NFL 2010 Offseason

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

3rd & a 4th bro.. they have 2 goos wr's now, but the Jets clearly are still
better i mean are you going to pass on them now?..
2 totally solid Cb's, holy cow.

Boldin is worth a 3rd and 4th, especially for the Ravens. The Jets D is sick.

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

Oh, and thanks for the heads up on the Boldin deal, I didn't know a 4th was involved.

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

And yes, I agree 100% the Bears need a WR big time. It will make Cutler much better. Hester will also evolve in a great number two. With Olsen already in place at TE and the acquisition of Taylor it seems that a quality number one WR is the only thing missing in the O weapons department. It looks like Owens might be going to Cincy, so no worries there. Forte, I don't know about trading him, I guess it depends on what you can get. It sure would be nice to rotate Taylor and Forte or have one of them to carry the load if the other is injured.

[Pennypacker]

Wow the Bears signing Peppers is huge, but this completely overshadows the signing of Chester Taylor. A great 3rd down RB, I watched too many Vikings games last year (my brother being a fan) and at times felt more comfortable watching Taylor take the hand offs rather than Adrian McFumble. The guy just seems to be able to pound the ball in in tight spots and clutch situations.

They still have Jay Cutler and will go 9-7 or 8-8 this year after he throws 30 INT.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Steelers signed safety Will Allen to 3 year deal...

See ya Ryan Clark, he'll probably sign with Miami.....

[Pennypacker]

Monday's moves

WR Jason Avant -- The Eagles and their No. 3 target came to terms on a new five-year deal. Avant had been a restricted free agent.

Monday's rumors:

RB Thomas Jones -- Likely to meet with the Chiefs today according to ESPN.
QB Michael Vick -- The Eagles are poised to pay his $1.5 million roster bonus tomorrow, which would mean Vick stays in Philadelphia another season barring a trade later in the offseason.

[chefcraig]

Steelers signed safety Will Allen to 3 year deal...

See ya Ryan Clark, he'll probably sign with Miami.....

I dunno VA...all of a sudden we need a new nose tackle.

Jason Ferguson's suspension makes nose tackle a draft priority for Miami Dolphins

The news Sunday that unrestricted free agent and former Dolphin nose tackle Jason Ferguson has had a second positive test for performance-enhancing drugs couldn't have been welcome in the Dolphins' offices.

While no decision had been made on whether to bring back the 13-year veteran, the mere fact he'll be suspended for the first eight games of the 2010 season makes finding help at the position a priority.

The importance of a quality nose tackle was underscored in recent weeks when four teams put franchise tags on their starters at the position. New England's Vince Wilfork, Pittsburgh's Casey Hampton, San Francisco's Aubrayo Franklin and Green Bay's Ryan Pickett will all be well-compensated this year as a result.

With few options available in free agency, the Dolphins will likely turn their attention to the April 22-24 NFL Draft, where a relatively deep class will offer at least four quality nose tackles in the first two to three rounds.

Miami would likely have to use its first pick, No. 12 overall, to get Tennessee's Dan Williams, who has shot up the board after an excellent senior season. The 6-foot-2, 327-pounder, who has been training at HP Sports in Delray Beach, said working under former Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin last season was "a blessing."

"He really helped me in pre-game preparation and helped me on the field," Williams said at last month's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Scouts said Williams' quickness sets him apart.

"That was an area I was really working on (last) spring and in the off-season," he said. "That's a part of the game where I felt I was always improving. It may not show up in sacks (Williams had 2 1/2 last season, although he also had a team-high nine tackles for loss), but if you watch my film, there were a lot of hurries. I worked on it everyday."

Williams has jumped ahead of Alabama's Terrence Cody on most draft boards. A consensus first-team All-America whose weight has raised questions about him being an every-down player, Cody was able to drop 16 pounds between the Senior Bowl and Combine, where he weighed in at 354.

"Cody knew when to stop eating — or start working, I'm not sure which," former Dallas Cowboys player personnel director Gil Brandt quipped after the weigh-in.

There's a reasonably good chance Cody will be available to the Dolphins in the second round, but if not, they might do just as well opting for Cam Thomas of North Carolina or Terrell Troup of Central Florida, both of whom could be available as far down as the third.

Like Williams, both played for coaches with NFL backgrounds — Butch Davis at UNC and George O'Leary at UCF.

"Our defense is pro-style," Thomas said at the Combine. "We're attacking, we're gap-scheming and stuff like that. Most of the stuff I'm already used to."

Troup struggled to crack the top 10 in most scouts' rankings prior to last season. Now he's in the top five on most and feels he's still learning.

"I honestly feel I'm one of the better players in the nation," he said at the Combine.

With more than half the teams in the NFL now playing 3-4 defenses, Troup said there's a growing recognition of the importance of a quality nose tackle.

"People are realizing that to have a good defense they've got to start up front," he said. "They can't have a good defense without that middle guy."

Jason Ferguson's suspension makes nose tackle a draft priority for Miami Dolphins

[chefcraig]

Now how's this for a cool thing to do?

Scott Fujita knows the right way to leave a city

It was heartwarming when the long-downtrodden Saints won the Super Bowl. It didn't get any less heartwarming when Drew Brees(notes) made the media rounds in the weeks after the game, establishing himself as the sweetest and most humble man in America.

Apparently, everyone on the entire team was an absolute ray of sunshine.

Scott Fujita(notes), a somewhat unheralded linebacker on that Super Bowl team, recently signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns. Before leaving town, though, Fujita did one more thing for the people of New Orleans: He gave half of his Super Bowl check to charity, half of that going to relief efforts in Haiti, and the other half going to coastal restoration in New Orleans. From nola.com:

"The people of this city and region have been so good to me and my family that we just felt strongly about doing something to protect the city we have come to love so much, " Fujita said. "And helping on the coastal issue has been on the back of my mind since I first got here."

