Hi Folks,
It's sort of a slow news day today but we've still dug up some info
for you. Thanks to our Mark Wimer for rounding these up. Let's not
waste any time here. Enjoy.
Joe
******************************
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1. CLE - TE Kellen Winslow Hobbles Out of Cleveland Clinic
2. GB - RB Green Will Be Charged in Domestic Dispute Case
3. NO - Rookie WR Lyman Tears ACL
4. DAL - QB School Starts Today
5. PHI - Travis Henry = T.O. Insurance? (Commentary)
6. PIT - Is WR Ward Worth It? (Commentary)
7. IDP CHI - CB McQuarters On the Way Out
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1. CLE - TE Kellen Winslow Hobbles Out of Cleveland Clinic
Clipped from: CBS Sportsline.com Wire Reports, 5/10/05
Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was released from the
hospital Tuesday, nine days after a motorcycle accident left him with
internal injuries and a damaged right knee.
Winslow walked out of the Cleveland Clinic on metal crutches, putting
no weight on his right leg. He wore a Cleveland Browns T-shirt and
sweat pants. He smiled and gave a thumbs up. When asked how he was
feeling, he said "good." Winslow left in a sport utility vehicle.
Winslow, the team's top pick in the 2004 draft, issued a statement
through the Browns thanking his family, friends, fans, the club and
the clinic.
"I am determined more than ever to get back on the field with my
coaches and teammates as soon as possible. I'm OK and excited to be
going home," he said.
The Browns have not updated Winslow's status since releasing a
statement May 4 that said they were concerned about his knee. Winslow
was injured May 1 when he went flying over the handlebars at 35 mph.
[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]
OK is a relative term. Compared to a lot of people who end up corpses
due to motorcycle accidents, Winslow is doing great. However, we're
leaning towards sticking a fork in Winslow for 2005 - his fantasy
prospects look like they're done. Still though, let's see what the
official word from Cleveland is.
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2. GB - RB Green Will Be Charged in Domestic Dispute Case
Clipped from: Journal Sentinel Online article by Lori Nickel, 5/10/05
Green Bay Packers running back Ahman Green will face criminal charges
stemming from his arrest and disorderly conduct citation last month at
his house, Brown County District Attorney John Zakowski said Monday.
Those charges, however, will not be revealed until a Wednesday morning
court hearing in Green Bay.
Green was arrested the evening of April 25 at his Green Bay Ledgeview
residence after police officers responded to a 911 call from his
house. A female was heard in the call yelling "help me" before the
phone was hung up.
When officers arrived, Green's wife, Heather, felt threatened during
an argument with Green, according to the Brown County Sheriff's
Department incident report. Green became agitated with police officers
and resisted arrest until an officer drew a Taser stun gun.
Green was later released from custody after posting a $150 bond. He
filed for divorce three days later.
[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]
It's never good news when a player tangles with the law. We're going
to withhold further comment until we hear what charges are officially
being brought against Green by the DA tomorrow.
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3. NO - Rookie WR Lyman Tears ACL
Clipped from: The Times-Picayune article by Jeff Duncan, 5/10/05
Wide receiver Chase Lyman was injured before he ever made his first
play as a college football player, and now he has suffered the same
fate as a pro.
In his first workout as an NFL player Friday, Lyman, the Saints'
fourth-round pick in last month's NFL draft, again tore the anterior
cruciate ligament in his left knee. The injury was diagnosed Sunday,
and Saints director of media relations Greg Bensel confirmed the
severity Monday.
Neither Saints coach Jim Haslett nor General Manager Mickey Loomis was
available for comment late Monday.
Lyman is expected to be sidelined five to six months.
Lyman suffered the injury while making a cut during a non-contact
practice session at the Saints' rookie minicamp. He is expected to
undergo reconstructive surgery at a later date.
Team officials did not say who would perform the procedure.
[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]
Cross Lyman off your deep sleeper list, if he was ever on there in the
first place. He's done for 2005.
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4. DAL - QB School Starts Today
Clipped from: Dallas Morning News article by Matt Mosley, 5/9/05
Drew Bledsoe, Drew Henson and Tony Romo will participate in this
week's quarterbacks school, which begins Tuesday and ends Thursday at
Valley Ranch.
Several Cowboys receivers and running backs will also attend. The
first session begins Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., and none of the practices
are open to the media.
Romo is the Cowboys' only exclusive rights free agent who remains
unsigned. He is expected to sign soon.
[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]
The Cowboys hope that Bledsoe has something left in the tank - after
today, they'll start to see what they've got in the aging signal
caller.
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5. PHI - Travis Henry = T.O. Insurance? (Commentary)
Clipped from: Philadelphia Daily News article by Rich Hofmann, 5/10/05
So that is where we sit. The Eagles ought to redo his contract or
trade him now, but that's been said here already.
Given that neither of those things appear to be happening, though -
which means it'll be High Noon at Lehigh in late July - there is
another move they could make that could give them a measure of
offensive comfort on several levels, and provide the necessary T.O.
insurance, if you really think about it.
This is the move:
Get Travis Henry.
The Eagles have been very open about their desire to figure out a way
to work a deal to acquire the disgruntled Bills running back. Even
after the draft, Eagles coach Andy Reid said the Henry possibility
wasn't completely dead.
Most people believe the Eagles' openness was largely a way to put
pressure on running back Brian Westbrook to do a long-term deal with
them.
Besides that, a running back of Henry's accomplishment - he has been
over 1,300 yards twice in his 4-year NFL career - would put Correll
Buckhalter and his two repaired knees in a more complementary role,
and not in a spot where he will be tested too strenuously, too soon.
So there is all of that - enough to make the deal without any other
considerations. But Henry also would give the Eagles some T.O.
insurance because he would give them the ability to show everybody
another version of the old-time religion.
You remember, the three-headed monster.
This has been said last year, and this year, and it will be said
again: Owens gave the Eagles a home-run threat, and he changed the
appearance of the Eagles' offense, but he did not make it more
productive. This quarterback was very good and this offense was very
good without T.O.
If not for the disaster that was the NFC Championship Game against
Carolina following the 2003 season, the excellence of that offense
would have been recognized. That was the three-headed monster offense,
with Duce Staley, Westbrook and Buckhalter in the backfield. Those
Eagles walked the ball up the field more than the T.O. Eagles did last
year, and they ran in the red zone more than last season, but they
scored slightly more points per game down the stretch of that 2003
season than the Eagles did in 2004.
They could do that again next year, with Henry taking the place of
Staley. It isn't a perfect exchange of skills - Henry is the more
durable runner, Staley the more explosive receiver - but it could
work. It would be different but it would be viable. The coaching on
this team is good enough that they could make it go.
[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]
An interesting perspective on the Eagle's desire for Travis Henry - if
the team did go the 3-headed monster route again, it would depress
Westbrook's fantasy prospects somewhat - check out the 2003 stable's
statistics:

