The [color="#225fb2"]New England Patriots[/url] have acquired wide receiver [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=2584â][color="#225fb2"]Chad Ochocinco after he accepted a restructured three-year contract from the Patriots, a source told ESPN.comâs John Clayton.
Notable cuts:
Vince Young QB
Jake Delhomme QB
Tommie Harris DT
Happy enough with the trade of Kolb for DRC and a second round pick. I think our secondary cost us Superbowl last year.
Ochocinco to the Patriots. Fucking hell!
For me this is the most important trade so far:
The Houston Texans have a new lead defensive back. According to John McClain, when they couldnât lock up the biggest prize in free agency, they decided they couldnât lose out on the second-best cornerback.
So rather than continue to wait on Nnamdi Asomugha[/url], they reached an agreement with Cincinnati free agent [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=9610â]Johnathan Joseph on a five-year, $48.75 million contract with $23.5 million guaranteed and a $12.5 million signing bonus.
Joseph becomes the top defensive back for a team that, for a long stretch last season, had a historically bad pass defense. He will start, likely opposite last yearâs No. 1 pick, Kareem Jackson[/url], who struggled badly as a rookie. The team also has draft pick [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=10587â]Brandon Harris[/url] and several guys who contributed to the terrible defense in 2010: [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=9602â]Jason Allen[/url], [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=12690â]Brice McCain[/url], [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=13419â]Sherrick McManis[/url] and [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=11313â]Antwaun Molden.
Joseph is a good get, and surely has the endorsement of new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Phillips had a strong say in a defense-heavy draft class as he transforms the team to a 3-4 scheme.
Hereâs Scouts Inc.âs assessment of Joseph:[indent]âJoseph is a good combination of size, strength and athleticism for a perimeter defender. He is explosive, quick and sharp out of his breaks. Joseph gets off the ground well and has very good overall speed. He reads plays well in zone and can stay on his opponentâs hip in man coverage. He is a solid run-support player and a reliable tackler in the open field. Joseph has had some durability concerns throughout his career, but when healthy, heâs an excellent cornerback.â[/indent]
Joseph is a big-ticket acquisition for a team that doesnât do a lot of big-ticket free agent shopping.
But he wonât come in regarded as a savior. Maybe thatâs part of the silver lining in not getting Asomugha. Had the Texans landed him, a lot of people outside the team, and perhaps some inside it, might have thought him the solution to all their problems.
Joseph is a good player who will be a good piece. But no one will expect him to fix the team on his own, so no one will be tempted to think itâs all taken care of.
Also, great to see John McClain move to a safer profession.
Yippie ki yay mother fucker
Chewy, how can I best endorse your candidacy for inclusion in this seasonâs Fantasy League? Iâd hate to see you miss out.
I donât know rocko, it looks as though it is too late, earlier in the week when I logged into Fantasy NFL I was part of the league and very much looking forward to my round one match up against Gman then when I logged in last night it told me I wasnât a part of any league so it looks as though Flano has made up his mind and would much rather have two no marks in the league
As i said I was very disapponted and my new found love of Gridiron will be eroded as the Fantasy league was the reason I tried to follow it 
:unsure:
Iâm not sure what else to add to our discussion about Thursdayâs wild events for the [color="#225db7"]Chicago Bearsâ tight ends. Here is what had happened by the time the music stopped (or at least paused) Thursday evening:[list=1]
[][color="#225db7"]Greg Olsen[/url] had been traded to the [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/car/carolina-panthersâ][color="#225db7"]Carolina Panthers[/url] for a draft pick and a player to be named, according to a [url=âhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-bears-trade-te-greg-olsen-to-panthers-20110728,0,468734.story?track=rssâ][color="#225db7"]Chicago Tribune report. *Update: The Bears announced they received only a draft pick, not a player, in the trade. The Tribune reports it is a third-rounder in 2012.
[][color="#225db7"]Brandon Manumaleuna had been released.
[*]Veteran free agent [color="#225db7"]Matt Spaeth has agreed to the terms of a deal.
[/list]
Many of you would consider the Bearsâ true offensive problem to be at offensive line, not at tight end. Many of you would be right. But the tight end action was more about timing than priorities. I have to believe the Bears are hard at work on their offensive line and will have some results in the next day or so.
Iâm not going to get too worked up about the Manumaleuna-Spaeth swap. The Bears wasted $6.1 million to sign Manumaleuna last year, but it came in an uncapped environment and didnât impact them in any way beyond the McCaskey familyâs bottom line.
On the other hand, the quick divorce with Olsen is a pretty obvious example of a team valuing scheme over skills.
Itâs fair to say that Olsen hasnât lived up to the expectations that go with being drafted in the first round. Did he ever get that chance? Iâm not sure about that.
Two years ago, I suggested Olsen was the [color="#225db7"]NFC Northâs next emerging star[/url]. He had developed an obvious chemistry with quarterback [url=âhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=9597â][color="#225db7"]Jay Cutler and seemed on the verge of breaking through as an annual Pro Bowl player.
