You’ve got Jairus Byrd on defense and Percy Harvin on offense leading the charge here, with a few others who might be considered supporting cast at this point.

1. Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills—Byrd had another pick against the Titans to bring his league-leading total to 8. That was before Titans’ owner Bud Adams flipped the Bills a bird of his own. Sorry, I just couldn’t help it.

2. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings—Harvin may be the most exciting playmaker on the Vikings’ offense, and with you-know-who in the backfield, that’s saying something.

3. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles—6 catches for 76 yards and a score against the Chargers, and 72 return yards for good measure. This kid is special.

4. Knowshon Moreno, Denver Broncos—He had 104 all-purpose yards against Albert Haynesworth’s Redskins last Sunday, albeit in a losing effort.

5. James Laurinaitis, St. Louis Rams—He just keeps making those tackles, now with 60 total (50 solo). Too bad he’s playing on a really bad team

Honorable mention: Hakeem Nicks, Giants; Johnny Knox, Bears; Ryan Succop, Chiefs; Michael Oher, Ravens; LeSean McCoy, Eagles; Beanie Wells, Cardinals

When it comes to examining the Washington Redskins, let’s take our foot off Jim Zorn’s neck for a second, shall we?

Since Daniel Snyder purchased the Redskins in May of 1999, they’ve had a winning record only three times in those 10 years (1999, 2005, 2007). In each of those winning seasons, they went to the playoffs but advanced no further than the first round. (And in 2007, they didn’t even make it past the first round.)

During Snyder’s reign as owner in Washington, the Redskins have been aggressive in free agency, inking notable names Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Deion Sanders, Jeremiah Trotter, Jessie Armstead, Randy Thomas, Lavernous Coles, John Hall, Phillip Daniels, Marvin Washington, Shawn Springs, Antwaan Randle El, Adam Archuleta, Andre Carter, London Fletcher, Fred Smoot, Jason Fabini, Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall.

But where has it gotten them?

This past offseason, Snyder made Haynesworth the richest defensive player in NFL history and so far, the Skins have an ugly win against the Rams and a loss to the previously 0-19 Lions to show for it. Granted, it’s still early and Washington can turn things around, but a team doesn’t lose to the Lions without having massive internal bleeding.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lion fans, you’re suffering is finally over.

Thanks to a solid effort by Matthew Stafford (21 of 36, 241 yards, 1 TD) and Kevin Smith (16 carries, 101 yards), the Lions won their first game since December 23 of 2007 with a 19-14 victory over the Redskins on Sunday.

One of the players that will be overlooked in this victory for Detroit is rookie linebacker DeAndre Levy, who started in place of the injured Ernie Sims. Levy made two consecutive tackles on running back Clinton Portis inside the 5-yard-line on third and fourth down to stop the Redskins early in the first half and led the Lions in tackles at halftime. On the day, Levy finished with six tackles and one tackles for loss as Detroit held Washington to only 65 rushing yards. His efforts shouldn’t go overlooked.

Not to take away from the Lions’ big day, but this loss is going to loom large for Washington head coach Jim Zorn. His offense generated 390 total yards, but a week after barely beating the Rams, the Redskins were held out of the end zone by a brutal Detroit defense until early in the third quarter and then failed to score when they got the ball back with just over a minute remaining.

The Lions were eventually going to win again. But you just can’t be that team that losses to Detroit, especially when you’re a Redskins team that was heavily criticized the week before. How can you be 1-2 on the year when two of your first three games are against the Rams and Lions? The players may still believe in Zorn, but he is going to come under major fire over the next week and may not be long for Washington’s head coaching job.

I realize that guys like Albert Haynesworth and London Fletcher were hurt. But what an embarrassing loss for Zorn and the Redskins. How can you only muster 13 points playing against the Lions and after totaling 390 yards? There’s just no excuse and barring a big turnaround, this could be the start of Zorn being ushered out of Washington.

The highly anticipated first game of the NFL season is tonight at 7:30 p.m. as the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers host the Titans at Heinz Field. Here are five things to watch as the 2009 NFL season kicks off with this opening matchup.

