2013 Offseason Update, Week 12

The Jaguars showed off three of their four new uniforms last week. From left to right,
Eugene Monroe, Uche Nwaneri, Mercedes Lewis. Photo credit to NY Daily News.

Thursday marked the start of the 2013 NFL Draft. There wasn’t too much to get excited about at the top end, but there was plenty of depth and a few steals along the way. But the draft wasn’t the only news of the week, so let’s get into everything.

Jaguars New Uniforms

The Jacksonville Jaguars unveiled their new look, which you can see in the cover photo for this post. Changing uniform looks has worked for some teams in the past (e.g., the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Seahawks). But I have a feeling Jacksonville will need more than a new look if they want the taste of success that has eluded them since Tom Coughlin left.

That said, I really like the new uniforms. The coolest part is the helmet. The matte black in the front fades into gold in the back of the helmet. I’m always a fan of taking chances in uniform fashion. Well, almost always. The Pittsburgh Steelers striped uniforms may be the ugliest I’ve ever seen in any sport.

NFL Draft

Eric Fisher (OT, Central Michigan) and Luke Joeckel (OT, Texas A&M) were taken first and second overall by the Chiefs and Jaguars, respectively. Both teams are in dire need of help on the offensive line. Still, it isn’t common for O-Linemen to go so high, especially two of them.

The first quarterback taken off the board was EJ Manuel of Florida State. The Bills selected him in the middle of the first round, and he remained the only quarterback taken on day one. The Jets used the 38^th overall pick on West Virginia QB Geno Smith, who was considered a Heisman frontrunner early last season after throwing for 656 yards and 8 touchdowns against Baylor. He completed 45 of 51 passes in that game, showing that he can be very accurate. He faded down the stretch last season though, which is why he fell out of the first round.

The Chargers traded up in the second round to draft Manti Te’o, the subject of a girlfriend hoax. The Chargers have been looking for a signature linebacker since Shawne Merriman’s career flamed out. Manti had a rough combine, but he has a great work ethic and could be a perfect fit in San Diego.

Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly selected Matt Barkley, rival USC’s quarterback, with the Eagles’ 4^th round pick.  Barkley was a pretty accurate quarterback in college but likely fell to the 98^th pick because of other USC quarterbacks who have not faired so well in the NFL. He has the potential to be considered the steal of the 2013 draft.

Another guy with that potential is Marcus Lattimore, the South Carolina running back who fell to the 131^st overall pick (a compensatory pick in the 4^th round). He injured his right knee against Tennessee and Dr. James Andrews performed his surgery. He is expected to be able to play again, but we don’t know when. James Andrews performed Adrian Peterson’s surgery and he came back as good as ever. We are also waiting to see how Robert Griffin III comes back after Andrews performed his knee surgery.

Carter to try out for Minnesota, Montana for 49ers

Two young men who were not drafted have been invited to try out for their fathers’ teams. Duron Carter, a wide receiver from Florida Atlantic, is the son of Cris Carter, who will be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this August. He was invited, after the draft ended, to try out for the Minnesota Vikings. There were some early reports that the Vikings were going to sign Carter, but for now it is nothing more than a tryout.

Nate Montana flamed out at Notre Dame and moved around a bit, finishing up with a year at Division II West Virginia Wesleyan. He’s more than a long shot to make an NFL roster. If Carter’s tryout with Minnesota is more than just a favor to an old superstar, there’s no way the same can be said for Nate Montana. His dad was the greatest quarterback in NFL history by the time he retired, and is still widely regarded as such.

Still, I hope both kids perform well enough to make it.

Tebow Released

Once again, the Jets get the last story in my weekly update. Last week, they had just completed a trade sending their best player to Tampa Bay. This time, they released Tim Tebow after a very bizarre year. Following the draft, New York found themselves overstocked on quarterbacks, with six of them. So they released Tim Tebow so he can, hopefully, find a home with a team that will actually use him. Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez are going to be competing for the starting job; the Jets would be fools to not have Smith starting by Week 1.

Right now, I’m not sure there is an optimal home for Tim Tebow. Jacksonville would still be a good spot for him, but he would have to switch positions with just about any other team.

If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.

2013 Offseason Update, Week 11

Pat Summerall (left) suffered a cardiac arrest and died last Tuesday. Summerall and
John Madden (right) called football games together for 22 years; 1979-1994 for CBS
and 1994-2002 for FOX. Photo credit to Yahoo! Sports.

