Top 10 Elite Plays of 2011-2012

Here it is my first video of the blog, listing the top 10 plays of the season. Feel free to comment or post your own videos if you believe I missed one in my top 10.
To see the video, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrctwIn8BXA&feature=youtu.be

Elite Combine Performances

With the NFL combine taking place this week in Indianapolis, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at elite level combine performances and see if they translate at all into elite NFL careers. To do this I will be looking at the top 40 yard dash times of NFL running backs at the combine over the past 10 years. It is thought throughout the league that the 40 time is a great indicator of a running backs ability to make a big play. Therefor I will go through the top 40 times of each season to see if there are indeed elite level players with elite level combine performances.
Data can be found at

2002: The only player of note with a top 5 40 time in 2002 was Ricky Williams with a time of 4.47 seconds. Williams has been a nice NFL player but would not be considered in the elite group of running backs. The top performer was Josh Scobey... who? Needless to say Scobey never became a house hold name.

2003: This year featured 0 players of note with a top 5 40 time. Justin Fargas ran the top time in 4.35 seconds, however his career in the NFL was very little.

2004: Michael Turner was the only player of note with an elite combine time in 2004, entering a time of 4.49, good enough for 4th that year. Turner has turned himself into elite back as he led the NFL in rushing yards in 2010 and 2011.

2005: Again no elite level players performed in the top 5 of the combine in 2005. There was a slew of mediocre running backs that performed well at this combine including; Carnell Williams, Ryan Grant and Ronnie Brown.

2006: Maurice Jones Drew ran the best time at the 2006 combine at 4.39 seconds and he is a player that can defiantly be considered elite. Jones is a 3 time Pro Bowler and has already ran for over 6000 yards in his career.

2007: The top performers at this combine all failed to make the NFL with the exception of Ahmad Bradshaw who has helped the Giants win 2 Super Bowls in his career. Bradshaw has always been a solid player but has never been an elite performer.

2008: 3 of the top 5 times performers in 2008 can be considered elite. Chris Johnson ran a 4.24 and was the NFL's offensive player of the year in 2009. Darren Mcfadden and Jamal Charles are also elite level players that would be ideal to have on your fantasy team.

2009: This combine features no elite level players with an elite level 40 time.

2010: This years class has a number of elite combine performers with the potential to become elite NFLers however they have yet to fully prove it. They are; C.J. Spiller, Ryan Mattews, Jahvid Best and Ben Tate.

2011: It is still too difficult to tell if any of these performers will become elite players. The only player who had a quality rookie season however was Demarco Murray.

After analyzing 50 players with elite 40 times I have determined that only 6 can be termed elite, which means the 40 time might not be as accurate as most scouts may believe.

Cliff Avril; Elite?

With the impending free agency period coming up around the corner the up and coming Detroit Lions are beginning to face some tough decisions. This comes with the territory of making a playoff run with young, talented, productive players; they want to be paid for the work they have done and will do. Specifically the Lions must deal with their free agent defensive end Cliff Avril as priority number one this off season. Avril led the lions in sacks with 11 in 2011 and has said he would like to be payed nicely with a long term contract. The Lions would no doubt love to keep Avril in Detroit however a big time long term deal may not be possible with today's salary cap NFL. If the Lions were to pay Avril in the $10 million range per season for the next 4 years, this would tie up a considerable amount of cap space that will be necessary for the team to have in order to keep around stars; Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, and Ndamukong Suh. Johnson will likely become the highest paid receiver in the NFL and Stafford won`t be far behind him at quarterback.

The Lions do have some power in this situation however as they have the right to place a franchise tag on Avril. The Franchise Tag is essentially a 1 year contract where the player is to be paid the average salary of the top 5 players at his position. This would likely cost the Lions $10.6 million next season and would force Avril to stay in Detroit for at least 1 more season before he is eligible to hit the free agent market. Thus, the Lions would not be stuck in a long term deal and could have their top defensive end back for another playoff run. Avril has said he is looking for a long term deal and would consider holding out of training camp if he was given the franchise tag. This seems slightly greedy for a player who would be receiving a pay raise form $2 million to $10 million. However I do understand Avril`s want for a long term deal as life in the NFL is extremely unpredictable where one injury could cost a player his career leaving him with no income.
The major question the Lions need to look at is; is Avril an elite level player and does he deserve to be paid a salary among the top 5 defensive ends in the league?

Avril's 11 sacs last season rank put him in a tie for 5th among defensive ends in the NFL. Avril finished 2011 with 36 total tackles ranking him 61st in the league among DEs. The final stat favouring Avril is his league leading 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 2 touchdowns. These type of stats demonstrate that Avril is a play maker. In my opinion the Lions should franchise Avril as he is on the brink of becoming elite and is worth the money for at least next season and they can deal with him long term after that if they still wish. Avril will need to learn to understand that the NFL is a business and if the Lions franchise him he will have to make the best of it in order to receive his long term deal next season. Feel free to comment on what you think of Avril's future in Detroit.

Pod Cast - NFL Elite Offseason

Below is a link to my first podcast! It deals with with some major elite NFL off-season decisions that need to be made shortly. The basis of the podcast is similar to radio show where I play host to a number of NFL related topics and my colleagues Taylor Tessier and Steve Weingarden chime in with their thoughts on the various topics.

Click here to listen and enjoy! (link will appear when the mouse is over it, follow the arrow) ------------------------------------------> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6215Ed-Dxw

Once again another Superbowl Champion has been crowned and once again there was 1 memorable play that put one team in position to capture the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game.

This year that play was made by Mario Manningham as he made a miraculous catch down the sideline on a pass from Eli Manning. The catch could not have come at a better time for the Giants as they were facing 3rd and long, down late in the 4th quarter. This catch set up the G-Men for the eventual game winning score en route to their second Superbowl victory over the Patriots in the past 4 years.

Watching this great catch live made me think of 2 other amazing Superbowl catches that had a direct result in their team's victory. It can be argued that these 3 plays are the greatest ever in Superbowl history.

In the dying moments of Superbowl XXXXIII Santonio Holmes pulled in a perfectly placed passed from Ben Roethlisburger as he tight roped the sideline to secure the game for the Steelers and the MVP award for himself.

One year earlier David Tyree and Eli Manning set the world on fire as they connected for miracle like pitch and catch on the final drive of the Giants Superbowl XXXXII victory.