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MAY 2009

NOLAN NAWROCKIS DRAFT GRADES FOR EACH TEAM ... ONLY AT PROFOOTBALLWEEKLY.COM

2009 NFL DRAFT REVIEW

Fresh facesin new places

Fresh facesin new places

MARKSANCHEZ

MATTHEW STAFFORD

MICHAELCRABTREE

JASON

SMITH

AARON

CURRY
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Michael Crabtree should bolster the 49ers offense in 2009.

CREATORS & FOUNDERSArthur Arkush, Robert Drazkowski and Joel Buchsbaum

ADMINISTRATIONPublisher/Editor Hub ArkushGeneral manager Mike Waters

EDITORIALEditor-in-chief Keith Schleiden

Managing editor Mike HolbrookExecutive editors Dan Arkush

Neil WarnerSenior editors Nolan Nawrocki

Eric EdholmMike Wilkening

Associate editors Matt SohnDan ParrMichael Blunda

Production assistant Matt QuinnanEditorial assistants Matt Feminis

Seth Gruen

COLUMNISTSRon Borges,Barry Jackson

AFC REPORTERS

Baltimore Ravens Jamison HensleyBuffalo Bills Chuck Pollock

Cincinnati Bengals Joe ReedyCleveland Browns Tony Grossi

Denver Broncos Frank SchwabHouston Texans Megan Manfull

Indianapolis Colts Tom JamesJacksonville Jaguars Vito Stellino

Kansas City Chiefs Kent BabbMiami Dolphins Harvey Fialkov

New England Patriots John TomaseNew York Jets Mark Cannizzaro

Oakland Raiders Michael WagamanPittsburgh Steelers Jim WexellSan Diego Chargers Chris Jenkins

Tennessee Titans Jim Wyatt

NFC REPORTERSArizona Cardinals Kent Somers

Atlanta Falcons D.Orlando LedbetterCarolina Panthers Charles Chandler

Chicago Bears Bob LeGereDallas Cowboys Mickey Spagnola

Detroit Lions Nicholas J.CotsonikaGreen Bay Packers Bob McGinnMinnesota Vikings Sean Jensen

New Orleans Saints Mike TriplettNew York Giants Paul Schwartz

Philadelphia Eagles Dave WeinbergSt. Louis Rams Jim Thomas

San Francisco 49ers Kevin LynchSeattle Seahawks Clare Farnsworth

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Roy CummingsWashington Redskins John Keim

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSTom Danyluk, Art Edelstein,

Pat Fitzmaurice,Court E. Mann

STATISTICIANRick Arkush

NEWMEDIAPublisher Sue Nemitz

Web developer Tom OBrien

BUSINESS OFFICEBusiness manager Christine Klimusko

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The Jets shook things up by trading up for Mark Sanchez.

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CONTENTS

2 Pro Football Weekly May 2009

COVER STORY 13

PFW draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki takes you behind the scenes ofwhat happened in this years NFL draft, telling you what happened andwhy,and how it will impact the pro football landscape in 2009.

TEAM-BY-TEAM ANALYSIS 14We break down how each and every player chosen in the draft will fitwith his new team.

THE FANTASY DOCTOR 30PFWs resident fantasy football expert,Michael Blunda, offers up hislist of the top 10 youngsters most likely to break out and reward thosebrave enough to gamble on rookies in this summers fantasy drafts.

THE WAYWE SEE IT................. .3

DRAFT-DAY REACHESAND STEALS..............................3

THE WAY WE HEAR IT ..............4

FINAL PLAYER RANKINGS ......22

ROUND-BY-ROUNDDRAFT LIST................................26

POSITION-BY-POSITIONDRAFT LIST................................27

OPINION: Editorial,letters,Publishers Pen..........................28

COLUMNISTS:Dan Parr, Ron Borges,Dan Arkushs A-bombs ..........29

2009 NFL TEAM-BY-TEAMSCHEDULES ............................32

2009 NFL WEEK-BY-WEEKSCHEDULE ..............................33

NFL TRANSACTIONS..............33

FREE-AGENCY UPDATE......... .34

AUDIBLES ................................35

NFLIST: High draft picksoutplayed by lower-round peers ..35

ONLYAT PROFOOTBALLWEEKLY.COMTHE GRADES ARE IN Nolan Nawrocki offers his assessment of eachteams 2009 draft, assigning early grades to each franchise in this Web-only exclusive.

INSTANTANALYSIS For even more opinions, check out our online of-ferings from Draft Day,which include PFW editors sounding off on allthe news from the leagues annual player selection weekend.

FREE-AGENT TRACKER After the draft, theres often a second wave offree-agent signings, as teams look to fill remaining holes that werentaddressed in the draft. Keep up-to-date on all player movement bychecking out our free-agent coverage.

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

Cover photos by SportPics
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Head coach Marvin Lewis and the Bengals were not scared off by the character issues of OT Andre Smith.

2009 DRAFT STEALSAND REACHESThere is not only an art to evaluating talent,but a method to understanding the value ofplayers as perceived by other teams aroundthe league,and their needs, and being able tomanipulate the draft board in ones favor. Fol-lowing are players who were drafted sooner

than necessary, being overvalued, and otherswho were landed later than expected, reapinggreat value, along with some who could turnout to be steals after the draft.

OVERVALUED

OLB Larry English (16), ChargersCould be a solid pro but has huge expectations to filland may struggle to ever live up to his draft billing.

DE Connor Barwin (46), TexansHas upside but brings back visions of Jason Babin andwas selected awfully high for a developmental project.

FS Mike Mitchell (47), RaidersThe Raiders would have been wise to have used their

eyes instead of their ears on this evaluation.OT Sebastian Vollmer (58), PatriotsHaving enough try-hard,i njury-prone stiffs on their linealready,the Pats didnt need one with a bad back.

CB Sean Smith (61), UtahSmith, like former Cowboys FS Pat Watkins, is too tallto transition cleanly and match up with NFLreceivers.

DE Matt Shaughnessy (71), RaidersAl Davis could have filled this entire column, repeatedlyreaching for measurables and not understanding value.

UNDERVALUED

CB Malcolm Jenkins (14), SaintsAnytime teams can land potential Pro Bowl talent, es-pecially at the CB position, there is great value.

WR Jeremy Maclin (19), EaglesWas worth moving up for; possesses the playmakingability and dual return ability to make an instant impact .

WR Mike Thomas (107), JaguarsCould contribute in multiple phases and possesses thecompetitiveness to develop into a starter.

TE Shawn Nelson (121), BillsBrings instant value as a pass catcher and has upsideto develop into a more complete player.

DE Lawrence Sidbury (125), FalconsIf Sidbury develops a pass-rush repertoire, he could bea terror off the edge.

TE Cornelius Ingram (153), EaglesMay need another surgery on his knee,but even if heneeds to redshirt, could come back with a vengeance.

SURPRISINGLYUNDRAFTED

MLB Darry Beckwith, LSUWas off many draft boards for medical concerns butcould become a solid pro if he can stay healthy.

WR Kevin Ogletree,VirginiaStrong Combine performance and long speed wereoutweighed by injury concerns for the junior.

ILB Dannell Ellerbe,GeorgiaHas the physical tools to start in the pros, but question-able character could always land him i n trouble.

QB John Parker Wilson,AlabamaPro-style quarterback took strides in Joe Pendrys of-fense as a senior and could find a job in the pros.

OLB Jonathan Casillas,WisconsinWas not able to run on a bad knee until days before thedraft but has big-time speed when healthy.

DL Mitch King, IowaAll-out overachiever will be difficult to cut for whicheverteam decides to give him a chance.

