Bits & Pieces … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

Its Final Four weekend and the baseball season has opened. Hockey and the NBA are headed down the homestretch of the regular season.

And football fans are left waiting for action not on the locked out playing field, but in the courtroom. That comes up next Wednesday when the league, players and a bus load of attorney types step inside the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

Rather than get ahead of ourselves with the legal implications coming next week, we’ll begin the weekend by cleaning out the notebook on items that have popped up in the last few days. Call it Bits & Pieces.

JAMAAL, WAL-MART & A LAMBORGHINI

Earlier this week Jamaal Charles spent a day in Bristol, Connecticut at the home of ESPN, touching base at all their platforms from television, radio, magazine and dot.com.

One of the tidbits that came out of his conversations there was the present he bought himself as part of the contract extension he signed last fall – a brand, new Lamborghini.

And when he’s been back home in Port Arthur, Texas during this off-season, Jamaal takes his car and runs errands, including stops at the local Wal-Mart.   …Read More!

Player Profile #84 – CB Brandon Hogan

For a time, Brandon Hogan gained a nickname while at the University of West Virginia – Pacman Lite.

Like former Mountaineers DB Adam “Pacman” Jones, Hogan’s on-field play was very good and his off-field persona was trouble. He missed a bowl game for unspecified “personal reasons” … was arrested for urinating in public … sat out spring practice because of academic issues and the fact he was out of shape … was arrested on DUI charges and suspended for a game.

Hogan’s time at WVU ended with a knee injury (ACL) in last season’s regular-season finale, causing him to miss the Mountaineers bowl game. Now, he attempts to convince NFL teams there were reasons for his off-field problems and that he’s worth the effort and risk in the draft.

Here’s his story. …Read More!

DRAFT PREVIEW – ATLANTA FALCONS

A look at Atlanta heading into the NFL Draft; the Falcons have the 27th pick in the first round.

REVIEW OF 2010

Record – 13-3 and won NFC South division title.

Playoffs – lost in divisional round of the NFC playoffs to Green Bay 48-21, after getting a week off and home-field advantage in the NFC.

OVERVIEW

The Falcons have been a winner the last three seasons, after owner Arthur Blank blew up the front office and brought in Thomas Dimitroff to be General Manager, and he turned around and hired Mike Smith to be Atlanta’s head coach. The Dimitroff/Smith Falcons are now 33-17 with two post-season appearances in the last three years.

Another part of the additions was drafting QB Matt Ryan (right) in 2008 and he’s become the face of the franchise. The addition of RB Michael Turner gave them a top notch runner and they plugged in veteran TE Tony Gonzalez in a trade with the Chiefs. The offensive line has been solid.

Defensively, the Falcons do a good job of handling opponents, as they forced 31 turnovers last year. Veteran DE John Abraham had a big season, finishing with 13 sacks. CB Brent Grimes and SS Thomas Moore each had five interceptions. Overall, 13 different defensive players had interceptions. …Read More!

Player Profile #85 – WR Jeremy Kerley

There are a lot of very good athletes that come out of Texas in football, basketball, baseball and track.

Then there’s Jeremy Kerley who was a very good athlete in all four of those sports. He was the starting quarterback, starting point guard, pitcher and jumper/sprinter. By the time he was done at Hutto High School, Kerley had won 16 letters in the four sports and received state recognition in all of them. In 2007, the Austin American-Statesman newspaper named him the Central Texas Athlete of the Year.

It was football that Kerly was most successful, and he ended up signing on with Texas Christian and he’s been part of the Horned Frogs great teams over the last few years, including an undefeated season in 2010.

He’s ready to bring his track record of success and athletic ability to the NFL Draft.

Here’s his story. …Read More!

Finding The Faults … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Within the next week or so, the Pro Day workouts around the country will fall to the wayside and the personnel types of all NFL teams will return to home base and begin the process of putting together the final stages of their board for the NFL Draft.

It’s hard to imagine that any NFL team is without a good grasp at this point of what they need, what’s available and who they like. Over the next couple weeks, it’s about crossing the t and dotting the i on the 100 players or so they may consider draftable.

That collection of names has been winnowed from the 300 players or so they started with back in the fall. That 100 or so will likely be sliced down even more in the next weeks to half that number. If they are surrounded by a good operation and talented people, NFL decision makers have a pretty good idea of who will be available when their turn on the clock comes, not just in the first round, but second, third and fourth as well.

Part of the editing process that will narrow the focus even further will come with a final check through the security reports, psychological tests and the like, making sure they know everything they can about the talent pool.   …Read More!

Player Profile #86 – CB Rashad Carmichael

Virginia Tech has become the cradle of defensive backs for the NFL over the last decade and there’s another one ready to join the league in Rashad Carmichael.

Coming before him were Ike Charlton, DeAngelo Hall, Eric Green, Jimmy Williams, Macho Harris, Aaron Rouse, Vincent Fuller and the Chiefs three-year starter Brandon Flowers. All were drafted as defensive backs out of the Frank Beamer’s program at Tech.

In fact, it was Flowers that had a huge impact on Carmichael – telling him that if he wanted to make it in the NFL, he was going to have to spend more time looking at tape. The next day, Carmichael cancelled his cable TV and began instead to watch game tape, going back all the way to the early 2000s.

Now, Carmichael has a chance to join the list of Hokies DB drafted by the NFL.

Here’s his story. …Read More!

DRAFT PREVIEW – BALTIMORE RAVENS

An look at Baltimore heading into the NFL Draft. The Ravens have the 26th pick in the first round.

REVIEW OF 2010

Record – 12-4, tied with division winner Pittsburgh.

Finish – second in the AFC North and wildcard team.

Playoffs – lost in divisional round of the AFC playoffs to Pittsburgh 31-24, after previously beating the Chiefs in the wildcard round 30-7.

OVERVIEW

The Ravens have been a consistent winner for the last five years, making the playoffs in four of those seasons. They continue to make it happen with defense, as they field one of the best units in the league with superstar players like LB Ray Lewis, S Ed Reed, OLB Terrell Suggs and DT Haloti Ngata.

Offensively, Baltimore has added the young franchise quarterback with Joe Flacco and they’ve gotten great production out of RB Ray Rice.

Overall, the Ravens have relied on building through the draft and signing the occasional free agent. They won the Super Bowl in 2000 and were a contender for the rest of the decade plus one, but haven’t gotten back to the title game. …Read More!

From The Bottom Up … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

What a difference for GM Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley as they prepare for this year’s NFL Draft.

In their first season, they had the third pick of the 2009 Draft. In that second season, it was the fifth selection of the 2010 Draft. Now, after the big turnaround on the field, they prepare for the 2011 Draft with pick No. 21.

It’s not just falling into the bottom half of the first round, but the bottom half of the other six rounds as well. That’s part of the NFL plan for parity, drafting in reverse order based on last year’s won-lost record.

But the good teams always find a way to get players, and they do it in the draft and they do it by drafting in the bottom of the rounds. Players like Baltimore RB Ray Rice (above right) and Chicago WR Johnny Knox (below right).

That’s something that Pioli/Haley will have a chance to show in this year’s draft.

In six of the seven rounds, they are in the second half of the order. Only in the fifth round are they out of the bottom slots. That’s due to their deal with Tampa Bay last year for DE Alex Magee and the swap of positions with Detroit based on the grievance filed against the Lions by the NFL over the Jarrad Page situation.

The Chiefs picked up a compensatory choice last week, a selection in the sixth round, overall pick No. 199. That spot in the Draft has become legendary due to the Patriots selection in 2000 of QB Tom Brady in the same position.

