Travis Henry's Taking A Pay Cut

Everyone's favorite father of nine may have an even more difficult time paying his child support payments this season as he'll be making $6 million less in guaranteed money.

Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry has reportedly agreed to a restructured deal that will keep him in the Mile High city for at least another year. Though Henry started off strong, last year is considered to be of the "rough" variety as injuries coupled with the emergence of yet another previously unknown Bronco running back (Selvin Young) kept his numbers depressed.

"Travis wants to make it right in Denver," his agent, Hadley Engelhard, said Wednesday. "That is the big reason why he is back. He thinks it can work there."

Another leading factor to Henry likely wanting to stay in Denver is the fact that there are a boat load of running backs hitting the free agent market this season. Obviously realizing that alleged charges of marijuana smoking does not place a premium on one's place in the market, settling for Denver - at a lower pay rate - was the best move for Henry's long-term potential within the league.

Word around Denver is that the Broncos were looking at other options in the backfield (Dallas' Julius Jones and Tennessee's Chris Brown). Henry's willingness to take a pay cut will likely put an end to Shanahan's search.

Henry returning with redone deal [Denver Post]

(Picture courtesy 100 Percent Injury Rate)

What's the Market For 12 Years of Concussions?

Trent Green may want to pay attention to this one, as it appears that (former?) Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas is looking for a long-term contract to reward his 12 years of hard work in the NFL.

And when you're an aging linebacker in search of a deal, where better to look than New England? A graduated Junior Seau found home on the East Coast, and Tedy Bruschi is no spring chicken. Thankfully for Thomas, both of the aforementioned are free agents this season, and may not be back to open up a slot in their vaunted 3-4.

The catch will obviously been in the "guaranteed money" portion as I can't imagine many teams would want to back up the truck for a 35-year old linebacker that has missed a handful of games over the last few years, with the most recent due to concussions - not the greatest of injuries for a veteran to endure.

For those that missed Super Agent Drew Rosenhaus over the past few months may be in luck with this one, as he's being mighty persistent.

“We had a great visit in New England,” agent Drew Rosenhaus wrote in a text message last night. “They offered him a contract and we will continue negotiations.”

Read: They didn't offer us enough money, so we'll make a few more phone calls.

Dallas, New Orleans, Buffalo and the New York Jets are all said to be interested in Thomas' services. New Orleans seems like a decent option to me, as their linebacking corps could use some veteran leadership (and some talent to go with it). But if any team is loose enough with their wallet to give Thomas long-term, guaranteed money, I would be shocked - unless it was with the New York Knicks.

Report: Patriots make offer to Zach Thomas [Providence Journal]

How About A New Title?

As I mentioned yesterday, the if the New York Giants really wanted to keep Steve Spagnuolo from heading to his third NFC East team in the Washington Redskins, they would need to get ahead of the curve a la the Cleveland Browns. Before the Redskins' Dan Snyder could even muster up a possible offer, it seems like that is exactly what the Giants did.

Per the New York Daily News:

After a trip down the Canyon of Heroes on Tuesday afternoon, Steve Spagnuolo got another hero's welcome from the Washington Redskins.

But the Giants aren't ready to let their defensive coordinator get away without a fight.

According to a source close to the 48-year-old assistant, the Giants have already told him they're willing to do whatever they can to keep him if he ends up getting offered the Redskins' head coaching job. That would include a raise, a contract extension, and possibly even the title of assistant head coach.

But hold the phone if you think that the Giants will promise their defensive coordinator the head coaching job in the future. The one East team that Spagnuolo has not been a part of, the Cowboys, seemed to do just that with Jason Garrett in order to keep him from leaving for Atlanta. Oh, that and a $3 million per season contract.

We will see if the Giants' efforts are enough to keep the heralded DC in NY. Something is telling me that the money will speak a lot louder than a new title. But maybe that's just me...

Spagnuolo to Washington: Crossing Boundaries, Again?

If you have ever visited any of the key NFC East blogs (i.e. The 700 Level, Mr. Irrelevant), you're likely aware of the disdain that these fans have for the other three teams within their division. In fact, even when they are happy for the other team, they still find a way to crowbar in a little backhand or two. All of us football fans do it, it’s in our blood.

