Atlanta Falcons: Top 3 Training Camp Battles

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Jeff - 

Atlanta Falcons training camp is set to start on July 30th in Flowery Branch. The Falcons have a few positions that are firmly established with not much excitement in terms of competition. However, there are a few positions to keep an eye on that could see some intense battles. Here are my top 3 position battles to watch during training camp.

Running Back

In the hunt: 

Tevin Coleman, Devonta Freeman

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Potentially the most exciting battle come training camp is the one for the lead back in this high powered offense. The Falcons haven’t had a threatening run game since Michael Turner in 2012. The last 2 years have been disappointing with Steven Jackson looking nothing like the beast from St. Louis and Jacquizz Rodgers never taking the next step in the run game (although he was still effective in the pass game).

This year pits 3rd round pick Tevin Coleman and last year’s 4th round pick Devonta Freeman against each other for the top spot in the stable.

Before the draft Devonta Freeman seemed liked he would be the guy. Dan Quinn had fallen in love with his aggressive style and people were amazed with his off-season work ethic. All signs pointed towards him being the guy.

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Then day 2 of the draft came and the Falcons snagged speedy back Tevin Coleman out of Indiana. 

Since that day, both guys have voiced their obvious desire to take the starting job and both have embraced the competition and seem to be pushing each other to new heights.

Freeman has the 1 year of experience under his belt and is an aggressive runner but Coleman has the pure speed and ability that can excite any coach.

On his pro day Coleman ran a 4.39 40 yard dash with a bum ankle, One would have to assume a healthy Coleman will have speed comparable to Jamaal Charles out of Kansas City. In the Falcons fast paced offense with the need for a balanced attack I see Coleman edging out Freeman for the lead back. Although, I see Freeman still getting a decent amount of touches.

This battle could extend through training camp and spill over into the preseason and regular season. Regardless of what happens here, I am confident in saying that the Falcons run game will look better than it has in the past few years.

Free Safety 

 In the hunt: 

Charles Godfrey, Ricardo Allen, Kemal Ishmael

The free safety spot is an interesting battle. With Dezmen Southward making the transition to Cornerback it makes the position a little less cluttered but it is still a crowded position.

Charles Godfrey was brought in to basically be a 1 year stop gap until the Falcons can find a more long term fix, however Godfrey might not even make it through training camp before losing the job.

With Southward moving to corner, 2nd year corner Ricardo Allen has made the move to Free Safety. Allen spent most of last year on the practice squad but got a few snaps towards the end of the year. Word around the front office is that Allen has impressed the coaching staff and already seems to have a good lead for the starting spot.

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My personal favorite is Kemal Ishmael, who played mostly safety last year when William Moore went down. Ish made some big plays last year and a few exciting interceptions, He may not have the range of a guy like Allen, but he is a hard hitter and plays with intensity. He isn’t as good in coverage as Allen (obviously as Allen was a corner) but he can still hold his own.

I personally see Allen winning the starting job with Ish getting some snaps at both safety spots as well. Either way the Falcons seem to have a few young options for the future that could eventually turn into difference makers in the secondary.

Cornerback #2

In the hunt: 

Robert Alford, Jalen Collins

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This is a tough one and another one that I don’t think gets fully settled over the summer. Both guys possess certain qualities that make it tough to undoubtedly pick one over the other.

Robert Alford has speed, good mobility, physical play in press coverage, and great ball skills going for him. However, there is a downside to him. First off, he is only 5’10” and playing on the outside puts him at a disadvantage with that stature. He also gives up the edge in run support as well. He often takes bad angles at the ball carrier.

Jalen Collins has the the size that Alford lacks. Standing 6’2” he has that elite size you look for in an outside corner. He has decent speed and mobility to hang in coverage. With his height and a 36” vert he can compete for every jump ball. The downside for Collins is his technique. He relies heavily on pure talent instead of proper technique and discipline.

