Category: NFL (Page 387 of 1282)

      T.O. finally receiving serious interest, as Rams make a push for WR

      July 25, 2010 /
      JACKSONVILLE, FL - NOVEMBER 22: Reciever Terrell Owens #81 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on November 22, 2009 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

      Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reports that the Rams are serious about signing Terrell Owens to a contract, presumably because they want to stunt the growth of rookie quarterback Sam Bradford. (Just goofin’!…Kind of.)

      The Rams asked Owens through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, if he would consider a serious contract proposal, even though they are not considered a playoff contender. Rosenhaus told the team Owens would definitely consider it, sources said.

      Apparently the Bengals are also still in the mix for T.O.

      The Cincinnati Bengals, as reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, are also engaged in talks with Owens. The Bengals signed free-agent receiver Antonio Bryant during the offseason but Bryant has struggled so far. According to a team source, that has motivated the Bengals to take another look at Owens.

      One source said the Rams have gotten very aggressive in their pursuit of Owens and it’s possible that Owens will sign with the Rams or Bengals within the next 48 to 72 hours.

      However, the Bengals still have given no indication they’re ready to offer a contract. They want to get a good look at their young wide receivers and have five preseason games to do it. They need some of those guys to play special teams. Chad Ochocinco, Bryant and Owens would not be special teams-type guys, so it’s uncertain how quickly the Bengals would react if they sensed he was about to sign with someone else.

      The names listed on the Rams’ receiving depth chart aren’t going to stand out: Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson, Mardy Gilyard, which is why signing T.O. makes sense on the surface. But believe it or not, all three of those wideouts still have a lot of upside and if they can stay healthy, I for one believe that St. Louis could have a solid receiving corps in 2010 and beyond. I wouldn’t view signing T.O. as a bad thing necessarily, I just don’t think it would be necessary for a team like the Rams.

      The Bengals, on the other hand, make more sense. There wouldn’t be much concern that T.O. would damage the team’s locker room (really, how more can it be damaged?) and Cincy has a veteran quarterback in Carson Palmer who could deal with a personality like the one Owens has. Plus, a trio of Ochocinco, T.O. and Antonio Bryant would, at the very least, be an upgrade over the unit the Bengals had last year. Not that T.O. is an elite receiver or even a great No. 2, but he could be a decent complementary piece in an improved Cincinnati passing game.

      External Sports, NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Jeff Fisher criticizes Lane Kiffin for his lack of professionalism

      July 25, 2010 /

      After Lane Kiffin hired Tennessee running backs coach Kennedy Pola to be his new offensive coordinator at USC, Titans’ head coach Jeff Fisher was a little ticked off that Kiffin didn’t call him first.

      From ESPN.com:

      “I am very disappointed in Lane Kiffin’s approach to this,” Fisher told The Tennessean on Saturday. “Typically speaking, when coaches are interested in hiring or discussing potential employment from coaches on respective staffs there is a courtesy call made from the head coach or athletic director indicating there is an interest in talking to the assistant.

      “So I am very disappointed in the lack of professionalism on behalf of Lane, to call me and leave me a voicemail after Kennedy had informed me he had taken the job. It is just a lack of professionalism.”

      Kiffin claims it was all a matter of timing.

      “We reached out to Kennedy Pola [on Friday] to gauge whether he had any possible interest in returning to USC before we moved forward with the process,” Kiffin said. “Kennedy said he would think about it and get back to us today. Once Kennedy did call back earlier today, out of my great respect for Coach Fisher I immediately reached out to Coach to make him aware of the situation.

      “I have spoken with Coach Fisher and he now has an accurate understanding of the timeline of events.

      “We realize the timing of this isn’t perfect for all parties, but this is a great opportunity and promotion for Kennedy.”

