Yardbarker: Al Harris

Cornerback Tandems: Rating the NFL's Best

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:40:05 -0500

With the trade of DeAngelo Hall and the signing of Asante Samuel, cornerbacks have been heavily talked about during the offseason. With the growing number of high-octane offenses throwing the ball at will, the league has started to place a premium on having two (and sometimes three) quality cornerbacks to match up with receivers. With the new rules in place, we will most likely never see a complete shutdown corner in the likes of Mel Blount, Night Train Lane, and Deion Sanders but these are the best combos out there today. Honorable mentions go to Marcus Trufant and Kelly Jennings of the Seattle Seahawks, as well as Walt Harris and Nate Clements of the San Francisco 49ers. No. 5: Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown, PHI Asante Samuel is a smaller corner but plays bigger than he is, often trying for the big hit against bigger-bodied wideouts. Samuel is not a corner with tremendous speed, but he does well in zone or man-to-man coverage. Developing with the Patriots has given him a strong sense of awareness of the ball and the field. Without the blazing speed, he occasionally gets beat in coverage by faster receivers, but usually makes up with it on cuts and angles. Another area of attack for opposing offenses is his size. At 5-foot-10, quarterbacks sometimes toss up the jump ball against him and he can be had on fade patterns, but is very willing to fight for the ball. He does take chances to make a play on the ball, but has the closing burst to close well and is a great open field tackler. He also has good hands, allowing him to pick off passes and fend off receivers. Questions about Samuel usually revolve around how good he will be now that he is out of the Patriot fold. We all saw the decline in Ty Law once he left. However, the Eagles' scheme is very similar to the Patriots. It is a pass rush-heavy pass defense. Expecting Lito Sheppard to be traded, Sheldon Brown would be the likely pair with Samuel in the Eagles' secondary. Brown is also a smaller, physical player who is a good press-cover corner, and excels in man-to-man coverage over zone coverage. He is very strong and loves to play the bump-and-run. Once in coverage, Brown has learned to get in position and is quite adept at reading routes. Working in Jimmy Johnson's defense has really improved his technique. He has excellent ball skills and is a good tackler against the run. Brown's shortcomings are very similar to Samuel in that he also lacks the size to compete with the bigger wideouts and the speed to keep up with the burners, and that remains the biggest concern in this backfield. No. 4: Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall, OAK Nnamdi Asomugha was a slow study to start his career, but has really blossomed of late. He has excellent tools to work with; excellent size at 6-foot-2, 210 lbs to go along with top-end speed. Although, he is not as fluid as some of the other top corners, his foot quickness and agility are adequate but he has a little stiffness in his hips and knees. He is a better bump-and-run corner where he can trail the receiver instead of a cover corner. He looks a bit tight in transition and often loses a step on the receiver, but has enough explosive quickness and speed to make up the difference. Asomugha struggles a bit from man-off as he is not yet good at route recognition or reading the quarterback's eyes and getting a jump on the ball. This will all come with more playing time. He is strong and has long arms that allow him to jam receivers or re-route them when he is able to get a hand on them. He is also a strong tackler and is not afraid to come up and force the run. The 2006 season was a breakout for Asomugha as he came up with eight interceptions after being shutout his first three years in the league, and he built on that last year as well. He has come a long way in terms of playing the ball he is still a work in progress. Playing with DeAngelo Hall may help his development. Hall is a corner of polarizing opinions. He is an exceptional man-to-man defender but an ordinary zone defender who uses his incomparable 4.2 speed to compensate for bad decisions. In addition to his speed, Hall also has phenomenal quickness, closing speed, and agility, preferring to play off his man to try and jump the routes. While he is not the strongest of corners, he has some upper-body strength. He is able to jam receivers and can shed a block, providing some help on run support but it is not his strength. Hall also has great instincts with the ball in his hands, and combined with his speed is a threat to take it the distance any time he intercepts the ball. Hall's coverage skills start to break down when a receiver manages to get in his head. He is brash and arrogant and will over-commit. He also needs to work on his has sloppy footwork. Not the best in the film room, Hall hasn't taken the time to work on getting proper body position and has gotten used to solving all of his problems with just his speed; this causes him to gamble and is prone to giving up big plays. Overall, this tandem has amazing speed and can keep up with any of the receivers in the league. Given they are both better as man-to-man, expect them to play limited zone coverages. No. 3: Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie, SD His development was