2015 NFL OFF SEASON NEWS AND HAPPENINGS

[eagle eye]

Man, the ink wasn't even dry on the last account of the last game of the 2014 season and head coaches began to fall. Four all told and a fifth gave up his contract just today. That's almost 16% of the head coaching positions in the NFL for goodness sake. Some we all new were going to be gone. Some a little surprising and one guy isn't even where most of the guru's thought he was going so let's get started.

1. Jim Harbaugh - This is the one everyone knew was coming. Now, Harbaugh took over a 49ers team that, despite some good talent was a cellar dweller under previous head coach Mike Singletary. Well, not a cellar dweller but certainly underachieving. Harbaugh came in and turned the Niners into a perennial Super Bowl contender. In his first 3 seasons he led the Niners to 3 NFC title games and one Super Bowl which he lost to the Baltimore Ravens coached by his big brother John. This past season was a disappointing 8-8 that came be traced to a bucket list of injuries and suspensions that Harbaugh had zero control over. He dealt with rumors that he had lost his locker room and players were tired of his intense, rah-rah approach. But, if you looked at the love the players gave him after they won their last game for him you have to think that was just that, a rumor. Truth be told it was the crap working relationship between Harbaugh and GM Trent Baalke that did Harbaugh in. Time will tell of course but maybe it was Baalke that needed to be fired. Harbaugh wasn't out of work long as he was introduced as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines within 24 hours of his departure from San Francisco. It was a popular thought that Harbaugh may end up as the Oakland Raiders man but evidently not.

2. Rex Ryan - NY Jets lost not only their head coach but their general manager John Idzik. Talk about a dumpster fire. Rex is really good defensive coach but he's got no clue about offense, at least going by his results in Jet-land. He took over a team that had some nice offensive weapons put together by previous head coach Eric Mangini and he proceeded to run the offense aground amid retirements, free agent defections and poor draft choices. In my opinion Rex is a damn good defensive coordinator but he's no head coach. John Idzik, well let's just say you could make a real strong case for him to be the worst GM ever. The Jets need a good football man as a GM and a coach who can work with him. Preferrably a coach who has a real plan to build the Jets and he can pretty much count on it taking 3-4 years to do it. The Jets ownership will need patience a la the type Jerry Jones has shown Jason Garrett because turning this team around won't be an overnight affair.

3. Mike Smith - The Atlanta Falcons have been underachieving for several years now. The Falcons window is closing because they have lost their all-world TE Tony Gonzalez is gone, QB Matt Ryan is not looking sharp, WR Roddy White is getting old and they have no real threat at RB. To make matters worse, the defense that was supposed to be better this season, wasn't. Not even close and with every other team in the NFC South TRYING to give them the division title they simply wouldn't take it. It was time for a chance. It may have been time for a change at GM but owner Arthur Blank didn't think so even though he qualified his position saying he'd be keeping an eye on the situation.

4. Mark Trestman - Chicago's so-called quarterback whisperer, was just bad. He was a soft spoken guy in the Lovie Smith mold but he wasn't the coach Lovie was. Of course he didn't have the defense Lovie had either. The big problem was Trestman just couldn't get Jay Cutler to play up to his perceived potential. It seems the only guy who got Jay to play well was his former coach at Denver Mike Shanahan. Hmmm. Shanahan is available and he could help the Bears. They have great offensive personnel and that's Mike's forte. Speaking of Forte, just how much could Mike do with that guy? They could dangle a Head Coach/GM carrot for Shanahan since the Bears also fired GM Phil Emery. Just a thought here for a team that needs to play Green Bay, Detroit and a resurgent Minnesota team twice a year.

5. Doug Marrone - Buffalo's head man until today when he took advantage of a 3 day opt out option in his contract. Say what? Aren't these head coaching jobs hard to come by and he just basically quit his job? This after a tumultuous season that saw QB EJ Manual fall out of favor and get benched in favor of veteran QB Kyle Orton who led the Bill to a 9-7 record, their first winning record in 10 years, and with a top 5 defense. This is crazy, right? Right. Unless you believe the rumors that Marrone is interested in the New York Jets head coaching position. Man, you just never know what is going to happen in the NFL. I guess that's one of the reasons the NFL is so doggone popular.

[eagle eye]

There is a sixth coaching vacancy that I forgot about. In mid season the Oakland Raiders fired head coach Dennis Allen and finished with Tony Sparano as the interim head coach. Sparano did help the Raiders to a couple of wins down the stretch and his name is certainly in the ring to become the head coach.

The Redskins have hired their new GM and that man is Scot McCloughan. McCloughan had been the 49ers GM and up until 2013 he was a personnel executive for the Seahawks. He stepped down from the Seahawks position for personal reasons but he maintained an NFL scouting business so he should be right on top of the 2015 draft class. McCloughan is credited for acquisition of the players Jim Harbaugh inherited that helped the 49ers to reach 3 consecutive NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl. His work is credited with late round draft picks that helped the Seahawks win last season's Super Bowl. Acknowledged as one of the best scouts in the NFL he should bring some stability to the Redskins front office. I can see right now that I'm going to start hating the Redskins again in the near future.

Former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum has been hired by the Miami Dolphins as Director of Football Operations with GM Dennis Hickey working for Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum worked as a consultant for the Dolphins last summer. His stint in New York included the hiring of Rex Ryan and helping build a team that went to 2 straight AFC title games. It was also marred by the Tim Tebow deal and the Marc Sanchez contract extension with neither deal ending well.

I said in an earlier post that Mike Shanahan might be a real nice fit in Chicago and now NFL.com is reporting that the Mike-ster is going for an interview for the head coaching position in the Windy City. Shanahan has also interviewed for the head coaching job in San Francisco.

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All these coaches are travelling around the NFL interviewing for one of the six head coaching jobs available. You can add former offensive coordinator for the Browns, Kyle Shanahan, to the list of interviewees. I'm not so sure he's worth the price of admission to be a head coach especially since he's never been one. He's always lived in the shadow of his dad and right off the top of my head his gig in Cleveland was the first time he didn't work for his dad. You never know but I haven't been too impressed with his work with RGIII and Brian Hoyer and even Johnny Manziel. If we do a word association test and you say Kyle Shanahan my reply would not be quarterback guru. We'll see but I would be interested in hearing from you guys who you think will go where.

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Boy, miss a few days because of shoulder surgery and all kinds of things happened in the past week. Unexpectedly after their loss to Indianapolis Broncos head coach John Fox left the Broncos. In the four years he's been the head coach Fox has taken his team to the playoffs every single year and that includes having Tim Tebow as his QB in the first year of his tenure. It was reported that it was by mutual agreement but I can't imagine why he was let go after posting an overall record of 46-18, four trips to the playoffs and one Super Bowl appearance but John Elway seems to have a plan that Fox wasn't a part of. Whoever takes over for Fox will likely have the uneviable task of deciding if Peyton Manning will be the Broncos QB going forward.

[eagle eye]

All the head coaching vacancies are nearly all filled including the Denver job which was filled by a name everyone in the Texans surrounding area are very familiar with. By now everyone knows former Texans head coach Gary Kubiak was hired within a couple of days of John Fox's departure. Kubiak was the backup QB for the Broncos in the 80's and his his coaching career in the NFL began as an assistant for the 49ers in 1994 and in 1995 he was hired as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach by Mike Shanahan for those same Broncos which includes the Broncos Super Bowl Championships in 1997 and 1998. "Koobs" was hired as the Texans head coach in 2006 becoming the second head coach in Texans franchise history replacing Dom Capers. Before the team collapsed in 2013 going 2-14 Kubiak's Texans improved each year. In 2011 and 2012 Kubiak led the Texans to their first two playoff appearances in franchise history. He did all this without a "franchise" type of QB going for the bulk of his tenure with Matt Schaub. Enough of Texans history. After being fired before the Texans 2013 season ended Kubiak was signed in the off season by the Baltimore Ravens as their offensive coordinator. When the jobs for head coaching positions became available Kubiak said he was flattered by the interest but he was happy with his position with the Ravens. He continued saying he wasn't interested in wasn't interested in a head coaching job at this point in time. Until......John Fox and the Broncos parted company then he had a change of heart. At the core of it Kubiak probably has deep roots in Denver after spending the entirety of his nine year NFL playing career where he backed up current Broncos GM and HOF QB John Elway. Then except for his first year as an NFL coach he went to Denver for the next 11 years. There is definitely history there to take advantage of and now he's back in the Broncos fold.

Former Jets head coach Rex Ryan is now the Buffalo Bills head man. Interestingly enough the man he replaced, Doug Marrone just took a job as offensive line coach with Jacksonville. It really makes you wonder why a guy who has one of the 32 most coveted jobs for a coach just gives it up and ends up an O-line coach. There has got to be more to that story because Marrone wasn't fired, he left. In the meantime, Rex Ryan has returned to his old trash talking self. You didn't hear much with all the Jet front office pissing contests and the slide of the Jets team and the debate over who should start at QB, Geno Smith or Mike Vick so of stuffed a sock in Rex's mouth. But he went back to his blustery self in his presser for his introduction as the Bills main man. There's no doubt about Ryan being a really good defensive coach but he didn't do squat for the Jets offense. Rex inherited a pretty decent offensive team when he took over for Eric Mangini and as they lost that talent through free agency and retirement Rex did nothing to restock that side of the team. It looks like Rex is like his old man, Buddy. Good defensive coach but lacking the wherewithal to be a head coach.

Speaking of the Jets, they hired a guy who has been on the head coaching radar for a couple of years now, Todd Bowles. Bowles has been recognized as really good defensive coach and his job as D-coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals this past season was the main reason the Cards held on to make the playoffs after the offense went south when QB Carson Palmer was lost for the season. Can he do something with the Jets offense, that will be his main challenge going forward.

The Raiders filled their HC vacancy not with interim man Tony Sparano but with Broncos DC Jack Del Rio. Questions were raised at this hire because Del Rio didn't have the greatest success in his first stint as a head coach in Jacksonville. Del Rio was not on any other list of candidates for the head coaching jobs available except Oakland. Is Oakland the same old inept Raiders or do they know something others don't? All things considered you'd probably have to go with the former option but we'll have to wait and see for sure.

The Bears have hired former Bronco coach John Fox. That hire came so fast that there were rumors that Fox has the deal in place before he left Denver. That rumor has sort of lost steam but it shows how fast things happened and it also shows how respected Fox is. Chicago has to compete with Detroit and Green Bay and Minnesota in their division and the Bears hit the off-season ground running.

The 49ers promoted their offensive coordinator Jim Tomsula to their vacant head coaching job. A rather strange move considering it's the offense that was the Niners Achilles heel this past season. We'll see how this plays out as well. Maybe the GM should have taken a hike instead of the head coach?

The only job left open is the Atlanta Falcons job. It's speculated that the Falcons are waiting on Seahawks DC Dan Quinn. Quinn was about 5 minutes removed from his season being over but a monumental collapse by the Packers enabled his season to continue for another two weeks.

Other news is that the Senior Bowl is taking place this week. It's probably the first big event on the road to this year's NFL draft with all due respect for the East-West Shrine game that was play this past week end. All but 2 NFL teams will have major representation at this game and certainly all 32 NFL teams will have some eyes on this game. Mobile Alabama is the place to be this week as the NFL is wasting everyone's time with the Pro Bowl on Sunday.

Just as a jumping off point for this year's NFL draft, here's a list of the top 50 draft prospects from NFL.com.

http://www.nfl.com/top50

[eagle eye]

Is deflategate worth all this crap? If the teams are supposed to submit the balls to the refs 2 hours before the game then why don't they keep them until game time? It's all much ado about nothing IMO. After halftime the ball were all "legal" and that's when the Patriots really opened up a can of whoop-ass on the Colts. If people think that the Pats have reached 6 Super Bowls by cheating you are crazy. The Patriots have a system that works. They have maybe the best coach in the last 25 years and arguably the best QB since the new millennium, maybe in NFL history. I'm tired of BS crying about stuff that doesn't really affect a game anyway.

This year marks the 5th time in 5 years that DE Charles Haley has made the final 15 for entry into the Pro Football HOF. To me, he deserves it. He was a difference maker and the Cowboys of the 90's would not have been the team of the 90's without him. The guy has six Super Bowl rings that he was instrumental in helping his team win them. It will be a huge omission if he doesn't make it. The players to make it to the HOF will be announced Saturday night. I will be watching. To me, this will be more interesting than the pro bowl was last week.

[eagle eye]

Some random thoughts and results of Super Bowl XLIX:

> I finally rooted for a Super Bowl winner.
> I get what Pete Carroll said when they decided to pass on third down, they didn't like the matchup which drives a lot of play calls. You can't help but wonder if Carroll didn't get greedy wanting to score AND not leave the Pats any time on the clock. Just score and put the last 30 seconds or so on their stud defense. The Pats lost two SB's on fluke plays so I guess the football gods decided to even the ledger a bit.
> Tom Brady gave his MVP award of a new Chevy truck to CB Malcolm Butler as a reward for his amazing play to save the game.
> Marshawn Lynch has been blasted by several media members including ESPN's Stephen A Smith for his behavior prior to the Super Bowl. They are saying Lynch was being disrespectful to the NFL and his fellow players and he is sending a bad message to kids who look up to him who admire his spit-in-your-eye attitude toward authority figures. I never thought Lynch was funny in his mandatory media interview session and I agree with Smith and others that he needs to be more mindful of his image and his effect on NFL fans. That said, I don't think the NFL needs to force players who don't like to do interview session or who are camera shy or whatever reason to do interviews. Once upon a time the NFL needed all it's players to contribute to the NFL PR when it was building their brand but their brand is established and they don't need players to all be accessible any more.
> Richard Sherman injured a ligament in his left elbow in the Packer game and he played with it torn in the SB. I have never heard of it before in the NFL but Sherman will undergo "Tommy John" surgery soon. I have not heard any time frame for his recovery. Now an MLB pitcher needs a year or more but a football player who doesn't depend on his elbow for throwing could be very different. I will look for more info on his return time table but if anyone knows please post!
> After picking off Tom Brady in the first quarter of Super Bowl XLIX CB Jeremy Lane was tackled by the Pats Julian Edelman suffering a compound fracture of his left arm on the play. This was a significant injury because Lane was the nickel corner, the same guy who said before the Super Bowl that Gronk wasn't all that great, and the Pats picked on his replacement the rest of the game.
> The commercials overall during the Super Bowl were not very good. There was a bright spot here and there but it wasn't a situation where advertisers got much of a bang for their buck. The "genius" who pitched the NationWide Insurance ad about dead kids was not a good idea and the guys who signed off on the ad are just as much to blame.
> I'm sad football is over.
> I'm no Katie Perry fan but I though her halftime show was pretty good. People have been bitching about all the old fogeys who have been doing halftime shows in recent years like Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Aerosmith so injecting a little youth friendly celebrity into the show was a good thing. They still managed to get an old "fogey" into the show. The appearance by Lenny Kravitz was pretty good although it was too short.

Less than a week into the offseason there are new members of the NFL Knuckleheads Club.
> The Packers DT Letroy Guion was arrested for multiple offenses which include felony possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm which a 3rd degree felony. Guion was pulled over by a Bradford County Florida Sheriff's Department officer. He was pulled over for not staying in his own lane, in essence he was weaving across lanes. After he was stopped he became belligerent to the officers during the search of his vehicle.
> Indianapolis Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson was arrested for assault when he got into a dispute with another driver over a parking space. Jackson is said to have punched the other driver in the face and the back of the head during the altercation in a Washington DC area parking lot. Jackson has been released on his own recognizance until his hearing on February 26th. If found guilty the punishment for assault is a maximum of 180 days in jail and up to $1,000.
> The Cowboys RB Joseph Randall was arrested for possession of marijuana in his home town of Wichita, Kansas. Police came to a location after being called by a 22 year old woman who was having a problem with a 23 year old male. There were reports of a gun involved but no gun was found at the scene. Also, the woman reported no injuries. Randle is a talented player and could be considered for a bigger role in the Cowboys offense if DeMarco Murray is not resigned this off season. That may not happen now that Randle has had his second run-in with police. Last fall he was arrested for shop lifting in a Dallas area store. Behavior like this is definitely not a trait Jason Garrett is looking for when putting together a team with "the right kind of guys".

A current member of the NFLKC is Josh Gordon who is now in the third step of the NFL's substance abuse program and yesterday he was handed down a one year suspension without pay. The Cleveland Browns hold the rights to Gordan but after missing 13 games last season including being suspended the final game of the year by the Browns for conduct detrimental to the team and now with a year's suspension you have to wonder about whether or not Cleveland is going to want to deal with Gordon any more. This could be a career killer for him which, considering his talent, is a real shame. Unfortunately for Gordon he seems to be living in the great state of denial that he has a problem.

A guy who seems to be seeing the light about his past behavior is Johnny Manziel. On Monday it was reported that he entered a rehab facility last Wednesday and the reason given by his spokesman was to evaluate is value system. Items have come to light that Manziel's rookie season was a joke with him entering the huddle unable to call plays. Not because he was drunk or high but because his private life was so out of control he didn't put in the time to learn his playbook. Manziel is a talented player and I hope he is able to turn his life and career around. The Browns are saying they support Manziel and they wish him well. I guess so since I'm thinking the Browns are tired of pissing away 1st round draft picks.

[eagle eye]

I think you can add Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin an official member of the NFL Knuckleheads Club. Unlike most of the members of this club who were given membership because of they were busted drinking or smoking weed or a similar activity Baldwin chose to simulate taking a dump on the football after he caught a 3 yard TD in Super Bowl XLIX. It was a classless move that cost his team a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Today the NFL chipped in an $11,000 fine for his gesture. For his part Baldwin responded to the fine and penalty as if it didn't matter. "I was just having fun." was his response. His lack of remorse for penalizing his team after they scored a TD and his lack of remorse given the fine enters him in the NFLKC. It's this narcissistic behavior that show he doesn't give a crap (no pun intended) about his team or himself. Baldwin and his fellow wide receivers have been classified as "average" by such NFL ex-players like Deion Sanders and Chris Carter are doing nothing to make people forget about Golden Tate and Percy Harvin. Add in a total lack of class and you can add Mr Baldwin to the NFLKC without dissent.

Before the season began last summer Pittsburgh Steelers RB's Le'Veon Bell and Legarrette Blount were arrested for marijuana possession and Bell was cited for a DUI as the two RB's and two female companions were stopped for a traffic violation last August. Blount, soon after the arrest was cut by the Steelers and was eventually signed by the New England Patriots. After doing 50 hours of community service the marijuana charges were dropped and Blount now owns a Super Bowl ring. Bell was sentenced to 15 months of probation and his drivers license was suspended for 60 days. Bell could also receive a 2 game suspension from the NFL for the incident.

Adrian Peterson got a hearing today to plead his case for being reinstated to again play in the NFL after a hugely public ordeal over a child abuse issue where he used a switch to spank his son causing the child to bleed and injured his private parts. Peterson said he felt like he got a fair hearing "for a change" inferring that he has not always been the case. It is now up to the NFL league office. What the hearing was about was Peterson wanting the suspension he was given to be lifted before the original April 15 date.

[eagle eye]

Because of ties to both the Cowboys and the Texans I had a problem deciding just where to put this news item so I decided to put with the other NFL notes and news. Former Cowboys head coach and former Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is back on the sidelines after sitting out the 2014 season. Phillips' last patrolled a sideline in Houston in 2013 where he was the defensive coordinator/interim head coach. He applied for the head coaching position when the 2013 season ended but as we all know Bill O'Brien was eventually hired. A year off seems to have recharged his batteries and he's itching to get back to work. This week Phillips was hired to be the D-coordinator for the Denver Broncos. Phillips was a defensive assistant in Denver in the mid nineties and he also was the head coach of the Broncos between the end of the Dan Reeves era and the beginning of the Mike Shanahan era. Phillips said he's excited to be back in Denver and that the Broncos will convert to his 3-4 system. This means that DeMarcus Ware and Vonn Miller will be bookend outside linebackers in the new scheme. I have said this as have many others, Wade Phillips was a damn good defensive coordinator but he wasn't a very good head coach. In talking to the press after his hiring Phillips admitted this to be his assessment as well. Phillips is now content to play to his own strengths and build what is a talented unit in Denver into a formidable defensive force to be reckoned with. Phillips obviously has connections to GM John Elway as he was on the Broncos coaching staff during the latter stages of Elway's playing career. This will also be Phillips second go-round as DC to Gary Kubiak who became the Broncos new head coach back in early January after John Fox was let go. New coaching staff, new defensive scheme, pretty much new everything even though I believe that Denver is planning on having Peyton Manning back in 2015.

As for Denver players, they could be losing Wes Welker who is contemplating retirement because of declining production and an alarming series of concussions he's suffered in the past two seasons. Denver will be in good hands (no pun intended) because of the emergence of WR Emmanuel Sanders who became a real go-to guy for Denver in 2014. It will be sad to see Welker go because he made smallish receivers viable again. In fact, he was the guy every new guy from Danny Amendola to Julian Edelman were compared to. As for Amendola and Edelman it took both guys to replace what Welker had done by himself in New England. Welker is still the gold standard for the slot WR in the NFL not to mention fantasy football leagues around the country. Just another Texas boy who made good.

