The NFL’s weakening strongside

Tennessee: The new Titans jerseysand Jaguars should trade their linebacking groups, because they are virtually the same. Tennessee's Steve Tulloch may be a notch below Jacksonville's Kirk Morrison in the middle, but the Titans make up that notch with Will Witherspoon(notes)  being a slightly better outside linebacker than either of the guys the Jags have. David Thornton(notes)  is a typical plugger, and the depth is mediocre.

New York Giants: The disintegration of Antonio Pierce(notes) was both sad and fascinating to watch last year. After helping the Giants to a Super Bowl title in the 2007 season, Pierce was still solid in 2008. But by 2009, his series of injuries caught up to him and forced him to retire. Now, the Giants must not only rebuild, but replace the most focused, dutiful leader the team had. Ouch. Outside linebacker Michael Boley(notes) was pretty good last year when he was healthy, but the rest of the group is a collective question mark with the likes of Clint Sintim(notes), Jonathan Goff(notes) and Chase Blackburn(notes).

 Arizona: On paper, the Cardinals jerseyslinebacking corps is really, really … old. Between Joey Porter, Clark Haggans(notes), Gerald Hayes(notes) and Paris Lenon(notes), the average age of the four starters (if the Cardinals go 3-4 as planned) is 31. The Cardinals are hoping that youngsters Cody Brown(notes) and Will Davis(notes) will develop fast and help make up for the loss of Karlos Dansby. But this group looks to be, at best, mediocre.

 St. Louis: Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis(notes) has potential to be an excellent player, perhaps along the lines of a Zach Thomas. However, middle linebackers really don't matter the way they did 10 years ago. Unless you're Patrick Willis, a healthy Brian Urlacher jersey or Ray Lewis in his prime, middle linebackers are glorified replaceable parts – not the guys you build your defense around. That's the cold reality. The rest of the Rams' linebackers, starting with young guy David Vobora(notes), old guy Na'il Diggs(notes) and retread Bobby Carpenter(notes), are lacking. The defensive line is going to have to do a lot of work to make these guys look good.