slow, but Quentin Jammer has developed to the point where he's a Top 15 NFL corner, and one of the best pure cover corners. He is also a very physical corner (matching his name), excelling in run coverage and hits and tackles with the very best corners in the league. Now six years into the league, Jammer had to adjust to the significant rule changes that penalize corners for any intentional contact with receivers more than five yards off the line of scrimmage. In fact, Jammer led the league in flags for illegal contact in 2005, and was near the top again in 2006; last season he seemed to figure it out. The ongoing fault people find with Jammer, and what limits him from being a truly elite corner is his lack of interceptions. He has never had more than four interceptions in a season. However, with Antonio Cromartie on the other side, his team doesn't suffer from his lack of interceptions. His overall game is so rounded that his interception deficiency can be over looked. Dubbed "The Natural" by ESPN's John Clayton, he excels in man-to-man coverage and is still learning the zone schemes. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and possessing long arms, Cromartie is ideal for press coverage. Nearly as fast as Hall, he still clocks in with a 4.3 40 yard time, and his style is smooth. Cromartie uses his breakneck speed, can't-be-taught instincts, exceptional turn-and-go flexibility, and exceptional hands to control his game. Like Asomugha, he is still learning, and that is the scary part. Cromartie is an athletic freak, and his position coach, Bill Bradley, said he is becoming a student of the game. As is the knock on a lot of speed corners, Antonio isn't the most physical of cornerbacks. Working with one of the most physical in Jammer, he's improved his hitting and tackling. One AFC scout says that Cromartie will guess on some plays (going for the big play), which leaves him vulnerable to completions. He still can be beaten with some double moves, but he will improve in that area the more he plays. No. 2: Champ Bailey and Dre Bly, DEN Champ Bailey possesses the best combination of skill, instinct, and knowledge for a cornerback in the game and is the closest thing to a true shutdown corner we have today. He will blanket the other team's top receiver and will often take him completely out of the game. He is excellent in both bump-and-run coverage, as well as zone schemes. Bailey has always shown great quickness and technique, combined with excellent speed. With his talent and ball skills, Bailey could easily be a wide receiver and has been used in set offenses from time to time. He is very active in run support, and plays the run well. The biggest knocks on Bailey have been that he is eager to gamble, and will lose occasionally, like he did last year against Brett Favre for two 79-yard touchdowns. He is also not a big hitter, and once the receiver has the ball, rarely causes fumbles. Being paired with Bailey, Dre Bly had the first opportunity to be a No. 2 corner in a defense after being the top corner in Detroit and St. Louis. Bly maybe undersized at 5-foot-10, but he is a real playmaker. Seemingly in spite of his size, he is very confident and loves to challenge the bigger receivers. He gets good position on his receivers and plays tough, but he sometimes has trouble against the bigger receivers that he challenges, as they push off for separation. Another tremendous athlete, Bly doesn't waste much motion, and has very fluid hips, turning on a dime. He too will gamble, and lose more than he should because he has concentration lapses. He has a rare combination of quickness to cover the slot and top-end speed to play on the perimeter. As a contrast to Bailey, he isn't very physical and isn't much help in run support. His tackling can actually be a liability and he struggles to shed blocks while seeming a little indifferent to the play once it is out of the air. No. 1: Charles Woodson and Al Harris, GB The baby of the pairing at age 31, Charles Woodson has been a premier man-to-man cover cornerback in the NFL for about nine years, first with the Oakland Raiders and now with the Green Bay Packers. While age has caught up with Woodson. He no longer has the same speed that the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner showed, but he more than compensates for any slowdown with great instincts and awareness. He uses these skills to anticipate the receiver's route and breaks on the ball. Woodson continues to be a smart football player who combines that intelligence with a physical style and a love for the game that shows in his energetic play. The teamwork between Woodson and Al Harris is evident to each other when Woodson is quick to credit Harris' shutdown abilities for the playmaking opportunities that are coming his way with the Packers. Like Asomugha, Harris is one of the few bump-and-run specialists remaining in the game, and he can be extremely physical at the line of scrimmage. A tough, smart veteran, Harris regularly shadows the opposing team's top receiver and holds him in check. This role has led Harris to be a meticulous student in the film room to prepare. He is very quick to pick up on small signals in a receiver's game that hint at what is about to come. At age 33, speed is also a concern for Harris. Woodson and Harris face their biggest problems when faced with burner wideouts, and they resort to their bump-and-run to slow them down.

