NFL DRAFT PREVIEW: Chandler Jones

A good bloodline goes a long way. If you were looking for a stud defensive end in this year's draft you might want a cross between a champion UFC fighter and a 6' 3" 313-pound beast. This pedigree mentioned are the brothers of Chandler Jones. His brother Jon "Bones" Jones is a champion UFC fighter, arguably the best fighter currently. His other brother is Arthur Jones, a former Syracuse standout, now a defensive end for the Baltimore Ravens. Enough about family, time to talk about Chandler Jones.
Chandler Jones has officially declared for this year's NFL draft. The stock on him has varied from source to source, but I will give you my overall take. First of all look at his frame, Jones is a 6 foot 5 inch, 265 pound monster. His size is the exact thing teams look for and his strength allows him to play in a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. He reminds me of a young Julius Peppers who can drop back into coverage if necessary. Against Pitt this year he picked off a pass and defensed several throughout the year. He excels against the run with a frame that allows him to get seperation from blockers. He is no slouch against the pass either offering 4.5 sacks in just 7 games this past year.
Jones was named All-Big East first team honors, not bad for a guy who missed nearly half the year. He was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week after taking over the game against West Virginia. In that game he had 6 tackles and two sacks. Geno Smith spent more time on the ground than upright due to Jones disruptions. These are just a few of Jones' accolades.
So that leaves the question, where is he going to go in the draft? I have heard anything from a mid-second rounder to as low as fifth round. He could be on the Colts' radar to replace an aging Dwight Freeney. Is he the next Dwight Freeney? No, he is the next Chandler Jones!

Jim Boeheim Passes Rupp For 4th On All-Time Win List

  Milestones are the moments that trademark the career of any individual. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim has met his fair share of milestones and on Monday night he did it again.
  With Syracuse's 60-53 victory over Cincinatti, it gave Boeheim his 877th career win passing Adolph Rupp for fourth all time in NCAA history. The win did not come easy though. The Orange started the game giving up multiple threes to the Bearcats.
  Then it all began to click. CJ Fair stole a pass and sparked a 9-0 run to tie the game at 15. Later in the game Scoop Jardine hit a couple of clutch shots to seal the deal for the Orange.
  Boeheim is now just 2 wins short of third place, 879 wins, held by Dean Smith. The Orange look to continue to improve the win total Saturday against West Virginia.

Tuesday Tidbits: Coughlin In Super Bowl, Jones and McClain Out

This Super Bowl will feel eerily similar to a few years back when the New York Giants snuck into the playoffs in the last week of the season, did the remarkable and dominated on the road, and defeated the heavily favored New England Patriots. I may add on a great catch by a former Syracuse Pro David Tyree. All that is true this year except for the Patriots are not heavily favored this time around. Coach Tom Coughlin, a 1967 Syracuse Graduate, led his team to a remarkable overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The Giants special teams recovered two fumbles and Lawrence Tynes made a 31-yard field goal in overtime to write the ticket to Indianapolis. This will be Coughlin's second apperance in the Super Bowl.

The disappointing news last week was the defeat of the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore had a chance to tie the game when kicker Billy Cundiff missed a chip shot to seal the game for the New England Patriots. Former Syracuse standouts Arthur Jones and Jameel McClain had just one tackle each for the Ravens. Jones did make a great play on 3rd and Goal at the 1 yard line. The Patriots attempted the run the ball in when Jones got some great push and allowed the linebackers to stop the runner in the backfield. Unfortunately Jones and McClain will have to wait until next year for trying for a ring.

Stay tuned to Syracuse Pros for the results of the Super Bowl. The game will be televised on NBC at 6:30PM on February 5th. Root on Tom Coughlin and the Giants!!!

