The Boston Hot Spot

Pryor to Oakland

by Matt Stolbof 

         Today Terrelle Pryor was drafted to the Oakland Raiders in the 3rd round of the supplemental draft. Pryor played QB for Ohio State and was one of the players on the Buckeyes who gave memorabilia to people for tattoos (because every athlete needs a tattoo these days.) Pryor threw for 2,772 yards with 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his junior year as a Buckeye. Even though Pryor did get drafted to the Raiders, I think that Terrelle could’ve fit in with 3 other teams in the National Football League.

1. Cincinnati Bengals- Now I understand that you have to give the rookie QB Andy Dalton a chance but, wouldn’t it have been nice for the Bengals to have the former Buckeye quarterback as a backup. And let’s not forget that Terrelle Pryor can also play wide receiver. If he was willing to make the change to the wide receiver spot, A.J. Green and Terrelle Pryor as the two wide receivers for the team could have been a good duo in the long term.

2. Buffalo Bills- Terrelle Pryor with the Bills had the chance to be a great fit. In a couple of years, if Terrelle Pryor learned how to throw in tight spaces, which he never really had to chance to do in college because his wide receivers were always open, then he might of have the chance to replaced the current quarter back Ryan Fitzpatrick and start for the Buffalo Bills.

3. San Francisco 49ers- Even though Alex Smith resigned with San Francisco, Pryor might’ve had the chance to get the starting job. The only problem would be that they couldn’t use Terrelle Pryor for the first 5 games but, just like with the Bengals. if Terelle Pryor would have been flexible enough to switch to the wide receiver job, then he might’ve been a great weapon for Alex Smith and join Vernon Davis and Braylon Edwards on the line of scrimmage.

As you can see, Terrelle Pryor might’ve got drafted by the Oakland Raiders, but there are other teams that could of been a good fit for Terrelle Pryor. Now can Terrelle do good for the Raiders? I think that Terelle Pryor could be a good player for the Raiders but, he has to be willing to take the wide receiver job because Jason Campbell is probably going to keep his starting job as a quarter back for a while. In the end, if Terrelle can be flexible as a player, listen to what his coaches say, and doesn’t do anything stupid like he did at Ohio State, then Terelle Pryor has a chance to have a good & solid career in the National Football League. 

