When the Cardinals have the ball: Although the Cardinals are on the brink of .500, they've reached this point without a solid running game. And although Edgerinn James has gone over the 1,000 yard mark for the seventh time in his career, Arizona still ranks 29th in the NFL in rushing. For that very reason, with 8-8 on the line, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals are likely to air it out this Sunday against the Rams 19th ranked secondary.
Defensively, St. Louis has struggled all year and week five against the Cardinals was no exception. They gave up nearly 400 total yards and 34 points in an embarrassing loss at home. They did, however, force a few costly turnovers that kept them in the game -- one of the few things they'll be looking to repeat this week in Phoenix.
The last thing the Cardinals need is to lose depth on the defensive line when going up against one of the NFL's best running backs. Unfortunately, injuries are unavoidable and they'll just have to make due.
In addition to Branch and Kolodziej, the Cardinals have already lost Chike Okeafor for the season. For that reason, the current front seven, led by Bertrand Berry, will have to step up.
Health is one of the keys to success, and while most NFL players are dropping like flies, the 49ers have stayed away from significant injuries. Obviously, they have a few bumps and bruises here and there, but that's to be expected. However, when you look at their injury report and compare it to other NFL teams, they're in fantastic shape.
Watson will continue to battle Alan Branch for the starting nose tackle spot, while Smith will assume a familiar role at right defensive tackle. From there, things get a little trickier.
Darnell Dockett will now move from defensive tackle to left defensive end, with Chike Okeafor moving to outside linebacker. Bertrand Berry will join Okeafor on the outside as Karlos Dansby moves to an inside linebacker position. Rounding it out is Gerald Hayes, who will fill the last inside linebacker spot.
Most of those players are talented and athletic enough to perform well at their new positions, but Dockett will carry some question marks. While he does move well for having such a big frame and weighing about 300 pounds, he seems best suited for playing under tackle. He's really going to have to step it up in order for the new 3-4 defense to be successful.
Overall, I like the alterations. I'm excited to see what this unit can do.
It's always interesting to see the way players get motivated by what the media say about them. Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive tackle Alan Branch had this to say about the way he fell on so many draft boards in the weeks leading up to the NFL draft:
"Mel Kiper has been riding me the whole time. After these next couple of years, I'm going to make sure he eats every word he said."
I like that Branch is using Kiper as motivation, and I do think he's a good enough player that he should have been drafted long before the first pick in the second round. But Kiper is hardly the only person who questioned Branch, and on his final draft board ($), Kiper ranked Branch as the third-best defensive tackle. That doesn't strike me as a big insult.
The bigger insult is that NFL general managers decided he wasn't worth a first-round pick. Those are the people Branch really needs to prove wrong.
Much to my surprise (and many others, I'm sure) defensive tackle Alan Branch of Michigan managed to fall to the second round. The Cardinals and Ken Whisenhunt clearly saw an opportunity to jump up and grab a quality player and did exactly that. Arizona sent their second-round draft pick and fourth-round draft pick to the Oakland Raiders for the first pick in the second round.
The massive defensive end will certainly add a different element to Arizona's defensive line. While they do have some quality defensive tackles, injuries have been a major concern. Barring any injuries they can potentially use a rotation to keep everyone fresh and to match personnel depending on the down and/or situation.
It's nice to see them being this aggressive. It's clear that Coach Whisenhunt has a plan and he's going out and getting the pieces he thinks he needs. Two draft choices, two talented players to put in the trenches.
I addressed this earlier in "College Eye for the NFL Guy" when I covered Michigan DT Alan Branch. Now, I'm a Michigan fan so feel free to let that color your opinion of my opinion, but this is a prime example of ridiculous postseason movement in response to nothing in particular. Throughout Branch's career at Michigan he was a willing, active player who swtiched from DT to DE whenever the coaching staff required it of him. This year he was the dominant player on a historically great Michigan rush defense. When he announced for the draft he was universally regarded as the top tackle available and a sure top ten pick. After he looked "out of shape" at the combine he slid.
These are the combine numbers.
Okoye
Branch
Bench
29
33
40
4.97
4.92
Height
6'2"
6'5"
Weight
300
324
Okoye may or may not be a good player in the draft, but he's a huge risk compared to the proven Branch, who is going to be the steal of the draft at this point. Concerns about his work ethic are way, way overblown. Trust me: I charted every down he played and he put in a ton of effort. He's enormous, he's ridiculously athletic, and he proved his mettle on the field. You can't even blame him for the breakdowns against Ohio State (a game in which he had two turnovers) or USC (the Trojans couldn't move the ball consistently until they abandoned the run entirely). The fact he's still on the board is ridiculous.
