Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 468 of 1503)

      Seriously interested or smokescreen? Browns talk to Rams about No. 1 pick.

      April 15, 2010 /

      ESPN.com reports that the Browns have had discussions with the Rams about the No. 1 overall pick.

      “We’ve actually played a little phone tag,” Heckert said. “We’ve talked to them throughout the process and have been at workouts with the Rams people and kind of mentioned stuff to them. Just talks. We’ve talked to all the teams ahead of us and all the teams immediately behind us.”

      Mike Holmgren is a big believer in Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, although he was quick to suggest that the Browns will likely go in another direction.

      “He’s the whole package,” Browns president Mike Holmgren said. “Whoever gets him is going to be a lucky team.”

      “Absolutely we love the player, as do a lot of people, but in the real world we’re probably going to go in a different direction there.”

      Teams rarely (if ever) divulge their draft plans, so it’s interesting that Holmgren would talk up Bradford this much. He must know that there’s no way the Browns will move up to get him, so it’s wise for him to talk Bradford up in order to generate more interest in the No. 7 pick.

      Think about it, if Holmgren makes other teams believe that he’s interested in taking a quarterback that high, he might be able to get a package deal for the seventh pick and move out of the top 10. Jimmy Clausen will presumably be available at No. 7 and if teams are worried about the Browns taking him, then maybe they’ll be willing to part with extra picks in order to jump ahead of the Raiders, Bills and Jaguars – three teams that may be interested in Clausen and that pick directly behind Cleveland.

      Holmgren has been known to deal first round picks in the past, so if he wants to do it again this year, he needs to use Clausen as bait. If he’s able to find a trade partner for the seventh overall pick, then he swap first rounders, pick up a cornerback, safety or offensive tackle later in the first and then still get a quarterback like Colt McCoy in the second. It makes sense – if he can find a trade partner, that is.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Witness claims that woman was dragged to bathroom to have sex with Big Ben

      April 15, 2010 /

      From ESPN.com:

      In 5oo-plus pages of documents released Wednesday, Nicole Biancofiore told investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigations that her friend, a student at Georgia College & State University, “was dragged by a bodyguard to the back room in Capital [City, a local nightclub]. She was extremely intoxicated and not aware of what was happening.”

      “He had sex w/me and meanwhile his bodyguards told my friends they couldn’t pass them to get to me,” the accuser wrote in her statement, which was reported in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

      The initial police report said that “One of the suspect’s bodyguards escorted her to a back room/hallway area where the suspect was. Once there, she stated, the suspect asked her for sex. At this time it is unclear to what happened after this point due to the complainant’s recollection being foggy from her intoxication level. However, she did write a statement of what she thought happened.”

      A third friend, Ann Marie Lubatti, told police, that she “approached the other security guard and told him that she [the accuser] was in no shape to be back there with Ben Roethlisberger. He couldn’t look me in the eye, and told me he didn’t know what was going on. My friend went to open the door, and it was locked.”

      It’s hard to sift through all of these reports and get to the facts. Chances are, nobody will know what exactly happened that night, although it sounds like Roethlisberger’s bodyguards have an idea.

      I don’t want to jump to conclusions or cast stones, because I wasn’t there the night the incident happened. But it’s apparent that Roethlisberger doesn’t have the intelligence to stay out of these types of situations. While I don’t bemoan him for wanting to celebrate his birthday, there’s absolutely no reason for him and his cronies to be buying under aged women shots in the back of a bar in the middle of a college town.

      He’s the freaking quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers – you’re telling me he doesn’t have anywhere more upscale to go? And celebrate with people his own age for that matter? Come on.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Steelers reportedly open to trading Big Ben

      April 15, 2010 /

      NFL.com reports that the Steelers have held internal discussions and are willing to listen to trade offers for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

      According to the source, Steelers ownership remains dismayed and embarrassed by Roethlisberger’s actions in a Georgia college town this offseason and finds his string of off-the-field incidents troubling. The team has been closely monitoring the public backlash against Roethlisberger.

      “The Rooneys are livid,” the source said.

      The Steelers’ front office has talked internally about possible trade scenarios that could be feasible and what makes sense for the team. According to a source, if other teams called about Roethlisberger, the Steelers would intently listen.

