NFC West

[deep9er]

still, apparently AJ's speed ain't good enough to see time....

he be our black sheep in the Baalke's draft world.

IF we go thru this season and he's still gets 'one rep and no catches', yep!

but for now, not giving up on AJ by any means. yes, he was dissapointing last year no doubt, but he has a good opportunity for reps now. with Manningham out and KW off injury, he'll get the benefit of the doubt.

not to imply he'll get a lot of stats this season, but enough plays to show he's coming on.

 

[NinerSickness]

still, apparently AJ's speed ain't good enough to see time....

He might do better this season. He apparengtly had a ton of trouble with the play book last season (he also clearly wasn't NFL ready).

I never liked the pick from the beginning, but eve I would be surprised if he can't even make it as a 3rd receiver.

 

[BINGO]

Harvin is my biggest fear by far, but this signing here made my heart sank as well:



Evan Silva
Matchups

Jared Cook: Seam Stretcher
Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Former Titans and current Rams tight end Jared Cook has long been a fascinating football specimen. At 6-foot-5 and 248 pounds, Cook was clocked below 4.40 in the forty-yard dash at South Carolina. At the 2009 NFL Combine, Cook led all tight ends in the vertical leap (41"), broad jump (10'3"), and forty time (4.50). Despite freakish athletic tools, Cook has never been an overwhelmingly productive receiver.

At South Carolina, Cook's career high in receptions was 37. He's never reached 50 catches in an NFL season. Cook has always been a big-play weapon, however. He averaged 15.2 yards per catch in his college career. Cook is averaging 13.1 yards per reception as a pro, which easily bests upper-echelon receiving tight ends Jimmy Graham (12.3), Tony Gonzalez (11.5), Aaron Hernandez (11.2), and Jason Witten (11.1). In 2012, Cook tied Rob Gronkowski for the most catches of 25-plus yards among NFL tight ends (8) despite ranking 24th in targets and forty first in snaps played. Gronkowski ranked 18th in targets and 24th in playing time.

I am intrigued by his fit in what has the look of a wide-open St. Louis offense with Cook and Tavon Austin as the primary slot receivers, and Brian Quick and Chris Givens out wide. A few weeks ago, I took time to watch each of Cook's 2012 targets. This past week, I re-watched all 76 (my count, including penalty-negated snaps) and charted each target, assigning notes on Cook's play, his defensive matchup(s), and the quarterbacks delivering -- or attempting to deliver -- him the ball.

These were my six major takeaways, with a seventh tacked onto the end concerning my expectations for Jared Cook in St. Louis.

1. The Titans' quarterback play was nothing short of abysmal in 2012.

Not breaking news, I know. I was highly optimistic about Jake Locker entering the 2012 season. He performed well in five spot appearances as a rookie, coming off the bench to consistently move Tennessee's offense and account for five touchdowns with zero turnovers. Albeit on a small sample size -- confirmed by hindsight to be much too small -- Locker averaged 8.2 yards per pass attempt and showed no fear challenging defenses deep. He flashed playmaking ability as both a passer and runner.


After watching the bulk of his 2012 season and reviewing Jared Cook's pass target game film, I'm washing my hands of Jake Locker. Of Cook's 76 charted targets, I marked "errant pass" next to 28 (36.8 percent). 23 (30.3 percent) I charted as thoroughly "uncatchable." Locker missed Cook relentlessly high and/or wide, repeatedly forcing his tight end to make circus catches, and even on a few occasions leaving Cook out to dry for monster hits from a closing linebacker or defensive back. Locker was incredibly, woefully inaccurate. And Matt Hasselbeck wasn't a whole lot better.


2. Cook has outstanding hands and body control.

Because the ball placement of Titans quarterbacks was so maddeningly scattershot, there is a fairly large sample of game tape where Cook makes difficult receptions, ranging from "tough" to "highlight-reel" worthy, to secure poorly thrown balls. Of Cook's 44 receptions in 2012, I noted 11 (25 percent) as "great." Although Cook is not necessarily an outstanding short-area mover in terms of footwork or agility, his bodily movement skills are highly impressive. He is a leaper, and can contort his person in the air, on the fly to haul in errant passes. Cook did so often last year.

