The Detroit Lions reached an agreement Friday night with Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford to make him the first pick in the NFL draft on Saturday.
According to a source, Stafford will receive a six-year, $72 million deal with $41.7 million guaranteed. The contract could be worth as much as $78 million if Stafford achieves all of his playing incentives. The guaranteed money tops the $41 million in guarantees Albert Haynesworth received from the Washington Redskins earlier this offseason.
Stafford said he was out to dinner with his parents in Manhattan when he got the news from his agent. "I'm pretty pumped," he told ESPN's Rachel Nichols. Now he just wants to "get that playbook and learn it as fast as possible."
The Lions intensified negotiations for Stafford the past three days, knowing they also could reach a less expensive deal with Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. After Curry's agents visited Detroit's minicamp during the weekend, Lions president Tom Lewand focused on Stafford.
The Stafford deal is the richest given to a draft choice in history, topping the five-year, $57.5 million contract the Dolphins gave to tackle Jake Long last season, and the six-year, $72 million contract Matt Ryan received from the Atlanta Falcons.
The language of the contract must still be agreed upon and approved by the management council.
As the week began, the Lions were down to three choices -- Stafford, Curry and Baylor tackle Jason Smith, but the team was insistent on having a contract in place with the first-round pick before the draft started Saturday.
Detroit desperately needs a quarterback to help turn around the NFL's first 0-16 team, and is turning to Stafford after he was a starter in each of his three seasons at Georgia.
Stafford will not be able to fix all of the problems associated with a franchise that has gone 31-97 since 2001 in what has been the worst eight-year stretch by an NFL team since the Chicago Cardinals won 23 percent of their games from 1936 to 1943.
But the Lions can't afford to draft another bust.
"Obviously, the draft is the biggest crap shoot there is," Stafford recently acknowledged.
Recent No. 1 picks have proved that.
Eight of the past 11 players taken first overall in the NFL have been QBs, and half of them either haven't or didn't pan out for the teams that took them.
For every Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer, guys such as Time Couch and David Carr have shown there are no guarantees.
Stafford might get a chance to learn from the sideline initially, backing up Daunte Culpepper.
First-year coach Jim Schwartz has said Detroit's staff studied Stafford extensively on film.
"We've seen every pass he's thrown in the last two years, and that's where you learn about his decision-making ability," Schwartz said last month.
The Lions also interviewed Stafford, attended his pro day at Georgia and had a private workout with him to learn more about him as a person.
Apparently, they're convinced he is the man to be the face, voice and arm of perhaps the biggest rebuilding project in NFL history.
He was 27-7 as a starter for the Bulldogs, throwing for nearly 51 touchdowns and nearly 8,000 yards with a powerful arm.
"I was relaxing and my hands were relaxing and the ball just shot through and hit me right in the face," Georgia teammate A.J. Green said last year.
When Schwartz was hired last winter, he joked that it was about time to replace Bobby Layne, who starred at quarterback for the Lions when they were an NFL power in the 1950s.
In a coincidence, Stafford and Layne both played at Highland Park High School in Dallas.
John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft09/news/story?id=4097641
Well, it’s that time of year again. The 2009 NFL Draft is coming up this weekend, and I thought it was only fitting I create one last mock draft before it begins. Rather than overanalyzing every single pick, I’m going to do this in list format, giving each pick a little piece of why I think he goes there.
1. Detroit Lions – Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia: This is the no brainer pick for the Lions. Stafford will sit for a year behind Daunte Culpepper, and he’ll come in next year to try to turn around this franchise.
2. St. Louis Rams – Jason Smith, OL, Baylor: Smith is the best Left Tackle prospect, and the Rams need that position badly.
3. Kansas City Chiefs – Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forrest: Anyone who says LSU DE Tyson Jackson gets picked here is a moron. Curry is the best defensive prospect, and the Chiefs need a LB.
4. Seattle Seahawks – Mark Sanchez. QB, USC: As much as I hate this pick, I think the Seahawks would benefit from taking Sanchez to learn behind Hasslebeck, much like Carson Palmer did in Cincinnati.
