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Singletary has high praise for TE Davis
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers, Vernon Davis
One day after the 49ers 86ed the New York Jets, San Francisco coach Mike Singletary was asked to highlight what stood out about the victory after replaying it.
Singletary’s response wasn’t what most would have guessed one month ago. Singletary specifically cited the blocking of 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, the player he threw off the field in his debut as San Francisco’s coach.
“Talk about a blocking tight end,” Singletary said Monday. “I don’t know if there’s ever been a tight end that can block better than Vernon Davis. I mean, he did an exceptional job. It was outstanding.”
Hold on — the best blocking tight end Singletary has ever seen?
“It’s the best I’ve seen,” Singletary repeated. “The best I’ve ever seen.”
Asked if he meant Sunday’s performance or more, Singletary said: “I’m talking about period. I mean as a blocking tight end, for him to be on a defensive end, linebacker, I don’t care who it was. He was on him, he was driving him, he was moving him, and it wasn’t like they didn’t know he was coming. It was very impressive.
“I think it has more to do with his mental makeup. I mean, there’s a lot of guys that have the physical athletic ability to do it, but they don’t do it. With Vernon, he can do it, he’s willing, and he takes pride in it, so I think I’m just very excited about what he does when he takes the responsibility of blocking somebody. He takes it personal and does a great job.”
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Adam Schefter
Broncos lose another RB for the year
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Denver Broncos, Peyton Hillis
Denver isn’t running out of running backs; it ran out of them a long time ago.
And now, the problem has intensified.
Rookie running back Peyton Hillis, who opened training camp seventh on Denver’s depth chart but eventually was promoted to starter due to injuries to other backs, will be placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list due to a hamstring injury, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan confirmed Monday.
To fill Hillis’ roster spot, the Broncos will sign rookie undrafted free agent running back Cory Boyd off their practice squad. But Boyd should be on the lookout: Any Broncos back who has moved up the depth chart this season has somehow found himself injured, quite often seeing his season ended.
Once Hillis is added to injured reserve, the Broncos will have five running backs there: Michael Pittman, Andre Hall, Ryan Torain, Anthony Aldridge and Hillis. Plus, running back Selvin Young has missed most of the season with a groin injury.
Denver is expected to start Tatum Bell, who recently was working in a cell phone store at a mall in the Denver area. Denver is running out of options.
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Adam Schefter
Schottenheimer: Return to Cleveland not likely
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Cleveland Browns, Marty Schottenheimer
Sirius Satellite Radio host Adam Schein had the chance Monday to ask Marty Schottenheimer the questions any Browns fans would.
Schein asked Schottenheimer about the speculation linking him to a possible return to Cleveland. Here is a transcript of their interview:
SIRIUS NFL Radio host, Adam Schein: “Are you in the mix to coach the Cleveland Browns?”
Schottenheimer: “I don’t see that as being likely at all. I really don’t. I’ve made a major change in my life and, again, the only thing I always say, Adam, as a caveat, I don’t ever make a decision if I don’t have to and thus I haven’t made one. First of all, nobody has presented me with an overture and, secondly, I’ve kind of aligned myself and my life kind of where it is and if they want to pay me $30 million a year I’ll have to talk about it. (laughs)…But I have not spoken to anybody from there and the likelihood is, if indeed I were to, I don’t see it [as being] likely.”
Schein went on to ask Schottenheimer if he would consider a front office role in the league and whether he would be interested in potentially joining his good friend, Bill Cowher, on a staff.
Schein: “Marty, would you consider a Bill Parcells-type role with a ball club?”
Schottenheimer: “Possibly. But again, Adam, it’s a long shot. I’ve picked my family up for a number of years and moved them all over the place and I’m sitting here now [at home in North Carolina], it’s a little bit overcast here but I’m looking out at the lake and life is good.”
Schein: “I believe you when you say life is good. I think you are being beyond genuine but, boy, there’s something about that Schottenheimer-Cowher situation that kind of intrigues me.”
Schottenheimer: “That would be very interesting for a couple of reasons. You know, Bill and I have remained very very close friends throughout our NFL careers and it goes back to when he was a player and I was an assistant. I would be less than candid if I didn’t say that that is, at the very least, intriguing. But there are so many movable parts there it would be like a Rubix cube.”
