Monday Observations: Bills, Saints, Eagles looking at big-time holes

I hate to put too much emphasis on opening week, and this was just one of 16 games for everyone in the league after all, but if I'm the Bills, Saints or Eagles I might be a little worried right now. Of all the action over the weekend, I found their displays most disconcerting, especially for clubs with elevated expectations.

Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong for the Bills, did go wrong. The Meadowlands ravaged them. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick came out throwing picks all over the place and actually trying to challenge Darrelle Revis. Fred Jackson suffered another knee injury early, and David Nelson went down late. The "new-and-improved" pass rush went out with a whimper with Jets right tackle du jour Austin Howard handling Mario Williams, the highest-paid defensive player in league history.

It was beyond ugly, and the score doesn't do justice to just how thorough this beating was. Short of C.J. Spiller putting up form fantasy champ stats, largely in what amounted to garbage time (anything beyond the early part of the second quarter would qualify as GT in this instance), it was a total washout for Buffalo. The injuries could have lingering ramifications and, for a team that was planning on making a move up the AFC East standings, getting drubbed by the under-duress Jets is a double whammy; now Mark Sanchez and company have some swagger back, while the Bills have to be wondering if it's the same 'ol situation up in Western New York, bloated payroll or not.

For all the preseason hype about the Bills, Fitzpatrick scared me, and Sunday was a prime reason why. He threw three picks, his ball looked sloppy, his accuracy was off. He simply has not been the same cat since signing his extension, and this goes beyond Fred Jackson being hurt or bad luck or whatever. Since Nov. 1, 2011, Fitzpatrick has a 1-9 record. He has thrown an NFL leading 19 interceptions in that span (John Skelton and Matt Stafford are tied for second most, with 15 since November). He's completing 58 percent of his passes in that 10-game sequence, with only 13 touchdowns and a woeful 66.5 rating -- 25th in the league).

I'm not sure that just gets quickly corrected. I also have a hard time believing that Dave Wannstedt is going to be the guy to galvanize Buffalo's defense and get them attacking the quarterback and turning teams over the way their roster indicates they could.

And I'm also not so sure all that ails the Saints can be righted immediately.

Some scouts in the NFC South believed the biggest area in which the loss of coach Sean Payton would be felt was in regard to Drew Brees' decision-making. The quarterback has a tendency to force things at times -- and when you are ridiculously as good as he is, you want some of that. But Payton is the guy to reel him back him, set him straight and correct things.

Without that influence, as games played out, and if things were not going the Saints' way, these scouts felt like that trait might end up undermining the team, and there certainly were times Sunday that Brees seemed to be trying to do too much, too soon. The offense never really got in sync until it was desperation time, and Brees nearly got Jimmy Graham killed by sailing some throws over the middle. Everything was a bit off.

On the other side of the ball, that defense is in trouble. Even getting Will Smith, their pass rusher, back on his suspension reprieve, they lacked any real bite. People who have worked with new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo point out it generally takes a team half a season to catch on, and then the results can come quickly. There is a definite adjustment period going on here.

The Redskins came out essentially running the Baylor offense to get Robert Griffin III comfortable: screens, a few slants, very basic stuff. The Saints could mount no sort of pass rush (if Cam Jordan doesn't step up, that's going to remain an issue). They got gashed in the run game, Say what you want about Gregg Williams, but his scheme covered up a lot of warts there, and if this bunch isn't well versed yet in this new defense, that's going to be a problem.

I was bullish on the Saints coming into the season, and I'm not ready to kick them to the curb after one stinker of a home opener. But the more they seem less invincible at home, and if they can't score into the 40s every time they show up, that margin for error gets pretty tight.

As for the Eagles, pretty much anyone who has paid attention to football could determine that Mike Vick -- his health, his decision-making -- held the key to their season. Maybe that Kevlar he was wearing caused a bizarre reaction in his brain, but he was going arm for arm with Fitzpatrick on Sunday, matching him with each ill-conceived throw.

