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The San Francisco 49ers play the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday in the second preseason game for both teams. Preseason football can be difficult to watch because the games don’t count and as the game progresses, you are watching many players that have little or no chance of making the opening day roster.
Don’t expect to see much of Frank Gore, Vernon Davis or Michael Crabtree. Nevertheless, there are a few players to focus on, who will make watching this game much more interesting. Obviously, all eyes will be on Alex Smith–when he is in there. In addition, three players to watch closely in the upcoming game are Anthony Davis, Taylor Mays and Dominique Zeigler. These three should play a lot and their progress is very important to the 49ers.
Right tackle Anthony Davis did not fare well in the first game, against the Colts. Robert Mathis, a top pass rushing defensive end beat him consistently. Davis seemed to have particular trouble blocking his man when he was left out in space. The 49ers were forced to give Davis help by leaving a back in to help block on pass plays. Sunday’s game will be a good indicator to see if Davis has progressed.
Safety Taylor Mays is another player to watch. Mays was decent in the first game, although he seemed to be feeling his way, and a half step late on many plays. Mays has the athleticism to be an impact player and it will be interesting to see if he plays more instinctively in this game.
The 49ers envision a safety tandem of Dashon Goldson and Mays, two hard-hitting play makers. Veteran Michael Lewis may begin the season as the starter, but it’s likely just a matter of time before Mays takes over the position.
Receiver Dominique Zeigler is the other player to watch. He has been impressive in training camp and if he can carry that over into the games, he will solidify his position on the team. With Kyle Williams out due to injury and Brandon Jones released, Zeigler will get plenty of chances to make some plays. He can also show his value by impressing on punt return duty. He should get that opportunity with Williams out. A good showing by Zeigler will ensure his roster spot and get him more playing time.
The 49ers are hoping for big contributions from Davis, Mays and Zeigler. Focusing on these three players will make this preseason game against the Vikings much more interesting to watch. Their development will be a key to the Niners’ success.
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Matt Forte burst onto the scene in 2008, rushing for 1,238 yards and 8 touchdowns. He was also an asset in the passing game, with 63 receptions for 477 yards and 4 touchdowns.
In his sophomore season he remained a solid receiver, though the touchdowns disappeared. He had 57 receptions for 471 yards, but didn’t score a touchdown. That regression was also prevalent in the running game, where he rushed for just 929 yards and scored 4 touchdowns.
Part of the change could have been based on philosophy, as his number of carries fell from 2008 to 2009:
2008 – 316 carries
2009 – 258 carries
The acquisition of Jay Cutler easily could have factored into that. In 2009 the Bears attempted 563 passes. In 2008, with Kyle Orton leading the offense, they attempted 528 passes.
A more pass-heavy offense certainly leads to fewer carries and hurts a runner’s ability to make an impact. Heading into 2010, with Mike Martz now in place as the offensive coordinator, you have to wonder if the number of carries will fall a little bit further.
It’s not like Forte has been overly impressive when he gets the carries, anyways. Even in his big season of 2008, he averaged less than four yards a carry. Last season he was at just 3.6 yards per carry.
Fumbles also became a major issue for him. He fumbled the ball just once in his rookie year, but coughed it up six times last year (and lost three of them). That was among the worst in the league and if it continues, will certainly cut into his playing time.
With Chester Taylor brought in from the Minnesota Vikings, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that happen. Taylor has spent the last few seasons playing understudy to Adrian Peterson, but is just a few years removed from a 1,216 yard campaign as a starter.
Neither back had much success in the first preseason game, with Taylor rushing for 10 yards and Forte rushing for 7 yards. I wouldn’t read too much into that, however.
Playing in Chicago, the weather is going to be an issue, especially late in the season. Even with the new Martz/Cutler marriage in place, it’s impossible to think that the team is just going to pass the ball all day long in December games. They have home games against the Jets and Patriots, as well as a road game in Green Bay. That means opportunity for Forte, but there are a ton of concerns surrounding him.
I’d consider him a low-end RB2, or a very good RB3 at this point, but nothing more. What about you? How good do you think Forte will be? Where would you draft him?
Make sure to check out some other recent player profiles:
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It was a bittersweet opening game for Chicago Bears fans. A 25-10 loss to the San Diego Chargers in the first preseason game showed us what the Bears need to work on before the start of the regular season.
The offensive line did not open any holes for either Matt Forte or Chester Taylor. Forte only gained 7 yards on 4 carries, and Taylor only gained 10 yards on 7 carries. Very limited production for two above-average running backs.
What I get from Forte’s and Taylor’s bad performances is the offensive line doesn’t looked too improved.
