Category: NFL (Page 675 of 1282)

      Favre rusty in Vikings’ debut

      August 22, 2009 /

      Brett Favre showed plenty of rust in his Vikings debut Friday night, completing just 1-of-4 passes for four yards in Minnesota’s 17-13 preseason win over the Chiefs.

      From ESPN.com:

      “I just didn’t want to fumble the snap,” Favre said. “Wanted to make sure I got the handoffs. If you complete passes, great. But I was nervous about that.”

      Cheered loudly by the same fans who used to loathe him when he played for Green Bay, Favre played two series and went 1 for 4 for a whopping 4 yards. He moved around all right and his passes had zip, just no direction.

      Favre’s night ended with a jarring hit by Chiefs linebacker Corey Mays, who buried his head in the 39-year-old’s chest as he drove him into the turf to force an errant throw. Favre got up and walked off fine, his purple No. 4 jersey — such a strange sight, for sure — pulled down and exposing his left shoulder pad.

      “He did tell me that no one’s tackled him off his tractor,” coach Brad Childress said. “Good for him to get hit.”

      Hilarious, Brad.

      There’s obviously not much to draw from Brett’s performance, although one would have thought that he could have mustered at least one first down in two series. After all, it’s not like he’s learning a new offense.

      Maybe Favre wouldn’t have been so rusty had he shown up for Minnesota’s training camp.

      NFL

      Jags to have home games blacked out in ’09

      August 21, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Florida Times Union, the Jaguars anticipate having all of their home games blacked out on local TV this season due to insufficient ticket sales.

      The Jaguars play the first of 10 home games this year Saturday night — two in the preseason and eight in the regular season — and the team has already announced all 10 will be blacked out on TV because of a lack of ticket sales.

      This will be the first time in their 15-year history that they’ve blacked out all 10 games and the stadium might be only, about half-filled Saturday night. Crowd noise probably won’t be a problem for the Bucs.

      This situation is a shame and a window to the state of our economy. It’s understandable that fans can’t/don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars to take their families to a football game when there are more important things to spend their money on. And in the case of Jaguar fans that live in Jacksonville, now they can’t even watch their favorite team’s home games on television.

      Granted, they can still go to bars that carry the NFL Sunday Ticket, but sometimes it’s nice to stay home, throw a pot of chili on the stove, have a cold one and kick back in front of your own TV.

      This is unfortunate news for Jacksonville fans.

      NFL

      Raiders’ assistant to speak to authorities about attack

      August 21, 2009 /

      According to the National Football Post, Oakland assistant coach Randy Hanson will turn over medical records on Friday at the request of authorities investigating an incident that occurred at the Raiders’ facilities in which Hanson’s jaw was broken, presumably by head coach Tom Cable.

      The alleged assault took place Aug. 5 after Cable informed Hanson he would no longer be involved with coaching defensive backs on the field and would be relegated to film work, the source said. Cable had been working to reduce Hanson’s role for months, the source said. Cable said that Hanson had been confusing the Raiders’ defensive backs, and Cable held a closed-door meeting with the cornerbacks and safeties and just himself. That led to a meeting between Cable and Hanson in Hanson’s room, and later a meeting with coaches after Cable had instructed Hanson not to come to practice.

      In the meeting among coaches that included Cable, defensive coordinator John Marshall, defensive backs coach Lionel Washington and assistant defensive backs coach Willie Brown, Cable allegedly came at Hanson from behind as he was verbally contesting what Marshall had said.

      In the meeting among coaches that included Cable, defensive coordinator John Marshall, defensive backs coach Lionel Washington and assistant defensive backs coach Willie Brown, Cable allegedly came at Hanson from behind as he was verbally contesting what Marshall had said.

      According to the source, Cable knocked Hanson out of his chair and up against the wall and into a cabinet. Cable and Hanson fell to the floor, where Hanson was choked, the source said, and Cable was pulled off Hanson by the other men before Cable went after Hanson again.

