The Top Seven: Potential Pleasant Surprises of 2009

While there are always disappointments in an NFL season, there are also several pleasant surprises.

Last year there were players like Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Steve Slaton, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and DeAngelo Williams.

Teams like the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, and Baltimore Ravens were all not expected to contend but all wound up in the playoffs, with the Cardinals getting all the way to the Super Bowl.

Who will surprise the NFL this upcoming season?

Well, let’s take a look.

Mark Sanchez: The New York Jets’ Model Quarterback—Before GQ’s Help

A picture is supposed to tell a thousand words.

So when Mark Sanchez’s glamour shots from GQ were released, most people in the media decided to redefine the story of the New York Jets’ first overall draft pick.

All of the post-draft chatter had died down. The fact that he’s the son of a hard-working, blue-collar firefighter was no longer relevant. The football acumen he displayed that made him worthy of his draft selection became an afterthought.

In the eyes of the short-sighted, Mark Sanchez is now a Hollywood quarterback, more infatuated with individual fame than leading the Jets to a championship.

The media coverage can only be defined as excessive since the release of the photos. It’s been impossible to find someone willing to ignore their opportunity to pass judgment on Sanchez.

It’s irresponsible.

In the days leading up to rookie minicamps, the steps Sanchez took to establish himself in a new role were ignored. His effortless display of leadership disregarded.

With a training camp battle against four-year veteran Kellen Clemens looming, it was Sanchez who reached out to his teammates in an attempt to develop a rapport with the new offense.

Less than a month ago, Sanchez sent messages to his new receivers, hoping to connect with them away from the Jets’ facilities to practice routes and understand the playbook.

He did this without prompting, reported Eric Allen for newyorkjets.com.

And it’s something Clemens has never done in all his years with the Jets.

“I liked that being a rookie, he’s trying to get all the guys to come out and throw,” said second-year tight end Dustin Keller. “That says a lot about him and his leadership.”

It speaks volumes, Dustin. Those actions spoke louder than any words his GQ pictures told.

“We were out there for like 45 minutes to an hour, but he was throwing a really good ball,” added Keller. “He puts it right where it needs to be every time and he’s a real cool guy, a real likable guy.”

Unfortunately for Sanchez, none of that received the same attention as his airbrushed images.

Instead, Gary Myers of the New York Daily News advised the Jets to seek out Derek Jeter to “conduct a seminar” warning against the “temptation” of putting sports second.

Sanchez must go through the motions this summer before being named the Jets’ opening day starter. But until that decision is formally announced, he deserves the benefit of the doubt before being crucified.

The fact that there’s such fascination with Sanchez’s presumed celebrity only highlights the hypocrisy in the media coverage surrounding the Jets’ new quarterback.

He may have provided everyone with a very easy target, but now it’s up to the media to be responsible for their accuracy.

Fred Taylor Finds Motivation, Responsibility with New Team

During Fred Taylor’s tenure with the Jaguars, he had his own training regimen.

That consisted of going to Miami and doing his own thing until he had to be in Jacksonville.

But in his first year up in Foxborough, Mass., Taylor is bucking his old habits and has joined his new teammates for organized team activities.

“This is all voluntary,” Taylor told Vito Stellino for an NFL notebook in the Florida Times-Union. “If I’m going to be able to play with the guys that are on the team, then you volunteer to come on and try not to get ahead, but not be behind, not get yelled at too much. 

“I decided to come out here with the rookies and the other guys returning to the team. It’s fun getting to know my teammates, getting to know the different faces around here, the coaches.”

There are a plethora of reasons for Taylor to be around the Patriots as much as he can during the offseason—learning the plays, mentoring the younger running backs, getting accustomed with the coaching staff, etc.

Most importantly, Taylor understands that his stint in New England represents his best opportunity to win a Super Bowl before the sun sets on an illustrious career.

The relationship between Taylor and the Pats is mutually beneficial. New England gives Taylor a chance to win a championship and pass Jim Brown on the all-time rushing list, something he’s said he really wants to do before he retires.

