The Buffalo Bills have placed tight end Joe Klopfenstein on injured reserve, ending his season.
The Bills re-signed Klopfenstein earlier this year.
Klopfenstein caught one pass for 11 yards last season in nine games for the Bills and was deactivated for four.
For his career, Klopfenstein has started 38 games and caught 34 passes for 397 yards and two touchdowns.
The 6-foot-5, 262-pounder is a former St. Louis Rams second-round draft pick.
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Editor’s note: Yahoo! Sports has examined the biggest weakness of the 2009 season for every team and explained how the franchise could address the issue. The series concludes with the New Orleans Saints, who finished first in the NFC South (13-3), and won Super Bowl XLIV.
Biggest problem in 2009: The 3-man front leaves the line a defender short
The Saints barreled through the 2009 season and won Super Bowl XLIV for a host of reasons, but play design was probably the team’s biggest asset. Head coach Sean Payton is an undisputed offensive mastermind – few if any play callers in the NFL better understand how to set up and exploit mismatches and formation advantages. His offense’s route complexity is unparalleled. Still, the Saints had Payton calling plays in 2007 and 2008, but the team couldn’t make the playoffs because the defense was a giant sinkhole. To fix that problem, New Orleans brought in three free agents of great import – cornerback Jabari Greer, safety Darren Sharper, and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
Williams was a hot commodity on the open market – his blitz-happy schemes didn’t work well in Jacksonville in 2008, but given the Jags’ consistent misfires by their front seven personnel, it may have been a mismatch. Payton took $250,000 out of his personal bank account (though he was repaid later) to ensure the Saints would not lose the bidding war for Williams. At the time, it was the best quarter-million he ever spent. Williams’ aggressive tactics pushed the Saints’ defense from 26th to 14th in Football Outsiders’ Defensive DVOA (per-play efficiency) statistics. With Drew Brees ripping every enemy defense to shreds, 14th was good enough for a championship.
It would be an understatement to say the Saints improved under Williams. Sharper matched his career high with nine interceptions, Greer was the league’s most underrated cornerback and other potential standouts, like linebacker Jonathan Vilma and cornerback Tracy Porter, finally had the game plans best suited to their talents. Williams loves to blitz, and he runs as much man coverage as anyone in the league. He has become extremely adept at moving between three- and four-man fronts.
However, Williams’ use of three-man fronts early on in the Super Bowl brought the defense’s primary liability into sharp focus – they didn’t have an elite run-stopping defensive tackle. Sedrick Ellis, the main man in the middle in those three-man fronts, put up the NFL’s worst stop rate, 47 percent. Stop rate is an FO stat that tracks the percentage of successful plays, defined as allowing 45 percent of needed yards on first down, 60 percent on second down, and 100 percent on third or fourth down.
In their first two defensive drives in the big game, the Saints lined up with four down linemen just once, and they allowed 10 of the 17 points given up in the game. In their third defensive drive, they utilized more four-lineman fronts. That may be why the Lombardi Trophy lives in the Big Easy.
The 2010 solution: Strengthen the nickel 3-4 against the run
Williams knew he couldn’t use straight 3-4 or 5-2 fronts against Peyton Manning all the time. He also ran a lot of nickel coverage, moving into 3-3-5 defenses that occasionally stacked the linebackers over the linemen, with the defensive backs fanning out. In other cases, he’d place the linebackers at the line, hoping to get extra run support. It was against one of those wide sets that Colts halfback Joseph Addai ripped off a 16-yard gain with 4:29 left in the first quarter.
Already up 3-0, the Colts had third and 1 at their own 15-yard line. The Saints had been running a lot of 3-3-5 and 3-4-4 through the first quarter, and Manning started to adjust with slide protection. The zone slide is a staple of the Colts’ run game, and Williams’ defense was an easy mark in this case. Left guard Ryan Lilja chipped Ellis (98) before hitting the second level, while center Jeff Saturday (63), took the tackle to the right. Left tackle Charlie Johnson (74) and tight end Dallas Clark (44) doubled end Will Smith (91), right guard Kyle DeVan (66) took out weakside linebacker Scott Shanle (55), and right tackle Ryan Lilja (71) blocked end Bobby McCray (93). The slide smash to the right allowed Addai to cut back from right to left and hit the gap hard. Vilma missed a tackle while getting back into position, and it was up to the safeties (Sharper and Roman Harper) to prevent a very long touchdown. Five plays later, Addai gained 26 more yards up the middle as the Colts’ line was able to dominate the Saints at the point of attack.
