Sold/Not Sold

By Twolf

The other day ESPN was discussing how each rookie quarterback was going to perform in their career. This gave me an idea, "I'll put my two cents in about which rookie will be solid and which will not. That should make a good first post." It's very simple, sold for ones I believe will be good and not sold for ones I believe won't.

Cam Newton - Not Sold

Newton is a great athlete, but I don't see him being a productive quarterback at this level. He doesn't have the weapons in Carolina, he has no one in front of him to learn from, and he's from more of an option system.

Jake Locker - Not Sold

His biggest upside is learning from Hasselbeck. He's an athlete, like Newton, but his accuracy is his major flaw. He may have gotten away with it at the college level, but he won't in the NFL. Another downside for him is the system the UW ran for him. Like Tim Tebow he was better in the spread, which is fine for college, but ends up hurting quarterbacks once they go pro.

Christian Ponder - Not Sold

Minnesota has a bad offensive line, very few weapons at receiver, play in a division with great defenses, and the wrong style quarterback to learn from. Don't get me wrong, Donavan McNabb is a good quarterback, but not for Ponder to learn from. It's hard for a pocket passer to learn from a scrambler because they each can do things the other is incapable of.

Blaine Gabbert - Sold

Being a pocket passer and smart helps you immensely in the NFL. Great footwork, velocity, and touch on his throws will make him a solid quarterback for years to come.

Andy Dalton - Sold

Nothing about his situation (starter right away, can't push the ball downfield, coach the could be fired soon, owner that's just one step above Al Davis, no weapons on offense, and bad defense) says he'll be a good NFL quarterback, but I have a feeling he'll prove everyone wrong. Maybe not until he leaves Cincy, but he will.

Ryan Mallett - Sold

I hope New England doesn't use him as trade bait (like Merril Hodge thinks). With a few years being tutored by Bellicheck and Brady he could turn out to be the best quarterback from the 2011 draft (yes, I said it). His biggest test will be whether his maturity level gets better.

Recruiting stars, do they really make a difference?

By Kshell

The 2011 NFL Draft has come and gone which is time for NFL draft experts to break down who did what in the draft. Well before they were ever drafted they were evaluated by recruiting sites all across the country when they signed on to play for their schools. I always like to look back at previous NFL draft's and national championship recruits to see just how accurate this recruiting guys are. I'm here to settle the myth that recruiting stars don't make a difference. In fact recruiting stars do make a difference as you'll find out in this upcoming post. In this upcoming post I'll talk about the entire first round of the NFL draft this season breaking down the stars of each recruit. I'll also go over the top 10 picks of the 2010 NFL draft as well, then go over the national championship teams recruiting classes, and talk about how this is good for the Washington Huskies who landed two five star recruits this past season. Hopefully at the end of this post you'll be convinced that yes these stars attached to a kids name in fact do make a difference.

When LOI day comes and goes every fan base whose school didn't recruit well always quotes that one kid who was a two star recruit who was a stud. For Washington Huskies fans like myself you always hear about Steve Emtman and now Mason Foster both NFL players who were two star recruits. What the fans don't bring up are the hundreds of two star recruits who never saw the field for their school and ultimately washed out. I'm all for a kid trying to work his butt off and I know you can't measure a football players heart either. Look at the recruiting rankings the schools that depend on the overachieving athlete never win anything big. You always hear about how Oregon State Beavers win despite low recruiting numbers but I know at a school like Washington aspiring to be like Oregon State isn't an option. Oregon State hasn't even played in a Holiday Bowl and hasn't had a season where they lost fewer than four games since Mike Riley has taken over. While USC lands all the top recruits and guess what? USC has controlled the Pac-10 this past decade.

The recruiting game is very huge which is why you should listen to these recruiting sites. Recently I discussed the NFL draft and recruiting stars with dawgman.com site creator Kim Grinolds. Grinolds told me on average 2,500 players sign per recruiting class throughout America. Of those recruits only 50 are five star recruits, 250 are four star recruits, 1,000 are three star recruits and 1,200 are two star recruits. Of the five star recruits about 10% or 10-1 odds they are drafted in the first round. Four star recruits about an average of 5.2% which is 20-1 odds of being drafted in the first round. Then there is a huge dropoff as three star recruits are only 0.9% which is 111-1 odds of being a first round pick. Then a two star recruit is really low at 0.4% at 240-1 odds. This draft was no different especially the top 10 picks from the past two years.

I brought up those numbers because often you see more two star recruits drafted in the NFL draft than five star recruits. That isn't because these sites don't know what they are talking about. That is because as Grinolds of dawgman.com pointed out you have only 50 five star recruits a year compared to 1,200 two star recruits. In the 2011 NFL draft this past year in the top 10 you saw four guys who were awarded a five star drafted in the first round. Of those guys you saw A.J. Green who was the second ranked receiver behind Julio Jones who was the top ranked receiver. Both guys went in the top six along with other five star recruit Patrick Peterson who was the number one ranked corner. The other five star was Tyron Smith who went ninth and was rated as the number one offensive tackle out of highschool. Then you saw five guys drafted in the top 10 who were four star recruits while only Aldon Smith was the only top 10 pick who was a three star recruit. Overall the 2011 draft saw five guys drafted in the first round who were five star recruits, 14 guys who were four star recruits, eight who were three star recruits and five who were two star recruits. Then last year in the top 10 of the 2010 NFL draft you saw three guys who were five star recruits, five guys who were four star recruits and two guys who were three star recruits. As you can clearly see these guys aren't just throwing darts at a board they actually know what they are talking about.

