Stuff About Me

It's kinda slow right now as far as football ,so i thought I'd take this opportunity to let you learn some things about myslef. I love football as you can plainly see ,but i also participate in basketball and track. I like rap/hip-hop music ,but I also like Aerosmith and some other more rock and roll type bands. Some of my favorite artists are Kanye West, Jay-Z, and T-Pain mainstream guys like that. My favorite colors are dark red, purple, and white. Don't ask why i just like them. I kinda like to play videogames ,but mostly sports games. I like just hangin with friends, texting, swimming, lifting weights and whatever else I can find to occupy my time. I just setup a twitter account so if you wanna talk to me or are interested in any of the same things as me you can follow me at JosephEagle75. There you have it a little taste of me! I'm out peace.

Ben's Buzz (West Teams) 3

Thank you readers for reading me and my brother's blog the last month or so, this should really help get more people reading. At #6 in our countdown on west teams I have the Oakland Raiders. Our whole entire family hates the Oakland Raiders because our grandparents loved the 49ers when they had Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Jerry Rice. Now back to the subject, the Oakland Raiders did exceptionally toward the end of last season. Everybody says the Oakland Raiders draft was horrible because they could've gotten Jeremy Maclin, or Michael Crabtree, but instead they got Darrius Heyward-Bay. This guy is not a bad player, there is some inconsistcey with him in is catching game, but he will definitley help in the return game. With Darren McFadden and Johnnie Lee Higgens with him in the return game the opponents won't be able to focus on one return man. It'll be like Earth, Wind, and Fire did last year by changing up the running game, only in this situation they use the return game. A stupid thing the Raiders did this offseason was get Jeff Garcia. The guy is probably going to retire next year so he won't do you any good. He still has some years in him, but he doesn't want to play back-up to an overated QB who's name is Jamarcus Russell. They could've started Jeff Garcia this one year over Jamarcus Russell, so Jamarcus could learn from a veteran leader, but they didn't do that. Instead now you're going to make a guy that can't win you many games and will continue to have losing seasons the next three years. The blocking game for the Raiders with Lorenzo Neal should be improved, but I'm giving them a 6-10 season. Lets hope all these Raider draft picks don't go to that crazy team's heads.

West Teams (Ben's Buzz) 2

Hey this is Ben again. I'm going to talk about the western teams today. My number 7 team had a bad year last year, but I think they will be able to turn around thanks to a young man named Matt Cassell. That's right, the Kansas City Chiefs. I know what our Mizzouri readers our thinking, "You must really hate us or something!" No the horrible sad truth is that Mizzouri is one of the worst sports states today for proffesional sports. But that is going to change when the Chiefs have 10-6 record and get the wildcard behind San Diego. When you think about it, this team has built their the defensive line since the loss of Jared Allen by drafting Glenn Dorsey (will play DE next year), and Tyson Jackson, the guys from LSU. That was the smart thing the Chiefs did because they knew those two would work well together for years to come because of their National Championship season together. I don't care if people think Matt Cassell is going to have a let down season, trust me, I'm a Pats fan. The reason I know this is because I watched almost all the Pats games I could last season. This kid can plan out run out of the pocket for a 5 yard gain every time, or he can throw a long ball to Dwayne Bowe with his excellent Pocket Presence. This guy is going to be the next Jay Cutler, he's amazing. The only problem I see for the Chiefs next year is that they won't be able to run it due to a poor offensive line. I predict a 10-6 record with a bad line, 12-4 record with a good line with some talent.

Ben's Breaking Buzz

Donte Stallworth is back in the news today. After appearing for court today for manslaughter charges, he has been sentenced to 30 days in jail. Donte Stallworth is sure to be happy, the court, and so is the family, I think this worked out for all of them. Brett Favre spoke on the HBO sports Monday night, "I'm considering coming back to the NFL, but only for the Vikings,"says Favre. He also said that he had suregery 2 and a half weeks ago and said,"If it ever gets to the point it feels like it did before it started hurting, then the biggest question mark is out of the way,"Favre said Vikings coach Brad Childress wanted him to attend Minnesota's recent organized team activities, but he declined."I figured there would be a media frenzy if I was there," he said. "And there would be a media frenzy if I couldn't play, if we had to say three weeks later, 'You know, his arm's just not up to par. He can't play.' Here are Favre's career stats.

