BIG BEN STAYS AWAY, PRO DAY UPDATES INCLUDING SAM BRADFORD & JAMARCUS IS EVEN BIGGER THAN REPORTED
Ben Roethlisberger is staying away from the Steelers' off-season workouts to "avoid a media circus that would be distracting to the team." See how much of a mess this has become? Putting yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time is the bad decision that just keeps on giving. Since I wasn't there, I can't speak to the validity of the charges brought by the alleged victim. The fact that once again, he doesn't deny what he terms as "sexual contact" should be very troublesome to Steeler brass. In fact, with 35-year old Charlie Batch & untested & undersized Dennis Dixon providing depth at the QB position, is there a chance Pittsburgh might draft a quarterback early in the draft next month? I think it's a real possibility unless they are totally sold on Dixon.
The Steelers were distressed to hear another of their offensive stars is in some trouble. Wide receiver & Super Bowl hero, Santonio Holmes, has been named in a civil suit. He wasn't charged by police for an incident at a Florida nightclub in which a young woman alleges Holmes threw a drink at her causing a laceration above her eye. Police who spoke to the woman that night, said the cut was barely visible & several witnesses disputed her claim as to who threw the drink in her direction. But it took less than 3 weeks for a civil suit to be filed. Apparently the attempts to settle out of court before the suit was introduced were futile & now it has become another embarrassment to the Steelers.
In another note from the police blotter, former Steeler Joey Porter had a very eventful week that began with his free agent signing with Arizona & culminated with a DUI arrest, added charges of battery on a police officer & resisting arrest. I'm sure the Cardinals were just thrilled with Joey's P.R. mess just two days after signing his new deal. Police in his hometown of Bakersfield California said it took 4 officers to subdue Porter after a traffic stop.
Sam Bradford performed for pro scouts & player personnel at the Oklahoma pro day this morning. Most accounts say Bradford gave a lights out performance. Noted NFL talent scout Gil Brandt had high praise for Bradford saying he had one of the best pro days he'd ever witnessed. He went thru the full route tree of throws to both sides of the field, 50 in all. He completed 49 of those throws & according to Brandt, nearly every throw was caught in stride including 6 throws of more than 40-yards. His deep out throws, considered the best barometer of a quarterbacks' arm strength, were right on target. A number of St. Louis & Washington people were on hand to witness the workout in person. Bradford claims he can throw with zero pain just 5 1/2 months after surgery to completely rebuild his right shoulder's AC joint. The noted orthopedic surgeon who performed the reconstruction, Dr. James Andrews, said he's amazed at Bradford's claims of no pain. I think St. Louis is going to pull the trigger on Bradford, making him the top selection in April's NFL Draft.
A guy I'm very high on, Utah's Koa Misi, had the type of workout this morning that will keep him in the top-5 of prospective 3-4 linebackers. He weighed in at 249, up 5 pounds from the combine. This Samoan prospect has that super-intense motor that impresses NFL player personnel people. I told you Friday about Rob Gronkowski of Arizona & his struggle to come back from spinal surgery last August. At his workout on Saturday, the Wildcat tight end weighed in at 258 & still ran 4.65 & 4.66 forty-yard times. Twenty teams were on hand to watch Gronkowski workout. The NFL Network had floated a report that he was suffering from Spinal Stenosis & it might end his career. Washington left tackle Chris Samuels suffered from this condition for nearly all of his 10 years with the Redskins. Samuels retired recently citing his continuing back ailments. But that aside, Gronkowski had a very good workout.
The ESPN "draft experts" Mel Kiper Jr. & Todd McShay haven't seen eye to eye on several players over the last three years since the network elevated McShay to basically an equal of Kiper. The latest player they can't agree upon is Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. McShay cited Notre Dame sources claiming that Clausen isn't a good leader & he's immature. Kiper has Clausen listed as the 4th best player in this draft, McShay says he shouldn't be picked in the first round & is doubtful he will ever be an NFL franchise quarterback. Today former Washington vice president of football operations, Vinny Cerato, took McShay to task, saying he believes Todd made up these rumors regarding Clausen's lack of maturity & leadership. Cerato said he had been on the Notre Dame campus both during the season & as recently as last week. He claimed not one single person would agree with McShay, yes it makes sense they could be biased, but usually when an NFL player personnel person looks a college coach straight in the eye, they get the truth, good or bad. In my opinion, Clausen can be a good starting QB in the league. Can he be a great one? I honestly don't know, I don't think anyone does, but he's better than McShay is claiming. I'm not a McShay fan, never have been, he seems to be quite full of himself. From 4th best player in the draft to not even being considered a first-round pick is quite a disparity, we'll see who's right.
I am not a fan of JaMarcus Russell, anyone who's read my blog knows that. I wasn't a fan when he was drafted number one overall in the 2007 Draft. He is fat, out of shape, unprepared & basically it appears being a starting QB in the NFL means little to Russell. It's just not important enough to him. I told you the Raiders were boasting of reports that Russell had worked himself into shape in the off-season & would be coming to the off-season workouts on time & under his listed playing weight of 260 pounds. He showed up 3 days late, which the Raiders blew off as Russell having a busy schedule(what exactly takes precedence over his job? He's not married & has no children), then it was rumored he came in at 271 pounds. Now ESPN's Adam Shefter, a reporter who has proven to be right more often than not, said on Saturday, two Raider coaches told him off the record that Russell weighed 291 the day he arrived at Raider headquarters. He stood by that story today, saying another source within the Raider organization verified the weight. The rumors that sprung up late last week about Oakland being interested in Eagle quarterback Donovan McNabb don't sound so out of line now do they?
