Month: February 2009 (Page 8 of 57)

      NFL News and Notes: Chiefs release three, Harrison possibilities and more

      February 25, 2009 /

      – The Chiefs released three players, including quarterback Damon Huard, linebacker Donnie Edwards and cornerback Pat Surtain. Scott Pioli’s cleansing process in KC has begun.

      – The Colts officially released wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Apparently owner Jim Irsay tried to get Harrison to retire, but the wideout wants to keep playing. The Titans, Giants and Eagles could be possible landing spots for the 36-year old.

      – All charges from Jonathan Vilma’s January arrest in Miami have been dropped. This is great news for Vilma, who is set to become a free agent on Friday.

      – Free agent center Jeff Saturday (Colts) apparently wants to play for the Steelers and is willing to move to guard in order to make it happen.

      – After watching game film from last year, Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner attributes quarterback Kyle Orton’s struggles to the ankle injury he suffered midseason. Turenr claims that the injury threw off Orton’s mechanics.

      NFL

      Knicks/Marbury reach buyout agreement

      February 25, 2009 /

      Well, the Stephon Marbury saga is over, at least in New York.

      Marbury is now eligible to play in the playoffs for another team because his release from New York comes before the league’s Sunday deadline.

      With Marbury expected to sign for a pro-rated share of the league’s veteran minimum, Boston’s financial risk is minimal if the experiment doesn’t work and the Celtics decided to subsequently cut Marbury.

      It’s believed that Marbury will be forfeiting in excess of $2 million from his $20.8 million salary this season, which would net the Knicks twice that much because of the luxury-tax savings involved.

      The conventional wisdom here is that he’ll soon sign with the Celtics, who have been trying to shore up their bench all season after losing James Posey to free agency and P.J. Brown to retirement last summer.

      I’m happy that Marbury and the Knicks have been able to part ways. If he does sign with Boston, it will be interesting to see how he fits in with the defending champs.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Did OSU’s Malcolm Jenkins cost himself the top 10 at the combine?

      February 25, 2009 /

      Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, who many scouts feel is the best defensive back in the draft, might have cost himself an opportunity to be a top 10 pick after a poor showing at this year’s scouting combine.

      Malcolm JenkinsJenkins, mentioned as a possible selection of the Browns at No. 5, ran unofficial times of between 4.53 and 4.58 at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. He also dropped some passes in the ball drills, prompting Deion Sanders of the NFL Network to proclaim that Jenkins and a couple of the other DBs were “killing themselves.”

      “His value will be affected by his time, like it or not,” said Mayock. “But there’s a lot of good tape on him and a lot of Cover 2 teams are going to love him at corner.”
      Or perhaps at another position.

      “Some people think day one he’s a Pro Bowl free safety,” said Mayock. “He’s got the size and the strength and the physicality to play the position.”

      Most of the analysts were more concerned about Jenkins’ shaky performance in the ball drills.
      “He kind of followed up [the 40 time] with an average at best — and probably not even average — performance for his skill-set,” said Mayock.

      I watched the combine yesterday on the NFL Network and Jenkins’ performance was as bad as the article suggests. He’s a good player and he had a tremendous collegiate career at Ohio State. The combine doesn’t mean everything, but it’s hard to shake off a bad 40-time when you’re a corner – especially when you’re projected to go in the top 10. Most safeties run n the mid 4.5’s, so this isn’t good for Jenkins’ draft stock.

      What’s interesting about Jenkins being labeled a Cover 2 corner by Mayock is that some say that’s a knock. But the fact of the matter is that most defenses run a variety of coverages (Cover 2, man to man, Cover 4, etc.) and outside of Denver’s Champ Baliey and Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha, there aren’t any true cover corners left in the NFL anymore. So Jenkins being labeled as a Cover 2 corner isn’t a bad thing and chances are he’ll still be a top 15 pick.

      Illinois’ Vontae Davis ran a 4.49 at the combine and is a physical marvel. The knock on him is that he freelances too much in coverage, but he might have done enough at the combine to leapfrog Jenkins as the top corner selected in April.

      College Football, NFL Draft

      Marshawn Lynch’s momma ready to crack the whip

      February 25, 2009 /

      No matter how much money or fame a professional athlete makes, it still doesn’t allow them to escape the wrath of their mothers.

      Case in point, Marshawn Lynch’s momma is growing tired of her son’s recent behavior according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

      Marshawn Lynch“Somebody said his mom must have loosened the leash,” she said in an interview. “If I have to grab the leash back, I’ll do it. Whether you’re 22 or 52, I’ll do it.”

      She said Marshawn Lynch, 22, has had trouble adjusting to his new life, the one with the $10 million in guaranteed money from a six-year, $18.9 million contract he signed after being the 12th pick of the 2007 NFL draft.

      “It’s been a big culture change for him,” she said. “It’s a shock. It hasn’t really sunk in to Marshawn – the stardom and everything that goes with it. He doesn’t like the media attention. I told him at Cal, ‘You’re a role model now.’ ”

      Another close friend, who didn’t want to be identified, said, “He’s a good person, but he’s hanging around with the wrong people. He needs to grow up.”

      Marshawn seems like a good kid, but if the close friend is right and he’s hanging out with the wrong people, that’s not good.

      When the dog-fighting story became public early last year, reports surfaced that Michael Vick was hanging out with the wrong people. Not that Lynch and Vick are the same person or that Marshawn is fighting dogs in his spare time, but friends can often have an influence on your behavior. And I’m sure it’s hard for these athletes to make millions of dollars and try to convince their childhood friends that they’re still the same person but in the case of Lynch, he needs to forget about impressing his crew and start cleaning up his act.

      As Vick proved, all of the money and fame can be taken away in a heartbeat if you start getting mixed up in the wrong things off the gridiron.

      NFL

      Report: Shaun Rogers asks out of Cleveland

      February 25, 2009 /

      According to NFL.com’s Adam Schefter, Shaun Rogers has asked the Browns not to pick up the $6 million bonus that is due to him next month because he’d rather be released.

      Shaun RogersRogers has grown so disenchanted with the situation in Cleveland that he has asked the Browns not to pick up the $6 million option-bonus payment due to him next month, a source close to the defensive tackle said. Rogers would rather be released after one season with the Browns, despite still being owed another $15 million in guaranteed money.

      Some of Rogers’ feelings stem back to two offseason incidents in which he believes Mangini disrespected him. The first time, Mangini walked into the Browns’ training room and failed to say hello to Rogers. The next time, at a public charity function in which both men were in the green room, neither said hello to the other, and Mangini later said he didn’t know Rogers was there.

      The Browns believe that, once Rogers hears out Mangini, the same will occur. The situation will be soothed over, hard feelings will dissipate and Cleveland will have a happy defensive tackle.

      Cutting Rogers would be difficult to do financially. If the Browns release Rogers, they would have to count more than $9.7 million against their salary cap.

      This situation will probably blow over once the two decide to sit down and talk but either way, this isn’t a good start for Mangini. Not that a coach has to walk around and kiss everybody’s ass on the first day, but players are big on the “respect factor” and obviously Rogers feels that he has been disrespected twice already by Mangini.

      Rogers was labeled as a lazy, unmotivated and temperamental player in Detroit. When he was traded to Cleveland, he cleaned up his act and turned out to be the Browns’ best defender. In fact, he probably turned in his best season as a pro and there’s no question that the Browns need this guy on their D-line.

      Again, the situation will probably be worked out, but Mangini needs to move quickly.

      NFL

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