19
Aug
2010
NFL questions that must be answered (Part 1)
We’re just weeks away from the start of the NFL’s regular season, yet many questions remain.
In this series, we’ll dig through a few items in the days leading up to Week One — and we promise to veer away from Brett Favre and Dez Bryant (and Rex Ryan) in the weeks ahead.
Let’s deal with some of those men today, and move forward, shall we?
Jets coach Rex Ryan with his team in 2009. He's lost some weight since then -- but gained some moxie. (Source: Motleyball.com)
1. Will Favre stay healthy? It may be a stretch to question the durability of a quarterback who’s started 309 consecutive games (when I, myself, miss 20 days of work annually due to a laundry list of faked illnesses — but I digress).
Favre’s health is an issue because, after those 309 games, he’s 41 and playing on an ankle that’s only partially healed. “There is nothing on me that’s 100 percent. There wasn’t anything that was 100 percent last year or the year before,” Favre told The Associated Press Wednesday. “The surgery made me a little better.”
Let’s say Favre hadn’t thrown that fateful pick against the Saints — would he have played in the Super Bowl?
I suppose he and the team would have done everything possible to have him in there, but if you recall the hideous photos of his ankle in the days following the game, it’s hard to imagine him on the field.
Look, I don’t doubt Favre on any level — again, have any of us not missed a day of work in 19 years? Not even the super nerds among us can talk that jive.
If Favre can do 75 percent of what he did last year, the Vikings have a strong enough supporting cast to return to the NFC championship.
If Tarvaris Jackson starts more than three games, there will be issues. When I look at the 2009 Vikings, I see a team that had everything go right during the regular season. Very few injuries, young players emerging to play pivotal roles, and the team’s star having a career year. In the NFL, this almost never happens two years running.
2. Do the Jets live up to the hype? I, for one, believe they will — to a degree. I don’t see them flopping. They have too much talent, and no matter what you think about Ryan, the man loves his players, and communicates with them well. Watching HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” it’s so clear that Ryan knows how to motivate the roster and — despite the Jets’ star-studded roster — he cares as much for his fringe special teamers as he does for his headliners.
For the Jets to mature, quarterback Mark Sanchez needs to settle into his role. To paraphrase what Marty Schottenheimer said on “Hard Knocks,” during a visit to the team’s training camp — if a rookie quarterback has a good first season, if you can simply help him equal that in Year Two, you’ve achieved something as a coach.
Amidst all the Jets madness, some forget that Sanchez, statistically, was far from perfect in 2009.
While the team was a machine on the ground, they ranked 31st in passing. Sanchez threw 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions and had a 63 rating, 28th in the NFL. By comparison, Drew Brees threw 31 touchdowns and 11 picks. Brady Quinn had a higher rating than Sanchez, on a much worse team. So did Marc Bulger and Mark Fitzpatrick.
Stats aside, what Sanchez did successfully was maintain his composure and help New York get within a game of the Super Bowl.
Understanding Marty’s point, I doubt the former coach — who knows something about losing AFC championship games — is suggesting that Sanchez simply needs to go out there and repeat last year’s numbers.
Sanchez must illustrate that he can shoulder the load when the Jets can’t run the ball and Darrelle Revis is home watching the game on television, waiting for more bags of money to arrive.
Jason Campbell has been welcomed in Oakland, and his presence makes the Raiders a threat to win the AFC West. (Source: AP)
I trust in the coaching Sanchez receives from Rex and Brian Schottenheimer — and I believe the Jets have something to teach 90% of the league when it comes to playing with confidence and a sense of destiny. They’ll be a factor all year long.
3. Which team will be 2010′s big surprise? Too often, preseason picks lack originality. It seems to boil down to a process of selecting between last year’s final four — and the Cowboys — as this year’s Super Bowl contenders.
Nobody was talking about New Orleans last August; and before Favre won with the Vikings, he was dismissed a head case following a disappointing 2008 season with the Jets.
Naturally, everyone gets on board and acts like they knew all along.
When unheralded Kurt Warner and the Rams marched through the NFC to a Super Bowl crown in 1999, it wasn’t until midseason that people took them seriously.
Who plays that role this time around?
We can’t call a 2009 playoff team a surprise (although some try).
