VIKES-SAINTS RECAP, BRADY & AUSTIN GET NEW DEALS & BENGALS TO LOSE A SACKER
So game one of the 2010 season is in the books & what did I learn? I learned I may have been right about the Vikings not being able to recreate the magic they had in 2009. Some of that is due to Brett Favre's age, some of it was he had almost no timing with his receivers. He came in later than last season when they began the season with Chicago & Detroit, not the defending Super Bowl champs. His favorite target, Sidney Rice, had hip surgery & won't be able to play until at least week 8. His other big producer from last season, Percy Harvin, spent more time in the hospital with migraines than he did at practice. Third down specialist Chester Taylor is gone to Chicago & Favre missed him as well. Favre looked his age, especially in the 2nd half when he missed three open receivers. He will be 41 next month, he could be in trouble. The lack of a pass rush was surprising too. Jared Allen, often double-teamed, was never a factor. The Saints hardly looked like world beaters either. Except for a first drive touchdown, they looked rather inept considering the offensive fireworks they set off almost weekly in '09. One of the heroes from the Super Bowl run, placekicker Garrett Hartley, had a miserable night, missing 2 field goals from 32 & 46 yards out. I predicted the Saints wouldn't defend their division title successfully, no NFC South winner ever has.
Some heavy-duty dollars were thrown around yesterday as the New England Patriots & their franchise quarterback Tom Brady came to an agreement on a new contract. Brady received a 4-year deal totaling $72 million with $48.5 guaranteed.
Also on the receiving end of a new deal was Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin who signed a new 6-year contract. The total of the deal is $54 million with only $18.6 guaranteed. Lots of incentives, maybe the Cowboys learned their lesson after giving a ridiculous contract to Roy Williams before he played a down for the Cowboys after coming over in a trade from Detroit. He had a miserable year in Dallas. When you consider the rookie deal Dez Bryant got, the Cowboys have a small fortune wrapped up in their wide receivers.
The Rams, Jags & Chiefs have cleared the blackout hurdle for this weekend. So did the Jets, a surprising straggler in ticket sales. Seattle & Tampa Bay also passed but with assistance from the owners, buying up enough seats at $.34 on the dollar to satisfy the league.
Fantasy owners & gamblers beware, Arizona's Beanie Wells is questionable for Sunday's game in St. Louis. His strained knee hasn't responded to treatment like the Cards expected. Coach Ken Whisenhunt, figuring his team to be in the divisional race until the end, said if he wasn't 95% or better, he wouldn't play Sunday. "We're going to need him week 13, week 14 week 15, the depth right now can get us by" Whisenhunt said. For the best in fantasy football info, type this web address into your URL, it won't work from my bandwidth provider, don't ask me why, it just doesn't. But the site is excellent, check it out. www.ffmastermind.com
The Chiefs' right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, should be considered questionable for Monday game with San Diego. He hasn't practiced for almost two weeks & he only worked on a stationary bike at yesterday's practice session. Barry Richardson has played in his spot, but they don't have another tackle since Colin Brown & Ike Ndukwe were released last Saturday. The Chiefs brought wide receiver David Clowney in for a look-see on Thursday. He was recently cut by the New York Jets. No word on his chances to be signed.
The Cincinnati Bengals might be without their best pass rusher once again to start the season. Defensive end Antwan Odom has been snared by the NFL & stands accused of violating the leagues' policy on performance enhancing drugs. He claims foul & the unofficial word out of the league office says it was a supplement issue, but it was a banned substance. This might be another StarCaps deal. If he's suspended for 4 games, the first two, New England & Baltimore, will be especially hard on the remaining Bengal pass rushers. Odom had 8 sacks last season in just 6 games before rupturing his Achilles tendon & missed the remainder of the season.
