Jets vs. Giants: The classic battle for the Crown of NY-Even if it's only pre season Football( or how i learned to become a Football Writer/Scout) By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Football Reporters Online
For years growing up lots of fans of the "older" generation(read: my late Father and his cronies) would blast the notion of "wasting time" on attending a pre season NFL game. My dad would always say "this is your only chance this season to take your friends" or "I'll give you some money for each of the pre season seats you sell, and you can afford to go and have a good time"(i was a teenager and it was the 1970's).
He has his subliminal reasons. My dad used to publish something he called "The Sheet" or the "Game Sheet." Since he was one of our street's "involved" parents, he was the "Football Coach/Scout" of our block, and for the most part, our development (we grew up in NYC Housing back when it wasn't a "stigma" or considered urban blight). "The Sheet" consisted of his observations on the up coming game and some briefs about the match ups between the teams. He typically passed them out at his workplace( a Federal Law Enforcement agency where he would eventually become a supervisor).
This was in no way intended for gaming purposes. It was strictly for your enhanced enjoyment of the game. My father never dreamed of being a writer of any type. "Half these clowns writing about the teams for the papers don't know squat anyway" he would always say. " I know more about the team from one day a year at practice" would always be his next line. It was also my "duty" as his first born son to "help" him by "taking those seats off his hands," since he went to "every other game they were going to loose that season." I would also have to take notes for him at those games, and since my handwriting stunk as a teenager, I would have to come home and type them (remember typewriters?) so he could read them.
My dad was fortunate enough that in his job he would have enough vacation time each year to take off a month, which was usually from the first or second week of August right through labor day. This was so we could attend the training camps of the Giants (first at Fordham University, then at Pace University's main campus in Westchester, and later on we'd add a day trip out to Long Island for the Jets Camp).
This was so my father could "Scout" the teams, but little did i know he was also teaching me about the game. "Watch and Learn" he would say "and try not to run your mouth too much while i take notes." Such was his manner, being an ex-soldier as well as a Fed. What he was really teaching me was how to evaluate a player's skill, and improve my communication skills at the same time. He was also teaching me that even though it wasn't worth the extra time on his Saturday night in August to actually go to the Jets-Giants game when he "could stay home and watch it on his color TV and not spend extra money on concessions," It was still important.
Tonight's game has never been more important for both teams then it is this year, although Coach Coughlin will tell you as he told a group of reporters in training camp " It's the Third Preseason game, That's what it is," as his way of downplaying the importance.
Both teams have a slew of unanswered questions coming into the regular season. The Jets have a new Head Coach, a new defensive scheme, and as of right now, a new starting QB. Questions abound with regards to weather this is the right choice. Some may think that the "we need to win now" theory applies here, but I'm not so sure. I also wonder if the Jets would have still made the trade for Sanchez if Brett Farve were still in N.Y. and Healthy enough to get through this season. The Jets still have two other QB's on their roster(three if you count WR Brad Smith, who only threw for well over 5,000 yards at in four seasons at Missouri). The Jets are also 0 for the preseason again thus far, and last week the Wonderkid didn't exactly look that good against the Raven's first team.
The Giants have plenty of receivers to "pick up" the mantle so to speak, from Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, but no veteran depth at the position unless you count in David Tyree, who is on the brink of being released from the squad. They also have lots of gaps on the defense right now because of injuries, even though they had a very busy off season. Also missing from tonight's line up for the G-Men are Antonio Pierce(foot), Chris Canty (hamstring), Michael Boley (Hip/ placed on Pup), Jay Alford (knee), DB's Aaron Ross (Hamstring), and Stoney Woodson (ankle) and on the offense, Tyree (hamstring), RB Andre Brown (Achilles Tendon), and OL Orrin Thompson (Strained Quad).
While the Giants are Playing it down, we can be sure the Jets are playing up the rivalry, and looking for a confidence booster of a win tonight.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Why the UFL has a better shot at success then prior attempts at Professional Football Leagues.
Welcome to another session of Dr. Football's class called "Viewing Pro Football 421", a 4th year undergraduate class. Today's topic: Will the UFL be successful in todays market?
Sure it's been done before. Another Pro Football League, you laugh. No one can touch the NFL, you say. But what if The UFL isn't trying to "compete" with the NFL, but rather enhance the ability of people to watch live the greatest game ever played?
So you think I'm nuts too don't you?You must think I'm inhaling too much field chalk. But look at it this way: when was the last time you went to an NFL game? Do you remember how much you paid to get in? To buy your kid a pennant (or if you were lucky, a game program!) or a T-shirt? Don't even think about a jersey! Or NFL licensed Baby Booties! Forget it!! (before i obtained a press credential i was paying $70 per ticket, 5 dollars for a game program and 5 dollars for a 32oz. bottle of water. I hear it's $80-$85 now for the cheapest seat in the Meadowlands).
The UFL changes all of that. Tickets for 20 Bucks a game, in quality venues! Affordable prices(for today at least) at the concessions. No Kid, you're not dreaming, this is the real UFL and if you Live in NY it's coming to your house soon.
Ok so it's in the middle of the week, but didn't you say you were football starved? You just can't watch another season of the local college teams. You don't think you can put up with the team in Green and White that can't seam to make up their minds about who the QB is. The team in Blue with the shortage of starters even though they had a great draft and did well in free agency already missing too many players in training camp. Not that I'm saying "don't follow your favorite team anymore," hardly that. I'm just saying open yourself up to the possibility of another pro football league being able to entertain you this fall.
Let's step away from NY for a moment. Did you ever think Las Vegas would get an NFL franchise? For years the NFL wanted no part of the Sodom and Gomorrah that is the gambling culture of Vegas, yet now they allow teams to back state run sports themed lottery tickets(that is for discussion in another article). Give the UFL head honchos credit for jumping all over the Vegas market, as well as Orlando. The Vegas team will attract fans from parts of California, Arizona, and Utah as well. As for Florida, a former co-blogging partner of mine who spent a good deal of time growing up there once told me "you can never have too much football in Florida."
Although Orlando is only 105 minutes from the greater Tampa area, there is a huge void to be filled there and in other parts of the country with the loss of the Arena Football League as we knew it.
Let's sum it up for today shall we: More pro football is good, not bad, as some would suggest. It doesn't "water down" or "short change" the great game, as a few suggest. It gives the fan(and Player and Coach!) more options on more days of the week to watch the game, as well as for you young folks to learn about the game. Why would anyone argue with me about that? Class dismissed, now go watch some football!
Sure it's been done before. Another Pro Football League, you laugh. No one can touch the NFL, you say. But what if The UFL isn't trying to "compete" with the NFL, but rather enhance the ability of people to watch live the greatest game ever played?
So you think I'm nuts too don't you?You must think I'm inhaling too much field chalk. But look at it this way: when was the last time you went to an NFL game? Do you remember how much you paid to get in? To buy your kid a pennant (or if you were lucky, a game program!) or a T-shirt? Don't even think about a jersey! Or NFL licensed Baby Booties! Forget it!! (before i obtained a press credential i was paying $70 per ticket, 5 dollars for a game program and 5 dollars for a 32oz. bottle of water. I hear it's $80-$85 now for the cheapest seat in the Meadowlands).
The UFL changes all of that. Tickets for 20 Bucks a game, in quality venues! Affordable prices(for today at least) at the concessions. No Kid, you're not dreaming, this is the real UFL and if you Live in NY it's coming to your house soon.
Ok so it's in the middle of the week, but didn't you say you were football starved? You just can't watch another season of the local college teams. You don't think you can put up with the team in Green and White that can't seam to make up their minds about who the QB is. The team in Blue with the shortage of starters even though they had a great draft and did well in free agency already missing too many players in training camp. Not that I'm saying "don't follow your favorite team anymore," hardly that. I'm just saying open yourself up to the possibility of another pro football league being able to entertain you this fall.
Let's step away from NY for a moment. Did you ever think Las Vegas would get an NFL franchise? For years the NFL wanted no part of the Sodom and Gomorrah that is the gambling culture of Vegas, yet now they allow teams to back state run sports themed lottery tickets(that is for discussion in another article). Give the UFL head honchos credit for jumping all over the Vegas market, as well as Orlando. The Vegas team will attract fans from parts of California, Arizona, and Utah as well. As for Florida, a former co-blogging partner of mine who spent a good deal of time growing up there once told me "you can never have too much football in Florida."