Not only did they have trouble opening holes for the running backs, but they let the defense get to Jay Cutler twice, sacking him once, which most of the blame could be put on Forte’s failed block on Donald Strickland.
The Chargers also got to Caleb Hanie, forcing a sack. Hanie would leave the game with a shoulder injury, not to return.
The offensive line has had the most amount of changes and switches during the preseason, and it looks like they’ll need a better performance next game to show that they have really improved.
Defensively, the Bears didn’t look terrible, but they showed that they need some more work before the regular season.
The starters didn’t come out until the second quarter, but they gave up a 28-yard pass, a touchdown, and let Chargers’ rookie running back Ryan Matthews gain 50 yards on nine attempts.
Not exactly what you want to see from your starting defense, during the first preseason game. Injuries to the defense only added to the problem.
Danieal Manning was already sidelined for the game, but his replacement, Craig Seltz, left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury.
The bright spot on the defense was safety Major Wright, but he, as well, left the game with a finger injury, though it’s not meant to be serious.
Hunter Hillenmeyer also left the game with a foot injury.
Jay Cutler‘s debut only lasted one series and two passes, but it was a positive and productive one, completing both of his two attempts to Johnny Knox.
Cutler lead the Bears on a 51-yard scoring drive, which led to a Robbie Gould field goal, but the Bears, once again, showed they have trouble scoring in the red zone. It was 1st and 10 on the Chargers’ 19, during that same drive, but the Bears moved back three times.
The little we saw of Cutler showed that he can be a versatile quarterback, given protection.
The other quarterback, and often forgotten, Caleb Hanie was pretty decent. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 148 yards, a touchdown, and an interception before leaving the game with the shoulder injury.
In review, I saw what I expected the Bears to look like. I knew the offensive line and defense would be the two major problems to watch, and, after watching the game Saturday, I feel no more confident in those two areas than I did at the end of last season.
I liked what I saw from Cutler and the receivers, especially Johnny Knox and Devin Aromashodu.
The new offense JUST might work this year, but it’s way too early to carve anything in stone.
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Well, times are very interesting in the New England area for Patriots and their fans right now. And by “interesting” I mean “odd.” The Pats are coming off a 10-6 season, decent enough by most standards, but then were summarily dismissed by the visiting Ravens in the wild card round.
Former defensive coordinator Dean Pees became the scapegoat, let go after six seasons with the team. Bill Belichick has said he will take a larger role on defense. A game plan that would make better sense if he had an offensive coordinator in place whom he trusted. And on top of that, quarterbacks coach Bill O’ Brien might not be very well liked by much of the team, especially with Tom Brady after the play calling was rather stale in 2009.
So this means coach Belichick will head into the season without a true offensive or defensive coordinator, something that the Pats aren’t used to experiencing. This could be a season of confusion and the Pats could see their worst in the Belichick era since 2000 when they went 5-11.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady is still going to be the great Tom Brady that we know and (most of us) love. From what it looks like so far, he could end up having another great season and remain as one of the league’s top quarterbacks. He looks even more confident now that he has a full season removed from his surgery to repair the ACL in his knee. Going against what many have been thinking, I don’t think his commitment to the team will be affected even though he’s married to one of the hottest ladies on the face of the earth. Basically what I’m saying to Patriots fans is to expect the same ol’ successful Tom Brady. Brian Hoyer remains the backup for Brady. There have been talks of the Pats bringing in another veteran QB just to be a third stringer and to warm the rest of the bench. Jeff Rowe and rookie Zac Robinson might not like that idea though because if the Pats do sign another guy to the mix, that’s just one more spot down the depth chart they both go.
Running Backs
The Patriots have recently been a team with an interesting corps of running backs. They have three guys in the group who are over the age of 33 (Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris). This is also a group that have been injury prone with Morris and Taylor both getting hurt last year. Laurence Maroney is also a guy in the group who’s been wanting to prove that he’s not the draft bust that he’s been made out to be. He did a good job of trying to covering that out last year with his nine touchdown runs. In a perfect world, Maroney would be the first- and second-down back, Morris would get the short yards, and Fred Taylor would be the goal line back and Faulk, as always, would end up all over the field. The Pats didn’t add another running via the draft or free agency.
