FanHouse ShawnCrable

After an injury-filled, $8 million season in Washington, Jason Taylor was back on the free-agent market this spring. Several teams needing a pass rusher showed interest, including the Patriots, who had previously traded veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs.

Taylor ended up in Miami, where he started his career and played for 10 seasons. It was one of the few examples of a player turning down a chance to join the Pats; head coach and evil genius Bill Belichick has an incredible knack for convincing free agents -- through Charles Manson-styled brainwashing, no doubt -- to come to Foxboro. Not this time.

After a paid holiday in DC last year, Jason Taylor is back in Miami, where he spent the first 10 years of his career. But at 34, his role has changed. Taylor is no longer the focus of the defense, the pass-rushing specialist who averaged nearly 12 sacks a season during his time with the Dolphins.

Instead, he'll be used sparingly, in an effort to keep him fresh, healthy, and productive. Via the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero:

Kyle Boller started the Ravens' first preseason game last night, and for the most part, he fared well. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 102 yards, but it was his inability to minimize mistakes that overshadowed an otherwise solid effort.

During Baltimore's second possession, Boller fumbled while scrambling out of the pocket, and then, late in the first half, he threw an interception because he didn't see Patriots linebacker Shawn Crable as he stepped in front of Ravens tight end Adam Bergen.

Turnovers were the main reason Boller failed to hold on to the starting job under former coach Brian Billick. Some wondered whether Boller would find success under new coach John Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, but the sixth-year quarterback couldn't shake his old problems tonight.

It's these sorts of lapses that could land Boller on the bench, even though backup Troy Smith is entering his second season.

First-year head coach John Harbaugh admitted that Boller "did some really good things," but at some point, the six-year veteran will need to put it all together if he doesn't want to add his name to a list that includes such luminaries as Tony Banks, Elvis Grbac and Chris Redman.

He'll have to wait for his next chance, however; Smith will start the Ravens' next game. And the longer Boller waits, the less likely he'll be anything more than a backup. First-round pick Joe Flacco is the club's future, and while he wasn't particularly impressive last night (and, really, who would expect him to be), he'll be given a chance at the starting gig sooner rather than later.

Michigan, O Michigan, ye of the constant accusations of underachievement despite possessing the best record in college football over the past decade. My alma mater. My blog niche. My harsh, harsh mistress. Please don't suck this year.

WHY THEY'LL WIN

This part is easy: four potential All-Americans (Chad Henne, Mario Manningham, Jake Long, and Mike Hart) return on the offensive side of the ball. All save Hart are holy locks for the first round next year, assuming Manningham decides to enter early, and that's not even a full accounting of the myriad riches on the offense. There is also lanky emerging star Adrian Arrington, a version of Jason Avant with some extra deep threat attached, senior left guard Adam Kraus, a lock to be all-conference, and young offensive linemen Justin Boren and Steve Schilling, guaranteed to be stars sooner or later. There are even rumblings that tight end Carson Butler, kicked off the team for an assault he was later acquitted of, may return, which would shore up the one weakness on offense: jumbo blocker types at FB and TE. Most of that killer defense (save the last two games, yes) is gone, but guided missile Shawn Crable returns for his senior year along with fireplug defensive tackle Terrance Taylor. With Taylor on the defensive line will be two five-star recruits at defensive end, Tim Jamison and Brandon Graham (a man who Mike Hart described as "Lamarr Woodley but faster"), and defensive tackle Will Johnson, who played extensively and well last year. Sometimes Michigan even lifted leviathan Alan Branch for Johnson on third and short. Like, whoah. It won't be last year's thumping death machine, but it will probably be the best line in the conference anyway. On special teams, there is Zoltan the Inconceivable, a punter who is awesome and named Zoltan Mesko. He will punt opponents to death.

Easily the most interesting quote to come out of the player half of this week's press conference comes courtesy Shawn Crable:

"I remember one time he brought me into his office and he asked me to transfer. He pulled out the papers and said he'd sign my transfer papers for me. I looked at him like 'man, you're a jerk.' He wanted to motivate me. He just wanted to see how I was going to perform. Obviously, he didn't think my effort was the greatest. This was the beginning of last year right before I started playing. He pulled me in and told me he thought I should transfer because I wasn't doing anything."

Jumpin' jehosephat! I don't know if you can blame Carr, as when Crable did play early last year (most notably against Wisconsin), he made headless chickens look appealing by comparison. He did manage to slide into a designated-blitzer role by year's end, but if you had walked around last September telling people that Crable would be starting over Burgess you would have gotten lots of funny looks and some spare change out of pity. The kicker is that Carr apparently enjoys telling his best linebackers to screw off. Crable, again:

"I went and talked to Sam Sword. ... I went and talked to him and he said, Coach Carr told him that too when he was here."

My God, Ian Gold could probably build a house out of unsigned transfer papers. (Zach Kaufman could build a paper airplane.) It worked, though. Crable one more time:

"A lot of what he was saying was true. You know yourself. If someone is telling you something you can fight it or you can actually do something about it. I left that meeting just listening and wanting to do something about it."

He opens the season as the starting strongside linebacker and plans on moving the speculation about chickenous body parts from his head to his legs, where it belongs.

Now is the time on Fanhouse when we pore over minutae.

Michigan has released its initial depth chart for the fall and whoo boy, if you like the word "or" you are in for a treat. Points of interest:

• 5'6" fifth year senior walk-on Alijah Bradley is the third name listed... at flanker?
• David Moosman is nominally the backup center; Redshirt freshman Tim MacAvoy, thought to be a tackle, is also listed there.
• Rueben Riley is the starting right tackle. Mike Kolodziej is not on the two-deep.
• Ex-fullback Brian Thompson is listed as the fourth tight end.
  
• Nose tackle: Terrance Taylor or Will Johnson. Non-Woodley DE: Tim Jamison OR Rondell Bigs OR Eugene Germany. Let my Jamison go (upfield)!
• Burgess is listed as Crable's backup at SAM; apparently Graham has at least a tenuous hold on the WLB job.*
• Brandent Engelmon is listed as the starter at free safety. Mundy is his backup. Jamar Adams starts at SS.
• Charles Stewart is officially listed as the starter opposite Leon Hall. Behind him it's Brandon Harrison OR Johnny Sears.
• Aaand the most deliciously important piece of the depth chart: Punter. It's Ross Ryan OR Zoltan the Inconceivable.

Takeaway bits: starting battles have been won by Graham at WLB, Engelmon at FS, Adams at SS, and Stewart at CB. Will Johnson is going to see a lot of time. Jamison is still locked in a deathmatch with Biggs and Germany.

*(I assume that The Wolverine's labeling of Harris/Thompson as WLBs and Graham/Logan as MLB is a typo, either from the Wolverine or the athletic department.)