Inside Dish [Archive] - PackerRats.com

HarveyWallbangers

04-10-2006, 10:10 AM

Interesting what he had to write about Ahmad Carroll.

Inside Dish: Volek could get his chance to start
By Dan Pompei - SportingNews

If the relationship between the Titans and Steve McNair continues to go south, chances are Billy Volek will be the team's Week 1 starter. The team is more comfortable with Volek as a backup than as the starter and wonders whether he can remain healthy and consistent over a whole season. But the Titans also know he can make plays. The coaches are familiar with his strengths and weaknesses and have a feel for how to use him. And the Titans likely will have a first-round draft pick, such as Matt Leinart, as Volek's backup. They have the third selection in the draft. . . .

The plan in Pittsburgh is for RB Duce Staley to fill Jerome Bettis' role as the short-yardage specialist. Coach Bill Cowher believes Staley and Bettis have similar abilities. Staley has some experience in the Steelers' short-yardage package, but he needs repetitions in minicamp, training camp and exhibition games. Running in short-yardage situations is different from other circumstances, but Staley appears to have a feel for where his blockers are and where the crease is developing. If Staley falters, the Steelers will give Verron Haynes a chance at Bettis' role. . . .

The Packers' pursuit of CB Charles Woodson underscores their concern about Ahmad Carroll, the team's first-round pick in 2004. If Woodson is signed, Carroll will be benched. That would leave the Packers without a single starter to show for their four first-day draft choices in '04. Carroll's performance was inconsistent last year, and he was flagged for holding or pass interference seven times. Carroll has good speed but hasn't learned to trust it. Subsequently, his discipline and technique have been problems. . . .

Redskins TE Chris Cooley likely will benefit greatly from the arrival of coordinator Al Saunders; look for Saunders to use Cooley as he used Tony Gonzalez in Kansas City. Cooley will be on the field for almost all of the snaps, lining up as a tight end, in the backfield, in the slot and split wide. Cooley, who caught 71 balls last season, is unlikely to catch 102 as Gonzalez did in 2004 because of the presence of Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El. Saunders didn't have wideouts of their caliber with the Chiefs. . . .

Even though the Ravens have two running backs, Jamal Lewis and Mike Anderson, who were NFL starters last year, they still could add another running back in the draft. Lewis signed what is essentially a one-year contract and could play elsewhere in 2007, and Anderson turns 33 early next season. So the Ravens need to think about their future at running back. If they do draft a back, it probably won't be in the first round. . . .

Just because the Rams are moving free-agent pickup Will Witherspoon from outside to middle linebacker doesn't mean he is going to be banging helmets with guards on every play. The plan is to let Witherspoon run by freeing him up to make plays. He has experience playing in the middle, both in college and with the Panthers as a fill-in for Dan Morgan when he was injured. It likely will be easier for Witherspoon to move from the weak side than it would have been for Pisa Tinoisamoa, the Rams' incumbent at that spot. With Witherspoon, Tinoisamoa and Dexter Coakley, the Rams have three linebackers who probably are best suited to play on the weak side.

HarveyWallbangers

04-10-2006, 10:24 AM

King thinks the Saints are seriously interested in A.J. Hawk. Funny what Bob Kraft said about Minnesota's acquisition of Steve Hutchinson.

Nice. "If Houston is thinking of not taking Reggie Bush, they all ought to be fired there.''

Prime position
Peter King, SI.com

T-minus 19 days till draft day, and counting. Here's what we know right now:

1. Barring a major upset -- like Reggie Bush's announcing between now and April 29, "I detest rodeo'' -- the Texans will make the USC running back the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

2. The Titans will take a quarterback with the third pick in the draft and may trade up to No. 2 to prevent the Jets from getting Matt Leinart.

3. The Jets will probably try to take a quarterback with the fourth pick in the draft and may trade up to the second pick to prevent the Titans from selecting Leinart.

