News

News and Notes : 5.31.13

A short and sweet Five on Friday this week with a bunch of inconsequential news because it’s never a bad idea to end the week on a light note:

RGIII says he wants to continue beating teams with his mind…which makes me feel like he’s been honing his Jedi mind tricks in the offseason.
Nike is selling this. Thoughts? (Personally, I think it’s kind of awesome.)
Quarterbacks are getting skinny! JaMarcus Russell dropped 50, Cam’s down 12, and Tebow is reportedly back to his pre-Jets weight.
Cam must be bummed out about dieting woes (Cam, we understand) because he looks pretty miserable in this video. Luckily, his offensive lineman Jordan Gross is ready to help a brother out with a photobomb appearance. Nicely done, Jordan.
And just in case you had a need to unite your love of the National Spelling Bee with your love of football, the NFL has your back with this feature: 25 hard-to-spell NFL names.

There are other more serious things going on, but again: Friday. Let’s go have a good one.

News and Notes : 5.24.13

The long weekend is so close! Here’s this week’s Five on Friday to tide you over until then:

1. We get to look forward to 3 more weeks of draft projections next year. The draft will be May 15-17, 2014. It’s essentially the league’s attempt to elongate NFL hype into one big event per month in the offseason…but really, how much more can the draft possibly be talked about before people start to lose it? Other changes: the league awarded Super Bowls to cities this week…but failed to award dates. They’ve asked the venues to leave the first three weekends in February open. Now, this causes one to wonder…why, Roger? Why? The Super Bowl has always been on the first weekend in February. But the winds of change are blowing in the NFL, and this latest move seems like it’s blowing in the direction of 18 game seasons. (And for the record – I’m not at all in favor of this. Even though it means more football! It’s just too much wear and tear on the players, and too much greed by the NFL.)

2. The two Super Bowls that were awarded: San Fran and Houston. San Francisco gets to have an anniversary bowl – the 50th Super Bowl – in their new Santa Clara stadium (the aforementioned Field of Jeans).

3. Also aforementioned: our veterans have all made decisions for next season. Dwight Freeney is a Charger, Charles Woodson is going back from whence he came as a Raider, and Brian Urlacher is calling it a career after 13 phenomenal seasons with the Bears. No doubt he’ll walk right into the Hall in 5 years.

4. Unfortunate news for the Niners this week: Michael Crabtree tore his achilles during OTAs and is likely to miss the whole season. Ouch, literally.

5. RG3 was back on the field yesterday, taking snaps at Redskins team OTAs. He’s way ahead of schedule for recovery…but who’s surprised by that? Both he and the team are shooting for an opening day return. Let’s hope he makes a strong comeback!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone! See you Monday!

News and Notes : 5.16.13

Five on Friday has arrived once again! Here are a few notes from this week’s NFL news:

1. David Garrard is the latest QB to leave the Jets roster. The move was a little different than most because it was of Garrard’s own volition; he hasn’t been able to recover from the knee injury that has kept him sidelined for the past few seasons and is ready to call it a career. He’s a good guy, and I’m glad he’ll be retiring as a Jaguar.

2. Even when things seem to be looking up for Sanchez – no Tebow, no Garrard – he still can’t seem to catch a break. Panthers WR Steve Smith reportedly “dissed” Sanchez by saying he wouldn’t want to be thrown “a paper bag sandwich” by the Jets QB. I’m not entirely sure what that means. Sanchez, who has never lacked for class, responded by wishing, “him and his team a healthy, successful season.” But one can only hope that internally he made a few quality retorts about non-sandwich items to throw at Smith, if only for the sub-par insult.

3. The veterans mentioned in last week’s post – Urlacher, Woodson, and Freeney – are started to garner more interest. Freeney might land with the Chargers now that they’ve lost defensive starter Melvin Ingram for the season with an ACL tear. Woodson is being considered by both the Broncos and the Giants (the Panthers and Raiders have reportedly had interest as well). There are Urlacher-to-Vikings rumors milling around, but that’s probably only because Minnesota is where all NFC North players go to retire.

4. The Raiders added two notable names to their roster this week: wide receiver Josh Cribbs (Cleveland) and punter Chris Kluwe (Minnesota). Also on the Raiders radar: longtime Raiders executive Amy Trask resigned after 25 years with the team.

5. The NFL Network is airing their yearly countdown of the Top 100 Players in the league. The first 30 have been revealed so far (in true NFL fashion, they are released 10 at a time each week with an hour-long discussion panel following the announcement), and it’s always fun to see where your favorite players land.

