Getty Images After one particularly big win during the Patriots’ run early last decade, Bill Belichick warned his players about the media love they were about to receive.
“They’re going to come in here and blow smoke up your ass,” Belichick said according to Michael Holley’s excellent document on the era Patriot Reign. “They’re going to give you b–w jobs, tell you how great you are, they’re going to pile it on thick.”
Belichick finished his talk, looked at his players, and noticed Mike Vrabel’s hand was in the air.
“Yeah, Mike,” Belichick said.
“What was that you were saying about b–w jobs?”
The team died laughing. By all accounts, that moment is Vrabel in a nutshell. He was quick enough to make the joke, and knew he was respected enough by Belichick to pull it off. Vrabel had great instincts on the field and in the classroom; he knew Belichick got a kick out of him.
(As Tom Curran points out in a great piece on CSNNE.com, Vrabel was a world class smart ass.)
There were better Patriots during the team’s three-championship run, but perhaps no player other than Tom Brady embodied the era better. Vrabel was versatile, which Belichick prizes. The new Ohio State linebackers coach lined up at outside linebacker, inside linebacker, and famously at tight end. He could stop the run as well as he could cover.
He was known for his athleticism and leadership. He played with an edge, yet was perhaps defined by his intelligence. Holley wrote how coaches were continually surprised at the amazing recall Vrabel had of formations and tendencies of opponents.
“During his Patriots career, there was no player more respected for his football intellect and revered for his leadership by his teammates than Mike,” Belichick said in a statement Monday. “He was elected a team captain by his peers and is a player who I think everyone knew was destined to become a coach after his NFL playing career was over.
“Mike Vrabel is as well-suited for coaching as any player I have ever coached. He has a tremendous feel for people, players, coaches and what his team needs regardless of the situation. He is outstanding in his knowledge of the game, which contributed to his excellence as a player. I have no doubt Mike will develop tough, intelligent, fundamentally sound winners.”
Drafted by the Steelers, but barely used until he got to New England, Vrabel will ultimately be remembered as one of the catalysts to New England’s title run.
“He is a champion in every sense of the word and I’m confident all of these qualities will make him a great coach,” Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli said Monday. “I cannot overstate my respect for him as a person and a football player. If there were a Hall of Champions, Mike Vrabel would be a first ballot selection. ”
Vrabel won’t make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but that’s not the point. Those Patriot teams weren’t about the stars. Heck, Brady is the only surefire Hall of Fame player from the run. (Richard Seymour, Adam Vinatieri, Ty Law, and Rodney Harrison will have arguments.)
Vrabel stuck out, even on a team greater than the sum of its parts. On this day, he deserves a little smoke blown up his ass.
Tweet Posted by Mike Florio on July 12, 2011, 9:17 AM EDT
Reuters We’ve done several lockout-related polls, and the outcome has shown much more support for the owners’ positions and interests than would be expected from the average fan.
It’s time to do one on the rookie wage scale.
On Monday, we obtained a copy of the memo breaking down the respective positions of the league and the players. As to the critical question of paying first-round draft picks, the owners want the first 32 players selected to be required to sign four-year contracts, with a team option for the fifth year. For the first eight players in round one, the fifth-year pay would be 150 percent of the average salary of a starter at the player’s position, with a floor of $6 million and a ceiling of $12 million. For the next eight players in round one, fifth-year salary would be 125 percent of the average starter, with a guaranteed minimum of $5 million and a limit of $10 million. For the second half of round one, pay in the fifth year would be the average salary at the player’s position, with no minimum pay figure.
The players have proposed instead as to the first 16 rookies picked a fifth-year option salary based on the average pay for the 10 highest-paid players at the position. For the second half of round one, the players have proposed an option-year salary based on the average pay for the 20 highest-paid players at the position.
Since the problem the league purports to be addressing relates to the payment of gigantic amounts of guaranteed money to rookies who never earn it, we continue to be confused by the league’s reluctance to reward in year five a player who has earned his pay in years one through four. It makes us think we’re missing something.
