CLANCY HAS ANOTHER NEW JOB, DUCKS IN TURMOIL & WILFORK FRANCHISE TAG LOOKS TO BE A JOKE
Former Chiefs' defensive coordinator, Clancy Pendergast, was signed early last week by the Raiders to be their defensive backs coach. He was dumped by Kansas City after they signed Romeo Crennell & after speculation he would hold down the defensive backs job with the Chiefs, he was shown the door altogether. I certainly had no problem with that move, the Arizona defense was better after his departure & I expect Kansas City's to be much improved as well. As I said, Clancy signed on with the Raiders a week ago but on Thursday he was gone. Cal coach Jeff Tedford offered Pendergast the defensive coordinator's position with the Bears after his D.C. of 8-years, Bob Gregory, shocked everybody by moving to Boise State. Pendergast jumped at the chance & told the Raiders "thanks but no thanks." Can you say Greg Robinson?
A long NCAA investigation of the USC football & basketball programs concluded last Friday with testimony by former head coaches Pete Carroll(football) & Tim Floyd(basketball). Friday also saw the testimony of running backs coach Todd McNair(yeah, that Todd McNair, former Chiefs 3rd down back). Possible cash payouts to two former Trojans, Reggie Bush & freshman hoops sensation, O.J. Mayo(didn't they know signing another O.J. was going to be trouble?) are at issue. Now the NCAA will review all the testimony & evidence before making a decision in the case. Considering the time spans involved, I doubt a decision will be handed down anytime soon. The #4 rated football recruit in the nation, Seantrel Henderson, has verbally committed to USC, but until a decision in this case is resolved, he won't sign anything committing him to the Trojans. He doesn't want to be 'stuck' playing for a team that is sanctioned by the NCAA according to Henderson's father. If he intends to play college football next fall, I think he's either going to have to take his chances with the Trojans or go someplace else altogether.
Tim Tebow will attend the NFL Combine later this week, but he won't throw. He will participate otherwise, just no throwing. Tebow has a battery of former coaches & quarterbacks helping him change his poor throwing motion. He needs a lot of work & not throwing until Florida's March 17th Pro Day is a smart move. Every day should help him get better with the improved throwing motion.
Speaking of the Combine, I will have a Combine preview on The Kansas City Star website "Upon Further Review" this week. I'll give you a heads up when it's been posted. I thank Martin Manley for extending another invitation to write a series of articles regarding the combine, free agency & the NFL Draft.
I watched ESPN's "Outside the Lines" yesterday & I have to say I was truly confused by their conclusion regarding the former Florida State safety Myron Rolle. Rolle passed on his last year of eligibility to go to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Rolle has said he intends to become a brain surgeon. He also wants to play NFL football next season. Even with a year off, Rolle looked to be in top shape during Senior Bowl practices, the 6' 1 1/2", 215-pound Rolle showed few signs of any rust. ESPN did a very nice piece about his dual dedication to football & academics, they talked about how difficult his daily training regimen was while in England. His studies didn't suffer either, Rolle is very serious about becoming a doctor. They concluded the piece with this quote, "Most NFL teams are very concerned about his dedication to football & his draft status will most likely suffer because of those concerns." Let me go on the record right now. I would love Myron Rolle in a Kansas City Chiefs' uniform. Period. The NFL needs more Myron Rolle's & Ndamakong Suh's. Should Rolle be downgraded because he is intelligent enough to become a brain surgeon? Because he's driven enough to aspire to such a position? Yeah, I'd rather have Eric Warfield, Dale Carter, 'Pacman' Jones or Aquib Talib, guys who certainly didn't make the dean's list, in fact they didn't even graduate college. But they can play football, can't stay out of jail, but they can play football. When is "just win baby" not everything? This kind of thinking is a societal problem, when someone like Rolle is passed over so a team can sign a guy with an arrest or two or maybe a suspension, we've totally lost our way. Maybe Rolle won't be a great football player, I see him as a 3rd round pick, but I'd take him over any other 3rd-4th round safety prospect. I think he'd be prepared every Sunday, disciplined enough to stay in top condition, he's not a guy who's out there in the clubs every night, he's shown the dedication to both football & academics to make me a believer in him.
I've told you about the mess the Oregon football program has become in the off season. Coach Chip Kelly has had to discipline 5 players with suspensions or kicking them off the team in the last 3 weeks. All five were arrested on charges ranging from DUI to domestic violence. This morning he took action against a 6th player, wide receiver Jamere Holland, dismissing him from the team for the patented "violations of team rules." What was the violation you ask? This genius, on his Facebook page, went on an obscenity-laced tirade against Coach Kelly. Holland was upset about Kelly's dismissal of sophomore linebacker Kiko Alonso on Friday for DUI. Alonso failed a field sobriety test & then registered .143 on a Breathalyzer test. He dropped 3 F-bombs & an assortment of A-holes & Sh*ts showing his displeasure for Coach Kelly. Well now he can look elsewhere for a football program & an opportunity to go to college. Brilliant, when are these kids going to learn the dangers of posting stuff on the internet's social networks?
The New England Patriots put the franchise tag on Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork today. I have some issues with this move. The Patriots said in the announcement they needed more time to reach a long term agreement with Wilfork. The didn't see his contract coming to an end? They traded fellow Pro Bowl D-lineman Richard Seymour, also in his contract year, claiming they couldn't pay them both. Seymour has been gone since September & Wilfork still isn't under contract. Plus the Pats drafted Ron Brace & Myron Pryor last season, both are nose tackle types, but both need more experience. Keeping Wilfork one more season might buy them the time they need to get Brace & Pryor up to speed. Don't forget signing Wilfork in an uncapped year will most likely be more expensive. So who might be in for a hose job here? It's Wilfork, a guy who has played as well as anyone at his position in the league. A player who never asked for a contract re-negotiation or extension, believing the Patriots would take care of him in the end. Well Vince, the end is near, as far as your time with the Patriots go. I don't see a new long term deal with New England in your future, maybe I'll be proven wrong, I like Wilfork & still have respect for the Patriot organization, but I think he & his agent will be sorry they stayed quiet for so long.
