We finally got something to chew on this week as the starters for most teams played a whole half. A lot of players are looking good and others need to drastically improve. I'm not going to put too much stock into it though, it's still the preseason.
Here are your NFL power rankings heading into Week 3 of the preseason.
1. Green Bay Packers—Matt Flynn is having a hell of a preseason so far. Could he possibly be next offseason's Kevin Kolb?
2. New England Patriots—Breaking news: The lockout hasn't effected Tom Brady; he is ready for Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins.
3. Atlanta Falcons—The Falcons are ready for Week 1.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers—Pittsburgh is probably the last team that looks like they're in regular-season form right now. James Harrison did hit Michael Vick though; he can't possibly go two weeks without a fine.
5. Philadelphia Eagles—Wow. Could this team have played any worse? With only a couple of weeks left before the regular season starts, the "Dream Team" looked more like a nightmare.
6. New York Jets—The Jets have two receivers that have caught Super Bowl-winning touchdowns on their team. Both are looking good.
7. New Orleans Saints—The prettiest pass I've seen all season was a 56-yard touchdown by Chase Daniel to Joseph Morgan. It's only been two weeks, but still.
8. Baltimore Ravens—Lee Evans looked great in a Ravens uniform. Maybe the underrated receiver will finally be respected on a better team.
9. San Diego Chargers—Ryan Matthews actually looked like that player that was drafted in the first round. Hopefully he can keep it up.
10. Dallas Cowboys—Every time I want to believe in Tony Romo, he throws an interception into triple coverage. Jeez!
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers—Rookie Mason Foster's hit on Chad OchoCinco was probably the only highlight for Tampa against New England. He'll receive a letter from the NFL, but that's one way to stand out.
12. Indianapolis Colts—Can Peyton Manning please come back? There's just something about seeing three points next to the Colts' name that doesn't seem right.
13. Houston Texans—Last year it was Arian Foster. This year it's Ben Tate? It's only one game, but he reminded me a lot of Maurice Jones-Drew.
14. New York Giants—Boy, if Eli Manning only played as well as Jon Gruden described him, the Giants would be fantastic.
15. Chicago Bears—What will happen this season for the Bears offense? More 3-and-outs or more first downs?
16. Oakland Raiders—I didn't like the Raiders quarterback situation as it was. If Jason Campbell misses time, it would get worse with Kyle Boller or Trent Edwards under center.
17. Detroit Lions—Detroit looked good, but anytime you have 14 penalties calls for extra laps during practice this week.
18. Kansas City Chiefs—The Dummy of the Week goes to rookie wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin. After getting in a fight with a teammate, he will miss the remainder of the preseason due to an injured hand.
19. St.Louis Rams—Is it just me or is everybody overrating the Rams? Yes, they may be the best team in their division, but that's not saying much.
20. Miami Dolphins—Reggie Bush looked just how I imagined. Fast, aggressive and playing with a chip on his shoulder. If he can carry this play into the regular season, the Dolphins could actually have a chance in the AFC East.
21. Minnesota Vikings—Marcus Sherels is one of the few Vikings to earn a roster spot with his nice pick six.
22. San Francisco 49ers—Funny how Braylon Edwards goes to the west coast and catches passes with one hand. He couldn't catch with two in Cleveland or New York.
23. Tennessee Titans—O Chris Johnson, where art thou?
24. Cleveland Browns—Oh, Colt McCoy, you're really growing on me.
25. Arizona Cardinals—Tim Hightower had more rushing yards than both of the Cardinals' starters combined. Maybe they let the wrong running back go.
26. Jacksonville Jaguars—David Garrard or Blaine Gabbert? The last two weeks really haven't determined much.
27. Washington Redskins—I always liked Tim Hightower in Arizona, despite his fumble problem. If he can run like he did last week, the Redskins will have one less thing to worry about. But then again, it was the Colts.
28. Seattle Seahawks—It doesn't matter how many weapons you add to the offense if you don't have a quarterback to give them the ball.
29. Denver Broncos—Forget Tim Tebow. For what it's worth, Willis McGahee has always had a nose for the end zone and could be a valuable asset to this team.
30. Carolina Panthers—Other than the fact that Cam Newton can run, the Panthers have two of the same quarterbacks.
31. Buffalo Bills—Any way Brad Smith could be the Bills' starting quarterback? He was 4-for-4 with 8.5 yards per pass. I'll take that.
32. Cincinnati Bengals—Serious question: Could the Bengals beat any team in the AP Top 25?
2011年8月22日星期一
Chiefs trying to build team chemistry in camp
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- On one practice field at the Kansas City Chiefs' training facility Sunday, veteran running back Thomas Jones caught passes out of the backfield along with the rest of the team.
Over in the corner of an adjacent field, about as far away as possible, first-round draft pick Jonathan Baldwin slowly rode a stationary bicycle, his right hand heavily bandaged. The wide receiver did not accompany the Chiefs to Baltimore for their preseason game on Friday night, and coach Todd Haley has refused to discuss Baldwin besides acknowledging that he was injured during training camp.
When asked about a reported locker room fight between Baldwin and Jones that caused the injury, Haley referred to it as a "family issue" and declined to reveal any details.
"What I do know, as I've conveyed the last three years, most everything that happens within these walls is family business," Haley said. "And I just think that's the best thing for our team, and to become a real good team, I think you have to have those areas that are off limits."
While Jones took part in the Chiefs' entire practice Sunday, their first full workout since breaking camp in St. Joseph, Mo., Baldwin wore only his jersey and shorts while working out with a trainer.
He wandered the sideline during the opening drills, and then retreated to the stationary bike in the corner of the practice field, which he alternated with dragging a weighted sled up from end zone to end zone.
While Haley would not address Baldwin specifically, he remains optimistic that all of Kansas City's draft picks will be able to contribute at some point -- its marquee selection included.
"As I've said much of this camp, this entire group of guys, I have a really good feeling about this young group of guys," he said. "We're not there yet, we're still developing, and I have belief, and I believe in really all these guys that are here. And he falls into that group."
The fact that Baldwin is missing key practices doesn't help that development.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound wide receiver was chosen with the 26th overall pick to help take some of the pressure off Dwayne Bowe. His imposing size and physical nature seemed like the perfect fit for the Chiefs' system, but he came into the NFL with considerable baggage. He was arrested in 2009 for allegedly groping a female student, though charges were later dropped, and had run-ins with his coaches at Pittsburgh.
The Chiefs under Scott Pioli have been reluctant to draft players with character issues, but the general manager said upon selecting Baldwin that they were comfortable with their decision.
"We vetted this player and many other players that had situations in their past," Pioli said at the time of the draft. "We talked to a lot of people on this, and we feel very confident."
Baldwin and Jones were unavailable in the locker room after practice Sunday, and teammates sidestepped every question posed to them about the alleged altercation.
Wide receiver Jerheme Urban acknowledged the importance of building team chemistry, though, particularly this season. The NFL lockout wiped away the chance for teams to meet during the summer, and it caused a condensed training camp in which veteran free agents couldn't even practice the first week.
"We look at ourselves as a family and we try to protect that," Urban said. "The biggest thing is having that camaraderie, and you have to be together to build that. We missed the entire offseason."
Fullback Le'Ron McClain said that the Baltimore Ravens, where he spent the first four years of his career, had one of the closest-knit groups of players in the league. That's one of the reasons they've been consistently successful as a franchise, winning at least 10 games six of the past 11 seasons.
He believes the Chiefs will be able to develop a similar feeling over time.
"These guys welcomed me with open arms, I can't say enough about them," said McClain, who signed with Kansas City as a free agent. "But it's true. It's harder to build some team unity when you missed 40-some odd days of offseason work because of the lockout."
Over in the corner of an adjacent field, about as far away as possible, first-round draft pick Jonathan Baldwin slowly rode a stationary bicycle, his right hand heavily bandaged. The wide receiver did not accompany the Chiefs to Baltimore for their preseason game on Friday night, and coach Todd Haley has refused to discuss Baldwin besides acknowledging that he was injured during training camp.
When asked about a reported locker room fight between Baldwin and Jones that caused the injury, Haley referred to it as a "family issue" and declined to reveal any details.
"What I do know, as I've conveyed the last three years, most everything that happens within these walls is family business," Haley said. "And I just think that's the best thing for our team, and to become a real good team, I think you have to have those areas that are off limits."
While Jones took part in the Chiefs' entire practice Sunday, their first full workout since breaking camp in St. Joseph, Mo., Baldwin wore only his jersey and shorts while working out with a trainer.
He wandered the sideline during the opening drills, and then retreated to the stationary bike in the corner of the practice field, which he alternated with dragging a weighted sled up from end zone to end zone.
While Haley would not address Baldwin specifically, he remains optimistic that all of Kansas City's draft picks will be able to contribute at some point -- its marquee selection included.
"As I've said much of this camp, this entire group of guys, I have a really good feeling about this young group of guys," he said. "We're not there yet, we're still developing, and I have belief, and I believe in really all these guys that are here. And he falls into that group."
The fact that Baldwin is missing key practices doesn't help that development.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound wide receiver was chosen with the 26th overall pick to help take some of the pressure off Dwayne Bowe. His imposing size and physical nature seemed like the perfect fit for the Chiefs' system, but he came into the NFL with considerable baggage. He was arrested in 2009 for allegedly groping a female student, though charges were later dropped, and had run-ins with his coaches at Pittsburgh.
The Chiefs under Scott Pioli have been reluctant to draft players with character issues, but the general manager said upon selecting Baldwin that they were comfortable with their decision.
"We vetted this player and many other players that had situations in their past," Pioli said at the time of the draft. "We talked to a lot of people on this, and we feel very confident."
Baldwin and Jones were unavailable in the locker room after practice Sunday, and teammates sidestepped every question posed to them about the alleged altercation.
Wide receiver Jerheme Urban acknowledged the importance of building team chemistry, though, particularly this season. The NFL lockout wiped away the chance for teams to meet during the summer, and it caused a condensed training camp in which veteran free agents couldn't even practice the first week.
"We look at ourselves as a family and we try to protect that," Urban said. "The biggest thing is having that camaraderie, and you have to be together to build that. We missed the entire offseason."
Fullback Le'Ron McClain said that the Baltimore Ravens, where he spent the first four years of his career, had one of the closest-knit groups of players in the league. That's one of the reasons they've been consistently successful as a franchise, winning at least 10 games six of the past 11 seasons.
He believes the Chiefs will be able to develop a similar feeling over time.
"These guys welcomed me with open arms, I can't say enough about them," said McClain, who signed with Kansas City as a free agent. "But it's true. It's harder to build some team unity when you missed 40-some odd days of offseason work because of the lockout."
2011年8月20日星期六
Ravens rally for victory over Chiefs
Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor directed two fourth-quarter touchdown drives as the Ravens rallied for a 31-13 victory over the winless Chiefs at Baltimore.
Kansas City's Tyler Palko completed 8 of 13 passes for 95 yards and produced 10 points in his three drives - a tying 4-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Copper late in the second quarter and a 12-play march culminating in a tiebreaking 30-yard field goal by Ryan Succop with 6:58 left in the third quarter.
Chiefs starting quarterback Matt Cassel was 6 for 14 for 73 yards. But Kansas City, blanked 25-0 by Tampa Bay last Thursday, clicked on offense once Palko entered midway through the second quarter.
Dolphins 20, Panthers 10: At Miami, Fla., Cam Newton lofted a long pass that fell incomplete on the final play of the first half, and that's the closest he came to reaching the end zone.
Newton played the entire first half, when the Panthers managed only three first downs, had the ball for less than eight minutes and fell behind 17-0. Newton went 7 for 14 for 66 yards, and he ran four times for 18 yards.
Packers 28, Cardinals 20: At Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers topped off a sharp performance with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Rodgers played into the second quarter, completing 9 of 12 passes for 97 yards and a TD. Matt Flynn took over for Rodgers and led the Packers to another touchdown before halftime, a 2-yard run by rookie Alex Green.
Jaguars 15, Falcons 13: At Jacksonville, Fla., David Garrard did little to solidify his starting spot, and rookie Blaine Gabbert was equally unimpressive for the Jaguars.
Garrard completed 7 of 12 passes for 99 yards, with an interception in three series. Gabbert, the 10th pick in the April draft, completed 11 of 23 passes for 96 yards in seven series. Gabbert was plagued by several drops, including three on one second-half series that forced the Jaguars to settle for a 54-yard field goal.
Redskins 16, Colts 3: At Indianapolis, one week after Rex Grossman's impressive performance, John Beck answered by leading the Redskins to four straight scores in the first half.
Grossman was 19 of 26 for 207 yards in a 16-7 win over defending AFC champion Pittsburgh last week. Beck's answer: 14 of 17 for 140 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions against the defending AFC South champs.
Lions 30, Browns 28: At Cleveland, Ohio, Colt McCoy threw three touchdown passes - two to tight end Evan Moore - in the first half, but Cleveland blew a 15-point lead in a penalty-filled exhibition.
Kansas City's Tyler Palko completed 8 of 13 passes for 95 yards and produced 10 points in his three drives - a tying 4-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Copper late in the second quarter and a 12-play march culminating in a tiebreaking 30-yard field goal by Ryan Succop with 6:58 left in the third quarter.
Chiefs starting quarterback Matt Cassel was 6 for 14 for 73 yards. But Kansas City, blanked 25-0 by Tampa Bay last Thursday, clicked on offense once Palko entered midway through the second quarter.
Dolphins 20, Panthers 10: At Miami, Fla., Cam Newton lofted a long pass that fell incomplete on the final play of the first half, and that's the closest he came to reaching the end zone.
Newton played the entire first half, when the Panthers managed only three first downs, had the ball for less than eight minutes and fell behind 17-0. Newton went 7 for 14 for 66 yards, and he ran four times for 18 yards.
Packers 28, Cardinals 20: At Green Bay, Wis., Aaron Rodgers topped off a sharp performance with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings for the defending Super Bowl champions.
Rodgers played into the second quarter, completing 9 of 12 passes for 97 yards and a TD. Matt Flynn took over for Rodgers and led the Packers to another touchdown before halftime, a 2-yard run by rookie Alex Green.
Jaguars 15, Falcons 13: At Jacksonville, Fla., David Garrard did little to solidify his starting spot, and rookie Blaine Gabbert was equally unimpressive for the Jaguars.
Garrard completed 7 of 12 passes for 99 yards, with an interception in three series. Gabbert, the 10th pick in the April draft, completed 11 of 23 passes for 96 yards in seven series. Gabbert was plagued by several drops, including three on one second-half series that forced the Jaguars to settle for a 54-yard field goal.
Redskins 16, Colts 3: At Indianapolis, one week after Rex Grossman's impressive performance, John Beck answered by leading the Redskins to four straight scores in the first half.
Grossman was 19 of 26 for 207 yards in a 16-7 win over defending AFC champion Pittsburgh last week. Beck's answer: 14 of 17 for 140 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions against the defending AFC South champs.
Lions 30, Browns 28: At Cleveland, Ohio, Colt McCoy threw three touchdown passes - two to tight end Evan Moore - in the first half, but Cleveland blew a 15-point lead in a penalty-filled exhibition.
2011年8月19日星期五
Patriots win second exhibition game behind Brady
Tampa, Fla. - Tom Brady showed midseason form in his preseason debut.
After sitting out New England's preseason opener in Week 1, the reigning NFL MVP tossed a pair of touchdowns and completed 11 of 19 passes in the New England Patriots' 31-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
Brady threw for 118 yards in one half of work, and connected on scoring strikes from 16 yards to Aaron Hernandez, and 8 yards out to Chad Ochocinco, who also both made their debuts.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis also got in on the act, rushing 11 times for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick called this a big week for his team in regards to position battles and roster spots. It included three straight days of full-pad practices, creating what some players characterized as a regular-season atmosphere.
The pace seemed to be there as Brady and the rest of the first unit played all six offensive series of the first half, failing to score on only two. They scored on four of their first five drives.
Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris had a tough time finding any fault with his team's effort in a 25-0 rout at Kansas City last week. But this week was more than a small reversal of fortune.
Third-year quarterback Josh Freeman, who was Brady-like against the Chiefs, misfired on his first three passes of the night to set a bad tone the Bucs never got over.
He was done after five series, connecting on 5 of 10 passes for just 33 yards. The Buccaneers had more than that in penalty yards in the first half. They were whistled 10 times for 85 yards, as New England built a 28-0 halftime lead.
Freeman was also sacked twice by the Patriots, who held Tampa Bay to just 73 total yards and four first downs in the opening half. Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo got credit for both sacks, to go along with five tackles.
The Buccaneers didn't get on the board until early in the third quarter when cornerback Elbert Mack intercepted Ryan Mallett and returned it 69 yards for the score.
Their lone offensive score came early in the third quarter when third-string running back Allen Bradford capped a 12-play, 84-yard drive with 2-yard touchdown run. They were just two of the Bucs' 64 yards rushing.
But, by then it was seemed clear to the already thinning Raymond James Stadium crowd that it was not Tampa Bay's night.
After sitting out New England's preseason opener in Week 1, the reigning NFL MVP tossed a pair of touchdowns and completed 11 of 19 passes in the New England Patriots' 31-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.
Brady threw for 118 yards in one half of work, and connected on scoring strikes from 16 yards to Aaron Hernandez, and 8 yards out to Chad Ochocinco, who also both made their debuts.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis also got in on the act, rushing 11 times for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick called this a big week for his team in regards to position battles and roster spots. It included three straight days of full-pad practices, creating what some players characterized as a regular-season atmosphere.
The pace seemed to be there as Brady and the rest of the first unit played all six offensive series of the first half, failing to score on only two. They scored on four of their first five drives.
Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris had a tough time finding any fault with his team's effort in a 25-0 rout at Kansas City last week. But this week was more than a small reversal of fortune.
Third-year quarterback Josh Freeman, who was Brady-like against the Chiefs, misfired on his first three passes of the night to set a bad tone the Bucs never got over.
He was done after five series, connecting on 5 of 10 passes for just 33 yards. The Buccaneers had more than that in penalty yards in the first half. They were whistled 10 times for 85 yards, as New England built a 28-0 halftime lead.
Freeman was also sacked twice by the Patriots, who held Tampa Bay to just 73 total yards and four first downs in the opening half. Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo got credit for both sacks, to go along with five tackles.
The Buccaneers didn't get on the board until early in the third quarter when cornerback Elbert Mack intercepted Ryan Mallett and returned it 69 yards for the score.
Their lone offensive score came early in the third quarter when third-string running back Allen Bradford capped a 12-play, 84-yard drive with 2-yard touchdown run. They were just two of the Bucs' 64 yards rushing.