1. The Steeler offensive line.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger admitted that Pittsburgh became a Super Bowl contender last year when the offensive line gelled late in the season. What was supposed to be an Achilles heel for the Steelers actually turned out to be the thing that lifted them to a Super Bowl title. Now Pittsburgh has one of the more cohesive offensive lines in the league and while no one player stands out, the entire unit works well together and it’ll be interesting to see if they pick up tonight where they left off last February in Tampa.

2. How will the Titans fare without Albert Haynesworth?
Haynesworth was the key cog in Tennessee’s defense the past couple years while commanding double teams and freeing up those around him to make plays. In steps Tony Brown, a player coming off a great ’09 season and one that must fill the massive shoes left by Haynesworth. Brown is more than capable as an interior pass-rusher, but he probably won’t command double-teams like Haynesworth did. How will his linemates Jevon Kearse, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Jason Jones fare now that they might not see one-on-one matchups like they did when Haynesworth was playing next to them?

3. Do the Titans still lack offensive playmakers?
Running back Chris Johnson burst on the scene last year as a rookie, averaging 4.9 yards a carry and totaling 10 touchdowns (9 on the ground, 1 through the air). But it was clear in Tennessee’s loss to Baltimore in the AFC Divisional Round that the Titans lacked offensive playmakers. So they signed former Steeler Nate Washington and drafted Kenny Britt in the first round to give their receiving corps a boost. Will it be enough? We won’t find out about Washington tonight as he continues to battle an injured hamstring, but Britt practiced with the starting offense all week and will get an opportunity to play. Although he lacks elite speed, Britt was a monster after the catch while playing at Rutgers and could give quarterback Kerry Collins a nice weapon tonight in the passing game.

Read the rest of this entry »

For SportingNews.com, Mike Fiorio examines how five big-name players are faring with their new teams.

Jay Cutler

The Chicago Bears made a bold move earlier this year when they uncharacteristically uncorked multiple draft picks and a player for a guy not already on the team.

In so doing, they landed the best quarterback they’ve had in decades.

So far, Cutler has been a mixed bag. Rumblings of problems with linebacker Brian Urlacher didn’t help to create the right warm and/or fuzzy atmosphere. Then Cutler registered an abysmal 30.8 passer rating in the team’s first preseason game at Buffalo, completing five of ten passes with an interception.

Last week was far more encouraging, with Cutler connecting on eight of 13 attempts for 121 yards, a touchdown, and a passer rating of 117.8 against the Giants.

But the real question of whether Cutler is properly getting himself ready to be the Bears’ franchise quarterback will best be answered when he returns to Denver on Sunday night for a game against the team for which he was supposed to be the franchise quarterback deep into the next decade.

In addition to Cutler, Florio discusses Matt Cassel, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Terrell Owens and Albert Haynesworth.

Last month we started looking at last season’s statistics for position players in fantasy football land, and today we’ll look at a position many often overlook. That’s fantasy defenses, which can sometimes put up just enough points to earn your team a victory once in a while. It’s always smart to try and grab one of the top units, although as we’ve seen before, things change, sometimes drastically, from year to year with fantasy D’s. Me? I like to grab my defense before my kicker. This list is based on point totals from one of my leagues, so keep in mind that stats vary from year to year.

1. Baltimore Ravens—The Ravens’ defense is perennially awesome, and we’ll find out for sure how much of that was due to former coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head honcho for the Jets. Ryan took plenty of players with him too, like LB Bart Scott and S Jim Leonhard, but the Ravens still have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs. Reed just keeps getting better every year, and his sick nose for the ball is one reason the Ravens had a league high 26 picks. They will keep scoring low as always, but their 34 sacks last season isn’t much to get excited about. Bottom line: The Ravens won’t be a number one this year, but are still top 10.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to Yahoo Sports, the NFL has begun an investigation on if the Washington Redskins tampered with defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth prior to the start of the free agent signing period.
The Tennessee Titans filed charges with the league in late March stating they were interfered with their efforts in re-signing Haynesworth after the 2008 season.
The Washington Post reported:

Haynesworth is among the people expected to be interviewed by NFL officials possibly as early as this week regarding allegations that the Washington Redskins violated league tampering rules, according to league sources.
NFL investigators have been reviewing information relating to the Redskins’ pursuit of Haynesworth, who formerly played for the Tennessee Titans, and whether his representative was improperly contacted before free agency officially began at midnight Feb. 27. The Redskins and Haynesworth agreed to terms of a deal by 5:30 a.m. Feb. 27.
League investigators are interested in obtaining all communications between Haynesworth’s agent, Chad Speck, and Redskins officials in the weeks before free agency opened. Part of the difficulty, though, in determining the subject matter of the contact is that Speck also represents Redskins wide receiver Malcolm Kelly.

