NFL Columns

No. 5 should hang on Lambeau wall
Comment
July 29
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 columnist Cliff Christl
"With plenty of time to decide when and how to retire Brett Favre's number, the Green Bay Packers should fulfill another long overdue promise sometime soon. Retire Paul Hornung's No. 5. Actually, Hornung's number was retired. The Packers just never got around to holding an official ceremony. Vince Lombardi made the announcement on July 10, 1967, at what was then the Packers' annual press party at the Oneida Golf and Riding Club. Five months earlier, much to Lombardi's dismay, Hornung had been selected by the New Orleans Saints in an expansion draft. Within 11 days of the Oneida event, the Saints would announce Hornung's retirement due to a neck injury that doctors warned could lead to"
Coach's crew no longer the picture of supremacy
Comment
July 29
Boston Herald
 columnist Ron Borges
"A new era is dawning in Foxboro. Starting today, it's about the players once again. Over at the Hall at Patriot Place, which may very well be the finest team Hall of Fame ever built, the heroes of the past live. Inside those walls, every day is Super Bowl Sunday. But if you're walking in the areas of Gillette Stadium where today's players linger, the symbols of past glory that used to hang over them are gone. The huge images of Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Ty Law, Adam Vinatieri, Deion Branch, Asante Samuel and so many others of the past have been taken down. They have been expunged in the same way deposed Russian leaders used to disappear from the history books of Moscow's childThe"
Steelers' defense hopes to make big splash
Comment
July 29
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
 columnist John Harris
"During the Steelers' five-game losing streak last season, coach Mike Tomlin told reporters he rotated cornerbacks ? replacing starters with reserves and then switching back to starters in the same game ? in a search for playmakers. "We played quite a few people in the secondary, looking for guys to make splash plays," Tomlin said. In 2009, Steelers cornerbacks accounted for two interceptions ? both occurring in the final game of the season against Miami. By Tomlin's definition, both could be considered splash plays: Deshea Townsend's interception ended a scoring drive; Taylor's pick in the closing minutes thwarted a final Dolphins comeback. As a team, the Steelers totaled 12 interceptions"
Time to spot players who can get it done
Comment
July 29
Boston Globe
 columnist Shalise Manza Young
"The first day of training camp in the NFL isn't completely unlike the first day back at school: There are some new people to meet, some new teachers, new lessons to learn, new accomplishments to achieve. Only this isn't the new girl from out of town trying to get the hang of Algebra I while accumulating new Facebook friends and figuring out how much she can get away with in Ms. Jones's class. This is Damione Lewis figuring out how to two-gap after a career of playing in a one-gap system."
Vikings again team to beat in North
Comment
July 29
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
 columnist Wayne Larrivee
"Training camp opens this week around the NFL. The NFC North Division looks to be much improved from the bottom up this season and this should make for a much tighter race than we have seen in recent years. We've spent a good portion of the off-season focusing on the Packers, so let's take this opportunity to take a look at their division rivals. Minnesota VikingsThe Vikings are two-time defending division champions and obviously the team to beat, especially if Brett Favre returns at quarterback. They were the best team I saw last season. In the NFC Championship Game at New Orleans, the Minnesota defense was hammering the Saints offense into submission, but the Viking offense turned the"
Eagles rookies hoping to wrest starting spots from veterans
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Domowitch
"If you're a kid coming out of college right now, the job market is as barren as the Sahara. For an aspiring accountant, nurse, journalist, lawyer, graphic designer, sales rep or any one of a hundred other professions, sending out resumes has become as futile as mailing a Christmas list to Santa. Ordinarily, the same can be said for NFL rookies trying to earn meaningful playing time on the Andy Reid-coached Eagles. But not this year. This year, the team's training camp at Lehigh University has become the land of opportunity for newbies. Young is in and old is out. Goodbye, Donovan McNabb. Hello, Mike Kafka. Au revoir, Brian Westbrook. Bonjour, Charles Scott. Arrivederci, Sheldon Brown. Buon"
Cowboys running back Jones a fast asset, if he stays healthy
Comment
July 29
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
