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August 27, 2008

Bucs to keep or shop Michael Clayton?

In Michael Clayton's rookie season, he had 1,193 receiving yards on 80 receptions with 7 TDs. Since then, he's had a total of 1,029 receiving yards on 87 receptions and 1 TD in 3 seasons.
"I'm interested in Clayton, too. I don't care who else is," coach Jon Gruden said Monday. "We're going to keep our best players, and I'll leave it at that. We've had a real competitive camp, and Mike has done some good things. People call all the time about all kinds of things.

"I thought he played well. He showed what a physical perimeter player he is. He made a great catch on an inside route for a first down away from his body. The touchdown catch was a hell of a catch. He ran a great route. It was good."

That's not to say the Bucs won't entertain trades, but at receiver they are dealing from strength. The Bucs have to cut five players to reach the 75-man limit today and must get down to 53 players by Saturday.
It makes no sense to shop him unless it's to Oakland since Al Davis likes to make awful deals. Otherwise, how much are they going to get for the guy in return? Not much.

He's in a contract year so maybe he plays well and you get more value out of him than you did in the past few years. But don't make the mistake of re-upping and overpaying the guy. Let Al Davis do that...

Posted by edsfootball at 11:51 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Matt Leinart still starting QB?

According to a report on ESPN, the Arizona Cardinals were going to name Kurt Warner their starting QB. After Matt Leinart's poor performance (4-12, 3 INTs, 2.8 QB rating) in week 3, it made sense to name Warner the starter. In fact, heading into 2008, I thought Warner should have been the starter.

Who led the NFL in 2nd-half passing TDs in 2007? Tom Brady? No. Peyton Manning? No. Tony Romo? No. Kurt Warner? Yes. Kurt Warner's performance on the field last year earned him the right to start once Matt Leinart was healthy again.

Apparently, Ken Whisenhunt doesn't take kindly to rumors about decisions that haven't yet been announced. So much so that he has announced that Matt Leinart is still the starting QB.
"It's still the same," Leinart said Monday of his status.

"Nothing has changed," coach Ken Whisenhunt echoed.
This move is not in the best interest of the football team. It seems to me that he's making the move more to be stubborn and prove the point that he's in "control" of the team. Kurt Warner gives Whisenhunt the best opportunity to win football games.

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode (and, quite frankly, everything in life can always be related to Seinfeld) where George Costanza was going to break up with a girl. However, when the girl came into the diner to meet George, she mentioned that she ran into Lloyd Braun or someone who told her George couldn't commit. Even though he really wanted to break up with her, he decided that he couldn't do that when someone else said he would.

Ken it's o.k. to break up with Leinart even though Chris Mortensen said you would.

Posted by edsfootball at 01:13 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 26, 2008

Chad Johnson to play with torn labrum

Chad Johnson has a partially torn labrum and has decided to play through the injury.
"I've talked to a lot of people who have played with this injury," said Johnson, who wears a protective harness on the shoulder. "They didn't get surgery, and they played and had a successful season. So I'll be fine."

Johnson said he lobbied coach Marvin Lewis to let him play against the Colts, but was turned down.

"I asked Marvin to play Thursday, not to prove a point but to show that I'm ready to go," Johnson said. "And he told me no, there's no need. I already got hurt in one preseason game, there's no reason for another. I will be ready for the opener."
Last year, Kellen Winslow Jr. played with the same injury and wore a harness. Winslow finished 2007 with 82 receptions and 1,102 yards.

I admire (yes, admire) Johnson for his toughness and grit to play through the pain. Although he claims to have asked Lewis to play in a meaningless pre-season game to show he's "ready to go", I wonder if the injury is a little more severe than is being reported since the Bengals are reportedly shopping Rudi Johnson for a "real receiver." As always with Ocho Cinco, stay tuned...

Posted by edsfootball at 02:33 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 25, 2008

Tom Brady - ready for season opener

Tom Brady has yet to play in the pre-season with a foot injury. He says he will be ready to play when the regular season starts.
"If I don't play [Thursday, when the Patriots play the Giants in their preseason finale] then I'll be ready for Kansas City," Brady said on an appearance on WEEI Radio's Dennis & Callahan Show.
Fortunately, for the Pats and Brady, playing the Chiefs is kind-of like extending the pre-season. The Pats should be favored by double digits (and closer to 20 than to 10) in this game. Brady has the opportunity to work off any rust then.

And if you were sick of all the media attention focused on Brett Favre in the off-season, imagine the hype that will surround the Patriots week 2 matchup (Patriots 2008 schedule).

Jets vs Patriots. Mangini vs Belichick. Now, Favre vs Brady.

Posted by edsfootball at 01:43 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chris Williams vs Jerry Angelo

Chris Williams, the 14th overall 2008 draft pick, was supposed to play LT for the Bears and help bolster their offensive line. And then it was reported that he might miss the 2008 season after suffering (reaggravating) a back injury.

