NFL Mock Draft 2007

| Sunday, April 15, 2007

Rick Gosselin has put together his first NFL Mock Draft of the 2007 season. He got himself into the sportswriters wing of the NFL Hall of Fame doing these, so he’s worth paying attention to.

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Chargers Unveil New Uniforms for 2007

| Sunday, March 11, 2007

The San Diego Chargers have redesigned their uniforms for the 2007 season. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports:

Chief among the changes is a redesigned gold bolt outlined in powder blue, white helmets and a newly contoured overall look.

The powder blue framing the bolts on the helmets and the jersey is the only addition of that popular color, which many fans have opined should be the team’s primary color. The Chargers will continue to wear their powder blue uniforms twice each season. “The powder blue hasn’t gone away,” said Jim Steeg, the Chargers’ chief operating officer. “It’s now part of the color scheme. It was not before. It’s now part of us.”

The new design is somewhat futuristic and somewhat nostalgic, with the primary goal of creating an identity for the current Chargers. “It’s modern, but at the same time, it’s classy,” said quarterback Philip Rivers, one of a half-dozen players who has seen and tried on the new uniforms. “… It’s kept the tradition of the colors and the bolts. But it’s done in a way that gives uniqueness to this team. It shows respect to the Chargers of the past. At the same time it says this is the Chargers of 2007. Hopefully we’re holding up the (Lombardi) Trophy wearing these uniforms.”

[...]

Made of a fabric that is form-fitting yet elastic, it has fewer grab points for opponents, so the Chargers anticipate being held less often. It also will be less restrictive for players because of its elasticity. The jersey also is lighter and has air vents.

The main colors remain the same – with navy being worn for home games, white on the road and powder blue for two “throwback” games. The bolt now wraps around the shoulder rather than being on top of the shoulder, and the numbers have moved from the biceps to the top of the shoulder. The collar is no longer a V-neck but is more rounded. Around the collar on the home jersey is a white fringe. On the away jersey, the fringe is blue. Below the collar, the word CHARGERS has been added.

The helmet is similar to the one the Chargers have worn for years with the “throwback” powder blues. The bolt is simply the new design and the player’s number will be in black on the back of the helmet above the neck.

The stripe on the pants stripe is wider, contoured, coming around from the rear. And the bolt has just two points instead of the current eight.

The team’s helmet and uniforms featured a gold bolt in the franchise’s first 28 seasons.

The team’s fourth major uniform redesign – but first since 1988 – also includes a major update of its all-cap “CHARGERS” logo. The new design is less blocky, sleeker and includes a single blue and gold stripe running only through the letters versus all the way through as it has for almost two decades.

Since the Chargers changed their bolt from gold to white and their helmets and home jerseys from royal blue to navy blue in 1988, 13 NFL teams have completely redone their uniforms. That does not include the Tennessee Titans, who changed their name and uniform a year after relocating from Houston, nor expansion franchises Carolina or Houston.

The Chargers did shorten the lightning bolt on their jersey pants in 1992, and every team besides the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders have made at least one alteration to its uniform in that time, including expansion franchises Jacksonville and Cleveland.

Most have made numerous changes – to jersey numbers, pants stripes, helmets and/or adding, subtracting or altering a logo.

It seems that the Chargers’ changes have been more frequent than other teams, since I don’t consider minor changes like the Cowboys and Steelers make from year-to-year significant. Of course, the Chargers at least continue to easily be recognized as the Chargers year in and year out, never going for the radical overhauls that the Broncos, Buccaneers, and others have done.

Casey Pearce of Chargers.com has more background.

The longstanding history of Chargers football began with Lance Alworth and John Hadl lighting up the American Football League in Powder blue jerseys and white helmets.

In the late 1970’s and early 80’s, Hall of Famers Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow ushered in a new era in royal blue duds accented by blue helmets with a gold lightning bolt. The early 1990’s saw Junior Seau and Stan Humphries lead the Chargers to three playoff appearances in four years, including the 1994 AFC Championship while donning the white lightning bolts and a more consistent navy color scheme.

