We don't care much for the Pro Bowl.
We've argued in past years that they should name the teams, but not play the
game.
Commissioner Roger Goodell presently is toying
with the possibility of moving the game to the Sunday before the Super Bowl,
at the same site as the league championship game. We like the idea,
though taking the players from the AFC and NFC title-winners out of the mix
won't do much to add to the Pro Bowl's appeal.
But until the league finds a way to pump some
relevance into the meaningless season-ending all-star game, the contest
still will have plenty of meaning for some of its participants.
Why, you ask? Because plenty of
contracts contain incentives based on making the Pro Bowl roster.
Per Adam Schefter of NFL Network, Packers
cornerback Al Harris reeled in $200,000 for making it to his first career
Pro Bowl team.
Also, Pats defensive tackle Vince Wilfork
triggered a $500,000 escalation to his base salary in 2008 by virtue of his
election to the team.
And Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald
unlocked a $5 million escalation, pushing his 2008 base salary to a
knee-wobbling $14.6 million.
Schefter points out that other beneficiaries
are guys who'll become unrestricted free agents only weeks after the game is
played -- assuming they don't blow out an ACL or pop an Achilles in
Honolulu. The list includes Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen, Bears
linebacker Lance Briggs, Steelers guard Alan Faneca, Cowboys safety Ken
Hamlin, Titans defensive tackle Albert Hayneworth, Patriots cornerback
Asante Samuel, Colts safety Bob Sanders, and Seahawks cornerback Marcus
Trufant.
Cowboys running back Marion Barber, who also
made it to the Pro Bowl, will be a restricted free agent.
Not all of those guys will make it to the
market. Allen and Haynesworth are likely to be slapped with the
franchise tag. Briggs and Samuel, however, have satisfied provisions
in their one-year contracts for 2007, which will make them free and clear
for 2008.
POSTED 10:36 p.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
SOME THINK WAYNE HIRED ANOTHER SABAN
There are some strong feelings in league
circles regarding the decision of the Dolphins to turn the franchise over to
Bill Parcells.
Some believe that Parcells is no different
than Nick Saban, especially in light of Parcells' treatment of the Falcons
on the same day that he signed with the Fins.
The Falcons claim that the team and the Tuna
had "an agreement in principle" (i.e., an agreement) before owner
Arthur Blank flew to New York while Parcells shopped the deal to the Fins.
Though Parcells didn't violate the terms of any enforceable contract because
there was no contract in writing, Parcells apparently violated his word.
Should we expect anything more from him?
Hey, he's a great coach. But he's done this before, to the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. And five years ago he secretly met with Cowboys owner
Jerry Jones about a coaching vacancy that wasn't even vacant yet.
Other league insiders question whether
Parcells will actually improve anything in Miami. But his track record
as the architect of a team is spotty.
Meanwhile, we continue to hear talk that
Cowboys V.P. of college and pro scouting Jeff Ireland is a strong candidate
to join Parcells. Another name we're hearing is Packers personnel
analyst John Schneider, because he comes from the Ron Wolf tree.
Either Ireland or Schneider, or both, could end up with Parcells.
Finally, there rightly should be some
consternation regarding the failure of the Fins to honor the spirit of the
Rooney Rule in hiring Parcells. Though the rule only applies to the
head coaching position, the league has urged teams to include minority
candidates for key front-office hires.
In one day, two of the league's 32 franchises
essentially ignored it.
POSTED 9:30 p.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
FINS SNARE TUNA
It's official. Veteran coach
Bill Parcells has
joined the Miami Dolphins on the same day that he handed Falcons owner
Arthur Blank the latest setback in arguably the worst month that any NFL
franchise has ever experienced.
Parcells has inked a four-year deal, and
regardless of his title he'll be in charge of the football operations.
The futures of G.M. Randy Mueller and coach
Cam Cameron are currently unknown. Our guess is that both will be
fired, and that Parcells will hire his own G.M., and Parcells and his G.M.
will hire their own coach.
It also remains to be seen whether the arrival
of Parcells gives the team a late-season foot in the fanny. With a
chance to derail the Pats' perfect season only days away, a rejuvenated
locker room could surprise one of the various teams for whom Parcells
previously worked.
'We're going to have a new daddy,'' offensive
tackle L.J. Shelton said.
POSTED 8:56 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 9:20 p.m. EST, December 19, 2007
WELCOME TO THE NEW PFT
Merry Christmas, PFT Planet. As our
gesture of goodwill for the holiday season (and in an effort to officially
join the 21st Century), we are pulling the sheet off of the new, improved,
and RSS-ready and permalinkish ProFootballTalk.com.
We're going to maintain both sides of the site
for a few days, in order to guard against a repeat of the implosion that
happened earlier in the year.
So check it out, give it a try, leave some
comments, vote on the poll, and otherwise spend lots of time on the new
version of the site. If it's gonna crash, we want it to crash before
we put the dinosaur out of its misery.
UPDATE: Here we go again .
. . the initial crush of visitors to the new version of the site has caused
it to slow down considerably. Our tech people are working to clear the
bottleneck.
POSTED 3:19 p.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
TUNA JILTS FALCONS!
The Atlanta Falcons have announced that their
pursuit of Bill Parcells has ended. Here's the text of the statement
from the team:
"Late last night it was revealed to
the media by a source outside the Falcons that we were close to reaching
an agreement with Bill Parcells to lead the club’s football operations.
"Prior to the
information becoming public, we had reached an agreement in principle
with Parcells, and we met with him this morning to complete the
contract. At that time, we were made aware by Parcells that he was
considering a revised offer from the Miami Dolphins. He later
informed us that he would not be signing a contract with us.
"We remain committed
to looking at every option for building a championship-caliber team for
our fans. I have stated we will leave no stone unturned in doing
so, and this effort is one example of that. We gave it our best
shot, and it didn’t work out.
"We will continue
down the same overall path, proceeding with plans to hire a general
manager and a head coach. We will identify and consider every
strongly viable candidate for these positions, with the goal of hiring
the best. Rich McKay remains President of the club and will retain
general manager responsibilities until a new GM is hired.
"We will be making
no further comment on the Parcells matter."
For McKay, it's deja vu all over
again. In 2002, Parcells backed out on a deal with the Bucs when
McKay was the G.M. in Tampa.
If Parcells lands with the Fins,
he'll be in direct competition with his son-in-law, Scott Pioli, who
serves as the V.P. of player personnel with the Patriots.
POSTED 3:06 p.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
MIAMI MAKING A RUN AT PARCELLS?
There's a building buzz in league circles
that, with each passing moment that Bill Parcells isn't named as the new
executive vice president of the Atlanta Falcons, there's a growing chance
that it won't happen.
Some league insiders believe that Parcells is
talking to Miami as he negotiates with the Falcons, and that the Tuna could
end up in the net with the Dolphins.
It's all speculation at this point, but it
makes sense that the Fins would make a run at Parcells, and that he would
listen.
POSTED 2:54 p.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
TUNA GOING IRISH?
There's talk in league circles that Bill
Parcells plans to pursue Cowboys V.P. of college and pro scouting Jeff
Ireland to become the next General Manager of the Atlanta Falcons.
Ireland was Parcells' right-hand man in
Dallas, and word is that Parcells actually let him run the draft (subject to
the periodic involvement of owner/G.M. Jerry Jones).
Ireland is well respected, but largely unknown
because he seeks no attention or notoriety.
The pursuit of Ireland could get sticky.
Per league rules, Ireland is free to leave only if his contract has expired
or if he's getting "final say" authority. Parcells could take the
position that "final say" will be delegated to Ireland, but we're not sure
anyone will believe it.
POSTED 2:45 p.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
McNABB MUM ON OLIVER FLAP
In the most recent entry on his
Yardbarker blog,
Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb had nothing to say about the still-raging
dispute between himself and FOX sideline reporter Pam Oliver as to what he
said and didn't say to her prior to Sunday's game at Dallas.
He . . . said . . . nothing.
Oliver, meanwhile, is sticking to her guns.
She appeared on Tuesday
with our pal Jody McDonald on Sports Radio 950, whose show competes with
Mini-Reid in Philly. And she isn't wavering.
(Yours truly will be on with Jody Mac today at
4:30 p.m. EST. We urge you to listen to him despite that fact.)
We're fully in Oliver's corner on this one,
even though she's horning in on the amount of on-air time that Mini-Reid
would otherwise be devoting to ripping this site.
Though Vacchiano cites no sources in support
of his speculation, we think that he's right on the money. If the
Giants lose to the Bills, they'll fall to 9-6. A win by Minnesota over
the Redskins on Sunday night would give the Vikings the No. 5 seed in the
NFC field, with one game left to play. The Giants would then need to
hope that the Saints lose at least once in the final two weeks, given the
virtual certainty that the Patriots will dismantle the Giants on December 29
to finish the first perfect 16-game regular season in league history.
Even if the Giants win on Sunday and secure a
berth in the postseason, Coughlin most likely needs to win at least one
playoff game in order to have a chance at keeping his job. For the
fourth straight year under Coughlin, the Giants started the season 5-2.
For the second straight season, and the third year in four, the Giants
thereafter stumbled.
In 2006, the Giants pulled together to make
the playoffs at 8-8, but lost in the wild-card round. At a time when
many believed that the Coughlin would be fired, he received a one-year
extension to his contract, a clear indication that he needed to be
successful in 2007 in order to have a chance to return for 2008.
To make it happen, he needs to win Sunday --
and then to win once or twice in January.
While we're on the topic, the PFTV guys take a
look at the general postseason coaching upheaval that will get started soon.
POSTED 11:49 a.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 1:46 p.m. EST, December 19, 2007
BLANK, TUNA FINALIZING DEAL
Adam Schefter of NFL network reports that
Falcons owner Arthur Blank is in Saratoga, New York to finalize the terms of
a contract with Bill Parcells.
Per multiple media reports, Parcells is
expected to accept an offer to become executive vice president the Falcons.
Despite the specific title, Parcells apparently would have full and complete
control and authority over the football operation.
Several readers have inquired as to whether
Blank can make such a hire without interviewing minority candidates.
The so-called "Rooney Rule", however, applies only to the hiring of head
coaches. The rule, which requires at least one face-to-face interview
with a minority candidate, has not been extended to the hiring of key front
office personnel.
With that said, the National Football League
has encouraged teams to engage in inclusive and diverse search processes for
the filling of key jobs, and the decision of the Falcons to focus
exclusively on Parcells could result in a push to formally extend the Rooney
rule beyond the position of head coach.
MIKE VICK NOT YET "FREE"
Maybe no one paid attention to Roddy White
"Free Mike Vick" T-shirt, after all.
Last night, we posted a link to the Bureau of
Prisons web site, which seemed to indicate that Falcons quarterback Mike
Vick was released from federal custody on December 13, 2007. The link
has since been changed to reflect that Vick is "in
transit."
A source with knowledge of the operation of
the Bureau of Prisons tells us that this is typical of high profile cases.
Within a week or so, the link will be updated to show Vick's final
destination.
At this point, the specific location of Vick's
prison is unknown. Per the source, Vick likely will do his time in an
area with remote media access. This is one of the reasons, for
example, for the decision of the Bureau of Prisons to place Martha Stewart
in Alderson, West Virginia.
The source says that it's possible that Vick
will be housed at a federal detention facility located in Morgantown, West
Virginia. If so, yours truly might have to make the 30-minute drive
north at some point over the next 23 months in order to pay him a quick
visit.
STOP THE PRESS:
CHIEFS, JETS TO BE FLEXED
The Kansas City Chiefs have
announced that their December 30 game with the New York Jets possibly will
be moved to 4:15 p.m. EST.
Ya think?
The Chiefs-Jets game currently
is slated to be played at 8:15 p.m. EST, as part of the NBC Sunday night
package. But the game will have zero meaning for the postseason, and
it possesses no other interesting angle or subplot. Thus, it is
certain that the game will be moved, and that some other game will take its
place.
Although NBC generally is
required to identify the game that will be moved to 8:15 p.m. EST at least
12 days in advance, the rule changes for the final week of the regular
season. As to the Week 17 game, a decision must be made at least six
days before Sunday night. This helps to ensure that NBC will have a
game with playoff implications.
If such a game is available.
Given that only seven teams
are still alive in the AFC and eight teams remain in contention in the NFC,
the options are limited. Possibilities include Pittsburgh at
Baltimore, New Orleans at Chicago, San Francisco at Cleveland, Tennessee at
Indianapolis, Dallas at Washington, and Minnesota at Denver. With the
Cowboys and the Packers still jockeying for home-field advantage in the NFC
playoff field, the Cowboys-Redskins game could have a significant meaning to
both teams.
One game that never would have
been seriously considered for flexing to the 8:15 p.m. EST kickoff was
Cincinnati at Miami. Even if the Fins had been winless after the
December 23 games are played, the league would not have allowed the
potential 0-16 season to be featured in prime time, notwithstanding the
train-wreck curiosity factor. Moreover, NBC surely would have been
faced with a South Florida blackout of the game, which would have made
broadcasting the contest far less attractive from a business standpoint.
UPDATE: By
rule, the Cowboys are maxed out on prime-time games due to appearances in
Week One (vs. Giants), Week Three (at Chicago), Week Five (at Buffalo), Week
Nine (at Philly), Week Thirteen (vs. Green Bay), and Week Sixteen (at
Carolina).
POSTED 10:55 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 11:04 a.m. EST, December 19, 2007
WHAT NEXT AFTER PARCELLS ARRIVES?
So with Bill Parcells reportedly poised to
assume the position of "executive vice president" of the Atlanta Falcons,
questions will arise regarding the persons whom Parcells might pursue to
fill up the spots in the team's reconstituted front office.
Regarding the position of General Manager, the
most intriguing possibility is Patriots' vice president of player personnel
Scott Pioli, who also happens to be Parcells' son-in-law. Under league
rules, however, Pioli most likely would not be able to exit his current
contract with the Patriots unless he were in possession of final say over
the composition of the roster and/or the coaching staff.
Another interesting possibility would be Jets
General Manager Mike Tannenbaum. In 2002, when Parcells was poised to
become the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tannenbaum arrived in Tampa to
begin working as the Tuna's G.M. Although the Falcons would not be
able to acquire Tannenbaum without the Jets being willing to let him walk,
possible evidence of growing friction between Tannenbaum and coach Eric
Mangini could make the Jets more inclined to let him go.
The other question relates to the identity of
the next Falcons coach. There already has been considerable discussion
regarding "Parcells guys" who might be available and/or interested in taking
over the Falcons. Several of them, such as Sean Payton, Charlie Weis,
and Bill Belichick, already have big-time jobs. Former Parcells
assistants in Dallas who currently are not employed as head coaches include
Cowboys assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tony Sparano, Cardinals
offensive coordinator Todd Haley, and current Falcons defensive coordinator
Mike Zimmer.
As Chris Mortensen pointed out on ESPN's first
take on Wednesday, the identity of the head coach will be largely influenced
by the person whom Parcells hires to be the next G.M. If it were Pioli,
for example, any of the various current New England assistant coaches would
instantly be in play, such as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Likewise, those lingering rumors of Iowa's Kirk Ferentz waiting for Pioli to
depart the Pats would likely be dusted off. (Given, however, the
Falcons' most recent experiences with a college coach, it's highly unlikely
that anyone from that level would be considered for the Falcons' job, even
if by some Festivus miracle Knute Rockne pulled a Lazarus.)
The bottom line here is that Parcells will
have many directions in which to go. In the end, however, look for
Parcells to get to work in Atlanta with persons with whom he has some past
working relationship -- and with a coach who'll be willing to cook the meal
even though someone else is buying the groceries.
WEDNESDAY MORNING
ONE-PER-CLUB ONE-LINERS
by Michael David Smith
Dolphins General Manager Randy
Mueller says with the first pick in the draft, "You've
got to take the best player," rather than fill a need at a particular
position. [Editor's note: And with the Fins having
needs at so many positions, that really shouldn't be an issue.]
Ravens LT Jonathan Ogden said
of making the Pro Bowl despite missing five games with a toe injury, "Even
though I was hurt . . .
I gave it everything I had."
Broncos TE Tony Scheffler says
of his status with the team, "I
have to show I belong. It's that time of year. It wasn't a
good year for us. I have to prove that I belong here for the future."
Chiefs OT Kyle Turley says he
donates money to help ex-players because "I'm
tired of hearing these stories" of players unable to walk. [Editor's
note: And we're tired of hearing stories of players
threatening to kill their coaches.]
Raiders RB Justin Fargas
won't need surgery on his injured knee, but is likely done for the
season.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips
said of QB Tony Romo's injured thumb, "It's
a bruise. The swelling has gone down. We think he'll be able
to do everything. We're going to have to be careful."
Seahawks FB Mack Strong, who
retired after suffering a neck injury this season,
underwent surgery Sunday to have the third and fourth cervical vertebrae
fused.
Says Cardinals WR Larry
Fitzgerald, "To come so close to realizing our goals as a team and to fall
short of it again this year,
that's frustrating."
Rams C Brett Romberg will
return to the lineup Thursday after missing six of the last seven games
with ankle problems.
The 49ers want QB Shaun Hill
to sign a contract
extension, but Hill and his agent are interested in exploring free
agency after the season.