Taylor gives New England an established running back who can take the team’s offense to the next level. Last year, the Patriots employed a backfield platoon of Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, LaMont Jordan and BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

The 12-year veteran is already a considerable step up from all the aforementioned names. The fact that he’s going the extra mile this year will ensure he has a great deal of success.

The Schottey Six: The NFL’s Most Overrated Players

I admit, its the Lions fan in me. But that man, Brett Favre, is overrated. He’s not actually included in the list so we’ll get this out of the way.

1st: I know he has the touchdown record and a bunch of other nice records to boot. However, he also has the interception record and the pass attempts record. No one threw at the volume he did. At one time, he was the best QB in the league. That time is not now.

2nd: He’s good, I’m not saying he’s not. But no one could live up to the hype machine generated by two retirements, Bus Cook, and John Madden.

Now that I’ve angered the fans of at least two NFL cities. Let us get going with the actual list of the NFLs most overrated players.

The 2007 and 2008 Chicago Bears: What Went Wrong?

For Bears fans, 2006 was an unexpectedly awesome season which far surpassed even the most ambitious fan’s expectations.

Following the Bear’s loss in the Superbowl, we were given the message from coaches and players to keep the faith and expect the Bears to be one of very few teams to avoid a 2007 “Superbowl hangover” (the Superbowl’s losing team almost always misses the playoffs the following season).

Of course, due to a variety of factors, the Bears had forgettable seasons in 2007 and 2008, missing the playoffs both seasons.

Perhaps more frustrating than the losses is the reason for the losses: blind post- Superbowl arrogance on the parts of coach Lovie Smith and GM Jerry Angelo. In the two seasons following the Superbowl, the following erroneous moves were made (in order of lack of foresight/stupidity):

Workhorse, team-leader, and 1,000 yard rusher Thomas Jones was traded for, get ready for it, A SWAP OF SECOND ROUND PICKS! Yes, Jones is having more attitude problems with the Jets now, but that’s no excuse for getting almost nothing for one of the better RBs in the NFL. We drafted Dan Bazuin with the pick. He was cut last off-season.

Cedric Benson was given the starting job.

Rex Grossman was given the starting job in 2007, and was re-signed in 2008 despite clearly playing scared and continuing to regress in 2007.

DC Ron Rivera took the fall for the Superbowl loss and was fired (we were told the defensive success was a product of the system, not the coach. Fail). The Bears continue to struggle on defense; Meanwhile, Rivera is thriving as San Diego’s DC.

Chris Harris, now the best young SS in the game, was traded for A FIFTH ROUND DRAFT PICK! The mistake was driven home when he put on a clinic against the Bears last year. Lovie’s answer? Adam Archuleta.

I could go on and on, but lets look to the future. Read my next article to find out what’s right with the Bears this season.

Five Seattle Seahawks Who Need To Step It Up: Offense

After missing the postseason for the first time in five years, the Seahawks got smacked in the face with something called reality.

They were not invincible in the NFC West, and they found there was not a typical playoff spot reserved for them.

Injuries played a factor in the 4-12 demise, but plain and simple, they were a bad and ineffective football team.

The key players (QB Matt Hasselbeck, LT Walter Jones, DE Patrick Kerney, etc.) were either hurt or did not play at the high level they are capable of performing at.

The bad taste and the disappointment cannot leave this team, it needs to grow on them, and motivate them to not re-live that awful season.

Here are five Seahawks players on offense who need to either put up or get off the field.

The Miami Dolphins are the Biggest Losers

Miami Dolphins-The Biggest Loser (2009 Season Outlook)

Trim the fat (Dolphins cut QB John Beck), tone up your core (Dolphins sign Jason Taylor, Vernon Carey, Yeremiah Bell and Channing Crowder) and begin to bulk up (Dolphins have Key Draft Picks in Pat White, Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, & Andrew Gardner). 

Deal with possible set backs’ (Brian Hartline, John Nalbone and an Injury prone backfield).

Leave sympathy and all emotional baggage of the past at the door and what will you have? The Miami Dolphins; a team ready to compete at the highest level in the National Football League after succumbing to several flat out embarrassing seasons. 

Well okay, not necessarily the “Biggest Loser” but true contenders for another winning season. A team that went from a despicable 1-15 record to a miraculous11-5 record in just one season; It’s absolutely hard not to be exited about this upcoming year.

