Giants Hazing Issue

I heard that a video had been put up online by the New York Giants punter Steve Weatherford showing team mate defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul dunking Price Amukamara into a tub of ice.  I decided to watch the video myself, and I found it rather disturbing, not only was this “prank” unwarranted, but so was the language used towards him, and also how the other players that watched acted.  Team mates called him the N-word and cursed at him and told him to “stand up for himself”, they actually said “stand up for yourself”.  This is no prank, it is actually hazing, which is something that I think is rather childish, and it could have been harmful to Prince.

One thing I asked myself was why this was ever posted, but I am glad it was because now it can bring national attention to the subject matter of hazing on more than just a college level.  That does not mean that it will have a positive effect, I am also rather nervous that kids might see this and think “pranks” such as these are okay, but really they are not.  Hazing is an issue that needs to be addressed, and I wonder where the veterans were during this incident, because I am sure that Justin Tuck would have been angry had he seen this happen with his own eyes when the incident actually occurred.

Personally I think that JPP and Weatherford should be fined, JPP should carry the larger fine, and I think a one game suspension, and not a preseason game, because that does not justify punishment in this matter.  I think coach Tom Coughlin is going to come down hard on JPP and Weatherford, because he is that kind of coach, and I like that, however if he does not do what is enough then Roger Goodell needs to step in.  I have been a critic of Roger since he became the commissioner, but this is a matter he needs to get involved in if Coughlin does not do enough.  Prince looked very upset after the incident, and hopefully that is something that caught Coughlin's eyes.

Goodell should ban hazing of players all together, even the stupid haircuts and various other simple acts of rookie and player hazing, because it can lead to what happened with the Giants.  The NFL has tried to maintain a clean image, they have suspended many players for arrests and other various incidents, and this is no different.  On a college campus if a Greek life organization is caught hazing they can be shut down, and if kids do it just for fun they can be suspended or expelled on both high school and college level grounds.  Just because this is the NFL makes it no different, hazing is not only stupid, it is also pathetic, and inhumane.

T.O. in Seattle: Not a Good Fit

Terrell Owens is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks, a move that surprised me, and I am sure surprised many others. 

I do not see this working out for the Seahawks, T.O. is known to bring more than enough attention on himself and causes issues within the team, if you want evidence just look up the 49ers, Eagles, and Bengals during his tenures on those teams.

Pete Carroll recently announced that Matt Flynn would be the starter verse the Titans in Seattle’s first preseason game, I personally think Flynn is the best option to start for that team, I think highly of him.  Tavaris Jackson is not worth starting at all, and if he does start the first regular season game and continues to start the rest of the season T.O. will probably become angry.

The Seahawks should not start Flynn just because of T.O. but also because Jackson is a subpar starting QB, his numbers speak for themselves.  Those who have followed T.O. know he always throws his QBs under the bus.

The Seahawks are a young team and still building a strong team, bringing in a guy who has had issues on and off the field is not something this team needs.  He was cut from and Indoor Arena Football League team for not going on a visit to a hospital with the team, and he had partial ownership.  I should mention he only had to play home games, so he had it easy there and then he lost it, this is not a good thing at all.  His episode on 

Dr. Phil is also another red flag, T.O. is a great player, but a bad team mate.

Now that being said, he is coming back off of a surgery on his knee, he does recover well and has a hard work ethic in the gym.  I still don’t think that warrants this signing at all.  I will say it again, this is a young team, I am not sure if Matt Flynn can take T.O. if T.O blows up like he has on every team (aside from the Bills, and maybe even the Cowboys) .  Pete Carroll is really relaxed, at least in my mind with the team, and he cannot be that way with T.O., this move worries me.

Even though T.O. was not as bad in Dallas as he had been on the Eagles or 49ers, it does not matter, McNabb was a veteran during T.O.'s tenure on the Eagles and neither he nor Andy Reid could control T.O., this was most evident after the Eagles lost the super bowl and T.O. had made a remark on how Brett Favre would have lead them to 19-0.

If McNabb, Andy Reid, and any other big named leader on that team could not control T.O. I really do not see a young QB that is probably going to be the starter there nor a a head coach that is laid back being able to at all.  This is a gamble, and even though the contract is only 1 year 1 million dollars it does not matter.

