Was there an ownership group more in need of a lobotomy after last season than Denver? After an 8-8 season where they led the AFC West until the last week of the year until San Diego claimed the crown from them in a steel cage match, Denver fired head coach Mike Shanahan, traded quarterback Jay Cutler, and has strained its relationship with receiver Brandon Marshall. The worst decision here was definitely Shanahan. Famous for his running back-by-committee approach, he was forced into a hard situation last year when multiple backs went down to injury.
Denver was the definition of a hot and cold team last season. They got off to a torrid 4-1 start, lost 3 straight, went on another 4-1 streak, then limped to the finish with 3 losses. They were also the center of the Ed Hoculi controversy in week 2. Who were the "real" Broncos last season? Were they the team that lost to Oakland, Kansas City, Jacksonville, and Buffalo or the team that beat New Orleans, Tampa, Atlanta, and the Jets?
Supposed "boy genius" Josh McDaniels is in as the new head coach. After a rocky start where Cry Baby Jay Cutler demanded a trade, which landed him in Chicago and brought Kyle Orton to Denver, McDaniels has settled things down. The fact that no Broncos blog that we could find has made a Kyle Orton/Randy Orton Photoshop means they're a bunch of jokes. The closest one we found was on the Bleacher Report. Receiver Brandon Marshall still doesn't know how to not get in trouble with the law, and has also requested a trade, but there hasn't been much movement there. Is Orton the answer at quarterback? Well, let's take a look at what we know about Kyle. He's 21-12 as a starter, had a career high 18 TDs and nearly 3000 yards last season. Orton is not a finished product by any means, but he does get the job done. Anyone who would make the argument that his 21-12 career record is "aided" by Chicago's running game is just flat wrong because there was nothing there before Matt Forte.
So what can Kyle do in Denver? With the likes of Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and Brandon Stokley, he should be able to put up better numbers than he did last season in the receiver-less Chicago offense. Denver's passing game won't be nearly as potent as it was at times last season, but the running game should also be improved with the additions of Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, and Lamont Jordan. Can Orton handle the pressure of a pass-first offense like the one McDaniels designed in New England? Maybe eventually, but it doesn't seem likely that this year will be a shining success, particularly given the difficult schedule they are up against and the defense they are putting on the field.
As you may have noticed as we've gone through these season previews, the growing trend in the NFL is: if you had a bad defense last year, switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Green Bay did it. Kansas City did it. Denver is doing it as well. Elvis Dumerville, who was a terror at DE at Louisville before an injury caused him to miss time and fall all the way to the 4th round in the 2006 draft, will move from DE to OLB. Dumerville tied for the team lead with 5 sacks last season, a mark drastically down from the 8.5 and 12.5 he had put up in his first two years in the league. DJ Williams will move to one of the inside spots and two first-round picks will battle it out for the other OLB position. Jarvis Moss, drafted in 2007 out of Florida is approaching "bust" status, and will compete with this year's first round pick, Robert Ayers from Tennessee.
Denver's defense was downright awful last season. They didn't do any of the things a defense is supposed to do. Stop the other team? Nope, they were 29th in total defense, giving up almost 6000 yards over the season. Prevent the other team from scoring? Laughable. They gave up 448 points, 3rd worst in the league. Create turnovers? Even worse. They were dead last in the league with only 13 takeaways. Only twice did they hold opponents under 300 total yards in a game, and arguably against two of the league's worst offenses: Kansas City and Buffalo. If you'll recall, only Tennessee broke the 300-yard mark against Pittsburgh last season. Their passing defense was 26th in the league, ranking slightly better than their 27th-ranked run defense. The run D gave up over 100 rushing yards 11 times. Seven teams racked up over 150, including Kansas City (213), New England (257), and San Diego (289).
Denver brought in a lot of new defenders this offseason, including DTs Ronald Fields and Darrell Reid, LBs Andra Davis and Nick Greisen, CB Andre Goodman, and Ss Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill via free agency. The Broncos also spent draft picks on Ayers, Alphonso Smith (CB-Wake Forest), Darcel McBath (CB-Texas Tech), and David Bruton (FS-Notre Dame). Denver's face lift on Defense may be an improvment, but one has to wonder after how badly they have been gutted by opponent's running games in the last two years, if the new players will be enough.
Denver has all the pieces in place for a disasterous season: a new quarterback, a new coach, a new defensive system applied to a defense that was already terrible, players who aren't entirely happy with the new coach. This thing could blow up all over them and it really wouldn't surprise us to see Denver picking in the top 5 next April. With Dawkins and Champ Bailey in the secondary, they may show improvement, or they may miss weekly practices to go to AARP meetings. Knowshon Moreno has talent, and Denver's line is good, anchored by tackle Ryan Clady, and the Denver backs should produce excitment this year. However, as Denver showed last season, no matter how many points your offense can score, it doesn't matter if your defense can't stop anyone.
Ian's Prediction: 5-11
Denver starts their season with Cincy, Cleveland, and Oakland, so it is entirely possible that Denver is this year's version of the Dallas Cowboys. The gauntlet of their schedule comes after the bye week, when they play @Bal, Pit, @Was, SD, NYG, @KC, @IND. Not sure if Denver will even win one game in this stretch, particularly with their bad defense. This seems like a situation just waiting to implode on itself, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Brandon Marshall get more vocal after the team loses a few games. The one thing they have going for them is that Kyle Orton knows how to win games and has a good group of receivers, but he's never played with a defense as bad as Denver's, which will put even more pressure on Kyle and the passing game.
