Month: August 2008 (Page 9 of 50)

      Chargers build secondary through draft

      August 26, 2008 /

      In the weeks leading up to the kickoff the 2008 NFL Season, I’ll take a look at position groups that could potentially lift teams to new heights, or bury them and their postseason hopes. Today I take a look at how the San Diego Chargers have successfully built their secondary through the draft.

      Like any good team and successful franchise, the San Diego Chargers took their time building their secondary. Instead of signing big name free agents to overpriced contracts every offseason, the Chargers built their defensive backfield through the draft and last year finished in the top 15 against the pass, as well as owned the NFL’s interception leader in Antonio Cromartie.

      The only defensive back with more than three years of starting experience is corner Quentin Jammer, a former top five pick from the 2002 NFL Draft. While he’s never lived up to his lofty draft status (he’s never recorded more than four interceptions in a single season), Jammer certainly hasn’t been a bust either. He’s given the Chargers a steady starter and now a veteran presence in their secondary.

      Opposite Jammer is Cromartie, a former 2006 first round pick who finished the 2007 season with 10 interceptions and a highlight-reel worth of amazing plays. When San Diego drafted the former FSU product in 2006, it was viewed as an incredible risk considering he had not played in an entire year after tearing his ACL in July of 2005. But Cromartie showed off his amazing talent and play making ability last year and now is a future star in the league.

      The safeties are second year player Eric Weddle and former undrafted free agent Clinton Hart. Weddle doesn’t excel at one facet of the game, but he’s technically sound and the Chargers valued his versatility so much that they traded back into the second round to acquire him in 2007. Hart paid his dues on special teams before becoming a starter last year and he made the most of the opportunity, recording 85 tackles and five interceptions.

      This unit isn’t going to stand out when discussing the best defensive backfields in the league, but the Chargers have certainly built a solid secondary over the years. Each player understands his role and the unit plays well together as a whole. It certainly helps that the front seven has done a great job of getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, too.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Jay Mariotti rips Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo

      August 26, 2008 /

      Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti recently took aim at Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo, ripping him for drafting OT Chris Williams in the first round of April’s draft when he knew he had a herniated disc in his back.

      Now, Jackhammer Jerry is embarrassing himself publicly and making me wonder if the clock has started ticking on his Halas Hall employment. Sunday, he hastily summoned reporters for a conference call that turned into a mass scolding of the media, always the first sign that a sports executive is feeling heat. Never mind that he is the one who drafted left tackle Chris Williams in the first round while knowing the player had a herniated disc in his back, not the kind of injury risk worth taking when: (a) the Bears have an offensive line constructed from dental floss and marshmallow treats; and (b) Angelo has a woeful record of drafting during his seven years in power.

      Jerry Angelo, you are ridiculous. What happened is that the Bears fell in love with Williams, who filled a desperate need, while underplaying the possibility that a herniated disc could burn them. Sure enough, they were scorched on the second day of training camp, when Williams suffered a new injury to the same disc. It led to surgery that will sideline him for most, if not all, of his first season. Granted, anyone who suggests Angelo wasn’t aware of the injury isn’t being fair. On draft day, he pointed out that the team’s medical staff examined the back “once, twice and a third time’…”But where Angelo blew it is when he shrugged off those three examinations as if they were frivolous when, in fact, the necessity of three exams only screamed potential trouble.

      Point is, Angelo never has manufactured enough credibility as a drafter to allow himself the benefit of doubt to gamble. When Williams finally spoke up the other day about the injury, and delivered the news with matter-of-fact bluntness, it exposed the Bears as having taken a nonchalant risk. “I had a herniated disc before I got here,” Williams said. “We knew that. Everyone knew that…

      Mariotti is right. Angelo screwed the pooch this offseason when he didn’t at least make an attempt at free agent offensive linemen Alan Faneca, Justin Smiley, Jake Scott or Travelle Wharton. He pigeonholed himself into taking Williams in the first round because of his inactivity during the offseason. Not only that, but Williams was a reach considering Branden Albert and Jeff Otah (two linemen rated higher than Williams) were still available. The Bears’ offensive line looks like a mess.

      It might be a long season in Chi-Town.

      NFL

      Giants contact Michael Strahan about return

      August 25, 2008 /

      According to the New York Daily News, Giants’ GM Jerry Reese has reached out to Michael Strahan’s agent about possibly returning to the team in wake of Osi Umenyiora’s season-ending injury.

      According to the agent, Tony Agnone, he spoke with Reese earlier today about whether Strahan would be interested in returning to the Giants. Agnone said the discussion was very general and very preliminary and definitely didn’t involve any talks about money.

      They ended with Reese telling Agnone to let the Giants know if and when Strahan decides he’s serious about a return.