Four-man fronts and more disciplined linebacker placement kept the Colts from gashing the Saints’ run defense even further. You can bet that other offenses will look to call out of pass plays when Williams dials up wide three-man fronts, or five-man fronts with lighter interior defenders. New Orleans selected LSU tackle Al Woods in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft, and the team hopes that the 6-foot-4, 323-pound Louisiana native can help it keep those big runs in moderation.
Editor’s note: Yahoo! Sports has examined the biggest weakness of the 2009 season for every team and explain how the franchise can address the issue. The series continues with the Colts, who finished first in the AFC South (14-2).
Biggest problem in 2009: A still-struggling run defense
In many ways, the Indianapolis Colts are the Team that Time Forgot. Each year, they take their future Hall-of-Fame quarterback (who just might be the best ever at his position), match him with interchangeable receivers and a questionable offensive line, pair that with a defense that springs holes against the run, and then roll off anywhere from 12 to 14 wins. A Super Bowl win is always a possibility, and so is a playoff collapse. What does not seem to be an option as long as Peyton Manning draws breath is mediocrity. Every year they run more three-wide, single-back formations than any other NFL team; every year they split Dallas Clark out wider more often; and every year the play-to-play adjustments are spit out of Manning’s head as if by computer.
On defense, however, things have changed a bit under coordinator Larry Coyer, who took over before the 2009 season. Former head coach Tony Dungy generally preferred to have pass pressure and run defense start with the front four, and the Colts under Dungy were known to be one of the more blitz-resistant teams in the league. Indy still relies primarily on the speed of its linebackers to make plays against the run, but things are more reasonable than they were in, say, 2006, when the franchise won its first Super Bowl since 1970 despite having the NFL’s worst run defense. With Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis careening off each edge, and generally lighter tackles holding the point in the middle, past Colts defenses were far too vulnerable to the power game.
Coyer’s solution was to implement different formations. In 2009, the Colts rushed three just 2.7 percent of the time (down from 5.3 percent in 2008), rushed four 73.4 percent (down from a league-leading 84.8 percent in 2008), rushed five 19.9 percent (way up from a league-low 7.8 percent in 2008) and brought six or more four percent of the time, twice as often as their league-low total of 2.1 percent the previous season. It was a smart move – in 2009, the Colts had a Defensive DVOA Football Outsiders’ per-play efficiency metric of 13.3 percent, which was about league average. The Colts rushed four 458 times; only the Titans rushed four more often. But when the Colts upped that number to five, the difference was enormous. With just five rushers, the Colts had a defensive DVOA of minus-17.7 percent, third-best in the league. Expand that to six or more, however, and the swing goes the other way – a 17.7 defensive DVOA, a worst-case scenario. Clearly, the Colts benefit from an extra presence in the middle, as long as they don’t sell out to the blitz too often.
The 2010 solution: Expand extra pressure to the run game
Moving those pressure concepts to run defense is a potentially crucial decision for the team. With fast linebackers like Gary Brackett and Clint Session, the preference has been to get guys flying around, but it’s also good to have extra men guarding the gaps. In 2009, the defense allowed almost five yards per run play, and was able to stop positive gains on the ground just 16 percent of the time (the league average was 19 percent). One way to stop enemy running backs from tearing off huge gains and still stay true to the Cover 2/Tampa 2 ideal is to occupy the gaps just outside the ends in a straight 4-3 front. The Bears do this a lot, and it allows the kind of pass-run flexibility needed by a defense facing teams that are usually playing catch-up. One example of this happened in Indy’s Week 15 win over the Jaguars.
With 9:24 left in the first quarter, the Jags had the ball with second-and-4 at the Indianapolis 25, ready to run the 11th play of their opening drive. They lined up in an extreme power formation, with an extra tackle to the right and two tight ends to the left. Strong-side linebacker Philip Wheeler (50) filled the right-side “C” gap as weak-side linebacker Session (55) had done on the other side two plays before on a 7-yard run. Pre-snap, cornerback Jacob Lacey motioned across the formation to match the movement of Jags receiver Nate Hughes. At the snap, Session banged inside and was washed away by slide protection, and safety Melvin Bullitt (33) was the next line of defense. Given the handoff from quarterback David Garrard, halfback Maurice Jones-Drew took a step to the right before cutting back and heading into the fray. He bounced off Bullitt just before middle linebacker Brackett (58) was able to bring him down after a 3-yard gain. On the next play, Garrard was sacked, and the Jags had to kick a field goal.