Overall, I don’t think one player is much better than the other as an overall corner. What I think determines this battle is where they fit. Alford has that top notch speed and change of direction ability that is better suited playing inside while Collins has the size and ability to play out of the press to excel on the outside.

Follow Jeff on Twitter at @Jeffkey1989

MLB Roundup

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Jeff-

Well, the All Star Break has come and gone which means a few things. It is time for people to complain about how the first half went, make MVP predictions, and try to justify bad starts by their favorite players/teams.

I’ll try to keep my Dodgers homerism away for this article, but I do have to make some observations.

Dodgers have the 3rd best record in the NL right now, and although they have struggled in the head to head match-ups with division rival San Francisco, they have built a decent lead over them after being in a battle for first with them just a month or so ago. Not to mention they have the best home record in all of baseball.

At this point in the season there doesn’t seem to be a clear cut favorite in either league to make it to the Fall Classic. If I had to make a predictions right now I would say Dodgers vs Royals (although I don’t see them having a strong handle of that spot)

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By the way, how great of a first half has Zack Greinke had? I texted Clayton the other day asking if Greinke seems to be the Cy Young favorite at this point and we both kind of agreed that it seems to be that way. He has been on fire in his last few starts (with a scoreless streak of over 43 innings!) giving him an even stronger hold on the title.

I had an argument at the beginning of the season with a friend who told me Matt Harvey was 10x better than Zack Greinke and he even said he would take him over Kershaw as well. At this point I feel pretty confident in throwing that conversation back in his face now.

A few specific stats that stand out to me at this point are Dee Gordon leading the MLB in hits (that one hurts me), the resurgence of Albert Pujols (27 Home Runs), Joc Pederson showing the world that the Dodgers were right to ship out Matt Kemp, and Bryce Harper finally putting up the numbers everybody expected of him.

I want to comment on Alex Fraudriguez and his comeback season, but I will leave that to Clayton because I know he has more a vested interest in him.

I personally don’t have much of an issue with the All Star Game starters, there are a few I might consider changing but nothing that has me up in arms. Not sure if Clayton has any major issues with the rosters but I guess we'll find out later (top notch tease right there).

Clayton -

Admittedly, I have been lacking in my attention of my usual favorite sport of baseball with an obsession with basketball lately.

So let me throw some quick things out there, and not get over my head in this.

Let me make this quick. I do not care about All-Star games or their activities. I did not really have any real snubs or surprises other than Kershaw not getting voted on in the first place. He is the best pitcher in baseball the past 5 years and I do not see how he had to back his way into it.

Not to mention, having the All-Star break decide home field advantage for the World Series is a stain on an already terrible reign for former Commissioner Bud Selig. Maybe new Commissioner Manfred will fix it… hopefully.

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Before I get into any other comments, I do find it funny the A-Rod bit.

Why do we have this stupid standard in baseball about steroids, but when it comes to football it gets overlooked. In recent years NFL stars hat have been suspended form PEDs include, Robert Mathis, LaRon Landry, Haloti Ngata, Brandon Browner (TWICE!!), Bruce Irvin, Trent Williams, Fred Davis, Phillip Buchanon, and Brian Cushing. Yet people believe them when they say they over train.... Those are just some of them. Then we have guys like Richard Sherman who beat a PED test on a technicality... If you believe that, then I can't help you.

Also, in fighting, whether it is boxing or some form of MMA I have a hard time seeing those guys not taking some form of illegal supplements. But that does not sell pay per views....

And this is not just about A-Rod. Studies have proved that steroids actually do not give as big effect as most think. It does not turn Juan Pierre into Barry Bonds. Speaking of which, I would say Bonds is the best hitter in history and yes, Bonds is the true home run king.

Shoot, Hank Aaron was taking greenies, also known as amphetamines, which in studies actually do have an effect. BUT people do not want to hear that, and refuse to listen to that. In psychology we call that belief perserverance.

So most of you that want to talk crap about steroids in baseball, you probably overlook it elsewhere... hypocrites...

