A COTG LEAGUE MAGAZINE
JANUARY 2019
GRIDIRON
2018 Super Bowl Champions USD $3.00
PAUL BUNYAN
Exclusive Interview with Colts Coach
ISSUE NO 2
TEXANS WIN
BIG CHANGES ARE AFOOT
With the Houston Texans winning the 2018 Super Bowl, 31 other teams are now in full "buy mode" with free agency kicking off. This season's crop of free agents is particularly strong with the Rams front office deciding to gut the roster prior to hiring a new Head Coach/General Manager. Defensive Lineman Aaron Donald and Running Back Todd Gurley both headline the available players on defense and offense, respectively. The first day saw both stars sign lucrative deals with new teams. Both chose to play in warm climates with Donald heading to the Dallas Cowboys and Gurley signing with the Miami Dolphins. Both signings reportedly upset the Indianapolis Colts front office as they were rumored to have offered more money to not only Donald and Gurley, but to other free agents as well. Apparently, not many people want to play with Andrew Luck in Indy.
Strong Safety Landon Collins has signed with the Seattle Seahawks, filling Kam Chancellor's role in the Legion of Boom. The only remaining "superstar" is defensive end Cameron Wake, who is reportedly fielding offers from the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts.
Author ~ "Paul"
GRIDIRON MAGAZINE | PAGE 1
FREE AGENTS
We sat down with second-year Colts Head Coach, Paul Bunyan, to discuss his first year in the league and what to expect from the Colts as they try to get back to the playoffs sooner, rather than later. Trey Wingo: Hi Coach, what was your biggest take-away from your first year? Paul Bunyan: Hey there Trey. Well, there was a lot going on of course. I guess my biggest lesson was that it's still an offensive powered league. We had teams like the Ravens, Packers, Steelers and Texans really dominate in the regular season as well as the playoffs. That's something that we are going to try and duplicate. Wingo: You have the pieces with Andrew Luck and T. Y. Hilton. What else are you looking to do this offseason? Bunyan: Yeah. Luck and Hilton are definitely our main offensive weapons. We like our tight end, Doyle too. Marlon Mack is still only 23 years old and he'll be a good running back for us for a long time. We still want to add more wide receiver depth for Luck, as well as finding our next offensive star in this year's draft. Wingo: What about your defense? Bunyan: It needs improvement! We're addressing that. Obviously it's unfortunate that we weren't able to sign our top targets when free agency started but there are still a few pieces out there that we will pursue. Our defense will be better than it was last season. Wingo: Thanks Coach. Bunyan: Sure thing. Any time!
GRIDIRON MAGAZINE | PAGE 2
COLTS HC PAUL BUNYAN
BY DELWARE GUY
#1 #2
Jason Gostkowski
QB
23yo
6'5"
232lbs
Wisconsin
If he's not a quarterback, there's no way he's ranked this high. Gostkowski has the height and arm strength that NFL scouts love. While there are questions about his athleticism coming out of the combine, they aren't a big enough concern to knock him out of the top spot. Brian Trap
WR
23yo
6'4"
235lbs
MIchigan St.
They called him Plaxico 2.0 at Michigan St. but Trapp proved at the combine that he has top end that Burress never possessed. His height and speed alone probably ensure he doesn't fall out of the top 5.
#3 #4
Donshae Pennington
LE
22yo
6'5"
270lbs
MIchigan St.
At 22, some questioned whether or not Pennington should return to college for another year to mature. He silenced most critics by showing his explosiveness at the combine. Those numbers backed up what we saw on tape, a player who can disrupt plays. Normando Reed
CB
22yo
6'0"
191lbs
Georgia
In today's NFL, you cannot have too many corners. In many scouts' minds, it's a toss-up between Reed and Raysean Golson. Reed gets the nod here because he has better recovery speed.
#5
Paul Atchinson
QB
23yo
6'1"
216lbs
Ole Miss
Height is the only major knock against this otherwise polished prospect. He makes it up to number 5 due to a lack of quality starters coming from the SEC. Due to his size, he draws comparisons to Seattle's Russel Wilson, but we think a better comparison would be Drew Brees.
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MOCK DRAFT TOP 10
#7
LOLB
23yo
6'4"
244lbs
Nebraska
This may be low for the player who may be the most gifted edge rusher in the draft, but the concerns that his weight won't allow him to hold up against the run are real. He eased a lot of the concerns by putting up the most reps on the bench among OLB's at the combine. Mustafaa Daniels
RE
22yo
6'6"
317lbs
Oklahoma
He looks more like a left tackle than a defensive end and unfortunately ran more like a DT at the combine. However, too many GM's have discounted hand placement in previous drafts and will not make the same mistake here. Daniels is a versatile player who can win inside and on the edge.
#8
Darenton Dudley
ROLB
22yo
6'2"
263lbs
Alabama
Another draft, another defensive stud produced by Nick Saban. Those that like Dudley more than Heppner point to his weight as being a big deal at the next level. While there isn't anything he does poorly, he doesn't always jump off the tape athletically and that was proven by an average combine.
#9
Eric Pianalto
RE
24yo
6'6"
297lbs
Miami
While he's listed as a 3-4 DE, we could see him moving inside on passing downs and causing problems like another Miami defensive lineman from years ago. The Sapp comparisons may be hyperbole, but the team that drafts Pianalto won't have to worry about him being a bust.
#10
Carlos Joseph
RB
23yo
5'10"
218lbs
Ole Miss
Zeke Elliot and Leonard Fournette are doing their best to show that the death of running backs being drafted in the first round was premature. With his size, speed and quickness; Carlos Joseph may soon be another proof of concept and shouldn't fall out of the top 10.
