The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Madden 15 Expansion Chise

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Quote: Originally Posted by jbrew2411

I like the Rex/Woody point shaving story. They may be one of the dumbest franchise in the league not named the Redskins. This is looking good man.

I was gonna replace Dallas at first but the jets seems better.

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SSN Insider
An Uphill Battle


EMERY BRAY IS HOPING TO CATCH ON AT FULLBACK IN THE NFL

"There's only, at most, 32 spots for those guys in the league. I realize it's going to be an uphill battle." Emery Bray says, speaking about his chances of catching on with an NFL team at fullback. Bray has played guard and center for the past 12 years, dating back to his days at Huntley Middle School in DeKalb, Illinois.

After being named All-Illinois his junior and senior seasons at DeKalb High School Bray didn't get many college offers. "Nobody is looking for 250 pound offensive linesmen." Bray explains. "I got a few D3 offers but I wasn't about to leave home for that." Instead, Bray enrolled at NIU, just a ten minute walk from his home. Bray walked on to the football team in the spring. "At first they wanted to move me to linebacker but I was confident I could make the team at guard." Not only did Bray make the team, he became the starter at right guard as a sophomore. He was offered a full scholarship as a junior.

During his four years at NIU he started a total 38 games between both guard spots and center. Despite his lack of size Bray was one of the Huskies most consistent blockers. His quickness and agility helped him to be great at pulling from his position at guard to make blocks down the line. When he moved to center due to injuries the coaching staff adjusted their blocking schemes to allow him to continue to be the one pulling on plays that called for it.

"I'm just gonna work my *** off and show them what I can do. I think my skills will speak for themselves." Bray explains his strategy for getting a shot with a team. He very likely won't get a chance to show his abilities at the NFL Scouting Combine next month, he'll have to wait for NIU's pro day.

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Thunderbirds Listening to Trade Offers
By Kevin Barrington



"We have thirteen players currently on our roster. If we didn't listen to and entertain every offer to move down and acquire more picks that would be very short sighted of us." Thunderbirds GM Dee Snutz answers when asked about the possibility of the team trading down out of the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. "In our situation we have to look at the big picture. We're not a few pieces away, we need good players just about everywhere." Snutz added.

Most draft gurus have Florida tight end Kaelin Norris (pictured above) at the top of their draft boards. "Kaelin is an outstanding player who is certainly worthy of the first pick, I'm just not sure if he makes sense for a team that is essentially starting from scratch. They would be better suited to try and trade down and pick up a few extra picks in the process." An anonymous NFL GM said. "In their position we would be looking to trade down to maybe the middle of the round and pick up a couple later round or future picks."

In a draft that seems to be fairly deep those extra later round picks could very well equal starters and key players, especially with Toronto's need for just about everything. If they can land 10-12 players in this first draft it would certainly go a long way to accelerating the process of building a winning team.

If Toronto wants an example of what trading down could mean for them they can look to the St. Louis Rams. The Rams traded the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft to Washington. In exchange, they received a first-rounder from Washington in the 2012, ’13, and ’14 drafts. They also received a second-round pick in ’12.

In a series of trades in ’12 and ’13, the Rams expanded those four original picks into eight bodies. Five currently are starters: defensive tackle Michael Brockers, linebacker Alec Ogletree and cornerback Janoris Jenkins on defense, plus wide receiver Stedman Bailey and left tackle Greg Robinson on offense. Running back Zac Stacy is also a key contrbutor.

The only washouts in the group are offensive lineman Rokevious Watkins, who lasted only a season with the Rams and currently is out of the league, and running back Isaiah Pead, who’s on the Rams injured reserve and has done next to nothing in St. Louis.

Other than an original sixth-round pick that was used as part of a 2013 trade-up to select Stacy in the fifth round, the Rams got all those eight players for that No. 2 pick in 2012. Washington used that selection to draft Griffin, the quarterback from Baylor.

When Jeff Fisher took over as the Rams coach in January 2012, followed by Les Snead as general manager a month later, they quickly realized they needed not only quality on their roster but quantity.

They were inheriting a program that had finished 15-65 from 2007-2011, the worst five-year stretch in NFL history.