And really, we’re back to a fairly barren time in the offseason, so it’s a well-timed hype fest. I’m all for it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

News and Notes : 5.10.13

Five little notes for today:

Let the record state that the first Super Bowl guarantee has been made: Nick Fairley has deemed his Lions the victors. We’ll see how that goes.
Candlestick Park is getting a makeover and a new name, which is likely to be Levi’s Stadium. Niners owner Jed York is nicknaming it the “Field of Jeans” and I kind of love him forever for that.
You are going to want to read this article. Really, it’ll make your Friday. Peyton Manning is on fire this offseason – not only in his meticulous preparation…but in the art of team bonding. He’s the master.
There are lots of well-known free agents still on the market: Brian Urlacher, Charles Woodson, and Dwight Freeney among them. For some, it’s not a question of where they’ll land, but if they’ll land with a team next season. Which is the business of sports, but it’s a sad business when the greats are involved.
Speaking of the greats: Ronde Barber is retiring after a 16 year career with the Bucs. His resume boasts 5 Pro Bowl selections, 47 interceptions, and a Super Bowl ring. And he’s as good off the field as he is on it, a true class act.

Bonus note: there will be no more “Waiting all day for Sunday night” with Faith Hill this season. She’s decided to move on from her infamous SNF gig, with Carrie Underwood serving as her replacement. (Good call on that, producers.)

How about you guys? Any other news or notes you’d like to chat about?

Draft Week News and Notes: First Round Recap

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People: there is manna in the desert.

The NFL draft has arrived.

It’s a magical time in which dreams are realized and the regular season doesn’t feel like it’s still 4 months away. The honeymoon tends to end quickly: you soon realize that your picks aren’t all they were cracked up to be and the season really is unbearably far away. But for one short weekend, it’s pure joy.

Miss something last night? Go to bed before midnight? Not to worry. Here’s our complete first round recap!

2013 Draft: Round 1

Pick 1: Kansas City Chiefs

Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan

This is such a great story. Fisher, who is from Michigan, didn’t even get recruited by Big Ten schools coming out of high school. And after college? No one thought he was going to be a top pick. Eric Fisher is one of those underdogs who is such a joy to cheer for, and he’s going to a great organization and a solid team.

Pick 2: Jacksonville Jaguars

Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M

This is the first time in modern day draft history that tackles have been taken with the first and second picks. This bit of trivia probably wasn’t tremendously comforting to Joeckel, who for weeks has been projected to go #1. And as far as win-probability goes, he’d probably been better off in Kansas City.

Pick 3: Oakland Raiders TRADE to Miami Dolphins

Dion Jordan, OLB, Oregon

Hello, surprise! When the Dolphins made the trade, most people thought they’d pick another tackle, likely Lane Johnson. But the Dolphins continue to exercise the element of surprise this offseason and went for defensive end Dion Jordan. (And everyone’s mock drafts burst into flames.)

Pick 4: Philadelphia Eagles

Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma

This kid is crazy. In college he played QB, DE, RT, LT…and finally wound up getting drafted as the third tackle in the first four picks. Before the pick my mom asked me who I thought they’d select. I said I didn’t know; the Eagles need help everywhere. Apparently they drafted the guy to do just that!

Pick 5: Detroit Lions (announded by Barry Sanders, always a class act)

Ziggy Ansah, DE, BYU

Ziggy is another one of the underdogs who’s easy to route for – a business major from Ghana who played soccer primarily until this past season, when he played 9 football games and then turned into a first round draft pick, and the 5th overall pick at that. Wow.

Pick 6: Cleveland Brown

Barkevious Mingo, DE, LSU

This was a bit of a surprise; over the past few days it seemed like the Jets or the Saints were eager to land Mingo. My favorite anecdote about Mingo is from this interview, concerning his unique name: “My mom just kind of threw it together and wrote it on the birth certificate,” the LSU linebacker/pass-rusher said at the NFL Scouting Combine. Mrs. Mingo did the same with Barkevious’ brother, whose name is Hughtavius.

That’s a great story.

Pick 7: Arizona Cardinals

Jonathan Cooper, G, North Carolina

The FOURTH offensive lineman taken in the first seven picks. Insanity.

Pick 8: Buffalo Bills TRADE to St. Louis Rams

Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia

When all of the invited players lined up to be introduced at the start of the draft, it was easy to pick out Tavon Austin. He’s the one you can’t see. Austin is only 5′ 8″ and has been discredited for his size for entire career. But that didn’t stop St. Louis from trading up to get him, and they were right to do so. He’s an exceptional talent and combined QB Sam Bradford? That’ll be a lot of fun to watch.

Pick 9: New York Jets

Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama

The Jets needed to replace Revis, who they traded to the Bucs earlier this week, who was without a doubt their best player. (No one understands.) Replacing Revis through the draft was highly unlikely, but if that was their plan, they got the best corner available.

Pick 10: Tennessee Titans

Chance Warmack, G, Alabama

The top 10 first round picks of 2013? Half were offensive linemen, with nary a quarterback, running back, or tight end to be seen. Completely unheard of, but this pick was just what the Titans needed to sure up their offensive line.