Career Statistics /Completion Pct.: 61.6/ Passing Yards: 65,127/ TD to INT Ratio: 464/310

Last, but not least Plaxico Burress recently adjourned his trial til September, again.

West Teams (Ben's Buzz)

First off, sorry me and my brother could not make it to the computer these last couple of weeks, months whatever you want to call it. Now on my part of the blog today I will be discussing these next couple of days about the NFC & AFC West. (I'm a New England Patriots fan so I hate the west), I will be ranking them 1-8 in order from worst to best starting off with, the St.Louis Rams. This may be dissapointing to all St.Louis fans out there, but to tell the truth, they are in my opinion in worst shape than the Detroit Lions. Because if you think about it the Lions were in a division full of playoff hopefuls and amazing players like Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers, and Devin Hester. Its very hard to win games in a division like that. As for the Rams, they played in the easiest division possibly in football history. Cardinals may have had an amazing playoff run, but remember, they had a 9-7 regular season. The Rams could've, no should've won at least 5 games last season, but they didn't. And Lions were not that bad in the 2007 season they started 5-0! Now the Rams would be a better team if they got a very good player on that offense like Steven Jackson. They did get Jason Smith with that 2nd pick in the draft, but I think they should have gotten Andre Smith, he had problems during the combine, but think about the ends he had to play in his division compared to Jason Smith. Jason played in an easy confrence with not very great players. I had 9 sacks on him in one game on NCAA 09 football. That is definitly not a good sign. James Laurinaitas will be an amazing player for that team,(even though he played at Ohio State, I'm a Michigan fan so). Another stupid thing they did was release Drew Bennet, I can understand getting rid of Torry Holt,(because he's a no show for all the attention he gets), if they had Drew Bennet still I would've predicted a huge jump to a 9-7 record and missing the playoffs by a little, but I predict a 7-9 record due to no HUGE receiver threat. Steven Jackson though will rush over 1,400 yards next season and the team should keep improving with time.

Predictions for LT

LT one of if not the premier back in the league has had a lot going on this offseason trade rumors, retirement and contract issues. When it was all said and done though he signed a contract that will most likely have him retire as a charger. This season he will hopefully resemble the MVP that he has been rather than the LT that was prone to injury last year. Darren Sproles will be their big play guy that will come in to give Tomlinson a break. I would like to see Tomlinson carrying a majority of the load for the Chargers this year. He has the capability to be a major weapon in this offense if not the star. It will all be determined though by the time he spends on the sidelines with the training staff the less the better. If LT stays healthy, Shawn Merriman returns as his old self and Philip Rivers leads the NFL in Passer Rating again this team is Super Bowl bound.

Shawn "Lights Out" Merriman is Back

One of my personal favorite players and who many consider to be the best linebacker in the league is back in action working out, attending OTA's and Minicamps. OLB Shawn Merriman in his first 36 games had 32.5 sacks and had numerous forced fumbles. I believe he will be back to form almost immediatly. I am predicting he makes the pro-bowl and takes the chargers on another playoff run. If Merriman can stay healthy will have a Hall of Fame career. I think I might be biased because I'm a mohawk guy like Merriman and I'm a Chargers fan.

Rookie QB's

Three first round rookie quarterbacks all great in their own ways. I'll start with my favorite and who I think will be best their first year. Josh Freeman, although the last taken of the three he goes to a good situation in Tampa Bay with Kellen Winslow, Antonio Bryant and Derrik Ward. Josh Freeman seems to be a mix of Tavaris Jackson and Big Ben. By that I mean he has a large frame and can pull it down and run ,but still has a big arm. Mark Sanchez is another good QB that goes to an interesting team. The Jets have a good offensive line, running back and defense ,but no receivers to throw to. So this may present problems for him. I think he will be best in a west coast style offense with short and intermediate routes. Last ,but not least is Matthew Stafford which has the franchise big arm and made a lot of starts in college in the SEC one of the best conferences in the NCAA. There is a couple problems he was in a simple offense in college, he has a horrible supporting cast other than Calvin Johnson, and he has a lot of pressure on him to resurrect the franchise. I think all three of these guys will create interesting stories their first year.

