THIS & THAT..........THE EARLY TUESDAY EDITION
St Louis Ram quarterback Mark Bulger broke the pinkie finger on his throwing hand. He'll be out about 2 weeks. Packer defensive end Justin Harrell may need a third back operation for a bulging disc. He had two last year but the pain is back & Harrell has begun to face the reality his career might be over. The former first round draft pick from Tennessee hasn't been able to practice because of constant back pain.
The standoff between the Denver Broncos & their disgruntled wide receiver, Brandon Marshall continued today. Marshall's agent, Kennard McGuire, met with Bronco management to explore the chances of a new contract. When it became apparent the Broncos were standing firm, McGuire reiterated Marshall's request for a trade. Don't look for that to happen anytime soon. Marshall was acquitted of assault charges last Friday & he returned to Denver, declaring his surgically repaired hip & sore hamstring were heeled. But so far, Marshall has boycotted practice, not even attending meetings. The Broncos told McGuire his client is subject to a daily fine of $15,888 for missing practice. This open wound continues to fester.
Former Bronco Jay Cutler, continues to endear himself to his new Chicago teammates. This time it's his #1 receiver, Devin Hester. Cutler threw an interception in Chicago's 27-20 loss to Buffalo on Saturday. When quizzed about the pick today, Cutler threw Hester under the bus. "Devin is more of a go-get-it-guy, he's not really a back shoulder or jump-up-&-get-it-guy. You learn from it." This kid could use a Dale Carnegie course, he's seemingly clueless about the leadership requirements of playing quarterback in the NFL.
The New York Giants got one of their defensive stars back for the first time in a year. Osi Umenyiora played last night in the G-men's 24-17 victory over Carolina. In limited action, Umenyiora got a tackle, a sack & forced a fumble. The Giants could very well have the best D-line in the entire league. With Umenyiora's return & the free agent signings on Chris Canty & Rocky Bernard, plus '08 starters Justin Tuck & Fred Robbins, this is a really stout line. Mathias Kiwanuka & Barry Cofield are both experienced & productive backups. The defensive question is linebacker depth. Second round pick, Clint Sintim, played well against the Panthers & he'll be counted on in their rotation plus as a situational pass rusher.
Dwayne Bowe is back taking snaps with the first team in Kansas City's camp. Wide receiver is a very shaky position for Todd Haley's Chiefs & if QB Matt Cassel is going to have any sort of success in '09, Bowe will have to be a major part of it. The Chiefs' roster has nine other wideouts & I don't have a clue as to who will start opposite Bowe. I wonder if Haley does, there's not much to choose from.
For readers who have been here since the NFL draft, I've told you about the strange decisions & behavior of former Alabama offensive tackle, Andre Smith. From his suspension before the Sugar Bowl to his shuffling of agents to his bizarre decision to leave the NFL Combine in Indianapolis without informing anyone to his braless 40-yard dashes at his pro day, this kid makes some weird decisions. None that are necessarily deal-breakers individually, but the constant red flags scare the hell out of me, I wouldn't touch this guy with the proverbial 10-foot pole. He is so naturally talented & despite his strange behavior, he's a smart kid. But with all of these distractions, the fact that he is one of 3 unsigned players from April's draft, shouldn't surprise anyone. The Bengals & his agent("get yer scorecards, can't tell yer agents without a scorecard!") aren't even having discussions, never a good sign this late into August.
Here's this morning's truly weird news item. A number of sources are reporting Oakland defensive assistant coach, Randy Hanson, suffered a broken jaw after being sucker-punched by Raider head coach Tom Cable. The alleged incident occurred August 5th at the teams training headquarters, the Napa Valley Marriott. Hanson was transported to the Queens Valley Hospital in downtown Napa & after E.R. personnel determined Hanson had been punched, they called police(as required by California law). Hanson refused to press charges or tell police who punched him. That wrapped up police involvement in the case. After AOL's NFL Fanhouse reported the story today, Raider management began circling the wagons with "no comment, it's an internal matter". It was after Cable refused to answer any questions about the incident as practice started, Raider players began chanting "Cable bumaye!". This was the chant from the Zaire crowd during the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman fight way back in 1974. The chant was "Ali bumaye" or Ali kill! After Oakland beat reporters determined what it was the players were chanting, they smelled blood & reports flooded the airways & the internet. Then tonight, during the ESPN Monday Night game, new ESPN reporter, Adam Schefter, formerly of the NFL Network, denied the incident ever took place. Now several reporters said there is an existing police report regarding Hanson's broken jaw, so once again, somebody's lying. According to Mike Florio of PFT.com & NBC Sports, the NFL doesn't allow for keeping violent episodes between team employees as an "internal matter". So if there is any truth to this story, the NFL office will become involved.
I told you a couple weeks ago about my thoughts on Pete Carroll's USC Trojans & karma. Carroll had made a comment during PAC-10 media day, that he "could see no end to the run the Trojans have been on, no end in sight". I wondered then if karma might catch up to the Trojans. This picture from The Orange County Register could be proof karma is lurking around the Trojan program. The Waterford Crystal football from their 2004 National Championship trophy fell off sometime over the weekend. Hmmmmmmm.
