Bleacher Report - Articles by Nick V

Why Are the New York Giants Not Going After Big Time Receivers?

Nick V — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:17:55 -0500

Reports have come out now that the Giants could be in position to get one of two recievers. These two recievers are both proven young NFL recievers named Boldin and Edwards. The names make Giants fans salavate and give some hope for a reciever to resemble what Burress did for us.

I am not saying that either of these guys are as good as Plax when he is prime and as for a red zone target Plax was one of the best. But both of these guys can catch the long ball and both can score the ball.

Boldin (28) caught for 1038 yards scored 11 touchdowns and missed time due to a visious hit.

Edwards (26) went for 873 yards but only scored three TD's which many believe was because terrible QB troubles. Most judge him on his peformance the year before in which he racked up 1289 yards and 16 TDs.

The Giants new aquisitions of Rocky Bernard and Chris Canty join Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka, Fred Robins, Barry Coefield, and Jay Alford to form a dominant D-line. This has become the focal point of what teams want in a trade.

The Rumored Deals or What Teams Want in Return:

Deal One:

Cleveland Gets: Mathias Kiwanuka

Giants Get: Braylon Edwards

Deal Two:

Arizona Gets: Mathias Kiwanuka or second round pick and Jay Alford

Giants Get: Anquan Boldin

Now looking at these deals I cannot see why the Giants would not be all over these. Especially the Boldin deal in which we only have to give up Alford from our current roster who has now become fourth or fifth on our DT depth chart.

Canty can play either DE or DT and Bernard is clearly a better DT than Alford. We have two second round picks parting with one of them for Anquan seems reasonable.

I believe it is worth the risk as well because who knows what will happen with Burress considering he still has issues with fines he recieved from his incident by the Giants. He also has a four game suspension to serve. If he comes back then we have one of these players and him which is great.

Unfortunately Giants fans GM Jerry Reese has come out and said that the team will PROBABLY hold on to all its defensive line players. Lets hope that probably is very weak and we can make some sort of deal.

Matt Cassel Trade May Cause Draft Chaos

Nick V — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:11:25 -0500

This year’s draft could be as crazy as ever. As we all know early on the Chiefs were a team speculated to be in the hunt for a QB. They were projected early to draft Matthew Stafford in the NFL draft when Sam Bradford was projected to come out as well. This has all rapidly changed however.

Scott Pioli, the former Patriots GM, moved to the Chiefs and traded a second round pick for his former team’s backup turned starter Matt Cassel. This trade removed Kansas City from any discussion of drafting a QB.

The other drama that has come out of this trade is with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were reported to have been in talks with the Patriots trying to make a deal for Cassel. They were even willing to give up their first round pick No. 12 overall to get the Patriots backup.

These reports obviously made big headlines and enraged starting QB Jay Cutler. Cutler now wants out of Denver and is at odds end with new coach Josh McDaniels.

Naturally when teams heard of this news the trade offers started rolling in. One of the key suitors has been said to the Detroit Lions who currently hold the number one overall pick in the 2009 draft.

The Lions have cleared cap room already needed to get the pro bowl QB. They traded former starter John Kitna and have restructured Daunte Culpepper’s contract to make him easy to cut with not much guaranteed money.

Also a team with so many needs such as the Lions could desperately use a proven QB and use their picks to address their other huge holes.

If this is the case I am guessing the Lions trade the No. 20 overall pick not No. 1. This causes a huge slide for these top QBs such as Stafford and Sanchez.

San Fran could be in the discussion for one of these guys but Kurt Warner could possibly be heading their way. You would have to think Denver at No. 12 would be the first person to draft one of these players if they have no QB.

Houston is projected to draft Sanchez according to ESPN’s Todd McShay, but could easily pass on him due to other needs. Also Detroit would be drafting a different player with No. 1 overall selection which most likely would be one of the elite Offensive Lineman or LB Aaron Curry.