If convicted, the Redskins could lose a pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Last year, the NFL stripped the San Francisco 49ers of a fifth-round draft pick after they ruled the team violated the league’s tampering rules by having an improper conversation with Drew Rosenhaus, agent for Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, about the player’s upcoming free agent status.

Neither the NFL nor Speck commented on the report or the current investigation.

According to the Nashville Tennessean, the Titans have contacted the Cardinals about possibly acquiring wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

But the price tag, in draft picks and compensation, is a concern for any suitor. The Cardinals are reportedly seeking first- and third-round picks for Boldin, and any team that acquired him would have to pony up a new contract as well, potentially worth up to $10 million per year.

Earlier this week, Cardinals GM Rod Graves said he’d received no offers for Boldin.
Currently the Titans have two proven wideouts — Justin Gage and former Steeler Nate Washington, signed earlier this offseason. Adding a veteran receiver isn’t a necessity for the Titans, according to Reinfeldt, but “it would be nice.’’

Other veterans who could be available via trade include Cleveland’s Braylon Edwards, Cincinnati’s Chad Ochocinco and Buffalo’s Roscoe Parrish.

I like the Titans’ mindset this offseason. Even though they had one of the best records in the NFL last season, it was clear in their playoff loss to the Ravens that they lacked weapons on the offensive side of the ball outside of phenomenal rookie Chris Johnson. Nate Washington was a nice addition, but if they could somehow land Boldin, their offense would be one to reckon with in the AFC next year.

That said, they do need to add some bulk to the interior of their defensive line after losing Albert Haynesworth, while defensive end and offensive tackle remain needs as well. So is it worth it for them to give up two picks in the first three rounds to acquire Boldin or would they be better served hanging onto those selections and possibly addressing other needs?

With the first wave of free agency complete in the NFL, this is roughly the point in time where fans start having mental breakdowns regarding why their favorite team hasn’t made many moves.

It’s because they’re smart, Junior.

The draft is just over a month away and it appears that more and more teams have realized that you don’t build a core in free agency – you build it in April.

Two offseasons ago, the 49ers signed Nate Clements, Michael Lewis and Tully Banta-Cain in free agency and all the experts bought into the idea that San Fran had dramatically upgraded its defense in one offseason. But then the games started and it was same old, same old for the Niners as they finished 5-11 and third in the NFC West. As it turns out, the players that San Fran had drafted high in previous years (Rashaun Woods, Alex Smith, Vernon Davis, etc.) didn’t produce.

Last year, the Raiders made the biggest splash in free agency, signing Javon Walker and Gibril Wilson, while trading for young cornerback DeAngelo Hall, leading many to believe that they were heading in the right direction. After going 5-11 and finishing third in the AFC West, only Walker remains on the roster as both Hall and Wilson were released either during (Hall) or after (Wilson) the season. Not unlike the Niners, previous drafts had been the true demise of the Raiders.

According to the Nashville City Paper, Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt is considering filing tampering charges against the Redskins for their signing of Albert Haynesworth.

“We were interested in signing Albert. We tried to sign him, and unfortunately, it didn’t work out. That’s always something we can address with the league, but at this point in time, we’re more focused on the two gentlemen we have here today,� Reinfeldt said.

There were reports of a deal in place between the Redskins and Haynesworth in the days leading up to the opening of free agency, but Haynesworth’s agent Chad Speck refuted those reports.

Fisher mostly dodged the subject when asked.

“They clearly worked a deal that was good for Albert and it must have been good for Washington. That’s all I’m going to say,� Fisher said.

Give me a break. There are a lot of teams that bend the rules when it comes to free agency – that’s why you see so many signings within the first couple hours of the first day free agents can sign with other teams. In the end, it’s probably not worth Reinfeldt’s time as he has better things to do (i.e. finding a replacement for Haynesworth).