As spring arrives and draft season remains in high gear excitement and optimism for fans of every NFL team skyrocket. It is at this time that I want to give a heads up to our next contest.
The Tiger Report will be hosting it's 2nd Annual Mock Draft Contest. We will be rolling out the details regarding the contest in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned and start doing your homework!
Posted by Michael David Smith on March 12, 2012, 1:38 PM EDT
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Peyton Manning will surely want to play with talented receivers wherever he signs. But he’ll also want to play with reliable receivers who can be counted on to consistently meet his expectations. And in Miami, some doubt thatBrandon Marshall fits that bill.
Smith told CBS5’s Kim Coyle that reports he demanded a five-year contract are “completely false.” In fact, Smith said he’s happy with the three-year contract the 49ers offered, and that he’s close to signing it.
Of course, being close to signing isn’t the same thing as being under contract. And with free agency starting on Tuesday afternoon, if Smith doesn’t sign within the next 27 hours he’ll be free to see if any other team is willing to offer him a better deal than the 49ers are willing to offer him.
But the reality is that while Smith is coming off a solid season, there probably isn’t another team planning to offer him a deal. The 49ers say they want Smith and Smith says he wants to be there, and that’s probably enough to get a deal done.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and receiver Nate Burleson have all restructured deals. Stafford and Suh surely just converted some of this year’s base salaries into signing bonuses that can be prorated over the rest of their contracts. It’s not clear whether Burleson took less money or simply restructured in the same way.
Posted by Michael David Smith on March 12, 2012, 9:17 AM EDT
AP
The NFL draft is still more than six weeks away, but Redskins fans are already going crazy about Robert Griffin III.
In a story that has to have Dan Snyder convinced that his team made the right move, the Washington Times reports that the Redskins’ ticket office is already feeling Griffin’s impact. One fan is quoted as saying that as soon as the news of the Redskins’ trade with the Rams broke, he wrote the Redskins a check for $2,580 to renew his two season tickets, which he had told a salesperson in the Redskins’ ticket office he would only do if the Redskins traded up for Griffin or Andrew Luck.
Posted by Mike Florio on March 11, 2012, 9:42 PM EDT
AP
In his first IFL game, receiver Terrell Owens scored three touchdowns on three receptions. In his second IFL game, Owens added one touchdown on five catches, plus 50 receiving yards.
More importantly, he got dumped over the boards. (We didn’t know George Teague had come out of retirement.)
Here’s the best video we could find of the play, which occurred during the Allen Wranglers’ 45-28 win over the New Mexico Stars.
Hopefully, the folks in the front row had their popcorn ready.
Posted by Evan Silva on March 11, 2012, 8:33 PM EDT
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It’s no secret that the Redskins and Bears will pursue Vincent Jackson vigorously when free agency opens. We’ve discussed Washington’s interest here and Chicago’s inthis space. Buffalo and Tampa Bay have also been floated as possible Jackson destinations.
Kevin Acee of the Union-Tribune San Diego takes it a step further in a Sunday night report, confirming Chicago and Washington are expected to be Jackson’s two most aggressive pursuers and that the Redskins “will do almost whatever it takes” to land this year’s top free agent wideout.
Posted by Michael David Smith on March 12, 2012, 6:27 AM EDT
AP
In the frenzied few days since Peyton Manning was released by the Colts, it’s been widely reported that the teams interested in his services would like to get him locked up before free agency begins across the NFL on Tuesday afternoon. But that doesn’t appear to be in the cards.
Sources told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen thatManning is highly unlikely to decide before Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern, when free agency officially starts around the NFL.
That has to be viewed as good news for teams like the Dolphins and Titans, who desperately want to make a play for Manning but so far haven’t been able to get him to visit their facilities, as he has for the Broncos and Cardinals.
One of the benefits of Manning signing before free agency begins would be the ability to enter free agency with an aggressive plan to acquire offensive players who suit Manning’s strengths. So it would make sense, from the teams’ perspective, for the Manning sweepstakes to wrap up today.
But Manning apparently doesn’t want to do it that way, and so he’ll continue to take his time in choosing his new team.
