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Bruce Irvin's suspension from the Seattle Seahawks for the first four games of the 2013 NFL season will force additional shuffling early in the season.

The team was already expected to be without starting defensive end Chris Clemons, who is recovering from knee surgery and could miss part of the season. Backup defensive end Greg Scruggs could miss the full season after suffering a knee injury more recently.



Seattle was already expected to alter its rotation after adding Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett and Tony McDaniel through free agency, plus defensive tackles Jordan Hill and Jesse Williams through the draft.

Veteran linemen on the Seahawks' roster combined for 43.5 sacks last season. Clemons (11.5), Irvin (8.5) and Scruggs (2.0) combined for 21.5 of them, or 49.4 percent. At least two and probably all three won't play early in the season.

Seattle's veteran defensive linemen combined to play 4,767 snaps for their teams last season. Players responsible for playing 3,317 of those snaps -- 69.6 percent -- remain available.

The picture changes if we consider only the three players best suited to fill the "Leo" defensive end position in coach Pete Carroll's defense. Avril, Clemons and Irvin are those three players. Clemons and Irvin combined to play about two-thirds of those snaps. The team doesn't necessarily have to play defense exactly the way it played defense last season. At this rate, that might not be an option, anyway.

Seattle's current defensive linemen combined for 16 sacks on third down last season. The currently unavailable Irvin (5.5), Clemons (4.5) and Scruggs (1.0) combined for 11 of them. Bennett (3.0) and Avril (2.0) had the other five.

Bruce Irvin apologized and claimed "full responsibility" for incurring a four-game NFL suspension, announcing he would not appeal the punishment.

The second-year Seattle Seahawks defensive end did not ask for sympathy, and he's not getting any from San Francisco 49ers safety Craig Dahl.

"I have no sympathy for violators of NFL drug test," reads a tweet from Dahl's verified Twitter account. "It's easy to know what goes in your body. If this was another sport what would happen?"

Irvin will miss a Week 2 game against Dahl's 49ers.

"I want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and Seahawks fans for making a mistake when I took a substance that is prohibited in the NFL without a medical exemption," Irvin said in a statement released by the team. "I am extremely disappointed in the poor judgment I showed and take full responsibility for my actions. I will not appeal the discipline and instead will focus my energy on preparing for the season so I can begin earning your trust and respect again. I look forward to contributing to the team the moment I return."

The Seattle Seahawks' first four games of the 2013 season became a bit more challenging from a personnel standpoint when the NFL announced Bruce Irvin's four-game suspension for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs.

Irvin will miss games against the Carolina Panthers (road), San Francisco 49ers (home), Jacksonville Jaguars (home) and Houston Texans (road).

"I want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and Seahawks fans for making a mistake when I took a substance that is prohibited in the NFL without a medical exemption," Irvin said in a statement released by the team. "I am extremely disappointed in the poor judgment I showed and take full responsibility for my actions. I will not appeal the discipline and instead will focus my energy on preparing for the season so I can begin earning your trust and respect again. I look forward to contributing to the team the moment I return."

Irvin joins John Moffitt, Allen Barbre, Winston Guy and Brandon Browner as Seattle players suspended since 2011 under terms of the performance-enhancing drug policy. Richard Sherman avoided a four-game ban by winning his appeal last season. Sherman was also cited under the policy banning performance-enhancing drugs.

Reports linked Moffitt, Browner and Sherman to Adderall. Moffitt later said he took medically prescribed Adderall back in 2011, his rookie season, without knowing it violated the policy.

"The day we had the info on it, I was held out," Moffitt told the Seattle Times last season. "I was holding out my first day so I really didn't know. I don't think guys realize because it is a medication also. There's a lot of cases where guys already had prescriptions, but not through the league. It's just a really weird thing. It's not like steroids."

Irvin's reference to a "medical exemption" -- something that would be required for Adderall use by an NFL player -- and the Seahawks' history with Adderall invites questions about whether Irvin also used the substance. Statements from the NFL and from Irvin did not disclose the substance in question.

Adderall is a psychostimulant sometimes used to treat attention-deficit disorders.

The suspension means the Seahawks could be without two top defensive ends early in the season. Starter Chris Clemons is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL. The team expects him to return in 2013, but returning for the regular-season opener could be challenging. Clemons suffered the injury in January. Irvin, drafted 15th overall in 2012, had eight sacks in a situational pass-rushing role. He replaced Clemons in the lineup following Clemons' knee injury last season.

