WEDNESDAY PART DEAUX
Let's start with the Super Bowl shall we? Patriots' left tackle Matt Light returned to practice after missing the past two days with an undisclosed illness. Tight end Rob Gronkowski didn't practice again, but like I said earlier, he probably won't push his high ankle sprain until the walk-thru to see if it's possible for him to play effectively. It could Belichick is going to use him a a decoy. The Steelers did that against Arizona when Hines Ward had a similar injury. Roethlisberger threw the 1st pass of the game to Ward & he wasn't targeted the rest of the day, but that one reception made the Cardinal DB's respect his presence.
At the New England media session, DT Vince Wilfork was asked the greatest misconception people have about him. He said "Folks think I'm some Butterball, but I can dunk." Not to call Vince a liar but maybe he could dunk some time ago, not since he pegged his bathroom scales at 350 or so. I will say this, Wilfork played one hell of a game against the Ravens. I think he might deal Giants' center David Baas a similar fit on Sunday.
Vince Wilfork
Also heard at the media session, Matt Light was asked about Gronkowski's availability for Sunday(they asked everyone from New England about Gronk) & Light's reply was a classic "He'll be there, he's a well trained animal."
Chad Ochocinco was there as well & he made a couple of quotes that I'm sure made Patriots' owner Robert Kraft squirm. Since he was real mopey yesterday on media day, Chad was asked if he was having a good time today. His response was "Being here man it's like watching porn, there's nothing bad about that." When asked if he was sorry the way this season turned out for him personally his reply was "F**k no!" I don't look for Chad to be a Patriot next season.
The Giants' defensive end Osi Umenyiora missed the media session & the NFL quickly fined him $20,000. Umenyiora quickly apologized & said it was his fault for missing the session, he "misunderstood the schedule" & that he wouldn't be late for any other media dates or times including after the game, win or lose. Think anyone else will miss their media appointment now thru Sunday night?
Former Giants' wide receiver Amani Toomer said on ESPN when asked about the significant improvement of Eli Manning "No question Eli improved his play after he didn't have the distraction of Jeremy Shockey in the huddle." Toomer is the 3rd ex-Giant to mention the constant distraction of Shockey. He was infamous for complaining in the huddle he wasn't getting the ball enough or he was open on nearly every play.
Ravens' owner Steve Bisciotti said tonight getting QB Joe Flacco & RB Ray Rice under new contracts was the most important thing in the off-season. He told Baltimore fans "They're not going anywhere. We would like to have a deal done before we have to put the franchise tag on Ray." Flacco has one more year on his rookie deal & the Ravens want his taken care of now as well.
Reggie Wayne of the Colts is an unrestricted free agent & it looked as tho he was going to walk away from Indianapolis. But Wayne said on Wednesday he might be willing to give the Colts a "hometown discount" if they wanted him to stay. It seems like Reggie wants to finish his career with a horseshoe on his helmet. The question is, do the Colts plan to blow everything up with the departure of Peyton Manning & the former coaching staff?
Chiefs' offensive line coach & former offensive coordinator Bill Muir abruptly retired on Wednesday. The 69-year old veteran of 35-NFL seasons as a coach, claimed he wasn't forced out or that he intended to anything other than retire from football. Now Kansas City needs an offensive coordinator, a line coach & a receivers coach. Since Romeo Crennel forbid the Bears from interviewing Jim Zorn as a candidate for their QB coaching vacancy, it would appear his job is safe. I said a few weeks ago my candidate for the offensive coordinator's position would be Al Saunders. Well nothing ever materialized, that is until Wednesday. Dick Vermeil let it slip during an interview with Bob Gretz at the Super Bowl, that Saunders was in Kansas City interviewing for the O.C. job. See, I'm not crazy.
My choice for Chiefs' O.C. Al Saunders
Reading a very long, but excellent piece on Foxsports.com written by Thayer Evans about the recruitment of one Dorial Green-Beckham. It's almost like a diary in it's totality. He spoke with both parents extensively after the announcement Wednesday morning of their son choosing Mizzou. How some schools handled his recruiting was amazing. Some brilliant, some off the charts dumb. Mrs. Beckham has a masters degree from Kansas but she said "they were just a mess" cancelling two in-home trips at the last minute. They were written off after the 2nd one.
