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 Ryan Mallett's Draft Stock has fallen for some off-the-field issues (AP Photo) Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett has very little left to prove on a college football field. The Razorbacks‘ starting quarterback for the last three years, Mallett completed 63.6% of his passes last season. This is considered to be an elite completion percentage, and his other numbers are right along those lines across the board.
But are his off-the-field issues enough to curtail his draft stock?
The Good: There’s very little not to like about Mallett the quarterback. His size (6’6″, 238), arm strength (after a great Combine) and accuracy have drawn almost universal from NFL scouts. The physical tools are there for Mallett to have an extremely successful career at the professional level, and he’s also drawn comparisons to Joe Flacco for his command of an offense and big-time arm.
The Bad: The only real knock against Mallett’s playing abilities would be his questionable footwork. Scouts have pointed to his lack of mobility, which caused a lot of issues during the Razorbacks’ 2009 campaign. No one seems to be overly concerned about this, however, because footwork is a teachable fundamental.
The Ugly: This is where Mallett’s draft stock has taken an enormous hit. Widespread reports of Mallet’s drug use have cause several teams to be turned off by the young star. Even worse was his NFL Combine interview. Mallett frequently offered a “no comment” response, and hardly appeared professional in an interview setting. This has caused a number of teams to be fearful of potential baggage that Mallett will bring in the event that he is drafted.
DRAFT PREDICTION: Late first/Early second round. Mallett is almost certainly not going to fall further than the fourth overall pick in the second round to the Cincinnati Bengals, who have to find a new quarterback with Carson Palmer getting serious about his retirement threat. That being said, Mallett’s tools and potential could make him an enormous steal at this spot. My guess is he’ll find his way onto a team that trades up into the latter part of the first round to grab him.
PREDICTION: Boom. This kid is no joke. No matter what his off-the-field issues are, they typically can get corrected by the right people and the right situation. My feeling on this is that if a team is going to invest a tremendous amount of money in Mallett, they’re going to do their part to make sure Mallett doesn’t screw up their commitment.
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With the emergence of the Los Angeles Clippers most recent rising star, Blake Griffin, and the ever aging roster of the Los Angeles Lakers, a question comes to the NBA forefront:
 Blake "Gettin' Dunky" Griffin (NBA.com photo) How much longer are the Lakers going to be the dominant Los Angeles team?
The Lakers’ average age is now sitting a nice and neat 30.0, making them the NBA’s oldest team by 1.6 years over the Boston Celtics.
They also have nine players currently on their roster that are over the age of 30, including four of their starting five (Andrew Bynum being the lone exception).
It’s tough to predict something like this, but with the Clippers’ rising star sitting at age 21 (at least until March 16th) and the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant slowly but surely aging, the question is certainly out there.
Griffin is averaging 22.7 PPG, and 12.5 RPG through games beginning March 7th, while Bryant is sitting right around his career averages in both categories (roughly 25 PPG and 5 RPG), very slightly down from last year’s 27 PPG and 5.5 RPG.
With help coming in the form of a top college player in this year’s NBA draft, Griffin and the Clippers may one day soon finally be NBA relevant.
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 Colt McCoy fell all the way to the third round in the 2010 NFL Draft (AP photo) He’s been compared to Drew Brees. He was a winner in the Texas Longhorns’ football program. Yet many scouts said that the Cleveland Browns’ newest quarterback installment, Colt McCoy, would never succeed at the NFL level.
Why?
The comparison to Drew Brees is almost laughable. Scouts said that McCoy, much like Brees, is too small to play the quarterback position effectively at the next level. For those who have lived under a rock for the last year in the world of sports, Brees is the 5’9″ quarterback who is unanimously hailed as the main reason for the New Orleans Saints‘2010 Super Bowl win. If the biggest knock against Colt McCoy is that he’s a similar player to Brees, then I’m failing to see how he’s not going to be effective in the NFL.
And since when is being a winner in college football in Texas a bad thing? Last time I checked, Texas was one of the most popular states for college football in the United States. In reality, HIGH SCHOOL football is probably more popular in Texas than college football is in some states. Considering McCoy’s success there, I’m once again failing to see how he’s ultimately going to fail int he NFL.
The scouts who said these things about McCoy should be fired.
Congratulations Mike Holmgren, you’re building another winner.
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George Mason University basketball‘s Cam Long is college basketball’s Rodney Dangerfield; he just gets no respect.
 GoMason photo Mason’s 6’4″ Shooting Guard leads the nationally ranked Patriots in minutes, field goals, points, points per game, while providing the team with the senior leadership they lacked on last season’s 17-15 team. Despite this, Long is currently projected to be drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round, with the 48th overall pick by the respected web site NBA Draft Net.
Are there really 47 players better than Long right now?
NBA Draft Net doesn’t even think so.
They have Long rated even lower, as the 70th overall talent in college basketball. One of the biggest knocks against Long and his 87 (out of 120) overall rating is his size, which seems rather unfair considering the level of talent the NBA has seen over the years from “undersized” players. Don’t believe me? Ask Allen Iverson, Muggsy Bogues and Charles Barkley if their size mattered to their illustrious careers. It seems interesting that a player gets knocked for their height, when they are clearly a consistent performer on the basketball court.
