NFL Stories During Training Camp

Nate’s 9: NFL Stories for 2014

This has always been one of my favorite times of the year, at least from the perspective of sports.  The NFL training camp, while over hyped, does tend to get the juices flowing for many fans, not just myself.  I have always looked forward to the Green Bay Packer camps, not only because I was a fan, but because the organization has relied so much on the draft and rookie free agents that it is one of the few opportunities in which we can see everyone get a chance to shine.  While I am still excited for Packers camp this season, it comes from a different observational position.  I am curious to see whether Julius Peppers can fit into their schemes while playing at linebacker for the first time in his career, and it will also be interesting to see if they continue toward the trend of running the football and leaning less on Aaron Rodgers.  Here are the top stories that I’m looking forward to over the next couple of weeks.

#9 – Ryan Tannehill.  From day one, I was never sold on this kid.  I don’t think people realize how difficult the quarterback position is to play, and for Tannehill to have only done it for one season prior to getting drafted... I really feel that he probably should’ve stayed in school a little longer, or sat behind an NFL ready quarterback in Miami.  These aren’t my only concerns; I also question his hunger for the game and whether he has the leadership quality to lift the ordinary players that tend to fill the roster of the Miami Dolphins.  Mike Wallace appears to be a product of Ben Roethlisberger and the deep balls of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and not of pure talent.  Their line is in flux, and I think it will take more than Branden Albert and Ja’Wuan James to turn it around.  Anyhow, I really would like to see Ryan Tannehill take that next step up during the pre-season and make me look bad for a change.  His time is running out.

#8 – Will the Houston Texans look like the 2011-12 teams or the 2013 team?  I find it hard to believe that a team that went 22-10 for two seasons fell apart overnight and became a 2-14 team.  If they didn’t get some clutch plays in the final two minutes of the first two games, they very well could’ve been 0-16.  However, I hardly believe it.  I think they quit on Kubiak as a whole around the time of the Oakland Raiders loss (2-8).  From 1-53, they are probably a top ten team in the NFL.  More so if Jadeveon Clowney is everything they say he is and more.  He should allow for JJ Watt to go back to the levels that most fans of the league are used to, and they could be very dangerous considering that four of their games are against the quarterbacks of the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.  I truly expect that this team will be ready to go come September 7th.

#7 – The Washington Redskins.  I think that this organization from an operational standpoint is an absolute mess.  Daniel Snyder has no Strategy and Implementation summary for this team, at least not from where I’m sitting.  They hire Mike Shanahan who does a great job developing quarterbacks and getting them to play within a system and then they go out and bring in veteran after veteran until the drafting of Robert Griffin III.  Which is fine, except then they change their offense entirely so Griffin can play within the confines of the spread option.  Which is fine, except then when he misses games and Kirk Cousins has to come in and play, they go back to a pro-style offense.  Then they fire Shanahan.  I just want to see them try and get out of this mess.

#6 – Will the Bears make the playoffs?  For as good as we think the Bears have been, they have only made the playoffs once in the last seven years.  Granted, they pushed Green Bay to the brink that season, but for a franchise that always appears to compete for playoff places, they’ve been somewhat of a letdown.  Which is all the more surprising considering that they’ve had Lance Briggs, Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher and Charles Tillman on those teams, and they are all getting close to Hall of Fame consideration if not already there (Urlacher).  Now they’ve switched their organizational mentality entirely by firing Lovie Smith, bringing in offensive guru Marc Trestman, and loading the offensive side of the ball with tons of talent.  We can all pretty much say it’s one of the best in the league.  But is it at the expense of the defense?  Outside of Lance Briggs, there is not one player on this defense that I would consider building a team around.  We’ll see if they can find that balance.

#5 – Who will be rookie of the year?  This has been an incredible draft as far as talent and opportunities go.  All three first-round quarterbacks could be their teams starting quarterbacks by the end of the year.  Bishop Sankey has walked into a starting job, but how well is anyone going to run in the Tennessee Titans offense.  There are so many talented receivers in this year’s draft that any one of ten could challenge for the offensive rookie of the year title.  Defensively, it may be even tighter.   Clowney would appear to be the front runner, but Kahlil Mack, Anthony Barr, Ryan Shazier and CJ Mosley could all be starting the full 16 games.  Any one of them could have an opportunity to have a standout performance.  My early guesses will be Brandin Cooks of the Saints; he is the perfect WR for that system and I think Drew Brees will depend on him early.  On the defensive side I will say Clowney, but only because it’s extremely safe.