He fell short in the 2009 season but still caught 60 passes and a career-high eight touchdowns in a season that ultimately led to the firing of offensive coordinator Ron Turner. His replacement, Mike Martz, either wasnât capable or willing to adjust his scheme to fit in the unique skills of a 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end who can outrun linebackers downfield.
I can only assume the Bears are committed to Martz for the long term. If thatâs the case, I guess it made sense to get some value for Olsen before he departed in a huff next season as a free agent. But in any other system, Olsen would have been valuable enough to offer a contract extension. A day ago, Olsen seemed to be a foundation player for the Bears. I assumed Martz spent the offseason finding more ways to get Olsen involved, not less.
Today, he is a member of what safety [color="#225db7"]Chris Harris tweeted is a team known as the âCarolina Bears.â The Panthers are now coached by former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera.
Usually, you like to see NFL teams build their scheme around their players â not the other way around. The Bears went against the grain. Weâll see how it works for them.
One of the worst things about the lockout was that I didnât hear very much from my friends at ESPN Stats & Information. Well, theyâre back at it now and going full blast.
They just passed along some really interesting stuff on Reggie Bush[/url], who [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/22805/reggie-bush-era-over-with-saintsâ]is being traded[/url] from the [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/no/new-orleans-saintsâ]New Orleans Saints[/url] to the [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/mia/miami-dolphinsâ]Miami Dolphins[/url]. Whether you [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/22809/call-it-reggie-bush-a-bustâ]thought he was a bust or not, I think weâd all have to agree Bush, at least at times, played a significant role in New Orleansâ offense.
But some of the numbers that were passed along to me suggest the Saints can be just as good â or better â without Bush. They already have been.
Since joining the team in 2006, Bush missed 20 games. In those games, the Saints went 13-7. Thatâs a .650 winning percentage. In games Bush played, the Saints went 36-24 (.600).
But we have much more than that. In games with Bush since 2006, the Saints averaged 25.9 points. Without him, they averaged 29.8. In games Bush played, the Saints averaged 377.4 yards per game. When he didnât play, they averaged 419.8.
The Saints completed 66.5 percent of their passes when Bush played. When he didnât, they completed 67.6.
Gutted
NEW YORK â No NFL team will be taking âHard Knocksâ this summer.
HBO said Friday the uncertainty of the lockout âmade it impractical for a team to commitâ to the popular training camp reality show. The series is set to return next year.
The network will broadcast a 10th anniversary special Aug. 31 looking back at past âHard Knocksâ: [color="#225fb2"]Baltimore Ravens[/url] (2001), [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/dal/dallas-cowboysâ][color="#225fb2"]Dallas Cowboys[/url] (2002, 2008), [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/kc/kansas-city-chiefsâ][color="#225fb2"]Kansas City Chiefs[/url] (2007), [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/cin/cincinnati-bengalsâ][color="#225fb2"]Cincinnati Bengals[/url] (2009) and [url=âhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jetsâ][color="#225fb2"]New York Jets (2010).
âWe know football fans are hungry for compelling NFL programming and we think theyâll love the 10th anniversary special,â said Rick Bernstein, executive producer for HBO Sports.
The special also will include a âWhere Are They Now?â element, and never-before-seen out-takes and new interviews, HBO said.
Well now, isnât this interestingâŚ
The Texans got their second secondary addition in two days, adding Chicago free-agent safety Danieal Manning[/url] with a four-year, $20 million deal that includes $9 million guaranteed, [url=âhttp://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/nfl/110728-texans-land-danieal-manningâ]according to Mark Berman.
With corner Johnathan Joseph and Manning now part of a secondary that allowed 267.5 passing yards a game in 2010, things should settle down substantially on the back end in a new 3-4 scheme.
From Scouts Inc.:[indent]Manning is an active defender who is best filling the alley versus the run. He is a reliable tackler in space, keeping his pads over his feet on contact. Manning is a compact built player with good strength and athleticism for the safety position. He has good foot agility, quickness and balance in coverage. He is best versus slot receivers or in zone coverage coming off the hash. He has solid ball skills and is around the ball often. He has been a consistent kick returner over the past three seasons and shows natural vision and quickness to hit a crease.[/indent]
His experience will be a big help to Glover Quin if the Texans move forward with a shift of last yearâs best corner to free safety.
Iâm not ready to say the additions of Joseph and Manning completely cure the Texans and make them a favorite to overtake the Colts in the AFC South.
But thatâs not going to stop others, and a lot of fans in Houston just got their expectations raised, again.
That is, of course, a good thing when itâs based on personnel upgrades and not talk.
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) â The Atlanta Falcons[/url] have agreed to terms with free agent defensive end [url=âhttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/7876â]Ray Edwards.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Edwards would sign a five-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because teams canât officially sign free agents until 6 p.m. Friday.
