By Totals 4 U
Welcome to the second edition of our 8-week series taking an off-season look at each of the National Football League’s conferences. This week we have selected the home of your 2007 AFC Champions with a look at what these franchises have been up to and the direction they are heading this upcoming season. Be sure to check in for a new article each Thursday the next couple months and away we go…
New England Patriots (16-0 regular season, 2-1 playoffs) Bill Belichick’s crew came within 35 seconds of running the 2007 table into the history books and returns both lines plus the bulk of offensive firepower that piled up 38.8 points per regular season game - 8.4 points per game more than the next-best Cowboys. WR Dante Stallworth left for Cleveland and Seattle’s TE Marcus Pollard was added while receivers Moss, Washington, and Gaffney resigned with the Pats but the real off-season action took place among the New England linebacker and defensive backfield ranks. Aging backers Rosevelt Colvin and Chad Brown are gone while Pierre Woods, Tedy Bruschi, and Larry Izzo have been resigned to battle Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas for playing time in the 3-4 but they will have plenty of incoming competition with the signing of LB Victor Hobson away from the Jets plus 1st and 3rd round draft picks OLB Jerod Mayo (Tennessee) and OLB Shawn Crable (Michigan). Throw in the possible additions of Junior Seau (may retire) plus Eric Alexander (team’s exclusive rights free agent) and New England is positively stacked at the position and likely deadly on special teams. In the defensive backfield the competition for jobs will be just as fierce with the return games again also getting a boost. Randall Gay, Asante Samuel, and Eugene Wilson rode the free agent train out of town while corners Fernando Bryant (Detroit), Lewis Sanders (Atlanta), Jason Webster (Buffalo), and S Tank Johnson (Minnesota) rode it in plus 2nd and 4th round draft picks scooped up Colorado’s CB/KR Terrence Wheatley and Auburn’s CB Jonathon White. The 3rd round selection of Kevin O’Connell likely sends backup QB Matt Cassell packing. A returning #1 offense, a younger and faster #4 defense, and beefed up special teams. Meet the new boss; same as the old boss!
Buffalo Bills (7-9 regular season, 0-0 playoffs) A squad that finishes the season with the 31st ranked offense and 31st ranked defense to miss the playoffs for the 8th consecutive year has plenty of needs and GM Russ Brandon has cut dead weight like CB Jeremetrius Butler (15 T), WR Peerless Price (7 catches), and RB Anthony Thomas (2.5 yards per carry) while filling pressing holes and banking $78 million to play 8 games over 5 years in Toronto’s Rogers Centre. Backup QB JP Losman was rumored draft day trade bait but the Bills sat pat and have 2 solid arms with QB Trent Edwards (1630 yards, 7 TD, 8 INT) and Losman while resigning C Matt Whittle and T Matt Murphy keeps depth intact for a line that helped rookie RB Marshawn Lynch rush for 1115 yard and 7 TD in just 13 games and backup Fred Jackson pile up 300 yards in just 58 carries. Buffalo’s key need was at defensive back where the Bills allowed 247.4 yards per game. Eagles free agent CB Will James was added and college football’s top cover corner Leodis McKelvin was snatched with the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft in addition to 4th round pick CB Reggie Corner (Akron) and 7th round pick Kennard Cox (Pittsburgh). Just 26 team sacks in 2007 were answered with the acquisitions of DT Spencer Johnson (FA-ATL), DT Marcus Stroud (Jacksonville trade), LB Kawika Mitchell (FA-NYG) and 3rd round pick Virginia Tech DE Chris Ellis (8 ½ sacks in 2007). Coach Dick Jauron wanted to add a big receiver to his smallish corps (top four wire receivers 5’10” or less) and he got three with a steal of a 2nd round selection 6’6” 221 Indiana WR James Hardy, 7th round pick 6’2” 210 WR Steve Johnson (led SEC in yards and touchdowns), plus 6’6” 270 Atlanta free agent TE Courtney Anderson to compete at a position that will be back under new O-Coordinator Turk Schonert. Call us crazy, but we see a playoff team in the making.