So we’ll leave it to you to let us know whether we are. Cast your vote in the poll pasted below.
Tweet Posted by Michael David Smith on July 12, 2011, 9:16 AM EDT
In the 1990s, one of the best barstool debates for NFL fans was whether Barry Sanders or Emmitt Smith was the best running back in the league. But while that may have been (and may still be) a fun argument for fans and members of the media, it’s not an argument that Sanders will participate in.
Asked in a radio interview if he was better than Smith, Sanders answered, “I would never say that. He was too great of a player, and I loved competing against him.”
Sanders might not want to get into it, but the rest of us can. The arguments for Sanders are that he was more of a big-play threat than Smith, that he averaged 5.0 yards a carry to Smith’s 4.2, and that he was doing it behind a much weaker offensive line, and without a great passing game to keep defenses honest. The arguments for Smith are that he lasted longer, racked up 3,000 more career yards, was better in short yardage and did much more in the postseason.
At least, those are the bare-bones arguments. I’m sure PFT Planet will go into more detail below. I’ll get things started by saying that my vote, admittedly biased as someone who was a Detroit-area 12-year-old when the Lions drafted Sanders, goes to Barry.
Tweet Posted by Josh Alper on July 12, 2011, 8:54 AM EDT
Getty Images Checking in with Bills DT Marcell Dareus’s preparation for his rookie season.
The Dolphins don’t have many big moves to make in free agency.
Said Patriots coach Bill Belichick of Mike Vrabel, “Mike Vrabel is as well-suited for coaching as any player I have ever coached.”
Jets QB Mark Sanchez took a fan to the premiere of the latest Harry Potter film.
WR Derrick Mason said he’ll retire if the Ravens win the Super Bowl.
The family of former Bengals RB David Turner is looking for more answers about what led to his death in an altercation with police.
RB Jason Snelling would be an interesting player for the Steelers to look at in free agency.
Was 2010 Texans WR Andre Johnson’s most impressive season?
Rob Rang of CBSSports.com thinks Stanford QB Andrew Luck has mental aptitude to rival Colts QB Peyton Manning.
A look back at the first home win in Jaguars history.
Titans RB Stafon Johnson is involved in an effort to improve the health of kids in Los Angeles.
Former Broncos TE Shannon Sharpe will be presented for induction at the Hall of Fame by his brother Sterling.
LB Andy Studebaker thinks his time with Mike Vrabel on the Chiefs will help him become a starter.
Another list of free agents with Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha at the top.
The legacy of Chargers QB Philip Rivers is already being discussed.
The Cowboys could cancel training camp in San Antonio very soon.
Eagles DE Brandon Graham hopes to get medical clearance to return to action in September.
Reasons for optimism and pessimism about each of the Redskins rookies.
It is looking less likely every day that the Hall of Fame Game will be played.
Is Packers QB Aaron Rodgers the best choice to lead a NFL team in 2016?
The Vikings need to find a replacement for S Madieu Williams.
Have the Saints hit a stumbling block in the NFC South race?
The latest “timeline” for a labor deal would likely save the Buccaneers’s trip to London.
Said Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald of his contract ending after the 2011 season, “If they want to keep me they’re going to have the first option to keep me. If they don’t, then obviously I have to find employment elsewhere.”
Taking issue with former Rams RB Marshall Faulk’s decision to have his agent present him at the Hall of Fame ceremonies.
Are the 49ers going to move Nate Clements to safety?
A closer look at Seahawks rookie CB Byron Maxwell.
Tweet Posted by Michael David Smith on July 12, 2011, 8:35 AM EDT
Getty Images Can Cam Newton start for the Carolina Panthers from Week One? He thinks he can — and he says that if he gets that chance, he’s not going to blow it.
