NFL Jabber 5/19/07

Lovie Smith placed Jamar Williams in the place of Lance Briggs on Friday. Mike Brown also returned.

McNabb wants everyone to know he is more than the Eagles QB...maybe in case he isn't the Eagles QB soon?

"A lot of people might just look at me as the quarterback of the team; they kind of just leave it at that," McNabb said after showing off his novice golf swing for the benefit of TV cameras. "They have to understand, I'm more than just a quarterback. I'm a father, a husband, a caring person that loves kids and is willing to do whatever I can do to help the next man out."

Keyshawn is in no hurry to make a move but calls his visit with the Titans a "good one."

"I am looking at my options just like they are looking at theirs. At the end of the day, it was a good visit with the coaches," Johnson said.

"Now I guess they'll meet as a staff and determine whether or not it's a fit, and I'll work with my people and start working out some things.

"I don't have any timetable (for signing), to be honest with you. I don't have any rush on my part. I'll see what happens, and we'll see how things progress. But it's still early in the game for me."

Meanwhile, Johnson said yesterday that he is interested in a job with the Raiders.

Broncos TE, Tony Scheffler broke his foot running a route in camp.

Daunte Culpepper practiced yesterday but Coach Cameron declines looking to far into it.

"Until a guy is 100 percent, it is not fair to evaluate him," Cameron said. "That's the approach. Keep it simple. When the guy is 100 percent, evaluate him and then go from there."

Curtis Martin has not announced retirement but is suing his insurance co. because he is "totally disabled."

tag: nfl, football, sports, broncos, raiders, titans, jets, dolphins, eagles, bears, jamar williams, lance briggs, mike brown, mcnabb, keyshawn johnson, tony scheffler, curtis martin

NFL Jabber 4/26/07

Vince Young can't do it alone although he makes it appear that way at times. This is the perfect time to start building around this franchise QB the Titans drafted last year.

"Superman can only climb so many buildings. He can't do it all,'' said Gil Brandt, former vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys. "Vince is certainly a great player. And if you are Vince, what do you do for an encore? Knowing Vince, I'm sure he wants to make last year look miniscule.

"But he's going to need some help. They've lost some key players in Tennessee, and they need to get some guys in place to make some plays for him. You can't count on him for everything.''

Although it may appear that it is time for the Eagles to begin looking at bringing in another young QB, they are not in a very good spot for it. With the 26th pick they may be reaching if they took one of the second tier QB's on Saturday.

The Saints draft is still in the hands of the Colts as they wait to see if Indy matches the offer sheet given to CB Jason David.

ESPN has an interesting article on the Best Drafts Ever.

Don Banks is trying to remind everyone (article titled " Damaged Goods") that Adrian Peterson broke his collar bone. Disguised as information (which everyone already knows) is likely being put out there so if he gets hurt in the NFL Banks has the "I told you so" card.

tag: nfl, draft, free agency, football, saints, colts, eagles, titans, vince young, adrian peterson, jason david, espn, don banks

NFL Jabber 4/16/07

Jim Thomas of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch goes out on a limb today and says that either Brady Quinn or JaMarcus Russell will be the first QB taken. Seriously! Is this guy nuts? Is he not aware of University of Dubuque Jr. Jermar Jackson? I'll go out on a limb and say that Joe Thomas will be one of the first O-Linemen taken...see, I could work for the Post-Dispatch.

The Chiefs are in a position they have not been in for 14 years...looking for a Guard on the right side. Will Shields is hanging them up.

Talks are STILL dragging on regarding a trade for Trent Green to the Dolphins. Guys he is getting older everyday...

Cedric Griffen was arrested for not bringing enough candy for the whole class (or something like that) at the "Spin" club in Minneapolis early this morning...

What would have been if the Eagles would have called tails and picked Akli Smith instead of Donavan McNabb? Michael David Smith takes a look at that gem of a QB class in 1999.