A long NCAA investigation of the USC football & basketball programs concluded last Friday with testimony by former head coaches Pete Carroll(football) & Tim Floyd(basketball). Friday also saw the testimony of running backs coach Todd McNair(yeah, that Todd McNair, former Chiefs 3rd down back). Possible cash payouts to two former Trojans, Reggie Bush & freshman hoops sensation, O.J. Mayo(didn't they know signing another O.J. was going to be trouble?) are at issue. Now the NCAA will review all the testimony & evidence before making a decision in the case. Considering the time spans involved, I doubt a decision will be handed down anytime soon. The #4 rated football recruit in the nation, Seantrel Henderson, has verbally committed to USC, but until a decision in this case is resolved, he won't sign anything committing him to the Trojans. He doesn't want to be 'stuck' playing for a team that is sanctioned by the NCAA according to Henderson's father. If he intends to play college football next fall, I think he's either going to have to take his chances with the Trojans or go someplace else altogether.
Tim Tebow will attend the NFL Combine later this week, but he won't throw. He will participate otherwise, just no throwing. Tebow has a battery of former coaches & quarterbacks helping him change his poor throwing motion. He needs a lot of work & not throwing until Florida's March 17th Pro Day is a smart move. Every day should help him get better with the improved throwing motion.
Speaking of the Combine, I will have a Combine preview on The Kansas City Star website "Upon Further Review" this week. I'll give you a heads up when it's been posted. I thank Martin Manley for extending another invitation to write a series of articles regarding the combine, free agency & the NFL Draft.
I watched ESPN's "Outside the Lines" yesterday & I have to say I was truly confused by their conclusion regarding the former Florida State safety Myron Rolle. Rolle passed on his last year of eligibility to go to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Rolle has said he intends to become a brain surgeon. He also wants to play NFL football next season. Even with a year off, Rolle looked to be in top shape during Senior Bowl practices, the 6' 1 1/2", 215-pound Rolle showed few signs of any rust. ESPN did a very nice piece about his dual dedication to football & academics, they talked about how difficult his daily training regimen was while in England. His studies didn't suffer either, Rolle is very serious about becoming a doctor. They concluded the piece with this quote, "Most NFL teams are very concerned about his dedication to football & his draft status will most likely suffer because of those concerns." Let me go on the record right now. I would love Myron Rolle in a Kansas City Chiefs' uniform. Period. The NFL needs more Myron Rolle's & Ndamakong Suh's. Should Rolle be downgraded because he is intelligent enough to become a brain surgeon? Because he's driven enough to aspire to such a position? Yeah, I'd rather have Eric Warfield, Dale Carter, 'Pacman' Jones or Aquib Talib, guys who certainly didn't make the dean's list, in fact they didn't even graduate college. But they can play football, can't stay out of jail, but they can play football. When is "just win baby" not everything? This kind of thinking is a societal problem, when someone like Rolle is passed over so a team can sign a guy with an arrest or two or maybe a suspension, we've totally lost our way. Maybe Rolle won't be a great football player, I see him as a 3rd round pick, but I'd take him over any other 3rd-4th round safety prospect. I think he'd be prepared every Sunday, disciplined enough to stay in top condition, he's not a guy who's out there in the clubs every night, he's shown the dedication to both football & academics to make me a believer in him.
I've told you about the mess the Oregon football program has become in the off season. Coach Chip Kelly has had to discipline 5 players with suspensions or kicking them off the team in the last 3 weeks. All five were arrested on charges ranging from DUI to domestic violence. This morning he took action against a 6th player, wide receiver Jamere Holland, dismissing him from the team for the patented "violations of team rules." What was the violation you ask? This genius, on his Facebook page, went on an obscenity-laced tirade against Coach Kelly. Holland was upset about Kelly's dismissal of sophomore linebacker Kiko Alonso on Friday for DUI. Alonso failed a field sobriety test & then registered .143 on a Breathalyzer test. He dropped 3 F-bombs & an assortment of A-holes & Sh*ts showing his displeasure for Coach Kelly. Well now he can look elsewhere for a football program & an opportunity to go to college. Brilliant, when are these kids going to learn the dangers of posting stuff on the internet's social networks?
The New England Patriots put the franchise tag on Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork today. I have some issues with this move. The Patriots said in the announcement they needed more time to reach a long term agreement with Wilfork. The didn't see his contract coming to an end? They traded fellow Pro Bowl D-lineman Richard Seymour, also in his contract year, claiming they couldn't pay them both. Seymour has been gone since September & Wilfork still isn't under contract. Plus the Pats drafted Ron Brace & Myron Pryor last season, both are nose tackle types, but both need more experience. Keeping Wilfork one more season might buy them the time they need to get Brace & Pryor up to speed. Don't forget signing Wilfork in an uncapped year will most likely be more expensive. So who might be in for a hose job here? It's Wilfork, a guy who has played as well as anyone at his position in the league. A player who never asked for a contract re-negotiation or extension, believing the Patriots would take care of him in the end. Well Vince, the end is near, as far as your time with the Patriots go. I don't see a new long term deal with New England in your future, maybe I'll be proven wrong, I like Wilfork & still have respect for the Patriot organization, but I think he & his agent will be sorry they stayed quiet for so long.
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