A-Rod has had a good season, but even if he hits over 35 bombs he does not deserve MVP votes. As a DH, he needs to be the league's best hitter by a mile. Which he is not.

By the way, I do not think the Yankees make the playoffs. They do not have anything but the bullpen for the playoffs. They are filled with old, injured or old and injured players. I will likely discuss the Yankees in a later post, but that is not the topic for this article.

Now that I got that out of the way…

With baseball back into swing after the All-Star break, I think the best team in baseball is St. Louis, but the team that would scare me most in the playoffs would be the Nationals.

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I think the breakout stud is the Nationals Bryce Harper. Everyone has wanted to say the kid is overrated, but he has finally broke out into MVP form… at the age of 22. At this point in the season, Harper has a WAR (wins above replacement) of 6.5 (leads all of baseball by 0.4 over the savior trout), which puts him in the top 50 seasons for a player his age.

Harper not only leads baseball in WAR, but is tied for first in home runs, is 4th in the useless stat known as RBI’s (but voters and stupid fans love them) and has a slash line of .337/.465/.697/1.162. Those are freak numbers. Those rank as 4th, 1st, 1st and 1st. The last three by a wide margin too.

The talent has always been there, but he has not quite lived up to the hype surrounding him since he was 17, but he has been the youngest or one of the youngest players in baseball since he came into the league at 19. The guy is a going to be a perennial MVP candidate for the rest of his career if he can stay healthy.

Harper and new addition Max Scherzer seem to be carrying the Nationals. If it all breaks right for them and their players rebound and get healthy, they could be scary.

Oh, and go Trout. How many MVP’s will he win now that people realize that he deserved them over Miguel Cabrera, or least they should have? With Trout and Pujols, maybe thee Angels can hold onto their division lead and make a run in the playoffs.

Early World Series Prediction: Missouri Series! St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Royals.


Follow Jeff on twitter at @Jeffkay1989
Follow Clayton on Twitter at @19Yanks23

Mendes vs McGregor UFC 189

Jeff-

Well…. this wasn’t the fight we were expecting.. thanks to Jose Aldo and his “injury” but nonetheless it was a good matchup heading into the fight. Chad Mendes had a definite disadvantage in size standing 3 inches shorter with an 8 inch shorter reach. However, Mendes is no slouch, boasting a 17-2 record entering the fight (same as McGregor).

Going into the fight I was pretty confident McGregor would dominate the fight and end it fairly early as well (my prediction was a TKO in the 2nd round).

Mendes is the more technical guy and was a standout college wrestler, while McGregor is just a straight up knockout machine. It had the makings of a good battle.

McGregor came out firing but couldn’t seem to land anything and had trouble with his footing. He seemed to put himself in a few dangerous positions right off the bat by trying to land the big blows with no setup.

After about 2 minutes, McGregor had landed a few decent kicks to the abdomen of Mendes and Chad was clearly hurting and breathing heavy already.

Surprisingly the first one to show blood was McGregor, just above the right eye but Mendes was still the one showing the most wear and was nursing his abdomen area.

Mendes got McGregor on the ground a few times in the first round and really seemed to be in good position but couldn’t capitalize on the advantage, other than the one elbow that busted Conor’s right eye.

Early in the 2nd, the wrestling background of Mendes really gave McGregor problems (something he hasn’t really faced yet). Mendes once again found himself on top with good position. About half way through the round Mendes put his head down and McGregor reeled off about 7 straight elbows to the crown of Mendes’ head. Mendes took offense to it and looked for an illegal elbow call, but to no avail.

After 4 minutes on the ground Mendes finally went for the choke hold, McGregor worked his way out of it, got to his feet and decided to end things right then and there by just dropping Mendes with a huge left hand and pummeling him until the ref had to call for the match.

Earlier in the day I called for Conor to end the match in the 2nd and with only a few seconds left in the fight Conor pulled through for me. If I was a betting man I would’ve been sitting pretty tonight.

Conor McGregor has a lot of naysayers but hopefully this fight put people on notice that he can handle himself against all different types of fighters, and on short notice at that.

