Dropbacks: May 2008 Archives

We've got two more shows, which will complete our divisional breakdown, coming next week.

And don't forget the NFC East preview we posted this morning.

We've also - tentatively, of course - have a fairly big partnership to announce on Friday which will increase the podcast's footprint.

Until then: links!!

 

THE PROS
I'm not a Pacman Jones defender by any means, but Roger Goodell needs reined in a little, wouldn't you agree?

Pretty funny: Build your own Brett Favre shrine!

Who's set up nicely for and who will be hurting badly in the case of an uncapped year?

Speaking of: a plan for owners. Step No. 1: Make a list.

Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, despite battling diabetes, says he's fit and ready to go.

News and notes: Jake Delhomme making progress. ... Larry Johnson's feeling fine. ... Rudi Johnson's eager to get back at it. ... Denver's Selvin Young is talking big. Really big. ... Chad Johnson is in trouble with the tax man.

Peter King's inbox was inundated with Jason Taylor talk.

 

COLLEGES
How does Tommy Bowden keep surviving?!?!?

Sad news about the North Carolina A&T player who died

Taking umbrage with non-Saturday college football, which the MAC has patented.

SEC Network, anyone?

Some teams on the rise, and some on the decline.

Ten questions, including USC, Clemson, the SEC and more. (Good read.)

We're back to it this week after a day off to remember those who have served our country with such great sacrifice.

Tomorrow we'll have our NFC East preview, but until then, let's hit the links!

 

THE PROS
NFLPA reps say the owners' problems are their own doing.

MMQB: The Vikings are thinking big.

The strange trip of one-time wonder boy Roy Williams.

Glenn Dorsey has much potential.

Michael Turner is ready to break out in Atlanta. Probably easier said than done, though.

I predict New England will beat Miami by a combined 100 points this season.

More on Jason Taylor.

What teams should have been more active? (Titans, Bears, Pats, Browns, Bengals, Cowboys, Panthers.)

Yuck: Why does Brett Favre still have a locker?

Read this this morning, and asked myself, "what did Vince Young think the NFL was going to be like?" Young's going to be another Barry Sanders, guaranteed.

Funny anecdote leading this story about "voluntary" workouts.


COLLEGES
How will the BCS look in 10 years? The same, most likely.

And JoePa ain't liking that, which the Big Ten bosses won't like.

How about the Top 10 players in the BCS' 10 years?

Fun with numbers.

Here's the lineup:

Today: links (see below); Peter King was Spygate again, thus no link to him.

Friday: Previews of next week's shows,

Monday: NFC North preview

Wednesday: NFC East preview

Got it? Good. Now, the links:

 

THE PROS

I couldn't agree more: The NFL's rookie pay structure is ludicrous. ... And speaking of, the labor issues are holding up some rookie contracts. 

After trading Leigh Bodden, the Browns couldn't afford to lose Daven Holly for the season. Speaking of, the Browns: Possibly the most intriguing team, like EVER.

Jason Taylor is certainly not making any friends in Miami, nor is he making himself look very good. ... Speaking of, this writer argues the Dolphins are stupid for calling out Jason Taylor. Um, I disagree. Vehemently. 

Quick-hitting news and notes: Cedric Benson returns, thanks Bears. ... Carson Palmer wants his top two receivers in camp. ... Jerry Jones wants Pacman Jones on offense, too; you know, if he's allowed to play.

At least one person thinks cold-weather Super Bowls stink.

Don Banks offers 10 important questions, including on Raider Greg's boy Jamarcus Russell, Pacman and Da Bears.

 

COLLEGES

ESPN's BCS series: How would you rank the 10 champions in the BCS era? (Wow: The 2002 Buckeyes behind last year's LSU? Yikes.) ... How about top 10 performances? ... And coaches. ... And coaching moves.

Sounds like a stellar (sarcasm) idea: five years of eligibility.

Is Pitt again a contender in the Big East?

Lots of good stuff here, mainly because I've been out for six days -- have you seen the danceoff and toast from my brother's wedding? -- and had lots of work to do when I got back.

As I promised in Monday's show, there will be no more Spygate talk here. So even though I like Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback on SI.com, I'm not linking to it.

 

THE PROS
Big news: NFL owners opt out of labor deal. ... And what are the implications?

Is Aaron Rodgers ready? ... And another Rodgers story, this one examining his contract situation.

