NFC summer subplots One huge question for each team in 2017

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NFC summer subplots: One huge question for each team in 2017 Published: May 16, 2017 at 06:20 AM Elliot Harrison Summer storylines. And, well, summer . Every team has one -- an i sue that hovers over the organization until training camp, when the answers begin to reveal themselves. The have a new sheriff in town. Atlanta's facing a potential hangover. And the didn't get any new receivers. Not all of these offseason NHL Vegas Golden Knights Women Jersey subplots po se s depth. Some are mostly special effects ... like "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." In Houston, the Tony Romo plot point never really got going, but flooded the early offseason with sexy -- and completely speculative -- headlines. Same sort of deal in New England, where the were supposedly on the verge of dealing to the CB-needy . Three weeks after the draft, Butler's still a Pat. coming back to play for the ? Now story has legs, unlike . Beast Mode gives Oakland a chance in the AFC race. The only chariot race worth seeing is the one with Charlton Heston, not the one that was all CGI and a smoking turd at the box office. So what is a concern of your favorite team as spring moves to summer? See below. All team capsules presented without CGI, too. Your thoughts go to the usual place: . NFC EAST Dallas Cowboys: And the children shall lead in the secondary? Apologies for using the title of about a planet (or Paramount's backlot) where kids are in charge to describe the ' defensive backfield. But it is appropriate. The three kids Dallas drafted -- , and -- should play right away. While Dallas signed and still has vets and , how much will they each contribute? Carroll is on his third team and was considered a mid-tier free agent, not nece sarily a front-line starter. Heath is all heart, but mostly a stopgap guy. Scandrick is older now, got hurt two years ago and probably isn't the same player he was in 2014. He has also been the subject of trade rumors. and are gone. Thus, the rookies will join youngsters (2015 draft) and (2016) in reshaping the Dallas secondary. Heck, the 1981 won it all with three rookie starters back there. In fact, they beat the in the NFC Championship Game. Ahh, ... New York Giants: Will they go after before it's too late? If the want to sign , they'll have to do so by July 22 -- a deadline resulting from a the recently applied to the power back. If Blount is unsigned by that date, then he is excluded from signing with any team other than New England until Week 10 (at a paltry $1.1 million, plus incentives). However, if the do add the free-agent back, then the will earn a compensatory selection in next year's draft. I know. Lots of moving parts. The have Paulie Perkins, , and at RB. Perhaps Gallman could be their thumper inside the 10. He's also a rookie. Blount is more than merely a power back, too. He's nimble, knows the value of a 3-yard gain and was integral to New England's Lombardi run last season. New York is a contender now. Sign the guy before it's too late. . Philadelphia Eagles: Who is the lead dog in the backfield? Typically, when you hear the term "running back by committee," it refers to just a couple of guys sharing the bulk of the rushing duties. The might create a new trend this year with running back . (Sorry, been listening to early Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains lately.) Last year's most common starter, , is at best a part-time player -- and he could be released altogether. was the most effective RB last season, but he's soon to be 34 years old. Last year's fifth-round pick, , is rumored to be in line for much work this season, but he only carried the football 77 times last year and got hurt. After Smallwood comes rookie Donnel Pumphrey, who is, well, (5-foot-8 and 176 pounds, to be exact). The San Diego State product's explosive, and plenty of folks in my busine s are excited about this draft pick, but Pumphrey will probably be 2.0, not Wilbert Montgomery or Ricky Watters. Training camp sounds like a great place to sort this deal out. . Washington Redskins: Can and the team put the spring behind them? As we head into summer, one storyline that is sure to calm down is the Cousins-to-San-Francisco-or-anywhere-else creative nonfiction. We can't call it "fiction," because there a chance next offseason that the won't pay him, or will get an offer they can't refuse. They also have a new GM. For now, though, Cousins is Washington's quarterback. With the weakened slightly, and the still needing O-line (and RB) help, the NFC East can be had. That means everyone in that ' building -- and huddle -- must be on the same page. Bear in mind that Cousins lost two starting wideouts to free agency. is an emerging talent. Ditto , who has only played the WR position for a handful of years. Former first-round pick enters Year 2 after the team brought him along slowly in Year 1. Former fifth-round pick will inherit a much larger role than before. Thus, training camp's uber-important for this group. NFC NORTH Chicago Bears: How does Dowell Loggains get the entire QB room up to