At 3.5 million dollars for one year, this deal is a bargain for the 49ers and they’re almost sure to be getting the best of Edwards since it’s only a one year deal. Assuming there’s no chemistry problems between him and Michael Crabtree, this is going to be a smart short term signing.
Grade: A
CB Josh Bellamy (Louisville)
WR Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)
DT Michael Brockers (LSU)
CB Ron Brooks (LSU)
MLB Tank Carder (TCU)
CB Morris Claiborne (LSU)
DE Quinton Coples (North Carolina)
OT David Gonzales (Washington State)
TE Ladarius Green (LA-Lafayette)
DE Chandler Jones (Syracuse)
OT Dennis Kelly (Purdue)
CB Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama)
RB Trent Richardson (Alabama)
G Amini Silatolu (Midwestern State)
TE Taylor Thompson (SMU)
OLB Bobby Wagner (Utah State)
RB David Wilson (Virginia Tech)
S Tavon Wilson (Illinois)
Bailey’s past his prime and turns 33 this offseason, but he was still one of the better corners in the league last year and 43 million over 4 years, with only 22 million of that guaranteed, is the right amount for someone like him. He probably won’t be worth his entire contract over the life of the contract, but that’s okay because it’s not all guaranteed.
Grade: A
Cornerback/Free Safety
Virginia
6-2 212
40 time: 4.43
Draft board overall prospect rank: #120
Draft board cornerback rank: NR
Overall rating: 65*
3/21/10: Chris Cook was regarded as a tweener, cornerback and free safety, going into the draft Pre-Season, but he has been a perfect example of a prospect who has won over scouts in the months before the draft and significantly increased his draft stock and earned himself some money. The biggest issues with Cook coming into this draft Pre-Season were his lack of speed, his inability to mirror athletic wide receiver one-on-one, and his lack of elite fluidity. However, he came into the Senior Bowl, an event that I even said he did not deserve to be invited to, and showed some very good man skills and great athleticism and fluidity. Then he came into the Combine and, in addition to impressing once again in the drills, ran a 4.43, roughly .15-.2 seconds faster than projected, dispelling all beliefs that he was slow and all of a sudden, he is being looked at as a 3rd round prospect. I normally am weary of guys who shoot up this fast in the draft Pre-Season because I think it’s a helpful way to get scouts to forget about your lack of production last year, but I kind of like Cook as a prospect and I love his upside. He has experience in a zone style scheme, and he would probably best served in a zone style scheme, but he could play in a man or man press scheme as well. He has good size and uses it well to frustrate even some of the larger wide receivers. He hits hard. He’s fundamentally sound and he can play some free safety, if necessary, because of his size. His hands are very poor and he only had 7 picks in his career, but other than that, he has very few weaknesses. Of course, the things about him that I didn’t like last year are still there. He’s a bit stiff in back pedal, and, though he has elite recovery speed, his backpedal speed isn’t great. He’ll still have trouble with more athletic and crafty receivers and isn’t a future #1 corner. His tape overall was very inconsistent and he had some ugly plays and got burnt far too often to be considered an elite draft prospect. However, his upside, with his speed, his size, and what he has shown this draft preseason, is very good. I could see him as a future #2 or, possibly, a #1 in the right scheme. I might use a 3rd rounder on him, and the 3rd round is probably where he’ll go, but I’ll still give him a high 4th round grade. I think the tape was too inconsistent last year for him to be anything more, even with his strong draft Pre-Season.
NFL Comparison: Ike Taylor
*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here
9/8/11: Manning expected to be done for the season.
9/6/11: Uh oh. Manning looks set to miss 4 games. Those 4 games, Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, all losable games. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them start 0-4. They’re going to have a tough time making the playoffs.
9/3/11: Peyton Manning could easily miss a game or two or three and even when he comes back, he won’t be the same for a bit. He threw 10 touchdowns to 9 picks in his first 7 games in 2008 after injury and the Colts started 3-4. The early season schedule for the Colts is not so friendly, @ Houston, vs. Cleveland, vs. Pittsburgh, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Kansas City, @ Cincinnati, @ New Orleans, @ Tennessee. They could easily go 4-4 in those first 8 and have to play catch up again in the 2nd half.
Peyton Manning had a down season by his standards. He posted his lowest quarterback rating since 2002 (91.9), had his lowest YPA since his rookie season and threw more picks than any season since 2002. However, that doesn’t mean that at age 35, Peyton Manning is a declining player. A lot of his “struggles” can be blamed on his supporting cast.
