The Preview of Super Bowl XLV

Posted by smashmouthdraft | Posted in | Posted on 2:04 PM

0



When the black and yellow, and the green and yellow clash inside "the house that Jerry built" on this coming Sunday, there is going to be one electric atmosphere. In the build up to this very emotional game, the light by the media has been shone directly on the maturity of Aaron Rodgers as an NFL Quarterback, and the questions of maturity and growth with the gunslinger on the opposite side, Ben Roethlisberger. As any fan of the game of football knows, this is not a game of one on the side of offense or defense, but rather it comes down to all eleven men on the football field. In this examination of the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, our very own Kristian D'Ignazio will breakdown his keys to determine the winner of the big game this Sunday.


GREEN BAY PACKERS
NFC CHAMPS
 
OFFENSE: 

On offense, the Green Bay Packers are in a very interesting predicament. Throughout the playoffs, the media has discussed the growth and the development of Aaron Rodgers in the big game. That is very well deserved. However, the emergence of the Running Back James Starks is the real big surprise out of this team who finished 10-6. The running game has allowed the Packers  to not allow the defense to zone in on Rodgers, and allowed the play action pass to open up big time creating havoc. The big issue for the team dawning their home green uniforms on Sunday, is the fact that the Steelers don't exactly have a problem shutting down the running game. The Steelers allowed a lead leading average of 62.8 yards rushing against, and have their eyes set on stopping Starks. This game is really going to breakdown and fall on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers wide-outs. Expect the Packers to try and split the Steelers defense up by using a plethora of three and four wide receiver sets to get the match-ups they want. The Packers are excellent of throwing the ball very quick, and using that very nice release of Aaron Rodgers to get it to his players in a hurry, to neutralize the pass rush from the defense.


Smashmouth X-Factor of Green Bay's Offense:  James Jones - WR


DEFENSE:

As the Steelers defense is getting a lot of limelight heading into this duel, the Packers defense has not been weak or a slouch this year at all. Led by Clay Matthews, the runner up to Troy Polamalu for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award, the Packers defense have held all three of their NFC opponents in the playoffs to under twenty-one points. Perhaps the unit on both offense and defense that could easily be the biggest darkhorse in this game, the Packers look to get after Ben Roethlisberger early and often, but more importantly will be their ability to stop the Steelers rushing attack. The Packers must be able to stop the Steelers running game before it gets going, and they must hold the Steelers into 3rd and long situations where their secondary can make plays and get off the field. If Steelers rookie center Maurkice Pouncey can not go, expect "The Freezer" BJ Raji to have a big time game inside against the Steelers on Sunday.


Smashmouth X-Factor of Green Bay's Defense:  AJ Hawk - ILB


PITTSBURGH STEELERS 
AFC CHAMPS


 

OFFENSE: 

The dramatic off-season and allegations against Ben Roethlisberger are the leading stories heading into Fort Worth. There is nothing more than Ben would want to seize the opportunity to silence the critics and bring home the seventh Lombardi back to Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Steelers must be able to get off to a good start and run the football with Rashard Mendenhall effectively. The running game has been the bread and butter of this team since one can remember, and this game shouldn't be any different. If the Steelers can run the ball well, the play action game will be avaliable against this ferocious secondary of the Packers. The Steelers will have trouble if they can't sustain drives, and get into tough positions where they must force a pass against Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams on the corners. The big question marks will be the time when Ben Roethlisberger goes back to pass that he will have. Clay Matthews and his 13.5 sacks on the edge, and potentially the loss of Pouncey with BJ Raji leading the charge, will make it even more critical that the Steelers keep the Packers off balance with play calling in this game.


Smashmouth's X-Factor of Pittsburgh's Offense: Mike Wallace - WR 

DEFENSE: 


Another successful and dominating post-season for the defense of the Steelers, what else is new? The Steelers prowess of stopping the run and getting after the Quarterback creates an excellent match-up in this Super Bowl. The Steelers defense will look to try and shut down James Starks in his tracks, and zone in on Aaron Rodgers and look to pressure him. Pittsburgh must be creative in their blitz packages as the Packers will look to execute a very quick passing game to slow down the rush, and this will include many screens, slants, etc. If the Steelers can get a few stops, and press the Packers with exotic bltizes, that one mistake that they could force could be the difference in this ball game. Green Bay presents an excellent aerial attack and this could pose serious problems for the Steelers with the numerous wide receivers that the Packers could chuck the ball to. It will come down to the edge rushers, LaMarr Woodley (who had ten sacks) and James Harrison (who had 10.5 sacks) to disrupt the timing of this precise Green Bay offensive attack.