Brett Favre

Now here we go again with Brett Favre and you know that I gotta get my two cents in. All this comeback nonsense started when Favre said "As of now I'm retired," then the sparks flew. Then Favre made matters worse by asking the Jets to release him (after he retired presumably so he could retire as a packer). Well next thing you know people are saying that he asked to be released so that he could be the Vikings quarterback. Now most of the time I rely on The NFL Network for all my football needs, but on this Brett Favre story I think that it is being blown way out of proportion to fill in during a slow part of the off season. In my personal opinion he should retire and should be a first ballot hall of famer. Now if he does go to the Vikings and they do not do well or he gets injured I think he will severely tarnish his career because some people will remember as a frail old man than the legendary quarterback he is. I think when this is all said and done Tavaris Jackson will start for the Vikings, Brett Favre will retire and we'll forget this ugly mess.

Favorite Linebackers In 09 Draft

This year some of the most interesting players in the draft were the front seven guys on defense. Defensive linemen and linebackers are very interesting to me. The most intriguing players this year for me are the middle round linebackers. All the USC linebackers and all those "conversion guys" they talk abut didn't interest me as much as the old school linebackers that got taken between the third and fifth rounds. First is a talented outside linebacker Jason Williams from Western Illinois. This kid looks the part and is a very athletic outside linebacker that is fast, a great leaper, and led the NCAA in forced fumbles. His only weaknesses are shedding blocks quickly and his instincts aren't as honed as you'd like them to be. Next is Tyrone McKenzie This is a pretty average kid good speed, agility, instincts and tackling. His best strength is tackling he breaks down well in space and rarely misses a tackle. His overwhelming weakness is his lack of pass covering skills in man to man and zone schemes. One guy I think will be interesting is Gerald McRath this kid is fast, fluid in space, good tackler, with okay instincts and has freakishly long arms. His only weakness is his small size. He struggles with elite size. His small size that brings up the question of injuries. What happens when he gets blind-sided by Hines Ward or some three hundred and thirty pound tackle comes around the end on a toss and puts him on his back. Last ,but certainly not least is Scott McKillop a player that I mentioned as my favorite pick of the fifth round. He is an average player that made Pittsburgh U's team because of his athleticism. The two strengths he has is that one he has the best instincts of any late round draft pick I've ever seen and the other one is that he has no real weaknesses. He also led the NCAA in tackles his last year at Pitt. So with all these linebackers being very interesting and all needing some sort of development I think this year will be a very interesting year for linebackers.

Review on Ben's Buzz

Well this is the part where I talk about my brother every week whether I agree, disagree, or something in the middle. This week I am replying to Ben's buzz on the Cowboys franchise now on the release of Terrel Owens. On one hand I think that releasing a guy that feels that he deserves the ball and is a veteran is wrong. If this was a rookie like DeShawn Jackson you get rid of him immediately in my view. On the other hand I think that he tore apart the locker room and J.J. is going with less is more this off season. On the draft I think that all he trading back and passing was not a bad thing. If you look at the individual players they got regardless of round you would think they got some good base players that they can develop. Now back to T.O. I think that since they got rid of him they will allow Marion Barber, Tony Romo, Jason Witten and that big veteran offensive line to really shine. They have a nucleus of players that will be good this year not bad ,but not great. Just middle of the league 10-6 good.

