NFL pre-season games, signings, deals

[knvb]

Boys are 15-1 to win the super bowl this year. This helps.

Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
July 23, 2004, 11:03 a.m. (CDT)

IRVING, Texas -- The Cowboys were prepared to enter training camp with only three healthy running backs, who had a total of 358 rushing yards.

Now the Cowboys can add more than 10,000 yards to that total, with the signing of Eddie George, an eight-year veteran who gives immediate experience and credibility to the position.

Now George certainly won't be the team's long-term answer, signing just a one-year deal, reportedly worth $2.2 million. The veteran back is expected to receive a $1.54 million bonus to report to training camp, along with his $660,000 minimum base salary.

And signing George doesn't diminish the Cowboys' faith in rookie Julius Jones, the second-round pick from Notre Dame. Jones will likely get plenty of opportunities to prove himself, only now the Cowboys have more of a fallback in George.

Before this signing, the Cowboys had just Aveion Cason and ReShard Lee to back up Jones, now that Erik Bickerstaff is out for the season after rupturing his Achilles last month.

George, who was released by the Tennessee Titans Wednesday for salary cap reasons, still thinks he has a few years left in the tank. And while that has yet to be determined, the Cowboys are in a position, both financially and from a roster need standpoint, to take a close look.

And why not take a chance on a running back who just surpassed the 10,000-yard rushing mark in just eight seasons?

George, who turns 31 Sept. 13, rejected the Titans' attempts to reduce his base salary to $1.5 million. George was willing to accept a reduced contract, but wanted at least $2.5 million in base and security beyond the 2004 season.

Quickly after releasing George, the Titans agreed to a one-year deal with free agent running back Antowain Smith, who helped the Patriots win a Super Bowl last season. Smith, a player the Cowboys were keeping an eye on, signed for just $660,000 with the Titans and is expected to compete for carries with both Chris Brown and third-down back Robert Holcombe.

George, who actually started his career in Texas when the Titans were the Houston Oilers, is the franchise's all-time leading rusher. He is also the only running back in NFL history to record more than 300 carries in each of his first eight seasons. While his foot has been a concern the past two years, George has never missed a game in his entire career.

The former Heisman Trophy winner (1995) out of Ohio State, George has earned four trips to the Pro Bowl, but none since 2000.

George averaged just 3.3 yards per carry last year, the second-lowest average of his career (3.0 yards in 2001). His longest rush from scrimmage was only 27 yards.

But despite his numbers being on the decline, the Cowboys, especially with Bill Parcells in charge, might be a good spot for George to land. Parcells has a history of squeezing life out of aging backs, as he did with Ottis Anderson, who joined the Giants when he turned 29 back in 1986. While Anderson was more of a role player for his first two years with the club, Anderson rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and had 33 rushing touchdowns in a three-year span, including 1,023 yards and a career-high 14 touchdowns in 1989 at the ripe age of 32.

Parcells also milked production out of Keith Byars with both the Patriots and Jets in the mid-1990's. Byars played two seasons in New England and then finished his career with the Jets at age 35. That season he caught 26 passes as a third-down back and scored three touchdowns.

And before the Cowboys signed George, don't forget Parcells was willing to let the 32-year-old Anderson get a few more carries.

So signing George makes sense for the Cowboys, who have plenty of salary-cap room available. Also, they have the need to add another back.

Especially one with more than 10,000 career rushing yards on his resume.

Can't wait for the NFL season to kick-off

 

[Bronco]

Broncos finally get a secondary, Champ Bailey and John Lynch = AFC West Chanpions!!!

 

[sensei_hanson]

Bronco,

What do you think about Denver's running game now? I know they credit most of the running game success on their great O-Line, but I think Clinton Portis is going to be missed terribly. He took a lot of pressure off Plummer. They've also lost Shannon Sharpe so that offense won't be as dangerous as it was last season. That being said, the secondary really needed an upgrade. That shellacking they took at the hands of Indy in the playoffs last year was embarassing. Middlebrooks and O'Neal were shite and it's good they're no longer key points of the secondary.

As for the Cowboys, yes, that is a VERY good signing in Eddie George. This isn't an Emmit "Pad My Stats in Arizona" Smith type move. George is only 31 and is the type of power runner that Parcells needs in his system. Although Eddie is pretty broken down, he has shown the ability to play through pain (he played with a seperated shoulder in the playoffs versus Baltimore last year). This is tough to swallow because I hate the Cowboys. My only hope is that Tuna goes crazy and decides to start Testaverde over Carter, in the hopes of re-kindling the love affair they had with the Jets.

