http://www.yardbarker.com/users/ClaytonHOF22__ Recent Yardbarker Articles: ClaytonHOF22__ en-us Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:27:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281820 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281820 The QB of recent years has been a rather shallow group, but looking ahead to the 2008 season it looks like those after Brady and Manning are getting stronger. ***My list don't reflect the 2007 QB's performances as much as most do - I take into account the whole picture a little more. On some people's QBs list, QBs can go from top 5 one year, down into the teens, and then back into the top 5 again (Big Ben for example). I don't think QBs really get worse/better that dramatically so my list don't fluctuate as much. A QB's performance rides a lot on the players around him. THIS IS NOT FANTASY QB RANKINGS - WE'RE TALKING REAL LIFE HERE.*** This will be my first ever list without Brett Farve... 1. Peyton Manning 2. Tom Brady 3. Tony Romo 4. Carson Palmer 5. Drew Brees 6. Matt Hasselbeck 7. Donovan McNabb 8. Eli Manning 9. Ben Roethlisberger 10. Marc Bulger 11. Phillip Rivers 12. Jay Cutler 13. Matt Schaub 14. David Garrard 15. Jeff Garcia 16. Derek Anderson 17. Kurt Warner 18. Vince Young 19. Jake Delhomme 20. Matt Leinart 21. Aaron Rodgers 22. Jason Campbell 23. Brady Quinn 24. Dante Culpepper 25. Jon Kitna 26. JaMarcus Russell 27. Chad Pennington 28. Trent Edwards 29. Chris Redman 30. Alex Smith 31. Matt Ryan 32. Kyle Boller I'm sure many of you will have problems with this list and I'm willing to explain my reasoning to you if you make an intelligent post providing your own evidence. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:57:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281316 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281316 You might have heard about what Hall of Famer Goose Gossage said to the young phenom Joba Chamberlain the other day. If you haven't, let me sum it up for you, he basically told Joba to follow his example and the rest of baseball and don't show emotion. Many people are split on this but I support Joba. By know means am I a Yankee fan, in fact, I have personally experienced Joba's fist pumping as an Oriole fan, but these "unwritten rules" are ridiculous. Players get berated for not hustling, not showing emotion, and now they also get scrutinized for showing too much? The lines are so fine in baseball that it is seemingly expected that every player acts the same. Fans claim they want to know players are trying and see these players other than robots - what is wrong with this? Joba is not showing anyone up, I can assure you of that. He isn't starring anyone down at the plate. This is a totally different situation then if a batter stands at the plate to watch his homer exit the park. Batters are allowed for the fist pump as they round the bases, why should this be different for pitchers. Again, who doesn't like the idea of a player actually showing he cares? I'm not saying that more players should do this but hey, if Joba wants to do it, let him. To me Gossage seems to be an old baseball guy that is wishing that baseball was the way it was "back in the day". If he wants that, a lot more than the occasional fist pump will have to change. Emotion is a positive. The game back in the day was better but it has nothing to do with a little added emotion. Goose said, "There is no place for it in the game." but seriously, aren't there a lot more things going around that are worse than Joba in baseball? I can think of a few (ok more like a few hundred)...If Gossage didn't say two words as a rookie, like he said he did, that's great - good for him - but don't be sour because Joba feels more comfortable around his teammates than Goose did. It sounds like someone isn't happy that a new Yankee rookie pitcher is having more fun than he did. I applaud Joba for not changing his ways. The game can use an exciting player like him. Thu, 15 May 2008 17:04:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267416 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267416 Another year of Maryland Basketball has rolled around and there are a few different outlooks on it. Many experts have Maryland cruzing into the NCAAs, but others see the depth and inexperiance as a problem. Maryland is coming off a strong run into the postseason last year, only to be haulted by A.J. Graves and his Butler squad. Before that though, Maryland had won 8 of 9 including a win over UNC and two wins against the hated Dukies, the first time that had been accomplished in years. Many of those players are gone now however, as Maryland graduated Strawberry, Bowers, Ibekwe, Brown, and Jones. This years version will be led by Greivis Vazquez, a 6-7 guard who can play with the ball or off of it. He will be counted upon to be more of the scoring off guard with a fellow sophomore, Erik Hayes returning to play the point. The backcourt is strong with them but behind them, there isn't much depth. Freshman, Adrian Bowie will probably get minutes at guard when Hayes or Vazquez needs a breather, but don't expect to see them out much. Bowie is more of a scoring guard as well, and played with Greivis in high school. The Small Forward position is cloudy, but it looks like little used sophomore Landon Milbourne will get the starting nod. Gary Williams said that he was ready