Nolan Nawrocki

I used to bash the Bengals for taking on players with suspectcharacter, but at this point they might as well keep gambling ontalent. After all, werent the Cowboys of the 1990s a bunch of junk-

yard dogs and everyone elses rejects?More now than either the Cowboys or Raiders, the Bengals have

become the team in the NFL to gamble on players with major ques-tion marks if they feel there is talent to develop.

It has backfired before Odell Thurman, Chris Henry, Fros-tee Rucker and A.J. Nicholson raised major character red flagsand flopped, and high picks with durability concerns such as Ken-

ny Irons and Caleb Miller predictably flamed out.

But playing the safe route now makes no sense. Thats why they have continued to look for talent major questions be damned with the pressure on Marvin Lewis to win now.

Andre Smith was given a surprise weigh-in by the Bengals twodays before the draft and passed the test. Rey Maualugas tape is

just too good for a second-round pick, so the Bengals went againstneed for great value. Michael Johnson took plays off and was a non-factor vs. the run but has rare gifts. Chase Coffman has a badfoot and hasnt run full speed in four months.

Yet, talent-wise, they got maybe four of the top 50 players in

the whole draft. Why not gamble on greatness? Eric Edholm

Bengals roll dice with boom-or-bust picks

RISKY BUSINESS

Our weekly take on the hottesttopics from around the NFL.THE WAY WE SEE IT

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3Pro Football Weekly May 2009

Trading for Sanchez putsJets back on winning path

In an era when trading down has be-come vogue, Jets GM Mike Tannenbaumhas practiced a decidedly opposite ap-proach.And while he most certainly de-serves some of the blame for the Jetsrecent playoff drought, the trading up hehas executed including Darrelle Revis,David Harris and Dustin Keller has un-doubtedly paid dividends. By moving upto draft Mark Sanchez, Tannenbaummade his best trade yet.As hard as it isto find franchise quarterbacks,its evenharder to find those who will flourishunder the bright lights of Broadway.Sanchez has that rare blend of talentand poise,and its only a matter of timebefore Gang Green realizes how lucky itwas to swing and miss on Jay Cutler. Matt Sohn

BUCKING THE TREND

Panthers win face-off withdisgruntled star Peppers

The bell hasnt rung to end this fightyet, but with no serious pursuit by anyteam to obtain Julius Peppers,its al-most certain that hell be back in Car-olina, which is a major victory for GMMarty Hurney and head coach John Fox.Peppers, who has yet to sign his fran-chise tender and wants to play else-where,has certainly had his ups anddowns,but hes one of the leagues fewirreplaceable players. There is no one outthere who can match his freakish ath-letic ability or take over a game the wayhe does at his best. For the Panthers toeven consider dealing Peppers,theywould have needed at least two first-round picks in return.No team was will-ing to pony up that package, andCarolina is better off for it. Dan Parr

NO TAKERS FOR PEP

Cardinals pick of Wellshighlights strong draft

You have heard the chatter about OhioState RB Chris Beanie Wellslack ofdurability; without it, there is no way helasts until the 31st pick in a draft that hasbeen panned for its lack of quality. Butthe Cardinals, in need of RB help, werewise not to pass on him, and if Wells canstay healthy, he could become a star. InRound Two, the Cardinals selected Con-necticut DE Cody Brown. I dont know ifBrown will be best as a 4-3 end or a 3-4outside linebacker; all I know is that he istough to block,and I would not beshocked if he notched double-digit sacksat some point during his career.Also, in-stinctive Alabama S Rashad Johnsonwas a good find in Round Three.All in all,a good weekend for the NFC champions. Mike Wilkening

STAYING THE COURSE

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THE WAY WE HEAR IT

AFC EASTBy Matt Sohn

WHISPERS

Unlike their cast ofreceivers, most ofwhom bring some-thing distinctly differ-ent to the table, theBills top three run-ning backs Mar-shawn Lynch , FredJackson and the re-cently signed Do-minic Rhodes share the commontrait of being no-non-sense,straightfor-ward ballcarriers. Thecollection of backs islargely by design, asthe club feels that es-tablishing a definitiverunning style willkeep the linemenfrom needing tomake repeated ad-justments based onwho is carrying theball on any particularsnap.

We hear the Dol-phins will be stagingan open competitionfor both the kick- andpunt-return gigs. De-spite his blindingspeed, KR Ted GinnJr. has yet to win overthe staff,while PR

Davone Bess de-pendability onlysomewhat alleviatesthe reality that he of-fers little big-play po-tential.

We hear that theJetsthi rd-round pickof Iowa RB ShonnGreene was verymuch a message todisgruntled RBstarter ThomasJones that the club

has no trouble mov-ing on without himshould he continue tosequester himselffrom the club insearch of a new con-tract. Greenes thickbuild and straight-forward running stylecomes close to mir-roring Jonesstyle.Even though therewas little chance ofthe Jets caving toJoneswishes beforethe draft,their third-round pick only rein-forces their position.

The Patriotsselec-tion of NT RonBrace is insurancefor Vince Wilfork .Wilforks contract isset to expire after theseason,and he will bedemanding a top-dol-lar deal.

Buffalo has slowly devolved intoa bit of a madhouse,with playerslegal troubles becoming frequentoccurrences. Of all the character-related issues that have plaguedthe club the past two seasons, thereported incident of SS DonteWhitner forcing authorities toTaser him into submission duringan aggravated disorderly conductarrest outside a Cleveland night-club is potentially the most damn-ing. Unlike fellow police-blotteroccupants Marshawn Lynch , KoSimpson , James Hardy andRoscoe Parrish , Whitner was re-garded as an emotional leader on aclub seriously lacking them. In fact,one team source called the stand-out strong safety the only real ral-lying cry this team has. Becausethis is Whitners first incident ofnote, its unlikely hell get sus-pended for violating the personal-conduct policy,but how effectivelyhell command the respect of histeammates remains to be seen.

New Dolphins owner StephenRoss is winning over a front officeand fan base that initially had theirdoubts about the real estatemogul. The A-list entourage hebuddies with had rubbed many thewrong way,but its become in-creasingly clear that the celebritycrew is more just an example ofRossaffable persona and businesssavvy reports have surfacedabout potential celebrity invest-ments in the club than an indica-tion that hes trying to turn

Dolphins Stadium into GlitteratiCentral.While immersing himselfinto the Miami community, themost revealing aspect of his youngownership is how hes distancedhimself from the football opera-tion. An owner who has prior expe-rience as a football executive (hepreviously owned the USFLsPhiladelphia Stars),Ross is awarethat the franchise is better off withthe personnel brain trust executingthe football decisions.

While it appeared a few monthsago that SS Rodney Harrisonwould be back in a Patriots uni-form next season,his return is be-coming less of a possibility.A tornquadriceps muscle ended the sea-son of the now 36-year-old safetyin Week Seven against the Bron-cos, and his contracts expirationat the end of 2008 muddled hissituation considerably. Since hisinjury, the club has re-signed SJames Sanders , who has madeimprovements in his once spottycoverage ability, and BrandonMeriweather has also takenstrides in his game. The drafting ofSS Patrick Chung in Round Twois only further evidence that Harri-son is likely done. The greatestchance of Harrison coming backinto the fold would be if injurieshamper the Patriotssafety spotat some point during the season.The long-time veteran said that ifhe does return,it would likely onlybe with New England.

