NFL Network Steve Mariucci On 2011 NFL Draft Quarterbacks

This blogger had the pleasure of interviewing former Cal and San Francisco 49ers, and Detroit Lions Head Coach, and now NFL Network Analyst Steve Mariucci at the NFL Play 60 event at the 2011 NFL Draft. This marks our third consecutive interview, and like the first two, very informative.

The focus of our conversation, held during the NFL Play 60 event in Chelsea Park in New York City, was the quarterback controversy that marked this year's NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting.

What does he think of the 2011 NFL Draft quarterback class? Best he's seen? "Well, we'll never know how good this class will be until they start playing." Coach Mariucci says that the advantage this group has, is there's no free agency. Meaning a team can't go out, as the Oakland Raiders did last year during the 2010 NFL Draft, and trade for a quarterback, like they did for Jason Campbell, who played for the Redskins at the time. In 2011, if they need a QB, they have to pick from the litter of the NFL Draft.

Steve was correct. Of the quarterbacks, Cam Newton, Christian Ponder, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Andy Dalton, and Colin Kaepernick all went in rounds one and two of the draft last week. And were it not for an arguably overblown concern for his character, Ryan Mallett would have been the seventh quarterback taken within that time frame, and not the third round, where the New England Patriots got him. Score it for Steve Mariucci.

Steve Mariucci vs. Chris Brown And Me

Chris Brown, the football coach and editor of the blog SmartFootball has a small feud with this blogger. He says it's easier and better to avoid moving around an offensive skill position player from, say, running back to wide receiver. I argue that such a view makes an offense inherently inflexible. Where side does Mariucci come down in this?

In the middle.

"I agree with you, to make the receiver play the tight end spot," he says. But where Steve goes away from my idea is when the receiver happens to be in, say, the halfback's position, and the defense brings a full blitz. Now, you have the person who plays receiver, trying to block a linebacker.

My response would be to have the receiver not block, but run a "hot route" - we lacked the time to get into more detail, but you see what I mean. I simply hold that it's better to think of a skill position player in as flexible rather than fixed, which allows for more ways to attack a defense.

Steve On Cam Newton

"Every year, the top quarterback in the draft, and he's one of them, he and Blaine Gabbert, arguably. The Tim Tebow intrigue. The Vince Young intrigue. The Matt Leinart (intrigue)...Hard to predict their future. The quarterback is harder to predict than the weather. If either one of those quarterbacks (Newton or Gabbert, and it was Newton) goes to Carolina, it's going to be tough sledding." And because of Carolina's rebuilding program.

Steve As Coach?

Will we ever see Mariucci as a coach on the sidelines? "Hopefully, the UnderArmour High School Football League."

Too funny.

Stay tuned.

Blaine Gabbert Jacksonville Jaguars 2011 NFL Draft Pick Interview

Blaine Gabbert's the number one pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he could not be happier. When I finally met the former Missouri Quarterback, it was easy to tell he'd got the message that Cam Newton, and not he, would be the 1st pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. But he together with Aldon Smith, the defensive end drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, mark the first time in that school's history, two Missouri players were picked in the first round of The NFL Draft.

And, Gabbert, who's friend Christian Ponder calls "Sunshine," and who was drafted ahead of him and to the Minnesota Vikings, handled the whole deal very well. The best way to get Gabbert away from thinking about what bothers him? Talk about fishing. It puts a smile on his face: "I spend a lot of time out there. You just gotta do it."

He also enjoyed New York City during the NFL Draft, and said it was his first time. According to a photo from his own Twitter account, Gabbert had a great view in a corner room high over Manhattan in the New York W Hotel.

Gabbert also met EPIN College Football Reporter Erin Andrews, and took in a lot of meetings, from breakfast with Gatorade reps, to easting with "high level" New York City public officials (reads like the Mayor). In all, Gabbert had a great intro to the NFL.

Now, with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Gabbert goes into a system not unlike the one he played in at Missouri. The Jaguars used the spread about 40 percent of the time in 2010, even with the presence of star running back Maurice Jones-Drew. He's also paired with Mike Shula as his quarterbacks coach, who worked with current starter David Gerrard.

And now comes the controversy, all over again.

Gabbert now finds himself in the middle of another quarterback controversy, and not with Cam Newton, but one that strangely involves yet another black quarterback, Dave Gerrard. (You know Blaine's got to wonder what the deal is with this situation.)

This week, Maurice Jones-Drew was on Sirius Satellite Radio to talk about Blaine Gabbert, and said "David [Garrard] is still our quarterback, he's a great guy but we know Blaine is going to come in and fight hard for it and he's going to push David."