I’m going to jump right into this week’s news.

Pat Summerall

John Madden’s former partner passed away last Tuesday at the age of 82. He suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. John Madden’s words were much more eloquent than mine would be, so here is what he said last week:

“Pat was my broadcasting partner for a long time, but more than that, he was my friend for all of these years. We never had one argument, and that was because of Pat. He was a great broadcaster and a great man. He always had a joke. Pat never complained and we never had an unhappy moment. He was something very special. Pat Summerall is the voice of football and always will be.”

NFL Schedule Release

The 2013 regular season schedule was released on Thursday night. I broke my usual mid-week silence on Friday to post my thoughts on the schedule. Check out that blog post here.

Rex Ryan Talks Baseball

Well, not exactly. What really happened was that he blasted the Orioles for not doing enough to allow the Ravens to play the NFL Kickoff Game at home, as every Super Bowl champion has done since 2004. The Orioles offered to play their game earlier in the day, but that was not enough because the two Baltimore sports teams share a parking lot and there was no way to ensure that it would be empty hours before the Ravens game.

Crab cakes and football; that’s the essence of the state of Maryland. Most people want the Ravens to be able to host the NFL Kickoff game. But I think the majority of people are over it now and know that opening the season on the road in Denver might actually be advantageous to them as the season wears on.

In any case, this was not Rex Ryan’s battle in the first place, even if he did coach with the team from 1999-2008.

Darrelle Revis Traded

This one just came through yesterday. Revis was traded to the Buccaneers for a couple of draft picks, including Tampa Bay’s #13 overall pick.

I feel bad for what Jets fans have to go through. As a Redskins fan myself, I appreciate the task of cheering for a team whose executives make boneheaded decisions. Thankfully, those days appear to be behind us in the D.C. area. Jets fans may have a while to wait for brighter days. New York would have received the other pick just by letting Revis go and sign with another team. So they essentially traded Revis for a first round pick. In other drafts, maybe that would be fair. But this draft isn’t very top heavy and you don’t use a first round pick for depth.

If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.

2013 NFL Schedule Release

The Denver Broncos will host the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Kickoff game
on September 5, 2013. The game is a rematch of their double-OT divisional
round playoff game. Photo credit to Football Perspective.

Last night, the National Football League finally released the 2013 regular season schedule, prompting me to publish something between my regular Monday updates. Of course, we already knew the 16 matchups each team would have on their schedule. But the order can be just as important, and we didn’t have that until now.

The schedule features plenty of exciting matchups. As a Redskins fan, of course their schedule was the first I looked at. I will start by counting down my top 5 games on the Redskins’ schedule for 2013. After that, I will count down my top 5 prime time games and my top 5 non-prime time games for other teams across the NFL.

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Must-Watch Games: Washington Redskins

5.            Week 1 (Sept. 9), vs Philadelphia Eagles

This game will mark Chip Kelly’s first regular season game in the NFL. Though this one game won’t even begin to help us predict his future success in the league, it will give us a taste of his coaching style and what we’ll be going up against twice a year from now on.

Of course, Robert Griffin III is hoping to be back by this game. If he is, this game in important because it will give us a sense of whether he truly is at 100% or if weaker tendons in his knees will lead to limitations moving forward. If he is not back yet, we will see the product of Kirk Cousins’s offseason work as the team’s #1 quarterback.

4.            Week 9 (Nov. 7), at Minnesota Vikings

By this time, either Christian Ponder or Matt Cassell should be firmly in the starting quarterback position. Any game with Adrian Peterson is an important one to watch. Plus, the Redskins needed an electric touchdown run for RGIII to secure the home win against Minnesota in 2012.

3.            Week 2 (Sept. 15), vs Green Bay Packers

If there’s ever a preferable time to face Green Bay in Lambeau Field, early in the season is it. That’s exactly what they will get in their 1:00 kickoff against Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, and the Packers.

Green Bay is probably the better team, but the Redskins are 4-0 against Super Bowl winners over the past 4 years, so they’ve beaten better teams before. Should be a great game.

2.            Week 8 (Oct. 27), at Denver Broncos

Come on, it’s a game against a playoff team, one of the best teams in the AFC, and it features Peyton Manning, my favorite player in the NFL. You had to expect this would be on my list.

