I caught three personnel moves as the week went on and I find interesting aspects of all three. I'll get to the most obvious one last, since it begs for the most involved discussion.
First of all - Pete Carroll at Seattle sheds another former USC player, as the Seahawks trade former first-rounder Lawrence Jackson (DE) to the Lions. Now, I noticed this in part because I'm a Lions fan, but also because Carroll seems to have little love for his former players and it's always interesting to see a first-round pick from the last three years get traded for less. It's still unsaid what the Lions paid - an undisclosed draft pick - but it's unlikely higher than a 4th-rounder, from what I've read. For the Seahawks, it's another pick to build a new core around. For the Lions, they get another possible DE to add to the scheme; it's clear they don't have a lot of faith in their depth at DE. Cliff Avril is still a question mark as a starter. Working in a former first-rounder who is, admittedly, not a specialist in any regard (neither a prolific run-stuffer or pass-rusher) seems a logical move for a team lacking DE depth and still questioning one of their starters. I'll be keeping an eye on Mr. Jackson during the last three Lions preseason games (I'll be watching the Denver game later today).
Second up - Brian Westbrook selects a team! And lucky for him, it wasn't St. Louis! I mentioned before that he seemed headed there and it seemed logical - it gave the Rams a second viable RB behind Steven Jackson and made a nice insurance policy in case he doesn't get through the season. But you have to imagine that Westbrook, who has tasted the Super Bowl before but never won it, was less than enthused about joining a team that was only just embarking on a rebuilding cycle. Fortune smiled upon him, then, as the 49ers second-year backup RB retired suddenly, creating a sudden vacuum behind Frank Gore there. As soon as the news broke, I liked it. Gore and Westbrook are as different as two RBs can get and this will make the 49ers a better team. Westbrook isn't a tough-as-nails Singletary-type of guy, but he can provide an excellent check-down receiving option to Alex Smith and help spell Gore occasionally. Keep him to 10-15 touches (including receptions) per game and he should stay healthy and effective. And of course, they kept him off the roster of another team in the division, which is always a bonus, too.
And so we move on to the finale of this update, the big event of the week - naturally, the return of Brett Favre. For the record, I never assumed at any point this offseason that Favre would not return - so when news broke last month that he didn't plan to, naturally, I rolled my eyes. His return was inevitable to me; it seemed as much last year. I seriously doubt his ability to make it through a whole season this year and I seriously doubt that he will be as efficient as he was last year, but that, of course, remains to be seen. There is no question that - this year - he makes the Vikings a better team. But I remain disgusted at how the Vikings organization has just bent over for this man and let him write his own rules throughout. I've said before that while this gives them a better chance to win now, I'm not sure what the long-term effect of doing such a thing is. Certainly, Tavaris Jackson can't trust the coaching staff's word anymore and Sage Rosenfels is as close to a cast-off as you can be when you're earning $3m/year. So what the Vikings do after this year (assuming no Favre return then)... is a good question, but one they're happy to ignore for the moment. I suppose the most shocking thing about this is that the Vikings are now planning to restructure Favre's contract, particularly alongside his speech about how he's "doing it for the guys." Given, a lot of the numbers going around for the new Favre 1-year deal look inflated, because $8m of his salary last year was deferred to this year. Nonetheless, a lot of it seems unnecessary (sending 3 players to go "convince" him, and clumsily trying to cover it up?), but that's the state of the Vikings... a team in desperation, knowing that their window is only open for so long and that it is closing and that this man gives them the best chance to win while they have the opportunity... no matter the cost.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Week 1 NFL Preseason observations
Let's preface this quickly - it's preseason football. Preseason football is, in the great scheme of things, meaningless. It's a place where second- and third-stringers fight for jobs, it's not a place where first-stringers showcase. Part of this is because many teams run very vanilla schemes in the preseason, so as not to tip their hand to their foes and to give those men fighting for jobs the best opportunity to make an impact. Remember that the 2008 Lions, who infamously went 0-16, were undefeated in the preseason that year, 4-0.
