Another draft gone by and before we get started with May OTA’s, dynasty rookie drafts, lets take a look back at all the players selected, team by team.

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What looked like a promising season turned into a nightmare for the St. Louis Rams in 2011, as they seemed to regress in all phases of the game. Once promising first-round pick Jason Smith and second round pick Rodger Saffold headlined a horrible offensive line, that helped Sam Bradford transform from a possible budding star as a rookie, to an ineffective, and unsure player.

Picking Up The Pieces

A physical brand of defense is what we should expect, in time with Coach Jeff Fisher coming to down, and the addition of corner Cortland Finnegan is a good start in that direction. While it’s going to take some time for this team to turn things around, the quickest way to do so is to hammer the running game, led by Steven Jackson.

Looking at the Rams division and personnel, that will likely be a hard thing to do weekly, as the 49ers are one of the better run defenses in football, and the Seahawks and Cardinals are up-and-coming defenses in their own right.

Still, if the Rams can have an effective ground game, and keep the score close (at least their division doesn’t have elite quarterbacks to contend with) they will give Bradford odds for success and help the defense to not stay on the field longer.

With this in mind, it would be wise for St. Louis to find a running back of the future in the first three rounds next week, as it will be important to have a backup plan if and when Jackson falls to injury.

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2012 Downloadable St. Louis Rams Schedule

With defensive coordinator Ray Horton coming over from Pittsburgh, the potential for a solid defense seemed to make sense, but that wasn’t the case early in the year. Week one some rookie named Cam Newton torched the Cardinals for over 400 yards passing, and that was just the beginning of their problems, as slow safeties and an inexperienced corner in Patrick Peterson struggled.

In the second half of the year, Horton finally got his boys playing some good defense, and perhaps this was a group effected from the lockout. The front seven played well and the emergence of Sam Acho gives them another promising young player to use. The most impressive and important part of the Cardinals defensive improvement had to be the play of Peterson as he was trusted by the coaching staff to be left alone in man coverage, frequently.

Back To The Playoffs?
Assuming Peterson can continue to build on his second half, the Cardinals will have the luxury of rolling coverage to other parts of the field. Not the most talented secondary in the league outside of Peterson, his production and health will play an important role in deciding if Arizona can return to the playoffs after failing to get there since Kurt Warner retired.

Speaking of Warner, the Cardinals also need to have consistent play from the quarterback position, and it will be interesting to see if Kevin Kolb can hold off John Skelton. My money is on Skelton, unless Kolb can start to look comfortable in the pocket, and I’m not going to let him off the hook because his pass protection is sub-par.

If Skelton can stand in and fire the football with pressure coming at him, so should Kolb be able to do so. If he can’t, expect Skelton to hold onto the job this year.

Whether it’s Skelton or Kolb, neither of these quarterbacks is going to be a player you want to build the offense though, so with that in mind, a healthy return of Ryan Williams is going important, as the ground game needs to be consistent. For whatever the reason, Beanie Wells just doesn’t seem to have it in him to be a sixteen-week feature back, and while I don’t expect Williams to return to his previous form, he needs to give this team valuable touches, when in the game.

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2012 Downloadable Arizona Cardinals Schedule

After a painfully slow start to the season, the Seahawks started playing winning football in the second half of the year as Marshawn Lynch turned on the Beast Mode and just as important, the defense started coming together. Young corners Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman were pleasant surprises and their size, and physical play, make them potential long time starters on the outside.

However, it wasn’t just the corners that played well in the backfield as free safety Earl Thomas took another step towards stardom, and second year strong safety Kam Chanellor proved versatile (97 tackles last year) by lineup in different spots on the field.

Other standouts like linebacker K.J. Wright, Red Bryant, Brandon Mebaine and pass rusher Chris Clemons give this team a foundation to build on as a playoff hopeful, in the future.

Points From The Passing Game

As long as Lynch is in good shape and healthy, this offense will clearly go through him once again, but the passing game will be a continued work in progress. First off, we will have to find out who wins the starting job in pre-season. Matt Flynn was signed in free agency, and one would think he should start but Tarvaris Jackson showed progress as the season moved along, not to mention he played with a pectoral injury.

