A LOTTA THIS & THAT.........SUNDAY
One thing I forgot to mention in my piece about Derrick Thomas yesterday & another I didn't know until Carl Peterson was giving his speech for Derrick's induction. One of the reasons Thomas got so many sacks at Arrowhead was the din 80,000 screaming Chiefs fans create. Couple Thomas' super quick first step with offensive blockers who couldn't hear the snap count & were gun shy about being flagged for false starts, so they waited until they saw the ball snapped with their peripheral vision. By then, it was too late, Thomas was around them. As I watched the Hall of Fame induction telecast last night, I saw a stat on the NFL Network I previously hadn't been aware of. We all know Derrick Thomas holds the NFL record for sacks in 1 game with 7. Did you know he also was tied for second in that category? Fred Dean, Osi Umenyiora & Derrick Thomas had 6 sacks in a game. Wow, first & second all-time. If you didn't catch the ceremony, Marty & Pat Schottenheimer were seated in the crowd & when Peterson called for different players & coaches to stand, Marty absolutely went to pieces. He was really overcome with emotion.
Other thoughts about the 4 hour telecast: Roger Staubach should have prepared his speech better, ad libbing wasn't his strong suit, Bob Hayes deserved a better introduction to the Hall. Chris Berman's introduction speech was fine, he even incorporated the 5,000+ Buffalo fans into his presentation with his famous quote, "nobody circles the wagons better than the Buffalo Bills". Randall McDaniel's high school coach & vice-principle gave a very eloquent speech as did McDaniel. Rod Woodson's lifelong best friend, Tracy Foster, from Fort Wayne Indiana gave what I thought was the best speech of the night, no notes, some humor, some emotion & it was about Rod Woodson the person, not Rod Woodson the player. Peterson's speech was pretty good & the large number of ex-Chiefs on hand spoke volumes to me about who he was as a man & a teammate. His son Derrion looks just like his father. Ted Cottrell was Bruce Smith's presenter & his speech was disjointed & rambling. Smith's speech was exactly as I thought it would be, very well prepared & concise with the emotion you expect at such an event. If we can't get Otis Taylor in with the veteran's committee, we'll have to wait for 2012 & Will Shields.
According to what I read from the Kansas City Star online, the Chiefs' scrimmage last night didn't go too well. There were interceptions, fumbles returned for touchdowns, dropped passes & a bunch of sacks. They play Houston next Saturday, a lot of improvement is needed in a hurry. ESPN senior NFL writer, John Clayton, reported in his trip to River Falls the Chiefs had lost over 800 pounds as a team from the first OTA to last Friday. Haley thought they ran out of gas last season in the 4th quarter & he is correct. Better conditioning & less poundage to tote up & down the field should help.
Rex Ryan's first season as head coach for the New York Jets is already becoming more of a challenge as the days go by. He said it was his #1 goal to get #6 overall pick in '08, Vernon Gholston, to return to his Ohio State days & put pressure on the quarterback. He was a major disappointment last season, recording 8 tackles, that's eight. No sacks either. With Calvin Pace facing a 4-game suspension to start the season & Shaun Ellis facing a 1-game suspension for a pot infraction, the Jets are desperate for some pass rush.
The Philadelphia Eagles have lost TE Cornelius Ingram for the year. Ingram suffered a torn ACL Friday. He sustained a torn ACL in week 4 of his '08 season at Florida. Since he was still in rehab for that injury, Ingram couldn't work out for scouts before the draft. The 2nd round pick was projected as the backup to starter Brent Celek, now Matt Schobel is the lone candidate. Look for the Eagles to sign another TE soon.
Ben Roethlisberger's attorney's have posted an affidavit taken last week from one of his accuser's co-workers. In the affidavit, she says Andrea McNulty bragged about having sex with Roethlisberger & how she might travel to Pittsburgh in an effort to "run into him". Also mentioned was McNulty's "inappropriate clothing worn on & off the job" & the co-worker also wondered how she really got her promotion at Harrahs as "she is totally unqualified for her position". She went on to say "Andrea mentioned she was going to sue Harrahs for the way she was being treated there". Could this be from a jealous co-worker or is Roethlisberger's legal team planning to crush McNulty & her attorney with pre-trial publicity? In a court of law how it looks to you & me means nothing, but in the court of public opinion, it means a lot.
