Defensive sleepers in the 2009 NFL draft.

Yesterday we looked at a few unknown offensive players that have NFL potential. Today, we look at the D side of the ball.

DL

Ty Steinkuhler Nebraska—Stein is an under tackle in a 4-3 that is very disruptive. He is rock solid against the run and can rush the passer. He can penetrate by getting around the G or just pushing him back into the QB. I really like him. None of the experts seem to think he is worth a draft choice but he will make a team and become a regular in the DT rotation.

Stryker Sulak Missouri—What a great name for a D player! Sulak is a 250 pound DE that may well be a conversion project to OB. He can play the run fairly well but his strength is rushing the passer. Some team will take him in the 6th or 7th round and be very happy. At 6-5 he has the frame to put on 30 pounds and be a 3-4 DE, or stay at 250 and learn to play standing up.

Matt Shaughnessy Wisconsin—Matt is not your typical Badger grinder. He has the ability to rush the passer … Read more at FryingPanSports

My thoughts on the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament

Fryingpan Sports

My thoughts on the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament

By Bill Smith

The Big East teams fail to make the Championship game.

North Carolina was just too deep and too talented for Villanova. NC point guard Ty Lawson and forward Tylor Hansbrough. Hansbrough came back for his senior year to try to win a Championship. He and Lawson were all that NC needed to get to the finals.

The biggest surprise of the day was the win by Michigan State over Connecticut. The defense of MSU stopped UConn’s powerful offense. Points off turnovers were the difference. UConn had the greatest margin on foul shots taken vs opponent foul shots in the country. While the Detroit fans were clearly supporting the Spartans, the officials did their best to even the odds for UConn.

Despite the failure to make the final game, the Big East had an outstanding season.

Just because the top teams failed to advance to the Championship game, don’t discount the year that the BE had. They were the top conference all season long with significant wins up and down the league standings.

The officiating was, to be kind, inconsistent.

A foul like beauty is in … Read more at FryingPanSports

My thoughts on the second week of the NCAA Tournament.

Fryingpan Sports

My thoughts on the second week of the NCAA Tournament.

By Bill Smith

Lots and lots and lots of chalk. The top 3 seeds dominated the play in the second week of the NCAA. Over all, the committee was right about the top dozen teams.

In the tournament, quality depth is critical.

As I said in My thoughts on betting the NCAA Tournament—For entertainment purposes only depth is critical for surviving and moving on. North Carolina’s depth was a major factor in both of their wins. In the critical minutes at the end of games their opponents had their hands on hips searching for a breath of oxygen while the NC starters were rested.

Don’t worry about top seed teams that lost early in their conference tournament. NC moved on while Duke failed to make the final 4.

After the first weekend, beware of the one man team. As good as Blake Griffin is, it is far too easy to stop a single player. Griffin will be the first choice in the NBA draft if he comes out (which he will). Even though he scored 23, NC found ways to keep him down when it counted.

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