Brian Tinsman
Special for pigskinpress.com
Do not copy and paste

A year ago, Washington Redskins defensive tackle Chris Neild was living in  Morgantown, West Virginia, playing for the Mountaineers and plowing through college offensive lines.

This year, however, the 6’2, 319-lb. rookie is adjusting to life as a professional in the NFL.
Brian Tinsman spoke to Neild about the transition from college to the pros.

Tinsman: Tell me about the transition from college to the pros?

Neild: It is a lot different coming to this level. The speed of the game is twice is fast. More than that. For some people it takes a lot of time to get used to, but some people adjust very quick. So it’s just a matter of a person’s learning curve and just trying to get acclimated to a system that they are in.

Tinsman: What was the first adjustment you had to make?

Neild: When I first got here it was trying to get used to the speed and I think I did a good job adjusting.  But you really have to get in the film room as well to stay ahead of your opponent. Sometimes in college you could slack on watching film because you might be playing lesser opponents. But at this level there’s no way you can do that. You can’t go a week without watching film and be ready for an opponent.  They’ll take advantage of whatever they can see.

Tinsman: How did the lockout affect your transition?

Neild: I knew it was going to be a crash course with the lockout this year and coming into training camp I didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to get in there and give it my best and thus far it’s been a really good experience and I’m learning every day.
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About the author:  Brian Tinsman is a graduate of  Marymount University and works in the front office for theWashington Redskins and owner Dan Snyder  as the team’s associated writer and chief team blogger.

Rick Figurin
pigskinpress.com
July 2011

With all the expansion talk and speculation that is still circulating, its time for each conference to be proactive rather than reactive. Over the next few weeks, we here at pigskinpress.com thought we would offer up a few moves that could help solidify each conference and their interests.

Big East

Adding TCU in the off-season was a great move for the conference as the Horned Frogs bring a big TV market, a big profile, and a fertile recruiting ground, but frankly it isn’t enough. With the possibility looming that the ACC/SEC could steal away West Virginia should they choose to, and the Big 10/ACC always keeping a watchful eye on Rutgers and/or Pitt, the Big East needs to do two things-streamline the conference, and add an “expansion insurance policy”. The next step for the conference is to streamline its teams. The conference had no choice but to allow TCU to compete in all sports, as the last thing the conference needs is to deepen its identity crisis with split-sport teams. Step one in the Big East’s attempt to streamline is to add Villanova for football as well. Should Villanova make the jump, it will bring interest to the Philadelphia market for football purposes and add a boatload of TV’s as well. But one other move the conference could consider is dumping DePaul. The Blue Demons have been dead weight on the basketball court for the better part of a decade. Additionally, their own players are leaving in droves (see Devin Hill and Eric Wallace). Below is a look at their record since 2005.

2005 12-15
2006 20-14 (NIT)
2007 11-19
2008 9-24
2009 8-23
2010 7-19
2011 7-24

Now, before you think the conference would never consider dumping a Chicago market team, let me reassure you that we agree that leaving a market with over 3 million TV’s would be the worst idea in the history of college athletics.

Unless you have a suitable replacement.

Insert Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference. Northern Illinois’ basketball program is absolutely terrible. They’ve won nothing of importance in a long, long time, and have dismal attendance, but in the grand scheme of things, that really means nothing. In college athletics, football is king. The Huskies have been to five bowl games in the last seven seasons, beat Big Ten opponents the last two seasons, and currently have eight players on NFL rosters. By adding the Huskies, the conference keeps the TV market, loses virtually nothing (and brings nothing) in the b-ball department, adds an unpoachable football team that has learned how to win and recruit without the benefit of a BCS brand, and brings a fertile recruiting ground for all schools. All this while keeping the basketball branch of the conference happy by not splitting the pot with one more additional team. Adding the state of Illinois for football would give the conference a presence in four of the top thirteen states for NFL talent (#1 Texas, #3 Florida, #8 New Jersey, #13 Illinois).

Bottom Line: Big East fans won’t like this article (especially DePaul), nor will UCF fans who are pining at the prospect of an invite. Conference snobbery is running high with all the expansion talk, but facts are facts, and DePaul brings very little to the table at this point-most notably, a football team. Teams become better when their brand improves, and NIU would provide an unpoachable, streamlined team should the ACC/SEC/Big Ten make a play. Throw in the fact that they would be competitive, and bring recruiting turf to the expanding Big East blueprint and this deal is a winner. Once the conference has streamlined, then, and only then, should they consider inviting any other schools.The only downside? A 40 minute bus trip from Chicago to DeKalb…whoop-de-do!