Author: Chris McGlynn

NFL invents new way to discover talent

Chris McGlynn Football, Free Agency, NFL

Earlier this week the NFL announced a new addition to the offseason. The league has decided to add a combine that will evaluate veteran players who are free agents looking for a new team. The veteran combine would mirror that of the rookie one held for prospects entering the NFL draft. As far as I am aware, this was something the NFL had just decided to do on its own; there was not any outside pressure involved or fans calling for this to happen. I sincerely think this is an excellent idea that the NFL has proposed and I am looking forward to seeing how the whole process plays out.

This combine only makes too much sense. This gives the perfect opportunity for players aging player to show that they’ve still got it, injured stars to show that they have recovered or for younger, unheralded guys to demonstrate their new skill acquisition. For teams, it gives them some concrete numbers to work with, allowing them to make much better informed decisions. It is also a new negotiating tool for teams to look at when determining a player’s value. The NFL wins as well because not only is it giving its players a brand new opportunity, which should help with relations to the NFLPA. This will also become a largely commercial event where various companies will vie for the right to sponsor it and boost the popularity of the NFL Network, which is likely where this event will air on television. I see this being a great decision all the way around where it seems like everyone gets something out of it.

The structure of the event is not how you might expect it to be. The combine will not start until a week after free agency begins meaning that plenty of the top players will have already signed new contracts. That means the target group for this combine is the mid-level and low-level free agents who aren’t garnering tons of media attention. There are no invites to the combine either. Unlike, the rookie combine, you can simply sign up for the veteran one, for a $400 fee, but still anyone can theoretically sign up. This levels the playing field for a lot of unheard of free agents who might not be in line to receive an invite. It does not guarantee any of these players a contract but it could at least put them on teams’ radars. They could easily be cut only weeks later in favor of some young blood in the draft but at least they will have a chance to impress and stick. For some of these players, that is all they need.

I think this is a great innovation for the NFL. For crazed football fans, very much like myself, if becomes another event we can track and obsess over while we wait for football to return in August. It shows that the NFL is aware that it still has room to improve every aspect of the league. It does not solely focus on the gameplay. I am interested to see what players show up, dazzle the league on a new stage, and make a name for himself with blazing speed, unparalleled strength or freakish athleticism. All of those will be on display when the league brings together a collection of players who are being given another chance to prove themselves. These guys will not get too many chances after this one so be sure that they are going to everything they can to make this count. Now, we as the fans just get to sit back and wait for the sparks to fly and the fun to begin.

Championship Sunday picks

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , , ,

The divisional round of the 2015 playoffs went just about according to plan. All of the top seeds coming off their byes won, except Denver. So now, we have a rematch of the first game of the season, this time with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. The other game features one quarterback trying to prove he is worth his high draft spot, the other is trying to cement his spot as the greatest quarterback in history. It is the final four in the NFL and now it is time to breakdown who is heading to Arizona and who is heading home.

Green Bay will travel to Seattle this weekend where Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will host Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in a grudge match. The Seahawks once again have home field advantage in this game as they did in Week 1 against the Pack. Seattle rolled through Green Bay that time around, thrashing the Packers 36-16. The Packs’ rushing attack sputtered against the Seahawks run defense back in September, managing a meager 80 yards on the ground on 21 attempts and Marshawn Lynch rumbled for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns in that match up. Seattle will once again look to win the battle in the trenches and force an apparently hobbled Aaron Rodgers to make all of the plays. One major hit to the Seahawks is the absence of Percy Harvin in this game. Seattle’s offense has adjusted and compensated since he has left but in that first meeting he accounted for 100 yards of offense and caught every pass thrown his way. He clearly gave the Packers some problems and he will not be able to pose any of those now from his couch in New Jersey. Another new factor is Packers’ rookie Devonte Adams arrival as a huge threat. His 7-catch 117-yard performance, which included a touchdown, will be something Pete Carroll and his staff factor into today’s game plan. This game also features likely the best passing offense in the league against arguably the best secondary in the NFL. The scary thing for the Packers is that the Seahawks’ defense has actually gotten better down the stretch of the season. Seattle hasn’t allowed more than 17 points to a team since Week 11 against Kansas City. When all is said and done though, I think the Packers will break that streak. Between Rodgers, Adams, Eddie Lacy, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, not to mention anyone of a number of role players, this offense can score. I would not be surprised to see Green Bay spread out the Seattle defense and then find their matchups to exploit. Wilson and Lynch will power this team for a while on the ground but in the end, a lack of a prominent passing game will be the Seahawks downfall. Packers hang on 27-24.

