Expanding The NFL Schedule

With New Rule Changes, NFL Continues to Get Marshmallow Soft

Worried about the well-being of players, NFL franchise owners passed four player safety rules on Tuesday.

Effective this season, no more than two players will be able to form a “wedge” when returning a kickoff. Isn’t a wedge a triangular shape? NFL teams have been effectively using the wedge on kickoffs for decades, but that is no more.

This rule change kind of baffles me. The committee thought the wedge was causing too many injuries. How? Show me some tape or give me a thorough explanation for this change.

Similar to this, the league essentially gives no hope for recovering an onside kick. No more bunching players. At least four players of the kickoff team must be on each side of the kicker. Furthermore, at least three players must be lined up outside each inbounds line, as well as one who is required be outside the yardline number.

It was already difficult to recover an onside kick, and now it’s nearly impossible. Another rule also stipulates that if the team kicking the ball makes a mistake—say, the ball doesn’t go 10 yards—the other team automatically gets it. The league might as well just erase the onside kick altogether.

Additionally, players who are knocked to the turf are no longer allowed to lunge into quarterbacks (Tom Brady rule). What a horribly ridiculous rule. Defensive linemen are expected to slowly get all 300 lbs. back up and level-footed, and then make the tackle?

I understand one of the best QBs in the league was lost for the season due to this kind of play, but that’s irrelevant. It’s the quarterback’s responsibility to move around the pocket to avoid this type of injury from happening. [Read more…]

Really…Josh McDaniels? Really?

I thought Bobby Petrino was bad. Actually, when I think about it…He still is. But newly established Head Coach of the Denver Broncos has taken it to a whole new level. How so?

The season hasn’t even started and there is already drama. The last thing a team who just fired a pretty good coach needs…is chaos. That seems to be the case in Denver with Jay Cutler and Josh McDaniels clearly not seeing eye to eye. We all know what happened, but to put it short and to the point:

The New England Patriots were dangling Matt Cassel as a bait. While teams that needed a Quarterback such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions seemed interested, neither one were able to get Cassel. Why?

Because Scott Pioli, new GM of the Chiefs had already worked his magic. Sounds like a typical “I need a quarterback so take my draft pick” trade, right? Not quite.

Everything appeared normal until reports came out that the Broncos…Who already have a Pro Bowl caliber QB were interested in the trade as well. Jay Cutler finds out and we have all the ammunition to start World War III.

Now, with that said, why in the world were the Broncos trying to get Cassel? Is it because he took over Brady’s job and handled himself well? Was all of that really Matt Cassel?

It’s not like he did a turnaround for the Oakland Raiders, or the Lions. It was the Patriots. Do the Patriots have turn around seasons? The previous year they had a perfect season.

Joey Harrington could have led that team to at least 10-6.

Jay Cutler is use to doing more with less. He has a talented wide receiver who always seems to find himself in trouble. I don’t know who their running back is. They had about fifteen on the injured reserve. Their defense is virtually nonexistent.

What in the world is Matt Cassel going to do better than Jay Cutler?

We can talk all day about how Jay Cutler is crying, and whining. We can always say how the NFL is a business. But sometimes teams make stupid decisions.

If we were talking about Brandon Marshall, it would be different. Yes, he is talented. But he has frequently found himself in trouble with the law. If they wanted to trade him, it would be understandable.

Matt Jones was released by the Jaguars. He is also talented. But he, like Marshall finds himself in trouble often. The Jaguars let him go. Its understandable. You can’t have distractions like that on your team.

Was Cutler a distraction? Not until McDaniels tried to ship him off. Cutler has not even played a down for McDaniel’s and he’s already certain that Cutler will not fit his system. Excuse me, but what System doesn’t fit a Pro Bowl Quarterback?

I’m sure Jay is willing to adapt. He adapted while Marshall was on suspension. He adapted while he had no running back. He adapted by putting points on the board with a high school defense. Now we’re saying that he couldn’t fit into his coaches playbook?

It doesn’t add up.

Eagles Circling a Buffalo For Vacant LT Position

As reported by KFFL and The Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday the Eagles have paid close enough attention to the recent stalemate between LT Jason Peters and the Buffalo Bills to prepare a trade.

Peters, a two-time Pro-Bowl selection (2007-08), will have a remaining base salary of $7.2 million over two years and wants a new contract worth similar to or more than Jordan Gross’ 6-year, $60 million deal. If a new extension cannot be reached the Bills will look forward to trading the 2003 All-SEC Second Team Selection.

