Oakland Raiders Coach Cable says Seymour wants to come to team

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The lastest information on the ongoing story of the trade of New England Patriots Defensive End Richard Seymour to Oakland has Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable on the NFL Network today at 4 PM PST saying that the star lineman told him he wants to come to Oakland.

According to Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times, Cable said he talked to Seymour today.

That counters earlier information that Seymour didn't want to come to Oakland. He was traded to Oakland for the Raiders 2011 first round draft pick, leading some to scratch their heads regarding why the Silver and Black would make such a trade for someone about to turn 30 years old.

The NFL network's Alex Flanagan said it for me "It seems confusing." Mike Mayock said that the Raiders could control Seymour by slapping the much-hated "franchise" tag on him after 2010. Solomon Wilcots observed that would be just the thing to cause Richard not to appear at Raiders headquarters.

The bottom line folks is he's still not physically with the Raiders as of this writing. Nick Haswell of Football Reporters Online still can't get over the trade news.

2009 Dallas Cowboys Preview-By J.P. Fox for Football Reporters Online

2009 Dallas Cowboys Preview-By J.P. Fox for Football Reporters Online
 
Coming off of a horrific ending to the 2008 campaign, the Dallas Cowboys are desperate to not let another season without a playoff victory pass them by. With a season that ended with a 44-6 loss in Philadelphia, with a playoff spot on the line, people in Dallas, and around the country, could begin to wonder about the job security of head coach Wade Phillips. Criticized for running “cupcake” training camps, not being tough on his players, and failing to fully prepare his teams for games, Phillips is definitely on the hot seat coming into his third season as head coach of America’s Team. With an impressive 22-10 regular season record in two years with Dallas, Phillips has not been impressive in the closing months of the season in both years with the team. In his final three games of the ’07 season, Phillips and the Cowboys went 1-2. Dallas ended up losing to the division rival New York Giants in the Divisional round of the playoffs. In his final four games of the ’08 season, the Cowboys went 1-3 and missed the playoffs. With an owner like Jerry Jones, mediocrity will not be accepted. Phillips better get the Cowboys to the playoffs, and WIN in the playoffs, to keep his job.

Quarterback Tony Romo could also be in a make or break year. He was inserted into the starting lineup midway through the 2006 season and brought the team to the playoffs. The following year, he led Dallas to a 13-3 record, but ended the season without a playoff victory. And in 2008, the Cowboys missed the playoffs by getting romped in Philly to end the season. Romo is the heart and soul of the Cowboys. When he goes, the team goes. Some people are ready to put Romo is the same breath as a Peyton Manning, before he won the Super Bowl. Manning just couldn’t get the Colts over the hump. Now Romo has got to get the Cowboys over that hump or he will have a lot of people not too happy about him receiving a $67 million contract before proving himself.

  Jerry Jones has rid the offense of Terrell Owens but inserted Roy Williams as the #1 Wide Receiver. The team gave up three draft picks and a $45 million contract to get Williams to Dallas, from Detroit, midway through last season. The team also has speedster Miles Austin at wideout, as well as Patrick Crayton, a good possession receiver, and Sam Hurd, an up-and-coming player. But the receiving corps with probably only go as far as Roy Williams takes them. He will step into the huge, gaping shoes that Terrell Owens left behind. Roy Williams will probably need to have a season like his 2006 campaign, for the Cowboys to keep on ticking. Dallas had T.O. for the last three seasons to be their #1 receiver and now that elite role for the ‘Boys will go to big #11.