We can’t name a team that surged at times, showing strong signs of promise. For instance, the Miami Dolphins are not a surprise team.
I’m talking about some out-of-left-field squad that people are laughing at — or entirely ignoring — today.
I see Tampa Bay, Cleveland, or Oakland as 2010′s surprise playoff team. Not all of them — but one.
With a gun to my head, I think Oakland — despite their eccentric owner — may do a job on the Chargers and take the AFC West. I also believe next August we’ll be watching Al Davis and his boys on 2011′s “Hard Knocks.”
It may be the only way to top what we’re currently experiencing.
21
Jul
2010
Bears RB Unga signs contract, prepares for competition
Bears RB Matt Forte isn't about to give up the spotlight just yet. (Source: Mark2400 on Flickr)
The Chicago Bears have signed Harvey Unga to a four-year contract, according to The Chicago Tribune.
The Bears chose Unga with the 12th pick in the seventh round of Thursday’s 2010 NFL Supplemental Draft. The BYU running back was one of a whopping two players taken.
Unga rushed for more than 3,400 yards during his college career, but it’s going to be an uphill climb when Bears training camp starts July 29. Chicago’s backfield is crowded, with Matt Forte and Chester Taylor set to see the majority of the action. Unga will battle reserves Khalil Bell, Brandon Minor, and Garrett Wolfe for the third spot.
As discussed earlier, the supplemental draft hasn’t exactly been a goldmine for NFL teams. Maybe the Bears — who already have enough Unga-types on the roster — feel like they’ve found something special.
14
Jul
2010
Hit ‘em where it hurts
Brief thought: The NFL currently suspends players at the beginning of the NFL season. A suspended player typically is allowed to train with their teams, and participate in training camp and preseason games. With the real games start, the suspension hits and the player misses anywhere from one to four (or more) weeks. In most cases, even with a rocky start, the player and his team have the entire rest of the season to recover. I don’t find this severe enough.
Case in point: If Big Ben wants to head down to Georgia and cause utter chaos during the offseason, he’s still back in the saddle by (probably) Week 5 of the 2010 NFL season (although if he botches up again, it could be later). Realistically, if the Steelers can get out of their first four games at 2-2 — even 1-3 — they’ll be fine.
I’d like to see the league play with the idea of suspending players at the end of the season. Or, perhaps a combination of two games to start the year and two games to end it.
Naturally, if a suspended player is trapped on a terrible football team, there’s less to lose if the team is 1-11 when a four-game suspension would commence.
On the flip side, it would make the game’s stars think twice about their behavior if they’re forced to bail on their teams in the critical final weeks of the season.
I don’t propose hanging a mistake over a player forever. There is something natural about paying your fine and moving on. With that aside, a system of late-season suspensions might have more impact on the game. I guess it all depends if the guilty party is on my team — or yours.
One man's appeal to up the stakes by have suspended stars benched at the END of the season. (Source: static.nfl.com)
1
Jun
2010
The NFL Omnibus: A Q&A with ESPN’s Chris Sprow
With league OTAs in full swing, and the preseason around the corner, we talked with ESPN’s Chris Sprow, an editor and reporter who covers the NFL (with a focus on the Draft), along with a wide variety of others sports. Chris shared his thoughts on this year’s rookie quarterback class; assessed the bliss-level of the Holmgren/Mangini marriage in C-Town; and examined which head coach might soon be considered the league’s next “genius.”
Life under the microscope: Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan, Sean Payton, Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz all know this: Whether you're rebuilding the house, or reloading a Super Bowl champion, everyone's on the hot seat in this league. (Source: AP/photoshop)
THEDARKHORSE: Chris, thanks so much for joining us. You spent hours researching this year’s draft. As always, the rookie quarterbacks received tremendous hype — but five years from now, how will they be judged?
CHRIS SPROW: I recently touched on the subject of taking a year or more to develop a quarterback — not as a starter — and this year’s class offers a classic case in point for the belief that you can’t do anything better for a guy’s chances to be a really good NFL quarterback than to hand him a clipboard in his first year, and maybe his first couple. Sam Bradford has never really had to read defenses. I spoke for a while with his offensive coordinator at OU (Kevin Wilson) and Bradford — who is really a bright kid and should learn quickly — is a guy who was able to anticipate the open man in that system a lot more than he had to (yes, yes) read and react. He’s also never taken snaps under center, and that’s another massive change. I think Bradford has a chance to be really, really good. He’s super accurate, he’s smart, and he has plenty of arm. But if they rush him, it’s a mistake.
