Victor Butler could get a chance to step into the starting line-up in 2012

Jerry Jones, general manager and owner of the Dallas Cowboys will have important offseason decisions to make regarding the linebacker positions on Rob Ryan’s coached defense.

Far from the famed Doomsday defenses of old that previously ran rampant and created chaos for NFC opponents, the 2011Dallas defense did very little to live up to the historical prowess of yesteryear’s dominating defensive squads.

With the lone exception of Abram Elam, it appeared that early on in the 2011 campaign, Rob Ryan seemingly made strides with identical defensive personel that yielded the 2^nd highest passer rating on average to opposing quarterbacks in 2010 behind the Buffalo Bills.

How could fans expect dramatic changes between seasons when everything remained the same defensively with the exceptions of Ryan and Elam?

Well this year things have to change and some of those changes will be forced changes due to the Cowboys NFC foes getting faster offensively and contracts expiring, especially at the linebacker position.

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Dallas Cowboys Line-Backers Against the Wall - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Aldon Smith's pass rushing skills are pivotal in this game for the 49ers

Today the New Orleans Saints will travel out to San Francisco to take on the defensive oriented 49ers.

One of the keys to this game will be whether or not the San Francisco 49ers, and specifically Aldon Smith can get consistent pressure on Drew Brees, one of the hardest quarterbacks in the league to sack. If not it could be a long day for the Saints. That’s just one matchup in the game

Here is what else I’ll be watching for in the game:

The Field Conditions

Much has been made about the Saints leaving the comfy confines of their home dome to travel out to San Francisco to play on their potentially muddy field, and I think for good reason. I watched the Saints play the Titans in Tennessee and they did not look like the same unstoppable offense on that surface. I think a large part of it to is crowd noise at home. The Saints run a million different looks at teams and have more open wide receivers than any other team in the league based on route combinations and play calling. A slower track definitely favors the 49ers.

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New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers: Can Aldon Smith Pressure Drew Brees - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Jesse’s Giants are red hot right now, facing a Green Bay Packers team that barely skipped a beat when Matt Flynn took over as the quarterback in week 17.

My Broncos are getting ready for their second battle with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, a team that beat the Broncos earlier this season on Denver’s home field.

There are some other intriguing matchups this weekend, specifically the matchup taking place in San Francisco with arguably the best defense in the conference (SF) and the best offense (NO).

The Houston Texans will also try and beat the Baltimore Ravens on their home field, something that has not been done so far this season, as Baltimore is 8-0 on their home field.

Now, on to the predictions.

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NFL Divisional Round Playoff Predictions - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Matthew Stafford and the Lions have a Tought Matchup in New Orleans

The playoffs are now upon us in what has turned out to be a crazy season. I ended up with a winning record picking all the games in the league through the first 15 weeks (with weeks 16 and 17 during the holidays I wasn’t able to find the time to get those done). So I look forward to seeing if I can continue that through the playoffs.

This year is another year in which there is a large turnover in the playoff teams. Newcomers this year are aplenty. The Texans, Bengals, Lions, Giants, and Broncos are all in the playoffs for the first time since at least 2008 (Giants) or much longer (like the Lions). The 49ers are also a new addition, but won’t play this weekend.

Here are the opening lines for this weeks games.

Date & Time Favorite Spread Underdog
1/7 4:30 ET At Houston -3 Cincinnati
1/7 8:00 ET At New Orleans -10.5 Detroit
1/8 1:00 ET At NY Giants -3 Atlanta
1/8 4:30 ET Pittsburgh -8 At Denver

Bengals (+3) at Houston

The Houston Texans have managed to cling on for dear life to get into the playoffs after they lost their quarterback for the season, and their second string quarterback for the season as well. They came out and played a good game against the Titans on Sunday, in a loss. The Bengals on the other hand have had a bit of an up and down season, but made it to the playoffs on the last day. Both teams will be starting rookie quarterbacks this weekend.

Right now the Bengals are 3 point underdogs, but I think they can win this game outright. I’ll have to watch the injury reports, but the Texans have been banged up lately. I think any other team I might take the other team, but both of these teams have rookie quarterbacks, except the Bengals rookie QB is slightly better. Should be a close game. I’ll take the Bengals to cover the spread of 3 as of Monday

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NFL Playoff Picks Wild Card Round - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Nebrasksa Cornhuskers LB Lavonte David Would be a Great fit with the Saints

This is the 2012 NFL Mock draft for the New Orleans Saints I’m sure we’ll have another version between now and the real draft. In the 2011 N.F.L. draft the Saints traded away this year’s first round pick in order to get back into the first round and select running back Mark Ingram. They also didn’t lose a ton in free agency so they are probably not looking at any compensatory picks. I believe they have all of their picks from the 2nd through 7th rounds, if that is incorrect someone please inform me.

On the plus side this mock draft has pointed out a few scouting reports I have yet to get to. For the scouting reports of these players (not all of them) click on the name.

For any of our other 165+ scouting reports check out our scouting report page

2nd round: Lavonte David, LB, Nebraska Cornhuskers

David is having a really good year for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but could still be available at this point because he’s undersized. I think it’s possible that either David or Travis Lewis is available at this point, and if so the Saints should jump on him. The strength of this class is in the linebacker corpse (and the quarterback group). With the Saints having a weakness at linebacker and not having a pick until the second round their first pick could very well be a linebacker. David will bring high football intelligence, coverage ability, and a non-stop motor. Hopefully Martez Wilson develops into a nice player and the Saints can have a linebacker corpse of David, Wilson, and Vilma, which sounds much better than Vilma, nobody, and Shanle.