I saw an ESPN poll I found interesting. "Best middle linebacker in Chicago Bear history" was the poll. The results of nearly 75,000 votes? Dick Butkus 46%, Mike Singletary 42% & Brian Urlacher 12%. It appears to be generational voting. As someone who saw all three play, it's Butkus hands down. Urlacher is a member of a Super Bowl defense with many Pro Bowl players. Mike Singletary was a member of a Super Bowl defense with many Pro Bowl players. In fact, he played with other Hall of Famers on a defense considered by many as the best in NFL history. Butkus played on a so- team with one other superior player, DE Doug Atkins. Butkus could take over a game all by himself. He was the most intimidating tackler of his era & certainly in the top-5 of all-time. He was truly mean. Singletary was a great player in Buddy Ryan's unique '46 defense', but was never the intimidating force Butkus was. Urlacher is the most athletic of the 3, pretty stout hitter too, but not in #51's class. I'm not downgrading Singletary or Urlacher, they will always be considered in the great middle linebacker conversation, but the conversation begins with Dick Butkus.
Atlanta wide receiver, Roddy White, signed a 6-year $50 million contract extension, with $18 million guaranteed. This is good news to Falcon fans who hope to repeat their success of last season. Fellow WR Harry Douglas was lost last week for the season & with White holding out, Falcon fans were beginning to squirm.
Did you know Notre Dame, over the last 15 years, has had fewer consensus All-Americans than Northwestern? Wow. Did you know Steve Spurrier's 22 losses in 4 seasons at South Carolina are just 5 fewer than his entire 12 years as the head coach for the Florida Gators? Double wow.
Today's real name of the day: Taiwan Easterling, wide receiver, Florida State.
I read William C. Rhoden's column in The New York Times yesterday & I'll have to admit I was disgusted by the end. Rhoden is reporting Jesse Jackson is now inserting himself into the "why hasn't Michael Vick signed a contract" question. "I want to make it an issue, I want teams to explain why they have a quarterback who has less skills but is playing or at least on the taxi squad & a guy with more skills can't get into training camp' Jackson said in a telephone interview. He wondered whether there was collusion among NFL owners to keep Vick from playing. Jackson went on to say "Democracy does not guarantee success, Democracy guarantees an opportunity. It's not fair to de facto lock him out of his right to compete. If he can't make the team, don't let him play. If he can, let him work". I have to say I'm not surprised Jackson has taken it upon himself to tell both the NFL & their owners what they should do. He has to stick his nose in a lot of things to keep himself current with the public & his contributors. NFL owners didn't use dogs to fight to the death, they didn't torture them, didn't drown them or electrocute them & they didn't lie about it either. What they will have to do is weigh Vick's impact, are his athletic skills worth the tremendous P.R. nightmare signing him would incur? Just saying you're interested in talking to Vick about a contract will get a picket line thrown up around your training camp, team office & your stadium within 24 hours. Don't think for a minute it wouldn't. Signing Michael Vick could be very costly to a team's revenues at a time selling all their seats has become very difficult, if not impossible. Will Reverend Jackson be willing to pony up the cash a franchise looses after they sign Michael Vick? I still believe Vick should play in the UFL, it's rumored they'd pay him $1.5 million to play, thereby insuring people will watch their games, knock the rust off his game & then ease back into the NFL next season, after people are a little more used to the idea & some of the intense rhetoric has diminished. The NFL didn't cause Michael Vick's problems, he did & to suggest the NFL has a responsibility to employ Michael Vick is ludicrous. The NFL's responsibility is to their fans, their players, their franchises & their advertisers. Not to someone pointing a gun to their head desperately trying to remain relevant.
