By Paul Smythe 

If you are at all concerned with how the Miami Dolphins played in last night’s mud bowl, then please, don’t worry one more minute.

I know it looked like the Dolphins didn’t do too well, and the offense wasn’t really able to produce. While it may look that way, don’t give their performance last night another thought.  

The reason I say not to worry is that this is the preseason. It is never an indication of what the season is going to be like. The New England Patriots went 2-2 in the preseason before they had their almost perfect season.

The preseason means nothing.

Not even Brandon Marshall’s dropped passes matter. Both of them were simply because the ball and/or his hands were wet. They weren’t an indication of things to come in Miami. Brandon Marshall will be a beast for the Dolphins, two dropped passes won’t change that.

If there was anything we learned, it was this: we have a pretty good secondary this year. Apart from them giving up a touchdown, our secondary played really well. Sean Smith got an interception, which was really exciting to me.

But, one player that sticks out to me that you don’t normally hear about is CB Nate Ness.

The guy did great against Tampa Bay, and showed great skills. I think he has a great chance at making the team. Not only was his coverage really good, but he also forced two fumbles. Watch for him during these next three preseason games (that don’t matter at all).

In the end, don’t sweat this game. It means nothing and doesn’t affect anything. Coaches are putting in new players all of the time to see how they do. They are not at all concerned about winning.

Miami will still be great, and this is what Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross said when asked during the game about his guarantee for this year:

“I already told you, we’re going all the way”

I’m just glad the season has already started.

http://www.dolphinshout.com

This year was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Eagles. Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook were gone, replaced by Kevin Kolb and LeSean McCoy. They were also missing several 2009 starters from their defense, including cornerback Sheldon Brown. However, Michael Vick had something to say about that.

Vick took over for an injured Kevin Kolb week 1 against the Packers and made an immediate impact, almost completing an amazing comeback, passing for 175 yards and rushing for another 103. Vick would stay on as starter, abusing both the Lions’ and the Jaguars’ weak defenses in weeks 2 and 3 before getting hurt on a run (that ironically didn’t even count because of a penalty) week 4 against the Redskins.

Kevin Kolb came in and did a solid job in his next 2 starts, winning both games and pushing the Eagles’ record to 4-2. Michael Vick would return soon, but many, including me, argued that they should stick with the young Kolb because Vick was a free agent after the season and Kolb, a 2007 2^nd round pick, had never gotten his fair shot. Well, all of us, including me, were wrong. Nothing against Kolb, but when Michael Vick came back to the 4-3 Eagles week 9, they were noticable better.

In Vick’s first start, he outdueled Peyton Manning in a 26-24 Eagles victory over the Colts. The next week, however, was Vick’s Madden Bowl. Vick abused the Washington Redskins like he was playing Madden, scoring 4 first quarter touchdowns in route to a 59-28 Eagles win IN Washington. Vick was 20-28 for 333 yards, 4 touchdowns, 8 carries for 80 yards and 2 more scores. All of a sudden, a potential Super Bowl trophy was in sight.

Vick wouldn’t be quite the same down the stretch, but it’s hard to say 137-219 (62.6%) for 1668 yards (7.6 YPA), and 10 touchdowns to 6 picks in his final 6 games was a bad performance. The Eagles had clinched the NFC East once again by week 16, thanks to an amazing comeback against the Giants. Down 31-10 with 8 minutes left in the game, the Eagles once again showed their explosive potential, winning 38-31.

Despite a loss to Minnesota week 16, the Eagles still had high hopes heading into the playoffs as a #3 seed. They had Michael Vick at quarterback, and explosive playmakers like DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, and Jeremy Maclin all over the field. However, they would still fall in the first round of the playoffs to the Green Bay Packers, 21-16.

Still, it was a very impressive season for the Eagles. Michael Vick was impressive enough to make most of America forgive him for dogfighting. Andy Reid cemented his status as an elite developer of quarterbacks. Say what you want about him, he’s fat, he doesn’t know how to manage a clock, he hates to run the football, Michael Vick completed 6.2% more percent of his passes this season than any season before and Donovan McNabb had arguably his worst season of his career in Washington without Reid. 