A few Lions observations to start - Stafford looks good. He threw crisply and more accurately than I remember last season. Almost everything he threw was hitting his receivers in their hands and even the interception was more due to Jahvid Best than Stafford. I've been reading about his progress this season and it looks like it is translating to the field. He looked very comfortable with Calvin Johnson, too. Jahvid Best looks fast, but I have trouble buying him running up the middle at all. He's shifty, but he seems far better suited to cutback and outside running. If they throw him up the middle, he's going to get stuffed more often than not. The defensive line looks intimidating. I knew the first play the first-stringers were out because the Pittsburgh offensive line stopped moving backwards. Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams look immense and indomitable - both men are moving other men. This will be the strength of the defense - and good thing, because the secondary is still severely lacking. Pressure on the QB will be necessary all game long and if a runner gets past the front-four, watch out.
On the Vikings - four sacks for Sam Bradford. The Viking defensive front looks solid, but even so, I think it's going to be a long year for Bradford. He doesn't have many weapons in St. Louis. Maybe that's why the Rams are reportedly pursuing Brian Westbrook - the more help they can get Bradford, the better. I still think that Favre will be back for the Vikings, but the debate is on between Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson already. I say wait on that - one preseason game does not make a starter when a position is in competition. The Vikings do look deep though, moreso than I expected. The offense looked sharp with a lot of its would-be starters out of the game. But then again, they were playing the Rams.
Other teams around the league - that was some comeback by the Arizona Cardinals against the Texans. Preseason or not, a 16-point second-half comeback is impressive and says a lot about the third-stringers in Arizona, their desire to play, and what Ken Whisenhunt is doing there... Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson still look like one of the best QB-WR tandems in the league... Green Bay lost to Cleveland, but Aaron Rodgers still looks like he's on fire and showing no signs of letting up. He is the best young quarterback in the league, I believe that's no longer a question - the Packers, regardless of the grace of how it was done, made the right decision letting Favre go... Washington looks a little frightening on offense... it might have been Buffalo's defense, in part, but their passing game looked solid, even with disgraced Rex Grossman leading the attack. And in typical Mike Shanahan fashion, the Redskins are absolutely flush with talented RBs - Clinton Portis, Willie Parker, Larry Johnson and Ryan Torain - enough so that this team will always have fresh, reliable legs all season long. This is an invaluable trait of a Mike Shanahan offense and is a huge part of his success. I don't entirely buy Washington yet, but if I were in the NFC East, I'd be keeping my eye on this team... Carolina looks like a young team in transition, I'm not sure if I buy Jimmy Clausen yet, he looks impatient in the pocket for someone with so much hype about him... Baltimore looks like it will be a dangerous passing team this year, with Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton and Donte' Stallworth... Miami looked horrible in the rain, it seemed like neither Chad Henne nor Brandon Marshall could get a grip on the ball. I'm sure Tony Sparano is hoping that was only due to the rain.
Quick injury note - RB Ben Tate for the Houston Texans might be out for the year. That certainly alters their RB landscape and, assuming they don't add another running back before the season starts, means that the progress of Steve Slaton and Arian Foster become crucial to their offense. It also means that both Slaton and Foster get significant fantasy value boosts, since Ben Tate was getting talk of being the opening-day starter.
A few Lions observations to start - Stafford looks good. He threw crisply and more accurately than I remember last season. Almost everything he threw was hitting his receivers in their hands and even the interception was more due to Jahvid Best than Stafford. I've been reading about his progress this season and it looks like it is translating to the field. He looked very comfortable with Calvin Johnson, too. Jahvid Best looks fast, but I have trouble buying him running up the middle at all. He's shifty, but he seems far better suited to cutback and outside running. If they throw him up the middle, he's going to get stuffed more often than not. The defensive line looks intimidating. I knew the first play the first-stringers were out because the Pittsburgh offensive line stopped moving backwards. Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams look immense and indomitable - both men are moving other men. This will be the strength of the defense - and good thing, because the secondary is still severely lacking. Pressure on the QB will be necessary all game long and if a runner gets past the front-four, watch out.
On the Vikings - four sacks for Sam Bradford. The Viking defensive front looks solid, but even so, I think it's going to be a long year for Bradford. He doesn't have many weapons in St. Louis. Maybe that's why the Rams are reportedly pursuing Brian Westbrook - the more help they can get Bradford, the better. I still think that Favre will be back for the Vikings, but the debate is on between Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson already. I say wait on that - one preseason game does not make a starter when a position is in competition. The Vikings do look deep though, moreso than I expected. The offense looked sharp with a lot of its would-be starters out of the game. But then again, they were playing the Rams.