Seattle's decision to sign free-agent defensive end Cliff Avril appears more important now that Irvin and possibly Clemons will miss games early in the season. And with two-plus months before training camp, the Seahawks have time to make scheme adjustments to fit their available personnel.

Rules allow Irvin to continue practicing with the team. He can play in exhibition games, too. But he'll miss the first four games and cannot return to the team until Sept. 30, one game after the team plays at Houston.

Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III have dominated NFL headlines as young quarterbacks on the rise. NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas expects Cam Newton to upstage them all in 2013.

"Call it bouncing back, breaking through or whatever you want, but I’m predicting a big 2013 season from the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers," Yasinskas writes in a column that has generated 5,000 comments and counting. "Yeah, I’ll even step out on a limb and say he has a better 2013 season than Wilson, Kaepernick, Luck and RG III."

Newton did finish strong last season. He is supremely talented. He could outperform those other quarterbacks. But I would challenge the idea that Wilson and Kaepernick relied disproportionately on their running ability.

"Wilson, RG III and Kaepernick each have some throwing ability, but they aren’t pure pocket passers, and their big 2012 seasons came largely because of their mobility," Yasinskas writes.

Dispelling myths about Kaepernick and Wilson has become sport around here. These young quarterbacks run because they can, not because they're deficient as passers. Wilson in particular throws effectively from outside the pocket, but like Kaepernick, he's been among the NFL's best from inside it, too.

Wilson does rely heavily on his scrambling ability to find receivers downfield. But as the charts below demonstrate, he and Kaepernick stack up very well as pocket passers, too. They were better than Newton in this area last season.

Both charts include stats only for games each player started. Kaepernick played in a reserve role also.

The second chart shows production from inside the pocket for the same quarterbacks, limited to the final six games of the regular season. I chose that time frame because, as Yasinskas indicates, Newton became more effective following the Panthers' 2-8 start, partly because the team "let Newton be a pocket passer," according to Yasinskas.

Newton did become more effective as a pocket passer during this time. However, Wilson and Kaepernick also gained momentum as pocket passers during this time.

We'll revisit this one during the season.

Kent Somers' piece about NFL rookies combining to start more games than in the past caught my attention Friday.

I wanted to know how many games NFC West players have started as rookies in recent seasons. I wanted to break down the numbers by team and position.

The charts provide answers on those fronts. Weaker teams select earlier in the draft order and should have more openings in their lineups, inflating their numbers. That has been the case to a degree in the NFC West, one reason quotation marks surround the word "leads" in the headline above.

Seattle is an interesting study, however. The Seahawks have been pretty competitive while amassing more rookie starts than any team in the division, with those starts distributed rather evenly across offense and defense. That affirms perceptions about Seattle drafting well recently despite using relatively few early picks. Of course, the 16 starts Seattle got from rookie quarterback Russell Wilson last season were disproportionately valuable. Having two first-round picks in 2010 helped the overall numbers.

The San Francisco 49ers have fielded a dominant, veteran defense. They've gotten -- "needed" might be a better word -- only seven starts from rookies on defense over the past three seasons. While Aldon Smith played in a situational role, the 49ers rank a distant fourth among NFC West teams in defensive snaps played by rookies. Seattle leads with 4,536 snaps, followed by Arizona (3,090), St. Louis (2,965) and San Francisco (1,565).

The 49ers could get rookie starts from 2013 first-round pick Eric Reid, a favorite to start at safety.

The Rams have gotten 4,593 snaps from offensive rookies over the three seasons. The Cardinals are next with 3,568, followed by the Seahawks (3,280) and 49ers (2,858).

Offensive linemen have made the most starts as rookies. That makes sense because there are at least five of them on the field every snap. NFC West teams have also drafted four offensive linemen in the first round over that span, plus one with the first pick of the second round. The Cardinals relied heavily on rookie tackles last season out of necessity.

The Rams' rookie starts are distributed more evenly across the specific positions in the chart below. That makes sense. They've had the weakest roster. They've had earlier picks.

Each team in the NFC West has had two rookies start all 16 games: Patrick Peterson and Bobby Massie for Arizona; Wilson and Earl Thomas for Seattle; Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis for San Francisco; and Sam Bradford and Rodger Saffold for St. Louis. Bobby Wagner (15 starts for Seattle) and Janoris Jenkins (14 for St. Louis) were the only others with more than 12 starts as rookies.