Other moves that change draft selections or options is the signing of TJ Houshmanzadeh by the Seahawks and the Giants signings of Rocky Bernard, Michael Boley, and Chris Canty. This makes the Giants look like big players in the draft to address the WR position and the Seahawks no longer have to look towards a wideout.

Also lets remember that there are also some big free agents left such as Ray Lewis, Marvin Harrison, Kurt Warner, Derrick Ward, Matt Birk, Mike Peterson, Leigh Bodden and more that could fill needs for teams. Not to mention player that are looking for trades such as Anquan Boldin, Julius Peppers, and possibly Donovan McNabb.

Overall this is one of the more interesting offseasons I can remember and there should only be more craziness to come. Who knows what will transpire with Cutler and the Broncos but a simple trade attempt could have a drastic affect on the rest of the league and the NFL draft.

Rampage Jackson in Line for Upset?

Nick V — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:23:19 -0500

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson exploded back onto the scene in December, knocking out Wanderlei Silva with a left hand from hell.

It seemed clear after the fight Jackson was on his way back to the top to reclaim the belt which he feels was unjustly taken from his waist. Even UFC president Dana White stated Quinton is next in line for a shot at the Light-Heavyweight title.

Rashad Evans, however, was coming off a tough three-round fight with Forrest Griffin and needed extra time off to rest. With this news, Rampage became Dana’s new "Chuck" and decided to fight regardless.

His next scheduled bout is with Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine, who is coming off a win over former Heavyweight Brandon Vera. Jardine is a well-respected fighter in the Light-Heavyweight division.

He is especially known for a few things: His awkward style, toughness, and his upsets. He has already defeated two of the UFC’s former champions, Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. I wonder if Rampage could be the third former champ on his upset list.

Jardine’s style scores all the right signs for a Rampage upset. Jardine picks apart fighters with his herky-jerky movements, but he feasts upon counter strikers who cannot get comfortable with this style.

Rampage is most diffidently a counter striker who waits for his opportunity and then lands a big shot. The problem is whether Jackson will ever find that big shot. Another big aspect of Jardine’s game is his leg kicks which we have seen can be a problem for Jackson.

Jardine has shown flaws that Rampage can take advantage of if he decides to change his game. Powerful strikers such as Houston Alexander and Wanderlei Silva have shown the best way to Jardine’s chin is aggressiveness. Both these fighters turned the fight into a brawl and knocked out Jardine in the first round.

Jardine has a tendency to get into a brawl. He also did this with Forrest, but Griffin didn’t have the power to put him away or the chin to withstand the blows. Rampage has plenty of power and a pretty solid chin and this may not be the only way to win the fight but should be one to look into.

I am a huge Rampage fan and believe that he will win the fight, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried.

In the UFC, It's Time for Change: Rankings a Solution?

Nick V — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:30:43 -0500

I keep hearing complaints on this site about divisional integrity. Comments have been made of super-fights and other money-making ventures hurting the growth of weight classes.

This got me thinking that there had to be a solution to hold the weight classes together, build new contenders, and still allow us to put on great exciting fights.

Professional sports such as the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL have long seasons and ultimately playoffs, so that it can provide the best teams to face off. College sports such as basketball, soccer, and baseball have ranking systems and polls to determine the best and place them into their postseasons.

College football has the BCS, which has its flaws, but it is better than a couple of guys sitting around coming up with who they think are the best.

So, I ask why this system is okay when it comes to combat sports. Now, I know what I am about to suggest will bring around other problems and debates, but having a structured system in place is better than not having one at all.

I believe the UFC would be better served if they ranked their fighters. Here is how I purpose it works.

Fighters and media poll

Who better to rank their opposition and piers than the fighters themselves? They know who is tough and talented perhaps better than anyone else. This may cause camp loyalties in certain areas, but many fighters that are friends or training partners don’t fight at the same weight.

Also, we deal with this in collegiate sports from coaches biased towards their conference, but it all seems to work out in the end.

Just the fighters might lead to some problems though so you have several media groups that cover MMA closely vote as well. With all these votes we should get a pretty good system as to where everyone stands.

