NFL Discussion Forumtable: 2007

[tominator89 0]

Redskins sign Todd Pinkston

 

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsins...ml?nav=rss_blog

[Darthtiki 0]

So the Super Bowl pregame is gonna be fab-u-lous:

Seacrest to host Superbowl on FOX

'Idol' emcee to do pre-game festivities

By STEVEN ZEITCHIKFox is bringing "American Idol" to the Super Bowl.

Net is expected to announce Thursday that "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest will serve as the master of ceremonies at the big game in January.

 

Seacrest will handle pre-game hosting duties as celebs stream in to the game. Super Bowl is set to take place in February at the University of Phoenix stadium in Arizona.

 

NFL has yet to announce in-game entertainment; last year saw Prince perform at a rainy Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

 

Tapping of a red-carpet host is a first for a Super Bowl telecast. Nets airing the game have been trying to increase entertainment quotient to bring in non-football fans and increase already massive viewership.

 

When Fox last aired the Super Bowl three years ago, "Idol" had yet to become the full-fledged phenomenon it is now.

 

 

Read the full article at:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117970324.html

 

Whoever at Fox and the NFL thought this was a bright idea should be fired.

[devo 0]

When was the last time FOX had a good idea regarding football coverage?

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

So the Super Bowl pregame is gonna be fab-u-lous:

Seacrest to host Superbowl on FOX

'Idol' emcee to do pre-game festivities

By STEVEN ZEITCHIKFox is bringing "American Idol" to the Super Bowl.

Net is expected to announce Thursday that "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest will serve as the master of ceremonies at the big game in January.

 

Seacrest will handle pre-game hosting duties as celebs stream in to the game. Super Bowl is set to take place in February at the University of Phoenix stadium in Arizona.

 

NFL has yet to announce in-game entertainment; last year saw Prince perform at a rainy Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

 

Tapping of a red-carpet host is a first for a Super Bowl telecast. Nets airing the game have been trying to increase entertainment quotient to bring in non-football fans and increase already massive viewership.

 

When Fox last aired the Super Bowl three years ago, "Idol" had yet to become the full-fledged phenomenon it is now.

 

 

Read the full article at:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117970324.html

 

Whoever at Fox and the NFL thought this was a bright idea should be fired.

 

I dont see the problem unless somewhere in there it says something about Seacrest actually talking durring the game..

 

The music performance is probably gonna be all the American Idol winners so far or something stupid like that.

 

And I think its funny that the Best Ravens QB off that list was Vinny Testaverde who was the QB when the team came over from Cleveland 12 years ago (and #47 overall..) I could probably name close to 100 QBs that have started for the Ravens in that time too lol..

[NoCalMike 0]

Jason Campbell looked good yesterday until he took the hit to the knee by Kiesel. Looks like the prognosis is just a bruised knee and he should be fine in a few days.....*wipes sweat from forehead*

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Perhaps NY shouldn't schedule preseason games against Ravens again. They lost 4 players to injuries all in one half.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

I wanna see the Ravens pull this out haha..

 

BUZZ

 

 

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Yeah looks like Troy Smith will be out of a job this season.

[razazteca 0]

Seacrest to host Superbowl on FOX

'Idol' emcee to do pre-game festivities

 

Its the pre-show concerts with Ryan Seacrest as he introduces several pop icons with no talent other than being music video idols, I don't see a problem with it.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Yeah looks like Troy Smith will be out of a job this season.

 

I dont see that happening. Olson will get cut first.

 

Considering its a battle for the 3rd sting QB behind Boller it probably doesn't matter this year although the future depends on it since Boller's gone after this season more than likely and McNair probably wont be too far behind him retiring..

 

 

 

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Baltimore will probably only carry two quarterbacks again this year. That'll be McNair and Boller. If someone goes down with an injury maybe they'll sign him again.

[Guest Soriano's Torn Quad]

Man, Bernie Kosar was so blasted during that Lions-Browns game.

 

"arennn dey gonna ssshhhtay fer touchdown jeesus? duhthat carry over here?"

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Two things on the Bears:

 

1. They can't depend on Rex Grossman.

2. Devin Hester is ridiculous.

[razazteca 0]

So which Adrian Peterson is going to have a good year the rookie or da bear bench warmer?

[tominator89 0]

Eagles release Jeremiah Trotter

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp...tory?id=2984329

[Guest Soriano's Torn Quad]

"Bench warmer" isn't entirely fair to Peterson, as he was a big part of special teams last year behind Hester, Gould, and Ayanbadejo, but who cares, I'm talking to an idiot.

