San Francisco 49ers 2009 Training Camp Battles to Watch

With a team like the San Francisco 49ers, one that sees major shifts both in coaching staff as well as player personnel, nearly every training camp is filled with position battles.

A new season is approaching and with it, new strategies are being put into place and many positions are up for grabs. Some we’ve seen before. Some are new.

But all of them are every man for themselves.

On the offensive side of the ball, perhaps the most crucial battle will take place at the quarterback spot.

And yet it’s also one that has been battled for several years to no lasting result.

Many think that fourth year Shaun Hill, the former Maryland signal caller, will get the nod. But offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye says he would rather this battle continues into the preseason games, so it’s probably too early to say.

Hill, entering his third year with the Niners, ran the first team offense at the recent team mini-camp, but it’s too early to say much.

He can scramble well, can throw accurately short but he’s no deep-armed threat. Until last year he protected the ball well, but ended up with eight picks in ten games.

Luckily for him, though perhaps not for the franchise, Alex Smith is coming off another disappointing season.

In Smith’s defense, he was injured in 2008 and he’s seen as many offensive coordinators as he has years in the league. It can be exceedingly difficult to progress as a quarterback when there is a lack of consistency.

Still, he struggled in the team’s pre-draft mini-camp and while he is supposed to throw without restrictions in the coming camp, he still faces a tough uphill climb to the starting job.

Rumor has it that many people within the franchise have lost faith in Smith, despite his extended contract. It may take a huge preseason for Smith to get another shot as starter.

Three other quarterbacks could take the field during training camp this summer.

But Damon Huard, while the most experienced, will remain a stable, veteran backup and Kirby Freeman, a rookie free agent out of Baylor, is a tremendous reach to be more than a practice squad member.

The guy to keep an extra eye on could be Nate Davis. According to Mike Singletary (by way of Matt Barrow’s excellent 49ers blog on Sacbee.com), quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson was a big champion of picking Davis in the draft.

While Davis does have a slight learning disability, clearly Johnson felt he would be able to pick up the offense despite it. Davis has great arm strength, accuracy and touch, can buy time with his feet and is a tough, hard working leader.

It took Davis a long time to get Ball State’s offence—almost a year and a half. He has the tools to compete pretty quickly but may take a year or two to get up to speed. Still, he is a player to watch this summer—and going forward.

Another important battle for position will be at wide receiver, where I think Singletary will look to veteran Isaac Bruce to set the tone for the group.

Bruce has at least a season or two more of productivity left in his body, and could start the season at flanker.  He’ll have to fend off former Tennessee wideout Brandon Jones.

Jones played well for the Titans in spurts but never compiled huge numbers. He has long term potential though and is getting paid a ton of money, so they might feel compelled to start him.

Another battle within the receiver ranks will be for the split end position. Josh Morgan was expected to start at here at the ‘X’ and many predicted his break out season to be upon us.

But the 49ers saw Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree fall to them and it’s expected he will compete for the spot.

So who will get it? Hard to say. Crabtree is still rehabbing his foot from his pre-Draft surgery and Morgan just had an outstanding mini-camp.

A possible solution? Move one of them to—you guessed it—flanker.

It would likely mean Morgan, as Crabtree might be better suited to beating the jam at the line (something a split end needs to do, since he starts at the line of scrimmage rather than behind the line like a flanker) until he gets his feet wet.

Still, it’s a case of too many receivers for what will likely be very few multiple receiver sets. One of the four could also move to the slot, but then what do you do with Arnaz Battle and Jason Hill?

Whomever ends up on the field opening week, they will have to be dependable and steady. They may have a newly named starter whom they will need to synch up to very quickly.

I think it will be Bruce and Morgan who are the starters with Jones and Crabtree worked in as the year progresses.

The team will want to see if Jones is worth the cash and can replace Bruce down the road, while Crabtree will be given some time to get fully healed and acclimated to the speed of the Pro game.

Despite the confusion at the previous two positions, the most important battle could be at running back.

More to the point: Who backs up feature running back Frank Gore?

If Singletary and Raye are truly committed to producing a running game which can impose it’s will on a game, they need to find a running back to give Gore some respite.

Even though he didn’t top 300 carries for a second season in a row, Gore wore down towards the end of the season and battled numerous injuries.

Four backs on the current roster will vie for the No. 2 role behind Gore.

However, veterans Michael Robinson and Thomas Clayton are actually less likely to win it than third round pick Glenn Coffee and street free agent Kory Sheets.

Robinson is now a special teams captain, so it could be his main focus and Clayton never got many carries before. Given that the 49ers went and pulled two rookies this spring, it doesn’t strike me that Clayton is looked upon with a ton of faith.

Former Alabama back Coffee is adding weight to his body and is a solid one cut runner who has great vision and aggressively attacks the hole. He’s a powerful runner who could help the short yardage game, something that occasionally struggled, especially when Gore was out.

Sheets is a very intriguing pick who has great acceleration and burst. He’s a great receiver out of the backfield, is elusive and shows patience behind the line and good vision and instincts.

He also can work on special teams but what if they worked him into the game as a compliment to Gore? Gore or Coffee pounding the rock through the middle while Sheets splits outside or works the screen?

Who wins a job—and how the staff uses them—will have a tremendous impact on the 49ers run game and therefore their hopes for the season.

As important as the offensive position battles are, there are several defensive positions up for grab as well.

Along the defensive line, Ray McDonald underwent knee surgery after the season ended and it was the same knee that was a problem when he was drafted in 2007.

How bad the surgery was and how long it will take to recover are both questions without answers right now.

More than likely he’ll end up behind Justin Smith on the right side, but he isn’t even a lock to do that.

This could cause a depth problem, but with McDonald a big question mark, the folks behind him might find a little better chance to stick.

LSU defensive end Ricky Jean-Francois caught the eye of the scouting department when they were watching film of his teammate Tyson Jackson. Apparently he just kept making plays on tape.

He could be a huge talent but attitude has been an issue in the past, and he’ll have to watch it both with Singletary and the team if he wants to last. He’ll also have to overcome some durability issues which were a problem in college.

But he is quick to read and react, can find the ball quickly, is a solid tackler with an occasional violent streak. He needs to polish his pass defense moves and rely less on his athleticism and more on overall technique but he has a lot of upside for little risk.

Two more rookies were brought in to potentially help shore up the defensive line. Pannel Egboh and Khalif Mitchell were both signed as rookie free agents. Egboh has already looked good in the recent mini-camp, playing left end, while Jean-Francois took the right.

Mitchell worked at nose tackle.

Another intriguing player is Demetric Evans, a former Redskin signed early march to a two year, $3.8 million contract.

While not a superstar, Evans is a solid worker and will likely push Kentwan Balmer for time.

Balmer didn’t start his rookie season and in fact only played in six games. While Evans was a part timer in Washington, Balmer didn’t exactly lock a spot up last season.

More than likely most of these players will work in some sort of rotation. The idea here is to get better pressure on the quarterback than they did in 2008.

30 sacks isn’t bad, but they want to go from middling to exceptional and they need the line to push if they are going to do it.

There are other camp battles that will be noteworthy as well.

Keep an eye on:
Scott McKillop is one day expected to take over for Takeo Spikes at the ‘Ted’, if he can cut the mustard. He’ll be fighting Jeff Ulbrich for time initially and how he does could make a huge difference to his future.

At tight end, Vernon Davis will have to continue to be a good citizen while he stays ahead of the awesomely named Bear Pascoe. Yes, Pascoe will take over Billy Bajema’s blocking role, but Pascoe can also catch the ball and is an incredibly hard worker. He’s a perfect Singletary guy.

At first Pascoe will probably work in short yardage and red zone situations. And then Delanie Walker will probably see less time, as he will be pushed harder by Pascoe than Bajema ever did.

I’m not saying Davis is in serious danger, but his contract is coming up and he has not produced as he was expected to. While new OC Jimmy Raye wants to utilize him more, he will have to finally excel or he might find himself in Singletary’s doghouse again.

Just something to watch over the season as well as the summer.

