by Joe Tailgate on July 6, 2009
in NFL News
- It doesn’t appear the Jaguars have much interest in signing linebacker Derrick Brooks, who is still job-hunting after getting cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even if Brooks wanted to play for the veteran minimum, the Jaguars think 2008 draft pick Thomas Williams and rookie free agent Russell Allen will alleviate concerns about depth at the position.
- Titans running back LenDale White has lost considerable weight, and is determined to keep it off.
- “It’s not going to happen,” White said about putting weight back on. “I am not going to let it all go to waste, not the way I feel. My body feels good — my knees, my ankles, everything feels great out there. And I am trying to keep it that same exact way. So whatever I have to do, I am going to maintain. And when I check into camp (my weight) won’t be nothing over 230.” White weighed in at 229 pounds last week, and admitted that he weighed a whopping 261 last October. “Right now, this is like a perfect situation for me. But I am going to keep pushing myself,” White said. “This is the time where I know what I want to do. We are five weeks away from where I want to be, from what I have been looking forward to, and I’m not going to blow it. I have been playing football all my life so I know how to get ready for camp. I’ll be ready to roll.”
- When Raiders quarterback Jeff Garcia signed a free-agent deal with the team, eyebrows raised throughout the league. And the 39-year-old Garcia is doing nothing to dispel the notion that he plans to play.
- “Not knocking JaMarcus or anybody else on the team, but I just have a belief in my own abilities,” Garcia tells Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
- Broncos RB Peyton Hillis said he is eager to get to training camp to get a better understanding of a new coaching staff that includes first-year coach Josh McDaniels, who was an assistant at New England. McDaniels has brought a Patriots-style air of secrecy to the Broncos, and the secrecy is apparently extending to Hillis and the rest of the running backs. Hillis said he hasn’t heard much more than “hearsay” about what his role in McDaniels’ system will be, but he said the uncertainty is a source of excitement rather than concern.
- Giants rookie RB Andre Brown told CBSSports.com in an exclusive interview that his new team likes him for his versatility, and that he’ll be utilized for it.
- “I’m a scatback compared to Brandon Jacobs, so that’s what they’re trying to get me into because I can catch the ball real well out of the backfield,” Brown said when asked about his role. “Otherwise they’re just telling me to come in there and work hard, and I’m just going in trying to do what I can do to help the Giants win another Super Bowl.”
by Joe Tailgate on June 24, 2009
in NFL News
This is why DE Jevon Kearse, once considered one of the NFL’s best defensive playmakers as well as one of the most popular Titans players, is still playing a decade after earning defensive rookie of the year honors. He’s playing for pride, playing so fans group his best days with his current portfolio.
“I guess I got to go out there and earn that name back and get that reputation back,” said Kearse.
Kearse returned to practice for the first time since undergoing a procedure on his knee earlier this offseason. He was limited during drills.
“He’s doing fine,” Coach Jeff Fisher said. “We’ll pick up his activity. He knows his body. … I’m not concerned with him being 100 percent for camp.”
31-year-old veteran tight end Alge Crumpler has been mentoring rookie Jared Cook. Cook said,
“Crump is like a coach. It is just great to have someone like that around, a big savvy guy who knows a lot and can teach you a lot. I learn something from him every day.”
Cook has dealt with dropped passes in practice, but has also impressed with great catches. Cook is a good athlete and the Titans intend to use his 6-5, 246-pound frame to create mismatches for opposing defenses.
Chris Johnson said Tuesday he is branching out, leaving fellow Titans running back LenDale White to find his own nickname. Johnson, in fact, has already found a new moniker – “Every Coach’s Dream.”
“Smash and Dash have had a divorce – that’s official,” Johnson said. “I have to be my own guy, so no more Smash and Dash, that was last year. Every Coach’s Dream, that’s me. Because they say every team has its own identity. I feel for me, I can’t be noticed as a group any more. I am my own guy.”
by Joe Tailgate on June 16, 2009
in NFL News
- Brett Favre acknowledged on HBO’s Joe Buck Live that he is considering returning to the NFL in 2009, and that he has spoken to the Minnesota Vikings. Asked if he will play in 2009, Favre said, “Maybe.” and later added, “I am considering it.” Favre said that the renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews performed surgery “about two and a half weeks ago,” and he said Andrews told him that within four or five weeks, he should know whether his shoulder is strong enough to get through a 16-game season. When Joe Buck asked Favre about the offense he would play in with the Vikings, Favre said, “Knowing we can run the ball and complete passes when needed, we should be pretty good.”
- Texans TE Owen Daniels signed his restricted free-agent tender Sunday but was not at the first day of the team’s mandatory three-day minicamp Monday. Daniels is in line for a fine of almost $10,000 for missing the mandatory session while under contract. “We’re happy that he elected to come in and sign his tender and be a part of the football team again; a little disappointed that he’s not here today,” general manager Rick Smith said.
- Titans running back LenDale White defended his friend and teammate Vince Young regarding recent statements made by the quarterback about the possibility of being traded. White, speaking on radio station KLAC in Los Angeles Monday said, “You know, I was with Vince yesterday and Vince is very competitive,” White said Monday. “That’s just the competitive side of him. He wants to play and I understand that. I want to play and be the starter. I feel like if the Titans didn’t want me, there are plenty of other teams that will. That’s just the competitive nature of yourself. Vince is a Titan and he loves that. He loves being in the locker room with us, he loves being around us. But it’s that itch to play – he loves playing football.”
- Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco intends to stay with quarterback Carson Palmer and his family in July to make up for lost time while he was away from the team in the offseason. OchoCinco said, “We do argue all the time like a married couple. I think that is why we have been so successful together, because we have that type of relationship we can get on one another. For the time that I missed with Carson throughout the offseason, I am going to make it up in July.”
- Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart said a sore left Achilles is what caused him to miss all of the Carolina Panthers OTAs, but that he should be ready to practice when training camp arrives in early August. The injury was apparently related to Stewart overcompensating for a toe problem that slowed him down last off-season. “It just kind of flared up,” he said. “I’m pretty much staying off of it to just kind of let it heal.” Stewart, who ran for a Panthers rookie record 836 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, didn’t practice at all over the past four weeks, but did participate in the conditioning sprints Tuesday that marked the end of this summer’s OTAs. “Oh yeah, I’m going to be up and running when camp starts,” Stewart said. “Unfortunately I missed out on minicamp. But I’ll be ready.”
