8/3/07
- After briefing flirting with the Washington Redskins and
a few other teams, veteran wide receiver Keenan
McCardell finally decided to return to his hometown and
join the Texans. The 37-year-old had a disappointing campaign
in 2006 as the Chargers increasingly began calling plays for
Vincent Jackson as the season wore. This resulted in McCardell
catching only nine passes over the team's final seven games,
including the playoff loss to the Patriots. Nonetheless, the
crafty McCardell managed to haul in 36 receptions on only 51
attempts and is just one season removed from a 70 reception,
917 yard, nine touchdown season. Although he's unlikely to approach
those stats in 2007, his competition for a starting spot on
the Texans consists of raw rookie Jacoby
Jones, a third round pick from a community college, Kevin
Walter (47 receptions in four years) and third year player
Jerome
Mathis, who has spent more time in the trainer's room than
on the field. McCardell might just be worth a picking up in
deep leagues given he will come at an extremely low cost.
- Make no mistake about it, Lions rookie receiver Calvin
Johnson is bound to be a major stud in the league and a
top FF producer for years to come. However, if the rookie wants
to be on the field for the majority of the team's offensive
plays and make a meaningful contribution during the first part
of the season, he needs to get to camp immediately. There are
two factors working against the 2nd pick in the draft as he
attempts to make a big impression in his rookie season. One,
coordinator Mike Martz has the thickest offensive playbook in
the league and it's extremely complicated, with sight adjustments
and extensive verbiage. The sight adjustments require coordination
with the quarterback and it's doubtful Johnson's going to be
on the same page with quarterback Jon
Kitna unless he gets in a significant amount of reps. Two,
Martz isn't the kind of coach who's going to tone down his playbook
for anybody, be it a rookie wide receiver or quarterback. Fellow
wideout Mike
Furrey was already looking like a decent option in points
per reception leagues and the longer Johnson remains a holdout,
the better Furrey looks.
Editor's Note: Calvin Johnson signed with the Lions today
(after submission of this article)
- The Dolphins have been impressed with the play of center
Samson Satele, a 2nd round selection in this year's draft, and
it appears he will open the season in the starting line-up.
Satele was quick to learn the team's playbook and the team feels
he has the leadership skills necessary to lead the offensive
line for many years.
- In another amazing Browns injury recovery story, cornerback
Gary Baxter
appears ready to join the club early in training camp. It appeared
Baxter's football career was over after he tore both patellar
tendons three games into the 2006 season, an injury no player
has ever returned from. Baxter will start training camp on the
Active/Physically Unable to Perform list but should come off
the list early in training camp. His presence, even in a nickel
or dime back role, would improve what is perhaps the league's
worst group of cornerbacks. With Leigh
Bodden on one side and Daven
Holly, Kenny
Wright and rookie 2nd round pick Eric
Wright battling for the other starting position, the team
is so weak at cornerback that defensive coordinator Todd Grantham
would have little choice but to employ extensive zone coverage.
-
 Look
for Dallas outside linebacker DeMarcus
Ware to have a monster season in 2007. After recording 11.5
sacks last season, the most in Dallas team history by an outside
linebacker, and going to his first Pro Bowl in only his second
season, Ware seems poised to reap the benefits of new coach
Wade Phillips defensive philosophies. Phillips has generally
managed to turn at least one of his defenders into a sack machine
during his coaching career (Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips
in San Diego, Bryce Paup in Buffalo) and he plans to turn Ware
loose in the Dallas by allowing him more freedom to roam while
moving him around to create mismatches for the opposition's
blockers. Don't look for him to approach Merriman's expected
sack totals this season because he won't put his hand on the
ground on nearly every passing down like Merriman will but expect
his sack and total tackles to rise as Phillips takes the shackles
off and lets him use his instincts to disrupt opposing offences.
- The Panthers were hoping tight end Michael
Gaines would grab hold of a starting job in training camp,
however the 2004 7th round pick has already been demoted in
favor of 2007 5th round pick Jeff
King. At 6'3" and 280 pounds, Gaines brings good size and
above average speed to the position but he has not been able
to fully grasp the team's playbook. A former college basketball
player, King also has good athleticism but doesn't have Gaines'
size and blocking ability, something the team wants to improve
given the team's poor rushing attack last season.