Can you tell I'm a bit amped for the start of the season?

 

[filling the net]

Cowboys........Bronco's...........what about Ricky Williams hanging them up after 6 years......My dolphins have gone from average to the shits!

 

[knvb]

News flash: Your Dolphins have always been shite, but this is interesting none the less. Didn't know he had a social anxiety disorder, like mine.

Ricky Williams tells Dolphins he's retiring

NFL.com wire reports


MIAMI (July 25, 2004) -- Ricky Williams has decided to retire at the peak of his career, stunning the Miami Dolphins and leaving them with an enormous void in their backfield one week before the start of training camp.

The 27-year-old Williams, who rushed for 3,225 yards in two seasons with the Dolphins, told them this week of his decision before leaving town, a team source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

His retirement after just five NFL seasons caught the Dolphins by surprise. The news was first reported by The Miami Herald.

"You can't understand how free I feel," Williams told the Herald in a cell phone interview July 24 before boarding a plane in Hawaii and heading to Asia to begin several months of travel.

Long ambivalent about life in the sports spotlight, Williams said there's no chance he'll change his mind, and he plans to file his retirement papers with the NFL on July 26 or 27. He told coach Dave Wannstedt of his decision July 23 and said Wannstedt tried to persuade him to reconsider.

Miami opens camp July 30.

Williams won the Heisman Trophy at Texas in 1998, and former New Orleans Saints coach Mike Ditka used all of his draft picks to acquire the standout running back the following spring. Williams played three seasons for New Orleans but didn't blossom until he was dealt in 2002 for two first-round draft picks to the Dolphins.

It was the team's biggest trade since 1970, and at times it looked like a steal. Williams led the NFL in 2002 with 1,853 yards rushing and broke nine team records. Last season he ran for 1,372 yards despite little offensive support.

"I'd love to talk to him and try to talk him out of it," Ditka said from Chicago. "It seems kind of foolish to me, but I don't know what's on his mind. You're just destroying a great career. He's a talent. To let that all go to waste doesn't make a lot of sense."

In some ways Williams' decision to retire in his prime was not a surprise because he was never the stereotypical football player. His passions include shopping and photography, and in 2001 he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, a condition contributing to his extreme shyness. While with the Saints, he often conducted interviews while wearing his helmet. He said he felt like a weirdo in New Orleans but professed to be happy during his two seasons with Miami.

A vacation this offseason to Australia may have whetted his appetite for more travel. He returned from that trip sporting a shaved head instead of his distinctive dreadlocks.

He's not the first running back to retire at or near his peak. His friend Jim Brown quit at 30, Barry Sanders retired at 31 and Robert Smith quit at 28.

But his decision was deflating for South Florida sports fans, who had been buzzing about the Miami Heat's acquisition last week of Shaquille O'Neal.

The decision by Williams, who was to make about $3.5 million this season, is the latest setback in an abysmal offseason for the Dolphins. It started with a strange organizational reshuffling that included the hiring of former quarterback Dan Marino as vice president. He resigned 22 days later.

The Dolphins promoted running backs coach Joel Collier to offensive coordinator, but he later returned to his old job, citing health reasons. Tight end Randy McMichael was arrested following a domestic dispute, and Pro Bowl linebacker Zach Thomas underwent knee surgery that will force him to miss part of the exhibition season.

And now, due to the timing of Williams' retirement, the Dolphins head into training camp with few options for filling the position. Eddie George, who might have been a possibility, signed with the Dallas Cowboys this week.

For the moment the job belongs to fourth-year backup Travis Minor, who has yet to start an NFL game.

Wannstedt was out of town July 25 and not immediately available for comment. Phone messages left with Dolphins general manager Rick Spielman and Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg, weren't returned.

John Bianco, assistant director for media relations at Texas, said Williams told him a few weeks ago he expected to make this season his last. Bianco said he anticipates that Williams will return to Texas to earn his degree in education and pursue work with children.

"He's always known his best years would come after football," Bianco said. "Football was a small part of his life."



AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2004, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved except if KNVB of TTP wants to use it. He's the fcuking coolest.

 

[The Apprentice]

I was down in Texas over the weekend and one of the reports out of the reliable US media was that he was leaving partly due to the fact he failed his drug test earlier this year and that he was rather enjoying his time oversea's puffing the herb on tour with Lenny Kravitz. Maybe they are brothers?