 columnist Jan Hubbard
"With the embers of ShoulderPadGate flickering weakly, a new Dallas Cowboys fixation was desperately needed -- something to excite the masses and feed the media monster.Enter Felix Jones, who, you might have heard, went from Frail Felix to the Incredible Hulk in off-season workouts. Jones was surrounded by media after a recent practice and was pummeled with questions about his newfound bulk.He gained four pounds in the off-season.That's correct. Four pounds. He weighed 216 last season and now weighs 220. Judging by the interest, it's the most significant four pounds in NFL history.Jones was surrounded by cameras, notepads and voice recorders after a recent practice and asked question after"
Jenkins and the Cowboys secondary have lofty goals for 2010
Comment
July 29
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Gerry Fraley
"Cornerback Mike Jenkins, emboldened by his Pro Bowl status, set a lofty target for the Cowboys' pass defense. "We want to get about 22 this year," Jenkins said. That's 22 as in interceptions. That's 22 as in three more interceptions than the Cowboys produced in the last two seasons combined. Only worst-of-the-worst Detroit had fewer interceptions in that span. Is Jenkins indulging in wishful thinking? "It's manageable," insisted Jenkins, who had a team-high five interceptions last season. He might be right. If the Cowboys improve what were hands of stone, they could increase the interceptions total and reap benefits on offense and defense."
Saints' repeat? Outsiders say it doesn't compute
Comment
July 29
New Orleans Times-Picayune
 columnist Jeff Duncan
"They call themselves the Football Outsiders for a reason. The team of statistical analysts at the most advanced NFL think tank on the Internet prefers to think outside of the box, beyond the conventional boundaries of normal football methodology. And their 2010 Almanac certainly does that. The team of editors and analysts at Football Outsiders don't just think the 2009 Super Bowl champion Saints will fail to successfully defend their title this season. They don't even think they'll make the playoffs. They pick the Atlanta Falcons to win the NFC South Division. What's more, they have the Cardinals, Packers, Eagles, Redskins -- that's right, the Washington team that won four games in"
Haslett: All systems go
Comment
July 29
Washington Examiner
 columnist Rick Snider
"Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett is amused by all the questions surrounding the Washington Redskins' switch to a 3-4 defense. Training camp opens Thursday with the Redskins moving from their long-time lineman-loaded 4-3 scheme to a more versatile system designed to increase pass rushing from the edge. Washington's defense has much of the same personnel that finished 10th overall last season, so it's just a reallocation of assets -- as they say on Wall Street. "We just took the pieces we had and shifted things," Haslett said. "I don't think it's a big deal." It certainly isn't. Not since Albert Haynesworth arrived on Wednesday -- supposedly 30 pounds lighter and without a chip on his"
Getting all starters back sets stage for a big finish
Comment
July 29
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 columnist Patrick Reusse
"Brad Childress has gone from six victories in 2006 to eight, 10 and 12 in the seasons that followed. Another two-victory increase in 2010 would be a vault more than a step, but it's not out of the question with the talent the Vikings have due to arrive in Mankato on Thursday afternoon. One important figure, Brett Favre, will not be seen until the third week of August, when the Vikings are back at Winter Park and preparing for their second exhibition. The Aug. 22 game at San Francisco is Sunday night and nationally televised by NBC. The network will do as much pleading as it takes with the Favre camp to have him available to take his first few snaps of the preseason. The Vikings' two-week"
It's time for Rams to show improvement
Comment
July 29
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 columnist Bryan Burwell
"It was Tuesday afternoon at Rams Park, and for some odd reason Steve Spagnuolo wanted to hang out in the indoor practice facility, which on this sweltering 95-degree day felt like a steamy Turkish bath. There was no air-conditioning inside this soaring, empty barn, nor any giant ventilating fans to move the thick and suffocating air. Yet the moment the Rams coach came bounding into the room, he had this wide grin spread across his face. While everyone around him was dripping with sweat, everything was perfectly cool with Spagnuolo. The start of his second training camp as an NFL head coach was less than 24 hours away, and Spagnuolo was just as eager as some of his young players. "It's just"
Romo works to get better, but he needs a little help
Comment
July 29