- Packers 1st round pick Justin
Harrell hasn't exactly lit things up thus far in training
camp. The defensive tackle showed up 15 pounds over his college
playing weight and hasn't been effective getting upfield or
on running plays. Apparently, the lack of conditioning is the
result of Harrell not being able to participate in mini-camps
due to the torn bicep that plagued him during his final college
season. Packers brass apparently isn't too concerned about Harrell's
performance, however it says here the rookie maybe should have
spent a few bucks of his signing bonus on some cardio equipment
because his lack of maturity is somewhat ridiculous.
- The Bucs made a lot of noise in the off-season with their
acquisition in free agency of Colts linebacker Cato
June. While June has looked good thus far in training camp
and may replace Derrick Brooks at weakside linebacker (the playmaking
spot in the Bucs defense) sooner than expected, there's another
Bucs linebacker that is poised to make a name for himself in
2007. Barrett Rudd, a high 2nd round pick in the 2005 draft,
will assume Shelton Quarles' spot at middle linebacker. With
two years in the Bucs system under his belt and the opportunity
to start five games in 2006 when Quarles was injured, the Bucs
feel Rudd is ready to shine. Rudd was a tackling machine at
Nebraska and clearly has the instincts necessary to succeed
in the middle. Although Quarles wasn't among the top overall
point producers in IDP leagues last season, a closer look reveals
he was just outside of the top ten in terms of average points
per game. The younger, faster Rudd may just be ready to assume
that level of production.
- Travis
Wilson, the Browns 3rd round pick from last season, has
quickly supplanted the perennially injured Tim
Carter on the team's depth chart. With Carter out nursing
an injured hamstring, Wilson has moved behind starters Braylon
Edwards and Joe
Jurevicius. With Jurevicius approaching the twilight of
his career and his lengthy injury history (21 missed games over
the past four years), Wilson is likely to get an opportunity
to start some games in 2007 and possibly make a statement that
he has what it takes to be Edwards' running mate for the next
few years.
- Is there a harder luck player in the league than Dan
Cody? The Ravens 2005 2nd round pick missed his entire rookie
season with a knee injury and spent the first part of the 2006
season on the Physically Unable to Perform list before returning
to the roster to appear in two games. Now it appears Cody's
2007 season may have ended with the injury he sustained during
the team's minicamp in May. The knee didn't respond so Cody
recently had arthroscopic surgery and will likely miss the remainder
of training camp and may end up requiring microfracture surgery,
which at this point would certainly end his once promising career.
- The Panthers made a nice trade in acquiring Bears safety
Chris
Harris for only a 5th pick in the 2008 draft. Although Harris
isn't a candidate for the Pro Bowl anytime soon, he is a major
upgrade at strong safety for the Panthers who were auditioning
Nate Salley
and Deke
Cooper to play on the strong side opposite Mike
Minter. Harris was a 6th round pick in the 2005 draft but
was stuck in a logjam of safeties with the Bears. Despite his
low draft position, Harris managed to start 20 games over his
first two years in the league and he plugs a rather gaping hole
in what otherwise looks to be a solid Carolina defense.
- Cowboys defensive end Chris
Canty has looked impressive in camp and the team feels he
may be ready for a breakout season. After being asked to take
on blockers in Bill Parcell's defensive scheme, Canty is being
given more freedom in new coach Wade Phillip's scheme. A 4th
round pick in the 2005 draft, Canty was impressive as a rookie
and the Cowboys brass felt he would develop into a great asset
in the 3-4 scheme due to his ability to take on blockers while
also generating a strong pass rush. However, after starting
two games and notching 2.5 sacks as a rookie, Canty recorded
only one sack in 2006, despite starting all 16 games. Although
he still showed an ability to get to the quarterback, he didn't
finish and the team thinks his renewed commitment may propel
to him a big season in 2007.
- Although the 49ers used their 1st round selection on linebacker
Patrick
Willis in this year's draft with the hopes he will turn
into a star on their defense, the original plan was to have
him start the season in a reserve role behind incumbent inside
starters Derek
Smith and Brandon
Moore. However, Willis is doing his best to scuttle those
plans with his play thus far in training camp. Reports out of
San Francisco indicate his combination of instincts and athleticism
are simply too strong to keep out of the starting line-up. Look
for Willis to open the season playing alongside Smith in the
middle with Moore moving to team up Manny
Lawson at outside linebacker. With former Patriot Tullly
Banta-Cain, Jeff
Ulbrich and Hannibal
Navies in reserve, the 49ers have the potential to field
one of the best linebacking units in the league.
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