Something tells me it’s snowing in hell today

Just a couple of days after the Denver Broncos found out about the season ending injury to starting defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban, defensive tackle Gerrard Warren was jettisoned to the most unlikely of teams, the Oakland Raiders.

It’s been no secret that the Broncos have been trying to rid themselves of the former Cleveland Brown first rounder. Many expected Warren, who had recently slipped down the depth chart over talk that he didn’t fit new defensive coordinator Jim Bates’ 2-gap system, to either be traded, or released.

The joys of football are upon us, and NGPF is here to catch you up on the games you missed

Good morning, America! I’m not sure about you, but I had a great time sitting back and watching some football on the good old HDTV. (I probably can’t say the same for my girlfriend, but hey, she needs her training too, right? After all, my weekends should be all but gone in a few weeks here.)

Browns employ new strategy for arranging depth chart

It was announced today, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer, that head coach Romeo Crennel will decide his starting quarterback for tonight’s preseason opener by - you ready? - a coin flip.

For a team that’s expected by most to finish near the bottom of the league record-wise, it might not be the most intelligent idea for Crennel to openly voice his plans of picking a starter via this technique. Crennel is very much on the hot seat in Cleveland this year, and with Brady Quinn already rubbing fans the wrong way, this current regime isn’t winning anyone over.

New Orleans bounces back and Buffalo puts up decent performance

Drew Brees showed America that the Pittsburgh loss was a deviation from what appears to be a dominating offense in New Orleans.  Talk about a team with young, yet polished, skill players in nearly very position…  I see a system as stat-friendly as Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

While it’s not glamorous, Olindo Mare may end up having a “resurgence” in the Superdome after a few too many years kicking from the Marlins infield dirt.

Cincinnati dealt a huge blow to their running back depth

The Miami Herald is reporting (via the Sports Network) that the injury Kenny Irons endured during last night’s preseason game is a left knee ACL tear after all.

For Irons, an ‘07 second round pick out of Auburn, this quickly shuts the door on his assumed backup position behind Rudi Johnson.  How he returns from the injury remains to be seen.

The Bengals, however, now have a bigger problem.  Besides Rudi, their healthy backs do not instill any confidence: Kenny Watson, Quincy Wilson, and Curtis Brown.  Fourth year first-rounder turned bust Chris Perry, as a reminder, is out on the PUP list and the team expects him to miss at least six games.

The guy whose career just wouldn’t end has… ended… his… career.

The Indy Star has broke the biggest story of the week (and that’s not saying much): Tampa Bay FB Mike Alstott is set to announce his retirement at 2 PM PST today.

You can continue breathing now.

After spending 11 years with Tampa, he will retire as their all-time TD (71) and rushing TD leader (58). To that I say: wow, they sure haven’t scored too many touchdowns over the years.

Part two of the series I accidentally forgot about

Yeah, oops. Don’t cry though, because now that I’ve remembered, I’m going to finish what I started.

Last time, as a reminder, we revealed our picks ranked between ten and six.

10. Vince Young
9. Donovan McNabb
8. Steven Jackson
7. Matt Hasselbeck
6. Frank Gore

The final five candidates have been consistent performers in the NFL, and will continue to be so until they hang up their cleats. These are the stars of this era, but folks like Gore, Jackson and Young could soon push for their own spots among the league’s best of the best.

Rule of thumb: Bruises and sprains are better than tears

Yesterday we reported that both Jammal Brown of the Saints and Damion McIntosh of the Chiefs went down with what could have been serious knee injuries.

Well, the MRI’s are back, and it looks as though neither will miss significant time this season.

For Brown, it turns out he just slightly bruised his knee, and there still appears to be a chance he could make an appearance in the Saints’ second preseason game on Friday.  That’s what you call “very good news.”

So our report of his leg being ripped off from its socket was, perhaps, a bit much.

OK, well, we actually said we’d let you know when we had more information, and now that we do, you do too.

Actual Editorial, Denver Broncos jarvis moss

So now we can stop bitching about how immature he is and focus on how much he sucks.

We’d write more but we’re saving our Quinn hate-juice for another day.

Actual Editorial Cleveland Browns

Cornerbacks? Who needs ‘em?

For the second time in two weeks, the Chicago Bears have traded away a reserve defensive back. Cornerback Dante Wesley, who had been the teams’ projected dime back, has been moved to the New England Patriots. For the Pats, it’s a clear sign that they’re bracing for the Asante Samuel holdout to last well into the season.  For the Bears, who knows what the hell they are doing.