Although Orlando is only 105 minutes from the greater Tampa area, there is a huge void to be filled there and in other parts of the country with the loss of the Arena Football League as we knew it.
Let's sum it up for today shall we: More pro football is good, not bad, as some would suggest. It doesn't "water down" or "short change" the great game, as a few suggest. It gives the fan(and Player and Coach!) more options on more days of the week to watch the game, as well as for you young folks to learn about the game. Why would anyone argue with me about that? Class dismissed, now go watch some football!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Oakland Raiders must fix run defense ASAP
More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com
When I learned the Oakland Raiders hired John Marshall to be the defensive coordinator, I held out hope that he would repair the Silver and Black run defense, which was 24th in the 32-team league against the run in 2008.
In preseason so far, the Raiders have given up 5.1 yards per rush, and made 49ers rookie runner Glen Coffee look better than he may really be. That's too much already. The objective is to be at or below 3 yards per rush average per game. (If you say, "Well, it's preseason", that's doesn't make a difference. Formation structure and technique remains robust through preseason and regular season. What may change is what's done out of the formation.)
In the past three years, the defense has been gouged by several elite NFL runners, most notably LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.
And who's up first on the Raiders' 2009 schedule? The same Chargers.
The problem with the Raiders defense is not with personnel. They have two capable defensive tackles in Tommy Kelly and Terdell Sands. Their linebackers are swift to the ball, led by Kirk Morrison and Ricky Brown, who had an interception in the 49ers game yesterday. No, it's not people; it's scheme.
The NFL's best defenses were all known for a special approach. 1985 The Chicago Bears used the then-new "46" defense. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens employed a hybrid of that system to keep offensive lineman off Ray Lewis, their talented middle backer. The Dallas Cowboys under Tom Landry used the "Flex Defense", a kind of zone defense against the run. The Tampa Bay Bucaneers under Tony Dungy as their head coach used a variation of the Steelers Defense under Head Coach Chuck Noll and Defensive Coordinator Bud Carson.
Defensive experimentation wins even in high schools. This is the 46 "Gambler Defense" by Coach Steve Calende at Conrad Weiser HS, Robesonia, PA.
I think you get the idea. The best defenses have innovative design approaches to accomplish the objective of stopping the run. Not so the Oakland Raiders defense. The 2009 Raiders' four-man-front defense spreads the linemen out leaving giant bubbles that can be exploited by a smash mouth offensive team. That's what the 49ers did on Saturday and even what the Cowboys did in their loss against the Raiders a week ago when they averaged 4.4 yards per rush.
Fixing the Raiders Defense
To stop this problem, the Raiders need to go back to the basic 4-3 "over" and "under" alignments but with a twist. This is where one defensive tackle is over the center, and the other is over either the strong or weakside guard. But the "twist" is that the other defensive tackle would angle toward the center rather than the guard thus double-teaming the center with the other defensive tackle. The defensive end would fill the guard-tackle gap on that side; the opposite defensive end would maintain a position outside the offensive tackle.
The objective is to stop the strong or weakside off-tackle run and force it to the outside. Of course, getting the right defensive call requires homework on opposing offensive tendencies, but with this, even if the running play is to the opposite direction, the placement of the defensive tackles will allow the middle linebacker to flow to the ball and make the play and the defensive end stationed outside the offensive tackle will place him in a position to get the runner or funnel the runner inside to the middle backer. The outside linebackers remain in their positions to stop the runner from going around the end.
Another adjustment here would be to bring the strong safety up to a place on the opposite side of the defensive tackle double-team and essentially give the defense a "four-four" (four linemen and four linebacker) look. We would blitz the safety from that set.
This defensive design would immediately solve the Raiders run defense problems. Right now, the Silver and Black don't seem to be concerned with defensive design and it shows up in the terrible post game statistics we've seen over the years.
When I learned the Oakland Raiders hired John Marshall to be the defensive coordinator, I held out hope that he would repair the Silver and Black run defense, which was 24th in the 32-team league against the run in 2008.
In preseason so far, the Raiders have given up 5.1 yards per rush, and made 49ers rookie runner Glen Coffee look better than he may really be. That's too much already. The objective is to be at or below 3 yards per rush average per game. (If you say, "Well, it's preseason", that's doesn't make a difference. Formation structure and technique remains robust through preseason and regular season. What may change is what's done out of the formation.)
In the past three years, the defense has been gouged by several elite NFL runners, most notably LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers.
And who's up first on the Raiders' 2009 schedule? The same Chargers.
The problem with the Raiders defense is not with personnel. They have two capable defensive tackles in Tommy Kelly and Terdell Sands. Their linebackers are swift to the ball, led by Kirk Morrison and Ricky Brown, who had an interception in the 49ers game yesterday. No, it's not people; it's scheme.
The NFL's best defenses were all known for a special approach. 1985 The Chicago Bears used the then-new "46" defense. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens employed a hybrid of that system to keep offensive lineman off Ray Lewis, their talented middle backer. The Dallas Cowboys under Tom Landry used the "Flex Defense", a kind of zone defense against the run. The Tampa Bay Bucaneers under Tony Dungy as their head coach used a variation of the Steelers Defense under Head Coach Chuck Noll and Defensive Coordinator Bud Carson.
Defensive experimentation wins even in high schools. This is the 46 "Gambler Defense" by Coach Steve Calende at Conrad Weiser HS, Robesonia, PA.
I think you get the idea. The best defenses have innovative design approaches to accomplish the objective of stopping the run. Not so the Oakland Raiders defense. The 2009 Raiders' four-man-front defense spreads the linemen out leaving giant bubbles that can be exploited by a smash mouth offensive team. That's what the 49ers did on Saturday and even what the Cowboys did in their loss against the Raiders a week ago when they averaged 4.4 yards per rush.
Fixing the Raiders Defense
To stop this problem, the Raiders need to go back to the basic 4-3 "over" and "under" alignments but with a twist. This is where one defensive tackle is over the center, and the other is over either the strong or weakside guard. But the "twist" is that the other defensive tackle would angle toward the center rather than the guard thus double-teaming the center with the other defensive tackle. The defensive end would fill the guard-tackle gap on that side; the opposite defensive end would maintain a position outside the offensive tackle.
The objective is to stop the strong or weakside off-tackle run and force it to the outside. Of course, getting the right defensive call requires homework on opposing offensive tendencies, but with this, even if the running play is to the opposite direction, the placement of the defensive tackles will allow the middle linebacker to flow to the ball and make the play and the defensive end stationed outside the offensive tackle will place him in a position to get the runner or funnel the runner inside to the middle backer. The outside linebackers remain in their positions to stop the runner from going around the end.
Another adjustment here would be to bring the strong safety up to a place on the opposite side of the defensive tackle double-team and essentially give the defense a "four-four" (four linemen and four linebacker) look. We would blitz the safety from that set.
This defensive design would immediately solve the Raiders run defense problems. Right now, the Silver and Black don't seem to be concerned with defensive design and it shows up in the terrible post game statistics we've seen over the years.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Michael Vick please show that you have class!
More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com
Now as any regular follower of my blogs knows, I'm really happy former Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick's back in the NFL, and even though he's not signed with a team yet, former Indy Coach Tony Dungy said on NBC's telecast of the "Hall of Fame Game" that a team should sign him within the next week. That's great. But just because God's smiling on Vick, doesn't mean he has to lose control of the image he's working to build so quickly, and risk blowing it all.
What do I mean? Well, there's a new set of expectations of Vick from a number of people: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Dungy, and anyone rooting for Vick to get a second chance and most important succeed at it. I count myself here because I embarked on an attack against on PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for its race-tinged smearing of Vick, and I'm still not done with PETA. But because of that, I expect Michael Vick to be that guy we all want him to be, and not someone sporting the latest in thug attire and saying "I'm gonna always love my N___, you know what I'm sayin" as he did in this video:
When I got wind of this via Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports on Twitter, I pretty much fell out of my chair. I wanted to make sure I wasn't being too anal about the whole deal so I asked my Mom, who's visiting me, to come over and watch the video. Her words came out as soon as she listened to him: "He's not gonna make it," she said.
