Latest News Updates

Rice talks with Ravens progressing (National Football Post)

Running back still likely won't be at OTAs without a new contract.

 

Deep Posts: Winslow not wanted in Tampa Bay? (Shutdown Corner)

Winslow not wanted in Tampa Bay? Ross Tucker of SIRIUS NFL Radio broke the news on his Twitter account this morning -- while hosting his show and talking to guest Kellen Winslow, Jr., it was revealed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under new head coach Greg Schiano want to go in a different direction, and are looking to trade the veteran tight end. Winslow said that he got the news Saturday night -- the Bucs will look to trade him to the right team, and if that doesn't work out (which it won't now ... public knowledge tends to kill trade value), he may be released. Winslow had one of his best seasons in 2010 , but declined along with the rest of Tampa Bay's offense in 2011. Schiano may prefer more traditional blocking tight ends in what projects to be a run-heavy offense. He also said that the team was unhappy about his choice to work away from the facility this offseason. Oh, look! It's the curl/flat again... Our buddy Chris Brown over at the indispensable Smart Football site has a brilliant article up today on the relatively simple passing concepts put together by the Indianapolis Colts of the Peyton Manning/Tom Moore era, and why they were so tough to stop despite the fact that the playbook was relatively simple and predictable (especially from a formation concept; the Colts were the ultimate three-WR/one-back team through most of the 2000s). Great read, as is most of Chris' stuff. If you want to get more into the schematic aspects of the game, check out his new book here . The real value of minicamps. Matt Bowen at the National Football Post writes about the true meaning of OTAs -- despite what many think, it's less about finding sleeper prospects and more about getting back in shape and up to speed. For rookies, the real secret to those first "voluntary/mandatory" sessions is the ability to start real playbook install. In my opinion, it will be interesting to see if any second-year players will see ancillary benefits from this, as they were prevented from early install by the 2011 lockout.

 

Boldin seeks ways to combat brain damage (National Football Post)

Ravens receiver doing research on the matter.

 

Beyond the Shutdown 50: Juron Criner, WR, Oakland Raiders (Shutdown Corner)

Now that the 2012 NFL draft is in the can, it's time to take the Shutdown 50 scouting format forward and get a closer look at some of the surprising and fascinating selections from this year's draft -- the guys we missed in the original 50, but who could be impact players now or down the road. Our next entry: Arizona receiver Juron Criner, selected by the Oakland Raiders with the 33rd pick in the fifth round (168th overall). Overview: While most of the talk about Pac-12 passing attacks in 2011 focused on the offenses led by Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley, the Arizona passing  game has been one of the more productive in the nation in recent seasons -- and receiver Juron Criner may be the primary reason for that. If you're in the group who believes that former Arizona and current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles hurt that aerial attack as much as he helped it with his inaccuracy and questionable decision-making, Criner stands out in sharper relief. After catching seven passes for 88 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman, Criner moved up to 45/582/9 in 2009, and made a name for himself in 2010, when he caught 82 passes for 1,233 yards and 11 touchdowns. He repeated that touchdown figure last year, and the rest of the numbers almost matched up (75 for 926). Criner further set himself on the radar with an exciting week at the Senior Bowl. From our own Mike Tanier's report : Criner has probably helped his stock more than any other player during Senior Bowl practices this week ... [He] does not have breakaway speed, but he appears to have the rest of the package. "I'm very agile for a man my size," Criner said after Thursday's practice. That agility was evident earlier in the week, when he made smooth cuts and adjusted to poorly thrown balls in live practices. Criner has also been demonstrating good hands and pass-catching technique, and he looks more fluid and comfortable running routes than some of the other big receivers on the South squad. Janoris Jenkins (CB, North Alabama), the likely first-round pick who transferred from Florida because of personal issues, singled Criner out as the hardest South receiver to cover this week during his Thursday press conference. "He's kinda got ball skills," Jenkins said. "If you hit his hand, he'll catch it. And he's tall." So, there's that. When he's thrown to by good quarterbacks, Juron Criner tends to make plays. And even when he's thrown to by quarterbacks who couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat, he's going to do some interesting things. Now a proud member of the Oakland Raiders, Criner has a shot at doing what Tennessee wideout Denarius Moore did in 2011 -- come out of nowhere as a late-round pick and impress the NFL. Moore went off the hook in a relative sense in his rookie campaign, catching 33 passes for 618 yards and five touchdowns. Could Criner be the next guy on the Raiders' late-draft boards to flash that same kind of long-term potential? Strengths: Shows an impressive burst for an alleged "possession receiver" -- Criner gets up to speed quickly off the line and in end-arounds. Fires upfield with an impressive second gear. Good catch radius and fine hands in space -- Criner often contorted his body to make catches when Foles was throwing with questionable accuracy. Will adjust his body to catch deep balls without losing too much speed after he's already beaten the corner or safety down the seam. Made a lot of catches despite the fact that Foles was clearly targeting him as the first read, which allowed opponents to time their jumps on the ball. Will fight to get through contact before he's wrapped up and occasionally gets free to make a big play. Senior Bowl performances showed what he could do when targeted by quarterbacks with a clue, as has his brief performances in Raiders minicamp. Frequently listed as a possession receiver, but he's got more downfield speed than the title might imply. Weaknesses: Tends to lose control of the ball when contact is coming -- doesn't have alligator arms, per se, but has trouble bringing the ball in and securing it when a defender is bearing down on him. Will lose the ball too often upon contact, leading to fumbles and incompletions. Not an especially physical player when fighting for balls with defenders in short spaces.

