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Now, with the Packers missing out on wide receiver Randy Moss, they can go and sign free-agent wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who has had some conversations with Green Bay. Johnson would not be the cure-all. But he would help take away some of the disappointment hanging over Brett Favre and his franchise.
The Bears aren't actively shopping defensive end Alex Brown but would be inclined to listen to offers through training camp from teams willing to rework Brown's contract—which they don't expect. Still, they are in no rush to part with a young player who has been a two-time Pro Bowl alternate, no matter how disgruntled he might be over being pushed by Mark Anderson and second-round draftee Dan Bazuin. Their other veteran defensive end, Adewale Ogunleye, has limited trade value because of a hefty contract teams don't want to inherit.
Regardless of how the Corey Simon saga is resolved, it will remain a hefty financial investment for the Indianapolis Colts. Team president Bill Polian said Monday the team still is gathering information regarding the health of the veteran defensive tackle and has yet to make a decision on his status for the 2007 season. However, the Colts have been unsuccessful in an attempt to recover an $8 million option bonus paid Simon prior to last season as part of the five-year, $30 million contract he signed as a free agent in 2005. The Colts had filed documents seeking repayment from Simon, but the Ashley Lelie decision rendered the team's actions invalid. The Colts and the league had agreed to abide by the outcome of the Lelie situation.
Brett Favre will not attend the Green Bay Packers' mandatory minicamp this weekend because of his daughter's upcoming graduation, he told a reporter in Mississippi on Monday. But that does not mean Favre is holding out to force a trade.
Alan Faneca has been largely skewered since going public with his unhappiness over his contract situation. But framing the issue as a millionaire athlete griping about money is too simplistic, if not inaccurate, Faneca's agent said. At the root of Faneca's anger with the Steelers, Rick Smith said Monday, is his belief the team took advantage of the fact the Pro Bowl guard has been a consummate professional and, until recently, a solid company man. "It's just absolutely 100 percent not right, and that probably is bothering Alan absolutely more than anything else in this whole deal," Smith told the Tribune-Review on Monday. "What else could Alan Faneca have done since he's been a Pittsburgh Steeler? This is a blue-collar kid from a blue-collar background who epitomizes absolutely everything what a Pittsburgh Steeler should be about."
Falcons wide receiver Brian Finneran re-injured the surgically repaired left knee that sidelined him all last season. He will undergo further medical testing before it can be determined when, or if, he will return this season. Finneran re-injured the knee in which he tore his anterior cruciate ligament during training camp in 2006 while doing rehabilitative work last weekend during the Falcons' mandatory minicamp.
With the Eagles expected to take it slow with Donovan McNabb in training camp and the preseason, Andy Reid plans to stick with four quarterbacks well into the summer. While Kelly Holcomb is fairly confident he'll be able to find a backup job with another team if/when the Eagles release him, he's not looking forward to another move. "If I do well here, coach Reid obviously has been very successful in this league and knows a lot of people," Holcomb said. "I feel confident enough in myself that I'd be somewhere else. "But this is my 13th year. I've got three kids. Sometimes you have to think about that. I've got to try to get them in school [in Philadelphia]. If something happens, it's a tough situation. Sometimes, that's what a lot of people don't see. They don't see the inside of what goes on. I've got to get them moved here. I've got to get my furniture moved here. "Then, if it does get moved here and something happens and I end up going to the West Coast or somewhere, it's a different deal. I still want to play. I still have some good years left. But it's not all about me. I have a family."
So what happens if David Garrard outplays Byron Leftwich in training camp? That's a question Jags coach Jack Del Rio doesn't want to address. "What that sounds like is a hypothetical that you want to go into," he said.
The hearing for Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, which stemmed from his misdemeanor battery charge in Las Vegas on March 18, was continued for an additional 16 days Monday. The delay, which was granted after a request from Porter's attorney, is likely a move toward further discussions for more negotiations. The hearing, initially scheduled for Monday, will take place May 30. Porter is accused of allegedly punching Bengals tackle Levi Jones at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, according to a police report.
