May

31

The Gab Report - 05/31/2007

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In today’s Gab Report, site editor Matt Loede and columnist Jim Dubenetzky discuss all the recent happenings in the NFL. Topics inlcude the new look Cleveland Browns, who’s hot in the NFC, the rash of young players dying in the league, off-season training activites, and the latest on Trent Green.

 
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May

31

Goodell Says “No More” To Alcohol in Locker Rooms

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In a move that is sure to upset quite a few players and team personal around the league, the NFL has decided to ban alcohol from team functions and on buses or flights. The ban used to only apply to the locker rooms, but now that rule appears to have a lot more power behind it’s punch. Another part of the rule is that the ban does not only apply to players, but also to owners, coaches and guests.

“I believe that no constructive purpose is served by clubs continuing to make alcoholic beverages available, and that doing so imposes significant and unnecessary risks to the league, its players and others,” Goodell wrote to all 32 teams in a letter obtained by the AP.

The league is looking to possibly avoid another death like that of baseball pitcher Josh Hancock of the St.Louis Cardinals, who died after what was ruled an alcohol-related accident. Baseball did not pass down the type of rule like the NFL, and basically said that it’s up to each team to decide if they want alcohol in their locker rooms or not.

Over the top or not, Goodell continues his recent streak of laying down the law in the National Football Leauge. From suspending players to now telling teams what they cannot have in their locker rooms, the new commish is not shy in quickly making his mark around the league.

May

31

Quinn Struggles Early With the Browns

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All reports so far from the Cleveland Browns mini camp has Brady Quinn suffering from the usual rookie problems at QB in the NFL.  After his surprising slide in the recent draft to No. 22, it could be that he’s feeling a little more pressure than normal.  Combine that with the fact it’s his home team and it’s understandable he would have early adjustment problems.  However, I feel confident in predicting that by mid-season of 2007, he will be the starting QB for the Browns.

Every year while leading the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, Quinn improved in every major category for passing.  Granted the tutelage of  offensive genius Charlie Weiss helped the last two, he showed an exceptional ability to learn.  He is conceivably the type of player to build a franchise around similar to the dynasty days of the 1980’s and early ‘90’s.  The competition he must face this year in either Charlie Frye or Ken Dorsey is only marginal at best.  Let’s face it, the Browns weren’t exactly a good team last year, but looking at their draft picks and other acquisitions, they are close this year.

Frye will most likely be the starter at the beginning of the season due to his experience, but will ultimately be met with cries of “Brady, Brady” from disenchanted Browns’ fans early in the season.  Of course, Romeo Crennel, the Browns Head Coach will most assuredly deny a QB controversy for another few games until finally, Quinn will get his chance.  With what should be a reasonably strong running game in William Green and Jamal Lewis and the addition of possession receiver Joe Jurevicius and hopefully, a healthy Kellen Winslow, Quinn has some respectable targets whom to throw the ball.  And if Braylon Edwards can overcome his recent trip to the doghouse, Quinn will also have a legitimate deep threat.

My prediction is to look for Quinn to silence the pre-draft “nay Sayers” by either the middle of the 2007 season or at the latest next year and outshine Jamarcus Russell like he wasn’t able to do in last year’s Sugar Bowl.

May

31

Moulds Signing With Titans Not Going to Happen

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The Tennessee Titans made it official on Thursday, they will not be going after former Bills and Texans wide out Eric Moulds.  Head coach Jeff Fisher indicated Thursday that despite his experience, which the Titans sorely need, Moulds is not in the Titans plans.  Said offensive coordinator Norm Chow: “Yeah, it would be nice to get an older guy, but I don’t think we should get an older guy just to get an older guy. He has to be able to help.”

