Making A Mockery. Draft Day

Today is a big day for NFL fans.  This day should be a national holiday.  The second best event of the league is fast approaching.  We are less than two hours away from the 2015 NFL Draft and in true Draft Day fashion I have composed a mock draft.  Rounds 1-3 will have insight on picks.

YOU ARE ON THE CLOCK!

MOCK DRAFT 1.0

Round 1 Pick 7:  Traded back from 5 to acquire the Bears 7th pick in Round 1 and 7th pick in Round 2.  With this pick I selected Alvin Dupree (DE/OLB, Kentucky).  As you know we've be lackluster on the defensive side of the ball.  More specifically we lack quality rushers.  Dupree is a physical specimen at 6'4 and 270 pounds he has the body you want in the pros add in a 4.56 second 40 and you  can see just how freakish of an athlete he is.  Some even had Dupree going top 5 so the fact that he slipped to 7 is great not to mention adding another pick and you've already placed yourself in an ideal situation to fill another hole

Grade:  A


Round 2 Pick 6:  With this pick I selected Dorial Green-Beckham (WR.Missouri).  By trading back and missing out on Cooper/White I chose to go with the WR many believe could wreak havoc in the NFL.  The Redskins lack a redzone threat and DGB certainly can fill that void.  Green-Beckham is 6'5 and 237.  Again, he's another big body that ran an unreal 4.36 in the 40 yard dash.  Also,  add in his 33 inch vertical and that's a wide catch radius which bodes well in the pros.  DGB is considered 1st round talent even though he is raw but some draft boards have him gone somewhere in the second round due to off-field issues.

Grade:  A-

Round 2 Pick 7: This is the additional pick gained from the trade in the first round.  With this pick I selected Landon Collins (SS.Alabama).  As we all know in Redskin Nation we've lacked a solid safety since the loss of Sean Taylor.  While Landon isn't the same mold of Taylor he is the highest rated safety on the board and for him to slide into Round 2 is a gift.  Collins doesn't wow you with speed but he is a solid tackler and brings a ton of physicality.  Collins is 6'0 and 228 pounds.  He also saw snaps at FS as well and the fact that he can be utilized at both safety spots is a plus for Washington.

Grade:  A+

Round 3 Pick 21:  I traded back with Cincinnati and acquired two additional picks.  With this pick I selected Hau'oli Kikaha (OLB,DE,Washington).  Kikaha displays the type of motor you want to see at the linebacker/defensive end position in the pros.  Touted as the most accomplished pass rusher in this draft and with a projection of going between the second or third round him sitting at the back end of the 3rd again is a gift.  Kikaha is 6'2 and 253 pounds and can play LB and/or DE which gives the Redskins another threat on the defensive line.

Grade:  B

Round 3 Pick 25:  With this pick I selected Tre McBride (WR,William & Mary).  McBride was one of those guys who saw his stock rise due to a great showing at the combine.  He wowed a lot of analyst and scouts.  This doesn't mean that he will translate well into the pros but at this pick he's just to talented to pass up.  Also, the fact that this is an additional pick he's a low risk-high reward player. At 6'0 and 210 pounds McBride can be a decent threat in the slot.  McBride ran a 4.41 40 but he did wow in the 20 yard shuttle at the combine as one of the top performers in that drill with a time of 4.08 seconds.  Add a 38 inch vertical and a 122 inch broad jump and you have quite a threat at the wideout position.

Grade:  A


Round 4 Pick 21: from Cincinnati Gabe Wright (DT,Auburn)

Grade:  A-


Round 5 Pick 5:  Shaquille Riddick (DE/OLB,West Virginia)

Grade:  C


Round 5 Pick 21: from Cincinnati Xzavier Dickson (OLB,Alabama)

Grade:  A-


Round 6 Pick 6:  Laurence Gibson (OT,Virginia Tech)

Grade:  B


Round 7 Pick 5:  Martrell Spaight (OLB,Arkansas)

Grade:  B+

Mad Scientist 4.0: One Mo' Gin, Before The Show Begins

By Anthony McCree II

With the draft right around the corner at 8pm today, I had to do this one more time. I couldn't resist to be honest. So Mad Scientist 4.0 it is, expect more to come after the 1st round gets all hashed out tonight.