And one more thing regarding Michael Vick, the people in his corner need to look out for him a little better. Today, he addressed a group of at-risk kids about dog-fighting & how everyone suffers from it. Well done, a positive to be sure. Yesterday, two rappers, Young Jeezy & Young Floss, about to go on tour, posted a 2-year old video on YouTube. I watched the video on PFT.com, the 90-second video shows them with Michael Vick out in the street & in a club. Sadly, Michael begins his conversation with the 'N' word & uses it a couple of times. This is not how you rehabilitate one's reputation. It makes Vick look hard, which I'm sure he was back then, but what it is intended to do, is get publicity for a couple of wannabe big-time rappers, the hell with Michael Vick. Roger Goodell was quoted on PFT.com as telling Vick "your margin for error is extremely limited". It's a shame some of his acquaintances aren't on board with that.
Other thoughts about the 4 hour telecast: Roger Staubach should have prepared his speech better, ad libbing wasn't his strong suit, Bob Hayes deserved a better introduction to the Hall. Chris Berman's introduction speech was fine, he even incorporated the 5,000+ Buffalo fans into his presentation with his famous quote, "nobody circles the wagons better than the Buffalo Bills". Randall McDaniel's high school coach & vice-principle gave a very eloquent speech as did McDaniel. Rod Woodson's lifelong best friend, Tracy Foster, from Fort Wayne Indiana gave what I thought was the best speech of the night, no notes, some humor, some emotion & it was about Rod Woodson the person, not Rod Woodson the player. Peterson's speech was pretty good & the large number of ex-Chiefs on hand spoke volumes to me about who he was as a man & a teammate. His son Derrion looks just like his father. Ted Cottrell was Bruce Smith's presenter & his speech was disjointed & rambling. Smith's speech was exactly as I thought it would be, very well prepared & concise with the emotion you expect at such an event. If we can't get Otis Taylor in with the veteran's committee, we'll have to wait for 2012 & Will Shields.
According to what I read from the Kansas City Star online, the Chiefs' scrimmage last night didn't go too well. There were interceptions, fumbles returned for touchdowns, dropped passes & a bunch of sacks. They play Houston next Saturday, a lot of improvement is needed in a hurry. ESPN senior NFL writer, John Clayton, reported in his trip to River Falls the Chiefs had lost over 800 pounds as a team from the first OTA to last Friday. Haley thought they ran out of gas last season in the 4th quarter & he is correct. Better conditioning & less poundage to tote up & down the field should help.
Rex Ryan's first season as head coach for the New York Jets is already becoming more of a challenge as the days go by. He said it was his #1 goal to get #6 overall pick in '08, Vernon Gholston, to return to his Ohio State days & put pressure on the quarterback. He was a major disappointment last season, recording 8 tackles, that's eight. No sacks either. With Calvin Pace facing a 4-game suspension to start the season & Shaun Ellis facing a 1-game suspension for a pot infraction, the Jets are desperate for some pass rush.
The Philadelphia Eagles have lost TE Cornelius Ingram for the year. Ingram suffered a torn ACL Friday. He sustained a torn ACL in week 4 of his '08 season at Florida. Since he was still in rehab for that injury, Ingram couldn't work out for scouts before the draft. The 2nd round pick was projected as the backup to starter Brent Celek, now Matt Schobel is the lone candidate. Look for the Eagles to sign another TE soon.
Ben Roethlisberger's attorney's have posted an affidavit taken last week from one of his accuser's co-workers. In the affidavit, she says Andrea McNulty bragged about having sex with Roethlisberger & how she might travel to Pittsburgh in an effort to "run into him". Also mentioned was McNulty's "inappropriate clothing worn on & off the job" & the co-worker also wondered how she really got her promotion at Harrahs as "she is totally unqualified for her position". She went on to say "Andrea mentioned she was going to sue Harrahs for the way she was being treated there". Could this be from a jealous co-worker or is Roethlisberger's legal team planning to crush McNulty & her attorney with pre-trial publicity? In a court of law how it looks to you & me means nothing, but in the court of public opinion, it means a lot.
