The Tiger Report: 09/01/11

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cam Newton throws first touchdown pass

Posted by Mike Florio on September 1, 2011, 8:34 PM EDT

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Yeah, it’s the preseason. Yeah, there’s still a week to go until the games count. But we’ve got to work with what he have.

And what we have tonight is 15 preseason games. In Carolina, rookie quarterback Cam Newton, operating primarily if not exclusive against Steelers reserve defenders, has thrown the first touchdown pass of his NFL career.

The 10-yard pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey capped a nine-play, 71-yard drive that knotted the game at seven.

Newton completed three of five passes for 25 yards, and he ran the ball once for 19 yards. Bob Pompeani, calling the game for KDKA in Pittsburgh, said that the scamper went for more distance than any regular-season quarterback run in franchise history.

Making the run even more impressive is that it came one play after Newton was dragged down by Steelers linebacker Larry Foote after running laterally and throwing an incomplete pass. Newton’s foot seemed to get caught under Foote’s leg, creating the impression of a possible ankle sprain. But Newton popped right up and went to the huddle and then sprinted for nearly 20 yards.

The starting offense was expected to participate in two drives, but Derek Anderson has replaced Newton.

Carson Palmer could show up as early as next week

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 1, 2011, 7:44 PM EDT

We haven’t heard anything new on theCarson Palmer quasi-retirement front in a while, which is remarkable considering how ridiculous the entire story is.

Well, we have an interesting development. ESPN’s Bob Holtzman reports that Palmermet with owner Mike Brown in late July.

The Bengals believe it’s possible Palmer may report to the team next week. That would force the Bengals to trade, release, or play Palmer. They could also keep him as an $11.5 million backup.

Brown said that he wouldn’t trade Palmer, but the 31-year-old quarterback could force the issue by showing up. It’s hard to imagine the Bengals benching rookieAndy Dalton at this point.

It’s also hard to believe a well-paid player like Palmer would so willingly give up on playing football for a season.

Mike Williams guarantees the Buc's make the playoffs

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 1, 2011, 7:14 PM EDT

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New Orleans Saints

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After a three-year absence from the postseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are feeling confident that they’ll be in the playoffs this year.

For Bucs wide receiver Mike Williams, it extends beyond confidence to a promise: He says they’re making the playoffs, period.

“We’re a young team, but we’re guaranteeing the playoffs,” Williams said, via Jeff Darlington of McClatchy Newspapers.

The youth Williams references is one of the biggest reasons to be optimistic about Tampa Bay’s chances: The Bucs were 10-6 last year on a roster whose top players are mostly young and still getting better.

The problem with youth is that sometimes young players don’t understand that it’s generally best to actually get to the playoffs first and hold off on the guarantees.

I personally disagree here. If you don't believe you are the best and capable of playing for a championship every year, then you don't belong on the field. I am not big on bravado and running your mouth, but I have no problem with saying you expect your team to be in the post season. That should be the norm, not the exception.

Is a return for Carson Palmer around the corner?

Carson Palmer - QB - Bengals

ESPN's Bob Holtzman reports Carson Palmer was at Paul Brown Stadium in late July.

Per Holtzman, the Bengals have discussed a possible return by Palmer. It's not clear if Palmer is willing to play in Cincinnati, but his presence at team headquarters suggests he's more open to the possibility now than he was early in the offseason. Several insiders have speculated that Palmer would report just prior to the start of the season in an attempt to force owner Mike Brown's hand. That would never work with Brown, of course.

Source: Evan Silva on Twitter

Jason Witten say's Dez is up for a big year

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 1, 2011, 5:33 PM EDT

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It’s been a relatively quiet training camp for Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant, and if Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is to be believed, that has to be considered a good thing.

According to Witten, Bryant has quietly been doing everything right in training camp, and he’s poised to have a huge 2011 season.

“The difference from last year and this year is that he was a little bit of a flash player, show up occasionally, and this year he’s been just solid all the way around,” Witten said on ESPN First Take, via the Dallas Morning News. “He makes great plays and he gets back up and does it again.”

Witten called Bryant “a star in the future” and said he believes Bryant will play a huge role in the Cowboys’ success this season.

“It’s been great to see because I know we’re going to count on him a lot this year,” Witten said. “And I think he’s up for a big year.”

Arian Foster expected to be ready for Week 1

After speaking to Arian Foster and "just about everyone" about Foster's hamstring injury, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle predicts the running back will be ready for Week 1 against the Colts.

Whereas Foster was limping and icing the injury the first time he pulled the muscle, McClain says Foster is now able to walk and jog normally. ESPN medical analyst Dr. Michael Kaplan suggested earlier in the day that Foster had a slight tear, although Kaplan never studied Foster's hamstring up close. (He was going off a Twitter pic.) There's no way to tell whether Foster will be ready for Week 1 because setbacks are common with hamstring injuries, but McClain's assessment brings us back to square one: It's a day-to-day strain or pull, and Foster has not been ruled out for September 11.

