Derrick Burgess Not a Big Deal posted by Randolph Charlotin

Last week I wrote a column after DE Jason Taylor signed with the Miami Dolphins. My take was after losing out on Taylor, the Patriots lost their chance of finding a competent veteran replacement for LB Mike Vrabel.

 

Just today I read in The Boston Herald that New England was discussing a trade with the Oakland Raiders for DE Derrick Burgess. Apparently these talks have been going on since around draft time. Oakland’s asking price is a second or third round pick for the veteran entering his eighth year.

 

Wait a moment…it’s coming…ah…Ah…AH…

 

…Uhhhhhhhhh…nothing. Nope, I don’t get a feeling of excitement for this potential trade.

 

It’s not that I’m unfamiliar with Burgess. I remember he started with the Philadelphia Eagles and signed with the Raiders as a free agent. Burgess had his best two years upon arrival in Oakland, with 27 sacks over two years and two Pro Bowl births.

 

Since then his production dropped to eight sacks in 2007 and just 3.5 last year. Injuries played a part in his reduced production.

 

Part of the appeal of Burgess is he’s in the final year of a five-year contract that pays him $2 million in 2009. If this trade happens, hopefully $2 million doesn’t buy just 3.5 sacks.

 

Some of the thinking behind this possible trade is Burgess could cash in on one final big contract as a free agent in 2010 if he has a highly productive season. Burgess will be 31 by the start of the ’09 season and he realizes this is his last chance to get paid. Motivation won’t be a problem.

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What a first day of the NFL Draft for the Browns...and other teams posted by Michael Mayer

The NFL Draft was going according to plan until the Browns went on the clock after Aaron Curry was selected the pick before. They ended up trading their pick to the New York Jets in a mammoth deal in which the Browns essentially ended up trading for 5 guys and gave up the number 5 pick. The Browns then proceeded to trade down twice more until they finally picked at 21. In a surprising move, The Browns chose to pass on Chris "Beanie" Wells and Ray Maualuga and took Cal center Alex Mack who is a very versatile player. I've heard the guy can play every position along the offensive line. In the second round, The Browns might have answered the question as to whether or not Braylon Edwards is staying when they drafted two receiver, Hometown Boy Brian Robiskie out of Ohio State at 36 and Mohamed Massaquoi out of Georgia at 50. Both are very talented. They also might have addressed somewhat their need for a pass rush with David Veikune out of Hawaii at 52. While Browns fans may not like the drafting so far, I think its far better than they think. Mack could be an anchor for the o-line for years to come and Robiskie is a great slot guy, while Massaquoui has the potential to be a one, maybe a two. I've heard some great things about Veikune. Meanwhile, other teams struggled when drafting. The one that obviously comes to my mind is the Oakland Raiders. With a glaring need a wide receiver, and Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin (the two best receiving prospects) still on the board, the Raiders elected to select (in a typical Al Davis move) Darrius Heyward-Bay. Heyward-Bay was Continue reading "What a first day of the NFL Draft ..."

Welcome NFL fans, this is the moment you have been waiting for! posted by Matt Rice

It is April 3rd 2009 and I have officially kicked off my NFL blog.  I can finally rant and rave to the best (and worst) of my abilities to whoever wants to listen.  Nothing profound will appear in today's post, but as soon as I have something brilliant to say, you will be the first to know.  PEACE!!!Continue reading "Welcome NFL fans, this is the moment ..."

LITIGATING LOSERS posted by Geoff Partel

You don’t have to go too far back to recall games where one team was somehow “robbed” of a championship while the other basked in glory.   To this day, I’m sure guys like Bill Buckner and Scott Norwood still deal with the inner turmoil that made them household names.   Thankfully, what’s still nice about the increasingly tarnished image of professional sports is that no matter what the outcome is, the books are shut -- end of story.  That is until now, where former St. Louis Rams’ player Willie Gary, along with two Super Bowl XXXVI ticket holders and a Rams seat license holder, have filed a $100M law suit against the New England Patriots.  Gary, who for the past six years has earned a living playing for the Arena Football League’s Georgia Force, alleges that the outcome of Super Bowl XXXVI, where the heavily favored Rams were beaten 20-17 by New England, would have been different had the Patriots not illegally videotaped a Rams practice earlier that week in February 2002.