Smashmouth's X-Factor of Pittsburgh's Defense: Lawrence Timmons - ILB 






The Final Prediction - Steelers over the Packers, 24-20. 



The Senior Bowl Game Review

Posted by smashmouthdraft | Posted in | Posted on 3:22 PM

0

As the crowd in Mobile got hyped and fired up -- the anxious young senior talents from across the Nation felt the entire mood change. This was the game and stage they had all been waiting for since they were young kids. Smashmouth Draft's very own Kristian D'Ignazio took a look at who showed up to the big game and helped their draft stock, and who on the other hand may have done the exact opposite.

NORTH TEAM: 


SOUTH TEAM: 

The Early NFL Draft Rumor Wire

Posted by smashmouthdraft | Posted in | Posted on 9:46 AM

0

In a year where the quarterback everyone is predicting to be selected first overall, decides to stay and finish his degree, you know full well there is room for many surprises come NFL Draft time. The rumors have been fired up non-stop, and I would like to comment on a few and share my opinions on the topics at hand.

 
"To those asking where Texans A+M LB Von Miller will go in the NFL draft, the early signs are, Top 5 pick."
Many people around the situation have one big question, how do we know this isn't a big smokescreen? Of course, this very well could be, but from a credited source from Schefter at ESPN and reports that head coach of the Arizona Cardinals Ken Whisenhunt was seen chatting to Von, it is safe to say this former Texas A&M stud could shoot up many draft boards into a top five selection.

If I am the Arizona Cardinals, there is no way I am making the play for Von this early in the draft. The Cardinals have the fifth selection come April, and really need to address many other issues on their football team. There is obviously a big premium on having guys who can protect your quarterback -- and who can get after the opposing quarterback in the NFL. However, drafting a player like a Von Miller doesn't necessarily bring you an all-around complete player to play in the 4-3 defense that Arizona runs.

Miller finished with an impressive eleven sacks, and sixty-eight total tackles in his 2010 season despite battling some injuries throughout the year. This was just one year removed from Miller boasting up an astonishing seventeen sacks in 2009. There is really no argument and debate that this senior of Desoto, Texas can't get to the quarterback. My big concern, and this is the general consensus around the entire NFL scouts at this point in time, what about the running game? At times, especially against LSU in the Cotton Bowl, Von absolutely disappeared and appeared to get bullied against a very physical SEC running attack from the Tigers. How can he hold up against the big mammoth type of offensive linemen in the National Football League? That is the question that needs to be answered from the 6'3, 237 pound stud.


Theredzone.org and NFL Network

In a statement that can't make last year's 2nd round pick Jimmy Clausen feel very secure about his job, Carolina Panthers' GM Marty Hurney indicated that quarterback is the team's No.1 need going into the 2011 draft. Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer reports Hurney made that observation Tuesday while watching Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, Alabama.

This rumor actually kind of puzzled me, but I have to come to understand this blurb for myself as a move of "blowing smoke" by the Carolina Panthers. There is no doubt in anybody's mind that in the 2011 Draft the Panthers would have selected the gun-slinger from Stanford Andrew Luck, heck, they even said it themselves they would have made the move for him with the first overall selection. Luck staying in school didn't help their predicament at the quarterback position, and now leaves them in a whirlwind of possibilities leading up to this Draft. The most obvious two situations I see the Carolina Panthers diving into include the Panthers selecting the number one player on my board A.J Green the wide receiver from Georgia, or taking the monster defensive tackle Nick Fairley from Auburn.

Blaine Gabbert is a young man who has received a lot of attention from ESPN analyst Todd McShay, and this had generally lead to the amount of hype he has seen from NFL Draft junkies. Blaine has a lot of the physical tools needed to succeed in the NFL, and he has scouts absolutely admiring his very quick release of the football. Gabbert has just as many critics as believers at this point in the entire process, and I would be classified as one of them.

