BOWERS LOSES MILLIONS, CHIEFS WILL PRACTICE & BUD LIGHT IS OFFERING A COOL $10 MILLION IN CASH
"He lost himself millions of dollars out there today" said one AFC general manager while an NFC defensive line coach added "limping around out there will cost him a helluva lot of money." They were talking about Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers, who just about 8 weeks ago was ranked by many as the best prospect in the upcoming NFL Draft & at least in the top-5 by just about everybody else. Not anymore, not after watching him limp thru a number of position drills & run a very disappointing 4.97 forty. Bowers had an arthroscopic procedure on his knee to "clean it up" after the season. It's never been the same, in fact, it appears it could be worse. He probably slid right out of the top-10 with his gimpy performance on Friday. With the draft just over 3 weeks away, it's doubtful he'll be able to do much at full speed to reverse what scouts & front office people have witnessed in two trips to Clemson.
Da'Quan Bowers of Clemson
Miami quarterback Chad Pennington wrecked his season before it even got a chance to start. Playing in a pickup baseball game, Pennington tore his ACL & will be out of action for at least 6 months. He was injured on the first play he participated in last year & went on I.R. His playing days could very well be over.
Tony Gonzalez made it clear on Friday, if summer camp is delayed because of the current work stoppage & that causes the cancellation of any regular season games, he could retire. "I'm doing my regular off-season workouts, trying to be ready for training camp. But if this lockout continues into the season, I probably won't stick around" Gonzalez said.
The Chiefs' Jon McGraw & Brian Waters have called a meeting of all players in the Kansas City area for Tuesday, April 4th. The meeting is to keep every player informed as to the current status of the labor situation & to schedule workouts for all players willing to participate. McGraw said they'd like to have 5 or 6 a month in addition to personal workouts. Running back Jamal Charles said Saturday he'd consider running track if something doesn't pop soon. He said if he were to run the spring track season, he could earn something in the neighborhood of $40k. Charles was a world class sprinter while at the University of Texas & claims to be just as fast right now as he was in the spring of 2008.
For all you people, Chiefs' fans in particular, who have bombarded me with criticism about what the Chiefs' need in the draft, I say to you "relax." Your biggest complaint is I'm not locked into a fast wide receiver to start opposite Dwayne Bowe. Folks, I'm not against that, I just think you've put too much emphasis on speed. You don't have to be a home run hitter to be productive. I'm more interested in a wideout who can consistently get separation from a defensive back, he doesn't have to try to out run him down the sideline every passing play. Be realistic, Brandon Lloyd led the league in receptions & he doesn't scare anyone with his speed, neither does Wes Welker or Reggie Wayne. Tampa's Mike Williams, Hakeem Nicks of the NYG & Buffalo's Steve Johnson all scored over 10 touchdowns & they can't outrun anybody. But they run precise routes & get separation. When they get that separation & the ball is thrown their way, they catch it. That's what I want in the Chiefs' other wide receiver. I've been told the Chiefs should trade up into the top-5 so they can get Georgia's A.J. Green. Hogwash, it's too big a price. Having a effective passing game isn't just a speedy wide receiver or a quarterback with a bazooka-like arm. It's a productive running game the defense must respect. It's an offensive line that can consistently give their QB 3-4 seconds to spot a receiver & throw the ball. It's a quarterback with enough smarts to go thru his progressions & find that receiver & lastly it's a receiver who can get separation & catch the ball. It doesn't take 1st round draft picks to be effective NFL receivers. Williams & Lloyd were 4th round picks & Johnson didn't hear his name called until the 7th round. Welker wasn't even drafted. Relax folks, there is plenty of WR talent out there this year, it's up to Scott Pioli to identify it & get at least one drafted. Both of these guys will be drafted after the start of round five, both will stick in the NFL. They dominated at their level, get separation & consistently catch the ball. They are not track stars & because of their college systems, might require some patient coaching, but the talent is there.
WR Stephen Burton West Texas A&M
Hawaii WR Greg Salas
I've been a Budweiser man for well over 40 years but I'm going to be a Bud Light fan for a while. Thankfully Anheuser Busch wrested the coveted "Official Beer of the NFL" away from Coors. Now we won't have to suffer thru those asinine press conference spots with retired coaches, they made my skin crawl they were so lame. Anyway, Bud Light is now the official beer of the NFL & to celebrate their new status, they've cooked up a contest that should create some real buzz. If you can correctly predict all 32 first round draft picks, in order, Bud Light will pay you $10 million in cash. All you have to do is register at the Bud Light Facebook page & submit your first round predictions. The winner must get all 32 correct & when I say correct, I mean in every way. You must spell every name correctly with his position & school. Oh yeah, did I mention it's never been done? Never, ever been done. The so-called experts get 8-12 right every year, that's how tough it is. But for $10 million, I'll throw an entry their way, so will Linda. I'm not going to spend a lot of time agonizing over each pick but you never know what can happen.