K.J. Wright (Seattle), Michael Brockers (St. Louis), Chris Givens (St. Louis), Daryl Washington (Arizona), Sam Acho (Arizona), Richard Sherman (Seattle), Okung (Seattle) and Lance Kendricks (St. Louis) started between 10 and 12 games as NFC West rookies since 2010.

Jonathan Cooper (Arizona), Kevin Minter (Arizona), Jesse Williams (Seattle), Tavon Austin (St. Louis), Alec Ogletree (St. Louis) and T.J. McDonald (St. Louis) appear best positioned among NFC West rookies to start in 2013. Cardinals cornerback Tyrann Mathieu could figure prominently in sub packages if he does not start.

Earlier: Late-round picks with a shot at playing in 2013.

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

A look at key players for each NFC West team who are coming back from injuries:

Arizona Cardinals: Levi Brown, left tackle. A torn triceps sidelined Brown last season, but the Cardinals expect him to be at full strength for 2013. A healthy Brown makes a happy Bruce Arians, it appears. Former coach Ken Whisenhunt was always quick to defend Brown from critics who expected more from a player drafted fifth overall. Arians, entering his first season as the Cardinals' coach, has taken the pro-Brown rhetoric to another level, calling the seventh-year tackle an "elite" player. Arizona improved its depth on the line. The team could conceivably get through the upcoming season with Nate Potter at left tackle. However, the Cardinals don't want to merely "get through" the season. They want Brown to play a key role on a line that now features first-round pick Jonathan Cooper.

St. Louis Rams: Jake Long, left tackle. The Rams ran Long through a thorough physical examination before signing the Pro Bowl left tackle in free agency. They are banking that a return to health will restore Long to his previously dominant ways. Long, like Brown in Arizona, is coming off triceps surgery. Injuries have slowed Long the past couple of seasons. The Rams think a healthy Long can stabilize their line, putting quarterback Sam Bradford at ease after three often-difficult seasons for the offense. Having Long in the lineup would allow incumbent left tackle Rodger Saffold to play on the right side, upgrading two positions. That's important for the Rams in a division featuring top defenses.

San Francisco 49ers: Justin Smith, defensive end. The 49ers' defense sagged considerably once Smith suffered a partially torn triceps during a late-season game against New England. Smith, who had surgery this offseason, has worked well in tandem with outside linebacker Aldon Smith. Both were hurting late last season, and the defense suffered as a result. The 49ers tried to address the issue in the draft by loading up on front-seven players. That made sense for the long term. More immediately, the team could use one more season of dominance from Justin Smith, one of their most important players on either side of the ball.

Seattle Seahawks: Chris Clemons, defensive end. The Seahawks' defense wasn't the same in the playoffs after Clemons suffered a torn ACL against Washington in the wild-card round. Seattle addressed the issue this offseason by adding Cliff Avril in free agency from the Detroit Lions. Avril's addition could put the Seahawks in position to bring along Clemons at a measured pace. Whatever the case, Seattle will want -- and possibly need -- Clemons near full strength for a playoff run, if not sooner. No other defensive end on the roster plays the run and pass as well as Clemons plays both. He's been a big part of Seattle's defensive success.

Good morning, NFC West.

We've spent more time this week discussing St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford than we've spent discussing his NFC West counterparts at the position. It's been a refreshing change, frankly, and the discussion has carried over elsewhere as well.

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch generally defends Bradford in his "Breakfast with Bernie" video, while also acknowledging the high stakes in 2013.

D. Hawkins at Turf Show Times questions whether "make-or-break" seasons exist at all. They're often imaginary, but not always. Kevin Kolb's situation comes to mind. He just had his make-or-break season in Arizona, with "break" prevailing over "make" by several million dollars. The situation in St. Louis is different, and as we discussed here Wednesday, Bradford would have to play horrendously bad -- way worse than he has played to this point -- for anything drastic to happen after the 2013 season.

Hawkins' teammate, 3k, makes a few additional points while linking to additional resources.