Then, former Oakland Raiders Quarterback Rick Gannon asked if Jones-Drew was surprised that the Jaguars would draft another quarterback. Maurice said "Well, I think once they saw him fall, he was, obviously, early on he was the number one player to come off the board and for him to fall to ten, I guess they wanted to get the best player available. Still, like I said before, David's our guy and he's always going to be our guy. I mean, since I've been there that's all I know and that's who I played with from the beginning. When I was a backup and he was the backup we played together, we have a bond. So I know David will fight through it. It's going to be tough at first. It's always tough when they draft at your position but David's a strong guy, strong minded. He'll be able to go out there, fight through it and we'll win games."

For for Jones-Drew, having a guy like Gabbert in their pushing Garrard is a good situation for them. But what Blaine has to do, is sit and learn, and fit in. That's the best way to handle his situation. Let's see how he does with it, but I think he will be fine.

Prince Amukamara Meets Tiki Barber - NY Giants At 2011 NFL Draft

Of all of the NFL Draftees at the 2011 NFL Draft, former Nebraska Cornerback Prince Amukamara has the least walking distance: he gets to remain in New York City because he was the first pick of The New York Football Giants. And Tiki Barber, Giants Running Back Legend, was there to welcome the Prince to NY Giants land.

Tiki, planning a comeback to the NFL, was there working for Yahoo! Sports, and, with this blogger, was able to speak with the new Giant. But I decided to turn the tables on Tiki and Prince, and ask the young player what it was like to talk to the legend before him. Prince was at his best "As you can see, I was startled and speechless with him holding the microphone to my lips. But, I mean, it's an honor. He's one of the best, and I hope I don't let him down."

Tiki praised Prince for his answers and poise, as evident when Prince said he "might live on the Jersey Shore" in response to Barbers question if Prince was going to live in New York City or outside New York City. (Tiki was advocating for living in New York City.)

In Prince, Giants fans are getting a guy who's "ready to work" and happy to be in the Big Apple. Indeed, by the time I officially met him, Mr. Amukamara had already attended several parties, and even forgot the name of ESPN College Football Reporter Erin Andrews.

And how's Tiki Barber's comeback going? Barbers says that his training is coming along and "is good. I'm back working hard. I'm back in the gym with my strength trainer. My power-lifting coach. He's killing me. But it's what you need." Tiki's listening to classic rock as he works out, "squatting a thousand pounds a day" he says.

As for his timetable, Barber expects to be on the field in two weeks. He says the lockout gives him a chance to get back in shape and not worry about the OTA's. He always enjoyed training camp, and is looking forward to being with the NFL team that gives him a chance.

Regardless of what you think about Tiki Barber, and this blogger's rooting for him to succeed, watching him "reinvent" himself is fun.

Now, let's see if he can take a hit from Prince Amukamara.

AJ Green, WR - Cincinnati Bengals 2011 NFL Draft Pick Likes The Slant

Alabama and Georgia featured two of the best wide receivers in the South, and now they were both top picks in the 2011 NFL Draft: Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons and A.J. Green of the Cincinnati Bengals.

On the plane up to the NFL Draft, a man I was sitting next to was really upset Green left Georgia, skipping his senior year for the NFL. But Green's stock is so high, he had to do it. Plus, he's in a position to contribute to the Bengals Wide Receiving Group, and possibly even replace Number 85 Chad Ochocinco.

Indeed, where Chad has been blasted over the middle by the New York Jets, who then said he didn't want to get hit over the middle, A.J. Green, in an interview at the NFL Draft, says his favorite pattern to run is, get this, the Slant and is not afraid of getting hit, saying "You just go in there. You gonna get hit, regardless. You can't have that at the back of your mind."

And to clarify, as the video shows, we weren't talking about Chad at the time; A.J. Green was talking strictly about his favorite pattern to run, and I asked him about dealing with the safety closing in to make the hit.

A.J. Green will be as much an asset to the Bengals as Jones will be for the Falcons. And from the looks of the latest news, Chad's not leaving the Bengals any time soon.

Von Miller, LB - Denver Broncos 2011 NFL Draft Pick Interview

Von Miller, The Denver Broncos 2011 NFL Draft Pick at linebacker, looks more like a professor than a football player. So if Von Miller does live up to his lofty potential, his nickname should be "Dr. Linebacker."

After he was selected as the second pick in the 2011 NFL Draft First Round, Miller said he was so busy, he'd felt like "a machine." But Miller, the 6-1, 243-pound standout defender from Texas A&M, played like a hitting machine in college, so it's not surprising to here that coming from him.

