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Keyshawn's message: I won't come cheap
By Matt Mosley
ESPN.com
Updated: May 17, 2007
As I dig through The Mailbag each week, looking forward to your constructive criticism, I keep a running tally of who I'm hearing from. So far, 49ers fans are leading the way in the all-important blind optimism category, but after talking to a couple of the club's coaches, I'm starting to buy in.
On Thursday afternoon, San Francisco linebackers coach and Hall of Famer Mike Singletary suggested via cellphone that rookie linebacker Patrick Willis has the potential to be one of the most dominant players in the league.
Willis, taken No. 11 overall in last month's draft, caught Singletary's eye during the Senior Bowl in January, and the former Chicago Bears great isn't trying to temper his enthusiasm.
"I keep asking myself, 'What if this kid has more potential than any kid in the last 20 years?'" said Singletary. "He could be kind of scary, and I can't wait to get my hands on him."
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
The 49ers plan to do everything they can to maximize Patrick Willis' potential.
Singletary, who is also the assistant head coach, said he's informed head coach Mike Nolan that he intends to "push Willis to the wall" during minicamps and training camp.
Willis played through a broken finger, sprained knee and shoulder and foot injuries while at Ole Miss, and he also had the burden of having to take care of several siblings over the years.
Singletary said he initially was worried about Willis because of all the hardships he'd dealt with but now looks forward to helping him learn how to put all of his energy into football. He thinks Willis already has the ability to pursue "east and west" like Bears Pro Bowler Brian Urlacher, but that he has to be become more technically sound in the middle of the field.
The 49ers' other first-round pick, Central Michigan offensive tackle Joe Staley, also turned heads in his first minicamp two weeks ago. Offensive line coach George Warhop had the advantage of being part of a staff that coached Willis and Staley on the South team in the Senior Bowl.
"I've seen kids from smaller schools sort of get intimidated before," Warhop said. "But he didn't care who he was going against."
The San Francisco coaches aren't willing to say their team is ready to dethrone Seattle at the top of the NFC West, but you get the feeling they believe it could happen.
Now, please join me for another edition of The Mailbag and Other Various Items of Interest:
Scott in Appleton, Wis.: Matt, is there any hope of Keyshawn joining us in Green Bay?
Mosley: Scott, according one of my longtime sources, Oakland, Tennessee, New England and Green Bay are the four teams in the running for Keyshawn Johnson's services. After receiving your question, I gave him a quick call Thursday afternoon and here's what he had to say:
"I'm not in rental mode. You're not going to rent me for six months because someone with my career warrants more than that. I just laugh when I read that stuff. All those editors should save their ink for another day. I keep seeing people say that I'm going to sit around and wait for a receiver to get hurt in training camp. I don't need to do that. I'm not playing for $750,000, $850,000, $1 million or $2.5 million. You can write that down."
Oh, back to your question, Scott. I wouldn't get my hopes up on hanging out with Keyshawn at the Wooden Nickel in downtown Appleton.
Tony in Tampa, Fla.: Has Michael Clayton been a bust for the Bucs so far? I think they need to get rid of him because he hasn't had a good year since his rookie year. I was shocked they didn't draft a wide receiver in the draft, especially since they wanted [Calvin] Johnson. If Clayton doesn't do anything this year, I'd dump him. It seems like most of the players the Bucs drafted from the 2004 have been BUSTS.
Mosley: Easy on that Caps Lock button, Tony. I know the Bucs are still hoping Clayton is the same guy who had 80 catches, 1,193 receiving yards and seven touchdowns his rookie season. He's had a couple of knee injuries, but it's not like he's produced much during the past two season when he's been healthy.
Michael Clayton
Wide receiver
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Profile
2006 SEASON STATISTICS
Rec Yds Avg Long TD
33 356 10.8 27 1
The fact that I'm hearing David Boston's name as a possible solution is not good news for you, Tony. There's just no reason to think he has anything left. The passing offense still hinges on 36-year-old Joey Galloway. Mo Stovall might be able to move the chains, but you're right to worry about the position.
Now wouldn't a Jon Gruden-Keyshawn reunion be priceless? Sadly, it will never happen. But hey, there's always Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin.
Sam in Springfield, Mo.: Are you planning to attend the Dolphins-Giants game at Wembley? And do you think there's much interest in American football in London?
Mosley: Sam, I've been asked to attend every "Monday Night Football" game this season, so I'm not sure I can sneak in a trip to London. But I once spent almost a month living in a dorm room next to Westminster Abbey and seem to recall a couple of people expressing interest in the NFL.