Peters (27) was an undrafted free agent from Arkansas in 2004 for the Buffalo Bills originally as a blocking tight end and special teams specialist. The next season he had supplanted former first rounder OT Mike Williams as the starting right tackle.

In 2006 Peters was moved from right tackle to left tackle in the middle of the season and showed potential as becoming an All-Pro selection. The 6’4″, 340 pounder later earned the All-Pro tag in 2007, along with the acknowledgement from Madden 2009 with a 97 overall rating.

Should the Washington Redskins Pursue Jay Cutler?

Both the Washington Redskins head coach, Jim Zorn, and executive vice president of football operations, Vinny Cerrato, have stated publicly that they are not pursuing Jay Cutler.  While this may be true, if we have learned anything from the Cutler drama, it’s not to alienate your starter while searching for a replacement.

The question is not IF the Redskins are pursuing Cuter, but rather should they be?  It is still unclear whether or not Jason Campbell has what it takes to be the long term solution in Washington, but he does currently still have some trade value as a starting quarterback in this league. 

With his contract expiring in 2009, the question must be asked, if both Jay Cutler and Jason Campbell were on the free agent market, who would you choose?

So the question remains, why would Washington choose a wait and see attitude until the end of the 2009 season?

Below are four reasons why they could be waiting until next season to make a long term quarterback decision:

• Do they believe Campbell or Colt Brennan will be a better long term solution than Cutler?
• Do they believe Cutler is a risk, either on or off the field?
• Is the price too high to pay to trade for Cutler?
• Do they think there may be a better alternative on the free agent market next season?

If the answer is no to these four questions, the solution seems to be a simple one, acquire Jay Cutler!  It’s been a long time since Washington has had a franchise quarterback and this is one of the most intriguing options, given that Cutler is just coming into his prime.

Kevin Shaffer Signed, Chicago Bears Add Depth to Offensive Line

The Bears have signed veteran offensive lineman Kevin Shaffer to a three-year, $8 million contract.

The 29-year-old Shaffer has played in 100 games, starting 81 with the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns.

The Bears were unable to sign John St. Clair a week ago, after he signed with Shaffer’s former team, the Cleveland Browns.

The Bears got the better part of the “swap” because Shaffer is younger and has more experience than the 32-year-old St. Clair, who was going to be replaced sooner or later.

The 6’5″ Shaffer started 47 of 48 games, 31 at right tackle and 16 at left tackle, in his three seasons with the Browns. This not only shows Shaffer’s durability, but also his chances at becoming the starter at right tackle.

There is nothing bad about this move. Shaffer helps the thin Bears’ offensive line, and recently-signed Frank Omiyale can now compete at left guard with Josh Beekman.

This is what Shaffer had to say about the signing:

”I am glad we were able to work something out. It’s something we were talking about for a while, and I am definitely excited. The goal is to come in and win a starting job. We haven’t talked too much about that, but when I get there, I want to show them what I can do. I have always been a hard worker, and I am in a situation where I am going to prove myself.”

Quote provided by www.chicagosuntimes.com

The NFL Mascot Battle For Supremecy: The Sweet 16

Ah… the Sweet 16. 

The best 16 mascots in the NFL battling for the Big Dawg Award. 

Without a doubt, round one was an easy one to pick.

There are alot of terrible mascots in the NFL that would not strike fear in the hearts of a newborn child, let alone the opposition (See Browns, Colts, and Texans).

Now we are down to 16 decent mascots. 

The jokes are done.  We are getting ever closer to the big dance. 

After this, only eight will remain. 

Check out the bracket to see where your favorite team stands.

Fight 1: Lions vs. Rams

The two worst teams in the NFL do battle…with their mascots! 

Unlike a real game between these two teams, expect to see a great amount of action. 

However, lions are kings, man.

Rams are sort of like really aggressive special children with hard-hats (GASP).  I think the head butts will only go so far, and the Lions will munch a bunch of Crunch n’ Munch.

Fight 2: Ravens vs. Eagles

A bird-on-bird match up. America vs. Pure EVIL. 

In terms of raw power, the Eagle is the stronger of the two birds. 

That is until you consider the ravens magical abilities.