Vick ended up with four interceptions, pretty much single-handedly keeping the Browns in the game (Cleveland's offense actually found a way to make 2011's putrid game film look scintillating), and he could have easily thrown a half dozen picks. Opposing coordinators want to squeeze him in the red zone, because as the field gets smaller his mistakes and misreads get magnified, and he was dead-set on challenging Browns stud corner Joe Haden with the game on the line, throwing into bad matchups, forcing a ball into double-coverage in the end zone in the dying seconds still trailing by six inside the 10-yard line.

Full props to him for the check-down that resulted in the winning touchdown, but I can only imagine the angst and bloodletting going on in Philadelphia talk radio today coming off this opening debacle. How long before the calls for Trent Edwards begin?

Some general managers aren't sure that some of that will ever go away with Vick, and that this is simply who he is. Yes, Vick was masterful a few years back -- healthy, reading defenses well, playing to such a high level that he was rewarded with a new contract. But that was a long time ago. Not sure he's getting back there. And at some point the loss of star left tackle Jason Peters is going to manifest itself.

Still a lot of football to be played here, and the Eagles have abundant talent. Vick won't be this poor every week. But if the quarterback play doesn't elevate greatly I can't see Philadelphia going as far as some have suggested. Like the Saints, I still see playoff potential. But some major corrections are warranted.

Can't help but notice the speed with which the Pats are playing with now on defense. Wasn't that long ago that plodding guys like Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau were running around there linebacker, but the entire pace and tenor of that group has changed. Their selections of Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower paid immediate dividends against the Titans, as they were overwhelming at times. Bill Belichick has more weapons to tinker with there than he has in a long time, and I still can't help but think at some point Andre Carter is healthy enough to be re-signed (and Brian Waters still may end up back at guard for them on the other side of the ball, should the sides be able to find a reworked contract and work conditions that get him back on the field).

• The Titans and Panthers better spend some time on the run game this week. Heard rumblings in Tennessee that Mike Munchak worked them pretty hard late in camp, and maybe some legs on the offensive line and in the backfield were getting heavy. Of course, in this era of no two-a-days, I’m not sure how many sympathetic ears there would be in that regard. These two teams are still throwbacks in a way, and without a physical run attack, they are going to suffer.

• Kevin Kolb makes an easy target to criticize, but not enough is being made of what he pulled off Sunday when Skelton went down late in that game. Kolb was masterful coming in cold, leading a winning touchdown drive and got the Cardinals a big divisional victory that could turn things for the better there. After all of his struggles the past few years, and his lost preseason, he deserves some kudos here. As much as the locker room may lean more to Skelton, the coaches there want nothing more than for this Kolb experiment to work, and at some point I see him starting there again, possibly quite soon.

• Blaine Gabbert managed to take his improvements from the preseason into the regular season. He continues to look much more at ease in the pocket, no more happy feet, keeping his eyes up. He damn near led a winning drive with a late touchdown, but the Jags had me scratching my head in overtime, on fourth and 3, when rather than run some slants and several underneath options, Gabbert was forcing things to a double-covered receiver deep. And Maurice Jones-Drew will be starting by Week 2, after becoming a big factor for the Jags over the weekend as that game went on, despite his 38-day holdout.

• Gonna be a long, long season for Brandon Weeden and Ryan Tannehill. I mean a long season. They were totally overwhelmed, and Weeden looks very rote and raw. How he translates from his college offense to the NFL is a big question. Wouldn't be surprised if one of these teams is drafting a quarterback in the first round again next year.

• Watching more offensive linemen go down in games yesterday I can't help but wonder when someone signs veteran guard Montrae Holland. He is fully recovered from a triceps injury, had what sources told me was a great workout for the Cowboys recently, but the sides could not come to terms on an incentive package and thus the deal got scuttled. He could add a burly element to a team in need, and with the Rams losing a few linemen and New England being a little short at guard, at least until or unless Waters shows up, I would think Holland's phone would be ringing soon.

