The 2006 NFL Preseason Thread

The Bucs have nearly all their later-round picks signed, and there have been no rumblings of any of the higher picks about holding out. And the lone possible veteran holdout -- Ronde Barber -- has said he'll be in camp, and Bruce Allen has said a new contract for Barber will happen as soon as the draft picks are signed.

And I'm definitely going to get out to their training camp this year. I say it every year and it's over before I get out there, but this time I mean it.

Which means I'll probably miss it again.

Green Bay is truckin' along as far as signing draft picks goes - just signed 3rd rounder Greg Jennings.

As far as the team, well the D should definitely be improved - clear upgrades on the DL, at LB, and in the secondary. The offense will have too much new blood, from new head man Mike McCarthy, to OC Jeff Jagodzinski, to possibly 3 rookies starting on opening day, to predict much.

They (the #1 picks) are starting to roll in now. Does it seem fair that Bush wants more money that the #1 overall pick? I guess since he is an offensive player and not defense, he feels he can get more money.

Steelers have signed Cedric Humes, and a couple of other guys. Signing Santonio Holmes will be interesting, considering how much trouble he's already been in. I'm sure there will be lots of "rules" surrounding his moola and how he conducts himself outside the NFL.

I'm glad about Humes, Fast Willie is a great athlete but is not the answer to Pittsburgh's running problems.

Come on!

Not that I was expecting a monster year from the Browns, but our top free agent signing LeCharles Bentley (rated as some as the top free agent this off-season) just went down with a knee injury that appears to be very serious.



Damn you football gods... damn you!

On the first play of the first day of camp, no less.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
It's was day freaking one! Day freaking one! While it's not the end of the season, they traded the starting center from last year, pinned the newly revamped O-Line on Bentley, and BAM - done for the year. I'm mandating all Browns players wear the red QB jersey the entire training camp.

I'll be going to camp this Sunday, so I am pretty pumped about that. It's about twenty minutes from my house, so I usually go three or four times a year.

Side note: What size jersey do you think Ted Washington (on right - Willie McGinest on left) wears? The man is a giant.

The Bucs have both their rookie linemen -- 1st-round pick Davin Joseph and 2nd-rounder Jeremy Trueblood -- signed and ready for the start of camp tomorrow, which is great news for the offensive line competition. Only Maurice Stovall remains unsigned at this point, but a deal seems imminent.

Now if we can just get an extension done for Ronde, camp can proceed accordingly.

And no fluke knee injuries!

Trouble brewing in Bear camp with Thomas Jones having(faking) a hamstring injury because Benson was named to the 1st squad for practice because TJ missed some mandatory workouts. TJ also wants to be traded. If the Bears do this the Colts would be crazy not to try for him.

Briggs also wants a new contract but isn't holding out.

Bets are now be accepted on how and when Grossman will get hurt. 2nd preseason game with a seperated throwing shoulder for me.

Put me down for "stepping off the team bus."

They could still go 8-8 if he goes down. If he stays healthy however, then they could go........8-8 or possibly even 8-8 who knows at this point. My bet is 8-8.

Well, it's official - LeCharles Bentley done for the season. Arghh..

On the signing front, looks like the Titans got business done today.

Thats promising news for the Titans. Surely they will improve to 8-8 this year.

Seriously though, after following Texas and SC so close last season Im excited to see what these two rookies will add the the Texans lineup.

I think White will do well. Young probably will too but it will interesting to see how he adjusts to the speed this year.

Thomas Jones hurt himself during his physical???

I ammend my earlier prediction, Grossman injures himself while sitting on the team bus.

Good. Bastard using the Eagles as a bargaining chip.

Moats, Westbrook and McNabb stay healthy and the Eagles challenge for a trip to the SB again.

And now Stovall is signed, the Bucs will start camp with all their draft picks signed!

Damnit! Why can't they just have one season where their key players stay healthy throughout? This is why is sucks being a bears fan. They could just as easily go 4-12 as 12-4.

I am glad New Orleans caved and just gave Bush the money. It was quite improbable how Bush would come out of a lengthy holdout still looking like a good guy, but given that its the Saints you never know.

As far as Brees...I wish him the best, but his arm strength was nothing fancy when he was healthy in SD. I am curious what range those 80 passes were thrown in.

