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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

– Wade Phillips wants to instill more of a “family atmosphere” within the Cowboys’ roster. Terence Newman, one of the leaders of the Boys’, is apparently a key to this. What’s he gonna do, get his grandmother to rob some boy scouts?

– As a teenager, new Raiders’ coach Lane Kiffin dreamed of being a head coach in the NFL. A few years later, he’s the head man in Oakland and nearly finished with puberty.

– Will the Lions beat the clock in signing Corey Redding? With just under two hours to go we expect an announcement here any minute. This seems much more likely than the other two franchised players, Asante Samuel and Lance Briggs, signing their offers.

ESPN is reporting that free agent Donovan Darius, released by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this offseason, has signed with the Oakland Raiders. For the Raiders this means that they’ll have two starting safeties who are much better at the line of scrimmage than in coverage. Current starting free safety Stuart Schweigert is the odd man out, and we’re surprised it took this long for the Raiders to bring in somebody to replace him. He’s easily been one of the worst players on what has actually been quite a good defense operating under Buddy Ryan’s son the last couple of seasons.

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

Tony Romo’s Next Destination?

The contract extension talks between the Dallas Cowboys and their young quarterback Tony Romo seem to be over, at least for the time being.  In all likelihood, as the Dallas Morning News points out, Romo will probably receive a large contract at some point during the 2007 season. 

Depending on how the first month of the season goes for Romo, however, the leverage of either side could swing widely.  The downside for the Cowboys is if Romo has a great start to the ‘07 campaign he could start to think about opting for free agency in the spring.  The price tag to lock him up would certainly rise significantly.

Megatron Terrorizes the World, but Football Fans Know Better

After hours of deliberation, three masterful NFL owners and upper management legions came together to take a final stand against their demanding battle of more dominant opponents.  The only way to salvage any value out of their functional, yet incomplete, components was to come together and become a complete entity (both concepts seem to have eluded the organizations as of late), capable of pillaging many a village.

Packer Trade Rumors

Rumors continue to circulate around the net that the Green Bay Packers will make a move before training camp opens July 28th. None of their draft picks seem to be inspiring awe, and they did next to nothing in free agency. While most of the talk circulates around current free agents still looking for a job, we find it hard to believe that making a move on one of them would help the team let alone make Brett Favre happy.