2009 Season Preview, Part 2

With the 2009 season upon us (and 1 game already down), it’s time to look at the key story-lines of the upcoming 2009 NFL season. This time around, it’s a look at other story-lines from around the league.

Stories To Follow
Detroit Lions
–> The background: The Lions went 0-16 last season, and have lost 17 straight regular season games.
–> The story: Things are different now. They have a new coach (Jim Schwartz). They have a QB of the future (Matthew Stafford), and he’s already been named the opening day starter. While I’m not a huge fan of the pick (I’m a believer in building from the lines out, and would’ve gone with Jason Smith #1), Stafford is now the guy. They also added a TE (Brandon Pettigrew) for him in the 1st round, to go along with WR Calvin Johnson and RB Kevin Smith. Nice looking offense there. The o-line is still crap though. And they need a #2 WR. The defense, though, is a bit more worrisome. There haven’t been many huge changes from last season’s unit, and they’re extremely weak in the middle of the d-line, which will make it hard for them to stop the run. Schwartz’s time in Tennessee shows a seeming unwillingness to blitz, as he seems to prefer getting pressure from the front 4. That could be a challenge early for the Lions. It’ll be interesting to see how they do this season.

The Wildcat
–> The background: The Dolphins introduced the Wildcat formation last year, and it took the NFL by storm. Teams weren’t quite sure how to gameplan for it, and eventually many teams picked it up and added a couple plays to the playbook.
–> The story: It’s now been 1 season. Many teams are using the Wildcat. Which brings up the question… will it still be effective? Or will the Wildcat formation by a “one-year wonder” that quickly dies out? Teams have been working on making it better of course… guys like Michael Vick, Pat White and Troy Smith make the passing dimension a bit more real and worthy of being defended than someone like Ronnie Brown. Percy Harvin brings a ton of speed. But still, it’ll be interesting to see if teams going up against it in their own practices become better and defending it and pretty much shut it down.

Merriman Case Closed; Seymour Facing Suspension

Good news for Shawne Merriman… the DA has dismissed the case against Shawne Merriman, closing the case. Merriman will not face any suspension from the NFL regarding this case either.

2009 Season Preview, Part 1

With the 2009 season upon us (and 1 game already down), it’s time to look at the key story-lines of the upcoming 2009 NFL season. This time around, it’s a look at story-lines to follow regarding certain players that have had interesting off-seasons.

Stories To Follow:
Richard Seymour:
–> The background: Seymour and the Patriots were reportedly working on a contract extension for Seymour. The Raiders then offered the Pats a deal they couldn’t refused (no idea who called who here), and the Patriots bit, sending Seymour to Oakland.
–> The story: No one is quite sure what is going on. The Pats have taken the 2011 1st-rounder and moved on. The Raiders are still waiting for Seymour to report. And Seymour is sitting at home. No one is quite sure what is causing the hold-up or when Seymour will report. Or, for that matter, what Seymour wants now. Does he want the Raiders to give him the extension the Pats were working with him on? Does he just want the Pats to apologize for what he might consider unfair treatment? Seymour could potentially sit out the season… but then he wouldn’t be a free agent after this coming season. There were rumors that the Raiders had told Seymour he had 5 days to report… they’re denying it. There doesn’t seem to be an end in sight… largely because no one seems to even know what the problem is in the first place.

Michael Crabtree:
–> The background: Crabtree was considered a top-5 pick in the draft. Concerns about injuries dropped him a bit. The Raiders passed on him at #7 for another WR (though most considered Crabtree to be the better player), and the Niners took him at #10.
–> The story: Crabtree has decided he wants top-5 money (or at least more than #7 pick Darrius Heyward-Bey) as he considers himself the best WR in the class, and refuses to sign the Niners contract, which would give him as much money as the #10 slot would seem to call for (based on previous seasons and what the guys around #10 got an all). And he’s willing to sit out the season and re-enter the draft next year (so he says) if he doesn’t get it. The Niners, meanwhile, aren’t budging… they got him at #10 and that’s what they’re willing to pay him. Hopefully the Niners don’t budge… otherwise it’s going to screw up the already screwed up NFL rookie pay-scale even more. Crabtree just needs to sign and get going… if he’s really as good as he thinks he is (remember… he hasn’t played a down in the NFL yet!), he’ll get his huge contract sooner or later.