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
 
"Everybody stopped down for a little Rangers gazing Tuesday, even here at Camp Cowboy.Cliff Lee has a way of doing that, of altering plans.Nobody wants to miss a moment, in case Lee decides this is the night he is going to masterfully blow through the entire Oakland lineup for eight innings and tell his manager "I got this" when he comes to lift him in the ninth, like he did Tuesday. It was just another "oh my" on the brief yet impressive résumé of the Rangers ace.It was also another no-decision for Lee, and with it a teachable moment for Cowboy types.Because if Lee is unable to single-handedly win a game he dominates, in a sport where one player can truly determine the outcome, how can we"
JaMarcus Russell's exit not cure-all for Oakland Raiders
Comment
July 29
Oakland Tribune
 columnist Monte Poole
"Too big to hide and too slow to get out of the way, he was an easy target. Too indifferent to respond, he was the convenient explanation. With so many bad habits, on and off the field, JaMarcus Russell embodied the ills of the Raiders. Losing him would open the door to success. By that logic, then, dumping the big bust means winning time has arrived. As atrocious as Russell was, though, the Raiders won't do much winning if their only appreciable upgrade is swapping him for Jason Campbell at quarterback. When the Raiders take the field today for their first training-camp practice, they do so as Campbell's team. The new quarterback enters a honeymoon period that should last at least 45 days,"
Glory for Browns is only in dreams
Comment
July 29
Akron Beacon Journal
 columnist Marla Ridenour
"Amidst the talk about position battles and Jake Delhomme's leadership and Shaun Rogers' possible suspension, Browns president Mike Holmgren took us back. Back to the days of Brian Sipe and Sam Rutigliano. Back to the days of Bernie Kosar and Marty Schottenheimer. Back to the days when the last game meant something, when the Browns were a force to be reckoned with in their division. ''I want to be a player in the division,'' Holmgren said Wednesday. ''I want to be considered a factor in what happens. The scheduling the NFL is doing now where you play your division opponents at the end . . . I want those games to be for the marbles, for everything, and create that type of buzz, that type of"
49ers exude confidence in Alex Smith, and they had better be right
Comment
July 29
San Jose Mercury News
 columnist Tim Kawakami
"Thirty minutes into the 49ers' second annual "State of the Franchise" event, Alex Smith's name still hadn't been mentioned. There was all the talk you could ever want about the draft picks, a beautiful rendering of the proposed stadium, and plenty of praise for Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis. But not a word about the starting quarterback. Sixty minutes into the event, Smith still had not been praised, raised or even quickly referenced. Finally, at the end of the 90-minute presentation, taking a final question from the audience about the team's general prospects, team president Jed York volunteered that Smith is a large part of what the 49ers are doing. End of event. Crowd roars, then"
Jackson ready if Favre is no-show
Comment
July 29
Minneapolis Star Tribune
 columnist Sid Hartman
"Tarvaris Jackson said he is prepared to lead the Vikings to another winning season if Brett Favre decides to retire from football. "I'm ready," said Jackson, who has started 19 games at quarterback in four seasons with the Vikings. He was working out Wednesday at the University of Minnesota with a group of NFL players at a camp led by Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald Jr., preparing for the start of Vikings training camp on Friday. Jackson played eight games last season in relief of Favre, who won't report to Mankato on Thursday because he has not healed yet from ankle surgery. Jackson said he learned a lot from watching the future Hall of Famer. "Just how to prepare for the game, the work you"
Eagles' Allen ready to live up to expectations
Comment
July 29
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist John Smallwood
"It was late, and Tuesday night was about to turn into Wednesday morning. Eagles rookie safety Nate Allen had finally arrived at Lehigh University for training camp, but he had nowhere to go. The final details of his contract were still being hammered out, and by NFL rule, Allen wasn't allowed to participate in any part of official practice until all the documents were signed - even sleeping in his assigned dormitory room. "I couldn't get into my room until I signed, so I was just sitting in this little living room of one of the dorms across campus," Allen said yesterday after his first practice in training camp. "Oh yeah, [his roommates, cornerback Trevard Lindley and safety Kurt Coleman]"