I am not going to do an official fantasy defense ranking. This is how I draft my fantasy defense. I make a list of 4 or 5 teams that I view as elite defenses and then, if when my pick comes up, more than half of those defenses are gone, I take one of the remaining. This way, I guarantee myself an elite defense, without having to draft a defense first and possibly drafting a defense way too early, before anyone else is even considering drafting a defense. Without further adieu, here are my top 5 fantasy defenses (in no particular order).

Green Bay Packers

What’s not to like about this defense? With two rookie rush linebackers, they still generated 37 sacks last year. They have the reigning defensive player of the year in Charles Woodson at cornerback and they led the league with 30 picks last year. Nick Collins is one of the better safeties in the league in terms of picking off passes. As their offense gets better this season, thanks to a full season of Clifton and Tauscher, their defense will also only get better. I think, with the maturation of Matthews and Jones at rush linebacker, they should have 40 sacks this year, and generate somewhere between 25-30 picks. They also ranked 7^th in the league in fewest points per game allowed with 18.6 per game, a number which I expect will drop this year, due to the reasons I listed before.

Philadelphia Eagles

They had 44 sacks last year and added a true pass rushing end at left end, across from Trent Cole, in rookie Brandon Graham. He may be a rookie, but he’s NFL ready. With Asante Samuel leading the way, they had 25 picks last year and, even with the loss of Sheldon Brown at cornerback, they should once again get 20+ picks. The only issue, they do give up points. They were middle of pack in terms of points per game allowed last year and with Sheldon Brown gone and either rookie Trevard Lindley or Ellis Hobbs in, that isn’t going to get much better this year, even with an improved pass rush. They’re also almost guaranteed to have a special teams touchdown or two with DeSean Jackson.

New York Jets

8/12/10: I’m not ready to call them no longer an elite squad, but do not draft the Jets defense as the first defense off the board until Revis and his island are in camp. You’re probably safer with a defense like Philadelphia, Minnesota, or Pittsburgh.

They were the best defense is the league in terms of points allowed, yards allowed, you name it, last year. They added two potential shutdown corners in Kyle Wilson and Antonio Cromartie this offseason, as well as Jason Taylor, to help their pass rush. They also are getting Kris Jenkins back from injury. They have the best cornerback in the game in Darrelle Revis, assuming he doesn’t hold out into the season, but I doubt he will. Their 17 picks last year should increase this year. The reason they didn’t have a ton of picks is because defenses rarely threw on Revis, their best interceptor. Cromartie has had a double digit interception season in his career and Kyle Wilson can pick them off too. It’ll be pick your poison for opposing quarterbacks this year so I expect 25 or so interceptions from them. Pass rush still remains their weak point. They had a mere 32 sacks last year. Jason Taylor will help, as will a revamped secondary, but Taylor is old so I wouldn’t expect too much from him. 40+ sacks is possible, but not likely for this bunch. Their special teams are also just so so, maybe a bit above average.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Don’t pay much attention to the Steelers defense last year. It wasn’t elite. Sure the 47 sacks were nice, but 12 picks? Yikes! 20.3 points per game allowed? Double yikes! However, that will all change with a full season of Troy Polamalu. The Steelers gave up about 14 points per game in games he played last year, about 10 points fewer than in games without him. The last time they had a full season of Polamalu, 2008, they were first in the league in almost every defensive category. I think they’ll be closer to that this year. Expect close to 50 sacks, 20 picks, and a top 5 defense in terms of points per game allowed, and yards and all that good stuff. Their weak point will be special teams.

Minnesota Vikings 

They led the league in sacks with 48 last year, but their major weakness is the secondary. They had a mere 11 picks last year and with a secondary that bad, that doesn’t bode well for them keeping guys out of the end zone. They ranked 10^th in the league in fewest points allowed last year, which isn’t bad, but that isn’t elite. There is a big wild card with this team and that is whether or not Pat and Kevin Williams get suspended. If that happens, their run defense will be significantly worse, as will their defense as a whole, and, without them, 50 sacks looks pretty unrealistic. However, as it stands right now, this looks like a team with an excellent pass rush, the favorite in my mind to lead the league in sacks, poor turnover creation, solid touchdown prevention, and solid special teams. If Ray Edwards produces like he did down the stretch last year, that only makes their pass rush that much more deadly.