After the fight, in typical Conor fashion, he called out Jose Aldo with this gem “I had injuries worse than what he claimed he had, he can run all he wants, but I guarantee his day will come”. You better believe if McGregor gets his way, he will have Aldo in a place where he can no longer duck him and I fully expect Conor to bring the entire wrath of Ireland with him.

Lakers Free Agency Turnaround

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Clayton

It has been a long couple of days for Lakers fans hoping to sign a player or two, but sadly, it has brought us nothing, until now.

Problem is, Lakers management was being ridiculed for wrong reasons.

It was being blown up that the Lakers are inept, due to not being able to nail down guys that they only had a pipe dream of signing anyways. Guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan, and even guys like Tobias Harris (who may or may not have received some interest from the Lakers, and was maxed out by the team who held his restricted free agent rights), were likely never coming to the Lakers.

Fans (and hopefully the front office) may be finally realizing that the Lakers were in really no position to sign the stars. The roster is not making it to the playoffs (and get that crap out of here that they would have if they had taken Jahlil Okafor, because that is idiocy), and mainly loaded with incredibly young talent.

By the time Russell and Co. are ready to start competing (in about 3 or 4 years), Aldridge (for example as he seems to have been the main target) would be around 34.

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Sure, next offseason brings hope in the form of another loaded free agent class, but that is just stupid to depend on. So why would LMA throw away years of his probably already slipping prime and of title contention elsewhere (the Spurs are probably his destination), to play with an aging Kobe, young kids who are years away and hoping to sign free agents in a year or two?

It just does not make sense.

So what the real issue here is not that they struck out on the stars. The real issue here has been that the Lakers struck out on all of the great role players, while they held out futile hope for guys they really only got meetings with, because of the name brand. They had to have known they weren’t really in contention, or they were too ambitious.

Now don’t get me wrong. If a superstar gives you a meeting, you take it. Maybe you get lucky. But if that meeting goes sour or if you think that it is unlikely, you start contacting other players. Immediately

The Lakers had 2 major holes, the small forward (the 3), and at center (the 5).

Here are some guys the Lakers lost out on while waiting for LaMarcus to make a decision, or even missing out on DeAndre Jordan:

3 - DeMarre Carroll, Corey Brewer, Danny Green (more of a two, but has the height, length, shooting and the defense to play the 3), Wes Matthews, and Al Farouq Aminu (overpaid by the Blazers)

5 - Robin Lopez, Tyson Chandler, Ed Davis (maybe a 4), Brandan Wright, and Omer Asik (bad last year but still overpaid)

Now some of them may not have even been interested in playing for LA (yes some my not want to actually play for LA), or maybe the LAkers did not like them either, but there were options.

All of the very good free agent options are gone, with the Lakers left out in the cold, still holding out pathetic hope of landing the star they’ve never really had a chance at.

What the Lakers need to realize themselves (along with fans), is that they cannot take the short cut. Striking deals with superstar free agents is not their thing. The last free agent signing that landed a superstar was Shaq in 1996. So… 19 years… Tell me again that the Lakers sign megastars?

Nope.

Want to know the beauty of that signing in the first place? Shaq joined a Lakers team that had won 53 games the previous season. Know how many games the Lakers won last year? A franchise worst 21 games. That ain’t attracting anyone, not even all the cap space they have.

So again like the last Lakers free agency piece, what is next? Options are few and far between in regards to free agency, guys to possibly take an extreme risk on and choices seem to be narrowed down a bit in the trades department.

With how the Lakers are now, you ideally would pray that Robert Upshaw proves his worth in summer league and seizes the spot, as he has potentially Top 10 talent, but the red flags mean he should probably be forced to show he has matured. It may be best for Upshaw to “chase a carrot” for sometime and learn on the bench to start the season or even the D-League.

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Well, then after so much worry and criticism, the Lakers made a move that makes so much sense and brings the best player to them. The Lakers just took on Roy Hibbert in a salary dump.