This time around was no different than the last, We start with the 5th pick in the first round and then proceeded to trade back until I was comfortable, unlike the previous piece , I chose not to accept every deal offered, because the possibly of your favorite team drafting 23 players in one draft is quite awesome, but it's just also highly unlikely.

So this time, I traded back with 5 different teams and acquired 7 more picks to along with the 7 we started with leaving the franchise with a grand total of 14. That somehow seems slightly more realistic, especially since it's only two from the total number of players brought in during the 2011 draft class (12). That coincidentally happens to be the teams record for most players drafted since the NFL draft was given a 7-round limit.

So, Yea, I'm still hoping my team breaks one of their records in a sense, but just not in such an absurd fashion I guess you could say. But here we go folks....Round 1.....

Round 1 Pick 9 (NYG)

Amari Cooper, WR , Alabama

Round 2 Pick 7 (CHI)

D.J. Humphries, OT , Florida

Round 2 Pick 8 (NYG)

Landon Collins, SS , Alabama

Round 2 Pick 17 (K.C.)

A.J. Cann, OG , South Carolina

Round 3 Pick 5

Jay Ajayi, RB , Boise State

Round 3 Pick 7 (CHI)

Adrian Amos, FS , Penn State

Round 3 Pick 16 (K.C.)

Stephone Anthony, ILB , Clemson

Round 4 Pick 6

Hau'oli Kikaha, OLB/DE , Washington

Round 4 Pick 24 (ARI)

Gabe Wright, DT/DE , Auburn

Round 5 Pick 5

Alani Fua, OLB , Brigham Young

Round 5 Pick 23 (ARI)

Andy Gallik, C , Boston College

Round 6 Pick 6

Darren Waller, WR/TE , Georgia Tech

Round 7 Pick 11

Chris Bonner, QB , CSU-Pueblo

Round 7 Pick 15

Justin Coleman, CB , Tennessee

Overview

This time around, there was a bit of change in philosophy from the previous draft, I neglected the urge to trade out of the first round, instead only trading back a few times in the first round (once with Chicgao as well) and settling with our division rival New York Giants 9th pick. That Pick was then used to select Alabama's Amara Cooper, I think he provides more instant "bang for your buck" than any other receiver in this draft, and doesn't have some of off the field issues of a guy like Dorial Green-Beckham.

Because of the trading back, the second round was also key and plentiful this go around as well. I took D.J. Humpries, Landon Collins and A.J. Cann in the round, helping out two of the Skins most problem areas in  terms of depth in one round, with guys that I believe could easily be considered "first round talent".

In the third round, also feature some similar philosophy and a name you may recall, I again took Adrian Amos, one of the best cover safeties in the class in the round, and targeted a ILB prospect, I got that answer in Stephone Anthony, one of the most athletic players at the position in this class.

Still needing to address the OLB depth with Orakpo leaving, Trent Murphy presuming keeping his starting role, someone will need to step up in nickle situations, one guy that will get that opportunity, is Hau'oli Kikaha, a versatile pass rusher out of Washington (State), He's played linebacker and DE, that could come in handy in this one-gap defense.

A few other guys that I could not ignore for defensive depth this time around either were Gabe Wright, DT/DE and Alani Fua, for the same reasons one would add any possible pass rushing threat to a roster...getting to the QB is key.

Andy Gallick, rounds out the offensive line prospects, he's one of the better Centers in this class, and to get him toward the back of the 5th is a win in my book, that's now Tackle, Guard, and Center that have a comp boost in camp. Darren Waller, becoming a favorite among "sleeper picks" has solid potential, may at least become a very good red zone threat, Chris Bonner, taken again as well, is a prospect with good potential, if we end up grooming a new QB next year, and the corner depth was added to with tough minded press corner Justin Coleman.