He also has great hands. I charted Cook with only five dropped passes among the 76 targets, for a "drop rate" of 6.6 percent. Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez are generally considered the top-three receiving tight ends in football today. Per Pro Football Focus' 2012 game charts, Cook's drop rate was easily better than Graham's (11.5 percent), Hernandez's (9.8), and Gronkowski's (9.0).

PFF has never charted Cook with more than five drops in a season. His previous career high was three. Here are Cook's seasonal drop rates: 2011: 4.1, 2010: 6.8, 2009: 0.0.


3. Cook might be the most dynamic pure seam-stretching tight end in the NFL.

This is Jared Cook's bread and butter: stretching the seam. I charted Cook with 19 targets in the intermediate or deep-seam passing game last season. Titans quarterbacks completed 13 of those 19 passes (68.4 percent) for 305 yards (16.05 YPA!), four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Neither INT was Cook's fault. Cook was highly efficient on seam patterns, whipping safeties and linebackers with his vertical speed. Here is a list of NFL defenders noticeably beaten by Cook in coverage: Danieal Manning, Reshad Jones, Antoine Bethea, Chris Conte, Pat Angerer, Tom Zbikowski, Pat Chung, Atari Bigby, James Harrison, Nick Barnett, Jasper Brinkley, Brooks Reed.

Jared Cook ran 4.50 at the Combine and plays that fast on the field. He has an explosive get-off from the line of scrimmage. On intermediate and seam routes and when running with the football in the open field, Cook looks like a genuinely speedy wide receiver.


4. Cook primarily lined up in the slot when he was targeted in Tennessee.
I didn't pay much attention to Cook's blocking in my tape study. I don't think it's relevant anymore. Rams coach Jeff Fisher knows Cook's strengths from their time in Nashville and will use him as a receiver. Lance Kendricks is St. Louis' in-line, blocking tight end. If you are truly curious about Cook's blocking, PFF graded him positively in 2012 run blocking with a slightly negative pass-blocking grade. They charged Cook with zero sacks or quarterback hits allowed.

Cook lined up in the slot for 76.7 percent of his 2012 targets. He was a detached H-back or in-line tight end on 15.1 percent, and an X or Z outside receiver on 5.5 percent. For two targets (2.6 percent), I couldn't tell exactly where Cook had lined up because the game film was too blurry. The bottom line is that Cook is a slot receiver. He will help the Rams replace Danny Amendola.


5. The Titans barely used Cook in the red zone last season.

This was stunning. Granted, the 2012 Titans were so bad that simply getting into opposing red zones was a rare occurrence. But when they did, their mismatch-creating tight end was regularly either ignored by the playcaller or quarterback, or rotting on the sideline. Again, Cook was targeted 76 times last season, including penalty-negated plays. Only nine of Cook's 2012 targets (11.8 percent) came in the red zone. The results of those nine targets? Five completions for 44 yards and two touchdowns. Not great red-zone efficiency, but not terrible by any means.

I suppose there are some elements to Cook's game that might lead a coaching staff to believe he isn't a dominant red-zone receiver -- and we'll get there next -- but to waste a 6-foot-5, 248-pound athletic phenom in scoring position seems to me like fantastically poor coaching. You may notice a theme here: I don't believe the Titans are coached or quarterbacked very well. But that's a topic for another forum.


6. I don't think Jared Cook will ever be a high-volume tight end.

We'll come full circle here. Jared Cook has never been a voluminous catcher of footballs because that's not who he is. He is a big-play, vertical-seam tight end, ill suited to be utilized like Jason Witten in Dallas, or even Brandon Pettigrew in Detroit. That's not his skill set.

