McBeane

New England Patriots Help added: It should have gone without saying the Patriots had the chance to get a lot of impact in the draft and trade for more picks, and they did both. Getting Nate Solder wasn't flashy, but they don't expect to have to draft another franchise quarterback soon, so consider it a pick that helps protect the flashiest position they have. Solder could struggle early, because his play hasn't lived up to his skill set, but he's smart and athletic enough to be a blindside protector at this level, and it's a good priority to target. If second-round-pick Ras-I Dowling is healthy, he should see the field early in nickel situations. Questions that remain: For a team coming off a 14-2 record, I was a little surprised New England didn't have a greater sense of immediacy. The Pats drafted a pair of running backs (Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley) who add different dimensions and could stick, and a quarterback with great value in Ryan Mallett, but the pass rush that really let them down in 2010 simply has to be upgraded. I do think they'll get more out of a defense that played a lot of youth in 2010, but it seems clear they'll need to find some sacks in free agency. Next year's help, now: Jared Crick, DE/DT, Nebraska Crick could have come out for the 2011 draft, but the J.J. Watt of next year's draft should be coveted by 3-4 teams looking for help at defensive end.

Not having Donovan and Bocanegra definitely hurt the US today. Jermaine Jones really didn't show very much today and I wasn't very impressed with what I saw of Agudelo. Tough "grudge match" today for our boys, but it should serve as a wake up call for Tuesday and the remainder of the Gold Cup.

. My point is there are thousands of really good Division 1 athletes each year that never make it to the pros (not just football) but I'm positive a good portion of them are not uncoachable, they just can't perform at a professional level. I don't think Maybin will turn out to be anything other than an enormous bust, but that doesn't mean he is uncoachable.

Very well put. My thoughts exactly. I will never understand why people think that he is just supposed to give the ball to the kid regardless of the fact that it landed in his lap and he didn't do anything obnoxious to catch it. No one ever said life is fair, but I guess that little kid will be forever scarred now that he didn't get that foul ball given to him. Plus, having the kid stare back at me for the entire game would aggravate me. Couldn't the adult he was with have told him to stop staring?

Being coachable and being able to perform are two entirely different things. Maybin is coachable and a hard worker, he's just not good.

There's usually 2 games on when the Bills are on...

http://twitter.com/#...!/DavidNelson86 He has thrown up a few pictures so far of what it looks like down there. I know the tornadoes are being discussed elsewhere, but I thought it would be nice to show what David Nelson is doing to help out those in trouble. This just reaffirms what I already thought of the man.

That is what you waste your time doing?

Haha, well played.

To put it nicely, you're an idiot.

One quick little thing, Tiger does not use the "stack and tilt" swing. Switching to Foley changed his swing to more of a one-plane swing. For people that may not know the difference, the stack and tilt swing involves "stacking" weight on the front leg during the swing and letting your momentum catch up throughout the course of the swing. A lot of older people use this swing because its easier on the hips, shoulders, and knees and allows them to make more consistent contact. The one-plane swing has the player staying back (more 60-40 than anything) and gradually letting their momentum come forward as the swing progresses. This swing is much tougher on the knees and legs in general because the legs are a relatively large power source. IF he was using a stack and tilt swing (only one recent player has had any success with it, and he has switched back to a conventional swing is Aaron Baddeley) it would actually be much easier on his knee and lower body. That's just the sparknotes version of the differences in the swings. Now, Tigers main problem is that he is not playing golf anymore, he is playing "swing the club." Every shot consists of checkpoints in the swing and he is worried more about hitting his checkpoints than he needs to be. Amateurs get caught up with this all the time and my coaches have always told me to try to ignore anything you are working on changing while playing competitively, just get out there and play golf the way you know how. Tiger will come back around, he has too much talent to not to. He would honestly be better off forgetting about working on his swing and just going out and working on shots and confidence. But then again, there is a reason I'm a mid-teens handicap and he's on the PGA Tour. Just my two cents.

NFL Week one on schedule (OVER=After or not at all) Under.. maybe wishful thinking here CJ Spiller 800 yds RUSHING Under CJ Spiller 1500 yds from scrimmage Under FITZ TDs 23.5 Over # Fitz game winning drives 1.5 Over Stevie Johnson TDs 8.5 Over (thinking 10+ again) Terence McGee missed games due to injury 2.5 Over Chris Hairston starts at RT 3.5 Over (my guess is he gets in around week 12-13) Michael Jasper games dressed 2.5 Over (he should dress for 10+ IMO) Wang starts 2.5 Under Merriman sacks 3.5 Over (if he can stay healthy for at least 10 games) Bills wins 6.5 (optimism is high right now) Over (I wouldn't be shocked to see us get 8 with any luck) Division wins 2.5 Under (2 is my gut) Moats sacks 4.5 Over (kid has a lot of talent and desire. Crazy prediction - Pro Bowl, yeah I said it) Defensive Total Rank 18 (under is better) Over (I'm expecting no lower than 22-24) # home wins 4.5 (Oak, PHI, WASH-TOR, DEN, TEN, MIA, NYJ, NE) Under (4 is a good guess) Easley yds 475 Over Easley tds 3.5 Over (4-5 would be a huge success and is a legitimate possibility) # Games Dareus makes tackle for loss 6.5 Over (DROY) # Games K Will makes tackle for loss 9.5 Over (finally has someone else on the line worthy of gameplanning against) Maybin sacks .5 Under (duh) Fitz beard length week 17: 1/8 inch (will he grow one again?) Over (I will be MAD if he doesn't bring back the beard) Bills Probowlers 2.5 Under (I'm thinking 2) # rooks start by game 5: 2.5 (williams, dareus, shepperd, hairston, searcy, white, white, jasper, rogers) Over (Dareus, Williams, Sheppard) nice thread by the way, this is pretty fun to speculate about.

Tyler Thigpen is 27 but I cannot figure out how you managed to turn this into a "Ralph sucks" post.

just ran across this on StumbleUpon. great video.

Alexa-Flutie.jpg Whoof?

Buddy did say he's dryin up to nothing Gotta love the motivation this kid has.

Very well said. I was going to leave it alone, seeing as it was Vet, but you hit the nail on the head this time.

He's down to 378 as of about 2-3 weeks ago.

They were probably phasing him out slowly, because they do scout at least 2 years in advance.

I assume so they can start fresh for next year and because it wouldn't make much sense to fire him before the draft after all the work that was put in towards it.

Good find

I win?

Maybe she's a Seinfeld fan and hijacked their idea?

http://www.weny.com/News-Local.asp?ARTICLE3864=9159656 ...and lied to her husband and kids about it She also stole money from a local Little League and kids wrestling program while she was treasurer. I attended a golf tournament to "support" her and it disgusts me to think that someone could stoop that low, especially considering that I have had family members pass away from cancer. I hope they throw every charge at her that they can.

I need to see that