HEAV
03-28-2005, 07:02 AM
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Chicago Bears QB Rex Grossman should be ready for Chicago's mini-camp in May after a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Week 3 ended his season. "He's dropping back, throwing the ball downfield," Bears HC Lovie Smith said. "He'll be full go."
The St. Petersburg Times reports you can count former Dolphins FB Rob Konrad among the players who believe NFL off-season programs are too long and intense and are contributing to the recent increase around the league in injuries. "Guys are completely worn down," said Konrad, who was a player representative for the Dolphins. "Our program in Miami was too much. ... A huge issue for us is injuries. The human body can only take so much." Although the Dolphins won't play a regular season game until September, a "voluntary" 14-week conditioning program has already begun. And even before 15 days of training camp in July, Miami players will have participated in 14 days of organized team activity, plus two extra mini-camps allowed because HC Nick Saban is a first-year coach. And, because Miami plays five exhibition games, including the Hall of Fame Game against Chicago on Aug. 8, instead of the usual four games, training camp will begin as early as July 4. "It will be a hell of an off-season," said Konrad, who was released by Miami this year and is expected to sign with Oakland. "All this does is shorten careers. Another issue is that coaches like (Dave) Wannstedt will never run an easy camp because they're afraid they'll be blamed if they lose. No coach wants to be perceived as soft."
The Gaston Gazette reports when CB Ricky Manning Jr. heard the Carolina Panthers gave free agent CB Ken Lucas from the Seattle Seahawks a six-year contract with a cool $13 million signing bonus, the news did not sit well. “Initially I was upset, you bet,” Manning said. “That was my first thought.” But after a few hours passed, Manning began to look at the decision from the team’s perspective and came to accept it. “We weren’t very good on third downs last year,” Manning said. “So when it comes down to it, all this move has done is make us a better team. I just think it makes our secondary better. It was a good unit last year and now it’s even better.” However, the move likely means less playing time for Manning, the team’s hero in the NFC playoff two years ago.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady isn't talking about that rumored post-NFL political career. After dining at N9NE Steak House at the Palms on Saturday night, Brady and Palms owner George Maloof stopped at my table. When asked whether there was anything to the political possibilities raised by his sister Maureen, Brady deftly sidestepped the question. He was in town, he said, for a couple nights of gambling before heading back to the San Francisco area to start training for a shot at a fourth NFL championship in five years. Moles tell me that MGM Mirage is not happy that Brady, nearly a scratch golfer, stays at the Palms and plays at Shadow Creek, the course reserved for MGM Mirage VIPs.
Another area of need for the Browns is quarterback. Auburn's Jason Campbell has a private visit set up with the team in the coming weeks. Campbell answered a lot of questions about his ability at the Senior Bowl and continues to improve his draft status after a solid performance in the school's pro day workout last week. Campbell is an alumnus of Steve McNair's quarterback school, which he attended early in his career. He fits the mold that head coach Romeo Crennel covets.
The San Diego Chargers are drawing up a new playbook for their stadium development campaign that features a broad-based appeal to labor, environmentalists and affordable-housing advocates. Team officials are working to get a development plan – including a new stadium, more than 6,000 housing units, offices, retail, a hotel and a park – before city voters in November 2006. The project would be at the 166-acre Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley, which the city owns.
The Browns will entertain South Carolina speedster Troy Williamson, whose stock is skyrocketing, today. Williamson, considered the premier deep threat in the draft, is listed as the third best wide receiver on some boards behind Braylon Edwards and Mike Williams.
Titans starters missed 153 games last season due to injuries after missing only 27 in 2003, so Coach Jeff Fisher and strength and conditioning coach Steve Watterson looked back at all the 2004 injuries to see if they could've headed off trouble. They concluded it was just one of those years, which means players shouldn't expect dramatic changes when the team's annual offseason training program begins today at Baptist Sports Park.
The St. Petersburg Times reports you can count former Dolphins FB Rob Konrad among the players who believe NFL off-season programs are too long and intense and are contributing to the recent increase around the league in injuries. "Guys are completely worn down," said Konrad, who was a player representative for the Dolphins. "Our program in Miami was too much. ... A huge issue for us is injuries. The human body can only take so much." Although the Dolphins won't play a regular season game until September, a "voluntary" 14-week conditioning program has already begun. And even before 15 days of training camp in July, Miami players will have participated in 14 days of organized team activity, plus two extra mini-camps allowed because HC Nick Saban is a first-year coach. And, because Miami plays five exhibition games, including the Hall of Fame Game against Chicago on Aug. 8, instead of the usual four games, training camp will begin as early as July 4. "It will be a hell of an off-season," said Konrad, who was released by Miami this year and is expected to sign with Oakland. "All this does is shorten careers. Another issue is that coaches like (Dave) Wannstedt will never run an easy camp because they're afraid they'll be blamed if they lose. No coach wants to be perceived as soft."
The Gaston Gazette reports when CB Ricky Manning Jr. heard the Carolina Panthers gave free agent CB Ken Lucas from the Seattle Seahawks a six-year contract with a cool $13 million signing bonus, the news did not sit well. “Initially I was upset, you bet,” Manning said. “That was my first thought.” But after a few hours passed, Manning began to look at the decision from the team’s perspective and came to accept it. “We weren’t very good on third downs last year,” Manning said. “So when it comes down to it, all this move has done is make us a better team. I just think it makes our secondary better. It was a good unit last year and now it’s even better.” However, the move likely means less playing time for Manning, the team’s hero in the NFC playoff two years ago.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady isn't talking about that rumored post-NFL political career. After dining at N9NE Steak House at the Palms on Saturday night, Brady and Palms owner George Maloof stopped at my table. When asked whether there was anything to the political possibilities raised by his sister Maureen, Brady deftly sidestepped the question. He was in town, he said, for a couple nights of gambling before heading back to the San Francisco area to start training for a shot at a fourth NFL championship in five years. Moles tell me that MGM Mirage is not happy that Brady, nearly a scratch golfer, stays at the Palms and plays at Shadow Creek, the course reserved for MGM Mirage VIPs.
Another area of need for the Browns is quarterback. Auburn's Jason Campbell has a private visit set up with the team in the coming weeks. Campbell answered a lot of questions about his ability at the Senior Bowl and continues to improve his draft status after a solid performance in the school's pro day workout last week. Campbell is an alumnus of Steve McNair's quarterback school, which he attended early in his career. He fits the mold that head coach Romeo Crennel covets.
The San Diego Chargers are drawing up a new playbook for their stadium development campaign that features a broad-based appeal to labor, environmentalists and affordable-housing advocates. Team officials are working to get a development plan – including a new stadium, more than 6,000 housing units, offices, retail, a hotel and a park – before city voters in November 2006. The project would be at the 166-acre Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley, which the city owns.
The Browns will entertain South Carolina speedster Troy Williamson, whose stock is skyrocketing, today. Williamson, considered the premier deep threat in the draft, is listed as the third best wide receiver on some boards behind Braylon Edwards and Mike Williams.
Titans starters missed 153 games last season due to injuries after missing only 27 in 2003, so Coach Jeff Fisher and strength and conditioning coach Steve Watterson looked back at all the 2004 injuries to see if they could've headed off trouble. They concluded it was just one of those years, which means players shouldn't expect dramatic changes when the team's annual offseason training program begins today at Baptist Sports Park.