I could be wrong, maybe T.O. could be a great team mate and have a great season, but until I see this with my own eyes, and actually see him be a team player, and be smarter on and off the field I will stand by my opinion that this will not work out.  There are many factors in Seattle that could lead to another T.O. blow up, but only time will tell.

Part 3 of 3 of NFL Fantasy League Draft Do's and Don'ts

Here is the third and final part of the three part series on do’s and don’ts for NFL fantasy league drafts, this part will focus on Defenses, defensive players, and yes even kickers!

Defenses:

When picking a defense make sure you do a little research, look at the roster, and also take some time to see how the defense held up the year before, as in points allowed, sacks, and takeaways.  In fantasy drafts those are extremely important.   Different teams have different strengths, for instance the Vikings had a great year last year in sacks, with 50, but Jared Allen, a defensive end had almost half of those sacks (this is important because if he gets hurt this defense could suffer).  The Eagles, Ravens, and Bengals also had great sack years.   Here is a list of defenses worth your while in the draft:

Draft:

1.)   Vikings- Allen was a beast last year, and if he can continue taking the opposing QBs to town this defense will only get better.  This is a great choice to start against teams like the Bears, when they play the (who play two times a year) because the Bears offensive line was bad last year, and has shown no signs to improve.  They also had 15 recovered fumbles last year.

2.)    Packers- They picked off the QBs a total of 31 times last year, and also recovered 7 fumbles, so that is a total of 38 takeaways, this is a team to look at for sure. 

3.)    49ers- Also a total of 38 takeaways, 23 interceptions and 15 fumbles recovered.

4.)    Giants- Their defensive line came on strong towards the end of the season, if they can do that all year this season, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Do Not Draft:

1.)    Colts- 29 sacks, 8 interceptions, and 9 recovered fumbles; this is not a defense even worth looking at. 

2.)    Dolphins- 16 interceptions, and only 3 recovered fumbles, and they did have 41 sacks, but again not a team that is great at taking the ball away.

3.)    Steelers- Just because a team is known for having a great defense does not always mean they will actually have one.  They only had 15 take aways last year, which is not what they are used to having.  The defense is getting older, and I do not see this team being anything to be scared of this year.

Defensive Players

My advice, do not draft a player because of their name (i.e. Darrelle Revis).  Here are players you should and should not draft:

Draft:

1.)    Jared Allen- 22 sacks, 4 forced and recovered fumbles, and even had an interception.  The teams in the NFC North tend to throw a lot, so that gives him more opportunity to get after the quarterback.

2.)    DeMarcus Ware- 19.5 sacks last year, and he is always playing at a high level.

3.)    Charles Woodson- He will always get his interceptions, and has a way of knowing where the ball will be going.

       Do Not Draft:

1.)    Terrell Suggs- I Know, this may be a surprise, but he got hurt this off-season, he may not be able to come back, and even if your league has a deep bench don’t wait around for him to come back.

2.)    Darrelle Revis- Don’t let the name think he is worth taking him, nobody wants to throw his way so taking someone whose job is to take the ball away is not worth it. 

3.)    Kyle Arrington- This Patriots CB had a great season last year, tied for first in interceptions with 7, but this was his third season, the previous two seasons prior to last year he had only 1 interception.

Kickers

Kickers are usually the very last pick you will make in your draft, a kicker that plays for a team that struggles in the Red Zone is a kicker worth your while to take.  They will be called on a lot to score points, and in turn will help your team out.

Draft:

1.)    Josh Scobee- The Jaguars were pitiful on offense last year, he will probably be called on a lot this season.  He has incredible range, so look for him to give you plenty of points, especially with his kicking skills from 50+ yards.

2.)    Matt Bryant- He had a percentage of kicks that was the highest, which was 93.1%.

3.)    David Akers- He was on a 49ers team that struggled last year in the Red Zone, this could be different this year, but he is worth a pick.  He made 44 kicks last year, definitely worthwhile.

4.)    Sebastian Janikowski- Best long distance kicker in the NFL, always reliable.

