After the Minnesota Vikings were blown out by the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game last season, they knew they had to address their quarterback position. Enter Kirk Cousins on a historic, fully-guaranteed contract. In his first start of 2018, Cousins played well, leading the Vikings to a win. The…
Ball placement refers to the location of a quarterback’s throw relative to a receiver and nearby defenders. Good ball placement depends on the situation, route, and coverage, but it is the location of a throw that best allows a receiver to make a play on the ball while minimizing the opportunity for the defender to…
This may feel like one of the most unnecessary pieces of football history ever written or you may sit here as you read along nodding your head. I’m ready for either eventuality (but praying for the latter). But the entire genesis of this article was realizing it has already been ten years since Larry Fitzgerald…
With the new season upon us, what better time than now to talk about the playoffs? There are 31 fan bases across the country full of high hopes that their favorite team will make the playoffs. For New England fans, it’s become basically an annual occurrence, so they probably aren’t too concerned. Enjoy it while…
“Evolution is the fundamental idea in all of life science – in all of biology” – Bill Nye And especially in the game of football. Yet unlike nature, where changes can be gradual and take life cycles, evolution in football must be swift, must be effective, and preferably must be trailblazing lest ye be left…
To say Eli Apple had a disappointing 2017 NFL season would be a colossal understatement. In the tumultuous locker room that was the 2017 New York Giants, Apple had some of the more bewildered actions that sent a whirlwind of doubt into the hearts and minds of Giants Nation, while adopting the player persona, to…
The 2017 season saw notable players from both sides of the ball miss big chunks of the season, if not all of it, and you can come up with your own pro bowl roster with the list of names who finished the year on IR. In addition, players who normally have good seasons stumbled in…
Over the past few years for NFL teams that are rebuilding, the blueprint for potential success has been to draft a quarterback while also having a proven veteran signal-caller ahead of them. It is a method that has had both positive and negative results for many teams. Some of the most successful examples have been…
Everything closes fast in the NFL. Pockets collapse, running lanes shrink and the window to win the Super Bowl can be wide open today and nailed shut tomorrow. A good quarterback improves those Super Bowl chances. He might help to give you a couple of windows instead of just one. Longevity with a team is…
As a fan, when your favorite team takes a quarterback in the first round you instantly start to wonder about the their future. One of the things you wonder about is whether they will start right away. None of us will know what the future holds for the five first round quarterbacks selected last month…
For every year that Aaron Rodgers inches closer to the end of his career, the need for each rookie class to have some substantive and immediate impact grows. And for a team that has seen a general manager transition (out with Ted Thompson, in with Brian Gutekunst), an exodus of talented front-office executives migrating elsewhere…
It’s been quite an interesting last few months for the Chicago Bears organization and its fan base. Bears fans could be forgiven for thinking that the main media players have largely ignored the Bears in recent years. But for a team and organization that in the last four years has not won more than 6…
Quarterback dominos began to fall this week, as the Cleveland Browns became active participants in the trade market. John Dorsey made a flurry of moves late last week, including trading for wide receiver Jarvis Landry as well as quarterback Tyrod Taylor. In this installment of Check With Me I’ll dive into that trade, look at…
It happens every winter. First, it comes, as Ned Stark warned us. Then, the questions are raised regarding the crop of quarterbacks: Can they make all the throws? Do they have enough velocity? Last year the 49 miles per hour number dogged Deshaun Watson through his draft day and into his rookie season (more on…
“Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in.” Sigh. I thought I had left this world behind. The previous life, dominated by billable hours, angry clients and angrier partners, the constant fear of a case going south, and the worry that I just was not able to do the job. Those fears…
Last week I did a piece on Kirk Cousins vs The Draft to examine the different directions QB needy teams could go this offseason. I attempted to weigh the decisions teams at the top of the draft had, determining whether they should sign Kirk Cousins or draft a QB like Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold.…