SOTT Draft Profile : Mike Taylor, Wisconsin
Mike Taylor has flown a bit under the radar in the upcoming draft but is First Team All Big Ten for 2012 by the media and Honorable Mention All Big Ten by coaches. He was named preseason candidate for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award and the Lott IMPACT Award. Prior to his senior year, he was consistently awarded within the Big Ten by media and coaches alike and won University of Wisconsin’s co-team MVP in 2011. Mike Taylor was a big part of the Badgers’ success in getting to the Rose Bowl three consecutive seasons. How will Taylor’s college…
SOTT Draft Profile : Montee Ball, Wisconsin
Montee Ball holds the NCAA Division I-FBS record for most career rushing touchdowns with 77 and the NCAA Division I-FBS record for most career total touchdowns with 83. Overall, he holds five NCAA football records. He is a force. He is not particularly fast, yet he is elusive. He also had a few key fumbles in a few pivotal games. We wanted more information on the rushing phenom so we turned to Andrew Rosin. Tale of the Tape Class – Senior Height – 5′ 11″ Weight – 210 lbs 40 time – 4.60 (projected) What path did Montee Ball take to get to…
SOTT Draft Profile : Marcus Lattimore, University of South Carolina
After spending three years as a South Carolina Gamecock, junior RB Marcus Lattimore declared for the NFL draft in December of 2012. Lattimore is an interesting prospect for the NFL. He set a school rushing touchdown record and overall touchdown record for the Gamecocks early in the 2012 season (his THIRD season), he was the leading rusher with 662 yards and 11 touchdowns despite playing just nine games and has suffered some devastating injuries. To get some insight on this intriguing draft participant, we ask a few questions of John Havard, The Gamecock Man, Editor of Garnet and Black Attack….
The POGs: Packers Edition
RELIANT STADIUM – The Green Bay Packers man handled the Houston Texans in front of a national audience Sunday night with a final score of 42-24. Packers’ quarterback and reigning MVP showcased his skills by throwing a career high 6 touchdowns, and earning NFC Player of the Week. In our Texans to Watch Green Bay Packers Edition, we specifically highlighted that the Texans did not want to get into a shootout with Rodgers. We also suggested that the Texans would need to maintain a ball controlled run first offense. These two items were imperative for the Texans to win. Both of which…
Texans to Watch: Titans Edition
The Texans look to improve to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the division at Reliant Stadium this weekend. The foe is division rival Tennessee Titans, which come to Houston after winning their first game in overtime, 44-41 against the Detroit Lions. The Texans (and probably most fans) are riding a “Rocky Mountain High” into this game after beating Peyton Manning and the Broncos last week. But that was last week and this could be a trap game if the Boys in Steel Blue aren’t ready. Hopefully with the match-up being a home division game, it will push the Texans…
The POGs: Jacksonville Edition
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- The Texans easily defeated their division rival Jacksonville Jaguars by amassing 411 total yards via a franchise record 83 total plays. The Texans dominated offensively and defensively. The Jaguars were stuffed, managing only 117 total yards – 32 yards coming on one pass play. Gabbert was limited to a miserable 53 yards passing. The Jaguars had no answers for their abyssmal showing. Neither during the game or after, as evidenced by the post-game quotes. In fact, it seems as if the Jaguars believed they beat themselves rather than getting man-handled by a far superior team. “Yeah we killed…
Texans to Watch: Jacksonville Edition
The Texans travel to Jacksonville to begin AFC South Division play this weekend against rival Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars limp into this game with an 0-1 record after losing their first game in overtime to the Minnesota Vikings. Jacksonville opened the season with 10 players on the IR (injured reserve) list and didn’t even dress two of their top defensive starters last week in linebacker Daryl Smith and cornerback Derek Cox. Not to mention, three offensive linemen had to leave the game against the Vikings – Cameron Bradfield, Eben Britton and Uche Nwaneri were injured with Nwaneri being the only one to return to the…
Texans Players to Watch: Dolphins Edition
With the 2012 season fast approaching, expectations have never been higher for a Texans’ team. In fact, some “experts” are predicting not only a repeat AFC South Championship but also a Super Bowl appearance. But, let’s not get carried away – they still have to play the games. This Sunday the Texans will play host to the Miami Dolphins, who feature a rookie quarterback in former Texas A&M Aggie Ryan Tannehill and a rookie head coach in Joe Philbin. Wearing jersey number 17, Tannehill is ironically the 17th starting quarterback for the Dolphins since legendary hall of famer Dan Marino. However, the good news…
The POGs: San Francisco Edition
RELIANT STADIUM – The second pre-season game featured two heavy weight playoff hopefuls in the Houston Texans and the San Francisco 49ers, last year’s NFC Championship finalist. With the firey Jim Harbaugh at the 49ers helm, most fans were anticipating a physical, regular-season-style game – and they got it, but it was the 49ers who left the game banged up in a 20-9 loss. As opposed to last week’s game, this week featured some clearer options for “Players of the Game”. The Texans’ passing attack was led by Matt Schaub, who was seemingly able to move the ball…
The POGs: Carolina Edition
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In the first pre-season game of the Texans’ 2012 football season, they overwhelmed a Carolina Panthers team that have high hopes heading into this year. Although there were mistakes made by the Texans, it was a strong performance by the reigning AFC South Champs. Pre-season games are typically used to get your starters in a rhythm but more importantly a way to gauge your rookies and second team players. The Texans’ defense seemingly picked up where they left off last year. It is hard to imagine this group being another top 5 defense, simply because it is…
