DHB IS FATIGUED, WELKER RETURNS, CHAD TWEETS IN-GAME, BLOUNT CONTINUES SWINGING & A FEW PICS FROM OUR TRIP
Darius Heyward-Bey has been a favorite punching bag of mine for well over a year, but since he was doing so well during the Raider OTA's & mini camp, I saw no reason to pile on the 2nd year receiver. The 7th overall pick in the 2009 draft had a dismal rookie year, a combination of poor routes & dropped passes culminating with a total of 9 receptions for 124 yards in 13 starts. DHB has regressed from his "sparkling" off-season, he's missed the last four practices because of fatigue. Honest, that's the excuse he's going with & what's worse, Coach Tom Cable is using the same description when discussing DHB's absence from practice. Name another 23-year old highly conditioned athlete in the NFL who's missing practice from "fatigue." Can't think of one? Me neither, this is as lame as it gets. I just realized why am I mocking the Raiders' 1st round draft pick when my team selected Tyson "anybody can block me" Jackson? Being a Chiefs' fan, I'm entitled to mock the Raiders, but right now I don't know which team got the worst deal in last year's first round.
The San Diego Chargers have given holdout wide receiver Vincent Jackson & his agent permission to speak to Seattle about a possible trade. Jackson, a restricted free agent, has refused to sign his tender offer & has stayed away from training camp. Jackson has been a productive receiver, but he's not Larry Fitzgerald or anything. Jackson's isn't dealing from strength right now as he will have to sit out the 1st three weeks of the season due to a suspension for 2 DUI's since last season.
Also from the Seahawks' camp, Mike Williams has been reborn. The 2005 first round pick was a total bust in Detroit, he ate himself out of a job. The former USC Trojan had a monster year in 2003 & as he got larger & larger, his value as a receiver got smaller & smaller. After he was released by Detroit, he tried out with Oakland & they became disinterested quickly. Williams got his old coach, Pete Carroll, to give him a chance & so far, the drastically slimmed-down Williams has excelled. He had a 51-yard catch & run touchdown last week against Tennessee. Carroll has shown he isn't afraid to take on a reclamation project. He just traded a 6th round pick for former Frisco 1st rounder, Kentwan Balmer. He also traded a 4th round pick on draft day for another former Trojan, LenDale White who was later cut.
Wes Welker's off-season of constant rehab on his blown left knee resulted in a few snaps last night versus Atlanta. He even caught two passes. Welker is just as important to Tom Brady & the Patriots as Randy Moss. Also making a big impression last night were the New England rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski & Aaron Hernandez. Both caught 4 passes & scored once. Add second year Julian Edelman to the mix & the Patriots have a formidable receiving corps. What you might find surprising is New England has three(that's 3) 34-year old running backs listed 1-2-3 on their depth chart. Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris & Kevin Faulk sit atop the Pat runners, followed by BenJarvus Green-Ellis & the nearly forgotten, Lawrence Maroney. I think they'll carry all but Maroney, his fumbling & constant injuries make him expendable in the backfield.
I've told you about Jets' corner Antonio Cromartie & his "extended" family. Antonio has 7 children with 5 different women in 4 different states, none of them were married to Cromartie either. When he was traded to the Jets, he needed a $500,000 salary advance so he could satisfy all the tardy child support payments. Now before you nominate Antonio for the "Father of the Year" award, try to catch his 2-minutes on HBO's Hard Knocks. He was asked to list all 7 of his kids by name & location & he couldn't do it! He claimed today, "it was all edited & taken out of context, I nailed the list the 1st time." HBO's producer said the show is "exactly as it happens, we don't edit or script anything." Very impressive.
So the Eagles played the Bengals tonight in Cincinnati, a game won by the Bengals 22-9 & long about 10PM EDT, Chad Ochocinco posts a Twitter Tweet. He was on the Bengal sideline at the time. How far is Marvin Lewis going to go with "Batman & Robin" as Terrell Owens & Ochocinco like to be called? When you have players on your sidelines that are more concerned with posting Tweets than playing football you have a major problem, end of story.