“If the opportunity presents itself, whatever that opportunity is, I’m willing to take it,” Newton told the Charlotte Observer. “Simple and plain. And the last thing that I want or need is if that opportunity presents itself and I’m not ready and I’m not prepared for the opportunity. Because you only get one chance at greatness. If you pass on that, it very well could be no other time. Some people get two times, three times, even four. But you can’t be ticked off if that opportunity presents itself and you look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I failed.’ Or ‘I wasn’t ready.’”
Newton says that if he’s not ready to go from Week One, he’s not going to blame the lockout.
“I had every single opportunity to be successful, working at it,” Newton said. “I got the playbook. And everybody’s in my situation. I would be somewhat disgruntled if every team in the NFL had minicamp and training camps and just the Carolina Panthers didn’t. But everybody is suffering from this.”
In other words, Newton is putting it out there right now: If he’s a bust, there’s no one to blame but Newton himself.
Tweet Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on July 12, 2011, 8:30 AM EDT
AP While the rest of the football world waits for the NFL and NFLPA* to get their act together, the Browns are playing football.
And since there isn’t a lot else going on in the football world this Tuesday, we thought we’d bring you some notes from the fourth “Camp Colt [McCoy], courtesy of Mary Kay-Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, who is on the scene in Austin, Texas.
1. About 30 players showed up for the sessions. They are staying at a resort in Austin, while McCoy brings them around to his favorite barbecue places. The first day compromised of a lot of classroom/tape work, then two hours of practice in 103 degree weather.
2. Rookies Phil Taylor and Owen Marecic met their teammates for the first time. Taylor worked out separately like most of the defense during the offseason, but this was a full-squad session. Marecic was still in classes at Stanford.
3. Cornerback Sheldon Brown is coming off rotator cuff surgery and is limited in practice. He says he’ll be ready when he needs to be.
4. This very well may be our last players-only practice report in a while. Perhaps a decade. Let’s hope so.
Tweet Posted by Michael David Smith on July 12, 2011, 6:54 AM EDT
Getty Images The death of Pro Football Hall of Famer John Mackey, whose post-NFL life was a mess of health problems, has fellow Hall of Famer Gale Sayers feeling angry that the league and its players didn’t do more for Mackey.
Sayers told the Chicago Tribune that the NFL could have done more to help Mackey, who suffered from dementia and spent his final years in an assisted-living facility.
“You know, John Mackey died at 60-something [69],” Sayers said. “[The NFL] could have helped him more, I felt. But they didn’t, and the players could have helped more, and it didn’t happen.”
Although Sayers says he personally is doing fine and doesn’t need any assistance, he seems to be angry that the people making money in today’s NFL don’t show more appreciation for the people who built the league.
“There is no question that the game wouldn’t be a game if it wouldn’t have been for those people who played in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s and ‘60s. The players today are on our shoulders. They think they made the game the way it is today. And they didn’t,” Sayers said. “The [pioneers of the game] played for $5,000 a year, or $10,000 or $15,000. They played for that much money so that these players got $10 million or $20 million a year. Today’s players think they did it by themselves. It’s unbelievable how they could think and feel that way.”
Tweet Posted by Mike Florio on July 11, 2011, 9:50 PM EDT
Getty Images As the NFL and the players attempt to iron out whatever wrinkles remain in the labor negotiations, the lawyers are expected to spend Tuesday dwelling on the details before the principals return to the room.
Both Albert Breer of NFL Network and Sal “45 Down” Paolantonio of ESPN reports that the owners and players, along with Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA* executive director DeMaurice Smith, will be back on Wednesday.
Per Breer, the lawyers for the two sides met for roughly five hours on Monday, after caucusing privately. They’ll get together again tomorrow.
Paolantonio says that mediator Arthur Boylan will monitor progress via e-mail, and that he’s available for “a short phone call or two” if necessary.
Though we respect Boylan’s ability to take his vacation, speaking from the perspective of a guy who’s currently on vacation, there’s plenty of time in the day to take a short phone call or two.