One thing we can say about Jackson in his time with Minnesota and Seattle, is that he’s had to battle to get any starting opportunity, and I believe that’s made him a competitive player who won’t back down from a challenge.

Whoever wins the job will need to hope that Sidney Rice can stay healthy and avoid his concussion problems from last year. While Rice can give this team the occasional vertical threat, it’s second year receiver Doug Baldwin that will likely lead the team in targets and receptions. Baldwin was one of the better receivers on third down, in the league in his rookie year, and he seems to be a short to intermediate receiver who can be trusted to find ways of getting open, with good route running.

While the 49ers will be the favorite to win the division this year, I have no doubts that Seattle will continue to give them spirited competition and will likely win in Seattle this year.

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2012 Downloadable Seattle Seahawks Schedule

Who would’ve thought Jim Harbaugh would come into San Francisco and take an underachieving team all the way to the NFC championship game, with Alex Smith under-center, last summer? As a 49ers fan, I can still recall their first preseason game, when they played the Saints in New Orleans – feeling thankful that Smith didn’t have to play an entire game, for surely he would killed, because of the 49ers in-ability to block.

Nevertheless, Harbargh led the 49ers to the second-best record in the NFC, and we all know what happened when San Francisco played New Orleans for keeps.

Turning The Page

While the 49ers got away with running the football, playing great defense and special teams, to help Smith out, this year they may find themselves playing in come from behind fashion. It’s not because they’ve lost anyone on defense, far from it, as they are bringing the band back for another run, signing all key-free agents.

Problem is, they are coming off a winning season, and that means a harder schedule. With trips to Green Bay, New England and of course New Orleans, you can bet there will be times the game scripts change, and demand that Smith throw the football in predictable passing downs.

Only time will tell if vertical additions Randy Moss and Mario Manningham will payoff, but if either one of those receivers can help tilt coverage, it could mean good things for fellow pass catchers like Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, etc.

Just look at how Andrew Luck developed under Harbaugh, as an example of a quarterback who doesn’t have the strongest arm, but does a good job of taking calculated shots down the field, as hope that Smith can develop into a wiser quarterback this year.

Will it happen? Who the heck knows, but if the 49ers are hoping for another playoff birth – let alone a first-round bye – they’d better hope this passing game, and offensive line are up to the task, likely to be in front of them.

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2012 Downloadable San Francisco 49ers Schedule

After trading up in the draft to select Julio Jones the Falcons were supposed to use more of a spread offense in 2011, and at times they did just that, but not without problems along the way. Struggles early in the year led to Atlanta gearing the offense through Michael Turner, but as the season went along Turner clearly lost a step, and by years end, they were having success with a no huddle offense.

While the offensive line is better suited for the run game, this teams future is in the passing game, as standout rookie Julio Jones started looking like the player we expected to see coming out of Alabama in the second half, and slot man Harry Douglas, appeared to be fully recovered from a ACL injury the year before.

Still, with all the weapons on this team, Matt Ryan failed — at least in my eyes — to take this team to the next level and that is winning a playoff game and doing so with clear command of the offense. Whatever it is about Ryan it seems as though he can struggle with pressure in his face, and possibly has trouble reading defenses in pre-snap situations.

While I clearly don’t have All-22 film to watch what’s going on in the backfield, so I can’t say for sure, if it’s all on Ryan, but what I can say is that he consistently missed on vertical throws all year. I know this all too well as I had Roddy White on a few of my fantasy football teams.

Times Are Changing

The Falcons will have new offensive and defensive coordinators this year, but it appears defensive coordinator Mike Nolan doesn’t plan on abandoning the 4-3 as a base defense, at least not completely. Then again, what does that mean in today’s NFL as teams are in sub-packages (nickel, dime), especially when they face an offense like the Saints?

What is for sure is that the Falcons defensive tackle rotation was sound last year as Corey Peters stepped up with valuable minutes as a starter. Still, this team struggled in the backfield, and if John Abraham and company can’t do a better job of pressuring the quarterback, they are likely to give up big plays, down the field again.

