The Shutdown 40: #5 - Von Miller, OLB, Texas A & M

With the 2010 NFL season in the books, it's time to turn our eyes to the NFL draft, and the pre-draft evaluation process. Before the 2011 scouting combine begins on Thursday, we'll be taking a closer look at the 40 draft-eligible players who may be the biggest difference-makers when all is said and done.

We continue our series with Texas A & M outside linebacker Von Miller, the winner of the 2010 Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker. Miller is as dynamic a pass rusher as you'll see in this draft class and among the best of the last few seasons. In 46 games, Miller amassed 32 sacks (30 solo), 47.5 tackles for loss (43 solo), 172 tackles (100 solo), 11 passes defensed, 10 forced fumbles and eight quarterback hurries. He led the nation in 2009 with 17 sacks and came on late in 2010 after recovering from an early season ankle injury to put up 10.5 sacks in his senior campaign.

Miller had a lot of buzz going into the Senior Bowl, and he was as impressive as advertised. A strong combine performance on top of that might propel Miller into the top five. In a defensive end class that's among the best ever, Miller is the top guy to watch when it comes to pure pass rushers.

Pros: Takes as quick a first step off the snap as you'll see, and he takes near-perfect angles to the quarterback. Fast even for a stand-up pass rusher. Has to be taken on one-on-one - he shoots through chip blocks as if they aren't happening. Extremely impressive footwork allows him to bait tackles inside or outside and move the other way to get an open lane.

Great speed to redirect after losing the back end of the pocket. Some of his sacks come as a result of his determination to chase quarterbacks down as they're leaving the pocket. Shoots inside with extreme quickness - unless the guard and/or center are prepared for it, Miller's going to shoot right past them. Can stack-and-shed very well for his size (6-foot-3, 237 pounds) to bring running backs down. Not a bad open-field tackler when the situation arises, but this is a guy whose gearbox is set to "forward" almost all the time.

Cons: Will need to put on a few pounds to succeed at the NFL level. Sometimes  Miller is just winning speed battles against guys who don't have serious NFL futures. Lack of experience in coverage shows on tape, but there's no reason a player with his athleticism couldn't develop into a good intermediate pass defender. He displayed some coverage ability during Senior Bowl week. No real bull-rush to speak of; he lacks the upper-body strength to do that at this time.

Conclusion: Miller has had the late Derrick Thomas as his NFL model for success for a long time, but he puts me more in the mind of Clay Matthews because of his ability to stunt inside and play the LEO position in hybrid fronts. Matthews has become a nonpareil quarterback disruptor out of any front, and Miller has already proven to be the same. However, he's not scheme-transcendent - he'll have to put on far too much weight to be a legitimate 4-3 end. Where he'll no doubt excel right away as a situational rush end in a more straight-up five-man front. The rest is up to him, but Von Miller is as freakishly athletic for his position as anyone in this draft class.

NFL Comparison: Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers

More Shutdown 40
40 -- Rodney Hudson, OG, Florida State | #39 - Luke Stocker, TE, Tennessee
 | #38 - Phil Taylor, DT, Baylor | #37 - Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas | #36 -- Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami | #35 -- Danny Watkins, OL, Baylor | #34 - Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State | #33 -- Christian Ponder, QB, Florida State | #32 - Mike Pouncey, OL, Florida | #31 - Nate Solder, OT, Colorado | #30 - Kyle Rudolph, TE, Notre Dame | #29 - Mikel Leshoure, RB, Illinois | #28 - Cameron Heyward, DE, Ohio State | #27 - Akeem Ayers, OLB, UCLA | #26 - Brandon Harris, CB, Miami | #25 - Gabe Carimi, OT, Wisconsin | #24 -- Jake Locker, QB, Washington| #23 -- Jimmy Smith, CB, Colorado| #22 - J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin | #21 - Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois| #20 - Derek Sherrod, OT, Mississippi State | #19 - Torrey Smith, WR, Maryland | #18 - Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue | #17 - Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama | #16 - Adrian Clayborn, DE, Iowa | #15 - Tyron Smith, OT, USC | #14 - Aldon Smith, OLB, Missouri | #13 - Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College | #12 - Cam Newton, QB, Auburn| #11 -- Cameron Jordan, DL, Cal| #10 - Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri | #9 - Julio Jones, WR, Alabama | #8 - Prince Amukamara, CB, Nebraska | #7 - Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama | #6 -- Robert Quinn, DE. North Carolina

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Video: Joey, Jr. Blackhawks Reporter, talks girls, 'beautiful' Sharp

We last saw 5-year old Joey the Junior Reporter in December when he was investigating who might end up on Santa's naughty list at Christmas time.

