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2012 NFC East predictions: Are the Cowboys playoff bound?

May 7, 2012 Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, NFC, NFC East, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins

Can the Dallas Cowboys make the playoffs in 2012? Historically the NFC East has been one of the toughest divisions in the NFL and that tendency should again hold true in the upcoming season. Last season, the New York Giants won the NFC East with a 9-7 record on the last week of the regular season with a win over the Cowboys. With the offseason upgrades of the Washington Redskins and the way the Philadelphia Eagles ended 2011, any of the four teams are capable of becoming division champs in 2012. Here are the 2012 NFC East final standing predictions and team records.

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Cowboys move up, shock fans by selecting Morris Claiborne

April 26, 2012 Dallas Cowboys, NFC, NFC East, NFL, NFL Draft Coverage

The Dallas Cowboys knew exactly what they needed in the 2012 NFL Draft. An offense staring Tony Romo and Dez Bryant is great for putting up points but Rob Ryan’s defense was shredded last year, especially by the New York Giants.

The Cowboys are never afraid to take chances in the draft and by moving up to the sixth pick they made sure the player they were selecting was one of the best.

Morris Claiborne from LSU stated he wants to follow in the footsteps of fellow LSU CB Patrick Peterson and if he does there is no doubt he will be off to a stellar NFL career.

Claiborne is ranked as the top cornerback in the 2012 NFL draft .

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Is LSU’s Morris Claiborne’s draft stock falling?

April 5, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

Morris Claiborne is projected to be drafted in the top 10 by most Mock Drafts including ESPN’s Todd Mcshay projecting him to go to the St. Louis Rams with the 6th overall pick. Claiborne took the NFL’s Wonderlic test, a test that is given to each player pre draft. The test measures your cognitive ability, behavioral liability and personality. Claiborne’s score was a 4 out of 50. Lets take a look at how that stacks up to the averages of players at his position and others.

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2012 NFL draft: Possible selections for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

March 7, 2012 NFC, NFC South, NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2011 was filled with promise for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they had seemed to find their quarterback of the future in Josh Freeman, but like so many young quarterbacks around the league he has taken a step backwards.

As young and up and coming stars they see peaks and valley’s but such a dramatic turn around as Freeman and the Tampa Bay Bucaneers experienced can bring questions and attention to the problems.

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2012 NFL Mock Draft: Top 10 Picks

January 14, 2012 AFC, NFC, NFL

The 2012 NFL Draft Order is set, the only thing left is to order the remaining playoff teams and Draft season will be in full swing. The Indianapolis Colts won the Andrew Luck sweepstakes and hold the number one pick. It is guaranteed that they will be taking Andrew Luck to be Peyton Manning’s successor in Indianapolis. Jeff Fisher will have a tall task in St. Louis as he looks to be the next coach to take on the task of rebuilding the Rams, while Leslie Frazier’s first year in Minnesota didn’t quite go well. Mike Holmgren has the Cleveland Browns once again picking in the top ten but thanks to the trade with Atlanta, he will have an extra pick to help the Browns try to compete in the competitive AFC North. Meanwhile in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers are going from a ‘youngry’ Raheem Morris to a coach who has yet to be named and will look to turn Tampa back into the team who won ten games in 2010. From there, the Jaguars, Redskins, Panthers, Dolphins and Bills round out your Top Ten draft order heading into the off-season.

Plenty of teams inside the top ten who need a QB, and with Matt Barkley and Landry Jones returning that will throw a wrench into the plans for those teams. Will that cause teams to trade ahead of Cleveland, who would most certainly take Robert Griffin in order to take Griffin before he falls to Cleveland. Some are going to have new coaches while others will have new General Managers. So I present to you, a Mock Draft covering the Top ten teams and project who they could draft in April.

1. Indianapolis Colts- Andrew Luck QB Stanford: This is a no brainer right here, Luck is going to be the future of Indianapolis. The only question that remains is what happens to Peyton Manning, will he be traded or will he stay and tutor Luck for a year or two before giving way to the Andrew Luck Era.

2. St. Louis Rams- Matt Kalil OT USC: Jeff Fisher’s very first task as the Head Coach of the Rams should be ensuring Sam Bradford doesn’t catch the David Carr syndrome. They have tried to fix the offensive line but with no prevail, Matt Kalil is a Franchise Left Tackle who can come in and protect Bradford for the next decade or so.

3. Minnesota Vikings- Justin Blackmon WR Ok. State: In 1998 the Vikings said hello to Randy Moss who was drafted 22nd overall and became a star player right away. In 2012, the Vikings say hello to their new Randy Moss, Justin Blackmon. Christian Ponder needs a legit number one receiver and with Blackmon on board joining Adrian Peterson, the Vikings offense should be much better next year.

4. Cleveland Browns- Robert Griffin III QB Baylor: Colt McCoy right now is doing nothing to show he can be a franchise quarterback. He was drafted in the third round so the Browns don’t have much invested in him and with a rookie wage scale, they can afford to draft Griffin. Now the question will be, will Griffin finally stop the quarterback carousel in Cleveland and finally provide them a franchise quarterback.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Morris Claiborne CB LSU: Cornerback is the big issue for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into the off-season. Ronde Barber will turn 37 before the Draft and is a Free Agent. Aquib Talib is one more offense away from being suspended from the league and has a court date in March, a month before the Draft. Claiborne is not only the best player available but he also fills a need. Tampa’s young defense gets better with the addition of Claiborne.

6. Washington Redskins- Alshon Jeffery WR South Carolina: To whomever will be the Redskins QB in 2012, I give you a present in the form of Alshon Jeffery. Now of course I do expect Washington to try to trade up for Robert Griffin but I don’t do trades this early. So assuming they stay at six, they get a weapon for either Grossman or Beck and whoever the franchise quarterback ends up being.

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Quinton Coples DE UNC: Jacksonville loves drafting defensive lineman early and unfortunately they have drafted busts which leads to the more permanent fix in Coples. Coples has the perfect size, speed and athleticism to be a force for the Jaguars on defense. Coples ended the season with 7.5 sacks and in a division where you face Matt Schaub and Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck twice a year, you have to get to the Quarterback and Coples certainly will do that.

8. Miami Dolphins: Trent Richardson RB Alabama: This could be the first shocker here, but Richardson is the best player available here at eight. I know they drafted Daniel Thomas last year but with it being a two back league, Richardson can come in as the starter with Thomas and Bush taking over for Richardson on third downs or in goal line situations.

9. Carolina Panthers: Dre Kirkpatrick CB Alabama: The Panthers must work on their defense to make sure Newton doesn’t have to do everything. Carolina was ranked dead last against the pass and must do something to slow down other teams from beating them in the air. This is a good young team who I expect to be a playoff contender couple years down the line but must improve their defense in order to do so.

10. Buffalo Bills: Jonathon Martin OT Stanford: This is the best scenario for the Bills come Draft night. When the Bills suffered injuries to their offensive line and had to move players around, the offense suffered and so did Ryan Fitzpatrick. Demetrius Bell is not a franchise Left Tackle, while Jonathon Martin is. Martin can solidify the offensive line and ensure Ryan Fitzpatrick stays up right and the Bills can get back to the team who was 5-2.

Mike Presley is a NFL Featured Journalist for The Penalty Flag. He is a graduate of the Carolina School of Broadcasting and hosts a weekly NFL show on the schools radio station 89.3 The Storm entitled “The Front Seven.” Mike also writes for the racing website www.hardcoreracefans.com. Follow him on Twitter @mikepresley64.