Some short to intermediate tight ends like Pettigrew, Witten, and Houston's Owen Daniels eat up defenses with short, high-percentage checkdown-type completions and gain yards after catch with awareness and/or physicality. They can create on their own. Jared Cook isn't like them. He's not a quick-twitch, sudden mover. He'd be worthless on a tight end screen. There is little stop-start to Cook's game, and he is not elusive after the catch. He's not even an especially physical tackle breaker despite his size. He gets tackled by smaller defenders in the open field one-on-one. I charted Cook with just 136 yards after reception in 2012, and the vast majority of them came on open-field opportunities when Cook was in space running to green grass.


7. My expectations for Jared Cook in St. Louis.

As alluded to previously, I expect Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to run a lot of four-wide packages with Cook and Tavon Austin in the slots, and Brian Quick and Chris Givens as the outside receivers. I anticipate this'll be Schottenheimer's base offensive look on most passing downs, whether it be third-and-long, third-and-medium, or when St. Louis is attempting to erase a deficit.

Look for Austin to lead the Rams in 2012 receptions. While I don't think Cook will ever be a high-volume receiver who catches 65-80 balls a year, I wouldn't be surprised if he paced St. Louis in receiving yards and touchdowns.

 

[BINGO]

Darnell Dockett - DL - Cardinals

Darnell Dockett admitted that he "hated" the 3-4 scheme former DC Ray Horton ran last season.

Dockett was asked to keep offensive linemen off the linebackers, not make plays himself. He ended up with just 1.5 sacks and 34 tackles in 15 games -- his worst numbers since 2005. New defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will run a hybrid scheme that features Dockett in his natural role -- an interior pass-rusher that disrupts plays in the backfield. "It's like a million pounds off your shoulders," Dockett said. Expect a bounce-back season.
Source: azcardinals.com

May 8 - 10:58 AM

 

[BINGO]

2013 draft picks putting veterans on alert
May, 7, 2013 11:00AM ET
By Mike Sando | ESPN.com

Sometimes it takes a few years to fully assess an NFL draft class' impact. Imperiled veterans can't afford to wait that long.

Among the NFC West veterans on alert as 2013 rookies arrive for minicamps Friday:

•Arizona Cardinals: Adding guards Jonathan Cooper (first round) and Earl Watford (fourth) precipitated Adam Snyder's release from the team. Sixth-round receiver Ryan Swope could push Andre Roberts for playing time as the season progresses. Alex Okafor's arrival could put additional pressure on outside linebacker O'Brien Schofield to stay healthy. The Cardinals also drafted two running backs, but one of them, Stanford's Stepfan Taylor, cannot report until after minicamps for reasons relating to graduation schedules. Rashard Mendenhall and Ryan Williams should be safe for now.

•St. Louis Rams: The Rams' draft choices tend to fill vacancies more than they threaten veterans. That is because St. Louis has already parted with the veterans who would have been affected by this rookie class' arrival. Tavon Austin would have threatened Danny Amendola. Alec Ogletree joins a group of outside linebackers that has been undermanned for years. T.J. McDonald fills a massive void at safety after the Rams released Quintin Mikell and watched Craig Dahl leave in free agency. Zac Stacy might have pressured Steven Jackson, but with Jackson off the roster, Stacy joins a committee of young, unproven running backs.

•San Francisco 49ers: Veteran Parys Haralson remains on the roster as a backup to Ahmad Brooks at outside linebacker, but Corey Lemonier's arrival as a third-round draft choice signals change on the depth chart. Meanwhile, Quinton Patton's arrival as a fourth-round pick affects the situation at receiver. I'm not sure which wideout is threatened the most, but Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams should be on alert.

•Seattle Seahawks: The decision to use a second-round pick for running back Christine Michael got most of the attention, but sixth-rounder Spencer Ware could be the running back putting a veteran on notice right away. Seattle will give Ware a look at fullback, putting pressure on incumbent Michael Robinson. Drafting defensive tackles Jordan Hill (third round) and Jesse Williams (fifth round) puts pressure on a group that includes Jaye Howard, Clinton McDonald and Tony McDaniel.

