Chuck Hixson, WarNest.com
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles have Jevon Kearse written in at the top of their depth chart at
defensive end, but there are injury and commitment concerns with Kearse since he
missed most of the 2006 season after tearing up his knee in Week 2 against the
Giants, giving him back-to-back disappointing seasons. Add to that concerns
about Kearse's offseason commitment to training and he's shaky at best. Jerome
McDougle took over for Kearse, but wasn't at all impressive. He's still technically
Plan B should Kearse not be able to hold the job.
That leaves second-round pick Victor Abiamiri in a spot to challenge for a
starting job. Expectations are high for Abiamiri after an impressive college career at Notre Dame, and the coaching staff was impressed by his performance in minicamp.
The rookie is likely a year away from making a big impact, but will look to
move up that timetable when the Eagles hit Lehigh University for training camp
later this month.
Barry McBride, TheOBR.com
Cleveland Browns
While LT Kevin Shaffer moving aside for top pick Joe Thomas is inevitable,
another veteran who faces a tough battle for his job will be quarterback Charlie
Frye. The third-year veteran had the starting role handed to him in 2006, but
will face stiff competition this summer from Derek Anderson and rookie Brady
Quinn.
Anderson doesn't have Frye's mobility, but has a much quicker release,
and may even have already started to edge past Frye as training camp begins. The
three-year vet from Oregon State arguably outperformed Frye when the latter was
out due to injury last season.
While many in the Browns front office would like
Brady Quinn to sit for a year, an impressive effort during camp and the
preseason would put him right into the mix as well.
Howard Balzer, GridironGateway.com
St. Louis Rams
 |
Andy McCollum
(AP Photo) |
It will be one of the most-watched battles when the Rams open training camp
July 27. When center Brett Romberg started the final three games of the 2006
season and the Rams won them all, there didn't seem much doubt that Romberg
would enter 2007 as the favorite to be the starter. However, no one knew at the
time how determined the 37-year-old Andy McCollum was to come back from a knee
injury that ended his 2006 season in the opening game. Most figured McCollum's
career was over. Admittedly, McCollum harbored some of those same thoughts, and
he questioned things even more when his close friend, guard Adam Timmerman, was
released on the final day of February.
But McCollum persevered, and wasn't even wearing a brace during the team's
offseason program. Romberg is intent on winning the job, but it won't be easy.
While McCollum knows the younger Romberg will be breathing down his neck and
challenging him all summer, don't bet against the veteran. That could well be a
losing wager.
Aaron Wilson, RavensInsider.com
Baltimore Ravens
Incumbent center Mike Flynn could be in danger of losing his job
if the Ravens decide to shift Chris Chester inside from right guard and promote
first-round draft pick Ben Grubbs into the spot Chester currently occupies at
right guard.
A youth movement is afoot in Baltimore.
Tim Yotter, VikingUpdate.com
Minnesota Vikings
Safety Dwight Smith will face the biggest challenge to his starting position
when training camp opens for the Vikings. Smith was a July 2006 pickup after the
New Orleans Saints released him and he entered last year’s training camp
expected to back up Tank Williams at strong safety. But Williams, another 2006
free-agent signing for the Vikings, broke his kneecap in training camp and was
lost for season. Smith, entering his seventh season, is a seasoned starter, but
he also has plenty of former starters pushing him for his job.
Smith will be challenged heavily by Williams and Mike Doss, a 2007 free-agent
signing by the Vikings. Williams appears to be all the way back from his surgery
and signed another deal with the Vikings, and Doss also participated fully in
May and June workouts and should be close to 100 percent once training camp
starts, and he also has the advantage of knowing the philosophies of new
defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier from their days together in Indianapolis.
Stan Jones, TitansInsider.net
Tennessee Titans
The Titans secondary will be the biggest area of competition between a
veteran and a younger player on the roster. Free safety Lamont Thompson should
face the biggest challenge this fall after serving as the starter for the team
for the last three seasons. He is expected to be pushed for his starting spot by as many as three players on Tennessee's roster.
Second-year player Calvin Lowry is currently listed as the backup to Thompson going into training camp
and spent his first year contributing on special teams for the Titans. Veteran Bryan Scott was added to the roster this spring and has played both safety positions and cornerback during his career. First-round selection Michael Griffin played free safety at the University of Texas during his college career and could also find himself competing for
the starter's role.
With all three candidates poised to push Thompson this fall,
his time as a starter appears to be dwindling quicker than he may be able to stop.
Charlie Bernstein, JagNation.com
Jacksonville Jaguars
Wide receiver Ernest Wilford is the one veteran on the Jaguars that will clearly have the
most difficult time holding onto his starting job. After a
surprising amount of production from the former fourth-round pick in his first
two NFL seasons, Wilford clearly regressed in 2006, as he only caught a single touchdown
pass while starting in 12 games. He suffered from drops last year and he just doesn't possess much speed for a starting NFL wide receiver.
Wilford will clearly be pushed for not
only his starting job, but his roster spot as well since the Jaguars brought in
Dennis Northcutt through free agency and added Mike Walker and
John Broussard during draft weekend.
The primary player to unseat Wilford will be rookie
Mike Walker. He impressed the Jaguars coaching staff during minicamps with
his deep speed as well as sharp route-running and strong hands. Walker has
No. 1 wide receiver potential and may be in the Jaguars starting lineup
within the first month of the season.
Craig Massei, SFIllustrated.com
San Francisco 49ers
 |
Derek Smith battles Ryan Hannam
(AP Photo) |
Linebacker Derek Smith has been one of San Francisco's best defensive players
since joining the team in 2001, leading the 49ers in tackles five consecutive
seasons - including a team-record 189 in 2003 - before that streak came to an
end last year when he was limited by an eye condition that required surgery
after the season.