New York Jets (4-12 regular season, 0-0 playoffs) A quarterback controversy is certain this season between QB Chad Pennington (68.8% completions, 1765 yards, 10 TD, 9 INT) who started the first 8 games of 2007 and QB Kellen Clemens (52.0% completions, 1529 yards, 5 TD, 10 INT) who took over at mid-season but at least it will happen behind a premier offensive line. As part of a house cleaning that included letting go starters FS Eric Coleman, NT Dewayne Robertson, and LB Victor Hobson plus key players CB Andre Dyson, WR Justin McCareins, and C Wade Smith to free agency and outright release, GM Mike Tannenbaum cut starting LG Adrien Clark and starting RT Anthony Clement. Big free agent bucks brings in LG Alan Faneca and RT Damien Woody to join LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson, C Nick Mangold, and RG Brandon Moore to punch holes for RB Thomas Jones (310 for 1119 yards and 1 TD) while the passing game takes a back seat. New York’s defense was pushed around last year for 134.8 rushing yards per game so the Jets traded for Carolina DT Kris Jenkins and picked up free agent ROLB Calvin Pace from Arizona - each will take starting roles. As far as the NFL draft was concerned, Coach Eric Mangini didn’t get much immediate help, despite 2 first round selections. We disagree with the pundits who say that Ohio State DE Vernon Gholston (14 sacks in 2007 against Big 10 linemen) is overrated and a mistake at the 6th overall pick but he projects to ROLB in the J-Men’s 3-4 defense where they dropped coin to pick up Pace while using the 30th overall selection on Purdue TE Dustin Keller conjures up images of drunken, foul mouthed Jets fans screaming like stuck pigs for the ESPN cameras. Starting TE Chris Baker (41 for 409 and 3 TD) is decent plus free agency yielded TE Bubba Franks from Green Bay. Pour me whatever the guy in the Blair Thomas jersey is having.
Miami Dolphins (1-15 regular season, 0-0 playoffs) Losing 6 games by a field goal may tempt some to build on existing personnel, but GM Jeff Ireland and VP/Football Ops Bill Parcells are not those guys. Parcells is famous for cleaning house and bringing in big, tough guys which has sent packing starting QB’s Trent Green (cut) and Cleo Lemon (FA-Jacksonville), top receiver Marty Booker (cut), plus the squad’s second and third leading rushers Lorenzo Booker (trade to Philadelphia) and Jesse Chatman (free agent Jets) as well as offensive linemen L.J. Shelton, Rex Hadnot, Anthony Alibi, Marvin Dukes, and Joe Toledo with Chris Liwienski and Cory Lekkerkerker soon to follow. Oakland free agent QB Josh McCown takes over at the trigger while 2nd-year John Beck (60 of 107 for 559 yards, TD, 3 INT) and 2nd round selection Chad Henne battle for the future. LT Vernon Carey moves next to 4th round pick RG Shawn Murphy (son of baseball’s Dale Murphy) while the NFL Draft’s overall #1 LT Jake Long will start next to 49ers free agent LG Justin Smiley. RB Ronnie Brown (119 for 602 and 4 TD) and Ricky Williams return from season-ending injuries, while TE Anthony Fasano (trade Dallas) and WR Ernest Wilford (free agent Jacksonville) join WR Ted Ginn Jr. (34 for 420 and 2 TD. Defensively, DE Jason Taylor (11 of teams 30 sacks) doesn’t fit Parcells’s mold and may join DT Keith Traylor and DT Anthony Bryant who have been sent packing with LB Zach Thomas and LB Derrick Pope. Miami grabbed 3 defensive ends in the draft including 2nd rounder Phillip Merling from Clemson while free agency/trades bring LB’s Reggie Torbor, Charlie Anderson, and Akin Ayodele, DB’s Chris Crocker, Keith Davis, and Nate Jones, plus DL’s Jason Ferguson and Randy Starks. A new roster, a new Head Coach in Tony Sparano, and new results? The Dolphins couldn’t help but improve.
