Kaspers Korner

The Jacksonville Jaguars finally ended a lengthy holdout with defensive end Derrick Harvey.  Now, the question is how long will it take to get him to speed with the rest of the team.

Fortunately, the defensive end is not a position with a lot of thinking to it.  It is more of a position of physical strength.

The only thing mentally that Harvey needs to do is to get down his terminology of his playbook.  So, that way he knows what to do on each play.

What Harvey will need to improve on is his strength.  A lot of players do not know what really is the right way to take care of your body.  For most rookies it takes a full year to get into the right habits. 

If Harvey settled his contract before training camp, then he could of gotten off to a good start at the beginning of the season.  However, it is more likely that Harvey will struggle to start off the season.

The only person to blame for that is Harvey himself.

The San Diego Chargers doctors are advising Shawn Merriman that he could play with his injured knee, even though several doctors have advised him that he needs knee surgery.  The advice of the Chargers is one that is clearly stupid.

Every single doctor tht Merriman has seen has said the same thing.  That being he needs to have the curgery, or risk a career ending injury.

Even with the news the Chargers have not put him on injured reserve.  To leave Merriman to decide on what to do is foolish.  Players have huge egos, and will always decide to play no matter how injured they are.

Coaches jobs each year are always on the line, and they are never going to push for a player to have season ending surgery.

What the Chargers are doing is foolish, and will kill their future chances at a Superbowl if Merriman suffers a career ending injury.

Simply, the coaching staff needs to push Merriman to have the surgery.

Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo took tackle Chris Williams in the first round of this past years draft.  He did it knowing full well that Williams had a herniated disc in his neck, thus looking like an idiot.

A herniated disc is a more serious form of a disc bulge.  Both are the petruding of matter out of its normal position within a disc, which thus affects nerves.  These discs are located in between vertabrates along the spinal column.  

A herniated disc or a bulge can still shift around, and cause even more problems if not treated. 

The reason being is that the disc can rupture even more.  Also, the matter that is currently out of position can shift to affect nerves even more.

Now, the question that needs to be asked is who did the Bears consult when going over Williams medical records?

Who ever the Bears consulted should be fired, along with Williams former college team’s medical staff.

This is a serious matter to the point that Williams is lucky to be walking.  If the disc ruptured completely the vertabrate could have slipped, and damaged the spinal cord.  Thus, leaving him paralyzed, or even dead.

Do not be surprised if National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell looks into the matter further in the near future.

The Buffalo Bills came away with a victory in their preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.  However, the reality is that the Bills lost.

Bills fans were left hanging on the edge of their seats as Langston Walker was hurt in the second quarter, which turned out to be only a bruise.  The injury shows why the Bills are losers.

No, matter what you think about the contract situation between the Bills and Peters there is one thing that you cannot deny.  The Bills are one serious injury away to Langston Walker for their season to get flushed down the tubes.

The Bills will most likely have to use a tight end and a running back to chip the defensive end that current starting right tackle Kirk Chambers will be blocking.

Lets face it though the Bills are in a tough division, and two of the Bills AFC East rivals are defensive minded head coaches, which are the New York Jets Eric Mangini and New England Patriots Bill Belichick.   Which means that they will draw up ways to exploit Chambers being the starting right tackle.

Both starting units for the Bills look to be coming together, and appear to be solid right now.  However, everything could be undone, because of one stubborn owner.

A stubborn owner that cost us one of the best general managers in the league in Bill Polian, and possibly our franchise left tackle that Bills fans have been dreaming of, since Will Wolford left in the early 1990s.

Do not doubt it Bills fans, and I will call it first.   If the Bills do not start negotiating with Peters right now, and suspend him under team conduct detrimental to the team, he will ask for a trade out of town.

If that happens you only have one person to blame for that, and that is uncle Ralph. 

The Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Wisenhunt has named Kurt Warner the starter for the opening of the regular season, thus signaling the end possibly for quarterback Matt Leinart’s career.  The move could eventually get Wisenhunt shown the door.

Leinart had a horrible performance in a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders throwing for three interceptions.

According to the East Valley Tribune quarterback Kurt Warner had this to said of Leinart’s performance, “He just wasn’t feeling it.  We all have those nights.”

That is exactly the thing with Leinart.  Wisenhunt has been yanking him out every time he has a bad outing, or starts a game off bad.

Simply, Leinart has never had a fair shake with the Cardinals.  How can a  quarterback succeed if every time something is going wrong he is not given a chance to work through it.

In the end Leinart will move on to another team, and most likely will succeed there.  No quarterback even the likes of a young Tom Brady or Peyton Manning could survive under Wisenhunt.

The new field turf was suppose to a huge improvement over the old artificial turf.  With New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, tearing his ACL after getting his cleats stuck in the turf, people’s thinking might all change on that.

Already, this year there has been so many knee injuries that one has to question it now.  Even to the likes of superstars now.

I actually have experience with artificial turf.  In my senior year of high school we were able to use the old football stadium for the State University of New York at Buffalo Bulls. 

The old astro turf was essentially plastic carpet.  Which, felt like falling oon concrete.  That would also give cuts constantly to players that are not prepared for it.

The same goes for the new field turf.  It does not matter that it is made with rubber.  It is turf, and there is simply no give in it like grass.

Umenyiora’s injury brings to light that no matter how advanced technology gets there is simply no replacement for mother nature.

Simply, with out Umenyiora the Giants defensive end Justin Tuck will have to pick up the slack.  As well as the Giants offense.

If they do not, then the Giants will find themselves golfing earlier than expected.

San Francisco 49er’s head coach Mike Nolan announced recently that quarterback JT O’Sullivan is going to be the starter for the opening of the season.  O’Sullivan winning the job could be the first smart thing that Nolan has done.

From the start of Smith’s career Nolan screwed it up.  No quarterback should ever reach the field of play in his rookie season, unless injuries force him to be on there.  However, Smith started nine games as a rookie, beacause the team was pathetic.

On top of that Smith has had constant change at the offensive coordinator position.  In his four years of playing football Smith has had four different offensive coordinators.

No matter how good the talent is constantly changing the systems will only lead to failure.

The reason being that players need time, and practice, at getting good at an offensive system.  There are things like timing, terminology, and other little things that quarterbacks have to learn to be succesfull within a system.

On top of that Smith was set up to fail from the start. 

O’Sullivan has one clear advantage over Smith, and that is he was in current offensive coordinator Mike Martz system last year with the Detroit Lions.

The only way that brining in O’Sullivan, and then relegating Smith to the bench, is if they intend to give Smith a year of learning in Martz’s new system.

