Category: NFL (Page 128 of 1282)

      Fisher: I believe Young can win in this league

      May 11, 2011 /
      Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher gives instructions from the sidelines during the second half of the Kansas City Chiefs’ win in their NFL football game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri December 26, 2010. REUTERS/Dave Kaup (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Despite their rocky relationship, former Titans head coach Jeff Fisher still believes Vince Young can still win in the NFL if he gets into the right situation.

      From NFL.com:

      “Vince has won a lot of games; he’s led teams to the playoffs before,” Fisher said. ”I believe he can (win in the NFL). It’s just a matter of him finding a place that suits him and be in the right place and work hard. But he certainly has that ability.”

      There’s a chance that Fisher is just taking the high road in order to shine good light on himself. After all, trashing Young now only makes him look bitter for the way things ended in Tennessee.

      Still though, he didn’t have to say what he did. He could have avoided saying anything positive at all – in fact, he could have said something negative and made it even harder for Young to find opportunities to play elsewhere. He may be saying something completely different about Young behind closed doors, but it’s big of him to say positive things to the media about a quarterback that he’s had a tumultuous relationship with in the past.

      One other note on Young: two sources tell the Washington Examiner’s John Keim that they would be shocked if Young wound up playing for the Redskins next year. There had been talk that the Skins were the frontrunners for V.Y.’s services, but coach Mike Shanahan has a strong friendship with Fisher and former Titans’ coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, leading some to believe that neither of them will give a ringing endorsement for their former QB. (Despite what Fisher said above.)

      External Sports, NFL

      Reggie Bush challenges Skip Bayless to NFL duel

      May 10, 2011 /
      New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (25) slips the tackle of New York Giants corner back Kevin Dockery (35) before walking into the endzone for a touchdown during the first half of their NFL football game at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana October 18, 2009. REUTERS/Sean Gardner (UNITED STATES SPORT FOOTBALL)

      A day after Reggie Bush took to his Twitter account to proclaim his fondness for the lockout (more on that in a sec), he has now taken aim at ESPN “analyst” Skip Bayless.

      Here’s what Bush said on Monday about the lockout:

      Everybody complaining about the lockout! Shoot I’m making the most of it! Vacation, rest, relaxing, appearances here and there! I’m good!

      Right about now we would be slaving in 100 degree heat, practicing twice a day, while putting our bodies at risk for nothing.

      FYI last tweet was a joke! Relax people damn it’s called sense of humor! Cry me a river why don’t you…

      And here’s what he tweeted about Bayless on Tuesday:

      Skippy Skipper Skip Bayless said my performance on the field doesn’t give me a right to speak my mind! But his performance does! MY BAD!

      I mean what was I thinking! This guy Skipper put it in so much blood, sweat, and heart into this game all behind a desk! You got it boss!

      Let me take a step back and bow down to Skippy Bayless! All Hail the great Skipper! He def has my Hall of Fame Vote! Canton here we come!

      This is an Official Challenge to 1 on 1 full gear and full contact with Skip Bayless! Plus a full conditioning drill and weight lifting!

      If I win he wears a 25 jersey and a dress plus makeup on his show, he wins he gets a full game check! I bet he won’t accept my challenge!!!

      It’s hard to tell if Bush was irked by Bayless’ comments or if he merely thinks they’re comical. Not too many people take anything Bayless says to heart, so I would think that Bush is just trying to play up Bayless’ comments by mocking him and making a not-so-subtle point about how the ESPN talking head couldn’t cut it in the NFL.

      Personally, I think those types of comments by athletes are a little tired. No, most writers wouldn’t be able to handle one millisecond playing in the NFL. But most political writers don’t have what it takes to run the country either and they still comment on Obama’s decision-making. Athletes are paid to do what they do, while writers are paid to do what they do (i.e. report, facilitate discussion, piss off fans, etc.).

      The whole Bush v. Bayless commentary is humorous although I find Reggie’s original tweets about the lockout far more intriguing. He says he was only joking and maybe he was. But it’s pretty ill-advised to be championing the vacation-like benefits of the lockout when his fellow players are claiming that the labor dispute is causing irreparable harm.

      Once again, this is an instance where an athlete would have been better served staying off Twitter.

      External Sports, NFL

      Report: Matt Hasselbeck done in Seattle

      May 9, 2011 /
      Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck runs off the field after losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC divisional playoff at Soldier Field in Chicago on January 16, 2011. The Bears won 35-24. UPI/Brian Kersey

      ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is not expected to return to the Seahawks in 2011.

      From Rotoworld.com:

      Schefter made this statement on NFL Live, and ESPN’s John Clayton — a former Seahawks beat writer — has been saying the same. Charlie Whitehurst is the only Seattle quarterback under contract, and OC Darrell Bevell’s ties to free agent Tarvaris Jackson could lead to another offseason addition. Neither Whitehurst nor Jackson is a starting-caliber quarterback, however.