1.            Week 15 (Dec. 15), at Atlanta Falcons

In fact, you may have been surprised that Denver didn’t fill this spot. I’m not completely biased. The Falcons have made some terrific offseason moves and Tony Gonzalez is returning for one more year (maybe more – he’s borderline Favre-ing, except we don’t want Gonzalez to just go away). On paper, this is the best team in the National Football League, and it’s not even close.

Washington gave them a good game early in the 2012 season. This game, coming late in the season when Washington was at its best last year, could be a classic, with the Redskins fighting to secure a playoff spot and the Falcons on the brink of clinching home field advantage.

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Must-Watch Games: Prime Time

5.            Week 4 (Sept. 29), New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons

Interconference matchups are always exciting because each team only gets four of them a year, and only sometimes are more than one of them against a good opponent. As I mentioned, the Falcons might end up being the best team in the NFL, at least during the regular season. The Patriots are a bit of a question mark at this point in the offseason, but their coach/quarterback combination has led to terrific seasons even in their ‘off years.’

4.            Week 2 (Sept. 15), San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks

This will be the Seahawks home opener, after facing a weak Carolina team in Week 1. San Francisco will be coming off a home game against the Packers, so they’ll be geared up for what will be a tough contest. Both of these teams have been big players in the offseason and should start the season in the top 5 in NFL.com’s Power Rankings.

3.            Week 1 (Sept. 5), Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos

You might notice that this is my only non-Sunday prime time matchup on this list. Unfortunately, Mondays are pretty weakly scheduled for the most part this season.

The Ravens will open the season on the road on Thursday Night Football in a rematch of their divisional round playoff game, which took a little more than one overtime to decide. The good news is that they have more time to prepare for this game than they would have if they had to play in Denver in the middle of the season. So, as one NFL Network analyst mentioned on Wednesday night (I forget who it was), this could be considered an advantage for Baltimore, despite not getting to open the season at home as the Super Bowl victor traditionally gets to do.

2.            Week 12 (Nov. 24), Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

It’s the classic Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning rivalry we all love so much. We took it for granted before Manning’s neck injury. Now that it’s back, it should be appreciated a little more since both players are approaching the ends of their careers. Of course, the other big storyline to this game will be Wes Welker’s homecoming.

1.            Week 16 (Dec. 22), New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens

This is the second consecutive year that we will get a regular season rematch of an AFC Championship game played between these two teams. The Patriots won the 2011 AFC title game, but Baltimore beat them in the regular season rematch last season. The Ravens won again to advance to Super Bowl XLVII. Who will win this year’s, late-season rematch?

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Must-Watch Games: Non-Prime Time

5.            Week 1 (Sept. 8), Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers

For the second year in a row, the Packers and 49ers will open the season against each other. The general consensus had been that 2011 was a fluke for San Francisco, but they came right out and proved everyone wrong. There is no longer any question that the 49ers for real. But was 2012 a fluke for Green Bay or are they destined to be a borderline playoff team once again?

4.            Week 10 (Nov. 10), Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons

Again, two of the best teams in the NFL, let alone the NFC. The Seahawks look poised to be a much better team away from home this year. The Falcons, meanwhile, are probably the best home team in the league that doesn’t play in Seattle.

3.            Week 2 (Sept. 15), Denver Broncos at New York Giants

The best regular season quarterback in NFL history faces off with little Manning, who leads the family in Super Bowl bling. Manning vs Manning is a nice break from Manning vs Brady.

2.            Week 7 (Oct. 20), Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

Their Thanksgiving night matchup didn’t make my list of Prime Time must-watch games, but this is still one of the best rivalries in the NFL. The Steelers should be at least a little better than they were last year, when they gave the Ravens a couple of tough contests. Hopefully this year’s meetings will be more exciting than 2012’s.

1.            Week 1 (Sept. 8), Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

Sean Payton will be back on the sideline and the Saints defense can’t get any worse than it was last year, can it? This was quickly becoming the NFL’s current premier rivalry before the Bounty Scandal. Hopefully it will pick up where it left off in 2011.

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The Broncos, Falcons, 49ers, Patriots, Ravens, Redskins, and Seahawks really dominated those lists, didn’t they? Well six of them are some of the best teams in the league and the other is my favorite team – who, by the way, could be a great team again this year.