That is the smartest thing that Nolan could have done.  The reason being is that Martz was the offensive coordinator for the Saint Louis Rams in the greatest show on turf era at the turn of the century.

Martz’s offense is really complex, and simply making Smith the starter would have been detrimental to him again. 

Just maybe Smith will now be able to take a step back, breathe, and just start over. 

For if he does not turn things around he could surpass former San Diego Charger’s quarterback Ryan Leaf as the biggest bust of all time.

With the Hunters Hope radiothon going on thursday and friday on WGR 550 in Buffalo, NY many former Bills great interviewed.  After an interview I finally got sick of hearing the word loyalty.

Many people cite that the Buffalo Bills took a chance on left tackle Jason Peters, and signed him to a long term deal in the summer of 2006 after starting all 16 games in 2005.

However, people forget one thing, and that is the Bills did the same exact thing Peters has been doing.

The Bills threw loyalty out the window as they took a regular season game away from loyal Bills fans in Western New York.  The reason being that they were not making enough of a profit.

So, why should anyone show loyalty to the Bills after what they did?

People forget that children, and adults, will do the same thing that a peer does.   As the saying goes treat people the way you want to be treated.

Teams for years have been saying that fans do not matter as much as the almighty dollar.

For many years, and still going on today, teams that did not get a new stadium moved.

That was clear after former Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore after unable to get a new stadium.

Also, the Saint Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders,  left Los Angeles after unable to get a new stadium.

To this day there are currently many teams that are threatening to leave their city if they are unable to get a new stadium.   That includes, the San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and the Saint Louis Rams again. 

Again, why should player be loyal to owners, after they cannot even be loyal to their own fans?

Linebacker Shawn Merriman was suspended four games in 2006 for using steroids.  Now, it looks like taking those was not a good idea.

The one side effect from steroids is that long term after you stop using them your body starts to break down.  That is due in part the body stops making testosterone to repair muscles, and the rest of the body, since there is so much of it in the system.

Merriman had cartilage in his knee repaired in March be renowned surgeon  Dr. James Andrews. 

Since, training camp has opened Merriman has been experiencing knee pain throughout camp.

According to Pro Football Talk.com the rumour is that he could be done. This is after playing only three seasons in the league.

With Merriman having this much trouble, and being so young, one can only conclude that the recent knee problem is due to steroid use.

Merriman is in the last year of his contract, and was in negotiations with management, but those ae obviously on hold now.

If his career is cut short, due to his problems with his knee, there is only one person to blame for it.

Himself.

In sad news NFLPA Executive Director Gene Upshaw died wednesday nite of Pancreatic cancer, after falling ill last sunday, August 17th, due to it.  Having experienced cancer within my own family it is clear that Upshaw’s ego did himself in.

My heart, and condolences goes out to the Upshaw family.  However, someone neeeds to look at this objectively. 

In most cases of cancer if it is caught early there is a good chance that you can survive.  However, there are those that think, “I am completely fine so there is no need to see a doctor.” 

The following excerpt is from the website WebMD.com.

If there are no symptoms, what can a person do to catch this cancer before it spreads?

“Go for a yearly physical exam and evaluate anything that is out of the ordinary. Tell your doctor if you have unexplained pain in your abdomen, jaundice, or darkening of the urine. Also tell your doctor if pancreatic cancer runs in your family.”

In Upshaw’s case it was neither of this.  With a simple physical a doctor would have noticed that there was something wrong. 

Cancer metastisizes in the certain organ until it reaches a point that it is large enough, and then spreads to neighboring organs.  If Pancreatic cancer is caught early enougn your chances of surviving five years goes up 33 percent.

A simple check of the adominal cavity that comes within a physical would have at least give Upshaw’s children more time to spend with their father.  However, they will not get that, because he could not check his ego at the door.

So, what is in store for the future?   The NFLPA knew that they had the best chance of getting the most with Upshaw.  Onwers knew that with Upshaw doing the talking they were in for a fight, because Upshaw is stubborn, and sticks to his guns.

Now, long time NFLPA General Counsel Richard Berthelsen will take over as Interim Executive Director.  Lets face it eventhough Berthelsen has been around a long time he is no Upshaw, and the owners know that.

So, be prepared NFLPA you are about to get fleeced.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning had a infected Bursa Sac removed a little more than a month ago.  With its removal Manning could face his career being shortend, due to it.

As Si.com’s Peter King pointed out in his Monday Morning quarterback column the Bursa Sac lubricates the knee joint.  Now, with it gone the knee will face bones going up against each other.

That is not good at all.  What it means is that the knee will deteriorate faster than what is normally expected.  Also, there is going to be a boat load of pain that Manning will have to face. 

So, what it means is that Manning will even be less mobile now.  That means Manning will face more hits, and possible injuries.  Thus, shortening his career.

Manning could easily walk away right now, and nobody will blame him.  He has a Superbowl Ring already, and with the health of many former football players in their 40’s and 50’s deteriorating faster than a normal person.  One has to start wondering how long can a person play without cutting their life expectancy in half.

All eyes will be on Manning if he is going to start the regular season or not.  After all it is basically just around the corner.

Buffalo Bills Cheif Operating Officer Russ Brandon has apparently taken a hard line stance in the Jason Peters holdout saga.  One that could eventually cost the Bills a shot at the playoffs.

According to Tim Graham of ESPN, the Bills might not be that bad without Peters in their lineup. 

Talk about stupid things the Bills have done over the years, but for them to think that is so far the mother of all stupid things to come out of one Bills drive.

The reason is that it is the preseason, and defenses have not put a specific game plan together against the Bills.  All teams at this point are trying different things to see what plays they execute well, and what they do not.

Blitzing teams will have a feild day against the Bills. 

First, the Bills were not very good against the run.  They will load up the line of scrimmage, and take the run away from the Bills.

Then when the Bills are in long distance third down situations they will tee off on the right side of the offensive line, which is the weaker side of the line.

Even if the Bills use max protection that will not be enough at times.  Current starting right tackle Kirk Chambers is not good enough, and will be chewed up, and spitted out by other teams at times.

Now, with the quarterback Trent Edwards suffering a thigh contusion it is more important than ever to get good pass protection for him. 

Edwards fully healthy is a pocket passing quarterback, and very rarely scrambles.  The way he avoids the rush is the same way as most pocket passers do, and that is move up in the pocket.

However, at first when he returns from the injury Edwards might not have his full mobility.  This meaning that Edwards might not be as fast moving up in the pockey as he usually is, which will allow more hits, and a greater possibility for injury.

If I am Brandon I get off my high horse, and get a contract done, because if the Bills are in the playoff hunt in the middle of the season, and lose Edwards for a significant amount of time, Bills fans will be asking for his head on a silver platter. 

