The Countdown has officially underway. Posted, as promised is the first of 32 team previews in power ranking order. Each team will be broken down and given an anal probe as we count down from Team 32 on June 1, all the way down to the top team in the league on July 23. Which also conveniently lands on the week Training Camps begin. What are the odds?
Throughout the season this will be a hub page for our weekly Power Rankings.
This preview will be followed promptly by our complete 2009 Fantasy Football Draft Guide. Here is a preview of what to expect. Early Fantasy Rankings
Plaxico Burress is deathly afraid of going to jail. Bob Papa, one of the hosts of Sirius NFL Radio’s The Opening Drive, spoke on the subject today. “This is what I’ve been told and what I’ve heard,” Papa said on the air. “They worked out something where they had it down to about a three-month jail term with actually only two months served and about 1,500 hours of community service. And I think his lawyers felt that they had a pretty good deal. He doesn’t want to go to jail at all. He shot down the deal. He does not want to go to jail at all. So now coming up in another couple of weeks we’re gonna find out what’s gonna happen. But my guess is that the city of New York is not gonna back off any kind of jail time. “Evidently, he’s gonna have to go to Ryker’s Island,” Papa added. “He’s deathly afraid of going. If he would have just taken the deal when it originally was offered it would all be over with by now. But supposedly the community service hours and the jail time are not appealing to him. He does not understand that he is not in any kind of position of leverage. He has no leverage. He, not his representatives, he thinks he has leverage.”
Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin, who has been at odds with the team regarding his contract and had expressed a desire to be traded, did not attend Wednesday’s voluntary organized team activities at the club’s Tempe training facility, and coach Ken Whisenhunt said it was unclear whether anything has changed.
Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin was working at both the X and Z receiver positions. During the post-draft mini-camp, he primarily played the X spot but his repertoire is increasing as the camps go on. He has also spent some time inside at the slot as well.
Packers WR Donald Driver has been MIA lately because he wants the team to sweeten his contract. Driver, 34, has two years remaining on his contract, which calls for a $3.9 million base salary this season and a $4 million base salary in 2010.
Colts CB Marlin Jackson remains on the fast track to recover from a knee injury that ended his 2008 season. “I’ve been blessed so far being able to heal up faster than everybody thought I would,” said Jackson, who tore two ligaments in his right knee, during an Oct. 29 practice.
Earlier in the Week, Patriots WR Randy Moss said the team’s offense could have the ability to break the NFL record for points and touchdowns they set in 2007 because of the return of QB Tom Brady (knee). “The sky’s the limit for this offense. I think that we could be a little bit better than two years ago. I’m very excited for us as an offense. I’m excited for us as a team. There’s a lot of good things about Tom Brady coming back that excites the people, the fans, the coaches and the players around here. All we can hope is to come out with smoking guns,” Moss said.
Tom Brady was spotted by an ESPN camera crew throwing the rock. There was no footage of who was on the other end of his passes, but the two-time Super Bowl MVP looked fine dropping back and throwing during the brief clip. Brady, who hasn’t been seen on a football field taking part in active drills since suffering a major left knee injury on Sept. 7, is expected to participate in this week’s round of organized team activites which run through Friday.
Brady is 100 percent confident he will be able to play normally when the regular season starts in September. He said, “I have done everything I could to push myself, sometimes too hard. Right now, I am doing everything. Literally everything. There is nothing I cannot do.”
The fact that he feels 100 % is god if he plans on playing 10 more seasons. ”(Playing 10 more seasons) is a big goal of mine, a very big goal. I want to play until I’m 41. And if I get to that point and still feel good, I’ll keep playing. I mean, what the hell else am I going to do? I don’t like anything else. People say, ‘What will you do if you don’t play football?’ Why would I even think of doing anything else? What would I do instead of run out in front of 80,000 people and command 52 guys and be around guys I consider brothers and be one of the real gladiators? Why would I ever want to do anything else? It’s so hard to think of anything that would match what I do: Fly to the moon? Jump out of planes? Bungee-jump off cliffs? None of that s— matters to me. I want to play this game I love, be with my wife and son, and enjoy life.”
Brady practiced this morning in front of the media for the first time since his knee injury, and the sporting news corps was out in force. Brady admitted that he was wearing a brace, though he would prefer not to. He was not flawless in his throws — he misfired on some of them — and admitted to being a little bit rusty.
