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Houston Texans Get A+ in Rick Gosselin's Draft Grades

Posted: May 1st 2009 11:00AM by Stephanie Stradley (author feed)
Filed under: Texans, AFC South, NFL Draft

5 COMMENTS
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

Longtime NFL reporter Rick Gosselin, like most writers, knows that readers like draft grades. He grades a draft, and then re-grades it after the season. He's a tough grader, and gives most teams average grades.

Surprisingly, this year the only team that received an A+ in his grades were the Houston Texans. He thought the picks made sense for the team, and I agree. I don't know how they will perform on the field, but the selections were good value and fit key needs.
Continue Reading Houston Texans Get A+ in Rick Gosselin's Draft Grades

Jets Introduce Smooth, Savvy Sanchez

Posted: Apr 26th 2009 6:02PM by Dan Graziano (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, NFL Draft

15 COMMENTS
First-round NFL Draft pick Mark Sanchez is looking forward to trading in his suit for his New York Jets uniform.NEW YORK -- Mark Sanchez wasn't at USC's spring practice Saturday, but when Trojans coach Pete Carroll called that night to congratulate Sanchez on being the No. 5 pick in the NFL draft, he gleefully told his former quarterback the story of what went down.

"He said they had a live feed of the draft on the Megatron video board there at the Coliseum," Sanchez said Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. "And every time an SC guy got picked, they'd stop practice. And he said when they showed that Cleveland had traded the (fifth) pick and that the Jets picked me, he said 25,000 people just went nuts."

Sanchez also admitted that Carroll must have been stopping practice a lot.
Continue Reading Jets Introduce Smooth, Savvy Sanchez

Does the Brian Cushing Pick Signal a Run on (USC) Linebackers?

Posted: Apr 25th 2009 5:50PM by Dan Graziano (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Draft

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NFL Draft Photos

    Wide receiver Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech University stands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the San Francisco 49ers as the 10th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York April 25, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL)

    Reuters

    New York Jets fans react after the Jets selected quarterback Mark Sanchez from the University of Southern California as the fifth overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York April 25, 2009. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL)

    Reuters

    Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree speaks to the media after he was selected as the 10th overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers during the first round of the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall Saturday, April 25, 2009, in New York.(AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

    AP

    In this pool photo provided by the Miami Dolphins, Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano, left, general manager Jeff Ireland and Bill Parcells, executive vice president of football operations, look on during NFL Draft day, Saturday, April 25, 2009 at the team's training facility in Davie Fla. (AP Photo/Miami Dolphins, Pool) ** Pool Photo **

    AP

    Defensive end Brian Orakpo from the University of Texas stands with his family on stage after being selected by the Washington Redskins as the 13th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York April 25, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL)

    Reuters

    Defensive end Brian Orakpo from the University of Texas reacts on stage after being selected by the Washington Redskins as the 13th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York April 25, 2009. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL)

    Reuters

    Detroit Lions football fans had access to Ford Field while watching the NFL Draft on the big screen on Saturday, April 25, 2009 in Detroit. The Lions chose Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford with the No. 1 overall pick in the first round of the draft. (AP Photo/Jerry S. Mendoza)

    AP

    NEW YORK - APRIL 25: Tampa Bay Buccaneers #17 draft pick Josh Freeman poses with his family at Radio City Music Hall for the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25, 2009 in New York City (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Freeman

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - APRIL 25: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell poses with Tampa Bay Buccaneers #17 draft pick Josh Freeman at Radio City Music Hall for the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25, 2009 in New York City (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Roger Goodell;Josh Freeman

    Getty Images

    NEW YORK - APRIL 25: Tampa Bay Buccaneers #17 draft pick Josh Freeman poses for photographers at Radio City Music Hall for the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25, 2009 in New York City (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Freeman

    Getty Images


NEW YORK -- San Diego just took Larry English with the No. 16 pick. They apparently didn't get the memo. English went to Northern Illinois. Which is not USC. Which is, as everybody knows, where the linebackers come from.

When the Texans picked Brian Cushing at No. 15, it felt like there was about to be a run on USC linebackers. Cushing, as you know if you got this week's Sports Illustrated, is one of three Trojan linebackers projected to go in this year's first round. And if you think that sounds unusual, that's because it is.
Continue Reading Does the Brian Cushing Pick Signal a Run on (USC) Linebackers?

Cushing Thinks He's Best of Historic Trio

Posted: Apr 25th 2009 1:00AM by Tom Herrera (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Draft, NFL Interviews, FanHouse Exclusive

0 COMMENTS
NEW YORK -- It's not everyday you see three players from the same school taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Three linebackers? That's unprecedented territory.