Which is why this piece from the New York Daily News caught my eye. No unit was more heralded in this past weekend's Super Bowl than the defense of the New York Giants; led by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Why it was news that the championship team's defensive coordinator was at their celebration parade is beyond me. But the part that followed rang even louder.

Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was at the parade, but afterwards he was expected to board a flight to Washington where he will meet with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder tonight. He’ll meet again with Snyder and his lieutenants tomorrow morning before returning to New Jersey.

Oddly enough, Spagnuolo was with the Philadelphia Eagles as a linebacker coach before taking the gig with the Giants. Its one thing to take advantage of success, but when curious to see what Giants fans think of this development regarding yet another NFC East team, I put on my detective hat and went to work. Big Blue View, a Giants fan blog had the following to say:

Losing Spagnuolo, whose passion, energy and aggressive style turned a porous defense into a dominant, championship-caliber one, would be a devastating blow
to the Giants. The Giants' defenders, who took so well to his aggressive style and executed his complicated blitz packages to perfection, certainly don't want to go into next season without him.

And the Giants General Manager agrees.

Giants GM Jerry Reese understands what he has in Spagnuolo. "We’ll make every effort to keep him," Reese said. "We sure don’t want to play against him with the Redskins because we know what he’ll bring to the table. If he gets a shot at a head coach’s job, Godspeed."

As a Browns fan, I can understand where the G-men are coming from in the fact that it was rumored that Rob Chudzinski was being sought after by the Baltimore Ravens. The quick fix was GM Phil Savage locking Chudzinksi up with a two-year extension, hoping that he can continue to help Cleveland’s assent in the AFC. Perhaps Reese needs to break out the check book, and pronto, if he intends on holding on to the one defensive coordinator that was able to stop the vaunted New England defense. And just happened to do so on the biggest stage possible.

Of course, they can just let him go to the Redskins, only to have him complete the circle by ending up in a front office job with the Cowboys...

While My Receiver Gently Weeps

Say what you want about the emotion involved in this T.O. clip, but color me surprised that he didn't totally blow up and start pointing fingers. To me, this caps off a season of maturation for Owens...it's just too bad that the maturity had to start at age 31.



(via The 700 Level)

T.O. Follow-Up

Michael David Smith over at the 'House provides a video of the incident described below. Good stuff.

I would embed the video myself, but apparently YouTube is no longer accessable in this here work place. It's just one click away, I promise.

Nothing To See Here? Then Go There!

Pardon me while I borrow a portion of this picture from Epic Carnival


Last season, the NFL TV v NFL debate was one that was pretty strong through the entire season, somewhat fading after fans realized that they just were not going to see any games on the Network. This season, I must admit that I am somewhat surprised that the debate has not brewed up until the end of November, now that the broadcast of games will commence for the 2007 season.

While only about a third of households actually get the NFL Network, with few major markets even getting the option to have the channel, thinking here is that this could be the greatest thing to hit sports bars since when Boxing was actually good. While cable providers continue to attempt their "Email and Annoy" campaign to the NFL, it's obvious that they aren't budging. But you know who won't be sending those emails? You got it. Your neighborhood BWs...or in this case, Cleats Bar and Grille.

Those establishments that have sprung for Satellite providers simply to offer their client base a plethora of athletic viewing options will get an even bigger turnout for these Thursday and Saturday viewings on the NFLN. Forget the Chiefs/Raiders games, you'll be lucky to get hometown fans to watch. But tonight's game between "America's Team" and "America's Quarterback" should be providing a ton of cash flow for bars across the country.

Of course, I am of the one-third of fans that actually have the NFL Network, so I'll be consuming the beer which was bought for a reasonable price at the grocery store. But you can bet your ass that I would be paying jacked-up bar price for a 22 oz. draft if it meant that I would get to watch what will likely be the best game of the week.

Sports bars, you can send your "Thank You" cards to the NFL, just make sure to put a few buck in there, will ya? They looooove their money.

The Chiefs NFL Power Rankings [Epic Carnival]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Doing the no-work-thus-no-blogging thing for the next day or so. Just wishing anyone that stops over in the next 24 hours a Happy Thanksgiving.

What am I thankful for? Well, lately it's been Terrell Owens who has nearly single-handedly won me a few fantasy football matchups.

He may be a sonuvabitch, but dude can sure rack up those TDs! Happy holidays, all.

