Quarterback Kerry Collins announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday, ending his 16-year career and possibly speeding up the Jake Locker era for the Tennessee Titans.
Collins, the Titans' off-and-on starter since 2006, released a statement in which he said after several months of "introspection," he decided that "my willingness to commit to the preparation necessary to play another season has waned to a level that I feel is no longer adequate to meet the demands of the position."
That sounded much different than Collins' comments to The Tennessean in June, when he said: "I know I still have good football left in me, and I want to see where (the Titans are) at, too. If it makes sense on both sides to do it, I'd be good for coming back."
But Collins isn't coming back, so the Titans are left with first-round draft pick Locker and second-year pro Rusty Smith at quarterback. The team said earlier this year that it would trade or release Vince Young, its 2006 first-round pick, after a tumultuous time together.
"I want to wish Mike Munchak and the Tennessee Titans the best of luck in the future," Collins said Thursday in his statement. "I have had a fantastic five years here, and my family and I look forward to remaining part of the Middle Tennessee community that has been extremely gracious towards us and an honor to play for."
Collins, 38, enjoyed his best season with the Titans in 2008, when he took over for an injured Young and started 15 games, going 12-3 as the team won the AFC South. Collins then signed a two-year, $15 million contract that expired after the 2010 season.
Collins threw for 40,441 yards, 11th on the NFL's all-time list, with 206 touchdowns and 195 interceptions in his career. In addition to the Titans, he played for the Carolina Panthers (1995-98), New Orleans Saints (1998), New York Giants(1999-2003) and Oakland Raiders (2004-05). He led the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV (a loss to the Baltimore Ravens
1.Tom Brady - One of the only starting QBs to throw more touchdowns than he was sacked. Also he only had 4 games that he did not throw multiple touchdowns. This with a relatively inexperienced group of skills positions. Brady improves this year.
2. Drew Brees - Also had less sacks than touchdowns, and most people don't realize he had 4,600 yards last year. What is even more interesting, is that he struggled (under 70PR) against 3 lesser opponents (Ari, Cle, TB). With those uncharacteristicly poor performances in mind, you have to be more impressed with the season totals.
3.Aaron Rodgers - Out of 15 games played last year, Aaron had 7 where he threw 1 or less touchdowns. But on the bright side, he only had 31 sacks this year, so he is getting rid of the ball quicker than in past years. I expect him to rebound with more healthy weapons at his disposal this year.
4.Philip Rivers - Carried the offense on his back last year. Yes he has weapons, but with V.Jax out almost all year and no running game, it was all on him. The running game should be vastly improved this year, if Ryan Matthews offers anything. To underscore how bad they were last year, they were 19th in YPC at 4.0, and 2nd in Fumbles with 13 last year. No one respected their running game. This year even a moderate change, and the return of V.Jax should really help Rivers. And if the defense plays anything like it did last year, he will have plenty of opportunities.
5. Peyton Manning - Had no help last year, as the Colts were decimated by injuries. Yet he still had a 91.9 PR, with 4,700 and 33/17 TD to Int Ratio. On top of that, they protected him, as he was only brought down 16 times. No matter who is around him, if they continue to help keep him upright, Peyton will put up numbers.
6. Michael Vick - I love his talents. And he will have more time to develop as a passer, but I am concerned about durability. Last year Vick was sacked 34 times, a moderate number, however he also ran the ball 100 times as well. You can't afford to have him out of the lineup for another 4 games this year, or more. Last year, he was a waiver wire pickup, so those missed games didn't hurt anyone. This year, he is a 1st rounder, different story.
7. Matt Ryan - Matty Ice had just better than a 3/1 TD to Int ratio, and each year he has improved. Last year Ryan had to lean heavily on Roddy White, but this year he should have some more help. It looks like Michael Turner is healthy to start the season, which he wasn't last year, and the addition of Julio Jones will help provide an upgrade over a disappoint Michael Jenkins at the WR2 slot. I expect Ice to climb into the low 31-34 TD range, and over 4,000 yards this year.
8. Josh Freeman - Another young stud QB on a team with some young talent around him as well. In only his 2nd year, Josh did better than 4/1 ratio with 25/6. Add to this that Mike Williams should be his #1 target from day 1, and they might get Aurelius Benn back, and this could be an offense on the rise.
9. Joe Flacco - Is an interesting youngster. After 3 years in the league, you can see his steady improvement, but I think he has plateaued a bit. Looking at his numbers you see his TD to Int ratio has gotten better each year, (14/12, 21/12, 25/10) despite not having much of a receiving corp. However, you can see conversely his sack totals are rising each year, ending with 40 in 2010. I like Joe Cool, but until we see what he can do with a legitimate #1 receiver, you have to temper your expectations.
