Bruce Smith, Heisman Trophy Winner 1941, Featured on ESPN

Bruce Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner in 1941, was featured by ESPN on Outside the Lines. Smith's acceptance speech for the award was broadcast just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. According to reports, Smith's speech "was disrupted when a squadron of American Army planes was mistaken for German bombers causing an air raid alert to be signaled along the East Coast as he stepped to the podium." In September, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has proclaimed “Bruce Smith Day” in Minnesota in honor of a one-time Heisman Trophy winner who will be celebrated at the University of Minnesota at Saturday’s home football game. Sports Illustrated ran a great piece on Bruce Smith and what he meant to a youngster who grew up in Minnesota.

"We didn't have television in 1941, so this paragon existed visually for me only in blurry black-and-white newspaper photographs and in the wildly dramatic moving pictures that reeled through my mind on autumn Saturdays as I heard of his heroics via radio play-by-play. The Gophers wore golden helmets and golden uniforms in those days, and I visualized them vaguely as a swashbuckling crowd of shining trophy statuettes with Smith being by far the fastest, strongest, smartest—and shiniest—statuette of them all."

With Memorial Day coming up, it's best we remember Bruce Smith.

Al Davis Bluffed His Way into Becoming a Football Coach

Al Davis was lauded and slammed after dying this week. One of my favorite things about Al was the fact that he bluffed his way into the coaching profession.

At Syracuse University, [Al Davis] studied English and ran with varsity jocks but was cut from the football team. He played with the junior varsity, a fact he tried to edit later. His yearbook bios in his jobs as an assistant coach at The Citadel and USC said he was a three-sport letterman; he lettered in none.

Since he was cut off [from the Syracuse football team] as a player, he set out to coach. He began soaking up strategy by taking copious notes at Syracuse practices until Syracuse Coach Ben Schwartzwalder noticed him there and did what any football man--and especially the latter-day Davis--would: He had the offender removed.

At Syracuse, Davis roomed with Bernie Custis, who as the Orangeman’s quarterback was Syracuse’s MVP in 1948 but who didn’t play in the NFL because he wasn’t going to be given a shot at quarterback, because Custis is black.

Custis was a quarterback at Syracuse University and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. The Browns, however, wanted to convert him to running back. Custis decided to go to Canada instead, where he was an all-star as a rookie QB in 1951.

Davis offered Custis a series of jobs for years, but Custis turned him down because he didn’t like to fly.

Some great quotes from the New York Times:

Don Shula, the Hall of Fame coach, once said of Mr. Davis, reporting on a conversation they’d had, “Al thought it was a compliment to be considered devious.”

“I don’t want to be the most respected team in the league,” Mr. Davis said in 1981. “I want to be the most feared.”

From the Washington Post:

When he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992, Mr. Davis said with typical bravado, “I said many times that it should have happened a long time ago.”

OldCleat's All Did Not Get Drafted Team 2011 Defensive Line, update

Below is an update of signing statuses of the 2011 OldCleat All Did Not Get Drafted Team. The photo of Ryan Winterswyk is from rocktytoptalk.com.

Ian Williams DT 6-2 301 Notre Dame

Signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He was considered by Tony Pauline of Draftinsider.net as a top undrafted free agent. With the niners moving on from Aubrayo Franklin at NT, Williams could have a track to a backup job.

Lawon Scott DT 6-2 310 Mississippi

Scott signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Scott has the size and ability to be a backup NT in the NFL. He had a promising start to his college career, but he was moved to a backup in a rotation in his senior season. He sustained an injury in the Tennessee game.

Dexter Larimore DT 6-2 310 Ohio State

Larimore signed with the New Orleans Saints. He is a big 4-3 DT who could also play some NT. He flashes some athleticism for his size. He doesn't project as a great pass rusher.

Ted Laurent DT 6-1 303 Mississippi

Another of the three draftable Mississippi DTs (along with Lawon Scott and Jerrel Powe), Laurent is now playing with the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL. It turns out that Laurent lived in Canada until he was 15 and moved to Georgia. He was selected in the CFL's supplemental draft because of the NFL lockout. He still wants to play in the NFL.

