Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 533 of 1503)

Marshall suddenly changing his tune

In a surprise reversal of attitude, Broncos’ receiver Brandon Marshall admitted to the Denver Post that he was unprofessional last season in his actions.

“Learning from last year and last offseason, I approached things unprofessional,” Marshall said today at the Super Bowl XLIV media center. “This offseason I’m just going to go with the flow and just go in whatever direction the Broncos want to go.”

Marshall was an unhappy Bronco last year when he protested his contract situation by holding out from a mandatory minicamp in June and acting up during a preseason practice in August. He put his issues behind him to make 101 catches through 15 games, but he found more trouble in the season’s final week.

When he tweaked his hamstring in a Wednesday practice, and showed up 20 minutes late for treatment on Friday morning, Marshall was deactivated from the final game against Kansas City.

Is Marshall now having second thoughts about leaving the Broncos?

“I don’t know if I would call it, second thoughts,” Marshall said. “Last year I handled things totally wrong. I just looked at the business side of things and took things too personally. This year I’m going to remove myself from the situation and let the Broncos decide the direction we’re going to go in as an organization.”

There’s a possibility that Marshall has seen the error of his ways and is taking the necessary steps in order to turn around his attitude and look at things more realistically. But chances are, somebody (his agent?) got to him and told him that he needs to toe the company line until the Broncos trade him, or else he’ll never gets what he wants, which is a new contract.

The problem is that no matter how pleasant Marshall seems in interviews this offseason, teams are already well aware of the risk they’ll take if they try and acquire him. His track record speaks for itself and considering that his attitude soured last year as soon as the Broncos started losing, I don’t think teams will be fooled by the new, contrite Brandon Marshall.


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Super Bowl XLIV Preview: 5 Potential MVPs not named Manning or Brees

As part of our ongoing coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, here are five potential MVP candidates outside of Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

1. Reggie Wayne, WR, Colts
Wayne only caught three passes for 55 yards in the AFC title game, but that was because he was locked up with stout corner Darrelle Revis, who has a habit of limiting a receiver’s impact. But Wayne caught eight passes for 63 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens in the Divisional Round and Revis won’t be anywhere near the field come Sunday. Wayne has five 100-plus yard receiving efforts this season and one more could earn him the Super Bowl’s highest achievement (outside of a ring of course). He only caught two passes against the Bears the last time he played in the NFL title game, but they went for 61 yards and a touchdown. If his quarterback doesn’t yank the award away from him, then Wayne could be taking home the MVP hardware come Sunday night.

2. Marques Colston, WR, Saints
In an era dominated by diva receivers, Colston is one wideout that is easy to root for. He’s quiet, unselfish and brimming with talent. He’s also reliable and if he gets enough opportunities, he might explode on Sunday and earn the MVP award in his first ever trip to the Super Bowl. In the Divisional Round, Colston hauled in six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown, and seems to save his best performances for top competition. In Week 6 of the regular season against the Giants, he caught eight passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, and in Week 12 against the Patriots he hauled in four passes for 121 yards and a score. Even in a losing effort against Dallas in Week 15, he caught five passes for 86 yards, including a 35-yard strike that led to a Saints’ field goal early in the second quarter. Outside of Brees, the only reason Colston might not have a fair opportunity to win the MVP award is because he’s on a team that is loaded with other receiving weapons. This is where the aforementioned unselfishness comes in, because there’s no doubt that Colston would rather catch one pass for 10 yards and win, than catch 10 passes for 150 yards and lose.

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Ravens owner rips Yankees…for not winning 130 games a year.

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti apparently isn’t a huge fan of the Yankees (or their spending) and isn’t afraid to admit it.

From the Baltimore Sun:

“It certainly doesn’t show up in the standings,” Bisciotti said. “If I’m a Yankees fan, I’m upset we’re not winning 130 games with the roster that they have and the money that they pay out. I think it’s a disgrace they only beat the average team by 10 games in the standings with three times the money. I’d fire that GM. You don’t need a GM. All you have to do is buy the last Cy Young Award winner every year.”

