Derrick Mason sounds happy to no longer be with the Jets.
The 37-year-old Texans receiver said it was “a breath of fresh air” to “come to a situation where they want you & they believe in what you can do.”
Well, he’s right about the Jets not wanting him. That’s why they dumped him for what will likely amount to a bag of footballs. The Jets say Mason’s performance was the reasonwhy they traded him. Ultimately we believe that was the biggest factor in his release.
If Mason was producing, the Jets would put up with his complaining. Heck, they gave Santonio Holmes a huge contract and he complains all the time. Mason wasn’t producing, and it’s hard to imagine that will change much in Houston.
Nick Scurfield of HoustonTexans.com relays word that Mason says he will play Sunday, and will be spending all his time learning the playbook until the game.
The Ravens, meanwhile, will prepare to face their former teammate for their second straight game. Baltimore held Mason to 37 yards on two catches last time out.
The Buccaneers haven’t made any official declaration about running back LeGarrette Blount’s availability for this Sunday after he suffered a knee injury in the Week Five loss to the 49ers, but quarterback Josh Freemangave a pretty big hint that he’ll be out of action on Wednesday.
Blount missed practice on Wednesday and the quarterback didn’t try to disguise the team’s feelings about Blount’s chances of playing. Freeman said, via Rick Stroud of the St. Petersburg Times, that Earnest Grahamwill carry the load in the backfield when the Bucs face the Saints.
“You guys know Earnest has done everything for us,” Freeman said. “Whether it’s playing fullback, being the third down back and now this week he’s going to get the majority of the reps, the majority of the carries. I mean, he’s done it before…he’s a guy we know can get it done.”
Graham has 18 carries for 84 yards and 23 catches for 143 yards so far this season. He’s served mostly as the team’s third-down back, a role that would likely fall toKregg Lumpkin with Graham stepping into the lead tailback role on Sunday.
In losing to the Packers (again) on Sunday night in Atlanta, the Falcons also lost a fairly important player.
Jones suffered a hamstring injury during the game, and it’s bad enough to knock him out for at least one week.
Coach Mike Smith said Wednesday that Jones has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Panthers.
“He’ll be out this week,” Smith said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We hope to get him back. He worked out with our training staff today. He did some running around. He’s already back out on the field working. We are hoping that after this week, we’ll get him back the following week.”
Harry Douglas will replace Jones in the starting lineup against the Panthers. Next week, the Falcons go to Detroit.
Jones has 25 catches for 358 yards in his five NFL games. That’s good, but not enough to justify (so far) the package of picks that the Falcons surrendered in order to move up in the draft to get him.
Jay Glazer of FOX reports that the Seahawks have agreed to ship Curry to the Raiders. The Seahawks will get a draft pick in 2012 and 2013 in exchange for Curry.
One of the perceived impediments to Curry’s trade value was his contract, which was renegotiated in August. Curry gave up $5 million in guaranteed money for 2012 in exchange for a shot after free agency after the 2012 season. An extension that would further reduce Curry’s base salaries over the next two years could be the next step for the Raiders and Curry.
As of last week, the Raiders had $6.1 million in cap space.
The move also underscores the fact that, despite the passing of Al Davis, the Raiders are still getting things done.
UPDATE 4:37 p.m. ET: Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that the Seahawks will get a seventh-rounder from the Raiders in 2012, and a conditional mid-round pick in 2013.
Give Buccaneers receiver Mike Williams credit for candor: When he stinks, he admits he stinks.
“I have got to step up. I’m playing terrible,” Williams told PewterReport.com. “From my aspect I am playing terrible. I should be doing a lot more to help my team win. I should be getting in the end zone. That is something I did last year, and that was getting in the end zone. Putting up points for this team. That is something I’m not doing right now so I have to put it together.”
How terrible is Williams this season? In five starts he has 19 catches for 183 yards, he’s caught less than half the passes thrown his way, he has a fumble, and the stats at FootballOutsiders.com rank Williams dead last among the 90 receivers in the NFL who have been targeted enough to qualify.
Williams, who had four catches for 28 yards in the Bucs’ 48-3 loss to the 49ers, says he’s taking it upon himself to get better.
“I have to play better,” Williams said. “I’ve got to know they are looking for me. They want me to make big plays. I have to get open. I have to say forget the double teams, forget the frustration and catch the ball and do what I do. That is on me.”
After the way they played on Sunday, the Buccaneers certainly have to play better. They could hardly play worse.
ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio reported Wednesday morning that Eric Mangini was the team’s first choice for the gig, but he turned down the offer. Mangini is now working at ESPN.
The fact the Eagles already offered the job to someone makes us think they’ll find someone to come in during their bye week.
Bears defensive end Julius Peppers was in and out of Monday night’s game in Detroit, which was just one of many reasons why the Bears looked so hopeless.
Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune reports that Peppers suffered a sprained MCL in the game. He has not been ruled out for Sunday night’s game against the Vikings and was able to finish the game in Detroit.
“The severity of Peppers’ MCL sprain is unclear but not believed to be serious,” McClure writes.
MCL sprains can keep players out anywhere from 1-3 weeks depending on the severity. Sometimes players return right away. Peppers missed two games at the end of 2007 with the injury.
Considering Peppers’ huge role on the Bears, we’d expect Lovie Smith to keep Peppers’ status a mystery until gametime.
I am excited that it is finally Tim Tebow Time. I think a lot of people in and around the league are as well, but some for different reasons. He does have a large following that want to see him succeed and seemingly as many that don’t, but a lot of people just want the looming question answered.
Personally I think he can, despite his unorthodox style, but only time will tell. What we can do though, is look at what he has done to this point to see how it measures up.
In the brief 1 ¼ season that Tebow has been in the NFL, he has not so quietly amassed some small numbers for us to look at. He has thrown the ball 92 times for 45 completions, which leaves a completion percentage of 48.9%. He has thrown for 733 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. That yields an average 8.0 yards per attempt.
The numbers are not spectacular, but interesting when you draw some comparisons to those numbers. Most people would not know that they are almost identical to Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert is fully expected to be the future of the Jaguars team, and they will give him time to develop. Let’s do another comparison though.
I will give you a stat line. Through 10 games he was 123 for 259 (47.5%), 1,663 yards and 7 TDs to 14 Interceptions. This quarterback ran 28 times for 146 yards with 1 TD and 6 fumbles. He was also sacked 28 times.
The year was 1983, and that quarterback was Denver rookie John Elway. If you extrapolate Tebow’s numbers out against Elway’s numbers he would have complete 126 passes for over 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns.
This isn’t even touching on Tebow’s 264 yards and 7 touchdowns on the ground. I realize that none of these numbers are legendary. Yes, I know the NFL has changed since 83, but if anyone should understand that rookie QBs need time to develop it should be John.
I am glad the Broncos were patient enough to let Elway become a legend of the game. I hope we at least get a chance for the same with Tebow.
Further confirming the fact that Mark Davis will own, but not run, the Raiders, Albert Breer of NFL.com reported Tuesday that the team has commenced the process of looking for a General Manager. The model, as Breer explains it, would operate like the situation in Pittsburgh, where coach Mike Tomlin and G.M. (as of this season) Kevin Colbert work in concert.
Breer also reports that a football consultant could be hired to help the team through the balance of the 2011 campaign.
Raiders CEO Amy Trask separately said that she is not ready to talk publicly about the possibility of hiring a G.M. or a director of football operations, according to theSan Francisco Chronicle.
Though the process of running a team during the season is less complex, plans need to be made for free agency in 2012 and the next college draft. Complicating a quick search is the fact that an overabundance of quality candidates aren’t immediately available, since most of the best choices currently have jobs. Also, given that the G.M. would have to work in concert with coach Hue Jackson, the search would need to happen at a time when Jackson has time to be involved with interviews and discussions with the finalists.
To the extent that the Raiders will gravitate toward folks with ties to the organization, names to watch could include John Madden, Matt Millen (who as Peter King reported over the weekend turned down an offer to work for the team after being fired by the Lions), and Sean Jones (whom we’re told was at one point under consideration for a front-office job).
Then there’s a topic that was raised during Tuesday’s PFT Live. With the Raiders under Al Davis never using contracts for anyone in the front office, it’s unlikely that Jackson’s contract stipulates that he reported to anyone but Al Davis. The next question becomes whether Jackson’s contract contains language that would require him to report to a G.M. or some other employee who may be hired upon the passing of Al Davis. If not, the coach and the G.M. would have separate straight-line reporting obligations to Mark Davis.
Eventually, there’s a good chance that Mark Davis will create a hierarchy like the one that Randy Lerner has crafted in Cleveland. Lerner, who inherited the Browns from his father (who also was named Al), has no interest in being a traditional owner. Thus, Lerner has hired Mike Holmgren to serve in that role as to all football matters. Though Jackson’s contract could be an impediment to that structure, it could be the best way for Davis to run the team, if he doesn’t truly want to run the team.
Only days after he reportedly was benched for running his mouth, receiver Derrick Mason has been shipped to the Texans, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.
Per McClain, the Jets traded Mason to the Texans for a conditional draft choice.
The move caps a surreal series of events in which: (1) the New York Daily News reported that Mason and Santonio Homes and Plaxico Burress complained to coach Rex Ryan about offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer; (2) the Jets issued a statement denying the report not long before kickoff of Sunday’s game against the Patriots; (3) Mason was benched, reportedly for complaining; and (4) Mason denied that he complained.
So now Mason can complain — or not complain — and be benched — or not benched — in Houston.