Wide Receivers
As many of you might remember, Wes Welker tore but his ACL and MCL during the Week 17 game last season. During the offseason, people were saying that they would be shocked if they saw Wes Walker play in another game before November of this year. Well, to those people I would like to say to them “Start practicing your shocked face!” To my knowledge, Wes Welker seemed to progress very well in the offseason and is starting to take hard hits in training camp. Many are starting to say that he could be ready to go by the first game of the season. But if he does happen to sit out the first few games, then they will need to count on aging veteran Randy Moss and young Julian Edelman that much more to carry this unit. Assuming Moss as the No. 1 and Edelman, seen as something of a Welker-in-the-making, as the No. 2, someone needs to step up as a viable No. 3, which is something the Patriots didn’t have much of last year. This is where Brandon Tate and rookie Taylor Price enter the mix. Oh, and there’s this other guy named Torry Holt who has been added as well. I hear he’s had a very successful career. The tight end is one position that the Pats don’t pay attention to often, but with the team grabbing Rob Gronkowski in the draft and Aaron Hernandez in the NFL Draft, that could change. Tom Brady has shown that he can handle a group of mediocre receivers, and right now that’s what this group is. Two players who have had stellar careers that are now starting to wind down and a host of others still learning the ropes of the offense.
Offensive Linemen
This is another group that is getting up there in age but is still a pretty solid group as well. They only gave up 18 sacks last year which is very impressive. I’m sure Tom Brady loved that after tearing up his leg in the first game of the season in 2008. Left tackle Matt Light will likely start the season in his usual spot, but Sebastian Vollmer, who impressed many last year as a rookie, could start at right tackle early. He could even challenge Matt Light for his spot. In the prime of his career at age 28, Logan Mankins is one of the best right guards in the game. But he’s been holding out of camp, so we’ll see what happens there. The more significant issues are at center and right guard. Dan Koppen always undersized, has been getting pushed off the ball more and more, and Stephen Neal very nearly called it a career. Dan Connolly is versatile and highly thought of in New England. He heads a young group of reserves with Mark LeVoir, Ryan Wendell, Rich Ohrnberger and Ted Larsen and Thomas Welch, who were picked up in the draft.
Defensive Linemen
The Patriots’ defensive success has always started with the O-line, so the fact that the defense struggled in 2009 can be traced back to a major hole on the line. Once Richard Seymour was moved to Oakland, the Pats didn’t have a player near his stature to put in place. Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork are both pretty good, but they won’t get a great deal of attention if another guy is brought in. Mike Wright has shown signs of promise, but he’s nothing like Richard Seymour. Ron Brace could be bumped outside after originally being a nose tackle. And given the personnel they have, the Patriots could play more 4-3 this year. But as the unit stands, the Pats will likely lack the ability to consistently push blockers back and close the pocket on the QB.
Linebackers
The wild card in this group is second-round draft pick Brandon Spikes. If Spikes can step in alongside Jerod Mayo at inside linebacker, the Pats could have the chance to move Gary Guyton to the outside, where the team is lacking depth. Guyton is very quick and very good in coverage but isn’t very strong against the run. This is the reasoning for putting him in the outside. 10-sack man Tully Banta Cain (one of my favorite names in the NFL), is the top returning pass-rusher statistically, though draftee Jermaine Cunningham could help and Pierre Woods, who got less playing time last year, can mix things up too. To sum up this whole picture, this unit is not as great on paper as it has been in the past. Unlike the D-Line, this is the weakness of the Patriots’ defense.
Defensive Backs
The success of the secondary will mostly depend on the success of the front seven. If the front seven isn’t doing its job, the secondary will struggle. Leigh Bodden is coming off his best seasons under Romeo Crennel when they were both in Cleveland; Crennel’s system is very similar to Beilchick’s, and Bodden should show even more confidence this season after a five-interception perfomance last year. Second-year cornerback Darius Butler will likely start opposite Bodden, with Jonathan Wilhite and rookie Devin McCourty in the mix at the nickel position. Terrence Wheatley is considered by some in the organization to have more talent than Wilhite, but he was in a strange sort of exile last year and played just five games. Brandon Meriweather has been making a lot of progress, and ever-steady free safety James Sanders keeps the unit on the same page.
Special Teams
The punting has been lacking over the years for the Patriots. But with the addition of former Michigan Wolverine Zoltan Mesko, that could change. Many say that he has a good personality. If his attitude is as good as his punts, the punting situations will work out great for the Pats. Stephen Gostkowski is one of the best kickers in the league for his combination of field goal and long kickoffs. Tate is expected to be the primary kick returner after a record-breaking college career.
Final Thoughts
Belichick has always found ways to get it done in New England, but this season could be a bit tougher with all the questions looming around the organization. Nobody thought that there would be coaching staff issues with this team, but there are. The questions on the field involve what the wide receivers’ depth chart will look like and how this defense will be shuffled around. With the Jets and Dolphins making quite a few moves in the offseason via the draft and free agency, it’s looking like things could be tough in New England. When it’s all over, they could find themselves as low as third place in the division.
Could you imagine the NFL Playoffs without the New England Patriots? It could happen.