I informed Mom that Coach Dungy said Vick would be signed by someone and she said "I hope so." So do I.
See, what Mike doens't understand is now, like it or not, everyone black's not only rooting for him and fighting for him, but demands that he represent himself in a way that justifies our actions in defending him. I write "black" because Vick's behavior ignites the age-old argument of what it means to be black in America and the idea that one does not have to act black, but that's another blog post, back to this one.
Allowing ones self to be on camera showing the best of thug life (another code word for "acting black") doesn't help us one bit. I don't know where anyone got the idea that rap culture was desirable, but Vick's got to understand if he wants to establish himself as lovable to corporate sponsors (and if you want to say that's a code word for "acting white" go ahead but my retort is that being clean, intelligent, and presentable to companies has nothing to do with race at all), he's got to lose that shtick, and fast.
Am I being harsh, yes, massively so. Do I care? No way. I'm really ticked-off with Vick's actions; perhaps T.O. (Terrell Owens) can talk me down and talk to him in the process. Protecting the proper image is at the center of this issue of Michael Vick's future. There are people betting that Vick will be just the kind of person he's showing himself to be in that YouTube moment and that's not acceptable to us, his fans. While Michael may feel he's got to "keep it real" as Chris Rock would say, "keeping it real, yeah, real dumb" is what he's doing.
Why in hell would Michael allow someone to point a camera at him and just follow him around without knowing what the digital image was going to be used for? Vick not only didn't care, he got right up to the camera and came off big in his thuggy glory.
Great, man. Just peachy.
What we want to see - Ok, what I want to see is a clean-cut, smooth, thoughtful version of Vick that by its very existence gives a collective finger to his doubters and allows him to regain then surpass the value he had before he was hauled off to jail. In the NFL, where potentially hundreds of millions of dollars can be brought to bear on one person, image is everything. One can't whine and cry about not being able to wear his gangta t-shirt or not "looking black", unless of course he wants to kiss his revenue potential goodbye. If so, then fine. There's thousands of brothers on the street trying to sell their music and "looking black in the process, perhaps Vick can join them.
Call me "Uncle Tom" or whatever. I don't care. I'm keeping it real myself. And the real story is that the Michael Vick I saw in that video is pretty much the same Michael Vick I briefly met at the 2000 EA Sports Party in Atlanta during the Super Bowl. At that event, Vick was playing video games wearing a white tank top shirt some call a "wife beater" shirt. His hair was braided. I was disappointed and wanted to kick the ass of whomever was supposedly advising him.
There's no denying Vick's physical talent, but I want to see him bring himself to an NFL-level of character and image, if anything because it's a good, positive message to send to kids. He didn't project that NFL-level of person at the EA Sports party 10 years ago, where he should have dressed business casual, and he's didn't show it on the YouTube video.
Coach Dungy, please talk to Michael before its too late. As my 74-year old Mom said "He's got to stay away from that old crowd. C'mon Vick!"
Amen.
Now as any regular follower of my blogs knows, I'm really happy former Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick's back in the NFL, and even though he's not signed with a team yet, former Indy Coach Tony Dungy said on NBC's telecast of the "Hall of Fame Game" that a team should sign him within the next week. That's great. But just because God's smiling on Vick, doesn't mean he has to lose control of the image he's working to build so quickly, and risk blowing it all.
What do I mean? Well, there's a new set of expectations of Vick from a number of people: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Dungy, and anyone rooting for Vick to get a second chance and most important succeed at it. I count myself here because I embarked on an attack against on PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for its race-tinged smearing of Vick, and I'm still not done with PETA. But because of that, I expect Michael Vick to be that guy we all want him to be, and not someone sporting the latest in thug attire and saying "I'm gonna always love my N___, you know what I'm sayin" as he did in this video:
When I got wind of this via Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports on Twitter, I pretty much fell out of my chair. I wanted to make sure I wasn't being too anal about the whole deal so I asked my Mom, who's visiting me, to come over and watch the video. Her words came out as soon as she listened to him: "He's not gonna make it," she said.
I informed Mom that Coach Dungy said Vick would be signed by someone and she said "I hope so." So do I.
See, what Mike doens't understand is now, like it or not, everyone black's not only rooting for him and fighting for him, but demands that he represent himself in a way that justifies our actions in defending him. I write "black" because Vick's behavior ignites the age-old argument of what it means to be black in America and the idea that one does not have to act black, but that's another blog post, back to this one.
Allowing ones self to be on camera showing the best of thug life (another code word for "acting black") doesn't help us one bit. I don't know where anyone got the idea that rap culture was desirable, but Vick's got to understand if he wants to establish himself as lovable to corporate sponsors (and if you want to say that's a code word for "acting white" go ahead but my retort is that being clean, intelligent, and presentable to companies has nothing to do with race at all), he's got to lose that shtick, and fast.
Am I being harsh, yes, massively so. Do I care? No way. I'm really ticked-off with Vick's actions; perhaps T.O. (Terrell Owens) can talk me down and talk to him in the process. Protecting the proper image is at the center of this issue of Michael Vick's future. There are people betting that Vick will be just the kind of person he's showing himself to be in that YouTube moment and that's not acceptable to us, his fans. While Michael may feel he's got to "keep it real" as Chris Rock would say, "keeping it real, yeah, real dumb" is what he's doing.
Why in hell would Michael allow someone to point a camera at him and just follow him around without knowing what the digital image was going to be used for? Vick not only didn't care, he got right up to the camera and came off big in his thuggy glory.
Great, man. Just peachy.
What we want to see - Ok, what I want to see is a clean-cut, smooth, thoughtful version of Vick that by its very existence gives a collective finger to his doubters and allows him to regain then surpass the value he had before he was hauled off to jail. In the NFL, where potentially hundreds of millions of dollars can be brought to bear on one person, image is everything. One can't whine and cry about not being able to wear his gangta t-shirt or not "looking black", unless of course he wants to kiss his revenue potential goodbye. If so, then fine. There's thousands of brothers on the street trying to sell their music and "looking black in the process, perhaps Vick can join them.
Call me "Uncle Tom" or whatever. I don't care. I'm keeping it real myself. And the real story is that the Michael Vick I saw in that video is pretty much the same Michael Vick I briefly met at the 2000 EA Sports Party in Atlanta during the Super Bowl. At that event, Vick was playing video games wearing a white tank top shirt some call a "wife beater" shirt. His hair was braided. I was disappointed and wanted to kick the ass of whomever was supposedly advising him.
There's no denying Vick's physical talent, but I want to see him bring himself to an NFL-level of character and image, if anything because it's a good, positive message to send to kids. He didn't project that NFL-level of person at the EA Sports party 10 years ago, where he should have dressed business casual, and he's didn't show it on the YouTube video.
Coach Dungy, please talk to Michael before its too late. As my 74-year old Mom said "He's got to stay away from that old crowd. C'mon Vick!"
Amen.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Canton South Marching Band HOF 2009
Canton South Marching Band during the Hall of Fame Parade August 8, 2009. The band did a great job! Including all the NICC Sr. Highers!
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Free Agency Period Ends
From NFLMedia.com
Unrestricted Free Agency Period Ends; 86 Re-sign, 128 Switch Teams
08/04/2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8/4/09
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY PERIOD ENDS;
86 RE-SIGN, 128 SWITCH TEAMS
Eighty-six unrestrictedfree agents re-signed with their old teams this year during the free-agencysigning period, while 128 signed with new teams, the National Football Leagueannounced today. The five-month UFAsigning period, under terms of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement betweenthe league and players, ended July 27.
The Denver Broncos signed the most unrestricted free agentsfrom other teams (14), followed by the Detroit Lions with nine.
As per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, players without2009 contracts who had four or more seasons of free agency experience qualifiedto be "unrestricted free agents" and were free to sign with any clubbetween February 27 and July 27.
There were a total of 336 unrestricted free agents thisyear. The total player pool isapproximately 1,700.