Oakland was the trendy "sleeper team" pick last season. This season, we're not hearing that so much, and for good reason. Oakland had a ton of holes last season, and addressed very few of them in the offseason. The Raiders were 29th in scoring offense, 24th in scoring defense, 29th in total offense, 27th in total defense, and 31st in run defense. They did manage a top 10 ranking in pass defense, but when you give up 159.7 rush yards per game, teams don't really need to pass against you.
Oakland's front 7 can be described as weak, at best, and "downright terrible" at worst. Oakland did a decent job of pressuring the quarterback, finishing 13th in the league with 32 sacks. However, no one on the team posted more than 5, highlighting their inconsistent production from their front 4. Strong Safety Gabril Wilson left for Miami in free agency, meaning the burden of responsibility falls on Michael Huff, a highly touted draft pick who has had a disappointing career. The Raiders took Huff with the 7th overall pick in 2006, and Huff has only produced 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery over 39 starts in 3 seasons. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha is one of the best in the league, but has such a bad defense around him, teams don't even have to throw his way. Asomugha was a 1st team All Pro last season, despite posting only 1 interception, 1 forced fumble and 33 tackles last season. He is just that good that people stay away from him.
Oh yeah, and the rest of Oakland's defense is that bad.
On offense, Oakland seems like a team that should have a 60-40 run to pass ratio. With Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, and former 1000-yard rusher Justin Fargas in the backfield, there should be more than enough talent to keep the ball out of Jamarcus Russell's hands until he develops as a passer. Russel has the arm strength, there's no doubt about that. Javon Walker, possibly the worst free agent contract in history, had only 15 catches last year. Despite having the 10th best rushing offense in the league last season, no Raider back broke 900 yards (only Fargas broke 500), and Oakland was 28th in the league with only 9 rushing touchdowns.
Besides McFadden, the most exciting player on the team has to be Johnny Lee Higgins, who returned 3 kickoffs for touchdowns last season. Add that to Justin Miller's 2 punt return TDs, the Raiders special teams put up 5 of the team's 26 touchdown's last season.
The defining game for Oakland's offense last season came against Atlanta when they posted this astounding stat line:
77 Total Yards (67 rush yards, 10 pass yards), 3 first downs, 0 points, 7 penalties for 55 yards, 14:45 in time of possession, and 34 plays from scrimage.
The Raiders had no first downs for the first 35:34 of the game until Justin Fargas broke a 13-yard run.
McFadden's season was shortened by injuries last year, and if he remains healthy for a whole season, there shouldn't be any reason he couldn't put up some solid numbers. That being said, Oakland has some holes on the offensive line. They brought in tackle Khalif Barnes from Jacksonville (you may remember him getting owned by James Harrison last season) and center Samson Satele from Miami to "help". The Raiders didn't invest any of their draft picks in the offensive line, and it remains to be seen if Barnes and Satele will be much of an improvement.
Speaking of the draft, Al Davis's love of speed lives on, as they invested the #7 selection in Darrius Heyward-Bey, a lanky receiver who posted the fastest combine time this year. DHB, however, had a mediocre college career in terms of production, never surpassing 700 receiving yards and only posting 13 TDs over three seasons (5, 3, and 5). Oakland was looking for someone who could stretch the field to play into Jamarcus Russell's arm strength, which DHB can do, but he remains a work in progress. If there's anything we know about the Raiders, it's that they don't do very well with "work in progress" players. Russell had a ton of talent coming out of college and was poorly developed, including a training camp holdout that completely nullified his rookie season.
Oakland was 4-1 last season when they out-rushed their opponents. Conversely, Oakland was 1-4 last season when out-passing their opponents. If Oakland is going to succeed this season, they are going to have to make their way through an incredibly difficult schedule by running the ball and controlling the clock. Interim head coach Tom Cable was "hired" as the full-time coach this season, but with Al Davis in the front office, that really means nothing. As Tunch and Wolf so eloquently put it once, "every coach in Oakland is an interim coach." Honestly, this is one of the worst run organizations in the league, and it seems highly unlikely that this team will turn things around until they get some new, competent management in place.
Ian's Prediction: 3-13
The losing ways continue for Oakland. Oakland gets the Jets, Cincy, Philly, and Washington at home, but has to travel to Cleveland (their easiest opponent), Houston, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. This will not be an easy year for Raiders fans, and one really has to wonder just how much longer they will put up with Al Davis and his atrocious managing of the organization. If they didn't have so much talent in the running game, I would say this team has the potential to challenge Detroit's mark from last season. However, their two-game winning streak to close out 2008 shows that there is life in this team, so don't be surprised when they put a few wins on the board.
Yesterday, Tunch and Wolf mentioned that Pro Football Weekly came out with a list of the 10 most important players for each team. Inspired by this, we decided to come out with our own list of the 10 most important players for the Steelers to have success this season.