Austin Collie and Dallas Clark missed serious time with injury and replacements Blair White and Jacob Tamme weren’t nearly as good. Reggie Wayne started to show some of his age at 32. Pierre Garcon led the league in drops. Joseph Addai missed serious time and no one else could run the ball. On top of that, the offensive line struggled to block. He didn’t get sacked a lot, but that’s because he always is able to release the ball right before the pressure comes. Anyone who watched their games last year would know that Manning didn’t have a lot of time in the pocket.
So basically, Manning had to throw almost every play (679 pass attempts, a new career high by 88 attempts) with no running game, which allowed defenses to focus more on pass rushing than run stopping, and he had a poor line to block for him, and downfield, his receivers were either declining players (Wayne), drop prone (Garcon) or inexperienced (Tamme, White). Given that, a 91.9 passer rating is really, really good.
The good news for Peyton Manning is that his supporting cast should be better this year. Collie and Clark are both back, as is Joseph Addai, though he has a dubious injury history. They brought in Delone Carter through the draft so the running game wouldn’t fall onto the shoulders of Donald Brown should anything happen to Addai. They added offensive lineman in the first 2 rounds of the draft, Anthony Castonzo and Ben Ijalana, who will start at left tackle and left guard respectively. Both will be upgrades in pass protection and as run blockers, which will help their running game.
The bad news for Peyton Manning is that he’s hurt. He won’t miss any games because he’s Peyton Manning and he doesn’t miss games, but he’ll miss most of, if not all of the preseason recovering from neck surgery. This was already a lockout shortened offseason and the last time Manning missed training camp and the preseason, he started out sluggish and the Colts started 3-4. He eventually rebounded, but Houston is a legitimate division contender this year so if they lose to Houston week 1, they might not get the division back.
The Colts’ defensive strategy has always been speed over size, pass coverage over run stuffing. It’s worked pretty well for them, but they are frequently really bad against the run. Last year was no different. They added Drake Nevis in the 3rd round of the draft. He’ll start at defensive tackle for them next to Tommie Harris, an offseason acquisition from Chicago.
Harris is not the player he used to be and he’s dealt with injuries, but if he’s healthy, he could be intriguing for them. He’s still relatively young and not that far removed from being a dominant defensive lineman in a scheme in Chicago very similar to the one the Colts run. Fili Moala, their only semi-okay defensive tackle in 2010, will provide depth.
At end, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis won’t help out much as run stuffers, but that doesn’t really matter because they might be the best 4-3 pass rushing tandem in the league. They combined for 21 sacks last year and that’s pretty much a yearly thing for them. They also have Jerry Hughes in the mix at defensive end. Hughes, the 31st overall pick in 2010, had a very disappointing rookie year and team president Bill Polian even went as far as to say publicly that he should have drafted Rodger Saffold instead. Not exactly the most confidence inspiring thing. However, anything he can give them is extra as they already have two great pass rushers.
At linebacker, Gary Brackett is the man in the middle. He’s a perfect fit for this scheme and a great defensive leader. However, he’s missed 10 games in the last 3 years and he’s 31. If he gets hurt, strong side linebacker Pat Angerer, a 2nd round pick in 2010, would move inside and Phillip Wheeler would play the strong side with Ernie Sims on the weak side.
Angerer is a promising young player while Wheeler and Sims will fight it out to be the starter on the weak side. I give the edge to Sims. He’s such a natural fit for this scheme, unlike in Philadelphia where he had a down year last year. Remember, this was once one of the best young linebackers in the game in Detroit a few years back.
Longtime Colt Kelvin Hayden is in Chicago now, but I don’t know how much the Colts will miss him. He’s missed 18 games in the last 3 years so they might not even notice he’s gone. With him gone, two players that have gotten a lot of action with Hayden hurt, Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey, will start at cornerback full time. Powers was a 3rd rounder in 2009, while Lacey went undrafted that same year, so both are kind of diamonds in the rough discovered thanks to Hayden’s injuries. Neither of them are great, but they’re both solid and they’re both young so there’s definitely upside there.
They also have plenty of depth at cornerback. 2010 3rd round pick Kevin Thomas, who missed all of last year with an injury, will battle with another diamond in the rough, Justin Tyron, a 2008 4th round pick who came out of nowhere to be a solid contributor last year, for the starting nickel back job. They also have 6th round pick Chris Rucker in the mix.
At safety, another injury prone player, Bob Sanders, is gone. Melvin Bullitt stepped up big time in Sanders’ absence over the years and now he gets a chance to be the full time starter. Bullitt is an above average safety, but he too missed 12 games last year. However, he’s never had a history of injuries so this was probably an isolated, freak injury. He’s healthy now and he’s still only 26, plus the Colts just gave him a long term deal, a sign that they believe in his health. Opposite Bullitt is Antoine Bethea, another above average safety.
