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Deep is the word.

It typically takes a few years to accurately measure the worth of an NFL draft pick, let alone an entire class. But if you happened to catch wind of the reviews coming out of the NFL Scouting Combine that wrapped up last week in Indianapolis – where the top three quarterback prospects didn't even bother to throw in the passing drills – this year's crop is supposed to be special.

Don't take my word for it.

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert calls it, "The deepest draft I've ever seen."

Colbert, with more than 30 years at his craft, is credible enough. And he's not alone.

Jason Licht, the new Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM: "Best draft I've seen."

Dennis Hickey, the new Miami Dolphins GM: "This draft class…best in a while."

Meanwhile, Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff surmises, "In my mind, it's a fantastic top 10 draft, and throughout the first round there are some marquee players … they are going to be the impact-type players in this league for a number of years to come."

Well now.

Guess you can't blame the GMs for getting a bit excited. These draft crops tend to run in cycles, and the experts contend that this one is heavy on skilled offensive players – perfect recruits for an increasingly wide open NFL.

No doubt, there's more buzz at the top of the draft than we saw last year, when a pair of big uglies, offensive tackles Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel, went 1-2.

This time, the Radio City Music Hall stage will be set for maybe three quarterbacks – Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Blake Bortles – to fly off the board within the top five picks. And in addition to a few soaring (and big) receivers, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (6-5, 266) is in the mix with freakish athletic skills supported by his electric 4.53-second blur in the 40-yard dash.

Yet for all of that, and for this NFL hype machine that will steamroll toward May 8, when the three-day draft begins, it's a bit early to draw conclusions.

When it comes to evaluating a draft, snap judgments can be hazardous to reality. Take Manziel. Johnny Football is an alluring playmaker who makes things happen. Brett Favre said he reminds him of a young Brett Favre – which can be interpreted in more ways than one. A young Favre threw a lot of picks. At Texas A&M, a young Manziel sometimes held onto the football too long. And I'm wondering if some of those scrambling college throws Manziel made will be completions in the NFL.

Time will tell.

Clowney comes with so many questions, too. To post his blazing time, he dropped 20 pounds. He had just 21 reps in the 225-pound bench press, which may raise issues about his strength. And he didn't participate in drills, opting to show that at his pro day. Clowney would have likely gone No. 1 overall had he been able to enter last year's draft, and many still rate him as the best player in this draft.

Yet with his dip in sack production (from 13 in 2012 to 3 last season), there are so many theories in play. He's surely a top-5 pick, but the comparisons against himself will persist.

Which Clowney is the real deal? Then there's Bridgewater, the Louisville quarterback. Mike Mayock has called Bridgewater the most "NFL-ready" passer in the draft. Yet that hardly means the quarterback-starved Houston Texans, picking No. 1 pick, will hitch their wagon to a prospect whose stock is slipping in some eyes while Bortles, the Central Florida quarterback, continues to rise.

The stocks on the top-rated quarterbacks could fluctuate for the next two months. Yet the comments last week – from a couple of well-respected, former quarterbacks-turned-analysts – resonated.

ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski declared that Manziel isn't even a first-rounder.

Ouch. Jaws can be hard in breaking down quarterbacks, but a third-round grade on Manziel? CBS analyst Phil Simms, meanwhile, opined that if Geno Smith were in this draft, he would be the top-rated quarterback. Smith, remember, slid to the second round of last year's draft – and had an uneven rookie season with the New York Jets – yet Simms would take him over Manziel, Bridgewater and Bortles.

How hot does the draft look if Simms' take is on point?

They say it's deep, which includes three stud offensive tackles expected to go in the top 15 and a bevy of receivers. It's a deeper draft, too, because there are more juniors than ever, 98, and when the best of the underclassmen take first-round slots, it pushes some talented seniors down the board.

And the drafts in this salary cap era often seem deeper because more rookies make the team than would have during the non-cap era, given the youngsters provide cheap, cap-friendly labor.

Still, just how deep this draft is – or how top-heavy – remains to be seen. For top-heavy drafts, the gold standard is 1989, when four Hall of Famers – Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders – were drafted among the first five picks. I'm not sure how "deep" that draft was, but it got off to a rousing start. Conversely, the draft slots for quarterbacks guarantees very little. In 1999, Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith went 1-2-3…and two were busts. Three years ago, four quarterbacks, led by Cam Newton, went among the top 12 picks – and the teams that picked Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder are still looking for their franchise quarterbacks.

Then again, within the top 11 choices, the 2011 draft also produced: A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson, J.J. Watt, Julio Jones, Aldon Smith, Von Miller and Tyron Smith. Colin Kaepernick was picked in Round 2.

Even with the quarterback busts, the 2011 draft might provide a barometer for a comparison.

Let's just wait awhile before comparing. That's only fair.

Yet in this quick-twitch environment, someone already is projecting the 2015 draft.

"If this one is this deep, what are we thinking next year is gonna be like?" St. Louis Rams GM Les Snead said. "Is it gonna be like really

Let the money games begin. The NFL's salary cap for the 2014 season is $133 million, the highest amount in league history.

Which teams are most affected by the cap? The Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, who now must trim salary while other teams get room to give players pay increases. Each team must be compliant with the cap number by March 11, when free agency begins. The cap amount announced Friday, which applies to active players' salaries, is up from $123 million last season and surpasses the previous high of $127,997,000 in 2009.

NFL teams can carry over unused salary cap room from the previous league year, and the NFLPA said in a release Friday that the average carryover for those teams that elected to do so was $6.1 million.

The league's salary cap is calculated by taking a percentage of all projected NFL revenues, subtracting projected benefits for the season, and dividing by 32 teams.

Dallas sat at $150.9 million before making initial roster cuts on Friday. It released four players, according to the Dallas Morning News — defensive end Everette Brown, defensive tackle Corvey Irvin, and guards Jeff Olson and Ray Dominguez. None of them was significant in the depth chart.

Center Phil Costa was expected to be release, possibly this weekend. Costa, like the other four, saw limited playing time last season. He was a starter in 2011. Other contract decisions could be in the works.

The Steelers were in better shape but at $138.7 million also need to trim their payroll. The team saw its situation as manageable.

“We have to prepare for the worst and see where it lands,” GM Kevin Colbert told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “You don't want to have a false hope it's going to be there and then it's not.”

One name to watch: LaMarr Woodley, who lost his starting job at outside linebacker last season, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted.

Meanwhile, NFL-com's Albert Breer took to Twitter to provide the league's tag numbers.

Franchise tags, offense: quarterback, $16.912 million; running back, $9.54 million; wide receiver, $12.312 million; tight end, $7.035 million; lineman, $11.654 million.