Thanks again for reading, look out for more from the Area 51 team, mocks included. Comment let us know what you think.


*All picks made with first-pick.com


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Mad Scientist: On The Clock and Trading A lot

By Anthony McCree II

What up!! Are you ready for the NFL Draft?! I would hope so, it is tomorrow after all, in the sports

Wizards Vs Raptors: Game 3 Pregame

Tonight, The Wizards play their first home game of the 2015 NBA playoffs, they do so, with a two game lead, after beating Toronto on their home floor twice already to start the series off. They are the only team in the league to have won both games on their opponents home floor this postseason.

Time to get those brooms out, it's over. You might want to consider not even watching this one. No way they can lose, right? We would all hope so, teams that go up 2-0 in an NBA series to usually come out the victor, but the Wizards lost nearly every home playoff game they played last postseason, only winning one out of the five games they played at the Verizon Center.

This isn't over just yet, they still need to win a few more games obviously, but I think it's reason to be confident that this team won't repeat the mistakes of last years squad. Let's look at some key points going in to game 3 for now.

Who's Hot

John Wall and Bradley Beal

The combo of John Wall and Bradley Beal played great in game 2, Beal scored 28 points in the game going 12-21 shooting, 2-5 from the free throw line, and completely took over first half by scoring 20 of his total in the first two quarters.

John Wall, was even more impressive in my opinion, not only scoring 26 points on 8-16 shooting, but also distributed at a high level as he normally would, leading the team with 17 assist.

When Washington gets this type of production out of their young back court, their very hard to beat, hopefully it continues.

Who's Not

Drew Gooden

Gooden gave good and consistent effort off the bench, he grabbed 6 rebounds in the game, you really can't be mad at him in that department, but he only went 1-6 from the field. It would be good to see a more consistent shooting performance from him tonight.


Key Matchup 

• "The Truth vs. Toronto"

He's stated that he thrives off of the energy in Toronto.  There's one thing... We're back home and if he needs a hostile territory to play up to the competition then he won't get much of that at the "Phone Booth".  However, we need the Paul Pierce from game one and game two to show up.  In this series he has seen an enhanced role at the Power Forward position and quite frankly he's been exciting to watch.  During the season series in which Toronto swept the Wizards were bullied on the glass and exploited by the Raptors bigs.  They looked more athletic in the post which created big problems for the Wizards.  However, this series they just can't handle "The Truth".

X-Factor

• Bradley Beal

Over the duration of his tenure I've been really hard on Beal because there's talent there but oft times he looks timid.  If the Wizards want to take that next leap forward and if Bradley wants to jump into that next tier to superstardom he's going to have to piece together more games like Game 2.  He simply could not be stopped.  Not settling for threes but driving to the lane and drawing contact; a facet of his game that we haven't seen often.  Beal played more physical and forced Toronto to match that intensity which they simply couldn't.  Beal finished Game 2 with 28 points in 42 minutes on 12/21 shooting.

Wizards Vs Raptors : Game 2 pregame

The Wizards are going to face the Toronto Raptors tonight. The first game was tough, but when the smoke cleared Washington emerged as the victor. Once again, they will face a very good team in a hostile environment , "behind enemy lines" as some say. One has to wonder what can the Wizards do to assure that they don't come out on the losing end this time around. As we go through certain things, maybe we can get that question answered.

Who's Hot

Paul Pierce

In game 1, the presence of the truth was vital, not only for his play on the court, but also, for his leadership, poise and attitude off of it. He was quoted as saying the Raptors just didn't have "it" and he played as if he wanted to prove that. Scoring 20 points total in the game, hitting big shots when they needed and being versatile enough to play the PF spot.