      This wasn’t the first time Kiffin has pissed off a fellow coach and it probably won’t be the last. If it was a matter of timing and therefore, a misunderstanding, then I’m sure Fisher can let the situation go. Then again, Fisher’s main beef was that Kiffin never contacted him when USC was interested in hiring Pola. Kiffin could have picked up the phone as soon as Pola was a serious candidate and this situation could have been avoided.

      Either way, this story is sure to get buried soon. Fisher’s probably more upset that he lost his running backs coach one week before training camp starts than he is about Kiffin’s moral compass. Although I would have loved to hear Fisher drop the line, “Lane Kiffin is a guy that would bend you over and not have the courtesy to give you a reach around.” (I cleaned that line up for the kids viewing at home.)

      College Football, External Sports, NFL

      Wes Welker ready for training camp

      July 24, 2010 /
      FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 13: Wes Welker #83 of the New England Patriots gains yards against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium on December 13, 2009 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Patriots won 20-10. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

      The Boston Globe is reporting that Wes Welker is slated to be a full participant in training camp.

      Welker is ready to open training camp and compete in all drills – contact included – with his teammates, according to an NFL source. He still has to pass his pre-camp physical, but there is little doubt he’ll do so.

      This is obviously great news for Pats fans and for fantasy owners in PPR leagues. Welker has been goiing in the middle of the 5th round in mock drafts, and this news will no doubt boost his stock. Assuming he hasn’t lost a step, Welker should have no problem posting another 100+ catch season.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, News, NFL

      2010 Fantasy Football Preview: Quarterback By Committee (QBBC)

      July 23, 2010 /

      EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - DECEMBER 27: Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants against the Carolina Panthers at Giants Stadium on December 27, 2009 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

      All 2010 Fantasy Football Articles | 2010 Position Rankings

      Every year, I kickoff TSR’s hardcore fantasy football coverage with my Quarterback By Committee (QBBC) post. I do this for a couple of reasons: 1) out of curiosity, as I usually draft a QBBC myself, and 2) there’s a lot of number crunching so it gets the fantasy football juices flowing.

      For the neophytes, QBBC is a strategy often utilized by savvy fantasy footballers who want to take advantage of the relative depth at quarterback by forming a committee of overlooked mid-rounders. The premise is this: Two or three mediocre quarterbacks whose schedules mesh nicely — i.e. they have several favorable matchups when their schedules are combined — will give you the positional production of a top 5 QB.

      This allows fantasy owners to load up on running backs, wide receivers and even a stud tight end in the early rounds, building depth at the positions where talent is at a premium. Sure, it’s great to have Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees anchoring your team, but that means you don’t get that second round RB or WR that you had your eye on. If you can get Top 5 QB production from a couple of guys that you grab in the 8th, 9th or 10th rounds, and your early-round RBs and WRs perform up to expectations, your team will definitely be playoff bound.

      This works because of the depth at QB. We know that the signal callers going in round 8 — guys like Eli Manning, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco — are going to start and throw a lot of passes for their respective teams (barring injury, of course). Running backs or wide receivers that are going in the 8th round are another animal. RBs still available in the middle rounds are either sharing time or fighting for the starting job. WRs available that late are typically the second, third or even fourth options on their teams.

      So that’s the theory — now for the research. To come up with a reasonable expectation for each two-man QBBC combination, I took the season projections from Footballguys (a great fantasy football site) and using their strength of schedule for each team, I was able to produce a week-by-week projection for each quarterback. From there, it was relatively easy to come up with a list of the duos that project to have the best combined seasons.

      I only focused on those QBs going in the 8th round or later, so this exercise excludes the Top 11 signal callers (in terms of Average Draft Position): Aaron Rodgers (1.08), Drew Brees (1.10), Peyton Manning (2.04), Tom Brady (2.11), Tony Romo (3.09), Matt Schaub (3.11), Phillip Rivers (4.01), Jay Cutler (6.04), Kevin Kolb (6.04), Donovan McNabb (6.09) and Brett Favre (6.11). (Note: this article assumes a 12-team draft, so all mention of specific rounds and ADP have that in mind.)