Franchise tags, defense, special teams: end, $13.116 million; tackle, $9.654 million; linebacker, $11.455 million; cornerback, $11.834 million; safety, $8.433 million; kicker, punter, $3.556 million.

Transition tags, offense: quarterback, $14.666 million; running back, $8.033 million; wide receiver, $10.176 million; tight end, $6.106 million; lineman, $10.039M.

Transition tags, defense, special teams: end, $10.633 million; tackle, $8.060 million; linebacker, $9.754 million; cornerback, $10.081 million; safety, $7.253 million; kicker, punter, $3.205 million.



NFL salary cap set, finds Cowboys, Steelers needing to chop payroll - NFL - Sporting News

A lot happened in the NFL on Thursday. We learned that every team except for the Eagles wants to sign Michael Vick and we also learned that the Seahawks likely won't re-sign Michael Bennett before free agency starts on March 11. Also, a few guys were cut.

Trying to keep tabs on everything that happens in the NFL on any given offseason day can be overwhelming sometimes, so we've decided to put it all in once place for you.

That place is here.

Here's the news, notes and rumors that you may have missed from March 6.
The Eagle hasn't landed

CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported on Wednesday that the Eagles have zero interest in keeping Michael Vick on the team so that begs the question, where will Vick end up?

La Canfora believes that Vick's most likely landing spot is with the Jets. From the sound of it though, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson would like it a lot better if Vick ended up in Minnesota. Peterson tweeted on Thursday that he thinks Vick would make the Vikings a playoff team. Vick-to-the-Vikings may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. According to ProFootballTalk, if Matt Cassel doesn't end up re-signing with Minnesota, the Vikings would be 'very interested' in Vick.

If Vick doesn't end up in Minnesota, NFL-com has reported that the Jaguars are interested in the 33-year-old quarterback. The Bills and Raiders could also be options for Vick.


Hit the road Jack

Between now and March 11, a lot of players are going to be cut. It happened on Tuesday, it happened on Wednesday, it happened on Thursday and it will happen on Friday. Among the players released on Thursday was Colts center Samson Satele, the move will free up $4 million in cap space for Indianapolis. The seven-year veteran, who signed with the Colts in 2012, started 24 games over two seasons for Indianapolis.

The Colts wild-card opponents in 2013 also made a couple of moves on Thursday. Kansas City cut linebacker Robert James and tight end Dominique Jones.

The Vikings also made two moves. Minnesota released wide receiver Greg Childs and defensive tackle Letroy Guion. Childs was a 2012 fourth-round pick who has been limited by injuries. As for Guion, he's started 28 games over the past two seasons. Guion's release should free up almost $4 million in cap space for Minnesota.

Signings

If former Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson hired movers, they're not going to have go very far. Jackson will be making the move from Cleveland to Indianapolis after signing with the Colts on Thursday. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reports that Jackson's deal is for four years and worth $22 million, including $11 million in guaranteed money.

The Jaguars are almost $60 million under the salary cap and they used some of that money on Thursday to re-sign tight end Clay Harbor and offensive tackles Cameron Bradfield and Sam Young. Bradfield started 11 games for Jacksonville after the Jaguars shipped Eugene Monroe off to Baltimore in October.

The Bengals also re-signed an offensive lineman who started several games in 2013. Guard Mike Pollak, who started five games last season, agreed to terms with Cincinnati. According to FoxSports-com, Pollak's deal is for three years.

Thursday was a big day for Titans defensive end Ropati Pitoitua. Pitoitua welcomed a newborn son into the world and then followed that up an hour later by agreeing to a three-year, $9.6 million deal with the Titans, according to the Tennessean. Pitoitua started 13 games and finished tied for third on the team in sacks with four.


NFL Rumors: Michael Vick drawing interest from Jaguars and Vikings - CBSSports-com

Teams have been told that Arizona Cardinals free-agent running back Rashard Mendenhall is retiring, according to sources.

Mendenhall hinted at as much in a Feb. 25 column he wrote for the Huffington Post when he said, "As I write this, today is the day that the journey is over and I am fully at peace. Eagerly looking to a new way, which lies ahead."

The 26-year-old Mendenhall was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2008 draft. In six NFL seasons, Mendenhall rushed for 4,236 yards and scored 39 total touchdowns.

He was reunited last season with Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, his offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh from 2008-2011.

The sixth-year back battled turf toe for a majority of last season. Once healthy in 2013, Mendenhall scored five touchdowns in his final eight games but never eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a game. Only four other running backs had more touchdowns than Mendenhall during that stretch.

After last season ended, Mendenhall told Arians he wanted to write books and do different things than play football. And so, after rushing for 687 yards on 217 carries (both team highs) and scoring eight touchdowns last season, Mendenhall now believes he has played his last NFL down.



Running back Rashard Mendenhall to retire from NFL - ESPN

Former Arizona Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall was tired of living a "private life in the public eye" as an NFL player, which included being called racial slurs online, he wrote in his most recent blog for Huffington Post in which he explained why he retired at 26 years old. Mendenhall wrote that he wasn't going to hold a news conference or announce his retirement, but after telling those close to him, there was a general sense of surprise, which led to his explanation.

Reports began to surface Saturday that Mendenhall, who would've been an unrestricted free agent come Tuesday afternoon, was planning on retiring.

"I just kind of wanted to disappear," Mendenhall said. "The fact that I was done playing would've been clear once some time had passed, and I hadn't signed back with the Cardinals or any other team. Maybe people would've thought I couldn't get another job. Either way, I was okay with the idea of fading to black, and my legacy becoming, 'What ever happened to that dude Rashard Mendenhall? He was pretty good for a few years, then he just vanished.' "

Mendenhall played six years in the NFL, five with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that drafted him, and with the Cardinals in 2013. The University of Illinois product finished his career with 4,236 yards on 1,081 carries, an average of 3.91 yards per carry, and 37 touchdowns.

Injuries plagued Mendenhall throughout his career. He suffered a shoulder injury his rookie season, a torn ACL in 2011 and turf toe in 2013.

He joined the Cardinals last offseason because of his relationship with Arizona coach Bruce Arians, Mendenhall's offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. Last season was Mendenhall's first full year playing on a healthy right knee since 2011 and he turned it into 687 yards and eight touchdowns on 217 carries.

But it wasn't the football that drove Mendenhall out of the locker room. He explained that his passion for the game was still alive and well, but his retirement was due to a combination of a few things -- having his life dissected under a microscope, wanting to live the rest of his life without the potential physical limitations that come with years of football, and his dislike with how the game has shifted toward more entertainment than fundamentals.

