Saturday, February 28, 2009
Patriots Trade Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel
The New England Patriots traded Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second round pick (34th overall).
The move to trade Cassel became more palatable for the Patriots once Tom Brady showed that he was well on the path to recovery from a knee injury which wiped out his 2008 season. Cassel was designated as the team's Franchise player, costing New England $14.65 million leaving little doubt that the team could afford both players at a combined cap cost of nearly $29 million.
The Patriots will miss the security of having a mobile player to lead them. But they should be in good hands with Brady back in the lineup.
The move to trade Cassel became more palatable for the Patriots once Tom Brady showed that he was well on the path to recovery from a knee injury which wiped out his 2008 season. Cassel was designated as the team's Franchise player, costing New England $14.65 million leaving little doubt that the team could afford both players at a combined cap cost of nearly $29 million.
The Patriots will miss the security of having a mobile player to lead them. But they should be in good hands with Brady back in the lineup.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound USC product has played in 30 games and started 15 during his four-year NFL career. He's completed 62.9 percent of his throws for 3,946 yards, 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The former USC backup to Carson Palmer and Mett Leinart was originally selected by the Patriots in the seventh-round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
Vrabel is a 12-year veteran with 176 games appearances and 110 starts under his belt. He's played for New England (2001-08) and Pittsburgh (’97-00) prior to his trade to Kansas City. He was a member of four Super Bowl teams with New England and was named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad following the 2007 season.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
NFL Combine Coverage
Thinking Sobo's pre NFL Combine look is pretty revealing
http://ping.fm/7mGub
His Chat tonight should be interesting
http://ping.fm/7mGub
His Chat tonight should be interesting
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Collinsworth Has No Faith In Belichick
According to the show HBO / now Showtime's "Inside the NFL", sports analyst Chris Collinsworth had no faith that the Patriots could pull out of their dire situation after Tom Brady went down with an injury.
Phil Simms, a New York Giants legend who played on the Giants while Belichick was in New York, brought Collinsworth's comments to light on a segement called "Phil's Pet Peeves"
Also on the segment are analyst Warren Sapp and host James Brown.
link credit: Bob's Blitz
Phil Simms, a New York Giants legend who played on the Giants while Belichick was in New York, brought Collinsworth's comments to light on a segement called "Phil's Pet Peeves"
Also on the segment are analyst Warren Sapp and host James Brown.
link credit: Bob's Blitz
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
NFL Draft Chat
Join us to talk NFL Draft ...
NFL Draft Analyst Chris Steuber spent time answering fans questions about the prospects who are eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft. Topics ran from specific players to what teams might be looking for in the coming Draft.
Here are some of the Q-A:
Alex: Chris- What NFL player would you compare Aaron Curry with and is he worthy of being a top 5 pick? Thank you
Chris Steuber: Alex: The first time I saw Aaron Curry play, I thought I was watching Derrick Brooks. He's such a tremendous force on defense. He's a game changer; a guy who can impact the game from a physical standpoint, but also play with finesse and turn defense into offense. I think he will be a top-five pick and a team like Cleveland or Kansas City will be happy to have him.
A A: Where do you think Percy Harvin will end up? Is the leg injuries the only reason why he is rated a late first rounder in most mock drafts?
Chris Steuber: AA: The fact that he gets banged up and he's small is a concern for teams. He's very talented and has game breaking ability, but his size may hurt him. I'm sure he will run well at the Combine and improve his stock. I think he goes anywhere from No. 15 - 22.
Chris: What's the knock on Jeremy Maclin... I see him rated highly on some boards, and only so so on others? That kid can flat out move!!
Chris Steuber: Chris: Durability is a concern with Maclin. He's another receiver that's been banged up during his career. He does so many things on the field that injuries will occur. But, I agree with you, he's a flat out stud and will have a major impact in the NFL.
Read The Rest
NFL Draft Analyst Chris Steuber spent time answering fans questions about the prospects who are eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft. Topics ran from specific players to what teams might be looking for in the coming Draft.
Here are some of the Q-A:
Alex: Chris- What NFL player would you compare Aaron Curry with and is he worthy of being a top 5 pick? Thank you
Chris Steuber: Alex: The first time I saw Aaron Curry play, I thought I was watching Derrick Brooks. He's such a tremendous force on defense. He's a game changer; a guy who can impact the game from a physical standpoint, but also play with finesse and turn defense into offense. I think he will be a top-five pick and a team like Cleveland or Kansas City will be happy to have him.
A A: Where do you think Percy Harvin will end up? Is the leg injuries the only reason why he is rated a late first rounder in most mock drafts?
Chris Steuber: AA: The fact that he gets banged up and he's small is a concern for teams. He's very talented and has game breaking ability, but his size may hurt him. I'm sure he will run well at the Combine and improve his stock. I think he goes anywhere from No. 15 - 22.
Chris: What's the knock on Jeremy Maclin... I see him rated highly on some boards, and only so so on others? That kid can flat out move!!
