Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have been starting and deleting NFL blogs since around 2006. My first one is no longer available online. My second one has since been taken over by someone else and is reasonably successful. This blog was started a little over three years ago, and has experienced off-and-one posting ever since. It’s been about a year and a half since I last posted here, but I’m ready to give it another go.

If you’re reading this, chances are you came to the site because of this post about JaMarcus Russell. History has, so far, proven me to be absolutely correct about him. On this small sliver of credibility, I’ll hope you’ll bookmark or subscribe to this site and give me a chance.

The first week of preseason is behind us, which means that we have another three weeks of meaningless football and tragic injuries before the real games begin. I’ll probably be posting several times a week between now and then, and more frequently during the season.

After tearing a knee ligament last night, Kenny Irons is out for the season. This won’t cripple the Bengals, but it surely does hurt them. Rudy Johnson is a more than capable starter, but when they want to spell him it would be nice to have someone like Kenny Irons to do that instead of whoever they’re going to throw in there instead.

Also, that ugly sweep they were planning on busting out just isn’t going to work.

As I wrote almost exactly a year ago, football is a year-round sport. As players start to practice in pads, there are going to be more and more injury reports coming out of camp detailing players with strained muscles and torn ligaments.

There’s a reason Jerry Rice lasted so long- He knew football was a sport that went 365 days a year. He had a legendary off-season workout program, and it payed when he lasted far longer than just about anyone else. Frank Gore was the first victim of off-season rustiness, and now he’s out with a broken bone in his hand. Just wait, there will be more. Lots more.

SI has compiled a list of quotes by people giving their opinion on the Michael Vick case-

“From the moment you read that indictment, it turns your stomach. There’s obviously a great deal of interest in this. It struck very much an emotional chord. We hear our fans very clearly.”
-Roger Goodell, commissioner

“Now, granted he might have been to a dogfight a time or two, maybe five times, maybe 20 times, may have bet some money, but he’s not the one you’re after. He’s not the one you’re after, he’s just the one whose going to take the fall — publicly.”
-Emmitt Smith, former player

“This sort of behavior is really horrific. This is not the player or the person that I knew the last six years.”
-Arthur Blank, Falcons’ owner

“I think he’s got to figure out and find out if he’s got the right people around him, and I’m sure he’s smart enough to know who is good for him and who’s not.”
-Allen Iverson, NBA

“I just wish they’d put him in jail and be done with it. Just put him in prison and tell the general public, just give them all the details of what they do with those dogs.”
-Greg Biffle, NASCAR

“I don’t know if he was fighting dogs or not. But it’s his property; it’s his dogs. If that’s what he wants to do, do it…. I know a lot of back roads that got a dog fight if you want to go see it. But they’re not bothering those people because those people are not big names. I’m sure there’s some police got some dogs that are fighting them, some judges got dogs and everything else.”
-Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins, doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut

“We’ve had every kind of e-mail you can think of, and they’re not good. They’re not good at all. Obviously this has struck a nerve.”
-Gene Upshaw, NFLPA leader

“Today, we sound a clarion call to all people: Stand up for what is right, and speak out against what is wrong. Dogfighting is unacceptable. Hurting animals for human pleasure or gain is despicable. Cruelty is just plain wrong.”
-PETA

“Sure, I’d do anything I could to help Mike. I think he’s basically a good person. Unfortunately it just seems like he’s made some bad choices over the years with the company he keeps.”
-Dan Reeves, former coach

“What a dog means to Vick might be a lot different than what he means to you or I. Hold on, don’t start shaking your head just yet. Listen to me. Some people kiss their dogs on the mouth. Some people let their dogs eat from their plate. Some people dress their dogs in suits more expensive than mine, if you can believe that. And some people enjoy proving they have the biggest, toughest dog on the street. You’re probably not going to believe this, but I bet Vick loves the dogs that were the biggest and the baddest. Maybe, he identified with them in some way. You can still choose to condemn him, but I’m trying to take you inside his mind so you can understand where he might be coming from.”
-Deion Sanders, former player, NFLN

