Cassell Accepts Patriots Franchise Tender
According to the folks at ESPN, Patriots' QB Matt Cassell has accepted the franchise tender that he has been presented by the New England Patriots. Certainly can't say that I blame the guy. . .acceptance of the tender means that he's guaranteed to make $14.65 million next season, something that nobody in their right mind (including Matt Cassell) probably could have imagined at this time a year ago.
So what does that mean for the Vikings and/or other teams that might be looking to trade for the former USC backup?
For starters, it means that Cassell can no longer shop himself to other teams. The Patriots can still deal him to another team, but Cassell can't hop a plane to Minnesota or Kansas City or something and say, "Hey, I'd like to play for you guys. Any chance you guys could try to work a trade for me?" His fate is now exclusively in the hands of the New England Patriots.
Secondly, any team that trades for Cassell had better have a ton of cap space available, because signing this franchise tender means that Cassell will get every penny of that $14.65 million next season. Not spread out over the next couple of years, but next season.
So, in terms of the hunt for a new quarterback, this off-season is not starting off particularly well for the Vikings. Depending on how highly the team thought of Cassell and Kurt Warner, we may already be looking at Plan C.
Speaking of which. . .NFL Mock Drafts are starting up already, and the folks here at The Daily Norseman were asked to participate in one over at Next Season Sports. I won't give away who we picked here. . .but I think that, given the scenario that's played out in said mock, we made the obvious choice.
Keep enjoying your Sunday, folks, and remember that the Pro Bowl is this evening. . .our last chance to see anything even remotely resembling real NFL football for another six months.
Copyright 2008 Sportsblogs, Inc
Why Can't the Pittsburgh Steelers Ever Win Without Controversy?
The majority of America felt disgusted and sorry for Mike Holmgren and his Seattle Seahawks after Super Bowl XL, which was one of the worst officiated games in NFL history.
I had never seen more articles written after one game about officiating like that Super Bowl, and how the refs seemed to be on a mission to ensure The Bus left Detroit with a Super Bowl ring.
Mission accomplished, refs. That was absolutely ridiculous.
Now we fast forward to 2009, Steelers vs. Cardinals, for one more year of bragging rights, and most of America is wondering if those same officials made the trip.
I sat in a room with about 25 people, only knowing about 10 of them, but not one person in that room, Steelers fan alike, said the refs were not, once again, favoring the Steelers.
This is insane that the worst officiated games just so happened to be when the Steelers are involved.
I guarantee you, you put the Raiders in these situations, and the results would be different.
I'm saying that because the Raiders and Al Davis will never get calls to go their way. The league has had it out for them ever since he moved them from Oakland to L.A., to Oakland, to L.A., to Oakland...etc. :)
In yesterday's game it seemed that if the teams would have been switched, and those same plays occurred, you would not have seen half those calls made, because the calls would have hindered Pittsburgh.
One Eagles fan whom I was watching the game with, who said he wanted Pittsburgh to win, even stated the refs should have been wearing black and gold stripes, with the words "12th Man" on the front.
I watch as many games as I can each year. I love football. I've seen every TD celebration I can think of. Wes Welker gets fined for making a snow angel in the snow, and he didn't even use the football as a prop.
Now, the rulebook does state, if you use the football as a prop, there is a penalty. Bottom line. That is it. Prop.
Then how is it that I see Santonio Holmes doing his post-TD celebration, with the football, which by definition is a prop! How is this not called?
Answer: Because he is a Pittsburgh Steeler.
How do you call roughing the holder on a kick? Adrian Wilson clearly did not try it. Shouldn't that have been possibly a five-yard penalty? Oh wait, that occurred against Pittsburgh. That's right.
B/R Ticket Guide Powered by FanSnap.comA 15-yard facemask was called against, if I recall, Rodgers-Cromartie against Holmes, when both were grabbing each other's facemask, yet there was still no "head-turning" that occurred. Therefore, there never should have been a call.
The rulebook states the player's head has to be jerked or moved in order to call a 15-yard penalty. Oh wait, that goes out the window when it happens to a Pittsburgh Steeler player. My bad.
The worst that I've probably seen has got to be the final play. It was almost a mirror image or the previous Kurt Warner "fumble, no, incomplete pass" play from earlier in the game.
We're talking the final play of the Super Bowl! And we can't even get a replay? Both Madden and Michaels were already preparing for one more play and just a little more hype. And we can't even get a replay? Are you serious!?