Granted, I realize that Bisciotti’s comments are meant to be over-the-top and are somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But I always find it humorous when the same argument about the Yankees is made every year: They spend the most, so therefore they should win the World Series every season. In no other walk of life is that argument accepted, yet Yankee-haters abide by it like it’s their constitutional law.

Do you always get what you pay for? Absolutely not. If I spend a truckload on a new car, is it guaranteed to outperform all other vehicles? No. If I spend $100 on a steak, is it guaranteed to taste better than a $50 steak? In essence it should, but again, there’s no guarantee.

So, why is it a shock to people that just because the Yankees spend more than everyone that they don’t win every year? I get the thought process behind it, but it’s an incredibly weak argument in the grand scheme of things. When it comes down to it, the players that the Yankees “buy” still have to execute on the field. It’s not like other teams stroll into New York and say, “Ah crap, we’re playing the Yankees tonight and they spend more, so they’re going to win.” It’s actually the opposite – teams get up for playing the Yankees.

Now, don’t take my point out of context. I’m fully aware that the Yankees have an advantage because they spend more. But this half-witted notion that they should win 130 games or take home the World Series every year is a lazy argument made by people that push aside the true meaning of sports and competition. And I get embarrassed for people like Bisciotti (someone on the professional level) when they use it.

Full disclosure: I’m not a Yankee fan. I hate that I have to say that every time I defend them, but if I don’t some wiseguy will lambaste me in the comments section for being a homer.


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Report: Chargers to cut Tomlinson by March 5

In an interview with San Diego radio station XX 1090 on Tuesday, Chargers’ running back LaDainian Tomlinson said that he was unhappy with the changes in the organization and that he wouldn’t take a paycut under any circumstances.

Today, beat writer Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that the Chargers will likely release Tomlinson before his $2 million roster bonus is due on March 5.

Tomlinson is due a $2 million roster bonus on March 5, the first day of the new league year. Provided the new league year is not postponed to allow for further collective bargaining negotiations, Tomlinson will likely be released before then, because the Chargers don’t seem inclined to pay his $5 million total salary. Both sides have said since a restructuring of Tomlinson’s contract last March that the deal would not be reworked again.

This is a breakup that seems destined to happen. The Chargers’ running game was ineffective last season and a 30-year-old Tomlinson isn’t the solution to their problems. With each passing day, it appears more and more likely that LT will be in a different uniform next season.

The question now becomes whether or not other teams will view him as a starter. I think that he could still be effective in a platoon, but I don’t see any team wanting LT to carry the rock 20-plus times a game now. Not that he could anyway with his durability concerns.


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Jaguar offensive lineman Nwaneri blasts Tebow

In a recent posting on the Jaguars’ official web site, offensive lineman Uche Nwaneri lambasted NFL draft prospect Tim Tebow.

From the Florida Times Union:

So Nwaneri posted his five points on Tebow, with capital letters:

“1. He can’t throw, PERIOD.

2. He can’t read any coverage other than probably cover 2 or man.

3. The QB Wildcat WILL NOT WORK IN THIS LEAGUE. PERIOD.

4. He doesn’t know how to take a snap from center.

5. HE CAN’T THROW, and that’s really something you either have or not.”

Nwaneri then urged fans to buy tickets because he doesn’t want to come out “for pregame warmups to a COMPLETELY EMPTY STADIUM ANYMORE.’’

I realize that Nwaneri has some upside and is a starter on Jacksonville’s O-line (plus, I don’t necessarily disagree with what he said), but if I were Tebow the only thing I’d respond with is: Who the hell is Uche Nwaneri?

Of course, Tebow would never say that in response because he’s all class. He has more important things to worry about at this time of year than what some no-name Jaguar offensive lineman has to say about his talent.

And somebody inform Nwaneri that the stadium (any stadium) is never full when the players come out for warm-ups.


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