RANDY SAYS "NO MAS," MUTINY BREWING AMONGST PHISH FANS, PEYTON LOSES HIS BLINDSIDE PROTECTOR & LOTS OF CHIEFS' NEWS
Whether you love him or hate him, one of the most talented players to ever play the game of football retired yesterday. Randy Moss, thru his agent Joel Segal, announced his retirement after 13 pro seasons. The mercurial wide receiver with freakish athletic skills was one of the most controversial players over the past quarter-century. The West Virginia native began his college career by being thrown out of Notre Dame before ever enrolling. He was involved in a violent high school brawl & after word spread to South Bend, Irish coach Lou Holtz revoked Moss's scholarship offer. Holtz suggested Florida State's Bobby Bowden, known for handling difficult players with off-field issues. As a 6' 4" 212-lb. freshman, Moss ran a 4.25 forty-yard dash. Like I said, freakish athletic talents. But Randy found he liked marijuana just as much as football & after two suspensions for failing drug tests, Bowden dismissed Moss from the Seminoles program. Moss returned to to his home state of West Virginia to attend Marshall.
Not required to sit out a season because Marshall was Division I-AA, Marshall welcomed Moss & he set the NCAA record for TD receptions by a freshman, 28 & yardage by a freshman, 1,709. Moss also led all of Division I-AA with a 34-yard kickoff return average. The Herd finished their last season in Division I-AA by winning the national championship. He was the most talented college offensive player I ever saw, by quite a margin. As a senior, Moss won both the Biletnikoff & Warfield Awards. He finished his Marshall career with 54 touchdown receptions. But his off-field issues haunted him as he fell all the way to pick #21 of the 1st round before the Minnesota Vikings selected him. Very early on, the 20 teams in front of the Vikings felt pretty stupid as Moss lit up the NFL as a rookie. The 1998 Vikings set the all-time scoring record with 556 points. Moss caught a rookie record 17 touchdown passes, won NFL rookie of the year & made the Pro Bowl. He continued to improve as a pro. Moss had double-digit touchdown receptions in all but one season in Minnesota.
After a lackluster 2004 season in Minnesota, just 49 receptions but 13 TD's, Moss was traded to Oakland. After two so-so seasons with the Raiders, he was traded to New England for a 4th round draft pick in 2007. During the 2007-2009 seasons, Moss compiled staggering statistics, 250 receptions good for 3,765-yards & 47 touchdowns. He had basically reinvented himself at age 30 & was never better. After catching a TD pass with less than 3-minutes remaining in Super Bowl XLII, it appeared Moss would win his first Super Bowl ring. But the Patriots defense folded & the Giants scored with less than 30-seconds remaining to win the game.
Moss' lifetime stats are staggering, 954 receptions good for 14,858-yards & 153 touchdowns, 2nd most in league history. Seven Pro Bowls, the 2007 Comeback Player of the Year, Moss won everything but a Super Bowl. He's the last wide receiver to catch 4 TD's in one game & he did it in the first half of a game played in a snowstorm. Randy Moss was very involved in multiple charities, his work in these areas was hardly ever mentioned as the media had more interest in constantly questioning his behavior. He certainly gave the press a lot of fodder with his outrageous quotes & bad behavior. Today he is 50% owner of a NASCAR Truck Series team. He & his long time girlfriend, Libby Offutt, have four children. Eldest Sydney was one of the nations most highly recruited woman's basketball players in 2011 before settling on Florida.
Yeah, people either loved him or hated him, but there was no denying his impact as a football player, one of the best ever IMO.
It was said over the weekend the Kyle Orton-to-the-Dolphins trade was off for good. I wonder. After hearing the Phish Phans chant "we want Orton" during Sunday & Monday practices, could it be Orton might still wind up in South Florida? With every poorly thrown pass by current starter Chad Henne, the fans in attendance chanted in favor of the current Bronco signal caller. This could be good news for Denver, it could rekindle the trade & give the Broncos added ammo to get a high draft pick in return for Orton. That was what derailed the deal last week, the Dolphins didn't want to trade a 2nd round pick for Orton. Denver does have one problem in trading Orton. He's completely out-playing 2nd year man Tim Tebow so far in training camp. It's hard for me to comprehend just how badly Josh McDaniel screwed up this franchise in just one season. John Fox will have a major overhaul & will still have to get lucky before this team is anywhere near a playoff contender.
