SB Nation - DeShaun Foster

Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals: Know Thy Enemy Edition

Pyromnc — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:51 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

23 days ago: Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams (34) drags Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib for yardage during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009. Williams rushed for 152 yards in the Panthers' 28-21 win. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Last year the Carolina Panthers were able to build a very good team that had a pretty good defense and an offense built around their young running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. Their offense would see Stewart and Williams rush for a combined 2,351 yards, with 1,515 by Williams and 836 by Stewart. Those are stellar numbers for two running backs but they haven’t been able to replicate the same success this season. Part of the problem has been the turnovers, a category in which the Panther’s lead the league. This team has had 6 fumbles lost and 14 interceptions this season through six games. This has made it very tough for this team as they get behind their opponents and it takes out a running game that was among the best last season. This all started when the Panther’s faced the Cardinals in the playoffs and the Cards forced 6 turnovers. Ever since then, this offense has not looked the same and the Cardinals will hope to repeat what they did on Sunday. If they want to do that they will have to neutralize the Panthers run game, something the Cards have done in their past 12 games (including the playoffs). Last season the Cards neutralized Stewart pretty good, allowing just 22 yards on 11 carries for 1 touchdown. However, they allowed Williams to rush for 171 yards on 29 carries (5.9 yards per carry) and 1 touchdown. Williams will be the one to look out for in this game.

DeAngelo Williams went to college at Memphis and was one of their best players to ever play there. While at Memphis he compiled over 7,573 all purpose yards, with 6,026 of those coming on the ground. The all purpose yards are an NCAA record and the rushing yards would be good enough for fourth all-time behind Ron Dayne, Ricky Williams, and Tony Dorsett. Williams was not bad at receiving either having 70 catches that went for 723 yards and 5 touchdowns. All this would be spread over a four year career in which he would only start one game his freshman year, but the remaining three years he would start every game he played. Those are pretty impressive numbers and would end up being good enough for him in the 2006 draft.

In the 2006 draft, it was hard to predict where Williams would go. Some had him going as a top ten pick, possibly by the Cardinals, and some had him going in the second round. Williams would end up going number 27 in the first round to the Carolina Panthers. In Williams first two years he did not get a lot of chances, having 121 rushing attempts and 33 receptions in his first season, and 144 rushing and 23 receptions in his second. This was because he was backing up DeShaun Foster. Williams would make the most of his chances by gaining 501 yards rushing on those 121 attempts and 313 yards on the 33 receptions, and would gain 717 yards on the 144 attempts and 175 yards on the 23 receptions his second year. This would lead to Williams getting his chance to start in 2008 and he did not disappoint. As stated in the opener, he would have 1,515 yards over 273 carries (5.5 yards per carry), which would go for 18 touchdowns. This year has been a different story. Williams has not had as many chances this year, in part because of the turnovers and most of these can be blamed on Jake Delhomme, who has 13 interceptions and 2 fumbles lost this season. When Delhomme is not turning the ball over, he is consistently missing open receivers, and generally making bad decisions. This had lead to the Carolina offense not being remotely close to what it was last year. This will be a key to the Cardinals winning this game.

The Cardinals will want to make the Panthers try and beat them with Delhomme and not with the run game. That is why the Cardinals must stop Williams and continue to stop Stewart like they did last season. If they can stop those two, Delhomme might be in for another long day and might even have some flashbacks to that playoff game that a lot of people believe started this whole mess for the Panthers. Do you think the Cardinals can continue their dominance over the running game? Will Delhomme have another bad game? Or will he get his revenge for what the Cards did in the Playoffs last year?

The State of the Carolina Panthers

Revshawn — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:03:30 -0000

In one of the hardest schedules in the history of our team, the Panthers have started 0-3. In the preseason we were regarded as one of the top teams to get to the Super Bowl, and the favorites to win the NFC division. Thought not spoken of in many NFL circles, we were slowly gaining respect around the league as a force worthy of being reckoned with and a team able to dig deep into the playoffs.

Why? Because our offense was unstoppable.

