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Dave's Take
8/3/07
  • After briefing flirting with the Washington Redskins and a few other teams, veteran wide receiver Keenan McCardell finally decided to return to his hometown and join the Texans. The 37-year-old had a disappointing campaign in 2006 as the Chargers increasingly began calling plays for Vincent Jackson as the season wore. This resulted in McCardell catching only nine passes over the team's final seven games, including the playoff loss to the Patriots. Nonetheless, the crafty McCardell managed to haul in 36 receptions on only 51 attempts and is just one season removed from a 70 reception, 917 yard, nine touchdown season. Although he's unlikely to approach those stats in 2007, his competition for a starting spot on the Texans consists of raw rookie Jacoby Jones, a third round pick from a community college, Kevin Walter (47 receptions in four years) and third year player Jerome Mathis, who has spent more time in the trainer's room than on the field. McCardell might just be worth a picking up in deep leagues given he will come at an extremely low cost.

  • Make no mistake about it, Lions rookie receiver Calvin Johnson is bound to be a major stud in the league and a top FF producer for years to come. However, if the rookie wants to be on the field for the majority of the team's offensive plays and make a meaningful contribution during the first part of the season, he needs to get to camp immediately. There are two factors working against the 2nd pick in the draft as he attempts to make a big impression in his rookie season. One, coordinator Mike Martz has the thickest offensive playbook in the league and it's extremely complicated, with sight adjustments and extensive verbiage. The sight adjustments require coordination with the quarterback and it's doubtful Johnson's going to be on the same page with quarterback Jon Kitna unless he gets in a significant amount of reps. Two, Martz isn't the kind of coach who's going to tone down his playbook for anybody, be it a rookie wide receiver or quarterback. Fellow wideout Mike Furrey was already looking like a decent option in points per reception leagues and the longer Johnson remains a holdout, the better Furrey looks.

    Editor's Note: Calvin Johnson signed with the Lions today (after submission of this article)

  • The Dolphins have been impressed with the play of center Samson Satele, a 2nd round selection in this year's draft, and it appears he will open the season in the starting line-up. Satele was quick to learn the team's playbook and the team feels he has the leadership skills necessary to lead the offensive line for many years.

  • In another amazing Browns injury recovery story, cornerback Gary Baxter appears ready to join the club early in training camp. It appeared Baxter's football career was over after he tore both patellar tendons three games into the 2006 season, an injury no player has ever returned from. Baxter will start training camp on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list but should come off the list early in training camp. His presence, even in a nickel or dime back role, would improve what is perhaps the league's worst group of cornerbacks. With Leigh Bodden on one side and Daven Holly, Kenny Wright and rookie 2nd round pick Eric Wright battling for the other starting position, the team is so weak at cornerback that defensive coordinator Todd Grantham would have little choice but to employ extensive zone coverage.

  • DeMarcus WareLook for Dallas outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware to have a monster season in 2007. After recording 11.5 sacks last season, the most in Dallas team history by an outside linebacker, and going to his first Pro Bowl in only his second season, Ware seems poised to reap the benefits of new coach Wade Phillips defensive philosophies. Phillips has generally managed to turn at least one of his defenders into a sack machine during his coaching career (Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips in San Diego, Bryce Paup in Buffalo) and he plans to turn Ware loose in the Dallas by allowing him more freedom to roam while moving him around to create mismatches for the opposition's blockers. Don't look for him to approach Merriman's expected sack totals this season because he won't put his hand on the ground on nearly every passing down like Merriman will but expect his sack and total tackles to rise as Phillips takes the shackles off and lets him use his instincts to disrupt opposing offences.

  • The Panthers were hoping tight end Michael Gaines would grab hold of a starting job in training camp, however the 2004 7th round pick has already been demoted in favor of 2007 5th round pick Jeff King. At 6'3" and 280 pounds, Gaines brings good size and above average speed to the position but he has not been able to fully grasp the team's playbook. A former college basketball player, King also has good athleticism but doesn't have Gaines' size and blocking ability, something the team wants to improve given the team's poor rushing attack last season.