Oh wait...that would not have been beneficial to the Pittsburgh Steelers, would it? Maybe I missed that. In that case, the refs were correct. It would have been ludicrous to have a replay occur that could in the end affect the Steelers winning that game.
Good call, refs. Hope you cash out those paychecks the Rooney's gave you quick before you get questioned too much.
How about Mr. League Defensive MVP? Oh, isn't he great, running that pick back all the way for a TD? Followed that up with a cheap shot that caused John Madden to say, "He should be kicked out of the game for that one."
I'm sure the Steeler fans will say he did nothing wrong on that play, because the Steeler fans are still living in their "tunnel-vision."
And if you question why I say Steeler fans have "tunnel-vision" when it comes to their team, here's only one example I will give:
Friend of mine, huge Steelers fan, tells me how in Super Bowl XXX, when the Cowboys beat Pittsburgh, that the Steelers were far and away the better team that year. They were robbed.
Better team? I responded with who was exactly on those two teams that year...Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, Moose Johnson, probably the best O-line in the game at that time, along with one of the best D's in the league. His Steelers were led by Neil O'Donnell, Bam Morris, Yancey Thigpen, and Andre Hastings?
And that team was better? After pointing out the players in the game, he still said the Cowboys weren't a better team. He lives with the Pittsburgh "tunnel-vision."
Steeler fans feel that unless they won the game, they were somehow robbed. And after most losses they'll tell you how the other team didn't win the game, but rather how their Steelers gave the game away.
This is the working man's team. If they don't win there is an injustice!
I'm sure every response I get will be to me bitching about the game, because I didn't want the Steelers to win.
You're right, I hate the Steelers. I loathe the Steelers. This year has only made me despise them that much more.
They can never do anything on their own.
The worst part is, if Kurt Warner doesn't hand Pittsburgh the ball right before the half, Arizona would be kings of the world right now. The Steelers should give Kurt a small bundle of cash for that one, too.
All I see, since I wasn't around for the previous four super bowls the Steelers won, is that the last two they did, they didn't win for themselves.
The Steelers walk away this year with the title after beating and 8-8 team, the Ravens with no offense and a rookie quarterback, and a 9-7 Cardinals team that was playing above its level. Yet, Arizona still should have won the game.
All of Seattle must feel downright horrible for Arizona, knowing exactly how they feel.
The room full of 25 people I was in last night was ready to riot.
The officiating has become an absolute joke when they are doing a Steeler game.
Unless you're a Steeler fan, and you enjoy getting enough bad calls to sway your games, then you're as sick of it as I am.
Just once, once, I would love to see the Steelers go out and win one game for themselves when it matters the most.
Well, until the next Steelers' Super Bowl appearance, I'll enjoy some good officiating.
Go refs.
Copyright (c) 2009 Bleacher Report, Inc.
Don't Tell Raider Fans, But LA Move Was Mistake
Los Angeles is without a football team, has been for 13 years. But walk around much of town, go to certain bars on NFL Sundays, and you'd swear the Raiders were still here. Raider fans still pack weekend flights from Los Angeles to Oakland on NFL weekends to see their team.
But with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, it's pretty clear the dozen years spent in Los Angeles was bad for both the Raiders franchise and the Los Angeles' efforts to get another team.
But Davis has made his share of bad calls too, and moving to LA might have been his worst. Yes, they won a Super Bowl as the LA Raiders, but their whole aura changed. Suddenly, when people thought Raiders, they thought gangs and fight-filled games at the LA Coliseum, lawsuits and places you didn't want to bring your kids.
Those memories linger like smog in the minds of many old-line NFL owners, and are part of the reason some of them are less than enthusiastic about putting a team back in the nation's second-largest market.
That has followed the team back to Oakland, where it has had difficulty trying to sell out its stadium since its return.
What Davis did in his move to Los Angeles was the same kind of thinking that has led to the closings of businesses and bailouts of banks - leveraging everything for short-term gain, forgetting long term brand issues and just common sense.
The Raiders belonged in Oakland, always have. Living in Los Angeles and being a fan of theirs is a logical thing they are one of the closest teams and have a great tradition. Well, maybe the last decade or so you'd have to be a masochist, but sticking with your team through the bad times has a certain nobility.
But they never should have been here. All these years later, the specter of that move still haunts everyone involved.
We can hope that whatever team comes to LA when a new stadium is built that we have learned from our mistakes.
(c)2009 NBC Universal, Inc
Broncos make McDaniels NFL's youngest coach
DENVER, Colorado (AFP) -- Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, was named coach of the Denver Broncos on Monday, becoming the youngest coach in the National Football League at 32.