Over the last few years, the AFC North has been a division controlled by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and this year seems to be much of the same. Pittsburgh fell just short to the Green Bay Packers last year in Super Bowl 45, and their craving for a title is now bigger. They have kept their strong foundation in place and safety Troy Polamalu is still anchoring their strong defense alongside James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley. Their offense is led by one of the top NFL QB’s Ben Roethlisberger who has been great for a number of years. The receiving core in Pittsburgh is also phenomenal, lead by now 3rd year wide out Mike Wallace who has made an instant impact in Pittsburgh. Veteran Hines Ward does not seem to be declining as he ages as well. The Steelers also brought in former Jets receiver Jericho Cotchery, who has had his fair share of big seasons and he could really give the Steelers that one piece they’d been missing: A second receiver with experience. And they drafted Defensive End Cameron Hayward in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft and he has got a bunch of upside, he may turn out like Charles Johnson of the Panthers, a guy who leads his teams Defense. Also with young star running back Rashard Mendenhall the Steelers offense is complete, and ranks among the best in the NFL. Therefore, this year the Steelers will finish at 12-4, and division champs. Next, are the Balitmore Ravens, a team who has been led for 3 years now, by young Joe Flacco who is only improving from year to year. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to win a road playoff game in each of his first three NFL seasons.. This year is the year that Flacco will break out and take a big leap forward. Young running back Ray Rice has looked great early in his career. Rice was a star at Rutgers university and has been the same way in the NFL so far. He is only improving and he may this year take the leap towards Stardom.. However a big problem for the Ravens is that they  lost a ton key pieces in the offseason. Their longtime star Tight End Todd Heap decided to take his talent elsewhere, signing a multiyear deal to play with the Arizona Cardinals. Heap was a huge reason for the Ravens success against the Chiefs in the divisional playoff round last year. He caught 10 passes for 108 yards and he had a great career for Baltimore. They also lost 3 of their top 4 receivers. Donte Stallworth was injured for much of the season but he still gave good contributions to Balitmore when healthy and he is a very speedy receiver. They also lost veteran T.J. Houshmanzadeh who was a good contributor in the Ravens offense last year. But he did not totally fit into the offense so he decided to walk away from Baltimore. They also lost former pro bowl Fullback Le’ron Mcclain. Mcclain was a great blocker and was a huge reason for the success of Ray Rice. He signed to play with Kansas City. The Ravens did add ex-Texan Vonta Leach who was selected to the Pro Bowl last year. He helped Arian Foster a lot last year with great blocking, and Foster ran for over 1700 yards in just his second NFL season. He can give Ray Rice a lot of help In the backfield this year But the biggest loss of all for Baltimore this offseason is Receiver Derrick Mason who has been a star in the Ravens organization for such a long time. He signed with the Jets. They lose a locker room presence and one of their top players in Derrick Mason. But the Ravens still have Anquan Boldin, who is a proven veteran who can still get it done on a high level from week to week even at an older age. He will be the X-Factor in the Ravens offense this year. The Ravens also selected rookie Torrey Smith out of the university of Maryland in this past year’s draft and he has a very bright NFL future. They also recently acquired long time Bill Lee Evans who has proven himself as a very versatile receiver. He has good footwork and has a high YAC. He will contribute a lot to the Ravens this year. The Ravens have mainly kept their Defense together. The hard-hitting Ray Lewis does not seem to age and he is still a force to be reckoned with, as is star linebacker Terrell Suggs who has been good for a long time as well. Star Safety Ed Reed had 7 interceptions last year in just 10 games after starting the year on the PUP list. Even without Todd Heap, Derrick Mason, Le’ron Mcclain and the other guys they lost, the Ravens can still be a great team this year. They have always been a team that has been led by their Defense and that will continue to be the case this year. With all this said, the Ravens will finish this year at 11-5 and take one of the 2-wildcard spots. Next up are the Cincinnati Bengals, a team who has won just 2 division titles in their history. This year is looking to be much of the same for the Bengals. Former number one overall pick, Carson Palmer who has been their starting QB for 7 years announced retirement, not wanting to be a part of the Bengals organization any longer. Star cornerback Jonathon Joseph decided not to resign and instead joined the Texans organization. The team’s top two receivers, Veterans Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco both decided to leave as well. T.O. still unsigned and Ochocinco got traded to the Patriots. Longtime Defensive Tackle Tank Johnson was cut as well. The Bengals did resign running back Cedric Benson however. But Cincinnati’s quarterback situation is uncertain now, but the lead candidate to start is rookie Andy Dalton who played well in College. They also selected Georgia Star Receiver A.J. Green in the first round of this year’s draft and he has got great upside. 2nd year receivers Jerome Simpson and Jordan Shipley also look like they can bust out this year. But their Defense looks to be one of the worst this season and that will greatly hurt the team. They have not added much to replace all of the losses they have. The Bengals will finish at 3-13 this year as it will be a rebuilding season, but in the years to come they may improve. Lastly, there is the Cleveland Browns, who took a step forward last year, though finishing just 5-11 running back Peyton Hillis had a breakout season. In the offseason he was acquired for QB Brady Quinn, a trade that was not looked at much at first but proved to be excellent for Cleveland. Hillis rushed for over 1150 yards and ran for 11 TD’s last year and he has got a very bright NFL future. QB Colt Mccoy also thrived after being named the starter last year. He led the team to wins over the New Orleans Saints and also the 14-2 Patriots. They dominated both of those teams. The reason Mccoy got to start at all was because of injuries to the top 2 QB’s Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace. But Mccoy was up for the task and he had a great season for Cleveland. The Browns Tight End Ben Watson also broke out last year and emerged as one of the league’s top Tight ends. The receiving core if young, but improving. Mohamed Massaquoi has got a bright NFL future and the team also drafted Greg Little, who is expected to big things for Cleveland this season. Joshua Cribbs ranks among the top kick returners in the NFL and is a great utility man. He’s extremely fast and deceptive, and can play quarterback, running back, and receiver and can do it all. Rookie Cornerback Joe Haden had an exceptional rookie season for the Browns last year, coming up with 6 interceptions, as well as a sack and looked like a veteran, not a rookie. The Browns also have Scott Fujita, D’Qwell Jackson, and Phil Taylor, 3 veterans to anchor the Defense who have also been playing very well the last few years. With the young core of Hillis, Mccoy, Little, and Joe Haden the Browns are on their way to becoming a +.. 500 team in the years to come. The Browns will finish at 9-7 this season and surprise many people, falling just short of the playoffs. 

