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Volume 8, Issue 84 (Tuesday, July 17th)LIMITED TIME OFFERS THIS WEEK ONLY: 5% off of FantasyHeadquarters.com fantasy football league entry fees! Click Here!Your Mantra, "DOMINATE IN 2007". Your Action... Purchase Excellent FF Book with 40% Discount code... FBG Hi Folks, Tough news today for Mike Vick. Plus we've got the News and Notes you need to know plus lots of new content for the site. But first, the Quote Of The Day: "I looked to my left and saw Jason Taylor. I'm not going that way. Looked to the right and there's Joey Porter. Can't go that way. I said to myself, 'You know what? I'm not at Florida State anymore.' " -- Miami rookie running back Lorenzo Booker on adjusting to the NFL Let's get to it. JSITE NEWS A.
Player Face Off: NO RB Reggie Bush
B.
Player Face Off - BAL WR Mark Clayton
C.
Player Face Off - NO WR Marques Colston
D.
Player Face Off - BUF RB Marshawn Lynch
E.
Player Face Off - ATL RB Jerious Norwood
F.
Footballguys Podcast - The Audible - Adam Caplan
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. ATL - QB Vick Indicted in Dogfighting Investigation2. MIA - Dolphins Release QB Culpepper 3. MIN - One Last Hurdle To Clear For Vikings RB Peterson 4. MIN - Vikings Set With QBs Jackson and Bollinger - Might Add Vet Later 5. IND - Colts Rookie WR Hall Could Surprise 6. JAX - Jaguars Sign Rookie WR Walker 7. DEF - TEN - CB Jones May Be Able To Attend Training Camp 8. DEF - STL - Rams Right Corner Job Open ATL - QB Vick Indicted in Dogfighting Investigation Source: ESPN.com Falcons QB Michael Vick has been indicted by a federal grand jury for "conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture." From the indictment: "If convicted on the Travel Act portion of the conspiracy charge, each defendant faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and full restitution. If convicted on the animal fighting venture portion of the conspiracy charge, each defendant faces one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation seeking recovery of any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of these offenses."[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] This has been a wild ride here. If you want to see a copy of the actual affidavit, you can see a pdf version by clicking here. It paints a pretty ugly picture. In the July 7 issue of the Email Update, we covered two stories on Vick. One was from the Virginia Pilot about the Federal authorities finding dog remains on the property. The other story was from ESPN with the headline of "Vick indictment seen unlikely in feds' dogfight probe" ESPN said they had sources that claimed Vick would not be indicted. In the "Our View" section, we wrote: "I found it interesting that ESPN seemed to be taking the "not to worry" angle. This looks as potentially ugly for Vick as ever. Maybe more so. All this really shows however is that dog fighting was going on at the house. I don't think anyone really doubted that. The issue will be if investigators are able to tie Mike Vick to the dog fights there. The bottom line is like it or not, this seems a long ways from going away." Sadly, it looks like there was more to it. League officials are currently going through the 18 page indictment Tuesday night. Clearly this is something they're very unhappy about. The league will likely let the legal course of action dictate how they proceed although as Adam Schefter from the NFL Network pointed out Tuesday night, there is a possibility that Commissioner Goodell gets more involved directly. As Schefter said, Goodell and Vick had a meeting on April 28 at the NFL Draft where Vick told Goodell that he was not involved in the dogfighting and that he was rarely present at the house in Virginia. Vick's story would appear to conflict with the information in the indictment. If Vick misled the commissioner, there could be repercussions that could come well ahead of any resolution in the legal process. This is already heading downhill. It could speed up here in a hurry. Stay tuned. And move Joey Harrington up the draft lists.MIA - Dolphins Release QB Culpepper Source: Shandel Richardson, Sun-Sentinel.com On Tuesday, the Dolphins released a one-sentence statement, announcing it had terminated Daunte Culpepper's contract, and offered no further comment. An arbitration hearing scheduled for today in South Florida was canceled. Culpepper said his attorneys alerted him of the news Monday night. "As I was going through this process, I heard about a quote by Gandhi that best expresses my thoughts about this victory," Culpepper said in an e-mailed statement. "He said, 'First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.'." Tension arose when the Dolphins traded for quarterback Trent Green in June. Culpepper asked for a release and refused to renegotiate his contact to make him easier to trade, which the Dolphins have tried to do the past several weeks. After Culpepper was told he would not receive any repetitions in team drills, he walked out of a minicamp practice a few days after the trade. Then the NFL Players' Association filed a grievance on Culpepper's behalf, claiming the Dolphins were denying him the chance to compete.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] I can think of many things to compare Culpepper's struggles to. Ghandi's life is not one of them. If there was ever a good example of what can go wrong when players try to represent themselves, Culpepper is it. He'll latch on to another team soon enough. The Jaguars have repeatedly been mentioned as possibilities and that makes sense given the tenuous hold Byron Leftwich seems to have on the starting spot there. Although one would have to think that Culpepper contributing on the field in 2007 is a long shot. MIN - One Last Hurdle To Clear For Vikings RB Peterson Source: Kevin Seifert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress said today that RB Adrian Peterson "hasn't had any backsteps," but it will be necessary to perform one more evaluation before he is officially cleared for contact and training camp. "We'll just get one more baseline [test] of where he is," Childress said. Peterson, as has been well-documented, is recovering from a broken collarbone that he re-injured Jan. 1. The team decided in May to bypass surgery, believing Peterson would heal on his own in time for camp.