Getting back to wide receivers with bad reputations, we'll revisit current NFL unrestricted free agent, Braylon Edwards. The Jets decided to let Edwards walk away instead of resigning him. The word used a lot around the Jets offices & locker room was "Diva." Not a good nickname for a supposedly tough pro player. Plus Edwards had legal issues that haven't gone away. A judge told Edwards just 10-days ago he no longer had any margin for error, the judge will lock him up. He pled guilty to a DUI while on "conditional probation." Sunday night Edwards & a small entourage got into "a thing" in an upscale Michigan eatery. Two of his co-diners got into a fight with two employees of the restaurant that climaxed in the kitchen with one man being slashed with a knife, the wound required 14 stitches. His co-worker was attacked with a fork. Edwards was not involved but his Twitter account lit up immediately boasting of his fighting ability, genius. But this morning, Edwards claimed his phone was lost the night before & someone had hacked his Twitter account. Man is that a tired excuse. How about this for a Tweet? "Two of my hangers-on attacked a couple of poor guys just trying to make an honest living. Then I recklessly posted a bunch of tough guy boasts on Twitter before lying about them the next day." It won't ever happen, but it's a helluva lot closer to the truth than the version being spun by Edwards. His free agent value continues to shrink with each passing day. His agent has a tough sell.
Former Detroit quarterback, Joey Harrington, had a harrowing experience Sunday night in his hometown of Portland Oregon. While riding his bicycle, Harrington was struck by an SUV. He sustained a broken collarbone, punctured lung & a head laceration that landed him in the hospital. He will fully recover but will remain hopitalized for a few more days.
Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Rex's twin brother, fired the first shot at the new NFC East media darlings, the Philadelphia Eagles. Asked about the recent high impact free agency signings by the Eagles Ryan said "Well we're not the all-hype team, but we're going to beat their ass when we play them." Just like brother Rex, the shy, retiring type.
The Ryan twins, Rob & Rex
The Indianapolis Colts believed they finally had solved their left tackle issues when Charles Johnson started 54 games there. He did a decent job, much better than the play the Colts had received since Tarik Glenn had retired after the 2006 season. Faster than you can say "we've got a $90 million quarterback to protect" Johnson is gone, signed by the Minnesota Vikings on Monday. Indy GM Bill Polian was visibly agitated when asked how this happened. Now the Colts will have to rely on either 2nd year man Jeffrey Linkenbach or unsigned rookie Anthony Castonzo. Johnson's starts included 10 playoff games & 2 Super Bowls. He wasn't a Pro Bowl performer, but he was a major step-up from the pair now competing to take his place. Careful of that blindside there Peyton.
The top unsigned free agent on my list, Oakland tight end Zach Miller, is going to visit Seattle today. It was thought after no serious offers came his way, the word around the league was Raider's owner Al Davis was going to do whatever it took to resign Miller. Davis may have waited too long or Miller could just be forcing the issue with a phony trip to see a team he has no intention of signing with.
Holdouts Frank Gore, Niners RB, DeSean Jackson, Eagles WR & Marcedes Lewis, Jags TE, will all trickle into camp in the next few days. All believe they have made their point, they want new contracts. Tennessee running back Chris Johnson may be the only big-name holdout after Friday. He too is seeking a new deal.
Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw worked out a new deal to remain in New York(Jersey). It was rumored that the 4-year veteran from Marshall would move on, the Giants didn't want to commit any long term money to Bradshaw. But his 1,258-yards in 2010 must have been fresh enough in the minds of the NYG braintrust that they reconsidered.
Now for today's dose of Chiefs' news. Barry Richardson signed his restricted free agent tender on Monday & will return to practice Thursday. Since being drafted in 2008, he's proven to be pretty durable. As a reserve "swing" tackle & spot starter, Richardson is valuable & even tho he started 15-games ast season, I don't see him as a starter for a playoff contender. The position needs a definite upgrade, but big Barry should keep his roster spot for the foreseeable future.
