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Email Update 6/30/02 Volume 3 Issue # 16
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Place Kicking Job for Pochman to Take
2. Ricky Williams not entirely blameless in officer treatment
3. Rooney spending cash?
4. Questions regarding the Bengals
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Place Kicking Job for Pochman to Take
Clipped from the NY Times article:
The Giants' practices all but stop when Owen Pochman comes onto the
field to attempt field goals, the linemen and linebackers and others
standing and watching and catching their breath. The ball is snapped,
there is a thump, and Pochman's kick tumbles into almost complete
silence.
Sometimes Pochman gets a tap on the helmet if the ball goes through
the uprights, and if he misses a couple, Giants Coach Jim Fassel
crosses his arms and turns away. Nobody really says anything, because
there really is nothing to say.
Pochman is at ease among teammates in the locker room, joking with
Michael Strahan, conversing with offensive linemen about how to turn
the laces of a football. But Pochman, who will attempt to replace
Morten Andersen as the team's place-kicker in training camp, which
opens July 25, understands the kicker's equation is simple.
"If you make your kicks, everybody is going to like you," Pochman
said.
If you miss � well, you won't be around long.
"I plan on being here for a while," Pochman said. "I don't doubt
myself, I feel very ready and very prepared."
Pochman turns 25 in August, and there is no doubt, Fassel said, that
he has the tools to be an excellent kicker in the National Football
League. Pochman hammers the ball through the end zone in practices
and regularly dissects the uprights on his field goal attempts.
Giants General Manager Ernie Accorsi thinks Pochman possesses a
strong mental makeup, the sort of confidence needed to boot a game-
winner in the last minute after missing an attempt.
But Pochman has just two field-goal attempts in his 10-game career
� he missed twice on long kicks last season � and by Sept. 5,
when the Giants open their season against the San Francisco 49ers,
his potential will mean almost nothing and his results will mean
everything.
"He's young and he's a talented guy," Fassel said. "But it's like
anybody else; he's going to have to go out and prove to me and his
teammates he can make kicks."
Fassel used him to kick off in most of the Giants' games last year,
with mixed results. Despite the promise he demonstrated in practice,
he generated two touchbacks in 44 kickoffs, and the return average
against him, 24.5 yards, was the sixth worst in the N.F.L., a
statistic that could be blamed on the Giants' poor coverage.
Nobody expected Pochman to convert the 63-yard field-goal attempt
against Denver in the first game of the season; he missed badly. When
Pochman was asked to punt in place of the injured Rodney Williams on
Nov. 11, Fassel acknowledged how difficult the circumstances were for
a rookie � and indeed, Pochman struggled, averaging 29.2 yards on
five punts. Pochman's only other field-goal attempt was a 55-yarder
in the last game of the season, a tough assignment, and Pochman hit
the ball wide to the left.
Pochman probably did not diminish his own standing in those instances
while missing the opportunity to create a bank of credibility with
the coaching staff and his teammates. Yet Pochman feels fortunate for
the experience he gleaned this early in his career as a kicker.
Pochman played soccer throughout high school, and after taking a
football to England one summer � he aimed his kicks at trees, in
lieu of uprights � he played in seven prep games. Still not sure
of what he wanted to do or where he would attend college, Pochman
took his football to Brigham Young, where his brother Ethan was the
kicker, and worked out informally with the team. At the time, Pochman
had thoughts of enrolling at the University of Washington or at Brown.
But coaches at Brigham Young watched him kick, knew his pedigree and
offered him a scholarship. Drafted by New England last year, he
worked alongside the veteran Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri in
training camp, coming to admire and learn from Vinatieri's
competitiveness; Vinatieri never backed down from any situation,
Pochman thought.
The Patriots cut Pochman, and the Giants � who had been awed by
him in an exhibition game � picked him up. The left-footed Pochman
spent hours with the left-footed Andersen, who had been his idol.
Pochman kicked into the wind of the Meadowlands, coming to learn that
even if the swirls were at his back on one end of Giants Stadium,
they might work against him downfield, knocking down the ball.
"Sometimes you try to get a little too perfect, aiming the ball and
worrying about the wind," Pochman said. "If you do what you do,
you're better off."