Now getting guys to the NFL is great but ultimately every school's main goal is to win a national title. Well if you look at the recruiting rankings of the past national champions it will start to make sense to you why they are champions. I'll let you guys in on a secret the team full of hard working two star recruits they aren't winning national championships. Now I'll post the year of the national champion then talk about the rankings of their fifth year, fourth year and third year classes. First let's start off with 2010 Auburn Tigers whose fifth year class was ranked 9th in recruiting, fourth year players 6th and third year players 18th. That doesn't include two four star recruits Cam Newton and Nick Fairley( were part of the 6th ranked 2010 class) who are playing on Sunday's this upcoming season. The next national champ is Alabama who actually scored the lowest but still had ranked classes. Alabama's fifth year players were ranked 16th, fourth year guys 18th and third year guys 22nd. Alabama did have the 1st ranked recruiting class amongst their second year players and 2nd ranked recruiting class for their first year players. The next team is the 2008 Florida Gators whose fifth year class was ranked 8th, fourth year class was ranked 11th and third year class was ranked 2nd. The 2007 LSU Tigers fifth year class was ranked 2nd in the nation, fourth year class 2nd in the nation and third year class was ranked 19th. Then Florida again won in 2006 which saw their fifth year class ranked 20th, fourth year class 4th and third year class 8th. Then my final champion is the 2005 Texas Longhorns whose fourth year players were ranked 1st in the nation and third year players were ranked 14th. Recruiting rankings only go back to 2002 so I had no data on their fifth year classes.

For those who want to bring up Boise State well Boise State hasn't finished lower than second in their conference in recruiting since 2003. From 2004-2009 they have been first or second in their conference in recruiting. Like I said recruiting certainly matters and anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

If you are a Washington Huskies fan you have to be excited reading this post knowing that the Huskies are bringing in two five star recruits. The Huskies are bringing in five star recruits such as wide receiver Kasen Williams and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins. The Huskies also brought in three four star recruits and only three two star recruits is the key. The Huskies were ranked 23rd by scout.com for the year 2011. Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian did even better in 2010 when he brought in nine four star recruits and just five two star recruits. That class is ranked 11th in the nation by scout.com. Unlike the Tyrone Willingham era or even at some other schools the Huskies are bringing in top talent. As you saw in my previous post there is a positive correlation between recruiting and winning. So when I see Sarkisian bringing in top recruits unlike the naysayers who say "recruiting stars don't matter" I just laugh as the statistics show otherwise. So if you are excited about Huskies football just remember in the last two years Sarkisian has brought in two five star recruits, 12 four star recruits, 31 three star recruits and only eight two star recruits. Sarkisian will improve as a head coach in the next few years simply by having better players out there.

In conclusion, I'm hoping this post can finally answer the question of do recruiting stars really make a difference? I think it is pretty clear thanks to the help of Kim Grinolds of dawgman(who does a terrific job by the way) for giving me the statistics to back up my point. I think when you break down the first round picks, the percentage of each stars that become first round picks and the national championships you'd be a fool to think recruiting stars don't mean anything. These guys aren't just wasting their time as they actually know what they are doing. There is a reason why people pay money for subscriptions to these sites because recruiting does make a huge difference. Take a look at the Huskies for an example we finally have a pretty good offense. Well examine that offense and you'll notice Jake Locker, Jermaine Kearse, Devin Aguilar, and Chris Polk were all four star recruits. So hopefully this post did three things which is hopefully you appreciate the efforts of recruiting sites such as dawgman, the other is hopefully this makes you realize when your school signs a four star recruit or especially a five star recruit there is reason to be excited and finally hopefully this gets you excited for the Sarkisian era as he is bringing in top recruits. So next time someone tells you that recruiting stars don't make a difference link them to this post that will set them straight.



First Picture is of Cam Newton at his JC school. He was a four star recruit out of high school and out of his JC school. He was the #1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. He also led Auburn to a national championship.

Second Picture is of Steve Emtman who was the #1 pick overall despite being a two star recruit. He is the poster boy for all two star recruits at the University of Washington. He led the Huskies to a 1991 National Championship.

The Fourth Picture is of Kasen Williams. Williams is a five star recruit Wide Receiver hoping to be like A.J. Green and Julio Jones. Both were five star WR's in 2008 who were picked in the top six of the NFL draft three years after committing to their school.

Patton vs Mel vs Mcshay

By Patton Richard

The battle for who's mock was best is a difficult one to judge. I posted mine a few days before the draft, after I posted it I got plenty of info I couldn't incorporate at that point. Knowing this, I only took Kiper's and Mcshay's mocks that were posted around the same time as mine.

Now I had to come up with a system I thought would be fair, I know many places use a point system based on correct picks, range, and round. That's ultimately what I decided to do.

In the first round points are awarded as follows:
4 points if the player was selected at that spot (We all get points for Julio Jones going #6 even though Atlanta picked him and we all had Cleveland).
3 points for having a pick within 2 spots of where they actually went.
2 points for having a pick within 3 spots of where they actually went.
1 point for having a player picked in the correct round.
For any one pick you can get 0-4 points.