The strength for the Cowboys offense will be their running game. They have a three headed monster in Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. Felix Jones is the teams’ biggest weapon and with him healthy, the team will have an extra dimension that they lacked in the ten games he missed last season due to injury. Three players on the offensive line, Flozell Adams, Leonard Davis, and Andre Gurode, have made the Pro Bowl at least twice in their career. With Marion “The Barbarian” as the between the tackles, short yardage runner and #1 back, Felix Jones as a change-of-pace and third down back, and Tashard Choice available to give both of them a breather, the Cowboys should have no problem running the ball this season.
The Cowboys were ranked 8th overall in the NFL in total defense last season. But one thing the team did lack was forced turnovers. They ranked in the bottom half of the league in that category. Returning for the defense is star linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who racked up 20 sacks in 2008, Terence Newman (cornerback), Jay Ratliff (defensive tackle), and Ken Hamlin (safety), who each have made at least one pro-bowl, and linebackers Bradie James and Anthony Spencer. Gerald Sensabaugh comes over from Jacksonville and will replace Roy Williams at the strong safety spot. Sensabaugh will bring more play-making ability than the aging Williams. Keith Brooking, who had 100+ tackles with Atlanta last season, replaces Zach Thomas. At defensive end, the Cowboys will have Marcus Spears, a young player who is coming into his contract year, and Igor Olshansky, who comes over from San Diego to replace Chris Canty. Olshansky was drafted by San Diego when Wade Phillips was the defensive coordinator there. And lastly, at the cornerback spot opposite Terence Newman, the Cowboys will go with a rotation of second-year players, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick. Jenkins was drafted in the first round last year and Scandrick, the fifth. Throughout the year, Scandrick outplayed Jenkins and many thought Scandrick would open the season as the starter. Instead, Jenkins will start the first game, Scandrick will start the second, and they will rotate until one significantly outplays the other.

So that outlines who will be playing for the 2009 Cowboys. The team is not too far off from becoming relevant again. They have a strong defense that will look to improve on their strong 2008 numbers with a couple of new faces. Also, a strong running game will only better Tony Romo’s chances of becoming that quarterback that every Cowboy fan hopes he is. A strong running game only opens up big things for a quarterback, and when you have three young, hungry runners, your quarterback is set up to flourish. I believe the Cowboys need a couple players to have big years for the team to break out: Felix Jones, Roy Williams, DeMarcus Ware. Jones missed 10 games last year, Williams had 19 catches in 10 games with the Cowboys, and Ware is looking to force more fumbles and become more relentless in the running game this season. Every Cowboy fan is hoping that the ‘Boys can claim that first playoff victory since 1996 but mostly, they are hoping the team can join the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only teams with 6 World Championships.