The Colts will never have a powerhouse defense without retooling their entire roster on that side of the ball – they’re a speed team through and through. However, the addition of Coyer to the coaching staff has unwrapped a few new schemes, especially in the front seven, and it will be interesting to see what the defense does this year.
If you’re an Arkansas fan, continue to relax by the pool during these steamy summer days. There’s no need to fret over the health of star quarterback Ryan Mallett.
The future first-round draft choice says the broken foot that caused him to miss spring practice is healing just fine — because of a little help from the pool.
“I haven’t been able to run to this point, so I’ve been swimming a lot, doing a lot of weight room stuff with upper body, a lot of single-leg stuff,” Mallett said while attending the SEC media bonanza. “It’s really helped me out. I’ll be ready to go in two weeks when we start.
“I feel like I’m going to try out for the Olympics in 2014,” he said. “Is that when the next one is? I’m going to give it a shot.”
While he may have been kidding about his future as a world-class swimmer, Razorbacks fans can rest easy knowing that he will be healthy for the start of a season filled with high expectations.
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The Jaguars announced Thursday that they have agreed to terms with 2010 third-round draft pick DT D’Anthony Smith. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 6-5, 298 pound Louisiana Tech product was the 74th player selected overall. Smith started 44-of-49 games, finishing his career with 12½ sacks and 23½ tackles for loss. He was a two-time first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection.
In PFW’s 2010 Draft Preview, personnel analyst Nolan Nawrocki wrote that Smith “flattens and pursues quickly down the line” but “lacks anchor strength — blown off the ball by double-teams.”
Smith is expected to contribute right away for the Jaguars as part of their rebuilt front four. He will rotate time with starters DT Terrance Knighton and first-rounder DT Tyson Alualu.
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The Bengals waived reserve C Dan Santucci on Thursday.
Santucci, 26, appeared in two games as a reserve for Cincinnati in 2007, but he missed the ’08 season after suffering a high-ankle sprain in training camp and the ’09 season becuase of a foot injury sustained in training camp.
Santucci, who played collegiately at Notre Dame from 2003-06, was a seventh-round selection of the Bengals in the ’07 draft.
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OWINGS MILLS, Md.—Baltimore Ravens reserve cornerback Cary Williams has been suspended by the NFL for two games without pay for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, according to his agent, Marc Lillibridge.
“Over a year ago while Cary was a member of the Tennessee Titans, he was involved in an incident that fell under the NFL conduct policy,” Lillibridge told the National Football Post. “Through the appeals process with the NFL and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s office, Cary was suspended for two games. Although we’re disappointed we did not win the appeal, we respect the league office’s decision. Cary just wants to focus on the training camp with the Ravens and the remaining games in the regular season.
“Even though Cary was a member of the Titans at the time, he’s disappointed he let the Ravens’ front office, ownership and teammates down. What happened is in the past and now he just wants to focus on helping the Ravens get back to the playoffs and to the Super Bowl. Cary is a father, Cary is the kind of guy any agent is proud to represent. I’m excited for him moving forward as a player and a person as a human being.”
Williams is expected to compete for nickel back duty this fall.
A tall, athletic cornerback, Williams has drawn praise from the coaching staff during offseason minicamps.
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As the NCAA continues to investigate alleged rule violations at the University of North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, the University of Florida and other schools, a consistent picture is beginning to crystallize.
Financial advisors, managers and a small number of rogue agents are providing the bulk of the extra illegal benefits in the form of plane tickets, hotels, meals and serious cash to players, according to multiple industry sources with knowledge of the situation.
Unregulated by the NFL Players Association, the financial representatives, marketing people, runners and “managers” of players generally operate under the radar in an environment that has been labeled by one source as “the Wild, Wild West.”
This situation, though, has grown so chaotic that what’s normally regarded as business as usual is drawing much more scrutiny.
Multiple sources have told National Football Post that players at numerous NCAA schools, including North Carolina, have actively solicited money from financial advisors and agents. Some have been rebuffed, but we’re told that many have been paid.
