JonCJG
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http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
POSTED 1:00 p.m. EST, January 10, 2006
VICK HAD BEEN CARRYING A GUN
A source who knows former Virginia Tech quarterback (and current and future turd extraordinaire) Marcus Vick tells us that Vick has been seen with a gun in his possession lately, which indirectly corroborates charges that he pointed and/or flashed the weapon at three people outside of a Suffolk, Virginia McDonald's on Sunday night.
Roughly a month ago, a gun fell out of Vick's belt and struck the ground while Vick was with a group of folks.
As a result of Vick's numerous off-field issues, we've also heard that multiple teams have removed Vick from their draft boards -- and he only declared for the thing four days ago.
We still think that Vick's big brother Michael will lobby the Falcons to give Marcus a chance, and that Falcons owner Arthur Blank won't have the stones to tell him "No." Beyond the Falcons, we can't imagine anyone giving him a shot.
As one league insider told us on Tuesday morning, "I wonder how Marcus will feel about being the best quarterback in the Arena League?"
POSTED 1:00 p.m. EST, January 10, 2006
VICK HAD BEEN CARRYING A GUN
A source who knows former Virginia Tech quarterback (and current and future turd extraordinaire) Marcus Vick tells us that Vick has been seen with a gun in his possession lately, which indirectly corroborates charges that he pointed and/or flashed the weapon at three people outside of a Suffolk, Virginia McDonald's on Sunday night.
Roughly a month ago, a gun fell out of Vick's belt and struck the ground while Vick was with a group of folks.
As a result of Vick's numerous off-field issues, we've also heard that multiple teams have removed Vick from their draft boards -- and he only declared for the thing four days ago.
We still think that Vick's big brother Michael will lobby the Falcons to give Marcus a chance, and that Falcons owner Arthur Blank won't have the stones to tell him "No." Beyond the Falcons, we can't imagine anyone giving him a shot.
As one league insider told us on Tuesday morning, "I wonder how Marcus will feel about being the best quarterback in the Arena League?"
POSTED 10:38 a.m. EST, January 10, 2006
JOHNSON-LEWIS INCIDENT CONFIRMED
JOHNSON-LEWIS INCIDENT CONFIRMED
As the real media scrambles to investigate an "Internet report" regarding a halftime altercation in the locker room between receiver Chad Johnson and coaches Hue Jackson and Marvin Lewis, we've obtained further confirmation of the fact that something bad went down during intermission of Sunday's playoff game between the Bengals and the Steelers.
Scroll down for the full story.
And we're asking the real media for a little favor on this one. We know that we're not yet considered a "mainstream" outlet. But, please, don't go get your own confirmation and then omit reference as to how you first found out about it. We broke it, you bought it -- and when you are able to corroborate it it's only fair to tell your readers where it originated.
Scroll down for the full story.
And we're asking the real media for a little favor on this one. We know that we're not yet considered a "mainstream" outlet. But, please, don't go get your own confirmation and then omit reference as to how you first found out about it. We broke it, you bought it -- and when you are able to corroborate it it's only fair to tell your readers where it originated.
POSTED 9:40 a.m. EST, January 10, 2006
RUMORS FLY OF CARR-FOR-RICKY TRADE
RUMORS FLY OF CARR-FOR-RICKY TRADE
On Monday, we surmised that the Texans have floated the notion that they intend to select USC tailback Reggie Bush with the No. 1 pick in the draft in order to avoid criticism from the Longhorns lovers that the lure of playing for his hometown Texans prompted Texas quarterback Vince Young to skip his senior season. (A reader also raised with us another solid possibility -- that the report was a trial balloon aimed at determining what the local reaction would be to not taking Young -- and we're told that the local reaction was decidedly negative.)
But the Bush report also might have been intended to throw potential focus off of rumors that are now emerging -- and these are rumors only -- of a looming trade between the Texans and Dolphins.
Under the deal, as we've heard it, the Texans would send quarterback David Carr to Miami for running back Ricky Williams (a former Longhorn) and a third-round draft pick.
