America's Week: 21/3

Free Agency has slowed down over the last week, but the Pro Day schedule was heating up with three of the top 4 quarterback prospects out on the field. These are the top stories from around the league this week.

Pre-Draft

As the draft approaches, there is more and more speculation going back and forth. This week has been the turn of the QB's to dominate conversation. Teddy Bridgewater was first out of the gate on Monday, with a poor show at his pro day which is now being used to cast doubts on his ability. On Wednesday we say Blake Bortles do exactly what he had to at his pro day, and take the challenge to Bridgewater by performing to the standard we all expect from these top prospects. And Thursday was the day of Derek Carr, who has been the rising QB of this class. He's come into contention as the draft has come closer. He's done everything he possibly could to get to this point, and now he's in the big conversation dominating everyone's pre-draft build up.

Also this week, we saw Kony Ealy and Louis Nix strut their stuff in their respective pro days, and Michael Sam put on a performance more akin to what was expected from him before the Combine.

I also recently got around to my first Mock Draft too, so there's that.

Free Agency

The mad frenzy of week one had turned into a casual jog, and a lot of teams are now picking up role players and players for specific needs rather than going after those big names.

• Devin Hester agreed to a three-year deal with the Altlanta Falcons.
• Jerrico Cotchery agreed to a three-year deal with the Carolina Panthers, giving them a legitimate receiver after Steve Smith's departure to Batimore.
• Jared Allen has been to Seattle twice, but isn't going to make a decision until the start of next week.
• Henry Melton is now with the Dallas Cowboys, rectifying their terrible start to free agency.
• Darren Sproles is now in Philadelphia, after a trade with the Saints sent him north.
• This trade is now adding speculation to the future of DeSean Jackson with the Birds.

NFL Rule Changes

The Committee that rules the rules has got this seasons considerations underway. There are a whole load of rules that have been proposed that won't ever make their way to the field, but there are a few intriguing propositions among the list;

• No overtime in pre-season games.
• Moving Extra Point kicks back to the 25-yard line.
• Making personal fouls open for review by officials.
• Making any play viable for a challenge flag to be thrown.

And it's the time of year the CFL gets in on the action too, with their proposal that coaches will be able to challenge pass interference calls.




Making a concerted effort to keep up, but our game is a fast paced one. Up to the minute news over @AScotOnGridiron on Twitter.