10. Matt Schaub - Had been climbing the ranks the last couple years, but his performance dropped off in 2010. With the arrival of Arian Foster, Schaub still threw only 9 passes. So the offensive balance was still fine, but the difference was Andre Johnson's production dropped a lot from over 100rec down to 86. With the Texans going all out defensively in the draft and offering no other help to at least balance the field opposite Andre, they better hope Jacoby Jones can step up big this year. Otherwise, expect Matt's stats to hover in the 25-29 TD range with over 4,000 yards.
TTR's Sleeper - Matthew Stafford - Here's the deal, Stafford has only played in 13 of 32 possible games in his first two seasons. But most analysts and people around the league don't feel he is "injury prone", more that he just had a "bad break", literally. Additionally, we all know the Lions do not have a great Oline, but it is no where near as bad as is nationally thought. They actually were one of the best pass protection teams last year. However, one Julius Peppers single handedly derailed Stafford's season. During his rookie year, he looked like...a rookie. But lets look at what he did do this year in those 3 games he played against Chi, NYJ, and Was. He had a 86.2, 90.2 and 94.7 rating along with 6/1 ratio. Not bad for a guy only seeing snaps in his second year. This year he has transformed his upper body and has more weapons on offense to play with, and a defense that actually can get opponents off the field, BEFORE they score touchdowns. Could be a scary offense.
Not Top 10- Eli Manning - Is just not that good of a QB (at least from a FF perspective). People talk about Eli's 2010 season like Eli is falling, with 25 picks. Some want to blame the picks on the young receivers etc, but if you look at his career, he has thrown 25, 20, 18, and 17 picks. His career ratio is 156/113, not exactly FF star material. I think he is a tier 2 QB.
Brooke Daniels, the former Miss Texas USA who dated Williams for a year, returned the ring yesterday, her mom told TMZ. The hand-off of the ring was overseen by Williams’ lawyer.
Although questions remain — namely, what the hell was Williams thinking sending an engagement ring in the mail? — the issue appears to be over. But Williams had better be ready for a whole lot of trash talk about it this season.
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Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey, who was a force on the football field and has been one of the symbols of difficulties for football players after football, has died. He was 69.
Mackey’s combination of size, speed and soft hands made him the NFL’s prototypical tight end in the 1960s, as he formed an explosive combination with Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas on the Baltimore Colts. Mackey, who was a one-time leader of the NFL Players Association, suffered from dementia in recent years.
“John Mackey has inspired me and will continue to inspire our players and define our institution,” current NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith tweeted Thursday morning. “He will be missed but never forgotten.”
Mackey caught 331 passes for 5,236 yards and 38 touchdowns in a 10-season career that was cut short by knee injuries. . In a career full of dazzling highlight-reel plays, perhaps the most recognizable came in Super Bowl V, when he grabbed a deflected pass from Johnny Unitas that produced a 75-yard touchdown, a Super Bowl record at the time.
As negotiations to end the NFL lockout continue to progress, all signs are that things are getting close.
But “close” isn’t the same thing as “done,” and there are concerns around the league that something could still go wrong as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA* Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and the key figures for both sides meet again today.
“It does feel like we’re at the 5-yard line, and we’re right there,” one NFL general manager told Don Banks of Sports Illustrated. “But it’s like Jerome Bettis has the ball, and I’ve seen him fumble on the 1-yard line before. If there’s a fumble now, hopefully either Goodell or Smith plays Ben Roethlisberger and stops the whole thing from falling apart.”
Attorneys for both sides met Tuesday and Wednesday to put together the framework for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and indications are that they made progress but still have plenty of work to do. Over the next two days, Goodell, Smith, five owners and five players will meet.
And we’ll wait and see whether those meetings get the ball into the end zone, or whether they fumble.
The Dallas Cowboys took North Carolina linebacker Bruce Carter with their second-round pick, No. 40 overall, even though he had suffered a torn ACL just five months earlier. If Carter’s own assessment of his recovery is to be believed, that was a wise pick.
Carter said on KESN-FM 103.3 that he feels great and is eager to get on the practice field just as soon as training camps open.
“The knee’s doing well,” Carter said, via DallasNews.com. “I’d probably say to myself that I’m about 85 percent. I will say that I am full speed, I’ve been cutting, it’s just kind of more like a mental thing more than it is physical. Just trying to get my feeling back and I feel pretty good about it. I’m ready to go.”
Of course, players’ optimism about how soon they can return from injuries isn’t always shared by team doctors, and it’s entirely possible that the Cowboys’ medical staff will have a different assessment of how ready to go Carter is.
But Carter says he feels good enough that he thinks he might be able to play right now. If the Cowboys had a game this week, Carter says of his playing status, “It would be a game time decision.”
I really feel that a lot of teams are going to be very upset that they did not take a chance on Carter. Look for him to be an explosive playmaker for the Cowboys. Let's just hope they let him take his time healing, and not rush him back.
