49ers, Dolphins lose big when Manning picks Denver

by | Mar 19, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

With Peyton Manning reportedly deciding his next home will be in Denver, Miami and San Francisco have been left as the teams that will have to do without obvious upgrades to the quarterback position heading into 2012.

That might be less important for the Dolphins, who lost out not only on Manning, but on Matt Flynn, Robert Griffin III and even lesser potential upgrades like Kyle Orton before signing David Garrard Monday afternoon.

The Dolphins, despite their 6-3 finish, are not on the cusp of being a championship team. There is some talent on the roster, but they’ve got holes at several positions, now including safety, where the team chopped captain Yeremiah Bell today to create cap space. … Might have been a good idea to create that space back when they had a shot at Manning, if they ever really did, but who am I?

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In depth: New York Giants

by | Mar 16, 2012 | 2011 season, 2012 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

In retrospect, maybe we should have seen the run coming. After all, the New York Giants were 6-2 after eight games. The Giants were left for dead after losing four games in a row, but three of those defeats were by a touchdown or less.

But it was after a second loss to Washington dropped New York’s record to 7-7 that something clicked and this team went on one of the more dominant runs seen in awhile. So what happened? And what do the Giants have to do in order to stay on top?

Ed Valentine, editor in chief of the Big Blue View, says more good seasons could be on the way. He shared the following thoughts with Zoneblitz:

Zoneblitz: You can’t do much better than a Super Bowl championship. But at one point this team was 7-7. What caused the turnaround?

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In depth: New England Patriots

by | Mar 15, 2012 | 2011 season, 2012 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

The New York Jets had more bravado. A few teams might have had more overall talent. And yet, at the end of the season, the New England Patriots were right where they have been for most of the last 11 seasons: atop the AFC East and among the final contenders for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Patriots have won or tied for 11 straight division titles (losing by tiebreaker in 2002 and 2008) and, during that span, have played in five Super Bowls.

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and crew could not quite pull off that elusive final win. But despite injuries and some weaknesses on defense, they were right in the mix until the season’s final Sunday.

So, is another run in store in 2012? And just how long can this group keep it up? Richard Hill, an assistant editor with Pats Pulpit, shared his thoughts with Zoneblitz.

Zoneblitz: New England went to another Super Bowl but came up just short in the end. How does the result grade against your expectations going into the season? (more…)

In depth: San Francisco 49ers

by | Mar 14, 2012 | 2011 season, 2012 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

In 2010, under Mike Singletary, the San Francisco 49ers entered the season with high expectations, but those hopes quickly dissolved as the internal strife took the team down to the tune of a 6-10 record.

So expectations were much lower when Jim Harbaugh took over in 2011. But San Francisco rebounded, using a rock-solid, fundamentally-sound defense, a great running game and solid-to-sometimes spectacular play from quarterback Alex Smith to take control of the NFC West early.

The 49ers went 13-3, earning a first round playoff bye, on route to the NFC Championship game where only a couple untimely turnovers kept the team from advancing to the Super Bowl.

So how does San Francisco keep the momentum going? Steve Spooner, team editor at the website 49ersgab.com, shared his thoughts with Zoneblitz. Here’s what he had to say:

Zoneblitz: With expectations low heading into 2011, San Francisco came seconds short of a Super Bowl berth. What changed between 2010 and 2011 that allowed for the run? (more…)

Nine free agents likely in demand this evening

by | Mar 13, 2012 | 2012 season, NFL Free Agency

Happy New League Year, everyone.

We’re just a few hours away from kicking off the brand new NFL calendar, which starts with the beginning of free agency (click here for some free agency rules, regulations and facts and figures).

We’ve been winding our way through a series of posts based on interviews with team bloggers over the last couple months and within a few days we will have posted one from each of the 32 teams.

While hundreds of players will change hands over the next few weeks, a couple handfuls came up as guys who will be in high demand, either from their current teams or from rivals who will be trying to steal those players away.

This is far from an exhaustive list, but here are nine names that have come up regularly in our research. Any thoughts on other players who will be hot targets or on where these guys will end up? (more…)