4. The Saints, picking second, are in the catbird's seat of all catbird's seats. They don't want Bush, they don't want a quarterback and they might be able to finagle some football currency, like a second-round pick -- from the Jets, Titans or some other team high in the draft -- to move down and still get the same guy they would have picked at No. 2.

If the catbird's seat fits, nest in it.

"I don't know about that,'' New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis told me the other day. "I don't know if I'd agree that it's such a great thing to be in our position, considering we had to go 3-13, fire a coaching staff and lose a great player like Darren Howard in free agency in the process of getting there.''

But, and Loomis knows this, what's great about the Saints' position right now is they have three guys they really like -- Virginia tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams and Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk, a slight surprise to be considered that high -- and they can afford to move down one or two spots and still get one of those elite players. By moving down, New Orleans would do two things: they'd pick up another first-day draft choice (maybe the 35th overall pick, now owned by the Jets, or Tennessee's second-round pick, the 39th overall), and by picking their player lower than No. 2 overall the Saints would save some money in the deal. Even if the Jets quarreled with New Orleans and were willing to give only a high third-round pick, it's to the Saints' advantage to make the deal. They'd still pay their player less and they'd get a potential starter for moving down.

All three players would make New Orleans better immediately. Ferguson could slide into the left tackle spot and give New Orleans an excellent bookend situation with second-year tackle Jammal Brown on the right side. Defensive end isn't a major need position, but the Saints' pass rush was putrid last year, and Williams, even though he flashes on and off at times, still has enough of Julius Peppers in him to fascinate most scouts. In Hawk, the Saints see a modern-day Chris Spielman. Imagine having on your r?sum?, "Led Ohio State in tackles for three straight years.'' That's a pretty big wow.

The Saints haven't gotten any deal-making phone calls yet, but I think it's a matter of time before the Jets or Titans call. Whether a deal gets done depends on how much those two teams fall in love with Leinart or Vince Young in the next couple of weeks. Leinart is the more logical choice, because he's more pro-ready. That's going to be the best story over the next 19 days -- what the Saints do with the pick and who's the aggressor trying to get it.

Quote of the Week I

"From a coach's standpoint, you have to say the right things, that we'll be competitive and we'll win, and I truly believe Mike McCarthy will do a fine job. But really, what have we done to replace the guys that we've lost on the line?'' -- Brett Favre, to Green Bay Press-Gazette columnist Chris Havel, on his uncertainty over the reconstruction of the 2006 Packers, and his uncertainty about whether he wants to play football again with such a shaky team.

Quote of the Week II

"You don't give out a $49 million contract to a guard. That's lunacy.'' -- New England owner Bob Kraft, to Ron Borges of the Boston Globe, on the contract Minnesota gave to guard Steve Hutchinson.

Quote of the Week III

"I was a spaz.'' -- Tiger Woods, to CBS, on his performance in the Masters on Sunday.

Aggravating/Enjoyable Travel Note of the Week

Friday night, 8 p.m. I'm in the office of my house in Montclair, N.J., fretting. Should I take the Continental nonstop at 6:45 in the morning to Memphis and drive the 45 minutes to Tunica, Miss., to hear whatever Brett Favre's going to say? Or should I pull the covers over my head, roll the dice and hope he's not going to announce anything?

I read the snippy quote from a Favre family spokesperson on the AP wire, that if you want the scoop, you'd better get there early. He's retiring. He must be. I call and get a seat on the plane. I'll miss the press conference, but I'll get there in plenty of time to take the retiree's temperature.

I call a reporter friend on the scene, who has no idea what Favre's going to say. But he does say Favre seem ticked off to see all these reporters there. He's not retiring.

I get club president Bob Harlan on the phone. "We haven't heard a thing,'' he said. "I had lunch with [GM] Ted Thompson and [coach] Mike McCarthy today and they hadn't heard anything from him.'' Well, there's no way he'd retire without calling the Packers. That'd be a slap in the face, wouldn't it? He's not retiring.

