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Email Update 6/29/02 Volume 3 Issue # 15
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Footballguys.com releases 16 items today.
2. Busy weekend continues
3. Subscription info
4. News from the Falcon's Passing Camp
5. Panthers OC Discusses Team
6. Redskin WR Competition Wide Open
7. Lions Sign Veteran CB
8. Bonus Update
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Welcome everyone to issue #15. We have a lot of things going on at
the website so we will cover those first before handing over the news
portion to Greg Kellogg.
David Dodds
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As some of the websites continue to tell you how good their premium
package will be when they release it in a month, we were busy
creating and posting great content. Here are the items we posted
today for free.
Check them all out at Footballguys.com
Smith - Rookie RBs 1
Smith - Rookie RBs 2
Defensive Depth Chart
1500+ Team Links Updated
Wimer - Camp Battles
Two Minute - QB Opponent
Two Minute - RB Opponent
Two Minute - WR Opponent
Two Minute - TE Opponent
Rito - Philosophy of Deal
Rito - Philosophy of Keepers
Drinen - Ed McCaffrey
Drinen - Chris Chambers
Drinen - Ladanian Tomlinson
Drinen - Jake Plummer
Drinen - Donovan McNabb
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Busy Weekend Continues
So after publishing 16 items, we are looking to rest right? Not even
close. Sleep is over-rated anyway. We are busy at work with the
following projects:
- Survivor Commentary Draft. Picks and analysis start Monday.
- VBD App. We have made great progress on this today and are hopefule
to have this complete by Monday morning.
- PK projections. We have run the numbers and just need to port to
the web.
- Team Defense Projections. Needed for the VBD App so we will have
it soon.
- Average Value Theory (AVT) Excel App. Should be ready in about a
week.
- 5 More Drinen - Will be published on Monday.
- More Fake Stories - Will be published Monday morning.
- Redzone info by player - Andy Hicks just sent me the file. It will
be converted to the web and available by Monday.
Let others hype you with promises that good stuff is coming soon. We
would rather keep focused and show you. The numbers don't lie: 85+
items posted at Footballguys.com since 6/13.
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Subscription Info:
We appreciate everyone that has paid us in advance of the August 1st
conversion to a pay site. By subscribing early you get the following
benefits:
- Free article posted only to subscribers
- Knowledge that everything works before the switchover
To subscribe, go to this link:
Purchase Subscription
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News from the Falcon's Passing Camp
Clipped from the article at the Falcon's web site
Monday, June 24
Derek Rackley continued to impress, catching passes well,
regardless of the pattern or region of the field.
Brian Finneran plucked a zinged Michael Vick pass out of the sky
using only one of his very sure hands.
With Corey Hall applying air-tight coverage, R.J. English came up
with a superb grab on a deep dig route as he shielded away Hall
while still managing to keep both feet in bounds.
Though Ashley Ambrose got a hand on it, McCord still caught a
15-yard out intended for him.
Shawn Mills made another solid grab, cradling a Vick throw as he
dove back for the ball.
Tuesday, June 25
On one of the final plays of the 75-minute practice, Vick threaded
a perfect pass into Derek Rackley's hands in traffic near the goal
line for a 20-yard touchdown.
Brian Finneran made the catch of the day, skying over Ashley
Ambrose to catch a Dusty Bonner 15-yard-out.
Thursday, June 27
Vick continued to look amazing, hitting receivers in the hands, in
stride and over all areas of the field.
Threading the needle between four defenders, Kurt Kittner nailed
Finneran square in the chest on a 15-yard in route for a simulated
score.
Shawn Mills came up with a nice grab in 7-on-7 drills, catching his
own tip on a five-yard out while Eric Sims applied tight coverage.
Travis McGriff demonstrated incredible concentration and
stick-to-itiveness, fearlessly leaping and drawing contact with
defenders while not dropping a pass all practice.
Brian Finneran and Michael Vick had the hook-up of the day.
Fighting against Keith Lyle and Ray Buchanan, Finneran went up and
got a perfectly placed Vick pass and came down in bounds and in the
end zone.
The offensive unit spent the majority of Thursday practicing out of
four and five wide receiver sets, sometimes using the shotgun.
It's early, and it's just in shorts, but if these June practices
are any indication, Michael Vick seems to have made great progress
already in his sophomore season. Vick was deadly accurate in
practice, hitting most receivers on the numbers and showed great
poise and confidence in the pocket. Like his defensive counterpart
Keith Brooking, Vick is also emerging as an on-field leader.