USC's Lane Kiffin really went out on a limb at his weekly mid-week press conference. He said he expected his defense to play much better this week against Virginia in their home opener. The Rainbow Warriors from Hawaii hung 588 yards of total offense on the Trojans last week. Kiffin said the time change was hard on his team. Hawaii is two time zones from L.A. & Virginia is three time zones from L.A. If his theory is correct, Virginia starts out in a hole time zone-wise. But what is really going on here is the cold hard fact that the Virginia Cavaliers are awful. They were 3-9 last season costing Al Groh his job. Mike London took the head coaching job & he's tasked with improving an almost non-existent offense. The Cavs scored 17 points or less in 8 of their 2009 games. Maybe this is why Lane thinks his defense will shine Saturday night at the Coliseum. If they don't hold the Cavs to 10 or fewer points, well I'm just hoping to see that dopey look on his face like he had last Thursday night in Hawaii.
Questions or comments? Email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com or leave a comment at the end of any post. You can read any or all of the 616 posts I've written here by accessing the archives to the left, it's just point & click.
Some heavy-duty dollars were thrown around yesterday as the New England Patriots & their franchise quarterback Tom Brady came to an agreement on a new contract. Brady received a 4-year deal totaling $72 million with $48.5 guaranteed.
Also on the receiving end of a new deal was Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin who signed a new 6-year contract. The total of the deal is $54 million with only $18.6 guaranteed. Lots of incentives, maybe the Cowboys learned their lesson after giving a ridiculous contract to Roy Williams before he played a down for the Cowboys after coming over in a trade from Detroit. He had a miserable year in Dallas. When you consider the rookie deal Dez Bryant got, the Cowboys have a small fortune wrapped up in their wide receivers.
The Rams, Jags & Chiefs have cleared the blackout hurdle for this weekend. So did the Jets, a surprising straggler in ticket sales. Seattle & Tampa Bay also passed but with assistance from the owners, buying up enough seats at $.34 on the dollar to satisfy the league.
Fantasy owners & gamblers beware, Arizona's Beanie Wells is questionable for Sunday's game in St. Louis. His strained knee hasn't responded to treatment like the Cards expected. Coach Ken Whisenhunt, figuring his team to be in the divisional race until the end, said if he wasn't 95% or better, he wouldn't play Sunday. "We're going to need him week 13, week 14 week 15, the depth right now can get us by" Whisenhunt said. For the best in fantasy football info, type this web address into your URL, it won't work from my bandwidth provider, don't ask me why, it just doesn't. But the site is excellent, check it out. www.ffmastermind.com
The Chiefs' right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, should be considered questionable for Monday game with San Diego. He hasn't practiced for almost two weeks & he only worked on a stationary bike at yesterday's practice session. Barry Richardson has played in his spot, but they don't have another tackle since Colin Brown & Ike Ndukwe were released last Saturday. The Chiefs brought wide receiver David Clowney in for a look-see on Thursday. He was recently cut by the New York Jets. No word on his chances to be signed.
The Cincinnati Bengals might be without their best pass rusher once again to start the season. Defensive end Antwan Odom has been snared by the NFL & stands accused of violating the leagues' policy on performance enhancing drugs. He claims foul & the unofficial word out of the league office says it was a supplement issue, but it was a banned substance. This might be another StarCaps deal. If he's suspended for 4 games, the first two, New England & Baltimore, will be especially hard on the remaining Bengal pass rushers. Odom had 8 sacks last season in just 6 games before rupturing his Achilles tendon & missed the remainder of the season.
USC's Lane Kiffin really went out on a limb at his weekly mid-week press conference. He said he expected his defense to play much better this week against Virginia in their home opener. The Rainbow Warriors from Hawaii hung 588 yards of total offense on the Trojans last week. Kiffin said the time change was hard on his team. Hawaii is two time zones from L.A. & Virginia is three time zones from L.A. If his theory is correct, Virginia starts out in a hole time zone-wise. But what is really going on here is the cold hard fact that the Virginia Cavaliers are awful. They were 3-9 last season costing Al Groh his job. Mike London took the head coaching job & he's tasked with improving an almost non-existent offense. The Cavs scored 17 points or less in 8 of their 2009 games. Maybe this is why Lane thinks his defense will shine Saturday night at the Coliseum. If they don't hold the Cavs to 10 or fewer points, well I'm just hoping to see that dopey look on his face like he had last Thursday night in Hawaii.
Questions or comments? Email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com or leave a comment at the end of any post. You can read any or all of the 616 posts I've written here by accessing the archives to the left, it's just point & click.
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