The problem with Dez is he'll be splitting catches and touches with a ton of guys. Witten, Miles, and their trio of RBs will all get more touches than Dez. Roy Williams will also be playing some as well. I think all those split touches is going to make it tough for Dez to win the OROY.

I think winning the ROY involves some of the following: a good spot to get touches/catches, an injury in front of you on the depth chart, and/or superior skill. Not sure who fits that this year.

Except when he busts out the jump pass!

Clausen's got a good running game + sick Oline + Steve Smith Classic

I don't know of any rookie recently who fits the first requirement better than Ryan Mathews.

Small hands = fumble machine though?
Kinda curious how Clausen develops

Ryan is probably true.
AP is definitely true a couple of years ago although he split carries.

Typically ROYs are RBs cause it's an easy to learn position with a ton of touches and a lot of your success is the function of the line and not your play.

And is currently third on the depth chart, unable to even win the backup job yet. I guess we'll see about him, but I doubt we'll see much from him this year.

Is CLausen going to start off the bat? Haven't read anything about their situation but I was assuming their starting QB at the end of last years is going to get a ton of snaps early in the season (Moore).

49ers signing everyone today: Iupati, Davis, Bowman, Mays

I think their DL will be so much improved this year it won't be recognizable. The secondary got destroyed last year because the complete and utter horrendous play from that front 4. They didn't even have enough DL to play a 4-3 at a certain point last year and was forced to a 3-4(and shows how dumb people are thinking that the Jags were switching to a 3-4...lack of DL will cause that to happen).

Getting a penetrating DT that Jacksonville has never really had before is going to be huge. Stroud may have fit that mold but he just didn't get up field all that much, Alualu will be successful at that. Its just how he plays. I think the entire defense will improve drastically not having to depend on an old Henderson or Harvey.

boom.

yeah he would be my vote for oroy

If 9ers aren't competitive for the division this year, I say get a new QB. This is the easiest path we've had for the title since the 90s. The D looks pretty set. The OL, RBs are all quite good. WR/TEs solid and special teams are solid. Alex I think is the only big question. I know there are high expectations for Alex this year, but even as a fan I'm not sure if I can count on Alex yet to fuffill them.

Can we give Russell Okung the Jason Smith award this year?

agree. if they dont win the west i think it will be a disappointment. the ol is young, but they should be improved from last years group, which will help gore. vernon will hopefully be vernon again and crabtree has a whole year learning the system so he should make an impact this year. im worried about our secondary but our front 7 is pretty good and as a whole the defense is solid.

i was pretty happy with how they approached the draft this year. im glad they didnt go after a qb because alex showed flashes last year and imo he deserved at least this year to prove himself.

if he sucks they are going to be mediocre/bad anyway and will have a good shot at a young qb this next year.

2011 draft should also be stocked full of QBs. The CBA fear didn't do what people thought it was for the QB crop of 2010. 2010 was the year for defensive front 7 players.

Definitely:

Locker
Luck
Mallett

In comparison to Bradford, Clausen and McCoy how would you rank them?

I'm assuming it'd be something like this Locker / Luck / Bradford / Mallett / Clausen / McCoy

It's a good point, but Dez is in the ultimate place to get touches. Romo likes to hit the open man, so as long as he gets open hes gonna get a lot of looks. Not saying it's going to be easy, or that he should win it, but I think he's a favorite.

Ryan Matthews is also in a great place for him. Depends how SD splits carries with him and Sproles.

I don't understand why Dez is in the ultimate place to get touches when the team runs the ball a decent amount and has 2 really good receiving options already in Witten and Miles Austin. WR also isn't the easiest position to grasp on quickly, thus odds are eventhough he's ultra talented b/c of the talent he's surrounded by--he won't get the touches he would on a team without the options. Your right he'll be more open than he would be on other teams, but so will his buddies Witten (Romo's BFF) and Austin (his high performing WR from last year). And Dallas also runs the ball a ton. with Barber, Jones and Choice. They only had the 13th highest # of passes last year and #17 in rushing attempts. Also is Dez guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup? Are Crayton and Roy Williams still on the team? They also liked 2 TE sets with Martellus last year.

If he were to goto a team and get a ton of looks I think it would be the Texans (love to throw the ball, decent but not amazing running game and good WR/TE), Saints (just love to chuck it--2 good RBs but don't run it that much), Packers (love to chuck it and AR, they only have 1 good RB), and Colts (AG keeps getting hurt, they love to throw it and obviously Dez is more talented than their #2 and #3 WR from last year).

How is he not going to start over Roy E. Williams? lol Roy had like 38? (I know it's less than 40) catches last season, at the #2 spot bc he ran horrible routes and dropped quite a few passes where he could have run after the catch. Romo lost confidence in him, and wouldn't even look to him sometimes. I watched nearly every Dal game, and lost confidence in Roy myself. (Hopefully with Dez gunning for his spot, Roy will show up and make the trade worth while) I'm not saying Dez is a lock or should win the ROY, but I think he's in a great spot to get a chance.

With all this running you're saying they do, Romo still threw for like 4,400yds last year and like 25ish Tds. I know Romo spreads it, so it may make it difficult for him, but if his head isn't up his ass like Roy, then he's good.

fyp

DAL O-line seems meh to me. At least in pass protection.

Well they lose Flozell at LT, so they won't have every other drive stalled by a false start. I'm pretty sure Doug Free will start there, but I'm not sure yet. He did well last year when he filled in, and at this point in Flo's career, he may be better for Dallas.

Flozell is gone now? I guess his backup should be better. Their protection isn't all that great but probably slightly above average in the NFL. Gurode, Davis are both solid on the interior. Kosier still the RT? He isn't bad. How good is Flozell's replacement? I think he was known to be good/decent when he did play.

I'm actually higher on Mallet than the other three but I will defer to those that have seen Locker more and just say Locker 1a and Mallet 1b. The big thing is that the 5th(6th) best QB in the 2010 class was like Pike or Tebow while in 2011 the 5th best QB is going to be like Christian Ponder(which could put himself into the top 2 QBs going into the draft depending on his season this year fwiw).

I mean, I really thought Clausen > Bradford but I am very weary of that now considering where Clausen went. I'd take any of those top 3 and maybe Ponder over both Bradford and Clausen.