Source: Houston Chronicle

I am not buying this at all. Hamstring and Groin pulls never heal quickly, they always seem to linger. I wish him the best and hope he is ready to go week 1. But if he doesn't let it rest, he will be battling it all year or worse.

Concerns continue to surface about Salas and Pettis being cut

Greg Salas - WR - Rams

Jim Thomas and Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch both believe rookie WR Greg Salas' roster spot is safe, though Austin Pettis may not be so fortunate.

Salas has flashed in camp practices and preseason games, and "shown a knack for getting open on underneath routes, at times looking almost like a bigger Danny Amendola." He also possesses better RAC ability than Amendola, which may give us a hint about the latter's long-term outlook in St. Louis. Pettis has practiced well only to disappear in exhibition games.

Source: St Louis Post-Dispatch

I am going to say the same thing I said about Golden Tate. You don't spent your picks in your first 4 rounds, to dump them before you give them time to prove themselves. Salas and Pettis have only been on the field with the teams for a handful of weeks in a shortened preseason. These guys will make the roster this year.

John Clayton Back pedals: Golden Tate not in danger of loosing a roster spot

Golden Tate - WR - Seahawks

ESPN's John Clayton now acknowledges that Golden Tate is in no danger of losing his roster spot.

"I was kind of wondering about Golden Tate," Clayton said, "but now it's pretty well cleared up that he's going to make the team." We never believed the Seahawks would cut ties with their 2010 second-rounder, but he won't have a major role. Clayton also shot down irresponsible talk radio speculation that Justin Forsett could be cut.

Source: ESPN 710 Seattle

We called this one the other day. There is no way they would cut a 2nd rounder before a second season even beings, unless it was a character issue. You don't cut high draft picks for poor performance before they even have 2 seasons under their belt.

New Deal still does not make CJ2k highest paid RB

Posted by Mike Florio on September 1, 2011, 1:47 PM EDT

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The four-year contract signed by Titans running back Chris Johnson is being sold as a four-year, $53.5 million contract, which translates to an impressive average annual take of $13.375 million. But the true value of the deal puts the average payout much lower than that.

With pre-existing base salaries of $800,000 in 2011 and $960,000 in 2012, the total money over six years becomes $55.26 million. That’s an average of $9.21 million.

And so, by focusing on the new money, Johnson got what he wanted. By focusing on the total money, the Titans kept Johnson at the top of the running back market. Technically, however, Johnson isn’t the highest paid running back.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will get $10.7 million this year, nearly $1.5 million more than Johnson’s six-year average.

That said, Johnson has scored a $30 million guarantee, unprecedented for a tailback. And maybe that should be the headline. The four years/$53.5 million and six years/$55.26 million difference is much more than a potato-potahto distinction. And it makes us wonder at which point over the next few years Johnson will be looking for another new contract, once someone signs a long-term deal with a legitimate eight-figure annual average.

Chris Johnson agrees to $53.5 million extension

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 1, 2011, 1:03 PM EDT

Chris Johnson’s holdout ended in the most predictable way possible. He’s back in the fold 10 days before the regular season starts. Right on schedule.

Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean first reported and PFT’s Mike Florio can confirm that Johnson agreed to a four-year,$53.5 million contract extension. $30 million is guaranteed. Some of the guaranteed money is for injury, and some for skill. $53.5 million is the new money. Part of the guarantee tranfers to injury on the first day of a given league year.

In the end, Johnson essentially got the guaranteed money and per-year dollars he was looking for. The Titans didn’t have to pay him Larry Fitzgerald money or completely break the running back mold.

This should give Johnson enough time to be ready for Week One. It should also give Adrian Peterson a starting point for negotiations of his next contract.

Daniel Thomas continues to struggle in Miami

Daniel Thomas - RB - Dolphins

Coach Tony Sparano said that rookie RB Daniel Thomas is still learning how to pass protect.

While the majority of Miami's starters will sit out tonight's preseason finale, Thomas will play. In addition to his struggles as a runner between the tackles, protecting the quarterback is an issue as well. "In the beginning it was overwhelming a little bit," Sparano said of Thomas. The Dolphins don't appear prepared to use Thomas very much at all in the beginning of the season.

Source: Palm Beach Post

Before the preseason started I had predicted that Daniel Thomas would be a fantasy sleeper, as he would bring his physical style of running to the NFL and supplant Reggie Bush as the feature back. And that very well could happen, but it certainly has not at this point. Thomas is a big bruising back but he isn't running like one. I really look forward to watching him play this weekend. I hope he starts getting low and running behind his pads. The pass protection is not a huge concern, because it is something that all rookies have to work to figure out. Because if he won't run with attitude and authority, he won't have to worry about picking up blocks.