Friday, June 28
Quentin McCord continued to wow onlookers. The second-year man out
of Kentucky made several excellent grabs in both 7-on-7 and
11-on-11 drills.
Making yet another impressive catch, on a slant route Travis
McGriff slid underneath his man to grab a Kurt Kittner pass.
Perfectly placing a ball over the head of Ashley Ambrose, Michael
Vick connected with Alvis Whitted on a deep sideline route.
Passing Camp will continue July 1st and 2nd.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Granted this is early and they are playing without pads. True,
everyone looks good in shorts in June. Still the one thing that
is very noticable is the total lack of mention of supposed starting
wideout Shawn Jefferson and newly signed Jeff Graham. Instead the
accolades are given to Mills, McCord, McGriff and Whitted. Curious.
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Panthers OC Discusses Team
Clipped from the article at Panthers.com
With his defensive background, head coach John Fox's most important
hire was an offensive coordinator. He wanted a coach to whom he
could confidently entrust the offense, a coach who was regarded as
an innovator and who was proven. In Dan Henning, he found his man.
Henning has worked in the NFL since 1972. He has coached with Lou
Holtz, Joe Gibbs, Don Shula, and Bill Parcells, winning Super Bowls
with the Washington Redskins in 1982 and 1987 and advancing to the
AFC Championship game with the Jets in 1998. The Roar had a chance
to visit with him after the May mini-camp.
How would you describe your offensive philosophy?
You've got to be able to run the ball when you have to run it, not
when you want to. And you have to be able to throw the ball when
you have to throw it, not when you want to. If you can get those
two things done, the rest of the equation comes fairly easily.
When you look at the Panthers offense from last year, what are your
impressions?
I didn't look at very much of last year. I talked to the coaches
that are here and they indicated to me some of the things that had
taken place. So much had gone on with the injuries at running back
and receiver and a rookie at quarterback. I did look at certain
personnel, but I did not try to assess what they were doing because
it was a different philosophy. They had a scheme they believed in
and fit the players into it. We will be inclined to take the
players and try to build a scheme around what they can do.
I looked at it to evaluate personnel, to look at the positives,
and I did not really dwell on the negatives.
How do you feel about the offense entering training camp?
I think the running game will be ahead of the passing game because
we have had more continuity in that phase. With Chris Weinke slowed
down, we are going to be well into training camp before we know
what we have. In the running game, we have had Lamar Smith in place
since the first mini-camp in April. We also have the offensive line
returning intact.
What are your impressions of Chris Weinke?
He seems to be an even keel, rather quiet individual. His
temperament doesn't seem to fluctuate. I don't care whether an
individual has a high or low temperament. I just dislike
fluctuation. Quarterbacks need to remain relatively the same
regardless of what happens around them. They need to be in the eye
of the storm. If they are volatile, then the players around them
start playing volatile. Chris is one of those guys with an even
tempo. Physically, he has a prototype NFL look about him. He comes
from a background where he has been a winner and has the maturity
that comes from playing another pro sport. All those things are
positive. He has been very industrious in looking at tape and
studying what we want to do. The thing that has been disappointing
is the injury to his shoulder and we haven't really been able to
evaluate him as much as we would like. We will strive to overcome
that obstacle.
What do you see as the strength of the offense?
Right now it is the offensive line because of the continuity there,
with 12 players coming back and the same offensive line coach.
That's a positive any place. Our two tackles (Todd Steussie and
Chris Terry) are smart, big, and mobile and that's a plus because
everybody doesn't have two tackles like that. If you were going to
put two together, we would match up with just about anybody in the
League there.
What are your concerns?
There are a lot of questions. Tight end may be a strength, but with
Wesley Walls coming off an injury, it is up in the air. We have
some strengths at wide receiver with Muhsin Muhammad and Isaac Byrd
as a possession receiver, but with Donald Hayes leaving and Patrick
Jeffers' health in question, we are down to the nub. We are going
to try and latch on to the abilities of Steve Smith. We have
reinvented the running back position with Lamar Smith and DeShaun
Foster. Based on ability and evaluation, we think we have improved,
but we can't say that until they actually do it. The same applies
to Chris at quarterback. We have to see him do it in this system.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
While this interview was done in May, much of it remains relevent.
For instance, the fact that the line remains largely intact would
suggest that the running game will be much improved this season.
This should lead to better play-action for Weinke. Still of some
concern is the shoulder rehab for the second year QB and the fact
that his receivers are well below average for NFL standards.
