One of the reasons Casey Matthews fell to the 4^th round last year and subsequently was unable to hold down a starting job for the Eagles last year was his lack of size. At 232 pounds at The Combine, Matthews was described as Clay Matthews’ without the physical gifts, meaning he had his brother’s intangibles, but was too small to be a regular starters.

That seems to have changed. In an effort to compete for more playing time in his 2^nd season, Matthews has bulked up from 232 to 250, with the help of brother Clay, and it appears to be all legitimate muscle. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported at Eagles OTAs that Matthews looked “huge.” The Eagles have one sure starter in their linebacking corps and that’s middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who was acquired from the Houston Texans this offseason. 2^nd round pick Mychal Kendricks is expected to get the strong side job, but the weak side job is up for grabs between Matthews, Brian Rolle, and perhaps Jamar Chaney if he makes a position change after losing the strong side job. Matthews could definitely see more playing time in 2012.

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It might sound weird now, but if the Giants had lost week 17 to the Cowboys, which could have happened if Miles Austin hadn’t lost a touchdown in the sun, Tom Coughlin might have been fired rather than hoisting a 2^nd round trophy. There was some talk about letting Coughlin go and if they had missed the playoffs after a 6-2 start and the public’s cry for a new coach might have forced the Giants’ hands.

However, that didn’t happen, the Giants won that game and didn’t lose again, winning their 2^nd Super Bowl trophy in 5 seasons, essentially guaranteeing Coughlin, 65, can coach the team for as long as he wants. It sounds like he wants to do that for a few more seasons. When asked about the matter, Giants owner John Mara said that an extension with Coughlin, who reportedly wants to coach into his 70s, would be coming in the “near future.”

It’s reasonable to predict that this extension would make him among the highest paid Head Coaches in the league. Bill Belichick, who Coughlin has bested in 3 straight matchups, is the NFL’s highest paid Head Coach right now, making over 7.5 million per season. Coughlin’s deal could very well surpass that.

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According to Jets’ defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, the Jets will be using 46 fronts “as much as we can” this season. This makes a lot of sense. The credited inventor of the 46 front is Buddy Ryan, father of Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan, and the Jets already use more 46 fronts than almost any team in the league. However, it sounds like Rex wants to use more.

The 46 front is essentially a mix of the 3-4 and the 4-3 schemes. It has 3 down lineman, 3 linebackers, a box safety, and a hybrid defensive end/linebacker rushing off the edge normally from a 2 point stance. The natural fit for the Jets’ personnel in this scheme would be to put Muhammad Wilkerson and Sione Pouha as the two defensive tackles inside, put Quinton Coples at 5-technique left end, rush Calvin Pace off the edge, and have Bart Scott, David Harris and either Aaron Maybin or rookie 3^rd round pick Demario Davis as the 3 linebackers. Safety LaRon Landry would be the best fit as the box safety.

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In Matt Cassel’s 3 years in Kansas City, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. He completed 58.2% of his passes, for an average of 6.9 YPA and a pristine 27:7 TD:INT ratio in 2010 for the division winning Chiefs, but has had 26 touchdowns to 25 interceptions combined for the last place Chiefs in his other 2 seasons. However, he still has the support of his GM Scott Pioli. Pioli today called him a “really good quarterback” and compared him to Len Dawson who he called “the greatest quarterback in the history of the franchise.”

Pioli’s support for Cassel makes a lot of sense. Pioli’s first major move upon become GM of the Chiefs was to give up a 2^nd round pick and a 60 million dollar contract to get Matt Cassel, who was fresh off a solid season as Tom Brady’s injury replacement in New England. Doing so made his job security is essentially tied to Cassel’s performance. Another year in 2012 like the one Cassel had in 2009 and 2011 and Pioli, and thus Cassel, could be gone after the season.

The Chiefs have done everything they can to make sure Cassel can succeed. Pioli drafted a receiver in the 1^st round last year, Jonathan Baldwin, after bringing in another receiver, Steve Breaston, through free agency. He also spent 2 of his team’s first 3 picks on offensive linemen this year and added a new starting right tackle (Eric Winston), a new power running back (Peyton Hillis), and a new power blocking tight end (Kevin Boss) through free agency this year in an effort to lead the league in rushing again, which they did the last time Cassel was successful. With a healthy Jamaal Charles, they have the capability to do that and they could win a still mediocre AFC West. If they don’t, it could be curtains for Pioli and Cassel.

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There was a time when Le’Ron McClain was a lead back in Baltimore, leading the team with 232 carries in 2008, but moved to his natural position of fullback in 2009 and 2010. He continued to get some carries out of the fullback spot, at least more than your average fullback, but the Chiefs turned him into a more traditional fullback last year, only giving him 15 carries.