While nobody – including those in charge of the Patriots – expected a payback on the 199th player like New England has gotten from Brady. It’s proof that players can be found everywhere. …Read More!

Draft Clock Ticking On Injured Players

The 2011 NFL Draft is now but a month away and there are some fairly well-known and regarded players that have been placed on draft boards under a red cross – meaning injured.

They’ve got some 28 days to get their situations clarified. Without doing so, they could cost themselves millions of dollars as they fall in the draft order. There are a half-dozen players who are really under the microscope and could move up or down the draft board based on the update on their health.

Here’s the biggest names in doubt right now, listed in draft board order of how most teams evaluate them if healthy.

DE DA’QUAN BOWERS/CLEMSON (right) – In early January, Bowers has arthroscopic surgery on a meniscus in his right knees and he’s not worked out yet for NFL teams. He passed on participating in the physical testing of the NFL Combine and then pulled out of Clemson’s Pro Day for scouts. There were media reports on Monday that several teams failed Bowers on his physical exam at the Combine.

Right now, Bowers is scheduled to hold a workout on Friday. His agent has told NFL teams that he will do all the defensive line drills and other testing that’s normally done. He will then report a week later for a league-wide re-exam in Indianapolis for team doctors, something the NFL does each year.

If Bowers checks out, he’ll be a top five-seven choice. If he does not, he’ll fall into the middle of the first round (picks 10 through 20) and his signing bonus will be significantly smaller. …Read More!

Player Profle #87 – OL Lee Ziemba

They play for the Iron Bowl each season in Alabama, between the Crimson Tide and the Auburn War Eagles.

In the Iron Bowl last year there was an iron man – Auburn tackle Lee Ziemba.

By the time Ziemba completed his college career in the BCS Championship game against Oregon he started a school record 52 consecutive games. From the first game of his freshman season in 2007, Ziemba has been on the field, available and durable. For the Arkansas native even missing a play was not something he wanted to do.

Ahead now is the NFL, where some teams consider him a guard, others a tackle. Ziemba doesn’t care about position or zip code … he just wants to continue playing.

Here’s his story. …Read More!

Final Four Lessons … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

If the Green Bay Packers had not driven home the point back in January and early February, then it was solidified over the weekend in the world of college basketball.

The one thing the Chiefs could learn from the madness of March and the run to the Final Four is simply this – just get into the tournament. Don’t worry so much about winning the division or home-field advantage and all those elements that have always been part of the discussion when making the NFL playoffs.

Just get into the tournament. It’s the team that plays well at the end that has a chance to win a championship. It doesn’t matter how you start. It matters how you finish.

Ask Kentucky and Connecticut, two college basketball powers that entered the NCAA tournament three weeks ago with a marginal chance to make the last four teams. Neither team won their regular-season conference title; in fact UConn was tied for ninth in the Big East Conference.

Butler was a Final Four team last year, but they were not even ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 the week before the tournament began three weeks ago.

And Virginia Commonwealth – a team that didn’t even meet on Selection Sunday to see if they were chosen for the tournament field. They were pretty much talking about the NIT. …Read More!

Player Profile #88 – SS Ahmad Black

Four years ago when Ahmad Black showed up on the campus of the University of Florida, it took only a few weeks before head coach Urban Meyer saw enough of his new recruit from Lakeland. “He told me he was moving me to another position,” Black said.

Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong took it another step. He told his new player that he was too small and too slow to be able to play defense at Florida or anywhere else in the SEC.

Strong was wrong – Black played four years for the Gators, including a national championship season. He became a big-player performer for the defense at strong safety despite his lack of size and speed.

Now, Black is being told again that he’s too slow and too small, as he prepares to enter the 2011 NFL Draft.

Here’s his story. …Read More!

Player Profile #89 – OT James Brewer

His high school basketball coach talked him into going out for football in his senior season. Up to that point, James Brewer’s interest had been devoted to the round ball as he made his way through three different Indianapolis high schools in four years.

His pre-season performance got the attention of his offensive line coach at Arlington High School, and he got in touch with the folks at Indiana University. That’s when Brewer was given the opportunity for a scholarship with the Hoosiers before playing a game of football.

Now, Brewer is preparing to take the next step, as a physically gifted but inexperienced blocker ready to join the NFL.

Here’s his story. …Read More!

Chiefs 2011 Draft Choices

Here’s an updated and correct list of the Chiefs draft choices for the 2011 NFL Draft:

• Round One – pick No. 21.
• Round Two – pick No. 23, overall selection No. 55.
• Round Three – pick No. 22, overall selection No. 86.
• Round Four – pick No. 21, overall selection No. 118.
• Round Five – picks No. 4 and 9, overall selections No. 135 and 140.
• Round Six – pick No. 34, overall selections No. 199.
• Round Seven – pick No. 21, overall selection No. 222.

Chiefs Receive Compensatory Pick

CORRECTED

It’s a formula that is known to but a few people on the face of the earth. Each year the NFL awards extra picks in the annual draft based on free agency from the season before.

On Friday, the league announced the compensatory selections for this April’s Draft. One of those 32 choices goes to the Chiefs, a sixth-round pick, No. 199 in the draft.

In essence, the Chiefs get the extra pick because of the contract and performance that former OL Wade Smith (right) put together with the Houston Texans during the 2010 season. Smith was an unrestricted free agent and ended up moving to Houston, where he was a starter all season in the Texans offensive line.

So why a sixth, and not a fifth or even fourth-round pick? That’s the rub. The formula is supposedly based on the size of the contract and signing bonus and the performance of the player on the field. That information is then matched against the incoming contract and signing bonuses along with performance of free agents added to the team.

There are GMs in the league that do not understand the formula and for some reason the league’s Management Council guards the equations like nuclear launch codes. Everybody sees the outcome, but not the calculation that created the decision.

The Chiefs now have eight selections in the April 28-30 NFL Draft: …Read More!

No Labor, Just Football … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

Friday is Day No. 14 of the football fans of America held hostage by the NFL …

In light of that, we were planning an NFL labor update for this spot.

But I just can’t do it … it’s too depressing, too much of having to look into the mouth of the beast that is greed. Unfortunately, I think there’s going to be plenty of time to touch on what’s going on between the league and the players.

Instead, we’ve pulled together a few stories and notes that passed through the NFL meetings in New Orleans and may have gotten lost in the flotsam and jetsam of the labor scuffle.

NEW KICKOFF RULES EFFECT ON CHIEFS

Just how the changes in rules involving kickoffs will affect the Chiefs is something that will have to play out through the 2011 season – if there is one – before we see whether it helps or hurts. On paper, the move of the ball to the 35-yard line and the limit on a five-yard start for the coverage people is not going to help what was one of the league’s worst kickoff return teams in the league. Last year the Chiefs were 28th among 32 teams in average kickoff return at 19.7 yards.

It was even worse than that – the longest kickoff return the Chiefs had in the ’10 season was the 36-yard effort by Dexter McCluster (right)  against Oakland in the final game of the regular season. (McCluster matched that with another 36-yard return against Baltimore in the playoffs.) That was the shortest distance for a long return among the 32 teams; the NFL average for longest kickoff returns per team last year was 59.6 yards. …Read More!

Carolina On The NFL’s Mind In Draft

When sporting thoughts turn to the Carolinas, it’s basketball that comes to mind first – Tobacco Road, the Tar Heels, the Cameron Crazies, Dean Smith, Coach K, Michael Jordan, Grant Hill …

Cast in that hoops shadow has been college football. Since they started handing out national championships on the gridiron only once has a team for the Carolinas been declared No. 1 for the season – that was 1981 when Clemson beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 22-15.