In a country that never fails to outdo itself when it comes to litigious absurdity, this suit could be the sports equivalent to Liebeck v. McDonald’s; which was that infamous case involving the criminal negligence of selling hot coffee to those who spill it in their laps.   The lawsuit seeks $35 million in damages covering, among other things, the loss of Super Bowl rings, bonuses and endorsements for the 45 Rams players and cost of $400 tickets for 72,922 fans. *I’m not a lawyer, but if Bob Kraft called me to represent his defense, I’d raise these key points after we agreed on my fee of $850 an hour.·         The Rams only led 3-0 early in the second quarter.   On the Rams’ first offensive drive of the second quarter, they got the ball down to the Patriots 34 yard line.  The Rams failed to convert on third down due to an incompletion and had to settle for a field goal.  They missed.  Show the jury how an alleged videotaping of the Rams’ practice impacts the kicker missing a field goal. ·         Again, in the second quarter with 8:49 remaining in the half, New England defensive back, Ty Law, intercepts a pass intended for Isaac Bruce and runs the ball back 47 yards for a touchdown.   Show the jury how an alleged videotaping of the Rams practice impacts the poor judgment by Kurt Warner on this play.  At this point New England led 7-3. ·         With less than two minutes in the first half, Rams receiver, Ricky Proehl,  has the ball stripped at the Patriots 40 yard line.  New England recovers, of which they subsequently score another touchdown with 31 seconds remaining in the half.  Show the jury how an alleged videotaping of the Rams practice impacts the fumbling by Ricky Proehl.   At this point New England led 14-3. ·         In the third quarter, New England defensive back, Otis Smith, intercepted a pass after its intended receiver, Tory Holt, slips and falls.  New England again capitalizes from this turnover with a field goal.  Show the jury how an alleged videotaping of the Rams practice impacts the stumbling by Tory Holt.   At this point New England led 17-3. ·         Later in the third quarter, Kurt Warner fumbled on a fourth- and- goal quarterback sneak.  The ball was recovered by Patriots defensive back, Tebucky Jones, and returned for 97 yards.  New England would have had a commanding lead of 24-3 had the play not been nullified by a defensive hold by Willie McGinest.  Even if that play counted, show the jury how an alleged videotaping of the Rams practice impacts Kurt Warner fumbling the ball.  As a result of the penalty, the Rams got a first down and scored two plays later.  New England led 17-10.  The Rams scored once more tying the game at 17 apiece.   With a minute and a half remaining in the game, the Patriots marched the ball to the Rams 30 yard line of which Adam Vinatieri made a 48 yard field goal to win in the game’s final second of play. 

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Patriots Fans Embrace the Hate! posted by Mike Dussault

Part of me thought that Commissioner Goodell coming out today and answering a bunch of direct questions about "Spygate" would do something to cool off the conspiracy theorists. But alas it has not. I shouldn't be surprised. It is in our roots to want to take down the guy on top. It just so happens that my favorite team is on top right now and thus Spygate will never die. The facts are out there and the New England Patriots received a significant punishment, fans can believe what they want to.
I had assumed that the tapes went back to the start of the Belichick era in New England, but they actually only went back to late in the 2006 season. I guess there were notes collected as well that went further back that were destroyed as well, Goodell didn't elaborate on those but seemed satisfied that they had all been accounted for. He stated unequivically that none of the Super Bowls were in question. I can live with that. The fact that a Jets coach waves directly to camera on one of the tapes says a lot. There was no secret that this was going on and that had to limit how much help stealing signals actually could be. 
Did every team in the NFL do this? Absolutely not. Did some besides the Patriots? Absolutely. When they got caught those who weren't doing it pounced. That's why we got so many statements from coaches like the Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy denouncing it. Clearly Dungy had to know that some teams did it, and most likely had to take preventitive steps against it. It was probably a nuisance more than anything else. 
In the hyper-competitive NFL it's clear that no team is more competitive than the New England Patriots. Their success alone is evidence to that and clearly it runs through all aspects of the organization, to a level where they try to manipulate every single factor possible into their favor. Could what the Patriots did be truly classified as cheating? Sure. But not to a level where they had an kind of advanage over everyone else. Some want to paint a picture of the Pats knowing a team's plays before they ran them. That's lunacy. Not to mention if any Head Coach allowed them to do that they didn't belong in the NFL.
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I HATE TOM BRADY posted by Daniel Jacobson

I wrote the following article during the 2005 season for my campus newspaper. It is still very true today and I think most people will get a kick out of it. And just for the record, I am a Raiders fan.

I absolutely, positively hate the New England Patriots. I hate their logo, I hate their quarterback, I hate their owner and their stadium is named after a razor company. I hate them. And worst of all they win too damn much; they’ve become the Yankees of football. But I’m not here to talk about the Yankees, that’ll just open up another can of worms.

