THIS AND THAT..........FRIDAY
There have been a rash of allegations & rumors flying all over regarding 4 potential first round draft picks & their supposed urine test failures. Two for marijuana, two for steroids. I have grown tired of the designated "unnamed source" that reporters & bloggers use, many times completely in error. The NFL has stated officially that the results of these tests haven't been sent to the 32 teams, so unless a lab worker has 'leaked' it, this may turn out to be totally bogus. When something concrete is revealed, I'll print their names right here, until then, I'm not going to smear someone's name.
Pickets were thrown up around Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Wednesday & they are still there. The concrete mason's union has been unable to settle with the general contractor. Any delay over 15 days will make the task of finishing before the preseason begins just about impossible.
The federal bankruptcy judge presiding over Michael Vick's chapter 11 petition today denied Vick's repayment plan. Judge Frank J. Santoro told Vick to resubmit another repayment plan with something definite in regards to his employment. The judge said that Vick's plan was solely based on his reinstatement in the NFL & that is uncertain at this time. "You cannot, at this time, guarantee anyone that you will be allowed to continue your NFL career, guarantee how long you could play if you are reinstated or guarantee the pay you would receive if & when you are allowed to play in the NFL." Plus, there's question regarding penalties & interest on retirement funds the IRS claims Vick has made withdrawals from in the last 3 years. Vick is trying to hold onto 2 Virginia homes & 3 luxury cars.
The New York Giants said "buh bye" to Plaxico Burress this afternoon. The timing was sort of a surprise, but his release wasn't, the Giants had their fill of Burress & his baggage. Apparently enough, was finally, enough.
"Understand this, it remains about team. Our franchise has gone to the Super Bowl 6 times, with 3 different coaches & many different players. It has never been about 1 player & it never will be." This, from a letter Bronco owner, Pat Bowlen, sent out to season ticket holders in wake of the Jay Cutler drama. Well spoken Mr. Bowlen.
Donte Stallworth struck a man with his car, killing him & Stallworth, allegedly blowing .12 in a breathalyser test, was subsequently charged with DUI manslaughter. Sadly, today it was revealed that Stallworth had already been in the NFL's substance abuse program, having failed a urine test in 2007. He was told then a repeat failure would result in a substantial suspension. Made quite an impression didn't it? Now a man is dead. Life is a series of personal decisions & it's very difficult for me to feel much compassion for someone who lives their life in such a selfish way. Matters not if it's a pampered athlete, actress, politician or just a guy down the street who drives in spite of having had his license & insurance revoked. They want to drive, consequences be damned.
The Minnesota Vikings, the best team in the NFC North & one of the best in the entire conference, have a great 52-man roster, yup, I said 52-man. The Vikings continue to watch their Super Bowl window close without ever really trying to get a front-line NFL quarterback, their longtime Achilles heel. Now Jay Cutler is in their division & Orlando Pace signed with the Bears as well & those Bears are now serious contenders to unseat the Vikings in their division. Oh yeah, they need a wide receiver or two and a pass rusher, but they got the QB that Minnesota doesn't have. Green Bay, with Aaron Rogers, will expend most of their draft picks on the defensive side of the ball & they too could contend. Even the lowly 0-16 Lions will draft a 'franchise quarterback'. At what point are the Vikes going to wake up & smell the coffee? Yes, they could use a right tackle & possibly a WR but no QB, no playoff run, it's almost a guarantee. Every team has a hole or two that needs filling, even the Super Bowl champs, but not at quarterback. People point to Brad Johnson winning the Super Bowl with Tampa Bay & Trent Dilfer with the Ravens, both having great defenses, just like the Vikings do. The difference is both Johnson & Dilfer were starters for a long time, Tavaris Jackson & Sage Rosenfels have trouble staying in the starting lineup. If Minnesota doesn't move up to draft Mark Sanchez, Viking fans will be watching a repeat of 2008, only this time they might not even win the division & the window will close even more.
There is a lot of chatter about Seattle possibly taking Mark Sanchez when their 4th overall pick is called. Long time starter, Matt Hasselback, has suffered thru back problems the past 2 seasons & he'll be 34 in September. This is also the highest Seatlle has picked on draft day in sometime, hopefully they won't be picking in the top ten next year, so this might be the time to pull the trigger.