While some, like Clark Judge at CBS Sports, have said there's no obvious "best pick" from this year's NFL Draft, others would counter that Miller is the exception to that rule. He was never once placed out of the top five or ten in anyone's draft list, and now he's the second pick in the draft.

Miller's looking forward to the "honor" of working with Broncos Linebacker Elvis Duberville, and being a Denver Bronco, even though he was at Dallas Cowboys fan. He says he's a team player who will do everything it takes to win.

To Oakland Raiders fans, who have to see Miller twice each NFL season, he says "I'm sorry."

Clark Judge Of CBS Sports Gives View Of The 2011 NFL Draft

Clark Judge has covered the NFL Draft for CBS Sports as an NFL Columnist since 1982, and so has a reasoned, seasoned view of the 2011 NFL Draft. We talked about the draft at the NFL Play 60 event in Chelsea Park last week, where Judge offered that it, contrary to this blogger's assertions, was not the most contentious of all recent drafts - the 2005 Draft was.

"It's one of them, certainly, but I remember back in 2005," he said. "Reminds me a little of the 2005 Draft. San Francisco had it (the first pick in the first round), nobody wanted it. So they wanted to trade out of there - couldn't. So they ended up drafting for need, took a quarterback - Aaron Rogers or Alex Smith, they took Alex Smith."

"In this draft, you go 'Is Cam Newton the best quarterback out there?' I don't know. Maybe? But no one knows. Is he the best player? Probably not. I think Patrick Peterson's probably the best player in the draft. Everyone's got a hole in them, and Patrick Peterson, after three or four year, might be a safety, not a cornerback. So, it's a draft that's got a lot of talent, but not one consensus guy like Ndamukong Suh was last year. I remember, a few years ago, (2008), Calvin Johnson (Detroit Wide Receiver) was the consensus guy. You don't hear that this year."

For Clark's views on the NFL Draft and the NFL, click here: CBS Clark.

I noticed he's soured on Cam Newton's chances, but I think Newton, especially with all the crap thrown at him from the mainstream media, is going to perform extremely well.   Regardless, that, the debates, is what makes NFL Draft Prospect watching fun.

J J Watt - Houston Texans 2011 NFL Draft Pick Interview

Today's the official start of the NFL Draft recap period, as it was partially held-up by the announcement of the end of Osama Bin Laden, starting with President Obama's address on Sunday. Now, we can get back to the issue of the NFL and the NFL Draft, with a focus on the interview of J.J. Watt, the former junior Wisconsin Defensive End (he skipped completing his senior year), who selected for the same role by the Houston Texans.

Watt, one of the highest rated defensive ends along with Aldon Smith (49ers), Ryan Kerrigan (Redskins), and Cameron Jordan (Saints), understands that his job is to come in and contribute right away. As was the case when the Texans picked Mario Williams number one in 2006, and over Reggie Bush, the job is still to get Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning. "I'm extremely excited," he said. "Anytime you get to work with Mario Williams. He's a guy who makes everyone better around him."

Watt is friends with former Missouri Quarterback Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville) and former Florida State Quarterback Christian Ponder (Minnesota Vikings), and connect frequently via Twitter, but Watt says their fishing trips, and plans to hit the Florida Keys to take advantage of an excursion they won will have to be placed on hold, because it's time to go to work.

Updates report that Watt received what's called a "preliminary playbook" from the Texans, part of an effort to make sure Watt's able to prepare for the NFL while the NFL Lockout is active. The 6-6, 292-pounder also went over the "basics" of the Texans Defense with coaches last week.

Christopher Meloni Of Law And Order Special Victims Unit At NFL Draft

In the NFL's on-going attempt to meld entertainment and sports - and that's not a flip sentence, because it's a good idea - more celebrities were invited to last week's 2011 NFL Draft. And while 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin skipped out on the NFL Red Carpet, and reported due to "the weather" (it had been raining, but cleared-up nicely), Christopher Meloni Of NBC's Law And Order Special Victims Unit was kind enough to be a guest of the NFL and bring his young son with him.

Mr. Meloni was good enough to take a minute to talk about what makes the show so popular.

"I think people connect to the characters. I think it's a subject matter than people feel passionately about. We touch on issues that people feel about societally and culturally. And there's a resolution to all that, after one hour of hanging with us."

Christopher says that the show will be back with all new characters and writers. But, after years of Emmys and acclaim, is an Oscar-targeted movie in the works? "I like the way you think. We have a lot of things we're shuffling around the figuring out. There's not too much time for that."

With all of this fame, Christopher Meloni says he doesn't have a website. I checked on Google, and at one point he had a website. Now, where it once at Christopher-Meloni.com was has this:

Chris has closed his web site

He would like to thank everyone for their interest and support.