THEDARKHORSE: Some people suggest that Jimmy Clausen might be in the best scenario for success.
CHRIS SPROW: I think Clausen is going to be a good NFL quarterback. You just can’t forget that he really only had one year with competent surrounding talent in South Bend, he took a ton of hits, played in a pro style offense, and could have very well had a junior season where he threw 28 touchdowns and just one or two picks. He was unlucky on a couple of those. Again, he shouldn’t start as a rookie.
THEDARKHORSE: Then we’ve got a player who fell farther than some expected in Colt McCoy — and one who went much higher than initially predicted in Tim Tebow.
CHRIS SPROW: McCoy I find interesting because a lot of the reason he fell was the reason he was good. He simply didn’t have a lot of options or opportunity to throw the ball down the field as a senior given the ‘Horns personnel and, for the most part, he did a good job of taking what he was given. He’s another guy where, given a couple of years of marinating, he has as good a chance as any of these guys, because we know he has the head for it.
THEDARKHORSE: Looking at the hysteria surrounding Tebow, why the attention?
Click below to read the rest of our interview with ESPN’s Chris Sprow
25
May
2010
Q&A with Brandon Kopceuch of 27Pitches and NFL.com’s Blog Blitz
This week, we have the privilege of sitting down to talk with Brandon Kopceuch, a writer for NFL.com’s Blog Blitz and www.27pitches.com. Brandon has been following the National Football League for years, and gives us his impressions of this offseason, and takes a look forward to 2010. Brandon can be reached at brandon@27pitches.com.
Are people too worked up over Sanchez and the Jets? (Source: nydailynews.com)
THEDARKHORSE: Brandon, thanks for joining us here at Read and React. It’s been an active few months for the National Football League. Give me your thoughts on one or two teams that have really improved this offseason.
BRANDON KOPCEUCH : Thanks for having me. I was saying it even before the draft, but, in my opinion, one team that has really impressed me this offseason is the Detroit Lions. Ever since they got rid of Matt Millen, they finally seem to be on the right path, and I can legitimately see them competing for the NFC North title as early as next year. Imagine if Millen was still in charge—he’d have drafted Dez Bryant and let the other areas of the team fall into ruin. But Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz actually seem to know what they’re doing. Matthew Stafford is the real deal and giving him a legitimate weapon in Nate Burleson opposite the beast that is Calvin “Megatron” Johnson will go a long way into opening up the field for them. Then going out and trading for one of the better receiving tight ends in the league in Tony Scheffler makes this a scary passing offense for their opponents to defend.
The other team I like is the Baltimore Ravens. They have given Joe Flacco a plethora of weapons and they should field one of the best offenses in the league next year, along with their normally stout defense, which got stronger with last month’s draft. Oh, and let me throw this out there: I think Flacco is, and will be, better than his quarterback draft partner, Matt Ryan. There, I said it.
THEDARKHORSE: How about a team that’s stumbled?
BRANDON KOPCEUCH: I have to say it’s the Broncos. Josh McDaniels has come in and gutted them of virtually every talented offensive player on their roster and now Kyle Orton will have to enter the season with Eddie Royal and Jabar Gaffney as his top-two receivers. Defensively they were solid last year until the final few weeks—and all of the credit for that has to be given to Mike Nolan—but McDaniels inexplicably ran him out of town. I just think McDaniels is in over his head and is trying too hard to put his own imprint on the team, but he simply hasn’t made the right decisions. He’ll be lucky if he gets the time to develop Tebow into the quarterback he apparently thinks he can be.
THEDARKHORSE: Who do you like in the always-under-a-microscope NFC East this season?
Click below to read the rest of our interview with Brandon Kopceuch.
24
May
2010
THEDARKHORSE and STEVERODGERS talk ORTON, TEBOW, IRON MAN 2, and THOR!
The Dark Horse and Steve Rodgers sit down for the next (slightly disheveled) installment of a season-long fireside chat (which may be of no interest to the public).
