A BUNCH OF STUFF FOR THURSDAY
While the Mizzou campus was abuzz with basketball coach Mike Anderson's departure for Arkansas, Blaine Gabbert quietly had a very high profile meeting, workout & dinner. Arizona Cardinals' owners Bill & Michael Bidwell, G.M. Rod Graves, Director of Player Personnel Steve Keim & head coach Ken Whisenhunt were with Gabbert all day & night in Columbia yesterday. How often do you see owners traveling to private workouts? I personally have never heard of such a thing, the Cards must be very serious about Gabbert.
More from Columbia: Tho sophomore QB James Franklin is expected to be the Tigers' starter come September, redshirt freshman Tyler Gabbert is making coach Gary Pinkel's decision tough. In both scrimmages, Gabbert has performed better than Franklin. In the second scrimmage, last Saturday, Franklin completed 18 of 34 for 122-yards, a touchdown & an interception. Gabbert was 20 of 27 for 206-yards, a touchdown & no turnovers. It will be very interesting to see how both do in the Black & Gold Spring Game on April 16th.
Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd has been "suspended indefinitely" by coach Brian Kelly after being arrested for DUI Saturday morning at 3AM by campus police. This is Floyd's second alcohol-related arrest since coming to South Bend. Kelly said Floyd "needs to get his life in order, not think about football, just what's important in his life." Floyd chose to stay in school, bypassing the NFL, had he jumped after his junior year, he most likely would have been a first round draft pick. Floyd was arrested for public intoxication & underage possession of alcohol in January of 2010.
Fallout from the owners meetings in New Orleans is pretty surprising. Replay will be used to review every single scoring play beginning immediately. Kickoffs will be moved from the 30-yardline out to the 35. This should create even more touchbacks. This was a safety issue, so many players are severely injured crashing into each other covering & returning kickoffs. The league also adopted what will now be referred to as "The Boise Rule." All fields, grass, artificial or otherwise, must be a shade of green. My wife will be relieved, she hates Boise's Blue Smurf Turf & Eastern Washington's red field makes her queasy. No more worry, gotta be green.
One of my most favorite football people, NBC's Al Michaels, is going to receive an Emmy for "Lifetime Achievement". This will be his third Emmy. I first met Michaels back in 1999 & enjoyed his presence every time he came to Bellagio. He loved to play craps & he was fun to talk to, great sense of humor, very self-deprecating & so humble. Besides all that, I think he's the best at what he does, possibly of all-time. Congrats Al.
Look for Philadelphia backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to be traded once a new CBA is ratified. Most likely teams to trade for the 26-year old signal caller? Frisco, Seattle, Minnesota lead the rumor lists. Arizona was on that list too but after the entire Cardinal hierarchy traveled to Columbia, Missouri to spend the entire day with Blaine Gabbert, I gotta believe they are serious about the Tiger QB. Arizona didn't have anyone at Cam Newton's pro day, so I think it's Gabbert or bust.
Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a dandy pro day completing 36 of 38 passes. He's going to take some time adapting to the pro game, his elongated throwing motion drives pro scouts crazy. It's not as bad as Tim Tebow brought to Denver, but it's not good. Like Tebow, Kaepernick is an excellent runner with great athletic skills, just not a great passer, for now.
Don't look for either Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams to be with the Dolphins come September. Too little production for a lot of cash. Personally, I think the Dolphins' ills are more of a head coach & quarterback nature. Both will land somewhere running the ball as soon as the season begins.
All of the football bloggers at ESPN are voting for a top-10 list at several positions. League's best pass rusher was today's topic. There list included Kansas City's Tamba Hali, ranked the 5th best pass rusher in the league. In front of Hali was Jared Allen at #4, Dwight Freeney, Clay Mathews & at #1, Dallas' DeMarcus Ware. I think they got it right. Washington's Brian Orakpo didn't agree, in fact he took to Twitter to express himself with "to those dopes at ESPN, f--k you". That pretty much says it all doesn't it? Concise & to the point. Orakpo wasn't in the top-10, in fact he wasn't in the top-15. Sorry Brian.
Todd Haley is all worked up about Thomas Jones, you know the guy who averaged less than 3-yards a carry after November 1st? When asked at the owner's meetings what would become of Jones, LB Mike Vrabel & G Brian Waters, he began gushing about Jones. "We've got a little plan for Thomas that I'm excited about getting to. I'm excited to have Thomas back. He's a big part of what we're doing" Haley said. Huh? Jones will be 33 before the season starts(if it starts) & has over 10,000 career rushing yards. It began to show last season didn't it? He looked slow, he looked old, for a running back. I have no earthly idea what Haley is excited about. Jones is scheduled to make $2.9 million, that's pretty steep for a guy who averages less than 3-yards a carry don't you think?
Cody Gifford, the son of Hall of Famer Frank Gifford & talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford, is attempting to walk-on at daddy's alma mater, USC. The 6' 2" 200-pound Gifford wasn't recruited by any BCS schools, so like another famous son, Nate Montana, decided to try to make the squad as a walk-on at dad's school. Montana made the Irish squad but was buried on the depth chart & has since transferred to Montana where he should be able to compete for the starting QB job.
Vikings punter Chris Kluwe has been complaining loudly about the lockout giving him nothing to do & no responsibilities. He's not alone, more than a few players are already griping about the idle time they suddenly have. For all these whiners, why don't you fill some of your spare time with some volunteer work? Go to a veteran's hospital, maybe you'll see what real sacrifice is. Visit sick children, senior citizens, help kids stay active, were all those commercials about keeping children moving just lip service? It could certainly make a lot of people happy, improve your image with the fans & maybe, just maybe, you might get something positive out of the experience for yourself. After all, it's all about you isn't it?