Do Not Draft:

1.)    Shaun Suisham- His 74.2% FG percentage was last in the NFL last year, he plays in a stadium with some odd wind gusts, do not take him. 

2.)    Josh Brown- Rams kicker, another bad kick percentage, and on a team that cannot move the ball. 

I hope this three part series was of help, make sure you are care of who you draft.  Make sure that you draft for points, not names of big time players or good team defenses.  Kickers should always be the last pick! 

Do's and Dont's in NFL Fantasy League Drafts Part 2 of 3: WRs and TES

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends are two of my favorite positions in football today, this second part of a three part series on do’s and do not’s in football focuses on tight ends and wide receivers.

In my last post, part one of this series I said that taking a wide receiver or tight end to early could be an issue, I should correct that, taking one in the top 5 could be a problem, however that was a mistake I made years ago.  In today’s NFL the passing game has exploded, it is now a pass happy league.  I will focus on players that are worth your while taking early in a draft in this post, and also players that should be avoided in the draft.

Wide Receivers

Draft:

Calvin Johnson

Wes Welker

Larry Fitzgerald- I know I said do not trust the Cardinals QBs but he will always put up great numbers (more a 3^rd round kind of pick if you are not sure of how his numbers will be).

Andre Johnson

Do not draft:

Justin Blackmon- Still unsigned, and had issues right away when he was drafted (See his DUI arrest), also playing on a bad Jaguars team.

Chad Johnson- Even though last year was his one bad year, I still don’t know how much he has left, and the Dolphins offense has not been good as of late, avoid taking him.

Raiders WRs- Not sure how I feel about any of these guys, not to mention how Carson will play this year, speed is not everything when it comes to being able to catch and score points.

Michael Crabtree- With the additions of Randy Moss and Mario Manningham to the team I really don’t see Crabtree being a go to guy, avoid him as well.  He may be a good pick up in free agency.

The players I said that should be taken are worth a top pick, if not the first round, then pick them up in the second, those four are some of the game’s best.  Welker is in line for another high catch, high yards season, having two great tight ends on the field and the addition of Brandon Lloyd will only help Welker’s stats.

As a side note a receiver worthy of picking up in the draft (mid to late rounds) is Titus Young of the Detroit Lions.  Calvin Johnson had a monster year last year, and with a big contract just signed it would be worthy to note that he will be receiving a lot of attention from defenses this upcoming season.  Titus Young should be able to get his numbers up because of the attention that Calvin will get.  I like Titus Young a lot, and A.J. Green of the Bengals is another WR worth taking in a mid to late round as well.

Tight Ends

Draft:

Rob Gronkowski

Aaron Hernandez

Jimmy Graham

Vernon Davis

Jermichael Finley

Those five tight ends are more then worthy of a high draft pick, I know that is may seem odd that two players on the same team would be so high on a list of tight ends to pick, but both of them were big last year numbers wise, especially Gronkowski who caught a record 17 TDs for  TE.  That is the most in NFL history for a TE to catch in one season.  Hernandez is a basically a wide receiver, he will make a lot of catches that can turn in to big time yardage, he is more the open field type of TE, and Gronk is a red zone threat, but he is an all-around threat as well.  Both are scary when running because of their size and also difficulty to cover.  Jimmy Graham is a beast, as well as Vernon Davis.  Graham is on the Saints who love to fling the ball around, so he will always have great numbers.  For Vernon Davis, he is now on a team that is loaded at the WR position, which means this team is looking to throw the ball more, I would not be surprised to see him have a 10 touchdown and 1,000 yard season.  Finley catches passes from Aaron Rodgers, and produces big time, I think I can just leave it at that.

Do not draft:

Coby Fleener- Drafted out of Stanford, he was a team mate of Andrew Luck there, he like Luck is a rookie, and while they have chemistry, I still do not trust the Colts offense.  He may be a good pick up at some point, but I am still unsure of how he could help a team out.

Seahawks Tight Ends- Both Zach Miller and Kellen Winslow play on this team, and while both can get some solid numbers (Miller more so than Winslow), I again would want to stay away from this.  Seattle has yet to make any decision on a starting QB, and if the Seahawks chose Tavaris Jackson or Russell Wilson I am not sure if they will be able to do as well as say if Matt Flynn was starting.