4. New Orleans Saints- The team is one year removed from their championship season. They traded Reggie Bush, but, signed Darren Sproles from San Diego. Their back-field is pretty set with Sproles, Mark Ingram, and Pierre Thomas. Drew Brees and his explosive wide receivers will certainly be hungry to avenge their post-season loss to Seattle.  

5. Atlanta Falcons- Quarterback Matt Ryan is ready for a break-out year. They drafted Julio Jones, and in his first pre-season game he looked great. He along with Roddy White could be a great receiving core for Ryan to throw to. 
6. Baltimore Ravens- The defense is still one of the best in the league. Joe Flacco is a good young QB. However, he lost two of his favorite targets in Derek Mason and Todd Heap. He’s going to have to find another receiver to throw it to when Anquan Boldin is covered. 

7. Houston Texans- The team had a horrific secondary last season. They signed Jonathan Joseph to help that. They also hired Wade Phillips to be the defensive coordinator. He has had previous success in turning bad defenses into good defenses. In addition, their offense is explosive. 
8. New York Jets- They still have a good secondary, but the rest of the team got worse. The team struggled getting to the quarterback, last year. Their only proven past rusher signed with their arch rival in the off-season. 
9. Pittsburgh Steelers- The team went to the Super Bowl last year, but their offensive line was really bad against the Redskins in their first pre-season game against Washington. Will it improve? If not, the team won’t be back in the Super Bowl. 
10. Indianapolis Colts- The team is no longer the favorite in the AFC south. The team is old and they will need a great season from Peyton Manning in order to win the division. He is coming off an injured neck, so his production may decrease. 

11. San Diego Chargers- Phillip Rivers had a phenomenal season last year. Ryan Matthews will have the full load in the running game. However, his production will decrease because he doesn’t have Darren Sproles to take some of the pressure off him. They also had special teams problems last year, but they returned a kick for a TD in their last pre-season game. 
12. Detroit Lions- The defensive line is one of the best in the league. Nick Farely has a foot injury, but appears he will be able to recover. Matt Stafford is proving himself as a good veteran quarterback. 
13. Minnesota Vikings- With the addition of Donovan McNabb, young QB Christian Ponder will have a good mentor. The team has AP and they still have a scary-good defensive line, even without Ray Edwards. 
14. Kansas City Chiefs- They are a solid team. Jamal Charles is turning into one of the league’s best running backs. However, he isn’t there yet. Matt Cassel played well, but he isn’t elite. The team is good, they aren’t great. 
15. Seattle Seahawks- With the additions of former Vikings Sidney Rice and Tavares Jackson, the Seahawks should be able to win the NFC West. Rice has proven himself in Minnesota, and Jackson will help the offense.