The primary aspect of the investigation has centered on North Carolina star defensive tackle Marvin Austin, whose Twitter account postings first drew scrutiny to the infamous South Beach party held over Memorial Day weekend.
We’re told that Austin has been accepting money and other extra benefits, including trips to Miami and his hometown to Washington, D.C., for quite some time and has been in cahoots with South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, his good friend, as far as comparing notes on what inducements can be gained from agent and financial advisor interaction.
As we’ve reported previously, sources close to the UNC athletic department expect Austin to ultimately be suspended for the entire season.
An Alabama newspaper is reporting that Austin paid for Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus to attend the South Beach party. Alabama has suspended Dareus pending an NCAA investigation.
We’ve also been told that Saunders is extremely concerned about being implicated by the NCAA if they see his text messages.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Tar Heels cornerback Charles Brown has asked more than one agent for money directly.
According to the agent who said he was solicited, the request was flatly denied.
We’ve also been told that Tar Heels cornerback Kendric Burney was flown to Atlanta recently to meet with two agents.
Burney and Brown are both advised by former Tar Heels cornerback Chris Hawkins, who has emerged as a central figure in the investigation.
The NCAA has interviewed several UNC players, including Austin, Brown, Burney, wide receiver Greg Little, linebackers Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter, safety Deunta Williams as well as star junior defensive end Robert Quinn.
We’ve been told that Little has been cleared of any wrongdoing by NCAA investigators after a thorough examination of his bank and phone records.
One agent that met with Little described him as a mature, responsible young man who asked good questions during the meeting and didn’t ask for or receive any illegal benefits.
Meanwhile, sources close to the University of Georgia program are convinced that wide receiver A.J. Green didn’t attend the party in South Beach and was at his South Carolina hometown at the time with the family.
We’re told that he’s never even been to South Florida. Green has also posted time-stamped photos on his Facebook account that are labeled as family photos from a weekend spent in Summerville, S.C.
Since the adoption of the junior rule by the NFL Players Association, we’re told that the situation has grown much worse in the recruiting process with the increased involvement from unethical financial advisors, managers and other unregulated recruiters.
“It’s been an explosion of unscrupulous financial advisors, agents and middle men since the start of the junior rule,” one agent said. “We can’t talk to these kids until December and by then these parasites have insinuated themselves into the agent selection process and are looking to be paid off by agents if we want to sign these players unbeknownst to the player. You’re putting the ethical agents that follow the rules at a disadvantage. You’re creating a situation where a college football player’s first interaction with business people and his first exposure to the business of football is someone who’s not following the rules or is just completely unregulated and unchecked.
“It is a joke and the union needs to do someting about it promptly. Do you want someone with good intentions as a responsible business person meeting with your son or do you want that first contact to be with a parasite? They should be associating with the right people and not just people telling them what they want to hear. It should be with a licensed attorney that is regulated by the NFL Players Association. People who follow the junior rules are much more inclined to follow state laws and university policies regarding agent contact. The schools and the union should want a rule structure that exposes players to the best, most qualifed and ethical agents.The system that exists now exposes players only the worst of the bunch.”
Free-agent linebacker Isaiah Ekejiuba visited the Detroit Lions on Wednesday and will meet with the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday and Friday as he works to land a job before training camps open.
Ekejiuba was surprisingly released earlier this month by the Oakland Raiders and is considered a standout performer on special teams with 24 tackles over the last two seasons. The Raiders thought enough of him to sign him to a $5.4 million, three-year contract entering last season. He collected nearly half of it—$2.45 million – and is now in demand.
According to a league source, Ekejiuba is also drawing interest from the Cleveland Browns, who open training camp on Friday. Stay tuned to see where he lands.
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Bills TE Shawn Nelson wasn’t exactly a major contributor after being taken in the fourth round last season, catching just 17 passes and one touchdown in 12 games (all starts). But with the team’s lack of receiving weapons heading into 2010, Nelson could be set to take on an increased role in the passing attack. From what we hear, not only is the Southern Miss product fairly secure in his starting job, but he was a busy target during offseason practices. Although the Bills have a deep stable of tight ends — including a guy they really like in Derek Schouman — who are likely to rotate depending on game situations, none of them can compare to Nelson athletically. Considering the conservative passing game that head coach Chan Gailey is expected to employ, the tight end should be utilized frequently as a receiver, especially in the red zone. If he shows improvement in Year Two, that’s an area where the 6-5, 240-pound Nelson could excel.