For as much pure athletic talentas it boasts,for as much moneythats invested in it, and for asmuch tantalizing potential it brimswith, the Jets star-laden line-backer corps isnt necessarily thegold mine it appears to be onpaper. Its certainly hard to arguewith the names comprising theunit, which includes three formerfirst-round picks OLBs CalvinPace , Bryan Thomas and Ver-non Gholston all of whom arerelatively young, and the mostsought-after inside linebacker onthe free-agent market this offsea-son, Bart Scott . ILB David Har-ris , who looked like a Pro Bowlfixture in the making as a rookie in2007, only further bolsters the unit.

But significant questions remainabout each player.For Pace andThomas, its whether their domi-nant 2007 and 2006 campaignsamid otherwise lackluster careerscan be replicated. For Harris, its

whether his sophomore slump of08 can be traced to injury woes orwhether he outdid himself offrookie adrenaline in 07. The con-cern with Gholston is that hes alost cause playing in space giventhat his natural position is defen-sive end.Scott,meanwhile,has toprove he can command the huddleand spotlight after playing secondfiddle to Ray Lewis in Baltimore.

Given the concerns, new headcoach and defensive guru RexRyan is devoting much of his en-ergy to studying the strengths and

weaknesses of the linebackers. Ex-cept for Gholston, the thoughtprocess is that the players wontdevelop new skill sets by way ofcoaching, so trying to mold themto fit a pre-set scheme wouldnt bemaximizing their ability.

Among the most critical revela-tions has been that all the playersare at their best operating in an at-tacking scheme where theyre en-couraged to put their athleticismto use without over-thinking theirrole.One of the chief criticisms ofousted coach Eric Mangini wasthat his elaborate system called fortoo many coverage responsibilitiesfor his linebackers, which man-dated they play a more cerebralthan physical game.

On the other hand,green-light-ing less rigid roles for his lineback-ers puts greater responsibility ontothe defensive backs to make in-play adjustments.Thats why its ofparticular importance that tradeacquisition CB Lito Sheppard re-verts to his top-shelf form.

The Dolphins new owner, Stephen Ross, has taken a hands-off approach when it comes to football decisions.

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BUFFALOBILLS

MIAMIDOLPHINS

NEW ENGLANDPATRIOTS

NEW YORKJETS

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8/12/2019 V24Iss03

6/36

THE WAY WE HEAR IT

AFC NORTH By Mike Wilkening

WHISPERS

Browns RB JamalLewis will be 30 atthe start of this sea-son, and he is return-ing from offseasonankle surgery, butGM George Kokinisbelieves Lewis canstill be an effectiveplayer.I think hesstill got tread there, Ireally do, Kokinissaid before the draft.Being around Jamal,although it hasntbeen the last coupleyears, you cantcount that man out.He had a little clean-up in the ankle; hefeels good.He is re-habbing, and I thinkhes going to comeback strong. Lewis issigned for two moreseasons.He hassalary-cap numbersof $6.5 million in2009 and $4 millionin 2010.

A source close tothe Steelers says theclub did not seriouslyconsider signing any-one other thanByron Leftwich or

Charlie Batch toback up Ben Roeth-lisberger . Batchsigned a one-yeardeal with the Steelersafter Leftwich inked atwo-year deal withTampa Bay. Batch,who is entering hiseighth year with theSteelers,will com-pete with second-year passer DennisDixon for the No. 2QB job.The Steelers

signed Leftwich lastsummer only afterBatch suffered ashoulder injury thatended his 08 sea-son.

The way we hear it,the Ravens arepleased with their DLdepth, especially withNT Kelly Gregg re-turning after havingmissed all of last sea-son with a knee in-jury.However,asource close to theclub notes that a fu-ture concern will bereplacing disruptiveDTTrevor Prycedown the road.Pryce,who will be 34 in Au-gust,has 19 1 2 sacksin three seasons inBaltimore.Prycescontract runs for twomore seasons.

The re-signing of Samari Rollegives the Ravens five cornerbackswho started at least two games lastseason.Rolle, who started 10games in 2008 and made three in-terceptions,is not expected tostart. Instead,he will compete forplaying time with former TitanChris Carr as the first corner offthe bench.The Ravensquestion-able secondary depth contributedto the teams struggles in 2007,when they slumped to a 5-11 recordand finished 20th vs.the pass and30th in yards allowed per passingplay.The depth was improved lastseason,and it was further bol-stered by the signings of Carr andex-Falcons CB Domonique Fox-worth , as well as the unexpectedreturn of Rolle,who had been re-leased in March.The Ravens con-tinued to add to their CB depthchart in the draft, selectingNicholls State CB Lardarius Webbin Round Three.Webb may alsohelp in the return game.

The way we hear it, Bengals DTTank Johnson has a good chanceof seeing regular playing time as theclubs three-technique tackle, espe-cially if he can be the disruptivepresence he was earlier in his careerwith Chicago.We had a promisingdefensive performance last season,and the addition of Tank will in-crease our ability to apply pressureon the football,Bengals head coachMarvin Lewis said. Johnsonnotched nine sacks in three seasonsin the Bears 4-3 scheme, whichputs a premium on penetrating de-fensive tackles.However,after off-the-field problems ended his stint inChicago,h e landed with Dallas,where he was not as good a fit play-ing nose tackle in the Cowboys 3-4scheme the last two seasons.More-over, Johnsons playing time was re-duced last season as Jay Ratliffemerged as a Pro Bowler, and wehear the sense in Dallas was that itwould be best for both parties ifJohnson moved on in free agency.

In two NFL seasons,Steelers LBLawrence Timmons has flashedconsiderable potential at times,and never more so than in 2008,when he notched 65 tackles andfive sacks in a part-time role. Theway we hear it,the feeling is Tim-mons will be tough to keep out ofthe starting lineup in 2009, likely atthe expense of ILB Larry Foote .The good news for the Steelers isthat Foote remains an effective rundefender and would, at the veryleast, be a capable reserve ifpushed out of the lineup. Foote, 28,has started the last 80 regular-sea-son games for Pittsburgh and hasmade at least 63 tackles in each ofthe last five years. His presencehas allowed the Steelers to slowlydevelop Timmons, who will only be23 in May, and that approach haspaid off nicely.The 6-1, 234-poundTimmons,who can also play out-side linebacker, has very good ath-leticism and bolsters an alreadyformidable Steelers pass rush.

Browns CB Brandon McDon-ald prepares for the 2009 seasonwith two major goals.The first goal,McDonald said, is being more con-sistent.

The other thing: I want to beone of the best cornerbacks in thegame,and that means making thePro Bowl, he added.

Reaching the first goal will benecessary to harbor hopes of thesecond,as McDonald is well aware.And when it comes to the subjectof McDonalds play, it is hard to getpast the issue of consistency.

At times last season,the 5 -10,184-pound McDonald played verywell. He notched 75 tackles, de-fended 17 passes and led theBrowns with five interceptions four coming in Clevelands threeMonday Night Footballappear-ances.However,the 23-year-oldMcDonald also struggled mightilyat times,particularly in early No-vember, when the Broncos at-

tacked him with success in a 34-30comeback victory in Week 10. Mostnotably,Broncos WR Eddie Royalbeat McDonald on a 93-yard TD.

That was the worst game of mycareer, McDonald told PFW a fewdays before the NFL draft.

It could have also marked a turn-ing point for the worst for McDon-ald.There were rumblings that hewould be benched,but after sittingout just the first play of the Week 11game at Buffalo,he was back in thelineup.He intercepted a pass vs.the Bills, one of four he picked off

after the Denver game.I just kind of settled down andlet the game come to me, McDon-ald said of his play in the finalweeks of the season.