Meanwhile, Andrew Luck will be looking to show that last week was not a fluke and that he has officially arrived in the NFL if he can carry the Colts to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2009 against the future Hall of Famer in Tom Brady. If Brady wins, he will start the most Super Bowls by a player ever. Since 2004, this will mark the sixth time the Patriots meet the Colts in the playoffs. The rivalry is unparalleled to any other in the NFL as these two teams have so much hate for each other. Even if the Manning-Brady rivalry no longer exists between these two teams, Luck is more than up to the task of carrying on the legacy. You always think these games could go either way or that these two should be evenly matched but in reality, Brady has had Indy’s number. In his career, the former Michigan man is 12-4 against the Colts. These two teams played earlier this season and New England once again displayed their dominance over Indianapolis in a 42-20 romp. The key in that game was Jonas Gray’s 200 plus yards rushing and 4 touchdowns. Since that game, Gray has not carried the ball more than 12 carries or registered 65 yards in a game. Indianapolis was also unable to find any sort of ground game in that matchup. Indy struggled its way to 19 yards on 16 carries that night. However, the Colts managed 99 yards against a top-flight Denver defense last weekend. If Indy can find a way to get a rushing attack rolling, they could be scary and pose a real threat to New England. The reality is though that New England will not let that be possible. The strength of the Patriots defense is their secondary. Scoring early will mean that the option to run the ball will be almost out of the question for Indy. Luck is a great young quarterback but it is not enough to overcome New England’s multifaceted offense. Pats come away with a win in this one 34-24.

Those are my Super Bowl picks. Green Bay will clash with New England out in the desert two weeks from today in what should be an amazing battle of two great quarterbacks and offensive assets galore. Both of these games this weekend should be exciting but in the end, the two savvy, veteran signal callers will come out on top of the class of 2012’s finest. My players of the week: Randall Cobb for Green Bay and Brandon Browner for New England. Should be a great day of football. Let me know where I went wrong or if you think these games are going to end differently.

Defoe for Jozy: A rare trade in the world of soccer

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer, USMNT , , , ,

It is rare in soccer that a trade is executed, even more so when it involves two international strikers switching continents. The MLS has plenty of intra-league trades but it is uncommon for one to happen with an EPL team. Yet, Tuesday Toronto FC and Sunderland announced they were swapping forwards as Jermain Defoe would be heading back to England and Jozy Altidore would be sent to Canada. The two are at very different junctures in their careers as they make the move back to the leagues where they each started their professional careers. Time to take a second look at how Altidore and Defoe wound up being part of this deal.

Defoe has been playing in the professional soccer system since he was just fourteen years old. He began with Charlton Athletics’ youth squad in 1997 before latching on to West Ham in 1999. By 2000, at only seventeen years old, Defoe made his first appearance with West Ham’s senior team. He was loaned to Bournemouth though for the remainder of the season. When he returned, Defoe became a mainstay for West Ham and he wound up registering 29 goals in 93 appearances. Defoe had become a hot commodity by 2004 and was transferred to hometown Tottenham Hotspur mid-season. It was around this same time that Defoe earned his first call up to the English senior squad. Once at Tottenham, Defoe really began to shine. He scored in his debut against, ironically, Portsmouth, whom he would later join for a season in 2008. He scored 43 goals in his first 4-year stint with Tottenham. He played 2008 in Portsmouth, scoring 14 goals in just 30 appearances. 2008 also marked a big year for Defoe on the international stage. He scored his first ever goal in competitive match and eventually became a regular on the 2010 England World Cup team. After the year with Portsmouth, he returned to Tottenham for another 4-year stint, scoring 47 more goals for the London side. By 2013 though, Defoe was getting a bit older and the MLS had come calling. More specifically, Toronto FC made a big push to land the English international. After signing Defoe, Toronto immediately loaned him back so he could remain with Tottenham until the start of the MLS season. Once playing in North America though, Defoe came out firing. He scored two goals in his first appearance for the team and ultimately scored 11 for Toronto over the course of the season. Now the 32-year old is heading back to the EPL where he had all sorts of success. Defoe sits 14th all-time with 124 goals in his career with a great chance to move a little further up that list.