That’s right, you have seen the movies—”Lord of the Rings”, “The Birds”, “The Core”… Whenever a bird comes to mess someone up, it is always a raven.

There is something about ravens that allows them to fly head-first and screeching into any living or non-living thing.  

The Eagles get pummeled in an unexpectedly one-sided matchup. 

Quote the Raven.

Fight 3:  Chiefs vs. Titans 

Chiefs are LEADERS of the Native American realm.  They are highly respected, traditional warriors, and spiritual.  Titans (as I am interpreting the name) are skilled warriors.  Men who have led their empires to many victorious battles.  Titans are bred through the fires of battle. 

I see the Chiefs putting up a valiant fight, but it just won’t be enough to dethrone this favorite of the competition.

Fight 4: Jaguars vs. Panthers

Now we are on to Cat-on-Cat action.  

In actuality, a panther is a member of the jaguar family, and the black panther is one of the most aggressive of the cats. 

However, a jaguar is sleek and quick, and can weigh up to 350 pounds.

To me, this is the toughest fight to call.  However, I cannot, in good conscious, knock out the only black fighter in the competition. 

That would be racist.

Panthers move on.

Fight 5: Bengals vs. Chargers

The mighty Bengal tiger—Quick… powerful… and just slipped by the insane falcons in the first round. These warriors will be facing the charger horses, who came out of the first round unscathed, due to the fact that they were fighting the UPS men of Green Bay. 

However, the chargers will find a much tougher battle this time. 

The tattered tigers make a meal out of the feisty horses, and the horses gallop off into the sunset to join their horsey brethren—the colts and the broncos. 

Lots of horses in the NFL.

Fight 6:  Patriots vs. Dolphins

A great AFC East showdown between the good old American patriot and the most unique mascot in the NFL—the dolphin. 

As Mel Gibson lines up to shoot Flipper, I can’t help but think how unfair it is. 

No guns for the fish, and they cannot really hurt the gigantic Santa Maria boat the patriots are fighting them from.  All the dolphins can do is slam their heads against the side of the boat, which incidentally kills more of them then the musket shots from Mel’s rifle. 

Tonight, the dolphins sleep with the fishes…Wait… the dolphins sleep like fishes… Umm… the dolphins die. 

Pats move on, as much as I hate the team. 

Sorry.

Fight 7: Vikings vs. Cowboys

They should make a movie out of this fight.  You know you would watch it. 

It has the appeal of ninjas vs. pirates. 

The vikings wait until nightfall when the cowboys are sitting around their cliche cowboy fire, drinking whiskey and talking about women. 

Great strategy from the vikings.

However, they forgot not to drink ale themselves during the day, so this ends up in a drunken brawl. The fighters are too drunk to use their projectile weapons, so the guns and crossbows negate themselves. 

The cowboys start fighting everyone, including themselves… One even starts crying and decides to move to Buffalo.

The vikings take it to the cowboys to move on. 

Fight 8: Buccaneers vs. Jets

Come on.  I really hate the Jet as a mascot.  Sure, I understand that jets are fast.  So are humming birds and deer. 

I guess you could say that the jets are also heavily armed, depending on what type of jet you are talking about. 

In an air vs. sea battle, I still have to go with the Bucs and their balls.  Cannonballs that is.

And also because the Buccaneer is just a much cooler mascot then a jet. 

There you go, my sweet 16. 

It is really tough to joke about quality mascots, and the only ones left are pretty sweet.  (Except for Pat the patriot. He is pretty lame). 

We have the Lions, Ravens, Titans, Panthers, Bengals, Patriots, Vikings, and Buccaneers left. 

All respectable mascots, and all with something to prove. 

Is Darrius Heyward-Bey The Next Big Thing in Sports Marketing?

He could be, if you look at how the NFL is positioning our homeboy.

Here’s the Sun’s ongoing love affair with Darrius Heyward-Bey’s journey to the 2009 NFL Draft. It’s amazing how a tryout has changed the outlook of so many observers in and around the NFL.

Just a few months ago, Heyward-Bey was a quiet kid that Ralph Friedgen couldn’t get the ball to if his life depended on it.

In a few months, he might be the next face of Comcast Hi-Speed Internet.

Heyward-Bey is a great story that will likely bubble to the top of football fans’ radars as quickly as his draft stock.

