By John Sarianides Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward put head football coach Kevin Sumlin on notice on Tuesday when he told ESPN’s Paul Finebaum that “Coach Sumlin knows he has to win this year” There was already pressure on Sumlin to win this upcoming season and now there is even more pressure on the sixth year coach to have a successful season or else face the prospect of being…
First & 10: Ten Thoughts on the World of Football
So long professor. It is truly a sad in the NFL Insider world. By John Sarianides 1.I believe Tom Brady is the 21st most popular athlete in the world. Most of the world despises him. It really is not a surprise. People hate winners. 2.ESPN firing John Clayton is further proof that sports talk nowadays is more about obnoxious, dumb takes now than it is about content. 3. The 49ers…
First & 10: Weekend Edition
By John Sarianides Ten thoughts from the world of football. 1. I hope Arthur Blank does the right thing and signs Michael Vick to a one day contract so that he can retire as a Falcon. 2. I don’t care what Josh Norman thinks of Odell Beckham Jr. and Dez Bryant! Why is it even a story? Norman babbling about them is nothing more than a publicity stunt on his…
Opinion: Chip Kelly Could Actually End Up Being a Good Analyst
By John Sarianides ESPN announced on Friday that former Oregon, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly would be joining the network as an NFL and college football analyst. At first, I was a little skeptical when I heard the news but the more I have thought about it the last couple of days (yes, I have thought about it) I think Kelly could actually end up…
Patriots Pulse Blog: Where the Heck is Andrew Hawkins Going to Fit In?
By John Sarianides The Patriots signed veteran receiver Andrew Hawkins on Wednesday to a one year deal. The first question that popped in my head was. Where is he going to fit in? The speedy Hawkins gives the Patriots another slot receiver that can take the top off of a coverage but how is he going to make a roster that already includes Julien Edelman, Chris Hogan, Brandin Cooks, Danny…
Opinion: I Am Not a Fan of the New Overtime Rule and Celebration Rule
Featured image courtesy of si.com By John Sarianides I am not a fan of the new overtime and celebration rule changes that are being implemented by the NFL. Yeah, I know I probably sound like a curmudgeon but the fact of the matter, none of the changes make any sense to me. Let’s start with the change to overtime. Why reduce the overtime period from 15 minutes to 10 minutes?…
Patriots Pulse Blog: The Patriots Gave Gronk a Raise. Now He Needs to Earn it By Staying Healthy
By John Sarianides The New England Patriots have restructured tight end Rob Gronkowski‘s contract. Gronkowski was scheduled to earn $5.25 million in 2017 but thanks to a restructuring of his current contract, Gronkowski could potentially earn $10.75 million which would make him the highest paid tight end in the NFL. Gronkowski has been grossly underpaid throughout his career considering his production so he deserves the pay increase. In order for…
NFL: Ten OTA Storylines I Am Following
Featured image courtesy of Chiefs.com By John Sarianides The weather is getting warmer and the football is starting to fly around again as teams begin voluntary OTA’s this week. Teams actually began OTA’s last week but most of those practices were sparsely attended by veterans. Veterans typically attend the third week of OTA’s. We have gotten a good look at many of the rookies working out with their new teams…
Screaming Eagles Blog: Last Week’s Verbal Commitments are Proof Steve Addazio and His Staff Own Massachusetts
By John Sarianides When Steve Addazio took the Boston College job in 2013, he said he wanted to build a fence around Massachusetts and keep all of the talent in the state at home. While Addazio and his staff has missed out on some local talent, last week was proof that they have indeed put up a fence and Massachusetts talent is choosing stay home and play at the Heights. …
Patriots Pulse Blog: If the Patriots Win the Super Bowl Next Season, Tom Brady Will Retire
By John Sarianides May and June are notoriously slow football months unless you want to talk about OTA’s, mini camps and spring recruiting in college football. As a result, you have to resort to writing hypothetical pieces like this. I believe that if the Patriots win the Super Bowl next season, Tom Brady will retire. I used to think he will play three more seasons but given his wife’s recent…