POSTED 9:45 a.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
PARCELLS CLOSING IN ON FALCONS JOB
Former Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Cowboys
coach Bill Parcells is close to becoming the new leader of the Falcons'
front office.
The title reportedly will be "executive vice
president," but the duties will be to run the show. And that will
mean, at a minimum, a demotion of President and G.M. Rich McKay, whom some
Internet hack argued strongly last week
should
be relived of his duties for his role in making the Falcons one of the
worst franchises in the NFL.
"I
think I probably will [accept the job]," Parcells told the New York
Daily News on Wednesday. "The job description is to be the
football operations overseer. We still have a little work to do, but I
don't think it's anything major. I don't expect any real deal-breaker.
I don't think there will be any major hangups."
(The most amazing media aspect of this is that
the story on the web site operated by Parcells' current employer relies on
quotes that he gave to a separate company. This same kind of thing
happened five years ago, when Parcells secretly negotiated with the Cowboys
and didn't bother to let anyone at ESPN know about it. The move
prompted Len Pasquarelli to call for the Tuna's immediate termination.
And a pizza.)
ESPN.com reports that McKay is out as the G.M.
even if Parcells doesn't take the job. Owner Arthur Blank has asked
McKay to remain as team president, but we think that it's a hollow offer
aimed at allowing McKay to retain a small portion of one of his testicles.
POSTED 8:24 a.m. EST,
December 19, 2007
"MAJOR CHANGES" COMING TO SAN FRAN STAFF
Talk emanating out of the Niners organization
is that "major changes" are coming to the coaching staff there.
It's unclear whether this means that head
coach Mike Nolan's dismissal will be one of the changes. It's possible
that Nolan gets another chance, with a significantly reorganized group of
assistants.
Or it could be that the team is hoping that
Nolan will walk when told that he must fire guys like offensive coordinator
Jim Hostler.
POSTED 11:21 p.m. EST,
December 18, 2007; UPDATED 12:17 a.m. EST, December 19, 2007
MARSHALL INCIDENT CONFIRMED
Though the extent of the situation is still
unclear, we're confirmed via another league source that Broncos receiver
Brandon Marshall was involved in a verbal altercation on Monday with
receivers coach Jeremy Bates.
Marhsall is regarded as one of the better
young receivers in the NFL. However, supreme talent might not be the
only thing he has in common with the likes of Terrell Owens.
Coincidentally, Marshall
pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to DUI charges. He was arrested on
October 22.
WHAT NEXT FOR McNABB?
With speculation intensifying
that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's time with the team is winding down,
what happens after the 2007 season?
Here's what the PFTV guys have
to say about it. (As if anyone cares.)
Meanwhile, we're hearing that
Pam Oliver of FOX was invited to tell her side of the story regarding the
he-said/she-said with McNabb on WIP radio in Philly, but that she declined
because she was getting ripped on the air by Howard "Mini-Reid" Eskin.
Hey, Pam. That never has
stopped us from doing spots on WIP.
PFT MEDIA FANTASY CHALLENGE
CHAMPIONSHIP SET
It's all come down to this.
Yours truly will be facing Seth Wickersham of ESPN The Magazine in
the championship of the PFT Media Fantasy Challenge.
In the semifinals, the guy who
rigged the draft (i.e., me) downed Michael Fabiano of NFL.com, 94-74.
Wickersham bested Adam Schein of Sirius NFL Radio, 89-80.
And since the players will be
playing anyway, Schein and Fabiano will square off in the third place game.
By the way, the difference
between Tom Brady and Kurt Warner was 20 fantasy points. Technically,
I would have won via the bench points tiebreaker if I'd gone with Brady.
POSTED 10:18 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 10:44 p.m. EST, December 18, 2007
TUNA SURPRISE IN ATLANTA?
Jay Glazer of FOX reports that the Atlanta
Falcons have offered former Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Cowboys coach Bill
Parcells the position of "executive
vice president."
The move could mean a parting of the ways with
President and G.M. Rich McKay.
Per Glazer, the Dolphins also might be
interested in the pursuit of Parcells.
We reported after Parcells resigned from the
Cowboys that he'd be interested in working as a General Manager come 2008.
The Falcons are currently searching for a new
head coach in the wake of Bobby Petrino's surprising resignation.
UPDATE: Chris Mortensen of
ESPN is reporting the same thing. They might have had it at the same
time. We don't know who had it at 10:01:03.10 p.m. and who had it at
10:01:03.11 p.m. And we don't worry about that stuff much anymore, and
the last company that should complain about such matters of timing is the
company of "Len Pasquarelli has learned that the sun rises in the East."
POSTED 8:25 p.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 9:29 p.m. EST, December 18, 2007
FLORIDA TEAMS GET LITTLE HAWAII LOVE
We're getting plenty of e-mails with various
complaints regarding the composition of the Pro Bowl teams. And we've
ignored most of them.
But something has caught our eye.
Two playoff teams from the Sunshine State were basically told to stick their
best players where the sunshine don't shine.
Specifically, no members of the Jaguars or the
Buccaneers made the team.
Though it's all meaningless, the perceived
indignity could help to motivate these teams to make some real noise in the
postseason, since they'll now be able to claim that they're not being
respected by fans, players, and coaches throughout the league.
But not every Florida team has been dissed.
The 1-13 Dolphins placed defensive end Jason Taylor on the AFC roster.
NO FINES FOR TAYLOR
TRIBUTES
We've received many an e-mail
over the past week or so regarding the apparent incongruity between the
fines issued to five Falcons for sending messages to Mike Vick and the
failure of the league to do the same to members of the Redskins who did more
than wear the "21" decal on their helmets in honor of the late Sean Taylor.
But we've generally ignored
the issue because, under the letter of the rule, the Redskins players should
be fined. After all, quarterback Jake Plummer
got into a tussle with
the league for wearing the Pat Tillman "40" sticker on his helmet after the
league-wide tribute to him had ended.
The irony is that Taylor
wasn't afraid of a periodic fine for violating the strict terms of the team
uniform.
All that said, the league got
it right. The Redskins players were paying tribute to their fallen
teammate; the Falcons were sending messages of support to a guy who has
embarrassed himself, his team, and the league.
DID RODDY WHITE'S SHIRT
WORK?
One of the fines handed down
(or is it up?) after the Saints-Falcons game was $10,000 to receiver Roddy
White, who wore a "Free Mick Vick" T-shirt under his game jersey, and
displayed it after scoring a touchdown.
As it turns out, White's shirt
might have worked. According to the Bureau of Prisons' web site, Vick
was released on December 13.
Starters include both running backs (tailback
Adrian Peterson and fullback Tony Richardson) and both defensive tackles
(Kevin "Venus" Williams and Pat "Serena" Williams).
Also starting are left guard Steve Hutchinson
and strong safety Darren Sharper. Matt Birk is the reserve center.
POSTED 4:48 p.m. EST,
December 18, 2007
TAYLOR NAMED TO PRO BOWL ROSTER
Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who died last
month after being shot during an invasion of his home,
has been named to the NFC Pro Bowl roster.
Taylor was leading the fan voting at his
position when he died, and he continued to lead at the position after his
passing.
The rosters are determined by fan voting,
player voting, and coach voting. Each component counts equally.
POSTED 3:42 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 3:49 p.m. EST, December 18, 2007
The official announcement will be made via NFL
Network, on a show beginning at 4:00 p.m. EST.
The eleven are left
tackle Flozell Adams, running back Marion Barber, guard Leonard Davis,
kicker Nick Folk, center Andre Gurode, safety Ken Hamlin, cornerback Terence
Newman, wide receiver Terrell Owens, quarterback Tony Romo, linebacker
DeMarcus Ware, and tight end Jason Witten.
Safety Roy
Williams, despite leading the fan voting at his position, was named as an
alternate, along with three.
ALLEN, GONZALEZ MAKE IT FOR
THE CHIEFS
In Kansas City, there hasn't
been much to celebrate this year. And though we're not sure that
having two players named to a meaningless postseason all-star game is cause
for cracking out the flasks of fire water, we couldn't think of a better
introductory sentence.
For Allen, it's his first time
as a Pro Bowler. For Gonzalez, it's his ninth in eleven years.
Allen was suspended for the
first two games of the year for violation of the Personal Conduct Policy,
arising from a couple of drunk-driving incidents in 2006. He has 11.5
sacks in eleven games, and he's due to become an unrestricted free agent.
Team president/G.M. Carl
Peterson has vowed to use the franchise tag on Allen.
POSTED 1:02 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 1:41 p.m. EST, December 18, 2007
SAUERBRUN OUT IN DENVER
Well Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun apparently
failed his lie detector test.
Busted last week for allegedly assaulting a
cab driver, the
PFT All-Time,
All-Turd punter has been cut by the Broncos.
Sauerbrun was also cut by the Broncos last
year after serving a four-game suspension for violation of the policy
against anabolic steroids and related substances. He eventually signed
with the Patriots, and then won his freedom from a right of first refusal in
his contract, based on a technicality. He promptly re-signed with
Denver.
We mention the concept of the lie detector
test with tongue only partially in cheek, because Broncos coach Mike
Shanahan has admitted to using the device to "clear" a player who has been
charged with wrongdoing. The fact that expressly or implicitly
requiring a player to submit to the test and/or hinging his employment on
the outcome of it likely is a violation of federal law hasn't stopped him.
UPDATE: We're told that
Sauerbrun was not asked to take a lie detector test.
POSTED 9:46 a.m. EST,
December 18, 2007
HORSE-COLLARS IN HONOLULU?
Several folks have asked us whether the
one-game suspended meted out to Cowboys safety Roy Williams makes him
ineligible for the Pro Bowl.
As NFL spokesman Greg Aiello advises us,
Williams is still eligible to play.
The limitation for postseason honors applies
only to players suspended for violations of the policy against anabolic
steroids and related substances.
In other words, breaking the Roy Williams rule
doesn't result in application of the Shawne Merriman rule.
So Williams will be able to go to Hawaii . . .
and to drag down the best players in the AFC by grabbing from behind the
neck holes in their jerseys.
POSTED 9:05 a.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 9:38 a.m. EST, December 18, 2007
JETS MAKING A MISTAKE WITH CLEMENS?
We're hearing in the wake of the Jets'
far-closer-than-expected game against the Patriots a belief in some circles
that the Jets are far more effective with veteran Chad Pennington at
quarterback than they are with Kellen Clemens, a second-year, second-round
draft choice.
"People are questioning the decision to go
with Clemens," a league source told us on Monday night.
The thinking is that the Jets are using
Clemens because he was selected by G.M. Mike Tannenbaum and coach Eric
Mangini and, thus, is "their guy."
If so, it's even more likely that the Jets
will try to ship Pennington out of town after the 2008 season.
Pennington is under contract through 2011, and
his base salary spikes to $4.8 million next year. If there's going to
be a trade, Pennington will most likely have to agree to a new deal with his
new team.
The last two games of the 2007 season could be
an opportunity for Pennington to catch the attention of a franchise that is
looking for a new quarterback come 2008. Clemens sustained a rib
injury and a shoulder injury early in Sunday's game against the Patriots.
There's also extremely unconfirmed talk that
Clemens has a broken rib and, possibly, a punctured lung. But that, at
this point, is pure rumor.
GIBBS STAYING BEYOND 2008?
David Elfin of the Washington Times
reports that Redskins coach
Joe Gibbs is open to the possibility of staying on the job beyond the
conclusion of his contract after the 2008 season.
Gibbs, however, would not
address a rumor that owner Daniel Snyder had offered him a two-year
extension.
The Hall of Fame coach
previously said that he plans to fulfill his contract with the team.
He has never commented on staying beyond its expiration.
But, as a practical matter, no
coach should ever be operating in the final year of his deal. The
Giants recognized that upon giving Tom Coughlin a one-year extension after
the 2006 season. But for the extra season, 2007 would have been all
about whether Coughlin would be back.
Ditto for Gibbs in 2008.
If there's not an extension, then the team's competitive goals will take a
back seat to an apparent farewell tour.
There had been rumors that
Gibbs' wife is nudging him to pack it in. He suffers from diabetes,
and he has stents in his heart. Also, eyebrows were raised when he
called two consecutive time outs (a violation of the rules) prior to a
decisive field goal from the Bills on December 2, and when it was revealed
that Gibbs didn't know that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams planned to
use a ten-man defense to start that game in honor of Sean Taylor.
Still, Snyder is handling this
one the right way -- Gibbs stays on the job as long as he wants to.
At least for now.
NFL'S HOTTEST TRIO:
PATS, COLTS . . . AND VIKES?
By downing the Bears in a
close-but-uncompelling 20-13 Monday nighter, the Minnesota Vikings joined
the New England Colts (thanks, Emmitt) and the Indianapolis Patriots (he
hasn't said it yet, but give him time) as the hottest three teams in the
NFL.
The Patriots have won 14
straight games. The Colts and the Vikings have each won five in a row.
Minnesota's string started in
the most unlikely fashion -- by seven points against a not-so-good Raiders
team seven days after getting shellacked by the Packers, 34-0.
Since then, the Vikes stunned
the Giants in the Meadowlands, "blowed out" (hey, if Emmitt isn't going to
say it anymore someone has to) the Lions, and spanked the Niners.
Against the Bears, Minnesota
seemed to regress to the "keep it close and hope to steal it late" approach
that produced a subpar team during the first 25 games of the Brad Childress
era. Then again, they somehow overcame four turnovers from quarterback
Tarvaris Jackson, even without Adrian Peterson having more than 100 yards.
All that said, the Vikings
need to shore things up if they hope to continue their unlikeliest of runs
to the postseason.
POSTED 8:17 p.m. EST,
December 17, 2007
PAM OLIVER STANDS BY McNABB COMMENTS
FOX reporter Pam Oliver has responded to the
comments of Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb regarding his comments to her
that were reported during Sunday's game between Philly and Dallas.
Here are her remarks from Sunday, which caused
the whole conundrum: "Donovan really seems to believe that his days in
Philadelphia are numbered. When I spoke with him before the game, I
got the impression that Donovan is a little hurt by what he sees as an
organization distancing itself from him and an organization that’s overly
concerned about the negative fan reaction to him.
"But Donovan told me point blank: 'My knee is not an issue. The
next place I go, I will win,' and also that he will keep a smile on his face
for as long he's in an Eagles uniform."
Actually, Oliver said that McNabb's comments
about the team were more pointed than she portrayed them to be, and that she
toned them down in order to avoid getting him in hot water.
"My only professional regret is: Why on
Earth did I bend over backwards to make it less impactful?," she said. "And
then wake up to . . . to someone throwing you under bus like that.
"All I can tell you is I stand by it 100
percent," she said. "It's on-my-mother's-grave accurate. That's the
bottom line."
POSTED 7:53 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 7:56 p.m. EST, December 17, 2007
WILLIAMS SUSPENDED FOR ONE GAME
Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the
league has suspended Cowboys safety Roy Williams one game for his most
recent violation of the Roy Williams rule.
Specifically, Williams dragged Eagles
quarterback Donovan McNabb down from behind during Sunday's game at Dallas.
It was Williams' third violation of the rule
this season.
The rule was passed following the 2004 season,
based in large part on a broken ankle to former Eagles (and now Cowboys)
receiver Terrell Owens, which resulted from a horse-collar tackle by
Williams.
Initially, the rule prohibited tackling a
player by putting a hand inside the back of his shoulder pads. The
rule has since been revised to prevent putting a hand merely inside the
jersey.
Williams will miss Saturday night's game
between the Cowboys and the Panthers at Charlotte.
UPDATE: Chris Mortensen
reports that Commissioner Roger Goodell will hear Williams' appeal of the
suspension on Tuesday.
POSTED 6:43 p.m. EST,
December 17, 2007
MARSHALL MELTDOWN IN DENVER?
There's a rumor making the rounds that Broncos
receiver Brandon Marshall got into a verbal altercation with one or more
members of the coaching staff on Monday, and then stormed out of the
facility.
The talk is that Marshall at one point
challenged the team to "cut me."
We're in the process of confirming (and/or
debunking) this rumor. But, hey, we've got a Live Blog to do.
The tall, speedy Marshall caught 11 passes for
107 yards in the team's most recent game, last Thursday night against the
Texans.
POSTED 4:49 p.m. EST,
December 17, 2007
RUNYAN TOLD WESTBROOK TO TAKE A KNEE
One of the most selfless acts ever seen on a
gridiron came in Dallas on Sunday, when Eagles running back Brian Westbrook
gave up (to the chagrin of every fantasy owner who has him on their team) an
easy touchdown in order to take a knee (and a first down) at brink of the
Cowboys' goal line.
The strategy was simple. After the play,
the clock ran down to two minutes. With at least 40 seconds between
plays and the Cowboys out of time outs, the Eagles were able to take a
series of knees in order to secure the win.
Per published reports, Westbrook was told by
offensive tackle John Runyan not to score.
"He said, 'Listen, if you get down to the one,
take a knee,'" Westbrook said. "I was like, 'Ahhh . . . .'
He said, 'Take
a knee, Westbrook, take a knee.'"
So if Westbrook hadn't been told not to score,
he apparently would have punched it in, extending the Eagles' lead to 17-6
but giving the Cowboys the ball back.
