Random roster stuff
Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 3:34 pm
Some is firsthand knowledge, some secondhand, some regurgitated from elsewhere...
--Rudi Johnson is absolutely on the trade block. My Bengals guy put it at 90% he's gone by the start of the season. Tampa Bay and Denver are both serious about him. Houston and Buffalo have called too.
also on the Bengals front, Chad Johnson's shoulder is worse than they are letting on. He can't put his own helmet on right now, no strength at all in his shoulder
--CLE is going to be rumored to pick up just about every CB you've heard of who gets cut, but they're not as desperate as you'd think. They're going to sign at least one guy, my guess is it won't be Ty Law or Ricky Manning but rather a guy like Ashton Youboty or Corey Ivy, a younger guy with upside. Law might get signed as a stop-gap because both safeties will miss the opener and he can fill that hole too, but I wouldn't expect him to stick around long unless he's great.
--Buffalo is fully prepared to play this season without Jason Peters. No way they acquiesce to his demands, zero zilch nada. Ralph Wilson would rather go 2-14 than set a precedent with renegotiating his deal. That Peters and his people haven't figured that out yet doesn't speak well of him or his future in BUF.
--All that Ronnie Brown trade talk is hooey, but Ricky Williams is truly back and as good as ever. And the MIA OL is better than you think--rookie Donald Thomas won the RG job with consistently great run blocking. Jake Long has learned a lot and Vernon Carey is being a good mentor, telling him why he didn't do so well on the left side and how Jake can avoid those mistakes.
--Look for Jason Hill to fill the Shaun McDonald/Mike Furrey role in SF for Martz--lots of catches, decent opportunities for YAC. Hill is bigger than Arnaz Battle and that's important because O'Sullivan tends to miss high when he misses. And my sources tell me Isaac Bruce is basically done.
--KC kicking is a freaking joke. In practice Tuesday they had to have Colquitt come in to kickoff because the kickers sent 11 straight kickoffs out of bounds and the return teams couldn't get any work in.
--Pittsburgh's OL is in the top 5 in run blocking but the bottom 5 in pass blocking. One Steeler told men he's be shocked if Big Ben survived 16 games. and Mendenhall is legit and will probably get more carries than Parker.
--Kyle Boller's career is probably over. His shoulder injury and how he's been throwing is exactly how Tim Couch looked at the end. He's had to learn how to brush his teeth and wash his hair lefthanded, that's how messed up his shoulder is.
Some names to watch who might be on the move soon:
Devery Henderson, TJ Duckett, Adrian Peterson the Bear, Shawntae Spencer, Kalvin Pearson, Paul Oliver, and three rookies who have flamed a la Buster Davis and Quentin Moses: Mario Maningham (as an IR stash), John Greco, and Jason Jones, much to my shock.
--Rudi Johnson is absolutely on the trade block. My Bengals guy put it at 90% he's gone by the start of the season. Tampa Bay and Denver are both serious about him. Houston and Buffalo have called too.
also on the Bengals front, Chad Johnson's shoulder is worse than they are letting on. He can't put his own helmet on right now, no strength at all in his shoulder
--CLE is going to be rumored to pick up just about every CB you've heard of who gets cut, but they're not as desperate as you'd think. They're going to sign at least one guy, my guess is it won't be Ty Law or Ricky Manning but rather a guy like Ashton Youboty or Corey Ivy, a younger guy with upside. Law might get signed as a stop-gap because both safeties will miss the opener and he can fill that hole too, but I wouldn't expect him to stick around long unless he's great.
--Buffalo is fully prepared to play this season without Jason Peters. No way they acquiesce to his demands, zero zilch nada. Ralph Wilson would rather go 2-14 than set a precedent with renegotiating his deal. That Peters and his people haven't figured that out yet doesn't speak well of him or his future in BUF.
--All that Ronnie Brown trade talk is hooey, but Ricky Williams is truly back and as good as ever. And the MIA OL is better than you think--rookie Donald Thomas won the RG job with consistently great run blocking. Jake Long has learned a lot and Vernon Carey is being a good mentor, telling him why he didn't do so well on the left side and how Jake can avoid those mistakes.
--Look for Jason Hill to fill the Shaun McDonald/Mike Furrey role in SF for Martz--lots of catches, decent opportunities for YAC. Hill is bigger than Arnaz Battle and that's important because O'Sullivan tends to miss high when he misses. And my sources tell me Isaac Bruce is basically done.
--KC kicking is a freaking joke. In practice Tuesday they had to have Colquitt come in to kickoff because the kickers sent 11 straight kickoffs out of bounds and the return teams couldn't get any work in.
--Pittsburgh's OL is in the top 5 in run blocking but the bottom 5 in pass blocking. One Steeler told men he's be shocked if Big Ben survived 16 games. and Mendenhall is legit and will probably get more carries than Parker.
--Kyle Boller's career is probably over. His shoulder injury and how he's been throwing is exactly how Tim Couch looked at the end. He's had to learn how to brush his teeth and wash his hair lefthanded, that's how messed up his shoulder is.
Some names to watch who might be on the move soon:
Devery Henderson, TJ Duckett, Adrian Peterson the Bear, Shawntae Spencer, Kalvin Pearson, Paul Oliver, and three rookies who have flamed a la Buster Davis and Quentin Moses: Mario Maningham (as an IR stash), John Greco, and Jason Jones, much to my shock.