The first 40,000 tickets to the Dolphins-Giants game were sold in less than two hours Wednesday, so there's obviously some pretty strong interest. I'm pretty certain Wembley Stadium will be full (90,000) for the game, but all this talk lately about playing Super Bowls outside our borders doesn't make much sense.
Don't know about you, but I'm not quite ready to farm out the biggest sporting event we have.
Richard in Nashville, Tenn.: I caught some of your chat last week and you mentioned that you thought Ryan Fowler would be a good addition to the Titans. I actually wasn't sure if you were being sarcastic or not. Give a guy in Tennessee the scoop on Fowler. We know very little about him. Is the switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3 just what this guy needed?
Mosley: Richard, I was actually being somewhat serious about the young Fowler's ability. Even if he thinks the money he received from the Titans is ridiculous, he's not planning to give any of it back at this point.
The former Duke star is an excellent run-stuffer and I don't think playing the new scheme will hurt him at all. Fowler still has room to improve in pass coverage, but he's an incredibly tough guy and will prove to be a wise investment by the Titans.
Devin in Marietta, Ga.: Matt, I thoroughly enjoyed your column on Tony Romo coming back from the botched hold. What do you think it would have done to his psyche if the Cowboys had drafted Brady Quinn?
Mosley: You guys are starting to get the hang of how to end up in the mailbag. I think Romo might've been ticked off had the Cowboys drafted Quinn, but the kid has entirely too much self-confidence for something like that to affect his play.
The only time I can recall him being upset with a reporter was the time I mentioned that being a career backup wouldn't be such a bad thing. It really bothered him when anyone suggested that because even when he entered training camp in 2004 behind Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde and Drew Henson, he never doubted that he was going to be a starter in the league.
There's a great Tom Brady-Tony Romo anecdote I'll tell you someday, but we have to move on now.
Dave N. from Birmingham, Ala.: Matt, a few of us remember the old Anti-Oprah Book Club you used to preside at your former place of business. Have you considered reviving the club -- and if so -- what should we be reading?
Mosley: Dave, my editors have asked that I stop reading non-sports material for fear of it clouding my judgment. I did read Tom Callahan's "Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas" (on the approved list) during my recent vacation and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only complaint was that Callahan spent so much talking about John Unitas' teammates that I often yearned for him to focus more on the task at hand.
If you're looking for good fiction, Seahawks special teams coach Bruce DeHaven swears by Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." The book recently earned McCarthy a Pulitzer, which is right up there with being chosen for Oprah's book club.
Stephen in Trenton, N.J.: Since you recently admitted to being a huge "Sopranos" fan, what will become of Michael Imperioli (Christopher) now that Tony provided him with an early death?
Mosley: Stephen, I've been wrestling with that question all week. It took me about 30 minutes after Tony murdered Chris to even focus again, so I watched it again last night. Before I answer your question, let me just say that David Chase has done a brilliant job of finally giving viewers permission to hate Tony. No one's safe at this point. Even Dr. Melfi should watch her back.
Regarding Imperioli, the fact that he came up three episodes short won't hurt his opportunities. "The Sopranos" is what he'll be remembered for, but some of you guys remember him playing Spider in Goodfellas, and he showed up in some Spike Lee films.
He'll be missed in the final three episodes, but I wouldn't worry about his future.
And what, no question about the series finale of "Gilmore Girls"?
Scott Wiley in Hawaii: First, as a lifelong Lions fan (yep, I'm the other one) I'm wondering how do we arrange to fire the ownership? Coaches and players come and go, but the constant in all the losing is the owners. Second, seeing a first-round pick and three second-rounders would normally set my little Honolulu Blue and Silver heart to roaring, except I don't understand the second-round picks.
Couldn't the Lions have drafted one of the studs still on the board and still picked up Drew Stanton later in the second or even the third round?
I only see one probable starter and a bunch of projects in this draft. Help me understand.
Mosley: Scott, I can't help you with ownership. But in most cases, general managers aren't granted complete immunity. For the life of me, I don't know why Matt Millen still has a job, but it's all been said before. After taking Calvin Johnson instead of Brady Quinn, the Lions obviously needed eventually to get a quarterback. Stanton's a good player and his local connection doesn't hurt.
The one thing I'll tell you is that I respect a head coach who still can get his players to stand up and play after they've been out of the playoff hunt for like 14 weeks.
Keep your chin up, Scott. You're living in Honolulu for goodness sakes.
Matt Mosley covers the NFL for ESPN.com. He may be reached at matt.mosley@sbcglobal.net.
