Lafayette Patriots Combine

.....I was benching when my coach came up to me and said that we are starting our 3-day football combine tomorrow. I said ok and what will we be doing. He told me he's going to explain after weight training. I knew what the combine was so I demonstrated to everybody how it's going to be. I told the whole team that we are going to do a 40 yard dash, 20 yard shuttle, vertical jump, broad jump, bench press, powerclean, and squat. Some of the teamates still didnt know what these were.

Day 1: Our names were being randomly called so no one knew when they were going to be called. We were getting 2 chances in each drill. I think I was the 10th person to go so I got on the line and and I started when I was ready. I told myself that it's all in the first step. I raced down the runway and suprisedly clocked in at 4.67 seconds. I was so happy I started screaming and saying "WOOOOOOO, WOOOOO, WOOOOO." I had the fastest time on the team which made me the fastest on the team. The second fastest time was my wide reciever, Ronnie Scott, from LEADERS HS, who clocked in at 4.71 second. Ongoing to the 20 yard shuttle, Ronnie got back at me by running the fastest time in the 20 yard shuttle clocking in at 4.05 seconds. Coincidentially, I came in 2nd place clocking in at 4.12 seconds.

Day 2: We went to the weight room and started off with the bench press. I started out at 165 lbs because I maxed out 155 lbs the previous time. I ended at 185 lbs which made me feel good that I went up 3o lbs. I squatted 275 lbs and went up 50 lbs from the previous time. What I hated about day 2 was that Ronnie beat me in benching and squat by 10 lbs.

Day 3: Is held on Monday June 15, 2009.

Congradualations Jahleel & Ronnie!!!!

Mark & Matthew

The debate about quarterbacks making an impact is really between two guys, Matthew Stafford, out of Georgia and Mark Sanchez, out of USC. They both came into the draft in the same year, 2009. They also were drafted in the same round. However, Matthew Stafford was the first pick in the draft, which could mean that he's a little better than Mark Sanchez.

Stafford struggled in his first year, completing 136 of 235 passes and throwing for 1,620 yards. he put up 6 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Sanchez did not play in his freshman year and took a redshirt season. He earned the Trojan's Service Team Offensive Player of the Year award.

In Stafford's sophomore year, he brought his team back for win in OT over Alabama Crimson Tide. he completed 194 passes out of 348 with 2,523 yards. He also had 19 touchdowns with 2 rushing touchdowns.

Sanchez still served as a back up quarterback for Booty, the starter. He only experienced playing time in 3 games of the season. He passed for 63 yards with no touchdown and 1 interceptions.

In Stafford's junior year, Georgia was ranked #1 in both the preseason coaches poll and AP poll. He received MVP in the 2009 Capital One Bowl.

Sanchez ended his redshirt junior season with 3,207 passing yards with 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, his college career's best.

He was drafted 5th overall by the New York Jets in the 2009 draft.On June 10, Sanchez signed a 5-year contract with the Jets worth $50 million, $28 million guaranteed.

Matthew Stafford signed a contract with the Detroit Lions that could be worth up to $78 million with $41.7 million guaranteed.

Reinstating Vick

Everybody knows that he did a horrible crime. Many people wouldn't forgive him for doing so. He went to jail for 23 months and is now in home confinement. Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, is thinking about reinstating him but not sure what the consequences are of doing so.
If Michael Vick do get reinstated, many people will think that it's going to have a bad impression on the NFL because he committed a crime and he just get to come back with no consequences. Unfortunately, I think he already suffered enough consequences. He's in debt right now working for $10 an hour at a construction site, went to jail and was suspended indefinitely without pay. Vick is still owned by the Atlanta Falcons.
Some teams, however, shows interest in Vick, such as the St. Louis Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. If Vick do get reinstated, he wont be at his best due to his age and lost if talent. Since he was in jail for a long time, he didn't receive all the special training needed for the NFL.

I think when and if Michael Vick comes back, he will be suspended for at least 8 games. In my opinion, Mr. Goodell should reinstate Vick and give him one more chance because Adam "Pac-Man" Jones did plenty of crimes and still came back. If Vick ever do violate his contract clauses, then he should be cut and never allowed to comeback.

They Can Never Be Alike!

I started noticing that they criticize alot, when Reggie Bush first came to the league. Coming out of USC, there were alot of expectations from him. Some of the things that were expected of him were not done. That's because he is different from everybody else in his own way. He never played in every game in every season due to knee injuries, but always made a comeback and did good.




This year, sports analysts criticized him and stated that, "he can't run between the tackles," meaning that he don't have the body and power to make full contact with defenders. These analysts expect everybody to be the same, like they expect Adrian Peterson to be the same as LaDainian Tonlinson (LT). Unfortunately, that's never going to happen because they are both different. There will never be another LT, like there is never going to be another Barry Sander, Walter Peyton or Peyton Manning.





Reggie Bush is a finesse running back or a scat back so he's going to look to make defenders miss because that's his running style. There is no one in the league today who has the cutback speed juke/cut moves or athleticism as Bush does. These sports analysts needs to stop looking at what Bush can't do and start looking at what he has done, what he's doing and what he will do.

