Should I Trade Mark Ingram For The Seattle Seahawks Defense

2015 NFL Season: How were the Seattle Seahawks able to trade for Jimmy Graham?

I would call it a pretty even trade.  Both teams lose something significant.  But both sides gain something more.From the Seahawks side:- Getting Graham is a big boost, considering that they have a pretty mediocre receiving corps.  He will draw attention from defenses and make that mediocre group look better.- Losing Unger is a blow, but centers are easier to find than game-changing tight ends.- The draft pick aspect is interesting, as Seattle has been mostly a build-through-the-draft team in recent years, and this aspect of the trade is clearly a minus for them.  At the same time, they have had a lot of success with later-round draft picks, so they might view trading a first-rounder for a fourth-rounder as not nearly so significant as the opportunity to add a game-changing offensive player to what has been a defense-first team.From the Saints side:- Unger solidifies what was a position of weakness for the Saints last year.  Jonathan Goodwin consistently got blown up in both pass-blocking and run-blocking, and the Saints have a relatively short quarterback who doesn't do nearly as well when he gets pressure up the middle.  Pressure up the middle was the norm last year, so this should help.- The Saints get another first-round pick (even if a very late one) in what looks like a pretty deep draft.  That means the potential to add not one, but two significant contributors on defense from the draft.- Losing Graham is obviously a big gaping hole in production, and he is undeniably one of the few tight ends for which defensive coaches feel the need to make specific game plans.  That said, he has a knack for disappearing for stretches of the season (like the last five games of this past season, when the Saints were still in the hunt for a playoff spot), and he gets nicked up quite a bit.  He also can't run-block to save his life, and the re-signing of Mark Ingram suggests to me that the Saints want to transition toward the running game more.  This might not be as big a subtraction as the stats suggest.So on the whole, I would suggest that this trade is a win-win proposition.

Who is your favorite NFL player from each NFL team?

I don’t think that I could list a favorite player from EVERY team. But, here’s a list of my favorites from some teams and why:Pittsburgh Steelers - James Conner: There are very few players in the NFL that I truly believe deserve to have everything that comes with being a professional athlete, but Conner is one of them for sure. To have his college career shortened by cancer and to not only win that battle, but return to the highest level of performance is nothing short of amazing and inspirational. Easily my favorite player on the Steelers roster.Baltimore Ravens - Justin Tucker: Have you ever seen how talented this young man is…off of the field? Not only is he arguable the best kicker in the NFL, he is an amazing opera singer on top of that. A truly humble and stand-up guy.New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees: From USO tours to the Brees Dream Foundation, there is a reason he was named a Walter Payton Man-of-the-Year. Everyone remembers the image of him holding his child after winning the Super Bowl and that image really captures what type of man he is.Houston Texans - J.J. Watt: I will admit that when he first came into the league, I wasn’t a fan of his. But after watching his pre-game routine of playing catch with kids all around the stadium and seeing what he was able to do to help raise money for those devastated by the hurricane, I have incredible respect for this guy.Arizona Cardinals - Larry Fitzgerald: Surprise, another Walter Payton Man-of-the-Year winner! I love the way this guy plays the game. Of of the game’s greatest receivers in history, yet doesn’t showboat, trash talk, or have a massive ego. He’ll go out of his way to sign autographs for children, gives back to his community, and does it all with a giant smile on his face.There are a large number of players throughout the league who understand the power they’ve been afforded by reaching the pinnacle of their sport careers and use that power to do good. Unfortunately, there are also a large number of players who do the exact opposite and carry themselves with a sense of entitlement and arrogance that just makes you despise them. Let’s just hope that the league continues to gain in more positive role models and decrease the number of players with poor attitudes!

What are some impressions of Week 17 of the NFL season?

I had a good time watching the 1951 Army-Navy game, I mean, Denver-KC in addition to my Patriots.There is some great stuff here already from the other answerers as usual:The Patriots' defense may allow a lot of yards, they allowed the most yards from scrimmage of any defense in the history of the league... Until 45 minutes later when the Packers broke that record.  I personally have very little confidence in the Patriots defense which was underscored by their loss of DE Andre Carter, who had provided the most consistent pass rushing of any of their defensive players.That being said I am pretty sure that the Super Bowl Champion will come from one of 3 teams (Saints, Packers, Pats) -- my money is on the Saints.  Not only do they have an explosive passing game, but they also have a pretty solid stable of running backs.  I know Ingram is having some issues with his toe but that should work itself out and beyond that Pierre Thomas is no slouch and Darren Sproles might very well be the "moneyball" pick of the fantasy football season.  I think the Saints have the ability to control the clock and that gives them the edge over teams like Green Bay and New England.Year of the tight end: Whoa, just whoa.... The statistical years that Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, and Aaron Hernandez put up this year is just unfathomable.  I'm willing to bet that a lot of NFL front offices are going to look at a lot of game film and try to find the next one of these guys in the coming draft to create the type of match up nightmares the aforementioned players have put opposing teams through.I'm not going to say that I saw Victor Cruz coming or anything, but he was extremely impressive at UMass.  This tweet I saw earlier from @sportstaxman sums things up nicely: "Giants WR Victor Cruz having another huge night His 2011 salary its $450K adj for new CBA. That's $26,471 per week over the 17 wk season" -- Santonio Holmas made $8.25 million this year.To finish: it's Tebow Time...When I was watching ESPN in the time in between the afternoon games and the Sunday nighter I saw Adam Schefter talking about  the future of Tim Tebow in Denver.  John Elways's rookie numbers weren't sterling, and for all intents and purposes, Tebow is a rookie.  I understand Tebow needs to improve his passing skills but with a full offseason of summer training under him with the coaching staff, not locked out, and maybe even some work from Elway; Tebow should be a more than servicable NFL QB.