The Colts aren’t going to be bad or anything. However, the last time Peyton Manning missed preseason time, the Colts struggled out of the gate. With games in Houston, vs. Cleveland (the favorite to become this year’s version of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), vs. Pittsburgh, and at Tampa Bay (Monday Night game against a feisty young team at home) to start their season, it’s possible they could start 2-2 or even 1-3. If they do that, Houston is good enough to win this division. Houston is a legitimate contender this year. The Colts are still a very good team and will be in the playoffs and contending for another Super Bowl, but I think they lose the division this year by a small margin.
Quarterback: C-
Running backs: D
Receiving corps: A-
Offensive line: C+
Run defense: C
Pass rush: A
Pass coverage: B-
Coaching: B
Projection: 6-10 3rd in AFC South
By Jim Keller
The Dallas Cowboys finally put together a solid effort by their offense, defense and special teams, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
All head coach Wade Phillips told his troops afterward was, “Just play with this kind of urgency every week.”
Tony Romo played flawlessly and hooked up twice on TD passes to forgotten Roy Williams, the defense kept the Texans out of the end zone for nearly 59 minutes and embattled kicker David Buehler converted both of his field goal attempts as the Cowboys posted a 27-13 Sunday at Reliant Stadium to avoid putting themselves in a gargantuan hole heading into the bye week.
The win helped Dallas avoid starting 0-3 for the first time since 2001. Only five teams have rebounded from that early hole to reach the playoffs. So Dallas needed a big performance.
With 98 passes against 42 runs and just two offensive TDs despite the fourth most yards in the NFL through two weeks, the Cowboys’ owner, coaches and players were under siege all week.
The result? Dallas showed more balance against Houston, running 27 times for 101 yards, but it was still Romo and the passing game that provided the bulk of the offense. Romo was 23 of 30 for 284 yards, didn’t force anything and wasn’t sacked.
Dallas just did a better job of converting its opportunities into points. Romo had just one pass dropped, did not thrown any picks and was afforded his best pass protection thus far in three games. Left tackle Doug Free totally neutralized NFL sack leader Mario Williams. The Boys were 2-of-2 with TDs in two red-zone after tallying just 17 points in five red-zone tries in the first two weeks.
Evidence of the Dallas efficient attack:
1. Like a third-quarter drive that went 90 yards in seven plays with Romo a perfect 5 of 5, hooking up with Roy Williams on a short slant for 15 yards to provide Dallas a 17-3 edge with 1:34 left in the third. Romo converted a third-and-2 with an 11-yard pass to Sam Hurd, his first catch of the season, then laid out a perfect pass to Dez Bryant down the left sideline for 30 yards. Williams beat rookie DB Kareem Jackson again on a quick slant for a 63-yard score in Dallas’ next possession. A no show most of his time in Big D, Williams had 5 catches and 117 yards
2. How about the 13-play, 80-yard drive in the second quarter that was capped by Marion Barber’s 1-yard plunge. What made this drive so special? Romo overcame a 1st-and-20 after a 32-yard swing pass to Felix Jones was called back on a block in the back call against Miles Austin. Romo converted three third downs of nine, nine and 10 yards to different receivers: Bryant, Austin and Williams.
Defensively, Arian Foster ripped through the defense for at least a half-dozen runs of 10-or-more yards, but the front seven stuffed just as many runs at the line of scrimmage. The secondary had a solid afternoon, keeping the receivers in front of them (only two 20-yards pass plays and contributing to three of Dallas’ four sacks because of excellent coverage downfield. The Cowboys limited All-Pro Andre Johnson to four catches for 64 yards on seven targets.
Dallas, which entered with two sacks and no turnovers, doubled their sack total (3 by DeMarcus Ware) without over-committing to the blitz, intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble – all in the second half. The NFL’s top-scoring and yardage team was limited to 13 points and 340 yards, although 100 of those yards and the one TD came after the game had been decided.
The Boys even had a goal-line stand, stuffing two runs and then sacking Schaub on an all-out blitz after Houston had reached the 1-yard line for 1st-and-goal..
Even David Buehler came through. After Phillips decided against a 47-yard FG on the first possession despite playing in a dome, Buehler nailed a 49-yarder on the last play of the half and added a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Dallas wasn’t perfect. It failed on a 4th-and-2 from the Texans 30 on its first possession when an attempted screen pass was blown up.