 

[BINGO]

Marcus Cooper - DB - 49ers

49ers agreed to terms with No. 252 overall pick CB Marcus Cooper on a four-year contract.

The third to last pick of the draft, Cooper is facing long odds of cracking the 49ers' 53-man roster. He should be stashed on the practice squad where he'll be developed as a potential special teamer.

May 10 - 11:30 AM





Carter Bykowski - T - 49ers

49ers agreed to terms with No. 246 overall pick OT Carter Bykowski on a four-year contract.

A former tight end, Bykowski stands in at 6-foot-6, 306 pounds with33 3/4-inch arms. He has the measurables, but has little shot of cracking the 49ers' loaded 53-man roster. Bykowski's most likely home is the practice squad.

May 10 - 11:27 AM




B.J. Daniels - QB - 49ers

49ers agreed to terms with No. 237 overall pick QB B.J. Daniels on a four-year contract.

Daniels was drafted as a "quarterback," but will also get reps at running back, receiver and returner. An ineffective passer in the Big East, Daniels is not an elite runner. He's a roster longshot for a loaded 49ers team that has 11 draft picks to evaluate.

May 10 - 11:22 AM

 

[deep9er]

Marcus Cooper - DB - 49ers

49ers agreed to terms with No. 252 overall pick CB Marcus Cooper on a four-year contract.

The third to last pick of the draft, Cooper is facing long odds of cracking the 49ers' 53-man roster. He should be stashed on the practice squad where he'll be developed as a potential special teamer.

May 10 - 11:30 AM





Carter Bykowski - T - 49ers

49ers agreed to terms with No. 246 overall pick OT Carter Bykowski on a four-year contract.

A former tight end, Bykowski stands in at 6-foot-6, 306 pounds with33 3/4-inch arms. He has the measurables, but has little shot of cracking the 49ers' loaded 53-man roster. Bykowski's most likely home is the practice squad.

May 10 - 11:27 AM




B.J. Daniels - QB - 49ers

49ers agreed to terms with No. 237 overall pick QB B.J. Daniels on a four-year contract.

Daniels was drafted as a "quarterback," but will also get reps at running back, receiver and returner. An ineffective passer in the Big East, Daniels is not an elite runner. He's a roster longshot for a loaded 49ers team that has 11 draft picks to evaluate.

May 10 - 11:22 AM

did any writer/reporter ever ask Baalke why he used 11 picks? the likely answer is he doesn't get trade offers for late rounds picks? ok with that, but would've been nice to read it anyway?

the PS itself might end up very competitive?

 

[BINGO]

did any writer/reporter ever ask Baalke why he used 11 picks? the likely answer is he doesn't get trade offers for late rounds picks? ok with that, but would've been nice to read it anyway?

the PS itself might end up very competitive?

I don't remember reading or hearing any news on that at all.

 

[BINGO]

D.C. Jefferson - TE - Cardinals

Cardinals agreed to terms with No. 219 overall pick TE D.C. Jefferson on a four-year contract.

A pure blocker, Jefferson finished his Rutgers career with all of two touchdowns. He boasts a solid 6-foot-6, 255-pound frame, but lumbered to a 4.97 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. He's a more likely candidate for the practice squad than 53-man roster.

May 10 - 1:38 PM




Ryan Swope - WR - Cardinals

Cardinals signed sixth-round WR Ryan Swope to a four-year contract.

College concussions -- reportedly four according to NFL Network's Mike Mayock -- killed Swope's draft stock despite a 4.34 forty time and comparisons to Eric Decker. Assuming Swope can avoid further brain injuries, he should win a roster spot behind Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Roberts, and Michael Floyd.

May 10 - 1:38 PM




Stepfan Taylor - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals signed fifth-round RB Stepfan Taylor to a four-year contract.

