Fresh Meat: NFL's Impact Rookies

     With the lockout finally over, it's nice to be able to start looking towards the start of the 2011-2012 NFL Football season. As always, there already has been a plethora of cuts and trades. Sometimes adding just the right pieces can vault a team from a midlevel competitor to a title contender. Aside from adding free-agents and making trades, teams can also elevate their status by looking to their newly drafted rookies to come in and make an immediate impact. The NFL draft was once again loaded with talent this year, here are some of the players that will step right in and start contributing right away on Sundays.


15. Christian Ponder, QB - MIN: Even though Leslie Frazier brought in Donovan McNabb to be the starter, Ponder is waiting in the wings and has a proven history of working his way into a starting role.


14. Aldon Smith, LB - SF: The 49ers grabbed a pass-rushing specialist who will pair quite nicely with Patrick Willis. Smith should be with the first team right away and looks to stock-pile stats all year.


13. Mikel Leshoure, RB - DET: A solid draft this year for the Lions, this pick upgrades their running back depth. Leshoure has great pass catching abilities and should be a factor in Detroit's screen game.


12. Cam Newton, QB - CAR: Drafting a quarterback at #1 is always a gamble. More often than not they haven't lived up to expectations. Newton will get thrown into the fire early, we'll see if his college game can transfer to the pros.


11. Jimmy Smith, CB - BAL: Smith is a true shutdown corner and will fit nicely into John Harbaugh's scheme. Interceptions and tackles are commonplace for Smith, who will start from day one.

Jimmy Smith will be in the hunt for defensive rookie of the year.

10. Leonard Hankerson, WR - WAS: By default, Hankerson will be the 'Skins #1 or #2 receiver heading into the season. A good combination of speed and good hands will make it easy for him to fit right in.


9. Greg Little, WR - CLE: Colt McCoy now has a great all-around weapon in Little.  Expected to start right away, he has great hands and his run-after-catch abilities are the best of this year's WR draft bunch.


8. Ryan Williams, RB - AZ: Williams could be the best back of the draft class. Huge upside and figures to challenge for the starting role from day one.  He will get a ton of carries for Ken Whisenhunt this season.


7. Patrick Peterson, CB - AZ: Another Cardinal who will be having an impact off the bat.  Peterson has excellent size and speed and figures to be a major threat on kick returns as well.


6. A.J. Green, WR - CIN: Out with the old, in with the new in Cincinnati. Green will give the Bengals a top-notch redzone target and field stretcher all in one. The best WR in the draft, look for him to put up big numbers.

A.J. Green will be scaring defenses all season long for Cincinnati.

5. Daniel Thomas, RB - MIA: Had this come out last week, Thomas would have been higher on this list. The addition of Reggie Bush will take down some of his carries, but Thomas is a workhorse back and will share the load for Miami this year.


4. Von Miller, LB - DEN: A speedy pass-rusher who will be terrorizing QB's all year in the AFC West. He will have no problem fitting into the Broncos 4-3. Miller is a tackling machine and will be counted on to jumpstart Denver's defense.


3. Julio Jones, WR - ATL: Jones already has all the pro tools. He will be reaping the benefits of Roddy White's double-teams and Matt Ryan's accurate arm all season long. A perfect fit for Atlanta, Jones will have no problems adjusting to the pro game. 


2. Nick Fairley, DT - DET: Pairing him up with Suh is almost unfair to opposing offenses. Fariley will step in right away for Jim Schwartz and will be a premier pass-rusher from day one. Look for him to rack up tackles and sacks all season long.


1. Mark Ingram, RB - NO: The Saints have a thing for drafting Heisman running backs. Ingram, who runs a lot like Emmitt Smith, will now be the feature back in New Orleans and has the size and durability to put up numbers all year. With the addition of Ingram, the Saints may have the piece they need to get back to the Super Bowl.

Mark Ingram plans to run amuck on the NFC South this year.

Next week, Feerock's Preseason Power Rankings will be unveiled...


Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris

Hot Tracks: Feerock's Summer Playlist, Part 1

     So far the summer has given us a wave of radio-friendly rock as well as a barrage of indie tunes to keep our ipods busy on all these hot nights. After sifting through many quality cuts, only 20 were selected for the first installment. Without further ado, here are some of the summer's hottest songs:


1. Black Keys - Howlin' For You
2. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
3. 1, 2, 3 - Riding Coach
4. Gomez - Options

5. The Naked & Famous - Young Blood
6. 311 - Sunset in July
7. Social Distortion - Diamond in the Rough
8. My Morning Jacket - Holding on to Black Metal
9. Young the Giant - My Body
10. Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
11. Incubus - Surface to Air
12. Blueprint - So Alive
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jr. - An Ugly Person On a Movie Screen
14. Toro Y Moi - Saturday Love
15. Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed

16. YACHT - Dystopia
17. Butcher The Bar - Bobby
18. Pepper Rabbit - Murder Room
19. Bibio - All Their Sisters
20. Cassettes Won't Listen - Night Shines


Stay tuned for Part 2, featuring new cuts from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Portugal. The Man, and more...


Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris

Home Grown: Local Music Scenes

     For every LA or NY out there with a booming national music scene, there are 100's of cities out there with their own unique niche in the music world. Granted some are more relevant than others, but the root remains the same, bands are out there performing, entertaining crowds and trying to get noticed.  The difference is that some bands can actually play and have some originality and some bands are just banking off all the drunks who are just grateful a live band, regardless of talent, is playing.

     Local music scenes vary from one to the next, some more potent than the next.  During my short stint in Flagstaff (AZ), the scene was dying down out there but still had their happy-hour bands that would play on Thursdays and occasionally on the weekend. The Lymbyc System and The Rand Band were awesome guys who played solid music and really had a passion for doing so. They were the same guys who would hang out after the shows, drink shots with us, and head back to the house parties to rage it with us to the wee hours of the morning.  The same sort of thing was going on in Madison (WI) when I moved there in 2004. The scene was the same, a young hippy movement, with bands creating unique live jam music for the most part night in and night out. There was a true connection between the bands and the fans.

     When I came back to Appleton (WI) in 2006 there was No music scene whatsoever. Today, I could pretty much say the same thing. Bands who try to cover mediocre 90's pop songs and classic rock tunes who can't really play any instruments and have no originality are just not my cup-o-tea. Those bands are a dime-a-dozen in Appleton. They have no uniqueness, no balls. But for them, that's okay. People will still come to the shows, and people will still belt out the words to the greatest hits of the 80's and 90's, which seem to be the majority of these bands' repertoire.  
     If you weed out most of the severely stale cover bands in Appleton (Vic Ferrari, Boxkar, Hind Sight, Half Empty), there are 2 bands that are actually worth seeing, Tate Rooper and Ask Your Mother. Tate Rooper is an alternative-rock cover band who knows how to write a proper setlist, can actually sing, and has an awesome catalog of radio favorites from anything from Foo Fighters to the Strokes to Modest Mouse. They are hands down the best band in Appleton and will be playing July 23 at the Checkered Flag. Up-and-coming solo songwriter Steve Millar is also worth taking a look at. He's currently in the studio, and plans to have an EP out in the near future. Ask Your Mother is another rock cover outfit to see, they are pretty talented and they do a rocking version of the jamband moe.'s Captain America. 

     Speaking of jambands, Appleton has tried dabbling in that genre as well, to no avail.  Ifdakar, Snook, and Unity have carved a niche as being the "head scene" in Appleton which is pretty much an oxymoron. Every once in a great while, a really awesome Phish cover-band called The Phry will play a show around here, but that doesn't happen nearly enough. Those guys rule, and can really nail the songs, which sure aint easy. Ifdakar sounds like most techno/jambands you would hear on the side stage at any hippy festival. But at least they try to be creative. Unity is just an out-of-place reggae band with mediocre talent and no show varies from one to the next.  But hey, they're trying to do something different than the norm.

     The bottom line is, local music scenes give us a place to go throughout the week and weekend without having to travel far, give us a sense of familiarity, let us dance to some music for a little bit so we can unwind, and give us yet another excuse to go get drunk with our friends. Isn't that what it's all about anyways?

Check out Tate Rooper at the Checkered Flag in Appleton, Saturday July 23rd, 6:00-10:00.

My First Blog: Sweet Blahg, Brah.

so yeah, i finally caved-in and started up a blog. not sure which direction this place is going to go, but i'm thinking mostly music reviews, music playlists, sports takes, and maybe some pop-culture references. i know, sweet blahg, right?  -fee.