Can't blame this one on T.O.

(also an excuse to post pictures of Eagles cheerleaders)



William T. Devlin, an evangelical Christian activist, is irate over the recently released Eagles cheerleader lingerie calendar. He is actively lobbying Eagles head coach Andy Reid to get the calendar recalled. Additionally, Devlin claims he has the support of several retired Eagles players including Irving Fryar and Herb Lusk.

But when contacted about the calendar both players said they had not heard from Devlin. Fryar and Lusk did not want to "do battle with Eagles over the calendar."

It looks like Devlin is the one caught with his pants down.

But, Devlin is not the only person upset with the Eagles calendar, he has been joined in his crusade by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Phil Sheridan. Sheridan writes that a father's number one responsibility is to keep "your daughter off the (stripper's) pole. The acid test is whether I would want to see one of my daughters in this calendar or on the Eagles' Web site, and the answer is no."

And I agree with Sheridan, kind of. His primary job as a father is to keep his daughter off the stripper pole, and by extension the Eagles lingerie calendar. But there are worse things out there than the Eagles calendar and Sheridan would be better served to warn his daughters about them. Apparently, Sheridan has never heard of the internet, which is 95% porn.

To be fair we should see what the cheerleaders themselves had to say about the calendar. Consider the reaction of Adrienne Hartman, whose photo adorns the cover, on first seeing her picture:

"Wow, I was like, 'Whoa, nakedness,' " she said after the fashion show. "I was like, 'Whoa.'

"But I was like, they actually did a really good job picking it, so I'm really happy with it. I'm pretty pleased because it's classy and professional, but sexy at the same time."

Oddly enough, that's the same line I keep using to try and convince my girlfriend to let me "immortalize" her.

My first reaction is a rant against the rightous right for trying to impose its Puritanical moral values on the rest of society, but I don't really think a quackpot activist and a second tier local journalist are going to convince the Eagles organization to get rid of the calendar.



(hat tip to Hoodie)

Quote of the Day

"I'm giving him my parking space at One Buc for as long as he's here. I mean it. I'm going to let him have my space every day that he is out there on that field."

- Head coach John Gruden offering an incentive for defensive tackle Anthony "Booger" McFarland to stay healthy.

A plethora of backs

What a difference from a year ago, when the Bucs had little runningback depth. Last season the Bucs had eight different backs play in least three games. None of those backs played in all sixteen games. Now the Bucs have one of the deeper runningback corps in the league headlined by Carnell Williams and Michael Pittman.

"That's something we're really excited about," Gruden said. "With Charlie Garner standing over here running the way he is, those are three halfbacks that we think a lot of. I think Earnest Graham's a lot better player than people know about because he hasn't had the opportunities. But he's paid his dues here and he's a playmaker. Ian Smart's as quick as hell; he's a guy who can play a little bit, too. And this Derek Watson, he's one good-looking stallion. He's a big, physical load. And ( Mike) Alstott can still run and catch and Jameel Cook's an all-purpose back."

The runningback depth chart was released yesterday and Williams is at the top, followed by Michael Pittman. Derek Watson is third. Expect the depth chart to change dramatically as training camp progresses and Charlie Garner returns from injury rehab.

Williams must prove he can pick up blitzing linebackers before the Bucs hand over starting duties completely to the rookie. Fortunately, Pittman (who is one of the better blocking backs in the NFL), has proven willing to tutor Williams. "Michael's a great blocker, so I'm definitely going to be in his ear about how should I get better and how should I do this and do that," comments Williams, "I'm definitely going to lean on him for support."

Pittman is 29 but in two weeks he hits the unlucky number for a runningback, 30. Popular opinion goes that when runningbacks turn 30 their production starts to go downhill. Sports Illustrated has an interesting article on this, which examines how the excess of runningbacks in the NFL has lowered the demand for backs. This may be part of the reason Pittman has been willing to accept a reduced role in the Bucs offense.

ESPN gives some love to Ronde

Len Pasquarelli gives Ronde Barber some well deserved national props, while describing the many roles Barber plays in the Monte Kiffin's defense.

He slices, he dices, he lines up at cornerback and, on third down, in the slot. Barber runs upfield with a wide receiver on one play, blitzes the quarterback on another, moves up to support against the run on a sweep. One of the biggest bargains in the league, even at a 2005 price tag of $3.75 million, Barber wears a lot of hats for the Bucs, which is why his teammates are typically quick to tip theirs to him.

Barber is the key to a Bucs defense that was number against the pass last season. He is also a guy that deserves to be rewarded in the future by management. While I would be surprised if he was to get too much more money, I would love to see Barber coach the Bucs secondary in the future.

