Maurice Clarett cut from Denver (and I'm not surprised)!!!

Everyone and their uncle, including Clarett himself, knows that he will not be a Denver Bronco for much longer (if he hasn't been cut already). Although it appears unfair that he hasn't had the opportunity to really showcase himself because of a groin injury, which has kept him out of all three of Denver's preseason games, there has been talk by some of his teammates that Clarett has not been making a concerted effort to rehab his injury. This is the sort of thing that kept 31 other teams from drafting him before Denver took a chance and selected him with the 101st pick (the final pick of day one) in the 2005 Draft. Head Coach Mike Shanahan played off Clarett's past problems and was hoping that like many other RBs before him, that Clarett would become one of the more productive backs not only in the Broncos organization, but in the league. Well, as the old adage goes, "a leopard never changes his spots", and in Clarett's case, this could not be more true. This guy knew that he was basically living on borrowed time and that if he did not change his ways, that his NFL lifespan would be cut short before it even began. Unlike Jason White, who had the werewithall to call it quits because he knew that it wouldn't work out for him, Clarett seems to be a glutton for punishment. He already has a good idea that he's going to be cut, but has not admitted obvious defeat. On top of that, his agent has even said that the market isn't looking too good for his client and, as a result, Clarett will most likely spend at least the 2005 season out of football, just as he has each of the last two years. If (and only if) Clarett were to re-dedicate himself to first, recovering from his injury, secondly, getting his weight and attributes into check and third, readjusting his attitude, then perhaps he will have a descent chance at making a football roster for 2006. Otherwise, his only real connection to football will be what he sees on Sundays in the fall.

Season-ending injuries

The preseason has been rife with season-ending injuries. The two that are truly sad stories are those of Chicago Bears QB Rex Grossman and Philadelphia Eagles RB Corell Buckhalter. Both of these guys are having to sit out a second consecutive season while their teams try to move on without them. I feel that Grossman's loss will adversely affect the Bears more than Buckhalter's will the Eagles. Although Buckhalter has played a role in the Eagles' offense, Grossman was to be the centerpiece for the Bears offense, as he had fully recovered from a ruptured right knee ligament which sidelined him in Week 3 of the 2004 season, suffered a broken left ankle in the Bears preseason loss to the St. Louis Rams on August 12. He's expected to miss three to four months, which means he would most likely be able to return in the mid-December. This means that journeyman QB Chad Hutchinson, who was highly ineffective in his five starts last season, will be calling the signals for a 2nd straight year. This doesn't even include the fact that the Bears first-round pick Cedric Benson is still holding out and is in danger of not even suiting up in navy and orange for the 2005 season. Benson could be the one to jumpstart an offensive unit that finished 32rd in total offense last year (if he ever reports). If the situation doesn't change, the Bears offensive production looks to stay pretty much where it was last season, even with the offseason acquisition of former Carolina Panthers WR Muhsin Muhammed, and they will most likely remain in the cellar of the NFC North for the second straight year.

Buckhalter has gone down for the 2nd straight year with a torn right patella tendon in his knee, the same injury that kept him out of action for all of the 2004 campaign as well. Buckhalter's loss, while tragic to a team that has already lost two of it's receivers to season-ending injuries and a third receiver who is becoming more of a distraction day-by-day, the Eagles aren't a team that lives and dies by the run (this was evident when they did not retain the services of their then-most productive rusher in Duce Staley after the 2003 season). Brian Westbrook is clearly the starter with Ryan Moats and Reno Mahe backing him up, even though the Eagles again will lack a physically punishing back like Buckhalter. The Eagles should be able to continue to dominate the NFC East and are a favorite to move deep into the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year.

T.O. has gone too far!