DGB's dad is a high school head football coach & he had some excellent insight into some of the programs talking to his son. He doesn't think much of Notre Dame's Brian Kelly. He didn't respect Kelly treatment of his players or assistants on the sidelines "slamming his headphones on the ground when someone was right there to take them." I've told Linda on fall Saturdays I'm not a fan of Kelly for the same reasons, he acts like a spoiled child & then expects perfect behavior out of his players. He also had reservations about Bobby Petrino. Most of his doubts came from the constant movement of his coaching staff.
"They weren't changing jobs for promotion, most were lateral moves to other schools, a sign all was not well on this staff. And there was the matter of leaving Louisville in the lurch to take the Falcons head coaching position, only to quit midway thru the season to move to Arkansas. Dorial needs consistency, for him to trust somebody takes time."
Tracey Beckham was unhappy her 17-year old son was taken to a bar in Fayetteville by some Razorback football players. Two of his brothers also made the trip & they got him out of there, deciding a bar wasn't a good spot for him. Good decision. His dad, John Beckham, wasn't pleased by the Arkansas booster calling him this past Monday on his personal cell phone to tell him he was "considering Hillcrest High School for a considerable donation." His other major concern about Arkansas stemmed from their low graduation rate within the football program.
In the end what won DGB's commitment to Mizzou was three-fold. The reception he got on campus last weekend was really special & he enjoyed every minute of it. The Tigers arranged for newly recruited QB Maty Mauk to hang out with DGB in Columbia. The University offered Darnell Green-Beckham, Dorial's younger biological half-brother who suffers from leukemia, a full scholarship, so he can get his diploma at the same school. Darnell is no longer a prospect since being diagnosed a year ago, but he can go to Mizzou on their dime. That was the clincher, the brothers are very, very close. John Beckham said Dorial took a special liking to offensive coordinator David Yost, a long time Pinkel assistant.
Green-Beckham & Mizzou O.C. David Yost
That closes the book on Mizzou's 2012 recruiting class, ranked 20th best in the nation by ESPN. They were 48th last year after three consecutive seasons in the 20's. If the Tigers are to be legitimate contenders for the SEC East, they need to do better, get into the top-15 consistently & eventually the top-10. Maybe landing DGB will kick start a new era in Mizzou football, they were certainly the talk on Wednesday.
At the New England media session, DT Vince Wilfork was asked the greatest misconception people have about him. He said "Folks think I'm some Butterball, but I can dunk." Not to call Vince a liar but maybe he could dunk some time ago, not since he pegged his bathroom scales at 350 or so. I will say this, Wilfork played one hell of a game against the Ravens. I think he might deal Giants' center David Baas a similar fit on Sunday.
Vince Wilfork
Also heard at the media session, Matt Light was asked about Gronkowski's availability for Sunday(they asked everyone from New England about Gronk) & Light's reply was a classic "He'll be there, he's a well trained animal."
Chad Ochocinco was there as well & he made a couple of quotes that I'm sure made Patriots' owner Robert Kraft squirm. Since he was real mopey yesterday on media day, Chad was asked if he was having a good time today. His response was "Being here man it's like watching porn, there's nothing bad about that." When asked if he was sorry the way this season turned out for him personally his reply was "F**k no!" I don't look for Chad to be a Patriot next season.
The Giants' defensive end Osi Umenyiora missed the media session & the NFL quickly fined him $20,000. Umenyiora quickly apologized & said it was his fault for missing the session, he "misunderstood the schedule" & that he wouldn't be late for any other media dates or times including after the game, win or lose. Think anyone else will miss their media appointment now thru Sunday night?
Former Giants' wide receiver Amani Toomer said on ESPN when asked about the significant improvement of Eli Manning "No question Eli improved his play after he didn't have the distraction of Jeremy Shockey in the huddle." Toomer is the 3rd ex-Giant to mention the constant distraction of Shockey. He was infamous for complaining in the huddle he wasn't getting the ball enough or he was open on nearly every play.
