NFL News & Rumors Digest

INDIAN OLIS — Former Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese said there weren’t bounties on quarterbacks in his day due to the fact back in the 1970s, knockout attempts were so routine they didn’t merit additional payment.

“Everybody would attempt to get the quarterbacks out of the game back then,” Griese said. “They weren’t acquiring paid for it. They would just attempt to knock you out.”

The NFL lately punished the New Orleans Saints heavily for running a bounty system that paid players to injure opponents. Ahead of getting honored with a Thomas A. Brady, M.D., Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, Griese stated the notch in the belt for a tough hit was sufficient for defensive players.

“In today’s game, these defensive ends come about, if they’ve got a blind shot at you, they’re not going to try to hit you in the back and attempt to take you out of the game, they’re going to slap the ball out of your hand,” the Hall of Famer mentioned. “Back then, Deacon Jones was coming, Ben Davidson was coming, all those guys. They were saying ‘I got (Joe) Namath final week, I got Griese this week.”‘

Now, the former Purdue University quarterback says the game is safer.

“The game has evolved and the guidelines have changed,” he said. “It’s what people want. It’s due to the fact the guidelines have changed and they are protecting the quarterback. You don’t want your quarterback knocked out. You want him in there every single week, all season extended, so you’re not watching some third-string guy wishing you had Peyton Manning in there.”

That undefeated season nevertheless brings back fond memories for Griese. The New England Patriots nearly went undefeated in the 2007 season. Griese remembers watching the New York Giants’ Super Bowl-winning touchdown drive that kept the Dolphins alone in the record books.

“When he (Plaxico Burress) caught that touchdown pass in the end zone, there was still some time left on the clock,” he mentioned. “I’m sitting at property, watching in my workplace, and telephone begins ringing, the e-mails begin coming in. I stated wait, there’s nonetheless 35, 40 seconds left.”

“I thought the Patriots would go unbeaten for confident,” Griese added. “But now, I’m a large Giants fan from now on.”

Copyright 2012

(About:) This report was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For a lot more NFL news see: Griese still loves Giants, says bounties weren’t required in ’70s.

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The Philadelphia Eagles will take note of the 40-yard dash times of the players on the top rated of their draft board. They’ll file away the number of bench press repetitions from those exact same players, as nicely.

But when the team’s front office descends upon Indianapolis for this week’s 2012 NFL Scouting Combine, it will do its very best not to let any gaudy numbers cloud its preconceived notions based off the player’s college game film.

“We’ll attempt to stick to exactly where our board is now,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman stated, by way of the Philadelphia Inquirer, final week.

“What we truly attempt to do is, as significantly as we can, keep it based on the play from August to December,” Roseman mentioned. “This is the time of year where it could play thoughts games on you, due to the fact you get into the all-star games, and you get into the combine and you meet with these guys, and you have to be in a position where you have to stick to your beliefs on how they play, the background they come from, as opposed to guys who flash.”

The Eagles know all also nicely what can happen when a team becomes enamored with a player who dominates the workout circuit. The Eagles used their seventh-general choose in the 1995 draft on Mike Mamula, a defensive end who never ever lived up to his prospective.

Roseman said the most beneficial part of the combine happens when your doctors are in a position to examine players.

“If you have guys that you rate quite very and your medical doctors tell you they have longevity concerns, that’s going to impact where you take them.”

(About:) This post was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more NFL news see: Eagles use combine as signifies to evaluate prospects’ health.

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The NFL is a passing league, as we’ve seen more than and over again this NFL season, and if you don’t have a quarterback who can make plays regularly, you’re probably not going to win several games.

And the Denver Broncos don’t have a quarterback who can make plays regularly.

The Broncos’ season came to an finish on Saturday night with a humiliating 45-10 loss, and Tim Tebow’s numbers were so far brief of what NFL teams need to have from their quarterbacks that any Broncos fan who looks at issues objectively would have to wonder if Tebow is actually the greatest man to lead this team on the field.