Former New England defensive end Ty Warren will visit with his former boss, Scott Pioli, Todd Haley & his past New England D-coordinator, Romeo Crennell today in St. Joseph. Warren was released by New England last week. Warren played 8 season for the Patriots, 7 years as a starter including 3 Super Bowl appearances. The 6' 5" 300-pound Warren was the prototypical 3-4 defensive end while in New England. Ankle injuries cut short his 2009 season & after sustaining a hip injury during training camp last year, he was placed on I.R. for the entire season. If Warren still has some tread left on the tires, like Kelly Gregg, this would be an excellent addition for defensive line depth.
Defensive end Ty Warren
I glad to see coach Todd Haley evolve into a more comfortable character at the podium. After watching him squirm, sneer & snarl the first two years as head coach, Haley looks positively at ease in his daily press briefings. He laughs, he's more honest & forthcoming than in past years. Anyway, it's nice to see.
Once again neither Haley or player agent Joel Segal will answer any questions as to the whereabouts of 3rd round draft pick, linebacker Justin Houston. The secrecy gets louder with each passing day. Something other than a contract holdout is going on with this young man. Too bad no one will be honest about his absence. Segal was Randy Moss's agent for his entire NFL career. I have no idea what that means, if anything, I just thought I'd mention it.
Haley talked about Tamba Hali's absence, he's still unsigned as K.C.'s franchise player. He said Hali had been working out with Master Jo Kim, a martial arts instructor of some renown. Hand fighting is a big part of successfully doing your job in the NFL. Haley also mentioned Tunch Ali Ilkin, one of the first great hand-fighters in the NFL. The Turkish immigrant played offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1980's. His father, Dick Haley, Steelers' Director of Player Personnel, scouted Ilkin. Tunch played offensive tackle in Pittsburgh & later became their radio voice. But he always worked as an instructor in hand fighting. "Tunch's punches" as they became known, were one of the reasons Pittsburgh always had formidable offensive & defensive lines. Tyson Jackson worked 5-days a week during the lockout with an MMA fighter & Haley says he has seen improvement in Jackson. He better be able to show vast improvement over what we've seen in his first two NFL seasons. The 2010 3rd overall pick has been slow out of his stance, unable to disengage from blockers & always seemed to be handled by just one offensive lineman. I think this is a do-or-die season for Jackson.
One rookie making everyone notice is 6th round selection, nose tackle Jerrell Powe. He gave an excellent effort during blocking drills. Powe was difficult to move in the run game, but never showed me any pass rush ability while at Ole Miss. Don't count on him making an impact there, beating 3rd stringers & fellow rookies is a far cry from defeating cagy vets like Casey Wiegmann & Ryan Lilja. Powe is a hard worker tho & with Kelly Gregg around, I expect Powe to improve quickly.
Not required to sit out a season because Marshall was Division I-AA, Marshall welcomed Moss & he set the NCAA record for TD receptions by a freshman, 28 & yardage by a freshman, 1,709. Moss also led all of Division I-AA with a 34-yard kickoff return average. The Herd finished their last season in Division I-AA by winning the national championship. He was the most talented college offensive player I ever saw, by quite a margin. As a senior, Moss won both the Biletnikoff & Warfield Awards. He finished his Marshall career with 54 touchdown receptions. But his off-field issues haunted him as he fell all the way to pick #21 of the 1st round before the Minnesota Vikings selected him. Very early on, the 20 teams in front of the Vikings felt pretty stupid as Moss lit up the NFL as a rookie. The 1998 Vikings set the all-time scoring record with 556 points. Moss caught a rookie record 17 touchdown passes, won NFL rookie of the year & made the Pro Bowl. He continued to improve as a pro. Moss had double-digit touchdown receptions in all but one season in Minnesota.
After a lackluster 2004 season in Minnesota, just 49 receptions but 13 TD's, Moss was traded to Oakland. After two so-so seasons with the Raiders, he was traded to New England for a 4th round draft pick in 2007. During the 2007-2009 seasons, Moss compiled staggering statistics, 250 receptions good for 3,765-yards & 47 touchdowns. He had basically reinvented himself at age 30 & was never better. After catching a TD pass with less than 3-minutes remaining in Super Bowl XLII, it appeared Moss would win his first Super Bowl ring. But the Patriots defense folded & the Giants scored with less than 30-seconds remaining to win the game.
