There has been a ton (I measured it) of speculation about where Jarvis Jones would go in this year’s NFL Draft.  Almost as much speculation as there was about his potential for spine problems.  After USC decided not to gamble on the talented linebacker, he finished his NCAA career as a Bulldog at the University of Georgia.  He may be the best player in this draft, but teams must know that they could be taking a chance that his spinal stenosis will result in injuries that could then lead to missed games.

Jarvis Jones celebrates his QB hit that caused a fumble (Bob Self/The Times-Union)

A sampling of the mock drafts of 50 NFL reporters and analysts (note that I didn’t call them experts) had 16 votes for Jarvis being the 15th pick of the draft, going to the New Orleans Saints.  » Continue reading “Jarvis Jones Finds a Home in Pittsburgh”

Look at that ball go (via YouTube)

We’re getting closer and closer to one of the key offseason moments for the NFL, which is of course the NFL Draft. We’re about 10 days away, to be exact. I guess people like that sort of thing.

It’s been a relatively quiet weekend for the NFL, especially when you keep in mind all the crazy shenanigans going on in baseball and golf.

One of the big stories this weekend though is the Seattle Seahawks signing Antoine Winfield. Winfield chose the Seahawks over the Vikings.

Over at Halftime Voodoo, the Aerys New Orleans Saints site, they have the latest on all the free agency news and notes for the team.

For an update on the Flacco/Unitas news we had last Sunday, The Purple Nest offers their latest reaction to the story.

Once again, there is still talk about the whole Tony Romo with the Cowboys contract…thingy…This time though, Brett Favre had a couple of comments about Romo’s situation in Dallas. I won’t spoil the story, but I will say this…THANK YOU, FAVRE! (I don’t know what to do with myself anymore)

With the Draft less than two weeks away, there will be no shortage of features on potential players. The always excellent Judy Battista of the New York Times has a profile on Princeton draft prospect Mike Catapano.

Meanwhile, signs are slowly starting to point towards the Eagles having interest in West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, this according to NJ.com. Philadelphia has the fourth overall pick.

Elsewhere, it looks like Detroit will try to fill the void left by Jason Hanson with….a Norweigan YouTube kicking sensation or something enthusiast. Havard Rugland signed a contract with the Lions. You can see the video here (screencap posted above). I’ll try not to let my Norweigan bias affect how I write stories next season.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the story on a former UW-Milwaukee basketball player and his attempt to transition to the gridiron. Demetrius Harris, the leading rebounder for UW-Milwaukee, is being evaluated for the tight end position, according to the Journal Sentinel.

In Virginia, the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia held a fundraising effort Saturday. The most notable people featured at the event were FOX NFL studio analysts Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long.

In the Pacific Time Zone, more specifically California, legislators are considering digital billboards for Los Angeles, which would include ads for beer and gambling, according to the Los Angeles Times. The digital billboards would be allowed near stadiums and arenas, including the future football stadium site.

Finally, our shopping item of the day comes from Amazon. For less than $7, you can purchase this Dallas Cowboys…Stop sign…Yes, a stop sign.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

It was not a good day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in New Orleans, as they were shut out by the Saints, 41-0.

Bucs QB Josh Freeman was not having a good day. He was 26 of 47 for 279 yards, but threw 4 interceptions and lost a fumble.

New Orleans held rookie RB Doug Martin to 16 yards on 9 carries.

It’s safe to say that no one on the Bucs side was happy with the game. Linebacker Adam Hayward even got into an altercation with defensive coach Bryan Hayward. Sadly, this video might be the most exciting highlight of the game.

The fight

The already-slim playoff hopes of the 6-8 Bucs have now been pretty much dashed. They clash with the Rams next Sunday.

According to NFL.com, the suspensions levied against players in the Bountygate scandal have been vacated.

Per NFL.com:

The suspenions of the four players — Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove — involved in the New Orleans Saints bounty program have been vacated, a league spokesperson announced Tuesday.

Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who was appointed to handle a second round of player appeals to the league, made the ruling.

“Unlike Saints’ broad organizational misconduct, player appeals involve sharply focused issues of alleged individual player misconduct in several different aspects,” Tagliabue said in a statement released by the league. “My affirmation of Commissioner Goodell’s findings could certainly justify the issuance of fines. However, this entire case has been contaminated by the coaches and others in the Saints’ organization.”

Tagliabue’s ruling comes after a new round of hearings that for the first time allowed Vilma’s attorneys and the NFL Players Association, which represents the other three players, to cross-examine key NFL witnesses in the probe. Those witnesses included former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and former Saints assistant Mike Cerullo, who was fired after the 2009 season.

The NFL announced their approval of the decision by Tagliabue.

» Continue reading “Breaking: Bountygate Player Suspensions Vacated”

If you have paid attention to the talents of Jimmy Graham for any number of years … you may be a little surprised.

Graham, who was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft, only played one season of college football at the University of Miami. Graham displayed his other talent on the hardwood as he played four years for The U’s basketball team.

In close to three full seasons in the NFL as Tight End for the New Orleans Saints, Graham has 181 receptions for a total of 2,228 yards and 24 touchdowns. That’s right! All of that and he’s in the midst of his third season of professional football. After playing one year of college football.

Yeah… Jimmy Graham is pretty awesome!

Enough talk! Let’s get to the pictures! » Continue reading “Tight End Tuesday: Jimmy Graham”

Lots going on in the NFL today. Get your mid-morning beverage ready and let’s take a glance a few of those things!

* Luck Going to the Hall! Well, his jersey is anyway! According to NFL.com, Andrew Luck’s jersey from his eighth game played in the NFL is headed to Canton and NFL Hall of Fame.

The No. 12 shirt worn by Luck during Sunday’s record-setting game against Miami arrived in Canton, Ohio, on Wednesday. … Luck threw for 433 yards, a single-game rookie record, and tied Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks in league history to produce four 300-yard games during their rookie season. Luck broke Cam Newton’s single-game mark of 432 yards set last year.

When you consider the pace Andrew Luck is on and a few more games on the slate for the regular season, the Hall will be receiving quite a few more things from Luck.

Amazing! Definitely looking forward to seeing what all Andrew will be able to accomplish in this outstanding rookie campaign!

* Matt Hasselbeck is not amused. Nor should he be! Hasselbeck was assessed a $15,750 fine for a horse collar tackle. … Yeah OK! Stop laughing! I am serious! » Continue reading “Thursday Morning Mix”

I JUST REALY LIKE THIS PICTURE.

The New Orleans Saints visit the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football tonight. Kickoff is at 8:20 pm on NBC.

There will be plenty of story lines to watch in this match-up, like Peyton Manning and Drew Brees combining for eleventy billion passing yards and Saints assistant coach Joe Vitt joining the team for the first time this season since serving his six-game suspension.

Oh, and if it seems like the Broncos always play in prime time, you’re correct: This will be the fourth time in Denver’s seven games that it will play on Sunday or Monday night.

Inactives:

• Saints: WR Morgan, LB Hawthorne, LB Shanle, DT Walker, DT Bunkley, OT Harris, TE D. Graham. (Note: TE Jimmy Graham IS active).
• Broncos: CB T. Porter, QB C. Hanie, RB K. Moreno, S. Siliga, S. Johnson, C.J. Davis and J. Thomas.

The Broncos are 6.5 point favorites over the Saints. The total on the games is now 55.5.

For more on the Denver Broncos, visit Denver Horse Force. For more on the New Orleans Saints, visit Halftime Voodoo.

Join us to to discuss all the action in our live game thread below.

Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan

We’ve just about at the mid-point of the 2012 NFL season. With Week 8 kicking off tonight, it’s time to break down the quarterbacks in the league and see where they rank power-wise.

1. Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons
As a rule of thumb, until you’ve been beaten, you’re the best. Ryan and the Falcons are 6-0 (the only undefeated team left), coming off a bye-week, and are preparing for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. in the first six weeks he’s completed 160 passes in 236 attempts for 1,756 yards with a 67.8 completion percentage. He’s thrown 14 touchdowns and ran in a touchdown himself. Ryan is connecting well with Julio Jones and is utilizing his tight end Tony Gonzalez better than ever. Ryan, though, has already been sacked 13 times for a loss of 107 yards and has thrown six interceptions. A little better movement in the pocket, and no one is going to stop this guy. The Falcons are going to eventually lose a game, but it won’t come this week.

2. Eli Manning – New York Giants
Sometimes he has great games and sometimes he has not so great games. However, at the end of the day, Manning finds a way to win. Manning is one of those quarterbacks that will continue to prove that games are never over until the clock reads 00:00 and will set the team up for either a field goal or a touchdown to tie or take the lead. So far this season he is 169-for-265 for 2,109 yards with a 63.8 completion percentage. He’s also been sacked only five times for 40 yards. Manning has a way of staying calm in the pocket and finding his receivers for big yards. He’s coming off a fourth quarter comeback against the Washington Redskins where he threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz with under two minutes left in the game. There’s no stopping him when there are less than two minutes remaining.

3. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers
It’s been a season of ups and downs for the Packers, but they are 4-3 and the last two weeks for Rodgers have been powerful ones. He handed the Houston Texans their first loss of the season when he threw six touchdowns on the night. His offensive line does have to get better though as he’s already been sacked 26 times for a loss of 142 yards. He’s been sacked five times in the last two weeks, but still managed to throw nine touchdowns for 680 yards. He is coming off an MVP season and if Packers can protect Rodgers better, he will be one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league. Sorry, Rob Parker, but Rodgers is not the best quarterback in the league this year. » Continue reading “2012 Mid-Season Quarterback Power Rankings”

(Photo credit: US Presswire)

The 0-4 New Orleans Saints host the 3-1 San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night Football this week. Join us right here to discuss all the action – and LOL at Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels – in the the first Aerys NFL live game thread.

Drew Brees will aim to set an NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass in tonight’s game – Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis and Joe Vitt will likely be in attendance at the Superdome.

Inactives:

• Saints - RB Travaris Cadet, WR Lance Moore, OT Bryce Harris, DT Tyrunn Walker, DE Turk McBride, LB David Hawthorne, LB Jonathan Casillas
• Chargers - RB Curtis Brinkley, TE Ladarius Green, NT Antonio Garay, LB Jonas Mouton, CB Shareece Wright, S Brandon Taylor, K Nate Kaeding

For more on the Saints, check out or Saints site, Halftime Voodoo. For more on the Chargers, check out our Chargers site, Nuts and Bolts.

Welcome to the first edition of the Loser Rankings. For those unfamiliar with the rankings, it is quite simple to learn. It is like the power rankings, but instead of the best teams, I focus on the worst teams in the league. Each week, I choose five teams.

Those teams with the fewest wins will obviously get top priority. If your team is winless, chances are, they will make it on this list. But I’ll also factor in net points, blowouts, losing streaks, maybe even a team with a bad string of luck as of late. Speaking of bad luck…

1. New Orleans Saints (0-4 record)

It hasn’t been a fun start to the New Orleans Saints season. They had a tough loss this past weekend in Green Bay.

To be honest, I could have started this last week and put the Saints at No. 1 just because of their meltdown loss at home to Kansas City.

To be fair, the offense has been good and by offense I mean Drew Brees, who leads the league in passing.

The defense has been terrible though. They’re giving up 32.5 points per game, fourth highest in the league.

They will need to get it together this week. They play San Diego in front of a national television audience. The last thing the Saints want is to enter the bye week with a 0-5 record. » Continue reading “The Loser Rankings: First Aerys Edition”