Ollie Ogbu DT 6-1 285 Penn State

Ogbu is a quick but undersized DT who would need to go to a Tampa-2 team. Done. Ogbu was signed by the Colts. The Colts may have some cap issues, so he may have a chance to stick.

Ryan Winterswyk DE 6-4 263 Boise State

Coming out of college, Winterswyk was a 4-3 DE who was a little small for a run stuffer but not quite the pass rusher for a 260 pounder. So he was a bit of a tweener. Well, it appears that the Falcons are going to make him a blocking tight end. And apparently at least Miami was also interested in him as a TE.

Justin Trattou DE 6-3 252 Florida

Trattou signed by the Giants. OK, he was a part-time player until his senior year, but Trattou was behind two DEs at Florida (Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham) who were second-round picks in the 2010 draft (and Dulap was projected to be a top-10 pick before a slide). Trattou looked like a player to me as a senior. May be a step too slow to play DE at 255. But he has a chance.

Ugo Chinasa DE 6-5 252 Oklahoma State

Signed by the Carolina Panthers, Chinasa is a 4-3 DE. He may be a good NFL pass rusher with some refinement to his technique.

OldCleat's All Did Not Get Drafted Team 2011 QBs, RBs, and ends

OldCleat's All Did Not Get Drafted ends, QBs, and backs 2011 is now out. Sorry about the huge number of backs. I was going to include more, but killed Locke of Kentucky and Spann of Northern Illinois at the last second. I'll update as they get signed. The pic of Terrence Toliver is from gridiron fans.

Weslye Saunders TE 6-6 273 South Carolina
Charlie Gantt TE 6-5 255 Michigan State
Andre Smith TE 6-4 265 Virginia Tech

Preston Dial TE-FB 6-3 237 Alabama
Henry Hynoski FB 6-2 260 Pittsburgh
Robert Hughes FB 5-11 245 Notre Dame

John Clay RB 6-1 248 Wisconsin
Mario Fannin RB 5-11 227 Auburn
Noel Devine RB 5-8 170 West Virginia
Darren Evans RB 6-0 223 Virginia Tech
Matt Asiata RB 5-11 229 Utah
Brandon Saine RB 6-1 219 Ohio State

Scott Tolzien QB 6-3 208 Wisconsin
Jerrod Johnson QB 6-5 243 Texas A&M
Pat Devlin QB 6-4 220 Delaware

Terrence Toliver WR 6-5 206 LSU
Dane Sanzenbacher WR 5-11 180 Ohio State
DeAndre Brown WR 6-6 231 Southern Miss
Armon Binns WR 6-3 210 Cincinnati
Terrance Turner WR 6-3 210 Indiana

OldCleat's All Did Not Get Drafted Team 2011 Offensive Line

OldCleat's All Did Not Get Drafted Offensive 2011 is now out. I am working on getting the stats boys done. There are several QBs and a bunch of running backs I like. Here are the big boys, and I really like Hix. The image is from nationalchamps.net.

Kyle Hix T 6-7 320 Texas
Darius Morris T 6-4 305 Temple
Rich Lapham T 6-8 322 Boston College
Bryant Browning G 6-4 313 Ohio State
Colin Madison G 6-4 315 Temple
Zach Hurd G 6-7 323 Connecticut
Justin Boren G 6-3 320 Ohio State
Ryan Bartholomew C 6-3 290 Syracuse
Chase Beeler C 6-3 277 Stanford
Ryan Pugh C 6-4 293 Auburn

OldCleat's All Did Not Get Drafted Team 2011 Defense

OldCleat's All Did Not Get Drafted Defense 2011 is now out, finally. OldCleat was also locked out. The signing period for these young men started today. Here are the guys I would want to see signed on the defensive side of the ball. I will work on the offense next, and I will update who they get signed by as that moves along.