There is a real chance that the former Missouri Tiger signal caller could fire up the boards himself, and land himself a Top 10 selection, but I wouldn't be fast to pull the trigger on him personally. I have Blaine ranked 4th in my quarterback rankings (soon to come, stay tuned!) behind the likes of Cam Newton, Ryan Mallett and even Jake Locker. This guy played in a spread offense, but not only was it a spread, this guy rarely chucked the football down the field, and in fact I am willing to bet Missouri ran screens almost more than any team last season. Truthfully, we don't know what Blaine can do under pressure when he has to put that football in a tight window across the middle of the field in the NFL. The tape doesn't show us it. Along with that, I am not very high on his footwork coming out of the spread. It is a bit sloppy, and he really doesn't always look confident when he is forced to make a throw in the fifteen to twenty yard range.

As the buzz continues around the National Football League and the Senior Bowl events in Mobile, Alabama, continue to check us out for news and opinions on the 2011 NFL Draft!

Written by Kristian D'Ignazio of Smashmouth Draft Inc. 

2011 Senior Bowl - South Practice Notes

Posted by smashmouthdraft | Posted in | Posted on 3:24 PM

0

As the South team practiced this afternoon, I took away a few key notes from the practice session.

OFFENSE:



-Noel Devine looks like a dwarf out there. He lost a lot of money when he weighed in, but even just going out on the field might not help him any either! Ha. This guy is going to slip a lot with the siz questions with the scouts. I don't see him being anything more than a specialist at best in the NFL with that size.



-During the heart of the practice, Greg McElroy really impressed me. He showed nice footwork in some quick footwork drills, and he threw some nice balls with some zip, that were in good spots. The question is his arm strength so moving forward it was nice to some good pop when it left his hand.


-Derek Sherrod in some drills was very questionable. His technique looked a little weak, and especially the bend in his knees is concerning. I want to see more of him during this week and especially him to show a bit more in the game. He is a finesse type of OT, so it is very critical he can show consistent technique these next few days. It was nice to see him hold his own with Acho in the 1-on-1 drills, though.


DEFENSE: 


-It really stings me to see Von Miller out there looking so small. The dude is absolutely jacked out of his mind, but he must get heavier to hold his own in the running game in the NFL. He looked great dropping back in the pass coverage drills, showing good hips, and excellent speed in coverage. Mayock could not not stop talking about Von..

-I don't think there is any man who looks like a house compared to Phil Taylor out of Baylor. He has scary size, and 34 teams looking for a DT will drool at this guy. He really can explode and he has great strength to drive his man back. I loved him in the 1-on-1 drills in the practices today.

OTHER NOTES:

-O'Dowd from USC really got exposed today. He looked terribly slow, and the coaches seemed to get on him a lot during the drills. I am not very happy with him at all.

-The former Longhorn stud Sam Acho looked pretty good today. He put together some nice battles with Derek Sherrod and he flip-flopped some wins and losses with him. I want to see him put together more moves than the basic bull-rush, though

-All the QBs looked pretty decent to me. It was a very basic practice, as we saw many runs in the 7-on-7 drills, but they didn't do anything crazy when they had the chance to chuck it. If I would have to rank the three I would rank them: McElroy, Dalton and Ponder based on the events of today.

-Jeremy Kerley really looked awesome today. He showed he can run nice crisp comeback routes, and he could also stretch the field. Kerley looks like a nice little pick that could help a team in many ways, as well as returning the football in special teams.

Written by Kristian D'Ignazio of Smashmouth Draft Inc. 

We are back!

Posted by smashmouthdraft | Posted in | Posted on 11:43 AM

0

Can the 2011 NFL Draft come any sooner? I mean, realistically, this is the time when any die hard football fan gets really excited. The Senior Bowl is this coming weekend with North-South practices ongoing. The Super Bowl is only two weeks away pitting the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in one exciting match-up.

With that, I am glad to say that Smashmouth Draft Inc. is back and running! If you would like to contact me, please feel free to message me at: smashmouthdraft@hotmail.com

Look in the coming days for Senior Bowl jot notes to be posted!

-Kristian D'Ignazio of Smashmouth Draft Inc.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)