The Chicago Bears, seeking to rebound after a very disappointing 2007 season, announced a few moves Wednesday to tweak their roster in anticipation of training camp in a couple of months.
Gone are defensive tackle Babatunde Oshinowo and guard Mike Jones, both released Wednesday, with more promising rookies ready to take their jobs. Third-rounder Marcus Harrison left Oshinowo with almost no chance to make the squad and seventh-round pick Chester Adams was impressive in last weekend’s rookie camp, so Jones became expendable.
Meanwhile, with running back Cedric Benson in trouble after his weekend boating adventure, there may be an opening for Matthew Lawrence to land a spot on the practice squad. Lawrence ran for 1,680 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Minutemen last season.
Benson, by the way, is due in court on May 19 to face his boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest charges. Ahoy, matey!
So will the Bears be able to get back to .500 this season?
Well, they better improve an offense that was among the NFL’s worst last season, thanks to an especially weak rush attack. Even when he was healthy, Benson proved he was not a number one runner last year. And his legal trouble could definitely put a crimp in his situation, further weakening the run game for the Bears.
Adrian Peterson – no, not Purple Jesus, but the other one – could take the lead if Benson can’t start the season, and while he doesn’t excite me either, he might get his chance to show how bad he really is.
Failing that, look for rookie Matt Forte to be handed the starting gig – not a real good idea considering his lack of experience, but this is what will likely happen.
Chicago expects to be competitive this season, but I have a feeling that even with the Packers probably coming back to earth, the Bears have their work cut out for themselves.
Safe Rosenfels got the job done after Matt Schaub went down.
What Went Right
The passing game made great strides in Houston as Matt Schaub started the 2007 season in a scorching fashion. He averaged 260 yards per game over the first six weeks and, yes, that qualifies as “scorching” for the Texans. Trust me. Schaub went down with an injury, but Sage Rosenfels actually picked up the pace quite well. In fact Rosenfels and Schaub combined for nearly 4,000 passing yards and 25 scores.
What Went Wrong
The Texans play in arguably football’s toughest division, the AFC South. Six games against three pretty good defenses can prove to be tough sledding. Also, Houston’s running game short-circuited yet again with Ron Dayne carrying the load (is it wrong to say literally here?). Injuries to Schaub and Andre Johnson stunted the offense’s growth after a positive start to the season.
Off-season Outlook
The Texans are finally, if somewhat slowly, turning the corner with Gary Kubiak running the show. Houston was not wildly active in free agency and just made moves to improve depth on both sides of the ball. The team needs to get quicker at running back through the draft especially. Seriously, Dayne and Ahman Green? The secondary needs some beefing up as well.
Draft Outlook
We would love to see the Texans grab one of the talented backs in the draft, although that may be their second round plan. Whispers out of Houston all involve defensive players or offensive lineman in the first round, specifically linebacker Keith Rivers of USC and tackle Chris Williams of Vanderbilt.
State of the Team
Quarterbacks - The Schaub injury slowed what could have been a successful beginning to his Texan career. Nonetheless, Rosenfels was respectable under centre and gave the Texans a chance to compete. It’s Schaub’s job to lose, but he needs a healthy Johnson for the passing game to click like it did at times in 2007.
Running Backs - We will not talk about the Texans’ current running back situation, other than to say that we would really feel warm and fuzzy about a rookie being the clear-cut starter heading into the new season.
Wide Receivers - Johnson was as good as ever — when healthy, of course. That part proved to be a big issue for him because he only managed to appear in nine games. Kevin Walter provided a nice lift as the second option, although a bona fide deep threat would be a great luxury for the team.
Tight Ends - Owen Daniels continues to be a nice surprise for fantasy owners. Those of us who waited until the very last round of their draft to snag Daniels were thrilled with his 700 -plus receiving yards.