This time ’round, they wander far from the well-mowed gridiron–and Kyle Orton’s future–to discuss “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and the state of the comic-book-movie genre (oh, and “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2″).
The Broncos deny it, but is Orton on the outs in the Mile High City? (Source: mkrob.com)
THEDARKHORSE: SteveRodgers, talk to me about the following: (1) Is this the year the Patriots finally level off? Also, who wins the AFC East, and has it become as interesting a division as the NFC East? (2) Give me your thoughts on “Iron Man 2.”
STEVERODGERS: I think the pats are undervalued. There is a good chance they will stay right where they’ve been. My issue with New England is that they don’t have a strong defensive front to worry a good, opposing quarterback. So, when they get to the playoffs and have to deal with a decent QB, they have to be perfect everywhere else. So, unless a young stud steps up, I really don’t see them making any noise when it counts.
I haven’t seen “Iron Man II,” but I am positive it will be awesome. The great thing about those movies is that they’re fun. Recent comic-book movies, with the exception of “Kick-Ass,” have been heavy Russian novels, which I like, but you need to catch your breath. “Iron Man” keeps things fun, while still doing what a comic-book movie needs to do—put your hero up against impossible odds, yet somehow have him save the day at the end. The best comic book on film this year is the opening sequence of “Watchmen,” which was jaw-dropping, comic-book goodness. What has been your favorite comic-book movie? And what can you tell me about the NFC East?
THEDARKHORSE: While the NFC East is regularly the most-hyped division in football, it deserves credit for often living up to that hype. We have seen our share of strong NFC East matchups late in the season and into the playoffs over the past few years. The total dissembling of the New York Giants in 2009 makes this an critical year for the club. No matter what people think of Eli Manning, any pro team has a closing window of time where the quarterback position is set in stone, and you don’t want to waste that. I expect the Giants, who have been really quiet this offseason, to work from within to get back to where they need to be. This is a team that’s suffered off years before, and bounced back strong. The Cowboys are as talented a team on paper as any around—in my book, they have to be the division favorite heading into the summer. The Redskins and Eagles are interesting, simply by the addition and the subtraction, respectively, of Donovan McNabb. When a big quarterback moves within his own division, the league fawns over the scenario it creates between rivals. I really didn’t care much for the Redskins/Eagles rivalry, but now there’s something to watch.
My favorite comic book movie of all time? That’s a tough one. I loved the 1989 “Batman” with Michael Keaton. Perhaps the new installment is a better series (so far, easily), but the reason I liked Keaton’s Batman is the reason I like Downey Jr.’s Iron Man–they played against type, to some degree. Someone who looks like George Clooney would never be Batman. You already look like George Clooney–you can have anything you want. Why be holed up and angry in a cave? Batman’s journey is about pain and revenge and overcoming the demons of life—overcompensating for all of that, to create this vigilante—this equalizer persona. Question: Why are they making a “Thor” movie? I don’t know a whole lot about the character, but am I right? He’s a Norse god who comes to earth and lives as a medical student in Norway? And it’s being directed by Kenneth Branaugh? I like Branaugh’s work—but I’m a little lost as to how this will work. Or, is it his initial mythology, minus the “hanging out in Norway” part?
Another question for you: Who wins the quarterback derby in Denver? I’m hearing backroom talk that Orton may be traded.
How about these guys for an NFL backfield? (Source: multipleplayerblog.com)
STEVERODGERS: Love Keaton in the first “Batman.” Wildly underrated and forgotten-about movie that doesn’t get enough love. Most likely because they forgot about the things that made that story great in doing the next four movies, or so. The best thing, now, is that people who like and understand comics are making them. In the old days, the only one who did that was Donner with “Superman II,” which is still one of the most kick-ass comic-book movies ever. “Thor,” I am afraid, may not be for you. On the flip side, “Iron Man,” when it was green-lit, was in the same WTF category, so maybe they’ll pull it off. Thor has his issues: he is the son of Odin, and goes to Midgard (Earth) to be with the people. He is the god of thunder, and has to be a human—one with a disability at that. He is a god of war, but a healer on Earth. The most interesting thing about Thor is his relationship with Captain America. Cap is the super-hero with the least powers, but he commands Thor in “The Avengers.” Thor’s hammer can only be lifted by one who is worthy of its’ power. The only one on Earth who is able to do that is Cap. There is a great scene in one comic where Cap is riding point on a disaster in midtown, and the caption reads, “He has a voice that could command a god… and it does.” In the next panel, you see Thor creating rain to put out fires. A goose-bumps moment for Cap fans.