Ian Williams DT 6-2 301 Notre Dame
Lawon Scott DT 6-2 310 Mississippi
Dexter Larimore DT 6-2 310 Ohio State
Ted Laurent DT 6-1 303 Mississippi
Ollie Ogbu DT 6-1 285 Penn State
Ryan Winterswyk DE 6-4 263 Boise State
Justin Trattou DE 6-3 252 Florida
Ugo Chinasa DE 6-5 252 Oklahoma State

Mark Herzlich OLB 6-4 238 Boston College
Mario Harvey OLB 6-0 250 Marshall
Dom DeCicco OLB 6-3 230 Pittsburgh
Eric Gordon OLB-SS 6-0 228 Michigan State
Nick Bellore ILB 6-1 241 Central Michigan
Alex Wujciak ILB 6-3 245 Maryland
Obi Ezeh ILB 6-2 240 Michigan

Kendric Burney CB 5-9 190 North Carolina
Devon Torrence CB 6-1 200 Ohio State
Mario Butler CB 6-1 180 Georgia Tech
Deunta Williams CB-FS 6-2 210 North Carolina
Will Hill FS 6-1 204 Florida
Jai Eugene FS 5-11 181 LSU
Jerrard Tarrant FS 6-0 202 Georgia Tech
Jeron Johnson SS 5-11 194 Boise State
DeAndre McDaniel SS 6-1 210 Clemson
Justin Taplin-Ross SS 6-3 214 Utah
Davon Morgan SS 6-0 198 Virginia Tech

OldCleat Redrafts Bengals Draft - 2011

OldCleat redrafts the Bengals draft once again, this time for the 2011 Draft. This is year No. 4. The rules are, I would draft a player that the Bengals had drafted, or someone drafted after the selection, until the Bengals selected again. So, my universe of players that I would have chosen were the players in-between the Bengals draft.

I have learned that my redrafting isn’t any better than the Bengals normal drafting, nor really worse. Since I’m picking folks near the same universe (or the same players), my track record has been about the same. So the proof in drafting will be in several years to see who is better.

Round one, fourth overall: Bengals select A.J. Green, WR, Georgia. I would have taken Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU, who was selected No. 5 overall by the Arizona Cardinals. I am not a huge fan of taking wide receivers really high in the draft (or, apparently, at all). And, if you do draft one this high, I would hope that the WR is the whole package, including speed. I worry that Green may be a step slower than elite status; he also doesn’t have the bulk at 210 to be a Larry Fitzgerald type. But I am in the minority opinion on this. I think he will be a plus player. Peterson, on the other hand, it the whole deal. He is big, very fast, quick, and productive. I think he will be a shutdown corner from day one. I do understand that there were those who thought his cover skills were not that great, but I never saw that when I watched him. The image is from kellymlambert.blogspot.com.

Round two, 35th overall: Bengals select Andy Dalton, QB, TCU. I would have taken Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson who was selected 51st overall by the Buccaneers. Dalton was a need pick, and there seemed to be several folks who right before the draft commenced thought that Dalton might go as high as 12 overall to the Vikings. His selection by the Bengals has been widely lauded. It was a need pick because Carson Palmer gave the Bengals an ultimatum to trade him or he will retire. I hope that Dalton is as good as advertised. When I look at Dalton, I see a average athlete who is a hard worker and pretty good college quarterback, and about a fifth-round pick or so. I sincerely hope I’m wrong. He does look like a good fit for a West Coast offense that the Bengals will install this year. Bowers slipped because of a knee injury that may require microfracture surgery. And, yet, I would take him. I think he was a Top-5 talent, and I would even give him a redshirt year should he need it to get healthy. And, if not, I think he is at least a pass-rush guy from day one. One of the best values in the draft, if healthy.

Round three, 66th overall: Bengals select Dontay Moch, OLB, Nevada. I would have taken Ryan Mallet, QB, Arkansas, who was taken 74th overall by the Patriots. I really like Moch’s measurables, and I think the Bengals may have a nice pass-rusher from the outside. He also has the speed to be a three-down outside linebacker, though out of the gate I think he will be just a pass rusher. But Mallet is a rare talent who has a lot of questions. He has a cannon, and he produced as a freshman at Michigan and also at Arkansas for two seasons in the SEC. During the season, he was looked at as one of the top three quarterback prospects, and he fell during the postseason, predraft process. He is not fast (he is in fact slow), but he was athletic enough to be a great college QB. I would draft him, sit him, and work with him to become an NFL quarterback.

Round four, 101st overall: Bengals select Clint Boling, OT-OG, Georgia. I also would have selected Boling. I think He can play left tackle in the NFL. But I think he will start off as a guard. He is athletic and very productive as a player. He should be a starter in the NFL in the next two or three years, and he should be a plus player as an NFLer.