1. Ben Roethlisberger
Ben makes the offense go. There shouldn't really be much dispute about him being #1 in these rankings. He has 17 4th quarter/overtime comebacks in his career. He is the franchise quarterback and is the reason the Steelers are so successful.
2. James Harrison
Defensive Player of the Year. Set a single-season record for sacks last year. If you're wondering why Joey Porter leaving wasn't a big deal, it's right here. Harrison is the big playmaker on defense. Other teams have to scheme around him. He is some kind of monster.
3. Aaron Smith
Maybe you think this is a little high. Maybe not. When was the last time the Steelers gave up 100 yards rushing? That's right, in 2007 when Smith was hurt. Remember the gashings that Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew put on us in both games that year? Smith was out or injured for both. He is the anchor of the run defense. He is unblockable with one guy, you have to double-team him if you want to run the ball.
4. Justin Hartwig
Too high you say? Well, then you obviously don't remember how terrible our rushing offense was when Sean Mahan was our center. There were no cut-back lanes. Nose tackles routinely got pressure up the middle and disrupted the passing game. The center of the line is where it all happens, and Hartwig makes it go.
5. Troy Polamalu
We may have waited a bit too long to put Troy on this list. He has single-handedly redefined the safety position in the NFL. He is a complete player, from being a blitzer to a run-stopper and great in pass coverage. His interception total went back up last year and he returned to Pro Bowl form after having a few seasons being hampered by injuries. Troy's athleticism is second to none, and he is one of the most exciting players in football.
6. Hines Ward
Hines is still the go-to guy in the offense. As Tunch and Wolf say, whenever Hines gets the ball, there are 3 words that you will never hear an announcer say: "One yard short." Hines always knwos where the sticks are and where the goal line is. He is one of the smartest players on the team in understanding game situations.
7. LaMarr Woodley
Woodley is the reason you can't double-team James Harrison. Woodley may end up having a better career than Harrison and it really wouldn't be surprising to see him in the Pro Bowl this year (he should have made it last year). Woodley is an absolute monster, with the power to drive tackles off their feet and back into the quarterback and the speed to get around the edge. He's also got good coverage skills and plays very well in run defense.
8. Ike Taylor
Ike gets a bum rap for having bad hands. However, he's out there week in and week out matched up against the best receivers from the other team. He came into the league as a safety that the Steelers converted to a shut-down cornerback. Don't think he's a shut-down corner? How well has Chad Johnson done against the Steelers since Ike stepped into the starting corner role? TO? Other #1 receivers? That's what I thought.
9. Santonio Holmes
Santonio is a playmaker. We first saw flashes of it in his rookie year when he took a quick slant route for a 66-yard touchdown in overtime against the Bungles. Last year, he came up with big plays in all 3 games against the Ravens, as well as a bunch of catches on the game-winning drive in Super Bowl XLIII. Santonio's continued ability to make big plays, including making things happen after the catch, will be a key factor to the Steelers' success this season.
10. Max Starks
Max moves from being the highest paid back-up in the league to one of the most important positions on the field. Being left-handed, Starks is much more comfortable at left tackle than at right tackle where he was previously the backup to Willie Colon. Starks will be responsible for facing the best pass-rusher from the other team every down, which will include the likes of Jared Allen, Shawne Merriman, and Joey Porter. Starks is responsible for Ben's blindside and his ability to shut down the pass rush will be key to the Steelers passing game this season.
I'm sure you all out there in Steelers Nation have plenty of opinions on this subject. Let us know who your Top 10 Most Important Players are! We'd love to hear from you!
Kansas City expressed confidence in Herm Edwards and his ability to lead a rebuilding effort. However, after trading veterans like defensive end Jared Allen, Kansas City fielded one of the youngest teams in the league in 2008. Kansas City's biggest contribution to the 2008 season may have been knocking out Tom Brady in the first week of the season.
For as bad as Kansas City was last year (26th in scoring offense, 29th in scoring defense, 24th in total offense, 31st in total defense), 9 of their 14 losses were by less than 10 points. Of these 9 losses, 7 were one-possession games (7-points or less). Even though Kansas City was terrible, they were still in a majority of their games. What does this mean? That the young players on their roster are starting to grow into their own and may be starting to form a competitive team.
After former Steelers offensive coordinator Chan Gailey took over, the offense opened things up and Tyler Thigpen showed some promise out of the spread. Thigpen will be the backup this season to Matt Cassel this season, assuming that Brodie Croyle continues his trend of getting hurt, like he has every year since the Chiefs spent a first round pick on him. Getting Cassel and Mike Vrabel from New England for a second-round pick was a great move by their new front office, led by former Pats executive Scott Pioli.
New head coach Todd Haley (former Arizona offensive coordinator) obviously won't be afraid to throw the ball. With Dwayne Bowe set to enter his 3rd year, he will play a key role in the development of the offense. Troubled running back Larry Johnson, who was very vocal about wanting to leave at the end of last season, has been a very quiet, team player in camp thus far. Jamaal Charles, in his second year out of Texas, has plenty of speed and will be an excellent 3rd down back. All these signs point to moving in the right direction for Kansas City. They brought in veterans Bobby Engram and Amani "It is not a malignant" Toomer to help the passing game. Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez was traded to Atlanta, which means the tight end position will likely be primarily a blocking position this year to help Kansas City's questionable offensive line.