#11 #12 #13 #14 #15
Raysean Golson Pappas Brown Ben Gentry Lucas Klecko Max Ittersagen
CB
22yo
6'2"
194lbs
Oregon
TE
22yo
6'2"
263lbs
Michigan St.
WR
23yo
5'10"
179lbs
Oklahoma
RT
23yo
6'7"
324lbs
Michigan St.
QB
21yo
6'3"
231lbs
LSU
GRIDIRON MAGAZINE | PAGE 4
#6
Harris Heppner
I think most counted the Texans as an underdog coming into the Super Bowl. Surely no one thought they could win it coming into the playoffs on a wildcard with power house teams like the Steelers and Ravens to contend with. No one except Doug Flutie, former NFL and CFL Quarterback and now 2nd year coach of the Houston Texans.
The Texans went an even 8 and 8 in the 2017 season despite having one of the leagues most high powered offenses led by rookie QB, Deshaun Watson and star WR Deandre Hopkins. Last season it looked like the Texans had all the pieces until running back Lamar Miller and wide receiver Will Fuller got injured half way through the season. The Texans finished the 2017 season with 5 losses in a row after going 8 and 3 prior to those two injuries. Watson still had possibly the best rookie season ever for a QB throwing for almost 5500 yards and over 50 touchdowns. Without a running game to mix things up the pressure was on Watson constantly and he was among the leaders for interceptions with 21 on the season.
On the defensive side of things, the Texans were struggling due to a very weak secondary. Their front 7 were solid, leaning on the likes of J. J. Watt and Bernardrick McKinney but the secondary was young and inexperienced and didn't have that super star to shut down the passing game. This led to huge shoot outs.
Coach Flutie knew what he had to do and he did it. With no first round picks, the Texans went for o-line and a promising young receiver drafting WR Lee Huntley and LT Kenny Ford, both in the 2nd round. Both players ended up being absolute super stars and having great seasons. Flutie acquired End, Dominique Easley very late in free agency and Easley ended up having an amazing season on the other end of J. J. Watt, with 66 tackles, 16 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. The box got even tougher. The team also acquired Prince Amukamara in free agency to shore up the CB position alongside an aging Joseph. Kevin Johnson and Craig Mager both had good seasons at #3 and #4 CB positions with the team looking to replace their 2nd CB in the future with a developing Kevin Johnson. Johnson and Mager both ended up with interceptions during the super bowl against an Aaron Rodgers that only threw 7 picks all year. The Texans also picked up Kenny Vaccaro at FS to help with the DB woes. With some added depth at those positions, the Texans defense got the job done helping the team to a 10 and 6 season and a wildcard birth.
Continued on Pg. 6
GRIDIRON MAGAZINE | PAGE 5
THE TEXANS WIN IT ALL
In game 2 of the post season the Texans went up against the Chiefs knowing this one would be a much tougher game. The Texans ended up winning behind Watson's 3 TD's and Lamar Miller's 1 rushing TD. Alex Smith threw a pick as well. The Texans won 45 to 35.
In Game 3 the Texans had their toughest fight yet going up against the Ravens. The Ravens had acquired Drew Brees and Le'Veon Bell in free agency and laid waste to the league. The Texans strong front 7 managed to keep Le'Veon Bell to just 73 yards and 1td and Brees to 0 TD's. Stopping Bell didn't completely stop the Ravens though as RB Terrance West had 2 rushing TD's. Deshaun Watson threw for 234 yards with 2 TD's and a 72% completion percentage while D'onte Foreman came up big with 1 rushing TD. Lamar Miller managed 76 yards on 18 carries and the Texans won by the skin of their teeth with a final score of 27 to 24.
Continued on Pg. 7
GRIDIRON MAGAZINE | PAGE 6
In the wildcard game the Texans faced off against the 9 and 7 Titans. The Texans revamped secondary did its job picking off Mariota 3 times. Combined with Watson's 3td's and no interceptions, the Texans walked away with it 45 to 3.
All in all the Texans did what they came to do. Their draft decisions, their free agency signings and the sheer will power of Coach Flutie came together to create a championship team and an unforgettable Super Bowl 53. Author ~ "Bluemalice"
GRIDIRON MAGAZINE | PAGE 7
It all came down to this game. The Texans, after a long journey, were in the Super Bowl. The Packers were determined to show them what a high powered offense looked like with MVP Aaron Rodgers at the helm. The packers started out with an emphasis on the run game early on only to be completely shut down by the Texans killer D-line. Switching gears, Rodgers threw the ball and threw the ball and threw it some more until he had 62 pass attempts in the game obliterating the record for passing yards in a Super Bowl game with 606. Jordy Nelson and Aaron Rodgers couldn't be stopped, until they were. The much revamped secondary of the Texans did it's job with two interceptions one of which delivered a defensive touch down by Craig Mager. Kevin Johnson caught the other errant ball. Two interceptions in one game, against the Packers, is no small accomplishment considering Aaron Rodgers only threw 7 interceptions all season. Rodgers threw for two TD's but the interceptions really hurt the Packers who had double the possession time but just couldn't stop the Texans from capitalizing on the turnovers. Jadeveon Clowney also showed up big with a forced fumble and 2 sacks, one of which came after one of the best pass rush moves I've ever seen performed. McKinney, Vaccaro, Watkins and Reader also got in on the sack game scoring 1 a piece adding up to 6 sacks on Rodgers. Cap all of this off with Deshaun Watson's 77% completion percentage and 3 TD passes and you have a winning formula. Lamar Miller also added 120 yards rushing while Deshaun Watson scrambled for another 79. The rookie WR Lee Huntley came up huge for the Texans with 6 catches for 96 yards and 2 TD's. The game MVP went instead to the Veteran, Deandre Hopkins for his 79yds on 3 catches and 1 TD. The Texans won with a final score of 41 to 36.
