Real Sports Talk with Andy Burrell

NFC WEST

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS- A++

In Pete Carroll's first draft as head coach of the Seahawks he and the front office did some serious damage. Before we get into what they did in the draft, let us not forget what they did by trading for two RB's that will have an immediate impact and will now give Matt Hasselbeck some one to hand the ball to. They picked up LenDale White and Leon Washington. On draft day somehow Russell Okung fell down to pick 6 and that's where the Seahawks started. Not only will Okung watch Hasselbeck's backside but he is the kind of tackle that can run and make plays down field, which will open up huge holes for the 2 new RB's. With their second pick sitting at #14 in the first, the Seahawks grabbed the second best DB in the 2010 draft, Earl Thomas. Thomas, who will be teamed up with Jordan "Babs" Babineaux in the backfield, which makes for a scary duo for any offense. Golden Tate was the next weapon taken. Now Tate is not the down field threat of the other receivers taken before him but the kid can run after the catch and is a beast. He loves to play the game and against USC last year he dominated Taylor Mays and made him look like me playing deep safety, he will contribute on special teams also.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS- A

With 2 high picks in the first round(11 and 17) the 49ers took serious advantage and made a ridiculous improvement on the offensive line. They took OT Anthony Davis out of Rutgers first. Davis has had questions about his weight and "want to" on the field. Davis has only been playing ball since his senior year of high school and with his size he has a serious upside. With the next pick they took G Mike Iupati. Iupati is a beast and is perfect for the 49ers hard hitting style and run game with Mr.Frank Gore. Somehow Taylor Mays fell all the way to the middle of the 2nd round and the 49ers scooped him there. Mays is what my buddies and I call a "Freak." He destroyed all pre-draft workouts and possesses the skills to be an NFL elite safety. He does struggle in coverage and has been compared to Roy Williams, which I think is just silly. They are different players, but at #49 in the second round anyone would have been crazy to not take Mays.

ARIZONA CARDINALS- B+

The Cardinals have had a tough off-season losing many key players on defense but they did a great job of picking up the slack in this draft. With the first pick they got big Dan Williams, DT out of Tennessee. This will be an immediate impact to their d-line. With the second pick they got speedster LB Daryl Washington out of TCU. With the loss of Karlos Dansby, Washington will more than likely start immediately. Washington has a knack for the game and loves to play it. He is always around the ball and has speed that not many NFL linebackers posses. He needs to work hard to put on some good weight to help avoid injury in a long NFL season.

ST. LOUIS RAMS- C+

Obviously the Rams nabbed a franchise quarterback with Sam Bradford and had many picks after that. With their second pick they got a OT to watch Bradford's back, Rodger Saffold. The Rams have a lot of needs and will need more needs next year also. It's a project in the making but I did like the 7th round pick of George Selvie, who I believe will be out to show people he is more than just a 7th round pick.

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS- A

The Buc's needed to do something big in this draft to improve a team that has many many needs. What did they do? Just that, they drafted a duo of defensive tackles that can start tomorrow in the NFL. Obviously they took big Gerald McCoy out of Oklahoma with the 3rd overall pick in the draft. Then with their next selection, the 3rd pick in the second round, the Buc's grabbed DT Brian Price from UCLA, who many thought would be gone in the 1st. These 2 guys are going to be buddy buddy come Sunday's. Especially since the Buc's are going back to their Tampa 2 defense. For those of you that don't understand the Tampa 2, it is a defensive scheme built on speed and explosiveness, especially on the DL. They also added 2 weapons for QB Josh Freeman with Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams. This is going to be a much better team in 2010.

CAROLINA PANTHERS- A

This team needed a lot and with no first round pick it was not looking too shabby. But with a lot of luck and some nice moves in late rounds the Carolina Panthers really did have one of the best drafts in the NFC. Because of Clausen's "head case" perception and the fact he never won and showed terrible leadership skills he managed to fall not just out of the top 10 but all the way to the 2nd round. Honestly he could not have ended up in a better place. He has the opportunity to be a franchise QB and also has a lot of competition around him to help him grow and learn. With Matt Moore the starter for now, he will also have to battle with the Panthers 6 round pick Tony Pike. The more I watch Clausen, the more I like him. He has a hose of an arm and on an X's and O's is the smartest player out of the draft behind only safety Eric Berry. The Panthers also picked up 3 DB's in the late rounds that will add much needed depth. One of my personal favorite wide outs in the entire draft was Brandon LaFell, I watched this guy his entire career and broke him down on film. He didn't have the senior season he wanted but he has shown in the past he can be a big time player. As long as he works hard and gets better he shows a lot of promise for this Carolina team.