Chris will retain ownership of the domain name, but will not be establishing another presence on the internet, including on services such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Which may mean Meloni had, sadly, some kind of bad experience. It's too bad that it takes one or two people to ruin the chance to for millions to keep up with their favorite stars.

Stay tuned.

Star Wars Day And Godzilla 2012 At Comic Con?

Wednesday was Star Wars Day, and if you're wondering where that came from, it doesn't seem to have had a thing to do with Star Wars, but with Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister of the 80s. Reportedly, the new PM was installed on May 4th and the saying was "May The Fourth Be With You," a play on the words "May The Force Be With You," from Star Wars, and that's how we got into this mess.

So, it was a great Star Wars Day, but equally great is the unfolding news about the next Godzilla Movie, called "Godzilla 2012." While attempting to secure an interview with the legendary Thomas Tull, head of Legendary Studios, I learned that the studio wasn't granting talks because the movie was in "full active development."

That leads one to speculate if Legendary Pictures will have something ready in the form of a presentation for Comic Con 2011? We can only guess at this point, but the news is that the process to make Godzilla 2012, led by Tull, Godzilla Producer Brian Rogers, and Director Gareth Edwards is under way.

And in the frenzy, this blogger ran across a cool movie clip that features a CGI Godzilla which could be a great forcast of monster to come. Called "Return of Godzila 2009, it's here:



At first, the origin of the video was not known to this blogger, but other Youtubers pointed to a movie called Always Zoku Sanchome no Yuhi (Always sunset on third street 2).

The film has nothing to do with Godzilla, other than that it was set in 1958. Godzilla appears in an "imaginary sequence" at the start of the film, and his role was kept a secret until the movie was shown in 2007. It marked the first time Godzilla was created using computer animation, rather than a person in a suit, or motion capture.

And the effects were terrific.

Stay tuned.

Osama Bin Laden Is Dead - Raytheon Company Employee Disses Obama

A lot of opinions are coming out in the wake of the demise of Osama Bin Laden last week, reported via President Obama. To this blogger and supporter of Obama, the attempts to discredit his work are just, in many cases, totally absurd.

First, credit goes to a wide set of people, from the U.S. Navy Seals who carried out Obama's orders to execute the plan to get Osama Bin Laden, to the past work of George W. Bush (even though I contend he kept Bin Laden around for political reasons while we invaded Iraq), and to our military and our defense contractors, too.

Defense contractors like Raytheon Company, who's 75,000 employees benefited from a nice stock boost in the wake of the exit of Osama Bin Laden.

But one of those supposed employees, a man named Jared with a YouTube channel called Jaredshipwash2003, doesn't seem to care and his hatred for Obama's so great, he would come to my Zennie62 YouTube channel video page and leave this comment:

If you voted for Obama last time you did it to not be racist. If you vote for Obama again your doing it because your an idiot.

Okay!

I wonder what Raytheon Company will think about that?

Why would an employee get on YouTube, leave his employment calling card, then make comments like that?

His YouTube channel says that he works for Raytheon Company!  

What a head-knocker!

I guess he hates his job at Raytheon Company as much as he hates President Obama.   Moreover, he must be interested in hampering their ability to land more large contracts in the future, huh? 

Oakland Birthday, Russo To Alameda, Thanks League Of Women Voters

Well, today is not only Star Wars Day, but the birthday of The City of Oakland, California, my town. To that, this blogger says, Happy Birthday, Oakland!

Oakland turns 159 years young today, May 4th, and has only gotten better with age. Oakland is a city Oaklanders care about because of its - and yes, even in today's diverse society - incredibly high level of diversity and small town / big city feel. Oakland's an easy place to get to know and to love. It deserves many more birthdays.

And while we're celebrating, congratulations to my friend John Russo, who officially accepted the position of Alameda City Manager, and leaves a 16-year legacy of excellent political and policy work in Oakland.

Now, John can focus on the redevelopment of what was once the Alameda Naval Air Station and have that city play catch-up with its own development time table. It's going to be fun to watch John move Alameda out of its Mayberry RFD (remember the TV show?) pace and into a true big-city level of energy.

Here's a photo of John's resignation letter:

The question for Oakland is, can it replace someone of John's now legendary stature. I hope that the seat's not filled by someone who's a weak, "rollable" personality. The Mayor and the City Council may want that kind of person, but at the end of the day, it's not good for them. Russo saved them a ton of pain from potentially calamitous decisions on several occasions, most notably his challenge to the City's push to advance the production of weed, after the Feds told it to hold off.