USC vs. Miami Production

Every year when the NFL draft is on, I watch it just to see what players get drafted from USC and the University of Miami. Within this decade, I saw that Miami produces the best defensive backs while USC produces alot of good players in different positions. For example, a great defensive player that was produced by Miami was Sean Taylor.

Every game, there would be a receiver or running back that feared Sean Taylor. He recently died in 2007 from gunshot wounds. One of the receivers who feared Sean Taylor was Terrell Owens. when Sean Taylor goes for tackles, he looks to knock himself out, which he did a couple of times. He also had great speed when getting across the field. The reason why I liked him is because he never gave up and he's always the most aggressive person on defense.

Troy Polamalu is the best player that was produced by USC. He's more of a shut down safety that always looks for the ball in the air. He won 2 super bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The second best produced player from USC is Carson Palmer. He was a good quarterback but after his knee injury, his passer rating deceased every year that he played. He is now more injury prone.

Although I really dislike the New York Giants, I like their receiver, Steve Smith who also came from USC. He also won a super bowl in his rookie year with the Giants in 2007.

Just Retire Already!!

He already spent 16 years in the NFL and I think it's time to go. He is soon going to 40 years old and if he plays then he can't be the star of the franchise again.

Brett Favre came in the the NFL in 1991 drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round and traded to the Green bay packers in the following year. He spent his entire career with the Green bay Packers until he retired. Later he came out of retirement and was signed by the New York Jets, in 2008. He also had shoulder problems but he got through it.

Ever since I started watching football, I never saw a football player come out of retirement twice to have his last year, his worst year. I think that was his worst year because he threw more interceptions than he ever did in his career. after that year, he said again that he officially retired but considered coming back with the Minnesota Vikings, despite having shoulder surgery. The Vikings pursued after him but stopped because Brett favre didn't let them know if he's staying out of retirement. But since he made a name for himself as one of the best quarterback in football history, he should be finished with being a professional football player and take care of his family in retirement.

My 1st PSAL Football Game

...We lost the coin toss but deferred in the 1st half which raised my confidence. I wanted to play on kick return but I didnt want to get tired before I snapped the ball. My coach told me to run "121 waggle," which was a passing play, to open up the game. Many people ask me if I was ever intimidated by the linebackers, but I never let nobody intimidate me. I rolled out and thought about passing the ball then I saw the open field and I heard people telling me to go. So iI ran the ball for a 14 yard gain. I was so happy because I actually gained yards. We ended the drive with a turnover on 4th down. The quarter ended with a score of 7-0. I was so pissed at myself because we got into the redzone twice in the quarter but couldn't score. I told myself that, "I need to take the game into my hand and be a leader." At the half, the score was only 14-0. In the locker room, I told myself the same thing, "I need to take the game into my hands and be a leader and lead my team to win." I got the team hyped up and we went into the second half to take the win.

We kicked the ball to them in the 3rd quarter and we stopped their drive and made them punt the ball. We got the ball back and we tried going airbourne again with "121 waggle." I actually got the ball off at the right time, however, my reciever claimed that i over threw him by 5 yards. I told him 5 yards is his fault. We didnt argue over it because we got into the redzone on the same drive, only to fumble the ball at the 9-yard line. Stuyvesant started pouring on with touchdowns. Our 3rd string fullback began to cry because he thought the game was over. On defense, we could've picked the ball off(intercept the ball) 3 times, but we played safe and batted it down. I changed my cleats to my "addidas RB 619 Fly." Right after that, I threw for a 27 yard touchdown to John. I felt as if we had already won the game. When there was about 4 minutes left, I tod my self that we can't come back froma 41-6 defecit, but we could score and show everybody were out but not down. I had a 54 yard run from a quarterback sneak. With about 2 minutes to go, I scored the 2nd touchdown by running the ball into the endzone. I knew that I put the game into my hand an helped us score made me feel that without my leadership, this would've never happened. This game is still remembered by me today and is considered the best game I ever played.

Tom Brady 2009-10

Tom Brady's season ended briefly after he injured his knee in a 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in week 1 of the season. It is noted that every time a quarterback comes back from a knee surgery, they are never the same as before. This was a proven when Carson Palmer had a knee injury and came back. He was never the same as he previously was. However, they are capable of throwing over 3,500 yards but not too much touchdowns passes.
In my point of view, they can throw over 30 touchdowns if they have great receivers on their team such as Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison. The year before Carson Palmer was injured, he threw for 3836 yards with 32 touchdowns and had a passer rating of 101.1. After recovering from his injury and having surgery, he came back for the 2006 season. He threw over 4,000 yards but his passer rating decreased to a 93.9 and from then, kept going down. It is clear that surgery affected his performance within the one year that he received it.

Tom Brady isn't my favorite quarterback and Patriots isn't my favorite team but when he got injured I felt down for a while. This was because, he is the heart of the New England Patriots. Halfway through the season, i said to myself that alot of unexpected teams are going to make it to the playoffs. The unexpected teams include the Cardinals, Falcons, and Ravens. These teams made the playoffs because they were being lead by good quarterbacks. These quarterbacks are Kurt Warner of the Cardinals, Joe Flacco of the Ravens, And Matt Ryan of the Falcons.

