JonCJG
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POSTED 11:28 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:50 p.m. EDT, September 16, 2006
STEVE SMITH STAYS HOME
Panthers receiver Steve Smith stayed in Charlotte as his team made the trek to Minnesota for a Week Two matchup with the Vikings.
Smith has been dogged by hamstring problems since early in training camp. Some league insiders are suspicious about a potential connection between Smith's injuries and a contract that pays him far less than other high-end receivers. In June, published reports indicated that the Panthers and Smith were working on an extension, but nothing has materialized to date.
Per the AP, Drew Carter and Keary Colbert are expected to split time across from starter Keyshawn Johnson.
STEVE SMITH STAYS HOME
Panthers receiver Steve Smith stayed in Charlotte as his team made the trek to Minnesota for a Week Two matchup with the Vikings.
Smith has been dogged by hamstring problems since early in training camp. Some league insiders are suspicious about a potential connection between Smith's injuries and a contract that pays him far less than other high-end receivers. In June, published reports indicated that the Panthers and Smith were working on an extension, but nothing has materialized to date.
Per the AP, Drew Carter and Keary Colbert are expected to split time across from starter Keyshawn Johnson.
DEION WON'T DEBUT ON SUNDAY
The Seahawks have decided not to activate receiver Deion Branch for Sunday's home opener against the Cardinals. Per the AP, the team did not release a player from its 53-man roster, a prerequisite to making Branch eligible to play.
Branch was acquired on Monday from the Patriots for a first-round selection in the 2007 draft. He later signed a six-year, $39 million contract. The NFL gave the Seahawks a two-week roster exemption, allowing Branch to get up to speed without forcing the team to cut another player.
Branch is taking a crash course in the Seahawks' offense, a West Coast attack that fellow newcomer Nate Burleson has had difficulty learning.
And he arrived in April.
Meanwhile, Branch has been doing his best to reduce expectations in his first season with the Seahawks. Said Branch earlier in the week: "I hope everyone is not looking at me like, 'Hey, this guy is the next thing that's going to be [starring]. . . . I'm just a piece to the puzzle."
Possible translation: "Even though I'm now the seventh highest-paid receiver in the NFL, I sure hope no one expects me to play like the seventh best."
Sorry, Deion. Now that you got your money, it's time to step it up and, say, gain more than 1,000 yards receiving in one season for the first time in your career.
The Seahawks have decided not to activate receiver Deion Branch for Sunday's home opener against the Cardinals. Per the AP, the team did not release a player from its 53-man roster, a prerequisite to making Branch eligible to play.
Branch was acquired on Monday from the Patriots for a first-round selection in the 2007 draft. He later signed a six-year, $39 million contract. The NFL gave the Seahawks a two-week roster exemption, allowing Branch to get up to speed without forcing the team to cut another player.
Branch is taking a crash course in the Seahawks' offense, a West Coast attack that fellow newcomer Nate Burleson has had difficulty learning.
And he arrived in April.
Meanwhile, Branch has been doing his best to reduce expectations in his first season with the Seahawks. Said Branch earlier in the week: "I hope everyone is not looking at me like, 'Hey, this guy is the next thing that's going to be [starring]. . . . I'm just a piece to the puzzle."
Possible translation: "Even though I'm now the seventh highest-paid receiver in the NFL, I sure hope no one expects me to play like the seventh best."
Sorry, Deion. Now that you got your money, it's time to step it up and, say, gain more than 1,000 yards receiving in one season for the first time in your career.
POSTED 7:32 p.m. EDT, September 16, 2006
LEN THROWS ANOTHER BONE TO SEGAL
At a time when the Reggie Bush camp is reeling from a chapter-and-verse report outlining numerous apparent instances in which Bush and/or his family members received payments or other benefits in violation of NCAA rules, one of his agent's best pals in media circles is re-shuffling the top of the 2006 draft and proclaiming that, if the draft were held today, the Houston Texans would pounce on the 2005 Heisman winner.
Along the way, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli contends that the only reason for Houston's decision to take defensive end Mario Williams over Bush was "signability," a reference to the perception that Segal wouldn't do a reasonable deal before the draft. But the decision was more complex than that. Sure, there's a school of thought that the team decided as a football matter that Williams would be more valuable to the long-term prospects of the franchise than Bush, a whirling dervish who doesn't fit well in the Denver/Houston one-cut rushing attack. The tipping point for the Texans, however, was the manner in which Bush handled the initial wave of negative press resulting from his family's rent-free housing arrangements in San Diego.
Bush, as we've heard in the past, blew off the Texans for a couple of days when they tried to reach him to discuss the reports. When Bush finally talked with the powers-that-be in Houston, they concluded that he was speaking with forked tongue, and they decided that they didn't want him to be the face of the franchise for the next decade.
So if, as Len suggests, the draft were being held today, the decision would be the same.
Especially in light of Thursday night's report making a strong case for the proposition that Bush will eventually be required to pack up his Heisman and mail it to Uncle Rico in Nashville.
Meanwhile, the notion that Bush will be a superior performer based on one regular season game borders on the goofy. Bush racked up 141 all-purpose yards against a poor Browns team; Williams was stifled by the Eagles. Of course, Len didn't mention that point, since it would have undermined his effort to throw out some positive press for Bush (and Segal) at a time when Bush's image is taking another hit.
POSTED 5:45 p.m. EDT, September 16, 2006
STERLING SHARPE IS A MORON
Now that Sterling Sharpe spends less time TALKING REALLY, REALLY LOUD, it's easier to pay attention to what he actually says.
In hindsight, it might make more sense for him to talk really, really loud.
During a discussion with NBC's Football Night in America crew (sans Jerome Bettis), which curiously occurred on a football afternoon in South Bend, Sharpe cautioned that the presumptive passing-game replacement for Deion Branch in New England, tight end Ben Watson, might be a restricted free agent after the 2006 season.
Sterling, Watson is under contract through 2007. And 2008. AND 2009.
The 2004 first-rounder signed a six-year deal. In lieu of continuing a rookie holdout, Watson parted ways with agent Tom Condon (who refused to be a party to a deal of that length for a guy taken at the bottom of round one) and hired an agent who would recommend that Watson sign the deal.
Sure, Watson might want more money at some point, and could stage a $14,000-per-day training camp holdout. But restricted free agency -- or unrestricted free agency, for that matter -- isn't in the cards for Watson until March of 2010.
When in the world are these networks going to hire guys who won't spout off without knowing the facts or, even better, will make an effort to actually know the facts?