Another point of interest is at the running back position as second year runner Jacquizz Rodgers is expected to be more involved in the offense, as Turner seems scheduled for a reduction in snaps. As it so happens I live in Oregon, and had the privilege to watch many of Rodgers’s games at Oregon State, and let me tell you Falcons fans, you have yourself a good player.

Rodgers is powerful for his size, good lateral quickness and he rarely, if ever, fumbles the football. As far as his hands go, I’m sure you can remember that nice wheel route he caught against the Panthers down the sidelines for a long touchdown last year, so we all know he can help out in that area.

If Rodgers is up for the challenge (should be) I expect this kid to have a breakout year, and he should be worth stashing late in your fantasy drafts. All that said, one player that could slow him down (besides Turner of course) is veteran Jason Snelling, as he re-signed with the team last month.

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2012 Downloadable Atlanta Falcons Schedule

Talk about your worst fears coming true last year, if you happen to be a Buccaneers fan. Coming off a season in 2010, where young offensive talents like Josh Freeman and then rookies Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount all had breakout years; it had to be a little concerning that a sophomore slump (second year as a full-time starter in Freeman’s case) could be in the works.

Not only did the players named above struggle in 2011, but the entire team did a face first rapid plunge into the Bermuda Triangle. Can’t say for sure but it wouldn’t surprise me if a few of the Buccaneers defenders were on the back of milk cartons by the season’s end, because the play (and scoreboard) seemed to indicate they were playing with only eight or nine guys.

To say it was a bad end to the Raheem Morris era would be kind, as his players clearly mailed it in, and now it’s up to the new coaching staff to turn this mess around.

Forking Out The Money

Coach Morris was probably scratching his head this off-season as Tampa Bay finally opened the check book and started signing mar-key free agents like guard Carl Nicks, receiver Vincent Jackson and even corner back Eric Wright.

While the addition of Jackson will give Freeman a receiver to take the top off the defense, it’s Nicks that I find most interesting. Tampa Bay already had a good offensive line and with Nicks, they should have a solid running game. One has to wonder whether they will land Trent Richardson if available, especially with the signing of Wright to play opposite Aqib Talib.

This seems even more likely to me as LeGarrette Blount had his struggles last year, and his problems with holding onto the football, may be the final nail that holds him back from being a true bell cow in this league.

In Richardson, the Buccaneers would have a running back that demands, eight man fronts and that is perfect for a very young Freeman, who clearly needs more time to develop the finer points of the quarterback position. Sucking in the defense, will help Jackson test the vertical routes, and his presence in the offense will help Williams on the short to intermediate routes.

To wrap things up, I see hope for the future with the Buccaneers, but it will be up to the coaching to the coaching staff to turn this team into a winner, even if they have some valuable veteran additions.

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2012 Downloadable Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule

It seemed so clear last off-season, how things would play out in Carolina. Steve Smith was supposed to be on his way to another team; Jonathan Stewart was finally going to get his chance to be a full-time starter, and take it to the bank, if I were a sports betting fan, rookie Cam Newton would fall flat on his face (still bitter he beat my Ducks) in year one.

Then the lockout lifted and somehow Newton convinced Smith to stay in Carolina, and the team decided it was a good idea to bring back DeAngelo Williams for a large sum of money.

Ok, I thought; this must mean a heavy running back by committee as Newton isn’t looking accurate in pre-season games — oh, how things changed.

Newton had us all fooled as he threw for over 400 yards week one, against the Cardinals, and that promising bounce back year I thought Smith would have on another team, turned to reality with a supposedly raw, rookie quarterback.

Not only did Newton light up the scoreboard, but he did it standing firm in the pocket and only using his legs, as a secondary option, most of the year. Newton wasn’t just a pleasant surprise for fantasy football purposes, but he was one of the highest scoring players around!

Sophomore Slump?

