by Joe Tailgate on July 31, 2009
in NFL News
Vikings first-round draft choice Percy Harvin is a no-show at the team’s first practice of training camp. The Vikings opened practice early Friday, but the 22nd overall pick is still in negotiations with the team on a contract. The Vikings have big plans for the versatile threat from Florida, which is why coach Brad Childress says it’s especially important for Harvin to get in as soon as possible.
Childress told reporters Wednesday that he’s “more than content” to have Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels compete for the club’s starting quarterback job after the team’s failed effort to lure Brett Favre out of retirement. Childress also said he didn’t think the Vikings’ pursuit of Favre has alienated Jackson and Rosenfels. [click to continue…]
by Joe Tailgate on July 1, 2009
in NFL News
- It appears that Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins has been given the starting right cornerback position over Orlando Scandrick entering training camp. At least that what Jenkins is saying on his blog. “Heading into training camp I’m the starter at right cornerback, and my job is to maintain that position. I’m back in Florida training at IMG to get my body right, get my head right, be mentally ready heading into the season. … It’s my job to lose, but there’s a guy behind me with nothing to lose. If he makes a mistake, it’s not going to cause him to lose his job. If I make a mistake, the coaches are going to take a long, hard look at me in that position.”
- The Cowboys officially released the logo that will represent the new Cowboys Stadium. The predominant feature of the logo is the stadium’s massive steel arches that stretch from end-to-end. Those attending events at Cowboys Stadium will see the artwork on T-shirts, caps, cups and in other highly visible merchandise and building locations.
Cowboys Stadium Logo
“We think this logo will soon be instantly recognizable and appreciated as the mark of a significant and important venue for sports,” said Charlotte Jones Anderson, team executive.
- According to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, Vikings WR Percy Harvin may have to attend 2010 rookie symposium: “[Harvin] was excused. Players who are excused are expected to make up the material presented. That may involve attendance at the following year’s symposium.” Harvin is concerned about how people will perceive his absence because of the question marks that surrounded his character entering the NFL draft in April.
- Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez said he feels very good about how he performed in offseason workouts and that he has positioned himself well to earn the starting job. Sanchez is competing with Kellen Clemens for the Jets starting QB spot and earlier this offseason head coach Rex Ryan said it’s a “dogfight” between the two. “Clemens and Sanchez are really battling,” Ryan said. “I knew it was going to be a dogfight and right now, you can tell it really is. We probably won’t know until … whenever it becomes obvious, that’s when we’ll make the decision.
by Joe Tailgate on June 30, 2009
in NFL News
- Raiders WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, said the hamstring that he injured during offseason workouts is at about “80” percent strength. He expects to be at 100 percent by the start of training camp. Heyward-Bey said he went through a lot of offseason drills despite not being at full strength to show coaches and teammates he could play through pain.
- Vikings WR PercyHarvin reported for the start of the symposium Sunday afternoon but after notifying the medical staff that he was not feeling well, it was recommended that he return home. This is the second time Harvin has become ill after traveling this offseason. He missed the Vikings initial rookie minicamp in May when he was hospitalized for a virus and severe dehydration after vomiting on a flight from Florida to Atlanta on his way to Minnesota.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is leaning toward indefinitely suspending former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress and continuing to sideline quarterback Michael Vick, three sources with knowledge of the situations have indicated. Such moves would be the latest examples of Goodell’s tough stance on players embroiled in off-field issues as evidenced with the suspension of Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth earlier this month. Stallworth has been ruled out indefinitely by the league after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter in the death of a Miami man in March.
- Chiefs fans, take heart. The team may not be quite ready, but your new stadium is progressing toward completion, officials heard Monday. Jim Rowland, executive director of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, told the Jackson County Legislature that the stadium should be 70 percent complete for the Kansas City Chiefs’ opener, as planned. “Arrowhead is a flurry of activity, trying to get ready for the Aug. 15 opening,” Rowland said.
- Steelers WR Santonio Holmes‘ physical remake, particularly around his neck and through his shoulders, is the next step in the development of the MVP of Super Bowl XLIII. The increase in Holmes’ upper body is becoming so pronounced that he’s beginning to look like an entirely different player. “I tipped the scales (Monday) at 201 (pounds),” Holmes said proudly following his workout at Tom Shaw Performance at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.
“Nothing really surprises me anymore,”Sage Rosenfels tells Ross Tucker of SI.com. “There are a lot of rumors in the NFL and I have learned to just go about my business. It doesn’t change the way I work out or the way I prepare. I always say frustration is a self-inflicted wound. For me to get frustrated would just hurt me as a player and doesn’t benefit me whatsoever.”
Percy Harvin is back to full health and resumed workouts today, according to his agent, Joel Segal. “He is back to himself,” Segal said. Harvin, a first-round pick (22nd overall) in last month’s draft, was hospitalized in Atlanta over the weekend when he fell ill at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport while en route to the Vikings’ minicamp.
