TWO CONFERENCES NOW ONE, MIZZOU GETS EARLY VERBAL COMMITMENTS & PAY ATTENTION TO THE CHIEFS SALARY CAP CARRYOVER
What was once two conferences will soon become one as the Mountain West Conference & Conference-USA have decided to merge to form the first "Mega-Conference." It will consist of two 8-team divisions. The new conference will begin play in 2013. With the recent defections of Boise State & San Diego State to the Big East, the MWC was stripped of it's two real football powers. Conference-USA lost Houston, Memphis, Central Florida & SMU, also joining the Big East, the merger is a very sound decision. The new conference now stretches from Hawaii to West Virginia. The 16-members include Air Force, Colorado State, East Carolina, Fresno State, Hawaii, Marshall, New Mexico, Nevada, Rice, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, UAB, UNLV, UTEP & Wyoming. Travel expenses for out of division play could be very costly but with the losses both conferences sustained, the remnants banding together makes good sense.
The Missouri Tigers got early verbal commitments from a pair of high school juniors after their visit to Columbia over the weekend. The best news was both players are highly ranked Missouri players, keeping the prime in-state talent is so important to any football program. Joe Burkett, a linebacker from Jefferson City High & Aarion Maxey-Penton, a wide receiver/cornerback from Christian Brothers College High in St. Louis were pre-sold on playing for the Tigers. Burkett becomes a third generation Tiger & Maxey-Penton said his family wanted him to play at Mizzou & no other school was ever a serious consideration. Gary Pinkel said he would most likely become a full time cornerback. He was also a dangerous kickoff returner. Burkett will stay at linebacker for now.
In other Tiger news, the players hoping for an NFL career will have their on-campus pro day March 1st, the very first college pro day in the nation. Four Mizzou players have been invited to the NFL Scouting combine in Indianapolis. DT Dominique Hamilton, DE Jacquies Smith, TE Michael Egnew & WR Jerrell Jackson will do their best to impress pro scouts & coaches beginning on February 23rd.
Michael Egnew
I told you Baylor & Stanford would stage their on-campus pro days on the same day, March 22nd. Besides the obvious interest in quarterbacks Andrew Luck & Robert Griffin III, both teams have a number of prospects who could go in the top-3 rounds. On Monday, the NFL released the pro day schedules & we have another March 22nd entrant who will generate a lot of interest, the Boise State Broncos. They have as many as five prospects who could go in the top-3 rounds. With the bevy of top notch NFL talent to be observed on that day, it'll be all hands on deck, every scout, head coach, coordinators & position coaches will fan out to these three campuses to watch the workouts
The Pittsburgh Steelers revealed Monday they do not expect RB Rashard Mendenhall to be ready to start the season after tearing his ACL January 1st. They're going to need another back capable of carrying the load for at least 6-weeks if Mendenhall is placed on the PUP list.
The Philadelphia Eagles intend to slap the franchise tag on WR DeSean Jackson. He quit on the Eagles late in the season & frankly I'm surprised Andy Reid wants the headaches Jackson can cause.
Another wide receiver who can be trouble is Randy Moss 7 he said Monday he intends to make a comeback at age 35 after not playing in 2011. He said he can still run a sub 4.4 forty. I don't doubt Randy can still run, but his last season with three different teams, wasn't his finest moment. Like DeSean Jackson, he quit several times during that season. I look for the Patriots to bring Randy in first & if Bill Belichick wants Randy back, I doubt he'll talk to anyone else.
The Chiefs will have a visit from free agent cornerback Stanford Routt today. The former Raider was released last week in a cost-cutting move by Oakland's new GM Reggie McKenzie. Routt didn't play very well down the stretch last season & his $10+ million contract for 2012 would be cut in half if they cut him now. He visited Buffalo on Monday & after his visit with Romeo Crennel, Emmitt Thomas & Scott Pioli today, he'll move onto Houston, Dallas & Tennessee as the week progresses. Like I said the other day, this could be a move to scare Brandon Carr into signing now. It could also be that the Chiefs are willing to part with Carr if they can sign Routt. I'd surely keep Carr if at all possible, he's better than Routt right now & 3-years younger.
The Chiefs are close to signing Jack Bicknell Jr. as their new offensive line coach. He was the Giants' assistant line coach. He's also the son of Jack Bicknell, legendary Boston College head coach.
I saw a quote from Packers Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Mathews that was a classic. Dan Patrick asked Mathews the day before the Super Bowl what was the difference between this year & last year when Green Bay was preparing to win the 4th Super Bowl Championship. Mathews replied "Last year I was staying at the Ritz Carlton, eating caviar. Last night I ate at the Waffle House."
I told you Super Bowl week, Chiefs' owner Clark Hunt said the team could carryover unused salary cap money from last season & that they would need it to sign their own free agents as well as F/A's from elsewhere. Here's what Kansas City fans should pay attention to, how much of the $24 million do they intend to carryover. If they don't carryover every single dime of it, Chiefs' fans & the Kansas City media ought to make a major stink until Hunt & Pioli explain themselves. Why wouldn't they carryover every cent of the unused cap? In 2013 all teams are required to spend a minimum 89% of the cap. With the carryover, Kansas City has nearly $150 million to spend this season on player salaries. For those dollars, we had better see a significant improvement in the talent of the Chiefs' roster.