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Adam Schefter
NFL reviewing ways to make game better
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Roger Goodell
As this season winds to its riveting finish, the NFL already is reviewing ways that future seasons could be modified and improved.
The league’s competition committee met Friday at NFL headquarters in New York specifically to discuss the effects of going from a 16-game regular season to a 17- or 18-game regular season, a league official confirmed Monday.
The competition committee debated how a longer regular season would impact the trading deadline, when training camps would open, and all types of competitive issues.
The NFL already has launched a full ongoing internal analysis on what the longer regular season would do to all aspects of the game. It knows it is working with 20 games – currently 16 in the regular season, four in the preseason. But it wants to maximize the use of those 20 games.
One of the options is 17 regular season games and three preseason games; another is 18 regular-season games and two preseason games.
The league believes there are many positives to the different plans. There also are many viewpoints. There are many who support change. But the league still is a long way from anything being approved.
Conversations are expected to continue throughout the offseason, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is determined to do whatever he can to improve the game, studying every possible way to do it.
One is to lengthen the regular season.
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Adam Schefter
Packers quietly upset over holding call
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans
Add one more team to the list upset over an official’s call at a key moment in a game.
Though no one will say it publicly, Packers officials are miffed at the holding penalty called against Green Bay offensive tackle Tony Moll with about 3 minutes left in Sunday’s loss to Houston.
Moll was attempting to block Houston defensive end Mario Williams and one Packers official specifically watching the play said there was no hold. Even CBS analyst Steve Tasker expressed disappointment in the call. Yet officials still penalized Green Bay in a game-changing call.
Rather than Green Bay having a first down at Houston’s 13-yard line, the Packers were pushed back to a second-and-17 from Houston’s 32-yard line. Once it was second-and-17, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked for a 9-yard loss, pushing Green Bay back to Houston’s 41-yard line. On third-and-26, Rodgers threw a 3-yard pass to tight end Donald Lee, and the Packers were forced to punt.
Minutes later, the Texans made the winning field goal the Packers thought they would have when they were at the Texans’ 13-yard line.
If Green Bay had taken care of its business after the holding call, it might have won the game. But it didn’t. And now, the sequence of events can be viewed in totality.
The holding call did not cost Green Bay the game, but it certainly didn’t help the Packers’ chances any.
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Adam Schefter
Pro Bowl voting coming down to the wire
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Brian Westbrook, Chris Johnson, Jay Cutler, Pro Bowl, Randy Moss, Wes Welker
While most teams are making their playoff push, certain players are making their Pro Bowl push.
Tuesday is the final day for fan voting for the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which means Sunday’s game will be the last impression that players leave with voters.
A handful of players stated one final case as to why they should be going across the pond to Hawaii to this season’s Pro Bowl.
Those players included Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who ran through the New York Giants; Titans running back Chris Johnson, who crushed Cleveland; Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who no longer is the other receiver in New England to go along with Randy Moss; Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, whose play almost always correlates in whether Denver wins or loses; and veteran Dolphins cornerback Will Allen, who stamped himself as one of the game’s top defensive backs.
Sometimes it’s not how a player performs so much as when he performs. These players, and others, had some of their finest games in the days leading up to the Dec. 16 Pro Bowl announcement.
Their timing was nearly as good as their play.
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Adam Schefter
Parcells cooking up recipe for success
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Bill Parcells, Miami Dolphins
Bill Parcells, the man who prefers to shop for his own groceries, has provided the perfect recipe for turning around a team.
Avoid turnovers.
Few teams in NFL history have done it as well as Parcells. This season, Miami has turned over the football only 10 times.
It now is on pace to turn over the football only 12 times all year, which would be a single-season NFL record.
And it would break the record that the New York Giants set when they won the Super Bowl in 1990, the year their coach was none other than…Bill Parcells.
This year, Parcells and Dolphins coach Tony Sparano have instilled a toughness in the Dolphins that has not been there in recent seasons.
Holding on to the football has enabled the Dolphins to hold on to their leads.