"Imagine having a job where you're always on duty, and can never fully relax or you just may drown. Having to fight through waves and currents of praise and criticism, but mostly hate," Mendenhall wrote. "I can't even count how many times I've been called a 'dumb n-----'."

Mendenhall said he'll travel the world and write, a sentiment he echoed to Arians after the season, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

"As for the question of what will I do now, with an entire life in front of me?" Mendenhall wrote. "I say to that, I will LIVE! I plan to live in a way that I never have before, and that is freely, able to fully be me, without the expectation of representing any league, club, shield or city.

"I do have a plan going forward, but I will admit that I do not know how things will totally shape out. That is the beauty of it! I look forward to chasing my desires and passions without restriction, and to sharing them with anyone who wants to come along with me! And I'll start with writing!"



Rashard Mendenhall explains decision to retire from NFL - ESPN

The Patriots did what they usually do on the first day of free agency – sat on the sideline. Meanwhile, they lost their top cornerback to the rival Broncos, who made two impact moves Tuesday while the Patriots did nothing, and let their top receiver hit the open market.

The Broncos struck a deal late Tuesday night for cornerback Aqib Talib, paying him an eye-popping $57 million deal over six years, with $26 million guaranteed, according to ESPN. The deal leaves the Patriots without a true No. 1 cornerback on the roster, and most of the top options came off the board Tuesday — Tampa Bay signed Alterraun Verner for $14 million guaranteed, and Indianapolis signed Vontae Davis for $20 million guaranteed.

If the Patriots want to replace Talib in free agency, the best option remains Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis, who is expected to be released Wednesday afternoon if the Bucs can’t trade him. Revis is due $16 million this season, but would become a free agent if released by the Bucs and free to sign with any team. He still would command a large contract on the open market, and perhaps could equal or exceed Talib’s deal.

Other, less expensive cornerback options for the Patriots are Antonio Cromartie, Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, Cortland Finnegan, and Captain Munnerlyn. It’s possible the Patriots could go with Alfonzo Dennard, Logan Ryan, and Kyle Arrington as their top three cornerbacks and find another one in the draft.

Meanwhile, the Patriots are also in danger of losing their top wide receiver for the second year in a row. Last year they let Wes Welker leave for Denver over $1 million, and they are currently at an impasse with Julian Edelman, who will continue to negotiate with the Patriots but also will speak with other teams, a league source told the Globe.

Reports already have linked Edelman to the Browns and Ravens, and the Texans with new coach Bill O’Brien could be a good fit, as well.

Edelman, entering his sixth NFL season, is coming off a breakout year in which he led the Patriots with 105 catches for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns. He also has been a standout punt returner throughout his career, averaging 12.3 yards per return, one of the best marks in NFL history.

Edelman would like to return to the Patriots, but he doesn’t seem intent on giving them a hometown discount. He was a seventh-round pick in 2009 and has been paid near-minimum salaries for each of his five NFL seasons. Last year he barely received any interest in free agency, and he returned to the Patriots on a one-year, league-minimum contract with incentives.

Edelman likes playing in New England with quarterback Tom Brady — the two share the same agents — but after establishing himself as the team’s top receiver, Edelman wants to cash in this time, especially since big paydays only come once or twice in a career.

Edelman could be looking to better the $10 million guaranteed that the Patriots gave Danny Amendola last season.

“It’s just business,” the source said.

If the Patriots move on from Edelman, they still have several options – Hakeem Nicks, James Jones, Emmanuel Sanders, and Kenny Britt likely can be had for relative bargains.

And in an interesting move, the Falcons released tight end Tony Gonzalez, who retired and took a job on the CBS pregame show. The Falcons were forced to release Gonzalez because he never filed retirement papers and was due a $3 million roster bonus this week. Now that Gonzalez is free, it will prompt speculation that he will un-retire and play for a Super Bowl competitor this fall.

As for Talib, 28, he had 1½ productive seasons in Foxborough after the Patriots acquired him from Tampa Bay for a fourth-round pick after the Bucs grew weary of his off-field issues. He played in 19 games in two seasons, compiling five interceptions and 16 passes defended while emerging as the team’s best and most physical cornerback. He shined in the early part of 2013, helping shut down elite receivers such as Jimmy Graham, A.J. Green, and Roddy White, but he missed three games with a hip injury and left the AFC Championship game with knee injuries in both seasons.

Talib’s injury history and off-field issues — he had a four-game suspension while with Tampa Bay — scared the Patriots off his asking price. The $26 million guarantee is the highest among all NFL cornerbacks, surpassing the $25.5 million Dallas gave to Brandon Carr. In Denver, Talib will replace departed veteran Champ Bailey and will face the Patriots in Foxborough next season.

And the Broncos, who defeated the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, may not be done loading up. They entered the day with more than $25 million in salary cap space, signed Talib and front-line safety T.J. Ward, and are the favorites to land pass rusher DeMarcus Ware, who was cut by Dallas. They also hosted former Vikings defensive end Jared Allen on a visit.

The Patriots also didn’t do much with their other free agents and haven’t made any roster cuts or contract extensions, either.

Broncos veteran linebacker Wesley Woodyard visited New England Tuesday, according to a Denver radio report, and he could be the replacement for Brandon Spikes, who isn’t expected back after four seasons with the Patriots. Spikes, the team’s second-round pick in 2010, said goodbye to New England and Patriots fans on Twitter Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s been real, it’s been fun. But it hasn’t been real fun lol,” he wrote. “Thank u to the cities of New England & @Patriots for an amazing run.”

The Patriots also haven’t re-signed center Ryan Wendell, and may lose backup linebacker Dane Fletcher, who visited Tampa Bay Tuesday, according to reports.




[url=www-bostonglobe-com/sports/2014/03/11/new-england-patriots-watch-aqib-talib-julian-edelman-hit-market-nfl-free-agency-off-hot-start/y0n2NbGMR8WZ0VUiQ7stCJ/story-html]New England Patriots watch Aqib Talib, Julian Edelman hit market as NFL free agency off to hot start - Sports -

Tuesday, 1 a.m. ET: The NFL’s first billion-dollar day is over, and it’s officially the craziest day in the 22-year history of free agency. I’ve done the math with the available numbers: 64 player signings for an estimated total outlay of $1,001,500,000.

One billion dollars. In nine hours, NFL teams agreed to contracts totaling $1 billion.

