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Author: Jon Kuzma

Jonathan Allen had one of the most dominant seasons of collegiate football ever at the University of Alabama winning the Bronko Nagursk Trophy, the Rotary Lombardi award, and the Chuck Bednarik award. Those accolades are given to the best defensive player in the country and the fact that different football organizations all came to the conclusion that one guy (Allen) was a clean sweep for all these honors should tell you everything you need to know about Jonathan Allen’s game on the football field. This is one of the most decorated college football players to ever enter the pro ranks and Allen has done nothing but impress since arriving in Washington D.C. The rumors out of our nation’s capital are Allen has been abusing second and third string offensive line to the point where Redskins media personnel have suggested putting Allen in a one on one against anyone but a starter is unfair. The Redskins finished 28th in total defense a season ago, so they definitely need Allen to come in and have an immediate presence. So far Jonathan Allen has lived up to the hype and it’s really a shame this guy had a free fall on draft night. It’s obvious some of the NFL executives get too caught up on NFL combine results and sometimes you need just plug in the game tape and watch these guys play. If you did that with Jonathan Allen you recognized a player who has great football I.Q and a relentless motor. Allen isn’t just a guy that plugs holes and uses brute force, he truly has great football instincts that allows the former Alabama alum to finish a lot of plays and create a ton of turnovers. Allen has the same playmaking ability that Vince Wilfork did as a defensive lineman and it’s rare that one of your defense front players can intercept passes and return fumbles for touchdowns. Those type of plays give Jonathan Allen another gear and Washington will definitely improve on their 28th overall defensive ranking now that Allen is controlling the line of scrimmage for them.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

While it was pretty obvious that Dalvin Cook was better than a 2nd round draft pick, it is still a surprise to hear that Cook has already emerged as the Vikings starting running back. Latavius Murray was also signed by Minnesota this off-season and Murray recorded 12 touchdowns a season ago. You’d figure that Murray would put up a much better fight for the job but then again Murray does have some lingering health issues. Obviously that has setback the former Oakland Raider and Dalvin Cook has done enough to win his Head Coach Mike Zimmer over. Zimmer has made it clear he anticipates Cook getting a large portion of the offensive touches and if you’ve followed Dalvin Cook’s playing career you understand exactly why.  Dalvin Cook was the all time leading rusher at Florida State University and with all the talent that the Seminoles have produced it’s easy to acknowledge how big of an accomplishment that is. Even before college Cook ran for a ton of yards in high school and was named Mr. Florida, and that’s such a big achievement with all of the talent coming out of the Sunshine State each year. When the NFL combine rolled around and every athlete was auditioning for NFL teams, Dalvin Cook put on a show finishing as a top 10 performer in both the 40 yard and bench press drills. So clearly Cooks gets it done with a unique combination of speed and power but maybe the best thing you can say about Dalvin Cook is his game gets better as the stage gets bigger. The clutch element that is a trait of Cook allows him to rise to the occasion when the pressure is on. Minnesota thought that would be a perfect skill set to pair with their outstanding defense on the other side of the ball and now Mike Zimmer feels like he has a formula for success. You can’t praise the rookie Dalvin Cook enough, it’s not easy to win an NFL starting job right out of the gate.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

There’s not many 400 pound men that could do what Vince Wilfork did during his 13 seasons on the football field. While Wilfork’s playing weight is listed at 325 pounds if you ever seen this guy there’s literally no chance that he has ever made that weight. In college the Miami Hurricanes listed Wilfork at 338 pounds and that should tell you firsthand that someone at the pro level was bluffing when they listed Wilfork at 325 but make no mistake about Vince Wilfork was easily one one of the most athletic big men to ever come through the NFL. It all started at the 2004 NFL Draft when a then 340 pounds Wilfork ran the 40 yard dash in 5.08 seconds. Now to put that in perspective Vince Wilfork exactly tied Philip Rivers with a 5.08 40 yard dash and even beat Tom Brady who ran a 5.28. NFL Network’s Rich Eisen even gave a 40 yard dash an attempt and ran 6.02, which would have been right around the slowest of all time. So you can see just how gifted athletically Vince Wilfork is and he made it happen with such a bigger frame than anyone else. That translated into a player who could plug up two gaps on a single play and Wilfork was a guy who consistently took on on doubles teams. Wilfork finished with 16 career sacks but his huge impact was in the turnover department. Vince Wilfork was one of the highest turnover forcing defensive lineman of all time with 12 fumble recoveries and 3 interceptions. Wilfork even has scored a defensive touchdown on fumble recovery back in 2011. There’s no doubt this is a player who got it done in multiple phases of the game and Wilfork did all of that with a great attitude and a constant smile on his face. It’s been a pleasure to watch the veteran defensive lineman dominate on the football field for more than the last decade.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

With news breaking today that Jay Cutler has officially signed a one year $10 million dollar contract with the Miami Dolphins you have to be excited for what the future holds if you’re a Dolphins fan. Adam Gase is easily one of the league’s best offensive play callers and that was evident in the fact that Gase was able to take the Dolphins to the playoffs in his first year as a head coach. Now Gase has a veteran signal caller in Cutler who understands the basic concepts of his system already and that knowledge could be priceless. The terminology that goes into offensive play books is always so complex and every team has there own unique way of labeling certain things. The fact that Cutler spent time with Gase while in Chicago back in 2015 is a huge reason why Cutler was a great option for this football team. It also gives Cutler the best chance of executing on the field come game day. The familiarity will be there for Cutler when hears Gase call in the offense plays and that means less thinking for the new Dolphins quarterback, instead Cutler will get to play instinctively. That’s always the ideal goal for a football player because the game moves so fast in real life you don’t have time to think, you just have to react. The Dolphins do have some weapons in Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, and DeVante Parker. Those guys won’t be as impressive as Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and Martellus Bennett. However Stills, and Parker offer a different type of talent in their speed. Stills and Parker can work the vertical game better than those old Bears receivers did and that should pair nicely with Jay Cutler’s arm strength. Expect much more big plays to come from Miami’s offense this season and the Dolphins are the biggest threat to the New England Patriots in the AFC East.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

The New England Patriots have always got it done with their trio of system players in Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and Chris Hogan. However Bill Belichick knows Tom Brady is getting up there in age (playing wise) and New England’s head coach wanted to ensure that he maximized talent around his aging star to get the most out of what could be Brady’s last season. Belichick signed Brandin Cooks to bolster the wide receiver group and then he traded a fourth round draft pick for Dwayne Allen and a 6th round pick. Cooks gives the Patriots the best wide receiver talent wise the Patriots have had since Randy Moss. While Cooks isn’t as good as Moss was he still is an exceptional player and should be even better now that he is playing in New England. Cooks has managed to haul in 2,861 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns over the course of his three year career. He has been consistently a big contributor and has went over the 1,000 yards receiving mark the last two seasons. When you actually watch Cooks play one thing that stands out is the guy is faster than everybody else. Brandin Cooks was once a junior olympics sprinter and recorded a 4.33 40 yard dash when he entered the league. That game changing speed is was makes Brandin Cooks such a tough match and the Patriots are hoping to unleash those abilities on the rest of the league. The challenge is going to be getting Cooks acclimated to a new system and an offense that involves an overwhelming amount of discipline. The Patriots are the most detail orientated team in the whole league and they put such an emphasis on execution. If Cooks can gel with Tom Brady’s method of doing things, there’s no doubt this tandem could set the league on fire this upcoming year.

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