NFC West's hour in the 'SportsCenter' sun

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By Mike Sando
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/ ... center-sun

[espn]7985580[/espn]
Highlights and interpretations from the recently concluded hour-long "SportsCenter" Special
focusing on the NFC West:


ESPN's Tedy Bruschi played for Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll in New England years ago and seemed to have a strong feel -- and respect -- for Carroll's current team. He picked Seattle as an upset division winner in 2012. He pointed to Earl Thomas as the heir to Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu. He picked Marshawn Lynch as the division's MVP for the upcoming season. Bruschi was high on Seattle all the way around. He also defended Carroll's handling of the quarterback situation, noting that it's only May -- too early to worry about having a starter in place. Bruschi also thought Matt Flynn would become the signing of the year in the division.

Fellow analyst Tim Hasselbeck picked the San Francisco 49ers to defend their division title. He and Bruschi both picked the Arizona Cardinals third and the St. Louis Rams fourth. Hasselbeck thought Seattle would challenge the 49ers and finish as close as one game behind them. But he also thought Carroll needed to settle on Flynn as the starter sooner rather than later. Quarterbacks like clarity at the position. Hasselbeck went with Flynn as his breakout player from the division and Patrick Willis as the MVP.

The quarterback-related analysis from Hasselbeck stood out. He pointed out Sam Bradford's struggles locating open receivers after turning his back to the defense for play-action fakes last season. He thought the Rams needed to treat Bradford as a young quarterback only two years removed from a spread system at Oklahoma, not as a third-year pro. He pointed to offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's voluminous playbook as something the Rams might want to streamline for now.

Hasselbeck, who played for Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona, suggested Kevin Kolb hasn't shown himself to be the leader Whisenhunt wants at the position. He thought Kolb needed to win over the team this offseason. Bruschi encouraged the team to go with John Skelton instead if Kolb doesn't step forward and distinguish himself as a team leader. Sound familiar? It should, at least to anyone familiar with Matt Leinart's time under Whisenhunt. Is Kolb the next Leinart, a highly paid player unable to win over the team? That was the comparison drawn during this special.

Fantasy analyst Eric Karabell singled out Arizona's Ryan Williams, St. Louis' Danny Amendola and Seattle's Flynn as breakout fantasy players from the division. He thought Flynn would rank among the 20 best fantasy quarterbacks.

Defensive end Chris Long noted the Rams' relative youth on the defensive line. This line is Long's to lead. Long has the capacity to take that role, I think. He might have deferred some to Fred Robbins and James Hall in the past. Both were valued veterans. They're gone now. Long had 13 sacks last season. His time is now.


Anyone else catch this special? I'd be interested in your thoughts.
 

Angry Ram

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Re: NFC West's hour in the 'SportsCenter' sun By Mike Sando

Yeah I saw it. Typical BSPN garbage.

Basically, they gushed over SF, said Flynn should be the starter and think he'll be God, and in Arizona Kolb needs to play better.

For the Rams, Hasselbeck took 3 plays of Bradford, each that happened to be play action passes where his back was turned to the D. Those were bad passes/decisions, and used that to say Sam's play sucked last year. Three bad passes. Out of hundreds. The one thing I did agree on that McDaniels system wasn't the right fit for Sam, but I don't feel that 3 bad passes justify Sam as a QB.

On the flip side, Tedy Bruschi (or however u spell his name) believed SJack was the best RB in the division. But I can't stand it when he gives out praise, he sounds so smug and almighty.

Here's what I would've done, in short for each team...

Rams- Needs to be good health at all posistions, and consistent coaching. Draft picks need to contribute sooner rather than later. Needs to get better against the run, and above all score points.

Cards- Defense needs to continue to improve, QB position and OL need to be settled, and a running game needs to be improved.

Seahawks- Lynch keeps doing what he does, 2ndary getting better, and Flynn needs to be a QB, not a QB that shows flashes. OL needs to pick up where it left off last year.

49ers- No gaurentee they'll remain healthy as they did last year, @ least 1 WR needs to be a consistent outside guy, to help out Vernon Davis. Alex Smith needs to get better, and not regress to his pre 2011 ways. How many turnovers were lucky, they need to have the 2011 mojo to have a repeat season in 2012.