#4 – The Jets have all but guaranteed a playoff appearance.  So of course the first thing I did when I bought my NFL magazine this year was pour over their roster and find numerous reasons about why I think they are ridiculous for thinking so.  But in truth, they aren’t really that far away.  Now, I hate their quarterback situation.  Okay, hate is a strong word.  Especially because I have always been a fan of Michael Vick.  But Geno Smith and Matt Simms aren’t the answers, and they improved their roster just enough to probably miss out on the quartet that could be entering next year’s draft.  So what was the point?  Well, they obviously believe in Geno Smith for starters.  And with Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson as his running backs, he has a chance to not be required to win games.  The receiving core has talent coming from Eric Decker, Jeremy Kerley and Stephen Hill.  Their defense really is shaping up nicely and I think that Dee Milliner and Kyle Wilson will be good players in years to come.  They also have what could be the makings of one of the best defensive lines in football with Sheldon Richardson and Muhammad Wilkerson as the staples.  But until they get their quarterback situation resolved, and I don’t think that Vick is the answer anymore, the mouthing offs of Rex Ryan, Geno Smith, David Nelson and company will go unheard in this household.

#3 – Will Jerry Jones hate football after this season? I’ve been saying for three years now that Tony Romo needs to be replaced.  Leading up to this season, I felt like the Dallas Cowboys had a team capable of playing in a super bowl.  Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten and DeMarco Murray are all good enough weapons, and the offensive line has finally developed to the point of where Romo was given time to make plays (Doug Free is a really good player now).  Their defense was solid if not spectacular, but I think that Romo was costing this team a lot of victories, not because he turns over the ball frequently or makes stupid plays, it just he always does it at the worst of times.  3 years ago, I felt that they had a great chance to trade up and get Robert Griffin III.  Jason Garrett would have been a great mentor for him, and I think that Griffin would have learned much under the tutelage of Garrett.  They went for Morris Claiborne instead, which I was fine with, but still thought they may regret.  Last year, when rumors were abound that Philip Rivers may be available; I thought that Dallas should step in and make a move.  So what do they do instead?  Give Tony Romo an extension.  It was laden with incentives, so there was the chance they could cut him if the right situation came along.  Then when Johnny Manziel came along, it was the right situation.  He’s from Texas, dominated somewhat nearby at Texas A&M, is tailor-made to fit the personality of the Dallas Cowboys, it all made sense.  Here was the second coming of Roger Staubach (At least in the eyes of the media).  They passed on him.  So here we sit, and of all the major publications and experts with whom I value the opinions of, not one of them believes the Dallas Cowboys will make the playoffs this year.  I agree.  Will Jerry Jones finally make a move next season and draft a Bryce Petty or move up for a Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston?  To get America’s team back on track, I surely hope so.

#2 – Can Denver get back? It’s hard to say they were “oh so close”, when they lost in the Super Bowl 43-8. Yet, I believe all the pieces they already have, plus the additions that they made should get them really close.  I only have two concerns.  First, can Montee Ball take the pressure off of Peyton in games where they don’t have the favorable match-ups needed to win? (I.e. Seattle, Arizona).  Second, can they win enough games to get home-field advantage in what has become a really tough division, on top of games against the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals?  While Oakland is still a few years away, at least they are on the right track.  Kansas City and San Diego have windows of opportunities that are getting smaller not unlike Denver and might soon be willing to go all in, in order to get to the next level.  I think Denver is probably still the favorite to come out of the AFC, but New England has an easier path, and Indy could be the team that ends up with home-field this next season.

#1 – Cleveland QB Situation.  It’s not really a mess, on the contrary, I really like the situation that Cleveland thinks they are in.  Brian Hoyer is a solid quarterback and could probably win with this team and in this division.  He makes sounds decisions, and has just enough elusiveness to make a difference.  Johnny Football is a media monster, a profoundly polarizing figure, and has the benefit of the unknown on his side too.  We all want to see what he can do, and unless Hoyer starts out 3-0, there is going to be clamoring for the Browns to throw Manziel into the mix.  With the defense that Cleveland has built, I think this team under the right quarterback play and leadership could go 8-8, 9-7.  Just enough to think about the playoffs.  Of all the stories, I’m really looking forward to this one the most as their long-term plans could interfere with challenging for the playoffs and alienating fans that haven’t seen a playoff victory since the Browns franchise started for the second time in 1999.