Every QB Taken In The First Round Could Start On Opening Day

NEW YORK The Carolina Panthers did not select Cam Newton with the first overall choice of the 2011 NFL draft to sit - and he could have plenty of company from rookie quarterbacks being asked to learn on the job this season. There were four quarterbacks selected in the first round Thursday night - the most in a draft since the great quarterback class of 2004 that included Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. That class has three Super Bowl rings already.

All four of the quarterbacks from the Class of 2011 will have the opportunity to start on opening day. None of the quarterbacks from the Class of 2004 started on opening day.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/04/29/1991258/all-quarterbacks-selected-in-first.html

Carolina Selects Cam Newton At # 1

NEW YORK -- Quarterback Cam Newton was selected with the No. 1 pick by the Carolina Panthers on Thursday as the NFL returned to to some semblance of normalcy with its college draft. Newton's selection marked the third straight draft in which a quarterback was taken with the first pick. The Heisman Trophy winner led Auburn to the national championship in January.

"It was just like a shot went through my body," Newton said, recounting the feeling he had when he heard commissioner Roger Goodell call his name as the top pick.

"It's time to get to work now," Newton added.

Why Da'Quan Bowers is the Biggest Steal of the 2011 NFL Draft

Former Clemson Tigers defensive end Da'Quan Bowers has been the topic of more NFL Draft freefall-causing allegations than anyone since (fill in the blank). Can you name anyone?

Honestly there are few, if any, who began as such a surefire first pick who then have fallen down draft boards to this degree. On December 25, there was very little doubt that Bowers would be the Carolina Panthers' No. 1 pick. Now, three months later, there is probably less than a 10th of a percent chance at the Panthers making Bowers the next Mario Williams.

But why?

CARRY ON

http://www.nationalfootballauthority.com/2011/04/why-daquan-bowers-is-biggest-steal-of.html

Excitement, Uncertainty Encompass Hurney, NFL As Draft Week Begins

There's a different feel to this draft. It's somewhere between indifference and total confusion. Last week, co-hosting the Sirius NFL Radio "Opening Drive'' show with Bob Papa, we had only two callers on hold midway through the show, at 9 a.m. "That's how it's been like almost every morning,'' Papa told me off the air. "Last year before the draft, the lines were jammed every day. Now, not so much.''

It'll be interesting to see if there's the typical draft fever Thursday night at Radio City. Will Roger Goodell get booed? Will he get a cool shoulder from the drafted first-rounders? Maybe ... but in the end this draft will be a very fun story because it's got so much that we won't expect.

"A total chess match,'' said my friend Rick Gosselin, the longtime NFL columnist for the Dallas Morning News, whose first-round projection on the morning of the draft is always the first thing I look for on draft day. "There's no real number-one quality pick, and you've got a screaming need for quarterbacks by so many teams, with no lock franchise quarterback in the draft. I see trades, maybe two teams moving down because they don't want to over-draft quarterbacks, and maybe two other teams trading up from the second round to get quarterbacks low in the first round. It's one of the most unpredictable drafts I remember.''

The draft, as well as what's wafting through Marty Hurney's head this morning, the real story with an important first-round foot, Ryan Mallett shooting himself in his, Bill Parcells parceling out a few draft secrets, a coach and a tornado, another offseason ordeal for Brandon Marshall, and Peter King the Juror. Just another manic Monday.

Carry On

Discussion Thread

The High Cost Of Living The NFL Dream

Football is the false American dream. It is a rags to riches to rags story. It is fathers dreaming of their young boys making it for the thrills, the popularity, the cash. Work ethic gets you there. Hustle gets you there. Teamwork, commitment, toughness. The NFL. The dream.
All those virtues add up. They leave players broken down physically. We've learned recently how they attack the brain, leave players mush-minded. What's emerging now is that also leaves them financially troubled.

NFL players have been locked out for only six weeks in the labor battle with the league. And reports are many players are already taking out short-term, high-interest loans because they're in trouble with money.
I thought the NFL labor troubles were about billionaires vs. millionaires, owners vs. players. Players make so much money that they have the means to wait this thing out.
Wrong. Plenty of them are already out of money, losing time on ultra-short careers. The NFL Players Association acknowledged getting a letter from a splinter group of players not with the highest paydays, wanting a place at the table now. Now!

How can this be? It is the dream. And it's maddening how irresponsible they are with that dream, our dream. In this economy, these guys get that kind of money, only to blow it all?
We hear stories about lottery winners who blow all their money, too. Evander Holyfield had trouble paying his electric bill. Where does all the money go?

Ed Butowsky knows.

CARRY ON
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2011-04-22/wake-up-call-the-high-cost-of-living-the-nfl-dream








 

The Truth About Spread Offenses

Cam Newton led the country in pass efficiency rating, accounted for 4,327 yards of total offense and scored more touchdowns in 2010 (51) than 82 entire teams in the FBS. Oh yeah, he also won the Heisman Trophy and led the Auburn Tigers to a rather unexpected national title.

Yet, when asked if Newton will excel at the next level, many experts and players believe, despite Newton's success in college, he will not be able to translate his success onto the NFL field.

"Would I take him No. 1? Absolutely not," New York Giants DE Justin Tuck said of Newton, while appearing as a panelist at the MIT Sports Analytics conference in early March. "If he comes into the league doing what he did in college, he won't be in this league for very long."

CARRY ON............

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2011/news/story?id=6355471

Discussion Thread

http://carolinapanthercoalition.com/showthread.php?p=122294#post122294

WR's A.J. Green, Julio Jones Set Themselves Apart Heading Into NFL Draft

A.J. Green and Julio Jones have been linked since their days as prep-school stars in the Deep South.

Both were rated among the top 10 prospects in America as high school seniors. Green was regarded as the best prep receiver in South Carolina history. Sports Illustrated ranked Jones as the nation's No. 1 overall player out of Foley, Ala.

Both starred for three seasons in the rugged Southeastern Conference, Green at Georgia and Jones at Alabama.
And now both are projected as top 10 picks in the NFL draft.
"Me and Julio are just alike," Green said. "We don't get caught up in the hype, and we're just two guys trying to be the best."

Carry On............. http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2011/04/wide_receivers_aj_green_julio.html

Discussion Thread
http://carolinapanthercoalition.com/showthread.php?p=122208#post122208