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Tuning up: teams have made myriad offseason adjustments in an effort to improve their performances in the 2005 race. But when the green flag drops, some will zoom ahead and others will stall

Sporting News, The, June 17, 2005 by Phil Barber

In the ever-more-impatient NFL, huddles are being dominated by quarterbacks barely old enough to remember the Y2K scare. This year, 49ers rookie Alex Smith and Bills sophomore J.P. Losman will join a group of precocious passers that includes the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger, the Giants' Eli Manning, the Ravens' Kyle Boiler and the Bengals' Carson Palmer.

But down in the dusty Southwest, a couple of old-school coaches are partying like it's 1999. That was the season Kurt Warner led the Rams to a Super Bowl championship and Drew Bledsoe threw for just shy of 4,000 yards for the Patriots.

Since then, each quarterback has ridden his share of dramatic ups and downs.

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Ignoring downward trends, the Cowboys signed Bledsoe, 33, to be their starter. The Cardinals signed Warner, who will turn 34 on June 22, to compete for their job, then coach Dennis Green anointed him the starter in late May.

Now we get to find out if either of these guys still can throw and thrive. Both were displaced recently by younger athletes--Warner by Manning in New York and Bledsoe by Losman in Buffalo.

In appraising the veterans' chances for 2005, you have to start by looking at their supporting casts. Both quarterbacks are as mobile as cacti, which means they won't be creating a lot of their own opportunities.

"Both have a tendency to hold the ball," an AFC pro personnel director says. "If they can get a line up front to protect them, they have the throwing ability to be dangerous."

Both lines were upgraded for 2005. The Cardinals signed Oliver Ross to play right tackle, and the Cowboys landed free-agent guard Marco Rivera. And both quarterbacks should have ample targets. Arizona has a talented young trio of receivers in Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson, and Dallas has a more seasoned combination in Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn. The Cowboys have an edge in the running game.

Then there are the quarterbacks themselves. Bledsoe was mediocre in Buffalo after a big 2002 debut. Warner led the Giants to a winning record through nine games last year but was sacked 24 times in his last four starts. They seem to be at similar points in their careers.

But another pro personnel director sees the two quarterbacks in different lights. He believes Bledsoe has several productive years left. "You can feel Drew," he says. "You know he can still throw the ball. You know he won't fumble it away. You have a better sense of his direction, and he is in a better environment."

In contrast, the personnel director just can't shake the memory of the game that altered Warner's career. In the Rams' 2003 season opener, he suffered a concussion, fumbled six times and more or less came unglued. Warner hasn't been the same quarterback since.

"In first grade, you probably knew some kid who peed in his clothes," the personnel man observes. "When you see him in high school, it might be years later, but you still say, 'He peed in his clothes.' In this league, once they sense what you are, they go after you."

The green flag won't come down on the 2005 season for three months, but based on the offseason moves, we can tell you which teams are getting in gear--and which are just clogging up traffic.

Full-throttle

Bears They stood pat on defense but revamped their offense--especially if you include the return of injured quarterback Rex Grossman. Performance should go way up at wide receiver (Muhsin Muhammad replaces David Terrell) and tackle (Fred Miller instead of Qasim Mitchell), and rookie running back Cedric Benson gives Grossman another weapon. Grade: A

Chiefs They rode their late-season momentum (4-1 in the last five games) into the offseason, boosting their defense by signing veteran free agents (linebacker Kendrell Bell and safety Sammy Knight), trading for cornerback Patrick Surtain and defensive end Carlos Hall and drafting linebacker Derrick Johnson. The losses were minimal, even though wide receiver Johnnie Morton was released. Grade: A

Raiders After years of claiming they were younger than people contended, the Raiders truly have traded in their motorized carts in 2005. Seven of their nine new starters likely will get their jobs through promotions. Granted, many hardly are upgrades, such as Nnamdi Asomugha for Phillip Buchanon at cornerback and Travian Smith for Napoleon Harris at inside linebacker. That hardly matters because Oakland's two major offeason acquisitions, wideout Randy Moss and running back LaMont Jordan, were whoppers. Grade: A-

Lions If Detroit can keep its receivers healthy, it might finally be able to turn a good offseason grade into victories. Tops on the list of improvements were the signings of left guard Rick DeMulling (replaces David Loverne) and strong safety Kenoy Kennedy (for Bracy Walker). At tight end, replacing Stephen Alexander with Marcus Pollard probably is a wash. Grade: A-

Vikings It seems absurd that a team could unload the most dominant big-play threat in the game and wind up looking astute. The Vikings didn't necessarily come out ahead in the Randy Moss trade; it was what they did afterward that made the difference. Minnesota is another team that focused on defense, adding four veteran starters: cornerback Fred Smoot, nose tackle Pat Williams, middle linebacker Sam Cowart and oldie-but-goodie free safety Darren Sharper. Grade: A-

Tuning up: teams have made myriad offseason adjustments in an effort to improve their performances in the 2005 race. But when the green flag drops, some will zoom ahead and others will stall

Sporting News, The, June 17, 2005 by Phil Barber

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