Everybody at NFL Media has to
He rode a swan in a pool once
ICYMI: he’ll begin this week!
I kind of enjoyed how the Packers supporters began the MVP chants through the last minutes of the Monday Night Football game. After all, Rodgers might be my private MVP right now, and he is not even on my fantasy football team. (You will want to take a look at the Monday Nightmare for more on that.)
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The Shaq Attack is back… on defense.
After two starts at running back, Washington’s Shaq Thompson is headed back to his recognizable beginning job as the Huskies’ play-making outside linebacker ahead of the team’s confrontation against Arizona on Saturday.
>> College Football 24/7 Top 25 Power Rankings
"So we are getting our running backs going a little bit, so we are possibly able to balance (Thompson) back over there (on defense) a little bit more," head coach Chris Petersen said Monday at his weekly press conference. & quot;He Will begin on that defensive side and we’ll kind of go from there."
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It Is the occupation of NFL scouts, and by extension, the general managers who supervise them, to discover defects in school possibilities.
They all have them — some more noticeable than others — as well as a failure to identify them accurately can establish itself into a wasted draft pick. Therefore, even the top-notch prospects that are considered surefire first-round draft picks will get their share of examination, even supposing it’s more microscopic — or as the case might be, myopic — in nature.
Enter Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, who has 24 touchdowns to only one interception this season, but according to one NFL scout may be overly fine for the NFL. Yep, overly fine.
"Like in case you hit him in the gut, he might apologize to you personally," the scout told Sports Illustrated’s Interior Read. & quot;I simply do not understand if he is that alpha male that you are looking for. The child’s kind of a fly on the wall type of man. Physically, he is actually gifted, but it is likely to have some time. In the event you are expecting him to come in and be your savior year one, I do not believe that is going to be it."
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Three former Michigan State quarterbacks began in the NFL on Sunday. The present Michigan State starting quarterback appears in no rush to join them.
Kirk Cousins (Washington Redskins), Brian Hoyer (Cleveland Browns) and Drew Stanton (Arizona Cardinals) are the former Spartans who began Sunday, and present Spartans starter Connor Cook (6-foot-4, 218 pounds), a junior, already gets the attention of NFL scouts. NFL Media analyzer Bucky Brooks had Cook No. 6 on his preseason list of quarterbacks to observe, writing that Cook has "the pocket-passing abilities and arm strength to prosper in an offense that puts the weight on the quarterback to create plays in the passing game."
Cook was asked about possibly turning professional after Saturday’s 73-14 rout of Eastern Michigan.
"It Is kind of insane to believe I am in the scenario I am in now," Cook told mlive.com. "But, actually, when the time comes, if I had been good enough, we will discuss it after."
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When I scouted for the Carolina Panthers from 2003-2007, I used to be required to give every player a crucial variable level according to five core features (intellect, leadership, competitiveness, clutch variable and perseverance) that we considered were vital to being a tournament player. I continue to utilize those characteristics as a barometer of a prospect’s potential at another level after I examine them for NFL Media. While I am not convinced that Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott possesses a skill set which is conducive to playing quarterback in the NFL, I undoubtedly consider that he demonstrates the qualities needed to be a tournament player in another degree.
Looking at the 6-foot-2, 235-pound junior lead the Bulldogs to an upset win over LSU in Death Valley, I saw a bright football player together with all the intangibles to be a winner at each degree. From his brilliant command of the Bulldogs’ offense to his charismatic leadership style, Prescott put in the type of show that leads lookouts to fall in love having a possibility effective at standing out to the greatest and brightest stages. Not to mention his brilliant show of athleticism and playmaking ability as an explosive double-threat quarterback around the margin.
So, I am intrigued by thinking of Prescott playing the position in another degree after seeing the likes of Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton love success as professionals with similar skill sets. While Prescott must continue to evolve as a pocket passer to improve his opportunities playing the position as a master, he definitely teases scouts along with his ability, athleticism and striking intangibles. Given the development of the match in the quarterback position, Prescott is an interesting possibility to observe during another couple years.
1. Florida State: Despite playing without Jameis Winston, the Seminoles found a means to knock off a ranked opponent in the home. While the Seminoles did not earn style points for the win, the fact that they were competent to hold on in a really competitive competition says a lot about Florida State’s stamina.
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Count West Virginia’s Kevin White among school wide receivers gaining momentum as possibilities for the 2015 NFL Draft. Following a popular start to the season, the Mountaineers’ senior has attracted the interest of both NFL Media analysts and former Cleveland Browns general manager Phil Savage.
"For the NFL, he could be a legit prospective starter as an X (split end) because of his physical characteristics and is a player that will only improve as time goes on," Savage wrote in his latest scouting report for the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Meanwhile, in College Football 24/7’s latest version of "Sources Tell Us," scouts have gone so far as to liken White to eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals. An NFL staff manager quit short of this, but said he could at least comprehend the comparison.
White gets the type of size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) needed to manage the X position, which more typically takes a receiver to break from press coverage. Noticed Savage, "he’s a physical stride coming off the line of scrimmage as well as the upper body strength to overcome corners and increase standing on intermediate designs."
His creation this season continues to be remarkable through three matches. He’s amassed 32 receptions, which ranks second in the NCAA behind Alabama’s Amari Cooper, and 460 receiving yards, which likewise ranks second in the whole country behind Baylor’s KD Cannon. White is a senior, so 2014 signifies his last opportunity to reveal NFL scouts what he can do in match actions. Given that he is already only three grabs away from matching his season total from a year ago, it’s clear that he’s taking complete advantages thus far.
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EA Sports
My favourite non-news story of the week was LeSean McCoy and his 20 cents tip that made its way around social networking and all the folks who were upset about McCoy being affordable. Even Charlie Sheen getting to the mixture was a necessary recreation to what was occurring around the NFL world.
But seriously, did any of you believe McCoy was simply being cheap? That he’d leave his name available to the bill for public inspection? Come on people. I am only able to envision the type of service McCoy received that compelled him to leave 20 cents. That is 20 cents, people. Thatis a clear "message" trick. It is not like my former pal who’d leave a $5 tip on a $75 bill because he was clueless. And then he’d wonder why the waiters would always drift to the rear of the home when he walked to the building.
Come on people, be a bit brighter here. My guy Dan Hanzus wrapped up the entire episode here. Only permit me to say I am a huge supporter of McCoy. I wish we could hear the entire story since I will have to picture it is very good.
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South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was his usual plain-speaking self Tuesday when he was asked about the Ray Rice situation.
"If you ever hit a girl, you’re not going to play on our team," he said during his weekly news conference. "You’re finished."
Spurrier is in his 10th season at South Carolina, and he said he has booted two players for that kind of situation. "One was about seven years ago, the other was about nine years ago," he said.
"We’re not going to have any player on our team that’s done that," he said. "I can’t understand why every coach doesn’t have that rule and why every company doesn’t have that rule for their employees. I think it could put a pretty good end to this stuff. Really, it’s amazing that America has sort of put up with it or compromised, but that is something that should never happen."
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