 

Beyond the Shutdown 50: Gino Gradkowski, C/G, Baltimore Ravens (Shutdown Corner)

Now that the 2012 NFL draft is in the can, it's time to take the Shutdown 50 scouting format forward and get a closer look at some of the surprising and fascinating selections from this year's draft -- the guys we missed in the original 50, but who could be impact players now or down the road. Our next entry: Delaware guard Gino Gradkowski, selected with the third pick of the fourth round (98th overall) by the Baltimore Ravens. Overview: Gradkowski did not expect to be selected so early in the draft. According to a profile at DelawareOnLine , he had just settled down in front of the video game console when the phone rang. "I just got done playing a game of NHL PlayStation against my cousin Carmen … I didn't even have time to get anxious about the draft because I was still mad about losing in that game." You have to love a lineman who is so competitive that he cannot let go of his rage over losing a video hockey game until Ozzie Newsome's office calls with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If Gradkowski is anything like older brother Bruce Gradkowski, then competitive fire will never be an issue. Bruce, now Andy Dalton's backup with the Bengals, has built a seven-year NFL career out of determination and little else. "The whole family has the underdog mentality," the older Gradkowski once said. "We're going to work hard to get the job done. We're disciplined. We're going to know what to do. We might not be the fastest, strongest or the biggest, but we get the job done. That's it. It's in the blood." Gino was certainly an underdog heading into the draft. He transferred from West Virginia to Delaware early in his college career so he could earn a starting job, played center and guard for three seasons, and earned All America status at the I-AA level. But Gradkowski was expected to enter the NFL as a seventh-round pick or rookie free agent. Now, he is the heir apparent to Matt Birk, and may someday be snapping to another player who took the Big Program-to-Delaware-to-Ravens path to success: Joe Flacco. Strengths: Gradkowski has fine foot quickness and lateral quickness. Delaware's offensive line took extremely wide splits, and the centers and guards pulled, trapped, and blocked on the move. Gradkowski was effective when shuffling to the side on a rollout or peeling behind the center on a trap. He appears to be very football smart and generally finds the right person to block when on the move or picking up blitzes. Gradkowski performed well at his Pro Day, benching 225 pounds 29 times and posting respectable results in agility drills. His strength is generally evident on tape, though you must take what you see with a grain of salt when what you see is a blurry image of someone nailing a Towson State defender. By all accounts, Gradkowski has a great work ethic and the right mentality for his position. Weaknesses: Gradkowski is too small to be a guard in most systems, particularly the Ravens' drive-blocking offense, and at 300 pounds he is a little small to be a starting center. He played guard in his senior season at Delaware and will have to be developed at center, his likely pro position.

 

Gettin' Giddy 'Bout David Gettis - Fan's Analysis (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

As a child I was Coo-Coo for Cocoa Puffs.

 

NFL: Packers waiting before retiring Favre's jersey (The SportsXchange)

The Green Bay Packers will wait at least another season to hold a ceremony to retire Brett Favre's No. 4.

 

Pasquarelli: Pittsburgh completes overdue overhaul of O-line (The SportsXchange)

With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger now 30, and the team's most valuable player sacked an average of 43.5 times over the last six seasons -- including 40 or more sacks in all but one of those campaigns, and coming off an ankle injury last year -- Pittsburgh has drastically retooled its blocking unit.

 

McCoy's deal, gets attention of franchised Forte, Rice (The SportsXchange)

The five-year, $45 million extension signed by Philadelphia tailback LeSean McCoy on Thursday -- with the raw numbers provided by "a league source" otherwise known as agent Drew Rosenhaus, seeming to check out as accurate -- merited considerable attention.

 

Ravens undecided on docking Suggs' pay (The SportsXchange)

Unlike the Philadelphia Eagles, who reportedly have decided to dock offensive tackle Jason Peters for his offseason Achilles ruptures -- technically regarded as non-football injuries -- Baltimore officials have made no decision about adjusting the salary of linebacker Terrell Suggs, who is due a salary of $4.9 million and roster bonus of $4.6 million for 2012.