Category: NFL (Page 706 of 1282)

      Ochocinco at it again, challenges Merriman to boxing match

      June 25, 2009 /

      In this week’s installment of “Ochocinco, as The World Turns,” Chad challenges Shawne Merriman to a boxing match.

      Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco and Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman are known for their talk on the field, but it’s their online chatter that’s becoming good offseason entertainment.

      Ochocinco said this week on the social networking site Twitter that he was confident the Bengals would win the Week 15 matchup between the two teams and challenged Merriman and the San Diego defense.

      Merriman’s reply of “Are you serious?” prompted Ochocinco to challenge the Chargers OL to a boxing match. The receiver, who is sparring this offseason, also posted: “Shawne Merriman tryin to stop Ocho Cinco, CHILD PLEASE, better chance at finding Osama!”

      In response, the Chargers linebacker, who’s working his way back from knee surgery last season, posted a video of himself sparring, looking ready to shut up the Bengals receiver Ochocinco.

      A brief tale of the tape gives the advantage to Merriman, who’s 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds compared to Ochocinco, who’s 6-1, 192.

      As usual, Ocho is just goofing around trying to get a rise out of people. Two weeks ago he put fake tattoos on his face, last week he said he as staying at Carson Palmer’s house for the summer and this week he’s challenging Merriman to a fight. It’s all an act.

      Glad to see he’s having fun again, although I’ll reserve laughing until he actually puts up good numbers this season.

      NFL

      Peppers signs franchise tender

      June 24, 2009 /

      The wait is finally over for the Panthers, as defensive end Julius Peppers will sign his tender on Wednesday according to the team’s official website. He’ll earn $16.683 million this season.

      The Panthers could still try and trade him, but it’s doubtful that they find any suitors who will be willing to give up draft picks and long-term money. It’s more likely at this point that the Panthers sign Peppers to a long-term deal than trade him. Carolina wants to win now and with John Fox and GM Marty Hurney’s jobs seemingly on the line every year, draft picks for future years don’t help them in the present.

      Peppers wanted to play outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The Panthers hired Ron Meeks to replace Mike Trgovac as defensive coordinator and while Meeks isn’t necessarily a scheming genius, Dwight Freeney excelled under him in Indianapolis so Peppers could thrive in Carolina’s new scheme.

      It’ll be interesting to hear what Peppers says once he reports to training camp in a month. If he’s going to be bitter all season about the Panthers franchising him, then it’s going to be a long year. But if he shows up hell bent on having a great year so he could hit the market and prove his free agent worth, then maybe both he and the team can get what they want out of the situation.

      NFL

      Jennings, Packers close to contract extension

      June 24, 2009 /

      The Packers and Greg Jennings are in the process of finalizing a three-year extension that would allow the receiver to make $27 million in new money and could be worth as much as $30 million if he plays at a Pro Bowl level.

      Jennings will earn slightly in excess of $16 million in guarantees, a source told ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli. The source also said that the structure of the contract is more front- than back-loaded.

      Though both sides have come to an agreement on the numbers, a couple things have to be worked out as far as the language of the contract. First, it must be approved by the NFL Management Council. Second, it has to be signed by both parties. The plan is to try to get the final draft ready in the next couple of days.

      Jennings will roughly earn $7.63 million per year, which is quite fair for a young receiver coming off an 80-catch, 1,292-yard season. Considering T.J. Houshmandzadeh will receive $8 mil a year in his new deal with Seattle, Packers GM Ted Thompson did well with Jennings’ contract.

      NFL

      Dolphins’ first round pick Vontae Davis was arrested on June 9

      June 23, 2009 /

      Dolphins’ rookie cornerback Vontae Davis was arrested in Champaign on June 9 for “unnecessary vehicular noise” and driving without a valid license according to The Daily Illini.

      The incident occurred at 6:47 p.m. The report summary said the stop was a “Terry Stop,” which Champaign Police Department spokesperson Rene Dunn defined as a routine traffic stop.

      The loud music isn’t a huge deal, I mean, who hasn’t blasted a little REO Speedwagon on the car stereo from time to time? But the fact that the moron was riding around without a valid license while blasting music (which certainly drew attention to himself) shows a major lack of judgment. I’ve never made it a habit to drive without a valid license but if I ever do, I can assure you that my hands will be at 10 and 2, while the music is at whisper-level.

      On the surface, this might not be a huge deal and we don’t need to paint Davis with a Pacman Jones-type brush. But Ron Zook benched Davis twice while he played at Illinois because he had behavior issues and word has it that second rounder Sean Smith has outplayed him so far in offseason OTAs. Thus, this hasn’t been a good start to Davis’ pro career and it sounds like the young man has some growing up to do.

      Davis might have to pay a trip to Bill Parcells’ office soon for a come to Jesus meeting.

      Update: Apparently Davis wasn’t even in the state of Illinois on June 9. The Daily Illini screwed the pooch on this one, and made me look like a fool in the process – a fool! My apologizes to Vontae Davis for believing anything the Daily Illini printed…a fool!

      NFL

      Brandon Marshall a Bear? Don’t count on it.

      June 23, 2009 /

      Bears quarterback Jay Cutler made some comments recently at a football camp about his former Bronco teammate Brandon Marshall and now several media outlets are trying to drum up the idea that Cutler is campaigning for Chicago to trade for the wideout.

      This is what Cutler said:

      “I played with Brandon for three years and I think he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL. I think he can be one of the greatest ever to play.

      “He’s big and fast, and can do everything you want him to do, on the field and in the meeting room. I don’t know what we’re going to do. That’s up to the guys upstairs. If we make a run at him, we make a run at him.”

      Cutler also made it clear that he has a lot of faith in current Chicago receiver Devin Hester:

      “I’ve watched every game from last year and seen him in action quite a bit,” Cutler said. “It’s a tough transition from (defensive back) to receiver. He’s still learning, but overall I can’t be happier with how we’re working together and his progression.

      “I think he’s definitely a legitimate No. 1 receiver in the NFL.”

      That’s it – that’s what Jay said. To me, that’s not Cutler campaigning for Chicago to make a play for Marshall – that’s Cutler stating that Marshall is a great receiver and if the Bears do make a move for him, then so be it.

      But even if Cutler were making a case for his new team to trade for his old teammate, it wouldn’t matter because Marshall isn’t going to Chicago. The Bears simply don’t have enough trade pieces to send to Denver because they already traded away two first round picks to acquire Cutler. So unless the Bears would be willing to give up linebacker Brian Urlacher or another veteran of his ilk, then Marshall is headed for another destination other than the “Windy City.”

      Furthermore, Chicago GM Jerry Angelo has already stated that the Bears won’t go after Marshall. Sure, he could change his mind. But it would seem at this point that Plaxico Burress is more of an option for the Bears than Marshall is given that Burress would require no compensation to acquire and the team could simply dump him at the end of ’09 assuming they sign him to only a one-year deal. (Theoretically, the Bears could do the same for Marshall because he’ll be a free agent after 2009 too, but why trade for him if you’re not going to sign him to a long-term deal?)

      The media is trying hard to make story here, but there isn’t one at this point. There are no signs that Marshall is going to Chicago.

      NFL

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