“It’s a stupid thing to do, obviously. But these guys get so arrogant, they don’t think about it. You got $30 million, $40 million in the bank, they’re on top of the world, no remorse and no one can stop them.”
-LeRoy Butler, former player

“I take these charges very seriously and look forward to clearing my good name. I respectfully ask all of you to hold your judgment until all of the facts are shown. Above all, I would like to say to my mom I’m sorry for what she has had to go through in this most trying of times. It has caused pain to my family and I apologize to my family.”
-The Big Kahuna himself, Michael Vick, dog fighter extraordinaire

Tedy Bruschi is not, in fact, dead.

The Browns got a nasty surprise in their locker room.

Michael Vick is pleading not guilty. Yeah, good luck with that buddy.

Joe Thomas has been signed.

Lance Briggs signed a one year tender.

Heads will roll in the Pat Tillman case.

Curtis Martin has retired. Probably a HOF-er.

Simeon Rice was released by the Bucs.

*On paper, the Cleveland Browns had the best pickings of this year’s draft.

*On paper, the Patriots have the best team in the league due to their free agent and draft pickups this off-season.

*On paper, the Colts offense should be better than ever next year, and their defense should be even worse.

***

I’m not going to say that none of that is true, the Patriots really do seem primed to win another Super Bowl, and the Browns really do seem to have had a monster draft, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For all we know, the Seahawks might have drafted the next Champ Bailey in Josh Wilson, and the next Marques Colston in Courtney Taylor. You just never know.

It’s a cliche that you have to wait three years before evaluating a draft class, but it’s true. Drafting Ki-Jana Carter seemed like a brilliant move at the time. Just remember, for every Peyton Manning there’s a Heath Shuler. For every Lawrence Taylor there’s a Brian Bosworth.

Here’s the draft order, 2007 edition.

Note that there will more than likely be several trades that will shake things up a bit.

ROUND 1
# Sel# Team
1 1 Oakland
2 2 Detroit
3 3 Cleveland
4 4 Tampa Bay
5 5 Arizona
6 6 Washington
7 7 Minnesota
8 8 Atlanta (from Houston)
9 9 Miami
10 10 Houston (from Atlanta)
11 11 San Francisco
12 12 Buffalo
13 13 St. Louis
14 14 Carolina
15 15 Pittsburgh
16 16 Green Bay
17 17 Jacksonville
18 18 Cincinnati
19 19 Tennessee
20 20 N.Y. Giants
21 21 Denver
22 22 Dallas
23 23 Kansas City
24 24 New England (from Seattle)
25 25 N.Y. Jets
26 26 Philadelphia
27 27 New Orleans
28 28 New England
29 29 Baltimore
30 30 San Diego
31 31 Chicago
32 32 Indianapolis

ROUND 2
# Sel# Team
1 33 Oakland
2 34 Detroit
3 35 Tampa Bay
4 36 Cleveland
5 37 Chicago (from Washington through New York Jets)
6 38 Arizona
7 39 Atlanta (from Houston)
8 40 Miami
9 41 Minnesota
10 42 San Francisco
11 43 Buffalo
12 44 Atlanta
13 45 Carolina
14 46 Pittsburgh
15 47 Green Bay
16 48 Jacksonville
17 49 Cincinnati
18 50 Tennessee
19 51 N.Y. Giants
20 52 St. Louis
21 53 Dallas
22 54 Kansas City
23 55 Seattle
24 56 Denver
25 57 Philadelphia
26 58 New Orleans
27 59 N.Y. Jets
28 60 Miami (from New England)
29 61 Baltimore
30 62 San Diego
31 63 N.Y. Jets (from Chicago)
32 64 Tampa Bay (from Indianapolis)