“J Pizzle” Needs “Surgizzle”

According to early reports out of PalmBeachPost.com, Joey Porter has decided to have arthroscopic surgery after receiving a second opinion to Dr. James Andrews’ initial prognosis. The culprit is his right knee, the same one that limited him in his play with Pittsburgh last season:

Porter, 30, needed arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in May 2006, a little less than a year after he received the same procedure on his left knee.

Porter, who signed a five-year deal in March with $20 million guaranteed, had not practiced since Friday and experienced soreness in his right knee since off-season conditioning drills.

Thank God for Skins-Ravens scrimmages replays

I was fortunate enough to catch a replay of Baltimore and Washington’s yearly preseason warmup last night, and for those of you that neither live in the mid-Atlantic nor have access to the NFLN, read on. And if you are on NFLN and/or live in the mid-Atlantic but still want to read what we have to say, then read on too.

Let’s first start by saying that the Baltimore Ravens have the look of a Super Bowl contender.

The Washington Redskins, uh, not so much.

We’ve had this one in the queue way too long…

Now that we’ve bared witness to what the slowest part of the year in sports brings home viewers, it gave us a chance to really see what ESPN is made of. In between being reminded how of great NASCAR, poker, tennis, golf, and the WNBA is, the world wide network of sports has decided to bring us a popularity contest straight from hell.

Who’s Now is ESPN’s chance to annoy us with questions such as: Who’s better? Reggie Bush or Danica Patrick? WHAT? Here’s a better question: If this female race car driver tried to tackle Bush, how many bones would she break?

What is it with guys named Moss and injuries?

The Denver Broncos experienced a scare today when their first round investment, ex-Florida DE Jarvis Moss, flopped his way to the ground:

The pass-rushing defensive end was injured in an individual pass-rushing drill. He attempted a spin move, planted his leg, then fell to the ground. He got to his feet, but was assisted to the cart.

The Broncos desperately need a strong pass rushing presence on the edge, and Moss has impressed so far.  Hopefully, for their sake of attempting to compete with the San Diego Chargers and KC Chiefs, it will be a twist versus a tear.

Cards break the bank on rookie deal

One of the seven lengthy rookie holdouts of ‘07 has finally come to an end (on a guy that ESPN’s John Clayton firmly predicted would be signed the middle of last week). Levi Brown and the Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a deal worth a mind-boggling $62 million. The $18.5 million in guaranteed money in the six-year deal is right on par with what the #4 pick in the draft, Gaines Adams, received.

Another ex-Viking ventures west to Oak Land

Daunte Culpepper has signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Raiders according to NFL.com. After the Jaguars, Buccaneers, Falcons, and Rams all passed on the gimpy veteran quarterback, it was the Raiders chance to be, well, the Raiders.

There has been a ton of speculation as to how soon Daunte Culpepper might be able to play, and no one so far up to this point had been willing to offer him a one-year deal (which was his demand). In fact, up to this date, the consensus has been that Culpepper wouldn’t be ready to play until very late this season. So off to the island of misfit toys Culpepper goes, and with it, an intriguing new twist to head coach Lane Kiffin’s inaugural campaign.

The world says goodbye to a legend.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t say a brief word about Bill Walsh. At 75 years of age, Walsh finally succumbed to the leukemia that had been affecting him for quite some time. For the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL, it’s a day of great sadness, but also a chance to remember the man and the coach.

An absolute innovator in every sense of the word, Walsh changed the way offenses operate in the modern era. I remember watching a video about a year ago from the ’80’s of Walsh and Joe Montana demonstrating the basic concepts of the forward pass in the West Coast Offense.

Back to business

It’s been a few days since our last post, and both of us here at NGPF are either going through a move, or getting ready for one, so it’s made it a bit of a challenge to maintain the site. We still have big plans for Next Gen Pro Football, so we ask for everybody’s patience.

Now that we have that over with, let’s talk about some football.

There are seven rookies left who as of today are still yet unsigned.

Ted Ginn Jr. ends Dolphins’ hold out streak

When I first began this endeavor of covering the signings of each of the first round draft picks in depth, there wasn’t much NFL news happening. Now that camps are in full swing, there’s a ton of analytical work to do. With that said, we’re unfortunately going to have to cut the draft pick signing watch segment short.

Ted Ginn Jr. will be our 16th and final draft pick that we will be showcasing in this fashion. The terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, but we’ll get those to you as soon as we find out.