ATLANTA FALCONS- C-

The Falcons upgraded big time at the linebacker position by drafting Sean Witherspoon out of Missouri. Witherspoon has great speed and athleticism and that is exactly what is needed out of the weak side backer in the Tampa 2 scheme as talked about earlier with the Bucs.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS- C

With such a low draft pick after coming off a Super Bowl win the Saints couldn't do much. They still managed to grab a play making corner in Patrick Robinson. The Saints used their 2009 pick to get CB Malcolm Jenkins but with the addition of Robinson, the Saints will have added depth to the secondary and even have options of moving either of these two dynamic DB's to safety.

NFC NORTH

MINNESOTA VIKINGS- A

The Vikings are all about taking the best player available on the board, regardless of their needs at that time. They drafted CB Chris Cook out of Virginia with their first pick in the 2nd round. Cook is a good player and could end up starting this year depending on what DB Cedric Griffin will be doing week one. That is playing corner or safety. I am a big fan of Toby Gerhart, I played against him at TCU and although we always shut him down, he never stopped running and if not for politics in the SEC, Gerhart should have been the Heisman Trophey winner. Come on, did you see what he did all year and especially in the last 3 games?? Guy is a beast and the Viking's are going to have a great one-two punch with Peterson still taking most of the load.

DETROIT LIONS- C+

Most people have the Lions at a lot better grade than this. I understand you got the most dominating player in the draft and yes he is almost bullet proof to have a great career but after that, I'm just not feeling it. RB Jahvid Best is a beast and is a hell of a play maker and will make immediate impact but they already have Aaron Brown who is the same kind of player and didn't get nearly enough touches last year...ok ok I'm a little bias with the purple blood but honestly have you seen Brown run the ball?

GREEN BAY PACKERS- C-

The Packers did add depth at the Tackle position with the acquisition of Bryan Bulaga and Marshall Newhouse but didn't do much after that. They had one of the worst secondaries in the league last year, as we all saw in that playoff shootout against the Cardinals. They added SS Morgan Burnett out of Georgia Tech. Burnett has instincts and has the speed and range to cover all over the field, look for him to start week 1. Where the Packers blew it was not taking one CB, they should have taken 2 in my mind, hints the C-.

CHICAGO BEARS- C

With their first pick not coming until the 3rd round, its tough to get a guy that will come in and make that immediate impact a 1st or 2nd round guy can. I still gave them a C because FS Major Wright was somehow still on the board in the 3rd round and I think this kid will play and start for this stingy Chicago defense. Another guy Chicago stole was considered at least a 3rd round pick just a couple months ago, QB Dan LeFevour. He was never really under center in college and didn't play a lot of competition, not too mention his pro day killed him. He showed a lack of prototypical NFL arm strength. I still think LeFevour could be a solid QB in 2 years.

NFC EAST

DALLAS COWBOYS- A

I have to give the Cowsheep an A grade purely on the wheeling and dealing of Jerry Jones. Jones found a way to move up and get a high powered play maker in Dez Bryant. Yes, people are questioning his off the field issues but he will have mentors around him in the organization. Plus the way the kid plays on the field, I think he has enough pride to represent his home state and America's team and not do something stupid. In a similar ploy by Jerry, he moved up to get LB Sean Lee in the 2nd. Lee can have an immediate impact on this Cowboy's defense. Along with a very under rated CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah out of Indiana. Not too many people mentioned his name in pre-draft talk, not because they cannot pronounce it but because he is under rated. He has great feet and toughness that will help out in nickel packages, giving Newman rest and making plays on special teams in the return game.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES- C+

Yes the Eagles had 13 players taken in the draft but not many of them are starters or immediate impact type guys. With 13 picks it is positive because young guys are energetic and love to play the game, so this will help the locker room. DE Brandon Grahm was first pick taken and I believe there were better defensive lineman and better players period, to be taken. Might be biting my tongue later because the guy has a great first step and a motor but doesn't Jerry Hughes also have the same assets and he was taken 31st by the Colts. I did like the Eagles late round picks of QB Mike Kafka, DE Rickey Sapp, and WR Riley Cooper.

