May 2012 - Page 3 of 50 - National Football Post

Jacksonville sends Jaguars lease default letter

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Terry McCormick | Leave a Comment

The City of Jacksonville has charged the Jacksonville Jaguars with defaulting on their lease at Everbank Stadium, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.

The default charge stems from the contract between the city and the team over deciding who runs the stadium. Two companies submitted bids, according to the Florida Times-Union, and the Jaguars chose SMG.

However, the city's general counsel, Cindy Laquidara, sent a letter to the team informing it that it was in default because no joint agreement or conversation had taken place.

“A joint selection requires people at a minimum to converse,” she said Friday.

Jaguars owner Shahid Khan said he was “shocked and perplexed” by the default notice and refuted the allegation. The move also comes at a critical time when the Jaguars need to be readying for ticket sales for the 2012 season.

“The Jaguars organization has followed exactly the process agreed to by the team and the City and as set forth in the RFP documents,” Khan said in his letter to Jacksonville mayor Alvin Brown. “Immediately upon our advising the city of our recommended selection, your lawyer delivered to the Jaguars organization a default letter putting in motion a termination of our lease.'

Khan, who purchased the team late last year, has steadfastly said he wants to keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville long-term, despite rumors that the team would move shortly after his purchase. This move certainly doesn't bode well for the team's long-term future in North Florida unless something can be resolved soon.

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com

Patriots give Scaife a look

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Terry McCormick | Leave a Comment

The New England Patriots had veteran tight end Bo Scaife in for a visit, according to Scout.com.

Scaife was the Tennessee Titans' franchise player in 2009 and under the uncapped year got a raise over the franchise amount as a restricted free agent in 2010 before leaving for a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals last year. However, a shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve and he missed the entire season.

The more interesting part of this equation may be that the Patriots continue to audition veteran tight ends despite having two prolific players at the position in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

Follow me on Twitter @TitanInsider247 and @terrymc13

Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com

Playbook: Braxton Miller beats the Badgers

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Matt Bowen | Leave a Comment

Click here for the entire Inside the Playbook series.

Click here for my breakdown of Denard Robinson’s pass to beat Notre Dame.

Today I want to take a look at some Big Ten football. Wisconsin vs. Ohio State from the 2011 season. Braxton Miller’s TD pass to Devin Smith to beat the Badgers in Columbus. Check out the video replay and then we will get into some coaching points of why the Badgers coverage scheme broke down and allowed Miller to target the deep post in the end zone.

Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
Personnel: “Houston” (3 WR, 2 RB)
Route: “Pin”
Defensive scheme: Cover 2

Route scheme: The Buckeyes use the “Pin” combination (Dig/Post) to the closed (strong) side of the formation with the FB releasing to the flat. To the open (weak) side, Ohio State runs the deep out cut with the X receiver.

Cover 2: Basic Cover 2: rush four, drop seven into coverage and force the ball to go underneath (FB in flat or RB on check down). With a three-point lead, coach up your CBs to sink (take some stress off your safeties), break on the throw and make the tackle. Looks good on the chalkboard and I like the call in this situation if you play the technique of the defense.

Deep half technique: With the closed side CB playing Cover 2 technique (jam No.1, re-route the release, sink), I have to wonder about the SS in the deep half. As a Cover 2 safety, the dig route (square-in) isn't your play to make with No.1 working the post route down the field. Play with enough depth, open your hips and stay over the top of any vertical. However, when you drive downhill on No.2 (Cover 4 technique), the deep half of the field is wide open. I'm curious if there was some confusion in the secondary here that led to the coverage bust.

Scramble drill: This is tough on any DB. When the QB breaks contain, find a WR and use a “plaster” technique. Coverage is going to break down, WRs will convert their routes (X receiver converts out cut into 9 route) and this will turn into a sandlot play. Find someone and matchup.

Extending the play: Even with the Badgers blowing the coverage on the deep post, this throw is on par with Robert Griffin’s pass to beat Oklahoma. Miller steps up, works laterally to the line of scrimmage (with his eyes down the field) and targets the post. And when you have an athlete at the QB position, extending the play leads to production. This is a big time throw.