But as the NFL continues its push towards the Draft at the end of April, the Carolinas are on the minds of pro football’s decision makers. Within the borders of North and South Carolina is a treasure trove of talent. This time it plays with an oblong ball and not the round ball.

“We’ve always had a lot of talent,” said Robert Quinn, a DE/OLB out of the University of North Carolina that will be an early selection in next month’s selection meeting.

Quinn will be joined by 17 other players from North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Clemson. Between those four schools are a quartet of players who should be drafted in the first round, like Quinn, Clemson’s Da’Quan Bowers and North Carolina’s WR Greg Little and LB Bruce Carter. …Read More!

Player Profile #90 – DL Jarvis Jenkins

Linebackers come out of Penn State. Tight ends are frequent products of the Wisconsin football program. Southern Cal always seems to have a quarterback preparing to begin his pro football career.

And recently, defensive linemen are coming out of Clemson. In each of the last four NFL Drafts, a Tigers defensive linemen was selected – 2010, Ricky Sapp; 2009, Dorell Scott; 2008, Philip Merling; and 2007, Gaines Adams.

There will be at least two more in this April Draft, including first-round prospect D’Qwan Bowers at DE and Jarvis Jenkins a DT that came out of Clemson’s own backyard on the western edge of South Carolina.

Here’s Jenkins story. …Read More!

A Surprising Return … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

Today’s epistle begins with a question about the following quote:

“I promise you that’s my goal, that’s my objective. I may from time to time fail in certain areas but I promise you this, Marty Schottenheimer is here for one reason, and that’s to take this group of young men, this organization and more importantly this community to the championship.”

Here’s the question – When did Marty Schottenheimer speak the above quote?

1. The day he was introduced as head coach of the Washington Redskins.
2. The day he was introduced as head coach of the San Diego Chargers.
3. The day he was introduced as head coach of the Chiefs.
4. The day he was introduced as head coach of the Virginia Destroyers.
5. All of the above.

If you are a Marty watcher from years past you know that the correct answer is e, all of the above. Those words were some of the first that came out of his mouth on Wednesday, when the surprising news was confirmed – Marty Ball is back, as general manager/head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. …Read More!

Player Profile #91 – TE Lance Kendricks

In recent years, the University of Wisconsin has become the breeding ground for tight ends. Lance Hendricks joins the long list of Badgers at that position that enter the league through the NFL Draft.

In the last five years Wisconsin has had four TEs selected – Owen Daniels (2006-Houston), Jason Pociask (2006-N.Y. Jets), Travis Beckum (2009-N.Y. Giants) and Garrett Graham (2010-Houston).

Hendricks will be the fifth Wisconsin TE drafted in six years. It will be the next step in his journey from the streets of Milwaukee to pro football.

Here’s the dossier on Lance Hendricks. …Read More!

Quarterback Potpourri … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

There’s one thing that never changes in the world of pro football, whether there’s a lockout or a strike, and whether it’s the off-season, pre-season, regular season or playoffs.

Always, there is talk of quarterbacks. It’s the No. 1 position in the game, making it the subject of 24/7/365 conversation, speculation and rumor.

The league may have locked the doors and the players may have legally disbanded their union, but the quarterbacks remain in the spotlight as the league gets ready to wrap up its annual March meetings in the Big Easy.

So let’s take a ride through the league and stop at the spots where quarterback is on the tip of everyone’s tongue.

We start with the Chiefs.

Expand your betting profits when you learn how to beat NFL teasers.

…Read More!

Player Profile #92 – WR Titus Young

It was less than three years ago when Boise State head coach Chris Peterson said it would probably be better for his program if second-year WR Titus Young transferred out of the program.

Young was serving a suspension for breaking team rules that cost him nine games during the 2008 season. He was immature, undisciplined, and prone to penalties on the field and despite a wealth of physical ability; he was more bother than he was worth.

But Young did not transfer, instead he changes his ways and put together two productive seasons with the Broncos on their blue field in Boise. He’s ready now to enter the NFL with an attitude of confidence and support for the team.

This is a look at the Titus Young adventure. …Read More!

Owners Approve Kickoff, Replay Changes

In New Orleans at their annual March meetings, NFL owners voted on Tuesday afternoon to make changes in the league’s rules involving kickoffs and instant replay.

Approved was a scaled down version of changes to kickoffs that were introduced by the league’s Competition Committee. Also, the owners agreed to institute replay reviews on every scoring play.

Starting with the 2011 season – if there is a season – kickoffs will take place from the 35-yard line, rather than the 30. The approval vote on that came down 26-6. The league moved the kickoff point to the 30 in 1994 from the 40-yard line. The players on the kickoff coverage team will also be able to lineup only five yards behind the 35-yard line.

Two parts of the committee’s recommendation were dropped – moving the yard line for a touchback at the 25 and eliminating all wedges in blocking. The touchback line will remain the 20 and two-man wedges will continue to be allowed.

By a vote of 30-2, the owners approved replay review of all scoring plays. But they did not approve the elimination of a third challenge for any coach that correctly challenges plays on the first two reviews.

Leave Replay Alone … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

Ever since the rule came into effect, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with instant replay in the NFL. I know that I’m not alone, based on posts and e-mails that I’ve received over the years from fans also conflicted.

For 12 years it’s been wonderful to see obvious errors on the field corrected by the eye in the sky. It only makes sense to give the zebras on the field the same resources that Joe Fan has at home in his man cave.

On the other hand, it’s always aggravating because it sometimes takes so long to get a replay review done. The league says there’s a time limit on how long the referee can be under the hood studying the play, but that’s never enforced. We’ve never seen an official walk away from the box and announce “our time has run out and the call stands because we haven’t been able to make a decision.”

Then, there are all sorts of plays where it can’t be used because of the rules and the way they are written, even when the replay could correct a mistake. And the whole coach’s challenge process is bothersome, because it creates situations where at various points of the game, a coach has used his challenge and can’t correct an obvious bad call.

But for the most part the system works. That doesn’t stop some folks in the league that love to tinker and replay is one of those areas where they like to make little changes, sometimes with no reason to back up the process. …Read More!

Player Profile #93 – RB Jordan Todman

There was a time when a running back that couldn’t break 5-feet, 9 inches would be destined to a specialist’s role in pro football.

They would never be considered a full-time, 1st-and-10 running back. But these days even the small backs are getting bigger and there’s no better example than Jordan Todman out of the University of Connecticut.

Last year for the Huskies, the 5-feet, 8¾ inches, 203-pounds Todman got quite a workout, carrying the ball 334 times in 12 games or just short of 28 times per game. And Todman was productive, running for 1,695 yards. With a year of eligibility left at UConn, he decided it was time to follow the footsteps of his former teammate Donald Brown and come out early.

Here’s the story on the small but powerful Jordan Todman. …Read More!

Player Profile #94 – QB Ricky Stanzi

A three-year starter at the University of Iowa, Ricky Stanzi is the most experienced quarterback coming out of college football this season. That makes him an attractive prospect for teams looking for help at the position, and he seems to be situated in the second-tier of passers coming into the 2011 NFL Draft.

The Ohio native has shown improvement in each season that he’s been the starter for the Hawkeyes. If he can do that again coming into the NFL, then Stanzi could be a major prospect coming out this year. Plus, he’s certainly a player that he Chiefs would consider given his Iowa pedigree and the intangibles that he’s shown.

Here are the details on QB Ricky Stanzi. …Read More!

A Business Meeting … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

The NFL’s annual March owners meetings are usually held at opulent resorts in places like Hawaii, Palm Springs, Laguna Beach, Palm Beach and Orlando. These are generally four or five-day events with swanky cocktail parties, golf and tennis tournaments, and the VIP treatment billionaires expect with their extra-large bank accounts.