LaDainian Tomlinson and company have now brought a new attitude and legacy, and the team has made some minor changes to the logo and the uniform to give the new generation of Chargers stars their own look.

I’ve liked just about all the Chargers unis over the years, although I do they’ve gotten a little worse over time. The 1980s-era unis with the lightning bolts on the golden yellow pants were probably my favorites overall. I love the powder blue jerseys, too, but think the white helmets from those early days were too plain.

Tags | James Joyner, NFL Chicago Bears, James Joyner, Junior Seau, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Tennessee Titans

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Cowboys Re-Sign OL Marc Columbo

| Saturday, March 10, 2007

The Cowboys continued their string of re-signing their own young, talented players by agreeing to terms with offensive lineman Marc Columbo.

DC.com’s Nick Eatman provides the details:

The Cowboys have signed their third offensive lineman since just before free agency began, and the second this week after finalizing a two-year deal with Marc Colombo on Friday. Colombo, who started all 16 games for the Cowboys last season, received a two-year, $7 million deal that includes a $4 million signing bonus.

The signing of Colombo likely means the Cowboys will play Leonard Davis, who signed a seven-year, $49.6 million contract on Monday, at right guard. The Cowboys also locked up Pro Bowl center Andre Gurode to a six-year, $30 million contract.

“By signing Marc, this gives us a lot of options there on the offensive line,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “It really helps make the offensive line one of the more solid areas on the team. You can go as far as say it’s an area of strength.”

The Cowboys also waived veteran tackle Jason Fabini, a free-agent acquisition last off-season who was expected to compete for the right tackle position in training camp. However, Colombo beat out Fabini and Rob Petitti for the job. Fabini spent the entire season on the roster and played in 15 games, mostly on special teams and spot duty.

[...]

But last year, Colombo showed why the Bears made him their first-round pick in 2002. He not only won the right tackle position and started every game, but was rather impressive in playing the first half of the season without yielding a sack. Last year’s head coach Bill Parcells often praised Colombo for his improved play on the field and his dedication in the weight room, starting in the previous off-season.

Jones said he believes Colombo resurrecting his career with the Cowboys was one reason why he decided to remain in Dallas. “The way he’s evolved, how he’s basically right underneath the tutorship of guys like (strength and conditioning coach) Joe Juraszek, we feel like he’s a home-grown player,” Jones said. “It’s almost like we drafted him No.1. But I think that played a big part in his decision to stay here because how he got his career really going with rehab and built up his strength to become the player he was last year.” “When we looked at his play and the contribution he made last year, we were really impressed. It was not only at a level we could accomplish our goals as a team, but there is room for improvement.”

Although the Cowboys have signed Gurode, Davis and now Colombo in the last three weeks, there are still some questions on the offensive line, especially with right guard Marco Rivera, who underwent his second back surgery in two years to repair a herniated disk. There is a chance that Rivera, an 11-year veteran, might not return next season, possibly even announcing his retirement. Jones said he will let Rivera make that decision, but the recent signings at least give the Cowboys more options. “(Rivera) will decide what his future is going to be,” Jones said. “We will monitor and look at how he progresses this spring, and that’s something we’ll have to continue to look at, but he’s doing the same thing, so we’ll have to see how it goes. It’s something, and again in its own way, it allows us the flexibility to be pretty patient here with Rivera.”

[...]

But even Jones said on Friday that even he didn’t expect to be signing Colombo to a new contract like this. “That might have been too much to hope for, but Marc had a lot to do with that,” Jones said. “Marc had a lot to do with that because, now he’ll give Joe Juraszek huge credit here, and he should because he made a difference, but Juraszek will give it up for any player that will really buy into it and is smart enough to see you can really improve yourself as a player and improve your chances of having a longer career and a more productive career. “I’ve seen a lot of players hang ‘em up or not pursue with just sheer work ethic and the conscientious way he has overcome his injury.”