Don’t want to just go by my top 5, here are a few other candidates to put in your top 5, if you so choose, in no particular order.

Dallas Cowboys

They’re not going to get you a ton of picks, as they had 11 all last year, but their defensive backs are extremely athletic and look likely to return a few picks for scores again this year. They had 42 sacks last year, and that was with DeMarcus Ware hurt and having a down year. I expect that number to go up this year. They also ranked 2^nd in the league in points per game allowed last year, another good thing to like about them, and their special teams are pretty solid and should get you a score or two, at least.

San Francisco 49ers

They had 44 sacks last year, despite not having anyone on the team with more than 6.5. If either Ahmad Brooks or Manny Lawson pick up where they left off last year, and become a 10 sack player, this defense is only going to rack up more and more sacks. They also ranked 4^th in the league in points per game allowed, thanks to a fierce Mike Singletary coached defense. Their secondary remains their weak point, and they will struggle against pass heavy teams, even with an amazing pass rush, but they have fantasy upside. Their 18 picks are complimented by their 23 forced fumbles. They hit hard.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens have had a great defensive squad for years, but last year they took a bit of a step back. They did rank 3^rd in points per game allowed, but their 32 sacks were pretty mediocre, and their 22 picks left something to be desired. However, I expect a better pass rush out of them this year. Terrell Suggs really sucked last year. He was out of shape and had a mere 4.5 sacks, and, to be completely honest, I was surprised he even had that many. They drafted Sergio Kindle in case Suggs struggles again this year, but I actually don’t think Suggs will. He has been participating in non-mandatory OTAs this offseason, for the first time since 2007, and reports say he’s in the best shape he’s been in in years. I think them drafting Kindle has motivated him to work harder to keep his job and it’s paying off. I think it was brilliant. They also have a fully healthy Ed Reed to help with their interceptions and they still have Ray Lewis, so I think this will once again be a very solid fantasy football defense.

New Orleans Saints

Their pass rush is going to be a middle of the road pass rush, 35 sacks last year, until they get a true pass rusher opposite Will Smith. I don’t think Alex Brown is that guy. However, they’re going to force a ton of turnovers. They had 26 picks last year, 8 of which were returned for scores. I highly doubt they’ll have that many touchdowns as a unit this year, but Darren Sharper has 11 career defensive scores and Tracy Porter can also return them well so they should be able to score you points in that way. They also have great special teams, led by Reggie Bush. 

Frostee Rucker was the other situation run stuffing 4-3 end from Cincinnati who signed elsewhere today (Jonathan Fanene). Like Fanene, Rucker is slightly above average against the run and well below average as a pass rusher. 12 million over 3 years made a little sense for Fanene because he seems like a better fit in a 3-4, but the Browns run a 4-3 and they still paid 20 million over 4 years for Rucker. I don’t really think he’s any different than incumbent left end Jayme Mitchell. Both should just be situational players and they still need another pass rusher through the draft. I guess when the Browns said they weren’t going to spend big money this offseason, they meant they wouldn’t spent big money unless the player sucked.

