Smith suspended two games

by | Aug 2, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

The Carolina Panthers have suspended wide receiver Steve Smith for the first two regular season games after Smith cold-cocked teammate and fellow-starter Ken Lucas, according to Fox Sports Radio and other media reports.

Smith broke Lucas’ nose, according to coach John Fox, according to the Associated Press. Smith will play in preseason games and practice with the team again starting Monday.

Had to happen. Hurts the team early on but if the Panthers hadn’t acted they A) run the risk of losing the locker room and B) let Smith think he can get away with these antics. The Panthers will likely be better off in the long run but they were a borderline playoff team before this – if they open 0-2 it doesn’t help the team’s cause – or Fox’s.

Panthers’ Smith beats crap out of teammate

by | Aug 1, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith was sent home from training camp after beating the crap out of cornerback Ken Lucas while the two were on the sidelines with their helmets off.

According to the Associated Press, it took linebacker Jon Beason to pry Smith off of Lucas, who ProFootballTalk.com reports may have a broken orbital bone.

Three-time Pro Bowler Smith, one of the highest-paid and most successful wide receivers in the NFL, received anger management training after clocking teammate Anthony Bright during a film session in 2002. He was fined and suspended for a game that time. Unlike Bright, Lucas is a starter.

General Manager Marty Hurney told the AP the team would handle the fight internally. Coaches often love it when there’s some spunk shown during practice, but we are guessing this isn’t the kind of thing they’re looking for.

Carter working out with Miami? Really?

by | Jul 31, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Remember Quincy Carter?

Yeah, the guy Jerry Jones fell in love with a few years ago?

Apparently the Miami Dolphins aren’t happy with the quarterbacks they have in camp. The Palm Beach Post and other publications are reporting that they are working out the 30-year-old Carter, who has been out of the league since 2004.

Coach Tony Sparano told the paper it doesn’t mean he’s unhappy with John Beck, Chad Henne and Josh McCown (and why would he be unhappy with that trio of current and future stars?). How does Carter, whose previous stints include failure in the Canadian Football League and struggles with drugs – both during and after his NFL years – warrant another NFL shot when guys like Byron Leftwich and Daunte Culpepper are without jobs? Just curious.

Not that guys who struggle with drugs don’t deserve a second chance – they do. The bigger issue, in my eyes, is that when he played before – drugged or not – he was a mediocre NFL quarterback … at best.

Report: Packers offer Favre $20M to stay retired

by | Jul 31, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

According to separate reports the Green Bay Packers have both talked internally about trading Brett Favre within the division and (according to www.620wtmj.com) offered the quarterback $20 million to stay retired.

Apparently the latter was to no avail – Jim Rome this afternoon cited ESPN in saying that Favre has chartered a flight to Green Bay.

Mark Murphy released a statement cited by WTMJ in which he said he and Favre had a nice visit. But it sounds like the split is getting uglier and uglier. Kind of sad… sort of.

Pittsburgh punter tears ACL

by | Jul 30, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

In 2007 Pittsburgh traded up to draft punter Daniel Sepulveda, a two-time winner of the Ray Guy award while playing college ball at Baylor.

On Tuesday the Steelers announced that he had torn the ACL in his right knee and will miss the season, according to various media reports.

How does a punter tear his ACL? For the second time in three years? The first time it happened while he was playing pickup basketball at Baylor. No word at this point on how he damaged the knee this time around.

Why does Zoneblitz care about an injury to a punter? Well, mostly because it’s our site and we post what we want to post. And we are addicted to the sound of our own words.

But Sepulveda, who also has kind of a cool sounding name, did average 42.4 yards per punt and put 28 of 68 punts inside the 20 yard line as a rookie. The team claimed former Denver punter Paul Ernster to take Sepulveda’s spot.