KempBolt

I was thinking more of starters than of position groups. I think CJ is fair. You have to know what he is, but if you give him space he'll eat it faster than anyone else in the league. I don't like Greene at all. Michael Roos and Andy Levitre definitely fit. David Stewart also arguably. Jason McCourty deserves to be on there. And if Zach Brown doesn't yet, he will soon. Jurrell Casey is a stud and so is Derrick Morgan, even if they're not statistically impressive.

My guess is that Kelly flops in Philly, goes back to the college ranks and turns some team into a pernnial National Champion candidate, and returns to the NFL after a few years to find success, having figured out what about his program does/doesn't transfer to this league.

I don't think that the Cardinals are bereft of talent, but I do predict that they will be bad under Arians, who I have no confidence in as a head coach. Philadelphia was straight up "bad" last year and there's no way of knowing if Kelly's efforts will have them back on track or blow up in his face. But on the whole it's tough to find an easy game on an NFC schedule.

That's true- not much of a track record. If you hold him up against all 4-3 DE's, then probably not. But if you restricted the field to LE's, he probably qualified for me. But Seattle is scary with him, Clemons, Irvin, and Avril.

What are your thoughts on Tulloch and Stafford?

So having more talent around him causes ET to be underrated? Interesting take. The other side of that argument would be that Weddle's production has come despite not having reliable teammates around him and being by far the least targeted player in his secondary. I try not to be a homer, and I don't think I am with my take on Weddle. FO and PFF agree that he was better than everyone not named Jarius Byrd in coverage last season (and the season prior for that matter). And of the people who are in the conversation with him coverage wise, none come close in terms of his ability to drop into the box and fill vs. the run or rush on a blitz. Taking all that together, I have no hesitation calling him the unrivaled best. But I agree with the players on your list. It's straight up stupid that you guys added arguably the best NB in the league to your secondary (allowing that he plays at 2012 levels). I would have included Michael Bennett on my list. One of the best LE's anywhere in 2012. And Zach Miller is good enough to make that list if given the opportunities. I really prefer the overall amount of talent on the Seahawks to the 49ers, truth be told.

Yeah, Baker and Beatty are debatable because- while they were probably better than Penn last year- they have a very short track record of successful play. So I think you could take them either way. I left Gates off because, while I think he will be a better than average TE this season, he wasn't a year ago. Or at least our offense didn't allow him to look like one. But I guess as I actually try to think through the names, there aren't all that many I would put ahead of him at this point. I'll add him.

I would go with (in no particular order): 1. Braden Albert, 2. Ryan Clady, 3. Joe Staley, 4. Russell Okung, 5. Michael Roos, 6. Duane Brown, 7. Eugene Monroe, 8. Sam Baker, 9. Jordan Gross, 10. Nate Solder, 11. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, 12. Trent Williams, 13. Jason Peters, 14. Joe Thomas, 15. Andrew Whitworth, 16. Matt Kalil, 17. Will Beatty, 18. Tyron Smith. But I can see a few names on that list being debatable.

I would agree everwhere except LT. I can name more than 16 LT's that I would prefer to Donald Penn. He's not a bad player, but I don't think he's above average. But the Bucs have some talent, no doubt. For your sake, I hope that Freeman can be added to this list in a year's time.

Sell. He's also injury prone, our WR corps should run deep, and he did a lot of his damage last year against 3rd corners. B/S: Kevin Burnett outplays Philip Wheeler.

It's a personal preference. I don't respect that sort of demeanor in anyone.

I hope the Chargers at least kick the tires on him. I worry about who is going to carry the ball on running downs in the case that Mathews is hurt.

Sell. I think Woodley will get his act together, and Jones seems likely to share snaps with Worilds (and maybe Carter?). B/S: Ryan Mathews breaks 1200 yards.

What's your take on Heyward? Seems pretty quiet thus far.

Adding YAC for the Chargers- Danny Woodhead.

In my experience, people who are truly confident don't make public comments the way that he does. To me, that's fake confidence that someone is using to mask insecurity. Again, that's just based on my life experience. And to be fair, I think Roddy White is arguably worse that way. Don't get me wrong- he's the best corner in football right now. But I just wish he'd close his mouth and act like it.

Sell. Brady and Manning in the AFC will make it tough sledding for Luck. And I expect Rodgers and Brees to claim those titles in the NFC. B/S- Ryan Broyles tops 80 receptions.

The crazy thing is that we were able to win with Norv. It was stupid to break up the coaching staff we had in 2006, but for all that we still got to the AFCCG the next season. Norv drove me nuts trying to be a HC and OC at the same time, but I think aside from that he was decent enough. The real problem was A.J. allowing guys like Drew Brees, Michael Turner, Darren Sproles, and Vincent Jackson to basically leave for nothing, while not replacing them adequately. Once our roster got better, he started trying to pinpoint specific positions and he would reach for players that inevitably busted (Davis, English, Cason). And when disaster stuck with losing McNeill and Dielman to injury at basically the same time, we had no choice but to pay lazy ass Gaither because A.J. hadn't invested any resources into depth on the offensive line. If we're doling out blame for the state of the Chargers currently, I place about 90% of it on Smith's shoulders.

Yeah I don't get it either. I mean, Matthews, Lewan and Kouandijo get way more love than he does. I'm of the opinion that Matthews needs to stay on the right side. I think he play left, but it's not ideal. A lot of his hype is due to his last name if you ask me. Lewan is a big work in progress technique wise. He's a waste bender who lunges. I love the attitude and athleticism, but he's a project. And Kouandijo wasn't nearly as good as Richardson in pass pro last season. Still has work to do there. My guess is that teams are way higher on Antonio than the media is right now.

Rushing yards: R. Mathews Rushing TD's: R. Mathews Receptions: V. Brown Receiving yards: D. Alexander Receiving TD's: A. Gates Tackles: D. Butler TFL: C. Liuget Sacks: D. Freeney Interceptions: E. Weddle Forced Fumbles: K. Reyes

I love Brandon Coleman. Such a rare physical talent. He's a sleeper for the top 10. I can honestly see Seattle going for Sutton. Seems like the type of guy that Carroll could make work and would gravitate towards.

I know Vance wasn't a starter, but he still looked like a good interior pass rusher to me last year.

The 2007 Patriots roster and the 2012 49ers roster did essentially the same thing- made it to the SB and lost. Now people will think back on the undefeated season and argue that that team was infinitely better than the 2011/2012 version of the 49ers, but I would argue otherwise. A huge part of why that 2007 team was so good was Tom Brady. And we're excluding him from consideration, because right now we're talking about the supporting cast around the QB. To illustrate- you put Tom Brady on the 49ers in 2011 or 2012, and you're telling me they wouldn't have dominated the same way? With Crabtree and Davis and that offensive line and that running game and that defense? I think they would have stomped through their schedule just like the 2007 Patriots did and would more than likely have won a championship. The supporting casts are very comparable. Also comparable- to me- is that Smith has only had one good season (with that supporting cast) of QB play than can even be considered average by today's standards. And during that one good year, he was protected by the scheme in which he was placed. Which brings me to the point of my argument- I don't think he'll be successful if he's not protected in the same way. But the great thing is that in 2 1/2 more months, we can watch him go out and settle this debate for us.

We'll see. Reid is good with Quarterbacks, but he also doesn't like to use the running game very often and wants his offense to run through the signal caller and the passing game. Any time Smith has been asked to be the focal point, the results have been rather disastrous. So a lot will depend on what Reid asks him to do.