Football

The San Francisco 49ers are heading back to practice today for the third day of OTAs, but we should catch up on Wednesday's happenings. We spent most of yesterday afternoon talking about Michael Crabtree's Achilles tear, so it was easy to overlook a full day of practice. There were a couple reports on the day's festivities, courtesy of Cam Inman and Grant Cohn. Eric Branch also chimed in with an attendance report. According to the beat writers, the participation report breaks down as follows (anybody not listed participated in full): Absent: NaVorro Bowman, Anquan Boldin, Tarell Brown, Jonathan Goodwin, Mario Manningham, Darcel McBath, Joe Staley Present, not participating: Ahmad Brooks, Tank Carradine, Quinton Dial, Mike Iupati, Luke Marquardt, Nick Moody, Aldon Smith, Justin Smith Stretching, some individual work, but no team reps: Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter, Kyle Williams Non-contact black jerseys: Demarcus Dobbs, Will Tukuafu Chris Culliver gave up the only touchdown of the day, and Cohn pointed out that it did not come because of bad coverage, but rather an inability to locate the ball. As znk916 pointed out in earlier comments, that has been an issue for Culliver, and one he needs to improve ASAP. LaMichael James and Chad Hall were handling punt return duties, and all indications were they performed well in windy conditions. James did a solid job as a kick returner late last season, but struggled mightily with punt return duties in the preseason. If he has solidified that, it would be pretty big. It would give him some more work, and also would impact some of the other speedsters looking to prove they belong as a returner. Jonathan Goodwin has been working out closer to home, which means Daniel Kilgore has gotten the starting center snaps. While the team cannot simulate the physicality in OTAs, working on first-team line adjustments and other such issues is a big opportunity for Kilgore. Goodwin will be back for the mandatory veteran minicamp later next month, and then of course during training camp. But in the meantime, Kilgore can use this opportunity to his advantage. Keep Reading: Michael Crabtree injury story stream 49ers 90-in-90 roster breakdown 49ers salary cap news

We are nearly finished choosing the four members of our Saints Mount Rushmore, with Drew Brees, Rickey Jackson, and Sean Payton all having been selected as the first three honorees. Now it's time to decide the final Saints personality worthy of being carved onto our mountain sculpture. This is probably the toughest decision of the entire process and the debates are sure to become heated. There's only one spot left and still plenty of worthy candidates. Who the heck knows how the votes will fall now. If you've got a personal favorite that you'd really like to see make it on The Mount, go ahead and state all the reasons you think others should vote for him. As a reminder, we're choosing each person one at a time. I've thrown up a new poll below with all the reasonable nominees listed. You guys are voting for the final face worthy of being on our Saints Mount Rushmore. The poll will be open for exactly 48 hours. If we don't have a majority, we'll hold a runoff election. Once we have our winner, that's it. Whose face should be the final one included on our Saints Mount Rushmore? Vote now! More on the Mount: Saints Mount Rushmore: An Introduction Choosing the First Member of our Saints Mount Rushmore Choosing the Second Member of our Saints Mount Rushmore Choosing the Third Member of our Saints Mount Rushmore Poll Whose face should be the next one included on our Saints Mount Rushmore? Deuce McAllister Morten Anderson Willie Roaf Sam Mills Archie Manning Tom Benson Jim Finks 5 votes | Results