The mayhem is not over. Some of the biggest names in the game are on the street or on the verge of being there, their fate to be determined perhaps by the time you read this. Darrelle Revis will be released or traded, a year after the Bucs traded first-round and fourth-round picks for him. Demarcus Ware, quite possibly the best pass-rusher of his day, is on the street, and could do a deal with Denver today. And Julius Peppers and Jared Allen and LaMarr Woodley and Chris Johnson and Darren Sproles and Cortland Finnegan could find new homes today too.

As Wednesday dawns, the craziest thing I can think to say is this: Today could be loonier than yesterday.

And I haven’t even mentioned the Jonathan Martin trade. You were asleep when that happened? Just before 11 on the East Coast, Miami sent the star of the Ted Wells Report to San Francisco, to be reunited with college coach Jim Harbaugh for conditional 2015 draft compensation in hopes that Martin can resume a fruitful NFL career.

That’s how incredible a day it was: Jonathan Martin, at the center of the Dolphins’ national bullying scandal, one of the most famous (infamous?) players in football in 2013, gets traded, and it’s somewhere in the netherworld of the NFL day, fighting for headlines with Dallas whacking Ware, Chicago firing Peppers, Denver’s shocking rebuilding of its secondary, Atlanta doing six deals before midnight, the cash-strapped Saints looking under the couch cushions for $54 million to sign safety Jairus Byrd. Heck, Martin might not have been the most eye-opening acquisition (Blaine Gabbert?) in his own new city.

Just what the NFL wanted: Eyes glued to the TV and the web for news, any news, about football 25 weeks before the new season begins. A quarter-century ago, I remember Giants GM George Young holding court at a league meeting, decrying what veteran unrestricted free agency would do to the game. You can’t exchange guards annually the way baseball teams move second basemen in and out of a lineup, he said; teams need time to build chemistry. Free agency as an institution was going to be a pox on the land of a well-played game.

But in the NFL office, free agency was something else: a way for the league to begin to own the offseason, to take it away from college basketball and the Hot Stove League that baseball had always used in February and March to get fans excited for the coming season. Free agency could be the NFL’s own Hot Stove. And in the 22 opening days since the free market entered the NFL calendar in 1993, never has there been the kind of excitement around the market that there was Tuesday.

Excepting Martin, five significant events of the day:

Denver showed it’s serious about rebounding from the Super Bowl embarrassment. The Broncos signed cornerback Aqib Talib to a deal close to what Sam Shields got in Green Bay and Vontae Davis got in Indianapolis: $9.5 million a year. That came after signing safety T.J. Ward, and before the serious pursuit of the 31-year-old Ware, who will visit the team today. I’m partial, obviously, working for NBC as well as The MMQB, but is there any question that the best opening game of the season the league could schedule (on NBC Thursday Sept. 4) would be Denver at Seattle in an electric Super Bowl rematch?

Minus Talib, the Patriots are so wasted at cornerback that they might have to join the race to acquire Revis. Under the terms of his contract in Tampa, Revis is owed a $1.5 million signing bonus if still on the roster this week. And the Bucs would have to hand the Jets a third-round pick, not a fourth-rounder, in trade if Revis is still on the roster today at 4 p.m. I realize the new Tampa staff wants to make its own way, but the Bucs have the money to pay Revis. I think it’s crazy for the Bucs to dump one of the best corners in football—and I don’t care what defense they play. Revis can cover in any scheme. Last year, they traded first-round and fourth-round picks to get Revis, and now they’re going to release him or trade him today? Crazy talk. But if it happens, the Patriots, who have a terrible time hanging onto top free agents and lost corner Talib on day one of the market, could try to convince Revis to come over to the dark side in New England after he spent the first six years of his career with the Jets. Revis swears he won’t take a pay cut. We shall see.

But the Bucs had a very good day otherwise. They added edge rusher Michael Johnson from Cincinnati, corner Alterraun Verner—the top corner in free agency on some NFL boards—to replace Revis, and an underrated and undervalued defensive tackle from the Seahawks’ Super Bowl team, Clinton McDonald. Good start for coach Lovie Smith and new GM Jason Licht.

Ware and Peppers hit the street within two hours of each other late in the day. Defensive coordinators everywhere rejoiced … particularly in Denver and Green Bay, where pass-rush help is a priority. Denver GM John Elway would love to make Ware a bookend for Von Miller in the rush game, while solid run player Peppers would fill a need for the Packers for a year or two as a tough and physical end to complement Clay Matthews. Other teams will be in play for them too—including Super Bowl champion Seattle, if the price is right.

One contract begat another, as always happens—but this time, it cost Indianapolis millions. The Colts were deep in talks with Vontae Davis in the days before free agency when word came down from Green Bay that cornerback Sam Shields signed a huge four-year, $39 million deal. That sent waves around the league, particularly at a time when so many teams were trying to get cornerback d

Drunk driving is really dangerous, the team coaches should be really strict to their players when it comes to this matters.

Want to start a fight in a bar? Go to Minneapolis and tell fans that Adrian Peterson isn’t the best running back in the NFL.

But wait. Is he? And what constitutes being the best? Is it production? Or talent? Or maybe a combination of both? Who was the best running back in the NFL during the 2013 season?

That’s what the NFL 1000 aims to identify. Throw out the narratives and the fantasy football stats, and dig into the film. Then we’ll see who comes out on top.

The B/R 1000 metric is based on scouting each player and grading the key criteria for each position. The criteria are weighted according to importance, on a 100-point scale.

Potential is not taken into consideration. Nor are career accomplishments.

Running backs are judged on power (25 points), speed (25), vision (40) and receiving ability (10), along with all of the technique, athletic ability and football intelligence needed to do each.

In the case of ties, our team asked, "Which player would I rather have on my team?", and set the rankings accordingly.

Subjective? Yes. But ties are no fun.

Each player was scouted by me and a team of experienced evaluators, with these key criteria in mind. The following scouting reports and grades are the work of months of film study from our team.


Pictures: B/R NFL 1000: Top 90 Running Backs | Bleacher Report

The wide receiver market is dwindling by the hour, with Emmanuel Sanders the next intriguing name to come to terms. He's especially intriguing because of where he's going.

Sanders is the latest free-agent prize of the Denver Broncos, NFL Media's Albert Breer reported Saturday, per a Broncos source. The former Steelers receiver presumably will take over Eric Decker's role in the Broncos' offense. Fox Sports' Alex Marvez first reported the news.

Sanders' journey to the Broncos was fascinating. He visited Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reports that Sanders reached a verbal agreement with the Chiefs Saturday.

Sanders' agent Steve Weinberg then negotiated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to another source involved in the process. Weinberg never told the Buccaneers he had accepted the Chiefs' offer. This all happened before he went to the Broncos. Sanders and Weinberg also rankled the 49ers by agreeing to visit, then blowing it off.