“We needed bodies,” Snead recalled. “And you wanted them to be more than just bodies. At the end of the day — with where we were as a franchise — that group was gonna be a foundation, a kind of core group.

If Toronto is able to get a return on their number one pick similar to what the Rams got for their number 2 it could make Snutz and head coach Demetrius Turner look like geniuses and the Thunderbirds look like winners.

Current Thunderbirds Players
LB BRUCE CARTER
CB CHRIS COOK
QB AUSTIN DAVIS
K PHIL DAWSON
LB JUSTIN DURANT
CB BRANDON FLOWERS
G RON LEARY
DE CHRIS LONG
S RON PARKER
DT B.J. RAJI
HB C.J. SPILLER
WR ROD STREATER
C JEREMY ZUTTAH

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SSN Insider
A Leg And A Prayer


BAYLOR KICKER/PUNTER JEREMY EDWARDS HAS FACED MUCH ADVERSITY

"We never expected Jeremy to ever play again, never mind at such a high level." Gary Gaines, Edwards' high school coach at Permian, explains. "It's been a big inspiration for a lot of us in the area." Gaines is referring to a car accident that Edwards was involved in before his junior year of high school was supposed to start. Edwards suffered several injuries when his Buick Regal skidded off the road and slammed into a grouping of large trees. Among the injuries was a badly broken left leg. Doctors weren't confident Edwards would walk again.

"He never stopped fighting. He was determined to not only walk but to play football again." Maria Estella who was his physical therapist after the accident tells us. "It was quite a thing to be involved in. He helped me more than I helped him." Estella was going through a tough time in her life and used Edwards positivity as her inspiration to keep moving forward. "He made me realize what I was going through was small in the grand scheme of things. He kept me going."

Every milestone Edwards hit during his recovery was way ahead of any schedule the medical staff could have imagined. "He was jogging and lifting weights before any of us thought he would be walking." One nurse says. Less than a year after the accident Edwards was working out with the team. "He wasn't ready to run routes." Gaines explains that Edwards was not only the teams' punter and kicker but a reserve wide receiver. "But he was out there punting and kicking like nothing had ever happened."

After a great senior season in which he led the conference in punting average and punts inside the 20 yard line Edwards was offered a number of scholarships, including one to Baylor. "He was always the hardest worker out there. I mean, here's a kicker and he's outworking our whole team." Redskins quarterback and Edwards teammate for two years at Baylor says.

Edwards redshirted his first year at Baylor but took over the punting duties as a redshirt freshman his second year in Waco. As a junior he also took over as the teams kicker. Though he would need work on his field goal accuracy Edwards could potentially kick and punt at the NFL level, he's certainly capable of making a roster as a punter. His versatility could be a big selling point to teams. Edwards doesn't expect to be drafted but he will be ready when teams call once the draft is over. "I almost feel like it's better that way, not sitting around for three days waiting to be drafted. Plus I'll get to pick from a few offers. I'll be waiting by the phone." Edwards says with his trademark grin.

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SSN Insider
Combine Results



GROUP 1 - OFFENSIVE LINE

First|Last|YR|School|HT|WT|Bench|40
Brennan|Agurs|SR|Wisconsin|6'4"|323|24|5.22
Treo|Daniel|JR|Ohio State|6'3"|292|26|4.90
Agaese|Gayton|JR|Maryland|6'5"|331|34|5.55
Calvin|Hester|SR|Wisconsin|6'5"|307|29|4.94
Armand|Houston|SR|Indiana St|6'5"|335|35|5.48
Joey|King|SR|Baylor|6'6"|338|33|5.35
Davius|Miles|JR|Penn State|6'4"|317|28|5.20
Bill|Reeves|SR|Nebraska|6'2"|300|35|5.49
Q'Dareus|Rosemond|JR|USC|6'1"|285|26|5.10
Jimmy|Vincent|SR|Ohio|6'3"|309|26|5.18