 

Speaking of Chicago's Adrian Peterson, I have this sinking feeling that we could see more of him at running back than we expect. The Bears have depth in a lot of places except for two: offensive line (beyond Kreutz) and running back. We're putting all our eggs in the Cedric Benson basket, and there have been rumblings that he's Prioric in his pain threshold, and kind of a pouty flaky dumbass. He won the Doak Walker Award in college, also won by Eddie George, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, and Reggie Bush, but he's yet to achieve that level of greatness in the pros, mostly due to limited usage, but that limited usage was due to him being an idiot. I loved the Jones/Benson platoon last year that utilized Benson as a quasi-fullback that picked up short yardage and barreled through defenses, but I'm not confident with him taking the lion's share of the carries. I'm probably stupid, wrong, or stupid and wrong. I don't know. But the more I think about it, the more I approach the Benson thing with some trepidation.

 

Oh hey, there was a preseason game on last night, rematch of some sorts. I didn't watch it.

[Nate 0]

i saw highlights of the game and My God i didnt realize how much Rex Grossman sucks, Brian Greise would be a better QB for the Bears at this point

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

It's preseason. I'm not confident in Rex Grossman, but I wouldn't go as far to say he sucks. He had almost identical stats to Peyton Manning, only that he fumbled 3 times (which he lost one) and had one interception. Griese did look smoother though but he's older and I wouldn't want him to start over 16 games because of injury concerns. Kyle Orton is Kyle Orton. So at this point, Grossman is still the best option for the long term. If Grossman fails to improve significantly in the season, then I would be all for drafting a quarterback or something.

 

And Czech, Adrian Peterson getting more carries can only be a good thing. I don't know what you're getting the "sinking" from. I always thought he could have been to Chicago what Michael Turner is for San Diego, but they had depth at running back so he would only play in mop up. I'm happy he is up to #2 in the depth chart, because he deserves an opportunity to show the Bears what he can do. Minnesota's Adrian Peterson will do better though, because he's going to be one of the two featured backs in Minnesota, much like Westbrook/Buckhalter in Philadelphia when Childress was the coordinator there, before Buckhalter had injuries.

[Guest Soriano's Torn Quad]

Well, I hope he can make big contibutions as the #2 RB. I also want to see Garrett Wolfe factor into things.

 

There's no way that Grossman can be as erratic as he was last year. He's gotta get his shit together now. He has a great arm, and he has a good receiving corps. The tools are there. If his head is on straight, he can give the running game the kind of open space that patrons of the Tri-State Tollway only dream of. (That was so hokey, I know, but I felt I had to give this local flair.) I mean, even Kyle Orton is focused now. Surely Rex can focus too.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Wolfe will probably do some special teams returns. He's too small, I think, to handle the running back duties. (Though apparently he did well when he played in the game last night)

[Guest Vitamin X]

Devin Hester is the weapon that the Bears have sorely been lacking on offense. I just hope that, combined with his use on special teams, he doesn't lose his edge on both things. Well, actually, speaking as a Packers fan, I hope he doesn't, but that's beside the point.

 

Either the Packers offense got ridiculously good in one week, or the Seattle defense is a lot worse than I thought. Maybe a bit of both. Either way, the questions about inexperience and all that on offense might just be answered that we're going to see a lot of inconsistency, but when they're good, they're good. First team offense got 17 points out of four drives. They led 24-3 early in the second quarter, but Hasselbeck, both starting tackles, and Alexander weren't playing on offense for the Seahawks.

 

Also, Robert Ferguson got released and picked up by Minnesota this week. Good riddance, even if he's going to a division rival.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Baltimore will probably only carry two quarterbacks again this year. That'll be McNair and Boller. If someone goes down with an injury maybe they'll sign him again.

 

They had 3 last year, 3rd was Olson and Im sure they'll carry 3 again this year.

[devo 0]

Jets deal Pete Kendall to the Redskins for a draft pick. I've heard that's it's for the 2009 draft and is in either the fourth or fifth round.

 

I'm kinda annoyed that management gave in and traded him, but at the same time, he probably wasn't going to be very effective considering how unhappy he was with his situation.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Apparently Jerome Bettis faked an injury to keep from getting cut a few seasons ago.

 

Bettis said he faked injury to keep Steelers from cutting him

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer

August 23, 2007

 

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jerome Bettis, the No. 5 rusher in NFL history, claims in a new book that he faked a knee injury during training camp in 2000 so the Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn't cut him and install Richard Huntley as the starter.

 

Bettis was worried offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride favored Huntley over him and the Steelers were ready to let Bettis go, partly so they wouldn't have to give him a new contract. Huntley had just signed a $4 million, three-year contract.

 

"Man, did I do a nice job of acting," Bettis wrote in the book, "The Bus: My Life in and Out of a Helmet." "The thing is, I wasn't faking that I had an injury. I was just faking that the injury happened on that short-yardage play. I had to fool the coaches and the team's medical department into thinking the injury had occurred on that play. Otherwise, the Steelers would have had their reason to cut me and my salary."

 

Teams cannot cut an injured player during camp unless they reach an injury settlement with him.

 

"I effectively negated any funny business they were trying to pull on me," Bettis wrote in the book. "I took the pressure off a head coach (Bill Cowher) who was probably trying to get rid of me."

 

Bettis' recollection may be more anecdotal than fact-based.