Now, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that Chris Williams is ahead of schedule and will likely return in the second half of 2008. The bad news is Chris Williams has said that the Bears knew about his herniated disc at draft time.
"I had a herniated disc before I got here," Williams said after watching practice Sunday afternoon at Halas Hall. "We knew that. Everyone knew that. It just was a thing where most people it doesn't affect. It wasn't affecting me so if nothing is broke, you don't fix it. Then something happened in practice that second day, the disc started moving and that caused some problems."
Most GMs would respond to this with a prepared statement and then try to move past this. Instead, Bears GM Jerry Angelo called an impromptu press conference with Bears beat writers.
"Nobody was trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes," Angelo said testily. "Nobody is covering their ass."

"Nobody is twisting the truth or embellishing it," Angelo said. "I could give a [bleep]. I could give a [bleep]. If we screwed up, I would tell you, 'We screwed up.' Hey, if we said this was 50-50 and we just rolled the dice, I would tell you that."

"We're just giving you the minutiae now of everything, which we normally don't do. We don't get into that, the nitty-gritty of everything we do, for reasons like this. We don't want to get into these witch hunts. OK? But let's clear the air."
It looks like Angelo has been hanging around with Lou Piniella and Ozzie Guillen too much. Just let it go Jerry.

Posted by edsfootball at 11:26 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Matt Ryan named starter in Atlanta

So far, Matt Ryan has played well in the pre-season. He has completed 61.5% of passes (32-52) for 277 yards. In those 52 pass attempts, he has only thrown 1 interception.

Aug. 9: 9/15, 113 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Aug. 16: 8/16, 62 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Aug. 22: 15/21, 102 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

Matt Ryan's solid play has earned him the starting QB gig. Is it too soon?

I think the Falcons are making the right move. With or without Matt Ryan at the helm, the Atlanta Falcons are going to be awful in 2008. Although using a #3 pick doesn't guarantee success (see Harrington, Joey), Ryan is the Falcons QB of the future.

It makes a lot of sense to me to let the QB of the future get experience in the present so that when the team has a brighter future, their QB will be better-positioned to help lead them.

Posted by edsfootball at 12:38 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 24, 2008

Osi Umenyiora out for year

One of the main reasons the New York Giants are defending Super Bowl Champions was their ferocious pass rush. The Giants led the NFL with 53 sacks in 2007. Now, they will be without the generators of 22 of those sacks in 2008.

Michael Strahan retired earlier in the year although he hinted that he would have returned for $8 million. He had 9 sacks in 2007.

Now, Giants DE Osi Umenyiora, who had 13 sacks in the regular season and 7 in the post-season, has ligament damage in his left knee and will miss the 2008 season. Tom Coughlin said that early indications were that Osi “did not suffer ligament damage.” Umenyiora had an MRI Sunday and that wasn’t the case.
However, an MRI Sunday found a torn lateral meniscus, Dr. Russell Warren told the team. The two-time Pro Bowl choice will have surgery Tuesday and be sidelined for the season.

This is not the first time Umenyiora has required surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. He underwent arthroscopic surgery for the same problem at Troy State.
According to Gary Myers of the Daily News:
There is only one call to make: Bring back Michael Strahan.

The Giants need to reach out to Strahan, one of their all-time greats, and sweet-talk him back from retirement. GM Jerry Reese surely has his number as one of his Fave Fives.
It makes sense to give Strahan a call and Strahan may even be able to get the money he initially wanted. Otherwise, the Giants' run may be one and done.

Posted by edsfootball at 08:43 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 23, 2008

Usain Bolt in the NFL?

Whether or not a track star can make the transition from the track to the football field is a crap shoot. However, in a world where an athletic quarterback with no receiving experience (Matt Jones) was drafted in the first-round because of his size and athletic ability, it makes sense to give Usain Bolt, the world's fastest human, a shot as Gil Brandt writes for his NFL.com column:
Someone asked me the other day what I thought about the idea of making Olympic gold-medal sprinter Usain Bolt a football player. Let's put it this way: If Hall of Fame general manager Tex Schramm and I were still running the Cowboys, we'd be in Jamaica right now waiting for Bolt's plane to land.

That's not to say anyone can predict what the fastest human being alive might do on a football field. But in a sport that places such a premium on raw speed, why not take a chance on a guy who just shattered world records?
Of course, Brandt's opinion is partly based on their success with drafting speedster "Bullet" Bob Hayes with their 7th-round draft pick in 1965. But asked would Bolt make a successful transition, Brandt says:
There's no way of knowing for sure. He's got a tremendous body. The thing that would concern me is that he's such a long strider. Those long legs help him run fast, but they wouldn't do a lot of good making cuts.

That said, he could probably fly past most any cornerback. If he had any hands at all, he'd be scary. Certainly worth giving him a look if you're a team in need at receiver.

You never know when you might strike gold.

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August 21, 2008

Kevin Curtis to have sports hernia surgery

Donovan McNabb finished 2007 very strongly. In the last 4 games of the season, he completed more than 65% of his passes and threw for almost 1000 yards. He also made good decisions with the football as threw 6 TDs to only 1 interception.