POSTED 4:23 p.m. EST,
December 17, 2007
McNABB DENIES FOX COMMENTS
Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb denies that
he told Pam Oliver of FOX "the next place I go I will win."
"I
am denying I said it. Make sure you get it right," McNabb said
after Sunday's 10-6 win against the Cowboys.
"If I'm here, or wherever it might me, I'm
going to give all that I have and I did that today. I'm going to
continue to do that. You hear things and you get tired of answering
questions, but I stand up here like a professional and I do it."
So what does he think happened? That
Oliver made it up? That she was sloppy with a fairly important fact?
We'd love to hear her side of it.
POSTED 12:11 p.m. EST,
December 17, 2007
CHAD, T.J. "OUT OF CONTROL"
A league source tells us that there is growing
animosity in the Bengals locker room toward receivers Chad Johnson and T.J.
Houshmandzadeh.
Per the source, both are yelling "all the
time" at quarterback Carson Palmer, but coach Marvin Lewis doesn't say or do
anything about it. Players are also upset that the two receivers are
trying to "run the team."
The situation reminds us of the latter days of
the Denny Green era in Minnesota, where receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss
were berating quarterback Daunte Culpepper and operating under a separate
set of rules.
POSTED 12:00 p.m. EST,
December 17, 2007
CAPERS WANTS OUT OF MIAMI?
There's talk in league circles that Dolphins
defensive coordinator Dom Capers is looking to get out of town.
In the case of Capers (and any other guy on
the staff), it might be wise to get out before they are told to get out.
But now that the Fins have cracked into the win column at 1-13 (prompting
head coach Cam Cameron to, as a source told us, "jump around like a little
girl") perhaps the coaching staff gets another crack at getting more than
one win in 2008.
Capers previously has served as the head coach
of the Panthers and the Texans.
POSTED 9:15 a.m. EST,
December 17, 2007
FIVE-FIGURE FINES FOR FOUR FALCONS
We've been advised that the National Football
League has handed out hefty fines to several members of the Atlanta Falcons
for their message of support to convicted felon Mike Vick in last Monday
night's game against the Saints.
Roddy White, Alge Crumpler, DeAngelo Hall, and
Chris Houston were all fined $10,000.
Joe Horn also was fined $7,500 for pulling up
White's jersey to reveal his "Free Mike Vick" T-shirt.
A first offense for a uniform violation is
normally $5,000. The doubling of the fine should be interpreted as a
message from the league that the gestures were not appreciated or condoned.
POSTED 8:41 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 9:03 a.m. EST, December 17, 2007
WHEN WILL WILLIAMS BE SUSPENDED?
In the wake of yet another violation of the
so-called Roy Williams rule by one so-called Roy Williams, members of PFT
Planet want to know when -- or if -- the fines that he receives for pulling
guys down from behind will be replaced with a suspension.
Players who have gotten in chronic trouble for
violations such as leading with their helmets have ultimately been booted
for a game or two. The first name that comes to mind in that regard is
former safety Mark Carrier.
So, sooner or later, Williams needs to sit out
for a game so that he can finally realize that it's not as easy as having
some money withheld from his game check.
And it could indeed happen. As NFL
spokeman Greg Aiello told me via e-mail this morning,
"Flagrant
rule violations are subject to fines that escalate and could lead to
suspension. That’s a general policy statement."
ESPN DID GOLIC A DISSERVICE
As it turns out, ESPN's Mike
Golic missed last week not because he was ducking discussion regarding the
Mitchell report, but because of a death in his family.
We extend our condolences to
Golic, and to his family.
All that said, his employer
did the guy a major disservice by not making it known that Golic was absent
due to a personal family issue. By not addressing Golic's absence on a
regular basis (it would have taken all of three seconds), ESPN allowed many
to unnecessarily speculate that Golic didn't want to talk about steroids in
baseball given his admission last month that he used steroids in 1987.
Even if everyone who thought
that Golic was absent because he didn't want to talk about steroids
eventually learns the truth, nothing can change the fact that they were
under the impression for several days that he might have been looking for a
way to not have to talk about his use of the juice.
POSTED 12:43 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 1:06 a.m. EST, December 17, 2007
BUZZ BUILDING FOR WVU JOB
Bobby Petrino jumped six days ago from the
Atlanta Falcons to Arkansas. And, with all due respect to the
Razorbacks, the program is currently a couple of steps below West Virginia.
And the heights to which former head coach
Rich Rodriguez has led the Mountaineers is prompting multiple coaches with
current NFL ties to ponder the possibility of become the East Coast version
of Pete Carroll.
Carroll, a two-time failure as a head coach at
the NFL level, took the Southern Cal job in 2001, and transformed the
Trojans into two-time national champions.
But Carroll was essentially starting from
scratch with a program that was a shadow of its '70s self. In
Morgantown, the table is set for a run at the national title in 2008.
At this point, it's too early to tell whether
the short list of candidates will contain the names of pro coaches who don't
have a prior connection to the WVU program. But based on what we're
hearing it sounds like there will be plenty of hats bearing NFL logos in the
ring.
NEW TEN-PACK IS UP
Some Internet hack has written
a new Ten-Pack of observations for SportingNews.com.
Topics include the Browns'
chances of winning the AFC North crown (pretty good), the Saints' chances of
making the playoffs (decent), and the Soup Nazi's chances of returning as
the head coach of the Giants (not bloody likely).
Andrea Kremer of NBC reports that Giants tight
end Jeremy Shockey has a broken leg and damage to his ankle as a result of
an ugly injury that he suffered in the third quarter of Sunday night's game
against the Redskins.
Shockey's teammate, receiver Amani Toomer,
rolled onto his leg from behind.
The veteran tight end will have surgery, and
is done for the year.
POSTED 4:23 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
FINS WIN! FINS WIN! FINS WIN!
The Miami Dolphins have avoided matching the
1976 Buccaneers as the only teams in NFL history to start a season with 14
straight losses.
A 64-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Cleo
Lemon to Greg Camarillo gave the Fins the win in overtime.
The score came after Ravens kicker Matt Stover
missed what would have been a game-winning field goal.
Fins owner Wayne Huizenga was wiping away
tears after the game.
And now the 2007 Dolphins have a chance to go
to New England and keep the Pats from matching the 17-0 perfect season of
the '72 Fins.
POSTED 4:05 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
OVERTIME IN MIAMI
The Ravens drove to within inches of the goal
line before settling for a game-tying field goal.
Rookie quarterback Troy Smith looked very good
on the game-tying drive.
Stay tuned.
POSTED 3:57 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
FINS LEAD LATE
The Miami Dolphins have just taken a
three-point lead over the Ravens, with 1:56 to play.
And playing quarterback for the Ravens is
rookie quarterback Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman winner.
Jay Feely kicked off out of bounds, giving the
Ravens the ball at their own 40.
POSTED 3:50 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
TIED UP IN THE 'BURGH
Down 15 points, the Steelers have roared back
to tie the game at 22.
There is less than six minutes to play.
A win by the Steelers would put them within
one win or one Browns loss of nailing down the AFC North title.
POSTED 3:43 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
ANOTHER RECORD FOR FAVRE
Packers quarterback Brett Favre has broken yet
another career passing record.
In the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against
the Rams, Favre bested Dan Marino's 61,361 yards.
Even though he has won only one Super Bowl,
it's hard not to call Favre the greatest . . . quarterback . . . ever.
POSTED 3:16 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
JAGS JUMPING ON STEELERS
The Steelers have lost four games on the road
this year, but they've held serve at home.
They're not holding serve there today.
Late in the third quarter, the Jags are
leading in Pittsburgh, 22-7.
A loss by the Steelers and a win by the Browns
will bring the two teams even in the AFC North.
POSTED 3:00 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
SCORELESS IN CHARLOTTE
The Panthers and the Seahawks have played
three quarters in Carolina. And, like last month's game between the
Fins and the Steelers, there is no score.
But at least Miami and Pittsburgh had an
excuse; they were playing on a moss-covered tar pit. Today's game in
Charlotte is on a "normal" filed.
The Panthers, however, are currently on the
march. NFL.com is tracking all of the action
right here.
UPDATE: The Panthers have scored a field goal.
POSTED 1:50 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
HISTORY MADE IN TAMPA
It took 31 years -- nearly 32 full NFL seasons
-- but it's finally happened.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have returned a
kickoff for a touchdown.
The score came from Micheal Spurlock, who took
a Michael Koenen kick 90 yards to the end zone.
POSTED 1:42 p.m. EST,
December 16, 2007
BIG NEWS ON CFT
The resurrected Collegefootballtalk.com has
its first big scoop. And it relates to the NFL because it fills a job
that could have gone to a pro coach.
POSTED 1:19 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 1:25 p.m. EST, December 16, 2007
CLEMENS OUT
Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens is on the
sidelines after suffering a left shoulder injury on his team's first drive
of the game.
Throwing from his own end zone, Clemens was
hurried by Pats defensive end Richard Seymour. Clemens got rid of the
ball (it was intercepted at the five for a six-pointer). Seymour then
drove (legally) Clemens into the ground, onto his shoulder.
Brad Smith initially replaced Clemens at
quarterback. Yeah, Brad Smith. Then, Chad Pennington was
inserted into the game.
Clemens went to the locker room, presumably
for X-rays.
UPDATE: CBS reports that
Clemens has a rib injury, and that his return is probable.
Among the noteworthy, Cardinals receivers
Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are active. Ditto for Falcons
receiver Roddy White.
Ravens tight end Todd Heap is out, as is Pats
tight end Ben Watson.
Matt Moore starts at quarterback for the
Panthers, and Vinny Testaverde is the No. 3 guy in Carolina.
Fins running back Jesse Chatman is not active.
For the Steelers, quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger and safety Troy Polamalu are active.
POSTED 12:25 p.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 12:42 p.m. EST, December 16, 2007
BENTLEY, BROWNS MOVE TOWARD DIVORCE
Multiple league sources tell us that the
Browns and center LeCharles Bentley have torn up the balance of his
big-money 2006 contract and replaced it with a one-year deal that expires
after the 2008 season.
Under the new contract, Bentley is slated to
earn a base salary of $605,000 in 2008, the minimum for his position.
If he plays roughly half of the season, he picks up another $1 million.
After roughly 12 games, he gets another $1 million. After roughly 14
games, he gets another $1 million.
The move was intended to reduce the team's
financial risk in the event that Bentley were cleared to play, on the
opening-day roster (and thus entitled to what would have been $4 million in
base pay), and then injured or ineffective early in the season.
But to get Bentley to accept the lower base
amount for 2008, the team had to agree to let Bentley become an unrestricted
free agent after the season.
And because the deal was shortened, all of the
acceleration from Bentley's signing bonus hit the salary cap in 2007, less
the amount that will apply to the Browns' cap in 2008. The maneuver
allows the Browns to get most of Bentley's contract off of the books in
2007, and the rest of it next year.
FALCONS HAD LEGAL RIGHTS,
CHOSE NOT TO USE THEM
Well, there's another reason
for Falcons owner Arthur Blank to fire G.M. Rich McKay.
McKay, a lawyer by education,
included in the contract of coach Bobby Petrino no buyout clause.
Instead, Casserly says that McKay used strong language that would have
allowed the team to force Petrino to stay via the pursuit of an injunction.
More accurately, we suspect
that the team would have been able to prevent Petrino from coaching any
other pro or college team. Under the law, no employer can force an
employee to provide services. But the employer can eliminate
the employee's other options, essentially giving the employee only one
option.
But the Falcons opted not to
play that card. And why would they? The word was out that
Petrino wanted to go. So the Falcons were going to force a coach who
didn't want to be there to stay? Yeah, good luck in the wake of the
Vick debacle selling tickets and suites and jerseys under those circumstances.
Without a doubt, McKay should
have required a seven-figure payment in order to win Petrino his freedom.
He could have included both, and then the Falcons could have decided what to
do when the situation arose.
BRADY TO THE BENCH
Well, Tom Brady won't be
playing today.
Oh, he'll play for the
Patriots. But he will not be the starting quarterback for the Bad Newz
Ken-Dolls of the PFT Media Fantasy Challenge.
Based on an unscientific poll
of PFT Planet, the slim consensus is that Kurt Warner of the Cardinals
should get the edge over Brady, due to the inclement weather in Foxborough.
Warner is playing in the
Superdome, and his best work has been done indoors. So that's what
we're going to do.
POSTED 11:36 a.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 12:03 p.m. EST, December 16, 2007
WEATHER LOOKS NASTY IN NEW ENGLAND
As the Pats prepare to host the Jets on Sunday
afternoon, it's looking like the weather is going to be a few ticks north of
terrible.
The snow is now sleet, and the wind is kicking
up. Gusts of up to 40 miles per hour are expected.
Pats giving 27 points? Unless there's a
way to have negative points on the Jets, it's hard to see it happening.
MORE BUMBLES FROM GUMBEL
In addition to Bryant Gumbel's
decision to treat 49ers running back Frank Gore like a Paul Simon song,
Gumbel made a few other obvious errors on Saturday night.
Per a league insider who was
watching the game, Gumbel at one point welcomed viewers back to Cincinnati,
even though the game between the Bengals and the Niners was played in San
Francisco.
Um, I've been to both cities.
It's kind of hard to confuse them.
Gumbel also at one point
referred to the show as "Thursday Night Football."
Okay, it's not like Bryant
said "blowed out." But for a guy who has cornered the market on ego
and quiet arrogance, mistakes like that should never be made.
BRADY OR WARNER?
Okay, folks. I've
answered over the past six years at least 10,000 e-mails with questions
about who to start and who to sit in fantasy football.
I've now got a dilemma of my
own in the semifinals of the PFT Media Fantasy Challenge. At
quarterback, do I stick with Tom Brady in typhoon, or do I swap him out for
Kurt Warner, who is playing a spotty New Orleans defense in a dome?
Let me know what you think.
The only thing I'm, sure about is that, whatever decision I make, it will be
the wrong one.
POSTED 6:53 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 7:15 a.m. EST, December 16, 2007
POT POSSESSION WON'T STOP PLAYOFF PUSH
In 2006, Vikings safety Dwight Smith was
arrested for "getting it on" in a stairwell with a lady-friend. As
punishment, coach Brad Childress put him on the bench for the first game of
the year, a Monday nighter against the Redskins.
Earlier this week, Smith was arrested for
impeding traffic and marijuana possession. His car reportedly smelled
strongly of pot smoke, and he reportedly admitted to smoking it.
This time around, however, Smith will play on
Monday night against the Bears.
What facts does he need beyond the plain
language of the police report? Is he saying that the cop is lying?
Or is he merely hoping to ensure that Smith is available for a key
late-season game that could help deliver an unlikely playoff appearance?
We think it's the latter. And we think
that Childress won't have time to "get all the facts" until after the season
ends, and until the Vikings have time to find a replacement for Smith.
The coach's approach apparently is being
followed by his players. "It's not a big deal at all," cornerback
Antoine Winfield said. "You know things happen. Unfortunately,
that did. We still don't know all the facts. Of course you don't
want to be the guy that's getting in trouble or called out, but until
everything comes out we're just moving on."
And we think that Childress should have
stopped with his "I'm going to get all the facts" routine. Because
when he tried to justify the obvious difference between his punishment of
Smith in 2006 and his tolerance in 2007, Childress sounded like, well, a
goofball.
"I just prefer to center all my attentions on
all the positives that have occurred this year and all the good, and I think
that all the virtue has to be defended," Childress said.
"All the virtue has to be defended?"
What the hell is that? Is this dude a football coach or the Count of
Monte Cristo?
Frankly, we'd have a lot more respect for
Childress if he'd call this what it really is. He knows that he needs
to punish Smith, but punishing Smith now would also be punishing the team --
and punishing Childress himself. So he'll punish Smith by
cutting him in the offseason, unless Smith ends up doing something like,
say, returning two interceptions for touchdowns in the Super Bowl, and
getting the second one before the voting for MVP closes.
GUMBEL STILL CAN'T GET IT
RIGHT
Okay, I'll admit it. I
didn't watch Bengals-49ers last night. And I really don't have an
excuse for it, like "I was at a Christmas party" or "I went to the dog
fights." I was home. I had the time. I just couldn't bring
myself to watch the Bengals play the 49ers in a meaningless (except to the
Patriots) Week Fifteen game.
We heard from a few readers
about Bryant Gumbel's performance on Saturday. Per multiple members of
PFT Planet, he referred to 49ers running back Frank Gore as "Al Gore."
Twice.
Gumbel did the same thing a
year ago during an NFLN game featuring the 49ers.
We realize that Gumbel's name
brought instant credibility to NFLN's game broadcasts in 2006. His
performances, however, are undermining it.
And it's more than just
confusing a football player with a politician. Gumbel's play-by-play
lacks pop or passion. It's like he's not even there, or that he
doesn't really want to be.
The goal is for the guys in
the booth to help more fully immerse the viewers in the action. Gumbel,
in our opinion, makes viewers feel fully immersed in a friendly game of
backyard croquet.
POSTED 10:17 p.m. EST,
December 15, 2007
HUIZENGA SAYS HE'S "NOT ACTIVELY LOOKING TO
SELL"
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga says in response
to reports that he is in talks to sell the team that he is "not
actively looking to sell."