Pick 11: San Diego Chargers

D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama

Bama haters: that’s the third member of the Crimson Tide selected in the top half of the first round. Say what you want; they’re as close to an NFL team as you’ll see in college football. Great pick by the Chargers.

Pick 12: Oakland Raiders (from Miami Dolphins)

D.J. Hayden, CB, Houston

GO D.J.!!! (If you missed Tuesday’s post, you’re going to want to check it out and watch the feature on Hayden.) So, so excited to see him go in the top half of the first round. The Raiders are the Raiders are the Raiders, but what an achievement to go from life-threatening injury to first round draft pick in 6 months time. Huge testament to his work ethic and durability.

Pick 13: New York Jets

Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri

Well, that was unexpected. But then again, this is the Jets we’re talking about.

Pick 14: Carolina Panthers

Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah

Lotulelei wasn’t able to participate in most of the Combine due to cardiovascular concerns. But thankfully, it had no affect on his draft status. He’ll be joining an up-and-coming Carolina defense, getting to play with last year’s first round pick and Defensive Player of the Year, Luke Kuechly.

Pick 15: New Orleans Saints (announced by Markell Gregiore, a patient at St. Jude’s and the tearjerker of the night)

Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas

The Saints needed to make this pick count since their second round pick was taken by bounty sanctions, and they decided to use it to keep building their defense with Kenny Vaccaro.

Pick 16: Buffalo Bills

EJ Manuel, QB, Florida St.

And at long last: a quarterback was drafted. SIXTEEN PICKS IN. That’s unheard of. But Buffalo picked a great one; EJ Manuel has so much charisma and the potential to be an answer to the question that has plagued Buffalo ever since Doug Flutie left decades ago. (To the point where they still sell Flutie Flakes in grocery stores in Rochester. Really. Maybe Manuel Munchies are forthcoming!)

Pick 17: Pittsburgh Steelers

Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia

Go Jarvis!!! Another one of our Tuesday guys to cheer for! The Steelers needed an outside linebacker, and he’s a great one. Glad to see him go to a great program.

Pick 18: Dallas Cowboys TRADE to San Francisco 49ers

Eric Reid, S, LSU

The Niners basically have all of the picks in the draft. They are saturated with options with 13 picks total. They needed a safety, so they picked up a great safety. Good call, Niners.

Pick 19: New York Giants

Justin Pugh, G, Syracuse

And the offensive line dominos continued to fall with the third guard of the night. A solid decision by the Giants who needed to address offensive line issues this offseason.

Pick 20: Chicago Bears

Kyle Long, G, Oregon

Kyle is the son of legendary Raiders defensive end Howie Long and brother of 2008 second overall pick Chris Long. Football is definitely in his blood, and the Bears had to like him a LOT to take him instead of any of their other position needs, namely tight end. And for the record: that’s another guard, another offensive lineman.

Pick 21: Cincinnati Bengals

Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame

It was a miracle that Eifert was still on the board at this point, and even though I was kind of hoping he’d end up in Green Bay if he lasted that long, Cincinnati is a great landing place for him. They are officially loaded on offense.

Pick 22: St. Louis Rams TRADE to Atlanta Falcons

Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington

Desmond Trufant also comes from a football family. His brother, Marcus, was drafted by Seattle in the 2003 Draft (and has been a stand-out talent there ever since) and also plays corner.

Pick 23: Minnesota Vikings

Shariff Floyd, DT, Florida

Finally! If you had told me back on Tuesday that Shariff would be third to go out of our 5 players to cheer for, I would have been shocked. But first round is first round, and Minnesota is getting a great guy at a great value.

Pick 24: Indianapolis Colts

Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State

The second international player to go in the first round. Werner is from Germany and had some trouble adjusting to life in the States. He worked through it and decided to come back and play for Florida State, and now he’s a first round draft pick. Well worth it the transcontinental adjustments.

Pick 25: Minnesota Vikings

Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State

First the Vikings get Floyd, who had no right to still be around at 23, and then they get Xavier Rhodes. Not a bad start on defense for the Vikes, who probably needed a linebacker more than a corner, but still got a great player.

Pick 26: Green Bay Packers

Datone Jones, DE, UCLA

I have to say that I was a little surprised with this pick, but the more I hear about Jones, the more I like him. He sounds like just what the Packers need to sure up the defense after the past two disappointing defensive years. As the saying in Green Bay goes, “In Ted We Trust.” Amen.

Pick 27: Houston Texans

DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson

The Houston offensive arsenal continues to stock weapons with a first round wide receiver pick. Merry Christmas, Matt Schaub!

Pick 28: Denver Broncos

Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina

This was a steal for the Broncos. Great defensive choice.