Tweet Posted by Michael David Smith on July 11, 2011, 8:20 PM EDT
AP Last month we noted that the mother of one of Terrell Owens‘ children was suing him for failing to pay child support. Now the woman’s lawyer says the situation has been handled.
Melanie Paige Smith, who has a child with Owens, filed court papers on June 20 in Atlanta, saying Owens refused to pay the full $5,000 a month he owes. But the Associated Press reports that her lawyer, Randall Kessler, has now filed court papers to dismiss the request that Owens be held in contempt, saying that Owens has made the payments.
There have been conflicting accounts of how many children Owens has. An episode of The T.O. Show featured two of his daughters meeting each other for the first time. Owens said in an interview last year that he has a three-year-old son whom he’s never met because of hard feelings between himself and the boy’s mother. It is not clear whether Smith is the mother of one of those children.
Tweet Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on July 11, 2011, 7:34 PM EDT
Getty Images One thing that’s easy to forget when considering Adam “Pacman” Jones’ recent troubles: The guy was no lock to make the Bengals roster anyway.
Jones is a nickel back coming off neck surgery. Check that: two neck surgeries. Evan Silva noticed this section from a Bengals.com article:
“Adam Jones indicated in a Channel 9 interview Sunday following his disputed arrest in a Cincinnati bar that he “just had” surgery on the neck he injured last season,” Geoff Hobson writes.
Jones also had neck surgery last October. So unless he was referring to that one (while wearing a neck brace), it appears Jones has undergone two surgeries of late.
We’ve counted Pacman out too early before, but this combination of events could wind up marking his eighth and ninth life as an NFL player.
Tweet Posted by Mike Florio on July 11, 2011, 6:49 PM EDT
Getty Images It’s now widely accepted that the last remaining major issue to be resolved between the league and the NFLPA* relates to the rookie wage scale, a formula for paying players taken at the top of the draft far less than they’ve been otherwise making.
The two sides really aren’t all that far apart. Based on a summary of the situation that the NFLPA* recently provided to player reps, a copy of which we have obtained, three main points need to be ironed out.
First, the owners want first-round picks to be subject to a maximum of four-year contracts plus a team option for the fifth year. For the first eight players in round one, the fifth-year pay would be 150 percent of the average salary of a starter at the player’s position, with a minimum of $6 million and a maximum of $12 million. For the next eight players in round one, fifth-year salary would be 125 percent of the average starter, with a minimum of $5 million and a maximum of $10 million. For the second half of round one, pay in the fifth year would be the average salary at the player’s position, with no minimum.
The players have proposed instead as to the first 16 rookies picked a fifth-year option salary based on the average pay for the 10 highest-paid players at the position, which essentially is the same formula used for the transition tag. For the second half of round one, the players have proposed an option-year salary based on the average pay for the 20 highest-paid players at the position.
Next, the owners have proposed an overall dollar limit on rookie contracts of $840 million. This would result in no additional money for players taken in rounds two through seven above minimum salaries (and, presumably, a slotted signing bonus). The players, in contrast, have proposed a total dollar limit of $884 million, which would provide players taken in rounds two through seven a chance to negotiate salaries higher than the minimum salaries.
While the owners want to spend $44 million less per year on rookies, that’s $44 million that would go to veterans and retired players.
Finally, the league wants to impose penalties on rookies who hold out at some point during the term of their rookie contracts. The players oppose this proposal.
The players’ financial proposal would result in savings of $157 million per year, and $1.099 billion over the expected 10-year term of the new CBA.
We’re told that, on Friday, the talks bogged down over the issue of how to pay the first eight picks. Call us crazy, but it seems like the two sides are pretty close to a deal on that point.
It also seems like the league should accept the players’ offer. Why shouldn’t a player taken in the top half of the draft who has played well enough in his first four years get top-1o money at his position if the team wants to keep him for a fifth year?