The Washington Post continues to take up valuable web space with a Ravens section that has been updated twice since March 10th.

tag: nfl, draft, free agency, trade, football, sports, chiefs, vikings, dolphins, eagles, ravens, jim thomas, will shields, cedric griffen, trent green, donavan mcnabb, akili smith, brady quinn, jamarcus russell, jermar jackson, university of dubuque

PFT Annual April Fools Day Headlines...

Some people that don't catch the fine print often set themselves up to be slammed by posting the April 1st Pro Football Talk content on their favorite message board.

Below are some samples of today's content...

clipped from www.profootballtalk.com McNABB TO RETIRE? Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is contemplating retirement, a source close to McNabb tells us. Per the source, McNabb has grown weary of rehabbing the ACL that he tore last season, and he has decided that he has had enough. MORE PARTS FOR PEYTON? Lorne Michaels, the producer and creator of Saturday Night Live, is pondering the possibility of making Manning a mid-season addition to the cast after Manning's football season ends in 2008. SNYDER TO SELL IF 'SKINS STUMBLE AGAIN? After eight years of trying to take the Washington Redskins back to the Super Bowl, owner Dan Snyder could soon be admitting that he's not cut out for the role. Bucs coach Jon Gruden was offended by Coughlin's Hitler comparison; "He's a f--king creampuff," Gruden said of Coughlin. "If anybody's a f--king Adolf Hitler, it's f--king me." Cowboys WR Terrell Owens has called a press conference to talk about the fact that no one has been talking about him very much in the offseason.

tag: nfl, sports, football, eagles, buccaneers, cowboys, pro football talk, terrell ownes, jon gruden, donavan mcnabb, retire, april fools

NFL Jabber 3/27/07

Marshall Faulk concedes that his body just can't do it anymore and officially retires. Heck of a career, huh?

"A very good friend of mind told me, 'There's not that many 34-year-old running backs that come back to play,''' Faulk recalled Monday. "I started thinking about it. It's a tough position to play."

"The (competitive) instinct, it never goes away," Faulk said. "That fire never dies. But in my training — where I wanted to be, how I wanted to feel — those things weren't coming around as fast as I wanted them to."

"If I felt like there was any doubt that I could finish a season, then I shouldn't go out," Faulk said. "Because I would not only be cheating myself, I'd be cheating other guys on that team that were depending on me to do a job. If I couldn't accomplish the task, why even start it?"

Vegas police asked the D.A. to file three charges on Pacman Jones for the Vegas strip club fiasco (hard to keep track of which fiasco).

Browns G.M. Phil Savage says they will take a pass on all the vet QB's available.

"I think we're content with what we're doing, to stay with the direction we're going," Savage said. "We've got six weeks of off-season conditioning and [organized] programs. Chud's putting the offense in, meeting with the quarterbacks, along with [assistant head coach] Rip Scherer. So I think we'll have a pretty good gauge of the two primary competitors, Charlie and Derek, by the time we get to the draft."

The Saints and the Colts will open the 2007 season in Indy on Thursday night.

"The Colts are the Super Bowl champions and New Orleans obviously was a terrific story on and off the field for the league," commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday at the NFL meetings. "We felt it's a great game to highlight during the 2007 season."

The Cardinals and 49'ers will play the second game of a MFL double header to open the season.

Bengals and Ravens will play in the early game.

The Lions DT Shaun Rogers decided to show up for work.

The Redskins are expected to make a move for Bears LB Lance Briggs.

The Eagles got LB Takeo Spikes and Kelly Holcomb from the Bills for DT Darwin Walker and a draft pick next year.

Green Bay Coach, Mike McCarthy doesn't understand all the negative talk around Aaron Rodgers.

"I don't understand and really care, because I don't know where it's being generated from, but the negativity toward Aaron Rodgers . . . usually your backup quarterback is on scholarship for a couple years and everyone loves him," McCarthy said. "For whatever reason, he's had a couple situations where people are trying to get after him. I've been in the position before with young quarterbacks. I'm very pleased where he's at right now. He's getting better."

Jon Gruden is happy with the Bucs offseason and is throwing out the smokescreen that they may move up and select a QB in the draft.