Shawne Merriman
–> The background: He has been accused by (ex?)-GF Tila Tequila of choking her and throwing her to the ground when she tried to leave his residence. There was also a citizen’s arrest signed by Tequila, accusing “Lights Out” of battery & false imprisonment. Merriman has denied these charges, and states he was trying to keep her from leaving his house because she appeared intoxicated.
–> The story: Merriman already has a ton of stuff on his plate, having missed most of last season with an injury & trying to bounce back. And there was the steroid suspension before that (2006). The Chargers are supposedly unhappy with Merriman’s off-field demeanor, and are reportedly considering letting him leave as a FA after the season (they did draft a LB in the 1st round this year). Which makes this season even more key for him as he might be playing for a new contract. The fewer distractions for him the better.

Williams Wall Available For Entire Season

Count it as a huge win for the Vikings. A federal court has ruled in favor of the Williams’ Wall duo, saying the duo can pursue the lawsuit in a Minnesota state court and not a federal court as the NFL had wanted.

The players are fighting a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy regarding steroids and related substances. They had most of their claims thrown out in federal court, but their current allegation is that the league’s testing policy violates Minnesota state labor law. That case will now proceed, but the trial won’t be scheduled until sometime after the season — as required by a ruling earlier this summer from Hennepin County (Minn.) judge Gary Larson.

Steelers Start SB Defense With OT Win

Exactly what you’d expect from the Titans & Steelers. Inconsistent offense. Lots of defense. Special teams being key. Kinda like last season, no? And in the end, that favored the Steelers, as they walked away with a 13-10 OT win.

Obviously the biggest news for both teams are the injuries. The Steelers lost Troy Polamalu (note: Madden cover boy) in the 1st half on a gruesome injury that saw Alge Crumpler landing on his leg during the blocked FG sequence. Early word seems to be MCL sprain and 3-6 weeks, though it could be worse (read: something’s torn). MRI coming. The Titans saw Bo Scaife get hit hard around the knee as well… enough to get him to stop playing, drop to the ground while losing the ball and writhe around in pain. The ball ended up with the Steelers, Scaife ended up on the bench. Not sure what happened there… not seeing anything as of yet.

Like stated above, the game itself had memories of the teams from last season.

1. Both teams tried to run early.
2. Both teams have strong defenses, making #1 a non-factor.
3. The Steelers offensive line was generally pathetic.
4. Big Ben got hit. A lot. Yet he found enough time often enough to make the big plays.
5. The Titans used a couple WRs often, but really need a guy to catch some passes in traffic.
6. Kerry Collins is a fine ball-control QB, but if he’s pressured, he’ll screw up. Or get sacked.
7. Special teams is big for both teams. Today’s winner… Pittsburgh.
8. The Titans refusing to blitz (late).

Game 1: Tennessee @ Pittsburgh

It’s gameday! (Well kind of… there’s only 1 game. It’s the start, but “gameday” is probably on Sunday.)

What to expect:
-> A lot of defense.
-> White/Johnson & Parker/Mendenhall. AKA… a lot of running.
-> More defense.

Quinn Named Starter… Maybe

In a story with the ending many expected, the Browns have named Brady Quinn their starting QB heading into the 1st game of the season… maybe. It has been confirmed by a couple people (Mary Cay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, preceded only by … TO on twittter?!?!?), but no word from Eric Mangini yet.

This was the expected outcome by many (most?), despite Mangini deciding he wasn’t going to say a thing. It’ll be interesting to see how long his leash is and how long it takes before Anderson gets the call. Both guys know they need to impress when given a shot… otherwise Mangini might try to bring his own guy in (via FA or the draft) this coming off-season.

Quinn will start the season off against the Vikings, a team featuring a vicious d-line that should both get to him often and prevent the Browns from having an effective running game (especially with an aging Jamal Lewis back there… James Davis had an impressive pre-season though). Plus he has a WR that drops a ton of passes and another WR that is really fast but might not even be able to play. Two of their 5 WRs are rookies, and the TE positions feature some solid vets but not guys that you’ll constantly be looking to as a QB (a la Antonio Gates or someone). Though I guess if you’re constantly under pressure, you look for any guy wearing the same helmet as you.

Welcome to the NFL (again…). No one ever said it’d be easy.