Regarding the latest Michael Vick controversy, Arthur Blank told the AJC last week that he couldn’t have been more stern talking to Vick about the consequences of his actions. So where was such a bold and public reprimand by Blank or any other Falcons officials after that water-bottle fiasco? And the stiffing of those U.S. congressmen in Washington? And the one-fingered salute to booing fans after a home game? And the herpes stuff involving Ron Mexico? And the stolen Rolex (not his, by the way) at the security gate of the Atlanta airport? This Vick deal won’t end pretty, and the Falcons have nobody to blame but themselves. Among other things, if they were as obsessed with trying to shield their quarterback from his posse as they were from the media, they wouldn’t be this close to joining Vick by getting sacked by Goodell. Consider this: Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb join Vick as the NFL’s other high-profile quarterbacks. Vick is the only one among the five whose team requires at least one Big Brother in the room whenever he is conducting an interview of any kind. All these quarterbacks have regularly scheduled media sessions, including Vick, but can be available when approached by their lockers. Vick is the only one with a Big Brother assigned to him in the locker room at all times, just in case somebody has the audacity to try to ask him a question.
So how is Donovan McNabb progressing as he attempts to return from knee rehabilitation in time for the start of training camp at the end of July? "He's been throwing once a week and he looks good in that area," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. ". . . The closer we get to camp, he'll be back to full speed. We're expecting him to be able to participate" in training camp.
Fred Taylor can smile about it now, but the Jaguars running back survived a harrowing flight during an offseason trip to Africa when an airplane door blew open at 6,000 feet. "We were leaving a safari in a single-propeller, 15-seat passenger plane when the door just came open. I thought that was it. I started praying. The runway was about two miles away, but it seemed like it took 10 to 15 minutes,'' he said. Taylor and his wife made the trip with two other NFL players, Samari Rolle and Lito Sheppard, a Jacksonville native, and their wives. Except for the airplane trip, Taylor said he enjoyed the visit to South Africa and several other African countries. One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to Nelson Mandela's house. "It's the mother land," he said, adding that he appreciates the good life in America after seeing the hardships that Africans endure.
Former Falcons player Ray Buchanan denied comments attributed to him during a radio talk show about having direct knowledge of Falcons quarterback Michael Vick being involved in illegal dogfighting. "I don't know anything about Mike being involved in dogfighting, and that's for real, coming from the Mouth of the South," Buchanan told the Journal-Constitution Monday. "For me to say something like that is wrong because I'd never throw another player under the bus. I don't know and I didn't say anything about Mike Vick, who I know, who I live by, having anything to do with dogfighting. During a radio broadcast aired in Tampa on Friday, Fox Sports analyst Chris Landry said Buchanan told him Vick was deeply involved in dogfighting and that Vick funded it. Landry also said Buchanan, who works for Fox Sports Radio, told him Vick openly spoke to players about his involvement. Buchanan said that he did speak with Landry about Vick's situation, but it was in an office of another Fox Sports employee last month at the NFL draft. Buchanan described it as a casual conversation where nothing was recorded, to his knowledge. Landry did not back down from his comments Monday. "I went on a radio station there and said what I had to say," Landry said. "I'm not looking to make news with this thing." When told about Buchanan's denial, Landry was stunned. "I'm going to stand by comments that I made on the show," Landry said. "That's all I'm going to say about it."
Jags coach Jack Del Rio, who said at the draft that he wouldn't be "coaching scared" this year even though his job could be on the line, elaborated on that theme at the end of minicamp. "I think I've said since I got here, I'm going to coach to win now and always have an eye to the future, and it's what I believe in. My philosophy hasn't changed; my approach is not going to change. I have conviction in the way we're approaching things here, and we're going to stay the course," he said.
Even though Tank Johnson will meet Wednesday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a league official said the Bears probably would have to wait a few days for Goodell's decision on discipline.
