azdad1978
Championship!!!!
NFL camps opening, but not all is peace and quiet
Adversity strikes teams already
Andrew Bagnato
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 31, 2004 12:00 AM
Grab the marshmallows, kids. It's time for camp.
Cards Preview
Sixth in a series looking at Cardinals positions heading into training camp, which begins Sunday.
Receivers
The Cardinals have a trio of young, talented receivers. Problem is, two of them probably won't be in uniform when practice begins Monday morning. Bryant Johnson, a first-round pick in 2003, is out for at least a month with a stress fracture in his right foot. And Larry Fitzgerald, the third overall pick this year, has yet to sign.
That leaves Anquan Boldin, who is accustomed to carrying a load. He set an NFL record for rookies with 101 receptions last year and was the only rookie to make the Pro Bowl. He swaps positions this year, and he'll line up mostly on the weak side, where coaches hope to isolate him in one-on-one coverage. Fitzgerald is a ready-made player who shouldn't take long to adjust to the NFL, provided he signs soon. Johnson didn't do much last year but he showed improvement in the off-season and was working diligently until his injury.
There isn't a lot of depth behind those top three players. Bryan Gilmore has great speed but he's been unreliable. Kevin Kasper should figure into the mix. And don't forget about Nate Poole, who gained fame with his game-winning catch over Minnesota in the finale. Tight end Freddie Jones could have a big year, but there isn't much behind him.
Preseason Previews
One in a series of NFL divisional previews entering training camp.
AFC North
Team to beat: Baltimore.The Ravens defense will be as dominant as ever. But the offense, which caused headaches a year ago, needs to take a step forward.Quarterback Kyle Boller completed only 51.8 percent of his passes last year, but he was hurt part of the year.If Boller develops into a serviceable NFL quarterback and coach Brian Billick believes he can, the Ravens are the clear pick in this division.
Dark horse: Cincinnati. Don't call them the Bungles any longer. Revived by head coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals finished 8-8 a year ago, a six-game improvement from 2002. Now comes the hard part: maintaining their momentum. New uniforms and the club's first Monday Night Football appearance since 1992 may be harbingers of big things on the Ohio River.
Story to watch: Chaos in Cleveland? After making the playoffs with a 9-7 record two years ago, the Browns took a huge step backward in 2003. They had a quarterback controversy. They cut their leading receiver. Their starting running back had off-field troubles. Owner Randy Lerner extended coach Butch Davis's contract through 2007, but don't be fooled: this is a critical year for Davis.
Key game: Cincinnati at Baltimore Dec. 5.
- Andrew Bagnato
NFL players are trooping off to glamorous places such as Macomb, Ill., and Albany, N.Y., wedging 300-pound bodies into dorm rooms built for history majors. In the next month the camps will produce some blood, plenty of sweat and even a few tears, but relatively little real news. That's how the coaches like it. But as the 2004 training camps kick off, a handful of clubs have made headlines, to their chagrin.
Miami. The Dolphins have always counted on Ricky Williams to run. But not this far.
Now that Williams has taken off on the strangest run of his career, the Dolphins are hurting at running back. For the moment, the starting job falls to Travis Minor, who has never started an NFL game and has rushed for 930 yards in the past three years (Williams ran for 1,372 last year).
In an interview on the team's official Web site, Minor said that he had been deluged with calls from friends and well wishers since Williams quit. "They want to know what's going on and try to get some insight, and at the same time there's not much insight I can give them because I was caught off guard by it as well," Minor said. "Of course, a lot of people are excited about me getting the opportunity to play more."
Time will only tell whether head coach Dave Wannstedt is among those people. The team reportedly is keeping its options open if any veterans are released before the season.
Chicago. Welcome to Camp Limp-a-Lot.
There is a place for golf carts. It's called the fairway. But darned if the Bears didn't need one to carry injured star linebacker Brian Urlacher off the field after he collided with another player during what was described as a light-contact scrimmage. This isn't how Lovie Smith envisioned his first day as Bears head coach.
Urlacher, the Bears' leading tackler in each of his first four seasons, was diagnosed with a right hamstring injury and is expected to be out four to six weeks The injury has forced the Bears to promote Lance Briggs, a former University of Arizona standout drafted in the third round last year. Briggs will hold down the position until Urlacher returns, and Smith tried to spin that as a positive.
"Really it's kind good," Smith told reporters. "We would like for Lance to grow a little bit on that, so now we're just forcing his hand a little bit quicker."
Oakland. Welcome to the Black Hole, Norv Turner.
When Turner took over the 4-12 Raiders last winter he had two Woodsons on his team. Now he has none - in camp, anyway.
