TUESDAY QUICKIES
In a move I've can only remember happening once before Monday, the Oakland Raiders released their 2009 6th round draft pick, DE/OLB Stryker Sulak of Missouri, before he was even signed to a contract. The league stated the transaction was designated 'waived/unsigned'. Sulak had participated in the rookie mini camp according to his agent who also made it clear Sulak hadn't been in any off field trouble. So what gives? It might be that the Raiders, who have been trying to trade DE Derrick Burgess without any success, recently signed former Cowboy OLB Greg Ellis & told him he was going to play DE in their 4-3 defense. I thought Sulak was primarily a pass rusher with a very quick first step, but he just never showed me the ability to hold his ground vs the run. Hasn't shown anchor strength, is smallish, especially below the waist & doesn't fight off blockers well with his hands. Still, 250-pounders who can get after the QB are an in-demand commodity in the NFL, so I would imagine he'll be snatched up quickly.
The Jacksonville Jaguars began selling 1/2 season tickets today in an effort to block any TV blackouts. They are offering 2 different packages, the "Teal Pack" & the Black Pack". Both are $200 & include one preseason game & 4 regular season games. You may see more of this as several teams continue to struggle to sell all their seats. The Raiders are packaging a womens mixed martial arts fight card with tickets to the Denver game. I fail to see the incentive there, but then I'm not fixated on dressing up like Halloween to go to a football game like most Raider fans.
Adam Schein of FOXSports has labeled the Chiefs as his "Sleeper Team" for 2009. He says he doesn't see a repeat of '08 when both Atlanta & Miami went from the bottom of their divisions to the playoffs, but he thinks Kansas City can be a .500 team. We'll see.
Say it ain't so, Tony Romo has unceremoniously dumped his girlfriend, Jessica Simpson. According to People.com, he broke up with the singer the day before her 29th birthday. Kind of crummy don't you think? Remember that just over 6 weeks ago Jess bought her man a $100,000 boat for his birthday. According to People.com, she didn't take the breakup well.
ESPN.com recently completed a 6-question survey about the NFL with over 870,000 participants. There was one question that didn't address anything serious, what is the NFL's least liked team? The Raiders, Giants & Steelers all made the list with single-digit percentages. The Patriots & their "Spy-Gate" videos got 34% of the vote. But winning this rather dubious title was the Dallas Cowboys with over 313,000 votes, roughly 36%. So much for being "America's Team".
Looking ahead a little bit, two out-of-conference games that might be 'upset specials' come September could include Nevada in both games. The Wolfpack opens at Notre Dame & then two weeks later on a Friday night, they host the Missouri Tigers in Reno on national TV. Nevada returns QB Colin Kaepernick, a 1,298-yard rusher & 22-touchdown passer, RB Vai Taua, a 1,567-yard rusher & RB Luke Lippencott returns from an '08 injury. Lippencott ran for 1,453 yards in '07. Kaepernick & Taua rushed for 32 touchdowns between them. Head Coach Chris Ault returns 15 starters from last year's 7-6 squad. Four of their losses were by 7 points or less & their 'Pistol' offense is very entertaining to watch. I don't see a problem getting up for opening day at Notre Dame & I'm fairly sure the 69-17 beatdown inflicted by Mizzou last year in Columbia, is still pretty fresh in their minds.
The Jacksonville Jaguars began selling 1/2 season tickets today in an effort to block any TV blackouts. They are offering 2 different packages, the "Teal Pack" & the Black Pack". Both are $200 & include one preseason game & 4 regular season games. You may see more of this as several teams continue to struggle to sell all their seats. The Raiders are packaging a womens mixed martial arts fight card with tickets to the Denver game. I fail to see the incentive there, but then I'm not fixated on dressing up like Halloween to go to a football game like most Raider fans.
Adam Schein of FOXSports has labeled the Chiefs as his "Sleeper Team" for 2009. He says he doesn't see a repeat of '08 when both Atlanta & Miami went from the bottom of their divisions to the playoffs, but he thinks Kansas City can be a .500 team. We'll see.
Say it ain't so, Tony Romo has unceremoniously dumped his girlfriend, Jessica Simpson. According to People.com, he broke up with the singer the day before her 29th birthday. Kind of crummy don't you think? Remember that just over 6 weeks ago Jess bought her man a $100,000 boat for his birthday. According to People.com, she didn't take the breakup well.
ESPN.com recently completed a 6-question survey about the NFL with over 870,000 participants. There was one question that didn't address anything serious, what is the NFL's least liked team? The Raiders, Giants & Steelers all made the list with single-digit percentages. The Patriots & their "Spy-Gate" videos got 34% of the vote. But winning this rather dubious title was the Dallas Cowboys with over 313,000 votes, roughly 36%. So much for being "America's Team".
Looking ahead a little bit, two out-of-conference games that might be 'upset specials' come September could include Nevada in both games. The Wolfpack opens at Notre Dame & then two weeks later on a Friday night, they host the Missouri Tigers in Reno on national TV. Nevada returns QB Colin Kaepernick, a 1,298-yard rusher & 22-touchdown passer, RB Vai Taua, a 1,567-yard rusher & RB Luke Lippencott returns from an '08 injury. Lippencott ran for 1,453 yards in '07. Kaepernick & Taua rushed for 32 touchdowns between them. Head Coach Chris Ault returns 15 starters from last year's 7-6 squad. Four of their losses were by 7 points or less & their 'Pistol' offense is very entertaining to watch. I don't see a problem getting up for opening day at Notre Dame & I'm fairly sure the 69-17 beatdown inflicted by Mizzou last year in Columbia, is still pretty fresh in their minds.
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