Lions

KC's trade for QB Cassel resulted in some unforeseen repercussions.

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Fryingpan Sports

KC’s trade for QB Cassel resulted in some unforeseen repercussions.

By Bill Smith

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No one was surprised that ex-Patriot personnel guy Scott Pioli traded to get a couple of his former players to add some leadership to the Chiefs. Based on how the team played last year, it can use all the leadership Pioli can gather. When he landed QB Matt Cassel, Pioli caused ripples through the NFL.

The Lions now have some options at 1st choice:

While there are several teams that would like a QB, the Jets at 17 now look like the only one willing to spend a 1st round pick on one of the 2 top QB (Matt Stafford, Georgia and Mark Sanchez, USC).

While the majority of mock drafts have the Lions taking Stafford or Sanchez with the first pick, I am not at all sure that is a lock. I would not be surprised if the Lions took a chance and drafted an OT with the first pick then used the 22nd pick from the Cowboys to take whichever QB is left.

That would give the Lions a chance to keep their QB upright whoever that might be. It … Read more at FryingPanSports

Saturday's nibblets around the net for 02/15/09.

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Fryingpan Sports

Saturday’s nibblets around the net.

By Bill Smith

BEST COMMENT OF THE WEEK–

Ted Payne posted this:

Well let’s be honest – guys like him are SCARED. They are legitimately scared of bloggers.

I mean each team can have a hometown blogger, bloggers that are dedicated to one team even. How can traditional journalists compete with that? Bloggers might not have the access of these top ESPN guys, but they can watch one team day in and day out, Albom can NOT do that.

Sports reporters are scared that one day, they won’t have a job, because people will turn to their local bloggers.

Ted, you are exactly right. The new media including the Internet bloggers scare them to death. Thanks for the support and I hope you become a regular reader. We will try to post the best comment each week.

Political Correctness run a muck.

Our old pinhead friends at the NCAA rules committee are thinking about making the touchdown celebration a “live ball” penalty rather than a “dead ball” foul. The difference is that a live ball foul is stepped off from the previous spot and takes the score off the board! I don’t have … Read more at FryingPanSports

Should the Lions draft QB Matt Stafford with the first pick?

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Fryingpan Sports

Should the Lions draft QB Matt Stafford with the first pick?

t By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: Lions, NFL Draft, Stafford, Sanchez, Georgia, USC, Booty, college football, NFL Football

The Lions need a QB badly. The starter on their depth chart is Dan Orlovsky. In 4 seasons he has a QB rating of 71.8 with 8 TDs and 8 picks. Not good. Behind him is second year QB Drew Stanton but he was very inconsistent at Michigan State and has thrown only 17 passes in the NFL. Then there is the 3rd QB Drew Henson. Henson was a better baseball player than QB and was cut by a couple of baseball organizations. His football career included one start for the Pre-Romo Cowboys in 04 but he QB rating of 64.2 doesn’t impress anyone.

So according to reports the team is going to take a QB with the first pick. Maybe that sounded like a good idea when there were 4 good prospects in the race for the top QB in the draft. But Sam Bradford went back to Oklahoma and Colt McCoy went back to Texas. That left only Stafford and one year starter Mark Sanchez from USC … Read more at FryingPanSports

Are teams better off with first time coaches?

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Fryingpan Sports

Are teams better off with first time coaches

By Bill Smith

Up until a couple of years ago, NFL owners that were in need of a coach overwhelmingly chose older guys with previous head coaching experience. Then in 2007 things seemed to change. First time HCs seemed to be in vogue.

Mike Smith was the defensive coordinator of the Jaguars from 2003-07. He was not exactly a young first time HC but a first time HC none the less. He was 47 when he was selected as head coach for the Atlanta Falcons. In his first year he led the team which had been 4-12 to the playoffs in 08 and a 11-5 record. He and rookie QB Matt Ryan also helped erase the stain that Mike Vick had caused to the franchise.

In January of 2008, the 1-15 Miami Dolphins hired Tony Sparano as head coach. He had coached the O line for the Cowboys and had 3 years as assistant head coach. He led one of the most inept teams in NFL history to 11-5 and the AFC East championship. Sparano had help. Bill Parcells joined the team as the Executive Vice President of Football Operations … Read more at FryingPanSports

Is Sam Bradford making a mistake by staying at Oklahoma?

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Fryingpan Sports

Is Sam Bradford making a mistake by staying at Oklahoma?

t By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: nfl Draft,NFL,COLLEGE FOOTBALL,Oklahoma,Bradford,Smith,Bengals,Lions,Chiefs,Oregon,Raiders,Russell,Young,TItans,USC,Leinart,Cardinals,Arizona,Tennessee,Kansas City,Detroit,Tebow,Florida

In a previous article I wrote that Tim Tebow made a great decision by staying at Florida. He was going to be a 2nd or 3rd round choice this year but could work his way into the first round with a strong senior year. However, I believe that Oklahoma QB Bradford is making a mistake by staying.

I am reminded of QB Matt Leinart of USC. He would have been the first overall pick had he come out as a junior. But he stayed in school for his senior year and fell to the 10th pick overall in the 2006 draft. Alex Smith from Utah was the first pick of the 49ers. That decision cost Leinart 3.5 million dollars over the first 3 years of his contract.

There is only one first round QB in the 2009 draft—Matt Stafford of Georgia. While USC’s QB Mark Sanchez will probably be drafted in the first round, at this point I don’t see him as a 1st round talent. QB Akili Smith from Oregon started only one … Read more at FryingPanSports