Tag Archives: Blake Bortles

RODA RATINGS – MY 2014 NFL DRAFT TOP TEN PLAYERS

1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina

2. Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson

3. Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

4.Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn

5. Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo

6. Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M

7. Blake Bortles, QB, UCF

8. C.J. Mosley, ILB, Alabama

9.Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

T-10.Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma St.
T-10.Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan St.

PODCAST – BROWNS G.M. HANDLING DRAFT PREP WELL

I like the way new Browns G.M. Ray Farmer is preparing for the NFL Draft

RODA RATINGS – 2014 NFL DRAFT – “SKILL POSITIONS”

QUARTERBACKS

Blake Bortles – UCF – 6’5 – 232
Teddy Bridgewater – Louisville – 6’2 – 214
Johnny Manziel – Texas A&M – 5’11 – 207
A.J. McCarron – Alabama – 6’3 – 220
Derek Carr – Fresno St. – 6’2 – 214

RUNNING BACKS

Carlos Hyde – Ohio St. – 6’0 – 230
Tre Mason – Auburn – 5’8 ½ – 207
Bishop Sankey – Washington – 5’9 ½ – 209
Ka’Deem Carey – Arizona – 5’9 – 207
De’Anthony Thomas – Oregon – 5’8 ½ – 174

WIDE RECEIVERS

Sammy Watkins – Clemson – 6’0 – 211
Mike Evans – Texas A&M – 6’4 ½ – 231
Brandin Cooks – Oregon St. – 5’9 ½ – 196
Marquis Lee – USC – 6’0 – 195
Odell Beckham – LSU – 6’0 – 193
Kelvin Benjamin – FSU – 6’5 – 234
Allen Robinson – Penn St. – 6’3 – 210
Davonte Adams – Fresno St. – 6’1 -212

TIGHT ENDS

Eric Ebron – North Carolina – 6’4 -250
Troy Niklas – Notre Dame – 6’6 ½ – 270
Jace Amaro – Texas Tech – 6’5 -265

MEET THE BROWNS CANDIDATES

So the two most important positions on a football team are Head Coach and Quarterback. The Browns don’t have either one right now unless, based on two games, you’re ready to give the QB job to Brian Hoyer. I for one am not. But they are in the process of trying to fill those two vacancies and here is a list of candidates for both spots. Which two guys would you like to see fill those roles for the Browns in 2014?

COACHES THEY’VE INTERVIEWED THAT ARE STILL AVAILABLE:

Dan Quinn – Seahawks Defensive Coordinator – 43 years old

Mike Munchak – Former Titans Head Coach – 53 years old

 

COACHES THEY WOULD LIKE TO INTERVIEW:

BRONCOS_PRACTICE_1JL0142

Adam Gase – Broncos Offensive Coordinator – 35 years old

Gus Malzahn – Auburn Head Coach – 48 years old

 

QUARTERBACKS AVAILABLE IN THE DRAFT:

Johnny Football Photo - Courtesy AP

Johnny Manziel – Texas AM  –  6’1-210pds-Sph.

Teddy Bridgewater – Louisville  –  6’3-196-Jr.

Blake Bortles – Central Florida  –  6’4-230pds-Jr.

Derek Carr – Fresno St.  –  6’3-218pds-Sr.

A.J. McCarron – Alabama  –  6’4-214pds-Sr.

Zach Mettenberger – LSU  –  6’5-230pds-Sr.

Aaron Murray – Georgia  –  6’1-208pds-Sr.

David Fales – San Jose St.  –  6’3-220pds-Sr.

Tajh Boyd – Clemson  –  6’1-225pds-Sr.

Jimmy Garoppolo – Eastern Illinois  –  6’3-222pds-Sr.