Defense/Special Teams - So how does Mario Williams versus Reggie Bush look now? Williams quieted naysayers with a 14-sack sophomore season; while linebacker DeMeco Ryans is a beast who led the team with 128 tackles. Despite having a lackluster return game, the Texans are an upcoming fantasy group.
Viking coach Brad Childress needs to put his faith in Purple Jesus.
What Went Right
Purple Jesus!Adrian Peterson lived up to all the hype, for the most part. About the only person who didn’t realize it was Brad Childress. Childress only managed to get Peterson 238 carries to Chester Taylor’s 157. Anyway, Purple Jesus showed quite a nose for the endzone, scoring 12 times on the ground.
What Went Wrong
Besides an injury to Peterson late in the season, Tavaris Jackson’s topsy-turvy play troubled the Viking offense down the stretch. While Minnesota’s rush game ranked first in the NFL, the Vikings finished 28th in passing (averaging 171 yards per game). Besides Jackson’s struggles, the lack of a big play threat downfield contributed to this as well (no Vikings receiver eclipsed 1,000 yards or had more than four touchdown receptions). Defensively, Minnesota’s secondary could not stop anyone through the air…again, finishing last in the league against the pass. It’s not that the Vikings have a terrible secondary; sadly it’s due to how great their rush defense has been. Over the past two seasons, no team has been better at stopping the run than the Vikings.
Off-season Outlook
With Childress at the helm for Minnesota, the team doesn’t worry about such things as sex boat cruises and disgruntled players. Instead, the Vikes can actually focus on football and giving Bernard Berrian $42 million over six years. I guess Minnesota brass figures that if Berrian can be successful with Chicago’s Rex Grossman, that Jackson is on par with him. The Vikings still need more help at the skill spots on offense to aid Peterson, something which would be extremely wise so that he doesn’t get overused early in his career. The Minny defense is solid in the front seven, but could use some depth via the draft in the secondary.
Draft Outlook
If we were grading the Viking wide out corps on the 1-10 scale, with 10 being the best, we’d give them a 1.5. Before they signed Berrian, they were closer to 1.4 out of 10. For those not keeping score at home, Berrian is a one-dimensional non-entity. He might be good for some long bombs, but that won’t change the overall passing offense. Of course, if they brought in a Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly in the draft, then we might be on to something.
State of the Team
Quarterbacks - In 12 starts with Minnesota, Jackson threw nine touchdown passes to 12 interceptions with the run-heavy Vikings. As evidenced by the Super Bowl, a team doesn’t necessarily need a big name, but merely someone who can just manage the game without committing the devastating mistake. Jackson has not reached that level yet. Bringing in Berrian can only matter for fantasy owners if Jackson evolves in his second season as the team’s starter. Another nine-touchdown pass season by Jackson will put Minnesota’s post-season hopes on ice again.
Running Backs - We hope Peterson gets somewhere between 300-315 carries. This would be made possible by Childress completely trusting him, which didn’t happen last season, and Peterson staying healthy, which also didn’t happen last season. We love Purple Jesus’s skill and overall running back attributes, but he’s not a sure-fire top three pick.
Wide Receivers - Yeah, they got nothing. Berrian might be a decent third wide out, but putting him alone out there is football suicide. Seriously, we’re not sure he’d make our top 30 wide receivers right now.
Tight Ends - Visanthe Shiancoe stands to get the lion’s share of passes that go to the tight ends. And our mothers taught us that if we don’t have anything nice to say, we shouldn’t say anything. And for some reason, we just remembered that now.
Defense/Special Teams - This is a bizarre unit. The defense does not make a ton of big plays. Minny’s rush defense is superior and the best unit in the league statistically. However, the team’s inability to stop the pass and offer a spark in special teams makes it a middle of the road group.
Don’t try telling Gabe Watson that treadmills are a good, safe way to work out.
The Arizona Cardinals’ nose tackle will miss off-season practices after undergoing surgery to repair a broken kneecap, an injury he suffered last week when he fell off a treadmill.