This year, the NFL owners have ditched the beach, golf course and parties in favor of the Crescent City of New Orleans. It’s going down at the renovated Roosevelt Hotel just across Canal Street from the French Quarter. It’s actually a hotel where a room can be found most days for less than $200 a night.

Don’t think the league is suddenly slumming. They’ll still be throwing around their wallets at places like Commander’s Palace and Galatoires, but it’s a league get-together with a different feel. Certainly a good time can be had in the French Quarter, but these are troubled times in pro football and with the labor situation in the toilet, it would not be good to taunt the fans with piña
coladas around the pool and late night strolls down Bourbon Street.

The 2011 March meetings began on Sunday and the topic at the head of the agenda every day will be labor and the current stalemate with the players. The future, both immediate and long-term will dominate the action and attention of the owners, executives and even the head coaches. All clubs will be represented, although New England’s owner Robert Kraft will miss the red beans and rice because of a family medical matter.

“The whole focus is going to be on labor,” said Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy. “There are a number of issues related to the health and safety of the players, but the whole focus is going to be how we are going to resolve our labor situation.”

There are other things to speak of and take action on during this session; in particular some rules proposals that have come up from the Competition Committee involving the first play of every game – the kickoff. …Read More!

Player Profile #95 – RB Daniel Thomas

There has never been just one road to the NFL Draft. The players that become available each year are generally young men who attended the same college for at least three years.

But there are always exceptions, with players taking many detours before the find themselves a spot where their skills shine. That group in the 2011 NFL Draft includes RB Daniel Thomas. To call him a Kansas State product would be to discount a large part of his travels to the edge of the Draft. From junior college limbo to leading the Big 12 Conference in rushing, Thomas showed his determination and perservance.

He’s got one more test to come; a hamstring injury has hampered him in the last few months, causing him to pull out of the Senior Bowl and he did not run at the NFL Combine. He’s set to run for league personnel types in just over two weeks.

It will be an important day and another chapter in his story. …Read More!

Player Profile #96 – TE/H-Back D.J. Williams

There are inspirational stories throughout the 2011 NFL Draft class, yet they all take a back seat to the life story of TE D.J. Williams.

That he’s on the verge of an NFL career is a remarkable landmark in a journey that began with great fear and large doses of emotional and physical pain. Through that start in life came a young man who has taken his God given athletic ability, mixed it with intelligence and desire and Williams is about to have a chance for a successful career.

The only hurdle in front of him is where he will play and how he will fit into an NFL roster. As an undersized TE, Williams is not a classic body for the position. But his athletic skills will make him a great weapon for an offense looking for mismatches in pass coverage.

After everything that’s happened in the life of D.J. Williams, do not count against him. …Read More!

Answer Bob – 3/19

Sorry it’s been awhile since I’ve had time to dig into the mailbag and the posts. Thanks for your patience.

Also let me address right off the top the premium service we started last week that will cover the NFL Draft. As always, there are folks unhappy with the idea of paying for information. For those where finances are tight, I understand and appreciate your position. I’m right there with you.

That’s one reason why the whole site has not gone back to premium. It will pertain just to the stories related to the 2011 NFL Draft. Plus, I’ll have some chats and feedback items coming up that will allow everyone to ask questions about the Draft.

Last year our move to premium coverage was made necessary by a simple reason – without funds, your humble Internet hack would have to go out and find a real job. Given that I’ve never had a real job, I really didn’t want to start now. Your support got the site through the season.

We now move forward. An investment was made in covering the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine and the draft coverage will be the fruit of those endeavors. …Read More!

Labor Update – 3/18

Friday, March 18 – Day 8 of America’s football fans held hostage …

Yes, held hostage by the playground silliness that has become the labor dispute between the NFL and its players. It was last Friday when the whole negotiating think blew up and the NFL Players Association decertified, the owners locked the doors of the league and discussion on a new labor agreement came to a halt.

While discussions and negotiations went out the door, there was not silence. Far from it. There was mudslinging, name calling and all those hurtful word things that most of us forgot just after graduating from middle school. If there were any doubts about this being an emotional arm wrestling match over billions of dollars that’s been put to bed in the last few days. It started with a letter that ended with the signature of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The letter went out to NFL players and the agents that represent them. The premise was to provide the players with direct words from the Commish on the last offer made to the players association by the league. The real reason for the letter was an attempt to stir up ferment in the ranks of the rank and file. …Read More!

Player Profile #97 – ILB Greg Jones

It’s hard to find a more productive and honored defensive player in the college ranks than Michigan State middle linebacker Greg Jones.

Despite his All-America status and more than 450 career tackles with the Spartans there are questions about his productivity in the NFL. Jones stands less than 6-feet and his college career was marked by having trouble escaping from blockers. To do so, Jones frequently ran around blocks and got himself out of position.

A two-time team captain, the best chance of making a place for himself in the NFL is outside linebacker in the 4-3.

Here’s the story of one of the most prolific tacklers in Big 10 Conference history. …Read More!

Player Profile #98 – C/G Stefen Wisniewski

The bloodlines are very visible when it comes to Penn State center-guard Stefen Wisniewski. His father was a second-round draft choice and played three seasons as a defensive lineman. His uncle played 13 seasons in the league; he was also a second-round pick.

There’s no question that Stefen will follow in the footsteps of his pops Leo and Uncle Steve. As he wrapped up his college career at Penn State, scouts were saying there have been very few blockers come out of the college ranks as technically advanced in the fundamentals of blocking as Wisniewski.

That would indicate a long NFL career, and one that will start very quickly for the Pittsburgh native.

Family is a big part of the Stefen Wisniewski story. …Read More!

Another Voice Silenced … FRIDAY CUP O’CHIEFS

His voice sounded like he gargled each morning with gravel. Invariably, there was a cup of coffee nearby and sometimes a cigarette, although he was always trying to stop that habit. This morning routine always came wrapped up with a story.

That’s because there was always a story with Jim Erkenbeck. When you were a Marine that rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and fought in the Korean Conflict, there were going to be stories. When you worked as a football coach for more than 40 years, the stories were going to be plentiful. When you beat throat cancer – Erkenbeck did in 1993 – it leaves a man with memories.

Few had more, or told them as well, as the raspy-voiced Erkenbeck. On Tuesday in his native southern California, Jim Erkenbeck ran out of time for another story. His death robbed football of another one of the characters that wrote the history of the game and passed along the old stories like a town elder or the Chief of an Indian tribe.

Just how old Erkenbeck was when he passed away this week remains a bit of a mystery. Friends say he was 81 years old. In the Chiefs 1989 media guide, his first stint with the club, his date of birth was listed as September 10, 1931. In the 1995 media guide when he was beginning his second tour of duty on Marty Schottenheimer’s staff, his birthday was September 10, 1933.

Whether he was 81, 79 or 77 doesn’t really matter – his vanity about his age never obscured the fact that he was one of the best football coaches around. It was a career where he stepped on every rung of the coaching ladder from high school, to junior college, to college, to the CFL, USFL and NFL. It was 42 years of moving about North America, working for some of the biggest coaching names in the game – Schottenheimer, Don Coryell, Tom Landry, Jim Mora, Jon Gruden and Chuck Knox. …Read More!

Gabbert Climbs The Ladder

The traveling road show that is the series of Pro Day workouts at colleges around the country landed in Columbia on Thursday and the star was former Mizzou QB Blaine Gabbert.

Under the direction of his tutor, former Chiefs quarterbacks coach Terry Shea, Gabbert entertained and educated a large collection of NFL personnel from all 32 teams, with scouts, assistant coaches, coordinators, six head coaches and three GMs watching indoors at the Devine Pavilion.

