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Hi Folks,
Welcome to the Weekend. Hope you're headed towards a nice Father's Day tomorrow. As I said yesterday, how about letting your kids get you something you really want this year - a Subscription to the Footballguys Insider. Forget the bad tie or grilling tongs, get yourself something you'll use all season long. Check out the Why Subscribe and order here.
Now let's get to the news and notes for today.
J
Joe Buscaglia, from WGR 550 in Buffalo, reports Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick thinks third-year RB C.J. Spiller is a 'changed man' and ready for a breakout season. "C.J. is a completely changed man. It's been apparent from day one of this off-season. I think the biggest thing with what he did at the end of the year last year, was he got his confidence. You just see how comfortable he is in this system now. I think he's ready to make a big jump. I think mentally he's made a big jump in the last year. With his confidence level where it is right now, we expect big things out of him this year. He really showed last year what he can do." Fitzpatrick said.
Footballguys' view: In six games last year filling in for an injured Fred Jackson he proved to be a valuable weapon out of the backfield. Spiller is looking to contribute more this year. He'll play in a RBBC with Jackson and we think he is a value player as a RB3 with upside in fantasy leagues.
Jim Wyatt, from the Tennessean, reports Titans WR Kenny Britt is back to cutting for the first time on his surgically repaired knee. Britt didn't expect to start cutting until next week. "They surprised the heck out of me today," Britt said. "And I did it without the brace, too. ... On my first one I was a little hesitant, but it felt good and after that, it was all out."
Footballguys' view: Good sign for the big WR here. Last season Britt was on fire at the beginning of the season until a week 3 knee injury against the Broncos. If healthy he should be back to form as a key piece in the Titans passing game.
The Arizona Cardinals may limit what RBs Beanie Wells (knee) and Ryan Williams (knee) do at the start of training camp and then increase their workload as camp goes on.
Footballguys' view: Williams is already back to sprinting and cutting on the knee injury that robbed him of his rookie season in 2011. He may be ahead of Wells in the recovery process. Williams is an important name to remember in fantasy drafts because if given the opportunity we feel he could perform like a RB2 with upside. His current ADP is RB40 at the beginning of the 9th round in standard 12-team leagues.
Dallas Cowboys executive vice president of player personnel Stephen Jones said the team believes WR Dez Bryant can become their No. 1 receiver if he is able to improve his play and play up to his potential. 'I think (Bryant) needs to be a No. 1 receiver,' Jones said. 'Not to take anything away from [WR Miles Austin], but I would submit to you that when we line up out there that the guy that they're most worried about is Dez. And he's got to be that guy, and even when they do try to stop him, the great ones still make a lot of plays. [QB Tony Romo] has got to be able to count on him, he's got to run the right routes at the right depths and be a precise route runner. Those are things he's got to improve on.'
Footballguys' view: Jones is right, Bryant has the physical potential to be an upper tier WR like Calvin Johnson or Andre Johnson. The problem has been conditioning and inconsistent preparation. Bryant was a star in college with his natural ability, but must become more serious about being a pro if he wants to play up to his incredible potential.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said QBs Tarvaris Jackson, Matt Flynn and Russell Wilson will continue their competition for the starting job when training camp begins. Carroll said Jackson will get the first reps but will try to give all three quarterbacks equal reps.
Footballguys' view: This competition may be too close to call right now, but we feel Matt Flynn will eventually win the starting job. If Flynn struggles during the season the team could turn to Russell Wilson. The rookie has been impressing in OTAs and minicamp this offseason and has a nice blend of arm strength, football intelligence, and athleticism.
The New England Patriots have not made much progress in long-term contract talks with WR Wes Welker over the last few weeks.
Footballguys' view: Welker signed his one-year Franchise Tender and is set to make around $11MM this season unless a long-term agreement can be reached. Teams have until July 16th to work out new contract with Franchise Players.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB LeGarrette Blount has been getting the majority of the carries with the first-team offense during organized team activities and minicamp. RB Doug Martin has received some reps with the starters this offseason.
Footballguys' view: Blount is not giving up the starting job without a fight. We think Martin eventually wins this job, and becomes the focal point of Greg Schiano's "back to basics" run heavy offense. Competition may be the best thing for Blount, and fantasy owners can handcuff him to Martin in the late 9th round.
Rich Cimini, from ESPN New York, reports Jets QB Tim Tebow still showed an elongated throwing motion in the team's recent minicamp.