Fred Taylor will retire as a Jaguar

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 1, 2011, 11:39 AM EDT

Running back Fred Taylor’s underrated career will officially end on Friday, when he signs a ceremonial one-day contract to retire a Jaguar.

Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union first noted the honor when former teammates got excited about attending the ceremony via Twitter. Taylor played 11 seasons in Jacksonville before finishing his career in New England.

Taylor was a lot of fun to watch play. Jim Taylor once said on NFL Network that Taylor had the “fiercest” running style in the league, which says it all. Taylor’s last truly great season was in 2007, when he rushed for 1,202 yards for the Jaguars team that won in Pittsburgh in the playoffs.

Maurice Jones-Drew was Taylor’s backup then, and has taken over Jacksonville’s short but strong tradition of dynamic running backs.

Taylor ranks 15th all-time in rushing yards.

Concerns around James Harrison's age and conditioning

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 1, 2011, 10:44 AM EDT

I’m writing up the NBCSports.com AFC preview and can’t come up with enough compelling reasons to predict another post-Super Bowl malaise by the Steelers.

The offensive line is shaky, but Ben Roethlisberger is just hitting the sweet spot of his prime. His young wideouts are a special group. An out-of-conference schedule against the NFC West makes life easier.

If there is a case to be made against Pittsburgh, it’s actually on the defense. Could this veteran group get old all at once?

We thought about this when reading about James Harrison’s struggles following back surgery in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“He’s looking like he was tired out there,” said inside linebacker James Farriortalking about Harrison’s lack of conditioning in the last preseason game.

“He’s not where he wants to be, he’ll tell you that,” said linebackers coach Keith Butler, who said Harrison looked like he was “running in mud” on one play.

Harrison is more upset than anyone and working hard to get back in shape. Post-surgery problems happen more often on an aging defense.

The Steelers will have nine defensive starters over 30 years old this year. They are counting on guys like Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Aaron Smith, and Ike Taylorto stay healthy and avoid the ravages of father time.

There is some quality young depth on the team, but there is a fine line between wanting good experienced players and getting old all at once.

That’s a risk the Steelers are willing to take this year.

Lions fans start a petition for team to honor Kowalski with a Patch

Posted by Mike Florio on September 1, 2011, 9:25 AM EDT

Several (OK, more than several) Lions fans have pointed out to us over the past two days a new Facebook page that serves as a petition for the franchise to honor long-time beat writer Tom Kowalski with a uniform patch.

And so in order both to do the right thing and to stem the tide of emails asking us to mention the petition, we’re mentioning the petition.

We’ll even go one step farther: We encourage all of you to click on it and “like” it.

We also encourage the Lions to think of a fitting way to honor a man who spent 30 years covering a team that hasn’t been very good for many of them. The ultimate honor, of course, would be to win the Super Bowl.

We’ll settle for a helmet decal.

This is a great Idea, and I too have signed this petition. Killer did a great job of keeping the fan base involved and focused on the future during a lot of rough times. I have to be honest in saying that if it was not for his efforts, the fan base would have suffered even more during the past 10 years.

Obama's speach is expected to not conflict with Packers-Saints game

Posted by Mike Florio on September 1, 2011, 9:01 AM EDT

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As the NFL and NBC try to figure out the plans for the season-opening game between the Saints and Packers in light of President Obama’s plan to address a joint session of Congress on the same night, the good news is that Obama apparently plans to steer clear of the start of the football game.

Though an official announcement has not yet been made by the White House, Obama’s speech apparently will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on September 8, one hour before kickoff of the kickoff to the season.

And so, assuming the absence of any filibustering (a big assumption, given the precise location of the address), the speech should be over before it’s time to play the game.

But plenty of football fans will still find that outcome unacceptable. The speech is still encroaching on turf that had been reserved for the game, potentially interrupting the pregame coverage on NBC, including the musical acts and the other stuff aimed at getting folks properly lathered up for the official start of the football season — and at permitting Packers fans to properly savor the celebration of their most recent Lombardi Trophy.

It remains unclear whether NBC will preempt the pregame coverage for the purposes of covering the speech, and whether the pregame coverage will be exported to another NBC/Comcast channel.

The Tiger Report

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Thursday, September 1, 2011

Cam Newton throws first touchdown pass

Carson Palmer could show up as early as next week

Mike Williams guarantees the Buc's make the playoffs

Is a return for Carson Palmer around the corner?

Jason Witten say's Dez is up for a big year

Arian Foster expected to be ready for Week 1

Concerns continue to surface about Salas and Pettis being cut

John Clayton Back pedals: Golden Tate not in danger of loosing a roster spot

New Deal still does not make CJ2k highest paid RB

Chris Johnson agrees to $53.5 million extension

Daniel Thomas continues to struggle in Miami

Fred Taylor will retire as a Jaguar

Concerns around James Harrison's age and conditioning

Lions fans start a petition for team to honor Kowalski with a Patch

Obama's speach is expected to not conflict with Packers-Saints game

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