In the first half’s final drive, a 37-yard TD pass to Bryant was called back because Bryant ran out of bounds and came back in, Romo was called for intentional grounding and missed a wide-open Williams 25 yards downfield at the Texans 25. But to his credit, he got Dallas in position for Buehler’s field goal with a nice sideline pass to Witten with one tick left.
The defense allowed a 30-yard draw by Foster on 3rd-and19 which led to a field goal, and Keith Brooking was called twice for pass interference on crucial plays and Jenkins was whistled for illegal contact on 2nd-and-18 in the third quarter.
In a game the Cowboys desperately needed, they came up with a solid three-way performance, playing error-free football, slowing down a versatile offense and winning the battle of special teams.
Fortunately for Dallas, after three weeks they are looking up only at the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC North. The Eagles rattled Jacksonville while Washington was beaten by St. Louis and the New York Giants fell to Tennessee.
Dallas will sit and watch Washington and Philadelphia next week and Chicago at New York.
http://www.respectthestar.com/
Running Back
Southern Illinois
5-9 210
40 time: 4.37
Draft board overall prospect rank: #171
Draft board running back rank: #15
Overall rating: 56*
3/27/10: Every year, seemingly, it happens. A small school running back comes out of nowhere to get drafted in the mid rounds and then within a few years, he’s a starting running back in the National Football League. A prime candidate to follow in those footsteps this year is Deji Karim. He’s got a good size/speed combination and a very good explosive burst. He’s short and stocky, but he can plow his way up the middle with a good short burst and a good pad level. His vision needs some work. He has breakaway speed on the outside and often looks like the fastest guy on the team. He has decent hands out of the backfield as well, but isn’t the most adapt runner in the open field. He’s not very shifty or agile and doesn’t change directions or break tackles very often. Level of competition is obviously an issue, but it has been proven that small school running backs have an easier time transitioning to the NFL than any other position. Basically, if you can run, you can run anywhere and Karim sure can run with 1694 yards and 18 touchdowns on 240 carries last year. He is a bit of a one year wonder though and he only had 76 carries before this year, which might suggest a longer career, but also is a possible sign of him being a fluke and being nothing special in the NFL. I am especially wary of one year wonders with running backs, with good reason, and Karim is certainly a one year wonder. He’ll probably be drafted in the 4th or 5th round range off of his measurables and potential and he has a very good chance of being, if not a feature back, then a very important back to some team in the near future.
NFL Comparison: Jerome Harrison
*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here
Free Agency Priorities
Quarterback
Are they really going to try Chad Henne again after he led one of the league’s worst offenses last year? They didn’t draft a quarterback, but they might try to add a veteran through free agency or trade.
Center
Make this left guard if Mike Pouncey ends up playing center, but they need one more addition inside to fix their offensive line problems.
Free Safety
Chris Clemons was one of the worst safeties in coverage last year and he has trouble tackling as well. 2010 5th round pick Reshad Jones could take over for him next year, but if they’re not comfortable with him starting, they could add a safety through free agency.
Draft Needs
Quarterback
Chad Henne didn’t work out. As good as Jake Long has been, in hindsight, taking Matt Ryan #1 would have been the right move, rather than taking a chance on a flawed 2nd rounder developing (let this be a lesson to any teams to try to do the same in the future). Extension after they tried to court Jim Harbaugh before even firing him, Tony Sparano recently an extension (even if it was the equivalent of a husband giving his wife a big shiny piece of jewelry after she catches him cheating on her). Sparano’s job appears safe so he can feel confident taking a rookie and waiting for him to develop. If he doesn’t feel comfortable doing that, Kyle Orton, Kevin Kolb, or Donovan McNabb could be in Dolphin uniforms next season.
Cornerback
They ranked 22nd against the pass this year, despite Cameron Wake (my defensive player of the year pick) routinely making life a living hell for opposing quarterbacks. Vontae Davis and Steve Smith both looked promising after solid rookie years as the two starters in 2009. This year, Davis made the leap to one of the best young corners in the league, while Smith struggled. Smith should be moved to nickel corner or safety this offseason.
Drafted Jimmy Wilson (#235)
Running Back
Both Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are free agents this offseason. Ronnie Brown has never been able to carry the load by himself without getting hurt (on any level), while Ricky Williams is living on borrowed time. He’ll be 33 in May. In addition to that, neither ran well this year. Their 3.7 yards per attempt on the ground this season was tied for 2nd worst in the league. Even Indianapolis and Green Bay ran better than them. Their 8 rushing touchdowns were tied for 3rd worst, behind only Carolina and Buffalo.