Round five, 134th overall: Bengals select Robert Sands, S, West Virginia. I would have selected Ahmad Black, S, Florida, who was selected 151st overall by the Buccaneers. Here is the classic choice between a size-speed candidate (Sands) against a production candidate (Black). Sands would have been my second choice if Black wasn’t on the board (I also really liked Lawrence Wilson, the undersized OLB from U Conn who wasn’t selected until round six, 166 overall). Sands was a very good player in the Big East for the Mountaineers, but Black was one of the best players in college football. Sands is 6-3, 6-4, 215 or so, while Black is 5-9, 185 or 190. Sands ran about a 4.51 40, while Black ran a 4.7 40 at the combine, and a 4.85 at his pro day. So even more than the height issue, Black is not fast. (Of course, there are those who think Sands is too tall to be a DB in the pros.) It will be interesting to see if taking the college productivity guy versus the size-speed guy.

Round six, 167th overall: Bengals select Ryan Whalen, WR, Stanford. I would have taken, oh, most of the other draftees in the sixth round, but specifically, I would have taken Greg Jones, ILB, Michigan State, who was drafted 185th overall by the Giants, barely over Quan Sturdivant, ILB, North Carolina, who was drafted 171st overall by the Cardinals, and Allen Bradford, who was drafted 187th overall by the Buccaneers. Good underneath receivers are fine and dandy, but I of course would have gone for a super productive linebacker like Jones. He was more highly ranked as a junior than as a senior, but he should be a big plus as a special teamer, and he could be a real good linebacker. I see Whalen as a third-down slot receiver. Sturdivant was less productive in college, because of injury, but he may have more upside than Jones. Bradford is a size-speed candidate (240 pounds, 4.6 40). Some of the other folks I would have taken instead of Whalen, more or less in order, are: Jerell Powe, NT, Mississippi, drafted by the Chiefs; Caleb Schlauderaff, G, Utah, drafted by the Packers; Brian Rolle, LB, Ohio State, drafted by the Eagles; Tyrod Taylor, QB, Va Tech, drafted by the Ravens; Charles Clay, FB-TE-TB-HB, Tulsa, drafted by the Dolphins; Ross Homan, LB, Ohio State, drafted by the Vikings; Mike Mohamad, ILB, Cal, drafted by the Broncos; and JT Thomas, OLB, West Virginia, drafted by da Bears.

Round seven, 207th overall: Bengals draft Korey Lindsay, CB, Illinois State. I would have taken Lee Ziemba, OT, Auburn, who was drafted 244th overall by the Carolina Panthers. I admit it, I am a sucker for 6-8, 300-plus pound tackles from the SEC who had a lot of college production and started for several years. From what admittedly little I know about Lindsay, it looks like he has the ability to play nickel corner in the NFL, as well as help on special teams. I liked Brandyn Thompson, the little corner from Boise State. I am intrigued by Stanley Havili, the athletic FB from USC who only weighs about 230 but who may be a great West Coast-type fullback.

Round seven, 246th overall: Bengals draft Jay Finley, RB, Baylor. I would have drafted Terrence Tolliver, WR, LSU, who was undrafted. Finally, OldCleat drafts a wideout. Four years, one wideout. Finley does NOT excite me. I think there are better undrafted running back prospects … guys who were bigger, faster, etc. (I like John Clay of Wisconsin, who is bigger and slower.) I do like Tolliver, who is 6-4, 210, and who is athletic. Not a whole lot of production in college, but Tolliver seems to be maybe one of those guys who may sneak onto a roster.

