HEADLINES

Brittan Golden

NFC Links: Cowboys, Cardinals, Redskins

July 12th, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Newly appointed Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will certainly have his hands full trying to fix a defense that was historically bad in 2013. As Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News writes, the 73-year-old coach will be looking to improve a squad that allowed four 400-yard passing games and ranked dead last in yards allowed.

The last time Marinelli was this high on the coaching hierarchy, he was the head coach of the 0-16 2008 Lions. That isn’t important to his players, who have embraced their coach’s passion for the game.

“Football is like a religion to him,” Anthony Spencer said. “You can tell in the way he talks about it. He is like a preacher. He believes in it so much. He believes that if you do the right things on the football field you also become a good person off it.”

Meanwhile, defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford respected his coach’s experience.

“He’s Master Splinter,” Crawford said. “Definitely.”

Marinelli elaborated on his love for football…

“I believe in everything about it,” he said. “I believe it really helps men. You help people this way. To come out and see men compete for jobs and try to help them be what they want to be, it’s something that is so important. That ability to compete every second of every day — I don’t know if you can ever live without that.”

Let’s see what else is going on in the NFC…

  • The Cardinals will likely hold on to four tight ends, opines ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss, but there’s no guarantee that the final spot will go to Rob Housler. The 26-year-old’s play during training camp will determine whether he makes the roster.
  • In regards to the bottom of the Cardinals‘ depth chart at wide receiver, Weinfuss believes that Ted Ginn and John Brown will be the third and fourth receivers, respectively. Walter Powell seems like the favorite for the fifth spot, but Dan Buckner and Brittan Golden are also in the mix.
  • Redskins coach Jay Gruden is preaching discipline, cornerback DeAngelo Hall said (via Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com). “Jay really preaches penalties,” Hall said. “Whether it’s false starts, whether it’s holding on the backend, anything. We have to play mistake-free football. Anytime you can do that in this league, you have a chance to win games.”

NFC Notes: Cards, Lions, 49ers, Rams

June 14th, 2014 at 4:47pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Cardinals have plenty of time to evaluate the players on their roster before they have to cut it down to 53 men, but Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com has predicted which 53 will be suiting up for the team Week 1. Weinfuss writes that the first 45 were easy, but narrowing down the final eight was a difficult decision. Paul Fanaika, Brittan Golden and Jaron Brown were some of the toughest cuts on this list.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC:

  • Since the Lions released veteran cornerback Chris Houston, they are left with a thin secondary, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Rashean Mathis should be slotted to be the team’s top corner, but the 33-year old veteran is not what he once was. After Mathis, the team has last year’s second-round pick Darius Slay, who struggled mightily in 2013. Aside from those two, there is a long list of question marks rounding out the depth chart.
  • The 49ers acquired Jonathan Martin earlier this offseason, and are now trying to move him inside from tackle to guard, writes Tyson Langland of Bleacher Report. However, Langland is far from optimistic about Martin’s ability to change positions with his new team. Although he has struggled at both left and right tackle, his inexperience at the position as well as his alleged lack of arm strength and aggressiveness make Langland believe he will be a bad fit at guard.
  • With Radio City Music Hall unavailable for the 2015 NFL Draft, other cities aside from New York are getting excited at the prospect of hosting the draft either next year or down the road. With Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York (at Madison Square Garden) fighting to host the draft, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the Rams are getting into the mix as well. Rams executive vice president Kevin Demoff and President of the St. Louis Sports Committee Frank Viverito have discussed a willingness to bring the Draft to St. Louis. “We’ve had conversation about what it would take, and would be interested if the NFL winds up doing this on a long-term basis,” Demoff said. While the 2015 NFL Draft might not be a possibility, the city is open to the possibility of obtaining a future NFL Draft.
  • Eagles‘ kicker Alex Henery struggled in 2013, including a missed field goal and short kickoffs in a playoff loss to the Saints. Even still, he is not worried about his job security, writes Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Competition can always make you better, but it’s not like I’m worried about it,” Henery said recently. “I’m here to do my thing and do it the best I can. . . . I’m a perfectionist. That’s what drives me.”