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Adam Schefter
Toronto nice, but NFL doesn’t want to live there
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Buffalo Bills, International Series
Any Bills fan concerned that his team could be moving from Buffalo to Toronto should quit worrying.
As adept as Toronto’s Rogers Centre is to host a single NFL regular-season game a year, it is ill-equipped to permanently house an NFL team.
Sunday’s crowd for the Dolphins-Bills game was announced at 52,134. NFL owners are not going to want one of its teams playing games in front of crowds that are drawing approximately 20,000 fewer fans than other regular venues.
Until Toronto has a more viable stadium situation, with a larger seating capacity and added revenues, there is little chance that the Bills would bolt from Buffalo for Toronto.
It is not all together dissimilar to what is happening in Los Angeles. As much as some might like to see an NFL team in Los Angeles, it cannot get done without a stadium that meets the league’s approval.
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Adam Schefter
Why the Lions should forfeit against the Colts
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts
It is an idea that could be criticized, mocked, laughed at.
But it is no more unimaginable than Detroit going 0-16.
Before it happens, in an effort to prevent it from happening, here’s an idea as ludicrous as an NFL team losing all 16 games.
The Lions should forfeit Sunday’s game at Indianapolis against the Colts. Really. Truly.
Instead of traveling to Indianapolis to play a Colts team that has won six straight games, that features Peyton Manning at quarterback, against a team still fighting to lock up a wild-card spot, in the game it is least likely to win all season, Detroit should wave the white flag. It should save the travel costs and its players’ health.
The Lions should take an unscheduled bye week, rest up physically, clear their heads mentally, and start gameplanning for the following Sunday’s Dec. 21 home game against the New Orleans Saints.
As preposterous as the idea is — and it is something completely blasphemous in the world of football — it actually might reduce the chances that the Lions will finish this season 0-16.
Detroit repeatedly has given away games this season. It has, at times, not shown up. Might as well really not show up Sunday. It could help Detroit veer off its path to imperfection.
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Adam Schefter
Bucs could run into trouble on the road
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneeers
Here are some numbers that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be better off not knowing or reading before Monday night’s game in Carolina against the Panthers.
After the Saints beat the Falcons in New Orleans on Sunday, NFC South teams now are a combined 23-2 at home, including 9-0 in divisional games.
Not only does this not bode well for Tampa Bay tonight, but it plays at Atlanta on Sunday, meaning the Buccaneers now are trying to do something this season that no other NFC South team has done.
And Carolina needs to be wary as well. In the regular season’s final week, it plays in New Orleans against the Saints.
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Adam Schefter
Suspension hearings could be next year
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings, Pat Williams
When federal judge Paul Magnuson blocked the NFL from suspending five players on Friday, it was an enormous victory for the Minnesota Vikings and a blow to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
Legal experts familiar with this matter now agree that there’s a good chance that with the judge’s temporary restraining order, there will not be a full hearing on this case until after the season. Even if the judge has a full hearing once the playoffs begin, he will be under no time obligation and it could take him weeks or even months before issuing a final decision.
This means that defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams are expected to remain in Minnesota’s lineup, the Williams’ wall as impenetrable as ever.
Now, it’s true the judge always could decide to lift the temporary restraining order this week, but that is considered very unlikely. The more likely result is that the temporary restraining order will stay in place during the regular season and the playoffs. The case could be heard after the season, which means that if there is a suspension, it would be served next season.
So anyone in Chicago or Green Bay hoping that Minnesota would be thrown for a loss this season had its hopes dashed Friday.
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Adam Schefter
Were players warned about StarCaps?
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: StarCaps, steroid policy
One of the most baffling aspects of the case involving StarCaps and the NFL policy on anabolic steroids and related substances is that the defense of the suspended players states the product was mislabeled and they were unaware that the supplement in question violated the policy.
An NFL official said this week that two notifications specifically mentioning StarCaps were sent on December 19, 2006. One was sent to the presidents, general managers, and head athletic trainers of all NFL clubs. The second was sent to Stacy Robinson, the NFLPA executive who oversees the steroid policy on behalf of the union.
This should have been the ultimate red flag that there was a problem with StarCaps.
