Fun
MacTalksNFL 2011 Mock Draft – 1st Round, picks 21-32
Apr 21st
The home stretch. In this article we finish our first round draft. It was certainly fun, now we play the waiting game to see if we got anywhere near who we think the teams should go for!
21 – Kansas City Chiefs: Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin
Easiest pick so far – the Chiefs need to address right tackle. They should really have addressed this last year, but with a selection of good tackles available they’ll take Carimi as the best of the lot and probably with the biggest upside too.
22 – Indianapolis Colts: Nate Solder, OT, Colorado
Solder is a former tight end, so has good atheleticism for the tackle position. A bit raw, however he has the natural skills to succeed as a left tackle in the NFL. The Colts’ current LT, Charlie Johnson, is set to be a free agent, so they need to upgrade the OT position. DT was a possibility here, but the Colts franchise revolves around Peyton Manning, so protecting him is a must. More >
MacTalksNFL 2011 Mock Draft – 1st Round, picks 11-20
Apr 20th
Carrying on from the first article, we’ll now take a look at the 1st round draft with picks 11 through 20.
11 – Houston Texans: Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska
The Texans need secondary help, and if Prince is available come their pick I don’t doubt that they would take him. He seems to be the complete package. His size of strength, speed and size make him the perfect press-cover corner, he has a great read of the game and excellent closing speed. He would definitely help the Texans, who last year finished last in the pass defence rankings. More >
MacTalksNFL 2011 Mock Draft – 1st Round, picks 1-10
Apr 19th
With the NFL draft just around the corner, here at Mac we decided we would take it into our own hands and take a look at how WE think things will pan out over the first round. Andrew, Tom and myself arranged an order and took it in turns drafting and made a brief comment about why we thought our team would go in that direction. Tom got the first pick, I got the second and Andrew got the third. It then went in the same sequence until all our picks had been made. Without further ado, this is how things panned out…
1 – Carolina Panthers: Marcel Dareus, DT, Alabama
While the Panthers don’t have a great QB, I just have too many questions about the top QBs in the draft for them to warrant the No.1 overall pick. Newton is the consensus choice here, but Newton isn’t like Sam Bradford or Matt Ryan, he was never as good as a passer as them in college. Dareus will be a force inside from the get go, and while he won’t be as dominant as Suh, he is a quality player.
The Panthers used to have a dominant D Line, with Kris Jenkins, Mike Rucker and of course Julius Peppers, but these have now all left or retired. The current DT depth chart is headed by Nick Hayden and Derek Landri, and I believe Landri is a free agent. DT is position of big need for the Panthers, and Dareus can be a player to build around for the future.
Vote For The Madden 12 Coverstar
Mar 22nd
So we all know that it’ll be Aaron Rodgers, but it’s still quite cool to get involved and feel like you’re making a difference.
The vote is in round 1 at the moment and gives you 16 match-ups to vote on, complete with a little Madden clip of each player.
Place your votes now: http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/feature/madden2012cover
Super Bowl XLV, not to be confused with Fireball XL5
Feb 4th
Yes I know, it’s easy to mix them up. But there are several ways to tell them apart.
First test: Is everyone walking in supermarionation style? (Note, it must be everyone and not just the big guys in the middle of the action. They just walk like that.).
Fireball XL5
Second Test: The character with the big hair, are they wearing a helmet and/or tackling people?
Third Test: Are there a lot of bearded people? The World Space Patrol was generally clean-shaven. The Packers and the Steelers come from a colder place (than space?) and have cultivated manly facial hair to keep the cold winter at bay.
Lastly, is there a moronic voice… oh wait, scratch that one. It might be Joe Buck.
The Little Travel Guide to NFL Wembley
Oct 26th
With the Wembley day fast approaching I know a lot of people are wondering what time to show up, how is best to travel, how much wonga should I bring along etc… So, for all you good people heading up to London I’ve created what I like to call, ‘The little travel guide to the NFL at Wembley’. Catchy eh?
The first thing you want to make sure you do: WEAR YOUR COLOURS!
This way I’ll know who to avoid…. I mean, that way we can all have good banter and a general good time with deep discussions and opinions regarding the NFL and said team.