      The Steelers could envision several trade scenarios, but they’re skeptical about other teams taking on Roethlisberger, given his baggage. However, they also realize his contract is tradeable in an uncapped year, with the bonuses already paid and Roethlisberger signed for six more years at a manageable salary for a franchise quarterback ($8.05 million in 2010, $11.6 million per year from 2011 to 2014, and $12.1 million in 2015).

      The article goes on to say that the Steelers are “enamored” with Sam Bradford, but unless the Rams are willing to trade them the top overall pick then Pittsburgh won’t have the opportunity to draft the Oklahoma product.

      It’ll be interesting to see whether or not the Steelers are actually willing to trade Big Ben or if they’re just trying to put a scare into him. It’s not like teams can walk into the supermarket and shop for franchise quarterbacks down aisle 10, so Pittsburgh knows the risk it’s taking if it does part with Roethlisberger. It could be a move that essentially changes the dynamics of their franchise and considering he’s only 28, I doubt the Steelers are ready to go down that road right now.

      That said, there’s no question that the organization is peeved about this situation. They traded Santonio Holmes for a roll of toilet paper, so clearly they’re not opposed to make bold moves to send a message. While they won’t give up Big Ben for peanuts, if they’re offered fair (or even slightly less than fair) value I think it’s a very real possibility that Roethlisberger’s days in Pittsburgh are numbered.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Dhani Jones blasts Rich Rodriguez

      April 15, 2010 /

      While appearing on Jim Rome’s television show on Tuesday, Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones (who is a Michigan alum) had some choice words for Wolverines’ head coach Rich Rodriguez.

      From Fanhouse.com:

      “I’m not cool with him,” Jones said of Rodriguez. “I’m at my wits end right now. I mean, you can’t come in and explain that you’re going to do all this, and then your first year? Terrible. Second year? Alright — but then terrible. You have to be able to change something if you’re really going to make a statement. You have to do it within the first two years, and this is his third.”

      I think Dhani speaks for most frustrated Michigan fans, who had high hopes for Rich Rod when he spat in West Virginia’s face a couple of years ago in order to come to Ann Arbor. He’s been nothing short of a disaster since arriving to the program and he has never recovered after losing out to Ohio State in the Terrelle Pryor sweepstakes three years ago.

      Considering he’s under investigation for possibly violating NCAA rules, one more losing season and Rodriguez will likely be shown the door at Michigan. Or, at least that’s what Wolverine fans are hoping.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football, NFL

      Will the Browns trade their first round pick?

      April 15, 2010 /

      Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository speculates that the Browns could wind up trading their first round pick (No. 7 overall) based on Mike Holmgren’s draft history.

      Is it a stretch to anticipate an 80-percent chance that Holmgren will pull off a trade involving the Browns’ first-round pick?

      Not necessarily. In Holmgren’s 10 years as head coach in Seattle, the Seahawks made eight trades involving Round 1 selections.

      Is that information deceiving in that Holmgren doubled as GM and head coach in only five of those years?

      Quite the contrary.

      In Holmgren’s first four seasons as GM, 1999-2002, he made five trades involving Round 1 picks — all involving first-round choices that hadn’t yet been made.

      Within his first three months with the Browns, Holmgren has traded out two past first-round picks, quarterback Brady Quinn and linebacker Kamerion Wimbley.

      It’s incredibly hard to trade out of the top 5, but it does get easier for teams that want to trade out of the top 6-10 picks. If the Browns want to trade down, quarterback Jimmy Clausen might be the key to them doing so. If a team wants to jump ahead of the Raiders, Bills and Jaguars in order to nab Clausen, the Browns are sitting in the perfect spot at No. 7. The only catch is that the Raiders (No. 8), Bills (No. 9) and Jaguars (No. 10) are the three teams that are most likely to pull the trigger on Clausen in the first round.

      In my latest mock draft, I have the Browns selecting Tennessee safety Eric Berry at No. 7, although Florida cornerback Joe Haden and offensive tackles Anthony Davis (Rutgers) and Bryan Bulaga (Iowa) are possibilities as well. (Assuming Russell Okung and Trent Williams, the top offensive linemen in the draft, are off the board.) If Holmgren chooses to stay put at No. 7, it’s very likely that he’ll land a prospect that can contribute right away.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL, NFL Draft

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