Da'Quan Bowers of Clemson
Miami quarterback Chad Pennington wrecked his season before it even got a chance to start. Playing in a pickup baseball game, Pennington tore his ACL & will be out of action for at least 6 months. He was injured on the first play he participated in last year & went on I.R. His playing days could very well be over.
Tony Gonzalez made it clear on Friday, if summer camp is delayed because of the current work stoppage & that causes the cancellation of any regular season games, he could retire. "I'm doing my regular off-season workouts, trying to be ready for training camp. But if this lockout continues into the season, I probably won't stick around" Gonzalez said.
The Chiefs' Jon McGraw & Brian Waters have called a meeting of all players in the Kansas City area for Tuesday, April 4th. The meeting is to keep every player informed as to the current status of the labor situation & to schedule workouts for all players willing to participate. McGraw said they'd like to have 5 or 6 a month in addition to personal workouts. Running back Jamal Charles said Saturday he'd consider running track if something doesn't pop soon. He said if he were to run the spring track season, he could earn something in the neighborhood of $40k. Charles was a world class sprinter while at the University of Texas & claims to be just as fast right now as he was in the spring of 2008.
For all you people, Chiefs' fans in particular, who have bombarded me with criticism about what the Chiefs' need in the draft, I say to you "relax." Your biggest complaint is I'm not locked into a fast wide receiver to start opposite Dwayne Bowe. Folks, I'm not against that, I just think you've put too much emphasis on speed. You don't have to be a home run hitter to be productive. I'm more interested in a wideout who can consistently get separation from a defensive back, he doesn't have to try to out run him down the sideline every passing play. Be realistic, Brandon Lloyd led the league in receptions & he doesn't scare anyone with his speed, neither does Wes Welker or Reggie Wayne. Tampa's Mike Williams, Hakeem Nicks of the NYG & Buffalo's Steve Johnson all scored over 10 touchdowns & they can't outrun anybody. But they run precise routes & get separation. When they get that separation & the ball is thrown their way, they catch it. That's what I want in the Chiefs' other wide receiver. I've been told the Chiefs should trade up into the top-5 so they can get Georgia's A.J. Green. Hogwash, it's too big a price. Having a effective passing game isn't just a speedy wide receiver or a quarterback with a bazooka-like arm. It's a productive running game the defense must respect. It's an offensive line that can consistently give their QB 3-4 seconds to spot a receiver & throw the ball. It's a quarterback with enough smarts to go thru his progressions & find that receiver & lastly it's a receiver who can get separation & catch the ball. It doesn't take 1st round draft picks to be effective NFL receivers. Williams & Lloyd were 4th round picks & Johnson didn't hear his name called until the 7th round. Welker wasn't even drafted. Relax folks, there is plenty of WR talent out there this year, it's up to Scott Pioli to identify it & get at least one drafted. Both of these guys will be drafted after the start of round five, both will stick in the NFL. They dominated at their level, get separation & consistently catch the ball. They are not track stars & because of their college systems, might require some patient coaching, but the talent is there.
WR Stephen Burton West Texas A&M
Hawaii WR Greg Salas
I've been a Budweiser man for well over 40 years but I'm going to be a Bud Light fan for a while. Thankfully Anheuser Busch wrested the coveted "Official Beer of the NFL" away from Coors. Now we won't have to suffer thru those asinine press conference spots with retired coaches, they made my skin crawl they were so lame. Anyway, Bud Light is now the official beer of the NFL & to celebrate their new status, they've cooked up a contest that should create some real buzz. If you can correctly predict all 32 first round draft picks, in order, Bud Light will pay you $10 million in cash. All you have to do is register at the Bud Light Facebook page & submit your first round predictions. The winner must get all 32 correct & when I say correct, I mean in every way. You must spell every name correctly with his position & school. Oh yeah, did I mention it's never been done? Never, ever been done. The so-called experts get 8-12 right every year, that's how tough it is. But for $10 million, I'll throw an entry their way, so will Linda. I'm not going to spend a lot of time agonizing over each pick but you never know what can happen.
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