Chris Steuber: Chris: Durability is a concern with Maclin. He's another receiver that's been banged up during his career. He does so many things on the field that injuries will occur. But, I agree with you, he's a flat out stud and will have a major impact in the NFL.
Read The Rest
2009's Top 100 Free Agents
Free agency is almost upon us. Here's the top free agents available
Offense, Defense, Special Teams. Take a look at the top players available.
List updated on a regualr basis
2009 Top NFL Free Agents
Offense, Defense, Special Teams. Take a look at the top players available.
List updated on a regualr basis
2009 Top NFL Free Agents
Monday, February 09, 2009
Cassel The Subject Of Hot Debate
Not so sure about the future of Matt Cassel. Forum fans continue the debate http://ping.fm/zrGJe
Some examples of the debate:
This is from Adam Schefter at NFL.com:
I stand by my oiginal statement. -- Angry Weasel
-- Gr365
-- stealthdog666
Join the discussion: What is Matt Cassel Worth In A Trade?
Some examples of the debate:
This is from Adam Schefter at NFL.com:
Now that QB Matt Cassel has signed his $14.65 million non-exclusive
franchise tender — the largest guarantee on a one-year contract in the history
of the NFL — some around the league believe it’s 95 percent that he remains in
New England.
The only way the Patriots would trade Cassel is if they know QB Tom
Brady is healthy, and even if they do, the bidder needs to be to Cassel’s liking
and offer a contract to his liking, or there’s no deal.
That’s not to say it can’t happen. But it’s not going to be easy to
make it happen.
I stand by my oiginal statement. -- Angry Weasel
14 mil. for Cassel is monopoly money at this point! As soon as a trade gets
done, that number would come off the cap.
They tagged him asap.
Giving themselves and Cassel a little more time to negotiate with other
clubs. He can still negotiate, but the Pats have final say with
compensation.
Likely trade partners..Detroit, KC, San Fran and Minn.
All need franchise QB. A lesson I think San Fran learned the hard way by
selecting Smith. By any measure he's a bust!
-- Gr365
Kiper also says that Cassel is a better QB than Stafford. So if Cassel is
crap and isn't even worth a 1st round pick, what does that make Stafford?
-- stealthdog666
Join the discussion: What is Matt Cassel Worth In A Trade?
Sunday, February 08, 2009
What Was He Thinking?
I was on my way to drop my daughter off at her friends house and listening to Sirius NFL Radio, Press Coverage when I heard something I didn't expect. It was the tone in which hosts Dan Leberfeld and Zig Fracassi were talking to their guest Nick Athan.
The thing that caught my attention was that Athan, an editor at Warpaint Illustrated, was defending the inane post of one Internet blogger turned semi-pro journalist who called Athan out on his website.
Yes, there they were talked about Athan and the classless move of one Mike Florio and Jason Whitlock who had publicly trashed Athan's credibility with information which was wrong.
Florio is no stranger to controversy. Many a journalist had called him little more than a simple hack. But his site has become so popular that Florio parlayed it into a legitimate gig on regular sports media outlets.
Whitlock, who has a tendency to use race in his columns, went off on Athan, citing information he gave to the NFL Network which was "wrong" as Whitlock put it. To be fair to Athan, who confirmed to me that he did email the NFL Network, but that he said the Shanahan deal is set email wasn't the only one he sent to the NFL Network. He followed it up 5 minutes later to clarify his position that he believed it was a done deal.
The interesting part of Athan's relationship with NFLN was that he had earlier told them that Scott Pioli would become the GM of the Chiefs. They didn't believe it, Adam schefter went on Boston Radio and ridiculed Warpaint. Less than a week later Pioli was standing at a press table talking about he and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt would turn the team around.
This is not to defend Athan, who was first with the Pioli news, and by his own admission erroneous in the Shanahan hire. It's to address the move by Florio and Whitlock... influenced by the NFLN move.
We've coped the Florio post in it's entirety because internet sites have a tendency to get changed without admission of editing.
LINK
1) Whitlock would call Athan names... other than because Athan scooped Whitlock many times in Kansas City
and
2) Florio would actually post something which was obviously sent as a personal message.
I was amazed, astounded and quite rankly a little disappointed in both Florio and Whitlock. I guess I shouldn't have been. Reading the comments on the post you can see people taking both sides.
As a new media journalist, I cannot do what Florio did. Nor would I sound off like Whitlock, who appears to be fll of a lot of hate lately. I'd be fired at my two professional gigs. It's surprising there are no repurcussions for either journalist
The thing that caught my attention was that Athan, an editor at Warpaint Illustrated, was defending the inane post of one Internet blogger turned semi-pro journalist who called Athan out on his website.
Yes, there they were talked about Athan and the classless move of one Mike Florio and Jason Whitlock who had publicly trashed Athan's credibility with information which was wrong.