ROUND 3
# Sel# Team
1 65 Oakland
2 66 Detroit
3 67 Cleveland
4 68 Tampa Bay
5 69 Arizona
6 70 Denver (from Washington)
7 71 Miami
8 72 Minnesota
9 73 Houston
10 74 Buffalo
11 75 Atlanta
12 76 San Francisco
13 77 Pittsburgh
14 78 Green Bay
15 79 Jacksonville
Cincinnati (Exercised in Supplemental Draft)
17 80 Tennessee
18 81 N.Y. Giants
19 82 Kansas City (from St. Louis)
20 83 Carolina
21 84 St. Louis (from Kansas City)
22 85 Seattle
23 86 Denver
24 87 Dallas
25 88 New Orleans
26 89 N.Y. Jets
27 90 Philadelphia
28 91 New England
29 92 Buffalo (from Baltimore)
30 93 San Diego
31 94 Chicago
32 95 Indianapolis
33 96 San Diego (Compensatory Selection)
34 97 San Francisco (Compensatory Selection)
35 98 Indianapolis (Compensatory Selection)
36 99 Oakland (Compensatory Selection)

ROUND 4
# Sel# Team
1 100 Oakland
2 101 Detroit
3 102 Tampa Bay
4 103 Cleveland
5 104 San Francisco (from Washington)
6 105 Arizona
7 106 Minnesota
8 107 Houston
9 108 Miami
10 109 Atlanta
11 110 San Francisco
12 111 Buffalo
13 112 Green Bay
14 113 Jacksonville
15 114 Cincinnati
16 115 Tennessee
17 116 N.Y. Giants
18 117 St. Louis
19 118 Carolina
20 119 Pittsburgh
21 120 Seattle
22 121 Atlanta (from Denver)
23 122 Dallas
24 123 New Orleans (from Kansas City)
25 124 San Francisco (from New York Jets)
26 125 New Orleans (from Philadelphia)
27 126 New Orleans
28 127 New England
29 128 Tennessee (from Baltimore)
30 129 San Diego
31 130 Chicago
32 131 Indianapolis
33 132 Pittsburgh (Compensatory Selection)
34 133 Atlanta (Compensatory Selection)
35 134 Baltimore (Compensatory Selection)
36 135 San Francisco (Compensatory Selection)
37 136 Indianapolis (Compensatory Selection)
38 137 Baltimore (Compensatory Selection)

ROUND 5
# Sel# Team
1 138 Oakland
2 139 Detroit
3 140 Cleveland
4 141 Tampa Bay
5 142 Arizona
6 143 Washington
7 144 Houston
8 145 Detroit (from Miami)
9 146 Minnesota
10 147 San Francisco
11 148 Kansas City (from Buffalo through St. Louis)
12 149 Atlanta
13 150 Jacksonville
14 151 Cincinnati
15 152 Tennessee
16 153 N.Y. Giants
17 154 Detroit (from St. Louis)
18 155 Carolina
19 156 Pittsburgh
20 157 Green Bay
21 158 Detroit (from Denver)
22 159 Dallas
23 160 Kansas City
24 161 Seattle
25 162 Philadelphia
26 163 New Orleans
27 164 N.Y. Jets
28 165 Oakland (from New England)
29 166 Baltimore
30 167 San Diego
31 168 Chicago
32 169 Indianapolis
33 170 Pittsburgh (Compensatory Selection)
34 171 New England (Compensatory Selection)
35 172 San Diego (Compensatory Selection)
36 173 Indianapolis (Compensatory Selection)
37 174 Baltimore (Compensatory Selection)

