Year: 2012

Houston Texans extend QB Matt Schaub

stevenlourie News, Texans

Not a bad day for Matt Schaub. He got the win over Miami and he got paid. Techinically this deal was done last night at about midnight, but it wasn’t announced until the end of the game. Schaub got 62 million over 4 years with 30 million guaranteed. Schaub is injury prone and has never played in a playoff game, but when he’s healthy he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the fact that he’s never played in a playoff game is a result of his team’s poor defense for so many years and Schaub’s injury late last season when they had a good defense. He’s definitely worth this money as the Texans gear up for what could be a very big season. This deal also frees up the franchise tag for Connor Barwin next offseason.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Patriots’ Logan Mankins played all of 2011 with a torn ACL

stevenlourie News, Patriots

The Patriots are notorious for being secretive with injuries, but this is crazy. It was originally reported that Mankins partially tore his ACL in the Super Bowl and had surgery immediately after, though that was not even reported until about a month later. However, it appears that was not even accurate as, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Mankins suffered the injury against the Dolphins, week 1 of the 2011 season and played not just the rest of the game, not just the other 15 games of the regular season, but 3 more playoff games before getting surgery. Schefter calls him “one of the rare, if not the only, player ever to have played an entire 16-game season with a torn ACL,” and I would agree with that. I’ve never heard of anything like this.

I’ve mentioned at times before that Mankins had a slightly down season in 2011. He wasn’t bad or anything, but he wasn’t his normal dominant self. A top-6 guard on ProFootballFocus every season from 2008-2010 (1st, 6th, 3rd), something no one else can say, Mankins ranked “just” 31st last season, pretty middle of the pack out of 76 eligible. Considering his injury status, that might be the most impressive season of his career. Now fully healthy, there’s no reason why he can’t go back to being his normal dominant self in 2012 and make his 5th Pro Bowl (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011). He’s a true, dependable bright spot on an otherwise question filled offensive line for the Patriots.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Could this be Greg Jennings’ final year with the Packers?

stevenlourie News, Packers

Heading into his contract year, Greg Jennings admits that this could be his final year with the Packers, saying “Whether the contract comes with Green Bay in the near future or (with) one of the other 31 teams, that’s the reality of it.” Aaron Rodgers echoed that sentiment saying “I think you have to be realistic about it and think that it might be (our last year together).” Jennings did say he wouldn’t let it effect him this year, saying “I’ve never allowed my individual off the field dealings that I need to take care of become a distraction to myself, let alone the team. It’s one of those deals where I can’t control the situation. I have an agent. He’s working diligently on that. He knows my stance on that.”

Jennings has been an incredibly productive receiver over the past few years, catching 389 passes for 6171 yards and 49 touchdowns and probably could get Vincent Jackson money on the open market (5 years, 55 million), at least. The Packers don’t like to commit big money to guys and have plenty of receiving depth with Jordy Nelson, James Jones, and Randall Cobb, so it makes sense that they could let him leave, heading into his age 30 season in 2013. There’s also his health issue with 3 concussions as a pro on his record.

I just don’t understand why Jennings would want to leave though. Sure, he’ll probably have to take less money to stay, but playing for a team like the Packers with Aaron Rodgers throwing you the football is a wide receiver’s dream and it’s a lot of money either way. He’s unlikely to be anywhere near this productive elsewhere, as he’s only ever had Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre throwing him the football, and any team that signs him to a giant contract would be making a bad deal. Jennings needs the Packers more than the Packers need him. One option that would make a lot of sense for both sides is the franchise tag, which the Packers should have available next offseason, with no other major free agents to lock up.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Browns’ Joe Haden has not been suspended…yet

stevenlourie Browns, News

Earlier this offseason, there was some speculation that Joe Haden would be suspended for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. That speculation was confirmed this week, after the NFL retested the sample, but Haden has appealed the suspension and will be allowed to play until the appeal is over, which sometimes can take months. He’ll be in uniform and shadow DeSean Jackson against the Eagles this week.

If Haden were to miss any time, it would be a huge blow to a team with so little talent. Haden has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL over the last 2 seasons and was a major Pro Bowl snub in 2011. He’s really been the only bright spot on an overall disappointing Browns team.  He’s allowed just 83 completions on 162 attempts (51.2%) for 1165 yards (7.2 YPA), 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, while deflecting 28 passes and committing 12 penalties in the last 2 seasons.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Redskins to be without Brandon Meriweather for 2-4 weeks

stevenlourie Commanders, News

Expected to be a starting safety for the Redskins, Brandon Meriweather has sprained his MCL and PCL during practice, re-aggravating an injury that plagued him during Training Camp, and he will miss about 2-4 weeks. Meriweather is not a great safety, even though he’s made two Pro Bowls. The Patriots cut him last offseason as a surprising final cut and the Bears took a chance on him, but ended up benching him, proving the Patriots right (happens all the time). However, Meriweather is the best the Redskins have at safety.

