The last time the Colts special teams were any good, Detron Smith, #39, was a FB and special teams ace for the Colts.

Hope everyone enjoyed the three-day weekend. As we gear up for the NFL Combine (an event some find fascinating, others find boring as hell) I'll wrap up the Off-Season 2008 series, with the last two articles focusing on a need for a special teams ace and additional pass rushers at DE and DT. This article will focus on, quite possibly, the least glamorous need, but a need so strong it literally cost Indy two games last year: Special Teams ace.

By "ace" I mean someone who is exceptionally good at making things happen on special teams. A good example is the Giants' David Tyree. Sure, Tyree will now forever be known as the guy who made "The Catch" in Super Bowl 42, but before that Tyree was an ace gunner on special teams. It seemed as if he was in on every tackle, every loose football, every strip, every downed punt, etc. Rob Morris and Robert Mathis were like this when they played special teams. Now that they both start on defense, it is just not realistic to expect them to play ST at that level. Someone like Tyree, a fourth string WR, is ideal for it. The Colts used to have a specialist like Tyree back in 2002. His name was Detron Smith, made famous as Terrel Davis' FB during Denver's glory years. Smith came to Indy as a FB, but blossomed as a special teams captain. He lasted two seasons, then retired.  read more »

PART 2 of 2: AFC AFC East Buffalo Bills 1 Willis McGahee, running back 2 Chris Kelsay, defensive end 3 Angelo Crowell, linebacker 4 Terrence McGee, cornerback 4 Sam Aiken, wide receiver 5 Ben Sobieski, guard 6 Lauvale Sape, defensive tackle 7 Mario Haggan, linebacker Len Pasquarelli C+ Richard Harris C- Mel Kiper B The Bills had their choice of RBs in the draft, passed on Larry Johnson, and took McGahee, who didnt play in 03 and averaged less than 4.0 yards/carry in his three seasons with the Bills. Now with the Ravens, hes been ok, but not special. Kelsay is a good starter on the defense. The same goes for Crowell and McGee, who's made a Pro Bowl as a return man.  read more »

John Lynch: The Decision, Part Three

This is a four part article that will be taking a look at one of the best safeties to ever play the game, John Lynch. A decision about his retirement looms, and its ripple effect will be felt throughout the Broncos organization as everything from the Free Agency period to their potentially strong, 8-pick draft will be shaped and altered by whichever lot he tosses into the murky pool that is the Broncos' defensive future. Will it be the decision to retire, leaving $2 mil on the table? Will it be the decision to return, possibly having to accept less playing time and risking injury?

MHR's own Hoosierteacher took some time to look at the John Lynch situation with me, and provided some of his excellent knowledge and analysis of not only Lynch but of the difficult and oft misunderstood nature of the position he plays. We will be getting his take on the situation throughout this series.  read more »

Teams may be willing to deal up for Mendenhall (AP Photo)

Even though I wrote a while back that the odds are against the Buffalo Bills making a trade on draft day to move back, I think it might still be wise to discuss some scenarios in which they may entertain the idea. You should still keep in mind that trades might be a little tougher to come by this year, as the time between first round picks has been reduced from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. While that doesn't sound like a big deal, you must also remember that this is the first year of the rules change and teams might have a hard time adjusting the way they operate. You would also be wise not to forget the 2006 draft, when the Bills could have easily traded down and still gotten Donte Whitner (they even had an offer on the table) and decided not to. If the guy they like (Malcolm Kelly?) is available at #11 they will most likely take him and not trade down.  read more »

And with the 48th pick in the 2008 Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select:

Draft Profile

Chris with the pick:

With CB DeAngelo Hall now an Oakland Raider, it makes a lot of sense for the Falcons to use their third pick of the second round on a solid cornerback. The current bunch of CBs and DBs on the Falcons are extremely young, meaning a player like Reggie Smith could step in immediately amidst the current competition.

A first-team All-Big 12 selection, this is about the time in the draft that most have Smith going. A good value for the Falcons third pick of the second round.

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And with the 46th pick in the 2008 Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft, the Arizona Cardinals select:

Draft Profile

jimme with the pick:

He is the BPA at this time, and I'm not overly impressed with the Cards LBers. Lofton should be able to play inside in the Cards hybrid defense, both in the 4-3 and 3-4.  read more »

Round 1
(001) 1 Miami Dolphins
(002) 2 St. Louis Rams
(003) 3 Atlanta Falcons
(004) 4 Oakland Raiders
(005) 5 Kansas City Chiefs
(006) 6 New York Jets
(007) 7 New England Patriots (from San Francisco 49ers)
(008) 8 Baltimore Ravens
(009) 9 Cincinnati Bengals
(010) 10 New Orleans Saints
(011) 11 Buffalo Bills
(012) 12 Denver Broncos
(013) 13 Carolina Panthers
(014) 14 Chicago Bears
(015) 15 Detroit Lions
(016) 16 Arizona Cardinals
(017) 17 Minnesota Vikings
(018) 18 Houston Texans
(019) 19 Philadelphia Eagles
(020) 20 Tampba Bay Buccaneers
(021) 21 Washington Redskins
(022) 22 Dallas Cowboys (from Cleveland Browns)
(023) 23 Pittsburgh Steelers
(024) 24 Tennessee Titans  read more »

Compared to the head coaches of the other 31 NFL teams, where does Tom Coughlin rank?

I started wondering about this the other day when it was announced that Coughlin's 4-year, $21 million extension with the Giants had become official.

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Sometimes when I tell people I fear I'll never see the Vikings win a Super Bowl, they try to assure me that I will. I'm young, and there are a lot of years left--chances are they'll win a title sometime. But "Why?" I say. The Cubs haven't won a championship in 100 years--I'm sure some Cubs fans in the last century were assured by friends that the odds are they'll see a Cub World Series win, but most assuredly some of those Cubs fans are now dead.  read more »

[editor's note, by Brian Galliford] Promoted from the diaries, kaisertown takes an excellent look at where Buffalo Bills QB J.P. Losman could end up should the Bills trade him. Great work, kaisertown - and remember, keep these diaries coming, folks. I love letting y'all do the front page dirty work. End Update

First, let's examine the draft day trades involving established players being moved for draft picks in the 2007 draft:
OAK sent Randy Moss to NE for pick 110 (fourth round)
SEA sent Darrell Jackson to SF for pick 124 (fourth)
DET sent Mike Williams and Josh McCown to OAK for pick 105 (fourth)
KC sent Dante Hall and pick 84 to STL for pick 82 and pick 148 (fifth)

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