5 NFL Draft Winners

Green Bay Packers: Of course I'm going to list them as winners.  They address a huge need at OLB, DL, S, CB and bolster their OL with a solid developmental pick in Datko.  Did the reach on a couple picks? Maybe.  But Ted Thompson seems to know what he's doing.  

Pittsburgh Steelers: They addressed their terrible offensive line with their first two picks and then helped their depth in the front 7 on D with the next two.  Add in some potential role player on offense in the late rounds and you have the mixture for a great draft.  

Buffalo Bills: Don't look now but the Bills are building a formidable defense.  Adding what I think was the best CB in the draft and a solid OLB prospect in Bradham where great moves, as was helping Fitzpatrick with O-linemen and and WR weapon.  

New England Patriots: Did they reach for players? Yes, maybe, Probably.  Did they get players that Belichek will turn into studs on defense? Yes.  Look out for the Brady bunch this season.  They might be able to stop someone.  

San Francisco 49ers: What do you do when you're defense is great and offense pedestrian? Add playmaking ability to the offense.  Randy Moss wasn't a draft pick but will help Alex Smith, as will A.J. Jenkins, even if no one thought he was a first rounder.  James is a play maker that can lineup in the backfield as well as split out.  Match these guys with Vernon Davis, one of the best TEs in the NFL, and Michael Crabtree, who hasn't preformed as well as some thought, and you have a dangerous offense.  Provided Alex Smith can get the job done.  

HTC One X Review

So I haven't posted in months, sorry.  Graduating and finding a job isn't fun.  I'l try and post every day. On to the article.

AT&T's version of the HTC One X is full of problems.  It's also the best Android phone I've used.  The 4.7'' S-LCD 720p is a bit too large for my medium sized mitts to handle one-handed, but the display is gorgeous and is matched only by the iPhone 4s in my opinion.  It's clarity and read-ablitiy, even in direct sunlight, is simply outstanding, although HTC's auto-brightness is a bit too bright. The form factor is a simple grand slam.  The polycarbonate unibody phone is exceptionally thin and light and while the Droid RAZR is thinner, the One X feels great in hand. The camera's picture quality isn't top notch; it doesn't quite reach the level of the Xperia Ion, but the lightening fast speed almost matches it.

The One X takes forever to charge, yet the 1800 mAh battery last me throughout the day with an impressive amount of screen-on time.  The storage capacity leaves something to be desired.  The phone only has 16GB on internal storage, of which 12.1 GB is available (2.2GB for apps and 9.9 GB for phone storage according to my HOX).  But it comes with some free dropbox space and combined with services such as Google's Play Music, Pandora, TinyShark, and Spotify. I don't see myself filling it anytime soon.

One thing that does completely suck is the multi-tasking abilites of the of the phone.  They're non-existent.  If I go to the home screen from the stock browser and then back to the browser, it reload's the page.  No caching here despite the 1GB RAM. This doesn't bother me but this could be a real deal breaker to some.

Did I mention that I'm about to be on my 3rd One X?  The first one had a 'dead zone' right in the middle of the screen that extend from edge to edge.  I couldn't dial the 1, 2, or 3 keys on the dialer.  This also left me high and dry for typing in my standard security pin.  Something I got past for a day with the face recognition unlock. After using my 2nd HOX for 2 hours, I discovered that any call I made had to be done over speakerphone.  That was because I couldn't hear anyone unless it was on the back speaker.  Restarts and factory resets didn't fix either issue.

HTC put together and amazing, yet flaw device.  The form factor, combined with the internals it has, would be a flagship for any company.  The flaws of the device are not small either.  My hardware issues are not the only ones. So I guess the question is would I recommend this phone? Absolutely yes.

NFL lockout over...for now

Judge Nelson has lifted the NFL lockout. The NFL is of course filing for a stay from Judge Nelson. Let's hope fr the sale of football it gets denied.

Christian Ponder should be a first round pick

Christian Ponder should be taken in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft.  A knock on him is his numbers went down from his junior to senior season.  Well, his numbers went down due to being injured and playing through injuries for the majority of that season. Fluke injuries I might add (injured on a tackle attempt his junior season, an awkward landing directly on his elbow resulted in a bursa sac injury that lasted throughout in his senior season). His junior season is a far better view of his ability.  I honestly believe he can be the most successful QB in this draft provided he gets the time to learn the system, like the Packers did with Aaron Rodgers. In fact, his play and measureables remind me a lot of A-Rod. Look at his numbers in his junior season compared to Rodgers season at Cal. 

Completion % - Yards - YPA- TDs - INTs
Rodgers - 66.1% - 2566 - 8.12 - 24 - 7
Ponder - 68.8% - 2717 - 8.23 - 14 - 7 


Rodgers was measured at 6'2'' and 223 and Ponder measured in at 6'2'' and 229 at the NFL Combine.  I don't think size was an issue when Rodgers was winning the Super Bowl and being named it's MVP.  Here are some other combine numbers: 

Combine - 40 - 20 - 10 - Vert - Broad - 3 Cone
Rodgers - 4.71 - 2.75 - 1.65 - 34.5'' - 9'2'' - 7.39
Ponder - 4.63 - 2.62 - 1.57 - 34'' - 9'8'' - 6.85 


Doesn't say much of a QB's ability to throw it, but Ponder was regarded as having one of, if not the best throwing sessions at the combine. 

Ponder is athletic, has enough size (6'3'' 229 lbs.), he's smart (Already has an MBA, is working on a second Master's in Sports Management and scored 35 on NFL's wonderlic where the average for QBs is 25), and accurate (61.6 career completion %). He has shown toughness by playing through injuries in his junior and senior years. His leadership is unquestioned.  He was the MVP of the Senior Bowl. As a Packers fan, if Rodgers was 30 instead of 27, I'd want the Packers to take Ponder at 32.  If he gets the chance to learn the game from the NFL perspective, look out for Christian Ponder as a top 10 QB in the NFL in 3-5 years. 

So I haven't posted in a while...

No I haven't forgotten about this blog.  I've been short on time.  Hopefully I'll get some posts up within a couple weeks, since I graduate with my bachelors in 2 weeks and I'll have a little more free time.