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No smoking gun but plenty enough to shoot holes through Saints' case

Sunday June 03, 2012 - 2:46 PM

Vilma (right) has allegedly been involved in bounties since his Miami days. (Getty Images)

The ledger.

It is not a visually impressive document. Two sources described it to CBSSports.com but gave conflicting accounts of its significance. One said the ledger has dates, amounts -- sometimes in the thousands of dollars -- that chronicle the Saints' bounty system. It's proof, this source said, that the team ran a system that rewarded players for illegal hits. Some of the Saints called the person who kept the document "The Bookkeeper" after the character from the movie The Untouchables.

Another source who has seen the ledger said it contains errors and doesn't have exact proof that players were paid to injure. Yet the person, a strong doubter of the NFL's case against the Saints, admitted the ledger "looks bad for the Saints."

It isn't a smoking gun, but the ledger -- and other recent evidence -- is another piece of a picture showing Saints guilt.

And this is what some of the latest news to come out about the Saints demonstrates overall. There continues to be a piling of circumstantial and specific evidence of wrongdoing.

All of this continues to show one thing: The Saints are busted. Now there will be people who dispute this, and that's fine, but the problem remains the Saints players and their supporters keep fighting like none of this information matters.

The players keep saying: Show us the evidence. There's already plenty. There's so much that if this were a court of law, the Saints would have been denied bail and Shawshanked down to the cell block.

The recent news includes two other things besides the ledger, one recent, one a blast from the past that has been forgotten, but has great significance.

The producer and the voicemail: Filmmaker Sean Pamphilon may be a rabid self-promoter -- check that, there's no maybe -- but the voicemail he provided to CBSSports.com RapidReporter Larry Holder is one of the more interesting pieces of proof in the bounty case. Yes, proof.

Because on the voicemail, Drew Brees acknowledges he knows of that vicious Gregg Williams audiotape, when all along Brees has played innocent to all aspects of the bounty scandal. This leads to a fair question: What did Brees know about the bounties and when did he know it? He knew about the tape, clearly, so why can't people assume he know about other things, like the ledger?

"Just be truthful," Pamphilon told Holder. "Don't worry about how this affects your marketing campaign. Don't worry how it's going to affect you in the public arena. ... He is supposed to be an advocate for player health safety. I want him to do his job."

The ledger, the tape…again ... not smoking guns, but pivotal and circumstantial pieces of the larger picture.

The booster.

Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has sued Goodell for defamation, claiming he has never been involved in a pay-to-injure scheme. What almost everyone has forgotten is that this isn't the first time Vilma has been accused of such a thing.

Yahoo Sports reported on notorious booster Nevin Shapiro, who spoke at length about Vilma.

Shapiro said he gave Vilma, when at the University of Miami, over $2,000 for bounties. One, Shapiro said, was a $1,000 hit on Florida State quarterback Chris Rix in 2002 that led to a personal foul penalty. Shapiro claimed he offered $5,000 to any Miami player who knocked Rix out of the game.

Shapiro is a cad, liar and criminal. Believe him at your own peril, but in the Yahoo story, he offers explicit details, and comes off as believable (and bitter). There was also this from Rix himself.

"I do remember a few late hits -- some of them were called, some of them weren't," Rix told Larry Brown Sports. "I remember one specifically in the 2003 BCS Orange Bowl game, after I had thrown a pass [Vilma] came in and led with his hand. He got it inside my facemask and gave me a black eye. I don't remember that being called as a late hit. Other ones were at the bottom of piles, yelling expletives at you and trying to get their hands in your facemask -- get your eye. I'm not the first football player that's happened to and I'm not the last. That happens a lot in those rivalry games.

"If I saw [Vilma], I really don't know what I'd say. I'd say 'I know you got offered $5,000 to take me out of the game. While you got a lot of good hits on me, you notice you never took me out of the game -- I always finished. So I'm sorry you never got the full $5,000 check for taking me out of the game.'"

The ledger. The tape. The booster. None of this is that exact bull's-eye, but there sure is a great deal of recent smoke, and anyone who believes otherwise, especially the Saints, isn't paying attention.

