Sports Betting Professor

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers, minus star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, began their mandatory veteran minicamp Friday.



Here are some notes and observations:

• It’s early, but it appears cornerback Bryant McFadden has the inside track to reclaim his starting job with the first-team defense. McFadden was the starter during Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl run after the 2008 season and was plugged right in during the opening of minicamp. He returned to Pittsburgh via a draft-day trade with the Arizona Cardinals.
  
  
  
  “I’m just trying to get back adjusted,” McFadden said. “A year removed seems a little longer than what it is. We got a couple of new wrinkles in [the defense].”

• Pittsburgh starting outside linebacker James Harrison was an excused absence from the first day of minicamp Friday because of a family situation.
• After leaving the team late last season, Steelers receiver Limas Sweed rejoined the group and said he was going through some personal issues with his family. Sweed appeared happy to be back on the practice field.
  
  
  
  “It feels good,” Sweed said. “I feel like a kid again, playing the game I’ve been playing for a long time. It’s good to be back and it’s good to be around the guys.”

• Here are some rookie jersey numbers of interest: Maurkice Pouncey is No. 53, linebacker Jason Worilds is No. 97, linebacker Thaddeus Gibson is No. 90, and tailback Jonathan Dwyer is No. 41.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Some wiseacres have suggested Brett Favre’s looming ankle surgery has given him the excuse he needs to skip Minnesota’s training camp. But listening to Vikings coach Brad Childress speak Friday, it didn’t sound like Favre needs a reason.

Childress

Favre

Childress reiterated in stronger terms that he would support a late arrival for the second consecutive year. In 2009, Favre signed three days after the Vikings’ first preseason game.



“I don’t have a lot of illusions about the timing of the things,” Childress said. “There was no manual back then, and he played at a high level. How much [work] does he need? He knows. I’ve got a ballpark idea of how much he needs, and obviously what he got last year was plenty.”



So after a day that included multiple statements from Favre about his ankle, we’re essentially back to where we started: The Vikings will continue to wait for an official word but are operating as if he will return. Childress said “I still don’t know” for sure, but did compare the procedure Favre likely will undergo as a maintenance-minded “grease-oil-filter.”



A couple other observations from Minnesota’s rookie camp (with reports on all NFC North teams coming at some point this weekend):

• Joe Webb is one big dude. The Vikings drafted Webb in the sixth round, hoping to convert him from quarterback to receiver. He was listed at 6-2 or 6-3 in many pre-draft analyses, but the Vikings have him at 6-foot-4 and he is every bit of it. I have no idea if he can play receiver in the NFL, but he sure looks the part.
• Spoke briefly with tailback Toby Gerhart, whom the Vikings hope will fill the Chester Taylor role as a backup/third-down back. Gerhart seemed fully aware that his ability to pick up blitzes will play the biggest role in whether he wins that job. “You have to understand your scheme, who you have, who the line is blocking and who you are responsible for,” Gerhart said. “Once you get the hang of that, it’s picking up tendencies. There are a lot of subtleties you can see on film from safety rotations to alignment tendencies. Then you got to have to have the will and stick your head in there and protect the quarterback.”

Ron English isn’t making excuses for Eastern Michigan being one of just two FBS teams to go winless last season, but he does note that the Eagles were a team in transition.



As he tried to implement a different, more physical style in his first season as the Eagles’ head coach, several players and coaches failed to adapt.



That’s why the Eagles added six new coaches this offseason, including defensive coordinator and former Detroit Lions linebacker coach Phil Snow, linebackers coach Steve Morrison (the former defensive coordinator at Western Michigan) and defensive line coach Ken Delgado. They also lost 39 players, only 14 of whom were seniors.



“I want a physical football team and a team that’s going to be able to run the ball and stop the run on defense,” English said during the Mid-American Conference coaches call. “And so, we changed everything and the way we practiced changed and the amount of contact changed. And to be frank with you, I think that was hard on a lot of guys here that were maybe recruited to another type of system.”



Among the players who left was quarterback Kyle McMahon, who transferred to Grand Valley State. McMahon threw for 634 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions last season and was supposed to be the main competition to Alex Gillett, who finished the season as the Eagles’ starter. Gillett completed 49.7 percent of his passes for 763 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions last year, which caused English to reopen the starting quarterback competition this spring with redshirt freshman Devontae Payne.



English said both players had good spring campaigns, but that he wasn’t ready to name a starter.



“Both exceeded expectations,” English said of his young quarterbacks. “Now, we hope they don’t throw the ball to the wrong guy or mishandle the football, but they both have different strengths. Devontae Payne’s a 6-6 guy, very strong arm, really can throw the ball, and you know, we were pleased with the fact that he learned the game a lot better than we thought, he assimilated a lot better to what we were asking him to do.



“And then, Alex Gillett is a kid who is just going to do everything right. He’s really a winner. He’s a tough guy. He could be a starting safety on our team. He can run the ball and he makes good decisions. He spends forever studying. So, we were really pleased with the play of both of those quarterbacks. Now, are they where they need to be? No. But did they make huge strides? Yes.”



