Bengals continue housecleaning, cut Thurman

by | May 19, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Troubled Cincinnati linebacker Odell Thurman, reinstated last month after missing two seasons due to suspension, was cut by the Bengals Monday.

“The NFL provided Odell the opportunity to earn his way back onto our team, but we have not seen the right steps taken by him,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement. “With our offseason work in progress and new talent added at our linebacker position, we’ve determined it’s best to keep moving in a direction that does not include Odell.” (more…)

Players as bored as we are

by | May 4, 2008 | NFL News

You’ll notice the lack of posts over the last few days. There are several reasons for that, including our respective day jobs.

But it’s also true that the NFL draft is over and the speculation about who has won or lost has slowed some leading to the slowest and probably dullest times of the NFL off-season.

For the most part, until training camp, there will be little on-field-related news – so we’ll have to make some stuff up. We’re working on some longer-term items for the blog that will be posted in the coming days and weeks. They include our fantasy mock draft and some other draft-related “stuff”.

It sort of seems as though a lot of NFL players are kind of bored right now as well, as ProFootballTalk’s turd watch counter has been resetting frequently. Cedric Benson, who will be pushed by the hard-nosed Matt Forte this season, was charged with drunk boating and resisting arrest after an arrest early Sunday morning, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. According to the Chicago Tribune the police had to pepper spray him in order to get him to comply – if only he displayed so much passion and fight on the football field.

Matt Boley, linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, was arrested Saturday for battery. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution doesn’t have a lot of detail on the arrest, but as PFT to aptly puts it, the move detracts from the team’s efforts to emphasize character and put a new face on the franchise.

ProFootballTalk generally does a pretty nice job of keeping up on the NFL’s jail bait – to the point where there’s rarely much to add to their coverage. It’s a good thing minicamps are getting started – evidently their counter stays closer to zero days the less players have to do to keep busy.

McShay already mocking for 09

by | Apr 30, 2008 | NFL Draft

If there’s one thing more worthless than mock drafts it’s mock drafts for a draft that is almost a year and an entire college football season away.

But Todd McShay, perhaps out of boredom or a need to stay in the news, has done one for 2009.

A couple observations: Tim Tebow? In the top 10? His style doesn’t translate to the NFL. And McShay’s top pick,  Fili Moala, for those who care, has begun his off-season training regimen by getting arrested.

And wow. New England and Dallas would appear to be in his mythical Super Bowl… that’s got more likelihood of happening than Tebow going in the top 10, but I’m not sure either team is at the top of their respective conferences anymore. Indianapolis and San Diego, at a minimum, have begun creeping up on the Pats. In the NFC, I like a lot of the moves made by New Orleans and Minnesota, and New York has recovered nicely after losing several key contributors in free agency as well.

Anyway, just my opinion.

Bad teams get better during draft weekend

by | Apr 27, 2008 | NFL Draft

It’s definitely as it should be when the league’s worst teams pick first in the NFL draft and probably as it should be when they actually make good use of those selections. Most of the league’s worst teams made giant steps forward this weekend, not only with solid first selections but with multiple hits later on as well. (more…)