In the newest video, Joey is back on the beat asking some of the Chicago Blackhawks "wat's da big deal wit gurls" and he tries to find out what makes Chicago Magazine cover boy Patrick Sharp so beautiful:

How many times do you think Joel Quenneville has been told, "I think your mustache is beautiful"? I'm guessing at least three times a day.

We look forward to Joey's next video where he's embedded in GM Stan Bowman's office on Trade Deadline Day and tries to help him not deal for any "tuwh-keys".

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What if NASCAR teams could pull Carmelo-style trades?

Speculation time. If you're a fan of those dreaded stick-and-ball sports, you know that Monday saw a major trade in the NBA. Superstar Carmelo Anthony is headed to the New York Knicks in a three-team deal that involves the Minnesota ... I've already lost you, haven't I?

Anyway, back to NASCAR. What if teams could trade drivers the way teams trade players in other sports? I think it would go a little something like this...

Here are the ground rules. We'll keep contracts in mind, and the four-car limit per team still applies. But beyond that, let's speculate, shall we?

1. Carl Edwards and David Ragan for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin

Might as well start with a blockbuster, huh? This gives Hendrick a monstrous front line of Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Hendrick would need to sign Edwards to a new contract and cut Ragan loose before Kasey Kahne arrives in 2012, but that's doable. On the other side, Roush gets the marketing muscle of Earnhardt and a driver upgrade in Mark Martin. Plus, Martin won't have to worry about finding a ride in 2012. Win-win.

2. Clint Bowyer for Brad Keselowski

Straight-up present for future deal. This gives Penske a chance to have two Chase-level cars this year, giving Kurt Busch protection in the postseason. Meanwhile, RCR gets a driver for the next generation, adding youth to a graying lineup. It'd be up to Penske to sign Bowyer at the end of the year to prevent this from being just a rental.

3. Kasey Kahne for David Ragan and the rights to Trevor Bayne

Performance for potential. This solves problems for both Roush and Red Bull. Roush gets an immediate Chase-level boost, and now would have four drivers with recent postseason experience. Red Bull can carry both drivers, and Bayne would fit in with the company's skewing-young ethos. Plus, we can see that Ragan is very rapidly becoming the throw-in bargaining chip of choice.

4. Hendrick gets Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer, RCR gets Dale Earnhardt and Joey Logano, Joe Gibbs gets Jimmie Johnson and Paul Menard

Three-team blockbuster! This one is a monster, and one that would completely realign NASCAR as we know it. Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer keep Hendrick relevant for another decade. Earnhardt returns to Richard Childress, and Joey Logano gives them a much-needed infusion of youth. And Gibbs goes all-in with Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson. Wow.

All right, your turn. What deals would you make? Feel free to go driver-for-driver, driver-for-sponsor, driver-for-cheese fries. Go!

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Guessing the Seeds 2011: My Entry (Part 2)

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02/02 Quickie: NSD, Super Bowl, More

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Everson Griffen arrested twice in three days; gets the Taser

Minnesota Vikings rookie defensive end Everson Griffen had a very bad weekend.

On Friday night, Griffen was arrested for being drunk in public, and then was released on Saturday morning, as reported by TMZ. Then, on Monday afternoon, he was arrested again after police pulled him over and found him with an invalid drivers license, and Griffen tried to flee on foot. That's when crotch-grabbing and Tasers came in to play. From the L.A. Times:

Griffen then told [police] "he did not want to go back to jail" and sprinted away from the officers, who caught up with him after a short distance.

When one of the officers tried to subdue Griffen, he allegedly grabbed the officer in the groin area, the source said. Moments later, officers used a Taser to subdue him, the source said.

For those of you keeping track at home, that's an arrest, a release, another arrest, an attempt to flee, an alleged crotch assault on a police officer, and then, the coup de grâce, the Taser.

I really hope Griffen had a great time between Friday and Monday.

Griffen, after being drafted in the fourth round, played in 11 games for the Vikings last year, though he never started. He recorded 11 tackles and no sacks in his limited time, and police say he showed the speed of a man who could be chased down by a cop after only a short distance.

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2011 NFL Pro Bowl Live Chat

IT'S PRO BOWL TIME. No game of the NFL calendar sets up better for a Live Blog, because no game needs it more. You won't want to miss it when we finally see the John Denney vs. Zak DeOssie long snapper battle that we've been waiting for all season long.

We'll be here throughout the game with running play-by-play, observations, insights, polls, blatant lies and a high level of interactivity with you, our beloved reader.

We'll get it started a few minutes before kickoff. See you then.

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