At the very least, English said his team responded better this spring than it did a year ago. While he’s waiting for several players to arrive on campus this fall, he said the guys who participated in spring bought in and are excited for the 2010 season.



Now the next step is getting a win.



“I think going into your second spring, the players know what the expectations are and the coaches know what they are,” English said. “I think you can practice faster because everybody is aware of what is going to take place and I think you can really focus on the things that need to be addressed. So, I was pleased with the spring, but we have a long, long way to go.”

NFL teams once could take for granted their quarterbacks’ ability to get a team in and out of the huddle.



Not so much these days.



Sam Bradford, the Rams’ new franchise quarterback, was focused on that aspect of the offense in his first practice as a professional after running a no-huddle attack at Oklahoma. Bradford said he felt “very comfortable” in the huddle.



“He does take charge and that kind of stuck out, which I thought was good,” coach Steve Spagnuolo told reporters.



This was Day 1 for Bradford and a welcome change from the nonstop preparation and posturing that typifies the months leading up to the draft.



“I woke up a little before my alarm went off this morning and all I was thinking about was today,” Bradford said. “It’s been a long time. I really wasn’t sure how it was going to go today just as far as schedule and the practice, but once I got out there, I felt really comfortable and I really enjoyed it. It was just fun being out there with the guys today.”



The Rams have about four months to get Bradford ready for the season and determine how quickly he might be ready to start for them. As excited as they’ll be to get him on the field, they need to make sure he has enough help around him before throwing him into the lineup.



Jason Smith — the host from ESPN Radio’s AllNight, not the Rams tackle — debated that issue with me late Thursday night. We also discussed broader issues across the NFC West. Here’s the audio.

Washington receiver Jermaine Kearse said he hasn’t much noticed the “Jake Locker-Jake Locker-Jake Locker Syndrome” that has infected the national media.



Much of that is due to Locker himself.



“You don’t really notice it that much because Jake is real down-to-earth person,” Kearse said. “He’s not cocky. He doesn’t flaunt it in any way.”



Locker may be a Heisman Trophy candidate and he may be the top pick in the 2011 NFL draft, but here’s a guess that his secret weapon also will gain significant exposure next fall: Perhaps the Pac-10’s best receiving corps.



All of Locker’s targets are back in 2010. That includes five players who caught at least 25 passes and two who ranked among the Pac-10 leaders — Kearse and Devin Aguilar. A third, James Johnson, was the best freshman receiver in the conference.



Kearse, however, was the top Dawg. He earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors and ranked fourth in the conference with 866 receiving yards — the seventh-best total in school history — and his eight touchdowns tied for second. His 17.3 yards per reception ranked first.



While Kearse had two clutch receptions during the winning drive of the USC upset, the fact is, after a mediocre fall camp, he started slowly in 2009. He didn’t really become productive until the fifth game at Notre Dame — eight receptions, 94 yards and a TD — but in the final four games he caught six touchdown passes. In the season finale, a dominant win over California, he hauled in seven passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.



That run suggests bigger things may be ahead for the 6-foot-2, 198-pound junior. It should help that secondaries won’t be able to gang up on him because of the deep supporting cast around him.



While Kearse sprained his foot and won’t play in the Huskies spring game tonight — yes, it’s Friday Night Lights — he feels good about how things went this spring.



“I focused on yards-after-catch — that’s been my emphasis the whole spring,” he said. “I think I got better at that.”



Oh, and as for that Locker guy, he’s doing OK, too.



“He’s a lot more accurate,” Kearse said. “His confidence is building up. He’s become more of a leader. He’s just getting better. Everyone knows how good he is.”



Like many of his teammates, Kearse seems bored by questions about the contrast between the spring following the 2008 season — a new coach coming aboard after a humiliating 0-12 finish — and this spring, after they went 5-7 and lost four games by eight or fewer points and became comfortable coach Steve Sarkisian, his staff and their schemes.



“It’s not that much different,” he said.



Really?



What is clear, however, is that, with 20 starters back, expectations are exponentially higher. And so is the confidence.



“We expect to go to a bowl game,” he said.

Hello,
Rich Allen here from www.sportsbettingprofessor.com
Well how bizarre was that. Upset after upset in the first round is making for a very intriguing second round. We saw the top 3 seeds in the conference fall to the bottom 3 and now it’s anybody’s playoffs to win. The first round just goes to prove that you’re only [...]

The Lombardi Award released its preliminary watch list this week and of the 75 players mentioned, 11 are from nonautomatic qualifying schools.



It’s interesting to note that four of the players on the list are from TCU. I guess that’s what happens when your defense is the best in the country each of the past two seasons.



The Rotary Lombardi Award is awarded annually to a down lineman who lines up no farther than 10 yards to the right or left of the ball and linebackers who are no further than five yards from the ball.



Players earn their way onto the preliminary watch list by earning All-American honors or by being named to their respective all-conference first team as selected by the conference’s coaches.



The list will be updated prior to the start of the 2010 season.



