The start of the NFL season may still be a while away, but a number of teams are already jockeying for position and trying to get the upper hand on the road to the Super Bowl in Miami in 2010. Let’s get straight to the point, so here are some quick hits about the stories that made the headlines within the NFL this week.
The St. Louis Rams released their leading tackler from last season, Pisa Tinoisamoa. Last year the 6 year veteran had 135 tackles, 88 of which were solo, along with 3 sacks. While many Rams fans are unsure of why this move was made head coach Steve Spagnuolo expressed some regret. He interjected that it was a very tough move as he had a tremendous amount of respect for the linebacker.
Tinoisamoa was drafted in the second round in the 2003 NFL draft and lead the Rams in tackles in his very first season with 121. He spent the first three seasons in the league without missing a game but missed a number of games in the last few years. The risk for injury may have been the reason that the team cut him loose this off-season. One thing is for sure though, Tinoisamoa is a great linebacker and will surely not be a free agent for long.
Right after this move the Rams tried to shore up their defensive line by acquiring DT Orien Harris from the Cincinnati Bengals. The rams sent back up RB Brian Leonard to the Bengals. In reality this is just a depth move for the defense of the Rams that was torn up last year. Leonard would probably not have won a spot on the starting roster out of camp this preseason and Harris should be a quality addition, especially if any other starters go down with an injury.
The Denver Broncos continued to shake up their roster this off season. Just weeks after trading superstar QB Jay Cutler the team has signed RB Darius Walker. While the move did not cost them a lot in terms of money, it is somewhat questionable. Walker has never been a full time starter and has seen very limited playing time over his first 4 seasons in the league. On top of this the Broncos have an already very crowded backfield.
The team made a huge splash at the draft by picking up highly touted RB Knowshon Moreno and also signed Correll Buckhalter, LaMont Jordan and J.J Arrington during the off season. There really is no room for Walker to fit in so this just may be a move to add some depth to the bench. Either way it is going to be exciting to see who can lock down the starting position in the backfield this off season. Especially considering that without Jay Cutler, the team will be far more oriented around the running game.
References:
NFL,
Super Bowl,
Pisa Tinoisamoa,
DT Orien Harris,
Cincinnati Bengals,
Correll Buckhalter,
Jay Cutler