Who's Not

Bradley Beal

16 points, 6 assist, 9 rebounds, 1 steal in game 1. That's a pretty good stat line, shows very good versatility......But damn man! My guy Beal went 6-23 from the field and 1-7 from the 3pt line, that has got to improve! He was our X-factor before Game 1 and will still continue to play a vital role going forward. He will have to improve his shooting if they are going to win this time around, I do like his aggressiveness, along with the long ball, he was also going to rack, but he's got to be successful when doing so.

X-Factor

Marcin Gortat and NeNe Hilario

It was so tough to choose, I couldn't go with just one. Game 2's X -factor is both NeNe and Marcin Gortat. Here's why I believe so. In game one, NeNe recorded a double-double, 12 points, 13 rebounds, His aggressiveness on both ends will be key once again.

For Marcin, He didn't have that overall stat line, with him only recording 8 points and 8 rebounds in comparison, but his involvement in screen and roles on the offensive end is very important for the offense, in the regular season, Gortat was none existent in most of the games, to the point where the Raptors didn't have to account for him as much because he wasn't involved, making it easier to guard everyone else on the floor.

Key Match up to Watch

John Wall Vs Kyle Lowry

This is a repeat of some sorts in terms on game one's pick in this area, but during the season, these two teams generally go, as their floor leaders went, and game 1 was no different. John Wall, didn't shoot the ball very well going 5-18 from the field, he needs to improve upon that similar to Beal, but his 10 points and 8 assist, are still better than Lowy's 7 points and 4 assist...If Lowry repeats that performance, they may not be able to keep the Wizards from the winners circle

Wizards Vs Raptors Game 1: Paul Pierce and NeNe lead the way

By Anthony McCree II

Today, the Washington Wizards kicked off their 2015 playoff run with a victory in rival territory. They took game 1 in Toronto from the Raptors, a team that they haven't defeated all season, they faced a very tough crowd with high energy, against a team that can blow you out at home you're not careful.

The ended the first quarter down by four, it could have been even worse, as they didn't score their first field goal until over 2 minutes had passed in the game, Gortat was forced to leave the quarter early due to picking up a second foul with 6:48 left, and they gave up open looks that Toronto did not fully capitalize on.

They cleaned some of those defensive woes in the second quarter, and that seemed to be a key ingredient to them winning the quarter and going into the half with a 4 point lead.

After the half, the Wizards continued to look like the better team, as they scored 19 and held the Raptors to only 14 points, expanding the lead 9. This continued through the 4th quarter, where they were up by 15 points with about 9 minutes remaining in the game. Easy win right?....Wrong! 

The Raptors stormed back as the Wizards struggled to execute offensively in the 4th quarter, they stayed in it, and kept creeping back into the game until former University of Maryland star point guard Greivis Vasquez made the comeback official with a three pointer with 25.9 seconds left.

The Wizards, then called time out and drew up a great play, where John Wall was isolated at the top of key, he dribbled the clock away, with barely no motion in the offense, no one attempting to pick or screen, and no one cutting to the basket, he tried to drive past Vasquez, and failed and was forced to settle for a jumper, which he missed....you can probably sense my sarcasm, because in my opinion, that was a horrible play to call, especially, coming out a timeout (face in palm) smh.

However, the lost lead did not stop the team on this day, they regrouped, stayed poise and made the clutch plays they need to make to win the game in the extra period, final score 93-86.

Key's To The Win

Rebounding

The Wizards out rebounded the Raptors 61-48 giving them the edge on the glass by 13. Nineteen of the rebounds were offensive boards, that's key in terms of second chance points, and keeping a team like Toronto from using their various skills in the open court, NeNe lead the way in the category with 13 rebounds in the game.

The Truth Will Set You Free

In true Paul Pierce fashion, he did not hold his tongue when asked about how he felt about facing Toronto in the first round, having not won a game against them in the regular season.