How defense-starved is Cincinnati? Not enough to waive a pretty darn good defender, Odell Thurman.

The Giants are not satisfied.

We touched on this a little on Monday's podcast, but Jay Cutler talks about diabetes -- to a guy who knows about the disease.

Add Peyton Manning to the list of folks who don't think Brett Favre is all-the-way retired.

Five teams that have put themselves in position to contend.

News and notes: Former Panther LB Dan Morgan retires. ... Jason Taylor will miss Dolphins minicamp. ... Cedric Benson, Brian Urlacher missing from Bears gatherings. ... Andre Johnson has knee surgery.

 

COLLEGES

Interesting: The BCS succeeds by giving customers what they DON'T want.

And, speaking of, the 10 best BCS games.

We'll chat about this in tomorrow's show, but: Urban Meyer contends recruiting rules make character harder to judge.

What to watch: the SEC, Sun Belt, Pac 10, WAC, Mountain West, Big East, ACC, Big 12.

Like me, this guy's against a playoff. We're in the minority, I understand.

Too early for BCS predictions? Nonsense!

With Bobby Petrino in and Darren McFadden and Felix Jones out, it sounds like Arkansas is going to throw. A lot.

I sure as heck hope you're tuning in for our divisional previews, where we've already broken down the AFC North and South. More to come next week.

And a quick editor's note: I will be out of town starting Wednesday of this week, so posts on this here blog will be sporadic at best. Be sure to tune in Monday morning for our next episode, though, and as always, if you have questions or feedback, e-mail us by clicking here.

 

THE PROS

Fun tale about Steelers coach Mike Tomlin from Sports Illustrated's Peter King.

Would you play in the NFL if you knew what the consequences were?

Power rankings? Why not? (Stillers 7, Browns 9, Packers 10, Bengals 25)

Readers are not pleased with Dr. Z's draft recap.

Robbie Gould proves being a kicker is a gooooood life.

Can the Bills get back to the playoffs this year? (And other nuggets.)

 

COLLEGES

Is there an "NCAA Football" video game curse? (Great title for this blog, if you like "Swingers.")

Previews: Big Ten, MAC and Independents.

ACC ponders a ninth conference game, and Bobby Bowden's point is a good one: What happens the years when the ACC is down? Can you schedule a tough-enough three-game nonconference schedule to get where you want to go.

Interesting: His son, Terry, says in a 12-game schedule, teams SHOULD play nine conference games.

Taking a look at how succession plans have worked out among the coaching ranks.

This should generate some feedback: Is Jim Tressel an elite coach?

This week, we'll preview two more divisions, the AFC East and South.

To help us, we'll have Brian Galliford from BuffaloRumblings.com and Jimmy Morris from MusicCityMiracles.com help us break down their favorite divisions.

A little about Mr. Galliford:

He's ready to graduate from SUNY Geneseo in western New York, where he's a Journalism/Media Studies major. 

He says he got into blogging for school.

"(It was) part of an Internet technologies class," Galliford said. "I started my own Bills blog, and after about two months of doing that, SB Nation asked me to join their spectacular network covering the Bills. This was in February of 2007; in April, Buffalo Rumblings launched, and I've been growing our online community for a little over a year. We now have a steady readership and one heck of an intelligent community that talks Bills football with the four of us who run the site on a daily basis; it's been a blast."

We're looking forward to it, Brian.

Now, let's do one last batch of links for the week:

 

THE PROS

Ouch: NYT columnist calls for a year suspension for Bill Belichick.

Is Notre Dame's John Carlson the missing piece in Seattle's passing game?

Can David Garrard make Jacksonville care?

Funny headline: Marvin Harrison "not a suspect so far."

Willie McGinest will retire after the 2008 season.

 

COLLEGES

Charlie Weis needs to STFU.

June Jones is attempting to do what he did in Hawaii in Dallas.

UCLA could stink this year. (Hey, maybe a win for Fatty Weis' crew!)

Notre Dame, Arizona State to match up at the Cowboys' new stadium.

Look later this evening or tomorrow for a preview of this week's show, where we'll preview the AFC East and South with special guests.

Until then, a fresh batch of links.

 

THE PROS

I'm sort of intrigued as to what the punishment will be for the latest Patriot tapes.

This Cedric Benson story is intriguing, isn't it?

Offseason awards, including the line, "He's the Jamal Crawford of the NFL." Hilarious.