As I sat watching some really great basketball last weekend, I'm thinking how much better the college bowl season would be if it was the first & second legs of a national championship playoff. The high intensity level most of these hoops teams play at should give you a clue how much more exciting bowl season could be if everybody had a shot to win the national title, not just two hand-selected teams.
Question or comments? Email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com
More from Columbia: Tho sophomore QB James Franklin is expected to be the Tigers' starter come September, redshirt freshman Tyler Gabbert is making coach Gary Pinkel's decision tough. In both scrimmages, Gabbert has performed better than Franklin. In the second scrimmage, last Saturday, Franklin completed 18 of 34 for 122-yards, a touchdown & an interception. Gabbert was 20 of 27 for 206-yards, a touchdown & no turnovers. It will be very interesting to see how both do in the Black & Gold Spring Game on April 16th.
Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd has been "suspended indefinitely" by coach Brian Kelly after being arrested for DUI Saturday morning at 3AM by campus police. This is Floyd's second alcohol-related arrest since coming to South Bend. Kelly said Floyd "needs to get his life in order, not think about football, just what's important in his life." Floyd chose to stay in school, bypassing the NFL, had he jumped after his junior year, he most likely would have been a first round draft pick. Floyd was arrested for public intoxication & underage possession of alcohol in January of 2010.
Fallout from the owners meetings in New Orleans is pretty surprising. Replay will be used to review every single scoring play beginning immediately. Kickoffs will be moved from the 30-yardline out to the 35. This should create even more touchbacks. This was a safety issue, so many players are severely injured crashing into each other covering & returning kickoffs. The league also adopted what will now be referred to as "The Boise Rule." All fields, grass, artificial or otherwise, must be a shade of green. My wife will be relieved, she hates Boise's Blue Smurf Turf & Eastern Washington's red field makes her queasy. No more worry, gotta be green.
One of my most favorite football people, NBC's Al Michaels, is going to receive an Emmy for "Lifetime Achievement". This will be his third Emmy. I first met Michaels back in 1999 & enjoyed his presence every time he came to Bellagio. He loved to play craps & he was fun to talk to, great sense of humor, very self-deprecating & so humble. Besides all that, I think he's the best at what he does, possibly of all-time. Congrats Al.
Look for Philadelphia backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to be traded once a new CBA is ratified. Most likely teams to trade for the 26-year old signal caller? Frisco, Seattle, Minnesota lead the rumor lists. Arizona was on that list too but after the entire Cardinal hierarchy traveled to Columbia, Missouri to spend the entire day with Blaine Gabbert, I gotta believe they are serious about the Tiger QB. Arizona didn't have anyone at Cam Newton's pro day, so I think it's Gabbert or bust.
Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a dandy pro day completing 36 of 38 passes. He's going to take some time adapting to the pro game, his elongated throwing motion drives pro scouts crazy. It's not as bad as Tim Tebow brought to Denver, but it's not good. Like Tebow, Kaepernick is an excellent runner with great athletic skills, just not a great passer, for now.
Don't look for either Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams to be with the Dolphins come September. Too little production for a lot of cash. Personally, I think the Dolphins' ills are more of a head coach & quarterback nature. Both will land somewhere running the ball as soon as the season begins.
All of the football bloggers at ESPN are voting for a top-10 list at several positions. League's best pass rusher was today's topic. There list included Kansas City's Tamba Hali, ranked the 5th best pass rusher in the league. In front of Hali was Jared Allen at #4, Dwight Freeney, Clay Mathews & at #1, Dallas' DeMarcus Ware. I think they got it right. Washington's Brian Orakpo didn't agree, in fact he took to Twitter to express himself with "to those dopes at ESPN, f--k you". That pretty much says it all doesn't it? Concise & to the point. Orakpo wasn't in the top-10, in fact he wasn't in the top-15. Sorry Brian.
Todd Haley is all worked up about Thomas Jones, you know the guy who averaged less than 3-yards a carry after November 1st? When asked at the owner's meetings what would become of Jones, LB Mike Vrabel & G Brian Waters, he began gushing about Jones. "We've got a little plan for Thomas that I'm excited about getting to. I'm excited to have Thomas back. He's a big part of what we're doing" Haley said. Huh? Jones will be 33 before the season starts(if it starts) & has over 10,000 career rushing yards. It began to show last season didn't it? He looked slow, he looked old, for a running back. I have no earthly idea what Haley is excited about. Jones is scheduled to make $2.9 million, that's pretty steep for a guy who averages less than 3-yards a carry don't you think?
Cody Gifford, the son of Hall of Famer Frank Gifford & talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford, is attempting to walk-on at daddy's alma mater, USC. The 6' 2" 200-pound Gifford wasn't recruited by any BCS schools, so like another famous son, Nate Montana, decided to try to make the squad as a walk-on at dad's school. Montana made the Irish squad but was buried on the depth chart & has since transferred to Montana where he should be able to compete for the starting QB job.
Vikings punter Chris Kluwe has been complaining loudly about the lockout giving him nothing to do & no responsibilities. He's not alone, more than a few players are already griping about the idle time they suddenly have. For all these whiners, why don't you fill some of your spare time with some volunteer work? Go to a veteran's hospital, maybe you'll see what real sacrifice is. Visit sick children, senior citizens, help kids stay active, were all those commercials about keeping children moving just lip service? It could certainly make a lot of people happy, improve your image with the fans & maybe, just maybe, you might get something positive out of the experience for yourself. After all, it's all about you isn't it?
As I sat watching some really great basketball last weekend, I'm thinking how much better the college bowl season would be if it was the first & second legs of a national championship playoff. The high intensity level most of these hoops teams play at should give you a clue how much more exciting bowl season could be if everybody had a shot to win the national title, not just two hand-selected teams.
Question or comments? Email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com
Comments