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Dan Arkush takes a look at the good, bad and the ugly of each team.
In Pro Football Weekly’s continuing series of division-by-division pre-training-camp closeups — while the NFL remains closed down with June about to turn into July — it’s my turn to take a look at the good and the bad issues that could have the biggest impact on each of the teams in the NFC West.
One could say there are a lot more “bads” than “goods” in what shapes up as the league’s weakest division for the second straight year. But as we all know, a team’s fortunes can change in a heartbeat in today’s NFL, where the journey from the outhouse to the penthouse is often jet-propelled.
Without further ado, let’s zoom in on the NFC West, for better or worse.
Arizona
Good: Cardinals receivers should enjoy greater flexibility in new coordinator Keith Rowen’s offense
Rowen, who most recently coached the tight ends in Kansas City’s highly regarded offense, plans on moving Arizona’s wideouts — the top three are Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson — around much more than was done last season. Last year, opposing defenses could look at films of the Cardinals’ offense and pretty much narrow it down to a couple of different plays on a regular basis. With a lot more formations and movement, a la the Colts, instilled this season, the hope is the Cardinals’ receivers will be much more difficult to track down.
Arkush’s take: This is definitely an upbeat situation for Fitzgerald and Boldin, both of whom were quite frustrated last year that they couldn’t put up better numbers. It’s an especially positive development for Boldin, who seemed miscast most of the time last season as a split end instead of playing the slot, where he excelled as a rookie. With Johnson providing a genuine deep threat and rookie J.J. Arrington looking like an intriguing target out of the backfield, Arizona’s passing game just might end up passing for a legitimate NFL aerial attack — with Fitzgerald and Boldin becoming one of the league’s most potent one-two punches, in no particular order.
Bad: Changing of the guards could be in order on Cardinals’ offensive line
There are more than a few potential chinks in the Cardinals’ offensive armor (QB Kurt Warner’s shaky track record the past two seasons … the lack of a legitimate starting tight end), but in this observer’s opinion, the team’s projected starting guards at the moment — Jeremy Bridges on the right side, Reggie Wells on the left side — leave a lot to be desired.
Arkush’s take: Dennis Green’s O-line was a major enigma last season from the moment he decided to cut its most solid member, C Pete Kendall, on the eve of training camp. The situation got even stranger when he decided to get rid of OL coach Bob Wylie six games into the season. Bridges and Wells are adequate at best, and Bridges, in particular is a work in progress. Fourth-round pick Elton Brown was expected by many to immediately contend for a starting job, but an early hamstring ailment has put him way behind in the OG pecking order. With his mobility on the downside, Warner is going to need steady protection. The worst thing would be for him to get that shell-shocked feeling that has been so prevalent with the Rams and Giants the last few seasons.
St. Louis
Good: Rams’ receiving corps is as loaded as it has been in some time
Most teams are happy when they can torture defenses with three dangerous receivers, but the NFL’s ultimate mad scientist, Mike Martz, isn’t totally happy unless he has at least four steady pass-catching threats, as was the case on his Super Bowl squads featuring Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Az-Zahir Hakim and Ricky Proehl. The Rams’ current WR quartet of Holt, Bruce, Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald bodes well for Marc Bulger’s future.
Arkush’s take: Curtis and McDonald can run like the wind, and both of them had their moments last season, especially Curtis, who could very well end up replacing the aging Bruce as the Rams’ No. 2 receiver. Don’t be surprised, though, if Martz, who has a reputation for too often disdaining the run, utilizes more of a power ball-control ground game this season, despite all the aerial firepower at his disposal. Nobody enjoys switching gears and messing with defensive coordinators’ minds more than Martz.
Bad: Rams could be playing with fire at safety positions
The plan to switch rangy Pisa Tinoisamoa from weak-side linebacker to strong safety, with incumbent SS Adam Archuleta moving to free safety, never got off the ground, as the Rams realized Tinoisamoa was a lot better off staying put. At the moment, the Rams are steering clear of actual “free” and “strong” safety designations, with Archuleta figuring to start at one spot and a host of challengers contending for the other.