We've already seen the Eagles cut ties with veterans Dhani Jones and Sam Rayburn in recent weeks, and it would be at least as shocking as the Eagles' using their top draft pick on a quarterback if Matt McCoy, Ryan Moats and Jerome McDougle all extended their Philadelphia stories through the 2007 season. Chris Gocong, not McCoy, is the second-year linebacker primed to move into the starting lineup. Now McDougle is buried on the depth chart at defensive end and has to be considered a long shot to make the team. Now, with Tony Hunt and seventh-round draft choice Nate Ilaoa joining the Eagles, there's reason to wonder if Moats will make the team.
At this rate, Dolphins cornerback André Goodman might soon forget what it feels like to live without his left arm in a sling. Goodman, who started 14 games last season, underwent surgery in New York on Monday to repair another injury to his left shoulder sustained during a minicamp workout this month. He remains out indefinitely. ''The doctors were optimistic, but it's too early to tell anything,'' said Goodman's agent, Jason Chayut. ``We really don't have any timetable. He's a fast healer, so we're hopeful he can make a quick, thorough recovery.''
The Cowboys specialists voted "yes" on the new kicking balls that the league asked them to try. Wilson Sporting Goods made new K-balls that are "tackier out of the box" and asked each team's specialists to experiment with them this off-season. "It is a little sticky," long snapper L.P. Ladouceur said. The league has made several minor changes to the K-ball rules for next season, at least partly stemming from Tony Romo's botched hold late in the Cowboys' playoff loss to Seattle.
If Russ Grimm has his way, the Cardinals offensive line will be so versatile that no one label will describe it. Running a zone power scheme? The Cardinals want to be able to do that. Using a straight power game? That, too. Feel like pulling the two guards to lead Edgerrin James on a sweep? That's in the playbook. "We want to be multiple," said Grimm, the team's offensive line coach. "Certain players fit different styles of offense. Some are better in some than others. We're looking for guys that pretty much can do a little bit of everything." That kind of versatility requires mobility. The Cardinals don't want to start five behemoths who move slower than the field that rolls in and out at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Eagles DE Jevon Kearse, returning from a severe knee injury that cost him all but two games last season, said he was about 10 pounds lighter than his preferred playing weight, but he's not concerned. "My weight has never stopped me from doing anything I want to do," Kearse said. "Right about now I'm a little lighter, but I've got two more months before the season starts, so I should be where I want to be."
The team couldn't release Alan Faneca or trade him for less than equal value; he, arguably, is the Steelers' best player and is in the prime of his career. Management knew he was unhappy with his contract status but couldn't have imagined him going off like he did Friday. He said, among other things, that he wanted to be traded and didn't care to what team and that he couldn't see himself being a team captain for a franchise that clearly didn't want him. He didn't back off from his earlier comments that he wasn't happy the Steelers picked Tomlin to replace Cowher instead of one of Cowher's former assistants, Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt.
Cowboys Pro Bowl free safety Roy Williams will play inside or "dime" linebacker in obvious passing situations, coach Wade Phillips said Monday, the final day of the team's three-day minicamp. The move allows Williams, who is considered a coverage liability, to play closer to the line of scrimmage and blitz more. "One of Roy's better assets is him blitzing," defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said. "And the way to blitz him is not to blitz him from depth. This gives him a chance to blitz from inside as well as outside, and it keeps him out of deep coverage. "I don't think he's a bad deep cover guy, but when you have a guy who can blitz as well as he blitzes, let's put him in the rush." Stewart all but said it's guaranteed Williams will blitz whenever the offense uses a five-receiver set.
Coach Jack Del Rio said the result is the offense being installed by new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will be easier to digest for Jaguars players as the team tries to upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last year. "Everything we're doing with our offense is quarterback-friendly in terms of seeing the offense through the quarterback's eyes. It has to make sense to him. He has to have options and know exactly what they are," Del Rio said. Starting quarterback Byron Leftwich endorsed the concept. "I believe it is [quarterback-friendly] because it allows me to do things I like to do. It allows me to attack down the field, and that is the way I think the game of football should be played," he said. How this will look on the field remains to be seen. Del Rio said they'll utilize the tight end and "look for vertical opportunities'' in the offense.