Finally watch the Safeties this summer. Curtis Taylor was a late pick in the draft, but he does give the 49ers something to think about. Dashon Goldson, who started been the starter at free safety, lacks experience and is prone to injury.

Taylor could switch to corner if he struggles, but has good speed, range ball skills and isn’t afraid to lay the wood against a ball carrier. If Goldson struggles, the former LSU safety may be able to buy himself more playing time.

2009 NFC West Preview: The Wild Bunch

In Hollywood westerns, there are two types of shootouts which usually mark the pinnacle of the films.

The first is a clean, no muss no fuss gunfight, usually involving John Wayne. The bad guys wear black hats. The good guys wear white. The evil bandits get their comeuppance.

Nice. Clean. Quick.

The second type of shootout is the gritty brutal type, filmed by directors like Sam Peckinpah.

Tons of bullets flying. Lots of blood. Anti-heroes as your good guys. The railroads or sheriffs or regular white hats are the bad guys. Even the survivors are left beaten up and wondering why it all happened.

I tend to prefer the latter, which means I could be in for quite the treat while watching the NFC West this season.

This year the divisional race is proof positive that everyone has a shot at the playoffs in the spring.

One might be tempted to look at 2008 and assume that it’s the Cardinals world and San Francisco, Seattle and St. Louis will just be living in it in 2009.

Not so fast, buckaroo.

This division is not as spread out as it appeared to be last year and it’s likely that the end of the season will recall the final shootout at the end of Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch,” when all hell breaks loose.

The Cardinals are undoubtedly strong contenders to repeat as division winners, but San Francisco could continue their late season surge of 2008, Seattle is nowhere near as bad as they appeared last season and even St. Louis has a chance to make things difficult for the reigning NFC Conference Champs.

The NFC West will be a hard-fought battle. Here’s how the gunfighters stack up.

 

Arizona Cardinals

The Cards appear to have only gotten better during the off-season thus far, cutting deadwood like Roderick Hood, Edgerrin James and Travis LaBoy, while either signing free agents like CB Bryant McFadden or drafting their replacements, as in the case of RB Chris Wells, DE/OLB Cody Brown or CB Greg Toler.

Yet not all is well in the state of Arizona. Anquan Boldin has continued his campaign for more money or a trade. The Cardinals have him for two more years at a reasonable price, so are unmoved to give him the first.

There was some noise before the draft he might be traded but nobody met the Cardinals’ price, so Boldin remains in Arizona but not happily.

Recently, he skipped minicamp due to a hamstring injury, and was joined by fellow unhappy camper defensive lineman Darnell Dockett.

The Cards have to hope that two unhappy players in the locker-room will not become a distraction.

Aside from the contract disputes, this is a team which will continue to excel offensively. Kurt Warner is back and even if Boldin is traded or holds out, still has Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Early Doucet and Jerheme Urban to throw to.

They’ve now added a potentially dynamic run game. Tim Hightower played well but not exceptionally so and James was largely ineffective.

Rookie Chris Wells has some durability concerns but he only missed three games in three years and has the ability to be a game changer in a way neither Hightower nor James was last season.

On the other side of the ball, the Cards struggled in several areas defensively, which will kill them if the problems persist.

They allowed the fifth most points scored (426 total) and while they played better near the end of the season, the Super Bowl showed that a team could still take advantage of defensive lapses almost at will.

Part of that problem was a complete inability to stop teams in the red zone. If you’re bottom of the league in allowing teams to score, it’s a lock you can’t stop them past the 20-yard line.

The Cardinal defense also allowed far too many third-down conversions, nearly 50 percent. Even third and long was a problem for this team.

It doesn’t matter a bit that you have one of the top offenses in the league if they never see the field.

The team has to get their issues resolved because a quick look at Arizona’s schedule tells you a return to the division title will be no cake-walk.

In the first three games they play at Jacksonville and host Indianapolis. They also visit the Giants, Chicago and Tennessee, and welcome Houston, Carolina Minnesota and Green Bay.

Those are all games that will sorely test both the offense and defense and that’s not even taking into consideration a NFC West which is in much better shape than it was in 2008.

San Francisco and St. Louis will both attempt to keep the high flying offense off the field by controlling the clock via the ground game.

Seattle, while lacking a tremendously potent run game, will have a healthy Matt Hasselbeck throwing to TJ Houshmandzadeh and can depend on a relatively solid defense to make things tough on the Cards.

Arizona has the tools and ability to repeat, but it will not be an easy road.

 

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers’ record in 2008 was, at first glance, a disappointing one. But after week seven, when then Head Coach Mike Nolan was replaced by current Head Coach Mike Singletary, the 49ers played far better than they had to start the season.

They ended to season with a 5-4 run, including impressive wins over Buffalo, the New York Jets and Washington.

Singletary wants has made some adjustments to the offense to give the run game more strength and focus than under the previous regime.

To that end, he recruited former Jets running back coach Jimmy Raye who helped Thomas Jones to two 1,000 yard seasons and a Pro Bowl, drafted tough blocking tight end Bear Pascoe and short yardage bruiser Glenn Coffee and brought back lead blocking fullback Moran Norris.

Singletary wants the offense to use the rushing attack to be able to impose it’s will upon a game and while the team disputes it is going to be a run first team, it’s certain they will run the ball and run it often.

Which only makes sense, given that Frank Gore is the best weapon in the offensive arsenal.

While the team had game changing wideout Michael Crabtree fall into their laps on Draft day and still have veteran Isaac Bruce and emerging threat Josh Morgan, the lack of a clear-cut quarterback makes it hard to rely on the pass attack.

The offensive line is also a concern and while left tackle is locked down by Joe Staley, there are still some questions filling the rest out.

Chilo Rachal has played well at guard and they added former Steeler Marvel Smith with the thought that he can take the other tackle position.

They can only hope the additions can help keep whomever starts at quarterback on his feet, but more than likely they will try to limit the pressure by running the ball.

They also hope the defense can keep things close. Too often in 2008, the team fell behind and was forced to throw to come back.

With the line problems and the quarterback inconsistency, it was usually too much.

They need to pressure the opposing quarterbacks more after a season where they were middle of the pack in sacks (30) and only produced a dozen interceptions.

The 49ers face some tough out of division competition, including Atlanta, Houston, Tennessee, Chicago, Philadelphia and a trip to Green Bay in late November.

And then consider Arizona’s upgraded run attack coupled with its dynamic air game, Seattle’s finally healthy pass offense and St. Louis’ solid rushing attack.

All the teams they face can put points on the scoreboard. The 49ers are better off keeping their offense off the field by burning the clock.

If they can get the run game firing on all cylinders, consistently, they can do that.

That will give both the defense (and the team overall) a chance in any game, and beyond that a shot at the division.

 

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks spent much of the 2008 season on the injury report.

At some point, virtually every wide receiver was injured and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck spent a ton of time battling back problem and a knee injury.

But Hasselbeck is back on track, and the wide receiver corps was bolstered by the off-season acquisition of former Cincinnati Bengal, TJ Houshmandzadeh.

Housh came with a hefty price tag, but it’s been a very long time since any Seahawk wideout has been a real threat so he could be worth it.

Adding Houshmandzadeh to the mix will not only help Hasselbeck, but open things up for Nate Burleson and second year tight end John Carlson.

It may also help mask a run game which was not addressed at all in the 2009 Draft or free agency.

The team is moving into a zone-run blocking scheme and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp will try to get the same group of backs who accounted for only 1,768 yards and only ten touchdowns on the ground.

Maurice Morris, Julius Jones and TJ Duckett form the nucleus of this attack and all three will have to do much better if they are to help loosen up opposing defenses for the newly juiced pass attack.

Whether they can do it behind an offensive line filled with players fresh off the injured reserve is a different matter.

To help shore up the O-line, the Seahawks drafted center Max Unger. Unger is a guy who played four of the five offensive line positions at Oregon and could fill in anywhere along the front line.

He’s already practiced at left guard as well as center and it’s a sure bet he’ll see some action behind several different spots with so many vets coming off an injury.

Seattle is still playing in the free agent pool, and plans to have former Bengal Levi Jones in for a visit.

It won’t matter, though, if the defense cannot improve over its dismal 2008 performance.