Manziel in rehab and the speculation Cleveland may target another QB in the first round. This time Marques Mariota is the subject of the current rumor mill. Sheesh.

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Talk about an unfortunate quote dept: Earlier this week the Buffalo Bills came to terms with O-lineman Richie Incognito. It will be Incognito's first return to an NFL roster since he was suspended for the bullying incident in Miami two years ago. In an interview with the press new Bills head coach Rex Ryan said that the Bills wanted to build a bully in Buffalo. Really? Seriously, Rex. Today there is a clarification by Ryan by saying they want to build a bully ON THE FIELD. Incognito is a good lineman and he should help the Bills but sometimes I wonder if Rex really thinks about what he says before he says it.

Has Seattle had it's last hurrah? This off season is a real cause for concern with Marshawn Lynch contemplating retirement. No team in the NFL depended more on the run than Seattle. The run game is the foundation for whatever else Seattle does offensively. To lose Beast-mode would be a real punch to the gut for the Seahawks. If Lynch decides not to retire he is an unrestricted free agent and he may be looking for Adrian Peterson money which Seattle certainly can afford as their salary cap situation is strong but will the Seahawks want to spend the money on a 28 year old RB for any more than 2-3 years in the 8-12 million dollar range? Will Seattle feel like backup Robert Turbin can replace Lynch? Interesting conversation here.

The 2015 NFL Scouting Combine is a mere 8 days away. With that here is a link from NFL.com to an article listing the top 5 prospects by position by draft guru Mike Mayock.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000470108/article/mike-mayocks-position-rankings-for-2015-nfl-draft

There are already some mock drafts out there but if you'll excuse me but I don't care about initial mocks. It's just guys killing time and as you all know the mocks change drastically as the pre draft process progresses. Mocks will change after the combine and will evolve as player pro days come and go.

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Happy Valentines to these players who did not have their teams exercise the option to extend their contracts meaning they will be looking for a new landing spot.

> Dallas did not exercise the $9 MM option for DL Henry Melton. Coming off ACL surgery in 2013 it was hoped Melton could return to Pro Bowl form under former DC in Chicago and current DC Rod Marinelli. Long story short, he didn't. Hence Dallas unwillingness to overpay for an underachieving player.

> The Jets has passed on the option on RB Chris Johnson. Is Johnson done or does he just need to find a team with a good O-line?

The Denver Broncos got good news when Peyton Manning told them he wants to play in 2015. That's good news for the Broncos as well as for Manning fans and the NFL in general. The NFL is just not going to be the same without Peyton screaming "Omaha" on Sundays.

The announcement that the 49ers and Jim Harbaugh had come to a mutual agreement to part ways after the season ended apparently was not entirely true. Harbaugh stated in an interview that he didn't walk away from San Francisco, the front office walked away from him. After a Week 15 loss to Seattle the 49ers wanted to let Harbaugh go then but he asked to finish the season because he wanted to finish what he started. The 49ers finished the season 8-8 with a win in Week 17 against the Cardinals. In his 4 years Harbaugh resurrected the winning tradition in San Fran going to 3 consecutive NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl which the 49ers lost to the team his brother coaches, John Harbaugh. His final record in San Fran was 44-19-1 for a winning percentage of .690. If the 49ers fall flat in the next couple of years the 49ers front office could find themselves out of a job.

It's being said that the future of Marshawn Lynch could depend on back issues he has been having. The loss of Lynch could be devastating to the Seahawks because, even though running backs are a dime a dozen, finding one that is as good as Beast Mode are rare and the fact that Seattle's offense is built around Lynch is a matter for concern to Pete Carroll this off season.

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It is being reported today that Packers tight end Brandon Bostick was released by the Packers today. You may recall that Bostick is the player who misplayed an onside kick by Seattle that helped enable the Seahawks to erase a 12 point deficit in the last 5 minutes of the NFC Championship game. The really ironic thing about the play was that Bostick wasn't supposed to field the ball on the kick, his job was to block to keep the area clean so Jordy Nelson could handle the kick. This play may not have been the impetus for Bostick's release but I'll bet it didn't help his cause one bit.

A couple of weeks removed from Super Bowl XLIX Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin finally sees the light. Looking back on his post TD "celebration" where he simulated pooping on the football in the end zone Baldwin is expressing regret over the incident. Baldwin was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and Seattle was penalized 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff. In the week that followed he was also fined $11K for his action and at the time of the fine he still showed no remorse for what he did. I have already posted about what a classless, selfish thing Baldwin did but I guess someone close to him finally penetrated his thick skull and pointed out the error of his ways. In the link to the article below Baldwin says that the action was "not him". I disagree.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000470815/article/doug-baldwin-apologizes-for-super-bowl-td-celebration

For the next two weeks teams have a window to designate either the "franchise" or the "transition" tags on one of their players. The franchise tag is used far more frequently than the transition tag. In the past players having wanted to be tagged because it is just a one year deal. It is guaranteed but it offers no long term financial security that a multi-year deal affords. However, the fact is the player receives a huge monetary deal and it's guaranteed which a lot of contracts are not completely guaranteed. The salary is big hit to the team's salary cap since the amount is the average of the top 5 salaries of the players of the same position. Here is a link to the estimated salaries of franchised players in 2015.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000470843/article/estimated-franchise-tag-figures

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Combine, combine, combine, draft, combine, deflate-gate? I wish the media would stop flogging that dead horse once and for all. First of all, it came out that deflate-gate wasn't under inflated balls it was one ball. ONE. Now, there is buzz about a ball boy who tried to sneak an illegal ball into the Super Bowl. It was found and, by all accounts, never made it the game. Personally, I think the NFL should castrate the offending ball boy as a deterrent to future attempts to undermine the NFL's most prized possession--the Super Bowl. Kill the varlet and be done with him (Shakespearingly spoken). I sincerely believe if it hadn't been the Patriots this whole mess never would have seen the light of day. Sheesh.

Here's an update of the top 15 performers so far at the combine. The O-line worked out and TE's are in progress so you can select the position and event you want to see. BTW, the best 40 time today was a tight end from Southern Illinois' named Mycole Pruitt who had a 4.54. You may want to save this page as it will update all position workouts as they are completed.

http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers#year=2015&workout=FORTY_YARD_DASH&position=QB-RB-WR-TE-S-DL-LB-CB-SPEC

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Some rumors are circulating about the free agents who could be looking at joining a new team. One interesting item is that NFL.com is saying several players sort of make sense and they could really effect the fantasy football landscape.

> QB Marc Sanchez to Buffalo. Really? Why would Sanchez go a play for a coach who failed him miserably when they were an the Jets ball club. There is nothing in place that would indicate Rex Ryan would be any more beneficial to Sanchez career than he was in New York. Ryan and GM John Idzek stripped the Jets of all the offensive talent that enabled Sanchez to lead the Jets to two consecutive AFC Championship games to a veritable laughing stock. I think NFL.com's Marc Sessler is crazy with this one.

> WR Cecil Shorts to Cleveland. Now this one makes sense. The Browns could probably get Shorts at a pretty reasonable price and Shorts grew up in Cleveland so he may be very tempted to go back home. Sessler says that Shorts would be a good No 2 in Cleveland and the Browns need to inject some talent into the Browns roster to replace Josh Gordan. The problem in Cleveland is figuring out who the heck the quarterback is.

> TE Julius Thomas to Oakland. Interesting take here. The Broncos will be challenged to pay WR Demaryius Thomas AND Julius the big contracts both are likely to command. This will be a big challenge for John Elway to figure out. If he can't the Raiders have the cap space to pay JT what he wants and it would give Derek Carr a legit threat at tight end and make the Raiders one step closer to being a legit contender in the AFC West.

> CB Byron Maxwell to Atlanta. The Seahawks are now starting to see the attrition teams have to deal with when they are successful. Players that Seattle got cheap are now at the point of being free agents looking for big paydays and the fact is Seattle won't be able to pay them all. Maxwell is a really good cover corner that the Seahawks management may feel needs to be kept in their own nest. After all, the 'Hawks lost CB Brandon Browner last year to --- wait for it --- New England of all things. Part of the Seahawks attrition was the loss of their defensive coordinator Dan Quinn who was hired by the Atlanta Falcons to be their next head coach. It makes sense that the defense challenged Falcons would go after a player the new head man knows and is familiar with.

> RB CJ Spiller to the New York Jets. Marc Sessler points out that this move makes perfect sense since the Jets, under new head coach Todd Bowles, have hired former Bills head coach Chan Gailey to be the offensive coordinator. Spiller agreed with a reporter that a move to the Jets would be a perfect move for him. Who knows what will happen but with Spiller's injury history he can't be expecting a huge deal even though he probably wants one. The pairing with Chris Ivory is both tantalizing and scary at the same time as you wonder which one will get hurt first.

> TE Jordan Cameron to Seattle. I don't know if I buy this one. Seattle is going to have to pay QB Russell Wilson and word is that the 'Hawks have offered Marshawn Lynch a huge contract. Where do people think the money will come from to pay Cameron? It's interesting in theory because as a TE Cameron is a really good TE and his market value may be depressed a little bit because he spent most of the 2014 season hurt. I'm sure Cleveland wants to keep him and the old home town discount may be in play here.

Here's the link to Marc Sessler's view on these deals from NFL.com.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000470373/article/six-freeagent-fits-that-make-sense

One last thing, if Dallas lets go of DeMarco Murray the odds of Adrian Peterson going to Dallas is pretty slim IMO. The world would go nuts over this pairing and I really don't think the child abuse issues surrounding Peterson's suspension in 2014 would be all that big a deal. Jerry would love to sign the best running back in the last 20 years but AP is going to be 30 years old next month and that's the age that most backs hit the wall of diminishing returns. Murray is 27 and he has a lot less mileage on his legs than AP and is a proven "right kind of guy" in the Cowboys locker room. Jerry is tempered by his son Stephen and player personnel guys like Tom Ciskowski and Will McClay in the room to talk point out that flashy isn't always a good thing when you are trying to win a Super Bowl. These are the guys who convinced Jerry that Zack Martin was a much better pick than Johnny Football and I think we can all agree they were right as rain. It will be these same guys to tell Jerry AP is not a good fit in Dallas. I'm a Murray man and I really hope the Cowboys can figure out a way to pay both Murray and Dez Bryant and the other free agents Dallas has to bring back to maintain continuity of their offense and the blocks needed to rebuild their defense. I don't want AP at the expense of Doug Free or Cole Beasley or Dwayne Harris or Bruce Carter....you get the idea.

[eagle eye]

With free agent signing date (March 10th) coming up pretty fast NFL.com has posted a list of the top 101 free agents. They have them divided by tiers and by their account it will be the deepest free agent class in recent memory. Now, a lot of these names will likely be off the board as deals and franchise tags are assigned (Dez Bryant comes to mind) but it is a tasty list if you are a Cowboys or Texans fan. Heck even if you are a fan of any team. It's an interesting list to be sure.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000474533/article/top-101-nfl-free-agents-for-2015

[eagle eye]

On Monday teams across the NFL hung the franchise or transition tags on players so they could retain their rights for the 2015 season. There weren't all that many tags assigned with the main guys being wide receivers. Both Dez Bryant of the Cowboys and Demaryius Thomas of the Broncos were franchised but both teams are saying they still want to sign the players to long term deals by the July 15th deadline to negotiate contracts. The most surprising franchise tag given was by the Patriots who tagged kicker Stephen Gostkowski. The biggest surprise non-tag was arguably Detroit D-lineman Ndomakong Suh. While Suh has had his issues with anger management and cheap shots in the NFL he is generally acknowledged as the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL. I would think Detroit is still trying to sign Suh but in all likelihood on March 10th when the free agent signing period begins he will be a very popular man. And a very rich man.

This morning on Mike and Mike ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles will trade RB LeSean McCoy to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso. McCoy has rushed for more yards over the last 5 years than any running back in the NFL but his expected $12 MM cap hit is something that Eagles head man Chip Kelly isn't willing to pay. It's surprising that he found a taker for that contract. Not only did Buffalo agree to get McCoy and his 2nd highest contract for a RB in the NFL but they gave up a young defensive player in Alonso that had a terrific rookie season in 2013. 2014 was lost for Alonso when he tore his ACL in off season work. So, now the Eagles have lost a dynamic running back but gained a good defensive player who Chip Kelly knows very well because Alonso played for Kelly at Oregon. To say this trade was a bit of bombshell is an understatement for sure. The trade will not become official until next Monday, March 10th when the free agent signing period begins.

The Bills are being named as a team that is very interested QB Brian Hoyer. Hoyer was not franchised by Cleveland nor was he expected to be. The Browns have their own QB issues to settle but signing Hoyer was not one of them especially when it was announced that the Browns had signed Josh McCown to a 3 year deal. McCown parleyed a good 2013 season with Chicago in a big contract with Tampa Bay in 2014 where he went from the penthouse to the outhouse having a simply horrendous season which prompted Tampa to release McCown on February 11 of this year. It's expected McCown will be the guy expected to mentor troubled QB Johnny Manziel who is currently in rehab and to start for Cleveland for a year or two while Manziel learns the NFL ropes and deals with his substance abuse issues. As for the Bills, they have been linked to guys like Hoyer, Marc Sanchez and Ryan Mallett. We won't know for sure until a guy is signed to replace Kyle Orton who announced his retirement in December after the Bills final game of the season. It's pretty clear E J Manual is not high on the pecking order under the new Rex Ryan regime in Buffalo. Rex Ryan had his own cross to bear while with the Jets with a quarterback taken in the same draft as Manual in Geno Smith. Neither Smith or Manual have turned out to be the franchise type of QB the Jets and Bills were hoping when they were drafted.

The Eagles are retooling a bit beyond just cutting ties with Shady McCoy. The Eagles have released two players who have been mainstays on their defense for the last few years. CB Cary Williams who is now 30 years old and LB Trent Cole who is 32 are both gone. Cole, who has an $11 MM cap hit this season, wouldn't take a pay cut and Philly has other players they need to sign. Since Chip Kelly has been given control over such things has shown the propensity to be frugal with the Eagles money as the recent player moves indicates. It's pretty clear Kelly is taking the notion of getting his type of guys pretty seriously. Last year he got rid of DeSean Jackson and now McCoy. For his offense to run the way he want he needs to have players that fit his system. While McCoy seemed to be a good fit you could argue that Darren Sproles is a better fit. It seems that there just weren't enough balls to go around to keep both players happy. McCoy has even said that he felt like he was being phased out of the offense late in the season. It's also being rumored that Philly may really be in the market to draft Marcus Mariota. THAT would be a good fit. With Nick Foles coming off an injury and Marc Sanchez a free agent Philly just could try to work out a deal to draft Mariota. That would be a real longshot and it would cost Philly a bunch in terms of draft picks to move up to get the former Oregon signal caller.

So, with LeSean McCoy going to Buffalo what becomes of free agent RB C J Spiller? Could he go to Philly? After all he is used to a RB by committee situation as he's shared carries with Freddie Jackson since he came into the league. Who knows what will happen here.

[eagle eye]

Peyton Manning is coming back for another season and he agreed to a $4 MM reduction in his base salary. Go Broncos! The best news about all this news is the deal was contingent on Manning passing a physical and doggone if that didn't happen today.

The Patriots made a surprising move today letting one of the best 3-4 nose tackles ever in Vince Wolfork know they would not be exercising their roster option on him thereby in effect ending his tenure with the Pats. Wolfork has been in the NFL 11 years and he made a big difference for the Patriots in 2014 coming off a torn Achilles tendon suffered in 2013. He is one guy who I feel won't be out of work long.

After spending a lot of time on the bench and the physical therapy room over the last couple of years RB Maurice Jones-Drew announced his retirement from the NFL today. It just won't seem right not to have MJD on somebody's fantasy football roster any more. Happy retirement guy!


The Bills are continuing to retool under new coach Rex Ryan. The announce the trade for QB Matt Cassel to drive the Bill's bus this coming season. The fact that the Bills made this deal seems to indicate Ryan has little to no faith in E J Manual. The Bills get Cassel and a 2015 fifth round pick and the Vikings gets a 2015 sixth round pick and a 2016 7th round pick. It seems the market value of a 32 journeyman QB isn't all that much.

The Carolina Panthers signed TE Greg Olsen to a 3 year-$22.5 MM contract extension today. Good move by the Panthers.

For those of you who like to window show try this link on for size. It lists the top veteran players on the market--except for Darnell Dockett who signed a deal with San Francisco today. It would be a nice way to kill a few minutes thinking about how one or more of these guys fits into your favorite team's roster.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000474762/article/tracking-nfl-veteran-cuts

[eagle eye]

The Seahawks and RB Marshawn Lynch have come to terms on a 2 year extension keeping Beast Mode in Seattle which is good news for them and bad news for the rest of the NFC. The deal means Lynch will be in a Seahawks uniform for the next three years where he will make an average of just over $10 MM a season. This could become the market value a guy like DeMarco Murray will be expecting from Dallas. Again, good news for Lynch and bad news for the NFL.

All you Cowboys fans expecting a scenario in which the Cowboys sign potential free agent Mark Ingram if a deal for Murray can't get done can forget about it. It was announced today that the Saints have agreed to terms with Ingram on a 4 year $16 MM deal. This comes a day after the Saints released veteran RB Pierre Thomas. Ingram had a bit of a breakout season in 2014 gaining over 1,000 yards despite being hurt part of the year. Ingram seemed to finally be living up to the first round draft pick he was coming out of Alabama. Thomas had been with the Saints for the better part of a decade and had been a nice role player during his tenure in New Orleans.

The Broncos seem resigned to top TE Julius Thomas leaving via free agency. They have already franchised WR Demaryius Thomas and John Elway is going to have to be cap smart which looks like letting a Pro Bowl tight end go in free agency. The Broncos have made an offer to backup TE Virgil Green but even that could prove undoable because it's being reported that no less than 13 teams have offered Green a deal. Green says he loves playing in Denver but that isn't the only criteria for accepting a contract. Now, catching ball from Peyton Manning and having a real chance to make a run at a Super Bowl may be the straw that tips the contract cart Denver's way. If not then Mr Elway and company will have to go with a Plan C.

All this news and it's still 3 days from the official start of free agency!

[eagle eye]

So much for Houston fans hoping to replace WR Andre Johnson with the Packers Randall Cobb. Green Bay and Cobb agreed on a new 4 year $40 MM contract with $17 MM guaranteed. The fantasy value of Cobb as a Packer is through the roof so fantasy mavens and Packer fans are undoubtedly happy too-night!

[eagle eye]

What I was thinking yesterday watching the confounded rain was that the beginning of the NFL free agency is like the beginning of the Oklahoma land rush with everybody and their brother lining up in a mad dash for free land. In the new millennium the "land rush" is being populated by players, agents and the 32 NFL teams who are lining up for a grab for cash. What we've seen the past 3 days is a bunch of "Sooners" who are banging out deals before the signings can officially begin. In 1889 being a "sooner" was illegal because everyone was supposed to have an equal chance at the available land. In 2015 "sooners" are legal. The NFL gave players and teams the 3 days to sort of pre-negotiate free agent deals and lord knows there have been some serious pre negotiations going on. See what kind of crap your mind can come up with when a rainy day allows you the time for your mind to come up with stuff out of the blue?

I don't know what's going to happen when the 3 PM CDT rolls around but there will need to be staffs at NFL.com and ESPN to keep up with the frenzy. I know there have been a ton of deals done already but it's just a drop in the ocean compared what will happen between 3 and 7 o'clock tonight. There will be a butt-load of deals that will be done in the next 5 or 6 days. A team like Dallas won't even be players in free agency unless you count a deal, if it gets done, with DeMarco Murray. Dallas will not likely sign a sole in week 1 of free agency. They usually wait until week 2 or later when the blood in the water disperses and the sharks drift off to a new feeding location and deals begin to get more team-friendly. Dallas isn't the only team with this strategy and if you have limited money to spend in free agency it is certainly a good strategy. Teams with a ton of cap money like Oakland and Miami available to spend will be the biggest players. Miami has already made their big splash giving Ndamukong Suh a 114 million dollar deal which will become official around 3:01 today. It should be fun so let the land -- er -- player rush begin!

[eagle eye]

Was this the beginning of free agent signing day or the NFL trade days? Seriously, have you ever seen so may big time trades all in one day? It was mind blowing some of the deals and I KNOW you heard about them.

Jimmy Graham to Seattle for C Max Unger and the Seahawks first round pick (31st overall). The Saints also gave up a 4th round pick in the deal. It was just last season that Jimmy Graham was franchised by the Saints and later agreed to a 4 year $40 MM deal which the Seahawks now are responsible for. Graham is the best TE in the NFL when healthy. Trouble is he hasn't been on the field much the last couple of years. Saints fans have got to be looking at each other in disbelief.