But, by then it was seemed clear to the already thinning Raymond James Stadium crowd that it was not Tampa Bay's night.
2011年8月18日星期四
CSU freshman running back Donnell Alexander "a big-time talent"
FORT COLLINS — At three high schools near Kansas City, Mo., where his late father once starred for the NFL's Chiefs, running back Donnell Alexander earned four varsity letters, amassed more than 7,000 yards rushing, averaged 8.8 yards per carry and scored 95 touchdowns.
The Colorado State true freshman was to offense what his biological father, legendary linebacker/defensive end Derrick Thomas, was to defense.
He was a dominant game-changer.
"He's a big-time talent," Rams coach Steve Fairchild said of Alexander, one of two true freshmen looking to avoid a redshirt season and contribute to an experienced Rams' backfield. "Just coming in the way he does, he's not like a normal kid out of high school. He's over 200 pounds and can run. We're lucky to have him, and he's going to have a good career."
Alexander, 18, is learning the offense behind seniors Derek Good and Raymond Carter and sophomore Chris Nwoke. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Alexander or former Abilene, Texas, star Davon Riddick (6-0, 205), also a true freshman, will likely be asked to redshirt after Saturday's Ram Club scrimmage, although Fairchild said both might spend the season on the practice squad if Good, Carter and Nwoke remain healthy halfway through the year.
"I'm on the sideline and when I'm called on I'm going to go out there and do my job," Alexander said. "If I was to be redshirted, I'll just take that as a time for me to train — get bigger, faster, stronger. . . . Either way, I'm willing to do whatever to make the team better."
Back in 2000, a day before Alexander's seventh birthday on Jan. 24, Derrick Thomas suffered a severe injury and permanent paralysis when he was thrown from his sport utility vehicle in a one-car accident on a Kansas City highway. Thomas died two weeks later, on Feb. 8, from a blood clot that traveled to his lungs.
Alexander doesn't remember much about his father, primarily because he was mostly raised by his mother, Kim Alexander, and maternal grandfather Jack Williams.
Williams died from a prolonged illness in 2009 — the same year Thomas was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Williams' illness partly explains why Donnell attended three high schools. He and his mother wanted to be close to where Williams was being treated.
"I really wasn't around my dad as much as a younger child, so (Williams) basically took the role," said Alexander, who has a tattoo on his neck that reads "RIP DaDa" in Williams' honor. "He taught me how to be a man and grow up to be a good man. He helped me develop good character and helped me get to where I'm at now."
Alexander, who finished high school with a 3.2 grade-point average, still has plenty of support. His mother recently moved from Kansas City to Aurora to be closer to her son.
"I have a good mother, but a mother . . . can't teach you how to be a man," Alexander said. "It's tough at times. I wish I could be able to talk to my dad about issues I have here at school or on the field and stuff like that. But my mom does the job. She plays all those roles pretty well."
The Colorado State true freshman was to offense what his biological father, legendary linebacker/defensive end Derrick Thomas, was to defense.
He was a dominant game-changer.
"He's a big-time talent," Rams coach Steve Fairchild said of Alexander, one of two true freshmen looking to avoid a redshirt season and contribute to an experienced Rams' backfield. "Just coming in the way he does, he's not like a normal kid out of high school. He's over 200 pounds and can run. We're lucky to have him, and he's going to have a good career."
Alexander, 18, is learning the offense behind seniors Derek Good and Raymond Carter and sophomore Chris Nwoke. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Alexander or former Abilene, Texas, star Davon Riddick (6-0, 205), also a true freshman, will likely be asked to redshirt after Saturday's Ram Club scrimmage, although Fairchild said both might spend the season on the practice squad if Good, Carter and Nwoke remain healthy halfway through the year.
"I'm on the sideline and when I'm called on I'm going to go out there and do my job," Alexander said. "If I was to be redshirted, I'll just take that as a time for me to train — get bigger, faster, stronger. . . . Either way, I'm willing to do whatever to make the team better."
Back in 2000, a day before Alexander's seventh birthday on Jan. 24, Derrick Thomas suffered a severe injury and permanent paralysis when he was thrown from his sport utility vehicle in a one-car accident on a Kansas City highway. Thomas died two weeks later, on Feb. 8, from a blood clot that traveled to his lungs.
Alexander doesn't remember much about his father, primarily because he was mostly raised by his mother, Kim Alexander, and maternal grandfather Jack Williams.
Williams died from a prolonged illness in 2009 — the same year Thomas was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Williams' illness partly explains why Donnell attended three high schools. He and his mother wanted to be close to where Williams was being treated.
"I really wasn't around my dad as much as a younger child, so (Williams) basically took the role," said Alexander, who has a tattoo on his neck that reads "RIP DaDa" in Williams' honor. "He taught me how to be a man and grow up to be a good man. He helped me develop good character and helped me get to where I'm at now."
Alexander, who finished high school with a 3.2 grade-point average, still has plenty of support. His mother recently moved from Kansas City to Aurora to be closer to her son.
"I have a good mother, but a mother . . . can't teach you how to be a man," Alexander said. "It's tough at times. I wish I could be able to talk to my dad about issues I have here at school or on the field and stuff like that. But my mom does the job. She plays all those roles pretty well."
2011年8月17日星期三
Chiefs trying to get handle on kickoff conundrum
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs have a kicking conundrum, just like the rest of the NFL.
New rules putting kickoffs at the 35 yard line were designed to prevent injuries caused by high-speed collisions in the return game, but moving the placement five yards nearer midfield also took much of the drama out of special teams. Just about every kicker in the NFL now has the ability to boom the ball into the end zone.
The decision that coaches face is whether to actually do that.
Kansas City has been toying in training camp with a variety of popup and directional kicks, hoping speed in the coverage unit will allow it to trap opposing teams inside the 20. While they didn't have much of a chance to try out their plan in the preseason opener against Tampa Bay -- the Chiefs were shut out, so they only kicked off once -- they are likely to experiment more Friday night at Baltimore.
"There may be games where we say, 'Hey, we can hang this ball up and try to get it to come down and the goal line and maybe we feel comfortable trying to get them inside the 20,'" Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop said. "And then there may be times -- obviously every returner is dangerous -- but there may be times where, 'You know what? We don't want to mess with this guy. Let's try to line drive it out of the end zone.'"
The new rules should be helpful to Succop, who managed a touchback on just 10 percent of his kickoffs a year ago. League leader Billy Cundiff of the Ravens put the ball in the end zone without a return on 50.6 percent of his tries.
There's a good chance that kind of discrepancy won't exist anymore.
"I don't know if it negates the advantage; I think it equalizes it somewhat," said Ravens special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg. "Guys can now do what Billy did very, very well, and they can do it much easier."
There'll be more decisions to make than simply taking into account who is returning kicks, though, and therein lies the chess game for the coaches.
First, they will have to decide whether having the ball at the 20 is a win for the offense or defense -- or neither side. Kansas City head coach Todd Haley said he would normally consider it a win for the team kicking off, but that may change with new ways in which they can bottle teams up closer to the goal line.
That was evident on the first kickoff last Friday night against Tampa Bay, when Quentin Lawrence decided to bring out a ball kicked about 5 yards deep in the end zone. He was brought down at the 8, giving Kansas City some lousy field position to begin its first preseason game.
"It's very tempting to bring the ball out," Chiefs returner Dexter McCluster said. "It's up to the off returner to slow us down, but as a competitor, as a kickoff returner, we're going to want to be bringing it out sometimes."
Another decision coaches will have to make concerns personnel.
Wide receivers and cornerbacks who might otherwise have returned kicks could be pulled off special teams duty entirely, because the number of chances they'll have to impact the game has dwindled to the point where it's not worth the injury risk. By the same token, a young player may find it harder to break into the league because they no longer have the same chances to distinguish themselves on coverage.
"One of the ways I would try to make that team is I would show up on kickoff coverage and go make tackles and be the first guy downfield," Rosburg said. "That's an age-old method. They really don't have that opportunity right now, other than the fact that they're running through the end zone and trying to look fast."
Rosburg is among numerous coaches and players who are unhappy with the rule change, while most kickers seem to be in favor of it. Besides making it easier to kick touchbacks, it could make it easier to land a job.
Even though Succop is firmly entrenched as the Chiefs' starter, they felt compelled to sign free agent Todd Carter to ramp up the competition. He's known for the hang-time on kickoffs and his directional kicking ability.
"When you think about what the NFL is trying to do, and that is really reduce the number of injuries and the big-time collisions on kickoffs, I think they're getting what they wanted out of that," Succop said. "Right now a lot of people are thinking it's going to be touchbacks every single time you kick off, and I think early on you'll see a lot of that. As the weather turns and it gets cold and guys' legs wear out, it won't be a touchback every time.
"It's definitely going to be a lot different," he added, "but we're going to adjust for it."
New rules putting kickoffs at the 35 yard line were designed to prevent injuries caused by high-speed collisions in the return game, but moving the placement five yards nearer midfield also took much of the drama out of special teams. Just about every kicker in the NFL now has the ability to boom the ball into the end zone.
The decision that coaches face is whether to actually do that.
Kansas City has been toying in training camp with a variety of popup and directional kicks, hoping speed in the coverage unit will allow it to trap opposing teams inside the 20. While they didn't have much of a chance to try out their plan in the preseason opener against Tampa Bay -- the Chiefs were shut out, so they only kicked off once -- they are likely to experiment more Friday night at Baltimore.
"There may be games where we say, 'Hey, we can hang this ball up and try to get it to come down and the goal line and maybe we feel comfortable trying to get them inside the 20,'" Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop said. "And then there may be times -- obviously every returner is dangerous -- but there may be times where, 'You know what? We don't want to mess with this guy. Let's try to line drive it out of the end zone.'"
The new rules should be helpful to Succop, who managed a touchback on just 10 percent of his kickoffs a year ago. League leader Billy Cundiff of the Ravens put the ball in the end zone without a return on 50.6 percent of his tries.
There's a good chance that kind of discrepancy won't exist anymore.
"I don't know if it negates the advantage; I think it equalizes it somewhat," said Ravens special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg. "Guys can now do what Billy did very, very well, and they can do it much easier."
There'll be more decisions to make than simply taking into account who is returning kicks, though, and therein lies the chess game for the coaches.
First, they will have to decide whether having the ball at the 20 is a win for the offense or defense -- or neither side. Kansas City head coach Todd Haley said he would normally consider it a win for the team kicking off, but that may change with new ways in which they can bottle teams up closer to the goal line.
That was evident on the first kickoff last Friday night against Tampa Bay, when Quentin Lawrence decided to bring out a ball kicked about 5 yards deep in the end zone. He was brought down at the 8, giving Kansas City some lousy field position to begin its first preseason game.
"It's very tempting to bring the ball out," Chiefs returner Dexter McCluster said. "It's up to the off returner to slow us down, but as a competitor, as a kickoff returner, we're going to want to be bringing it out sometimes."
Another decision coaches will have to make concerns personnel.
Wide receivers and cornerbacks who might otherwise have returned kicks could be pulled off special teams duty entirely, because the number of chances they'll have to impact the game has dwindled to the point where it's not worth the injury risk. By the same token, a young player may find it harder to break into the league because they no longer have the same chances to distinguish themselves on coverage.
"One of the ways I would try to make that team is I would show up on kickoff coverage and go make tackles and be the first guy downfield," Rosburg said. "That's an age-old method. They really don't have that opportunity right now, other than the fact that they're running through the end zone and trying to look fast."
Rosburg is among numerous coaches and players who are unhappy with the rule change, while most kickers seem to be in favor of it. Besides making it easier to kick touchbacks, it could make it easier to land a job.
Even though Succop is firmly entrenched as the Chiefs' starter, they felt compelled to sign free agent Todd Carter to ramp up the competition. He's known for the hang-time on kickoffs and his directional kicking ability.
"When you think about what the NFL is trying to do, and that is really reduce the number of injuries and the big-time collisions on kickoffs, I think they're getting what they wanted out of that," Succop said. "Right now a lot of people are thinking it's going to be touchbacks every single time you kick off, and I think early on you'll see a lot of that. As the weather turns and it gets cold and guys' legs wear out, it won't be a touchback every time.
"It's definitely going to be a lot different," he added, "but we're going to adjust for it."
2011年8月16日星期二
NFL Capsules - AFC North and West: With advice from Favre, McCoy dazzles for Browns
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Colt McCoy showed up for his postgame news conference wearing a T-shirt endorsing a fishing tackle company.
Maybe best to reel in the expectations right away. After all, McCoy may have a tough time topping his exhibition debut.
Looking poised and comfortable in Cleveland's new West Coast offense, McCoy outshined Super Bowl star Aaron Rodgers and was nearly flawless as the Browns beat the Green Bay Packers 27-17 on Saturday night, making Cleveland rookie coach Pat Shurmur a winner in his first NFL preseason game.
McCoy completed 9 of 10 passes for 135 yards, one touchdown and compiled a 152.1 passer's rating — just a few points shy of perfection. The Browns, who have spent the past decade in a frustrating search for a franchise quarterback to lead them back to respectability, are hoping McCoy, may finally answer their prayers.
He's off to a nice start.
"Pretty good," McCoy humbly said in assessing his performance. "We understand we have a long way to go."
No doubt. But for the first time in ages, the Browns, who have just one playoff appearance since 1999 and lost at least 10 games in seven of the last eight seasons, seem to be headed in the same direction. And, they're counting on McCoy to lead the way.
Needing to get up to speed on the complex offense during the off-season, McCoy sought advice from a West Coast master.
Brett Favre was happy to help.
As the league's labor lockout dragged on, McCoy went to Hattiesburg, Miss., and spent a few days with the three-time NFL MVP, who learned the West Coast system while playing for Browns president Mike Holmgren in Green Bay. McCoy gleaned all he could from the-retired-at-the-moment Favre, who won a Super Bowl with Holmgren in 1996.
"Since I couldn't get coached, it was a great opportunity to pick the brain of a guy who played in the system for 20 years," McCoy said through a team spokesman. "It was a chance for me to get a lot of questions answered. We worked on footwork, progressions, reads and things like that. It was definitely a positive trip."
McCoy is expected to offer more on the Favre visit Tuesday.
Shurmur was encouraged by McCoy's first outing in the passer friendly system the first-year coach brought from St. Louis, where he taught it to Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. Shurmur knows it can work, and is pleased with how quickly McCoy has picked it up in training camp.
"He was efficient," Shurmur said after Monday's practice. "He saw what was going on extremely well. He was pretty accurate with his throws and pretty solid with his decision making. But again, once you have what would be considered a solid performance, then it's all about consistency and he was right back on the stick this morning, getting better at some things."
McCoy will get a chance to build off his impressive debut on Friday, when the Browns host Detroit.
After dissecting the Packers, who were without star cornerback Charles Woodson and are currently thin in the secondary, McCoy was careful not to make too much of his strong game. He also made sure he spread the praise around to his teammates.
His night didn't start well.
On Cleveland's first snap, McCoy couldn't find an open receiver, and in a panic, lateralled to rookie fullback Owen Marecic, who recovered his fumble. McCoy regrouped and completed five straight passes, the last a 27-yard TD strike to Josh Cribbs.
When he came to the sideline, McCoy acknowledged his early mistake to Shurmur.
"He said, 'Coach, I should of just ran with it,'" Shurmur said. "He knows what he's looking at. As we get more and more comfortable with one another, as he gets more and more comfortable with his players and the system, I hope he will progress next week."
As for his progress during the game, McCoy showed he's able to make the Xs and Os in Shurmur's playbook spring to life.
On a crossing pattern to wide receiver Brian Robiskie, McCoy looked off the safety to the right, creating a slim opening over the middle. He waited for Robiskie to clear the coverage and threw him a low dart for a 15-yard reception.
"One of my favorite plays of the night is Robo," he said of the play to Robiskie. "We run a little play-action deep slant. Normally, you hit that ball in the first window but they rolled the safety down and Robo converted over the top and I hit him in the second window. It was a nice job by him of staying alive. There were some good things, there really were."
McCoy certainly made a strong impression on the Packers.
"You can tell he definitely studied us some," nose tackle B.J. Raji said. "They did some things as far as getting him on the move and rollouts and quick West Coast stuff to get his confidence up there. And he did a good job and made the right decisions."
Raji believes McCoy has all the skills to win as a pro.
"An NFL quarterback's all about winning, and if memory serves me correctly, he was the winningest quarterback in NCAA history," he said. "The guy can play, he can win games, he knows what it takes. He has a bright future, there's no question about that."
The Browns are counting on it.
Notes: RB Montario Hardesty participated in contact drills for the first time in more than two weeks. The Browns have been taking it slow with the second-year back, who is coming back from knee surgery. "It was fun to get back in football mode again," Hardesty said. Shurmur wouldn't commit on Hardesty facing the Lions. ... The Browns placed OG Billy Yates on the reserve/retired list. The versatile nine-year veteran showed up Monday and told a surprised Shurmur he was done. Yates started three games last season. He does not count towards the club's 90-man roster limit. ... Safety T.J. Ward didn't practice because of an issue with his tooth. "If you didn't know better, you would have thought he got punched in the chin," said Shurmur, noting Ward's face was swollen. ... WR Mohamed Massaquoi is finally out of the walking boot. Massaquoi hasn't practiced because of a leg injury, but he's getting closer. ... LBs Scott Fujita (thigh), Chris Gocong (neck), TE Ben Watson and S Usama Young didn't practice. ... Former Packers general manager Ron Wolf visited Holmgren.
Steelers C Pouncey makes quick rise to line leader
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — With all the injuries, position battles and chaos of shuffling players around the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line, the team considers itself fortunate to have a stable Pro Bowl anchor in the middle.
Even if this pillar of stability is only three weeks removed from his 22nd birthday.
Taken with the 18th pick of last year's draft, Maurkice Pouncey so impressed the Steelers early during training camp of his rookie year that he won the starting job at center. Almost immediately, Pouncey developed into one of the best of the league at his position.
Forget the sophomore slump, his teammates say. Still the second-youngest of the 90 players in Pittsburgh's camp, Pouncey has gone from 20-year-old draftee to respected, reliable team leader in a matter of 16 months.
"He's the spark on our offensive line," guard/center Doug Legursky said. "He's going to lead us."
He's being depended on to do just that for a unit that will have different starters at three of the four other positions from last season's Super Bowl team.
"There's a lot of pressure on me this year," Pouncey said, "so I'm ready for it. We've got some older guys, but I definitely want to be part of the anchor of the offensive line and contribute my part."
A three-year starter before leaving school after his junior year at Florida — his twin brother, Mike, was a first-round pick of the Dolphins this year — Pouncey appears to be the next in the line of great Pittsburgh centers.