If an unrestricted free agent’s prior club made a 110percent tender on or before June 1, the prior club retained exclusivenegotiating rights if the player did not sign with another club during the UFAsigning period. If the player and clubare unable to negotiate a contract by the 10th week of the regular season(November 17), the player may not play the remainder of the season. If the player sits out the season, he becomesan unrestricted free agent next year.
The 128 unrestricted free agents whoswitched teams represent only 7.5 percent of all NFL players. Of the 400 players who were free agents inthe various categories of the system, 275 signed new contracts with either newteams or their old clubs. An additional44 players with fewer than four seasons of free agency experience received noqualifying offer or minimum tender from their prior clubs.
Restrictedfree agents are those players who have threeseasons of free agency experience and are subject to compensation and/or rightof first refusal.
For the first time since the current CBA went into effect 17seasons ago, none of this year's 55 restricted free agents signed with a newteam and 54 restricted free agents returned to their former clubs. The period for restricted free agents toaccept offers from other teams ended April 17.
A transitionplayer is a designated restricted or unrestricted free agent whose teammust tender a one-year contract at the average of the 10 highest-paid playersof 2008 at the transition player's position, or a 20 percent increase,whichever is greater. A franchise player is a designated restrictedor unrestricted free agent whose team must tender a one-year contract at theaverage of the five highest-paid players at the franchise player's position in2008, or a 20 percent increase, whichever is greater.
A comparison of free agent movement sincethe current CBA went into effect 17 seasons ago:
NFL FREE AGENCY MOVEMENT
(VeteranFree Agents Who Signed With New Teams)
Category
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Unrestricted
108
121
171
99
85
110
115
107
93
Restricted
8
7
6
4
2
4
2
4
4
Transition
4
4
2
2
2
1
1
0
0
Franchise
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
TOTALS
121
132
179
105
89
117
118
111
97
Category
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Unrestricted
130
111
124
104
149
126
132
128
Restricted
1
5
1
3
4
4
3
0
Transition
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
Franchise
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TOTALS
131
117
126
107
154
130
135
128
FINAL2009 NFL UNRESTRICTED & RESTRICTED FREE-AGENT SIGNINGS
(Basedon official notification to NFL office)
1) 128 UNRESTRICTED free agents have signed with a NEWteam:
TEAM
PLAYER
FORMER TEAM
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
CB Bryant McFadden
Pittsburgh
3/11
RB Jason Wright
Cleveland
3/18
Atlanta Falcons
LB Mike Peterson
Jacksonville
3/11
C Brett Romberg
St. Louis
3/10
Baltimore Ravens
C Matt Birk
Minnesota
3/5
CB Chris Carr
Tennessee
3/18
CB Dominique Foxworth
Atlanta
2/27
TE L.J. Smith
Philadelphia
3/20
Buffalo Bills
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
Cincinnati
2/28
C Geoff Hangartner
Carolina
3/2
G Seth McKinney
Cleveland
4/8
RB Dominic Rhodes
Indianapolis
4/20
LB Patrick Thomas
Kansas City
3/20
Chicago Bears
S Josh Bullocks
New Orleans
3/12
T Frank Omiyale
Carolina
2/28
Cincinnati Bengals
WR Laveranues Coles
NY Jets
3/5
DT Tank Johnson
Dallas
4/8
QB J.T. O’Sullivan
San Francisco
3/10
Cleveland Browns
LB Eric Barton
NY Jets
3/16
CB Corey Ivy
Baltimore
3/19
DE C.J. Mosley
NY Jets
3/9
CB Hank Poteat
NY Jets
3/10
T John St. Clair
Chicago
3/18
T Floyd Womack
Seattle
3/16
Dallas Cowboys
LB Keith Brooking
Atlanta
3/2
DE Igor Olshansky
San Diego
3/9
S Gerald Sensabaugh
Jacksonville
3/11
Denver Broncos
RB JJ Arrington
Arizona
3/5
RB Correll Buckhalter
Philadelphia
2/28
LB Andra Davis
Cleveland
2/28
S Brian Dawkins
Philadelphia
3/2
NT Ronald Fields
San Francisco
3/3
WR Jabar Gaffney
New England
2/28
CB Andre’ Goodman
Miami
3/3
T Brandon Gorin
St. Louis
4/17
CB Renaldo Hill
Miami
2/28
RB LaMont Jordan
New England
3/4
LS Lonie Paxton
New England
2/28
DT Darrell Reid
Indianapolis
2/28
QB Chris Simms
Tennessee
3/5
G Scott Young
Cleveland
3/13
Detroit Lions
CB Phillip Buchanon
Tampa Bay
3/5
TE Will Heller
Seattle
3/17
DT Grady Jackson
Atlanta
3/5
WR Bryant Johnson
San Francisco
3/2
T Daniel Loper
Tennessee
3/11
CB Eric King
Tennessee
2/28
RB Maurice Morris
Seattle
2/28
RB Terrelle Smith
Arizona
4/16
LB Cody Spencer
NY Jets
3/9
Green Bay Packers
C Duke Preston
Buffalo
3/30
Houston Texans
NT Shaun Cody
Detroit
3/30
QB Dan Orlovsky
Detroit
3/2
G Adrian Jones
Kansas City
5/18
DE Antonio Smith
Arizona
3/2
Indianapolis Colts
LB Adam Seward
Carolina
3/20
Jacksonville Jaguars
S Sean Considine
Philadelphia
2/28
T Tra Thomas
Philadelphia
3/9
Kansas City Chiefs
LB Monty Beisel
Arizona
3/17
WR Terrance Copper
Baltimore
3/17
CB Travis Daniels
Cleveland
3/10
WR Bobby Engram
Seattle
3/17
G Mike Goff
San Diego
3/26
C Eric Ghiaciuc
Cincinnati
4/30
TE Sean Ryan
San Francisco
4/21
LB Zach Thomas
Dallas
4/13
Miami Dolphins
G Joe Berger
Dallas
2/27
CB Eric Green
Arizona
3/12
C Jake Grove
Oakland
3/3
Minnesota Vikings
CB Karl Paymah
Denver
3/19
New England Patriots
DT Damane Duckett
San Francisco
3/23
C Al Johnson
Miami
3/16
LB Paris Lenon
Detroit
5/27
S Brandon McGowan
Chicago
5/5
New Orleans Saints
TE Darnell Dinkins
Cleveland
3/23
FB Heath Evans
New England
3/12
CB Jabari Greer
Buffalo
3/5
DE Tony Hargrove
Buffalo
5/18
C Nick Leckey
St. Louis
3/18
S Pierson Prioleau
Jacksonville
3/25
S Darren Sharper
Minnesota
3/24
New York Giants
DT Rocky Bernard
Seattle
3/2
LB Michael Boley
Atlanta
2/28
S C.C. Brown
Houston
3/4
DE Chris Canty
Dallas
3/2
New York Jets
DT Howard Green
Seattle
3/16
LB Larry Izzo
New England
3/11
S Jim Leonhard
Baltimore
3/3
LB Bart Scott
Baltimore
2/28
CB Donald Strickland
San Francisco
3/25
Oakland Raiders
T Khalif Barnes
Jacksonville
3/16
DT Ryan Boschetti
Washington
4/1
S Keith Davis
Dallas
5/21
QB Jeff Garcia
Tampa Bay
4/6
T Marcus Johnson
Minnesota
4/6
RB Lorenzo Neal
Baltimore
5/8
Philadelphia Eagles
T Stacy Andrews
Cincinnati
2/28
S Rashad Baker
Oakland
3/11
S Sean Jones
Cleveland
3/9
RB Leonard Weaver
Seattle
3/23
Pittsburgh Steelers