Calvin Watkins explains why this is such an important move:

The signing of starting right tackle Marc Colombo to a two-year deal worth $7 million on Friday gives the Cowboys some flexibility. With the deal and the signing of Leonard Davis, who can play guard and tackle, earlier this week, Dallas six possible starters on the offensive line. Also, the Cowboys don’t have to make a decision yet on right guard Marco Rivera, who suffered a herniated disk in the playoff loss at Seattle. He has undergone surgery for the same injury twice in the last three seasons.

Aside from maybe quarterback, there’s nothing more important to a football team’s success than building a solid offensive line. The Cowboys seem to be well on their way.

Tags | James Joyner, NFL Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, James Joyner

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Chargers Hire Norv Turner as Head Coach

| Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Norv Turner has been hired as the new head coach of the Chargers.

Considered by some to be the safe pick to take over the San Diego Chargers, Norv Turner at least is starting in much better position than he did in his previous two NFL head coaching jobs.

Turner was given a four-year contract Monday to take over a team that went an NFL-best 14-2 before melting down in the playoffs and then in the front office. “This isn’t a team where you’re rebuilding,” said Turner, who had been San Francisco’s offensive coordinator. “We should start fast. We should be good early and we should be good late. Not having to go through the normal things you have to go through when you make a coaching change is going to help the players more than anyone.”

The hiring came a week after the surprise firing of Marty Schottenheimer and less than 24 hours after the Chargers finished interviewing the last of six candidates. Turner was the only one with NFL head coaching experience and the only one from the offensive side of the ball.

The Chargers also signed Ted Cottrell to a two-year contract as defensive coordinator, then added Ron Rivera as linebackers coach just hours after the Chicago Bears said he wouldn’t be back as their defensive coordinator. Rivera, a linebacker on the Super Bowl champion 1985 Bears, had interviewed for the job that went to Turner.

I’m happy for Turner, especially after the disappointment he must have felt after not getting hired by the Dallas Cowboys after having been thought the frontrunner. Still, it’s hard to argue that the Chargers have upgraded by firing Schottenheimer and replacing him with Turner. Their career records speak for themselves.

And this must be a bitter pill for Rivera as well. He went from the defensive coordinator on a Super Bowl team to two head coaching interviews to position coach in a week. It’s simply bizarre for the Bears to hold his desire for a promotion and pay raise against him.

Tags | James Joyner Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, James Joyner, San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers

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Those Crazy Bears Fans

| Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Peyton Manning plays for the Colts. This Peyton Manning roots for the Bears.

He doesn’t want to do it, but die-hard Bears fan Scott Wiese is changing his name.

The 26-year-old Forsyth man told friends that if his beloved team didn’t win the Super Bowl, he’d become Peyton Manning after the Indianapolis Colts star quarterback.

Yeah, he lost a bet.

Tags | NFL Chicago Bears, Ennuipundit, Indianapolis Colts

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Cowboys to Interview Rivera, Caldwell Not Interested?

| Tuesday, February 6, 2007

ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that the Cowboys will interview Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera this afternoon but the Colts’ QB coach Jim Caldwell is likely not interested.

A source close to the Chicago Bears said that Rivera is on his way to Dallas (barring weather issues, because it is snowing in Chicago right now) and is intending to interview with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones Tuesday afternoon.

[...]

Also, The Colts have received the paperwork from the Cowboys, requesting permission to interview Colts assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell. Permission has been granted, but there is no timetable as to when Caldwell will interview with the Cowboys.

A Colts source said that Caldwell would be unlikely to accept a position in Dallas, with Jason Garrett already hired to lead the offensive coaching staff, because Caldwell has no experience coaching with him.

Caldwell would be a fool to turn down a chance to be head coach of a playoff team over this issue, considering how respected Garrett is with such a wide array of coaches. Still, this kind of thing is why many were not happy with Jones hiring members of the staff before landing a head coach.

Tags | James Joyner, NFL Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, James Joyner

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Tony Dungy Wins His Way

| Monday, February 5, 2007

Rick Gosselin is happy that Tony Dungy won a Super Bowl after the tragedy he endured last year. But what he finds most notable is how he did it.

This is a coach who doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t curse and doesn’t raise his voice. He treats players, coaches and all those who come in contact with him with respect. Football is his job, not his life. He still drives his kids to school in the morning before he goes to work.