Although, in my honest opinion, the Dolphins are not Super Bowl contenders just yet and will need to make some major moves (which may take a couple of years) for them to even be considered. In 2009 I look for the Dolphins to go 9-7 with a possible Wildcard berth.

How could my prediction be less than last year’s outcome? Well, all things considered, you have to realize that the AFC east was plain horrible in 2008. Tom Brady got hurt in the first game; Bret Favre lost his touch towards the back end of the season (not to mention his “nagging” bicep issue) and the Buffalo Bills were never in the picture to begin with.

It was a topsy-turvy season and you have to just admit it because in the beginning no one could have envisioned the Arizona Cardinals making it all the way to the Super Bowl, let alone having a chance of winning it all.

But, you do have to give the Dolphins credit for making the right moves in the off season to prove that everything wasn’t just hype. Offensively, With the addition of a versatile Pat White and one of the NFL’s most accurate QB’s in Chad Pennington, the Wildcat offense will be wide open.

Sure, the only reason the Dolphins ran the wildcat in the first place was to accommodate for the lack of talent they had on the offense; No one to compliment the deep threat- Ted Ginn Jr. and force the double team. But can you imagine Pat White at the slot and Ronnie Brown in the backfield or vice versa? Chilling isn’t it.

Offensively, the only possible obstacle the Miami Dolphins will face is…The Wildcat offense. Hey, you live by the gun, you die by the gun. Although it was a great tactic that the Dolphins sprung out last year; Defensive Coordinators will prepare vigorously, if they hadn’t already begun to do so, and adapt quickly to the schemes of teams that will rely heavily on this offense (i.e. The Miami Dolphins).

Also, being AFC east champs doesn’t come without it’s own prices and the Dolphin’s Wildcat offense will have to fend off a rejuvenated Chargers defense, as well the Indianapolis Colts and the Super Bow Champions; The Pittsburg Steelers.

Defensively, last year Ed Reed dealt the blow to the Dolphins that opened up everyone’s eyes to the fact that they needed a DB badly. With that, the Dolphins drafted one, if not the purest, cornerback in this year’s draft; Vontae Davis. Not to mention Sean Smith, a physical DB, who only adds to a unit in need that ranked 25th in the league against the pass.

The obstacles that the defense will face this year is that even though they may have drafted, Vontae Davis and Sean Smith, they will definitely have their hands full with the Dolphins carrying the load of “Toughest 2009 NFL schedule”.

Six of their non-divisional games are against teams that made it to the playoffs and half of the season the Dolphin’s will be matched against top tier, playoff caliber teams.

This also means that Vontae and Sean will be facing the likes of Randy Moss, Chris Chambers, Terrell Owens, Steve Smith and Hines Ward just to name a few. Even with Veterans Yeremiah Bell and Will Allen, the odds are looking pretty steep.

Another obstacle the Dolphins will face is the fact that they refused to draft a true rush end in this year’s draft.

Yes, the Dolphins run the 3-4 defense, which would make Joey Porter the rush end on some plays but Mr. Porter only managed a pathetic one sack in four games in the home stretch. With that being said, the Dolphins also signed Jason Taylor who is no more than a rotational Rush linebacker at best in my opinion; The Dolphins did far better without him.

I mean this is the same guy that got out ran by possibly the slowest QB in the game for a touchdown- Eli Manning; enough said. On the plus side, they did manage to sign Cameron Wake who is a rare talent and will be someone to watch for next season.

Realistically, like I said, I see a 9-7 finish with a possible wildcard berth and even that may be pushing it, unfortunately. There will be several games that will test the Dolphin’s no doubt.

Being that most considered the Dolphin’s success was a fluke on the count of a weak schedule and that they only managed a meager 345-317 point difference last year; they have a lot to prove.

To have a winning season against such a tough schedule, the Dolphins are going to have to pull out the bag of tricks. Regardless, making it to 11-5 should count for something right? No, not in this sport where yesterday is dead and the new question now becomes “what have you done for me lately”?

That’s just my nickel with a three-cent rebate. Take care.