The Kansas City Cheifs are in the beginning of a rebuilding process.  How long they are in that process depends on how third year quarterback Brodie Croyle turns out.

Croyle was dubbed as franchise quarterback of the future.  However, that can change very quickly this year if he plays horrible.

Every quarterback in their first couple of years have games where they stink it up, and throw for under 100 yards total.  What you want to see that over time those type of games start to fade away.

However, things have gotten off to a rough start.  Croyle has completed 13 of 23 passes for 120 passing yards and no touchdowns in the preseason so far.

On the positive side the Cheifs running game has been explosive, as there are huge holes for running back Larry Johnson to run  through, according to the Kansas City Star.

So, that means that the Cheifs will have its chances.  It is up to Croyle to make the best of it.

The Dallas Cowboys were the first team to give Wade Phillips another shot at head coaching, since he was the head coach of the Buffalo Bills at the turn of the century.  Just in his second year with the team the same problem is rearing its head in Dallas just as in Buffalo.

Many Buffalonians will never forget the “Music City Miracle.”  Especially, after the Titans went all the way to the Super Bowl that year.

The thing is that Phillips does not give the special team unit enough time to practice.  According to WGR 550’s Paul Hamilton in Buffalo, NY, “Phillips was never there when the special teams practiced, and gave it very little time to do so.”

So, when looking in a Dallas Morning News article there it was again special teams getting slammed for bad performances.  What a surprise.  NOT!!!!!!

Do not worry Cowboy fans Wade will find a way to screw things up, and then get fired at the end of the year.  Thus, allowing offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to move up to head coach.

Also, in other Cowboy news Pro Football Talk.com is reporting that the Cowboys are interested in Miami Dolphin quarterback John Beck for a late round pick.  That is a shrewd move by Jones.

Beck was a rookie quarterback on a team that was a disaster.  To get someone with the talent of Beck for a late round pick is a steal. 

Mainly, it would allow the Cowboy’s offense not to miss a beat, and continue to perform at a high level if Beck were to pan out.

Chad Pennington for all purposes looked to be in the twilight of his career after having two shoulder surgeries.  However, the trade to the Miami Dolphins has looked to breathed new life into Pennington.

In his first game as a Dolphin Pennington went five for six for 55 yards, and scrambled twice both being for nine yard gains.

What was more impressive was that Pennington completed a deep pass over the middle of the field for 22 yards.  That shouldn’t come as a surprise, because statistically Pennington is a better deep ball thrower than even Brett Farve.

What makes him a effective deep thrower is that he knows when to pick his spots. 

Also, it looks like ESPN’s TIm Graham was right in an interview on a Buffalo, NY radio station. 

In the interview he went on to state that Dolphins running back Ricky Williams looks determine to change the way people will remember him. 

Williams in a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars gained 43 yards on 10 carries.  Also, it was against the Jaguars first team defense, which makes it an impressive number.

The way things are shaping up the AFC East is starting to look like a division that is going to be tough to play in this year. 

The team that will come out on top will be the team that has the survives the war of attrition.  Meaning the team that gets injured the least will win the division. 

The Houston Texans traded for Matt Schaub to be the franchise quarterback of the future.  The move looks to be paying off dividends already as Schaub had a monster day in the Texans second preseason game.

Schaub in a half of work completed 14 of 16 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.  He even would of had more if wide receiver Andre Davis did not drop a ball on a deep route through the middle of the field.

What makes things even more impressive is that it was against the opponent was the New Orleans Saints.  The Saints made big moves in the trading for middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, and trading up in the draft to get defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis.

The Saints run defense did its job by allowing 30 yards on 12 carries by Texans running backs Chris Brown and Chris Taylor.  However, Schaub just picked them apart.

If Schaub plays like this the Texans could be the surprise story of the league.

Every team this preseason will have to make the difficult decision of wether, or not, to expose an injured player to waivers, so they can be placed on injured reserve eventually.  The same goes for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they released offensive tackle Luke Petitgout.

Tampa acquried Petitgout through free agency as he signed a three year $15.5 million contract with the team.

Petitgout only played four games last year before suffering a season ending knee injury.  Which, still to this day has not fully recovered from yet, and not expected to by the start of the regular season.  That prompted the Buccaneers to release him, so they can bring in someone who can practice. 

Petitgout is only the latest in a long list of free agent failures.  So, it looks likes that shifts focus to center Jeff Faine, as he was also acquired through free agency.

It looks like the Bucs are at the threshold of injured players that they can keep on their roster.

However, that is the fault of Buccaneers management as they are holing on to five quarterbacks on their roster.  Most teams just carry four.

The team for some reason has not unloaded quarterback Chris Simms, who finally looks fully recovered from the removal of his spleen.

However, many Bucanneer fans will have to put up with this type of thinking as general manager Bruce Allen, and head coach John Gruden, both got contract extensions.

 With the team being loaded with over 30 players it could turn out to be a long year for Buccanee fans.

Vince Young at the time he was drafted, in the 2006 National Football League draft, was a controversial pick.  Already it is looking that the Tennessee Titans made the wrong move in drafting Young.

At the time he was drafted the Titans offensive coordinator was Norm Chow.  Just the previous year in 2005 Chow was the offensive coordinator for the USC Trojans, who lead by quarterback Matt Leinart. 

Chow and head coach Jeff Fisher both wanted Leinart.  However, the owner and general manager went againt their wishes, and choose Young.

Even at the time he was drafted Young was a raw talent, and was not really polished when it came to his passing skills.  For some reason though the team thought that it was going to be fine to start Young from the outright. 

That looks to be a huge mistake.  So, far in the first two games of the preseaon Young has been miserable.  He has completed only seven of 19 passes for 54 yards, with no touchdowns, or interceptions.

This is a crucial year for Young as he is now entering his third year in the league.  Fans know it as already they are booing Young.

Simply, the Titans made a dumb move in not letting Young to develop his skills for a while on the bench. 

The Titans will pay a heavy price if Young flops.  They will have a huge amount of dead cap money on the books if the cut Young.  Also, it will set the offense back a couple more years as they will have to draft, and develop, another quarterback.  That will take several years to do.

Smooth move Titans, but hey what do you expect from a team that drafts a player in Adam “Pacman” Jones.  Who thinks that there is nothing wrong with going to strip clubs, even when they are about to meet the commissioner, and possibly be suspended for a year.

The New England Patriots added a needed cog in linebacker Jarod Mayo in this past National Football League draft.  Now, the Patriots got even stronger with the addition of John Lynch.

Lynch may not be as good as he once was.  However, he fits perfectly into the Patriots game plans. 

