February 20, 2007
Here's one of the many reasons I'm lucky to alive: I get to write about Pacman Jones for the next ten years or so, assuming he stays alive.
I don't plan to copy what's on our news page much in this space (this is a first), but Pacman's latest hijinx is worth repeating. Here's the blurb I wrote for Rotoworld.
NFL Network's Adam Shefter reports that witnesses in Las Vegas have claimed that Pacman Jones was biting the ankle of the bouncer who wound up getting shot during a melee. That's not all. Jones was recovering from a previously unreported shoulder surgery and Shefter reports that the bouncer "popped" Jones' shoulder while holding him in an arm lock. Jones reportedly left in a great deal of pain.
Jeff Fisher called Jones' one game suspension the defining moment of his career last season. Remember, the Titans tried to suspend Jones four games before the NFLPA stepped in. I think Fisher was trying to say that Jones' response to this "last chance" punishment would define him. Jones responded with the best stretch of play in his career, but now he's in hot water again.
If it was any other player, Tennessee could act tough and release him. But Jones is already one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, if not one of the best players. Behind Vince Young, he's the most valuable player on the Tennessee roster. This latest trouble is singularly dumb, because he jeopardized his life (three people were shot at the nightclub) and more specifically his recently repaired shoulder.
The Titans have painted themselves into corner and will have to get tough with Jones, suspending him again if the league doesn't.
All 15 meatheads who have watched each NFL Scouting Combine will be happy to know that breakout star, strength and conditioning coach John Lott, will be at the 2007 Combine.
Lott, who is far better at giving nicknames than Chris Berman, was let go by the Browns earlier this off-season. Thankfully Ken Whisenhunt and the Cardinals hired him, and he's going back to Indianapolis this week.
An interview Tuesday night on the NFL Network was pretty tame. One gets the idea that Lott doesn't feel right outside a weight room.
The network did run a good montage from last year. My favorite line was, "I see you all yoked up. Now put yer shirt on, this ain't Playgirl."
I'm going to try to liveblog the Combine as much as I can later this week and weekend.
On Sunday, I wrote about the most surprising things to happen while I was on vacation. Here's my quickie list of the least surprising things to happen last week.
1. Asante Samuel, Lance Briggs, and Dwight Freeney franchised - Even Charles Grant shouldn't qualify as a surprise. With cap room at an all-time high, it's insane for teams to let quality starters walk when they have the franchise tag available. The players may not like it, but their union negotiated the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and tag. Tough luck.
I'm surprised more teams don't use the tag. It can also be used to keep a player's rights, then trade him, like New England did with Tebucky Jones a few years back.
2. Conflicting Kevin Jones reports - It's February and impossible to know the long term prognosis for serious injuries like Kevin Jones'. One report says he'll be ready for Week 1, NFL Network says he'll miss half the year. The same conflicting reports occurred last year surrounding Daunte Culpepper, Ahman Green, Drew Brees, and Carson Palmer. None of them knew what was going to happen. It's too early.
3. Broncos pick up Javon Walker's option - Going into the season, I didn't think Walker would play well enough to earn his gigantic option in his contract. He proved me wrong. He's a true number one receiver.
4. Tiki Barber trashing Tom Coughlin - Welcome to the NBC family Tiki! And, uh, so long Sterling Sharpe.
One thing I missed while I was gone was Dr. Z's commenter rankings article.
I'm late posting it here, but this is one of my favorite columns every year. I agree with Dick Vermeil getting five stars, while the ESPN crew gets zero. Zimmerman relates a fascinating story about Joe Theisman during the Arizona game.
Dr. Z smartly ranks Cris Collinsworth separate from Bryant Gumbel, who gets zero stars. I'm in agreement about Kevan Harlan as a rock solid NFL play-by-play guy. Gus Johnson is too low for me; no one else can make a Buffalo-Miami game exciting.
One final gem was this take on Dan Dierdorf's description of Steve Hutchinson, who seems to receive far too much praise by the talking heads.
"I cringed as I heard him go off on Hutchinson, a guy who looked clumsy and overrated with the Vikings ... If ever a man defined the position of offensive guard ...' bong, bong, bong, and in the background you can hear the cathedral bells chiming."
You wait your whole life to be a free agent, hoping to hit the market with your value high. Then you improbably lead your team to a Super Bowl title while coming off the bench, putting together your best four-game stretch in five years during the playoffs. You are Dominic Rhodes and you are living well.
Then you get a DUI two weeks before free agency starts. This reminds prospective teams of your previous arrest, in 2002, for domestic battery.
Those were some expensive drinks Rhodes had Monday night.
February 19, 2007
I'm not an NFL 'Insider'. If I was, I could better look for answers for these two rhetorical questions that crossed my mind about the Bears today.
1. Is there something wrong with Ron Rivera? He's interviewed nine times for a head coaching position and hasn't won a job. Now the Bears are letting his contract expire, which means he will be scrambling just to get a decent NFL gig next season. Maybe he's a bad interviewer, which some reports alluded to last year. Maybe it's just circumstance and bad luck. But something tells me there is more to the story.
2. Does Cedric Benson' MRI result make Thomas Jones more or less likely to stay in Chicago? Conventional wisdom suggests the Bears could deal Jones now that Benson is healthy.
But after a rollercoaster two seasons, Benson didn't leave a great final image of 2006 by sitting out the Super Bowl with what turned out to be a mild MCL sprain. Brad Briggs of the Chicago Sun Times mentioned that some questioned Benson's actions in that game. Briggs thinks the Bears should extend Jones. I think they should be happy to get another year out of him for cheap and split the workload.