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Peterson certainly is saying all the right things when he talks. He looks fired up and ready to go. If there are worries about his collarbone, expect to see them surface early in camp as the team wants to see how he handles contact. They'll likely go easy at first but they also need to know what they have there. He's wowed people so far with his speed and quickness. But shorts are different than pads. We expect him to be OK, but we'll see soon enough. MIN - Vikings Set With QBs Jackson and Bollinger - Might Add Vet Later Source: Kevin Seifert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune Minnesota Vikings HC Brad Childress essentially shot down rumors this morning that the Vikings are trying to sign a veteran quarterback, but did not rule out the possibility they could acquire one sometime this summer. Barring a complete turnaround, the Vikings will enter training camp next week with Tarvaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger as their top two quarterbacks, as they have planned all along. "I doubt whether that would change before camp," Childress said. "I don't think [other teams] are making a lot of changes right now. Everybody is standing pat. You see as you go. But as you know, things happen." [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] For better or for worse, the Vikings are casting their lot with Tarvaris Jackson. I like the young man but he will have some growing pains. He's made strides over the off season and looks like he's ready to lead this team. A lot will depend on rookie Adrian Peterson. If Peterson's collarbone is good to go and he can be the force Minnesota thinks he can be, that takes a ton of pressure off the QB. So when projecting Jackson, keep a close eye on Peterson. IND - Colts Rookie WR Hall Could Surprise Source: Carlos Holmes, Dayton Daily News The Indianapolis Colts have a rookie from Ohio State that could surprise. And it's not Anthony Gonzalez. The Colts have been using Roy Hall in a variety of ways during practices, slot receiver, H-back, but right now he's working from the outside receiver slot. At 6'3, 240 lbs., Hall will likely also work inside where he could better utilize his size and speed to create match-up problems for opposing defenses. He ran a 4.35 40 yard dash so he's got a really nice size:speed ratio. During camp, he's shown good hands, outstanding leaping ability and made good adjustments to the ball.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Don't be put off by his lack of name recognition. In college, he was stuck behind some pretty good WRs in Ted Ginn Jr., Anthony Gonzalez and Brian Robiskie. Said Hall, "When you have two first-round picks playing on your team and Robiskie, who I think everybody is going to know soon, the playing time is limited. "It's only one ball to go around and you have to do your job. My job was to go out on special-teams and be the third down guy. That's what I did and hopefully I can make the best of my opportunities here." Having Peyton Manning throwing the ball to you doesn't hurt. Don't go nuts this year as Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne aren't going anywhere. But for you guys in deeper leagues, don't sleep on Hall.JAX - Jaguars Sign Rookie WR Walker Source: Michael C. Wright, Florida Times-Union The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed their 2007 third round draft pick, WR Mike Walker, to a four year contract. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Keep an eye on Footballguys Sleeper WR Mike Walker. He's been wowing people in camp and the wide receiver rotation in Jacksonville is far from set in stone. Don't sleep on him. DEF - TEN - CB Jones May Be Able To Attend Training Camp Source: Chris Mortensen, ESPN Tennessee Titans CB Pacman Jones could be allowed to participate in training camp when the Titans report July 27. "That was the basic understanding when [Jones] withdrew the appeal," said Michael Huyghue, Jones' agent. Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, also said, "That's my understanding, as well." However, a league source said that commissioner Roger Goodell has yet to make a final determination. A Titans source said he expects dialogue between Goodell and the team by the end of this week about Jones' status for training camp. "[Training camp] is one part that hasn't been glued down yet," the league source said. The commissioner apparently will weigh at least two elements before making a ruling. One involves whether Jones violated terms of the suspension when he was identified by Atlanta police as being part of a group that was involved in a shooting outside a strip club on June 18. Jones is not a suspect in the actual shooting. The second element -- perhaps the most critical -- is whether the Titans would object strongly to Jones being allowed to attend training camp. When Jones was suspended on April 10, Goodell specifically said that the player "may not participate in any practices or workouts during his suspension ... beginning June 1, he is permitted to spend one day a week at the team's facility for conditioning, film study and other activities."[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] It's interesting that Jones' agent and also Gene Upshaw would have such a different understanding than what Goodell said publicly. Let's see how the meetings go this week and we'll likely have a decision soon. Of course, that's all assuming Jones can stay out of trouble between now and July 27. I wouldn't hold my breath... DEF - STL - Rams Right Corner Job Open Source: Bill Coats, St. Louis Post Dispatch When the NFL handed Rams CB Fakhir Brown a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, it opened up a job on the right side opposite CB Tye Hill. CB Ron Bartell is the early front-runner, while veteran Lenny Walls and rookie Jonathan Wade will get opportunities as well. "It creates an opportunity for great competition at the other corner spot," HC Scott Linehan said. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Sounds like a training camp battle ready to happen. Expect Bartell to see work early on but he's far from a lock. That'll do it for today, Folks. Have a great Wednesday and we'll see you tomorrow with the update. J |
