Football

When the 49ers let All-Pro safety Dashon Goldson test the free agent market (and subsequently sign a five year, $41.25 million dollar deal) it gave them a legitimate ‘need' heading into the 2013 NFL Draft. Fans and pundits everywhere suspected the 49ers would address the need at free safety with one of their first few selections. In the hours leading up to the first round, rumors swirled the 49ers were looking to aggressively move up. Those same fans and pundits figured a move up meant the 49ers were looking to address another position...depth along the defensive line, perhaps; or even a dynamic playmaker. Instead, the 49ers moved up 13 spots (in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys - the Cowboys also received the 74th overall pick) and selected former LSU safety Eric Reid. The move may have been a slight reach. But with picks to spare the 49ers confidently made a move to get their guy. More on Reid: Off the field Medical information Introductory press conference Twitter reacts to the selection At 6-1, 213lbs, Reid has a solid frame and above average speed and flexibility (although he can get a bit stiff in one-on-one coverage - more on that later). Reid posted a 4.53 forty at the NFL combine in February where he was also a top performer in the vertical leap (40.5 inches) and the broad jump (134 inches). Reid is a physical free safety with above average ball skills. He'll be an asset in run defense and could develop into a ball-hawking safety with some time. Reid enrolled in LSU as a four star safety (both Rivals and ESPN) and immediately earned playing time. As a freshman, Reid started two games while also contributing on special teams. He tallied 32 total tackles, two interceptions, and three passes defended. As a sophomore, Reid was a full time starter and led the Tigers with 76 tackles. He also grabbed two more interceptions, two forced fumbles, and five passes defended. As a senior, Reid accounted for 91 tackles, again grabbed two interceptions, and defended nine passes. Over the course of his career at LSU Reid received numerous accolades including SEC Academic Honor Roll (2011 & 2012), All-SEC (second team in 2011, first team in 2012), and All-American honors (2011, second team Rivals; 2012 first and second team honors by various publications). Needless to say, Reid has had an impressive career thus far and he'll be expected to produce early as he attempts to fill the shoes of an All-Pro. Reid actually reminds me a little of Goldson. Reid has better ball skills at this point in his career than Goldson, but Goldson is a better tackler. Let's take a look at some of Reid's strengths: Superb read and react skills: Watching Reid on tape you can tell he has a great football IQ. He diagnoses plays wells and reacts immediately to the ball. Aggressive and physical play: While Reid isn't the most technically sound tackler, he is a powerful hitter. He'll need to wrap up better in the middle of the field but excels in cut tackles in open space (like Goldson). Reid loves to make plays in the box and covers a ton of ground in a short period of time to meet ball carriers. Ball skills: Because Reid is a ‘read/react' defender he's been able to develop a knack for making plays on the ball. He is extremely competitive on jump balls and will not be out worked on the 50/50 balls. (See the 2011 Alabama game.) Areas where Reid will need to improve: Aggressive and physical play: Yes, I've listed it as a strength and a weakness. That's because Reid can get a little too aggressive and over run plays or be easily looked off by the quarterback. Reid likes to peak into the backfield and read the eyes of the QB, experienced QBs will hold him to one side of the field with their eyes long enough to let a receiver on the opposite side work through his route. Reid's physical play will mimic Goldson's so he'll make a lot of big hits and likely write a lot of checks to the league office. Tackling technique: I'm nit

The San Francisco 49ers announced a five-year contract extension with “The Voice of the 49ers,” Ted Robinson.