Kind of funny: Chris Henry expresses interest in everyone. Really? I'm shocked.

Speaking of Bengals wide receivers: Marvin Lewis says he's not sure if they can re-sign their other guy, T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The NFL Network/cable battle rages on. I'm sick of the NFL.

Good tale of African-born NFLers giving back in Nigeria.

Take a sample Wonderlic test. If you're not SCARED, that is. (I got 16.)

Revisiting the draft.

Almost means very little for the Chargers. The goal is a title, and quick.

Speaking of the Chargers: Some Qs and As with LDT.

Emmitt Smith is a laughingstock. Stop, Emmitt, stop!

Minnesota takes the Michael Vick Precaution with Jared Allen, Madieu Williams and Bernard Berrian.

There's a QB controversy brewing in Arizona, and Kurt Warner makes a fair point.

 

COLLEGES

A mocking headline I saw somewhere: RIP Alabama State football.

Can Texas Tech's defense catch up with its offense?

Speaking of Texas Tech, dynamic Michael Crabtree gets some love.

SI.com's Stewart Mandel answers some questions.

Last week we took you through local reaction to each team's draft.

Today, we're playing catchup on all other NFL and college news, and as you can imagine, there's a bunch to get to.

Enjoy!

 

THE PROS
Yes, athletes have millions of dollars. They also have bull's-eyes on their chests, and Rashard Mendenhall was no different, being robbed at gunpoint.

Five things we learned from minicamps, including Cedric Benson, amazing healers, QB competitions and more.

More minicamps: I've head this before, that Arizona will surprise this season. I'll believe it when I see it. ... Felix Jones gets rave reviews. ... Tampa has many quarterbacks. ... Brian George made a great point on this week's podcast, though I'll admit it's a tad different: Joe Flacco comes from a small school. Ben Roethlisberger came from the MAC. Not a bad mold to follow, right?

Nick Seuberling can take heart: One writer has Cincinnati in the playoffs.

What are NFL teams' most pressing needs?

Ten burning questions.

Monday Morning Quarterback: Post-draft power rankings. (Philadelphia 11th? Ugh. Jets 14th? Double ugh.)

News and notes from last week: Broncos' Jay Cutler diagnosed with diabetes. ... Eagles sue Andy Barch's boy Terrell Owens. ... Miami's Jason Taylor is still unhappy. ... More legal problems for the Bengals.

 

COLLEGES
We're behind on this plus-one-being-turned-down story, but ESPN.com has wall-to-wall coverage: More than the Pac 10 and Big Ten opposed it. ... The BCS folks just had a nice vacation.

Ryan Perrilloux is out in Baton Rouge. ... And, predictably, the "they're better off!!" column.

Ryan Mallett's play-right-away plan was denied.

Another of Andy Barch's boys, former Packers coach Mike Sherman, is getting along just fine in College Station, thank you.

Big 12 notes.

Ohio State's Beanie Wells is the early Heisman front-runner. Something tells me he gets beat by someone from the SEC. Hahahaha!!!!!

In the last installment of our draft recap, we take a look today at the AFC West and NFC West. Earlier this week, we looked at the Easts, Norths and Souths.

Enjoy, and be sure to tune in Monday morning!

 

AFC WEST 

ESPN.com divisional recap.

San Diego Chargers

Slow draft still fills a secondary need.

I thought the Jacob Hester selection was odd.

Whoa. In the aftermath, Sporting News will pick San Diego to win the title.

Denver Broncos

Second-guessing the wide receiver pick.

Shanahan thinks they've improved with their draft picks. (Offensive lineman Ryan Clady will certainly help.)

Oakland Raiders

McFadden pick screams, "Win now!!"

Speed a big focus for the Raiders.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs got great grades for Dorsey, Branden Albert and Brandon Flowers. A helluva haul, indeed.

Jason Whitlock: Chiefs make good picks for bad team.

 

NFC WEST

ESPN.com divisional recap.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams drafted the fourth-rated player in their board second overall. Huh?

STL scouts were told to find high character.

Seattle Seahawks

Team was determined to beef up its defense.

Former Mountaineer Owen Schmitt is a bad dude.

San Francisco 49ers

The Niners had a, well, un-sexy draft.

Former North Carolina DT Kentwan Balmer shines in his first interview.

Arizona Cardinals

First-rounder Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is ready to play.

What'd the experts think?