3rd Round: Star Lotluelelei, DT, Utah

You may not have heard of Lotuelelei, but you will soon. The man is talented. He’s been flying under the radar to draftniks, but not to scouts. he’s 6’3 325 pounds and gets off the line quickly. He’s raw as a pass rusher, but has potential to be a pretty good one. He does an excellent job anchoring against the run already.

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2012 NFL Mock Draft: New Orleans Saints - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Will they get In?

The 2012 NFL season is winding down and the playoff picture is becoming clearer every week.  Last week I discussed the AFC/NFC North picture.  This week we will discuss the disappointing AFC/NFC South conference playoff picture.  We will go into remaining schedules and predictions.

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts: The Packers are not the only team striving for perfection.  The Colts are trying to achieve a feat that only the 08 Lions were able to do….go 0-16.  Currently the Colts are 0-12 and they even brought in the man who was the QB for the Lions during that stretch, Dan Orlovsky.  Games versus the Ravens, Titans, and Texans are for sure losses.  It will all come down to the last game at Jacksonville for the Colts to win a game this season. Colts are devoid of talent at all levels and Andrew Luck alone will not be able to turn this team around.

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Will They Get In: AFC/NFC South Edition - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Nick Fairley Left the Game with an injury and the Lions couldn't pressure Brees after that

The Detroit Lions are seeing their playoffs hopes slip, but are saved by the fact that the Falcons, Bears, Cowboys, and Giants all lost on Sunday. The Lions don’t have an easy schedule down the stretch and must play smarter football if they want to make the playoffs. The Colts showed some life late against the Patriots once the game was way out of control and I continue to petition Peyton Manning for M.V.P. The Colts are terrible.

The Dolphins and Eagles are both 4-8, but couldn’t be any different right now. The Giants have lost four straight games, but showed some life that was missing the last two weeks and the Titans are making a late push for the playoffs. The playoff race in the A.F.C. East is fun too as the Bengals, Titans, Raiders and Jets are duking it out for the last playoff spot.

Read onto see where I rank the teams as it stands now.

#32. Indianapolis Colts-
The Colts are so bad that I’m not even going to give them the time to finish a senten…

#31 St. Louis Rams

I wonder if Steve Spagolou will last through the season at their current pace. Spags is supposed to be a defensive wizard and while they don’t have great personnel their defense has gotten abused through the ground and through the air.

I really thought the Rams would put up a fight against the 49ers, but boy was I wrong.

#30 Jacksonville Jaguars

I’m assuming the Jaguars lose to the Chargers, which might not be fair, but I think likely. I also think that without ahead coach I’m not sure what kind of effort to expect. Interim head coaches never seem to work out.

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NFL Power Rankings Week 14: Saints Streaking, Lions Playoff Hopes Dimming - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Don't Let the Eco Citizen Watch Fool You, in the 2nd Half of the Season, the Giants are Far From Unstoppable

The New York Giants look like they are on their way to a fourth straight late season collapse. Is it possible that Tom Coughlin survives this? Meanwhile the Saints are clicking and have had some good games since their terrible loss to the St. Louis Rams (how in the world did that happen). The New England Patriots put an end to the misery that is the Eagles season and the Jets are clinging on for dear life to make the playoffs squeaking out a win vs the Bills.

Read on to find out where all the teams rank.

#32. Indianapolis Colts-
The Colts are so bad that I’m not even going to give them the time to finish a senten…

#31 St. Louis Rams

I wonder if Steve Spagolou will last through the season at their current pace. Spags is supposed to be a defensive wizard and while they don’t have great personnel their defense has gotten abused through the ground and through the air.

#30 Minnesota Vikings

I think the Vikings probably have more talent than the Carolina Panthers, but they have lost to a weak strength of schedule and would be picking third overall if the draft were to happen today. Christian Ponder has shown some flashes, but he was considered the most pro-ready quarterback of the bunch and I think his upside is much less than the other quarterbacks in his class.

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NFL Power Rankings Week 13: Giants Plummeting, Saints Rising - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Victor Cruz on Third Downs is a Key matchup to this game

Tonight the struggling New York Giants travel back to Eli Manning’s hometown to stop a two game slid and a potential fourth straight season-ending collapse. The problem is they are running into a buzz saw with the New Orleans Saints at home.

The Giants really, really need this game if they have any aspirations to make the playoffs, the Saints with losses by the Bears and Lions are probably all set to make the playoffs at least as a wild card but they are going to be playing hard to win the division.

There are some intriguing storylines here are the ones I’m watching, and of course as a site that is dedicated mostly to draft prospects I’ll be focusing on the younger guys.

Mark Herzlich/Jacquian Williams vs Darren Sproles

Mark Herzlich will likely to get the start because he was more impressive in his first real snaps on defense than Greg Jones had been at any point all season. I’m sure the Giants will take notice, Perry Fewell praised Herzlich for his performance vs the Eagles. Now Herzlich made his fair share of mistakes in pass coverage, but really showed something in run coverage unlike Jones he can play better in traffic because he’s longer and did a better job of shedding blocks. Neither is a terror sideline to sideline and neither has the speed to cover Darren Sproles, but he might be in a few packages with Sproles in and how he does to contain and stop Sproles is huge.

Jacquian Williams on the other hand is not as instinctive or as strong as Hezlich, but he can fly. He is plus in coverage (just working on the instincts and technical parts of coverage). Williams played a lot in the nickel coverage before Michael Boley was hurt, so he’ll be seeing even more time tonight. His play is paramount to how the Giants defense does tonight.

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New York Giants and New Orleans Saints What to Watch For: Mark Ingram Plays Against Dad’s Former Team - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football