NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Tyron Smith, OT, USC, 6′5 280

Position Ranking: #1

Strengths: Smith shows exceptional athleticism for an offensive tackle. He’s well-built and muscular with an even distribution of size throughout; doesn’t carry much body fat and has the frame to easily add 25 pounds or better. Very good functional strength and is able to control larger defenders once he latches on in both run support and pass protection. Extends arms quickly at the snap with heavy hands to jolt defender. Highly effective on angle and hook blocks, consistently driving opponent down the line; good lateral bend and quickness. Shows a nice burst to get to the second level with the hip flexibility to adjust to moving targets. Extremely effective on outside pulls, gets to the perimeter quickly and neutralizes the defender to clear an outside running lane; shows better straight line speed than some tight ends and can be dominant in space. Has the strength to control defenders and drive open a running lane with hands underneath defenders extended arms. Manhandles linebackers in space.

Plays with a consistently wide base in pass protection and creates a wall when he wins the snap against an outside release; shows a good hop step and wingspan. Has the hips, arm length, and natural athleticism to recover effectively even when he loses outside leverage. Handles an inside bull rush very well, dropping down to anchor and holding his base. Plays with a mean streak and finishes every play. Well conditioned, looks the same through four quarters.

Needs Improvement: Footwork is still raw; doesn’t have a natural kick slide. Tends to get flat footed and will trot instead of sliding to recover or mirror. Gets in the habit of overextending and relying on his upper body strength; needs to be more patient and wait on defender in pass protection. Doesn’t have much experience at left tackle, played almost exclusively at right tackle. Size will need to improve to maintain his overall effectiveness at the next level.

Bottom Line: Smith almost looks more like a defensive end than an offensive tackle. His athleticism and strength are impressive and jump out at you as you watch him play, he’s much quicker and stronger than his 280 pounds. I hadn’t started evaluating Smith until late in the process as I was surprised that he declared. But what I noticed about Smith, more than any other prospect, was the gradual progression in his play- especially his footwork. From week one, to week five, to week nine, to week twelve, his footwork improved each game and he began to show the ability to become more natural in his technique (went from no kick-step to a functional kick-step).

He’s not nearly a finished product, but the gradual improvement will be noticeable to teams and also show that he responds well to coaching. With no clear-cut, day one left tackle prospects available, I believe Smith’s upside and potential are higher than any other top prospect. He’ll likely start at the right side as he adds weight and technique, but the physical skills and raw athleticism are as good as it gets for a left tackle prospect.

Draft Projection: 1st round.

Senior writer jclombardi reviews & grades Packers win over Steelers.

Summary: QB Rodgers threw three touchdown passes to get MVP honors and to lead the Packers to a Super Bowl victory. After a fast start building a 21-3 lead in the first half, the Packers offense imploded briefly against a tough Steelers defense allowing the Steelers back in the game at 28-25 late in the 4^th quarter. The defense made the big plays creating 3 turnovers that the offense converted into 3 touchdowns for the final score 31-25. The biggest play was by LB Bishop who opened the fourth quarter by recovering a fumble jarred loose by LB Matthews from RB Mendenhall in Packer territory. Then, Rodgers led two fourth-quarter scoring drives: an 8-yard touchdown by WR Jennings and a field goal by K Crosby. These were game-preserving drives giving some breathing room for the defense. The Steelers had a final chance to score a touchdown to win, down by six points with two minutes left, but the defense held for the victory 31-25.

Game balls: QB Rodgers; WR Nelson; WR Jennings; P Masthay.

Report Card–Good, Bad, & Ugly: JC vs SE:

Pass Offense—B vs B. QB Rodgers had a stellar day completing 24-of-39 for 304 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 111.5 passer rating. QB Rodgers earned the MVP honors. The offensive line did an overall solid job, although they allowed 3 (2 were coverage sacks) sacks, 8 hits, and pressures throughout the game. Rodgers was very sharp with big plays including touchdown throws to WR Nelson (1) and WR Jennings (2). Although erratic with several dropped balls, WR Nelson led with 9 receptions for 140 yards and 1 touchdown. WR Jennings was extremely sharp with 4 receptions for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns. WR Jones had 5 big receptions for 50 yards, although he dropped a probable touchdown pass.

Rush Offense—C+ vs B-. The Packers rushed only 13 carries for 50 yards. Yet, RB Starks had 11 carries for 52 yards averaging a solid 4.7 yards making several big runs in the game.

Pass Defense—B vs B+. The front seven never got a strong consistent pass rush. In the second half, QB Roethlisberger was way too comfortable for many pass plays. Facing soft pass pressure, QB Roethlisberger had his moments completing 25 passes for 263 and 2 touchdowns. Yet, in the first half, he threw two big interceptions with one leading to safety Collins score. WR Wallace had 9 receptions for 89 yards and 1 touchdown. WR Ward had 7 receptions for 78 yards and 1 touchdown. In the second half, the Packers struggled with the loss of veteran CB Woodson and CB Shields to injuries. LB Matthews and LB Hawk made impressive athletic plays to tip Roethlisberger passes. Rookie LB Zombo made some good plays including a second-half coverage sack. DT Green got to Roethlisberger once to knock his arm leading to the interception touchdown. Finally, the reserves of Bush, Lee, and company did enough in zone coverage to win the game with time running out.