The procedure was serious enough that it will keep Watson limited during training camp, but the Cards are hopefully he’ll be ready to begin the regular season on time.
If not, look for backup Alan Branch, the team’s 2007 second round pick, to get his chance.
Leonard Pope isn’t the flashiest TE, but he gets his scores.
What Went Right
Larry Fitzgerald stayed heathy and absolutely dominated the league. He turned in the second 100-reception season of his four-year career (not a bad average there) and equaled his 2005 marks of 1,409 yards and ten scores. Fitz also played relatively well during fantasy playoff time, accounting for about 60 yards and a score in Weeks 14-16. Kurt Warner, meanwhile, proved he should probably be the starter heading into next season, as he averaged 294 yards and over two and a half scores per game over the second half of the season. He isn’t physically what he was back in the Rams’ days, but his decision making (while not recovering from concussions) remains steadfast. We’ll also give a begruding nod to Edgerrin James, who eclipsed 1,200 yards.
What Went Wrong
The Cardinals narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8-8 mark last season. The running game struggles contributed to another unsuccessful attempt at post-season glory for Arizona. James only averaged 3.8 yards per tote and really could not bolster the rush game for the second consecutive season with the Cards. Injuries to Anquan Boldin and Warner for periods did not help matters on offense either. What about the Matt Leinart injury you ask? Warner outplayed him and the team seemed to respond under his leadership. Maybe that’s because of Leinart’s off-season workout regimen? Yet again, Arizona’s defense proved to be an Achilles’ heel, the secondary in particular. Arizona finished 28th against the pass and allowed 232 yards per game.
Off-season Outlook
No matter the year, the formula seems to be the same for Arizona; fix the running game and defense. One more time, Arizona will see if it can get it right. Speed is needed at the running back spot and addressing this in the draft at some point is a great idea. The secondary desperately needs an infusion of the same as well. After a rather lackluster free agency period (in part due to Fitzgerald’s re-signing and having the fourth smallest amount of cap space in the league), Arizona must replenish through the draft.
Draft Outlook
NFL Draft Countdown seems to think the Cards need secondary help. We don’t really watch defense because, let’s be honest, who cares? We still worry about the offensive line. When Leinart gets injured, Warner will need tons of protection to make sure no defensive player touches his head or thumb. Plus, if it gets a dominating defense, Arizona won’t have to score 42 points a game! We can’t let that happen!
State of the Teams
Quarterbacks - Following the Leinart injury, Warner turned back the clock and fired 27 touchdown passes to lead Arizona. However, Leinart will be back as the starter despite his off-season shenanigans. He must prove that he can be durable which he has not shown through his first two years in the league. Beware of this fantasy situation though, folks; not only is Leinart in the doghouse, but head coach Ken Wisenhunt showed he is not afraid to play musical quarterbacks.
Running Backs - There were actually rumours this offseason that James wouldn’t be with the team come the 2008 opener. So far, he’s still there, and that’s probably for the best. It’s really not his fault the offensive line is terrible. No runner out there would do much better. That being said, his style lends itself more towards good line play. Faster backs, the home run hitters, are better suited for bad lines. James can’t do that as well.
Wide Receivers - We’re good to go here. Fitzgerald and Boldin are the best wide out duo in the league. If both stay healthy, both will get over 100 receptions. It’s that simple. Whether or not the Cardinals can afford both, that remains to be seen.
Tight Ends - Leonard Pope always seem to be ranked around that 15 mark as a guy capable of scoring some touchdowns, but he usually gets lost with the flashier receiving targets there, especially in goal line situations.
Defense/Special Teams - The Cards’ defense/special teams offers more chills than thrills. Neil Rackers is not the kicker he was a few years ago and the return units don’t quite cut the mustard. Arizona’s inability to have playmakers on defense and special teams makes it an undesirable fantasy unit.