Jets owe Revis new deal
Comment
July 28
New York Post
 columnist Steve Serby
"This is no time for Mike Tannenbaum (and Woody Johnson) to be picking up the telephone inquiring about Terrell Owens. The only call they should be making -- today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow -- is to Darrelle Revis and his people. Every waking hour inside the Atlantic Jets Health Training Center should be devoted to showing their best player enough money to avoid a holdout who could easily make this much ballyhooed Super Bowl-or-Bust season go bust. Then again, if nothing else, the T.O. No development served to take the attention away, for a few hours of sports talk radio, from the Revis impasse. What's next? Mark Gastineau, with Brigitte Nielsen in tow, being summoned to help Rex"
Green safety corps could be concern for Cowboys
Comment
July 28
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Tim Cowlishaw
"I guess it comes as no real surprise that tears have not been shed and special newspaper sections are not being produced for a last look back at The Ken Hamlin Era. Hamlin was not a great player for Dallas but he was, at times, a solid one. Secondary coach Dave Campo called upon him to be a leader and director of traffic, especially when injuries had forced inexperienced backs into the fire. But Hamlin was not a big playmaker. He was famous for playing about 20 yards off the line of scrimmage ... or so it seemed. Releasing Hamlin this off-season (he signed with Baltimore), the Cowboys are left with a last line of defense that is mostly unknown and largely inexperienced. Gerald Sensabaugh"
If Dez Bryant delivers on the field, all the drama will be an afterthought
Comment
July 28
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor
"Conventional wisdom says Bryant would've saved himself a lot of drama and unnecessary attention if he had simply grabbed the veteran's pads and walked off the field with them. Sometimes, the road of least resistance is the best choice. Of course, that would've been the easy route. But I don't mind a player who thinks for himself and bucks an old-school tradition. It shows Bryant has a little moxie. And it showed, as Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said, that Bryant refuses to be intimidated, a trait that will bode well for him in the future."
It's time for Rams to show improvement
Comment
July 28
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 columnist Bryan Burwell
"It was Tuesday afternoon at Rams Park, and for some odd reason Steve Spagnuolo wanted to hang out in the indoor practice facility, which on this sweltering 95-degree day felt like a steamy Turkish bath. There was no air-conditioning inside this soaring, empty barn, nor any giant ventilating fans to move the thick and suffocating air. Yet the moment the Rams coach came bounding into the room, he had this wide grin spread across his face. While everyone around him was dripping with sweat, everything was perfectly cool with Spagnuolo. The start of his second training camp as an NFL head coach was less than 24 hours away, and Spagnuolo was just as eager as some of his young players. "It's just"
Success of Fins, Canes rests on Henne, Harris
Comment
July 28
Miami Herald
 columnist Greg Cote
"Football reasserts itself now. The old monarchs, the Dolphins and Hurricanes, retake the kingdom. But will they be able to withstand the late-October siege of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh? That will be determined by how the football seasons are playing out more than by the outside forces. It will take Dolphins thinking Super Bowl and Canes angling for a national championship and we will begin to have a good idea of how realistic those things are by the time the basketballs start bouncing. For now, we have no honest clue. I can't recall another year when outlooks and opinions of the Dolphins and Hurricane varied so wildly. Both could be very good and rekindle glory days or both"
Lions, Tigers fighting the odds of bringing title to Detroit
Comment
July 28
Detroit News
 columnist Bob Wojnowski
"As a sports fan, all you can reasonably demand is a shot. That's it. A shot, a chance. And right there is the wild appeal of the NFL, which will remain America's most popular league, right up until it enters a colossally stupid labor lockout in 2011. As training camps open this week, most teams think they have a shot to reach the playoffs. Some are completely delusional, but many are correct. At least one national expert whose identity I will dutifully protect -- suffice to say, he's one of the Kings of the business -- even considers the Lions in the mix, sort of. Of 32 NFL teams, he removes only four (St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Cleveland) from playoff consideration. Myself, I'd"
On the cusp of camp, are the pieces in place?