Finishing up so strongly last year, McNabb was one of my sleeper picks that I was targeting in my fantasy football drafts. Well, there is a wrench thrown into the plans. Kevin Curtis is going to sports hernia surgery today and will be out for significant time.
The full extent of the injury will not be clear until the surgery is performed, so no timetable was given for a possible return, but expect it to be a while, given the history of the injury. A reasonable timeframe probably would be six to eight weeks from the surgery, which Curtis told the Daily News will take place Thursday morning. The regular season starts Sept. 7. There is little chance the Eagles' leading 2007 receiver (77 catches, 1,110 yards) will be full-strength before October, at best.

Curtis becomes the third Eagles player to suffer a sports hernia in the last few years. Donovan McNabb had surgery during the 2005 season after trying to play through the injury. L.J. Smith had offseason surgery in the spring of 2007 but the injury lingered, especially after he suffered another injury to the area during training camp. Smith cautioned yesterday that Curtis should not try to come back too soon. Previously, cornerback Sheldon Brown played the 2003 season with the injury, something Brown said yesterday he would not do again.
The Eagles drafted DeSean Jackson, who will help the Eagles in the return game to a greater degree than the passing game. But their WR corps with Kevin Curtis was the weakest in the NFC East.

I still think Donovan McNabb will have a strong year in 2008. However, more of the burden will fall on his and Brian Westbrook's shoulders. And, now the Eagles need Jackson to step up and contribute more than previously required.

Posted by edsfootball at 03:53 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 17, 2008

Ray Rice Looks Solid in Loss

Before Willis McGahee needed to have his knee scope, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron indicated that he was going to increase McGahee’s workload this season.
“There is no question in my mind that Willis McGahee can be a three-down back,” offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said. “I think this is the right time in his career to do it. With his ability, there is no reason why he shouldn’t excel on three downs.”
But the Baltimore Ravens invested a second-round draft pick on Rutgers RB Ray Rice. With Willis McGahee out, Ray Rice capitalized in their pre-season loss to Minnesota.
The only bright spot for the Ravens’ offense was Rice, who ran for 77 yards and a touchdown.

The Vikings led the league last season by allowing 74.1 rushing yards a game. By halftime, Rice had darted for 71 yards.

Harbaugh downplayed any potential battle for the starting running back job.

“[When] Willis is healthy and he’s ready to go, he’s our starter,” Harbaugh said. “But [Rice] played like a starter.”
I agree with Harbaugh that Willis McGahee should be the starter. However, should the Ravens be increasing McGahee’s workload when he comes back and he’s healthy like Cameron suggests? It doesn’t make sense to me. In today’s era, RBs should share the load. It’s such a physically demanding position. Why not try to preserve both?

Posted by edsfootball at 06:14 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 16, 2008

Zygi Wilf - Fielding Punts and High-fiving Tailgaters

Every sports team owner should be a big sports fan (not always the case). Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf personifies what a good owner is in my opinion:
Owner Zygi Wilf is a frequent visitor to practice, and this is what I like about him: Not only is he approachable, he does not draw attention to himself while standing on the sideline. Here's something else I like about him: When a trainer challenged him to field punts one afternoon at practice, insisting he couldn't catch one, Wilf took him up on it -- walking on the field in front of an audience of Vikings fans. He caught three of six. I knew there was a reason I liked this guy.
Here is a You Tube video of Wilf tailgating:

Posted by edsfootball at 10:47 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Brandon Marshall appeals suspension

Brandon Marshall was suspended by Roger Goodell for 3 games (can be reduced to 2) under the Personal Conduct Policy. Well, he has filed an appeal to...umm, the Commissioner:
Brandon Marshall formally appealed his three-game suspension Thursday to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, according to a league source. Goodell had found the Broncos' receiver in violation of the league's personal conduct policy. An appeal hearing has not been set, although it's expected before the season-opening week.

Appeal aside, Goodell said he would consider reducing the suspension to two games if Marshall met certain conditions.

The New Orleans Saints, the Broncos' Game 3 opponent, might be interested to learn the most significant condition is for Marshall to stay free from trouble and disturbances through Sept. 15, which is when he can be reinstated.
Makes no sense. His chance to appeal was when he met with Roger Goodell. The Commissioner isn't going to reduce or cancel the suspension now.

Filing an appeal is just going to give the impression that he doesn't understand why he's being punished under the policy possibly influencing his explanations if to the Commissioner if (when) he gets in trouble again.

Posted by edsfootball at 10:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 14, 2008

Adam Jones to mail reinstatement letter

In late-May, Adam (don't call me "Pacman") Jones met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Goodell partially reinstated Jones on June 2nd. The "partial" reinstatement meant that Jones could practice with the Cowboys and participate in pre-season games.

Tomorrow, Adam Jones will mail his request to be fully reinstated. So far, Jones has kept his nose out of trouble.
Since being traded to the Cowboys, Jones has tried to surround himself with a better support group. He's befriended former Cowboys Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders. Jones also has become friends with several of his new teammates, including Tank Johnson, whom the Cowboys helped return from a similar suspension last season.