	4 points	3 points	2 points	1 point	Total
Patton	6	4	7	11	61
Mel	7	5	2	14	61
McShay	8	4	3	13	63

Now, McShay has a slight lead going into the 2nd round where points are awarded a little differently:
1 point for a player being selected somewhere in the 2nd round
2 points if that player ends up on the correct team at any point in the draft
3 points for correct pick and player

	3 points	2 points	1 points	Total	Overall score
Patton	2	2	16	26	87
Mel	2	0	16	22	83
McShay	1	0	18	21	84

So, after doing all of these I have barely beaten Kiper and McShay. Attached is the spreadsheet I used for this information. It also has the mocks of Mayock (65 first round points, no 2nd round mock) and Rick Gosselin (79 first round points, no 2nd round mock). I believe this is the fourth straight year Rick Gosselin has won by this point method. He's very good.

I attached the spreadsheet I made in a .pdf format below, so if anyone wants to check it out they can: by clicking here.

If I ran the Seahawks draft.

By Patton Richard

If I were to run the Seahawks draft, it would look quite a bit different. Only one pick remained the same. Now, I understand the draft would change if I replaced who Seattle picked with someone who was taken later. However, this is just to see what could have happened.

Seattle pick #25: James Carpenter, OT, Alabama
What I Would Have Done: Trade with the Saints for #56 and 2011 first rounder).
New Orleans pulled off this trade with New England later, so I assume a similiar offer was on the table. I like Carpenter more than most but I still think getting a 2012 first is worth trading down 32 spots. When a team like Seattle has needs in many different areas, it'll be more than one year to fix them. If this trade wasn't available, I would have taken Jimmy Smith.

WIWHD: #56: Brandon Harris, CB, Miami
I know this isn't a prototypical Pete Carroll CB (Harris is 5-10) I think he's a 1st round talent. He would help out in nickel situations at the very least, and although you want more than that at this pick, but all the players I would have loved were taken right before us. Ben Ijalana (49), Da'Quan Bowers (51), Marvin Austin (52), Stpehen Paea (53), Jaiquawn Jarrett (54), Rodney Hudson (55)

Seattle pick #57: Trade with Detroit Lions (we received: 75 107 154 205 and we gave up: 57 157 209)
WIWHD: I still would have done this trade. I don't love who's left in this area.

Seattle Pick #75: John Moffitt, OG, Wisconsin.
WIWHD: Jurrell Casey, DT, USC.
I believe Jurrell Casey is a starter in this league, and I may have taken him at #56 if Harris wasn't there. Casey is a great fit for this defense and he's undervalued. I believe he's more of a playmaker than an all-around talent. However, this team needs both.

Seattle pick #99: K.J. Wright, OLB, Mississippi ST
WIWHD: Clint Boling, OG, Georgia
Clint Boling I have rated a round below Moffitt (whom I have as 2nd round value), but this is more in the range where I like to take guards.

Seattle Pick #107: Kris Durham, WR, Georgia
WIWHD: Edmond Gates, WR Abilene Christian
Edmond Gates I had rated as a 2nd round pick, and I can't believe he lasted this long. He's a burner who comes from the same school as Jonny Knox. Gates has okay size at 6'0 195lbs. I know Pete Carroll goes for the bigger WR types, but I think Gates is too good to pass up.

Seattle pick #154: Richard Sherman, CB, Stanford
WIWHD: Quan Sturdivant, OLB, North Carolina
I gave Sturdivant a 3rd round grade, which is why I'm confused he dropped to the 6th round. Sturdivant is a sure tackler with good athleticism (he came into college as a QB/S and transitioned into OLB).

Seattle pick #156: Mark Legree, S, Appalachian State
WIWHD: Mark Legree, S, Appalachian State
I would have taken the same guy, weird.

Seattle #173: Byron Maxwell, CB, Clemson
WIWHD: Greg Jones, OLB, Michigan State
Probably the most polarizing pick next to the quarterbacks was Greg Jones. Thought of as a first rounder coming into the year, his production did not meet the years previous.

Seattle #205: Lazarius Levingston, DE, LSU
WIWHD: Korey Lindsey, CB, Southern Illinois
Korey Lindsey is one of my absolute favorite players to watch. He plays mean, and he's aggressive and fast. He was physically imposing to all WR's that went against him (that's a bonus of playing at Southern Illinois). His ball skills are better than his cover skills right now, but he's very agile and quick and was one of my favorite prospects to watch.

Seattle #242: Malcolm Smith, LB, USC
WIWHD: Lee Ziemba, OT, Auburn
I think Ziemba is closer to a 5th rounder but I've heard bad things about his medicals. I'm assuming that's why he dropped so far.

Top UDFAs at each position:
QB: Pat Devlin (Delaware), Jerrod Johnson (Texas A&M), Adam Froman (Louisville), Scott Tolzien (Wisconsin), Josh Portis (California PA), Taylor Potts (Texas Tech)
HB: John Clay (Wisconsin), Derrick Locke (Kentucky)
WR: Terrance Tolliver (LSU), Jeff Maehl (Oregon), Darvin Adams (Auburn), Deandre Brown (Southern Mississippi), Tori Gurley (South Carolina)
TE: Weslye Saunders (South Carolina), Schuylar Oordt (Northern Iowa)
OT: David Mims (Virginia Union), Derek Hall (Stanford), Willie Smith (East Carolina)
OG: Zach Hurd (UConn), Justin Boren (Ohio State), Ray Dominguez (Arkansas), Carl Johnson (Florida)
C: Kris O'Dowd (USC), Zane Taylor (Utah), Alex Linnenkohl (Oregon State), Tim Barnes (Missouri)
DT: Martin Parker (Richmond), Ian Williams (Notre Dame), Cedric Thornton (Southern Arkansas)
DE: Ugo Chinasa (Oklahoma State)
OLB: Mark Herzlich (Boston COllege)
ILB: Mario Harvey (Marshall)
CB: Kendric Burney (North Carolina)
S: DeAndre Mcdaniel (Clemson), Jeron Johnson (Boise State), Joseph Lefeged (Rutgers), Nate Williams (Washington)

I would get on the phone and call: Jerrod Johnson, Derrick Locke, Terrance Tolliver, Deandre Brown, David Mims, Kris O'Dowd, Martin Parker, Mark Herzlich, Kendric Burney and any of the safeties. I think they can all play in this league.

