Tag Archives: football

2025 NFL Combine

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At the end of the NFL season, fans look forward to the prospect of improved player rosters through the NFL draft.  The NFL draft involves NFL teams selecting eligible college players to their teams with the order of the teams being determined by the teams’ records from the previous season.  One tool the NFL coaches and scouts use to determine which college prospects will be the best fit for their team is the NFL combine. The NFL combine is the annual event held in Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, for football players attempting to be drafted to show what they can do in a series of fitness tests specific to their position.

2025 NFL Combine logo | Sports | virginislandsdailynews.com

This year’s NFL combine will take place from February 27th to March 2nd with different positions competing each day.  Some of the players that are projected first round picks in this year’s draft are Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, and Ashton Jeanty. Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are quarterbacks from Miami and Colorado respectively.  Abdul Carter is an edge rusher from Penn State who many people regard as the top prospect in the draft. Ashton Jeanty is Boise State’s breakout running back with 1,376 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns in his 2024 season.  Finally, Travis Hunter won the Heisman trophy after being the best two-way player in recent history as Colorado’s star cornerback and receiver. Unfortunately for fans who want to see these players in action, many of them will not actually participate in the combine in order to avoid possible injury. 

Prospects will have their height, weight, and wingspan measured, complete fitness drills, and conduct interviews with coaches and general managers interested in drafting them.  My favorite drills to watch are the 40-yard dash and the bench press.

The Tennessee Titans currently hold the first overall pick in the draft. The Titans have many viable candidates to draft. Alternatively, they could trade this pick to another team.  I believe that the TItans will keep this pick and draft either Abdul Carter or Cam Ward, depending on whether they decide to stick with Will Levis at the quarterback position, acquire someone through a trade or free agent signing, or pick a replacement in the draft.  The NFL combine will be the determining factor for many teams like the Titans when deciding who will be the future of their franchise. For football fans like me, it’s exciting to watch this process play out.

Soldier Field

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During this past holiday season, I went to my first NFL game.  My family and I were visiting my grandparents and cousins in Chicago, and we had tickets to see my favorite NFL team, the Chicago Bears. They were playing the Detroit Lions for the second time this season on December 22nd at Soldier Field. Caleb Williams and the 4-10 Bears were set to take on Jared Goff’s 12-2 Lions.

My parents and I took a shuttle from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago straight to the field. This was a fun and easy way to get to the stadium as the bus was filled with Bears fans all dressed in the team’s colors and excited for the game.

Chicago - Ingresso Soldier Field Tour - Flynet Travel

Soldier Field is located in downtown Chicago right by Lake Michigan so the late December low temperatures and high winds in the stadium were no surprise.  The area surrounding Soldier Field is called Museum campus and also includes attractions such as the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Museum, and the Adler Planetarium. While we didn’t have time to visit the museums, they are easily walkable from Soldier Field for visitors who have more availability on game days.

Staley Da Bear | Bear, Da bears, Mascot

When standing in front of the stadium you’ll see the George Hallas statue to the left and the Walter Payton statue to the right. We entered through the west gate underneath the pillars on the side of the stadium. In the stadium itself fans could stand next to life-sized posters of the players or take pictures with Staley, the team’s mascot.  Similar to other sports venues, the place was also filled with hot dog vendors and other food stands. There’s also an awesome view of the city from the higher levels of the arena, one of the advantages of having the stadium be right in the downtown area.  We saw Bearman, the superfan who comes to all of the team’s games with his face painted blue and orange while wearing a bear costume.  We could also see the lyrics of the Bears fight song, “Bear Down, Chicago Bears,” written along the inside wall of the stadium.

We found our seats on the home side of the field from which we could see the Detroit Lions emerge from the away team locker room a week after losing to the Buffalo Bills 48-42 at home.  Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears were entering the day with an 8-game losing streak including a 23-20 loss to the Lions earlier in the season.

Unfortunately for Chicago fans everywhere, the Bears division rivals jumped to an early 20-0 lead and never looked back.  While it was fun to watch my favorite team play for the first time, I would have preferred a better showing than a 34-17 loss.

I will always remember my first NFL game at Soldier Field for the cold weather, the great food, and the extension of the Bears two-month long losing streak.

Film Session

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As I have never been in football, many things are new to me. Today was a Film Session. We usually have a game on Thursdays, so we have a film session on Fridays.

Film Session:

According to wekipedia.com, Film session is “The term was coined by the NFL in reference to making a better defense or offense while preparing for the next Sunday opponent by choreographing the weaknesses shown by the game tape thus opening up the chances for more opportunities of success.”

My coach kicked off the conversation to review the videos that one of the coaches took, some of my teammates were laughed at because they were doing the wrong move on the field and causing some touchdowns when they could have tackled and stopped them.