Staying with the quarterback theme, I said weeks ago St. Louis or Kansas City might be the recipient of a draft pick bounty from one of several teams looking for that 'franchise quarterback'. Especially with Seattle's possible entry into the Sanchez derby. Now that the Cutler deal has been made, it's almost a forgone conclusion that Detroit will select Georgia QB, Mathew Stafford. This leaves Sanchez & K-State's Josh Freeman as the only first day quarterbacks remaining. Freeman is much further away from playing on Sunday, he's pretty raw & needs significant work on fundamentals. Jacksonville at #8, San Francisco at #10, Denver at #12, Washington at #13, the Jets at #17, Tampa Bay at #19 & last but not least, the Minnesota Vikings at #22, could get into a bidding war for one of these top 3 picks. With the exception of the Jags, all of these teams were in the Jay Cutler trade mix, so giving up draft picks to secure a QB apparently doesn't scare them. I will admit trading for Cutler was a known commodity, he's been in the league 3 seasons. Sanchez started only 16 games at USC.
The Philadelphia Eagles had Virginia tackle, Eugene Monroe in for a personal visit & workout. That tells me the Eagles may be pondering a trade that would move them up into the top 5 picks on draft day. Monroe won't last anywhere near the 21st pick the Eagles possess. They also have the 28th pick in the first round which they could package to move up. The Eagles lost both starting tackles to free agency. Stacy Andrews was signed to take John Runyon's right tackle spot, but Tra Thomas' replacement on the left side is still unknown. This is their number one need in addition to a safety, a WR & running back depth.
Cincinnati Bearcat, Connor Barwin, a DE/OLB hybrid, said of his trip to Kansas City "they said they had the 3rd overall pick right now but that things could change. They never told me I'd be a Chief, but they did say they didn't know what draft picks they might have on April 25th". Like I said, there could be a bidding war for the #2 & #3 picks in the first round. St. Louis has their sights set on Baylor tackle, Jason Smith & the Chiefs are locked onto Wake Forest linebacker, Aaron Curry but both teams won 2 games in '08 & they have many holes to fill. They need more picks & this might be their chance to get them. On draft day, they're allowed 15 minutes in the first round to make their selection & I think they'll use every second of it to field offers.
Pickets were thrown up around Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Wednesday & they are still there. The concrete mason's union has been unable to settle with the general contractor. Any delay over 15 days will make the task of finishing before the preseason begins just about impossible.
The federal bankruptcy judge presiding over Michael Vick's chapter 11 petition today denied Vick's repayment plan. Judge Frank J. Santoro told Vick to resubmit another repayment plan with something definite in regards to his employment. The judge said that Vick's plan was solely based on his reinstatement in the NFL & that is uncertain at this time. "You cannot, at this time, guarantee anyone that you will be allowed to continue your NFL career, guarantee how long you could play if you are reinstated or guarantee the pay you would receive if & when you are allowed to play in the NFL." Plus, there's question regarding penalties & interest on retirement funds the IRS claims Vick has made withdrawals from in the last 3 years. Vick is trying to hold onto 2 Virginia homes & 3 luxury cars.
The New York Giants said "buh bye" to Plaxico Burress this afternoon. The timing was sort of a surprise, but his release wasn't, the Giants had their fill of Burress & his baggage. Apparently enough, was finally, enough.
"Understand this, it remains about team. Our franchise has gone to the Super Bowl 6 times, with 3 different coaches & many different players. It has never been about 1 player & it never will be." This, from a letter Bronco owner, Pat Bowlen, sent out to season ticket holders in wake of the Jay Cutler drama. Well spoken Mr. Bowlen.
Donte Stallworth struck a man with his car, killing him & Stallworth, allegedly blowing .12 in a breathalyser test, was subsequently charged with DUI manslaughter. Sadly, today it was revealed that Stallworth had already been in the NFL's substance abuse program, having failed a urine test in 2007. He was told then a repeat failure would result in a substantial suspension. Made quite an impression didn't it? Now a man is dead. Life is a series of personal decisions & it's very difficult for me to feel much compassion for someone who lives their life in such a selfish way. Matters not if it's a pampered athlete, actress, politician or just a guy down the street who drives in spite of having had his license & insurance revoked. They want to drive, consequences be damned.
