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Email Update 6/27/02 Volume 3 Issue # 13
In late June, we find ourselves very thin in the area of NFL news.
This will improve very quickly though and these updates will grow
significantly in length. But until then, here are the top stories of
today.
David
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Bill Gramatica Healing Well
2. Flaming Fondue
3. Buckley to become a Dolphin?
4. Randall Cunningham Retires
5. Jevon Kearse Signs New Deal
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Bill Grammatica Healing Well
Clipped from the NFL.com website:
Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica is a big soccer fan and the game has
always been a part of his life. He has been following the World Cup
closely and enjoys playing for fun every once in a while. However,
when it comes to his rehabilitation from knee surgery, Gramatica is
hoping he soon sees the last of the soccer ball.
Relegated to booting the lighter, softer soccer ball until receiving
a doctor's blessing to do otherwise, Gramatica has made great strides
in his rehabilitation from December knee surgery. "I feel like I'm
ready to kick footballs, but I I'm going to take it slow," he
offered. "I have a month before camp and I have to be smart about it.
The doctors, trainers, and coaches are all telling me that that I
need to take it slow, so that's exactly what I'm going to do."
It's been a hard process for Gramatica, who connected on 16 of 20
field goal attempts in 2001 prior to his injury. "I saw the doctor
and he said my knee is almost completely there," Gramatica said of a
recent visit to his Miami surgeon, Dr. John Zvijac. "He has really
worked hard with me."
Gramatica had some inspiration from his older brother Martin, the
kicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who returned from a similar
injury and maintained his Pro Bowl-level performance. "My brother had
the surgery, came back and won the Lou Groza award the next year,"
Bill recalled referring to the NFL award given annually to the
league's best place kicker.
Bill also visualizes returning to the field to help keep his focus
sharp while rehabbing. "I dream about kicking that first field goal
and watching it go through the uprights," he said. "I want to be back
to where I was last year before I got hurt. I was feeling good about
the way I was playing and was feeling pretty comfortable."
For Gramatica, the toughest thing about the injury, which he suffered
celebrating a made field goal in a mid-December game against the
Giants, was dealing with the helpless feeling of not being able to
contribute on the field. "I am no help to my team when I'm on the
sidelines out," he stated. "In order for me to contribute I have to
be out there kicking."
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
The fact that he hurt himself celebrating after a kick has to haunt
Bill Gramatica. But as brother Martin has shown for many years, the
Gramatica family takes kicking very seriously. Bill will be an
extremely under-valued kicker this season based on the mock drafts
that have been completed lately.
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Flaming Fondue
Clipped from Jacksonville.com:
A slippery fondue pot, of all things, landed two Jaguars in the
emergency room this month.
In what he described as "a truly freak accident," Jaguars punter
Chris Hanson, his wife and teammate Jaret Holmes were severely burned
by the ingredients three weeks ago when a fondue pot overturned on
the floor of Hanson's Jacksonville home.
Hanson, one of the NFL's top punters in his first year with the
Jaguars, suffered first- and second-degree burns on both hands and
his right ankle. Hanson kicks with his left foot, which wasn't burned
at all, and said he is fully recovered from the accident.
"It's not going to hold me back at all from kicking," Hanson said
yesterday. "I'll be ready for training camp [July 25]. I'm already
back to 100 percent."
Holmes, who kicked for the Jaguars in December last season and is one
of three candidates to replace departed kicker Mike Hollis this year,
also suffered multiple burns and also is back to full strength,
Hanson said.
Hanson's wife, Kasey, suffered the most extensive injuries -- second-
and third-degree burns that required skin grafts during stays at St.
Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville and, most recently, in the burn unit
at Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
"It happened so fast," Chis Hanson said. "We were moving the fondue
pot when it slipped onto the tile floor at my house, then my wife
fell into it. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's been quite
an ordeal. We're just now getting her home."
Hanson said the Jaguars, especially coach Tom Coughlin, have
been "very supportive in helping us get through this.
"My teammates have really been there for us, too," he said.
Coughlin wasn't available for comment yesterday, but Hanson's agent,
Tim DiPiero, said the experience has been traumatic for Hanson's
family.
Hanson had a 37.1-yard net average last season, fourth best in the
NFL, and will continue to double as the Jaguars' holder on field
goals. The club is so confident in Hanson that it has no plans to
bring another punter to training camp for competition.
Hanson won't be trying to fondue again anytime soon. "We've already
thrown out the pot," he said.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
I know that this should not be funny to anyone and people could have
been hurt, but I am still chuckling a little to think that this is
one of the biggest NFL News stories of the day. But that's what you
have come to expect here at Footballguys.com -- the absolute best
Fondue Football stories out there -- OK, back to our regular
programming.
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Buckley to become a Dolphin?
Clipped from the Sun-Sentinel:
Cornerback Terrell Buckley, who played for the Dolphins from 1995-99,
could be returning to the team.
Buckley, who played for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots
last season, visited the Dolphins on Tuesday. The 10-year veteran
also is considering signing with Tampa Bay or Detroit.
"Everything looked positive," Buckley said of his visit with
the Dolphins. "It's just a matter of ironing out a few
things."
Rick Spielman, the Dolphins' senior vice president of football
operations and player personnel, said Buckley would compete at nickel
or dime back, which is the fifth or sixth defensive back in passing
situations for the Dolphins.