Taylor may have reminded coach Bruce Arians of Vick Ballard, who was Arians' feature back for a year in Indianapolis. He is a sub-average talent with pass-protection skills and a workmanlike on-field play style. Taylor enters a crowded Arizona backfield competing for snaps with more talented options Rashard Mendenhall, Ryan Williams, and fellow rookie Andre Ellington.

May 10 - 1:36 PM




Andre Ellington - RB - Cardinals

Cardinals agreed to terms with No. 187 overall pick RB Andre Ellington on a four-year contract.

Ellington is currently fourth on the running back depth chart behind Rashard Mendenhall, Ryan Williams and Stepfan Taylor, but is easily the most explosive of the four, and could make a nice move during training camp. A quick cutter who gets around the edge in a hurry, Ellington is dangerous in space. The numbers game could claim him as a rookie, but Ellington is a Dynasty name to watch.

May 10 - 1:33 PM

 

[Crimsoncrew]

did any writer/reporter ever ask Baalke why he used 11 picks? the likely answer is he doesn't get trade offers for late rounds picks? ok with that, but would've been nice to read it anyway?

the PS itself might end up very competitive?

I seem to recall him talking about trying to move the late-round picks and having some trouble. It's pretty clear from how the draft shook out that teams weren't too interested in trading away 2014 picks.

 

[deep9er]

I seem to recall him talking about trying to move the late-round picks and having some trouble. It's pretty clear from how the draft shook out that teams weren't too interested in trading away 2014 picks.

ok.

yeah, once you get into the 3rd day, i'd guess its difficult to find future trades? i'd think it is difficult in any year?

not complaining cause in order to entice more 2014 picks, he'd have to have traded a 4th, 5th, in combination? rather he use these picks on value, than take a POOR deal.

 

[BINGO]

I actually like this guy better than Colt McCoy. I am kind of jealous that the Hawks had signed him. He would have made a good #3 project for us in our system IMO:


Jerrod Johnson - QB - Seahawks

New Seahawks QB Jerrod Johnson has overhauled his throwing motion.

The 2011 undrafted free agent knows he's on his last NFL chance. Thus far, he's impressed coach Pete Carroll. "He can really gun the football down the field," Carroll said. "He's got a great presence in that he's such a big guy in the pocket. Totally different than our other guys." Johnson will get a fair shake at a roster spot with a team that preaches competition, but he's a longshot.
Source: Seattle Times

May 13 - 11:32 AM

 

[deep9er]

Harvin is my biggest fear by far, but this signing here made my heart sank as well:



Evan Silva
Matchups

Jared Cook: Seam Stretcher
Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Former Titans and current Rams tight end Jared Cook has long been a fascinating football specimen. At 6-foot-5 and 248 pounds, Cook was clocked below 4.40 in the forty-yard dash at South Carolina. At the 2009 NFL Combine, Cook led all tight ends in the vertical leap (41"), broad jump (10'3"), and forty time (4.50). Despite freakish athletic tools, Cook has never been an overwhelmingly productive receiver.

At South Carolina, Cook's career high in receptions was 37. He's never reached 50 catches in an NFL season. Cook has always been a big-play weapon, however. He averaged 15.2 yards per catch in his college career. Cook is averaging 13.1 yards per reception as a pro, which easily bests upper-echelon receiving tight ends Jimmy Graham (12.3), Tony Gonzalez (11.5), Aaron Hernandez (11.2), and Jason Witten (11.1). In 2012, Cook tied Rob Gronkowski for the most catches of 25-plus yards among NFL tight ends (8) despite ranking 24th in targets and forty first in snaps played. Gronkowski ranked 18th in targets and 24th in playing time.

I am intrigued by his fit in what has the look of a wide-open St. Louis offense with Cook and Tavon Austin as the primary slot receivers, and Brian Quick and Chris Givens out wide. A few weeks ago, I took time to watch each of Cook's 2012 targets. This past week, I re-watched all 76 (my count, including penalty-negated snaps) and charted each target, assigning notes on Cook's play, his defensive matchup(s), and the quarterbacks delivering -- or attempting to deliver -- him the ball.