Brett Favre Considering Reneging On Retirement

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:26:55 -0500

Well there's no surprise here, but Chris Mortensen is reporting on NFL Live that Brett Favre has talked to Coach Mike McCarthy and is interested in coming back to the Packers. We all know Mort's track record in regards to "Breaking News" but if there's one guy he's got an in with it's Favre.

The interesting thing is that Al Harris is in the ESPN "Carwash" today and has had stuffed dropped in his lap all day long. On First Take they asked him about Aaron Rodgers comments about Green Bay's fans and now they're piling the Favre news on top of him as well. He seems very at a loss for words today.

It's not fair to Aaron Rodgers, but at least he's starting this nonsense now and not during Training Camp. I blame Strahan taking Favre's job at FOX for all of this.

Brett Favre "Itching" to Play

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:16:35 -0500

On NFL Live, Al Harris told Trey Wingo and Darren Woodson that Brett has said that he is itching to play. Favre is just rediculous with this stuff. If you want to play football it would never be a distraction if you wouldn't announce retirement. Hey Brett, future advice, JUST SHUT UP DURING THE OFF-SEASON! I would be furious if I were Aaron Rodgers.

Top twenty defensive backs with dreads

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:01:52 -0500

This is another part of our best of players with dreads series. Enjoy! 1.Bob Sanders Colts 2.Atari Bigby Packers 3. Al Harris Packers 4.Brandon Meriweather Patriots 5.Rashean Mathis Jaguars 6.Asante Samuel Eagles 7. Reggie Nelson Jaguars 8. Mike Mckenzie Saints 9.Greg Wesley Chiefs 10.Michael Griffin Titans 11.Usama Young Saints 12.Jack Williams Broncos 13.Terry Cousin Bears 14.Dunta Robinson Texans 15.Marcus Trufant Seahawks 16.Cedric Griffin Vikings 17.Adam Jones (when he had them) Cowboys 18.Leigh Bodden Lions 19.Chris Houston Falcons 20.Charles Tillman Bears

Meet the Draft Picks: Patrick Lee

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:37:45 -0500

Patrick Lee Many of us felt this pick was coming at #30 during the NFL Draft. But that got traded to the New York Jets. Then we thought it was coming at #36. Jordy Nelson came instead. #56? Sounds good to me. Wait, nevermind. Then it finally came at #60, 30 picks later than we thought: the Packers drafted a cornerback. Al Harris is going to be 34 this season. Charles Woodson is going to be 32. Harris was absolutely destroyed by Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants during the NFC Championship Game (which prompted me to push for the drafting of James Hardy). It was the general feeling that the Packers were drafting a cornerback at #30, whether Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Aqib Talib, Mike Jenkins, or Antoine Cason dropped to the Packers or the Packers picked Brandon Flowers. None of the happened. The Packers went with Nelson at #36. Packers fans and analysts were left waiting until #56 to see which cornerback the Packers were going to choose. The Packers threw a curveball by selecting Brian Brohm (I'm still scratching my head). This left #60, where the inevitable happened: the Packers picked a cornerback, the tenth defensive back taken in the draft, Patrick Lee, from Auburn University. From what has been said about Lee, he seems to be the perfect pick for the Packers system. At 6?0?, 200 pounds, he has decent size for a corner and is big enough to imitate the physical style played by Packer starters Woodson and Harris. There is a lot of youth in the secondary currently, with Will Blackmon, Jarrett Bush, and Tramon Williams all with three or less years of experience competing for the nickel back slot next to Woodson and Harris. Williams played there the last few games of 2007 and did a decent job. In his senior season at Auburn, Lee had 55 tackles (40 solo), four interceptions, and 10 passes broken up. Lee can also throw his name into the kick return competition if he so pleases, as he averaged 25.8-yards per kickoff return as a senior. GM Ted Thompson said Lee was a "real good value pick" for #60. I agree with that sentiment as this draft was saturated with cornerbacks, and we definitely do not want an Ahmad Carroll repeat. Thompson also said: "He's a tough guy. He likes to play bump-and-run. We think he's going to fit well with what we do on defense in terms of putting these guys in lockdown situations." I think I'll pick Lee to win the competition for the third cornerback slot. If he doesn't win it, I expect him to have it sometime during the season.