Tebow finished the game 9-for-26 for 136 yards, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran for just 13 yards on five carries, and he also lost a fumble.

Those basically aren’t the numbers of a competent NFL quarterback in 2012. Tebow’s accuracy and understanding of the offense remain enormous troubles. Tebow has now been the Broncos’ No. 1 quarterback for 14 games, starting at halftime of the Week five loss to the Chargers. In those 14 games, Tebow has completed far more than half his passes exactly twice. That’s a huge dilemma for the Broncos, no matter how several passionate defenders Tebow has.

For his part, Tebow was his usual optimistic self soon after the game.

“The run was a lot of enjoyable,” Tebow said of the 2011 season. “A lot of ups and downs but we actually try to block everything on the outside off and just enjoy the relationships with teammates and coaches, and perform and attempt to get greater. And I really feel like we did that all year. We just didn’t put together a excellent sufficient performance tonight.”

Certainly, Tebow is capable of putting together good performances. He did it just last week against the Steelers. But is he capable of undertaking it consistently, week soon after week, often enough that the Broncos will be able to make the playoffs in years when a .500 record isn’t very good adequate to win the AFC West?

Possibly he will be good sufficient in the future, with good coaching and tough operate. But he’s a extended way from very good sufficient correct now. Tebow’s 9-of-26 effort in a 45-ten loss showed just how far he has to go.

(About:) This post was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For much more NFL football news see: Tebow shows how far he has to go.

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Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has a high left ankle sprain, leaving his status for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons in doubt.

Peterson was carted off the sideline for the duration of the second quarter of last Sunday’s 27-21 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told reporters Monday that Peterson sustained some ligament damage and will be in a walking boot for a few days. Peterson isn’t expected to even attempt to practice until Friday to decide if he’ll be in a position to play against the Falcons.

“The excellent news is there is nothing much more critical than that, the truth that it is an ankle sprain and he’ll recover from it,” Frazier stated. “It’s just the matter of the quantity of time he’ll miss, but we’ll have a much better indication towards the end of the week.”

Frazier wouldn’t commit to the notion that Peterson would have to be 100 percent healthy in order to play, saying the team would monitor his progress. Frazier added the Vikings’ record wouldn’t be a element in the selection.

“We don’t want to put him at risk,” Frazier stated. “You know how beneficial he is to our team and our franchise. We’ll monitor where he is and try to make a very good choice on what’s best for him and what’s finest for our team as properly.”

Frazier said in the course of his postgame news conference Sunday night that Peterson had no fractures or broken bones in the leg. Frazier added that Peterson has a Grade 1 sprain, the least severe of the three categories.

Despite the discouraging diagnoses, Peterson is hopeful he won’t miss the game against the Falcons.

“That’s not in my DNA,” he said, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I’m going to attempt to get back as rapidly as I can, and God willing, I’ll be up and prepared to run this weekend.”

Vikings tight ends Kyle Rudolph (bruised quadriceps) and Visanthe Shiancoe (strained hamstring) also are banged up.

(About:) This write-up was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For a lot more NFL news see: Vikings: Peterson suffered ligament damage in injured ankle.

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PITTSBURGH — James Harrison can see clearly through the protective shield on his facemask.

No matter whether or not the Pittsburgh Steelers’ All-Pro linebacker will be able to play Sunday against the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens remains blurry.

Harrison practiced Wednesday for the initial time considering that fracturing the orbital bone over his proper eye for the duration of a game against the Houston Texans a month ago. Although he’s relatively pain cost-free, the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year isn’t going to put up a fight if physicians believe he’s not healed adequate to go full bore.

“I got two eyes, I’m not playing with my vision,” Harrison stated. “If they say no, I’m not going. That’s not something I’m willing to shed.”

At least Harrison practiced. Fellow starting linebackers James Farrior (calf) and LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) had been “limited” Wednesday, and their status for the showdown with the Ravens is uncertain.