The letter to Robinson states that “Balanced Health Products, which distributes StarCaps, has been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies. Please distribute this information to the agents and players through your normal channels.” In response, Robinson had Balanced Health Products added to the list of banned companies that is maintained on the NFLPA’s web site.
If this is indeed the case, the players’ defense is all but blown up. Yet somehow on Friday, the suspended players got the temporary restraining order they needed to prolong their time with their teams this season. Yet oddly enough, they did it with the union suing its own program.
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Adam Schefter
Williams’ wallet could be victim of ‘Merriman rule’
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings
Not that he doesn’t have enough incentive to avoid suspension, but Vikings Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kevin Williams has up to $1.5 million more reasons to try to avoid it.
Williams’ contract has salary escalators up to $1.5 million for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons that are based on making the Pro Bowl.
But after the 2006 season, the NFL enacted the “Merriman Rule” that forbids any player suspended by the league from being selected to the Pro Bowl or winning any performance awards.
If Williams’ four-game suspension sticks, he would not be allowed to go to the Pro Bowl. However, it’s possible that a judge will not decide whether Williams is suspended before Dec. 16, the date the Pro Bowl teams are announced.
Williams’ contract has escalators specifically tied to the Pro Bowl. If he is voted to the Pro Bowl twice from 2007-2011 — and he already went last season — he would earn an extra $500,000. If he makes it three times from 2007-2011, Williams would earn an extra $1 million. And if he makes if four times from 2007-2011, Williams would make an extra $1.5 million.
Missing the Pro Bowl this year, or next year, due to suspension would not mean he automatically loses $500,000. He still could be voted to the Pro Bowl any season up to 2011. But for each Pro Bowl that Williams is voted to, the more he stands to make half-million increments.
Being banned from the Pro Bowl this or next year could likely wind up costing him at least $500,000 and possibly up to $1.5 million.
The other Vikings defensive tackle trying to stave off suspension, Pat Williams, has not Pro Bowl clauses in his contract.
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Adam Schefter
Giants OC Gilbride in the mix at Syracuse
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Kevin Gilbride, New York Giants, Syracuse
The New York Giants have conquered distractions the way they have opponents. Now there’s an outside chance the Giants could be facing another distraction.
Syracuse recently reached out to speak with Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride about becoming its head coach. Gilbride declined to discuss it, saying he was focusing on Sunday’s game against Philadelphia, but a source close to the school did. Gilbride is on the school’s list of coaching candidates, though it’s uncertain how high he is on the list.
Gilbride is not considered a favorite for the job, but his name is in the mix. He has done a masterful job with the Giants offense, helping groom quarterback Eli Manning and develop New York’s rushing attack into the top one in the NFL. Gilbride has served as a head coach before and is expected to garner more attention for the way he has handled the Giants offense.
Gilbride is hardly the only NFL offensive coordinator drawing interest from the college ranks. San Diego State has 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz on its list of prospective head-coaching candidates.
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Adam Schefter
More than one Giants player looking for forgiveness
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Antonio Pierce, Lawrence Tynes, Plaxico Burress
One Giants player is hoping to get a presidential pardon, but it is not wide receiver Plaxico Burress nor linebacker Antonio Pierce.
Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes is hoping to procure a presidential pardon for his brother, Mark, who is serving 27 years in federal prison on drug and witness intimidation charges stemming from his 2004 involvement in a plan to traffic 3,600 pounds of marijuana between Florida and Texas.
Tynes hired an attorney a few months ago, and entrusted him to attempt to help free his brother. Those in touch with Tynes say his lawyer is optimistic that a pardon will be granted. United States President George Bush is expected to issue two more rounds of pardons –- one before Christmas, and another before he leaves office Jan. 20.
Tynes has some stiff competition in trying to land one. Junk-bond king Michael Milken, media mogul Conrad Black and American-born Taliban solider John Walker Lindh are among the more than 2,000 people who have applied to the Justice Department seeking judicial forgiveness or sentence commutations.
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Adam Schefter has been a reporter and key source of breaking news for NFL Network since 2004. He is the author of three books and a former president of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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Home « Older EntriesAdam Schefter
Singletary has high praise for TE Davis
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers, Vernon Davis
One day after the 49ers 86ed the New York Jets, San Francisco coach Mike Singletary was asked to highlight what stood out about the victory after replaying it.
