NFL teams love sigining discarded players from division rivals, if for no other reason than to pick their brains -- which ends up being all they ever do with those players most of the time. After all, there's a reason those players were dscarded in the first place. Still, insight into an opponent's playbook is always valuable, so NFL teams will keep looking for free agents who have that.
Mike Vanderjagt, the ex-Indianapolis Colt whom Peyton Manning famously referred to as "our idiot kicker," has signed a free-agent contract with the Toronto Argonauts. "It hurts, really," he said. "I made my life here in Toronto. I wanted to retire as an Argo. This disrupts a lot with my family."Vanderjagt was once among the NFL's most accurate field goal kickers, but he has a weak leg for kickoffs and hasn't played anywhere in 18 months. I'd like to give the Argos' front office the benefit of the doubt and assume they know what they're doing in bringing him back to the CFL, but I wouldn't be surprised if Prefontaine has a better season than Vanderjagt.
When word came out that Indianapolis was awarded the 2012 Super Bowl, you could hear the collective groan all over the internets/newspapers/sports shows. They all say that Indianapolis is a lovely city ... but it's gonna be cold. Cold sucks, apparently.
One of the biggest critics has been ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski:
Indianapolis? You mean, the Indianapolis in Indiana? The place where the low was 26 degrees with a trace of snow on Super Bowl Sunday this year?
I don't get it. Playing in a Super Bowl is supposed to be a reward, not a reason to visit your local North Face outlet. And attending a Super Bowl as a fan is supposed to be the experience of a lifetime, a chance to break out multiple bottles of SPF 30.
The only things you'll break out in Indy are space heaters.
The guy you see on the right wearing the No. 33 Colts jersey is Melvin Bullitt, a defensive back entering his second season after making the team as an undrafted rookie in 2007.
I don't see it happening. But it sounds as though Manning, like a lot of Favre fans, isn't quite ready to let go."Like everybody else, I guess we'll see what happens this fall,'' Manning said with a smile. "In a lot of ways I kind of hope (he returns). Brett's a guy that's been such an influence on me and all young quarterbacks.
" . . . I guess part of it is kind of hope, maybe, that he finds his way back in the NFL this year.''
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison has assured members of the team's front office that he was not involved in a shooting last month in his home town of Philadelphia, Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star reports.Police have said they have no suspects in the shooting, but media reports indicate that they have determined that Harrison owns the gun that was shot. Harrison has not spoken publicly since the allegations surfaced."At this point I'm keeping my fingers crossed," he said. "We've done everything we could do in our diligence to try to discern what happened. He said he was not involved in that shooting and . . . the authorities have said there is nothing imminent.
"You hope these things hold up to be true, that there won't be any charges and there wasn't any involvement. Until we hear more, this isn't even a case of innocent until proven guilty because there hasn't been a charge yet."
The implication from Dungy seems to be that the Colts are more of a "true champion" than the Patriots because people ask of the Patriots, "did they cheat?" For all the talk that Dungy and Bill Belichick have had rather frosty exchanges when their teams have played, their next post-game handshake could be even more awkward."We talk about how important it is to do things the right way and have integrity so that when you do win, people can never ask that question," he said. "That's the great thing that I'm happy about with our team.
"Yes, we won. But no one is really going to ask, 'Did they cheat? Did they do things the right way?' I think our record speaks for itself and if you're a true champion, that's the way you'd like it to be."
Seattle Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck throws a pass as the Seahawks opened mini-camp at the team's practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck throws a pass as the Seahawks opened football mini-camp at their facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, left, calls signals during football mini-camp at the team's practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck stretches as the team opened mini-camp at their football practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck watches as the team opened mini-camp at their football practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' linebacker Julian Peterson, left, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck run through drills as the NFL football team held minicamp at the team practice facility in Kirkland, Wash., on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, center, prepares to throw as the NFL football team held minicamp at the team practice facility in Kirkland, Wash., on Tuesday, May 6, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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** FILE ** In this July 27, 2006 file photo, Cleveland Browns linebacker Willie McGinest stretches during morning practice at the Browns football training camp in Berea, Ohio. Browns linebacker Willie McGinest says the 2008 season will be his last. McGinest told SI.com for a story Thursday, May 8, 2008, that he wants to finish his career on one last playoff run. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)
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Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, left, puts his helmet as they opened mini-camp at the team's football practice facility in Kirkland, Wash. on Friday, May 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
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** FILE ** This July 26, 2007 file photo shows Michael Vick leaving the federal courthouse in Richmond, Va. A federal judge ordered imprisoned quarterback Michael Vick to repay more than $2.4 million to a Canadian bank for defaulting on a loan, Wednesday May 7, 2008. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, Pool, File)
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Keith was erratic and dropped some key passes, and generally wasn't the all-around threat Rhodes had been.But looking at the stats, that really just isn't true. Keith averaged 4.4 yards a carry in 2007; Rhodes averaged 3.4 yards a carry in 2006.
The accusation that Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison shot a man outside his North Philadelphia bar is extremely disturbing, and if it's true, Harrison deserves to suffer serious consequences.