Only Kansas City and Detroit were worse overall, and absolutely nobody was worse against the pass. Their saving grace might have been their 18th-ranked run defense.

Seattle has rebooted their once-dominant defense with several key off-season additions, most notably their No. 4 draft pick, linebacker Aaron Curry.

Curry will probably slide into the strong side linebacker position, which is in need of help after the team traded Julian Peterson to Detroit for defensive tackle Corey Redding and a fifth round pick.

Redding, in turn, will help fill in for Rocky Bernard, who left for the Giants in free agency. That’s assuming Redding can stay healthy.

Curry, along with Leroy Hill and Lofa Tatupu, will give the team a fearsome group of linebackers and should shore up the defense tremendously and help the defensive line bring the heat back to this defense.

Seattle faces some of the same monsters which the rest of the division does (Minnesota, Houston, Chicago, Green Bay) but also will see Dallas and Jacksonville.

They match up best within the division to a team like the Rams who are struggling to rebuild their offensive line, while they may have issues containing Arizona’s dynamic pass attack.

The 49ers may not know who their starting QB is, but Seattle knows it must be ready to hold down Frank Gore and keep the offense off of the field.

This team was never as bad as they looked last year and if they stay healthy, they will easily contend for the Division title.

 

St Louis Rams

New Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo had been on the short lists of a ton of teams when he joined the Rams after their tumultuous 2008 season.

St Louis dealt with almost as many injuries as Seattle did along the offensive line and that’s where they started their off-season moves.

First, they allowed longtime left tackle Orlando Pace to leave via free agency. The move was no surprise to most observers, as Pace had been injured often over the prior few seasons.

They filled Pace’s spot with the acquisition of Jason Smith, the top-ranked tackle in the NFL Draft.

Smith will play at either left or right tackle and will have an immediate impact, something the team needs if they want Marc Bulger to survive another season.

Expect a healthy dose of a healthy Steven Jackson as well.

Jackson began 2008 coming off of a 27-day holdout which contributed to a lingering thigh injury.

He should be in camp on time this year and the Rams are looking to go heavy in the run game, so Jackson should be back to his top end self.

He may have to do most of the heavy lifting, since the wide receivers are fairly big question marks.

Of course, Donnie Avery is expected to continue his progress towards becoming a true No. 1 wideout. But the team released veteran Torry Holt in the off-season, and you have to wonder who will step up to fill the void?

Defensively, like much of the rest of the NFC West, this was a team that was not very good.

Overall the squad ranked a horrid 28th, surrendering an average of 371 yards a game and 465 total points.

They tried to inject a little life into it by drafting Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis, who dropped in the draft due to questions about his athleticism.

Laurinaitis is a smart, savvy player who will immediately start on the team, likely next to Will Witherspoon and probably Chris Draft, now that the team has cut Pisa Tinoisamoa.

While Tinoisamoa didn’t fit the new defensive scheme and it’s understandable why the coaches felt letting him go was necessary, it’s hard not to worry about whether they can replace his productivity.

Tinoisamoa was the team’s leading tackler last year and one can hope Laurinaitis’ range will help make up for those.

Again, the Rams face the usual suspects in Minnesota, Green Bay, Chicago (in December no less) and Tennessee. They also see Houston, Jacksonville and Washington.

Within their division, they will be faced with some tough matchups.

They don’t have the guns to keep up with Arizona, and they will be hard pressed to get to Kurt Warner or stay with the wide receivers. Their own offense may find the Arizona defense difficult to handle as well, most notably the inexperienced wide receiver group.

They match up a little better with San Francisco and its potential run-centric offense and if they can shut Gore down and force whichever quarterback wins the August melee, it’s a game they can win.

Seattle will be a challenge. If the Seahawks defense gets back up to par, the Rams offensive line will be sorely tested. Seattle’s pass attack could be a good match for the Rams secondary, though if the Seahawks struggle to run the ball this season, it will allow the linebackers to drop into coverage more to help out.

Out of the entire NFC West, the Rams have the worst chance to take the division.

While they filled some holes, there are still too many question marks on both sides of the ball. But they can certainly make a nuisance of themselves within the division.

They can definitely make the NFC West a bit more wild.

New 49ers OC Jimmy Raye Will Lead the Way on the Ground

As the 2009 offseason continues to grind onward, many teams are adjusting strategies based on some new faces on their coaching staffs.

The San Francisco 49ers are no exception, even though their biggest change took place in the very midst of last season.

That move was the firing of then head coach Mike Nolan, and promotion of Mike Singletary to the position of Interim Head Coach.

Immediately post-2008 season, Singletary lost the ‘interim’ to his Head Coach title. Even with an entire offseason ahead of him, Singletary wasted no time in making a change which could prove to be the most critical one he makes the entire 2009 season.

That change—the hiring of former Jets running backs coach Jimmy Raye to serve as offensive coordinator—will shape the 49ers offense for years to come.

A year ago, the San Francisco 49ers were a team run by ‘Mad’ Mike Martz’s vertical attack, one that often leaves the quarterback open to injury and depends upon fast, dynamic wide receivers.

This pass-based offense also tended to limit the run game as well, in fact often minimizing it.

Without the run to keep the opposing defenses honest, the receivers often found themselves in traffic and blanketed by coverage, while the offensive line and quarterback faced blitzes that came without hesitation.

The offensive line had issues anyway, and certainly the scheme didn’t help.

Niner quarterbacks were sacked more than any other team (55 times), and the pressure contributed to three lost fumbles.

To make matters worse, the pass attack remained mediocre at best, ranking a middling 13th in the league with 3,379 yards total and only 21 touchdowns to 19 interceptions.

So little abuse for so little gain was an issue that needed to be addressed and Singletary did so pretty quickly.

At the end of the 2008 season, Martz followed Nolan out the door, and Singletary brought in Raye.

To be sure, one thing Raye can do is improve the run game. He helped Jets running back Thomas Jones to a pair of 1,000 yard seasons and in 2008, his first Pro Bowl.

This hiring clearly signaled that the 49ers offense intends to run the ball in 2009.

In many respects, they simply have to. As I pointed out earlier, when the defense knows your predominant plays will be throws, it allows them to worry less about the run game and focus on hindering wide receivers at the line, doubling coverage with a safety or sending a safety in on a blitz.

It also frees the defensive line and linebackers to focus on batting down passes, blitzing at will or dropping back to assist in coverage.

In short, it makes it very tough to throw the ball.

A solid run game, even if it is not the focus of the offensive scheme, makes it harder on the defense. It keeps them honest, making them wonder whether that apparent handoff is actually that or a play-action pass.

It opens up the secondary a little for the receivers to do their work, which in return stretches the defense and opens lanes for better yards on the ground.

There has been some debate as to how dominant Singletary wants the run game to be in the San Francisco offense. Some media outlets have said he wants the offense based around the run game completely.

Others have quoted Raye as saying that he doesn’t see his new offense as focusing primarily on either the run or pass.

“What we are doing is installing both run and pass equally,” he told Greg Beachem, a writer for the Associated Press, earlier this month. “Ideally, when we get to the point where we are playing football, we would like to determine what our best facet is.”

Regardless of how much running the team wants to do, Raye has his work cut out for him. As bad as the pass game was under Martz, the rushing attack was worse.

As with the pass attack, part of the failure of the run game was certainly Martz’s scheme, and some more of the blame could again be placed on the offensive line.

All the problems with the line did result in the dismissal of offensive line coach George Warhop and promotion of assistant offensive line coach Chris Foerster. The line play was better after that move, but improvements must continue to be made if both the run and pass games are to improve.

If the line can play more effectively, it will be up to Raye to use that blocking more efficiently or at least more often.

Only five teams tried to run the ball less than the 2008 49ers, who totaled just 397 rush attempts.

The low number of attempts contributed to a meager yardage total—a mere 1,599 yards —and left the team ranked a terrible 27th in the league in overall rushing offense. The team was also unable to score on the ground, squeezing out just 10 touchdowns.

Contrast that with the ground totals from Raye’s former team, the Jets. New York was ranked ninth in the league in rushing offense, with 422 attempts for 2,044 yards and 20 touchdowns.