"Our offseason is just beginning, really,’’ said Gruden, coming off a 4-12 season that saw the Bucs tumble from first to last in the NFC South. ‘’We’ve still got the draft and some unattended business, but we’ve got some players in here that we know can play. It’s exciting to have a Jeff Garcia here. Luke Petitgout is a guy who has played left tackle and Cato June is a good football player. Kevin Carter can play a lot of positions and B.J. Askew is an interesting guy. It was nice to sit in quarterback school last week with a healthy Chris Simms, a Bruce Gradkowski, who has played 13 games in this league, plus a veteran guy we like. We’re excited about our quarterback situation, plus we’ve got Jake Plummer to talk about. We’ll see what happens there.’’

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, draft, free agency, trade, football, sports, bucs, packers, eagles, bengals, ravens, lions, redskins, bears, cardinals, 49'ers, saints, rams, colts, browns, titans, marshall faulk, pacman jones, phil savage, rodger goodell, takeo spikes, kelly holcomb, shaun rogers, mike mcCarthy, aaron rodgers, jon grudenjeff garcia, chris simms, jake plummer

More NFL Jabber 3/21/07

Andy Reid is going to return to work on Friday.

Sammy Knight is out in Kansas City. The Chiefs let him go after his contract could not be reworked.

Pete Prisco feels that the Texans are making a mistake by going Matt Schaub over David Carr...I have to agree. Schaub will likely get the same back time as Carr did.

The Bears wrapped up eight of their assistant coaches with three-year deals today.

With Calvin Johnson's stock rising, the jokes of Detroit taking another WR rise.

Bill Cower has taken to reality TV. He will appear in "Fast Cars and Superstars."

Safety Ken Hamlin toured the Cowboys ranch today.

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, free agency, draft, trade, football, bears, texans, chiefs, eagles, lions, steelers, cowboys, seahawks, ken hamlin, bill cower, calvin johnson, matt shaub, falcons

More NFL Jabber 3/16/07

Charles Grant visit to the Bucs brings up all sorts of questions.

The Bengals are letting Shaun Smith move on to the Browns.

The Eagles have re-signed RB Correll Buckhaulter.

The Panthers have inked LB Terrence Melton.

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, free agency, football, saints, bucs, bengals, browns, charles grant, panthers, eagles, shaun smith, correll buckhaulter, terrence melton

NFL Jabber 3/16/07

In an unusual situation, the Bucs are going to meet today with Saints franchise player, DE Charles Grant.

Speaking of Saints, they are moving in on selling out 137 luxury boxes and 68,000 season tickets for the first time in team history.

"We are extremely appreciative of the support we received from fans and local businesses last season and are very encouraged with the response so far in 2007," said Rita Benson LeBlanc, the Saints' owner and executive vice president of administration. "We are hard at work to make sure the Saints are successful, both on and off the field, and look forward to announcing any team milestones when they are achieved."

Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson put on a show at his "pro day" workout. 75 scouts showed up to take it in. "Whatever they wanted to see," said Johnson, "I think I showed them."



The Chargers put on a fashion show to display the new uni's.

The Eagles landed WR Kevin Curtis.

Tank Johnson got 4 months for violating his probation.

Rumors fly about the Jets trading away Jonathan Vilma.

Chiefs gave a four-year deal to DT Ron Edwards.

Dolphins kicker, Olindo Mare doesn't know that people don't care about kickers feelings.

Marcus Pollard says he doesn't "feel" 35. Maybe because he played flag football in college instead of getting hit?

"I played flag football at Bradley," said Pollard, who had been a tight end and defensive end in high school. "I was the most famous flag football player in the world."

Forget about the Rams losing Shaun McDonald and Kevin Curtis. The air show will be just fine with the addition of Drew Bennett and Randy McMichael.

Adam Schien at Foxsports.com feels that this season is a tryout for Mike Vick with the new staff in town.

The Browns keep on going by signing Robaire Smith to a four-year deal.

Jerry Jones doesn't feel that the Cowboys have any needs going into the draft.

