News

LaDainian Tomlinson thinks Santonio Holmes may be a problem in run first offense

stevenlourie Jets, News

Now that LaDainian Tomlinson is officially retired and a former-Jet, he can say negative things about the team without it affecting him. In one of his first appearances since his retirement ceremony, Tomlinson appeared on Rich Eisen’s podcast and spoke about, among other things, the Jets and their transition to a more run first offense this year. The Jets have talked about getting back to ground and pound this offseason, hiring Tony Sparano as offensive coordinator and trading for Tim Tebow. They have also told lead back Shonn Greene to expect an increase in carries off the career high 253 he had last year, though it’s unclear if he’s the type of back worthy of that.

One of the things Tomlinson mentioned is how this transition will affect mercurial receiver Santonio Holmes. On the matter, Tomlinson said “Santonio was brought there to be the No. 1 receiver and catch a lot of balls. So, if Week 6 they haven’t thrown the ball more than 15 times a game and Santonio is not getting his catches you may hear some things: him speaking out, him saying things that may rub some teammates the wrong way.”

Holmes has already become one of the league’s biggest locker room cancers over the past year and if that continues into next season, that might be the last straw, especially if he continues to not perform on the field (he had a career low 51 catches for 654 yards, with 8 touchdowns last year). The one thing that could keep him on the team in 2013 is the way his contract is structured. They’ll owe him a large portion of his 2013 salary regardless of whether or not he’s on the team.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Jerry Rice praises Falcons’ Julio Jones

stevenlourie Falcons, News

While he was on Sportscenter today, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice named Julio Jones as the receiver who will have a breakout year this season. Normally, things like this are not newsworthy, but if you’re a receiver, there isn’t anyone’s praise you want more than Jerry Rice’s. Jones has unlimited athletic talent and caught 54 passes for 959 yards and 8 touchdowns last season in 13 games, good for 66 catches for 1180 yards and 10 touchdowns over 16 games. That was despite struggling through injuries all year and being a rookie off a lockout shortened offseason.

All you have to do is look at his final 5 games to see the kind of upside he has. He caught 24 passes for 461 yards and 6 touchdowns in those 5 games. Last year, he was the clear #2 to Roddy White, averaging 7.0 targets per game, as opposed to 10.9 per game by Roddy White. With Dirk Koetter coming in and changing the offense to a more downfield passing offense, Jones, a young possession receiver, should see more targets this year and White, an aging possession receiver, should see less. This makes sense as their offense was much more efficient last year when they threw to Jones last year (10.5 YPA) than when they threw to White (7.4 YPA). I second Rice’s prediction that Jones will have a breakout season. He’s my #5 fantasy receiver.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Bears, Henry Melton not discussing extension

stevenlourie Bears, News

As the 2009 4th round pick heads into the final year of his rookie contract, Henry Melton and the Bears are reportedly not discussing an extension and are not expected to do so before or during the season. Melton had a strong season in 2011, ranking 17th among defensive tackles on ProFootballFocus and 6th as a pass rusher. He managed 7 sacks, 9 quarterback hits, and 23 quarterback pressures on 437 pass rush snaps as a rotational player (8.9%) last year.

The former collegiate defensive end (and running back) wasn’t great against the run, but he’s still a good player and a good fit for the Bears’ scheme. He’s also expected to play some fullback this year in a “Refrigerator” Perry type role. He didn’t do much in the past before last season so I understand the Bears’ hesitance to sign him long term at the moment. They don’t want to buy high and they might have the franchise tag available for him next offseason (if it isn’t used on Brian Urlacher).

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Falcons, Brent Grimes working on extension ahead of deadline

stevenlourie Falcons, News

Though there has been little to no activity between the two sides since Brent Grimes signed his 10.281 million dollar tender in April, ESPN.com’s Paul Yasinskas says that he wouldn’t “rule out” an extension for Brent Grimes from the Falcons before next Monday’s deadline for franchise players to sign long term deals.