I get a Packer Deep Throat on the phone, a man in the organization close to the story. PDT is worried. Very worried. Because, he says, Favre and McCarthy talked for an hour and 45 minutes on the phone this week and Favre asked McCarthy a couple of times, "Are we gonna have a chance to win?'' PDT says that if the Packers had gone out and signed two or three names and/or good offensive linemen, Favre would certainly be coming back. He says he doesn't know if Favre's going to retire or not on Saturday. Now I start thinking: I'd better go.

I go to bed. It's 11:30. Phone rings. I'm asleep. "Sorry to wake you," someone on the scene says. I say, "It's OK. I had to get up to answer the phone.'' Bus Cook, the agent for Favre, has just said to someone on the scene, "I don't know why you're here.'' In other words, nothing's happening.

I turn the alarm, set for 5, off. I'll be staying home on Saturday. Still, when Favre announces, "No change,'' I breathe a little easier.

Stat of the Week

The Saints have used high picks to fortify their defensive line and pass rush in the past several years. And so it seems odd to hear the team so interested in picking North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams with their first-round pick ... until you consider these numbers:

Saints' 2005 sack total: 25 Saints' 2005 NFL rank in sacks: 31st Saints' prospective 2006 starting defensive ends (Will Smith, Charles Grant) sack total in 2005: 11

Ten Things I Think I Think

1. I think this is the thing about Favre's indecision: I don't blame him. Not one bit. But obviously nothing's going to change now. The Packers are being built for the next five years, not for 2006 alone. They've re-signed a very good free-agent defensive end, Aaron Kampman; a decent but so far underachieving former first-round defensive tackle with the Rams, Ryan Pickett; a better safety (Marquand Manual) than they had in-house; and the top three running backs they had in camp last year before injuries murdered their backfield -- Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, William Henderson. They lost Favre's center and latter-day security blanket, Mike Flanagan, who had started 64 Packers games snapping it to Favre, in free agency to Houston -- meaning they now have lost the center and both starting guards in the last two years. That's bad.

Anyway, I stray from my point, which is that Thompson, for better or for worse, is not a believer in spending cap money just for the sake of spending, even when you've got $20 million in cap dollars to spend. We'll find out if that's wise in the next year or two, when we see if Thompson is building the next great Packers team or just another bad NFL club. But Favre has to decide this one thing: Do I love playing football enough to risk playing on another bad team in my last year in football? Or do I not want to invest the time, sweat and energy it takes to get through an NFL season? He sure sounds like a guy ready to retire.

But I would caution everyone who seems so certain that Favre has played his last game to remember one of his statements from his news conference on Saturday. "It's in my blood. I love to play the game.'' I have not spoken with Favre, but I have spoken with several Packers employees in recent weeks. They all say he seems pretty bored sitting on his 465 acres near Hattiesburg, Miss. So I can't tell you what he'll do. But if I have to put the mortgage down on one side or the other, I'd say it's 55-45 he won't play again.

2. I think, apropos of nothing, that the Browns, picking 12th, and Eagles, picking 14th, would do handsprings if somehow, some way, USC tackle Winston Justice fell to them. I don't see it happening. Coach Andy Reid believes in building early in drafts on the lines and he'd love to have that long-term tackle in-house. Reid met with Justice in Los Angeles recently and liked him. Reid doesn't think Justice's off-field incidents -- one with pulling a toy-type gun on another student -- are much to worry about.

3. I think the Vince Young travelogue isn't giving us a whole lot of clues about his future. Houston last Thursday, Miami on Monday, Tennessee on Wednesday. He'll work out for the Jets in Houston on April 18. Well, Houston's not picking him. Miami, picking 16th, just might. I think we'd all agree that Young might fall, but not halfway through the first round. I still have no idea where this guy is going.

4. I think it's just a matter of time before Bobby Petrino is an NFL coach. He's the Louisville guy who spurned the Raiders this year. He's going to be a good one from what I hear. Very organized, very smart.