Ravens' owner Steve Bisciotti said tonight getting QB Joe Flacco & RB Ray Rice under new contracts was the most important thing in the off-season. He told Baltimore fans "They're not going anywhere. We would like to have a deal done before we have to put the franchise tag on Ray." Flacco has one more year on his rookie deal & the Ravens want his taken care of now as well.
Reggie Wayne of the Colts is an unrestricted free agent & it looked as tho he was going to walk away from Indianapolis. But Wayne said on Wednesday he might be willing to give the Colts a "hometown discount" if they wanted him to stay. It seems like Reggie wants to finish his career with a horseshoe on his helmet. The question is, do the Colts plan to blow everything up with the departure of Peyton Manning & the former coaching staff?
Chiefs' offensive line coach & former offensive coordinator Bill Muir abruptly retired on Wednesday. The 69-year old veteran of 35-NFL seasons as a coach, claimed he wasn't forced out or that he intended to anything other than retire from football. Now Kansas City needs an offensive coordinator, a line coach & a receivers coach. Since Romeo Crennel forbid the Bears from interviewing Jim Zorn as a candidate for their QB coaching vacancy, it would appear his job is safe. I said a few weeks ago my candidate for the offensive coordinator's position would be Al Saunders. Well nothing ever materialized, that is until Wednesday. Dick Vermeil let it slip during an interview with Bob Gretz at the Super Bowl, that Saunders was in Kansas City interviewing for the O.C. job. See, I'm not crazy.
My choice for Chiefs' O.C. Al Saunders
Reading a very long, but excellent piece on Foxsports.com written by Thayer Evans about the recruitment of one Dorial Green-Beckham. It's almost like a diary in it's totality. He spoke with both parents extensively after the announcement Wednesday morning of their son choosing Mizzou. How some schools handled his recruiting was amazing. Some brilliant, some off the charts dumb. Mrs. Beckham has a masters degree from Kansas but she said "they were just a mess" cancelling two in-home trips at the last minute. They were written off after the 2nd one.
DGB's dad is a high school head football coach & he had some excellent insight into some of the programs talking to his son. He doesn't think much of Notre Dame's Brian Kelly. He didn't respect Kelly treatment of his players or assistants on the sidelines "slamming his headphones on the ground when someone was right there to take them." I've told Linda on fall Saturdays I'm not a fan of Kelly for the same reasons, he acts like a spoiled child & then expects perfect behavior out of his players. He also had reservations about Bobby Petrino. Most of his doubts came from the constant movement of his coaching staff.
"They weren't changing jobs for promotion, most were lateral moves to other schools, a sign all was not well on this staff. And there was the matter of leaving Louisville in the lurch to take the Falcons head coaching position, only to quit midway thru the season to move to Arkansas. Dorial needs consistency, for him to trust somebody takes time."
Tracey Beckham was unhappy her 17-year old son was taken to a bar in Fayetteville by some Razorback football players. Two of his brothers also made the trip & they got him out of there, deciding a bar wasn't a good spot for him. Good decision. His dad, John Beckham, wasn't pleased by the Arkansas booster calling him this past Monday on his personal cell phone to tell him he was "considering Hillcrest High School for a considerable donation." His other major concern about Arkansas stemmed from their low graduation rate within the football program.
In the end what won DGB's commitment to Mizzou was three-fold. The reception he got on campus last weekend was really special & he enjoyed every minute of it. The Tigers arranged for newly recruited QB Maty Mauk to hang out with DGB in Columbia. The University offered Darnell Green-Beckham, Dorial's younger biological half-brother who suffers from leukemia, a full scholarship, so he can get his diploma at the same school. Darnell is no longer a prospect since being diagnosed a year ago, but he can go to Mizzou on their dime. That was the clincher, the brothers are very, very close. John Beckham said Dorial took a special liking to offensive coordinator David Yost, a long time Pinkel assistant.
Green-Beckham & Mizzou O.C. David Yost
That closes the book on Mizzou's 2012 recruiting class, ranked 20th best in the nation by ESPN. They were 48th last year after three consecutive seasons in the 20's. If the Tigers are to be legitimate contenders for the SEC East, they need to do better, get into the top-15 consistently & eventually the top-10. Maybe landing DGB will kick start a new era in Mizzou football, they were certainly the talk on Wednesday.
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