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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Earlier this offseason, it was revealed that Joe McKnight added 15 pounds to his frame in an effort to handle more of a load this season with LaDainian Tomlinson gone and Shonn Greene still yet to prove himself as a true feature back. However, McKnight admitted today that those 15 pounds were added as a result of eating a lot of McDonalds, never a good sign. It’s possible McKnight might not be in shape. He’ll have to get in shape by the regular season or it’ll sap his explosiveness. Perhaps he can ask Head Coach Rex Ryan, who has lost 90 pounds in the last 2 years, for some advice.

Coming out of TCU, arm strength was the biggest knock on Andy Dalton and the main reason why he fell to the 2^nd round, but he proved as a rookie that he had adequate arm strength and above average everything else, leading the Bengals to the playoffs. However, he is not satisfied. In an attempt to increase his arm strength and his mere 6.6 YPA, Dalton has spent the offseason bulking up and is now at 225, up 10 pounds from his Combine weigh in of 215 and up 18 pounds from the 207 pounds Dalton admits he was at last season.

We’ll have to see how this affects him on the field, if at all. One might expect Dalton to continue to improve as a 2^nd year player, but sophomore slumps are common in sports and Dalton only surpassed 200 yards in 1 of his last 5 regular season games last year, a stretch the Bengals went 2-3 over. They went 3-5 over their last 8 overall, 3-6 if you count playoffs, and didn’t beat a single playoff team all year.

The Titans’ quarterback battle between Jake Locker and Matt Hasselbeck might be the most intriguing quarterback battle of the preseason for the sheer reason that both are solid quarterbacks and that the Titans might be the best team in the league with an unresolved quarterback situation. Hasselbeck is the proven veteran, but turns 37 in September, while Locker is inexperienced, but impressed in limited action as a rookie after being the 8^th overall pick on the 2011 NFL Draft. Adam Schefter among others believe Hasselbeck will be the starter week 1.

Today, Titans GM Ruston Webster weighed in on the situation saying that it will be more on “gut feel” than stats or anything else. This might hint at Matt Hasselbeck. The stats say Locker is the better quarterback. He averaged 8.1 YPA last year, completed 51.5% of his passes, and threw 4 interceptions to no interceptions, while Hasselbeck averaged 6.9 YA, completed 61.6% of his passes, and threw 18 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. However, Hasselbeck is an experienced veteran with savvy and leadership that Locker cannot yet possess because of his age. The Titans are set pretty well to compete for a playoff spot this year and might not want to jeopardize that by putting out a young quarterback that will have growing pains.

When healthy, Kenny Britt is one of the most talented receivers in the league. In his last 14 full games, he’s caught 56 passes for 1146 yards and 12 touchdowns, which would be very good stats over a 16 game season. However, he missed most of last season with a torn ACL and today needed surgery again on that same knee.

The Titans don’t seem overly concerned and it doesn’t sound like he’ll miss any more time. It was a relatively minor procedure, one that GM Ruston Webster even called “common.” However, it’s a setback in his recovery nonetheless and that’s never a good thing. Even if he’ll probably be good to go week 1, there will be questions about his ability to play all 16 games and play at 100%. Derrick Morgan had the same surgery last offseason and managed just 2.5 sacks in 14 games. It’ll be worth monitoring his progress because Britt could be a fantasy steal if he’s close to 100% this season.

The Bears acquired Brandon Marshall for a pair of 3^rd round picks this offseason to be their #1 receiver. That much is known. However, that’s about all that’s known. There are varying opinions on how Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Alshon Jeffery stack up 2-4 on the depth chart. ESPN Chicago reported earlier this month that Devin Hester was penciled in at the #2 receiver spot, leaving rookie 2^nd round pick Alshon Jeffery in the slot. However, they’ve since backtracked, saying that Hester will only be used in special packages.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Hester will still return kicks and punts, which doesn’t make it sound like he’ll be heavily involved at receiver. At the same time, the Chicago Tribune is reported that they’d be “stunned” if Alshon Jeffery started the season opposite Brandon Marshall. The most natural fit for the 4 receivers would be to put Alshon Jeffery opposite Brandon Marshall, line Earl Bennett up in the slot where he’s best, and use Devin Hester as a 4^th receiver so he can focus more on what he does best, special teams. This is definitely a situation to monitor in Training Camp, however, because it seems like no one knows for sure what’s going on right now.