McDonald said he has gone backand looked at some of the gamesin which he struggled to learn toldfrom the experience with an em-phasis on understanding game sit-uations better and improving histechnique.When not working out inCleveland,he has worked out inMississippi with his brother,formerAlcorn State CB Corey McLaurin ,who went undrafted.

When youve got somebodywith you, it makes you competitive,work a little harder, McDonaldsaid.

McDonald has talked with newhead coach Eric Mangini on acouple of occasions and has hadone meeting with him.He seemslike hes the type of guy whosgoing to (instill) some discipline,which is exactly what this teamneeds right now, McDonald said.

Emerging Steelers LB Lawrence Timmons will be hard to keep out of the starting lineup in 2009. A P

BALTIMORERAVENS

CINCINNATIBENGALS

PITTSBURGHSTEELERS

CLEVELANDBROWNS


8/12/2019 V24Iss03

7/36

THE WAY WE HEAR IT

AFC SOUTHBy Mike Wilkening and Matt Sohn

WHISPERS

Before the draft,Texans GM RickSmith said he wasnot worried about TEOwen Daniels , LBDeMeco Ryans andCB Dunta Robinsonall wanting new con-tracts,noting he hadpretty good confi-dence that thoseguys will show up andplay and be produc-tive players for us.Said Smith: Our phi-losophy is to buildthrough the draft asweve talked about,and part of thatprocess and part ofthat philosophy isthat you sign your

young players tolong-term contracts.Now sometimes,thats a process inand of itself that hassome ups and downs.But were committedto that, and well con-tinue to do that.

For as much as heteases with qualityplay at the Colts OLTpost, theres a dis-tinct feeling that

Tony Ugoh needs todisplay a more ag-gressive mentalitybefore the club issold on him as thelong-term answer atthe position. The2007 second-roundpick has also been in-jury-prone. Hell bescrutinized through-out the offseasonprogram and into theseason.

Three 2007 Titansdraft picks WRsPaul Williams andChris Davis and RBChris Henry areunder pressure toshow more in theirthird NFLseasons.The feeling before thedraft was thatWilliams may havehad the best chanceto contribute in theupcoming season be-cause of the lack ofestablished optionsbehind starters NateWashington andJustin Gage , but theTitans selection ofWR Kenny Britt inRound One did nothelp his cause.

Gone is the tank-like build DavidGarrard used to operate with. Inits place is a newer,sleeker modelthat he and the Jaguars hope willtranslate to more offensive optionsand greater stamina as the gameand season wears on.The Jaguarsoffensive catalyst has shed approx-imately 20 pounds from his 250-pound frame of a season ago,which makes getting out of thepocket a little easier, he told theFlorida Times-Union . AlthoughGarrard was already regarded asone of the stronger quarterbackson the scramble,the increasedmobility could be invaluable con-sidering the potential problemsalong the offensive line.Both start-ing guards are returning after sit-ting out 2008 with early-seasoninjuries, and the tackle situation islargely dependent upon rookies.The receivers,meanwhile, are aneven more downtrodden groupwho could require the playmakinghelp of their quarterback.

The Titans have some interest-ing decisions to make in the com-ing years on starting OLBs KeithBulluck and David Thornton ,who are both in their 30s and near-ing the end of their contracts.Bul-luck, 32, is signed through nextseason.H e notched 98 tackles in2008 and has been a consistentperformer since entering the start-ing lineup in 2002,failing to miss astart in that span.The swift Thorn-ton, whose contract runs through2010,made 78 tackles last seasonafter racking up more than 100 ineach of his first two seasons in Ten-nessee.Thornton turns 31 in No-vember. The Titans have twoyoung OLB prospects. Second-year OLB Stanford Keglar hasupside and may be a future starter,but he did not play much as arookie,making three tackles in 13games.Rookie Gerald McRath , aspeedy fourth-rounder fromSouthern Miss,could push forplaying time.

Colts MLB Gary Brackett hasbeaten the odds throughout his ca-reer. At 5-11,235 pounds a soft235 pounds, at that he is manystandard deviations away from theNFLs middle linebacker mean. Hehas thrived in Indianapolis largelybecause the Coltsfree-flowingscheme values instincts,speedand coverage ability more than sizeand take-on strength for their line-backers. Yet that philosophy ap-pears to be gradually shiftingunder the new coaching staff,which is trying to improve the beefin the defensive front seven.Werehearing that such a shift couldprove detrimental to Brackettslong-term future in Indy, seeing ashe has just one more year left onhis deal.The Colts had troublestopping the run for much of 2008,but they were near their best downthe stretch,when Brackett was outwith a broken fibula. In Weeks 14-17,Indy allowed an average of just 90yards on the ground.

The transition to the NFL wasnot easy for Texans OLT DuaneBrown , and one of the obstacleshe faced as a rookie was of his owndoing.

I was pretty overweight, Brownsaid.

Combine Browns lack of condi-tioning with a lack of experience last season was only his secondat left tackle and you had themakings of a rookie campaignmarked by ups and downs.Brownallowed 11 1 2 sacks in 2008 and ro-tated with veteran EphraimSalaam .

I did OK, Brown said,but I hadbad plays that cost the team.

It didnt help that he faced agauntlet of outstanding pass rush-ers,including Steelers ROLBJames Harrison , Dolphins ROLBJoey Porter and Colts DREDwight Freeney . But along theway,the 6-foot-4 Brown learnedseveral lessons. He has lost weight,

for one. He currently tips the scalesat 312 pounds, and he expects toplay at or around that weight thisseason.He believes this will en-hance his mobility.

Thats my biggest asset, to mir-ror guys (in pass protection) and inthe run game,to cut guys off onthe back side, he said.

Brown also learned the impor-tance of good footwork and handuse.

That was something I struggledat early, he said. Id get a latejump, and my feet would get tan-

gled up, and it would be over beforeit started.Perhaps as much as anything,

the 23-year-old Brown appears tobe benefiting from having a full off-season to work on his game.Lessthan five months elapsed from thetime Brown was drafted to the timehe was facing Harrison at HeinzField at Pittsburgh.

I realize so much goes into theoffseason, Brown said.It justdoesnt happen in that six-monthspan.You have to put in so muchtime.

He added,This is where I canwork on (a technique) against airand not worry about an opponent.

The Texans are likely to count onBrown even more this season afterSalaam was released. His life ismuch different than a year ago,when he was a nervous,anxiousdraft prospect, but some thingshavent changed.

Im pretty much the same per-son, Brown said. I couldnt bein a better situation.

Texans OLT Duane Brown is working hard this offseason to make improvements prior to his second season.

A P

JACKSONVILLEJAGUARS

TENNESSEETITANS

INDIANAPOLISCOLTS

HOUSTONTEXANS


8/12/2019 V24Iss03

8/36

THE WAY WE HEAR IT

AFC WESTBy Dan Parr and Michael Blunda

WHISPERS

Word out of Denveris OLB Jarvis Mosswill need to have anoutstanding trainingcamp to make theteams final roster.Moss struggledmightily in his firsttwo seasons, and wasreportedly shoppedin trade talks duringthe draft. One reportindicated he could behad for as little as aseventh-round pick.We hear he wasnt re-ceiving many reps atDenvers recent mini-camp and was basi-cally limited torunning with thenickel unit. Moss, a

first-round pick ofMike Shanahan s in2007, will likely findhimself out of a jobcome late August ifhe doesnt showmajor improvement.