"The important thing is getting him here and getting him acclimated," Johnson said. "I have told him you are a good kid, we know you and we're looking forward to having you on the team and we're excited about you proving everybody wrong."
Provided that he continues to stay out of trouble, it's very likely that Jones will be reinstated. Jerry Jones is making cautious statements, however, to not ruffle Goodell's feathers.
Jerry Jones wouldn't speculate on when he expected to hear from Goodell, acknowledging that the decision "probably will be very late in the preseason." Jones did say, however, that he anticipated to at least "get a feel" of what to expect before the Cowboys have to cut their roster to 53 players on Aug. 30.

"I'm just guessing that," Jones said.
Although Adam Jones was rusty in the Cowboys first pre-season game at San Diego, I expect Jones to be fine come the start of the 2008 season. And with Jones playing at his full ability, the Cowboys arguably have the best secondary in the NFL.

Posted by edsfootball at 02:58 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 10, 2008

Brett Favre fumbles...and then runs

Brett Favre has told Eric Mangini that he wants to be treated like everyone else. Eric Mangini has said that is one of the things he likes about Favre. In any event, when Favre and Nick Mangold fumbled a QB-C exchange, the defense started chanting for them to run. So, they did...



I'm not sure if running laps after fumbles will win him any fans on the team (although actual fans cheered him running), not running certainly would have caused him friends on the team. Perhaps not surprisingly, he isn't winning everyone other on the team.

On Alan Faneca's comments about Brett Favre, here's what Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote:
The Favre-Faneca relationship is definitely something to watch. Faneca probably thought he’d walk in as the leader of the offensive line, if not the entire offense. Now, it’s Favre’s show. If Faneca doesn’t like Favre and/or resents all the attention Favre is getting, things could get even more interesting in New York.
And Laverneus Coles, someone with whom Brett Favre would like to be on the same page, had a close relationship with Chad Pennington.
"I just need some time," Coles told a member of the Jets' public-relations staff.

Coles was said to be very upset Wednesday night, when the team learned that Pennington would be released to make room for Brett Favre.

Toward the end of practice, Coles stood alone on the sideline, away from his teammates - unusual for him. Clearly, something is bugging him.

Posted by edsfootball at 10:37 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 09, 2008

Kids Swearing at Aaron Rodgers

Although Aaron Rodgers hasn't always said the perfect thing throughout the Brett Favre vs Green Bay Packers saga, I think he has done pretty well at maintaining the right outlook and handling it with class. The "get on board or shut up" statement was ill-advised, but that is the exception to the rule.

Discussing what gets to Aaron Rodgers, he said:
"The things I can't understand, the things I really take personally, is when I'm driving up to the (parking lot) gate and punching in my punch code and somebody says ‘F.U.' to me. That kind of bothers me. Or when a little kid is yelling swear words at me. That kind of gets to me. The boos, they expect a high level of play and they miss Brett Favre. I understand that. But the ‘F.U.' and the little kids saying swear words to me, I don't understand that."
I can definitely understand why Rodgers would feel this way. What I don't understand is the level of hatred some folks have towards Aaron Rodgers. He wasn't responsible for Brett Favre leaving Green Bay.

It really came down to Packers management (Murphy, Thompson, McCarthy, etc.) vs Brett Favre. Not Brett Favre vs Aaron Rodgers. Granted, he's taking over, but because Packers management decided to move on. I guess in some ways Rodgers was right: Packer fans need to "get on board or shut up."

Posted by edsfootball at 03:36 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 08, 2008

Ryan Torain - out 3 months

According to the Denver Post, Broncos rookie RB Ryan Torain will miss up to 3 months. He is scheduled to have shoulder surgery Friday evening.

Many people expected big things from this 5th-round rookie RB including Mike Shanahan.
"He's one of the most gifted running backs I've been around for a long time," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Wednesday. "He is very similar to Terrell Davis when he came in."

"It's a big loss," Shanahan said. "I thought he had a chance to compete to be the starting running back."
If you've ever owned a Broncos RB on your fantasy football team, you know that Torain (or any Broncos RB) has a chance to start. While this hurts the Broncos overall, it helps Selvin Young's fantasy draft value.

Posted by edsfootball at 03:50 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 03, 2008

Mike Shanahan: "We're not going to miss the playoffs"

If Mike Shanahan reads The Daily Blitz, he must have thought I was referring only to players when I mentioned that making guarantees is unnecessary and foolish in response to Donte Whitner's playoff guarantee for the Bills.

Well, Coach, the same applies to coaches. Although he can't take it back, this is what Shanny said:

"We're not going to miss the playoffs," Shanahan told The Sports Guys on KKFN (104.3 FM) when queried about the vital nature of the upcoming season in Denver.

Shanahan then was asked if he was making a guarantee after back-to- back seasons without a postseason berth for the Broncos.

"Sure sounds like it," he responded.

So, I guess Mike Shanahan doesn't think too highly of Donte Whitner's "Creskin" abilities since Whitner guaranteed a Bills playoff berth last month.

San Diego and New England will win the AFC West and AFC East, respectively. And, at least, 2 teams will come out of the AFC South (Indianapolis and Jacksonville). That means, it's either Denver or Buffalo (or neither).

Posted by edsfootball at 11:25 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 02, 2008

Al Davis talks Javon Walker out of retiring?

