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Category Archives: St. Louis Rams

Second Place Is Just The First Loser, Part I

I was reading an article by ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley and Mike Sando about the best and worst Super Bowl losers of all-time. It’s a great piece and I really suggest you all checking it out. You can click here to do that. As I was reading this I was thinking how great to re-do their list. I’m guessing you guys would have a different list than theirs and mine, too.

So, let’s look at the best teams to lose in the Super Bowl today and tomorrow we will check out the worst to grace the best game of the year. Also, we will go over the 2 Super Bowls that were played on February 3rd. So, let’s get crackin’.

The Greatest Teams to…ugh, not….Win The Super Bowl

1968 Baltimore Colts - Honestly, can anyone pick a different team. The Colts roared to a 13-1 record. The Colts then destroyed their competition in the NFL playoffs, which included the Cleveland Browns, the only team to beat them that year, 34-0. The biggest disappointment is that they had the ultimate bulletin board material in Joe Namath’s legendary guarantee. There is no greater upset that football, and maybe all sports, have ever seen as the #2 offensive and #1 defensive team went down to Broadway Joe’s Jets.
1978 Dallas Cowboys - How good was this Cowboys team? They had the #1 offense and #3 defense that year. They lost to a Pittsburgh Steelers team that had the #5 offense and #1 defense. Super Bowl XIII is considered one of the greatest Super Bowls of all-time. A team that lost to one of the best teams during arguably the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen has to be in this discussion. Remember, if Jackie Smith had caught that pass in the end zone, this game probably would have been won by the Cowboys.
1983 Washington Redskins - One of the greatest teams of all-time was absolutely dominated in the Super Bowl. No team in NFL history, until 1998, had a more prolific offense than this Redskins team. All I have to say is thank God I was almost 2 years old at that time. I still won’t watch Super Bowl XVIII highlights and I was too young to remember it. I don’t want to talk much more about this horrible memory as all I hear right now is John Facenda saying, “On came Marcus Allen, running with the night.” Ugh.
1969 Minnesota Vikings - How in the world did the Purple People Eater’s not win a Super Bowl? This team was the very best of those teams. This was the #1 offense and defense in the league. But, as great as the Vikings were, they ran into a greater team in the Kansas City Chiefs. And thank God the Chiefs won, because we get to enjoy beautiful clips from the man, Hank Stram. (check them out here)
2007 New England Patriots - Yeah, that’s right. What ESPN and the rest of the media were declaring “the greatest team ever” is all the way down to #5 on my list. First, teams of today would get absolutely annihilated by teams of the past. With free agency and the cap, you just can’t build teams like you used to. Go figure that the 1974 Steelers were the same team as the 1979 Steelers but there are only like 5 guys on this year’s New England Patriots that were on the field in 2007 for the Pats. So, while there is more talent throughout the NFL, it just can’t come together on one team, especially for any length of time. The 2007 Patriots were hurt by 2 things: an aging defense and an ego-maniac of a head coach. Bill, you should have stopped trying to run up the score on every team like this was college football in the 90′s and ran the ball more. Maybe, Brady would have had an extra couple of seconds to be able to make all of the throws. Just sayin’.
2001 St. Louis Rams - I have to admit, and you need to too, that I never saw this coming. The Patriots, led by a back-up QB that could barely beat out Drew Henson at Michigan, are going to beat “The Greatest Show on Turf”…and they’re playing this game on turf? Wow! But, now that we know who really won this game (can anybody say a video camera taping the Rams’ walkthroughs) is anyone surprised the best team in 2001 lost? I say the NFL destroy the Pats’ Lombardi Trophy right with the evidence they destroyed.
1990 Buffalo Bills - Poor Bills fans. They had to hear the jokes (Do you know what Bills stands for? No, what? Boy-I-Love-Losing-Super Bowls) and the teasing. But, this was one of the best teams of the 1990′s. Four Super Bowls in a row? Even the 70′s Steelers couldn’t do that…although they did win all of their four trips. Marv Levy was just out-coached. But, that is hardly a cutdown. He was facing Bill Parcells. One thing that has always gotten to me was that the Giants don’t get more credit. It is always like the Bills lost to a nobody. Has anyone seen tape of that defense? They shut down the 2-time defending champions 49ers the week before…and both Hall-of-Fame QB’s (Montana and Young) couldn’t do anything about it. The Bills shouldn’t be ashamed of losing to such a good team. The only problem was, in hindsight, this was their only shot at a ring.
1997 Green Bay Packers - Brett Favre was leading the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowl titles, just like Bart Starr had done 30 years before. Problem was, they were running into one of the last truly great teams led by an even better QB than “Mr. Retire-or not”. John Elway and Co. stole the show, but this was a very close affair. Brett Favre even had a chance to win it in the last minutes. The Packers came up just 7 points short as they had no answer for Terrell Davis, who would go on to have a 2,000 yd. season the very next year in what would be Denver’s 2nd straight title.
1973 Minnesota Vikings - I have to say I like the QB better on this Vikings team than on the ’69 team. But they were a stronger unit on the ’69 team. This Vikings team had the 2nd best defense in the league. Problem was, they were facing the #1 defense in Miami’s “No Name” Defense.
1991 Buffalo Bills - This was the 2nd best Bills team they had. They just ran into one of the best Super Bowl Championship teams. The Bills talked a big game, but when it came down to it Thurman Thomas, Jim Kelly, James Lofton, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, Cornelius Bennett, Darryl Talley, Shane Conlin and Co. just couldn’t get it done on the field. You look at those Bills teams and really wonder…how in the world did they not win just 1 Super Bowl. I guess that’s why they’re on this list twice.