The current wide outs that Tennessee has on their roster caught 45 passes for 637 yards last year combined.  One of those wide receivers, veteran David Givens, may not play at all this season because of a serious knee injury.  Brandon Jones, Roydell Williams and Courtney Roby are all third-year pros on the roster.  Fisher spoke about his somewhat obscure roster or pass catchers.  “Go out there every day and show (the coaches and front office) that they don’t need to get this guy or that guy to make them better,” Young said. “Everybody has to sell papers and this and that, but from what I see these guys are getting better catching the ball and doing what they are supposed to do.”

The Titans are still looking to fill the void of former wide outs Drew Bennett and Bobby Wade, who left via free agency in the offseason.  One player the team is counting on is Justin Gage, who the team signed from the Bears this past spring.  The team will still keep their eyes open on the free agent market to see if any decent receivers get released due to salary cap reasons.  For now, Moulds is still a man without a team.

May

31

Johnson To Race Horse For Charity - Lewis Loses Sleep

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If nothing else you have to give Bengals wide out Chad Johnson credit - he keeps things interesting. Johnson is back in the headlines, as he is going to headline an event titled “Man vs Beast,” in which he will race a 4-year-old colt at a charity event in Cincinnati on June 9th. The event will not only draw a large crowd at River Downs, but will also be simulcast on more than 400 outlets across the country.

The horse will break from inside a starting gate, while Johnson will break from outside the rail, going 11/`6 of a mile to the wire. The story reads that the distances are calculated to create a photo finish. Now no offense to Johnson, who is always looking to have his name in headlines, but don’t you think that it’s these types of stunts that keep Bengals coach Marvin Lewis awake at night?

As if the Bengals don’t have enough problems off the field with keeping players out of the police blotter, now they have to hope that one of their biggest star players doesn’t get hurt in what comes down to nothing more than a stunt. Sure it’s unlikely that Johnson, a great athlete, will come up lame or get injured in the race, but at this point with the Bengals looking to get back to the top of the AFC North - why take the chance?

Can’t Johnson and the Bengals think of better ways to raise money for charity? How about signing 1,000 autographs for $20 apiece? That would be a nice, safe way to make money. Leave the racing t the horses C.J. It’s simply not worth it if something stupid happens.

May

31

Leave Football Alone Mark; A New League is Doomed to Fail

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It’s been tried before and failed, and now if a group of men with more money then they know what to do with it try it again, mark it down - it will fail. If your not following, a report broke Wednesday that Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban and a group are looking into the shot at forming a new football league that would rival the NFL. The league would play their games on Friday nights, and would focus on players drafted lower than the second round.

Right off the bat, this possible league has failure written all over it. Never mind the fact that Friday night is, across the country, the night for high school football, but how about those players drafted lower than the second round that go on to solid NFL careers? Why in this day and age would a player pass up the shot to play in the NFL to jump to a league that looks more like something thrown together like a backyard game then a league that long run would succeed.

Cuban told the AP on Wednesday that “We think there is more demand for pro football than supply.” I hope for Cuban’s sake, he takes a look at a couple of the previous challengers to the NFL’s title of the supreme football league, and decides to take a step back from the project. The other guy behind this league is Bill Hambrecht, who was a minority partner with the old Oakland Invaders, who played in the USFL from 1983-1985. Again, he failed with the Invaders 22 years ago, and he’ll fail now.

The World League, USFL, and XFL were all leagues that had high hopes upon their introduction to the American public. It did not take long for each league to show its flaws, and within a matter of time each league became so shallow in talent, fans and media attention, they were disbanded and all the hope and dreams of each league was flushed down the toilet.

Here’s hoping that a smart guy like Cuban, who should be smart enough to use his money for better things in live, finally reaches the conclusion that this league would fail, and fail hard. Leave the NFL alone, let them continue to be the premier league in sports, and be the league that fans all over the world embrace each and every time it shows up on TV. Unlike what Cuban says, there is enough football out there, let the pros handle it Mark. Just work on getting your Mavericks to the next level. Leave the NFL alone.

May

30

Are “Voluntary” Training Practices Really Voluntary?