NEW YORK GIANTS- C

The Giants used their first round pick to get one of the most athletic guys in the entire draft in DE Jason Pierre-Paul. The kid has shown huge potential to be a beast and the Giants have added even more depth to an already stacked DL. I just felt they should of used their second round pick to grab a linebacker because they have some serious holes to fill there.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS- B

With the addition of six-time Pro Bowl selection Donovan McNabb the Redskins used their 4th pick overall to grab big Trent Williams. Williams will protect McNabb and help in the run game, which has been suspect since Portis had his last 1,000 yard season years ago. Some had Okung going before Williams but Williams is a little more athletic and the Skins believe he is a better fit.

NFL Draft Breakdown

In the next few blogs I have done a lot of research to break down each conference in the NFC and AFC. I have graded each teams draft as well as give some insight as to why I believe the grades are the way they are.

Pre-Draft I had thoughts that it would not be as high powered as most but I have changed my mind since then. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think, thanks.

Jazz 102 Nuggets 116

After Carmelo Anthony blasted teammates following Denver's game 4 loss, the team decided to show up Wednesday night and helped Anthony pull away from the Jazz for an explosive win and a lights out shooting performance. Still, the Nuggets are down 3-2 in the series and in Utah Jazz history the franchise has never lost a series with a 3-1 lead.

The difference in the 2 games last night is staggering. We all know the Western Conference is better than the East but last night just proved that for everyone to see on national television.

Both the Jazz and Nuggets could sweep the Bucks and Hawks with their stars on the bench.

Despite the loss, D. Will showed up again for the Jazz, continuing his great playoff's with 34 points and 10 assists. Unless Carmelo gets the same help from J.R. Smith, who had the hot hand from outside and Kenyon Martin, who had 18 points in last nights game. Martin's most points in a playoff game since 2005, you can bet the Jazz will wrap this series up in game 6.

Bucks 91 Hawks 87

A little old with the new, the Milwaukee Bucks have an eclectic group of older and younger players that helped them squeeze by the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night. The Hawks had dominated the entire game and looked strong, that is until the Bucks went on a 14-0 run. With 20 year-old Brandon Jennings 25 points leading the way. The Bucks have the edge in the series at 3-2 after the big-time win in Atlanta. The Hawks struggled from the field all night and Joe Johnson had only 13 points and 6th man of the year, Jamal Crawford finished just 4 of 18.

Back To It

I'm back in action world, ready to give you the real sports talk I know you have been missing. By the way, have you checked out espn3.com? Wow, it is legit, you can stream live sports any time of the day. Pretty cool stuff.

Well the last 7 months have been pretty wild. I have been working as a personal assistant. Not just any body's assistant but Michael "Playmaker" Irvin's assistant. It was a 24-7 gig that involved simple things such as taking his clothes to and from the cleaners to negotiating with his agent and accountant. To not so easy things, like taking 3 am calls to change flights, making sure all flight and travel arrangements were set and pleasing Mr. Irvin 24-7.

To sum up the job, I was the middle man for everyone trying to get at Michael. I grew up so much in the last 7 months, it was really an unbelievable experience. I cannot tell you how much I learned and not just from a television and radio aspect. Although it was amazing to learn from one of the best in the business. Where I learned the most would have to be from just an overall "world aspect" if you will. I had to learn to manage time, money, children, etc. I learned to work with people from all walks of life on the daily. I learned to relate to people in a way that would put me in a position to be liked and also respected.

Not many people have an opportunity like I did. I was able to travel to LA for the finale of Dancing With The Stars, I broke down film at NFL Network studios in Burbank,California, I was sidelines at the Pro Bowl. The list goes on and on. The number one thing I learned while working for Michael is that you have to take every day and use it as if it where your last. That's how Michael approaches every day. The man really doesn't sleep, he gets up at 5 am and takes his boys to the gym to get them a workout before school, then when they go to school he goes back to the gym for more. While at the gym, Michael starts making calls and lining up the day. Most people are still asleep or just getting the coffee going while Michael is studying film and notes to get him ready for the next step.

There is always something to be done and there is always a way that you can get better than the next guy. I am so grateful that I had a chance to see first hand how a beaming personality gets through life. I feel like I have what it takes to be this kind of personality, I mean I already have the personality..I just have to find a way to get my foot in the door. I honestly believe it is only a matter of time now before I am on television and entertaining viewers. I am ready for the next level and I will hustle everyday to get to that point and will not stop when I get there.

I will be updated my blog again and will keep you posted on the shake downs around the sports world. Giving you my unique perspective on all sports news. NFL draft is on the horizon and will be the first time that it is on prime time. It will be very interesting to see how it shakes out. I will also bring you my mock draft. Looking forward to catching up-