Arkush’s take: Archuleta, whose back problems last year were so bad that he had trouble bending down to tie his shoes, says he feels 100 percent better this season, but pass coverage has never been his greatest strength. As for the challengers at the other safety spot, free-agent additions Michael Stone and Michael Hawthorne are the most proven commodities, and neither has done much to distinguish himself as a pro. The last line of defense on a unit that ranked 25th in points allowed and 29th against the run last season must be considered more than a bit wobbly heading into training camp.
San Francisco
Good: The Niners’ players appear to be buying into the vision of new head coach Mike Nolan and his impressive staff
As previous Niners head coach Dennis Erickson grew more and more frustrated, the team’s lack of direction became more and more obvious. Nolan has quickly changed the atmosphere for the better, in great part due to a cast of assistants with excellent credentials. Assistant head coach/LB coach Mike Singletary, RB coach Bishop Harris and WR coach Jerry Sullivan, among others, have drawn rave reviews in the early going.
Arkush’s take: Nolan is an easy-to-like NFL lifer at ease with the media in much the same way as Niners head coach Steve Mariucci. He also isn’t afraid at all of challenges and seems very determined to rise above the organizational frailties that have been recently exposed in San Francisco. In the weak NFC West, he could make the Niners’ presence felt a lot quicker than one might suspect.
Bad: The Niners’ players appear to be growing increasingly disillusioned with team’s shaky ownership
While Nolan seems to have had no problem getting his new troops to buy into his vision for the future and enthusiastically follow his lead, the same can’t be said for the team’s ownership, which appears to have turned off the players just as much as the Niners’ fan base. The word is, few players have been willing lately to represent the team in community endeavors off the field, as evidenced by the fact that not a single current player showed up at a recent meeting in Chinatown to mend fences with San Francisco’s Chinese-American community, which was so offended by the team’s now-infamous players-orientation video.
Arkush’s take: With the stink from the training-film controversy continuing to linger, one would think the Niners’ organization would be going out of its way to appease a fan base it had embarrassed so tactlessly. Think again. Recently, the team sent out an unbelievably ill-timed marketing survey asking fans if they would be willing to pay higher prices for tickets if the club decided to buy a new stadium. Daily observers are continually shocked by the organization’s lack of accountability — a problem that could get worse if there is any substance to the rumors that the team is planning on making its next P.R. director also a team vice president.
Seattle
Good: New team president Tim Ruskell appears to be the right man for the job
Ruskell quickly went out of his way to eliminate the obvious tension that had developed between Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren and Ruskell’s predecessor, Bob Whitsitt. He re-signed most of the team’s key free agents (OLT Walter Jones, QB Matt Hasselbeck, among others) and concentrated on adding players with strong character (Jamie Sharper, Joe Jurevicius) while getting rid of bad apples such as Anthony Simmons, Chris Terry and, most recently, Koren Robinson.
Arkush’s take: It was exceedingly difficult to put a finger on just what ailed the Seahawks last season as they struggled so mightily to take charge of a division that they figured to dominate on paper. Perhaps departed free agent Chike Okeafor provided the best answer, when he jumped at the chance to play for the division-rival Cardinals, a team he said had more players who shared his same never-say-die work ethic. Ruskell is going to great pains to make the Seattle players more fired up and focused on the field and more responsible off the field. Should be interesting.
Bad: RB Shaun Alexander has yet to sign his one-year franchise tender
The Seahawks’ relationship with its undisputed centerpiece remains scarily shaky, with Alexander showing no indication at present that he will sign his tender — the initial step toward possible negotiations for a new contract when talks are allowed to resume at the end of July. Despite the fact Alexander is coming off a monster season, falling one yard short of the league rushing title, the Seahawks have hardly gone out of their way to re-up with him, at one point putting him on the trade market for a mere second-round pick.
Arkush’s take: I could be wrong, but I see Alexander following directly in the footsteps of teammate Walter Jones, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the dreaded franchise tag by skipping Seattle’s training camp for three straight seasons. If Alexander follows this course of action, it remains to be seen if he would be as effective as Jones was without the benefit of a full summer’s practice time. In any event, a holdout continuing into the regular season doesn’t seem likely.
Problems in Niner camp , Seattle camp and on Defense in lambs camp; We need Warner and JJ to play well. He might be right about the gaurds.