The big question here is: Can Cassel continue the success he had last year with a younger team with a weaker offensive line and less talented receivers? Cassel is talented, and will likely have a very good year, but he probably won't have the same type of success he did in New England. That being said, Kansas City has the potential to make a run at this division title.
Did I just say that? Yes, I did. Let's think about it for a minute here. Oakland is a mess. Denver is a joke. Who does that leave? San Diego. In two games last season, Kansas City lost to them by 1 point each game. This team may be closer to challenging San Diego than we think. Does this mean they're going to put up an 11- or 12-win season? Probably not. But the AFC West has a tough schedule with the NFC East and AFC North. However, Kansas City gets the benefit of playing the last-place teams from the AFC East and South. Between Jacksonville and Buffalo, KC may be able to get more wins than San Diego can against Miami and Tennessee. Answer me this: would it be impossible for Kansas City to put up 9 wins this year?
On defense, Kansas City is going through the transition from a 4-3 last season that registered a league-record low 9 sacks on the season to a 3-4 alignment. They spent the 3rd overall pick on DE Tyson Jackson from LSU, showing that they are dedicated to this 3-4 scheme in the long run. Last year's first round pick, Glenn Dorsey, who was a tad small to be a 4-3 DT, will be an excellent fit as a 3-4 defensive end. Dorsey has the motor to get upfield and disrupt the run game, and the ability to get in the gaps to shut down the run game. The Cheifs had a terrible linebacking unit last season, with the exception of Derrick Johnson, now have a core of solid veterans, who may be a step slow, but are smart playmakers and will be a vast improvement over last season. The big question will be former Penn State DE Tamba Hali's ability to translate into a 3-4 OLB. The rest of the linebacking unit shakes down as Derrick Johnson, Mike Vrabel, and Zach Thomas.
In the secondary, second year corner Brandon Flowers showed solid potential, finishing 5th on the team in tackles and had 2 picks and 2 fumble recoveries last season as a rookie. Safeties Bernard Pollard and and Jarrad Page are tackling machines, finishing 1st and 3rd on the team in tackles last season. Pollard led the team in fumble recoveries with 3 and Page led the team in interceptions with 4. Both safeties are 25 this season, meaning there is a huge potential for the steep learning curve to kick in this year. Brandon Carr will start at the other corner. Carr, like Flowers, is 23, and was 4th on the team in tackles last season, adding 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. With all this youth in the secondary, they have the potential to shock the world and develop into a very, very good pass defense, assuming the front 7 gives them some help.
Ian's Prediction: 9-7
Call me crazy if you want to, but look at their defense. There are veterans in the middle at linebacker, arguably their weakest position last season. The secondary was rittled with rookies and young players last season, but as almost all young players say, it's night and day difference between the first and second year in the league. Besides San Diego and Philadelphia, does anyone on their schedule have a truly terrifying passing game? Pittsburgh has a capable passing game, and Dallas and Denver will likely see a setback this year. If their front 7 can hold their own, their offense with a rejuvinated Larry Johnson and Dwayne Bowe, may have just enough to get them over the hump and be this season's Atlanta Falcons. Kansas City also ends the season with Denver, Buffalo, Cleveland, @ Cincy, @ Denver, giving them the potential to put together a solid win streak and make a run at the playoffs.
Per this article in the Post-Gazette, undrafted rookie free agent Isaac Redman is creating quite a stir.
As you will recall, Redman was 2/2 in Goal Line drills against the second-team defense last week in camp.
He followed that up by finding the end zone twice against Arizona's backup defense in the preseason opener on Thursday.
But the question lingered: could he do it against a first-team NFL defense?
Coach decided to put him to the test today.
Redman ran 3 times against the #1 run defense in the NFL and scored on all 3 tries.
Coach kept pounding the kid in there, giving him 7 chances in total against the first and second team defense. Redman won 5.
Now, before we jump to conclusions and start calling him the next Jerome Bettis, let's remember that it's still very early in the season. That being said, Redman has excellent vision inside and does a very good job of seeing the hole and hitting it in stride. Beyond that, you will notice on both of the TDs he scored against Arizona, they had a chance to get him, but he kept churning his legs and pushing forward and broke through the arm tackles.
Redman is still locked in a battle with Frank "The Tank" Summers, Carey Davis, and Justin Vincent to make the team, but you have to like what the kid has shown thus far.
To be honest, from what I've seen so far, I'd rather keep Redman and Summers than Carey Davis. Davis has had some trouble locking guys up when he's in there as a blocking back, and (unless he's improved in this area over last season) lacks the leg power to drive through tackles and get those extra yards. Remember how many times Davis was stopped 1 yard short on a 3rd down play last year? Yes, he is a good receiver out of the backfield, but Sean McHugh can fill that "H-back" role. Summers showed he has some great blocking ability, and Redman has been tried out at fullback as well in camp. The one other area where Carey Davis has made contributions is on special teams. However, Summers was running with the special teams against Arizona, so it just might be that Carey Davis is on his way out.
We finished up our NFC Team Previews yesterday with the Cardinals season preview and we will be moving on to the AFC soon (either tonight or tomorrow). John is finishing up his summer job this week, so he'll be updating his stuff soon. For now, you get Ian's predictions, and get to make fun of him for a while.