You may recall that they did that with an offense, which basically stopped running the ball late in the season, as then Head Coach Mangini chose to have quarterback Brett Favre throw more often.

Even if the 49ers don’t intend for the offense to be a run-first scheme, the numbers must come up and Raye appears to have the pedigree to do it.

If Raye was able to get Thomas Jones the numbers he did the past few years, one can imagine what he will accomplish with a guy like Frank Gore.

But Gore cannot do this alone and the 49ers realize they have to give him some rest and some help. The problem in 2008 was that the back-ups did not particularly seem able to pull their share of the weight, nor have they for the past few seasons.

Which leads us to Glenn Coffee, the rookie running back out of Alabama. Some pundits call where he was drafted a reach, but that does not take away from his ability. Coffee is a tough, hard-nosed runner who attacks the hole and runs hard.

Coffee isn’t a premiere running back straight out of the gate. He needs to add some more weight and has some other issues, like ball security, an upright running style, and average speed.

However, Raye has had some success shepherding young running backs, having helped Leon Washington to totals in 2006 which ranked fourth overall amongst rookie running backs.

While Washington started out with more upside, Coffee has the tools to be a good backup for Gore and save wear and tear on those legs. He could also potentially help the 49ers get the all-important yards which eluded them so often last season in third and short or goal line situations.

The result of some extra help for Gore and a better short game will help reverse the low touchdown count on the ground.

Raye has been a coach in the league for more than 30 years, and has been able to get the most out of a run game at each stop in his career.

But don’t think that because he has a penchant for improving run games that he won’t help the pass attack out.

Raye comes in with more than a few stints on his resume, where he helped a passing offense excel, most recently while with the Oakland Raiders as an assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.

While he was there, the Raiders ranked eighth in passing during the 2004 season, and 10th in passing in the NFL during 2005.

So while Raye is known for getting a ground game firing on all cylinders, he knows his way around the pass game as well.

Of course, this is the fifth offensive coordinator in Alex Smith’s career, one that has been marred by injury and under-performance. He will battle with Shaun Hill, former Kansas City Chief Damon Huard and incoming rookies Nate Davis and Kirby Freeman for the job.

Regardless of who wins the job, the pass game needs to improve as much as the run game does. Again, Raye has had success doing that before.

But it still comes back to improving the run game. A good run game can buy a passing attack time to improve and that appears to be what Raye and Singletary have planned.

There is still a long way to go, though.

The 49ers have lacked an identity on the offensive side of the ball for so long that the new head coach and his new offensive coordinator have their work cut out for them.

But with Singletary’s desire to have a rushing attack, which can take over a game and Raye’s penchant for turning out solid backs, the 49ers may finally be on the right path.

A path which, like so many we walk, lies on the ground.

 

Fantasy Rookies 2009: The Quarterbacks

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Now that we’ve had a little bit of time to digest the draft and overcome our shocks, hangovers, or disappointments, it’s time to start breaking down the players from the most important direction possible—their impact on your fantasy football squad.

Priorities, right?

This is the first in a series of articles which will cover various positions for both Dynasty and Redraft leagues.

I’ll start by saying something I have said multiple times already prior to and after the draft, and will say pretty much at the top of all of these articles—do not be fooled by last year’s numbers. We will—in all likelihood—not see the success that we did last year.

So for Dynasty, keep thinking about long term ramifications as much as (if not more than) short term. In redraft, do not over-value a rookie and leap on one too early, as it is unlikely most of them will pay off this season.

There will be precious few studs with immediate impact this season—and I would hazard a guess that none of them will reside in today’s category, the quarterbacks.

If this class was a weak one from a pure football standpoint, it isn’t much better from a fantasy one. There are a few who might play this season, a few with long term upside, and many who will be sitting on a waiver wire for a very long time.

With that, here are my thoughts on the 2009 rookie quarterbacks, ranked in order of their draft position, with a rank at the end of how effective I think they will be long and short term.

Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

Stafford has the arm to take advantage of Calvin Johnson’s vertical game and, yes, he’s a guy who can either buy time in the pocket or throw on the run, which he will need unless that offensive line pulls a miracle.

Stafford looks like he might have the tools to succeed down the road, but that’s my biggest concern—will he be allowed to develop or will he be rushed out this season?

The Lions are saying all the right things; that Daunte Culpepper is the guy this year, that Stafford needs time to learn and get used to the NFL.

But six or seven games in, will he be on the bench if the Lions stay lousy?

I know I have been in the midst of arguments that the Lions’ offensive line isn’t that bad off, but I have my doubts about that. And on top of that, I prefer a quarterback to sit for a season before being thrown in to the fire.  A QB’s psyche is sometimes a fragile thing.

Yes, Peyton Manning survived and got better in spite of that initial hellish season one. Many, many quarterbacks did not and they far outnumber the survivors.

If he gets most of the season to adjust to the NFL, I like Stafford quite a bit. His arm, his feet, all the little things he does well. But I like him less if he gets thrown to the wolves in the NFC North too soon.

That offense would live and die by his arm and I don’t think it has the tools for him to bring that off. If he goes in, and they double cover Johnson or stack the box against Kevin Smith, what then?

He can’t win it all and behind that offensive line, I worry about the pounding he might get and its results.

Dynasty Rank

First round rookie, with the hopes he gets the time to work up to starter. If you own Culpepper, you almost have to have him unless you have better.

Redraft Rank

A late addition—probably near QB 28-30. He could bump up if he wins the job outright, though not much and I’m hoping sense prevails and he sits.

Mark Sanchez, NY Jets

Sanchez’s situation is at once similar to Stafford’s and also wildly different.

Let me explain. I love the upside of Sanchez, he can make all the throws you need, is a natural leader, a hard worker, and a very smart player.

That said, like Stafford, he’d benefit from a little time to develop.

Unlike Stafford, though, he has a better chance of survival if he is thrown in the mix early.

Whereas the Lions would need Stafford to do a ton of heavy lifting, the Jets built their offensive line to be a power run blocking line.

Yes, they utterly got away from that when Favre showed up. That’s reason number 4,546 why Eric Mangini is a Brown.

But ultimately, that’s what they are. And in that case, the quarterback’s burden is much easier.

Sanchez is a guy who has already impressed the team with his hard work and overall play and while they—like the Lions—say all the right things about it being a competition, it isn’t looking like that.

Sanchez has a better chance of being stuck in a No. 1 spot at the beginning of the season and he also has a better chance of survival if he is thrown directly into the fire.

That said, even if he’s wildly successful, he’s not likely to have to throw often (assuming the Jets’ defense and run offense work out) and so he won’t be a guy who blows up this season.

Longer term, until they get him a legit No. 1 wide receiver, he will lag behind Stafford assuming he (Stafford) survives.

Dynasty Rank

Like Stafford, he’s a first round rookie, and in his case is probably safer to start in a bye week. But long term right now, I put him behind Stafford. Until the Jets get him some vertical weapons, he is unlikely to match Stafford’s potential long term production.

Redraft Rank

Again, a guy who you probably look at after most of the veteran starters are gone. I think the same things that might limit his long term potential—the offensive schemes, the defense—make him a safer bet than Stafford to put consistent points up. Those points still won’t make him reliable as much more than a bye week or emergency filler.

Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After leaping over non-existent teams desperate to grab Freeman and all the “I know this kid, he’s AWESOME” talk from the head coach, I don’t know I believe Freeman doesn’t start at some point.

Still, there is a good chance we see Byron Leftwich as the starter come week one, despite Freeman’s really ill-advised (and perhaps flat out incorrect) statement that Leftwich was just “smokescreen” to throw people off the set.

Riiiiiiight.

Freeman is a big, tough, quarterback with a strong arm who has lots of experience and pretty good mobility.

Two things don’t work for me about him.

First, stuff like that statement about Leftwich really tell me he’s not much of a leader, no matter what many sites have said. How is that the way you want to enter a locker-room? How do you win that place over?

Not smart. Worse, it smacks (in my mind) of Ryan Leaf. He expects to be “the man.” I wonder if that work ethic, which was a plus in college, will exist at the Pro level.