Here’s the list of the candidates from the nonautomatic qualifying schools:



Jeff Battipaglia OT Navy



Nick Bellore LB Central Michigan



Marcus Cannon OT TCU



Tank Carder LB TCU



Wayne Daniels DE TCU



Jake Kirkpatrick C TCU



Marcus McGraw LB Houston



Bruce Miller DE UCF



Nate Potter OT Boise State



Matt Reynolds OT BYU



Ryan Winterswyk DE Boise State

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There was a white stretch Hummer limousine in the parking lot off the Carolina Panthers‘ practice fields Friday morning. For the record, it did not deliver Jimmy Clausen to his first NFL minicamp practice.



The limousine had nothing to do with Clausen. We don’t know exactly what the limousine’s purpose was or if it even involved the Panthers (the parking lot actually serves several businesses on Cedar Street). I didn’t go out of my way to track down what was up with the limousine once I made sure of one thing.



“No, nothing to do with [Clausen] at all,” a Panthers official said.



If you know anything at all about Clausen’s past, that’s rather significant. There is history there with him and white limousines, and things like that have created a rather unflattering portrait of a guy who puts himself above everything and everyone else.



That legendary story about Clausen arriving in a white Hummer limousine at the College Football Hall of Fame to announce his commitment to Notre Dame? It’s never going to go away. It’s part of the Clausen lore that has rubbed some people the wrong way.



But, had you watched Clausen on Friday morning, you would have wondered whether perhaps the portrait was wrong. Or you would have wondered if he’s trying to paint a much different picture as he makes a new start.



I won’t give you a detailed play-by-play account of Clausen’s first practice. Let’s just say he seemed to throw the ball pretty well and it was only one practice for a team that’s coming together for the first time. But I will give you a detailed account of Clausen’s other actions because they may be a lot more significant.



Hummer coincidence aside, this kid looked and sounded very humble.



“Just trying to be one of the guys,” Clausen said.



He spent time chatting with All-Pro left tackle Jordan Gross and you could see both laughing and smiling. He also brought a gift for receiver Steve Smith.



“I had to bring him a 12-pack of Cactus Cooler (a soda that’s not available on the East Coast), so I had to sneak that on the plane and bring it to him,” Clausen said.



If this kid’s cocky or full of himself, which has often been suggested in the past, you couldn’t find a single glimpse of it.



“I can’t wait to get to know all my teammates,” Clausen said.



He went on and talked about his desire to be a team leader, how he’s working on learning the playbook and he heaped praise on Matt Moore, who, at least for the moment, is No. 1 on Carolina’s quarterback depth chart.



But let’s face the facts. There is a quarterback competition in Carolina. Even John Fox, who doesn’t publicly admit much, sort of admitted it.



“Right now, [Moore] is the No. 1 quarterback,” Fox said. “Those guys will decide that, not me.”

(Read full post)

I’ve already said everything I want to say (for now) about Brett Favre’s pending ankle surgery, but it’s only fair to pass along a statement Favre posted on his website. Favre revealed that he “likely” has bone spurs in his left ankle and said it is not a debilitating situation. If anything, Favre clouded the issue by suggesting there are factors other than his ankle that will contribute to his decision to play in 2010.



Here’s the full statement:

I want to add to the information provided in the article that was published this morning on ESPN’s website. Given the reaction to the article, and the typical conclusion jumping, I thought I’d clarify a few things.



While my ankle has been bothering me, the injury is not debilitating. For example, I’m able to work around my property without any problems. Sure – certain exercises cause some ankle pain, but it’s nothing that I haven’t experienced (or played with) before. In fact, many people don’t realize that I injured my ankle before the NFC Championship game. I’ve had surgery on this ankle twice before, and I’ve played with the pain before. The hits I took throughout the 2009 season, including the Saints game, just added to the ankle pain and likely caused some bone spurs.



I don’t believe major surgery on the ankle would be required for me to return in 2010. I’ve consulted with Dr. Andrews on the phone, and a relatively minor procedure could be done to improve the dexterity of the ankle, and to relieve the pain. I’ve put up with pain worse than this in my career, and I didn’t want anyone to assume that the possibility of surgery was the sole factor that would determine whether I return or not. Some people reacting to the ESPN story have made this assumption. I don’t blame them for doing so, given that the term “surgery” often covers a variety of procedures, some more complex than others.



The ankle pain is a factor, but one of many factors that I’ll need to consider in making my decision. Other factors include the input of my family, and the wonderful experience that I had last year with the Vikings.

If it’s late April, you know what that means. Yes, it’s time for ESPN.com’s NFL Power Rankings. The draft is over and most of the free-agent moves have been made, so that gave our experts plenty to work with.



They’ve got two NFC South teams in the top 10 and the Super Bowl champion Saints are No. 1, which is precisely where they should be. The Falcons are No. 10 and I think you can make a case for them being ranked even higher. They had a bunch of injuries last year and still went 9-7. They’re going to have everyone back healthy and they’ve added Dunta Robinson.



Carolina’s ranked No. 18, which sounds about right. I’ve got a hunch John Fox is going to coach his tail off and the Panthers might surprise some people this year. But let’s see them do it first.



The Bucs are ranked No. 30. I think the Bucs really improve themselves with the draft, but it isn’t like they were starting off as an elite team.