Again, the owners seem to be banking on the rest of the players eventually selling out the top eight draft picks. And maybe in the end they will, especially since they’re really not fighting over all that much money.
Either way, if this is the only issue left, the two sides aren’t at the five yard line. The ball is practically kissing the plane of the end zone, and both sides simply need to find a way to avoid pulling a DeSean Jackson.
Tweet Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on July 11, 2011, 5:20 PM EDT
On Saturday, the lawyer for receiver Hines Ward said his client was not impaired when arrested for a DUI over the weekend. The police report from the incident tells a different story.
Cops who pulled Ward over said he had bloodshot, glassy eyes, according to the Associated Press. He failed a series of field sobriety tests, and was pulled over after Ward’s car hit a curb in Georgia.
We’re a little confused why Ward would so vehemently deny the charges when he knew he failed tests and the police report would inevitably come out.
Not owning up to the charges will only bring about more negative attention.
Tweet Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on July 11, 2011, 4:58 PM EDT
Not everyone is feeling optimistic about a labor deal being approved by July 21.
One nameless NFL player that spoke to Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com believes the owners are using the media to pressure players into a deal.
“All that is hype coming from the owners side to try and put pressure on us to do a deal. They want to make us look bad. It’s simply not true. There is a lot of work to be done. They are not close,” the player said. “Consider where that information is coming from, it’s the owners. Their reason is to try and create all this false hope to put more pressure on us.”
While we’d love to know if the player has direct knowledge of daily labor developments, his point is fair to consider. It wasn’t long ago we heard the end of June as a realistic target. Then July 4, then July 15, and now July 21.
The player says he’d be “shocked” if we had a deal in 10 days.
“Do it one-on-one like their predecessors used to do. When Gene Upshaw and Paul Tagliabue went into a room, they got it done. That’s what needs to happen now,” the player said. “The players in there are smart, but they don’t know how to close a deal. As for Goodell, he needs to drop his nuts. He needs to have the power to do a deal. It needs to be two guys in a room.”
Tweet Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on July 11, 2011, 4:08 PM EDT Getty Images After one particularly big win during the Patriots’ run early last decade, Bill Belichick warned his players about the media love they were about to receive.
“They’re going to come in here and blow smoke up your ass,” Belichick said according to Michael Holley’s excellent document on the era Patriot Reign. “They’re going to give you b–w jobs, tell you how great you are, they’re going to pile it on thick.”
Belichick finished his talk, looked at his players, and noticed Mike Vrabel’s hand was in the air.
“Yeah, Mike,” Belichick said.
“What was that you were saying about b–w jobs?”
The team died laughing. By all accounts, that moment is Vrabel in a nutshell. He was quick enough to make the joke, and knew he was respected enough by Belichick to pull it off. Vrabel had great instincts on the field and in the classroom; he knew Belichick got a kick out of him.
(As Tom Curran points out in a great piece on CSNNE.com, Vrabel was a world class smart ass.)
There were better Patriots during the team’s three-championship run, but perhaps no player other than Tom Brady embodied the era better. Vrabel was versatile, which Belichick prizes. The new Ohio State linebackers coach lined up at outside linebacker, inside linebacker, and famously at tight end. He could stop the run as well as he could cover.
He was known for his athleticism and leadership. He played with an edge, yet was perhaps defined by his intelligence. Holley wrote how coaches were continually surprised at the amazing recall Vrabel had of formations and tendencies of opponents.
“During his Patriots career, there was no player more respected for his football intellect and revered for his leadership by his teammates than Mike,” Belichick said in a statement Monday. “He was elected a team captain by his peers and is a player who I think everyone knew was destined to become a coach after his NFL playing career was over.
“Mike Vrabel is as well-suited for coaching as any player I have ever coached. He has a tremendous feel for people, players, coaches and what his team needs regardless of the situation. He is outstanding in his knowledge of the game, which contributed to his excellence as a player. I have no doubt Mike will develop tough, intelligent, fundamentally sound winners.”