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Ten Reasons Why NFL Players Go Broke

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Jack Bechta | Leave a Comment

1) Gross vs. net: It never fails; when my clients get their first NFL check they call me and say something is wrong. They are floored by how much is taken out for taxes and other deductions. Unfortunately, the shock doesn’t resonate long enough. I would say 90% of players have some type of direct deposit or their check gets mailed to their investment advisor and the players never see the net amount. Thus, they think they always are making more money (in gross numbers) than they actually are.

2) It comes too easy and too fast: First it’s a college scholarship, cash from uncles during college, advances and stipends from agents and financial advisors. A large signing bonus before the first snap in camp and making a team. When money comes fast and easy for a young man the assumption is life will always be that way. Players can easily develop a false sense of value of themselves. Many think that starting a profitable business or landing a high paying six-figure cushy job will be easy after football. Why not, everything else came easy right? Wrong! Players have a rude awaking when they can't even land a coaching job after their career ends and don’t properly prepare for starting a second career.

Jamal Lewis recently added himself to the list of former players who have filed for bankruptcy.

3) The cost of vanity: I tell my friends that if I opened a specialized rim shop serving pro athletes, instead of being an agent, I would be a rich man. The same goes for custom jewelry. Unfortunately, I noticed that many athletes associate wealth with material possession. So they feel like the more they have, the richer they are. I would say 90% of all athletes are getting ripped off on auto and jewelry purchases. I had one client have a watch appraised that he thought was worth over the $20,000 that he paid for it. The appraiser valued it at $1,500. The diamonds he thought he had on the watch weren’t real. I did it to teach him a lesson. The obsession to have the latest and greatest toys, the biggest house, the newest car(s) and most expensive clothes is probably the number one wealth killer for professional athletes. As I always say, “rich people have things, wealthy people have investments”.

4) Weak financial counsel: What I mean by this is that most financial advisors, accountants and confidants I met and observed over the years don’t have the fortitude to stand up to their clients in fear of losing them. If they ride their clients too hard about spending the athlete may just fire him or her. So they tend not to make the hard calls and put their foot down on spending patterns. For many consultants, it’s a race to invest the players’ assets before they spend it. Consultants who take their time to educate, communicate and have a way of helping players control spending get an A+ in my book but they are few and far between.

5) Bad investments: There are some intelligent football players who made some really bad investments. The problem is usually compounded when they make a big bet with the majority of their savings on real estate or a business. In addition, many of them sign personal guarantees on loan deals in addition to the investment.

CONTINUE READING ON PAGE TWO…

Non-AQs/Independents post-spring power rankings

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Dave Miller | Leave a Comment

Today at the NFP marks the last of seven post-spring conference power rankings, finishing with the Non-AQs/Independents.

Click here for the ACC post-spring power rankings, which ran last Monday.
Click here for the Pac-12 post-spring power rankings, which ran last Tuesday.
Click here for the SEC post-spring power rankings, which ran last Wednesday.
Click here for the Big Ten post-spring power rankings, which ran last Thursday.
Click here for the Big East post-spring power rankings, which ran on Saturday.
Click here for the Big 12 post-spring power rankings, which ran on Tuesday.

Around the time preseason practice begins in the fall, we will revisit these rankings before 2012's opening kickoff.

1. Boise State: The post-Kellen Moore era has begun in Boise, and with the exception of possibly Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the winningest signal-caller in NCAA history will be the hardest player to replace for any team in the nation. Junior Joe Southwick and true freshman Nick Patti continue to battle for the starting job after separating themselves a bit from sophomore Grant Hedrick and redshirt freshman Jimmy Laughrea. Southwick was Moore’s backup the past two seasons. In addition, head coach Chris Petersen is replacing fellow stars such as running back Doug Martin, left tackle Nate Potter, defensive lineman Shea McClellin and linebacker Byron Hout. The Broncos were decimated by graduation, so we’ll see how strong the program is this season without so much experience returning. Defensively, the team's inexperienced ends had a strong spring game, highlighted by the play of redshirt freshman Sam Ukwuachu, JUCO transfer Demarcus Lawrence and senior Darren Koontz. The Broncos open the season in East Lansing against Michigan State, which is one of the more intriguing openers because the Spartans have the athletes to compete with Boise’s speed.

