Q & A Vol.1

Back at it ladies and gentleman. Today is a special day for me. This post is the first of what I hope are many short interviews I'm attempting to conduct on Twitter. To those wondering here's the format. I ask a Max of 3 questions. In this particular post there's 2. I get short answers as not to ask for too much from the player I'm asking. Then last but not least I write about the subject.

Today's participant is the nations leading WR and a name I suspect will be remembered after the draft next week. He's Jordan White out of Western Michigan. For those who don't know this young man led the NCAA in receiving yards, receptions, yards per game, and average catches per game. Yet he's not on Kiper or McShays radar. That's cool though Jordan cause you're on mine. Let's get into this.

Question 1: What player/players do you model your game after if any?

Jordan's Answer: "Gregg Jennings, Wes Welker, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Smith (Carolina)"

My Take: White's a great receiver. I can't honestly say I saw a bunch of him while in college but I did hear and read a bunch. His big game on national tv against Purdue he simply went off. He made just about every catch you can make in that game. If you haven't seen it YouTube it. I'm sure its there. His ability to get space an also sit down in zones shows his maturity.

I see him in the same mold as an Anquan Boldin. In a lot of film I saw he's lined up everywhere more than likely because of the attention he attracts. Like Wes Welker his ability to stop on a dime inside a soft zone was also impressive. In my opinion he's a grade A wideout and a gamer.

Question 2: What NFL team is best fit for you and why?

Jordan's Answer: "Any team. Honestly I can do it all. Especially a team with a good quick game like Green Bay."

My Take: At Western Michigan from what I saw the flung it around quite a bit. They ran a quick style offense like Green Bays and obviously hearing his stats White performed at a high level.

I could see the Patriots looking at him. Bill Belichick did go after div.2 record breaking RB Danny Woodhead.With Wes Welker on a franchise tag for the upcoming season they could score big with White.

Really no matter where he lands he'll show someone what made him the top WR in the country. And I believe people sleeping on him will only motivate him to push harder at success.

Thanks again to Jordan White for answering those couple questions. First of many short Q&A's to come.

On The Rise

With the draft coming next week I decided to write about teams already looking better going into next season. Understandably the draft may change this list a bit but hey let's get into this people.

Team one that in my opinion has gotten better quickly and is in a great place to succeed are the Seattle Seahawks. Last season though it went unnoticed because of the 49ers winning so many games early on and clinching the division earlier as well. Period point blank they went 9-7 last year without any kind of deep threat. Sidney Rice can be that guy with someone to get the ball down the field accurately. The emergence of Marshawn Lynch will make this easier. And honestly we might not know much about Matt Flynn but I have faith he's a more accurate QB than Tavaris Jackson. Take into account they are getting there whole defense back and the addition of Jason Jones. Could spell trouble for NFC West this year.

Another NFC team I'm thinking will improve drastically are The Vikings. When they drafted Christian Ponder lase season many questioned it. Me being one of those people. Ponder not only delivered I think with Adrian Peterson healthy he will be more effective. When they drafted him they also got him a new best friend and favorite target in rookie TE Kyle Rudolph. He will be a factor this season. And if Harvin ever stays healthy he'll be the bug okay threat needed to compliment a solid running team with a great front 7 and the ability to stretch the field. Look for them to get a couple wins over some division opponents they're not expected to beat. Like every team in that division.

I'm not trying to jump on the bandwagon at all but my next team's drafting one of the two "Once In A Generation" QB's. This team us the Washington Redskins. Without a marquee QB they were able to.compete with the division that eventually produced this years Super Bowl champs. The O-line has gotten better over these last two seasons and their defense is underrated to say the least. With a whole season from Helu or Royster this team makes the playoffs. Brian Orapko and rookie Ryan Kerrigan were monsters off the edge last year. If they ever played with a lead it would've been even more scary. With RG3 I suspect the offense will move the ball. Shannahans system gets to where we remember it was every where else he's been. Consistent and effective.

My Verdict On Gregg Williams

Crazy is the best word to describe what went on behind the scenes for years in New Orleans. I understand no punishment that's been handed put is final yet because of appeals and other things. Nevertheless I wanted to put my verdict out there before to see how it measures up to what's finalized here soon.

Head Coach Sean Payton was first handed a season long suspension without pay and with no option of coming back before seasons end. In my opinion he got off easy. Along with Gregg Williams he is solely responsible foe what happened during the time of this bounty system. Him asking for an appeal is quits ridiculous. Not only will the punishment be upheld he'll be lucky to not have Goodell set a example out of him and male it through the playoffs as well. I honestly think the Commissioner would consider letting Payton back if the team made the playoffs. Well before the appeal I did. A whole year suspension is what I think is suitable for Payton. The fact that this went on in his locker room, on his watch, and was never stopped in unacceptable.

