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Email Update 7/15/02 Volume 3 Issue # 31
IN THIS ISSUE
1. Tony Gonzalez: Will He Sit Out 2002?
2. Tags: The Cowboys have a shot at Super Bowl Glory in 2002
3. Galloway, Cowboys coaches expect great things in 2002
4. Sterling Sharpe comments on his lack of comments to the Media
5. 70% of the Titan's draft class in the fold now
6. Quote of the Day: Giant's DE Michael Strahan on his Right Arm
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Tony Gonzalez: Will He Sit Out 2002?
Clipped from the 7/15 article by Jason Whitlock on kansascity.com.
"Unless Chiefs president Carl Peterson retreats from his primary
negotiating position in regards to Tony Gonzalez -- that position
being Gonzalez should be paid like a tight end -- I expect Gonzalez
to sit out a portion, if not all, of the 2002 NFL season.
Today, according to NFL free-agency rules, the Chiefs and Gonzalez's
representatives can get back to haggling over a new contract. The
annual, league-mandated, free-agency cooling-off period is over.
Peterson vs. superagent Tom Condon, a much-ballyhooed brawl that
reminds me of Tyson-Lewis, can resume. Guess who reminds me of the
unstable ex-champ, a bully filled with bluster and desperately trying
to mask eroded skills by hiding behind boot-licking hype men?
For fear of being viewed as lacking objectivity, I refuse to answer
that question.
But when we last left this bubbling feud in May, Peterson had just
taken a bite out of Gonzalez's thigh, leaking misleading information
that portrayed KC's franchise-tagged tight end as selfish and greedy.
Iron Carl also vowed to eat Condon's unborn contract proposals,
hinting that the Gonzalez contract negotiations would be mean-
spirited and personal between himself and Condon.
Well, two months later, the battle looks ready to intensify
significantly. While I was in Los Angeles attending one of those star-
studded ESPY parties, two highly credible sources with connections to
the Chiefs organization told me separately that Gonzalez was so
offended by Peterson's ambush that he would rather play somewhere
else.
The two sources are men who have a great deal of respect for Peterson
but completely disagree with the way Peterson has handled the
Gonzalez negotiations.
"Carl preaches family and team and community and charity and
loyalty," one of the sources said, "but when it comes time to reward
the guys who buy into it, there's always a problem. He looks like a
hypocrite. And trust me, the players in that locker room know it.
I've talked to them."
So Sunday afternoon I got on the phone and told Condon what I'd heard
in LA. Gonzalez and Condon have always maintained that Tony
definitely wants to remain a Chief.
"In all my conversations with Tony," Condon said, "he's made it clear
that this is home. He loves the way the fans have treated him. He
loves his teammates. Kansas City is where he wants to be."
I believe Condon, and I believe my two LA sources. Gonzalez wants to
remain a Chief, but he's also much more willing to move on if a
suitable deal can't be worked out. I don't have any doubt that in
moments of frustration Gonzalez has told friends that he doesn't want
to play in KC anymore.
Until Peterson publicly sucker-punched him, Gonzalez had enjoyed an
ideal relationship with KC's fan base. The low blow justifiably
soured Gonzalez.
"That was certainly upsetting for Tony," Condon said. "I've told him
that these type things happen when you're as high-profile a player as
he is. It's not unusual. But he just hadn't ever had to deal with
negative publicity."
Now that's he's weathered a taste of it, perhaps he's fortified for a
long, ugly war. Getting Peterson's ego to budge on signing bonus --
Gonzalez wants $10 million, which is $2 million more than the Chiefs
offered -- might require Gonzalez to take an extreme step.
Gonzalez might have to pursue his basketball jones full time and sit
out the 2002 season. Sitting out helped Sean Gilbert, Dan Williams
and Joey Galloway beat the NFL's contract-limiting franchise- and
transition-player tags.
Gonzalez has stated that he'll play this season for the franchise-tag
price of around $3 million. I'm not so sure he will. It would be
economic suicide for him to do it. A five-year vet, he's in his
prime. He'll never have more leverage than this season. The Chiefs
could stick him with the franchise tag for the rest of his career.
Now, some people will argue that Gilbert, Williams and Galloway have
never been productive after sitting out. They weren't worth the money.
We know that Gonzalez is different. We know that money won't make him
lazy. We know that he wants (and has the ability and work ethic) to
be the best tight end in league history. We know that he has produced
on and off the field at a level that warrants a truly groundbreaking
contract.
