dargonking999
03-22-2005, 05:49 PM
KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Norv Turner thought the Washington Redskins were heading toward the Super Bowl after he coached them to the NFC East title in 1999.
Instead, it turned out to be their last winning record and Turner was fired late in the 2000 season.
"I thought we had a bright future," Turner, now the coach of the Oakland Raiders (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=oak), said Tuesday at the NFL meetings. "We had a good young nucleus that we were building on. It's kind of how Philadelphia has been building their team. Instead they decided to go in a different direction, signing older players for big money."
"They" in this case was Daniel Snyder, who bought the team in 1999, fired general manager Charley Casserly, then canned Turner. His direction was obvious: sign aging stars such as Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=589) to try and win quickly.
Turner was asked if he was talking directly about Snyder, although the questioner added: "You don't have to bite."
"I won't bite," the coach replied with a smile.
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^PERFORMANCE BONUSES:@ New York Jets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=nyj) rookie safety Erik Coleman (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6902) led the NFL in money earned from performance-based bonuses in 2004.
Coleman, a fifth-round draft pick from Washington State who became an immediate starter, earned $227,625 from the supplemental performance bonus pool created in 2002 by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. The bonuses are based on comparison of playing time to salary, meaning low draft picks such as Coleman tend to top the list.
In all, players earned more than $57 million from the system, an increase of 78 percent. The fund next year should exceed $79 million.
"We shift money from the projected increases in minimum salary to annual payments based on playing time, a fairer distribution of the money," NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw said. "'Pay for Performance' rewards players who may be on the bottom of the team pay scale, but play a majority of the games."
Others in the top five this year were San Diego tackle Shane Olivea ($171,824); Arizona guard Reggie Wells (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6513) ($151,374) and center Alex Stepanovich (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6859) ($149,621); and Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6197) ($147,665).
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^ROMEO'S APPROACH:@ Romeo Crennel knows what he's facing as Cleveland's new head coach.
"We're starting from a pretty low point," Crennel acknowledged. "When you only win four games, you know you have to add talent. We have a few solid players there, but we have to upgrade."
Crennel and Phil Savage, the new general manager, have begun by subtraction, dumping two failed high draft choices.
Defensive end Courtney Brown, the No. 1 overall pick in 2000, was released after being plagued by injury throughout his career. Defensive tackle Gerard Warren (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5450), third overall the next year, was traded to Denver for a fourth-round pick.
In fact, the Browns are turning over the team so much they decided to do away with their annual scrimmage sessions with Buffalo.
"We have too much to teach in a short period of time," Crennel said. "When you play another team, even in a scrimmage, you have to spend some of that time getting ready for them."
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^STAYING WHOLE:@ Marvin Lewis prefers continuity.
That's why the Cincinnati Bengals (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=cin) were happy to re-sign wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5652), who caught 73 passes for them last season after missing almost all of 2003 to injury.
"Good teams have more guys willing to stay with their teams," said Lewis, who has taken the Bengals from the bottom of the league to the middle -- they were 8-8 in each of his first two seasons.
"We were going in opposite directions. He was headed out of town and we were about to sign another guy. Then he called, his agent called and we got together. It's much better that way."
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^FISHER'S ROLE:@ Tennessee Titans (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=ten) coach Jeff Fisher has been a member of the NFL's competition committee since 2000, which he calls "an honor." He likes being part of the decision-making process on league rules and procedures.
Now co-chairman of the prestigious committee, along with Falcons general manager Rich McKay, Fisher says it's not all that time-consuming and never interferes with his work for the Titans.
"It's not as much time away as people think," Fisher said. "A total of less than two weeks, three days in February at the combine to meet with the players and eight or nine days in March. It's time well-spent.
"I have a new appreciation for the league and how important the integrity and the direction of the league is."
Fisher echoed the sentiments of Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, a previous co-chairman of the committee, who said the job always centers on what's good for the NFL, not for one particular team.
"That's not the design of the committee," Fisher said. "We're there to protect and ensure the game is headed in the right direction."
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^MONDAY NIGHT OPENER:@ General manager Rich McKay is thrilled that the Falcons will be featured on the opening Monday night game of the season, a rematch of the NFC championship game they lost to the Eagles in January.
To have the game in Atlanta is even more of a boost for the franchise, he said.
"Last year, we didn't have a Monday night game at home, and Monday night is special for players, fans, coaches, everyone," he said. "Players really look forward to being on prime time and so do the fans. It's a great boost for the organization."
