Fantasy Sports Outlook

Some quick hits before the draft starts…“Front Row Joe” Nemechek wins pole for Talladega. Qualifying from the 45th spot Nemechek turned in a lap time of 187.386 to overtake Stewart (186.896)…Gotta love the San Francisco Giants right now, Jonathan Sanchez finished last night’s game with this line in last night’s 3-1 over Aaron Harang and the Reds:

Giants are getting the hits when needed and the pitching has been even better than Giants fans hoped it would be.

NFL Draft Hangouts, not a fan of ESPN so I’ll be hanging out over at New Era Scouting and NFL Draft Scout. Don’t forget about NFL.com also.

Draft Cheat Sheets: NFL Draft Scout has a one page pdf you can download and you can still grab the Draft guide over at New Era Scouting.

Fantasy Football, Fantasy NASCAR joe nemechek, NFL Draft, San Francisco Giants, tony stewart

This is what makes draft time so fun, listening to all the smoke and mirrors that GM’s throw out. Here’s a good read on the Texans situation by Steve Campbell over at the Houston Chronicle, It’s anybody’s guess what Texans will do

I was pretty sure I’d catch Rick Smith lying.

I’m a trained professional. I’m supposed to notice things. Two telltale signs pointed toward Smith’s taking more liberties with the truth Wednesday at Reliant Stadium than some presidents do with their interns.

The NFL draft is coming.

Smith’s lips were moving.

Fantasy Football Houston Texans, NFL Draft, Rick Smith

Great pick for the Dolphins. Now that they are off the clock we can spend the next four days trying to figure out what the St. Louis Rams will do.

Here’s the full Sun-Sentinel.com story.

The Dolphins can officially be taken off the clock after agreeing to terms with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long, who will become the first pick in the 2008 draft.

The organization has called a 1:45 p.m. press conference to announce the signing of Long, the draft’s top offensive lineman, who gave up to two sacks and committed two penalties throughout his entire collegiate career.

The NFL Network is reporting that the Dolphins and Long’s agent Tom Condon have reached a five-year deal that will pay Long as much as $57.5 million, with $30 million of the contract guaranteed.

He’ll likely serve as one of the Dolphins starting tackles. Vernon Carey played left tackle last season and it’s likely both he and Long will be tried at that spot to see who is the best fit. The loser of that battle will likely play right tackle.

Fantasy Football Jake Long, Miami Dolphins, nfl, NFL Draft, St. Louis Rams

New Era Scouting has put the finishing touches on their 2008 NFL Draft Guide. I’ve already downloaded my copy and inside the 87 page guide you’ll find among other things, a seven round mock, Top 250 player list, team needs listing, position previews with rankings, and a peek into the 2009 draft. Looks like a very good draft day companion.

This is from Matt Miller, President and Director of Scouting for New Era Scouting.

Our draft guide is finally formatted and ready to be downloaded. You can access the guide here.

Please feel free to share this link with anyone you think may be interested in reading it. We have put a lot of man hours into compiling the guide, and sincerely appreciate everyone who reads it or the website. This is truly an exciting time of the year for us, and all of you.

On Saturday and Sunday, make New Era Scouting your draft-day headquarters!

On Saturday, the site will feature instant analysis from Matt Miller and Luke Paul Chandler, a blog by Dan Kadar, a chat hosted by Eric Loomis and updated team needs from Dave Gardner. The staff will also be updating the best players available as the picks happen.

Sunday will feature more coverage with a special “Inside Information” from Miller as well as other interactive features. Chandler will close out the draft by breaking down the top remaining players.

We are also hosting a mock draft contest this year, with the winner taking a $25 cash prize. Information can be found here.

Thank you again for another year of support.

Matt Miller
President/Director of
Scouting
New Era Scouting

Fantasy Football nfl, NFL Draft, NFL Draft Guide

Dave Gardner over at New Era Scouting has a very good interview with former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon and how he’s staying positive. Good read. I’ve started looking at mock drafts and trying to get a feel for where he might get drafted, but it’s pretty hard to tell. In New Era Scoutings draft guide, they have Dixon going to Jacksonville in the 5th round with pick no. 159.

Coaches and scouts never seemed too worried about Dixon’s commitment to the game or his athletic ability. They worried about the spread option offense. In the NFL, quarterbacks are too important to take off running frequently. Spread option college quarterbacks have historically had trouble in the pro game because they can’t run around NFL defenders like they can college defenders, and because they don’t have the experience in taking snaps under center. Dixon isn’t worried about his ability to adjust.

“I’ve played under center,” he said. “It’s no different to me. The (keys are) the footwork and the timing with your receivers. As soon as you get those down, you’re good to go.

Fantasy Football, NCAA News dennis dixon, NFL Draft, Oregon Ducks