McDaniels, who becomes the third-youngest coach in NFL history, agreed to a four-year contract to replace Mike Shanahan, who was fired on December 30 after 14 seasons with the Broncos, including two Super Bowl titles.
McDaniels, the 12th man to guide the Broncos in club history, takes over a team that struggled mainly with defensive issues.
Denver surrendered 448 points, the most in the American Conference, and blew a three-game lead with three games remaining to squander the AFC West division crown and miss the playoffs, an unpredecented choke in NFL history.
McDaniels assembled New England's record-shattering attack a season ago, with the Patriots scoring a record 589 points in a perfect 16-0 regular season, the first unbeaten run since the NFL expanded the schedule to 16 games a club.
This season, McDaniels overcame a season-ending injury to star quarterback Tom Brady in the Patriots' opener to produce an 11-5 season behind untested backup Matt Cassel.
New England averaged 25.6 points a game, eighth in the 32-team league, and the Patriots won their final four games of the season but still missed out on a playoff berth.
McDaniels, whose eight seasons with the Patriots included a stint as quarterbacks coach before being named offensive coordinator in 2006, became the fourth former assistant of Patriots coach Bill Belichick to land an NFL coaching job since 2004.
Copyright (c) 2009 AFP
Giants Favored to Beat Eagles by 4 1/2 Points in NFL Playoffs
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Giants are favored to beat the division rival Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the National Football League playoffs, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers.
The Giants, the top seed in the National Football Conference, are 4 1/2-point favorites over the Eagles, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises casinos on betting lines. Sports Consultants also lists New York as the favorite to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
Philadelphia will visit Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Jan. 11 after their 26-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings yesterday. The Eagles have won five of their last six games. New York was idle after earning a first-round bye with the conference's best record, 12-4.
"They've played twice, and both games were close, but it's just such a huge advantage for the Giants to have the off week," said Mike Seba, Sports Consultants' senior oddsmaker.
The Eagles beat the Giants in their most-recent meeting, a 20-14 road-win on Dec. 7 that was New York's only home loss of the season. The Giants defeated the Eagles 36-31 in Philadelphia a month earlier.
The Carolina Panthers are favored by 10 points over the Arizona Cardinals in the other NFC second-round matchup, scheduled for Jan. 10 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers, like New York, were idle this past weekend after earning a first-round bye. The Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 two days ago.
In the American Football Conference, the top-seeded Tennessee Titans are 3-point favorites over the Baltimore Ravens, who advanced with a 27-9 win over the Miami Dolphins yesterday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-point favorites as they host the San Diego Chargers in the other AFC game. The Chargers topped the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 in overtime two days ago.
(c)2009 BLOOMBERG L.P.
Sad season can be summed up in just four plays
CINCINNATI -- Let's talk about four plays. We could talk about many more plays than that if you want because the Chiefs' 16-6 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday had plenty of lousy plays - it was a carnival of clumsiness, a fiesta of flops, a gala of gaffes.
There was the time when Jamaal Charles, all alone and in position to down a punt deep in Cincinnati territory, instead punched the ball into the end zone.
There was the time the entire Chiefs defensive front line jumped offside.
There was the time that the Chiefs defense stopped the Bengals on third down only to commit two penalties on the same play.
There was the time Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson strutted after a big hit, though the play gained yards and, at that moment, the Chiefs trailed 13-0 to a team with three wins and the lowest-scoring offense in the NFL.
There was the time Kansas City's Kevin Robinson fielded a punt at his 6 even though kids learn in kindergarten not to do that.
Yes, we could discuss lots of bad plays. We also could go into the bizarre postgame scene in the Chiefs' locker room, where:
1. Coach Herm Edwards said that the Chiefs defense played pretty well even though they gave up more than 200 yards rushing to the worst offense in the league that was playing without six starters (including three offensive linemen). This Chiefs defense set an NFL record for fewest sacks (10) and gave up more yards than any Chiefs team ever (6,291).
2. Running back Larry Johnson said it was time for him to go somewhere else. "It's half my fault," he said. And later: "The city is sick of me."
3. Tight end Tony Gonzalez said he wants Edwards and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey back, and he expects Tyler Thigpen to be the starting quarterback next year. And if those things do not happen, he will be unhappy.
4. Tyler Thigpen campaigned for himself to be the starting quarterback and said the Chiefs should not draft a quarterback in next year's draft. He said this coming off a dreadful game in which he missed receivers all afternoon and led the Chiefs to two first downs in the first half against a defense missing seven starters.