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Holes to fill: Post-draft, free agency spots of concern for all 32 teams

The Patriots need a big rebound year from Devin McCourty after his sophomore slump in 2011. (US Presswire)

Free agency and the NFL Draft have come and gone and you can bet most teams feel good about what they've added to their rosters.

But that doesn't mean they still don't have worry spots. They all do, even the best teams.

So after two months of stocking rosters through signings and draft picks, I thought this was a good time to look at the biggest worry spots remaining for all 32 teams.

Minicamps and OTA days will help coaches and general managers decide if they should do something about these spots before the season or if there is a young player ready to make a huge leap forward.

For now, all 32 coaches must look at their depth charts and know that the biggest problems they have are ones they just might have to coach around.

Arizona Cardinals: Who plays quarterback? They head toward the season with a battle between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton coming up. Whoever starts will have another weapon in Michael Floyd, the team's first-round pick, to go with Larry Fitzgerald.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons were 29th in the league in third-down defensive efficiency and, aside from getting Asante Samuel in a trade, they haven't done much to fix that. That means the defensive front, which didn't play well, has to play better -- or they need to get more help.

Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens signed veteran tackle Bryant McKinnie to a deal last year and he played well early, but tailed off. They haven't done much to replace him, unless rookie Kelechi Osemele can play there, which means he heads to camp as a starter. That's a worry.

Buffalo Bills: Kirk Morrison is projected right now to be the starter at one outside linebacker spot. Maybe the coaches expect one of the rookie draft picks -- Nigel Bradham or Tank Carder -- to take the other spot.

Carolina Panthers: The Panthers were last in the NFL in net yards passing per play allowed last season and really haven't done much to improve that. They better hope young corners Brandon Hogan and Josh Norman (fifth-round pick this year) can help improve their coverage.

Chicago Bears: The Bears were the second-worst team in the NFL in sacks-per-pass play last season, and they haven't done much to improve the offensive line. They better hope getting healthy with the guys they have can turn the line around. Or Jay Cutler might not want to come back.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals were 27th in yards rushing per attempt. While they signed Benjarvus Green-Ellis as a free agent, you have to wonder if they did enough to fix that. Green-Ellis is more of a grinder. Why not a back earlier than the sixth-round pick they used on Dan Herron?

Cleveland Browns: The Browns were 30th in passing yards per play last season. They did add quarterback Brandon Weeden in the first round, but they didn't add any receivers to help him until the fourth round in Travis Benjamin. That means they better hope for big-time improvement from Greg Little.

Dallas Cowboys: Who's the No. 3 receiver? The Cowboys lost Laurent Robinson to the Jaguars in free agency after he had a good 2011 season. That will put Kevin Ogletree in as the No. 3 behind Dez Bryant and Miles Austin. Ogletree has flashed at times, but the Cowboys don't have much behind him.

Denver Broncos: Receiver Demaryius Thomas will be a star with Peyton Manning, but what else does he have around him? They have Eric Decker and did sign Andre Caldwell as a free agent, but that won't scare anybody down the field. The Broncos didn't add a receiver in the draft, which might have been a mistake.

Detroit Lions: The Lions were 29th in rushing yards per game last season and their top two backs are coming off injuries -- Jahvid Best, concussion issues and Mikel LeShoure, torn Achilles tendon. They didn't do much to help alleviate the concerns at the position.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers were 26th in the league in yards rushing per game and now Ryan Grant is gone. That means either James Starks or Brandon Saine will be the main back to improve on that number.

Houston Texans: They let the right side of their offensive line leave and now must hope that younger players Antoine Caldwell, Rashad Butler and third-round draft pick Brandon Brooks can fill the two spots adequately enough. That's a big risk.

Indianapolis Colts: Jerraud Powers is a good player at one corner, but the other spot is a major concern. They didn't draft a corner, which means Kevin Thomas, Brandon King and Chris Rucker will battle for the job. Maybe one of them is the sleeper gem on the roster. They better hope so.