See, BSPN. It's not that hard.
 

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Re: NFC West's hour in the 'SportsCenter' sun By Mike Sando

Angry Ram said:
Yeah I saw it. Typical BSPN garbage.

Basically, they gushed over SF, said Flynn should be the starter and think he'll be God, and in Arizona Kolb needs to play better.

For the Rams, Hasselbeck took 3 plays of Bradford, each that happened to be play action passes where his back was turned to the D. Those were bad passes/decisions, and used that to say Sam's play sucked last year. Three bad passes. Out of hundreds. The one thing I did agree on that McDaniels system wasn't the right fit for Sam, but I don't feel that 3 bad passes justify Sam as a QB.

On the flip side, Tedy Bruschi (or however u spell his name) believed SJack was the best RB in the division. But I can't stand it when he gives out praise, he sounds so smug and almighty.

Here's what I would've done, in short for each team...

Rams- Needs to be good health at all posistions, and consistent coaching. Draft picks need to contribute sooner rather than later. Needs to get better against the run, and above all score points.

Cards- Defense needs to continue to improve, QB position and OL need to be settled, and a running game needs to be improved.

Seahawks- Lynch keeps doing what he does, 2ndary getting better, and Flynn needs to be a QB, not a QB that shows flashes. OL needs to pick up where it left off last year.

49ers- No gaurentee they'll remain healthy as they did last year, @ least 1 WR needs to be a consistent outside guy, to help out Vernon Davis. Alex Smith needs to get better, and not regress to his pre 2011 ways. How many turnovers were lucky, they need to have the 2011 mojo to have a repeat season in 2012.

See, BSPN. It's not that hard.
Meh. I've seen him turn his back to the defense a bunch of times and sell the fake very well that way. Hell, I just made a video of him where the Rams score twice because of that. I'm no QB coach or anything, but I don't see what the big deal is. In fact, when Mariucci was working with Tannehill, both he AND Tannehill put their backs to the D on play-fakes.

[nfl]09000d5d8287450f[/nfl]
 

Angry Ram

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Essentially, he (being Hasselbeck) said those 3 PA passes that BSPN showed, were part of Josh McDaniels' system, and it wasn't the right fit for him. I don't think that can be used to judge Sam as a QB.

And yeah, you're supposed to turn the back for a second.

That's what she said.

Oh.
 

Ram_Fan

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What really irks me the most is that we don't get respect what so ever. Our team on paper looks really, really good. To the point that I think we can contend for the division title.

Why do I say that? Our D-line and Secondary. We play our division opponents twice every year, and we solidified on paper what our opponents strong points are. Offensive rushing from Gore, Lynch, and Wells...On paper we solidified that with our D-Line. Hopefully, the interior D-line can keep JL clean to go one on one with a RB, and I like our chances there. There were so many times last year that an O-line would reach JL, and he couldn't get to the ball carrier. If a Center and Guard double team Brockers and/or Langford, and they both don't lose ground. We won that match up.

The only thing that kinda concerns me a little are outside runs/pitch, and quick screen plays. Will our OLB's be able to get to the ball carrier. We picked up some interesting OLB's that were pretty productive in college. From Aaron Brown from Hawaii (GO Warriors!!) :bign: love the way he disengages from blockers, to UDFA's Alex Hoffman-Ellis (tackling machine), and Sammy Brown (Led nation in TFL).

From there our Corners should be able to help with that. Finnegan and Jenkins are not big corners, but play bigger than their size. They both are willing tacklers. There's also Trumaine Johnson who is a physical CB who likes taking on ball carriers as well.

49er's added speed to their WR's corps., and don't forget Vernon Davis. We shall see if Alex Smith can handle these new toys he just got. Seattle have big young WR's that were pretty good last year, and also the addition of Winslow the TE. Would get better having a more consistent QB, and hopefully their answer is Matt Flynn. Fitzgerald and Floyd...!?!?! On paper that's a scary combo, but like Seattle their QB play isn't consistent.

That brings us with our new CB war depth chart. Most people think it's going to be Jenkins starting opposite side of Finnegan. The crazy thing is that we have other CB's that are pretty good as well. Coming back from injury are Fletcher and Murphy, and fellow rookie Trumaine Johnson. Also, add in last year safety starters Quintin Mikell, and Darian Stewart. On paper that's a Very Solid Secondary. There are also some notable names on our UDFA's we picked up like Matt Daniels, and Rodney McLeod.