Coming into the Pro Day session, Gabbert was tagged a first-round choice in April’s NFL Draft. Coming out of the Pro Day work, Gabbert may have guaranteed he’ll be the first quarterback selected and there’s the possibility that he could become the first player taken.

That No. 1 choice belongs to the Carolina Panthers and while their head coach Ron Rivera and GM Marty Hurney were not in the building, they will be on Saturday when they have a private workout with Gabbert.

Shea designed a passing script of 64 passes, trying to showcase Gabbert’s arm strength and accuracy. By various counts among observers, Gabbert connected on 58 throws. Several of the misses were drops, but several of the completions were courtesy of some very good catches by the receivers. All but three of the throws came after Gabbert took a snap from under center. That’s key to the NFL types since his college career was spent in the spread offense of Gary Pinkel. …Read More!

Player Profile #99 – OLB Mark Herzlich

That Mark Herzlich remains under consideration by NFL teams for continuing his football career is one of the “feel good” stories of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Only two years ago, Herzlich was dealing with pain in his left leg as he went through spring football practice. When the ache would not go away, tests were done and the worst fears of a 21-year old were realized – he was diagnosed with bone cancer. Doctors told him his football career was over.

But those doctors did not now this young man from eastern Pennsylvania. Herzlich immediately created two goals – to beat cancer and to return to football. He realized both last year, when he played all season for the Boston College Eagles and was declared cancer free.

Now, he waits for the NFL Draft, where he should be selected anywhere from rounds two through five.

There’s a lot to Mark Herzlich’s story. …Read More!

Ocho? Oh No! … Thursday Cup O’Blarney

We pause here on Day No. 6 of America’s pro football fans held hostage to bring you a laugh …

Chad Ochocinco Johnson is coming to town.

No joke. OK, it is a joke, but supposedly he’s really headed to K.C. to take part in a four-day tryout with the Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City. Yes, Ochocinco in short pants and right here in River City.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and grab another green beer for this story!

How, did we get so lucky?

This news became the biggest part of the Kansas City sporting landscape on Wednesday, artfully timed for a window where the Royals are still in Arizona and off the radar, the NFL labor situation is quiet and it’s the day before the start of March and all its madness. Soccer? Why not grab a few crumbs from the already sliced up sporting pie.

When you are Sporting Kansas City, any chance for a headline is worth the time and effort. They are about to begin their season and they’ll christen a brand new stadium this season. But they have the same old problem – a limited connection with the sports fans of Kansas City. …Read More!

Player Profile #100 – DE/OLB Sam Acho

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of 100 profiles on potential choices in the 2011 NFL Draft. To give eveyone an idea of what our premium draft coverage will be like, this profile is currrently available to everyone. For those interested in signing up for the premium package, just bang it here.

There’s no question that University of Texas DE Sam Acho is an exceptional talent. The question comes on whether he’s better as a football player, student or person.

Acho was a two-year starter for the Longhorns and he played all four seasons there. He earned his degree last December and was honored for his academic performance with the William Campbell Trophy, known as the academic Heisman Trophy. As a person, he’s been honored for his work off the field with various groups, including his father’s ministry, where they make a trip each year to Nigeria where they deliver medical supplies.

There is a lot to the Sam Acho story.   …Read More!

Focus On Practice Squad … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

How about some football talk? Not draft talk. Not lockout talk. Just plain old football talk.

We are 50 days away from the NFL Draft. Little has happened with the Chiefs roster in the 65 days since they were overwhelmed by the Baltimore Ravens in that first-round game in the playoffs. That’s because all that decertification and lockout nonsense has postponed free agency and brought a shutdown on signings with the end of the labor agreement last week. The Chiefs signed just 10 players in this off-season. All were with the team in some fashion last year.

In the next couple of weeks, we are going to dig through the players still on the roster and identify players that could advance to help the Chiefs in 2011, and those that will likely find themselves rolling on down the road to another team or their life’s work.

Our starting point will be the practice squad, the eight man developmental team that saw a lot of action in the 2009 season, but was very quiet in 201810 as Pioli/Haley became more comfortable with the bodies around them like WR Verran Tucker (left).

Here are the numbers over two years: …Read More!

NFL LABOR UPDATE – 3/15

Tuesday, March 15 – Day 4 of America’s football fans held hostage …

Here’s what we have learned over the last couple of days from Lockoutville on the immediate future of the NFL:

• A hearing on the injunction filed by the players against the owners in hopes of scuttling the lockout has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 6.
• The hearing will be held by in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, with Judge Susan Nelson (right) presiding over the hearing.
• The once NFL Players Association says it’s not going to negotiate anything until the April 6 hearing.
• The NFL says it’s ready to talk at any moment.
• No date has been set on the start of free agency.

Will Judge Nelson grant the players the injunction? That’s likely given the fact she sits in the same Minneapolis court house that also houses Judge David Doty.

An injunction would force the NFL to lift its lockout, but an appeal by the league to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is likely.

STEPPING IN THE SH#$, COMMENT ONE

Well, it turns out that the Monday-Tuesday opportunity to step in the lockout sh#$ was taken by the group formerly known as the NFL Players Association. …Read More!

The Evaluation Pie … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

Every day now, the information arrives from all around the country. Major college football programs are holding their annual Pro Day workout sessions. That’s where the pro prospects from that school and others go through a series of physical tests and drills with NFL coaches, scouts and GMs on hand.

It’s very much like the agenda at the NFL Combine. Most of the top players are encouraged by their agents to save their full participation for their Pro Day work, rather than in Indianapolis. It’s all about familiarity with the surroundings making for a more relaxed and successful performance.

On Monday, the scouts were around the country for Pro Days at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA; Wake Forest University in North Carolina; and both Eastern and Central Michigan Universities.

But are these workouts really necessary? We are just six weeks and a few days away from Day No. 1 of the 2011 Draft and short of checking on players dealing with injuries, these Pro Days are just another layer of information that most teams already have. Down at LSU, the scouts did not need to see another workout from CB Patrick Peterson; he’s going to be among the top five players picked, short of a late injury.

And that brings me to the entire evaluation process that NFL teams go through with players that will be available for the Draft each year. With 32 teams, I’m going to tell you there are 32 different formulas for divining the potential of college football players. But as I went about researching the subject, I found almost universal agreement among personnel types on what the evaluation pie should look like. Some personnel directors and scouts professed one area was of a bit more importance than another, but the difference were in the splitting of hairs category.

After piecing it together, here’s a pie chart on the average evaluation process used by most NFL teams: …Read More!

Monday Cup O’Chiefs

Monday, March 14 – Day 3 of America’s football fans held hostage …

The only action around the NFL will shift on Monday to Minneapolis as the league and its players begin another stroll through the maze that is the American legal system.

And if that sounds old, tired and boring already, think how it will sound in about three months if these guys can’t get their crap together and work out an agreement. We’ll have to put up with more public relations spin like the NFL threw at the fans over the weekend. It started Saturday morning and before the weekend was over, just about every team had issued a statement or sent an owner or club executive out to speak to the media so they could pass on the message to the fans.

That message was predictable … it was the NFL Players Association that screwed up the negotiations by decertifying their union, forcing the owners to lockout the players and bring the sport its first work stoppage since 1987.

  …Read More!

Waters Was Part of Friday’s NFL Labor Fracture

We know that Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt was part of the NFL side on Friday during the last day of negotiations before the decertification/lockout double punch hit pro football.

And thanks to DeMaurice Smith, the NFL Players Association executive director, we know that there was another Kansas City connection actively involved in what was going on over the last three weeks and especially on Friday.