It makes sense that they dominate the ‘must-watch’ games. They are the best teams around and are pretty much guaranteed to make for good games throughout the season. Other teams are question marks and it will take two weeks or so to determine which other mid- to late-season matchups will be important to watch.

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That said, I have my eye on three Week 2 games which will hopefully answer some questions about the teams involved:

Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears

The Vikings were a playoff team in 2012 but with questions surrounding the quarterback position, there’s no telling what they’ll be able to do this year. And will Adrian Peterson get off to a quicker start in 2013 than he did last season? It might be the key to actually breaking Eric Dickerson’s record like he hopes to.

As for the Bears, they have a new head coach who is fresh out of the CFL. Will their defense be as good as it was in 2012? And will the offense be able to carry its weight?

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans

The Texans seemed so dangerous last season, but faded badly. Can Matt Schaub be a true franchise quarterback? That seems to be Houston’s biggest question.

As for Tennessee, will Jake Locker play as well this year as I expect him to? Will Chris Johnson play like the premier running back he seemed to be when he rushed for 2,000 yards? The Titans could be a good team, but there are still a lot of ‘ifs’ yet to be determined.

Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts

The Dolphins had a really good offseason. Not great, but solid. Their fans are very optimistic, many going so far as to say they will overtake the Patriots this year. I’ll believe it when I see it, but this game will be the first clue as to how close the Dolphins will come to doing so.

The Colts were a surprise in 2012, helped by a pretty easy schedule. These two teams are pretty evenly matched on paper, and winning games like this often tell you even more about a team than winning games against definitively better teams.

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It’s exciting to finally have a concrete schedule to look at in anticipation of the 2013 season. In the midst of a long offseason that sometimes seems to drag out, it’ll nice to get out of the lull with something like this.

Hopefully the length of this post didn’t bore you all too much and I was able to keep it interesting. Any thoughts are welcome in the comments section, whether they be praise or criticism (though I do hope it is constructive in either case).

I will be back on Monday with my weekly update. I also write for ACC Battles, so if you are into University of Maryland sports, check out my stuff there. To follow me on Twitter, my handle is @cpuffnfl.

2013 Offseason Update, Week 10

Antoine Winfield can lay down some big hits from the corner position
and will do so in a Seattle uniform in 2013. (AP Photo/Greg Trott)

It’s incredible that 10 weeks out of the offseason have already passed. You know what that means? We have 10 fewer weeks to wait for football!!

Things are slowing down around the league as the NFL draft approaches. We are now 10 days away as the draft will begin on Thursday, April 25 and run through that Saturday.

Antoine Winfield

The former Vikings cornerback seemed likely to sign with the Washington Redskins early last week. Then he visited Seattle and seemed to feel that he’d be a better fit there even though their secondary already appeared to be set. On Friday, Winfield signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Seahawks. It included $1 million in guaranteed money.

Sanders Back in Pittsburgh

New England made an offer to Pittsburgh Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders last week, and considering Pittsburgh’s limited cap space, it was unlikely they would match that offer.

Match it they did and the Steelers avoided losing a second important piece to their receiver Corps. Mike Wallace is with the Miami Dolphins.

This move doesn’t exactly make Pittsburgh a better team. They appear to be on the decline. What it does do is force the Patriots to look elsewhere for depth at the receiver position and helps Miami as they try to close the gap in the AFC East.

James Harrison to Find a Home?

The Cincinnati Bengals are very interested in the former Pittsburgh linebacker, and the interest appears mutual. There has not yet been any official word of contract negotiations between the two parties, but the plan was for them to engage each other today.

Voluntary Workouts Begin

Just another sign that football is on its way back, 21 teams began voluntary workouts today. Those teams included the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens and their fellow local team, the Washington Redskins.

If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.

2013 Offseason Update, Week 9

Nnamdi Asomugha struggled in Philadelphia after establishing himself
as an elite corner in Oakland. He hopes to return to his old form
across the Bay. Photo credit to CBS.

The later part of Week 9 did not bring much newsworthy updates, but the first three days brought plenty.

Secondary Moves

The Washington Redskins released DeAngelo Hall a few weeks ago, but last Monday they brought him back on a one-year contract.

The Oakland Raiders landed Tracy Porter, the former Super Bowl hero from the Saints who spent last season in Denver. Porter dealt with some health problems stemming from a seizure he experienced during the preseason, then suffered a concussion late in the season, so he wasn’t able to settle into Denver’s defensive scheme. The Raiders defense is looking pretty bad right now so this is a really nice addition for them.