Lynch signed a one year $1.5 million contract friday with the Patritos.

Lynch will probably replace James Sanders as the starter at free saftey.  Wether or not if he is the starter his mere presence on the depth chart helps the Patriots greatly.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a knack at getting the most out of aging veterans.  The past several years many football fans saw Belichick get the most out of againg linebacker Junior Seau.

Many fans were hoping that age, and injuries, would creep up on the Patriots.  Thus, allowing other teams in the AFC East to rise up. 

 However, this is the Patriots, and they always find ways to get talent, and stay on top.

So, do not get your hopes up Bills or Jets fans, because it looks like the Patriots are going to be good for a long time to come. 

The Buffalo Bills came into this game looking to redeem themselves after a less than stellar preseason opener.  They did that as both units were fantastic in the win against the Steelers.

The over whelming story will be on how the first game went in the Toronto series.  That was more like the Hindenberg blimb blowing up as the in ESPN’s Tim Grahams AFC East blog scalpers could not even sell their tickets for ten bucks. 

However, the real story is how the both first teams units performed in the second preseason game.  That being excellent.

The offense under Edwards was fantastic.  Edwards lead touchdown drives of 67 yards and 90 yards long.  To put icing on the cake both touchdowns were to tight end Robert Royal who caught three touchdowns season last year.

The running game did just as well to as Marshawn Lynch carried the ball five times for 55 yards.   Even back up Fred Jackson did fairly well as he carried the ball five times for 18 yards.

The Steelers had the top defense in the league last year as they allowed only 89.9 yards per a game rushing, and 176.5 passing yards per a game.

Also, the Bills defense held their own.  Overall, the first team defense did its job holding the Pittsburgh offense to one touchdown.

The defense held starting running back Willie Parker to 14 yards on five carries.  The run defense in the main point of emphasis as the Bills run defense was one of the worst in the league.

The passing defense had its up and downs.  The only downer being that the Bills gave up a long passing play that lead to a touchdown, but by that time many of the starters were probably starting to come out.  The positive being that the Bills ball hawking skills were on display again as cornerback Ashton Youboty had another interception on a pass that was tipped by Ko Simpson.

The game comes as a pleasant surprise to many Bills fans.  Before the game many fans were starting to resign to quarterback Trent Edwards struggling again, and the possibility of another quarterback controversy.

Another test comes next week as the Bills on August 24th head to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in what is to be the longest game for the Bills starters.

The Cleveland Browns have not been able to stop one thing, and that is its players from developing staff infections.  Now, the Browns have to hope that top wide receiver Braylon Edwards does not develop it.

Edwards suffered the injury on special teams practice.  Fellow teammate Donte Stallworth stepped on his foot.  For some reason Edwards was not wearing his cleats at the time.

What the hell was he thinking?!?!  You never take off your cleats for you are eventually going to get stepped on.

Now, the Browns have to worry about Edwards being out for a period of time with a staph infection. 

They cannot afford to have this happen as they are already out of the services of wide receiver Joe  Jurervicius.  Jurevicius is out recovering from the staph infection he developed, and there is no expected time of return for him.

If Edwards is out for a period of time that means Josh Cribbs would be the person to fill in.  Cribbs is already looking for a new contract, so an decent production out of him means a huge pay day for him.

The reality is that if Edwards misses any significant amount of the season then the playoffs is most likely going to be out of reach.

The solution is simple for the Browns.  Send him somewhere else than you usually send players to go under the knife, or to get stiches from.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars in this past draft traded up from the near the bottom of the first round to the top to draft defensive end Derrick Harvey.  Now, they look like fools for the way they are handling contract negotiations.

The Jaguars refuse to let the deals of New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Sederick Ellis, and New York Jets linebacker/defensive end Vernon Gholston to set the markey for Harvey.

What they come off looking like is a penny pinching tight wad.  Simply, they want their cake, and eat it too.

What the heck they expect from trading up to the number eight spot.  When you draft in the top ten you have to expect that you are going to pay some crazy money to a person that is not going to play a down.

In the end the end the Jaguars are only hurting themselves by not moving off their point.  The more Harvey misses training camp the harder it is going to be to dethrone the Indianapolis Colts.

The Buffalo Bills just completed their first preseason game.  Coming from the game there is one glaring thing coming from it, and that is quarterback JP Losman looks very comfortable with the offense.

Losman went 7-9 passing for 73 yards and one touchdown.  Losman should have went for a perfect 9-9 passing with two touchdowns. 

The amazing thing is that Losman did it with seemingly the right defensive end in his face all night long, while he was in there.  Thus, showing that he was reading defenses well, which has been a problem in the past. 

Also, I found myself asking one question.  Could of the Bills made the playoffs with Losman at the helf for the final three games?

Yes, Losman before last year had several games of experience with snow being a huge factor in the game.  Also, Edwards was miserable in bad weather.  If that happens again Bills fans are going to be wishing they never pulled Losman.

Simply, you just cannot give up on a guy a little bit into their third full season of starting.  The reason is that it is usually the breakout year for quarterbacks, and wide receivers.

A couple more of the same type of performance from Losman the Bills will have a huge divide in their lockerroom that they themselves created.

Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna gave another 10-6 record prediction for this cupcoming season.  Anything less than that could cost Kitna his job.

Along with Kitna Lions head coach Rod Marinelli, also believes that the Lions are a playoff contender.  That is contrary to what many fans believe.  

Many fans are have lost a lot of faith in the team.  It has gotten to the point that the team cut season tickets prices, but still could not sellout the exhibition opener.

The real question is how much of a loss in season tickets sales has to happen before Matt Millen is fired.

The Lions offense did not look that good last year, which is a huge dissapointment.  The reason being the the Lions took Calvin Johnson with the second overall pick last year.

In eleven season in the National Football league Kitna has only two season where he has thrown more touchdowns than interceptions.  Simply, it is not good enough to be successfull in this league.

If he cannot get it done with very good wide receivers, then he is never going to get it done.

Kitna better realize this, or starting this year he will be ridining the pine until he retires.

With Buffallo Bills tackle Jason Peters holding out for the foreseeaable future many Bills fans are starting to wonder about the playoffs.  What they need to be worrying about is the long term future.

Peters holding out into the regular season would not only spell disaster for the Bills this year, but into the near future.

The reason being is quarterback Trent Edwards.  Edwards is simply a pocket passing quarterback, and no matter how good you are if you keep taking shots you will get hurt.  Even Bills hall of fame quarterback Jim Kelly missed games in the playoffs due to injury.

So, what does it means is if Edwards gets hurt for a significant part of the season JP Losman will get another shot.  