In my list of surprising developments from last week, I left off a big one: Norv Turner continued to score interviews for great jobs. His 58-82-1 career record hasn't hurt his stock around the league at all. In fact, he's been chosen to take over the most talented roster in the NFL. Norv Turner is your new coach of the San Diego Chargers.
Turner's shaky career mark provides an interesting contrast to Marty Schottenheimer's 200 career wins and .612 winning percentage. But Marty will be at home in 2007, while Turner gets the keys to a 14-2 team. I hesitate to call the Chargers the best job in football because the owner, GM, and stadium situation is shaky, despite all the talent on the roster.
While this is a much better gig than Oakland, there are some similarities. The Chargers roster had more arrests last season than any team except the Bengals. Turner's "treat them like adults" style didn't work with the wayward Raiders, and he could have trouble controlling these Chargers, now that they've tasted some success.
Turner is expected to hire another coaching veteran (or retread depending on your view), Ted Cottrell, to take over San Diego's loaded 3-4 defense. Cottrell and Turner have a unique opportunity to rehabilitate their careers or prove once and for all that they can't win.
From a strictly fantasy perspective, Turner's hire can work. He develops quarterbacks well, so Philip Rivers is in good hands. We'd rather see more stability with the coaching staff, but Turner's track record pumping out productive running games (look at Frank Gore this year) should ease the fears of LaDainian Tomlinson owners out there.
Turner is often cited as one of the nicest guys in the NFL, and perhaps that helps explain why he keeps getting so many opportunities. With a Super Bowl-ready roster at hand, Turner will be under pressure to win right away. If not, both he and GM A.J. Smith could be looking for work.
February 18, 2007
I'm back from vacation, spending Sunday updating the news, listening to a leaked version of the new Arcade Fire (excellent so far) and getting re-acquainted with all things NFL that I missed while I was gone.
First of all, I want to thank Evan Silva for doing a bang-up job on the the news while I was gone. He may be the Tony Romo to my Drew Bledsoe.
While going over the updates from the last week, here were the most surprising stories I found. I'll add a post about the least-surprising stories post later on.
1. Marty Schottenheimer fired - It sounds like he orchestrated his firing by interviewing his brother for the coordinator position against owner Dean Spanos' wishes. It still doesn't make sense for the 2007 club. I think Rex Ryan is a nice fit, but there is a whole lot of instability for a team that was the best in football. It's bad news for LT2 and Philip Rivers.
2. Luke Petitgout Cut - Lavar Arrington and Carlos Emmons make sense. Perhaps Petitgout does too if LG Dave Diehl is the quality left tackle the Giants must believe he is. But how rare is it to see a Pro Bowl-quality left tackle released when he's only 30? I know he's recovering from a broken leg, but Petitgout should get a huge signing bonus ($10 million plus) as a free agent unless there are health complications we don't know about. He's a great run blocker.
3. The Vikings don't want Jeff Garcia - Call this a pleasant surprise - if you are a Vikings fan. Brad Childress compared Garcia to Brad Johnson and made it clear Minnesota doesn't want a retread. It makes you wonder if the Eagles staff has said anything about Garcia to prospective suitors.
4. Justin Smith franchised - Smith isn't one of the five best defensive ends in the league, but that's no the point. Cincinnati has until July 15th to work out a new deal. It just doesn't make sense to give up starter-quality players anymore for free. Too many teams, including Cincy, has enough cap room to find solutions to keep their good players. If they had to pay him the franchise salary, it's still cheaper in the long run than giving Smith a big signing bonus.
5. Dre Bly dangled on trade market - He's a Pro Bowler, even he doesn't quite deserve the tag. Bly has reportedly had a poor attitude and work ethic under Rod Marinelli, but they are unlikely to let him go unless they get a first day pick back. The Lions shouldn't be trading their best players, but Marinelli wants to clean out the losing culture around Detroit.
6. Bears dragging their feet on Lovie Smith - Chicago reportedly lowballed Smith with their initial offer. This is a joke. It was probably under the amount that Bobby Petrino will make for Atlanta. Coaches make so little in the scheme of things, it's insane that Chicago can't get this squared away. They risk the players revolting if Smith goes much longer with a deal.
7. NFL Europe changed to NFL Europa - Make the league closer to a U2 album name. That will make it relevant and bring in the fans!
Tiffany was showing off our cool new studio! I'm very excited about this, and not only because it gave the crew a chance to use a gigantic picture of my head when I called in for a segment on the show.
Tiffany and Aaron Gleeman's burgeoning beard held down the fort on the baseball show.
I mentioned it quickly on the football show, but it was the last week for our producer and friend Harriet Ells. The studio would never have been built if not for Harriet, so it's appropriately being dubbed studio H. No one else but Harriet could have built our show and the entire video operation at NBCSports.com with as much fun, class, and requests for holiday-themed outfits to wear. Thank you.
February 08, 2007
With the Super Bowl over, we've entered the quietest two weeks of the NFL news year until July fourth. Next week, after the Pro Bowl, is as close to completely dead as possible. I remember a few years back when a Drew Henson workout dominated the headlines for three straight days.
There are no press conferences, only rumors about cap cuts, and not much else. A great deal of the writers who cover football take a vacation, including yours truly.
I'm headed to tropical Tokyo, a wondrous land where I'm of average height. There I will try to explain what fantasy football is to my fiance's extending family, using the six Japanese words I know.
Thanks to everyone who has visited this blog in it's infancy over the last month on NBC and Rotoworld. I'll be back blogging at full force again on February 18th, just in time to cover the week of the Scouting Combine. The second installment of my free agent preview posted today. Evan Silva will be your NFL news guide until I'm back. Enjoy.
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