But in a league where quarterbacks and linebackers are marketing gold, will he really be a wide receiver that can sell a product outside of the mid-Atlantic region? Larry Fitzgerald is great, Steve Smith is great and Calvin Johnson is great, but I don’t see them in any notbale national marketing campaigns.

So for as much as I, and a bunch of locals will be rooting for the guy, can he really breakthrough to be a smiling and trustworthy face playing in a sport where faces are covered by helmets?

We’ll soon see.

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Tiki Barber on Tiki Barber (and the New York Giants)

Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond by Tiki Barber with Gil Reavill

Review by C. Douglas Baker

I’ve always had a lot of admiration for Tiki Barber. Most of those reading this review probably already know who Tiki Barber is, but he played for the New York Giants as a tailback from 1997 to 2006, ending his career with over 10,000 yards rushing and 5,000 yards receiving.

Only two other running backs have accomplished that feat (Marshall Faulk and Marcus Allen). He retired at the end of the 2006 season, at the age of 31 at the top of his game.

I’m not a New York Giants fan, but as football fan you have to appreciate the way he played on the field. He wasn’t the biggest back, but he was an electric one and the last five years of his career he was one of the top backs in the league. He is also clearly a very bright and articulate fellow, retiring to go into a broadcasting career that isn’t just some ex-jock talking sports.

In this book Tiki takes the opportunity to talk about his life experiences. He grew up in a single parent household in Roanoke, Virginia with his twin brother Ronde Barber, who is an outstanding cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Growing up with a hard working mother raising two sons, and having an alter ego in an identical twin, clearly shaped his outlook on life and kept him grounded. He also talks very briefly about his career at the University of Virginia, a school he and his brother chose more for its location and academics than they did (obviously) for its football prowess.

The bulk of the book, however, is about Tiki’s career with the New York Giants. There really isn’t a lot of nitty-gritty X’s and O’s discussion in the book, or interesting anecdotes about crazy player antics, strategies, or the inside story of the New York Giants.

This book is more about his perseverance going from what many considered to be an undersized back on special teams and third downs, to an every down back and one of the best to ever play the game.

The last part of the book focuses more on the last few years of his career with really a new regime, a new disciplinarian head coach in Tom Coughlin, a new quarterback in Eli Manning, along with new offensive players, Plaxico Burress (WR) and Jeremy Shockey (TE).

Anyone who has closely followed football knows of what appears to be a little bit of turmoil and dissention on the Giants team. A team with prominent players complaining about the head coach and his disciplinarian ways.  Of course, there is the media, or at least some in the media, were somewhat harsh on Tiki announcing his retirement during his last season, saying it was selfish and a distraction for the team.

Tiki himself was part of the problem, saying after one playoff game, the team was “out coached” and making other allusions to his dislike of the way the team was handled under Coughlin. Tiki rationalizes this a bit in the book.

Certainly players can say what they want, but regardless of what Tiki says, that players aren’t paying attention to this and it’s not a distraction, I don’t find that very believable. Anytime you have prominent players undermining the head coach he loses respect and it will get into the mindset of the team. 

Maybe Tiki is right. He says he retired, at least in part, because Coughlin made him lose his desire to play and he wanted to pursue other things in his life. But all that swirling attention around the coach certainly couldn’t have helped the team mentally.

Overall I found this book interesting, but nothing particularly inspiring or insightful. It is Tiki’s story and that, in and of itself, is interesting enough for me.

For those looking for a tell all, inside story of the Giants or pro football, this is not the book for you. For those looking for X’s and O’s and strategy, this is not the book for you either. For those looking for a snapshot into the thoughts and life of a great NFL player, this is your ticket.

Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond

Debating Roger Goodell’s Wish for an Extended Regular Season

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell plans to present a proposal to owners around the league about the possibility of expanding the NFL regular season to 17 or 18 games. He believes there is no need to hold four preseason games and the proposal would be beneficial toward the league and their fans.

An extra regular-season game or two means a longer NFL season. Some fans and players may be satisfied with this decision. However, there may be a handful of fans and players who may be unhappy with this decision.

If Goodell decides to go through and push for an extra game or two in the regular season, there will be many factors that have an impact on his decision. No matter what decision he decides to make, Goodell needs to understand a few topics that may come into play and affect his decision process.

How would a 17-game regular season take place without controversy?

With 16 games in the regular season, each team gets the same advantage by playing eight games at home and eight games on the road. If the league were to expand to 17 games in the regular season, it would be impossible to have each team have the same amount of home and away games.