 

[Zaurrini]

I heard he was signing with Abruzzo as the third import.

 

[Argyle]

Well, it's true! Hell has indeed frozen over!

WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar looks to have cracked the NFL...

Report: Vikings to sign Lesnar

Sports Ticker

7/27/2004

ST. PAUL, Minneapolis (Ticker) - It appears pro wrestler Brock Lesnar made enough of an impression on Mike Tice.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting that the Minnesota Vikings will sign Lesnar to a contract, pending a physical.

Tice, the Vikings coach, made the decision after putting Lesnar through a strenuous 45-minute workout, according to the newspaper.

The 6-3, 286-pound Lesnar, who hasn't played football since high school, will report to Vikings training camp Friday as a defensive tackle.

"I'm excited," Lesnar told the newspaper. "All I ask for is the opportunity, and he's given me that."

Apperantly, Canadian Wrestler Chris Jericho (aka Chris Irvine) has decided to pusue his dream of following his father in to the NHL now...

 

[sensei_hanson]

I'll see if I can find the link to the espn.com article, but the synopsis of it was that Lesnar's physical attributes are sick. To recap:

- runs the 40 in 4.7 seconds
- standing broad jump of 10 feet
- 35 inch vertical
- bench presses 475lbs
- squats 695lbs

Which are all off the charts for a guy who's 6'3 and 285lbs...anyways, here's the link espn.com. The guy sounds psycho, so that might aid in his chances of cracking the Vikes lineup sometime soon.

He's 26 years old, which is a big problem when you consider most NFL rookies 1) actually played college football and 2) are usually 21-23 when they break into the league.

I'm still not sure if this is a publicity stunt or not. Remains to be seen, I guess. Mike Tice is the same coach who came to the media - prior to the 2003 season - with the "Randy Ratio", which stipulated that a certain percentage (I think it was in the neighbourhood of 40) of Minnesota's passes would be thrown to Mr. Moss.

The Vikes went 6-10 that year.

 

[sensei_hanson]

Extra Extra...Apprentice scoops TTP

The Apprentice alluded to it a few days ago...now espn.com confirms it. Eerie stuff. Speaks volumes about the accuracy of Junta AP.

ESPN.com news services

If Ricky Williams has a change of heart and rejoins the Miami Dolphins this year, he won't return until he serves a four-game NFL suspension after having failed a drug test for a third time.

On Thursday, Williams told Dan Le Batard, a reporter for the Miami Herald and for ESPN The Magazine, that he learned of his failed drug test and subsequent suspension just days before making his decision to retire.

The star running back said the developments played a part in his sudden retirement, but that it wasn't the only issue involved in his decision. Williams insisted there were "a hundred reasons" for leaving the NFL.

"I didn't quit football because I failed a drug test," he said. "I failed a drug test because I was ready to quit football."

Coach Dave Wannstedt said the Dolphins have received no notification from the NFL regarding a third failed drug test, and Williams' latest revelation caught them by surprise.

"We knew nothing about it," Wannstedt said. "I'm totally surprised and shocked again."

Wannstedt said he's eager to move beyond the Williams situation and open training camp Saturday.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined comment Thursday when reached by The Associated Press.

Williams also told Le Batard that he had wanted to quit playing football even before testing positive a second time for marijuana use in May and getting fined $650,000.

Though Williams appealed the fine, he learned last week the appeal had been denied. In the interim, Williams told the paper he'd been smoking marijuana while traveling with Lenny Kravitz, who was on tour in Europe at the time. Once Williams returned, he was tested again -- and again failed. Williams said he'd stopped taking a masking agent, called "Extra Clean," that he has said he'd used to avoid testing positive during his two seasons in Miami.

After failing his first drug test in 2002, not long after his trade to Miami, Williams was enrolled in the league's substance abuse program. He had weekly appointments with a therapist, he said, and faced eight-to-ten random urine tests every month -- tests he'd beaten by downing 32 ounces of "Extra Clean" followed by the same amount of water.

In emphasizing that his lifestyle choices, rather than the failed tests, had driven his decision to retire from football, Williams told the Herald that he sees nothing wrong with smoking marijuana -- that in fact, it's "just a plant." He also said he admired reggae singer Bob Marley, who was reputed to smoke it every day before his death.

