Football

All this week the AFC East blog posted its "Show and Prove" series for 2013. This highlighted eight players in the division with a lot to prove this season. You can see the full lineup here. But let’s take a look back at the “Show and Pr

Former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh appeared on the Waddle and Silvy Show today to touch on various topics and in particular his time under head coach Mike Ditka, whose jersey number 89 will finally be retired by the Bears.  When Coach Harbaugh heard the news, he called the idea of retiring Da Coach’s jersey “perfect!”  I wonder if he would have said that when Ditka was chewing his ass out for that audible against the Vikings.  (more…)

JoeBucsFan.com | "This Guy’s Been Working Like A Madman" - Tampa Bay Bucs FootballMason Foster. Eight in the Box: RB status check - NFC South Blog - ESPNRunning backs: who wins? Eagles work on transitioning to 3-4 defensive scheme - SBNation.comYes. Anthony McCoy tears achilles, will likely miss 2013 season - Field GullsAchilles tears are all the rage, it seems. Bears will retire Mike Ditka's No. 89 on Dec. 9 - SBNation.comWait, they hadn't yet? Richard Seymour rumors: 'Nothing serious' with Falcons right now, according to report - SBNation.comGood. Though I don't see how they could afford him anyway. Ron Jaworski believes Chip Kelly's offense won't work in the NFL - SBNation.comI am inclined to disagree. Rob Gronkowski injury: Patriots unsure how bad TE's back is - SBNation.comThat's why he fell in the draft. Former NFL GM says Urlacher is not a Hall of Famer - Windy City GridironFormer NFL GM is wrong. Roman Harper contract: Saints S reportedly signs extension - SBNation.comI would guess that extra year is mostly there as cap relief because that dude is not a good football player. New Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer feels reborn in the desert - Yahoo! SportsGood article on how Carson Palmer's once again stuck with a bad team. Wait, that's not what it's about. What Should Be Expected From Geno Smith’s Career?Statistical view. The offset battle with early first round picks | National Football PostPlayers appear to be losing.

Chiefs free safety Husain Abdullah backpedaled with the receiver, recognized the route, broke on the ball and deflected the pass thrown by rookie Tyler Bray.

I don't know how the rest of you feel but I feel that the lions could benefit from a better head coach. Coming over he was suppose to be a defensive guy. Defense is usually a disciplined orientated thing. An obviously the lions have no discipline on or off the field an our defense hasn't been all that great. An seems that are offense is a up an chuck it to Calvin Johnson cause he's the big kid an no one can stop him. Look what shannahan did with the redskins I mean seriously can we get a head coach that can bring some fire an spirit to detroit. Bill cowher John gruden maybe. Someone that's going to set the bar high an demand greatness. Probably wont happen lions will win 5 games an there will be 2 or 3 more arrest an lots of excuses lets hope for a good season or a really good head coach next year. I don't know how the rest of you feel but I feel that the lions could benefit from a better head coach. Coming over he was suppose to be a defensive guy. Defense is usually a disciplined orientated thing. An obviously the lions have no discipline on or off the field an our defense hasn't been all that great. An seems that are offense is a up an chuck it to Calvin Johnson cause he's the big kid an no one can stop him. Look what shannahan did with the redskins I mean seriously can we get a head coach that can bring some fire an spirit to detroit. Bill cowher John gruden maybe. Someone that's going to set the bar high an demand greatness. Probably wont happen lions will win 5 games an there will be 2 or 3 more arrest an lots of excuses lets hope for a good season or a really good head coach next year.

That will give him discipline and teach him respect. "Right to remain silent" my ass. Disrespectful piece of garbage. Just put him through all the training without a weapon. Titus Young appears in court, refuses to address judge Posted by Michael David Smith on May 24, 2013, 4:00 PM EDT AP Titus Young, the troubled former Lions receiver who has been arrested three times this month and has been in jail since May 11, appeared in court today but refused to address the judge. According to USA Today, the interaction between Young and Judge Andre Manssourian went like this: Judge: "Good morning, sir." Young: No reply. Judge: "Can you hear me?" Young: No reply. Judge: "Are you Titus Demetrius Young?" Young: No reply. When Young refused to even confirm his name, the judge called the attorneys over and had a sidebar discussion with them, during which time Young continued to stand silently. At one point Young’s father, who was in the courtroom, called out to him, but Young still did not respond. Young’s attorney later said that Young was exercising his right to remain silent. Friends and family members have said they’re concerned about the mental state of Young, who is facing a slew of charges including burglary, battery on a police officer and drunk driving. The judge said Young "poses a danger to the community" and increased his bail from $25,000 to $50,000. Young’s family has apparently decided not to post bail, thinking he is better off remaining in jail until he receives the mental health treatment he needs. That will give him discipline and teach him respect. "Right to remain silent" my ass. Disrespectful piece of garbage. Just put him through all the training without a weapon. Titus Young appears in court, refuses to address judge Posted by Michael David Smith on May 24, 2013, 4:00 PM EDT AP Titus Young, the troubled former Lions receiver who has been arrested three times this month and has been in jail since May 11, appeared in court today but refused to address the judge. According to USA Today, the interaction between Young and Judge Andre Manssourian went like this: Judge: "Good morning, sir." Young: No reply. Judge: "Can you hear me?" Young: No reply. Judge: "Are you Titus Demetrius Young?" Young: No reply. When Young refused to even confirm his name, the judge called the attorneys over and had a sidebar discussion with them, during which time Young continued to stand silently. At one point Young’s father, who was in the courtroom, called out to him, but Young still did not respond. Young’s attorney later said that Young was exercising his right to remain silent. Friends and family members have said they’re concerned about the mental state of Young, who is facing a slew of charges including burglary, battery on a police officer and drunk driving. The judge said Young "poses a danger to the community" and increased his bail from $25,000 to $50,000. Young’s family has apparently decided not to post bail, thinking he is better off remaining in jail until he receives the mental health treatment he needs.