"Over the years I
have fielded a number of inquiries from
individuals interested in investing in the
team," Huizenga said. "Most recently, we
have had conversations dating back to April,
with several similarly interested parties.
"My viewpoint,
however, has always been the same. I am not
actively looking to sell the Miami Dolphins, but
I know there will always be individuals who are
interested in becoming involved in some capacity
in the team's ownership."
Possible
translation: "I know that I currently have
no leverage because the team sucks. So if
someone wants to approach me with an offer of $1
billion, it might be worth their while."
The home drew only one bid -- $747,000, which
also happens to be its assessed value for tax purposes.
The owner wanted at least $1 million, and he
thought that the "celebrity factor" would prompt someone to plunk down that
kind of money.
Wilbur Ray Todd, Jr. put $50,000 into the
house to get it ready for the public sale. The improvements included a
pole in the front yard with a Falcons flag flying from it. (Eye roll.)
Frankly, we're not surprised that no one would
offer more than what the land is worth. This isn't Graceland or even
Jon Voight's LeBaron. We're talking about a house owned by a notorious
criminal who used the place to torture and kill dogs.
Why would anyone pay more than the assessed
value for a house of horrors? Why would anyone want to pay anything at
all for that place?
Rich people spend money on stuff so that they
can impress their friends, rivals, and targets of romantic desire. We
just don't think that anyone with a bunch of cash would want to be
able to brag about how he owns the home and land specifically intended to
host a clandestine dog-fighting operation.
Our advice to the guy who got the place for
$450,000? Take your $297,000 profit and move on.
And move out.
POSTED 11:54 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 12:20 p.m. EST,
December 15, 2007
BILLS SIGN PARRISH TO THREE-YEAR EXTENSION
by Michael David Smith
The Buffalo Bills and wide receiver/return man
Roscoe Parrish have reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension.
Parrish's rookie contract with the Bills paid
him a $435,000 salary this year and was scheduled to pay him a $520,000
salary in 2008. PFT has learned that the new money on this deal is
substantial.
The extension gives Parrish a $1.1 million
signing bonus, a $3.25 million bonus on the first day of the 2008 league
year, a $1.5 million bonus on the first day of the 2009 league year, a $1
million base salary in 2009, and base salaries of $1.25 million in 2010 and
2011, plus $500,000 roster bonuses each year. All that for a guy who wasn't
scheduled to become a free agent until March of 2009.
Parrish, the Bills'
second-round draft pick out of Miami in 2005, leads the league in punt
returns, with a 17.5-yard average. He has also gotten more involved in the
Bills' offense this season, with a career-high 33 catches.
By the end of the season,
Parrish could own the NFL record for career punt return average. Parrish's
career average of 13.76 yards is well above the NFL's all-time record of
12.78 yards (held by George McAfee of the 1940s Chicago Bears), but Parrish
has 68 career returns, just short of the minimum of 75 needed to qualify for
the career record.
POSTED 7:14 a.m. EST,
December 15, 2007
'BOYS EXTEND NOSE TACKLE
The Dallas Morning News reports that
the Dallas Cowboys have
signed nose tackle Jay Ratliff to a five-year, $20.5 million contract,
which included a signing bonus of $8.5 million.
Ratliff, who was acquired by the team in the
seventh round of the 2005 draft, was elevated into the starting job after
starter Jason Ferguson tore a triceps muscle in the regular-season opener.
"I thought he would
be a good run player, and he's proved to be that," coach Wade Phillips
recently said. "It's pretty amazing that he's an undersized end
playing nose guard."
Ratliff was scheduled to be a restricted free
agent after the 2007 season.
POSTED 6:26 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 6:41 a.m. EST, December 15, 2007
HERM EDWARDS IN TROUBLE?
Though a league source tells us that Chiefs
coach Herm Edwards has no interest in the UCLA coaching job, Bill Williamson
of the Denver Post essentially suggests that Edwards would be wise to
not rule it out.
According to Williamson, there is "growing
speculation" that Edwards could be fired.
In our view, it's unlikely that Edwards would
get the boot. It is only his second season, and he is struggling with
the confluence of a general lack of talent and injuries to too many of the
guys who have it.
If anyone should be in trouble, it's G.M. and
President Carl Peterson, who has shaped the current roster of a generally
uncompetitive team.
McKAY MUST GO
Some Internet hack has set
forth on SporingNews.com the case for Falcons owner Arthur Blank to follow
coach Bobby Petrino's resignation with a
termination of President and G.M. Rich McKay.
Viewing it all objectively,
it's a no brainer. Someone needs to be accountable for the various and
significant embarrassments that the franchise has experienced in the past
year.
That someone is McKay.
And the passage of time will,
we believe, vindicate the notion that McKay should be removed from his
position. Because we're convinced that, unless he can persuade his
former lieutenants Jerry Angelo and Tim Ruskell to take demotions to come to
Atlanta, the Falcons are going to continue to be uncompetitive.
But, for now, McKay will get
to hire his third head coach. The first one stoopidly ran his mouth
about coaching at his alma mater. The second one had an apparent flaw
of character. Though no one could have spotted the specific outcomes
of the Mora and Petrino eras without a crystal ball, folks who know how to
read people likely would have detected something via the vetting process
that would have stirred up a visceral concern about whether either man was
the right man for the job.
Then again, McKay also thought
it would be wise to give $37 million in guaranteed money to a
one-dimensional quarterback with a sense of entitlement so strong and so
warped that it prompted him to engage in an illegal and inhumane gambling
operation for six years.
POSTED 6:15 a.m. EST,
December 15, 2007
BIG BEN ON TRACK TO PLAY
After missing practice on Wednesday and
Thursday, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
was able to fully participate on Friday despite a sore right shoulder,
and he's expected to play against the Jaguars on Sunday at Heinz Field.
Both Pittsburgh and Jacksonville are 9-4.
If the Steelers lose for the third straight year to the Jags and if the
Browns win at home against the Bills, Pittsburgh and Cleveland will be tied
at 9-5 for the AFC North lead.
Though the Steelers hold the tiebreaker by
virtue of sweeping the two-game season series, the Browns finish with games
against the Bengals and the 49ers, and the Steelers travel to St. Louis and
Baltimore. If the Steelers lose one and the Browns win both, the
Browns would be the AFC North champions, and the Steelers would likely be
relegated to the No. 6 seed, forcing them to start the playoffs with a trip
to San Diego.
Or possibly to Cleveland.
Then again, it's not the kiss of death to be
the No. 6 seed. That's where the Steelers began their run to a Super
Bowl win two years ago.
POSTED 10:18 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 10:41 p.m. EST, December 14, 2007
MORE ON POSSIBLE SALE OF FINS
The Palm Beach Post has more details on
the potential sale of the Miami Dolphins.
Per the Post,
real estate developer Stephen Ross has been negotiating with Fins owner
Wayne Huizenga to buy the team and Dolphin Stadium, possibly for $900
million.
Huizenga reportedly is irate that news of the
discussions has been leaked, and it might kill the deal. But Huizenga
is expected to entertain offers from other suitors.
The team was sold to Huizenga in 1994 for $168
million. It is now worth $942 million.
Ross, 67, has an estimated net worth of $4.5
billion. Huizenga, 70, is worth only (only?) $2.5 billion.
PFT GETS SPRINT WIRELESS
SERVICE
We've been thinking about it
for months, and we've finally done it. The official PFT laptop now has
full-time wireless Internet service from Sprint.
Specifically, we're using the
Sprint Novatel Wireless Ovation U727, a lighter-sized device that plugs into
a USB connection.
So instead of hoping to hitch
a ride on a free hot spot whenever away from PFT headquarters, it'll now be
easy to update the site from anywhere -- at any place and at any time.
Sprint, by the way, is the
official telecommunications partner of ProFootballtalk.com. Thanks to
the support of Sprint, we're able to continue to bring you the best NFL
news, rumors, and analysis. For free.
POSTED 9:19 p.m. EST,
December 14, 2007
BELICHICK SAYS JETS HAD NO PERMISSION TO
VIDEOTAPE
On Thursday, reports surfaced that the New
England Patriots had not authorized the Jets to engage in extra videotaping
of last season's playoff game at Gillette Stadium.
On Friday, Pats coach Bill Belichick confirmed
that no permission was given.
"I
was never asked for permission nor was anyone in our video department
asked for permission for a second end zone camera," Belichick told
NBCSports.com.
Jets coach Eric Mangini claimed on Wednesday
that the Pats had initially approved of the extra taping, but then revoked
the permission.
POSTED 8:17 p.m. EST,
December 14, 2007
DOLPHINS FOR SALE
We've been saying for a while now that, if the
Dolphins go 0-16, everyone should be fired.
Apparently, the owner is thinking about firing
. . . himself.
Last year at this time, we heard rumors that a
sale was in the works to Florida Panthers minority owner Jordan Zimmerman
and Papa John's CEO John Shattner. But
Huizenga
denied it at the time, even though we'd also heard that Huizenga had
been putting out the word that the team could be had for $1 billion.
The Dolphins currently are 0-13, and could
become the first team in NFL history to lose 16 games in a single season.
POSTED 8:02 p.m. EST,
December 14, 2007
VIKINGS SAFETY BUSTED
Minnesota Vikings safety Dwight Smith, who was
arrested in 2006 for having "sexy time" in a public stairwell, got busted on
Thursday night for
misdemeanor possession of marijuana and obstructing traffic, according
to Kevin Seifert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Smith vehicle was found to be impeding traffic
near Sheik's nightclub at 10:11 p.m. When a police officer approached
the car, he noticed a "strong odor of marijuana." Smith admitted that
he had just finished smoking it.
The move subjects Smith to potential
discipline under the Personal Conduct Policy. Prior to April 2007,
drug-related offenses were handled under the substance-abuse policy.
The incident comes as the 7-6 Vikings are
preparing for a key Monday night game against the Bears. After Smith
was arrested in 2006, coach Brad Childress suspended him for the
regular-season opener against the Redskins.
POSTED 12:49 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 1:08 p.m. EST, December 14, 2007
NFL TO HEAR PACMAN APPEAL TODAY
by Michael David Smith
The NFL Players Association will
state its case on
behalf of suspended Titans cornerback Pacman Jones at an appeal hearing this
afternoon, the Associated Press reports.
The hearing will take place by telephone, and
Jones himself will not be involved.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave Jones a
one-year suspension before the season, and although Goodell left open the
possibility that Jones could be reinstated after 10 games, few league
observers thought that was a serious possibility. The AP attributed
its report to a person familiar with the details of the appeal, and reported
that the NFLPA realizes it has little hope of winning the appeal.
With only two games left in the season, the
Titans most likely don't want Jones back this year anyway.
The real question is whether Goodell will
reinstate Jones before the 2008 season. Although it was announced as a
one-year suspension, that doesn't mean Jones is assured of getting back into
the league when a year is up.
For his part, Jones may finally be figuring
out the kinds of activities Goodell will want to see Jones participating in.
Jones now appears to be done with professional wrestling, and the AP
reports that he addressed a high school football banquet in Nashville
Thursday night and urged the players to avoid the kinds of mistakes he made.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON ONE-PER-CLUB ONE-LINERS
by Michael David Smith
The Texans' offensive line is
receiving praise for keeping QB Sage Rosenfels upright.
Bills offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild says he's completely committed to
finishing out the season before he starts his new job as head coach at Colorado
State: "I haven't gone out there, and
I'm not going out
there."
Says Dolphins LB Joey Porter, "We know
we don't have playoffs or nothing to look forward to, so we've got this week
right now."
Chiefs DT Alfonso Boone has
missed two
straight practices with headaches, which coach Herm Edwards said were a
result of getting hit in the head during Sunday's game.
Raiders RB LaMont Jordan
isn't happy with the way this season has gone.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Brian Stewart says Eagles RB Brian Westbrook is
the primary focus
of his game plan.
Giants DE Michael Strahan says of playing at night in the Northeast in
December, "I don't know who set the schedule, but that's not good,
that's not fair."
POSTED 7:10 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 7:33 a.m. EST, December 14, 2007
UCLA EYEING NFL COACH?
At a time when Arkansas pilfered Bobby Petrino
from the Falcons and Michigan tried to lure Sean Payton from the Saints,
UCLA could be looking to add an NFL name to take over a program that has
lingered in the long L.A. shadow created by USC.
According to Adam Schefter of NFL Network,
UCLA decision-makers have "debated the merits" of two currents NFL head
coaches: Lane Kiffin of the Raiders and Herm Edwards of the Chiefs.
Others linked to the job include former Lions
and 49ers coach Steve Mariucci, and Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow.
MICHIGAN FLOATED $30
MILLION PACKAGE TO PAYTON
A league source tells us that
the initial discussions between Michigan and Saints coach Sean Payton
included reference to a financial package worth $30 million over ten years.
Payton, however, had no
interest in the job, and the talks went no farther.
As we've previously said, each
passing day without a hire in Ann Arbor leads us to believe that A.D. Bill
Martin is waiting for an NFL coach. If Cam Cameron is fired by Miami,
it could be him. There also have been rumblings about the possibility
that Michigan will pursue Marvin Lewis of the Bengals and/or Mike Shanahan
of the Broncos.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT CFT
For more information about
coaching searches and other matters relating to college football, don't
forget to visit our sister site, Collegefootballtalk.com.
We dusted the thing off a few
weeks ago, and gave the reins to Michael David Smith, of nearly as many
media companies as Peter King.
On top of everything else, MDS
is now the guy at CFT, and because of that we expect the thing to grow
quickly.
Currently, MDS has an item up
about an NFL assistant coach
who could be in line to continue that winless tradition at Duke.
WHERE'S GOLIC?
Isn't it odd that Mike Golic
has been MIA the past couple of days from his radio show on ESPN? With
the sports news dominated by the "Mitchell Report" regarding steroid use in
baseball, shouldn't Golic be there to offer up his views on the content of
the report (assuming he can read) and the consequences of the revelations
regarding the extent to which baseball players were using steroids?
Well, yeah, if Golic wasn't an
admitted steroid user himself.
And absent a full explanation
as to Golic's whereabouts, offered up at the top of the return from every
break, we think it's fair to assume that Golic was given a couple of days
off without pay so that he wouldn't have to comment on the propriety of
something that he himself has done.
Especially since Golic sits
across from Mike Greenberg, who had this to say in his 2006 book, Why My
Wife [Editor's note: And Everyone Else] Thinks I'm An Idiot: "The guys who do steroids, I
do not forgive. Them, I do not give a second chance.
They are dead to me, and always will be, no matter how earnestly they might
seek my compassion."
Meanwhile, folks have asked
for our take on this. We've got a few observations, for now.
First, some baseball players
did steroids? What's next? Proof that some football players are
on HGH?
Second, if baseball adopts
blood testing for HGH in response to the report, the NFL and the NFL Players
Association will be under immense pressure to do the same. NFLPA
executive director Gene Upshaw has previously said that he won't agree to
blood testing for players. Things could get very interesting, very
soon.
Third, we find it somewhat
ironic that guys like Buster Olney are whining about Mitchell's decision to,
for example, write that Brian Roberts (whoever he is) used steroids based on
information from Larry Bigby (whoever he is) that Roberts told Bigby in 2004
that Roberts injected himself with steroids once or twice in 2003.
Roberts, according to the report, had an opportunity to respond to Bigby's
claim but chose not to do so.
Olney suggests that, without
documents to confirm Roberts' purchase or use of steroids (as if there would
be any), Mitchell should have given Roberts a pass.
But the information on which
Mitchell relied would have been enough for a "real" media outlet to finger
Roberts as a user of steroids. First, there's a guy who is on the
record regarding Roberts' admitted use. Second, Roberts had a chance
to chime in, but didn't.
Could it be that folks like
Olney are a little sensitive (or a lot sensitive) to the fact that the media
was asleep at the switch (or, as the case may be, the syringe) at a time
when the information regarding steroid use was readily available?
Really, where was the media during all these years of guys sticking needles
in their asses?
We might have more to say on
this topic later. But only if there's an angle that affects the pro
sport that really matters.
POSTED 10:53 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
HOUSTON VINDICATION?
With Reggie Bush and Vince Young struggling,
the Houston Texans are presently looking prescient for their decision to
make defensive end Mario Williams the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.
Williams has three sacks and counting during
Thursday night's game between Houston and Denver.
The Texans lead the game by 11 points with
less than eight minutes to play.
The decision to take Williams over Bush and
Young subjected the Texans to plenty of criticism. A year ago, the
finger-pointing seemed justifiable, given the strong rookie seasons of Bush
and Young.
Now? The Texans are looking like
geniuses.
POSTED 9:09 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
SCHAUB TO HAVE OFFSEASON SHOULDER SURGERY
Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that
Texans quarterback Matt Schaub will undergo surgery after the 2007 season
ends to repair a dislocated left shoulder.
But the team hasn't given up on a return by
the first-year full-time starter. If he can regain strength and range
of motion in the non-throwing shoulder, he could come back. Still,
it's unlikely.
Sage Rosenfels will continue to get the call
in Schaub's absence. He's currently got the Texans lead Denver by
seven points, 10-3. All of the action can be followed
at NFL.com.