The following is the transcript from the latest edition of The Superfans show live from Ditka's Pat - Welcome everybody to the annual Bill Swerski's Superfans Prediction special, and as you can plainly see I am not Bill Swerski.Carl - No you're not Pat, Bill is protesting the blatant trademark infringement that was predicated by the powers that be here at Windy City Gridiron.Pat - Making the Chicago Bears season prediction has been a Superfans staple here at WCG, long since before we were made official Writers on this fine site that is dedicated to the greatest team in the history of the NFL, Da Bears.All - Da Bears! Pat - So with no Bill as of yet, please allow us to introduce us. I'm Pat Arnold.Carl - I'm Carl Wollarski, Pat - And the big guy double fisting the mugs of beer is Todd O'Connor.Todd - Da Beers.All - Da Beers! Carl - This year the honor of running through our schedule was divvied out to four of our compatriots in Bears fandom, and broken out into 4 separate articles.Todd - Can I just say right off the bat that some on those predictions were way off base.Pat - Agreed. Todd - Can I just say that some of those predictions were outright wrong.Carl - Yes.Todd - Can I just say that I haven't had a Kielbasa is about 2 hours.Pat - That's a new record.Carl - Well done my friend, that new heart healthy diet is really working out.Pat - But back to the matter at hand, and our take on the aforementioned theft of our annual prognostication. Carl tell us how they usurped our annual event.Carl - Well Pat, in a nod to the 3rd greatest coach in the history of our storied franchise, Lovie Lee Smith, Windy City Gridiron broke their Chicago Bears' season predictions into 4 quarters.Pat - We never needed four separate segments.Carl - No we did not my friend. Pat - Quarter numero uno was speculated upon by Kay Paradiso, and she almost got it right. She had our beloved boys losing...Todd - (interrupting) Blasphemy...Carl - For shame Kay, for shame...Pat - ... losing to the Minnesota Vikings to go 3-1 in the quarter.Todd - Kay used to be my favorite WCG columnist, but now I have to question if she really knows the game of football at all, I mean us losing to the Vikes?Carl - Her big (air quoting) "argument", is that Adrian Peterson will run all over the Monsters Of The Midway, and to that I say...Todd - (interrupting) Blasphemy...Carl - ...yeah, Blasphemy.Pat - I see a certain defense, now led by a certain double nickle on the weakside, chasing down Adrian Peterson when ever he attempts to gallop free, and if by some slim chance he's blocked out of the play, then our latest and newest Pro Bowl defender, Henry Melton, will penetrate the backfield and take him down with extreme prejudice. Bears win in a rout, 69-28. Da Bears.All - Da Bears! Pat - The WCG staffer that wrote the second quarter prediction was even more out of his ever loving mind. Sam Householder, if that is even his real name, had our fellas in Navy and Orange losing to the Saints, Redskins, and Packers.Todd - When I finished reading his prediction, I sent him a scathing email questioning his Chicago ties and his football I.Q., and like the coward he is, I never heard a peep back from him, just some response from someone named Mailer Daemon. First off, what a stupid name, Daemon is even sillier than Householder. And second off, where does Sam get off having someone else answer his email? Where does he get off big timing me? Who does he think he is?Pat - Normally this is where I would correct my burly Bears brethren, but I kind of like the idea of Todd getting pissed off every time an email is returned to him by the Mailer Daemon.Carl - And knowing Todd, and his limited computer skill set, that's probably quite a bit.Todd - What if Mailer Daemon and Sam Householder are one in the same?!?!?Pat - Back to the outlandishly wrong predictions by Sam, there's no way we drop a game to the left tackle depleted Saints. We snagged Drew Brees' blindside protector, Jermon Bushrod, so

I decided to do this in the Sporcle format. The answers are provided in a link below the table. This is by no means the entire list, but it includes all of the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Let's keep the answers out of the comments section...at least for the first couple hours. None of the 80 greatest Redskins wore #10, in fact, probably a few of these guys would make the 80 worst Redskins. Year Player 2012 Robert Griffin III 2011 2009-2010 2003-2006 2002 2001 1995-1998 1990-1992 1984-1987 Here is the link to the answers. How many did you get right? If I missed any players, feel free to let me know in the comments.

