Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Seattle Seahawks Get Safety Mike Green From Chicago Bears - AP

Wow. Apparently Chicago believed they had someone better to fill the shoes of Green, who was the second leading tackler on the team in 2004. ..Course, he wasn't in 2005.

Associated Press

CHICAGO - The Seattle Seahawks acquired veteran safety Mike Green from the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round draft pick on Tuesday.

Taken with the and final pick in the 2000 draft from Northwestern State, Green had 437 total tackles (282 solo), six sacks, four interceptions and 27 pass breakups in six seasons with the Bears.

Green was second on the team to linebacker Brian Urlacher with a career-high 138 tackles in 2002 and 132 in 2004.

Six Players Who's Stock Has Fallen - One Of Them Is RB LenDale White

According to Mike Florio at Profootballtalk.com , six players have fallen in their "stock," which is the value placed on that person relative to other players of the almost 400 college football players under consideration for the 2006 NFL Draft

STOCK HAS DROPPED FOR SIX HIGH-PROFILE PLAYERS

Although there have not yet been any final-week disclosures or developments causing one or more of the draft-eligible players with name recognition to plummet this weekend, a broader look at the past several months reveals six guys who have seen their prospects for getting drafted early decline.

This information is based on our discussions with league sources, and thus is subject to the standard possibility that someone is knocking a guy in the hopes of making sure he's available at a lower round. In the end, where the guy is drafted is where the guy is drafted. (How freakin' profound.)

1. Mathias Kiawanuka, DE, Boston College.

Viewed by some as a top-five pick prior to the 2005 season, Kiawanuka will now be lucky to be selected on day one of the draft. The perception is that Kiawanuka had his "ass whupped" at the Senior Bowl, and that he showed no leg strength or intensity. Three teams that we know of have him rated as a fourth-rounder.

2. Jimmy Williams, CB, Virginia Tech.

Williams is regarded by some league insiders as a "very bad dude" -- and not in the good way. We've heard that some teams have removed him completely from their boards.

3. Claude Wroten, DT, LSU.

We reported on Friday, citing three league sources, that Wroten tested positive at the combine. Although the teams know about the result, no one else in the media has made the connection between the positive result and the negative impact on his draft stock.

Wroten also was arrested on marijuana charges earlier this year, but the charges were dropped. To compound the problem, we're told that some teams were not enamored by his interviewing skills.

4. Derek Hagan, WR, Arizona State.

Before the 2005 season, he consistently was viewed as one of the top receivers in the country. His inconsistent hands are putting him in the round three range now.

5. Dominique Byrd, TE, USC.

Byrd was seen as one of the top two tight ends before the 2005 season. But a "brutal" pro day workout and a "lackadaisical attitude" have fueled a fall.

6. LenDale White, RB, USC.

For anyone who has been living under a rock or, even worse, on top of one, White is this year's poster child for how not to handle the run-up to the draft. A hamstring injury was disclosed when he showed up for his pro day workout. He managed a total of 15 reps in the 225-pound bench press.

At one point, White was a possible top-ten pick. Now, he'll be lucky to hear his name called by dinner time on Saturday. White's likely response?

NFL Suspends Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams For One Year


I listened to the news on ESPN. I feel sorry for Williams, as it wasn't for smoking anything, and it seems as if someone tried to get him in trouble. It also seems as if there's a kind of vendetta going on against sports agent Leigh Steinberg. First he looses Matt Leinart and after a questionable turn of events that the NFL Players Association seems blind to look into, now this.

NEW YORK Apr 25, 2006 (AP and ABC) -- Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams was suspended for the 2006 season by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league's substance abuse policy for the fourth time.

The league announced the suspension after Williams' appeal of a his latest positive drug test was denied. Williams met with NFL counsel Jeff Pash on April 10 in an attempt to have the league overturn the test.

Previous positive tests were for marijuana, which Williams acknowledged using. The latest test apparently involved a drug other than marijuana.

Williams retired and sat out the 2004 season, but returned last year to play for new Miami coach Nick Saban.

Before being allowed to return, Williams served a four-game suspension at the start of the season for his third violation of the drug program. He ran for 743 yards and averaged 4.4 yards a carry while sharing playing time with rookie Ronnie Brown.

2006 NFL Draft - SBS NFL Business Blog Partnership With The Oakland Tribune


Thanks to ANG Newspapers, Sports Editor Jon Becker, I'm proud to report that I'll be working with the Oakland Tribune in my coverage of the NFL Draft. I'm going to be their "Man On The Scene" at The Draft in NYC.