Ideally from people that I have talked to I believe the Browns would love to come away with the combination of Adam Gase as their head man to coach Johnny Manziel at quarterback. Those are the two names I’m hearing the most from sources around the league. But Gase has to interview for the job first, and then say YES, while “Johnny Football” has to still be there at pick number #4 in the draft or the Browns have to move up to get him. So that’s a couple of big “IF’s” and because of that Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi better have a few back up plans in case their dream scenario falls through. You know Haslam’s ideal situation is to eventually, either after this year, or next year, have Peyton Manning come in and be a major piece in the Browns front office or coaching staff.

*Gus Malzahn could be the wild card if the Browns could entice him to leave Auburn for the NFL.

Are you on board with landing Adam Gase and Johnny Manziel to take the Browns into the future? If not, what’s the “Dynamic Duo” you’d like to see the Browns front office get?

Respond here in the comments section, or tweet you thoughts to me @TheKennyRoda on Twitter.

RODA REPORT 1-2-14

Either Urban Meyer/Ohio State and David Shaw/Stanford didn’t respect Michigan State’s defense, both are too stubborn for their own good, or they just had a major brain cramp by calling the plays they called in late game situations against the Spartans defense in the Big Ten title game and the Rose Bowl.  Why play to the strength of Michigan State’s defense in those short yardage situations? Stupid coaching decision by two of the very best coaches in college football!

Speaking of stupid, you could argue the Browns front office is just that after firing head coach Rob Chudzinski after only one year on the job. From everything that was said all season long and even before that, in last year’s off season, the team was supposedly building for 2014 and trying to establish continuity and stability. Instead Chud gets canned after one season and Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi are back to drawing board of yet another coaching search.  In order to fire Chud, this next coach they hire better be the second coming of Bill Belichick and what scares me is that the guy they reportedly have the most interest in, Josh McDaniels, they feel is the second coming of Belichick. Only time will tell if getting rid of Chud was a good move or if indeed the “Three Stooges” are running the Browns!

I have a bad feeling that after winning 24 games in a row, Ohio State is on the verge of losing its second game in a row in the Orange Bowl versus Clemson. The Buckeyes defense, which gave up a combined 75 points and over 1,000 yards in its last two games to Michigan and Michigan State, will be without two of their best defenders against the Tigers in cornerback Bradly Roby and defensive end Noah Spence.  How is that defense supposed to stop Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins if they couldn’t shut down the less explosive Wolverines and Spartans with a healthier defense? Add to that Braxton Miller has been very pedestrian in throwing the football in his last four games and this has the makings of another BCS Bowl disappointment for OSU. I expect it to be a shoot-out and the team that has the ball last will probably win the game, so let’s hope it’s the Buckeyes have the pigskin last.

If Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles join Teddy Bridgewater in this year’s NFL draft, it’ll be interesting to see who is ranked highest on the QB list by the media and more importantly by NFL teams.  I don’t see a slam dunk in any of those three like I did with Andrew Luck. Will Manziel’s backyard, crazy legs style fly in the NFL? While Bortles has the size, does he have the experience and the smarts? Bridgewater looks to be the most complete of the three, but the lack of competition he played against in college; does that move him down in the rankings? I want to see these guys at the combine, hear about their interviews and see them with Jon Gruden at his quarterback school before I give my final rankings, but for now I have it 1) Bridgewater 2) Bortles and 3) Manziel.

Here’s the dilemma the Cavs have right now after a (10-21) start. If they make a trade for a player like Pau Gasol will that really impact their chances of making the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference this year and how much will that benefit them in the long run? On the flip side, if this season is headed in the wrong direction and it’s going to take another year for this team to be a legit playoff team, would it benefit them more if they ended up in the lottery one more time for what is considered to be one of the deepest NBA Drafts in recent history?   That’s the decision owner Dan Gilbert and G.M. Chris Grant have to make. The team has been healthy all season and with the off season moves of Bynum and jack they are still a lottery team as of today. Would adding Pau Gasol via a trade with the Lakers really make that much of a difference and gain them valuable playoff experience or would they be better suited to take their chances back in the lottery and maybe land so-called future stars like Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle or others?