ROUND 6
# Sel# Team
1 175 Oakland
2 176 Denver (from Detroit)
3 177 N.Y. Jets (from Tampa Bay)
4 178 Cleveland
5 179 Washington
6 180 New England (from Arizona)
7 181 Miami
8 182 Minnesota
9 183 Houston
10 184 Buffalo
11 185 Atlanta
12 186 San Francisco
13 187 Cincinnati
14 188 Tennessee
15 189 N.Y. Giants
16 190 St. Louis
17 191 Carolina
18 192 Pittsburgh
19 193 Green Bay
20 194 Jacksonville
21 195 Dallas
22 196 Kansas City
23 197 Seattle
24 198 Denver
25 199 Miami (from New Orleans)
26 200 Dallas (from New York Jets)
27 201 Philadelphia
28 202 New England
29 203 Baltimore
30 204 Tennessee (from San Diego)
31 205 Washington (from Chicago)
32 206 Tennessee (from Indianapolis)
33 207 Baltimore (Compensatory Selection)
34 208 New England (Compensatory Selection)
35 209 New England (Compensatory Selection)
36 210 Seattle (Compensatory Selection)

ROUND 7
# Sel# Team
1 211 Oakland
2 212 Dallas (from Detroit through New York Jets)
3 213 Cleveland
4 214 Tampa Bay
5 215 Arizona
6 216 Washington
7 217 Minnesota
8 218 Houston
9 219 Miami
10 220 New Orleans (from Atlanta)
11 221 Chicago (from San Francisco through Cleveland)
12 222 Buffalo
13 223 Tennessee
14 224 N.Y. Giants
15 225 Miami (from St. Louis)
16 226 Carolina
17 227 Pittsburgh
18 228 Green Bay
19 229 Jacksonville
20 230 Cincinnati
21 231 Kansas City
22 232 Seattle
23 233 Denver
24 234 Dallas
25 235 Green Bay (from New York Jets)
26 236 Philadelphia
27 237 Dallas (from New Orleans)
28 238 Miami (from New England)
29 239 Buffalo (from Baltimore)
30 240 San Diego
31 241 Chicago
32 242 Indianapolis
33 243 Green Bay (Compensatory Selection)
34 244 Atlanta (Compensatory Selection)
35 245 Tampa Bay (Compensatory Selection)
36 246 Tampa Bay (Compensatory Selection)
37 247 New England (Compensatory Selection)
38 248 St. Louis (Compensatory Selection)
39 249 St. Louis (Compensatory Selection)
40 250 N.Y. Giants (Compensatory Selection)
41 251 Jacksonville (Compensatory Selection)
42 252 Jacksonville (Compensatory Selection)
43 253 Cincinnati (Compensatory Selection)
44 254 Oakland (Compensatory Selection)
45 255 Detroit (Compensatory Selection)

Out of the ashes rises a…nevermind. It’s the off-season, and even losers like myself can’t maintain a frantic rate of posting when the biggest news of the week is Joey Harrington’s signing with the Falcons. So yeah, anytime something happens that I consider to be of great interest (as in, something more than who Mike Anderson signed with) I’ll try to post, but during the off-season this isn’t going to be the most active of spots on the internets.

Anyway, the NFL schedule was released at noon central today, so all you NFL nerds should head on over and complain about how your team got screwed.

Gotta give credit where it’s due, though, the NFL nailed the opening weekend. Those games look awesome.

(On what can be done to curtail misbehavior by players off the field) “We have to do something about it. I think it’s an incredibly important issue. One incident is too many in my book. I think we need to reevaluate all of our programs. We have a tremendous number of programs to help our players that have been quite successful. But I think we’ve got to do more. We are going to start that process, one, by evaluating our policy. Two, (NFL Players Association executive director) Gene (Upshaw) and I are going to put together a group of players that we’re going to meet with in the next several weeks to give us their perspective on what’s really happening and what are the issues so that we can try to learn something first. I think our focus has to be on reevaluating our policies, making sure we educate our players to the issues that are out there. We continually tell our players and our coaches that we are raised to a higher standard in the NFL, and we have to exceed that standard. We have to make sure that our players are more accountable and also our clubs have to be more accountable, and we will be reevaluating our position to see if there are ways in which we should make our clubs more accountable in the offseason. … I don’t see (the incidents) happening in droves. I think it’s just a few, but that’s a few too many. We recognize some players don’t do what we want them to do and when that happens, we have the means to deal with it.”