Instead, it turned out to be their last winning record and Turner was fired late in the 2000 season.
"I thought we had a bright future," Turner, now the coach of the Oakland Raiders (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=oak), said Tuesday at the NFL meetings. "We had a good young nucleus that we were building on. It's kind of how Philadelphia has been building their team. Instead they decided to go in a different direction, signing older players for big money."
"They" in this case was Daniel Snyder, who bought the team in 1999, fired general manager Charley Casserly, then canned Turner. His direction was obvious: sign aging stars such as Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=589) to try and win quickly.
Turner was asked if he was talking directly about Snyder, although the questioner added: "You don't have to bite."
"I won't bite," the coach replied with a smile.
------=
^PERFORMANCE BONUSES:@ New York Jets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=nyj) rookie safety Erik Coleman (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6902) led the NFL in money earned from performance-based bonuses in 2004.
Coleman, a fifth-round draft pick from Washington State who became an immediate starter, earned $227,625 from the supplemental performance bonus pool created in 2002 by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. The bonuses are based on comparison of playing time to salary, meaning low draft picks such as Coleman tend to top the list.
In all, players earned more than $57 million from the system, an increase of 78 percent. The fund next year should exceed $79 million.
"We shift money from the projected increases in minimum salary to annual payments based on playing time, a fairer distribution of the money," NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw said. "'Pay for Performance' rewards players who may be on the bottom of the team pay scale, but play a majority of the games."
Others in the top five this year were San Diego tackle Shane Olivea ($171,824); Arizona guard Reggie Wells (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6513) ($151,374) and center Alex Stepanovich (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6859) ($149,621); and Denver cornerback Kelly Herndon (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6197) ($147,665).
------=
^ROMEO'S APPROACH:@ Romeo Crennel knows what he's facing as Cleveland's new head coach.
"We're starting from a pretty low point," Crennel acknowledged. "When you only win four games, you know you have to add talent. We have a few solid players there, but we have to upgrade."
Crennel and Phil Savage, the new general manager, have begun by subtraction, dumping two failed high draft choices.
Defensive end Courtney Brown, the No. 1 overall pick in 2000, was released after being plagued by injury throughout his career. Defensive tackle Gerard Warren (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5450), third overall the next year, was traded to Denver for a fourth-round pick.
In fact, the Browns are turning over the team so much they decided to do away with their annual scrimmage sessions with Buffalo.
"We have too much to teach in a short period of time," Crennel said. "When you play another team, even in a scrimmage, you have to spend some of that time getting ready for them."
------=
^STAYING WHOLE:@ Marvin Lewis prefers continuity.
That's why the Cincinnati Bengals (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=cin) were happy to re-sign wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5652), who caught 73 passes for them last season after missing almost all of 2003 to injury.
"Good teams have more guys willing to stay with their teams," said Lewis, who has taken the Bengals from the bottom of the league to the middle -- they were 8-8 in each of his first two seasons.
"We were going in opposite directions. He was headed out of town and we were about to sign another guy. Then he called, his agent called and we got together. It's much better that way."
------=
^FISHER'S ROLE:@ Tennessee Titans (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=ten) coach Jeff Fisher has been a member of the NFL's competition committee since 2000, which he calls "an honor." He likes being part of the decision-making process on league rules and procedures.
Now co-chairman of the prestigious committee, along with Falcons general manager Rich McKay, Fisher says it's not all that time-consuming and never interferes with his work for the Titans.
"It's not as much time away as people think," Fisher said. "A total of less than two weeks, three days in February at the combine to meet with the players and eight or nine days in March. It's time well-spent.
"I have a new appreciation for the league and how important the integrity and the direction of the league is."
Fisher echoed the sentiments of Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, a previous co-chairman of the committee, who said the job always centers on what's good for the NFL, not for one particular team.
"That's not the design of the committee," Fisher said. "We're there to protect and ensure the game is headed in the right direction."
------=
^MONDAY NIGHT OPENER:@ General manager Rich McKay is thrilled that the Falcons will be featured on the opening Monday night game of the season, a rematch of the NFC championship game they lost to the Eagles in January.
To have the game in Atlanta is even more of a boost for the franchise, he said.
"Last year, we didn't have a Monday night game at home, and Monday night is special for players, fans, coaches, everyone," he said. "Players really look forward to being on prime time and so do the fans. It's a great boost for the organization."