Does Aguayo have to cleary win the competition?/TRAVIS PENDERGRASS
Jerry Angelo is a former personnel director for the Bucs and former general manager of the Bears. Each week, Angelo answers your questions regarding the NFL. Send your questions to GarySheltonsports@gmail.com with "ask the expert'' in the subject line. The most interesting questions will be selected.
Thursday, 4 a.m.
I would be a lousy scout. The best game I’ve ever seen an offensive player play was Vince Young against USC in the Rose Bowl. People forget how good he was. The best defensive player I’ve ever seen was Alabama’s Keith McCants against Auburn, when it seems as if he made every tackle. Is this what makes scouting players so hard? When you have to figure out a player’s role in a team’s scheme?
It is difficult. Projecting players is no easy task because there are many variables to weigh. Here are some of the unsettling things that have to be determined before putting a final grade on a player:
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All these are factors go into scouting a player, regardless of where he comes from or what position he plays. I’ll end it the way I started it: it is no easy task.
Both Cam Newton and Andrew Luck are coming off of shoulder injuries. Which one will be better in 2017, and which one’s team should win more?
My guess would be Newton. He has a much better supporting cast around him and the Panthers play better defense. The Colts at this point are a one-man show and Luck has struggled, like most would when one player is asked to carry the whole team. He isn’t protected well and doesn’t have a consistent go-to guy, outside of TJ Hilton, whose size limits him from being a true number one receiver. Their defense can’t stop many opponents when the game is on the line.
Now that we’re rating the quarterbacks of the NFL’s divisions, let’s try the NFC North. How would you rate Aaron Rodgers, Mike Glennon (or Mitch Trubiski, if you think he’ll beat out Glennon), Matt Stafford and Sam Bradford?
This is pretty easy, Rodgers, Stafford is a distant second. The others are just “guys” trying not to lose it for their respective teams.
NFL.com projects O.J. Howard to have 40 receptions for 500 yards and seven scores. It projects Dalvin Cook, however, to have 1,250 yards and 13 touchdowns, plus 35 catches for 300 yards and two more scores. If those stats are close to true, was Howard really the better pick?
Howard was a great pick and will pay big dividends for the Bucs. Cook was a great pick for the Vikes. Getting him in the second round was a steal, but he has to stay healthy. Howard was the better pick if you're basing it off the who is the better total package for his position.
Cook has much more flash and can impact a game much more with his skill set, than a tight end. So for value of position, Cook wins. Given the two players Howard was the safer pick. When you pick a player in the higher rounds, you have to take into consideration who has the best chance to have a long career.
The Sporting News says that Tom Brady is the most hated player in the NFL. Are we talking about jealously?
Yes we are. What did he do or does he do to be hated -- outside of winning? My teams are the Bucs, Browns, Bears, Rams and Colts. I hate Brady too!
As you know, the Bucs have signed Nick Folk to compete with Roberto Aguayo in training camp. But who wins if it’s close? Won’t the Bucs be reminded of Aguayo’s shortcomings last season?
I think so. This contest is going to go down as better man wins, regardless of how close. In all reality, Aguayo has to win this cage match hands down; if it’s close, I’d go with Folk. He’s been there and you know what to expect.
The Bucs are no longer looking at the future. For them, the future is now and whoever gives them the best chance to win now is the guy who gets the job. That’s why you have competition at every position. There are no more scholarships!
Okay, this is the game where you name your favorite player from a particular college. Let’s take FSU this week. Would that player be a) Derrick Brooks, b) Warrick Dunn, c) Fred Belitnikoff, e) Deion Sanders or d) Charlie Ward. You can pick another name if you wish.
Brooks. Great talent, great player, great character, first ballot Hall of Famer.
The difference between he and Deion, Derrick played his whole career with one team. Deion was a hired gun. He made his reputation playing on great teams after he left Atlanta. Nto too unlike Kevin Durant but with more rings.
Cleveland, Jacksonville, Chicago, San Francisco and the Rams were among the worst teams in the NFL this year? Which of them do you think has the best chance of being significantly better this year?
To me, it’s Jacksonville. They have a proven head coach. He won in Buffalo with marginal talent. They have a loaded roster and it’s time.
Ron Jaworski once told me that playing quarterback in the modern era was much more difficult because of all the defenses that teams play. Do you agree? How do the modern group of Brady, Rothlisberger, Rogers and Ryan compare to the old days?
All of them would have been stars back then, as well. These guys are the best of the best. They would win in any era and with most any team.
It’s much more difficult to play the position today because the talent is watered down with expansion and free agency. Few quarterbacks go out there on Sunday with a dominant team as compared to Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach and Bart Starr to name a few.
We all agree that Bill Belichick has built the best team in football. But how many teams could Belichick win next year’s Super Bowl with?
There is no tea-leaf reading here.There is only one -- the one he built.
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