As I switched the Sports to Football from Baseball few weeks ago, I still had not enough practice, and didn’t get to play the game. I should have focused on the film so that I could learn more about tactics and plan for the future game. However, I started to think about what I could have done this hour, like homework or batting and pitching practice. Then the film finally ended and rushed out of the classroom door, then dashed to the baseball field. Once I got to the field, the coaches asked, “Why are you here?” “Using my time wisely and getting some reps in.” I said. I changed into my baseball gear and headed out to the field. 

Football Practice at High School

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Today I went to football practice after school and did some drills. The coach had all these drills to do and planned them out. Today is a short day at school so the football practice had to be short too.

The first drill to do are the sprints. This is where you are supposed to run as hard as I can through the 60 yards cones and walk back slowly to pace your heartbeat and on the second sprint I have to run as hard as I can to the cones and slowly walk back the twice as far than last time. So we meet up with the coach and say, “You guys will be doing sprints so be in your lines as fast you can.” Then we all dashed to our lines that we were supposed to be in and started the sprints.

As we finished the sprint I wasn’t actually tired, I thought we could have done more of the sprints and had less walking distance. And I thought of a drill where we have to sprint to the 60 yards cones and only walk half of the distance then we run again. And most of us were not tired so I ran for another one on my own. 

The Dallas Cowboys’ Offseason Overview (So Far)

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With the NFL training camps approaching in over a month and the draft/free agency being over, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and opinions on the offseason of my favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys.

I think most people would agree that the Cowboys had a solid offseason. They fixed their two biggest needs, wide-receiver and cornerback, by picking up Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore. These are two excellent pickups, especially for the price the Cowboys got them at. Cooks was acquired for just a 2023 fifth-round pick plus a 2024 sixth-round pick while Gilmore was traded for only another fifth-round pick. Brandin Cooks has six 1000 yard seasons in his nine year career, which is one of the most in the league. Quarterback Dak Prescott struggled with interceptions last year (15 in 12 games). The main reason for this is because of his lack of wide-receiver help. His number 2 and 3 receivers, Michael Gallup and Noah Brown, had some of the worse separation in the league. Not to say Prescott is not at fault for these interceptions, but Cooks should be a major asset in the passing game and help him thrive. Meanwhile, Stephon Gilmore is a five-time pro bowler and was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Pairing him with another elite cornerback in Trevon Diggs could be a nightmare for offenses. The Cowboys also resigned some essential players, such as LB Leighton Vander-Esch, safety Donovan Wilson, and RB Tony Pollard.

Although everything I have said makes this offseason seem perfect, there were a couple moments that some people were not happy with. Dalton Schultz leaving in free agency to the Houston Texans could possibly be a problem in this upcoming season. The topic is controversial, however, as some believe it would make a major impact while others feel that it will not change anything at all. Schultz was definitely a solid tight end and a “security blanket” for Dak Prescott, but in my opinion, I don’t think it will be as bad as people are making it seem. Jake Ferguson, Peyton Hendershot, and newly acquired Luke Schoonmaker may be able to fill his role. Speaking of Schoonmaker, he was another addition that many Cowboys fans dislike. Coming out of Michigan, he was seen as a decent tight end that should be drafted in the mid-third round. However, the Cowboys decided to draft him with their second round pick, leaving many fans confused and furious. This move cannot be labeled as good or bad as he has not played a single snap of football yet but during the season, we can see how he plays and progresses to truly determine whether or not he was a reach.

Overall, the Cowboys had a successful and productive offseason and I am excited for this next season. It was the first time in a while that Jerry Jones made any significant acquisition in the offseason and the team has one of the best rosters in the league. However, there are still some question marks heading into the season. One of the biggest concerns is if Dak Prescott is capable of leading the Cowboys deep in the playoffs. He has all the talent around him, and Prescott is also a talented quarterback, but he will need to be consistent to get the Cowboys past the divisional round for the first time in almost 30 years.

2022 World Cup

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The 2022 World Cup has come and gone, just like it does every 4 years. However, this World Cup will go down as one of the top World Cups in history.

 The 2022 tournament in Qatar brought tons of surprises, and wrapped up with the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) completing his trophy collection and accomplishing the most decorated career possible in the sport of football(or soccer). 

If you don’t know much about the World Cup, don’t worry, I’ll give a brief explanation real quick. It is played between the national teams of the qualifying country. To qualify for the tournament, teams need to be successful in the World Cup Qualifiers or be the host country. The tournament starts in the Group Stage, where there are 8 groups of 4 countries, and after each team plays 3 matches (against the 3 other teams in the group). Then, the top 2 countries from each group enter the knockout stage, where if you lose, you go home. The winners keep advancing until they reach the last match of the tournament, the World Cup Final. The 2 teams that lost in the semifinals also receive a chance to compete for the 3rd through a 3rd place match. 