On the other hand, England has been where Jozy Altidore has struggled the most. The New Jersey native started out playing for the IMG Academy as a teenager spending time with the U-17 national team. In 2006, the Metrostars, who are now the New York Red Bulls, took Altidore in the MLS SuperDraft. He spent most of that season earning his high school diploma and thus did not make his debut until August. Jozy quickly became a fan favorite in the greater New York area and would become the youngest player to ever score in the MLS playoffs by a staggering margin. In 2008, Altidore left MLS when Villareal, in Spain, bought him for an MLS record-shattering $10 million. Villareal loaned out Altidore over the next few seasons to Xerez, Hull City and Busaspor. Jozy never developed into the prized striker Villareal hoped for as he never scored more than 1 goal in a season. Villareal then shipped him to the Dutch team AZ Alkmaar, which ended up being a resurrection for Altidore’s club career. He was having plenty of success on the international level, having been an important part of the US’ Confederations Cup Finals run in 2009. Playing for AZ, Altidore scored 39 goals in just 67 appearances, sparking some major interest in England. Concurrently though, Jozy hit a dry spell at the international level, not scoring for nearly two years in a USA uniform. Shortly after getting on track for the National team in 2013, Altidore made a move to the English side Sunderland. Jozy once again struggled to find his way; Altidore only managed 1 goal for Sunderland in the 42 appearances he made. It was well known that Altidore was looking for a fresh start once again, and now he has one back in the league where he first garnered fame.

Both teams will be happy to bring in these new players. Defoe is a proven goal scorer who can spark a Sunderland team that has struggled to beat the keeper this season, as the club ranks second to last in the league in scoring. Toronto will be able to add a younger player in Altidore and drum up more popularity in bringing back another US international player to MLS. Altidore will join Jermaine Jones, Omar Gonzales, Mix Diskerud, Kyle Beckerman and Clint Dempsey and will play alongside Michael Bradley in Toronto. At this point, not many US international players are playing outside of MLS. We will have to see what this movement does for the team. Defoe has his chance to likely finish his career in England now. Altidore is getting another chance to start over. In the short run, I have to think that Sunderland are happy with the deal they landed. Toronto might get more out of it down the line but for the present, the English side definitely got the better hand in this one.

Mixing it up with NYCFC

Chris McGlynn MLS, Soccer, USMNT

New York City FC announced the signing of Mikkel Morgenstar Pålssønn Diskerud better known as Mix. The Norwegian-American midfielder will join with David Villa, Ned Grabavoy and eventually Frank Lampard in what is shaping up to be a pretty strong attack on paper. Diskerud has grabbed national attention recently with his run of appearances in the US National team lineup under Jürgen Klinsmann. The 24-year old is showing great potential and should be a fun player to watch in the upcoming MLS season.

First, I want to take a look at how Mix got here then breakdown what his signing means for NYCFC.
Diskerud started out playing in his home country of Norway for a couple junior and second division squads. He was a member of the Norwegian U-18 and U-19 squad while playing Stabæk’s B team in the Norwegian Second Division. In 2008, at the ripe age of 17 in a 14-0 romp of Vestfossen IF. He then was named a starter for the 2009 La Manga Cup and scored in the opening minutes. Around the same time, Diskerud made his first appearance in a red, white and blue uniform as well, playing for the U-19 United States squad in a few matches. Mix ended up making 81 appearances for Stabæk scoring 10 goals in his time there. He joined Gent in Belgium on loan for the end of the 2011 season before making the jump to Rosenborg BK for the start of the 2012 campaign. It did not seem like Mix would stay long though as he almost depart the team for the MLS at the end of 2012 but there was an issue with transfer policies and Diskerud stayed in Norway. The move to MLS made some since as he was ending his three-year hiatus from playing with US National team at this time, finding some significant playing time in the starting 11. Diskerud has now totaled 25 appearances in a US kit and already has five goals to his name. However, the move to the MLS has happened now and after making 59 appearances and scoring 5 goals for Rosenborg, Mix is now headed stateside.

Diskerud’s time in Norway was valuable experience but now he will begin playing alongside some excellent, albeit aging, players at the club level. Villa and Lampard are way above the level of just about any player in Norway, even if they are slowing down a bit. Signing Diskerud adds a talented, young player more than capable of generating offense and it greatly appeals to the fans, who will be thrilled to come and watch one of the American international players. This also gives NYCFC another young player to build around. They have already snagged the 22-year old forward Tony Mullins from New England. New York also has one last Designated Player spot left open for them to make a big signing. I would not be surprised for City to bring in a proven defender to really bolster this squad. This team might not be the best in the MLS this year, but once Lampard gets to New York, this team should be ready to compete.