Quote of the Day

"I still call him Williams. He's got to earn the "Cadillac' title."

- Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks on rookie Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

RUNNER-UP

"I was going to change his name to Dodge Ram if he didn't get in here on time."

- Head coach Jon Gruden on rookie Carnell Williams

Carnell's Contract

Carnell Williams five year contract is worth slightly less than $31 million, with a guaranteed payout of $13.1 million.

And oh yeah, there is backstory to Williams contract which Cummings does an superb job describing Williams's dedication to showing up to camp on time.

"He got in about 3 o'clock," said roommate Michael Clayton. "And at 6:30 he jumped right out of bed because I had the alarm set and he said, 'Let's go to work Mike.' He's hungry. Guys like that always show up on time."

I like this guy already.


EDIT: The St Pete Times is reporting that Williams contract has $15.1 million in guaranteed money, which is different from the guaranteed $13.1 million reported by the Tampa Tribune. Both papers report that it is a five year contract worth a max of $31 million.

More holdouts

With the start of training camp comes the list of prominent players holding out for a bigger contract. One of those guys is Chargers tightend Antonio Gates, who took the league by storm last season.

Gates, an undrafted rookie in 2003, set the league record for touchdowns by a tightend in a season, and helped guide the Chargers to a first place finish in the AFC West last season. Two years ago Gates signed a contract for $7,000, but this year he would like a contract in line with some of the best tightends. Todd Heap signed an $11 million deal earlier this year with another $11 million in signing and roster bonuses.

I think Gates is a guy like Javon Walker or Preist Holmes two years ago, somebody who deserves to get paid the big time money. Gates proved he's the best tightend in the league last year, and the Charger should pony up the dineros to keep Gates around and happy.

Besides Gates here is a list of the more prominent (non-rookie) players who are holding out:

1. Hines Ward, receiver, Steelers
2. John Abraham, defensive tackle, Jets
3. Richard Seymour, defensive end, Patriots

Caddy signs deal

Buccaneers.com is reporting that Carnell Williams has signed a deal and has reported to training camp practices today. The deal was signed several hours after midnight last night and means that Williams will not miss any training camp practices.

The Roundup: Farewell to Steussie

What a difference between this week and last. Last week the biggest football story was T.O. Now with training camps starting up, and preseason games just around the corner fans actually have something to get excited about.

1. Edgerrin James, upset with his current contract situation and, now having to travel to Japan to play in the American Bowl, said the closest he will come to Japan is Benihanas. Peyton Manning, misunderstanding Edge's statement, is waiting for his runningback at the Japanese restaurant.

2. So both Javon Walker and T.O. report to camp but Hines Ward looks like he will hold out?!? Hines Ward believes he should be paid the same amount of money as Marvin Harrison or Randy Moss. Ward said, "I am not Marvin Harrison, or T.O., but I also don't think those guys are Hines Ward." Ward turned down a contract that would have made him the highest paid Steelers player ever, but he turned down the contract.

3. Saints runningback Deuce McAllister signed a new eight year contract for $50.1 million with $12.5 million in a signing bonus and incentives. The deal makes McAllister the highest paid Saint ever, and approaches the largest deal for a runningback, LaDainian Tomlinson's eight year, $60 million contract. Notably, McAllister and his agent where able to negotiate the deal without threatening to hold out.

"I wanted to be out here with the guys and I wanted to continue to prepare," said McAllister, who did hold out his rookie season. "I didn't want to dampen anything by being a hold out or being disruptive and basically just messing up the whole flow of what they've been working on."

4. Todd "Steroid" Steussie has finally been cut by the Bucs. Hopefully, (fingers crossed) this will free up the money to sign Carnell Williams and Alex Smith. The Bucs will take a cap hit of only $667,000 in 2005, but in 2006 Steussie will count $2.67 million against the Buc's cap.

We can rebuild him . . .

"We have the technology, but I don't want to spend a lot of money." (cue music)



After the Redskins signed fullback Manuel White to a $1.8 million, four year contract, White's agent, Leigh Steinberg described White's role with the team as a "robo-back, multi-dimensional running back for the new millennium."

I'll be honest here, I don't have the slightest idea what Steinburgh is talking about. Sure I've heard of a H-back, a third down back, or a short yardage back, but a robo-back? Does he run on a catalytic converter or require a tune-up every 3,000 miles?

(hat tip to GusSchultz)

Caddy still not under contract

With Bucs reporting to training camp in Orlando, Bruce Allen has still not been able to make a deal with Carnell Williams and his agent. There are three reasons for this.