Pick 29: New England Patriots TRADE to Minnesota Vikings (announced by former Patriot Joe Andruzzi, who was a hero in action during the attacks in Boston)

Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee

The Vikings ~~stole~~ signed former Packer Greg Jennings in the offseason after trading Percy Harvin to Seattle. They needed more wide receivers, but getting Patterson came at a fairly high price: they gave up their 2nd, 4th, and 7th round picks to the Patriots for the trade.

Pick 30: St. Louis Ram

Alec Ogletree, ILB, Georgia

This will be an interesting one. Ogletree has gotten mixed reviews from draftniks and has had significant off the field issues, but if there’s a head coach who can turn a guy around, it’s Jeff Fisher in St. Louis.

Pick 31: Dallas Cowboys (from San Francisco)

Travis Frederick, C, Wisconsin

And another one bites the dust. 2013 shall forever be known as the year of the offensive line.

Pick 32: Baltimore Ravens

Matt Elam, S, Florida

When Goodell started with, “Ma–” I was sure he was going to finish with “nti Te’o.” But no such luck. All the same, the Ravens needed a safety to replace Ed Reed, and Matt Elam seems like a great fit.

And so the first round ends with Geno Smith, Manti Te’o, and Eddie Lacy all still waiting. Not a single running back was taken in the first round for the first time since the 1960’s. Instead, the offensive line finally got a little love with nearly a third of first rounders being O-linemen.

And we get to do it all again today.

Happy Draft Weekend, everyone!

News and Notes : 4.19.13

When I heard that the NFL was announcing the 2013 schedule via a 3 hour live event on the NFL Network, with ESPN following suit in 2 hour SportsCenter Special style, I thought it was a little over the top. I mean, does any other sport require multiple prime time programs to release a schedule?

And then…I watched them both.

My name is Beka and I can’t not watch NFL programming. The prospect of the regular season is just too exciting!

Ok, so, what did we learn?

The Good:

– In today’s NFL, the Super Bowl champion always opens the season on Thursday night at home. But not this year. In what was very similar to a businessman cat fight, the Baltimore Orioles, who are also scheduled to play at home on September 5th, refused to accomodate the Ravens so that both teams could somehow play. The solution wasn’t bad, though. The Ravens will be headed back to Denver for a rematch of the game that solidified their Super Bowl run. Touchdown off a bad pass, NFL. Way to go.

– The 2013 Super Bowl Champion will be the Chargers, apparently. For the past four years, the team that played against the Eagles in their home opener went on to win the Super Bowl: Saints, Packers, Giants, Ravens. (Although it might be fair to say that it would be a stretch for history to repeat itself this year.)

– The Manning Bowl is Week 2 (Broncos at Giants), and that’s a blessing on all accounts. Less time to wait for it, less time to hype about it.

– Peyton returns to Indy for the first time since his departure in Week 7. I’m putting this in the Good column because it’s emotionally charged, but really, this is going to be a rough one to watch. You certainly can’t envy Peyton under those circumstances.

– Denver at New England in Week 12 offers two must-watch components: first, the return of Welker to New England, and second, the ever-dwindling clash of the Titans, Brady and Manning.

– Week 17. All of it. Putting divisional games in the last week of the schedule was one of the best moves the NFL has ever made, I think.

The Bad:

– The entire first half of the Monday Night Football schedule is fairly regrettable. The opener, Eagles at Redskins, has the potential to be great later in the season, but with the Eagles taking their very first Kelly-style track meet to the field and with RG3’s status yet unknown, it might not be all it could be. Then MNF goes into a 6-8 week spiral of mediocre games (with Steelers at Bengals and Vikings at Rams being on the higher end of that spectrum) until the legendary matchup between the Bears and the Packers arrives in Week 9…and then it plummets again for a few weeks until Niners at Redskins and Saints at Seahawks. You never can tell how good the games will be until we’re in the thick of the season (who would have expected the NFC West to be a must-watch division last year?), but on it’s face, Monday Night Football could use a little Botox.

– Any game in London is bad news from my perspective. I like it when the National Football League is still in our Nation. (No offense, England. We love you for entirely different reasons, Downton Abbey among them, but wouldn’t you feel weird if Manchester came over for a match across the pond? It’s just odd.)

– The NFL must be imposing unknown bounty sanctions against Miami, because holy cow their schedule is a steep climb up a tall mountain. Before the bye: Browns (the warm up), then Colts, Falcons, Saints, Ravens. Get ready to hit the ground running, free agents!

The Ugly:

– Raiders at Cowboys…on Thanksgiving. NFL, aren’t you thankful for your fans? Why are you doing this to us on a high holy day of the regular season?

And that’s that! Too see the full NFL schedule (on a really well designed interface), you can check it out here.

I’m sure I missed a few good points because I’m too inordinately excited to properly communicate, so help me fill them in: What do you guys think of the 2013 schedule? Any highlights or lowlights?