This signing is a big one for both NYCFC and MLS. New York brings in a widely sought after player that will give them a spark in the midfield and MLS now has yet another US international playing on home soil at the club level. With the news that Jozy Altidore is on his way to the states as well (be on the lookout for more about this), MLS is bringing in some popular players which will hopefully give the leagues overall popularity a boost. NYCFC also get to feel good about keeping Mix away from their in-state rival, showing that very quickly City is becoming the club of choice in New York. There are still a couple of months until the 2015 MLS season kicks off so I would not be surprised if NYCFC made a another move or two to really make a splash heading into their inaugural season.

Is it time for Peyton to hang ’em up?

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL ,

He looked battered. He looked beaten. He looked broken. That is the best way to describe Peyton Manning as he departed from the field on Sunday night. The 38-year old veteran had lost for the thirteenth time in the playoffs, an NFL record. Every loss, especially a playoff loss, has to hurt, but this one stings just a little bit more. The defeat came at the hands of Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts, the man who replaced Peyton as quarterback in Indy after Manning’s 13-year tenure with the team. Now, Peyton must enter the offseason with that sour taste in his mouth and wonder if it is worth coming back for the 2015 season.

It is hard to admit it, but it is time for Peyton Manning to call it quits on his playing career. I love watching Manning compete but saying he should stay would be selfish. We saw as the season progressed on that the Broncos quarterback began to struggle. Part of the reason was due to the torn quad Manning played with for the last month of the season. That aside, Manning threw for over 700 fewer yards, 16 fewer touchdowns and saw his completion percentage drop 2 percent. Sure, it might not be fair to compare him to the best statistical year ever produced by an NFL quarterback but the offense around him did not change. Nope, Manning actually had more support from the running game and even a better defense, yet his play declined. Manning was still playing at high level, just not the level he could have been.

The bigger issue though was the continual drop in zip Peyton had on his passes. His arm strength is clearly deteriorating and the offseason will only further that trend. Manning, unfortunately, is declining and the odds that he is going to turn around next season and play well enough to get this Denver team to a Super Bowl is highly unlikely. Peyton is not going to get any better before next season and I would really hate to see him come back for another year and put up a mediocre performance because his body was beginning to fail him. It is hard to say what you want the guy to do because he was so great this past season, putting up top-5 quarterback numbers. However, if Sunday’s game was a sign of what is to come, then maybe it is best that Peyton just rests on his laurels. Manning completed only 56.5% of his passes, averaged only a measly 4.6 yards per attempt, posted a meager 75.5 passer rating and finished with a lowly 27.7 total quarterback rating. Not to say that’s always how Manning would play, but if it’s any indicator, then Peyton should stay on his couch.

Another contributing factor would be the departure of Head Coach John Fox. This likely means that the team will undergo some pretty serious overhaul in the offseason as it attempts to find a new direction. There are also rumors that offensive and defensive coordinators Adam Gase and Jack Del Rio could be on the outs, which would mean an almost completely fresh start in Denver. All of the change likely wouldn’t suit Manning and if it turns out that General Manager John Elway is looking towards the future then it is likely that Manning would not even really be part of his plans. Manning after all does count for $21.5 million if he is on the roster at the beginning of the new league year. With Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, Orlando Franklin, Will Montgomery and Jacob Tamme’s contracts set to expire, that money could be crucial. It is still likely at least one of them will not be back meaning the offense will take a hit. Three defensive starters could also be missing next year. That is a decent amount of turnover for a professional team and I think the uncertainty could cause Manning to reconsider returning to Mile High for another year.

In all honesty, Manning does not have much left to play for. He holds the single season record for passing touchdown and passing yards. He set the career mark this season for passing touchdowns and ranks second for career passing yards. He is tied for the most passing touchdowns in a game. He surpassed Dan Marino this year for the most game-winning drives in NFL history and has the most fourth quarter comebacks of all time as well. Manning also ranks only behind Brett Favre for most career wins. There is no doubt that Peyton will be a Hall of Famer. At this point, I do not know what else he has to prove. I do not think that he can suffer through a whole season to lead Denver to another Super Bowl win. He could probably catch Favre in both career wins and career passing yards next season but outside of that, there is little left for Manning to accomplish.

As sad as it is to see a great player retire, I think now is the right time. It is certainly not how Peyton would have wanted it to go but if he tries to hang on too much longer, it is only going to hurt his legacy. I would think that Manning would want people to remember how dominant he was during his illustrious career and never leave a doubt in anyone’s mind that he was one of the best ever. If he comes back and struggles, it tarnishes that legacy with the last season fans have to look back on being one where number 18 showed his age and was clearly past his prime. I just do not think it will get any better for Peyton and with the way things are going this seems like the perfect time to get out. But I guess that is for him to decide. Manning is a competitor and this loss might have just lit a fire under him. We will have to see what his future holds.