Now onto the Super Bowls of the past:

February 3, 2002 – New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17 – Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA - Tom Brady led the upstart Patriots to a massive upset in one of the best Super Bowls of all-time. Adam Vinatieri became a Patron Saint in New England. Tom Brady earned MVP honors as he passed 16-27 for 145 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots mugging the Rams’ wideouts was a big reason why the Patriots were able to hold on and win this game. Also, there was something about a video camera, too. The Patriots won their 1st Super Bowl title.

February 3, 2008 – New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 – University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ - This Super Bowl is in the top 3 Super Bowls of all-time. The Giants, who barely got into the playoffs, scored a massive upset agains the 18-0 New England Patriots. Eli Manning and David Tyree gave us the greatest play in Super Bowl history. Manning earned MVP honors with 19-34 255 yards and 2 TD’s. But, it was the Giant’s D-line who were the true MVP’s as they never let Brady get in a rhythm. The Giants won their 3rd Super Bowl title.

Super Bowl Moments in Time

30 Jan

The Super Bowl-hype ban is officially over. I was going to do some of this last week but decided not to. I want to take a look at some Super Bowls on the anniversary of their playing. Next year I will add all teams’ Super Bowls into this but we still have some time to go over many great games of the past. So, over this next week each day we will look at all of the Super Bowls that happened on the day that they happened. I will also add in info on this year’s Super Bowl and other sports news as it breaks. So, for that 1 guy who enjoys the Pro Bowl, the AFC won yesterday 59-41. For the rest of us, let’s get on with the important stuff.

January 30, 1983 – Washington Redskins 27, Miami Dolphins 17 – Rose Bowl, Pasedena, CA – This was a rematch of Super Bowl VII back in 1972. Unlike that one, this Super Bowl was a great looking one. John Riggins earned Super Bowl MVP honors as he both carried the ball the most times in Super Bowl History(38) and for the most rushing yards(166). Behind The Hogs, the Redskins rushed for the most yards in Super Bowl history (276) as the Skins carved up the “Killer Bees” defense in route to their first Super Bowl title and first NFL title since 1942.

January 30, 1994 – Dallas Cowboys 30, Buffalo Bills 13 – Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA - A rematch of the previous year’s Super Bowl, Super Bowl XXVIII was not a blow out. Emmitt Smith earned Super Bowl MVP honors with 132 yds. on 30 carries and 2 TD’s. The Cowboys won back-to-back Super Bowls and their 4th Super Bowl title. Meanwhile, this marked the end of the Bills’ dominance of the AFC as they lost their 4th straight Super Bowl.