Gbr
40
In Pro Football Weekly’s continuing series of division-by-division pre-training-camp closeups — while the NFL remains closed down with June about to turn into July — it’s my turn to take a look at the good and the bad issues that could have the biggest impact on each of the teams in the NFC West.
One could say there are a lot more “bads” than “goods” in what shapes up as the league’s weakest division for the second straight year. But as we all know, a team’s fortunes can change in a heartbeat in today’s NFL, where the journey from the outhouse to the penthouse is often jet-propelled.
Without further ado, let’s zoom in on the NFC West, for better or worse.
Arizona
Good: Cardinals receivers should enjoy greater flexibility in new coordinator Keith Rowen’s offense
Rowen, who most recently coached the tight ends in Kansas City’s highly regarded offense, plans on moving Arizona’s wideouts — the top three are Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson — around much more than was done last season. Last year, opposing defenses could look at films of the Cardinals’ offense and pretty much narrow it down to a couple of different plays on a regular basis. With a lot more formations and movement, a la the Colts, instilled this season, the hope is the Cardinals’ receivers will be much more difficult to track down.
Arkush’s take: This is definitely an upbeat situation for Fitzgerald and Boldin, both of whom were quite frustrated last year that they couldn’t put up better numbers. It’s an especially positive development for Boldin, who seemed miscast most of the time last season as a split end instead of playing the slot, where he excelled as a rookie. With Johnson providing a genuine deep threat and rookie J.J. Arrington looking like an intriguing target out of the backfield, Arizona’s passing game just might end up passing for a legitimate NFL aerial attack — with Fitzgerald and Boldin becoming one of the league’s most potent one-two punches, in no particular order.
Bad: Changing of the guards could be in order on Cardinals’ offensive line
There are more than a few potential chinks in the Cardinals’ offensive armor (QB Kurt Warner’s shaky track record the past two seasons … the lack of a legitimate starting tight end), but in this observer’s opinion, the team’s projected starting guards at the moment — Jeremy Bridges on the right side, Reggie Wells on the left side — leave a lot to be desired.
Arkush’s take: Dennis Green’s O-line was a major enigma last season from the moment he decided to cut its most solid member, C Pete Kendall, on the eve of training camp. The situation got even stranger when he decided to get rid of OL coach Bob Wylie six games into the season. Bridges and Wells are adequate at best, and Bridges, in particular is a work in progress. Fourth-round pick Elton Brown was expected by many to immediately contend for a starting job, but an early hamstring ailment has put him way behind in the OG pecking order. With his mobility on the downside, Warner is going to need steady protection. The worst thing would be for him to get that shell-shocked feeling that has been so prevalent with the Rams and Giants the last few seasons.
St. Louis
Good: Rams’ receiving corps is as loaded as it has been in some time
Most teams are happy when they can torture defenses with three dangerous receivers, but the NFL’s ultimate mad scientist, Mike Martz, isn’t totally happy unless he has at least four steady pass-catching threats, as was the case on his Super Bowl squads featuring Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Az-Zahir Hakim and Ricky Proehl. The Rams’ current WR quartet of Holt, Bruce, Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald bodes well for Marc Bulger’s future.
Arkush’s take: Curtis and McDonald can run like the wind, and both of them had their moments last season, especially Curtis, who could very well end up replacing the aging Bruce as the Rams’ No. 2 receiver. Don’t be surprised, though, if Martz, who has a reputation for too often disdaining the run, utilizes more of a power ball-control ground game this season, despite all the aerial firepower at his disposal. Nobody enjoys switching gears and messing with defensive coordinators’ minds more than Martz.
Bad: Rams could be playing with fire at safety positions
The plan to switch rangy Pisa Tinoisamoa from weak-side linebacker to strong safety, with incumbent SS Adam Archuleta moving to free safety, never got off the ground, as the Rams realized Tinoisamoa was a lot better off staying put. At the moment, the Rams are steering clear of actual “free” and “strong” safety designations, with Archuleta figuring to start at one spot and a host of challengers contending for the other.