I was impressed that Goodell didn’t try to brush it under the rug, or act like it isn’t a big deal. It is, and he said as much. I’m glad the NFL [at least says it] is trying to get the player behavior under control.

(On nine different players being arrested in 13 months in Cincinnati) “I think it’s something we have to address. From our standpoint, we have talked with (Bengals owner) Mike (Brown) on several occasions. We have offered services and he has taken our services to try and address these issues. It’s part of what Gene and I are going to be talking about to the players in the next several weeks to understand what happens in these particular markets. Why is it happening in one market versus another market? What is it that the players need in support or education? And we’ll do that very aggressively over the next several months.”

Again, good job by Goodell emphasizing that the NFL is working on it. The only thing that would make me happier is Chris Henry getting kicked off the team along with all the other multiple arrest players in the NFL, but the NFLPA would never allow it.

(On whether the fact Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are the two first African-American coaches to reach the Super Bowl will prompt an increase in the number of African-American coaches in the NFL, as well as the number of African-American club executives) “Yes. Most importantly, we’re proud of Tony and Lovie as great football coaches. They’ve meant a great deal to the NFL. They’re people of incredibly high character. To see the success they’ve had on the field is very rewarding for all of us. It is obviously of particular note that they are African-Americans, and the success that they are having on the field is something that we’re very proud of. But I know that they want to be remembered and thought of as great football coaches and they are in the NFL’s eyes.”

What people don’t seem to realize is that six out of thirty two (the number of black head coaches) is a great percentage of blacks than in the general public. That is, in the general American public, fewer than six out of thirty two people are black. If anything, blacks are far over-represented in the league. The last thing we need is a bunch of affirmative action crap.

(On the state of officiating) “We’re very proud of our officiating. It has been something that we’ve had a tremendous amount of focus on to make sure we have the best officiating in sports. We think we do. We have an instant replay system that is able to look at the errors that might be made. They are, fortunately, very limited. And we have a system that does that without trying to make a tremendous impact on the pace of the game but (instead) allowing the game to flow and allowing the teams to be able to challenge when something happens. You can’t cover all ills, you can’t cover every penalty, but we think that the system, while we continue to evaluate it, has been quite effective.”

I know he has to say that, but the officiating in the NFL the last two years has been largely crap. Even as a Steelers’ fan I know last year’s Super Bowl was poorly officiated (no, it did not in any way affect the outcome, though). The NFL needs to work really hard on the officiating, and suspend some of the poorer referees, because we’re starting to have absurd things like Kiwanuka letting go of Vince Young on that 4th and 10 play in the Titans-Giants game because he was afraid he’d get a RTP call. That’s not right.

(On the status of the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association, and the possibility of owners exercising their legal right to opt out of the deal in 2008, two years before it is due to expire, because they believe it is too costly) “The first thing we have to do is a great deal of analysis. We’ve had a great system with the Players Association for a long period of time. We have a new agreement that we’re operating under. It obviously has new mechanisms and has new aspects of the deal that we’re going to have to evaluate to make sure that they’re working not only for the NFL but also for the players. From our standpoint, I know that there is some concern about the cost of the deal, but we have to do that evaluation. I would urge all of us to be patient, to understand it, to get the evaluation. It is our responsibility, with the players, to strike a reasonable agreement that works for all parties and be assured at least that we will have labor peace through 2010. We will have a lot of work to do. We will be in contact with Gene and his team, but I feel confident that we’ll be able to address the issues as we go forward because we have a responsibility to do that.”

I have to admit I’m not one of the lawyer types, so I don’t follow this kind of stuff too closely, because it mainly makes my head hurt. I think lawyers are lawyers because they are smart enough to write in enough technical jargon that everyone in the general public is totally and completely bewildered. But I digress. The NFL did an amazing job salvaging things with this latest CBA, and if the NFLPA doesn’t get too anal, I think things will work themselves out.