Can Everett Golson win the starting quarterback job at Notre Dame?

2. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are slotted behind Boise State because of their instability at quarterback as well as their brutal schedule. The Irish could be better in 2012 than they were last year, but it may not show in the record. I’ve maintained that head coach Brian Kelly should turn the offense over to Everett Golson, but I think Andrew Hendrix will ultimately get the nod at QB for the opener against Navy in Dublin. Defensively, the line boasts good depth despite losing star end Aaron Lynch to a transfer. But can coordinator Bob Diaco piece together a solid enough starting secondary with not a whole lot of depth at cornerback?

3. BYU: The Cougars begin their second season as an Independent with Riley Nelson back as the starting quarterback after Jake Heaps transferred to Kansas. He must stay healthy, however, if Bronco Mendenhall has designs on winning 10 games for a second straight season. Nelson is in his fourth season at BYU, but this past spring marked the first time he had the starting job all to himself in Provo. Josh Quezada and Mike Alisa, meanwhile, will help pace the rushing attack. Defensively, Jordan Johnson will try to replace Corby Eason, who was tied for the team lead with 14 pass breakups, at cornerback.

4. Arkansas State: Hugh Freeze parlayed his strong 2011 season into the head job at Ole Miss, so local icon Gus Malzahn has come home to try to continue the Red Wolves’ success. The reigning Sun Belt champs return 2011 conference player of the year Ryan Aplin, but it’s unclear whether Auburn transfer Michael Dyer will be eligible for 2012. Frankie Jackson, who ran for six scores in 2011, is back, however. Defensively, the team lost Sun Belt defensive player of the year Brandon Joiner as well as first-teamers Demario Davis, Darryl Feemster and Kelcie McCray. Expect some JUCO players to see playing time immediately under new DC John Thompson.

5. Northern Illinois: The Huskies lost dual-threat star quarterback Chandler Harnish, so two-year backup and former safety Jordan Lynch takes over, and his specialty is as a runner. However, he looked good throwing the football in the team’s spring game. The offensive line lost four starters, and that was a unit that was possibly the strength of the team last year. However, the defense returns eight starters and should be ready to complement the team’s offense, which looks like it’s ready to be prolific once again in DeKalb.

6. Houston: The Kevin Sumlin and Case Keenum eras are over, as new head coach Tony Levine and new starting quarterback David Piland are now the faces of the program. Piland actually has starting experience from 2010, when Keenum and backup Cotton Turner were injured. Levine, meanwhile, brings some consistency to the program after being promoted from within. What changes will we see for the Cougars under his direction? One thing that will be different is the defense, which is transitioning to the 4-3.

Email dave.miller@nationalfootballpost.com or follow me on Twitter at Miller_Dave

Brady inspires man to donate kidney

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Terry McCormick | Leave a Comment

A Massachusetts man said New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady helped to inspire him to donate a kidney to a woman who was a total stranger, according to NECN.com</a>.

Peter Hughes, 48, of Spencer, Mass., donated the organ to Ajsa Bethiel of Lexington, Mass., even though he had never met the mother of two, who is a Bosnian refugee.

The way Brady played into the matter was Hughes saw the quarterback's impassioned plea for a kidney donor match for his mentor, Tom Martinez, who died recently.

Hughes said he had been contemplating organ donation for a while, but Brady's plea on Martinez's behalf pushed him to donate the kidney. The surgery was performed a week ago.

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com

Is Spencer Ware the next Marion Barber?

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by National Football Post | Leave a Comment

The Breakdown

RB Spencer Ware: LSU (5-11, 223)

What I like…

Barber Spencer Ware and Marion Barber have a similar running style.