Ok, I can honestly say that Terrell Owens (T.O.) has officially crossed the line into idiocy. I can say this after the televised interview that he gave during halftime of ESPN's coverage of the Chargers-Packers preseason game. This man cares about nothing but himself and only used this opportunity in an attempt to give
the Eagles organization a black eye (namely Head Coach Andy Reid and teammate QB Donovan McNabb). I'm sure that everyone isn't surprised as this was bound to happen sooner or later (my money was on sooner). I've felt from the first day that I
heard T.O. gripe about how he deserves more money that he should just shut up and play football. The man just signed a long-term contract with a team that rescued him
from a trade to the Baltimore Ravens. Any player certainly has the right to voice their concerns with management, but when coaches and teammates are dragged inot the frey, that's where it crosses the line. Donovan McNabb was one of T.O.'s biggest fans in trying to persuade the Eagles front office to make the trade happen that so that McNabb would have one of the top five receivers in the league in the huddle with him. Well, the honeymoon ended almost a year to the day from when the deal was done and I can just see hordes of Eagles fans calling for Owens to either be traded or given his outright release. Neither of those options will happen, because 1) No other team would want someone who is seen as a cancer in the lockerroom and 2) The Eagles would take a hefty salary cap hit (one which they'd most likely be paying for in 2007 or 2008) for someone that wouldn't be on the team any longer. I don't see too many folks taking T.O.'s side on this one other than his family and his hired gun
Drew Rosenhaus. But the fact of the matter is that T.O. has now alienated
himself from yet another football team and another city. I hope he's happy.

Show Hines Ward the Money!

Training camp is now up and running in for all 32 NFL teams. The biggest concern of any team at the start of camp are players that hold out. Usually I am deadset against players that hold out while under contract, but I have to make an exception here. The exception is for one Hines Ward, wide receiver for the Pittsburgh
Steelers. The Steelers are my favorite football team and I almost never question their moves, but I do have to question this one. They have decided to suspend contract negotiations with Ward until he reports to camp. Now, people may say, "what makes him different from any other player that holds out?" Well, simply put, he
has always let his actions on the field speak way louder than anything he may say to the media or on the field. He is the complete package. He has proven himself year after year, not only as a proven receiver, but as probably the premier downfield runblocker in the league, occasional quarterback on a trickplay, and he runs an end around every now and again. He has four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, which is staggering considering that he plays on a team that lives and dies by the run and has been injury-free for his entire professional career, and was named Team MVP two years in a row and won the Chief Award in 2002 for exemplifying the spirit of cooperation with the media. He may not score 15 touchdowns every season, but he
always comes through, no matter what he is doing on the field. He would also be doing this for the bargain-basement price of $1.66 million for the 2005 season, which is far below the amount of money that some of Ward's more high-profile contemporaries will make this year (Moss, Owens, Harrison). The Steelers have offered to make him the highest paid player in team history, but the team does not what to give him the bonus that he is seeking. I can understand the fact that the front office is trying to be cautious about the salary cap, but I don't see why they couldn't offer him a front-loaded deal and make the bulk of that front-loaded money the bonus, which would be evenly counted against the cap for the duration of the
contract. For example, if the Steelers offered Ward a new four-year deal at say $4 million per year with a $4 million signing bonus ($20 million total for the mathematically-impaired), he would get make 8 million that first year, but only $1 million of that bonus counts against the cap in addition to whatever the amount that counts towards the cap in the first year of the deal (which wouldn't be anywhere near $4 million because of how the salary cap formula is set up). With Jerome Bettis most likely calling it quits after this season and a few other possible free agency defections, the team will at least have that million available to allocate for Ward's bonus for '06 and beyond. If Ward is able to stay healthy and his
production stays consistent, then he will most likely be around for when his next (and most likely last) set of contract negotations with the team occur. For someone that has consistently performed (unlike Moss) and doesn't create controversy on and off the field (unlike T.O.), Ward certainly has earned the right to make his feelings known to the team and he shouldn't be looked down upon as in ingrate or being selfish all of the sudden. Several players on the Steelers have also expressed theirI'd be willing to bet that if Ward and the Steelers are able to work out a new deal, that the next deal that is worked out will not be nearly as difficult to work out, should that need arise. I just hope that the Steelers front office will be able to work something out with Ward before too long. The season
is only five weeks away.