"This was one of the worst situations in modern football negotiations," one executive involved said. "Totally wrong. This needs to be stopped."

This peak into how the sausage gets made is ugly, but it ultimately worked out for the Broncos. With Andre Caldwell also re-signing, Denver's top four receivers are set with Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Sanders and Caldwell. Sanders can play on the inside and out, although we like him best out of the slot. That's a crowded spot in Denver with Welker and Thomas usually playing between the hash marks.

Sanders caught a career high 67 passes for 740 yards last season. He's not a game changer, but his arrival helps ensure that Decker's departure doesn't sting much. Sanders fits best somewhere between a No. 2 and No. 3 receiver, although Peyton Manning has a way of making any receiver look better.




Emmanuel Sanders agrees to join Denver Broncos - NFL-com

The New York Giants entered free agency with an upgrade at cornerback as the highest priority.

After missing out on Alterraun Verner and others, the Giants agreed on a one-year, $3.5 million contract with former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Walter Thurmond, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday, per a person who had spoken with the player.

The deal was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Signing Thurmond will not preclude the Giants from chasing Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is visiting the team Sunday. The Giants still want DRC "badly," according to Rapoport.

Thurmond was one of the NFL's premier nickelback's last season, netting 33 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one interception. Entering free agency, he was ranked No. 7 on Around The League's list of the top 25 available defensive backs.

His market was perhaps depressed by last season's four-game suspension and checkered injury history, which includes a nasty broken leg and college knee injuries.

He met up with former Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley in Jacksonville, but left without a contract. He later went back to the West Coast for a visit with the San Francisco 49ers.

The Giants are getting a talented young cornerback just entering his prime. The questions are whether Thurmond can stay healthy and if he has the size to handle a full-time role.

The "Around The League Podcast" breaks down all the free-agency moves and hands out a fleet of high-octane sandwiches.



Walter Thurmond, Giants agree to one-year contract - NFL-com

Jim Irsay could become the first NFL team owner to face discipline from league commissioner Roger Goodell as the result of an alcohol- or drug-related arrest, but there is precedent that Goodell holds league employees to higher moral code than he does players.

At least three front office executives from two teams have been suspended for at least 30 days in the past 3.5 years because of arrests for drunken driving.

Irsay faces four felony counts after he was arrested Monday morning in Carmel, Ind., on DUI charges. Indiana police say they discovered multiple prescription pills in bottles inside Irsay's vehicle after he was stopped and failed roadside sobriety tests.

Irsay, who inherited the Colts following the death of his father, Robert, in 1987, is subject to the NFL's personal conduct policy, league spokesman Greg Aiello told USA TODAY Sports. In previous DUI incidents, team executives have served suspensions ranging from 21 days to 60 days.

Lions president Tom Lewand was suspended by Goodell for 30 days and fined $100,000 after a 2010 arrest for DUI, but the suspension was reduced to 21 days after Lewand, who plead guilty two weeks after his arrest, voluntarily submitted to alcohol treatment.

Goodell wrote Lewand a letter in 2010 in which he explained the punishment in relation to the league's conduct policy, telling Lewand that in his role as Lions president, he was in a, "special position of responsibility and trust."

"Your conduct must be consistent with someone in that position," Goodell wrote. "As we have discussed, those who occupy leadership positions are held to a higher standard of conduct that exceeds what is ordinarily expected of players or members of the general public."

The Broncos last summer levied their own punishment on executives Matt Russell and Tom Heckert before Goodell or the league intervened. Because Irsay is the sole owner of the Colts, there will be no option for the team to issue its own punishment.

"Any owner discipline would be handled by the commissioner," Aiello told USA TODAY Sports. "In other cases, the team could have the option to impose discipline, subject to approval by the commissioner. That is done on a case-by-case basis."

Russell, the Broncos director of player personnel and John Elway's top assistant, was suspended indefinitely following his July 6 arrest in which police said he caused at least two accidents, including hitting a parked police vehicle. Russell returned to work after 60 days.

Heckert, the former Cleveland Browns general manager, was arrested nearly a month before Russell, but his 30-day suspension began on July 14, the same day as Russell's punishment. He returned to work by mid-August.

Russell and Heckert both spent the 2013 working behind the scenes in the Broncos' personnel department, and they helped lead the Broncos' free agency push this spring. Elway this weekend praised both for their work in helping identify, recruit and sign a free agent class that included defensive end DeMarcus Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward, who Heckert drafted in Cleveland.

An NFL owner has not been suspended by the league since former commissioner Paul Tagliabue suspended former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. for the 1999 season, and fining him $1 million following DeBartolo Jr.'s guilty plea for his involvement in a Louisiana extortion case.

DeBartolo Jr. never returned to active ownership in the NFL. His nephew, Jed York, now runs the Niners.

Goodell also intervened in an issue involving former Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams, who was twice caught giving an obscene gesture during and after a game in 2009. Goodell fined Adams, who died in October, $250,000 for conduct detrimental to the NFL.




Following arrest, Irsay could face discipline from NFL

If Roger Goodell ever wants to be taken seriously on discipline again -- and you can rest fully assured that he does -- he's going to have to find a way to discipline one of his bosses.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, one of the 32 people at whose pleasure Goodell serves as NFL commissioner, was in jail Monday morning on charges of driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance. Bad look for the NFL no matter how you slice it, but if Irsay is guilty, all eyes are going to be on Goodell and the way the league handles the matter.

If guilty, Irsay must absolutely be punished in some significant and public way that makes it clear the league holds its owners to a standard at least as high as that to which it holds its players.

Drunken driving is, among other things, the scourge of the NFL offseason. The crime and its proliferation contribute to a public image of NFL players as dumb, entitled, out-of-control punks. Eyes get rolled. We grow numb to a repetitive news cycle, incapable of surprise. A public already conditioned to view NFL players as disposable throws them all into the same bucket of irresponsibility based on the behavior of a few knuckleheads. Goodell can't unilaterally decide the severity of the discipline imposed on players for DWI -- that's already spelled out under the substance abuse policy per the CBA. But official punishments are handed out.

So what does he do with the owner who stands accused of the same crime? It's got to be something. The NFL and its fans can't hold the players to one standard and the owners to another. If anything, the owners are supposed to be the grown-ups, right? The responsible ones. The ones concerned with the image the league presents, who empower Goodell to dole out discipline under the personal conduct policy to keep that image clean. If Irsay was driving drunk, Goodell needs to make it unmistakably clear that the league won't stand for that.