I don’t see a sophomore slump from Newton (who does), but he may lose out on some of those goal-line touches as new full back Mike Tolbert is an effective runner at that part of the field. Still, Newton will likely be putting up video game numbers, especially if the defense fails to improve from last year.

Third year receiver Brandon LaFell is being pumped up as a possible breakout player this off-season but fans shouldn’t forget about David Gettis, who fell to an ACL tear last summer. Their development will likely prove to be important because defenses are sure to roll coverage over to Smith’s side of the field, as we saw his numbers slowed down in the second half last year.

I would also like to see the game scripts involve the running game more often, as Williams and Stewart were having better success in the second half of the season. Now that teams have to respect Newton and Smith, it should make life much easier for running success, and with Tolbert in the mix, it would be wins for Carolina to run the football when they have a lead, so that the defense can stay fresh.

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2012 Downloadable Carolina Panthers Schedule

I was certain New Orleans was sure to finally have a feature tail back when they traded up for Mark Ingram in the draft, and then parted ways with Reggie Bush, after the lockout. Sure, they signed Darren Sproles but I figured he was likely to be used much of the same way Bush was, translating to plenty of touches for Ingram, as the season moved along.

Well, the Saints continued throwing the football and unfortunately for a few of my fantasy teams, Ingram never developed into the runner I envisioned he would be, year one. However, Sproles did prove to not only be a comparable replacement for Bush; he was even better, and I couldn’t fault the Saints for keeping him on the field more often, because of the matchup problems he gives defenses.

Then there was tight end Jimmy Graham, who carried his late-season production from 2010, over to the 2011 season in a big way, becoming one of the more dangerous play makers at his position, in the game. Both Sproles and Graham played big roles in the Saints offense as Drew Brees went on his way to throw for over 5,000 yards and go into the record books.

The Challenging Road Ahead

I really don’t want to get into the bounty BS, but it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room, so I will just point out some of the possible challenges they will face this year.

Brees should have another fine season, but this team did struggle a little when Coach Sean Peyton had to move up to the booth last year, after breaking his leg. His absence from the sideline (let alone all together) may be a problem at times, but overall Brees won’t forget the playbook, and he should still excel in his pre-snap reads, is just one reason why this offense is so dangerous.

The more interesting story to watch is what will new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo do with a defense, is sure to be re-worked because of impending suspensions? The main areas to watch are pressuring the quarterback and creating turnovers, if they can do this well, New Orleans will remain on schedule for another NFC South Championship and a Super Bowl run.

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2012 Downloadable New Orleans Saints Schedule

The Donovan McNabb experience tour turned out to be a value less than the price of admission in Minnesota, and by mid-season rookie Christian Ponder received his license to drive the Vikings offense. While Ponder continued to have problems staying on the field, once again in his career, I did like what I saw from the mobile quarterback.

Ponder was helped from the emergence of Percy Harvin in the second half of the year, after the team wisely decided it was best to use one of the few star talents they have in a part-time role.

Growing Pains

Sadly, the driving force of this team suffered a terrible blow as Adrian Peterson tore his ACL in December, and may start the year in the PUP list. Being a PAC 12 fan, I watched a decent amount of Toby Gerhart’s games back at Standford, and I liked the way he played once they used a full back in front of him — let’s hope he continues that success this year.

Keeping game’s close, and properly using the running game to help Ponder or Joe Webb seems to be the way to win in Minnesota, at this time. With the addition of tight end John Carlson, expect the Vikings to use more two tight ends on the field (trendy move these days) which is a good thing because it appears Ponder is better suited for throws in the short to intermediate area, and in the middle of the field.

That’s not to say that I think Ponder has a weak arm, but he’s better off taking calculated shots down the field, and that tends to come when the defense has to read run keys.

For the game scripts to go that direction, the defense will have to play much better, especially against the quarterbacks they face in the NFC North being Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler. That will be hard to do but maybe Minnesota will land Morris Claiborne, and if he can win in man coverage — as former LSU teammate Patrick Peterson did in the second half of last year — it would allow the defense to roll coverage to the other side of the field.

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2012 Downloadable Minnesota Vikings Schedule