speed? Much was made of the to acquire . We won't delve into that here, but an undercurrent to drafting a quarterback second overall is le s experience in the QB room. That's why it's important to have a veteran starter or backup. The own both in and . , like Trubisky, they too are new to this team, which means they are new to this offense -- or, at least, Dowell Loggains' version of it. Why is this important? Because to be better on the field, all of them need more reps than normal. If Glennon is the certified No. 1 on the depth chart, then you'd Shea Theodore Kids Jersey expect him to take the vast majority of snaps -- sometimes even 90 percent. How can Chicago do that develop Trubisky? How can John Fox get his rookie QB adequate time under center without hampering Sanchez's understanding of the offense? Detroit Lions: What to expect from ? It's no secret the must run the ball better and more often. In 2016, no Detroit ball copyright cracked the 400-yard barrier. This just in: That's no benchmark. The haven't finished in the top half of the league in rushing offense since Barry Sanders was running wild. Want more? Detroit has finished in the bottom five in rushing yards since Y2K. GM Bob Quinn has already come out and said , and that he didn't feel he could upgrade the position group after the first couple of rounds. The i sue is that Abdullah only played two games last year, and he fumbled five times in part-time duty his rookie season. Hopefully the third-year back can stay healthy enough to reduce the stre s on of trying to win games by himself. Green Bay Packers: How much can do? This impending training camp will be important for , running backs coach Ben Sirmans and offensive line coach James Campen. GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy know they must give more support. The franchise quarterback put the team on his back on a historic run during the second half of last season. From Week 11 through the Wild Card Round, Rodgers to sed 22 touchdown pa ses against interceptions. Call it that he will be able to do that again. After being thrust into the running back role last year at midseason, Montgomery will have the whole offseason to prepare with Sirmans. It'd be helpful for Sirmans to get fourth-round pick up to speed as quickly as po sible. Campen will work with a healthy and ( replacement) . Both must contribute to a revitalized running game that was hit-or-mi s in 2016. Minnesota Vikings: What will become of ... starter or bust? Some folks are labeling a bust after one season. A tad unfair, especially given Mike Zimmer's old-school approach with rookies. That said, Treadwell the whole season. The last one thrown to him was a deep ball during the game where it didn't appear that he and were on the same page. Zimmer said he thinks Treadwell with more familiarity with Pat Shurmur's offense. The current duo of and is viable, if not great. With Treadwell's presence as a red-zone threat, the trio could vault the pa sing game to formidable. That is, if 's signing doesn't hold back Treadwell before the sequel ever gets started. That's what happened with the sequel to the original "Clash of the ." It got stopped by MGM before filming ever got going. It signaled the end of stop-motion animation in movies. Neither movie had in it, so I'm not sure why Treadwell reminded me of a Harry Hamlin vehicle. But Treadwell's career is in stop-motion at this moment. NFC SOUTH Atlanta Falcons: Is the hangover real? Everyone is ready to move on from the blown lead, poor play calling and the like. Going beyond that, though, remember that making the is the culmination of the offseason program, training camp, preseason, 17-week regular season and postseason. The disappointment of wading through all that muck -- with a little luck -- only to lose on the last day of the season has translated to awful follow-up seasons for past runner-ups. Of the losers since 2000, only eight have even made it back to the postseason. None found their way to the big dance, and only two were in the conference championship game. That said, Thomas Dimitroff's staff did a solid job in the draft, while the front office acquired and in free agency. Still, the NFC South will be tough. Prediction: Atlanta wins the division again. ? Carolina Panthers: What will Mike Shula do with this offense? Many of the league observers who were throwing bouquets at offensive coordinator Mike Shula two years ago were the same ones hammering him last year for his play calling. The went from to in scoring. went from the league's MVP to one of its lowest-rated pa sers in 2016. Of course, it turns out he had a shoulder problem. And was not as explosive in his first season back from a major knee injury. Well, , Benjamin should be better this year (almost every player says Year 2 after knee surgery is when full strength returns) and Carolina drafted perhaps the most exciting player in the cla s in . Shula has said with his new versatile pieces in McCaffrey and . How he pulls that off could directly dictate whether the hover around .500 or stay around in mid-January. New Orleans Saints: Is the defense strong enough to compete in the NFC South? Sean Payton is as tired of going 7-9 as we all are of hearing theories about millennials. That said, is a millennial, and having him at full strength this season could make a rather large difference up font. Dennis Allen's unit was better when Rankins started playing. The went from allowing 31 points per game to 26.5. Also, injuries took a toll on a secondary that will be healthier -- and also added (the consensus top corner in the draft) and (second-round safety). Throw in the fact that, well, New Orleans should be throwing the ball le s with a backfield featuring , and . Say what you want about this group, but it will compete. And every game be 38-35, broham. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: What will provide this year? This is a huge factor in deciding how the NFC South shakes out. Martin was a stud as a rookie, cruising past 1,400 yards, causing this hack writer to compare him to Tiki Barber. Then came two injury-filled subpar seasons, before he in a contract year in 2015. So, of course, when Martin failed to perform last season, people blamed it on him getting paid. Turns out he carried some personal problems, leading him to get benched and, later, . However, by what they have seen from Martin this offseason. With the draft falling the way it did, GM Jason Licht didn't take an RB until the fifth round (Jeremy McNichols). Thus, a Martin return to his 2012/2015 form could be huge for an offense that already upgraded its air game into an air raid. Everyone is rooting for Martin, but can they rely on him? NFC WEST Arizona Cardinals: True contenders ... or just another mediocre bunch? Watching Amazon's "All Or Nothing," one thing was clear: Bruce Arians didn't want his players drinking the Kool-Aid following Tomas Tatar Kids Jersey the 2015 campaign. He was fond of saying "We ain't sh**." Well, coming off a 7-8-1 season in which the weren't ever in the playoff race, apparently Arians was right. And while he is known for being aggre sive, whatever swagger/confidence this team had in the past must have taken a hit last season. The offensive line looked terrible . The kicking game was about the same . stung; was pure dung. All of which is to say that while fans point to , this group as a whole must figure out how to close out games (like when they went 34-14 over the previous three years). Los Angeles Rams: Did they do enough on offense to compete in the NFC West? The , but the question of whether it will be enough to compete with the and in the division will take time to answer -- starting in camp, going through the preseason. The progre sion of the L.A. attack starts with , who won't be No. 2 on the depth chart this summer. and should play immediately, despite being rookies. Kupp came highly touted, but for now will probably be a slot receiver. After losing to free agency, the need a big talent outside. Rookie tight end could contribute right away. If the pa sing game is still devoid of enough experience, perhaps the running game could pick up the slack. Left tackle was a fantastic addition. But the line wasn't overhauled enough to ensure can break loose. So, e sentially, let's hope new head coach Sean McVay is a boy wonder. San Francisco 49ers: Why does everyone sleep on ? Does it seem like a lot of fans own a dim view of the ' starting quarterback? Maybe they don't take ownership of it, because it's not entirely based on fact -- but nobody seems to think he can play. Hoyer might not be the long-term solution, but he doesn't come up short in a lot of categories. You can start with character and attitude, pitfalls of in Chicago. The statistics are there, as well -- bolstered by the fine season he had in a pinch for John Fox's . Last year, Hoyer threw six touchdown pa ses against zero interceptions, while averaging more than 300 pa sing yards per start until he got hurt against the . For his career, the former Patriot, Steeler, Cardinal, Brown, Texan and Bear has to sed 44 touchdowns vs. 26 interceptions. While his completion percentage isn't where you would like it to be (59.5), his yards-per-attempt mark is solid (7.2), meaning he is not afraid to throw downfield. The drafted . He'll duke it out with for backup duties. Maybe GM John Lynch goes hard after next March. But don't let that -- and -- cause you to see Hoyer in an unfair light. Seattle Seahawks: Will they mi s Beast Mode in 2017? They darn sure did in 2016. fans lit up my Twitter last year when I speculated wouldn't simply just replace . No one could. Rawls was injured and ineffective through most of the regular season. flamed out (again). showed major flashes -- like in -- but has had trouble staying healthy. In comes , whose game resembles Lynch's more than any other RB in the league. A phat signing if it's the 2014 Lacy, not so much if he eats his way out of the lineup again. The man can certainly play (and hosts ). Despite a subpar ground game that , averaged 3.9 yards per carry and tallied 677 yards fewer that in the year prior, the ' defense kept the team in games once again. How about giving the defense a little rest with some old-fashioned clock ball? This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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