More importantly is that he was incredibly streaky in college and, as much as he would succeed, he would go a game throwing picks and bad passes. For example, his November 1 game against Kansas. Freeman threw no touchdown passes in the 52-21 loss, while tossing three interceptions and getting sacked three times.

The fact that the Bucs were at that game disturbs me. So does the fact that he didn’t throw any touchdown passes in four games against Texas A&M, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri.

Yes, he lacked big time players. I still say some of the best—most successful—quarterbacks had success at the college level despite a dearth of top talent.

And who does he have in Tampa? Antonio Bryant, who finally lived up to expectations last year but who isn’t a sure bet to repeat, and a decent run game. And some real questions on the defensive side of the ball.

Does it really sound all that much better?

That doesn’t mean he won’t succeed.  I just don’t like his chances.

Dynasty Rank

A distant third behind Stafford and Sanchez and even then I don’t like him. To me, he’s a project (which really all these guys are to some extent) and I’d rather grab another skill position and pick up another quarterback later or trade out for a QB in next year’s draft.

Redraft Rank

I wouldn’t even draft him unless he was sure to start and even then, I don’t know if I would go for him when he might get drafted. I would rather pick up a backup earlier and then value at another position while someone risks a pick on Freeman.

Pat White, Miami Dolphins

Is he a quarterback or is he a wide receiver? Is he an every down player or is he a gadget guy like Brad Smith of the NY Jets?

These questions make him a risky pick in any draft.

Still, taking him in the second is a sign they expect something of him and reports are that he will challenge Chad Henne for backup duties.

Henne had the locker room and skills last season, and might have started if Pennington hadn’t arrived. Until the draft, many were predicting Henne would start sometime in 2010.

On top of the extreme athleticism and trick play skills, White is actually a decent quarterback and many scouts stopped looking at him as a hybrid or wide receiver conversion. He’s smart and looked very accurate in every workout the past few months.

Still, it’s one thing to throw balls in shorts and perfect weather (or no weather like at the Combine) and another with Bart Scott bearing down on you.

It’s a little soon to guess which way this is going to go and how White will adjust to the NFL. Many players like him have failed as QBs and either transitioned to another position or dropped out of the league.

But he has the upside and potential to be a dynamic player at this level too. It’s a coin flip.

Do keep in mind—if he is categorized as a quarterback by the league, most league sites will do the same and then he may not be available to you as a flex player, which might be his best value if he gets used in the Wildcat formation a ton.

Dynasty Rank

A guy you take later in your rookie draft as a pure upside pick. If you don’t have a ton of holes, he’s worth a look. But if you have other needs, don’t burn the roster spot. When he takes a year or two to develop, owners may get frustrated and you could find him on the waiver wire to pick up at your leisure.

Redraft Rank

You’ll have to wait, but if you can hold on until the last quarter of your draft, he could be a really interesting upside pick.

If he is integrated as a new wrinkle on the Wildcat, he might prove a useful flex player assuming your league is set up to accommodate.  But the trick will be waiting long enough to where you won’t be angry when you drop him for more consistent injury or bye week help.

Nate Davis, San Francisco

You have to keep an eye on the guy who has only Shaun Hill, Damon Huard, and Alex Smith ahead of him on the depth chart.

Davis has a strong arm, is a good team leader, and has great touch and timing. He’s a hard worker and exceedingly competitive, which strikes me as a very Singletary trait.

He does have a learning disability but that hasn’t fazed the 49ers, and he definitely needs some work both in mechanics and the fact that he rarely worked under center.

Still, there isn’t a lot of incredibly impressive talent in front of him and with Josh Morgan, Isaac Bruce, and the newly drafted Michael Crabtree, whoever the starter is has some fantasy potential.

Davis is likely a longer term project but you never know and he’s worth keeping an eye on.

Dynasty Rank

More attractive if you happen to have Alex Smith on your roster already but Davis is likely to slip out of a rookie draft in all but the deepest leagues with a long rookie draft. Watch the QB battle in San Fran over the summer closely and be ready to hit the waiver wire. Just in case.

Redraft Rank

Not someone you’ll be drafting in a redraft league unless you draft late and he’s won the job. But like in a Dynasty league, you’ll want to keep an eye on the QB battle and a finger on the waiver wire trigger. The weapons in that offense could be very productive, and in that case, Davis could be as well.

The following two QBs are worth noting in Dynasty leagues but not worth looking at really at all in a redraft.

Stephen McGee, Dallas Cowboys

McGee is a very underrated quarterback who could take over down the road if he develops well and Romo keeps losing games late in the season. Very raw though and will burn a roster spot unless you have a taxi squad in your league.

Tom Brandstater, Denver Broncos

While it’s unlikely he’ll see the field anytime soon, Brandstater has a nice touch, timing, and is very smart. Is this McDaniels’ attempt to replicate Cassel?  Probably not due to a lack of arm strength but there is enough confusion at the Denver QB position to keep an eye on him in Dynasty leagues.

This will be worth revisiting during the summer and we will, here as well as on The Thundering Blurb Football Show every Wednesday. Some street free agents may end up being worth a Dynasty look and some of these players may find themselves firmly in possession of a clipboard.

But for now, here’s hoping this helps you start to get ready for your Fantasy Football drafts.

I’ll be back next week with a breakdown of running backs.

Shock and Awe: The Winners and Losers for Day 1 of the 2009 NFL Draft

It’s a little bit folly to declare winners and losers for a draft that isn’t even finished, much less a day old. Players haven’t even stepped onto an NFL field yet, and some may not pay off for several years to come, let alone this season.

Still, by the end of Saturday, it’s a worthwhile endeavor to examine some teams who have ended up looking smart and others….

Well, not so much.

So with the realization in mind that we still don’t know everything, here are the teams who made our jaws drop, though not always for good reasons.

 

The Shock

Oakland Raiders

Maybe Al Davis and his Raiders will prove us all wrong, but right now their draft can be summed up in an exchange I saw between Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times (where the Raiders once resided) and Raiders beat writer Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (which is close to Oakland, I suppose).

Farmer: Why were the Raiders reaching like that in the second?

Jones: They reach because that’s what they do.

They weren’t going to go offensive tackle, despite the need, because that’s not really the Raiders way.

And I knew they weren’t going to grab Crabtree, whether or not he was the best wide receiver on the board at the time. Crabtree’s lack of timed 40 speed made it impossible, because Davis is crazy for speed like the bird in that cereal commercial is coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs.

But I never thought he would bypass Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin, who had the speed and a more developed game? I’m a little nonplussed.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish Heyward-Bey a failed career, and he will probably turn out okay. But picking him up at No. 7, when they could have traded back and picked him late in the second?

That’s just not achieving maximum value.

Worse, the team manages to follow it up with an even bigger reach in choosing Ohio Safety Michael Mitchell, a guy most people didn’t even have ranked in their drafts, much less the second round.

Mitchell also may develop into a solid player, but right now he looks like a workout warrior and a huge reach as the third safety off the board behind Patrick Chung of Oregon and Louis Delmas of Western Michigan.

It’s one thing to fall in love with a player. It’s another to waste a pick five rounds early.

The Raiders have five picks on Sunday, two in the fourth round. They can recover, given the tremendous value still on the board, but if they keep picking like this, they might as well throw darts at a list on the wall.

Dallas Cowboys

How can I say it’s a bad draft when they didn’t draft anyone?

Bad enough the Cowboys didn’t have a pick for the first round due to last year’s wheeling and dealing, but they then traded out of the second.

Meanwhile, value continued to tumble by them in the form of solid safeties, wide receivers, and defensive ends.

Maybe it’s not bad in the sense the Raiders draft was on Saturday but it’s shocking to watch the usually wheeling Cowboys neutered and missing out on the value on the board.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns made a big move back when the Jets traded for the fifth pick and Mark Sanchez (more on that in a minute) and were poised to grab some great value all day long.

Instead, they kept moving backwards, accumulating more and more picks. And when they did spend them, it’s questionable whether they took the best value on the board.

I can’t argue with the selection of Alex Mack. The center from Cal is a versatile lineman who can work at almost any position along the line.