This should be an easy stand to take. Drunken driving is as selfish and avoidable a crime as there is. Jim Irsay is worth an estimated $1.6 billion. He can afford a driver as easily as you or I can afford a tissue. If I had Irsay's money, I can't see a reason why I'd ever drive myself anywhere sober, let alone drunk. It's preposterous that a mug shot of a person in Irsay's position exists. It's evidence of irresponsibility of the highest order, and it needs to be treated very seriously by a league and a commissioner who take such pride in their ability to police themselves and their product.

Drunken driving is a killer crime that our society too often overlooks as the extension of a common vice. Thousands will have read Irsay's story in the morning and then, by midnight, be turning the keys in their ignition when they should instead be calling a cab. It's a crime, but it's one with which far too many people assume, every single night, they can get away. By punishing Irsay publicly and severely, the NFL wouldn't just be acting in the best interest of its own image; it would be setting an example for the millions who devour its product every day. If one person sees that someone as wealthy and powerful as Irsay got punished for this and for that reason decides not to do it, then it would be worth the time, effort and discomfort it will surely cause Goodell and Irsay's fellow owners.

Irsay has admitted in the past to issues with substance abuse, and it's possible he needs help. If that's the case, he should and likely will get that help. That's not the issue here. What Irsay stands accused of Monday morning is a crime and should be treated as such by anyone in position to dole out discipline for it. If Irsay is guilty, Goodell must find some way of punishing him and making it obviously hurt.

It's not going to be easy. A suspension? Tough to enforce. A fine? How much can you fine a billionaire and really make it sting? A forfeited draft pick? Well, that'd get some people's attention, now wouldn't it?

"We are simply confirming that, yes, he is subject to discipline," a league spokesman told ESPN-com columnist Ashley Fox on Monday morning.

The personal conduct policy and player discipline are hallmarks of Goodell's commissionership -- critical elements to the swaggering-sheriff persona that has made him millions and earned him regal status in the eyes of the NFL's swooning public. If Irsay is guilty of the crime of which he stands accused, Goodell is going to have to find a way to apply that policy to an NFL owner. And whatever discipline that is, it's going to have to be a good one.




NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must meet challenge of Jim Irsay dilemma - ESPN

This is the ninth installment in Bleacher Report's NFL 1000 for the 2013 season. This signature series runs through April 24, with NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller ranking the best players at every position. You can read more about the series in this introductory article. See the NFL 1000 page for more rankings.

Can any NFL wide receiver challenge Calvin Johnson as the best in the game? That was the question we asked when setting out to evaluate, grade and rank the top 100 wide receivers in the league. The answer? Well, you’ll see.

Regardless of who is No. 1, who comes in at No. 2? That argument is just as heated. Do you want a technician like Larry Fitzgerald, or a super-productive threat like Josh Gordon? And how about the monsters in Chicago, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery?

That’s what the NFL 1000 aims to identify. Throw out the narratives and the fantasy football stats and dig into the film. Then we’ll see who comes out on top.

The B/R 1000 metric is based on scouting each player and grading the key criteria for each position. The criteria are weighted according to importance, on a 100-point scale.

Potential is not taken into consideration. Nor are career accomplishments.

Wide receivers are judged on hands (50 points), route running (30), speed (20) and all the technique, athletic ability and football intelligence needed to play the position.

In the case of ties, our team asked, "Which player would I rather have on my team?" and set the rankings accordingly.

Subjective? Yes. But ties are no fun.

Each player was scouted by me and a team of experienced evaluators, with these key criteria in mind. The following scouting reports and grades are the work of months of film study from our team.



All statistics from Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Players' heights, weights and seasons from NFL-com





Pictures: B/R NFL 1000: Top 101 Wide Receivers | Bleacher Report

The business of football is football this time of the calendar. Well into our second week of the new league year, let’s take a look at what we’ve learned via two distinct avenues: the money and the people.

THE MONEY

• Still too early to call the CBA winner. While many have asked me to weigh in on a common perception that the NFL “crushed” the NFLPA in the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, I have tried to reserve judgment until we get further into the 10-year deal. Similarly, while many have said this year’s free agency spending proves the CBA is evening out, I also remain cautious.

My view is this: If top free agents did not make gains over the past week—most teams are flush with cash and cap room—then NFL players would truly have a problem. These “sweet spot” players (the 25- to 27-year-olds coming out of their rookie contracts) must be the flag-bearers of improved player economics. The CBA has worked so far to squeeze players on the way into the NFL (with mandatory four-year contracts at fixed rates for all draftees) and on the way out (older veterans are being cut or forced to take pay cuts). Prime free agents better take advantage; it is their one shot with leverage.

• A billion? Not so fast. Although it’s technically correct to say more than $1 billion in new contracts have been handed out, it is misleading. In research I conducted on the 2012 free agent class, there were a total of 76 free agent contracts with a length of three or more years. Two years later, 39 of those players are no longer with the team. Due to the structure of those deals and the fictitious amounts in the later years of contracts, teams can execute contracts with players with no intention of keeping them past one or two years.

With zero long-term contracts fully guaranteed, the amounts are just numbers on a page, injected into the public discourse by player agents. Upon agreement, agents contact their preferred media contacts, usually opting for a national name over local media for maximum effect, and depict the numbers as conspicuously as possible. Those reports will then be used for marketing and recruiting purposes. In negotiating contracts, agents would sometimes ask me, “Can I say it’s worth what it could be if he hits all the incentives?” If that helped close the deal, fine by me.

• The real money isn’t guaranteed either. So, you say, “the real money” is the guaranteed amounts, reported to be more than $500 million spent this past week? Sorry to again rain on the players’ parade, but those numbers are also not what they appear to be.

A “full” guarantee pays the player in the event he is released for either skill (deemed not good enough) or injury (unable to play due to a previous injury). In recent years, teams have managed to avoid full guarantees past the first year of these deals. How? Stay with me here.

At the time of signing (now), many of these contracts have full guarantees for 2014—of little value because players signed for any decent amount are not going to be cut this year—and injury-only guarantees in 2015. The latter converts to a full (skill and injury) guarantee for 2015 if the player is on the roster at the start of the 2015 league year. Yes, the likelihood of a player being released after the first year of these contracts is minimal. The point is that however unlikely, teams can release the player after the first year with no remaining financial obligation. Many of the bigger contracts signed this past week, such as Aqib Talib’s with the Broncos, are structured this way. And that, my friends, is not a guaranteed contract past the first year. Thus, that $500 million in guarantees is more like $250 million (one Albert Pujols).