Moss' lifetime stats are staggering, 954 receptions good for 14,858-yards & 153 touchdowns, 2nd most in league history. Seven Pro Bowls, the 2007 Comeback Player of the Year, Moss won everything but a Super Bowl. He's the last wide receiver to catch 4 TD's in one game & he did it in the first half of a game played in a snowstorm. Randy Moss was very involved in multiple charities, his work in these areas was hardly ever mentioned as the media had more interest in constantly questioning his behavior. He certainly gave the press a lot of fodder with his outrageous quotes & bad behavior. Today he is 50% owner of a NASCAR Truck Series team. He & his long time girlfriend, Libby Offutt, have four children. Eldest Sydney was one of the nations most highly recruited woman's basketball players in 2011 before settling on Florida.
Yeah, people either loved him or hated him, but there was no denying his impact as a football player, one of the best ever IMO.
It was said over the weekend the Kyle Orton-to-the-Dolphins trade was off for good. I wonder. After hearing the Phish Phans chant "we want Orton" during Sunday & Monday practices, could it be Orton might still wind up in South Florida? With every poorly thrown pass by current starter Chad Henne, the fans in attendance chanted in favor of the current Bronco signal caller. This could be good news for Denver, it could rekindle the trade & give the Broncos added ammo to get a high draft pick in return for Orton. That was what derailed the deal last week, the Dolphins didn't want to trade a 2nd round pick for Orton. Denver does have one problem in trading Orton. He's completely out-playing 2nd year man Tim Tebow so far in training camp. It's hard for me to comprehend just how badly Josh McDaniel screwed up this franchise in just one season. John Fox will have a major overhaul & will still have to get lucky before this team is anywhere near a playoff contender.
Getting back to wide receivers with bad reputations, we'll revisit current NFL unrestricted free agent, Braylon Edwards. The Jets decided to let Edwards walk away instead of resigning him. The word used a lot around the Jets offices & locker room was "Diva." Not a good nickname for a supposedly tough pro player. Plus Edwards had legal issues that haven't gone away. A judge told Edwards just 10-days ago he no longer had any margin for error, the judge will lock him up. He pled guilty to a DUI while on "conditional probation." Sunday night Edwards & a small entourage got into "a thing" in an upscale Michigan eatery. Two of his co-diners got into a fight with two employees of the restaurant that climaxed in the kitchen with one man being slashed with a knife, the wound required 14 stitches. His co-worker was attacked with a fork. Edwards was not involved but his Twitter account lit up immediately boasting of his fighting ability, genius. But this morning, Edwards claimed his phone was lost the night before & someone had hacked his Twitter account. Man is that a tired excuse. How about this for a Tweet? "Two of my hangers-on attacked a couple of poor guys just trying to make an honest living. Then I recklessly posted a bunch of tough guy boasts on Twitter before lying about them the next day." It won't ever happen, but it's a helluva lot closer to the truth than the version being spun by Edwards. His free agent value continues to shrink with each passing day. His agent has a tough sell.
Former Detroit quarterback, Joey Harrington, had a harrowing experience Sunday night in his hometown of Portland Oregon. While riding his bicycle, Harrington was struck by an SUV. He sustained a broken collarbone, punctured lung & a head laceration that landed him in the hospital. He will fully recover but will remain hopitalized for a few more days.
Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, Rex's twin brother, fired the first shot at the new NFC East media darlings, the Philadelphia Eagles. Asked about the recent high impact free agency signings by the Eagles Ryan said "Well we're not the all-hype team, but we're going to beat their ass when we play them." Just like brother Rex, the shy, retiring type.
The Ryan twins, Rob & Rex
The Indianapolis Colts believed they finally had solved their left tackle issues when Charles Johnson started 54 games there. He did a decent job, much better than the play the Colts had received since Tarik Glenn had retired after the 2006 season. Faster than you can say "we've got a $90 million quarterback to protect" Johnson is gone, signed by the Minnesota Vikings on Monday. Indy GM Bill Polian was visibly agitated when asked how this happened. Now the Colts will have to rely on either 2nd year man Jeffrey Linkenbach or unsigned rookie Anthony Castonzo. Johnson's starts included 10 playoff games & 2 Super Bowls. He wasn't a Pro Bowl performer, but he was a major step-up from the pair now competing to take his place. Careful of that blindside there Peyton.