Arizona Cardinals: Five Positions Up for Grabs in 2009

The Arizona Cardinals are in an envious position going into training camp.

In the offseason following their Super Bowl run, the Cards only lost one major component to their 2008 success when unrestricted free agent Antonio Smith signed with the Houston Texans. Edgerrin James and Roderick Hood both received playing time, but their roster spots were upgraded through the draft and free agency.

The Cardinals’ 2009 depth chart does not allow for very much wiggle room. On each side of the ball, the starting 11 is pretty much set. The battle for precious playing time goes well behind the starters. Below are five positions where a good training camp could make or break your roster spot.

 

Fourth Wide Receiver 

The Cardinals run plenty of three-wide sets in their Kurt Warner pass-happy offense. Right now Jerheme Urban has a firm grip on the No. 4 slot with former third-round draft pick Early Doucet nipping at his heels.

The 23-year-old Doucet has youth and potential on his side when compared to the 28-year-old Urban. Doucet was slowed by a hamstring early in his rookie season and was never able to bounce back to earn any significant playing time.

The Cardinals spent the 81^st overall pick on Doucet in hopes that he would push for the No. 3 spot rather than the No. 4. Doucet is going to need a strong preseason showing to make any kind of headway against the crafty Urban.

Urban’s ace in the hole is his ability to contribute on special teams. Entering his third season with Arizona, Urban knows the ins and the outs of the Cardinals offensive scheme. Last year was Urban’s best season as a pro, setting career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. His 6’3″ frame and strong route-running ability give him the edge over the smaller, unpolished Doucet.

The fourth wide receiver in the Cards’ pecking order currently shows Urban as the favorite with the coaching staff giving Doucet a long, hard look during the preseason.

 

Third-down Running Back

Is Tim Hightower an every-down back? Can Chris Wells be an effective pass blocker and catch the ball if called upon? With J.J. Arrington leaving via free agency and Edgerrin James being released, who will the Cardinals turn to in the backfield on third down?

Hightower surprised everyone with his hands last season, racking up 34 catches in the regular season. Wells on the other hand caught a total of 15 passes out of the backfield in the run-orientated Ohio State offense.

In the hunt for backfield playing time, Cleveland Browns refugee Jason Wright and rookie LaRod Stephens-Howling could fill in the role of third down play-maker with a strong showing in training camp.

Stephens-Howling is the sleeper here. The 5’7″ scat back has the speed to be a change of pace back for the Cards if he can prove he has reliable hands.  

 

Nickel Corner

There is no hiding from the stats, and the fact is the Cardinals were ranked in the bottom half of the league in pass defense last season. The secondary was in need of an upgrade and through the draft the Cardinals drafted two defensive backs: Alabama safety Rashad Johnson and small-school cornerback Greg Toler.

The battle in the secondary takes place between the wily veteran Ralph Brown and rookie fourth-round pick Greg Toler.

The 30-year-old Brown is an eight-year NFL pro out of Nebraska. This will be Brown’s third year with Arizona. He is undersized at a stretched-out 5’9″ listing. He has proven serviceable, but may be better suited for a fourth cornerback role.

Greg Toler played college ball at Division II St. Paul’s in southern Virginia. Toler is a long-term project because of the level of competition he faced while he was in school. He is blessed with a combination of natural size (6’0″) and speed (4.4 forty time) that you can’t teach.

Depending on how fast Toler picks up the Cardinals’ defensive system, he could be lining up at nickel corner in the Cards secondary before long.

 

Tight End

It appears the Cardinals have decided to go with quantity over quality at the tight end position. The situation as it stands could only be described as a logjam, with six players vying for three or four roster spots. Some players are safer than others.

Free agent Anthony Becht and 2008 starter Stephen Spach appeared to be guaranteed roster spots. Becht is the prototypical blocking tight end. Becht will give the Big Red running game essentially a sixth offensive lineman when he lines up.

Spach wasn’t signed by the Cardinals until Oct. 28 of last season and quickly established himself as the No. 1 tight end on a team constantly struggling with injuries at that position. Spach is coming off an ACL injury he suffered against the Panthers in the playoffs and may or may not be ready for the start of the season.

