Welcome back to NFL Down Under after a few quiet weeks and welcome to the new readers that have joined up to the site or become a fan on facebook since the Super Bowl.
This will be the sites first full season so bare with me as I try to wade through the millions of things that happen in the NFL each day and deliver you just the major NFL news in simple and easy to read updates.
Make sure you follow us on twitter here for extra little bits of news and interesting stuff.
The 2010 NFL Combine
The first stage of the NFL Draft…the 2010 NFL Combine has just finished. If you aren’t sure what the combine is check out this here.
A lot of young players made some great impressions in front of NFL scouts and coaches with some blistering 40 yard times and amazing drills.
To be honest I don’t really care about the combine but you can get a good rundown of what happened on NFL.com’s NFL Combine and Fallers from the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine article.
Roster Cuts & Free Agency
Some big name players were cut earlier in the month as teams prepare for the NFL draft and emerging talent. A particular surprise this year was the large amount of big name running backs getting the cold shoulder by teams in an effort to free up salary space and roster spots.
It is pretty common in the NFL that once a running back hits 30, his pay check increases while his productivity begins to decline. Older RB’s lose agility and speed as their aging bodies begin to break down after years of punishment.
Teams are very mindful of this and in the last month superstar fan favorite running backs such as LaDanain Tomlinson (ex-San Diego Chargers), Brian Westbrook (ex Philadelphia Eagles), Thomas Jones (ex New York Jets) and Chester Taylor (ex-Minnesota Viking) were all cut from their retorspective teams.
Other big name players looking to be cut or look to be hitting free agency are:
Julius Peppers – Defensive End, Carloina Panthers
Perhaps the biggest name this free agency will be Peppers who has been unhappy in Carolina for a while and finally gets his chance to test the waters in Free Agency and earn the big bucks he has been longing for.
Terrell Owens – Wide Receiver, Buffalo Bills
Despite behaving all season long he let his new team down with critical drops, several quiet games and suffered at the hands of a horrible Bills offense. Despite being in good shape and not being afraid to tell everyone about it, Owens will be 37 years old this season!
Karlos Dansby – Line Backer, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals look to move forward and save themself breaking the bank on Dansby who is expecting big money in free agency after attracting early interest from teams such as the Dolphins, Redskins, and Giants who all desperately need LB help.
Antrel Rolle, Safety, Arizona Cardinals
Rolle is due a $4 million bonus this season and if he hits the free-agency pool, he would attract a lot of interest in a Safety light free agency and draft pool.
March 5th will see the beginning of NFL Free Agency kick off so keep an eye out for some big deals and surprising moves.
For a more detailed look at players hitting free agency read here.
For a complete listing of all the restricted and unrestriced free agents go here.
For a position by position look at the top free agents looking to hit the market this year visit here.
The NFL Draft
After its recent success, the NFL Draft will move to primetime for the first time in 2010, with the first round taking place on Thursday April 22 at 7:30 p.m or Friday morning April 23rd in Australia.
Hopefully we will get some good coverage this year and fingers crossed we might even get some 2nd, or 3rd day coverage…despite the fact it can get tediously boring when your team isn’t making a selection.
For the first time in a long time the focus seems to be on the defensive side with stand out player such as Defensive Tackles Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy looking to take out the highest picks.
The most valuable position in the draft is almost normally Quarterback as it is such a critical position and a young QB can be a teams best investment.
This years draft class however seems to be very thin at the position with injuries and questionable throwing techniques causing concern to NFL scouts. Expect Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen to go in the top 10 somewhere despite all the fuss.
To keep up with all the NFL Draft news subscribe to ESPN’s First Draft podcast here
Uncapped Lockout Year Fiasco
The never ending, confusing and complicated CBA discussions continue and SBNation has a good article outlining the confusing topic here. I am not even going to act like I know about the NFLPA and Team Owners bargaining agreement as its way over my head…I just want to see big hits and spectacular catches every Monday morning!
Pro Bowl News
The NFL has decided to keep next years Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl, after this years successful trial delivered the largest viewership for an All-Star game in any sport on cable television, attracted the largest Pro Bowl attendance in 50 years, and had the most for a Pro Bowl since 2000.
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Well that should do it for now…look out for the March edition for all the NFL Free Agency and Draft news and buzz.
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