Patton's: "How did I do?"

By Patton Richard


The NFL Draft has come and gone, and now it's time to analyze the picks and the mocks. So, how did I do? There are multiple ways to judge this, and everyone has their own criteria. One popular method is to go by direct hits (I'm saying player taken by correct team or correct spot: Cam Newton to Carolina, AJ Green to Cincinnati, Patrick Peterson to Arizona, Julio Jones to Atlanta, Tyron Smith to Dallas, Blaine Gabbert #10, Phil Taylor #21, James Carpenter to Seattle, Andy Dalton to Cincinnati, Stefen Wisniewski to Oakland, Colts taking Ben Ijalana) which means I had 11. That is a very strong number for a 2 round draft. In a very good mock you can expect 10.

Then there's the: how many correct in each round tally: 1st: 28/32 2nd: 17/32. A "good" draft is getting 26 in the first round and 20 in the 2nd. I hit 28 and 17. I would say that means my mock was "good".

Then there's my favorite way of doing it, label what I thought each team was going to take in the first 2 rounds, and then what did they actually take. What I said they'd take is listed first, what they actually took is in parenthesis.
Carolina: QB (QB: 1/1)
Denver: DT, OLB, DE (OLB, S, G: 1/3)
Buffalo: CB, QB (DT, CB: 1/2)
Cincinnati: WR, QB (WR, QB: 2/2)
Arizona: LB, WR (CB, RB: 0/2)
Cleveland: WR, OLB/DE (DT, OLB/DE, WR: 2/2)
San Francisco: QB, DT (DE, QB: 1/2)
Tennessee: DT, QB (QB, LB: 1/2)
Dallas: OT, CB (OT, LB: 1/2)
Washington: QB, OG (DE, DE: 0/2)
Houston: DE, CB/S (DE, LB, CB: 2/2)
Minnesota: C, WR (QB, TE: 0/2)
Detroit: CB, LB (DT, WR, RB: 0/2)
St Louis: DT, WR (DE, TE: 0/2)
Miami: DE (OG/C, RB: 0/2)
Jacksonville: CB, QB (QB: 1/1)
New England: DE, OG, RB, LB (OT, CB, RB: 1/3)
San Diego: DE, WR, CB (DT, CB, OLB: 1/3)
New York Giants: OT, RB (CB, DT: 0/2)
Tampa Bay: DE, S (DE, DE: 1/2)
Kansas City: DT, LB (WR, G: 0/2)
Indianapolis: OT, OT (OT, OT: 2/2)
Philadephia: DE, LB (OG, S: 0/2)
New Oreleans: OT, DT (DE, RB: 0/2)
Seattle: RB, OT (OT, OG: 1/2)
Baltimore: CB, DE (CB, WR: 1/2)
Atlanta: TE, WR (WR: 1/1)
Chicago: OT, DT (OT, DT: 2/2)
New York Jets: DT (DE: 0/1)
Pittsburgh: DE, CB (DE, OT: 1/2)
Green Bay: DE, DT (OT, WR: 0/2)
Oakland: C (C: 1/1)

Overall: 25/62 With no previous free agency this number feels small, but I'd put it up against what everyone else has in the business.

Final Thoughts: Mocks are difficult to project (due to trades and everything else), however releasing my mock a few days before the draft (opposed to a few hours before) also makes it more difficult to do well on the metrics. It seemed to me that my mock turned out between slightly above average to very good.

My next piece for tomorrow: The "what I would have done" at each of the Seahawks picks. And the first half of my breakdowns.

Seahawks go offensive line again take Moffitt in third round

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks traded their second round pick(57th) to the Detroit Lions for the Lions third round pick(75th) and fourth round pick(107th) plus swapped their fifth and sixth round selections as well which the Seahawks in both rounds will have moved up in. When the dust settled from that trade the Seahawks got the guy Tom Cable wanted which was John Moffitt the 6'5" 323 pound guard from Wisconsin. The days of the Seahawks being the "little Ruskells" are long gone as John Schneider and Pete Carroll believe in getting guys with size. The Seahawks are finally taking care of the offensive line problems. Like I wrote yesterday the Seahawks selected James Carpenter in the first round along with Russell Okung last year. The Seahawks are trying to make sure they never have a season like last year again where there was so many different offensive line changes.

When the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl in 2005 it didn't matter who the running back was. Every team in the league knew on third and short the Seahawks would run the ball behind Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson. The Seahawks were 100% on the year on converting third and shorts that season. Then Ruskell let Hutchinson walk as a free agent to the Minnesota Vikings instead of franchise tagging him. The Seahawks have not produced a one thousand yard rusher since then. The Seahawks didn't have a single 100 yard rusher in a game last year in the regular season. As was proven with Shaun Alexander in 2002-05 and then from 2006-2007 the offensive line means everything. With a good offensive line all of a sudden your quarterback and running back look better. The Seahawks are hoping with these last two years worth of drafting that the offensive line can go from a weakness to a strength.