I guess we don't get respect until we earn it. I am hope we finally EARN it this year.

Sorry for the long post. :boing:
 

RamFan503

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It is a new season. These pinheads just need a bandwagon to jump on and in all honesty, the Rams bandwagon blew a wheel last season after almost all of them were saying we were going to take the West. So.... they were wrong then and they are wrong now. No one will blame them for taking the Whiners or the Dodos - so they take the easy way out. After all, if they are wrong, they are right there with all the other sheep.
 

Stranger

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I wonder what the real deal is at BSPN re: the Rams... almost makes you wonder if Georgia pissed-off their top brass the way they consistently dis us over the years. I would have thought with the addition of Fisher they would have started to show some love, but that doesn't seem to be enough. My guess is that success in the form of wins won't change their attitude towards the Rams, but I guess wel'll see, cause we're going to start getting some wins against good teams, wins they can't ignore.
 

Angry Ram

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Ram_Fan said:
What really irks me the most is that we don't get respect what so ever. Our team on paper looks really, really good. To the point that I think we can contend for the division title.

Why do I say that? Our D-line and Secondary. We play our division opponents twice every year, and we solidified on paper what our opponents strong points are. Offensive rushing from Gore, Lynch, and Wells...On paper we solidified that with our D-Line. Hopefully, the interior D-line can keep JL clean to go one on one with a RB, and I like our chances there. There were so many times last year that an O-line would reach JL, and he couldn't get to the ball carrier. If a Center and Guard double team Brockers and/or Langford, and they both don't lose ground. We won that match up.

The only thing that kinda concerns me a little are outside runs/pitch, and quick screen plays. Will our OLB's be able to get to the ball carrier. We picked up some interesting OLB's that were pretty productive in college. From Aaron Brown from Hawaii (GO Warriors!!) :bign: love the way he disengages from blockers, to UDFA's Alex Hoffman-Ellis (tackling machine), and Sammy Brown (Led nation in TFL).

From there our Corners should be able to help with that. Finnegan and Jenkins are not big corners, but play bigger than their size. They both are willing tacklers. There's also Trumaine Johnson who is a physical CB who likes taking on ball carriers as well.

49er's added speed to their WR's corps., and don't forget Vernon Davis. We shall see if Alex Smith can handle these new toys he just got. Seattle have big young WR's that were pretty good last year, and also the addition of Winslow the TE. Would get better having a more consistent QB, and hopefully their answer is Matt Flynn. Fitzgerald and Floyd...!?!?! On paper that's a scary combo, but like Seattle their QB play isn't consistent.

That brings us with our new CB war depth chart. Most people think it's going to be Jenkins starting opposite side of Finnegan. The crazy thing is that we have other CB's that are pretty good as well. Coming back from injury are Fletcher and Murphy, and fellow rookie Trumaine Johnson. Also, add in last year safety starters Quintin Mikell, and Darian Stewart. On paper that's a Very Solid Secondary. There are also some notable names on our UDFA's we picked up like Matt Daniels, and Rodney McLeod.

I guess we don't get respect until we earn it. I am hope we finally EARN it this year.

Sorry for the long post. :boing:

See, that's the thing tho. It's all "on paper."

These BSPN/SI ppl base their predictions on the previous year, it doesn't matter what team it is.

In the case of the 49ers, 2 big things went their way:

-The majority of the team remained healthy. Josh Morgan was the only "big" name to go down and like 5 or 6 backup/PS players.

-They were +28 in TOs. That's insane and that shouldn't be counted on to happen again. I always wonder how many of those were fortunate bounces/tips/etc.

Because of that, they were able to play as cohesive units and able to trust each other. Unlike, in the Rams' case where guys were being signed on Tuesday and starting Sunday. Most w/ bum knees. Rod Hood, hello.

Unlike in the 2011 season previews, 49ers were a team w/ major problems.

-Alex Smith?? Really?

-1st time NFL HC that just came from college.

-Gore was coming off IR from a broken hip (ouch).

-Can they all play as a team?

-Horrible FA signings.