The Raiders have alogjam at quarter-back following thesigning of Jeff Gar-cia , which left theteam with four signal-callers,including Ja-

Marcus Russell ,Bruce Gradkowskiand Andrew Walter .We hear Walter is theone on the way out,but Oakland will likelyhold on to himthrough trainingcamp,just in caseone of the other QBsgets injured.Word isWalter, who was de-moted to third stringlate last season, hasbeen unhappy withthe team for sometime and has skippedsome voluntary activ-ities this offseason.

After being upsetlast season abouthaving to play roadgames against theDolphins and Billswhen each opponentwas fresh off a bye,the Chargers werepleased when theschedule was an-nounced that theydont have to face asingle club coming offa bye week in 2009.Norv Turner has saidthat he often judgesthe difficulty of histeams schedule bylooking at whom hisopponents had to playin the previous week.

We hear the Broncosquarter-back competition is very much abattle. Even though Kyle Orton isconsidered the front-runner to winthe top job,head coach Josh Mc-Daniels wasnt just paying lip serv-ice when he called the duel real.Sources say Chris Simms lookedgood at the teams recent mini-camp and appeared to be ahead ofOrton in terms of grasping the of-fense.Si mms, who signed with theBroncos about a month beforeOrton was acquired from Chicagoin the Jay Cutler deal, is in goodshape and impressed observers.McDaniels didnt add another po-tential competitor at quarterbackin the draft,but did find a long-term project in Fresno States TomBrandstater , a sixth-roundchoice. Orton has the most start-ing experience of the quarterbackson the roster,but Simms, who hasbeen through a great deal of adver-sity in his career, doesnt appear tobe ceding any ground in this fight.

As head coach Tom Cable con-tinues his quest to get the Raidersback to respectability, one of hiskey tasks will be making a con-certed effort to get the ball in RBDarren McFadden s hands morefrequently than he did last season.McFadden was slowed in his rookieyear not only by turf toe on bothfeet but also by a shoulder injury,which required minor surgery thisoffseason,and was unable to makethe significant contribution manyexpected from him. Although in-juries were partly to blame,sources say Cable didnt callenough plays for McFadden in2008. In the nine games McFaddenplayed under Cable,he averaged alittle more than nine touches. Buthe averaged 14.5 touches throughthe first four games of the season,when Lane Kiffin was head coach.Although hes unproven, McFaddenis the teams most dangerousweapon on offense and should beutilized to a greater extent in 09.

As the Chargers look to positionthemselves for a run to next yearsSuper Bowl in Miami, the offensiveline especially the right side continues to come up as an area ofneed.After all, when the offensestalled in 2008,it was often due toO-line breakdowns. However, GMA.J. Smith has passed thus far onbringing in any linemen throughfree agency, instead showing faithin relatively unknown ORTJeromey Clary . From what wehear, though, while San Diego maybe backing Clary publicly, the clubis still not sold on him as a startergoing forward. A sixth-round pick inthe 06 draft,Clary did start all 16games for the Bolts last season,but he gave up 6 1 2 sacks and didntcontribute much as a run blocker.Even though head coach NorvTurner has expressed his supportfor the 25-year-old, it wouldnt besurprising if someone is acquiredto replace Clary at right tackle be-fore the season.

In what has been a busy offsea-son for the retooling Chiefs, thelook of the teams new 3-4 defenseis beginning to take shape.

With the clubs mid-April signingof LB Zach Thomas , three of thelinebacking corpsfour startingspots appear to be set.Thomasand Derrick Johnson are ex-pected to line up inside, with MikeVrabel manning one of the outsideslots.Although veteran newcomersThomas (who turns 36 in Septem-ber) and Vrabel (who turns 34 inAugust) certainly arent long-termsolutions at their advanced ages,they will help the Dtransition to ascheme in which very few of itsplayers are familiar.

Since GM Scott Pioli opted notto take Wake Forest LB AaronCurry with the third overall pick inthe draft, the Chiefs are left to pickbetween unappealing optionsMonty Beisel and DemorrioWilliams at the remaining outside

spot, with the younger Williamsprobably having a slight edge.Thatis, of course,unless they roll thedice and turn DE Tamba Hali intoan OLB.

From what we hear, coordinatorClancy Pendergast is stronglyconsidering shifting Hali off the D-line. Not suited to play end in a 3-4alignment, the team thinks Halimight make a bigger impact takinghis hand off the ground and liningup as a standup rusher,where hecan better use his pass-rushingskills to get after opposing quarter-backs.Although hed be used pri-marily on passing downs, the 2006first-rounder has a chance to bemore effective in limited duty thanhe was as a full-timer last season.

The jury is still out as to what thedefensive line would look like with-out Hali, but things became a bitclearer after the draft. By using theNo. 3 pick on LSU DE Tyson Jack-son , Pioli solidified one of theunits 3-4 end spots.That movemeans Jackson likely will beteamed with his former collegeteammate, Glenn Dorsey , in thisnew alignment.Although not anideal fit for the 3-4, Dorseys bestfit in the scheme would probablybe as a D-end, since hes moreadept at using his motor to get up-field than at standing pat and clog-ging the middle.That responsibilitylikely will go to DT Tank Tyler , whosaid in a recent interview that theChiefs have been working him outat nose tackle, where the 306-pounder could use his massive sizeto swallow up rushers inside.

QB Kyle Orton is considered the front-runner to win the Broncos starting job for 2009. A P

DENVERBRONCOS

OAKLANDRAIDERS

SAN DIEGOCHARGERS

KANSAS CITYCHIEFS


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THE WAY WE HEAR IT

NFC EASTBy Eric Edholm

WHISPERS

There is still achance the Redskinswill re-sign LB Mar-cus Washingtonafter the draft. Hewas cut for salary-cap purposes, andthe team still thinkshe has somethingleft, even if injuriesare a problem. Still,with a lack of depthat that position, get-ting Washington backwould make sensebecause he knowsthe system and thereis no other veteranplayer whom thecoaches deemstarter-worthy at thatspot.

Even though PKJohn Carney hasntbeen offered a con-tract and likely wontreturn to the Giants,its possible and evenlikely that the teamwill provideLawrence Tyneswith some competi-tion at kicker.Theyview Tynes as a viableoption but worryabout his health long

term. The Cowboys ap-parently have toldGreg Ellis thatAnthony Spencerwill start, with Elliscoming in on thirddowns and otherpass-rush situations.Ellis did not appearthrilled with the deci-sion, but if he can buyinto the plan, itshould maximizeboth playersbestvalue at this stage.Spencer hasnt devel-oped as a passrusher to date, butthe coaches havelauded his run de-fending. And Ellis nolonger can be a three-down player andlikely is best goingafter the QB.

The pressure is onEagles C JamaalJackson , who had asubpar 2008 seasonbut now is sur-rounded by tremen-dous OL talent andwill be expected tobounce back. Other-wise, the team likesNick Cole and wouldconsider making aswitch if Jacksondoesnt improve.

It is assumed that the Giants willmaintain a partnership at runningback this season based on the re-cent success of the teams platoonsituations in the backfield.And thatvery well could happen. But itwould not surprise some if the Gi-ants increase RB Brandon Ja-cobs load this season,assuminghe can stay in the lineup.The teamsigned Jacobs to a four-year dealas an upper-tier running back, andthough partnerships are more thenorm in the backfield around theleague, he still is making a healthysalary for a player who averagedonly 16.8 carries per game.Thatnumber could rise toward the 20-mark this season without DerrickWard , who left in free agency.Ahmad Bradshaw has done it attimes and could be a good backupoption if he curbs his fumbling, andDanny Ware and rookie AndreBrown are intriguing.But we hearJacobs could get the first crack atreplacing some of Wards carries.