And Brian Robiskie is a polished, fast receiver who runs a solid route tree and will contribute early, especially if Braylon Edwards is traded on day two.

But the Browns can’t rush the passer and need a linebacker or top-flight defensive lineman.

I say need because while Mack is a great center, USC linebackers Clay Matthews and Rey Maualuga as well as Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitus were on the board still.

Maualuga was in fact still on the board when Robiskie was picked. While offensive line and wide receiver were needs, the pass rush was a bigger one and with several very good linebackers on the board, the Browns chose to fill less important needs.

They also bypassed shoring up their need at cornerback by letting Vontae Davis and Alphonso Smith sneak away as well.

And as much as I think Hawaii defensive end/linebacker convert David Veikune will be a good upside pick, wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi was a luxury, especially behind the Robiskie pick.

Massaquoi may become a good possession receiver down the road, but they could have grabbed a corner, safety or even replaced Kellen Winslow at tight end.

For a team with so many holes who is rebuilding, it seems like they filled few of them with four picks in the first two rounds.

The Browns have four more picks on Sunday: one in the fourth and three in the sixth. Lots of defensive talent remains on the board and I hope they can recover from a lackluster day one.

The Awe

New York Jets

Jet Nation is a tad split over the selection of USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, especially given the talent that slid out of the first round and through the second. But when you look at the price they paid, it’s more than reasonable for a possible franchise quarterback.

Defensive end Kenyon Coleman, quarterback Brett Ratliff, and safety Abram Elam were players who in all likelihood would get cut before camp or in Ratliff’s case, clearly hadn’t impressed the new regime all that much.

Aside from that, adding the second rounder to a swap that spanned 12 spots between first rounders is a marginal price to pay.

The Jets have put themselves in a position where they cannot make many mistakes on day two, though. They have four more picks on Sunday spread across four of the five rounds.

As I said with the Browns, there are many value picks to be had but the Jets have to be conservative to a great extent. They already rolled their dice once and that’s as much as they can risk.

Detroit Lions

I will openly admit, and it’s a shock to nobody who has read my work the last few months, that I do not agree with the Stafford pick. It’s not an awful pick, just not one I believe had to happen this year.

Yet, Stafford could develop into a nice franchise quarterback and he is far from awful. While I may not agree with the strategy to rebuild the franchise, it’s a solid pick.

On the surface, Brandon Pettigrew at 20 made me wince as well. But, like Stafford, Pettigrew is considered the best at his position and on top of it, he’s a tremendous blocker.

He’s no offensive tackle, but he will be able to stay in and protect Stafford. This is a pick that is more shrewd than I gave it credit for at first. As Stafford and the O-line get better, Pettigrew can release and become more of a pass catching tight end.

Finally, hard hitting cornerback Louis Delmas. Again, top at his position. And Delmas is the type of hard-nosed player who could help give this defense a personality, something it greatly lacks.

The Lions are looking to become more physical on the defensive side of the ball and Delmas will bring that in spades. They also need some help in the secondary, and this fills that hole.

Three picks. Three players arguably at the top of their class. They may not have filled all their needs, but the ones they did fill were given top talent.

With five picks on day two, including the first in round three and another later in the same round, the Lions stand to pick up some very good value. They could easily pull someone like Jarron Gilbert or Michael Johnson to help fill the defensive line hole, pick up the top guard on the board in Duke Robinson or even a decent tackle like South Carolina’s Jamon Meredith.

New England Patriots

The rich get richer. And richer. And richer.

How the organization ended up with the same amount of picks they started with, but also an embarrassment of riches in players is beyond me, but that’s how they end up being the great team they are every year.

Four picks in the second and every one a value.

Patrick Chung, second best safety in the class, brings some thump to the secondary and will make receivers pay dearly.

Defensive tackle Ron Brace got overlooked a bit with BJ Raji getting the love at Boston College, but he will stuff the run as well as anyone in the draft class and is likely to take over for Vince Wilfork at the nose tackle.

Darius Butler, one of the top corners in the draft, probably won’t start this coming season but will take over in the aging secondary within the next year or two.

And while Sebastian Vollmer is a project for the offensive line, he will develop into a nice right tackle and used to play tight end, so he has the versatility to move around for trick plays if need be.

And, oh by the way…they have seven more picks. By the end of the draft, they may have multiple picks for next year’s draft as well.

Before I let you go, dear reader, here are a few teams I am on the fence about. Today could be pivotal for them.

San Francisco 49ers

One pick, but what value. But you better build on Crabtree; use your remaining six picks wisely.

Houston Texans

Methodically took care of two key needs with picks of LB Clay Matthews and DE Connor Barwin. Six more picks to shore up the corners and get a back to complement Steve Slaton.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Almost made the Awe list, but as much as I loved watching them grab two very good offensive tackles in Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, passing on Crabtree and Maclin and then a host of good defensive line prospects makes me wonder if last season’s O-line injury woes didn’t get in their head too much.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Did you really need to leap up and pay the price you did to move a few spots? Especially since nobody in front of you was likely to grab your choice of Josh Freeman? Six picks on day two and like the Jets, you’d better make them count.

Unlike the Jets though, your new franchise quarterback is a far bigger project and has more question marks.

NFL Draft Prospects in Five Minutes or Less: A Look Behind DraftguysTV

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Any industry will occasionally see a shake up or development which shapes the way we interact with it for some time.

With the explosion of interest in the NFL Draft, there has also been an equally large explosion of coverage. And aside from the extra coverage from the usual suspects like NFL Network and ESPN, a litany of websites has sprung up around the internet.

Of the many out there, perhaps the most unique is Draftguys.com or more specifically DraftguysTV, their video project. In the two years since DraftguysTV has launched, it has become a useful portion tool for my analysis of many players who might otherwise get overlooked due to a lack of accessible game footage.

But the Draftguys site itself first came to my attention in 2007, when it launched with the usual group of player rankings, mock drafts and player analysis that is prevalent among various websites.

“We loved talking football,’ says Cecil Lammey, who met the other two founders—Sigmund Bloom and Marc Faletti—at Footballguys.com, working on his podcast The Audible. “So we thought, well why don’t we keep it going all off season? And if we were going to keep the talk going The Draft made the most sense to focus on.”

By 2008, Draftguys switched their focus from the usual stuff and moved towards into something fairly unique.

Video profiles shot in person at the three major College All Star games—The Shrine Game, Texas vs The Nation and The Senior Bowl—with player interviews.

The idea of video rather than written profiles seemed a natural one to Faletti. “Web-based video allows me to reach audiences directly,” he told me, “without having to navigate some sort of studio infrastructure that might dilute my product or ideas.”

Being a smaller company also has its advantages. “Like blogging to the newspaper industry, web video offers creators a chance to go uncensored, improve on immediacy compared to big media, and be more nimble,” says Marc. “Our budgets might be lower, but I think we compensate by bringing folks an uncompromised product.”

Aside from the budget, the next biggest hurdle would appear to be getting access to the practices and getting player interviews. But Bloom says that’s really easier to do than you’d think.

“If you’re respected within the community and contact the right people, it’s not that difficult at all. Ask nicely.”

Bloom, along with Lammey, had traveled the All Star circuit before. It was a simple case of just continuing those relationships and expanding them.

“The groundwork had already been laid,” says Lammey. ‘We just took it to the next level.”

“The Shrine Game and Texas Vs the Nation were extremely forthcoming with permission and access. They have no television deal for their practices, and that made it easy for them to give us a chance to shoot everything,” Faletti said about reaction from the various organizations.

“The Senior Bowl has an exclusive deal with NFL Network. While they gave us a chance to shoot the practices, we weren’t allowed to use the footage. They did allow us to use still photos, though and that’s given us a chance to make profiles like Alphonso Smith’s and Peria Jerry’s.”

Once in the door, the challenge became deciding who would be looked at and then shooting it. But even if they come in with a list, flexibility is a key.

“It’s all about the footage. We can come in with preconceived ideas, but we never know who’s going to stand out on film,” Faletti tells me. “Scouting always starts with an open mind, and that’s how we try to approach our footage.”

