CHIEFS' TIGHT ENDS CONTINUE TO SIT, SPOON'S A SPONGE, EAGLES LOSE JAX & WHAT'S WITH BEEBE'S BLUSTER?
The Chiefs oft-injured tight ends, Brad Cottam & Tony Moeaki, continue to sit during OTA's. Cottam from neck surgery that ended his season last year in week 8 & Moeaki is sidelined by an injury coach Todd Haley won't comment on, just saying "I hope he'll be back soon." Wonderful, two guys who need a lot of reps with Matt Cassel can't get healthy or stay healthy.
ESPN's John Clayton wrote in his column recently he didn't see the Chiefs making big strides next season without significant improvement in their defensive front-7. Just what I've been saying for 6 months & taking a lot of crap for it too. He said he thought they could 6 games.
Former Mizzou Tiger Sean Weatherspoon is making an impact as a rookie linebacker for Atlanta. He's played in all three spots & linebacker's coach Glenn Pires said "he's a sponge, he absorbs everything we tell him." Pires has been very impressed with 'Spoon so far, "he has the physicality to play all three positions we require here." No surprise to me, 'Spoon plays every snap like it's his last, exactly what you want in an NFL linebacker.
Koa Misi, Dolphins rookie linebacker is making quite an impression with the Miami defensive staff as well. They've been very complimentary regarding the 2nd round choice out of Utah. His ability to turn the corner off the edge rushing the quarterback is what makes the Miami defensive coaches smile. I was absolutely crazy for this guy pre-draft, but the Chiefs went another way. We'll see who fares better.
Speaking of the Miami Dolphins, the national media is beginning to climb down Tony Sparano's throat about all the bad apples he & Bill Parcells have accumulated in South Florida. The latest mess was created by defensive end Phillip Merling when he beat-up the pregnant mother of his son Friday night. After Merling was booked, he was shown out of the police station by a private door & driven home by a sheriff's deputy. Today, Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti began an investigation into Commander Alvin Pollack's decision to drive Merling home. "Driving people home who we've charged with felonies isn't our policy, neither is helping them out private exits" Lamberti said today. Pollack is also a security supervisor for Dolphin home games. Defensive tackle Tony McDaniel was charged with domestic violence, RB Ronnie Brown & CB Will Allen have both been charged with DUI in the past 4 months. Add to that the signing of G Richie Incognito, possibly the dirtiest player in the entire league & trading for Brandon Marshall, also arrested multiple times, it appears the Dolphins could unseat Cincinnati as "home of the bad boys." Do you remember Bill Parcells said "no thugs or hoodlums" when he took the job as the head personnel man in Miami? The fact that Merling was on the practice field within hours of his release from custody is truly disturbing. I have to believe new minority owners Gloria Estefan, Fergie, Venus & Serena Williams might make a stink about the abusers & who could blame them? Listening to the 911 call from Merling's girlfriend was chilling, you could hear extreme terror in her voice. The couple's 4-year old son was present during this altercation as his mother was struck in the face 5 times. She told police she was 5' 5" & 138 pounds, the Dolphins' roster lists Merling as 6' 4" & 295, not exactly a fair fight. And police are giving him a ride home & the Dolphins don't keep him away from practice for a cooling off period. Shameful, truly shameful.
The Eagles lost starting safety Marlin Jackson for the season when he tore his Achilles tendon this morning in practice. He had been a starting cornerback for the Colts for the past 5 seasons & joined the Eagles this off-season.
If you played football at the high school or college level, regardless of your age, you remember knee pads, thigh pads & hip pads. Look for them in the NFL, they're almost none existent. With the emphasis on concussions, can the long-gone knee, thigh & hip pads be far behind? Safety of the players is becoming an important part of negotiations for a new CBA. With the possibility of extending the season to 18-games & longer overtimes, player safety will be near the top of the list. Look what NASCAR & NHRA did after Dale Earnhardt & Eric Medlin died from head injuries sustained in wrecks. They mandated the HAND(head and neck device) on every driver. The sanctioning bodies added shock absorbtion to their guardrails & in the case of the NHRA, they slowed their cars down & shortened each race. The NFL is going to have to make a similar move to increase player safety. The league has allowed less padding & smaller shoulder pads over the last 20-years. During this same 20-year period, the players have gotten bigger, stronger & faster. I can see a day when these pads will make a comeback to some extent, maybe all the way. Asking the players to play more snaps with an 18-game season & longer O.T.'s will increase the frequency of injury. And as the concussions continue, the league will have to make a commitment to make the players' equipment safer or the day will come when someone dies on an NFL field.
The Big-12 Spring meeting began Tuesday in Kansas City & will run thru Friday. Conference commissioner Dan Beebe has stirred the pot, almost daring Colorado, Nebraska & Mizzou to leave the conference. He said "we need to know who's going to be on the plane with us next spring, either you're on the plane or you're off the plane, what is it?" MU Chancellor Brady Deaton & A.D. Mike Alden have made it clear, if the Big-10 comes calling, the Tigers will listen. Personally, I think Nebraska & Mizzou will move, they've become very disgruntled as the powers from the South Division rule the roost & take more of the TV money than their North Division brethren. If these three teams leave the conference, I could see TCU as one of the replacements. As soon as one conference expands, the dominoes will fall very quickly. no one wants to be left out in the cold. The SEC could add two teams, the Big-10 could add 3(Mizzou, Nebraska & Rutgers being the most likely), the PAC-10 could add Colorado & Utah & the Mountain West might invite Boise State to join. The biggest losers in this madness could be the Big East & ACC. Still, I don't understand Beebe's bluster, does he truly want these teams to leave the conference or is he trying to intimidate them?