No matter what, there would be teams left with an unfair advantage of having that extra away game instead of an extra home game.

So if Goodell followed through with this decision, how would he make it fair for each team? The only possibility that would be fair is if each team played at a neutral site.

The idea seems fair. However, this idea may not make the fans happy. First off, if fans want to watch their favorite team at the neutral site, this means it would cost more money for fans to travel to this location (even though they may already spend money traveling to watch their favorite team play on the road).

Also, it may be difficult to sell out a stadium between two teams if they are playing at a neutral site. There is a good chance that the cities hosting the neutral games will consist of fans who have no interest in spending money on two teams they have zero interest for.

It’s one thing to fill up a stadium with two sets of fans at a neutral site during the Super Bowl. However, the chances of selling out a stadium with fans of two separate teams at a neutral site may be a challenge the NFL has to face if they go through with the decision of a 17 game regular season. 

Would players be able to handle an extra game or two in the regular season?

One of the biggest issues regarding extra regular-season games has been whether or not the players could handle it on a physical level. Players’ bodies get banged up enough during 16 games and that extra game or two might be too much for them to handle.

It’s understandable to see why this would be an issue, right? It’s hard for an NFL player to play 17 or 18 games in a single season without their body being too worn out. But then again, don’t we sometimes see players play 17 or 18 games in a season when their team advances to the playoffs after the regular season?

It’s understandable why people would question whether or not players can handle an extended season on a physical level. There are certain players who may struggle on a physical level playing an extra game or two each season.

However, if players can’t handle playing a few extra games each season, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of playing in the NFL?

When players enter the NFL, there is one dream that everybody shares together: holding that Lombardi trophy after winning the Super Bowl. No matter which team a player plays for, the winners of the Super Bowl have to play through 19 or 20 games to claim the title.

An extra game or two in the regular season may seem like a lot for players to handle on a physical level. This may mean making it to the Super Bowl requires teams to play 21 or 22 games each season. However, these are NFL players we’re talking about here. If they want to win it all that bad, they can handle a few extra games each season.

If Goodell goes through with extending the season an extra game or two for the regular season, how will this affect the preseason?

The worst part about extra regular season games is there’s a chance that the amount of preseason games may have to be cut in half, if not eliminated. Fans and players across the league will mourn the loss of the part of the season they look forward to the most year after year.

Obviously, this is a joke (as is the preseason).

The preseason has been a topic criticized for years mainly because of its four week length. Why have teams risk players getting injured by playing in games that mean absolutely nothing in regards to standings?

Over the last couple of years, we have seen star players such as Michael Vick (pre-dogfight era) and Ray Lewis suffer severe injuries during preseason games that had an effect on their regular season.

If Goodell convinces owners to go through with the plan of adding extra regular season games, he will have no choice but to change the way preseason runs. Whether it involves cutting down on the number of games played or just eliminating preseason in general, the fans will most likely be happy about the changes no matter what.

How would an extended season affect the playoffs and offseason?

One of the main concerns regarding an extension of the regular season is the effect on the playoffs and the offseason. This may not seem like a big issue, but there is a lot more to it than most people realize.

If changes are made, there will most likely be changes made as far as playoffs. If Goodell decides to add an extra game or two to the schedule, there is a chance that playoffs will start a few weeks later instead of the beginning of January.

This means the Super Bowl could be played toward the end of February.

At first, this may not seem like a big deal at first. However, pushing back the Super Bowl means specific offseason tasks may be pushed back as well. Voluntary workouts, the draft in April, and training camp may have to take place later than expected if the season lasts a few weeks longer.

This may not seem like that big of a deal. However, everything adds up and has more of an impact than people realize. Think about it; if the regular season starts up at the same time but lasts a few weeks longer than players are used to, they have a shorter offseason.

Players may not receive as much time off in the offseason as they are used to. Sometimes, it can be nice for players to enjoy that time off away from football and rest their bodies from burn out after an intense season.

Goodell needs to think about the impact of extra games in the regular season before making a final decision. On paper, a few extra games may seem harmless.

In the end though, everything adds up. A few extra games will have an impact on the players, fans, and even off season activities. It could be beneficial but it could also be a disaster.

Whether he decides to go through the process or not, Goodell will have his hands full either way while trying to figure out the best decision for the league.

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