The news of the rally staged at Raiders headquarters to greet Charles Woodson upon his arrival to meet with the team has been widely reported. Every news outlet, including NFL.com, has recognized the Raiders fans as mobilizing to show Charles Woodson they wanted him back. But not Trey Wingo and ESPN. On NFL Live on Tuesday - the day he was to visit --Wingo said that he sees this as an inside job. "Raiders put out a social media campaign to have all the fans show up at the facility welcoming him back," said Wingo. In response, ESPN's Adam Schefter echoed the statement, saying "Reggie McKenzie knows just the buttons to push with Charles Woodson." The next day on the show, it was more of the same from Wingo. "Raiders put the full home court press on him including having fans lining up at the facility to greet him and stayed there until he officially signed the deal," said Wingo. "The Raiders obviously pulling at his heart strings, GM Reggie McKenzie knew him from their days in Green Bay." The Raiders weren't "having the fans" do anything. The Raiders organization had nothing to do with it. It wouldn't take much research to figure out the Raiders didn't put out a single tweet or any such social media statement asking for fans to show up. This was all done by the fans. This was chronicled on S&BP in which the event page and the first such tweet was posted asking fans to show up at the facility. This article was picked up by NFL.com as well as several other media organizations -- who were also retweeting fan requests to generate a presence to welcome Woodson. Here is what NFL.com's Marc Sessler said of the fan generated gathering: "Love 'em or hate 'em, you have to admit: Oakland Raiders fans have passion. They're hoping it will make a difference in the pursuit of Charles Woodson... the free-agent defensive back is scheduled to meet with Oakland on Tuesday, per Woodson's agent, Carl Poston. In anticipation of that visit, Raiders faithful have started an online campaign to gather en masse at team headquarters." Read the entire article here. None of this convinced Wingo and his cohorts. Either Trey Wingo and ESPN don't know what Google is or they are suggesting the "fans" who were working hard to spread the word are somehow actually people within the Raiders organization posing as fans. I would suggest the Raider Nation take to social media once again to force Wingo to acknowledge his mistake. His Twitter handle is @Wingoz. That's seems the most appropriate way for him to get the idea. Follow @LeviDamien

Dec 2, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Sam Acho (94) and inside linebacker Daryl Washington (58) celebrate. I am going to jump right into this one. Daryl Washington is going to be suspended four games for the use of PED’s. The Cardinals are hoping the punishment, is not too drastic because Daryl Washington is a key cog in a stingy defense.  On that note, the presence of Karlos Dansby should be welcomed by the team. He was very productive in Miami and Arizona and a well loved linebacker for the Cardinals faithful. Let us take a look at not only Dansby but a couple of guys brought in to bolster the Cardinals middle linebacker core. Karlos Dansby is a no-brainer for the Arizona Cardinals at one of the inside linebacker spots.  He had 101 solo tackles to go along with 33 assisted tackles for the Miami Dolphins last year.  The stat that jumped out the most, though, was the nine passes Dansby defensed this previous season.  There are defensive backs who do not break up that many passes in a season.  What that should be telling Todd Bowels, is Dansby has great awareness and although he is 31, he still has the ability work in open space.  At about 6’4 250 pounds he also has the size to withstand the pounding that takes place in the box when the run game is headed his way.  He is a true proffessional and great for any locker room.  Dansby is a hard worker and understands the game, in zone and man coverage Dansby excels and does more than hold up his own. Jasper Brinkley was a pick up in free agency for the Cardinals and it was not a bad one.  Last year Brinkley totaled a career-high 872 snaps according to Pro Football Focus.  Not bad for a guy who missed the entire 2011 season with a serious hip injury.  Last year for the Minnesota Vikings. Brinkley tallied 63 tackles with 36 assists. The only downside is Brinkley does not fare well in pass coverage.  He is slow to react to pass plays and lets his man get behind him too often.  With Todd Bowles indicating that a multiple front may be used, and the Cardinals having the personnel to do it, perhaps Brinkley’s weakness can be masked a little bit through scheme. With this being a league in which teams are throwing the ball almost 70 percent of the time it will be very important for Brinkley to shore up his coverage skills while not losing any of the run-stopping ability he has. Rookie Kevin Minter, the Cardinals’ second-round selection in this years draft, is an interesting prospect.  Without a doubt he was LSU’s best linebacker this year and in known as a run defense machine.  While watching film I noticed he has a knack for really playing downhill and can get into the backfield with relative ease when defending the run. In an interview with Arizona Sports 620′s Doug & Wolf Les Miles stated  ”It’ll be real difficult for the ball to be run between the tackles, Kevin Minter just knows where to be”.  Miles went on to say “I think he’ll be an every-down player, he’s a guy who will make a lot of big-time tackles.” The knock on him, just like Brinkley, was weather or not he could succeed in pass coverage. Although he had 6 passes defensed in college does not necessarily mean it will equate to success in the National Football League. He will need to work hard in man and zone coverage if he is to be what Miles is predicting, an every down backer. With Washington being out it is looking like Dansby and Minter will be manning the inside linebacker positions.  But Jasper Brinkley certainly could be in the mix for a starting roll. How he adapts to a 3-4 base defense (played 4-3 in Minnesota) could have an adverse affect on his positioning on the depth chart.  If and when Daryl Washington returns the Cardinals would be hard pressed not to have him and Dansby on the field together. Time will tell, and for the time being, the Arizona Cardinals have a good amount of talent to evaluate at the

