The Tiger Report: 06/21/12

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Randy Moss continues to receive praise in San Fran

Posted by Darin Gantt on June 21, 2012, 5:40 PM EDT

Throughout the offseason, Randy Moss hasn’t talked to reporters in San Francisco.

But everyone there is talking about him, and all the reviews are glowing.

CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco said the two wide receivers who had the best offseasons are also their starters — Michael Crabtree and Moss.

Crabtree should benefit greatly from having another good wideout alongside him, and so far Moss is playing the part.

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Harvin reversing his field?

Posted by Josh Alper on June 21, 2012, 3:13 PM EDT

Wide receiver Percy Harvin returned to Vikings practice on Thursday and then took to Twitter in an attempt to downplay everything that went down over the last two days.

Harvin, who was quite open about having “issues” and not being happy with the Vikings even if he didn’t outline exactly what those issues were, played dumbstruck about all of the attention being paid to him. That’s likely of less importance to the Vikings than the fact that he dropped a big hint that he’s not thinking about skipping any of training camp in Mankato, Minnesota later this summer.

“I’m really clueless on the crazy reports…had great prac today ….to all my real fans and real vikes fans see u at Mankato..salute”

There’s still time for things to flare up again, especially since members of the Vikings organization reportedly thought Harvin’s initial outburst came out of left field, but it seems like things have moved off the front burner for the time being. If the issue is playing time — a good bet since Harvin says it isn’t about money although more playing time leads to more money if you do the right things with it — the Vikings may have assured Harvin that he’ll be satisfied with the role they have in mind for him this season.

Mike Nolan says John Abraham is a little behind

Posted by Mike Florio on June 21, 2012, 2:47 PM EDT

Getty Images

Coaches aren’t allowed to suggest that voluntary offseason practices are anything but voluntary, but they apparently are free to point out the obvious consequences of not volunteering to show up.

Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan says the defensive end John Abraham, who didn’t attend all of the offseason workouts, has fallen behind his teammates.

“He’s missed some of the OTAs, and we are a little bit at an advanced state as far as the language,” Nolan said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Right now, John is kind of going a little bit slower. He’s having to ask more questions because he wasn’t here for those classes. But, nonetheless, John is a good player.”

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Brandon Jacobs repays young fan with a visit

Ohm Youngmisuk - ESPN New York

Brandon Jacobs made good on a promise to repay a young fan who emptied out his piggy bank in an effort to keep the running back with the New York Giants.

According to The Sacramento Bee, Jacobs, a free-agent signee of the San Francisco 49ers, took 6-year-old Joseph Armento and his 4-year-old brother to Jump On In bounce house in Boonton, N.J., on Wednesday as a gesture of gratitude for Armento's desire to keep the running back with the Giants.

After the boys' mother, Julie, explained to Joseph why Jacobs signed with the 49ers, Joseph recently sent $3.36 to Jacobs with the hope of keeping him in Giants blue.

Jacobs was so touched by the gesture that he vowed to take Joseph to Chuck E. Cheese with his son, Brayden, when he returned to New Jersey to gather some of his belongings.

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Kamerion Wimbley on American Ninja Warrior

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 21, 2012, 2:02 PM EDT

For Titans defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, staying in shape this offseason meant tackling a televised obstacle course.

Wimbley taped an appearance on American Ninja Warrior in March for an episode that is set to air on Sunday night on G4 and Monday night on NBC. There’s no word on how Wimbley did, although he wrote on Twitter at the time that he “killed it.”

For those who don’t watch (I’m a loyal viewer),American Ninja Warrior contestants attempt to complete an obstacle course that includes a lot of climbing and hanging and requires the contestants to use their arms to lift the weight of their own bodies, which means the contestants tend to be significantly smaller than the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Wimbley. Then again, most of the guys who go on the show are just weekend workout warriors who have an interest in gymnastics, climbing or parkour. As a professional football player, Wimbley’s credentials as an athlete far surpass those of most of the other contestants on the show.

The grand prize on American Ninja Warrior is $500,000. That probably means a good deal more to the other competitors than it does to Wimbley, who signed a five-year, $35 million contract with the Titans.

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Cardinals will not rush Michael Floyd's development

By Dan Arkush - Pro Football Weekly

The temptation to bolster the expectations for Michael Floyd is no doubt hard to resist but word is the Cardinals’ coaching staff appears determined to stay true to form regarding the use of rookies and allow their first-round wideout to develop at his own pace. While the long TD pass that Floyd hauled in at the Cardinals’ FanFest evening practice probably ranks as the team’s offseason highlight up to now, we hear he probably will enter training camp as the No. 4 wideout behind good buddy and heartfelt mentor Larry Fitzgerald, Early Doucetand Andre Roberts. “They couldn’t be happier with his work ethic,” one daily team observer said of Floyd, who apparently balked initially when the team decided to trim his practice time because of a strained quad. “The people at Notre Dame really praised that part of his game. Ideally, though, I think he could stand to lose a few pounds before camp starts.”