The Steelers had just four starting centers between 1964-2006. Three were selected to multiple Pro Bowls, Mike Webster is already in the Hall of Fame and Dermonti Dawson has been a finalist for induction.
Yes, it's only been one full season. But Pouncey is giving the Steelers reason to believe he can join that lineage after being the best lineman, at age 21, on a team that won the AFC championship. The only down note from last season, is that Pouncey did not play in the Super Bowl due to a high ankle sprain.
"He's incredible," said Rashard Mendenhall, who was fifth in the AFC in rushing yards and tied for second in rushing touchdowns running behind Pouncey last season. "Maurkice is just a very smart player, very athletic, and he's just a dog. He's not going to back down from anything. You see that everyday when you watch film, you see it everyday in practice."
Pouncey's tenacity has helped endear him to his teammates, more than one of whom affectionately uses the word "nasty" to describe his demeanor on the field. Already this preseason, the young center rushed to the defense of a teammate who was on the wrong end of some jawing by a Washington Redskin on Friday.
Two days later, during an afternoon practice at St. Vincent College, Pouncey stepped in between a scuffle involving Jonathan Scott and Cameron Heyward.
Such an attitude is in stark contrast to the easy-going, quiet persona Pouncey has off the field. He might be developing into a fiery leader for a traditional powerhouse. But, in reality, he's still a smiling, happy-go-lucky college-aged kid.
"You catch yourself sometimes looking at him going, 'Wow, he's 21,'" Pittsburgh offensive line coach Sean Kugler said. "When you're talking football with Maurkice sometimes, it's like he's a 30-year-old. And then when you start talking things off the football field, it's then you realize, 'Yeah, he's 21.'
"A great kid, mature football-wise beyond what he is right now."
Considering Pittsburgh cut the two most senior members of its offensive line from last season, they're going to need some of that Pouncey maturity.
Max Starks started the first seven games of 2010 at left tackle before sustaining a neck injury that ended his season. Flozell Adams started all season at right tackle. Both were released last month.
Scott assumed Starks' spot and is the presumptive left tackle this season. Willie Colon, who started from 2007-09 but missed all of last season due to an Achilles injury, returns to his starting right tackle job.
Due to injury and competition, the guard spots have been even more in flux. Chris Kemoeatu, a four-year starter at left guard, was just activated from the physically unable to perform list on Sunday and still has not performed through a full practice.
No fewer than four players have seen time with the first team at right guard. Ramon Foster ended last season as the starter at the position, but he was limited early in camp due to a concussion. Legursky started four games there last season, and also was a capable fill-in at center when Pouncey was out. Chris Scott started at right guard Friday in Washington, but his performance was such that fourth-year pro Tony Hills has been working with the first team at the position these past two days.
"We know there's an open job out there and we're just competing for it," Foster said. "When you have competition, guys seem to get better. So, maybe it won't be a musical chair thing next year."
Chiefs' Wiegmann to extend consecutive snap streak
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Not playing in the Kansas City Chiefs' preseason opener didn't count against Casey Wiegmann's streak. Still, the 38-year-old center probably didn't care much for remaining on the sidelines during the 25-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night.
Wiegmann was lured back to Kansas City for one more season by coach Todd Haley, and he admitted one of the reasons was his streak of 9,078 consecutive snaps — in games that count, at least. Wiegmann has started 159 of 160 possible regular-season games since 2001, when he arrived in Kansas City from Chicago.
"It's just a streak," said Wiegmann, who also played two seasons in Denver. "I take pride in it, but it's just a number."
Wiegmann and Haley worked together early in the NFL career with the Jets, when Wiegmann — an undrafted free agent from Iowa — was attempting to find a place in the league. He was considered undersized at 6-foot-2, 285 pounds, but Haley believed in him and that has stuck with Wiegmann through 15 seasons.
"There's nobody more excited about Casey's decision to come back and continuing to be a part of what he was such a big part of last year," Haley said. "This guy's a phenom. He's a phenom. You don't do what he's done for as long as he's done it by accident."
Over his career, Wiegmann has put together a consecutive snaps streak that would make any lineman jealous. He's not left any game regardless of score or outcome, even though coaches have tried to rest him late in the season. Wiegmann's run appeared to be in jeopardy last year before he came into training camp and beat out a much younger Rudy Niswanger for the starting job.
The Chiefs made it a priority to bring Wiegmann back this season, while Niswanger signed with Detroit.
"He was already an old-timer when I was a rookie. He's one of the wonders of the world," said Chiefs guard Ryan Lilja, entering his seventh NFL season and second with Kansas City.
Wiegmann will continue to hold the top spot on the depth chart, delivering the ball to quarterback Matt Cassel like clockwork.
Consider it a courtesy to the veteran, who is almost certainly in his final go-round.
Wiegmann brings a veteran presence to a youthful offensive line, and his leadership has become even more important after the Chiefs let veteran guard Brian Waters go. Second-year guard Jon Asamoah will likely start at guard, and backup center Rodney Hudson needs to learn the trade before he's ready to start.
Who better to learn from in the middle of the line than Wiegmann?
"He wrote the book on how to have a great career," Haley said. "So I'd be trying to do most of the things he's doing."
Haggan back at linebacker, tutoring rookies
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Mario Haggan's role this year is part mentor, part tormenter.
The versatile ninth-year pro opened the Broncos' training camp at defensive end as new coach John Fox reinstalled the 4-3 scheme that Josh McDaniels had ditched during his short stint in Denver.
Within a week, though, the Broncos had signed former first-round pick Derrick Harvey to serve as a swing backup defensive end to Robert Ayers and Elvis Dumervil.
That sent Haggan back to linebacker, where he's tutoring rookie Von Miller at his natural strongside position and rookie Nate Irving on the inside.
Haggan has started all 16 games during his two seasons in Denver after spending five years in Buffalo as a special teamer. In 2009, he was the left outside linebacker and in 2010 he was the right inside linebacker.
So, it's no surprise that the rookies are picking his brain.
"Once in the NFL, you're here for a reason and you got physical ability. The rest is knowing the game," Haggan said. "And it's not just about knowing the plays, it's about knowing what other people are doing and just slowing the game down. Everybody pushes upon knowing your own defensive plays. It's more than that. It's about knowing what's coming, how you're being attacked. And so those are the things that young guys have to learn."
Haggan remembers when he was in their cleats and seeking the sage advice of the veterans, hoping they'd share their knowledge and not shut him out.
"I had two of the best veterans ever in Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher," Haggan said. "I mean, I got drafted in Buffalo, third round, they showed me how to stay, they showed me how to play the game. They showed me how to look for different things. And right now we're the best of friends and we still talk about different things. They're a big impression on me still."
So, Haggan is the go-to guy in the linebacker meeting room even though Miller is already starting ahead of him on the strong side and a bulked-up Joe Mays is the starting middle linebacker.
"And my thing is, if I can help them, I'll help them," Haggan said. "I'm not one of those guys (who won't help), even if he is at my position and I have to take a back seat to him, I'm going to do whatever I can to make him successful."
Haggan plans to get plenty of snaps himself. After all, he was Denver's most productive defender last season, setting career highs with 75 tackles and five sacks.
But if his role ultimately is to back up everyone and give advice on the side, then so be it.
"I personally feel that I'm a good football player and if a guy beats me out, he's going to have to work pretty damn hard to get it, so he deserves it," Haggan said. "And if he's in front of me, he'd better be a pretty damn good football player, too, because I'm going to make him work."
Haggan took Miller under his wing from the moment the Broncos selected the powerful pass-rusher out of Texas A&M with the second overall pick in the draft. They got to know each other while training together in Dallas during the lockout.
"He's more than just a football player. He has a great family," Miller said. "That's something I want to have in the future. He's an awesome husband, awesome father, he's somebody who I can get some points from. So, it's just bigger than football. He's an amazing dude."
Miller was thrilled when Haggan was moved back to linebacker.
"It's good to have a dude that I can see do it first, because it's all new," Miller said.
Haggan couldn't hide his smile over the switch, either.
"I'm definitely in love with being a linebacker. That's what I've played my whole life and that's what I've been playing my whole career in the NFL," Haggan said. "Personally, they see I have the ability to do different things and if they ask me to do different things, then that's what I'm going to do."
Haggan prepared during the lockout for the switch to defensive end but he never strayed far from his linebacker roots. In addition to muscling up in the weight room, he worked on agility drills on the football field to maintain his speed and quickness.
"I actually prepared for both," Haggan said. "It made my work double-time. I figured once I got here, at some point they would ask me to play linebacker. That opportunity has come faster than I thought.
"I never gave up on it. I was going to always put my heart into defensive end if that's where I was going to be, but now that I'm back at linebacker, I'm going to put my heart back there. And my goal is to be coming out of that tunnel on Sunday with the first 11."
And if he's not a starter, he'll gladly serve as a tutor.
-- Arnie Stapleton
Things get testy at Broncos training camp
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos lost two defensive tackles to injury Monday and their rookie safety got into a brief fight with Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Lloyd.
The severity of the injuries to Ty Warren (arm) and Marcus Thomas (chest) were unknown.
"Hopefully, it's not serious," coach John Fox said.
Warren, who spent all of last season on injured reserve with a hip injury, signed an $8 million, two-year deal with Denver following his release from New England last month. He's one of three former first-rounders — the others are Brodrick Bunkley and Derrick Harvey — that the Broncos brought in to augment their defensive line.
Neither Rahim Moore nor Lloyd were hurt during their fisticuffs, one of three skirmishes Monday.
Fox said he wasn't surprised things got heated on a hot day with camp winding down.
"This game is a tough game, physical game and when you're banging on each other every day it can get chippy," Fox said. "So, it's pretty typical of camp this time of year."
But it's not every day you see a rookie stand up to a Pro Bowler like this.
Lloyd politely declined to discuss the altercation after practice and Moore, a second-round draft pick from UCLA who already has grabbed the starting free safety job opposite Brian Dawkins, said Lloyd felt he cut him off in the end zone on a fade pass that fell incomplete.
"He decided I did something wrong and I didn't think I did," Moore said. "He shoved me. I shoved him back."
On the next play, Kyle Orton hit Lloyd for a short touchdown pass with Moore in coverage.
Moore said he and Lloyd talked things over a minute later and resolved their differences.
"So, it's all love," Moore said.
Denver's defensive coaching staff had to like Moore's moxie.
"I have nothing against Brandon, but I take flack from nobody," Moore said. "This is a physical game. So, if I let him push me, everybody would say, 'Oh, Rahim let him push him.' It's just the competitive nature that I have. It's like if he beat me on a touchdown, I'm going to try to pick the ball off the next time. If he pushed me, I'm going to push him back.
"But at the end of the day, we're family."
Moore said Lloyd has given him tips about covering NFL receivers and he expects those lines of communication to remain open even after their disagreement.
"He has been a mentor to me, so it's all good," Moore said. "Tomorrow we're going to get back at it and work hard and get each other better."
NOTES: The Broncos waived DT Louis Leonard and LB Derek Domino. ... Rookie MLB Nate Irving returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the preseason opener and grabbed an interception. ... WR Eddie Royal (hip), also returned to action Monday. "I felt good out there," he said. "Running around, my routes felt good. The rhythm and timing were there, so it was a good day."
-- Arnie Stapleton
Raiders rookie CB gets rude introduction to NFL
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — DeMarcus Van Dyke got quite the introduction to the NFL. The rookie cornerback from Miami was lined up against Arizona superstar receiver Larry Fitzgerald on his first series of his exhibition debut and the Cardinals went right at him.
Van Dyke allowed a long completion to Fitzgerald on the first pass his way even though he did have tight coverage. He stayed with the five-time Pro Bowler on the next deep pass, leading to an incompletion.
But the debut got progressively worse after that with Van Dyke allowing an 18-yard touchdown to Stephen Williams late in the first half and several other completions to Arizona's less accomplished receivers.
"As a DB, you've got to have amnesia," Van Dyke said. "You get beat one time, you can't let it keep building, that feeling. They got me. They're not going to beat me again.
The Raiders are hoping for much steadier play this season from Van Dyke, a third-round pick out in April who could get plenty of opportunities to play against multiple receiver packages this season.
Van Dyke started just three games at Miami as a senior but blossomed at the NFL combine, where he ran a 4.25 40-yard dash. Along with the sprinter speed that made him so attractive to the Raiders, coach Hue Jackson has praised his loose hips, 6-foot-1 size and makeup as attributes that should help in man coverage.
"When I talk to the young man, there is no fear in him at all," Jackson said. "Fitzgerald makes those plays on everybody. I've seen him make them on the best in this league. He made one on that young man. But the young man came back and stayed with him the next time and that's what this is all about."
Van Dyke received encouragement after the game from fellow former Miami cornerbacks Antrel Rolle and Sam Shields, veterans who have been through the rough transition from college to the pros.
That only got harder when Van Dyke saw himself lined up against Fitzgerald as soon as he got on the field. He stayed with Fitzgerald stride for stride on the first pass but was outmaneuvered for the ball at the end, giving the Cardinals a 43-yard gain.
"It's a pretty good way to go out there and judge yourself on a guy of his caliber and see what I can get better at," he said. "I just have to finish on plays, that's about it."
Van Dyke gets to learn the trade from a pair of Hall of Famers in assistant coaches Willie Brown and Rod Woodson. Woodson, in his first year as a coach, compares Van Dyke to one of his former teammates in Baltimore, Duane Starks, and expects big things from his young player.
"He's going to be good. It's the little things that he has to work on," Woodson said. "He has to learn how to finish. He's still learning the little things about playing corner in this league, playing the different coverages, when to do certain things, when not to do certain things. But if he keeps progressing in the positive manner like he has in the first week or so, he'll be a decent player."
The question for the Raiders is how long that process will take. With All Pro Nnamdi Asomugha gone to Philadelphia in free agency, the Raiders have no experienced cornerback behind starters Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson.
Oakland drafted a pair of cornerbacks a year ago in Walter McFadden and Jeremy Ware, who both struggled in limited time as rookies and have been victimized in training camp and in the exhibition opener. The Raiders also drafted Ohio State cornerback Chimdi Chekwa in the fourth round in April, but he has not been able to practice much this summer because of a shoulder injury.
Arizona quarterbacks combined to go 17-for-27 for 297 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions at a 137.4 passer rating once the starting cornerbacks sat after the first series.
"It's so blown out of proportion," Routt said. "They're young. People are going to make mistakes. It's preseason. Everybody wants to act like if you do bad in one preseason game, you should be crucified or whatever. It is what it is, the first preseason game. We got three more. Mistakes happen. Veterans make mistakes."
The Raiders did add some help in the secondary at safety, signing Josh Bullocks and Matt Giordano. Oakland needed to make the moves with backups Hiram Eugene (dislocated hip) and Zac Etheridge (knee) getting hurt in the exhibition opener and Stevie Brown injuring his ankle at practice Sunday.
Bullocks, a second-round pick by New Orleans in 2005, has six interceptions, 27 passes defensed and four forced fumbles in 90 career games with the Saints and Chicago Bears.
Giordano, a fourth-round pick by Indianapolis in 2005 out of California, had three interceptions in 55 games for the Colts from 2005-08. He played as a reserve the past two seasons with Green Bay and New Orleans.
Notes: Jackson gave many of the players age 30 and over a day off from practice. ... The Raiders will take Tuesday off before returning to practice Wednesday.
-- Josh Dubow
Crayton happy in San Diego
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The moment Patrick Crayton was asked about Dallas, a big smile appeared on his face.
"I'm definitely ready," the Chargers receiver said. "I can't wait until Wednesday."
Crayton played six years for the Cowboys and still lives near Dallas, where he grew up. Despite asking for his release twice in 2010, he has fond memories of his time with the Cowboys, an 82-game stint, before being traded to San Diego 10 days before the opener last year.
He'll get a chance to face them this weekend. The Chargers fly Wednesday to the Dallas area, where they'll practice with the Cowboys before playing them Sunday night.
"It was a wonderful experience," Crayton said. "Made a bunch of friends. They'll be lifelong friends. Loved the fans. It's home, so it was a dream to play at home."
But it will be Chargers garb that Crayton's wife and two sons wear in Texas, not the silver-and-blue apparel that Crayton favored as a boy.
Nor will Crayton root for the Cowboys this year, although he will pull for several of his pals on the team.
He has found a new home with the Chargers, averaging 18.4 yards per catch last year before a dislocated wrist ended his season in the 10th game.
"Everything about Dallas was great, but so was coming out here," Crayton said.
The Chargers acquired him for a seventh-round draft pick, also the round in which Dallas drafted him in 2004.
Crayton requested his release after the Cowboys drafted receiver Dez Bryant in the first round.
"Dez Bryant, that was almost like the icing on the cake," Crayton said after a recent practice. "A lot of people think it was just that, but there were other issues. There was other stuff that led up to that, where we almost tried (to get a release) before that."
He declined to elaborate but said it wasn't easy to ask out, which his agent did again shortly before the trade. He hadn't caught a pass in the preseason.
"I would have loved to have played the rest of my career there," he said. "But sometimes things run their course. At that point, it was time to move on."
He wrist injury, sustained when he landed in the end zone while scoring a touch down, is healed.
He is in sync with quarterback Philip Rivers and the offense of coach Norv Turner, which is similar to the Cowboys offense of coach Jason Garrett, a quarterback under Turner with Dallas in 1993.
As Turner saw more of Crayton, he found ways to accentuate the 6-foot 205-pound receiver.
"I love the slot," Crayton said, "because I love working the middle and the underneath stuff."
Crayton has found the team's culture hospitable, too, impressed that the Chargers is made up of several veterans.
"We almost have a few more leaders in this locker room, which helps," he said. "When it's time for business, it's time for business. When it's time to hang out and have a little fun, they do that here. That's what you love about it, being able to separate the two."
San Diego remains something of a mystery to him, however.
"I haven't been to the beach once, haven't been to the zoo, haven't been to Sea World," he said.
Texas humidity, a far cry from the breezy comfort the Chargers have enjoyed this training camp, along with what Crayton calls "genuine Southern hospitality" will not be the only reminders that he's back home. Football-mad fans will give him another clue.
"There are movies made about football in Texas," he said. "Out on the West Coast, it's a little bit different. We have passionate fans. But I haven't seen a Chargers tattoo on anybody yet."
News & Notes
Browns safety Ward misses practice with tooth problem
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns starting safety T.J. Ward missed practice to visit the dentist because of a "crazy" tooth problem.
Ward showed up at the team's training facility Monday with a swollen face. Coach Pat Shurmur joked that it looked as if Ward had been punched. Shurmur did not know how long Ward, who led the team with 105 tackles as a rookie last season, would be out.
