Tag: Anthony Stalter (Page 87 of 133)

      Favre denies sending text message to Vikings – will play if healthy

      August 4, 2010 /
      CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 20: Quarterback Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on December 20, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

      According to ESPN.com, Brett Favre has denied sending text messages to Vikings officials and teammates telling them that he had decided to retire and also told Ed Werder that if he’s healthy, he will play this season.

      Favre also insisted that the decision isn’t about money, even though Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Vikings have offered Brett a raise that would increase his 2010 base salary from $13 million to $16 million.

      Favre responded to a Star Tribune report that the Vikings were prepared to offer him more money for the 2010 season if he would play by insisting that his salary is not a factor in the decision. “It’s not about money,” he said.

      Well, I would hope it’s not about money considering he’s made over $100 million during the course of his career (which doesn’t include the millions more he has made through endorsements). Money has played a factor in everyone’s decisions at some point or another, but it would be asinine to think that he would play next season for $16 million, but not $13 million.

      Here’s the part of the story that I don’t get:

      On Tuesday, Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said Favre texted his teammates and told them he plans to retire. Shiancoe added he did not receive any direct messages from Favre, but learned of the texts from several teammates.

      “He told a couple guys on our team he’s going to retire,” Shiancoe said after practice on Tuesday. “He hasn’t told me yet. I’m going to check my phone right now, but it hasn’t been said publicly yet so I don’t know what to believe.”

      So did Favre send the text messages or not? Because if he didn’t, why did Shiancoe say that Favre told some of his teammates via text messages that he was going to retire? Something doesn’t add up here. Either Brett is a lying windbag or there’s a bad game of telephone going on inside the Vikings’ locker room.

      Regardless, this report proves that this situation is far from over. As reported all day yesterday, Favre has yet to make up his mind about whether or not to return. Shocking.

      External Sports, NFL

      From a football standpoint, Masoli well worth the risk for Ole’ Miss

      August 2, 2010 /
      PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli #8 of the Oregon Ducks attempts a pass against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the 96th Rose Bowl game on January 1, 2010 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

      Last week, University of Mississippi head coach Houston Nutt sat at the roulette table of life down on his luck. He had just suffered another huge loss when Raymond Cotton decided to transfer and when he looked down at his chip stack, he realized his next play had to be all-in.

      Things haven’t really gone Nutt’s way over the past couple of months. Last year, many college football pundits thought that the Rebels would be a sleeper in the SEC West. But in their first real test of the season, they were beaten by South Carolina in Week 3 and stumbled to a 9-4 overall record, which included a 4-4 finish in the conference.

      Following the season, Nutt lost his starting quarterback when Jevan Snead surprisingly entered the NFL draft instead of returning for his junior year. That left Nathan Stanley to compete with Cotton (a highly touted underclassmen) for the Rebels’ starting quarterback job.

      But last week, Cotton decided to leave the program, which left the Rebels with Stanley and former junior college star Randall Mackey as the only other quarterbacks on scholarship.

      So Nutt decided to take a chance.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Maybe Darrelle Revis should just trade places with Nnamdi Asomugha

      August 2, 2010 /
      HEMPSTEAD, NY - JANUARY 10: Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets poses for a portrait on January 10, 2007 at the Jets training complex in Hempstead, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

      If being the highest paid cornerback in the NFL is so important to Darrelle Revis, then maybe he should switch places with Nnamdi Asomugha. I’m sure Asomugha wouldn’t mind making a little less for the chance to play for a Super Bowl-caliber team.

      In some respects, you can’t blame Revis for playing hardball with the Jets – a team that has always been regarded as a cheap organization. But considering they’re not being cheap when it comes to his new contract, what more does he want from them?

      They offered him a contract that would have made him a Jet for life. But he rejected it. They also offered him a short-term, Band-aid fix and the opportunity to talk again at the end of the season about a long-term deal.

      But he didn’t want that either.

      Even though the Jets offered him a deal that would have made him the highest paid defender in team history, it’s still not enough for Revis, who has decided not to report to camp until he receives what he wants. And what he wants is not only a new deal, but to also be the highest paid cornerback in the league. That means that the Jets will have to come up with more than the $15.1 million a year that the Raiders are currently paying Asomugha.