It's unfortunate he'll probably have to sit out to get what he
deserves."
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Bad news for fantasy teams counting on Gonzalez. All indications the
past few weeks have pointed towards a long and nasty contract
squabble, and it appears that it is here. Move Gonzalez down your
board if he does, indeed, begin the anticipated hold out.
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Tags: The Cowboys have a shot at Super Bowl Glory in 2002
Clipped from the Jennifer Floyd column on dfw.com, 7/15/02
"A whistle blew Sunday at Valley Ranch, bringing practice
crashing to a halt. Cowboys players jogged toward owner Jerry Jones.
He had a visitor - a lawyer, but not just any lawyer.
When this lawyer started addressing them, all eyes focused, all
conversation stopped.
His tone conveyed car salesman-like enthusiasm, but NFL commissioner
Paul Tagliabue was not selling Hondas. He was peddling parity.
"Work hard," he told the Cowboys, "and I'll see you in the first game
and I'll see you in the last game."
Applause interrupted him. His message was obviously understood. In a
league in which anybody can win on a given Super Bowl Sunday,
Tagliabue suggested the Cowboys are contenders to become the latest
team to go from sub-.500 chumps to champs.
Tagliabue delivered a similar message to the Rams before the 1999
season. They were coming off a 4-12 season. He told them there was no
reason they could not win the NFC championship and go to the Super
Bowl. Not only did the Rams get there, they won the game.
"I think the Cowboys are in a position to make that kind of
turnaround," Tagliabue said. "The Patriots did it last year. It could
be an exciting season here in Dallas.'"
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Football fans, count your lucky stars. Can anyone imagine baseball
commissioner Selig getting applause from a MLB team right now? The
NFL is in great shape!
Cowboys fans, dream on! The pre-season is the time of year for such
lofty aspirations from every NFL team.
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Galloway, Cowboys coaches expect great things in 2002
Clipped from the Chip Brown article on dallasnews.com, 7/15/02
"Joey Galloway wears his emotions on his wristbands in practice,
spiking a ball after a stellar catch or kicking it the length of the
field after a drop. His passion and pride are as evident as the blue
No. 84 on his white Cowboys' jersey.
But getting Galloway to reflect on last season � a train wreck
for a player of his caliber � is like trying to beat him in a
40-yard dash.
"There's no use in looking back," Galloway said. "I know I'm not.
It's something we survived. I think the only way to get better is to
forget about that and build on the positives."
Galloway is a total professional. On time, personable, articulate and
has the unequivocal support of coach Dave Campo and offensive
coordinator Bruce Coslet even though Galloway breaks rank and does
most of his off-season work in Ohio.
That's why it's hard to believe Galloway has simply left last year in
a duffel bag somewhere.
First, there was the always-nervous return from a torn anterior
cruciate ligament suffered in the first game of the 2000 season.
There was Jerry Jones' statement that had he known Troy Aikman would
no longer be the Cowboys' quarterback in 2001, he wouldn't have given
up two first-round draft choices and $42 million over seven years for
Galloway.
Galloway's good friend and Ohio State teammate Korey Stringer died.
Then, the quarterback carousel began, not to mention players
(Galloway excluded) questioning the direction of then-offensive
coordinator Jack Reilly. The result was the worst-ranked passing
attack in the NFL. Galloway failed to catch a pass in a game for the
first time in his seven-year career at Philadelphia in the third week
of the season.
He finished with 52 catches for 699 yards and three touchdowns �
all career lows in seasons without a contract holdout or injury. On
top of that, he was called into a meeting by Campo to discuss his
downfield blocking � or lack of it � at midseason. For the
first time in his NFL career, Galloway's talent was being questioned
and criticized.
A relaxed Galloway, who turns 31 in November, insists it's all behind
him now.
"I think a lot of weird things happened last season that I had never
seen happen before, such as playing five quarterbacks," Galloway
said. "But it's gone. We survived. We're still here. We're feeling
excited and confident."
Galloway says most of his enthusiasm is tied to the stability at
quarterback.
"At this time last year, it was Tony Banks' offense, and I think
Quincy [Carter] knows it's his offense now," Galloway said. "That
helps us because it doesn't matter how confident everyone else is, if
the quarterback isn't confident." �
"Campo said he thinks Galloway is an 80-catch-per-season
receiver, adding that Galloway's lack of production last season was
the team's fault.
