AFC East: Mike Golic
Cameron Wake apparently still a sleeper
March, 22, 2011
3/22/11
12:00
PM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
Seven weeks ago, I disagreed with the notion some readers supported, that Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Cameron Wake deserved to be considered a legitimate candidate for the Associated Press 2010 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
I don't believe he was a complete enough defender for that prestigious accolade. But the one thing Wake does supremely well is rush the passer.
Even so, Wake barely cracked this week's ESPN.com positional power rankings -- for pass-rushers. We didn't rank players based on run-stuffing or pass-coverage. Just pass-rushing.
Wake didn't get as much respect as I thought he should've.
Wake came in 10th in our power rankings because I rated him fourth. Three panelists didn't put him on their ballots at all. One ranked him ninth. Three ranked him 10th.
For the record, this was my ballot:
Wake finished third in the NFL with 14 sacks. He was the most dangerous edge rusher in the AFC East by a big margin. Opponents had to game plan to stop him.
While I don't lean too heavily on stats while putting together my weekly positional power rankings, there are a handful of numbers you want to look for when it comes to pass-rushers. Sacks are the NFL's only official stats that are applicable. Other figures such as quarterback hits and hurries must be tracked by analytical outfits such as Football Outsiders.
Football Outsiders charted Wake third in the NFL with 15 quarterback hits (not counting sacks) and fourth with 38 hurries.
What more can you say?
Other divergences on my ballot included rating Freeney lower than any other panelist, omitting both Steelers outside linebackers, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, and being the lone voter to include Long.
The reason Long made my list was because he was always around the quarterback last year. He had a respectable 10 sacks, but he led the NFL with 41.5 hurries and was tied for sixth with 14 QB hits in the Football Outsiders data.

I don't believe he was a complete enough defender for that prestigious accolade. But the one thing Wake does supremely well is rush the passer.
Even so, Wake barely cracked this week's ESPN.com positional power rankings -- for pass-rushers. We didn't rank players based on run-stuffing or pass-coverage. Just pass-rushing.
Wake didn't get as much respect as I thought he should've.
Wake came in 10th in our power rankings because I rated him fourth. Three panelists didn't put him on their ballots at all. One ranked him ninth. Three ranked him 10th.
For the record, this was my ballot:
- DeMarcus Ware, Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker
- Tamba Hali, Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker
- Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers outside linebacker
- Cameron Wake, Miami Dolphins outside linebacker
- Jared Allen, Minnesota Vikings defensive end
- John Abraham, Atlanta Falcons defensive end
- Julius Peppers, Chicago Bears defensive end
- Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts defensive end
- Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker
- Chris Long, St. Louis Rams defensive end
Wake finished third in the NFL with 14 sacks. He was the most dangerous edge rusher in the AFC East by a big margin. Opponents had to game plan to stop him.
While I don't lean too heavily on stats while putting together my weekly positional power rankings, there are a handful of numbers you want to look for when it comes to pass-rushers. Sacks are the NFL's only official stats that are applicable. Other figures such as quarterback hits and hurries must be tracked by analytical outfits such as Football Outsiders.
Football Outsiders charted Wake third in the NFL with 15 quarterback hits (not counting sacks) and fourth with 38 hurries.
What more can you say?
Other divergences on my ballot included rating Freeney lower than any other panelist, omitting both Steelers outside linebackers, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, and being the lone voter to include Long.
The reason Long made my list was because he was always around the quarterback last year. He had a respectable 10 sacks, but he led the NFL with 41.5 hurries and was tied for sixth with 14 QB hits in the Football Outsiders data.