5. Cleveland Browns – Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech: Deep down, I believe Braylon Edwards
will be traded, and it’s still uncertain if Donte Stallworth will be playing this season due to legal troubles.
6. Cincinnati Bengals – Andre Smith, OL, Alabama: The Bengals need a lot of help, and O-Line would be a great starting point.
7. Oakland Raiders – Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri: The fact of the matter is, nobody in this draft plays at the speed Maclin does, and Al Davis loves speed.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars – B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College: The Jags proves last season that Rob Meier was not a suitable replacement for the traded Marcus Stroud. Tha makes Raji a great pick here.
9. Green Bay Packers – Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas: The Packers are making the transition to a 3-4 defense, and O”Sack”po as he was known at Texas is the ideal fit for them.
10. San Francisco 49ers – Aaron Maybin, DE/LB, Penn State: Maybin’s stock has recently skyrocketed, and I think head coach Mike Singletary will like Maybin’s tenacity.
11. Buffalo Bills – Eugene Monroe, OL, Virginia: Monroe is the best talent available at this position, and the Bills need to replace the recently traded Jason Peters at LT.
12. Denver Broncos – Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU: While Jackson isn’t the best prospect available at his position, Denver has fallen in love with him.
13. Washington Redskins – Robert Ayers, DE, Tennessee: Ayers is the best pure DE in this draft, and the ‘Skins have an obvious need for him.
14. New Orleans Saints – Brian Cushing, OLB, USC: Everyone has Malcolm Jenkins, the CB/S prospect from Ohio State going here. But therein lies the problem, the Saints just signed Jabari Greer (CB), and Darren Sharper (S) to tie up both those needs. OLB is the next spot needed.
15. Houston Texans – Malcolm Jenkins, CB/S, Ohio State: Jenkins will be a great fit for the Texans, likely playing Safety his first season while the Texans continue to groom Dominique Barber into the Safety they need, and then move Jenkins to CB across from Dunta Robinson.
16. San Diego Chargers – Rey Maualuga, MLB, USC: The Chargers don’t have a ton of pressing needs, but could use a MLB prospect like Maualuga, letting Shawn Merriman play the rush LB position he is used to.
Source:
http://www.bigsportsreport.com/updated-2009-nfl-mock-draft/
The Arizona Cardinals have reduced their trade demands for disgruntled receiver Anquan Boldin to a second-round pick in Saturday's draft and other considerations and are talking to at least three teams who seem to be newly interested, two sources told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio on Friday.
The New York Jets, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles have expressed interest given the downgraded demands from a first- and third-round pick, the sources said.
Cardinals general manager Rod Graves and coach Ken Whisenhunt had repeatedly emphasized at the team's pre-draft news conference Tuesday that they would be happy to keep Boldin and eventually try to sign him to a new contract.
"Quite a few teams have called but we have no offers from those teams," Graves said Tuesday. "Anything can evolve from this point through draft day so that's where it is right now."
Boldin expressed extreme displeasure with his contract in last season's training camp, accusing Cardinals management of failing to follow through on a promise of a new deal and vowing never to re-sign with Arizona.
Still, he went on to have his third Pro Bowl season in six years in the NFL as the Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl.
"I didn't say a trade was necessary," Boldin said last week. "I just want something to get resolved. It's something that's gone on long enough."
Boldin has two years remaining on a four-year, $22.25 million contract. He earned $4 million last season.
By comparison, teammate Larry Fitzgerald is in the second season of a four-year, $40 million deal, with $30 million guaranteed. Fitzgerald and quarterback Kurt Warner have said they would be open to altering their contracts in order to keep Boldin.
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4096399
EA Sports revealed the cover for Madden 2010 today, and they broke new ground by featuring two cover boys: Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu sharing the limelight in a big hair battle.
This is the first time in the 21 year history of the video game that the cover has featured 2 star athletes, which then begs the necessary question: will both Troy AND Fitty fall victim to the Madden curse equally, or will they each be only half-cursed with minor injuries?
For the record, Fitz was on the cover of NCAA Football 2005 and came through the season just fine.
Source: http://blog.ingamenow.com/2009/04/24/madden-2010-cover-revealed-with-larry-fitzgerald-and-troy-polamalu/
This was a throwback game to the type of Lakers-Jazz playoff games that we saw a little over a decade ago.
