I really, really like the new Dolphins logo. Mostly because I thought the old one was so dumb.
So Bryan Bulaga, who was supposed to be Rodgers blind-side man this year, tore his ACL at the “Family Night scrimmage”, Vince Young dropped by for a tryout and the Packers canceled a planned closed practice for Monday (the Packers haven’t had a closed to the public practice during camp in living memory). All very unPacker-like, except for the OL injury.
I have half a mind to think VY is only being targeted to run a read-option scout team. That’s a heck of a way to use a roster spot.
Are the Dolphins using a different shade of aqua this year or did I forget what their home uniforms look like in HD?
At least one ACL is requisite per team this year, it seems.
I can’t wait until Saturday night against the Giants to what some of these new guys can do, especially Le’Veon Bell.
Where did you hear that Heath is out until December? The way I heard it is that if he is put on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform List) at the start of the regular season, he has to miss the first 6 games.
The schedule doesn’t look formidable. Games against the Ravens and Bengals are always tough, whether home or away. And then we have road games against the Patriots and Packers.
Don’t forget to watch Hard Knocks. It starts tonight for those of you with HBO at 10pm. Go Bengals!
So what’s the word on Tyler Eifert so far?
That’s the guy I wanted the Steelers to draft in the first round.
All the hype seems to be justified. Silky smooth athlete, big, fast, sure-handed. Apparently his catching radius is ridiculous. Look for the Bengals to do some Patriots 2TE v 2.0 with him and Gresham.
After the season Adrian Peterson had, can you blame them? ACLs for everybody!
I flipped over to Hard Knocks right after the Pirates game and there he was.
I’m afraid he is going to be a thorn in the Steelers side for the next decade. 2TE is what I fantasized about him with the Steelers when Heath Miller got back. I like Jarvis Jones as the Steelers first pick, but I would have liked Eifert better.
So what rookie running back is going to be the stud this season? Never mind, I know you will say Giovani Bernard, I will say Le’Veon Bell, and some Packer fan will say Eddie Lacy.
Given the Bengals bad luck with highly drafted RB’s in recent memory (Ki-Jana Carter, Chris Perry, Kenny Irons) I’m not going to say Giovanni Bernard, although his cuts on the field look ludicrous.
I am really liking this Bengals unit right now. Their defensive line is going to be a force to be reckoned with, the RB group looks great, we’ve added a safety valve in Eifert for Dalton to check down to (along with Bernard), AJ Green is still a monster and I expect big things from Marvin Jones and Mohammed Sanu this season as well.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the AFCN plays out. On paper it appears that both the Ratbirds and the Steelers should have a down season given their personnel losses both to FA and to injury, but that’s why they play the games.
By the way, what did you think of your boy James Harrison on Hard Knocks? It was pretty funny watching him not only flip off the cameras (apparently he hates Hard Knocks), but also the conversation between him and Jay Gruden, Bengals offensive coordinator.
Gruden (gesturing towards AJ Green):
Gruden: We don’t touch the merchandise ever.
Harrison: The merchandise is going to get touched.
Gruden: Not by you, not without pads … our future relies on this (guy).
Harrison: The merchandise come this way – boom – it’s going to get touched. I like touching merchandise.
Gruden: Our future relies on this (guy).
Harrison: I’m not going to kill him, but I ain’t going to let him get his job done.
Gruden: Just relax.
Harrison: I ain’t gonna kill him, but I ain’t going to let him get the job done because that mean I ain’t doing mine. Understand?
Gruden: Relax … ( This is the moment Green slinks out of frame.)
Harrison: Understand? Do we understand each other? That’s all I need to know.
Gruden: We do. I’m sorry, I’m sorry … but seriously don’t hurt this (guy).
*A perhaps less likable — but more compelling — Bengal is new linebacker James Harrison, who is making his presence felt with his fierce attitude. Head coach Marvin Lewis said he likes the toughness — even meanness — that Harrison brings to the team, including team outings as seemingly innocuous as a trip to a local bowling alley.
“We took him bowling and he said, ‘I’m going to kick someone’s ass,’” Lewis said. “That’s how he goes through life.”*
I have a man crush on Deebo aka Silverback (James Harrison), which has diminished somewhat due to his current employment. But I wish him the best, except when the Bengals play the Steelers. I’m not sure how much he has left, but we’ll find out. I’d like to see him give Joe Flacco turf face. My favorite memory of course is when he picked Kurt Warner and took it 100 yards in the Super Bowl against the Cardinals.
My plan was for the Steelers to resign Harrison, draft Eifert, and postpone the stud linebacker to next season. Didn’t work out that way.
Gruden just gave a big plug for Eifert and Bernard and the Bengals/Falcons game tonight on ESPN at 8 pm. I’ll be checking it out, at least for a while.
I don’t know if I got the story straight on Harrison leaving the Steelers…I’ve heard that he was insulted by the organization for lowballing him, and I’ve also heard that he offered (begged?) to play for the vet league minimum and that the Steelers cut him anyway.
I wonder what the real deal was? Because if that guy feels snubbed or disrespected by the Steelers, if I’m Ben Rothlisberger I’m faking the flu (not that Ben would ever do something so dramatic as THAT) twice this season.
Harrison wouldn’t take a pay cut that would have made his salary $4.6M per year, so the Steelers released him. He thought he could get more from somebody else, but obviously couldn’t, since the Bengals signed him for $4.5M for 2 years. Actually, I think the Steelers organization wasn’t all that disappointed he left, and made no further effort to get him back once he was gone.
Silverback listens to the beat of a different drummer. He refused to go to the White House with the team after the last two Super Bowls they won.
No doubt the talking heads will be talking about him tonight.
Man, that Josh Johnson kid may not have the most accurate arm in the world but damn does he have some wheels!
Atlanta has some intellectually stimulating cheerleaders.
I’ve often said the back up QB is the second most important player on the team, whether he plays or not.
Harrison looked okay, but his redeeming quality is that move he uses to get to the QB from the outside, which I don’t see how he is going to be able to use much in the Bengals scheme.
I’m pretty sure they are going to move Harrison around on obvious passing plays as something of a wildcard pass rusher. The good thing is the Bengals pass rush with Atkins, Dunlap and Michael Johnson (and even Wallace Gilberry!) is formidable enough without Harrison.
I hate pre-season football. Especially the early games. So sloppy and vanilla.
I’m a Dolphins fan. At this point my only question is how many cases of beer I need to buy to get through the season, although I am kind of interested in seeing what Mike Wallace can do.
I’m living through the football version of a bad 80’s teen movie where an upper crust guy has to pick between the girl that he’s supposed to like vs the girl he secretly likes. Less cryptically, I know as a Redskins fan I’m supposed to be geeked out for RG3 but I can’t stop thinking about Alfred Morris and how many sternum cracking bowling-ball runs he’s going to rattle off this season.
This just in, and quite possibly bullshit, but reports are that Michael Vick has been in a major car accident.
Okay, never mind, hoax.