These were my six major takeaways, with a seventh tacked onto the end concerning my expectations for Jared Cook in St. Louis.

1. The Titans' quarterback play was nothing short of abysmal in 2012.

Not breaking news, I know. I was highly optimistic about Jake Locker entering the 2012 season. He performed well in five spot appearances as a rookie, coming off the bench to consistently move Tennessee's offense and account for five touchdowns with zero turnovers. Albeit on a small sample size -- confirmed by hindsight to be much too small -- Locker averaged 8.2 yards per pass attempt and showed no fear challenging defenses deep. He flashed playmaking ability as both a passer and runner.


After watching the bulk of his 2012 season and reviewing Jared Cook's pass target game film, I'm washing my hands of Jake Locker. Of Cook's 76 charted targets, I marked "errant pass" next to 28 (36.8 percent). 23 (30.3 percent) I charted as thoroughly "uncatchable." Locker missed Cook relentlessly high and/or wide, repeatedly forcing his tight end to make circus catches, and even on a few occasions leaving Cook out to dry for monster hits from a closing linebacker or defensive back. Locker was incredibly, woefully inaccurate. And Matt Hasselbeck wasn't a whole lot better.


2. Cook has outstanding hands and body control.

Because the ball placement of Titans quarterbacks was so maddeningly scattershot, there is a fairly large sample of game tape where Cook makes difficult receptions, ranging from "tough" to "highlight-reel" worthy, to secure poorly thrown balls. Of Cook's 44 receptions in 2012, I noted 11 (25 percent) as "great." Although Cook is not necessarily an outstanding short-area mover in terms of footwork or agility, his bodily movement skills are highly impressive. He is a leaper, and can contort his person in the air, on the fly to haul in errant passes. Cook did so often last year.

He also has great hands. I charted Cook with only five dropped passes among the 76 targets, for a "drop rate" of 6.6 percent. Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, and Aaron Hernandez are generally considered the top-three receiving tight ends in football today. Per Pro Football Focus' 2012 game charts, Cook's drop rate was easily better than Graham's (11.5 percent), Hernandez's (9.8), and Gronkowski's (9.0).

PFF has never charted Cook with more than five drops in a season. His previous career high was three. Here are Cook's seasonal drop rates: 2011: 4.1, 2010: 6.8, 2009: 0.0.


3. Cook might be the most dynamic pure seam-stretching tight end in the NFL.

This is Jared Cook's bread and butter: stretching the seam. I charted Cook with 19 targets in the intermediate or deep-seam passing game last season. Titans quarterbacks completed 13 of those 19 passes (68.4 percent) for 305 yards (16.05 YPA!), four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Neither INT was Cook's fault. Cook was highly efficient on seam patterns, whipping safeties and linebackers with his vertical speed. Here is a list of NFL defenders noticeably beaten by Cook in coverage: Danieal Manning, Reshad Jones, Antoine Bethea, Chris Conte, Pat Angerer, Tom Zbikowski, Pat Chung, Atari Bigby, James Harrison, Nick Barnett, Jasper Brinkley, Brooks Reed.

Jared Cook ran 4.50 at the Combine and plays that fast on the field. He has an explosive get-off from the line of scrimmage. On intermediate and seam routes and when running with the football in the open field, Cook looks like a genuinely speedy wide receiver.


4. Cook primarily lined up in the slot when he was targeted in Tennessee.
I didn't pay much attention to Cook's blocking in my tape study. I don't think it's relevant anymore. Rams coach Jeff Fisher knows Cook's strengths from their time in Nashville and will use him as a receiver. Lance Kendricks is St. Louis' in-line, blocking tight end. If you are truly curious about Cook's blocking, PFF graded him positively in 2012 run blocking with a slightly negative pass-blocking grade. They charged Cook with zero sacks or quarterback hits allowed.

Cook lined up in the slot for 76.7 percent of his 2012 targets. He was a detached H-back or in-line tight end on 15.1 percent, and an X or Z outside receiver on 5.5 percent. For two targets (2.6 percent), I couldn't tell exactly where Cook had lined up because the game film was too blurry. The bottom line is that Cook is a slot receiver. He will help the Rams replace Danny Amendola.


5. The Titans barely used Cook in the red zone last season.

This was stunning. Granted, the 2012 Titans were so bad that simply getting into opposing red zones was a rare occurrence. But when they did, their mismatch-creating tight end was regularly either ignored by the playcaller or quarterback, or rotting on the sideline. Again, Cook was targeted 76 times last season, including penalty-negated plays. Only nine of Cook's 2012 targets (11.8 percent) came in the red zone. The results of those nine targets? Five completions for 44 yards and two touchdowns. Not great red-zone efficiency, but not terrible by any means.

I suppose there are some elements to Cook's game that might lead a coaching staff to believe he isn't a dominant red-zone receiver -- and we'll get there next -- but to waste a 6-foot-5, 248-pound athletic phenom in scoring position seems to me like fantastically poor coaching. You may notice a theme here: I don't believe the Titans are coached or quarterbacked very well. But that's a topic for another forum.


6. I don't think Jared Cook will ever be a high-volume tight end.

We'll come full circle here. Jared Cook has never been a voluminous catcher of footballs because that's not who he is. He is a big-play, vertical-seam tight end, ill suited to be utilized like Jason Witten in Dallas, or even Brandon Pettigrew in Detroit. That's not his skill set.

Some short to intermediate tight ends like Pettigrew, Witten, and Houston's Owen Daniels eat up defenses with short, high-percentage checkdown-type completions and gain yards after catch with awareness and/or physicality. They can create on their own. Jared Cook isn't like them. He's not a quick-twitch, sudden mover. He'd be worthless on a tight end screen. There is little stop-start to Cook's game, and he is not elusive after the catch. He's not even an especially physical tackle breaker despite his size. He gets tackled by smaller defenders in the open field one-on-one. I charted Cook with just 136 yards after reception in 2012, and the vast majority of them came on open-field opportunities when Cook was in space running to green grass.


7. My expectations for Jared Cook in St. Louis.

As alluded to previously, I expect Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to run a lot of four-wide packages with Cook and Tavon Austin in the slots, and Brian Quick and Chris Givens as the outside receivers. I anticipate this'll be Schottenheimer's base offensive look on most passing downs, whether it be third-and-long, third-and-medium, or when St. Louis is attempting to erase a deficit.

Look for Austin to lead the Rams in 2012 receptions. While I don't think Cook will ever be a high-volume receiver who catches 65-80 balls a year, I wouldn't be surprised if he paced St. Louis in receiving yards and touchdowns.

yep, all other teams have good skill players, and this is just another example. but we have an improved offense too, so at play-off time it comes down to defense. our defense may not be #1, but its a solid D.

would've been nice if we could strengthen CB too, but we'll be fine if these rookies help out with rotation and situational roles? cause these other offenses don't work as well if their QB face pressure.

can these guys stop our offense?

 

[BINGO]

yep, all other teams have good skill players, and this is just another example. but we have an improved offense too, so at play-off time it comes down to defense. our defense may not be #1, but its a solid D.

would've been nice if we could strengthen CB too, but we'll be fine if these rookies help out with rotation and situational roles? cause these other offenses don't work as well if their QB face pressure.

can these guys stop our offense?

I believe they did 2 times last year (or 1 1/2 times however you want to look at it).

Also, based on the players they have drafted last year in addition to who they have added this year, it's no secret that they are doing a better job in trying to accomplish this.

Alec Ogletree - LB - Rams

Per the team's official website, Rams first-round OLB Alec Ogletree is going to work at strong-side linebacker initially.