 

While Bettis was held out early in that 2000 camp because of a hip injury, his knee injury -- the one Bettis said he faked -- was not revealed until later in camp. Huntley had a hamstring injury at the time and played in only one preseason game, gaining 13 yards.

 

Bettis didn't disclose how a player who was so injured that he missed all but a few days of camp could beat Bettis out of a job and force the Steelers to release him.

 

An MRI test by the Steelers during that camp revealed Bettis, who had undergone knee surgery the year before, had blood swelling behind his kneecap as a result of a hit during practice.

 

Bettis did not write in the book, co-written with Gene Wojciechowski, how a fresh injury that supposedly didn't occur could cause such test results. He did write that he showed up to camp with a knee problem that had occurred the season before.

 

Bettis, who had worked out extensively during the offseason before that camp, said at the time he was very relieved the injury wasn't worse.

 

"I was worried about it initially. The MRI showed a bone bruise," Bettis said. "That's when the blood came in. That was refreshing for me because whenever you're dealing with a knee and swelling, you always assume the worst. I assumed the worst, but it tuned out not to be the case."

 

Bettis would go on to rush for 1,341 yards that season and later signed a $30 million contract with the Steelers. Huntley gained only 217 yards and was cut after that season, hooking on with Carolina in 2001.

 

Bettis also wrote that the Steelers were never sold on Kordell Stewart as their quarterback -- despite giving him a $27 million, five-year contract before they moved into Heinz Field in 2001 -- and did everything possible to hand the job to Tommy Maddox.

 

In the book, Bettis said Stewart had become too rich for them as he entered the last year of his contract in 2002 and they wanted him out.

 

"Anybody who tells you money isn't a factor in personnel decisions doesn't know the NFL," Bettis wrote. "I can't prove it, but in my heart I really believe that Kordell was set up for failure that season."

 

Bettis was incorrect in writing that Stewart's contract was up that season; the deal ran through 2003.

 

Stewart had led the Steelers to a 13-3 record the season before and was chosen as the team MVP but played poorly in the playoffs, and that sub-par play and a visible lack of confidence carried into the 2002 season.

 

With Stewart at quarterback, the Steelers lost their first two games to New England (30-14) and Oakland (30-17) and were on the verge of losing a third, to Cleveland, when Cowher inserted Maddox late in the second half with Pittsburgh down 13-6. Maddox rallied the Steelers to a 16-13 overtime victory and would go on to start the rest of that season and in 2003, except for several games when he was hurt.

 

Stewart played so poorly at the start of 2002 that some teammates felt the team's season would be lost if he remained the starter. After Stewart was benched, there was no visible sentiment on that team that he should be reinstated.

 

Bettis also wrote that the Steelers became too reliant on the pass with Maddox, one reason they didn't go further in the 2002 playoffs; that he had an undisclosed appendectomy before the 1999 season; and that he became incensed when Steelers fans booed him early in the 2004 season for replacing Duce Staley in goal-line situations.

 

I like to think this doesn't happen more often in the NFL, but I'm sure I'd be wrong there.

[Cartman 0]

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports cornerback and franchise player Asante Samuel will report to the Patriots next week.

 

Samuel has held out of all minicamp, OTA, and training camp work. It appears he will sign his one-year, $7.79 million franchise tender shortly. Aug. 23 - 7:04 pm et

[razazteca 0]

The Bears, Adrian Peterson has done nothing over the past 3 years on offense so bench warmer is a fair assessment of his production value to the team. Now I'm probably overlooking something like he might be a decent zone blocker but I doubt that he would be used at the goal line to vulture any TDs as I would guess a pass to the TE would be more productive.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

I'm a little nervous about Hester being used extensively on offense. Returning kicks is the most violent job in football, and it's already easy to get murdered. Gassing him on offense is bad business for the best special teams in the league.

 

The best bet would be to use him as a decoy, I think. Run him on a reverse or a screen to get him in the open field, where he's dangerous, and then just put him in once or twice a game to make defenses go "oh shit!" and open someone else up.

[Guest Soriano's Torn Quad]

You're absolutely right. I don't see why we need him getting banged up at wide receiver when he's so valuable on special teams. With Berrian, Moose, Bradley, and Olsen, I feel like there are enough weapons in the passing arsenal even without Hester on offense. Just let him do what he does best, and if the opponents have to kick away from him to keep the ball out of his hands, then that works out pretty well, too.

 

Did you hear that Hester thinks his cousin at Temple is going to be an even better kick returner? I forgot his name, but now I want him.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

They already have another guy that looks like he could be a great returner in Danieal Manning.

[Guest Soriano's Torn Quad]

Are you at all worried by the departures of Scott and Boone from the offensive line? That appears to be the most glaring weakness in an otherwise deep team.

 

The other weakness is that Rex Grossman fumbles snaps. I want to like Grossman, and he is the best quarterback on this team, but YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A SNAP WITHOUT FUMBLING IT.