– Runs angry. Craves contact and plays with a nasty attitude.
– Showcases natural patience at the line of scrimmage when asked to pick his way through contact inside.
– Does a nice job making himself small inside and running through arm tackles.
– Exhibits a solid first step when eating space and pressing the line of scrimmage.
– Builds his momentum quickly and wants to get downhill.
– Does a nice job keeping his base wide when he wants to change directions. Looks natural sinking his hips and cleanly side stepping defenders.
– Runs hard and angry, but has a little wiggle to his game at the line of scrimmage if he needs to make a man miss.
– Is patient setting up blocks toward the edge and using his vision to stick his foot in the ground and get up the field.
– Showcases a good feel in short yardage and goal line situations, runs low, can find small creases and has the natural strength to push the pile.
– Breaks a ton of tackles both at the line of scrimmage and in the open field.
– His running style is very demanding on defenses and they seam to wear down quickly.
– Doesn’t leave many yards on the field.
– Can create his fair share of bigger plays because of his ability to side step/break a tackle at the line and accelerate quickly in space.
– Looks natural plucking the football out of the backfield.
– Squares his frame quickly and is a no non-sense type guy in the open field.
– Lowers his pad level in space and gets north to south quickly.
– Loves to finish runs, routinely overpowers on contact and falls forward.
– Showcases “plus” balance through contact. Is able to absorb hits from defenders when they don’t wrap and routinely keeps legs moving through the play.
– Generates a lot of yards after contact.
– Proved he can carry a heavy workload during the early part of the 2011 season and be a workhorse back.

What I didn’t like….

– Failed a drug test in October causing him to miss the Auburn game.
– Battled his weight throughout the second half of last season and broke down a bit physically. Lost touches because of it.
– Isn’t the most explosive athlete, gets up to speed quickly, but looks more like a 4.55/4.6 athlete in space.
– Can keep his pad level down, but when he accelerates tends to get upright and will expose his frame.
– His running style could cause him to break down sooner rather than later. Looks for contact in the open field.
– Is more smooth than sharp/sudden as a runner. Doesn’t have great make you miss ability in any area of the game. More of a downhill back.

Overall…

When motivated and his playing weight is in check, LSU RB Spencer Ware has the skill set to start in the NFL, wear down opposing defenses and keep the offense ahead of the chains. He’s never going to be a legit big play threat and his shelf life is going to be shorter than most backs because of his demanding running style.

However, he remind me a lot of former Cowboys running back Marion Barber III and I think he could end up having a similar style career for himself at the next level.

Check out the NFP Draft page here…

RG-3 has NFL's top selling jersey for May

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Brad Biggs | Leave a Comment

That didn’t take long.

In a span of just more a month – since he was selected with the second pick in the NFL draft – Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III has the hottest selling jersey in the league.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post reports that during the period for the month of May, Griffin tops the charts. That means he’s been outselling Peyton Manning Denver Broncos jerseys and Andrew Luck Indianapolis Colts jerseys and everyone else.

Griffin is third overall from April 1 to May 28 even though his jerseys couldn’t be purchased before the April 26 draft. The only players ahead of Griffin in that span are Manning and Tim Tebow, who has been selling plenty of New York Jets jerseys.

Of course, Steinberg points out that after the Redskins acquired Donovan McNabb, he at one point had the No. 2 selling jersey in the entire league.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune

Gabe Carimi finally back on the field for Bears

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Brad Biggs | Leave a Comment

It had been so long for Gabe Carimi since he was last on the field that the right tackle for the Chicago Bears tweeted about it Tuesday.

“First day back at practice went great,” Carimi wrote. “Just need to keep up the hard work to get back where I want to be.”

The first-round draft pick from a year ago played in only 1

Deal for Donald Driver nearly in place

Posted on 30 May 2012 | by Brad Biggs | Leave a Comment

Donald Driver is expected to finalize an agreement with the Green Bay Packers today to return for a 14th season.

Jordan Woy told TMJ’s Lance Allan Tuesday night that the parties had agreed on a deal but needed to review it this morning. Driver could join the club’s offseason workout program as soon as the contract is reworked.

Driver was scheduled to earn a total of $5 million this season. Even with a new contract, unless there are guarantees, Driver will still have to perform at a level that makes it impossible for the team to release him. One of the questions worth considering is how much faith the club has in Tori Gurley and Diondre Borel, young players who could have playing opportunities diminished with Driver on the roster.

In 2011, Driver caught 37 passes for 445 yards. The team believes he offers value as a leader. It looks like he’ll have a chance to make it.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune