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Kolb not bothered by Vick getting snaps
Posted June 06, 2010 @ 10:07 a.m. ET
By PFW staff
We've been hearing the following whispers around the league:
• Eagles QB Kevin Kolb told PFW he has no problem with Michael Vick coming in for a play or two at a time, or even for an entire series. Donovan McNabb said that bringing in Vick occasionally would get him out of rhythm, but Kolb said he wants to see as much of Vick as possible. "Last year when I was in there (for two starts) it didn't affect me at all," Kolb said by telephone. "To be honest with you, (Vick) looks so good right now out there in OTAs, I want him to be on the field as much as possible. He's a great athlete and a great weapon."
• Our Seahawks sources continue to sing the praises of former first-round WR Mike Williams, who appears to be taking full advantage of the opportunity being given to him by new head coach Pete Carroll, who coached Williams at USC. "He realizes what a chance he's getting, and he provides a bigger presence at receiver, which is something they really want," one source told PFW. As for Reggie Williams, another former first-round wideout who has been offered a shot at making the team, the word is that the former Jaguar is way behind Mike Williams and is considered "just a guy."
• One team source referred to Patriots RB Laurence Maroney as a "broken man" before the draft, but the fact that the team did not select or acquire another back plays in his favor. And Maroney has remained upbeat this offseason, telling the media he still believes he has a big season in him.
• The debate over how the Cowboys will handle RBs Marion Barber and Felix Jones — and Tashard Choice, for that matter — rages on, but we hear there's little concern with the team over how the rotation will work out. Barber likely will get more fourth-quarter carries, which is when he often is at his best, but that doesn't guarantee Jones will be handed a starting job, either.
• Saints head coach Sean Payton recently said "It's hard to tell," when asked whether Chase Daniel could be Drew Brees' top backup, and it sounds as if the team is still open to signing a veteran backup in late July when the "final eight" rules no longer apply. Payton said he plans on getting Daniel plenty of snaps in the preseason and wants the Missouri product to compete to become the primary backup.
• The odd man out in the Lions' passing game appears to be WR Bryant Johnson, who failed to complement Calvin Johnson effectively in his first season in Detroit last season. The Lions are planning to use more two-TE formations — possibly as their base formation we hear — which would flex out a tight end (likely Tony Scheffler a lot) as the de facto third receiver.
• On the Cardinals' WR front, daily team observers tell us Early Doucet, who came on strong down the stretch last season, has picked up where he left off and continued to look very good in the team's OTAs. We hear Onrea Jones also has made his presence felt and is currently ahead of third-round rookie Andre Roberts for the No. 4 WR role.
• While the Dolphins' coaching staff gave many players chances to take reps with the first unit on offense and defense at offseason practices, the team's first-round pick, DE Jared Odrick, didn't take many reps with the first-team defense. Head coach Tony Sparano cautioned observers not to read too much into the way snaps are distributed at OTAs, however, and Odrick is expected to be heavily involved in the rotation at end, regardless of whether he starts.
• Word is 49ers CB Nate Clements, who up until this offseason might have led the team in terms of working out at the team's facility, is not a happy camper. We hear Clements, who has opted to work out on his own in Arizona this offseason, still might be harboring a grudge for being benched last season.
• We hear one of the most impressive-looking Bears defenders so far this offseason has been S Craig Steltz, who has been making lots of plays and apparently warranting more consideration for one of the starting safety jobs.
• The Falcons haven't made many changes on offense this offseason, but they apparently have expanded their arsenal of plays to run out of the no-huddle. Reports from recent OTAs indicate Atlanta is planning on operating more frequently out of the no-huddle to keep an up-tempo pace
• The Steelers aren't lacking for options at center, even with Justin Hartwig coming back from shoulder surgery. Doug Legursky, whom the Steelers released twice earlier in his career, has worked with the first team and has drawn praise from head coach Mike Tomlin. Rookie Maurkice Pouncey, the club's first-round pick, could factor at right guard or center. The Steelers have even given second-year OG Kraig Urbik some work at center, too. Hartwig, 31, has started all 32 games at center for Pittsburgh in the last two seasons.
• Speaking to Cleveland reporters on June 3, Browns head coach Eric Mangini noted that rookie OG Shawn Lauvao has also worked at center "a little bit." Mangini said the practice reps at center are valuable for Lauvao "because you have to know everything that's going on if you're playing that spot, and ideally he can play any of those three interior spots, center, left guard, or right guard, and you have to know it. If you don't know it, you can't function, and you want him to get comfortable, but you also want him to understand the full concept of the protection." Lauvao, a third-round pick, started at left guard and at both tackle spots at Arizona State but never at center and will primarily play inside at guard for Cleveland.
• We continue to hear rumors out of St. Louis that exiting Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez will maintain ownership of a small percentage of the team, which figures to have Stan Kroenke as the majority owner before the summer is over.
• Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo on if he expects more this year out of CB Ron Bartell, who battled injuries in 2009: "Yeah, I mean, I think any player would tell you, when you're dinged up and you're not 100 percent, it works on you a little, but he fought through it. I don't believe he missed a game unless I'm forgetting one there, so to his credit he fought through an injury, and I think every guy will tell you they're happy when they're 100 percent."
• Although he was drafted as a cornerback, we hear the Chiefs did not select Javier Arenas in the second round of the 2010 draft for his coverage ability. Desperately needing help in the return game, Kansas City took the accomplished collegiate returner almost exclusively for his effectiveness bringing back kickoffs and punts — he had seven TD returns during his career at Alabama. It sounds like anything Arenas brings to the secondary will be considered a bonus, as he'll be called upon to be a nickel corner, at most.
