The first three rounds of the NFL draft are over. Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert have made their picks and I am some what dismayed by their number one pick, Joe Haden. Joe Haden is rated very highly by all of the intellects connected with the NFL draft. He was a very good NCAA player. He has one attribute that has me wondering if he was a good pick, his height. Brandon McDonald was a very good open field tackler and was quick enough to stay with the wide outs but he was to small to defend in the jump ball situation. You know the situation a 6'6" wide receiver splits out and goes deep enough to get the first down or touchdown. The ball is thrown high enough that the receiver can jump to get it but the 5'10" midget playing corner back can't. I hope Joe Haden has springs in his legs to jump high enough because for the past three years I have suffered with McDonald being to short to cover the jump ball. All of the top prospects at corner back were 5'10" or 5'11". The Browns could have waited until the second round to pick up the taller Chris Cook out of Virginia or Jerome Murphy from South Florida, but they didn't.
In the second round the Browns pick up T. J. Ward, strong safety from Oregon another small defensive back at 5'10 and a half inches. Like Haden Ward is known for his open field tackling. The Browns look to be shoring up their run defense but again I don't like the short guys on pass defense. I will have to wait and see I guess.
The Browns second pick in the second round, the 59th pick overall, is running back Montario Hardesty from Tennessee. Hardesty is obviously a Mangini pick. Mangini likes ball players that will run through a brick wall when he tells them to and won't question him. Hardesty was banged up much of his college career and still compiled some impressive stats. He was a team leader as a captain of the team even when he didn't start in 2008. Hopefully he can stay healthy and run inside as well as outside to gain some yards for the Browns.
Our third round pick, 85th overall, is a big name player who possibly because of his size slipped to the third round, Colt McCoy. McCoy is the winningest Quarterback in NCAA history with 45 wins. He is accurate but does not have the strongest arm. Hopefully he can take two to three years of learning on the bench and developing his arm before he has to be called into duty. Remember the Browns have Jake Delhomme at QB now.
The Browns final pick in the third round at number 92 overall is Shawn Lauvao, Offensive gaurd from Arizona State. At 6'2" and 315 pounds he is a big boy that can certainly help shore up the Brown's offensive line. Plus all of those Hawaiian kids do well in the NFL because of their discipline.
Right now it does not look like a bad draft but I am concerned by the lack of height. It will be interesting to see how these players pan out. Is Heckert, Holmgrin and Mangini's first draft together pure genius or a bust, only the season will tell. A defensive backfield filled with midgets does not make me feel confident in our ability to cover the pass. My man Nick Sorenson at back up safety is the tallest DB at 6'3". Abram Elem at starting safety is 6'0". The rest of the DB's are 5'10". In my humble opinion we are way to short in the defensive backfield to play competitively in the NFL. I hope I am wrong, but I doubt it.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Captains Game 4/21/10
My Honey Bunny and I joined some of our friends and went to the Cleveland Captains game last night. It was an enjoyable experience. A very nice spring night if you dressed for it. The temprature started to drop towards the end of the game so you needed to add a layer of clothing to stay comftrable. The Captains beat the Loons 6 to 5.
The highlight of the evening was the opening act. Mr. Robert Lippucci sang the National Anthem. Mr. Lippucci said he was a little nervous before he took the field. This fabulous tenor belted out a traditional version of the Anthem. No hip hop or jazzed up version Rob sang it the way it was written. His voice quivered a little in the very beginning but once he got into the song he belted it out like Rocco Scotti. I give my friend a ton of props it takes guts to go out in front of a large crowd filled with family and friends and sing solo one of the hardest songs to sing. Rob started out low so that he would have enough range to hit the high notes. A common mistake amongst singers of the National Anthem is they start out to high and they run out of voice when they get to the high notes.
When Mr. Lippucci finished a roar from the crowd went up and he received a standing ovation. I got a tear in my eye I was so proud of him. Rob says he will probably try again next year at a Captains game. I can't wait until he moves up to a CSU game, Cavs game or maybe even the Indians. I hope to get a chance to sing a duet with Rob when the Earls are in town playing in August. Keep your pipes warmed up because I will try and give you a run for your money. Congratulations Mr. Robert Lippucci you can scratch Singing the National Anthem at a ballpark off of your bucket list. Good Job.
The highlight of the evening was the opening act. Mr. Robert Lippucci sang the National Anthem. Mr. Lippucci said he was a little nervous before he took the field. This fabulous tenor belted out a traditional version of the Anthem. No hip hop or jazzed up version Rob sang it the way it was written. His voice quivered a little in the very beginning but once he got into the song he belted it out like Rocco Scotti. I give my friend a ton of props it takes guts to go out in front of a large crowd filled with family and friends and sing solo one of the hardest songs to sing. Rob started out low so that he would have enough range to hit the high notes. A common mistake amongst singers of the National Anthem is they start out to high and they run out of voice when they get to the high notes.
