Happy Friday, folks.
Dr. Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel), who always has interesting insights on defensive players and injuries in the NFL, is producing multiple daily updates for his excellent blog over at Footballguys.com. Jene is very high on DeMarcus Ware (calling the Broncos as good a fit as any schematically for Ware), a bit lukewarm on Jon Beason (“last year showed that he cannot execute sideline to sideline or in coverage”), and thinks the Bears were wise to sign Lamarr Houston.
Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) handles the blog for offensive players over at Footballguys, and he does a great job of not only telling you what happened, but why the transactions matter from a fantasy perspective.
Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) wrote a pair of very good recaps after day 1 and day 2 of free agency.
Mike Tanier (@MikeTanier), who also reviewed the news from day 1 of free agency, later explained why the 49ers traded for Blaine Gabbert and Jonathan Martin. Mike also contributed an article that is surely near and dear to the hearts of Football Perspective readers: five stats that really should be official.
Three years ago, Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) wrote this article about new Jet Eric Decker. Matt also chimes in with his view on the silly test known as the Wonderlic and an in-depth description of how he scouts quarterbacks.
Former NFL safety Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) argues that the position is more important than ever, and which would explain the large contracts given to Jairus Byrd, T.J. Ward, and Donte Whitner.
If you’re a Broncos fan (and maybe even if you’re not), Its All Over, Fat Man! should be part of your daily reading, which includes this post on the real details of the Aqib Talib contract.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch goes into the details on how Rodger Saffold is once again a Ram, after he failed his physical with the Raiders (which may have been due to buyer’s remorse on the part of Oakland).
Former Packers executive Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) provides his thoughts on Reggie McKenzie’s job as Oakland general manager. Brandt’s article was written before the Saffold deal fell apart, but it’s still worth a read (and he includes 10 other observations from the first day of free agency).
With Steve Smith being released in Carolina, you might want to revisit my ode to the great wide receiver from August.
The always good Danny Kelly (@FieldGulls) has a great long-form piece on how subpackages have become the new base defense in the NFL.
Erik Frenz (@ErikFrenz) puts some numbers on the upgrade the Patriots are getting by going from Aqib Talib to Darrelle Revis.
If you want more Revis news, you will enjoy this piece from Cian Fahey (@cianaf), who went into the film room to review Revis’ 2013 season (as did Mike Tanier). Cian also reviewed the season of Revis’ replacement in Tampa Bay, Alterraun Verner.
Leo Howell (LeoHowell8) of The Pewter Plank is optimistic of the decision to bring in Josh McCown, as Howell thinks McCown’s a better fit for the offense than Mike Glennon.
Arif Hasan (@ArifHasanNFL) thinks Linval Joseph will the answer to the Vikings 1-technique prayers.
Finally, a few non-timely but interesting articles.
- The first is a good Xs-and-Os piece on defending 3×1 formations (h/t to @smartfootball for recommending the article).
- Meanwhile, James Todd (@spidr2ybanana) puts Eddie Lacy, Zac Stacy, Giovani Bernard, and Andre Ellington under the microscope in this article on how running backs perform in their second seasons.
- Football Outsiders has published its SackSEER projections for 2014; it jives with my combine recap, which considers Khalil Mack and Jadeveon Clowney to be superfreaks, and Michael Sam very, very low on tangibles.
- At SB Nation, Bill Connelly (@SBN_BillC) examines what went wrong with the Sloan conference and examines the state of football analytics in 2014.
- Finally, an interesting story about the Madden video game had to make to the NFL, such as removing empty stadiums and all things concussions. (h/t @RobertKlemko).