WR Shaun McDonald
Detroit
5/1
CB Keiwan Ratliff
Indianapolis
4/27
St. Louis Rams
TE Billy Bajema
San Francisco
3/31
QB Kyle Boller
Baltimore
4/6
C Jason Brown
Baltimore
3/10
S James Butler
NY Giants
3/12
San Diego Chargers
LB Kevin Burnett
Dallas
3/12
San Francisco 49ers
DE Demetric Evans
Washington
3/10
LB Marques Harris
San Diego
5/1
WR Brandon Jones
Tennessee
2/28
RB Moran Norris
Detroit
3/3
T Marvel Smith
Pittsburgh
3/30
Seattle Seahawks
DT Colin Cole
Green Bay
3/2
WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Cincinnati
3/3
TE John Owens
Detroit
3/5
LS Bryan Pittman
Houston
5/18
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
LB Angelo Crowell
Buffalo
3/23
QB Byron Leftwich
Pittsburgh
4/14
K Mike Nugent
NY Jets
3/4
RB Derrick Ward
NY Giants
3/3
Tennessee Titans
CB DeMarcus Faggins
Houston
4/2
DT Jovan Haye
Tampa Bay
3/3
WR Mark Jones
Carolina
3/20
QB Patrick Ramsey
Denver
4/6
WR Nate Washington
Pittsburgh
3/3
Washington Redskins
DT Albert Haynesworth
Tennessee
2/28
P Hunter Smith
Indianapolis
4/27
DE Renaldo Wynn
NY Giants
3/24
2) 86 UNRESTRICTED free agents have re-signed withtheir OLD team:
TEAM
PLAYER
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
DE Bert Berry
3/20
G Elton Brown
3/25
CB Ralph Brown
3/27
P Ben Graham
3/2
LB Clark Haggans
3/17
QB Brian St. Pierre
3/2
QB Kurt Warner
3/5
Atlanta Falcons
DE Chauncey Davis
3/4
LB Tony Gilbert
2/27
DT Jason Jefferson
3/3
LB Coy Wire
2/27
Baltimore Ravens
QB Todd Bouman
4/6
LB Ray Lewis
3/9
Buffalo Bills
T Kirk Chambers
3/4
RB Corey McIntyre
3/3
Chicago Bears
RB Kevin Jones
3/9
Cincinnati Bengals
RB Cedric Benson
3/4
LB Darryl Blackstock
3/2
S Chris Crocker
3/5
Cleveland Browns
S Mike Adams
3/6
Denver Broncos
DT Kenny Peterson
3/10
TE Jeb Putzier
3/16
Detroit Lions
RB Aveion Cason
3/9
G Damion Cook
3/5
WR Keary Colbert
5/7
T George Foster
4/6
Green Bay Packers
DE Mike Montgomery
3/23
Houston Texans
S Nick Ferguson
3/12
C Chris White
2/27
CB Eugene Wilson
2/27
Indianapolis Colts
S Matt Giordano
4/17
LB Tyjuan Hagler
4/8
C Jeff Saturday
2/27
Jacksonville Jaguars
C Brad Meester
2/27
CB Scott Starks
2/27
Kansas City Chiefs
S Jon McGraw
3/6
Miami Dolphins
S Yeremiah Bell
2/27
Minnesota Vikings
LB Heath Farwell
3/6
DT Jimmy Kennedy
3/11
TE Jim Kleinsasser
2/28
S Benny Sapp
3/10
New England Patriots
P Chris Hanson
3/5
G Russ Hochstein
3/2
S James Sanders
3/5
DT Kenny Smith
4/22
S Tank Williams
3/16
DE Mike Wright
3/16
New Orleans Saints
QB Joey Harrington
3/30
WR Devery Henderson
3/4
T Jon Stinchcomb
3/3
LB Jonathan Vilma
3/3
New York Jets
CB Ahmad Carroll
3/16
K Jay Feely
3/9
TE Bubba Franks
5/12
RB Tony Richardson
3/3
Oakland Raiders
G Cooper Carlisle
3/3
LB Isaiah Ekejiuba
3/3
NT William Joseph
3/16
CB Justin Miller
3/16
TE Tony Stewart
3/3
LB Sam Williams
4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers
QB Charlie Batch
4/16
CB Fernando Bryant
3/18
T Trai Essex
3/17
LB Keyaron Fox
4/6
LB Andre Frazier
3/16
G Chris Kemoeatu
3/12
St. Louis Rams
CB Ron Bartell
3/5
G Adam Goldberg
3/23
DE Eric Moore
3/16
San Francisco 49ers
CB Allen Rossum
3/11
LB Takeo Spikes
3/4
Seattle Seahawks
LB Leroy Hill
5/1
LB D.D. Lewis
3/16
T Ray Willis
3/9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
S Will Allen
3/3
WR Michael Clayton
3/2
WR Cortez Hankton
3/5
S Jermaine Phillips
3/6
TE Jerramy Stevens
3/5
Tennessee Titans
QB Kerry Collins
2/28
S Vincent Fuller
3/2
P Craig Hentrich
3/6
Washington Redskins
DE Phillip Daniels
4/2
LB Alfred Fincher
3/10
CB DeAngelo Hall
3/4
3) 0 RESTRICTED free agents have signed with NEWteams:
TEAM
PLAYER
FORMER TEAM
DATE REPORTED
4) 54 RESTRICTED free agents have re-signed with their OLDteam:
TEAM
PLAYER
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
TE Leonard Pope
3/31
DT Gabe Watson
3/31
Atlanta Falcons
T Tyson Clabo
6/2
G Harvey Dahl
4/15
Baltimore Ravens
P Sam Koch
3/27
S Dawan Landry
4/2
TE Quinn Sypniewski
4/9
WR Demetrius Williams
4/9
Buffalo Bills
LB Keith Ellison
3/23
S George Wilson
3/31
Carolina Panthers
LB James Anderson
4/17
TE Jeff King
3/18
S Nate Salley
4/20
Cincinnati Bengals
LB Brandon Johnson
4/16
LB Rashad Jeanty
4/17
Dallas Cowboys
WR Miles Austin
4/23
DE Stephen Bowen
4/6
WR Sam Hurd
4/21
G Cory Proctor
4/2
Green Bay Packers
S Atari Bigby
4/17
CB Jarrett Bush
3/16
DE Jason Hunter
3/16
RB John Kuhn
4/17
WR Ruvell Martin
4/17
Houston Texans
WR David Anderson
3/13
T Rashad Butler
4/7
TE Owen Daniels
6/15
TE Joel Dreessen
3/4
Kansas City Chiefs
C Rudy Niswanger
4/24
S Jarrad Page
5/29
WR Jeff Webb
4/20
Minnesota Vikings
DT Fred Evans
4/6
RB Naufahu Tahi
3/27
New England Patriots
LB Pierre Woods
4/21
New Orleans Saints
G Jahri Evans
4/21
WR Lance Moore
4/22
T Zach Strief
4/13
CB Leigh Torrance
4/13
New York Giants
CB Kevin Dockery
4/13
New York Jets
S Abram Elam
3/17
Oakland Raiders
LB Ricky Brown
3/16
Philadelphia Eagles
WR Hank Baskett
4/23
C Nick Cole
3/31
Pittsburgh Steelers
T Willie Colon
3/10
S Anthony Madison
3/20
TE Sean McHugh
3/2
St. Louis Rams
DE Victor Adenyanju
4/20
G Richie Incognito
5/1
San Diego Chargers
WR Malcom Floyd
5/15
CB Cletis Gordon
4/14
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
T Donald Penn
4/14
Washington Redskins
DT Kedric Golston
4/10
DT Anthony Montgomery
3/25
K Shaun Suisham
3/16
5) 0 FRANCHISE players have signed with NEWteams:
TEAM
PLAYER
FORMER TEAM
DATE REPORTED
6) 7 FRANCHISE players re-signed with their OLDteam:
TEAM
PLAYER
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
LB Karlos Dansby
3/4
Baltimore Ravens
LB Terrell Suggs
7/15
Carolina Panthers
DE Julius Peppers
6/24
Cincinnati Bengals
K Shayne Graham
4/30
St. Louis Rams
S Oshiomogho Atogwe
7/16
San Diego Chargers
RB Darren Sproles
4/28
Tennessee Titans
TE Bo Scaife
4/28
# # #
Unrestricted Free Agency Period Ends; 86 Re-sign, 128 Switch Teams
08/04/2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8/4/09
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENCY PERIOD ENDS;
86 RE-SIGN, 128 SWITCH TEAMS
Eighty-six unrestrictedfree agents re-signed with their old teams this year during the free-agencysigning period, while 128 signed with new teams, the National Football Leagueannounced today. The five-month UFAsigning period, under terms of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement betweenthe league and players, ended July 27.