Cincy
1 4 overall A.J. Green, WR, Georgia
2 35 overall Andy Dalton, QB, TCU
3 66 overall Dontay Moch, OLB, Nevada
4 101 overall Clint Boling, OT-OG, Georgia
5 134 overall Robert Sands, S, West Virginia
6 167 overall Ryan Whalen, WR, Stanford
7 207 overall Korey Lindsay, CB, Illinois State
7 246 overall: Jay Finley, RB, Baylor

OldCleat
1 5 overall Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU
2 51 overall Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson
3 74 overall Ryan Mallet, QB, Arkansas
4 101 overall Clint Boling, OT-OG, Georgia
5 151 overall Ahmad Black, S, Florida
6 195 overall Greg Jones, ILB, Michigan State
7 244 overall Lee Ziemba, OT, Auburn
7 UDFA Terrence Tolliver, WR, LSU

All-Stars and No Djokes - OldCleat NewsBeat

The All-Star teams were announced yesterday, with Jose Bautista breaking the record for the highest number of fan votes ever. Bautista was able to get 7.4 million, beating Ken Griffey Jr.'s 6.1 million in 1994. leads the majors in home runs (26), walks (70), OBP (. 471), slugging (. 679) and OPS (1.150), while also batting .328, which ranks fourth.

Marvin Lewis 2011: Can He Duplicate Love Smith 2010?

Now that Marvin Lewis re-upped with the Bengals for two more seasons, the question is: Can Marvin Lewis in 2011 do what Lovie Smith did in 2010?

Lovie Smith was coming off a bad season in 2009. The Bears were 7-9, but the last two games were wins, and the season felt worse than 7-9. Jay Cutler was not playing well, the offense didn’t look good at all, the O-Line had some real issues, and the defense didn’t look good. The Bears had a lot of injuries. Many were surprised Lovie didn’t get the ziggy right then and there, and most didn’t expect him to last beyond 2010.

Lovie made some changes in his coaching, got a few new coaches (namely Mike Martz on offense, replacing Ron Turner; and Rod Marinelli as the new defensive coordinator, replacing … Lovie Smith). The Bears signed Julius Peppers, who played really really well, and got Brian Urlacher back from the DL, who also played really really well.

Bottom line: 11-5, NFC North Championship, Lovie has new-found respect.

I do think that Marvin could do something like that for the Bengals. They have some real weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball. But a free agent or two could shore up that defensive backfield. One good offensive lineman, maybe, and a veteran wide receiver who would run a route, lose TO and Ocho, and who knows? Also, I would like to see the Bengals get a personnel director who would have some real power. I don’t think they are getting a GM, but it would be a (very very small) step in the right direction to get an experienced personnel man from the outside who could shore up that department.

Arian Foster and the OldCleat All Did Not Get Drafted Team 2009

I totally whiffed on Arian Foster. Foster was an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee who was signed by the Houston Texans after the 2009 draft. After I picked the original OCADNGDT in 2008, I decided to scale back the number of folks I added to the team. So I went from five running backs to three: P.J. Hill RB 5'10¼" 222 Wisconsin; Herb Donaldson RB 5'9⅞" 224 Western Illinois; and Kory Sheets RB 5'11⅛" 208 Purdue. Arian Foster is 6'1" 215. I didn’t think he was all that special, and neither did the drafters, since he was undrafted.

I liked Hill and Donaldson because they were both very productive and were tanks in college. I liked Sheets because I thought he was productive and had “third down back” written all over him.

Well, Foster beat out Steve Slaton, who I thought had a good chance to be a top back in the NFL after his 1,200 yards rushing as a rookie in 2008. And then Foster went on to win the 2010 rushing title with 1,616 rushing yards, also leading the league in yards from scrimmage (2,220), rushing touchdowns (16), and total touchdowns (18).

Foster broke the NFL single-season rushing record for an undrafted player, bettering Priest Holmes (1,615 in 2002) by one yard with a two-yard carry on his final attempt of the game. Foster also had 604 yards receiving to become the sixth player in league history to reach 1,500 yards rushing and 600 yards receiving in the same year.

P.J. Hill, who I was really high on, was signed by the New Orleans Saints after not being drafted out of Wisconsin. He was on their practice squad until the Eagles signed him. They put in on their practice squad a week later, and the Redskins signed him. He spent the offseason with the Redskins, who cut him in May. The Saints re-signed him, he tore his triceps, and he spent the year on the IR.

Donaldson was also signed by the Saints after the draft. He was on the Saints practice squad until November 2009. The Cowboys signed him in December 2009 and put him on their practice squad. He was waived by the Cowboys in final cuts in training camp 2010, but the Titans put him on their practice squad.

Sheets was signed by the 49ers, who put him on their practice squad. He was signed by the Dolphins to their active roster in October 2009. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2010 training camp was waived by the Dolphins.