January 30, 2000 – St. Louis Rams 23, Tennessee Titans 16 – Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA - This game showed us that football is truly a game of inches. The game was pretty boring until midway through the 4th
quarter as the Titans made a furious comeback, only to come up 1 yard short. Kurt Warner earned MVP honors as he threw for a Super Bowl record 414 yards passing, going 24-46 with 2 TD’s. His 46 passing attempts without an INT is a Super Bowl record. The Rams won their 1st Super Bowl and their 1st NFL title since 1951when they were in LA.

In other NFL news, the Carolina Panthers have decided to tweak their logo and re-do their word mark for the 2012 season. I actually think the logo looks better now, the word mark? Eh. If you’d like to see a small video clip of the old and new logos/word marks check it out here.

They hired who?

27 Jan

Well, we are a few days away from the Pro Bowl (does anyone know or even care who’s playing in that?) and a little over a week than the event that mustn’t be named and all teams have a head coach for the 2012 season. There were some shockers, some good hires and some baffling decisions. We have already talked about Kansas City hiring Romeo Crennel, Jacksonville hiring Mike Mularkey and St. Louis hiring Jeff Fisher. Let’s look at the other 4 teams that have fired and hired in the past couple of weeks.

Indianapolis Colts – fired Jim Caldwell – hired Chuck Pagano - The firing makes since, although I still say they shouldn’t have hired Caldwell in the first place. I mean, come on it’s not too hard to see a disaster that he is while he was coaching Wake Forest. Jim Caldwell should have never been hired, but to put this year’s blame on him is unfair. This team had no direction, lack of talent and until the last couple of weeks looked like they were satisfied with the #1 pick and mailed it in. For them hiring the wrong man, blaming him for the crap-fest that was they’re wasted season, I have to say STUPID. Weird how this franchise was looked upon as one of the smartest and most stable franchises over the last decade. Should we re-asses that? Only time will tell. The hiring of Pagano is really interesting. First of all, since 1998 this franchise has been all about offense and now they go and hire a defensive minded coach. But, last year was the first and only year as a defensive coordinator. This could be a great hire but I think it is a huge risk. Also, what does this say about Peyton Manning’s future? How about the future of this franchise? By March, we will know whether the Colts want Peyton or not and pretty soon we will see what direction they will be going in. For the hire and new direction, so-so but this can/will be re-evaluated in a couple of years.

Oakland Raiders – fired Hue Jackson – hired ~~Al Davis~~ Dennis Allen - Too early for an Al Davis joke? The firing of Hue Jackson is the WORST decision of the year for any team (ok, maybe tied with Kansas City firing Todd Haley and Philly putting their O-line coach, Juan Castillo, as their D-coordinator). Hue couldn’t help the injuries to the key players on the team (Jason Campbell and Darren McFadden to name a couple). And with all of that he still got them to 8-8. This marks 2 straight years the Raiders have fired a coach after he did a really nice job with the team. The firing stupid. The hiring of Allen is also strange. Like Pagano with the Colts, Allen was a first year Defensive Coordinator with Denver last year. Again, we really can’t tell what he will be. I just thought that once Al Davis left, this franchise would act a little more normal. But I guess I was wrong! Hiring was so-so.

Miami Dolphins – fired Tony Sparano – hired Joe Philbin - The firing was probably a year or two late. Ross had cut Sparano’s legs out from under him since the beginning. They were always looking for the next coach and when they couldn’t find him, only then did they “back” Sparano. The firing is a so-so because it was about time, but very poorly handled. I love the hiring of Joe Philbin and actually think this is one of the better hires this year. Unfortunately, Philbin’s son will never get to see his dad make his dream job, to be an NFL head coach. Philbin has been the OC in Green Bay since ’07, so he made the transition from Favre to Rodgers without a hick-up in the offense. The hiring is good (GREAT).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – fired Raheem Morris – hired Greg Schiano - The firing of Morris was just like that of Indy…they never should have hired him. Morris was clueless from day one. I can’t believe they hired him but they ended up what was right and the firing is good. Now on to the crazy part. What in the world were the Glazer family doing? Seriously, they wanted Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Sherman, Chip Kelly and finally settled on Greg Schiano. Talk about a bizarre head coach hiring process. I can understand Marty, although he is pretty old now. What I don’t understand is Mike Sherman (he failed at both Green Bay and Texas A&M and you want him as your head coach?) and the 2 college coaches. It was like Tampa had to get a “name” candidate. I am one to believe that it’s almost never a good idea to bring in college coaches to NFL franchises. Schiano did a nice job at Rutgers and probably the best they could have ever wished for. But, Schiano has rarely any NFL presence. I think the hiring of Schiano is borderline stupid. I will put a so-so because I like the type of offense in (which I love). Good luck Tampa.