to play last year but with Strawberry playing so well, he didn't have anywhere to out him. Now we will get a chance to see if he can help relieve Vasquez of the scoring load. Expect to see SF/PF tweener Dino Gregory get more time as the season gets on as well. The paint will be anchored by the lone 4 year senior, James Gist. Gist played some USA basketball over the summer and hopefully he will be ready to become a leader on and off the court this year. Last year he really showed signs of improvement, unlike his first two years where he looked a bit raw. Next to him will be the beast of the boards, BOOM, Bambale Osby. They list him at 6-8 but that is only true if they count his huge 'fro. He will do little on the offense end but his hustle brings a lot of energy to the rest of the players. He will need to do a better job to stay out of foul trouble with hardly any depth behind him. Expect Maryland to go small when Osby or Gist are on the bench because neither of the newly recruited centers appear to be ready to play yet. They are 2-0 now but with a huge test on the 19th. Be sure to tune in to see how Maryland ranks vs the #2 UCLA Bruins. Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:54:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/36268 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/36268 1. Oregon 2. LSU 3. Oklahoma 4. West Virginia 5. Kansas 6. Missouri 7. Ohio State 8. Arizona State 9. Georgia 10. Virginia Tech 11. USC 12. Florida 13. Texas 14. Hawaii 15. Clemson 16. Virginia 17. Boston College 18. Cincinnati 19. Boise State 20. Tennessee 21. Wisconsin 22. Illinois 23. Michigan 24. Kentucky 25. Connecticut Just missing...Auburn, Penn State Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:49:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/35929 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/35929 I've been doing a mock draft weekly, this is the most recent one that I made previous to this weekends college and pro football games. The draft order is not as it stands know, it is more of a combination of how I see them finishing, what they have done so far, and their last few games... 1. St. Louis Rams- Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU 2. Miami Dolphins- Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College 3. New York Jets- Chris Long, DE, Virginia 4. San Francisco 49ers (to NE)- Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas 5. Oakland Raiders- Jake Long, OT, Michigan 6. Atlanta Falcons- Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville 7. Cincinnati Bengals- Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC 8. Arizona Cardinals- Dan Connor, LB, Penn State 9. Denver Broncos- DeSean Jackson, WR, California 10. Houston Texans- Kenny Phillips, S, Miami (FL) 11. Philadelphia Eagles- Calais Campbell, DE, Miami (FL) 12. Baltimore Ravens- Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky 13. Buffalo Bills- Malcolm Kelley, WR, Oklahoma 14. Chicago Bears- Sam Baker, OT, USC 15. Carolina Panthers- Ryan Clady, OL, Boise State 16. Kansas City Chiefs- Malcolm Jenkins, CB, Ohio State 17. Minnesota Vikings- Early Doucet, WR, LSU 18. Jacksonville Jaguars- Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Kentwan Balmer. DT. North Carolina 20. Washington Redskins- Quentin Groves, DE, Auburn 21. Detroit Lions- James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State 22. Cleveland Browns (to DAL)- Reggie Smith, CB, Oklahoma 23. New Orleans Saints- Rey Maualuga, LB, USC 24. San Diego Chargers- Fili Moala, DT, USC 25. Seattle Seahawks- Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon 26. Tennessee Titans- Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio State 27. New York Giants- Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College 28. Pittsburgh Steelers- Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas 29. Green Bay Packers- Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas 30. Indianapolis Colts (to SF)- Limas Sweed, WR, Texas 31. Dallas Cowboys- Adarius Bowman, WR, Oklahoma State 32. New England Patriots- FORFEITED Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:28:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/35927 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/35927 I just found this site while I was searching Mark Clayton's name in google. Already I can tell that this place is perfect for me. I can get updates on my favorite teams, and post my thoughts and predictions on any given sport. I am in 11th grade and I am an absolute sports fanatic, probably a little too much according to some...but I don't believe that! I am a Ravens, MD Terps, Orioles, and Wizards fan and follow College Basketball and football, as well as the NFL, NBA, and MLB. I plan on going to college and studying journalism. It has been my dream to write about sports for a living, ever since I realized I didn't have all the physical tools to become a professional athlete myself. In my blogs I'll post my college football polls (always great for debates), some thoughts on the upcoming NFL Draft (already looking at 2008...hey, I'm a sports geek), and of course, my thoughts on all my favorite teams. I'll try to have 2 or 3 entries a week. Hope you enjoy! Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:17:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/35923 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/35923