Al Davis Did What? By Nick Haswell-Football Reporters Online

Al Davis Did What?
By Nick Haswell-Football Reporters Online

Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders just traded their 2011 First Round Draft Pick to the New England Patriots for Future Hall of Fame Defensive End Richard Seymour. This is just the latest transaction by the Raiders that proves the insanity of Owner Al Davis. It’s almost hard to imagine that the Raiders were participants in Super Bowl XXXVII, just 7 seasons ago. Since the morning of that game, where All-Pro Center Barrett Robbins went AWOL before the game, the Raiders have become the joke of the NFL. The Raiders have a record of 24-72 and a winning percentage of .250 since 2003, good for the worst record and winning percentage in the NFL. As Al Davis has gotten older, it seems that his roster moves and coaching hires have gotten crazier. Here is a look at the top 5 reasons that Al Davis has gone crazy since 2003:
5. Signing DE/DT Tommy Kelly to a seven-year, $50.5 million contract in 2008: A 4-year pro that has never been to a Pro Bowl and is coming off a torn ACL gets the largest contract ever for a defensive tackle. That’s exactly what the Raiders did by re-signing Tommy Kelly. Kelly was a defensive end his first four seasons in the NFL, but with Warren Sapp retiring, Al Davis was compelled to overpay to re-sign Kelly and move him and his 6-6, 300 lbs. frame to defensive tackle. But to sign Kelly to a contract that paid him more than Albert Haynesworth (in 2008), Kevin and Pat Williams, and Vince Wilfork is quite ridiculous.
4. Offering Head Coaching Position to Tom Cable following 2008 season: Tom Cable is a fine offensive line coach and has been a very successful offensive coordinator at the college level at Colorado and UCLA. But as a head coach, he has a less impressive resume. As a head coach at the University of Idaho from 2000 to 2003, Cable’s record was 11-35, with 4 consecutive losing seasons. After taking over for Lane Kiffin during the 2008 season, Cable led the Raiders to a 4-8 finish. His head coaching record is not exactly worthy of a head coaching position in the NFL.
3. Trading 2011 First Round Pick to Patriots for Richard Seymour: Trading for a future Hall of Famer is not a crazy idea. But trading away a First Round Draft Pick for a player that could only be in uniform for one season is. Not only could Richard Seymour not be on the Raiders past 2009, but given the Raiders past performance, the Raiders could lose a top 10 draft pick in 2011. And how much will this move improve the Raiders, to win 5 or 6 wins, instead of 4? But the Raiders and Al Davis are desperate to improve their run defense, which has been the worst in the NFL the past several seasons. But exactly where Seymour fits in Oakland’s defense is in question. Seymour has been a 3-4 defensive end his entire career. By being traded to the Raiders, Seymour either moves to a 4-3 defensive end or to a 3-technique defensive tackle, where Tommy Kelly is currently starting.
2. 2009 NFL Draft: Wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were still on the draft board when the Raiders drafted in the #7 overall spot in the 2009 NFL Draft. But Al Davis and the Raiders surprised everyone and drafted speedster receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey from Maryland. Davis and the Raiders are notorious for their love of players with speed, especially with skill position players. Heyward- Bey ran the fastest 40-time at the 2009 NFL Combine at 4.30 seconds. But he is not a polished route-runner and doesn’t possess the best hands. Heyward-Bey was projected as a late first or second round pick. And then in the second round the Raiders selected safety Mike Mitchell from Ohio. Mitchell was considered a late round pick, but Al Davis surprised everyone and took Mitchell early in the second round, when he could have taken him several rounds later.
1. Offering Head Coaching Position to Lane Kiffin: When Art Shell was fired by the Oakland Raiders in 2007, one of the first people Al Davis contacted for the open head coaching job was USC co-offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. After being rebuffed by Sarkisian, Davis moved on to bringing in Sarkisian’s co-coordinator at USC, Lane Kiffin. Despite never being a head coach at any level, or coaching a position at the NFL level (Kiffin was the offensive quality control coach for the Jaguars in 2000), Davis offered the position to Kiffin. Kiffin’s tenure with the Raiders was contentious, almost from the start. There were reports that Kiffin entertained the idea of leaving the Raiders for a college head coaching job before the end of the 2007 NFL Season. Reportedly, Al Davis drafted up Kiffin’s resignation papers following the 2007 season for Kiffin to sign, but Kiffin refused to sign them because he would lose a guaranteed $2 million by signing the papers. Al Davis needs a puppet as his head coach, as Davis has the last word on roster moves and coaching hires. Kiffin was not one who would cooperate with Al Davis in this capactity and his hiring and firing ended up turning the Raider organization into even more chaos.

Richard Seymour may not report to the Oakland Raiders

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According to my friend Mike Florio over at ProFootballTalk.com, the Oakland Raiders trade for Richard Seymour may be scuttled by one action: Seymour's not reporting to the Raiders.

According to Mike and also Peter King of SI.com, Seymour is "angry" that he was traded to the Oakland Raiders, described as "football's literal black hole" over at Profootballtalk.com.

Peter King writes:

Seymour, I'm told, is angry about the deal. He lives in Foxboro, has children he may have to relocate to new schools as the school year dawns and has to get acclimated to a new defense (and an awful team) a week before the opening game. "I would not be surprised if he doesn't report,'' a good friend of Seymour's told me Sunday. I would. Aside from not earning his 2009 salary of $3.7 million, Seymour wouldn't be able to be a free-agent if he doesn't play this year. As it stands now, his contract is up after this year, and if he plays well and stays healthy, he could hit the jackpot when next year's probable uncapped season plays out.

So what's looked like a trade with a possible upside may turn into a complete disaster. How can the Raiders fix this? With CEO Amy Trask putting in a call to Seymour right now on Labor Day to adress his concerns. The call alone would do a lot of good.

Stay tuned.

Shawne Merriman, Tila Tequila and, her website message

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YouTube.com

ESPN reports that San Diego Chargers Linebacker Shawne Merriman was accused of suspicion "choking and restraining" his girlfriend as she tried to leave his home at 3:45 am. This is what's written on ESPN's website:

Deputies responded about 3:45 a.m. to Merriman's house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman called to say she was choked by the player and thrown to the ground when she tried to leave, Sheriff's Department spokesman Jan Caldwell said at a news conference.


Merriman, 25, was taken into custody and booked into the central jail at about 8:30 a.m. He was released shortly after 11 a.m. Caldwell said she didn't know if he posted bail or was released on his own recognizance.