Pochman is working with a new special teams coach, Bruce Read, and it
appears that quarterback Jesse Palmer will be the holder. Read has
tried several different snappers. There is a certain rhythm needed in
kicking field goals, Pochman said, a needed symbiosis among the
snapper, holder and kicker: The snap must be on target, the holder
must catch the ball softly, drop and spin it so the laces face the
uprights just as the kicker hits it.
But most of his teammates will not care about those subtleties once
the games begin, only that Pochman makes his kicks and passes a stark
litmus test.
[[[[[[[[[[ Our View ]]]]]]]]]]
This sure looks like the Giants are questioning going into the season
with Pochman. Until he proves he can kick FGs routinely through the
uprights he is someone not worth drafing this year.
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Ricky Williams not entirely blameless in officer treatment
Clipped from the Boston Hearld article:
Saying they don't want to make Ricky Williams feel "uncomfortable" in
South Florida, two members of the Fort Lauderdale police department
met with Dolphins officials and the former Saints running back after
a series of minor incidents. Williams wound up being placed in
handcuffs on June 18 after being stopped for an expired automobile
registration. Williams insisted he was being hassled because he's an
athlete. The Fort Lauderdale police reviewed the situation and
determined that all four incidents that have occurred since the
running back's trade to Miami were "above board and within policy."
They explained that to Williams and the Dolphins in a meeting last
week.
After Williams was stopped for driving 48 mph in a 35-mph zone on
June 5, the police report indicated that he was hardly contrite while
being ticketed. According to the report, Williams snapped at
police, "Shouldn't you be somewhere eating doughnuts?" and "Did you
even graduate from high school?"
After the arresting officer advised Williams that he had heard all
the insults before, Williams reportedly said, "I wasn't (expletive)
talking to you. Just write your (expletive) ticket, you (expletive)."
[[[[[[[[[[ Our View ]]]]]]]]]]
You know training camps need to open up when this is the big news of
the day. But still, Ricky could have handled this much better. I
think this all blows over as neither gain by more confrontations.
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Rooney spending cash?
Clipped from the Boston Herald Article:
That loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game has caused
some serious repercussions for the Steelers. After coming within one
Troy Brown punt return and one blocked field goal of getting to Super
Bowl XXXVI, the Steelers continue to shell out big money in hopes of
getting to Super Bowl XXXVII.
No more Mr. Cheapskate for Dan Rooney, the usually tight-fisted owner
of the Steelers. Now he's willing to open his wallet and turn over
the luxury-box loot to keep his key players in uniform and his team
at championship level.
For years, the Steelers preferred to keep their hands in their
pockets as their players bailed out for greener pastures in free
agency. At the same time, the rest of the league was making
millionaires out of available Steelers.
Now while the rest of the league is following the Patriots' lead and
cutting down on the mega-contracts in favor of more conservative
moves, Rooney is tossing around big money for the second year in a
row. A year ago, Pittsburgh gave out $31 million in signing bonuses
to re-sign players such as Jerome Bettis. This year, the number is
already at $30 million - including $6 million bonuses to guard Alan
Faneca and linebacker Jason Gildon, and a $5 million bonus for Joey
Porter, the other outside linebacker.
Thanks to the infusion of cash from the returns on Heinz Field,
Rooney now has the money to burn. And he's also convinced that the
Steelers are good enough to contend for a title as long as the key
players remain.
``Obviously we feel we have a good team that went pretty far last
year,'' Rooney said. ``We feel we should give it another shot and
give the fans another shot at it. Hopefully it will work.''
If it does, it would put the Steelers in a very small minority. The
Jaguars took a similar, free-spending approach a couple of years ago.
Last year, it was the Ravens' turn. In each case, injuries struck and
killed those teams' immediate chances for success. And in each case,
the doling out of massive contracts limited the organizations'
ability to stay at a competitive level for more than one season.
``We have looked at this thing with the idea that that isn't going to
happen,'' Rooney said. ``If we get a lot of injuries or if some of
these younger people turn out to be not what we think they are, that
could be a problem.''
The Steelers have also taken on some new ones, signing kicker Todd
Peterson from Kansas City to replace the erratic Kris Brown. They've
also nabbed former Jets linebacker James Farrior, former Colts
receiver/returner Terance Mathis and Lions quarterback Charlie Batch.