The Ravens traded Hilota Ngata to the Lions for 4th and 5th round draft picks. Ngata refused to negotiate down his $16 MM cap hit this season so the Ravens got rid of him. Ngata is a dynamic player and he can play DE in a 3-4 scheme, a DT in a 4-3 or a pure nose tackle, which is what he played for the Ravens. It will allow the new coaching staff to go with either a 3-4 or a 4-3. Ngata isn't as good as Ndamukong Suh but he's not chopped liver either.

The Eagles agreed to trade QB Nick Foles to St Louis for Sam Bradford. Foles was really good for Philly two seasons ago but he was far less good in 2014 until an injury derailed his season. Bradford was the No 1 pick in the 2010 draft which was the last class where rookies got huge deals. Bradford signed a 6 year $78 MM contract with $50 MM guaranteed. It was the largest rookie contract in NFL history. There are still two years left on that deal that Philadelphia will now be responsible for. Bradford should be fresh because he hasn't played an NFL regular season game since Week 7 of the 2013 season. Bradford tore his ACL in the game against the Carolina Panthers ending what was a very good start to his season. Bradford never played a down in 2014 after retearing his left ACL in a preseason game against Cleveland. Besides getting Foles the Rams also get a 2015 4th round pick and a 2016 2nd round pick.

The Tennessee Titans say goodbye to former 1st round pick Jake Locker. He didn't leave via free agency and he didn't get traded---he retired. That's right the No 8 pick in the 2011 draft, at the tender age of 26 years old, simply cited a lack of desire to play football any more. Wow.

It has been a wild and crazy day. Heck, even my boy Boomer texted me that he heard that the Saints were shopping for a trade for Drew Brees! I can't confirm that but after what all went down today I rule nothing out.

[eagle eye]

The Eagles have signed a running back and no, it's not DeMarco Murray. They have signed former San Diego back Ryan Mathews to a 3 year $12 MM deal. The reports from Adam Schefter are saying just because the deal is done doesn't mean the Eagles have lost interest in Murray. Yeah, right. But you never know because Chip Kelly has made some head scratching deals the past couple of days I guess you can't rule anything out but why dump LeSean McCoy and his big cap hit and take on Murray who is looking to get a big payday? If you look at the deal the Bills made to extend McCoy's contract he got a lot of money but I'll bet if you look at the deal the Bills lowered McCoy's cap hit. If you look at the other deals made for running backs like Mathews and Mark Ingram they have been in the $4 MM range. It could be Dallas could resign Murray to a deal for $5 or 6 MM with a big chunk of the deal guaranteed.

Former Eagle Jeremy Maclin has signed with the Chiefs and will be rejoining the man who drafted him, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Maclin's deal is for $55 MM for 5 years and gives the Chiefs a real threat on the outside for Alex Smith. Since Smith came to KC he really hasn't had a go-to guy on the outside. I'm sure the Chiefs hoped that Dwaine Bowe would be that guy but so far he's spent too much time on the injured list to really help Alex Smith.

Darrelle Revis got a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots on a one year deal. Now he's got his ring AND $70 MM dollars to be paid over 5 years with $39 MM guaranteed. There are those in the media and on social media as well calling Revis a "hired gun" and vilifying him for getting the best deal he could. This is so wrong on many levels but the main one is this, a man or woman has the right to make as much money as they can for the benefit of his or her family. Owners have proved time and again loyalty is only present when it suits them. Revis also makes his return to the team that drafted him so maybe there is some element of loyalty there people may not see.

Speaking of the Jets, they have a QB that could knock Geno Smith out of a job. This is more of an indictment of Smith more than an endorsement for new signal caller and now former Houston Texan Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Jets traded a conditional late round pick to Houston for the rights to Fitzpatrick. This is by no means a long term solution to the Jets quarterback problems and with a high draft pick could we be seeing a Marcus Mariota name on the Jets draft card this April?

Fiery cornerback Cortland Finnegan announced his retirement today. Finnegan has been in the NFL for 9 years playing for Miami, St Louis and predominately the Tennessee Titans. Local fans may remember Finnegan most for the fist fight he had with Andre Johnson which he referenced in his instagram account (He hits like a bish!) Finnegan joins San Francisco LB Patrick Willis and QB Jake Locker who have announced their retirements in the last couple of days.

If free agency isn't enough for NFL football fans to relish in how about the veteran player combine? The inaugural combine for strictly veteran players will begin on March 22nd which is about the same time the free agent frenzy will be over with. There will still be free agent signings but the hot and heavy action will be over with. Truth be told the "frenzy" will be over with by this weekend.

[eagle eye]

Blah, blah, blah--DeMarco Murray---blah, blah, blah---deal with the Eagles---blah, blah, blah. I hate Chip Kelly. Just because his offense runs 40% more plays than everyone else he's supposed to be a freaking genius. If he's such a bloody genius why did he lose or trade his 3 best players in the past two seasons? I swear the way the NFL media deifies Kelly you think they all want to be his girlfriend or something darker. I don't like the Eagles--no, I hate the Eagles--no, I LOATHE the Eagles and that feeling goes way beyond the current news the Eagles will sign Murray to a 5 year $40+ MM deal this evening. Now I can't stand the filthy traitor DeMarco Murray. I'm not too pleased that Dallas tried to low-ball Murray on their contract offers. Now Murray is reunited with close friend and college roommate Sam Bradford in Philly. Makes me sick.

Speaking of running backs--

> Ryan Mathews signed his deal with the Eagles so now Philly has a RB by committee in Murray, Mathews and Darren Sproles. The Eagles will likely need them all because they don't have a wide receiver worth a crap.
> Justin Forsette inked a deal to stay in Baltimore.

The Browns agreed to terms on a deal with TE Jordan Cameron.

Antonio Cromartie, a day after he said he was the missing piece of the Dallas Cowboys defensive puzzle, agrees to return to the Jets.

Winning a ring doesn't mean much when money is on the line I guess. The Patriots get a SB ring for Darelle Revis and he leaves for the Jets. Now, one year wonder CB Brandon Browner fresh off his second ring in two years with Seattle and New England signs a deal with the Saints. Unlike the deal he signed with New England for one year with options for more (which NE declined to exercise) he goes to the Saints for a 3 year deal worth around $18 MM.

Former Broncos nose tackle Terrence Knighton has agreed to a one year $4 MM deal. Listed as the #16 free agent by NFL.com the Redskins get Knighton at a real bargain for a guy known a premiere run stuffer. He is a two down lineman who will come off the field on 3rd down but he's still a very valuable asset that Washington just gobbled up.

A couple of guys lost their jobs today---

> RB Trent Richardson can now be officially labelled a bust. A high first round pick by Cleveland who had maybe one good season was given his release today by the team that traded away a first round pick for him, Indianapolis. It seems when Indy signed veteran RB Frank Gore Richardson became the odd man out. The question here is, will be ever get another chance to play in the NFL.

> Former #1 WR for Kansas City Dwayne Bowe was released today. The 30 year old Bowe and his $10.75 MM cap hit was just too much for KC to tolerate after signing free agent receiver Jeremy Maclin earlier in the week. If Bowe had productive he might have been asked to restructure his deal but as fantasy football players know Bowe has been a no-show for a couple of seasons for one reason or another.

At these press conferences when a player is released the teams all say the polite things. Thank you for all you contributions to the organization, we wish you the best of luck going forward, blah, blah blah. Don't you wish the team would send out a punk-ass like Seth Green plays in movies with a ball cap turned sideways and says into the microphone, "We're releasing such and so because we just don't want to pay his sorry ass any more. To such and so, see ya -- wouldn't want to be ya! That's it I'm out."

[eagle eye]

Jumpin' jeehossafat! Are there any more surprises coming?! (Likely)

> Instead of resigning with Cleveland TE Jordan Cameron agreed to a deal in Miami. Whaaatt?

> ex Lions D-tackle Nick Fairly signed with the St Louis Rams!!! Talk about the rich get richer considering how good the Rams D-line is. You have to wonder what the Lions D is going to be like with two studs on the interior D-line now gone. Will St Louis be better on offense with Foles instead of Bradford? Could be Foles is just the kind of guy Jeff Fisher likes.

> Tennessee has bolstered their defense by signing former Redskin Brian Orakpo whose best moves have been in commercials the last couple of years and former Dolphin man Derrick Morgan. Morgan will make $30 MM over the next 4 years and surprisingly Orakpo will make $32 MM over the next 4 years. Morgan is younger and has way more upside than Orakpo but both should help the Titans pass rush this season. I was hoping Dallas would get Morgan but the salary was probably too steep for the Cowboys.

> The NFL giveth and the NFL taketh. In New Orleans today that saying was borne out. The Saints agreed to a deal with former Bills RB C J Spiller. This coming just hours after the Saints traded WR Kenny Stills to the Miami Dolphins for LB Donnell Elerby and a 3rd round pick. This gives the Saints 5 picks in the first 3 rounds of the draft next month. The Saints could just be reloading and I'd be surprised if they are a sub .500 team in 2015.

Holy crap, what a week in the NFL!

[eagle eye]

The Steelers must have felt left out of the free agency party and they got busy rectifying that yesterday. First they sign Ben Roethlesberger to a contract extension that keep him in Pittsburgh through the 2019 season. Then they agreed to a deal with former Carolina Panther DeAngelo Williams who will share carries with starting RB Le'Veon Bell. Williams claims that there is still plenty left in his tank despite 3 very forgettable seasons in Carolina the past 3 years. Not what I would call a fantasy football match made in heaven but we'll see.

Mike Wallace spent a couple of mostly forgettable years in Miami after having a couple of very good years in Pittsburgh. Maybe there was just too many distractions in South Beach. Well, there won't be many distractions other than cold and snow in his new home in Minneapolis-St Paul Minnesota area as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. To his credit though Wallace should be the No 1 guy at WR because Greg Jennings has been mostly a disappointment since going to the Vikings from the Packers a couple of years ago. It looks like the Vikes have a QB to hang their hat on in Teddy Bridgewater and even if they don't hang on the Adrian Peterson there is enough talent at RB to keep the chains moving. Wallace should definitely help the Vikings.

The St Louis Rams saw enough good things from troubled WR Kenny Britt to sign him to a two year deal worth $14 MM with $4.3 MM guaranteed. Now the Rams have Nick Foles in a system that is probably better suited to his skill set and folks better look out for this Rams team in 2015.

The Buffalo Bills continue to remake their offense by signing Percy Harvin to a one year deal. It's a good move by Buffalo both in the signing and in the deal. Harvin can be a very dynamic player but he's not exactly the most stable person if you believe reports. So, a one year deal allows Buffalo to cut bait if Harvin is too much to deal with compared to his production on the field. We'll see how this goes but Harvin may be a nice sleeper pick in 2015.

Christian Ponder may not have been "the guy" he was supposed to be in Minnesota but he didn't take all that long to find employment. The Oakland Raiders signed to a deal yesterday so he will be on hand to backup Derek Carr.

[eagle eye]

Not much movement in free agency today but there are two items of note.

> After signing Mike Wallace to a contract the Vikings have released WR Greg Jennings. Jennings went to Minnesota as a free agent a couple of years ago and has pretty much disappeared. NFL.com speculates that Jennings might return to Green Bay where he had his greatest success but I have my doubts about that. Especially after giving Randall Cobb a nice deal to stay with the Packers. The Packers have gotten younger and they just don't need Jennings. Maybe a team like Houston would be willing to take a chance on him --- at the right price.

> After a brief visit with his old team, the New Orleans Saints, Reggie Bush has been signed by the San Francisco 49ers to a deal to compliment new main man, Carlos Hyde. If Bush can stay healthy this might be a nice duo going forward.

[eagle eye]

It seems impossible but did you realize former Packer CB Tramon Williams is 32 years old today. I thought he was a rookie just a couple of years ago! Be that as it may you may have noticed I said former Packer. That's right Williams is now a member of the Cleveland Browns along with DT Randy Starks formerly of the Miami Dolphins. Both were signed today in Cleveland.

There has been a Tim Tebow sighting and it was in about the only place you might expect, Philadelphia. With Chip Kelly making some unusual moves this off season he has decided to let Tebow work out for the coaches. The last time Tebow took and NFL snap was in training camp of 2013 with New England. Since then Tim has hosted shows on ESPNU for college football programing.

Former Texans QB Matt Schaub was released by the Oakland Raiders today. Schaub had been a good QB in Houston for a few years but in 2013 the wheels seemed to just come off for him. I'm not sure I've ever seen a player decline so fast in my life. He was signed by Oakland last off season to start games and mentor Derek Carr but Schaub did a lot more mentoring than playing in Oakland.

[eagle eye]

It seems the Baltimore Ravens just can't catch a break with their running backs. First the Ray Rice incident cost them a productive running back and now Bernard Pierce was arrested Wednesday for DUI in Towson Maryland. Just hours after the fact the Ravens decided to cut bait with Pierce announcing his release today. Pierce knew he would be cut because on the way to jail following his arrest Pierce told the officers, "Do you know what happened the last time a Ravens (http://www.nfl.com/teams/baltimoreravens/profile?team=BAL) player got a DUI?" Pierce asked the officer while en-route to the station. "I'm getting cut tomorrow, not like you care."

It's likely Pierce, just 23, would be cut because he hasn't performed well at all the past two seasons. Justin Forsett came in and took the job away from Pierce. Now Pierce is the newest member of the NFL Knucklehead's Club.

Six year pro CB Bradley Fletcher signed a one year deal with the New England Patriots worth $2.5 MM. Fletcher was signed after the Pats lost Derrelle Revis to the New York Jets last week. It's a poor trade as Revis is recognized as one of the best in the business while Fletcher has struggled especially last season when receivers like Dez Bryant and Jordy Nelson torched him on a regular basis.

[eagle eye]

It didn't take former Ravens RB Bernard Pierce to find a new team after being released on Wednesday following his DUI arrest in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The Jacksonville Jaguars picked up Pierce and they are hoping he returns to the form he displayed in 2012 with the Ravens. The Jags signed former Minnesota Vikings RB Toby Gerhart as a free agent last season hoping he could be their main man but he was by and large a disappointment. Pierce will have to show and show early or he will not have a job long.

Former Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe has a new home too. The receiver starved Cleveland Browns signed Bowe to a deal yesterday giving the Browns an all new look at WR. With Bowe on one side and the Browns other new guy Brian Hartline, who was signed last week, will join with projected slot man Andrew Hawkins and speedster Taylor Gabriel rounding out the top 4 receivers for Cleveland to form a new look Browns WR corp.

The Colts just keep on getting better as yesterday they signed former Denver Bronco ILB Nate Irving to a 3 year deal worth up to $9.5MM. It's another signing that Indy has made to upgrade their defense which was the Colts Achilles heel last season. The signings should drive up their 2015 Super Bowl stock and make yet another fantasy football upgrade. This is lousy news for Texans fans.

[eagle eye]

The biggest news this week is there is an NFL owner's meeting in Phoenix Arizona with no significant news coming from that other than one owner believes there could be two NFL franchises in Los Angeles in 2016. My question is why bother? The NFL has had dismal luck with teams in the City of Angels. That's why there isn't one there now. Owners see that LA is the second biggest market in the US but fail to see what is right before their eyes---the NFL hasn't worked there. At one time the Chargers were in LA. The Raiders moved to LA for a couple of years before moving back to Oakland. The fact is LA is a basketball, baseball and hockey town. Not to mention the beach, the movie stars and Disneyland. There is only so much disposable income for people to worry about football.

One team speculated to move to LA is San Diego. If it does it will have to find another QB because Phillip Rivers has told the Chargers ownership he won't play in LA. Rivers has refused to talk contract despite the fact 2015 is the final year of his current deal and it sort of looks like he's tired of the left coast anyway and wants to move back to the part of the country he's from which is the south. He was born in Alabama and he went to school at North Carolina State it's highly likely he'd like to move back to that part of the country. Rivers has been the subject of trade talks recently as he has made it clear he doesn't intend to remain in California and it would be smart if San Diego traded Rivers and got something for him rather than lose him to free agency with no compensation at all. One team he's been linked to is the Tennessee Titans who need a QB and has the 2nd pick in this year's draft. It would be awesome if Tennessee would trade that No 2 pick for the 33 year old Rivers, especially since the QB class in the draft if pretty thin, but I'd bet the Titans won't trade their pick for a QB on the downside of his career. It's not like Tennessee is a QB away from making the Super Bowl. IMO it would be great for San Diego except it would derail any chance they have at their own Super Bowl dreams this season but it would be stupid for Tennessee to pass on their future for a shaky present or 3 or 4 years when they have so many holes in their roster to fill.

The NFL has removed the television blackout ban for this season and probably future seasons going forward. At one time stadium revenues were the life blood of the NFL. It paid the bills so the blackout of games on TV for stadiums who didn't sell out help put fans in the stands. Nowadays TV revenue has replaced the fan in the stadium as the money pipeline for NFL teams. The blackout is not seen as a necessary evil any more. I think this is a good move by the NFL.

The head of NFL officiating Dean Blandino said there won't be any changes to what constitutes a catch by a receiver in the NFL. The discussion came up because of the controversy of the Dez Bryant non-catch (which was a catch) in the playoff game against the Packers in January. I am not surprised there was not change because if there was it was an admission that the refs in New York that overturned the catch in Green Bay would have to admit they were wrong and that wasn't going to happen even though virtually everyone on the planet thought Dez made that catch. It was a gutless move by a bunch of douchebags who don't want to admit they blew it. All that happened was to rephrase the wording of the rule to "simplify" its interpretation. Please.

Why is god's name is Dallas getting hammered by signing Greg Hardy while teams are fighting over the right to either keep or sign Adrian Peterson. To me AP did the much more heinous crime. He spanked his kid bare assed with a switch which resulted in lacerating the child's privates. Seriously? I don't condone spousal abuse at all but child abuse is the most heinous thing in the world to me. If AP didn't play again in the NFL I would have no problem with that. I think it's a crying shame that Peterson's actions against his son are swept under the rug the way they have been.

C'mon NFL draft and give us relief from this idiocy.

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LB Donte Hightower will miss the next 6-7 months following off season shoulder surgery. It's being reported that he played most of Super Bowl XLIX with basically one arm. Hightower was a mainstay of the Patriots defense and possibly would not have won the SB if not for his play. The recuperation and rehab time frame will cause him to miss all OTA's, training camp and likely the first 4-7 weeks of the season. It would not surprise me if NE didn't put him on the PUP list to begin the season.

Former Dallas Cowboy and now former Cincinnati Bengal Terrance Newman will rejoin his old defensive coach with the Cowboys, Mike Zimmer. Zimmer is now the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings and that's where Newman will be playing this coming season. Newman signed a one year $2.5 MM deal with the Vikings with $750K guaranteed.

Offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, probably more famous for the hazing incident that occurred between him and Richie Incognito, was released yesterday by the San Francisco 49ers. Martin, a graduate of Stanford went to the Niners the season following the bru-ha-ha in Miami. He played but one season in San Fran starting nine games but that experience should warrant Martin a look with another team as most NFL teams are always on the hunt for a good O-lineman.

With a lot of people scratching their heads over some of the odd moves made by Philadelphia Eagles head coach and GM Chip Kelly WR Jeremy Maclin says he still believes in Chip--even though he's got to do from Kansas City now. Earlier this month the Eagles were trimming salary cap unfriendly players and if they weren't cut they were traded and some just left for bigger paydays than the Eagles were willing to pay. Maclin was one of those players who took the big bucks and actually reunited with former Philly head man Andy Reed in KC. Apparently, not one to burn bridges Maclin say he still believes Chip Kelly will have great success in Philly and the fact they couldn't agree to terms of his contract Maclin bears no grudge or ill will to his former coach.

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Since Peyton Manning joined the Broncos he's organized a get together of his receivers for a little off season workout. This year is no different but what is different is WR Emmanuel Sanders having a little fun at the expense of a teammate.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000483319/article/emmanuel-sanders-photoshops-teammate-in-picture

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The NFL has done something that isn't giving The Shield a black eye for a change. A nice caveat to the news is it should bring some positivity to the NFL for the first time in a long time. What could be so groundbreaking? The NFL has named the first full time female referee. This may seem like a ho-hum news item but it's really not. Women representation in sports has officially expanded and the landscape with be just a little different going forward. It certainly opens the door for future opportunities for women and who's to say it won't help improve officiating overall? The lady's name is Sarah Thomas and she has been working in Conference USA for the past 8 of her 19 years of officiating. Here's the article about the announcement from NFL.com. One of the storied "Good old boys clubs" has just had the door kicked in and perhaps it's long overdue.

Looks like the Broncos and Wes Welker have parted company and it's possible that WW will end up right where he started in the NFL as he is scheduled to make a visit to the Miami Dolphins this week. Technically I guess you'd have to say he actually began with San Diego but one game and gone is hardly a beginning. His first team where he stuck to a roster was Miami before the deal of the century when he was traded to New England and you know the rest of the story there. This visit with Miami is the first known visit this off season by Welker who is 33 and coming off two seasons in Denver where Welker battled through several concussions and missed some significant time because of them. Last off season the Broncos signed former Steeler Emmanuel Sanders as a free agent and he stepped right into Welker's spot and has rendered Welker expendable.