I like what the Seahawks are doing in the Schneider and Carroll regime. I also think trading down was the smart move there too. By trading down you picked up an extra fourth round pick and you got the guy you wanted anyways. Going into the draft Cable told Schneider Moffitt and Carpenter were the two guys he wanted so that is who the Seahawks drafted. With a good offensive line Marshawn Lynch can finally turn into "beast mode" this year. Hard to judge Lynch last year when he was blown up everytime he touched the ball. The offensive line this upcoming year will get a healthy Okung, Unger back from injur and now with these two draft picks the Seahawks are fixing an area of concern. The Seahawks have plenty of weaknesses but with a good offensive line everyone else on offense looks better.

Overall, the Seahawks are doing what I've wanted them to do which is address the offensive line problem. Had Earl Thomas not fallen in their lap last year I would have liked to seen them go offensive line there too. Schneider is announcing in a very loud way that the "little Ruskell's" era is officially over. Now on those third and one's in the near future as a fan I can feel confident that the Seahawks will get those tough yards. In the NFL the difference between winning and losing is so close that little things like moving the chains is the difference between drafting in the top 10 or winning the super bowl. The Seahawks won't win the Super Bowl based on this draft but so far like last year it appears the Seahawks have a nice philosphy. The Seahawks are wanting to get bigger and it all starts with line play. With good line play the Seahawks are hoping to get back to the forumala that worked so well in 2005. I'm glad to see the Seahawks go with offensive line this year. Finally a general manager in Seattle who finally understands football is a great sigh of relief after the Ruskell years.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers take Mason Foster in third round

By Kshell

For the second straight season the Washington Huskies saw their defensive leader drafted in the third round. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Mason Foster in the third round and 84th overall in the draft. For the Huskies it is good to see some guys finally getting drafted. The Huskies in the 2006-2009 drafts had a combined three guys drafted including zero in 2007-08. The program had a huge void in talent which is finally slowly recovering from. First Jake Locker was picked in the first round and now Mason Foster who is one of the Huskies all-time greatest defensive players in school history was picked in the third round. For Foster he is going to a good team that went 10-6 last year who focused on defense yet again. There is actually a chance for Foster to start right for the Buccaneers. Foster had perhaps even a greater career with the Huskies than even Locker did.

What the Buccaneers are getting in Foster is a linebacker who can play all three linebacker positions as he is 6'2" and weighs over 240 pounds. Foster is a three time all Pac-10 performer including first team his senior year in 2010. Foster was also a third team all-american last year as well as he led the Pac-10 in tackles and was second in the nation in tackles. Foster as a sophomore in 2008 was honorable mention all pac-10 and led the Pac-10 in tackles with 105 tackles including 12 for loss. Then in 2009 Foster was more of a play maker as he again was honorable mention all pac-10 as he recorded 85 tackles but he intercepted three passes while forcing a school record six fumbles. Foster also recorded two sacks and had the game winning touchdown against Arizona when he intercepted a pass and returned it for the game winner 36-33. Foster then as a senior had a terrific season with 163 tackles, 14 for loss and 6.5 sacks. Foster has a nose for the football and the Buccaneers are getting a player who can play. Foster is a good Husky and hopefully he'll make Buccaneers fans happy as well.

Just like with Sarkisian and quarterbacks I'm sure Nick Holt will be doing the same with linebackers. From his USC days as coach and now with Washington Holt has produced plenty of NFL linebackers. Last year Donald Butler was picked in the third round just like Foster was this year. Before Butler was picked the last time a Huskies linebacker was picked in the draft was Marquis Cooper in the 2004 by these same Buccaneers. I'm happy that Huskies are finally being picked in the draft again. Hopefully Cort Dennison can get selected next year along with Victor Aiyewa this season. Just good for the program to have guys drafted even if in the short term leaves a giant hole. The Huskies will have a tough time replacing their heart and soul on defense. The Huskies will have lost their face of the offense and defense which will be strange next season.

Overall, I'm really happy for Foster as I think the Buccaneers is a good fit for him. He is going to a good team with the chance to start as well. Foster is great against the run and he's proven he is capable of making big plays as well. Foster although not a great pass rusher can still get to the quarterback. More importantly Foster is going to be a run stuffer which the Buccaneers fans are going to love. The Huskies are going to have a hard time replacing Foster this upcoming season but with the talent Sarkisian is bringing in the transition is going to start getting easier. Growing up I'd see several Huskies selected in the NFL draft hopefully Butler and Daniel Teo-Nesheim paved the way last year for the Huskies to be picked in the NFL draft every single season. Just a good time for the Huskies with Locker and Foster being drafted. Buccaneers fans get ready to enjoy Foster who is a tackling machine.

Seahawks take Carpenter with 25th pick overall

By Kshell

The Seattle Seahawks failed to make a trade to get out of the first round. Instead Pete Carroll and John Schneider decided to take offensive tackle James Carpenter out of Alabama. Carpenter is 6'4" who weighs 320 lbs and will be a welcome addition to the Seahawks who had problems with the offensive line. Under Tim Ruskell the Seahawks took just two offensive lineman in the first three rounds in his five seasons as general manager for the Seahawks. Already John Schneider has taken an offensive lineman in the first round back to back years. The last time the Seahawks too offensive lineman in back to back first rounds was in 2000 and 2001 when they took Chris McIntosh(bust) and Steve Hutchinson(all-pro). As you can see those picks had extreme results. With former Raiders head coach Tom Cable hired as the offensive line coach there will be a big emphasis on offensive line play this season. The Seahawks instead of taking a running back or a quarterback chose to go "boring" by taking an offensive lineman. I actually like that they are committed to the offensive line.