Rush Defense—C vs C+. The Packers' front started out playing well, but they had trouble getting any penetration in the game.  Although LB Matthews got no knockout plays, he caused a key fumble in the fourth quarter. Overall, this unit did not dominate like the previous games. They had trouble containing Steelers running backs. The Steelers rushed for 126 yards averaging a strong 5.5 yards with the Packers losing containment on many plays giving up some big runs. RB Mendenhall had 14 carries for 63 yards, RB Moore had 2 carries for 13 yards, and RB Redman had 3 carries for 19 yards. QB Roethlisberger added 4 scrambles for 31 yards. Sadly, in the third quarter, the Steelers’ 50-yard touchdown drive was completed entirely with running plays. Leading the team, safety Peprah had 10 tackles and LB Bishop had 8 tackles.

Special Teams–D vs D. The Packers managed to win a game in spite of horrid play again by their special-teams units. The game started inauspiciously with Antonio Brown’s 38-yard kickoff return out of the end zone, and things unraveled from there. Williams muffed the Pittsburgh punt four plays later when Shields ran into him but he fell on the football at the bottom of an ensuing pile-up. Williams later slapped Anthony Madison across the face mask after standing idly by on a rolling punt drawing one of three special-teams penalties by the Packers in the third quarter. Williams didn’t have any return yards on punts. The combination of Lee and Nelson averaged a measly 21 yards in three kickoff returns. Officials flagged Tom Crabtree for a sketchy facemask penalty during punt coverage. They flagged linebacker Diyral Briggs as an ineligible man downfield during another Packers punt. P Masthay had a so-so performance averaging just 40.5 gross yards and 36.3 net yards with one touchback.

Coaching—A- vs B+. McCarthy’s name is forever linked to Lambeau, Lombardi and Holmgren as the coaches who led the Packers to the top of the NFL mountain. The Packers, in arguably improbable fashion, ran the table of winning all four games in the playoffs away from Lambeau Field as a No. 6 seed. The play caller showed his hand with an aggressive plan of attack from the get-go and played to Rodgers’ strengths by spreading things out. The pass-run balance was out of whack, but the disparity was due more to Rodgers’ having the latitude to go with the effective pass in his pre-snap checks. Defensive coordinator Dom Capers didn’t blink when he lost Woodson for the last two-plus quarters and Shields for a short time. Capers adjusted by going with more zone coverage to limit how much havoc Roethlisberger could have wreaked against a shaky secondary. Capers’ gamble of not cranking up the pressure in Pittsburgh’s final drive paid off. Special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum endured what could have been a title-denying performance by his units.

Overall Game—A- vs. A+ (CBS Sportsline). Like the Packers have done all season long, they found a way to overcome injuries. Charles Woodson suffered a shoulder injury but his replacements played admirably. Donald Driver missed the entire second half with an ankle injury. No problem, as Jordy Nelson picked up the slack with nine catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Rodgers continued to prove he's one of the NFL's best QBs with 304 yards passing and three scores with no interceptions. What other grade could you give them?

In the end, it was not a good night for Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers franchise quarterback, who had been though so much over the past 11 months, could have cemented his legacy with another Super Bowl win in Dallas.

Instead, it’s the two-time Super Bowl winner who was quiet and reserved after a stunning 31-25 loss to the Packers in which he threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown to make it 14-0 in the first quarter.

While there was plenty of blame to go around the black and gold locker room, Roethlisberger decided to put the weight of Super Bowl XLV on his shoulders.

"It was hard-fought. Obviously, it's disappointing to lose,” Roethlsiberger said. “For me it's even more disappointing because you feel like you let a lot of people down that stood up today to fight – people like Doug Legursky, Trai Essex, Ramon Foster, Antwaan Randel El. Personally, I feel like I let a lot of people down.

“I don’t put the blame on anybody but myself,” he said. “I feel like I let the city of Pittsburgh down, the fans, my coaches, my teammates. It’s not a good feeling.”

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Munchak Went Into Canton As An Offensive Lineman For The Houston Oilers In 2001

The Titans have named Mike Munchak as the team’s second head coach since moving to Tennessee, deciding to make a move from within the organization to replace the league’s formed longest tenured coach, Jeff Fisher.

Munchak becomes the first former player to coach the team. and is the 16th head coach in Titans/Oilers franchise history.

This will be the first head coaching gig for Munchak, who turns 51 in March, with the only franchise the offensive line coach and Hall of Fame lineman has ever gotten on the turf or sideline for since being selected eighth overall from Penn State by the then-Houston Oilers in 1982.

Bud Adams acknowledged Munchak’s high, lofty accolades:

“Mike has been successful at everything he has been associated with at our franchise and I have no reason to believe that he won’t be successful as our head coach,” Adams said in a statement. “He earned Hall of Fame distinction as a player and yearly he has been one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL. He understands where we have been and knows where we need to go.”

Fantasysportsgab one of the gab affiliates is reporting that the Eagles are in the process of hiring Jon Gruden as the new head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. If this is true it will be a revolution for the Philadelphia franchise. Lets not forget what Chuckie did as the offensive coordinator of the Eagles.

He took over in Tampa and won a bowl for them. He could easily do the same for the Eagles.

The Eagles are saying the rumor isn’t true.  The team released a statement saying there is no basis for speculation that Reid would be replaced by Gruden.

“It is simply not true,” the team said.