Bulls Targets for the 2013 NBA Draft

Since I am a blind optimist, I am assuming the Bulls are one piece away from winning the 2014 NBA Championship. I also think the Cubs are on the upswing, and the Bears will be lethal after they get rid of Jay Cutler after the season. I really wish I cared about hockey, because then I could celebrate the Blackhawks title, but I'm not, so the last pro title I got to celebrate was the Bulls 1998 title. Ah, those were the days.

But back to this current Bulls roster. They're totally awesome as long as Derrick Rose eventually plays basketball again. There are rumors that the Bulls might try and trade Luol Deng for a top pick, which I wouldn't be mad at. They don't lose much in going from Deng to Jimmy Butler, and Butler is still getting better. I don't expect that to happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if Deng did get traded for some sort of asset this offseason.

The great thing about the Bulls is that despite their front office never being mentioned as doing a good job, they do a really good job. Picking up Butler and Marquis Teague in the last two drafts both appear to be quality selections. Yeah, it's a little early on Teague, but I think with more playing time, the game will slow down for him, and he has the skills to succeed. Also, they keep putting together a successful bench, which is probably part front office and part Thibodeau getting the most out of his players.

The number one hole the Bulls have is at shooting guard. I could see the Bulls going bigger and having Butler at the two, but they would still need a good wing backup so Deng and Butler only play 45 minutes a night instead of 48. The other big need is at center, because I don't think they plan on Nazr hanging on for one more year, since he barely crawled through this season, but we'll always have this moment:

So, here are my top five choices for the Bulls at 20.

1. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - KCP was originally projected to be picked around 20. Then people started watching him, and now there is a good chance he goes in the Top 10. Still, we're basing this information off mock drafts. Maybe he falls later, and the Bulls can scoop him up. He's a two-guard who can shoot and is athletic enough to score off the dribble. All you need is athleticism and you can be a good defender for Thibodeau, so yeah, he's dreamy. This is the dream scenario.

2. Reggie Bullock - Bullock kind of got lost in the shuffle at UNC, but he's pretty legit. He's not going to be an impact player, but he's a guy who can play good defense and make corner 3's. That's really all the Bulls need for that position.

3. Gorgui Dieng - This is the ideal center choice. Injury concerns are scary, but if he does stay healthy, he can come in and be Omer Asik for the Bulls. He would be a top 15 pick if he didn't have the injury concerns, so if he fell to the Bulls, I could dig that.

4. Tim Hardaway Jr. - He can create off the dribble, which would be a valuable asset for the Bulls bench.

5. Kelly Olynyk - A high energy big man seems like just the thing that Thibodeau would love to add to the squad.

Honorable Mention - I don't know enough about Jamaal Franklin or Tony Mitchell, since I never watch small school basketball. They both seem like decent players.

But the important thing is that the Bulls are going to win the title next year. I'll see you all at the parade.

Scouting the 2013 NFL Draft: Bears Pick Jonathan Bostic

As I stated during my live blog of Day 2 of the draft, I really wanted the Bears to draft inside linebacker Arthur Brown. He was ultra athletic and all the guy did was make plays. In their never-ending pursuit to try to make me root for another team, the Bears did draft a middle linebacker. Unfortunately, it was Jonathan Bostic out of Florida. I can admit that I knew next to nothing about him, so I checked out his game tape against Ohio State to find out more.

There is one thing that stood out for me when watching this game tape, and that is that I will probably never laugh harder watching film of a prospect. Here's him getting stood up by a fullback.


Here's him getting blocked by a center.


This one is my favorite, as is him just shuffling his feet and hands and then jumping on the pile a second after the runner was already down. I hope he got credit for a tackle on this one.

To be fair, it wasn't all bad, as this was a really nice play where he blew things up without getting any credit for it. 

To be even more fair, the tape is from his Junior year. Guys get better, so I took a look at his game against Vanderbilt to check for improvements.

The good news is that you can at least see the athleticism in the guy  in this Vanderbilt game.

I was honestly about to just stop watching, but then I saw something that perked me up.

I LOVE the bend he has on that pass rush move. That is a thing of beauty. The Bears are going to be switching up their defense somewhat. With that, he could fit in at outside linebacker better than he does on the inside. The Bears drafted a middle linebacker out of Arizona named Lance Briggs, and everyone thought they were insane, because they already had Urlacher in the middle. Well, that pick turned out okay for them.

He also looked solid in coverage, but diagnosing plays and making things happen from inside just did not look like his cup of tea. If they drafted him to be a middle linebacker, I'm not happy with this pick. But if they put him on the outside and show a willingness to blitz him, I can definitely see him surprising people and having an impact early on. 