I will see you tomorrow and pretty soon we will be talking about the big game that mustn’t be mentioned!

NFL’s annual changing of the guard.

17 Jan

Ch-ch-ch-changes!!! This has been a bi-annual event in the District of Columbia since Mr. Dan Snyder took over as ~~First Galactic Emporer~~ owner of the Washington Redskins. Yet, DC stays quiet after 2 years of the Shanahan Era. Now, as long as the sports world continues to stay quiet through the week, I will have a lot more on this later this week along with what is going on in the Big Apple with the Coughlin Era, as I see a lot of similarities and quite frankly, it disgusts me. But that’s for another day. Today, we are here to discuss the recent firings and hirings of head coaches in the NFL and whether each are good, so-so or stupid. We will go with all the teams that have already hired a new coach (in order of when they fired “the bum”) and then look at the teams that have fired but not hired. So, let’s get to it.

Jacksonville Jaguars, Fired Jack Del Rio – Hired Mike Mularkey - The River City got things started early this year. Well, when you look at how long a leash they gave Del Rio I’m surprised they didn’t wait until the next century. Look, I understand they want stability and want to create the atmosphere that is up in Steel Town, PA. But, come on! Holy crap…could we not see Del Rio for what he was 6-7 years in? The man got 8 years and 11 games and he would have probably been given the full season had he not screwed up with Blaine Gabbert so much. The firing is good but the timing is stupid. They wasted 3 years of Jaguars fans and talent on a crappy head coach. Just go back and look at all of the issues he’s had with his QB’s. The Jags then went out after the season and hired Atlanta Falcons OC Mike Mularkey. I understand a lot of Jags fans aren’t happy with this and honestly this is not a sexy/big splash hire. But, when you’re looking to build a winner do you have to go with a sexy pick? Especially when a lot of those big name hires wanted absolute power? I think cooler heads need to prevail and do a wait-and-see. I know we are a society that wants everything and wants everything NOW but you have to wait on this one. Mularkey comes into a situation with a talented defense but a one-trick pony when it comes to the offense. Now, that one-trick is a pretty darn good one. MJD is one of the best RB’s in the league and that’s on a team with no passing game. So if you have to grade Mularkey’s hire you would have to say so-so but unknown and pending a grade in 3-4 years. Jacksonvlle: Give the man a chance and give him some time!

Kansas City Chiefs, Fired Todd Haley – Hired Romeo Crennel - The Chiefs were STUPID in firing Todd Haley. The man won the AFC West last year in just his second year on the job. This year they suffered massive injuries to their best players. Eric Berry, Matt Cassel, Jamaal Charles and Brandon Siler all lost for the season. That just decimated a team, I don’t care how much depth you have on your team. How could Haley succeed? Yes, they did have quite a few blowout loses but after only 3 years Haley should have been kept. Someone will be a lucky franchise to pick him up. The hire was with Romeo Crennel. Crennel seems like a great guy and a possible a good-great head coach. Who could anyone have succeeded in Cleveland with the lack of talent back then? I think the Crennel hire is a good one but the verdict is still out.