In an ESPNews interview Saturday afternoon, Michigan defensive tackle Alan Branch acknowledged that he has had stress fractures in both legs, but he said he has played with them for years, and he strongly denied that they were serious injuries that should cause him to drop on draft boards.
"You can barely see a speck on the X-ray," he said. "I don't know why it's coming up now because I have never missed one practice, let alone one game."
Branch said he disagreed with the assessments of some NFL scouts who thought he showed up to Michigan's pro day out of shape. "I wasn't really out of shape at all," he said. "I was sick for about two weeks before the pro day happened."
Branch said the NFL player he thinks he's most similar to is Richard Seymour, and that while some scouts think the only position he can play in the NFL is nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, he thinks he can play anywhere on the defensive line. I came away impressed with Branch's demeanor in the interview, and I still think he's worth a Top 10 pick. I especially liked his answer to a question about the NFL's recent crackdowns on players who get into off-field trouble:
"For fun I watch cartoons. What's a guy who watches cartoons gonna do to get in trouble?"
Michigan defensive tackle Alan Branch is dropping on draft boards, and Dan Pompei of The Sporting News says he knows why: As noted by draftheadquarters.com, Pompei said in an ESPN appearance yesterday that Branch has stress fractures in his legs. Some teams, per the report, have taken Branch off their boards completely.
A source tells Pro Football Talk, however, that Branch is just fine physically, that his worst affliction is "shin splints maybe" and that he never missed time at Michigan.
So how big a problem is this for Branch? Who knows? The 32 NFL teams have mounds of confidential medical information about every player in the draft. Getting detailed physical exams of 300 players is the No. 1 reason the scouting combine exists (the 40-yard dash is more interesting for fans, but not for general managers). Medical problems are the main cause of players dropping in the draft.
So if Branch is falling, that's probably why. I'm just not convinced he's falling as far on the real draft boards as he is on the ones you can find on the web. We'll find out a week from tomorrow.
Michigan's Alan Branch is becoming one of the biggest stories in the run-up to the NFL draft. It seems like I can't turn anywhere or talk to anyone without hearing more about how Branch is falling on draft boards. Peter King pretty well sums up what people are saying:
For a long time, defensive tackle Alan Branch looked like a sure-fire top-five pick. But most teams don't see the motor they'd like to see on a very high pick, and some see him only as a 3-4 nose man. So to invest the fourth, fifth or sixth pick on him ... dicey. Very dicey. And expensive.
The part that I still haven't heard an adequate explanation for, though, is why he ever "looked like a sure-fire top-five pick" if he doesn't have a good motor and can only play nose in a 3-4 front. Wouldn't the scouts have picked up on those things during the season?
NFL scouts say they know him, but they're wrong...
Alan Branch, junior defensive tackle, Michigan
WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING
Branch is trending downward after some questionable performances at combines and such. ESPN ($):
Branch is losing some momentum as the draft nears. He elected to bolt school early after his most productive season as a junior and he also showed good mobility for his size at the combine. There's no question that Branch possesses the rare physical tools to make an impact in the NFL, but he takes too many plays off on film and he wasn't overly impressive during private interviews with some teams.
At times, he appears to be less of the dominant interior defender that can take up space and fight through double teams and seems more another disappointing underclassman that has riddled this position in recent years. He was a little out of shape at his pro day workout as several scouts noted that he was out of breath and lacked explosiveness in his drills. To his credit, he has not made any excuses, but there is now more of a consensus that he could need a lot of motivation to reach or play his best.
PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED...
The current buzz is that Branch is dropping down into the 15-20 range. The fictional Fanhouse Dolphins had the good sense to grab him ninth in the ongoing Fanhouse mock draft, but there are rumblings that Louisville DT Amobi Okoye may go before Branch. GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR FOUR THREE YEARS IS SAYING
Anyone who takes a 19-year-old who was a nice but not dominant player in college over Alan Branch is on drugs or is Matt Millen.
To get you ready for week 17, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Arizona Cardinals/St. Louis Rams preview.
Arizona Cardinals:
The 3-4 defense that the Arizona Cardinals will switch to this season has caused a 
It's always interesting to see the way players get motivated by what the media say about them. Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive tackle Alan Branch 
Much to my surprise (and many others, I'm sure) defensive tackle Alan Branch of Michigan managed to fall to the second round. The Cardinals and Ken Whisenhunt clearly saw an opportunity to jump up and grab a quality player and 
I addressed this earlier in "College Eye for the NFL Guy" when I covered 
In an ESPNews interview Saturday afternoon, Michigan defensive tackle Alan Branch acknowledged that he has had stress fractures in both legs, but he said he has played with them for years, and he strongly denied that they were serious injuries that should cause him to drop on draft boards. 