POSTED 8:52 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
MANY SAW PETRINO DEPARTURE COMING
A source with knowledge of the situation in
Atlanta tells us that there were signs that coach Bobby Petrino wasn't long
for the league as early as three weeks into the season.
One of the problems, as we hear it, is that
Petrino simply didn't know how to handle NFL players. Also, the game
plans were unrealistically complex, entailing far more plays than the team
ever had time to practice.
The big difference between college and pro
football is that college coaches have access to their players for most of
the year, and by the time a kid is a junior he typically has had three years
in the program, and knows everything he needs to know.
For NFL players who are bouncing from team to
team, it's harder to get everyone up to speed.
Another problem is the salary cap. At
the college level, a guy who underperforms and/or acts like a turd can be
cut. At the pro level, dumping a guy typically has salary cap
consequences.
POSTED 8:45 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
MANGINI LIED?
There's a dreaded Internet report that a
Patriots source
has refuted the claim from Jets coach Eric Mangini that New England gave
the Jets permission to engage in separate videotaping that otherwise would
violate NFL rules.
We've heard the same thing, and it's hardly a
shocker. A high degree of acrimony exists between those two
franchises; there's no way that the Pats would let the Jets do anything that
the Pats aren't forced to let them do.
And that's why the NFL should investigate
this. But the league won't, since to do so would be to shine even more
light on the existence of cheating on a far bigger scale than one of 32
teams.
"I don't want to make more out of it than what
it is," coach Mike Tomlin said.
If Roethlisberger can't play, the starter will
be Charlie Batch. Batch last got the nod in Week One of the 2006
season, after Roethlisberger had an emergency appendectomy.
POSTED 6:15 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
VICK TOLD JUDGE HE WAS
"ASHAMED" by Michael David Smith
Judge Henry Hudson received a letter from
Michael Vick in which Vick described himself as "ashamed" of his actions
before Hudson sentenced Vick to 23 months in prison this week.
Among the statements Vick wrote in the
five-page handwritten letter to Hudson were, "I am not the bad person or
beast I've been made out to be" and, "I take full responsibility for my
actions and am ashamed that my actions hurt animals and allowed animals to
be hurt and killed."
Hudson also received letters from Vick
supporters including Hank Aaron, George Foreman, and Atlanta Mayor Shirley
Franklin.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a
PDF of
the letters from Vick and his supporters.
POSTED 4:55 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
REPORTERS CAN TALK TO
ASSISTANTS by Michael David Smith
Jeremy Green of ESPN's Scouts Inc. is out with
an early list of the top assistant coaches who are ready to become head
coaches, and one name on the list is Patriots offensive coordinator and
quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels.
Green writes, however, that "New England head
coach Bill Belichick
does not allow his assistant coaches access to the media, so McDaniels
is not talked about very often."
That is not correct. The NFL's revised media
policy requires the Patriots and all teams to make their assistants
available for reporters. The policy reads, in part:
"Through their public relations department,
clubs must provide regular and reasonable access to assistant coaches
for media interviews that serve the best interests of the club and league.
This access will include the availability to media that regularly cover the
club of the offensive and defensive coordinators at least every other week
during the regular season for a minimum of 10-15 minutes."
A quick
Google News search shows that reporters do, in fact, quote McDaniels
regularly.
Despite coordinating one of the best offenses
in history, McDaniels does have some obstacles in his path toward becoming a
head coach: Some teams may wonder if the 31-year-old McDaniels has enough
experience. Others may want a coach who can devote his full attention in
January to assembling a staff and preparing for free agency and the draft,
and McDaniels is coaching on a team that is the odds-on favorite to keep
playing into February.
But McDaniels does talk to the press, and
Belichick is not breaking NFL media access rules.
POSTED 4:03 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
DISABILITY CHANGES CALLED
"WINDOW DRESSING" by Michael David Smith
The NFL and the NFL Players Association have
announced changes to the disability plan for former players, but the early
verdict from one of the most vocal former players isn't positive.
Former Baltimore Colts defensive back Bruce
Laird, who has been vocal in his criticism of the league and the players'
union, called the changes "window
dressing," the Associated Press reports.
According to Laird, players who ought to be
entitled to disability payments will continue to be rejected because the
doctors who examine applicants for the retirement board will continue to be
chosen specifically because they're likely to reject applicants.
What will change is that, the league and the
union say, the process will be streamlined. A claims specialist will help
ex-players figure out the sometimes complex forms they need to fill out,
fewer ex-players will be required to travel to be examined by specialists,
and the retirement board will use e-mail to decide appeals, rather than
waiting for all board members to meet in person. The league and union also
will give former players a prescription drug discount card.
The league says the changes
are real, and more than just window dressing. The AP reports that NFL
executive vice president of labor relations Harold Henderson said, "These
changes will substantially improve the disability process and are another
step in our commitment to address the medical needs of retired players."
POSTED 1:34 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
MORE FODDER FOR MANGINI-BELICHICK FEUD
Though the question of whether the Jets were
spying on the Pats and other teams has dominated the discussion leading up
their Week Fifteen get-together, Jets coach Eric Mangini might have given
Patriots coach Bill Belichick even more reason to plaster his picture in the
center of a dart board by openly pimping New England offensive coordinator
Josh McDaniels for head-coaching jobs.
That said, it's not as if people who'll be
hiring head coaches for NFL teams don't know to scan the staff of a
franchise that is having one of the greatest seasons in the history of
organized sports.
So, yeah, McDaniels and defensive coordinator
Dean Pees (about seven times a day) are obvious candidates for head-coaching
gigs. And with NFL teams less likely to pluck coaches from the college
ranks in light of the Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino experiences, successful
coordinators will be even more marketable.
What we're saying then is that it's not like
owners are going to target McDaniels because he wears the Eric Mangini Seal
of Approval. Still, given the beyond-dysfunctional nature of the
relationship between these two franchises, and indignity is going to cause
blood to boil.
POSTED 1:25 p.m. EST,
December 13, 2007
ANDERSON SAW TROUBLE COMING?
There's talk in league circles that former
Falcons exec Ray Anderson pounced on the chance to take a job with the
league office because he saw a train wreck on the horizon in Atlanta.
Really, did it take a genius to envision the
possibility of the wheels coming off? Mike Vick was coddled by
everyone, and the organization likely didn't know what he was doing in
Virginia because they were afraid that asking him might make him upset.
Remember the water bottle incident from
earlier in the year? It was obvious that Vick had something other than
jewelry in that hidden compartment, especially in light of the fact that he
tested positive for marijuana while released on bond and subject to
immediate incarceration if he failed a drug screen. However, once it
was announced that Vick wouldn't be charged, the whole thing was forgotten.
Yes, the warning signs were there, starting
with the lawsuit for giving a girlfriend a certain gift that keeps on
giving. Vick, in our view, was unable to assess his life from 10,000
feet -- and was unwilling to listen to those who were trying to do it for
him. Eventually, those who were trying to do it for him likely quit
trying.
So kudos for Anderson for jumping off of the
Silver Streak before it smashed into the station. In hindsight, we're
surprised more didn't abandon ship.
POSTED 9:45 a.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 10:11 a.m. EST, December 13, 2007
"SPYGATE II" WILL DISAPPEAR QUICKLY
The talk in league circles is that the NFL
will not launch an investigation regarding the question of whether the New
York Jets conducted in 2006 (or, for that matter, 2007) in-game videotaping
in violation of the rules.
On Wednesday, Jets coach Eric Mangini claimed
that the team routinely requests, and receives, permission to videotape when
visiting other stadiums. The goal is to create a "double end zone"
perspective, with the official game film supplemented by footage from a
higher vantage point.
Mangini's explanation raised plenty of red
flags for league insiders, especially in light of Mangini's claim that the
Pats initially gave the Jets permission to do this in 2006, and then
abruptly revoked it.
As one source told us on Wednesday, the league
should demand to see all of the tapes, should interview the person who made
them, and should seek details from the Jets as to who from each team granted
permission to videotape.
But, as we now hear it, this one is going
nowhere, even though the rules regarding videotaping contain no exception
for doing so with permission of the home team. The thinking in some
circles is that the league is more interested in avoiding a bad P.R. issue.
The other question that keeps gnawing at us is
why in the hell did the Jets even bring this up? Sure, there had been
some media reports about whether a Jets employee had gotten the boot from
Gillette Stadium a year ago, but why not just say "no comment" for a few
days? After Sunday's game between New York and New England, the media
would have turned its lidless red eye to something else.
It could be that Mangini preferred talking
this week about his own videotaping habits to discussing the perception that
he finked on his former boss. As we've mentioned, Mangini is in danger
of being unable to find another NFL job, since teams are worried about his
ability or willingness, after leaving a job, to be discreet about things he
learned while he was on the inside. By giving the media a fatter bone,
the issue of Mangini's disloyalty to the Patriots never came up.
Of course, if he was that smart he
wouldn't have kicked a field goal last week while down by five points with
less than two minutes to play.
THURSDAY MORNING
ONE-PER-CLUB ONE-LINERS
by Michael David Smith
Broncos RB Selvin Young will
play in his home town
of Houston tonight and says, "I'm really expecting to have a big game."
Texans coach Gary Kubiak says
of coaching against the Broncos, "Across the field from me is going to be
my NFL life."
Patriots S Rodney Harrison
says he has nothing against the Jets, and then adds, "But even that being
said, if my brother lined up across from me, and he was running the ball,
I would knock his head off."
The headline of the story in the Baltimore
Sun suggests that Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is on the
record as saying that coach
Brian Billick will return in 2008 for his tenth season with the team.
Closer inspection, however, reveals that the
news comes from an unnamed source "with intimate knowledge of the Ravens'
decision-making."
Our take? This has all the signs of a
trial balloon. If the local media and fans react negatively, then
maybe Billick won't be back. If the news is met with a shrug, then
maybe he returns.
Much of the reaction depends on whether the
Ravens can avoid losing their eighth straight game when they play the 0-13
Dolphins on Sunday. If the Ravens lose that game, the folks at the
Sun might eventually be playing the ESPN-style "our report isn't wrong
if our source believed it to be true" game.
POSTED 9:33 p.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
FALCONS DIDN'T GRANT PERMISSION TO ARKANSAS
When we read the item to which we linked
below, we apparently didn't read it very carefully.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones personally contacted
Falcons owner Arthur Blank to request permission for Arkansas to interview
former Falcons coach Bobby Petrino. Given that Petrino eventually took
the job, we assumed (i.e., "ass out of you and me") that permission
had been granted.
Per the story, neither Blank nor G.M. Rich
McKay gave such permission.
Oops.
So what does it all mean? Clearly,
Arkansas interfered with the Falcons' contractual rights. For that,
the Falcons could file suit, if they so choose.
And a key witness in any such action would be
Jones. Heck, it's possible that Jones would also be a defendant.
Even if the Petrino contract had (as has been
reported) a $3 million buyout, that's not a license for a party who knows
that Petrino is under contract to pursue him, even if that party is willing
to pay the buyout on Petrino's behalf.
Bottom line? If Blank wants to push this
thing, it could get ugly. Our guess, however, is that he'll focus on
the future, not on the past.
But if he has any inclination to try to stick
it to Jones, maybe Blank will hire Bill Parcells. Or Jimmy Johnson.
Or Barry Switzer. (Okay, not Switzer.)
POSTED 8:15 p.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
JONES HELPED BROKER PETRINO DEAL
The bizarre situation that unfolded between
the Falcons and coach Bobby Petrino included an even more bizarre assist
from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Several readers have asked whether Jones'
involvement amounts to tampering. The best we can answer it at this
point is "maybe."
Permission was requested and obtained; thus,
it's not as if Arkansas worked out a deal with Petrino absent Blank's
involvement. But what discussions occurred before permission was
sought -- and how involved was Jones in those talks?
As a practical matter, we'll never know.
The NFL doesn't push tampering cases unless a team wants it to do so.
Blank appears to be focused on moving on.
Moreover, even when a tampering charge is made
the league rarely takes action, presumably because it's extremely delicate
for a man who has 32 bosses to serve as the referee when two of them are
squabbling.
"I never had any contact with
the University of Arkansas, or any college about any job at all," Kiffin
said, according to Jerry McDonald of InsideBayArea.com. "I've done
nothing but prepare my team for the upcoming game."
Asked whether he has
interested in any college coaching job, Kiffin said: "No, no.
I'm coaching the Raiders and getting us ready to play. I don't have
any idea where all that information came from."
Folks, what else is Kiffin
going to say? If he doesn't get another head-coaching job with a
different team, he'll have to come back to the Raiders in 2008. For
the same reasons that Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino didn't lay their cards on
the table when they were looking to get out of the NFL, Kiffin gains nothing
by speaking his mind.
So we stand by our prior story
of Kiffin having a tantrum when the Razorback job went to Petrino.
POSTED 4:30 p.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
SOURCE: "LEAGUE SHOULD DEMAND TO SEE
JETS TAPES"
In light of the Wednesday comments of Jets
coach Eric Mangini regarding the team's practice of videotaping during NFL
games, a league source tells us that, in the source's opinion, the league
should immediately demand to see all of the tapes that the Jets have made.
Mangini explained the practice on Wednesday to
the media, and he claimed that the Patriots and other teams routinely gave
permission to the Jets to engage in it.
Mangini said that,
when playing on the road, the Jets film a "double end zone."
One camera is at field level and another one is up above.
"You can see hand
placement, fits, that type of thing. That's how you watch
practice every day. That's how you evaluate practice
every day. And it's the same thing with games."
Mangini thought that
the decision of the Pats to grant permission and then revoke it was
no big deal. "It was one of those things where the game was
over and they have the ability to make those decisions in their
stadium. You respect the decisions they make. You have
to seek permission, and should they change their mind, they have
every right to."
Our source thinks it
all a bunch of crap. Said the source: "Do you really
think teams are allowing this? The league should ask the Jets
who from the Patriots gave them permission.
. . . The league should look at the tapes that they have
accumulated 'with permission'. They should interview the
person that did the videotaping, [and] let that person know that
lying would be a big problem."
Besides, why in the
heck are the Jets even talking about any of this? Though
they've apparently opted not to deny that there was any kind of
videotaping that occurred, the explanation that has been provided
suggests the existence of a trail of objective evidence that would
be readily verifiable or, alternatively, debunkable.
That's why the source
thinks the league should look into this. The source believes
(as do, we suspect, many other league insiders) that Mangini is
offering up a version of reality with which true reality won't mesh.
POSTED 3:57 p.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
JETS CLARIFY TANNENBAUM COMMENTS
We pointed out earlier today that the
admission by the Jets of an incident in 2006 regarding videotaping at
Gillette Stadium conflicts with comments from October that G.M. Mike
Tannenbaum made to Jay Glazer of FOX.
Jets Senior Director of Media Relations Bruce
Speight contacted us this afternoon to clarify the remarks.
Speight said that two different questions were
being answered. When Glazer posed his question, Speight said, the
question was whether the Jets would confirm that one of the team's video
employees had been removed from Gillette Stadium for "doing the same thing
the Patriots were doing."
"[A]bsolutely no truth to that whatsoever!"
Tannenbaum said in response. "Completely false!"
More recently, the question posed to the team
was whether a member of the staff was caught taping by the Pats and was then
asked to stop.
Is it Clintonesque hair-splitting, or a
legitimate misunderstanding? In our view, a more accurate response
from Tannenbaum would have been to say that there was no Jets employee
videotaping defensive signals, but that there was a situation in which the
Patriots had revoked permission to tape that previously had been given.
Using words like "absolutely no truth
whatsoever!" and "[c]ompletely false!" creates the impression that there was
nothing even remotely close to the same thing going on. Clearly, there
was.
POSTED 1:20 p.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
KIFFIN "PISSED" HE DIDN'T GET ARKANSAS JOB
An industry source tells us that Raiders coach
Lane Kiffin was "pissed" that he didn't get hired as the next head coach of
the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The job instead went to former Falcons coach
Bobby Petrino.
Here's our question. Since when did
Arkansas become such a plum job?
Regardless, and as we hear it, Kiffin wanted
it. He manifested his displeasure by, as we're told, slamming doors
and cursing.
It's bizarre. The guy is the head coach
of an NFL team. He has done well in his first year. Why in the
heck does he want to give up what could be a promising career at the highest
level of the sport?
So if Kiffin wanted Arkansas, then we assume
that he'd be interested in other available college jobs. And that, as
a result, he's possibly not long for the Raiders.
As to the Raiders' position on all of this,
we're told that the belief is that owner Al Davis would be happy to let
Kiffin go.
"It's the same deal there as it was in
Atlanta," the source said. "No one is real happy."
Stroud previously missed four games due to a
suspension for violation of the policy against steroids and related
substances. The team fared well in his absence, however. They'll
now have to navigate the rest of the regular season and the playoffs without
him.
The Jags currently hold the No. 5 seed in the
AFC playoff field. They travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday for a game that
could further solidify Jacksonville's standing as the top wild-card team --
and put the Steelers in jeopardy of not winning their division.