This is the point in the year when most of us redirect our gaze from the rear view mirror and fix our attention resolutely, for better or worse forward to the upcoming season. These pre training camp activities are always something less than hoped for but there is usually enough to glean from the limited media reports and the interviews to fuel speculation, hope and dread alike for the long weeks leading to late July. In other news, June 1st seems to have come early this year. The campaign in support of Chuck Noll continues, and the NFL plans to change the date of the draft. OTAs They started this past Tuesday. As Willard Taylor said in an article earlier this week the 'A' in OTA does not stand for answers. So whether you see the glass as half empty or half full in any particular category or altogether says more about your mindset than the reality of a 2013 season that hasn't even begun to unfold. If there was one clear positive concerning the week it would be attendance. As far as I know everyone who is contractually committed to the Steelers and physically able to participate was present. Some who weren't physically able to participate showed up as well. It should also be noted that the number of the physically unable to perform was much lower than last year this time. And while the failures of 2012 continue to cast a shadow over the proceedings, the focus was solidly and pretty much exclusively on football, as opposed to contracts and other business matters that shared the stage last year. Tomlin The head coach set the tone for the week's activities and perhaps the entire season through the phrase "More work, less talk". The mantra was dutifully picked up and repeated by Steeler veterans throughout the week. He also short circuited the tendency by media and fans to read more into this phase of preparation than is reasonable. When asked if he was impressed by efforts of any of his players on the first day, his curt reply was "Not at all. Football in shorts." Steelers.com has the video of his interview, and given the limited media access the Pittsburgh site is probably the best source of information on the OTAs. There are plenty of video interviews, plus photo galleries of each days activities. Troy One of the big questions raised last week was whether Troy Polamalu would show up for this week's workouts. Troy's participation in last year's OTAs was an anomaly for the All Pro safety who had customarily preferred to follow his own workout routine on the West Coast. The fact of an injury plagued 2012 campaign raised questions in the minds of some as to whether he might prefer to return to the tried and true as far as his preparation routine was concerned. On the other hand his presence in Pittsburgh last year was thought to be motivated in part by a leadership vacuum caused by the separation of a number of long time veterans from the team. Given the departure of more veterans this off season in concert with a number of questions concerning the state and direction of the team the case could be made that the need for the presence of stable, veteran leadership from the outset was perhaps even greater this year. Troy did show up and with the added sweetener of reportedly being in the best physical condition he had been since his college days. This news would go a considerable way in allaying the fears that Troy was in a permanent state of physical decline; one of the reasons fueling the pessimism of so many concerning the immediate future of the team. The possibility of a fully healthy Polamalu would certainly alter the equation going forward. It should also be noted in his interview available here, that he spoke in rather glowing terms of rookie Shamarko Thomas. Heath A big surprise to me is that Heath Miller showed up to the workouts and spoke to the press. Miller was reported to be walking unimpeded and without a brace. The media insisted on attempting to pin Heath down concerning when he would likely be able to ret