Video: Packers at Patriots predictions
December, 17, 2010
12/17/10
6:14
PM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
ESPN football experts Mark Schlereth and Mike Golic take a gander at Sunday's matchup between the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots and don't see any chance the Patriots lose in Gillette Stadium.
ESPN analysts Mike Golic and Mark Schlereth impart their opinions on Sunday's big AFC matchup between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Each predicts the Steelers will win.
"The Pittsburgh defense is money as far as creating turnovers," Golic said.
On struggling Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, Schlereth said "He's swimming in his own dome right now, and that's not a good thing."
Video: Bills at Dolphins predictions
December, 17, 2010
12/17/10
8:28
AM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
ESPN analysts Mike Golic and Mark Schlereth break down Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in Sun Life Stadium. Schlereth believes the Dolphins will trample the Bills' suspect run defense, while Golic picks the Bills to pull an upset.
Video: Reasons for Patriots-Jets beatdown
December, 7, 2010
12/07/10
3:48
PM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
"Mike and Mike in the Morning" hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic break down the reasons the New England Patriots trounced the New York Jets on Monday night.
Video: Patriots at Chargers predictions
October, 22, 2010
10/22/10
10:24
PM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
ESPN analysts Mark Schlereth and Mike Golic preview Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers in Qualcomm Stadium.
Schlereth says he's picking the Patriots until they prove him wrong. Golic is down on the Chargers and also predicts the Patriots to pick up a road victory.
ESPN analysts Mark Schlereth and Mike Golic both use the word "overmatched" to describe the Buffalo Bills for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens in M&T Bank Stadium.
Golic muses the Bills would have a chance if eight or nine Ravens defensive players get ejected for violent hits.
Video: Steelers at Dolphins predictions
October, 22, 2010
10/22/10
9:35
AM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
ESPN analysts Mark Schlereth and Mike Golic preview Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins in Sun Life Stadium.
Schlereth contends it will be the most physical matchup of Week 7. Both predict the Steelers will keep the Dolphins winless at home.
Agree? Disagree? It's my AFC East preview
September, 2, 2010
9/02/10
11:42
AM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
ESPN.com's season preview package has been posted on the main NFL page.
For easy access, here are the links to the four AFC East teams:
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Each team page includes predictions from a panel of ESPN experts, my "Intelligence Report" of five items, "Draft Class Watch," a Scouts Inc. evaluation of the top five players, a divisional overview video with Mike Golic and Mark Schlereth, and a podcast from Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson and yours truly.
Here is my forecast for the division standings:
1. New York Jets: While the Jets did get lucky and sneaked into the playoffs, there seemed to be a shift in the AFC East with what transpired thereafter. The Patriots were embarrassed at home in the first round, while the Jets won two games on the road to reach the conference title game. Then, over the offseason, the Jets got better.
2. New England Patriots: The Patriots are contenders as long as Bill Belichick is head coach and Tom Brady is quarterback. But they have their share of concerns, including guard Logan Mankins' absence, lack of a pass rush and cornerback depth. Regardless, the Patriots are headed to the playoffs.
3. Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins are a playoff-caliber team, but they're up against two teams that finished ahead of them in the division standings last season and remain formidable. The Dolphins must compete with the defending champs and conference runners-up. Somebody has to finish third.
4. Buffalo Bills: The Bills were competitive in division games last season, nearly shocking the Patriots on opening night and splitting with the Jets and Dolphins. But they're 2-10 against the division the past two seasons. While the Bills are rebuilding, the other teams made offseason moves to push for the playoffs, making the gap even wider for this season.
For easy access, here are the links to the four AFC East teams:
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Each team page includes predictions from a panel of ESPN experts, my "Intelligence Report" of five items, "Draft Class Watch," a Scouts Inc. evaluation of the top five players, a divisional overview video with Mike Golic and Mark Schlereth, and a podcast from Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson and yours truly.
Here is my forecast for the division standings:
1. New York Jets: While the Jets did get lucky and sneaked into the playoffs, there seemed to be a shift in the AFC East with what transpired thereafter. The Patriots were embarrassed at home in the first round, while the Jets won two games on the road to reach the conference title game. Then, over the offseason, the Jets got better.
2. New England Patriots: The Patriots are contenders as long as Bill Belichick is head coach and Tom Brady is quarterback. But they have their share of concerns, including guard Logan Mankins' absence, lack of a pass rush and cornerback depth. Regardless, the Patriots are headed to the playoffs.
3. Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins are a playoff-caliber team, but they're up against two teams that finished ahead of them in the division standings last season and remain formidable. The Dolphins must compete with the defending champs and conference runners-up. Somebody has to finish third.
4. Buffalo Bills: The Bills were competitive in division games last season, nearly shocking the Patriots on opening night and splitting with the Jets and Dolphins. But they're 2-10 against the division the past two seasons. While the Bills are rebuilding, the other teams made offseason moves to push for the playoffs, making the gap even wider for this season.
Wiley recalls Bills camp fight as best ever
August, 6, 2010
8/06/10
7:22
PM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
Marcellus Wiley, sitting in as co-host of "Mike & Mike in the Morning," boasted he saw "the best camp fight live and in person ever."
The fight occurred during Wiley's rookie training camp with the Buffalo Bills in 1997. Smallish linebacker Damien Covington went Macho Man Savage on veteran tackle Glenn Parker.
Turns out, unbeknownst to Parker, Covington was an All-American high school wrestler.
"It's just a little, bland skirmish for a second," Wiley told co-host Mike Golic, "and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Damien picks him up by the waist and ... flips him entirely upside down. His head is now his feet. His feet is now his head. I mean, straight up and down, and pile drives him
"When we walked in that locker room, the first thing we did was turn on TV and watch 'SportsCenter.' ESPN must've played it for three, four weeks of training camp. It was the biggest highlight of a fight I've ever seen, and it was amazing because you didn't think it was humanly possible."
Asked Golic: "Did it end the fight?"
Wiley recoiled in laughter.
"Did it end the fight?" Wiley said. "It ended this guy's career, at least in Buffalo. We didn't see him anymore."
Parker didn't make the final roster that year. He started five more years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants.
Wiley misremembers some of the minor details such as heights and weights and thought he was doing Parker a favor by not mentioning him by name, but the fact Wiley and Covington played together only one season made searching for specifics rather easy on the Internet.
Here's how Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News described it:
Covington made the roster, but it was his final year in the NFL. He was shot and killed while trying to prevent a robbery in December 2002.

