A conversation with RB Devin Moore

Patriots Insider Radio: This Week in Patriots News 4/8

Topics: Current Hot Topics, recent visitors and special guest interview with Wyoming running back Devin Moore.

RB Devin Moore (Photo: Wyoming Athletics)

Devin Moore is a top 20 running back in this year's Draft class. Flying well under the radar of many teams, and mock draft experts, Moore is out to prove he belongs at the next level. At 5-foot-9, 190-pounds, Moore is on par with other smaller backs who carry the "third-down back" or "specialist" label.

Moore impressed at Wyoming's Pro day. He turned in an impressive 4.35 and 4.37 40-yard time, better than every running back at the NFL Combine. He's the second fastest running back in the Draft according to Tom Marino (Link).

What surprised us when we spoke with Moore was his bench press. Moore pressed 225 pounds an amazing 28 times. TWENTY-EIGHT! To put that in perspective, you have to compare him to top Draft prospects like USC linebacker Clay Matthews (23), Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry (25), and USC linebacker Rey Maualuga (23) -- all considered near locks to be picked in the first round.

Compared to the running backs in the Draft, Moore blows away the competition. Virginia RB Cedric Peerman was the closes with 27 reps on the bench and a 4.41 40 time.

Listen to the replay as we ask Moore about his workout and his Draft experience so far.

INSIDER's RADIO Every Wednesday Night

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Each show we combine some of the information from the Insider's Lounge (members only) and news of the day along with Scout.com Draft coverage to give you everything you need to know leading up to the Draft.

FB Tony Fiammetta Talks About His Draft Preparations

Patriots Insider Radio: This Week in Patriots News

The show will center on more Patriots pre-draft talk. Topics: The running back situation, Current Hot Topics, recent visitors and special guest interview with Syracuse fullback Tony Fiammetta

FB Tony Fiammetta

Each show we combine some of the information from the Insider's Lounge (members only) and news of the day along with Scout.com Draft coverage to give you everything you need to know leading up to the Draft.

To listen to the show Click the link below

Podcast download available

Have a question?
CALL IN LIVE: 9:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Call-in Number: (347) 838-8499

E-mail us: feedback@patriotsinsiders.com

or Join us in the forums

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PatriotsInsider

If you missed the show, it's archived so you can listen (download) it later. Click the Link above

Your Hosts:

Jon Scott has covered the NFL since 1995, and is a regular contributor to Patriots Insider and a featured writer for Comcast SportsNet New England. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), Jon has been a guest analyst on the NFL Network, Sporting News Radio, ESPN Radio and various other outlets

L.J. Parkman (Morpheus) has been a longtime contributor to PatriotsInsider.com. An avid follower of the team, "Morph" as we like to call him, knows more about what's happening in Patriot nation than most casual fans, and has penned many articles for the site. Author of "The Morpheus Report", you can reach L.J. in the forums under the handle Morpheus11

Insider Radio: More Pro Day & Draft Talk

Patriots Insider Radio: Draft and Pro Day Talk

This show will focus on the Patriots pre-draft needs. Topics: Who to take at No. 23 in the first round, A bit on the Belichick situation and insights from former NFL Scout Tom Marino

Each show we combine some of the information from the Insider's Lounge (members only) and news of the day along with Scout.com Draft coverage to give you everything you need to know leading up to the Draft.

To listen to the show Click the link below

Podcast download available as well

Have a question?
Email us: feedback@patriotsinsiders.com

or Join us in the forums

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If you missed the show, it's archived so you can listen (download) it later. Click the Link above

Time To Mock The Draft

Img credit: Totalprosports.com

Are you a Mock Draft fanatic?

Do you like scouring the web for every available crumb of information on players who are Draft-eligible?

Are you a Patriots fan?

If the answers is Yes, then you need to participate in the Scout.com Intersite Mock Draft. The IMD, as it's known, pits fans from every team in a huge mock draft replication. Each year, Scout.com reporters assist the fans in their choices for who the team may take at a certain position. It's an intersting and entertaining way to see how a real Draft works.