After getting hurt last year in game 3, Javon Walker only had 9 catches for 57 yards in the final 4 games of the year. Surprisingly, he was able to get Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders to give him a huge deal (6 years, $55 million) in the off-season.

Then, after a night of partying and spraying the crowd of a nightclub with champagne, he was abducted and beaten.



Despite making a mistake with Walker and other players like Tommy Kelly, apparently Al Davis had his chance to reverse a bad decision.
...Javon Walker, struggling with his performance during training camp, told the team Thursday he intended to retire and offered to return his $11 million signing bonus.

According to a source, Raiders owner Al Davis persuaded Walker to remain with the team.
I like that Al Davis is an owner that wants to "just win baby", but it's becoming more and more obvious to me that Davis needs to step down. He just doesn't have it anymore.

Posted by edsfootball at 05:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 01, 2008

Steve Smith knocks out Ken Lucas at practice

Steve Smith was kicked out of Carolina Panthers practice for punching Ken Lucas in the eye.
According to several eyewitness, the two teammates were on the sidelines discussing a play that happened previously at camp and Smith wound up slugging Lucas while the cornerback was resting on one knee.

A scuffle ensued and punches were thrown as teammates and coach John Fox charged in to break up the fight. Linebacker Jon Beason had to pull Smith away from Lucas. It took several people to restrain the men and restore order.

Lucas was then taken under the tent at the practice field and treated by trainer Ryan Vermillion. His face was bloodied and he appeared to have a large gash under his left eye. He held ice on his left eye for several minutes.
After knocking out Ken Lucas, is Dwayne Jarrett next?
Shortly after the fight Smith came over, with Muhsin Muhammad and another coach by his side, and tried to reconcile with Lucas. The two men briefly exchanged a hug. Smith, who seemed upset by the incident, then walked over and talked to friend John Kasay, who has helped him through some tough times in the past.
In the midst of training camp and the summer heat, tempers are bound to flare up. But it's good to see that the two players seem to be making an attempt to put it behind them. But it's not the first time they've had an incident:
A few years ago at training camp, not long after the cornerback signed to a six-year, $36 million contract to come to Carolina, Smith was heard talking trash to Lucas on the field. After he beat Lucas for a touchdown, Smith turned and said, "I'm earning my money; you better start earning yours."

A few minutes later, Smith beat Lucas for another score and said, "That's two, bitch."
Back in 2002, Steve Smith went at it with Anthony Bright and he was subsequently suspended for one game. While the article indicates that John Fox is "considering disciplinary actions", since Fox is on the Hot Seat, it'll be interesting to see if he suspends their best (by far) offensive weapon.

(Update: Steve Smith will be suspended for the first 2 games of the season (at San Diego and vs Chicago).

Posted by edsfootball at 07:00 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 31, 2008

The Brett Favre Saga Takes Interesting Twists

Imagine telling your buddies in February that you'd be willing to bet them that Brett Favre would not be playing football for the Green Bay Packers in 2008 and, in order to guarantee that he wouldn't play, the Green Bay Packers would be willing to dish out $20 million over 10 years to the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. How rich would you be today?

Brett Favre was one of my favorite players. He played the game with the kind of child-like enthusiasm that made him seem "real". Although he was playing at the top of his game on a young team that was on the door step to the Super Bowl and he seemed to still have that fire to play, Brett Favre shocked the football world when he retired on March 6th.



And through the offseason, Favre has said and done things that has caused my opinion of him to deteriorate. He seemed to say several things that contradicted himself.

But as a 38 year old QB, Favre has shown that his skills haven't diminished. In fact, he had as good of a year in 2007 as he has had in his career. He finished second in MVP voting and received the only first-place vote that Brady did not. He completed a career-best 66.5% of his passes, threw for 4,155 yards (3rd best of his career and best since 1998) and had a QB Rating of 95.7 (3rd best of career and best since 1996).

And when Aaron Rodgers was drafted with the 24th overall pick (2nd QB taken) in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Packers signaled that Rodgers was the QB of the future. And in Rodgers' limited time on the field, he has performed well (106.0 QB Rating and completed 71% of passes in 2 games). But it makes sense to move in a new direction when (a) the current starter is no longer (or is only marginally) better than the back-up and/or (b) the team isn't competitive and is in re-building mode. As a 13-3 team that was minutes away from Super Bowl XLII, neither A nor B applies in this scenario.

I could understand if the Packers had a repeat of their 2006 8-8 season last year. But Favre gives the Green Bay Packers the best shot to win the Super Bowl this year. And with Favre, the Packers would be legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Instead, they would prefer to pay this franchise's icon $20 million to NOT play. And since Favre is not willing to accept that deal, it's becoming increasingly likely that the Packers end up trading Favre within the division.

Posted by edsfootball at 11:03 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 30, 2008

Kobe Bryant, Ronaldinho and Jason Campbell

What do they all have in common? (And it's not that they are three men who haven't been in Cliff Clavern's kitchen.) They are featured in very cool commercials found on You Tube.

Here is Jason Campbell's very cool NFL.com commercial:



If that doesn't make you want to play fantasy football and draft Jason Campbell, I don't know what will.