NFC East NY Giants (10-6) Philadelphia (9-7) Washington (9-7) Dallas (6-10)
NFC North Green Bay (10-6) Minnesota (9-7) Chicago (7-9) Detroit (2-14)
NFC South New Orleans (11-5) Carolina (8-8) Atlanta (7-9) Tampa Bay (5-11)
NFC West Arizona (12-4) San Francisco (6-10) Seattle (6-10) St. Louis (2-14)
Playoffs 1. Arizona 2. New Orleans 3. Green Bay 4. New York Giants 5. Philadelphia 6. Minnesota
Round 1: Philadelphia over NY Giants, Green Bay over Minnesota Round 2: Philadelphia over Arizona, Green Bay over New Orleans NFC Championship: Green Bay over Philadelphia
I had Washington and Seattle in my NFC Championship last season, so this doesn't really mean too much. There isn't one team in the NFC that is head and shoulders better than the rest. Arizona looks good, but they have some questions on defense and need to show they can balance their offense. Philly is an injury to McNabb away from a 6-10 year. New Orleans has big questions on defense. The Giants and Minnesota have no passing game. Green Bay has a decent running game and a very good passing game. I can see them going on an Arizona-like run through the NFC playoffs and utilizing the Lambeau cold in the NFC Championship game to carry them to the Super Bowl.
The Arizona Cardinals were the darling of the NFC Playoffs. To be honest, we didn't see it coming. Going into the playoffs, we all knew Arizona had a vaunted passing attack. But they hadn't shown any ability to run the ball. Nor did they display particularly good tackling on defense. However, they keyed on mistakes, using their turnover-fueled defense to run all the way to the Super Bowl.
Ken Whisenhunt has done a fantastic job out in the desert, and Arizona finally got over the hump last year, claiming the division from Seattle's talons. As long as Chris "Beanie" Wells can stay healthy (which is a big question), Arizona should boast a better rushing attack than they did last season with Edgerrin James. Wells went down on the second day of practice with an ankle sprain and hasn't been back on the field since. Second year back Tim Hightower showed impressive abilities in short-yardage situations, but one has to wonder if he'll be able to hold up as a feature back over the course of an entire season. Arizona's success in the playoffs came from having a balanced offense. Yes they put up a lot of points through the air. But they were also able to take the air out of the ball and kill Atlanta's comeback hopes with some quality contributions from the run game.
Arizona got itself in trouble last season when they focused solely on the pass. There are some that think they should have come out passing against the Steelers in the Super Bowl. The problem there is that once Arizona starts passing, they don't stop. They tend to go on long stretches without any rushing attempts, which makes it hard to get a rythym going later in the game when you need to run the ball.
Arizona's defense was plagued by inconsistency last year, giving up over 35 points 5 times, including 48 to Philly, 47 to New England, and 56 to the Jets. On the other side, they held teams under 14 points 4 times. Their biggest loss on defense, DE Antonio Smith, will be replaced by Bertrand Berry who led the team with 5 sacks last season. Arizona continued their reputation as "Pittsburgh West" bringing in CB Bryant McFadden in free agency and former Steelers FB Dan Kreider. McFadden will pair wit Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to form a solid young cornerback tandem very adept at picking the ball off. DRC had a team-leading 4 picks last season as a rookie and has outstanding speed to make up for broken coverage.
Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle are two solid safeties, with Wilson in the physical mold of Troy Polamalu and Bob Sanders. Rolle finished second on the team in tackles last season, and has excellent range. Karlos Dansby, whose contract is up after this season, is the anchor of the linebacking unit, but he has been relatively quiet thus far about his contract.
Even Anquan Boldin, who made a big fuss at the end of last season, has shut his yapper and decided to play football this season. We all know what Larry Fitzgerald brings to the game. Is he the best receiver in the game right now? Well, it's between him and Andre Johnson from Houston, and if Johnson is #1, then Fitz is 1a. Both are special players, but Fitz has the advantage of having Anquan Boldin on his team to take some of the pressure off. Boldin is very good in his own right, but doesn't possess the speed of Fitzgerald. Of course, one can't talk about the Cardinals offense without mentioning BSK who put up over 1,000 yards last season and is always a threat on punt returns.
Kurt Warner remains the starter this season, and after a fantastic season last year, should be in top form again. Matt Leinart is slowly shaking off the "party boy" image and is now entrenched in a battle with Brian St. Pierre for the #2 job behind Warner. While we have a soft spot for BSP, there's no way he wins this job from Leinart. He looked terrible in the preseason game last week. Looking for more former Pittsburghers to cheer for on Arizona's roster? They brought in former Pitt QB Tyler Palko, and he may see some time in the preseason (and may challenege BSP for the #3 spot).
Ian's Prediction: 12-4
Arizona didn't win a game in the Eastern Time Zone last year until they went to Carolina in the playoffs. They have 3 games in the EST this year, at Jacksonville, NY Giants, and Detroit. If you're looking to circle some dates on your calendar, September 27 and October 11, against Indianapolis and Houston respectively, should be highly entertaining. The Indy game will be an all-out aerial show, and the Houston game will pit the two best receivers in the league against each other. Arizona's defense has made some improvements, and their run game should be better if Beanie stays healthy. All in all, I think this season will be even better for Arizona than last year, and The Whizard of Az holds on to the NFC West division crown.