Lions rookies will get their first chance to be evaluated against the veterans in a mandatory three-day mini-camp starting today. It is the only mandatory camp allowed in the offseason. Veterans participated in a voluntary camp the week before the draft. The Lions' eight draft picks and rookies signed as free agents had three days of drills after the draft. Coach Rod Marinelli expects players to benefit from having spent a year in his system.
Former Pitt QB Tyler Palko said he got more phone calls toward the end of the draft, maybe six teams in all. But the Saints showed the most persistence, and Sean Payton was the only head coach to take such a personal interest. The choice was easy. The Saints had just led the NFL in total offense and passing offense in 2006, with a starting quarterback in Drew Brees who is roughly the same size as Palko. Plus, Payton is the coach credited for discovering and developing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who was undrafted out of Eastern Illinois in 2003.
Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel, whose contract runs out in two weeks, will interview with the New York Giants on Wednesday for an unspecified role in the front office, a league source said. It would hurt the Bears to lose a guy who helped them become the draft-driven team Angelo always envisioned.
Near the end of a phone conversation Monday about his strong season as quarterback for the Frankfurt Galaxy, Bears prospect J.T. O'Sullivan accepted good wishes for training camp 10 weeks away in Bourbonnais. "Where?" O'Sullivan asked. The guy has been with six NFL teams in five years and is in the midst of his second stint across the pond. So O'Sullivan can be forgiven for not knowing whether Bourbonnais is the summer home of the Bears or a vacation spot in the south of France.
Bears RB Cedric Benson missed a good PR opportunity by arriving late to throw out the first pitch at Friday's Sox-Royals game. The player now fully responsible for the Bears' running game blamed traffic, and the Sox were understanding enough to invite Benson back later this season.
The Patriots must like Central Connecticut State product Justise Hairston, because running backs coach Ivan Fears unleashed the mother of all tirades on him Sunday afternoon. It was difficult to tell from the sidelines what error Hairston made, but Fears’ (unprintable) words were unmistakable. The guess here is Pats coaches aren’t wasting their breath on players they don’t think have a chance of making the team. So in a strange way, the sixth-rounder should consider himself flattered.
The Bears aren't actively shopping defensive end Alex Brown but would be inclined to listen to offers through training camp from teams willing to rework Brown's contract—which they don't expect. Still, they are in no rush to part with a young player who has been a two-time Pro Bowl alternate, no matter how disgruntled he might be over being pushed by Mark Anderson and second-round draftee Dan Bazuin. Their other veteran defensive end, Adewale Ogunleye, has limited trade value because of a hefty contract teams don't want to inherit.
Regardless of how the Corey Simon saga is resolved, it will remain a hefty financial investment for the Indianapolis Colts. Team president Bill Polian said Monday the team still is gathering information regarding the health of the veteran defensive tackle and has yet to make a decision on his status for the 2007 season. However, the Colts have been unsuccessful in an attempt to recover an $8 million option bonus paid Simon prior to last season as part of the five-year, $30 million contract he signed as a free agent in 2005. The Colts had filed documents seeking repayment from Simon, but the Ashley Lelie decision rendered the team's actions invalid. The Colts and the league had agreed to abide by the outcome of the Lelie situation.
Brett Favre will not attend the Green Bay Packers' mandatory minicamp this weekend because of his daughter's upcoming graduation, he told a reporter in Mississippi on Monday. But that does not mean Favre is holding out to force a trade.
Alan Faneca has been largely skewered since going public with his unhappiness over his contract situation. But framing the issue as a millionaire athlete griping about money is too simplistic, if not inaccurate, Faneca's agent said. At the root of Faneca's anger with the Steelers, Rick Smith said Monday, is his belief the team took advantage of the fact the Pro Bowl guard has been a consummate professional and, until recently, a solid company man. "It's just absolutely 100 percent not right, and that probably is bothering Alan absolutely more than anything else in this whole deal," Smith told the Tribune-Review on Monday. "What else could Alan Faneca have done since he's been a Pittsburgh Steeler? This is a blue-collar kid from a blue-collar background who epitomizes absolutely everything what a Pittsburgh Steeler should be about."