In a statement that he made Friday evening in Washington, D.C., Smith said the following:

“So today I’m sad for our fans. I’m sad for our players, but I’ll tell you what: the last message to the owners of the National Football League didn’t come from the Executive Director. It came from the Vice President of the Executive Committee, (Indianapolis Colts center) Jeff Saturday. The last word to the owners came from the Vice President named (Kansas City Chiefs guard) Brian Waters. The men who sat across from the owners and did most of the talking today wasn’t a lawyer from D.C.

“It was players who risk everything, every day, for the game that they love.” …Read More!

Chiefs Speak On Lockout – Sort of?

Right around dinner time on Saturday, the Chiefs released a statement with reaction to the events of Friday in Washington, D.C. that led to the lock out of the players by the NFL and the decision by the NFL Players Association to file for decertification.

Only one problem – there was no name associated with the comments. Not team chairman Clark Hunt, not the Hunt Family, not GM Scott Pioli. It’s hard to understand why Hunt, who was part of the negotiations as a member of the league’s labor committee, would not want to put his name on what was released.

The statement read:

“The Kansas City Chiefs still believe the fastest way to a fair agreement is through the mediation process. While we are disappointed that the union walked away from the clubs’ offer to split the difference and meet them in the middle, we remain confident that we can and will reach a deal that is good for the game.

“After a season that began with Monday Night Magic at the grand opening of the New Arrowhead, and culminated in a division championship, we are more focused than ever on improving every area of our team. We know there will be football in the future – and we have already started to plan for the 2011 season. Our football staff is continuing its preparation for the NFL Draft and our business operations staff is using fan feedback to make the Arrowhead experience the best in the NFL.

“We have great respect for our fans and our season ticket holders, and are committed to communicating openly and directly with them as we work to reach a long-term agreement with the players that is fair to everyone who loves this game.” …Read More!

NFL LABOR GRAB BAG

There is so much ground to cover in the NFL labor situation from the union’s decertification, to the league locking out players, to the filing of anti-trust law suits and injunctions.

In the first 24 hours of the new NFL, we bookmarked several articles off the web that are either particularly well written, provide a valuable insight or have a healthy dose of explanations for factors in this league vs. players battle. Enjoy!

• YAHOO! Sports

“Business matter becomes personal for union” by Michael Silver.

Throughout the last few weeks Silver has turned in some very good behind the scenes stories about the negotiations, usually with a view from the players side of the table. That’s true in this case as his sources in the NFL Players Association referenced various moments where the NFL owners stepped on their toes and hurt their pride. Emotion should not be part of the equation in this business situation, but it always has been and always will be when it involves those who play the game with so much passion every Sunday. …Read More!

Decertify, Lock Out, Injunction … Open Thread

The NFL labor dispute took an expected turn on Friday as the NFL Players Association filed for decertification as a union. The owners will lock out the players on Friday evening and the players, led by big name quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, have already filed an anti-trust suit against the league.

A lot went down on Friday and we know there are opinions galore on the direction pro football has taken.

Let us know what you think. Just add your comments to this post. Enjoy the give and take among fellow readers. JUMP ON THE OPEN THREAD RIGHT NOW.

NFL LABOR WAR MOVES TO COURTROOM – UPDATE

Late Friday afternoon the negotiations between the NFL and its players came to an end.

Next stop is U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

The NFL Players Association filed for decertification just before the 4 p.m. CST deadline, kicking off what could be called the legal end of this dispute.

Here’s where things get ugly and will require the intervention of the court and Judge David Doty to push these two parties towards a new labor agreement. It was not an unexpected outcome; in fact the NFL says the decertification is what the players planned to do from the start. Early Friday, the NFL made a proposal to the players that in some ways was a significant change to what the sides had talked about before. The union demanded more financial information that they’ve been seeing and the proposal and request went nowhere.

The NFL will be locking out the players at 11 p.m. CST on Friday.

The NFLPA’s next step is already in the works – an anti-trust lawsuit against the league, seeking an injunction that would bar the owners from locking the doors. That suit carries the names of superstars like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Vincent Jackson, along with Chiefs LB Mike Vrabel, soon to be drafted Texas A&M LB Von Miller and several others. …Read More!

A Billionaires Business … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

Will Friday be the moment that the labor dispute between the NFL and its players leaves the hands of negotiators and is taken over by lawyers and the federal court system?

There’s a good chance that transition is about to happen. As this week’s series of mediated negotiating sessions played out, it was easy to sense the growing frustration of both sides. Federal mediator George Cohen asked from the start that those involved limit their public comments and information shared with the media.

Generally, both sides followed Cohen’s instructions. Until this week that is, when the sniping between the parties jumped back into headlines. It exposed the fact that while the two sides have made some progress in 14 negotiating sessions, there remains too much ground to cover on the basic issue – how to divide the league’s annual $9 billion revenue.

The owners want more of that annual revenue than they have been getting, supposedly so they can continue to grow the game. The players do not want to give back hard earned compensation levels that have been in place for nearly two decades now. A rookie wage scale, the 18-game regular season schedule, health care & pension improvements are all important elements, but this disagreement has been and always will be about money.

From the start these negotiations, big money has been a factor from the start largely because NFL ownership is truly a billionaires club. …Read More!

NFL Labor Pains – Open Thread

The NFL and its players are headed for another Friday deadline in the process of their negotiations over a new labor agreement. By the sounds coming from both sides another extension seems unlikely. Over the last two days, voices on both sides of the negotiations have defied the request for silence by the federal mediator.

What say you? Jump on here and move the discussion forward with your thoughts. And specifically, I’d like to see what bobgretz.com readers think about an 18-game schedule. For it? Against it?

Let us know.

CSI-Pioli, A Forensic Look … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

The scouting ship the S.S. Pioli is locked up tight these days. Right now, most of the first mates have disembarked and headed off to Pro-Day workouts on college campuses around the country.

But once they return, the gang plank will be raised and the Pioli Curtain will come back down, leaving no light to shine on the machinations going on inside the Chiefs personnel department as it prepares for the 2011 NFL Draft that is seven weeks away from the April 28th first round.

This will be the third draft with Pioli in charge and holding the final say on the players the Chiefs select. His first draft in 2009 was poor. Relying on information he brought from New England, Pioli drafted third, fifth and sixth-round busts with questions still lingering about first-round selection DE Tyson Jackson. But he fought back in the 2010 NFL Draft, working with seven selections in the first 150 draft slots, Pioli and company found three starters – SS Eric Berry, TE Tony Moeaki and FS Kendrick Lewis, as well as contributors WR Dexter McCluster, CB Javier Arenas and C/G Jon Asamoah.

While that group made big contributions in their rookie seasons, Pioli isn’t ready to take a Grade of A for that draft class.

“I’m not sure we had a great draft or not; I’ll let you know in two years,” Pioli said at the NFL Combine some 10 days ago. “The true measure of that draft and any other draft is going to be after several seasons. The jury is still out and will be for a couple of years because it’s not about one-and-done.”

So far, that’s one bad draft, one good draft and it leaves observers wondering what’s ahead for Pioli’s third draft? Was the ’09 class a fluke? Or was it the ’10 draft class that will prove to be the exception? …Read More!

Labor Update – Yes On Rookie Wage Scale

Reports Wednesday afternoon out of the offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Washington indicate that the NFL and its players have had it up to here with each other. After 13 negotiating sessions, both sides are tired of dealing with egos on the other side.