Now entering his 11th NFL season at age 32, Smith looked refreshed and fully
recovered during the spring, but he appears to be playing on borrowed time with
the 49ers. Smith has started 149 of the 153 career games in which he has played,
but he will be hard-pressed to remain in the starting lineup this season after
the 49ers drafted Mississippi standout Patrick Willis in April with the No. 11
overall pick in the first round.
Smith still can be a productive veteran at this stage of his career, but
Willis is a sideline-to-sideline playmaking dynamo with all-star potential, and
it will be difficult for Smith - or anybody else - to keep Willis on the bench
once he learns San Francisco's 3-4 defensive system and becomes comfortable in
it.
Doug Farrar, Seahawks.net
Seattle Seahawks
Strong safety Michael Boulware could technically be called the starter coming
into training camp, though he was benched for several games last season when his
predilection for biting on play fakes and being out of position in general
compromised an already problematic secondary. The Seahawks overhauled that
secondary in the offseason, signing safety Brian Russell,
letting Ken Hamlin walk out the door and sign with the Cowboys, and adding
former Falcons coach Jim Mora as Assistant Head Coach/Secondary.
Boulware will
be challenged by Russell and also by Jordan Babineaux, the versatile defensive
back who replaced him in the starting lineup last year.
Matthew Postins, BucsBlitz.com
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ryan Nece stands the best chance of losing his job. The strongside
linebacker has been serviceable as a starter the past two seasons, but certainly
not spectacular.
After signing Cato June as a free agent, the Bucs are looking
for a place to play June, since the weakside is still occupied (Derrick
Brooks). The Bucs want June in the lineup and will give him every chance to put
Nece on the bench.
June is quicker than Nece and better in pass coverage, but
Nece is bigger and more able to handle the tight end matchups that will likely
come up. Still, the Bucs want June in there, so I think Nece will be on the bench
by the opener.
Jon Scott, PatriotsInsider.com
New England Patriots
Wide receiver Reche Caldwell faces the toughest challenge to hang on to his
job now that Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker are on the team. But
we've already talked about Caldwell, so I think another name needs to be
considered; offensive tackle Nick Kaczur.
When Kaczur was drafted in 2005, many felt he was the next bookend tackle
for the Patriots, someone who could eventually succeed Matt Light when the time
came. He has struggled to win the favor of the coaching staff and his
performance has invited the team to increase competition at his position. The Pats
continue to try to find upgrades by drafting tackles, including a pair in 2007.
Kaczur's biggest challenger is Ryan O'Callaghan, a fifth-round pick in
2005. O'Callaghan is big, strong and nasty. He proved he could play in 2006,
starting six games as a rookie. He is expected to push Kaczur for starting duties
in camp.
John Crist, BearReport.com
Chicago Bears
Veteran defensive end Alex Brown isn't in danger of losing his starting job necessarily -- he's already lost it to second-year pro Mark Anderson.
Although Brown has been a dependable player in Chicago for several years and a Pro Bowl alternate as recently as 2005, Anderson was runner-up for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last season after totaling 12 sacks as a part-time specialist. It remains to be seen if Anderson can hold the point of attack against the run as well as Brown has, but head coach Lovie Smith prefers a lighter more athletic end on the right side in order to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback. Smith employs very little blitzing in his version of the Cover 2 defense and simply must get production from his front four to be successful.
The usually gregarious Brown was quite miffed when he heard the news upon reporting to minicamp this past May, so it will be interesting to see what kind of mood he'll be in once he gets to training camp.
Jerry Langton, ColtPower.com
Indianapolis Colts
Whichever of the current guards gets
outplayed this summer will be the one whose starting role is less secure. Both Jake Scott and Ryan Lilja have played well enough to
keep their jobs in the past, but this season is different. Both will become
unrestricted free agents after the season, and the Colts are not averse to
letting even good players go if they feel they can't afford them, and they don't
spend much on guards.
It's not like the Colts don't have willing and able replacements. Second-round
draft pick Tony Ugoh may end up at tackle, but he'll play guard as a rook. The
Colts signed former stalwart starter Rick DeMulling and also have Dylan Gandy,
who once beat out Lilja; Matt Ulrich, an underrated prospect; and Charlie
Johnson, a soph swing tackle likely to be displaced to guard by Ugoh, despite an
eye-opening rookie season.
So which will it be? Well, Lilja is a better pass-blocker and more athletic,
while Scott is more durable, versatile and has a bigger upside. Even if both
emerge as starters in September, as the season progresses, one or both will lose
reps, then series, then a job.
Michael John Schon, BroncosUpdate.com
Denver Broncos
Thirteen years after first setting foot on the field at Dove Valley as an undrafted free agent, wide receiver Rod Smith returns. A little older, a little wiser and for the first time since 1997, a question mark in the Denver Broncos starting lineup.
Smith, who underwent hip surgery last February, is coming off his most unproductive season since becoming a starter - 52 catches for 512 yards and three touchdowns, but the former Missouri Southern standout is not quite ready to pass the torch just yet - hes going to make Brandon Marshall earn it.
Marshall, the Broncos fourth-round selection in 2006, had an impressive rookie season with 20 receptions for 309 yards (15.5 avg.) and two touchdowns, but is it enough to unseat the man who holds every single Denver receiving record?
"If I'm not productive, trust me, the coaches don't have to fire me," Smith told reporters. "I'm going to leave on my own."