Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 591 of 1503)

Bengals’ Chris Henry dies after falling from truck

In sad news, 26-year-old Bengals’ receiver Chris Henry died early Thursday morning after falling out of the back of a truck on Wednesday in a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

From USA Today:

He was involved in a domestic dispute on Wednesday with his fiance, Loleini Tonga. Henry jumped into the bed of a truck driven by Tonga and at one point fell out as the dispute continued.

His agent, Andy Simms, said Wednesday night that Henry was “battling for his life.”

A five-year veteran, Henry played eight games this season before suffering a broken arm that ended his year on Nov. 8.

Throughout his playing career, Henry was often in the news for all the wrong reasons. A string of arrests often made him the butt of jokes on blogs and at one time, it appeared that the troubled, yet talented receiver would never clean up his act.

But this past year, he did just that. He publicly credited Tonga for helping turn his life around and getting him focused on football again. In the summer, several of his Bengals teammates remarked that he was a changed player and that he was in store for big things this season. Unfortunately, an injury cost him most of his 2009 season but he had stopped getting into trouble, which was more important than what he did on the field.

My thoughts go out to Henry’s family.

Redskins GM Cerrato resigns, Snyder hires Allen

Redskins fans got an early Christmas present this year as vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato has decided to resign. ESPN.com reports that owner Daniel Snyder has hired former Raiders and Bucs GM Bruce Allen to take Cerrato’s place.

In a statement released by the team Thursday morning, Cerrato said he has had numerous conversations with team owner Daniel Snyder over the last few weeks about the team’s future.

“We agreed that the franchise needs someone different in this position,” Cerrato said in a statement released by the team. “I’m thankful to Dan Snyder and other members of his ownership team for the opportunities I’ve been given over the years.”

For the past two seasons, Cerrato has held the post of executive vice president of football operations. This year’s Redskins are 4-9 and have struggled in part because of a lack of depth along the offensive line.

“Of course, I am disappointed with this year’s results, but I strongly believe that with outstanding draft picks and encouraging performance by our younger players, we have laid a strong foundation for the franchise,” Cerrato said in the statement.

Allen should provide an instant upgrade over Cerrato, who had no clue what he was doing during drafts and who wildly spent money on the wrong free agents. He also managed to alienate a proud Redskins fan base, which was arguably his biggest crime.

It’ll be interesting to see Allen in action with an owner that is willing to spend in attempts to win. In Tampa, Allen was handcuffed by cheap owners and he still managed to build a talented roster. He might be a perfect fit in Washington.


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Report: Browns offer Mike Holmgren a contract

According to WKYC-TV in Cleveland, the Browns have offered Mike Holmgren a contract in the $8-10 million per year range to be their football “czar.”

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Holmgren has indicated he’d like to speak with the Seahawks about their vacant general manager position, but the team is in the process of evaluating its own situation and has hired a search firm to come up with possible candidates.
While Cleveland might be content to wait some time for an answer, the Browns can’t be put on hold indefinitely. So it will be interesting to see if Holmgren’s situation there — and a leaked pronouncement that he’s been offered a job — will prod the Seahawks into action.

Seems like this one could go one of two ways. Either the Seahawks will grow tired of being publicly pushed into a quick decision on Holmgren and eliminate him from consideration, or decide they need to move quickly to secure their man.
Meanwhile, Holmgren must decide whether he’s wants to take the first job offered to him in Cleveland, or hold out on the Seahawks or other potential openings when the season concludes in January.

Unless it’s a money issue, I don’t know why the Seahawks wouldn’t act quickly to bring Holmgren back to Seattle as their general manager. The position is open with the departure of Tim Ruskell, so unless Seattle expects to land Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher, it’s perplexing why they wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to bring back Holmgren if he indeed wants the job.

That said, I don’t blame them for not wanting to make a snap decision. But if Holmgren does go elsewhere, the Seahawks better land a capable GM, because Jim Mora isn’t a miracle worker. He’s not the type of head coach that gets the most out of his players; he needs talent in order to succeed or else he’s an average NFL coach at best.

Kudos to the Browns for being aggressive by offering Holmgren a contract. They realize they have a problem at the top and need someone with credibility to come in and rebuild the organization from the ground up. It’ll be interesting to see if they land Holmgren.


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Chris Henry suffers life-threatening injuries

The Charlotte Observer is reporting that Bengals’ wideout Chris Henry suffered life-threatening injuries when he fell out of the back of a pickup truck in Charlotte on Wednesday.

Police say Henry was involved in a “domestic situation” with his fiancee at 840 Peachtree Road. His fiancee, who police haven’t named, got into a pickup truck and drove away from the home. As she was driving, police say, Henry jumped into the bed of the truck.

The domestic dispute continued between the woman and Henry. At some point, Henry “came out” of the back of the vehicle. Police refused to elaborate on whether Henry fell or might have been forced out of the truck.

A woman who answered the door and identified herself as the fiancee’s mother but declined to give her name said Henry and his fiancee had been staying at the house while he was on injured reserve and they were making plans for their wedding.

Henry has certainly had his fair share of off-field issues, but many of his Cincinnati teammates had said that he was starting to turn his life around.

Here’s hoping that he can pull through and have a full recover. My thoughts go out to him and his family.


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Raiders choose Charlie Frye over JaMarcus Russell

Question: You know your career is in shambles when…

Answer: …Charlie Frye is named the starting quarterback over you.

From the Denver Post:

That means JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2007, has again been demoted. Russell was benched last month for Bruce Gradkowski, who is now out with MCL sprains in both knees.

Russell replaced Gradkowski in the second half of last week’s loss to Washington. He threw an interception and was sacked six times.
That performance was enough to make Cable turn to Frye, who has been inactive or did not play in every game this season.

This has to be the nail in the coffin for Russell in Oakland. If Cable retains his job in the offseason, I don’t see how he’ll keep Russell when he’s already chose Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye over him. Even crazy ol’ Al Davis has to see that Russell is a bust.

If he is released, some team will take a shot on Russell because of his size and arm strength. But I doubt he’ll be one of those players that resurrects his career after seeing the light of day. The guy just doesn’t have what it takes to be a professional quarterback because he won’t put in the time to succeed. He’s a mess.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

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