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POSTED 7:01 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 8:00 a.m. EDT, June 25, 2007
KOONCE HINTS AT PACKERS MOVE?
Several readers have told us that, in a recent Wisconsin radio interview, former Packers director of player development George Koonce hinted that the team could soon be adding a big-name player on offense.
Koonce, who played linebacker for the Packers in the 1990s, recently left the organization to become assistant athletic director at Marquette.
If true, who could it be? Unless Keyshawn Johnson is going to turn his back on ESPN (his deal actually might include a clause allowing him to return to the NFL without penalty), there really isn't any big-name offensive player currently on the open market.
A player who might be on the open market soon is quarterback Daunte Culpepper. A couple of weeks ago, we reported that the Packers are one of the teams that Culpepper would like to join. Though he'd only play in 2007 if Brett Favre were to be injured, Culpepper would likely be first in line to take over the starting job if this is Favre's last season.
From a trade perspective, the most intriguing name is Chiefs running back Larry Johnson. Reports surfaced last week of a potential holdout, and it's possible that the Chiefs are quietly shopping him, as they were before the draft. Johnson would fill a huge need for the Packers, who have no veteran presence at the tailback position.
But trading for, and then paying big money to, a guy like Johnson doesn't seem to fit with the approach of G.M. Ted Thompson, who has been reluctant to make those kinds of moves. Also, Johnson's admission to Jason Whitlock that he's "always mad about something" isn't the kind of thing that a General Manager wants to hear when contemplating coughing up a first-round draft pick (or more) and $25 million guaranteed (or more).
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JOEY SUNSHINE DRINKING MOONSHINE?
With offseason workouts ended, only one guy getting arrested over the weekend, and most coaches and front-office types on vacation, there isn't much going on in NFL circles.
As a result, we're forced to revisit one of our recent items in order to gin up the daily content.
Specifically, we commented on Saturday regarding the latest bellyaching from ESPN analyst Joe Theismann, who is still griping about the fact that he was bumped out of the Monday Night Football booth after only one season.
Several readers have responded to Theismann's suggestion that his replacement, Ron Jaworski, "hasn't done television." We didn't pounce on Sunshine for this remark on Saturday, because we assumed that he meant that Jaworski hasn't worked live games. Obviously, Jaworski has spent plenty of time on television over the years doing analysis, and as one of the key contributors to NFL Matchup, the only show that breaks down game films.
But we forgot that Jaworski worked the back end of last year's MNF season-opening doubleheader, on a game that generated higher ratings than the average rating for the 2007 NBA Finals. And we forgot that Jaworski has done Arena League games. Plus, we now know (thanks to our readers) that he has worked preseason games for the Eagles and the Bucs.
So, Joe, you are flat-out wrong to suggest that Jaws hasn't done television.
And as to Theismann's warning that the MNF broadcast shouldn't become an extension of PTI, why didn't Joe ever take a stand against the weekly intrusion into the game coverage of celebrities like Christian Slater and Sylvester Stallone? And why isn't Joe pointing to that kind of stuff now as he makes his case that ESPN is trying to make the show not about football? Instead, he's erroneously trivializing the credentials of his replacement, who is still one of his colleagues because Joe is still under contract with ESPN.
Free advice, Bristol. You need to cut this guy loose. He's making you look bad, and as the season approaches we have a feeling that he's going to continue to pop off.
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MONDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS
Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer calls out the NFLPA and the baseball players' union.
Congress gets involved in the issue of retired NFL players and their disability benefits on Tuesday.
Here's another article on the subject, but you've got to pay to read it.
Former Bears S Dave Duerson, who is one of the guys responsible for shutting so many retired players out of their disability benefits, has to sell the $1.6 million house in which he has lived since 1987.
Young quarterbacks will determine the fates of several teams this season.
Hall of Famer Harry Carson is pushing hard (without the yelling and the screaming of guys like Mike Ditka) to get more money for former NFL players.
John Elway won the celebrity race car show thing on ABC; Coach Chin finished dead last.
When TiVi Barber opted for TV, did he think he'd be covering a fireworks show? ("Ooooooh. Ahhhhh. The noise is cacaphonous!")
Steelers.com catches up with L.C. Greenwood.
Former NFL QB Mike McMahon made the team in Montreal. (Oops. It's Toronto.)
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POSTED 4:17 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 9:58 p.m. EDT, June 24, 2007
WORLD BOWL MVP WANTS TO MAKE IT IN NFL
Quarterback Casey Bramlet led the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europa to the World Bowl XV championship. For his efforts, including a World Bowl-record four touchdown passes, Bramlet was named the game's MVP.