      Let’s rewind. The Jets are willing to make Revis a very, very rich man and set him up with a long-term deal, but because the contract won’t make him the highest paid in the league, he doesn’t want it.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Jerry Jones wants Dez Bryant to play covered in bubble wrap apparently

      July 31, 2010 /
      Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stands on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Minnesota Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis on January 17, 2010. The Vikings won 34-3. UPI/Brian Kersey

      After wide receiver Dez Bryant suffered a high ankle sprain during practice on Friday, Jerry Jones questioned the way the Cowboys’ coaching staff handled the workload of the rookie.

      Apparently the Dallas owner wanted answers as to why his first round pick was injured on a football field while performing football-related activities during a football practice.

      “It was really disappointing and it really causes you to … ask what can you do, what can you do in practices that can mitigate some of the exposure to some of these injuries,” Jones told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen after watching footage of the injury. Jones did not attend Friday’s practice.

      “The key thing is you ask yourself, ‘Are we pushing him too hard; does it happen at the end of practice when the players are tired?’ ” said Jones, who added, “We all know now when you get a little tired you can get injured.”

      Jones has every right to question the way his coaching staff is handling his players, but he’s going a tad overboard here. He’s been around football long enough to know that injuries are part of the game. They’re unavoidable.

      If undrafted rookie guard Phil Costa suffered a high ankle sprain, would Jones have said the same thing? Would he have wondered if the Dallas coaching staff pushed Costa too hard? Doubtful.

      Granted, Jones has more invested in Bryant than he does Costa, but the point is no matter how you slice it, football is a physical game. Whether guys or tired or not, focused or unfocused, injuries happen to everyone. No one is immune.

      External Sports, NFL

      How does the NFL expect teams like the Rams and Lions to compete?

      July 31, 2010 /
      St. Louis Rams newest member, quarterback Sam Bradford, holds up his jersey with head coach Steve Spagnuolo (L) and general manager Billy Devaney as he is introduced to reporters at Rams Park in Earth City, Missouri on April 23, 2010, one day after being selected No. 1 in the first round of the NFL. Bradford played his college football at Oklahoma. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      Quick math question to start your Saturday morning: If Sam Bradford is worth $50 million guaranteed, then how much should Peyton Manning make?

      I know it’s a tough question, so I’ll throw out some facts to better assist you while you think:

      Peyton Manning:

      – 50,128 career passing yards
      – 366 career passing touchdowns
      – 95.2 career passer rating
      – 2 Super Bowl appearances, 1 championship

      Sam Bradford:

      – Went to Oklahoma

      Look, nobody blames Bradford for cashing in (six years, $78 million). It’s not like any of us would have said, “You know what, Rams? I haven’t proven anything yet, so to be fair why don’t I just accept a modest starting salary of $40,000-a-year plus dental?”

      The system is broken in the NFL and it’s one of the many things that the NFLPA and owners need to resolve before signing a new collective bargaining agreement (assuming they do sign one, of course) in the next couple of months/year. And it’s not just a Bradford vs. Manning financial thing, either.

      How can the league expect a team like the Lions to field a competitive roster when they gave quarterback Matthew Stafford over $41 million in guarantees last year and they still have to sign No. 2 overall pick Ndamukong Suh this year? Last year, the Rams signed offensive tackle Jason Smith (the No. 2 overall pick) to a $61.775 million contract worth $33 million in guarantees. Between Bradford and Smith, the Rams now have $83 million in guaranteed money wrapped up in two players.

      And they don’t even know if Bradford and Smith can play yet.

      Again, how does the league expect teams like the Lions and Rams to compete with the likes of the Colts and Saints when they have to break the bank for unproven players? What happens when Calvin Johnson (a player the Lions actually know can play) needs a new deal in two years? Will the Lions be able to sign him? What if they can’t? They let one of their best players go because they have all of their money tied up into high draft picks?

      Talk about a vicious cycle – it needs to end.

      External Sports, NFL

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