16. Tampa Bay Bucs- The team is extremely young. To many people’s surprise, the team went 10-6. Since the team isn’t old, they will continue to improve over the next couple of seasons. However, they don’t have any great players. 
17. St. Louis Rams- They were one win from the playoffs last season. The pass game was working in their first pre-season action. The defense is young and they will improve from last year. Expect them to be around 8-8 this season. 
18. Dallas Cowboys- Failing to make the playoffs caused a lot of concern in Big D. So I expected them to make a big splash in free agency. They didn’t. How can they manage to get better without any major additions? They’re alright but could’ve been much better. 
19. Tennessee Titans- The major concern going into the lockout was QB. They have improved by signing veteran Matt Hassleback. They will be ranked higher on the rankings when they sign Chris Johnson. They need him.

20. New York Giants- With Brandon Jacobs, Amhad Bradshaw, and Eli Manning on offense they will be able to score points. The defense, however, has taken some hits over the off-season. Prince Amukamara broke his foot in the training camp and Osi Umenyiora is in a contract dispute. 
21. Chicago Bears- The NFC north champions ranked 21? Yes. Why? Their offensive line is terrible. Jay Cutler got sacked and sacked and sacked in the first pre-season game against the Buffalo Bills! They can’t win if they can’t protect Jay Cutler. 
22. Jacksonville Jaguars- Blaine Gabbbert is a rookie, but he played very well against New England last week. Garrard will help him out and MJD will do the running. They are missing a good wide-out and they don’t have a solid defense. 
23. Buffalo Bills- Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills. (Except the 22 teams ahead of them. But who cares?) I look to see the Bills improving a lot this season. Brad Smith is a new tool to this offense. Expect them to maybe win seven games this year.

24. Washington Redskins- They looked good in their first pre-season game. John Beck and Rex Grosman aren’t terrible. Brian Orakpo is turning into one of the better pass rushers in the NFL. 
25. Miami Dolphins- The team was heavily pursuing Broncos QB Kyle Orton. They didn’t get him. That means Chad Henne or Chad Pennington will have to play. That concerns many Phins fans considering Henne is inconsistent and Pennington is injury prone. 
26. Denver Broncos- They were ranked last in the first power rankings. They are no longer the worst team in the NFL. Kyle Orton is playing really well in training camp and so is Brady Quinn. The QB battle is making the team stronger. 
27. Arizona Cardinals- With the addition of Kevin Kolb, Larry Fitzgerald will have someone who can get him the ball. With the NFC west being so weak, the Cardinals may be able to cause some damage and potentially make the post-season. 
28. Carolina Panthers- They did some good things in the off-season. Singing DeAngelo Williams and trading for Greg Olson will help out rookie QB Cam Newton a lot in the regular season. However, don’t expect them to win anytime soon. 
29. Oakland Raiders- Darren McFadden is one of the best young backs in the league. But, the defense lost its best player Asomugha. He will be impossible to replace, so the secondary will struggle. 
30. Cleveland Browns- They haven’t gotten any better since the last power rankings. I expect them to struggle a lot this season. Peyton Hillis may be able to have another successful season, but the defense won’t be good. 

31. San Francisco 49ers- Braylon Edwards will help out Alex Smith (or whoever is playing Quarterback!). But, the defense will get exposed this season. Also, the team will have to make a decision on who will play QB this season. 

32. Cincinnati Bengals- Carson Palmer retired. Chad Ochocinco was traded to New England. Jonathan Joseph signed with Houston. The three best players on a bad team last year all left. That doesn’t suit well for 2011. Don’t expect them to win more than 4 games this year. They are going to be bad.  

Wait a Second, I Need to Review This

By Shane Godek

Last night’s preseason games were the first that tested the NFL’s new review policy, in which every scoring play must be reviewed. So no matter the play, or how easy it was to see that the player scored, a referee went under the curtain and reviewed the play from 7 different angles. Don’t get me wrong, I love instant replay. It helps get calls correct when the zebras make a mistake, and it can correct a mistake that a referee made. But do we really need it on every scoring play?