I saw an ESPN poll I found interesting. "Best middle linebacker in Chicago Bear history" was the poll. The results of nearly 75,000 votes? Dick Butkus 46%, Mike Singletary 42% & Brian Urlacher 12%. It appears to be generational voting. As someone who saw all three play, it's Butkus hands down. Urlacher is a member of a Super Bowl defense with many Pro Bowl players. Mike Singletary was a member of a Super Bowl defense with many Pro Bowl players. In fact, he played with other Hall of Famers on a defense considered by many as the best in NFL history. Butkus played on a so- team with one other superior player, DE Doug Atkins. Butkus could take over a game all by himself. He was the most intimidating tackler of his era & certainly in the top-5 of all-time. He was truly mean. Singletary was a great player in Buddy Ryan's unique '46 defense', but was never the intimidating force Butkus was. Urlacher is the most athletic of the 3, pretty stout hitter too, but not in #51's class. I'm not downgrading Singletary or Urlacher, they will always be considered in the great middle linebacker conversation, but the conversation begins with Dick Butkus.
Atlanta wide receiver, Roddy White, signed a 6-year $50 million contract extension, with $18 million guaranteed. This is good news to Falcon fans who hope to repeat their success of last season. Fellow WR Harry Douglas was lost last week for the season & with White holding out, Falcon fans were beginning to squirm.
Did you know Notre Dame, over the last 15 years, has had fewer consensus All-Americans than Northwestern? Wow. Did you know Steve Spurrier's 22 losses in 4 seasons at South Carolina are just 5 fewer than his entire 12 years as the head coach for the Florida Gators? Double wow.
Today's real name of the day: Taiwan Easterling, wide receiver, Florida State.
I read William C. Rhoden's column in The New York Times yesterday & I'll have to admit I was disgusted by the end. Rhoden is reporting Jesse Jackson is now inserting himself into the "why hasn't Michael Vick signed a contract" question. "I want to make it an issue, I want teams to explain why they have a quarterback who has less skills but is playing or at least on the taxi squad & a guy with more skills can't get into training camp' Jackson said in a telephone interview. He wondered whether there was collusion among NFL owners to keep Vick from playing. Jackson went on to say "Democracy does not guarantee success, Democracy guarantees an opportunity. It's not fair to de facto lock him out of his right to compete. If he can't make the team, don't let him play. If he can, let him work". I have to say I'm not surprised Jackson has taken it upon himself to tell both the NFL & their owners what they should do. He has to stick his nose in a lot of things to keep himself current with the public & his contributors. NFL owners didn't use dogs to fight to the death, they didn't torture them, didn't drown them or electrocute them & they didn't lie about it either. What they will have to do is weigh Vick's impact, are his athletic skills worth the tremendous P.R. nightmare signing him would incur? Just saying you're interested in talking to Vick about a contract will get a picket line thrown up around your training camp, team office & your stadium within 24 hours. Don't think for a minute it wouldn't. Signing Michael Vick could be very costly to a team's revenues at a time selling all their seats has become very difficult, if not impossible. Will Reverend Jackson be willing to pony up the cash a franchise looses after they sign Michael Vick? I still believe Vick should play in the UFL, it's rumored they'd pay him $1.5 million to play, thereby insuring people will watch their games, knock the rust off his game & then ease back into the NFL next season, after people are a little more used to the idea & some of the intense rhetoric has diminished. The NFL didn't cause Michael Vick's problems, he did & to suggest the NFL has a responsibility to employ Michael Vick is ludicrous. The NFL's responsibility is to their fans, their players, their franchises & their advertisers. Not to someone pointing a gun to their head desperately trying to remain relevant.
And one more thing regarding Michael Vick, the people in his corner need to look out for him a little better. Today, he addressed a group of at-risk kids about dog-fighting & how everyone suffers from it. Well done, a positive to be sure. Yesterday, two rappers, Young Jeezy & Young Floss, about to go on tour, posted a 2-year old video on YouTube. I watched the video on PFT.com, the 90-second video shows them with Michael Vick out in the street & in a club. Sadly, Michael begins his conversation with the 'N' word & uses it a couple of times. This is not how you rehabilitate one's reputation. It makes Vick look hard, which I'm sure he was back then, but what it is intended to do, is get publicity for a couple of wannabe big-time rappers, the hell with Michael Vick. Roger Goodell was quoted on PFT.com as telling Vick "your margin for error is extremely limited". It's a shame some of his acquaintances aren't on board with that.
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