Falcons wide receiver Brian Finneran re-injured the surgically repaired left knee that sidelined him all last season. He will undergo further medical testing before it can be determined when, or if, he will return this season. Finneran re-injured the knee in which he tore his anterior cruciate ligament during training camp in 2006 while doing rehabilitative work last weekend during the Falcons' mandatory minicamp.
With the Eagles expected to take it slow with Donovan McNabb in training camp and the preseason, Andy Reid plans to stick with four quarterbacks well into the summer. While Kelly Holcomb is fairly confident he'll be able to find a backup job with another team if/when the Eagles release him, he's not looking forward to another move. "If I do well here, coach Reid obviously has been very successful in this league and knows a lot of people," Holcomb said. "I feel confident enough in myself that I'd be somewhere else. "But this is my 13th year. I've got three kids. Sometimes you have to think about that. I've got to try to get them in school [in Philadelphia]. If something happens, it's a tough situation. Sometimes, that's what a lot of people don't see. They don't see the inside of what goes on. I've got to get them moved here. I've got to get my furniture moved here. "Then, if it does get moved here and something happens and I end up going to the West Coast or somewhere, it's a different deal. I still want to play. I still have some good years left. But it's not all about me. I have a family."
So what happens if David Garrard outplays Byron Leftwich in training camp? That's a question Jags coach Jack Del Rio doesn't want to address. "What that sounds like is a hypothetical that you want to go into," he said.
The hearing for Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, which stemmed from his misdemeanor battery charge in Las Vegas on March 18, was continued for an additional 16 days Monday. The delay, which was granted after a request from Porter's attorney, is likely a move toward further discussions for more negotiations. The hearing, initially scheduled for Monday, will take place May 30. Porter is accused of allegedly punching Bengals tackle Levi Jones at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, according to a police report.
Regarding the latest Michael Vick controversy, Arthur Blank told the AJC last week that he couldn’t have been more stern talking to Vick about the consequences of his actions. So where was such a bold and public reprimand by Blank or any other Falcons officials after that water-bottle fiasco? And the stiffing of those U.S. congressmen in Washington? And the one-fingered salute to booing fans after a home game? And the herpes stuff involving Ron Mexico? And the stolen Rolex (not his, by the way) at the security gate of the Atlanta airport? This Vick deal won’t end pretty, and the Falcons have nobody to blame but themselves. Among other things, if they were as obsessed with trying to shield their quarterback from his posse as they were from the media, they wouldn’t be this close to joining Vick by getting sacked by Goodell. Consider this: Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb join Vick as the NFL’s other high-profile quarterbacks. Vick is the only one among the five whose team requires at least one Big Brother in the room whenever he is conducting an interview of any kind. All these quarterbacks have regularly scheduled media sessions, including Vick, but can be available when approached by their lockers. Vick is the only one with a Big Brother assigned to him in the locker room at all times, just in case somebody has the audacity to try to ask him a question.
So how is Donovan McNabb progressing as he attempts to return from knee rehabilitation in time for the start of training camp at the end of July? "He's been throwing once a week and he looks good in that area," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. ". . . The closer we get to camp, he'll be back to full speed. We're expecting him to be able to participate" in training camp.
Fred Taylor can smile about it now, but the Jaguars running back survived a harrowing flight during an offseason trip to Africa when an airplane door blew open at 6,000 feet. "We were leaving a safari in a single-propeller, 15-seat passenger plane when the door just came open. I thought that was it. I started praying. The runway was about two miles away, but it seemed like it took 10 to 15 minutes,'' he said. Taylor and his wife made the trip with two other NFL players, Samari Rolle and Lito Sheppard, a Jacksonville native, and their wives. Except for the airplane trip, Taylor said he enjoyed the visit to South Africa and several other African countries. One of the highlights of the tour was a visit to Nelson Mandela's house. "It's the mother land," he said, adding that he appreciates the good life in America after seeing the hardships that Africans endure.