POSTED 12:29 p.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
BILLS LOSING OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
As the Buffalo Bills prepare for a pre-playoff
playoff game against the Browns, they'll have to adjust to the news that
offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild is leaving the team to become the head
coach at Colorado State.
His status with the Bills is unknown. In
2005, Charlie Weis juggled both his old job as the Pats offensive
coordinator and his new job as Notre Dame head coach until the NFL season
ended.
The reality is that the colleges are deep into
the recruiting effort, and the sooner Fairchild takes over, the more time
he'll have to shape that first class of recruits.
POSTED 11:11 a.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
FALCONS PROMOTE THOMAS
Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the
Atlanta Falcons have elevated defensive backs coach Emmitt Thomas to the
position of interim head coach, in the wake of Bobby Petrino's resignation.
Thomas, 64,
has been with the team since 2002. A 28-year coaching veteran,
Thomas served as defensive coordinator with the Vikings, Packers, and
Eagles. He played for the Chiefs for 13 years. The Falcons
blocked him from becoming the Bengals' defensive coordinator after Marvin
Lewis was hired.
Owner Arthur Blank and G.M. Rich McKay will
address the media on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. EST regarding the departure of
Petrino.
POSTED 10:33 a.m. EST,
December 12, 2007
TANNENBAUM PREVIOUSLY DENIED VIDEOTAPING
So the Jets admit that they were videotaping
the Patriots in 2006. But the Jets now claim that the Patriots
approved of the activity.
As if the Pats would approve of any proposed
act by Jets management and coaches other than mass suicide.
But the notion that the Jets spied on the
Patriots in 2006 isn't something new. Jay Glazer of FOX mentioned the
rumors in this regard in October.
Said Glazer at the time: "Sources said
that the Patriots
caught the Jets videotaping at Foxboro[ugh] last season but rather than
turn the case over to the league, they simply shut it down during the game.
"In fact, one league source
confirmed this accusation but since the Patriots didn't go to the league,
there is no evidence to support it. Those close to the Pats insist
this isn't sour grapes and it in fact happened, although there's no actual
tape or visual proof."
Glazer also got a quote from
Jets G.M. Mike Tannebaum, who said "absolutely no truth to that whatsoever!
Completely false!"
Hmmmm.
Absolutely no truth?
Completely false? Based on the team's own admissions to Newsday,
Tannenbaum's dictionary must contain some alternative definitions of those
terms.
POSTED 9:12 a.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 9:55 a.m. EST, December 12, 2007
Here's the relevant text from Newsday:
"According to league sources familiar with the situation, the Jets were
caught using a videotaping device during a game in Foxborough last season
that resulted in the removal of a Jets employee. After Gillette
Stadium officials saw him using the recorder early in the game, he was told
to stop and leave the area. He had been filming from the mezzanine
level between the scoreboard and a decorative lighthouse in an end zone.
The camera was not confiscated by the Patriots or stadium security."
Per Newsday, the Jets admit that this
occurred, but they say that they had permission from the Patriots to do it.
"All filming at last year's Patriots game was
done with pre-approval from the Patriots and in accordance with NFL rules,"
Bruce Speight, the Jets' senior director of media relations, told Newsday.
Okay, so why in the hell would the Patriots
allow this? It could be that the Jets are simply making that claim
because they know that the Pats will say nothing at all publicly to rebut
the claim. Love them or hate them (there aren't many folks in the
middle these days), the Pats simply don't engage in open verbal debates with
other teams.
Indeed, here's the response to the most recent
report, from Pats V.P. of media relations Stacey James to Newsday:
"Our focus is on this Sunday's game, not on any other games."
We've separately heard from our network of
sources that there was an incident last year involving the Jets and the
Pats, and that the Patriots opted not to raise the matter with the league.
Some (including me) might think that the decision not to blow the whistle on
the Jets was driven by the Patriots' realization that they were doing the
same damn thing.
So it could be that the Jets' decision to
involve the league in early 2007 was merely the next step in the escalation
of the feud between the franchises.
REVISIONIST HISTORY ON
SPYGATE
As memories fade of the
brouhaha that consumed the NFL in the days after Week One of the regular
season, there's a theory being perpetrated in some segments of the "real"
media that the Jets didn't blow the whistle on the Patriots' videotaping of
defensive coaching signals during a September 9 game at the Meadowlands.
For instance, Chris Mortensen
of ESPN was selling on Monday night the notion that the NFL, not the Jets,
pushed the issue.
As ESPN's Steve Young
suggested in response to the claim that Jets coach Eric Mangini and G.M.
Mike Tannenbaum had no role in nabbing the Pats, why didn't we hear about
this in September?
"A
former assistant under Bill Belichick, Mangini
arrived in New York last year with an insider's
knowledge of the Patriots' sign-stealing
surveillance tactics and he shared the dirty little
secret with members of the Jets' organization, a
person with knowledge of the matter informed the
Daily News yesterday.
"It
wasn't until the fifth Mangini-Belichick showdown --
last Sunday -- that the Jets were able to catch the
Patriots. Tipped off by Jets security, an NFL
security official confiscated a video camera and
tape from a Patriots employee at the Meadowlands,
and the evidence is believed to be damning."
So why
would a different story be making the rounds now?
Perhaps because Eric Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum are
hoping to reverse the damage to their long-term
interests that resulted from the appearance that
Mangini tattled on his former team -- after he had
parlayed the franchise's success, presumably fueled
by the tactics about which he blabbed, into one of
the 32 most coveted jobs in all of coaching.
As one
league source recently told us,
"A number of very powerful people in the league say
that they would never hire [Mangini or Tannenbaum]
because they could never trust that family business
would stay in the family."
WILL FALCONS' VACANCY FORCE 49ERS' HAND?
Let's
assume for a moment that the San Francisco 49ers are
considering a coaching change. It's not
unreasonable to think that. After all, the
Niners are talking openly about hiring a G.M. who
would have full control over personnel. And
that's the kind of thing that could hasten the
departure of the guy who currently holds all (or, at
a minimum, a big part) of that authority. And
that guy is coach Mike Nolan.
So
given the early rumors that 49ers assistant head
coach Mike Singletary could become the next coach of
the Falcons, will the Niners move quickly to part
ways with Nolan and make Singletary as the head
coach?
It's
an interesting situation, to say the least.
Especially since Singletary can be hired by any team
without the delays associated with "Rooney Rule"
compliance. The rule requires that at least
one minority candidate be interviewed for each
head-coaching job. Thus, there's no barrier to
hiring a specific minority candidate without talking
to anyone else.
WEDNESDAY MORNING ONE-PER-CLUB
ONE-LINERSby
Michael David Smith
Patriots LB Mike Vrabel played
all 68 snaps against the Steelers; DE Richard
Seymour played just 39.
The
Bills are gearing up for one of their biggest games
in recent memory.
The
Dolphins will
honor their 1972 team at halftime of Sunday's
game. [Editor's note: And
offer 20 of them contracts to play in the final two
games of the season.]
Jaguars CB Scott Starks wants to be a different kind
of "Pro Bowler"; he says, "I've
got my own shoes, my own ball and everything.
I'm trying to get my averages up so I can get on
this PBA Tour."
The
Titans are
experimenting with moving Albert Haynesworth to
defensive end and Kyle Vanden Bosch to defensive
tackle.
Says
Chiefs coach Herm Edwards of the team's lousy
record, "People aren't used to this in Kansas City.
Get over it, it happens, it's called life."
[Editor's note: Edwards'
eventual termination letter should close with the
same sentence.]
Giants
chairman and executive vice president Steve Tisch
likes the way the Giants are playing.
Says
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs of TE Chris Cooley, "He's
somebody that
needs to get the ball. It would be a
mistake on our part if we didn't try to get it to
him."
Eagles
DT Mike Patterson is one of the team's few
first-round draft picks that
no one criticizes.
SINGLETARY EMERGES AS EARLY FAVORITE TO
REPLACE PETRINO
An industry source tells us that 49ers
assistant head coach Mike Singletary is the guy whose name has initially
popped up in discussions regarding the potential successor to former Falcons
coach Bobby Petrino.
Per the source, Blank wants Singletary;
Petrino was hired at the behest of G.M. Rich McKay.
There are multiple potential benefits that
would flow from such a move. First, Singletary will be (in our view )
a great NFL head coach. Second, the thinking is that he'll straighten
out a dysfunctional locker room. Third, the Falcons have the highest
concentration of African-American season-ticket holders at 52 percent; in
the wake of the Mike Vick fiasco the hiring of an African-American coach
could go a long way toward reconnecting with an important segment of the
Atlanta fan base.
In our view, however, skin color shouldn't be
a factor in any hiring decision. The best person should get the job.
But it would be naive to think that Blank isn't thinking about the potential
impact of hiring a coach who is of the same race as a majority of the
season-ticket holders, especially as the franchise moves forward without a
player who is still beloved by many Falcons fans, whether white, black,
purple, green, yellow, or red.
Stay tuned.
POSTED 9:04 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
DOLPHIN DESPERATION LEADS BACK TO LEMON
Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com reports that
Cleo Lemon will start
at quarterback on Sunday for the 0-13 team that is hoping to avoid
becoming the first 0-16 team in NFL history.
The team believes that Lemon's experience
leaves him better equipped to handle the blitzes of the Baltimore Ravens,
who travel to Miami for a Week Fourteen clash.
Rookie John Beck replaced Lemon last month,
and it was believed at the time that the team would turn back to Lemon if
the Fins faced the final few games of the year and had not yet snared a
victory.
Glazer also reports that Petrino held a brief
(as in 10 seconds) meeting with his assistants.
"He just said to us, 'Guys I've resigned, I'm
going to Arkansas. I'm sorry. I'll be talking with you guys in the
future.' And with that he turned and walked out the door. We
haven't been told anything else," one assistant coach told Glazer.
Several players called Petrino's handling of
the situation "classless."
POSTED 8:29 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
DID FALCONS APPROVE OF PETRINO'S
RESIGNATION?
Not long ago, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported
that the Falcons incorporated significant protections into Bobby Petrino's
contract to prevent him from fleeing for a college job.
If Mort's report in this regard is right, then
the inference to be drawn is that the Falcons gave Petrino permission to
walk away.
And it makes sense, in our view, for owner
Arthur Blank to allow Petrino to leave. He was hired to turn Michael
Vick into a real NFL quarterback. But Vick will spend the next year
and a half in jail. So why not let Petrino go and hire a head coach
who can come in and lead the franchise in a new direction?
The wild card in all of this is G.M. Rich
McKay. Plenty of league insiders believe that McKay should be relieved
of his duties in light of his chronic enabling of Blank's chronic enabling
of Vick. If he is, Blank can make a run for someone like Bill Cowher,
who would want full power over personnel -- and who would also want to bring
his own G.M. to the team.
Or Blank could hire a new G.M., and allow him
to hire his own head coach.
As one league source opined, "McKay is and has
been a joke."
If McKay stays, however, things could get
really interesting. McKay wanted to hire Marvin Lewis to be the coach
of the Bucs after Tony Dungy was fired, and Lewis could be looking for a way
out of Cincinnati.
Then there's Dungy. Maybe he'd welcome
the ultimate challenge of leading the Falcons from the lowest lows to the
highest highs.
Other potential consequences of the Petrino
move? College coaches like Kirk Ferentz and Pete Carroll are suddenly
less attractive.
Also, keep an eye on John Fox of the Panthers.
If he is fired, the Falcons might be poised to swoop in and hire him.
As a result, it could be that Fox just secured another year in Carolina.
POSTED 6:25 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
PETRINO RESIGNS
by Michael David Smith
ESPN and NFL Network are both
reporting that Atlanta Falcons head coach Bobby Petrino has resigned to take
the head coaching job at Arkansas.
It has not yet been reported
whether Petrino will finish the season in Atlanta or begin coaching Arkansas
immediately, but it seems unlikely that he'd stick around as the ultimate
lame duck.
Petrino ends his tenure with
the Falcons with a 3-10 record. Coincidentally, that is also the career NFL
coaching record of Lou Holtz, who left the Jets before the end of his first
season, also to coach Arkansas.
POSTED 3:55 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
GROSSMAN WANTS TO STAY IN CHICAGO
Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, who is out for
the year with a knee injury and whose contract expires after the 2007
season, would like to return to the team in 2008.
"I think you're always proving yourself, and I
definitely would like to be in a situation anywhere where I'm competing for
the starting job and show what I can do, and just kind of improve and take
the experience that I've had throughout the last couple years and build upon
that."
Grossman will hit the open market in March,
unless he works out a deal with the Bears before that (not likely) or unless
he is restricted via the franchise or transition tags (no way in hell).
Our guess is that the Bears offer him a reasonable (i.e., low)
contract before March 1, and that the Bears will tell him that, if he
chooses to go to the open market, the team will simultaneously explore other
candidates. If Grossman can find no takers and if the Bears don't sign
anyone else, then maybe they'll get together again.
Ditka's fund recently was the subject of a
USA Today article (scroll down for more), which exposed that, of roughly
$1.3 million in money raised by the fund, only $57,000 has been paid out to
former players in need. Per the report, this is less than the amount
paid by the fund to former players who appeared at fund functions.
Per Ditka, half of the fund's $600,000 assets
will go to Gridiron Greats. It's unclear what will happen to the rest
of the assets; we presume that they'll be used to satisfy any outstanding
bills or other liabilities.
Frankly, it's surprising to us that Ditka
would respond to a single article that criticizes the fund by folding up the
tent and going home. The speed of the move makes us wonder whether
Ditka feared further examination of issues like, for example, what if
anything of value he personally received from the Chicago firm that charged
$280,000 to organize three golf tournaments.
Though we're not saying (or implying) that
Ditka did anything wrong, it's our opinion that it wouldn't be a stretch for
a direct, no-nonsense guy like Ditka to fail to appreciate the potential
problems that could arise by receiving, for example, free travel or
expensive gifts or rounds of golf or Cuban cigars from the firm that is
generating a significant amount of revenue from its work for Ditka's fund.
All we're saying is that the speed of the
dissolution of the fund might get the attention of folks whose job it is to
ensure that things like that don't happen. And by shuttering the fund
so quickly at the first hint of trouble, Ditka might have invited such
scrutiny.
POSTED 3:17 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
HALL TO PAYTON: "I'LL PLAY FOR YOU
FOR THE MINIMUM"
Our moles who were in the Georgia Dome on
Monday night tell us that, at one point during the game between New Orleans
and Atlanta, Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall was overheard telling Saints
coach Sean Payton, "I'll play for you for the minimum," or words to that
effect.
Hall was fined $100,000 for his conduct in a
game earlier this year against the Panthers, and the general feeling in the
wake of the incident has been that Hall won't be back in 2008.
Prior to that, Hall made clear his desire to
test the open market once his rookie contract expires.
It's unlikely that Hall would actually play
for the Saints, or anyone, for the minimum player contract with four years
of experience. Still, the broader point is that Hall clearly wants out
of Atlanta. He'll likely get his wish.
POSTED 2:47 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
SMITH PRIVATELY SAYS THAT NOLAN "RUINED
[HIS] CAREER"
A league source tells us that 49ers
quarterback Alex Smith privately is telling people that coach Mike Nolan has
"ruined [his] career" by the manner in which Smith's shoulder injury was
handled.
On Monday, Smith complained to the San Jose
Mercury News about his belief that Nolan turned the team against the
third-year quarterback.
These developments simply don't bode well for
both men coming back in 2008.
POSTED 2:10 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 2:40 p.m. EST, December 11, 2007
LEAGUE REVIEWING FALCONS' PRO-VICK MESSAGES
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told us via e-mail
on Tuesday that the league is reviewing the decision of multiple Atlanta
Falcons players to display messages of support regarding quarterback Michael
Vick.
Receiver Roddy White wore a "Free Mike Vick"
T-shirt under his jersey, and receiver Joe Horn pulled White's jersey up to
display the message after White scored a touchdown.
Also, cornerback DeAngelo Hall had "MV7"
written on a black strip under his left eye.
The players are certain, in our view, to be
fined for violating the league's uniform policy.
"I don't
want to say this franchise doesn't want to acknowledge
the situation, but that's kind of the way you feel.
All his pictures all gone, no more jerseys, no more
nothing. We just wanted to let him know we're
still thinking about him. We care about him as a
human being, not just as a football player and as a
running quarterback."
PFT MEDIA FANTASY CHALLENGE UPDATE
It's been a while since I've mentioned the PFT
Media Fantasy Challenge, primarily since updates about the league routinely
were met with a flurry of e-mails reminding us that people only want to hear
and talk about their own fantasy leagues.
But it's playoff time, and yours truly is
(barely) still alive. So, coincidentally, it's time for a long-overdue
update.
First, we need to review the final
regular-season standings. (Especially since yours truly had the best
record. It was one of the benefits of rigging the draft.)
In the East Division, I finished with a 11-2
mark, thanks to having Tom Brady, LaDainian Tomlinson, Marshawn Lynch, and
the Patriots defense. In second place was Adam Schein of Sirius NFL
Radio and FOXSports.com, at 8-5.
Third place went to Adam Schefter of NFL
Network, at 8-5. In fourth, Gregg Rosenthal of Rotoworld.com and
NBCSports.com finished at 7-6. Fifth place? Todd Wright of
Sporting News Radio, at 7-6.