Hate is the best form of admiration, not imitation. Quarterback Tom Brady has everything a man could possibly ask for. But I’m tired of hearing his so-called “Cinderella” story. Of how he was selected in the sixth round in the NFL Draft, of how he jumped rope as a kid to keep his feet quick, and now how he reminds former NFL coach and current broadcaster, John Madden, of Joe Montana.

Let’s review: Brady has three Super Bowl rings, a very hot girlfriend in Bridget Moynahan and enough money to feed all the hungry children in Ethiopia. I hate him, but remember hate is the best form of admiration.

Owner and business tycoon Robert Kraft is an extremely rich man who day-by-day reminds me more and more of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. He sits up in his owner’s box in Gillette Stadium with his fancy suit and does absolutely nothing wrong. His lack of poor behavior bothers me even more; I mean he’s actually a good guy. He and his wife contribute to so many charities that it’s become nearly impossible to really hate the guy.

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The Los Angeles Raiders posted by Apryl DeLancey

Yeah, you heard me – the Los Angeles Raiders. This is the team that still lives in my mind. The only team to bring my hometown a Super Bowl win. Sure, I follow other clubs in the NFL now. It is hard not to when yours has deserted you! At any rate, I drive around town in my black car with the black Raiders license plate frames in honor of days long passed…

Now, oh my goodness! Have you seen the state that the team is in today? Ugh! Al Davis is back to his nutty tricks and has asked Lane Kiffin to resign. Huh? Really? Yeah, the Oakland Raiders have turned in an embarrassing season where they were nearly last in every measurable category. Since the departure of John Gruden, they have been on a depressing, downward spiral. I wasn’t very excited about Norv Turner, but he proved me wrong by taking the San Diego Chargers almost there this season. This tells me he wasn’t all bad. But asking Lane Kiffin to resign? I don’t get it? Surely he will be able to get it together. I mean, after all, he is the son of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive genius Monte Kiffin. I am not so sure that asking him to leave is the answer to the team’s problems. Maybe asking the owner to resign would be more fruitful?

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Bandwagon Season! posted by Apryl DeLancey

NFL Playoffs!? That can only mean one thing – bandwagon season! Now that my team #1 and #2 are done for the season, its time to jump on the way only a true NFL football fan can.

My Tampa Bay Buccaneers played an exceptional first quarter today and then decided to fall asleep on me. Too bad the game has four quarters! Argh! I really thought they could make something happen this year. My #1 team(s) the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders never even made it to the playoffs - so the time has come for auxiliary cheering methods – jump on the bandwagon! I have planned out who I will be rooting for next week for sure (remaining season afterward to be determined):

Go San Diego Chargers! This is my number one choice of course, being a Southern California native. LaDainian Tomlinson is not only remarkable, but a role model with his quiet confidence. You never see him trash talking, he simply does his job and does it well! I am fully allowed to root for them as they were once the Los Angeles Chargers and I actually lived in Del Mar for a period. Also, I have been to Seau’s and had a cigar (alright, he isn’t there anymore but that’s not the point)!

Go Jacksonville Jaguars! I am so very impressed with David Garrard and Maurice Jones-Drew. Besides their impressive, spirited performances, I can rationalize rooting for them a few ways. I went to college in the great state of Florida and Maurice Jones-Drew is a California boy that went to UCLA. (And yes, I watched him in college and admired his performance then and even sat the next row over from him at a Los Angeles Lakers game once.) I mean seriously, David Garrard is a class act so how can you not root for him!?

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Random NFL Rumblings… posted by Apryl DeLancey

I was working on the computer when I heard the sound. It was that unmistakable sound that a football game was about to start. That wonderful feeling of excitement flushed over me and I mused that I am much like a subject in Pavlov’s experiments. Play that music and I salivate.

Alright - so I am getting off track. Thursday’s game on the NFL Network was the Los Angeles St. Louis Rams vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. The mighty Steelers won in what turned out to be a pretty good game to watch. I was working through most of the game but had time to notice that Steven Jackson is a really big dude and Ben Roethlisberger has a really big head. Not that I am perfect by any stretch of the imagination as I am sure people would have plenty to say about me if I were on television.

Alright, so I am off track again. What I was going to say with all of this is how interesting the NFL has become. Growing up with the sport pre-salary cap, you always had the old stand-bys that won. The San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers made appearance after appearance in the post-season and nearly every other team was just window dressing. Later, when the cap came along things slowly changed. The shift has been interesting and it has taken me a bit to become accustomed to teams from smaller markets and without storied pasts gaining prominence.

So what is the point? Well, I noticed how Marc Bulger had some miscues and thought about when he Kurt Warnered the actual Kurt Warner and took the starting job. It is quite interesting how the

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