Questions or comments? Post them in the comments section or email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com
The Steelers were distressed to hear another of their offensive stars is in some trouble. Wide receiver & Super Bowl hero, Santonio Holmes, has been named in a civil suit. He wasn't charged by police for an incident at a Florida nightclub in which a young woman alleges Holmes threw a drink at her causing a laceration above her eye. Police who spoke to the woman that night, said the cut was barely visible & several witnesses disputed her claim as to who threw the drink in her direction. But it took less than 3 weeks for a civil suit to be filed. Apparently the attempts to settle out of court before the suit was introduced were futile & now it has become another embarrassment to the Steelers.
In another note from the police blotter, former Steeler Joey Porter had a very eventful week that began with his free agent signing with Arizona & culminated with a DUI arrest, added charges of battery on a police officer & resisting arrest. I'm sure the Cardinals were just thrilled with Joey's P.R. mess just two days after signing his new deal. Police in his hometown of Bakersfield California said it took 4 officers to subdue Porter after a traffic stop.
Sam Bradford performed for pro scouts & player personnel at the Oklahoma pro day this morning. Most accounts say Bradford gave a lights out performance. Noted NFL talent scout Gil Brandt had high praise for Bradford saying he had one of the best pro days he'd ever witnessed. He went thru the full route tree of throws to both sides of the field, 50 in all. He completed 49 of those throws & according to Brandt, nearly every throw was caught in stride including 6 throws of more than 40-yards. His deep out throws, considered the best barometer of a quarterbacks' arm strength, were right on target. A number of St. Louis & Washington people were on hand to witness the workout in person. Bradford claims he can throw with zero pain just 5 1/2 months after surgery to completely rebuild his right shoulder's AC joint. The noted orthopedic surgeon who performed the reconstruction, Dr. James Andrews, said he's amazed at Bradford's claims of no pain. I think St. Louis is going to pull the trigger on Bradford, making him the top selection in April's NFL Draft.
A guy I'm very high on, Utah's Koa Misi, had the type of workout this morning that will keep him in the top-5 of prospective 3-4 linebackers. He weighed in at 249, up 5 pounds from the combine. This Samoan prospect has that super-intense motor that impresses NFL player personnel people. I told you Friday about Rob Gronkowski of Arizona & his struggle to come back from spinal surgery last August. At his workout on Saturday, the Wildcat tight end weighed in at 258 & still ran 4.65 & 4.66 forty-yard times. Twenty teams were on hand to watch Gronkowski workout. The NFL Network had floated a report that he was suffering from Spinal Stenosis & it might end his career. Washington left tackle Chris Samuels suffered from this condition for nearly all of his 10 years with the Redskins. Samuels retired recently citing his continuing back ailments. But that aside, Gronkowski had a very good workout.
The ESPN "draft experts" Mel Kiper Jr. & Todd McShay haven't seen eye to eye on several players over the last three years since the network elevated McShay to basically an equal of Kiper. The latest player they can't agree upon is Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. McShay cited Notre Dame sources claiming that Clausen isn't a good leader & he's immature. Kiper has Clausen listed as the 4th best player in this draft, McShay says he shouldn't be picked in the first round & is doubtful he will ever be an NFL franchise quarterback. Today former Washington vice president of football operations, Vinny Cerato, took McShay to task, saying he believes Todd made up these rumors regarding Clausen's lack of maturity & leadership. Cerato said he had been on the Notre Dame campus both during the season & as recently as last week. He claimed not one single person would agree with McShay, yes it makes sense they could be biased, but usually when an NFL player personnel person looks a college coach straight in the eye, they get the truth, good or bad. In my opinion, Clausen can be a good starting QB in the league. Can he be a great one? I honestly don't know, I don't think anyone does, but he's better than McShay is claiming. I'm not a McShay fan, never have been, he seems to be quite full of himself. From 4th best player in the draft to not even being considered a first-round pick is quite a disparity, we'll see who's right.
I am not a fan of JaMarcus Russell, anyone who's read my blog knows that. I wasn't a fan when he was drafted number one overall in the 2007 Draft. He is fat, out of shape, unprepared & basically it appears being a starting QB in the NFL means little to Russell. It's just not important enough to him. I told you the Raiders were boasting of reports that Russell had worked himself into shape in the off-season & would be coming to the off-season workouts on time & under his listed playing weight of 260 pounds. He showed up 3 days late, which the Raiders blew off as Russell having a busy schedule(what exactly takes precedence over his job? He's not married & has no children), then it was rumored he came in at 271 pounds. Now ESPN's Adam Shefter, a reporter who has proven to be right more often than not, said on Saturday, two Raider coaches told him off the record that Russell weighed 291 the day he arrived at Raider headquarters. He stood by that story today, saying another source within the Raider organization verified the weight. The rumors that sprung up late last week about Oakland being interested in Eagle quarterback Donovan McNabb don't sound so out of line now do they?
Questions or comments? Post them in the comments section or email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com
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