      Interesting that a report like this would come out two weeks after the Seahawks failed to address their need at quarterback via the draft. As Rotoworld points out, Whitehurst will have the opportunity to earn the starting job but one has to believe that Pete Carroll will make a run at Carson Palmer, Kevin Kolb, Kyle Orton or Vince Young when/if they become available when/if the lockout is lifted. (Palmer would make the most sense because of his ties to Carroll at USC, but he’s not the long-term fix the Seahawks need so Seattle may take a pass if Cincinnati makes him available.)

      If Hasselbeck is indeed done in Seattle, the Dolphins may be a fit. The Redskins could also be interested too, as Hasselbeck is familiar with Mike Shanahan’s system having played 13 years in the West Coast Offense.

      External Sports, NFL

      Are the owners using blood testing as a bargaining chip?

      May 9, 2011 /
      NFL commissioner Roger Goodell leaves a federal courthouse after participating in court-ordered talks regarding labor and revenue issues between the NFL and the NFL Players Association in Minneapolis, April 19, 2011. REUTERS/Eric Miller (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL CRIME LAW BUSINESS)

      The New York Times is reporting that the NFL has talked to the World Anti-Doping Agency about possibly overseeing testing of players for performance-enhancing drugs if a federal appeals court forces the league to end the lockout.

      That could even eventually include blood tests for human growth hormone, which have never been administered to N.F.L. players but which the league has in recent years said it wants to include in the next collective bargaining agreement, the official said.

      The N.F.L. and the players union have resisted third-party administration of drug testing, the protocol and penalties of which were negotiated as part of the collective bargaining agreement.

      But without an agreement in place, and with the decertified union unable to negotiate on behalf of players, the N.F.L. would be able to unilaterally impose a drug-testing program and penalties — much as it could impose rules related to the salary cap and free agency — although it could be subject to challenge by players in court. But the N.F.L. contends that without a union to provide checks and balances, a third party overseeing the program may be necessary for credibility and transparency.

      Does anyone else get the sense that the NFL is trying to use blood testing (which the players have been adamantly opposed to for years) as a bargaining chip for if/when they lose in court and the lockout is lifted?

      “Hi players…yes, that was a nice victory in court. Well played – you got us. Just to let you know though: WADA will be testing everyone’s blood for HGH from here on out…What’s that? Sure, we’d love to return to the bargaining tables and hammer something out. Great suggestion – we hadn’t thought of that.”

      Of course, Roger Goodell has been trying to beef up the league’s testing policy for a while, so it may be a tad extreme to suggest that the owners are using WADA as a negotiating tactic. I truly believe that Goodell does want to ensure that the game is clean, so it’s not a stretch to think that blood testing has nothing to do with the labor dispute.

      Still, the owners and players are in a battle and I wouldn’t put it past either side to use what they have in terms of bargaining chips. And if the players truly loathe the idea of blood testing, then it’s in the owners’ best interest to use that to their advantage.

      External Sports, NFL

      Rex Ryan’s new book upsets Giants

      May 9, 2011 /
      New York Jets coach Rex Ryan celebrates with fans after they defeated the Buffalo Bills in their final National Football League regular season game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, January 2, 2011. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Not everyone is a fan of Rex Ryan’s brash behavior. In fact, most non-Jet fans are tired of his act and probably wish he’d shut up already.

      As Gary Myers of the New York Daily News writes, this includes Pat Hanlon, the Giants vice president of communications.

      Rex Ryan was relentless on two points on the book tour that just wouldn’t end: The Jets are going to win the Super Bowl; and that he basically considers the Giants and their three Super Bowl championships – the last one just three years ago – a whole bunch of yesterday’s news. Pat Hanlon, the Giants vice president of communications, took several shots at Ryan on Twitter, including, “Tom Coughlin wrote a book, too. It was about a team and an HC that won a Super Bowl.”

      I don’t mind Rex Ryan in the least. I understand why people are tired of hearing about him and I don’t bemoan anyone for taking on the opinion that he should shut his mouth until he’s won something. But while I don’t know him personally, I get why he says the things that he does. It’s not so much that he’s intentionally trying to piss everyone off; I think he’s an intelligent person and all of his moves are calculated.

      That’s not to suggest that he doesn’t believe in what he says. On the contrary: I think he very much believes that the Jets are going to win the Super Bowl every year under his command. And you know what? You need to have that fire and attitude in sports. Nice guys don’t always finish last (look at the Spurs’ dynasty in the NBA over the past decade). But at some point teams need to have that killer instinct and swagger if they’re ever going to raise their game to another level. Ryan’s teams do that thanks in large part to how he treats his players and how he instills confidence in them with what he says.

      Granted, Hanlon’s response to Ryan’s book was excellent. The Giants don’t have to take a backseat to anything that Ryan says: They won a Super Bowl in the past five years while the Jets have come up short the past two seasons. Gang Green has had some success under Ryan but Coughlin and Co. has the hardware (which does all of their talking for them).

      At some point Ryan needs to win a Super Bowl so his words don’t become just a bunch of hot air (if they haven’t already). But in the meantime, his brash bravado is still intriguing.

      External Sports, NFL

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