Stampede Blue (Free subscription) | 07/03/2009
Back in the 1950's and 60's, there was a game show called "What's My Line?" where a panel of celebrity judges tried to guess the occupation of a guest. On one night in 1958 ( no, not that night ) one of the guests was a professional football player that you might be familiar with. Here's how his TV appearance went: There's so many great things in this video that you would never see happen...
Field Gulls (Free subscription) | 07/03/2009
Wide receivers of Deon Butler 's profile and draft position make better return men than receivers. The Seahawks would benefit from an above average return if Butler became a useful slot receiver. Don Beebe was never a great receiver, but in his prime he was a valuable receiver and dangerous vertical threat. Butler would do well to have a career like Beebe. Butler does not have bad hands; they just...
Acme Packing Company (Free subscription) | 07/02/2009
More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP Browse more photos » The first three players listed in the Top 10 for 2009 are guys who need to rebound from injuries and/or ineffectiveness. With the listing of WR Donald Driver , I'm entering into the realm of players who were great last season. Obviously Driver is an easy pick for the Top 10. He's only missed a couple games in his long career, been...
SI.com (Free subscription) | 07/02/2009
The vast majority of team rosters are set barring an unforeseen injury early in camp. Though there are still some "name" free agents available, like one-time Colts teammates Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James, most of those players are past their prime and still on the market for a reason. Here's my look at the best and worst offseasons for NFL franchises:
Windy City Gridiron (Free subscription) | 07/01/2009
Chicago Bears GM Jerry Angelo and Head Coach Lovie Smith have consistantly stated that they are always evaluating free agent talent, but the Bears have never been a team to dish out top-tier money for big name free agents. When spring training starts in 30 days, we will get a better feel for where we stand with some of our "question mark" players, and possibly start making moves for free...
Stampede Blue (Free subscription) | 07/01/2009
My last post gave the best and worst single seasons, now here are the best and worst of the whole 8 year span. Top 20 Rec over Ave WR Targets Catch% AY/R Rec Over Ave Marvin Harrison 1037 64.5% 9.8 84.1 Reggie Wayne 839 65.4% 10.5 83.1 Derrick Mason 1062 64.0% 9.5 77.2 Torry Holt 1222 60.2% 10.8 61.7 Hines Ward 1050 64.4% 7.7 53.5 T.J. Houshmand 732 66.4% 7.4 48.8 Bobby Engram 561 66.8% 7.7 42.6 Keenan...
Stampede Blue (Free subscription) | 06/29/2009
Last time I used the relationship between Catch% and AirYards per Completion (yards per completion with yards after catch removed) to give an evaluation of WR hands over the last two seasons. Today with 8 years of data (as far back as I can find YAC info for) Catch% and AY/C remain correlated, allowing for 8 years of hands eval and an attempt at an overall WR ranking. Top 20 Catch% over expected Player...
Daily Norseman (Free subscription) | 06/25/2009
Marvin Harrison View full size photo uploaded June 25, 2009 Commenter SippyCup beat me to the punch on this on the FanPosts, but I thought it's intriguing enough to warrant front-page speculation. There's news from the Pioneer Press' Charley Walters that The Purple are interested in signing Marvin Harrison to a "one-year, low-end" deal . Who knows how Walters came about this "buzz"...
Stampede Blue (Free subscription) | 06/25/2009
John Oehser talks about a rumor swirling via TwinCities.com : There’s buzz that the Vikings might sign ex- Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison , 36, who is near the end of his career and has tender knees, to a one-year, low-end deal to provide competition for Sidney Rice. Minnesota is likely going to bring Brett Favre out of retirement, which means Favre will have Bernard Berrian , Marvin Harrison,...
CBS SportsLine.com (Free subscription) | 06/25/2009
There's a report in the St. Paul Pioneer Press that suggests that the Vikings are interested in signing free-agent WR Marvin Harrison to push third-year WR Sidney Rice for playing time. The report was penned by a columnist who occasionally posts incorrect information, though he was the first to report that Brett Favre was going to consider surgery on his arm in his attempt to return to the NFL, and...
Vikings Gab (Free subscription) | 06/25/2009
The Pioneer Press is reporting that the Vikings are thinking seriously about bringing in former Colts WR Marvin Harirson: There’s buzz that the Vikings might sign ex-Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison, 36, who is near the end of his career and has tender knees, to a one-year, low-end deal to provide competition for Sidney Rice.
Stampede Blue (Free subscription) | 06/25/2009
I got an email today (one of the few non-hate emails) asking me why the Indianapolis Colts have not made an offer to former- Tampa Bay Buccaneers LBer Derrick Brooks . Brooks, a future Hall of Fame lock, was released by TB early this off-season in a move that sent a clear message to both the team and the NFL: The days of Tampa 2 in Tampa Bay are over. They also released him because, at age 36, 2008...
CBS SportsLine.com (Free subscription) | 06/24/2009
According to the team web site, Colts WR Roy Hall knows he has chance to play this season. "You don't like to use titles like, 'make or break,' Hall said recently, “but this is definitely a time for me to take advantage of an opportunity. The door's definitely open. Nothing is etched in stone. That position is definitely open for the taking." Hall is trying to replace the departed Marvin...
Baltimore Beatdown (Free subscription) | 06/24/2009
ESPN has put out their take on the offense of the decade . Now, the defense is sort of a "no brainer" in most places because those players seem to always stand out above everyone else when trying to take down the ball carrier. However, this is where the 11 players picked starts to get a little controversial. Two players that donned the purple and black achieved the honor to be on this list....
Windy City Gridiron (Free subscription) | 06/23/2009
Yesterday, we saw that Brian Urlacher was the only Bears player to get featured on ESPN's All-Decade Defense. Today, they have released their All-Decade Offense. Before I clicked their article , I tried to see how many Chicago players could make the list, and I came up with the only name that ESPN did. Center, Olin Kreutz : This was a three-way toss-up between Kreutz, Kevin Mawae and Matt Birk . All...
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