Depending on who you ask in the Jets’ organization, Wayne Hunter is either definitely the week 1 starter or he’ll have competition for his job in Training Camp. Hunter, one of the league’s worst statistical tackles last season, has the full support of offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo, who says that Hunter is the starting right tackle until they “ship him out of here” or “shoot me dead.” Meanwhile, GM Mike Tannenbaum admits that Hunter is their right tackle, but added “for now”. Offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was noncommittal on the issue, leaving the door open.

The Jets didn’t draft an offensive tackle at all, but there was some speculation that they’d try to cut or trade Hunter earlier in the offseason, which obviously didn’t happen. In my opinion, I’d say Hunter is probably going to be the week 1 starter at the position, but he’ll have competition in camp and a short leash should he continue to struggle. His main competition would be Vladimir Ducasse, a bust of a former 2^nd round pick, who has spent most of his career at guard. Ducasse has worked out exclusively at right tackle in OTAs and figures to be 2^nd on the depth chart, for now.

The following are all of the top 25 all-time leading rushers who have played at some point in the last 10 years (2002 or later).

Emmitt Smith

Last 1000 yard season: Age 32 (3798 carries)

3 seasons after age 32: 611 carries, 2168 yards, 16 touchdowns

Last season: Age 35 (4409 carries)

Curtis Martin

Last 1000 yard season: Age 31 (3298 carries)

1 season after age 31: 220 carries, 735 yards, 5 touchdowns

Last season: Age 32 (3518 carries)

LaDainian Tomlinson

Last 1000 yard season: Age 29 (2657 carries)

3 seasons after age 29: 517 carries, 1924 yards, 19 touchdowns

Last season: Age 32* (3174 carries)

Jerome Bettis

Last 1000 yard season: Age 29 (2686 carries)

4 seasons after age 29: 793 carries, 1939 yards, 38 touchdowns

Last season: Age 33 (3479 carries)

Marshall Faulk

Last 1000 yard season: Age 28 (2155 carries)

4 seasons after age 28: 681 carries, 2837 yards, 21 touchdowns

Last season: Age 32 (2836 carries)

Edgerrin James

Last 1000 yard season: Age 29 (2849 carries)

2 seasons after age 29: 179 carries, 639 yards, and 3 touchdowns

Last season: Age 31 (3028 carries)

Fred Taylor

Last 1000 yard season: Age 31 (2285 carries)

3 seasons after age 31: 249 carries, 980 yards, and 5 touchdowns

Last season: Age 34 (2534 carries)

Corey Dillon

Last 1000 yard season: Age 30 (2210 carries)

2 seasons after age 30: 408 carries, 1545 yards, and 25 touchdowns

Last season: Age 32 (2618 carries)

Warrick Dunn

Last 1000 yard season: Age 31 (2256 carries)

2 seasons after age 31: 413 carries, 1506 yards, and 6 touchdowns

Last season: Age 33 (2669 carries)

Jamal Lewis

Last 1000 yard season: Age 29 (2399 carries)

1 season after age 29: 143 carries, 500 yards, and 0 touchdowns

Last season: Age 30 (2542 carries)

Thomas Jones

Last 1000 yard season: Age 31 (2280 carries)

2 seasons after age 31: 398 carries, 1374 yards, and 6 touchdowns

Last season: Age 33* (2678 carries)

Tiki Barber

Last 1000 yard season: Age 31 (2217 carries)

0 seasons after age 31: X

Last season: Age 31 (2217 carries)

Eddie George

Last 1000 yard season: Age 30 (2733 carries)

1 season after age 30: 132 carries, 432 yards, and 4 touchdowns

Last season: Age 31 (2865 carries)

Average

Last 1000 yard season: Age 30.1 (2601.8 carries)

Per season after last 1000 yard season (28 total): 169.4 carries, 592.1 yards (3.5 YPC), 5.3 touchdowns

Last season: Age 32.2 (2966.7 carries)

*=LaDainian Tomlinson and Thomas Jones are both free agents, but are not expected to play next season

Steven Jackson is currently at 2138 carries and coming off his age 28 season. He’s currently 32nd all time in rushing yards and 1180 yards outside of the top 25 so he fits in this class of players, though I’d call him slightly below the average of the group. The average member of this group has his last 1000 yard season in his age 30 season at 2602 carrier carries.

Jackson has 2 seasons and 564 carries to go before he’s at that point, but because he’s below average, I would only consider him a safe bet to have 1000 yards for one more season. And after players have their drop off, they average just 169 carries per season at 3.5 yards per carry and just 5 touchdowns, so they’re really a non-factor as a back. The Rams really need to start looking at a replacement back in the next season or two.