So now that we don't have to watch Brett Favre's BFD video's shot from helicopters anymore, let's examine the outlook for the Vikings. Leading receiver Sidney Rice hasn't practiced since training camp began & is recovering from hip surgery/P.O.'d about his contract. He said yesterday he was doubtful for opening day. Percy Harvin, the Vikes' 2nd leading receiver, collapsed at practice yesterday. He has suffered from mega-migraines since he was 10-years old & they have become more frequent the past 2 years. Super safety valve & 3rd down back, Chester Taylor, is now with division rival Chicago. Minnesota is missing a lot of the pieces that got them to the NFC title game last year. Green Bay is better than last year, Brett's a year older & his ankle isn't close to 100% so I won't be surprised to see the Vikings reduced to a scrap for a wildcard spot.
Remember LeGarrette Blount's sucker punch of college football's opening night last year after the Boise State-Oregon game? The sucker punch that got Blount suspended for 10-games dropped him from 2nd-3rd round status to not being drafted at all. He signed with the Titans & everything was going along just fine when he got riled in practice & punched teammate Erik Bakhitari. This happens in training camp all the time, I just saw it happen in Chiefs' camp, but now more tales of Blounts' temper are surfacing. The Oregonian reported in it's Friday edition Blount once punched former Ducks coach Mike Belotti during his sophomore season. Apparently Blount wasn't aiming at his head coach, instead a teammate standing next to Belotti. But when the player saw the haymaker coming, he ducked & the blow struck Belotti in the side of the head. Maybe some anger management in his future?
We concluded our trip to training camp with a mandatory stop at Sports Nutz in Kansas City, the ultimate Chiefs' & Big-12 store. At training camp we were funneled into the Chiefs' store everyday & as soon as I entered, I spotted the exit & stared straight at the floor until I was outside again. Linda was impressed with my discipline, shocked is more like it. But when I walked thru the door of Sports Nutz this morning the strangest thing happened, my debit card actually flew out of my pocket & onto the cash register, it was amazing. From there I had to buy something so I wouldn't look totally ridiculous. Using all of my powers, I kept it to one item, thanked Phil & Jim & headed back to the Lake. Here's a few pictures from the trip:
Charlie Weis sits in his cart watching the offense.
The play that broke Super Bowl IV wide open, "65 Toss Power Trap" now forever in the pavement in Founder's Plaza at the newly renovated Arrowhead Stadium.
Founder's Plaza complete with a statue of Lamar Hunt.
The new Arrowhead including the press box, now atop the south stands.
Thousands of brick pavers paid for by thousands of Chiefs' fans. Two areas like this flank Founder's Plaza.
Chiefs' backup QB Brody Croyle injured yet again, his throwing arm in a brace & heavily wrapped.
The San Diego Chargers have given holdout wide receiver Vincent Jackson & his agent permission to speak to Seattle about a possible trade. Jackson, a restricted free agent, has refused to sign his tender offer & has stayed away from training camp. Jackson has been a productive receiver, but he's not Larry Fitzgerald or anything. Jackson's isn't dealing from strength right now as he will have to sit out the 1st three weeks of the season due to a suspension for 2 DUI's since last season.
Also from the Seahawks' camp, Mike Williams has been reborn. The 2005 first round pick was a total bust in Detroit, he ate himself out of a job. The former USC Trojan had a monster year in 2003 & as he got larger & larger, his value as a receiver got smaller & smaller. After he was released by Detroit, he tried out with Oakland & they became disinterested quickly. Williams got his old coach, Pete Carroll, to give him a chance & so far, the drastically slimmed-down Williams has excelled. He had a 51-yard catch & run touchdown last week against Tennessee. Carroll has shown he isn't afraid to take on a reclamation project. He just traded a 6th round pick for former Frisco 1st rounder, Kentwan Balmer. He also traded a 4th round pick on draft day for another former Trojan, LenDale White who was later cut.