1. Neither of the runningbacks selected ahead of Williams have signed deals either. Negotiations between 4th overall pick Cedric Benson and Chicago have been rough, and it's more likely you will see Ronnie Brown as the first of the group to sign a contract. Both Benson and Brown are demanding a signing bonus in the area of $20 million.

2. Williams has demanded a signing bonus in the $15-$18 million range, but the Bucs do not currently have the cap room to pay Williams that kind of money. Allen needs to make some cuts before he can give Williams that big of a signing bonus.

3. The current Collective Baragining Agreement (CBA) for the NFL runs out in two years, and the owners are looking to renegotiate a new CBA after this season. With the influx of money from the new television contracts it is expected that the salary cap will be raised under the new CBA. But since agents have no idea how much the cap will be raised they are left asking for as much money as possible now, and trying to leave open the option to renegotiate deals in the future. Imagine a group of highly payed lawyers looking at tea leaves, and you have some understanding of what NFL agents are going through right now.

Oh yeah, rookie tightend Alex Smith needs to sign a contract too.

The rich get richer

News this morning is that wide receiver Rod Gardner has been traded to the Panthers in exchange for a conditional sixth round pick. This is a steal for the Panthers and pretty much guarantees they make the playoffs.

Everyone knew the Redskins had to trade Gardner after he refused to play for the 'Skins this season. And the fact that the Panthers only had to give up a sixth round pick for the 15th overall pick who is 27, just sweetens the deal for Carolina.

Gardner is an underrated receiver who has suffered from the quarterback/coaching carousel in Washington. The final straw came last season when 'Skins owner Dan Snyder resurrected Joe Gibbs. Gibbs is enchanted with the running game, even when his team is down by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

Despite losing Muhsin Muhammed, the Panthers should have a better receiving corp this year. They get Steve Smith back from his freak injury last season (the same injury that T.O. suffered, which caused the owners to ban the tackle that caused the two injuries). Smith is far more talented than Muhammed, and is a more emotional leader on the offense.

Gardner will fit in nicely as the second receiver, a guy Jake Delhomme can count on to catch balls on third down. And you can expect Keary Colbert, who showed flashes of brilliance last year, to get better in his second season. Plus they have Buc killer, Ricky Proehl on their team (on a side note, I will never forgive Proehl for catching that touchdown pass in the '99 NFC Championship game. How the hell did the Bucs defense let the Rams 4th receiver beat them deep?!?).

I will have more to say about the Panthers, as well as the Saints and Falcons, once the preseason games start up.

Cumming's Weekly Dose

Trib columnist and Bucs beat writer Roy Cummings offers up a training camp preview, which includes position battles.

Everyone knows that Carnell Williams will eventually surpass Michael Pittman so thankfully, Cummings spends little time breaking that position battle down. Instead, he recommends focusing on the battles between returning starters and incoming rookies at left tackle and left guard.

Two of the position battles I will be paying attention to is the one for fullback and the one for strong safety. Alstott is a fan favorite but his production has slipped due to injury, while rookie Razzano has impressed coaches and has decent hands out of the backfield. At safety, Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson will have to compete with second year player, Will Allen.

Bruce Allen, The Negotiator

Two rookies have signed contracts or agreed to sign contracts, but first let me touch on the news involving GM Bruce Allen.

The St. Pete Times reports that Paris Warren's agent, Derrick Fox, has been unhappy with the way Allen negotiates deals. Allen has only offered two or five year deals to Warren and his agent.

"There is no such thing as a two-year deal," Fox said. "After two years, they own his exclusive rights. My guy wants a chance at free agency, like any other player in the league. But they treat everyone the same. It's two years or five years, take it or leave it. That's not negotiating in good faith."

Apparently, this is something that Allen does fairly frequently, since other agents have also complained quietly about it. I have no idea why Allen would do other than to make his own job easier, by making contracts less complicated.

Anyway, on to the Buc's rookies.

Receiver J.R. Russell from Louisville, the Bucs last pick in the seventh round signed a two year deal, reportedly with a $18,000 signing bonus.

The Bucs have also come to agreement with tackle Chris Colmer, a third round pick from NC State. Colmer's contract is expected to be for five years.

That leaves four players who are not signed or have agreements to sign: first round pick Carnell Williams, and three seventh rounders, fullback Rick Razzano, receiver Paris Warren, and safety Hamza Abdullah. Carnell Williams' agent, Ben Dogra has said he expects his client to be under contract by the time training camp starts. Considering that players start reporting to camp this afternoon and the first day of practices is tomorrow, the contract better be worked out fairly quickly.