2009 Week 1: Game Of The Weak

Game Of The Weak:
Denver Broncos (0-0) @ Cincinnati Bengals (0-0)… 9/13/09, 11:00 AM MST
Unlike the games of the week, the Game of the Weak features 2 teams with questionable futures with huge questions in key areas (health, defense & QB). While the NFL did a more-or-less good job of avoiding that in week 1, a game had to be picked. So picked a game was… featuring 1 team that could be solid if they remained healthy (and avoided off-field issues) and 1 team that underwent a massive overhaul this off-season.

The Bengals went out this off-season and were hit relatively hard. They did add WR Laveranues Coles & SS Roy Williams, but lost WR TJ Houshmandzadeh, OT Stacy Andrews, S Dexter Jackson, P Kyle Larson, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and more. They did add 2 guys who were considered to have 1st round talent through the draft in OT Andre Smith & LB Rey Maualuga, though the Andre Smith experiment has been a disaster so far. What this team is hoping for, yet again, is bounce-back season from Carson Palmer & Chad Ochocinco, and a solid season from Cedric Benson. Palmer seems to be healthy again, and that’ll help Ochocinco as much as it helps the rest of the team. There’s newcomer Coles, who could be an alright 2nd option opposite Ochocinco. And there’s Chris Henry, who can be a huge weapon for Carson Palmer provided he can keep his head on straight. The Killer C’s on offense (Carson, Cedric, Chad, Coles & Chris) give the Bengals a solid offense… if healthy. Especially Carson. Defensively, the Bengals LB trio is solid (featuring 2 youngsters in Keith Rivers & Maualuga), and the DTs are big and gap-eating. They do need to work on pass-rushing though. Their corners are nice, but without a pass-rush, teams will burn them.

The Broncos… ah, the Broncos. They started the off-season in surprising fashion, firing Mike Shanahan and hiring ex-Patriot coordinator Josh McDaniels. He promptly decided he wanted Matt Cassel as his QB, chased after him, failed (!), and pissed off Jay Cutler to the point where Cutler demanded a trade. After much talk, Cutler was dealt to Chicago for Kyle Orton. The team also added a handful of RBs after their injury problems at the position last year, including 1st rounder Knowshon Moreno. Defensively, they did add Brian Dawkins. As this review shows though, the Broncos let a huge number of guys leave in what could be considered a huge overhaul. There’s the downgrade at QB. Star WR Brandon Marshall had his team-handed-down suspension lifted, but you never know what’ll happen next with him. There has even been talk of him having demanded a trade. Defensively, the unit was horrible last year… and McDaniels decided to change things up by introducing the 3-4 and bringing in over-the-hill players to make it work. Maybe bringing together a bunch of marginal 3-4 players (guys that the Browns & Niners cast off!) and a couple of 4-3 guys who now have to learn a new position that they don’t fit will all of a sudden fix the defense, but I wouldn’t count on it. Throw in a secondary of 4 guys over 30, and if the team isn’t pressuring the QB early & often, the Broncos could be in trouble. And do you really want Kyle Orton trying to lead a pass-only attack in an attempted comeback?

For the game… the Bengals should come out firing. Run, pass, whatever… figure out which area (run D, pass D) the Broncos look more vulnerable in, and attack. The Broncos will need to play the pass to keep Palmer from exploding, which should help open lanes for Cedric Benson. Will the 3-4 generate enough pressure to keep Palmer off balance? On the other side, the Broncos would probably be best off to see if the run game will work for them, given that the o-line is still held over (at least partially) from Shanahan’s scheme. With Moreno & Buckhalter, the Broncos have a couple of backs to throw at the Bengals. If that isn’t working, I guess it’ll be up to the arm of Orton to find Marshall (who should be playing) & Royal while avoiding the Bengals guys. The Bengals have some big guys up front, so if they can hold the backs, the ends & LBs will get some opportunities to pressure Orton. If I had to bet though, I’d guess you see a couple TDs from each team, at the least.

The Sideline Report: QB Battles Being Decided

As the season approaches, teams start deciding on the winners of their positions battles. And like always, some of the most publicized battles are those that take place at the QB position. Most teams, as it is, already knew their guy before the off-season began. But there were those select few…

Detroit Lions
Starter: Daunte Culpepper v. Matthew Stafford
According to the coaches, the winner here didn’t win because the other guy played worse. He won because he played better. Of course, I’m pretty sure that a solid connection with Calvin Johnson had a big part to play in that. Both guys were alright in the pre-season, but Culpepper’s inability to play in the last game might’ve cost him the battle. And as a result, “The Future is Now!” in Detroit, where rookie Matthew Stafford will take the expectations that come with being the #1 overall pick and try to carry a team that went 0-16 last year. And his leash will be huge, so don’t expect to see much of Culpepper this coming season.
Winner: Matthew Stafford, by 1 pre-season game