You don't have to be a subscriber, just join the message boards here to team up with fellow Patriots fans.

Join the IMD Team here.
Or Click here to learn more

Patriots Add Another Offensive Lineman

Damane Duckett Joins The Patriots

The New England Patriots announced the signing of free agent offensive lineman Damane Duckett Monday. Terms of the deal were not released.

Originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Panthers on April 30, 2004, the East Carolina product has bounced around the league. He's appeared in 20 games with one start over his five-year career. New England marks Duckett's fifth team; Carolina Panthers (2004), New York Giants (2004-05) and San Francisco 49ers (2006). Duckett spent 2007 season on the 49ers' practice squad while 2008 he sat out on San Francisco's injured reserve list.


Photo: 49ers.com

Three Compensatory Picks For The Patriots

New England Gains Three Comp Picks

By Site staff PatriotsInsider.com Posted Mar 24, 2009 New England gains three more picks for the 2009 NFL Draft courtesy of the compensatory system. With 11* picks overall, the Patriots are armed and dangerous

The Compensatory picks were handed out yesterday by the league. The Patriots hauled in their fair share netting 3 more picks in rounds three through six. Combined, New England now has 12 picks in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Compensatory picks are based upon free agents signed or lost from the previous season. New England lost three key contributors; Asante Samuel (Eagles), Donte Stallworth (Browns) and Randall Gay (Saints).

The value of those picks is determined by a secret formula. The components of that formula include playing time, compensation and postseason honors.

Here are the Patriots picks for 2009:

1st round   1 pick (23rd overall)
2nd round:  3 picks (34t, 47t, 58)
3rd round:  2 picks (89, 97*)
4th round:  1 pick
5th round:  1 picks (23rd in the round:TRADED to Eagles, 170*)
6th round:  2 picks (26th  in the round, 207*)
7th round:  1 pick (25th in the round)
t  -pick acquired via trade
*  -compensatory

MORE:
Draft Chatter
Hot Topic: What will the Patriots do with their picks?

Note: the Patriots traded their 5th round pick, but that move has not been reflected in the official Draft order yet.

Scout.com Mock Draft Update: Pats third pick in round two coming up. See who has been taken so far http://ping.fm/oD1ls

Insiders Radio: Patriots Draft Talk with A Former Scout

Patriots Insider Radio: Offseason Opening Edition

Tonight's show will focus on the Patriots pre-draft needs. Topics: LB prospects; The Julius Peppers situation, recent news and a Marino's Q&A

Join Us 9:00-10:00pm Tonight!
Don't miss our special guest
TOM MARINO

Each show we combine some of the information from the Insider's Lounge (members only) and news of the day along with Scout.com Draft coverage to give you everything you need to know leading up to the Draft.

To Listen "LIVE" tonight Click the link below

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Join us! Call in live or email Feedback@patriotsInsiders.com and we'll read your questions on air.
We do talk about some of the conversations in the forums... Chime in Here

If you miss the show, it's archived so you can listen (download) it later. Click the Link

Your Hosts:

Jon Scott has covered the NFL since 1995, and is a regular contributor to Patriots Insider and a featured writer for Comcast SportsNet New England. A member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), Jon has been a guest analyst on the NFL Network, Sporting News Radio, ESPN Radio and various other outlets

L.J. Parkman (Morpheus) has been a longtime contributor to PatriotsInsider.com. An avid follower of the team, "Morph" as we like to call him, knows more about what's happening in Patriot nation than most casual fans, and has penned many articles for the site. Author of "The Morpheus Report", you can reach L.J. in the forums under the handle Morpheus11

Report: Patriots To Trade For Julius Peppers

If you can believe what NFL.com is reporting, the Patriots may be in the market to sign Julius Peppers.

Report: Patriots To Trade For Julius Peppers

Julius Peppers may end up in New England according to a recent report by Vic Carucci. Wouldn't that be a kicker to teams in the AFC who thought they closed the gap on the Patriots?