The Seahawks had problems running the ball last season. Well you can blame the running back or you can look in the mirror and realize the offensive line wasn't very good. The Seahawks are hoping with Russell Okung at left tackle for the full season to go with Carpenter at right tackle will fix that. The Seahawks if they re-sign Spencer and sign Raiders guard Robert Gallery to go with a healthy Max Unger all of a sudden won't have a terrible offensive line. When the Seahawks made the Super Bowl in 2005 they made it because their offensive line was the best in the NFL. The Seahawks under Ruskell neglected that position so it's good to see the Seahawks finally realize that offensive line is very important. You want a better running game? Well open up some holes and you'll see results. Shaun Alexander wasn't the best back but he had great holes so he put up huge numbers. If you don't have a good offensive line it is hard to win in the NFL.

All in all, I don't have much of an opinion because I don't really know about Carpenter. I heard he is great at run blocking but isn't athletic as a pass blocker. The good news is he is a right tackle so I can't see him being any worse than Sean Locklear. I'm just happy the Seahawks are finally picking offensive line again. It is good to get back to the offensive line and be a physical football team who can run for those third and one's. It will be fun to see in a few years that the Seahawks will have a good offensive line. I'm disappointed the Seahawks don't have an answer at quarterback but no sense reaching for a guy who isn't that franchise guy. Yes the Seahawks went boring with this pick but I think you need a good offensive line to be successful in the NFL. Here is hoping the Seahawks return back to the 2005 days where we had the best offensive line in the NFL. This was just one step in that direction which shows Scheinder is already taking care of the offensive line problems that Ruskell had neglected.

Titans select Locker with the 8th overall pick

By Kshell

When the Tennessee Titans selected Jake Locker with the eighth pick in the 2011 draft my first reaction was I'm going to be a Titans fan now. When the Titans selected the kid from Ferndale, Washington they are taking a kid with high upside. Locker also became the first quarterback in the Washington Huskies history to go in the first round. With Locker he'll be replacing another #10 who likes to run in Vince Young. The Titans shocked some people by taking Locker over Blaine Gabbert. I wasn't surprised as Patton Richard had said that Locker is rated higher than Gabbert. For the Titans they are getting a good kid who might not be a polished product just yet. Should be interesting what the Titans do with Locker but for fans to say this will end poorly before he has ever thrown a pass is just stupid.

So what are the Titans getting in Jake Locker? On paper they are getting a guy who didn't achieve greatness like he was supposed to do. At Washington he had a starting record of 15-25 which obviously isn't very good. To be fair to that stat Locker took over a program that was horrible under Tyrone Willingham. When Locker got hurt the team went 0-12 then Locker by his senior year led the Huskies to their first winning season since 2002. He also won their first bowl game since the 2000 season so be careful calling Locker a "loser" as I'd say he is a winner. Locker's stats aren't that great he completed just 53.7% of his passes for 53 TD's and 35 INT's for 7,639 yards passing. He also ran 1,783 yards and 29 TD's. Locker for being "bad" produced 82 touchdowns for his team in just 40 games which is an average of two touchdowns a game. The Titans know they are getting a kid who has a good head on his shoulders.

When quarterbacks bust out in the NFL it is for many reasons. One reason why Locker won't bust out is he won't let the money get to his head. Locker turned down two million dollars when he was 18 years old to play baseball. Then last year Locker chose to come back he passed up possibly 50 million dollars. Locker came back to lead his team to a bowl game which he had achieved. Locker is a man of great character as well as he has befriended two kids who were dying. Locker spoke at both their funerals and after having the disaster game against Nebraska bounced back to beat them in the bowl game. Locker is also engaged to longtime girlfriend who is a softball star at the University of Washington. With Locker you know you'll get a hard worker who is going to bust his butt to get better. Will Locker succeed in the NFL? That is yet to be determined but he won't bust out due to lack of work ethic.

The good news for Locker is he'll have Chris Johnson to hand the ball off to. In three years Johnson has missed just one game in his career has rushed for 4,598 yards and 34 touchdowns. He has also caught 137 passes for 1,008 yards. Locker won't be asked to carry this franchise. He'll instead hand off to Johnson 20-25 times a game while being asked to complete roll out play action passes which he is best at. Now Locker will be in a low key situation as well in Nashville, Tennessee with a great running back to lean on. He'll also have a veteran superbowl quarterback Kerry Collins there to help him out. I think this is a good situation for Locker as he'll most likely sit and learn behind a pro like Collins. With Johnson to lean on, being in a low key situation and a veteran like Collins this is a good situation for Locker.

All in all, I'm happy for Locker. Locker is the type of guy you wish to be and your daughter to marry. He is a hard worker who truly doesn't care about money or the limelight. There are 25 players at this NFL draft while Locker is celebrating with his family and friends in his hometown of Ferndale, Washington. When Locker signed with the Washington Huskies he was supposed to be the savior. Well he wasn't surrounded with much talent as no offensive player he played with has been drafted so far. Locker did turn the Huskies program around with the bowl game and win over Nebraska. Now Locker is hoping to add himself to the names of Warren Moon, Chris Chandler and Mark Brunnell who were successful Husky quarterbacks in the NFL. I'll root on Locker no matter what and the Titans are now my favorite AFC team. First thing I'll do in the next couple of weeks is order my Jake Locker Titans jersey. I wish Locker nothing but the best! Locker will forever be a great Husky.