I love Orton. Losing him now seems like a big mistake. He’s like Trent Dilfer, but better, and a million-times more likable. He fits Denver like a glove. I love the Eagles and Redskins going at it in 2010, but, in general, those are two franchises that don’t do a thing for me, for the most part. One, the Eagles—like the Jets—have uniforms that match the turf, making them unwatchable for me. Secondly, the name “Redskins” is heinous—and if the owner had any stones, he would change it.
Would you rather have Orton, Delhomme, Tebow, or a healthy third-year Tim Couch running the offense for the Townies this year?
THEDARKHORSE: I’m slowly warming up to the idea of a “Thor” film. If they can craft “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” they can make “Thor.”
Between Orton, Delhomme, Tebow, and a third-year Couch, I think the Browns are best off with Delhomme; the primary reason being that this team has essentially been under the direction of young, inexperienced quarterbacks since 1999. Other than Dilfer and Garcia—who were unsuccessful in bad situations—it’s been a laundry list of half-baked rookies and draft busts. Certainly, someone like Couch was put into a terrible position with the Browns. We never got to see what Couch might have been, if he’d been patiently coached and prepped, instead of being thrown into the fire. Still, in 2010, Delhomme (who is no guarantee) brings a steady hand to a team desperately in need of leadership.
Question: Why haven’t they made a film version of “Superman vs. Batman”?
STEVERODGERS: There is a “Superman vs. Batman” animated film—“Public Enemies,” I think—based on the comic.
It’s stalled because they can’t seem to make “Superman” into a movie that anyone wants to see and Donner has either fallen out of fashion or won’t leave his gentleman’s farm in Arcata to save the franchise. The last “Superman” movie was a terrible. He is a creepy stalker/deadbeat dad, and Luthor wants to create real estate out of crystals in the ocean. Luthor, one of the best villains of all time, is reduced to being a kooky real estate agent. So boring. That is how you kill a franchise. So, no, I don’t think they’re going to have a “Superman vs. Batman” movie anytime soon. However, if they were to do one, have it be in the future, maybe the sun is blinking out so Superman has less power, so there would be real danger, and Batman was older—an old man—one last hurrah to stop a truly evil Luthor using some of Batman’s enemies as pawns.
That would be a comic book movie. Get Donner!
6
May
2010
Coaches Roundtable (Part One), with TheDarkHorse and steverodgers
Tom Cable: Sitting in the dark in Alameda. (Source: AlltheAbove)
THEDARKHORSE: Alright, steverodgers, the draft has come and gone, Pac Man’s hanging out with Ochocinco, Tony Romo’s won a playoff game sans Jessica, and Big Bad Orton’s still the starter (barely) in Denver. When will the other shoe drop? What do you see in your 2010 crystal ball?
STEVERODGERS: What do I see…? I see another glorious NFL season. I see Kyle Orton making the leap and hitting some passes for over 10 yards. I see Brady Quinn flexing in the mirror, his clipboard watches mildly impressed. I see the Pats recording only five sacks for the entire season. I see Mangini and Holmgren on a road trip, the car is full of snacks, they listen to Journey and discuss secret offenses and the Mississippi Showboats 1984 USFL Season. I see my Sunday’s spent away from my family. I see John Clayton writing article after article that I completely disagree with. DH, what do you see? Where does the NFL go this year? Who will be the heroes, the villains, the ones left with their fans in stands wearing paper bags on their heads?