He signed with the Chargers this offseason and it appear he’ll get more carries this year and be the ball carrying fullback he was in Baltimore in 2009 and 2010, this according to Head Coach Norv Turner. The Chargers are very thin at running back behind Ryan Mathews, with only Curtis Brinkley and his 30 career carries.

However, there’s only so much McClain can do from the fullback spot, which is why I love Ryan Mathews as a fantasy back. He plays on an explosive offense, catches passes, and has little to no competition for carries. The former 12^th overall pick averaged 4.9 YPC last year and could have a breakout year in this his 3^rd year in the league.

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The Cowboys had one of the worst interior offensive lines in the league last year. Center Phil Costa led the league in botched snaps and wasn’t much better as a blocker, while guards Montrae Holland and Kyle Kosier were mediocre and consequently let go this offseason. The Cowboys brought in Nate Livings, one of the worst starters in the league last year, from Cincinnati to start at left guard and they were expecting fellow free agent acquisition Mackenzy Bernadeau to step in at right guard, even though he has never been a regular starter in his career.

However, Bernadeau suffered a hip injury earlier this week and needed surgery that would sideline him for roughly 3 months, which would make him unavailable for a large portion of Training Camp and maybe the Preseason, which would hurt his chances to establish himself as the starter. ESPN Dallas’ Calvin Watkins believes that the job is now David Arkin’s to lose. Arkin barely played last year, but was a 4^th round pick out of Missouri State in the 2011 NFL Draft. There was also some talk Arkin could be cut earlier this offseason, which shows just how thin they are inside. It’s a wonder they didn’t address the interior line through the draft.

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Wes Welker signed the Patriots’ 9.515 million tender franchise tender earlier this week, but now may be regretting it. Welker was quoted today as saying that talks with the Patriots have “gotten worse” since he signed the franchise tender and that he was offered a deal smaller than the 2 year, 16 million dollar one he was offered midseason.

The Patriots are known to play hardball in negotiations as they operate with a philosophy that no one’s irreplaceable (except quarterback Tom Brady) and it’s served them well thus far. Welker also commented that he’d be “happy” to play out this season under the 9.515 million dollar tender, a sentiment not shared by many of his fellow franchise players around the league.

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Rolando McClain’s court case for assault with a deadly weapon did not last long. McClain, who allegedly pointed a gun at a man’s head last November, was found guilty of the charges today after a codefendant agreed to a plea and agreed to testify against him. McClain has been sentenced to 6 months in jail, though he will appeal the ruling. It’s unclear when he’ll start his jail sentence and if he’ll actually serve the whole 6 months, but it’s very possible, if not definite, that McClain will get a suspension from Roger Goodell on top of any jail time. We may not see McClain play a snap in 2012.

If he were to miss the season or a large portion of it, it would be yet another blow to a new Raiders front office team that is trying to compete in spite of the consequences of the previous front office’s shortsightedness. The Raiders did not have a non-compensatory draft pick in the first 4 rounds this year and didn’t have the cap freedom to do anything in free agency. They also had to cut 3 starters, Kamerion Wimbley, Stanford Routt, and Kevin Boss, for cap reasons.

McClain’s loss would be another huge blow to a defense that has already lost Nnamdi Asomugha (their top cornerback), Kamerion Wimbley (their top pass rusher), and Stanford Routt (a starting cornerback) in the last 2 offseasons. The inexperienced Travis Goethel is expected to step in for McClain at middle linebacker. The Raiders could have one of the worst defenses in the league this year.

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When Adrian Peterson tore his ACL and MCL late last season, some believed he could be lost for the entirety of the 2012 season. However, earlier this month, he was running well at practice with the Vikings. That being said, the road to being game ready will still be tough. When asked about it today, Peterson put himself at “50-50 for Training Camp. I’d still bet that he’s out there starting for them week 1, but it’s certainly a situation to monitor from here on for fantasy football players. When healthy, Peterson is a first round pick. If he doesn’t play, Toby Gerhart will make the starts.

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Is Jeremy Maclin headed for a breakout season? If you ask the Eagles, he is. When the Philadelphia Enquirer asked Eagles coaches to name one player at any position who will make his first Pro Bowl this year, they “didn’t hesitate” to name Jeremy Maclin. A former 1st round pick, Maclin has never had a 1000 yard season, but caught 63 passes for 859 yards and 5 touchdowns in 13 games last season despite never being fully healthy. Now reportedly fully healthy, Maclin is definitely impressing at minicamp. He could easily have his first 1000 yard season this year. He could be a buy low player in fantasy leagues.

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