Other teams around the league - that was some comeback by the Arizona Cardinals against the Texans. Preseason or not, a 16-point second-half comeback is impressive and says a lot about the third-stringers in Arizona, their desire to play, and what Ken Whisenhunt is doing there... Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson still look like one of the best QB-WR tandems in the league... Green Bay lost to Cleveland, but Aaron Rodgers still looks like he's on fire and showing no signs of letting up. He is the best young quarterback in the league, I believe that's no longer a question - the Packers, regardless of the grace of how it was done, made the right decision letting Favre go... Washington looks a little frightening on offense... it might have been Buffalo's defense, in part, but their passing game looked solid, even with disgraced Rex Grossman leading the attack. And in typical Mike Shanahan fashion, the Redskins are absolutely flush with talented RBs - Clinton Portis, Willie Parker, Larry Johnson and Ryan Torain - enough so that this team will always have fresh, reliable legs all season long. This is an invaluable trait of a Mike Shanahan offense and is a huge part of his success. I don't entirely buy Washington yet, but if I were in the NFC East, I'd be keeping my eye on this team... Carolina looks like a young team in transition, I'm not sure if I buy Jimmy Clausen yet, he looks impatient in the pocket for someone with so much hype about him... Baltimore looks like it will be a dangerous passing team this year, with Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton and Donte' Stallworth... Miami looked horrible in the rain, it seemed like neither Chad Henne nor Brandon Marshall could get a grip on the ball. I'm sure Tony Sparano is hoping that was only due to the rain.
Quick injury note - RB Ben Tate for the Houston Texans might be out for the year. That certainly alters their RB landscape and, assuming they don't add another running back before the season starts, means that the progress of Steve Slaton and Arian Foster become crucial to their offense. It also means that both Slaton and Foster get significant fantasy value boosts, since Ben Tate was getting talk of being the opening-day starter.
Welcome to the Blog!
Welcome, reader.
This is the PW Sports Blog and from here I'll be sharing my thoughts on what is happening in the wide world of American sports. Depending on the time of year, the focus of the blog will change. My personal tastes and interests will result in the blog leaning heavily towards football and hockey.
As for me, I'm from Detroit and maintain loyalty to my hometown teams. I spent a year and a half living in Seattle, giving me a certain degree of empathy for their Mariners and Seahawks and I currently live in Minneapolis, where I endure Vikings and Twins fans on a daily basis. Given my location, expect my blog to pay particular attention to Detroit and Minnesota sports teams and other teams relating to them - i.e. the NFC North, the AL Central, and so on.
I am a careful analyzer of football in particular and you can expect to read my takes on games around the league, my expectations of teams and, as an avid fantasy football, any nuggets of fantasy wisdom I have to share. Football season is upon us and so you can expect the blog to slant towards that sport here as we start. Baseball will be the other focus as teams hit the September stretch and the playoff race heats up, as well, of course.
So enjoy! Feel free to comment, discuss and debate as you like.
This is the PW Sports Blog and from here I'll be sharing my thoughts on what is happening in the wide world of American sports. Depending on the time of year, the focus of the blog will change. My personal tastes and interests will result in the blog leaning heavily towards football and hockey.
As for me, I'm from Detroit and maintain loyalty to my hometown teams. I spent a year and a half living in Seattle, giving me a certain degree of empathy for their Mariners and Seahawks and I currently live in Minneapolis, where I endure Vikings and Twins fans on a daily basis. Given my location, expect my blog to pay particular attention to Detroit and Minnesota sports teams and other teams relating to them - i.e. the NFC North, the AL Central, and so on.
I am a careful analyzer of football in particular and you can expect to read my takes on games around the league, my expectations of teams and, as an avid fantasy football, any nuggets of fantasy wisdom I have to share. Football season is upon us and so you can expect the blog to slant towards that sport here as we start. Baseball will be the other focus as teams hit the September stretch and the playoff race heats up, as well, of course.
So enjoy! Feel free to comment, discuss and debate as you like.
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