La’el Collins cleared of murder investigation… signs with Cowboys

Offensive Lineman, La’el Collins, was signed to the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent.  His involvement with the murder of his ex girlfriend has been cleared.  He was never a suspect.  He was just wanted to questioning.  Given the circumstances of the event, along with NFL’s trainwreck history of disciplinary actions towards Domestic Violence and Child Abuse from its players, Collin’s wasn’t drafted.  Owners were concerned about wasting a valuable pick.  Collins was one of the top linemen in the draft.  Using a 1st or 2nd rounder on him only to find him involved in a murder case would not have been good for a rebuilding team.

Cowboys signed Collins to a 3 year deal worth $1.6 Million guaranteed.  Not only is Collins in the NFL but the Cowboys now have 2 good young linemen from the last 2 years of drafts.  Zack Martin was a gem in last years draft.  He holds the left guard position.  All Pro Tyron Smith is Tony Romo’s blindside tackle.  Things are looking good for the Cowboys.  Runningbacks come and go in the league.  With this offensive line, look for the Cowboys offense to do well.  Glad to see La’el Collins in the NFL.  Best of luck to him.

La’el Collins

The LSU Tigers offensive tackle, La’el Collins, entered the 2015 NFL Draft as a potential top 15 pick.  A 6’4 – 300 lb dominating force in the trenches.  He was projected to be a 2nd round draft pick in last years draft and chose to stay at LSU another year, raising his draft stock significantly.  Collins, a soon to be millionaire and future staple in an offensive line for an NFL team, had his dream coming to a screeching hault.  Two days before the NFL Draft began, a story broken by Adam Schefter, was  contacted by police regarding the murder of his pregnant ex-girlfriend.  He wasn’t a suspect.  But the police wanted him for questioning.  They did, however, inform him they were going to wait until after the NFL draft.  Draft day weekend came and not one team selected Collins.  7 rounds and 250+ picks later… Collins’ name was not called.  Even the first wave of signings of undrafted free agents… no one chose La’el Collins.

In recent years, the NFL has been struck with tragedy within its players.   Most notable are the Aaron Hernandez murder trial, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy’s domestic violence cases, and Adrian Peterson’s child abuse case.  Hernandez was found guilty in the prime of his career of murder and will never see the football field or his money ever again.  Ray Rice’s incident is the one that started it all.  Valentines weekend in 2014, Rice and his fiancé were arrested.  A few days later a video surfaces of Rice dragging his limp fiancé out of an elevator in an Atlantic City hotel.  Rice’s attorney called it “a minor physical altercation.”   Police later had stated they obtained the video which showed Rice knocking Janay Palmer out cold. As big as domestic violence is, how the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens handled it was just sickening.  The Ravens and their coach, John Harbaugh, came to Rice’s defense and he’s going to be a part of the 2014 Ravens.  Then the Ravens GM put it in the hands of the NFL rather than take action themselves and become respectable in this mess.  Eventually the situation went back and forth over the next few months about who knew what… and Rice was still technically a part of the NFL.  Finally, he was suspended.  The NFL already lost the respect of fans.  It was a total trainwreck the way it was handled.  Greg Hardy’s case was handled a lot better.  The Panthers deactivated him a few weeks into the season.  He went to trial and was found guilty of assault.  He was awarded a retrial and the charges were dropped when his girlfriend refused to cooperate.  Basically he was let go because (__________).  I’ll let you fill in that blank.  My guess is a nice hefty payment to the victim.

So back to Collins.  No NFL team wants a part of this until his name is cleared.  I don’t blame them.  The public absolutely trashes the NFL and the teams these players play for.  When Vick went to the Eagles… the hatred went with him.  Cowboys signed Greg Hardy (and was suspended 10 games), and the Cowboys received the hatred.  If an NFL team drafted La’el Collins amid a murder investigation, the scrutiny that comes with it would have been huge.

However, as of now, Collins is just being questioned.  He’s not a suspect.  And because of that black cloud, he lost out on millions of dollars.  I feel bad for the guy.  My opinion will obviously change if he does happen to be involved, but until then,hope he gets cleared and signs with a team soon.