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SSN Insider
Combine Results



GROUP 2 - DEFENSIVE LINE

First|Last|YR|School|HT|WT|Bench|40
Anges|Anderson|JR|Texas|6'2"|258|22|4.64
Gideon|Asante|JR|Texas A&M|6'4"|342|27|4.85
Patrone|Colbert|SR|Ohio State|6'5"|255|22|4.55
Kasen|Collins|SR|Drake|6'7"|265|21|4.81
Ross|Elmore|SR|Florida|6'1"|289|22|4.71
Avius|Ferrell|SR|LSU|6'2"|291|29|4.80
Cejay|Fisher|SR|Rutgers|6'1"|294|21|4.67
Venson|Hadley|SR|Buffalo|6'3"|265|25|4.88
Danny|Hammond|SR|Alabama|6'4"|325|25|4.85
Allan|Knight|JR|Texas|6'3"|277|24|4.86
Blaine|Newton|SR|USC|6'5"|277|28|4.53
Tyre|Noble|SR|Nebraska|6'4"|289|25|4.61
Steven|Nunley|JR|Nebraska|6'5"|258|22|4.61
Owamagbe|Okuyemi|SR|Wisconsin|6'7"|306|24|4.72
Vaughn|Raymond|SR|Pittsburgh|6'5"|274|23|4.67
Bashaud|Rogers|SR|Texas|6'3"|329|27|4.77
Antaries|Steward|SR|Syracuse|6'6"|266|23|4.80
Shannon|Stokes|JR|Villanova|6'6"|280|22|4.79
Marc|Thigpen|JR|Southern Arkansas|6'5"|282|29|4.65
Holmes|Umodu|SR|TCU|6'7"|274|27|4.85

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SSN Insider
Combine Results



GROUP 3 - LINEBACKERS

First|Last|YR|School|HT|WT|Bench|40
Rayneil|Carlson|SR|Tennessee|6'0"|240|20|4.90
Riley|Charles|JR|Florida State|6'3"|240|14|4.65
Davante|Clay|JR|USC|6'1"|243|23|4.89
Andy|Garrett|SR|Oklahoma|6'2"|243|20|4.46
Bashaud|Gayton|JR|USC|6'4"|243|23|4.53
Trent|Hammomd|JR|Colorado|6'4"|240|20|4.50
Martinez|Hill|SR|SD State|6'4"|239|14|4.88
Sivihina|Jamison|JR|Florida|5'11"|239|21|4.88
Lo|Little|SR|Pittsburgh|6'4"|252|22|4.52
Mylan|Lockett|JR|Drake|6'4"|243|16|4.87
Kelsheem|Lunsford|JR|Texas|6'0"|244|13|4.65
Perry|McNeil|SR|Penn State|5'11"|242|19|4.75
Drico|Rucker|JR|LSU|6'2"|238|23|4.47
Join|Sam|SR|Buffalo|6'0"|239|15|4.59
Kareem|Saunders|JR|Ohio State|6'2"|249|23|4.57
A.C.|Sellers|JR|Harvard|6'2"|242|11|4.88
Poppy|Small|JR|Ohio State|6'0"|243|15|4.71
Ross|Stead|JR|Bowling Green|6'2"|238|13|4.60
Andres|Stokes|JR|Delaware|6'1"|237|11|4.62
Trenten|Swain|SR|LSU|6'0"|241|15|4.51

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SSN Insider
Combine Results



GROUP 4 - RUNNINGBACKS

First|Last|School|HT|WT|Bench|40
Ashton|Belton|Alabama|5'11"|223|9|4.55
T.J.|Binns|Oregon|6'0"|220|10|4.48
Mikhail|Baker|Northwestern St|5'9"|246|8|4.67
Dante|Burns|South Carolina|5'11"|202|12|4.50
Jermyrin|Culliver|Auburn|6'1"|249|21|4.51
Daimone|Drummond|San Jose St|6'0"|215|6|4.49
Darien|McCray|Texas A&M|5'8"|180|7|4.46
Tavaras|Moon|Drake|5'10"|226|10|4.52
Ryan|Newman|Nebraska|5'9"|205|9|4.47
Thadeus|Parks|UCLA|5'9"|186|7|4.50
Arthur|Pendleton|Oklahoma|5'10"|213|10|4.51
Ayoub|Snow|Texas A&M|5'10"|211|7|4.59
Corvin|Sullivan|Nebraska|5'10"|213|9|4.51
Keylo|Tracy|USC|5'9"|210|12|4.51