We were going to wait to write this preview until Crabtree signed, but at this point, who knows when that is going to happen. Too bad the kid has his cousin representing him, because if he had any sense of history with what happens when wide receivers take a year off (see: Mike Williams), he would know he's better off signing. And honestly, what does he expect is going to happen if he holds out? Does he think a team will take him higher next year, with the accumulated risk that he might hold out again? And really...is there any real difference in 8-figure salaries?
But let's not focus on the maybes here. Mike Martz and his pass-happy offense is gone. This means that we'll be getting a heavy dose of the running game with Frank Gore and rookie Glenn Coffee. Gore is a solid back, and should flourish in a run-heavy offense. Coffee is a bruiser and will be a nice compliment to Gore.
The real story with San Francisco's offense is the quarterback battle. Former #1 overall pick Alex Smith still hasn't been able to prove himself as an NFL passer and is approaching "bust" level. Shaun Hill played well last season, posting a 5-3 record. Hill didn't put up great numbers last year, but when your leading receivers are Isaac Bruce and Bryant Johnson, it's not like he's working with Jerry Rice and John Taylor.
San Francisco hasn't done much to improve the offense in the offseason, besides the addition of Coffee (and maybe Crabtree). They did bring in oft-injured tackle Marvel Smith from the Steelers, but one has to wonder how long he can hold up. Vernon Davis was a first round pick at tight end, but he hasn't done much to fulfill his potential either. All in all, San Francisco's 23rd ranked offense will be much the same as it was last year, but with less passing.
On defense, the team hasn't changed much. Pro Bowler Patrick Willis will team with Takeo Spikes to form a decent tandem at ILB. San Fran had the league's 13th ranked rushing defense last season (surprised? we were too), and the league's 20th ranked passing defense (despite having Nate Clements and Walt Harris at corner). Harris has been replaced by Dre Bly, and strong safety Michael Lewis, who was second on the team in tackles last season, returns to his role.
Right end Justin Smith is the anchor on the D-line and finished second on the team in sacks with 7. Outside linebacker Parys Haralson, a 5th round pick in the 2006 draft led the team with 8 sacks last year. On the whole, the 49ers only produced 30 sacks, meaning that Haralson and Smith accounted for half of the team total.
Mike Singletary, who became instantly famous after dropping trou in the locker room, took over for Mike Nolan half way through the year. Singletary produced a 5-4 record as a coach, bringing an air of toughness to the team. Supposedly, the 49ers are also bringing back the cherry red uniforms from the late 80s this season, dispatching of the black-shadow uniforms they have sported since the mid-90s. Not sure if it will work or not, but recollecting past success is usually a good thing in football.
Ian's Prediction: 6-10
Honestly, this team just isn't quite there yet. Their 7 wins last year came against Seattle, St. Louis (twice), Detroit, Buffalo, NY Jets, and Washington. What do all those teams have in common? They were all golfing in January. They have a good running game, but it isn't nearly enough to carry this team. Frank Gore is not, and will never be, Adrian Peterson. The passing game is lacking in receivers and at quarterback. This team may have the desire to win, but with their schedule against the AFC South and NFC North, I don't see them breaking .500. With Detroit and St. Louis to close out the season, they might tack on a few victories at the end and improve their record (like they have the last few years) but they're still far away from catching Arizona as the class of the division. They luck out by getting to play St. Louis and Seattle twice each, but this team remains a year or two away from being a serious contender.
After a summer-long journey of voting, the 2008 Picture of the Year tournament is finished. It was actually done on Thursday, before the 2009 season started, but we didn't get around to posting it until now.
Not surprisingly, the #1 overall seed in the tournament brought home the bacon with a 23-0 shutout in the championship match.
Without further ado, your 2008 Picture Of The Year
For starters, the biggest victory tonight was that no one got injured. Don't worry about Arizona's offense moving the ball on our defense. We ran the most basic defensive schemes tonight. The X blitz that is a signature of the Steelers defense was not used once. So don't worry, the defense will be just fine. The most impressive players tonight were obviously the rookies. They all showed some flashes of their potential, from Ziggy's sack, to Burnett's INT, Wallace's big catch over the middle, Lewis making plays on special teams, Urbik and Shipley mixing it up in the trenches, and Frank the Tank making some great blocks.
For pregame entertainment, the Steelers had some frisbee-catching dogs. This turned out to be extra-entertaining when one of the dogs caught a frisbee, then took a squat and crapped on the field. A highly embarrassed field worker had to come out with a shovel and scrape it up before the players came out.
Parker, Hartwig and the Diesel were held out of the game because of minor injuries. Stapleton was out as well, as he is still recovering from knee surgery.
Recap
The Steelers started things off strong by winning the toss and electing to receive.
The highly anticipated Mike Wallace is forced to take a knee on the opening kickoff after Rackers booms it into the end zone.
Ben takes a wack and hits Hines on the second play from scrimage. An offsides penalty sets up 3rd and short. Mendenhall gets the first short-yardage carry and comes through with a good run to move the chains. Mendenhall gets a few and Heath snags one to set up a 3rd and 3. On the 6th play from scrimage, Willie Colon gets a penalty.