A-Rod Hits 660

Baseballs biggest nemesis has tied one of the greatest hitters in MLB history for 4th place on the all time Home Run list at 660.  Alex Rodriguez nailed a 3-0 pitch as a pinch hitter over the green monster.  It also won the Yankees the game.  Rodriguez was suspended all of last season for a repeat offense of PEDs.  Not a supporter of steroids in baseball, but now its just become part of the game to me.  Sad.  But hey, A-Rod is helping my Yankees stay atop the division and they weren’t expected to be there.

Alex Rodriguez is not only back in baseball and hitting home runs that send the fans home happy… but he earned himself an additional $6,000,000 for reaching the milestone.  I forgave A-Rod the first time.  I forgave him the 2nd time, but forever will call him a moron for lying about it again.  Glad to have you back in the lineup, Alex.  Next stop…  The Babe at 714?  We’ll see…

Draft Night 1 and 2 From My Raider P.O.V.

As an Oakland Raiders fan, I look forward to the draft every year.  From 2005 to 2011 it was always “Lets see how we can mess this top pick up…. again.”   Since the passing of Al Davis and the signing of Reggie McKenzie as GM, this is my favorite time of the year.  I’m not old enough to really appreciate all of the things that Al Davis did for the organization (and for the NFL), but I absolutely respect the man.  I’ve seen the history of the Raiders and who they once were.  One of the most feared teams on the field.  I have been dreaming of that and the way Reggie McKenzie has been drafting and signing players is getting me excited for the Raiders future.  Last year it was Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Jelly Ellis, and T.J. Carrie who became starters for the team and did well.  Mack pressured quarterbacks but unfortunately didn’t have the help on the opposite side… which brings me to this years draft.

Round 1 begins and Jameis Winston is selected.  Next goes Marcus Mariota.  This is it…  Jags are taking Leonard Williams and going ruin my night.  BOOM!  Jags take Dante Fowler.  My mouth was watering for Williams.  A beast defensive lineman who can easily make himself, and Mack, stars.  Then I heard it…  “With the 4th overall pick, the Oakland Raiders select Amari Cooper…”   My heart sank.  My buddy sitting across from me goes “You didn’t want him?” and I said “To be honest, I really wanted Williams if he was available.  If I had to pick one or the other, it was Williams.”   I wasn’t pissed, I’m glad Carr has a toy to play with.  It was like when you were 16 (yeah I was that age when this happened so shut up!) and your father says you’re going to get a cell phone.  So I go looking up all these cool cell phones.  A camera is a must.  Must be color screen too.   Then he gets me the plain black and yellow Nextel that had the rubber around it so it wouldn’t break.  Moral of the story… I got what I wanted…but not what I really wanted.  And I was okay with that.

Round 2 began and the Raiders are up and they select Defensive Lineman Mario Edwards Jr.  I didn’t know much about him so I watch the highlights and search him up afterward.  Found out hes a versatile lineman who can play End or Defensive Tackle and is a great run stopper.  Something Oakland has been missing for a long time.   Pairing him up with Jelly Ellis inside and using his as an end in passing situations really made me excited about the Cooper pick.  The Raiders got a top defensive lineman as well as the best wideout in the draft. 

Round 3 comes and the Raiders select Clive Walford.  Really puzzled about this one.  Not knowing anything at all, I immediately look him up.  First 3 highlights I saw of him were him dominating in the run game.  “HOLY SHIT!” I thought, “A blocking tight end who can catch.  Nice knowing you, Mychal Rivera!”  Although I’ll always remember Rivera for scoring a TD and his hot sister dancing on camera in her Raiders hat and jersey.  I live in New York so I don’t get to see pretty raiders fans often.

Overall, I am very satisfied with how the draft has turned out.  I’ve been believing in Reggie McKenzie since the day he was hired.  I respect the Packers organization and love the way Ted Thompson built that team.  Reggie, who worked under Thompson, brought that knowledge to Oakland.  And I am thankful for that.  DRAFT GRADE SO FAR:  A