.
The standoff between the Denver Broncos & their disgruntled wide receiver, Brandon Marshall continued today. Marshall's agent, Kennard McGuire, met with Bronco management to explore the chances of a new contract. When it became apparent the Broncos were standing firm, McGuire reiterated Marshall's request for a trade. Don't look for that to happen anytime soon. Marshall was acquitted of assault charges last Friday & he returned to Denver, declaring his surgically repaired hip & sore hamstring were heeled. But so far, Marshall has boycotted practice, not even attending meetings. The Broncos told McGuire his client is subject to a daily fine of $15,888 for missing practice. This open wound continues to fester.
Former Bronco Jay Cutler, continues to endear himself to his new Chicago teammates. This time it's his #1 receiver, Devin Hester. Cutler threw an interception in Chicago's 27-20 loss to Buffalo on Saturday. When quizzed about the pick today, Cutler threw Hester under the bus. "Devin is more of a go-get-it-guy, he's not really a back shoulder or jump-up-&-get-it-guy. You learn from it." This kid could use a Dale Carnegie course, he's seemingly clueless about the leadership requirements of playing quarterback in the NFL.
The New York Giants got one of their defensive stars back for the first time in a year. Osi Umenyiora played last night in the G-men's 24-17 victory over Carolina. In limited action, Umenyiora got a tackle, a sack & forced a fumble. The Giants could very well have the best D-line in the entire league. With Umenyiora's return & the free agent signings on Chris Canty & Rocky Bernard, plus '08 starters Justin Tuck & Fred Robbins, this is a really stout line. Mathias Kiwanuka & Barry Cofield are both experienced & productive backups. The defensive question is linebacker depth. Second round pick, Clint Sintim, played well against the Panthers & he'll be counted on in their rotation plus as a situational pass rusher.
Dwayne Bowe is back taking snaps with the first team in Kansas City's camp. Wide receiver is a very shaky position for Todd Haley's Chiefs & if QB Matt Cassel is going to have any sort of success in '09, Bowe will have to be a major part of it. The Chiefs' roster has nine other wideouts & I don't have a clue as to who will start opposite Bowe. I wonder if Haley does, there's not much to choose from.
For readers who have been here since the NFL draft, I've told you about the strange decisions & behavior of former Alabama offensive tackle, Andre Smith. From his suspension before the Sugar Bowl to his shuffling of agents to his bizarre decision to leave the NFL Combine in Indianapolis without informing anyone to his braless 40-yard dashes at his pro day, this kid makes some weird decisions. None that are necessarily deal-breakers individually, but the constant red flags scare the hell out of me, I wouldn't touch this guy with the proverbial 10-foot pole. He is so naturally talented & despite his strange behavior, he's a smart kid. But with all of these distractions, the fact that he is one of 3 unsigned players from April's draft, shouldn't surprise anyone. The Bengals & his agent("get yer scorecards, can't tell yer agents without a scorecard!") aren't even having discussions, never a good sign this late into August.
Here's this morning's truly weird news item. A number of sources are reporting Oakland defensive assistant coach, Randy Hanson, suffered a broken jaw after being sucker-punched by Raider head coach Tom Cable. The alleged incident occurred August 5th at the teams training headquarters, the Napa Valley Marriott. Hanson was transported to the Queens Valley Hospital in downtown Napa & after E.R. personnel determined Hanson had been punched, they called police(as required by California law). Hanson refused to press charges or tell police who punched him. That wrapped up police involvement in the case. After AOL's NFL Fanhouse reported the story today, Raider management began circling the wagons with "no comment, it's an internal matter". It was after Cable refused to answer any questions about the incident as practice started, Raider players began chanting "Cable bumaye!". This was the chant from the Zaire crowd during the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman fight way back in 1974. The chant was "Ali bumaye" or Ali kill! After Oakland beat reporters determined what it was the players were chanting, they smelled blood & reports flooded the airways & the internet. Then tonight, during the ESPN Monday Night game, new ESPN reporter, Adam Schefter, formerly of the NFL Network, denied the incident ever took place. Now several reporters said there is an existing police report regarding Hanson's broken jaw, so once again, somebody's lying. According to Mike Florio of PFT.com & NBC Sports, the NFL doesn't allow for keeping violent episodes between team employees as an "internal matter". So if there is any truth to this story, the NFL office will become involved.
I told you a couple weeks ago about my thoughts on Pete Carroll's USC Trojans & karma. Carroll had made a comment during PAC-10 media day, that he "could see no end to the run the Trojans have been on, no end in sight". I wondered then if karma might catch up to the Trojans. This picture from The Orange County Register could be proof karma is lurking around the Trojan program. The Waterford Crystal football from their 2004 National Championship trophy fell off sometime over the weekend. Hmmmmmmm.
.
Comments