3 Syracuse Alumni Move On In NFL Playoffs

And then there were four. This past weekend the Baltimore Ravens were able to move past the Houston Texans in what was quite an ugly defensive battle. It was what you may call a typical Ravens victory. Who helped on defense? Well none other than former 'Cuse greats Arthur Jones and Jameel McClain. McClain, the Ravens second leading tackler in the regular season, made two tackles for the Baltimore defense. Arthur Jones came in to spell the defensive line and was able to sustain the push in the middle of the line. You may not realize that Coach Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants was a former Syracuse player. His Giants are riding a four game winning streak after defeating the Green Bay Packers. So if you feel as if you have no more rooting interest in the games just remember the three former Orange that are still alive. The Giants play the 49ers to decide the NFC Champion and the Ravens play the Patriots to decide the AFC Champion. Check back next week for the results of your favorite Syracuse Pros!

Tuesday Tidbits: Year End Edition

It came so quick and left so early, but that is part of what makes the NFL so great. It is not 82 games or 162 games, just 16 on-the-edge of your seat games. This week's article is our year end recap on all of your favorite Syracuse Alumni. Picking a player of the year is hard, but one player shined bright for one of the NFL's best defenses. Jameel McClain is our Syracuse Pros Player of the Year. McClain was second on the Ravens team with 84 tackles. He also registered a sack and an interception. McClain led the team in tackles in nearly every game in the second half of the season. He looks forward to going deep into the playoffs as the Ravens have played well enough to merit a first round bye. Here is what the rest of the former Orange players did this year:

McClain's teammate Arthur Jones played well for the Ravens as well this year. Jones recorded 20 tackles in limited action playing the backup nose tackle to Ngata. Jones missed a few games this year with a head injury and is now healthy going into the playoffs.

Delone Carter's rookie season started great, but like all rookies the inevitable rookie wall hit near the end of the year. Carter ended up carrying the ball 101 times for 377 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was a budding star near mid-season when fumblitis took in. Carter quickly found a spot in Head Coach Jim Caldwell's dog house. He had fumbled in consecutive games. Carter was able to dig his way out by year's end.

Dwight Freeney continued his great play at defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts. He recorded just 19 tackles this year. Despite the low tackle total he registered 8.5 sacks and found his way on yet another Pro Bowl team.

Quinn Ojinnaka did play in a few games and was effective for the Colts this year on the offensive line.

Olindo Mare nearly lost his job this year for the Carolina Panthers by missing two game tying field goals in different games this year. He did sure up his game by the end of the year not missing his last 4 field goals. He ended the year with 110 points. He hit 22 field goals out of 28 and 44 of 45 extra points.

Will Allen had a fairly good year for the Miami Dolphins this year. With Allen entering the late stages of his career he became a nickel back and was able to record 43 tackles for the Dolphins.

Steve Gregory's season had a major bright spot when he returned an interception for a score to seal a win for his San Diego Chargers team. Gregory ended up with 67 tackles and one interception on an ever so improving defense.

Mike Williams and Tanard Jackson's seasons started out with a bang with the first 4 of 6 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They then went on to lose the next 10 games. Jackson ended the year with 35 tackles and 2 interceptions. His play earned him a contract extension with the team. Mike Williams avoided the sophmore slump and ended the year with 65 receptions for 771 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Anthony Smith played the majority of games for the Tennessee Titans on special teams. He had 11 tackles for the 8-8 Titans.

Doug Hogue's rookie season with the Detroit Lions ended up in the playoffs. Hogue played on special teams as well for the Lions and recorded 6 tackles.

Tony Fiammetta started the year by getting cut by the Carolina Panthers. He ended the year starting for the Dallas Cowboys with owner Jerry Jones calling him, "The best fullback I've seen since Moose Johnston." Fiammetta lead the way blocking for Demarco Murray and Felix Jones. In nearly every game he played the Cowboys rushed for at least 100 yards. He ended the year with 4 carries for 4 yards. He was also a solid receiver out of the backfield.

Be sure to watch the 4 Syracuse Alumni in this year's NFL playoffs. Stay with Syracuse Pros for updates throughout the playoffs!