The top unsigned free agent on my list, Oakland tight end Zach Miller, is going to visit Seattle today. It was thought after no serious offers came his way, the word around the league was Raider's owner Al Davis was going to do whatever it took to resign Miller. Davis may have waited too long or Miller could just be forcing the issue with a phony trip to see a team he has no intention of signing with.
Holdouts Frank Gore, Niners RB, DeSean Jackson, Eagles WR & Marcedes Lewis, Jags TE, will all trickle into camp in the next few days. All believe they have made their point, they want new contracts. Tennessee running back Chris Johnson may be the only big-name holdout after Friday. He too is seeking a new deal.
Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw worked out a new deal to remain in New York(Jersey). It was rumored that the 4-year veteran from Marshall would move on, the Giants didn't want to commit any long term money to Bradshaw. But his 1,258-yards in 2010 must have been fresh enough in the minds of the NYG braintrust that they reconsidered.
Now for today's dose of Chiefs' news. Barry Richardson signed his restricted free agent tender on Monday & will return to practice Thursday. Since being drafted in 2008, he's proven to be pretty durable. As a reserve "swing" tackle & spot starter, Richardson is valuable & even tho he started 15-games ast season, I don't see him as a starter for a playoff contender. The position needs a definite upgrade, but big Barry should keep his roster spot for the foreseeable future.
Former New England defensive end Ty Warren will visit with his former boss, Scott Pioli, Todd Haley & his past New England D-coordinator, Romeo Crennell today in St. Joseph. Warren was released by New England last week. Warren played 8 season for the Patriots, 7 years as a starter including 3 Super Bowl appearances. The 6' 5" 300-pound Warren was the prototypical 3-4 defensive end while in New England. Ankle injuries cut short his 2009 season & after sustaining a hip injury during training camp last year, he was placed on I.R. for the entire season. If Warren still has some tread left on the tires, like Kelly Gregg, this would be an excellent addition for defensive line depth.
Defensive end Ty Warren
I glad to see coach Todd Haley evolve into a more comfortable character at the podium. After watching him squirm, sneer & snarl the first two years as head coach, Haley looks positively at ease in his daily press briefings. He laughs, he's more honest & forthcoming than in past years. Anyway, it's nice to see.
Once again neither Haley or player agent Joel Segal will answer any questions as to the whereabouts of 3rd round draft pick, linebacker Justin Houston. The secrecy gets louder with each passing day. Something other than a contract holdout is going on with this young man. Too bad no one will be honest about his absence. Segal was Randy Moss's agent for his entire NFL career. I have no idea what that means, if anything, I just thought I'd mention it.
Haley talked about Tamba Hali's absence, he's still unsigned as K.C.'s franchise player. He said Hali had been working out with Master Jo Kim, a martial arts instructor of some renown. Hand fighting is a big part of successfully doing your job in the NFL. Haley also mentioned Tunch Ali Ilkin, one of the first great hand-fighters in the NFL. The Turkish immigrant played offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1980's. His father, Dick Haley, Steelers' Director of Player Personnel, scouted Ilkin. Tunch played offensive tackle in Pittsburgh & later became their radio voice. But he always worked as an instructor in hand fighting. "Tunch's punches" as they became known, were one of the reasons Pittsburgh always had formidable offensive & defensive lines. Tyson Jackson worked 5-days a week during the lockout with an MMA fighter & Haley says he has seen improvement in Jackson. He better be able to show vast improvement over what we've seen in his first two NFL seasons. The 2010 3rd overall pick has been slow out of his stance, unable to disengage from blockers & always seemed to be handled by just one offensive lineman. I think this is a do-or-die season for Jackson.
One rookie making everyone notice is 6th round selection, nose tackle Jerrell Powe. He gave an excellent effort during blocking drills. Powe was difficult to move in the run game, but never showed me any pass rush ability while at Ole Miss. Don't count on him making an impact there, beating 3rd stringers & fellow rookies is a far cry from defeating cagy vets like Casey Wiegmann & Ryan Lilja. Powe is a hard worker tho & with Kelly Gregg around, I expect Powe to improve quickly.
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