Monday, July 26, 2010

Panthers rookie QB Clausen will compete for starting job

The Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen is not as hot topic as some other quarterbacks from the same round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Being compared to No.1 first overall draft pick Sam Bradford and the most high-profile Tim Tebow, Clausen has always been ignored when people are talking about the most prominent rookie quarterbacks. However, the Brett Favre jersey lover will possibly attract most attention when the regular season begins because he may be the first rookie quarterback of his class to get a starting job.

The Panthers had second-year quarterback Matt Moore replace starting quarterback Jake Delhomme late in 2009 season. While Moore did not make any significant mistake as a replacement, he neither showed much talent in dealing with the starting role. He is too young and has little more experience than a rookie quarterback like Clausen. With Delhomme leaving to put on Minnesota Vikings jersey, the Panthers do not have many choices in starting quarterback, and their best choice is one of the two young quarterbacks. So a competition between Moore and Clausen is inevitable any way.

So Clausen will enter the training camp to compete for a starting job. No matter who wins the job at last, the Panthers will just get a clearer view of both quarterbacks. The winner must be the stronger one and will give the team more chance to win.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Steelers OLB Woodley is upset about contract talks

The Pittsburgh Steelers have not made any obvious posture on whether they are going to offer a contract extension to their Pro Bowl offensive linebacker LaMarr Woodley. By so far, they have only offered him a one-year restricted free agent tender, which will pay the fourth-year veteran $550,000 in base salary this season, no wonder Woodley said it more than once that he’d like to try his chance of putting on Saints jersey to play for another Super Bowl winning team.

"It’s kind of jacked up," Woodley told Yahoo! Sports. "Everything I’ve ever done for the Steelers, on and off the field, has been positive. Sometimes you don’t get the same thing back in return. I’m not going to lie—I was a little disappointed that they didn’t offer anything at all. I felt that was a little weird. I guess they decided they’re going to sit back and wait for the CBA and all that to play out.”

Woodley finished last season with 13.5 sacks, six passes defended, one force fumble, one fumble recovery and one touchdown, and was previously confident that he would get a good contract extension for the new season. But the team’s hesitance disappointed him. Perhaps the Steelers should learn how the Vikings treat their starting quarterback in Favre jersey to retain their cornerstone players.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

JaMarcus Russell still wants to stay in NFL

Although it seems that quarterback JaMarcus Russell has run out of his chances to join a team, the three years veteran still keeps his hope alive for staying with the league. And in order to stay, he even chose to turn down offers from other league, such as the United Football League.

Along with several other unemployed NFL players, Russell is listed on the Omaha Nighthawks' "provisional roster" after he was released by the Oakland Raiders in early offseason. The former first overall draft pick did not prove anything in his three-year tenure with the team. Weight issues and general ineffectiveness on the field caused him to lose favors with all supporters and is not considered one of the biggest draft pick bust. To make things worse, Russell was involved in a legal trouble last week, preventing even more teams from contacting him for possible cooperation.

Russell was last seen in a Brett Favre jersey with his lawyer, who has expressed confidence that the strong-armed former LSU star will be exonerated. Whatever, we will see if he can make it on July 20, when Russell is going to appear on court for a trial.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Dolphins NG Ferguson leaves NFL suspension behind by quitting football

The Miami Dolphins nose guard Jason Ferguson is no longer worrying about the eight-game suspension he received from the National Football League. He is now actually an ex-NFL player as he has announced to retire on Thursday, saying farewell to the league and ending his 13-season career.

“You get what you put into this game," Ferguson said. "I would like to thank my family, the fans and the organizations that I have been a part of for their continued support throughout my career, it’s been an absolute blessing to play this long. I have built a lot of relationships, you develop an extended family playing this game; I would like to thank that extended family, the teammates, the coaches, the support staffs that have all played a part of a great ride.”

Finishing his career with 569 tackles, 21 1/2 sacks, 12 pass deflections, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, Ferguson now feels relaxed and said he was going to watch some NFL games this regular season. He could be seen in his favorite Terry Bradshaw jersey while his wife and kids could be wearing Brett Favre jerseys as they are all loyal Vikings fans.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Browns rookie safety Asante received four-year contract

The Cleveland Browns just signed rookie safety Larry Asante to a standard four-year contract on Wednesday night. In order to earn more than the $1.96 million contract salary, Asante will have to work hard to compete for playing time in the Browns’ secondary. It won’t be a big problem to the fifth-round draft pick, who was starters at Nebraska.

During his college football career, Asante started totally 36 games. However, he did not attract much attention from his favorite team New Orleans Saints during the three-day NFL 2010 Draft. He was finally drafted by the lowly ranked team Browns in fifth round. Instead of regretting for missing the chance to put on Saints jersey, Asante is now looking forward to his rookie season and expects to improve the Brown’s defense as much as he can.

By signing his first NFL career contract, Asante got paid $170,000 as signing bonus. Incentives for earning more than base salary have not been released. But quite a few Browns officials are optimistic that it won’t take long for Asante to grab the starting job.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Dolphins want to bring LB Taylor back to Miami

Although the Miami Dolphins just did not re-sign linebacker Jason Taylor when he became an unrestricted free agent and allowed him to sign with another NFL team that will return in regular season to play against Taylor’s former team, the Dolphins now seem to regret for the wrong decision and showed intention to bring the linebacker back to Miami, to receive the honor of being a member of the team’s Ring of Honor.

It was said by former Dolphins receiver Nat Moore, who will be a member of the selection committee. At least Moore’s words would clear Taylor’s worries on what response he would receive from his former fans when his current team New York Jets visits the Dolphins this September.

"Hopefully, some of the things I've done down here will earn me some equity,'' Taylor said."But it's the Dolphins playing the Jets and I won't expect much. My wife will be there, so she'll cheer wearing her favorite Brett Favre jersey. I've got a few friends I'm going to buy tickets for, so they'll cheer.'"

Besides, there were a lot of fans hoping the Dolphins to resign Taylor during this offseason and they won’t blame Taylor for leaving them. These fans will definitely offer some cheers for Taylor during the game.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Veteran LB Antonio Pierce retired to start new career

Instead of putting on his former New York Giants uniform, unrestricted free agent linebacker Antonio Pierce was wearing his favorite Michael Irvin jersey when he announced that he was going to retire after spending nine years in the National Football League. He also promised that he would not disappear from the league as he had got a job from ESPN and will appear on NFL Live program from time to time.

Pierce had been with the Giants for five seasons since 2005 and used to be the team’s defensive captain and made great contribution to Giants’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots in 2008. However, he showed significant setback last season and played in only 9 regular season games, finishing the season with 55 tackles and only 1 sack. As a result, he was released by the Giants in early February.

Before joining the Giants, Pierce spent his first four NFL seasons with the Washington Redskins and established his fame of being an aggressive linebacker. His career numbers include 137 games, seven playoff games, 687 tackles, 9 sacks and seven interceptions.