He was just released by Chicago. I like this guy, just was wondering what you guys though, I'll keep it simple here,  not scared of contact, has big play ability, can help on special teams.

Nathan Vasher destroys Carlos Francis (via steelerx8)

Nathan Vasher as a Longhorn (via mrbearsguy54)

Nathan Vasher 71yd Pic six TD (via impress3)

Most of the video on him was from college, he has some big play ability, especially playing nickel, and he isn't scared to hit, and played special teams in college and was good at it. He's relatively young, at 28 and was a part of the Bears great defenses earlier in the decade. I think he'd be a good pick up, what do you guys think?

I have an idea for an endorsement opportunity of a lifetime for Antonio Cromartie. A three for onechances like this just don't come along every day.

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So, Leon Washington has been a popular topic over the last few weeks, with many differing opinions on what to do here. Well, Adam Schein reported that the 49ers are preparing an offer for Washington in the next couple days. My question is, what do we do? 

Leon is wonderful, he is dynamic, and we all love him, I know, but that broken leg is worrisome, and it seems like more and more smallish yet explosive and elusive running backs have been coming into the league in the middle rounds in the last 5 years. We have Leon, we have Jamaal Charles, Sproles, Slaton, Bradshaw, Choice, Mccoy, Forsett, etc. It seems like there are 2 or 3 guys like this available in the 3rd and 4th rounds every year. While I love Leon, I would have to let him walk for a 2nd round pick in this draft. I would then sign a guy like Kevin Faulk for a year, a smart veteran who is a great receiving threat and also a capable runner, and has been on winning teams. The last 4 years, Faulk has rushed for 1230 yards (5.3 yards per carry), and he has also caught 185 passes for 1526 yards over that same span. I feel like he could step in and fill Leon's shoes for a year, until we can draft another scat back type next year.

Regrettably, I would let Leon go, and take the pick. When you combine the uncertainty after his injury, with the depth of this draft class, I wouldn't be able to pass this up. We could pick either a S/OLB/DE in the first, and adding another pick about 12 spots higher then our own second rounder, would greatly improve our chances of drafting at least of one Shipley or Gerhart.

Come on. I posted this in a comments section somewhere, but I felt it could be a good discussion starter.

Thomas Jones is a class act who I enjoyed watching play for us the last 3 years. He reminds me of a poor mans Curtis Martin, although nobody was like Curtis. I loved him, and I am thankful for what he did. There is my little piece from the heart. 

Now, onto that muscle in your head, you know, the one that the best executives in sports listen to over the muscle in their chest. Ah, yes.. the brain.

Jones is old and slow. No agility, doesn’t break tackles. Thomas Jones season was more a product of our offensive line, then it was a product of Thomas Jones doing anything amazing. He had a good year, and I thank him for it, but let's look close.

Just to give you all an idea, Thomas Jones rushed for 4.2 yards per carry. Pretty good, nothing special at all. Wouldn’t such an amazing back have a better YPC then 4.2 with the best offensive line in the NFL? Just for fun, here are some guys with a minimum of 100 carries who had an equal or higher YPC then that…..

Shonn Greene -108 carries, 5.0 YPC
Willis McGahee -109 carries, 5.0 YPC
Justin Forsett -114 carries, 5.6 YPC
Felix Jones -116 carries, 5.9 YPC
Correll Buckhalter – 120 carries, 5.4 YPC
Michael Bush -123 carries, 4.8 YPC
Jason Snelling -142 carries, 4.3 YPC
Tim Hightower -143 carries, 4.2 YPC
Pierre Thomas – 147 carries, 5.4 YPC
Ronnie Brown -147 carries, 4.4 YPC
Ahmad Bradshaw -163 carries, 4.8 YPC
Beanie Wells -176 carries, 4.5 YPC
Michael Turner -178 carries, 4.9 YPC
Jamaal Charles -190 carries, 5.9 YPC
Jerome Harrison -194 carries, 4.4 YPC
Marion Barber -214 carries, 4.4 YPC
Deangelo Williams -216 carries, 5.2 YPC
Jonathon Stewart – 221 carries, 5.1 YPC 
Frank Gore – 229 carries, 4.9 YPC
Fred Jackson -237 carries, 4.5 YPC
Ricky Williams -241carries, 4.7 YPC 
Rashard Mendenhall – 242 carries, 4.6 YPC
Ray Rice – 245 carries, 5.3 YPC
Ryan Grant -282 carries, 4.4 YPC
Cedric Benson -301 carries, 4.2 YPC
Maurice Jones-Drew -312 carries, 4.5 YPC
Adrian Peterson -314 Carries, 4.4 YPC
Steven Jackson -324 carries, 4.4 YPC
Chris Johnson -358 carries, 5.6 YPC