Though the deal has yet to be confirmed by other sources, Carucci believes both sides are closing in.

PREMIUM: #Patriots have two more private workouts this week according to scout.com http://ping.fm/lbZDi

NFL Draft Chat with Chris Steuber

NFL Draft Chat with Chris Steuber

Will Matt Stafford go No. 1?

By Scout.com Posted Mar 11, 2009 The NFL Draft is a month away. How did free agency affect the draft board and the needs of teams? Expert Chris Steuber dropped by on Thursday to answer your questions.

Check out the archive
NFL Draft Chatter

TO can be a team player. Get your own "I love me some me" t-shirt at his website http://ping.fm/iKTkL

Cross off the wide body DT off the #Patriots free agent list. Grady Jackson will stay in Detroit according to reports
#NFL #Freeagency.

BREAKING: Per a source at Scout.com, the Pats will be hosting another DB. Check the Lounge http://ping.fm/A2H86

VIDEO: Our forums fans have found this Matt Cassel clip. Enjoy http://ping.fm/X5DJU

FORUMS: #Patriots Fans crazy over Cassel deal for JUST a 2nd round pick. http://ping.fm/wUv96

Patriots Trade Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel

The New England Patriots traded Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second round pick (34th overall).


The move to trade Cassel became more palatable for the Patriots once Tom Brady showed that he was well on the path to recovery from a knee injury which wiped out his 2008 season. Cassel was designated as the team's Franchise player, costing New England $14.65 million leaving little doubt that the team could afford both players at a combined cap cost of nearly $29 million.

The Patriots will miss the security of having a mobile player to lead them. But they should be in good hands with Brady back in the lineup.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound USC product has played in 30 games and started 15 during his four-year NFL career. He's completed 62.9 percent of his throws for 3,946 yards, 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The former USC backup to Carson Palmer and Mett Leinart was originally selected by the Patriots in the seventh-round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

Vrabel is a 12-year veteran with 176 games appearances and 110 starts under his belt. He's played for New England (2001-08) and Pittsburgh (’97-00) prior to his trade to Kansas City. He was a member of four Super Bowl teams with New England and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad following the 2007 season.

#Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney is now a former Patriots wide receiver http://ping.fm/mE9OG

Lots happening in #Patriots land. DB Leigh Bodden in for a visit, Fred Taylor SIGNS, TE Chris Baker SIGNS!

Scratch off one more suitor for Matt Cassel's services. The Vikings traded for Sage Rosenfels from Houston http://ping.fm/NwlBa

A league source says that #Patriots LB Eric Alexander has agreed to a 1-year deal to remain with the team. He was set to become a free agent

In need of another running back, the Patriots will host Fred Taylor this week. Fan Debate rages http://ping.fm/kFTod

NFL Combine Coverage

Thinking Sobo's pre NFL Combine look is pretty revealing

http://ping.fm/7mGub

His Chat tonight should be interesting

#patriots lineman #BillyYates will be back in New England according to a league source. Multiple reports indicate it's a done deal #NFL

Collinsworth Has No Faith In Belichick

According to the show HBO / now Showtime's "Inside the NFL", sports analyst Chris Collinsworth had no faith that the Patriots could pull out of their dire situation after Tom Brady went down with an injury.

Phil Simms, a New York Giants legend who played on the Giants while Belichick was in New York, brought Collinsworth's comments to light on a segement called "Phil's Pet Peeves"

Also on the segment are analyst Warren Sapp and host James Brown.



link credit: Bob's Blitz

Something You Don't Want To See From Your Starting QB

Something you never want to see from your starting (or backup) QB

Link courtesy: Busted Coverage

Get a lof of Charlie rubbing elbows with the Big Wigs http://ping.fm/cJQwI

NFL Draft Chat

Join us to talk NFL Draft ...

NFL Draft Analyst Chris Steuber spent time answering fans questions about the prospects who are eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft. Topics ran from specific players to what teams might be looking for in the coming Draft.