Morning YouTubeness: Late Bloomers

It wouldn't be a Friday without a non-football related video, featuring a football player. In this case, said "player" is Tony Romo, the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

Tony gets intimate about his inexperience with chicks. He adimts that he was a "late bloomer," and has never been more nervous than he was on his first date. He leans in for the kiss....wait for it...



Pretty anticlimactic if you ask me. And people still do the forehead "L" thing? You're better than that, Bradie.

If it's any consolation, the venue which held the interview is called the Gaylord Texan. They couldn't just change it to the "Greg" Texan?

Morning YouTubeness: The Comeback

I have to admit, I turned this game off after the Indians/Yankees game had ended. Mostly due to the fact that I was extremely bitter out of getting zero production from my fantasy trio of Terrell Owens, Lee Evans and Marshawn Lynch.

Thankfully, someone posted a video of all of the essential plays that allowed one of the better comebacks of the season. Best part is hands down Mike Tirico's "And the Cowboys win! No!"

If you're a Cowboys fan, enjoy. If you're a Bills fan, there's always next week. Oh, you're on a bye? Even better.

Marc Bulger Has No Excuse For Sucking

One of the teams that I thought would be very successful this season, aside from the New Orleans Saints, was the St. Louis Rams. Another year under the belt of Steven Jackson, new pass-catching options in Drew Bennett and Randy McMichael, and a quarterback in Marc Bulger who proved that he really could play 16 games in a season.

If you were to ask any casual Rams fan, I'm willing to bet that they would have preferred Bulger actually miss last week's game instead of tossing three interceptions in an embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A loss that saw one of the (supposed) high-powered offenses in the league put up a total of three points. Thank you, Jeff Wilkins.

News has recently been shared that Bulger in fact has been playing through some pain that has been caused by injured ribs. This would obviously be a good enough reason for being behind players like Joey Harrington, Derek Anderson, Kyle Boller and Damon Huard when it comes to passer rating. Or would it?

Today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Bulger is in fact "OK" to play. What he doesn't say is that he's been calling the plays that have resulted in misfortune.

Would he like to see more aggressive game plans?

"Honestly, I just run what they call," Bulger replied.

Not making excuses, but blaming the play-calling? Did Head Coach Scott Linehan call a play that asked Bulger to audible and underthrow Drew Bennett?

Bulger went on to compare his shoulder injury of the past to the rib injury of the present, stating that he knew he couldn't throw the ball after the shoulder, and that this injury isn't effecting his throwing ability.

This week brings an undefeated Dallas team that will provide a increased pass-rush over what the Rams saw against Tampa Bay. Somewhere, Demarcus Ware is licking his chops in knowing that with no Orlando Pace and no Steven Jackson, he'll get his shot at Bulger - likely several times over. Will there be a Gus Ferrotte sighting? If so, don't blame it on the ribs.

Bulger Maintains He's OK To Play [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, St. Louis Rams 3 [YouTube]

T.O. Is OK By M-E

While many fans of the NFL cannot stand Terrell Owens, I have not been phased. Possibly because he has yet to ruin a team of my liking, I think he's a player that runs his mouth, but backs it up with huge games week in and week out. He's like a Chad Johnson without the gold teeth.

Earlier this week, I posted this video that included a Terrell Owens touchdown, followed by a celebration that paid tribute to the New England Patriots.

Well, while I was out, news struck that Owens was in fact fined for his antics.

Thankfully, my boy came through with his defense of what he did.

"I'm like [Bill] Belichick," Owens said. "I misinterpreted the rules."

Wonderful. If anything, Owens loves using current events in his touchdown celebrations. While anyone can pretend that they're rowing a boat, Owens brings his A-game. Pretending to be asleep after allegations of sleeping through a meeting? Classic. And they just keep getting better.

I have a feeling that this won't be the last interview with Owens this season, and unless you're a fan of the Eagles, Niners or Ravens, you should keep your ears peeled because it's bound to be worth listening.

[Fox Sports]
[Dallas News]

(h/t to Fan IQ)

Extra, Extra...

A few news updates to mention today now that week 2 is in the books...