In short, be care when drafting a WR or TE so high, because sometimes it could come back to haunt you.  If you have a top 5 pick is may be best to wait until the second round, however the list of TEs and WRs are safe to take early.

Do's and Do Not's in NFL Fantasy League Drafts Part 1 of 3: QBs and RBs

I received an idea from Aaron last night, who is a fan of this blog and also of my sports page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Peters-Sports-Page/294938580541992?ref=hl), his idea is that I should write about fantasy football, on who people should start and why.  Even though the NFL season is still a month away I am going to use this idea and write about the do’s and don’ts of fantasy football.

Today I will talk about players you should pick first, those being the Quarter Backs and Running Backs, this will be part one of three (Part two will be Tight Ends and Wide Receivers, and part three will be Defenses and Defense players, and yes also kickers)

Picking your first player:

Do’s: Quarterbacks and running backs are always a solid choice at the top spot.  Quarterbacks are always available in the fantasy drafts and free agency in the fantasy leagues; however it is important that you use one of your top two picks on a quarterback.   The NFL has become a pass happy league so a quarterback that is a top tier QB is a must, I will list below QBs to draft, and also ones to stay away from.

Draft:

Aaron Rodgers

Tom Brady

Eli Manning

Matthew Stafford

Drew Brees

Philip Rivers

Matt Schaub

Cam Newton

Tony Romo

Those listed above are QBs that I would definitely take in any draft, it may be a surprise that I did not list Michael Vick, but his health issues are worrisome, and he took a beating last year, this year could end being the same way.  He is someone that I would probably wait to take until mid or late rounds.  Peyton Manning is also a QB that I would shy away from right away, he could have issues throwing the ball this year, and he is on a new team.  However the names listed above are QBs that I would take in the first two to three rounds.

Do Not Draft:

Arizona Cardinals QBs- Kolb has health issues, and Skeleton was erratic at times last year)

Andrew Luck- Just because he was the number one draft choice this year in the NFL does not mean he should be yours as well, and he is going to be on a bad team.  He is worth picking up in free agency, but do not draft him.

Carson Palmer- The Raiders still do not have a true number one option at WR, and if McFadden cannot stay healthy this offense will struggle.

Seahawks QBs- Pete Carroll still has yet to pick a QB that will be a starter, don’t wait around to see who he chooses, if he does pick Flynn then take him in a lower round, or if he is not put as the starter until after your draft then get him in free agency.  I do not think Russell Wilson or Tavaris Jackson can get it done in the NFL.

Blaine Gabbert- He was all over the place last year, his play was bad, the team is still building, so don’t draft him.

Running backs that are of great status in the NFL are not of the same amount numbers they had been in years past.  Make sure you take one of the best in the NFL in the top two rounds.  Here are the RBs to take and the ones not to take:

Draft:

Arian Foster

Darren McFadden

Matt Forte

Marshawn Lynch

Frank Gore

Maurice Jones-Drew

Jamal Charles

LeSean McCoy

Ray Rice

Do Not Draft:

Adrian Peterson- Sorry, but the fact that is trying to come back from an ACL tear so fast worries me and that passing game in Minnesota is nothing to write home about.  The box will be stacked on him, and the line is still shaky to me, it could be an okay year for him, pick him up after the draft, but if you do draft him I would wait until a later round.

Brandon Jacobs- I still do not get why people would want to draft this guy, he is not the starter this year, and he will not be, he is Frank Gores back up.  If Frank Gore does go down pick him up, otherwise I do not think he is worth a pick.

Ryan Matthews- This guy was supposed to take over for Ladainian Tomlinson, but that has not turned out to well, I still do not trust him.  A good player to take after the draft if you need him.

Redskins Running Backs- The health issues at that spot last year were bad, even though I feel that they can all play very well I still think that it is a safe bet not to draft any of them.

Felix Jones- It was reported that he failed his conditioning test three days ago, not a good pick.

One last thing, DO NOT EVER draft a receiver, tight end, defensive player, or defense with your first pick, I have seen this happen, and it does not work out well.