The remaining group of tight ends is a mix of high draft picks and physically imposing players. Leonard Pope and Dominique Byrd are a pair of 2006 draft picks known for their pass-catching skills. Pope was re-signed to a one-year, $1.1 million deal in the offseason and should have the inside track since he is already familiar with the Cards playbook.

Like Pope, Ben Patrick was re-signed during the offseason. Patrick was never considered a good blocker and last season was marred by injury after injury. The Cards must see something in him because Patrick has given the former seventh-round pick plenty of reasons to cut him over the last two seasons.

Alex Shor, a 6’7″ tight end, was not able to get off the practice squad in 2006 and 2008. For the veteran tight end, his days of wearing red appear to be numbered.

The trio of Byrd, Pope and Patrick are all very similar and when the final cuts come in only one, maybe two will have a future with the Arizona Cardinals.

 

Starting Fullback

When the Cardinals let Terrelle Smith sign with the Detroit Lions in the offseason, it opened a three-horse race for the title of starting fullback. Former Pittsburgh Steeler Dan Kreider was signed in the offseason and joins Tim Castille and former Baltimore Raven Justin Green on the roster.

Castille is safe thanks to his versatility and his ability to contribute on special teams. Kreider is a hard-nosed veteran with history of working with Ken Whisenhunt and some of the coaching staff from his Pittsburgh days. The wild card is Justin Green, who signed with the team on Feb. 4. 

Due to his nine years of NFL service, Kreider has to be considered the favorite to emerge as the No. 1 fullback. Green would be a younger (and cheaper) option for the Cardinals. Training camp will say a lot for both Green and Kreider. Does Kreider have anything left in the tank? Can Green bounce back after being out of football for the 2008 season?

The Cards run out of a three wide receiver set so much with Steve Breaston that the title of “No. 1 fullback” has lost some of its luster; nevertheless, the starting fullback will be called upon in short-yardage situations and when Big Red is inside its opponent’s 5-yard line.

Plus, having the role of 2009 Arizona Cardinals’ starting fullback is a good way to spruce up the resume.

The Ghost Of Bill Walsh: Is The Past Hurting The 49ers Present?

You cannot think about the San Francisco 49ers without several names attaching themselves to the memory.

Jerry Rice. Joe Montana. Steve Young.

Bill Walsh.

While the athletes get more facial recognition outside of football and off the playing field, a real football fan will tell you that more than anyone else, Bill Walsh shaped the 49ers success.

Walsh popularized the west Coast Offense, won early and often with the team going 102–63–1 lifetime, won 10 out of 14 postseason games along with six division titles, three NFC Championship Titles and three Super Bowls.

Guy like that? He’s someone who shapes a franchise, even when he’s gone.

Is that always a good thing though?

Bear with me for a second here. Walsh did incredible, miraculous, wonderful things with the 49ers. It was one of the best franchises under one of the best coaches to ever see the NFL.

But I feel like I’m hearing a lot about how Bill Walsh would be doing things now, and I can’t help but wonder if that’s bad.

When Mike Lombardi at the National Football Post spends an entire column on Thursday talking about what Walsh would have done in terms of the Draft (he would have drafted Sanchez) and how the 49ers aren’t who they once were (where is the West Coast Offense? he asks) I have to wonder if it is.

Again, I cannot say enough how much I respect what Walsh did, both for the organization and for football.

But he’s not coaching now. Mike Singletary is.

Which makes Mr. Lombardi’s paragraph saying ‘I often ask myself, what would Bill want for the 49ers? What would Bill do if he were back with the 49ers?’ completely irrelevant.

This is not Walsh’s 49ers. However, unlike the way Lombardi’s column feels, I think that’s not a huge crisis.

Have they lost any sense of identity? Absolutely and I have pointed it out more than once the last few weeks.

But intimating that the way to succeed is for Singletary to do what Walsh would do is wrongheaded at best and could be damaging to the franchise.

Singletary is very much working to bring an identity to this team. Bringing in Jimmy Raye as an offensive coordinator who can get the run going consistently, and quarterback/coach Mike Johnson to fix the position are both steps towards that.

If it’s not exactly how Walsh might have done it, fine. It shouldn’t be.