Nov. 25, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: Arizona Cardinals tackle Bobby Massie (70) against the St. Louis Rams at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Last year, you would have been laughed out of town for calling Bobby Massie one of the Cardinals’ 10 best players. Now, it’s realistic. Our staff took a vote, and Massie checked in as our 10th-best Cardinals player. Massie was eaten alive during the first eight weeks of the season, but he ranked third among all tackles from Week 9 to Week 17 (via Pro Football Focus). He is likely to start again on Arizona’s revamped offensive line, which would help the team a lot. Massie is only entering his second year, but he’s going to be great again in 2013. With more experience and with Levi Brown and Jonathan Cooper eating up good defensive lineman, the 316-pound Massie should have an easier job. Expect Levi Brown to take over at left tackle, and expect Massie to play right tackle. The massive offensive tackles ran a respectable 5.23 40-yard dash and recorded 22 reps on the 225-pound bench press, so he has decent strength and respectable speed. Massie gained experience in college and has now started 16 NFL games, which should help him entering 2013. It would be shocking if Massie regressed, as he has the tools and the experience to succeed with Arizona. In his last nine games, Massie allowed a mere 14 quarterback pressures (compared to 47 in his first seven games). Arizona Sports’ article about Massie states that people believe Massie can become one of the league’s best tackles, which is definitely possible. Due to his success to end the 2012 season, a lot of our writers included him in their top 10. This ranking is well-deserved due to the way Massie ended the season. He is poised for a great 2013 season, and he is poised to become one of the NFL’s best tackles. While Levi Brown and Jonathan Cooper are more talented, Massie will be a solid piece on an offensive line in need of a capable starter. Expect Massie to build on his 2012 season and continue to perform in his second year with the team. And, next year, expect Massie to be even higher than 10th.

A few weeks ago, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark served as an intern at ESPN, as he wants to pursue work in the media when his playing days over. Being as 2013 is the final year of Clark's current contract, it's easy to speculate that those days could be coming soon, but the veteran suggested otherwise in a Friday report by Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider. Wexell reports that while bantering with Clark about his potential upcoming media career during the third and final practice of the Steelers first OTA session of the 2013 season on Thursday, that Clark told him he still loves the game Read more [...]

December 21, 2011; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets linebackers coach Bob Sutton watches during practice. Mandatory Credit: Tim Farrell/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports The Kansas City Chiefs defense sent four players to the 2012 Pro Bowl. The overall defense sat near the bottom of the league last season at 20th overall, giving up 356.5 yards per game and nearly 27 points. By most standards, that’s not very good. Giving up close to four touchdowns per game isn’t a way to win footballs games, especially when your offense isn’t producing enough to maintain that pace. And the Chiefs’ 2012 offense definitely didn’t produce four touchdowns per game. But that’s a whole other topic. To be fair to the Chiefs’ defense, they played most of the season from behind. One only had to watch any Chiefs game from week one until they scored against the Carolina Panthers in week 13 to know that they didn’t have a lead the entire season. While that falls on the offense for not putting points on the board, the defense didn’t exactly hold their own, either. Still, four players of the eleven starters made the NFL All-Star game in Honolulu. Many considered former Chiefs’ head coach and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to be somewhat of a defensive genius. I’ll admit, I fell into that category like most everyone else. However, the more I watched the Chiefs’ defense and compared it to other defenses, say like from the Pittsburgh Steelers or Chicago Bears, it was easy to see why the nay-sayers to the Crennel philosophy of “bend don’t break” was wearing thing with Chiefs’ fans. Even as horrible as the New York football Jets were last season at just about everything they did, their defense was ranked 8th overall in total yards allowed. That bodes well considering the man who devised that system, Bob Sutton, now calls Kansas City home. But what’s the difference? Terms have been thrown around this offseason like “Attacking 3-4” and “Block Sucker.” (Okay, I made that second one up.) I don’t claim to be a defensive guru in any way, shape or form, but I like the idea of the team using their players to their utmost strengths. The Chiefs have, perhaps, one of the more dynamic pass rushing duos in the NFL. While it’s been a couple of seasons since Tamba Hali, we’ll call him “Batman” in this scenario, has gone off in the sack department, it wasn’t long ago that he led the AFC in putting the opposing quarterback down. “Robin” (aka Justin Houston) is a young stud that works the other side of the field and led the team in sacks last season with ten. Many who claim to know more than me about defensive schemes, will say the success Hali and Houston have had is due to the genius of Crennel and the fact that the Chiefs linemen sucked up all the blockers and allowed Batman and Robin to reach the Joker unabated. Of course those same defensive Einsteins also lament – generally at great length – of how much a disappointment defensive linemen Tyson Jackson and the recently departed Glenn Dorsey were because they didn’t get the sack count many thought they would out of college. It would seem to me that this is a case of having your cake and eating it too. So what does this all mean? Where am I going with all this? I believe the Chiefs’ defense will be a top five squad this season. I think they have the potential to lead the league in sacks and they could very well turn into the powerhouse “offensive defense” similar to the Chicago Bears of last season. This is why: Bob Sutton runs an “Attacking 3-4.” While we don’t know exactly what that means quite yet, it will most likely involve much more aggressive blitz packages and using the defensive linemen to do much more than just absorb blocks from the offensive linemen. Sutton will have Jackson, Dontari Poe and newly acquired lineman Mike DeVito trying to get to the quarterback just as hard as Hali and Houston. And oh, by the way, he may throw a wrinkle in there and bring packages where perhaps Brandon Flowers or former