Running back Montario Hardesty took part in drills after being sidelined most of the past two weeks in his comeback from knee surgery. Hardesty does not if he'll be able to play Friday against Detroit.
Shurmur said tight end Ben Watson (hamstring) and linebacker Scott Fujita (thigh) were kept out for precautionary reasons. Also, Shurmur said offensive guard Billy Yates may retire. He made two starts in 2010.
-- Tom Withers
Browns pick up defensive back
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Cleveland Browns have been awarded defensive back Brett Johnson off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks. The club is thin in the secondary with rookie safety Eric Hagg scheduled for knee surgery Monday.
Johnson was signed as an undrafted free agent by Buffalo last season. He also spent time with Philadelphia and St. Louis but was released before the start of the regular season. He was signed to the Bills' practice squad on Dec. 22 and spent the rest of the season there.
The 6-foot-1, 194-pound Johnson played in college at California.
Maybe best to reel in the expectations right away. After all, McCoy may have a tough time topping his exhibition debut.
Looking poised and comfortable in Cleveland's new West Coast offense, McCoy outshined Super Bowl star Aaron Rodgers and was nearly flawless as the Browns beat the Green Bay Packers 27-17 on Saturday night, making Cleveland rookie coach Pat Shurmur a winner in his first NFL preseason game.
McCoy completed 9 of 10 passes for 135 yards, one touchdown and compiled a 152.1 passer's rating — just a few points shy of perfection. The Browns, who have spent the past decade in a frustrating search for a franchise quarterback to lead them back to respectability, are hoping McCoy, may finally answer their prayers.
He's off to a nice start.
"Pretty good," McCoy humbly said in assessing his performance. "We understand we have a long way to go."
No doubt. But for the first time in ages, the Browns, who have just one playoff appearance since 1999 and lost at least 10 games in seven of the last eight seasons, seem to be headed in the same direction. And, they're counting on McCoy to lead the way.
Needing to get up to speed on the complex offense during the off-season, McCoy sought advice from a West Coast master.
Brett Favre was happy to help.
As the league's labor lockout dragged on, McCoy went to Hattiesburg, Miss., and spent a few days with the three-time NFL MVP, who learned the West Coast system while playing for Browns president Mike Holmgren in Green Bay. McCoy gleaned all he could from the-retired-at-the-moment Favre, who won a Super Bowl with Holmgren in 1996.
"Since I couldn't get coached, it was a great opportunity to pick the brain of a guy who played in the system for 20 years," McCoy said through a team spokesman. "It was a chance for me to get a lot of questions answered. We worked on footwork, progressions, reads and things like that. It was definitely a positive trip."
McCoy is expected to offer more on the Favre visit Tuesday.
Shurmur was encouraged by McCoy's first outing in the passer friendly system the first-year coach brought from St. Louis, where he taught it to Rams quarterback Sam Bradford. Shurmur knows it can work, and is pleased with how quickly McCoy has picked it up in training camp.
"He was efficient," Shurmur said after Monday's practice. "He saw what was going on extremely well. He was pretty accurate with his throws and pretty solid with his decision making. But again, once you have what would be considered a solid performance, then it's all about consistency and he was right back on the stick this morning, getting better at some things."
McCoy will get a chance to build off his impressive debut on Friday, when the Browns host Detroit.
After dissecting the Packers, who were without star cornerback Charles Woodson and are currently thin in the secondary, McCoy was careful not to make too much of his strong game. He also made sure he spread the praise around to his teammates.
His night didn't start well.
On Cleveland's first snap, McCoy couldn't find an open receiver, and in a panic, lateralled to rookie fullback Owen Marecic, who recovered his fumble. McCoy regrouped and completed five straight passes, the last a 27-yard TD strike to Josh Cribbs.
When he came to the sideline, McCoy acknowledged his early mistake to Shurmur.
"He said, 'Coach, I should of just ran with it,'" Shurmur said. "He knows what he's looking at. As we get more and more comfortable with one another, as he gets more and more comfortable with his players and the system, I hope he will progress next week."
As for his progress during the game, McCoy showed he's able to make the Xs and Os in Shurmur's playbook spring to life.
On a crossing pattern to wide receiver Brian Robiskie, McCoy looked off the safety to the right, creating a slim opening over the middle. He waited for Robiskie to clear the coverage and threw him a low dart for a 15-yard reception.
"One of my favorite plays of the night is Robo," he said of the play to Robiskie. "We run a little play-action deep slant. Normally, you hit that ball in the first window but they rolled the safety down and Robo converted over the top and I hit him in the second window. It was a nice job by him of staying alive. There were some good things, there really were."
McCoy certainly made a strong impression on the Packers.
"You can tell he definitely studied us some," nose tackle B.J. Raji said. "They did some things as far as getting him on the move and rollouts and quick West Coast stuff to get his confidence up there. And he did a good job and made the right decisions."
Raji believes McCoy has all the skills to win as a pro.
"An NFL quarterback's all about winning, and if memory serves me correctly, he was the winningest quarterback in NCAA history," he said. "The guy can play, he can win games, he knows what it takes. He has a bright future, there's no question about that."
The Browns are counting on it.
Notes: RB Montario Hardesty participated in contact drills for the first time in more than two weeks. The Browns have been taking it slow with the second-year back, who is coming back from knee surgery. "It was fun to get back in football mode again," Hardesty said. Shurmur wouldn't commit on Hardesty facing the Lions. ... The Browns placed OG Billy Yates on the reserve/retired list. The versatile nine-year veteran showed up Monday and told a surprised Shurmur he was done. Yates started three games last season. He does not count towards the club's 90-man roster limit. ... Safety T.J. Ward didn't practice because of an issue with his tooth. "If you didn't know better, you would have thought he got punched in the chin," said Shurmur, noting Ward's face was swollen. ... WR Mohamed Massaquoi is finally out of the walking boot. Massaquoi hasn't practiced because of a leg injury, but he's getting closer. ... LBs Scott Fujita (thigh), Chris Gocong (neck), TE Ben Watson and S Usama Young didn't practice. ... Former Packers general manager Ron Wolf visited Holmgren.
Steelers C Pouncey makes quick rise to line leader
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) — With all the injuries, position battles and chaos of shuffling players around the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line, the team considers itself fortunate to have a stable Pro Bowl anchor in the middle.
Even if this pillar of stability is only three weeks removed from his 22nd birthday.
Taken with the 18th pick of last year's draft, Maurkice Pouncey so impressed the Steelers early during training camp of his rookie year that he won the starting job at center. Almost immediately, Pouncey developed into one of the best of the league at his position.
Forget the sophomore slump, his teammates say. Still the second-youngest of the 90 players in Pittsburgh's camp, Pouncey has gone from 20-year-old draftee to respected, reliable team leader in a matter of 16 months.
"He's the spark on our offensive line," guard/center Doug Legursky said. "He's going to lead us."
He's being depended on to do just that for a unit that will have different starters at three of the four other positions from last season's Super Bowl team.
"There's a lot of pressure on me this year," Pouncey said, "so I'm ready for it. We've got some older guys, but I definitely want to be part of the anchor of the offensive line and contribute my part."
A three-year starter before leaving school after his junior year at Florida — his twin brother, Mike, was a first-round pick of the Dolphins this year — Pouncey appears to be the next in the line of great Pittsburgh centers.
The Steelers had just four starting centers between 1964-2006. Three were selected to multiple Pro Bowls, Mike Webster is already in the Hall of Fame and Dermonti Dawson has been a finalist for induction.
Yes, it's only been one full season. But Pouncey is giving the Steelers reason to believe he can join that lineage after being the best lineman, at age 21, on a team that won the AFC championship. The only down note from last season, is that Pouncey did not play in the Super Bowl due to a high ankle sprain.
"He's incredible," said Rashard Mendenhall, who was fifth in the AFC in rushing yards and tied for second in rushing touchdowns running behind Pouncey last season. "Maurkice is just a very smart player, very athletic, and he's just a dog. He's not going to back down from anything. You see that everyday when you watch film, you see it everyday in practice."
Pouncey's tenacity has helped endear him to his teammates, more than one of whom affectionately uses the word "nasty" to describe his demeanor on the field. Already this preseason, the young center rushed to the defense of a teammate who was on the wrong end of some jawing by a Washington Redskin on Friday.
Two days later, during an afternoon practice at St. Vincent College, Pouncey stepped in between a scuffle involving Jonathan Scott and Cameron Heyward.
Such an attitude is in stark contrast to the easy-going, quiet persona Pouncey has off the field. He might be developing into a fiery leader for a traditional powerhouse. But, in reality, he's still a smiling, happy-go-lucky college-aged kid.
"You catch yourself sometimes looking at him going, 'Wow, he's 21,'" Pittsburgh offensive line coach Sean Kugler said. "When you're talking football with Maurkice sometimes, it's like he's a 30-year-old. And then when you start talking things off the football field, it's then you realize, 'Yeah, he's 21.'
"A great kid, mature football-wise beyond what he is right now."
Considering Pittsburgh cut the two most senior members of its offensive line from last season, they're going to need some of that Pouncey maturity.
Max Starks started the first seven games of 2010 at left tackle before sustaining a neck injury that ended his season. Flozell Adams started all season at right tackle. Both were released last month.
Scott assumed Starks' spot and is the presumptive left tackle this season. Willie Colon, who started from 2007-09 but missed all of last season due to an Achilles injury, returns to his starting right tackle job.
Due to injury and competition, the guard spots have been even more in flux. Chris Kemoeatu, a four-year starter at left guard, was just activated from the physically unable to perform list on Sunday and still has not performed through a full practice.
No fewer than four players have seen time with the first team at right guard. Ramon Foster ended last season as the starter at the position, but he was limited early in camp due to a concussion. Legursky started four games there last season, and also was a capable fill-in at center when Pouncey was out. Chris Scott started at right guard Friday in Washington, but his performance was such that fourth-year pro Tony Hills has been working with the first team at the position these past two days.
"We know there's an open job out there and we're just competing for it," Foster said. "When you have competition, guys seem to get better. So, maybe it won't be a musical chair thing next year."
Chiefs' Wiegmann to extend consecutive snap streak
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Not playing in the Kansas City Chiefs' preseason opener didn't count against Casey Wiegmann's streak. Still, the 38-year-old center probably didn't care much for remaining on the sidelines during the 25-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night.
Wiegmann was lured back to Kansas City for one more season by coach Todd Haley, and he admitted one of the reasons was his streak of 9,078 consecutive snaps — in games that count, at least. Wiegmann has started 159 of 160 possible regular-season games since 2001, when he arrived in Kansas City from Chicago.
"It's just a streak," said Wiegmann, who also played two seasons in Denver. "I take pride in it, but it's just a number."
Wiegmann and Haley worked together early in the NFL career with the Jets, when Wiegmann — an undrafted free agent from Iowa — was attempting to find a place in the league. He was considered undersized at 6-foot-2, 285 pounds, but Haley believed in him and that has stuck with Wiegmann through 15 seasons.
"There's nobody more excited about Casey's decision to come back and continuing to be a part of what he was such a big part of last year," Haley said. "This guy's a phenom. He's a phenom. You don't do what he's done for as long as he's done it by accident."
Over his career, Wiegmann has put together a consecutive snaps streak that would make any lineman jealous. He's not left any game regardless of score or outcome, even though coaches have tried to rest him late in the season. Wiegmann's run appeared to be in jeopardy last year before he came into training camp and beat out a much younger Rudy Niswanger for the starting job.
The Chiefs made it a priority to bring Wiegmann back this season, while Niswanger signed with Detroit.
"He was already an old-timer when I was a rookie. He's one of the wonders of the world," said Chiefs guard Ryan Lilja, entering his seventh NFL season and second with Kansas City.
Wiegmann will continue to hold the top spot on the depth chart, delivering the ball to quarterback Matt Cassel like clockwork.
Consider it a courtesy to the veteran, who is almost certainly in his final go-round.
Wiegmann brings a veteran presence to a youthful offensive line, and his leadership has become even more important after the Chiefs let veteran guard Brian Waters go. Second-year guard Jon Asamoah will likely start at guard, and backup center Rodney Hudson needs to learn the trade before he's ready to start.
Who better to learn from in the middle of the line than Wiegmann?
"He wrote the book on how to have a great career," Haley said. "So I'd be trying to do most of the things he's doing."
Haggan back at linebacker, tutoring rookies
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Mario Haggan's role this year is part mentor, part tormenter.
The versatile ninth-year pro opened the Broncos' training camp at defensive end as new coach John Fox reinstalled the 4-3 scheme that Josh McDaniels had ditched during his short stint in Denver.
Within a week, though, the Broncos had signed former first-round pick Derrick Harvey to serve as a swing backup defensive end to Robert Ayers and Elvis Dumervil.
That sent Haggan back to linebacker, where he's tutoring rookie Von Miller at his natural strongside position and rookie Nate Irving on the inside.
Haggan has started all 16 games during his two seasons in Denver after spending five years in Buffalo as a special teamer. In 2009, he was the left outside linebacker and in 2010 he was the right inside linebacker.
So, it's no surprise that the rookies are picking his brain.
"Once in the NFL, you're here for a reason and you got physical ability. The rest is knowing the game," Haggan said. "And it's not just about knowing the plays, it's about knowing what other people are doing and just slowing the game down. Everybody pushes upon knowing your own defensive plays. It's more than that. It's about knowing what's coming, how you're being attacked. And so those are the things that young guys have to learn."
Haggan remembers when he was in their cleats and seeking the sage advice of the veterans, hoping they'd share their knowledge and not shut him out.
"I had two of the best veterans ever in Takeo Spikes and London Fletcher," Haggan said. "I mean, I got drafted in Buffalo, third round, they showed me how to stay, they showed me how to play the game. They showed me how to look for different things. And right now we're the best of friends and we still talk about different things. They're a big impression on me still."
So, Haggan is the go-to guy in the linebacker meeting room even though Miller is already starting ahead of him on the strong side and a bulked-up Joe Mays is the starting middle linebacker.
"And my thing is, if I can help them, I'll help them," Haggan said. "I'm not one of those guys (who won't help), even if he is at my position and I have to take a back seat to him, I'm going to do whatever I can to make him successful."
Haggan plans to get plenty of snaps himself. After all, he was Denver's most productive defender last season, setting career highs with 75 tackles and five sacks.
But if his role ultimately is to back up everyone and give advice on the side, then so be it.
"I personally feel that I'm a good football player and if a guy beats me out, he's going to have to work pretty damn hard to get it, so he deserves it," Haggan said. "And if he's in front of me, he'd better be a pretty damn good football player, too, because I'm going to make him work."
Haggan took Miller under his wing from the moment the Broncos selected the powerful pass-rusher out of Texas A&M with the second overall pick in the draft. They got to know each other while training together in Dallas during the lockout.
"He's more than just a football player. He has a great family," Miller said. "That's something I want to have in the future. He's an awesome husband, awesome father, he's somebody who I can get some points from. So, it's just bigger than football. He's an amazing dude."
Miller was thrilled when Haggan was moved back to linebacker.
"It's good to have a dude that I can see do it first, because it's all new," Miller said.
Haggan couldn't hide his smile over the switch, either.
"I'm definitely in love with being a linebacker. That's what I've played my whole life and that's what I've been playing my whole career in the NFL," Haggan said. "Personally, they see I have the ability to do different things and if they ask me to do different things, then that's what I'm going to do."
Haggan prepared during the lockout for the switch to defensive end but he never strayed far from his linebacker roots. In addition to muscling up in the weight room, he worked on agility drills on the football field to maintain his speed and quickness.
"I actually prepared for both," Haggan said. "It made my work double-time. I figured once I got here, at some point they would ask me to play linebacker. That opportunity has come faster than I thought.
"I never gave up on it. I was going to always put my heart into defensive end if that's where I was going to be, but now that I'm back at linebacker, I'm going to put my heart back there. And my goal is to be coming out of that tunnel on Sunday with the first 11."
And if he's not a starter, he'll gladly serve as a tutor.
-- Arnie Stapleton
Things get testy at Broncos training camp
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — The Denver Broncos lost two defensive tackles to injury Monday and their rookie safety got into a brief fight with Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Lloyd.
The severity of the injuries to Ty Warren (arm) and Marcus Thomas (chest) were unknown.
"Hopefully, it's not serious," coach John Fox said.
Warren, who spent all of last season on injured reserve with a hip injury, signed an $8 million, two-year deal with Denver following his release from New England last month. He's one of three former first-rounders — the others are Brodrick Bunkley and Derrick Harvey — that the Broncos brought in to augment their defensive line.
Neither Rahim Moore nor Lloyd were hurt during their fisticuffs, one of three skirmishes Monday.
Fox said he wasn't surprised things got heated on a hot day with camp winding down.
"This game is a tough game, physical game and when you're banging on each other every day it can get chippy," Fox said. "So, it's pretty typical of camp this time of year."
But it's not every day you see a rookie stand up to a Pro Bowler like this.
Lloyd politely declined to discuss the altercation after practice and Moore, a second-round draft pick from UCLA who already has grabbed the starting free safety job opposite Brian Dawkins, said Lloyd felt he cut him off in the end zone on a fade pass that fell incomplete.
"He decided I did something wrong and I didn't think I did," Moore said. "He shoved me. I shoved him back."
On the next play, Kyle Orton hit Lloyd for a short touchdown pass with Moore in coverage.
Moore said he and Lloyd talked things over a minute later and resolved their differences.
"So, it's all love," Moore said.
Denver's defensive coaching staff had to like Moore's moxie.
"I have nothing against Brandon, but I take flack from nobody," Moore said. "This is a physical game. So, if I let him push me, everybody would say, 'Oh, Rahim let him push him.' It's just the competitive nature that I have. It's like if he beat me on a touchdown, I'm going to try to pick the ball off the next time. If he pushed me, I'm going to push him back.
"But at the end of the day, we're family."
Moore said Lloyd has given him tips about covering NFL receivers and he expects those lines of communication to remain open even after their disagreement.
"He has been a mentor to me, so it's all good," Moore said. "Tomorrow we're going to get back at it and work hard and get each other better."
NOTES: The Broncos waived DT Louis Leonard and LB Derek Domino. ... Rookie MLB Nate Irving returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for the preseason opener and grabbed an interception. ... WR Eddie Royal (hip), also returned to action Monday. "I felt good out there," he said. "Running around, my routes felt good. The rhythm and timing were there, so it was a good day."
-- Arnie Stapleton
Raiders rookie CB gets rude introduction to NFL
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — DeMarcus Van Dyke got quite the introduction to the NFL. The rookie cornerback from Miami was lined up against Arizona superstar receiver Larry Fitzgerald on his first series of his exhibition debut and the Cardinals went right at him.