Last season, the Eagles safety unit faced plenty of adversity. Kurt Coleman, Nate Allen, David Sims, and Colt Anderson all started games with limited success. That is why the Eagles brought in a pair of veteran free agents and a rookie to compete with the tenured members of the group. One of the veteran free agents, Kenny Phillips, is an addition that has been met with both concern and intrigue by Eagles fans. The University of Miami alum was drafted in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft and has been a starter in the league. Phillips played the last five years for the New York Giants, spending almost as much time on the field as on the sideline, nursing his problematic left knee. When he has been healthy, Phillips has been star on defense. However, he has missed 21 games over the last four seasons, which makes him a question mark for an Eagles safety unit that is searching for answers. Phillips met with reporters this week and was asked about his current bill of health. "My knee is good," said Phillips. "The MRI showed that it healed up nice, so right now I am just taking it one day at a time." Despite the good news regarding his knee, Phillips notes that the training staff is being patient with the free agent acquisition. "They are definitely letting me take my time," said the Miami native. "They are just monitoring me right now, so I can be good when it really counts, during training camp and in the preseason." Since Phillips is not facing added pressure from Chip Kelly, the coaches have him working with the second-team defense. While he understands that he can improve his stock as the offseason moves forward, Phillips is still getting use to not being a starter. "It's a lot different (not being a starter) right now (because) I am not with the first group, but I am still getting as many reps as those guys," said Phillips. "So basically its just about going out there, making plays and showing the coaches that I'm a starter." Another storyline surrounding Phillips is that he goes from "bad guy" to "good guy" in Philadelphia, after defecting from the Giants. The narrative is familiar for the Eagles with Steve Smith joining the team in 2011, but it has taken time for Phillips to get use to. "It's weird being rivals for so long, but now we're friends," said the former Giant. "I am enjoying (being an Eagle) so far." According to Phillips, current Giant safety Antrel Rolle spoke very highly of new Eagles defensive coordinator, Billy Davis, who coached him in Arizona. The veteran believes Davis will put him in a position to be successful. "I am going to get a chance to show I can make plays," said Phillips. "I like the opportunity I am getting with the defense and I feel like it will be a big year (for me)." For the Eagles, getting a "big year" out of Phillips would be a major plus for the defense. If all goes well and his knee holds up, Phillips could be with the team for a while, because he plans on playing for a long time. The Eagles will now have to hope the slow approach will get Phillip ready for the preseason and he can take advantage of being eased into the new defense.

One of the biggest concerns I have had moving forward with the Bruce Arians era was the departure of Ray Horton. It's not so much that Ray Horton was an irreplaceable force of nature from the booth, but more that I like what Horton did with this defense. With Horton we saw innovation, putting dynamic playmakers in a position to make plays, and creating pressure without having a pass rushing force to utilize. I'm not saying that defensive coordinator Todd Bowles won't do similar, but we knew what we had with Horton, and that was comforting for a singular reason: Lack of an elite pass rusher. As we look forward into 2013 one question will surely be asked by analysts and fans alike, who will be the Cardinals, pass rushing threat? The Cardinals brought pressure from the inside linebacker position more than any other team in the NFL in 2012, and that created massive holes in the defense that became more and more exploitable as the season went along, Daryl Washington had eight of his nine sacks in the first eight games of the season, and only one the last eight games. In fact, the entire defense only posted 12 sacks the last eight games of the season, after having 26 sacks the first eight weeks of the season. One of the situations that came from Daryl Washington's 2012 season was how much he was used blitzing the passer, and that was out of necessity, because the team lacked any real threat to get to the passer. Is there someone on the roster that could become a threat to get after the quarterback consistently? Who do you think will have the biggest impact from the outside linebacker position in 2013? Sam Acho- One of the continuing problems with Acho is that he lacks any type of pass rushing move set, and isn't exactly an elite athlete off the edge where he can beat blockers purely on speed. He struggles to disengage from blockers and too often gets "held" up on his initial move, and then is kept out of the play. Acho does work relentlessly to get off blocks, and can pick up some cheap clean up type sacks, but if he doesn't beat his man initially, he typically won't be making an impact. O'Brien Schofield- The biggest issue with Schofield has been his inability to stay healthy over a full season. He has shown growth as a pure edge rusher over the last two seasons, showing a good combination of burst off the edge, and counter moves to get to the passer, but if he isn't on the field, (he played the most snaps of his career in 2012 despite only playing in nine games) he will never reach that potential. Lorenzo Alexander- The soon to be 30 year old racked up 2.5 sacks in 325 defensive snaps in 2012, the most of his career at the linebacker position, as he was a defensive lineman when he started his career. Alexander's big game was against the Minnesota Vikings in week six, when he rushed the passer on 20 of his 28 defensive snaps. Alexander shows a relentless motor to get to the quarterback, works up the field nicely, and does a good job of getting his defender off balance and taking advantage. Matt Shaughnessy- The wildcard in the mix of veterans, Shaughnessy has never played OLB before, he's been a defensive end for most of his career, but now is getting some time standing up. As far as scouting Shaughnessy as a pass rusher, he did a good job using his length at the point of attack, but doesn't show a plethora of pass rush moves, and looks rigid at times. The question is, can he bend and dip around the edge consistently, is he a guy that can drop into coverage, or is Shaughnessy a run stopper only, because throughout his career, he's been very good at that. Alex Okafor- Okafor dropped to the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft for a reason; he doesn't possess an elite ability to get to the quarterback. He, like Acho and Alexander, is a tireless worker, but he utilizes a strong bull rush to push his blocker back, get them off balance and then make a play on the passer. He doesn't bend the edge overly well, he