Singletary’s response wasn’t what most would have guessed one month ago. Singletary specifically cited the blocking of 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, the player he threw off the field in his debut as San Francisco’s coach.
“Talk about a blocking tight end,” Singletary said Monday. “I don’t know if there’s ever been a tight end that can block better than Vernon Davis. I mean, he did an exceptional job. It was outstanding.”
Hold on — the best blocking tight end Singletary has ever seen?
“It’s the best I’ve seen,” Singletary repeated. “The best I’ve ever seen.”
Asked if he meant Sunday’s performance or more, Singletary said: “I’m talking about period. I mean as a blocking tight end, for him to be on a defensive end, linebacker, I don’t care who it was. He was on him, he was driving him, he was moving him, and it wasn’t like they didn’t know he was coming. It was very impressive.
“I think it has more to do with his mental makeup. I mean, there’s a lot of guys that have the physical athletic ability to do it, but they don’t do it. With Vernon, he can do it, he’s willing, and he takes pride in it, so I think I’m just very excited about what he does when he takes the responsibility of blocking somebody. He takes it personal and does a great job.”
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Adam Schefter
Broncos lose another RB for the year
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Denver Broncos, Peyton Hillis
Denver isn’t running out of running backs; it ran out of them a long time ago.
And now, the problem has intensified.
Rookie running back Peyton Hillis, who opened training camp seventh on Denver’s depth chart but eventually was promoted to starter due to injuries to other backs, will be placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list due to a hamstring injury, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan confirmed Monday.
To fill Hillis’ roster spot, the Broncos will sign rookie undrafted free agent running back Cory Boyd off their practice squad. But Boyd should be on the lookout: Any Broncos back who has moved up the depth chart this season has somehow found himself injured, quite often seeing his season ended.
Once Hillis is added to injured reserve, the Broncos will have five running backs there: Michael Pittman, Andre Hall, Ryan Torain, Anthony Aldridge and Hillis. Plus, running back Selvin Young has missed most of the season with a groin injury.
Denver is expected to start Tatum Bell, who recently was working in a cell phone store at a mall in the Denver area. Denver is running out of options.
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Adam Schefter
Schottenheimer: Return to Cleveland not likely
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Cleveland Browns, Marty Schottenheimer
Sirius Satellite Radio host Adam Schein had the chance Monday to ask Marty Schottenheimer the questions any Browns fans would.
Schein asked Schottenheimer about the speculation linking him to a possible return to Cleveland. Here is a transcript of their interview:
SIRIUS NFL Radio host, Adam Schein: “Are you in the mix to coach the Cleveland Browns?”
Schottenheimer: “I don’t see that as being likely at all. I really don’t. I’ve made a major change in my life and, again, the only thing I always say, Adam, as a caveat, I don’t ever make a decision if I don’t have to and thus I haven’t made one. First of all, nobody has presented me with an overture and, secondly, I’ve kind of aligned myself and my life kind of where it is and if they want to pay me $30 million a year I’ll have to talk about it. (laughs)…But I have not spoken to anybody from there and the likelihood is, if indeed I were to, I don’t see it [as being] likely.”
Schein went on to ask Schottenheimer if he would consider a front office role in the league and whether he would be interested in potentially joining his good friend, Bill Cowher, on a staff.
Schein: “Marty, would you consider a Bill Parcells-type role with a ball club?”
Schottenheimer: “Possibly. But again, Adam, it’s a long shot. I’ve picked my family up for a number of years and moved them all over the place and I’m sitting here now [at home in North Carolina], it’s a little bit overcast here but I’m looking out at the lake and life is good.”
Schein: “I believe you when you say life is good. I think you are being beyond genuine but, boy, there’s something about that Schottenheimer-Cowher situation that kind of intrigues me.”
Schottenheimer: “That would be very interesting for a couple of reasons. You know, Bill and I have remained very very close friends throughout our NFL careers and it goes back to when he was a player and I was an assistant. I would be less than candid if I didn’t say that that is, at the very least, intriguing. But there are so many movable parts there it would be like a Rubix cube.”