And sometimes it’s the guys they don’t know who make the biggest impression.

“A guy like Dudley Guice, who we’d never heard of, blew us away from the start and earned himself a profile simply by excelling.”

“We see a ton of great players and make a ton of connections,” Lammey adds. “But you can’t profile everyone.”

Getting the footage can be difficult, knowing when to shoot and who. And sometimes, Bloom tells me, it’s even a little dangerous.

“Sometimes errant passes or players running out of bounds just miss Marc – thankfully most receivers have great body control.”

Occasionally the camera attracts other dangers, like concerned and suspicious looks from scouts.

“Most of the time while we are waiting to talk to players they are talking to team scouts,” continues Bloom, ”who sometimes want to make sure our camera wasn’t recording anything while they are talking.

Even self financed, the Draftguys haven’t skimped. Digital cameras can be had cheaply and it’s not uncommon for college students or aspiring filmmakers to grab a cheap camera and run off a little avant garde film.

Not for Faletti. The Sony EX-1 camcorder he shoots with allows him to not only run the videos in High-Def, as they did in season one, but gives them incredibly high quality images that can easily be edited in multiple ways.

“I’ve worked with a lot of gear over the years,” Faletti told me, “but that camera’s the best bang for the buck in the history of video. Capturing in 1080P also allows me to crop certain plays when editing in 720P, and when you only use one camera on shoots like these, being able to “zoom in” in post makes a big difference.

Then Faletti runs the footage through Adobe After Effects and adds music in Final Cut Pro on an octo-core Mac Pro. The footage is modified a ton, so After Effects is a tool that can allow everything from graphic manipulation to time modification and much more easily than with just Final Cut Pro.

From there, it’s finalized and then heads to the web where arm-chair General Managers can take a look at some of the prospects their favorite teams are examining as well.

“A lot of fans tell us they want a player for their team after seeing the show,” says Bloom, who notes that Florida Atlantic linebacker Frantz Joseph has gotten the most response in this vein this season. Sometimes people will return to a video well after the draft as well. “Draftniks like to use our videos to prove that they were right about someone.”

It isn’t only the hard core Draft fans who took notice of the series.

After a first season where players like defensive tackle Eric Foster (started 11 games for the colts), corners Chevis Jackson (played in 16 games and picked off a pivotal Peyton Manning pass for a 95 yard TD) and Dwight Lowery (started opposite Darrell Revis for the Jets in 10 games) were featured, the media started to line up as well.

With several hundred players to track, it makes sense to Bloom. “Professional media like the ability to get a quick but informative overview of a player.”

Overall, the reaction has continued to be great from both parties.

The series has continued to gain steam this year as well.

“The NFL Network called us to say they enjoyed the show, and major sites like The Sporting News and USA Today have been running our work,” says Faletti of the reaction to season two.

“We have seen beat writers from coast to coast embed our profiles at their papers’ sites, and we’ve seen fan messages boards for almost every pro team and dozens of college teams sending the show around…right now, we’re the only folks offering a show like that in any medium, and I think that’s why it appeals so much to the media, fans, and draft aficionados.”

After two seasons of the video, the guys aren’t losing any steam. What’s next?

Bloom says he’d like to return to something they did in year one.

“We’re waiting to see if the NFL moves the draft up into February, or if the Shrine Game and Senior Bowl change venues to Tampa before making any decisions, but if the budget allows, we’d love to hit more training facilities.”

Lammey agrees, but thinks the next natural progression is Pro Days. “A camera hitting some of the big ones, checking some of the position drills would be great.”

Before any of that, though, Faletti says there’s one thing they have to take care of first.

“We hope to use the next several months to find support from an advertiser or possibly a large site with whom we could partner. Given what we did on almost no budget, imagine what some real financial backing would allow us to accomplish!”

With the following that DraftguysTV has gathered, it might not be long before we find out.

2009 NFL Draft: Offensive Position Class Grades

Each season a new crop of college athletes takes part in the NFL Draft process, and every year what the overall strengths and depths of the class are will change as often as the needs of the teams doing the drafting.

This year is no exception.

In 2008, we saw a class with good overall running back talent, quicker than anticipated impact at the quarterback position and great depth at the defensive spots.

The 2009 class has its own set of advantages and strong spots, but also more than a few positions of questionable depth and talent.

When the layman looks at the Draft, they think in terms of the ‘sexy positions’. The quarterback, the running back, the high profile names on the offense. It’s where many new draftniks and casual observers get caught up.

But once you’ve spent any time listening to any analyst or scout worth his salt, it turns out that’s not always where the value is in any given year.

This year is no different and while there is some value and depth in those skill positions, once again a lot of value also appears to be in the trenches and on the defensive side of the ball.

Let’s take a look at the overall offensive talent in the NFL Draft class of 2009.

Position – Quarterback
High Side – Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez
Low Side – Curtis Painter, Graham Harrell
Overall Grade – C+
Explanation – While I am a big fan of Stafford and Sanchez, I don’t know either would have cracked the top of last year’s class. Still, both athletes have the tools to be worthy of a top pick in 2009.

Stafford solidified a high pick slot with an outstanding Pro Day showcasing his accuracy and arm strength while Sanchez will have an opportunity to prove his doubters wrong by showing off his own accuracy and allaying injury concerns on April 1 at USC’s workout.

In his own tier behind them is Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman. I’ll be honest: any other year and Freeman isn’t going in round one. His accuracy issues, streaky nature and occasional lapses in decision making worry me.

Still, after Sanchez and Stafford, Freeman is the guy you want, though he’ll take more time to develop than the first two. After that, it’s personal choice. Every quarterback behind them is a big question mark and a project, so it becomes about who teams fall in love with.

One team might love Pat White’s versatility, while another may love Sam Houston State QB Rhett Bomar’s huge arm and intangibles. Or a team may wait a bit and snag any number of high upside, long-term projects like Fresno State’s Tom Brandstater (good short touch vs. shaky deep throws), Alabama’s John Parker Wilson (great intangibles vs lack of size and arm strength) or recently hot prospect Mike Reilly from Central Washington (good short accuracy and touch vs spread offense worries).

My choice for dark horse? Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State. Tough, determined and with good accuracy on the West Coast-Style slants and short passes, Carpenter played behind an atrocious offensive line, with no run game and still managed to put up very good numbers.

Sure thing? Not at all. But in the right scheme? Could be very successful. But he’s indicative of the class: all upside, all projects. Few sure things.

Here is where I think a smart team can make a big future impact with a pick that’s low risk, but potentially high reward.

One of these guys in the right system and with patience could turn out to be another Matt Cassel…assuming people remember the patience it took over almost four years to develop him.

Position – Running back
High Side – Knowshon Moreno, Chris Wells, LeSean McCoy
Low Side – Ian Johnson, Marlon Lucky
Overall Grade – B
Explanation – These backs don’t have the marquee value of a Peterson or a McFadden but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any solid backs here.

Knowshon Moreno has great instincts and is a big, tough runner with good hands. Chris Wells is a strong runner with good burst, but injury and durability worries.

UCONN running back Donald Brown is quick to the hole and had very good vision and can catch the ball well out of the backfield.

Behind the big three are a ton of solid, though perhaps unspectacular running backs. It’s not to say that a guy like Pitt’s LeSean McCoy, Liberty’s Rashad Jennings or Andre Brown from North Carolina can’t have a very good and very productive careers.

But none of these backs hold the excitement that the top of the line studs usually do. The class has some depth, players with defined roles versus the projects that litter the quarterback class.

A guy like Jeremiah Johnson out of Oregon would make an outstanding change of pace back. While he doesn’t have elite speed and has never been a workhorse, he’s shown ability, can play in special teams and has shown good vision and patience. He may never become the bell cow, but he also shouldn’t take three years to develop into a solid player.

Or a team can grab a guy like Marlon Lucky from Nebraska, a runner who has a good combination of size and speed, who can run for tough yards but doesn’t have the ability to be an every-down back.

He can certainly fill in (and quickly)– on special teams as well as be the type of back to grind yardage out and get the hard yards.

Though he will never be a home run hitter, Lucky could be another guy who can be picked late and yet still contributes early in his career. The running back class is filled with these solid, though perhaps unspectacular, backs.