If all 3 linebackers sit out, the Steelers (6-2) need to uncover a way to go forward against the Ravens (5-2) with youngsters Stevenson Sylvester, Chris Carter and Jason Worilds playing important roles. The 3 have combined to play all of five seasons for the duration of their brief careers, and none is older than 23.

By comparison, Harrison, Farrior and Woodley have played a combined 28 seasons, been selected to seven Pro Bowls and won 5 Super Bowls.

Whilst the Steelers live by the mantra “the normal is the standard,” the potential replacements are well conscious of into whose shoes they’re stepping.

“You’re talking about Pro Bowlers, prospective Hall of Fame guys,” Sylvester mentioned. “I attempt not to appear at it as pressure. I try to look at it as me carrying out my job.”

Copyright 2011

(About:) This article was distributed by X2 news wire and aggregation service, For far more news see: Linebacker situation nonetheless cloudy for Steelers vs. Ravens.

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As the competing L.A. stadium projects continue to try to turn into the one that survives, the downtown proposal backed by AEG has secured a key enhance from two major environmental groups.

California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez announced on Tuesday that the Natural Resources Defense Council and the California League of Conservation Voters support the legislation that would relocate a portion of the L.A. Convention Center and construct Farmers Field, a state-of-the-art multi-purpose venue that would host at least 1 NFL team.

“It was quite crucial to me that this project and our legislation gain the support of such nicely-respected environmental champions,” Speaker Pérez stated. “We have managed to generate a strategy to bring economic prosperity and jobs to Los Angeles although maintaining our environmental standards by building 1 of the most environmentally conscious stadiums in the country.”

Environmental consciousness will be crucial due to the fact, as opposed to Ed Roski’s proposal that would be constructed in the City of Industry, the Farmers Field project won’t get an exemption from particular sorts of environmental lawsuits.

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Draft pick signings are coming rapidly and furious correct now as teams try to get all their rookies under contract and into camp from day 1.

The Bears are no exception and they are now two steps closer to getting all of their draft alternatives under contract. The team has agreed to 4-year contracts with their second and third-round picks, leaving only first rounder Gabe Carimi unsigned as the team prepares to begin training camp on Saturday.

Defensive tackle Stephen Paea, the second-round choose, and safety Chris Conte, the third-round choose, are the two new Bears under contract. Conte figures to play behind Main Wright at free of charge safety whilst Paea will be part of a rotation up front. The question of no matter whether Anthony Adams will be joining him on the defensive line remains up in the air as Adams remains an unrestricted totally free agent at this hour.

When the Bears have all their draft picks in the fold, they will presumably maintain working on other veteran signings. The fate of unrestricted free agent center Olin Kreutz figures to be some thing Bears fans are watching closely in the subsequent couple of days.

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As Tiki Barber prepares for an NFL comeback attempt, he says one of his best options would be to play with his brother Ronde in Tampa Bay. But Ronde doesn’t appear to be getting his hopes up about playing with his brother.

“It was an entertaining thought 4 or five years ago,” Ronde told the St. Petersburg Times. “I do not know how realistic it is now. I’ve not had a opportunity to talk to [Bucs GM Mark Dominik or coach Raheem Morris] about it. Perhaps the scenario would be a small various under distinct circumstances. But I know he wants to go somewhere where feels like he’s wanted.”

From all indications, Tampa isn’t somewhere where Tiki is wanted. As soon as Tiki stated he’d like to play for the Bucs, reports in Tampa surfaced saying the Bucs aren’t interested.

Still, Ronde says he’s confident that Tiki will be ready to assist some team this season, soon after 4 full seasons away.

“He’s prepared, he looks like did pre-retirement,” Ronde stated of Tiki. “He genuinely dedicated himself and has been in there working out for four months. The only thing he does not have is the on-field endurance. He’s really adept at what he used to do. I do not see him having a difficulty. The one factor he can’t fail at is football.”

But Tiki might fail at finding a team willing to give him a chance.

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