Vincent Jackson has made it quite clear that if he doesn’t get a new 5-year $50 million contract he will sit out the entire year. It’s kind of sad that this Chargers receiver has turned into a diva so quickly. While Jackson did have his best season ever last year he only caught a grand total of 68 passes which was 22nd best in the NFL last year. San Diego’s brass has decided to not be held hostage by renegotiating requests from players in the middle of a contract and I commend them for this move. Recently the Chargers granted Jackson permission to talk with the Seahawks, but nothing concrete has come out of those discussions. Chargers management isn’t going to budge so unless Jackson changes his tune he might be watching football on the tube this year.
How good is Green Bay?
Are you kidding me? I watched their preseason NFL game last night against the Colts which by no surprise was in front of a sold out crowd at Lambeau Field. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers dropped 59 Points on Indy and looked stellar.
Is this something we can look forward to in all the NFL games this year? Has this turned into a 7-on-7 game?
Yes I know it is freaking preseason, but the game between Indy and Green Bay was a joy to watch. If you didn’t watch the shootout then I can only guess you were watching Snookie get arrested? I mean football is almost here and the third week is when you really get to see the starters play for at least a half so make sure you enjoy the rest of the games this weekend.
What a great time of year! Fantasy drafts are taking place, NCAA football is less than a week away and the NFL regular season is just two weeks ago.
This is why we endure the 100% humidity through the summer in order to reach the fall and football baby!
BYU Set to Bolt
The Mountain West Conference has experienced some highs and lows this summer and it appears the roller coaster ride isn’t over yet. Back in June the MWC celebrated the announcement of Boise State joining the conference, but then days later Utah accepted an offer to join the Pac-10 which was a major blow. Now there are reports that BYU has decided to go independent in football and will rejoin the WAC for all other sports. The move would leave the Mountain West with only two football powers in TCU and a pissed off Boise State. The main reason I see BYU going independent in football is so they can be the sexy chick at the party when a major conference like the Pac-10 wants to grow again. I think this is only the beginning of many more changes in the coming years to the college athletics landscape. The mega conferences ultimately will come to fruition because the money is just too enticing.
Preseason Week 1 and My Thoughts
We are only in week 1 of the preseason and it is already obvious there are teams that have ZERO chance of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February. Here are the teams that won’t win 6 games this year.
In the order of worst to still incredibly crappy:
1. St Louis Rams – OMG!!! $50M for a QB that has no offensive line to protect him. You think Matt Stafford had a tough time in Detroit? Wait until Sam Bradford takes the field as a starter after AJ Feeley gets jacked up early in the season. This team is in a major rebuilding era and will not win more than 2 games which is actually 1 more than 2009. How bad were the Rams in 2009? Keith Null was their starting QB for the last 5 games. They were 29th in overall offense with no thanks to over 1,400 yards rushing by the 2nd best RB (Steven Jackson) in the NFL. The Rams got shut out twice including the season opener and scored 10 points or less in 8 games. If it wasn’t for teams with Jamarcus Russell, Brady Quinn and Ryan Fitzpatrick the Rams would have been last in overall yards. Their only win was against Detroit in front of the lowest attended 2009 NFL game with a putrid 40,000 fans in the stands. Maybe 2 wins for the lowly Rams this year.
2. Buffalo Bills – Buffalo has not been to the playoffs since 1999 and they won’t make it there any time soon. No QB, no WR’s and their top two running backs are already hurt for at least a month. They may be the first NFL team to play in Canada on a full time basis because the owner is losing money and needs a new audience for this poor display of a football team. Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Brohm and Levi Brown are the current QB’s on the roster which is depressing to say the least. Draftee CJ Spiller will have to run back a punt per game to get this team points because they are in huge trouble offensively. 30th in total offense in 2009 and it could even be worse this year. Maybe 3 wins for the Bills.
3. Denver Broncos – Look for Tim Tebow to start by week 5 and I think he will be a good quarterback. He has all the tools and a great attitude in order for him to be a long time fixture in the league. All their RB’s are hurt and really don’t impress me overall anyway. Heck they even picked up Justin Fargas recently because they are so decimated. The loss of Brandon Marshall hurts very bad because just imagine Eddie Royal or Jabbar Gaffney as Kyle Orton’s number one target. Elvis Dumervil is out for the year which is a huge blow to the Broncos ability to pass rush. Champ Bailey is still a stud, but he can’t do it all on defense. Don’t forget the Broncos lost 8 of their last 10 games last year and their struggles will continue. Maybe 4 wins for the Broncos.
4. Kansas City Chiefs – Their QB never took a snap in college and signed a huge contract after leading New England to 11 wins when Brady got injured. That team was coming off a Super Bowl so it was really a plug and play more than anything else. The questions surrounding Cassel along with no real formidable running backs or receivers could lead to scoring problems. The Chiefs are very young on offense and don’t forget last year they were 26th overall in offense. One positive is KC only plays three teams from the 2009 playoffs plus they play St. Louis and Buffalo so anything is possible. Looking like 5 wins for the Chiefs.
5. Carolina Panthers – The loss of Julius Peppers is devastating from the #9 overall defense in 2009. Peppers was the Panthers big name defensive lineman who anchored the defense with tons of sacks over the last several years. His replacement has 15.5 sacks in his career and the defensive line has been completely overhauled. The new everyday QB Matt Moore took over in game nine last year for Jake Delhomme and looked decent overall. The issue for Moore is outside of Steve Smith they have no other proven talent at the receiver position. The good news is their RB’s are total studs. Both Stewart and Williams had over 1,100 yards rushing last year, 17 total touchdowns and finished as the #3 rushing team in the NFL. The Panthers will struggle to score and with so many questions around their defense things don’t look promising. Maybe 6 wins for the Panthers.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tampa lost their first 7 games in 2009 and 12 of their first 13. That being said, they did beat 2 playoff teams and the Super Bowl champs which is promising. Josh Freeman looks like he could be the real deal, but the Bucs receiving corps is really weak. Cadillac Williams when healthy is a top 10-12 RB, but he just can’t stay healthy. Tampa did draft 2009 All-Americans Gerald McCoy and Brian Price so they are starting to shore up their defense. Ronde Barber is still there in center field with a core of second and third year corners who were 10th overall against the pass and 9th in INT’s. The problem was they were dead last against the rush. Maybe 6 wins.