Cleveland Browns
Starter: Brady Quinn v. Derek Anderson
On one hand, you have a guy that had a career year a couple years back… and has sucked since. On the other hand, you have the guy that was drafted as the “future” but has shown nothing since. And on the 3rd hand (okay, there aren’t 3 hands, but Eric Mangini’s brain is so off-kilter that it’s telling him there is a 3rd one) you have a coach who’ll probably want his own guy after the season. So it’s do-or-die for these 2 guys. Unless Mangini decides to throw a curveball (one that won’t even make it to the plate) and go with the guy he brought over from the Jets with him, Brett Ratliff. We’ll discount that for now. Most people seem to think he’ll pick Quinn. The truth of the matter is, the winner has been decided. Mangini knows who’ll start week 1. But in hopes of messing up his offense confusing the Vikings (the week 1 opponent), he refuses to divulge in the information. Not even to the 2 QBs in the battle. Well, Mangini has always been a genius. Like the time he tried to force the Jets into the 3-4, despite them only having personnel for the 4-3. And the time he traded a 1st rounder (aka Mark Sanchez) to the Jets for 2 picks and a bunch of back-ups (fine, that might be on the GM, but still). So obviously Mangenius knows what he’s doing here. Here’s hoping for the Browns fans that it doesn’t backfire.
Winner: Result to be released with discretion of the coach

Minnesota Vikings
Back-up: Tarvaris Jackson v. Sage Rosenfels
Yes, their starting QB became an easy guess when Brett Favre un-retired (again) during the pre-season. But that left them with a different battle… that for the right to be the “back-up” and get snaps should Favre miss time with injury. The 2 combatants were ex-starter Tarvaris Jackson and ex-Texan Sage Rosenfels, who wasn’t too bad when thrust into the starting role last year (though 1 really bad game comes to mind). T-Jax, who HC Brad Childress traded up to draft and has been given many chances, has struggled when starting, though he wasn’t that bad to end last season. But with the upgrade (they hope) in Favre available, the Vikings bit on it. And while Childress has said he won’t announce the back-up until Sunday, chances seem good that it will be Rosenfels, who has a skill-set that is more similar to Favre’s than T-Jax’s is.
Winner: Undecided

3rd-String QB Report: New OCs? Now?

When disaster strikes, the 3rd string QB… remains on the bench. Could you be any more irrelevant?

In what became a somewhat surprising trend, 3 teams decided to give their offensive coordinator the “heave-ho”, just weeks before the start of the 2009 regular season. On some level, I guess it makes some sense… the teams want to start the season off on the right foot, and if they feel that their OC isn’t getting the job done, it’s time for a change. But if you consider the teams, it is fairly surprising…

Buffalo: Implemented a no-huddle offense this off-season, and give new OC Alex Van Pelt 8 days to get it all under his control.
Tampa Bay: Jeff Jagodzinski was hired this off-season, when Raheem Morris took over as coach. The season hasn’t even started, and Morris is on his 2nd OC.
Kansas City: When Todd Haley was hired on as coach, he kept Chan Gailey around to call the plays. Talk about a quick change of mind, though by “quick” I mean Brett Favre speed.

2009 Week 1: Games Of The Week

Game Of The Week:
Tennessee Titans (0-0) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0)… 9/10/09, 6:30 PM MST
It’s finally here! The regular season starts off with a bang, as the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers face off against the team that had the best record last season, the Tennessee Titans. The teams met once last season, with the Titans winning at home, 31-14. A potential playoff match-up was erased when the Titans were bounced by the Ravens in the divisional round.

The Steelers team is relatively the same… they did lose a couple of players, including WR Nate Washington to the Titans, and the biggest addition might be that of 1st round pick Ziggy Hood. Worth watching is the OL though, which has had issues keeping Big Ben up. The team is the same though… they’ll rely on their blitzing defense & running game (with a rejuvenated Rashard Mendenhall?) to overpower you. And when that’s done, they have Big Ben, Hines Ward & Santonio Holmes to make you pay.