[[[[[[[[[[ Our View ]]]]]]]]]]
Rooney's approach allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to return virtually
every starter on offense and defense while adding key depth in Mathis
and Batch. This team is definitely in the hunt for a return to the
Superbowl and should provide solid fantasy players as well.
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Questions regarding the Bengals
Clipped from the article at the Cincinnati Enquirer
It's the slowest time of the year in the NFL, but Bengals fans have a
number of questions about their favorite team.
Question, from Jason in Columbus: Realistically speaking, are the
Bengals going to be able to re-sign Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons
if, for example, they drop (Darnay) Scott and sign (Michael)
Westbrook?
And briefly, what is the deal with this IRS thing? Are the Bengals
correct in portraying it as a governmental snag? Or will it have some
ramifications down the road?
Answer: Scott and Westbrook could be a wash. If Scott is released
(with his $3.9 million cap count), much of that money figures to go
into Westbrook's pockets.
Re-signing both Simmons and Spikes will be a challenge, because they
are both at the top of the list of young, talented NFL linebackers.
The Bengals, in my opinion, shouldn't be messing around with wide
receivers right now. The group they have � with or without Scott
�
will be much more productive in 2002. They invested two draft choices
on receivers in 2000 (Peter Warrick and Ron Dugans) and 2001 (Chad
Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh). Sink or swim with them and Danny
Farmer.
If the Bengals aren't happy with Scott's health and/or attitude, they
should release him and use the savings to try to extend the
linebackers' contracts, both of which are up after the 2002 season.
Spikes and Simmons are the emotional and physical leaders of a
defense that has become the team's strength under coordinator Mark
Duffner.
As for the $14 million IRS bill delivered to the Bengals on April 15,
the team will pay it initially but will be reimbursed by Hamilton
County taxpayers. The Bengals will withhold rent payments on Paul
Brown Stadium ($1.5 million this year, $1.4 million next year) until
the matter is resolved.
The IRS is taxing the $26 million made on the sale of personal seat
licenses in the stadium. The county will pay because of a June 2000
amendment in the Bengals' stadium lease that makes the county
responsible for any claims made against seat-license revenue.
The Bengals and county officials agree the $26 million shouldn't be
taxed and plan to fight it in court. The decision could affect other
stadium deals around the country.
Question from Nick in Philadelphia: I am more than a little disturbed
by the projections of the NFL publications for next year. You have
often said that the team's recent history plays a big part in the
poor projections. The Bengals' secondary is rated a D; I give it a B.
The QB is rated a D; I give it a C. I'm telling all these Eagle fans
that it's a playoff year for the Bengals. Will you please tell me
that I'm right?
A: No can do. The Bengals will be better, just as they were better in
2001. But will that be good enough to end the 11-year playoff
drought? As is often said, that's why they play the games.
Until it produces more than 14 points a game and cuts down on its
turnovers, the offense will be a question mark.
The defense, however, intact after posting a No. 9 ranking, is
attracting attention nationally and making the Bengals media darlings
of some forecasters.
Question, from David in Madison Place: In pro football, why does it
take so long for teams to sign their draft choices? Each player can
only get so much money, based on the salary cap. It seems everyone
waits to July.
A: Teams are waiting for some picks to sign, so they can
"slot" their
player based on what players around them are getting. The Bengals
have signed two of their six picks, and negotiations are going
relatively smoothly between the club and representatives for first-
round pick Levi Jones.
Question, from Jason in New Carlisle: How about taking a chance on
Andy Katzenmoyer if he is healthy? Perhaps playing close to home
could help resurrect his career while providing depth to the squad.
A: Interesting idea, but I don't see the Bengals doing it. Linebacker
is their deepest position.
[[[[[[[[[[ Our View ]]]]]]]]]]
No matter how you slice it, I keep reading cheap owner when I read
Bengals stories. The fans would love a winner and although they keep
making improvements they also always hit the dollars wall. I am
guessing this year will yield similar results despite good gains on
both sides of the ball.
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That's going to do it for today. Mark Wimer will be providing the
daily on Monday. I need to get back to coding the Excel VBD
Application and formatting the Footballguys.com Commentary Draft.
David Dodds
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