Despite that balance in life, Dungy has carved out a record as one of the great coaches in NFL history. In 12 seasons he has taken teams to the playoffs 10 times.

Dungy has the best winning percentage of any active coach – better than Mike Shanahan, Bill Belichick, Joe Gibbs … all of them. But behind his back the buzz was Dungy would never win the big one because he was too nice a guy.

But Dungy has heard plenty of negative as coach of the Colts. He heard he had built a dome team that couldn’t win outdoors, couldn’t win on grass, couldn’t win in adverse weather conditions.

Dungy heard he couldn’t win a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning as his quarterback. The guy never won a championship in high school or college. Manning passed for 247 yards and a touchdown against the Bears on the way to game MVP honors.

Dungy heard he couldn’t win a Super Bowl with his 2006 run defense, the worst in the NFL. The Colts held the Bears to 111 yards on the ground Sunday night – 62 below Indy’s season average.

Guys like Bill Parcells and Bob Knight have proven that you can win as an old school taskmasker, acting as a drill sergeant training young boots. It may well be that, with today’s player–who tends to be dedicated to keeping in shape and improving his game year round–that approach just doesn’t work as well anymore.

I’m not sure if Dungy and his disciple Lovie Smith will change the tactics of coaching across the board. If they show that you win without a ranting “disciplinarian,” though, it may be a good thing.

Tags | James Joyner, NFL Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, James Joyner

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Did Rivera Fail His Cowboys Audition?

| Monday, February 5, 2007

Jean-Jacques Taylor echoes an unfair thought I had during last night’s game: “If this was Rivera’s audition for Cowboys, the job is Turner’s.”

Unfair because Turner’s Bears defense has been solid two years running and they were up against Peyton Manning and the Colts without the services two of their biggest stars, safety Mike Brown and defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

Still, as the kids say, “it is what it is.” Rick Gosselin’s report card for the Bears’ D is not so hot:

Run defense: The Bears brought a top-5 run defense into the game but allowed a season-worst 191 rushing yards. Dominic Rhodes gained 113 yards – only the fifth 100-yard rushing game allowed by the Bears all season. Grade: F

Pass defense: The Bears let the Colts strike early as blown coverage allowed Peyton Manning to complete a 53-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Reggie Wayne. Chicago’s vaunted pass rush sacked Manning once. Grade: D

The Cowboys defense which needs so much revamping that they let Mike Zimmer run off to Atlanta this offseason contained those same Colts in November. I’d still interview Rivera were I Jones and welcome him as the next defensive coordinator if hired. It’s a somewhat less obvious choice than it would have been Sunday morning, though.

Tags | James Joyner, NFL Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, James Joyner

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Super Bowl Predictions

| Sunday, February 4, 2007

At the beginning of the NFL season, I compiled a list of 2006 predictions from experts and from a panel of bloggers.

None of those surveyed hit a home run but some did reasonably well.

• Nobody picked a Bears-Colts matchup in the Super Bowl.
• Nobody picked the Bears to appear in, much less win, the Super Bowl.
• Several of us picked the Colts to win the Super Bowl: “Experts” Pat Kirwan, Gil Brandt, Michael Wilbon and Adam Schefter and bloggers Mark Hasty and myself. Steven Taylor picked the Colts to appear in the Super Bowl and lose to the Dallas Cowboys.

The worst preseason picks:

• ESPN’s team of experts picked the Carolina Panthers to beat the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bowl. Neither team made the playoffs.
• The worst blogger prognosticator was Bill Jempty, who had the Cincinnati Bengals beating the New York Giants. Again, neither team made the playoffs. The Panthers failed to make the playoffs and the Giants lost in the Wild Card round.
• Honorable mention: NFL.com expert Vic Caruci also picked the Carolina Panthers, who (as I may have mentioned) didn’t make the playoffs, to win the Super Bowl. He did not name their opponent.

It seems that the amateurs are about as good as the experts in predicting the outcome of long NFL seasons.

________
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Tags | James Joyner, NFL Bill Jempty, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Cooper, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, James Joyner, Mark Hasty, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Steven Taylor

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