The Denver Broncos signed the most unrestricted free agentsfrom other teams (14), followed by the Detroit Lions with nine.
As per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, players without2009 contracts who had four or more seasons of free agency experience qualifiedto be "unrestricted free agents" and were free to sign with any clubbetween February 27 and July 27.
There were a total of 336 unrestricted free agents thisyear. The total player pool isapproximately 1,700.
If an unrestricted free agent’s prior club made a 110percent tender on or before June 1, the prior club retained exclusivenegotiating rights if the player did not sign with another club during the UFAsigning period. If the player and clubare unable to negotiate a contract by the 10th week of the regular season(November 17), the player may not play the remainder of the season. If the player sits out the season, he becomesan unrestricted free agent next year.
The 128 unrestricted free agents whoswitched teams represent only 7.5 percent of all NFL players. Of the 400 players who were free agents inthe various categories of the system, 275 signed new contracts with either newteams or their old clubs. An additional44 players with fewer than four seasons of free agency experience received noqualifying offer or minimum tender from their prior clubs.
Restrictedfree agents are those players who have threeseasons of free agency experience and are subject to compensation and/or rightof first refusal.
For the first time since the current CBA went into effect 17seasons ago, none of this year's 55 restricted free agents signed with a newteam and 54 restricted free agents returned to their former clubs. The period for restricted free agents toaccept offers from other teams ended April 17.
A transitionplayer is a designated restricted or unrestricted free agent whose teammust tender a one-year contract at the average of the 10 highest-paid playersof 2008 at the transition player's position, or a 20 percent increase,whichever is greater. A franchise player is a designated restrictedor unrestricted free agent whose team must tender a one-year contract at theaverage of the five highest-paid players at the franchise player's position in2008, or a 20 percent increase, whichever is greater.
A comparison of free agent movement sincethe current CBA went into effect 17 seasons ago:
NFL FREE AGENCY MOVEMENT
(VeteranFree Agents Who Signed With New Teams)
Category
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Unrestricted
108
121
171
99
85
110
115
107
93
Restricted
8
7
6
4
2
4
2
4
4
Transition
4
4
2
2
2
1
1
0
0
Franchise
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
TOTALS
121
132
179
105
89
117
118
111
97
Category
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Unrestricted
130
111
124
104
149
126
132
128
Restricted
1
5
1
3
4
4
3
0
Transition
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
Franchise
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
TOTALS
131
117
126
107
154
130
135
128
FINAL2009 NFL UNRESTRICTED & RESTRICTED FREE-AGENT SIGNINGS
(Basedon official notification to NFL office)
1) 128 UNRESTRICTED free agents have signed with a NEWteam:
TEAM
PLAYER
FORMER TEAM
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
CB Bryant McFadden
Pittsburgh
3/11
RB Jason Wright
Cleveland
3/18
Atlanta Falcons
LB Mike Peterson
Jacksonville
3/11
C Brett Romberg
St. Louis
3/10
Baltimore Ravens
C Matt Birk
Minnesota
3/5
CB Chris Carr
Tennessee
3/18
CB Dominique Foxworth
Atlanta
2/27
TE L.J. Smith
Philadelphia
3/20
Buffalo Bills
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
Cincinnati
2/28
C Geoff Hangartner
Carolina
3/2
G Seth McKinney
Cleveland
4/8
RB Dominic Rhodes
Indianapolis
4/20
LB Patrick Thomas
Kansas City
3/20
Chicago Bears
S Josh Bullocks
New Orleans
3/12
T Frank Omiyale
Carolina
2/28
Cincinnati Bengals
WR Laveranues Coles
NY Jets
3/5
DT Tank Johnson
Dallas
4/8
QB J.T. O’Sullivan
San Francisco
3/10
Cleveland Browns
LB Eric Barton
NY Jets
3/16
CB Corey Ivy
Baltimore
3/19
DE C.J. Mosley
NY Jets
3/9
CB Hank Poteat
NY Jets
3/10
T John St. Clair
Chicago
3/18
T Floyd Womack
Seattle
3/16
Dallas Cowboys
LB Keith Brooking
Atlanta
3/2
DE Igor Olshansky
San Diego
3/9
S Gerald Sensabaugh
Jacksonville
3/11
Denver Broncos
RB JJ Arrington
Arizona
3/5
RB Correll Buckhalter
Philadelphia
2/28
LB Andra Davis
Cleveland
2/28
S Brian Dawkins
Philadelphia
3/2
NT Ronald Fields
San Francisco
3/3
WR Jabar Gaffney
New England
2/28
CB Andre’ Goodman
Miami
3/3
T Brandon Gorin
St. Louis
4/17
CB Renaldo Hill
Miami
2/28
RB LaMont Jordan
New England
3/4
LS Lonie Paxton
New England
2/28
DT Darrell Reid
Indianapolis
2/28
QB Chris Simms
Tennessee
3/5
G Scott Young
Cleveland
3/13
Detroit Lions
CB Phillip Buchanon
Tampa Bay
3/5
TE Will Heller
Seattle
3/17
DT Grady Jackson
Atlanta
3/5
WR Bryant Johnson
San Francisco
3/2
T Daniel Loper
Tennessee
3/11
CB Eric King
Tennessee
2/28
RB Maurice Morris
Seattle
2/28
RB Terrelle Smith
Arizona
4/16
LB Cody Spencer
NY Jets
3/9
Green Bay Packers
C Duke Preston
Buffalo
3/30
Houston Texans
NT Shaun Cody
Detroit
3/30
QB Dan Orlovsky
Detroit
3/2
G Adrian Jones
Kansas City
5/18
DE Antonio Smith
Arizona
3/2
Indianapolis Colts
LB Adam Seward
Carolina
3/20
Jacksonville Jaguars
S Sean Considine
Philadelphia
2/28
T Tra Thomas
Philadelphia
3/9
Kansas City Chiefs
LB Monty Beisel
Arizona
3/17
WR Terrance Copper
Baltimore
3/17
CB Travis Daniels
Cleveland
3/10
WR Bobby Engram
Seattle
3/17
G Mike Goff
San Diego
3/26
C Eric Ghiaciuc
Cincinnati
4/30
TE Sean Ryan
San Francisco
4/21
LB Zach Thomas
Dallas
4/13
Miami Dolphins
G Joe Berger
Dallas
2/27
CB Eric Green
Arizona
3/12
C Jake Grove
Oakland
3/3
Minnesota Vikings
CB Karl Paymah
Denver
3/19
New England Patriots
DT Damane Duckett
San Francisco
3/23
C Al Johnson
Miami
3/16
LB Paris Lenon
Detroit
5/27
S Brandon McGowan
Chicago
5/5
New Orleans Saints
TE Darnell Dinkins
Cleveland
3/23
FB Heath Evans
New England
3/12
CB Jabari Greer
Buffalo
3/5
DE Tony Hargrove
Buffalo
5/18
C Nick Leckey
St. Louis
3/18
S Pierson Prioleau
Jacksonville
3/25
S Darren Sharper
Minnesota
3/24
New York Giants
DT Rocky Bernard
Seattle
3/2
LB Michael Boley
Atlanta
2/28
S C.C. Brown
Houston
3/4
DE Chris Canty
Dallas
3/2
New York Jets
DT Howard Green
Seattle
3/16
LB Larry Izzo
New England
3/11
S Jim Leonhard
Baltimore
3/3
LB Bart Scott
Baltimore
2/28
CB Donald Strickland
San Francisco
3/25
Oakland Raiders