Ogletree is best suited for the weak side where he can chase ball carriers and cover tight ends. The Rams apparently feel comfortable with Jo-Lonn Dunbar sticking at WILL instead of flipping him to SAM. Ogletree intercepted a pass intended for the tight end on his first snap at minicamp, for what it's worth.
Source: stlouisrams.com

May 12 - 1:24 PM

 

[deep9er]

I believe they did 2 times last year (or 1 1/2 times however you want to look at it).

Also, based on the players they have drafted last year in addition to who they have added this year, it's no secret that they are doing a better job in trying to accomplish this.

Alec Ogletree - LB - Rams

Per the team's official website, Rams first-round OLB Alec Ogletree is going to work at strong-side linebacker initially.

Ogletree is best suited for the weak side where he can chase ball carriers and cover tight ends. The Rams apparently feel comfortable with Jo-Lonn Dunbar sticking at WILL instead of flipping him to SAM. Ogletree intercepted a pass intended for the tight end on his first snap at minicamp, for what it's worth.
Source: stlouisrams.com

May 12 - 1:24 PM

last year yes, they stopped our offense.

but the Rams added Cook for THIS season and i agree he is a weapon. but this is also talking about this coming season, not last season. so on the flip side, we also added players on offense for THIS season.

can they stop our offense THIS season?

 

[BINGO]

last year yes, they stopped our offense.

but the Rams added Cook for THIS season and i agree he is a weapon. but this is also talking about this coming season, not last season. so on the flip side, we also added players on offense for THIS season.

can they stop our offense THIS season?

Their addition is better than our addition. They have done it 2 times already, what makes you think they can't do it a 3rd time?!

 

[deep9er]

Their addition is better than our addition. They have done it 2 times already, what makes you think they can't do it a 3rd time?!

offensively, i'll agree their additions this off season beat ours. but what about defensively?

what makes me think they can't stop our offense a 3rd time?........because every year is a little bit different. for this particular year, the biggest difference will be our offense's maturation, mainly Kaep.

i'm not downplaying the Rams and in fact consider them almost as good as Seattle. but it just seems you're way more concerned with other teams offenses? in particular, you're way more concerned with other teams passing game? as though the game is only about who has the better passing offense?

 

[BINGO]

offensively, i'll agree their additions this off season beat ours. but what about defensively?

what makes me think they can't stop our offense a 3rd time?........because every year is a little bit different. for this particular year, the biggest difference will be our offense's maturation, mainly Kaep.
i'm not downplaying the Rams and in fact consider them almost as good as Seattle. but it just seems you're way more concerned with other teams offenses? in particular, you're way more concerned with other teams passing game? as though the game is only about who has the better passing offense?

And I guess their very young 2012 defense will remain stagnant. Their young defensive unit will not improve but our young offensive unit will improve. I got it!

 

[BINGO]

Tavon Austin - WR - Rams

Coach Jeff Fisher confirmed he envisions a big role for Tavon Austin right away.

Fisher wants Austin to be a weapon out of the slot, take some handoffs out of the backfield and be a factor in the return game. "We're going to try to get the ball to him as often as we can, however we do that," Fisher said. The Rams clearly envision Austin influencing games in the same vein as Randall Cobb and Percy Harvin. They're loading up his plate.
Source: Profootballtalk on NBCSports.com

May 14 - 9:09 AM

 

[BINGO]

Colin Kaepernick - QB - 49ers

Colin Kaepernick spent two weeks in April training with track athletes.

Kaepernick believes he can "get faster and more efficient with his stride." He was certainly fast enough last year, averaging 6.6 yards per regular-season rush and ripping off a 25/264/3 line in three playoff games. With a full offseason under his belt as the starter and Anquan Boldin in the mix, Kaep is primed to go off. A top-three fantasy finish among quarterbacks should surprise no one.
Source: Sacramento Bee

May 14 - 8:54 AM