Check out this one of Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho hitting the the crossbar multiple times:



And who can forget Kobe Bryant jumping the car:



Posted by edsfootball at 11:56 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 26, 2008

NFL First-Rounders still unsigned

Since last night, Glenn Dorsey, Chris Johnson, Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins and Jonathan Stewart, have signed deals.  The following 6 first-round draft picks haven't signed with their respective teams:

7. Sedrick Ellis, Saints
8. Derrick Harvey, Jaguars
9. Keith Rivers, Bengals
11. Leodis McKelvin, Bills

Here is a full list of first-rounders and their status/contract details. 

(Update: Leodis McKelvin signed a 5-year deal with the Buffalo Bills and Sedrick Ellis signed a 5-year deal with the New Orleans Saints.) 

Posted by edsfootball at 04:27 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 24, 2008

No such thing as bad publicity?

Heading into the 2008 NFL Draft, there was quite a bit of discussion surrounding the issue of whether West Point should allow Caleb Campbell to play in the NFL and stay local to recruit unlike the rest of his fellow cadets.   The powers-to-be argued that by Caleb Campbell playing professional football, he would be serving his country with a greater impact.  How?  The publicity that he would generate would be off the charts.

So, it was on to the NFL Combine for Caleb Campbell, where he performed reasonably well.  He was 2nd among safeties in Bench Press reps and ran well.

If you watched the 2008 NFL Draft, you saw how much of a crowd favorite Caleb Campbell was.  And let's face it: New Yorkers can be tough.  He was live at Madison Square Garden on Day 2 of the Draft.  There were multiple times that the crowd would chant his name. 

...the biggest applause was for Campbell. ESPN reported all day on Campbell because the 6-foot-2, 230 pounder would be spared having to serve in Iraq if he made a NFL roster. Halfway through the final round, he got the call from the Lions. The entire draft crowd erupted, jerseys from every NFL team represented.

The Detroit Lions selected Caleb Campbell with the 218th overall pick in the 7th round.

Fast forward 3 months and the military is singing a different tune:

In a letter to Lions president Matt Millen dated Wednesday, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan P. Liba wrote that Campbell has been ordered to give up professional football for "full-time traditional military duties."

Liba wrote that 2nd Lt. Campbell may ask to be released from his active duty obligations in May 2010.

Due to the level discipline in the military, I am surprised by the flip-flopping on the matter.  Interestly enough, what would have the reason to allow Campbell to play is going to be what the Army gets now: publicity.  However, this time it won't be the good kind.

Posted by edsfootball at 01:41 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 23, 2008

Coin Flip in Chicago?

On one side of the coin, you have heads Rex Grossman.  On the other side, you have tails Kyle Orton.

Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman will gather in a meeting room at 8 this morning to determine their fate -- at least for one day -- with a flip of a coin to decide who runs with the first team during the opening practice of training camp this afternoon.

It's an unusual manner to determine who take reps with the first-team.  But when the choice is Grossman vs Orton, does it really matter if you're flipping a coin or playing rock, paper, scissors...?

Posted by edsfootball at 11:27 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 21, 2008

Which way is up?

Ever get that feeling when everything seems like it's flipped upside down?  Well, today is one of those days.  If you visit our forums, you'll notice that back-to-back posts made today involve Brett Favre and Terrell Owens.

If I told you one post was about an article mocking one of the two players, most would expect that player to be T.O.  And if I told you the other post was about one of the two acting heroically, most would expect that player to be Favre.  Not today.

Brett Favre: Minor League Baseball team to host Brett Favre Day

The GreenJackets will make fun of the retired, maybe now un-retired, quarterback legend, by giving away flip flops in honor of the flip flopper.

The first 100 fans through the gates for the team's August 4th game against the Savannah Sand Gnats will receive a pair of flip flops.

But that's not all. The GreenJackets plan on retiring Favre's jersey number (4), only to reinstate it the next day. Luckily, the team doesn't currently have a player wearing that number.

Granted the Minor League team plays in San Francisco.  But even 3 months ago, could you have imagined Favre being mocked like this? 

Terrell Owens: T.O. to the Rescue... 

Terrell Owens was standing over me. I'm told he was the first do-gooder on the scene of the accident. That he helped me to my feet and off the street to safe ground. That he didn't leave my side. It seems the mercurial Dallas Cowboys receiver is my hero. But my hero looks scared, and this scares me.
"Wow, you all right, man?" Owens kept asking me, but in a manner that would suggest there is no possible way that I, in fact, could be all right. "Don't move. Just sit there. Breathe. Don't move."
I mean, it was ESPYS night, people! A hot party was raging in a building not 20 feet away, and another one, Justin Timberlake's late-nighter, would soon kick off at a hotel nearby, and yet one of the biggest names in sports was spending his night curbside with me?
"So, T.O. was nice, huh?" says the medic who took my blood pressure inside the ambulance. "Boy, you think you know somebody, but the media doesn't tell you the whole story. You never know how they really are."