Drafted by the Steelers, but barely used until he got to New England, Vrabel will ultimately be remembered as one of the catalysts to New England’s title run.
“He is a champion in every sense of the word and I’m confident all of these qualities will make him a great coach,” Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli said Monday. “I cannot overstate my respect for him as a person and a football player. If there were a Hall of Champions, Mike Vrabel would be a first ballot selection. ”
Vrabel won’t make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but that’s not the point. Those Patriot teams weren’t about the stars. Heck, Brady is the only surefire Hall of Fame player from the run. (Richard Seymour, Adam Vinatieri, Ty Law, and Rodney Harrison will have arguments.)
Vrabel stuck out, even on a team greater than the sum of its parts. On this day, he deserves a little smoke blown up his ass.
Tweet Posted by Mike Florio on July 11, 2011, 4:05 PM EDT
AP When word broke of Pacman Jones‘ latest arrest, we pointed out that, if he remains on probation for any of his past guilty pleas, he could be facing a separate problem.
Unfortunately for Pacman, he has not yet completed probation in Las Vegas due to charges arising from the NBA All-Star weekend rainmaking, which led to some gunshooting.
Per the Associated Press, Clark County District Attorney David Roger will review whether Pacman violated the terms of his probation. Roger said that a decision to pursue, or not pursue, the matter may not come for “weeks.”
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jones had served only five months of a one-year probation term.
Typically, an effort to prove the violation of a probation order entails a much lower legal standard than “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” And that would make it easier for Roger to put Pacman what New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls “the slammer.”
That’s why it was even more important for Pacman to constantly avoid any situation that could potentially lead to a claim that he jeopardized the probation order that kept him out of jail. Early Sunday, he failed. It remains to be seen whether that means, after more than 10 legal problems since joining the NFL, he’ll finally do time.
Tweet Posted by Mike Florio on July 11, 2011, 3:36 PM EDT
Whenever folks leave their jobs on terms characterized publicly as voluntary, it’s common if not routine to wonder whether it wasn’t voluntary at all. Today’s candidate for game that should be known as “The Pursuit of Other Interests” is Redskins’ COO Dave Donovan. The team has announced that Donovan is returning to the firm at which he practiced law before becoming a full-time employee of the Redskins.
Per our friends at CSNWashington.com, Donovan disclosed the decision during a Monday staff meeting.
“We want to thank Dave for his years of service with the Redskins,” owner Daniel Snyder said in a statement issued by the team. “Even though he is returning to the law firm where he worked prior to joining the team, he will continue to consult with the Redskins as he did prior to joining the organization. We look forward to continuing our relationship and wish him the best of luck in his new position.”
Said Donovan: “I have had a great six years with the Redskins. It has been an experience I will always appreciate and never forget. For personal reasons, I am returning to partnership in the law firm that I left in 2005. I am thrilled that I will have the ability to continue my relationship with the Redskins. I would like to thank Dan Snyder and all coaches and staff who I have worked with over my time with the team.”
Generally speaking, working in-house for a client is regarded within the legal community as less stressful and demanding than working at a private law firm, where the competing interests of multiple clients, the pressure to generate revenue via billable hours with no reward for efficiency, and often vicious office politics make life a lot harder. And so at first blush it will be reasonable to infer that, for whatever reason, the relationship between Donovan and the Redskins simply wasn’t working.
It’s also impossible not to wonder whether the move represents a shift by Snyder away from the aggressive pursuit of the team’s legal rights. On Donovan’s watch, the team decided to sue season-ticket holders — and Snyder launched a highly unpopular lawsuit against the City Paper. On that point, only time will tell.
Either way, the fact that so many people have been pushed out of their employment with fairly vanilla explanations being offered means there’s always a chance that there’s something intriguing lurking behind every fairly vanilla explanation that ever is offered when someone leaves a job.
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