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***NOTE: Weekly college and pro football articles will be posted every Wednesday throughout the season for a major weekend match up so we hope to see you here every week and best of luck this year!*** - The Champs at #1 SPORTS
By Totals 4 U
Dallas Cowboys (13-3 regular season, 0-1 playoffs). Head Coach Wade Phillips retains the key players that earned the NFC’s top seed in the 2007 Playoffs, but free agent losses of S Keith Davis, CB Nate Jones, CB Jacques Reeves, and RB Julius Jones have created some needs on the depth chart. Safeties Ken Hamlin (franchised) and Roy Williams will anchor the defensive backfield (18th-best at 233.0 pass yards allowed per game in ’07), and Dallas has secured the rights to CB Adam Jones with a 4th round pick to Tennessee. Plus they will certainly add talent in this weekend’s draft. Owner/General Manager Jerry Jones holds both the 22nd and 28th picks in the first round. Most mock drafts having the Cowboys taking Arkansas RB Felix Jones to pair with RB Marion Barber (204 for 975 and 10 TD) - who did not sign an offer sheet with another team and will return - as he did with Darren McFadden. The Boys have not selected an offensive player in the first round since 1997, and if they stay put, Arizona CB Antoine Carson or Kansas CB Aquib Talib are possibilities, as is Tennessee State CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, if they move up.
QB Tony Romo (4211 yards, 36 TD, 19 INT) and WR Terrell Owens (81 for 1355 and 15 TD) led the league’s 4th best passing attack last year. But the organization has made inquiries about adding a big name wide out through trade rather than draft. WR Terry Glenn comes off two knee surgeries and those first round picks could grab a player like Cincinnati’s Chad Johnson, Detroit’s Roy Williams, or Arizona’s Anquan Boldin. LT Flozell Adams has been resigned to guard the pocket and TE Jason Witten (96 for 1145 and 7 TD) also returns to an offense that finished second to only the Patriots with 28.4 points scored per game. Dallas’ 17-21 playoff loss to the Giants last season marked the 11th consecutive season without a post-season win for the world’s most valuable sports franchise.
New York Giants (10-6 regular season, 4-0 playoffs). With a Super Bowl win comes attention from league for your personnel, and Coach Tom Coughlin’s defensive crew (9th ranked overall with 326.8 yards per) took plenty of hits with FS Gibril Wilson (Oakland), DT William Joseph (Oakland), LB Kawika Mitchell (Buffalo), and LB Reggie Torbor (Miami) taking the free agent train out of town. To fill the hole at safety, General Manager Jerry Reese picked up Sammy Knight from Jacksonville, tendered a restricted free agent offer to their starting SS James Butler. Plus they have a young hitter in CB Corey Webster that could make the move. Linebacker presents a bigger problem. The acquisition of Texan LB Danny Clark is a start, and young LB Gerris Wilkinson may be ready for a starting job, but if Tennessee LB Jerod Mayo is still available at the 31st pick, the Giants would grab him in a New York second. Arkansas State’s S Tyrell Johnson, Miami-Fla S Kenny Phillips, Arkansas DT Marcus Harrison, and North Carolina DT Kentwan Balmer are also certainly also possibilities in the first round.
36-year old DE Michael Strahan (57 T, 9 sacks) still hasn’t let the team know if he’ll return, but the biggest news in the Big Apple is the possible trade of 4-time All Pro TE Jeremy Shockey. The Saints and Seahawks are interested with 2nd round picks to offer, while Green Bay and Miami (he lives in Miami) also seem good fits. Miami’s 32nd selection overall might be enough and would give the Giants back to back firepower in the draft, while other teams would have to add a need position player for Reese to jump. If Shockey gets dealt, 2nd year pass-catching TE Kevin Boss (started last 6 games) and 2nd year blocking TE Michael Mathews (played in every game last season) get the call, plus TE Darcy Johnson returns from missing 2007 while rehabbing his surgically repaired knee. DE Justin Tuck, K Lawrence Tynes, RB Derrick Ward, and G Rich Seubert have all been resigned, while QB David Carr has been added from Carolina.