Just to give you guys an idea, there were 29 running backs in the NFL this year, who had 100 carries or more and were able to average either the same yards per attempt as Jones, or more yards per attempt then Jones, who has the luxury of running behind the best O-Line in the league. I hate when it gets to a point where I have to seemingly trash guys like Jones here, but since it seems most of you are unable to separate your heart from your brain, it becomes necessary. I get that we love Jones, what I don’t get is that we made some big mistake by letting a clearly declining running back at the age of 32 walk after 1500 carries in the last 5 years (and in the 5 years before that, he only had about 750, half of that). Jones will probably start declining very soon, let him to to the Pats. I would rather face Jones then have to try to cover Faulk out of the backfield. Jones doesn’t intimidate anybody.

Again, I love Jones, and I don't like having to devote a post to all the guys who actually were more efficient then he was this year, but it has come to this. I am sick of hearing about how Mike T screwed the Jets over by letting Jones walk, because Jones is your favorite player. If you can't deal with losing fan favorites, then sports aren't for you, especially not football. This is common. It was Jones time to go, this was very clear to a lot of people, but some people just can't get over losing their fan favorite. I will just say this. When whoever ends up being the feature back next year is well over 1000 yards and they are showing what an explosive back can do with the leagues most dominant line, you won't be thinking about Thomas Jones. 

So appreciate him for what he has done, but just realize it is time to move on, this is the nature of the NFL. There is somebody younger, fresher, and more explosive ready to take his spot.

This is inspirational. It is a story of how Ray Lewis went out of.......

nevermind. Just another gem from the boys over at KSK. Whether it is Phil Rivers, Mark Sanchez, Rex Ryan, Ray Lewis, whoever, these guys are amazing. Again, if you have a few minutes I recommend you guys take a look. Funny stuff, as always.

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2010/02/donte-stallworth-joins-the-flock-of-killer-sheep.html

Enjoy friends.

It was a very good spot. This is why I like Mike Francesa a lot more then most Met/Jet fans. The way he talked to Sanchez, you can tell Mike was impressed with what Rex, Mark and the Jets did this year. He went on and on about how Sanchez won 2 road playoff games, which is nearly impossible for anybody to do, let alone a rookie. He gave a lot of respect to what the Jets did this year. Mike is an intelligent football fan, and he didn't come off that way when the Jets were making their run, and the reasoning is simple. He does a radio show for a living. It is about ratings. It is about getting callers and saying controversial things. If Mike would have talked about how great the Jets were playing during the playoff run, what would people have called in to talk about? So he talks about how they have gotten lucky, aren't that good, etc. and it works, because the show was blowing up with angry Jets called all week long. The point is, Mike can be intolerable at times, but he is better then that, he realizes the Jets are a serious team, will be among the favorites entering the 2010 season, and how much the team actually achieved this year, especially with the rookie QB and rookie coach. He couldn't say all that during the playoff run though, wasn't as good for ratings. I know Mike isn't the most popular guy around here, but we have to remember, he has been doing this radio show for 20 years, and it is widely known as one of, if not the most successful sports talk radio shows in the entire country. This isn't an accident, he has done this a while and he has learned how to stir up an audience, but remember, he wouldn't have lasted 20 years if he were nothing more then the radio version of a troll, he knows his stuff, he just chooses to take certain sides on certain subjects for the benefit of the ratings of his show.

Mike has had some really good guests and interviews on Thursday and Friday, and I recommend anybody who hasn't heard the Sanchize interview yet to take a listen. He did very good, Mike asked him about some tough topics and he did well. There are a ton of other good interviews there, including Mike with Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Rob Schneider, one with Westhoff, one with Antonio Gates (where he dogged the Jets a little bit), Damian Woody, Jay Glazer (must listen, Glazer cleared up a ton of the Rex Ryan MMA situation, also said Gholston will be coming to work with Randy Couture during the offseason, as Patrick Willis and Jared Allen have done), and a bunch more. 