ESPN's John Clayton wrote in his column recently he didn't see the Chiefs making big strides next season without significant improvement in their defensive front-7. Just what I've been saying for 6 months & taking a lot of crap for it too. He said he thought they could 6 games.
Former Mizzou Tiger Sean Weatherspoon is making an impact as a rookie linebacker for Atlanta. He's played in all three spots & linebacker's coach Glenn Pires said "he's a sponge, he absorbs everything we tell him." Pires has been very impressed with 'Spoon so far, "he has the physicality to play all three positions we require here." No surprise to me, 'Spoon plays every snap like it's his last, exactly what you want in an NFL linebacker.
Koa Misi, Dolphins rookie linebacker is making quite an impression with the Miami defensive staff as well. They've been very complimentary regarding the 2nd round choice out of Utah. His ability to turn the corner off the edge rushing the quarterback is what makes the Miami defensive coaches smile. I was absolutely crazy for this guy pre-draft, but the Chiefs went another way. We'll see who fares better.
Speaking of the Miami Dolphins, the national media is beginning to climb down Tony Sparano's throat about all the bad apples he & Bill Parcells have accumulated in South Florida. The latest mess was created by defensive end Phillip Merling when he beat-up the pregnant mother of his son Friday night. After Merling was booked, he was shown out of the police station by a private door & driven home by a sheriff's deputy. Today, Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti began an investigation into Commander Alvin Pollack's decision to drive Merling home. "Driving people home who we've charged with felonies isn't our policy, neither is helping them out private exits" Lamberti said today. Pollack is also a security supervisor for Dolphin home games. Defensive tackle Tony McDaniel was charged with domestic violence, RB Ronnie Brown & CB Will Allen have both been charged with DUI in the past 4 months. Add to that the signing of G Richie Incognito, possibly the dirtiest player in the entire league & trading for Brandon Marshall, also arrested multiple times, it appears the Dolphins could unseat Cincinnati as "home of the bad boys." Do you remember Bill Parcells said "no thugs or hoodlums" when he took the job as the head personnel man in Miami? The fact that Merling was on the practice field within hours of his release from custody is truly disturbing. I have to believe new minority owners Gloria Estefan, Fergie, Venus & Serena Williams might make a stink about the abusers & who could blame them? Listening to the 911 call from Merling's girlfriend was chilling, you could hear extreme terror in her voice. The couple's 4-year old son was present during this altercation as his mother was struck in the face 5 times. She told police she was 5' 5" & 138 pounds, the Dolphins' roster lists Merling as 6' 4" & 295, not exactly a fair fight. And police are giving him a ride home & the Dolphins don't keep him away from practice for a cooling off period. Shameful, truly shameful.
The Eagles lost starting safety Marlin Jackson for the season when he tore his Achilles tendon this morning in practice. He had been a starting cornerback for the Colts for the past 5 seasons & joined the Eagles this off-season.
If you played football at the high school or college level, regardless of your age, you remember knee pads, thigh pads & hip pads. Look for them in the NFL, they're almost none existent. With the emphasis on concussions, can the long-gone knee, thigh & hip pads be far behind? Safety of the players is becoming an important part of negotiations for a new CBA. With the possibility of extending the season to 18-games & longer overtimes, player safety will be near the top of the list. Look what NASCAR & NHRA did after Dale Earnhardt & Eric Medlin died from head injuries sustained in wrecks. They mandated the HAND(head and neck device) on every driver. The sanctioning bodies added shock absorbtion to their guardrails & in the case of the NHRA, they slowed their cars down & shortened each race. The NFL is going to have to make a similar move to increase player safety. The league has allowed less padding & smaller shoulder pads over the last 20-years. During this same 20-year period, the players have gotten bigger, stronger & faster. I can see a day when these pads will make a comeback to some extent, maybe all the way. Asking the players to play more snaps with an 18-game season & longer O.T.'s will increase the frequency of injury. And as the concussions continue, the league will have to make a commitment to make the players' equipment safer or the day will come when someone dies on an NFL field.
The Big-12 Spring meeting began Tuesday in Kansas City & will run thru Friday. Conference commissioner Dan Beebe has stirred the pot, almost daring Colorado, Nebraska & Mizzou to leave the conference. He said "we need to know who's going to be on the plane with us next spring, either you're on the plane or you're off the plane, what is it?" MU Chancellor Brady Deaton & A.D. Mike Alden have made it clear, if the Big-10 comes calling, the Tigers will listen. Personally, I think Nebraska & Mizzou will move, they've become very disgruntled as the powers from the South Division rule the roost & take more of the TV money than their North Division brethren. If these three teams leave the conference, I could see TCU as one of the replacements. As soon as one conference expands, the dominoes will fall very quickly. no one wants to be left out in the cold. The SEC could add two teams, the Big-10 could add 3(Mizzou, Nebraska & Rutgers being the most likely), the PAC-10 could add Colorado & Utah & the Mountain West might invite Boise State to join. The biggest losers in this madness could be the Big East & ACC. Still, I don't understand Beebe's bluster, does he truly want these teams to leave the conference or is he trying to intimidate them?
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