Brett Favre is Retiring (maybe)
Many news outlets are reporting Brett Favre has informed Minnesota Vikings officials that he will not be playing for them in the 2010-11 season. He reportedly made this announcement via a text message which isn’t the most personable way to let an organization who is waiting on pins and needles for you to return know you are leaving them high and dry. Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels come on down because you are the next contestants to battle for the starting quarterback spot. Is this really the last of Favre watch?
My Top 3 NCAA Football Summer Pix
We are five weeks out and USC is on probation, Urban Meyer took no time away from the game and Nick Saban is calling out agents and boosters. Are you ready for some college football?
This offseason seems to have been more interesting than any other I can remember. Lane Kiffen and USC got smacked down, The Pac whatever and Texas were gonna be in the same conference and you have multiple teams being investigated by the NCAA for player interaction with agents or runners.
My Top 3 Teams – after spring ball and district court appearances are:
#1 – Ohio State
#2 – USC
#3 – Boise St.
USC will have more incentive than any school in the country due to the ‘non-bowl’ sanction. Before this sanction they were top 4 and in the end what has changed for this year? They didn’t get the #1 recruit in the country due to the sanctions, but they are still loaded. I am a UCLA guy, but this is USC’s year.
Jim Tressel and OSU seem to be a bit under the radar and I feel this is the year of the Buckeye. Other than their rivalry game against Michigan the Buckeyes have Miami the second week in Columbus and the typical Big 10 games they will more than likely roll through in typical fashion. Besides the schedule Pryor is a stud and has major confidence after the Rose Bowl win against Oregon earlier this year. Can you name another big name QB in college football?
Boise has one tough game the entire year and it is the first game of the year against Virginia Tech in Washington, DC. If they win that game look out!
Terrence Cody is Way Out of Shape
Remember six months ago when we commented on Terrence Cody’s physique Even though Cody appeared to be as unhealthy as you can possibly be the Baltimore Ravens selected the paunchy nose tackle from Alabama in the second round of the NFL Draft. Yesterday Cody failed a physical and the Ravens conditioning test so they placed him on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list. This news came just a couple of days after the fractured skull injury to defensive stud Sergio Kindle who was the Ravens first pick in the 2010 draft. These two rookies were expected to bring new blood to an aging defense, but for now they will not be part of the team at all.
UPDATE:
Cody was able to complete the conditioning test today on his third try after failing to pass it twice yesterday. Cody is now off the PUP list and can begin his “career” with Baltimore.
In-Fighting Going on at SoCal
It’s bad enough the USC Trojans are on double secret probation, had to give back a Heisman trophy, have a new AD and don’t forget they have a head coach who got chased out of Tennessee. Now USC has an alum who is considered royalty in coaching, considering he has the longest coaching tenure in the NFL, suing head Coach Lane Kiffin over the theft of an offensive coach. A freaking running backs coach nevertheless.
Kennedy Pola left the Tennessee Titans to become the offensive coordinator at USC even though Jeff Fisher was never aware until after the fact. You have to figure this process was going on during Mike Garrett’s term as AD and was already in motion by the time Pat Haden came into the office as the new AD. I can’t believe Haden would have allowed this to happen without reaching out to Jeff Fisher especially since they know each other.
Personally, I don’t see Lane Kiffin at USC very long past this year as he has a way to even make me feel sorry for Al Davis. This guy is bad news for the university and for amateur athletics as a whole.
Saban Speaks Out on Agent Participation
University of Alabama officials are investigating whether junior defensive lineman Marcel Dareus broke NCAA rules by attending an agent’s party in Miami’s South Beach earlier this summer and Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban who has been on both the college and NFL side of things has decided to speak out.
Saban says it is finally time for a change: “What the NFL Players Association and the NFL need to do is if any agent breaks a rule and causes ineligibility for a player, they should suspend his [agent’s] license for a year or two.” “I’m about ready for college football to say, ‘Let’s just throw the NFL out. Don’t let them evaluate players. Don’t let them talk to players. Let them do it at the combine.’ If they are not going to help us, why should we help them?” Right now, agents are screwing it up,” Saban said. “They are taking the eligibility of players. It’s not right that those players do the wrong thing. We have a great education process here. We have a full-time worker who meets with players and their families and does everything else.”
With what has gone on at USC and Reggie Bush and for all the other players over the last 30+ years who have been screwed because of overzealous agents it is about time to start penalizing people instead of programs for the offenses that are continually making ink inside the newspapers and ruining the integrity of the amateur athlete.
USC Gets Smart and Hires New AD
The USC of the west coast has finally put to pasture Mike Garrett who was their AD for the last 17 years. USC has hired Pat Haden who in the 1970’s quarterbacked the Trojans to three Rose Bowls, two National Championships and was a Rhodes Scholar before playing in the NFL for the Rams from 1976-81. Recently he was an analyst for Notre Dame football on NBC and is a partner for a venture capital firm in LA. Haden will begin reporting to the president of the University August 3rd.
This hire will bring stability to an athletic program which is one of the best in the country, but also one of the dirtiest in recent years.