Raiders’ Russell auditioning for sumo career?

by | Apr 26, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

It wasn’t bad enough that JaMarcus Russell was benched for Bruce Friggin’ Gradkowski after throwing three touchdown passes in nine starts.

Or that after Gradkowski replaced Russell, the new guy’s ridiculously journeyman, mediocre level of play immediately made the Raiders competitive (Gradkowski was 2-2 as the starter).

Even the acquisitions of Kyle Boller as a free agent and Jason Campbell during a draft day trade this past weekend weren’t enough incentive for Russell to stay active and prepare for the 2010 football season.

Doesn’t pride kick in at some point?

The top pick in the 2007 NFL draft will soon be approaching Ryan Leaf levels of bust-dom if reports from the National Football Post are true. The publication reports that Russell has ballooned above 300 pounds during the offseason.

Raiders coach Tom Cable indicates that Russell will be able to compete for the starting position with Gradkowski, Boller, Campbell and Charlie Frye. Indications are that he is likely to get cut.

But if he keeps up his eating regimen he might be able to trade his shoulder pads and helmet for a mawashi and compete in a different sport where added weight is almost always a benefit.

Florio rips Montana for nothing

by | Apr 22, 2010 | Hall of Fame, NFL Draft, NFL Random Thoughts

Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com trashed Jim Kelly a few weeks ago when the old Bills quarterback said he’d have no problem recommending Florida quarterback Tim Tebow to the Bills.

Florio criticized Kelly for the recommendation because Kelly has never been a scout – despite the fact that Kelly acknowledged in his answer to a question that he had never been a scout and couldn’t guess where Tebow should be drafted (Then just a few days later Florio chipped in with draft advice of his own … who are you going to listen to more? Florio or Kelly? I thought so.).

Today Florio puts 49er Hall of Famer Joe Montana in his sites. Montana was asked by NFL.com about Jimmy Clausen, the Notre Dame quarterback who could fall in the draft due, at least in part, to concerns about his attitude.

Montana’s response? “He came in with a little bit more of an attitude than most people wanted, but if you don’t have an attitude, you don’t make it in the league,” Montana told NFL.com. “You can’t be timid and shy.”

(more…)

Stecker hangs up his cleats

by | Apr 21, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

We’re not likely to become a site that recognizes every player who decides to retire. But I was struck this morning reading that Aaron Stecker is hanging up his cleats for good.

Stecker was far from a star. He ran for more than 1,500 yards for his career, not in any given season. He also contributed about 1,200 yards receiving. He played on special teams a lot as well.

He missed out on the New Orleans Super Bowl run last year when he left for Atlanta after five years in the Big Easy. But he did win a ring with Tampa.

I think the reason I liked Stecker was that he always stayed out of trouble and he seemed to pop up when it mattered. Couple backs get hurt. No problem. That’s what we’ve got Stecker for. Guys like that are invaluable on good teams.

He went undrafted out of Western Illinois but managed to string together 11 years in the NFL. As he put it in the New Orleans Times Picayune, “I lasted longer than a lot of running backs who got drafted before me.”

Well done.

NFL schedule released

by | Apr 20, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

The day the NFL schedule is released isn’t quite as exciting as opening Sunday or as important as the NFL draft.

But for some reason I still get a kick out of finally getting a chance to see when the Vikings are going to be playing division rivals or who we get to watch at Thanksgiving.

Speaking of which, I think the NFL put together some really decent Turkey Day matchups this year.

The Lions still aren’t very good yet but they should be better. They’ll be the underdog to New England without any question, but they should be in better shape to at least give the Patriots a game this year.

I love the rematch between the Super Bowl Champ Saints and the team that knocked them from the ranks of the unbeatens after 13 straight victories, too. And closing the evening with a playoff rematch of the Bengals and Jets is good too.

One of the most anticipated games of the season will take place October 3 when Donovan McNabb goes back to Philadelphia as a member of the Redskins. Yet it’s the rematch in D.C. that gets Monday Night Football billing on November 15 … that one seems like a bit of a missed opportunity, though it will probably keep Philadelphia fans from throwing up on Redskins fans on national television.

(more…)

Fantasy options abound in AFC East

by | Apr 14, 2010 | Fantasy Football, NFL Random Thoughts

Two big trades have improved the status of several fantasy football players in the AFC East heading into the NFL draft next weekend.

Last week the New York Jets traded a fifth round pick to Pittsburgh for Santonio Holmes. Holmes will miss the first four games via suspension and he’s maddeningly inconsistent at times. But he A) provides Mark Sanchez another weapon at wide receiver, B) takes coverage away from Braylon Edwards and Dustin Keller and C) provides yet another option on offense to take pressure off of the run game.

The Jets are my mid off-season pick to win the AFC Championship and they are building an offense to match the suffocating defense that developed last season.

From a fantasy standpoint Sanchez is still a wildcard at quarterback and that uncertainty could still drop Edwards, Holmes, Jerricho Cotchery and Keller in drafts. But I already liked Shonn Greene a lot and the Holmes addition only makes him more appealing as a top-notch running back option.

The price the Miami Dolphins paid for Brandon Marshall was considerably higher – second round picks in 2010 and 2011. But as long as the Dolphins can keep Marshall from getting in trouble on South Beach, his acquisition might be even bigger. The Dolphins were trotting guys like Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo and Brian Hartline out as number one wideouts. Those guys might have roles on good teams but clearly none are number one options.

Marshall is a top five or six wideout in the NFL, however, if not higher. And his addition not only takes the focus away from those guys but provides up-and-coming quarterback Chad Henne with a true ace.

I really, really liked what I saw from Henne in his first chance to play. I think with a number one wideout he becomes a borderline top 10 quarterback – and I definitely would take a chance on Henne before I would pick up Kyle Orton, Marshall’s field general in Denver last season.

Yet with Orton, Marshall still managed 101 catches and 10 touchdowns. I think he’ll approach that many catches, exceed 10 touchdowns and probably surpass his 1,120 yards as well.

Add the new found firepower of the Jets and Dolphins to the long-standing power that is New England and the AFC has made itself one of the first places to look for fantasy football firepower.

Jerry Jones shows true colors

by | Apr 14, 2010 | NFL Random Thoughts

It’s not unusual for a group of sports fans sitting around a bar to talk trash about wishing they could get the ear of the coach or owner of their favorite teams so they could tell said official how they could do a better job.

A few fans at some unidentified hangout got more than they bargained for with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who appeared tipsy as he slammed Bill Parcells and Tim Tebow in a video posted on Deadspin.com.

During his rant, Jones sounded more than a little tipsy as he told a throng of fans he wouldn’t draft Tim Tebow because “I couldn’t get him on the field” and that gaining leverage to build a new stadium was “the only reason I brought in Bill Parcells.”

By and large the video is of no news value. Jones says Parcells isn’t worth a crap and seems to indicate that Tebow doesn’t have much chance to develop as a quarterback. It’s not like he’s slandering someone’s ethnic heritage or race as Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder or Dodgers executive Al Campaniss did to get themselves in hot water in semi-similar situations.

In fact, one Dallas sportscaster ripped into his news organization for even airing the footage. “Our business now, too many times, is a fat kid in a T-shirt in his mother’s basement, eating Cheetos and writing his blogs – and we make it news,” said Dale Hansen on WFAA-TV, Dallas’ ABC affiliate.

I largely agree with him. But at the same time, the video does sort of indicate that Jones hired Parcells only as a ploy for gaining momentum for building a stadium and for dispelling discussion that Jones would only hire “yes men” for coaches – a stance not weakened by his keeping Wade Phillips around as head coach as long as he has. (more…)