The breaking point appears to be the information that players have asked the league to deliver. Reportedly, the league has produced some of its records, but not enough to satisfy the interests of the union.  Apparently the labor reps were upset by comments made Wednesday morning by the NFL’s chief negotiator Jeff Pash.

As he entered the FMCS building, Pash said the issue of financial transparency “really should be behind us. …Read More!

Who Needs The Draft! … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Yesterday in Auburn, Alabama, two of the top choices in the 2011 NFL Draft worked out for NFL scouts, coaches and general managers. Every team including the Chiefs was represented, largely to see QB Cam Newton and DT Nick Fairley.

But there were other players with Auburn roots working out as well. Several of them will not be drafted, but that does not count them out of an NFL career. In fact, it does not mean they won’t have a long and successful time in pro football.

It happens every year – despite all the money and attention that flows to the NFL Draft – players with something to provide and something to prove made a life for themselves every year despite being in the shadows.

Every team in the league has a history of lucky finds, players who arrived with no expectations but carved out a niche. The Chiefs are no different – some of the best players in 50 seasons of football did not enter pro football through the draft. That group includes a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and three members of the Chiefs Hall of Fame.

A spot on this list required several levels of qualifications. First, the player could not have been drafted by the AFL, USFL or NFL. Second, he did not play in a regular-season game for another CFL or NFL team before playing with the Chiefs. Third, with the exemption of one player, this group had a career longer than a cup of coffee.

Here’s my list of the top free agents in Chiefs history, in alphabetical order:   …Read More!

League, Players Go Long In Tuesday Talks

Whether anything major was accomplished no one was willing to say after the NFL and its players met for 9½ hours on Tuesday.

Of the 13 sessions with federal mediator George Cohen, this was the longest day, starting just before 9 a.m. and running through 6:30 p.m. at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service building in Washington, D.C.

Just about the only news that came from the talks was the announcement by the NFL Players Association that it had retained International Investment Bank to help the players interpret financial numbers. That could be a sign that the union expects to receive more info from the owners – that’s something they’ve been seeking for the past two years. An auditor from the bank arrived at the negotiations Tuesday afternoon.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell led the league contingent, with lead negotiator Jeff Pash, league outside counsel Bob Batterman, Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay and Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt, who arrived in the afternoon. NFLPLA executive director DeMaurice Smith was joined by seven members of the union’s executive committee, including Chiefs OLB Mike Vrabel.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again on Wednesday morning. They face a Friday evening deadline that would signal the end of the current collective bargaining agreement.

Top 100 Players For NFL Draft – 3/8

TOP 100 PLAYERS FOR THE 2011 NFL DRAFT

 

Edition #1 – bobgretz.com Top 100 Players

We are working overtime these days getting our draft coverage ready and in the next few days you will start to see more and more stories related to the 2011 NFL Draft.

Kicking it off is our first edition of the Top 100 players who will be available in April. Earlier we produced a list of 100 names based by position. Now, we’ve put them in order based on what we’ve seen and what we’ve been told by NFL personnel types and scouts.

Don’t misunderstand – this is not a mock draft. I’m not saying with the first choice that the Carolina Panthers will select LSU CB Patrick Peterson. If they did, it would be a top-notch pick for them. But these players are listed in big board order. Every team’s big board will end up different, but after talking with reps for more than a dozen teams and based on what I saw myself at the Senior Bowl, NFL Combine and on tape, this is our first big board.

There will be another one on April 1 and then a third and final top 100 a week before the draft. Those really shouldn’t change much, with players moving a few spots up and down. That’s as long as they don’t fall on their face in Pro Day workouts or in private visits and interviews with the teams.

Peterson tops a Top 10 that’s dominated by underclassmen with eight of the 10 having left school early. Plus, the top of the board is dominated by players out of the Big 12, SEC and ACC.

Here’s the top 100-edition No. 1.

Here Come D’Judge … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

He may be the most powerful person involved in the current labor situation between the NFL and its players.

And that fact drives NFL owners crazy.

His name is David Singleton Doty, known for the last 24 years as Judge David Doty of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. He’s an 81-year old native of Minnesota, a former Marine who still has a ceremonial sword from his military days hanging on the wall of his office in downtown Minneapolis.

More than once since he became involved in the NFL and its labor business in the early 1990s, league owners have felt like that sword has come off the wall and struck them down. It was rulings by Doty in 1989, 1992 and 1993 that set up the current system of free agency in the league. It was three years ago that he ruled that Michael Vick did not have to return all of his $20 million in bonus money after he was arrested, found guilty and imprisoned on dog fighting charges. He paid back $3.5 million and kept the other $16.5 million.

After that decision, the NFL filed with the Court of Appeals for Doty’s removal from all actions in the future that were related to the NFL. That appeal was rejected.

Then last week, Doty was part of the fray again when he ruled against the league and for the players on the $4 billion in TV revenue that the owners were counting on using as a lockout fund for the 32 teams. That knocked the legs out from under the NFL’s lockout plan and forced the expanded negotiations and a week-long extension of the labor agreement. …Read More!

An Important Week … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

The negotiators for the NFL and the players along with the staff of the federal mediator George Cohen were off the grid for the weekend. Hopefully, they were resting, preparing and ready to begin talks on Monday that will lead to an agreement that will keep football on the field and out of the courtroom.

It’s a huge week for a lot of reasons. If the next five days fly off the calendar without an agreement, don’t count on their being another extension. This week the two sides will either get close to an agreement or they will be farther apart and a lockout will be on.

That leaves so many questions on all levels of NFL business that will need answers, from the front office to the locker room, and everywhere in between. There is no comparable labor situation in league history to help provide a road map. The league has established some rules involving players and their contact with teams. The NFL Players Association has done many of the same things with its members.

The road less traveled in the NFL labor wars has a bunch of potholes that could cause many, many problems. Here are just a few. …Read More!

ANSWER BOB – 3/4

I just wanted to take a moment and compliment the posters who have been expressing themselves on our open thread involving the labor situation.

Passionate, rational, emotional, well-thought out ideas one after the other – I’ve never been so proud of my bobgretz.com family as I’ve been in reading the posts over the last few days. It’s forced me to be a bit more active in what I write about the situation. Legal and labor stuff is a pain and I don’t like it, and I can tell most of you agree. But it’s the major news in the world of pro football right now, and goes along with the whole package.

Here are some non-labor questions that I saw pop up on the comments. One thing I’m determined to do is to keep the talk of football going, without being dominated by the labor situation.

———

el cid says: Bob, what’s happening with Chief’s unsigned players? I do not see how the defense will be better without Smith next year, so when is he able to walk away and look for another team. Gilberry got covered but what about the rest? Can the Chiefs sign any other team’s players yet? What is going on?

…Read More!

Friday Labor Update – Extension Goes For A Week

The NFL and its players have agreed to a one-week extension in their labor negotiations.

The new deadline that both parties now face is Friday, March 11. There have been conflicting reports on the time the extension ends. Some media have reported it as 11 p.m. CST, while others have declared 4 p.m. CST as the finish line.

The extension of the extension came down on Friday as federal mediator George Cohen persuaded the NFL to support the extension, while the NFL Players Association executive committee voted Friday afternoon to accept the extension.

One thing that hasn’t changed with the extension is that NFL teams cannot sign players to new contracts, whether they are on their roster or free agents.  During this period, teams can talk about players but signings or renegotiations of current contracts cannot occur.

Right now the plan is for the parties to take the weekend off, and then re-start negotiations on Monday. The league and players are trying to devise a system of splitting up the $9 billion in revenue that the NFL makes each season.

Kevin Ross Headed For Chiefs Hall of Fame

It was down in Mobile, Alabama back in January that I last saw Kevin Ross.