The Utah Jazz used a huge advantage on the boards and some great execution in the fourth quarter to beat a Lakers team that struggled to get their star and role players going throughout the entire night. Carlos Boozer channeled his inner-Karl Malone by grabbing as many rebounds as he possibly could and using his strength inside to dominate down low. He finished off his 22-rebound performance by scoring 23 points, including six huge points down the stretch to help close out the Lakers. Going into this series, it never seemed like we'd get to see Carlos Boozer perform like this because of LA's size advantage and Paul Millsap breathing down the veteran's neck for playing time. But Boozer stepped up when his needed it the most and it kept them from going down 0-3.
For Los Angeles, it was just another typical playoff game in Utah with another typical playoff game in Utah by Kobe Bryant. They've now won just three of their past 11 playoff games in Utah. And Kobe Bryant resembled the young shooting guard who airballed shots four times as a rookie against the Jazz than the Kobe who is currently in the Top 10 in career playoff points. Kobe Bryant was defended perfectly by an active and strong Ronnie Brewer and the random double teams that the Jazz threw at him. They double-teamed him off of pick and rolls and trapped him whenever he attacked a side of the floor. He was never allowed to get into a flow, which resulted in him shooting just 1-10 from the field in the first half and 5-24 for the game. Usually, when Kobe struggles with his shot like that, he passes the ball around forces the issue and gets to the free throw line to supplement his scoring numbers. But the Jazz only sent him there eight times, which kept him from being much of a factor on offense.
But that wasn't all for the Jazz's attack on the Lakers. Their reserves out-executed the Lakers' reserves in the fourth quarter and showed the depth that I glorified in the pre-season. Paul Millsap scored just seven points but he was huge on the boards with 14 rebounds. Matt Harpring also came alive and scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter when the Jazz took back the momentum. And Kyle Korver hit a huge three to put the Jazz up three at 79-76 with 4:28 left in the game. The Lakers reserves and role players weren't nearly as productive outside of Lamar Odom's 21 points. Andrew Bynum was a non-factor with five fouls in seven minutes and the backcourt off the bench of Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic were completely useless.
Why the Jazz Won This GameThe Jazz won this game because they executed when they needed to. On the final three possessions of the game, the Jazz went to Jerry Sloan's textbook plays that have been branded in Utah Jazz basketball for the past 20+ years. With about 50 seconds left in the game, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer ran the old pick and roll, which led to a Boozer lay-up when the Lakers rotation didn't get there quickly enough. After Kobe Bryant tied the game up on an inbounds lay-up, the Jazz fed Boozer near the baseline and let him go to work against Pau Gasol. He blew past Pau and dunked the ball emphatically like he was trying to earn a big off-season payday. Then on the final possession for the Jazz with the game tied after Pau answered with a dunk of his own, Deron Williams channeled his inner-John Stockton by scoring on a pull-up jumper for the win. Their final plays and execution never broke down and ran like clockwork.
Why the Lakers Lost This GameThe Lakers lost this game because Kobe Bryant wasn't able to score whenever he needed to. Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko were phenomenal in cutting off driving angles and Carlos Boozer did a great job of trapping Bryant along with Paul Millsap. Kobe forced wild shots and had very little touch on his close jumpers. He didn't go into Kobe-mode where he tried to put the game on his shoulders and he didn't go into "I'm going to show you how much of a team player I am" mode. He was stuck in limbo with his offensive attack and an indecisive Kobe is not going to lead the Lakers to a playoff win on the road.
Heading into Game FourThe Lakers need to push the tempo of the game and get Utah down big early in the game. They kept the game fast-paced in Los Angeles and thrived off the energy that style gave them. It allowed Trevor Ariza to be a dangerous weapon, which eventually opened things up for Kobe Bryant. For the Jazz, they need to keep their offensive attack slower and efficient. They can't run with the Lakers and can't allow the flow of the game to get out in front of what they're capable of competing with when it comes to battling the Lakers.
Source:
http://talkhoops.net/2009/04/2009-nba-playoffs-lakers-jazz-game-3-recap.html