NFL.com is reporting that after the NFL met with Adrian Peterson over the child discipline that resulted in injuries to he son's private parts as part of the NFL's determination if any more suspension is warranted under the NFL player conduct policy. The reports are that, based on that meeting, AP will likely not receive any further action by the NFL. Who knows if it's true but you wonder why more importance isn't placed on abuse of a child when people go bat-crap crazy over spousal abuse. Both are heinous offenses but, to me, the child abuse thing is the more reprehensible of the two situations. As it is the only "penalty" AP has had to endure is not playing football in 2014. He was, like Greg Hardy, on the so-called Commissioner's Exempt List which just means he would be allowed to play any games but he still received regular paychecks. Hardy, BTW, had the worst of the situation after enduring the backlash from the media following his signing by the Dallas Cowboys a couple of weeks ago.

Rumors continue to circulate about AP being traded to the Dallas Cowboys but that scenario is highly unlikely. This newly fiscally responsible regime in Dallas would not sell the farm for a 30 year old RB and that's about what they'd have to do to get Peterson from Minnesota. Draft picks are just too precious and this draft class is really deep at the RB position for Dallas to trade away picks when they still have so many holes to fill on defense. The major debate on the Cowboys website is whether they go defensive end or cornerback with the 27th pick in the draft. Dallas could just jump up and take Georgia's Todd Gurley who is recognized as far and away the best RB in this year's draft. If he fell to 27 I bet a week's pay Dallas snatches him up quicker than you can say Jack Robinson despite the fact Gurley is coming off ACL surgery this past November and will like be unavailable for training camp or the beginning of the regular season in September. Dallas could "redshirt" Gurley or put him on PUP and give him time to fully heal before throwing him out on the field.

Remember last off season when then-teammates LeGarrett Blount and Le'Veon Bell were arrested for possession of marijuana and in Bell's case a DUI? After the arrest Blount was released by the Steelers and he eventually landed with the New England Patriots where he was instrumental in their march to a Super Bowl victory this past February. Now, after almost 9 months the NFL has gotten around to punishing Blount for violating the NFL substance abuse policy by suspending Blount for Week 1 of the 2015 season.

The 2015 NFL draft is 22 days away.

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No news of real note today. Killing time until the draft. Roger Goodell will have two decisions to make soon regarding Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy and the darndest thing of all is that no matter what he rules in terms of suspensions --- he's going to be wrong. These decisions will be Goodell's "Kobayashi Maru". Star Trek fans know what this is, a test of character in a no-win situation. You ever been in a lose-lose situation? It sucks, doesn't it. Captain Kirk was the only one to ever win the Kobayashi Maru and he cheated. There is no cheat available to Goodell. He's going to end up attached to another object by an inclined plane wrapped helically around an axis --- in other words --- screwed. (Star Trek AND Big Bang Theory references --- I'm hot tonight!)

[eagle eye]

There was actually some news of note in the NFL today.

First, all-world safety, Troy Palumalu announced his retirement. Troy was a cornerstone of the New Millenium Steel Curtain defense that won 2 Super Bowls in the 2000's.

Former Cowboys LB Victor Butler has been suspended the first 4 games of the upcoming season for violating the PED use rules. He was signed earlier this spring by the New York Giants and he was a longshot to make the team anyway and this certainly won't help his chances going forward. He can attend OTA's, mini camps and training camp but then his suspension kicks in. He still does have an outside shot because he can at least practice. Butler was drafted by the Cowboys in the 4th round of the 2009 draft but he left via free agency after the 2012 season.

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The Cleveland Browns unveiled their new look uniforms. The helmets will still be the same but there are some changes to the unis and they look pretty good considering they have pumpkin, brown and white to work with.

http://www.nfl.com/photos/0ap3000000485388

Speaking of the Browns, there is speculation that they will try to trade up in the draft to take QB Marcus Mariota. This is all well and good but it's only a year removed from Cleveland spending a first rounder on Johnny Football. As you know Manziel didn't do squat in his rookie season except party. He checked himself into a rehab facility to try to get a handle on his life and it remains to be seen if this change and his skill set will succeed in the NFL. This isn't far removed from the Browns taking Brandon Weeden in the first round 4 years ago and before him Brady Quinn. What I'm saying is, the Browns have been just awful at finding that franchise guy to lead the team for the next 10-12 years. It will be something if they get someone to last 2-3 months.

Have you noticed that Marcus Mariota has replaced Jameis Winston as the possible first pick in the draft? It all goes back to Winston's many off field issues. Using the first pick in the draft on a wild card from a maturity standpoint ain't good. It's pretty much agreed Winston is the best athlete of the two but there are serious questions about his maturity and dedication to football. Nobody has every questioned Mariota's character or dedication. Is it enough for Tampa to go Mariota over Winston? That remains to be seen in about 15 days.

[eagle eye]

BREAKING NEWS: The jury in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial has found him guilty of first degree murder of Odin Lloyd in June of 2013. Lloyd had been dating the sister of Hernandez fiancée when he was found in a field near Hernandez home shot six times. The defense acknowledged that he was present during the shooting but was just a scared 23 year old who didn't know what to do. The prosecution asserted that Hernandez planned and carried out the killing then tried to cover it up. The conviction carries with it a sentence of life in prison with no parole.

[KABrother88]

I was surprised at the amount of emotion (or lack there of) displayed by Hernandez when the verdict was read...absolutely zero response to hearing you will spend the rest of your life behind bars without a chance to get out. I think that kind of demonstrated how much this guy just doesn't care.

As for his attorney, I was shocked when the news broke of what he said during closing arguments. They built a case surrounding their client being 100% innocent and nothing to do with this only to say yea he was there but he just watched and hung out with the guys in the hot tub afterwards and didn't think it was important enough to report it cause he was an innocent 23 year old.

[eagle eye]

I was surprised at the amount of emotion (or lack there of) displayed by Hernandez when the verdict was read...absolutely zero response to hearing you will spend the rest of your life behind bars without a chance to get out. I think that kind of demonstrated how much this guy just doesn't care.

As for his attorney, I was shocked when the news broke of what he said during closing arguments. They built a case surrounding their client being 100% innocent and nothing to do with this only to say yea he was there but he just watched and hung out with the guys in the hot tub afterwards and didn't think it was important enough to report it cause he was an innocent 23 year old.

I thought, man, that's crazy for that lawyer to say something like that because it made a difference to the jury when they heard that in the closing arguments. There wasn't any evidence other than very strong circumstantial evidence. No gun, no DNA, no eye witness -- until he admitted Hernandez was at the murder scene. D-U-M-B. It won't be long and Hernandez goes on trial for a double murder so it's likely if he got off this one they'd nail him in the next trial. The guy is just a stone cold sociopathic killer. Good riddance. BTW, I still can't believe, when everyone was going bat-crap crazy over Dallas' signing of Greg Hardy, that Colin Cowherd compared Hardy with Hernandez like both offenses and convictions were equal. I like Cowherd most of the time but sometimes he can be such a douche.

[KABrother88]

There was also no motive that the state could justify. The general concensus is that the victim knew of the Boston double homicide and Hernandez didn't trust Lloyd to keep his mouth shut...however before the trial the judge ruled that the Boston double homicide charges could not be mention in this case, therefore eliminating the state from using that motive. From what I've read the double murder case is supposedly a lot stronger than this case so I won't be surprised if he'd guilty on both of those charges plus whatever extra weapon charges he faces in it. There is also a claim from a former "friend" of Henandez that Hernandez shot this "friend" in the face and he ended up losing his eye...and he refused to press charges but wanted to file a civil suit to get money out of him...thought that was very strange

[eagle eye]

I don't know about the world sometimes. Or maybe I'm just missing something. Adrian Peterson is reinstated as an active member of the NFL as of today. All people can talk about is where is AP going to play this fall and there seems to be no fallout over why he spent all but one game on the Commissioner's exempt list as he went through the process of dealing with child abuse issues. It's been reported that the reason the NFL didn't suspend him or punish him more was because he didn't claim he was innocent of the deed. He pleaded no contest to the charges. He paid his fine, is doing his community service and he is going to counselling as his punishment for spanking his son with a switch bad enough to draw blood and injure his private parts. Folks, I got in trouble as a kid and I've been spanked with a hand, a belt, a paddle and, yes, one time, a switch. I never needed medical attention as a result of any of them. I used to look at AP as a sort of super hero. Nobody on the planet could tear an ACL and 8 months later begin a 4 month march to 2,000 yards but AP did. However, there's one thing I can't abide and that's somebody who hurts kids. I don't understand why everyone went bat-crap crazy over the Cowboys signing Greg Hardy when a judge only saw fit to give him an 18 month probation sentence in his domestic violence issue and AP got less for a documented issue of actually injuring a child. Hardy was portrayed as the second coming of Satan while Peterson only talked about in relation to where and who he plays football with. Unless, of course, Dallas signs him then the Cowboys will be portrayed as a team that doesn't have any moral character and will sacrifice human decency for a Super Bowl ring. I'll bet even then AP is only on the periphery of the conversation. I'll admit, it would be interesting to see what he could do behind the Cowboys line with a great QB and WR and TE. Peterson could run for 3,000 yards. It's sort of the argument about how many yards Barry Sanders would have gained if he was in the Cowboys backfield instead of Emmitt Smith. If DeMarco Murray could gain 1,800+ yards just how many yards would the best RB our current generation gain? It's a tempting situation but I can't help feeling it would leave a bad taste in my mouth rooting for a guy who hurt his little boy. In reality, the Cowboys probably can't afford Peterson. Even if he restructures his deal and the Cowboys only have to pay him $8MM a year for 3 years where do they get the money? Not from the restructured Tony Romo contract. That just paid for the moves they've made up until now. It would mean that something would have to be done about Brandon Carr's contract and the Cowboys and Dez would have to get a long term deal done to lower his current $12.98MM cap hit that is on him as being tagged the franchise player to even have a prayer to sign AP. Then there is the usual backlash aimed at Jerry Jones and the Cowboys front office. They survived the Greg Hardy rigmarole even though some of the names they were called and their character questioned so viciously that I'm not sure there wasn't a slander or liable suit warranted over the deal. You just know the Cowboys will get hammered again over signing AP even though no other NFL would be raked over the coals if they signed him. It would be ideal if Dallas just drafted the next guy. Maybe Todd Gurley. Perhaps Melvin Gordon from Wisconsin. Or Jay Ajaye from Boise State. Less headaches, less money to sign, longer time with Dallas than AP would have, and most importantly--no baggage to deal with. Tough call but I like the "get him in the draft" option.

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Johnny Manziel was released from his rehab facility yesterday and will be available for all off season work beginning tomorrow. Manziel released statement through the team apologizing to the Browns, his teammates and everybody he's let down to this point. As he acknowledges in his statement it's how he acts going forward that will determine if he really got anything out of rehab. Here's the article from NFL.com.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000485997/article/browns-qb-johnny-manziel-releases-statement

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I don't get Chip Kelly. Last year he gets rid of DeSean Jackson. This year he trades away LeSean McCoy and allows Jeramy Maclin to leave via free agency. He signs perpetually injured WR Miles Austin, he trades for perpetually injured QB Sam Bradford and he signs former Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray to a deal not too much cheaper than he would have paid McCoy. Now Kelly has signed NFL outcast Tim Tebow. Eagles fans have to be scratching their heads saying "WTF!" Maybe their is method to Kelly's madness but obviously we won't see it until September comes. (Cue Green Day song here). You just have to wonder what Kelly has in mind for Tebow that Bill Belichick and John Fox didn't see when they had him. Oh well. Right now the Eagles have a grand total of 6 QBs on the roster. Including Tebow and Bradford he has Matt Barkley, Marc Sanchez and G J Kinne. Tebow ought to be well rested, he hasn't played an NFL down in 2 years.

Many teams began official off season workouts today around the NFL. According to the collective bargaining agreement teams can lift weights, do rehab and conditioning work with trainers in what is called Phase I of offseason work. Phase I last the next two weeks. Here's a recap of what is allowed by the collective bargaining agreement which is only slightly less stringent than Sheldon and Leonard's roommate agreement.

From DallasCowboys.com

Phase One – these next two weeks – permits only strength, conditioning and rehab work with strength and conditioning coaches.
Phase Two includes three weeks of on-field work with coaches, though live-contact offense vs. defense or kick team vs. return team reps are not permitted.
Phase Three includes up to 10 days of non-live organized team activities (OTAs) and a three-day team minicamp.

[eagle eye]

With the draft only 5 days away there is the usual chatter about trades and who might do what to get a more favorable position in the draft. Rumors and speculation is the order of the day for the next 4 days. Fans of all 32 teams are hoping this is the draft that puts their team over the hump to a SB championship. It's kind of like baseball in April, hope springs eternal.

The Carolina Panthers have exercised their 5th year option on super-duper LB Luke Kuechly. Big surprise there. For all you Cowboys and Texans fans hoping to get super RB prospect from Georgia Todd Gurley. I reference Aerosmith's most famous song---"Dream On". Especially the Cowboys fans. It ain't happening. The only way Dallas had a shot is if the health update on Gurley was not good. Then Gurley likely would have dropped like a stone enabling Dallas to possibly wait until the 2nd round 60th pick to draft him. But he checked out fine and NFL.com is reporting he showed off his speed on a treadmill on an instagram post. Right now the chances the Cowboys will be able to draft him with the 27th pick in the 1st round will either be pure luck or Dallas trades up to get him. Houston at pick 16 has a shot, a real decent shot, if Bill O'Brien wants him. With Arian Foster and Alfred Blue already the Texans one-two punch they may feel they don't need a RB that high. However, Gurley is considered that rare talent that comes around once a decade so you never know. If Houston gets him the could afford to let Gurley heal completely, he wouldn't have to start Week 1 and truth be told probably wouldn't start at any point in the season as long as Foster stays healthy.

I honestly can't understand why the NFL wants a team in Los Angeles so bad. No pro football team has had financial success there--ever. The original San Diego franchise began in LA and moved. The Raiders took a shot in the City of Angels and moved back to Oakland. There's talk about the Raiders moving back to LA because they can't bribe the City of Oakland into building a new stadium for them. This one is just talk so far. The Rams spent the longest tenure in LA of 48 (1946-1994) years but in the end the team lost money and moved to St Louis. LA belongs to the Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers and Kings. Even in LA there's only so much money to go around. I understand that LA is a huge market and the NFL doesn't like to leave money on the table but haven't they done just fine without a team there for 20 years now?

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000488072/article/goodell-la-stadium-plans-are-viable-very-exciting

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Just two days until the draft! Beer on ice? Check. Snacks ready to go? Check. Draft guide handy? Check. Getting an All Pro in the first round? Priceless.

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Missouri's star defensive end Shane Ray was given a citation for possession of a small amount of marijuana. Dumb? Yes, especially since the deal went down just days before the NFL draft. Ray was once a lock to be a top ten pick as he is one of the best pass rushers in this year's draft. Could such a thing have cost him more than some embarrassment? Could be. Because of concerns about substance abuse and resent issues with other players inability to let the devil weed go could cost Ray his top ten draft status and ultimately cost him a lot of money. Without any priors on his resume maybe it won't but I wouldn't surprised if it did.

Okay, add Miami Dolphins star pass rusher Dion Jordon to the latest membership roll of the NFL Knuckleheads club. After being suspended 4 games last season for violating the NFL substance abuse policy he got caught again. This time the NFL is suspending Jordan for the entire 2015 season. The Dolphins have got to be pissed. I look for contracts in the future to include language that absolves teams from responsibility for honoring contracts under this type of circumstance. Jordan is one of the best defensive players in the league and his loss certainly hurts the Dolphins. It's this type of selfish behavior that has to drive NFL GMs and coaches and fellow players crazy.

The NFL draft is down to hours away, right around 35 hours as of this post. I can't wait. This is on a par as Christmas was to me as a kid.

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I think this is the right forum to discuss where the 3rd and 4th best QBs went in this year's draft. Arguably the 3rd best QB was Baylor's Bryce Petty and he went to the Jets in the 4th round who actually moved up one spot in a trade with Jax. The reason the Jets moved up one spot was because the fly on the wall said that Cleveland was going to make a move for him so it prompted the Jets to act. It wasn't terribly expensive because all NY gave up was a 7th round pick. Petty will be a developmental QB and he will move into an ideal situation for a young QB. I like Petty and I think the Jets got a great prospect. Now, all the Jets have to do now is really develop the kid. The new coaching staff led by new head coach Todd Bowles hopefully will be better than the Rex Ryan regime was in developing Geno Smith.

Later on in the 5th round the Packers took UCLA signal caller Brett Hundley. Hundley, like Petty, is a guy who is thought of as a developmental guy. A guy with some skills but needs to learn the pro game after playing in a non-pro style offense in college. He will be under no pressure other than being good enough to make the roster or at least the practice squad so he has a chance to develop. He will be a cheaper version of a guy or two on the Packers roster and he will have a guy in Aaron Rodgers who had to sit and learn behind a veteran guy (Brett Favre, in case you forgot).

[eagle eye]

The list of the top undrafted free agents has been put out by NFL.com's Gil Brandt with notations of the players already signed.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000490510/article/top-undrafted-free-agents-following-the-2015-nfl-draft

The Rams have traded RB Zac Stacy to the New York Jets for the 224th pick in the draft. Stacy saw his days as numbered in St Louis after the Rams traded up to draft RB Todd Gurley. Stacy lost his starting job last season to rookie Tre Mason and I'm sure Stacey saw his playing time sliding right off the table. The Rams made the deal at Stacy's request.

One of the feel good stories of the NFL weekend came yesterday after the draft was over when Seattle signed former Green Beret Nate Boyer as an undrafted free agent. Boyer, 34, will be a long snapper for the Seahawks.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000490648/article/former-green-beret-nate-boyer-joining-seahawks

The saga of former LSU OL La'el Collins continued with the end of the draft and the fact Collins went undrafted.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000490639/article/lael-collins-goes-undrafted-not-eligible-for-16-draft

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There is a clause in Jameis Winston's contract with Tampa Bay that prohibits him from playing baseball. No big deal, but it's a little different than the contract Russell Wilson has with Seattle. He has gone to spring training with the Texas Rangers who drafted Wilson in the 2013 Rule 5 draft. Prior to that Wilson was in the Colorado Rockies organization since being drafted in the 4th round of the 2010 draft. The Seahawks have placed no limitations on Wilson who is a middle infielder in baseball. Winston, a relief pitcher for the Florida State Seminoles was drafted in 2012 but he opted to stay in school. Good move there as Winston led the Seminole football team to a National Championship in 2013 was well as winning the Heisman Trophy the same year. Winston came back to school in 2014 and was one win away from back to back National Championships. Winston expressed the desire to play both football and baseball as he loves both sports. Apparently the Tampa Bay powers-that-be didn't like that and they structured Winston's contract to ban him from playing baseball.

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In the "When will this BS end" department the NFL's investigation into deflategate is over and the findings have been released.
To sum up, the investigation team found a locker room attendant, an equipment manager and Tom Brady are thought to have been involved in willfully deflating the game balls used in the first half of the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Colts. Thought to be. As you can read in the link below the findings are conclusive that there are no conclusive facts the balls were tampered with but, evidence points to said results. So, based on strictly circumstantial evidence and perceived common sense the investigation team decided to throw those 3 under the bus.
As the article points out, Patriots owner Robert Craft threw the investigation team under the bus by saying, ""Throughout the process of this nearly four-month investigation, we have cooperated and patiently awaited its outcome. To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship Game, would be a gross understatement...". There was more but you can read it for yourself. Much ado about nothing IMO. Patriots haters or Belichick haters or Brady haters have more fuel for the hate fire but it's still all a load of crap to me. In the first place a pound of air in this case isn't a measure of weight, it's a measure of pressure so the argument that the ball were lighter and thus easier to throw and catch is all a lot of hogwash. If it was easier to throw it was because it was easier to grip. The accusers didn't even get that right from the git-go.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000491385/article/wells-report-released-on-footballs-used-in-afc-title-game

[eagle eye]

The NFL has taken deflate-gate to a whole different level. They have levied a 4 game suspension to Tom Brady and taken away the Patriots 1st round draft pick in 2016 and a 4th round pick in 2017 AND fined the Patriots one MILLION dollars (doing my best Dr Evil voice here). This is certainly going to put a strain on the friendship of Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Craft. What a joke. This is such a trivial matter that got blown way out of proportion by the lynch mob media. Of course Brady and the Patriots are going to appeal this travesty. I'm not a big fan of Brady or the Pats but this is the epitomy of ridiculous.

Jacksonville just can't get a break. Their first round pick, DE Dante Fowler, will miss the 2015 season due to a torn ACL he suffered in the first rookie mini camp practice on Friday.

Want to see what the players around the NFL, both past and present, just go to NFL.com and read the reactions from around the NFL. I think most agree that the NFL came down waaaaaaaayyyyyyy too hard on Tommy B and Co.

[eagle eye]

Okay, I am officially sick and tired of the deflate-gate crap. Waaaaaaay tired.