Grade: F

Defensive End 

Indiana

6-3 261

40 time: 5.08

Draft board overall prospect rank: NR

Draft board defensive end rank: NR

Overall rating: 42*

            7/23/09: Greg Middleton is an interesting prospect. He had an amazing 16 sacks in 2007, showing that he has the capability to do great things, but he followed that with 4 sacks last year. He has great strength, both upper and lower body strength, but isn’t a great run stopper. He runs a very pedestrian 40, even for his large size, but has a great history of getting to the quarterback. He projects as a left end in the NFL because he’s not a good enough of a run blocker to play up front in a 3-4 or inside in a 4-3 and he’s not a quick enough pass rusher to play right end in a 4-3 or rush linebacker in a 3-4. When right, he has the ability to run over and overpower offensive linemen to get to the quarterback, but he has shown that he isn’t always right. The upside is there for him to be a force on a 4 man defensive line, taking on two blockers, but he’s very inconsistent. I would still take a risk on him, as a flier, based on what he has done in the past, in the 3^rd or 4^th round range, but he has the potential to do a whole lot of nothing as an NFL player, as he may prove to be too big and slow to be a legitimate pass rusher. He carries a lot of extra weight, isn’t as tall as you’d like a defensive end to be, and he’s not very gifted athletically. You here it all the time about NBA prospects and NFL players, they gave great length. Scouts are always going on and on about prospects’ length, “great length” might be one of the most overused phrases on NBA and NFL draft days, but Middleton is a guy who simply does not have great length for his height and that hurts him as a pass rusher. If he has another good season, with 8+ sacks, he could shoot up into day 1, as he would have proved to scouts that he is a big time pass rusher and that 2007 was not a fluke. Even if he does not prove this season that 2007 was a fluke, I’d still use a 4^th rounder on him, because, while it may have been a fluke, it was a pretty damn good fluke. I currently do not have him ranked on my top 100 prospects big board, but that could change as the season goes on. In fact, I am currently debating moving him up, giving him a 3^rd round grade, and putting him in the next edition of my top 100 prospects.

NFL Comparison: Poor man’s Dewayne White 

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Quarterback 

Washington

6-3 231

Draft Board Overall Quarterback Rank: #4

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #80

Rating: 72 (mid 3rd round) 

40 time: 4.52

4/16/11: You’re probably thinking, Locker went 39 of 41, why are you knocking him? He had what was called a “deliberately easy” work out. Do I really want a signal caller who doesn’t challenge himself? Where’s the confidence? It’s also worth noting that the Seahawks were the only ones who sent their head coach to watch him and the Titans were the only ones who had decision makers, upper level executives, there. I would be really surprised if he went 12^th to Minnesota like some are projecting. He’s probably a 2^nd rounder. 

2/15/11: Jake Locker lost a lot of money returning to Washington for his Senior Season. He was being talked about as a potential #1 pick, over Sam Bradford, last year and probably wouldn’t have fallen out of the top 10. The Redskins might have drafted him, as Mike Shanahan admits he really liked Locker as a prospect coming out last year, though the Redskins eventually traded for Donovan McNabb.

Now, he’s being talked about as a potential 2nd or 3rd round pick. I think the absolute highest he’s taken is 10th by the Redskins, who, after a falling out with Donovan McNabb, need a new quarterback. However, I don’t know if they’d use the 10th pick on him because I can’t think of any other team that would draft him in the top 20.

Seattle at 25 makes sense as he’s a hometown kid who played in a system run by Steve Sarkisian at Washington. Sarkisian happens to be a former assistant of Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Someone could always trade up into the bottom of the first round, but if he gets by Washington and Seattle and no one trades up, he’ll fall into the 2nd round.

I was never that high on Locker. I had a 2nd round grade on him last and before he decided to return to Washington, citing his lack of footwork and accuracy. Since returning to Washington, his accuracy problems haven’t improved, at all. His completion percentage dropped from 58.2% to 55.4%. He completed 4-20 against Nebraska. 5-16 in a rematch against Nebraska. 10-21 for 68 yards against UCLA. 7-14 for 64 yards against Stanford. Those are all terrible games.

Lot of people like to blame his lack of elite stats on his supporting cast and though his supporting cast is somewhat to blame, a lot of the blame has to fall on Locker. His footwork is terrible and he often overthrows open receivers. He often misses open receivers entirely in his reads. His accuracy didn’t improve with a better supporting cast at the Senior Bowl, not in practices or the game. He almost kills two receivers on two separate wild throws in the game. 

When asked about his accuracy at the Senior Bowl, about how he’s never completed more than 60% of his passes in a season, he didn’t respond with a reason, like stats don’t show the whole picture. He said it’s because he hasn’t been playing under center for that long, making an excuse (plus he’s been under center for 3 or 4 years, so it’s a bad excuse at that). 