In the 2022 World Cup, we saw Belgium, the team ranked 2nd in the FIFA national team rankings, go out in the group stage. Denmark, the 10th ranked team, and Germany, the 11th ranked team, also failed to advance to the knockout rounds. However, the biggest surprise came from Italy, the 6th ranked team, not even qualifying to take part in the World Cup. 

A pleasant surprise came when we saw Christian Pulisic and the USMNT (US Men’s National Team) qualify for the round of 16, before ultimately falling 3-1 to The Netherlands. In the Round of 16, we also saw Morocco knock out Spain on their way to the Quarterfinals. 

In the Quarterfinals, we witnessed some more surprising upsets. First, Luka Modric and Croatia stunned Neymar Jr and Brazil by drawing with them at the end of extra time, even after Neymar’s 105+1’ goal as Petkovic (Croatia) came up with an equalizer in the 117’ of the match, 3 minutes before the end of extra time. If you only watch one highlight from the World Cup, I suggest it be Neymar’s goal against Croatia. Then, Croatia proceeded to beat Brazil in penalties 4-2, sending the 1st ranked team home. We also saw Morocco shock the world by upsetting Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal 1-0. Some believe that the Portugal manager, Fernando Santos, made a mistake by bringing Ronaldo off the bench, as it was too late for them to come up with an equalizer. Ronaldo, in probably his last World Cup, was eliminated in the Quarterfinals, with his dream of winning the international tournament being just a dream. Messi and Argentina barely got past the Netherlands in a Penalty Shootout, after the Netherlands came back from a 2-0 deficit and came up with an equalizer in the last minute of second half stoppage time (90+11’). France beat England after Giroud scored a decider (go-ahead goal) in the 78th minute of the contest. Soon after, Harry Kane skied (hit over the goal)  a penalty, missing out on the chance to equalize. 

In the Semi-Finals, the favorites won, as Lionel Messi and Argentina comfortably handled Croatia 3-0, while France defeated Morocco 2-0. However, Morocco’s record-breaking World Cup journey was a huge accomplishment as they became the first African Nation to make the Semi-finals in the tournament. Morocco also received 4th place in the tournament, losing to Croatia in the 3rd place match. 

Finally, in the World Cup Final, we saw 2 powerhouses, Argentina and France, face off for a chance to make history. France was looking to be the first team since Brazil in 1962 to defend their title and be back-to-back champions. Lionel Messi on Argentina was looking to add the last missing trophy to complete his accomplished trophy cabinet. The match started with Argentina looking dominant while France was worse than terrible. Argentina started off their scoring with a penalty from Messi. Then, Angel Di Maria finished the counter-attack with an outstanding goal, making it 2-0 Argentina. In the 79th minute of action, France received a penalty, and Mbappe nailed it through the bottom left corner (80’). Then, 1 minute later, in the 81st minute, Kylian Mbappe scored another miraculous goal, tying it up at 2-2. It went to Extra time before Messi knocked in another goal in the 108th minute, cleaning up the save from the French Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. In the 118th minute, Mbappe scored another penalty, accomplishing a hat trick and knotting the game at 3-3. However, France also received another chance to score in the 120+3’ where Randal Kolo Muani took a shot between him and the goalkeeper, which the Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez saved. The biggest regret for France is Kolo Muani had Mbappe running on his left, and a pass to the French superstar could’ve won them the tournament. Argentina outlasted France in the penalty shootout, winning 4-2 and giving Messi his much desired World Cup victory. 

In conclusion, the 2022 Qatar World Cup was definitely one of the wildest World Cups yet, and I await the 2026 world cup with tremendous excitement.

Flip the Script by Ed Orgeron

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Ed Orgeron, LSU’s football coach, led the team to a national championship in 2019. Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy to get there. Coach O, now in his 60s, had a troubled start to his career at different universities like Ole Miss. He had to fight through his addiction to alcohol and he had to flip the script of the way his life was going. Instead of staying at rock bottom, he decided to climb the ladder, one rung at a time, to make his way to the top. He persevered to stop his addiction to drinking and alcohol. This book is an autobiography about his life, written by Coach O and about Coach O. 

If you have an interest in football or want to become an athlete or coach one day, I suggest reading this book. Not only does it have many important lessons inside, but it also is fun to read and learn about the inside of the locker room during those games and events that you might have seen on TV. For me, it was cool and interesting to be able to learn about Coach O’s journey to becoming one of the best coaches in all of college sports. 

The book talks about Coach O’s early career in coaching and how he had many different jobs at different universities. He was a defensive line coach (DLC), assistant head coach (AHC), assistant strength coach (ASC), as well as a head coach (HC) throughout his coaching career. He is still the head coach of LSU, but he played a role in the pasts of the University of Miami, USC, University of Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU, and other universities. He also was a part of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff at one point in his career. That is why this book is a perfect book for athletes looking to play in college and professionally. This book shows what coaches in different levels of the sport look for and care about! 

