SB Nation - Earnest Graham

Problem Solving For NFL Teams: Charge Your iPads And Be A Professional

Adam Stites — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:13:22 -0000

The iPad has been a rather revolutionary product in the NFL as it allows the process of learning plays through playbooks and gametape to be transferred almost entirely to a handheld tablet. Among the proponents for the iPad was former Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris, who raved about the possibilities and efficiency of the technological advances.

But not everyone is excited about the possibilities presented by the tablet technology. Former Bucs running back Earnest Graham spoke to JoeBucsFan.com about the problems that come with having a young team with iPads. Those are, of course, Facebook and chargers.

"I think the concept of the iPads was excellent but at times a bit too much for players and coaches alike," Graham told JoeBucsFan.com. "The problem was that at times guys would forget to charge them overnight or to update them when they came into the building because everything needed to download before meetings. That would cause problems. Also the fact that it's an unnecessary distraction with being able to access the Internet, games, and so on.

"I thought the idea was great but it was definitely more negatives than positives with a young team. I enjoyed being able to access the opposing teams' cut-ups and video of that day's practice, but in my opinion most guys did not use them. If you keep it simple and do your installations using your [paper] playbooks, you don't have to guess whether a guy is on Facebook or not. Based on that experience I would never use them if I went into coaching.

Really?

While I understand where Graham is coming from, and I'm honestly not all that surprised, the notion that a team should shun the opportunity to use an innovative technology that can streamline the learning process is going to need much better reasoning than that.

You know who doesn't have a problem with having iPads in a team's facility? Peyton Manning. According to Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports, the four-time NFL MVP said the device "eliminates any excuses for lack of preparation."

That's probably because Manning isn't playing Angry Birds and updating his Twitter on his iPad that will soon crash because he forgot to re-charge it overnight. And that's probably because he's a consummate professional that is a responsible person. Just be like that: problem solved.

Fantasy Football Week 7 Sleepers

JasonB — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:03:40 -0000

Bye weeks and injuries are having major effects on everyone’s fantasy team, so sleepers and hidden gems are more important than ever this week. So here’s a few guys that are probably not owned in your league that you can grab right now as last minute replacements.

Demarco Murray & Tashard Choice. Felix Jones is hurt and will miss today’s game for the Cowboys which means that Choice and Murray will split carries. Everyone seems hyped up about the rookie Murray, but don’t be surprised if the Cowboys rely more on the veteran who understands the blocking schemes better. These guys are both still available in better than 80% of Yahoo! leagues.

Earnest Graham. Despite the fact that he had a nice game last week starting in place of LaGarette Blount, he’s still available in 30% of Yahoo leauges.

Dave Rayner. Yes a kicker! Sebastian Janikowski is having a nice fantasy year, but it seems as though he’ll be out today. So the Raiders signed Dave Rayner, who should be available in virtually all leagues. With the Raiders taking on the awful Chiefs defense, he should get a good amount of opportunities. KC has given up the 8th most fantasy points to kickers so far this season. So if your kicker is on a bye or you own Janikowski, Rayner will probably be a nice little stop gap.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Make Final Roster Cuts, Finalize 53-Man Roster

Steve Slowinski — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 14:22:54 -0000

With the Saturday night deadline for finalizing 53-man rosters looming, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a lot of work to do yesterday. While they had cut a few players on Friday night, their roster still sat at a robust 80 players and they had to cut 27 players in order to get their roster to the correct size.

The Bucs stressed how difficult it was for them to make these decisions, commenting that it spoke to the strength of their overall roster. And even though they did make the necessary cuts, you can tell that they're unsure exactly how their depth chart will play out over the season at a couple positions, going especially heavy with defensive backs and linemen. They have plenty of talent on the roster, but now it's a matter of figuring out how to make it all work the best.

For the current 53-man roster -- expect their to be waiver additions over the next couple days -- follow me below the jump.

A huge thanks to Sander at Bucs Nation for compiling this list. If you're a Bucs fan and you're not reading him every day, you should take a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror.

Quarterback (2): Josh Freeman, Josh Johnson
Running Back (4): Legarrette Blount, Earnest Graham, Kregg Lumpkin, Allen Bradford
Fullback (1): Erik Lorig
Tight end (2): Kellen Winslow, Luke Stocker
Wide Receiver (6): Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn, Dezmon Briscoe, Sammie Stroughter, Micheal Spurlock, Preston Parker
Offensive Tackle (4): Donald Penn, Jeremy Trueblood, James Lee, Demar Dotson
Offensive Guard (4): Ted Larsen, Davin Joseph, Jeremy Zuttah, Derek Hardman
Center (1): Jeff Faine

Defensive Tackle (4): Gerald McCoy, Roy Miller, Frank Okam, Brian Price
Defensive End (5): Adrian Clayborn, Michael Bennett, Da'Quan Bowers, Tim Crowder, George Johnson
Linebacker (5): Quincy Black, Mason Foster, Geno Hayes, Dekoda Watson, Adam Hayward
Cornerback (7): Ronde Barber, Aqib Talib, E.J. Biggers, Myron Lewis, Elbert Mack, D.J. Johnson,Anthony Gaitor
Safety (5): Sean Jones, Cody Grimm, Larry Asante, Corey Lynch, Devin Holland
Punter (1): Michael Koenen
Kicker (1): Connor Barth
Longsnapper (1): Christian Yount (Andrew Economos on "Physically Unable to Perform" list)