Comment
July 28
Washington Examiner
 columnist Rick Snider
"Is this the season the Washington Redskins finally move forward? I'm not talking about just making the playoffs, which seems iffy, but creating a program that sustains success like in the 1980s. That means no longer looking like clowns waiting for another passing circus, or price-gouging fans while banning free speech on shirts and signs. Is this the year owner Dan Snyder finally butts out and real football men take over? Sure looks like it. The Redskins open training camp Thursday with more than a new coach and a bona-fide general manager. They have a new approach: It's called football instead of marketing. Last year was the needed meltdown, forcing Snyder into admitting -- after 10 years"
Eagles learn that blitzing not always best approach to pass rush
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Domowitch
"Sean McDermott proved last season that he is every bit as aggressive as his late predecessor, Jim Johnson, when it comes to turning up the heat on opposing quarterbacks. McDermott's defense blitzed 24.8 percent of the time (257 of 1,037 snaps) last year, which was almost 2 percent more than Johnson's unit did the year before (23.1). The thing is, quantity doesn't always translate to quality. It didn't last year. While McDermott's 2009 defense blitzed more than Johnson's '08 unit, it wasn't nearly as effective at it. Opposing quarterbacks compiled a 79.7 passer rating and threw 15 touchdown passes against the Eagles when they sent extra rushers last year. The year before, the opponent"
Cowboys K David Buehler fueled by doubters, but still a large question mark
Comment
July 28
Dallas Morning News
 columnist David Moore
"Other than the thirst for all things Dez, other than wondering what player will next make his naked debut on the Internet, it's the most persistent question of this training camp. How can a team with Super Bowl aspirations, how can a team so strong in so many areas, settle for an unproven field goal kicker? How can the Cowboys cast their lot with David Buehler? "You guys don't have confidence in me?" Buehler asked. "Is that what you're saying? You have confidence in everybody else but not me? "All right. That's OK. That just gives me more drive." The position for now belongs to Buehler. Delbert Alvarado isn't going to beat him out. But the kicker knows he has yet to earn the opening day"
Opening day of Eagles camp holds its usual promise
Comment
July 28
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Rich Hofmann
"It is just past 8 a.m.; another year, another training camp. A few Eagles support people are on the fields, making sure things are ready for the first practice. New starting quarterback Kevin Kolb is in civilian clothes, doing a live television interview. The bright sun has not yet evaporated the dew in the grass. Stretching does not begin for about 15 minutes, practice not for another 45. One player is dressed and ready, kneeling on the goal line of the nearest field. Free-agent safety Ryan Hamilton, an undrafted rookie from Vanderbilt, seems just to be taking it all in, alone. It can be a brutal business, this NFL thing. Hamilton, out of Council Rock North High School, already has been"
Raiders' Tatum was feared and revered
Comment
July 28
Contra Costa Times
 columnist Monte Poole
"Snug inside his Silver-and-Black helmet was a full and unruly Afro, a bushy beard, a thick mustache and a pair of dark-brown eyes, heavy-lidded and conveying malevolence. Jack Tatum looked like an outlaw, which made his visage the most intimidating in Oakland Raiders history. But Tatum also played defensive back like an outlaw, which is why he was one of the toughest and most feared men ever to suit up in the NFL. Tatum, who during his career earned the nickname "The Assassin," died Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack at his Oakland home. He was 61. He leaves behind his wife, Denise, three children and a vault full of indelible memories. He also leaves behind the terrible"
Time to have a little fun
Comment
July 28
Cincinnati Enquirer
 columnist Paul Daugherty
"Lordy, is this going to be a blast. Crash and burn or deep into January – doesn't matter. Ego Central fiddles while Rome burns, or two amigos join legs and can-can their way to the Big Bowl. What's "T.O" in Spanish, and can we get it on a jersey? It could be that the advancing ages of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco will make them better suited for hosting talk shows on far-flung cable channels than catching passes from Carson Palmer. Or it could be that Planet Ocho – the hip-shakin', romance-makin' reality star hisself – and his new supporting actor will have us all watching whatever it is they do, for as long as they do it. Either way, it's time to loosen the Cincinnati rep tie and have"
With Ravens, Baltimore has hope of rooting for winners
Comment
July 28
Baltimore Sun
 columnist Peter Schmuck
