We like our NFL action to come all at once, better to gorge on. That's how Sundays work, and the free agency period is no different. While baseball's decent free agents can stay on the market for months, most of the NFL's important action will be wrapped up in a week.

Tomorrow will be a bloodbath; A very busy day for our news page (Get those fingers loose Evan!). A lot of players will get cut as teams prepare for free agency beginning Friday. All of the restricted free agent tenders will also be announced.

Continue reading "Cutting Time" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In this episode, his family is worried about him. He's been wilding out for too long, and won't listen.

Of course, Pacman's publicist says it's all not true. Considering all the events in question were in a dark, crowded club, it may be tough to prove her wrong in court. If it ever makes it that far.

Continue reading "Pacman Daily" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week, I wrote about my early preparation for our magazine. I'm wrapping up my tape review and last night had a chance to sit down to watch two 'tapes' of Tarvaris Jackson. I was looking forward to it because I own Jackson in my dynasty league team and desperately need a "quarterback of the future." I was disappointed with what I saw.

I know that Jackson wasn't exactly playing with a stacked deck. His top three receivers in Week 17 last year were Billy McMullen, Travis Taylor, and Martin Nance.

But there was no way to watch Jackson and think he was even close to being ready to be an NFL starting quarterback. He threw three ridiculous interceptions in the five quarters I watched. His athleticism and arm strength are amazing, but he pulled down the ball to run too quickly after his first read was covered. His stats weren't terrible, but most of his yards came on dump offs with his team trailing big. He was in over his head. Keep in mind my tapes didn't include his 50-yard, 0 point effort in Lambeau.

Continue reading "Tarvaris and Brady" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our boy Pac stayed out of the news for, well, it wasn't quite 24 hours. But it was close. A news station in Tennessee has obtained wiretapped phone conversations between an associate of Jones (a convicted drug dealer Darryl Moore that was being investigated) speaking about Jones' trouble in 2006.

I now realize this is why I have a blog. To post questionable wiretapped phone conversations that talks about Pacman's smoking and gambling habits.

"You know, I was talkin' to him the other day about smokin', and he was like ‘man, if I didn't smoke I couldn't take all the stress that I'm dealing with right now," Moore said.

I know the conversations are from last year, but the Titans can only take so many days of Jones as front-page news. Coach Jeff Fisher even has a cameo.

"Fisher's being as patient as a m*****f***** as he can. Fisher gotta win. Fisher trying to win...He ain't putting up with that s***," Moore said.

It's probably a bad sign for Pacman when convicted felons are worried about him going overboard.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Daymeion Hughes, Cal - Officially he ran a 4.65. Mike Mayock had him in the 4.7's. A smart, instinctive player, Hughes probably isn't explosive enough to play cornerback except in a Tampa 2 system. Deion Sanders couldn't help asking, "Are you kidding me" after a weak vertical jump.

Brandon Merriweather, Miami - A cross between Ed Reed and Sean Taylor, Merriweather is another physical safety from the U. People expected him to run under 4.49.

Reggie Nelson, Florida - His unofficial 4.53 won't help. (It was later upped to 4.48) Probably overrated by draftniks, Nelson may not necessarily be a first round pick.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I posted my new column about Combine Winners and Losers, focusing on the offense.

I mentioned the elite names like LaRon Landry, Chris Houston, and Leon Hall in the last post, but other lesser names helped themselves Tuesday. Here's a few ...

Marcus McCauley, Fresno State - He ran an unofficial 4.33 forty. After a lost senior season, the physical corner is trying to rehab his image. Belichick and his disciples will get an advanced scouting report from their former coaching cohort Pat Hill.

Continue reading "More DB Winners " »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If this Combine had a theme, it's the big players stepping up and cementing their status in the top 15 of the draft. The defensive backs look no different.

LaRon Landry, who earns the nickname "Popeye", seems like a lock for the top 10-12 picks after running a 4.35. Combo safeties like him gain in value every year.

There were some speed questions about Michigan's Leon Hall, considered by many the best corner in the draft. He put those questions to bed with a 4.39. That should help him get taken in the top 15.

Continue reading "DBs are flying " »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a fact that has nothing to do with football and you probably don't care about: Many of my favorite musical artists have been releasing albums this year at a dangerous rate for my sanity.

Continue reading "Arcade Fire" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

calling Michigan DT Alan Branch "Suge Knight." Now that would be a scary person to see on the other side of the line.

I also like when Nebraska DE Adam Carriker was nervous enough to say his name, then "Texas" as his school before realizing his mistake a few seconds later. He still had a huge showing Monday.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mike Mayock's top linebacker Jon Beason ran an unofficial 4.64 on the first forty. Other notables include Patrick Willis with a 4.49, Buster Davis ran a 4.67, and Paul Posluszny ran a 4.67. Willis running that time as an inside linebacker is huge. Here were some of the other top and notable times from Monday's linebackers ...

Continue reading "Unofficial LB Times " »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)