What will the New York Giants do at fullback with Henry Hynoski set for knee surgery on Friday, a fact that despite Hynoski's determination makes his availability at least early in the 2013 NFL season a question mark. The obvious short-term answer is to lean on Bear Pascoe, the 27-year-old blocking tight end who has spent some time at fullback in each of the past two seasons. The 6-foot-5, 257-pound Pascoe can play the position adequately but he is hardly the road-grading run blocker that Hynoski is. How good is Hynoski? Pro Football Focus recently graded the third-year fullback as having the highest "success rate" of any fullback in the league at 47.47 percent. PFF defines success rate as "collecting 40 percent of required yardage on first down, 60 percent of required yardage on second down, and 100 percent on either third or fourth down." The percentage is how often the Giants accomplished those benchmarks with Hynoski on the field. No team in the league ran more successful plays while using a fullback than the Giants did in 2012. If the Giants want to look outside the organization to replace Hynoski what options do they have? Here are a few: Mike Cox. Cox, 28,is a 6-foot, 260-pound five-year veteran who played seven games (six starts) for the Atlanta Falcons last season. He never ran the ball or caught a pass and he had a +2.1 overall grade from PFF. Hynoski had a grade of +8.0. More: Hynoski aims for season opener Corey McIntyre. The 34-year-old McIntyre is a 6-foot, 245-pound veteran who spent the last five seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He played only 103 snaps a season ago. Tony Fiammetta. Fiammetta, 6-foot, 242 pounds, was waived by the Dallas Cowboys after the 2011 season due to concussion issues. He was claimed by the New England Patriots, but did not play. He was released in April and would reportedly hope to play again. There are a few other fullbacks available, but none incredibly appealing.

The New York Giants re-signed wide receiver Ramses Barden on Thursday.

As someone who mails it in at work on a regular basis, the NFL offseason is tough for me. The amount of reading material available to me is slim, and to be honest there are only so many YouTube searches for the words "fail," "fart," and "prank" that a man can do before he wants something a little more meaningful. And so I was pleasantly surprised recently when I went to ESPN.com, one of the many stops on the Alec Shane Office Slackoff Tour, and discovered that a panel of experts will be counting down the 20 greatest NFL coaches of all time. The countdown officially began today, with Tony Dungy kicking things off at the 20 spot. Now while this list should be fun to talk about, will possibly ignite some discussion/debate, and should give us all something interesting to read over the coming weeks, I'm very aware that it's ultimately pretty much just filler, a cheap trick by uncreative journalists to fool their audience into thinking that they have more actual insight than they really do. Most of us see through ruses like this, but we don't say anything because we're just grateful to read something football-related. It's actually pretty shameful, to be honest; I mean seriously, who does that? And since there isn't much else NFL to talk about at the moment, I may as well buy in. While I'm going to hold off on commenting on whether or not Dungy belongs on this list, especially considering some of his competition, I did find myself wondering: Where will Bill Belichick land on this list? Obviously, as a card-carrying, out-and-proud Patriots homer and unflinching Belichick apologist, I have to say it's the one spot or bust. Bill Belichick is the GOAT and that's just the way it is. Now to those that think I'm out of my mind, I guess I could take a step back and be willing to consider him for the Top 3. Sure, there are some coaches on the ballot who have had better records than Belichick, and some have won more championships. And yes, some may possibly have had a more profound impact on the game as a whole. But how many have done what Bill Belichick has done in this day and age? How many have found such consistent success in the Free Agency Era without the benefit of being able to slowly assemble a winning team that stays cohesive across multiple seasons? And how many have the winning percentage combined with multiple championships (not to mention even more championship appearances)? None, that's who. Objectively, I guess I could see Belichick falling as low as 7, but anything lower than that will be a crime. I'll definitely be curious to see how this list ends up - whether they decide to make it an actual representation of the greatest coaches of all time, or if they decide to go the NFL Network route and throw a few curve balls in there to rile up the fans and get a bunch of angry comments on the message boards. What do you think? Where will Bill Belichick ultimately end up on the All-Time Greatest List? Poll Where do you think Bill Belichick will end up on ESPN's 20 Greatest Coaches in NFL History? Top 5 Top 3 Number 1 All-Time Outside the Top 5 18 votes | Results

Sun Life Stadium not getting the Super Bowl was bad, but it could've been worse. (AP file photo) By Hal Habib The double-whammy of defeats suffered by South Florida this week for future Super Bowls were via landslide votes of NFL owners. It coul

Olivier Vernon has grown from a Dolphins camper in 2003 to a member of the Miami Dolphins

Dolphins defensive end was MVP at Dolphins Academy football camps. Here's your chance to have your child follow in Vernon's footsteps.