So now the challenge is to transfer his success at the "B" level into a roster spot with the Redskins. The problem, of course, is that while Bramlet was wearing ads on his pads in Germany, five other guys were participating in the team's offseason training program, where a whole lot of preparation is done for the coming season.
In Washington, the starter is Jason Campbell and the backup is Mark Brunell. Bramlet's task, then, will be to hold off Jordan Palmer and Sam Hollenbach.
Palmer arguably has the built-in advantage, since the team presumably hopes to justify the 2007 sixth-round pick that was used on the former UTEP signal-caller by keeping him on the roster for a year or two.
In our view, then, Bramlet will have to blow away the coaching staff in order to win a roster spot. And it'll be even harder to do in light of the fact that Bramlet will start training camp without the benefit of the weeks of practice in the system that Palmer and Hollenbach have had.
But, hey, there's always next year in Europa. Then again, if reports of the league's demise are accurate, maybe there isn't.
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SUNDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS
The Buccaneers have signed seventh-round cornerback Marcus Hamilton; eight Tampa rookies are unsigned.
Falcons DE Jamaal Anderson isn't worried about his contract negotiations.
Mr. Irrelevant might be pertinent in Motown.
Jeff Gordon is a San Francisco 49ers fans, which has prompted all Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans to say, "It figures."
Former Bears safety Dave Duerson was recently on the wrong end of a court decision.
A guy who is running for L.A. city attorney is having trouble telling the truth about his football career. (It's good to see that he meets the job's basic qualifications.)
Chargers CB Drayton Florence is eyeballing free agency.
Giants QB Eli Manning appeared at the Ole Miss Ladies Football Forum.
Sports leagues are trying to control Internet coverage of their product.
Jets OL Pete Kendall wouldn't comment on whether the team's offseason workouts entail too much contact.
Several NFL teams are scouting soccer player Jonny Wilkinson. (He's actually a rugby player, but we really don't care about the distinction.)
The Packers made $22 million in profit last year.
Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks that Steelers fans need to realize that Coach Chin will coach again.
Hey, Jeff -- there's no tying in softball.
Should the Chiefs pay L.J.?
Fins DT Fred Evans' dispute with a cab driver involved Evans throwing up in the back seat of the taxi.
Should the Bears dump Tank?
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POSTED 1:41 p.m. EDT, June 24, 2007
KITNA THINKS, TALKS BIG
Lions quarterback Jon Kitna, who apparently has had more than his fair share of undiagnosed concussions, predicts that the Detroit Lions will win more than 10 games in 2007.
"I'll keep to myself what I think we actually will win," Kitna said this week on WDFN radio in Detroit. "But it's more than 10 games.
"I think, last year, man, it really sucked," Kitna added. "But the good thing about it, like coach [Rod] Marinelli said, he found out who wanted to be here, who didn't, and he's been able to put his stamp on this team.
"Teams have gone from 3-13, 4-12 and 5-11 to having great leaps," Kitna said. "And we're the team to do it."
We agree with Kitna in that respect. Teams have pulled off stunning turnarounds in the post-salary cap NFL. Perhaps the most unlikely came in 1999, when a moribund Rams franchise blew up under the leadership of a previously unknown backup quarterback. (Coincidentally, Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz was also the offensive coordinator of that Rams team.)
But the difference is that, before training camp opened, Rams starting quarterback Trent Green (whose blown ACL opened the door for Kurt Warner) wasn't popping off about how good the team would be. Really, we can't think of any team that had a stunning turnaround preceded by public boasts from a key player on the team that it was going to happen.
The reality is that it's wise for anyone on a historically bad team that thinks this year could be the year to keep his mouth clamped shut. It's far better in the modern NFL to be overlooked and disregarded, because then a bad team can catch a good team flatfooted and, along the way, build confidence in the notion that they can "play with" anyone.
That's what the Rams did. Sure, they scored a lot of points that year. But they didn't blow many teams out. Instead, they fattened up on a relatively weak schedule in a relatively weak division, going 8-0 at home and 5-3 on the road, nailed down home-field advantage for the playoffs, barely held off the Buccaneers in the NFC title game, and then barely held off the Titans (who weren't the best overall team in the AFC that season) in the Super Bowl.
Could it happen for the Lions? Hell yes. But it won't be a cakewalk. They play every team in the AFC West, and every team in the NFC East. They play the Bucs, who are going to be better than expected (we think), and the Cardinals, who have every reason to believe that the planets could line up for them this year, too.
Still, we've got no problem with Kitna being confident. But quiet confidence will carry his team a lot farther than will boasts that, for now, come off as borderline delusional.