"In the sea of purple that bordered the practice field at McDaniel College during the Ravens' first workout on Tuesday, Jack Walther was a study in orange and black. The Joppa resident showed up in his Orioles jersey and cap in what can only be described as a halfhearted attempt to show support for both of Baltimore's major sports franchises on the day when a lot of local fans eagerly turn their attention from baseball to football. "I'm a homer,'' he said. "I'm a Ravens, Terps and Orioles fan. I support my local teams." Well, sort of. Walther acknowledged that he couldn't stomach the Orioles game Monday night ? couldn't watch the last-place O's get beaten for the 10th time in a row by the"
Dez Bryant wrong to give Roy Williams the cold shoulder pad
Comment
July 27
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Todd Archer
"Dez Bryant is wrong. You can like what he says - that he's here to win championships - but feel he is wrong about not carrying Roy Williams' pads or Patrick Crayton's pads or Miles Austin's pads or any veteran's pads. It is a minor way to force the No. 1 pick into some humility, and Bryant missed a chance to do what is right and what has been expected of first rounders probably forever. Since getting drafted by the Cowboys, Bryant has largely done everything right. He was at training camp on time. He's made plays since the first rookie mini-camp through the first three practices of training camp. He has a lot of people salivating about his abilities and what he can mean to the Cowboys'"
N.F.L. Asserts Greater Risks of Head Injury
Comment
July 27
New York Times
 columnist Alan Schwarz
"The National Football League is producing a poster that bluntly alerts its players to the long-term effects of concussions, using words like "depression" and "early onset of dementia" that those close to the issue described as both staggering and overdue. The poster, soon to be hung in locker rooms leaguewide, becomes by far the N.F.L.'s most definitive statement on the cognitive risks of football, which it had discredited for most of the past several years as academic studies and reports of deceased players' brain damage mounted. The new document also warns players that repeated concussions "can change your life and your family's life forever," a clear nod to retired players' wives who"
Eagles' Vick laments his poor judgment
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Paul Domowitch
"A lot of people look at Michael Vick and see a bad, bad guy who did a bad, bad thing and are appalled that he was allowed back in the National Football League last year. I know one of those people. I'm married to her. Andy Reid's perception of Vick is slightly different than my wife's. When the Eagles coach looks at Vick, he sees a guy who did a bad, bad thing but isn't a bad, bad guy. "Michael is a very nice guy," the Eagles coach said yesterday. "He tries to please everybody and do the best he can. Those are great, redeeming qualities to have. But you have to be careful the situations you put yourself in." On the night of June 24, Vick put himself in a very bad situation. Foolishly gave"
No one better than Tomlin to deal with Steelers' challenges
Comment
July 27
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 columnist Ron Cook
"Maybe Steelers coach Mike Tomlin won't make the same money as Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt. Maybe Tomlin doesn't have Whisenhunt's job security, although -- considering the Steelers' history with coaches -- that point is debatable. If Tomlin is happy with his new contract extension, I'm happy. I'm thrilled that he's going to be the Steelers' coach through at least the 2013 season. You have a good one, you keep him. Know what I mean? Tomlin's new deal earlier this month came as no surprise. That's the way the Steelers do business. They routinely extend their coach when he has two years left on his contract. Tomlin will work this season under the terms of his original contract. The"
Dez Bryant threatens to be Cowboys' Chan Ho Park
Comment
July 27
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Gerry Fraley
"By defying the NFL's time-honored tradition of rookies serving veterans during training camp, wide receiver Dez Bryant threatens to become the Dallas Cowboys' version of Chan Ho Park. Bryant on Sunday refused to carry the shoulder pads of veteran wide receiver Roy Williams as the team left the Alamodome field following practice. Park did something similar as a rookie with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1996, refusing to wear a garish disco-era outfit for a plane flight. All baseball teams have an annual "rookie trip" in which the young players are forced to wear outlandish clothes. Park refused to go along with the plan and emphasized his point by throwing a fit in the visitors' clubhouse at"
Tuck: Best is yet to come for Big Blue
Comment
July 27
New York Post
 columnist Steve Serby