Hell, I swear I remember reading that Harbaugh chose the 49ers b/c he knew they would suck enough for Andrew Luck.

In that same preview issue, Peter "smug" King had the Rams at 10-6, running away w/ the division.

That's why it is stupid to say the 49ers (or any team) will be as good a team as 2011 and automatically crown them. The talent line is not that much b/w teams. And that's what BSPN refuses to look at.
 

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Ram_Fan said:
What really irks me the most is that we don't get respect what so ever. Our team on paper looks really, really good. To the point that I think we can contend for the division title.

Why do I say that? Our D-line and Secondary. We play our division opponents twice every year, and we solidified on paper what our opponents strong points are. Offensive rushing from Gore, Lynch, and Wells...On paper we solidified that with our D-Line. Hopefully, the interior D-line can keep JL clean to go one on one with a RB, and I like our chances there. There were so many times last year that an O-line would reach JL, and he couldn't get to the ball carrier. If a Center and Guard double team Brockers and/or Langford, and they both don't lose ground. We won that match up.

The only thing that kinda concerns me a little are outside runs/pitch, and quick screen plays. Will our OLB's be able to get to the ball carrier. We picked up some interesting OLB's that were pretty productive in college. From Aaron Brown from Hawaii (GO Warriors!!) :bign: love the way he disengages from blockers, to UDFA's Alex Hoffman-Ellis (tackling machine), and Sammy Brown (Led nation in TFL).

From there our Corners should be able to help with that. Finnegan and Jenkins are not big corners, but play bigger than their size. They both are willing tacklers. There's also Trumaine Johnson who is a physical CB who likes taking on ball carriers as well.

49er's added speed to their WR's corps., and don't forget Vernon Davis. We shall see if Alex Smith can handle these new toys he just got. Seattle have big young WR's that were pretty good last year, and also the addition of Winslow the TE. Would get better having a more consistent QB, and hopefully their answer is Matt Flynn. Fitzgerald and Floyd...!?!?! On paper that's a scary combo, but like Seattle their QB play isn't consistent.

That brings us with our new CB war depth chart. Most people think it's going to be Jenkins starting opposite side of Finnegan. The crazy thing is that we have other CB's that are pretty good as well. Coming back from injury are Fletcher and Murphy, and fellow rookie Trumaine Johnson. Also, add in last year safety starters Quintin Mikell, and Darian Stewart. On paper that's a Very Solid Secondary. There are also some notable names on our UDFA's we picked up like Matt Daniels, and Rodney McLeod.

I guess we don't get respect until we earn it. I am hope we finally EARN it this year.

Sorry for the long post. :boing:
I hear ya man. The depth chart looks good if all can work in concert with each other in this new system. That's the only thing that worries me. I'm not so worried about the lack of a DC because they basically (a) coach their coaches and (b) call the plays during the game. We have decent position coaches, including Williams Jr, who already know this system - and McGinnis or Fisher can call the plays.

But the learning a new system thing (both offense and defense) is always in the back of my mind. Hopefully they scale them both down initially and then insert more pages when things get PERFECTED. Not before that. AFTER that. The ghosts of McDaniels and Spagnuolo haunt me I tell ya. Both very good, but very difficult schemes to learn. Last year's no OTAs SUCKED.

The 49ers have crazy stupid weapons now and that's probably why the draft went down the way it did. You gotta beat the division before you can think about anything else. Lots of additions for both us and them. Alex Smith has to deliver now, and on that same plane, so does Sammy boy.

I'll take the latter.

Every.

Day.
 

Speeps

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I saw the special and wasn't surprised. ESPN goes with the flow. There is very little thinking on their part.

However, the Rams typically get disrespected by them. They barely have their facts straight when they speak about us. They can't even get the name of our players right. For example, Clayton calling Brian Quick, Ben Quick. I had to fast forward through the San Fran and Seattle love. I couldn't take it any more.
 

TK42-RAM

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Speeps said:
I saw the special and wasn't surprised. ESPN goes with the flow. There is very little thinking on their part.

However, the Rams typically get disrespected by them. They barely have their facts straight when they speak about us. They can't even get the name of our players right. For example, Clayton calling Brian Quick, Ben Quick. I had to fast forward through the San Fran and Seattle love. I couldn't take it any more.

Agree.

They love the whiners don't they ?