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Hi Folks,
Welcome to Sunday. Hope you're having a good weekend - we're rocking along here. We've got the news and notes you need so let's get to it.
J
New York Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw is expected to receive a majority of the goal line carries this season.
Footballguys' view: Bradshaw is a good inside/out runner and not afraid to run between the tackles. We'll see if his body can hold up with this increased workload in 2012. Rookie David Wilson is his primary backup, but he could be an effective feature back if given the opportunity.
Arizona Cardinals WR Michael Floyd is reportedly not in great shape, which explains why he currently is projected as the team's No. 4 wide receiver. There are also some early questions about his quickness and work ethic.
Footballguys' view: Those concerns also arose after he missed several days of Larry Fitzgerald's personal WR camp. Floyd is going to start as fourth on the depth chart behind Fitzgerald, Early Doucet, and Andre Roberts. He has the ability to be a WR1 in the NFL, but will need to work his way up. The team is not going to rush his development and Floyd may not have much of a fantasy impact early this season.
Arizona Cardinals WR Andre Roberts is the favorite to start opposite WR Larry Fitzgerald at wide receiver.
Footballguys' view: Roberts has the speed to stretch the field, and will only see one-on-one coverage as teams focus on Larry Fitzgerald. This would make Early Doucet the team's slot WR, and rookie Michael Floyd would only see the field when the team went to a four-WR set.
Oakland Raiders RB Darren McFadden has missed 16 of his last 44 starts and has not gone one of his four pro seasons without sitting down because of injury.
Footballguys' view: It's a huge question mark for a player who has never played a full 16-game season. McFadden is clearly one of the best RBs in the game today and could finish the year as the best RB in fantasy football if only he could stay healthy. He's the centerpiece of the Raiders offense and will get the majority of the workload at the RB position once again this year.
Denver Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway said the team will need more than QB Peyton Manning to be considered a Super Bowl favorite this upcoming season. 'One guy doesn't win a world championship for you, even though he gives you a hell of a chance to be able to compete,' Elway said. 'As I told (Manning), my job is to get the best quality people around him, the best coaches to give us the opportunity to win a world championship. It's fun to be able to put that puzzle together, but there are so many different pieces to put in a team that has the ability to win a world championship.'
Footballguys' view: The team is hopeful a Jack Del Rio led defense can help the team go further than it did last year. Having Manning under center will mean fewer three and outs, thus the defense should be fresher when they step onto the field. Manning is also going to be helped out by a strong ground game. John Fox loves to run the ball and that sentiment won't simply disappear because of a new QB. Willis McGahee and Ronnie Hillman will help the Broncos immensely on what they hope can be a deep run into the playoffs.
New York Jets QB Tim Tebow has been working out with a throwing guru on the campus of the University of Southern California for the past week. Tebow has spent the past five days making adjustments to his throwing motion under the tutelage of Tom House, a former major league pitcher now working as a volunteer pitching coach at USC.
Footballguys' view: We give a lot of credit to Tebow for working on his biggest flaw (passing mechanices). However, Tebow's mechanics will never be textbook and we'd rather see him work on making quicker decisions with the football. Tebow needs better anticipation and pre-snap reads if he's going to show improvement as a passer.
San Diego Chargers RB Ronnie Brown and FB Le'Ron McClain are considered the favorites for complementary touches behind starting RB Ryan Mathews heading into training camp and the preseason.
Footballguys' view: Mathews is going to get a huge workload this season and could finish the year as a top 5 fantasy RB. When he needs a breather we feel the team will rely mostly on Brown. However, if it's a short-yardage situation then we could see them look to the bigger and more powerful McClain.
Baltimore Ravens RB Anthony Allen is likely to open training camp July 26 as the primary backup to starting RB Ray Rice. Allen will be trying to hold off RBs Damien Berry, Bernard Pierce and Bobby Rainey.
Footballguys' view: Allen may begin the season as the primary backup behind Ray Rice, but if you're looking for a handcuff look elsewhere. We think rookie Bernard Pierce is the true backup and should win the job in training camp. Pierce is a more naturally gifted runner than Allen, and has better speed in the open field.
The Green Bay Packers may consider trading WR James Jones at some point if a serious need at another position develops.
Footballguys' view: The Packers may have a serious need at backup QB as they currently have Graham Harrell as their QB2 behind Aaron Rodgers. Jones has the ability to be a starter, but is buried on the depth chart in Green Bay.
The Denver Broncos are expected to sign second-round draft choice QB Brock Osweiler and third-round draft choice RB Ronnie Hillman before the start of training camp.
Footballguys' view: Osweiler would like to be paid a QB premium even though he was a late second-round pick. We have a feeling the Broncos will be able to put in some incentives/bonuses to make the young QB happy. Training camp starts Thursday and both should be there from day one.
Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey remained coy regarding the battle for the team's No. 2 quarterback job, only saying QBs Tyler Thigpen and Vince Young will battle it out during training camp and the preseason. 'I think it's going to be a good competition,' Gailey said. 'Tyler has the advantage of being here and being in the system. Vince has the advantage of playing in games and the experience. Vince has more experience than Tyler. Tyler has more experience in this offense than Vince. So there's a trade-off there. It depends on who ends up doing the best job during the course of the entire preseason.'
Footballguys' view: We have a feeling Young should win this job. He's more physically gifted than Thigpen and has a stronger arm. We'll see this competition play itself out during training camp. The loser of this battle has a good chance of being cut by the team if they choose to only carry two QBs on the roster.
Southern California QB Matt Barkley said he is confident he would have been selected ahead of Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III if he had declared for the 2012 NFL Draft. 'I had confidence in that - I think I could have been,' Barkley said.
Footballguys' view: Barkley is likely going to be the first overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. We like his ability as a pocket passer, but getting drafted ahead of RG3 would have been too close to call.
Former NFL QB Brett Favre said the reason he decided to forgo retirement in 2010 and return to the Minnesota Vikings was due to financial reasons. 'The money was too good,' Favre said. 'I hate to say it's about money, but I felt the money was a lot.' The Vikings lured Favre back for a 20th season with a contract worth upwards of $20 million.
Footballguys' view: That type of money would be hard for anyone to resist. It's refreshing to hear Favre answer honestly.
Cleveland Browns RB Trent Richardson, Minnesota Vikings OT Ryan Kalil, Jacksonville Jaguars WR Justin Blackmon, Dallas Cowboys CB Morris Claiborne, Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill, Kansas City Chiefs DT Dontari Poe, Tennessee Titans WR Kendall Wright, Cleveland Browns QB Brandon Weeden, Detroit Lions OT Riley Reiff and Pittsburgh Steelers OG David DeCastro are the remaining first-round draft picks left to be signed.
Footballguys' view: With training camp starting for most teams in the next 7-10 days we feel all of these picks will be signed very soon. The new rookie wage scale will prevent the long holdouts we used to see.
Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey said the 2012 version of the team is his deepest yet. 'Not even close,' Gailey said. '(General manager) Buddy (Nix) and I laugh from time to time. It's a good laugh. We were trying to find 53 players that we thought could help us win that first year. This year we may have to let some good football players go that we wouldn't even have thought about (releasing) two years ago.'
Footballguys' view: The Bills have been patient in constructing the current incarnation of the team. They'll have the best defensive front 4 in the league, and improved secondary, and a RB corps featuring two dangerous weapons (Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller). These are just a few of the reasons why we think the Bills could push for a playoff spot in 2012.
Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo said he expects WR Dez Bryant to come back to the team stronger than ever following a domestic altercation with his mother. 'He had a great offseason, he's improved tremendously in the last six months, and he's going to have a good season this year and he's going to continue to develop as a football player,' Romo said.
Footballguys' view: We like the optimism from Romo here, but we'll believe it when we see it. It's now or never for Bryant. He's got the natural physical talent to be one of the top 5 WRs in the game today. However, in two years he's had only one 100-yard game, no 1,000-yard seasons, and has not made the impact the Cowboys expected when they selected him in the first-round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
The San Diego Chargers signed RB Jackie Battle Friday, July 20, making things much tougher for RBs Edwin Baker, Curtis Brinkley and Michael X. Hayes heading into training camp and the preseason.
Footballguys' view: The team lost FB Mike Tolbert in free agency, and Battle will compete with Le'Ron McClain to help fill that void. We don't expect Battle to get as many touches as Tolbert but he does have the versatility to contribute as a runner and receiver out of the backfield. Norv Turner has said the team will give RB Ryan Mathews 'as much as he can handle' this year.
The St. Louis Rams may decide to move CB Trumaine Johnson to safety during training camp.
Footballguys' view: Johnson is position versatile and it's one of the many reasons he was such an intriguing prospect in the 2012 NFL Draft. The converted WR has the size, speed, and body control to make plays on the football. Johnson also has high football intelligence and can quickly diagnose plays as they unfold in front of him.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers DT Roy Miller is expected to be on the roster bubble during training camp. Miller's playing time likely will decrease if he does make the roster unless there is an injury.
Footballguys' view: Miller is a high motor player who gets by on heart and hustle. The Bucs could choose to keep him and use him in a limited role. This may prevent him from wearing down as the season goes on.
Atlanta Falcons LB Lofa Tatupu (pectoral) is scheduled to meet with Dr. James Andrews Monday, July 23, to determine the extent of his pectoral injury.
Footballguys' view: It's never a good sign when a player has to meet with Dr. Andrews. Tatupu is unlikely to participate in training camp, and could begin the season on the PUP list.
That'll do it for today. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great rest of your weekend. We'll see you tomorrow with the update.
Peace,
J