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Adam Schefter
NFL reviewing ways to make game better
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Roger Goodell
As this season winds to its riveting finish, the NFL already is reviewing ways that future seasons could be modified and improved.
The league’s competition committee met Friday at NFL headquarters in New York specifically to discuss the effects of going from a 16-game regular season to a 17- or 18-game regular season, a league official confirmed Monday.
The competition committee debated how a longer regular season would impact the trading deadline, when training camps would open, and all types of competitive issues.
The NFL already has launched a full ongoing internal analysis on what the longer regular season would do to all aspects of the game. It knows it is working with 20 games – currently 16 in the regular season, four in the preseason. But it wants to maximize the use of those 20 games.
One of the options is 17 regular season games and three preseason games; another is 18 regular-season games and two preseason games.
The league believes there are many positives to the different plans. There also are many viewpoints. There are many who support change. But the league still is a long way from anything being approved.
Conversations are expected to continue throughout the offseason, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is determined to do whatever he can to improve the game, studying every possible way to do it.
One is to lengthen the regular season.
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Adam Schefter
Packers quietly upset over holding call
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans
Add one more team to the list upset over an official’s call at a key moment in a game.
Though no one will say it publicly, Packers officials are miffed at the holding penalty called against Green Bay offensive tackle Tony Moll with about 3 minutes left in Sunday’s loss to Houston.
Moll was attempting to block Houston defensive end Mario Williams and one Packers official specifically watching the play said there was no hold. Even CBS analyst Steve Tasker expressed disappointment in the call. Yet officials still penalized Green Bay in a game-changing call.
Rather than Green Bay having a first down at Houston’s 13-yard line, the Packers were pushed back to a second-and-17 from Houston’s 32-yard line. Once it was second-and-17, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked for a 9-yard loss, pushing Green Bay back to Houston’s 41-yard line. On third-and-26, Rodgers threw a 3-yard pass to tight end Donald Lee, and the Packers were forced to punt.
Minutes later, the Texans made the winning field goal the Packers thought they would have when they were at the Texans’ 13-yard line.
If Green Bay had taken care of its business after the holding call, it might have won the game. But it didn’t. And now, the sequence of events can be viewed in totality.
The holding call did not cost Green Bay the game, but it certainly didn’t help the Packers’ chances any.
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Adam Schefter
Pro Bowl voting coming down to the wire
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Brian Westbrook, Chris Johnson, Jay Cutler, Pro Bowl, Randy Moss, Wes Welker
While most teams are making their playoff push, certain players are making their Pro Bowl push.
Tuesday is the final day for fan voting for the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which means Sunday’s game will be the last impression that players leave with voters.
A handful of players stated one final case as to why they should be going across the pond to Hawaii to this season’s Pro Bowl.
Those players included Eagles running back Brian Westbrook, who ran through the New York Giants; Titans running back Chris Johnson, who crushed Cleveland; Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who no longer is the other receiver in New England to go along with Randy Moss; Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, whose play almost always correlates in whether Denver wins or loses; and veteran Dolphins cornerback Will Allen, who stamped himself as one of the game’s top defensive backs.
Sometimes it’s not how a player performs so much as when he performs. These players, and others, had some of their finest games in the days leading up to the Dec. 16 Pro Bowl announcement.
Their timing was nearly as good as their play.
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Adam Schefter
Parcells cooking up recipe for success
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Bill Parcells, Miami Dolphins
Bill Parcells, the man who prefers to shop for his own groceries, has provided the perfect recipe for turning around a team.
Avoid turnovers.
Few teams in NFL history have done it as well as Parcells. This season, Miami has turned over the football only 10 times.
It now is on pace to turn over the football only 12 times all year, which would be a single-season NFL record.
And it would break the record that the New York Giants set when they won the Super Bowl in 1990, the year their coach was none other than…Bill Parcells.
This year, Parcells and Dolphins coach Tony Sparano have instilled a toughness in the Dolphins that has not been there in recent seasons.
Holding on to the football has enabled the Dolphins to hold on to their leads.