Jacksonville Jaguars: They still have concerns on the offensive line. Can Eben Britton, who is coming off back surgery, revert to his pre-injury ways at right tackle? If not, is Guy Whimper, who was a spinning top last year, the guy to handle the job? They didn't add depth in the offseason, which is a concern.

Kansas City Chiefs: They will stay with Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback after passing on getting a free agent or a rookie to challenge him in the draft. The Chiefs can say they stand by him all they want, but this season will tell that story.

Miami Dolphins: We know they will have a quarterback competition, but who's the go-to receiver? They need Clyde Gates, a second-year speedster, to step up and become a deep threat. Davone Bess and Brian Hartline don't offer No. 1 ability.

Minnesota Vikings: The defensive tackle spot is a concern. Kevin Williams didn't play as well last season and now Letroy Guion will take over as the starter next to him. There isn't much in terms of depth after Fred Evans. An early draft pick on a tackle would have made some sense.

New England Patriots: Corner play was a big problem last season and they didn't do much to improve it. They have to hope Devin McCourty, who had a sophomore slump, can revert to his rookie form. Ras-I Dowling, who missed all but two games of his entire rookie season in 2011 with a hip injury, should also be a factor. They also added Will Allen and drafted Alfonzo Dennard, a player I like.

New Orleans Saints: The Saints struggled to rush the passer last season and did little to upgrade the outside rush. It won't help that Will Smith will miss four games serving a suspension for his role in Bountygate. Cameron Jordan, last year's first-round pick, has to provide more. Greg Romeus, who missed last season recovering from knee surgery, is another possibility.

New York Giants: Did they do enough at tight end? With two tight ends coming off torn ACL's in the Super Bowl, they could have drafted one but didn't. That leaves Martellus Bennett, who is on a one-year deal, as the starter. He didn't live up to expectations in Dallas, but maybe new scenery can change that.

New York Jets: Wayne Hunter was a big problem at right tackle last season. He is back as the starter again after the Jets decided not to upgrade that spot. That's risky. He really had some issues last season.

Oakland Raiders: The Raiders were 29th in total defense and didn't do much to excite with their moves to think they will be significantly better. The corner position is a concern with Ronald Bartell and Shawntae Spencer set to start.

Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles had issues at safety last season in part because of injuries and in part because of poor play. They have the same group back, which means they better improve in the back end. Second-year player Jaiquawn Jarrett has to be more of a factor.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Steelers fans will scream that the team didn't do much to upgrade at cornerback this season. That's because the front office has high hopes for Curtis Brown, Keenan Lewis and Cortez Allen. That's the Steelers way, let players leave and replace them with draft picks. They better hope one of those guys is ready to start.

St. Louis Rams: Safety play wasn't very good last season for the Rams, and they haven't made a move back there to upgrade it. They better hope the addition of Cortland Finnegan on the corner helps cover up their lack of coverage skills on the back end.

San Diego Chargers: The Chargers' offensive line had some trouble moments last season, and they've done little to upgrade the line. The right tackle spot, which is manned by Jeromey Clary, remains a concern.

San Francisco 49ers: The offensive line was 26th in sacks allowed per pass play last year and the 49ers did little to upgrade it. They did draft guard Joe Looney in the fourth round, but is he capable of stepping in and playing right away?

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks have a new quarterback in Matt Flynn, but they didn't upgrade the receiver spot at all. They have to get more from Sidney Rice and Mike Williams -- or else there will be big problems.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs were 30th in sacks last season and haven't added a pass rusher of note in free agency. That means second-year players Adrian Clayborn and Da'Quan Bowers have to do a lot more than they did as rookies.

Tennessee Titans: The Titans lost corner Cortland Finnegan in free agency to the Rams, but didn't do much to replace him. That means that Alterraun Verner or Ryan Mouton has to step in and prove to be a quality starter. Verner has some starting experience and has played well at times.

Washington Redskins: Aside from using a third-round pick on guard Josh LeRibeus, the Redskins have done little to upgrade an offensive line that had issues at times last season. That unit has to be improved.

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