Van Dyke allowed a long completion to Fitzgerald on the first pass his way even though he did have tight coverage. He stayed with the five-time Pro Bowler on the next deep pass, leading to an incompletion.
But the debut got progressively worse after that with Van Dyke allowing an 18-yard touchdown to Stephen Williams late in the first half and several other completions to Arizona's less accomplished receivers.
"As a DB, you've got to have amnesia," Van Dyke said. "You get beat one time, you can't let it keep building, that feeling. They got me. They're not going to beat me again.
The Raiders are hoping for much steadier play this season from Van Dyke, a third-round pick out in April who could get plenty of opportunities to play against multiple receiver packages this season.
Van Dyke started just three games at Miami as a senior but blossomed at the NFL combine, where he ran a 4.25 40-yard dash. Along with the sprinter speed that made him so attractive to the Raiders, coach Hue Jackson has praised his loose hips, 6-foot-1 size and makeup as attributes that should help in man coverage.
"When I talk to the young man, there is no fear in him at all," Jackson said. "Fitzgerald makes those plays on everybody. I've seen him make them on the best in this league. He made one on that young man. But the young man came back and stayed with him the next time and that's what this is all about."
Van Dyke received encouragement after the game from fellow former Miami cornerbacks Antrel Rolle and Sam Shields, veterans who have been through the rough transition from college to the pros.
That only got harder when Van Dyke saw himself lined up against Fitzgerald as soon as he got on the field. He stayed with Fitzgerald stride for stride on the first pass but was outmaneuvered for the ball at the end, giving the Cardinals a 43-yard gain.
"It's a pretty good way to go out there and judge yourself on a guy of his caliber and see what I can get better at," he said. "I just have to finish on plays, that's about it."
Van Dyke gets to learn the trade from a pair of Hall of Famers in assistant coaches Willie Brown and Rod Woodson. Woodson, in his first year as a coach, compares Van Dyke to one of his former teammates in Baltimore, Duane Starks, and expects big things from his young player.
"He's going to be good. It's the little things that he has to work on," Woodson said. "He has to learn how to finish. He's still learning the little things about playing corner in this league, playing the different coverages, when to do certain things, when not to do certain things. But if he keeps progressing in the positive manner like he has in the first week or so, he'll be a decent player."
The question for the Raiders is how long that process will take. With All Pro Nnamdi Asomugha gone to Philadelphia in free agency, the Raiders have no experienced cornerback behind starters Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson.
Oakland drafted a pair of cornerbacks a year ago in Walter McFadden and Jeremy Ware, who both struggled in limited time as rookies and have been victimized in training camp and in the exhibition opener. The Raiders also drafted Ohio State cornerback Chimdi Chekwa in the fourth round in April, but he has not been able to practice much this summer because of a shoulder injury.
Arizona quarterbacks combined to go 17-for-27 for 297 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions at a 137.4 passer rating once the starting cornerbacks sat after the first series.
"It's so blown out of proportion," Routt said. "They're young. People are going to make mistakes. It's preseason. Everybody wants to act like if you do bad in one preseason game, you should be crucified or whatever. It is what it is, the first preseason game. We got three more. Mistakes happen. Veterans make mistakes."
The Raiders did add some help in the secondary at safety, signing Josh Bullocks and Matt Giordano. Oakland needed to make the moves with backups Hiram Eugene (dislocated hip) and Zac Etheridge (knee) getting hurt in the exhibition opener and Stevie Brown injuring his ankle at practice Sunday.
Bullocks, a second-round pick by New Orleans in 2005, has six interceptions, 27 passes defensed and four forced fumbles in 90 career games with the Saints and Chicago Bears.
Giordano, a fourth-round pick by Indianapolis in 2005 out of California, had three interceptions in 55 games for the Colts from 2005-08. He played as a reserve the past two seasons with Green Bay and New Orleans.
Notes: Jackson gave many of the players age 30 and over a day off from practice. ... The Raiders will take Tuesday off before returning to practice Wednesday.
-- Josh Dubow
Crayton happy in San Diego
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The moment Patrick Crayton was asked about Dallas, a big smile appeared on his face.
"I'm definitely ready," the Chargers receiver said. "I can't wait until Wednesday."
Crayton played six years for the Cowboys and still lives near Dallas, where he grew up. Despite asking for his release twice in 2010, he has fond memories of his time with the Cowboys, an 82-game stint, before being traded to San Diego 10 days before the opener last year.
He'll get a chance to face them this weekend. The Chargers fly Wednesday to the Dallas area, where they'll practice with the Cowboys before playing them Sunday night.
"It was a wonderful experience," Crayton said. "Made a bunch of friends. They'll be lifelong friends. Loved the fans. It's home, so it was a dream to play at home."
But it will be Chargers garb that Crayton's wife and two sons wear in Texas, not the silver-and-blue apparel that Crayton favored as a boy.
Nor will Crayton root for the Cowboys this year, although he will pull for several of his pals on the team.
He has found a new home with the Chargers, averaging 18.4 yards per catch last year before a dislocated wrist ended his season in the 10th game.
"Everything about Dallas was great, but so was coming out here," Crayton said.
The Chargers acquired him for a seventh-round draft pick, also the round in which Dallas drafted him in 2004.
Crayton requested his release after the Cowboys drafted receiver Dez Bryant in the first round.
"Dez Bryant, that was almost like the icing on the cake," Crayton said after a recent practice. "A lot of people think it was just that, but there were other issues. There was other stuff that led up to that, where we almost tried (to get a release) before that."
He declined to elaborate but said it wasn't easy to ask out, which his agent did again shortly before the trade. He hadn't caught a pass in the preseason.
"I would have loved to have played the rest of my career there," he said. "But sometimes things run their course. At that point, it was time to move on."
He wrist injury, sustained when he landed in the end zone while scoring a touch down, is healed.
He is in sync with quarterback Philip Rivers and the offense of coach Norv Turner, which is similar to the Cowboys offense of coach Jason Garrett, a quarterback under Turner with Dallas in 1993.
As Turner saw more of Crayton, he found ways to accentuate the 6-foot 205-pound receiver.
"I love the slot," Crayton said, "because I love working the middle and the underneath stuff."
Crayton has found the team's culture hospitable, too, impressed that the Chargers is made up of several veterans.
"We almost have a few more leaders in this locker room, which helps," he said. "When it's time for business, it's time for business. When it's time to hang out and have a little fun, they do that here. That's what you love about it, being able to separate the two."
San Diego remains something of a mystery to him, however.
"I haven't been to the beach once, haven't been to the zoo, haven't been to Sea World," he said.
Texas humidity, a far cry from the breezy comfort the Chargers have enjoyed this training camp, along with what Crayton calls "genuine Southern hospitality" will not be the only reminders that he's back home. Football-mad fans will give him another clue.
"There are movies made about football in Texas," he said. "Out on the West Coast, it's a little bit different. We have passionate fans. But I haven't seen a Chargers tattoo on anybody yet."
News & Notes
Browns safety Ward misses practice with tooth problem
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns starting safety T.J. Ward missed practice to visit the dentist because of a "crazy" tooth problem.
Ward showed up at the team's training facility Monday with a swollen face. Coach Pat Shurmur joked that it looked as if Ward had been punched. Shurmur did not know how long Ward, who led the team with 105 tackles as a rookie last season, would be out.
Running back Montario Hardesty took part in drills after being sidelined most of the past two weeks in his comeback from knee surgery. Hardesty does not if he'll be able to play Friday against Detroit.
Shurmur said tight end Ben Watson (hamstring) and linebacker Scott Fujita (thigh) were kept out for precautionary reasons. Also, Shurmur said offensive guard Billy Yates may retire. He made two starts in 2010.
-- Tom Withers
Browns pick up defensive back
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Cleveland Browns have been awarded defensive back Brett Johnson off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks. The club is thin in the secondary with rookie safety Eric Hagg scheduled for knee surgery Monday.
Johnson was signed as an undrafted free agent by Buffalo last season. He also spent time with Philadelphia and St. Louis but was released before the start of the regular season. He was signed to the Bills' practice squad on Dec. 22 and spent the rest of the season there.
The 6-foot-1, 194-pound Johnson played in college at California.
2011年8月15日星期一
Chiefs sticking to the plan: play it safe
NFL NOTEBOOK
Chiefs back to work after preseason stinker: Kansas City coach Todd Haley is sticking with his plan after a 25-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs on Saturday.
"I feel really good about our plan," Haley maintained, when asked Sunday whether he regretted the almost overly cautious approach the Chiefs have taken through the first two weeks of training camp.
The number of legit tackles during practice, so far, could be counted on two hands.
"I said it after the game, it's the first one, not the last one, and I'm going all the way to the last one of the season," Haley said. "I feel good about what we're doing."
Former Oklahoma Sooner and 10-year NFL vet Kelly Gregg said the team is just worried about the Chiefs.
"We didn't game-plan for Tampa Bay," he said. "We're just approaching everything as training camp. Coach Haley has a plan and that's what we're doing." Part of that plan was to limit the touches for the Chiefs' top offensive players.
Quarterback Matt Cassel played three series, one of which went three-and-out, and the other two resulting in fumbles. Running back Jamaal Charles didn't carry the ball, top wide receiver Dwayne Bowe didn't make a catch, and the offense managed a measly 137 yards.
Giants DE Umenyiora ends stalemate, will practice: A somewhat miffed Osi Umenyiora is returning to the New York Giants without a new contract.
In an email to The Associated Press on Sunday evening, the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end said he plans to practice on Monday at training camp, and that he will play this season under the terms of his current contract.
Umenyiora said the Giants offered to put incentives in his contract, which will pay him $7.1 million over the next two seasons, but he rejected them.
"No deal has been reworked," Umenyiora told the AP. "What has been offered has been unacceptable and shows they don't really respect the fact I sacrifice my health for the franchise. I will play under my current deal because I love and respect my coaches, my teammates, the fans, and myself. Not for those incentives."
Umenyiora didn't say how much money the team offered in incentives.The nine-year NFL veteran hasn't practiced since reporting to training camp on July 30, a day late.
Colts backup QBs struggle in loss to Rams: Colts coach Jim Caldwell isn't worried about his backup quarterbacks, despite their struggles in the preseason opener against the St. Louis Rams.
With Peyton Manning out because of a neck injury, reserves Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky got the early action. They combined to complete 7 of 16 passes with three interceptions in the 33-10 loss on Saturday.
Painter threw an interception on his first possession before leading the Colts to a field goal on the next one. Orlovsky threw two interceptions, but he also completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Taj Smith in the third quarter.
"We're going to be patient," Caldwell said. "We're going to develop and keep working with them. I think in both cases, it's too early to make an assessment."
Chiefs back to work after preseason stinker: Kansas City coach Todd Haley is sticking with his plan after a 25-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Bucs on Saturday.
"I feel really good about our plan," Haley maintained, when asked Sunday whether he regretted the almost overly cautious approach the Chiefs have taken through the first two weeks of training camp.
The number of legit tackles during practice, so far, could be counted on two hands.
"I said it after the game, it's the first one, not the last one, and I'm going all the way to the last one of the season," Haley said. "I feel good about what we're doing."
Former Oklahoma Sooner and 10-year NFL vet Kelly Gregg said the team is just worried about the Chiefs.
"We didn't game-plan for Tampa Bay," he said. "We're just approaching everything as training camp. Coach Haley has a plan and that's what we're doing." Part of that plan was to limit the touches for the Chiefs' top offensive players.
Quarterback Matt Cassel played three series, one of which went three-and-out, and the other two resulting in fumbles. Running back Jamaal Charles didn't carry the ball, top wide receiver Dwayne Bowe didn't make a catch, and the offense managed a measly 137 yards.
Giants DE Umenyiora ends stalemate, will practice: A somewhat miffed Osi Umenyiora is returning to the New York Giants without a new contract.
In an email to The Associated Press on Sunday evening, the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end said he plans to practice on Monday at training camp, and that he will play this season under the terms of his current contract.
Umenyiora said the Giants offered to put incentives in his contract, which will pay him $7.1 million over the next two seasons, but he rejected them.
"No deal has been reworked," Umenyiora told the AP. "What has been offered has been unacceptable and shows they don't really respect the fact I sacrifice my health for the franchise. I will play under my current deal because I love and respect my coaches, my teammates, the fans, and myself. Not for those incentives."
Umenyiora didn't say how much money the team offered in incentives.The nine-year NFL veteran hasn't practiced since reporting to training camp on July 30, a day late.
Colts backup QBs struggle in loss to Rams: Colts coach Jim Caldwell isn't worried about his backup quarterbacks, despite their struggles in the preseason opener against the St. Louis Rams.
With Peyton Manning out because of a neck injury, reserves Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky got the early action. They combined to complete 7 of 16 passes with three interceptions in the 33-10 loss on Saturday.
Painter threw an interception on his first possession before leading the Colts to a field goal on the next one. Orlovsky threw two interceptions, but he also completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Taj Smith in the third quarter.
"We're going to be patient," Caldwell said. "We're going to develop and keep working with them. I think in both cases, it's too early to make an assessment."
2011年8月12日星期五
Rout doesn't mean much, but it shows promise
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --
The Bucs began their preseason with a methodical romp Friday night over the Kansas City Chiefs, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.
Sorry, force of habit.
There is no more lockout — just the unleashed melody of what could be for these 2011 Buccaneers.
Friday's final: 25-0.
Forget it, we already checked: they hand out the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.
Still, for starters, for practice, does it get any better than the new middle linebacker, rookie Mason Foster, coming up with a fumble in his first series in any sort of NFL game, or the same old (young) Josh Freeman scrambling for a touchdown two plays later, or a gang sack for safety for a 15-0 halftime lead?
Ah, August.
Throw in a Sabby Piscitelli sighting — but on the other team (overall, a comforting feeling).
Last season will be a tough act to follow, that stunning 10-6 turnaround season, though the tough act didn't result in any playoff games. Schedules change, expectations change, everything changes when people are on to you.
That's these Bucs.
Friday night, they didn't play any number of who they're counting on this season, from Kellen Winslow to Arrelious Benn to Gerald McCoy to Aqib Talib and so on and so on, injuries, rest, etc. It didn't matter. They romped.
Ah, August.
But there was Freeman (9-of-13, 73 yards) and there was LeGarrette Blount and there was hope, again, the idea that maybe 10-6 was just the start. And there was Foster, who is trying to replace Barrett Rudd, which I don't think will be that easy, making a third-down stop on a Chiefs runner to force a punt.
Raheem Morris remains the NFL's youngest head coach, and his team remains the youngest, too. It's nearly ridiculous: only three players over the age of 30, and 74 of 90 players in training camp 25 or younger, though the numbers are slightly skewed by those six 9-year-olds getting a look on special teams. Note: Three of them haven't passed the conditioning test yet.
Freeman led the offense to 13 first-half points, his TD run and two shouldn't-have-stalled drives that turned to field goals. The real answers lay down the road.
But you look at this offense and wonder what can stop Freeman, Blount and Mike Williams. You wonder if Benn can pick up where he left off. You wonder if Dezmon Briscoe, who had some very nice moments Friday, is ready to join the group, too. You wonder if the offensive line will carry the day, or at least hold up.
Maybe the defense will begin to catch up with the offense. The D made some splash plays in the first half: Foster's recovery, or Al Woods forcing a fumble that Sean Jones recovered, or that safety, the combined work of Dekoda Watson and Michael Bennett, with Bennett showing no signs that he intends to cede the job of starting left end to rookie Da'Quan Bowers
"We have some high expectations for this young unit, but it's encouraging, the way we played in the first half," said Ronde Barber, who also made a tackle for loss in the Chiefs' first series. Young unit that.
Still, you wonder if the Bucs can build a pass rush this season from two rookie ends, Adrian Clayborn (who made a play or two Friday) and Bowers, and second-year tackles McCoy and Brian Price, and that's in front of a rookie middle linebacker. It's a daring concept.
They're so young, and already they play so hard for Morris. But follow-up years are never easy. It's about building. It's about continuing to grow. This team could be better than last year's team and not have as good a record.
It's entirely possible. Then again, so is the moon.
The Bucs began their preseason with a methodical romp Friday night over the Kansas City Chiefs, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.
Sorry, force of habit.
There is no more lockout — just the unleashed melody of what could be for these 2011 Buccaneers.
Friday's final: 25-0.
Forget it, we already checked: they hand out the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season.
Still, for starters, for practice, does it get any better than the new middle linebacker, rookie Mason Foster, coming up with a fumble in his first series in any sort of NFL game, or the same old (young) Josh Freeman scrambling for a touchdown two plays later, or a gang sack for safety for a 15-0 halftime lead?
Ah, August.
Throw in a Sabby Piscitelli sighting — but on the other team (overall, a comforting feeling).
Last season will be a tough act to follow, that stunning 10-6 turnaround season, though the tough act didn't result in any playoff games. Schedules change, expectations change, everything changes when people are on to you.
That's these Bucs.
Friday night, they didn't play any number of who they're counting on this season, from Kellen Winslow to Arrelious Benn to Gerald McCoy to Aqib Talib and so on and so on, injuries, rest, etc. It didn't matter. They romped.
Ah, August.
But there was Freeman (9-of-13, 73 yards) and there was LeGarrette Blount and there was hope, again, the idea that maybe 10-6 was just the start. And there was Foster, who is trying to replace Barrett Rudd, which I don't think will be that easy, making a third-down stop on a Chiefs runner to force a punt.
Raheem Morris remains the NFL's youngest head coach, and his team remains the youngest, too. It's nearly ridiculous: only three players over the age of 30, and 74 of 90 players in training camp 25 or younger, though the numbers are slightly skewed by those six 9-year-olds getting a look on special teams. Note: Three of them haven't passed the conditioning test yet.
Freeman led the offense to 13 first-half points, his TD run and two shouldn't-have-stalled drives that turned to field goals. The real answers lay down the road.
But you look at this offense and wonder what can stop Freeman, Blount and Mike Williams. You wonder if Benn can pick up where he left off. You wonder if Dezmon Briscoe, who had some very nice moments Friday, is ready to join the group, too. You wonder if the offensive line will carry the day, or at least hold up.
Maybe the defense will begin to catch up with the offense. The D made some splash plays in the first half: Foster's recovery, or Al Woods forcing a fumble that Sean Jones recovered, or that safety, the combined work of Dekoda Watson and Michael Bennett, with Bennett showing no signs that he intends to cede the job of starting left end to rookie Da'Quan Bowers
"We have some high expectations for this young unit, but it's encouraging, the way we played in the first half," said Ronde Barber, who also made a tackle for loss in the Chiefs' first series. Young unit that.