Grimes was one of the league’s top cornerbacks last year, allowing just 25 completions on 56 attempts (44.6%) for 258 yards (4.6 YPA), 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 12 deflections, and one penalty. He ranked 3rd among all cornerback on ProFootballFocus. However, the Falcons’ hesitance to do a long term deal with Grimes is likely due to Grimes’ injury history and the fact that the Falcons are already paying significant money to two other cornerbacks, Dunta Robinson and Asante Samuel. Still, with only 2.8 million of cap space, the Falcons have financial motivation to reduce Grimes’ 10.281 million dollar cap number for 2012.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Browns expect Josh Gordon to contribute immediately

stevenlourie Browns, News

On the same day that the team used a 2nd round pick on him in the supplemental draft, Browns’ GM Tom Heckert said that he expects Josh Gordon to contribute immediately, which makes sense considering how highly the organization values him. The Browns have one of, if not the thinnest receiving corps in the NFL with the still raw Greg Little, the mediocre Mohamed Massaquoi, and 4th round rookie Travis Benjamin expected to be their top 3 receivers before today.

However, Gordon has been out of football for almost two years and hasn’t had the benefit of minicamps and OTAs that other players have had, so he could struggle to adjust to the speed of the NFL and struggle with the playbook as a rookie. I don’t expect him to start the year any higher than 4th on the depth chart. If he ever has any impact, it’ll be in 2013 and beyond as a starter opposite Greg Little, a 2011 2nd round pick who the team also has high expectations for.

Meanwhile, ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi cites a league source that told him that Gordon could have been a top-10 pick in 2013. Grossi compares Gordon to Julio Jones and says that the Browns view him as their #1 receiver “in time.” Grossi is obviously a little biased and overly optimistic and while one league source may have been very high on Gordon, other league sources earlier today reportedly believed Gordon was only worth a 4th or 5th round pick in the supplemental draft. Besides, all you have to do is look at a 2012 NFL mock draft from this time last year to see that just because a guy in projected as a top-10 pick now, doesn’t mean he’ll go there when it’s all said and done, especially with such a boom or bust guy like Gordon.

All indications are that the Browns reached on potential out of desperation. No other team bid a 2nd rounder on him and while sources say the Cowboys were prepared to use a mid round pick on him, there’s no guarantee a team would have used a 3rd round pick on him. They may have reached by as much as 2 rounds. If Gordon makes good on his potential, that won’t matter in 3 years, but he’s incredibly boom or bust and supplemental picks don’t have a history of success, especially recently.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Santana Moss could be Redskins’ #1 receiver

stevenlourie Commanders, News

According to ESPN NFC East reporter Dan Graziano, Santana Moss still has a chance to be the Redskins’ #1 receiver. That’s a pretty big leap for the man who was once considered to be on the roster bubble after the Redskins added both Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan this offseason. However, a window opened when the Redskins cut Jabar Gaffney and Moss took it and ran, losing 15 pounds and putting himself in phenomenal shape. He’s reportedly been incredibly impressive this offseason in practice.

At the very least, Santana Moss will be the Redskins’ slot receiver, but he’ll compete with Josh Morgan and Leonard Hankerson for the starting job opposite Garcon. If Moss wins it, he’d move to the slot in 3-wide receiver sets and their #3 receiver would play outside. I actually think Moss is the favorite over the marginal Josh Morgan and the unproven Leonard Hankerson and given how much receivers can struggle when changing teams, I give Moss an outside shot to lead the team in receiving over Pierre Garcon.

