Every NFL Team's Most Positive Training Camp DilemmaBy Dan Hope , Featured Columnist Jul 26, 2014 
Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press The competition between Mike Glennon (left) and Josh McCown should make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers better. Not every dilemma NFL teams face this summer should be reason for concern.The training camp season of July and August is a time when all 32 franchises assess the state of their teams, diagnose problems and determine their best available situations.Some issues will fail to be resolved in an adequate manner, linger into the season and lead to derailment. But some uncertainties will prove not to be so problematic as they are opportunities for players to emerge in competitions that could actually make their teams better.The latter is what we’ll focus on in the next 32 slides. With training camps just beginning to get going and a full slate of preseason games still to be played, we can’t yet be sure how these individual situations will play out, but each of them presents as much reason for excitement as they do worry.
Atlanta Falcons: Where Will Ra’Shede Hageman Fit In Defensive Line Rotation?Before the start of the 2014 NFL offseason, it seemed as though an early-round pick on the interior defensive line would be a clear-cut year-one starter for the Atlanta Falcons. A unit that was already limited in personnel was set to be hit by free-agent losses, leaving it in need of an influx of talent.However, the Falcons rebuilt their defensive line before the draft even came around. In addition to re-signing defensive tackles Jonathan Babineaux, Corey Peters and Peria Jerry, they also made key free-agent additions in nose tackle Paul Soliai and defensive end Tyson Jackson.Those five players will lead the competition for three starting spots up front as the Falcons’ hybrid defense shifts to a 3-4 base alignment this year. But that didn’t stop Atlanta—and rightfully so—from selecting Ra’Shede Hageman, an interior defensive lineman from Minnesota, with its second-round pick (No. 37 overall) in this year’s draft.An explosive disruptor who possesses a rare combination of size, quickness and strength, Hageman has star potential. But despite his upside and draft position, Hageman won’t necessarily see the field much as a rookie.Soliai is expected to start at nose tackle, while Jackson should be one of two starters at defensive end. Babineaux, Peters and Jerry, who were all starters in 2013, should be in the mix for the other starting defensive end spot or to be key rotational players up front.That could leave Hageman, who “hardly worked with the first-team defense” during offseason workouts, according to John Manasso of Fox Sports, as the sixth defensive lineman on Atlanta’s depth chart.Atlanta will want to get Hageman involved nonetheless, but if the veterans in front of him play well enough to limit his playing time in 2014, that’s good news for the Falcons. It also could be beneficial to Hageman, who has the versatility to play all three spots up front and the upside to be great, but is a boom-or-bust talent who needs to refine his technique.
Carolina Panthers: Determining Kawann Short’s Role at Defensive TackleThe Carolina Panthers fixed a lingering weakness on their roster last offseason when they selected defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short in the first two rounds of the 2013 draft. Both players became first-year stars of the Carolina defensive line rotation and were among the most impressive rookies in the NFL this past season.Lotulelei, a massive yet athletically gifted nose tackle, started all 16 games for the Panthers, was dominant against the run and drew regular double-teams. Short, a quick interior penetrator who also has great strength, did not start any games in 2013 but was also consistently impactful, and he actually finished the season with a higher rating from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) than Lotulelei.In one draft, the Panthers added two players who should be stars in the middle of their defensive line for years to come.But despite Short’s success last season, he still might be coming off the bench this year. Colin Cole worked with the first-team defense ahead of Short in offseason workouts, according to Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer.Ultimately, becoming a starter is more of a formality for Short than a meaningful indicator of his playing time at this point. He played the second-most snaps among Panthers defensive tackles behind Lotulelei last season, and that should continue to be the case whether he plays on first downs or not.While Cole is a space-eating run-stuffer in the middle, he doesn’t have nearly as much athleticism or overall skill as Short. Still, Cole's first-team reps show that the Panthers believe he can be a factor in their defensive line rotation this season.That rotation of Lotulelei, Short, Cole and Dwan Edwards, all back this year from last year, is far stronger than the 2012 group that featured Ron Edwards, Sione Fua and Andre