"I don't think we're locked in at any position to come out with," Jones said. "I can see us going secondary, offensive line, whole gamut, and maybe even a young quarterback."

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, draft, free agency, football, sports, browns, texans, eagles, vikings, rams, dolphins, bears, jets, cowboys, chargers, georgia tech, saints, bucs, calvin johnson, tank johnson, jail, charles grant, uniforms, chiefs, adam schein, jerry jones

ESPN Stealing NFL Radio's Scoops?

I listen to NFL Radio every damn day and I have to miss this today! I would have loved to hear Adam Schien yell when he actually has something to yell about.

clipped from www.profootballtalk.com SCHEIN RIPS ESPN A funny thing happened on Sirius NFL Radio on Thursday. Shortly after 4:00 p.m. EDT, Adam Schein and Jim Miller were interviewing Eagles G.M. Tom Heckert. Not long into the session, Heckert announced that the team has agreed to terms receiver Kevin Curtis. Thirty minutes later, the crawl on ESPN attributed the scoop to Len Pasquarelli. Schein went bonkos. And justifiably so. The G.M. of the team had announced the move live on the air. There was nothing to "learn" or to "report" after Heckert declared to the word that the move had been made. It's the second time in less than a week that ESPN has pulled such a maneuver. Last Friday, Adam Caplan advised Sirius producer Nick Pavlatos that Browns running back Reuben Droughns had been traded to the Giants. No one else was reporting it at the time, so Pavlatos (as we hear it) called Droughns, and broke the news to the player that he had been dealt.

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, sirius nfl radio, sports, free agency, eagles, kevin curtis, adam schein, jim miller, espn, len paquarelli, rams

More NFL Jabber 3/12/07

The Texans kept one of their own resigning TE Mark Bruener.

Anthony Thomas is going to remain a Bill for the time being reaching an agreement today.

The Cards have parted ways with WR Coach Richie Anderson after he tried to help a girl in the worlds oldest profession.

After it was thought that LB Ryan Fowler was going to be an Eagle, the Titans have upped the pot.

Rams WR Shaun McDonald will be going to live in Detroit.

Jason Cambbell officially began studying for the 2007 season to be the Skins starter.

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, football, bills, titans, texans, eagles, cardinals, rams, lions, redskins, free agency

NFL Jabber 3/12/07

Bobby Petrino would like to revamp the O-line with bigger bodies but they don't have the cash in Atlanta.

"We want to change the body type of our linemen but we have to do that over time," Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay said. "You can't do that overnight unless you are willing to invest, truly, an inordinate amount of money in free agency and that, as a lot of teams have learned, comes with great risk."

The Packers players are sitting and watching as Ted Thompson does nothing in free agency. Mike McCarthy says they are more worried about building through the draft.

The New York Post has a headline mentioning the New York Giants interest in Cato June. They then proceed to discuss how there has been no talks and little interest from the Giants.

Eagles made an offer to young Cowboys LB Ryan Fowler. Cowboys have a week to match.

Terry Foster at detnews.com thinks that with the moves the Lions are making, Matt Millen is not making the decisions.

The Vikings have a few guys they are watching with the Bears Ian Scott topping the list.

Donte Stallworth's deal with the Pats can go anywhere from $3.6 million to $33 million.

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, football, titans, patriots, bears, falcons, free agency, giants, eagles, lions, vikings

Stallworth to the Pats

It was rumored last week that the Patriots would get Stallworth. Looks like they got him. The Patriots seem to be straying from their "we can get by" attitude.
tag: nfl, free agency, patriots, eagles

clipped from sports.espn.go.com Source: Stallworth to get $12M guaranteed from Pats ESPN.com news services Stallworth will sign a six-year contract. The deal is believed to be worth a little more that $30 million with close to $12 million guaranteed, the source told Smith.

NFL Jabber 3/10/07

Jake Plummer is making it official. "I wanted to come in and tell you guys on camera and face-to-face that the speculation can stop tonight," Plummer said from the Denver Athletic Club. "You can know by the looking in my face and hearing my words that I am retiring from the NFL. At 32 years old, I'm running away from the game. Not in fear or fright, but health-wise. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I have a lot to look forward to in my life."