Thanks Libby And The League Of Women Voters

Great thanks to my sister-from-another-mother Oakland's District Four Councilmember Libby Schaaf and the League Of Women Voters for their award to me for my blogging efforts. I was in New York City for The 2011 NFL Draft last week, but Oakland Local's Susan Mernitt was kind enough to not only accept the award on my behalf, but text me that everyone was saying nice things about me.

Of course, I only half believe it, but it's nice to know about.

Just kidding.

It's a great award considering that it came on the heels of my crits of the League and the Sierra Club.

See, for the readers who don't know, I took on the issue of the League and the Sierra Club having a debate where they planned to invite just three of the ten Oakland Mayor's Race candidates. After a lot of pressure from this space, the Sierra Club and The League - to their credit - did the right thing and had a forum that was a real benefit to Oakland, where all of the candidates participated.

Here's a video from the event:



In fact, I met the terrific Kate Looby, who's the Sierra Club's East Bay Director at my gym a while back, and after exchanging pleasantries as I'd never met her or seen her before, and did not know she was with the Sierra Club, let alone in charge, had my ears burned almost off as she screamed at me from across the room, and then walk back saying "You're THAT GUY. I WANTED TO KILL YOU!!"

I gotta kick out of that one.

But, as I told Kate, it was all because I cared that all of the candidates get a chance to at least be seen by Oaklanders. Plus, we did get a good mayor out of the process.

Kate didn't kill me at the gym that night, by the way.

Dog on it.

Other Oakland News

Got this email from the Adams Point Neighborhood Group from April 20th:

We have experienced a total of six different street robberies in Area 2 in the last two hours. We believe that the same suspect is responsible. He is described as a black male, 25-30 years old, 5'9", 180 - 200 lbs, black ski mask, white short sleeve t-shirt and blue jeans. Suspect vehicle described as an 1985 - 1990 Ford Taurus, light blue with a license plate SIMILAR to 4FET409. Please call the Oakland Police Department if you see this vehicle. DO NOT APPROACH THE SUSPECT OR THE VEHICLE.

I have not seen a note that this person has been caught, so keep your eyes open.

Oakland Budget Video By Mayor Quan

I spotted this video on YouTube, which has been seen only four times since its upload on May 3rd; this embed and presentation should give it a small boost. She informs that the budget season will last a few months, and that the budget cuts are designed to "share the pain." Employees are asked to contribute "somewhere between 10 and 15 percent" in their payment reduction cost. The Redevelopment Agency Budget is not a part of this, as of this writing.

In this budget, the City of Oakland would have to close all of its libraries if it does not receive more contributions from employees.

Here's the Mayor, and new City Administrator Lamont Euwell below:



Mr. Lamont Euwell:



And with all this, the Oakland Coliseum got just a $7 million naming rights deal. Imagine if it was $80 million - its true value That, oh, $20 million (the City's share) would have really helped the City of Oakland at the right time.

Now do you see why I am so upset with the Oakland - Alameda County Coliseum?

Stay tuned.

Rashard Mendenhall - From Osama Bin Laden Twitter To Roethlisberger Dry-Hump, Never Dull

Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Rashard Mendenhall has done it again. One can say that from his semi-pro Osama Bin Laden Twitter Tweet of Monday, to his Ben Roethlisberger Dry-Hump after the Steelers AFC Championship victory over the New York Jets, he's never dull at all.

What Rashard Mendenhall did on Monday, was issue a series of Twitter Tweets that communicate a certain insensitivity to the pain and suffering of those who were immediately impacted by the events of 9-11, September 11th, 2001, and just as America was celebrating the demise of the most feared enemy of our nation since Adolph Hitler.

This is the series of tweets that got Rashard Mendenhall in hot water:

R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
For those of you who said you want to see Bin Laden burn in hell and piss on his ashes, I ask how would God feel about your heart?

2 May
Rashard Mendenhall
R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
Those who judge others, will also be judged themselves.

2 May
Rashard Mendenhall
R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
I believe in God. I believe we're ALL his children. And I believe HE is the ONE and ONLY judge.

2 May
Rashard Mendenhall
R_Mendenhall Rashard Mendenhall
What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side...

While Mendenhall is referring to allegations that 9-11 was faked, the bottom line is that, first, over 3,000 people were killed, and second, Osama Bin Laden himself did say that they intended to hit the twin towers of The World Trade Center with a hijacked jumbo jet, and in this video called the hijacker a "hero:"



Steelers Embarassed

Rashard Mendenhall's social media actions sent the Pittsburgh Steelers into damage-control mode, with team president Art Rooney II saying "it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments."

Still, the Steelers themselves have not used Twitter to issue a statement, which, considering that the whole story came from Twitter, would have been a good idea to do.