Williams is under contract through 2007. Carr is due to receive an $8 million option bonus in February, which would extend his contract through 2008.
Again, these are rumors only -- and we're not suggesting that this trade will go down. But if it should happen it clears the way for the Texans to select Young.
Stay tuned.
HILL A LEGIT CANDIDATE?
When it was reported over the weekend that the Saints have contacted Fresno State coach Pat Hill, we made a crack along the lines that owner Tom Benson should have aimed higher.
But we've since learned that Hill is indeed a respected coach from the Bill Belichick tree.
"His teams at Fresno have always overachieved," a league source tells us. "He's tough and smart and knows the game. He will be a head coach in the NFL. He is very well respected by a number of people in the league. Because he is at Fresno he doesn't get a lot of pub."
So maybe Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis knows what he's doing, after all.
Wait a minute . . . we just looked at the team's roster again. He doesn't.
THE $17,000 LOOGIE
The league has fined Commanders safety Sean Taylor $17,000 for spitting in the face of Bucs running back Michael Pittman. On the surface, the number seems a bit arbitrary; the reality is that it's the equivalent of Taylor's payday for the playoff game.
Far more surprising to us than the fact that Taylor was fined a game check for the incident is that players only get a measly $17,000 for wild card playoff games. This projects to $289,000 over a 17-week season. For every guy on the team.
Hey, NFLPA -- at a time when you're looking for items on which to draw lines in the sand during the CBA negotiations, how about getting the guys a raise for risking further injury during high-intensity postseason contests, especially since something like a torn ACL occurring in January throws a huge wrench into the guy's preparations for the next season.
One last note on this one. We still don't understand why Bucs running back Michael Pittman didn't at least draw a flag for responding to the spit with a open-handed blow to Taylor's grill. We're not saying Pittman should have been ejected or fined, but that he should have been flagged for an offsetting penalty.
Absent the flag, the message it sends is that retaliation is okay under certain circumstances. It isn't, and it shouldn't be.
SHUT IT, TIKI
Giants running back Tiki Barber really needs to knock off the *****ing about coaching and play calling in the team's 23-0 playoff loss to the Panthers.
After Sunday's game, Barber publicly said that the team had been outcoached. On Monday, the Soup **** (a/k/a head coach Tom Coughlin) acknowledged that he wasn't happy with Tiki's comments.
And who would be? Was Tiki praising the coaching staff when folks were arguing that he should be the MVP?
More importantly, was anyone from the coaching staff publicly criticizing Barber at a time when he was dropping more balls than a drunken urologist?
No. And no.
Then again, Barber's comments shouldn't surprise anyone. Some league insiders regard him as self-centered, a self-promoter, and generally selfish, but the media rarely knocks him, despite his obvious lust for the spotlight and attention.
Still, it could be that Barber won't get a pass on this one. Reaction to his criticism of the coaching staff was mixed, with some calling him out for "'throw[ing] the coaching staff under the bus.'"
PALMER INJURY "ATYPICAL"
A day after ESPN was describing Carson Palmer's ACL injury as a "clean tear" (what the hell does that mean?) requiring less complex treatment and rehab than a "normal" ACL tear, a doctor painted a far less optimistic picture of Palmer's prognosis.
"Carson's injury is a lot more complicated than the average ACL injury," said Dr. Angelo Colosimo, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. "There are multiple ligaments involved and he essentially dislocated his knee. It's a more complicated operation, and a more complicated course of recovery."
If the surgery and rehab go well, Palmer can be ready for action in "eight or nine months."
Doing the math, that's not good news for Bengals fans, since it puts Palmer back on the field in September or October.
In hindsight, then, it was a great move by Palmer to sign that long-term extension prior to the end of the regular season. Given the nature of the injury and the questions that it raises, we're pretty sure that the Bengals would not put that same amount of money on the table right now.
But the Bush report also might have been intended to throw potential focus off of rumors that are now emerging -- and these are rumors only -- of a looming trade between the Texans and Dolphins.