Last year we featured a powerful running game led by DeAngelo Williams, whom received 70 fewer carries than other top backs but still finished for 3rd most rushing yards in the NFL. When you combined him with Jonathan Stewart, we ran for over 2,000 yards for the first time in our franchise history. We have one of the strongest receivers in the game in Steve Smith, a decent veteran receiver/blocker in Moose, and one of the best game managers in the NFL in Jake Delhomme, whom has a tendency to make late game-winning drives in the 4th quarter to win games we usually wouldn't win in the first place. It was a powerful combination that drove us to a record of 12-4, and won us the NFC South title.

In spite of retaining all of these players, this year we are 0-3. We have lost our first three games in some of the most horrible ways that the human imagination can imagine. What happened?

Let me take you back to 2003, the year that the Panthers almost won the Super Bowl. It was the season that defined the definition of Foxball: A dominant defense that put pressure on the QB and an offense that featured a strong O-line and a good dose of a smash-mouth rushing attack.

We had a offense similar to the offense we have now. Instead of DeAngelo Williams we had Stephen Davis, and instead of Jonathan Stewart we had DeShaun Foster. We had a O-Line that could compete with the strongest in the league, and our fullback Brad Hoover was still hanging around, always taking care of a linebacker in the second level. We were a team built to run, and we won many games by doing it effectively.

Let's go over the games that took the Panthers to the Super Bowl, and see who got the ball the most.

Against the Cowboys in the Wildcard matchup, the Panthers ran the ball 26 times with Davis and gave the ball to Jake 29 times.

Against the Rams in the 1st round of the playoffs, the Panthers ran the ball 27 times with both Foster and Davis and gave the ball to Delhomme 26 times.

Against the Eagles in the conference championship, they gave the ball to Davis and Foster 34 times and Delhomme only got 14 attempts.

This is Foxball. This is the type of play that will get a team like us to the Super Bowl, and win it. This is the type of play that historically allow the Panthers to play the best football that they can play. To play in any other manner would not allow us to have the same success.

Now let's go more recent. Let's take a look at the two big drives that the Panthers had right before their teams imploded in games against the Cardinals and the Eagles.

Against the Cardinals the Panthers ran the ball 3 times for 41 yards, and Jake Delhomme passed once for 9 yards on the Panthers first drive of the game.

Against the Eagles on the first drive, we had 9 rushing plays for 61 yards, and 4 passing plays for 15 yards.

All of this success has one simple thing in common: The Panthers ran the ball more. Success in the running game allowed Jake Delhomme to take a chance deep downfield after the defense had stacked up in the middle of the field, and more often than not we were able to come down with a big gain. Remember all of those deep balls to Steve Smith last year? That wasn't by accident. The running game helped to free him up to make those catches.

The Panthers are not winning today. Somewhere along the line they got away from this simple little formula and started to pretend that Jake Delhomme is Peytan Manning. That is not the formula for success for this team. When given countless opportunities, the Panthers only ran the ball 13 times against the Cowboys, keeping the ball from one of our biggest playmakers in DeAngelo Williams. For comparison, that is only four plays more than the Panthers ran the ball on the Eagles two weeks ago ON THEIR OPENING DRIVE.

The greatest problem that the Panthers are facing right now is not that Jake Delhomme is playing a bad game. It's not that Julius Peppers isn't playing for his 1 million a game. It isn't because Steve Smith is screwing up routes or the offensive line aren't holding their blocks.

The greatest problem the Panthers face right now is that they have forgotten who they are: A team based on defending and stopping the run. For the first half of the game last night, we played like the Carolina Panthers. We ran the ball 9 times for 44 yards, and passed it 16 times for 94 yards and a TD. We made up for our lack of a defensive line by blitzing often, putting pressure on Tony Romo and holding the Cowboys to only 3 points.

For the second half of the game, we changed our strategy. We suddenly stopped blitzing on defense and dropped our linebackers in pass coverage, giving Romo all day to complete a pass and breathing new life into their running game. We started giving the ball to Jake Delhomme in spite of the double teams on Steve Smith and our depleted WR corps. The Panthers stopped being the Panthers we know and they tried to be something else. It was a game plan we neither had the need to perform, nor the personnel.

That is why we lost the game on Monday night.

