Ultimate Building Blocks: NFC East

Haynesworth and Orakpo (if used at the line of scrimmage) both in the top ten



NFL Nation - ESPN (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation?tag=building%20blocks%20nfc)

From Football Outsiders, they look at 5 players on the rise, including our very own Jason Campbell.

Miles Austin, Jason Campbell or Sam Baker could be next big NFC stars - ESPN (http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=4247982)

This is an insider article, so I thought I would post the entire section on Campbell:

Jason Campbell, QB, Washington Redskins

Football Outsiders has been touting Campbell since he came out of Auburn because of his Lewin Career Forecast (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3350135), our metric that uses completion percentage and games started at the college level to reliably predict NFL performance for quarterbacks chosen in the first two rounds. Over the past decade, the only first-round quarterback to come out of college with a Lewin Career Forecast superior to Campbell's is Philip Rivers.

Furthermore, it's not as if Campbell has been unimpressive; his completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio, quarterback rating and DVOA have improved with each season as a professional, while his interception rate has declined. The only notable negative indicator for Campbell is a relatively high sack rate at 7.0 percent, but he gets sacked for the same reason Ben Roethlisberger gets sacked; at 6-foot-5, Campbell stands tall in the pocket and is able to make throws at the last moment that other quarterbacks wouldn't be able to get off.

Campbell heads into 2009 at a crossroads two similar quarterbacks faced after being presented with competition for their job at the end of their rookie contract. Drew Brees excelled and earned himself a mammoth deal from New Orleans; on the other hand, Byron Leftwich failed to take his game to the next level and lost his job to David Garrard. The difference between the subsequent contracts of the two players was $53 million; that's what Campbell's playing for this upcoming season.

If Mosley is asking the question I think he is, I'm taking Campbell at QB before anyone in the division. If he's instead asking me to take the best, established player, well, then I'm still not taking Eli.

2. Tuck, for sure
3. Haynesworth, for sure
4. Orakpo, for sure
5. Jason Peters
6. Brian Westbrook
7. Felix Jones
8. Jason Witten
9. Carlos Rogers
10. I'm going to pass on DeMarcus Ware and go with DeSean Jackson

Calling Samuel the best CB in the division by far is an embarrassment. He's not better than Newman. He's not better than Rogers. He's probably not even better than Corey Webster, although I'm not going to go that far. He might not be the best CB on his own team.

DeMarcus Ware is painfully overrated. There were like 4 games last year where he may or may not have been dressed, I don't know. He's not great against the run, and a lot of his 20 sacks were concentrated in games against vastly inferior competition. Oh, and when the Cowboys needed one win in their last two games to make the playoffs, Ware got one sack, in the first quarter of the first game. He's not, say, Shawne Merriman or Justin Tuck good. Not even close.

This tells me that Philip Rivers is better...and we're going after him next off-season!! :)

We didnt lose much on D and added two terrors yet the writer still doesn't think skins will make the playoffs. Interesting.

This tells me that Philip Rivers is better...and we're going after him next off-season!! :)
............that the inside dope?

Calling Samuel the best CB in the division by far is an embarrassment. He's not better than Newman. He's not better than Rogers. He's probably not even better than Corey Webster, although I'm not going to go that far. He might not be the best CB on his own team.

DeMarcus Ware is painfully overrated. There were like 4 games last year where he may or may not have been dressed, I don't know. He's not great against the run, and a lot of his 20 sacks were concentrated in games against vastly inferior competition. Oh, and when the Cowboys needed one win in their last two games to make the playoffs, Ware got one sack, in the first quarter of the first game. He's not, say, Shawne Merriman or Justin Tuck good. Not even close.

Umm Samuel is the best corner in the division, simply because he comes up big in the playoffs, like intercepting tarvaris Jackson for a TD, then manning(s) he's physical, can play all types of coverages the whole deal, Newman isn't even in the same convorsation as him, same with rogers, if I were creating my own defense I would have nnamdi asomougha on one side and Samuel on the other side

Umm Samuel is the best corner in the division, simply because he comes up big in the playoffs, like intercepting tarvaris Jackson for a TD, then manning(s) he's physical, can play all types of coverages the whole deal, Newman isn't even in the same convorsation as him, same with rogers, if I were creating my own defense I would have nnamdi asomougha on one side and Samuel on the other side
You'd have more credibility on that interception claim if you conveniently left off who was slinging the ball.

Calling Samuel the best CB in the division by far is an embarrassment. He's not better than Newman. He's not better than Rogers. He's probably not even better than Corey Webster, although I'm not going to go that far. He might not be the best CB on his own team.


I think talent-wise Carlos Rogers is pretty close to Asante Samuel, but Terrance Newman? I don't have a gillion metrics with which to make that comparison, but I can't think of any situation where I would want Newman over Samuel.