Long’s potential is also rated as a 6 out of an overall 10 possible points. I’m curious as to how this number is reached, considering that the general majority of players that head to the NBA tend to improve their game.
Long is the type of player who wins games for teams. Not just in the NBA, but in every sport. The solid, does his job day in and day out, consistent performer that doesn’t complain?
I’ll take that on my team any day.
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 Cam Newton at an Auburn Tigers practice
Cam Newton is one of the most talked about prospects in this year’s NFL Draft. He’s widely heralded as one of the best college players in recent memory, and is one of the primary reasons that the Auburn Tigers‘ football team captured their third national championship in the 2010 season.
But is he really everything he’s cracked up to be?
The Good: There’s absolutely no questioning Newton’s talent. The 2010 Heisman trophy winner threw for 2,854 yards while completing 66.1% of his passes. He also gained an astounding 1,473 yards on the ground, giving him a total of 4,327 all-purpose yards in 14 games (a 309 yard per game average). Newton’s athleticism, arm strength, and potential make him a top ten pick to the majority of NFL scouts.
The Bad: Newton’s experience is fairly limited. After transferring from Florida to Blinn College (a junior college in Texas) to Auburn, Newton has now declared for the 2011 NFL Draft. He sat behind Tim Tebow in his time with Florida, but has lead each of his last two teams to championship games. Auburn’s shotgun offense has scouts questioning whether he has the ability to read NFL defenses from under center, and a lot of scouts therefore question his decision-making abilities.
The Ugly: Of course, with every athlete that has a ton of talent, comes the off-the-field antics. While Newton isn’t necessarily guilty of any really bad decisions, a lot of scouts and NFL teams could be turned off by his father, Cecil Newton, and his previous “influences” in Cam’s life. Newton is not the first or only player with off-the-field issues, but he is certainly the most prominent.
DRAFT PREDICTION: Much like Tim Tebow, some team will fall enough in love with Cam Newton to make him their first round pick. The majority of mock drafters have him in the top ten, but a lot can happen between now and draft day. My guess at this point would be that most of the mock drafters are right and he will go to some team with a high pick. The really interesting aspect is whether a team lower in the draft will like what they see enough to trade up for him (see: Mark Sanchez).
PREDICTION: Boom. As much as this kid has to learn, he’s going to be taught it by professional coaches. No matter what team he goes to, there are people who are paid to make sure prospects like Newton shape the franchise for years. His athleticism and strength will give him a distinct advantage in this department.
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It’s a date that only comes once a year. It’s a day to remember how much we missed that part of our lives and contemplate how even their imperfections make them perfect for you. Ah yes, February 14th…
The day that pitchers and catchers report back to work.
 (AP Photo) Spring Training is the time of year for players work out all the kinks and get back into playing shape for the long season that awaits them. It’s a time for teams to get excited about the prospects of anything from improvement to winning a championship.
It’s also a time for fans to get excited about the future of their teams.
With love being so much in the air at this time of year, here’s a look at three prospects that baseball enthusiasts will fall in love with over the course of the 2011 Major League Baseball season.
Prospect #1: Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
Who is he?: If you’re like me, when you heard the Tampa Bay Rays traded Matt Garza, you couldn’t believe your ears. However, if you’re as like me as you think, you tried not to care because it’s not your favorite team, then curiosity got the best of you and you searched their prospect list. Before you know it, you’re reading about a 23 year old Iowa native with an 89-93 MPH fastball, and plus changeup that projects him into the middle of Tampa’s 2011 rotation. Hellickson already has the polish and development to help the Rays now, and will be working hard all spring to develop a curve ball to round out his repertoire.
2011 Outlook: Expect Hellickson to fill the 5-spot in the rotation, with Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis each sliding up one spot.
Prospect #2: Freddie Freeman, 1B, Atlanta Braves
Who is he?: With Derrek Lee leaving for the “greener pastures” of the Baltimore Orioles and Camden Yards (insert massive eye roll here), the Braves will turn to 21 year old Freddie Freeman to man first base. Scouts are divided on Freeman’s power potential, but his .319-18-87 line at Triple-A Gwinnett last year has Atlanta management convinced he’s ready for the next step. The Braves are so confident in the kid, they didn’t even bother to bring in any veteran competition to push him.
2011 Outlook: With Freeman’s only competition being super-utility player Eric Hinske, expect him to easily claim the job in Spring Training. He’ll likely hit eighth initially to get his feet wet, but look for improvement as the season progresses.
Prospect #3: Dustin Ackley, 2B, Seattle Mariners
Who is he?: Ackley, the number two overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, is overshadowed in large part because the man picked before him, Stephen Strasburg, has gotten all of the attention. That said, Ackley is not exactly a slouch on the baseball field. He swung the bat to the tune of a .267-7-51 line between the Double and Triple-A affiliates of the Mariners last season, but what impressed the scouts was his plate discipline. A BB/K ratio of 75/79 had him rated as one of the most patient minor league hitters of 2010; an attribute displayed by many of the games’ best hitters.
2011 Outlook: Without a better option, Ackley looks like a decent bet to win the Mariners’ second base job outright this spring. Ackley will likely experience some initial growing pains, but don’t be fooled: this kid’s future is bright.
Happy baseball season to all!
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