We have to change. In spite of being 0-3, we still have a chance to turn this season around. We can win with Jake Delhomme as our QB, but we need to return to being the dominant running team we know we are. We have to give DeAngelo Williams the ball, and ride on his back to the Playoffs. That is the only way we will succeed.

Once our coaches realize that, we'll be just fine.

Rams still looking at running backs and wide receivers

VanRam — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:14:42 -0000

by Ted S. Warren - AP

Gary Russell spent the preseason with the Raiders. The Rams had a workout with the free agent today.

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Due diligence or outright concerned about roster depth, the St. Louis Rams brought in a few players to workout today.

We mentioned the news this morning that former Steelers RB Gary Russell was at Rams Park today. Joining him were RBs DeShaun Foster and Carey Davis, another former Steeler, along with LBs Tank Daniels and David Herron.

I doubt that's the last players that the Devaney and Co. visit with as they tweak their roster prior to the Seattle game. These workouts will also be handy down the road in case they need to quickly plug a gap due to injury. On top of that, they've got to be concerned about RB depth. Gado had a nice preseason, but he's dealing with what could be a painful injury. Another blow to those ribs and he could be on the bench. Behind Gado is Darby, who failed in the preseason to build on the promise he showed last season. I don't mean to be a hater about Gado either, but I wonder if there's not a dropoff between what he's capable of doing in the preseason versus live rounds.

The Rams have six LBs on the active roster and two on the practice squad (K.C. Asiodu and Dominic Douglas). They're already without Larry Grant, who looks like a nice option as a rusher at SLB, for this week and probably next.

The biggest, most obvious question for a Rams roster tweak is adding another WR. Right now, the Rams have just four receivers on the active roster and one (Sean Walker) on the practice squad. The report from the PD (linked above) says Devaney and the Rams are interested in former Eagles WR Greg Lewis, a system, route runner type with some yards-after-catch ability.

Former Giants WR David Tyree's agent said recently that the Rams were among a small group of teams with some interest. (I think I'll pass).

Roundup From BN Walk: Cole's Dominating Summer, Aztec Optimism Via Familiar Names & Other Notes From Memory Lane

Nestor — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:28:43 -0000

Let's start the week with some news from the diamond. Bruin phenom Gerrit Cole's dominating summer continued as the righthander tossed a two hit complete game shut out against Canada on late last week:

PRINCE GEORGE, British Columbia - UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole recorded seven strikeouts and scattered just two hits in a complete game as the USA Baseball National Team (Collegiate) blanked Canada, 1-0, Friday evening at the 2009 Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline World Baseball Challenge at Prince George Citizen Field.

Cole (4-0) pitched all nine innings, surrendering two hits, and never allowed a baserunner to reach third. The rising sophomore from Santa Ana, Calif., earned his fourth victory of the summer pitching for the U.S. team. Cole registered three of his seven strikeouts in the ninth inning.

The U.S. team got on the board in the bottom of the second with one run, and Cole helped shut the door against Canada. Yasmani Grandal (Miami) hit a two-out single to left field in the second inning and Andy Wilkins (Arkansas) followed with an RBI-triple off the scoreboard in left-center field.

Too bad another US team playing a more high profile match yesterday experienced the opposite results. Watching that game brought back the feelings of 19-66. I will just leave it at that.

Moving on to football Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, who I believe used to be on XTRA back in the day (is he still on radio?) wrote up a preview of San Diego State firing up the Aztec faithful. He especially used the names of couple of key coordinators (brought in by new HC Brady Hoke), who are familiar names to all of us here on BN:

Prediction Aztecs fans: Things will be different this time around. Meet head coach Brady Hoke and his two coordinators, Rocky Long and Al Borges. [...]

The track record of these men speaks volumes — Hoke at Ball State, Borges at UCLA and Auburn; and Long at New Mexico, UCLA and Oregon State. This head coach, and those two coordinators will be the difference makers. They’ve rebuilt and won before and will do it here.

List FAIL: ESPN's Aaron Schatz

Nestor — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:02:27 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

The Posterboy of Over-Rated/Over-Hyped NFL Busts

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Jason King is not the only writer from the traditional media (or the new media) who is cobbling together stupid lists during the long off season of football and basketball. Guess the summer months when everyone is bored out of their minds (baseball doesn't cut it for everyone) writers are under pressure to produce content which results in laughable lists penning Just$C* as a "tradition rich" hoops program. Thankfully for Jason as mentioned at the beginning he is not the only one coming up with joke lists this summer.