Then if the Losman finally gets, and becomes a franchise quarterback, the Bills would be in a huge spot if they do not get Evans done soon. 

That would mean that after this year one of them is going to walk.  It will not be Peters, since he is still under contract for two more years after this year.  So, who would the Bill franchise tag, and keep.

Either way the Bills are screwed, but hey the only ones that did that is themselves.

So, in the end COO Russ Brandon better get moving, or he could find Bills owner Ralph Wilson’s shoe up his rear.

The Miami Dolphins were in need of a veteran to step in, while rookie Chad Henne and second year quarterback John Beck learned the nuiances of the National Football League.  Now, they are able to do that, while also making life for the New York Jets miserable.

The Miami Dolphins have signed Pennington to a two year deal, according to Jay Glazer of Fox.  Which, also shows how full of themselves the Jets have become.

Jet fans better come back to reality very quickly.  Even with Brett Farve the Jets will struggle to make the playoffs.

The Jets are not in a easy division in the AFC East. 

It is already dominated by the New England Patriots.  So, do not expect any wins from there.

The Bills have made huge upgrades to their defense, and if Jason Peters gets in any time soon, could surprise some people on offense.

Now, just when Jets fans thought that the Dolphins would be a cake walk, well they better think again.  Thanks to signing the Miami defense knows every single nook and cranny of the offense.

Even with the Dolphins being a talent depleted team if the Dolphins pounce on something they recognize from Penningtons information deep in Jets territory that means points.

Also, people need to remember that Farve is a gunslinger, and will take chances.  So, expect the old Farve of two and three years ago to revet its ugly head.   You can thank that to a new offense, and not as good talent.

The big thing out of this is the decision by Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum to just out right cut Pennington.  Never in my life have I ever heard a former start that lost his job not get shopped before he got cut.

They could have most likely still got a second day pick out of him.  Along, with the ability to decide where he will play next year, so that it will not come back to haunt them.

In the end the move of out right cutting Pennington will cost both head coach Eric Mangini, and his job.

Smooth move Tannenbaum.  In the words of Butthead, ” Huh huh you dumbass.”

With the whole Brett Farve Green Bay Packers garbage going on people are forgetting about a team that could be major players in the NFC conference this year.  That team is the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints have quietly made some big moves that has bolstered their team right away.  Which, will push them near the top of the NFC.

First, the team acquired middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma from the Jets.  The move bolsters their linebacking core, and run defending.

Then the Saints traded up to get Sederick Ellis.  The move does two things.  

First, it bolsters the run defense, because it will allow Vilma to run freely. 

Secondly, if Ellis gets double teamed consistently on passing downs it will allow defensive ends Charles Grant, and Will Smith, to go one on one with blockers.  That gives both ends a better chance at getting pressure, and sacks.

Then the icing on the cake.  That being tight end Jeremy Shockey. 

Shockey will get a lot of passes thrown to him as the second option in the passing game.  Also, if he is killing teams, then defenses will double team him.  Thus, leaving the Saints top wide receiver Marques Colston one on one with a defender.

In the end other teams better be on the lookout, because the Saints are going to be in their rear review mirrors looking to blow by them.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a bigger problem on their hands than the whole Chad Johnson saga.  That is to get TJ Houshmanzadeh signed to a contract extension before he becomes a free agent after this season.

There have been on serious contract talks between the team and TJ’s agent, Kennard McGuire.  That is really puzzling considering his worth to the Bengals.

TJ caught 112 passes for 1,143 total yards with 12 touchdowns.

However, we are talking about the Bengals, and cheap is owner Mike Brown’s middle name.  So, it would not be surprising in the end they let TJ walk.

So, what happens from here.  Even with numbers that are expected to be down, thanks to an emphasis on the run this year, TJ will get hit with the franchise tag.

After that it is anyone’s guess, but by that time it is either pay him what he wants, or let him walk. 

The thing is the Bengals will be giving a hefty contract to rookie linebacker Keith Rivers, who was taken with the ninth pick in this years past draft.  That means a big pay day for him, and less for TJ.

How much can Rivers expect to get?  More than the tenth pick, which was linebacker Jerod Mayo, by the New England Patriots. 

Mayo received a contract worth $18.9 million, with $13.8 of it in guarantees and bonuses.  That means that Rivers can expect $15 to $20 million dollars.

Another example of why there needs to be a rookie cap in the National Football League.  Simply, so that teams can give the money to players that really deserve it.

The Atlanta Falcons had a miserable year last year, mostly due to quarterback Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring being discovered.  Now, a recent article shows how starved for talent the team is.

Coy Wire was let go be the Buffalo Bills earlier this year, but has landed with the Atlanta Falcons.  Supposively, he has already made an impact on the team, according to Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“Probably the guy that showed the most and flashed the most Friday and Saturday was Coy Wire and he’s only been with us for about a week,” said Falcons head coach Mike Smith.

For Wire to add strength to the linebacking core is a laughing stock.  We are talking about a guy who on the final play, of the season opener of the 2004 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, was standing next wide receiver Ernest Wilford, and still could not knock down the pass.

 The whole reason why he was moved to linebacker is due to the fact that he stunk at strong safety, and linebacker was his position in college at Stanford.

Yes, Wire is an outstanding special team player.  That is the reason why he survived six seasons with the Bills.  If he was not that good at it the Bills would have cut him a couple of years ago.

Wire is one of four outstanding special team players the Bills let go this offseason.  The Bills let them go, because as important as special teams is head coach Dick Juaron does not want guys taking up roster spots that are only really good at special teams.

In other words you can expect the Falcons to be at the top of the 2009 National Football League draft.

There is one thing that many people need to remember about training camp is that it is nothing more than practice, and those who look good in practice might not be as good against competition.  That goes for New York Jets rookie tight end Dustin Keller, who SI.com’s Don Banks dubbed a playmaker.

I have personally been on teams in high school that practiced horrible, but when it came to game day we were hard to beat.  Also, I have personally seen weeks that were great, but when it came to the game we lost.

The reason is competition, because we as humans learn to adjust to how things are going.  The same goes for football players in the National Football League.

It goes the same way for all rookies.  They do good for a couple of games, then fade away for a while, due to teams adjusting to them.

The same will go for Keller, eventually.  Keller will do good in the first couple of games of the regular season, and then will fade away. 

Okay right now name the starting wide receivers for the Jets.  If you said Laveranues Coles and Jericho Cotchery.  Both are okay, but are not great.

On top of that the Jets quarterback situation is horrible.  On one hand you have Chad Pennington, who arm is shot due to injuries.  Then on the other you have Kellen Clemens who in his second year played ten games.

Simply, with out a great quarterback a wide receiver or tight end is useless. 