Wes Welker's off-season of constant rehab on his blown left knee resulted in a few snaps last night versus Atlanta. He even caught two passes. Welker is just as important to Tom Brady & the Patriots as Randy Moss. Also making a big impression last night were the New England rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski & Aaron Hernandez. Both caught 4 passes & scored once. Add second year Julian Edelman to the mix & the Patriots have a formidable receiving corps. What you might find surprising is New England has three(that's 3) 34-year old running backs listed 1-2-3 on their depth chart. Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris & Kevin Faulk sit atop the Pat runners, followed by BenJarvus Green-Ellis & the nearly forgotten, Lawrence Maroney. I think they'll carry all but Maroney, his fumbling & constant injuries make him expendable in the backfield.
I've told you about Jets' corner Antonio Cromartie & his "extended" family. Antonio has 7 children with 5 different women in 4 different states, none of them were married to Cromartie either. When he was traded to the Jets, he needed a $500,000 salary advance so he could satisfy all the tardy child support payments. Now before you nominate Antonio for the "Father of the Year" award, try to catch his 2-minutes on HBO's Hard Knocks. He was asked to list all 7 of his kids by name & location & he couldn't do it! He claimed today, "it was all edited & taken out of context, I nailed the list the 1st time." HBO's producer said the show is "exactly as it happens, we don't edit or script anything." Very impressive.
So the Eagles played the Bengals tonight in Cincinnati, a game won by the Bengals 22-9 & long about 10PM EDT, Chad Ochocinco posts a Twitter Tweet. He was on the Bengal sideline at the time. How far is Marvin Lewis going to go with "Batman & Robin" as Terrell Owens & Ochocinco like to be called? When you have players on your sidelines that are more concerned with posting Tweets than playing football you have a major problem, end of story.
So now that we don't have to watch Brett Favre's BFD video's shot from helicopters anymore, let's examine the outlook for the Vikings. Leading receiver Sidney Rice hasn't practiced since training camp began & is recovering from hip surgery/P.O.'d about his contract. He said yesterday he was doubtful for opening day. Percy Harvin, the Vikes' 2nd leading receiver, collapsed at practice yesterday. He has suffered from mega-migraines since he was 10-years old & they have become more frequent the past 2 years. Super safety valve & 3rd down back, Chester Taylor, is now with division rival Chicago. Minnesota is missing a lot of the pieces that got them to the NFC title game last year. Green Bay is better than last year, Brett's a year older & his ankle isn't close to 100% so I won't be surprised to see the Vikings reduced to a scrap for a wildcard spot.
Remember LeGarrette Blount's sucker punch of college football's opening night last year after the Boise State-Oregon game? The sucker punch that got Blount suspended for 10-games dropped him from 2nd-3rd round status to not being drafted at all. He signed with the Titans & everything was going along just fine when he got riled in practice & punched teammate Erik Bakhitari. This happens in training camp all the time, I just saw it happen in Chiefs' camp, but now more tales of Blounts' temper are surfacing. The Oregonian reported in it's Friday edition Blount once punched former Ducks coach Mike Belotti during his sophomore season. Apparently Blount wasn't aiming at his head coach, instead a teammate standing next to Belotti. But when the player saw the haymaker coming, he ducked & the blow struck Belotti in the side of the head. Maybe some anger management in his future?
We concluded our trip to training camp with a mandatory stop at Sports Nutz in Kansas City, the ultimate Chiefs' & Big-12 store. At training camp we were funneled into the Chiefs' store everyday & as soon as I entered, I spotted the exit & stared straight at the floor until I was outside again. Linda was impressed with my discipline, shocked is more like it. But when I walked thru the door of Sports Nutz this morning the strangest thing happened, my debit card actually flew out of my pocket & onto the cash register, it was amazing. From there I had to buy something so I wouldn't look totally ridiculous. Using all of my powers, I kept it to one item, thanked Phil & Jim & headed back to the Lake. Here's a few pictures from the trip:
Charlie Weis sits in his cart watching the offense.
The play that broke Super Bowl IV wide open, "65 Toss Power Trap" now forever in the pavement in Founder's Plaza at the newly renovated Arrowhead Stadium.
Founder's Plaza complete with a statue of Lamar Hunt.
The new Arrowhead including the press box, now atop the south stands.
Thousands of brick pavers paid for by thousands of Chiefs' fans. Two areas like this flank Founder's Plaza.
Chiefs' backup QB Brody Croyle injured yet again, his throwing arm in a brace & heavily wrapped.
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