Month: August 2006 (Page 14 of 16)

Titans battle on and off the field

August 10, 2006 / Bob

The Tennessee Titans training camp got physical as LenDale White spit in the face of 3rd year defensive back Donnie Nickey. White has been struggling to make a statement this summer and losing his patience on a regular basis. Coach Jeff Fisher believes in discipline and will not tolerate this type of activity.
LenDale is learning quickly that large holes and soft tackling, which is what Pac Ten football represents, is a thing of the past.

Chris Brown, the current starting running back, is threatening to walk out of camp if he doesn’t get a contract extension or trade soon. Brown is talented and feels that he deserves more security. The Titans find themselves in a very precarious situation, considering Steve McNair has already left for Baltimore.

Lelie heading to Chicago?

August 10, 2006 / Anthony Stalter

Ashley Lelie, the disgruntled wide receiver currently of the Denver Broncos, may be getting closer to his wish of a new NFL destination.

A report from ESPN.com Insider has Lelie being swapped with former first round draft pick DT Michael Haynes of the Chicago Bears.

The Daily Herald (IL) reported on Wednesday that Haynes was not on the Bears’ training camp premise on Tuesday night. However, Chicago GM Jerry Angelo said that was due to Haynes receiving treatment, not because of the trade rumors.

This would be an interesting swap if it did go through and is certainly one that could potentially benefit both teams. Lelie hasn’t showed up to any of the Denver Broncos offseason minicamps, training camps or even stop by for a cup of coffee.

He wants nothing to do with the team and has been stirring up trade talks from as far back as the Broncos’ loss to the Steelers in the AFC title game last season.

The Bears desperately need a receiver to compliment Muhsin Mohammad in their offense and Lelie would provide QB Rex Grossman with a nice down field target. Lelie hasn’t been a touchdown machine, but his 18.3 YPC average would certainly help the Bears in the vertical passing game.

On the flip side of the equation, the Broncos are in desperate need of someone who can rush the passer. Haynes has fallen out of favor in the Chicago organization due to lack of productivity, but could prosper in a Broncos system that has re-birthed former Browns’ miscasts Gerard Warren, Courtney Brown and Ebenezer Ekuban.

The Broncos are solid against the run, but often used complicated blitz packages in order to get pressure on the opposing teams quarterback last year. Haynes could potentially give Denver a better rush with its front four if acquired.

Fantasy Football, NFL

Oh no, Mo! Clarett does it again

August 9, 2006 / John Blake

The former Ohio State star running back, awaiting a court appearance on previous robbery charges, was arrested again after police pulled him over after Clarett did an illegal U-turn. Following a highway chase, police found four loaded guns in his SUV and were forced to use Mace on Maurice because he was not compliant with the officers. They attempted to use a stun gun to subdue Clarett but he was sporting a bullet-proof vest. He was officially charged with carrying a concealed weapon and weaving.

“It took several officers to get him handcuffed,” Sgt. Michael Woods said. “Even after he was placed in the paddy wagon, he was still kicking at the doors and being a problem for the officers.”

After Clarett was placed in a police van, officers discovered a loaded assault rifle on the passenger seat and three handguns in the front of the car, including one in a holster in a backpack on the passenger-side floor.
“We don’t have any idea why he had them or what, if anything, he was going to do with them,” Woods said. Police don’t know where Clarett got the guns or where he was headed or coming from in the SUV. Federal authorities plan to trace the guns’ ownership.

Clarett’s problems just keep coming. Once a promising young athlete destined for stardom, he is now lost and searching for answers. During the short stint he did spend with the Denver Broncos last training camp, several team members tried to reach out and help the kid but Clarett wouldn’t listen.

“He was pretty withdrawn, which is really hard to be being around guys like this in the organization,” Broncos safety Nick Ferguson said. “If you can’t gel with guys on this team, there’s a problem.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been around a bunch of guys reaching out to a guy more than Maurice, trying to help him and a guy not wanting that help,” Shanahan said. “That’s a shame.”

Maurice needs some serious help. With all those weapons stored in his car, you can only imagine what he was planning to do. Clarett certainly hangs out with the wrong crowd and needs to find himself an environment where he is happy and comfortable. Saying he’s in a rough situation is an understatement but fortunately he’s still young and has his whole life ahead of him. Find some guidance and some help now so that the rest of your life doesn’t go down the tubes, because it’s heading in that direction.