When Mr. Lippucci finished a roar from the crowd went up and he received a standing ovation. I got a tear in my eye I was so proud of him. Rob says he will probably try again next year at a Captains game. I can't wait until he moves up to a CSU game, Cavs game or maybe even the Indians. I hope to get a chance to sing a duet with Rob when the Earls are in town playing in August. Keep your pipes warmed up because I will try and give you a run for your money. Congratulations Mr. Robert Lippucci you can scratch Singing the National Anthem at a ballpark off of your bucket list. Good Job.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sucked in by the Machine.
Dear loyal readers of the Moral Compass I owe all of you an apology. I have neglected my duties as of lately in bringing you entertainment reviews and political commentary. I have fallen prey to the most modern obsession that is plaguing mankind right now, technology addiction. I have seen people in the past obsessed with playing Atari games. Then portable Game Boys became the rage. Texting consumed people to the point that I thought there was something wrong with the persons back because their head was always hanging down looking at their stomachs. Internet porn can become a problem when your eyesight starts to go just like your mother warned you. I see people who can afford blackberries not wanting to be disturbed by human interaction unless there is an app for it. As rude as it is for people to ask you to put your thoughts on hold so they can return a text while you are standing right in front of them, I was infected with something far worse. I became ill from Face Book.
It started out simple enough, a person on my e-mail asking me to join Face Book. Sure why not. You start meeting many of your old friends from past lives and it all seem like fun. Then one of your so called friends tells you about a thing called Farkle. Not all people get started on Farkle just like not all alcoholics get started on Strohs. No, you may have gotten your first taste of alcohol form Boones Farm or MD 20 20 or Black Velvet. Believe me there are many different flavors of games on FB to whet your gaming appetite on. I just happened to start on Farkle then moved on to Slot Machines ( I am still on level 2 but I have all of my keys). Yes then I got sucked in by Word Drop ( I had the high score amongst all of my friends who played thanks to the word Whitehorse). Word Drop led me to Bubble Pop ( I was sooo close to getting a perfect score after three weeks of practice) just one more time, almost, Ok this is the last one, fifteen more minutes, only until one O clock, two O clock, Three O clock. Screw it let me try Bejeweled. Bejeweled became my heroin. It is a one minute game that will consume you for hours. I can do better than that, I have done better than that, I need more coins so I can afford boosts to the game. And pretty much for a month and a half instead of writing I have been sucked in by the machine, my compulsive personality took over and I became a Computer Zombie.
I apologize.
It took one of my loyal readers, a devil to some RI666, to smack me up side the head and say "what the hell is going on with the Moral Compass you have not written in over a month. I miss reading your blog, get off your lazy ass and write something". And to Mister 666 I say thank you. You have snapped me out of an addiction that like most addictions just makes you senselessly waste time.
I forgot that I have a responsibility to my public and just like Tiger Woods I hope you can forgive me too. Like Ben Rothlesburger who was smart enough not to have any witnesses by posting guards at the bathroom door, May God watch over all of us. Like Shaun Rodgers, the dumb ass, who doesn't know there is a locked and loaded firearm in his overnight bag that he is carrying through an airport I ask you to pardon me.
Yes people I am one of the fallen but now I am back. And to all of those people who are tending to your gardens on Farmville "get off of your lazy asses and get outside and do some real gardening". Forgive me and I will try and not get sucked in by the machine again.
It started out simple enough, a person on my e-mail asking me to join Face Book. Sure why not. You start meeting many of your old friends from past lives and it all seem like fun. Then one of your so called friends tells you about a thing called Farkle. Not all people get started on Farkle just like not all alcoholics get started on Strohs. No, you may have gotten your first taste of alcohol form Boones Farm or MD 20 20 or Black Velvet. Believe me there are many different flavors of games on FB to whet your gaming appetite on. I just happened to start on Farkle then moved on to Slot Machines ( I am still on level 2 but I have all of my keys). Yes then I got sucked in by Word Drop ( I had the high score amongst all of my friends who played thanks to the word Whitehorse). Word Drop led me to Bubble Pop ( I was sooo close to getting a perfect score after three weeks of practice) just one more time, almost, Ok this is the last one, fifteen more minutes, only until one O clock, two O clock, Three O clock. Screw it let me try Bejeweled. Bejeweled became my heroin. It is a one minute game that will consume you for hours. I can do better than that, I have done better than that, I need more coins so I can afford boosts to the game. And pretty much for a month and a half instead of writing I have been sucked in by the machine, my compulsive personality took over and I became a Computer Zombie.
I apologize.
It took one of my loyal readers, a devil to some RI666, to smack me up side the head and say "what the hell is going on with the Moral Compass you have not written in over a month. I miss reading your blog, get off your lazy ass and write something". And to Mister 666 I say thank you. You have snapped me out of an addiction that like most addictions just makes you senselessly waste time.
I forgot that I have a responsibility to my public and just like Tiger Woods I hope you can forgive me too. Like Ben Rothlesburger who was smart enough not to have any witnesses by posting guards at the bathroom door, May God watch over all of us. Like Shaun Rodgers, the dumb ass, who doesn't know there is a locked and loaded firearm in his overnight bag that he is carrying through an airport I ask you to pardon me.
Yes people I am one of the fallen but now I am back. And to all of those people who are tending to your gardens on Farmville "get off of your lazy asses and get outside and do some real gardening". Forgive me and I will try and not get sucked in by the machine again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)