ESPN Copies Zoneblitz.com-Releases All-Decade Team

by | Jun 24, 2009 | NFL ... something, NFL Random Thoughts

OK, we don’t honestly believe that Zoneblitz.com inspired ESPN to release their All-Decade teams (offense) (defense) (special teams) for the ’00 decade–but we did have our Zoneblitz All-Decade Team up almost a full five months before their’s.

Of course, Bill Williamson and the ESPN crew probably had a lot more time and resources to devote to their team than Andy and I did–assuming they spent more than the morning before the Super Bowl hashing their lists out.

And frankly, that makes the comparison that more interesting…

(more…)

Eli Manning Following in Peyton’s Footsteps Again

by | Jun 19, 2009 | Contract Squabbles, NFL News, NFL Random Thoughts

It seems like Eli Manning is always following in big brother Peyton’s footsteps.  He chose to play quarterback, he chose to play in the SEC (following Peyton’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee to Ole Miss), and he was drafted into the NFL with the first overall pick in his class.

In 2008, just one year after Peyton led his Colts to a Super Bowl victory, nabbing the MVP trophy for his efforts, Eli led the Giants to Super Bowl glory–and nabbed an MVP trophy for his trophy case as well, making them the first (and so far only) brothers to play quarterback in the Super Bowl and win Super Bowl MVP awards.

Along the way, like brother Peyton, Eli has managed to whore himself for numerous products, even working with Peyton on spots for Oreo and ESPN–although at $5 million in endorsements, he still has a way to go to catch Peyton’s $13 million.

And now, as the 2009 season approaches, Eli looks to be following in Peyton’s footsteps again, as his rookie contract is set to close out–by requesting a potentially team crippling contract from the team that has turned him into a star.

(more…)

Stallworth buys down drunken manslaughter sentence

by | Jun 17, 2009 | Business of Football, NFL Random Thoughts

Cleveland wide receiver Donte Stallworth agreed to a plea bargain that will require him to spend 30 days in jail after killing a man while driving drunk in his car. With time served, according to the New York Times, he’ll serve 24 more.

Unreal.

Michael McCann, legal analyst for Sports Illustrated, visited the Dan Patrick Show Wednesday to discuss the sentence. It appears the agreement became possible when the family agreed to a financial settlement with Stallworth, he told listeners.

So despite killing someone, Stallworth was able to buy himself a lesser prison sentence. That doesn’t speak well of a legal system that is supposed to put everyone on equal footing regardless of their place in society.

Stallworth will be out of prison in time for training camp, if his current team in Cleveland or any other team out there decides they are willing to risk the public relations hit that employing him would hopefully entail.

The comparison has already been made several times in other places. Stallworth got a year-and-a-half less than Michael Vick did for killing dogs and could end up with several years less than Plaxico Burress, who came closer to killing himself than anyone else.

At least one organization is angry. Mothers Against Drunk Driving indicated that it is deeply upset with the sentence and that, if the sentence required a donation to MADD that the organization would decline the money. MADD indicated that it would be watching how NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell deals with the on-field aspect of this case.

They’re not alone. Stallworth might not be behind bars when the 2009 NFL season starts. But that doesn’t mean he should be on the field. Hopefully the commissioner acts accordingly.

Al Davis Doesn’t Hold a Grudge

by | Jun 15, 2009 | NFL ... something, NFL Random Thoughts

It’s good to know that Al Davis has moved on, and is focused on re-building his team into something that is at least somewhat relevant in the world of the NFL.

Recently, an episode of ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” recapping the first six months of Lane Kiffin’s tenure at the University of Tennessee, showed former Raiders head coach possibly committing a recruiting violation–which would be in addition to the at least four minor violations that Tennessee has reported since Kiffin came aboard (which the University athletic director says ‘isn’t any more than the school usually reports’–which in itself seems problematic).

Davis, who fired Kiffin last September for what he described as acts of insubordination and lying, was contacted for a comment.  This statement was issued:

“Lane Kiffin is a flat-out liar. He lied to the team, he lied to the fans, and he lied to the media. He will try to destroy that university like he tried to destroy the Raiders, and will eventually clash with (women’s basketball coach Pat) Summitt and (men’s basketball coach Bruce) Pearl.”

It will be interesting to see what happens when Kiffin actually gets to coach a game.  And, if Tennessee actually has anyone worth drafting next year–I wouldn’t count on them ending up in the silver and black, even if they are the best player on the board (which, based on recent drafts, would make them even less likely to be taken by Davis).

First 2009 NFL and fantasy football magazines hit the racks

by | Jun 7, 2009 | Fantasy Football, NFL Random Thoughts

BALTIMORE (Zoneblitz) – I’m in Baltimore at a conference for my day job for the next few days. During a short jaunt for lunch I wandered into one of the large bookstore chains and came across the first football annual magazines.

I rarely buy Athlon anymore. It used to be one of my “must buy” publications, mostly because it came out first. The magazine still has some good content, but it comes out just a little bit too early for my tastes. It feels a little bit like they sacrifice quality and current information for being the first major publication out after the NFL draft. Nonetheless, if you are hungering for information on the season ahead, they as always are among the first ones out.

One I do buy every year is Lindy’s Pro Football. I like the way they analyze every single player on every team’s roster and I love the several pages of draft coverage that typically include best picks and biggest leaps for each team.

The pro version isn’t due out for a few days yet but the college preview is on the rack.

I ended up making two purchases.The first was the jointly published annual by Yahoo! Sports and Pro Football Weekly, which teamed up to produce a solid preview of the real football season coupled with a sizable section of fantasy information. They’ve got a nice ranking of players by position as well as analysis by so-called fantasy football experts from each publication.

Sporting News Fantasy Football ’09 is also on the rack. My second purchase includes a mock, 12-team draft conducted by various Sporting News contributors and staff.

My initial reaction to at least the first round of the mock draft is lukewarm. I liked the top four picks, but after that I think there are some reaches. What do you think?

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Matt Forte
3. Michael Turner
4. Maurice Jones-Drew
5. Steven Jackson
6. Brandon Jacobs
7. DeAngelo Williams
8. Brian Westbrook
9. Frank Gore
10. LaDainian Tomlinson
11. Larry Fitzgerald
12. Drew Brees

Anyway, we’ll have more analysis and thoughts on some of the publications as they come out en masse. In the meantime, who would you put in your top 10 or 12 fantasy picks for the 09 season? Do you agree with the experts from above? Or do you have different thoughts?

Plax afraid of jail?

by | May 29, 2009 | NFL Random Thoughts

The New York Post has a notebook with some interesting tidbits about Anquan Boldin and Plaxico Burress.

Our feelings about Drew Rosenhaus likely don’t differ from a lot of fans who think the slick agent is one of the problems with the game. Boldin appears close, according to the paper, to replacing him with Tom Condon. Ever notice how Rosenhaus clients like Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho Doucho end up looking like the bad guys in public relations battles with their organizations?

Boldin was heading down the same path. Perhaps he’s grown wise to Rosenhaus.

My favorite part of the story is the revelation that Burress is “deathly afraid” of going to jail. Might have been good to ponder that BEFORE he went to the nightclub with a gun in his pants.

Apparently he turned down a deal that would have garnered him just two months in the can. Kind of  provides proof that some of these guys think they can get away with anything, doesn’t it?

Good stuff, Plax. Good stuff.