ESPN Insider

[erckm510]

Was wondering if anyone with access to ESPN Insider could post any interesting Niner tidbits. Like FBO put out an article about the weaknesses of the NFC west and was interested in seeing what they had to say about the Niners.

Maybe we could make a sticky post just for ESPN insider articles and really stick it to them .

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Bingo might have it, up to him.

 

[kennyt12]

Note: This is the sixth of an eight-part series, going division by division through the NFL.

One effect of the lockout is that teams don't have as good a feel for their roster as they would in normal years. No one has conducted OTAs; rookies haven't had a chance to study the playbooks or meet with position coaches; and, because free agency was pushed back until after the lockout, many teams don't know what their rosters will look like even as they begin training camp. So without further ado, let's look at the biggest remaining question for all four teams in the NFC West.

Other editions:

AFC EAST | AFC WEST | AFC NORTH | AFC SOUTH
NFC EAST | NFC WEST | NFC SOUTH | NFC NORTH

Arizona Cardinals: Who will rush the passer?

The Cardinals had 33 sacks last season, tied with the Saints for 18th in the league. However, they didn't have any dominant individual pass-rushers. Team leader Calais Campbell was just 39th with 6.0 sacks. As a result, the Cardinals were forced to blitz to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and that left their defense vulnerable to big plays. Only six teams gave up more 20-yard pass plays, and only the Denver Broncos gave up more 20-yard runs.

The second-leading sacker on the Cardinals was Darnell Dockett, making Arizona the very rare 3-4 team that gets more sacks from its ends than from its outside linebackers. The Cardinals need to get more pressure from the outside. Joey Porter and Clark Haggans will be a combined 68 years old this year, and they had only five sacks apiece last year. There's nothing behind them but inexperienced late-round draftees such as O'Brien Schofield and Will Davis.

There's not much left on the free agent market, either, unless they want to add another senior citizen like Julian Peterson. In other words, it seems a safe bet that the Cardinals will grab a pass-rusher early in the 2012 draft.

St. Louis Rams: Who will be the No. 1 receiver?

The Rams have managed to cobble together a staff of competent possession receivers who won't embarrass themselves against the weaker nickelbacks or softer zone defenses of the NFL. However, they still lack the dominant wideout who can dictate double coverage, or the home run threat who can change a game in one play.

The Rams tried to upgrade the position, signing Mike Sims-Walker away from Jacksonville and drafting Austin Pettis out of Boise State and Greg Salas out of Hawaii. But it's not likely that any of these players will even crack the starting lineup. The Jacksonville Jaguars aren't particularly stacked at the wide receiver position, but they made little effort to retain Sims-Walker. And there's a reason Pettis lasted into the third round and Salas into the fourth.

The returning Rams wideouts combined for only 22 20-yard catches last year, fewer than Mike Wallace or Brandon Lloyd had by himself. If there's a secret weapon here, it's Donnie Avery, who had 17 20-yard plays between 2008 and 2009 but missed all of last season with a torn ACL. Word out of Rams camp, though, is that Avery has been missing practices with a sore hamstring.

San Francisco 49ers: What if Frank Gore can't bounce back?

Gore staged a mini-holdout after the lockout ended but soon happily returned to camp, saying the 49ers had promised to sign him to an extension that will keep him in San Francisco after this season. The 28-year-old needs fewer than 1,000 yards to become the franchise's all-time leading rusher.

But will he get there? Nobody seems to be mentioning that, despite a rebuilt offensive line featuring two highly drafted blockers, Gore averaged only 4.2 yards per carry last year, the lowest rate of his career. And that was before the broken hip that ended his season in Week 12. Gore says he's back at 100 percent, but what if he's not? What if he gets hurt again?

The 49ers have a lot of options at backup running back, but none of them is very good. Anthony Dixon was a sixth-round choice in 2010, and Kendall Hunter was a fourth-round pick this year. Xavier Omon has spent three seasons bouncing on and off the rosters of the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks. The most well-known backup might be undrafted rookie Jeremiah Masoli, former quarterback for Oregon and Mississippi.

If Gore returns to pre-injury levels, this will be a nonissue. If he's hurt again, though, the 49ers will be in deep trouble because they have no Plan B.

Seattle Seahawks: Who will cover opposing wideouts?

According to Football Outsiders' numbers, the Seahawks were 14th against opposing team's No. 1 receivers, but dead last against No. 2s and 28th against all other wideouts. There's a severe lack of secondary depth here, but Seattle added no cornerbacks in the draft or free agency (unless you count sixth-rounder Byron Maxwell, a long shot to make the team) and actually lost a valuable contributor when safety/nickelback Jordan Babineaux signed with Tennessee.

The Seahawks go into the 2011 season with a depth chart consisting of Marcus Trufant (the last player remaining from the 2005 Super Bowl team), Kelly Jennings (a disappointing 2006 first-round pick who has come off the bench in three of his five seasons), Walter Thurmond (a fourth-round rookie who played surprisingly well in 2010) and journeymen Roy Lewis and Kennard Cox. This was probably the deepest position in free agency, but the Seahawks missed out on all the big names. Ellis Hobbs and Lito Sheppard both remain unemployed, but either would have been a fine option in about 2007, as opposed to currently.

Vince Verhei is a contributor to the CFB and NFL sections of Rumor Central. He also writes the Any Given Sunday column covering the biggest upset each week of the NFL season, also available on ESPN Insider. He has been a writer and editor for Football Outsiders since 2007. Follow him on Twitter here.

There you go guys! If there's something you want to read I don't mind posting it.

 

[NinerSickness]

Thanks Kenny. Weird, I thiught you were dead...

And a "rep" for you as long as I don't screw it up.

 

[erckm510]

Thanks Kenny. Weird, I thiught you were dead...

And a "rep" for you as long as I don't screw it up.

Thanks Kenny. REP ADDED!

 

[erckm510]

Kinda surprising that they think Sims-Walker won't crack the starting lineup.

 

[kennyt12]

Kinda surprising that they think Sims-Walker won't crack the starting lineup.

Exactly! Who do they have that's better than Sims-Walker? Nobody!

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Probably Alexander if he can stay on the field.