So, for now just remember it is training camp, and the real talking is done in the regular season.

Carlolina Panther wide receiver Steve Smith and cornerback Ken Lucas were involoved in a fight that resulted in a broken nose for Lucas.  As details come out it is starting to look like that Smith is getting the raw end of the stick.

There is one ugly reality that goes on in football, and that is harrasment.  It comes in various different forms from jokes, initiations, and even being made fun of.  In this instance it was verbal harrasment from fellow players that cause the fight. 

According to Pro Football Talk.com, Ken Lucas has had a nose job.  Which, editor Mike Florio confirmed through photographic evidence.

The problem is that it has not been recognized as a problem by the National Football League offices.  Eventhough, there has been countless stories that have been provided by players over the years.

So, as long as NFL commisioner Roger Goodell does not address this issue there will be more instances of these type of events, and maybe even the death of a athlete.

So, in the end Smith should not be just the only one suspended.  Those who harrassed Smith should be suspended as well.  Which, should be the maximum four games that a team can suspend a player under the current CBA.

No matter what the job is harrassment should never be tolerated. 

Preseason games usually is the start of when injuries can start piling up for a position.  For the Seattle Seahawks that has already started for their defensive line.

According to the Seattle times the defensive line for the Seahawks is decimated. Which, includes both starting defensive tackles.

Starting defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs is still on the mend from tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.  Tubbs injured his knee in the preseason finale last year.

Fellow starting defensive tackle Rocky Bernard is still recovering from surgery on a double hernia.

Now, defensive tackle Red Bryant is out four to five weeks, because of knee surgery.

There is good news for the Seahawks.  That is starting defensive end Patrick Kerney is a week away from full practive. 

Kerney is coming off offseason surgery to repair torn labrum cartillage in his left shoulder.  He suffered the injury in the playoffs agains the Washington Redskins.

Also, the team is very high on defensive tackle Brandon Mebane. 

Starting guard Mike Whale describes trying to block Mebane this way, according to the Seattle Times, “Remember when Fred Flintstone used to work at the quarry? There were all these gigantic rocks sitting around. That’s like Mebane when you run into him.”

Guard Rob Sims describes blocking him this way, “Pushing a Mack truck.”

Still you cannot just have one defensive tackle.  The reason being that all teams will do is double team him, and single his fellow defensive tackle.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith had his season cut short last year by a shoulder injury.  Now, entering his fourth National Football League season it is make or break for Smith.

The 49ers have a open quarterback competition, but do not be surprised if Smith wins it.  After all that is who the front office is routing for.

Smith was the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft.  So, the team has a lot invested in him.  His failure would set the team back serveral years.

The question is does Smith have the same abilities as he did before the injury?

With modern medicine creating amazing feats in football today; Smith should come back fine phyically.  The real issue is going to be mentally.

49er head coach Mike Nolan made a real questionable decision playing Smith after he got hurt.  The only thing that did is lose the trust of his players.

No one can blame Smith, or his teammates, for questioning Nolan.  The quarterback position is too important to be rolling out a quarterback with a bum throwing shoulder.

Simply put, if Nolan is going to keep his job he needs to display sound decisions in critical moments.  Lack there of will simply lose his team, and him his job.

Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shannahan took full control of the team earlier this year.  Now, his actions could force a key starter into retirement.

Safety John Lynch has been absent from training camp lately, as the team is citing personal reasons.  The issue is that Lynch is unhappy that he is not getting more practice time.

Lynch wants to be a starter this year.  However, Shannahan has only stated that Lynch has no guarantees to play.

Lynch was going to retire, but Bronco owner Pat Bowlen urged him to come back.  Lynch did, and even took a pay cut.

The real problem here is the difference of opinions between head coach and owner.  The head coach thinks Lynch could be washed up.  On the other hand the owner thinks that the Broncos need Lynch.

This is a move that can definately come to bite Shannahan in the rear. 

Simply, the Broncos have no immediate replacement for Lynch.  When that player is a future hall of famer, then it is even more harder to replace him.

In the end Lynch should of been with the first team offense.  Then if he practices poor he will be replaced for sure.

Sport Illustrated.com’s Peter King Monday Morning Quarterback Tuesday edition finally gave the full story of the saga that happened between the team, and former tight end Jeremy Shockey.  After reading it one can only conclude that the divorce was soley that of the Giants.

The team dropped the ball completely in regards to Shockey. 

 First, the team made Shockey pay out of his own pocket for his flight to the Superbowl.  While, letting other injured players in New York take the team charter in the middle of the week.

Second, the team put Shockey up in a separate hotel across town from the team.

Finally, the team never told Shockey about the parade.

Holy crap, what is up with all the stupidity coming from teams front offices.  First, Packers general manager Ted Thompson nudge Farve into retirement, second Giants gm Jerry Reese treats Shockey like crap, and then Bills COO Russ Brandons decides to be a twelve year old girl, and not call left tackle Jason Peters, because Peters never called him asking for a new contract.

Seriously, how did these people get these jobs anyways? 

Well now the Giants better hope that tight end Kevin Boss lasts a whole season, because they have nothing behind him.

Only time will tell if  treating Shockey like crap will come to bite them in the rear.

The Washington Redskins were the first team that opened training camp on July 20th.  Already that is showing to be a huge mistake.

The Redskins already lost two defensive players for the season, thus forcing them to trade for defensive end Jason Taylor.  Now, another defensive player suffered a major injury as starting defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery broke a bone in his right hand.

There was not time table set on Montgomery’s return.  Before he returns the swelling must first come down.  It is expected that he will be out at least ten days.

Head coach Jim Zorn is simply pushing them for so long, and hard, that there are going to be more major injuries still to come. 

Zorn needs to start cancelling some practices if he is going to have a season.  If he does not, and players keep going down, then Zorn could even fired after one year.

The Minnesota Vikings have been implicated in tampering charges brought up by the Green Bay Packers.  Now, the Packers are going to have to answer some question from  National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell.

Vikings saftey Darren Sharper was a teammate of Brett Farve for eight seasons with the Packers.  When responding to the question if he has had any questions with Farve, according to the Star Tribune, he said this, “Not that I can say on the record. I don’t have his cell phone. It’s Packer issued. They’re not going to let me have that number.”

The problem is that the Packers have not included the worth of the phone in the rest of Farve’s contract.  Not disclosing that Farve had the phone to the league is a violation of the salary cap.

This is going to be a huge blow for the Packers.  It means that they will have to forefit a draft pick for violating the salary cap.

The Packers should have shut up, never filed the tampering charges, and just cut, or trade Farve.

So, in the end the Packers will be team that is hurt the most by the whole Brett Farve saga. 