Footballguys' view: Tebow worked with QB coach Noel Mazzonne this offseason but still has his trademark slow release. We don't think Tebow will develop much as a passer under Jets QB coach Matt Cavanaugh but he still may replace Mark Sanchez as the team's starter sometime this year.
Tim Graham, from the Buffalo News, reports via Twitter that Bills head coach Chan Gailey intends for WR Brad Smith to play as the team's third QB in 2012. This strongly suggests the loser of the Vince Young/Tyler Thigpen competition will be out of a job.
Footballguys' view: Smith can play as a Wildcat QB in addition to helping out as a WR in the passing game. Thigpen has plenty of experience playing under Gailey but we think Young is likely to win the primary backup job behind starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Mark Emmons, from the San Jose Mercury News, reports 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh indicated the backup QB position is still wide open after minicamp. Second-year QB Colin Kaepernick is competing with free agent addition Josh Johnson for the primary backup job behind Alex Smith.
Footballguys' view: The 49ers moved up in the second-round of last year's draft to select Kaepernick and he may be the QB of the future if he can develop his raw skill set. Johnson may have an edge here even though he came over from the Buccaneers this offseason. The veteran QB played under Harbaugh in college at the University of San Diego.
Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan said he believes TE Niles Paul can be successful as a pass catching tight end because of his speed and physical play. Shanahan said he is not sure how Paul will block until the team is able to put on pads.
Footballguys' view: Paul has RB-like run after the catch ability and could certainly be a nice move TE for the Redskins. When Paul came out of college some in the scouting community compared his game to former Broncos great (and Hall of Fame TE) Shannon Sharpe.
Denver Broncos QB Adam Weber worked as the No. 2 quarterback during minicamp this week. It is not known if Weber received those reps because he knows the playbook better than QBs Caleb Hanie and Brock Osweiler or if he will compete for the job during training camp.
Footballguys' view: Our very own Cecil Lammey was in attendance for Broncos minicamp this week and was not impressed with Weber. In fact, Lammey doubts that Weber will even make the team. They could perhaps put him on the Practice Squad to see if he develops further. Weber has a strong arm but lacks accuracy and doesn't do a good job of throwing his receivers open. Lammey thinks the rookie Osweiler could end up beating out Hanie to be the primary backup behind Peyton Manning.
The Denver Broncos continue to work on a long-term contract with franchise free-agent PK Matt Prater and the two sides are not far apart at this point.
Footballguys' view: Prater was a no show for mandatory minicamp this week and failed to show up to OTAs earlier this offseason. Even though the two sides are far apart right now we expect a deal to get done before training camp. With the new high powered offense led by Peyton Manning it could mean lots of fantasy points for Prater in 2012. His current ADP is K6 at the end of the 14th round in standard 12-team leagues.
New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said he has been impressed with how RB David Wilson has done this offseason but said Wilson will been more time to sharpen his skills. 'I don't know if we've had a guy as explosive, regardless of position, here,' Gilbride said. 'That's kind of exciting to see.'
Footballguys' view: Wilson is an extremely important rookie RB to keep an eye on. He led the nation in yards after contact last season at Virginia Tech, and will now back up Ahmad Bradshaw for the Giants. Wilson could be counted on more than some think as Bradshaw is known to get dinged up during the season. He's coming off the board at RB39 near the end of the 8th round in standard 12-team leagues.
New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said WR Rueben Randle has some things to work on but was impressed with how he performed during minicamp. 'Randle's demonstrated not only does he have a pretty good understanding of what we're trying to do,' Coughlin said, 'but he's put himself in position where's he made plays.' Randle is expected to compete for the No. 3 wide receiver job during training camp.
Footballguys' view: Randle should win the Giants WR3 job in training camp behind Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. His college stats at LSU weren't huge, but he played on a run heavy team with poor QB play. Randle came into college as the #1 athlete in the nation and converted from the QB position to become a dangerous big play WR. With the injury history of Hakeem Nicks it could make Randle even more valuable to the Giants (and fantasy owners) in 2012.
Baltimore Ravens LB Terrell Suggs (Achilles') said he is expects to play at some point this season but he is now not sure when he will be able to return.
Footballguys' view: Suggs initially said he would be back at the midway point of the season. However, he is rethinking that timetable as his rehab is coming along slower than expected. Many close to the team don't expect Suggs to play in 2012.