T Khalif Barnes
Jacksonville
3/16
DT Ryan Boschetti
Washington
4/1
S Keith Davis
Dallas
5/21
QB Jeff Garcia
Tampa Bay
4/6
T Marcus Johnson
Minnesota
4/6
RB Lorenzo Neal
Baltimore
5/8
Philadelphia Eagles
T Stacy Andrews
Cincinnati
2/28
S Rashad Baker
Oakland
3/11
S Sean Jones
Cleveland
3/9
RB Leonard Weaver
Seattle
3/23
Pittsburgh Steelers
WR Shaun McDonald
Detroit
5/1
CB Keiwan Ratliff
Indianapolis
4/27
St. Louis Rams
TE Billy Bajema
San Francisco
3/31
QB Kyle Boller
Baltimore
4/6
C Jason Brown
Baltimore
3/10
S James Butler
NY Giants
3/12
San Diego Chargers
LB Kevin Burnett
Dallas
3/12
San Francisco 49ers
DE Demetric Evans
Washington
3/10
LB Marques Harris
San Diego
5/1
WR Brandon Jones
Tennessee
2/28
RB Moran Norris
Detroit
3/3
T Marvel Smith
Pittsburgh
3/30
Seattle Seahawks
DT Colin Cole
Green Bay
3/2
WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Cincinnati
3/3
TE John Owens
Detroit
3/5
LS Bryan Pittman
Houston
5/18
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
LB Angelo Crowell
Buffalo
3/23
QB Byron Leftwich
Pittsburgh
4/14
K Mike Nugent
NY Jets
3/4
RB Derrick Ward
NY Giants
3/3
Tennessee Titans
CB DeMarcus Faggins
Houston
4/2
DT Jovan Haye
Tampa Bay
3/3
WR Mark Jones
Carolina
3/20
QB Patrick Ramsey
Denver
4/6
WR Nate Washington
Pittsburgh
3/3
Washington Redskins
DT Albert Haynesworth
Tennessee
2/28
P Hunter Smith
Indianapolis
4/27
DE Renaldo Wynn
NY Giants
3/24
2) 86 UNRESTRICTED free agents have re-signed withtheir OLD team:
TEAM
PLAYER
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
DE Bert Berry
3/20
G Elton Brown
3/25
CB Ralph Brown
3/27
P Ben Graham
3/2
LB Clark Haggans
3/17
QB Brian St. Pierre
3/2
QB Kurt Warner
3/5
Atlanta Falcons
DE Chauncey Davis
3/4
LB Tony Gilbert
2/27
DT Jason Jefferson
3/3
LB Coy Wire
2/27
Baltimore Ravens
QB Todd Bouman
4/6
LB Ray Lewis
3/9
Buffalo Bills
T Kirk Chambers
3/4
RB Corey McIntyre
3/3
Chicago Bears
RB Kevin Jones
3/9
Cincinnati Bengals
RB Cedric Benson
3/4
LB Darryl Blackstock
3/2
S Chris Crocker
3/5
Cleveland Browns
S Mike Adams
3/6
Denver Broncos
DT Kenny Peterson
3/10
TE Jeb Putzier
3/16
Detroit Lions
RB Aveion Cason
3/9
G Damion Cook
3/5
WR Keary Colbert
5/7
T George Foster
4/6
Green Bay Packers
DE Mike Montgomery
3/23
Houston Texans
S Nick Ferguson
3/12
C Chris White
2/27
CB Eugene Wilson
2/27
Indianapolis Colts
S Matt Giordano
4/17
LB Tyjuan Hagler
4/8
C Jeff Saturday
2/27
Jacksonville Jaguars
C Brad Meester
2/27
CB Scott Starks
2/27
Kansas City Chiefs
S Jon McGraw
3/6
Miami Dolphins
S Yeremiah Bell
2/27
Minnesota Vikings
LB Heath Farwell
3/6
DT Jimmy Kennedy
3/11
TE Jim Kleinsasser
2/28
S Benny Sapp
3/10
New England Patriots
P Chris Hanson
3/5
G Russ Hochstein
3/2
S James Sanders
3/5
DT Kenny Smith
4/22
S Tank Williams
3/16
DE Mike Wright
3/16
New Orleans Saints
QB Joey Harrington
3/30
WR Devery Henderson
3/4
T Jon Stinchcomb
3/3
LB Jonathan Vilma
3/3
New York Jets
CB Ahmad Carroll
3/16
K Jay Feely
3/9
TE Bubba Franks
5/12
RB Tony Richardson
3/3
Oakland Raiders
G Cooper Carlisle
3/3
LB Isaiah Ekejiuba
3/3
NT William Joseph
3/16
CB Justin Miller
3/16
TE Tony Stewart
3/3
LB Sam Williams
4/1
Pittsburgh Steelers
QB Charlie Batch
4/16
CB Fernando Bryant
3/18
T Trai Essex
3/17
LB Keyaron Fox
4/6
LB Andre Frazier
3/16
G Chris Kemoeatu
3/12
St. Louis Rams
CB Ron Bartell
3/5
G Adam Goldberg
3/23
DE Eric Moore
3/16
San Francisco 49ers
CB Allen Rossum
3/11
LB Takeo Spikes
3/4
Seattle Seahawks
LB Leroy Hill
5/1
LB D.D. Lewis
3/16
T Ray Willis
3/9
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
S Will Allen
3/3
WR Michael Clayton
3/2
WR Cortez Hankton
3/5
S Jermaine Phillips
3/6
TE Jerramy Stevens
3/5
Tennessee Titans
QB Kerry Collins
2/28
S Vincent Fuller
3/2
P Craig Hentrich
3/6
Washington Redskins
DE Phillip Daniels
4/2
LB Alfred Fincher
3/10
CB DeAngelo Hall
3/4
3) 0 RESTRICTED free agents have signed with NEWteams:
TEAM
PLAYER
FORMER TEAM
DATE REPORTED
4) 54 RESTRICTED free agents have re-signed with their OLDteam:
TEAM
PLAYER
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
TE Leonard Pope
3/31
DT Gabe Watson
3/31
Atlanta Falcons
T Tyson Clabo
6/2
G Harvey Dahl
4/15
Baltimore Ravens
P Sam Koch
3/27
S Dawan Landry
4/2
TE Quinn Sypniewski
4/9
WR Demetrius Williams
4/9
Buffalo Bills
LB Keith Ellison
3/23
S George Wilson
3/31
Carolina Panthers
LB James Anderson
4/17
TE Jeff King
3/18
S Nate Salley
4/20
Cincinnati Bengals
LB Brandon Johnson
4/16
LB Rashad Jeanty
4/17
Dallas Cowboys
WR Miles Austin
4/23
DE Stephen Bowen
4/6
WR Sam Hurd
4/21
G Cory Proctor
4/2
Green Bay Packers
S Atari Bigby
4/17
CB Jarrett Bush
3/16
DE Jason Hunter
3/16
RB John Kuhn
4/17
WR Ruvell Martin
4/17
Houston Texans
WR David Anderson
3/13
T Rashad Butler
4/7
TE Owen Daniels
6/15
TE Joel Dreessen
3/4
Kansas City Chiefs
C Rudy Niswanger
4/24
S Jarrad Page
5/29
WR Jeff Webb
4/20
Minnesota Vikings
DT Fred Evans
4/6
RB Naufahu Tahi
3/27
New England Patriots
LB Pierre Woods
4/21
New Orleans Saints
G Jahri Evans
4/21
WR Lance Moore
4/22
T Zach Strief
4/13
CB Leigh Torrance
4/13
New York Giants
CB Kevin Dockery
4/13
New York Jets
S Abram Elam
3/17
Oakland Raiders
LB Ricky Brown
3/16
Philadelphia Eagles
WR Hank Baskett
4/23
C Nick Cole
3/31
Pittsburgh Steelers
T Willie Colon
3/10
S Anthony Madison
3/20
TE Sean McHugh
3/2
St. Louis Rams
DE Victor Adenyanju
4/20
G Richie Incognito
5/1
San Diego Chargers
WR Malcom Floyd
5/15
CB Cletis Gordon
4/14
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
T Donald Penn
4/14
Washington Redskins
DT Kedric Golston
4/10
DT Anthony Montgomery
3/25
K Shaun Suisham
3/16
5) 0 FRANCHISE players have signed with NEWteams:
TEAM
PLAYER
FORMER TEAM
DATE REPORTED
6) 7 FRANCHISE players re-signed with their OLDteam:
TEAM
PLAYER
DATE REPORTED
Arizona Cardinals
LB Karlos Dansby
3/4
Baltimore Ravens
LB Terrell Suggs
7/15
Carolina Panthers
DE Julius Peppers
6/24
Cincinnati Bengals
K Shayne Graham
4/30
St. Louis Rams
S Oshiomogho Atogwe
7/16
San Diego Chargers
RB Darren Sproles
4/28
Tennessee Titans
TE Bo Scaife
4/28
# # #
Tonight on the FRO show at 9Pm eastern
Tonight on the Football Reporters Online Show on Blog talk radio: Peter Schwartz of Sirius Radio and former NY Dragons Play by Play voice to discuss what looks like sadly, the end of the AFL as we knew it. Ken Palmer of Giants Insider.com joins us to talk Giants and NFL East Preview. Plus Bill Carroll From Consensus Draft Services helps us finish our Divisional previews..