Oakland Raiders silently go about their business

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:17:19 -0500

Maybe you have seen the interviews given by Lane Kiffin and JaMarcus Russell at the conclusion of Wednesday's OTA practice. It's possible that you've taken the time to either read the transcript, a story about them, or even catch some video of the 'event.' If you're like me, you were probably too tired after following the unraveling of the Javon Walker story to give it the attention that it deserves. Or maybe there wasn't anything that deserved that much attention.

NFL Mock Draft 2009 2.0

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:59:47 -0500

Before anyone criticizes our draft order we did it as fairly as we could. Four of our writers helped with the draft and we all agreed on our 12 playoff teams before we did anything. So we then drew team names out of a hat for the non playoff teams, positions 1-20. After that we stuck our 12 playoff teams in a hat and drew for positions 21-32. Amazingly Carolina got the top pick, which it traded to Philadelphia in the 2008 NFL Draft. There are a lot of happy Eagles fans out there. The biggest loser in our second NFL Mock Draft? The Atlanta Falcons who fall all the way from the #1 pick to the #9 pick. That means no Michael Crabtree or Michael Oher to compliment QB Matt Ryan. This time they select Travis Beckum, a very athletic tight end from Wisconsin. He should still help Ryan a lot. Some of the tougher picks of this mock draft were the Chargers, Saints, Patriots, and Colts picks at the end of the first round. Those four teams are all solid in a lot of areas (especially NE and IND). Guards aren't usually selected in the first round and we have San Diego selecting Duke Robinson. Robinson is a special talent and San Diego selected him in that spot because he probably would be gone by the time they selected in round two. Fili Moala is the big gainer in this mock draft. He gains 17 spots. Just to be honest, we knew he was too low in our initial mock draft but we just couldn't find anywhere to put him. The biggest faller was Tyson Jackson, falling 13 spots, but at least he made this draft. Brian Cushing fell considerably from the first mock draft, mainly due to need. Cushing fell from #19 out of the first round. Michael Johnson is a guy we have ranked fifth on our big board but he also tumbled out of this first round, once again mainly due to need for his position. These guys will eventually move their way back into the first round more than likely. Others that fell out of the first round were Brian Robiskie, Gregg Middleton, Chase Daniel, and Brandon Lafell. One major difference you will notice is that there are no trades in our mock draft. In our first one there were many, but this time around we just didn't see any trades happening although they were considered for every single team. One of the most considered spots to trade in this draft was #24 when San Diego was on the clock. They took Duke Robinson, a guard (as noted above) instead when no trade partner could be thought of. Chicago is a team that could jump in that position by trading future picks to take a quarterback like Sam Bradford or Chase Daniel. That would've also allowed San Diego to move back into the early second round into a spot where Robinson would more than likely be available. If you like this mock draft then please tell people about it. It takes a lot of work to do this every month. Email me here and let me know what you think about it. If you'd like to see what else has changed since our initial mock draft last month you can review our first one right here. Now without further ado, onto the mock draft: # Pick Pos School 1 WR Michael Crabtree (+0) (Via trade with Panthers) WR Texas Tech How about the luck of the Eagles? When we drew the team names out of a hat Carolina was drawn first, having the worst record in the NFL but the Panthers had already traded their pick in the 2008 draft to Philadelphia. That means Philadelphia has to take Michael Crabtree. Donovan McNabb has needed a big play receiver since Terrell Owens left town and the Texas Tech wide receiver would be that guy. 2 Michael Oher (+0) OT Ole Miss Michael Oher is the most talented offensive lineman in the draft. He does it all, and would help any team he goes to, especially the Houston Texans, who give up lots of sacks. 