Can Sam Bradford overcome troubling tendencies?

I talked about Sam Bradford as being one of the quarterbacks to watch this year, in our QB Edition of TTR's Players to Watch. I am hoping that he will return to the promising form he showed as a rookie, but last year he clearly regressed. I mentioned that the beating he took was clearly taking a toll on the young signal caller.

Hopefully this is not going to be a trend moving forward for Sam, but Ron Jaworski spent some time watching 2011 film of Bradford before making an assessment. According to Rotoworld, Jaws gave this impression.

Jaws calls Bradford a "top arm talent" with a "compact delivery and a strong arm," but alluded to stunted development last season. "In 2011, Bradford -- with very few exceptions -- did not look like the same, confident pocket quarterback that I saw as a rookie," Jaws observed. "He was tentative in the pocket, a function of both erratic offensive line play and receivers that could not win on the outside. But I was troubled by Bradford's increasing tendency to anticipate the rush. I call that 'Cabin Fever.'" Jaworski expects the Rams to "manage" Bradford under Jeff Fisher with a "run-first approach," and deems the third-year quarterback, "right now, a question mark."

Hopefully Sam can get back to the form that made him the first overall pick in 2010, but it won't happen if he is afraid of the rush.

Sidney Rice hopes to be more durable with added muscle

Sidney Rice - WR - Seahawks

Sidney Rice has added 11 pounds of muscle in an effort to improve his durability.

Rice, who has missed 17 games over the last two seasons, isn't done yet. He says he wants to add seven more pounds so he can take "the hits across the middle and things like that." Packing on pounds can't hurt, but it certainly doesn't remove the medical red flag next to Rice's name. He's not a lock to be ready for the start of training camp following dual shoulder surgeries this offseason.

Source: 710 ESPN Seattle

Kendall Wright healing quickly

Terry McCormick - National Football Post

Last week the Tennessee Titans got a scare when first-round pick Kendall Wright went down in an OTA practice with a right shoulder injury.

The injury turned out to be minor, but Wright is sitting out this week's mini-camp as a precaution, the first time he has been injured playing football, according to the rookie.

Wright, who had been making quite a splash before the injury, said the Titans medical staff was actually surprised with how much movement he had already regained in his strained right shoulder.

They actually were impressed with how much movement I have in it, but I just don’t like sitting out, so I just have to do what I can to get back out on the field,” Wright said.

It probably still won't be enough to get the Titans to risk using Wright this week, but it is an indicator that he should be fine once training camp opens next month.

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A peek at the Top 10 players of 2012

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 21, 2012, 9:22 AM EDT

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees shake hands after their NFL football game in Green Bay

Reuters

NFL Network has now revealed 90 of the players on this year’s list of the Top 100 players as voted on by their peers, with only the Top 10 players in the NFL remaining to be named. And although we don’t yet know the exact order, we can more or less figure out who the Top 10 are going to be.

Packers quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, the reigning league MVP, will surely be No. 1 on this year’s list after ranking No. 11 last year. Saints quarterback Drew Brees, the only player other than Rodgers to get any MVP votes last year, will almost certainly be No. 2. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who topped the list last year, is a likely No. 3.

Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who ranked No. 27 last year, seems like a good bet as the highest-ranked non-quarterback. Two other offensive skill position players, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (No. 3 last year) and Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald (No. 14) will also appear in this year’s Top 10.

That leaves four defensive players to fill out the Top 10: Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis (No. 8 last year), Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware (No. 12), Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (No. 17) and 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis (No. 23). Revis would seem likely to rank as the best defensive player in the league, according to his fellow players. Something he and his agent may point out to the Jets in the weeks ahead.

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Harvin's trade request isn't about money

Posted by Mike Florio on June 20, 2012, 9:03 PM EDT

In expressing his unhappiness with the Vikings, receiver Percy Harvin has yet to utter the one phrase that always confirms it’s about the money. Specifically, he hasn’t said, “It’s not about the money.”

So maybe it’s really not about the money.

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, it actually isn’t about the money. While the reason(s) for Harvin’s unhappiness remain unknown, the source explains that Harvin isn’t looking to be traded because he wants a new deal.

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Two fights break out at Dolphins' minicamp

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 20, 2012, 4:29 PM EDT

Minicamp practices are supposed to be non-contact, and when fights break out at non-contact practices, the league office sometimes responds by cracking down on the teams involved.

Which is bad news for the Dolphins.

Two offensive line vs. defensive line fights broke out in the Dolphins’ minicamp practice today, with Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel identifying Jake Long vs. Olivier Vernon and Richie Incognito vs.Ryan Baker as the two bouts on today’s fight card. (Fortunately for Kelly, he wasn’t fighting Kevin Burnett on the undercard.)

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