Using the flawed corollary of ifthe season started today, JonJansen probably would be thestarting right tackle.But today isyesterday in NFL terms,and theRedskins have not hid the fact thatthey would like to upgrade overJansen. The problem is that theteam really has no one in placethat it likes as a starter-grade re-placement. Stephon Heyer wonthe job out of training camp, withJansen on the bench,but lost thejob when he got hurt. Jansen gotback into the starting lineup andhad some good moments butwasnt as forceful and effective asthe team would have liked.Jansentold PFW at the end of the seasonthat hed like to consider himselfthe starter, but that doesnt appearto jibe with the teams thinking.Even if Mike Williams , who wassigned before the draft,or Heyerdont pan out,it should shock noone if the Redskins try to replaceJansen in that spot.

A pro scout whose team faced theCowboys last season made the fol-lowing observation about their de-fense: They have the talent; itsthere.They have a lot of players whograde high individually; they justdont all play well together.( DeMar-cus ) Ware , hes clearly the guythere, and I thought (NT Jay ) Ratliffhad a heck of a season. Some otherguys were OK, too, but they shouldbe much better than what we saw. Infact, some Cowboys officials wouldsay they agree.They feel they havethe talent to have a top-five unit, butthat depends on a few key playersimproving. FS Ken Hamlin fell offbadly last season, OLB AnthonySpencer didnt develop as hoped,and CB Mike Jenkins wasnt ready.If those three players perform up totheir ability and DE Marcus Spears ,who is heading into the final year ofhis contract,plays like Chris Cantydid last season heading into his finalyear,the Cowboys could have a de-fensive revival.

The Eagles have assembled oneof the NFLs premiere offensivelines with the trade for OLT JasonPeters and the free-agent signingof ORT Stacy Andrews .

But that doesnt guarantee thatthis will be a group that fulfill s itspotential.There are a few concernsthat could arise that could holdback this unit from greatness.

One is Peters returning to form.

Yes, he made the Pro Bowl each ofthe prior two seasons,but scoutswho watched him play last seasonsay its obvious that he did notearn the title meritoriously.

Peters held out up through thefirst week of last season,unhappywith his contract at the time,andhe returned in Week Two seeminglyout of shape.The agile feet andpower that Peters displayed in2007 were nowhere to be seenearly in 08,and by the time heworked his way into form,he wasinjured down the stretch and did

not finish healthy, playing only 13games.Now that the Eagles have com-

pleted this trade and paid Petershandsomely, one teams pro per-sonnel director wonders if Peterswill play with the same fervor hedid in 07.

Does he have that burning de-sire?the director asked rhetori-cally.I sure dont know. I respectwhat Andy (Reid ) does with hislinemen, and some of those samequestions came up when peoplelooked at ( Shawn ) Andrews com-ing out of Arkansas.

But with Peters, I wonder if hellcontinue to play that hard as hewas when he was trying to scorethe big contract.And I am not theonly one who thinks this way.

Shawn Andrews appeared to an-swer most of his questions aboutmotivation in his first few seasons,in which he developed into one ofthe strongest and nastiest guardsin the league. But more questionswere raised last year when he heldhis own camp holdout from the Ea-gles and rumors circulated abouthis weight and depression beingserious issues.

The team is less concernedabout those than it is about An-drewsback following major surgerythat kept him out nearly the entireseason. But before the Peters trade,Reid talked openly about Andrewsbeing a possibility at left tackle andwe hear everyone expects Andrewsto be ready to go lined up at his fa-miliar ORG spot next to his brotherand new teammate.

Giants RB Brandon Jacobs could see his number of touches increase in 2009 without Derrick Ward around. T O M

B E R G

NEW YORKGIANTS

WASHINGTONREDSKINS

DALLASCOWBOYS

PHILADELPHIAEAGLES


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THE WAY WE HEAR IT

NFC NORTHBy Dan Arkush and Eric Edholm

WHISPERS

Look for a spiritedbattle this offseasonfor the BearsstartingDT spot oppositeTommie Harris be-tween Dusty Dvo-racek , who has beeninjured more oftenthan not in his firstthree seasons in theleague,and AnthonyAdams , who was in-explicably left on theoutside looking in atthe start of last sea-son.And dont forget(second-year pro)Marcus Harrison , ateam insider toldPFW.He certainlyhas the talent to winthe job.

Packers GM TedThompson in a pre-draft press confer-ence on the reportsthat some teams setup phantom Face-book pages to seewhat players post ontheir pages: I havenever heard of it. If wedo it, I would beshocked.Actually, wedont do it,but Ivenever even heard of

that.Quite frankly, Idont know what aFacebook is. I under-stand the theory be-hind it, but I havenever been on one asfar as I can tell, unlessI have been on yalls.

Hes hardly en-trenched as theBears startingstrong-side line-backer, but we hearNick Roach appearsto have an edge overformer starterHunter Hillen-meyer , whose levelof play has declinedsomewhat. Word isthe savvy Hillenmeyerremains a serviceableperformer,however,and is still expectedto see plenty of ac-tion both as a backupbacker and on spe-cial teams.

The Lions still havedefensive needs atcertain defensive po-sitions, especially attackle and middlelinebacker, where theholdovers from RodMarinelli s Tampa-2scheme are bad fitsin Jim Schwartzs andGunther Cunning-hams brand of the 4-3.

The Vikings cant be unhappy withthe way their schedule lays out,de-spite a brutal December slate andhaving to face both Super Bowlteams. The team has an excellentchance to open at 5-1 or 6-0 withsome of its least-intimidating oppo-nents coming right out of the chute.They open with two games on theroad, but they are against the Brownsand Lions, two last-place teams in re-building mode with new headcoaches. Thats great news if theteam is facing suspensions for DTsKevin Williams and Pat Williamsfor four games. Even through WeekSix against the Ravens,a playoffteam a year ago,the schedule is fa-vorable.The two games that might bethe toughest early on, against thePackers and Ravens,bo th are playedat the Metrodome.Even with thetough closing run vs.the Bears(twice), Cardinals,Panthers and Gi-ants,the Vikings 2009 opponentscombined to win only 42 percent oftheir games last season.

The Packersfree-agent gameplan remains a hot topic in GreenBay, with as many as eightstarters WR Greg Jennings ,FS Nick Collins , LOLB AaronKampman , OLT Chad Clifton ,OLG Daryn Colledge , NT RyanPickett , DLE Johnny Jolly andOG-C Jason Spitz enteringtheir contract years.We hear Jen-nings, who has established him-self as one of the leagues mostdangerous big-play receivers, is anear-lock to be re-signed,possiblysoon. As for the others,though,there currently isnt nearly asmuch certainty that they will re-upwith the team. We hear Collins who would figure to be next in lineto re-sign following his first ProBowl berth remains prettyupset with his contract status. Asfor Kampman, word is the Packerswill wait to see how well he makesthe transition to left outside line-backer in the teams new 3-4scheme.

Jim Schwartz referred to his de-fenses in Tennessee as a gameplan-specificunit, able to switchfrom one scheme to another basedon what was called for against a cer-tain opponent.Schwartz had D-line-men with the Titans who could playend or tackle, linebackers who couldstay on the field for three downs anddefensive backs who could alternatebetween man and zone coverageswithout too much hitch.The Lionsdefense he has taken control of isnowhere near this deep or versatile.That said, there are a few players tokeep an eye on. DE Cliff Avril hasintrigued the new coaching staff tothe point where it might want tostand him up on occasion, move himaround and use him similarly to theway the Steelers brought up OLBJames Harrison and worked himinto their scheme.And AnthonyHenry , brought over to compete fora starting CB job,might figure in atsafety if Gerald Alexander isntready when training camp opens.