Or more to my point it shouldn’t HAVE to be.

In my mind, there isn’t just one way to do things and even a way that was successful once isn’t guaranteed to be so again.

We need to give Singletary time to fix this. I really think he can.

However, the only way to do that is to let Mike be Mike – not force him to be Bill Walsh as played by Mike Singletary.

In fact, I would say that if Singletary were to adhere to what Walsh would have done – or what was once ‘the 49er way’ – it could be a good way to slow a resurgence down and perhaps even crush it altogether.

It’s not that it couldn’t work — it’s just that it’s not necessarily Singletary’s way.

A round hole is only going to get beat up by forcing a square peg into it, even if the peg is a good peg. It just doesn’t fit the hole and complaining that the hole used to be square isn’t a solution.

Don’t get me wrong, I respect and enjoy what Lombardi says and read him constantly at the Post. But the column highlights a dangerous trap, one which has us dwelling too much on ‘the way things were’ rather than see the possibilities of what could be today.

Singletary’s way might not be Walsh’s way or what the 49ers way was once upon a time. But that’s not to say it couldn’t be the way of the future.

We cannot forget the incredible dedication and success that Bill Walsh showed while with the 49ers.

At the same time, we must not let that love and respect cloud our vision of Singletary is trying to do today.

We must not judge one by the success of the other.

NFL is Culpable in StarCaps Case

Let’s take for example that I invite you to my home knowing that my stairs have a shoddy third step, but fail to let you know about it. When you step on that damaged board and have an accident, should I as the homeowner be more liable for your accident because I withheld information that could have prevented the accident?

Let’s take it a bit further. Even if I had posted a sign outside my home that read enter at your own risk, shouldn’t I still have culpability for your accident? The NFL drug policy states that players are to be responsible for what they place into their bodies.

The policy gets a little murky because the NFL provides a list of banned substances, but neglected to add StarCaps to this list for some mysterious reason. So players looking at the NFL list would not deduct that they should not use StarCaps.

I began my premise with the fact that the NFL knows that players regularly use diuretics and still withheld knowledge for two years that the drug, StarCaps has a banned substance that is not listed on the label. This in my mind is worse than the person who at least places an enter at your own risk sign.

The NFL simply did not put up any danger signs at all regarding a known banned substance. Instead, they just waited patiently for players to step on the shoddy step.

The league should have been further disturbed by the fact that this particular drug may unknowingly trap uniformed players and certainly bore a responsibility to make this information known to all NFL teams.

Most of us are taught to read label when we purchase a drug. According to player statements, they did just that; and upon not seeing a banned substance, they proceeded to use the diuretic assuming it was safe.

I reiterate that upon learning of this omission, the league should have screamed bloody murder to the manufacturers and the FDA for allowing this big oversight. Why didn’t they? Instead, it appears for two years they wanted to play a game of gotcha with any player who took the diuretic.

They could have easily spared the players this period of anguish by performing a simple act of disclosure.

After a recent federal court decision that sent the case back to state courts for a final ruling, the NFL issued the following statement. “The decision strongly supports the NFL program on performance-enhancing substances that protects the health and safety of NFL players and the integrity of our game.”

The statement ruffles my feathers. Especially “the integrity” part. The league knowingly withheld vital information about a banned substance. This certainly does not line up with integrity.

Let’s look at the word culpable. It means according to the dictionary, deserving of blame or censure as being wrong, evil, improper, or injurious.

So, if I had to make the judgment in this case, I find the omission of the banned ingredient on the label to be paramount in the defense of the players, and therefore rule that they were not wrong, improper or deserving of blame, but instead misled.

The NFL on the other hand looks opposite polar in this case. For two years you knew that this banned substance was in this product and made no effort to warn NFL teams or players whom health and safety you claim to be concerned about.

I find the NFL deserving of blame, acting wrong and improper, implementing injurious damage to the reputation of players and even evil in the sense that a league that claims to want what is best for its employees now wants to administer punishment for mistaken acts of which it had full power to prevent—two years ago.  

I conclude that the NFL needs to be true to its drug disclosure policy and make it work in the interest of the teams and players. And that every NFL player hires a personal chemist.

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