Starting in his absence will be Reed Doughty, who really struggled in limited action last season, grading out as ProFootballFocus’ 81st rated safety out of 84. The other starter is Madieu Williams, who barely played as a backup in San Francisco last season. In 2010 though, he was a starter in Minnesota and he was awful, grading out as ProFootballFocus’ 86th out of 87. Safety figures to be a major problem on an otherwise good defense. The Redskins have a stout front 7 and some talent at the cornerback position and will be better than people think, but they have no hope of containing Jimmy Graham when the play the Saints this week.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Raiders’ Rolando McClain does not expect to be suspended

stevenlourie News, Raiders

Rolando McClain is a talented young middle linebacker. The 2010 1st round pick, 8th overall, was ProFootballFocus’ 26th rated middle linebacker last season and would have been much higher rated if he didn’t struggle so much in coverage. Still only heading into his age 23 season, he’s got a ton of upside, but he’s also got a major cloud hanging over his head with his legal troubles.

McClain was sentenced to 6 months in jail on 3rd degree assault with a deadly weapon charges in May, after holding a loaded gun to another man’s head and firing a shot past his ear last year. However, he has appealed the charges, so he will not have to serve time just yet and may get a reduced sentence or even get the sentence dropped completely. According to the Contra Costa Times, McClain has not heard anything about a possible suspension from the NFL and he’s taking no news as good news and rightfully so. It appears the NFL is waiting to see the results of the appeal before making any decision on discipline.

Still, it’s a concerning situation for McClain and the Raiders, even though GM Reggie McKenzie says he’s “comfortable” with McClain. Once McClain’s appeal is over, he could very well have to serve jail time and that could be in the middle of the season. After that, he could be given a suspension by the league, even if he is able to serve his jail time in the offseason, as players have been able to do in the past. My money would be on McClain not playing all 16 games.

Any time he misses would hurt the Raiders defense, obviously, as inexperienced 2010 6th round pick Travis Goethel would have to step in for him. The Raiders are already missing their top cornerback and top pass rusher from a defense that ranked 29th in scoring last year. They weren’t replaced. Also missing is starter Aaron Curry with injury, forcing 4th round rookie Miles Burris into the lineup for him, while defensive tackles Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly are heading into their age 33 seasons, with the former suffering from knee problems. It should be a tough year for the Raiders on that side of the football.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Chargers won’t put Jared Gaither on IR yet

stevenlourie Chargers, News

Jared Gaither has been ruled out for week 1 with back spasms, particularly concerning because back spasms are a lingering problem and Gaither missed about a half and a year with back problems from 2010-2011. However, when asked about putting Gaither on IR, Head Coach Norv Turner said “I think that’s way premature.” I agree it is, but it’s definitely a concerning situation.

Failing to get a reliable backup for their unable blindside protector, undrafted free agent Mike Harris will start on the blindside for as long as Gaither, who hasn’t suited up in 6 weeks, is out. I don’t need to know you that’s a problem. He figures to be one of three big holes on the Chargers’ offensive line. Left guard Tyronne Green will take over full-time for the retired Kris Dielman. Green struggled in limited action last year in place of Dielman. He rated 61st out of 76 guards on ProFootballFocus despite only really playing half the season.

Right tackle Jeromey Clary has been awful for years. He was horrific last season, allowing 7 sacks, 7 quarterback hits, 42 quarterback pressures, and committing 11 penalties, while struggling as a run blocker. He was ProFootballFocus’ 71st rated offensive tackle out of 73. Right guard Louis Vasquez and center Nick Hardwick are solid starters, but Philip Rivers will be under pressure a lot this year.

When healthy, Gaither is an elite left tackle. With the Ravens, in 2009, he allowed just 4 sacks, 3 quarterback hits, and 6 quarterback pressures, while committing 10 penalties in 13 games and in 2008, he allowed just 2 sacks, 2 quarterback hits, and 22 quarterback pressures, while committing 15 penalties in 19 games. Gaither was amazing in 5 starts last season for the Chargers, after being cut midseason by the Chiefs. He didn’t allow a sack or quarterback hit and only allowed 3 quarterback pressures, while committing just 3 penalties.