Hibbert, may have actually been the best fit for the Lakers other than maybe DeAndre Jordan, and they got him for cheaper, less years, and essentially no risk.

Hibbert does have his issues, such as he is not offensively dominant (or that awfully memorable 0 points and 0 rebounds game against Joel Anthony), but he is not an absolute zero on that end of the floor. Even if George Hill set him up perfectly, he still is not the greatest at finishing at the rim, despite his size.

Where Hibbert excels at is on defense. According to nba.com and their defensive rating, Hibbert posted a 101.1. At first glance, that number is far from elite, but that does not tell the whole story.

What has to be factored in was the team that surrounded Hibbert last year. Luis Scola, Rodney Stuckey, CJ Watson, and Chris Copeland are not the best defenders in the world. David West is ok, but with Paul George out the majority of the year and George Hill out for nearly half, the defense around Hibbert was not good.

With Hill and George out, the Pacers, despite the multitude of bad defenders, still ranked 8th in defensive efficiency.

What do the Lakers need most at the 5 this year? Defense. A very good rim protector to help clean up the mess created by all of his young teammates while they learn. According to shotanalytics.com, Roy Hibbert held opposing teams to an elite, 44% at the rim, and nothing above even 40% in the 8 to 12 foot range. To put that in perspective, only two players in the NBA last year were better at protecting the rim, defensive stalwart Andrew Bogut and the French sensation, Rudy “Stifle Tower” Gobert.

Yeah that is impressive.

Another positive to adding Hibbert? He would be an amazing on the court mentor for Robert Upshaw. Hibbert only has one year left on his deal and it is not for sure that  he will want to return, or that LA will want him after the season.

Upshaw is not under contract yet (only an invite), but after numerous interviews, he appears to be very happy to be with the Lakers summer league team and wants to stay with them. He probably would give the Lakers the first chance to match a contract offered to him by another team, or they can sign him to a multi year, unguaranteed deal. Learning from the bench or playing in the D-League for a year would be great for him.

The deal in acquiring Hibbert is not yet completed, as there is talk about making it into a 3 team sign and trade situation for the Dallas Mavericks and Indian Pacers. The deal is not finalized, but from what I am gathering it could look a little something like this:

Indiana gets: Monta Ellis (4 years and $44 million), and either Raymond Felton and/or Nick Young, rights to Ater Majok (from LA), and probably a heavily protected second round pick in the future.

Dallas gets: Jeremy Lin (deal not yet finalized, but probably in the neighborhood of 3 years and $15 million, but depends mostly on how much they can absorb due to their cap situation), more future assets(?), and Nick Young (?).

Los Angeles gets: Roy Hibbert, Justin Anderson and possibly Raymond Felton (as a salary dump, but likely to be).

Now I am not great with the cap, so Felton’s inclusion and other numbers may not be off some.

For Indiana, this trade gets rid of Hibbert and his big salary (over $13.6 million), as they seem to have soured on each other, and the Pacers want to get faster. The Ellis signing only points more to Paul George running as a playmaking 4, like the Pacers have been discussing. They may need to be taking either Felton or Young back to sweeten the deal for either Dallas or LA.

Dallas gets a solid 1, who has been much maligned since his Linsanity time in New York. He is not the best PG in the league, but he does some things that high quality backups can do. Pass, penetrate and provide some spacing. He is not great at any of it, but with Rick Carlisle getting his hands on him, he could be a valuable player. With signing DeAndre Jordan and Wes Matthews, the Mavericks do not have to cap room to give Lin adequate salary demands, thus the inclusion of Anderson (but get to that in a minute).

Taking Nick Young may not make sense, but the Pacers may not want not absorb Felton, and it appears that the Nick Young is out of town. Shipping Young to Dallas, would provide some stability while Parsons and Matthews recover from possibly severe injuries. So why include Anderson again? I am getting to that.