Visit the Oakland Tribune's website at www.oaklandtribune.com for our Draft coverage on Saturday, and this blog nflbusinessblog.com for coverage of the Draft on the days leading up to the main event and during it as well. My aim is to make you feel as if you're there and behind the scenes, especially since I'm taking my camcorder.

The Oakland Tribune's website will also be the center for our videos and we'll have links and content from this blog to the Tribune's website and their popular Raiders Blog "Inside The Oakland Raiders" http://www.ibabuzz.com/raidersblog

I'll also feed information to my good friend Oakland Tribune Columnist Monte Poole -- pictured at left -- as well.

It's going to be one big party! Join us!

Santonio Holmes In Miami Dolphins Draft Sights - Palm Beach Post

Holmes could be in Dolphins' plans

By Jeff Darlington
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

She never wanted her baby to fly so far away.

Yet Patricia Brown never argued. Never told her son he was wrong. Never questioned aloud his dreams, the ones that led Glades Central High School receiver Santonio Holmes to his college football career at Ohio State.

"I just thought it was a far place for him to go," Brown said, recalling her son's decision to leave South Florida four years ago. "But he said it's where he wanted to go. He said there were more opportunities than anywhere else."

As it turns out, those opportunities might earn Holmes a one-way ticket back to his mother's home — as a Dolphins draft pick.

Holmes is one of a several prospects in Saturday's NFL Draft projected to land somewhere in the range of the Dolphins' first-round pick — No. 16.

The Dolphins are looking for cornerbacks, linebackers, offensive linemen and receivers and Holmes certainly fits the description of what coach Nick Saban is looking for in a playmaker.

"Typically, people who can score touchdowns or create big plays, whether they affect the quarterback on defense or make the plays down the field, are guys that have a little bit more impact," said Saban, who has said his picks will be based more on the value of a particular player than on a need for a specific position.

In several recent mock drafts, Holmes has been listed all over the board — sometimes early in the first round and other times late. Todd McShay, an analyst for Scouts, Inc., has Miami selecting Holmes.

That's not a stretch, considering that the Dolphins would like to add a third receiver behind Chris Chambers and Marty Booker.

Holmes — and Florida receiver Chad Jackson — has had a pre-draft meeting with the Dolphins.

"Holmes and Jackson will probably be the only two receivers drafted in the first round," said Frank Coyle, head scout and draft analyst for draftinsiders.com. "You could make a case for three or four clubs taking (Holmes) in the middle of the first."

When Holmes, a junior, declared early for the draft, he was considered the top receiver in the class. But while his top-10 potential has slipped, Jackson's stock has risen after he posted his fastest 40-yard dash times at the scouting combine.

That's not to say Holmes isn't getting some long looks. He finished his three-year Ohio State career with 140 catches, including 25 touchdown receptions.

"Although he is an underclassman, and he still needs to be polished, he's an explosive playmaker," said Chris Landry, a former NFL scout who now serves as a consultant to NFL teams. "He has long arms and he's really strong in the lower body. He also has the speed to consistently beat defenders."

Any recent drops in Holmes' draft projections haven't affected his confidence. At 5-feet-10, 198 pounds, he described himself at the scouting combine as an "all-around playmaker.... One of the best wide receivers possibly in the game right now."

"Looking at all the things I've accomplished — the way I play on the field, the way I block, carry myself, leadership — I have all the ability to be a great wide receiver," Holmes said.

This weekend, Holmes will return to South Florida from Ohio, where he is currently pursuing his degree. Hundreds of family and friends are expected at his mother's home on draft day.

There, they'll watch with Patricia Brown to see if her baby is coming back to South Florida.

"It would probably be too close to home for him," Brown joked. "That means I would have to see him more. It'd be fine with me, but he probably wouldn't like it very much."

BUCS OWNER MALCOLM GLAZER RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Malcolm Glazer was released today from the Cleveland Clinic after suffering a stroke last Sunday, April 16. The stroke has
impaired Mr. Glazer’s speech and mobility in his right arm and leg.
“On behalf of the entire Glazer family, I want to thank everyone at the Cleveland Clinic for their outstanding care,” said Joel
Glazer. “My father’s spirits are high and doctors expect his condition to improve with rehabilitation.”
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