After only one season in the NFL Odell Beckham Jr has earned the cover of the new Madden football video game. Usually, the kiss of death to the player who makes the cover we send our condolences to Beckham in advance.

I know I shouldn't but again we see ESPN playing the part of the loud mouthed guy who gets everyone drunk and fires everyone up until a lynch mob has been formed and big loud-mouthed ESPN is leading the mob to the jail to string up Tom Brady for jay walkin. That dirty scoundrel needs to be strung up--tonight! I thought it was interesting that a guy who I generally think is full of crap, Joe Theisman, say he didn't think Brady did anything wrong and he believes Brady when he says he is innocent. Good for you Joe but I know if Brady was a Cowboy you would want to lynch Brady, you'd want to crucify him, or burn him at the stake. Some rivalries just never die.

Football players aren't smart? Then explain to me how Aaron Rodgers won the Celebrity Jeopardy tournament? Alex Trebek even gave the "discount double check" move when he won!

[eagle eye]

Blah blah blah Tom Brady blah blah blah deflate-gate blah blah blah Wells Report blah blah blah Patriots response blah blah blah Brady officially files an appeal of his suspension blah blah blah. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!! Somebody shut off the sports talk on the radio and pass me some Advil.

Please, talk Rockets-Clippers! Or Heat eliminating the Bulls. These stories are interesting. Talk about the Astros Preston Tucker going 3-4 with RBI's and runs scored. Talk about his first MLB multi-hit game. Talk about the Astros coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the 7th inning to beat Toronto. Talk about Hockey or soccer or football news NOT about deflate-gate. God help save us from these douche bags who won't stop beating dead horses. The horses are dead and you killed them in the first place. Report stuff and move on. I don't know about the rest of you but I could not care LESS about all this nonsense surrounding Brady, the Patriots and the ridiculous sanctions the NFL slammed the Patriots and Brady with. I looked on the Bleacher Report and ProFootballTalk and there wasn't anything worth talking about in the NFL. OTAs will start soon so there will be that and NFL.com is counting down their top 100 players of 2015 which is about as interesting as watching grass grow. I suppose it's no wonder deflate-gate is getting so much air time but this issue is so frigging trivial and the punishment is so penal this has become a Saturday Night Live skit in waiting. Even though the current cast of SNL is pretty lame I'll bet they could do a parody of this that is both biting and funny.

[eagle eye]

For fans old enough to remember him, Garo Yepremian who was the kicker for the Miami Dolphins when they won back to back Super Bowls including the never since broken record for being unbeaten and untied in the 1972 season all the way through the Super Bowl died on Friday. Yepremian, who was from Armenia, was a good NFL kicker but he's probably best known for the flub he made that led to a Washington Redskins TD in Super Bowl VII. Here's the article about Yepremian's passing as well as the infamous SB blooper video.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000492987/article/former-miami-dolphins-kicker-garo-yepremian-dies-at-70

I guess it's a slow time or maybe it's just time to think college football but here are NFL.com's top 15 in '15 Heisman Trophy candidates.

http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap3000000492982/15-for-15-top-heisman-trophy-candidates-for-2015

[eagle eye]

OMG is Bob Kraft a gutless bitch or what? There's no way the team, the New England Patriots franchise, should have been included in any sanctions of the so called deflate-gate. No way. I thought Bob Kraft was justified in appealing the punitive sanctions levied by the NFL. I'm not worried about the $1MM fine. To guys like Kraft that is chump change. However, draft picks are the lifeblood of building a franchise and to lose picks, particularly a 1st round pick, is a stab in the gut. Especially if you don't deserve it. It may not kill you but it hurts. The way he rolled over and played dead is a disgrace. This whole mess is a disgrace when you consider that less than a pound of air pressure in a football is the cause of all this discussion about the integrity of the game. Please excuse me, I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

The NFL owners, besides making Bob Kraft an offer he couldn't refuse (see Godfather reference), they did decide to change the rule on extra points. So, this coming season the extra point kick will be spotted at the 15 instead of the 2 making an extra point kick 32 yards instead of 10. The biggest change really is if a kick is blocked or a fumble occurs and recovered by the defense or a two point pass is intercepted the ball can be returned by the defense for a 2 point play if the cross their own goal line. That's cool and resembles college ball.

Atlanta and New Orleans are the finalists along with Miami and Tampa to host the 2019 and 2020 Super Bowl.

It's being reported that San Diego and Oakland owners have purchased land in LA but the Oakland owner is saying he's doing all he can to remain in Oakland. Looks like both franchises are trolling for a new stadium. It wouldn't be out of the question for the Chargers and Raiders to share a stadium in LA. After all the Jets and Giants share one in New Jersey. The difference is the Jets and Giants aren't division rivals. Heck, they're not even in the same conference.

I still can't believe Bob Kraft won't protest losing draft picks for something everyone agrees they (the owner, GM, coach etc) just gave in. I don't care that Kraft still thinks the Wells Report is BS, the sanctions prohibitively severe, and the NFL is being too hard on them he knuckled under. I think that Kraft may have done that to lube up Roger Goodell so he rules to reduce Tom Brady's suspension. Why else would he do that. The question of why the Patriots suspended the ball boy and equipment man involved if they weren't guilty when Adam Schefter reported the Pat did it on the request of the League Office. Brady is not guilty and 4 games is way too harsh anyway---for less than a pound of air.

[eagle eye]

Didn't Adrian Peterson change his tune when head coach of the Vikings made it clear AP needs to get his arse into the OTA workouts? After saying he wanted out of Minnesota for the past 3 months Mike Zimmer lays down the law and the whole story changes to the point where AP is saying he WANTS to stay in Minnesota. I guess $44MM over the next 3 years is too much money to play stupid games with. It's obvious AP isn't going to go the Barry Sanders route and retire because he's tired of the team's lack of direction. The Vikings have dramatically improved their team over the past two years and if Teddy Bridgewater develops like most people believe he will and the addition of WR Mike Wallace in the off season to go along with a good draft the Vikings could challenge the Packers and Lions in the NFC Norris Division.

Tom Brady's appeal of his 4 game suspension is scheduled for June 23rd which is after OTA's are over and nothing is going on until training camp. In the mean time the Patriots are splitting 1st team reps between Brady and 2nd year QB Jimmy Garappolo.

The Jets rework WR Brandon Marshall's contract in a deal that actually gives Marshall a bit of a raise in salary. So far out of Jet-land there has not been the same turmoil there has been over the past few years. The Jets may only be missing a QB since their choices seem to be Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bryce Petty or Jake Heaps (who?). Long term you'd certainly think Petty would have a legit shot at winning the QB spot. Short term, I'm thinking Fitzpatrick is the likely answer. Geno Smith has really shown nothing to date that make you think he's the answer for the Jets at QB. I don't even know who the hell this Heaps kid is. A warm body for OTA's maybe.

New Eagles LB Kiko Alonzo is a full participant in OTA's so far. Alonzo tore his ACL last summer and missed all of the 2014 season. Like the Cowboys Sean Lee he's had a full year to rehab and should be ready to go full boar. The Eagles traded to get Alonzo this spring in one of many moves made by head coach and new GM Chip Kelly. Alonzo was a first round pick by the Bills in 2013 and he had a good rookie season and was expecting to be a major contributor in the Bills defense until the trade was made.

Former Packers, Dolphins and Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman has accepted a high school coaching job at Nauset Regional High School in North Eastham, Massachusetts. After 33 years of coaching in college and the NFL Sherman didn't want to relocate his family again so he accepted the head coaching job at Nauset. He first came to be familiar with Nauset when he was looking for a place to hold a football camp. He likes the area and he decided after a lot of thought to take the job.

[eagle eye]

The 49ers off season from hell continued with the retirement of T Anthony Davis. Between unexpected retirements and free agent defections the 49ers have been gutted of much of the talent that took the team to 2 consecutive NFC Championships and a Super Bowl. Most of the hit the Niners have taken has been on the defensive side of the ball but 3/5 of the offensive line is gone with Davis' retirement. Details of the deal including the woes the Niners have endured this off season is in the NFL.com article linked below.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000495845/article/rough-offseason-continues-for-san-francisco-49ers

Sleeper pick in the NFC in 2015 has got to be the Minnesota Vikings. Not only that but there are some relevant candidates for fantasy rosters this fall too. Let's look at the list of probable fantasy options:
QB Teddy Bridgewater, WR's Corderelle Patterson, Mike Wallace and Jarius Wright, RB Adrian Peterson (he could have another 2000 yard season), TE Brandon Bostick or Kyle Rudolph depending on who can stay healthy. There are options that should come to light as the summer progresses and with the team in the 2nd year in Norv Turner's offense the Vikings will surprise many this coming season. Also, don't underestimate the leadership of head coach Mike Zimmer. You could see that the hard line he took in regard to Adrian Peterson's holdout and the subsequent way AP cow-towed to Zimmer's ultimatum to get into OTA's shows Zimmer is a strong leader for that team.

Funny, ironic story of the week. Dolphins kicker Caleb Sturgis was injured playing in a team sponsored kick ball game. Sturgis injured his quad on his plant leg. Sturgis will miss the rest of the OTA's but he should be back in time for training camp. The injury doesn't really bode well for him since he struggled last season as he has logged a 77.5 field goal percent for his career. It is most assuredly that Miami will be looking for a more accurate kicker even if Sturgis comes back to training camp.

I wonder how much better the Rams will be with Nick Foles at QB? One thing for sure Rams WR Kenny Britt and TE Jared Cook love the guy according to NFL.com. You have to take into consideration that teams play against essentially air during OTA's but one thing Foles was noted for was his accuracy. In 2013 Foles went the entire season without an interception. With the Rams drafting highly touted RB Todd Gurley in the first round, and know how much Jeff Fisher likes to run the ball, if Gurley his healthy he will impact the Rams a lot which will do nothing but take pressure of Foles and the passing game. Of the nine draft picks the Rams had this year 4 of those picks were offensive linemen. It's quite possible, with their defense, you won't be able to pencil in the Seahawks as the division winner with absolute certainty. Even if Gurley isn't able to be back on the field because he is still rehabbing his torn ACL the Rams still have Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham and Isiah Pead to fall back on. Mason was really coming into his own the second half of last season.

Cam Newton hit the lottery last week when he landed a 100 million plus contract. The Panthers and Newton agreed to a 5 year extension worth $103.8MM. Not bad for a guy who really hasn't done squat in his career. He has a world of talent but it really hasn't translated to the field as yet. However, he's got a ton of talent and if the talent around him plays up to their potential he may finally be able to put his skills on display when it actually counts for something.

[eagle eye]

The Patriots released LB Brandon Spikes after his car was found in the center median of a Boston area highway. All evidence points to an accident with another car but it can't be confirmed. There is obviously some issues here including the possibility that Spikes had an accident and left the scene and abandoned his car. Either way the Patriots felt like Spikes was guilty of something shady and they cut him loose.

The Cowboys Tony Romo had planned a huge fantasy football event in Las Vegas this summer. A slew of NFL players were signed on to come to the convention and meet with FF enthusiasts and it sounded like a really nice event. The event was to be held at the Venetian Hotel and Resort. That was the catch, it was held at a casino. It wasn't in the casino mind you, you know these huge hotels in Vegas have conventions there all the time and you don't have to go near the actual casino area. According to the NFL powers that be, in all of their paranoid wisdom, forced Romo to cancel the event because the event was at a casino/hotel. The proximity to the gambling areas was enough to make the NFL office feel that it compromised the integrity of the sport and thus they told Romo it was a no-go in Vegas. It's a shame because this was to be the inaugural convention that is intended to be an annual event. The convention was to be held on July 10-12 for a 3 day fantasy football extravaganza. Linked below is the announcement on March 25 of this year about the convention.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tony-romo-announces-the-2015-national-fantasy-football-convention-300055532.html

If you read the article and you play fantasy football it looked like it would be a blast to go to. Access to NFL players, interactive shows and events, 3 days of a FF nerd's dream. This move is senseless and shows how paranoid the NFL really is. If they didn't have the domestic violence issue and drug suspension and the slew of other things that gave the NFL negative publicity over the last year and a half the NFL may have seen the convention as the harmless event it is and what a feel good story it could have been for the NFL. At any rate here is a link to the item from the Romo convention website GoNFFC.com announcing the cancellation of this year's event and announcing the inaugural Fanstasy Football Convention in Los Angeles in 2016. The open letter to fans shows a lot of class and appreciation for the fans. It also sort of gets a dig in on the NFL who caused the cancellation of this summer's event.



https://gonffc.com/

[eagle eye]

The deal about the NFL influencing the cancellation of the Fantasy Football Convention that had been scheduled at least before the March 25, 2015 press release announcing the event. Tony Romo was on Colin Cowherd's show this morning and in the conversation the NFL never contacted Romo or the event planners to say they were against the convention being held in a casino area. It was more insidious than that. The NFL began contacting the NFL players they knew were involved with the convention and inferred that if they participated there would be consequences. Thus derailing all the plans for fan interaction with players. Romo said nobody from the NFL called him or his people at all. Turns out the convention area had no gambling in the area so the argument that the NFL didn't want it's players in an area where gambling was taking place. Unless they meant Vegas as a whole then they were totally off base. This coming a month from the event and totally out of the blue shows just how chicken hearted the NFL is. On the Cowherd show Colin asserted and Romo admitted that the NFL's motives for this sabotage of this event was motivated by money and the fact that the NFL wasn't going to make a dime off the convention even though Romo said if they had contacted him they would have been glad to do whatever to include the NFL in the deal. It didn't happen that way and the NFL cost the hotel a ton of money and cost the convention planner a bunch of money and also slammed their credibility in the face not to mention the embarrassment of having the rug pulled out from under them in the way it was. I'm beginning to feel the same animosity toward Roger Goodell and his regime for being a bunch of dumbass clowns.

[eagle eye]

Deflate-gate just won't go away and until the rule on Tom Brady's appeal it won't. There was an article in the New York Times that disputes the Wells Report.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/opinion/deflating-deflategate.html?_r=0

Joe Montana came out on NFL.com and said that deflate-gate is no big deal.

All this and the appeal by Tom Brady is not scheduled until later this month. If that doesn't go Brady's way I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't take it to court because I believe this is a non-issue with a lot of holes in the Wells report that made too many assumptions with too few facts for my money to crucify the Patriots the way they have been.

One last deflate-gate item. On Celebrity Family Feud recently the Gronkowski family was one of the celebrity families involved in a show. Rob Gronkowski was the head his family in the show meaning he answered the first question. Unfortunately, the producers thought it was funny to ask the question, "Name something you can deflate or inflate." Gronkowski just backed off and said... just take a look at the video link below.

http://nesn.com/2015/06/rob-gronkowski-has-best-response-to-family-feud-deflategate-question-video/

[eagle eye]

At last some meaty news from around the NFL.

> The Vikings release safety Taylor Mays. Mays was a highly touted player taken in the 2nd round of the draft by San Francisco who cut ties with him in a draft day trade with the Bengals in 2013. The Vikings signed him just 3 months ago and they have decided to cut ties with him. Mays was one of the top safeties coming out of college in 2010 but his career hasn't panned out all that well. When the Vikings signed Mays it seemed like a perfect fit because Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was the DC in Cincinnati at the time Mays was there. You might remember that Mays played for Pete Carroll at USC and the thinking was Carroll, who had become coach of the Seahawks would draft his old player. Carroll opted instead for Earl Thomas hurting Mays feelings at the time. But, as time has since proved Carroll made the right choice. Mays will likely have a job going into training camp but it won't be a player friendly deal for sure.

Michael Sam, the first openly gay pro football player who signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL has been put on their suspended list for leaving the team last Friday. Team officials said they weren't clear on why Sam left but he told them he had to go and he left. It is felt that Sam had some personal issues to take care of but they weren't sure if he would return to the team. Bizarre twist to the Michael Sam story.

Chip Kelly, in an interview yesterday, said the reason they released the Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis was because his camp asked for the release. Mathis wanted to be paid more but the Eagles (sic Chip Kelly) were going to pay a 33 OL more money. Hence the request to be released. Mathis is obviously betting that there is a team with O-line holes to fill will be happy to pay him handsomely for his services.

Fantasy football item of note, the Broncos will have RB CJ Anderson at the top of their depth chart when training camp begins late next month. With Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman right behind Anderson in the depth chart Anderson can't afford any missteps. Hillman was doing extremely well until an injury ended his season. Anderson stepped up and outshined Ball and was the team's leading rusher in 2014. There's a new sheriff in town though and new head coach Gary Kubiak will have the final say who will start in Week 1. Worth keeping an eye on here because of the Broncos high powered attack it really matters to get the right guy on your fantasy roster.

Word out of St Louis is that the Rams want to sign new QB Nick Foles to a long term deal before the season begins in September. Foles is in the last year of his deal that he signed in Philadelphia and that the Rams are now responsible for after a trade with Philly in the off season landed Foles in St Louis. The Rams don't want Foles to play out his contract and become a free agent in 2016 so they want to wrap him up long term. Seems like Foles is definitely a person of interest to the Rams and head coach Jeff Fisher.

The Tennessee Titans have released RB Shonn Greene after 2 seasons in Nashville. This isn't a shock considering the past two seasons have been bad for Greene who went from a 1,000 yard rusher for the Jets to a guy who averaged 342 yards on 85 carries per season in Tennessee. He was way down on the depth chart behind Bishop Sankey, Dexter McCluster and rookie David Cobb, who the team is quite high on, for Greene to expect to have a job anyway. Remember David Cobb the 5th round pick out of Minnesota in this year's draft when your fantasy draft comes around.

The Indianapolis Colts went bat-crap crazy in free agency seemingly signing anybody and everybody in sight. One such signee was LB Trent Cole who was shown the door in Philly in one of the many head scratching moves by Chip Kelly this off season. Cole, for his part, said that he feels "rejuvenated" to be in Indianapolis. He said it was great to be a part of an organization who wants him and wants him to be a big part of the team. He was cut in Philly because he was seen as a player on the downside of his career. Cole disagrees with that assessment and he intends to repay the Colts faith in him with great play this fall.

[eagle eye]

This is finally the week the Tom Brady 4 game suspension for deflate-gate is scheduled to take place. The clods at NFL.com are discussing how all this will effect Tom Brady's legacy. Please, (excuse me, I just threw up a little in my mouth) Tom Brady has led the Patriots to 6 Super Bowls in his 16 years in the NFL. This is by far the most of any QB in the Super Bowl era winning 4 of them. When the discussion comes up who is the better QB, Brady or Petyon Manning, if you go strictly by championships it's Brady hands down. Manning is 1-2 in SB appearances while Brady is 4-2. The hell of it is, if not for two lucky plays by the Giants in the 2 losing SB's Brady is 6-0 and you've got a sure enough dynasty by the Patriots over a span of 15 years. This BS crap is a load of just that, crap. Joe Montana said deflate-gate is nothing. This whole thing seems like a Colts conspiracy to mess with the Patriots because they can't beat them on the field. There was a study published in the New York Times refuting the Wells Report and this whole thing is simply a mountain being made over a little piss-ant mole hill. For what? Nothing. Brady's legacy is secure and he will go down at the greatest QB in NFL history, or at least in the Super Bowl era. The only thing I can't believe is how Pats owner Robert Craft rolled over and played dead for Roger Goodell. Rich people don't do that, at least not often and it's inexplicable to me why when Craft's lawyers could have torn the NFL a new one if it got to court. All I can figure is Craft took one for the team (the NFL in general) because the NFL has had too many black eyes in the last year and a half. Roger Goodell obviously went all Mr Spock on Craft saying, "The needs of the many out weight the needs of the few, or the one." and Craft bought it. As for Brady, I think if the suspension isn't reduced or eliminated Brady will take the issue to court and he will win too. The NFL has put all it's eggs into the Wells Report basket which had no proof of any wrongdoing, just supposition. In court that just won't fly. I'm no Patriots fan but I'm rooting for Brady here because I think this such a trivial non-issue that has gotten way more press than it deserved.

Speaking of suspensions, when is the NFL going to rule on the Greg Hardy 10 game suspension? The appeal hearing was a freaking month ago! Almost anyway. What is the hold up? Hardy's suspension is way too severe for what happened in court. This is a situation where the NFL is still trying to make up for the debacle they made of the Ray Rice affair. Is the NFL trying to delay the ruling to make Hardy go into the season with a court case to settle it. A case that could last longer than the suspension? Seems like some sort of a ploy here by the NFL doesn't it?

[eagle eye]

The Tom Brady suspension appeal hearing ended yesterday evening after 10 hours of testimony by the parties involved. No details of the appeal hearing have been forthcoming but apparently it was an intense day. It's speculated that the final verdict by Roger Goodell won't be until the end of July which makes sense since the Greg Hardy appeal has yet to be ruled on and that was almost a month ago. It could also be that the league want to make Brady wait and force him to decide whether he wants to accept the ruling or, if it doesn't go his way (meaning eliminated) take the NFL to court over the matter which could result in his missing game/s anyway. Word is Brady doesn't feel he did anything wrong and will seek to have any punishment levied removed and he's been adamant about his innocence. During this hearing Pats owner Robert Craft continues his Mr Chickensh*t impression. He hasn't been available and is actually out of the country right now but he did send a letter of reference of Brady's character to be read into the appeal. Since Craft rolled over and played dead for his buddy Goodell I have lost all respect for the man and sending a note to support Brady is like saying Brady isn't worth an actual appearance to show his support for his 4 time Super Bowl Champion QB. Craft, to me, is a giant putz.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000498450/article/tom-brady-appeal-of-suspension-underway-in-new-york

From a football standpoint all this yin and yang of the Brady thing I have to tell you fantasy football players out there that it may not be a bad idea to pick up Jimmy Garoppolo as a handcuff to Brady. He may have to be a 3rd spot on your fantasy roster because he may not be worth being your actual 2nd stringer. That is the price of picking TB this season.