LINK
By Matt Mosley
ESPN.com
Updated: May 17, 2007
As I dig through The Mailbag each week, looking forward to your constructive criticism, I keep a running tally of who I'm hearing from. So far, 49ers fans are leading the way in the all-important blind optimism category, but after talking to a couple of the club's coaches, I'm starting to buy in.
On Thursday afternoon, San Francisco linebackers coach and Hall of Famer Mike Singletary suggested via cellphone that rookie linebacker Patrick Willis has the potential to be one of the most dominant players in the league.
Willis, taken No. 11 overall in last month's draft, caught Singletary's eye during the Senior Bowl in January, and the former Chicago Bears great isn't trying to temper his enthusiasm.
"I keep asking myself, 'What if this kid has more potential than any kid in the last 20 years?'" said Singletary. "He could be kind of scary, and I can't wait to get my hands on him."
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
The 49ers plan to do everything they can to maximize Patrick Willis' potential.
Singletary, who is also the assistant head coach, said he's informed head coach Mike Nolan that he intends to "push Willis to the wall" during minicamps and training camp.
Willis played through a broken finger, sprained knee and shoulder and foot injuries while at Ole Miss, and he also had the burden of having to take care of several siblings over the years.
Singletary said he initially was worried about Willis because of all the hardships he'd dealt with but now looks forward to helping him learn how to put all of his energy into football. He thinks Willis already has the ability to pursue "east and west" like Bears Pro Bowler Brian Urlacher, but that he has to be become more technically sound in the middle of the field.
The 49ers' other first-round pick, Central Michigan offensive tackle Joe Staley, also turned heads in his first minicamp two weeks ago. Offensive line coach George Warhop had the advantage of being part of a staff that coached Willis and Staley on the South team in the Senior Bowl.
"I've seen kids from smaller schools sort of get intimidated before," Warhop said. "But he didn't care who he was going against."
The San Francisco coaches aren't willing to say their team is ready to dethrone Seattle at the top of the NFC West, but you get the feeling they believe it could happen.
Now, please join me for another edition of The Mailbag and Other Various Items of Interest:
Scott in Appleton, Wis.: Matt, is there any hope of Keyshawn joining us in Green Bay?
Mosley: Scott, according one of my longtime sources, Oakland, Tennessee, New England and Green Bay are the four teams in the running for Keyshawn Johnson's services. After receiving your question, I gave him a quick call Thursday afternoon and here's what he had to say:
"I'm not in rental mode. You're not going to rent me for six months because someone with my career warrants more than that. I just laugh when I read that stuff. All those editors should save their ink for another day. I keep seeing people say that I'm going to sit around and wait for a receiver to get hurt in training camp. I don't need to do that. I'm not playing for $750,000, $850,000, $1 million or $2.5 million. You can write that down."
Oh, back to your question, Scott. I wouldn't get my hopes up on hanging out with Keyshawn at the Wooden Nickel in downtown Appleton.
Tony in Tampa, Fla.: Has Michael Clayton been a bust for the Bucs so far? I think they need to get rid of him because he hasn't had a good year since his rookie year. I was shocked they didn't draft a wide receiver in the draft, especially since they wanted [Calvin] Johnson. If Clayton doesn't do anything this year, I'd dump him. It seems like most of the players the Bucs drafted from the 2004 have been BUSTS.
Mosley: Easy on that Caps Lock button, Tony. I know the Bucs are still hoping Clayton is the same guy who had 80 catches, 1,193 receiving yards and seven touchdowns his rookie season. He's had a couple of knee injuries, but it's not like he's produced much during the past two season when he's been healthy.
Michael Clayton
Wide receiver
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Profile
2006 SEASON STATISTICS
Rec Yds Avg Long TD
33 356 10.8 27 1
The fact that I'm hearing David Boston's name as a possible solution is not good news for you, Tony. There's just no reason to think he has anything left. The passing offense still hinges on 36-year-old Joey Galloway. Mo Stovall might be able to move the chains, but you're right to worry about the position.
Now wouldn't a Jon Gruden-Keyshawn reunion be priceless? Sadly, it will never happen. But hey, there's always Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin.
Sam in Springfield, Mo.: Are you planning to attend the Dolphins-Giants game at Wembley? And do you think there's much interest in American football in London?
Mosley: Sam, I've been asked to attend every "Monday Night Football" game this season, so I'm not sure I can sneak in a trip to London. But I once spent almost a month living in a dorm room next to Westminster Abbey and seem to recall a couple of people expressing interest in the NFL.
