2022 NFL Draft insider notes: The surprising No. 1 pick some GMs expect, why two QBs will go top 10 and more

2022 NFL Draft insider notes: The surprising No. 1 pick some GMs expect, why two QBs will go top 10 and more

The NFL Draft is now less than two weeks away, and there is no clear consensus first overall pick. And certain scenarios that may have seemed unusual or extreme early in this process, to those actually involved in it, just may come to be rote by the time the Jacksonville Jaguars actually make their initial selection.

That’s a complicated way of saying that Michigan pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who many would have penciled in with this pick weeks or months ago, might not be the guy for the Jags. And Georgia pass rusher Travon Walker, who blew up the combine with ridiculous athletic feats but who doesn’t necessarily have the game film to back it up, just may end up being the first name called. At this point, to the evaluators I spoke with this week who are preparing to make picks, neither scenario would be shocking.

Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke has a history of gambling on talent, and in particular on being heavily influenced by athletic metrics. He was rarely afraid to trust his gut or take a shot on an injured player or be a contrarian of sorts, and while it ultimately had a lot to do with his demise in San Francisco, there is little indication to his peers that Baalke has changed to any great degree. Furthermore, the Jaguars have long been an organization that has focused on the numbers – and testing scores – as a major factor in player selection, and Walker is obviously the darling of that cohort.

Does Baalke look at Walker and see Aldon Smith, the 49ers former pass rushing savant, only without the off-field issues that derailed what may have been Smith’s Hall of Fame career? Is he captured by Walker’s boundless upside, and intent on taking him, with

Read More

Insider perspective: 2022 UCI esports world cycling championships

Insider perspective: 2022 UCI esports world cycling championships

A several days after Thanksgiving, I punched my ticket to the 2022 UCI eSports Entire world Biking Championships on Zwift. I had just received the UCI worlds Pan-American qualifier with a late-race attack, crossing the line considerably less than a tenth of a second in front of the industry. But with my top-5 end I was headed to worlds.

Even though I wasn’t really heading everywhere, for the reason that I was would be racing the UCI esports environment championship from my apartment, just like any other Zwift race. The lead-up to the race was much more intense than I predicted, with media interviews, lights checks, overall performance verification, and a host of other protocols that I did not even know existed.

ZADA Tests

In order to make it to the commence line, every single rider picked for the UCI eSports planet championships necessary to comprehensive different checks and checks to verify their performances and devices. Just one of these – and the most tortuous of them all – was the ZADA (Zwift Accuracy and Information Examination not Zwift Anti-Doping Agency) test.

The ZADA exam is fairly straightforward: Zwift sends you the protocol in a downloadable work out file, you do the training, stream the entire trip, and that is it. But this work out is not like any other. In its place, it is a sequence of electric power exams, carried out again-to-back again-to-again, with small rest in amongst.

In purchase, the intervals are greatest 1-moment, 4-moment, 7-moment, 12-minute endeavours, as well as two 15-next sprints. The rest time period corresponds to the future interval duration, so following the 1-minute exertion you get 4 minutes of relaxation, following the 4-minute work you get 7 minutes of rest, and so on.

Basically set: this sucked. The brief relaxation durations meant

Read More

NFL insider notes: Why coach hirings could shift back to defense, Giants come to senses and more on carousel

NFL insider notes: Why coach hirings could shift back to defense, Giants come to senses and more on carousel

Could this be the head coaching cycle where defensive coordinators prevail? Might the pendulum end up swinging back to side of the ball, at least a smidge?

It’s fair to at least ponder the possibility.

Yes, the game is all about scoring points and protecting quarterbacks and the rules tend to favor the offense. And NFL owners have displayed a growing propensity to hire from that side of the ball, looking for quarterback whisperers and play callers and favoring that profile above all others. But color me at least somewhat optimistic that perhaps some of these decision-makers will keep a more open mind when it comes to which attributes and specialties matter most when hiring a head coach.

We are still quite early in this process, obviously. And I’ve felt like a sucker at times in the past when some of the initial candidate lists represented a wider panorama of potential hires. I won’t fully believe that preferences are changing and searches are more merit-based until I see it with my own eyes, but there is reason to believe maybe this cycle will be different than many in recent history.

There seem to be a higher number of genuinely sought after defensive coaches, and more men on that side of the ball getting the chance to interview for multiple jobs. As it should be. The coupling of an experienced, defensive minded head coach and an innovative offensive coordinator has always made the most sense to me when it comes to managing the entirety of a football team, and maybe that will carry the day in some of these instances.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was always shaping up to be one of the most in-demand coaches on this market, reaching a Super Bowl as head coach in Atlanta and getting

Read More