Currently, the leading candidates for those jobs are cornerback Jamar
Fletcher, last year's first-round pick, and safeties Ray Green
and Trent Gamble.
Buckley played in 15 games last season for New England, starting one,
and finished the regular season with three interceptions. In 2000,
Buckley played for Denver.
While with the Dolphins, Buckley had 22 interceptions in five seasons
and started 63 games.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
I think this is a very shrewd move and will add quality depth to an
already good defense. It is being reported that T-Buck would earn
$750,000 but count just $450,000 against the cap. At $450,000
against the cap this is outstanding insurance on a guy that can still
play in this league.
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Randall Cunningham Retires
Clipped from SunSpot.net:
Randall Cunningham's tenure with the Ravens lasted just one season,
yet it was enough for one of the most exciting quarterbacks in NFL
history to develop an allegiance.
Cunningham and his 16 years of NFL experience did not fit into the
Ravens' plan for this coming season. Though last year's starting
quarterback, Elvis Grbac, was released in March and then chose to
retire, the Ravens promoted Chris Redman to starter and signed Jeff
Blake as the backup rather than re-sign Cunningham.
Cunningham, 39, held out hope that the Ravens would offer him a
contract heading into training camp, but once Blake proved his worth
in minicamp, such a scenario became unlikely.
So Cunningham spoke yesterday about his final season with the Ravens
and the disappointing way it ended, along with his legacy as one of
the NFL's best multi-threat quarterbacks.
In an era defined more by dropback passers, Cunningham was voted the
first of his two league MVP awards in in 1990, passing for 3,466
yards and rushing for 942.
After a year out of football in 1996, Cunningham - with Ravens coach
Brian Billick as offensive coordinator - resurrected himself as a
pocket passer with the Minnesota Vikings in 1998, throwing for 3,704
yards and 34 touchdowns on the way to his second MVP award.
Cunningham's career 4,928 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns are the
most for a quarterback. He also passed for nearly 30,000 yards.
"I just think it is time for me. I stayed out one season before but
then came back for five more," he said. "I retired last year, but
Brian said come in for a year and try and get a Super Bowl.
"I'll just miss being around the guys. That's what I'll miss the
most. It will be an adjustment."
Cunningham's chance to win a Super Bowl ended with the Ravens' 27-10,
second-round playoff loss at Pittsburgh, a dismal offensive showing
in which he was left on the sideline.
Cunningham, though, expressed no bitterness about not being able to
rally the team, saying: "I was more disappointed in the loss than not
playing. I was disappointed that was my last game, because now I
appreciate the game more than I did earlier in my career."
Cunningham will have the distinction of winning the final two games
he started, for an injured Grbac.
"The NFL is not even a 'What have you done for me lately?' league
anymore," Cunningham said. "The league is really about money. Because
if you look at both the games I started last year, we won.
"I think Elvis did the best he could under the circumstances. They
made the decision to stick with him as the starter. They paid him a
lot of money. But who knows what would have happened? The way Brian
won the Super Bowl the year before was with two quarterbacks."
Cunningham owns a $1.5 million recording studio in Las Vegas, where
he went to college, and plans to focus on producing gospel music. He
will likely sign a ceremonial contract with Philadelphia that will
allow him to retire as an Eagle.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Randall Cunningham, even recently, was always a joy to watch on the
football field...especially when he took off running. He exits the
game as the best running quarterback ever and wasn't too shabby a
passer either (having thrown for over 30,000 yards). Congrats
Randall to a distinguished career.
/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/
Jevon Kearse Signs New Deal
Clipped from Tennessean.com article:
The Titans and Jevon Kearse have reached an agreement on an incentive
package tied to his contract this season, a year before much more
important talks between the team and the standout defensive end will
take place.
Kearse, the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1999 and a three-time
Pro Bowl selection, is signed through 2003.
But with a base salary of $1.425 million this season (along with a
$100,000 roster bonus that was paid in March) and a salary-cap number
of just $2.295 million, he and his agent felt he was priced below
market value.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus approached the Titans about a new contract, but
the team doesn't negotiate so far in advance of the end of a deal.
That Rosenhaus and Titans General Manager Floyd Reese were able to
agree on the incentive package could smooth negotiations on a new,
blockbuster deal for Kearse next year.
''In the interim, this puts him in position to make a lot more if he
plays well,'' Rosenhaus said. ''It's a good temporary solution,
something they haven't done before.''
When Kearse missed a voluntary team workout in April, there was
speculation that it was the start of contract posturing. He later
denied it and said he simply had to deal with family business.
Kearse collected a signing bonus of $3.85 million in 1999. His
original base salary of $425,000 kicked up to $1.425 million when he
met built-in escalators. Rosenhaus said Kearse ''could
realistically'' earn between $1 million and $2 million more.
There are incentives connected to sack totals between 10 and 20, in
addition to incentives based on playing time, interceptions, fumble
returns, Pro Bowl and All Pro selections, the defensive player of the
year award and Super Bowl MVP award.
''If Jevon completely maxes out, he'd probably make seven-digits
plus,'' Reese said. ''But he'd have to be Super Bowl MVP, defensive
player of the year and set an NFL record for sacks.''
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
This looks like a great deal for Jevon Kearse, but I don't see how it
helps the Titans one bit. Jevon was already signed through 2003. If
they were going to do this, they should have just re-worked an entire
deal and added more years. I need to see if this agent has some free
time. I could use a similar relationship at my job.
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That will do it for today,
David Dodds
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