Random thoughts from some of Week Two’s games

The second week showed the continued dominance of some units, while weaknesses became more glaring than the hot August sun for others:

Joey Harrington is still struggling, Vikings’ Adrian Peterson has some insane moves, Chad Pennington has Kellen Clemons hot on his tail, Vince Young still needs some work, Brady Quinn can throw touchdowns against the Lions’ 3rd string defense, the Panthers’ offense was completely inept against Philly, and the Jags have some wild running backs.

And now for some more organized thoughts on some of this week’s games.

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.

All the major AFC news of the day.  Yes, all of it.  Don’t argue with me.

Can I make a suggestion?  Click the links.  They take you to the story we are referring to.  You will learn things.

– The biggest news of the day would have to be Denver Broncos’ linebacker Warrick Holdman going down with what NFL Live reported as a spinal cord concussion. The injury shook the teams and fans, which eventually led to Mike Shanahan cutting the day short.

All injuries, all the time…

– Chester Taylor looked like he could be done for the year after being carted off the practice field in writhing pain, the result of a blow delivered as Taylor attempted to catch a pass that was strung out in front of him.  Childress, though, downplayed the injury, calling it a right arm “contusion.” This, of course, is during a time when Adrian Peterson obviously needed a better opportunity to win the starting job.

First round signing extravaganza

Normally we’d give each first rounder his own piece, but considering it’s late and it’s two players that, truthfully, I don’t know a whole lot about, we’re gonna give the NGPF nation a two-fer.

First up, John Clayton of ESPN is reporting that the third pick in the draft, offensive lineman Joe Thomas out of Wisconsin, has come to an agreement with the Cleveland Browns. The terms are said to be for essentially five years with a total payout of $42.5 million dollars and up to $23 million being guaranteed.

– Much maligned second round pick Alan Branch has signed, leaving the Arizona Cardinals with just one draft choice left unsigned (first-rounder Levi Brown).

– Unsurprisingly, Michael Vick’s welcome seems to be worn out in the ATL.

– In other Vick news, the court house he attended today turned into a full blown nightmare. Good thing Vick has the support of three morons from Boston.

– Jonathan Ogden is being placed on the PUP list due to a lingering toe injury, meaning he probably won’t be seeing much action until week one of the regular season.  He will then play all 16 games.  Duh.

Steelers’ Troy Polamalu becomes highest paid safety in the NFL

The long awaited Troy Polamalu contract extension finally came to fruition today, and the five year deal includes just over $15 million in guaranteed money. The Pittsburgh Steelers were intent on locking up their superstar defensive back for the long term, and with camp just days away, they’ve managed to keep Polamalu away from the ‘08 free agent market.

Taz is viewed by many as the NFL’s best safety, and while that may be debatable, he’s now going to be paid like the top player at his position. Ed Reed had previously been the league’s highest paid safety.

It’s alright, everybody’s doing it…

With the salary cap having gone through the roof and many agents around the league clamoring in the ears of their talented clients, next week could see an abundance of holdouts and salary demands.

Agents for Asante Samuel and Lance Briggs have both come out and threatened to have their clients sit out not only training camp, but most of the regular season as well. These messy events take place every offseason thanks to the franchise tag, a tool used by teams to keep their star players from flying the coop. Of course, there’s a new salary cap in town now, and with it, a slew of new problems, disagreements, and ultimately greed.

I heard Canada’s not too bad this time of year……

Over the last few days the Michael Vick dog fighting investigation has been broken wide open leading to rampant speculation of whether he’ll be cut, put on a paid leave of absence, or be allowed to play through this season.

Brett Favre Continues His Slow Assault on the NFL Record Book…. 

It’s been a little over a week now since we first looked at some milestones that were on the horizon for running backs.  This time its the quarterbacks and two guys who are mentioned way too much by the mainstream media. 

Brett Favre is either first or second in just about every category there is for a quarterback, and is within striking range of owning every major NFL passing record.  He also leads the league in getting his ass kissed by T.V. commentators.(Look it up)

Dwight Freeney became the first of four remaining franchised players to sign, agreeing to a six year deal worth $72 million dollars. According to ESPN’s John Clayton, Freeney now moves passed the Patriots Richard Seymour in becoming the highest paid defensive player in league history.

Apparently ESPN is done promoting the $80 million that Niner cornerback Nate Clements picked up earlier this off season as the highest of all time; the actual value of that Niner deal was $52.75 over 6 years with $22.6 in guaranteed money according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Nancy Gay.

The Baltimore Ravens selected Offensive Tackle from Maryland Jared Gaither with a fifth round pick and the San Diego Chargers picked up cornerback Paul Oliver out of Georgia with a fourth rounder. Each team will forfeit the pick in the 2008 draft.

For the Ravens, the massive Gaither could be an eventual replacement for Jonathan Ogden on the left side of the offensive line. Gaither joins Ben Grubbs and Marshall Yanda from the ‘07 draft to give Baltimore a ton of youth along the offensive line.

– Troy Brown has re-signed with the New England Patriots to another one year contract. It’s pretty amazing how a guy who can do that much for one organization continues to receive one and done deals late into the offseason.– Ex-Eagle linebacker Dhani Jones is now a New Orleans Saint, providing a possible starter and definite depth to an already solid linebacking corp. Now if only they can turn down their suck in the secondary.

Short Slants

– Anthony Waters, the Chargers rookie inside linebacker who will be looking to start this year, has officially been charged with assault. Someone threw a rock at his car and he proceeded to make the gentleman a bit bloody. NGPF advocates this. If you throw a rock at our car, we will beat your ass, too. Free Anthony Waters!

– The Falcons seem to have insurance against more rotting animal corpses being found on Michael Vick owned properties.

– Ravens’ quarterback Steve McNair triumphs over a stupid law.

Top 10 Non-First Round Second Year Players

We all know the names of the superstars to come out of last year’s first round. Vince Young. Reggie Bush. AJ Hawk. Vernon Davis. Matt Leinart.

Instead, today we’re going to look at the best players not drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft.

So here it is…the top 10 second year players not drafted in the first round…….

10. Cedric Griffin CB Minnesota 2nd Round — 41 Tackles 2 Interceptions