Florio is no stranger to controversy. Many a journalist had called him little more than a simple hack. But his site has become so popular that Florio parlayed it into a legitimate gig on regular sports media outlets.
Whitlock, who has a tendency to use race in his columns, went off on Athan, citing information he gave to the NFL Network which was "wrong" as Whitlock put it. To be fair to Athan, who confirmed to me that he did email the NFL Network, but that he said the Shanahan deal is set email wasn't the only one he sent to the NFL Network. He followed it up 5 minutes later to clarify his position that he believed it was a done deal.
The interesting part of Athan's relationship with NFLN was that he had earlier told them that Scott Pioli would become the GM of the Chiefs. They didn't believe it, Adam schefter went on Boston Radio and ridiculed Warpaint. Less than a week later Pioli was standing at a press table talking about he and Chiefs owner Clark Hunt would turn the team around.
This is not to defend Athan, who was first with the Pioli news, and by his own admission erroneous in the Shanahan hire. It's to address the move by Florio and Whitlock... influenced by the NFLN move.
We've coped the Florio post in it's entirety because internet sites have a tendency to get changed without admission of editing.
LINK
I’ve known Nick Athan of Warpaint Illustrated for several years, and I’ve never regarded him as a questionable source of Chiefs news.
But that might be a result of the fact that I don’t pay much attention to the Chiefs.
With Athan’s report that Chiefs owner Clark Hunt recently said that the team has complied with the Rooney Rule when in fact Hunt never has said any such thing, we’ve now got serious concerns.
Our concerns became even more pointed upon receiving moments ago the following IM from Jason Whitlock: “LEAVE NICK ATHAN ALONE. . . total assclown. ASSCLOWN.”
(You know, Whitlock’s career would really take off if he’d quit being so damned wishy-washy about his opinions.)
“[F]eel free to quote me by name,” Whitlock said, “belittling you for even responding to that assclown’s e-mail. [H]e’s the guy who sen NFL [N]etwork an e-mail saying the [C]hiefs’ deal for [S]hanahan was DONE and that [S]chefter was wrong. [A]than is an assclown.”
Whitlock’s opinions regarding Athan’s are Whitlock’s alone, primarily since I’ve never been able to identify a consensus definition of the term “assclown.”
That said, Whitlock has never steered me wrong in the past, so I probably will be heeding his advice.
I as floored that:1) Whitlock would call Athan names... other than because Athan scooped Whitlock many times in Kansas City
and
2) Florio would actually post something which was obviously sent as a personal message.
I was amazed, astounded and quite rankly a little disappointed in both Florio and Whitlock. I guess I shouldn't have been. Reading the comments on the post you can see people taking both sides.
As a new media journalist, I cannot do what Florio did. Nor would I sound off like Whitlock, who appears to be fll of a lot of hate lately. I'd be fired at my two professional gigs. It's surprising there are no repurcussions for either journalist
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Cassel agrees to offer, now he's a rich man
SCOOOOOOOORRREEEE!!!!! That's the sound Matt Cassel's family yelled today after the young backup quarterback agreed to terms with the Franchise tender the Patriots offered. Cassel will now earn a guaranteed $14.65 million in 2009 whether he plays or not. Oh, such is the life of an NFL QB.
More on the report here:
http://ping.fm/0yjy5
Cassel Talks About His Future
Prior to the Hoopla surrinding Matt Cassel's Franchise designation, he spoke about his future, even as a backup.
Cassel told Comcast Sportsnet New England that he had no control over what the Patriots planned for him, but that he wouldn't expect eanything because Tom Brady was the leader of the Patriots and Cassel understaood that.
See the Video here: Comcast Sportsnet New England
Cassel told Comcast Sportsnet New England that he had no control over what the Patriots planned for him, but that he wouldn't expect eanything because Tom Brady was the leader of the Patriots and Cassel understaood that.
See the Video here: Comcast Sportsnet New England
They Say the Texans Cheated Like the Patriots
The Houston Texans have been up to no good by violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement during practice. Ironically a former Patriot is at the center of the controversy.
Get real
http://ping.fm/NgsBB
Get real
http://ping.fm/NgsBB
The Combine is Coming
The NFL Combine is coming soon, and we’ll have plenty of updates to share with our readers.
Each year hundreds of NFL Draft hopefuls are put through the paces over a period of a few days in Indianapolis at what is called the “combine.” These college kids have high hopes of making a career playing football in the NFL. Some have no problems getting Drafted, but others need a lot of patience as they face an uphill challenge to make it on a roster.
Here’s an official list of players invited to the Combine.
http://ping.fm/eW0K0
Each year hundreds of NFL Draft hopefuls are put through the paces over a period of a few days in Indianapolis at what is called the “combine.” These college kids have high hopes of making a career playing football in the NFL. Some have no problems getting Drafted, but others need a lot of patience as they face an uphill challenge to make it on a roster.
Here’s an official list of players invited to the Combine.
http://ping.fm/eW0K0
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