Like the cliche goes, "you can't judge a book by its cover".  Although I am a Cowboys fan, I'm certainly not T.O.'s biggest supporter.  And probably will never be since I can't forget the incident at midfield on the star.  But I think T.O. is much nicer guy than he's given credit for.

Posted by edsfootball at 11:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 18, 2008

Why I hate the ESPYs?

The Grammys don't do it.  The Oscars don't do it.  The Emmys don't do it.  The ESPYs do.

The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.  The game was played and aired on Sunday, February 3, 2008.  Maybe you taped the Super Bowl, but my guess is that you watched it "live".

Now let's say that the game was played but not televised on February 3rd.  And let's say that although it was not televised, you could read about it online.  And you read it was an incredible game with an incredible pass from Eli Manning to David Tyree.  In fact, so incredible that it won the ESPY for Best Game and Best Play.  However, you had to wait until Friday, February 8th to actually see the game and the play that won their respective awards.

Well, that's what the ESPYs are (sort-of) doing.  Except watching the Super Bowl again means you're going to see an amazing play and an amazing game again.  I could watch that play over and over (and I'm a Cowboys fan).  Re-watching an acceptance speech is not as fascinating.

Here is the list of all ESPYs won by NFL players/teams on Wednesday night:

Best Upset: Giants

Best Game: Super Bowl XLII

Best Play: Eli Manning's pass to David Tyree

Best NFL Player: Tom Brady

Best Breakthrough Player: Adrian Peterson

Best Record Breaking Performance: Brett Favre (In his acceptance speech, you might have seen the clip where Favre quips "watchin' that makes me want to play again."

Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Kevin Everett 

In any event, here's a list of all winners of this year's ESPYs.  Without any of the suspense of who's going to win, is it worth watching?  I say no.

Posted by edsfootball at 11:43 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 12, 2008

Matt Jones was just holding it for a friend.

According to police, Jacksonville Jaguars WR Matt Jones "...was inside a car cutting up cocaine with a credit card."  The same Matt Jones that was drafted in the first-round by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2005 because of his potential (6'6" frame and freakish athletic ability) was the same Matt Jones that lacked motivation.  The one that frustrated Jack Del Rio with his "...demeanor and work ethic, making him inactive for three games."

Matt's father, Steve Jones, issued this ridiculous statement:

“We want to make it clear that Matt was not in possession of any drugs, but that there were drugs in the vehicle and were located in the closest proximity to Matt," Jones added. "He does not claim any responsibility for the drugs.”

What a shock that he doesn't claim any "responsbility".  Usually cokeheads are pillars of accountability.  This is the type of excuse a kid uses at 14 when his parents catch him with pornography or alcohol or a condom.  Parents NEVER buy that excuse.  Apparently, Steve Jones is the exception to that rule. 

Posted by edsfootball at 11:00 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

July 07, 2008

Donte Whitner: Another unnecessary guarantee in the NFL

Jon Kitna did it for a whole season.  Anthony Smith and Joey Porter are examples of players who did it for one game.  Now, Donte Whitner has done it.

What did they all do?  They made guarantees about the outcome of a game or a season.

What do Kitna, Smith and Porter share in common?  They were all wrong.

Kitna guaranteed a 10-win season in 2007.  The Lions?  10 wins?  Most people laughed and shrugged it off.  But half-way through 2007, the Lions were poised to make good on Kitna's guarantee with a 6-2 record.  The Lions then went on to a 1-7 second half.

Smith's guarantee that the Steelers would beat the unbeaten Patriots was well-publicized.  Not only did Smith fall through on his guarantee, but he got burned (twice).

After an 0-2 start, Porter said about his Dolphins' week 3 game: "Write it how you want to write it: we will win on Sunday."

Since these guarantees never work out, I'm going to try reverse psychology and say here for the record that I GUARANTEE that Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bunchen won't leave Tom Brady for me!  (O.K.  I admit that it's probably not going to work, but it was worth a try, right?) 

But now Donte Whitner in a Sporting News column has said: "Do I expect us to make the playoffs?"..."I'm guaranteeing it."

Maybe Donte Whitner is right.  In fact, I think the Buffalo Bills are headed in the right direction and have a legitimate shot at the # 6 seed.

Having confidence is great.  Making guarantees is unnecessary.  There is absolutely no benefit derived from making a public guarantee.  Considering how tough the AFC is, Whitner should just shut up and let his and his teammates' play speak for them.

Posted by edsfootball at 03:23 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 30, 2008

Wes Welker: Not the Perfect Patriot

First, let me say that Wes Welker is one of my favorite players albeit on one of my least favorite teams.  Despite disliking the Patriots in general, there are some things about the Patriots that I admire including the organization's ability to play as a team and to focus on the task at hand.  In many ways, Wes Welker embodies the positives I see in the Pats.

However, Welker has allowed himself to call out former teammate Asante Samuel.  Welker said "Asante's a great player, so it hurts not to have a guy like that.  But then again, it's part of the business of the game.  He chose money over championships, and that's the way it goes sometimes."