I give this book a 10/10 rating. It shows Coach O’s insights on college and high school football players as well as coaching. He explains how to coach and Coach Orgeron talks about the different ways you can connect to players. If you want to be a coach, this book can be a big help to your career and you can learn from one of the best coaches out there in Coach Ed Orgeron. You can learn how to recruit, talk to players, and how to handle the media. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning from not only an experienced coach, but also a very experienced person.

-Mert A.

Event Recap: Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions (9/30/2018)

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What a game. From the opening kick to the dying minutes of the game, there was intensity– enough to keep anyone on the edge of their seats. Bouncing back from an absolutely horrendous stretch of play, Quarterback Dak Prescott did just enough to push the Cowboys to a victory of 26-24. However, there is no question that the best player in the stadium was Runningback Ezekiel Elliot of the Dallas Cowboys. Leading the Cowboys in both rushing (152 yards off 25 carries) and receiving (88 yards off four receptions and one touchdown), Elliot was the engine that breathed life into an offense that has seemed dead the past couple of weeks. Though QB Prescott did help the Cowboys with timely throws and solid decision-making, there should be no doubt that the Cowboys would have been going home with their third loss of the year without a career day from Elliot.

On the other side of the field, the biggest question coming into this game was if the Cowboys could manage the loss of Sean Lee. The answer? They could. Though RB Kerryon Johnson of the Lions made his presence felt on a couple of big runs, the Cowboys mostly bottled him up on the ground (55 yards off 9 carries and one touchdown) thanks to solid days by linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander-Esch. A bigger concern, however, was WR Golden Tate’s field day. Though the defense has been playing well this year (ranked at 3rd entering this year), the secondary seemed to be unable to do much to stop Tate (132 yards off eight receptions and two touchdowns). A catch-and-run specialist, Tate slipped coverage and tackles all day, and would’ve been the most impressive player had Elliot not had an amazing day himself. In the coming weeks, it remains to be seen whether or not Dak could do enough to put the Cowboys in position to win once again, and whether this defense is more of their Week 2 performance against the Giants or their Week 4 performance against the Lions.

-Kobe L.

Cowboys Draft Plan

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On Friday, April 13th, the Dallas Cowboys formally parted ways with star WR Dez Bryant. Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has come out and stated that the Cowboys do not believe they have a receiver that can come in and completely take over the “WR1” mantle previously held by Dez. This is a sound assumption as there are no real wide receiver prospects in the 2018 draft that look as though they would be home-run picks like Odell Beckham Jr. or Julio Jones. However, there are many receivers that look to be solid WR2 receivers that have the potential to turn into WR1 caliber receivers. The release of Dez Bryant has led to many tying the Cowboys with drafting a WR in the first round. However, the timing of this release seems to state otherwise.

As many teams do not want to give any hints as to what their draft plans may be, the timing of Dez’s release seems intriguing. If the Cowboys really were planning on drafting a receiver at 19 or potentially even trading up in the draft, keeping Dez– business wise– may have been the best move to hide a lack of star receiver power. As a result, it seems as though the Cowboys are not planning on actively pursuing a receiver, but may instead be pointed to drafting a defensive player in the first round to add to their lineup. Furthermore, the signings of Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson seem to indicate they are fine with drafting a receiver in some of the later rounds of the draft, as this receiver class, though lacking in star power, has solid options that can be selected in the second and third rounds. With Sean Lee getting a year older and David Irving potentially being suspended to start the season, the Cowboys have more pressing needs at linebacker and defensive tackle and would be in their best interests selecting one of those positions over WR.

-Kobe L.

Fraternize by Rachel VanDyken

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Best book I’ve read so far in 2018.

So let’s see where to start…

Emerson (referred to as “Em”) was in love with her best friend Miller when they were young kids. They did everything together, and when she wasn’t allowed to play football, she became a cheerleader. When Miller left in their senior year of high school, Em kept a big secret from him.

Miller ends up being traded to the same NFL team that Em is cheerleading for. They have a really bad past at this point, so he is literally the last person she wants to see again. Then Grant Sanchez comes into the picture. He is on the NFL team as well. He is extremely cocky, and Miller starts fighting with him almost immediately.

But Sanchez see’s something in Em the first time he lays eyes on her, she doesn’t reciprocate, but he keeps trying.

Eventually, Miller and Em reform the bond that they used to share. But at that point Em likes Sanchez too. The question for her is, who will she pick?

As time goes on, the choice is obvious to Em who she will pick.
“I think…That I’ve always been yours. I just didn’t realize it.”
Yes, I know that I made this book sound like a huge cliche, but it isn’t. It is such a great, great book, and I enjoyed each and every little part of it. You will too! READ IT!

-Skylar N.

Fraternize by Rachel VanDyken is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.