As the shopping season now subsides a week into free agency, these are good times for NFL owners: Forbes values 23 of the 32 franchises at more than $1 billion, record-level television contracts are kicking in and player costs, while sounding high for public consumption, are largely illusory beyond one or two contract years.
THE PEOPLE

• New Jersey tug-of-war. In talking with sources on all sides of the negotiations, the Jets and Giants engaged in an interesting turf battle for the services of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rex Ryan excited Rodgers-Cromartie with a pitch to put the cornerback “on an island” and make him a star. The Giants offered him detailed plans for facing every team in the division, describing how they would use him against specific receivers on the Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins.

Thus, as it always does, it came down to economics. The Giants’ deal, with a $10 million signing bonus and $16 million over the first two years, was superior. The Jets held to the structure of a one-year $6 million deal, with options going forward, until it became clear the Giants were closing in. Only then did the Jets present a different type of structure, with general manager John Idzik scrambling to make up ground while attending Teddy Bridgewater’s pro day. By then, however, it was too late; the Giants had won the intra-stadium battle.

• Packers picked Peppers. As I know firsthand, the Packers’ signing of Julius Peppers—a one-year, $8.5 million commitment, with two non-guaranteed years tacked on—represents a dramatic departure from Ted Thompson’s “draft and develop” DNA. One can only wonder if this move was (Cheesehead) owner-driven.

The Peppers signing brings back memories of acquiring Charles Woodson in 2006, when he was still on the market a week into free agency. Although we were the only true suitor—I was the Packers vice president from 1999 to 2008—Woodson still required a month of recruiting, as there was reluctance to come to Green Bay.

When Woodson did arrive, there were some initial clashes with Mike McCarthy, as the culture was quite different than Oakland’s. Woodson eventually fit in and became a respected leader, even growing to enjoy living in Green Bay.

• Running on empty. Running back continues t

Saracens and Harlequins are among several leading European clubs that are expected to attend a unique trial in the US next month of American football players who are keen to pursue a career in rugby union.

Over 180 athletes are expected to attend the inaugural Rugby Combine event at the TCF Stadium, home of National Football League side Minnesota Vikings on April 5 and 6, with organisers predicting that at least 50 to 60 will have the potential to make it in the Premiership or Pro12 league.

Carlin Isles, described as the fastest rugby player in the world after switching from athletics in 2012, became the latest American to sign for a British club, joining Glasgow Warriors after scoring 27 tries in 14 Sevens tournaments for the US.

Eddie O’Sullivan, the former Ireland coach and British Lions assistant, who will oversee the rugby sessions during the two-day trial, said there would be some “freakish athletes” on show.

“Some of these guys are extraordinary athletes who have either just missed out on the NFL draft by a whisker or have played in the NFL and have been cut but want to continue as professional athletes,” O’Sullivan said. “Among them is a guy called Yamon Figurs, who ran the fourth fastest 40-yard dash in NFL ‘Combine’ history, running it in 4.3 seconds. That is Olympic standard. He is faster than Isles. Thretton Palamo was the youngest ever player to play in the World Cup with the US Eagles [in] 2007 when he was just 18. He went on to play American football for Utah. They are both freakish athletes.

“The majority of them are not rugby players but having played at such a high level of American football, they are very easy to coach and will adapt very quickly.

“The players will be put through physical testing and then rugby skills and then the clubs can decide whether or not they want to sign any of them.

“Saracens are already sending a scout over and Harlequins are also very interested as are French side Grenoble. We expect others to come too.”

The event is being organised by a company called RugbyLaw which is seeking to establish a professional club tournament in the US.

“Several elite rugby players already in the US will attend but the group is largely those waived by the NFL or have been frustrated in their goal of playing for the NFL,” said George Robertson, managing partner of RugbyLaw.

“As Alex Corbisiero found out when he attended Defranco’s NFL prep gym in New Jersey, the level of general athleticism of this group exceeds anything now in Premiership rugby, though the large gap is closing. We have videos of 325 linemen doing the same speed as Isles over 10 metres.”


A former wide receiver and return specialist, who played college football at Kansas State. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft and has also been a member of the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, and Edmonton Eskimos. Ran the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds, the fourth fastest in NFL Combine history. Became the youngest player in the history of the Rugby World Cup when he made his debut for the US Eagles at the 2007 tournament in France in the defeat by South Africa just eight days after his 19th birthday. Won his second cap against Japan the following year before captaining the USA Sevens team at the 2009 World Games in Chinese Taipei. Went on to play for three years at the University of Utah.




Saracens to run the rule over NFL rejects looking for a second chance - Telegraph

NFL owners are gathering in Orlando, Florida, beginning later today for the league's annual meetings, which run through Wednesday. During the next four days, they'll review proposals by the league's competition committee; below is a brief look at three of the discussion topics, which were announced last week by the committee, via conference call.

1) Challenge-Flag Rule Change

This proposal includes allowing coaches to challenge any of the calls by the officials, except those that result in scores, which are already reviewed.

2) Replay-Review Communication

The league will consider allowing a referee to consult with the NFL officiating department in New York, while the reviews are taking place, allowing for improved accuracy on calls, as well as efficiency, because of a more-timely decision.

3) Adding Two More Teams to the Playoffs

While this topic won't be voted on this year, the thought of two additional teams in the league's postseason will indeed be a hot topic of discussion, during the owners' stay in Florida.



Kickoff to the 2014 NFL Owners Meetings

Mark Cuban, the outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner, predicts a drastic decline in the NFL's popularity over the next decade due to the league's greed.

"I think the NFL is 10 years away from an implosion," Cuban said Sunday evening when his pregame conversation with reporters, which covered a broad range of topics, swayed toward football. "I'm just telling you: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they're getting hoggy.

"Just watch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way. I'm just telling you, when you've got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns on you. That's rule No. 1 of business."

Cuban was specifically referring to the NFL's recently expanding its television package. He considers it a poor business decision for the NFL, which consistently dominates TV ratings, to play games on days other than Sunday and Monday.

In February, the league announced a one-year deal with CBS and NFL Network to televise Thursday night games. CBS will air the games during the first eight weeks of the season, simulcasting them with NFL Network. The league's cable network will exclusively show six Thursday night games later in the season with CBS' top announcing tandem of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in the booth. NFL Network also will have a Saturday doubleheader in Week 16.

The NFL started a limited package of Thursday night games in 2006. NFL Network showed 13 Thursday night games last season.

"They're trying to take over every night of TV," Cuban said. "Initially, it'll be, 'Yeah, they're the biggest-rating thing that there is.' OK, Thursday, that's great, regardless of whether it impacts [the NBA] during that period when we cross over. Then if it gets Saturday, now you're impacting colleges. Now it's on four days a week.