      “They reached out and they talked to us about the possibility of Strahan returning,” Agnone said. “It’s something he’s thinking about.”

      Agnone said that Strahan wasn’t considering a return at all before his friend and former teammates, Osi Umenyiora, suffered a season-ending knee injury Saturday night. After seeing that, Agnone said, Strahan “feels the ship isn’t even out of the harbor and they’re already taking on the cannons. He feels like maybe he should jump back in there.”

      Agnone insisted he had no idea what the 37-year-old Strahan would decide to do, or what would happen if he told the Giants officially that he’d like to return.

      If I were a betting man (“if” – ha!), I’d throw money on Strahan returning. Either way I think it’s a good move by the Giants. I know they’d be willing to move Mathias Kiwanuka from outside linebacker back to end (he played end in college), but why move him after he’s already spent two years learning linebacker? And when Umenyiora returns next season, what do they do with Kiwanuka? Move him back to end? Strahan coming back for one more year just makes sense if he’s willing to do it.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bengals shopping Rudi Johnson, Chad Johnson to play with torn labrum

      August 25, 2008 /

      With the emergence of Chris Perry and Kenny Watson, the Cincinnati Bengals are reportedly shopping running back Rudi Johnson.

      ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the Bengals are shopping Rudi Johnson in trade talks.
      Mort says they’re asking for a “real receiver,” or someone who could help if Chad Johnson (partially torn labrum) has a setback. We doubt Cincy could get anything for Rudi, but this may be a sign the team is ready to move on with Chris Perry and Kenny Watson. Johnson’s roster spot could be in doubt.

      Johnson is only 28, but he got a ton of carries from 2004 through 2006 and he looked worn down last year. It just goes to show you how much of a pounding this running backs take. It’s no wonder more teams have moved on to a running back-by-committee approach in efforts to keep their players healthy and fresh all season.

      On a related note, Bengals’ wide receiver Chad Johnson apparently will play with a torn labrum this season according to the team’s website.

      Chad Johnson jammed his feet into his locker and angled his arms down on his stool and executed the pushups on what ESPN.com is reporting as a torn left labrum.

      But nothing has changed. While he said he would need surgery if the shoulder pops out again (and that is presumed to be a season-ending procedure), he said “it’s unlikely.”

      But, it’s the kind of injury where people have had it pop out in their sleep. So he is literally snap-to-snap, and he says he won’t need the surgery, “If I make it through.”

      Wearing a harness on his shoulder and his ankles taped as if he was going to go through a full practice, Johnson said he’s talked to 10 players who have played seasons with the injury. Among them are Kellen Winslow, Donte Stallworth and Brian Westbrook.

      Well if the man is doing pushups, obviously the injury isn’t too serious. But still, it can’t be good that he could miss the season if it pops out again (something that could happen even if he slept on it wrong).

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Review of “10 Yards” – a fantasy football documentary

      August 25, 2008 /

      Fantasy football teams are like assholes… everyone has one. Okay, not everyone has a fantasy football team, but an estimated 20 million people do and the number seems to be growing every year. The game’s exploding popularity makes it ripe for a documentary and filmmakers Hunter Weeks and Josh Caldwell stepped in to fill the void.

      “10 Yards” follows three friends, Hunter, Josh and J. Fred (a.k.a. “The Commish”), who own and operate three of the 15 teams in the Intergalactic Championship League. Hunter and Josh travel around the country interviewing different fantasy football players, real football players and analysts (including Boomer Esiason and Shannon Sharpe) to get insight into why the game has become so popular. Meanwhile, The Commish chimes in with his weekly diary covering all the league happenings as well as his random ramblings. Over the course of the film, a full season is played and a champion is crowned.

      Like “King of Kong,” “Air Guitar Nation” and “Word Wars” before it, “10 Yards” attempts to take a humorous slant on the hobby of a subsection of society. Unfortunately, the cast of characters in “10 Yards” isn’t nearly as unique or as engaging as those of the aforementioned docs. They’re not trying to set the world record score in Donkey Kong, flying to Europe to compete in an air guitar compeition or entering cutthroat Scrabble tournaments. They’re regular, average Joes, just like you and me, and truth be told, we’re just not that interesting. The film has its moments, but too much of its humor comes off as shtick.

      That said, Weeks and Caldwell do a nice job of moving from one topic to another, all the while keeping the season-long storyline – the retirement of The Commish – in sight. The graphics and transitions are smooth and the film is well constructed. “10 Yards” is a worthwhile distraction for hardcore fantasy footballers and for those that want to learn about the game (or about those who play it).

      Starting August 21 and running for two weeks, OurStage.com is offering a download of the film if you register with the site. (It’s free.) SnagFilms.com will stream the movie for free and allow for viral sharing via its widgets. A nationwide DVD release rolls out on September 30.

      Fantasy Football, NFL, Video

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