Shaun Alexander signs contract

Shaun Alexander signed an unusual one year contract with Seattle for $6.32 million, which is the amount Alexander would have recieved if he had accepted the franchise tag contract. But that's not what is unusual.

The odd thing is that one of the stipulations of Alexander's contract is that Seattle can not use the franchise tag on him next year. This means that Alexander will be an unrestricted free agent next off-season. Additionally, Alexander has a no trade clause.

This is definitely a deal that favors Alexander, despite his insistence on not reporting to training camp unless he was given a long term deal. Now Alexander has the opportunity to make a good chunk of change this year and then find a long term contract some place else. It is hard to see Alexander returning to Seattle after the break down in his relationship with Mike Holmgren. Also, the market will most likely be better for runningbacks next off season, if for no other reason than the fact that this has been the worst off-season market for runningbacks in years.

Madden's Bucs rankings

I'm a Madden junkie, so I will be salivating until the game comes out (aug. 9). In the interim, here are the stats for the Bucs players this year.

As usual, Alstott is over-rated with a 90 overall, but on the plus side he is the perfect guy for the new feature, the truck stick. This is kinda like the hit stick for an offensive player. I would also say Shelton Quarles is over-rated at 87 overall.

Larry Brackins, the rookie receiver from Pearl River Community College, speed should be higher (it is 88, it should be in the low 90's), and his awareness should be lower (it is 42). But then again I'm just nick-picking at this point.

Rookie Signings

There is absolutely no rhyme or reason for the timing of the first round rookie signings each year. There are a good three weeks between minicamp and training camp when teams have literally nothing to do except sign their draft picks (or cut players), yet the teams/rookies wait until two days before training camp to sign a contract.

There are only two thoughts that go through rookies heads when they should be signing a contract. The first is "how much is the other guy making?" and the second is "how pissed will my new coach be when I show up to training camp late?" The NFL could index the first round picks max salary to inflation based on the last year's first round pick's salary (try saying that three times fast), then the rookies could be signed a week after the draft.

Anyway, it is looking like the Bucs first round pick Carnell Williams is waiting to see what the two runningbacks ahead of him make before he signs a contract. Since Cedric Benson and the Bears appear to be having problems negotiating, it looks like we're waiting for Ronnie Brown to make a deal with the Dolphins. My guess is Williams' agent will argue for almost the same amount that Brown gets (but then again that is pure speculation).

Bucs come to agreement with Ruud

Linebacker Barrett Ruud (who's name is Germanic), the second round pick from Nebraska, has agreed to a five year deal expected to pay an average of $950,000 a year with a bonus of more than $2 million.

Ruud was originally slated to play strongside linebacker, but he impressed the Bucs coaches enough to warrant a middle linebacker position. The middle backer position carries more responsibility since it would require Ruud to call plays in the huddle. You can expect Shelton Quarles to start the year at middle backer, but I would expect Ruud to get plenty of playing time and eventually some starts sometime around week 10.

Alex Smith signs contract

No not our Alex Smith, the 49ers' Alex Smith.

Smith signed a six-year contract for $50 million with $24 million in bonus money. This is a bigger contract than the one signed last year by Eli Manning and is the most guaranteed money a rookie had ever received.

You can now expect a flurry of signings, since the market has been set (and it's a fairly expensive market at that).

The Grumpy Old Man goes after the The Eyebrows

Tony Kornheiser does not like Jay Mariotti, in fact, he would not mind if Mariotti got hit by a bus. Kornheiser was on Sports Talk 980's (which plays in the DC market) Sports Reporters talking about Mariotti this afternoon.

Kornheiser was asked if he would would mind if Mariotti and a bus occupied the same space at the same point in time. Kornheiser responded that it would be fine by him if Mariotti was scraped off the front of that bus.

Kornheiser also believes that Mariotti is trying to steal his job at PTI. The feud between the two sports reporters goes back to a couple of years ago when Mariotti bashed Kornheiser through his (Mariotti's) radio show. Kornheiser called Mariotti to find out a reason for the bashing, but Mariotti said the accusations where untrue. But Kornheiser says he heard about the accusations from the producer of Mariotti's radio show.

Mariotti stole a radio show job from Kornheiser a couple years ago. I've been trying to find out more details on how that went down, but I have been able to find out anything (although I think it was a Chicago show).

I enjoy Kornheiser's radio show and PTI stuff. He can come across as an asshole, but that is more of a public persona that he uses to make him a more compelling personality. It is refreshing to hear somebody who speaks their mind by making logical points instead of shouting louder than the guy next to him. Steven A. Smith could learn a thing or two from Kornheiser.