PFW Blog
May 18, 2008
Saturday Premiere roundup: Catching up with the rookie wideouts
Posted by PFW's Mike Wilkening
LOS ANGELES — For the second straight year, Eric Edholm and I attended the Rookie Premiere football-card photo shoot at the L.A. Coliseum. More than 30 rookies donned their jerseys and posed for the cameras.
Eric and I doned sunscreen and white polo shirts and tried to stay out of the shots.
Some news, notes and observations from the Coliseum:
Chatted with the Bengals’ rookie wideouts for a piece I’m working on for PFW’s next issue. Jerome Simpson, the second-rounder from Coastal Carolina, said he’s going to work at the ‘X’ receiver spot (split end) in Cincinnati’s offense. Andre Caldwell, the swift third-round pick from Florida, is working at the ‘Z’ (flanker) and also at slot receiver. Both will get a chance to contribute immediately, considering the Bengals’ lack of depth at the position. And, quite obviously, their learning curves would be accelerated were Chad Johnson to be traded. But I would be stunned if that happened. I’ll only be surprised, frankly, if he isn’t in the Bengals’ starting lineup in Week One. The Bengals don’t want to deal him, and were he to sit out, he would be walking away from a lot of money. And that is not going to happen.
Buccaneers WR Dexter Jackson’s favorite football card: the 1986 Topps Jerry Rice rookie. Love that one, too. Jackson will get every chance to solve a long-standing problem for Tampa: a lack of punch in the return game.
Rams WR Torry Holt wants rookie Donnie Avery to show less “emotion,” as Avery put it, in his route-running. Holt became one of the best receivers of his generation in part because of his superb routes. Avery has rare speed, the best of any pass-catcher in his draft class, but whether he succeeds or fails may come down to whether he takes a page from Holt when it comes to never letting DBs know what is coming. Avery’s hands — drops caught the attention of scouts, and not in a good way — also need to become more consistent.
Tags:Andre Caldwell Chad Johnson Dexter Jackson Donnie Avery Jerome Simpson Jerry Rice Torry Holt
Posted by Eric Edholm on May 18, 2008 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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May 17, 2008
Wilkening's Friday night observations at Rookie Madden Bowl
Posted by PFW's Mike Wilkening
LOS ANGELES — A rundown of some of the sights and sounds from last night’s EA Sports 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl:
Giants WR Mario Manningham, playing as the Tennessee Titans vs. Buccaneers WR Dexter Jackson’s Indianapolis Colts, jumping up to celebrate a touchdown and bumping his head against a flat-screen television. The touchdown cut Jackson’s lead to 21 points…
Falcons QB Matt Ryan, playing as his new team — and using Joey Harrington at quarterback — yell “Noooo!” as Harrington led a wide-open receiver in the left corner of the endzone right out of the endzone. On the next play, Ryan — err, Harrington — made a beautiful throw on the run only to have his receiver fumble the ball near the goal line.
Bengals WR Andre Caldwell, playing on one of several flat-screen TVs set up throughout the hotel ballroom at which the tournament was held, scoring a touchdown with the Cardinals — but only because Jaguars S Gerald Sensabaugh had fumbled an interception.
Count me impressed by the approachability of many of the rookies present here in Los Angeles. I didn’t speak with Dolphins OT Jake Long, but the No. 1 overall pick appeared very affable. Raiders RB Darren McFadden was generous with his time. Same goes for Ravens QB Joe Flacco. You’ll see pieces on each of these players in upcoming issues of PFW.
So what else stood out about Friday? The vast majority of the rookies I spoke to had learning their offenses.
“How big is the playbook?” I asked Titans RB Chris Johnson.
“Big — real big,” said Johnson, smiling and motioning with his hands.
Back this evening with news and notes from the Rookie Premiere football card photo shoot over at the LA Coliseum.
Tags:Andre Caldwell Chris Johnson Darren McFadden Mario Manningham Matt Ryan NFL draft Rookie Madden Bowl rookies
Posted by Eric Edholm on May 17, 2008 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Devin Thomas over Matt Forte in Madden 08
SANTA MONICA -- So last night, Mike Wilkening and I headed over to the Loews Hotel and checked out the 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl sponsored by EA Sports. The tournament matched up eight rookies in a Madden 08 tournament:
Matt Ryan vs. Brian Brohm
Kevin O'Connell vs. Matt Forte
Devin Thomas vs. Rashard Mendenhall
Mario Manningham vs. DeSean Jackson
Ryan beat Brohm, Forte killed O'Connell, and Thomas and Jackson won. And then Thomas -- playing with the Cowboys, I might add -- beat Forte in the finals, setting off a flurry of excitement among the gaming media community (actually, I am serious). It's a fun event and the rookies generally are very approachable. In fact, there wasn't a guy I talked tolast night who didn't have something interesting to offer.
