Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks played in his first game since coming back from a ruptured right Achilles suffered in the 2017 season when he played on Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons. He ruptured his left Achilles in 2014 while playing at Texas and it is said when one goes the other will follow suit…
I’m sure there are academics out there who would say I’m besmirching Aristotle’s good name by using one of his defining works in a fantasy football article. To those tweed-laden, bespectacled folks, I say, “hey, it was you who introduced me to the idea, is not applying it to every aspect of my life an…
Having installed some of our basic passing plays in Part One of this three-part series, it is time to turn our attention to the run game, as well as the play-action passing game. As a reminder, this three-part series on “my game script” was inspired by the great Mark Bullock, who you should definitely be…
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…
The draft came, saw, and conquered our timelines and now it’s up to the fans to sit back and watch their favorite teams selections; will they develop? How’s their situation? What can we expect? Just a few days ago, I released my final Top 10 EDGE rankings, so I figured I would throw my two…
Finding the quarterback to lead your franchise isn’t an easy task for any NFL executive. For most teams, franchise quarterbacks are acquired by miserably finishing with the league’s worst record. Others are fortunate enough to fill the position by hitting on the rare 3rd or 4th round pick. Yet, for the unlucky teams that find…
As the offseason continues, the ebbs and flows of headlines continue to rock the football world. Between the group of free agent quarterback available this year and the very deep 2018 draft class, there is certainly a lot of chatter to go around. Recently, AJ McCarron became a unrestricted free agent in the wake of…
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.…
There have been plenty of great catches in the 51 year history of the Super Bowl. For decades Lynn Swann’s 53 yard catch in Super Bowl X was the standard, but in recent years the latest generation of pass catchers have surpassed his graceful and well concentrated effort. Admittedly, we’ve been extremely spoiled as of…
“Daddy, where do fumbles come from?” Startled, I nearly spit out my coffee. “Well … when a mommy and daddy fumble love each other very much …” I stammered. He interrupted me, “Dad!” I fixed a sober gaze on my son. “Do you really want to know?” He nodded. “Sacks, mostly.” “What?” “Look at the…
The NFL season is upon us, and after another whirlwind offseason of coaching changes and player movements, I’m pleased to present the 2nd edition of my NFL Roster Valuation model. For those not familiar with the previous iteration, the goal of my roster assessment isn’t to fall in line with others that put together individual…
The Arizona Cardinals’ top two selections in the 2017 NFL Draft are perfectly suited to the defensive scheme run in Phoenix. Budda Baker and Haason Reddick give defensive coordinator James Bettcher even more options in the hybrid scheme. For another piece breaking down Baker and Reddick’s fit in Arizona, check out this piece by Ollie…
Most of the time, a blitz is a risk / reward proposition. A defense takes an extra player or players out of coverage, creating risk on the back end, in exchange for the reward of more rushers and hopefully more pressure on the quarterback. If the rush gets home, the risk pays off; if the…
Following Super Bowl LI, Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan took some heat over his decision to abandon the run with the Falcons leading the New England Patriots 21-3 to open the second half, and climbing to a 28-3 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. The Patriots staged a historical comeback ending in the Falcons defeat…
The Atlanta Falcons are first in points scored with 33.8 and second in yards with 415.8, making a case for one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history. Much of their offensive success could be credited to offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who has come up with creative game plans for a talented group of…
If you’re watching the game from home, how can you tell when a blitz or defensive line stunt is coming? This article shows blitz and stunt indicators as well as how offenses react to them. Blitzing and defensive line stunts are all about timing as well as spacing. One spacing indicator of defensive line stunts…