This would stop confusion when Dana always says someone is about to break into his mythical “top five” or “top 10”.

Poll Rules

-Each weight class would have rankings of the top 15-25 fighters.

-Fighters may only be ranked in one weight class only. This will hopefully prevent fighters from division hopping (B.J. Penn).

-Champs will be ranked as well. This way, if someone comes out ranked in front of a champion, they are automatically scheduled for champs next fight.

-A fighter must be coming off a win in order to be the No. 1 contender. (GSP could get instant rematch with Serra.)

-Fighters will have to receive a certain amount of points before being labeled a top contender. In the case of the lightweight division, there wasn’t a true top contender until recently.

-If more than one fighter has enough points to be No. 1 contender, then it will be up to the matchmakers.

-If you don’t fight within a year, you will lose ranking from the poll until next fight.

-Fighters must have at least two fights in the UFC in the last two years in the weight class to be considered for the poll. Meaning, if a fighter like Randy Couture retires, he may not just return and fight for the Heavyweight title.

Although, in his case, he could have returned had a fight and then used previous fights to contend for the LHW belt.

-A champion needs to defend his belt a minimum three fights before a super fight is an option. Unless he has successfully defended it twice, and there is no clear No. 1 contender after six months from previous defense.

This would provide a No. 1 contender in divisions and strengthen divisional integrity with title fights occurring more often. Also, it would give lower level fighters a chance to prove themselves and rise in the rankings.

Of course, Joe Silva can still keep his job by putting together these entertaining matches. He just would be left out for the most part on deciding title fights.

I believe that this will generate a lot more interest from average fans that are not sure when to be interested outside of the main event. Now they would know the favorite in the fight and where they stand in their division.

It is obviously a very raw concept that would need to be well thought out. I just thought I would test the waters and see how everyone else felt about it. So let me know. Also, other rule suggestions or ways to go about solving this problem are welcome. Only my first article, so please cut me some slack.

Oklahoma The Best? I'll Believe It When I See It.

Nick V — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:00:03 -0500

As we all know, Oklahoma has locked up its spot as the No. 1 team in the nation, and with it, a chance to grab a nation title. This team has beaten five teams ranked in the BCS Top 25 and eight bowl-eligible teams, with its only loss coming at the hands of a very strong Texas team.

These Sooners set a new NCAA scoring record and still have another game to add to that total. These Sooners have put up at least 60 points in five consecutive games and have been held to under 40 points only twice this season (Texas and TCU).

However, it is these same Sooners who I can't buy into until they show me what they have against Florida. The Gators, along with the other SEC teams, have been nothing short of impressive the last few years, and now will try for their second national championship in the last three years.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, has struggled in its recent BCS games and against the other five BCS conferences.

Since 2004, Oklahoma is just 6-4 against the other five power conferences, with two of those wins coming against Washington. Along with those four losses are defeats at the hands of two non-BCS conference opponents, TCU and Boise State.

In addition, the Sooners are 0-3 in their most recent BCS Bowl games and haven't won since 2002, when they beat Washington State. Couple these statistics with the fact a lot of people don't even believe they are the best team in the Big 12.

It's possible all of these things will spark a fire underneath this Oklahoma team and inspire the team to play its best football. Even if they play their best football, the Sooners still have a tough task ahead of them in the Florida Gators.

The Big 12 defenses have been called into question, and comments have been made about this being the source of inflated offensive stats. No one doubts the strength of the SEC has been rooted in defense for years. It will be interesting to see how the Sooners fair against Florida's fifth-best defense, which allows only 12.8 points per game.

The Sooners may boast a ridiculous offense and huge wins versus tough teams, but my national title pick is Florida until Oklahoma proves to me that they can hang with the best team from the other BCS conferences, especially the SEC.

The Sooners have a lot to prove when it comes to the BCS, and they will have a great opportunity to prove it Jan. 8. Until then, my answer is, I'll believe it when I see it.