Kudos to Mike Reiss for getting a treasure trove of quotes from Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli on Spygate. As a Patriots fan, the whole thing is an embarrassment that can't go away fast enough. I hesitate to even post this because it will predictably get some ESPN Conversation quality comments after it.

Still, it's interesting to hear Belichick defend himself for once, instead of letting the fans do it. While apologizing to the entire league, team, and fans, he also tries to downplay any advantage the team would have received from improper taping (rating it one out of 100 in their preparation), and explains how he "misinterpreted" the rules.

Continue reading "Belichick talks Spygate" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I was initially surprised to hear that Alge Crumpler was released Friday. He's only 30, and he's been one of the two most consistent Falcons offensive players this decade, along with Warrick Dunn.

On further thought, the move makes a lot of sense. For two years, Crumpler has been injured or rehabbing. He managed to miss only two games, but his lack of offseason conditioning showed up in his play. He has occasionally been a vocal critic of the organization. He was Michael Vick's right hand man, and the Falcons are trying to change eras.

Continue reading "Crumpler gets dumped" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I wrote up the first six rounds of my "Day After Super Bowl" Mock Draft earlier this week. Here are a handful of notable names that fell far into the mid-to-late rounds.

Edgerrin James, 7.01- Arizona should get someone to split carries, so this is about right. I don't they will cut him though.

Continue reading "Falling Big Names" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Mark Curnette had a number of nuggets yesterday about the Bengals that helps to clear up the running back situation for 2008.

* The team expects to bring Rudi Johnson back. I thought he might get cut after averaging 2.9 yards-per-carry, but they have plenty of cap room to delay any decision. I still believe they could cut him in camp, but they will see how he looks then.

Continue reading "Bengals backfield is a mess" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Manny Lawson, Alex Smith, and Shaun Hill are all recovering on schedule. Mike Martz continues to say the quarterback competition is wide open. Both quarterbacks should be ready for minicamps.

Final target on Jim Fassel's post-firing reign of terror: Bloggers and Brian Billick.

Continue reading "Skinny Posts" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday I wrote up a rough draft of my free agency preview of the running back position. Now it's already out of date after Justin Fargas re-uppedwith the Raiders. It was a great move for the Raiders, considering the small investment they made. Zone blocking teams like Houston and Denver may have given Fargas a lot more. Fargas played like a man possessed last year and will go into the next season as the favorite to start over Michael Bush and Dominic Rhodes, assuming Rhodes isn't cut.

I watched some tape on Fargas this week to prepare for the preview and was impressed. You never get cheated out of a Justin Fargas run. Their offense was so basic; he was the team's only threat and handled it well. His pants-on-fire style is perfect for their zone scheme.

Continue reading "Fargas first RB domino to drop" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

There is a lot disagreement about the the order of the top running back prospects this season, but there is a consensus that we should see four backs taken in the first round: Darren McFadden, Reshard Mendenhall, Jonathan Stewart, and Felix Jones.

Watching Mike Mayock's top-five backs, it's clear there is a steep drop-off after the top four, probably into the third round. Running backs often emerge from deep in the draft, but the players will be prospects or third-down back types. If you are in a dynasty league draft, this tier drop makes the top of the first round even more valuable this year.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had a completely random, useless, and no longer relevant thought about the Giants while reading a book about the 2006 season. Consider that a warning.

Tiki Barber has rightfully been taking a lot of hits for, well, being Tiki Barber over the last few weeks. This article, in which Tiki took some credit for the Giants success, capped off the furor. But Tiki has a point: Maybe he is responsible for the Giants winning the title, however indirectly.

Continue reading "Maybe Tiki really was the key" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Mike Mayock isn't a big fan of Darren McFadden, and his ranking of McFadden outside his top 20 prospects created quite a stir around the blogosphere.

Mayock detailed the reasons why on Tuesday while ranking his top-five running backs. McFadden has a great burst and bounce getting to the outside. Mayock worries about McFadden because of his small lower body, and that his "legs go dead" when he's hit. He's not ready to get yards-after-contact in the NFL.

Continue reading "McFadden not likely to fall far" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Going to start this morning following up a few of the stories we've looked at this week. When I made the case that Chad Johnson was likely to stay in Cincy, I may have overlooked the biggest reason: his cap hit.

Mark Curnette of the Cincinnati Enquirer got confirmation from the NFL that the Bengals would absorb a $8.03 million cap hit if they dealt Johnson before June 1. There is no avoiding it. That's a huge blow to suffer just to get rid of a Pro Bowl player.

Continue reading "The biggest reason why Johnson stays" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 09:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)