Tag Archives: nfl

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.

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.

Trading Cards

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You’ve probably heard of Pokemon cards, and maybe even Magic Cards, but have you heard of sports cards? Sports cards are trading cards that represent the players in major sports leagues, like the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and more. Some card collections also feature players from college.

Since my favorite sports are football and basketball, I enjoy collecting NFL and NBA cards. For about 6-7 years now, I’ve been collecting cards and creating a massive collection. 

For the people who are beginners to card collecting, just know that to get valuable cards, you don’t need to purchase really expensive packs. Even a simple $5-7 pack of 15-40 cards can be enough to help you pull a valuable card. Card collecting is pure luck, and you need to be prepared for the outstanding packs with the top players as well as the terrible packs filled with only duplicates of the cards you already have. 

For NBA cards, there are a few that come to mind when thinking of my favorite brands. Each card brand has it’s own strengths and a completely different look from other brands. One of my favorite NBA brands is Illusions, which has a really special, interesting look to it. Another card brand I like is called Revolution, but it is harder to find. Those 2 brands feature a lot of nice quality cards, but sometimes don’t offer many cards in packs. If you’re looking for quantity over quality, I suggest buying NBA Hoops cards. NBA Hoops cards have simpler designs, but usually give a good amount of cards for the price you pay. There are many more brands that produce amazing cards that I like, such as Prizm and Optic. 

Moving on, there are some NFL card brands that I enjoy opening packs of, too. If I’m opening for the quantity of cards instead of rarity, I would probably choose to get Prestige or Scorecards. Prestige cards have a simple design, but there is a special Heroes Collection that can give you some epic cards if you get lucky. These Heroes cards make the player look like a comic book character, adding some variety to the Prestige packs. Also, Score cards are really good for quantity and they also provide different types of cards. In a pack, the majority of the cards are base cards, but there are also extra collections like Celebration, Potential, Sack Attack, Toe The Line, and Hot Rookies. A few Celebration, Potential, and Sack Attack cards come out of every pack, but Toe The Line and Hot Rookie cards are harder to come by. Also, Select is another card brand, but I suggest buying it if you are looking for quality over quantity since it can be pricier than the other options I listed. 

Before you start collecting, there are a few more things I need to tell you. Rookie cards, indicated with an RC symbol on the card, are more valuable because they can only be pulled during the player’s rookie season. These rookie cards tend to be more valuable, especially if they are of a great player. Whenever you get a rookie card, hold on to it (don’t trade it) because you never know what its value will be when the player’s career is over. Some players don’t stand out until their 3rd or 4th season, so you should be careful about your rookie cards. In addition, to check the value of your cards, you can visit the website sportscardspro.com. The website shows the former purchases of cards, so you can see what your card goes for. If your friends also collect cards, you can trade with them to grow your collection. 

Finally, I hope this post gave you some more knowledge about sports cards and hopefully you’re ready to start your own collection now! If you start collecting, I suggest purchasing a binder and some card binder sheets to keep your cards in a safe location. This will protect the card from losing value (bent corners, scratches). Happy collecting!