We’re back after the NFL combine and I’m bringing you my list of the biggest winners & losers from the week, in terms of all-around showings – measurements, testing numbers and on-field drills. Of course tape is still king, but this can allow us to separate guys who were grouped closely together, and either confirms what we saw on tape or makes us go back to it, if there’s a discrepancy.
Btw. I have a new microphone – a little more quiet, but I hope the quality is better. Let me know in the comments, along with any other thoughts you may have on this topic!
One free agent to target for each NFL team in 2022:
We are nearly two weeks into the non-playing season and while my main focus right now lies in the NFL draft, I thought it would be a fun exercise to look through all the teams in terms of available cap space heading into free agency, team needs & then find that one player that they should prioritize on trying to sign.
Thanks to overthecap.com for the graphic and cap space information!
Biggest risers from the 2022 college all-star events:
With the NFL having added an extra week of regular season football and everything else being pushed back even further, there was even less media attention for the first parts of the draft process. However, now that the Rams have been crowned as league champions, we enter the offseason and for everybody, who didn’t actually keep up with the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, East-West Shrine game and Senior Bowl, I put together this list of prospects, who have boosted their stock over the course of those events.
So I watched all the practices and the games from those three weeks and picked out 15 names altogether, who I believe helped themselves the most with their performances. This group primarily includes Senior Bowl guys, who partially were called up from the NFLPA Bowl, since I actually watched every single rep of every single drill basically, while I didn’t have that kind of exclusive footage from the other two events.
Here’s the list I came up with:
With the NFL having added an extra week of regular season football and everything else being pushed back even further, there was even less media attention for the first parts of the draft process. However, now that the Rams have been crowned as league champions, we enter the offseason and for everybody, who didn’t actually keep up with the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, East-West Shrine game and Senior Bowl, I put together this list of prospects, who have boosted their stock over the course of those events.
So I watched all the practices and the games from those three weeks and picked out 15 names altogether, who I believe helped themselves the most with their performances. This group primarily includes Senior Bowl guys, who partially were called up from the NFLPA Bowl, since I actually watched every single rep of every single drill basically, while I didn’t have that kind of exclusive footage from the other two events.
Here’s the list I came up with:
Super Bowl LVI preview:
I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t the matchup we expected coming into the season. When sportsbooks initially released their Super Bowl lines, only two teams – the Lions and Texans – had longer odds of winning the Lombardi trophy than the Bengals and you would have yielded a 100-to-one payout or better, had you put money on them. And as of the middle of December, sitting there at 7-6, they were on the outside of the playoffs looking in, among a crowded field of contenders in the AFC. The Rams on the other hand were on the fringe of the top-five in terms of championship odds, but there were some serious doubts about them as well at points, entering December at 7-4 and having a few wins late in the year, which were far from convincing. Yet, these two groups are now set to meet in the big game, knocking off last year’s champs in either conference along the way.
There are a bunch of storylines to follow, such as former Rams assistant and now Bengals head coach Zac Taylor trying to beat his former boss in Sean McVay, Andrew Whitworth facing a Cincinnati team that he was a part of for 11 years and now has a chance to reach the ultimate goal against in his final time on the field possibly at 40 years old, a re-merging superstar in Odell Beckham Jr. meeting the team he suffered a torn ACL against that ended last season for him, two former number one overall picks at quarterbacks trying to outduel each other and even the battle of kickers, with a highly confident rookie and a first-time Pro Bowler, who’s had some issues lately.
Let’s break everything down from a schematic perspective on both sides of the ball, certain matchups to pay attention to and how they may affect the outcome, along with identifying one X-factor on offense and defense for each squad and then coming to a conclusion with a final score prediction.
I think it’s fair to say that this isn’t the matchup we expected coming into the season. When sportsbooks initially released their Super Bowl lines, only two teams – the Lions and Texans – had longer odds of winning the Lombardi trophy than the Bengals and you would have yielded a 100-to-one payout or better, had you put money on them. And as of the middle of December, sitting there at 7-6, they were on the outside of the playoffs looking in, among a crowded field of contenders in the AFC. The Rams on the other hand were on the fringe of the top-five in terms of championship odds, but there were some serious doubts about them as well at points, entering December at 7-4 and having a few wins late in the year, which were far from convincing. Yet, these two groups are now set to meet in the big game, knocking off last year’s champs in either conference along the way.
There are a bunch of storylines to follow, such as former Rams assistant and now Bengals head coach Zac Taylor trying to beat his former boss in Sean McVay, Andrew Whitworth facing a Cincinnati team that he was a part of for 11 years and now has a chance to reach the ultimate goal against in his final time on the field possibly at 40 years old, a re-merging superstar in Odell Beckham Jr. meeting the team he suffered a torn ACL against that ended last season for him, two former number one overall picks at quarterbacks trying to outduel each other and even the battle of kickers, with a highly confident rookie and a first-time Pro Bowler, who’s had some issues lately.
Let’s break everything down from a schematic perspective on both sides of the ball, certain matchups to pay attention to and how they may affect the outcome, along with identifying one X-factor on offense and defense for each squad and then coming to a conclusion with a final score prediction.
Halil's Real Footballtalk 