Picture this. A running back trots into the end zone after breaking free on a 50 yard run. Wanting to celebrate his run, he tosses the ball into the air after he crosses the line. There wasn’t a defender within 10 yards of him, and there is no question that he scored a touchdown. Or is there? After watching 7 replays, the referees notice he may have thrown the ball before he crossed the line. So they begin to use every camera angle to make sure that he did in fact have possession of the ball. Meanwhile, the viewers at home see that he clearly scored a touchdown, but they still have to wait 10 minutes while the officials play the video over and over again. The announcers try to keep you entertained by showing their state-of-the-art slow motion program that allows them to slow the play down for the fans at home. After 5 minutes of seeing every angle the station has to offer, the fans may being to flip channels, or find a snack, or get up to use the bathroom. At the stadium, the crowd mulls around awkwardly because they can’t show a play under review on the Jumbo-tron, and they are left with ten minutes of watching the players wait. The point is, this isn’t entertainment. Football is a very entertaining sport to watch, but when you start to slow it down, fans begin to lose interest. When I turn the game on, I want to see guys making plays, not filling their cups up with Gatorade while they wait for referees to finish reviewing a clear touchdown. Football has already slowed down due to long commercial breaks, but these breaks are making the game longer. What is going to happen if both teams score 5 times in a game? Will there be an extra half hour of reviews, or will they realize that some plays are obviously touchdowns. I would hate to see football be slowed down to the pace of a baseball game, but with these games taking 2 hours already, more worthless instant replays could turn one of the most exciting sports into a 3 hour affair that features more reviewing then playing. Fans pay to see big hits, and electrifying runs, not a ref ducking under a curtain to determine if a player got 4 feet in bounds, or just 3 and a half. An NFL game is four 15 minute quarters. That’s 1 hour of playing time. So there is no reason to have the games take any more than 2 hours. Speed the games up, or watch fans gradually lose interest. Your decision, Roger Goodell.  

Even though the end of Moss’s career was a little shaky Moss is still one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. Randy Moss is 5th all time in reception touchdowns with 154. He is also 8th all time in receptions with 954. Moss may have never won a super bowl in his career but, he still has one of the greatest wide receiver careers ever in the NFL and will be remembered for years to come.  

5. Indianapolis Colts- Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis still provide a solid pass rush on opposing Quarterbacks. Oh and they have Peyton Manning. 

14. New York Giants- After winning the Super Bowl, the Giants haven’t had very much success. They have a, inconsistent offense and defense. They can either be great or terrible. 

24. Oakland Raiders- The Raiders best days are still ahead of them. Darius Heyward-Bey and Darren McFadden will be good players for the offense in the years to come. 25. Buffalo Bills- They had one of the worst records in the NFL. They were better than their record said they were. They took the AFC winning Pittsburgh Steelers to over-time. But, they have a big Quarterback issue.

25. Buffalo Bills- They had one of the worst records in the NFL. They were better than their record said they were. They took the AFC winning Pittsburgh Steelers to over-time. But, they have a big quarterback issue.

32. Denver Broncos- They are TERRIBLE. By far the worst team in the NFL. They have an absolutely horrific defense. Von Miller will hopefully be able to help out the team. 

New Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor, who was selected in today's NFL supplemental draft, will try to make a good fit in the Raiders' game plan. (picture courtesy of SI.com)

 Steelers CB Troy Polamalu hopes to lead his team to a playoff appearance in 2011. (picture courtesy of Glogster)

An NFL official reviews a play during last night's preseason action. The new policy in the NFL states that refs need to review every TD to make sure it is worthy. (picture courtesy of AOL News) 

Randy Moss, with numbers that are eye-opening, might rank among the greatest wide receivers in NFL history. (picture courtesy of AP) 

Aaron Rodgers hopes to lead the Packers to another Super Bowl in 2012. (picture courtesy of AP)