Finally, I have to mention the tragic death of singer Whitney Houston. I won't begin to examine some of the choices she made with her life, but instead I celebrate her immense talent. In 1991, just a week after the Gulf War began, Houston sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in Tampa. It was undoubtedly, the greatest rendition of the Anthem ever in my lifetime. If you're too young to have seen it or if you want to witness Whitney's unbelievable talent, go to Youtube & watch it. It takes lass than 3-minutes & I promise it will give you a lump in your throat & possibly bring a tear to your eye. It was the only time a recording of the Star Spangled Banner made the Billboard top-10 list. It sold more than 500,000 copies & Whitney donated every dime of it to charity. She will truly be missed.
The Missouri Tigers got early verbal commitments from a pair of high school juniors after their visit to Columbia over the weekend. The best news was both players are highly ranked Missouri players, keeping the prime in-state talent is so important to any football program. Joe Burkett, a linebacker from Jefferson City High & Aarion Maxey-Penton, a wide receiver/cornerback from Christian Brothers College High in St. Louis were pre-sold on playing for the Tigers. Burkett becomes a third generation Tiger & Maxey-Penton said his family wanted him to play at Mizzou & no other school was ever a serious consideration. Gary Pinkel said he would most likely become a full time cornerback. He was also a dangerous kickoff returner. Burkett will stay at linebacker for now.
In other Tiger news, the players hoping for an NFL career will have their on-campus pro day March 1st, the very first college pro day in the nation. Four Mizzou players have been invited to the NFL Scouting combine in Indianapolis. DT Dominique Hamilton, DE Jacquies Smith, TE Michael Egnew & WR Jerrell Jackson will do their best to impress pro scouts & coaches beginning on February 23rd.
Michael Egnew
I told you Baylor & Stanford would stage their on-campus pro days on the same day, March 22nd. Besides the obvious interest in quarterbacks Andrew Luck & Robert Griffin III, both teams have a number of prospects who could go in the top-3 rounds. On Monday, the NFL released the pro day schedules & we have another March 22nd entrant who will generate a lot of interest, the Boise State Broncos. They have as many as five prospects who could go in the top-3 rounds. With the bevy of top notch NFL talent to be observed on that day, it'll be all hands on deck, every scout, head coach, coordinators & position coaches will fan out to these three campuses to watch the workouts
The Pittsburgh Steelers revealed Monday they do not expect RB Rashard Mendenhall to be ready to start the season after tearing his ACL January 1st. They're going to need another back capable of carrying the load for at least 6-weeks if Mendenhall is placed on the PUP list.
The Philadelphia Eagles intend to slap the franchise tag on WR DeSean Jackson. He quit on the Eagles late in the season & frankly I'm surprised Andy Reid wants the headaches Jackson can cause.
Another wide receiver who can be trouble is Randy Moss 7 he said Monday he intends to make a comeback at age 35 after not playing in 2011. He said he can still run a sub 4.4 forty. I don't doubt Randy can still run, but his last season with three different teams, wasn't his finest moment. Like DeSean Jackson, he quit several times during that season. I look for the Patriots to bring Randy in first & if Bill Belichick wants Randy back, I doubt he'll talk to anyone else.
The Chiefs will have a visit from free agent cornerback Stanford Routt today. The former Raider was released last week in a cost-cutting move by Oakland's new GM Reggie McKenzie. Routt didn't play very well down the stretch last season & his $10+ million contract for 2012 would be cut in half if they cut him now. He visited Buffalo on Monday & after his visit with Romeo Crennel, Emmitt Thomas & Scott Pioli today, he'll move onto Houston, Dallas & Tennessee as the week progresses. Like I said the other day, this could be a move to scare Brandon Carr into signing now. It could also be that the Chiefs are willing to part with Carr if they can sign Routt. I'd surely keep Carr if at all possible, he's better than Routt right now & 3-years younger.
The Chiefs are close to signing Jack Bicknell Jr. as their new offensive line coach. He was the Giants' assistant line coach. He's also the son of Jack Bicknell, legendary Boston College head coach.
I saw a quote from Packers Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Mathews that was a classic. Dan Patrick asked Mathews the day before the Super Bowl what was the difference between this year & last year when Green Bay was preparing to win the 4th Super Bowl Championship. Mathews replied "Last year I was staying at the Ritz Carlton, eating caviar. Last night I ate at the Waffle House."
I told you Super Bowl week, Chiefs' owner Clark Hunt said the team could carryover unused salary cap money from last season & that they would need it to sign their own free agents as well as F/A's from elsewhere. Here's what Kansas City fans should pay attention to, how much of the $24 million do they intend to carryover. If they don't carryover every single dime of it, Chiefs' fans & the Kansas City media ought to make a major stink until Hunt & Pioli explain themselves. Why wouldn't they carryover every cent of the unused cap? In 2013 all teams are required to spend a minimum 89% of the cap. With the carryover, Kansas City has nearly $150 million to spend this season on player salaries. For those dollars, we had better see a significant improvement in the talent of the Chiefs' roster.
Finally, I have to mention the tragic death of singer Whitney Houston. I won't begin to examine some of the choices she made with her life, but instead I celebrate her immense talent. In 1991, just a week after the Gulf War began, Houston sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl in Tampa. It was undoubtedly, the greatest rendition of the Anthem ever in my lifetime. If you're too young to have seen it or if you want to witness Whitney's unbelievable talent, go to Youtube & watch it. It takes lass than 3-minutes & I promise it will give you a lump in your throat & possibly bring a tear to your eye. It was the only time a recording of the Star Spangled Banner made the Billboard top-10 list. It sold more than 500,000 copies & Whitney donated every dime of it to charity. She will truly be missed.
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