The Chargers rewarded him with a 4 year, 24.6 million dollar deal with 13.5 million guaranteed this offseason. That may seem like a lot to pay, but franchise left tackles do not grow on trees. There’s a reason they’re never available on the open market. Seeing one available is almost as rare as seeing a franchise quarterback on the open market. If Gaither were to stay healthy, that deal would have been a steal. However, now it’s looking like that could very well not happen.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Raiders expect Denarius Moore to be a game time decision

stevenlourie News, Raiders

Denarius Moore missed most of the preseason and Training Camp with hamstring problems, despite initially suffering the injury in June, and now it sounds like he’ll be a game time decision. If he doesn’t start, undrafted free agent Rod Streater, an offseason standout, would start as Jacoby Ford is also out with a foot injury. The problem for Moore owners in fantasy football is that this game is on Monday Night, so if you put him in your lineup, your options to replace him before the game will be very limited.

It’s not worth starting him unless you also own one of the two San Diego receivers (Malcom Floyd and Robert Meachem) or teammate Darrius Heyward-Bey. As good as Streater was this preseason, he’s still not a true handcuff for Moore. Even if I did own one of those players, I still probably wouldn’t start Moore because hamstring problems tend to linger and can limit your abilities noticable, even if you do play, especially for a speed receiver like Moore.

Moore is incredibly talented. In 6 healthy games with Carson Palmer last year, not including the Kansas City game where Palmer played but didn’t start, Moore caught 19 passes for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns, good for 51 catches for 1083 yards and 8 touchdowns over 16 games and that was as a 5th round rookie. However, he missed 3 games with injury last year and now this. On top of those injuries, he needs to become more consistent on a game to game basis. Still, all the tools are there for him.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Bills’ Steve Johnson could be limited by groin injury

stevenlourie Bills, News

Steve Johnson is becoming a notorious Darrelle Revis killer; he’s as notorious for that as he is for his premature touchdown dances. Johnson caught 3 passes for 84 yards, all against Revis, week 9 last year, and then another 8 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, again all against Revis, week 12 last year. That touchdown was the only touchdown Revis allowed last year and those 11 catches accounted for 31.4% of the 35 catches that Johnson allowed last year. The 159 yards were 31.3% of the 508 yards he allowed. Unsurprisingly, those two games against the Bills were Revis’ 2 worst yardage games of the season.

However, there’s a chance the “Revis Killer” could be limited for the season opener against Revis and the Jets with groin problems. He was limited in practice throughout the week, although he says he’s not concerned, even though this injury caused him problems last year, saying “I’m not concerned at all about having to deal with this like I did last year.” He might just be down playing the injury and I can‘t see how this isn’t related to the problems he was having this year.

They need him to be 100%, not just because he’s a “Revis Killer”, but because he’s an overall talented receiver on a team that lacks receiving depth. Over the past 2 seasons, he’s caught 158 passes for 2077 yards and 17 touchdowns and was given a well deserved 5 year, 36.25 million dollar deal worth 18.05 million guaranteed this offseason. However, they only have 3 other receivers behind him on the depth chart, 4 if you count wildcat quarterback Brad Smith.

Donald Jones, an inexperienced 2010 undrafted free agent, will start opposite Johnson. He has 41 catches for 444 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2 seasons. Their 2nd leading receiver last year was David Nelson, who caught 61 passes for 658 yards and 5 touchdowns. He’ll play in the slot. In an attempt to fix their wide receiver problems, they used a 3rd round pick on TJ Graham, but he’s just 4th on the depth chart, which makes sense because the raw receiver was only a 1 year starter in college.

Tight end Scott Chandler doesn’t offer much as a pass catcher either, especially outside of the red zone, as he caught 38 passes for 389 yards and 6 touchdowns last year. Johnson played fine through a similar injury last year, so it’s not a huge issue. However, if Johnson isn’t 100% or Revis is able to shut him down, the Bills could have a lot of trouble moving the ball through the air against the Jets, though they can still win since the Jets should have the same problems.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Dolphins put Artis Hicks on IR, could sign Jake Scott

stevenlourie Dolphins, News

Right guard figures to be a major problem for the Dolphins this season. 2010 3rd round pick John Jerry was supposed to be the solution at right guard for them, with incumbent Vernon Carey retiring, but, already a poor fit for their zone blocking scheme, Jerry showed up out of shape this offseason and lost his starting job to Artis Hicks, a 34 year old who struggled in limited action as a backup in Cleveland last season. Hicks is now on IR with neck problems that might end his career, meaning Jerry will start by default.

However, the Dolphins still don’t seem impressed with Jerry as they are reportedly interested in signing free agent Jake Scott, who they worked out earlier this offseason, according to the Miami Herald. Scott played well in pass protection last year for the Tennessee Titans, but he was a terrible run blocker and at age 31, there’s a reason he’s still unsigned this close to the start of the season. That’s how bad things are at right guard for the Dolphins. Whoever starts there figures to struggle.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]