3 Matthew Stafford (+0) QB Georgia Stafford is the pick over Tim Tebow here. Matthew plays in a pro style offense and would probably be more NFL ready than his Florida counterpart. The Chiefs (just like the Jets in our initial mock draft) select a QB #3 overall. 4 Malcolm Jenkins (+4) CB Ohio State The Rams have nobody to hang with big, tall receivers. Jenkins is 6?3? and has excellent coverage skills. He anchored the top pass defense in the country in 2007, so the transition to the NFL should be pretty smooth. St. Louis gets the same guy as last team, only a bit higher 5 James Laurinaitus LB Ohio State In our first mock draft the Raiders took Laurinitus at #4 overall. This time they have the fifth pick and they still get their guy. This pick will help a linebacking core that needs a playmaker, plus Oakland has went offense the last two years. 6 George Selvie (+3) DE South Florida The Denver Broncos choose Selvie to complement Elvis Dumervil. Selvie is very quick off the line, and he makes a ton of backfield stops. He runs a 4.5 40, and should be able to help out Denver's D-Line right away. This guy is the real deal, and will likely impact this team immensely as a rookie. 7 Tim Tebow (-1) QB Florida The choices here were Chris Wells or Tim Tebow. Last time we went with Wells. This time we go with Tebow. Why? Well Jon Kitna is 35 years old and he keeps guaranteeing 10 win seasons for the Lions. That is going to get old in a hurry. 8 Travis Beckum (+12) TE Wisconsin The Atlanta Falcons have no real tight end, and unless one of their current five emerges as a star in the 2008 season, they will look to bolster that position in the draft. Travis Beckum is the best tight end in the draft, and the Falcons scoop him up at number 8. 9 Fili Moala (+17) DT USC Wow. Buffalo is loaded. There really wasn't an area of weakness here with Buffalo being set at every position. Marcus Stroud is recovering from an ankle injury so that's the only hole we can find at all. 10 Percy Harvin (+3) WR Florida Bernard Berrian is not a number one receiver. The Vikings really need help at this position, so they take Percy Harvin, the do-it-all receiver from Florida. Harvin will give Tarvaris Jackson a safety outlet, because he can make something out of nothing with his quickness. 11 Chris Wells (-1) RB Ohio State Cedric Benson has not been the answer at running back for Chicago. They need someone else so they take Wells here, the first running back taken at #11 overall. He would make an immediate impact. 12 Mryon Rolle (+2) FS Florida State Last time we had Andre Smith picked here, but with Scott Locklear and Walter Jones at OT and a rookie joining the depth chart it appears the Seahawks will go somewhere else here. Myron Rolle would help a secondary that could use use some depth. 13 Curtis Painter (-2) QB Purdue This could be a reach because Painter is not really a top rated player but San Francisco needs a quarterback badly. Alex Smith has not grasped the NFL offense and San Francisco has to give up on him eventually don't they? This would be moving past the AS Era in SF. 14 Rey Maualuga (-9) LB USC Maualuga would be an absolute steal here. In the last mock draft we had Washington taking Brian Cushing but by gaining five spots the Redskins can take the even higher rated USC linebacker, Maualuga. 15 Derrius Heyward-Bey (+6) WR Maryland Derrius Heyward-Bey is the choice over Byrd, Robiskie, and Maclin. The Dolphins just drafted Ted Ginn Jr in 07, but he is never going to be a star receiver. He is mainly just an electrifying return man. Their other choices at wideout are Earnest Wilford and Derek Hagan. 16 Andre Smith (-4) OT Alabama Willie Anderson is getting up in years and Smith is a top offensive lineman. The Alabama lineman would be a great choice for the Bengals because he would open up holes for Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson. 17 Demetrius Byrd (+0) WR LSU Jon Gruden loves big receivers. With Joey Galloway at 36 and Ike Hillard at 31 it is time to go young. The Buccaneers don't know how who their QB of the future is but when they figure it out that guy will need a young receiver to throw the ball to. 18 Knowshon Moreno (+5) RB Georgia We all know what happens when a running back hits 30 and Thomas Jones will do just that this season. If he does slow down then New York will have to draft a running back for the future. Moreno has quick feet and runs through the SEC's best defenses. 