Former Falcons player Ray Buchanan denied comments attributed to him during a radio talk show about having direct knowledge of Falcons quarterback Michael Vick being involved in illegal dogfighting. "I don't know anything about Mike being involved in dogfighting, and that's for real, coming from the Mouth of the South," Buchanan told the Journal-Constitution Monday. "For me to say something like that is wrong because I'd never throw another player under the bus. I don't know and I didn't say anything about Mike Vick, who I know, who I live by, having anything to do with dogfighting. During a radio broadcast aired in Tampa on Friday, Fox Sports analyst Chris Landry said Buchanan told him Vick was deeply involved in dogfighting and that Vick funded it. Landry also said Buchanan, who works for Fox Sports Radio, told him Vick openly spoke to players about his involvement. Buchanan said that he did speak with Landry about Vick's situation, but it was in an office of another Fox Sports employee last month at the NFL draft. Buchanan described it as a casual conversation where nothing was recorded, to his knowledge. Landry did not back down from his comments Monday. "I went on a radio station there and said what I had to say," Landry said. "I'm not looking to make news with this thing." When told about Buchanan's denial, Landry was stunned. "I'm going to stand by comments that I made on the show," Landry said. "That's all I'm going to say about it."
Jags coach Jack Del Rio, who said at the draft that he wouldn't be "coaching scared" this year even though his job could be on the line, elaborated on that theme at the end of minicamp. "I think I've said since I got here, I'm going to coach to win now and always have an eye to the future, and it's what I believe in. My philosophy hasn't changed; my approach is not going to change. I have conviction in the way we're approaching things here, and we're going to stay the course," he said.
Even though Tank Johnson will meet Wednesday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a league official said the Bears probably would have to wait a few days for Goodell's decision on discipline.
We've already seen the Eagles cut ties with veterans Dhani Jones and Sam Rayburn in recent weeks, and it would be at least as shocking as the Eagles' using their top draft pick on a quarterback if Matt McCoy, Ryan Moats and Jerome McDougle all extended their Philadelphia stories through the 2007 season. Chris Gocong, not McCoy, is the second-year linebacker primed to move into the starting lineup. Now McDougle is buried on the depth chart at defensive end and has to be considered a long shot to make the team. Now, with Tony Hunt and seventh-round draft choice Nate Ilaoa joining the Eagles, there's reason to wonder if Moats will make the team.
At this rate, Dolphins cornerback André Goodman might soon forget what it feels like to live without his left arm in a sling. Goodman, who started 14 games last season, underwent surgery in New York on Monday to repair another injury to his left shoulder sustained during a minicamp workout this month. He remains out indefinitely. ''The doctors were optimistic, but it's too early to tell anything,'' said Goodman's agent, Jason Chayut. ``We really don't have any timetable. He's a fast healer, so we're hopeful he can make a quick, thorough recovery.''
The Cowboys specialists voted "yes" on the new kicking balls that the league asked them to try. Wilson Sporting Goods made new K-balls that are "tackier out of the box" and asked each team's specialists to experiment with them this off-season. "It is a little sticky," long snapper L.P. Ladouceur said. The league has made several minor changes to the K-ball rules for next season, at least partly stemming from Tony Romo's botched hold late in the Cowboys' playoff loss to Seattle.
If Russ Grimm has his way, the Cardinals offensive line will be so versatile that no one label will describe it. Running a zone power scheme? The Cardinals want to be able to do that. Using a straight power game? That, too. Feel like pulling the two guards to lead Edgerrin James on a sweep? That's in the playbook. "We want to be multiple," said Grimm, the team's offensive line coach. "Certain players fit different styles of offense. Some are better in some than others. We're looking for guys that pretty much can do a little bit of everything." That kind of versatility requires mobility. The Cardinals don't want to start five behemoths who move slower than the field that rolls in and out at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Eagles DE Jevon Kearse, returning from a severe knee injury that cost him all but two games last season, said he was about 10 pounds lighter than his preferred playing weight, but he's not concerned. "My weight has never stopped me from doing anything I want to do," Kearse said. "Right about now I'm a little lighter, but I've got two more months before the season starts, so I should be where I want to be."