In sixth, it was Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com,
at 6-7. Seventh place went to Eddie George of FSN at 5-8. In
eighth place, Adam Caplan of FootballInjuries.com, Scout.com, and Sirius NFL
Radio, at 4-9.
In the West Division, Seth Wickersham of
ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com led the way, with a 9-4 mark. Then
came Michael Fabiano of NFL.com, at 8-5. Tom Curran of NBCSports.com
finished at 7-5-1. Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press
(who still is complaining about the manner in which I allegedly rigged the
draft) was 6-7. Dave Richard of CBSSports.com was in fifth place, at
6-7.
Paul Allen of KFAN, who does the play-by-play
for the Vikings, was 6-7, and landed in sixth place. Nancy Gay of the
San Francisco Chronicle finished in seventh place at 5-8.
And winning the Miami Dolphins' prize for the
The First and Likely Last PFT Media Fantasy Challenge was Jeffri Chadiha of
ESPN.com, who finished 0-11-1.
In the first round of the playoffs, Wickersham
beat Rosenthal, 111-95. Schein edged Curran, 75-73. Fabiano
downed Schefter, 93-86.
Todd Wright and I tied, 109-109. And in
a move that surely will prompt new cries of cheating from Sean Jensen, the
tie was broken by comparing the reserve points of the two teams (at the
recommendation of Fabiano).
So the guy who fixed the draft advances.
Next week, I play Fabiano, and Schein and
Wickersham will square off. The winners play in Week 16 for the
trophy.
And, if I win it all, there will be a
trophy. And it will be grand.
POSTED 1:29 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
FISHER SAYS HE DIDN'T ORDER "HIT" ON
MERRIMAN
Titans coach Jeff Fisher disputes an
allegation that he directed Tennessee players to target Chargers linebacker
Shawne Merriman.
"I
didn't order a hit," Fisher said, according to the Nashville
Tennessean. "The play was designed and you saw it on the practice
field if you watched practice. We're playing ball, that's all. . . .
He's a good player, but we're playing ball."
On Monday, Merriman claimed that teammates
heard Fisher directing Titans players to target Merriman after he
inadvertently (or otherwise) flattened Tennessee quarterback Vince Young.
Merriman suffered a knee injury on a running play in which a tight end who
was in motion made a beeline for Merriman on the snap.
Fisher's denial won't be enough to put the
matter to rest. Chargers coach Norv Turner plans to send video of the
play on which Merriman was hurt to the league office.
"Obviously the players after the game are
emotional about certain plays," Turner said. "There are plays that we
are going to send in and we're going to get the league's opinion on it. . .
. There's a series of plays. Obviously the play with Merriman is
one of them."
POSTED 12:11 p.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
CAMERON SAYS HE'S NOT CONSIDERING MICHIGAN
JOB
Dolphins coach Cam Cameron, echoing comments
that his predecessor made last year at this time, says that rumors linking
him to the vacancy at the University of Michigan are a "non-issue."
"I don't know how to do it
any other way," Cameron said on Monday. "You put your feet right where
you are. You zero in on doing everything you can to help the Miami
Dolphins. I think I addressed that once before, so to me it's a
non-issue.
As we hear it, though,
Michigan's interest in Cameron is tied to whether he is fired by the
Dolphins. So if he's not fired, Michigan apparently won't make a play
for him. If Cameron is fired, then it's a different story.
It's the biggest spread in NFL history.
And it might last only for one week.
Next Sunday, the Dolphins come to New England,
and the line could hit 30.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on the forecast.
For now, Weather.com is calling for a "wintry
mix" on Sunday.
POSTED 11:35 a.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
BLANK COMMENTS RAISE EYEBROWS
There's a buzz building in the wake of the
comments of Falcons owner Arthur Blank during a visit to the ESPN broadcast
booth during Monday night's game.
As noted during last night's
PFT Live Blog,
Blank referred to quarterback Mike Vick possibly being out of football shape
when he gets out of jail if he eats too much "fried chicken."
Instantly, e-mails began pouring in to PFT
headquarters comparing Blank's remarks to
Fuzzy Zoeller's notorious
remarks about Tiger Woods. Since we pay little or no attention to
other sports, the person who came to mind for us was Junior Seau. The
veteran Pro Bowl linebacker
suggested in 2005 that the way to stop LaDainian Tomlinson is to "feed
him fried chicken and watermelon."
But we believe that Blank's comments were not
intended in any way to invoke arcane racial stereotypes. Instead, we
think it was merely a very poor choice of words.
That's the real story here. Blank is a
wealthy, successful, and prominent captain of American industry. He
owns one of the 32 most coveted franchises in pro sports. (Okay, one
of 31 -- it's hard to include the Dolphins right now.) But, like the
rest of us with far less power, prestige, or immense liquid assets, Blank
isn't above making a periodic bone-headed mistake.
And that's fine. He's human. It's
refreshing to see it from time to time. It's not, in our view, cause
for criticism of him.
So go easy on Blank, please. He said
what he said. He surely meant nothing offensive by it. Even more
surely, he knew the instant he said it that he shouldn't have said it, and
we'd bet the PFT Yugo that he has been obsessing ever since that moment that
he'd love to be able to rewind the clock and not say what he said.
POSTED 10:33 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 10:50 a.m. EST, December 11, 2007
BILLICK SAYS HE'S COMING BACK
Brian Billick is confident that he'll be back
in 2008 as the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
He might be the only person in America who
feels that way.
"I'm
going to be back," he said to the media on Monday. "Now, once the
season's over, we'll see what happens with regards to [the players], my
staff, myself and all those other things. But right now, you only have the
one mind-set."
After his Monday press conference, Billick
reiterated his remarks to Andrew Siciliano of FOX Sports Radio, but softened
them a bit.
"My status is going to be very clear cut and
we'll address it all at the end of the season but, our plans are to go
forward and that has always been our stance," Billick said. "I don't know
if today was any different than any way I've stated it before."
Reading between the lines, it could be that
Billick realizes that he went too far before the press, and that he fears
that his stridence could backfire when it's time for owner Steve Bisciotti
to make a decision.
The broader question is whether Billick should
get another year. The easy answer is no, in our view. The
offense under his primary guidance has gotten worse, not better, in 2007,
the team's lack of discipline surfaced at the worst possible time of a
season-making game against the Pats on December 3, and the Ravens got blown
off of the field by the Colts on Sunday night.
As the rumor goes, Bisciotti opted not to fire
Billick after the 2005 season because the owner feared that he wouldn't be
able to do any better with a new guy. Based on the first 13 games of
2007, how could he do any worse?
TUESDAY MORNING
ONE-PER-CLUB ONE-LINERS
by Michael David Smith
Saints C Jeff Faine said,
"It's going to be
must-win from here on out, but this was a good way to start the
journey."
Said Ravens CB Corey Ivy of
playing the Dolphins, "If we go down there and lose . . .
it could get really ugly around here." [Editor's note:
Uglier.]
Told that the Bengals had been
mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, coach Marvin Lewis said, "That's
disappointing. We put ourselves in this situation."
Three Colts have
MRIs scheduled as a result of injuries suffered Sunday in Baltimore.
Jaguars DE Reggie Hayward will
miss another game Sunday with a groin injury.
Said Titans coach Jeff Fisher
of a key Chargers reception Sunday, "It
was not a catch, but they couldn't overturn it because they did not get
a look."
Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell
will play,
but won't start, Sunday against the Colts.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips
said no one should be concerned about the way the Lions moved the ball
against his team: "It only looked like the running game was
running all
over us."
Giants coach Tom Coughlin says
RB Brandon Jacobs needs to hold the ball firmly against his body, adding, "I
don't really care that it makes a guy a little bit uncomfortable and
slows him down a hair."
Redskins DT Lorenzo Alexander
is
getting snaps on offense and special teams.
Eagles RB Correll Buckhalter
is likely out Sunday with what coach Andy Reid called a "pretty
significant" concussion.
Lions coach Rod Marinelli says
DT Shaun Rogers is
limited in practice because of his bad knees.
Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden
loves the way DE Greg White is playing.
Panthers coach John Fox
isn't saying who his starting quarterback is.
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren
says he isn't thinking about
resting his starters to get ready for the playoffs.
Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin
says
he hopes to play Sunday despite a dislocated toe.
Rams QB Marc Bulger says he is
feeling better after suffering a concussion and
plans to practice Wednesday.
Coach Mike Nolan says CB Nate
Clements
has the best hands of any player on the 49ers.
POSTED 10:03 a.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
A FINE MESS FOR FALCONS?
One of the observations we made during
Monday night's Live Blog of the
Saints-Falcons game was that several members of the Falcons were displaying
messages of support to quarterback Mike Vick, who was sentenced on Monday to
23 months in federal prison.
For example, receiver Roddy White wore a
T-shirt under his jersey that said "Free Mike Vick." Cornerback
DeAngelo Hall wore a black strip under his left eye with "MV7" written on
it.
The only problem? The NFL takes
seriously its rules regarding uniform violations, and the league (if past
precedent is followed) will fine White, Hall, and anyone else who displayed
such messages of support to Vick.
And before anyone in the "real" media tries to
paint the forthcoming fines as an effort by "the man" to squash the
free-speech rights of players, it doesn't matter whether the messages are
"Free Mike Vick" or "Colbert/Stewart 2008" or "I Like Cheese."
The issue is whether NFL players will be
uniformly equipped and outfitted when they play games. If the players
don't follow this rule, they are subject to a fine of $5,000 for a first
offense. Period.
In fact, we're kind of surprised that the NFL
didn't anticipate the possibility of pro-Vick messages from Falcons players,
and thus warn the Falcons of the possibility that they will be severely
fined if they do not comply with the terms of the uniform rule.
POSTED 9:40 a.m. EST,
December 11, 2007
SMITH RIPS NOLAN
It's becoming increasingly clear that, come
2008, either 49ers coach Mike Nolan or starting quarterback Alex Smith won't
be back with the team.
The most obvious evidence of a rift between
the two men came on Monday, when Smith publicly criticized Nolan for trying
to turn the team against him.
"He
came out and said some things to the team," Smith told the San Jose
Mercury News. "It was like he was telling his side of it and
I didn't want to get into it. . . . That was my biggest concern when he did
that: I felt it was trying to undermine me with my teammates."
Nolan and Smith have been at odds regarding
the handling of Smith's shoulder injury. There have been, among other
things, accusations from Smith's agent, Tom Condon, that aggressive rehab
efforts by the team made the situation worse.
Smith will have surgery to repair the shoulder
injury, the 49ers announced on Monday.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft,
Smith was progressing well in 2006 with Norv Turner as the offensive
coordinator. Before suffering the shoulder injury, Smith had
apparently regressed, possibly due to the departure of Turner, who is now
the head coach of the Chargers.
But it might be too early to fold the tents on
Smith, given the total investment that the franchise has made in him.
And amid rumblings that the 49ers are
considering the possibility of hiring a G.M. and giving him full authority
over personnel, this could result in Nolan's departure, since he currently
hold all or part of the final say over personnel.
POSTED 8:01 p.m. EST,
December 10, 2007
REGGIE FELT PRESSURED TO PLAY
A source with knowledge of the situation tells
us that Saints running back Reggie Bush believes that he should have stopped
playing several weeks ago due to a partially torn PCL, but that he felt
pressured to continue to play.
Per various reports, Bush is done for the
year. He has not yet been placed on injured reserve. The
decision to do so likely will come on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the long-term relationship between
Bush and the Saints might have been damaged by the handling of Reggie's
injury. Over the weekend, there were reports that Bush's advisers and
the team were at odds as to whether Bush should be shut down.
POSTED 7:53 p.m. EST,
December 10, 2007
STU SCOTT STILL OUT AFTER AN APPENDECTOMY
Plenty of the patrons of PFT Planet have been
inquiring as to the whereabouts of Stu Scott, the anchor of ESPN's
in-stadium Monday night coverage.
Scott is still recovering, we're told, from an
emergency appendectomy that he underwent two weeks ago, while preparing to
cover the Fins-Steelers game.
Sal Paolantonio has been handling the duties
in Scott's absence. And, in our view, Scott might be in danger of
getting Wally Pipped.
POSTED 7:49 p.m. EST,
December 10, 2007
MERRIMAN CLAIMS FISHER ORDERED A "HIT"
Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman contends
that Titans coach Jeff Fisher ordered Tennessee players to target the San
Diego defender in retaliation for Merriman's "accidental" flattening of
Titans quarterback Vince Young.
Merriman will miss Sunday's game against the
Lions with a knee injury.
If true, it's a bombshell, given that Fisher
is a member of the NFL's Competition Committee. If it's false,
Merriman needs to apologize profusely.
Either way, the NFL needs to investigate this
one. If a black official calling a black player "boy" merited a
thorough analysis and review, the notion that an NFL coach targeted a player
for injury requires a reunion of the Warren Commission.
POSTED 2:56 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 3:09 p.m. EST, December 10, 2007
'SKINS-VIKINGS MOVES TO PRIME TIME
The NFL has
moved to Sunday night the Week Sixteen game between the Washington
Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings.
With the Vikings now at 7-6 and the Redskins
at 6-7, the game is certain to have playoff implications, even if both teams
lose in Week Fifteen. The Cardinals and Lions are 6-7, and the Saints
will move to 6-7 if they beat the Falcons on Monday night.
The league also has shifted the Fins-Pats game
to 4:15 p.m. EST that same day. If New England defeats the Jets on
December 16 and the Dolphins fall to the Ravens, the Week Sixteen game
between Miami and New England could result in the first NFL team to start a
season 15-0 and the first franchise to start a season 0-15.
For the Vikings, who have not appeared in
prime time at all in 2007, their next two games will be played at night.
Minnesota hosts Chicago on Monday night in Week Fifteen.
PRO BOWL VOTING ENDS
TUESDAY AT NOON
The title to this item pretty
much says it all. If you want a voice in the composition of the Pro
Bowl rosters, vote now or forever hold your chad.
Click the ads on the right
side of this page or the home page in order to pull up the ballot.
And how about a little love
for Jags running back Fred Taylor, who has never been to the Pro Bowl?
He is tied for fifth in the conference with 944 rushing yards, and he is
averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
POSTED 1:57 p.m. EST;
UPDATED 2:10 p.m. EST, December 10, 2007
NFLPA LOOKING INTO DUNN'S TEXT MESSAGES
Last month, Browns G.M. Phil Savage said that
he receives a text message from agent David Dunn after every Cleveland win
and/or after every game in which quarterback Derek Anderson plays well.
Dunn's firm, Athletes First, represents
Anderson, who is due to become a restricted free agent after the 2007
season.
The only problem? Dunn is currently
serving an 18-month suspension.
So now the NFL Players Association is
investigating whether Dunn has violated the terms of his suspension by
communicating with Savage regarding Anderson, according to Liz Mullen of
Sports Business Journal.
"I am sure our Committee on Agent Regulation
and Discipline would be interested in this and, with all due respect to Phil
Savage, I think they would want to see the text messages rather than to
accept anyone's characterization of them," NFLPA General Counsel Richard
Berthelsen told Mullen.
"I have nothing to hide," Savage told Mullen.
"They can come and look at my computer and run it through the FBI, as far as
I am concerned."
And Andrew Kessler told Mullen that he was
with Dunn when Dunn sent a congratulatory e-mail to Savage after the Browns
beat the Ravens last month in overtime.
Andrew Kessler is a key figure in all of this,
since his father, Jeffrey Kessler, is the NFLPA's primary outside counsel
and, as we understand it, a close friend of Richard Berthelsen. Andrew
Kessler's arrival at Athletes First prompted speculation in league circles
that the NFLPA would go easier on Dunn and his firm in the future. The
specific involvement of Andrew Kessler in this matter will, at a minimum,
make things a tad awkward for Berthelsen.
In our view, Dunn would have been wise to
engage in no communications with any General Managers or head coaches until
his suspension ends. Even if Dunn isn't specifically discussing the
contractual status of any of his clients, these efforts to maintain
relationships with club employees are an integral part of an agent's overall
work on behalf of his entire body of clients.
So even if Dunn wasn't actively representing
Anderson in connection with his text messages and/or e-mails to Savage, Dunn
was essentially helping all of his clients who play for the Browns or who
might play for them in the future by nurturing his relationship with the
team's General Manager.
It remains to be seen whether the terms of an
NFLPA suspension prevent such communications. Moving forward, the
NFLPA should amend its regulations to address this matter -- especially
since having a bright-line rule in place will ensure that none of the
facially innocuous e-mail messages were followed by phone calls or
face-to-face discussions regarding specific players.
NEW TEN-PACK IS UP
After a one-week hiatus, some
Internet hack has written a new Ten-Pack of takes regarding the Week
Fourteen action in the NFL.
Topics include a look at the
stoopid decision of Jets coach Eric Mangini to kick a field goal late in
Sunday's game while trailing by five points, the unwarranted criticism of
the Pats for not wearing the Sean Taylor decal, the desperate need for the
Dolphins to hire Bill Cowher, and seven other topics.
Click here for the whole thing. Read it. Then leave a
comment, if so motivated. Then get back here.