Posted June 06, 2010 @ 10:07 a.m. ET
By PFW staff
We've been hearing the following whispers around the league:
• Eagles QB Kevin Kolb told PFW he has no problem with Michael Vick coming in for a play or two at a time, or even for an entire series. Donovan McNabb said that bringing in Vick occasionally would get him out of rhythm, but Kolb said he wants to see as much of Vick as possible. "Last year when I was in there (for two starts) it didn't affect me at all," Kolb said by telephone. "To be honest with you, (Vick) looks so good right now out there in OTAs, I want him to be on the field as much as possible. He's a great athlete and a great weapon."
• Our Seahawks sources continue to sing the praises of former first-round WR Mike Williams, who appears to be taking full advantage of the opportunity being given to him by new head coach Pete Carroll, who coached Williams at USC. "He realizes what a chance he's getting, and he provides a bigger presence at receiver, which is something they really want," one source told PFW. As for Reggie Williams, another former first-round wideout who has been offered a shot at making the team, the word is that the former Jaguar is way behind Mike Williams and is considered "just a guy."
• One team source referred to Patriots RB Laurence Maroney as a "broken man" before the draft, but the fact that the team did not select or acquire another back plays in his favor. And Maroney has remained upbeat this offseason, telling the media he still believes he has a big season in him.
• The debate over how the Cowboys will handle RBs Marion Barber and Felix Jones — and Tashard Choice, for that matter — rages on, but we hear there's little concern with the team over how the rotation will work out. Barber likely will get more fourth-quarter carries, which is when he often is at his best, but that doesn't guarantee Jones will be handed a starting job, either.
• Saints head coach Sean Payton recently said "It's hard to tell," when asked whether Chase Daniel could be Drew Brees' top backup, and it sounds as if the team is still open to signing a veteran backup in late July when the "final eight" rules no longer apply. Payton said he plans on getting Daniel plenty of snaps in the preseason and wants the Missouri product to compete to become the primary backup.
• The odd man out in the Lions' passing game appears to be WR Bryant Johnson, who failed to complement Calvin Johnson effectively in his first season in Detroit last season. The Lions are planning to use more two-TE formations — possibly as their base formation we hear — which would flex out a tight end (likely Tony Scheffler a lot) as the de facto third receiver.
• On the Cardinals' WR front, daily team observers tell us Early Doucet, who came on strong down the stretch last season, has picked up where he left off and continued to look very good in the team's OTAs. We hear Onrea Jones also has made his presence felt and is currently ahead of third-round rookie Andre Roberts for the No. 4 WR role.
• While the Dolphins' coaching staff gave many players chances to take reps with the first unit on offense and defense at offseason practices, the team's first-round pick, DE Jared Odrick, didn't take many reps with the first-team defense. Head coach Tony Sparano cautioned observers not to read too much into the way snaps are distributed at OTAs, however, and Odrick is expected to be heavily involved in the rotation at end, regardless of whether he starts.
• Word is 49ers CB Nate Clements, who up until this offseason might have led the team in terms of working out at the team's facility, is not a happy camper. We hear Clements, who has opted to work out on his own in Arizona this offseason, still might be harboring a grudge for being benched last season.
• We hear one of the most impressive-looking Bears defenders so far this offseason has been S Craig Steltz, who has been making lots of plays and apparently warranting more consideration for one of the starting safety jobs.
• The Falcons haven't made many changes on offense this offseason, but they apparently have expanded their arsenal of plays to run out of the no-huddle. Reports from recent OTAs indicate Atlanta is planning on operating more frequently out of the no-huddle to keep an up-tempo pace
• The Steelers aren't lacking for options at center, even with Justin Hartwig coming back from shoulder surgery. Doug Legursky, whom the Steelers released twice earlier in his career, has worked with the first team and has drawn praise from head coach Mike Tomlin. Rookie Maurkice Pouncey, the club's first-round pick, could factor at right guard or center. The Steelers have even given second-year OG Kraig Urbik some work at center, too. Hartwig, 31, has started all 32 games at center for Pittsburgh in the last two seasons.
• Speaking to Cleveland reporters on June 3, Browns head coach Eric Mangini noted that rookie OG Shawn Lauvao has also worked at center "a little bit." Mangini said the practice reps at center are valuable for Lauvao "because you have to know everything that's going on if you're playing that spot, and ideally he can play any of those three interior spots, center, left guard, or right guard, and you have to know it. If you don't know it, you can't function, and you want him to get comfortable, but you also want him to understand the full concept of the protection." Lauvao, a third-round pick, started at left guard and at both tackle spots at Arizona State but never at center and will primarily play inside at guard for Cleveland.
• We continue to hear rumors out of St. Louis that exiting Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez will maintain ownership of a small percentage of the team, which figures to have Stan Kroenke as the majority owner before the summer is over.
• Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo on if he expects more this year out of CB Ron Bartell, who battled injuries in 2009: "Yeah, I mean, I think any player would tell you, when you're dinged up and you're not 100 percent, it works on you a little, but he fought through it. I don't believe he missed a game unless I'm forgetting one there, so to his credit he fought through an injury, and I think every guy will tell you they're happy when they're 100 percent."
• Although he was drafted as a cornerback, we hear the Chiefs did not select Javier Arenas in the second round of the 2010 draft for his coverage ability. Desperately needing help in the return game, Kansas City took the accomplished collegiate returner almost exclusively for his effectiveness bringing back kickoffs and punts — he had seven TD returns during his career at Alabama. It sounds like anything Arenas brings to the secondary will be considered a bonus, as he'll be called upon to be a nickel corner, at most.