Sometimes general managers just out smart themselves.   

The Saint Louis Rams and the Buffalo Bills are both in a situation that has a lot of things in common.  With that being said it looks like both players could miss the start of the regular season.

Rams running back Steven Jackson, and Bills tackle Jason Peters, mean a lot to their football team.  Also, both are holdouts, with the same agent Eugene Parker.

The Rams on one hand have a good shot at getting Jackson extension done in time for the season opener.  The reason being that have been in contract talks with Jackson’s agent

However, for the Bills that does not look like it is going to happen.  The reason being that the team has had very little discussions with Parker about Peters, and the team has not even talked to Peters.

Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement players are encouraged to work out new deals when in camp.  For Peters that is not going to happen, and who can blame him.

The insulting part about Bills COO Russ Brandon admission is that he has not once even to bothered to call Jason Peters.   Seriously, how do you not call your franchise left tackle.  

Now, many people will say that Brandon never said that he did or did not place any calls to Peters.  However, if Brandon did place phone calls, then he definately would have used it in his response in an interview on WGR 550 in Buffalo, NY.

In the end both general managers will cave, because if they do not get their guy in, and do not make the playoffs, it will be all their fault.  That could easily get each other fired.

The Arizona Cardinals earlier this year redid the contract of wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, because horrible negotiating resulted in him having a $18 and $20 million cap figures for this year, and next.  Thanks to that, and promises, Boldin cutting off contract talks with the Cardinals.

“After last year, I was promised a deal would get done before this season. But the season is here and obviously that hasn’t happened. I don’t want a deal. People may think I’m being funny, or just saying that to say that. But I’m just tired of it. I’m washing my hands of the whole situation,”  Boldin said.

Seriously, who in their right mind would promise a new contract by start of training camp, with Fitzgerald’s contract still looming.

Fitzgeralds contract was so big that they had to wait in resigning its own players.  Even now, the contract is the real reason as to why the two sides cannot get a deal done.

Many Cardinal Fans are upset with the fact that Boldin is wanting a new deal after only one year into the contract extension.  However, the fact of the matter is that the deal the Chicago Bears did with linebacker Brian Urlacher has set forth that if a contract is disprotionate to the markey place the player now has the right to demand a new contract. 

In the end the Cardinals and Boldin have to wait till next year.

The Oakland Raiders drafted running back Darren McFadden, thus making running back Lamont Jordan expendable.  Now, they once again show that they simply do not know how to run a front office.

According to Pro Football Talk.com, the Raiders have told Jordan not to report to training camp.  The thing is though they cannot do that, because Jordan is under contract, and still with the team.

When I read about this I could not help, but just laugh.  The reason being that recently retired quarterback Steve McNair won a grievance, when the Tennessee Titans barred him from using team facilities.

Seriouly, what are the Raiders going to do to the league?  Are they going to call in the fans that beat up a Miami Dolphin fan, and urinated on him, to intimidate the league. 

How hard is it to  make 31 phone calls to see if anyone wants to trade for him.   Then if there is not any interest, then cut him.  How hard is that?

However, this is the Raiders we are talking about, and as of late it looks like everything they do has to be done in grand fashion.

Keep it up Al Davis.  The way you are going it looks like the next winning season for the Raiders will be when you are dead, unfortunately.

Philadelphia Eagle running back Brian Westbrook is looking for a new contract.  The Eagles are in a tough situation with Westbrook turning 29 September 2nd.

The key age for running backs is 30.  The reason being that running backs after that age cab raidly lose their skills, due to years of wear, tear, and being tackled.

Westbrook pretty much looked like he carried the team on his back last year.  That is defeinately what he is thinking, as he is demanding nearly $10 million a year.

The plain simple fact is that he is almost 30.  The Eagles would be nuts to pay him that kind of money.

With that being said, it looks like Westbrook will not be in camp for the whole preseason.

Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has been seeking a new deal, citing that he has out performed his old one that had four years left on it.  The two sides have reached an agreement that has essentially killed long term deals.

The two sides agreement added one more year, and $25 million in new money to the deal.  With six million of it is for his signing bonus.  Thus bringing the average yearly salary to nine million dollars.

What the Bears did made no sense.  Urlacer did not out perform his contract if anything he maintained his performance level. 

The only areas that Urlacher had career highs in was passes defended (12), interceptions (5), and touchdowns (1).

Urlacher knew what he was getting into when he signed a nine year deal.  What he signed up for was a huge pay day.  Also, knowing full well that he negotiate a new deal later if the open market sky rockets.

What the Bears did was two fold.  First, they killed any deals that are longer than five years.  Secondly, it opened up the door that at any time if you have one great year it gives you the right to ask for a new deal.  That even includes rookie contracts. 

Smooth move Bears you just gave every veteran holdout even more reason to whine, moan, and complain. 

In the words of former hockey player, and former head coach, Larry Robinson, “What a bunch of ffffffffff fricken sissies.” 

Makes it even more the reason to route for Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcus Stroud.  Stroud did not ask for a new contract when he was traded.  All he asked for was a little bit of what was left in his contract to be accelerated in the form of guaranteed money. 

Minnesota Vikings center Matt Birk is going into his 11th season with the Vikings.  Apparantly it will be his last as Birk is entering the last year of his contract, and the Vikings look not interested in all at resigning him.

There is really only one word that can descibe how the Vikings are handling this, and that is stupid.  Centers are a integral part of the offensive line, and no matter how old they are you need the solid ones right till the very end.

For example, the Buffalo Bills have not found another quality center, since the retirement of Kent Hull over ten years ago.

Birk is the brightest at the position, since he graduated from Harvard University with a economics degree.  Something that is needed dearly at the position, since centers need to read the opposing defense, and thus make adjustments accordingly.

Birk can come off the wrong way, since he says what is on his mind.  That sometimes rubs people the wrong way.  However, that is what you need, because sometimes things are going wrong, and you just need that perverbial swift kick in the pants occasionally.

In the end if the Vikings let Birk walk, then they are going to regret it everyday, because Birk has all the qualities you want from your center.

Pro Football Talk.com is usually right on their assesment of things in the National Football League.  However, they are completely wrong in regards to the issue of who should be the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens.

According to Pro Football Talk, quarterback Troy Smith will most likely be the starter for the prseason, and the regular season.  However, editor Mile Florio disagrees with that, citing what happened with the Cleveland Browns.

However, there is the flip side of the coin, and that being Ben Roethlisberger in his rookie year. 

Going into the 2004 season Tommy Maddox was the starter for the Steelers.  Maddox got hurt in the second game of the season.  Roethlisberger came in, and won the game.  Roethlisberger has been the starter ever since.