Here are some of the Q-A:

Alex: Chris- What NFL player would you compare Aaron Curry with and is he worthy of being a top 5 pick? Thank you

Chris Steuber: Alex: The first time I saw Aaron Curry play, I thought I was watching Derrick Brooks. He's such a tremendous force on defense. He's a game changer; a guy who can impact the game from a physical standpoint, but also play with finesse and turn defense into offense. I think he will be a top-five pick and a team like Cleveland or Kansas City will be happy to have him.

A A: Where do you think Percy Harvin will end up? Is the leg injuries the only reason why he is rated a late first rounder in most mock drafts?

Chris Steuber: AA: The fact that he gets banged up and he's small is a concern for teams. He's very talented and has game breaking ability, but his size may hurt him. I'm sure he will run well at the Combine and improve his stock. I think he goes anywhere from No. 15 - 22.

Chris: What's the knock on Jeremy Maclin... I see him rated highly on some boards, and only so so on others? That kid can flat out move!!

Chris Steuber: Chris: Durability is a concern with Maclin. He's another receiver that's been banged up during his career. He does so many things on the field that injuries will occur. But, I agree with you, he's a flat out stud and will have a major impact in the NFL.


Read The Rest

2009's Top 100 Free Agents

Free agency is almost upon us. Here's the top free agents available

Offense, Defense, Special Teams. Take a look at the top players available.

List updated on a regualr basis

2009 Top NFL Free Agents

Cassel The Subject Of Hot Debate

Not so sure about the future of Matt Cassel. Forum fans continue the debate http://ping.fm/zrGJe

Some examples of the debate:

This is from Adam Schefter at NFL.com:

Now that QB Matt Cassel has signed his $14.65 million non-exclusive
franchise tender — the largest guarantee on a one-year contract in the history
of the NFL — some around the league believe it’s 95 percent that he remains in
New England.

The only way the Patriots would trade Cassel is if they know QB Tom
Brady is healthy, and even if they do, the bidder needs to be to Cassel’s liking
and offer a contract to his liking, or there’s no deal.

That’s not to say it can’t happen. But it’s not going to be easy to
make it happen.

I stand by my oiginal statement. -- Angry Weasel

14 mil. for Cassel is monopoly money at this point! As soon as a trade gets
done, that number would come off the cap.

They tagged him asap.
Giving themselves and Cassel a little more time to negotiate with other
clubs. He can still negotiate, but the Pats have final say with
compensation.

Likely trade partners..Detroit, KC, San Fran and Minn.
All need franchise QB. A lesson I think San Fran learned the hard way by
selecting Smith. By any measure he's a bust!

-- Gr365

Kiper also says that Cassel is a better QB than Stafford. So if Cassel is
crap and isn't even worth a 1st round pick, what does that make Stafford?

-- stealthdog666


Join the discussion: What is Matt Cassel Worth In A Trade?

What Was He Thinking?

I was on my way to drop my daughter off at her friends house and listening to Sirius NFL Radio, Press Coverage when I heard something I didn't expect. It was the tone in which hosts Dan Leberfeld and Zig Fracassi were talking to their guest Nick Athan.

The thing that caught my attention was that Athan, an editor at Warpaint Illustrated, was defending the inane post of one Internet blogger turned semi-pro journalist who called Athan out on his website.

Yes, there they were talked about Athan and the classless move of one Mike Florio and Jason Whitlock who had publicly trashed Athan's credibility with information which was wrong.

Florio is no stranger to controversy. Many a journalist had called him little more than a simple hack. But his site has become so popular that Florio parlayed it into a legitimate gig on regular sports media outlets.

Whitlock, who has a tendency to use race in his columns, went off on Athan, citing information he gave to the NFL Network which was "wrong" as Whitlock put it. To be fair to Athan, who confirmed to me that he did email the NFL Network, but that he said the Shanahan deal is set email wasn't the only one he sent to the NFL Network. He followed it up 5 minutes later to clarify his position that he believed it was a done deal.