[eagle eye]

The NFL has reinforced the notion that there will be a team, or teams, will be relocating to Los Angeles for the 2016 season. I still don't know why other than LA is a huge media market but the support for NFL teams in LA hasn't been all that great in the past. The NFL is determined to get a team there and they have signaled that determination by putting out feelers to secure a temporary site for a team, or teams. Of course the old reliables have been contacted like the LA Coliseum and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena but they have started thinking out of the box as well contacting reps for Dodger Stadium, Angels Stadium in Anaheim and the Stub-Hub Center in Carson California. Here's the link from NFL.com with an in depth look at this news.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000498995/article/dodger-stadium-angel-stadium-among-la-venue-options

I really don't think much of the annual NFL.com Top 100 Players list. To me it isn't anything more than filler for the off season. This past week Brees was named number 30 on the list which is a big drop from previous years but, for once the list got it right, he probably deserved to drop. Brees got interviewed this week since his name got in the news as a result of the list and he said he truly believes he and Saints can win another Super Bowl. Not exactly earth shattering info but it should give Saints fans some positive vibe after the Saints pretty much sucked last season in a division that sucked. It was the first time in years that a division champ had a sub .500 record. It wasn't like New Orleans didn't have their chances to win the division last year but like Atlanta, Carolina and Tampa Bay none seemed to really want to win it. Carolina was the last team standing but they were quickly dispatched in the playoffs. The Saints had a nice draft last year and this year and they should be better overall but they did deal their all world TE Jimmy Graham to Seattle. We'll see how well the Saints offense clicks without him.

Guess what? It's getting close to football season once again and one more thing, it's getting close to fantasy drafts! This is good news and it doesn't hurt to get an early start on things and with that in mind here's a link to an article from NFL.com that gives their opening fantasy mock draft, four rounds worth and it's a pretty interesting draft for sure. It's based on a 10-team league and it may raise an eyebrow or two. The mock is from NFL.com's senior fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano so while we sit twiddling out thumbs waiting for football season enjoy this little tidbit.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000498995/article/dodger-stadium-angel-stadium-among-la-venue-options

[eagle eye]

There is an article in the Bleacher Report about marijuana use in the NFL. Former Falcon's RB Jamaal Anderson is sort of a figurehead for marijuana use and he estimates over 60% of all NFL players regularly smoke weed. In the article it was reported only 16 players, who declined to be identified, were surveyed so the survey was not really representative of the total player population of almost 1,700 players. The results of the survey had the players estimate marijuana use anywhere from 10-15% to 75%. Some said they didn't know enough to even guess.
The claim that smoking weed help with concussion symptoms and it has also been documented to be helpful to players in pain management without resorting to narcotic drugs to do the same thing. In the real world weed has been shown to help people suffering from glaucoma and it has eased the after effects of chemo therapy. It's an interesting read if nothing else, just don't put too much stock in the stats.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2486218-banned-but-bountiful-marijuana-coveted-by-nfl-players-as-invaluable-painkiller

Did you see where the NY Giants punter Steve Weatherford got hammered for "criticizing" the Eagles QBs? As usual the media made the tease on the article like Weatherford attacked the Eagles QBs saying they were sub par. That could not be further from the truth. This is what Weatherford actually said,

During a Friday interview with WFAN in New York, Weatherford compared Sam Bradford to a Ferrari that doesn't always start. He also likened Mark Sanchez (http://www.nfl.com/player/marksanchez/79858/profile) to a Cadillac sedan, explaining it's "not the fastest but you know what you're going to get out of it." He added that Tim Tebow is the type of quarterback you want dating your daughter, not leading your team. - from NFL.com

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with what the guy said. It's not hurtful or mean and it's actually pretty darn accurate. Eagles center Jason Kelce took a load of exception to the statements Weatherford made and it sort of went viral on twitter with a lot of negative backlash on Weatherford. Some people don't like kickers, especially punters, to be talking because in some circles kickers aren't really considered football players. Oh well, 4 more weeks 'til training camp.

[eagle eye]

The NFL announced suspensions yesterday for a handful of players. One was Cowboys LB Rolando McClain who had his second violation of the NFL substance abuse policy. He failed a test in February and was in line to be fined 4 games pay but he was busted a second time which made him go to the second level of the policy meaning a 4 game suspension.
Datrone Jones, Green Bay Packers defensive end, will be suspended for one game for substance abuse.
Sheldon Richardson will be suspended 4 games for substance abuse.
Finally, and maybe the most damaging of all the suspensions is Antonio Gates. Gates has been recuperating from an injury and it appears that he inadvertently took a banned substance during his rehab. He is going to miss the first 4 games of the season for substance abuse.
NFL.com takes a look at the fallout from these suspensions.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000499914/article/suspension-fallout-assessing-the-damage

[eagle eye]

Is it just me or is anyone else sick and tired of how everyone gushes over Chip Kelly? That Chip Kelly offense this and that Chip Kelly offense that is getting a bit old. All this over a guy who really hasn't done squat of any real significance since coming to the NFL. Now there's a headline that said, "NFC exec says, 'if anyone can make something of Sam Bradford it's Chip.'" Please. Bradford has had some good seasons, or I should say good partial seasons but his health is what has derailed him since he came into the NFL. Bradford lost all or part of the past two seasons because of a torn ACL -- in the same leg. That's been the story on Bradford since he came out of Oklahoma as the No 1 pick in the 2010 draft. He will be starting his sixth season in the NFL and he's yet to fulfill the promise of his rookie season when he set rookie passing records set by Dan Marino, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlesberger. In 2011 he missed most of the season due to a high ankle sprain. 2012 saw Bradford play the whole season setting career highs in passing yards with 21 TDs and only 13 picks. He ended up the season with a very respectable 82.6 passer rating. 2013 came along and after 7 games Bradford was doing excellent passing for over 1,600 yards and a passer rating of 90.9. He threw 14 TDs with only 4 picks. Then against the Carolina Panther he scrambled and ran out of bounds and with no contact he tore his ACL. In preseason last year he tore the same ACL in a game against Cleveland and his season was done before it even started. Kelly swapped Nick Foles for Bradford in the off season and everybody has sort of dogged out Bradford as this loser of a QB. I don't believe so and if anyone other than Riley Cooper has got any talent at all and with a strong running game that features DeMarco Murray and Darren Sproles Bradford could surprise a lot of people. Bradford doesn't need Chip Kelly to make him good he just needs to find a way to stay healthy. Bradford should beat out Marc Sanchez easily to be the starter going into the season. Hell, Tim Tebow could beat out Sanchez as the No 2 QB! You just don't know what sort of this Kelly has in mind Tebow but he's going to get more of a chance than anyone else this side of Josh McDaniels has in the past. Chip Kelly--I'm sick of that guy.

There's a reason the 5 weeks or so between the end of mini camp and the start of training camp is the worst time ever for a head coach in the NFL. It's because that's the time players, with so much time on their hands find ways to join the NFL Knuckleheads Club. Cases in point:
> Jason Pierre-Paul injured his hand this past weekend lighting fire works on the 4 of July. The extent of the injury has yet to be determined but it's not considered a threat to him playing this season or even missing training camp. It just caused his head coach Tom Coughlin to lose some hair worrying about his star DE. The fact is JPP was franchised by the Giants this off season and he has yet to sign his franchise tender offer. In theory the Giants could simply cut him because the extent of the hand injury is still in question because there is talk of possible nerve damage to the hand. (Hear that Dez, need to sign your tender offer dammit before something bad happens.)
> Packers TE Andrew Quarless, who had been getting rave reviews by teammates during off season work, got himself arrested in Miami for shoot a gun early Saturday morning. Reports didn't specify that he shot AT anyone, he just shot his pistol near a parking garage where two men and some women were having an argument. The official charge was misdemeanor discharge of a firearm in public. The bad thing was he was caught trying to hid the gun in planter near the site. That part is kind of funny in a ridiculous, ludicrous sort of way. This could result in Quarless being suspended under the NFL Personal Conduct Policy. The Packers have declined to comment on the situation other than to say they are looking into the matter. You can imagine Packers HC Mike McCarthy is thinking, "S-O-A-B".

It's pretty funny when Dwayne Bowe says he is going to fill Browns WR Josh Gordon's shoes when he couldn't fill his own shoes in Kansas City. In his whole career Bowe has not been as dynamic as Gordon was in the one season he actually played for Cleveland. Gordon is another guy who got into trouble in this summer hiatus the past two seasons and it has cost him 2 games in 2013 and another 10 games in 2014. He was lucky in 2014 that a loophole allowed him to play the final 6 games although he was not effective at all. He is suspended for the whole 2015 season because he failed an alcohol test on Feb 5 (another hiatus time for NFL players not involved in the Super Bowl.

Players say dumb things. Case in point: Elvis Dumervil who plays LB for the Ravens claims if he sets the season sack record of 23 sacks the Ravens will definitely be in the Super Bowl. Now, it's possible Dumervil could set the sack record, he was 3rd in 2014 in sacks with 17 sacks, which was a franchise high for individual sacks in a season, but there are just too many variables to a season to say Baltimore is going to the Super Bowl if he breaks the NFL record. He's serious about chasing the sack record, he has the number "23" taped to his locker as a motivational tool to keep his eye on the prize at the end of the season. Personally, I hope somebody breaks the record because Michael Strahan was handed the record of 22.5 sacks when the Packer's Brett Favre took a fall without really being touched making the record sort of a bogus one at best.

RB Sleeper alert! The Raiders starting RB this fall should be 2nd year player Latavius Murray but don't go to sleep on newly acquired RB Trent Richardson. Yeah, I know the guy was total bust in both Cleveland and Indianapolis but his position coach, Mike Tice former Viking head coach, is high on Richardson's conditioning and he says that he's lost weight and gotten his quickness back. Sounds far fetched but you can never say never in this world.

[eagle eye]

There was more than one NFL casualty over the 4th of July weekend. We know about the NY Giants Jason Pierre-Paul's incident. It's the aftermath of the incident that seems to have everyone talking. First, nobody in the Giants organization could get to see JPP after the incident of him trying to light multiple fireworks at one time that resulted in a hand injury that required hospitalization. At first it was considered a serious injury but he was still not talking. Today or yesterday it was found that JPP had some, if not all, of his right index finger amputated. That is really serious and for a person who depends on being able to grapple with 300+ pound men it compromises his ability to do that to some extent. JPP had not signed his franchise tag tender offer as yet because, like Dez Bryant he was trolling for a long term deal with the Giants. Now, that could all go away. If he signed the franchise tender offer, regardless of his physical condition, he would get paid. In this case the Giants could choose to pull the franchise tag altogether he wouldn't get squat for pay and JPP would have to pay his doctor bills all by himself. I hope Dez looks at this situation and comes to his senses and signs his tender offer TODAY!

The other casualty was Tampa Bay Bucs CB C J Wilson. He lost two fingers in fireworks related accident. Now, it seems that his prospects of making the Bucs team this year was kind of shaky but now it could be it's down right crap.

Sleeper (?) alert! I'm sure this qualifies as a sleeper but of all the things that have gone wrong with the San Francisco 49ers this off season with all the retirements and free agent losses that have seriously compromised what was a playoff caliber team there may be one bright spot. 2nd year RB Carlos Hyde. Hyde didn't get much of a chance to show what he could be for San Fran because of injuries and Frank Gore but he did flash a little something. Certainly enough to give 49ers fans some hope all is not lost with the departure of Gore. Hyde is big (6', 235 lbs) with quickness and one-cut ability. There are other backs who will compete for PT like Reggie Bush and Kendall Hunter to name two but Hyde will get first look as the starter. Bush and Hunter will certainly get 3rd down looks but it could be the Niners go with a two back system. A split T formation on passing downs or Bush or Hunter in the slot. However, considering the losses the Niners suffered via retirements and free agency there may no holes to run through or time for Collin Kaepernick to throw a pass. As a fantasy player it would do well to keep Hyde there on the back burner.

[eagle eye]

One of the true iconic QB's of all time in the NFL was Kenny "The Snake" Stabler who led the Raiders through one the most dominant and successful eras, the 70's in NFL history. At the end of his career he played for the Houston Oilers on a team with Earl Campbell and their last run at a Super Bowl in 1980 only to lose, ironically enough, to the Raiders in the playoffs who ultimately won Super Bowl XV. Stabler died yesterday at age 69 as result of colon cancer. Stabler is not in the Hall of Fame but many believe he deserves to be because of his winning record and other stats that compare favorably with other QBs of his era. In fact, Stabler was a finalist 5 times without making it in. He is the only Super Bowl winning QB (SB XI) in the seventies that is not in the HOF. Roger Staubach (2), Terry Bradshaw (4), Bob Griese (2), Johnny Unitas (1) are the others. It's only fitting Stabler make the HOF but it is a crying shame it will happen after his death.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000500892/article/ken-stablers-glorious-career-worthy-of-pro-football-hall-of-fame

[eagle eye]

Remember when I said coaches hate the time between the end of mini camp and the start of training camp because that's when players tend to get into trouble? Apparently, the players aren't the only ones who get into trouble. Over the weekend Bills O-Line coach Aaron Kromer was arrested for assault and battery at his home in Florida after he allegedly punched a minor who was with a group of 3 minors who were taking chairs off the beach that belonged to Kromer. It's a pretty shocking story and you'll see why when you read the link from NFL.com below.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000501116/article/bills-aaron-kromer-arrested-for-assault-and-battery

...and it's not just coaches or players screwing up. Check out this article from the Bleacher Report about Donovan McNabb being suspended by Fox Sports after he was arrested for DUI.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2521482-donovan-mcnabb-suspended-by-fox-sports-indefinitely-following-dui-arrest

Good grief! At a legends and celebrity softball game in Cincinnati at the Great American Ballpark where the All Star game will be held tomorrow night Andy Dalton was introduced for his first at-bat of the game and was booed by the fans in attendance. The boos lightened up after Dalton hit 2 home runs in the game but as one tweet said, "Of course he scored--it's not the playoffs!".

Ever think maybe the Florida State football program needs to be cleaned up?

[eagle eye]

The drama of the holdouts who had been tagged with the franchise tag earlier in the year. Today was the last day to sign the tender offer or get a long term deal done. There were four guys on the hot seat until this afternoon. Dez Bryant, DeMaryius Thomas, Stephen Gostkowski and Justin Houston. All four players got the long term deals they were looking for. It's interesting to note that Kansas City OLB Justin Wilson and the Chiefs agreed on a 6 year $101MM contracts which includes $52MM guaranteed got a bigger deal than any of the others. Now, it's reasonable to think a pass rushing demon like Houston would out earn a kicker but two the best WRs in the NFL? Both in the top 5 in most lists? It's true and nobody seems to be squawking.
Bryan and Thomas both got deals for $70MM for 5 years with $45MM guaranteed while Thomas' deal is worth the same $70MM but with $52MM guaranteed. It's important to note that Bryant had signed his deal before Thomas so the Broncos could sweeten the guaranteed money pot a little more.
Gostkowski signed his deal this afternoon as well making him the highest paid kicker in the NFL. His deal is worth $17.2MM.

Now all that is left is for training camp to get here without any more knucklehead incidents. Odds are against that happening.

[eagle eye]

Lost in all the hoopla over the franchised players, including Dez Bryant, who were signed last week was the news that one player who was tagged as a franchise player did not get signed. That would be Jason Pierre-Paul he of the blown up finger and broken thumb which he hurt in a fourth of July fireworks accident. JPP had no signed his franchise tender offer at the time of the fireworks incident and, by rights, the Giants could have pulled the franchise tender offer off the table and just left him swinging in the breeze. The Giants didn't do that but they also decided not to work out a long term deal with JPP without knowing the long term consequences of his accident. News also came out that he elected to have his index finger amputated to speed up the recovery process so he would be able to play earlier. Now, I don't know this for sure but the inference is that his finger could have healed given time. If that is the case then how crazy is that. You may miss a little time but you still have your index finger, a pretty darn important finger from my point of view. People said the thought process was similar to the Ronnie Lott deal years ago when Lott had the tip of his pinky amputated after it got crushed during a play on the field. To me, there a huge difference between the tip of your pinky and the whole index finger. Oh well, to each his own.

Lamarr Houston was unapologetic last week when asked about the torn ACL he inflicted on himself after recording his first NFL sack in Week 8 of a game against the Patriots. The rookie DE got a sack on the Pats Jimmy Garoppolo Houston jumped up in the air but when he came down he immediately fell to the ground because he must have landed awkwardly and tore the ACL. It wasn't a crazy move and it wasn't anything out of the ordinary he just jumped up to celebrate his first sack. Unfortunately, it cost him the rest of his rookie season. He is chomping at the bit to get back on the field and he's ready to go for training camp.

Here's a novel item. Seahawks OT Russell Okung has declared that he will play out his final year of his rookie contract and to into free agency in 2016 without an agent. Okung feels like he doesn't need a representative to tell what his worth is and he doesn't want to pay that agent the percent of his salary for his representation. To each his own, but he may find that the water isn't so clear when negotiations begin.

[eagle eye]

There is a new member of the NFL Knuckleheads Club. Tennessee Titans WR Justin Hunter, the Titans 2nd round pick last season, was arrested for felonious assault in his home town of Virginia Beach over the weekend. Here's the link to the article about the whole mess from NFL.com. Apparently Hunter attacked a man with a bottle or knife inflicting serious, non life threatening, injuries on the man. That is a Class 6 felony in Virginia which, I believe, means Hunter is going to jail instead of training camp.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000502741/article/titans-wr-justin-hunter-arrested-for-alleged-assault

An article from NFL.com asks if DeMaryius Thomas can break Calvin Johnson's record 1,924 yards set in 2012 playing in new head coach Gary Kubiak's offense. Maybe he can but we'll see. It took me a while to grasp why John Elway hired Koobs in the first place. It finally dawned on me there is a lot of history between Koobs and Elway. Koobs was Elway's backup QB in the 80's for his entire pro career. In fact Koobs and Elway were both drafted in 1983. Koobs was drafted in the 8th round while Elway was the 1st pick in the draft by the Baltimore Colts before forcing a trade from Baltimore to Denver because Elway would not play for the Colts. The only other time we have a seen a deal like this was when Eli Manning was in the draft and he refused to play for the San Diego Chargers and eventually was dealt to NY. Now, Koobs was coach of the Texans and he actually led the team to their first playoff appearances. Koobs was derailed by poor QB play and was fired after the 2013 season. He spent last season as the OC for the Baltimore Ravens until he was hired by Denver this off season. Can Koobs offense be better than the Peyton Manning offense that was installed when he came to Denver and played for head coach John Fox? Maybe but if it doesn't it won't be because of poor personnel. Koobs is a disciple of Mike Shanahan who was coach when John Elway won his back to back Super Bowls in the 1990's and it's that offense that made a star of Terrell Davis. C J Anderson has to be chomping at the bit because Arian Foster became a star playing in Koobs offense. If Koobs had a QB in Houston worth crap (Matt Schaub had a decent season or two but he choked in the clutch) the Texans may have gone farther in the playoffs than a one and done. One thing for sure, Manning could be the biggest beneficiary of this offense. If Shanahan-Elway could do it there's no reason to think Kubiak-Manning can't make it work too. I would be looking for some big fantasy numbers from this Broncos offense and the good thing is Denver has built a pretty fair defense too. I think it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Denver is in any serious conversation for the Super Bowl again this season. The kicker is getting Thomas signed and happy going into training camp. You just know Peyton has some private practices with his receivers to get a head start on the season. That is just how Peyton rolls.

[eagle eye]

And so it begins. The rookies for the Ravens, Browns and New Orleans Saints reported to training camp today. On Mike and Mike this morning they mentioned it is just 55 days until the 2015 NFL season begins.

Adrian Peterson agree to a restructured contract with the Vikings which will save the Vikes a little money but not much. Peterson had 3 years remaining on his deal with the Viking owing him $12.75MM, $14.75MM and $16.75 over the next 3 years. The new deal, worth $44MM will pay AP $13MM in 2015 fully guaranteed, $13MM in 2016 that is only guaranteed if Minnesota pays a $5MM roster bonus on the 3rd day of the league year. His salary balloons to $18MM with $11.75MM base salary and a $6MM roster bonus. There is more guaranteed money than the end of his previous contract making it a better deal for Peterson and Minnesota can opt out of the 3rd year by not paying the roster bonus because the 3rd year is not guaranteed at all which is good for the Vikings. Everybody is happy in the Land of a Thousand Lakes.