I heard Marcellus Wiley make a good point on NFL Live today.  He mentioned that Shannon Sharpe would say that you play for 2 M's: money and memories.  The one that you can control is money.  As Wiley asked, how many players wanted to sign with the Giants last off-season in order to win a Super Bowl?  Granted, Samuel would likely be better positioned to win a championship in New England.  But those championships are not guaranteed as we saw last season.

If Samuel went to Oakland or Miami or Atlanta for the money, then it's just the money.  With the off-season moves that Eagles have made combined with McNabb's resurgence at the end of the season in 2007, the Eagles are poised to exceed early expectations in 2008.  Couple that with the fact that the Eagles play in the weaker conference (which includes the SB Champs), Samuel's going after both M's.

Although I disagree a little with Welker's assertion about Samuel's pursuit of money over memories, the fact that he called out a former teammate has caused my opinion of one of favorite players (regardless of team) to drop a notch.

Posted by edsfootball at 09:28 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Eric Weddle gets it

Most of the time, we're reading about how NFL player (or professional athlete in general) acts like there are no consequences to his actions. Heck, even ProFootballTalk.com has a counter labeled "Days Without an Arrest". From Derrick Martin busted at airport with marijuana to {insert name} busted for DUI to Brandon Jones bringing his gun to the airport, it seems like nobody gets it. It seems like there is no accountability, no common sense, no nada...

I saw this article online and although this should be the norm, it was nice to see. Eric Weddle of the Chargers gets it.

"You see every day guys getting suspended, things like that, but if you're focused, stuff shouldn't happen," Weddle said. "I know what I'm here for. I'm here to play football. It's my job. Support my wife and my little baby girl - that's all that matters to me."

"I couldn't be more blessed, couldn't be in a better situation," Weddle said.


The last sentence sums up how every fan of the game would feel if they had the opportunity to play the game they love for insane gobs of money. Finally, thanks to Eric Weddle, it seems like someone gets it.

Posted by edsfootball at 11:22 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 18, 2008

Do Pats fans deserve their team's success?

I'm not sure.

Something happened in 2007. And it wasn't just the Pats and their players making history. Pats fans became complacent. (Of course, there are exceptions to every rule).

Living in "New England", I first noticed this towards the end of the season as many Pats fans seemed to yawn at the potential of going 16-0. Granted it's (somewhat) meaningless if the Pats don't win the Super Bowl, but this was the first time it has ever happened. Lots of people I know weren't using their December Pats season tickets because they preferred to be "out of the cold".

While listening to Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio this morning on my way to work, they mentioned Packers/Giants tickets were $500+ on Razor Gator (disclosure: I'm a Razor Gator affiliate) and $180+ for Pats/Chargers tickets.

I just checked Stubhub.com (disclosure: I'm a StubHub affiliate) and the 2 cheapest tickets at 10:30 p.m. tonight for Packers/Giants were $549.99 each for 2. The cheapest non-SRO seats for the Pats/Chargers game were $249 each for 2.

If you're in this area (90 minutes from Boston - 90 minutes from NYC), you know tickets for football games tend to be expensive. At the start of the year, tickets to the week 2 Pats home opener vs the Chargers (the same team they play Sunday) cost more than what the AFC Championship tickets cost in the secondary market.

The way I look at it is people vote with their money. And MA has the 3rd highest per capita income in the country ($43,501 in 2006) not-to-mention it borders other wealthy states like CT (1st on the list). WI, on the other hand, is 22nd at $34,701. So it's not like the rich folks of WI are artificially driving up the prices and the poor folks in the Northeast just can't keep up with the Joneses. The people in MA, CT and NH are the ones that can most easily afford to overspend to be at the game. But they're not. If you adjust for income levels, fans are paying 3 x's as much to be at Lambeau than Gillette.

Packers fans would give anything to see their team win a title. I can't say the same about the spoiled Pats fans. Considering how the Pats coaches/players overlook nobody, I find it ironic that their fans have come to take their team's success for granted.

Posted by edsfootball at 04:08 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

January 05, 2008

Post-season Predictions (cont.) - Championship Games & Super Bowl

In my Divisional Round projections, I went out on a limb and predicted the Patriots would lose to the tough Jaguars to face the defending Super Bowl Champs in the AFC Championship.  In the NFC, I have a rematch of the season's top 2 seeds.  Here is how expect these games to play out:

(2) Colts vs (5) Jaguars: The Jaguars have arguably the best pair of RBs in the NFL in Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew.  David Garrard has played virtually mistake-free all season.  Reggie Wayne stepped up his game in Marvin Harrison's absence, but Harrison will be healthy for the game.  Dallas Clark is one of the best receiving TEs in the league and Joseph Addai is one of the best RBs.  After getting the monkey off his back last year, Peyton Manning has shown that he can win the big game.  The Jags are 0-2 vs the Colts on the season and I expect this game to be close.  However, the Jags will leave the RCA Dome winless vs the Colts this season and the Colts will have the opportunity to defend their championship.

(1) Cowboys vs (2) Packers: Will Brett Favre's season end in a 10th unsuccessful attempt to win at Texas Stadium?  Or will he get his first win there when it matters the most? Much has been made about the Cowboys struggles in December, but as Wade Phillips likes to point out - this is the Cow