Because of this, a team can lay in the weeds and fill other positions of need, yet still have a shot at a quality back who can contribute in a specific role pretty quickly.

While the ceiling isn’t extraordinarily high, the floor for many of these guys is pretty good.

Position – Fullback
High Side – Tony Fiametta
Low Side – Brannon Southerland
Overall Grade – C-
Explanation – Like with centers and kickers, top shelf fullbacks are few and far between and that’s why guys like Tony Richardson get the dollars he does blocking for backs like LT and Adrian Peterson.

You aren’t likely to see any fullbacks go on day one, and maybe just a handful will be drafted over all. In the last nine drafts, the top fullback has been selected in the fourth round four times and the fifth round three times.

The top fullback has only been pulled in the third round twice including last year when Jacob Hester went to the Chargers.

And while he was the top fullback in the 2008 draft he was also the type of guy San Diego looked at as a potential full time running back. Again, it’s rare for a full blown fullback to go early.

While a blocking fullback is worth his weight in gold, it’s easier to convert a running back or sign a fullback off the street.

So even the top guys like Syracuse’s Tony Fiametta will be unlikely to go earlier than the middle rounds. This is not to say Fiametta isn’t a capable player.

The former Orangeman is a fantastic blocker who works hard and has the versatility coaches love which allows him to block for other backs, catch the ball out of the backfield or even work special teams.

It’s that flexibility which will attract teams and players like Fiametta. But many other guys have too many question marks.

Georgia’s Brannan Southerland has some real conerns about his ability to stay healthy, Eric Kettani needs to fulfill his Naval service before he can play and lack experience in receiving and special teams so is limited while Jason Cook from Ole Miss is basically a blocker…and that’s all.

Once you get past the top one or two players, a team might as well wait and sign these guys after the draft or look for a late round running back, see if they can develop him as a regular RB and if not, move him to fullback.

Less fullbacks are being used in College football, and Pro teams are using tight ends and other players to block when necessary.

As a result, this class which is thin on depth will likely see few players taken on draft weekend and perhaps even during the rookie free agency signing period.

 

Position – Wide Receiver
High Side – Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin
Low Side – Sammie Stroughter, Tiquan Underwood
Overall Grade – B+
Explanation – A huge step up from last year and we should see a bunch of receivers pulled in the first round and over the course of the first day. There are some projects, but there are also plenty of very solid top prospects here.

You can start with the names we’ve all become familiar with over the last few months. Michael Crabtree with his phenomenal size, body control, reach and outstanding ball skills.

Fluid and elusive Jeremy Maclin with his ability to stretch the field and vertical ability. Darrius Heyward-Bey, Kenny Britt, Percy Harvin. All are names you’ve heard about endlessly.

But this class differs from the 2008 bunch in more than just the top end players. This class has a full compliment of depth, guys who will be effective early in their career and could have long-term impact.

Some, like OSU wideout Brian Robiskie seemingly emerged out of nowhere, lighting up the NFL Scouting Combine with an outstanding 40 and showing more athleticism than expected. He continued to impress at his Pro Day and is poised to get picked somewhere in the second or third rounds.

Robiskie’s route running and instincts make him a player who could be ready to contribute immediately and while he may not be the next Calvin Johnson or Randy Moss, he’s a solid player and could be so for a long time to come.

Slipping down a few spots to Ramses Barden, from Cal Poly. Barden has the size and strength to dominate defenders, he just needs to use it a little more confidently. And he can get yards after the catch.

A little more of a project, but he can still develop into a good wide receiver and an excellent guy to move the chains or red zone target.

Other guys who provide the depth on this squad are Washington State’s Brandon Gibson (experience, great hands, good routes, so-so speed, not enough separation), USC’s Patrick Turner off a great Pro Day (great routes, hands and tough attitude but not a great blocker or much of a deep threat), Quon Cosby out of Texas (athletic, quick, great ball skills, but a little older and limited separation) and Dominique Edison from Stephen F. Austin (decent speed, great hands and a good vertical threat, but not too physical nor sudden off the line) all will go second day and could carve out roles as at least No. 3 receivers.

Even guys like the players at the bottom of my list, like Oregon State’s Sammie Stroughter and Rutgers’ Tiquan Underwood could contribute, though it might take a little longer.

Position – Tight End
High Side – Brandon Pettigrew, Jared Cook
Low Side – Ryan Purvis, Bear Pascoe
Overall Grade – B-
Explanation – There are at least five TEs in this class that could be impact players at the next level, but not much depth and overall it won’t dominate the draft.

You may never be able to have too many wide receivers or running backs, but you don’t need that many tight ends.

Also, the position plays a little different now. You want a tight end who can block AND catch, not one but able to learn the other. Pettigrew is the class of the positional group, he can run, he can block, he can catch…and he’s a tough SOB.

The guys behind him are all very athletic: Jared Cook (great speed and quicks, great hands, but little blocking ability), Cornelius Ingram (great ball skills, soft hands, can go vertical, but not tough, inexperienced) and Travis Beckum (great speed, good routes, elusiveness after the catch but not bulky enough, not physical enough and there are durability issues), but have some question marks.

Still, they have the offensive skills to play for some time. The low end like Bear Pascoe (great blocker but very stiff and not fast) and Ryan Purvis (good hands, willing blocker but not fast or explosive) seem to be the flipside: blockers who might develop into full tight ends.

The fact you could get production from the late rounds with guys this deep into the class is what makes this class just a bit better than average.

Position – Offensive Tackle
High Side – Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, Andre Smith
Low Side – Garrett Reynolds, Joel Bell
Overall Grade – B+
Explanation – Once again, a great crop of OTs and we could see another run on the position in the first round. The game is won in the trenches and there are a lot of fine tackles in the 2009 class, even if it isn’t quite as deep as the 2008 group.

Jason Smith, Monroe, Andre Smith and Oher will be gone in the top 15 in all likelihood and you could see guys like Eben Britton out of Arizona and recently hot Phil Loadholt from Oklahoma who could sneak into the first as well.

There are other good tackles behind these guys but they could go anywhere from late second to beginning of the third, guys like William Beatty (UCONN), Troy Kropog (Tulane) or Jamon Meredith (South Carolina).

All have something they need to work on be it a lack of prototypical size, mobility or a lack pf perfection either in the run or pass portion of the game. But all of them will be productive.

As you go further away, the projects grow more shaky but there are so many who could slip in or will get picked up immediately as a street free agent, if a team misses out on one guy, they have the possibility of grabbing a project late and spending less money, yet still seeing production.

 

Position – Guard
High Side – Duke Robinson, Andy Levitre
Low Side – Ryan Durand, Travis Bright
Overall Grade – B-
Explanation – A decent group, but not a ton of depth. You’ll see them go starting in the second, but there aren’t more than a dozen guys who are good bets to go.

A bunch of guards will go as rookie free agents, but not much excitement. Most interesting thing I have seen is the contradicting evaluations of Greg Isdaner of West Virginia.

Some rankings have him as the second or third guard. But some don’t even have him going on Draft weekend.

The top of the class are definitely Oklahoma’s Duke Robinson and Oregon State’s Andy Levitre. But while maybe one slips into the first, guards don’t go early.

Overall it’s a decent class but there are not a ton of guards who will go on draft day, especially when some tackles can move over to guard if they don’t work out.

Position – Center
High Side – Alex Mack, Max Unger, Eric Wood
Low Side – Cecil Newton, Dallas Reynolds
Overall Grade – C
Explanation – Top flight Centers are tough to come by, which is why Jeff Saturday just got re-signed by the Colts. You don’t let one go.

This class is ok at the top, but there is a significant drop-off after that and if we hit double digits drafted, I’d be surprised. But the top of the class is pretty good.

Cal’s Mack is whip-smart and incredibly flexible in what he can play: center, guard, what have you. He not only can do many things, but he’s also willing.

I have seen him slip a bit in some mocks, with Wood jumping in as the center taken in the first round. The Louisville center isn’t the most powerful guy and finds himself pushed around a little too much for me. But again, a smart guy who is a hard worker.

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