(On blood-testing players for human growth hormone and steroids) “We announced changes last week to our (steroids testing) program. We think this reinforces the fact that we’re leaders in this area. We believe that our program is high quality. We think that we have a program that we can be very proud of and our players can be very proud of. And I’m very proud of players for the fact that they also want to eliminate performance-enhancing drugs. As it relates to HGH, there is no reliable test for HGH right now. We are investing money to develop that test. I don’t know whether that would be a blood test or urine test. We are going to pursue both. Until that technology is developed, I think it’s premature for us to make any decisions on it.”

The only thing that could make it better is harsher punishment for offenses. First time is a one-year suspension (sixteen regular season games and all playoff games), second time you’re out of the league.

(On allegations by former New England linebacker Ted Johnson that the Patriots rushed him back into practice after he sustained a concussion) “It does concern me. From our standpoint, we want to make sure that our players have the safest possible environment in which to play. We have spent a great deal of time and energy on the concussion issue. We’ve had a concussion committee that has been studying this issue from a medical standpoint, including 12 doctors — five from the outside and seven from the NFL — that have been looking at this issue and trying to see what it is we can learn about concussions that would be helpful as we would go forward. That’s led to new helmet designs, that’s led to rule changes, and I think a safer environment for our players, which is what we’re after. I didn’t know about the Ted Johnson issue until yesterday afternoon, which also disappoints me. I would like to know about this, our staff would like to know about this, in advance so that we can identify these issues further in advance.”

As people have started to comment, concussions are a lot more serious than they are made out to be by NFL players and coaches, but Johnson’s claims have no credibility. He’s on record saying that he was willing and wanted to play right after the concussion, and that Belichick didn’t force him. His claims are serious, but he’s not the one to be making them.

(On the NFL Network’s coverage of eight regular-season games in 2006 being unavailable in markets where it does not have carriage deals with cable TV operators) “We’re very proud of the NFL Network. It has been extremely high-quality programming. We think it’s been terrific at giving fans another perspective of football that they wouldn’t normally see because it’s 365 days, 24 hours a day. That’s what we’re trying to build — something to give fans an opportunity to experience football in ways that they haven’t been able to do in the past. We think it’s going to be extremely successful. I think I’d point out to our fans it’s part of our building process, but we showed every one of our football games on live, free television. And that’s important and we will continue to make sure that that’s an emphasis going forward.”

*Sigh*

What I wouldn’t give for the NFL Network.

(On putting an NFL team back in Los Angeles) “We need to find a solution in Los Angeles that works for both the community and the NFL. It’s important for us to be in Los Angeles long term, but we have survived quite well without Los Angeles and Los Angeles as survived quite well without the NFL. But I think we can do better together. We’d like to find a way to do that in a way that works for all parties.”

I could care less. The people of Los Angeles could care less. The only people that have a dog in this fight are the folks that run Los Angeles and the NFL. In other words, the people with money at stake. No one else cares. For some reason, though, the NFL seems determined to get this done, so I’d expect a team in LA by 2012.

*****

Transcription by Vic Carucci at NFL.com.

As training camps are getting underway, we’re starting to hear reports of the first injuries as players begin to work out those muscles that have been resting since the season ended. Bruschi hurt his wrist, Vick hurt his leg, Bentley’s out for the season, and there are many other such injuries. Some, I’m sure, are just plain old football injuries, and they can’t really be avoided. But how many are from poor offseason conditioning? You hear about these workout warriors that lift weights and excercise several hours a day all year, and you shake your head and think they’re working too hard. But maybe that’s the way to do it. Every year reports flood out of training camps with out of condition players ripping muscles and hurting themselves because they weren’t in good enough condition to practice. It’s already started, but I think more and more in the future players are going to have to start working out all year just to stay healthy enough to play during the season.