I would have to agree on all of these counts. The major weaknesses the last few years has been running back and tight end. The o-line was slippin as well for a while, I dont think they have completely righted the ship to the glory days of 05, but they are back on track at least.
At first I could not believe our OL was ranked 1st. After thinking though, the NFC West has some really terrible lines.
Great analysis! Love this site! I would have put Bulger above Leinart and Warner, afterall they can only put one of those guys out there at a time. Still, good stuff. Looking forward the the D analysis!
I think the analysis is pretty accurate. I agree with eduff72 about warner and leinart. Even if bulger has been riddled with injuries of late, he still has more of a pedigree at QB than Warner or Leinart. I could even see us being third in WR's as well. The Rams have Holt wich is still a great WR, Last year he didn't have the commaraderie with Bulger off the field. Plus, most of our receivers are unproven at this point with the exception of Bobby.
I think our starting OL is solid but if you take depth into account, we are not. We need a solid backup for Walt. A LT with experience is what we need and Womack is unreliable.
Pretty spot on.
I would love to see what this will look like a few months from now. A couple of these spots for us may actually go up.
The wide recievers I tend to agree with the assesment though. All the other starters, other than Arizona (and Holt)are either former backups, castoffs from other teams, or even older than Engram(yeah Bruce, this means you)
I honestly think our WR's have the most depth among any of the teams. Not the highest talent, but overall better depth from top to bottom than any of those other teams.
Nice write up. I would have to say I would take Bulger over the Matt/ Kurt combo last year or this year. Bulger is a very good QB and while he isnt that durable neither of those guys in AZ are making Farve wonder if his record for starts is in jeoprody.
I dont think you can give us the nod on TE because you similarly discount rookies in St. Louis but are giving Carlson the benifit of the doubt. I agree Carlson on paper looks like a good deal but so did V. Davis and Pope. Our TE play was sorry last year and until Carlson proves himself I can put us ahead of moderatley productive guys.
Also on the recievers, if Branch we healthy that would be one thing but Holt is still the man if his knee holds up. Even at this stage in his career he is a bigger all around threat than either Burly or Bobby. Plus, his stats took a dip because Bulger spent so much time looking up at the lights. So, I may have been tempted to put The hawks 3 on WR.
These my 2 cents for now and no refunds today!
So much hope riding on the TE position this year. Should be interesting to see how it pans out. Seeing that Heller had such a great camp, do you think he'll be duking it out with Carlson?
Anyway, thanks for the analysis Michael and
for giving us fun stuff to think about
during this long long wait..
My girlfriend actually said to me "I can't wait until football season starts
again" I almost fell off the couch.
Great stuff Michael. How about an overall grade for where each team sits based on your analysis? Keep up the good work, we all appreciate it.
One of your best columns Michael. This is the first time I've seen the division compared side by side in regards to units, and it's a real nice read. I can't really argue with any of your choices.
Right on, Michael!
Let me take care of the Defensive Analysis for you:
Linebackers: Seahawks #1
D-line: Seahawks #1
D-Backs: Seahawks #1
Special Teams: Seahawks #!
There! Now you can take the rest of the day off!
You are close Stevo! Thanks for the help, but I wrote it up for you guys anyway. It should be up in an hour or so. I will will proof it when i get to school
I really wanted to make a couple of arguements with you when I saw the rankings. I really couldn't believe that Seattle was tied for the best in TE and the best in OL, but when I saw your reasonings, I had to agree. I'm still a little shaky on the OL, but I can't make an arguement for any of the other teams. Also, I might put SF (Davis) a little ahead of the other 3 teams in the TE department. He has shown tremendous potential and ability and Martz might put him over the top. Just might light opinion. Overall, fantastic job.
its fully possible that carlson puts up better #s than davis, if not for the simple reason that the 9ers QB situation is in dire straights. davis only had 52 catches for 500 yards last year, not that impressive.
great article Mike... keep it rolling, can't wait to see the defense this afternoon, i think that SF has got that tight end spot though, if nothing but on Davis' talent alone with a proper qb situation (assuming they have one qb for 8 or more games) he could snap.
Jeez, I didn't even realize that Davis had all that. In my opinion, I have never seen a game were I watched him play and said that is an elite tight end.
Same for McMichael, Pope, Etc.
Plus, at least the Hawks have 3 to work with right? Depth counts too!
Just to discuss the TE position a little more.
Traditionally, the TE is not really featured in a Mike Martz offensive system. Therefore, its plausible the Davis' numbers actually decrease. This is especially true when you take into account the status of their entire OL. Davis may have to be kept in blocking.
Then again, looking at the WR group for SF, Davis may be their best receiving option.
That being said, the TE position for SF is still up in the air making Michael's evaluation even that much better.
Good work and thanks Mike!
Great stuff, Michael. Thanks for adding this piece.
I value Marc Bulger over the Arizona QBs, not because of what Jeremy referred to as a 'lack of pedigree', though. Warner has won both NFL MVP and SB MVP honors. I believe Bulger is up there just below Hasselbeck in terms of pure QB play. I remember watching Bryce Fisher body-slam Warner and knock him out of a game in Seattle, reminding me that Warner is no longer MVP-caliber.
As for the rest: I concur.
PS: Will Special Teams be a facet of the Defensive portion?
Nice read! Maybe b/c I mostly agree w/everyting
BobbyK, you must be coming around. You are willing to give the Hawks the top mark for offensive line? I am impressed
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