TheSportsTrap
How vain it is to sit down to write when you haven't stood up to live?
Another Kyle ‘Fatoss’ Chapman Edition: Portland Trail Blazers Summer Preview
Originally Drafted: JUNE 18, 2012
BY KYLE CHAPMAN
Well Blazer fans, we have once again approached a fork in the road for our beloved franchise with plenty of holes to fill this summer. While other teams this offseason will be undertaking limited remodeling to their house, patching up a few holes here and there, the Blazers don’t even have a damn house yet. In fact, our blueprint was just inked two weeks ago. At the moment we have no coach, half a roster, and just signed our GM Neil Olshey a few weeks ago, giving him less than four weeks to prepare before he starts making significant decisions to try and get the ball rolling again. Six months ago, if you mentioned “Blazers” and “draft lottery” in the same sentence I would have been pissed off and rather offended. However, on the bright side, we do have a pair of lottery picks and money to spend in free agency pool to wheel-and-deal. This is going to be a huge summer coming up for the Blazers, and between those two top picks and cap space, there’s going to be huge decisions made that will shape our franchise for the next 3-5 years to come. These decisions are either going to turn us into a conference contender, or will turn us into an average team, treading water, trying to stay afloat and relevant on the edge of the playoff picture.
Like any fork in the road, there are different directions one can take, clearly some with more potholes and dead-ends than the others. With this piece, I hope to grab that imaginary wheel that Olshey is clutching and steer us in the right direction. I’m not going to project trades, because Im not the swami (Chris Berman) and I take speculative analysis (and “sources”) with a grain of salt. As we all should! I’m only going to touch on players who are actually available. I’m going to be breaking this offseason preview down in the order I think our new GM should be breaking down our current situation and I will conclude this preview with a final roster that is the most realistic to obtain, and makes us a contender alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder as soon as next year. Bold statement, yes—but, hell, let’s dive into this mess, see if we can turn our franchise around, make the right turn, and get this vehicle going into the right direction. Grab a brew, your favorite smoke, kick back and enjoy my Blazers summer preview…
Guest Post: Kyle Chapman a.k.a. Fatoss Breaks Down the Busts, Steals, & ‘Can’t-Miss-Studs’ in 2012’s NFL Draft
A TheSportsTrap exclusive guest post by my go-to NFL guru Kyle Chapman, better known as “Fatoss” around the streets of SE Portland.
2012 1ST ROUND FATOSS MOCK
You guys hungry? Who is hungry? Because I got that NFL Mock Draft meat sandwich stuffed with crunched numbers, player comparisons/projections and a breakdown of team selections. This mock is so loaded, by the end, you’ll be in desperate need of a Thanksgiving-esque nap (“nappy chappy”). I did this mock based on the best players on the board, going with team-by-team needs. So sit back with a brew and your choice of smoke and take in my perspective on how this year’s day-one is bound to unfold.
And with the first pick In the 2012 draft the Indianapolis Colts select:
1. Colts: ANDREW LUCK, QB STANFORD- ***NFL COMPARISON= ELI MANNING***
With all the Peyton Manning comparisons out there, let me be the first to say that it’s the other Manning that Luck resembles. Four MVP’s, 10 division titles and seven-consecutive seasons of at least 12 wins are enormous shoes to fill. I’m not saying Luck wont win a lot of football games or awards—because i think he can and will—I just anticipate Luck winning in an Eli fashion by managing the game. Don’t expect Luck to do it the Peyton way tacking up 4 or 5 TD’s per game and carrying his team to 12 wins a year despite being surrounded by subpar talent (exception: Harrison, Wayne and Freeney). In the 2nd round the Colts should grab the best player available regardless of position as the rebuilding stage will continue in Indy through 2012.
Geoff Ziemer
Life is a short hop. Charge it or get benched
Flickr Images
Geoff Ziemer © Theme created by 