How did New Orleans cave? The #1 and #3 picks were signed. The deal became a whole lot easier and agreeable when Young signed two days ago.

It wont happen, the Colts signed Addai to a 5 year contract last night, so lets hope that after a bit, he'll turn into a solid RB...'cause I got me season tickets just last week. Which is good, since the Colts seem to just lose it when they reach the playoffs.

definitely a lot of faith being put in Addai. It kind of feels like the Kevin Jones situation in detroit. Granted, the offense in Indy is wildly better than detroit.

I think Addai will disappoint (from a fantasy perspective). Whats up with Dominic Rhodes? I felt he was a very quality backup when playing for an injured edge.

Rhodes is still there, and as of right now, he's the starter. And you are right, he was a quality back up. Given that a lot of faith is being put into Addai, such as it was with Kevin Jones in Detroit, I see it as that the Colts offense is pretty much set in stone, so it will give him time to mature since everything is not being built around him like it was with Manning...thank god he turned out ok.

Has anyone seen any other relevant information on ESPN about a draft pick aside from Reggie Bush? Because believe it or not, I'm interested in rookies other than him.

Every time a 1st round pick signs, they post it. They have Leinart on the front page because of his holdout. There have been countless headlines posted since the draft on Santurdio Holmes. What else do you want? Really, Tye Hill and Manny Lawson signing with their respective teams isn't worthy of the front page cover like a Bush.

I understand that, but do we have to have a Reggie Bush update on every single SportsCenter, regardless of his status? I've seen stuff on the ticker about other signings, but I see a Bush update on every single SportsCenter.

And Tye Hill could be a difference maker on the Rams.

These days the "news" is more about what "they" think others want to see, than what is happening. So, if Bush sells jerseys and is a household name - he gets a lot more coverage.

Not saying Tye Hill will be a poor player, it's just nobody knows who he is.

I know, I'm just being facetious. The only reason I know him is because he played for a team in the ACC.

The funny thing about Bush is that his net earnings in dollars is actually fairly lower then Mario Williams ($2.658 mil less guaranteed, $7.59 mil less towards the base). He'll clear even less then Vince Young. This is because, from what i've been reading, Texas and Tennessee have no state income tax. Look's good on him after his reply on what his favorite thing was about Houston "No state tax, I think that's a pretty good one."

Tampa signed Barber to an extension. Looks like a pretty shitty deal for him but I suppose he's just not that greedy.

Not NFL related, but I just read that 4 UM players have been suspended for the FSU opener, including Tyrone Moss and Ryan Moore. I can hear it now--if FSU somehow gets out of their own way and wins this game, there will be nothing but, "Oh, if we had our offensive stars, you wouldn't have won." But if FSU loses, it will be "We beat you without our best offensive players...you suck." My stomach is already turning. Which it never does when FSU plays anyone else...it's always the UM game.

Oh, and Tye Hill signed, hellpaso. I thought you'd want to know.

So Favre was saying, and this is a week old so I apologise, that this year's Pack is the most talented he's ever seen. On one hand he's being way too optimistic, on the other it comes off as kind of insincere.. to me at least. He said the exact same thing last year when GB was about 1-4 or something.

Now, while I have high expectations for this Green Bay team (I don't think a North title is wholly unrealistic), they are definitely not the most talented. I will say this though, if Thompson & McCarthy can establish a core group of guys and keep them around for 3 or 4 years, they'll be a playoff perennial again, Favre or no Favre. And their young no-namers are looking great in camp thus far.

I haven't taken part in my share of NFL banter lately so I thought I'd drop some homer thoughts.

You think a 30+ corner would get a better deal on the free agent market? This way he gets paid and is almost guaranteed to retire a Buc.

Barber is as healthy as a player could be at his age. He's been extremely durable. Ty Law manages to score $6 mil guaranteed contracts while he's over 30 and coming off a career threatening injury. C-Wood (who is injury prone) is guaranteed $10.5 mil his first year with the Packers. Barber could've squeezed an additional mil or two up front out of the Bucs if he really wanted to.

I never believe in the "i'll retire as a so and so". If Barber pulls a hammy or suffers a turf toe injury and his play suddenly starts declining do you really think the Bucs wouldn't consider cutting him? Roy Williams signed a 4 year extention and he's already saying "i'm retiring as a Cowboy". What is he 26? It's hilarious.