"If you think the Giants plan on being The Other Team in Town . . . think again. "I think this season might go down in history as one of the best Giant seasons," Justin Tuck told The Post. Clearly, Tuck isn't losing any sleep over the hullabaloo over the media darling Jets. When I brought up The Other Team in Town notion, Tuck laughed, and loudly. "You heard what I said to it," Tuck said. "Write in quotations, 'He laughed.' " Except it's no laughing matter. "I'll just say this -- we're the last football team to walk down the Canyon of Heroes," Tuck said. "They can have all the glamour and glitz and all that, I could care less. . . . I'm trying to be careful. There are some things I could"
Let's see if Andy Reid changes with his young Eagles
Comment
July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Rich Hofmann
"For 11 years, 11 training camps, it was Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb, together. Especially at the beginning, they spoke from the same script and shared the same worldview. Each would evolve some, change some, because who doesn't over the course of a decade? But the two of them, almost until the end, shared a destiny most of all. Good, bad or indifferent - and it was rarely indifferent - Reid and McNabb were joined in praise and criticism and conversation. That changed at the end because everybody seemed to need to choose a side, and so the Reid people would talk about McNabb's inaccuracy and big-game performances and the McNabb people would talk about Reid's playcalling and refusal to"
Rams make the right (non)move
Comment
July 27
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 columnist Bryan Burwell
"If we're all really lucky — and the football people at Rams Park are even remotely as smart as I think they are — then the next 48 hours in Earth City ought to be far more fascinating (and twice as productive) than the previous 48 for your St. Louis Rams. Thankfully, their brief weekend flirtation with the always controversial (and obviously over-the-hill) Terrell Owens is now behind them, so the Rams' football wise guys can now devote all of their available time and efforts into making sure that Sam Bradford's signature is on a new contract before two-a-days commence Thursday morning. And while they're at it, they might want to protect his flank and make sure that second-round pick Roger"
Terrell Owens could be Mike Brown's biggest reclamation project
Comment
July 27
Cincinnati Enquirer
 columnist Paul Daugherty
"Mike Brown wants Terrell Owens to be part of his burgeoning Boys Town, and before you start rolling your eyeballs into your skulls, consider this: What difference does it make? For better or worse - and last year, it was for better - Paul Brown Stadium is a cross between Ellis Island and Boys-Will-Be-Boys Town. "Give me your tired, your wretched, your huddled masses yearning for one more fat payday," Brown said Monday. "There's no such thing as a bad boy." Actually, what Father Mike said was, "We are talking with (Owens) and it's his call. I think he could help us." Brown said he even met with T.O. "I was taken by him. He was thoughtful (and) pleasant," Brown decided. Yes, what a nice"
Dez Bryant ignores issue on Monday, but he'll eventually have to deal with it
Comment
July 27
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Gerry Fraley
"That did not take long. On their fourth day of Camp Tranquility, the Cowboys ran straight into a storm. It was not a Terrell Owens-class natural disaster, but it was enough of a whirlwind that news of a revealing picture of tight end Martellus Bennett surfacing on the Internet was not the lead story. One of those days, which is a loaded phrase around the Cowboys. "Evidently it is," said coach Wade Phillips, looking frazzled by the end. Bennett in the buff took second billing to the continuing saga of wide receiver Dez Bryant refusing to be a rookie. Phillips tried to spin the issue as "not a big deal," but it was a futile effort. "We'll take care of that in house, that's for sure," tight"
Tebow's dire dilemma in Denver
Comment
July 27
Denver Post
 columnist Mark Kiszla
"No matter which way Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow steps in his new signature sneakers, he's going to be called a heel. Whether the quarterback reports to NFL training camp with Denver rookies or holds out for more money, Tebow seems destined to make folks mad. It's an All-American dilemma for the All-American guy: Should the most buzz-worthy Bronco since John Elway fail to report when rookies are due Wednesday, then might fans wonder if the "Promise" adorning Tebow's shoes means only that his feet stink the same as every greedy pro athlete? Or does Tebow show up for work on time and risk the ire of fellow first-round draft picks fighting to get paid in the NFL's current hostile labor"
To improve, Raiders must win in the trenches
Comment
July 27
San Francisco Chronicle
 columnist Vittorio Tafur