 
Player
 
Gm

 
Rush

 
Yards

 
Y/A

 
TDs

 
Rec

 
Yards

 
Y/C

 
TDs


 
Correll Buckhalter
 
15

 
126

 
542

 
4.3

 
8

 
10

 
133

 
13.3

 
1


 
Jon Ritchie
 
16

 
1

 
1

 
1.0

 
0

 
17

 
86

 
5.1

 
3


 
Duce Staley
 
16

 
96

 
463

 
4.8

 
5

 
36

 
382

 
10.6

 
2


 
Brian Westbrook
 
15

 
117

 
613

 
5.2

 
7

 
37

 
332

 
9.0

 
4



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6. PIT - Is WR Ward Worth It? (Commentary)
Clipped from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article by Ron Cook, 5/10/05
The next time we hear from Hines Ward, it will be at a news conference
before training camp to announce that he has signed the richest
contract in Steelers history. It will be a glorious day for Ward who
has become the face of the franchise by making it to four consecutive
Pro Bowls and by being the scourge of opponents, most of whom only can
dream of playing all-out all the time the way he does. But it might
not turn out to be such a terrific day for the Steelers.
Ward is a singles hitter.
It's seldom a good thing when the highest-paid player on the team is a
singles hitter.
Ask the Pirates.
Ward's greatest attribute, aside from the ferociousness with which he
plays, is his consistency. He shows up every Sunday -- he has played
in 118 consecutive games, including playoffs -- and is productive. He
gets more out of his ability than just about any Pittsburgh athlete
you'd care to name. The past four seasons, he had 80, 95, 112 and 94
catches, meaning he has four of the top six receiving seasons in
Steelers history, including the top three. His 80 catches last season
were a remarkable total on a team that believes in power football and
running the ball for a variety of reasons, among them Ward's
willingness to be an effective downfield blocker.
But there is one troubling aspect to Ward's game. He isn't a home-run
hitter on the order of Randy Moss or Terrell Owens. (OK, so he's not
the headache those guys are, either.) It's not so much that he had
just four touchdown catches last season. He had 10 the year before and
12 in 2002. It's his yards-per-catch average. It's 12.0 for his career
and was 12.6 last season, a number exceeded by 52 NFL receivers with
at least 35 catches, including former teammate Plaxico Burress (19.9)
and a couple of tight ends, Atlanta's Alge Crumpler (16.1) and
Denver's Jeb Putzier (15.9). Ward had just two 100-yard receiving
games last season, although he did have two more in the playoffs. He
also had just eight catches for more than 25 yards. Burress, for
comparison's sake, had 11.
[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]
The author presents a perspective that may make you look at your
projections/ranking for Ward during 2005 again. He does have a point
about Ward not being a deep-ball type WR. However, Ward hasn't caught
less than 80 balls during the past 3 years, so he gets a lot of
chances to make good things happen on the field.
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7. IDP CHI - CB McQuarters On the Way Out
Clipped from: Chicago Sun-Times article by Brad Biggs, 5/10/05
A tattoo across the chest of R.W. McQuarters reads ''Franchise,'' but
while in San Francisco some called him ''French Fries'' because they
didn't believe he played up to the name.
Either way, he's on the Bears' carryout menu as the team is prepared
to virtually give the veteran cornerback away.
The Bears' asking price for McQuarters is so low, league sources say
it's a foregone conclusion he will not be with the team when training
camp opens in 10 weeks.
With McQuarters scheduled to earn $3.05 million this season, one coach
said Monday the Bears are seeking only a seventh-round pick in
exchange for the eight-year veteran. His contract calls for a base
salary of $3.45 million in 2006, the final year of his deal, and if
those pricey figures cannot be restructured by a new team it will make
it almost impossible for the Bears to trade him.
The coach, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it is
believed the Bears eventually will release McQuarters, which would
enable an interested team to sign him for significantly less. The
market isn't barren, either, with ex-New England Patriot Ty Law
looking for work.
[[[[[[[[[[ OUR VIEW ]]]]]]]]]]
Obviously, McQuarters is not going to be a Bear for much longer.
Either Nathan Vasher or Todd McMillon figures to move into the #3 slot
behind Charles Tillman and Jerry Azumah when McQuarters leaves town.
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That'll do it for today, Folks. Have a great Wednesday and thanks for
reading. We'll see you tomorrow with the update.
J