Take note, other free agents. That's how you leave a city. So far, the bar has been set at "hold a tearful press conference" or "thank the fans in a full-page newspaper ad" for a classy exit. Scott Fujita just raised it.

Anyway, he's Cleveland's now, and if he'd like to continue his streak of doing charitable things for cities in which he plays, I'm sure he'll find an option or two in Cleveland.

Scott Fujita knows the right way to leave a city - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports

[PETE'S BROTHER]

agreed, very cool. a shame that it doesn't happen more often.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Steelers signed safety Will Allen to 3 year deal...

See ya Ryan Clark, he'll probably sign with Miami.....

I stand corrected, Clark changed his mind and re-signed with the Steelers with a 4 year deal....

Then they welcomed back Antwan Randle El for a 3 year deal, as well as 4th receiver Arnaz Battle.....

[Pennypacker]

Vikings "appear to have interest" in LaDainian Tomlinson

Posted by Mike Florio on March 8, 2010 10:45 PM ET
When the Chargers cut running back LaDainian Tomlinson, we immediately pointed out the possibility of one Texas native joining forces with another Texas native who plays tailback in Minnesota.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Vikings "appear to have interest" in the 2006 NFL MVP.

Zulgad also writes that the Vikings "aren't believed to have expressed interest" in veteran tailback Brian Westbrook, who played for the Eagles when Vikings coach Brad Childress served as the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia.

Before the Vikings act on that interest, they'll need to determine whether Tomlinson is interested in being a backup to Adrian Peterson. L.T. might want to exhaust any opportunities to be the lead dog elsewhere before accepting a backup role.

Because Tomlinson was cut, the Vikings are free to sign him without regard to the rules of the "Final Eight Plan."

[Pennypacker]

Boldin calls dealing with Cardinals "totally unacceptable"

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 9, 2010 9:53 AM ET
Four days after he was traded from Arizona to Baltimore, wide receiver Anquan Boldin said he was disappointed that the Cardinals didn't deal forthrightly with him over the last couple of seasons.

"As far as relationships with the organization, things began to sour," Boldin said Tuesday morning on ESPN Radio. "From my end there were some promises that were made, and some sacrifices on my part, and they just didn't live up to their end of the bargain.

"For me, I'm a straight-up guy. I think if you come up and talk to me and tell me exactlly where things are going and what you're thinking, even if I don't agree I can definitely respect it. But to be led the wrong way and told something differently is totally unacceptable to me."

Boldin declined to name who, specifically, had misled him, other than to say, "It was with the decision-makers, I would say, for the Cardinals."

Boldin said he still thinks the Cardinals have the makings of a good team, but he questioned whether the front office is adequately prepared for losing team leaders like Kurt Warner, Antrel Rolle, Karlos Dansby and Bertrand Berry.

Ultimately, Boldin says, even though he's glad to be heading to Baltimore, he looks back with a lot of affection for many of the people he played with in Arizona.

"Leaving Arizona was bittersweet," Boldin said. "That's the only place that I've known professionally. I played there for seven years, built a lot of great relationships on and off the field, I was very involved in the community. So it was very bittersweet."

[PETE'S BROTHER]

Wed Mar 10, 6:49 am ET
BRISTOL, Conn. – Robert De Niro is set to play Vince Lombardi in an upcoming movie.
ESPN announced Tuesday that the Academy Award-winning actor has agreed to play the Hall of Fame coach in the film it is developing with Andell Entertainment and the NFL.
"Lombardi" will chronicle the years in which he transformed the Green Bay Packers from the NFL's worst team to league champions. It is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2012 during the weekend between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.
Screenwriter Eric Roth, who won an Oscar for "Forrest Gump," has also signed on to the project. De Niro's Tribeca Productions will join the producing group. A director has yet to be chosen.

[chefcraig]

Goodell backs OT rule change

Associated Press

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday at the NFL owners meetings that he likes the proposal to modify overtime in the playoffs.

The competition committee at meetings in Orlando, Fla., recommended to the 32 owners that a team losing the coin toss and then surrendering a field goal on the first possession should have a series of its own in OT. Such a rules change would need 24 votes for ratification.

Also at the meetings:

-- A proposal for a play to be whistled dead when the helmet of the ball carrier comes off also will draw much debate by owners. If passed, the ball will be spotted where the helmet comes off.

-- Barring unforeseen opposition, the position of the umpire will be moved from in the area of the linebackers to behind the offensive backfield. This change would come after at least 100 instances of umpires being knocked to the ground last season.

-- Goodell plans to meet with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger about the star's off-field problems.

Briefly: The Patriots were awarded the maximum of four compensatory picks in April's NFL draft. The selections will come in the sixth and seventh rounds.

NFL / Goodell backs OT rule change


Court Date Set For Dolphins' Brown On DUI Charge


MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) ― Miami Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown has an initial court appearance set for May 13 on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Marietta Police spokeswoman Jennifer Murphy said Tuesday the date is tentative and Brown may not have to appear in person.

The 28-year-old Brown, a five-year NFL veteran who played college football at Auburn, was arrested early Saturday.

Brown's mother told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Monday that Brown was visiting his hometown of Cartersville for her and her husband's 32nd anniversary. She said he had eaten dinner with relatives and then went to a club.

Brown was released hours after his arrest on $1,110 bond. His mother says he has an attorney but declined to give his name.

Court Date Set For Dolphins' Brown On DUI Charge - cbs4.com

[PETE'S BROTHER]

wow, that was quick...

NFL changes overtime for playoff games - NFL - Yahoo! Sports