Jake Long is a very down-to-earth guy. He talked at ease about the pressure he faces as the highest-paid offensive lineman in the game despite not taking a snap yet, and he looks ready to go.
Thomas is a character. He called the Madden win "the greatest moment of his NFL career to date" to which one gaming reporter mouthed, "Wow" and scribbled notes on a pad. Funny stuff. But Thomas has a big personality and all the confidence in the world. He just might fit in well in D.C.
Jackson is a confident kid, too. He said he's working primarily in the slot but thinks he'll make a big impact as a returner. The Eagles hope so too.
Ryan is a classy kid. I think he's born to be a star. He has Tom Brady's poise and maturity - and we'll find out if he's close to the player Brady is, but I can't help but root for the kid.
Dustin Keller carries himself well. He said he's excited to find out how he'll be used, and he's sick of hearing he's a deficient blocker. He told me he will be an effective blocker in the NFL. Period.
Jordy Nelson admitted to me he didn't expect to be a Packer. But he is excited to work up there and will be heading out Sunday night straight from L.A. He did admit, though, that it would have been nice to play with Brett Favre. I told him to hang tight, his chance might just come.
I have plenty more on the event, as does Mr. Wilkening, who will file later. In a few hours, we're going to the L.A. Coliseum to watch these guys run around in their new unis, and we'll talk to a few more of them and report back.
Tags
eSean Jackson Devin Thomas Dustin Keller Jake Long Jordy Nelson Matt Ryan NFL draft
Posted by Eric Edholm on May 17, 2008 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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May 15, 2008
Around the NFL will be coming to you live from L.A. this weekend, where the rookies take center stage
As we did last year, Mike Wilkening and I will be on high-draft-pick duty, talking to 30 first-, second- and third-round picks (and one fifth-rounder, John David Booty) this weekend for a strange, unique event -- the NFL's Rookie Premier weekend.
What is it? Hard to say exactly, but we are attending two events. The first is a Madden 08 tournament that's going on in Santa Monica, where the players are staying. Last year it was eight guys playing head to head in tournament style, sponsored by EA Sports (the Titans' Paul Williams won last year, unofficially making it the last time he has been heard or seen from). And then on Saturday, the players will be photographed in their new teams' uniforms for their Topps football cards. It's high comedy, really; last year, the clear and obvious highligh was watching Browns OT Joe Thomas flop onto mats at the L.A. Coliseum as overexcited photogs took his picture. How often do linemen get to bellyflop like that? Thomas said it had been since high school, when he played a little fullback.
So here is the list of players attending (in bold are the guys I'll for sure be talking to):
Rams WR Donnie Avery
Bears WR Earl Bennett
Vikings QB John David Booty
Packers QB Brian Brohm
Bengals WR Andre Caldwell
Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles
Chiefs DT Glenn Dorsey
Cardinals WR Early Doucet
Falcons WR Harry Douglas
Ravens QB Joe Flacco
Bears RB Matt Forté
Bills WR James Hardy
Dolphins QB Chad Henne
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson
Buccaneers WR Dexter Jackson
Titans RB Chris Johnson
Cowboys RB Felix Jones
Jets TE Dustin Keller
Commanders WR Malcolm Kelly
Rams DE Chris Long
Dolphins OT Jake Long
Giants WR Mario Manningham
Raiders RB Darren McFadden
Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall
Packers WR Jordy Nelson
Patriots QB Kevin O'Connell
Ravens RB Ray Rice
Falcons QB Matt Ryan
Bengals WR Jerome Simpson
Texans RB Steve Slaton
Lions RB Kevin Smith
Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart
Steelers WR Limas Sweed
Commanders WR Devin Thomas
If you're wondering why I plan, say, on talking to Booty or Keller and not McFadden, Wilky and I kinda of carved up the list and decided who would go after who, interview-wise, so don't worry -- we'll try to give you blanket coverage as much as we can. Specifically, though, I will be working on Matt Ryan and Jake Long features, so I'll have a lot from those guys.
It'll be interesting to see if Mr. Hardy shows up following his handgun incident this week. Sounds like he's mostly out of the woods, though who knows?
We'll blog live from L.A. this weekend to paint the picture and give you any pertinent info to pass along.
Tags
arren McFadden Dustin Keller Glenn Dorsey Jake Long James Hardy John David Booty Matt Ryan NFL draft
Posted by Eric Edholm on May 15, 2008 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