POSTED 11:45 a.m. EST,
December 10, 2007
SAUERBRUN GETS BUSTED
It's time to re-set the "days without an
arrest" meter. Eventually, the Denver Broncos might have to get one of
their own.
Officially, Sauerbrun was "cited" for assault,
and taken to a detox facility.
A cab driver allegedly claims that Sauerbrun
hit him in the head after the driver ordered Sauerbrun to get out of the
car.
If/when Sauerbrun is convicted or pleads
guilty (or no contest) to the charge, he will be subject to discipline under
the Personal Conduct Policy.
Sauerbrun spent a portion of the 2006 season
with the Patriots, after serving a four-game suspension for violation of the
policy on steroids and related substances and then being cut by the Broncos.
(He tested positive for ephedra.) The Pats attempted to obtain a right
of first refusal, and then attempted to invoke it after Sauerbrun signed an
offer sheet with the Broncos. A grievance resulted in a scuttling of
the right of first refusal based on a technicality.
But for Sauerbrun's successful avoidance of
the Patriots contract, the three Turd Watch points that will be added to
Denver's total would have been the first three points to the Patriots for
the year.
Assuming, of course, that the Pats wouldn't
have been able to keep Sauerbrun out of trouble. Based on New
England's track record with players having trouble in their past, there's a
good chance that Sauerbrun would have stayed on the right side of the law.
POSTED 10:59 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 11:17 a.m. EST, December 10, 2007
The sentence is five months longer than the
12-18 months that prosecutors recommended, and that the federal sentencing
guidelines seemed to indicate.
Vick also received three years of probation,
which means that he'll need to stay out of trouble for 36 months after his
sentence ends. If not, he'll go back to jail.
Under federal law, he'll be required to serve
85 percent of the term, and if he behaves while in jail he'll be eligible
for an early release.
That's 19.55 months, which means that Vick
won't get out of jail until early June of 2009, at the earliest.
The question then becomes whether the NFL
imposes a finite suspension on him after he gets out of jail. A
one-year suspension would make him eligible to return to the NFL in 2010.
At that time, he'll be 30 -- and nearly four years removed from playing
football at the professional level.
POSTED 10:57 a.m. EST,
December 10, 2007
GRUDEN ADMITS TO INJURY REPORT SHENANIGANS
Bucs coach Jon Gruden is the latest NFL coach
to acknowledge that he has been less-than-truthful in his handling of the
official injury report.
Quarterback Jeff Garcia suffered a back injury
last month. He has since been listed as questionable, which suggests a
50-50 chance that he would play. But after the Bucs' loss to Houston
on Sunday, Gruden said that
he never intended to let Garcia play in either of the two games he has
missed since suffering the injury.
As a result, then, Garcia should have been
listed as "out" for both games.
But to do so would have allowed Tampa's
opponents to spend no time preparing to play against Garcia, and to devote
more time to defending against Luke McCown.
The broader issue, from the perspective of the
NFL, is that anyone who knew about Gruden's plan would have been in a
position to confidently wager money on the Texans to beat the Bucs on
Sunday, as the Texans did.
It remains to be seen whether the league does
anything about this. Sooner or later, however, the league needs to
take meaningful action in order to ensure that these abuses don't continue
to happen.
POSTED 9:54 a.m. EST;
UPDATED 10:08 a.m. EST, December 10, 2007
L.T., RIVERS SAY THAT ALL IS WELL
When the Chargers were trailing at Tennessee
on Sunday, quarterback Philip Rivers came to the bench and sat down next to
running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson abruptly stood up and
walked away.
It was the kind of body-language indignity
that would have prompted a media outcry if the person doing the standing and
walking away had been, say, Randy Moss or Terrell Owens. But since L.T.
is viewed by the media as a "good guy," L.T. apparently will get the benefit
of the doubt.
After the game, which the Chargers somehow
came back and won in overtime, Tomlinson and Rivers made nice for the media,
and claimed that there is no trouble between them.
Look, they can polish it up all they want, but
L.T. was sending a message of disgust, frustration, and contempt to Rivers.
After the team came back and won, Tomlinson was ready, willing, and able to
make nice with his quarterback, and had every reason to put the sidelines
ugliness behind him.
So for as long as things go well for the
Chargers, there won't be any trouble between L.T. and Rivers. But once
the going gets tough, L.T. will likely start pointing fingers.
After all, L.T. was the 2006 MVP. If
things go wrong for the team, it can never be Tomlinson's fault.
MONDAY MORNING
ONE-PER-CLUB ONE-LINERS
by Michael David Smith
Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh
has 96 catches this season, but he says, "I've probably
dropped maybe like six or seven balls this year, so I'd have more than
100 if I had caught them all."
Browns RB Jamal Lewis
took off his gloves despite the cold weather at the Meadowlands because
he needed a better grip on the ball.
Suddenly the Texans' decision
to draft DE Mario Williams is
looking pretty good.
Chargers LB Shawne Merriman
says he was the victim of "a
cheap shot" at the hands of Titans C Kevin Mawae and another player he
wouldn't name.
Asked if the Broncos could
still make the playoffs, S John Lynch said, "The
odds aren't good. But I do know from experience in this league, as
bleak as it looks, as long as you take care of your part of the bargain, it
usually works out."
Said Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson
of the Broncos' reaction to Sunday's blowout, "They probably thought we'd
give
them a better game."
Said 49ers CB Nate Clements
after Sunday's loss, "There
are no moral victories." [Editor's note: And
even if there were, losing by 20 points would rarely qualify as one.]
Earlier this year, Vick
pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in interstate
gambling and interstate dog fighting. He reported to jail three weeks
ago, in an apparent effort to get out of jail sooner by getting the
clock ticking on his eventual sentence.
He faces up to five years
in prison, and as part of his plea deal he agreed not to appeal the
sentence that eventually is imposed.
Prosecutors have
recommended a sentence of 12-18 months. But recommendations made as to
two of Vick's co-defendant's were not adopted by Judge Henry Hudson, who
went north of the recommended term in sentencing them.
Our guess? Vick will get
24-30 months, due to his role as the financier of the dog-fighting
operation, his failure to accept a plea deal prior to being the last man
standing, his positive drug test while out on bond, and recent
revelations that prosecutors believe that Vick has been vague and
misleading in response to efforts to obtain information from him
regarding other dog fighters, which information he agreed to provide as
part of the plea agreement.
Stay tuned.
POSTED 8:33 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
WOLVERINES EYEBALLING CAMERON?
With Saints coach Sean Payton not interested
in becoming the next head coach at the University of Michigan, there's talk
in league circles that Athletic Director Bill Martin wants to pursue
Dolphins coach Cam Cameron, if Cameron is fired.
Per one league insider, Martin believes that
Cameron's 0-13 (and counting) performance in his first year as an NFL head
coach is an aberration.
Cameron was an assistant coach at Michigan
from 1984 through 1993, and he was the head coach at Indiana. The
program is looking for an offensive guru to lead the team after the
retirement of Lloyd Carr.
But the pitiful performance of the Dolphins
under Cameron apparently is making the former Chargers offensive coordinator
a hard sell to alumni and boosters.
As we understand the scuttlebutt, Cameron
prefers the NFL, and would be interested only if fired by the Fins.
The possibility that Cameron would land on his feet (and that his buyout
would be reduced by his salary at Michigan) could make Miami owner Wayne
Huizenga even more likely to make a change after only one season.
POSTED 5:00 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
PATS STORM TO EARLY LEAD
After giving up a field goal to the Steelers
on Pittsburgh's first drive of the game, the Patriots have scored touchdowns
on back-to-back possessions.
Both times, quarterback Tom Brady connected
with receiver Randy Moss.
After the first score, Brady found Steelers
safety Anthony Smith and gave him some verbal abuse. Linebacker James
Harrison intervened, bumping Brady.
On the second score, a 63-yard catch-and-run,
Smith bit on a run fake and Moss was wide open down the middle of the field.
Moss now has a career-high 19 touchdown
receptions. The single-season record is 22, which was set by Jerry
Rice in only twelve games of a strike-shortened 1987 season.
POSTED 4:20 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
DALLAS DELIVERS DETROIT DEATH BLOW?
In an effort to reverse their four-game losing
streak, the Lions led the Cowboys for most of Sunday's game.
But Detroit didn't lead when it mattered most.
Quarterback Tony Romo threw a late touchdown
pass to tight end Jason Witten, erasing a double-digit deficit and giving
the Cowboys their twelfth win of the season, 28-27.
For the Lions, the collapse drops them to 6-7,
and possibly puts them a game behind the Vikings and the Cardinals in the
race for the final playoff spot in the NFC field.
More importantly, the outcome prevents the
Lions from making good on Jon Kitna's vow that the Lions would win at least
10 games in 2007.
POSTED 2:33 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
HENRY CASE OPENS "CAN OF WORMS"
Jay Glazer of FOX reports that Broncos running
back Travis Henry overcame a one-year suspension for violation of the
substance-abuse policy based on a technicality.
The problem, as we recently pointed out and as
Glazer emphasized, is that the confidentiality of the process prevents other
players and teams from knowing what happened.
"The league has opened up a can of worms,"
Glazer said during the FOX pregame show.
I never really understood why that term is
used in reference to an event that creates all sorts of unwanted
complications. Maybe it's because worms move in all sorts of
directions. But wouldn't worms in a can suffocate?
UPDATE: Worms breathe
through their skin. So you can put them in a can without killing them.
Skewering (or, as Brian Baldinger would say, "skewing") their bodies with
barbed metal hooks is a different story.
POSTED 2:23 p.m. EST,
December 9 ,2007
SAINTS, BUSH AT ODDS?
Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that there's a
disagreement between the New Orleans Saints and running back Reggie Bush
regarding whether Bush should try to play again in 2007.
Bush's camp, per Mort, wants the player to be
shut down, due to a partially torn PCL. But the team thinks that he
can play with the injury.
As we recently reported (and as Mort confirms)
Bush has been playing with the injury for several weeks.
The 5-7 Saints would like to run the table and
try to qualify for the playoffs as a wild card. A collapse by the Bucs
could also open the door to the NFC South crown.
POSTED 2:09 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
RIVERS OUT FOR CHARGERS
Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has been
knocked out of Sunday's game at Tennessee with an injury.
Billy Volek, a former Titan, is playing in
Rivers' absence.
It's unknown whether Rivers will return.
POSTED 1:46 p.m. EST; LAST
UPDATED 1:56 p.m. EST, December 9, 2007
BILLS BLASTING THE FINS
With more than four minutes remaining in the
first quarter, the Buffalo Bills are leading the Miami Dolphins 21-0.
The scores have come via two touchdown passes
from Trent Edwards to tight end Robert Royal, and a fumble return for a
score.
Cleo Lemon has entered the game at quarterback
for the Fins, and rookie John Beck has been benched.
UPDATE: Lemon led the Fins
to a quick toucdown. The score is now 21-7.
PATS-STEELERS PREVIEW
We posted every other PFTV
segment for the week, so we might as well post this one, too.
Here's a look at this
afternoon's coming battle between the Steelers and the Patriots.
Enjoy.
POSTED 1:42 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
PAYTON STAYING PUT
Jay Glazer of FOX reports that those rumors of
interest by the University of Michigan in Saints coach Sean Payton are
accurate.
Per Glazer, the school wanted to fly to New
Orleans on Thursday or Friday to interview Payton.
But Payton supposedly has no interest in
leaving the NFL. Glazer notes, however, that Payton is likely to get
an extension soon from the Saints. So the guy who looks like Frankie
Muniz would be wise to flirt with the folks in maize and blue long enough to
get a new deal done.
Meanwhile, the fact that Michigan was sniffing
around Payton lends credence to our theory that an NFL head coach is on the
Wolverines' radar screen. We still say that the guy to watch is
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.
POSTED 1:19 p.m. EST,
December 9 ,2007
MUTINY IN MIAMI?
Jay Glazer of FOX reports that there's a
mutiny brewing in Miami, with players actually cursing coach Cam Cameron
during games an in meetings.
It's a stunning disclosure, and it only fuels
our belief that, if the Fins falter today in Buffalo, Cameron could be
bounced as part of a desperate effort to finagle at least one win.
The Bills already lead Miami 7-0 in the first
quarter. The action can be monitored on
NFL.com's Game Tracker.
POSTED 12:45 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
GARCIA OUT AGAIN
Despite a report from ESPN's Great Gazoo that
Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia could go on Sunday, Garcia will miss another
game with a back injury.
The Tampa quarterback is inactive for Week
Fourteen,
per NFL.com.
Luke McCown will take Garcia's place as the
Bucs prepare to play the Texans.
Tampa is a surprising 8-4, but the Bucs need a
healthy Garcia for the postseason.
Other inactives of note -- Fins running back
Jesse Chatman and receiver Marty Booker. Also, Titans defensive tackle
Albert Haynesworth is active.
POSTED 12:38 p.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
DESPERATION MAY LEAD FINS BACK TO LEMON
Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that the Miami
Dolphins could yank rookie quarterback John Beck and re-insert Cleo Lemon as
soon as during the Week Fourteen game at Buffalo, if Beck continues to
struggle.
Beck became the starter because, as we heard
it, owner Wayne Huizenga wanted to find out what Beck has in the event that
the Fins decide to use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft on a
quarterback.
But with only four chances left to avoid the
ultimate embarrassment in professional team sports (especially since the
other leagues have far too many games for any one team to go winless), Lemon
likely will be back at some point soon.
POSTED 11:00 a.m. EST,
December 9, 2007
DITKA'S CHARITY MAKING A LOT MORE MONEY
THAN IT'S GIVING
We posted on Saturday an item regarding the
ongoing efforts of the "Gridiron Greats" organization to raise and
distribute money to former NFL players who have fallen on hard times.
Since then, several folks (including one
prominent member of the national media) have forwarded to us a link from
Friday's USA Today regarding the finances of Mike Ditka's charity
trust, which was formed to fulfill the same objectives.
Before going any farther with this, it's
important to remember that the Mike Ditka Hall of Fame Assistance Trust Fund
and the Gridiron Greats Assistance Trust Fund
are two
different things. The USA Today item regarding Ditka's
project sheds no light on the financial condition of the Gridiron Greats
effort (and, in our view, somewhat recklessly fails to point out that the
two groups are distinct).
The Ditka organization, per USA Today,
has raised $1.3 million, but has net income of only $315,000. And
only $57,000 has been distributed to former players in need.
Amazingly, the Ditka group paid more money to
former players as an inducement to get them to appear at a 2005 fundraiser
than it has paid to needy players.
A total of $715,000 has been spent to put on
three golf tournaments, with $280,000 going to a Chicago firm that organized
the events.
Ditka's explanation for the absence of cash to
the guys who need it? "The problem is finding [needy] guys and getting
them to fill out the [application] form," Ditka told USA Today.
"Some of these guys are scared of forms. There could be pride
involved, too."
But shouldn't some of that money be spent on
tracking down the guys who need the money and helping them apply for it?
How hard can it be to find former NFL players?
Said Carl Francis of the NFLPA, a regular
target of Ditka's ire: "At some point it's got to be about more than
holding yet another press conference and blasting people. You ought to
be announcing 'We just gave away a half a million.' Unless, of course,
you didn't."
Or unless Ditka really doesn't care about
whether individual ex-players get the money they need. Some league
observers believe that Ditka's entire effort is merely a public soul
cleansing for his role in creating the problem by encouraging injured
players to get back on the field before they were ready to return.
We're not quite sure what to think about
Ditka's motivations at this point. But we're skeptical.
GRIDIRON GREATS HAS GIVEN MORE THAN
$100,000
In a lengthy combative response to the USA
Today story posted on its web site, the Gridiron Greats group discloses
that it has
distributed more than $100,000 to players in need, despite being in
existence for less than a year.
The Gridiron Greats site also claims that
Ditka's group has given in recent months $153,000 to players referred to
Ditka's fund by Gridiron Greats.
Said Ditka in the release: "It is
unfortunate that the media has to attack something that is good. My only
goal is helping people. We are doing that and will continue to do so.
What the Gridiron Greats is doing is what the NFLPA, NFL, and the owners
have not done -- which is showing compassion and responsiveness to the needs
of those in need that have played this game. The disability system is at
best dysfunctional, so much so it is being investigated by the United States
Senate. There is over a billion dollars in their disability fund and
only a very small amount of players are receiving disability and many of
those are not at adequate levels. Hundreds of players are denied, turned
away, or ignored. We are doing the right thing and will continue to do the
right thing. I sleep well at night. I wonder how those people at
the NFLPA sleep? We will continue with our work providing services and
being a support system for the many that have been shunned and turned away
by their own union."
The core of the problem, in our view, is that
Ditka is far too polarizing and controversial to be carrying the flag for
former players. Yelling, name-calling, and/or crotch-scratching aren't
the way to devise a comprehensive, collaborative fix to the situation.
And since Ditka has his own fund, why is he on
the Gridiron Greats board? The best move for Gridiron Greats would be
to ask Ditka politely (or, if he can't take a hint, impolitely) to resign
his position, if for no reason other than to ensure that the media or the
public won't confuse the two funds.
Meanwhile, we'll continue to support the
efforts of Gridiron Greats. But we think it's fair to be cautious --
and we hope that the "real" media will assist in getting the objective,
unbiased truth out about these groups.