Also, Williams, who has been diagnosed with a social-anxiety disorder and was taking the anti-depressant Paxil, told the paper that he'd stopped taking the medication he'd once been a spokesman for. He said it interfered with his diet.

''Marijuana is 10 times better for me than Paxil,'' he said.

 

[Hands of Stone]

Williams said he'd stopped taking a masking agent, called "Extra Clean," that he has said he'd used to avoid testing positive during his two seasons in Miami.

Looks like he has just sold all the other Pot Smokers down the river with this statment. How long will it take for the NFL to ban "Extra Clean" for the up coming season.

hos

 

[BlazeArmy]

Carter cut by Cowboys. they now have Vinny " i'm slower than even blazearmy " Testervarde as their QB. Gonna be a good year for the boys . I'm sure Eddie George is really happy he didn't wait a few weeks and sign with Miami.

What do Cowboy fans think of this? I hear Carter failed a drug test.

Not failing a drug test is enough to get you kicked off other teams it seems.

Maybe Carter can hang with Ricky and they can go on tour.

 

[Regs]

There must be some chemistry with Vinny and Keyshawn still left in the tank... as you say, it appears Ricky and Quincy also have some chemistry.

It's going to be a great year for the Boys!

~Regs.

 

[Ralph Wiggum]

My (our) 'boys will be better in the long run, good coach, cleaner image, and Vinnie knows he's there to help the young guys as well as win games. Obviously QC thought of himself first as this is his third positive for drugs, if that's the reason as is assumed and speculated...

 

[BlazeArmy]

Boys are 15-1 to win the super bowl this year. This helps.
Can't wait for the NFL season to kick-off

How bout now????

 

[knvb]

fcuk!

It's reported he tested positive for cocaine and it's not his first time. What did you expect them to do? Testavertie won't last the season IMO. He's what? 40 fliping years old? The Tuna will do something. He has to.

Dan Patrick will have (trying to) play the press conference in about 1/2 hour.

Cowboys release QB Carter

NFL.com wire reports


OXNARD, Calif. (Aug. 4, 2004) -- Quincy Carter was cut by the Dallas Cowboys, leaving 40-year-old Vinny Testaverde as the starting quarterback.

The team wouldn't say why it released Carter.

"We made a decision to move in a different direction," owner Jerry Jones said. "This on my part was not a difficult decision at all, though it is very disappointing, very disappointing."

The third-year player, who started all 16 games last season, came to camp expecting to be the team's No. 1 QB.

"I'm saddened by this turn of events, I really am," coach Bill Parcells said. "I just couldn't keep him in the plans."

Carter's agent, Eugene Parker, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The backup quarterback now will be Drew Henson, who played at Michigan and was out of football for three years while in minor league baseball. He is considered a top prospect, but his long absence from the football field and total lack of NFL experience make him a huge risk as a starter. The third quarterback in camp is unproven second-year player Tony Romo.

Testaverde started for the New York Jets last season after Chad Pennington was hurt.

"He knows why he is here and what his job is, but right now that's the most experienced player (here) and I'm confident in that player," Parcells said. "I've got a good veteran quarterback here who's going to lead this team. And I've got two young guys I'm going to develop."

Parcells spoke to his team about Carter's departure after practice Aug. 4, but players declined to comment on that meeting.

"I think I probably speak for all the guys -- how disappointed we are that Quincy is no longer going to be part of this team," Testaverde said. "But at the same time we know we have to look forward to getting things down and go out and win games."

Testaverde said Carter stopped by camp Wednesday morning and told him and several other players goodbye. Testaverde said he didn't know why Carter was cut and didn't want to speculate.

"We're shocked, just like everybody else," safety Roy Williams said. "We're mind-boggled like everyone else is."

The Cowboys drafted Carter in the second round out of Georgia in 2001. He was picked as the starter to replace Troy Aikman during his first training camp, but he struggled and only started the first eight games. He went 3-5, completing 90 of 176 passes for 1,072 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The next season, he was the starter out of camp again, leading Dallas to a 3-4 record before losing the job to Chad Hutchinson. Hutchinson was cut this year.

Last season, the Cowboys went 10-6 with Carter starting and returned to the playoffs in Parcells' first year in Dallas. Carter threw for 3,302 yards, but had 21 interceptions and 17 touchdowns. He was intercepted at least twice in a game six times.

Carter "did some really fine things over the past few years," Jones said.

Dallas opens the regular season at the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 12.



AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service