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Adam Schefter
Toronto nice, but NFL doesn’t want to live there
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Buffalo Bills, International Series
Any Bills fan concerned that his team could be moving from Buffalo to Toronto should quit worrying.
As adept as Toronto’s Rogers Centre is to host a single NFL regular-season game a year, it is ill-equipped to permanently house an NFL team.
Sunday’s crowd for the Dolphins-Bills game was announced at 52,134. NFL owners are not going to want one of its teams playing games in front of crowds that are drawing approximately 20,000 fewer fans than other regular venues.
Until Toronto has a more viable stadium situation, with a larger seating capacity and added revenues, there is little chance that the Bills would bolt from Buffalo for Toronto.
It is not all together dissimilar to what is happening in Los Angeles. As much as some might like to see an NFL team in Los Angeles, it cannot get done without a stadium that meets the league’s approval.
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Adam Schefter
Why the Lions should forfeit against the Colts
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts
It is an idea that could be criticized, mocked, laughed at.
But it is no more unimaginable than Detroit going 0-16.
Before it happens, in an effort to prevent it from happening, here’s an idea as ludicrous as an NFL team losing all 16 games.
The Lions should forfeit Sunday’s game at Indianapolis against the Colts. Really. Truly.
Instead of traveling to Indianapolis to play a Colts team that has won six straight games, that features Peyton Manning at quarterback, against a team still fighting to lock up a wild-card spot, in the game it is least likely to win all season, Detroit should wave the white flag. It should save the travel costs and its players’ health.
The Lions should take an unscheduled bye week, rest up physically, clear their heads mentally, and start gameplanning for the following Sunday’s Dec. 21 home game against the New Orleans Saints.
As preposterous as the idea is — and it is something completely blasphemous in the world of football — it actually might reduce the chances that the Lions will finish this season 0-16.
Detroit repeatedly has given away games this season. It has, at times, not shown up. Might as well really not show up Sunday. It could help Detroit veer off its path to imperfection.
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Adam Schefter
Bucs could run into trouble on the road
Posted: December 8th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneeers
Here are some numbers that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be better off not knowing or reading before Monday night’s game in Carolina against the Panthers.
After the Saints beat the Falcons in New Orleans on Sunday, NFC South teams now are a combined 23-2 at home, including 9-0 in divisional games.
Not only does this not bode well for Tampa Bay tonight, but it plays at Atlanta on Sunday, meaning the Buccaneers now are trying to do something this season that no other NFC South team has done.
And Carolina needs to be wary as well. In the regular season’s final week, it plays in New Orleans against the Saints.
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Adam Schefter
Suspension hearings could be next year
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings, Pat Williams
When federal judge Paul Magnuson blocked the NFL from suspending five players on Friday, it was an enormous victory for the Minnesota Vikings and a blow to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
Legal experts familiar with this matter now agree that there’s a good chance that with the judge’s temporary restraining order, there will not be a full hearing on this case until after the season. Even if the judge has a full hearing once the playoffs begin, he will be under no time obligation and it could take him weeks or even months before issuing a final decision.
This means that defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams are expected to remain in Minnesota’s lineup, the Williams’ wall as impenetrable as ever.
Now, it’s true the judge always could decide to lift the temporary restraining order this week, but that is considered very unlikely. The more likely result is that the temporary restraining order will stay in place during the regular season and the playoffs. The case could be heard after the season, which means that if there is a suspension, it would be served next season.
So anyone in Chicago or Green Bay hoping that Minnesota would be thrown for a loss this season had its hopes dashed Friday.
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Adam Schefter
Were players warned about StarCaps?
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: StarCaps, steroid policy
One of the most baffling aspects of the case involving StarCaps and the NFL policy on anabolic steroids and related substances is that the defense of the suspended players states the product was mislabeled and they were unaware that the supplement in question violated the policy.
An NFL official said this week that two notifications specifically mentioning StarCaps were sent on December 19, 2006. One was sent to the presidents, general managers, and head athletic trainers of all NFL clubs. The second was sent to Stacy Robinson, the NFLPA executive who oversees the steroid policy on behalf of the union.
This should have been the ultimate red flag that there was a problem with StarCaps.