Now, there are many ways to get into Wembley itself. What we like to do is drive the long drive down the motorway and stop at a lovely little place called Hillingdon just outside of Wembley itself, and right on the A40. There we can park up and just hop on the tube (Met. line) for a short 15 minute journey to Wembley Way. We miss a lot of traffic (both vehicle and human), don’t have to worry about parking near the stadium, and have a pretty much stress free time. Obviously getting out of Wembley is harder than it is to get in, but this way you only have to brave the queues once, get off the tube and then make your way home. There are many little ‘connection’ stations like Hillingdon that will make your journey easier, take a look at http://www.wembleystadium.com/ and plan your route accordingly. More >
Fantasy Football Hints and Tips #2 – Players to Avoid
Aug 6th
In the second instalment in this series on Fantasy Football, I’ll be looking at players to avoid in the early rounds this year… for one reason or another. There will basically be 2 kinds of player in this category. First, let’s start with those who will miss the start of the season (or even more).
Vincent Jackson – I love Vincent Jackson. The guy is a great player and has won me many a fantasy game over the years. He’s usually my first receiver pick in the draft, that’s how much faith I have in him when he plays. Unfortunately this season he has a 3 game suspension. On top of that he has refused to sign his tender as a restricted free agent, and rumours are flying around that because of this we might not see him play even after his suspension finishes. I hope not, because he is talented and a great guy to watch play. If it was up to me I’d be leaving him to the free agency wire and keeping a close eye on how events unfold.
Santonio Holmes – Santonio Holmes, fresh from a move to the New York Jets from the Pittsburgh Steelers, is joining a very, very good team. It’s just a shame he won’t be playing for the first 4 games. Usually you’d see Santonio go in the first 3 rounds of a draft, and rightly so. He is a solid receiver and will get you points. But missing 4 games AND a bye week means 5 total weeks of zero production. If you see him still there in the later rounds then by all means grab him as a bench warmer for half the season, but don’t waste a good pick in getting him early.
More >
Fantasy Football Hints and Tips #1 – Good Value Picks
Aug 5th
Well, it’s that time of the year again. Yes, Fantasy Football is almost upon us. In the first of a short series, I’m taking a look at good value picks. Later on I’ll look at people to avoid and for those in deep drafts, those who could be a good sleeper pick.
Well, obvious choices aside (AKA the Yahoo! Rankings Top 25) I see the following as good value picks you should be able to get after the first 2 rounds:
Anquan Boldin – The guy just loves getting yards and touchdowns. He moved to the Baltimore Ravens this year where no doubt he will be the main guy. After so many years in Arizona basically playing second fiddle to Larry Fitzgerald we finally get to see what he can do as a No. 1. Boldin and QB Joe Flacco have been practising together all off-season to get their chemistry right so expect big things from Anquan, and you can get this player as a 3rd round or 4th round pick.
Santana Moss – Santana has been the Redskins number 1 guy for going on four years. His numbers have always been solid, and yet he never really seems to stand out from a lot of other number 1 wide receivers. Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Greg Jennings, Braylon Edwards, Brandon Marshall, Larry Fitzgerald… These are the names you hear banded around all the time. That’s great for us Fantasy players though. Santana will be available at round 5, possibly 6 and will provide you with a good load of points. He did well with Campbell throwing to him, now he has Donovan McNabb who will greatly improve the passing game.
More >
Miami Sharks’ New Homepage
Aug 4th
Nearly a year ago I posted a review of the Oliver Stone classic Any Given Sunday and needless to say, it’s remained a popular post. As I’ve commented before, it sees some very strange searches that find there way here.
But beyond wanting to see The Snake, a lot of people are looking for Terrell Owens and other roster information about the fictional Sharks. To this end, I’ve created a homepage for the Sharks that should hopefully answer questions that people have about it.
Check it out here: www.miamisharks.info
Baba O’Pinball Tommy Who Won’t Get Fooled Wizard
Jan 27th
Pete Townsend has announced that The Who will be performing a medley (yeah, I refuse to use the so-called term ‘mashup’) of some of their most well known songs during the Superbowl halftime show.
Pete Townsend
These aren’t really a surprise to anyone.
But anyway, it should be good! But hopefully not so good that it stops us doing the regular halftime activities of visiting the bathroom, topping up beer and grabbing a hotdog.
Source: Billboard
Image Credits: PT: birzir
RD: Thomas Kjær