Out of the Fortress of Solitude, Superman flies in and pounds a punt, pinning Arizona inside the 20.
Willie Gay makes a great play on his first down as a starting CB, reaching around Boldin to break up a pass. After a Hightower run, Breaston the Steelers Killer reels one in for a 3rd down conversion. Warner goes play action and finds his tight end open down the seam for 17 yards to get close to Steelers territory. BSK picks up another 3rd and long, moving the ball across the 50. The Steelers defense holds again on first and second, setting up another 3rd and long. LaMarr Woodley makes a killer move to get pressure, forcing Warner to step up, then keeps up pursuit and slams Warner to the turf, forcing the punt.
Pinned back at the 8, the offense comes out passing. Ben does his Ben thing and shakes off two defensive linemen, then totally schools Clark Haggans, scrambling out of a safety and turning it into a 3-yard gain. Hines reels in his 2nd grab of the game for 13 yards and a first down. Arians breaks out the cliche offense, getting us into a 3rd and long, but Limas Sweed does his impression of the Steel Building and goes waaay up to snag a pass over the middle for the first down.
Justin Vincent comes in and slashes for a nice run, but a delay of game penalty sets the Steelers back, and Ben throws behind Sweed on a hot read on 3rd down. Superman comes in and booms another one.
Fitz makes his only catch of the game to set up 2nd and short. Warner goes play-action and whips one downfield for Breaston who has Gay beat. Polamalu gets on his horse and makes a dive for BSK as the ball comes in. Whether Troy slowed him up, or the ball was out of his reach, the ball falls out of BSK's fingertips.
Second Quarter
Arizona shows diversity in their offense and runs a draw play to Hightower for the first down. The Cards start to march down the field, mixing up runs and passes, moving into Steelers territory. Hightower gets slammed by Harrison and the ball comes out. The refs ruled him down, and Tomlin challenges. It was a close play, but the call on the field was upheld. Leinart comes in after the review, and looks a little shaky. Harrison gets pressure on 3rd down, forcing n incompletion and another punt.
Homestead Charlie comes in and Mendenhall makes his best run of the game for 5 yards. In his first pass attempt since the first preseason game last year, Batch goes downfield for Sweed streaking down the sidelines.
Sweed turns into the Highmark building and skies over 5'8" 180 cornerback Michael Adams for 45 yards to finally move into Arizona territory. Mendenhall carves up a few nice runs, setting up a 3rd and 3. Batch makes a very bad throw, and it luckily falls incomplete after nearly being picked off.
Jeff Reed comes in for his first kick of the season, and blasts it through all the way from Squirrel Hill.
3-0
Arizona's second-team offense matched up against our second-team defense. Former Steeler Sean Morey converts a 3rd and long, then BSK comes through with a few catches to move the ball into Steelers territory. Mixing up runs and passes, the Cards work there way deep into Steelers territory. They come up short on 3rd and long from the 15. With the ball on the 7, Whiz opts to go for it rather than tie the game. Leinart goes play action and gets serious pressure from Arnold Harrision the backfield and throws a terrible pass for the end zone, which gets batted around by a few Steelers and falls to the turf.
With 1:02 to go, the general sentiment in the crowd is to throw one deep for Wallace, then run the clock out if it's incomplete. Instead of throwing a fly route, Wallace runs a flag and Dixon underthrows him on the sidelines, almost getting it picked. The Cards use their last timeout after a running play with 53 seconds left. Rather than running the ball and punting with 15 seconds left, Arians decides to throw. Dixon goes downfield for Sweed, but it's incomplete stopping the clock and bringing Superman back in. Superman whacks a 49-yarder, and BSK calls a fair catch on the sideline.
Leinart gets the reigns back with 38 seconds, rather than the 10 he would have had if we had run on 3rd down. After a 7-yard pass on 2nd down, Arizona is forced to go no-huddle with no timeouts left. Leinart whips one down the field as time expires in the half. Anthony Madison makes a great defensive play inside of Sean Morey and snags an interception. Laundry from the backjudge signals the first terrible call of the season, and Madison is flagged for pass interference. After the replay, the crowd is quite unhappy as Madison had inside position and was fighting for the ball as much as Morey was. Rackers comes in and converts on an untimed down as the crowd boos the refs off the field and Tomlin gives them a piece of his mind.
3-3 Halftime
More frisbee dogs.
Third Quarter
Brian St. Pierre came into the game, along with RB LaRod Stephens-Howling from Pitt. The defense forced a 3-and-out, capped off by Bruce Davis blowing up a screen play in the backfield.
Dennis Dixon came on and looked a lot calmer than he had in his first series out. Aided by some solid running from Justin Vincent, Dixon was able to convert a 3rd and 6 and 3rd and 4 with passes to Shaun McDonald and Mike Wallace to get across midfield. On first down Dixon takes a look downfield but waits a tad too long to throw the ball, and Mike Wallace, who had beat the corner, has to come back for the ball. Wallace gets his hands on it, but isn't able to come down with it in the end zone. On 3rd and 11, Dixon threw a beautiful pass and hit Wallace in stride on a deep post route for 22 yards to get into field goal range. Dixon throws a great pass to Sweed on an out-route on the sideline, but Sweed can't hang on. Piotr Czech, who was brought in basically to give Reed's leg some rest in the preseason, misses a 36-yard field goal, keeping the game tied at 3.
