Our final podcast of the week has hosts Chuck Zodda and Mark Schofield digging into the story of a top specialist prospect who saw himself out of the league within four years. The February 19 Quick Kicks Podcast takes a look at kicker Alex Henery, who starred at Nebraska, but found himself out of the…
Injuries are a common occurrence in the NFL, and veteran stars can quickly become afterthoughts to a team that changes to get by without them. Jerod Mayo was once the most important player on the New England Patriots defense. Peter Benet explains how the injury has prompted New England to hold the Mayo. When he returned from…
Sometimes bad performance in one job can lead to an undeserved reputation. Of course, that didn’t stop the Denver Broncos from bringing Gary Kubiak aboard Sunday as their new head coach. Dave Archibald discusses how Kubiak can still draw up impressive game plans using deception and play action, with the Divisional Round game versus the…
Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2009, Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys host the Detroit Lions in the House That Jerry Built for a 2015 NFL Playoffs Wild Card Weekend matchup. Luis Sotelo examines Romo’s record. “Tony Romo is a choker.” This statement has been taken as fact for nearly a…
The Miami Dolphins (6-4) visit the Denver Broncos (7-3) on Sunday in a battle for AFC playoff positioning. This season, the key to the Dolphins success has been their excellent defense. One of the most important pieces to the puzzle has been the emergence of Jelani Jenkins. In the first game of the 2014 season,…
Patrick Chung returns to New England after a season with the Philadelphia Eagles and has surprisingly claimed the starting strong safety role for the Patriots. The former second-round pick had been written off by fans and media alike, but his strong play is one of the reasons for New England’s strong pass defense. When the…
Even after getting dominated by the Patriots, midway through 2014 the Cincinnati Bengals sit atop the AFC North ‒ largely on the strength of their defense and a solid ground attack, despite a sub-par overall passing game. Dan Katz takes a closer look at one of the bright spots of their air assault. The Bengals’…
Akeem Ayers was traded to the Patriots and already recorded his first sack. Can he help shore up the run defense, too? Brian Filipiak looks at the tape and evaluates his potential to stop the ground attack and play in pass coverage. In Part 1, Brian Filipiak looked at new Patriots linebacker/defensive end Akeem Ayers…
What will we see from Akeem Ayers? Brian Filipiak, Inside The Pylon’s expert on the trenches, has reviewed the film. In this two-part series, Filipiak explores Ayers’s ability as a pass rusher, run stopper and coverage linebacker. Injury and Opportunity “We’ll see.” It’s a common refrain from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick – a go-to…
The New England Patriots are in on defensive lineman Alan Branch. Brian Filipiak has chronicled the struggles of the Patriots run defense; can Branch help? Schwartz In, Branch Out Long before he was busted for a DWI in late August, the writing was on the wall for Alan Branch. Following former Bills defensive coordinator Mike…
New England Patriots cornerback Brandon Browner didn’t show up in the box score for his 2014 debut Thursday night against the New York Jets, nor was he officially targeted in coverage. Indeed, his two holding penalties were the only evidence of his participation. The 30-year-old played just 41 of the team’s 87 defensive snaps –…
About Kirk Cousins: I whiffed. Now there is a pile of crow sitting on a plate in front of me. It was nice and steaming hot about two weeks ago, when it was becoming clear my evaluation of the Washington quarterback missed the mark. I waited and waited, hoping that Cousins might turn in a…
In a trade that sent both shockwaves and head scratches through the NFL late last week, the Seattle Seahawks dealt wide receiver Percy Harvin to the New York Jets for a 2015 conditional draft pick. If the Jets release Harvin prior to next season they’ll send Seattle a 6th-rounder, but if Harvin is still under…
By Mark Brown and Jae Barclay Two Sundays ago, quarterback Michael Vick made $250,000 for doing his job with the New York Jets. Called upon to replace starter Geno Smith, he completed 8 of 19 passes for a paltry 47 yards against the Chargers. Three days later, the veteran said of his readiness for that…
The marquee signing of the New York Jets’ 2014 offseason was former Tennessee Titan running back Chris “CJ2K” Johnson, once the undisputed fastest-man in the NFL. Johnson is off to a decent, if unspectacular, start to the 2014 campaign with a 3.9 Yards Per Carry (YPC) average on 51 total carries. However, such performance falls…
Dominique Easley came into the NFL as a highly touted prospect, albeit one with significant health concerns. In his college career at the University of Florida, the defensive lineman showed enormous potential, but two ACL injuries, one to each knee, caused him to tumble down draft boards. Easley’s biggest strengths – quickness off the snap,…