Washington Redskins (9-7 regular season, 0-1 playoffs). QB Jason Campbell improved enough last season, with 2700 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 11 picks before tearing a knee in Week 14, to boost the Redskin passing game to #15 in the league at 226.4 yards per game. But he faces another challenge this season. The knee is fine, but new Head Coach Jim Zorn’s West Coast Offense will be Campbell’s 7th new system in eight years of college and pro football. A new passing game requires new personnel, as incumbent receivers 5’10” Santana Moss, 5’10” Antwaan Randle El, and 6’0” James Thrash don’t fit the size profile for the West Coast, so disgruntled Bengal Chad Johnson is a possibility, and selections in the draft are a necessity. Owner Daniel Snyder and departed Coach Joe Gibbs spent years paying for overpriced free agents with top draft selections – leaving a grand total of seven picks in the top four rounds over the last four years – but this season the cupboard is full with nine selections including the 21st overall. Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly, Texas’ Limas Sweed, and Michigan State’s Devin Thomas all fit the bill for a big target, while an aging offensive line (all five starters and top two backups are all at least 30 years old) will also certainly get attention.
33 regular season sacks and 91.2 rushing yards allowed per game were decent numbers, but age at defensive line is also a problem, so ends Calais Campbell of Miami-Fla, Phillip Merling of Clemson, or Derrick Harvey of Florida could be heading to the nation’s capitol, as could tackles Sedrick Ellis of Southern Cal or Kentwan Balmer of North Carolina. FS Reed Doughty looks able to handle the job opposite of SS LaRon Landry, vacated by the deceased Sean Taylor, while the Skins will make do with CB Fred Smoot while CB Carlos Rogers rehabs from the knee surgery that cost him nine games in 2007. Not great and not young, but Washington returns all 22 starters that won four straight to end the regular season.
Philadelphia Eagles (8-8 regular season, missed playoffs). Andy Reid’s crew failed to reach the playoffs last season, but they did finish with three consecutive wins and the numbers reveal a squad still among the best in the NFC. 250.3 yards passing and 123.4 yards rushing per game were good enough to rank 4th in the entire league. QB Donovan McNabb (19 TD, 7 INT, and 3224 yards in 14 games) has taken plenty of heat, but he did spread the ball around extremely well with WR Kevin Curtis (77 for 1110 yards and 6 TD) and WR Reggie Brown (61 for 780 yards and 4 TD) putting up strong numbers, while still getting 368 offensive touches for RB Brian “The Weapon” Westbrook (1333 yards/7 TD rushing, 771 yards/5 TD receiving). While Philly fans scream for a Big Time receiver, the Eagle’s offensive need is offensive tackle. T Jon Runyan (34) and T William Thomas (33) are in their second decade in the pros, with Vanderbilt’s Chris Williams and Pittsburgh’s Jeff Otah possibilities at the 19th selection of this weekend’s draft.
An overall defensive ranking of 8th (230.4 pass, 95.8 rush) was dragged down by defensive backfield injuries to SS Sean Considine (missed final eight games), FS Brian Dawkins (missed six games), and CB Lito Sheppard (missed fourteen games last three years) with a major shuffle underway. CB Will James is gone to the Bills and Sheppard will likely follow as soon as this weekend. CB Assante Samuel (16 INT last 2 years) enters via free agency, S J.R. Reed and nickel back Joselio Hanson have been resigned, and more help will come from the college ranks. Sitting pat gets a player like Miami-Fla S Kenny Phillips in Round 1, while moving up could grab a cover/return monster like Troy CB Leodis McKelvin. DE Jevon Kearse and LB Takeo Spikes have been cut, but the Eagles have depth at their positions, plus with eleven selections in the draft, they will get plenty more.
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