THEDARKHORSE: I think, even today, Holmgren calls Mangini down to his office, and–in a slowly developing friendship–Holmgren opens the little fridge, pulls out two PBRs, cracks his, cracks Mangini’s, and pushes it across the desk. They sit and talk Montana, Young, Favre, Elway, Brady (Tom not Quinn), McCoy. Mangini is concerned about the age along the defensive line. “I need you speak with Heckert–speak with Tom–I need a lean, quick, 5 technique defensive end to spell Smith–I need two young defensive tackles… we need this by June, Mike.” Holmgren dials his admin. “Yes, Mr. Holmgren.” “Vivian, can we get two steaks, medium, and a couple of baked potatoes in here?” “Yes, Mr. Holmgren. Do you want slices of cake?” “Yes, Vivian, two slices of chocolate cake.” Holmgren hangs up and looks at Mangini, “It’s gonna’ be OK, Eric. We’re on a trajectory here.” They sit deep into the night–drinking cans of PBR, probably 10 each–at one stage, Mangini draws up a brand-new NFL defense, the 1-8-2. “I call it ‘The Drunken Tot,’ and do you see what it does?”
Mangini draws up an opposing offense with rapid, efficient strokes on the dry-erase board. “Drunken Tot will nag, defuse, and destroy the ‘The Wildcat.’ We’ll wait. We’ll unleash this Week 13 in Miami. We’ll drop the hammer, Mike.”
Holmgren chuckles to himself, drifting back into his massive, plush-leather easy chair, staring out over the practice fields below, and the distant rooftops, neon, and church spires of quiet Berea, entering nightfall.
STEVERODGERS: The Big Rex down in N.Y. runs out of steam this year. Late in the season, he ransacks Mangini’s old office, hoping to find some Aspirin, maybe a warm beer–only to find Baby Ruth wrappers and postcards of Australia. The clock is ticking. He’s hungry, but he can only eat what his stomach allows. There are meals that he has to skip. He remembers boyhood meals, sitting around the table, huge meals of pasta, milks, sodas, fried chicken, canned-fruit salad, epic deserts, and football conversations. His father would sit in his chair after and talk about “Bringing the Heat.” He’d say, “Listen boys, in the end it’s all bullshit. Your front just needs to have more than their front. Reduce it to a brawl, just bring the heat.” He would drift off to sleep. The boys would retreat to their shared room and fill notebooks with trick plays and defenses. They based one defense on the original seven G.I. Joe members. He still has those notebooks, and every time he runs. or sees his brother run, the “Clutch, SnakeEyes Right,” he smiles. He sits in Mangini’s old office, one light is on, he remembers sneaking a beer for the first time at Randall Cunningham‘s wedding–everything was white that day. He remembers his mother, always there with a grilled cheese on Sundays in front of the TV. There will be more seasons, he thinks, this is just one season of my life. He finds a piece of paper, he writes “Bringing the Heat” at the top, in big block letters. He begins to diagram plays.
THEDARKHORSE: Tom Cable out in Oakland sits in his office with the lights shut off. Pitch-black. No windows. He’d asked for an office with no windows. He’d told the Raiders’ facilities man, “No windows. This Harbor Bay Parkway is a dump–and I don’t want to stare out at a dump all day and night, now do I, slim?” They’d created Cable’s office out of a refurbished maintenance bay–tall, concrete ceilings with piping running to and fro. In the darkness, Cable listened to the waterways–and thrived. The room was sparse–a desk; a blank, standard dry-erase on the wall; and a fully-stocked liquor cabinet. In a hollow, pea-green filing cabinet in the corner, he kept five handguns, a hunter’s knife, and a map of the Canadian forest. Cable lounged in his chair, silent, alone. Occasionally, a knock at the door, but they knew not to burst in. Hours would pass–no team meetings, not a phone ringing, nothing. Every day, at 4 p.m., like clockwork, the loudspeaker at the facility would crackle to life, followed by the sound of a raspy man, clearing his throat. “Raideerrrrzzzz………… men of Oakland,” Al Davis whispers to all living beings with ear shot. “Stay classy……. Raideeerrrrzzzz.” Then it would cut out. Cable on another planet. Dreaming about guns, whiskey, and the northern woods.
STEVERODGERS: Cable is a madman! DarkHorse, I believe it’s happy hour here at ReadAndReact HQ. Let’s find Artie and C-O-U-R-T-N-E-Y! and put out some calls to see how Rookie Camp is going. Ears to the ground and bellies to the bar. We’ll meet here tomorrow to finish up with our Coaches Roundtable. As they like to say in Oakland: “The autumn wind, my friend. The autumn wind.” Beer time!
THEDARKHORSE: Can we get french fries?
STEVERODGERS: Yes.
5
May
2010
The L.A. Vikings?