Patton's NFL Draft Chat

Patton's 2011 NFL Mock Draft

By Patton Richard

1. Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, QB, Auburn.

People will argue whether this is the right pick, all I can say is we don't know enough about him. If he LOVES football like Tebow or Locker does, then he can succeed. If he's more worried about establishing a brand, I'm not so sure. If Carolina picks him they've done their homework. It's not like they're passing on Ndamukong Suh for him.

2. Denver Broncos: Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama.

This pick seems fairly certain at this point. Marcell Dareus isn't nearly as good as Suh, infact I'd have him ranked below Gerald Mccoy (who went 3rd last year) too. This pick is for sale (Arizona is who would want to trade up here as they want to jump Buffalo as they both have the same needs).

3. Buffalo Bills: Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU

My #2 rated player in this draft behind the guy who goes #4. I like Peterson, I think he's an elite playmaker. I ranked him above Joe Haden (the #1 CB last year).

4. Cincinnati Bengals: A.J. Green, WR, Georgia.

Cincinnati really needs a wide receiver. Although, don't be surprised if it's Julio Jones here. All I'm hearing about A.J. is that he's a superstar waiting to breakout, whereas Julio Jones is a football playing proffessional, who will run perfect routes and od the dirty things and not complain. We'll see who Cincinnatti takes.

5. Arizona Cardinals: Von Miller, LB, Texas A&M

Von Miller and Patrick Peterson are the two guys they want most. It looks like they'll get one of them.

6. Cleveland Browns: Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

I was told Julio Jones is the best blocking WR of the last 15 years. He's going to show up, and do everything you want him to do.

7. San Francisco 49ers: Jake Locker, QB, Washington.

I'm just going off what I believe to be true here. Jake Locker is a better fit for Harbaugh's system then Gabbert is. Also, Locker isn't guaranteed to make it past Tennessee, Washington, Minnesota or Miami so trading down makes it difficult. Robert Quinn could easily be the guy here too.

8. Tennessee Titans: Nick Fairley, DT, Auburn.

Tennessee needs defensive linemen and they just hired the DL coach from Auburn in Tracy Rocker.

9. Dallas Cowboys: Tyron Smith, T, USC.

I've been hearing it's him or one of the two corner backs.

10. Washington Redskins: Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri

I don't think they're actually happy about this at all. They wanted Locker or Juloi Jones and they're both gone.

11. Houston Texans: Robert Quinn, DE, North Carolina

It's tough here between Quinn and the CB needs. I think they'll address CB by Free Agency or trade up for Peterson if he drops.

12. Minnesota Vikings: Mike Pouncey, C/G, Florida

I've been hearing this for over a month now.

13. Detroit Lions: Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado

I think Detroit goes CB here, but I'm not sure which one. I like Smith more and I keep hearing his off the field troubles aren't so troubling at all.

14. St. Louis Rams: Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois.

Liuget has huge upside, I'd love for him to drop to Seattle.

15. Miami Dolphins: Da'Quan Bowers DE, Clemson

Top 5 talent drops due to scary medical. Miami needs a passrusher.

16. Jacksonville Jaguars: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska

Best player available, I guess. I'm not a huge Prince fan.

17. New England Patriots (from OAK): JJ Watt, DE, Wisconsin.

I keep hearing they want to trade up, but knowing them they probably want to trade down or out of the first round.

18. San Diego Chargers: Cameron Jordan, DE, California.

Scheme fit. People thought Cameron Jordan fight be a top 5 guy after his Senior Bowl. His stock is falling but not that far, he could certainly go before this.

19. New York Giants: Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

I think he's the 2nd best OT in the draft, and he's gotta go at some point.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue

They want a pass rush, Kerrigan is a high floor low ceiling type player

21. Kansas City Chiefs: Phil Taylor, NT, Baylor.

Trusting a source here, saying Romeo Crennel wants a nose tackle. But lets be honest, KC now runs the same way NE does, so who knows.

22. Indianapolis Colts: Nate Solder, OT, Colorado

Rarely does Bill Polian come out and say exactly what it is they need, so I trust they'll go OT here.

23. Philadelphia Eagles: Aldon Smith, DE, Missouri

This is a tough pick to narrow down, I know they'd love a CB here. I feel like it could be Danny Watkins here too.

24. New Orleans Saints: Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin.

There right side was bad, and Carimi is a fantastic run blocker. I think he fits the system well here.

25. Seattle Seahawks: Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

This is a weird spot, and I think Seattle would trade down. When writing this spot I wrote down these names: Mark Ingram, Danny Watkins, Marvin Austin, Muhammad Wilkerson, Stephen Paea, Kyle Rudolph, Jonathan Baldwin, Titus Young, Jerrell Jennigan, Aaron Williams, and Colin Kaepernick. This is why we need to trade out of the first round, I decided to go with Mark Ingram for a few reasons. Yes, I think this is a luxury pick. I know RB is not our biggest need. His 10 yard burst at the combine was fantastic, so ignore his 40 time. Secondly, he runs angry like he's going to hurt someone. Third, everyone hated Lynch and our RBs until the Saints game, but he wasn't great, or even good, last year. I think Ingram can be a probowler right away, and we need talent everywhere. I'm surprised this pick came this way.