Still, you wonder if the Bucs can build a pass rush this season from two rookie ends, Adrian Clayborn (who made a play or two Friday) and Bowers, and second-year tackles McCoy and Brian Price, and that's in front of a rookie middle linebacker. It's a daring concept.
They're so young, and already they play so hard for Morris. But follow-up years are never easy. It's about building. It's about continuing to grow. This team could be better than last year's team and not have as good a record.
It's entirely possible. Then again, so is the moon.
Former QB turns heads at tackle for OU
NORMAN - There aren't many human beings who cast an impression on someone as large as Tyler Evans.
Oklahoma's junior offensive lineman is 6-foot-5, 316 pounds, and, being a country boy from rural Missouri, he looks bigger.
But even Evans was struck when he met Lane Johnson.
"I'm like, 'Good night!' " Evans says. " 'Big quarterback.' "
That was three years ago, when Johnson weighed a paltry 250 pounds and had come to OU as a junior college quarterback from Kilgore (Texas) College. Now the 6-foot-7 Johnson clears the 300-pound mark as an up-and-coming offensive lineman.
"He's a freak," said sophomore guard Gabe Ikard. "He did it and got super strong and is still like 18 percent body fat at 305 pounds. He's pretty ridiculous."
Johnson's coach, Bruce Kittle, said this week the fourth-year junior is pushing for the starting job at left tackle. As the protector of quarterback Landry Jones' blind side, the left tackle position is arguably the most important in football.
"He's certainly big and thick enough," Kittle said. "He still runs a (40-yard dash in) 4.8 (seconds), he's 6-6 1/2 and moves really well for us."
Johnson never had any illusions of playing quarterback at OU. He came to Norman as a tight end and practiced there in 2009 while redshirting. Midway through 2010, he was switched to defensive end, where Bob Stoops said it appeared he had a bright future. Then last spring, he moved to offensive line. Now, he's alternating with returning starter Donald Stephenson as the Sooners' starting left tackle.
"Lane's doing really well," Kittle said. "Doing everything we've asked. Just hasn't had a lot of reps at that position with our zone reps and things like that. Every day he's getting better."
Johnson said he hasn't had to adjust his thinking to how the game is played - from the glory position of quarterback in high school in Groveton, Texas, and at Kilgore to the gruntwork position of offensive line - because he's always been a team player first.
"I was in Groveton. It was a small 1-A school," Johnson said. "There wasn't too much glory. You'd get your name in the paper, that's about it."
Johnson said he's just naturally big. If he eats, he gains weight. Sometimes, a lot of weight.
"I couldn't eat too much because every time I did ... my weight would go up," he said. "I kind of toned it down because coach Stoops came to me at the beginning of the spring and asked me if I wanted to play tackle. I was like, 'Nah.' So I definitely didn't eat. I stayed around 275 and played D-end."
He switched midway through spring practice, started eating normally and hitting the weights, and has put on 27 pounds.
Stoops noted that former Iowa teammate and Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowler John Alt was a tight end when he arrived in Iowa City, but moved to tackle, became a first-round draft pick and played there 13 years in the NFL.
"I love guys with that kind of range as long as they're tough and got a huge frame like that," Stoops said. "Yeah, either use him as a big tight end like we like to use, or he grows into a tackle."
Switching from tight end to O-line isn't anything new at OU. Ikard, now around 300, moved to guard after practicing as a 255-pound tight end during his redshirt year in 2009. Eric Mensik helped out in a pinch for the last two games of 2009, then gained 20 pounds and played right tackle full-time in 2010 and made first-team All-Big 12.
"I look up to him as a player," Johnson said.
Actually, everybody looks up to Johnson, both for his height and, at his position, his natural athletic ability.
"Donald's pretty athletic," Ikard said, "but when it comes to timing and testing all the combine stuff, the numbers (Johnson) puts up are pretty ridiculous.
"He's got all the physical talent and he's starting to absorb and understand the offense when it comes to running the ball and how we're identifying stuff. There's no reason he shouldn't be able to contribute a lot on Saturdays."
Kittle ticked off a handful of fine points that offensive linemen must master, but said Johnson is picking them up quickly.
"Aiming points, his footwork, blocking out, his pass (protection) is improving," Kittle said. "I feel like he's right on pace where he can help us."
"Aiming points, his footwork, blocking out, his pass (protection) is improving. I feel like he's right on pace where he can help us."
Oklahoma's junior offensive lineman is 6-foot-5, 316 pounds, and, being a country boy from rural Missouri, he looks bigger.
But even Evans was struck when he met Lane Johnson.
"I'm like, 'Good night!' " Evans says. " 'Big quarterback.' "
That was three years ago, when Johnson weighed a paltry 250 pounds and had come to OU as a junior college quarterback from Kilgore (Texas) College. Now the 6-foot-7 Johnson clears the 300-pound mark as an up-and-coming offensive lineman.
"He's a freak," said sophomore guard Gabe Ikard. "He did it and got super strong and is still like 18 percent body fat at 305 pounds. He's pretty ridiculous."
Johnson's coach, Bruce Kittle, said this week the fourth-year junior is pushing for the starting job at left tackle. As the protector of quarterback Landry Jones' blind side, the left tackle position is arguably the most important in football.
"He's certainly big and thick enough," Kittle said. "He still runs a (40-yard dash in) 4.8 (seconds), he's 6-6 1/2 and moves really well for us."
Johnson never had any illusions of playing quarterback at OU. He came to Norman as a tight end and practiced there in 2009 while redshirting. Midway through 2010, he was switched to defensive end, where Bob Stoops said it appeared he had a bright future. Then last spring, he moved to offensive line. Now, he's alternating with returning starter Donald Stephenson as the Sooners' starting left tackle.
"Lane's doing really well," Kittle said. "Doing everything we've asked. Just hasn't had a lot of reps at that position with our zone reps and things like that. Every day he's getting better."
Johnson said he hasn't had to adjust his thinking to how the game is played - from the glory position of quarterback in high school in Groveton, Texas, and at Kilgore to the gruntwork position of offensive line - because he's always been a team player first.
"I was in Groveton. It was a small 1-A school," Johnson said. "There wasn't too much glory. You'd get your name in the paper, that's about it."
Johnson said he's just naturally big. If he eats, he gains weight. Sometimes, a lot of weight.
"I couldn't eat too much because every time I did ... my weight would go up," he said. "I kind of toned it down because coach Stoops came to me at the beginning of the spring and asked me if I wanted to play tackle. I was like, 'Nah.' So I definitely didn't eat. I stayed around 275 and played D-end."
He switched midway through spring practice, started eating normally and hitting the weights, and has put on 27 pounds.
Stoops noted that former Iowa teammate and Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowler John Alt was a tight end when he arrived in Iowa City, but moved to tackle, became a first-round draft pick and played there 13 years in the NFL.
"I love guys with that kind of range as long as they're tough and got a huge frame like that," Stoops said. "Yeah, either use him as a big tight end like we like to use, or he grows into a tackle."
Switching from tight end to O-line isn't anything new at OU. Ikard, now around 300, moved to guard after practicing as a 255-pound tight end during his redshirt year in 2009. Eric Mensik helped out in a pinch for the last two games of 2009, then gained 20 pounds and played right tackle full-time in 2010 and made first-team All-Big 12.
"I look up to him as a player," Johnson said.
Actually, everybody looks up to Johnson, both for his height and, at his position, his natural athletic ability.
"Donald's pretty athletic," Ikard said, "but when it comes to timing and testing all the combine stuff, the numbers (Johnson) puts up are pretty ridiculous.
"He's got all the physical talent and he's starting to absorb and understand the offense when it comes to running the ball and how we're identifying stuff. There's no reason he shouldn't be able to contribute a lot on Saturdays."
Kittle ticked off a handful of fine points that offensive linemen must master, but said Johnson is picking them up quickly.
"Aiming points, his footwork, blocking out, his pass (protection) is improving," Kittle said. "I feel like he's right on pace where he can help us."
"Aiming points, his footwork, blocking out, his pass (protection) is improving. I feel like he's right on pace where he can help us."
2011年8月11日星期四
Pioli: Chiefs are making progress during odd camp
Associated Press
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- After the NFL lockout wiped away most of the offseason, resulting in a most unusual training camp, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli believes things are finally getting back to normal.
Just in time, too. Kansas City's first preseason game is Friday night.
"We're making progress," Pioli said after a walkthrough Wednesday morning. "It was an awkward start in terms of logistics and getting everyone organized and understanding what we could do, what we couldn't do, not having everybody at once at the beginning part. But it looks like we're finally into what appears to be a normal group."
That's especially good news to Pioli.
The entire offseason was condensed into just a couple days once the owners and players agreed on a new labor deal, so Pioli has been sequestered in his room trying to maneuver through free agency -- and the new rules governing it -- to bolster the defending AFC West champs any way he could.
Along with bringing back center Casey Wiegmann, Pioli reeled in former Cardinals wide receiver Steve Breaston to give quarterback Matt Cassel another option. Defensive end Wallace Gilberry and offensive lineman Barry Richardson signed free agent tenders, and former Chargers linebacker Brandon Siler came aboard.
Pioli then reached out to pluck defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and fullback Le'Ron McClain from the Baltimore Ravens, the team that sent the Chiefs packing in the first round of the playoffs. Then the Chiefs' GM made his most significant move by reaching terms on a five-year, $60 million contract with outside linebacker Tamba Hali.
"The priority is always to get players that are better," Pioli said, "or players that will improve our situation."
Pioli said he's not necessarily done making moves, though he acknowledged no one position group is due an overhaul. That includes the quarterback spot, where the two backups behind Cassel are fifth-round draft choice Ricky Stanzi and young journeyman Tyler Palko -- both almost entirely devoid of NFL experience.
"We're going to see good competition," Pioli said. "We have two good players competing really hard."
"There have been times I've been in this situation and I think there's been times where Todd's been in this situation," he added, "where sometimes it's a veteran, sometimes it's a young guy, and you figure it out. You get to a point if you're comfortable, you stick where you are. If you're not comfortable then you have to make a change."
The Chiefs aren't sure what to expect when they take the field at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday night with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the other sideline. After all, they haven't even had a scrimmage yet.
Haley has been positive in his assessment of the Chiefs just about every time he steps to the podium for his daily press briefing, though. And while he rarely gets into specifics, Haley did acknowledge that the bizarre start to the season has made it more difficult than usual to evaluate the players he puts on the field.
"Yesterday had the feel of a training camp practice, and we did that intentionally," he said. "We make decisions every day -- do we want to walk through out in the sun or inside? The quick answer is inside to get out of the heat, but we want the guys to get acclimated to the heat because we are going to have some early games that are hot. If you're ever robotic about it and set, 'This is how we're going to go about it,' you're going to miss something potentially."
Pioli said that's the key -- to not miss anything. That's why evaluation will continue through at least the first couple preseason games, and encompass everything from conditioning to attitude to the grasp of the playbook.
"I think what our coaching staff is doing in terms of altering workouts and not going too fast too hard on things, you don't get to see them play football as much," Pioli said. "So we're going to have to figure it out. The good news is, 31 other teams are in the same situation, so we have to figure it out. And we will."
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- After the NFL lockout wiped away most of the offseason, resulting in a most unusual training camp, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli believes things are finally getting back to normal.
Just in time, too. Kansas City's first preseason game is Friday night.
"We're making progress," Pioli said after a walkthrough Wednesday morning. "It was an awkward start in terms of logistics and getting everyone organized and understanding what we could do, what we couldn't do, not having everybody at once at the beginning part. But it looks like we're finally into what appears to be a normal group."
That's especially good news to Pioli.
The entire offseason was condensed into just a couple days once the owners and players agreed on a new labor deal, so Pioli has been sequestered in his room trying to maneuver through free agency -- and the new rules governing it -- to bolster the defending AFC West champs any way he could.
Along with bringing back center Casey Wiegmann, Pioli reeled in former Cardinals wide receiver Steve Breaston to give quarterback Matt Cassel another option. Defensive end Wallace Gilberry and offensive lineman Barry Richardson signed free agent tenders, and former Chargers linebacker Brandon Siler came aboard.
Pioli then reached out to pluck defensive tackle Kelly Gregg and fullback Le'Ron McClain from the Baltimore Ravens, the team that sent the Chiefs packing in the first round of the playoffs. Then the Chiefs' GM made his most significant move by reaching terms on a five-year, $60 million contract with outside linebacker Tamba Hali.
"The priority is always to get players that are better," Pioli said, "or players that will improve our situation."
Pioli said he's not necessarily done making moves, though he acknowledged no one position group is due an overhaul. That includes the quarterback spot, where the two backups behind Cassel are fifth-round draft choice Ricky Stanzi and young journeyman Tyler Palko -- both almost entirely devoid of NFL experience.
"We're going to see good competition," Pioli said. "We have two good players competing really hard."
"There have been times I've been in this situation and I think there's been times where Todd's been in this situation," he added, "where sometimes it's a veteran, sometimes it's a young guy, and you figure it out. You get to a point if you're comfortable, you stick where you are. If you're not comfortable then you have to make a change."
The Chiefs aren't sure what to expect when they take the field at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday night with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the other sideline. After all, they haven't even had a scrimmage yet.
Haley has been positive in his assessment of the Chiefs just about every time he steps to the podium for his daily press briefing, though. And while he rarely gets into specifics, Haley did acknowledge that the bizarre start to the season has made it more difficult than usual to evaluate the players he puts on the field.
"Yesterday had the feel of a training camp practice, and we did that intentionally," he said. "We make decisions every day -- do we want to walk through out in the sun or inside? The quick answer is inside to get out of the heat, but we want the guys to get acclimated to the heat because we are going to have some early games that are hot. If you're ever robotic about it and set, 'This is how we're going to go about it,' you're going to miss something potentially."
Pioli said that's the key -- to not miss anything. That's why evaluation will continue through at least the first couple preseason games, and encompass everything from conditioning to attitude to the grasp of the playbook.
"I think what our coaching staff is doing in terms of altering workouts and not going too fast too hard on things, you don't get to see them play football as much," Pioli said. "So we're going to have to figure it out. The good news is, 31 other teams are in the same situation, so we have to figure it out. And we will."
2011年8月10日星期三
Jags' Gabbert expected to start Thursday
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — David Garrard is out, Blaine Gabbert is in.
Jacksonville's quarterback situation got scrambled a bit Tuesday when coach Jack Del Rio ruled Garrard out of Thursday's preseason opener at New England.
Gabbert, the 10th overall pick in April's draft, will start against the Patriots. Gabbert, Luke McCown and Todd Bouman are expected to share snaps. McCown, a former Louisiana Tech star, took no repetitions in practice Tuesday night, but it was unclear whether he was injured.
Panthers: Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith injured his finger during Tuesday's padded practice, but coach Ron Rivera confirmed it's not broken and isn't anything that will keep him out of any regular season games.
Smith, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, sustained a cut near the base of his left middle finger that required stitches, but x-rays revealed no broken bones. Smith injured the finger while attempting to catch a pass in Tuesday morning's practice.
Bengals: Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton will start the Cincinnati Bengals' preseason opener on Friday night in Detroit, his first chance to show he can handle the job.
Coach Marvin Lewis said on Tuesday that Dalton and the other starters will play a little longer than a normal preseason opener as they try to make up for time lost during the NFL lockout. He said the second-round pick has shown a lot of poise while learning the offense in training camp.
The move was expected. Owner Mike Brown indicated when camp opened that he wanted Dalton to be the starter.
Dolphins: The NFL will be a bit quieter this season: Channing Crowder says he's retiring.
Crowder, one of the league's most notorious trash-talkers, said Tuesday he has decided to call it a career less than two weeks after being cut by the Miami Dolphins. The veteran linebacker made the announcement on WQAM radio, where he has been a talk-show host.
Jets: The New York Jets are still playing it safe with Plaxico Burress.
The wide receiver was held out of team drills in practice Tuesday as he recovers from an ankle injury. That comes a day after Burress had his busiest day of training camp while participating in a handful of 11-on-11 plays.
Chiefs: Tamba Hali thanked Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and his family, then talked about getting back to work.
Kansas City's star linebacker spoke with reporters Tuesday for the first time since signing a five-year, $60-million contract last week.
The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Hali during the offseason, but there was no lengthy holdout from a player coming off of a career year.
Jacksonville's quarterback situation got scrambled a bit Tuesday when coach Jack Del Rio ruled Garrard out of Thursday's preseason opener at New England.
Gabbert, the 10th overall pick in April's draft, will start against the Patriots. Gabbert, Luke McCown and Todd Bouman are expected to share snaps. McCown, a former Louisiana Tech star, took no repetitions in practice Tuesday night, but it was unclear whether he was injured.
Panthers: Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith injured his finger during Tuesday's padded practice, but coach Ron Rivera confirmed it's not broken and isn't anything that will keep him out of any regular season games.
Smith, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, sustained a cut near the base of his left middle finger that required stitches, but x-rays revealed no broken bones. Smith injured the finger while attempting to catch a pass in Tuesday morning's practice.
Bengals: Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton will start the Cincinnati Bengals' preseason opener on Friday night in Detroit, his first chance to show he can handle the job.
Coach Marvin Lewis said on Tuesday that Dalton and the other starters will play a little longer than a normal preseason opener as they try to make up for time lost during the NFL lockout. He said the second-round pick has shown a lot of poise while learning the offense in training camp.
The move was expected. Owner Mike Brown indicated when camp opened that he wanted Dalton to be the starter.
Dolphins: The NFL will be a bit quieter this season: Channing Crowder says he's retiring.
Crowder, one of the league's most notorious trash-talkers, said Tuesday he has decided to call it a career less than two weeks after being cut by the Miami Dolphins. The veteran linebacker made the announcement on WQAM radio, where he has been a talk-show host.
Jets: The New York Jets are still playing it safe with Plaxico Burress.
The wide receiver was held out of team drills in practice Tuesday as he recovers from an ankle injury. That comes a day after Burress had his busiest day of training camp while participating in a handful of 11-on-11 plays.
Chiefs: Tamba Hali thanked Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and his family, then talked about getting back to work.
Kansas City's star linebacker spoke with reporters Tuesday for the first time since signing a five-year, $60-million contract last week.
The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Hali during the offseason, but there was no lengthy holdout from a player coming off of a career year.
2011年8月9日星期二
Monday's Sports in Brief
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Joe Paterno was hospitalized and undergoing tests on his right arm and hip after a player ran into the 84-year-old coach during practice.
Paterno was admitted Sunday evening to Mount Nittany Medical Center after he walked away from the collision with a receiver, the school said Monday. Receiver Devon Smith was running a drill on the offensive side of the field when he blindsided the Hall of Fame coach, who was watching the defense.
"I expect to be back at practice soon,'' Paterno said in a statement. "I'm doing fine; tell everyone not to worry about me.''
Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State director of athletic medicine, said it doesn't appear surgery will be required. The school said Paterno could be released in the next 24 hours.
Doctors were evaluating his shoulder and pelvis, and there was no firm diagnosis yet on the extent of the injuries, said a person Monday night familiar with the team who requested anonymity because no one was authorized to speak about his condition.
Paterno is entering his 46th season as Penn State's head coach and is the winningest coach in the history of major college football with 401 victories.
FOOTBALL
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan has apologized to his bosses, teammates, fans and even the media for bolting training camp. He also says he left because he was upset over talks for an extension, not the personal issue he mentioned defending himself on Twitter.
Finnegan said Monday after practice he understands he was a distraction to his team that wasn't needed. He says he let emotions get the best of him when he wanted to meet with his wife and discuss contract talks that he hopes will allow him to retire with Tennessee.
The cornerback reported back for camp before curfew Sunday night, and he talked with new coach Mike Munchak on Monday.
Munchak says Finnegan will be fined, and the cornerback says he will willingly pay.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson ended his 11-day holdout and reported to Philadelphia Eagles training camp on Monday. He didn't practice in the morning, but was on the field for the afternoon walkthrough.
Jackson is slated to earn $565,000 this season, the final one of his four-year rookie deal. He caught 47 passes for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns last year, and his 22.5 yard-per-catch average was best in the NFL. He also averaged 11.6 yards on 20 punt returns, including a 65-yarder for a TD that beat the New York Giants on the last play of a game in the Meadowlands on Dec. 19.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) - The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms with veteran running back Ricky Williams.
The Ravens announced the deal on Monday, pending Williams passing a physical Tuesday.
Williams played for the Miami Dolphins last season. The 34-year-old running back split time with Ronnie Brown in Miami and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. He rushed for 673 yards and scored two touchdowns.
With the Ravens, Williams will play behind starter Ray Rice.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Dashon Goldson is back with the San Francisco 49ers after all - despite all his tweets to the contrary.
The free agent safety agreed to terms on a one-year contract Monday to rejoin the Niners. Coach Jim Harbaugh discussed the addition of Goldson after Monday's practice in Santa Clara, but said he wasn't sure whether Goldson would be on the practice field for the first time Tuesday morning, an open workout for fans.
While the team hadn't formally announced Goldson's signing, the Niners did say they signed tight end Chris Blohm to a three-year deal.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson has a torn right biceps tendon and will try to rehabilitate the injury to avoid surgery that would sideline him for a longer period.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt would give no timetable for Wilson's return other than to say he expects the four-time Pro Bowler to play this season.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Jerry Smith, whose 26-year NFL coaching career included a stint as the Denver Broncos interim head coach in 1971, has died at age 80.
Smith had been in declining health since suffering a heart attack four years ago. He died Saturday, said his son, Jeffrey Smith, of Dallas.
Smith coached the offensive and defensive lines for 10 AFL/NFL teams from 1960-85 before serving six seasons as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A settlement has been reached in the final lawsuit stemming from the heat stroke death of Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer 10 years ago, his family announced Monday.
Terms of the settlement between Stringer's widow, Kelci Stringer, and Chicago-based helmet and shoulder pads-maker Riddell Inc. were not disclosed, said James Gould, who was Korey Stringer's agent and serves as a family spokesman.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Ohio in 2003, alleged Riddell failed to warn players and coaches that wearing its helmets and shoulder pads in hot temperatures could be dangerous. The family reached separate settlements earlier with the NFL and other defendants.
Korey Stringer died Aug. 1, 2001, after collapsing on a sweltering day in training camp.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Backup offensive lineman Kevin Haslam will be placed on injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury in Jacksonville's scrimmage.
Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said Haslam injured the medial collateral ligament and "some other things'' in his left knee Saturday. Del Rio said "we're talking months, not days or weeks'' before Haslam will be ready to play again.
Haslam was waived/injured Monday, but is expected to clear waivers and be placed on IR. The Jaguars also waived rookie guard Troy White and signed rookie offensive lineman Rob McGill, who was cut a day earlier by Atlanta.
Haslam twisted his knee when he fell into a pile during the scrimmage.
BASEBALL
One day before their big series against second-place Cleveland, the Detroit Tigers ended months of speculation about their manager and front office.
The Tigers have extended manager Jim Leyland's contract through the 2012 season, and general manager Dave Dombrowski has agreed to a four-year extension through 2015. Both contracts were set to expire after this season, but with Detroit in first place, owner Mike Ilitch decided the time was right to work out new deals.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino is appealing a three-game suspension imposed Monday for his part in a weekend brawl at San Francisco.
A pair of Giants players who expected one-game suspensions only received fines after playing key roles in the benches-clearing brawl between NL division leaders Friday night. Nobody was injured.
Major League Baseball also fined Victorino an undisclosed amount.
Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco, Giants pitcher Ramon Ramirez and catcher Eli Whiteside were fined, as well. Victorino, Ramirez and Whiteside were ejected.
Victorino can continue to play until the appeal process is complete.
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Mets put star shortstop Jose Reyes on the disabled list with another hamstring problem and said infielder Daniel Murphy is likely done for the season because of a knee injury.
Both players were hurt during Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Reyes left in the second inning because of stiffness in his left hamstring. The NL's leading hitter was on the disabled list last month because of the same trouble.
Murphy left in the seventh inning with a sprained ligament in his left knee. He was spiked by Jose Constanza on a clean but awkward play. The Mets say Murphy probably won't need surgery.
Infielder Ruben Tejada and outfielder Mike Baxter were promoted Monday from Triple-A Buffalo.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Giants right fielder Carlos Beltran has a strained right hand and wrist that isn't considered serious.
Beltran was out of the lineup for San Francisco's 5-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night and underwent an MRI on the hand earlier as a precaution. Results showed inflammation in the top and side of his hand near the wrist.
Beltran received treatment all day Monday and planned to test the hand with some simulation exercises Tuesday, such as mimicking the swinging motion.
The Giants wanted to get their slugger examined before leaving town when a 10-game homestand concludes Wednesday.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has stepped up his workouts while recovering from knee surgery.
There's still no timetable, though, on when he'll rejoin the team.
Rodriguez had Monday's session moved from the Yankees' minor league complex to their spring training site at George Steinbrenner Field because of rain.
A-Rod took part in a situational hitting drill during a 57-pitch batting practice session.
TRIATHLON
NEW YORK (AP) - Two competitors died after experiencing problems during the swim portion of the Nautica New York City Triathlon, leading race organizers to consider demanding more documentation of athletes' training and experience.
Michael Kudryk, 64, of Freehold, N.J., died Sunday after he was pulled out of the Hudson River unconscious. Police say he was believed to have suffered a heart attack. A 40-year-old woman from Elmhurst, Ill., who was not identified at the family's request, died Monday. Race director Bill Burke said she was believed to have gone into cardiac arrest twice after Sunday's swim.
The deaths were the second and third at the popular triathlon in three years.
On Monday, a New York City lawmaker called for a top-to-bottom review, questioning whether rain the night before - which could have led to choppy water and strong currents - or 90-degree temperatures were factors.
Burke called the deaths "a very, very sad occurrence and tragedy,'' but characterized the weather conditions during Sunday's race as optimal, with relatively mild temperatures and good cloud cover for much of the day.
SOCCER
MADRID (AP) - Real Madrid has signed a 7-year-old soccer prodigy from Argentina who goes by the name Leo - just like Lionel Messi.
Leonel Angel Coira signed with the Spanish club and will begin training Sept. 6, Madrid spokesman Juan Tapiador told The Associated Press on Monday.
Coira told the Argentine sports daily Ole last week that his idol is Messi, the Barcelona forward who is also Argentine and goes by the name Leo. Coira said he prefers to pass rather than score. He already has a Facebook page featuring photos of his visit to Real Madrid.
Madrid reportedly made the push to sign Coira because Spanish league rival Atletico Madrid was also pursuing the youngster.
TRACK AND FIELD
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - South Africa's athletics federation has selected double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius in its team for this month's world championships.
Pistorius is set to be the first amputee athlete to compete at the able-bodied worlds when he represents South Africa in Daegu, South Korea, as its only runner in the 400 meters. He has also been chosen for the 4x400 relay.
The 24-year-old Pistorius was named in a group of 26 athletes by Athletics South Africa on Monday after he smashed his personal best last month to make the qualifying time.
Women's 800-meter world champion Caster Semenya is also included and will defend the title she won in 2009 amid a storm of controversy over gender tests.
TENNIS
MONTREAL (AP) - France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 13th seed and highest-ranked player in action, beat Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-4, 7-6 (0) in the Rogers Cup on Monday.
Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the runner-up in Montreal in 2009, downed Finland's Jarrko Nieminen 6-4, 6-0.
The top eight seeded players drew first-round byes.
Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka beat Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-4. The 14th-seeded Wawrinka will next play American qualifier Michael Russell or Spain's Albert Montanes.
TORONTO (AP) - Qualifier Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan beat No. 9 seed Marion Bartoli of France 6-3, 6-3 Monday in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
Bartoli was making her eighth appearance at the Rogers Cup and first since a first-round defeat in 2009 when she lost as the 13th seed to Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko.
Germany's Julia Goerges topped No. 15 seed Jelena Jankovic with a 6-1, 6-3 victory in an evening match.
Romanian Simona Halep - another qualifier - rallied to upset 12th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The 15th-ranked Kuznetsova had 50 unforced errors to send Halep to the second round in her Rogers Cup debut.
Paterno was admitted Sunday evening to Mount Nittany Medical Center after he walked away from the collision with a receiver, the school said Monday. Receiver Devon Smith was running a drill on the offensive side of the field when he blindsided the Hall of Fame coach, who was watching the defense.
"I expect to be back at practice soon,'' Paterno said in a statement. "I'm doing fine; tell everyone not to worry about me.''
Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State director of athletic medicine, said it doesn't appear surgery will be required. The school said Paterno could be released in the next 24 hours.
Doctors were evaluating his shoulder and pelvis, and there was no firm diagnosis yet on the extent of the injuries, said a person Monday night familiar with the team who requested anonymity because no one was authorized to speak about his condition.
Paterno is entering his 46th season as Penn State's head coach and is the winningest coach in the history of major college football with 401 victories.
FOOTBALL
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan has apologized to his bosses, teammates, fans and even the media for bolting training camp. He also says he left because he was upset over talks for an extension, not the personal issue he mentioned defending himself on Twitter.
Finnegan said Monday after practice he understands he was a distraction to his team that wasn't needed. He says he let emotions get the best of him when he wanted to meet with his wife and discuss contract talks that he hopes will allow him to retire with Tennessee.
The cornerback reported back for camp before curfew Sunday night, and he talked with new coach Mike Munchak on Monday.
Munchak says Finnegan will be fined, and the cornerback says he will willingly pay.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson ended his 11-day holdout and reported to Philadelphia Eagles training camp on Monday. He didn't practice in the morning, but was on the field for the afternoon walkthrough.
Jackson is slated to earn $565,000 this season, the final one of his four-year rookie deal. He caught 47 passes for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns last year, and his 22.5 yard-per-catch average was best in the NFL. He also averaged 11.6 yards on 20 punt returns, including a 65-yarder for a TD that beat the New York Giants on the last play of a game in the Meadowlands on Dec. 19.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) - The Baltimore Ravens have agreed to terms with veteran running back Ricky Williams.
The Ravens announced the deal on Monday, pending Williams passing a physical Tuesday.
Williams played for the Miami Dolphins last season. The 34-year-old running back split time with Ronnie Brown in Miami and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. He rushed for 673 yards and scored two touchdowns.
With the Ravens, Williams will play behind starter Ray Rice.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Dashon Goldson is back with the San Francisco 49ers after all - despite all his tweets to the contrary.
The free agent safety agreed to terms on a one-year contract Monday to rejoin the Niners. Coach Jim Harbaugh discussed the addition of Goldson after Monday's practice in Santa Clara, but said he wasn't sure whether Goldson would be on the practice field for the first time Tuesday morning, an open workout for fans.
While the team hadn't formally announced Goldson's signing, the Niners did say they signed tight end Chris Blohm to a three-year deal.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson has a torn right biceps tendon and will try to rehabilitate the injury to avoid surgery that would sideline him for a longer period.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt would give no timetable for Wilson's return other than to say he expects the four-time Pro Bowler to play this season.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Jerry Smith, whose 26-year NFL coaching career included a stint as the Denver Broncos interim head coach in 1971, has died at age 80.
Smith had been in declining health since suffering a heart attack four years ago. He died Saturday, said his son, Jeffrey Smith, of Dallas.
Smith coached the offensive and defensive lines for 10 AFL/NFL teams from 1960-85 before serving six seasons as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A settlement has been reached in the final lawsuit stemming from the heat stroke death of Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer 10 years ago, his family announced Monday.
Terms of the settlement between Stringer's widow, Kelci Stringer, and Chicago-based helmet and shoulder pads-maker Riddell Inc. were not disclosed, said James Gould, who was Korey Stringer's agent and serves as a family spokesman.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Ohio in 2003, alleged Riddell failed to warn players and coaches that wearing its helmets and shoulder pads in hot temperatures could be dangerous. The family reached separate settlements earlier with the NFL and other defendants.
Korey Stringer died Aug. 1, 2001, after collapsing on a sweltering day in training camp.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Backup offensive lineman Kevin Haslam will be placed on injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury in Jacksonville's scrimmage.
Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said Haslam injured the medial collateral ligament and "some other things'' in his left knee Saturday. Del Rio said "we're talking months, not days or weeks'' before Haslam will be ready to play again.
Haslam was waived/injured Monday, but is expected to clear waivers and be placed on IR. The Jaguars also waived rookie guard Troy White and signed rookie offensive lineman Rob McGill, who was cut a day earlier by Atlanta.
Haslam twisted his knee when he fell into a pile during the scrimmage.
BASEBALL
One day before their big series against second-place Cleveland, the Detroit Tigers ended months of speculation about their manager and front office.
The Tigers have extended manager Jim Leyland's contract through the 2012 season, and general manager Dave Dombrowski has agreed to a four-year extension through 2015. Both contracts were set to expire after this season, but with Detroit in first place, owner Mike Ilitch decided the time was right to work out new deals.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino is appealing a three-game suspension imposed Monday for his part in a weekend brawl at San Francisco.
A pair of Giants players who expected one-game suspensions only received fines after playing key roles in the benches-clearing brawl between NL division leaders Friday night. Nobody was injured.
Major League Baseball also fined Victorino an undisclosed amount.
Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco, Giants pitcher Ramon Ramirez and catcher Eli Whiteside were fined, as well. Victorino, Ramirez and Whiteside were ejected.
Victorino can continue to play until the appeal process is complete.
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Mets put star shortstop Jose Reyes on the disabled list with another hamstring problem and said infielder Daniel Murphy is likely done for the season because of a knee injury.
Both players were hurt during Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Reyes left in the second inning because of stiffness in his left hamstring. The NL's leading hitter was on the disabled list last month because of the same trouble.
Murphy left in the seventh inning with a sprained ligament in his left knee. He was spiked by Jose Constanza on a clean but awkward play. The Mets say Murphy probably won't need surgery.
Infielder Ruben Tejada and outfielder Mike Baxter were promoted Monday from Triple-A Buffalo.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Giants right fielder Carlos Beltran has a strained right hand and wrist that isn't considered serious.
Beltran was out of the lineup for San Francisco's 5-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night and underwent an MRI on the hand earlier as a precaution. Results showed inflammation in the top and side of his hand near the wrist.
Beltran received treatment all day Monday and planned to test the hand with some simulation exercises Tuesday, such as mimicking the swinging motion.
The Giants wanted to get their slugger examined before leaving town when a 10-game homestand concludes Wednesday.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has stepped up his workouts while recovering from knee surgery.
There's still no timetable, though, on when he'll rejoin the team.
Rodriguez had Monday's session moved from the Yankees' minor league complex to their spring training site at George Steinbrenner Field because of rain.
A-Rod took part in a situational hitting drill during a 57-pitch batting practice session.
TRIATHLON
NEW YORK (AP) - Two competitors died after experiencing problems during the swim portion of the Nautica New York City Triathlon, leading race organizers to consider demanding more documentation of athletes' training and experience.
Michael Kudryk, 64, of Freehold, N.J., died Sunday after he was pulled out of the Hudson River unconscious. Police say he was believed to have suffered a heart attack. A 40-year-old woman from Elmhurst, Ill., who was not identified at the family's request, died Monday. Race director Bill Burke said she was believed to have gone into cardiac arrest twice after Sunday's swim.
The deaths were the second and third at the popular triathlon in three years.
On Monday, a New York City lawmaker called for a top-to-bottom review, questioning whether rain the night before - which could have led to choppy water and strong currents - or 90-degree temperatures were factors.
Burke called the deaths "a very, very sad occurrence and tragedy,'' but characterized the weather conditions during Sunday's race as optimal, with relatively mild temperatures and good cloud cover for much of the day.
SOCCER
MADRID (AP) - Real Madrid has signed a 7-year-old soccer prodigy from Argentina who goes by the name Leo - just like Lionel Messi.
Leonel Angel Coira signed with the Spanish club and will begin training Sept. 6, Madrid spokesman Juan Tapiador told The Associated Press on Monday.
Coira told the Argentine sports daily Ole last week that his idol is Messi, the Barcelona forward who is also Argentine and goes by the name Leo. Coira said he prefers to pass rather than score. He already has a Facebook page featuring photos of his visit to Real Madrid.
Madrid reportedly made the push to sign Coira because Spanish league rival Atletico Madrid was also pursuing the youngster.
TRACK AND FIELD
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - South Africa's athletics federation has selected double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius in its team for this month's world championships.
Pistorius is set to be the first amputee athlete to compete at the able-bodied worlds when he represents South Africa in Daegu, South Korea, as its only runner in the 400 meters. He has also been chosen for the 4x400 relay.
The 24-year-old Pistorius was named in a group of 26 athletes by Athletics South Africa on Monday after he smashed his personal best last month to make the qualifying time.
Women's 800-meter world champion Caster Semenya is also included and will defend the title she won in 2009 amid a storm of controversy over gender tests.
TENNIS
MONTREAL (AP) - France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 13th seed and highest-ranked player in action, beat Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-4, 7-6 (0) in the Rogers Cup on Monday.
Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the runner-up in Montreal in 2009, downed Finland's Jarrko Nieminen 6-4, 6-0.
The top eight seeded players drew first-round byes.
Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka beat Argentina's David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-4. The 14th-seeded Wawrinka will next play American qualifier Michael Russell or Spain's Albert Montanes.