Miami Dolphins, Fired Tony Sporano – Hired Todd Bowles - Now this is a fire that I believe to be a good one. But this is what it comes to when you take all authority away from the head coach and dangle him in the wind. Miami is lost right now and needs a lot of fixing. The Fins chose to put their franchise in the hands of Todd Bowles who was last the Secondary Coach at Miami. Bowles became the interim and they decided to go with them because of the decision of Mr. Jeff Fisher to go with St. Louis. The hiring of Todd Bowles is sort of like what is going on in Jacksonville. Not a splashy or big name hire. Again we need another 3-4 years to see what Bowles is.

St. Louis Rams, Fired Steve Spagnuolo - Spags was a huge name after the dominance of New York’s defense in 2007. The Rams picked him up and he just never could get the plane off the ground. He looks like a great coordinator but bad head coach. But don’t worry Steve…if Norv Turner can get 3 chances in the NFL you probably can too. Just a few days ago I wrote about Jeff Fisher going from coming oh-so-close to beating the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV to being hired on as their new head coach. St. Louis now has a bright future with one of the best coaches in the game. Firing - good, hiring - good.The next three teams have fired their head coaches but have yet to fill their own spots.

The next 2 teams have fired but have not yet hired:

Oakland Raiders, Fired Hue Douglas - This is probably the most bafflinf change for many years to come. How can you say anything about Douglas when there. Douglas had only 1 year and had Jason Campbell and Darren McFadden go down for the season…and he still got them to go 8-8. I think Jackson has a great chance to go somewhere and succeed. But, I am beginning to wonder if Al Davis is sending messages through Jesus to Tim Tebow and then to GM Reggie McKenzie. The firing was beyond stupid.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Fired Raheem Morris - The man should have never been hired in the first place. This was immediately after the wild success of Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh and Tampa wanted to copy it…too bad they didn’t get Mike Tomlin because Morris was a failure from Day 1. Firing - good, timing – stupid.

Enjoy your day and look out for more on the coaching situations in NY and DC later this week.

NFL Playoffs Divisional Round, Day 1

14 Jan

Day 1 and boy, do we have some match-ups to watch today! You have high powered air attacks, a smash-mouth defense, old-school 80′s style football, a defense that a wet noodle could score on…heck we even have the option for all of you. If you’re not satisfied by that well, than you need to go talk to Mick Jagger! But the story lines don’t stop there. We have a city’s “savior”, the “next-Montana”, an archangel who can’t throw the ball but he still beats you nonetheless and we can’t forget the coach who not only beats you but afterwards slaps the crap out of you and pumps his fist in your face. Yes, and we have it all in one day!! So, let’s take a closer look at these matchups.

New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers, 4:30 on FOX - Sean Payton and Drew Brees take their air show on the road. Luckily, for them and us we aren’t at the mercy of San Fran generators. On the other side we have Jim Harbaugh who has resurrected the 49ers and their QB Alex Smith. I’m not going to try and fool you into thinking Smith is a great QB. He is not. But, when he has a strong running game and a great defense the man can manage a game. Well, manage is not really giving him enough credit. Alex Smith in any other year had an outstanding year. But 3, yes THREE, QB’s threw for over 5,000 yards this year. Heck, even a rookie threw for over 4,000 yards. The Niners also have one of the best backs out there in Frank Gore. The most shocking stat is that the Saints have rushed for more yards this season than the 49ers. The Niners have more of a grind-it-out, very balanced offensive approach while the Saints are like Air Coryell on steroids. But the Saints have a running game too, they just don’t need to use it that much. On the defensive front, the 49ers are everything you want. They not only shut you down and don’t allow many yards and/or points but they also lead the league, with Green Bay, in takeaways. We all know what the Saints are on defense. Not a lot of great talent but a master-schemer in Greg Williams who loves to put pressure on you and make you turn the ball over. The only thing is, they are one of the worst defenses in takeaways. This game is really going to come down to what the 49ers do in the redzone. They are going to have to score touchdowns not settle for field goals or leave points on the board. I love the 49ers and think this is a game they can definitely win but I have to pick the Saints who I think are on a roll right now. Saints 23, 49ers 21