Under the deal, as we've heard it, the Texans would send quarterback David Carr to Miami for running back Ricky Williams (a former Longhorn) and a third-round draft pick.
Williams is under contract through 2007. Carr is due to receive an $8 million option bonus in February, which would extend his contract through 2008.
Again, these are rumors only -- and we're not suggesting that this trade will go down. But if it should happen it clears the way for the Texans to select Young.
Stay tuned.
HILL A LEGIT CANDIDATE?
When it was reported over the weekend that the Saints have contacted Fresno State coach Pat Hill, we made a crack along the lines that owner Tom Benson should have aimed higher.
But we've since learned that Hill is indeed a respected coach from the Bill Belichick tree.
"His teams at Fresno have always overachieved," a league source tells us. "He's tough and smart and knows the game. He will be a head coach in the NFL. He is very well respected by a number of people in the league. Because he is at Fresno he doesn't get a lot of pub."
So maybe Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis knows what he's doing, after all.
Wait a minute . . . we just looked at the team's roster again. He doesn't.
THE $17,000 LOOGIE
The league has fined Commanders safety Sean Taylor $17,000 for spitting in the face of Bucs running back Michael Pittman. On the surface, the number seems a bit arbitrary; the reality is that it's the equivalent of Taylor's payday for the playoff game.
Far more surprising to us than the fact that Taylor was fined a game check for the incident is that players only get a measly $17,000 for wild card playoff games. This projects to $289,000 over a 17-week season. For every guy on the team.
Hey, NFLPA -- at a time when you're looking for items on which to draw lines in the sand during the CBA negotiations, how about getting the guys a raise for risking further injury during high-intensity postseason contests, especially since something like a torn ACL occurring in January throws a huge wrench into the guy's preparations for the next season.
One last note on this one. We still don't understand why Bucs running back Michael Pittman didn't at least draw a flag for responding to the spit with a open-handed blow to Taylor's grill. We're not saying Pittman should have been ejected or fined, but that he should have been flagged for an offsetting penalty.
Absent the flag, the message it sends is that retaliation is okay under certain circumstances. It isn't, and it shouldn't be.
SHUT IT, TIKI
Giants running back Tiki Barber really needs to knock off the *****ing about coaching and play calling in the team's 23-0 playoff loss to the Panthers.
After Sunday's game, Barber publicly said that the team had been outcoached. On Monday, the Soup **** (a/k/a head coach Tom Coughlin) acknowledged that he wasn't happy with Tiki's comments.
And who would be? Was Tiki praising the coaching staff when folks were arguing that he should be the MVP?
More importantly, was anyone from the coaching staff publicly criticizing Barber at a time when he was dropping more balls than a drunken urologist?
No. And no.
Then again, Barber's comments shouldn't surprise anyone. Some league insiders regard him as self-centered, a self-promoter, and generally selfish, but the media rarely knocks him, despite his obvious lust for the spotlight and attention.
Still, it could be that Barber won't get a pass on this one. Reaction to his criticism of the coaching staff was mixed, with some calling him out for "'throw[ing] the coaching staff under the bus.'"
PALMER INJURY "ATYPICAL"
A day after ESPN was describing Carson Palmer's ACL injury as a "clean tear" (what the hell does that mean?) requiring less complex treatment and rehab than a "normal" ACL tear, a doctor painted a far less optimistic picture of Palmer's prognosis.
"Carson's injury is a lot more complicated than the average ACL injury," said Dr. Angelo Colosimo, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. "There are multiple ligaments involved and he essentially dislocated his knee. It's a more complicated operation, and a more complicated course of recovery."
If the surgery and rehab go well, Palmer can be ready for action in "eight or nine months."
Doing the math, that's not good news for Bengals fans, since it puts Palmer back on the field in September or October.
In hindsight, then, it was a great move by Palmer to sign that long-term extension prior to the end of the regular season. Given the nature of the injury and the questions that it raises, we're pretty sure that the Bengals would not put that same amount of money on the table right now.
Now that's funny!