"We haven't performed particularly well against Toronto, but I don't feel they have "it" that makes you worried"

This he stated in an interview with ESPN. His statements of course had to become "bulletin board" material for Toronto. Nothing shows the effect Pierce's comments had on the franchise more than the reply from Raptors GM Masai Ujiri.

"We don't give a Sh-t about that"

Real easy to say you don't care when a GM of a team, is referencing it during a pep rally (I'm just saying).

Whether it bothered the Raptors or not, Pierces still had to step up and back up his statements, and that he did. Scoring 20 points in the game, and 10 points in the second quarter alone, after Randy Wittman decided to play him at the Power Forward spot, Pierce's experience and poise was also key as he scored 5 of his 20 in overtime.

If the Wizards are going to win 3 more games in this series, a repeat of some of the things they did well, may have to be in order.

DC Rising or Falling ?!

Playoff basketball is among us.  We already know the seedlings and match ups.  Our Wizards open up on the road in Toronto.  As most know Toronto has won all three meetings this season as well as 9 of the last 10 meetings so this isn't the ideal match up for the Wizards.  However if they play to the level they were playing at in the beginning of the season they can return to their role as the "dark horse" of the Eastern conference.  If they don't return to that form they can see a quick exit.  Both teams are polar opposites of each other one a solid defense, the other a formidable offense.  At one point the Wizards were in the top 5 in each category but could not regain that same tenacity post All-Star break.

If the Wizards want to make it out of this round they will need for superstar John Wall to be 100%,  Bradley Beal must find his shot and the bench must produce when the two aren't on the court.

The Achilles heel for them last year and parts of this year was bench production.  The trade for Ramon Sessions provides the Wizards with a point guard to match Wall's speed when he isn't on the court.  Another positive is that the Wizards do have Paul Pierce who has been successful against the Raptors.  Just last season his Nets found a way to beat a much more talented group in the Raptors.


In this post we'll be discussing some key match ups to watch as well as hot and cold players and x-factors for the Wizards and our picks for the game

GAME 1

Washington Wizards @ Toronto Raptors

Wizards
Going into game one both teams have a clean slate.  However, the regular season games did not bode well for Wall and co.  However, that Raptors team was healthy.  Not so much so right now.  If the Wizards plan to win they need to exploit those injuries.

HOT

JOHN WALL



John Wall has been playing some pretty good basketball.  The main thing going into this series is that he got some much needed rest. While periodically playing through injuries all season he still was effective.  Now with the rest over the last few games we may see Wall in another gear.  Wall had a season average of 17.6 PPG,  10 APG, and 4.6 RPG

COLD

BRADLEY BEAL



Bradley Beal has had some highs and some lows this season.  Already injured at the start of the season we saw Beal eased into the rotation.  He found time on lineups with mostly bench players giving them that extra push off the bench.  We saw his minutes increase and he got hurt again.  We had to watch the ease in process again.

X-Factor

Bradley Beal

He's had his highs and lows as you mentioned this season, much of which has been more of the same, because he's been in and out of lineup with various injuries since he first entered the league, but the fact of the matter is.....He also happens to the be the X-factor. With the Wizards facing a back court that features Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan, He and Wall will have to keep pace, Toronto has presented trouble for our bigs so their won't be room for guards to slack. Beal will have to play consistently well, being a threat that can get to rack but also knock down three pointers, if he's not, this one may be over early.

Key Matchup to Watch

John Wall Vs Kyle Lowry

Two of the best Point Guards in the NBA, and quite possibly the two best in the eastern conference face off in this series. They both averaging pretty good numbers against each other based on the regular season match up between the two teams, with Wall averaging 19 PPG and 9 assist, and Lowry averaging 16.3 PPG and 6.3 assist. The Wizards did lose each of the games, but the one game where Wall's production was greatly outdone by Lowry ended up being an easy victory for the Raptors. The way they perform against each other can greatly effect the chances each team has in game 1.