WWL's Aaron Schatz tried to come up with a list of "25 most over-rated" players in the NFL from this past decade. Here is how the list went from 10 to 9 (which is posted in an Atlanta Falcons message board):

10. DeAngelo Hall
9. Dante Hall
8. Stephen Alexander
7. Ty Law
6. Reggie Bush
5. Adam Vinatieri
4. Jamal Lewis
3. Chris Chambers
2. Michael Vick

And the number 1 guy in Aaron's "list". A familiar name for all of us:

1. DeShaun Foster: Foster is the platonic ideal of a boom-and-bust running back, who breaks one or two highlight runs a game and then spends the rest of the time leaving his unfortunate quarterback in second-and-9 after second-and-9. Once a year he had a huge game against the Atlanta Falcons, and convince everybody he was a good NFL starter for another 12 months. According to Football Outsiders numbers, he was below replacement level in four out of six seasons. He only managed 4.3 yards per carry (average for running backs) in two seasons, and had no year with more than three rushing touchdowns. In 2007, Foster (3.5 yards per carry) had 100 more carries than DeAngelo Williams (5.0 yards per carry). Good luck explaining that one.

Huh? Riddle me this. How can Foster be the most over-rated player in the NFL from last 10 years considering he was not a top-10 pick? Wait a minute. He was not even a top-20 pick. Oh wait. What's that? Apparently he wasn't drafted in the entire first round. Foster if you can remember was drafted in the second round, after his college career ended abruptly over allegations over driving an SUV. Not only that he also had to battle through a number of injuries. Still he did what he could and considering where he was drafted did pretty well with the Carolina Panthers.

Meanwhile, somehow Reggie Bush is well bellow Foster. Unlike Foster, Bush never had to suffer the consequences of alleged extra benefits (in Bush's cases it involved hundreds of thousands of dollars (alleged) extra benefits going to his family members which would be illegal under NCAA rules), and rode into NBA with LeBron James like hype without producing anything close to match it.

Of course, the names glaringly missing from that list include players such as Alex Smith (I say that as a Niners fan), Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Joey Harrington, Matt Leinart, and to be fair Cade McNown (my favorite Bruin QB of all time).

So the question before publishing this kind of garbage list on a major national network such as ESPN, does it go through some kind of editorial process exercising common sense knowledge? I get it. It's a slow time. So one of the main reasons to write up list pieces like this is to kick up some dirt and get a conversation going. But does that really mean people can get away with writing something that is so dumb?

GO BRUINS.

2009 Roster Projections: Running Backs

Fooch — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:00:17 -0000

The 2009 OTAs (offseason training activities) kick off this coming Monday, so it seems as good a time as any to move on to our next set of offseason roster projections. Last week we kicked it off with the defensive line. The poll results were interesting as more people thought Ricky Jean-Francois would make the 53-man roster over Ray McDonald. McDonald's injury issues probably play somewhat of a role in that.

Now we move on to the running backs. Last spring I was really excited about the DeShaun Foster signing. I thought he'd be a great complementary back to Frank Gore. That never really panned out as he didn't get much work in behind Frank the Tank. Heading into this offseason, most everybody, from management to the fans, realized the team needed to find a solid running back who could sufficiently offset Gore. We're now left to wonder if they've found the answer. Also, I didn't include fullbacks at this point. Given the nature of the 49ers rushing attack I'll be looking at them separately.

Locks
Frank Gore
Michael Robinson
Glen Coffee

Bubble
Kory Sheets
Thomas Clayton

Virtually No Chance
Nobody

I think the biggest potential for controversy is probably listing Glen Coffee as a lock to make the 53-man roster. There are plenty of folks here who are probably still steaming over the Coffee selection. However, given that the team has invested a third round pick in Coffee, I really can't see him being held off the 53-man roster. Please feel free to correct me if you think I've erred. Also, give me a reason or two.