If first impressions mean any-thing, the consensus around HalasHall after Jay Cutler s first officialmeeting with the local media wasthat he didnt seem anything likethe petulant, thin-skinned problemchild he was widely perceived to bein his final days in Denver.

He didnt seem like a brat at all,said one team insider who hun-kered down with the Bearsnew

quarterback off to the side in asmaller group after Cutlers initialpress conference.

He said he didnt want to re-hash everything that happenedwith the Broncos,but he admittedthat, if he had the opportunity overagain, he would have done somethings differently, and it was re-freshing to see him accept someblame in the whole situation.

Cutler also did a very smooth jobof quickly defusing a potential prob-lem moving forward with Bears of-fensive coordinator Ron Turner ,

who created some hard feelingswhen, as the head coach at the Uni-versity of Illinois,he rescinded ascholarship offer to Cutler.

But what impressed sources onthe scene most was the way Cutlerso quickly appeared to embracethe team concept.

When we asked him about run-ning an offense that no longer hadplayers like Brandon Marshall orEddie Royal in the mix,he pro-ceeded to mention every Bears re-ceiver by name with a positivereference, the insider said.

He didnt say anything remotelyindicating that he would be workingwith a lesser group of receivers.

At the same time, were told thatthe reaction to Cutlers arrival onthe Windy City scene by the Bearsplayers has been overwhelminglypositive,despite the fact QB KyleOrton , who was traded to Denveras part of the Cutler deal,was ex-tremely popular in the locker room.

Sources considered the presenceat Cutlers first press conference ofboth WR Devin Hester and TEGreg Olsen who figure to be theprimary targets for Cutlers passes as a very positive sign.

As for Cutler wasting no time atall making his presence felt at nu-merous lively Chicago nightspots,clearly enjoying his instantcelebrity status to the hilt, BearsGM Jerry Angelo said it was notanything to worry about.

Im not going to micromanage aperson,Angelo said. What he doeson Sunday is how were going toevaluate him. Thats the bottom line.

New Bears QB Jay Cutler has made a positive first impression since being traded to Chicago. G E T T Y I M A G E S / J I M

P R I S C H I N G

MINNESOTAVIKINGS

GREEN BAYPACKERS

DETROITLIONS

CHICAGOBEARS


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THE WAY WE HEAR IT

NFC SOUTHBy Dan Parr

WHISPERS

Sources say Fal-cons QB D.J. Shock-ley , the teams No.3quarterback, couldbe in trouble if At-lanta adds anothersignalcaller beforetraining camp. Sincehes a favorite of theteams fan base, cut-ting Shockley would-nt be a popular movewith many of theclubs followers, butGM Thomas Dim-itroff built up muchgoodwill with them inhis first year on thejob, so the movewould probablycause less of a stirthan it would have

last summer.We hearAtlanta isnt inter-ested in utilizingShockley in any kindof Wildcat setup,al-though his skill setwould seem to be anintriguing fit for thatscheme.

With little capspace to spend on afree-agent long snap-per, the Panthersdealt a conditional

2011 seventh-roundpick to the Packersfor LS J.J. Jansen onApril 13. However,sources say thattrade doesnt neces-sarily preclude thePanthers from re-signing their longsnapper of the previ-ous eight seasons,Jason Kyle , who isan unrestricted freeagent.

Sources say MarkBrunell is still aheadof Joey Harringtonon the Saints depthchart at quarterback.New Orleans re-signed Harrington inlate March, but headcoach Sean Paytonstill has more confi-dence in Brunell,should he need to goto a backup if DrewBrees were to sufferan injury that kepthim out for a fewgames.Word is theSaints view Brunellas a near-perfect fitas a primary backup he doesnt havegreat arm strength,but thats not neces-sary in Paytons of-fense.Brunell isknown as a sound de-cision maker, which isa trait Payton values.

While rumors spread that CTodd McClure boycotted the Fal-consvoluntary workouts and iscontemplating retirement in an ef-fort to show frustration with hiscontract situation, sources saythat is not the case.McClure, an11th-year veteran, is not facingpressure to attend the workoutsand isnt considering holding outof mandatory events, although hewould like to re-work his deal.Hesigned a five-year, $10 million ex-tension in 2006 and still has threeyears left on the contract. Mc-Clure,considered a team leader, iscoming off one of the best seasonsof his career and has started everygame since 02.The Falcons wouldlike to find an eventual replace-ment for McClure,but we hearthey have no intention to replacehim in the near future. GMThomas Dimitroff is unlikely togive him a new contract within theyear, but could re-address the situ-ation in 10.

With CB Richard Marshall mov-ing into the starting lineup to re-place Ken Lucas , who was cut inMarch, the Panthers have a void atnickel back,a role Marshall hasplayed very well since entering theleague in 2006. C.J.Wilson wasthe early frontrunner to take overas Marshalls replacement in ni ckelsituations, but second-round pickSherrod Martin will be convertedfrom safety to corner and couldchallenge Wilson for the job. Wil-son, a seventh-round pick in 07,has played in just eight games inhis career and will have a difficulttime meeting the standard thatMarshall set at the spot.At 6-1, Wil-son has good size,but hes not agreat athlete and will struggle tokeep up with speedy,shifty slot re-ceivers such as the Saints LanceMoore and the Falcons HarryDouglas . The Pantherstight capsituation has prevented them fromadding more competition for Wil-son in free agency.

The Buccaneers have penciled inAngelo Crowell as their startingstrong-side linebacker and Jer-maine Phillips , who has onlyplayed safety in the pros, on theweak side as they try to replaceDerrick Brooks and Cato June ,sources say.Looking long term, wehear the outside backer they aremost optimistic about is third-yearveteran Quincy Black . He has con-tributed almost exclusively on spe-cial teams since entering theleague as Tampa Bays third-roundpick in 2007, but word is Black hasturned heads in practices and hasthe ability to become a starter inthe near future.His good lateralquickness fits well in new defensivecoordinator Jim Bates scheme,inwhich outside backers are ex-pected to beat backs to the cornerand force them inside.He fits beston the weak side,but will have ahard time beating Phillips out forthe job. Unlike Phillips, toughnessis not a strength of Blacks game.

Although Saints DE Will Smithposted a career-low three sackslast season,his first after signing anew contract that made him oneof the highest-paid players at hisposition, sources say there havebeen few complaints from theteam about Smiths effort in 2008,even if he did fail to live up to ex-pectations. Nor is there much ofan outcry from fans,even though

many of them are losing their pa-tience after a two-year playoffdrought.

In fact, we hear Smith will enterthe 09 campaign with even morerespect from teammates, coachesand the Saintsfaithful than he hadprior to last season. Smith startedevery game in 08 while sufferingthrough a sports hernia that hadnagged at him since Week One. Heshowed toughness and waited untilthe end of the season to undergosurgery.

Smith has not met with the

media since the procedure tookplace,but word is, he has recov-ered well. A healthy,re-energizedSmith is going to be essential if theSaints are going to reach the post-season for the first time since the06 campaign,and the makings ofa bounce-back year for him are inplace.

In addition to his poor health, theineffectiveness of former defensivecoordinator Gary Gibbs , who wasfired in January, contributed toSmiths struggles last season. NewD-coordinator Gregg Williams more aggressive approach shouldbe beneficial to Smith and the restof New Orleanspass rushers.Williams is going to focus a greatdeal of his energy on finding waysto make sure Smith and the clubsother starting end, Charles Grant ,are put in more advantageous situ-ations than Gibbs was able to cre-ate for them.