The Minnesota Vikings, the best team in the NFC North & one of the best in the entire conference, have a great 52-man roster, yup, I said 52-man. The Vikings continue to watch their Super Bowl window close without ever really trying to get a front-line NFL quarterback, their longtime Achilles heel. Now Jay Cutler is in their division & Orlando Pace signed with the Bears as well & those Bears are now serious contenders to unseat the Vikings in their division. Oh yeah, they need a wide receiver or two and a pass rusher, but they got the QB that Minnesota doesn't have. Green Bay, with Aaron Rogers, will expend most of their draft picks on the defensive side of the ball & they too could contend. Even the lowly 0-16 Lions will draft a 'franchise quarterback'. At what point are the Vikes going to wake up & smell the coffee? Yes, they could use a right tackle & possibly a WR but no QB, no playoff run, it's almost a guarantee. Every team has a hole or two that needs filling, even the Super Bowl champs, but not at quarterback. People point to Brad Johnson winning the Super Bowl with Tampa Bay & Trent Dilfer with the Ravens, both having great defenses, just like the Vikings do. The difference is both Johnson & Dilfer were starters for a long time, Tavaris Jackson & Sage Rosenfels have trouble staying in the starting lineup. If Minnesota doesn't move up to draft Mark Sanchez, Viking fans will be watching a repeat of 2008, only this time they might not even win the division & the window will close even more.
There is a lot of chatter about Seattle possibly taking Mark Sanchez when their 4th overall pick is called. Long time starter, Matt Hasselback, has suffered thru back problems the past 2 seasons & he'll be 34 in September. This is also the highest Seatlle has picked on draft day in sometime, hopefully they won't be picking in the top ten next year, so this might be the time to pull the trigger.
Staying with the quarterback theme, I said weeks ago St. Louis or Kansas City might be the recipient of a draft pick bounty from one of several teams looking for that 'franchise quarterback'. Especially with Seattle's possible entry into the Sanchez derby. Now that the Cutler deal has been made, it's almost a forgone conclusion that Detroit will select Georgia QB, Mathew Stafford. This leaves Sanchez & K-State's Josh Freeman as the only first day quarterbacks remaining. Freeman is much further away from playing on Sunday, he's pretty raw & needs significant work on fundamentals. Jacksonville at #8, San Francisco at #10, Denver at #12, Washington at #13, the Jets at #17, Tampa Bay at #19 & last but not least, the Minnesota Vikings at #22, could get into a bidding war for one of these top 3 picks. With the exception of the Jags, all of these teams were in the Jay Cutler trade mix, so giving up draft picks to secure a QB apparently doesn't scare them. I will admit trading for Cutler was a known commodity, he's been in the league 3 seasons. Sanchez started only 16 games at USC.
The Philadelphia Eagles had Virginia tackle, Eugene Monroe in for a personal visit & workout. That tells me the Eagles may be pondering a trade that would move them up into the top 5 picks on draft day. Monroe won't last anywhere near the 21st pick the Eagles possess. They also have the 28th pick in the first round which they could package to move up. The Eagles lost both starting tackles to free agency. Stacy Andrews was signed to take John Runyon's right tackle spot, but Tra Thomas' replacement on the left side is still unknown. This is their number one need in addition to a safety, a WR & running back depth.
Cincinnati Bearcat, Connor Barwin, a DE/OLB hybrid, said of his trip to Kansas City "they said they had the 3rd overall pick right now but that things could change. They never told me I'd be a Chief, but they did say they didn't know what draft picks they might have on April 25th". Like I said, there could be a bidding war for the #2 & #3 picks in the first round. St. Louis has their sights set on Baylor tackle, Jason Smith & the Chiefs are locked onto Wake Forest linebacker, Aaron Curry but both teams won 2 games in '08 & they have many holes to fill. They need more picks & this might be their chance to get them. On draft day, they're allowed 15 minutes in the first round to make their selection & I think they'll use every second of it to field offers.
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