Scouting the 2013 NFL Draft: James Vandenberg

This will be my final quarterback piece, and I admit it's a little unconventional. This is the only time I will scout a high school quarterback, but James Vandenberg, aka Jonathan Moxon is a special case. Let's face it: In Texas, football is king, and no place is that more true than in West Canaan where the Coyotes were led by legendary coach, Bud Kilmer. I say were, because Coach Kilmer was replaced in the second half of the final game of the season by former Coyotes quarterback, Lance Harbor. Since Kilmer had no assistants, they had no issues giving the coaching gig to a high school kid who seems to love racing cars more than football.

Something that I really like about his game is how he gets black guys touchdowns. That was not a staple in the offense before he took over.

There are definitely issues with his offensive line, as his left tackle often passes out from concussions in the middle of plays, but he still works through everything.

One issue I see for him in the future is that he tends to get tunnel vision when targeting his favorite receiver, Tweeter (pretty sure that's a social media nickname).

My other big concern with him is character. This is not what I want to see from my quarterback.

If he can't hit a beer can off his pop's head, then I'm not sure about his ability to lead receivers at the next level.

There were also people questioning whether he had the right mindset when he took over after Lance Harbor's injury. Although his play on the field was impressive, he may have gotten a little carried away with his play off the field where he stepped out on his lady friend for an intimate moment with Darcy Sears. Still, after that initial rendezvous, he seemed to keep his head on straight.

On top of this, he tried to play a game hungover. Not sure if this was an homage to legendary ESU quarterback, Joe Cain, but I've seen Joe Cain, and Mr. Moxon, you are no Joe Cain. Cain is Able.

Still, there's a lot to dream on with that arm. I can't believe he's taking his talents to Brown University, but he could definitely break some of Ryan Fitzpatrick's Ivy League records. This guy is the real deal. Keep him away from booze and the wild women, and he could be a first round pick in a few years.

Wait...what? I was talking about James Van Der Beek and not James Vandenberg? Who the hell is James Vandenberg? Iowa Quarterback? Shit man, he was terrible. Just terrible. Here was his highlight from last year:

A 40 yard pass in a scrimmage where he still couldn't throw a touchdown pass. Shockingly, nobody has cut up a game tape to show his throws. So, yeah, don't draft James Vandenberg.

And since I don't want to end this on a bad note, let's remember one thing...

Mox is a fox.

Scouting the 2013 NFL Draft: EJ Manuel

Next up on the list is EJ Manuel. I always kind of liked him in the limited times that I really focused on him, but like all of these guys, I figured I would study the tape and see if I could get a little more depth to my knowledge about his talents. He's been rising up draft boards, but is it warranted or is it just desperation? I took a look at his game against Clemson to see what I could find out.

Sets his feet and delivers nice throw to start off the game.

He's got very good mobility. He's not a burner, but he's got speed and is elusive so he can make people pay with his feet.

This pass is incredibly simple but made me happy.

It is a simple swing pass, but he leads his running back so he is moving forward as he catches the pass. It's not like it leads to a long gain, but it probably gets him two extra yards.

He's always looking to lead his receiver which is fantastic. He doesn't always execute it, but even on simple routes, he tries to lead his receiver to make things happen after the catch.

I definitely noticed some tunnel vision from Manuel, which is worrisome. He can really stare down his receiver and never works across the field, so he needs to have multiple options set up on a single side of the field with where his awareness is at right now.

He has good deep ball accuracy.

Overall, I liked Manuel, but I didn't love him. His vision worries me, but most everything else I like. I wouldn't have a problem with drafting him late in the first round. Right now, he's behind Matt Barkley, but I would have him ahead of Geno Smith.

Scouting the 2013 NFL Draft: Ryan Nassib

Ryan Nassib out of Syracuse is a guy who I glanced at his games but could never really watch, because I don't watch Big East football. Obviously, with Syracuse as his school, there are going to be the Donovan McNabb comparisons. I haven't actually heard those comparisons anywhere, but they did both attend Syracuse, and it seemed like a more fitting comparison than Jim Brown or Carmelo Anthony. I decided to watch his tape against Louisville to see what I could find out. 

His deep ball was not pretty. Badly underthrew it on his first pass of the game but receive made a good adjustment. His down the field accuracy was just not there at all.

Something small is he is actually willing to throw the ball away when nothing is there. That is not very common in a lot of prospects.

He does a good job of keeping his eyes down the field and going through his progressions but he does look a little mechanical in doing it.

He was more athletic than I expected. Not a great athlete but he can move a little bit.

His accuracy just is not there. Even on short passes, he does not properly lead players, as seen here.

If he leads his receiver on that ball, he's got a touchdown, but he threw it a little behind him, and it nearly got picked off.

Even on this touchdown pass, he does not throw a good ball to make it easy for his receiver.

There's really not much to say. He threw some nice balls but not consistently, and this was supposedly one of his shining moments. He got a good win, but he was not overly impressive in doing so. I really don't see him as much more than a 6th or 7th round pick since he seems to have a strong arm, but there is just too much wrong with him for me to really consider him.

To end on a positive note, he's not as bad as Blaine Gabbert, because nobody will ever be as bad as Blaine Gabbert.