      “Cable said, ‘I am going to kill you, I am going to kill you,’ as he was choking him,’’ according to the source, who also said furniture in the room was damaged.

      Granted, this is just speculation and nothing has been proven yet, but if any of the above is true, it’ll be interesting to see how the league punishes Cable. According to the article, Hanson can be a pain in the ass, but that doesn’t mean he deserves to have his jaw broken and his life threatened.

      Cable notified Hanson that he would only be breaking down film in the future, which is why Hanson doesn’t mind cooperating with authorities because he knows he won’t be allowed to return to his former position. There will probably be an investigation and Cable could face a felony charge. I’m just speculating, but after that, the league could step in and either fine or suspended him, or both.

      This situation is far from over for Cable.

      NFL

      Bucs’ Jackson suspended, Talib arrested

      August 20, 2009 /

      In the course of two days, the Buccaneers’ secondary has taken a significant hit after free safety Tanard Jackson was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy and cornerback Aqib Talib was arrested for simple battery and resisting arrest.

      Jackson, who was entering his third season, has emerged as one of Tampa’s better young defenders. He started all 32 games for the Bucs over the past two seasons and made defensive calls for the team in the secondary. Given that Will Allen is his replacement, this is a significant blow to the Bucs’ defensive backfield.

      Talib showed promise as a rookie last year and was likely going to be promoted to starter this season. But his starting status is now very much in question following his arrest, not to mention he was also punished for striking teammate Torrie Cox in the face with his helmet at the conclusion of a recent practice.

      The Bucs lost one of the better defensive minds in football when long-time coordinator Monte Kiffin left the team to coach with his son at the University of Tennessee. Now they have to deal with the loss of Jackson for four games and concern themselves with disciplining Talib.

      This isn’t a good sign for a team that is trying to adjust to a new head coach and a new defensive coordinator.

      NFL

      Tarkenton rips Favre

      August 20, 2009 /

      Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton ripped Brett Favre recently on Sirius NFL Radio, calling Brett’s situation with the Vikings “an absolute circus.”

      From ESPN.com:

      “I really have no interest in what Brett Favre does. He kind of lost me a few years ago by retiring and unretiring and here and there,” Tarkenton said on “The Opening Drive” on Sirius NFL Radio.

      Tarkenton was later questioned during ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” about Favre’s right to pursue whatever he needed to pursue to keep on going.

      “We have responsibilities we’re just not athletes that are in it all for ourself, football, is it not a team game? Isn’t it all about team … and here comes Brett Favre riding in on his white horse, doesn’t go to training camp, doesn’t come to offseason workouts and he’s gonna come on his white horse and bond with all these players.”

      “I really think the whole Brett Favre saga of retiring, unretiring, three weeks ago [saying] ‘I can’t play,’ the Vikings said, ‘We’re moving on,’ it’s a circus,” Tarkenton said Wednesday on “The Opening Drive.” “It’s an absolute circus, and it takes away from all the other things that are going on with the Vikings, with the NFL. We’re getting ready for a football season and this is a circus and I just have no interest in it.

      Favre has every right to make a living and retire and unretire as much as he wants. But while doing so, he leaves himself open to criticism from people like Tarkenton.

      For the most part, I agree with everything Tarkenton said. The only problem I have with his comments is that he didn’t criticize the Vikings, who are just as much at fault in this situation for allowing Brett to dictate when he would sign. They could have removed themselves from the situation when he told them on July 28 that he would stay retired, yet they allowed him to put himself above the team by skipping OTA sessions and training camp, even though he was healthy enough to perform in the latter. (Don’t forget that the Vikings had cleared him to play before his July 28 decision.)

      This isn’t about Brett needing extra reps; he’s been in the league for almost two decades and already knows Brad Childress’ offense. This is about him showing up and putting in the work with his teammates (who he’ll eventually have to lead in the regular season) during training camp – not just in preseason after the majority of the practices have already wrapped up.

      Both Brett and the Vikings share blame in how this situation played out.

      NFL

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