The fight occurred during Wiley's rookie training camp with the Buffalo Bills in 1997. Smallish linebacker Damien Covington went Macho Man Savage on veteran tackle Glenn Parker.
Turns out, unbeknownst to Parker, Covington was an All-American high school wrestler.
"It's just a little, bland skirmish for a second," Wiley told co-host Mike Golic, "and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Damien picks him up by the waist and ... flips him entirely upside down. His head is now his feet. His feet is now his head. I mean, straight up and down, and pile drives him
"When we walked in that locker room, the first thing we did was turn on TV and watch 'SportsCenter.' ESPN must've played it for three, four weeks of training camp. It was the biggest highlight of a fight I've ever seen, and it was amazing because you didn't think it was humanly possible."
Asked Golic: "Did it end the fight?"
Wiley recoiled in laughter.
"Did it end the fight?" Wiley said. "It ended this guy's career, at least in Buffalo. We didn't see him anymore."
Parker didn't make the final roster that year. He started five more years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants.
Wiley misremembers some of the minor details such as heights and weights and thought he was doing Parker a favor by not mentioning him by name, but the fact Wiley and Covington played together only one season made searching for specifics rather easy on the Internet.
Here's how Allen Wilson of the Buffalo News described it:
During a nine on seven drill, the two had words and exchanged a few shoves and punches.
Then came the good stuff.
Parker grabbed Covington by the neck and twisted his helmet off. But Covington, the Bills' smallest linebacker at 5-foot-11, 236 pounds, retaliated by picking up the 6-foot-5, 300-plus-pound Parker and slamming him to the ground. Parker landed on his head, but was not hurt.
Covington made the roster, but it was his final year in the NFL. He was shot and killed while trying to prevent a robbery in December 2002.

Analysts: Fins best offseason, Bills worst
June, 22, 2010
6/22/10
12:18
PM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
"NFL Live" analysts Mike Golic and Cris Carter broke down the best and worst offseasons in the league. AFC East clubs were mentioned at the top and bottom.
Carter, a former Miami Dolphins receiver, picked his old club for the AFC's most impressive offseason because of their acquisitions of receiver Brandon Marshall and inside linebacker Karlos Dansby.
Carter made it a point to say he was picking the Dolphins over the New York Jets, who made splashy moves with running back LaDainian Tomlinson, receiver Santonio Holmes, outside linebacker Jason Taylor and cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
"People forget that this team beat the Jets twice last year," Carter said.
Golic claimed the Buffalo Bills had the AFC's worst offseason.
"C.J. Spiller can be a very exciting player, but you had a couple of running backs there," Golic said. "The biggest need is quarterback, and you've done nothing to address the quarterback position, and all those other teams in that division got better."
Carter's pick for the worst offseason was the Pittsburgh Steelers because of the notoriety Ben Roethlisberger has created for the organization.
A month ago, ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton ranked the best and worst offseasons.
Clayton rated the New England Patriots first, the Dolphins second and the Jets third in the NFL.
Clayton listed the Bills dead last.

Carter, a former Miami Dolphins receiver, picked his old club for the AFC's most impressive offseason because of their acquisitions of receiver Brandon Marshall and inside linebacker Karlos Dansby.
Carter made it a point to say he was picking the Dolphins over the New York Jets, who made splashy moves with running back LaDainian Tomlinson, receiver Santonio Holmes, outside linebacker Jason Taylor and cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
"People forget that this team beat the Jets twice last year," Carter said.
Golic claimed the Buffalo Bills had the AFC's worst offseason.
"C.J. Spiller can be a very exciting player, but you had a couple of running backs there," Golic said. "The biggest need is quarterback, and you've done nothing to address the quarterback position, and all those other teams in that division got better."
Carter's pick for the worst offseason was the Pittsburgh Steelers because of the notoriety Ben Roethlisberger has created for the organization.
A month ago, ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton ranked the best and worst offseasons.
Clayton rated the New England Patriots first, the Dolphins second and the Jets third in the NFL.
Clayton listed the Bills dead last.

ESPN analyst Mike Golic provides his offseason overview of the AFC East and calls the New York Jets the team to beat.
ESPN's Chris McKendry and Mike Golic discuss what AFC East team has fortified itself the best so far this offseason. Golic likes the Jets because of their running game, great defense and the acquisition of cornerback Antonio Cromartie.
"Basically, it's 'Mark Sanchez, don't screw it up,' " Golic said.
Video: Should Pats go after Thomas Jones?
March, 4, 2010
3/04/10
10:26
AM ET
By Tim Graham | ESPN.com
In a special segment for ESPNBoston.com, the "NFL Live" crew takes a look at what we should expect from New England Patriots in free agency.
Tim Hasselbeck agreed with Mike Golic that edge rushers should be a priority for the Patriots, but added "you also have to look at the running back position. If somebody like Thomas Jones is available and you don't have to pay him a lot of money, he could be a really good fit in that offense."

Tim Hasselbeck agreed with Mike Golic that edge rushers should be a priority for the Patriots, but added "you also have to look at the running back position. If somebody like Thomas Jones is available and you don't have to pay him a lot of money, he could be a really good fit in that offense."