Mike Kaszuba, of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune reports that the Minnesota Vikings stadium proposal suffered a 10-9 defeat in a state House committee Wednesday morning. “The defeat represents a major blow to the stadium effort,” Kaszuba writes, “but at this stage of the legislative session, set-backs for major bills can sometimes be only temporary.”
Despite what some are saying, there are truthfully only vague similarities between this Minnesota situation and the circumstances surrounding Art Modell’s moving the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Modell was given the opportunity to build a new stadium for the Browns, but the situation–for a variety of reasons–unraveled, and Modell actually stopped negotiating after he’d begun talking to the shadowy men from Baltimore. That said, Vikings fans may be feeling a disturbance in the force right about now.
We’ve all heard the rumblings about Los Angeles getting a pro football team again (despite the city’s ultimately passive reaction to the Rams and Raiders departing). It’s going to happen–and it may happen sooner than we expect. Los Angeles is in the running for an expansion team based on sheer market size alone, not a built-in, rabid, devoted fanbase–and certainly not because Norse explorers claim deep roots on California’s west coast (although this Viking might).
Actually, maybe these guys would fit well in L.A. (Source: Publicradio.org)
Jacksonville has been mentioned–in low-level chatter–as a team that might relocate to Los Angeles. The New Orleans Saints also appeared to be suitor, but their Super Bowl victory shelved that chatter. Some speculate that this stadium issue vaults Minnesota to the front of the pack. That would be a shame. Minnesota may not stand as the most shimmering of television markets, but Vikings fans are abundant, and loyal, and long-suffering. Do you agree: whenever you walk into a sports bar–anywhere–you’ll see a table, or two (or an entire bar) filled with purple-clad followers. They’re everywhere, but that could all change, as we are constantly reminded that this is a business.
5
May
2010
Philly fan tasered to the turf by field security
An elusive 17-year-old Philadelphia Phillies fan was tasered by field security personnel after running onto the field during last night's Phillies-Cardinals game in Philadelphia. (Source: AP)
As you’ve probably heard by now, a young Phillies fanatic was taken to the mat via taser gun last night, after running onto the field, attempting to outrun a clowncar of security, and failing. Here’s the video below:
Interesting sidenote to the affair: According to USATODAY, the young man’s father said that his son, Steve Consalvi, 17, called and asked him for permission before running on the field. “He wasn’t drinking. He was not on drugs,” the father, Wayne, told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He said, ‘Dad, can I run on the field?’ I said, ‘I don’t think you should, son.’”
This story will blow out with today’s garbage, but, before it does, can we agree that getting tasered, and crumbling gently onto lush, spring baseball grass may be entirely preferable to getting bodyslammed by LB James Harrison in late December in Ohio? Check this out below.
1
May
2010
It’s smaller than regular camp–it’s minicamp
Tennessee Titans rookies practice at Baptist Sports Park in Nashville. (Source: Titansonline.com)
* NFL.com takes a look at how rookie QB Jimmy Clausen’s first day at Carolina Panthers minicamp.
* New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin speaks to the media earlier today about Giants minicamp–would you agree he seems exceedingly cranky? Zero interest in dealing with dunce reporters.
* The first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, QB Sam Bradford, talks about his first practice with the St. Louis Rams.
* The second pick in the Draft, DL Ndamukong Suh is practicing with the Lions–and Warren Sapp has a few issues with the “can’t-miss” rookie.
* Titans Head Coach Jeff Fischer talks minicamp, and how his rookies are coming along.
* Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell responds to reports that he may no longer be in the Raiders long-term plans. He makes it painfully clear that he’s here to “compete.”
* The Browns have started minicamp, and these videos show work by CB Joe Haden, QB Colt McCoy, and RB Montario Hardesty, among others. Eric Mangini can be seen huddling with his coaches, but we also see “Coach Holmgren” out and about in his coaching shorts, zeroing in on McCoy. One rookie getting a lot of press in Cleveland is the MASSIVE DL Clifton Geathers, who hits the scene as a 6’8″ wandering madman.
The Browns, who haven't been able to stop the run since roughly 1988, hope that 6'8" rookie DL Clifton Geathers (#95) can drop a hammer on the AFC North. (Source: ClevelandBrowns.com)