The magnitude of the occasion isn't lost on Brian Cushing, who should be one of three rough-and-ready USC linebackers selected in the first round on Saturday. But that doesn't mean he's ready to concede a higher draft slot to former teammates Rey Maualuga and Clay Matthews.
Continue Reading Cushing Thinks He's Best of Historic Trio

Brian Cushing Draft Profile

Posted: Apr 24th 2009 5:26PM by Chris Burke (author feed)

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 Brian Cushing, LB
    Selected:

  • College: Southern Cal.
  • Age: 22
  • Height: 6-foot-3
  • Weight: 243 lbs.
  • 2008 Stats: 73 tackles (46 solo), 10.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 interception




Scouting Report: Instincts may be best quality, he finds the ball and makes plays quickly. Good size and speed. Works well in the gaps on blitzes. Can play in either 3-4 or 4-3 scheme. Teams will like his motor. Not a great pass rusher. Durability is a concern.

2009 Outlook: Of the three USC linebackers that could go in the first round, Cushing may be the most all-or-nothing candidate. He could develop into a great linebacker that leads his team in tackles, or he could be an average contributor.

HIGHLIGHT REEL:

Handful of Accused 1st-Rounders Clean

Posted: Apr 20th 2009 2:35PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Draft, NFL Media Watch

1 COMMENT
So, remember those "reports" of players who had failed drug tests at the combine? B.J. Raji (pictured), Vontae Davis, Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing had all allegedly tested positive -- Raji and Davis for marijuana, Matthews and Cushing for steroids -- according to the irresponsibly named NFLDraftBible.com (who I refuse to link to, due to the fact that they are looking increasingly like an absolute farce).

Well, the more distance we get from the faux-report, the more the facts come to the surface, and it doesn't look good for the credibility -- if they even had any in the first place -- of this supposed "bible." Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk is reporting that Raji is clean, as are the other three.
Continue Reading Handful of Accused 1st-Rounders Clean

Report: NFL Teams to Learn of Positive Combine Drug Tests Monday or Tuesday

Posted: Apr 18th 2009 2:44PM by Dan Graziano (author feed)
Filed under: NFL Draft, NFL Media Watch

0 COMMENTS
Percy HarvinIt looks as if we'll soon have some clarity on this sticky issue of who did and who didn't test positive at the NFL scouting combine.

According to a report on ProFootballTalk.com, the NFL's 32 teams will receive a list of the players who tested positive on Monday or Tuesday of this week, giving them a couple of days before the draft to digest the information and determine how it should affect their draft-day decisions.

When the list does come out, and when the names on it are made public, the NFL will finally be through with an ugly part of its offseason.
Continue Reading Report: NFL Teams to Learn of Positive Combine Drug Tests Monday or Tuesday

The Perfect Draft: Houston Texans

Posted: Apr 17th 2009 2:30PM by Stephanie Stradley (author feed)
Filed under: Texans, AFC South, NFL Draft

2 COMMENTS
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

The Texans have been an 8-8 team for the last two years -- a record I find astonishingly good considering how terrible their defense has been.

Allegedly, this is the year that the defense gets fixed.

The Texans fired the defensive coordinator, the defensive line coach and the defensive backs coach, mostly because they can't fire all the players who aren't particularly good. (Though they did get rid of a number of them.) In short, this is a defense that needs more playmakers.
Continue Reading The Perfect Draft: Houston Texans

The Perfect Draft: Denver Broncos

Posted: Apr 16th 2009 2:45PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Broncos, AFC West, NFL Draft

1 COMMENT
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

From Mike Shanahan's firing to the Jay Cutler trade, the Broncos are almost unrecognizable from the team that finished last season. After three playoff-less seasons, that may not be a bad thing.

The upheaval does make it difficult to predict where they'll look on draft day, however. A new coach and general manager running their first draft don't have a track record to use as a guide, which should make the Broncos a team to watch on April 25.
Continue Reading The Perfect Draft: Denver Broncos

The Perfect Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars

Posted: Apr 15th 2009 12:00PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Jaguars, NFL Draft, NFL Coaching, FanHouse Previews

5 COMMENTS
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the brink ... of something. Last year we thought it was a Super Bowl run. This year it could be collapse. Or maybe mediocrity. That's the beauty of parity, injuries and scheduling in the NFL -- a full-blown title contender can go to also-ran and then back to title contender quicker than Blake and Antoine can execute a patented two snaps and a twist.

The Jaguars hope that the 2009 NFL Draft will help them execute that second 180-degree turn, but in order to do that, they'll need it to be ... perfect. (Sorry, I've been watching way too much CSI: Miami lately.)
Continue Reading The Perfect Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars

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