Safety Rod Woodson, a 17-year veteran who is a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team, was released after he failed a physical; Woodson is trying to come back from knee surgery. Woodson will have to decide what he wants to do - try to sign with another club, go into coaching, or simply relax and wait to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Cornerback Charles Woodson isn't in camp for a different reason. He doesn't want to be there. Woodson was angry when the club slapped a franchise player tag on him. Now Raiders owner Al Davis would simply like to slap him. Woodson will eventually show up - he is under contract for a one-year deal that pays him $8.8 million, the average of the salary of the league's top five cornerbacks - but he's causing a distraction for a new coaching staff.
San Diego. The great thing about training camp is it gives fans a chance to inspect a team's new draft picks - unless you're a Chargers fan and want to get a glimpse of quarterback Philip Rivers.
Rivers hasn't signed yet. He wants to be paid like the top pick in the draft, even though the Chargers selected Eli Manning first and then shipped him to New York for Rivers, who was taken fourth.
Manning Thursday agreed to a six-year deal with the Giants that includes a $20 million signing bonus; with incentives, the contract could be worth $54 million. It's believed that the deal will speed Rivers' negotiations, but Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith refused to link the two.
"The deal with (agent Tom) Condon, Manning and the Giants doesn't mean anything to me - never did," Smith told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "That has nothing to do with us whatsoever."
3 places you don't want to be
If you're a pro football fan, there's nothing quite like training camp. But here are three places you wouldn't want to be a player this summer:
Albany, N.Y. No one loves training camp more than New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin "For coaches, it's a great time of year," he told reporters. "You're simply always in front of the (video) monitor or the practice field, or you're having something to do that deals with football 20 hours a day." And the players union, which got the league to penalize Coughlin (left) for breaking off-season training rules, can't do anything about it.
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden, still smarting over last year's 7-9 record, said his incoming rookies will soon realize they are no longer playing college football, with rules limiting teams to 20 hours of practice per week. "Four weeks of consecutive two-a-day practices (including post-camp work)," Gruden said. "So, we can meet 20 hours a day, so you have to get ready for the grind." Unlike Coughlin, Gruden was joking about meeting 20 hours a day. We think.
Flagstaff. The Cardinals were docked a week of off-season workouts after players complained that Dennis Green's practices violated the league's collective bargaining agreement. They can complain all they want in the next month, but it won't do much good.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/0731nflcamps0731.html
Adversity strikes teams already
Andrew Bagnato
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 31, 2004 12:00 AM
Grab the marshmallows, kids. It's time for camp.
Cards Preview
Sixth in a series looking at Cardinals positions heading into training camp, which begins Sunday.
Receivers
The Cardinals have a trio of young, talented receivers. Problem is, two of them probably won't be in uniform when practice begins Monday morning. Bryant Johnson, a first-round pick in 2003, is out for at least a month with a stress fracture in his right foot. And Larry Fitzgerald, the third overall pick this year, has yet to sign.
That leaves Anquan Boldin, who is accustomed to carrying a load. He set an NFL record for rookies with 101 receptions last year and was the only rookie to make the Pro Bowl. He swaps positions this year, and he'll line up mostly on the weak side, where coaches hope to isolate him in one-on-one coverage. Fitzgerald is a ready-made player who shouldn't take long to adjust to the NFL, provided he signs soon. Johnson didn't do much last year but he showed improvement in the off-season and was working diligently until his injury.
There isn't a lot of depth behind those top three players. Bryan Gilmore has great speed but he's been unreliable. Kevin Kasper should figure into the mix. And don't forget about Nate Poole, who gained fame with his game-winning catch over Minnesota in the finale. Tight end Freddie Jones could have a big year, but there isn't much behind him.
Preseason Previews
One in a series of NFL divisional previews entering training camp.
AFC North
Team to beat: Baltimore.The Ravens defense will be as dominant as ever. But the offense, which caused headaches a year ago, needs to take a step forward.Quarterback Kyle Boller completed only 51.8 percent of his passes last year, but he was hurt part of the year.If Boller develops into a serviceable NFL quarterback and coach Brian Billick believes he can, the Ravens are the clear pick in this division.
Dark horse: Cincinnati. Don't call them the Bungles any longer. Revived by head coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals finished 8-8 a year ago, a six-game improvement from 2002. Now comes the hard part: maintaining their momentum. New uniforms and the club's first Monday Night Football appearance since 1992 may be harbingers of big things on the Ohio River.
Story to watch: Chaos in Cleveland? After making the playoffs with a 9-7 record two years ago, the Browns took a huge step backward in 2003. They had a quarterback controversy. They cut their leading receiver. Their starting running back had off-field troubles. Owner Randy Lerner extended coach Butch Davis's contract through 2007, but don't be fooled: this is a critical year for Davis.