Gregg Williams before the tape may have only gotten a year ban with certain stipulations linked into any contract he got with any team. After the tape has been released well, he might seriously be done as a coach in the NFL forever. The bounty system in general is a horrible program. The fact he literally targeted a team's best player in that teams biggest game of a season is crazy. During the tape when he's talking about going after Crabtree's ACL saying "let's see of he wants to play." So now wanting to get a playoff win at home should cost you an ACL at a price set by someone noe even on the field.

Gregg Williams should be banned from football for life. In no way shape or form would I change my mind on that. On the principle that Williams himself was the coordinator who coached them to a Super Bowl I'd take that away as well. Sounds harsh but understand this. When they won this investigation was going on. They let the investigation keep going to gather evidence. No coincidence that while they were "gathering" evidence the city of New Orleans got a title and a much needed boost in income from the teams success. I say now that the city has gotten all it could get from that title it's only fair they'd have to give it back. What people really need to understand is that while it is widely believed the title belongs to the team, players, and fans. It's the teams solely. The owners and GM really. They are both at fault for not doing anything about this when it's obvious it was going on. If the league knew about it I find it extremely hard to believe the people in upper management had never heard anything of it.

Why So Bitter Donovan?

Well after hearing former QB Donovan McNabb sound off on his former coach Mike Shannahan I had to write. Now McNabb may have reason to be mad because of the lack of talent he had in Washington, but not to the coach nor his scheme.

To really understand what McNabb is mad about you must first understand that he came from a system made specifically for him. Yes it is the West Coast offense always used by Andy Reid but because of McNabb's talents it was tweaked a bit. In Philadelphia he was asked to play action and roll out but not with the frequency asked of you in Shannahans system. In Philadelphia they rarely ran conventional run plays. More screens and slip passes out of the backfield than anything. Si much that a RB like Brian Westbrook would consistently be around the team leader in receptions if not leading every year. Couple this with an offensive line that was built over the first couple years Donovan was there.

Now enter the Redskins. A team that's extremely young on the offensive line. There best lineman is Trent Williams who was a rookie the year McNabb was acquired. Without a offensive line that's already schooled in zone blocking it's impossible to run the Shannahan offense. It's predicated on running one way and cutting back up field after the defensive line is flowing along with the offensive line. Same on the playaction roll outs. Fake the run watch the defense flow with the line and RB and go the other way. This takes a lot of things put of your QB. Given McNabb while in Washington had some gas left in the tank. But as a whole the offense was just learning. And now a year down the road its easy to see that. As usual a slew of running back's had success this year under Shannahan. The defense that was practically nonexistent when McNabb was there is now becoming a tough young unit. If London Fletcher returns next year as there emotional leader watch as they strive to get him to glory.

The real problem with it is that though McNabb knew coming into the Washington situation that he was playing with youngsters. He didn't expect to lose the way he did there though. In the division he once owned for years. And he thought it damaged his legacy. It didn't. What does is blaming problems team wide on a coach that has shown on numerous occasions to be great. If McNabb wants proof this is true look at Houston. Gary Kubiak runs the exact same offense and it took 4 years to get the line to do it correctly. But now in year 6 they have the best rushing attack in football and arguably the best RB duo. Along with that it took Matt Schaub about 2 years to run the offense as comfortably as he does. Now in Houston Kubiak has the line in tact so it was easy for a rookie like TJ Yates to look decent all season and into the playoffs.

What McNabb needed really was patience. The coaches had it in him but because he's not comfortable throwing on the run he was demoted. Same reason in Minnesota. Ponder was a better athlete at this stage of there careers.

A player like RG3 will most definitely thrive in this system. Like Yates he'll have a pretty good line to protect him and a defense that's stingy. And unlike McNabb he'll have a running game believable enough that defenses will bite on playactions. Which will give him a whole lot of options. I can't wait.

Free Agency Winner's 5 of 5

Last winner in free agency might have actually made the most hole filling signings. In one offseason they went out got a running game in tact and now can rely on a defense that is questionably better than they played last year. Kansas City is in good shape pre draft.</p>
Matt Cassell was they QB they thought could take them into the playoffs and beyond. He hasn't disappointed while playing but has been injured quite a bit. The 2010 season they won the division with a power running game and Jamal Charles pairing in the backfield. Now they have that again with Peyton Hillis. He's a bit injury prone as of last year but they just need him to get tough yards and run clock. Not be a premier back in there system.</p>

They then went and solidified the offensive line with Eric Winston. He's started every game of his nfl career and will help them indefinitely. Doing what he did in Houston. Protecting Matt Cassell while in the pocket and making holes for RB's.

Now if the Chiefs take care of some glaring problems in the draft like a pass rusher to go with Tamba Hali and a MLB ready to play in the 3-4 they'll be a much improved team. And in there division with all the changes roster wise they might actually compete. A team built to run the ball and playaction to control the clock in a division w/QB's the likes of Rivers, Manning, and Palmer might just be the right recipe.