"Training camp, besides the smelly team bonding that can only occur when you make 80 guys live together for three weeks, is about work. Two practices a day, meetings and tucking yourself in with your playbook at night. There's especially heavy lifting when, like the Oakland Raiders, you haven't won more than five games in a season in seven years. On Thursday, the Raiders put on pads and open up camp in Napa, and they're a reinvigorated, optimistic bunch on the heels of what was a productive offseason. First, by all accounts, they had a successful draft - and it's the first time anyone has said that about Oakland in a long time. Then, in a two-part move, the Raiders traded for quarterback"
Dez Bryant could and should have ended this mess
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July 27
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Tim Cowlishaw
"As controversies go, this is not much of one. This isn't secret meetings in which the wide receiver accuses the quarterback of favoring the tight end. And as wide receivers go, for those historically inclined, this isn't Tony and Butch fighting to win favor with Drew. But it's the Cowboys and, as coach Wade Phillips pointed out, "It's not just because we're the Dallas Cowboys. We're the only training camp going on." And so a story of national significance continued to unfold here in the Alamodome where rookie Dez Bryant, who had refused to carry Roy Williams' pads Sunday, ran off the field without doing interviews Monday. After the first three practices, Bryant had been the most"
Paul Allen will find it difficult to replace Tod Leiweke
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July 27
Seattle Times
 columnist Jerry Brewer
"Tod Leiweke forgot to make his own announcement. Sure, it was a formality; the news of his departure as the chief executive officer of Paul Allen's sports teams already had been released. But here was his chance to make an event of his decision. He declined. Typical. He showed up for his farewell news conference wearing a Seahawks polo, sat down and offered a nervous "Well, hello." His voice cracked. He nearly cried several times. He reflected on seven quality years of service and fought off the perception that Vulcan Sports — aka Allen's toys — is in a complete dysfunctional free-fall. He couldn't muster enough "me" to make his goodbye compelling. Typical. That's why I like Leiweke. He's"
Enough, Ed; it's time to stop whining
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July 27
Baltimore Sun
 columnist Mike Preston
"Maybe now that his golf tournament is over and Ravens veterans are about to report to training camp, Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed will be quiet. He has spent the past week babbling as if he were a game-show host. It's safe to assume that Reed was trying to get publicity for his football camp and golf tournament because most of his comments were ludicrous, self-serving and whiny. For instance, despite having enough injuries to qualify for Red Cross donations, poor Ed complained about the three years remaining on his contract, which will pay him $19.7 million. And he bellyached about having to fly to another city for surgery. A year ago, Reed said he might retire, but last week he said he could"
McNabb didn't give up on Philly
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July 27
Philadelphia Daily News
 columnist Sam Donnellon
"ERIC LINDROS earned your wrath. Scott Rolen did, too. They're on that list of petulant stars who sabotaged seasons and picked a fight with their public. But does Donovan McNabb really deserve what he's getting lately? Does he deserve our slings, our disdain, our recounting of everything that bugged us about him in his 11 seasons here? Does he really deserve to be hated right now? More to the point, will he ever be embraced by us later in life the way Randall Cunningham is now, the way Mitch Williams is now, the way Charles Barkley is now? Maybe it's hard to get a sense of how McNabb will be remembered because it was hard to define him when he played. He made big plays. He missed big plays."
More bobbing and weaving from Eagles on Vick
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July 27
Philadelphia Inquirer
 columnist John Gonzalez
"Andy Reid has employed the same talking points for more than a decade. You know them well. They're like lyrics from a song you can't forget. One of Reid's favorite phrases, ratty and worn from years of use, is that he needs to put his players in better positions. As far as Michael Vick is concerned, Reid, Jeffrey Lurie and Joe Banner failed miserably on that front. They set Vick up to fail. The good-citizen bar was set too high above his head for him to clear. On Monday, shortly before he reported to training camp, Vick was cleared by the NFL to play football. Vick reportedly met with commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the shooting that occurred outside the quarterback's Virginia Beach"