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.

It’s gettin’ hot in hurr.

– The Arizona Cardinals offensive line woes may become a thing of the past if the first week of camp is any indication. Of course, this could be the product of a defensive front seven still learning the nuances of a new defense.

– With Michael Vick presumably done for the year and Warrick Dunn scheduled to miss all of the preseason after offseason back surgery, Bobby Petrino will look to throw the ball more.

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.

– 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.

Wrapping up today’s major stories…

–  Nike has decided to pull the plug on a new shoe line named after Michael Vick.  Another Vick related product being nixed by the athletic apparel giant…the Nike Rape Stand 7000.  Sorry, kids.

–  One of the more interesting stories of the day not involving federal charges, was Daunte Culpepper’s first visit with a NFL team.  That team?  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  No, really. 

We don’t think there’s any chance of this actually going down, but considering that Culpepper played at Central Florida and Jon Gruden’s affinity for quarterbacks, it does kind of make sense to at least touch base. 

Welcome Back to the Final Installment of the Fantasy Impact Series

There’s no better way to end this series than to preview what could easily be viewed as the most loaded division in terms of offensive FF studs, the NFC West. In our eyes, three of the top five fantasy running backs in the NFL reside here, as do two of the top six quarterbacks, and three of the top ten wide receivers.

None of the four teams in the NFC West possess lock-down defenses, and considering any of the players listed here will be playing against three of those units six times a year, its an added bonus for this already impressive group.

Every year numerous milestones and records are reached in the NFL.  Last year, for example, LaDainian Tomlinson shattered the single season record for rushing touchdowns with 28.  Of course, there’s no way we can forecast individual season accolades, but we can explore career accomplishments.

Over the course of the rest of the summer we’ll get caught up on what possible milestones players will be working on in 2007.  Today we will take a look at the rock carriers — running backs.

Packing it In for ‘07

The Green Bay Press-Gazette has just put up a piece about rookie DT Justin Harrell. It seems their first round prize may make little to no impact this coming season. Exactly what Brett Favre wants to hear…

Is there anything that hasn’t gone wrong this offseason for the Pack? Sooner or later GM Ted Thompson is going to have to make a move or this team will fall by the wayside before October is over. Their first eight games involve FIVE playoff teams from a year ago, and that doesn’t include trips to the Metrodome and Invesco.

– With the Seahawks, Broncos, Dolphins and Cardinals all needing help on the interior of their lines, it will be interesting to see if any of these teams pull off a trade for one of the league’s many disgruntled guards.  Alan Faneca of the Steelers, Pete Kendall of the Jets, and the Niners Justin Smiley round out a talented bunch of guards looking for a (significant) pay increase….

The question will ultimately be if there are teams out there willing to part with a 2nd round pick and pay upwards of $18-20 million in guaranteed money.  To a guard.  Minnesota, Dallas, Cleveland, and Buffalo say hell yes.