Marcus Mariota finally signed his rookie contract with Tennessee. He is the last draft pick from this year's class to be signed by their NFL team. The holdup for contract getting done was in the offset language that Tennessee wanted to have in the contract. Offset language means that the Titans can save the salary cap money if Mariota is released and signs with another team before his contract expires because they would no longer have to pay the final year, or years, on his deal. This offset language has been a point of contention with rookie contracts for a few years and it is meant to protect teams from liability if a player doesn't see the end of his rookie contract. This is a good deal for Tennessee who have been giving rave reviews of Mariota in off season work claiming that he has picked up Ken Whisenhunt's offense very quickly. It should be a very interesting camp as Tennessee has a few weapons for Mariota to work with in Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter (if he isn't in jail for a bar fight in Virginia), Delany Walker and rookie Dorial Green-Beckham. This will be Whisenhunt's second season at the helm of the Titans and the team should show some improvement. How much depends on how well the talent on the team begins to mesh.

[eagle eye]

The Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith ranked the 5th best CB in the NFL will miss the first three games of the season because of a DUI he was arrested for way back in April. According to the article linked below it could have only been two games but he hit a street lamp post which earned that third game. NFL Knucklehead Club grows bigger every year and nobody seems to learn from other's past mistakes. People just don't believe bad things can happen to them until it does.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000503417/article/chiefs-sean-smith-facing-threegame-suspension

An NFL scout remarked the other day that Packers RB Eddie Lacey is one of the strongest running backs he's every seen. Does that mean he will have a monster season for both the Pack and fantasy footballers? Not necessarily but in 2014 he was the 7th ranked RB in yards gained with 1,139 yds with a 5.1 YPC average. To me, that does mean that Lacey is a first round target in fantasy.

[eagle eye]

The Tom Brady appeal ruling--well, let's just say after over 1 month since the hearing--we're still waiting on the NFL to rule on it. It's total crap and now, according to Mike and Mike the NFL has come out with new rules regarding how the balls are handled on game day. It is pretty complicated and specific all to prevent underinflated balls being used in games. Mike Greenberg had a question though. Why does the NFL come down so hard on Tom Brady and the Patriots when equipment violations, which is what a football is--equipment, was only a $25K fine. Now, with the Brady and Pats involved it becomes a 4 game suspension for Brady and a $1MM fine and loss of their 1st round draft pick in 2016 for the Patriots. Why? Is this a conspiracy by NFL owners who don't like the Patriots? It sure seems like it. I've said all along this whole mess was much ado about nothing. Personally, and I've said this before, I hope Brady sues the crap out of the NFL and wins. I'm fed up with all the ineptitude of the NFL league office mainly because of the piss-poor leadership of Goodell. To me, the league is not broken but the man in charge is.

The Steelers could be the dark horse team of the 2016 season IF their defense plays better. Lev'eon Bell is a shoe in to be a fantasy first rounder but that pesky DUI he got last year is still being debated and he may miss--no he will miss a game or two because of it. Steeler's head coach Mike Tomlin has issued a challenge to DeAngelo Williams to step up to the plate when Bell is out. Looking for a fantasy WR? Look no further than Pitt's Antonio Brown. In 2014 he was number one in targets (182), receptions (129) and yards (1,698). He also was top 5 in receiving TDs (13). Notice all you guys in PPR leagues. You just don't think of Pittsburgh as this offensive juggernaut but since Todd Haley came to Steel Town, after some growing pains with Ben Roethlesberger, has resurrected the Steeler's offense and made them relevant in Fantasy Football circles again. Just thought you might like to know.

Okay, this Adrian Peterson so you have to remember this fact so you don't go "Whaaaaaaaaaaat?" Like the guy on the Stub Hub commercial talking to the ticket tree. Peterson has set a goal for himself in 2015 to gain--get this--2,500 yards! It is AP and since he hasn't played a game in two years he ought to have fresh legs.

[eagle eye]

Earlier this year the NFL made history by hiring the first full time female referee named Sarah Thomas. Now, the Arizona Cardinals have made history themselves by hiring the first female coach in the NFL. Jen Welter was hired by Bruce Ariens after receiving a reference from her former boss for the Texas Revolution of the Indoor Football League where, as a woman on a man's team, played running back and was a coach. The head coach of the Revolution saw an article done with Ariens that said he would be open to a female coach. Besides being a player Welter has a master's degree in sports management and a doctorate in psychology. Seems like everyone who knows her feels she can handle an NFL locker room. Below is a link to ArizonaCardinals.com about the hire.

http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Cardinals-Add-First-Female-Coach/aa370599-8d8e-4e73-85d3-fc77515bf40a

As an aside, isn't it nice to see a positive bit of news from the NFL?

First you say you love me then you say you don't need me then you say you love me. That's kind of the roller coaster ride QB Josh Freeman is riding because just a few days ago the Miami Dolphins cut Freeman and today they rehired him. No explanation why he was fired in the first place and the day before the opening of Dolphins training camp he was signed again. Weird for a guy that is going in 3 or 4 deep in the QB depth chart.

Looking for a semi-sleeper for your fantasy team? You may want to take a chance on Steelers wide out Martavis Bryant. The Steelers have stated a goal of scoring 30 points a game this upcoming season and if they are serious Bryant will need to step up and become an important part of the offense. He is getting rave reviews for his off season work going into training camp and after a full year in the Steelers system the 2nd year man from Clemson should be able to step up his game a bunch. In 2014 he recorded 26 catches for 549 yards and 8 TDs. He also had one rush for 3 yards. Unless you count the 8 scores he wasn't a huge factor for a fantasy football owner to get excited about but as anyone who follows the NFL knows a year in the classroom and a year in the weight room can make a huge difference for a player going from his rookie season to his 2nd year. It's the year any player in any position makes the biggest improvement that he will make in his career in most cases.

[eagle eye]

This afternoon Patriots owner Robert Kraft had a press conference that was a response to the NFL, i.e. Roger Goodell, upholding the 4 game suspension of his QB Tom Brady and the shit hit the fan. Sorry for the profanity but I have contended all along that Kraft knuckled under to Roger Goodell to be a good soldier and probably with an understanding this deflate-gate mess would go away with no more than a fine. When it didn't the rich-guy-pride-won't-be-wronged attitude resurfaced. Among the comments Kraft made today was to apologize to the Patriots fans for backing down back in May when he vowed to take the NFL to court trusting the NFL would settle Tom Brady's suspension fairly. He said he made a mistake and that mistake warranted an apology. Every word out of Kraft's mouth was a statement of disappointment and anger directed at the NFL league office. Below is a link to NFL.com's article about Robert Kraft's response to the Brady suspension with an accompanying video of the press conference made by Kraft. The video is way more powerful than the text of the speech he gave and that is saying something. When you hear the conviction in Kraft's voice you realize why you don't make a rich guy mad.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000504596/article/robert-kraft-i-was-wrong-to-put-my-faith-in-the-league

Later in the day Tom Brady and the NFLPA filed suit against the NFL. True to his word Brady had swore all along that that if the suspension was not lifted he would take legal action. Below is the article from NFL.com about the filing along with a video talking about it as well.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000504853/article/tom-brady-nflpa-file-suit-to-vacate-suspension

I seriously believe Kraft will sue the NFL for the sanctions levied against the Patriots as a result of the deflate-gate affair. As he stated, Kraft believes betrayed by the NFL league office and besides the $1MM dollar fine, which is chump change to a guy like Kraft, it's the loss of draft picks when even the Wells report exonerated the ownership and head coach of any wrong-doing in this silly affair that is the crux of this matter. Kraft in early May said he was going to take the NFL to court to overturn the unfair sanctions he felt were levied against his team but he backed off after a meeting with Roger Goodell in May. Kraft changed his tune saying that for the good of the NFL he would take the sanctions levied against his team. That's when you know some sort of a deal had been made and yesterday's ruling on Brady's suspension appeal was obviously a huge betrayal of trust in Kraft's mind and this ugly little incident just got a whole lot uglier. On a side note, this can't be what Roger Goodell was going to happen. Instead of the joy of the beginning of spring training and the unofficial beginning of the 2015 football season the main headline is deflate-gate, a trivial little affair that blown way out of proportion to the extent of dragging the premier franchise of the last 15 years and the NFL league office into a very serious court affair that will go a long way toward how the power of the NFL commissioner's office might change.

[eagle eye]

I figured the knucklehead behavior would be over with training camp so close but on Wednesday Jets DL Sheldon Richardson was arrested for resisting arrest when he ran from police in a high speed chase. He was caught when he tried to pull into a driveway of a house that didn't belong to him and the police cornered him because he still had his lights on. Not only that but the arresting officer smelled pot and also pulled a gun on Richardson when he appeared to reach between his legs. The officer found a hand gun under the seat where Richardson was sitting behind the wheel of the vehicle. To make matters even worse Richardson's 12 year old nephew was a passenger in the back seat. This is the pinnacle of knuckeheadedness. Here's an article about Richardson and the incredible luck he has for not being charged with a felony in this matter. On top of this Richardson was already going to be suspended for the first 4 games of the season for substance abuse. Four games could easily turn into 8 once the NFL league office gets involved. It actually could turn into a full year suspension for another violation of the substance abuse policy. Freaking stupid and for a Pro Bowl caliber player to do this is a big blow to the Jets defense which in all fairness is the least of the issue.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/31/hardy%E2%80%99s-work-ethic-enthusiasm-setting-tone-cowboys-defense

On the other side of the ball for Jets WR Devon Smith suffered broken ribs in training camp practice yesterday and will miss, at very least, all of training camp. Welcome to the NFL head coaching fraternity Todd Bowles. Sometimes things don't ever get better. Smith is the Jets 2nd round pick out of Ohio State and he was fighting for the 3rd receiver spot this summer with incumbent Jeremy Kerley.

On the same note some Jets fans paid to have a banner flown over the New England Patriots practice facility with the words, "Cheaters Look Up!". The Patriots thought it was funny except for Bill Belichick who said in a press conference, "What plane?".

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2015/07/31/hardy%E2%80%99s-work-ethic-enthusiasm-setting-tone-cowboys-defense

Russell Wilson was signed to an $87.6MM contract extension meaning that is something Seattle will not have to deal with. On the other hand S Cam Chancellor is holding out of training camp for a restructured deal and DL Michael Bennett want to redo his deal as well. LB Bobby Wagner is pushing for a new deal as well. After back to back Super Bowl appearances all the players Seattle had on the cheap are starting to hold out their hands for their paydays. As the article I got this info from says, "Seattle can't keep everyone.".

In the "I'm not surprised" department it is being reported that both EJ Manuel and Matt Cassel struggled through first team reps at Bills training camp. Pre-season bold prediction, Rex Ryan will be fired as Bills head coach after no more than 3 seasons.

LeGarrette Blount failed his conditioning test going into training camp with the Patriots the other day but he was welcomed back to practice today after passing the conditioning test. This can't make Bill Belichick happy but it's not like he doesn't have a bevy of RBs to choose from including Brandon Bolden, Jonas Grey, Travaris Cadet and James White. Who? Yeah, that's what I said too so that's why Blount is probably a welcome sight back at practice.

Football has begun though and it is definitely a good thing!

[eagle eye]

So, now an article in Yardbarker.com is saying that the punishment of Tom Brady is based on a lie by Roger Goodell. Here's the link to the article by YB's Steve Delvecchio about how Goodell misrepresented Brady's communication with the equipment man following the AFC Championship game. This whole story just keeps getting sleazier and sleazier.

http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/roger_goodell_blatantly_lied_to_make_tom_brady_loo k_dishonest/19293457

Some real football news:
> Arizona WR Michael Floyd dislocated 3 fingers in training camp practice. He required surgery to repair the injury and he tweeted that the surgery went well. It's expected that Floyd will miss four weeks because of the injury including the season opener against the Saints. Fantasy football heads up because 3rd year WR John Brown is next in line for Floyd's reps.

Need to pay attention to the running back situation in Denver because NFL.com is reporting that new Bronco's head coach Gary Kubiak is looking to employ a "bell cow" running back instead of a RB by committee approach. This should ramp up the competition between CJ Anderson and Montee Ball in training camp.

Colts LB Robert Mathis had a torn Achilles tendon that required surgery which caused him to miss all of the 2014 season. Mathis vowed to be ready to go by Week 1 of this season but now NFL.com is reporting that it will likely be October before he can return to play football. Mathis was force for Indianapolis in 2013 racking up 19.5 sacks but after an Achilles injury and being 34 years old you wonder if Mathis is past his prime and may never be that type of impact player again. Looks like we will have to wait until October to get the answer to that. That question may not be truly answered until 2016.

[eagle eye]

Well, the 49ers have suffered an inordinate amount of retirements, trades and firings. Certainly enough to cripple a lesser team but you sort of figured maybe the Niners' organization had stopped the bleeding with not real bad news out of northern California for a while. All that changed last when troubled linebacker Aldon Smith got himself arrested for DUI, hit and run and vandalism. This is a breaking news story and below is a link to the NFL.com article about this latest incident in the troubled career of Smith. Smith is a truly talented football player but his off field issues seem to be so bad now you just hope he can right that ship and football be damned. This guy has some serious issues in his life that he needs to address. This is the latest in a long line of issues that go back to personal conduct in the eyes of the NFL. This could be that straw that broke the camel's back as far as the NFL is concerned. I wouldn't be surprised if the NFL league office suspended Smith for at least one year. This is one disciplinary action made by Roger Goodell's office that won't be criticized---well, at least not much. The impact on the 49ers will be pretty big and this is the last thing new head coach Jim Tomsula needed as he begins the post Jim Harbaugh era.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000507534/article/aldon-smith-arrested-for-hit-and-run-dui-vandalism

[eagle eye]

It only took a few hours but under the circumstances you understand why. The same afternoon after the news about 49ers LB Aldon Smith was arrested for DUI, hit and run and vandalism Smith was cut by the team. In a statement issued by the team the 49ers said that they have done all they could to help smith but now they are done with him. That's kind of a harsh paraphrasing of the actual statement but that's basically what they said.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000507647/article/san-francisco-49ers-release-aldon-smith

The Rams have signed new QB Nick Foles to a two year extension on his contract which locks up Foles through the 2017 season. The deal is worth $24.5MM with $14MM guaranteed. Foles can void the last year of the deal based on Pro Bowl considerations and incentives reached in his deal.

The Patriots had some bad news yesterday that had nothing to do with deflate-gate. RB LeGarrette Blount suffered an MCL sprain in his right knee. The severity of the sprain is not yet known but the Patriots feel like Blount will be ready for Week 1 of the coming season.

Former NFL lineman and current NFL Channel analyst Sean O'Hara stated the obvious in the teaser for an article about the NY Giants O-line saying that the line has been holding the Giants back. Pretty obvious stuff but in the article by Kevin Petra O'Hara actually questioned the toughness of the players on the line after 3 of them sat out practice yesterday with minor injuries.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000507843/article/ohara-giants-oline-has-been-holding-team-back

The Eagles have restocked their backfield with former Cowboys. I don't know how I missed it but after Dallas released former 2nd round pick Ryan Mathews earlier this summer the Eagles picked him up! Now they will have DeMarco Murray and Mathews as their # 1 and 2 RBs the question arises about what the Eagles intend to do with Darren Sproles. Many people feel that Sproles, who was in on only 29% of the Eagles offensive snaps last year was under used considering his big play making ability. NFL.com is reporting that Sproles may see more time working out of the slot in 2015. "We're just trying to get more stuff for me to do," Sproles said. "We're going to get me out wide and stuff like that." With the Eagles a little thin at WR this could be a way of getting a playmaker on the field and into the offense on a more regular basis. This situation will bear watching during the pre-season games to see if we get a glimpse of this use of Sproles. The small and very quick Sproles could be a nightmare for slot CBs and it would be an excellent use of a very talented back. (Hint, hint fantasy footballers!)

Hey, Johnny Football fans, don't look now but he may be starting to show signs of why he was a first round draft pick by the Browns last year. Manziel went through a very turbulent season in his rookie year last year. Most of it negative as his play on the field was poor and behavior off of it was less than exemplary. He even got into trouble just trying to go to his apartment as he was accosted in the lobby of his apartment building by a drunk fan that resulted in a scuffle. Manziel, to his credit, realized he had a problem and checked into rehab this spring. The Browns seemed to be in deep trouble at QB heading into this year's draft. The Browns didn't draft any of the available QBs in May. They chose instead to bolster their O and D lines and they got top 10 RB prospect Duke Johnson out of Miami. Of the 12 Browns draft picks they were split nearly down the middle with 5 picks on offense and 7 on defense. This would give you some inclination that Manziel was going to be counted on to overcome a very forgettable rookie season in which he couldn't even call plays in the huddle to be in the mix as a starting QB. The Browns did sign ex Chicago Bear and Tampa Bay cast off Josh McCown and it was thought that he would be a stop gap for the QB the Browns would take in the draft as "experts" were seemingly writing off the former Heisman Trophy winner altogether. It sort of looked like the Browns were in for another long, disappointing season. But, last night there may be a ray of hope and it came from the 'bad boy' himself. In the linked article below NFL.com looks at Manziel's performance in a scrimmage held last night. There is a video with the article that shows Manziel's performance last night. I'll tell you, he looked pretty good. His throws were pretty accurate and he showed he can still throw on the run. If you are in a keeper league you may want to take a chance on Manziel in your draft. After all the negativity by the press and so-called experts saying Manziel would never make it as a pro I hope he proves them all wrong. A personality like Manziel would be good for football. He's even garnering respect from his teammates including long time left tackle Joe Thomas. Go, Johnny, go!

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000507795/article/manziel-shows-improvement-in-browns-scrimmage

[eagle eye]

Interesting stuff from Bleacher Report today;

The Arizona Cardinals have made an offer to RB Chris Johnson for a 1 year deal. No word on if Johnson agreed to terms or not.

Jets QB Geno Smith will miss 6-10 weeks because of a broken jaw suffered in a locker room altercation with LB IK Enemkpali. Shortly after the incident Enemkpali was given his release by the Jets. As for fantasy news it looks like the QB position for the Jets is now between veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick and rookie draft pick from Baylor Bryce Petty.

The Dolphins are enjoying some discord of their own as they have had fights break out yesterday and today at training camp practices. From BR comes a link on today's fight with an accompanying video. Nobody lost their job in this fight.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2545091-dolphins-rishard-matthews-jamar-taylor-get-into-intense-training-camp-fight

Summer time heat does nothing for tempers does it? In yet another incident of fisticuffs, this time at Carolina Panthers training camp, Cam Newton and CB Josh Norman threw down on each other after Norman picked off a Newton pass during practice. Again, no broken jaw and nobody fired.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2544115-cam-newton-gets-into-scuffle-with-cb-josh-norman-after-int-at-training-camp

Another training camp battle is not involving two testosterone filled athletes duking it out, this one is about a QB fighting himself and his past in training camp. That, of course, is Johnny Manziel. Last week there were reports out of Browns training camp that there's a new sheriff in town, that Manziel is on top of things and is really earning respect from his coaches and teammates. NFL.com is following up with his progress with continued good report cards for Mr Football. I know there are some JF fans on this site and it should be good news that the young man is walking the straight and narrow---so far.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000508626/article/johnny-manziel-drawing-praise-from-browns

[eagle eye]

Amid the training camp fights, Geno Smith getting his jaw broken and all the rest of the stuff football related going on, all that can be talked about is Deflate-gate. Today is the day that Tom Brady and Roger Goodell have a meeting with US District Judge Richard Berman. The idea of this meeting is to see if Goodell and Brady can come together and agree to a compromise to their impasse over Brady's 4 game suspension that was upheld by Goodell a couple of weeks ago in his appeal hearing. I hope Brady sticks to his guns but something tells me that Brady is fighting a stacked deck. The way things seem to lined up the NFL league office is holding the cards. It seems inconceivable but the issue of the trial is whether Goodell has the right to suspend Brady and according to the recent collective bargaining agreement he does. If the NFL manages to drag the whole issue in a direction that benefits them it won't go well for Brady. That said, I think the whole issue was mishandled by the NFL and the Wells report is a joke and, in this case anyway, Brady is the underdog and I hope he is able to stick it to Goodell and the league office. One thing is for sure if Goodell stands firm on the suspension and requires Brady to admit guilt for deflate-gate then Brady will stick to his guns and take the NFL and Goodell to court. The point of this to try to avoid this going to court, obviously, but it doesn't seem likely any compromise will be forthcoming. The word is if it does go to court it will need to be settled by the Patriots 2015 season opener against the Steelers on Thursday night September 10th.