"We weren't in the position to get him the ball," Campo said. "It
just wasn't in the cards with five different quarterbacks. We're
going to be more disciplined in what we're doing, and he's going to
have a chance to get more balls."
Coslet likes what he's seen so far. In fact, Coslet, who initially
described Galloway (5-11) as a small receiver, no longer sees him
that way.
"He's not small. He's thick," Coslet said. "He's 200 pounds, he's
faster than heck and a great pattern technician. He's going to be a
key part of the offense."
Only two players (Cris Carter, 52, and Carl Pickens, 39) caught more
touchdown passes than Galloway (36) from 1995-98. Since then,
Galloway's career has come to a relative halt in Dallas.
"The past two seasons have not gone in the right direction for this
team, this offense and definitely not for me," Galloway said. "I know
once this offense does start clicking and we get rolling, everyone
will forget about these last two years." "
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]
It's good to see that Galloway is focused on bettering his
pathetic 2001 performance. Watch the `Boys carefully in training
camp to see how well the feelings of excitement and confidence
translate into production on the field.
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Sterling Sharpe comments on his lack of comments to the Media
Clipped from the greenbaypressgazette.com article posted 7/15/02
"I have no regrets about that. It's one of those things where
I honestly didn't see a reason to (do interviews). It's hard
for me to critique a game that I played in playing from 12 yards out
wide and be able to tell you what happened and why we won or lost. I
know we had a game plan going in, but it (doing interviews) was one
of those things that I never really thought about. "It wasn't
that I didn't like you guys in the media. It was one of those
things
that I didn't like or want to do."
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Check out the whole interview, if you are a Packers or Sterling
Sharpe fan. A nice retrospective on a short-but-stellar career.
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70% of the Titan's draft class in the fold now
Clipped from the article by Jeff Legwold, posted 7/15/02 on
tennessean.com.
"Titans general manager Floyd Reese hit a triple this weekend,
finishing negotiations with the Titans three fourth-round picks from
this past April's draft.
Cornerback Mike Echols, cornerback Tony Beckham and linebacker Rocky
Boiman have all agreed in principle to four-year deals, meaning the
Titans have now concluded talks with seven of their 10 draft picks.
The Titans are also expected to come to terms today on a multi-year
deal with their second-round pick, safety Tank Williams.
Williams' representatives and the Titans have worked on the framework
of a five-year deal for the past several days.
''I'd say we're in pretty good shape right now,'' said Reese, who
confirmed the deals when contacted yesterday. ''It's working out
pretty well.''
�with Williams' deal set to be finished and nine days remaining
before the Titans rookies report to training camp July 24, Reese has
significant work to do only on deals for first-round pick Albert
Haynesworth and third-round pick Rocky Calmus.
Since the 1996 draft, the Titans have had every rookie draft pick
signed and in uniform by the start of training camp. Quarterback
Steve McNair, who missed a few days of training camp in 1995, is the
most recent Titans draft pick to have missed any practice time
because contract talks weren't completed.
Reese spoke extensively to Haynesworth's agent � Brantley Evans
� yesterday afternoon while Calmus' agent, Mark Slough, said he
expected no difficulties and thought he would have Calmus' deal
completed ''by the end of the week.''
''They sent me a proposal and I would expect to get them one back
(today) or Tuesday,'' Slough said. ''I would think we would wrap
things up not too long after that.''�"
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Dynasty league managers, take note � if you are looking for
rookies who can contribute as IDP's this season, it looks like
Albert Haynesworth and Rocky Calmus will have the benefit of a full
training camp heading into the regular season. According to
Footballguys.com defensive guru Tom Nadratowski, Haynesworth has a shot to
start in place of Henry Ford, and Calmus will push Peter Sirmon for
playing time
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Quote of the Day: Giant's DE Michael Strahan on his Right Arm
Clipped from the nytimes.com article by Buster Olney, posted 7/15/02.
"My right arm, to me, it's like a machine, a piston," Strahan
said. "If I really have to hit a guy, give him a shot, then I would
use my right arm to do it. It's funny: when I'm in the game, it's
much more of a rhythm thing. It's fun to watch film, because you
don't know what you did until it's over. You have plans, but your
instincts take over."
[[[[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]]]]
Free advice to offensive linemen starting opposite Michael Strahan:
Beware his right arm!
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Later, Mark Wimer
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