TORONTO (AP) - Qualifier Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan beat No. 9 seed Marion Bartoli of France 6-3, 6-3 Monday in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
Bartoli was making her eighth appearance at the Rogers Cup and first since a first-round defeat in 2009 when she lost as the 13th seed to Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko.
Germany's Julia Goerges topped No. 15 seed Jelena Jankovic with a 6-1, 6-3 victory in an evening match.
Romanian Simona Halep - another qualifier - rallied to upset 12th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The 15th-ranked Kuznetsova had 50 unforced errors to send Halep to the second round in her Rogers Cup debut.
2011年8月8日星期一
Chiefs center Casey Wiegmann doesn’t want his streak snapped
ST. JOSEPH | By the time Ryan Lilja first joined the Chiefs in 2004, Casey Wiegmann’s NFL career was already something for a rookie offensive lineman to view with wonder.
Wiegmann had already put together an impressive career for an undrafted and undersized center out of Iowa. So imagine Lilja’s awe now. Wiegmann is 38 and still going strong, about to begin his 16th NFL season with a consecutive offensive-play streak of 10,141 dating to early 2001.
“He was an old-timer when I was a rookie,” Lilja said. “He’s one of the wonders of the world.”
Wiegmann may be one of the wonders of the football world, but he’s no museum piece. One of the first moves made by the Chiefs once the free-agent signing period began was to sign Wiegmann to a new contract.
He will, assuming he makes it through the preseason unharmed, start at center for the Chiefs on Sept. 11, when they open the regular season against Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium. Coach Todd Haley wouldn’t have it any other way.
“There’s nobody more excited about Casey’s decision to come back and continue being a part of what he was such a big part of last year,” Haley said. “You don’t do what he’s done for as long as he’s done it by accident. He knows how to do it, he knows what to do.”
For that reason, Haley will use Wiegmann as a museum piece, or at least a teaching tool for his younger teammates.
“This group of (players) we have, you make sure occasionally that you say, ‘Take a look at (Wiegmann).’ ” Haley said. “He wrote the book on how to have a great career, so I’d be trying to do most of the things he’s doing.
“I think he’s the epitome of what I’ve coached for many, many years: being the same guy every day. He’ll be in the same seat (in meetings), he’ll be out on the field at the same time and not a lot changes. He’s just managed to get a little better each and every day in a lot of different areas.”
Wiegmann, 6 feet 2 and 285 pounds, acknowledged the decision to return for another season was more difficult than ever. But now that he’s made it, he said, he’s all in.
That means his snap streak will inevitably grow. The Chiefs may like to give Wiegmann some rest this season and give some playing time to Rodney Hudson, their second-round draft pick and Wiegmann’s eventual successor.
But they may have a battle getting Wiegmann out of the lineup. He refused to come out of games before, and now the streak is a prideful thing for a player told early in his NFL career that he would never make it.
“It first started just because I played with two (future) Hall of Famers (Will Shields and Willie Roaf),” Wiegmann said, recalling a couple of his teammates from his early seasons with the Chiefs.
“We only dressed seven guys, and those two were the guys that got to sit out when the game was out of control. As soon as those guys got done playing, I had the streak going, and I just kept going and going and going.
“I don’t know if it was a year or two ago, but the offensive-line coach said, ‘We’re going to take you out.’ I was like, ‘I’m not coming out, sorry.’ ”
He didn’t, not then or any other time since the streak started in 2001, his first season in Kansas City.
Haley and Chiefs offensive coordinator Bill Muir coached Wiegmann with the New York Jets early in his NFL career. His success was difficult to predict then, but Muir said that looking back, it makes sense.
“You just know when you see the right stuff,” Muir said. “He’s got over (10,000) straight snaps in the National Football League. That speaks volumes about the man and the football player.”
Asked Wiegmann’s secret, Muir said, “Genes. He has two kids. If I was a college coach, I’d give them scholarships right now.”
Haley said: “You knew he was a tough guy. I think early in ’97 or ’98, he was on a kickoff return, was in the wedge and went up in there and knocked himself out basically. You knew this guy was tough, (but) you know he’s probably too little . . .
“We formed a little connection, I would say in my opinion, and through the years every time we crossed paths it was one of those where when the game ended or before the game, you go catch up and say how are you doing, and you follow those types of guys that you’re rooting for, that maybe a lot of people are saying he doesn’t have a chance. Then as you see them have success, you enjoy following those kinds of guys.
“That’s the way it’s been with Casey, and I’m just grateful that he chose to come back to Kansas City with us and believed enough in what we were doing to be a part of it again this year.”
Wiegmann is in his second time around with the Chiefs. After playing for the Jets, Indianapolis and Chicago early in his career, Wiegmann was with the Chiefs during 2001-07. He then left for two seasons with Denver before returning last year.
He won’t be leaving again. Both sides want it that way.
“Kansas City has been good to me,” he said. “I’ve always said that. To finish my career here is the ultimate goal. I had the chance to go elsewhere, but like I said, this place has been good, and winning is happening here again, so it’s positive.”
Wiegmann had already put together an impressive career for an undrafted and undersized center out of Iowa. So imagine Lilja’s awe now. Wiegmann is 38 and still going strong, about to begin his 16th NFL season with a consecutive offensive-play streak of 10,141 dating to early 2001.
“He was an old-timer when I was a rookie,” Lilja said. “He’s one of the wonders of the world.”
Wiegmann may be one of the wonders of the football world, but he’s no museum piece. One of the first moves made by the Chiefs once the free-agent signing period began was to sign Wiegmann to a new contract.
He will, assuming he makes it through the preseason unharmed, start at center for the Chiefs on Sept. 11, when they open the regular season against Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium. Coach Todd Haley wouldn’t have it any other way.
“There’s nobody more excited about Casey’s decision to come back and continue being a part of what he was such a big part of last year,” Haley said. “You don’t do what he’s done for as long as he’s done it by accident. He knows how to do it, he knows what to do.”
For that reason, Haley will use Wiegmann as a museum piece, or at least a teaching tool for his younger teammates.
“This group of (players) we have, you make sure occasionally that you say, ‘Take a look at (Wiegmann).’ ” Haley said. “He wrote the book on how to have a great career, so I’d be trying to do most of the things he’s doing.
“I think he’s the epitome of what I’ve coached for many, many years: being the same guy every day. He’ll be in the same seat (in meetings), he’ll be out on the field at the same time and not a lot changes. He’s just managed to get a little better each and every day in a lot of different areas.”
Wiegmann, 6 feet 2 and 285 pounds, acknowledged the decision to return for another season was more difficult than ever. But now that he’s made it, he said, he’s all in.
That means his snap streak will inevitably grow. The Chiefs may like to give Wiegmann some rest this season and give some playing time to Rodney Hudson, their second-round draft pick and Wiegmann’s eventual successor.
But they may have a battle getting Wiegmann out of the lineup. He refused to come out of games before, and now the streak is a prideful thing for a player told early in his NFL career that he would never make it.
“It first started just because I played with two (future) Hall of Famers (Will Shields and Willie Roaf),” Wiegmann said, recalling a couple of his teammates from his early seasons with the Chiefs.
“We only dressed seven guys, and those two were the guys that got to sit out when the game was out of control. As soon as those guys got done playing, I had the streak going, and I just kept going and going and going.
“I don’t know if it was a year or two ago, but the offensive-line coach said, ‘We’re going to take you out.’ I was like, ‘I’m not coming out, sorry.’ ”
He didn’t, not then or any other time since the streak started in 2001, his first season in Kansas City.
Haley and Chiefs offensive coordinator Bill Muir coached Wiegmann with the New York Jets early in his NFL career. His success was difficult to predict then, but Muir said that looking back, it makes sense.
“You just know when you see the right stuff,” Muir said. “He’s got over (10,000) straight snaps in the National Football League. That speaks volumes about the man and the football player.”
Asked Wiegmann’s secret, Muir said, “Genes. He has two kids. If I was a college coach, I’d give them scholarships right now.”
Haley said: “You knew he was a tough guy. I think early in ’97 or ’98, he was on a kickoff return, was in the wedge and went up in there and knocked himself out basically. You knew this guy was tough, (but) you know he’s probably too little . . .
“We formed a little connection, I would say in my opinion, and through the years every time we crossed paths it was one of those where when the game ended or before the game, you go catch up and say how are you doing, and you follow those types of guys that you’re rooting for, that maybe a lot of people are saying he doesn’t have a chance. Then as you see them have success, you enjoy following those kinds of guys.
“That’s the way it’s been with Casey, and I’m just grateful that he chose to come back to Kansas City with us and believed enough in what we were doing to be a part of it again this year.”
Wiegmann is in his second time around with the Chiefs. After playing for the Jets, Indianapolis and Chicago early in his career, Wiegmann was with the Chiefs during 2001-07. He then left for two seasons with Denver before returning last year.
He won’t be leaving again. Both sides want it that way.
“Kansas City has been good to me,” he said. “I’ve always said that. To finish my career here is the ultimate goal. I had the chance to go elsewhere, but like I said, this place has been good, and winning is happening here again, so it’s positive.”
2011年8月6日星期六
Browner on comeback path after 4 years in CFL
RENTON, Wash.—Brandon Browner is not a typical NFL cornerback.
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The 6-foot-4, 221-pound Browner towers over the Seattle Seahawks' secondary. He looks out of place, like a wiry linebacker.
But the Seahawks are hoping he can bring a physical presence to the edge of their defense.
"The only guy I can ever think of that was this big was Mel Blount a million years ago," coach Pete Carroll said Friday. "He just is so tall. Most people would say he can't play being that tall, but he's doing it."
Carroll had the chance to recruit Browner when he was the head coach at Southern California. Browner was a standout player at Sylmar High School, just north of Los Angeles.
But Carroll decided to pass.
Browner went on to star for Oregon State and was an undrafted free agent when he signed with Denver in 2005. The Broncos decided to move him to safety.
The transition was a difficult one for Browner, who broke his arm in a preseason game against San Francisco and was placed on injured reserve. He eventually was released and signed with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders.
Browner made the CFL All-Star team each of the past three seasons.
"I've matured," Browner said. "When I came out I was an underclassman. I was only 20 years old. I'm 27 now, so a lot of things have changed over the years."
"I did well up there in the CFL and it all worked out the way it was supposed to. I'm back where I want to be."
Carroll didn't pass up another opportunity to chase Browner.
I had lost track of him -- that he was playing in Canada for a few years and he was all-Canada or whatever and made the All-Star team (three) years in a row, I said let's bring him in," Carroll said. "Let's see what we've got. I always knew that he was very effective at the line of scrimmage."
With second-year cornerback Walter Thurmond missing time with an ankle sprain, Browner has been thrown in with the first-team defense opposite cornerback Marcus Trufant. He's been matched up against the Seahawks' larger wide receivers, Mike Williams and Sidney Rice, during workouts.
"He kind of has the physical attributes we're looking for, good speed, good size, good strength," defensive backs coach Kris Richard said. "Put it all together with a little bit of technique and a lot of wins should come out of that, so he's doing a fantastic job thus far."
Seattle ranked 27th against the pass last season. Larger receivers proved to be a really difficult matchup.
Dwayne Bowe had 13 catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Hakeem Nicks had six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown for the New York Giants.
With Thurmond's injury, the coaching staff is getting an extended chance to evaluate Browner with the hope he could be the piece to help keep opposing receivers in check.
"He's come out here and he's competed like crazy," Carroll said. "He's had some very good days, one after another. He's a four-year professional veteran if you look at it. He's played a ton of football games and he just keeps growing and he fits in. I'm looking for him to challenge for some play time. He looks like he can do that. We're so fortunate that we hit that so we'll see how it goes."
NOTES: The Seahawks have signed RB Thomas Clayton, who was released by the New England Patriots on Wednesday. ... Carroll said DT Colin Cole (ankle) and CB Roy Lewis (knee) are still at least a couple weeks away from being able to get on the field. ... WR Ben Obomanu is away from the team after a death in the family. ... WR Deon Butler, TE Cameron Morrah, DT Red Bryant, DE Dexter Davis, CB Walter Thurmond, OL Caz Piurowski and WR Dominique Edison also did not practice on Friday.
Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!
ShareThis
The 6-foot-4, 221-pound Browner towers over the Seattle Seahawks' secondary. He looks out of place, like a wiry linebacker.
But the Seahawks are hoping he can bring a physical presence to the edge of their defense.
"The only guy I can ever think of that was this big was Mel Blount a million years ago," coach Pete Carroll said Friday. "He just is so tall. Most people would say he can't play being that tall, but he's doing it."
Carroll had the chance to recruit Browner when he was the head coach at Southern California. Browner was a standout player at Sylmar High School, just north of Los Angeles.
But Carroll decided to pass.
Browner went on to star for Oregon State and was an undrafted free agent when he signed with Denver in 2005. The Broncos decided to move him to safety.
The transition was a difficult one for Browner, who broke his arm in a preseason game against San Francisco and was placed on injured reserve. He eventually was released and signed with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders.
Browner made the CFL All-Star team each of the past three seasons.
"I've matured," Browner said. "When I came out I was an underclassman. I was only 20 years old. I'm 27 now, so a lot of things have changed over the years."
"I did well up there in the CFL and it all worked out the way it was supposed to. I'm back where I want to be."
Carroll didn't pass up another opportunity to chase Browner.
I had lost track of him -- that he was playing in Canada for a few years and he was all-Canada or whatever and made the All-Star team (three) years in a row, I said let's bring him in," Carroll said. "Let's see what we've got. I always knew that he was very effective at the line of scrimmage."
With second-year cornerback Walter Thurmond missing time with an ankle sprain, Browner has been thrown in with the first-team defense opposite cornerback Marcus Trufant. He's been matched up against the Seahawks' larger wide receivers, Mike Williams and Sidney Rice, during workouts.
"He kind of has the physical attributes we're looking for, good speed, good size, good strength," defensive backs coach Kris Richard said. "Put it all together with a little bit of technique and a lot of wins should come out of that, so he's doing a fantastic job thus far."
Seattle ranked 27th against the pass last season. Larger receivers proved to be a really difficult matchup.
Dwayne Bowe had 13 catches for 170 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Hakeem Nicks had six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown for the New York Giants.
With Thurmond's injury, the coaching staff is getting an extended chance to evaluate Browner with the hope he could be the piece to help keep opposing receivers in check.
"He's come out here and he's competed like crazy," Carroll said. "He's had some very good days, one after another. He's a four-year professional veteran if you look at it. He's played a ton of football games and he just keeps growing and he fits in. I'm looking for him to challenge for some play time. He looks like he can do that. We're so fortunate that we hit that so we'll see how it goes."
NOTES: The Seahawks have signed RB Thomas Clayton, who was released by the New England Patriots on Wednesday. ... Carroll said DT Colin Cole (ankle) and CB Roy Lewis (knee) are still at least a couple weeks away from being able to get on the field. ... WR Ben Obomanu is away from the team after a death in the family. ... WR Deon Butler, TE Cameron Morrah, DT Red Bryant, DE Dexter Davis, CB Walter Thurmond, OL Caz Piurowski and WR Dominique Edison also did not practice on Friday.
2011年8月5日星期五
Chiefs rookie Houston finally agrees to contract
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - One of the NFL's oddest rookie negotiations wrapped up Thursday when the Chiefs agreed to contract terms with linebacker Justin Houston, a third-round draft pick out of Georgia.
Houston was one of the NFL's last rookies to agree to a contract, and he did so long after all the other third-round picks had signed.
Houston's deal is for four years and worth $2.78 million with a $671,000 signing bonus, according to The Associated Press.
He was considered a first-round talent, but a failed drug test at the NFL combine in February most certainly hurt his draft stock.
Houston, a 6-foot-3, 270-pounder, had 10 sacks last season for Georgia while playing in a 3-4 defense the Chiefs use, and 20 in his three seasons with the Bulldogs.
He should join the Chiefs in time for this afternoon's practice. He missed a week's worth of practices but still could be in the mix for a spot as a situational pass rusher.
The Chiefs are looking for pass rushers to help Tamba Hali, who had 141/2 of their 38 sacks last season.
Cameron Sheffield, a fifth-round pick last season, got the snaps as a situational rusher in practice Thursday. Sheffield missed all of last season because of an injury.
Cornerback Carr finally signs
Another late arrival to camp was cornerback Brandon Carr, a restricted free agent. He finally signed his one-year contract offer Thursday and took his place in the starting lineup upon arriving on the practice field.
The Chiefs' other restricted free agents had signed their offers, but Carr waited until Thursday. As a restricted free agent, he was eligible to talk with other teams and sign an offer sheet the Chiefs could have matched.
Had they declined to match, the Chiefs would have acquired a first-round draft pick from the team that signed Carr.
Carr declined to say whether he talked with other teams or why his arrival to camp was delayed.
"It wasn't delayed," he said. "Today was the start date for every free agent. It's time for me to start, and I'm here to play."
Georgia's Justin Houston got to college quarterbacks last season, and the Chiefs drafted him to do the same thing for them. Houston agreed to terms on a contract Thursday.
Houston was one of the NFL's last rookies to agree to a contract, and he did so long after all the other third-round picks had signed.
Houston's deal is for four years and worth $2.78 million with a $671,000 signing bonus, according to The Associated Press.
He was considered a first-round talent, but a failed drug test at the NFL combine in February most certainly hurt his draft stock.
Houston, a 6-foot-3, 270-pounder, had 10 sacks last season for Georgia while playing in a 3-4 defense the Chiefs use, and 20 in his three seasons with the Bulldogs.
He should join the Chiefs in time for this afternoon's practice. He missed a week's worth of practices but still could be in the mix for a spot as a situational pass rusher.
The Chiefs are looking for pass rushers to help Tamba Hali, who had 141/2 of their 38 sacks last season.
Cameron Sheffield, a fifth-round pick last season, got the snaps as a situational rusher in practice Thursday. Sheffield missed all of last season because of an injury.
Cornerback Carr finally signs
Another late arrival to camp was cornerback Brandon Carr, a restricted free agent. He finally signed his one-year contract offer Thursday and took his place in the starting lineup upon arriving on the practice field.
The Chiefs' other restricted free agents had signed their offers, but Carr waited until Thursday. As a restricted free agent, he was eligible to talk with other teams and sign an offer sheet the Chiefs could have matched.
Had they declined to match, the Chiefs would have acquired a first-round draft pick from the team that signed Carr.
Carr declined to say whether he talked with other teams or why his arrival to camp was delayed.
"It wasn't delayed," he said. "Today was the start date for every free agent. It's time for me to start, and I'm here to play."
Georgia's Justin Houston got to college quarterbacks last season, and the Chiefs drafted him to do the same thing for them. Houston agreed to terms on a contract Thursday.
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