Hot Talk: Cam Newton's Contract

Jeremy Lambert is back from his long vacation to discuss the latest big time contract signing between Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. I would tell you to enjoy it, but it's a football column in June. By now, people will read anything that has to do with the NFL and we are just sitting here and reaping all the benefits.......

Earlier this week the Carolina Panthers locked up quarterback Cam Newton to a five year deal worth $103 million. Many armchair GMs questioned this move as it made Newton the third highest paid QB in the league, which is a pretty big deal for a guy who is 1-2 in the playoffs. Only Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger, both Super Bowl winners, make more money than Newton.

$103 million is a lot of money for a quarterback with a 31-33-1 record, but this is a deal that had to be done.

Newton is 26 years old with elite talent. His record certainly doesn’t reflect his skills. I’ve watched every single game of Newton’s career and I can tell you that at least half of those losses weren’t his fault. Newton has shown solid improvement in each of his first four seasons, both physically and mentally. At 26, Newton is entering the prime of his career and the Panthers are banking on him continuing to improve.

2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: 3-4 Inside Linebackers

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season. OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The inside linebackers currently playing in a 3-4 defense......

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

3-4 Inside Linebackers

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting linebacker currently playing on a 3-4 defense....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

36. Donald Butler (San Diego Chargers)

Age: 26

Career Tackles: 330

2014-15 PFF Pass Coverage Grade: -9.1

2014-15 PFF Run Defense Grade: -10.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -23.2

2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: Guards (NFC)

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season. OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The guards in the NFC. Settle down now. I know you're excited......

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

Guards (NFC)

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting guard in the NFC....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

32. Erik Pears (San Francisco 49ers)

Age: 32

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 4

Number Of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 6

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -11.5

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -15.1

2015-15 PFF Overall Grade: -25.0

2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: 4-3 Inside Linebackers

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season. OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The inside linebackers currently playing in a 4-3 defense......

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

4-3 Inside Linebacker's

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting inside linebacker currently playing in a 4-3 defense....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

14. Paul Worrilow (Atlanta Falcons)

Age: 25

Career Tackles: 270

2014-15 PFF Pass Coverage Grade: -12.2

2014-15 PFF Run Defense Grade: -9.0

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -22.0

2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: Offensive Tackles (AFC)

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season. OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The most important position on the offensive side of the football, that's not named "quarterback"......

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

Offensive Tackles (AFC)

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting offensive tackles currently playing in the AFC....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

32. Seantrel Henderson (Buffalo Bills)

Age: 23

Number Of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 6

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 12

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -19.4

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -11.8

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -29.9

2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: 3-4 Outside Linebackers

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season. OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The outside linebackers currently playing in a 3-4 defense (aka a star-studded list)......

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

3-4 Outside Linebackers

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting outside linebackers currently playing in a 3-4 defense....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

36. Alex Okafor (Arizona Cardinals)

Age: 24

Career Tackles: 31

Career Interceptions: 1

Career Forced Fumbles: 0

Career Sacks: 8

2014-15 PFF Grade: -12.1

2015-16 NFL Pre-Season Position Rankings: Offensive Tackles (NFC)

We are about halfway through the NFL's off-season (YAY!!!!). OTA's have already started. Players are already getting injured. And the 2015-16 NFL season is getting so close, we can hear the footsteps coming up to the door and someone's just about ready to knock. With that said, it's time to look ahead at next season.

Now that NFL rosters are pretty much finalized (besides numerous upcoming cuts of course), it's time to start giving you guys an idea of how your team is shaping up for next season. What better way to do that than to start power ranking the starters at every position on each roster? It only makes sense.

Up next? The most important position on offense that's not named quarterback......

Ultimate Football Blog's

2015-16 Pre-Season Position Rankings

Offensive Tackles (NFC)

KEY NOTE: This is a POWER RANKINGS. That means it's a "what have you done for me lately?" list. This is not an ALL-TIME greatest list. If the NFL commissioner came up to me tomorrow and said:

"Hey, you can have any starting offensive tackle in the NFC on your team next season....who do you want?"


It would (most likely) go in this order.......


(PS: PFF grade means "Pro Football Focus Grade". For those of you who don't know, ProFootballFocus.com is an football analytics website that grades players based on a certain criteria and it's a criteria that I've come to love. It's a pretty simple grading formula to figure out as well. The more negative score the player has, the least effective he was on-the-field last season. For example a "-24.8" grade would be absolutely awful, but a "24.8" grade means the player was outstanding. See, I told you it was easy to figure out)

*Please note that I'm also ranking guys as if I was building a franchise for the future. Therefore, I tend to favor age a lot in these rankings. It's why the Indianapolis Colts traded Peyton Manning when they drafted Andrew Luck. In the NFL, age is KING!

32. Matt Kalil (Minnesota Vikings)

Age: 25

Number of QB Sacks Allowed Last Season: 12

Number of QB Hits Allowed Last Season: 7

2014-15 PFF Run Blocking Grade: -4.6

2014-15 PFF Pass Blocking Grade: -21.1

2014-15 PFF Overall Grade: -29.1