Neblett alongside Dwan Edwards.The defensive tackle position has quickly gone from a weakness of Carolina’s defense to a strength, and the group is most likely to be effective if those four players all continue to rotate with one another in 2014.New Orleans Saints: How Should the Wide Receiver Depth Chart Stack Up?Jimmy Graham wanted to be a New Orleans Saints wide receiver this offseason. But even though he is now back to considering himself to be an “All-Pro tight end,” according to Jim Corbett of USA Today, the Saints have plenty of depth among the players they primarily utilize as wideouts.Marques Colston, who has been one of the NFL’s most consistently productive pass-catchers over the past eight years, will continue to be New Orleans’ No. 1 receiver. Kenny Stills, who led the NFL with 20 yards per catch in an impressive rookie season, should be the second starter at the position.Behind them, the hierarchy is less clear. Where does Brandin Cooks, New Orleans’ first-round pick (No. 20 overall) out of Oregon State, fit in? He’s likely to be in the lineup right away, primarily from the slot as the team’s No. 3 receiver, but the competition at his position will be deep with Robert Meachem, Nick Toon, Joe Morgan and undrafted rookie Brandon Coleman all expected to factor in.Cooks, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash among receivers at this year’s combine (4.33 seconds) and also has great lateral agility, has too much big-play ability for the Saints to keep him off the field. They wouldn’t have traded up in Round 1 to select him if they didn’t have high expectations for him to contribute in 2014.His addition could force the Saints to make tough decisions when they cut their receiver depth chart down to size.Meachem played ahead of Toon as New Orleans’ fourth wideout last season and caught 16 passes for 324 yards. Yet Toon has “had a consistently impressive summer,” notes ESPN.com’s Mike Triplett, and according to NFL Media’s Albert Breer, “coaches want to find snaps for him.”Morgan missed all of last season with a torn ACL, but he has given the Saints another dynamic playmaker from the slot in past years. Coleman is in a tough spot of likely having to beat out two veterans to earn a spot, but according to Larry Holder of NOLA.com, Coleman “improved steadily through the organized team activities and minicamps” and “it appears he'll be given every opportunity to land a spot on the roster.”The good news for the Saints is that having to make tough cuts means they have great depth at the position. For an offense that regularly uses four receivers at one time in spread formations, it’s important to have at least four or five players at the position who can be counted on to make plays.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Josh McCown vs. Mike GlennonOf all the teams that could end up having quarterback competitions carry over into the preseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the most comfortable situation.When the Buccaneers signed Josh McCown earlier this offseason, head coach Lovie Smith indicated that the 35-year-old journeyman, fresh off an impressive run of spot-starts for the Chicago Bears in which he threw 13 touchdowns and just one interception, was signed to be the starter."We'll have a starting rotation at every position, and you have to have a certain level of play to stay there," McCown said, according to Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times. "But there has to be a starting spot, a starting point, a starting person to go out there first. And that will be Josh."If McCown can play as well for a full season as he did in five 2013 starts for the Bears while Jay Cutler was injured, the Buccaneers will have a great starting quarterback. But considering he has never established himself as a long-term starter in 11 NFL seasons, it’s reasonable to expect him to take a step back.Even if he doesn’t, second-year quarterback Mike Glennon shouldn’t go down without a fight. He was the best of the NFL’s rookie passers in 2013; he completed 59.6 percent of his throws for 2,608 yards and 19 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. He showed the tools to emerge, with the expected development of a player to year two from year one, as Tampa Bay’s franchise signal-caller.Despite Glennon’s promising first season, the way the Buccaneers have structured their quarterback competition should get the best out of both quarterbacks.Had they kept Glennon at the top of the depth chart, all the pressure would be on his shoulders to perform, with McCown viewed only as a solution if Glennon faltered. Instead, the Buccaneers have shifted the pressure to perform on McCown, who should certainly expect this to be his final chance to establish himself as a starting quarterback, while putting Glennon in a position to continue his development in order to push McCown for the job.While some teams might prove to have no viable starting quarterback, the Buccaneers appear to have two, and the competition between them should make each better.For every team.... link
