2012 Draft Order

The playoffs begin this weekend, and we are all extremely excited to see what happens.  12 teams go into a 'win or go home' tournament, that is sure to capture the imagination of the world.  But what happens if, like me, you are a fan of a team that is not in the playoffs??  We are already looking forward to the next stage in the development of our teams.  Following the completion of Sundays games, we now know what the draft order will be, from positions 1 - 20.  Take a look, and start to plan for who your team may be looking at come April.

Colts

Rams

Vikings

Browns

Buccaneers

Redskins

Jaguars

Panthers
(Dependent on
coin flip at
combine)

Dolphins
(Dependant on
coin flip at
combine)

Bills

Chiefs
(Dependant on
coin flip at
combine)

Seahawks
(Dependant on
coin flip at
combine)

Cardinals

Cowboys

Eagles

Jets

Bengals
(recieved from
Raiders in
Carson Palmer
trade)

Chargers

Bears

Titans

So there you have it.  Pick 8 (between Panthers and Dolphins), and pick 11 (between Chiefs and Seahawks) will be decided at the combine by a flip of a coin.  Also The Bengals (pick 17) are the only playoff team to pick in the top 20, thanks to the trade of Carson Palmer to the Raiders.

Start planning your teams needs and maybe even which players that they will select in April, and I would love to know your thoughts.  Either leave them here as a comment, email me - nflgbview@googlemail.com or tweet me - nflgbview

How do we deal with the hurry up offence?

The hurry up offence in the NFL has become a real weapon, that defences have struggled to cope with.  The offence hurries to line following the completion of the previous play, calls the play at the line, and snaps the ball before the defence has chance to react, and or substitute. 

Patriots QB Tom Brady is an expert in the hurry up

The masters of this style of offence are the New England Patriots and QB Tom Brady.  Brady is a fantastic QB, who reads defences very well, and can easily pick out the weaknesses.  With the introduction of hybrid players such as TE / WR's Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, as well as RB / WR Danny Woodhead, the Patriots can line up in many different formations, without the need for substituting.  This allows the offence to hurry, not allowing the the defence to substitute out of the package they are in.  For example, the Patriots could line up with 2 TE's (Hernandez and Gronkowski) 1 RB (Woodhead) and 2 WR's (Ochocinco and Welker).  The defence may decide to go with their base defence against this on 1st down, lets say for example they line up 4 - 3, 4 down lineman, 3 LB's 2 CB's and 2 S's.  This defence can cope with this offence.  But then on 2nd down, Brady can go 5 WR's, without making a substitution.  As the Patriots hurry to the line the defence could not make substitutions themselves, meaning that the LB's will have to cover Hernandez, Gronkowski and Woodhead, who will be running WR routes.  On this play the defence is in real trouble.

2 Giants fall to the floor, without a Ram in sight

Many other teams have being using this hurry up style, including the St Louis Rams on Monday Night against the Giants.  But how do defences deal with this??  Well the Giants came up with a very effective, but very morally wrong way.  They decided that when they wanted to slow the Rams down, they would have somebody fake an injury, in order for an injury timeout to be called.  This was obvious when 2 players fell over with nobody even near them as the Rams were lining up for a play.  FAKE AN INJURY!!! What is this??  This is supposed to be FOOTBALL - a game played by gladiators.  In my opinion this is pathetic, and blatantly cheating.

Thankfully the NFL agrees, and has sent a memo to all the teams this week explaining that this will not be tolerated, and that if teams or players are found guilty, there will be serious consequences.  This could include fines for players and coaches, suspensions, and even loss of draft picks.  I think that the NFL has taken a great stance on this subject, and I hope that it carries these threats out to teams that offend.  We all love this game because its played by warriors, lets not allow it to go the same way as Soccer.

Eagles 31 Falcons 35

The 'Game of the Week' for week 2 took place in the Georgia Dome on Sunday Night Football.  The Eagles and the Falcons are expected to be 2 of the top teams in the NFC, and this was seen as an early look at a possible playoff game in January.  The Falcons needed to bounce back following last weeks loss in Chicago, and the 'dream team' Eagles were looking to get their 2nd road win of the year.  The added storyline here was the return of QB Michael Vick to Atlanta.  Vick hadn't played in Atlanta since he was sacked by the team, following his conviction, and subsequent jailing, for dog fighting activities.

Vick left the field with a concussion

As expected, Vick heard the boos from the Atlanta crowd that used to worship him, from the first time he stepped on the field.  It didn't bother Vick though, as he threw for 242 yards and 2 TD's in the first 3 quarters.  On a play late in the 3rd quarter, Vick dropped back to pass, before being hit by a couple of Atlanta defenders, and his head bounced off one of his OL.  Vick fell to the floor and suffered a concussion.  As he was walking to the locker room, the Atlanta crowd jeered him, before Vick reminded them, with a point to the scoreboard, that the Eagles were up by 10 points.  Backup QB Vince Young was inactive due to a hamstring injury, so it was up to 3rd string QB Mike Kafka, to preserve the Eagles lead.

The Eagles played very well throughout this game.  RB LeSean McCoy ran for 95 yards, but it was the DL that was really impressive.  DE Trent Cole in particular was causing chaos in the Falcons backfield.  But it was the turnovers that finally cost the Eagles.  Vick threw an INT, and lost 2 fumbles, all leaving Eagles points on the field.  Falcons QB Matt Ryan didn't have the best day through the air, throwing for just 195 yards, but he did have 4 TD passes.  RB Michael Turner really helped the Falcons cause in their comeback.  He had a total of 114 yards including a 61 yard run that helped set up the game winning TD.

Kafka almost led the Eagles to victory

The Eagles did have one last chance to sneak the win, in the last 4 minutes.  Kafka had to start from his own 9, but put together a great drive, including a 43 yard pass completion to WR Jeremy Maclin.  It was 4th and 4 at the Atlanta 4 with just under 2 minutes left when Kafka dropped back to pass, hitting Maclin in the chest, and the ball fell to the ground sealing the win for the Falcons. 

This win was a great reaction by the Falcons following last week, and has made me feel alot better about them being my Superbowl pick.  The Eagles are a very talented team, and will win alot of games as the season goes on.  I would love to see this match up again in January.