As for Robinson, his special teams prowess and potential in the wildcat (really not sure how much we'll see of him in that though) would seem to secure a roster spot for him. A month before last year's training camp, Robinson signed a 3-year extension that would keep him in San Francisco through the 2012 season. I'm curious how Singletary feels about Robinson, since this signing came before he was elevated to head coach.

The bubble contains a pair of very interesting running backs. Thomas Clayton is beloved by many people on this site because of his huge preseason numbers. he led the NFL in preseason rushing yards in 2007and finished third last season. For those who don't like Clayton, it has to be easy to see why some folks might jump on that bandwagon (if you can call it a bandwagon). And yet, he has yet to touch the field in a regular season game. We've discussed Thomas Clayton and why he should or should not be on the roster ad nauseum. Accordingly, I'd like to use this post to turn to the newest 49er running back....

The other bubble back is Kory Sheets. Sheets went undrafted out of Purdue amidst some complaints of shenanigans against the coaching staff. Who knows what really happened, but many folks see him as an extremely talented running back. When we get to predicting an entire 53-man roster, we'll have a better idea of if he'll be making the roster. In the meantime, just considering running backs, what do you think happens to Sheets this season?

If the team keeps Gore, Robinson and Coffee, can they afford to keep a 4th running back in Sheets? Depending on how deep they want to go elsewhere, I definitely think it's a possibility. Gore is your every down back, Coffee gets beefed up into a short yardage guy and Sheets is your home-run hitter. It worked for the Giants in more or less that fashion. The Giants already used Earth, Wind and Fire, so would the 49ers have thunder, lightning and heavy rain?

Poll

Assuming he's healthy, where will Kory Sheets be Week 1 of the regular season?

49ers 53-man roster

635 votes

49ers Practice Squad

799 votes

Another team

56 votes

On the street looking for a job

62 votes

1552 votes | Poll has closed

Are Bills heading toward a line-oriented April?

Brian Galliford — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:15:07 -0000

LB Keiaho one of many free agent visitors (Colts.com)

A week ago today when the NFL's 2009 free agent signing period opened, the Buffalo Bills went out and immediately filled their top two needs by grabbing new starting center Geoff Hangartner as well as new backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Phase One of Buffalo's plans continued with their heavy courtship of both WR Laveranues Coles and CB Jabari Greer. The team missed on both players, though the team rectified the depth lost at cornerback with the acquisition of Drayton Florence.

That part of the strategy is over. Phase two is now in full effect, as the Bills have hosted eight free agents that remain unsigned and will reportedly host at least two more that we know of. That's ten names in and out of the doors at One Bills Drive without a signing; that activity may re-define the word "cautious". Hopefully, at some point, the Bills will feel comfortable enough with one of these players to continue filling out their roster. In the meantime, however, the players passing through the facilities may be indicative of an exciting draft strategy on Buffalo's part.

Targeting peripheral needs
Yesterday, we spoke briefly about Buffalo's needs before yet another rash of visitors consumed our attention. As that list was a community effort, and this is an opinion piece, I'll be modifying the list a bit to fit my tastes. Regardless of whether you agree with the positions I believe the Bills need to address, it's clear which areas the Bills are focusing on.

Running Back (visitors: K. Jones, D. Foster)
Wide Receiver (visitors: J. Galloway, K. Washington)
Tight End
Offensive Guard (K. Simmons)
Reserve Guard/Center x2
Defensive End
Defensive Tackle
Linebacker (visitors: C. June, F. Keiaho, M. Peterson, J. Winborn, P. Thomas)

That's a minimum of nine additional players needed according to this list. The Bills have entertained players at four of those positions - running back, receiver, offensive guard and linebacker.

Take a look at the positions that haven't received (much) attention yet. Tight End. Offensive line depth. Defensive End. A big run-stuffing defensive tackle. At first blush, it appears that the Bills are procrastinating their trench work until the month of April.

Drafting in "win now" mode
Let's imagine a scenario in which the Bills sign two more players. That's not asking much. Considering there are five names at linebacker, a new starter at SAM seems more than likely at this point. Considering the lack of depth available at wide receiver and the fact that three running backs (including Fred Taylor) have visited the team, you have to believe that a third running back is ideally filled with a veteran as well. If a third veteran is added, it'll be at wide receiver; if a receiver isn't added, it's likely the Bills will pursue their investments in their young wideouts rather than address the position again in the draft.