It really was a three-ring circus, everything going wrong at once, trapeze artists colliding here, tightrope walkers falling there, elephants stampeding over on the other side. None of it quite made sense, none of it quite added up, so, yes, let's talk about those four plays. This was late in the fourth quarter, with the Chiefs already down 16-0. Thigpen threw a long pass to Dwayne Bowe, who caught the ball and stumbled out of bounds at the goal line. The official signaled he was out at the 1.
So, it's first and goal at the 1.
Well, wait, before the play is run, Herm Edwards decides to challenge the call - he believes that Bowe actually scored a touchdown. This, precisely, is the kind of goofy coaching decision that makes it difficult to defend Edwards. Sure, it is possible that Bowe got in - replays were inconclusive - but that's not the point. What kind of message are you sending your team when you challenge that play?
It's pretty clear: You are telling your own team that you do not believe they can score a touchdown from the 1-yard line. You are telling your own team that you would rather risk a precious timeout late in the game than trust them to punch the football in. You are telling the opposing defense to rest up because you have absolutely no confidence in your own team's ability to pick up one bleeping yard with four bleeping plays.
Of course, the officials did not overturn the play, and the Chiefs did lose that precious timeout. Remarkably, what followed, was even more appalling.
-First play: First and goal at the 1.
Thigpen lined up in the shotgun, which told you right there what the Chiefs were thinking. They have lost all faith in Larry Johnson. There are good reasons for that - LJ has had lots of problems on and off the field. But it's hard to believe that Johnson has become so useless that he cannot be counted on to plow up the middle for 1 yard.
"We used to just go," Johnson said after the game, and there was a touch of nostalgia in his voice. He cannot get out of Kansas City fast enough.
This time, Thigpen tried to throw a crazy pass to Tony Gonzalez in the left part of the end zone, but it had no chance and fell incomplete.
-Second play: Second and goal at the 1.
This time, Thigpen started off behind center but then split out to be a wide receiver. Yes, it was the famed Wildcat offense, where the center snaps the ball directly to the running back. If there's one sure sign of a bad football team, it is that when it comes down to it they will try to trick you rather than try to beat you. Johnson took the snap and ran up the middle and was stopped short of the goal line.
-Third play: Third and goal at the 1.
Thigpen again started behind the center, and it looked like this time - finally - the Chiefs would just try to slam the ball up the middle the way a football team should. But no, Thigpen faked the handoff, rolled out to the right and this time tried to throw the ball to Johnson, another play that had no chance. And the ball fell incomplete.
-Fourth play: Fourth and goal at the 1.
Thigpen took a step back and threw a fade pass to Bowe, who caught the ball for a touchdown. Unfortunately, Bowe also clearly pushed the defender to the ground while the ball was in the air, a textbook case of offensive pass interference, and the touchdown was nullified.
That was that. Eventually, the Chiefs did score the cosmetic touchdown thanks to an absurd defensive pass-interference penalty, but that's not the point. The point is that there at the goal line, at the end of the game, the Chiefs showed themselves to be an utterly lost football team. Nobody trusted anybody. One yard might as well have been a mile.
Now, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt will spend the next few weeks shaping the future, and it seems clear now that this will be a full-fledged detonation, with a new GM, with coaches fired, veteran players traded and released, with a young quarterback drafted and a whole new philosophy put in.
That looks to be the only choice. Last year, Baltimore, Miami and Atlanta were all hopeless - this year all three are in the playoffs. There's no time to waste in the NFL. You can turn things around quick in the NFL. More to the point, you have to turn things around quick in the NFL. A long rebuilding project is just one that isn't working.
And, when looking back on 2008, you have to say this season was a failure. It was not just a wins-and-losses failure; it was a failure as a rebuilding project, too. The Chiefs did not improve. They did not upset good teams or overcome bad ones. They did not finish strong. Yes, some of the young players - Brandon Flowers, Branden Albert, Tyler Thigpen, Brandon Carr, Glenn Dorsey, Dwayne Bowe - might develop into good NFL players. Or they might not. The Chiefs go into next year needing defensive ends, linebackers, a quarterback, receivers, offensive linemen, a running back and just about everything else.
The season began with questions. It ended without answers. It ended without a fight. It ended with a thrashing in Cincinnati against a bad and wounded team. It ended with the Chiefs at the 1-yard line with absolutely no idea how to get into the end zone.
kansascity.com