Key game: Cincinnati at Baltimore Dec. 5.
- Andrew Bagnato
NFL players are trooping off to glamorous places such as Macomb, Ill., and Albany, N.Y., wedging 300-pound bodies into dorm rooms built for history majors. In the next month the camps will produce some blood, plenty of sweat and even a few tears, but relatively little real news. That's how the coaches like it. But as the 2004 training camps kick off, a handful of clubs have made headlines, to their chagrin.
Miami. The Dolphins have always counted on Ricky Williams to run. But not this far.
Now that Williams has taken off on the strangest run of his career, the Dolphins are hurting at running back. For the moment, the starting job falls to Travis Minor, who has never started an NFL game and has rushed for 930 yards in the past three years (Williams ran for 1,372 last year).
In an interview on the team's official Web site, Minor said that he had been deluged with calls from friends and well wishers since Williams quit. "They want to know what's going on and try to get some insight, and at the same time there's not much insight I can give them because I was caught off guard by it as well," Minor said. "Of course, a lot of people are excited about me getting the opportunity to play more."
Time will only tell whether head coach Dave Wannstedt is among those people. The team reportedly is keeping its options open if any veterans are released before the season.
Chicago. Welcome to Camp Limp-a-Lot.
There is a place for golf carts. It's called the fairway. But darned if the Bears didn't need one to carry injured star linebacker Brian Urlacher off the field after he collided with another player during what was described as a light-contact scrimmage. This isn't how Lovie Smith envisioned his first day as Bears head coach.
Urlacher, the Bears' leading tackler in each of his first four seasons, was diagnosed with a right hamstring injury and is expected to be out four to six weeks The injury has forced the Bears to promote Lance Briggs, a former University of Arizona standout drafted in the third round last year. Briggs will hold down the position until Urlacher returns, and Smith tried to spin that as a positive.
"Really it's kind good," Smith told reporters. "We would like for Lance to grow a little bit on that, so now we're just forcing his hand a little bit quicker."
Oakland. Welcome to the Black Hole, Norv Turner.
When Turner took over the 4-12 Raiders last winter he had two Woodsons on his team. Now he has none - in camp, anyway.
Safety Rod Woodson, a 17-year veteran who is a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team, was released after he failed a physical; Woodson is trying to come back from knee surgery. Woodson will have to decide what he wants to do - try to sign with another club, go into coaching, or simply relax and wait to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
Cornerback Charles Woodson isn't in camp for a different reason. He doesn't want to be there. Woodson was angry when the club slapped a franchise player tag on him. Now Raiders owner Al Davis would simply like to slap him. Woodson will eventually show up - he is under contract for a one-year deal that pays him $8.8 million, the average of the salary of the league's top five cornerbacks - but he's causing a distraction for a new coaching staff.
San Diego. The great thing about training camp is it gives fans a chance to inspect a team's new draft picks - unless you're a Chargers fan and want to get a glimpse of quarterback Philip Rivers.
Rivers hasn't signed yet. He wants to be paid like the top pick in the draft, even though the Chargers selected Eli Manning first and then shipped him to New York for Rivers, who was taken fourth.
Manning Thursday agreed to a six-year deal with the Giants that includes a $20 million signing bonus; with incentives, the contract could be worth $54 million. It's believed that the deal will speed Rivers' negotiations, but Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith refused to link the two.
"The deal with (agent Tom) Condon, Manning and the Giants doesn't mean anything to me - never did," Smith told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "That has nothing to do with us whatsoever."
3 places you don't want to be
If you're a pro football fan, there's nothing quite like training camp. But here are three places you wouldn't want to be a player this summer:
Albany, N.Y. No one loves training camp more than New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin "For coaches, it's a great time of year," he told reporters. "You're simply always in front of the (video) monitor or the practice field, or you're having something to do that deals with football 20 hours a day." And the players union, which got the league to penalize Coughlin (left) for breaking off-season training rules, can't do anything about it.
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden, still smarting over last year's 7-9 record, said his incoming rookies will soon realize they are no longer playing college football, with rules limiting teams to 20 hours of practice per week. "Four weeks of consecutive two-a-day practices (including post-camp work)," Gruden said. "So, we can meet 20 hours a day, so you have to get ready for the grind." Unlike Coughlin, Gruden was joking about meeting 20 hours a day. We think.
Flagstaff. The Cardinals were docked a week of off-season workouts after players complained that Dennis Green's practices violated the league's collective bargaining agreement. They can complain all they want in the next month, but it won't do much good.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/0731nflcamps0731.html