That means that with seven picks in the draft, the Bills could spend anywhere from three to six of those picks on offensive and defensive linemen. There is obviously no guarantee that any rookie will have an impact immediately, and no position is "easy" or "simple" in the NFL, but if the Bills have to hedge their bets on getting a deep and instant-impact rookie class, they're putting their money on linemen. That might be the smartest thing they can do.

I love the strategy. For years, and in particular during the Tom Donahoe era, the franchise has been set back by flashy picks (Willis McGahee, Roscoe Parrish) and poor decisions along their lines (Mike Williams, Derrick Dockery, John McCargo, letting Pat Williams walk). If we're right about this, and the Bills plan on investing several picks in their lines, it's the best possible scenario not just for getting impact out of their rookie class, but for the future of the franchise. It's drafting to win immediately and to win over the long term. Yes, other positions (tight end, fullback, safety, reserve linebacker) might be addressed. But the lines appear to be the focus for April - and I, for one, could not be more thrilled about it.

Re-assessing Buffalo's needs for free agency, round two

Brian Galliford — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:21:08 -0000

Back in January, this community put together the Buffalo Rumblings Community Needs List. The list breaks down every single need we deemed important for the Buffalo Bills to address this off-season. The first major wave of the free agent signing period is over, and Buffalo has already addressed some of those needs and are now working on others. Here's a quick recap of the full needs list and what we know Buffalo has done at each position.

CRITICAL NEEDS
Pass-rushing defensive end: To our knowledge, there has been no movement on this front. There are veteran ends (Bertrand Berry and Kalimba Edwards are those most often mentioned) that would help on paper, but the team appears to be set to address this need in the draft, if at all. (Berry and Edwards, by the way, have received very little interest on the open market.)

Receiving tight end: Again, not much in the way of movement. The team showed interest early in the process in Texan Owen Daniels, but he's no longer a viable option, having received a high RFA tender from Houston. Unless the team's interest is piqued by a player available for trade such as Denver's Tony Scheffler, this is another position that will get consideration in the draft.

Starting center: This was Buffalo's highest-priority need entering free agency, and they took care of the need over the first weekend by signing former Panthers reserve Geoff Hangartner. He'll assume starting center duties for the team in 2009.

Starting linebacker: At first blush, this appeared to be a position that the Bills would put off until the draft as well. Now, as the team has moved on to its free agency contingency plans, it's looking like linebacker has risen close to the top of the priority list, as the team has already visited with Cato June and plans to visit with Mike Peterson as well. We had originally slated this need as a SAM linebacker, but Buffalo is showing us that they're looking for the best possible player; they'll figure out where Paul Posluszny lines up once they've made their acquisition.

UPGRADE NEEDS
Massive rotational defensive tackle: Perhaps we're idealists here, because a large portion of the community back in January loved the idea of adding a massive run-stuffer to the defensive tackle rotation. We'll remain idealists, but there hasn't been any reported interest on Buffalo's part in bolstering their DT depth. This may be addressed in the draft, however.

Veteran backup quarterback: This was also sitting atop the team's priority list entering the opening weekend of free agency, and the team got their guy in former Bengals reserve Ryan Fitzpatrick. He's not exactly the type of quarterback that we had in mind, but a filled need is a filled need. Buffalo's depth chart at QB is set.

Veteran wide receiver: This spot has been the newsmaker, as the Bills pursued former Jets WR Laveranues Coles for over 72 hours before the receiver ultimately chose Cincinnati. There are other receivers the team may consider, but it's more likely at this point that the team looks to address other need areas while hoping for more return on investments made in James Hardy and Steve Johnson.

Blocking fullback: We've heard whispers that the team is planning on using a fullback only in short-yardage situations (relying on two-tight end sets in typical run situations); coupled with the re-signing of Corey McIntyre, this position is likely settled.