While optimism about a returnto prominence for Smith is high,there are still lingering concernsthat the four-game suspension hereceived last season but neverserved while a lawsuit filed by theplayers involved was heard in a fed-eral court could go into effectduring the upcoming season.Smith and Grant were suspendedafter testing positive for StarCaps,a water pill that containsbumetanide,which is banned bythe NFL. Smith and other playerssuspended for taking StarCapsfiled a lawsuit against the companythat produces the product.A Junetrial could settle the matter.

Saints DE Will Smith had only three sacks last season, but sources expect him to bounce back in 2009. H A R R Y S C U L L J R

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ATLANTAFALCONS

CAROLINAPANTHERS

TAMPA BAYBUCCANEERS

NEW ORLEANSSAINTS


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THE WAY WE HEAR IT

NFC WESTBy Dan Arkush

WHISPERS

While the Ninerscontinue to have highhopes for formerfirst-round OLBManny Lawson ,who has primarilybeen a one-down

player up to now,there are some dailyteam observers whohave their doubts hecan ever become atrue impact player,even though he hasbulked up from 235to 250 pounds.Hesjust too much of along-strider, said oneteam insider.Youneed quicker, shortersteps to get thatpass-rush burst.

Sources on thescene said there wasa noticeable differ-ence in free-agentaddition T.J. Housh-mandzadeh fromthe first day to thesecond day of theSeahawksfirst mini-camp under newhead coach JimMora . On the firstday,T.J.was just kindof out there, one ob-server told PFW. Thenext day it looked likehe and (QB Matt )Hasselbeck startedclicking instantly.

Its no secret thatthe Cardinals havetold disappointingthird-year NT AlanBranch that hes fac-ing a make-or-breakseason.What isntcommon knowledge,though, is the majorchange hes made inhis eating habits in aneffort to improve hismetabolism andavoid the weightproblems that havehindered him at thepro level. Word is, be-fore this year,Branchalmost never atebreakfast or lunch,choosing to eat onlyin the evenings.

We hear under-achieving formerRams second-roundpicks RB BrianLeonard and TE JoeKlopfenstein both of whom havebeen limited by injuryproblems could befacing an uphill battleto make the final ros-ter.

Observers of the Cardinals whole-heartedly agree that one of thebiggest keys to remaining the NFCWest kingpin in 2009 will be moresubstantial contributions from twosecond-year players DEs CalaisCampbell (a second-round pick in08) and Kenny Iwebema (fourthround). We hear the Cardinals feelpretty confident that the combina-tion of Campbell and Iwebema willeffectively compensate for the lossof Antonio Smith as the starterand primary backup at left end,re-spectively.They really like Camp-bells size (6-7, 282), a team insidertold PFW.Hes bigger than Antonio,and when he gets his arms up,itcould cause real problems. Hesvery bright, and hes very diligent,unlike (2007 second-rounder) AlanBranch , whose work ethic hasntbeen great.And when the teamgoes to a 4-3, Campbell can moveinside. They like Iwebema a lot,too.Hes a lot stronger than he looks,and he also works real hard.

All indications from team insiderspoint toward the Rams implement-ing a West Coast-style offense witha physical power-running game fea-turing RB Steven Jackson thatcan hopefully set up a lively play-ac-tion passing attack.Jackson whoa year ago at this time had contractconcerns weighing more on hismind couldnt be more psychedabout the Rams offense under newcoordinator Pat Shurmur .Hesvery fired up, a team insider said.The Rams went out and got him apure fullback (former Saint MikeKarney ), a blocking tight end (for-mer Niner Billy Bajema ) and a bigcenter (former Raven JasonBrown ) before the draft, and hefeels all those moves will help him.Better offseason conditioning wouldalso help Jackson, considering hisinjury problems the last two years,and word is he has been a regular atthe teams conditioning sessionssince missing the first week of drillswhile his girlfriend had a baby.

Team insiders were hardly sur-prised when the Niners who haveenough money under the salary capto seriously consider extending thecontracts of more than a few players recently agreed to new long-termdeals for OLB Parys Haralson , whowas locked up through 2013, and PKJoe Nedney , who was signedthrough 2011.(Head coach Mike )Singletary loves Haralson,a teaminsider told PFW.Hes well-suitedfor the teams 3-4 because in addi-tion to being able to rush the passer(he led the team with eight sackslast season),he is stout enough toset the edge and can play the runvery well.As for Nedney,in additionto being a rock-solid kicker,hes con-sidered invaluable in the lockerroom.Its unusual for a placekickerto be such a team leader,but hesseen it all, and he has always beenvery good with the media,the in-sider said.Singletary wants to cre-ate a family atmosphere, andNedneys a great father figure.

Theres no denying that the Sea-hawks were in a zone literally at the teams first minicamp undernew head coach Jim Mora .

While there were a host of inter-esting observations by sources onthe scene,the one aspect thatstuck out was the emphasis on thezone-blocking scheme being in-stalled by new coordinator GregKnapp that has been used with

great success in Knapps previouscoordinator stops in San Francisco,Atlanta and Oakland.

Its worth noting that Knapp or-chestrated top-ranked rushing at-tacks in all three of those stops.

The key in a zone-blocking sys-tem is a more decisive,one-cut-and-go approach by the runningbacks.It is designed to eliminateplays for negative yardage and cutdown on 3rd-and-long situations.

The linemen all say its easier, ateam source said. Youre on atrack,blocking an area instead of a

guy. Its a lot more quick-hitting,and it should suit both RBs JuliusJones , who for whatever reasonwas having problems surveying thefield late last season, and T.J.Duckett , who the coaches feel cando a lot more than just be involvedin short-yardage situations.

Knapp has always been a bigzone proponent, and (O-linecoach) Mike Solari used it some-what in his time at Kansas City.

Enthusiasm for the zone con-cept is heightened by the prospectof Solari having his entire startingoffensive line together for the firsttime by the end of training camp.

With Solari entering his first yearon the job last season,starting CChris Spencer was already nickedup, and the new O-line coach neverhad a fully healthy unit to work withthe entire year.

Spencer, ORG Rob Sims andORT Sean Locklear were all ableto participate in the first minicamp,but the left side of OT WalterJones and OG Mike Wahle wasstill recovering from microfractureknee surgery and shoulder sur-gery,respectively.

Jones, who has never beenmuch of a talker during his stellarcareer, raised some eyebrowswhen he openly acknowledgedthat, at the age of 35,he couldpossibly see the end in sight.

But the feeling is that he shouldbe OK, the source said.His partic-ular surgery was not on a weight-bearing bone,and that shouldmake a difference.They hope Wal-ter will be ready for training camp."

RB Steven Jackson is excited about the style of offense the Rams wi ll play under the new coaching staff. K W R

ARIZONACARDINALS

ST. LOUISRAMS

SAN FRANCISCO49ERS

SEATTLESEAHAWKS


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COVER STORY


By Nolan NawrockiSenior editor

In a draft that may be remembered more for what it wasnot than what it becomes, NFL teams could not have beenhappier to trade down and stock up on future picks, withreach being the theme of the 2009 NFL draft.

From Tyson Jackson to Darrius Heyward-Bey to Larry Eng-lish, players were consistently drafted higher than would have been expected in a normal draft, given the dearth of talentavailable. Big names entered the weekend on the trading

block, with Marc Bulger, Jason Campbell, Braylon Edwards, Anquan Boldin, Julius Peppers and a host of others beingdiscussed, with at least one big-name receiver expecting tofind a new home.

Instead, draft picks carried less weight in trade discus-sions, and few teams were eager to ship off veterans whileon the clock. One exc

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