Drafted Daniel Thomas (#62)
Safety
If they don’t convert Sean Smith back into a safety, they could draft or sign one. 2009 3rd round pick Chris Clemons struggles in coverage while 2010 5th round pick Rashad Jones wasn’t able to take Clemons’ job away from him.
Guard
In 2009, they played a game in which it looked like they would run out of available offensive lineman. They drafted John Jerry in the 3rd round in April. This year, the same type of thing happened again against Chicago.
Drafted Mike Pouncey (#15)
Center
In that Chicago game, this team had to go to their 3rd string center. Depth is needed.
Tight End
Anthony Fasano was brought over by Bill Parcells a few years back, but Parcells is gone. As they showed with their slutty actions (yes, I did say slutty, still sticking with the man cheating on his wife metaphor) in the Sparano/Harbaugh situation, they don’t have much respect for the guys the Tuna liked. Sparano was handpicked by the Tuna to coach his team. Farano’s inability to go over 528 yards in any of his 3 seasons in South Beach doesn’t help his case.
Drafted Charles Clay (#174)
Dwight Lowery played alright at safety for the Jaguars last season, ranking slightly above average in coverage and slightly below average against the run. ProFootballFocus had him as their 35th ranked safety last season. 4 years might seem a little much for a safety who doesn’t even have a full season at safety, but the Jaguars have so many other needs and this is such a weak safety class in free agency and in the draft, that this is a reasonable deal (13.6 million over 4). He didn’t get a ton of guaranteed money either, 4 million.
Grade: B
The Superdome should be electric on Sunday as the NFC South’s most heated rivalry starts anew in 2010. The Saints are coming off of a short week of practice following their 25-22 win in San Francisco on Monday night. The Atlanta Falcons demolished the Arizona Cardinals 41-7 last Sunday.
For the Falcons, I don’t think you can say they’ve been let down by their defense so far. Even in their Week 1 loss in Pittsburgh, they only gave up 15 points. But truth be told, the Steelers and Cardinals aren’t exactly lighting it up offensively so far this year. Pittsburgh has no quarterback, and Arizona certainly isn’t better off with Derek Anderson at the helm.
How concerned should the Saints be about facing this improved Falcons defense? Well, they’ve already played two of the toughest units in the league (Minnesota and San Francisco). They certainly weren’t explosive in those games, but they found a way to get the job done when it counted. The biggest story for the Saints offense so far this year has been that they haven’t turned the ball over.
My gut tells me that if that trend continues, they will score more points against Atlanta than they have so far this season.
It will be interesting to see how Saints coach Sean Payton adjusts for the absence of Reggie Bush, who is out with a broken leg. I would think that Pierre Thomas would see at least a few more touches as a result. As long as the Saints find some run/pass balance, Drew Brees is going to have a chance to make some plays down the field.
The Falcons’ biggest threat of course comes in the form of their offense. Quarterback Matt Ryan has had a solid start and can get the ball down field to big time target Roddy White (20 catches, 1 TD). Amazingly, White has a 14 catch lead over Atlanta’s second leading receiver, reserve running back Jason Snelling.
The running game, however, is what makes this offense work. But top backs Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood both left the Arizona game with injuries. Turner should be on the field against the Saints with a less-than-perfect groin, but Norwood will not. He’s out for the year with a torn ACL. That’s a big loss for this team, as Norwood’s big-play ability really does compliment Turner’s ability to gain the tough yards.
But Snelling is no slouch himself. He gained 129 yards against the Cardinals while filling in for Turner and Norwood. The Saints will have to do a better job at stopping the run than they have so far this season.
Keys to the Game:
1. Double Roddy – Roddy White is one of those players who just seems to kill the Saints (and a lot of other teams). He’s by far Matt Ryan’s favorite target. The Saints will have to find a way to limit his success.
2. Don’t Forget Gonzalez – Tony Gonzalez may only have 4 catches this year, but his resume speaks for itself. Don’t be surprised to see the Falcons try to get him more involved this week.
3. Kewl Brees – Drew has been ultra-efficient so far this year. But he’s due to break out and have a huge game. If the Saints can give him some time to throw, watch out.
4. Stop Turner – Michael Turner’s not 100% going into this game. The Atlanta offense revolves around his running abilities. The Saints’ front seven will have their work cut out for them. But if they limit Turner early, they could force the Falcons to become a one-dimensional attack.
5. Wideout Wakeup – Isn’t it about time a Saints wide receiver had a big game? They haven’t seen a lot of action so far and, like Brees, are due for a breakout game.
Prediction: Saints 31 – Falcons 27
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