If you have some time to kill, there are a whole bunch of really good interviews here, especially Sanchez, Woody, Glazer and Westhoff. Enjoy.

http://www.wfan.com/pages/744503.php

I know the fat man isn't exactly Mr. Popularity around here, and rightfully so, but I thought he had a good idea when it came to what to do about the mess that is the NFL Pro Bowl.Over 30 starters opted out this year. Nobody ever wants to play in it. Nobody ever even watches it. It puts players in danger for no reason. So why do it? Tradition? What about alternatives?

This is where Mike's good idea, at least in my opinion, comes in...

Instead of a game, since nobody wants to play, have a kind of award dinner the week before the superbowl, at the site of that years superbowl. Give out offensive player, defensive player, MVP awards, all that stuff, you can make it into a little show, a mini espy’s type of thing. You can have the best play of the year, best defensive play of the year, best hit of the year, etc. Have players presenting awards and cracking jokes on each other, televise it on ESPN. I think that is a much better idea, I for one would certainly enjoy it a lot more then the Pro Bowl.

As for the athletic part, maybe just have a little hour long skills competition, something like that. 

What do you guys think? This game is just silly, and in some cases embarrassing. Why force guys to play in a mock football game, where half the playbooks are excluded to avoid injury? Just get them all in a room and let them have some fun with the camera rolling.

More comedy from the guys over at Kissing Suzy Kolber. As usual, this is simply hilarious. Meant to post it here before the Colts game, but forgot. 

http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2010/01/coach-ryan-prepares-a-feast.html/comment-page-4#comment-182007

These get me every single time. There are far more of these over there through the whole season, my favorite was last week's episode involving Rex Ryan and Phillip Rivers. Definitely a good way to pass some time and get a serious laugh.

              For a while, I have been a huge fan of Kerry Rhodes. I loved the guy, and I was screaming the loudest when he was snubbed twice for pro bowls. Now though, it seems like he got his money, and for some reason, he just isn't an impact player anymore on defense. He talks and talks and talks and for the last 30 games or so, just hasn't backed it up at all. He went from stud, to mehh, to okay, now it's getting to a point where the team is suffering while he is on the field. So, what to do? Well, now that he has been benched, at least for now, it seems like an appropriate time to bring up this situation, because there is a guy in the upcoming draft that I think would be awesome for the Jets, and Rex Ryans attack defense.

             Enter Taylor Mays, free safety out of USC. This guy is 6'3, 230, hits like a mack truck defending the pass. He does need to improve on tackling guys in space, but that can be worked on, he is a tremendous athlete with great strength, so he can improve, but right now he is a drag you down type tackler when defending the run. The strength of his game is his pass coverage, he has great awareness and unbelievable sideline to sideline range. He can really fly, running a 4.40 40 yard dash. Been clocked at 4.28. Very good ball skills and an almost unlimited ceiling. This guy looks like he can be a real stud in the NFL, and fit a role perfectly.

               On the plus side for us, USC's defense hasn't been nearly as dominant this year as last, not bringing as much publicity on themselves, and in turn, Mays. He's a top 15 pick right now, maybe top 10, but could move up even more once the combine gets here because the guy is an athletic freak.

              Really, the guys only weakness is his one on one tackling in the open field. Make no mistake though, the guy is a beast roaming in centerfield and he will punish a wide receiver, using his great closing speed and coverage awareness. His open field tackling is a matter of technique, and getting more reps. Under a guy like Rex Ryan, that would be resolved fast.

              Here's a couple clips of Taylor Mays.....

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=augIi76eJ8w 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsex0ceiDtk&NR=1 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv2iN4bUeVM&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKyy_Z3n2no

             As you can see in these clips, in almost all of those big hits and tackles, he is getting them because of his great instincts and raw power and speed. He doesn't wrap up well, his technique is flawed, and he makes some mistakes when it comes to tackling, but he can get away with it while he improves because of his great football IQ and superior athleticism.