Arkush’s take: Archuleta, whose back problems last year were so bad that he had trouble bending down to tie his shoes, says he feels 100 percent better this season, but pass coverage has never been his greatest strength. As for the challengers at the other safety spot, free-agent additions Michael Stone and Michael Hawthorne are the most proven commodities, and neither has done much to distinguish himself as a pro. The last line of defense on a unit that ranked 25th in points allowed and 29th against the run last season must be considered more than a bit wobbly heading into training camp.
San Francisco
Good: The Niners’ players appear to be buying into the vision of new head coach Mike Nolan and his impressive staff
As previous Niners head coach Dennis Erickson grew more and more frustrated, the team’s lack of direction became more and more obvious. Nolan has quickly changed the atmosphere for the better, in great part due to a cast of assistants with excellent credentials. Assistant head coach/LB coach Mike Singletary, RB coach Bishop Harris and WR coach Jerry Sullivan, among others, have drawn rave reviews in the early going.
Arkush’s take: Nolan is an easy-to-like NFL lifer at ease with the media in much the same way as Niners head coach Steve Mariucci. He also isn’t afraid at all of challenges and seems very determined to rise above the organizational frailties that have been recently exposed in San Francisco. In the weak NFC West, he could make the Niners’ presence felt a lot quicker than one might suspect.
Bad: The Niners’ players appear to be growing increasingly disillusioned with team’s shaky ownership
While Nolan seems to have had no problem getting his new troops to buy into his vision for the future and enthusiastically follow his lead, the same can’t be said for the team’s ownership, which appears to have turned off the players just as much as the Niners’ fan base. The word is, few players have been willing lately to represent the team in community endeavors off the field, as evidenced by the fact that not a single current player showed up at a recent meeting in Chinatown to mend fences with San Francisco’s Chinese-American community, which was so offended by the team’s now-infamous players-orientation video.
Arkush’s take: With the stink from the training-film controversy continuing to linger, one would think the Niners’ organization would be going out of its way to appease a fan base it had embarrassed so tactlessly. Think again. Recently, the team sent out an unbelievably ill-timed marketing survey asking fans if they would be willing to pay higher prices for tickets if the club decided to buy a new stadium. Daily observers are continually shocked by the organization’s lack of accountability — a problem that could get worse if there is any substance to the rumors that the team is planning on making its next P.R. director also a team vice president.
Seattle
Good: New team president Tim Ruskell appears to be the right man for the job
Ruskell quickly went out of his way to eliminate the obvious tension that had developed between Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren and Ruskell’s predecessor, Bob Whitsitt. He re-signed most of the team’s key free agents (OLT Walter Jones, QB Matt Hasselbeck, among others) and concentrated on adding players with strong character (Jamie Sharper, Joe Jurevicius) while getting rid of bad apples such as Anthony Simmons, Chris Terry and, most recently, Koren Robinson.
Arkush’s take: It was exceedingly difficult to put a finger on just what ailed the Seahawks last season as they struggled so mightily to take charge of a division that they figured to dominate on paper. Perhaps departed free agent Chike Okeafor provided the best answer, when he jumped at the chance to play for the division-rival Cardinals, a team he said had more players who shared his same never-say-die work ethic. Ruskell is going to great pains to make the Seattle players more fired up and focused on the field and more responsible off the field. Should be interesting.
Bad: RB Shaun Alexander has yet to sign his one-year franchise tender
The Seahawks’ relationship with its undisputed centerpiece remains scarily shaky, with Alexander showing no indication at present that he will sign his tender — the initial step toward possible negotiations for a new contract when talks are allowed to resume at the end of July. Despite the fact Alexander is coming off a monster season, falling one yard short of the league rushing title, the Seahawks have hardly gone out of their way to re-up with him, at one point putting him on the trade market for a mere second-round pick.
Arkush’s take: I could be wrong, but I see Alexander following directly in the footsteps of teammate Walter Jones, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the dreaded franchise tag by skipping Seattle’s training camp for three straight seasons. If Alexander follows this course of action, it remains to be seen if he would be as effective as Jones was without the benefit of a full summer’s practice time. In any event, a holdout continuing into the regular season doesn’t seem likely.
Problems in Niner camp , Seattle camp and on Defense in lambs camp; We need Warner and JJ to play well. He might be right about the gaurds.
Gbr
40