The players' competitive spirits at practice are improving the team

It's not a stretch to say that Jessie Tuggle is a beloved Atlanta Falcon, perhaps one of the most beloved ever. After 20-plus years as a fan of this team and almost seven years with this blog, I've seen hundreds of players wear the uniform, and Tuggle remains my favorite. The Hammer was the kind of tackler the Falcons would love to have today, someone who patrolled the field and could take down anyone he came across. The team was right to retire his number, as he was one of the most productive players in team history and always a quiet professional. I know there's plenty of love for Tuggle on this site, which is why I wanted to point you in the direction of this Pro Interviews chat with him. Give it a read for nuggets like this, about having his number retired: That was pretty cool because to have your number retired means they really have to respect you as a person and a player. I feel they had that respect for me, for what I did for the game and left on the football field, but also for my character and who I am and what I represent. It was an honor to have my jersey retired, and also to retire the jersey of a guy who came in un-drafted. Go check out the interview for a lot more. It's worth your time.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have waived wide receiver Chris Denton and replaced him with Western Illinois wide receiver Terriun Crump. Denton was an outstanding punt returner at the University of Mount Union but apparently failed to impress the Buccaneers in OTAs. New addition Terriun Crump is a second-year receiver who went undrafted last year, signed with the Chicago Bears but was released a few days prior to the start of the season during final roster cuts. He spent the past year on the Edmonton Eskimos' practice roster, and was one of the tryouts during Bucs' rookie minicamp. Crump has outstanding size at 6'3", 220 lbs. but isn't overly fast, running a 4.64 40-yard dash at this pro day. He managed 135 receptions for 2,067 yards and 11 touchdowns in his three-year career at Western Illinois. Crump will presumably compete for a roster spot with Steve Smith, David Douglas, Chris Owusu, Jheranie Boyd, Jerry Johnson, Eric Page and Tim Wright. The Bucs can still add one more player before hitting the roster limit. Read more: Recency bias, narratives and clutch performers How many games will the Bucs win? Training camp preview: offensive tackles

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports There has been much discussion when it comes to the New York Jets‘ quarterback competition. Prior to selecting Geno Smith in 2013’s NFL Draft, New York was linked to names like Brady Quinn. David Garrard signed, but injury issues led to an early retirement. One name reportedly drew interest. Brian Hoyer was said to be on the Jets’ radar before signing with the Cleveland Browns. The former Michigan State standout joined the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Hoyer saw limited action his first two seasons while sitting behind some guy named Tom Brady. Last year, he started one game for the Arizona Cardinals, completing 11 of 19 for 105 yards and one interception. Compared to predecessor Ryan Lindley, Hoyer looked excellent. There is no way to become great simply by watching Brady. The Jets, meanwhile are left to continue their search. Smith is considered a highly promising prospect. Some believe he will start right away, while others feel he should sit in the beginning and learn. Using this tactic of giving him time may lead to an unpopular result. Mark Sanchez has been the starter over a span of four years. After struggling with turnovers, especially with 52 in his last 31 games, Sanchez has  erased himself from New York’s future plans past 2013. Their current group has many questions and if the Jets wanted to add another player, there are better options. Although Vince Young has dramatically declined in production, there is a history of success. Young still possesses great speed. Derek Anderson would also present a decent player. I am not saying that either of these two could be a long-term starter, but they are capable of holding down the fort until rookie Geno Smith is ready. If the Jets do not wish to add another quarterback as other reports suggest, then there will basically be a battle between Smith and Sanchez. Bringing in depth at any position is always a good idea.