Tom Brady started practices with the team and is looking to make a full comeback and lead the New England Patriots to another championship, if he is the same as he was, 2 years ago.

Last Season Don't Mean Anything!

Who will be making the playoffs?

Many people believe that it will be Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals, or Atlanta Falcons. What about the other teams? You can't start counting teams out of the playoffs based on their previous season. In the season of 2007, the Dolphins had the worse season ever with a record of 1-15. They rebounded in the 2008 season to win 11 of their 16 games and clinch the playoff, despite not going to far in the playoffs.

In the 2008 season, the Detroit Lions lost all 16 of their games and added this record to their franchise. The whole team was embarrassed because of their record. In the off season, Lions tried to fix their problems in their offense by drafting Matthew Stafford, QB, out of Georgia Tech.

I think this year, Matthew Stafford will take the Lions far into the playoffs like Matt Ryan did with the Falcons last year.

Another team that's similar to the Lions but did a little better job than them was St. Louis Rams. They don't have alot of young players and I think that is affecting the team and how they perform.

Those two teams wouldn't surprise me if they were to make it to the playoffs. However, they would surprise me if they kept their same record as last year.

A Feeling Like Being At The Actual Game!

The last time I remember the New Orleans Saints making the playoffs was in 2006. I was so excited because I thought Reggie Bush could make it to the Superbowl as a rookie. They played in the NFC Championship game, facing the Chicago Bears. I was so pissed off when, the Saints lost to a score of 39-14. The bears was respected by me when they beat my favorite team because Lovie Smith , Bears head coach, was recognized as the first black head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl in its 41 years. Every time a big play on defense such as a force fumble happened, I slammed my fist into a pillow I had next to me. When I saw Reggie Bush's electrifying 88 yard touchdown-catch and run to the end zone right before the half, I was so hyped up. He brought the Saints within a 2 point deficit.

At the half time show, Marshall Faulk said that the Bears had forced only 2 turnovers, but to me, it seemed like they had 6. One of the turnovers was caused on the, Drew Brees, who is also my favorite quarterback. One thing I learned throughout the game as a football player is that players has to sell a play to the referee if he feels that they made a wrong call. This learned lesson came about when Drew Brees was called for an intentional-grounding at the 2 yard line in their territory. This resulted in a safety. After this point, the Saints lost their momentum and gained yards but couldn't put the ball in the end zone.

Drew Brees made 27 out of 49 passes, with 354 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. Reggie Bush had 4 carries for 19 yards. However, he caught seven passes for132 yards and 1 TD. Deuce McCalister had 6 carries for 18 yards. Marcus Colston caught 5 passes for 63 yards. Overall, the Saints passing game would've helped them win the game. But I think in the upcoming season of 2009-10, the Saints will make an impact on the NFL universe and make the playoffs and hopefully going to an other NFC championship game.

Reggie Bush vs. Devin Hester

Why do everybody under estimate Reggie Bush? He is the most athletic running back in the NFL. He does everything that seem impossible, like hurdling over people while diving for the pylons in the corners of the end zone. He could return a punt at any time and so can Devin Hester. Don't get me wrong but as my opinion, I think Bush returns kicks better than Hester any day of the week.
Devin Hester only return kicks because of his speed. Devin Hester is faster than Reggie Bush but only by 6 tenths of a second.Bush's speed and juke moves always bring him to the end zone. He is the most finesse running back in the league. He was nicknamed "Baby Matrix" because he always make a defender miss.
Bush is listed as the 3rd best player who came from USC, after Troy Polamalu, who 1st, and Carson Palmer, who's 2ND.
Every season, these two athletes will always bring excitement in returning kicks.I guess we'll have to wait until their careers are over and then compare and contrast each other's special team stats and see who was the best.

Saints Linebackers

CURRENT DEPTH CHART: Player - Age - Height - Weight, Vilma 27, 6-1, 230Mark Simoneau, 32, 6-0, 245Marvin, 24, 6-3, 249Anthony Waters, 24, 6-3, 238
Vilma was outstanding last year in his debut season with the Saints, playing every snap throughout the season and leading the team with 151 tackles. He has a knack for cutting through the traffic to reach the ball-carrier, and he's a harder hitter than he gets credit for.
The Saints made it their top priority to re-sign Vilma in free agency, inking him to a five-year, $34 million deal.
Behind Vilma is 10th-year veteran Simoneau, who missed all of last season with a back injury that required surgery. Simoneau is healthy now and should be able to return to full speed.
Mitchell has played sparingly in his first two seasons with the Saints, mostly on special teams. He's a solid young player, but as long as Vilma stays healthy, his role won't change. The Saints took a flier on Waters late in free agency, signing him to a minimal one-year deal. He was a third-round draft pick out of Clemson in 2007, but a knee injury limited him to just seven games in two years with the San Diego Chargers.