The teams trade 3-and-outs, with booming punts from Graham and Superman.
As Arizona's next drive started, I turned to my dad and said, "LeBeau better tell the defense they need to score if we want to win this game, because the offense certainly isn't going to do it."
Right on cue, the defense delivers. Arizona gets set back on the first play by a holding call, pushing them to a 1st and 20 with only a few ticks left in the 3rd quarter. BSP drops back and eyes Urban the whole way. Joe Burnett makes a great jump on the ball and rips the interception from Urban hands with a lot of green in front of him. Burnett blows by BSP, but in making the move, gets caught from behind and pulled down at the 3.
Fourth Quarter
Isaac Redman, who scored twice in the goal line drill at camp last week, gets the first call.
Frank the Tank lines up as the blocking back and David Johnson is at tight end. Johnson starts by blocking down on the linemen, leaving the outside guy to Tank. As the backers read the play, Johnson peels off and blocks the first one (red circle), leaving the middle one (white circle) to have to come all the way across the field to make the play.
Redman keeps his legs moving and beats the linebacker to the corner for the first touchdown of the year. 10-3
Ziggy Stardust Hood makes some noise on the next series, recording his first sack of his career on 3rd down, forcing another punt.
Dennis Dixon runs the offense through Isaac Redman and Shaun McDonald. McDonald reels in 3 big 3rd down catches to move the Steelers into the red zone. Redman gets the call from the 9 and takes it down to the 5.
Redman gets the call again, and on a very similar play, finds paydirt once more. Unlike the previous goal line play where Arizona had the line stacked, they only have 4 "down" linemen here with 5 backers stacked across the goal line. Tank is once again responsible for blocking the outside guy. With only 4 down linemen, this frees up Jeremy Parquet (#77) and David Johnson to get a run at the linebackers protecting the goal line. Tank does a great job sealing up the outside. Johnson engages the backer closest to the sideline, while Parquet goes after the middle backer. The two on the nearside are too far away to make a difference in the play, leaving one unaccounted for. Johnson moves off his block and takes the free backer, giving Redman a path to the end zone behind Parquet and Johnson.
If you're a little confused with the play breakdowns, watch the video. 17-3
Former Pitt QB Tyler Palko comes in and leads Arizona down the field with some decent passes. What was more impressive, was Palko's escapability in the pocket. He moved around well and found some receivers on broken plays. He looked much better than BSP. Palko drove the Cards down the field in 5 plays, finishing it off with a 20-yard strike to a scrub receiver on a post pattern for the score.
17-10
With 3 1/2 to go, the Tank gets his chance to tote the rock and run out the clock. Arizona uses their first timeout after second down, forcing Arians (who doesn't understand situational football) into a passing situation. In a normal game at this juncture, you run the ball and make them burn another timeout. But Arians calls a pass, which inevitably is incomplete and stops the clock. Superman booms a 49-yarder.
On the first play from scrimage, Palko has one tipped and it falls right into the waiting arms of Bruce Davis for the interception. Redman comes back in and gets stopped 3 times, using up Arizona's last two timeouts. Czech is able to convert on a 44-yard field goal to prevent Overtime.
20-10
Palko moves the Cards down the field once again, using his legs and through the air, all the way to the Pittsburgh 13. Palko, running the no-huddle with no timeouts spikes the ball and the Booth calls down for a review. Pittsburgh gets tagged for a 12-men on the field penalty and Arizona moves even closer. Luckily, time was on our side and Palko wasn't able to find the end zone in 3 tries from the 8.
Game.
Players of the Game: Offensive Game Ball: Isaac Redman He had 2 TDs in his first NFL game. He kept his legs churning at the goal line and showed some good things. Defensive Game Ball: Joe Burnett In addition to his interception that set up the first score, Burnett played some good pass defense and made some nice hits.
Honorable Mentions: Limas Sweed Frank Summers Bruce Davis Ziggy Hood Shaun McDonald Dennis Dixon
Mr. Yuck Sticker of the Game Negative Fans
Really people? This is the preseason. If you're going to go to a game where you know the backups are going to play most of the game, don't spend the whole time complaining. We all know that Sweed had some trouble hanging on to the ball last year. That being said, just because he dropped one ball doesn't mean you should write him off for the whole season. Additionally, because Burnett fumbled once on a kick return, comments like "Oh great, another returner that can't hold onto the ball" are completely out of line. Really? It's the kid's first return opportunity in the NFL, you know he's going to be nervous. Give him a break. And honestly, we won the Super Bowl, do you really have anything to complain about?
Final Thoughts
Can't complain about winning...ever.
No one got injured either, that was the biggest victory.
Saw some impressive things out of the rookies. I like the idea of using Tank as a fullback. We haven't had a legit one since Kreider left. McHugh is good, but it would be great if Tank could play there too.
William Gay is the real deal. So is Lawrence Timmons.
2nd string O-line was dominant.
I'd like to see a little more from the first-string in the running game, but it's early, they have time to get up to par.
Dennis Dixon started slow, but showed some really good things as the game went on. We'll be seeing a lot of him this preseason.