The first 40,000 tickets to the Dolphins-Giants game were sold in less than two hours Wednesday, so there's obviously some pretty strong interest. I'm pretty certain Wembley Stadium will be full (90,000) for the game, but all this talk lately about playing Super Bowls outside our borders doesn't make much sense.
Don't know about you, but I'm not quite ready to farm out the biggest sporting event we have.
Richard in Nashville, Tenn.: I caught some of your chat last week and you mentioned that you thought Ryan Fowler would be a good addition to the Titans. I actually wasn't sure if you were being sarcastic or not. Give a guy in Tennessee the scoop on Fowler. We know very little about him. Is the switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3 just what this guy needed?
Mosley: Richard, I was actually being somewhat serious about the young Fowler's ability. Even if he thinks the money he received from the Titans is ridiculous, he's not planning to give any of it back at this point.
The former Duke star is an excellent run-stuffer and I don't think playing the new scheme will hurt him at all. Fowler still has room to improve in pass coverage, but he's an incredibly tough guy and will prove to be a wise investment by the Titans.
Devin in Marietta, Ga.: Matt, I thoroughly enjoyed your column on Tony Romo coming back from the botched hold. What do you think it would have done to his psyche if the Cowboys had drafted Brady Quinn?
Mosley: You guys are starting to get the hang of how to end up in the mailbag. I think Romo might've been ticked off had the Cowboys drafted Quinn, but the kid has entirely too much self-confidence for something like that to affect his play.
The only time I can recall him being upset with a reporter was the time I mentioned that being a career backup wouldn't be such a bad thing. It really bothered him when anyone suggested that because even when he entered training camp in 2004 behind Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde and Drew Henson, he never doubted that he was going to be a starter in the league.
There's a great Tom Brady-Tony Romo anecdote I'll tell you someday, but we have to move on now.
Dave N. from Birmingham, Ala.: Matt, a few of us remember the old Anti-Oprah Book Club you used to preside at your former place of business. Have you considered reviving the club -- and if so -- what should we be reading?
Mosley: Dave, my editors have asked that I stop reading non-sports material for fear of it clouding my judgment. I did read Tom Callahan's "Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas" (on the approved list) during my recent vacation and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only complaint was that Callahan spent so much talking about John Unitas' teammates that I often yearned for him to focus more on the task at hand.
If you're looking for good fiction, Seahawks special teams coach Bruce DeHaven swears by Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." The book recently earned McCarthy a Pulitzer, which is right up there with being chosen for Oprah's book club.
Stephen in Trenton, N.J.: Since you recently admitted to being a huge "Sopranos" fan, what will become of Michael Imperioli (Christopher) now that Tony provided him with an early death?
Mosley: Stephen, I've been wrestling with that question all week. It took me about 30 minutes after Tony murdered Chris to even focus again, so I watched it again last night. Before I answer your question, let me just say that David Chase has done a brilliant job of finally giving viewers permission to hate Tony. No one's safe at this point. Even Dr. Melfi should watch her back.
Regarding Imperioli, the fact that he came up three episodes short won't hurt his opportunities. "The Sopranos" is what he'll be remembered for, but some of you guys remember him playing Spider in Goodfellas, and he showed up in some Spike Lee films.
He'll be missed in the final three episodes, but I wouldn't worry about his future.
And what, no question about the series finale of "Gilmore Girls"?
Scott Wiley in Hawaii: First, as a lifelong Lions fan (yep, I'm the other one) I'm wondering how do we arrange to fire the ownership? Coaches and players come and go, but the constant in all the losing is the owners. Second, seeing a first-round pick and three second-rounders would normally set my little Honolulu Blue and Silver heart to roaring, except I don't understand the second-round picks.
Couldn't the Lions have drafted one of the studs still on the board and still picked up Drew Stanton later in the second or even the third round?
I only see one probable starter and a bunch of projects in this draft. Help me understand.
Mosley: Scott, I can't help you with ownership. But in most cases, general managers aren't granted complete immunity. For the life of me, I don't know why Matt Millen still has a job, but it's all been said before. After taking Calvin Johnson instead of Brady Quinn, the Lions obviously needed eventually to get a quarterback. Stanton's a good player and his local connection doesn't hurt.
The one thing I'll tell you is that I respect a head coach who still can get his players to stand up and play after they've been out of the playoff hunt for like 14 weeks.
Keep your chin up, Scott. You're living in Honolulu for goodness sakes.
Matt Mosley covers the NFL for ESPN.com. He may be reached at matt.mosley@sbcglobal.net.
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