http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/2820 Recent articles about Marcus McNeill en-us This in depth analysis of the offensive line includes the projected starters for the upcoming season, statistics and injuries from the past season, an overview of players on the line and an outlook for the 2008 season. Sat, 17 May 2008 15:20:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268106 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268106 Eighth-grader Erik Forbes was "super nervous" and almost sick-to-his-stomach just before he walked into the San Diego Chargers training facility Friday. Todd Forbes gave his son a quick pep talk and reminded Erik of how much fun he was going to have once he was inside the doors. Dillon Joyce, on the same day, was walking into the Philadelphia Eagles office, 2,700 miles across the country. He, too, was in awe of what he was about to do. The 14-year-old Noblesville Middle School students were among 32 Central Indiana ambassadors who delivered Indianapolis' bid to host Super Bowl 2012 to NFL teams. The city is competing with Houston and Phoenix. The boys, who've been friends since kindergarten at Hazel Dell Elementary and who play football, baseball and basketball together, said they had the time of their lives. It was an experience they won't soon forget. "My trip to Philadelphia was incredible," Dillon Joyce wrote in an e-mail after his return from the Philadelphia Eagles office, where he met with the Eagles owner's assistant Bridget Michener. "I told her why they should vote for Indianapolis," said Joyce, whose father Brian Joyce chaperoned the trip. They toured the training facility, met players, and then Dillon received game-worn jerseys of guard Shawn Andrews and quarterback Donavan McNabb, and an autographed jersey from McNabb. They had lunch in the facility's cafeteria, were chauffeured by team owner Jeffrey Lurie's personal driver, and toured Lincoln Financial Stadium, where the Eagles play. It's easy to say that that was one of the greatest experiences of my life," Dillon said. Erik Forbes, whose father Todd Forbes chaperoned his trip to deliver the bid to the San Diego Chargers, met A.J. Spanos, the son of owner Alex Spanos, and toured the offices and practice facility. Erik told Spanos about Indianapolis' new stadium, to Spanos' reply: "I wish we were getting one." Erik handed Spanos the bid, stuttered a moment, his dad said, then told how honored he was to deliver the bid for the city of Indianapolis. The teen also met Hall of Famer wide receiver Charlie Joiner, pro-bowl defensive lineman Luis Castillo and all-pro offensive lineman Marcus McNeill. He saw Chargers cornerback Darren Sproles, and received a Chargers hat, photos, calendar and video. The students, who will be seniors in 2012, will continue as ambassadors until the Super Bowl that year if Indianapolis is awarded the bid. Thu, 15 May 2008 11:44:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267261 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/267261 Now I know that the only reason a sports writer makes a list is to cause discussion and debate, but even the top 25 on his list makes me want take my Sports Illustrated and use it to fill my Cat's litter box. Here is my take on who Mr. King has overrated and underrated in his top 100 of the top 500 players on his list of NFL stars. I think I'll start at # 1 just for the sake or argument. Tom Brady would be my top player followed by Peyton Manning, but I can see both sides to this tired old debate. Manning means more to his team and Brady has accomplished more success, case closed. Julius Peppers at # 4? Is Shawn Merriman being discriminated on due to his steroid suspension here? Peppers disappears too many times in games for me and had a down year last year. Merriman must be game planned around, and his combination of speed, agility, and non-stop motor makes him a top 5 player in my eyes and definitely gets a nod in my top 10. Marc Bulger #18? I see his reasoning of only 8 INT's in 588 Attempts, but doesn't winning games for your team mean anything in a league where you only play a 16 game schedule? Matt Hasselbeck #20? Quarterbacks are getting the attention on his list more so than wide receivers. Can you even believe the first wide out on this list Steve Smith at # 22? The list goes okay for me until I see that Tony Gonzalez is all the way down at #43. It must be due to his age. Right? He keeps making plays even though the Chiefs have no receivers to help him get open, and to have Vince Young (#41) ahead of him at his stage in his career is a joke to me. Then comes #45 where CB Nnamdi Asomugha is one spot ahead of Chargers LT Marcus McNeill. McNeill was a Pro Bowl Rookie on the offensive line. Any idea how much respect he must have earned to gain those votes in his first season from league veterans at the most valuable position on the O-line? I think most NFL GM's would take him over a cornerback. Terrance Newman at #74 is way ahead of Lions WR Roy Williams at #90. King's reasoning is that Newman has no stats because no one throws at him. Yet, every time I watch the Cowboys secondary they're chasing opposing pass catchers down the sidelines and into the end zones on deep scores. Williams is a playmaker on a team that doesn't know how to get him the ball enough. Maybe super rookie Calvin Johnson will help him, and Johnson by the way is #63 already ahead of teammate Williams and Steelers leader Hines Ward (#94). I guess age is really holding alot of weight on his list? To Be Continued..... www.myspace.com/wpsn Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:58:06 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/25816 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/25816 Good ? McNeill was a beast last season and from what he says we havent seen nothin yet....Good for Chargers fans not good for the other teams we play.... Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:58:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/22106 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/22106 Vince Young came within one game of leading the Tennessee Titans to a surprise playoff berth. This feat did not go unnoticed as Young was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year today. He received 23 of a possible 50 first place votes. Marques Colston and Maurice Jones-Drew finished tied for second with nine votes apiece. San Diego tackle Marcus McNeill finished fourth with six votes while Reggie Bush accounted for the other three votes. Wed, 03 Jan 2007 17:16:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/7739 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/7739 The AFC and NFC Pro Bowl teams were released yesterday and, as is the case every year, there were a fair share of controversial picks and snubs. Players such as Ladainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees were shoe-ins for the Hawaiian Classic while others such as Tony Romo and Lito Sheppard only leave fans scratching their heads as to how they got elected. Without further ado, here's my brief list of the greatest Pro Bowl snubs this year. Wed, 20 Dec 2006 20:12:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/7173 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/7173 Don Banks pens a nice piece on the guys being overlooked for the Pro Bowl. At the top of the list of guys I feel sorry for is Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. With a name like that playing in Oakland, he could be the next coming of Darrell Green and no one would notice. Here's the list of eight (Eight? What the hell? Why not 10? Why not randomly add two guys? We can't have Top 8 lists, Don. You're upsetting the balance of the universe) from Banks with my speculation as to why they got overlooked: 1. Nnamdi Asomugha 2. Brian Westbrook - Anti-scatback contingent. 3. Mike Vrabel - Voters too busy praying for St. Bruschi. 4. Pacman Jones - Blatantly idiotic jerks don't fare well in elections, unless they have some powerful fathers. Jones will learn from this. He'll still be the same guy, but will begin to give all praise and glory to Jesus Christ in every interview and start heading to Hawaii every year. 5. Kelly Gregg - Voters too busy praying with Ray Lewis. 6. Marcus McNeill - Anti-rookie contingent kept him out. Pay your dues! You're lucky to be here! 7. Lee Evans - People are still under the impression that J.P. Losman can't throw, so how could his receiver belong in the Pro Bowl? 8. Sean Jones - The opposite problem that Asomugha has. With personalities like Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu in the AFC at safety, Jones needs a nickname or something. Too bad Pacman is already taken. I'm thinking Frogger Jones. Wed, 20 Dec 2006 14:51:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/7149 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/7149 Check out this video of Marcus McNeil, the Chargers Left Tackle, taking on the Broncos D-line...with TWO broken hands. Sun, 26 Nov 2006 05:23:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/5666 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/5666