I have to keep reminding myself to try to temper early season player thumbnails because overall play suffers a bit the first couple of weeks of the season, since college has no pre-season games… thank God. So in general I try to avoid QB evaluations this early. But as you will see below I have made an exception,… Read More »
Members of the 2018 Rookie Class continue to shine, if not dominate this pre-season. MARCUS DAVENPORT/DE/Saints made his Saints debut and though he did not dominate play he held his own, and certainly displayed once again his freakish athleticism. From the Saints perspective I have to believe they are hoping/expecting that DAVENPORT will be rolling at full tilt… Read More »
Week Two of the full pre-season was concluded by a game on Monday Night Football on ESPN, that was actually played on… wait for it… Monday Night. Go figure! Watching the ‘SKINS game the other day it struck me that given the talent on their roster right now, and the fact that ALEX SMITH/QB is new to DC,… Read More »
Just so we don’t get bogged down by semantics of any sort, I realize to some this was Week Two of the pre-season. But to me a work-week night single game at the Hall of Fame is not Week 1. Not to be an ‘I told you so’, but I mentioned on multiple occasions that the 2018 Draft… Read More »
Football is back and all teams are in their Training Camps around the NFL. By next week we will be looking forward to weekly full slates of pre-season games. To yours truly, one of the fascinating watches over the next month is the performance and emergence of undrafted Rookies. With the emergence of Practice Squads as a serious… Read More »
If you cherish the NFL Draft process like we do here at the GBN Report then you never tire of hearing more about the January College All-Star venues. Now that I have wrapped up all 32 team Draft Reviews, and prior to the bulk of the League teams opening their Training Camps around the 25th of July, I… Read More »
I jus got past my birthday and Wedding Anniversary last week to wake up this morning to the realization that the first NFL training Camp of the 2018 season is scheduled to open up today when the RAVENS welcome in their Rookies. They will also become the first team to bring in their veterans on the 18th. The… Read More »
I chose to finish my team Draft Reviews with the RAVENS as a mini (very mini) tribute to retiring GM OZZIE NEWSOME for whom 2018 was his final Draft effort as Captain of the good ship RAVENS. NEWSOME became a favorite of then Owner ART MODELL during his playing days as a TE for the Cleveland Browns. NEWSOME… Read More »
Good news for PATRIOTS fans. The team actually had a Draft this year picking 9 players. More good news. Little Bill traded around a bit, as is his way, and got a couple extra Picks for 2019 in the process. The question now is whether or not it’s enough, or is it a case of too little, too… Read More »
I find two items worth remembering as you look at this draft effort by the TEXANS. You must remember that the reason the team doesn’t pick until Round 3 is because of the trade to move up in 2017 to draft DeSHAUN WATSON/QB. Prior to his knee injury WATSON was off to a fantastic start to the 2017… Read More »
The FALCONS have been on a very nice roll since the hiring of DAN QUINN as Head Coach. Despite losing their Super Bowl team OC KYLE SHANAHAN, before last season, the team scrambled their way into the Play-Offs in good measure thanks to their 4-2 divisional record. The NFC South has become one of the toughest divisions in… Read More »
After a couple of 9-7 seasons with still no Play-Off victory for the 26 straight season GM BOB QUINN fired JIM CALDWELL in favor of a more “aggressive” approach from a new coaching staff. Enter an old acquaintance of his from New England named MATT PATRICIA. PATRICIA hopefully brings the cache’ of working for/with the most successful HC… Read More »
So if you are clearly one of the NFL bottom feeders and have more needs than you can shake a stick at what do you do when the annual NFL Draft rolls around? Clearly you accumulate extra Picks and keep drafting the best folks available, since you need just about everything. Everything except a QB, because you are… Read More »
There may be bigger changes in the desert than many of you expected going into Training Camp. One of the somewhat fatal flaws with Bruce Arians as a Head Coach was his aversion to Rookies and young players because they might make more mistakes than veteran guys. So during his successful run with the Cardinals, the team got… Read More »
I remember being one of those scribes who was already attacking the JETS at this time last year as they cut numerous vets, and many of us felt they were tanking the season to begin a roster rebuild. Well they certainly started an aggressive roster rebuild but with some solid coaching leadership from TODD BOWLES and his staff… Read More »
GM JOHN LYNCH finds his team in a somewhat awkward, but optimistic situation right now thanks in great part to the mid-season acquisition of QB/JIMMY GAROPPOLO, whose performance the last month of the season had to exceed their wildest expectations. Now fan expectation is that the rest of the roster should be ready to catch up with Jimmy… Read More »
You will have to excuse me if I confuse you by not using the official team “name” for the organization in Old D.C., but I find it racist and offensive. And even though I respect the heritage and records of that team, I reject the acceptance of their nickname. So let’s take a look at the Draft in… Read More »
I think it would be appropriate to say that the Titans Draft effort was short, but sweet. The team ended up with the fewest Picks of any team in the League, with only 4 selections. The good news down in Music City is that the team got the guys they wanted especially at the top. The TITANS set… Read More »
DA BEARS had a disappointing 5-11, 2017 record, but given the roster rebuild it certainly was not totally unexpected . At the end of season the team let go of veteran HC JOHN FOX. That move was also NOT unexpected by most. Many of us felt he was a caretaker, short term HC when hired and the roster… Read More »
Year One of TOM COUGHLIN calling the shots under the title of Executive Vice President/Football Operations was a rousing success with a Play-Off berth and a run all the way to a loss to perennial AFC Champion PATRIOTS. An awful lot of good happened for this team during the 2017 season. So what did COUGHLIN have up his… Read More »
SEAN McDERMOTT was a hero back in January when he led the BILLS to their first Play-Off appearance in 17 years, and deservedly so. They then lost a close game in Round 1 to the JAGS. The off-season mantra for the team might as well have been onward and upward. The biggest changes took place at the QB… Read More »
About a year ago expectations were sky high for the Raiders getting ready for Training Camp 2017. The team had a solid corps of young, ascending players along with a group of solid NFL vets. But many things did not go right for the team, including injuries to key players, DAVID CARR included. So at the beginning of… Read More »
The Bengals had been a yearly Play-Off contender for almost a decade, but have fallen back the past few seasons. It looked like Marvin Lewis was going to get the axe this off-season, but after multiple meetings with Owner/GM/Grand Poobah MIKE BROWN, he decided to keep Marvin, likely at a salary reduction. The team let a few vets… Read More »
I feel pretty safe in saying that if you polled a reasonable number of football media people you would get a majority of them who would agree that the Sea Hawks are currently in a pretty serous roster rebuild. That is due to multiple factors primarily salary cap issues now that they are paying Russell Wilson like a… Read More »
If you hang around at BUCS facilities in Tampa and attend their pre-season practices you get your indoctrination to their slogan, “It’s a Bucs life”. And one of these years it will indeed be a Bucs life. The biggest key to that much anticipated success is based on the development of JAMEIS WINSTON as an NFL Franchise QB.… Read More »