He was at the Senior Bowl, wearing a Raiders sweat suit and scouting the players like assistant coaches for all the other teams in the NFL. Ross coaches defensive backs in Oakland.

He looked so out of place wearing the silver and black. But it was the Raiders that offered him a job, not the Chiefs, and when you are struggling to make your way up the coaching ladder, a job offered is a job taken, so the man we knew as “Rock” went to the dark side.

We sat in the end zone stands at Ladd-Pebbles Stadium and chatted for awhile. I pointed out a smallish cornerback from North Carolina named Kendric Burney who reminded me of Ross when he was playing for the Chiefs. Small, powerful and fearless was how the 5-9 Burney handled himself in practice.

“I noticed him the first day,” Ross said. “I always notice the little guys.” …Read More!

Fruits of Stability … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

The just completed NFL Combine was quite different than the previous two for Chiefs head coach Todd Haley.

On this most recent trip to Indianapolis that ended earlier in the week, Haley was juggling just one ball – the evaluation of players available for the 2011 NFL Draft. In his previous visits to Indy, Haley was trying to watch the talent and finish off his coaching staff. That first year, Haley hired nine new coaches. For his second season in 2010, he hired nine more new coaches.

This year, there was only one deletion – Charlie Weis – and one addition – Jim Zorn. The rest of his staff remained the same. It was also that way in Scott Pioli’s personnel department – the same faces were part of this year’s Combine as last year’s.

In a 2011 NFL season that promises so much instability thanks to the labor situation, the Chiefs are the picture of stability.

Haley thinks it should make a major difference once the attention of the league turns back to football.

“Our personnel department is so much more stable now, and our coaching staff,” Haley said. “We’ve got guys that have been in place for three years and everybody knows each other so much better. Not a lot different than us knowing the players and the players knowing us; it’s on that level. They now what we are looking for, they know how we go about the business.

“I would say we are a much more efficient group thanks to the experience together.”

The head coach says that filters down to the locker room. …Read More!

Thursday Evening Labor Update

OK, so much for deadlines.

If and what the NFL and its players got done in negotiations on Thursday remains unknown, but they did agree to something and then made it happen – they have extended the labor agreement that was to expire Thursday evening for 24 hours.

That makes the new deadline 11 p.m. on Friday.

There’s an indication that the one-day extension will lead to an even longer extension. Various media outlets reported that there was more to get done than could happen in one day. But the clock was ticking and the parties had to file the necessary paperwork with Judge David Doty in Minneapolis before the end of the court day. That got done, and supposedly talks will continue on Friday with the idea of putting in for a longer extension.

“We’re going to keep working,” was all that NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said afterwards.

The NFL’s lead negotiator Jeff Pash called it “a good day of work” and that he expects to return at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. “We’re going to keep at it as long as it takes,” Pash said.

As the session broke up and major players like Smith, Pash and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell left the offices of the federal mediator, other members of both negotiating teams remained behind with dialogue continuing.

Despite the extension, the rules on personnel moves stayed in place and teams cannot cut, re-sign players or make any player moves after 10:59 p.m. CST on Thursday. Teams are free to negotiate with players and agents, but signings are prohibited.

By adding the extra time, it provides the players a chance to review a league proposal that was made on Friday. Reportedly, the players also made concessions in the last several meetings.

Thursday Afternoon Labor Update

The NFL and NFL Players Association continued their negotiations through lunch time in Washington, D.C. That’s a good sign, as they sent out for food, rather than breaking for both sides to leave the building.

It would seem the timetable likely calls for a break later in the afternoon. That’s when the union would need time to file in court for decertification. Or, the parties could both file with Judge David Doty in Minneapolis for a continuation of the agreement. That would extend the current agreement between players and the league for a specific period of time to allow negotiations to continue. That’s what happened in 2006 when the parties couldn’t meet a deadline, but got a deal done within a few days.

A league source told NFL.com that the league was prepared to reveal more financial data during Thursday’s meeting. The union has been demanding more information on league income and expenses.

Representing the NFL on Thursday were Commissioner Roger Goodell, lead negotiator Jeff Pash, lawyer Bob Batterman, New York Giants co-owner John Mara, Green Bay president Mark Murphy and Washington GM Bruce Allen, along with other NFL executives.

Joining the NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith were a handful of union officials and lawyers, along with players including Chiefs G Brian Waters and New Orleans QB Drew Brees, Indianapolis C Jeff Saturday, Pittsburgh QB Charlie Batch, N.Y. Jets FB Tony Richardson and Baltimore CB Domonique Foxworth.

D-Day Is Here For NFL … Thursday Cup O’Labor

The clock is ticking in the NFL. What we do not know is whether that ticking is the audible march of time, or the bomb that’s about to explode in America’s past-time.

In the world of professional football, Thursday, March 3 is going to be an interesting and memorable day before the clock strikes midnight. Mediation, decertification, injunction, stalemate, lockout – those words are all in play as the league and its players seem intent on hurtling towards a confrontation that will disappoint their fans, make their lawyers rich and put the future of the game in doubt.

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WHO DO YOU SUPPORT IN THIS LABOR SITUATION?

Take a moment and post comments whether your support falls with the league, or whether it lands with the players. Tell us why and then we’ll total them up and see what the readers of bobgretz.com think.

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There was a lot of activity on Wednesday on the NFL labor front, but there didn’t seem to be anything in the way of movement towards a new agreement. In Washington, there was another negotiating session held between the league and players with federal mediation in the room. Afterwards, the NFL owners gathered in a Virginia hotel to discuss the situation. It was not a meeting that lasted very long or accomplished much that we know. …Read More!

It’s A Wrap … Wednesday Cup O’Combine

The boxes are packed, the weights have been returned to the Colts and by Wednesday morning the folks in Indianapolis will have cleaned up after the NFL Combine and started preparing for their next big event.

The 2011 Combine ended with the last group of players hitting the workout field, the defensive backs. Blue-chip CB Patrick Peterson did not disappoint, as he turned in times of 4.32 and 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Something drastic would have to happen for Peterson to not be selected among the top five choices.

That’s Iowa State’s David Sims to the right, running his 40-yard dash on Tuesday.

In fact, it became pretty obvious that defense is going to dominate the top of this year’s Draft, grabbing probably 11 or 12 of the first 16 picks. From Tuesday, it’s 59 days until the first round is held on April 28 and there is so much that can still change as teams continue evaluations and start focusing on particular players. But this draft will still be top heavy with defense.

The positions with a lot of talent are defensive end, defensive tackle, outside linebacker and offensive tackle. The spots where the pool of talented players is shallow is safety, tight end, running back and quarterback.

Here are a few thoughts, observations and evaluations on what went down at Lucas Oil Stadium over the last week. …Read More!

Lockout Hits Coaches … Tuesday Cup O’Combine

From Indianapolis, Indiana

If the NFL follows through with its plan for a lockout on Friday, the players won’t be the only people on the outside looking in.

About a dozen of the league’s 32 teams – including the Chiefs – plan to immediately cut the salaries of their coaching staffs, including in some cases the head coach.

According to Larry Keenan, the executive director of the NFL Coaches Association, those cuts range from 10 to 40 percent and there are some teams that will layoff or furlough coaches rather than have them continue to work in the team’s offices.

“Players will be affected (by a lockout) because they’ll lose bonuses, but they don’t lose salary in March, April or May,” Keenan said. “The coaches will lose pay.”

Every coaching contract in the league has language covering the possible ramifications with a lockout/strike/work stoppage. Speaking at the NFL Combine, Keenan said 10 to 12 teams have already told their coaches they will operate as business as usual and will not lay off coaches or cut their salaries. …Read More!