We'll continue this discussion through the blog, hopefully advancing it from time to time. I'll close by passing along one of the key variables when it comes to Bradford: the Rams' obvious belief in him. I've gathered the following quotes through offseason interview transcripts:

• Jake Long, newly signed tackle: "Watched him from afar these last few years in the NFL, just a big fan of his. Big guy, strong guy, tough, has a rocket for an arm and I’m really excited to play for him. He’s a hell of a quarterback and young. He’s only going to get better and just a tough guy. I’ve heard a lot of great things about him."
• Jared Cook, newly signed tight end: "He’s a great quarterback. He has a great arm, great accuracy. What more could you want?"
• Tavon Austin, newly drafted receiver: "As soon as I came into the building, [Bradford] came in and met me and just said he was happy to meet with me. I said, 'No, I’m happy to meet with you.' He’s a taller quarterback. He’s a little bigger than (West Virginia quarterback) Geno (Smith). I’m just proud that I’m here and he took me in. I’m just ready to come now."
• Coach Jeff Fisher on Austin's small stature: "It’s not [a problem] when you’re dealing with a quarterback like Sam. Sam’s got excellent vision, he’s got a quick trigger and he’s very accurate. That creates opportunities for a receiver with that kind of quickness and stature. A shorter quarterback’s going to have a little more difficult time getting the ball to him on time."
• Stedman Bailey, newly drafted receiver: "I know that Sam Bradford is a very good quarterback and I’m looking forward to getting up there whenever we have to report and just working with him. I understand that he’s a young, great quarterback in this league. I feel that I can get with him and probably try to develop into his favorite target, just grow with him."
• Barrett Jones, newly drafted center: "I know Sam Bradford, obviously, is a good, up-and-coming quarterback, but other than that I don’t have a ton. I’m excited. Ask me in a few weeks and I will have a lot of familiarity with them."

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman's outstanding play warrants the kind of in-depth study Cian Fahey conducted analyzing Sherman's every snap from 2012.

It is Sherman's combativeness, outspokenness and good humor that make him one of the more compelling figures in the NFC West. But as Fahey concludes, Sherman's brain might be his most underrated asset.

A Stanford graduate's smarts should not be underrated, but Sherman makes focusing on style over substance so easy. He has, in his brief NFL career, dismissed receiver A.J. Green as overrated, warned quarterback Peyton Manning, mocked receiver Michael Floyd, confronted Tom Brady, incited Steve Smith, played Optimus Prime to Calvin Johnson's Megatron, baited cornerback Darrelle Revis, put down receiver Roddy White, dressed down Skip Bayless, watched practice from a jetski and, perhaps most hilariously, claimed to have hired as a charity softball umpire one of the replacement officials notorious for his role in Seattle's controversial victory over Green Bay last season.

Sherman feeds off the attention, obviously. He has positioned himself prominently in any debate over which cornerback is best in the NFL, overshadowing a far more highly-drafted cornerback from his own division, Patrick Peterson, who goes about his business with only occasional references to his own prowess.

The analysis from Fahey affirms Sherman's status as a top cornerback while acknowledging that Revis, when healthy, faced more challenging assignments. Fahey concludes by pointing to Sherman's grasp of the rulebook, noting that the cornerback shoves down opponents once the quarterback leaves the pocket.

"This may seem like a cheap move to the uninformed, but it is the smartest way to stop receivers from making big plays against you," Fahey writes. "The quickness of thought to recognize the scenario and his understanding of the rules is something that not every player possesses, even at this level.

"Sherman finished last season with 64 tackles, one sack, three forced fumbles and eight interceptions. ... He is clearly an elite talent at the cornerback position who can play in a variety of schemes and scenarios against any type of opposition."

ESPN's Brock Huard refused to accept "tie" for an answer Thursday. He forced me and his 710ESPN Seattle co-host, Danny O'Neil, to pick winners outright in a position-by-position run through rosters for the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

The process was better than the results, in my view, but you can judge for yourself now that the audio is posted. We gave the 49ers clear advantages in a couple of areas, but it seemed as though Seattle had the edge at several positions when the calls were close.

Anyway, this should be a provocative listen for those interested in continuing what has been the primary debate within the division so far this offseason, sometimes at the risk of overlooking what could be formidable challenges from the other teams in the NFC West.

I've included at the top of this item a video we produced in conjunction with the post-draft power rankings. This one ran before, but if you missed it, we discussed the 49ers and Seahawks relatively early in the piece.

Rolando McClain's early retirement from the NFL comes three years after the Oakland Raiders made him the eighth overall choice in the 2010 draft.

While McClain is inviting derision, I wondered whether he was even the most disappointing choice from the first round of that 2010 class. He would fit right in with the 2009 group, for sure.

A quick check of games started by 2010 first-rounders showed four players with 48 starts in 48 possible regular-season games. Three of those four players were from the NFC West: Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis of the San Francisco 49ers, and Earl Thomas of the Seattle Seahawks.

Tyson Alualu, the player Jacksonville controversially selected 10th overall, rounds out the quartet.