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Redskin WR Competition Wide Open
Clipped from the article at Redskins.com
The moment the Redskins hired head coach Steve Spurrier in January,
the intrigue inside and outside Redskin Park skyrocketed. Could
Spurrier bring his unique and thrilling style of offense to the pro
ranks and find success? And, in general, could the successful
college coach win in the NFL?
As those questions continue to linger at Redskin Park and around
the NFL, more immediate personnel issues surfaced as the team
finished its off-season practice schedule earlier this month.
Through three weeks of coaching sessions and three mini-camps,
Redskins players had the opportunity to showcase their skills in
front of coaches and scouts. With training camp under a month away,
players know that the impressions they left during off-season
practices could mean the difference between making the Redskins'
roster and being cut.
Although suitable drama exists at almost every position, in terms
of competition for roster spots and starting positions, no position
carries more excitement and interest than wide receiver. Because of
Spurrier's penchant for throwing the football, the wide receiver
position takes on a special importance with this team. The
competition so far bears out that urgency.
Washington has 10 receivers on its roster, and each has a
legitimate chance to make the team. Spurrier was complimentary of
all the wideouts through the off-season workouts.
The group of 10 receivers includes former Florida stars Jacquez
Green, Reidel Anthony and Chris Doering, rookies Cliff Russell and
Emmett Johnson and holdovers Rod Gardner, Kevin Lockett, Darnerien
McCants, Justin Skaggs and Derrius Thompson. Each receiver
demonstrated excellent potential through the practice sessions.
The dilemma for Spurrier is that he'll eventually have to let go
some of this wide receiving corps. Teams usually keep five or six
wideouts. That means the Redskins will have to cut four or five of
the current group, an unenviable task considering the performance
level of the receivers throughout practice this offseason.
"They're all doing well," Spurrier said at the team's last
mini-camp. "We have 10 receivers who can run and catch. It's going
to be tough to cut four or five guys. There's not a whole lot of
difference in a lot of these guys."
First, the Florida receivers, already in tune with Spurrier's
system, displayed deftness and an innate sense of how to play
within the scheme. Both rookies showed great speed and potential.
And all the holdovers from last year's team seemed reinvigorated by
Spurrier's style of offense, and all were eager to learn and
participate during practice.
So, ultimately, what will make the difference in who makes the
team? Spurrier's track record indicates he'll give little if any
special treatment to his former players. In his days at Florida, he
opted for performance over preferential treatment. He likely will
do the same here in Washington.
The final determination for wide receiver roster spots will be
borne out of each player's performance during the preseason. The
Skins have five pre-season games this August, so the coaches will
have ample chance to see the receivers perform under game pressure
within Spurrier's scheme.
Said Spurrier: "When the exhibition season rolls around, they need
to catch the balls that come their way. They have to play with
their uniforms on, in front of a crowd. Some players are better
than others in that situation."
At this point the competition remains wide open, according to
Spurrier. If Spurrier's goal is to simultaneously give confidence
to each receiver and push him to his maximum potential, the plan so
far is falling together in perfect fashion.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Make no mistake, one of the starting receivers WILL be Rod Gardner.
The key phrase in Spurrier's comments was "... in a LOT of these
guys." Gardner has skills the others lack. This is a team that
should put up very good fantasy numbers and some of it's players
are very undervalued right now. Stay tuned to the preseason to
see how this offense progresses.
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Lions Sign Veteran CB
Clipped from the article at the Detroit Free Press
The Lions, in need of a veteran cornerback, got one Friday when
they signed Eric Davis.
Davis, 34, has played for three teams in his 12-year career: San
Francisco (1990-95), Carolina (1996-2000) and Denver (2001).
In five seasons with the Panthers, Davis started 88 games and had
25 interceptions, which stands as a franchise record.
After his release from Carolina, Davis played in all 16 games last
season for the Broncos, mainly on special teams. He had 11 tackles,
one pass defended and one fumble recovery.
The Lions also released safety Kourtney Young, an undrafted rookie
free agent from Eastern Illinois.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
The truly sad part of this story is that Eric Davis will almost
certainly become the nickel back for Detroit. That shows just
how shallow they are in the defensive backfield. His veteran
leadership will help the team, but his physical skills have been
so diminished by age that for a team to have to depend on him is
almost unthinkable.
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When the top news story at one NFL site is how one of their
regular season games is a sell-out, you know you are in the midst
of an information drought. Such is usually the case this time of
year. Hopefully, more salient news will appear next week. But
for now - that's the news on this Saturday morning.
Greg Kellogg
Komments.com
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Bonus Update recapping key news from the Sporting News writeups will
be coming in a few hours (after I take a small nap)
David
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