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In today’s Gab Report, site editor Matt Loede talks about how teams these days say that they are running “voluntary” training practices, but in effect, players such as Browns WR Braylon Edwards and Titans RB LenDale White are paying the price for not showing up due to family reasons..

 
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May

30

White’s Absence a Misunderstanding Claims Fisher

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The furor of Titans running back LenDale White missing a voluntary practice on Tuesday has been put to rest, as Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher said it was the result of a misunderstanding. While everyone was back at practice after having Memorial Day off for the Titans, White was not there, giving Fisher a shot to question the back. “I’m anxious to hear what kind of excuse he has,” Fisher said on Tuesday.

That excuse was cleared up as it came out that White was in Denver to be with his grandmother, who was just out of intensive care after suffering major health problems that include kidney failure and heart failure. After hearing of the reason for not being with the team, Fisher was quick to backtrack and give his 2nd-year back the okay for not being there. “Organized team activities are voluntary, they are not mandatory. However, we have had perfect attendance with very few exceptions,” Fisher said. “When there is someone who is not in attendance, they typically have been excused. In order to excuse a player there has to be some kind of communication involved, and in this particular case there was a misunderstanding in communication. He had family matters to take care of which I have since been informed about. He will be back in the building Wednesday. ”

White is being counted on as of this point to be the feature back in the Titans offense, and the team needs him to be there as much as possible. That is why their was concern about his not being there on Tuesday, as there has been plenty of questions about his overall dedication to being a feature back in the National Football League. Lineback Keith Bullock spoke out about White, giving his opinion about the back and his future in the league. “In the eyes of all of his teammates he needs to commit himself,” Bulluck said in the Wednesday edition of the Tennessean.”Everybody on the team likes LenDale as a person, but he hasn’t proven anything to anyone as a football player. Potential is one thing, but you have to apply it.”

For now, White is back in the good graces of his team for his commitment to being a family guy, and having a legit excuse for missing the practice. Still though, there will be questions about if he can be a starting and feature running back in the National Football League. It’s a question that the Titans, as well as Jeff Fisher has, and one that needs to be answered before the team takes the field for real on September 9th.

May

30

Crennel Sends Message Running Edwards Third String

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Believe it or not, missing a “voluntary” workout looks as if it has led to a demotion for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards. The outspoken wide out missed a workout last week after he informed the team he was not going to be able to be there. Edwards did show up the next day, and all appeared to be back to normal. That is until he was running with the third string team in drills on Tuesday. Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, whose job may be on the line this year in Cleveland, blew off that Edwards is no longer a starter on his football team.

“He did miss a day, and so he is probably just a little bit behind,” Crennel said Tuesday. “He worked on the third team. He worked with the second team, and I told the guys that the depth chart is not set in stone, and we’re going to move it around a little bit so that we can evaluate the guys and they can learn the system.” Maybe it’s not so much that Edwards is behind, but Crennel wants to send a message to his players that if you miss a team function, “voluntary” or not, you are going to pay for it. Right now it looks that way for Edwards.

Or maybe Crennel is tired of the attitude of Edwards, who seems to be the source of problems within the team every now and then. Late for a meeting here, shoving the starting QB there, bashing the starting quarterback in national radio, so on and so forth. This latest miss of a workout was due to a “family emergency” according to Edwards. He did not go into further details as to the problem.

Edwards is playing the role of good soldier, and that 2007 will be his best year yet. He has come into the workouts looking better than he has in years past, but what happens when the pads go on for real is anyone’s guess. “I saw the way in which I was perceived… ” Edwards said. “Whether it was right or wrong is a different story. I don’t want to be in last year’s category. I don’t want that type of press, negative or positive. I’m just going to keep to myself and do what I’m supposed to do.”

In some ways, Crennel knows from experience that Edwards is a ticking time bomb, and if he does put him in his place early, the bomb could go off and he could be out of a job before the teams bye week. That’s why no matter who it is, the third-year head coach is not about to take excuses from anyone on this Browns squad.

May

30

What Team Right Now is Your Pick to be NFC Champs in 2007?

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