5. I think I'm going to give you a draft sleeper now, if you promise you'll remember where you heard it first. Kellen Clemens, quarterback, Oregon. Missed the last half of last season with a broken ankle and he's been off some teams' radar screens until recently, when he worked out very well. He's a little short, at 6-foot-1?, but he has a knack for throwing off his toes, so he plays taller than he is. Good enough arm. Though he's probably not on many teams' top 10 list of quarterbacks right now, he's rising up the charts and could work his way into a first-day draft pick. (Now watch. He'll be a free agent who gets a $2,500 signing bonus to sign with Saskatchewan.)

6. I think my favorite line of the week comes from Ron Jaworski, who is an unabashed Reggie Bush supporter and told me the other day, "If Houston is thinking of not taking Reggie Bush, they all ought to be fired there.'' And speaking of Bush, it doesn't sound to me that there's much chance of the Texans passing on him. When Bush went to meet with the team last week, he left the building very in sync with the coaches, particularly on how he'd be used in the Houston offense. "We were pretty much both on the same page,'' Bush said. "It'd be similar to the way I was used at Southern Cal, being established as a running back first and then splitting out wide and playing a little receiver and returning punts and kicks." Smart guys. The more people in the NFL look at Bush, the more they think he's a very solid first overall pick -- even if he did run the ball more than 20 times only twice in his three-year college career.

7. I think someone who likes him has got to get to Ralph Wilson, quickly, and say, "Ralph, you may not like this system very much, but you're 10 times better off with the system your peers overwhelmingly voted for instead of a system without a salary cap.'' It's impossible not to respect Wilson because he's such a devoted Buffalo person and such an anti-carpetbagger. But some of his criticisms of the new CBA are way off-base. If this deal hadn't gotten done, the next great Buffalo free agent (Willis McGahee, maybe) might have gone to Washington for three times what the Bills would have been willing to pay him a couple years down the road. I can't believe he doesn't see this.

8. I think the one thing we all forget when analyzing NFL schedules is how much teams can change from April to November. What looks like a Bataan death march in the spring can look like a piece of cake around Thanksgiving. But I do know this: The New York Giants had better be good around Labor Day, or they'll exit September 0-3. Indy at home, at Philly, at Seattle are their first three games. And that, folks, is about as tough as a September can be, with three teams that have been in conference championship games in the last 16 months.

9. I think what makes baseball so interesting, at least to me, was on display over and over in the first week of the season. It's so interesting because it's so ridiculously unpredictable. ESPN's Peter Gammons, who I respect as much as anyone in this business, said somewhere before the season that Baltimore righty fireballer Daniel Cabrera was the best pitcher he'd seen in all of spring training this year. In Cabrera's first start, on Friday against Boston, he faced 14 batters. He walked seven of them, gave up three hits and retired four. In my Rotisserie league, the last American League starting pitcher left on the board was Tampa Bay's Mark Hendrickson. Believe me, the guys in this league know what they're doing. I think some of the men who invented baseball are in it. So Hendrickson goes out in his first start and throws the first complete game of the year, a three-hit shutout of Toronto. The best pitcher on the planet, Johan Santana, starts 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA. Barry Zito, who gives up seven runs in 1 1/3 innings in his first game, throws a six-inning one-hitter in his second. Jake Westbrook, Justin Verlander, Brad Penny, better than Randy Johnson, Roy Halladay, Pedro Martinez.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. The Masters in high-def, I would imagine, is only slightly less an experience than the Masters in real life. What vivid pictures.

b. I think, from the lame previews, there is no movie I have ever wanted to see less than The Benchwarmers. Who thinks of this vapid crap?

c. You all think I'm a closet sexist, but not only do I not back down from my opinion last week that ESPN screwed up by putting the women's basketball semifinals on ESPN and the first game of the baseball season on ESPN2, I feel even more strongly about it now.

d. Coffeenerdness: Is it possible that coffee craving can be diminished by caffeinated green tea? Who out there would know that? All I know is, after having a large Bigelow green tea in the morning, I can easily go the day without a coffee.

e. Line of the night, in Sopranos episode 5, from Tony to Dr. Melfi as he resumes his regular visits to the shrink and starts to get probed about the dark events that led to the gunshot: "Gloom is your business. And business is good.''