I have to wonder whether his mother heard people saying this on talk radio around the time he was born and somehow decided that it sounded like a good choice for her son.
His real name is Ha’Sean. His grandmother is the one who started calling him Ha Ha.
With only current contracts, the Packers are already at $114 million in 2015, the 8th most in the league. The offseason signings of Julius Peppers and Sam Shields, combined with Matthews and Rodgers, account for about half of that.
They may be able to fit them both under the cap, but the list of free agents coming in 2015 include Brian Bulaga, BJ Raji, Tramon Williams, and Boykin, so they might eat into it too. And they can always ditch Peppers if he’s done. It’s a close call. I think the major problem is that I think they both would command a fair amount of money on the open market, ala Greg Jennings did.
I thought it was a big mistake too.
The Pats badly need a pass-rushing DL, so it’s a little disconcerting to see them use a #1 on a guy with an ACL history on both knees. I’m sure they did their due diligence medically, but Easley still looks like a career Injured Reserve type.
Holy shit. I had no idea Peppers got a big contract. He looked like a shadow of himself to me last year (though admittedly I only watched a couple of Bears games.)
Easley looked to be at full strength during his pre-draft workouts, and even if he’s 90% of the player he was in college he will be a dominant situational interior pass rusher. Really, don’t worry about him. I would be more worried about Vince Wilfork coming off an Achilles injury at five and a half tons and aged over 30.
No. they’d move and become the Ravens. 
The consensus was that there were only three safeties worthy of going in the first round and after that there was a very big dropoff. One guy I heard on the radio said it was the worst safety class in the last decade. Given the depth of WR in this draft I think Clinton-Dix was the obvious choice. IN each draft class there are rarely more than half a dozen players (and usually less) who are “can’t miss” at their position (in the football sense, meaning, “can miss, but you know, really good”). This year it was Clowney, Mack, Watkins, and Greg Robinson (some also have Ebron, but at TE he wouldn’t merit a top five pick). After that the players cons start to become more apparent. So it is with Clinton-Dix, he has some holes, but he has tremendous range and instinct. I really like the pick. Now on to the second round where I expect the Packers will take either a TE or an ILB, depending on who is available (a WR is a possibility as well).
To get a handle on Kyle Fuller, I watched the Ga. Tech and Alabama games (as an aside, AJ McCarron? Yuck). Boy, he’s fun to watch. Active, throws his body around, and high energy. In Ga. Tech, he looked/played like a linebacker. And he’s pretty impactful.
But, boy is he a risky pick. He missed 6 games last season and, while it’s fun to watch, throwing his body around against NFL players is a sure way to shorten your career. He’s 190 pounds soaking wet, did only 12 reps at the combine, and is limited in physical confrontations with WR. Calvin Johnson could use him as a toothpick, or simply run him over.
What’s troubling is that his style of play (aggressive) is great at the college level, but can be a big problem in the NFL against real men. If he stays healthy and gets stronger, he’ll be fun to watch, but I’m not sure he has the body or the discipline to really succeed in the NFL. Intriguing guy.
As an aside, I do like that the draft goes three days, because it gives me time to look at the guys that were drafted during the draft.
Was Jacksonville taking Bortles really all that shocking? The news items about day 1 seem to say so. But it seemed like they weren’t unlikely to take a QB, and all 3 of the top prospects have been thought to be the first QB to go.
I saw some Vegas prop odds on the draft, and Bortles was actually 3:2 to be the first pick, second up was Manziel at 3 or 4 to 1. Seems like Bortles going first, and in the top 5, isn’t terribly shocking, yet everyone seems to be treating it that way.
There’s some speculation that Minnesota wanted Gilbert, but they were pretty sure the Browns were trying to snag Manziel, so they screwed themselves up on that one. I don’t know - is it customary to tell the team you’re trading to who you’re going to take? Gilbert would make sense as a Zimmer pick though.
I’m really happy to see Marquis Lee fall to the 2nd round, since the Browns have the third pick in it. I think someone is going to trade up, or Houston will just take him, and he’ll be the first pick of the second round. But if the Browns can snag him, Gordon/Lee/Cameron/Hawkins improvising while Manziel tries not to get killed will make for an exciting offense and a lot of defensive players trying to do 3 things at once. WR in this draft is supposed to be really deep - where a lot of the 2nd and 3rd round guys will be good starters.
If not Lee, then Su’a-Filo would be good. Or even Kouandijo and shifting Scwhartz over to guard - whoever they think will bolster the line more. Kony Ealy may be BPA even though D-line isn’t really a need. I have no idea how he fits in the hybrid 3-4 either. Chris Borland I don’t know anything about, but they can use an ILB.
Incidentally, Doctor James Andrews publicist must be amazing, because somehow he’s consulted for every medical decision and mentioned in every story I read.
Shocking? No. Stupid? Yes.
It’s not shocking that he went first among the QBs. It’s surprising that he went to Jacksonville, because they did a good job of making it appear they weren’t interested.
I actually want Johnny Manziel to do well with the Browns and I have to admit I will watch the Browns if he is playing. The Browns have some definite talent om offense in Gordon and Jordan Cameron (not to mention Joe Thomas) and I could see them being a fun team to watch.
Assuming Gordon can stay on the field, I agree. I think Bortles’ early returns will largely depend on whether Justin Blackmon can get off suspension.
Gordon has been a solid team guy and citizen for over a year now, and he’s too fucking baller to be hurt by mere mortals, so I don’t think he’s a big risk.
2000 yards and a pile of bodies in his wake this year.
Newest 49er, Jimmie Ward…
Like I said, I didn’t scout safeties, so I didn’t know him ahead of time. That sucks because his name was nowhere on the draft guide I handed out this year to friends and coworkers. They knew it was incomplete this year, but I still look bad.
Anyway, Ward will play nickel to start off with, not safety. He played that spot quite a bit at Northern Illinois, and played it well. The film I’ve watched so far is encouraging. Ward is active, aggressive, and fast. He covers well for a safety, and despite being on the smaller size, tackles well, definitely not like most corners. He also blitzes well, and blocks a lot of kicks, so I can see the 49ers sending him from the slot position.
I was hoping for a splash and a star, so this is a little underwhelming. The coaching and scouting staff has a good track record for picking defensive backs, so Jimmie Ward should be no worse than a solid starter. I certainly didn’t much like the alternatives at the #30 spot.
Can’t wait for tonight. The 49ers have lots of picks today, and there’s lots of available mid-round talent.
His last suspension was announced less that a year ago. I guess the positive test could have been much earlier, but I doubt it. It’s only been three years since he was kicked off Baylor’s team. I wouldn’t uncross my fingers just yet if I were you.
Agreed.
I’m not so high on Kouandjio. Plus, I don’t believe Schwartz has ever had to play guard.
I still can’t believe we hijacked a 2015 first round pick from Buffalo. At worst, that’s going to be the 12th pick.