Former Raider and Eagle, Nnamdi Asomugha, was signed by the 49ers on Tuesday. The secondary was probably the weakest part of San Francisco’s team, other than their kicker, in 2012. Though Asomugha never lived up to his expectations in Philly, less will be expected of him in San Francisco and hopefully he can have a little more success there.

Quarterbacks

The Redskins decided to get some depth at quarterback by resigning Rex Grossman and picking up former Dolphin Pat White, both on one-year contracts. They now have three healthy quarterbacks to work with while RGIII continues to recover.

The 49ers picked up former Longhorn Colt McCoy in a trade with the Browns. I’m a big fan of McCoy and San Francisco is a good place for him. They have a couple of really good halfbacks so if Kaepernick were to go down forcing McCoy into the starter role, he’ll have help. He never had that in Cleveland.

The Cardinals made a really nice move by grabbing Carson Palmer. Arizona will still be hard-pressed to contend with San Francisco and Seattle, but this move instantly made them a better team.

Kickers

Tampa Bay picked up Nate Kaeding on Tuesday. He is the second most accurate kicker in NFL history but hasn’t gotten to kick much since a season-ending injury on the opening kickoff of the 2011 season.

Detroit Loins kicker Jason Hanson retired last week and the team made a quick move to secure David Akers, who had a rough 2012 season. Akers owns the NFL single-season record for converted field goals, with 44 in 2011.

If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.

2013 Offseason Update, Week 8

Things didn't pan out for Kevin Kolb in Arizona, but he'll try again in Buffalo.
At least the Bills have a decent defense and a solid running game.

Before I get started on this week’s offseason update, I’d like to remind everyone to keep sophomore Louisville guard Kevin Ware in your prayers. By now you’ve all seen footage or pictures of his leg injury from yesterday’s basketball game. He has had surgery and a rod was placed in his tibia. He is expected to have a full recovery.

On to the NFL, several pieces of quarterback news came through in the past week, so we’ll start with that.

QB News

Most of this news involves players headed to new teams, but not Tony Romo. The Dallas quarterback signed a contract extension for $108 million over the next six years. $55 million of that contract is guaranteed money.

Free agent quarterbacks Jason Campbell and Kevin Kolb will get a change of scenery next year. The Cleveland Browns signed Campbell. He will start the offseason as Brandon Weeden’s backup but could have a chance to compete for the starting job if he performs well. Buffalo picked up Kolb to replace Ryan Fitzpatrick, signing him to a 2 year, $13 million contract.

News came over the wire today that the Seahawks have traded Matt Flynn to the Oakland Raiders for a 2014 draft pick and a conditional 2015 draft pick. This leaves Russell Wilson as the only quarterback on Seattle’s roster for the time being.

Tight Ends Staying Put

Last Monday, the Green Bay Packers decided to pick up the $3 million roster bonus in Jermichael Finley’s contract, keeping him with the team. The Packers already have lost Greg Jennings and, though they have a deep receiver corps, they couldn’t afford to lose the pass-catching tight end.

Fred Davis was getting looks from a couple of teams but decided to stick with the Washington Redskins. After Davis suffered a season ending injury early in the 2012 campaign, Logan Paulsen stepped up as Washington’s best receiving option at tight end. Davis will have competition.

One tight end is not staying put, however. Delanie Walker decided to leave San Francisco for the Tennessee Titans. Walker says he believes he has what it takes to be a starter in the NFL but knew he wouldn’t be able to do so with Vernon Davis in San Francisco. With Jared Cook gone in Tennessee, Walker should be the clear-cut starter at tight end in 2013.

Giant Defensive Moves

The Giants lost two defensive players to conference opponents on Wednesday. Linebacker Chase Blackburn decided to sign with the Carolina Panthers. Blackburn isn’t a ‘sexy’ player at linebacker, but he is all heart and his effort has helped him make big players during his career in New York, none bigger than deflecting a pass intended for Rob Gronkowski in Super Bowl XLVI.

Osi Umenyiora, meanwhile, will head to Atlanta. The Falcons have been making big moves throughout this offseason, but most have been on offense. Atlanta’s defense is now looking like one that will compliment their offense in a Super Bowl-winning kind of way.

If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.