have come within 7 points or less and the oddest thing is that those losses are coming from teams of all different kinds of varying strength levels. They can play toe to toe versus the likes of Green Bay, Chicago, New Orleans and Detroit... yet take losses against a 1-6 Vikings, or a weak Cardinals team who's 1 of 3 wins so far have come from none other than the Panthers, themselves.
If the Panthers continue that trend and play to the level of play of their opponents, then I could realistically see these Colts coming away with their first win of the season... at home... on Thanksgiving weekend. Afterall, it's just a win versus a team with a 2-8 record. Hardly the upset of the year.
Conspiracy theorists who think the Colts are controlling their willingness to want to lose and want to win will like this....
Wouldn't it be telling... that the Colts who seemingly look like they have been losing on purpose all year, would now get their first win...? This is their first time this season where they can afford to win AND STILL be guaranteed to be in last place!
Indy shouldn't get too cute though... because the last 3 games of the season come against inner division rivals... the Titans in Week 15, the Texans in Week 16 and the Jaguars in Week 17. Don't put it past your mind for one second to think that any of those teams wouldn't relish the idea of purposely tanking their meaningless end-of-season games against Indy just to spite the Colts attempt at getting the #1 overall pick and locking in Andrew Luck. What's a single game in comparison to a decade plus of facing the danger that is potentially there in having Andrew Luck as your division rival's QB? Especially to a team like Indy who has dominated the division.
If Carolina loses to Indy and if a combination of their AFC South rivals take season ending losses to Indy, the Colts might end up with 3 wins and muff thier chance to get Andrew Luck!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
All eyes on Kalil
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4363/mattkalilutahvusc73nlcu.jpg
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/ari.gif Arizona (3-7) at http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/stl.gif St. Louis (2-8)
http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/min.gif Minnesota (2-8) vs http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/nfl/teams/1/50x50w/atl.gif Atlanta (6-4)
The one position that is extremely weak at the top in this year's draft class is Offensive Tackle. Especially in comparison to recent prior years. There is Matt Kalil at the head of this class and then there is everybody else. Jonathan Martin's stock is losing steam so much so that there is budding talk that he could end up as a better Guard than Tackle in the NFL.
There will be draft ramifications for this weeks winners and losers in these 2 games. The benefit of being in position to draft Kalil is going to start to take shape. So this will be interesting to say the least. 3 of the 4 teams in this discussion could likely be the destination for Kalil. The Cardinals, Rams, and Vikings all need to address LT.
In the ARZ at STL game... you have two teams who are currently slotted to be picking close to each other and both would be near the top the draft in prime range to draft Kalil. So the winner, or should I say... loser this weekend... could be the team that lands Kalil and the other will have to settle for another position OR be forced to reach for the next best available Tackle.
Now, I don't think any of these teams will alter any game plans to lessen their desire to win during the season just to be in a better position to draft Kalil, but I did want to point to the direction where this thing could be heading depending on this week's results.
The MIN/ATL game looks like another loss for MIN, which keeps them in a tight race with the loser of the ARZ/STL game. That makes these 2 weekend games interesting in the eyes of those fans wanting Matt Kalil on their team next year for sure!