Yeah, Favre was blowin' some smoke (or possibly inhaling some, who knows); but his caveat was that "it's raw talent". And I don't know about that, either.

OL - I like Tausch, he should be in the Pro Bowl someday; Colledge and Spitz are promising rookies, but that's it; Clifton is Pro Bowl level at LT, but is having knee troubles; Scott Wells should be an OK NFL player; depth has been taking some hits early, and the backups didn't necessarily inspire me to begin with

WR/TE - nice group of TE - deep speed with Martin and Lee, Franks is what he is but can block; WRs, Jennings looks promising but beyond that there's only Driver.

RB - PLENTY of talent here, IMO, but too many ? to count on anyone - Green looked washed up and is coming off a major leg injury; Davenport has all the tools but none of the health; Gado is very raw; Herron has the smarts and skill but not the speed; Henderson is competent but aging

DL - Kampman and KGB are both solid but flawed at DE; Kenderick Allen and Ryan Pickett look like they should do very well at DT; Cullen Jenkins is undersized but a gamer; the rest, so far, appear to be just guys

LB/DB - I can break it down, but I won't; suffice it to say the talent levels here are pretty high so far as I can see - not to say there aren't questions, but as far as measurable physical skills, these two areas are the strong points of the team.


But anyway, to say this team is more talented than the '96 team - breaking camp, you had a solid OL, Edgar Bennett and Dorsey Levens at RB (who at that time were a terrific duo), Driver, Freeman, savvy vet Don Beebe at WR, Chmura and a still-potent Keith Jackson at TE, Sean Jones, Santana Dotson, Gilbert Brown, and Reggie White on one of the great DLs the Packers have had, if not the NFL, solid LB corps, Eugene Robinson and Leroy Butler at S, and shut-down corners Craig Newsome and Doug Evans - whew.

Rhodes has a glass shoulder. Addai is a stud with pistons for legs, and I think he'll supplant Rhodes as the starter by midseason if not sooner. That said, I expect a commitee approach for awhile with James Mungro getting some carries as well.

Wow, a North title? That's really blue-skyin' it. I

I'd say at best 8-8, and that's IF McCarthy is worth anything as HC. I think if the Bears get ANY sort of passing game, they automatically win - their D is supreme and they have a nice stable of RBs to boot. Det is a bit of a wild card - I like Marinelli's attitude and Martz running the O, but don't think they have the horses. I think Childress is an absolute fraud in Minnesota, and could have been one of the worst HC hires this offseason; their offense has a LOT to prove as well.

I'll make a prediction just because I haven't been abused enough around here lately:

1)Chi 11-5

2) GB 6-10

3)Det 5-11

4)Min 4-12

I very much agree, from going to training camp and watching Addai, he seems like a very strong back that can go the distance. so i'm looking forward to watching him this year.

So I actually got out to the Bucs' morning practice today, and they and Disney really did things up right out there. Plenty of seats, great view of everything, and the Disney sports complex in general is a great location.

As for the team, Simms looked sharp, and his deep ball is a thing of beauty. If our offensive line can give him time to throw it deep, we could have a balanced offense for the first time in forever.

And Chas Gessner is going to make this team. He's a rookie WR out of Brown who runs good routes, gets open, has good speed, and gets up for the ball. He looked really damn good.

I hate the Denver Broncos
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2542300

Now some undrafted rookie has the starting job. But Dayne and the other Bell look to take his starters job eventually. The f'n kill fantasy drafts with this crap. I hope they tank the season because of this.

You hate the Broncos because they "fuck up fantasy football"?

Good lord....

My bad -- Gessner is not a rookie. He kicked around the Patriots and Jets organizations the last couple of years, and was an offensive MVP in NFL Europe. Still, he looked damn good from what I saw.

Perfectly acceptable reason if you play FF. Now get Farve's head examined. He's gone mad with his recent comments.

Who says you need a Broncos back?

Might as well post what's going on in my neck of the woods...

The media has been laying off Santonio Holmes lately, as he is beginning to shine in training camp after Hines Ward took him under his wing. He made one great catch in triple coverage, burning the secondary. I'm going to the first preseason game against the Cards on Saturday, and being a Buckeye fan as well, I can't wait. Whether or not Ben or Ward will play is questionable.

A sole bronco back was good for 15 td's and 1500 yards. Now they just split everything.