NFL

New Man: Goodell replaces Tagliabue as NFL commissioner

August 9, 2006 / Anthony Stalter

The NFL owners have officially selected their new league commissioner to replace long-time headman Paul Tagliabue.

Roger Goodell, the 47-year-old longtime second hand man to Tagliabue, will take over the reigns of a $6 billion-a-year industry. Goodell will have the pleasure in stepping into one of, if not the top professional league in America.

As ESPN.com columnist Len Pasquarelli points out, however, the league doesn’t come without its fair share of issues.

Perhaps the most daunting reality is this one: Although the league and the NFL Players Association touted the recent extension to the collective bargaining agreement as a long-lasting peace, it really isn’t. The two sides have the option, as early as November 2008, of opting out of the agreement. There certainly have been strong indications from several owners who believe the union won excessive advantages, and also from NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw, that they may exercise the opt-out rights as soon as they can.
That would turn back the clock, perhaps, to the precipice on which the league and its players stood only five months ago. In fact, five months after the CBA extension was ratified, it still doesn’t really exist in written form, and there are still key issues over which the two sides can’t agree. One owner has joked that the CBA extension might actually be voided before anyone receives a final copy of it, or before the so-called “qualifiers” that determine the enhanced revenue sharing are in place.

As scary as it sounds that the two sides don’t even have a written deal in place that would keep a salary cap in the NFL for longer than 2008, the fact that Goodell has been a right hand man for Tagliabue for nearly a decade is a great thing.

Unlike Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, league officials have done a great job of keeping the NFL the same as when Pete Rozelle was commissioner. Plus, having all 32 owners on your side, which was achieved when he was elected, only bestows confidence in Goodell that he can instill peace in future debates.

The game hasn’t totally deviated from its original inception and fans will appreciate Goodell trying to keep it that way.

NFL

Stock watch: Carson Palmer

August 8, 2006 / Jamey Codding

One of the biggest question marks heading into the season is Bengals QB Carson Palmer. If healthy, Palmer probably deserves to be the second QB off the board (behind Peyton Manning, of course), but at the very least his talent makes him a top-three guy, depending on how you view Tom Brady. But Palmer’s postseason knee injury makes his draft prospects a bit tough to gauge. Questions remain about just how healthy he’ll be this season following extensive reconstructive surgery to repair two torn knee ligaments and a dislocated kneecap, and even more doubts surround his ability to take the field week 1 against the Chiefs.

Well, the news that the Bengals have ramped up Palmer’s practice workload is certainly promising for his fantasy owners as well as Bengals fans the world over (yes, we believe there are some outside of Cincinnati):

The move came after Palmer publicly lobbied for more snaps, and privately implored coach Marvin Lewis to give him more work. It also came after a weekend in which Cincinnati coaches and executives huddled with doctors and trainers to review the status of Palmer’s rehabilitation.
The result: Palmer, who took only about 40 percent of the repetitions with the first-unit offense during the opening week of camp, logged roughly 70-80 percent of the Monday practice snaps. That level of activity is expected to continue through this week, unless Palmer has a setback, which is not anticipated.
“He feels like the more snaps he gets, the better he feels,” Lewis said. “We told him to wait until the second week and see how he felt and got through the first week. Now we can begin to ratchet up the snaps. He can get them when he’s on the field. When he’s not out there, [backups Anthony Wright and Doug Johnson)]can go back and kind of split it.”

Of course, this news still doesn’t guarantee that he’ll be ready for the Chiefs September 10, but the chances appear to be improving by the week.

So what does this all mean for Palmer’s fantasy stock? Well, not much, I’d say. He’s still a risky bet as the second or third QB, but it’s a bet that could certainly pay off for whoever decides to roll the dice on him. Personally, I’m not touching Palmer this season unless he really slips, but that has more to do with my own draft strategy than it does with Palmer’s recovery. With so many quality starters available in the middle rounds, nabbing Palmer in the third or fourth isn’t all that appealing to me. But I’m not taking Brady there either, nor would I draft Peyton in the first round.

All of that said, if you’re intent on taking a quarterback early, the odds of Palmer being an elite fantasy QB this season are better today than they were yesterday.