Tequila left Pomerado Hospital at 7:36 a.m. Sunday, ESPN's Colleen Dominguez reported. She was observed and treated, but not admitted. Her stay at the hospital was approximately two hours.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune was interviewed by ESPN's and said "this does not fit with the Sean Merriman I know. Now, I only know Merriman's fantastic football career, and little else, but I know nothing about Tila Tequila, so I went on a little Internet searching spree.

Tequila's real name is Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen, or Tila "Tequila" Nguyen and is known as an MTV star. She had a show on that network called A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila and was on for two years before it ended July 8, 2008. Tequila has been featured in Maxim, Stuff, and Penthouse magazines.

Her MySpace page was reportedly the most popular in pageviews in 2006, which is no mean trick to achieve. So I visited her MySpace page, scrolled down to "About TILA TEQUILA IS IN SAN DIEGO", and found something really interesting...

You've got to read how Tequila describes herself in this message:

You people probably won't even be able to read this because my page is so cluttered...sooo...imma blab a little bit here...hoping you won't read it. Here we go: i like people who are really fucked up. I mean like tormented in one way or another because then i won't feel like such a freak around those that are "normal." nerds, geeks, and freaks are all my friends. Cool people are pretty damn lame. I am very high strung and suffer from multiple personalities. Jane. She's crazy and she always wants to kill me. Tila...poor girl..she works so hard and always wants to make others happy...she deserves a break. I haven't had boyfriend for so long. I always want one, but when there is one around i run. I'm too busy. I love being in love but i hate the consequences. I do a lot of things that are self destructive. I try not to. I like being at home alone...a lot! So much more fun than surrounding myself with a bunch of wacko's out there. I am also bi-polar so that should explain my irratic postings. I like to read. I love to read. I am a nerd. I've always been a nerdy geek trapped inside a umm...woman's body. Yea....that's me. People love me for some reason. I don't know why...i do but i just say i don't know why just to be modest. I want to be a multi-millionaire by the time i reach 25 years of age. And i will.

What I could not help but focus on was this:

I am very high strung and suffer from multiple personalities. Jane. She's crazy and she always wants to kill me. Tila...poor girl..she works so hard and always wants to make others happy...she deserves a break. I haven't had boyfriend for so long. I always want one, but when there is one around i run. I'm too busy.

Now, let me make this clear, I don't care what personality Tila Tequila may have been, choking and restraining any one of them is wrong. But I also know from personal experience anyone who says, let alone blogs, that they "suffer from multiple personalities" and is "bipolar" and "bisexual", is not someone to deal with as they have a tendency to completely self destruct and distort reality and as Woody Allen said in Husbands and Wives "crash their plane right into you."

Unless you crave drama, it's best to run away from such a person just to preserve your sanity.

Also interesting is her Twitter page (which has been "protected" since about four hours ago) and tweets written in French, but loosely translate to..

You did not realize that I knew that you are in love with me, but I am more intelligent than you realize 1:01 PM Sep 5th from web

And this one:

My secret lovers.......always bitter sweet. Love undying....lust then weep...there she goes again.....Where is she now? Who is she with? 12:30 PM Sep 5th from web

What really happened?

All of this makes me wonder what really happened between Merriman and Tequila. Merriman is out of jail, having been released this morning at 11 am; Tequila was at the hospital for two hours, but its reported she was there for two hours, then released, not admitted. And it was reported she was drinking. According to E! Online the pair were partying at a hotspot called Stingaree in San Diego "without incident."

Ha. Except that they were having a load of fun. TMZ.com has a set of photos of Tequila on his lap, or more accurately, his thigh, but another one where it looks as if Merriman is drinking water from a bottle - look for yourself.

By contrast, It's reported that she was drinking at Merriman's house.

This is hard one to deal with because my gut, just my base instincts, say that Tequila got too drunk and Merriman tried to stop her from doing something, perhaps driving, then all hell broke lose. Others were in his home and the San Diego County District Attorney's Office will question them.

I know Sean's an NFL veteran, but this is one of those kinds of incidents they talk about avoiding at the NFL Rookie Symposium. In my view, there's nothing wrong with being a careful snob. People like Merriman have too much to loose and too many people and kids who look up to them to allow themselves to be connected with anyone who claims to "suffer from multiple personalities".


After all this is over, Merriman should get a new set of friends.