The Titans, meanwhile, have seen some bigger changes. While the offense is mostly the same, led by veteran QB Kerry Collins, star RB Chris Johnson and a slimmed-down RB LenDale White, they did try to address the WR spot (a sore spot in Tennessee for years) by adding Nate Washington and drafting Kenny Britt to place alongside Justin Gage and… well, no one. That’s all they have. Given that RB duo & the strong line though (great run blocking, and only 12 sacks given up last year), they’ll depend on the run to carry them, and hope Collins can avoid the TOs and play the role of “game-manager”. The defense is another issue. While they were one of the best units last year, they will have to cope with the loss of star DT Albert Haynesworth in the middle (and you can’t just go replace Haynesworth) and the loss of DC Jim Schwartz (now the HC in Detroit). The Titans will be trying to replace Haynesworth with rookie Sen’Derrick Marks at some point in the future… I don’t see that happening week 1 though.

For the game… expect the Steelers to try and run the ball early, to gauge the impact of Haynesworth’s loss on the Titans D. In the passing game, it might be advisable to stay away from Cortland Finnegan, and given the questions about the Steelers offensive line, quick outs might be the way to go to make sure Big Ben can start again week 2. Like the Steelers, the Titans will turn to the run early & often. If the Steelers are able to shut it down though, can the o-line hold off the blitz long enough for Collins to find one of his WRs? (And will they hold on to the ball?) Don’t be surprised to see a low-scoring affair to start the season.

HotP! O’Connell Headed To New York

Dealt		New Team
QB Kevin O'Connell
Undisclosed compensation

The Lions used their waiver priority well, scooping up recently released (by the Patriots) QB Kevin O’Connell, and then turning and dealing him to the Jets. The Lions have their young QB (Matthew Stafford), and a couple other guys (Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton) who they trust… at least enough for this season. And a 4th QB would be a waste on a team with so many holes/needs. Teams had interest in O’Connell when he was cut, and the Lions capitalized on this too trade him and pick up (whatever it is they picked up).

The Jets, meanwhile, pick up a QB that spent the past season with a rival, and don’t give up much for him (maybe a conditional pick?). Of course, there are questions about what exactly the Jets are thinking… they already have 3 young QBs on the roster (Mark Sanchez, Erik Ainge, Kellen Clemens) and adding another youngster that really looked unimpressive during the pre-season is a bit of a question mark. There is news that Kellen Clemens isn’t 100% healthy, so maybe that’s why the Jets went after O’Connell. The other rumor is that they might try to trade O’Connell to 1 of the other teams that had interest (Denver, Cleveland) in a package deal while trying to land a big-name WR (Brandon Marshall, Braylon Edwards). I guess it’ll be wait-and-see for now… Kevin O’Connell shouldn’t be unpacking just yet.

HotP! Patriots Deal Seymour

Dealt		New Team
DE Richard Seymour
2011 1st rounder

The Raiders were in desperate need of DL help, and they get some here by trading away a future 1st-rounder for Seymour. Seymour automatically improves the pass-rush off the edge for the Raiders (unless they’re moving him to DT, in which case he doesn’t really help the outside pass rush). Of course, they did just give up a 1st rounder for a guy who’ll be 30 before the season, but at least for this season, the Raiders defense improves. After the season is still TBD… will the Raiders give him a new contract? The Pats probably wouldn’t have…

The Patriots, meanwhile, get a high draft pick (something they tend to use relatively well) in return for an injury-prone D-lineman that they were going to lose after the season for sure. The Pats have enough depth to replace him on the depth chart, and now have another first rounder to use as ammo. The question, though, is whether or not they can replace his production on the field. The Patriots are banking on yes…

Hot Off The Press! McCown Traded To Jags

Dealt		New Team
QB Luke McCown
Conditional 2010 5th rounder

There had been talk of the Bucs entering the regular season with 4 QBs, which seemed a bit unnecessary… even if 2 of them are unproven youngsters (Josh Johnson, Josh Freeman). With Byron Leftwich being named the starter, Luke McCown became available via trade… the Bucs seemingly had no interest in releasing any of their QBs… and rumors flew (well, kinda anyways… it is a back-up QB).

In came the Jaguars, who needed a back-up behind starter David Garrard after seeing Todd Bouman struggle mightily during the pre-season. The Jags seemingly were unimpressed with the hordes of QBs let go with cut-downs happening (vets like Jeff Garcia, youngsters like Brian Brohm and John David Booty) and decided to trade a conditional pick to the Buccaneers to land a solid back-up QB. Of course, their hope is that McCown doesn’t have to see the field at all, but it’s better safe than sorry in a league where the QBs carry the team more often than not.