Week 5
10/07/05
- San Diego's David Rivers decided to go public this week with
his demand to be named the team's starting quarterback in 2006
or else be traded. Apparently, Rivers and his agent Jimmy Sexton
don't read the newspaper or have internet access because Rivers'
teammate Keenan McCardell lost an arbitration case this week
against his former team, the Buccaneers, over bonus payments.
Basically, the ruling gave the Bucs the right to recoup past
and future bonus payments because McCardell withheld his services
and shouldn't be considered a surprise given that Dolphins running
back Ricky Williams lost a grievance against the team when he
retired unexpectedly and was asked to repay bonus payments he
had received. So, Rivers and his agent can talk all they want
but they have no weapons at their disposal unless they want
to put the players bonus payments of over $15-million at risk.
It would be easy to suggest that Rivers has had a rough ride
since being the 4th selection in the 2004 draft, but he was
foolish enough to follow his agent's advice to skip a portion
of training camp. It is well known that rookie quarterbacks
struggle in their first season and it should not have been a
shock for Rivers when he fell too far behind incumbent Drew
Brees to reclaim the starting job after missing most of training
camp last year.
- The Rams-Seahawks first game of the season shapes up as an
interesting battle between the two teams expected to battle
for 1st place in the NFC West. Adding to the game's attraction
is the fact the Rams beat the Seahawks the three times they
played last season including in the playoffs and that Rams wide
receivers Torry Holt said his team was more mentally tough than
the Seahawks during ESPN's coverage of the NFL draft. Exactly
the kind of bulletin board material that typically comes back
to haunt whoever makes those types of statements.
- It didn't receive much attention this week but Broncos quarterback
Jake Plummer was fined by the league for his refusal to wear
the "Futbol Americano" sticker on his helmet during his team's
game against the Jaguars this week. Plummer apparently made
the move as retaliation against the league for not allowing
him to wear the number 40 on his helmet last season as a tribute
to former Arizona teammate Pat Tillman.
- With Jets quarterback Chad Pennington out for the balance
of the season and possibly next season, it's time to revisit
the team's decision to sign him to a long-term contract prior
to the 2004 season. Unquestionably a team leader, Pennington
received an $18-million signing bonus and a $2-million roster
bonus this year for a total of $20-million in bonuses. There
aren't many players in the league that are worth this type of
contract and Pennington certainly isn't one of them, particularly
when you consider he has a weak arm that is exposed in the New
York weather when November rolls around. For comparison purposes,
Rams quarterback Marc Bulger is playing on a 4-year, $18-million
contract and you'd be hard pressed to find anybody who thinks
Pennington is in his league. Now the team will find itself in
major salary cap problems next year if Pennington is unable
to play because cutting him will cost $12-million against the
cap. However, the alternative to that will be paying him a $3-million
bonus in March of 2006 and his 2006 base salary of $6-million.
- After having a look at the Bills upcoming schedule, it should
come as no surprise that the team decided to bench 2nd year
quarterback J.P. Losman. Miami comes to Buffalo after having
their bye week and then the Bills get the Jets at home, the
Raiders and the Patriots on the road, followed by the Chargers
on the road. The other side of the argument to benching Losman
is that backup Kelly Holcomb is anything but a surefire bet
to be an improvement over Losman. However, it says here that
Holcomb will be an improvement in terms of production from the
position but perhaps more importantly because his insertion
into the starting line-up will increase team morale. There simply
can't be many players on the roster that think there's much
chance in winning with Losman at the helm given the way he's
played.
- Keeping with the Bills-Dolphins, the Dolphins enter the weekend
in first place in the AFC East with a 2-1 record. This is the
first time the Dolphins have been alone in first place since
the 2003 season.
- It's a safe bet the Cardinals coach Dennis Green is regretting
his decision to enter the season with so little depth in the
defensive backfield. Green drafted Antrel Rolle and Eric Green
in the 1st and 3rd rounds of this year's draft, expecting each
youngster to contribute immediately. Rolle won a starting position
out of training camp while Green struggled and failed to win
the nickelback job over journeyman Ray Walls. Now, Rolle is
out for the season, fellow starter David Macklin has a hamstring
injury and Walls is out with hip and groin injuries, forcing
the team to start Green and Lamont Reid this week against Carolina.
- Keeping with the theme of decimated secondaries, we present
the San Francisco 49ers who are hurting at precisely the wrong
time with the high-powered Indianapolis Colts next up. The Colts
may be struggling somewhat with their passing game but that
should change this week. Potential starters this week opposite
Shawntee Spencer at cornerback include Willie Middlebrooks (provided
he can play through a groin strain) and Bruce Thornton, two
players only recently signed to the active roster. Another option
is Mike Adams who was converted from cornerback to free safety
after safety Mike Rumph was placed on injured reserve. With
all the injuries, the 49ers defensive backfield may consistent
of Spencer, Thornton, Adams and safeties Tony Parrish and Keith
Lewis.
- When will the Falcons learn that Allen Rossum is nothing
more than a return specialist? For the second year in a row,
Rossum has managed to play his way out of the nickel and dime
defenses, only this year he's done it in a truly remarkable
fashion. With Kevin Mathis out for the season, Rossum was named
the team's nickelback. However, after being out with injury,
Rossum lost the job to Christian Morton who was subsequently
replaced by former Lion Chris Cash. After playing in only two
games, the coaches announced Cash had won the job.
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