26. Baltimore Ravens: Brandon Harris, CB, Miami (FL)

This seems like somewhat of a reach, but Ozzie Newsome is the best drafting GM in the league. They always look towards what they're going to need, and they're going to need more corner backs now and later.

27. Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame

This is the perfect fit, but somewhat of a luxury pick. They would love a WR here too. I don't know which one they'd prefer.

28. New England Patriots: Danny Watkins, OG, Baylor.

Probowl caliber olinemen goes to a team where he can start right away and everyone will ask "Why didn't we take him earlier?"

29. Chicago Bears: Derek Sherrod, OT, Mississippi State

They need oline help badly.

30. New York Jets: Marvin Austin, DT, North Carolina.

They need Dlinmen badly, it's either him Wilkerson or Paea.

31. Pittsburgh Steelers: Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa

He's tough, feels like a Pittsburgh pick.

32. Green Bay Packers: Muhammed Wilkerson, DE, Temple

They're going to go after a passrusher, maybe Brooks Reed here?


Round 2

33. New England Patriots (from CAR): Ryan Williams, RB, Virginia Tech

They need a runningback, I think they might take Ingram at #17.

34. Buffalo Bills: Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas

In order to be a QB you have to have a STRONG arm. Mallett has that, although I keep hearing he might slip out of the 2nd ala Colt McCoy.

35. Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton, QB, TCU

I'm told Jay Gruden loves Dalton and thinks he's a good fit for the WCO.

36. Denver Broncos: Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA

They are taking Defense throughout the entire draft. He's the best one on the board

37. Cleveland Browns: Brooks Reed, OLB/DE, Arizona

I think he's the hybrid type that will work for Cleveland.

38. Arizona Cardinals: Jerrel Jernigan, WR, Troy

I love Jernigan, and I think Arizona needs more targets.

39. Tennessee Titans: Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State

I think the Titans would prefer getting Dalton over Ponder, but we'll see.

40. Dallas Cowboys: Ras-I Dowling, CB, Virginia

Dallas would love to take another CB, that's why I'm hearing it could be Jimmy Smith or Prince in the first, I think they'll settly with Dowling here.

41. Washington Redskins: Rodney Hudson, OG, Florida State

Fits the scheme well.

42. Houston Texans: Aaron Williams, CB/S, Texas.

He might be a CB, but I think he'd be a safety.

43. Minnesota Vikings: Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pittsburgh

Big wide receiver to replace Sidney Rice if he walks this year.

44. Detroit Lions: Mason Foster, LB, Washington

I think they go DE or LB here. Foster, Martez Willson and Bruce Carter are my highest 3 left.

45. San Francisco 49ers: Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State

I feel like Paea is a Harbaugh type of player.

46. Denver Broncos (from MIA): Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State

It's all defense.

47. St. Louis Rams: Titus Young, WR, Boise State

Tough to place him over Torrey Smith, but I think Young fits Mcdaniels better.

48. Oakland Raiders: Stefen Wisniewski, C, Penn State

Everyone has been saying this is Oakland's target, but Torrey Smith sure does run fast...

49. Jacksonville Jaguars: Colin Kaepernick, QB, Nevada

Just a hunch here.

50. San Diego Chargers: Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland

Wide Receiver here I guess, I mean San Diego had the #1 Offense and #1 Defense last year.

51. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rahim Moore, S, UCLA

This seems to be a good fit for Moore and for Tampa.

52. New York Giants: Mikel Leshoure, RB, Illinois

A lot of people have Leshoure has the #1 RB in this draft, and he falls this far.

53. Indianapolis Colts: Ben Ijalana, OT, Villanova

They're going to take olinemen at every chance they get.

54. Philadelphia Eagles: Martez Wilson, LB, Illinois

Good LB that fits a need.

55. Kansas City Chiefs: Bruce Carter, LB, North Carolina

Fits the system.

56. New Orleans Saints: Drake Nevis, DT, LSU

He's a big big boy.

57. Seattle Seahawks: James Carpenter, OT, Alabama

Again I wrote down 5 names: James Carpenter (OT, Alabama), Edmund Gates (WR, Abilene Christian), Greg Little (WR, North Carolina), Christian Ballard (DE, Iowa), Jurrell Casey (DT, USC). I wanted to place Greg Little here so badly, but wussed out. I think Carpenter is the best OL left.

58. Baltimore Ravens: Christian Ballard, DE, Iowa

Good DE. I'm not quite sure on the scheme fit, but I like him.

59. Atlanta Falcons: Randall Cobb, WR, Kentucky

A playmaker for the offense that wants/needs them. He's like Mccluster and will probably go way earlier than this.

60. New England Patriots: Jabaal Sheard, LB, Pittsburgh

New England is just taking the highest rated player that falls.

61. San Diego Chargers (from NYJ): Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville

I really don't know what to do with San Diego.

62. Chicago Bears: Jarvis Jenkins, DT, Clemson

Chicago needs to replace Tommie Harris badly.

63. Pittsburgh Steelers: Curtis Marsh, CB, Utah State

They would love to get a CB earlier, but Curtis Marsh is a physical player.

64. Green Bay Packers: Jurrell Casey, DT, USC

I think he should go before this. Green Bay won the superbowl with lots of players on IR, they draft depth everywhere and Casey will play in the NFL for a long time.