St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (42) and Seattle Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung (37) were relatively close behind. Dan Williams, chosen 26th overall by the Arizona Cardinals that year, ranked 26th on the list with 21 starts over the past three seasons.

All starts aren't quality starts, of course. McClain ranks relatively high on the list with 38 starts despite his bust status. Anyone familiar with the NFL would rather have Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas (23 starts) than Alualu, who has struggled with knee trouble and generally been just OK.

First-round picks from 2010 have combined for 21 Pro Bowl honors.

Maurkice Pouncey leads the way with three. Thomas is one of five players with two. Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, Eric Berry and Jermaine Gresham are the others.

Iupati and Okung are part of an eight-man grouping with one Pro Bowl. Ryan Mathews, Thomas, Devin McCourty, Gerald McCoy, C.J. Spiller and Trent Williams are the others.

Iupati, Pouncey, Suh, Thomas and Pierre-Paul have been first-team Associated Press All-Pro once apiece.

Bradford was offensive rookie of the year. Suh won defensive rookie of the year.

Some of the complications associated with evaluating St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford also apply to the team's offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer.

A weak supporting cast bears some responsibility for each man's struggles, but how much responsibility? That can be a difficult question to answer. My feel is that Schottenheimer got what he could from quarterback Mark Sanchez when the two were together with the Jets, and that Sanchez's limitations were more responsible for the offensive decline precipitating Schottenheimer's firing from the team.

Matt Williamson, NFL scout for ESPN.com, touched on the subject as part of our recent Bradford discussion.

"How much was Schottenheimer limited by his quarterback, the Jets' lack of weapons and a defensive-minded head coach?" Williamson asked. "A lot. One thing he did well with Sanchez, I thought, was get pretty good production in the red zone, from what I recall. He should get much more from the Rams as St. Louis improves its weapons for Bradford."

Sanchez had 21 touchdown passes with three interceptions and a 75.0 Total QBR score in the red zone during the 2011 season, Schottenheimer's final one with the Jets. That red-zone QBR score ranked eighth in the NFL. Sanchez was at 68.5 (ninth) in red-zone QBR for the 2010 season.

In 2011, an injured Bradford ranked 33rd out of 34 qualifying quarterbacks -- only Curtis Painter was worse -- with a 6.0 QBR score in the red zone. His 37.3 QBR score in the red zone last season ranked 25th -- still not anywhere close to where a quarterback with Bradford's talent should rank. Bradford had a 21.2 QBR score (28th) in the red zone as a rookie in 2010.

There are more ways to measure quarterbacks and coordinators, of course. But if the Rams have succeeded in upgrading their talent around Bradford, those figures in the red zone should improve markedly.

Good morning, NFC West. This is your four-hour warning to drop everything and head on over to our next chat, set for 1 p.m. ET.

We can continue discussing what's at stake for St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, how teams from this division approach the draft, what's gone right (and wrong) for each team this offseason or whatever else might occur to us on this third Thursday in May.

The video above features Tank Johnson, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless discussing Tavon Austin's recent comments about friends and family reaching for the freshly minted first-round draft choice's wallet. That subject is fair game as well. The eighth overall choice a year ago, Ryan Tannehill, received more than $12.5 million in guaranteed money. Austin stands to collect a similar payout. He certainly isn't the first NFL player to feel those around him changing in the presence of a pending financial windfall.

You might recall our March discussion from the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference regarding NFC West team-building strategies.

St. Louis Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff, addressing conference attendees, noted that his team expected to stock its roster with young, affordable talent.



"When we did the RG III trade a year ago, we looked out and said, 'In 2014, we will have 12 players who were first- or second-round picks under the new rookie wage scale,' " Demoff said at the conference. "Twelve of our best players will make less than $25 million combined in 2014, which meant on the remainder of our team, we could overpay a few guys in free agency, we could make a few mistakes here or there and we would have a pretty good nucleus."

The thinking is sound. And as the chart shows, the Rams have selected eight players in the first two rounds since the wage scale went into effect for 2011. That figure ranks tied for the NFL lead with the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots.

The Rams' plan to have 12 such players on their roster in 2014 requires a slight revision. The team is scheduled to have 11 such players on its roster after trading its 2013 second-round choice to the Buffalo Bills in the move to acquire Tavon Austin with the eighth overall choice.

I find it interesting to see the Seattle Seahawks listed so low in the chart, with only four players selected in the first two rounds since 2011. They're known for building effectively through the draft, but they have selected players with only two first-round picks and two second-rounders under the new labor agreement.