DEPTH NEEDS
Defensive end: The answer is yes - we really want to see DE upgraded in these parts. With Chris Kelsay still alive and kicking on the roster, however, it's looking more like the Bills will kill two birds with one stone and draft one player to increase their pass rush and give them a developmental player to team with Chris Ellis.

Interior offensive line: This is obviously a much more pressing issue than it was back in January, because very few of us anticipated the release of Derrick Dockery. As it stands right now, Buffalo has six legitimate NFL offensive linemen on their roster. Four of them (Jason Peters, Langston Walker, Kirk Chambers and Demetrius Bell) are tackles by trade. That leaves Brad Butler and Hangartner as the entire depth chart on the interior. Not only will this position be addressed, it might get the treatment two or even three times. The team has kicked the tires of Kendall Simmons and is reportedly interested in trading for Brian Waters. Don't be shocked if we see one vet and two rookies here by early May.

Swing linebacker: We had this one on the list on the assumption that Paul Posluszny would stay inside. However, with the team looking at veteran starters and players like Keith Ellison, John DiGiorgio, Alvin Bowen and Blake Costanzo waiting in the wings, it's unlikely the team will actively pursue a backup linebacker (though they certainly may take one in the draft). The team is quite obviously more interested in depth in the defensive backfield (see: Florence, Drayton).

Developmental safety: This was envisioned as a draft pick all along, and with the aforementioned Florence restoring the team's depth in the defensive backfield to ten strong, we are unlikely to see a safety added unless a value pick drops into our lap in April.

Viable third running back: I took a lot of heat for even mentioning the possibility of adding a third running back in January. Then Marshawn Lynch got arrested. Naturally, I had no idea that that would happen, but the team is now looking seriously at adding a veteran in the (likely?) event that Lynch misses any amount of time due to suspension. Fred Taylor came and left. Now the Bills have turned their attention to Kevin Jones and DeShaun Foster.

So, yeah. Things have changed. In retrospect, perhaps not overspending for Coles, as frustrating as it was to miss out on him, is a blessing in disguise. Now the Bills have the money to fill two or three of these pressing needs so that they can focus on drafting for impact, rather than hole-plugging, in April.

San Francisco 49ers--Monitoring Team Needs--Free Agency to the 2009 Draft

Jeremy Bolander — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:00:10 -0000

Keeping track of a team's dynamic roster gain/loss throughout the offseason is one of the keys to understanding their draft day moves and choices. Enter Monitoring Team Needs, an at-a-glance way of checking up on your team's latest roster flux, as we count down through Free Agency, and into the days before the 2009 Draft.

Below is a table that breaks down this roster flux, showing who has come and gone, as well as updating the neediest areas of the team and some of the top names that have a good chance of being available when they pick in the Draft. Draft prospects are linked to their Mocking the Draft Profiles and any names or positions highlighted in bold should be considered either to be positions of particular need and emphasis, or players of particular relevance and interest to the team's situation. Below the chart we will discuss some of the names and situations described, and as always, you can join in on the discussion in the comments.

See you below the fold!


SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 2008 Record and Rank: 7-9 2nd place	Team Needs	Likely DraftTargets (rd)
	QB, RT, OLB, DE, CB, FS, RB, WR, FB	DE/OLB, Everette Brown, Florida St(1st) OT, Andre Smith, Alabama (1st)
Free Agents Acquired	Current Free Agents	Free Agents/Players Lost
WR Micheal Spurlock(Res/Fut) FS Jimmy Williams(undisclosed)	QB Jamie Martin UFA QB J.T. O'Sullivan UFA RB DeShaun Foster UFA FB Zak Keasey ERFA WR Bryant Johnson UFA TE Sean P. Ryan UFA TE Billy Bajema UFA OG Tony Wragge RFA OL Damane Duckett UFA DL Ronald Fields UFA DE Roderick Green UFA CB Allen Rossum UFA LB Takeo Spikes UFA CB Donald Strickland UFA	SS Keith Lewis (cut) LB Tully Banta-Cain (cut)