My biggest concern is that Moss is 33 and had just 46 catches for 584 yards and 6 touchdowns last year, while dealing with injuries, age, and poor conditioning. A strong year this year would mean a bounce back year at age 33, which rarely happens (don’t see Smith, Steve). Still, Moss is a talented player who caught a career high 93 passes for 1115 yards and 6 touchdowns as recently as 2010 and surpassed 790 yards in every season from 2003-2010, despite inconsistent quarterback play. He’s 858 yards away from 10000 and I think he’ll get it at some point, maybe even this season.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Tim Hightower to start for Redskins if healthy?

stevenlourie Commanders, News

According to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, if healthy, Tim Hightower will be the Redskins’ starting running back next season. This is notable because Graziano is the reporter who first predicted Hightower would start last year and he did. Hightower rushed for 321 yards and a score on 84 carries last season in 5 games before getting hurt. In his absence, both Evan Royster and Roy Helu played well and exceeded Hightower’s mere 3.8 YPC, but Shanahan seems to have a thing for Hightower, though Graziano admitted that Helu and Royster will see carries.

Mike Shanahan is notoriously inconsistent with his running backs and can change them up on a weekly basis depending on the opponent, with no warning to the public. It’s a smart football move, but it’s incredibly frustrating for fantasy football owners so stay away from Washington’s entire backfield this year. Let them be someone else’s problem. Even 6th round rookie Alfred Morris could be in the mix and don’t rule out Shanahan calling up his old pal Ryan Torain, who really struggled down the stretch last season.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Ravens’ Terrell Suggs says we will see him this year

stevenlourie News, Ravens

Even though he’s backed off his earlier statement that he’d be back in November at the latest, Terrell Suggs remains optimistic in his recovery from a torn Achilles and assured everyone on NFL Live at the end of last week that we will see him this season. While Suggs’ optimism is admirable, Achilles tears are one of the most serious injuries a player can suffer and players almost never return in less than a year. A return in December would mean a mere 7 month recovery, though I guess if anyone can do it, it’s Suggs. Still, the smart money is on us not seeing Suggs this season at all. The Ravens will definitely miss him.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Ravens’ Ed Reed won’t commit to Training Camp

stevenlourie News, Ravens

After contemplating retirement earlier this offseason and skipping mandatory minicamp, Ed Reed is now refusing to commit to Training Camp, likely in protest of his contract as he heads into a contract year. Reed, 34 in September, is owed 7.2 million this year, but, given his age, the Ravens don’t want to commit that kind of money to him past this season, especially since he does have a recent history of injury problems.

Ray Lewis, among others, have assured all offseason that Reed will be there for the season, which would be his 11th in the NFL, all with the Ravens. It seems that Reed is just making noise for the sake of making noise, which he does often in the offseason. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t there for the start of Training Camp. The bigger concern for Ravens fans with Reed should be his age, his injury history (missed 10 games from 2009-2010), and the fact that he’s unsigned after the season.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

Undrafted free agent Ronald Leary could start at guard for Cowboys

stevenlourie Cowboys, News

The interior offensive line was a major problem for the Cowboys last year, which is why they didn’t bring either Montrae Holland or Kyle Kosier back. Those were their two starting guards and they’re both still available on the open market, which shows just how bad things were. The Cowboys thought they had fixed things when they signed Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau, even though Livings struggled mightily as a starter in Cincinnati last year and Bernadeau was a career backup in Carolina after going in the 7th round in 2008.

That “plan” had a roadblock when Bernadeau needed hip surgery, which opened things up for competition. Bernadeau is expected to be ready to go week 1, but he’s no sure thing to start anymore even though they gave him a starting caliber contract. 2011 4th round pick David Arkin and even undrafted free agent Ronald Leary could win the starting job.

While Arkin is reportedly improved off a rookie year where he barely played, Leary was the one who started for the Cowboys in minicamp. Even though the Cowboys had a 3rd round grade on Leary heading into the draft, the fact that they’re even having to consider starting an undrafted rookie on the offensive line just shows how bad the situation is. Last year, they started Bill Nagy, a 7th round pick rookie, at center, before benching him for Phil Costa, who wasn’t much better. Costa will start at center again this year. Their interior trio might be the worst in the NFL.

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]

[switch_ad_hub]