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Making this deal for LA makes sense in acquiring Hibbert, but the other two teams need to shuffle salaries a bit. The Lakers have no need to help out either team. Sure they took Hibbert, but he fits well with the Lakers.

So why further help with Lin getting to Dallas and helping Dallas send Ellis to Indiana? Well first off, they may be able to get rid of Young. His deal is not terrible, but I have never been a huge fan. Good offense, but he is pathetic on defense. Plus, his role is now in question due to another acquisition that will be discussed in another minute. What the deal really could get the Lakers is the real prize, Justin Anderson.

Anderson is an athletic freak with incredible leaping ability and an insane wingspan, who would fill a big hole at the 3. He shot well in his final year at Virginia, but his mechanics were again off at the combine, much how they were in his first two years at Virginia. That may be due to injuries he suffered this past season. If he can revert back to that form, it would be huge as he shot 45% from deep before his wrist injury.

The Lakers did draft Anthony Brown, but Anderson is slightly younger and flat out better. I would probably try to keep Brown as he was a second round pick and has no guarantee at a contract. Keeping Brown would form a very good rotation at the 3, not to mention longer 4s in smaller lineups.

So the Lakers could demand that Anderson be included in the deal, to sweeten it for them. This would hurt for the Mavs, but getting rid of the cap hold on Anderson would free up more money to secure Lin.

Now before anyone starts going crazy (as I have a bit already, as I want Simba badly), this is speculation, and the framework may fall through. The entire deal can not be agreed upon until the 9th of July anyways due to the memorandum, so maybe that is why it is tight lipped at the moment. We will see. At minimum, the Lakers are getting Hibbert in just a salary dump, the rest would just be gravy.

Do not forget, Robert Sacre and Ryan Kelly have been rumored to be in the deal as well. This would move salary in Kelly (plus his stagnation), and possibly give Upshaw Sacre’s spot. With Sacre gone, Tarik Black would be the only back up big, so Upshaw deep on the bench would be a solid move to learn.

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After all of this, the Lakers also went out and signed Lou Williams as their bench scorer. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year, is clearly and offensive spark plug. Problem is, Williams signed for three years and $21 million. This only hints that Nick Young is included somehow in the deal mentioned above. With Young on the roster, it appears that Lou would not be able to get this contract.

Lou is a fan favorite it seems among the league, and is very much a valuable bench scorer. He only seems to be getting better after his ACL tear a couple years ago, and winning the award only adds to this.

Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the deal. Lou is essentially a 6’1” shooting guard, who finishes poorly at the rim. His salary of $7 million will only be roughly 7% of the cap next year, so it really is not all that bad. he is a very good shooter, and it much more consistent than Young. The best part of it, he can help teach the young guns, but also that it would get rid of the headache known as Nick Young.

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On top of the trade for Hibbert and Williams, the Lakers added veteran rotation big (and a former liked player by me), Brandon Bass to the mix. He will provide good leadership and mentorship for the young guys on their way up. The years and dollars are not yet known on Bass, but it cannot be too long or expensive.

Really the only downfall of bringing Bass (other than Jeff having to officially hate him now), is that he could steal minutes away from the young guys. Inept Byron Scott is an idiot and probably give Bass the majority of the minutes.

Are the Lakers going to be world beaters, or even playoff contenders? No, but what they are doing is making solid moves after having a disappointing start to the free agency period. The roster seems to be shaping up nicely, maybe even forming an identity, while even possibly be making another solid addition in the young asset department (by adding Justin Anderson).

There will be ups and downs to the year, but it will be very exciting to see how the team grows. Do not count on making the playoffs, but do expect to be entertained and get excited for the future of the Lakers.

Only a couple months ago we were saying the Lakers could have the worst future outlook in the entire league. A few days ago we were saying the Lakers would be screwed for years. Now, we added very good veterans, have major young building blocks already on the roster, possibly adding another, and have a true wildcard in the form of an immensely talented big man who went undrafted. Maybe the front office is not so bad after all.


To follow Clayton go to @19Yanks23 on Twitter