The fact of the matter is that rookie quarterbacks should never start right from the start of their rookie season.  When a quarterback does start from the very on set of their career, and never sees the bench, they most likely will fail.

Of the quarterbacks that have started right from the begining of their career there is only one quarteback that is still with their original team.  That being Vince Young of the Tenneessee Titans.

Flacco came from a Division 1 AA team.  There is a huge difference just between Division 1 AA and Divison 1 A.

In the end if Flacco comes in, and starts right away, he will fail miserably.  Then the only question that will remain is how horrible  of a car crash it will be.

The Indianapolis Colts have been one of the best teams in the AFC for several years now, along with winning the AFC South the past five years.  With five starters starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list; it looks like the Colts downward slide into oblivion is starting.

The five starters are wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who turns 36 in August, saftey Bob Sanders, 27, defensive end Dwight Freeney, 28, linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, 27 in December, and most importantly quarterback Peyton Manning.

It is only a matter of time before all the extra playoff games take a toll on a players body.  Sanders is good, but is constantly hurt.  Of his four seasons he has only twice played in more than fourteen games.

Harrison is simply on the downside of his career.  Even the ledgendary Jerry Rice could not stop father time from catching up.  How effective Harrison will be this year reamains to be seen, as he missed most of last year.

Freeney missed nine games with a Lisfranc injury.  It usually takes surgery to heal, which he did do.  However, according to about.com one complication of the injury is post-traumatic arthritis.  It is a more accelerated version of degenerative arthritis, and may neccesitate fusion of the joint to prevent debilitating pain. Such a proceedure would end his season, again.

Hagler tore a pectoral muscle while lifting recently.  According to the Tribstar.com the pectoral injury is only the latest in a variety of injuries, since Hagler arrived in 2005 as a fifth round draft pick.

However, all eyes will be on Manning.  Manning had a infected Bursa Sac removed, which is known as Septic Bursitis.  According to medical websites it is common to think that a infected bursa sac is just inflammed, because the symptoms are similar.  

The fact that Manning had surgery to deal with it means two different things.  Either the bursa sac was hard to get to, or it was a sevre infection.  The reason being the most common way to treat Septic Bursitis is with draining it with a needle, and then a round of antibiotics.

The numerous injuries are troubling, and if they continue into the season, then the Colts could miss the playoffs for the first time in years.

The Buffalo Bills offense was one of the worst in the league for several years.  Finally, that could change as a offense being installed fits the offensive personel.

Outside of second round draft pick James Hardy, the Bills have nobody that is over six feet tall, that plays a significant role that is.

The main point of contention about a West Coast offense is getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands to gain some positive yards.  Also, yards after the catch is an important part of the offense, due in part a lot of the passes are short.

The Bills have players that do have tremendous ability with yards after the catch.  Receivers Roscoe Parrish and Lee Evans do just that, because of their blazing speed.  Also running back Marshawn Lynch is a load to bring down.

The only problem that can be foreseen about this offense is the tight end position.  In this offense the ball is spread out, and thrown to whoever is open, and the tight end position has been unreliable even when open.

One of the problem last year with the tight end was the Kevin Everrett was lost due to his spinal coard injury, and he was a going to be a big part of their passing offense last year.  Robert Royal has proven to be unreliable, due in part to a pass that he caught in the endzone wide open, and still came down out of bounds.  That was due to him n ot paying attention to where his feet were.

The one good thing is that they drafted tight end  Derek Fine also used a lot in the Kansas Jayhawks passing offnese.

In the end the Bills should be a force to reckon with on offense.  If they are anything but that, then the whole coaching staff could be at risk to be fired.

Four of the Rooney brothers are looking to sell their share of the Pittsburgh Steelers, due to them owning businesses with gambling.  Now, the story has took a 180 degree turn in favor of Dan Rooney.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Allegheny County Controller Mark Patrick Flaherty has accounced that the county will seek reimbursement of $281 million in construction costs, they incurred for building Heinz Feild, if ownership changes outside of the Rooney or McGinely family.

There are two ways that the Rooneys can avoid paying the money.  First, they can sell their stock to their brother Dan.  Or, new ownership could agree to the Steelers remaining in Pittsburgh for the next 75 years. 

What it means is that the the value of the stock, to the Rooneys, is going to be no more than $108 million, after paying their share of the $281 million back to Allegheny County.

In the end it means that they can get more pocket money for their share in the Steelers from their brother Dan, than they can get from New York investor Stanley Druckenmiller.  Unless, Druckenmiller pays way beyond what is the actual value of the team, or agree to the 75 years, yeah right like that is going to happen. 

The Atlanta Falcons selected quarterback Matt Ryan with the third overall pick.  So, when the season seems lost many people will be calling for Ryan, and the Facons need to resist that.

Since the 2000 Draft, only three quarterbacks have more touchdowns than interceptions in their rookie year.  Of those three, only one started more than half of the teams games that year.  That of course being Ben Roethlesberger.

The real telling signs of a franchise quarterback is in his second year of starting.  There are three telling signs that a quarterback must have in their second year to go on to be a franchise quarterback. 

First, the quarterback’s completion percentage is 60 percent, or better.  Secondly, the quarterback must acheive 3,000 yards or better.  Last, the quarterback must have more touchdowns than interceptions.

No quarterback that had less than two of these went on to be franchise quarterbacks. 

Most quarterbacks that start in their first year, more than half the year, go on to be busts.

In the end the best thing for Ryan is riding the pine, and never get a sniff of the feild. 

Arizona Cardinals general manger Rod Graves earliers this offseason franchise tagged linebacker Carlos Dansby.   During negotiations Graves has contradicted himself, thus putting him in a bad spot.

We certainly have a high opinion of Karlos and his value to our team,” said Graves.  That opinion led the team slapping Dansby with the one year Franchise tag.   The one year deal is worth $8.065 million this year for linebackers.

However, when in negotiations with Dansby agent, Kirk Wood, Graves offered contracts of only six million a year.  Which, is not even close to the Franchise tag.

There is only one way that can describe Graves during these negotiations, and that is stupid.  If you slap someone with a certain tag, then common sense would lead you to believe that a long term deal needs to be with in that range when it comes yearly average salary.

There is no excuse for Graves not getting a deal done.  If the deal that Graves offered was a little more than eight million per a year, with a little be more guarantee money than what Calvin Pace got from the Jets, it would already be done.

What Graves did was just plain dumb, and insulting.  The Cardinals could have gotten Dansby at a relatively fair price.  However, the insulting contact offer has raised the bar for what the dollar amount will be to get a deal done.

In the end the Cardinals will lose a quality player, that should never have happened.