      This allows fantasy owners to spend at least the first seven picks on RBs, WRs and TEs, putting together a balanced squad before turning to the QB position.

      So what was the top QBBC combination? The answer might surprise you:

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Fantasy Football Consultant Nathan Zegura chats with The Scores Report

      July 23, 2010 /

      Fantasy football.

      Beautiful women.

      Las Vegas.

      If at least two of those three things don’t grab your attention, then maybe it’s time for you to turn in your man card.

      The second annual Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT will be held at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on August 26-28 this year and will include a concert by Snoop Dogg, a Draft Room for fantasy football fans, VIP parties hosted by Stacy Keibler and a live celebrity draft conducted by Ashton Kutcher.

      Interested? We thought you might be.

      Nathan Zegura, the founder of TheFantasyConsultant.com and the host of “The Fantasy Consultant Live” on SiriusXM’s new Fantasy Sports Channel, joined us recently to chat up this year’s Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT, as well as provide details on how you can attend. (You’ll probably be shocked at how very little it’ll cost you to soak in a fantasy football-filled weekend with Snoop, Stacy Keibler and Ashton Kutcher in Vegas.)

      We also couldn’t allow Nathan to get off the phone without picking his brain about this year’s upcoming fantasy season, so we asked him what his top 5 looks like, who his top 3 sleepers are and what kind of expectations we could have for players like Frank Gore and Michael Turner.

      For more information about the second annual Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT, head to FantasySuperdraft.com and for more on Nathan and his fantasy football consulting services, check out TheFantasyConsultant.com and the site’s Twitter Page.

      The Scores Report: Hi, this is Anthony.

      Nathan Zegura: Hey Anthony, this is Nathan Zegura calling in.

      TSR: Hey Nathan, how are you today, man?

      NZ: I’m doing great – how are you doing?

      TSR: I’m doing well. I’m just reading over this Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT deal and I’m blown away. I’m trying to figure out a way I can go!

      NZ: You gotta go! All you have to do is go to FantasySuperDraft.com, baby!

      TSR: (Laughs)

      NZ: It’s awesome – I went last year actually. It was cool, I was one of the experts that were asked to be on-site last year and it’s an awesome event. It’s a great time, great parties and, in addition to being able to do your draft and have all your boys there, you also get to do things in Vegas that you wouldn’t otherwise do for a grand total of $125 over the course of three days.

      TSR: (Laughs) Sure.

      27 August 2009 - Las Vegas, Nevada - Stacy Keibler. Stacy Keibler hosts the Las Vegas Fantasy Football Superdraft Party at Jet Nightclub inside the Mirage Resort Hotel and Casino. Photo Credit: MJT/AdMedia

      NZ: I actually became pretty good friends with Eric Simon, who is the guy that started SUPERDRAFT. It was kind of his brainchild and it’s been very neat to see it grow and see it get to where it is this year. It’s going to be awesome with Snoop, Stacy Keibler (photo left)…they’re having a model search there – it’s going to be crazy. I can’t even wait until the end of August – I’m fired up.

      TSR: Like I said, I was reading over this and my eye caught that Snoop and, well, my eye caught that Stacy Keibler was going to be there actually, but it’s amazing the entertainers that you guys got to come out this year. And it’s all centered around fantasy football, which has grown into this unbelievable vehicle now for entertainment.

      NZ: Totally. Eric’s vision for SUPERDRAFT is to bring entertainment and sports together in the perfect place, which is Las Vegas. Ashton Kutcher is actually my partner and he owns half of my website, TheFantasyConsultant.com. I was able to bring Ashton and Eric together on the SUPERDRAFT idea, so we’re going to do a live broadcast of our show, which is “Fantasy Football Live” in addition to the various parties that are going to be there. And then obviously Snoop, who I personally as a kid who grew up in California, am very excited about.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, Interviews, NFL

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