Seattle has used a league-high 26 picks in the final five rounds during the period in question. Richard Sherman, K.J. Wright and Russell Wilson were among the players they selected with those choices.

Can a team beat the system by stockpiling later-round picks? I don't know if that's a sustainable strategy. It might not even be a strategy in this case. The trades Seattle made could have appealed to the team for unrelated reasons. Either way, it's pretty tough to question the Seahawks' drafting results.

Whatever the case, the contrast between Seattle and two of its division rivals, St. Louis and San Francisco, has been pronounced.

The 49ers have still managed to use 21 picks in the final five rounds over this span, allowing them to have it both ways, in some respects. The Rams have used 17 picks and the Arizona Cardinals 19 of them over the final five rounds since 2011.

Seattle traded its 2013 first-rounder to the Minnesota Vikings in the Percy Harvin deal. The Seahawks traded their 2011 second-rounder to Detroit with the 157th and 209th picks for the 75th, 107th, 154th and 205th choices. They took John Moffitt, Kris Durham, Sherman and Pep Levingston with those selections.

We'll think through this one a little more. First, though, a diversion courtesy of Sherman, who has outlived his fifth-round status on the field and on Facebook.

NFC West teams have been stockpiling running backs. They selected six of them in the NFL draft last month. The Arizona Cardinals also added Rashard Mendenhall in free agency.

Jacob from Gig Harbor, Wash., hit the NFC West mailbag with a question about the Seattle Seahawks' approach to the position under Pete Carroll. He wondered whether Christine Michael's arrival as a second-round draft choice signaled a shift to the multi-back approach Carroll used at USC.

There's no question Carroll is implementing much of his USC vision with the Seahawks. Stockpiling running backs is part of that vision. I just don't see a rookie affecting the rotation significantly right away unless he blows away expectations during training camp and the exhibition season. Lynch is arguably one of the five best backs in the NFL. Robert Turbin enters training camp ahead of Michael on the depth chart.

There is only one football to go around.

Carroll has said he wants no drop-off at the position when backups go into the game. He has also said the team needed another running back after releasing Leon Washington. Adding Michael seems more like a move made with the longer term in mind.

Lynch played 66 percent of the offensive snaps in 16 games last season. That was up about 10 percentage points from his total in the 15 games he played a season earlier. I could see that figure regressing some naturally and not necessarily as part of a planned shift. Turbin should be better prepared to help the team in his second NFL season. I would expect Lynch to continue playing more than half the offensive snaps if healthy. The plan for Michael would be to develop his pass-blocking skills and all-around game this season.

"First off, we ran the ball more than anybody in the NFL last year, so we want this position loaded up," Carroll said in explaining Michael's selection. "I think the chance to get another good, strong, tough guy like we did just adds to the theme of what we're trying to present as a team."

Of Michael specifically, Carroll said, "He has not done as much pass protection work as we'd like. When we looked at Robert last year, we felt the same way, but Robert came on really strong as a pass-blocker, so we hope to do the same thing with Christine."

One question I have is whether Seattle will become more of a three-receiver team with Percy Harvin joining the offense. That would make sense, in theory, because Harvin, Sidney Rice and Golden Tate figure to rank among the best candidates for the five spots available to receivers, running backs and tight ends on any given play.

Using three receivers at a time more frequently would lead to more one-back sets, putting a premium on the back's ability to hold up in pass protection.

Reports from the Arizona Cardinals' organized team activities point to an expanded coaching staff as one difference from the recent past.



"Bruce Arians has 21 coaches on his staff, so it makes sense to put them to work," Kent Somers writes. "In full-team drills, the 90-man squad was divided into two. Part of the staff, including Arians, stayed with the first- and second-team players. Other coaches went to the other field with the other group."

If and when the Cardinals enjoy sustained on-field success, they probably will point to quarterback play, not staff size, as the primary reason. But with every head coach seeking even the slightest advantage wherever he can get it, staff size is worth some consideration.

The Cardinals and St. Louis Rams each have 19 assistants, plus two coaches assigned to strength and conditioning. The San Francisco 49ers have 17 assistants and two strength coaches. The Seattle Seahawks have 20 assistants and three strength coaches.

With Arians directing the offense and calling plays, offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin coaches the offensive line. Larry Zierlein serves as assistant line coach, giving Arizona two coaches for the line, a change from last season. Every other team in the division has two coaches assigned to handle the offensive line.

The Cardinals under Arians have closed the numbers gap with other staffs in the division. We'll take a closer look at other staff considerations another time.