ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Sarge from Chicago writes: Heard you were at Seahawks camp and wondering how Nate Burleson is doing. I've heard good things lately, wanted more in-depth thoughts since you might have watched him at camp. Is Matt Hasselbeck getting him the ball?

Mike Sando: You heard right. Burleson has indeed come on strong during camp. He's running well. He does not appear to be favoring the leg. He is not wearing a sleeve or brace on the knee when practicing. He is not missing time.

The next big hurdle comes when Burleson subjects his knee to full contact during games. Every player coming back from this type of injury must go through that stage. Practice provides a controlled setting. Live tackling is prohibited. Game situations provide no such protections. Defensive players can -- and will -- strike him unexpectedly. Sometimes they'll hit him high. Other times they'll hit him low.

Once Burleson passes that test, I suspect he'll feel closer to 100 percent. He'll be all the way back.

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Kyle from Tempe writes: Hey, Mike. It seems as though the 49ers have a few players on their roster who have a make-or-break year in front of them. Vernon Davis, Manny Lawson and Alex Smith have had Niner fans holding their breath waiting for some spark, but it hasn't shown up yet. Who is going to develop into an NFL superstar and outshine low-end draft choices like Parys Haralson, Shaun Hill, and Delanie Walker?

Mike Sando: I was going to point to Josh Morgan, but he's also a late-round pick. I don't think any of the first-rounders you mentioned are headed for stardom.

Davis has Pro Bowl potential if the 49ers get the ball to him enough. I'm skeptical as to whether he'll become a consistent, refined and savvy player. He just doesn't seem to be in the mold of a Tony Gonzalez that way, even though he's faster. If Davis could catch 60 passes and the 49ers were to win some games, his profile would rise.

I do think Smith has the ability to become a good starting quarterback with the right supporting cast. Lawson is a Pro Bowl-caliber special-teams player. He looks like he could get seven or eight sacks in a season. Anxious to see him in games to see how the progress he's shown translates.

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Darryl from Fullerton writes: I enjoyed reading your articles, especially during the Cardinals' Super Bowl run. I was just wondering, where can I find these stats: pass attempts to each receiver. We know how many passes each receiver caught, but how many chances did he have?

Also, I keep reading about sacks that an offensive lineman allows and how many penalties have been called on them. Also, do you think referees call phantom penalties due to game situations? I can't prove it but tend to think they do. Look forwarding to hearing your reply.

Mike Sando: Thanks for the support, Darryl. I charted every offensive play for the Cardinals last season, breaking down their personnel use. I had Larry Fitzgerald as the intended receiver 154 times during the regular season. Anquan Boldin was next at 136. Steve Breaston was next at 115. These are unofficial, but they give you an idea.

On the penalty front, I'll make available for download my file showing penalty counts for all NFC West players last season. It also features a log of each individual penalty, allowing you to sort by type.

I don't think officials make phantom calls on purpose. I think they sometimes just err.

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JD from South Dakota writes: Hey Mike, as a Rams fan I am impressed with how Steve Spagnuolo is changing the attitude at Rams camp. Which of the three new coaches in the NFC West are you most impressed with -- short term and long term? Thanks!

Mike Sando: Wow, that's a tough one. All three are highly energetic, relatively young coaches with defensive backgrounds. Mora's experience gives him a potential edge in the shorter term. Like Singletary, he spent enough time as an assistant with his team to know its personnel, another potential advantage when taking over as head coach.

Singletary is the only one of the three without experience calling plays or serving as a coordinator. That makes him more vulnerable to a staff defection. In contrast, when the Cardinals lost offensive coordinator Todd Haley, Ken Whisenhunt simply took back play-calling duties. He had done it before.

Spagnuolo seems to have the most stable temperament of the three. We'll see if that holds true when the pressure mounts.