Fans booed the idea of the Packers trading for Randy Moss at the yearly Packer Fan Fest. fans are going as far as calling the office of Chairman and CEO Bob Harlen. "I don't want to say it's been overwhelming, but there have been a few fans who (complained)," Harlan said. "And the thing they basically say to me is, "You guys have so much class. Don't lose class now."


The pictures are out of the new Chargers uniforms that were announced yesterday. i thought there was going to be more powder blue. No sign of the new helmet yet although YAHOO! Sports is saying it is going to be metallic white.

T.J. Duckett is going to Michigan to where he played his college ball. The Lions signed him to a one year deal.

The Fins have made an offer to Donte Stallworth. It has not been accepted at this point.

Willis McGahee made his first public appearance yesterday in Baltimore and used it to bash his old teammates. "My situation wasn't that great in Buffalo," said McGahee, who was flanked by General Manager Ozzie Newsome and Coach Brian Billick. "I thank God for getting the 990 [rushing yards last season] to tell you the truth. If you look at it, I missed two games and was facing nine guys in the box a lot. If you get to a better team with receivers, a quarterback, a line helping out, it's going to be hard to stop everybody."

The Eagles have been fairly quiet. They did sign WR/KR Bethel Johnson but that is about it. I would hope they keep looking at WR because that is not quite the Stallworth replacement they are going to need. Coach Andy Reid is still on his leave of absence.

TINO's Bloghouse
tag: nfl, free, agent, football, bills, broncos, ravens, dolphins, packers, chargers, afc, nfc, eagles, lions, , bucs, free agency

NFL Jabber 3/1/07

With the debate over which QB should go first in the draft I have seen alot of Manning vs. Leaf comparisons to the situation. Phil Taylor at SI.com dives into the debate a little more here.

With all the franchise tags the Free Agent pool is getting shallow. "I think everybody kind of has visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads," Tennessee General Manager Mike Reinfeldt said, "and as you go through, Indy tags a player, Cincy does and all of the sudden a lot of the difference-makers aren't there. That being said, if you do your homework in free agency, you can find players that will help your roster."

The Jamal Lewis cut was a cap-related move and he is still likely to return to the Ravens.

Speaking of cap cuts, the Bengals booted LB Brian Simmons.

The Lions are eyeing Rams WR, Kevin Curtis.

The Fins can see alot of changes on the Defensive line front come tomorrow, possibly leafing them to go young and D in the draft.

Brad Johnson is gone in Minny. Johnson, who spoke in recent days to Childress and owner Zygi Wilf, said: "I just want to thank Zygi and Brad. I think there is a lot of respect now on both sides. Things ended on a good note."

Steve Corkan of the Contra Costa Times thinks that Jeff Garcia may be stalked by the Raiders. "If the Raiders call once free agency beings, Oakland definitely will be one of the places he seriously considers," said Steve Baker, Garcia's agent.

Jim Wyatt at the Tennessean.com discusses why he thinks Vince Young will attract Free Agents (with good reason). Keith Bullock agrees-"The things that we've done, they see what has been going on. Definitely I think this will be looked at as an attractive place in spite of what's happened in the past," linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "I think we shouldn't have a hard time trying to get free agents and high-quality free agents, top free agents.''

TE Kris Mangum of the Panthers is calling it quits after ten years with the team.

With all their cash, the Browns are licking their chops waiting on free agency to begin.

The Texans have given the boot to Eric Moulds, Zack Wiegert and Seth Payne. "We all face difficult decisions at this time of the year," Texans general manager Rick Smith said. "We're doing everything we can to improve our team."

Saints Tackle, Jon Stinchcomb is watching the clock, hoping to stay a Saint.

The Chargers put a huge price on Michael Turner. “I'd just feel better to have him in '07,” General Manager A.J. Smith said Wednesday. “If anything happens to LT – God Almighty! – that he gets hurt.”

The Jags are going to be looking at a more vertical passing game (Moss rumors still going)?