LB Takeo Spikes was the second leading tackler on the team, with 122, and every indication is that he wants to be back. If rumors of a 2-3 year offer are true, the 49ers will find it hard to turn down his pricetag, since it won't have a long term impact on the team's rebuilding efforts.
WR Bryant Johnson won't be back. With youngster Josh Morgan ready to step in the Niners will be happy to save money here. At a certain point you should only pay so much for 45 catches, 546 yards. There is some very good midlevel depth at WR this year in the draft, so with any luck the Niners can nab Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina, or Percy Harvin, Florida.
In the backfield the Niners have a twofold concern, both involving RB Frank Gore to some degree. Perhaps the most important is clearing out some actual lanes for him, and a reliable FB would be a great first step in this direction (along with strongside tackle). They will have a chance to retain FB Zak Keasey, who missed some time with a biceps injury, but there are numerous options available in free agency as well. Justin Griffith in Oakland, or Moran Norris in Detroit would be good choices. Earlier there was word that Tony Richardson would be interested in blocking for Gore, but the Jets look to be committed to resigning Richardson. The second concern for Gore will be picking up another big set of wheels to pair with him and help take some of the wear off, before the miles become too much. RB Deshaun Foster showed he is still an effective back, but he will likely be allowed to leave after languishing on the bench most of the year. This is another position that will almost surely be addressed in the mid-rounds of the draft, but the kind of product they are looking for may not be available after the fourth round. Rashad Jennings, Liberty, and Arian Foster, Tennessee are both bigger guys who may still be around in the middle of the fourth, so some urgency should be involved with the pick.
The Niners expect to have between $25 and $30 million in available cap space, but there have already been warnings that they are not interested in breaking the bank for any high-profile players. Besides trying to resign many of their own guys they should be looking at some critical extensions for studs like LB Patrick Willis and pass rusher Parys Haralson.

Who's gonna be the thunder to Frank Gore's lightning in 2009?

Fooch — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:00:11 -0000

Early last month we discussed the 49ers running back performance in 2008 and what to look for in 2009. The poll I attached listed several options, and most notably, 30% thought Thomas Clayton would be the primary backup in 2009, 16% thought it would be a 2009 draft choice and 9% thought it would come through free agency.

I bring this up again because Barrows threw out some names the 49ers might very well be interested in. Not sure if it's just speculation, but it's good to have some names to research. That can be combined with Maiocco's report that buzz in Indy was that Deshaun Foster (along with Bryant Johnson) would not be back with the 49ers next season.

Some of the backs Barrows mentioned included Andre Brown (NC State), Cedric Peerman (Virginia), Devin Moore (Wyoming - not invited to the combine), Rashad Jennings (Liberty) and Javarris Williams (Tennessee State). It should be noted that none of these guys is considered a first round pick and I think the one thing I'm truly confident of, is that the 49ers will not select a running back in the first round. I'm sure that may stun some of you.

I went through ESPN's pre-combine rankings (Insider protected) and the guys listed above are ranked anywhere from 7th to 19th (with Moore unranked since he wasn't invited.

What I'm curious about is what kind of running back would really fit as a quality backup to Frank Gore. Looking around the league, there's a lot of the "Thunder and LIghtning" types of duos. However, does Frank Gore actually qualify as lightning? Gore is 5'9, 217lbs, and built like the proverbial brick [site decorum]-house. He's not the size of a Brandon Jacobs or Lendale White, but he seems to bring a bigger game than his height would indicate.

If you're looking for bigger, a guy like Rashad Jennings from Liberty might be the answer. He's 6'1, 234 pounds and likes to barrel through folks (a video down the right side shows him benching 395 lbs). He ran a 4.5 40, but clearly he's meant more as the bruising back. Given his solid offseason, I don't imagine he'll last too long.

Considering how some of these folks are performing, when should the 49ers spend a draft pick on a running back, if at all? As always, the 49ers have several holes to fill so it might be wise to wait. Of course, the best option could be there in the 2nd or 3rd round, and maybe you just have to pull the trigger (do we even know who has "the trigger" now that McNolan is no more?).

Personally, I'm a Thomas Clayton guy (try not to throw rotten tomatoes at me over that one). I'd rather spend the draft filling legit needs, but of course, if a big guy like Rashad Jennings fell in the draft (not exactly a realistic possibility), I could certainly see the value in grabbing him.

So, now that running backs have had their day at the combine, has anybody jumped out a little further onto your radar?