[eagle eye]

Leave it up to Rex Ryan, the guy is a renegade. One day after IK Enemkpali was cut by the Jets for breaking Geno Smith's jaw the Buffalo Bills signed him. Actually the Bills front office knew Enemkpali because he was on their roster last year and they knew him as a good teammate. Obviously the politically correct and cynical people on ESPN will disparage the remarks by the Ryan about Enemkpali's teammate worthiness but apparently the Bills don't care about being moralists. Especially since post incident accounts have Geno Smith equally responsible for the altercation that led to him being punched out. It seems that there is far from a unanimous support for Smith in the Jets locker room. Immaturity issues. Truthfully, the broken jaw may be the best thing to happen to the Jets this season. It will allow rookie Bryce Petty to step up or the Jets could fall back on veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. In a perfect world Petty would be excellent in preseason allowing NY to begin the Bryce Petty era in Jet-land with Fitz as the veteran backup.

The Colts have signed T Y Hilton to a contract extension that should make Hilton a happy camper for the foreseeable future. The new extension is for 5 years and $65MM. That would certainly make me happy!

The never ending defate-gate saga was not settled yesterday and the meeting with NFL lawyers and Brady's lawyers didn't yield anything today either. The next scheduled hearing is next Wednesday. Since Brady has been tied up with this court thing he likely won't play in tonight's preseason opener vs Green Bay. Jimmy Garrapolo will see a big chunk of the action I would imagine. Reports from yesterday's hearing the judge, Richard Berman seemed to be inferring that the NFL was a fault for allowing a trivial matter go this far. If that's the case, I agree.

Cardinals head coach said today the #1 RB Andre Ellington is close to full speed meaning he is about over his hamstring injury that has kept him out of training camp practices. Ellington is slated to play in Saturday night's preseason game with Kansas City. The coach has been upset at the RB situation because his top 2 RB's have both missed a lot of TC practices. #2 man, David Johnson, is still out with a bad hamstring. The Cards earlier this week offered free agent Chris Johnson a one year deal that he still has not responded to.

Need another sleeper on your fantasy roster? Try Tampa Bay's Doug Martin. After a big rookie campaign when he gained over 1,400 yards he has had 2 injury plagued seasons when his production had tumbled him off the fantasy radar. This year a slimmer, leaner and reported quicker Doug Martin has been impressing Lovie Smith and his staff in training camp. He has done so well in fact Smith has already declared Martin the starting tailback. Not a bad start if you are trying to win comeback player of the year!

The Cardinals seem to have another weapon to hang their hat on and that's rookie WR JJ Nelson out of Alabama-Birmingham. He has been a constant companion of 2nd year receiver John Brown who had a breakout season last year. Brown, who nicknamed "Smoke" because of his speed (4.34 at the 2014 Scouting Combine) impressed his coaches with how fast he picked up on the Cardinals offense last season. Those same coaches are hoping that Nelson, nicknamed "Fire" because of his 4.28 40 at the combine this year, can pick up the offense as quickly as Brown did. Nelson was the Cardinals in the 5th round of this year's draft. With that kind of speed to worry about teams will not be able to double team Larry Fitzgerald as much which should make HIS fantasy numbers go up!

[eagle eye]

There's been a lot going on this week.

1. Phillip Rivers gets a contract extension worth $87MM with $65MM guaranteed. He also clarified a statement he made when he said he would not resign with the Chargers if they moved to LA which was, in effect, he didn't like LA. He now says he likes LA. Go figure.

2. LeSean McCoy got hurt in Bills training camp practice Tuesday. He pulled a hammy but the Bills are saying McCoy will be back in time for Week 1. We'll see.

3. The Panthers had to cart star WR Kelvin Benjamin off the field yesterday with a knee injury. It was a non-contact injury that happened when Benjamin was running a route and he went down making a cut in the route. Not good.

4. The offer's been on the table for a week but finally Chris Johnson signed a deal to play for the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Bruce Ariens said that he will be given nothing, he will have to earn whatever he gets. What he has right now is a one year deal and a career 4.3 YPC average which is better than the 3.3 YPC average incumbent RB Andre Ellington has. CJ2K claims he has not lost a step. That, as they say, remains to be seen.

5. Prior to a joint practice with the New England Patriots, who the Saints play this week, Saints head coach Sean Peyton got his team together and laid down the law. If you fight, pack your bags because you won't have a job here any more. Tough words but in light of the fights between the Redskins and Texans and the Rams and Cowboys somebody probably needed to say something.

6. The Jets sign much traveled and much maligned QB Matt Flynn to a deal as insurance against the loss of Geno Smith. Right now the Jets are going with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Bryce Petty. Fitz looked pretty good in their preseason game against Buffalo while it was clear that Petty still has some growing to do to become an NFL QB.

7. RGIII answered a question about how he feels on the Redskins practice field. He responded by saying that he felt like he was the best QB on the field at practice and that he felt like the best QB in the league. Griffin wasn't saying he was the best he was trying to say he was going out to practice confident. Of course the media, ESPN in particular blew it up and reported his words out of context and RGIII is getting lambasted by everybody. Jesus, I heard the quote and in no way did I think that Griffin meant anything else but that he was confident on the field of play. Maybe he should have said that, like that, but he didn't and now he has to respond to the media and the haters who are crucifying him. Give me a break. Wouldn't you want your QB confident, maybe a little cocky? It's been said that the best QB's are sorry SOB's and that's why they are good. I don't know about that but I sure don't want my QB to admit he's unsure of himself. Please leave RGIII alone. I'm talking to you ESPN. I'm beginning to think that ESPN stands for Exaggerated Spam and Poppycock Network.

8. Round 53 of the deflate-gate saga takes place today with reps from the NFL and Tom Brady's reps and the NFLPA will meet with Judge Richard Berman so Berman can here oral arguments from both sides regarding Brady's 4 game suspension. Neither Brady or NFL commissioner Roger Goodell are required to attend. Brady will be in practice in Virginia where the Saints and Patriots will begin a couple of joint practices today.

[eagle eye]

Deflate-gate news is a little different today. It seems that Tom Brady may accept a small (1 or 2 game) suspension but it won't be for deflated footballs. It would be punishment for lack of cooperation in the investigation of defate-gate. Brady has been heavily criticized for destroying his cell phone so investigators cannot look at it. It's one reason some people think Brady DID know about or participated in deflate-gate. It could also mean Brady was pissed about the NFL questioning his integrity and he destroyed it out of spite. Brady is an emotional guy and I could see him do something he regretted later because he was angry. Deflate-gate, IMO has no legs and Brady should be exonerated for that deal. His apparent willingness to at least consider accepting a suspension for non-compliance speaks to the fact, for whatever reason, that Brady knows he made a mistake destroying his phone.

The Panthers will be without WR Kelvin Benjamin for the season. He tore his ACL in practice yesterday. This puts the Panthers in at WR because the depth chart behind Benjamin is considered a bunch of #4 types including David Funchess, Jericho Cotchery and Ted Ginn along with the guy currently #1 with Benjamin out, Corey Brown. It could be Brown fantasy owners may want to take a chance on.

I DVR'd the replays of the preseason games played last weekend and I saw one guy who jumped off the screen. I think the Lions are going to start rookie RB Ameer Abdullah out of Nebraska. The guy just ran crazy for the Lions while he was on the field. He has quickness, good vision and speed. The Lions let Reggie Bush go in the off season but I think they came out smelling like a rose by getting Abdullah. As long as the opening game isn't a flash in the pan he definitely looks like a keeper.

Here's a name you haven't really heard in a while, Tyrod Taylor. The former Raiders QB has been flying under the radar of virtually everyone but his mama for several years but he has resurfaced in Buffalo. The guy who started the first preseason game was Matt Cassel and the Bills still have former 1st round pick EJ Manuel but who knows what's going to happen in Buffalo. I know this, Rex Ryan isn't a quarterback-friendly coach so whoever is going to end up starting will be on their own with their OC and/or QB coach. The injury to LeSean McCoy isn't a help either. Now McCoy will be out this week but he is expected to be ready to go for Week 1. QB looks to be a wide open thing and it looks like Taylor has a friend in OC Greg Roman who once proclaimed Taylor would be a star in the NFL. We will see.

The Cardinals have lost OG Mike Iupati to a knee injury that will keep him out 6-8 weeks that requires arthroscopic surgery. Iupati came into the NFL with the 49ers and was a stalwart for a very good O-line. Iupati missed a big chunk of time last season to injuries and now this setback with his new team who was hoping Iupati would help solve O-line problems not be one.

Eli Manning is in the last year of his current contract and he will make around $16MM this season. There is talk about signing Manning to an extension and there were reports that he was looking to become the highest paid QB in the NFL. It seems the reports are wrong but Manning is looking to be fairly compensated. We'll see. The fact is, Manning is the only guy the Giants have at QB who can do anything to make the team a contender. There is really no viable QB-in-training for the Gints and no Andrew Luck on the horizon in the 2016 draft. Manning will get paid but it will be interesting to see what kind of deal he gets.

I watched the Minnesota-Tampa Bay game at least long enough to see the starters play and I really think Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings have a real chance to make some noise this season. Preseason records don't matter but the Vikes are 2-0 so far in wins over Pittsburgh and Tampa and the short time the starters have been on the field they have looked pretty good. I like this coaching staff with Mike Zimmer (HC), Norv Turner (OC) and George Edwards (DC). It has taken a couple of years of rebuilding since Zimmer was named head coach in last season and he led his team to a 7-9 record with a rookie QB and no Adrian Peterson. I really believe folks, especially fantasy football players, need to keep these Vikings in their minds as they have several fantasy worth players on the their team. Be looking for Boomer's preview of the NFC North within a day or two.

[eagle eye]

This past weekends games didn't tell us much except that preseason is boring and maybe NFL owners shouldn't be charging full price for tickets. For fantasy football players there is some remorse for guys who have already had their drafts. At least the guys who draft Kelvin Benjamin, Jordy Nelson or maybe Ben Roethlesberger considering he lost center Marquis Pouncey for a big chunk of the season leaving a big gap in the middle of Big Ben's O-line.

If you need a hint as to a replacement for either Benjamin or Nelson--this isn't it. But, if you need a guy for a bye week Cam Newton claims he would trust rookie 2nd round pick Kevin Funchess is the man. Oh well, I really don't recommend him either unless -- well I guess I can't recommend him. You might place him on your watch list and maybe he's a mid season guy to pick up.

Like Reggie Wayne? You and me both brother but you have to wonder how much he's got left in the tank. But, the Broncos took Patriots WR Wes Welker a couple of years ago and it worked out okay for one season. Now, in the turnabout is fair play category, Wayne who accumulated probable HOF numbers with Peyton Manning while they were together in Indy has now signed a one year deal with those same Patriots. Actually, if Wayne has some fuel left in the tank this could be a good signing making this yet another reason not to do you FF draft before the 3rd preseason game is complete. I love early birds except in fantasy.

One question, the Eagles destroyed the Ravens Friday night by a score of 40-17. The question is, was it because the Eagles were that good or was it because the Ravens were that bad? Joe Flacco was just plain bad and he was missing badly in his passes. It didn't matter if it was a short route, medium range or deep route he was just plain bad. Justin Forsette was making his first appearance this preseason and he did a really good job for what it's worth (to fantasy owners who HAVEN'T drafted yet.).

[eagle eye]

The Steelers offense has taken a hit this summer and the damage isn't quite over. Earlier this summer Le'Veon Bell had his 4 game suspension for substance abuse that occurred just before the beginning of the 2014 season reduced to 2 games. Then, last week starting Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey severely injured his ankle so bad he could be placed on the Injured Reserve/Designated for Return list and when that return may be is anybody's guess. Now we find out Martavis Bryant, Pittsburgh's #2 WR is looking at a 4 game suspension for violating the NFL substance abuse policy. His suspension is under appeal and may be reduced to 2 games like Bell's suspension. Anyway the Steelers offense has been compromised quite a bit for at least 2 weeks of the new season.

It seems like Johnny Manziel won't be the starter in Week 1 for the Browns despite displaying a whole new side of Johnny Football this off season. After the Brown preseason game this past weekend he experienced swelling and soreness in his right elbow and it has been bad enough to keep out of practice this week. Today Browns head coach Mike Pettine officially ruled Manziel out of this week's game against Tampa Bay. Josh McCown will likely start in Week 1.

Could this be a sign of what's to come? The Bills have indicated that QB EJ Manuel will start this week's game for Buffalo. To me, that means that Buffalo feels like Manuel will be the Week 1 starter. Not that it matters because there isn't a QB on the Bills roster anyone will be depending on in fantasy leagues.

Deflate-gate just won't go away will it. It's not really even in the news but the specter of it remains as teams prepare for their "rehearsal game" this weekend when the starters will play the lion's share of the game the appeal of the 4 game suspension of Tom Brady is still up in the air. This is really chickensh*t of the NFL or judge Richard Berman because they are compromising the Patriots ability to prepare for the game. Will Brady start? Will he play the 1st quarter with the starters and leave Jimmy Garrapolo the 2nd and 3rd quarters with the 1's? Or does this force Bill Belichick to go strickly with Garrapolo? This whole mess sucks.

To end this post I am going to link an article I found on Bleacher Report that claims that 70% of ACL injuries can be prevented. Interesting read and sort of hits home with the rash of torn ACLs that occur mainly in training camp.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2555624-preseason-acl-injures-can-be-drastically-reduced-heres-how

[eagle eye]

Do you think that the fantasy drafts that occurred prior to, say, today got messed up by the Bills and Redskins? C'mon, tell me you saw the Bills naming Tyrod Taylor their starting QB? Or that Jon Gruden officially named --- wait for it --- Kirk Cousins his starting QB? Now I don't believe anyone was counting on a Buffalo QB in fantasy but seriously who in their right mind saw RGIII losing his job? I'll admit it, not me. Things are very interesting on the east coast.

Speaking of the east coast no compromise was made between Tom Brady and NFL league office. Big surprise, right? It's being reported by NFL.com that Brady was actually open to a one game suspension for not cooperating with the Wells investigation. Both Brady and his lawyers have admitted they should have been more forthcoming, i.e. Brady shouldn't have destroyed his cell phone. It is also being reported that the judge in the case, Richard Berman, went to both parties separately today and told them they are still too far apart for a settlement to be reached. Again, no surprise. Berman is supposed to give his ruling on the case on Friday but there is a tacit understanding that a settlement is still on the table.

Back to football, did you ever believe that Philly would open a can of serious whoop-ass on Green Bay on Saturday night? I know! That is until you realize Aaron Rodgers did not play a down in the game. He was on the sideline, uninjured, in a tee-shirt and ball cap while rookie QB from UCLA Brett Hunley was under center from the outset. He didn't look all that great, he a freaking rookie. Sam Bradford on the other hand was perfect on the night and Philly scored at will. Any doubts about this offense being effective doubt no more. Personally, I wish Chip Kelly had laid a huge egg, and he still might but Bradford, DeMarco Murray and shoot the whole starting offense looked pretty darn good. This is not a good thing BTW IMO.

These rehearsal games are supposed to give you an idea of how well a team is going play in Week 1 and beyond but it's a lie. These teams don't game plan, they don't do anything but run base stuff. Truth is, we really don't know squat and won't until Week 1. Football is back and it's on, bros!

Here's a list of cuts from NFL.com including one Trent Richardson who was let go by the Raiders. It's scary how fast you can fall in the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000518343/article/nfl-roster-cuts-tracker

The Steeler's Martavis Bryant had the ruling on his appeal of his 4 game suspension was denied today meaning he will not be playing for the Steelers for the first 4 games of the season. Bryant was guilty of violating the NFL substance abuse policy and it's said he failed because marijuana was found in his blood stream. Shame considering he had such a fine rookie season but hopefully missing 4 games will curb his love for the wacky-tobacky enough to protect his job in the NFL. Next man up for Pittsburgh looks like Marcus Wheaton.

Here's an injury update from NFL.com with some guys out and some guys returning who have been out. Including news about former Broncos and current Jaguars TE Julius Thomas.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000518708/article/injuries-jameis-winston-dealing-with-sprained-ankle

[eagle eye]

As an addendum to the Steelers item in my last post aimed at fantasy players. Don't sell WR Marcus Wheaton short and if you need a flex player or you need a bit of an emergency starter for Week 1 you may consider WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. Ben Roethlisberger has been praising Hey-Bey as a guy he has a lot of confidence in. DHB went to Georgia in the off season to work with Big Ben and the other receivers and he developed a chemistry with DHB.

Not much else to talk about right now. Teams are prepping for Week 1 of the regular season at the same time they are getting ready for this last preseason game this week. For guys on the bottom end of NFL rosters this game is either do or die as far as their immediate NFL futures are concerned. Man college ball starting this week and the NFL begins for real in 10 days? Life is good!

[eagle eye]

Holy crap. Judge Richard Berman has ruled against the NFL and lifted the 4 game suspension of Tom Brady. Here's an article from NFL.com with a video about the ruling.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000520618/article/judge-nullifies-tom-bradys-fourgame-suspension

Of course Roger Goodell is going to appeal Judge Berman's ruling.

[eagle eye]

Here is a list of cuts already made by teams who are trying to get down to their final 53 man rosters. This isn't much of a list but NFL.com has a list of notable cuts linked below.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000521840/article/notable-cuts-tracker

In another move the Tennessee Titans have traded OG Andy Levitre to the Atlanta Falcons for a six round draft pick and a future conditional pick. It's unreal that this trade is even taking place because the Titans signed Levitre to a six year $46.8 MM deal with $13 MM guaranteed in 2013. After Levitre spent the first 4 years in the league in Buffalo where he was good enough to warrant the deal he got from Tennessee. I'd say a 6th rounder and a conditional draft pick was not great value for a guy who hasn't missed a single game in his NFL career. To my way of thinking Atlanta, who is desperately in need of O-line help got off cheap while the Titans will be eating a lot of dead money.

Who knew. I don't know if he will end up being heavily involved in the Arizona Cardinals offense but RB Chris Johnson has a nice night in the Cards preseason finale vs Denver which Arizona won 22-20. Johnson rushed 11 times for 45 yards (4.1 YPC) but no scores or fumbles. He also added 1 catch for ten yards. This was Johnson's first real action since the Cardinals signed him on August 17th. Head coach Bruce Ariens praised Johnson for his work and said he coming along nicely getting to know the Cardinals offense. If nobody took a chance on CJ2K in fantasy drafts it may pay benefits to pick him up and stash him away. Johnson is only 29 and his poor performances in recent years have as much to do with the crappy lines he's had to run behind and nagging injuries than any drop off in skill or speed.

The Bleacher Report has an article by Mike Tanier about the reversal of the Tom Brady suspension over deflate-gate could spell the end of Roger Goodell's term as NFL commissioner. He also states that it isn't too late to repair the damage already done and move forward. If Goodell continues to pursue Brady in court over what I believe is a lost cause it could really mean the end for this commissioner who is doing his best Capt Ahab to Tom Brady's Moby Dick in this perverted twist on the classic Dickens novel.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2560804-fixing-the-nfls-bay-of-pigs-how-roger-goodell-can-make-better-decisions

[eagle eye]

So, Tim Tebow won't be the Eagles 3rd string QB. What a shock, well maybe a little since the Eagles pulled off a trade that sent QB Matt Barkley to Arizona and thus seemingly opened the door for Tebow to make the final roster. Oh well.

Montee Ball was among the cuts by the Broncos on Saturday. It's a little shocking since Ball was a 2nd round pick by Denver in 2013. Injuries slowed Ball down especially last season when then starter Ronnie Hillman went down with an injury. Ball faltered and CJ Anderson stepped up and did so well he is now the starting RB for Denver. Ball had actually slid down the depth chart behind Anderson, Hillman and Juwan Thompson and thus was expendable. For a day or two Ball was the subject of trade talks with the Cowboys but that deal never materialized and when the final cuts came Saturday Ball was among the cuttees. Today Ball cleared waivers and is as yet unsigned.

The Browns suspended indefinitely the O-line coach for violating team conduct policy. There were not details of the event this past weekend that sparked the need for a suspension but never the less Andy Moeller will get an opportunity to get his collective sh*t together. Moeller got in trouble with the Baltimore Ravens in for violating their personal conduct policy in 2011. The Raven gave Moeller a two game suspension.

James Jones has resigned with the Green Bay Packers, the team he began his NFL career with in 2007. Jones spent the first seven years of his career in the land of the frozen tundra but he signed a free agent deal to play for the Raiders. He was released this past May after the NFL draft and he signed with the NY Giants. Jones was among the final roster cuts by the Giants on Saturday. The Packers are hurting with the loss of Jordy Nelson for the season and with Randall Cobb banged up a bit as well.

Johnny Manziel started practicing with the Browns again after missing the past two weeks with a sore elbow. Josh McCown will be the starter this week for Cleveland and he probably would have been if Manziel had bee healthy throughout training camp. Johnny Football seems to have turned his life around and he was earning respect from teammates on and off the field. He may be a year away from being ready to step into the role of franchise QB that he was drafted for in 2014. I'm rooting for Manziel and I hope he makes it all the way back and has a good career. He is less like the smart-ass punk he was before and, in my mind, he's kind of the underdog now and I like rooting for 'dogs when they deserve it and Manziel appears to deserve his second chance.

That's it. I'm done with this thread. The regular season is coming like a freight train and it won't be stopped. First game is Thursday night between the Steelers and and Patriots and the game will feature Tom Brady fresh off his defeat of Roger Goodell. Who's got it better than us?