The team couldn't release Alan Faneca or trade him for less than equal value; he, arguably, is the Steelers' best player and is in the prime of his career. Management knew he was unhappy with his contract status but couldn't have imagined him going off like he did Friday. He said, among other things, that he wanted to be traded and didn't care to what team and that he couldn't see himself being a team captain for a franchise that clearly didn't want him. He didn't back off from his earlier comments that he wasn't happy the Steelers picked Tomlin to replace Cowher instead of one of Cowher's former assistants, Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt.
Cowboys Pro Bowl free safety Roy Williams will play inside or "dime" linebacker in obvious passing situations, coach Wade Phillips said Monday, the final day of the team's three-day minicamp. The move allows Williams, who is considered a coverage liability, to play closer to the line of scrimmage and blitz more. "One of Roy's better assets is him blitzing," defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said. "And the way to blitz him is not to blitz him from depth. This gives him a chance to blitz from inside as well as outside, and it keeps him out of deep coverage. "I don't think he's a bad deep cover guy, but when you have a guy who can blitz as well as he blitzes, let's put him in the rush." Stewart all but said it's guaranteed Williams will blitz whenever the offense uses a five-receiver set.
Coach Jack Del Rio said the result is the offense being installed by new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter will be easier to digest for Jaguars players as the team tries to upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last year. "Everything we're doing with our offense is quarterback-friendly in terms of seeing the offense through the quarterback's eyes. It has to make sense to him. He has to have options and know exactly what they are," Del Rio said. Starting quarterback Byron Leftwich endorsed the concept. "I believe it is [quarterback-friendly] because it allows me to do things I like to do. It allows me to attack down the field, and that is the way I think the game of football should be played," he said. How this will look on the field remains to be seen. Del Rio said they'll utilize the tight end and "look for vertical opportunities'' in the offense.
Lions rookies will get their first chance to be evaluated against the veterans in a mandatory three-day mini-camp starting today. It is the only mandatory camp allowed in the offseason. Veterans participated in a voluntary camp the week before the draft. The Lions' eight draft picks and rookies signed as free agents had three days of drills after the draft. Coach Rod Marinelli expects players to benefit from having spent a year in his system.
Former Pitt QB Tyler Palko said he got more phone calls toward the end of the draft, maybe six teams in all. But the Saints showed the most persistence, and Sean Payton was the only head coach to take such a personal interest. The choice was easy. The Saints had just led the NFL in total offense and passing offense in 2006, with a starting quarterback in Drew Brees who is roughly the same size as Palko. Plus, Payton is the coach credited for discovering and developing Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who was undrafted out of Eastern Illinois in 2003.
Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel, whose contract runs out in two weeks, will interview with the New York Giants on Wednesday for an unspecified role in the front office, a league source said. It would hurt the Bears to lose a guy who helped them become the draft-driven team Angelo always envisioned.
Near the end of a phone conversation Monday about his strong season as quarterback for the Frankfurt Galaxy, Bears prospect J.T. O'Sullivan accepted good wishes for training camp 10 weeks away in Bourbonnais. "Where?" O'Sullivan asked. The guy has been with six NFL teams in five years and is in the midst of his second stint across the pond. So O'Sullivan can be forgiven for not knowing whether Bourbonnais is the summer home of the Bears or a vacation spot in the south of France.
Bears RB Cedric Benson missed a good PR opportunity by arriving late to throw out the first pitch at Friday's Sox-Royals game. The player now fully responsible for the Bears' running game blamed traffic, and the Sox were understanding enough to invite Benson back later this season.
The Patriots must like Central Connecticut State product Justise Hairston, because running backs coach Ivan Fears unleashed the mother of all tirades on him Sunday afternoon. It was difficult to tell from the sidelines what error Hairston made, but Fears’ (unprintable) words were unmistakable. The guess here is Pats coaches aren’t wasting their breath on players they don’t think have a chance of making the team. So in a strange way, the sixth-rounder should consider himself flattered.