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Matt Leinart's Twitter account: if fake, should be removed
Earlier today I wrote a blog post regarding "Matt Leinart's tweet" where he supposedly wrote that Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner was "kinda old". The tweet was written on February 1st during the time of the Super Bowl where the Cards took on the Steelers in Tampa.
Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.
Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.
Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.
Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.
Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.
Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.
Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.
Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.
Matt Leinart thinks Kurt Warner's "old" - a Twitter fake
More at Zennie62.com | Follow me on Twitter! | Get my widget! | Visit YouTube | Visit UShow.com
Matt Leinart at the 2006 NFL Draft:
Special Note: It's said that Matt Leinart does not use Twitter, but this account I report on below with his tweets on it back in February is still up and active. I wrote a new blog post about Matt's Twitter problem and the importance of online reputation management. Below is what I originally reported. It remains as a cautionary example of how not to handle one's digital identity. Hopefully Leinart takes the steps to remove the Twitter account, as should have been done months ago.
I happened to see the New York Times article focusing on NFL Coaches prohibiting players from using Twitter in meetings and during training camp. I had to chuckle because the Twitter frenzy is already alive with funny and controversial tweets all over the place. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who tweeted this (as of this writing):
Locked and loaded, ready to make history if Kurt goes down. That Steeler D is mean, and Kurt's kinda old...9:46 AM Feb 1st from web
Wow, "Kurt's kinda old?" Matt. C'mom, man! This is the guy who beat you out for the starting job in Arizona. A guy who was brought to the Cardinals to "tutor" you in the ways of the NFL, and ended up showing you by example. Why share that you think he's old on Twitter? Did you think someone wouldn't see it?
No one saw the tweet
Apparently no one saw the tweet to even make a big deal about it at the time: February 1st. And given Twitters incredible growth in visitors since that time, I can assert that it wasn't even in the mindset of media types to look at Leinart's Twitter page, let alone report what he put on it.
"Kurt's kinda old?"
As we march toward the 2009 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals Leinart, who thinks "Kurt's kinda old" is now battling for the number two spot behind that old man against unknown journeyman signal-caller Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre was drafted in 2003 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Cardinals.
By contrast, Leinart was drafted in 2006 amid much fanfare and anticipation. But it seems, starting from his being drafted 10th by the Cardinals rather than 3rd by the Tennessee Titans (who picked Texas quarterback Vince Young), Leinart's NFL ride would be a bumpy one. At the 2006 NFL Draft Leinart had to deal with questions about his fall from the being the expected first or third pick to being the 10th selection. Now, he's got to deal with questions about his inability to beat a couple of old guys.
Since Warner and St. Pierre are both older than Leinart, it seems those elderly gents are eating his lunch. If St. Pierre wins the number two spot over Leinart, I guess we should look for Matt to tweet "Brian's kinda old" at some point in the season. Or maybe Leinart will switch to cornerback:
Maybe I'll switch to corner next year -- jk10:15 PM Feb 1st from web
Well, he was just kidding there.
Watch what you tweet
The lesson here is simple: watch what you tweet. Matt, of all people, should know better. He's a two-time All American National Champion out of USC, and so successful that Cal fans all over both respect and hate him. Personally, I root for Matt, always have, but sometimes that dude does things that make me cringe, this tweet is one of them.
"Kurt's kinda old?"
Matt, you should pray to be in the league as long as Kurt has and achieve Warner's success over that time. But right now, the only "old man" you should concern yourself with is Brian St. Pierre. I know you're up to the challenge he presents. I know you can win the number two job - just go out and do it, because if you don't a lot of people will be disappointed in you. At that point, the idea that the NFL means "Not For Long" will come up in conversations about your career.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Change in NFL Draft: Draft moves to Three Day format with first round on Thursday Night in Primetime.
Change in NFL Draft: Draft moves to Three Day format with first round on Thursday Night in Primetime.
The NFL might have done the smartest thing ever in the eyes of real draft fans when they announced a change ton the format of the draft broadcast a short time ago. By moving the draft's first round to thursday night's prime time slot you draw even more viewers and even more of the "casual" football fans then ever before. you also cut a few days of late hype off of the week leading up to the start of the draft because you have the actual first round selections taking place on a weeknight. Then Rounds 2-4 on Friday and 5-7 on Saturday.
What this does for the fan is to also involve them more in the broadcast. For the People working for the teams and the media this gives them(us) an extra Day off/travel day in Sunday, so that people can file their monday stories sooner and grab some relaxation before returning to the grind. In fact, anyone looking for the draft to be shortened should be happy with the reduction in time per pick on 2008 and the format change for 2010. Even if it means one more day of coverage, it's less time on each day.
The big winners here are ESPN and NFLNetwork, because they get to add an extra day of broadcasting to their schedules. So we get an extra Day of Mel Kiper proclaiming that some other front office doesn't know how to handle their business or another chance to hear some more drivel about what some player is going to do with his bonus money instead of real football journalism like "Why did that team pass on that Runningback and take the guy who looks like he'll be packing bags at walmart next month" or how horrible that owner really is, instead of what we really want to know.
The NFL might have done the smartest thing ever in the eyes of real draft fans when they announced a change ton the format of the draft broadcast a short time ago. By moving the draft's first round to thursday night's prime time slot you draw even more viewers and even more of the "casual" football fans then ever before. you also cut a few days of late hype off of the week leading up to the start of the draft because you have the actual first round selections taking place on a weeknight. Then Rounds 2-4 on Friday and 5-7 on Saturday.
What this does for the fan is to also involve them more in the broadcast. For the People working for the teams and the media this gives them(us) an extra Day off/travel day in Sunday, so that people can file their monday stories sooner and grab some relaxation before returning to the grind. In fact, anyone looking for the draft to be shortened should be happy with the reduction in time per pick on 2008 and the format change for 2010. Even if it means one more day of coverage, it's less time on each day.
The big winners here are ESPN and NFLNetwork, because they get to add an extra day of broadcasting to their schedules. So we get an extra Day of Mel Kiper proclaiming that some other front office doesn't know how to handle their business or another chance to hear some more drivel about what some player is going to do with his bonus money instead of real football journalism like "Why did that team pass on that Runningback and take the guy who looks like he'll be packing bags at walmart next month" or how horrible that owner really is, instead of what we really want to know.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
CDFL Playoff week(#4)
Today (Sunday 8/2/2009)
We will Broadcast two Games Live on UStream.tv at 5pm (Westchester Nighthawks vs Bergen Bears) and 7pm (Orange Sprit vs Rockland Rattlers) all times eastern. The Games will also be shown on Verizion Fios ch. 32 in most east coast states. On Tuesday night don't forget to catc the CDFL Review and coaches show at www.Blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters at 7:30 pm Eastern
The CDFL Broadcast team is Tammy Prince & John Kelly on Play by Play and Dr. Bill Chachkes on color commentary.
We will Broadcast two Games Live on UStream.tv at 5pm (Westchester Nighthawks vs Bergen Bears) and 7pm (Orange Sprit vs Rockland Rattlers) all times eastern. The Games will also be shown on Verizion Fios ch. 32 in most east coast states. On Tuesday night don't forget to catc the CDFL Review and coaches show at www.Blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters at 7:30 pm Eastern
The CDFL Broadcast team is Tammy Prince & John Kelly on Play by Play and Dr. Bill Chachkes on color commentary.