Looks like all of the Brandon Jackson hype may be all for naught. Also looks like fantasy owners will want to steer clear of yet another committee. [Green Bay Press-Gazette]

Lovie Smith puts wide receiver Mark Bradley in his place: the sidelines. [Chicago Tribune]

Jack Del Rio isn't happy with Matt Jones. As if being passed by Dennis Northcutt on the depth chart wasn't humiliating enough. [Florida Times Union]

Eli Manning continues to be tougher than Brandon Jacobs. [New York Daily News]

The Falcons are taking a gander at Byron Leftwich. Odd, I thought Joey Harrington was the answer. This is assuming that the question was "Who's going to be absolutely awful this season?" [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

And finally, The Tank could be rolling into Dallas. Of course, this would be after his suspension is lifted. [Dallas Morning News]

Morning YouTubeness: Job Auditions

'Morning, all. In light of the recent New England Patriots ordeal, Terrell Owens decided to give his contribution this weekend after scoring a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins.

Of course, I could talk about the stellar play on fourth down with time running out - but that would just be boring. Action!

John Madden's Yellow Ding-Dong

Huge high-five to The Big Lead for bringing this to my attention.

For the record, if I was ever handed a telestrator on national television, I would do this every time. Seriously, every one.

Ten Inches of Forecasting

As everyone an their step-brother are making predictions for this season, I figured that there's enough room for one more blogger to jump on board.

I had something a bit more colorful planned, but due to a lack of time - all you're getting is content today.

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC West: San Diego Chargers

AFC Wildcards: Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals

NFC North: Chicago Bears
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers

NFC Wildcards: Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys

AFC Champ: New England Patriots
NFC Champ: New Orleans Saints

Super Bowl Champ: New England Patriots

And yes, this pick is made strictly based on my ability to curse a team by selecting them. I'm actually going to be pulling for the Saints to win the whole she-bang this season...with the Chargers close behind.

The AFC North is going to be a three-horse race, and I could easily see the Steelers getting that wild card bid over the defenseless Bengals. The Rams may surprise a few people, as well as the Cards - but I'm sticking with my Seahawk-Niners combo. And don't underestimate the Broncos this season...They could easily go 13-3.

But that's why they play the season... Go Browns.

Cheaters Never Prosper?

With everyone gearing up for the start of the NFL season, I had the chance to have some watercooler discussions with co-workers of mine. One person brought up the Rodney Harrison news regarding the recent HGH-based suspension. A story in and of itself, and a definite blow to the Patriots defense - at least for four games.

This, of course, led into the suspension of Wade Wilson and how the steroid and substance-abuse policies stretch on to the coaching staffs of NFL teams. This suspension has rubbed a few people the wrong way, as it was reportedly used for health reasons - as opposed to trying to beat the system, as it was in Harrison's case.

What very few people are talking about, but I think should be held in the same light is the recent revelation by Jerome Bettis. NBC Sports reported that Bettis had admitted to lying about an injury simply so he wouldn't be cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He even used the words "acting" and "fooling" simply so he would be able to further his career in football. When interviewed by Jim Rome, Bettis went on to say that he would do it again if given the chance.

Bettis claims that his lying actually bettered the franchise of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that it "worked out in the end." My question is, do the ends justify the means? Yes, Harrison may have gained an advantage by using banned substances, but Bettis in fact gained an advantage over the player that was cut so that Bettis himself could have a roster spot. Bettis also bettered his wallet, as he would have had to relinquish his salary if cut.

They're both wrong. They both knew they were wrong. While I didn't necessarily give an opinion last time I discussed the Bettis story, I've sort of come around to this belief. You may think otherwise, but just because one lie ends in a ring, it doesn't make it better than another. If Bettis was still in the NFL, are his actions punishable? To what extent? Why or why not? Because he's a good-will ambassador of the game, a lot of people are letting this slide. And this shouldn't be the case.


Patriots Harrison Suspended [ESPN]
Cowboys Coach Wade Wilson Suspended [AOL Sports]
What's Wrong With the Harrison and Wilson...? [Lion In Oil]
Bettis: I Faked Injury... [NBC Sports]

Morning YouTubeness: T.O. Lewis

Rise and shine!

Yea, this video is pretty dated by now but I felt that Terrell Owens hasn't been in the news enough this preseason. No sit-ups in the driveway, no failed suicide rumors, nothing! So, here's the video, in not so high quality, of T.O.'s touchdown against the Ravens a few seasons back. Enjoy.