19 Alex Boone (-4) OT Ohio State The Ravens selected Michael Oher in our last mock draft but in this draft they are selecting 17 spots later which means they get Boone, the third highest rated OT in this draft. They select him because Jonathon Ogden is 33 and getting up there in years. 20 Tyson Jackson (-13) DE LSU Robaire Smith will turn 31 this upcoming season and he will eventually lose a step. Without any major need positions to fill the Browns draft Jackson, who stumbles 13 spots from our last draft just because of lack of need. 21 C. J. Spiller (-3) RB Clemson Edgerrin James will turn 30 this season and has struggled since he signed with the Cardinals. Whether of not he struggles in 2008 is a guess but either way Arizona needs to grab a young running back. Spiller would be a great addition. 22 Victor Harris (+6) CB Virginia Tech Mike McKenzie is one of the NFL's première corners but is already 32 years old. The Saints just drafted a cornerback, Tracy Porter, this year but they need a big time defensive back. Harris could be that guy for New Orleans if given the chance. 23 Brandon Spikes (+7) LB Florida James Farrior is entering his 12th season and will probably retire within the next three seasons. If Pittsburgh wants to look towards the future then Spikes would be a great choice. He brings lots of athleticism and has a nose that takes him to the football. 24 Duke Robinson (+NR) OG Oklahoma Guard is a position that is usually filled in the second round or later but Robinson is too good to pass up for the Chargers. Mike Goff is 32 years old at one of the most grueling positions in the NFL, so San Diego has to prepare for the upcoming years. 25 Vontae Davis (+0) CB Illinois Sam Madison will play his 12th NFL season this year. R. W. McQuarters will play his 11th. It's time to draft a cornerback if you're the Giants and Vontae Davis is the playmaker they need. He's not afraid to be aggressive off the line and is quick enough to recover if the receiver makes a move to get by him. 26 Aaron Kelly (+NR) WR Clemson I'm not sure how Dallas missed out on taking a receiver in the 2008 NFL Draft but they did, making it an absolute must in the 09 Draft. The Cowboys are so desperate that they are going to use PacMan Jones at receiver due to the Terry Glenn situation. 27 Taylor Mays (-11) S USC Mays is more of a free safety but the Patriots need a strong safety to replace Rodney Harrison when he loses a step. They already have Brandon Merriweather to play free safety. Mays is a great player and would be a steal at #27 overall. In our last mock draft we had him going #16 overall. 28 Jeremy Maclin (-1) WR Missouri This pick would do two things for Tennessee. First of all we know Tennessee has to grab a receiver in this draft because their receiving corps is just not getting it done, so this would fill that need. Secondly Maclin would be a return man that electrifies crowds the same way PacMan Jones did before he was traded to Dallas. 29 Wopamo Osaisai (+NR) CB Stanford The Al Harris-Charles Woodson era in Green Bay cannot last forever. With Davis (the guy Green Bay took in our initial mock draft) gone the Packers go to the next wave of defensive backs. Osaisai will be a late first to mid second round pick. 30 Chase Coffman (+NR) TE Missouri Dallas Clark is a young guy that the Colts move around in the slot and put in many different places. Coffman would be a true tight end that could block and help Peyton Manning in the passing game. Clark is a do it all guy. Coffman would be strictly a tight end, something Indianapolis doesn't already have. They are basically set in every position. 31 Nic Harris (+NR) S Oklahoma Brian Dawkins is 34 and although J. R. Reed and Sean Considine are decent players neither are in the same league as Dawkins. The Eagles hope Harris can fill the void that Dawkins will leave when he retires when they select him here. 32 Senderrick Marks (+NR) DT Auburn The Jaguars continue working on their defensive line after taking Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves in the 08 Draft. Rob Meier is 30 so the Jaguars take Marks in a toss up over Al Woods from LSU here as the final pick in the NFL Draft.