Denver Broncos @ New England Patriots, 8:00 on CBS - In the AFC we have…well, I really don’t know what we have. Seriously, can anyone please tell me what in the world is happening in the city “high in the sky” this year? I thought the Steelers, even with all of their injuries, would never let the Broncos beat them in the playoffs (well, according to some only one man…nay, one demigod beat the Steelers). I can throw all of the stats I want at you and in the end what will it mean? Absolutely zilch! If the Patriots defense (yes, that one I said a wet noodle could score on) allows ~~Thor~~ Tebow to keep his team in the game late, you can guarantee we just might see another magic show happen in the end. I have to say that I would absolutely love to see the whole Broncos team Tebowing literally on top of Belicheat but I really don’t think they will win. I think this is where the T-train ends and Brady and the Patriots move on to the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots defense, well…the 11 men that just so happen to be on the field when we say “the Patriots defense” will allow the Broncos to keep up but I think the Pats are too powerful and have been here too many times to allow the Broncos to steel (ha, like that one?) this one away. But, I said that last week about the Steelers and look where we are right now! So, I will stop running my mouth (better yet, typing with my fingers) and predict the score. Patriots 24, Broncos 17

On another note, we have one of the weirdest things to come around in some time. I mean, this was pretty weird and so was this, this, this and this. But 12 years ago, did anyone ever even think that they would see this happen? I have to say I didn’t but hey, if you can’t beat them… I wonder if Fisher will get to the Super Bowl in a few years and have to give one of those “They’re celebrating right now! Look at them!” speeches to pump his team up, only to have them fall 1/2 a yard short this time. I think Jeff Fisher is a great coach and is bound to win one someday. The Rams finally have a coach that can lead them back to the promise land. But a word of the wise to you St. Louis…don’t dump Sam Bradford and go with a knucklehead like this guy. It might not work out too well.

Enjoy the games today and we will be back tomorrow ~~to have me gloat about just how smart I am at picking NFL playoff games~~ to preview Sunday’s match-ups.

3 Comments

Posted by Chris on January 14, 2012 in AFC, Alex Smith, Bill Belichick, Denver Broncos, Drew Brees, Frank Gore, Green Bay Packers, Greg Williams, Jeff Fisher, Jim Harbaugh, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, NFL, NFL Playoffs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Sam Bradford, San Francisco 49ers, Sean Payton, St. Louis Rams, Super Bowl, Tennessee Titans, Tim Tebow, Tom Brady

Revisiting the 2007 NFL Draft

12 Jan

Yesterday, I was perusing around some sports websites when I stumbled upon ESPN’s own Mel Kiper, Jr.’s piece re-grading every NFL team on the 2011 NFL Draft. First, let me say how absolutely stupid this is. How in the world are you going to judge any player on just 1 season? Especially, when all rookies didn’t even have a full training camp and pre-season. I know why they did this, it’s a little slow right now in the sports world…yes, it will pick up this weekend but how many times are you going to analyze the Divisional Round of the playoffs? So, I will spare you all from critiquing Kiper’s grades but it got me thinking…how about looking back 5 years and critiquing each team’s 1st round picks. So, let’s go back to the 2007 NFL Draft and look at how these players are doing after finishing their 5th season in the league. I’ll post the 1st 16 picks today and the other 1/2 of the 1st Round tomorrow. Here we go…