I also question Locker’s leadership. His record at Washington was 15-26, a lot of which does have to fall on the shoulders of the quarterback. He also choose to return to Washington rather than challenging himself at the next level in 2009, which I see as a sign of weakness and lack of confidence. 

What Locker does have is a cannon arm, great athleticism, and mobility, and experience in a Pro Style West Coast offense. However, that doesn’t make him an NFL quarterback. It makes him a project, someone who’s not ready to step in right away. I’m not questioning the upside. I’m questioning whether he’ll ever make good on it.

NFL Comparison: Brian Brohm

Wide Receiver

Tulane

6-0 206

40 time: 4.57

Draft board overall prospect rank: #65

Draft board wide receiver rank: #7

Overall rating: 75*

             3/27/10: Jeremy Williams would be one of my favorite wide receivers of this draft class if it weren’t for two things, an ugly history of injuries, and the lack of experience and consistency as a result of those injuries. Williams has very nice reliable hands and good experience succeeding and putting up huge numbers in a Pro Style offense. Last year he caught 84 passes for 1113 yards and 7 touchdowns for a team that didn’t have a great passing game. He had 84 of his team’s 234 catches, 1113 of their 2436 receiving yards, and 7 of their 13 passing touchdowns. All of their, remember, is in a true Pro Style offense so the learning curve is going to be much smaller for him when he gets drafted. He has good hands. He runs good routes. He knows how to get open and, more importantly possibly, he doesn’t necessarily need to be open to catch the ball. He’s very good at making catches against tight coverage and made his quarterbacks look much better than they actually were last year. He doesn’t have breakaway speed. In fact, his speed is fairly sub par and that hurts him at the next level, but he does have experience running on end arounds and returning kicks and showed very good open field presence on those, though his speed is still fairly limited and I wouldn’t call him a running back in the open field with the way he breaks tackles. He breaks a few, but not a ton. He’s a very smart player. He’s very humble by nature and he catches the ball at it’s highest point with an NFL caliber leap. However, the injuries are there. He has 2 ACL tears in his career at Tulane. This not only doesn’t bode well for his future, as scouts try to predicate what he will be like in the future and how that knee will hold up, but it also makes him a bit of a one year wonder. He’s looked good in flashes before, but he really only has one good year of production, and even that was against not the toughest competition. I would take Jeremy Williams in the second round, probably, though I, obviously have not gotten a chance to check out his knee myself, nor would I know what I was looking at if I did. If individual team doctors give a favorable review on his knee, he could go as high as the 2^nd round, and remember, all it takes is one. Then again, if that doesn’t happen, he could slip to the 4^th where he could be a huge steal if he stays healthy. He has borderline 1^st round talent if he can stay healthy and adjust to a tougher level of competition, which is probably going to be a lot easier than some college style offense guys trying to transition to a real Pro Style scheme.    

NFL Comparison: Nate Burleson

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

By Kevin Harrison 

Jets against the Bills is mostly a let down game and a recipe for disaster.  There have been numerous trips to Buffalo when the Jets needed a win against a pathetic Buffalo team only to have their season crumble after a heartbreaking loss. 

However, this October day in Buffalo was quite different as the Jets dominated from the opening kickoff until the final whistle.

It was a beautiful first drive engineered by Mark Sanchez walking his team right down the field with a mix of the run and the pass in getting an early 7-0 lead after a short Tomlinson run.

This day, the story wasn’t the throwing game; at was all about the ground and pound.  LT had his best day in over two years notching 133 yards and 2 TDs.   Shonn Greene also rushed for 117 yards as the Jets total rush output hit a sweet 273 yards.

Sanchez did a solid job as well running the show and hitting Dustin Keller for a Touchdown as well as another long connect to Braylon Edwards.  Even Brad Smith got into the action with a TD pass to Dustin Keller.

The only complaint I had was a short Nick Folk missed field goal that would have given the Jets a 10-0 lead.

But, besides that, the offense moved up and down the field at will.  And it should even get better next week with the return of Santinio Holmes.