Top players over 30 to watch this season

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:32:59 -0500

Ray Lewis isn't the only NFL star in his 30s whose career is at a crossroads -- and whose performance greatly affects his team. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have now reached their 30s, and as they go, so go the fates of their teams. Roughly 167 players age 30 and older -- an average of more than five per team -- are starters. These players either provide veteran leadership or are the focal points of their teams. Here are the top 10 players in their 30s to watch this season: CLICK it 4 the list ;0 !!!!!!!

Top 5 Corner Tandems in the NFL

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:08:42 -0500

With the recent news of Pacman headed to Dallas to be a Cowboy, it made me wonder of which teams have the best corner tandems in the league. Here's my list of my top 5. 1. Champ Bailey and Dre Bly, Denver Broncos 2. Pacman Jones and Terrance Newman, Dallas Cowboys 3. Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown, Philadelphia Eagles 4. Al Harris and Charles Woodson, Green Bay Packers 5. Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer, San Diego Chargers

NFL Draft News and Rumors: NFC North

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:42:30 -0500

The latest draft rumors and news from around the blogosphere and local newspapers. Today we take a look at the NFC North.

Mawae says players will fight hair proposal

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:47:20 -0500

New NFLPA president Kevin Mawae said Thursday he's against the cutting of the hair proposal brought on by Herm Edwards, and he is going to fight it. He said, "I don't think there is any rule in the NFL rulebook saying your hair can't be a certain length. For management, council or ownership to say we need all our players to cut their hair or bind it up or whatever, I think they need to understand it goes way beyond just haircuts," Mawae said. It goes into a cultural issue with the African American population in our league, and also with the Polynesian population. The hair is a part of their culture. It's part of the history and the background. To ask a player to cut it off just because a select few don't like it, I think there is an issue with that." I think it's dumb. These men have been growing their hair for several years, now all of a sudden you want them to cut it off. I understand putting it in a pony tail or tucking it in, but just asking them to chop it off is stupid.

Can you say Control Freak?

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:33:33 -0500

When I find a link to the story I will post it, but I just heard it at the end of NFL live, the league is considering asking players to cut their hair if it covers the name on the back of their jerseys. I think the commish is going a little too far here. He's already inserted the 15 penalty rule for excessive celebrations now he wants people to cut their hair? He needs to chill I see nothing wrong with the long hair, its not like the refs dont know who the players are so what the difference does it make whether their hair is short or long? This is so dumb, I hope they dont try to pass this rule.

Al Harris Admits He Got Smoked By Plaxico Burress

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:18:27 -0500

"I would say I lost my individual battle, which I haven't done in a while, that's enough fuel (for the off-season) right there. The fact that we lost and you don't want to have a bad game on the end game. That will fuel me."

Packers vs Giants

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:36:59 -0500

This game has been tremendous. It's been a hard fought battle on both sides. It's great to see the fire from between the Al Harris and Plaxico Burress matchup. Hopefully the game can continue to be this close and keep the great intensity from both sides. This is what makes watching football fun.

Terrell Owens loves Popcorn

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 21:00:04 -0500

After Terrell Owens scored an easy Touchdown last night against the Packers, he did a very unique end zone celebration. He grabbed some popcorn from a guy and ate some. I guess he liked the show as much as we did. I'm really surprised that he didn't get a 15 yard penalty for that one whatever. Check out the celebration.