  • Packers 1st round pick Justin Harrell hasn't exactly lit things up thus far in training camp. The defensive tackle showed up 15 pounds over his college playing weight and hasn't been effective getting upfield or on running plays. Apparently, the lack of conditioning is the result of Harrell not being able to participate in mini-camps due to the torn bicep that plagued him during his final college season. Packers brass apparently isn't too concerned about Harrell's performance, however it says here the rookie maybe should have spent a few bucks of his signing bonus on some cardio equipment because his lack of maturity is somewhat ridiculous.

  • The Bucs made a lot of noise in the off-season with their acquisition in free agency of Colts linebacker Cato June. While June has looked good thus far in training camp and may replace Derrick Brooks at weakside linebacker (the playmaking spot in the Bucs defense) sooner than expected, there's another Bucs linebacker that is poised to make a name for himself in 2007. Barrett Rudd, a high 2nd round pick in the 2005 draft, will assume Shelton Quarles' spot at middle linebacker. With two years in the Bucs system under his belt and the opportunity to start five games in 2006 when Quarles was injured, the Bucs feel Rudd is ready to shine. Rudd was a tackling machine at Nebraska and clearly has the instincts necessary to succeed in the middle. Although Quarles wasn't among the top overall point producers in IDP leagues last season, a closer look reveals he was just outside of the top ten in terms of average points per game. The younger, faster Rudd may just be ready to assume that level of production.

  • Travis Wilson, the Browns 3rd round pick from last season, has quickly supplanted the perennially injured Tim Carter on the team's depth chart. With Carter out nursing an injured hamstring, Wilson has moved behind starters Braylon Edwards and Joe Jurevicius. With Jurevicius approaching the twilight of his career and his lengthy injury history (21 missed games over the past four years), Wilson is likely to get an opportunity to start some games in 2007 and possibly make a statement that he has what it takes to be Edwards' running mate for the next few years.

  • Is there a harder luck player in the league than Dan Cody? The Ravens 2005 2nd round pick missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury and spent the first part of the 2006 season on the Physically Unable to Perform list before returning to the roster to appear in two games. Now it appears Cody's 2007 season may have ended with the injury he sustained during the team's minicamp in May. The knee didn't respond so Cody recently had arthroscopic surgery and will likely miss the remainder of training camp and may end up requiring microfracture surgery, which at this point would certainly end his once promising career.

  • The Panthers made a nice trade in acquiring Bears safety Chris Harris for only a 5th pick in the 2008 draft. Although Harris isn't a candidate for the Pro Bowl anytime soon, he is a major upgrade at strong safety for the Panthers who were auditioning Nate Salley and Deke Cooper to play on the strong side opposite Mike Minter. Harris was a 6th round pick in the 2005 draft but was stuck in a logjam of safeties with the Bears. Despite his low draft position, Harris managed to start 20 games over his first two years in the league and he plugs a rather gaping hole in what otherwise looks to be a solid Carolina defense.

  • Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty has looked impressive in camp and the team feels he may be ready for a breakout season. After being asked to take on blockers in Bill Parcell's defensive scheme, Canty is being given more freedom in new coach Wade Phillip's scheme. A 4th round pick in the 2005 draft, Canty was impressive as a rookie and the Cowboys brass felt he would develop into a great asset in the 3-4 scheme due to his ability to take on blockers while also generating a strong pass rush. However, after starting two games and notching 2.5 sacks as a rookie, Canty recorded only one sack in 2006, despite starting all 16 games. Although he still showed an ability to get to the quarterback, he didn't finish and the team thinks his renewed commitment may propel to him a big season in 2007.

  • Although the 49ers used their 1st round selection on linebacker Patrick Willis in this year's draft with the hopes he will turn into a star on their defense, the original plan was to have him start the season in a reserve role behind incumbent inside starters Derek Smith and Brandon Moore. However, Willis is doing his best to scuttle those plans with his play thus far in training camp. Reports out of San Francisco indicate his combination of instincts and athleticism are simply too strong to keep out of the starting line-up. Look for Willis to open the season playing alongside Smith in the middle with Moore moving to team up Manny Lawson at outside linebacker. With former Patriot Tullly Banta-Cain, Jeff Ulbrich and Hannibal Navies in reserve, the 49ers have the potential to field one of the best linebacking units in the league.