The defense did a solid job keeping their offense off the field.  This was a game of time of possession and we had the ball for 40 minutes compared to their 19.5 minutes.  A lot of Buffalo’s yards gained were during a team brain fart at the end of the first half allowing Buffalo to score quickly and stay in the game.  The rest of their yardage was gained in the final quarter when the game was all but sealed.

I loved the pressure on the quarterback and our defense did a nice job stripping the ball in route to 2 fumble recoveries.  Great play was made by Bryan Thomas, Nick Lowery, and Jason Taylor who is having a hell of a season.   I’m a little worried about Ellis who banged up his knee and we never did hear what happened to him.

Maybe they should call the Jets the Road Warriors as this is the 5th straight regular season road game this team has won.  The win against Buffalo was such a beautiful thing that there is not much to even criticize when so many things go right.

Next week, things get more interesting as we welcome Brett Favre back to the Meadowlands.  I hope Calvin Pace and Darrelle Revis are ready to play to help spoil Favre’s return.   

http://khbirdmantalkingjets.blogspot.com/ 

So Drayton Florence goes for 15 million over 3 years and Josh Wilson goes for 13.5 million over that same period of time. Something’s not right here. Wilson is a much better cornerback than Florence and the Redskins needed another starter opposite DeAngelo Hall. They got a great value here.

Grade: A

By Ryan Glab 

A look at four keys for the Bears to beat this week’s opponent. 

1. Apply extra pressure to rattle Eli Manning

Eli Manning’s six interceptions this season currently ranks him tied for first with Brett Favre for the league lead. He’s also been sacked 7 times — one less than Jay Cutler — sixth-most in the league. This game should present an opportunity for the Bears to do two things: shore up their pass rush which could mean a big game for Julius Peppers, and create some turnovers. Manning has some good weapons to throw to in wide receivers Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and Hakeem Nicks. Smith caught nine balls for 103 yards on Sunday and Nicks is a big target who is tied for the league lead with four touchdown receptions. Manningham and Nicks have caught a combined 10 passes for more than 20 yards and both rank in the Top 12 (Manningham in the Top 3) in that stat category. In short, Manning can burn the Bears secondary unless they can put extra pressure on him.

2. Extra protection against Mathias Kiwanuka

From the the league’s No. 1 pass rusher to the No. 2, according to sacks, anyway, the Bears must face another tough pass rusher on Sunday night. If I had to make a prediction, I’d say Kiwanuka’s hot start will fade whereas the Packers’ Clay Matthews will stay among the league’s best throughout the season. Kiwanuka has recorded a sack in each game this season, which means he’s been applying pretty consistent pressure. Kiwanuka’s four sacks have accounted for all but two of the Giants’ total sacks this year. The Bears will face another tough defensive end opposite Kiwanuka in Justin Tuck, so the Bears’ offensive tackles will have their work cut out for them this week.

3. Contain Ahmad Bradshaw

The Bears have been criticized by many for what would be described as an inflated ranking for their league-leading run defense. I personally feel their run defense is certifiably good while others have claimed they haven’t faced any good backs yet. This week is their chance to prove they are the real deal. New York’s Ahmad Bradshaw is the NFL’s sixth-leading rusher with 253 yards. He has a 4.9-yard average and a long run of 39 yards. He’s broken three for over 20 yards and has rushed for 13 first downs, seventh in the league in that category. Even though the Giants can throw the ball with Manning, Bradshaw is averaging 17.3 carries per game — 11th most in the league — so the Giants clearly like to get him involved in the game plan.

4. Guard against complacency and the short week syndrome

The Bears are 3-0 and are riding an emotional high after winning a physical battle with a division rival on Monday night. Those are a lot of variables which often are the precursor to a letdown. But this isn’t a trap game because there’s no reason to look ahead to the next week. I’m confident the Bears are treating this game as a big deal. They’re still the underdogs despite their record being two wins better than the Giants and they publicly acknowledge that they’re still not getting any respect. I’m less concerned about mental mistakes in this one and more concerned about the health and endurance of the team following a short week of preparation.

http://www.bearsbeat.com