Oakland Raiders - JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU – Wow! What can we say about Mr. Russell?!?! To think a lot of pundits raved about Russell because of one game where he carved up one of the worst defenses to play in South Bend on his way to winning the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame. Notre Dame shouldn’t have been anywhere near a BCS bowl game that year. Hey, at least the man got paid…which he has already devoured (pun intended). F-
Detroit Lions - Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech – Matt Millen can thank Oakland for this one. Millen had a thing for picking WR’s in the 1st round but this one was the only one to pan out. Megatron has been a BEAST for Motown. Great pick for Millen. A+
Cleveland Browns - Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin – Another great pick! Joe Thomas has been/will be the cornerstone in Cleveland for more than a decade. If he isn’t the top Offensive Tackle in the NFL he is right up there. A+
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson – Really sad story. The late Adams had tons of talent that never got much of a chance to show it. He only played 2 1/2 seasons for the Bucs before being traded to the Bears in October of 2009. Unfortunately, his life was cut short in January of 2010. I can’t give out a grade on this one. N/A
Arizona Cardinals - Levi Brown, OT, Penn State – While Levi Brown has not been a bad offensive lineman for the Cards, he certainly does not deserve a Top 5 pick. This was a huge reach for the Cardinals, but hey…it’s the Cardinals and they are who they are because they continue to reach. C-
Washington Redskins - LaRon Landry, S, LSU – If this piece was done 2 or so years ago I would have graded this pick pretty low. Since, I am a Skins fan I have seen every game LaRon Landry has played in the pros. Landry has plenty of talent but got absolutely scorched time-after-time in his first few seasons. Since Haslett has come to town he moved Landry to SS where he belongs and Landry has been an absolute stud on the football field. The only problem is he hasn’t been on there much the past couple of seasons. C+
Minnesota Vikings - Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma – I wish my Skins had made this pick. Peterson was a BEAST in college but prone to injuries (which shied me away from him in ’07). But from his first game on he has been nothing short of the Best Runningback in football! A+
Atlanta Falcons - Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas – Eh. Not that good of a pick by the Falcons. Maybe they thought they we re-picking the “Dirty Birds” Jamaal Anderson??They released him before this season and he has been an integral part of the Indianapolis Colts’ 2-14 season this year….I kid, I kid. F
Miami Dolphins - Ted Ginn, Jr, WR, Ohio State – What were they thinking?? At least the Fins only kept Ginn around for 3 years. I think the Dolphins look back at this pick and think “we should have taken Dwayne Bowe”. D
Houston Texans - Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville – Okoye has been a pretty good Defensive Tackle but worth a 10th pick? Let’s just say this: Houston let him walk to Chicago before this season started. Nice player, a reach of a pick. C-
San Francisco 49ers - Patrick Willis, LB, Ole Miss – The BEST Linebacker in the game today. Have you seen this machine play? He will end his career as one of the best Linebackers to play the game. San Fran absolutely hit it out-of-the-park with this pick. A+
Buffalo Bills - Marshawn Lynch, RB, California – After shooting of the gates and posting back-to-back 1,000 yd. seasons his first 2 years. Skittles then got into various off the field problems and had a couple of injuries before being traded to Seattle. Since then he has kind of rejuvenated his career. New Orleans might be able to tell you a little more about that! B
St. Louis Rams - Adam Carriker, DE/DT, Nebraska – I don’t know what St. Louis saw in Carriker by moving him to Defensive Tackle but it didn’t work. He was then traded to Washington where he was switched back to Defensive End and has been a pleasant surprise. He definitely is not a Top 15 pick though he does show flashes of that from time to time. D+ (this low because they used him as a DT)
New York Jets - Darelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh – Does anyone not know about Revis Island? He is the best shutdown corner in the league. Really doesn’t need anymore explaining. A+
Pittsburgh Steelers - Lawrence Timmons, LB, Florida State – Until 2011, Timmons had been getting better and better. Was it the contract or the short pre-season that resulted in a decent but not great season? Timmons has shown to be a very good Linebacker but I don’t know if a Top 15 pick is where he should have been drafted. Only time will tell which way this one goes. I think he’ll be a pretty good starter for another 5-10 years but nothing too special. C+
Green Bay Packers – Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee – This is a very hard pick to evaluate. Harrell, who is a Free Agent right now, has been constantly hampered by injuries. This last one in 2010 was a major knee injury that looks like it might have ended his pro career. I have to give a low grade on this pick since he was coming off of a pretty big biceps tear at Tennessee but to be fair the Packers couldn’t have totally seen this coming. D-

So, there we have the first 1/2 of the 1st Round of the 2007 NFL Draft. A lot of reaches, a HUGE bust and a few future Hall-of-Famers. I hear JaMarcus Russell has been signed to a huge deal for a starring role in one of TV’s biggest shows. Good for him!

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Category Archives: St. Louis Rams

Second Place Is Just The First Loser, Part I

Super Bowl Moments in Time

They hired who?

NFL’s annual changing of the guard.

NFL Playoffs Divisional Round, Day 1

Revisiting the 2007 NFL Draft

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