"It's all football. At some point, the people get sick of it."

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones disagreed with Cuban's take.

"We certainly do a lot of work as you know before we jump on these things," Jones said at the NFL owners' meeting in Orlando. "Certainly I can see why he might not say that, that we're getting too saturated. But I think we've done a lot of work to think that we're not."

Cuban said the NFL is making a mistake by valuing television money over the convenience of fans who are used to planning for their NFL teams to play on Sundays with occasional Monday night games. He compared it to the decline in popularity of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" after the game show expanded to air five days a week.

"They put it on every night," Cuban said. "Not 100 percent analogous, but they handled it the same. I'm just telling you, pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered."

Cuban expounded on his views Monday afternoon on Twitter.



Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says 'greedy' NFL ' is 10 years away from an implosion' - ESPN Dallas

Not only is the New Orleans Saints' Jimmy Graham redefining the tight end position, but he has also inspired an NFL rule change. According to the league's vice president of officiating, players will no longer be allowed to dunk the ball over the goalpost after touchdowns. Dean Blandino confirmed the rule change during a radio interview with "The Dan Patrick Show" on Tuesday. He said dunking the ball over the crossbar will now be considered a foul along with other touchdown celebrations that involve props.

Previously, dunks were grandfathered in as a legal celebration, along with the Lambeau Leap.

"We grandfathered in some, the Lambeau Leap and things like that, but dunking will come out," Blandino said, according to NFL-com. "Using the ball as a prop or any object as a prop, whether that's the goalpost, the crossbar, that will come out and that will be a foul next season."

Graham is clearly the main inspiration for the rule. Twice in his career, his celebratory dunks have knocked the uprights off balance. Last season in Atlanta, a Thursday night game had to be delayed while workers releveled the crossbar.

And no player in the NFL will be more affected by the rule change than Graham, who has caught more touchdown passes over the past three seasons (36) than anyone else in the league. A former basketball player at the University of Miami, the 6-foot-7 Graham has made the goalpost dunk his trademark celebration.

Graham responded to the news in a tweet Tuesday afternoon, saying: "I guess I'll have to lead the @nfl in penalties next year!" along with a photo-shopped picture of a referee jumping to block his attempt to dunk a ball over the crossbar. He later deleted the tweet.



NFL to penalize goal-post dunk next season - ESPN

Only one of Bill Belichick’s four rules proposals ultimately passed on Wednesday before the NFL wrapped up its owners meetings. But the Patriots coach accomplished his mission by getting the conversation started on a few things he would like to see changed.

His one proposal that was passed by a vote of the league’s 32 owners: increasing the height of the goalposts by 5 feet to help officials make an easier determination on whether a field goal is good or wide.

Only two other rule changes out of 14 proposed were approved: allowing officials to review the recovery of a loose ball in the field of play, and keeping the game clock running after a sack outside of two minutes.

One of Belichick’s proposals was tabled until the next owners meetings in May — planting more cameras on the sidelines to aid officials with replay.

“We told New England that we would definitely look at that,” said Falcons president Rich McKay, chairman of the Competition Committee. “We’ll look at it again with our broadcast partners and how we might be able to accomplish that.”

And two of Belichick’s proposals were outright rejected, to little surprise: moving the extra point back from the 2- to the 25-yard line, and allowing coaches to challenge any play, instead of having a list of plays that can’t be challenged.

Belichick knew his extra point proposal wouldn’t pass, but the NFL will continue to examine how to make it a more competitive play. The NFL will experiment with putting the extra point at the 20-yard line in the first two preseason games this August.

“It’s a new issue; it just came up this offseason,” said Rams coach Jeff Fisher, a Competition Committee member. “And the committee’s concern was to go ahead and effect some change in the rule without having the opportunity to go through those unintended consequences.

“We all feel like we need to do something; we’re just not quite sure what we’re going to do with it yet.”

Fisher said that fewer than 50 percent of the league’s coaches voted to allow all plays to be challenged. The Redskins’ proposal to allow personal foul penalties to be challenged also didn’t pass.

However, the league did pass one significant initiative for the 2014 season — allowing referees to consult with the league’s officiating department during challenges to speed up the process and ensure the correct call is made.

It won’t quite be a centralized instant replay system like the NHL’s, but it’s certainly a step in that direction.

“We expect it to speed up the process and be more efficient,” said Dean Blandino, head of officiating. “We can communicate with the referee immediately.

“As soon as he’s done making his announcement, we can start that conversation as to what we’re going to look at, what he’s going to see, so there isn’t that delay of getting over to the monitor, putting the headset on, and having a 45-second discussion.

“So we think it will be more efficient, accurate, and consistent.”

Blandino said Al Riveron and other members of the officiating department will be involved with the replay consultations “so we can adjudicate multiple replays that happen at the same time.”

On Tuesday, the NFL outlawed dunking the football over the goalpost as a touchdown celebration. McKay said the ban was necessary to avoid knocking the goalposts off-kilter, as the Saints’ Jimmy Graham did against the Falcons last season, and also ties in to the new rule about the taller goalposts.

“When you add 5 feet to the top and make them even heavier, I think we were concerned about how it would impact the game from a competitive standpoint,” McKay said.

Other proposals that failed: moving the kickoff line to the 40-yard line, eliminating the training-camp roster cutdown to 75 players, and allowing an unlimited number of players to return from injured reserve to the active roster.

Other proposals that were tabled until May: abolishing overtime in the preseason, expanding the practice squad from eight to 10 players and active rosters on Thursday and Saturday games from 46 to 49 players, and allowing retractable-dome teams to open their roof at halftime.

Commissioner Roger Goodell also addressed a handful of topics, most notably the possibility of expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams and the future of cold-weather Super Bowls.

Goodell said this year’s New York/New Jersey Super Bowl “was very positive,” and it opens the door for non-traditional cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Denver to enter Super Bowl bidding.

The next three games will be held in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Houston, and the 2018 game will be awarded in May to either Minneapolis, Indianapolis, or New Orleans.

The owners didn’t officially vote on expanding the playoffs, and while Goodell said “it’s not out of the question” that the field will be expanded for this upcoming season, it doesn’t appear likely until the 2015 season at the earliest. Goodell said the NFL and the Players Association are scheduled to talk about it at a meeting April 8.

“I think there was a tremendous amount of interest in this, possibly to the point of support, but there are also things we still want to make sure we do well with it,” Goodell said.

“We believe competitively it could make our races toward the end of the season even more exciting, which is great for fans, [but] we still want to do some additional work.”




NFL OKs Patriots’ bid to extend goalpost - Sports - The Boston Globe