The letter to Robinson states that “Balanced Health Products, which distributes StarCaps, has been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies. Please distribute this information to the agents and players through your normal channels.” In response, Robinson had Balanced Health Products added to the list of banned companies that is maintained on the NFLPA’s web site.
If this is indeed the case, the players’ defense is all but blown up. Yet somehow on Friday, the suspended players got the temporary restraining order they needed to prolong their time with their teams this season. Yet oddly enough, they did it with the union suing its own program.
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Adam Schefter
Williams’ wallet could be victim of ‘Merriman rule’
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings
Not that he doesn’t have enough incentive to avoid suspension, but Vikings Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kevin Williams has up to $1.5 million more reasons to try to avoid it.
Williams’ contract has salary escalators up to $1.5 million for the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons that are based on making the Pro Bowl.
But after the 2006 season, the NFL enacted the “Merriman Rule” that forbids any player suspended by the league from being selected to the Pro Bowl or winning any performance awards.
If Williams’ four-game suspension sticks, he would not be allowed to go to the Pro Bowl. However, it’s possible that a judge will not decide whether Williams is suspended before Dec. 16, the date the Pro Bowl teams are announced.
Williams’ contract has escalators specifically tied to the Pro Bowl. If he is voted to the Pro Bowl twice from 2007-2011 — and he already went last season — he would earn an extra $500,000. If he makes it three times from 2007-2011, Williams would earn an extra $1 million. And if he makes if four times from 2007-2011, Williams would make an extra $1.5 million.
Missing the Pro Bowl this year, or next year, due to suspension would not mean he automatically loses $500,000. He still could be voted to the Pro Bowl any season up to 2011. But for each Pro Bowl that Williams is voted to, the more he stands to make half-million increments.
Being banned from the Pro Bowl this or next year could likely wind up costing him at least $500,000 and possibly up to $1.5 million.
The other Vikings defensive tackle trying to stave off suspension, Pat Williams, has not Pro Bowl clauses in his contract.
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Adam Schefter
Giants OC Gilbride in the mix at Syracuse
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Kevin Gilbride, New York Giants, Syracuse
The New York Giants have conquered distractions the way they have opponents. Now there’s an outside chance the Giants could be facing another distraction.
Syracuse recently reached out to speak with Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride about becoming its head coach. Gilbride declined to discuss it, saying he was focusing on Sunday’s game against Philadelphia, but a source close to the school did. Gilbride is on the school’s list of coaching candidates, though it’s uncertain how high he is on the list.
Gilbride is not considered a favorite for the job, but his name is in the mix. He has done a masterful job with the Giants offense, helping groom quarterback Eli Manning and develop New York’s rushing attack into the top one in the NFL. Gilbride has served as a head coach before and is expected to garner more attention for the way he has handled the Giants offense.
Gilbride is hardly the only NFL offensive coordinator drawing interest from the college ranks. San Diego State has 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz on its list of prospective head-coaching candidates.
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Adam Schefter
More than one Giants player looking for forgiveness
Posted: December 7th, 2008 | Adam Schefter | Tags: Antonio Pierce, Lawrence Tynes, Plaxico Burress
One Giants player is hoping to get a presidential pardon, but it is not wide receiver Plaxico Burress nor linebacker Antonio Pierce.
Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes is hoping to procure a presidential pardon for his brother, Mark, who is serving 27 years in federal prison on drug and witness intimidation charges stemming from his 2004 involvement in a plan to traffic 3,600 pounds of marijuana between Florida and Texas.
Tynes hired an attorney a few months ago, and entrusted him to attempt to help free his brother. Those in touch with Tynes say his lawyer is optimistic that a pardon will be granted. United States President George Bush is expected to issue two more rounds of pardons –- one before Christmas, and another before he leaves office Jan. 20.
Tynes has some stiff competition in trying to land one. Junk-bond king Michael Milken, media mogul Conrad Black and American-born Taliban solider John Walker Lindh are among the more than 2,000 people who have applied to the Justice Department seeking judicial forgiveness or sentence commutations.
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Adam Schefter
Adam Schefter has been a reporter and key source of breaking news for NFL Network since 2004. He is the author of three books and a former president of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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