Ben's Buzz 1st edition

Every week on sunday my little brother Ben will be allowed one post on my blog. It is his and he is free to say whatever he wants so please enjoy the first edition of Ben's Buzz. Hello my name is Ben Smallen. I enjoy football as much as my older brother that created this website. My favorite NFL team is the New England Patriots and my favorite NCAA team is Michigan. I enjoyed this year's draft very much. A very interesting move in the draft was the Mark Sanchez move. At least I know now we have a challenge this year in the AFC east. I think Jets can get into the playoffs if they get another major wide reciever like Jericho Cotchery. My favorite pick in the draft was Pat White pick to Miami Dolphins. He should be a major weapon in the wildcat offense. He should also be very interesting in the video games as well. I ABSOLUTLEY hated the Cowboys draft. They will have a horrible year AGAIN and be totally overated AGAIN. Jerry Jones is much smarter than this to just trade away your picks. No team in the NFL is perfect and even the Cowboys organization knows that. This may be very mean to all the Cowboys fans, but I think they will have one of the top picks in the draft next year and trade away all of their picks. Back to the 09 draft, there were very good players not taken in this draft including John Parker Wilson, Chase Daniels, and Ian Johnson. They should've been very highly drafted some would say about two years ago, but could not make the cut this year. This is the smae thing that happened to Mike Hart. He was an amazing HB at Michigan and look what happened to him. Can you tell me who he plays for now? A suprise player in this years draft is Julian Edelman. A QB taken in the 7th round by the New England Patriots. If you look at highlights of him from Kent State he looks like Pat White, but maybe even faster. He should play both WR and QB and be an amazing player. I'll see you next week when we talk about the latest buzz.

NFL Draft

Well I guess the first pick of the draft is the best place to start. Matthew Stafford getting paid 78 million dollars is RIDICULOUS. This is an outrage he is making more money than proven veterans like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler and Ben Rothlisberger. I guess this is how the draft will always be ,but I hope for the Lions sake he isn't a big bust. In the first round my favorite guy taken was QB Josh Freeman from Kansas State. A big armed strong and fast QB if you took Ben Rothlisberger and crossed him with Michael Vick you would end up with this kid. The only knock on this kid is the fact that he takes a long time to process information and get the ball out of his hand. I think that the speed wil come with more reps. In round two there where a lot of interesting players that I liked ,but none more than LeSean McCoy A.K.A. Shady McCoy from Pittsburgh U. This kid is a mini version of Barry Sanders a shifty, quick, fast, elusive and all together great change of pace back. In the third round I liked Christopher Owens CB San Jose State kind of an average player. Not small, but not big. Not fast, but not slow. Not bad, but not good. Just average and I like him. In the fourth round I liked was Tony Fiammetta FB Syracuse U. One of the last of a dying position a perfect cross between an offensive linemen and a running back. Wow I just love it. Next is a player that I love Scott Mckillop from Pittsburgh U. A well rounded old school inside linebacker for and old school team the 49ers. One of my favorite picks from top to bottom of the whole draft a great pick I'm gonna be following this kid throughout his career. In the sixth round I liked Kevin Ellison FS from USC a marriage of my two favorite teams the Chargers and Trojans. This kid is also an impact player that can fit into the team easily because of the lack of a quality FS on the roster. In the last round I liked a true wildcat weapon in Julian Edelman a QB from Kent. State ,but will be listed on the Patriots roster as a WR we'll just have to see where this one goes. This is my veiw of the draft by round if you don't agree more power to you ,but this is my list of good and intreging players for the 09 draft.

My First Day

What an appropriate day to start my own blog. In case you don't know what I'm talking about it's the second day of the NFL draft. I myself am a San Diego Chargers fan. I am also a USC fan. My mom has her own blog called The Hemline not really related to my blog ,but she enjoys it just the same. It is a dream of mine to play football in college. I love to play football it is a hard-nosed, physical game that is changing all the time, but it is also always the same in certain ways. The reason every football player loves to play is because they get to go into their locker room and put on the pads, strap up the helmet and lace up the cleats. You stand up take a deep breath and open that door. You look over to the crowd and their all screaming for your team. You turn around to your teammates and run out on the field and live in the moment for 90 minutes. That's why I play football and that's what my blog is about. Enjoying life and living in the moment.