The interesting part of Athan's relationship with NFLN was that he had earlier told them that Scott Pioli would become the GM of the Chiefs. They didn't believe it, Adam schefter went on Boston Radio and ridiculed Warpaint. Less than a week later Pioli was standing at a press table talking about he and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt would turn the team around.

This is not to defend Athan, who was first with the Pioli news, and by his own admission erroneous in the Shanahan hire. It's to address the move by Florio and Whitlock... influenced by the NFLN move.

We've coped the Florio post in it's entirety because internet sites have a tendency to get changed without admission of editing.

LINK

I’ve known Nick Athan of Warpaint Illustrated for several years, and I’ve never regarded him as a questionable source of Chiefs news.

But that might be a result of the fact that I don’t pay much attention to the Chiefs.

With Athan’s report that Chiefs owner Clark Hunt recently said that the team has complied with the Rooney Rule when in fact Hunt never has said any such thing, we’ve now got serious concerns.

Our concerns became even more pointed upon receiving moments ago the following IM from Jason Whitlock: “LEAVE NICK ATHAN ALONE. . . total assclown. ASSCLOWN.”

(You know, Whitlock’s career would really take off if he’d quit being so damned wishy-washy about his opinions.)

“[F]eel free to quote me by name,” Whitlock said, “belittling you for even responding to that assclown’s e-mail. [H]e’s the guy who sen NFL [N]etwork an e-mail saying the [C]hiefs’ deal for [S]hanahan was DONE and that [S]chefter was wrong. [A]than is an assclown.”

Whitlock’s opinions regarding Athan’s are Whitlock’s alone, primarily since I’ve never been able to identify a consensus definition of the term “assclown.”

That said, Whitlock has never steered me wrong in the past, so I probably will be heeding his advice.

I as floored that:
1) Whitlock would call Athan names... other than because Athan scooped Whitlock many times in Kansas City

and
2) Florio would actually post something which was obviously sent as a personal message.

I was amazed, astounded and quite rankly a little disappointed in both Florio and Whitlock. I guess I shouldn't have been. Reading the comments on the post you can see people taking both sides.

As a new media journalist, I cannot do what Florio did. Nor would I sound off like Whitlock, who appears to be fll of a lot of hate lately. I'd be fired at my two professional gigs. It's surprising there are no repurcussions for either journalist

Cassel agrees to offer, now he's a rich man

SCOOOOOOOORRREEEE!!!!! That's the sound Matt Cassel's family yelled today after the young backup quarterback agreed to terms with the Franchise tender the Patriots offered. Cassel will now earn a guaranteed $14.65 million in 2009 whether he plays or not. Oh, such is the life of an NFL QB.

More on the report here:

http://ping.fm/0yjy5

Cassel Talks About His Future

Prior to the Hoopla surrinding Matt Cassel's Franchise designation, he spoke about his future, even as a backup.

Cassel told Comcast Sportsnet New England that he had no control over what the Patriots planned for him, but that he wouldn't expect eanything because Tom Brady was the leader of the Patriots and Cassel understaood that.

See the Video here: Comcast Sportsnet New England

One former Patriot is helping a NFL Draft hopeful prepare for the Combine.

Insiders link: http://ping.fm/DICg1

Getting ticked off at all the "cheating" stories linked to the Pats in the Newswire http://ping.fm/wQ8ew

They Say the Texans Cheated Like the Patriots

The Houston Texans have been up to no good by violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement during practice. Ironically a former Patriot is at the center of the controversy.

Get real

http://ping.fm/NgsBB

The Combine is Coming

The NFL Combine is coming soon, and we’ll have plenty of updates to share with our readers.

Each year hundreds of NFL Draft hopefuls are put through the paces over a period of a few days in Indianapolis at what is called the “combine.” These college kids have high hopes of making a career playing football in the NFL. Some have no problems getting Drafted, but others need a lot of patience as they face an uphill challenge to make it on a roster.

Here’s an official list of players invited to the Combine.

http://ping.fm/eW0K0