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With fantasy football season approaching quickly, it’s time to start identifying sleepers, preparing cheat-sheets, and reading anything and everything on fantasy football.
Today there is one matchup I specifically have in mind. That is whether Ronnie Brown or Matt Forte is a better pick this season.
The first draft ranking I looked at was the one made by the always trustworthy ESPN.com. They had Forte ranked one spot ahead of Brown on their overall list. The ADP rankings on myfantasyleague.com had three running backs ranked between the two; However, NFL.com’s fantasy rankings had Brown five spots ahead of Forte. What gives?
It is safe to say there are many different opinions on where these two rank. It seems that the analysis on these two players is completely different. Matt Forte has more upside as a fantasy player, but if Brown can stay healthy he will produce solid numbers.
There are cases for both sides, so let’s take a look at them.
Matt Forte
Chicago will undergo serious offensive reform under Mike Martz this season and will likely look to pass more than in previous seasons. This could be could be good and bad for Forte as catching the ball is one of his strengths. The problem is the team just signed Chester Taylor.
Taylor has proved over the past few years in Minnesota that he can be a very successful receiving back. He was a great third down back last season and actually had one more catch than Adrian Peterson. Taylor had more receiving yards than he did rushing yards last year. Matt Forte will have to compete with Taylor for third down opportunities, which could cause Forte’s numbers to suffer.
It has been said that the Bears receiving corps is very underrated. If Jay Cutler can jump start the offense alongside Martz, it could really open up the field for Forte to run. Whether on a draw or a traditional running play, things could really open up for Forte.
I believe that a lot of Forte’s value is completely dependent on the play of Jay Cutler. If Cutler can limit his turnovers and move the ball efficiently while getting the team into redzone situations, Forte’s value could spike. Forte could be a very consistent player this season.
It seems like a big risk to put a player’s value on the shoulders of Jay Cutler—who, by the way, led the NFL in interceptions last year—but all signs point to Cutler having a much more successful year in his second season with the Bears.
I definitely don’t see Forte jumping into the top 10 in fantasy value this season, but there is nothing worse than pulling your hair out over an inconsistent performer. If you take Matt Forte, I would imagine that you probably won’t lose too much sleep over the selection this season. I can see Forte jumping into the top 30, but don’t count on it.
Taking Forte in the sixth round of my fantasy draft two years ago was one of my greatest fantasy football successes. Forte will not have the kind of season he had that year, but he will still be solid.
Ronnie Brown
Just five years ago, Ronnie Brown was taken with a top-five pick in the NFL draft out of Auburn. It seems to me that Brown has been a very good running back so far, when he’s on the field that is. Brown has been plagued by injuries his entire career. He has only rushed for 1,000 yards once in his career. He has only played a full 16 game season once in his career.
The serious durability concerns surrounding Ronnie Brown are a big part of his steady decline in fantasy value, but I feel there is reason to be optimistic this season. There is always the possibility that he gets hurt, but if he can stay healthy he could put up some big numbers.
Ricky Williams played well last season, but there are many skeptics as to how he will hold up this year. Williams is 33, which is old for a running back. Last season was the first time since 2003 where he had a solid workload, which could prove to be interesting as well.
The Dolphins offense was predicated on the run last season and the same should be true this season. Their wildcat package should be successful and if their running backs stay healthy the running game will still be strong.
The running game will be the first priority, but the passing game will be more reliable this year, which will create more space for Brown and Williams to work with. Acquiring Brandon Marshall will be a huge plus for the passing game and Chad Henne has established himself as the starting quarterback.
If the Dolphins passing game can become consistently solid, the running game will come easier. I believe the Dolphins offense overall will improve substantially this year.
There is one more possibility for Ronnie Brown owners. If you draft him and he puts up huge numbers at the beginning of the year, sell high. In the first seven games of the 2007 season, Ronnie Brown picked up almost 1,000 total yards and scored five touchdowns.
I remember in my fantasy league that year one of my buddies traded him after week six for three solid starters as Brown looked to be a lock for the Pro Bowl. A week later, Brown went down for the season and my friend had struck gold.
If Ronnie Brown starts off hot you could potentially try to trade him for some good value if you think he is too much of a risk to keep.
Conclusion
If I were on the clock and these two players were the top two left on the board, I have to say Matt Forte would be the pick. If you feel like living a little dangerously, Ronnie Brown would be a great choice as well. Both players have great fantasy potential in 2010, but the injury concerns for Ronnie Brown are just too much for me to ignore.
I think the Bears offense will improve substantially next season and that Forte will be handsomely rewarded as his skill set should fit well into Mike Martz’s offense.
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