Edwards, who spent the last five seasons with the Minnesota Vikings[/url], fills a major void on the Falcons defensive line. He had 16.5 sacks the past two years and gives Atlanta another pass-rushing threat along with [url=âhttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/5042â]John Abraham.
Earlier Friday, the Falcons cleared $7.8 million in cap room by cutting defensive end Jamal Anderson[/url] and receiver [url=âhttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/6788â]Michael Jenkins.
Nnamdi Asomugha⌠Signs for⌠The eagles!
Nnamdi Asomugha will join Asante Samuel and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in the Eaglesâ loaded secondary.
Cary Edmondson/US Presswire
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) â Burned in the air at a record-setting rate last year, the Philadelphia Eagles have loaded up to stop the pass.
Nnamdi Asomugha became the latest star cornerback to join the Eagles, signing a $60 million, five-year deal on Friday.
One day after acquiring two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie from Arizona, the Eagles stunned the NFL world by landing Asomugha, a two-time All-Pro.
Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie will team up with Asante Samuel, a four-time Pro Bowl pick, to form probably the best cover secondary in the league.
Last year, the Eagles allowed a franchise-record 31 touchdown passes in the regular season, and three more in a 21-16 loss to Green Bay at home in the first round of the playoffs.
âItâs always been a priority position for us,â general manager Howie Roseman said. "Corners, pass rushers, and we felt like last year, we were in a situation where maybe we got a little short-handed, and we thought it was a place that we wanted to go heavy and have a lot of talent at.
âYou can never have enough cover corners. That helps your pass rush and when you have an opportunity to add the players we added, we just thought we had to add those guys.â
⢠KING: Eagles make big splash with Asomugha
While other teams made headlines in their pursuit of Asomugha, Roseman and president Joe Banner quietly swooped and made a pitch to him that he simply could not refuse.
Asomughaâs deal includes $25 million guaranteed.
âHowie and Joe worked their tail off and put together this phenomenal plan,â coach Andy Reid said. âThey came out of the gates like wild men and attacked the issue. Neither one of them has had much sleep. But theyâve rewarded our football team and the city of Philadelphia with some great players.â
Lost in the Asomugha shuffle was the fact that the Eagles also formally announced a one-year deal for quarterback Vince Young, a 2006 first-round pick of Tennessee. Young, who went 30-2 as a starter at Texas and led the Longhorns to a national championship in his final game there only to have an up-and-down tenure with the Titans, will back up Eagles starter Michael Vick.
Asomugha, considered the top free agent on the market, spent his first eight seasons with the Raiders. He had a career-high eight interceptions in 2006, went to the Pro Bowl after the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons and was named a first-team all-pro in 2008 and 2010.
Even though he has just three interceptions in the last three years - mainly because teams donât throw to his side - Asomugha is widely regarded the best cover cornerback in the NFL, and was courted by several high-profile teams, including the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys.
âHeâs one of the best - if not the best - cornerback in the National Football League,â Reid said. âHeâll be a great addition to our cornerback corps.â
Thereâs speculation the Eagles may not keep Samuel, who was excused from training camp at Lehigh University the first two days. If Samuel is trade bait, Roseman certainly isnât letting on, however.
âWe do consider the third corner a starter,â he said. âThis is a passing league. We think itâs important to be able to defend the pass and pressure the quarterback. When you have cover players and pass rushers, and we added a couple of those today and yesterday, I think that helps you do that.â
Though he may have made more elsewhere, Asomugha made it clear he was interested in winning a Super Bowl as well. As the league headed toward itâs free-agency signing period, which started on Friday at 6 p.m., it appeared that the Jets were the clear frontrunner. What seemed to help New Yorkâs cause is that Asomugha has aspirations of acting when his playing days are over. New York, over several other destinations, clearly seemed like a good place to start that second career.
But instead of joining the team that made the AFC title game the last two years, heâll join an Eagles club that went 10-6 last season, won the NFC East and figures now to be considered among the Super Bowl favorites this year.
The move was more surprising because the Eagles werenât a part of the early courting of Asomugha. In fact, Roseman said Philadelphia entered negotiations âvery late.â
The Eagles also officially signed Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Babin to a five-year contract, and tight end Donald Lee and wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins to one-year deals.
âItâs been fast,â Reid said, âand furious.â
Asomugha is the latest big-name free agent to chose Philadelphia over other destinations.
In December, the Phillies, hoping to get back to the World Series for the third time since 2008, signed pitcher Cliff Lee, the biggest catch of Major League Baseballâs free-agent class. And earlier this month, the Flyers snagged the most accomplished free-agent forward on the NHL market, Jaromir Jagr. Both were viewed as surprises.
Asomugha may be the biggest.
Holy Asomugha!
Holy Asomugha!
What a man. A true leader.
In what is developing as one of the unique stories in a most unique NFL offseason, an injured Peyton Manning is resisting Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsayâs attempts to make him the highest-paid player in the NFL, the quarterback acknowledged to the Indianapolis Star-News and reaffirmed to ESPN.
Manning
A Colts source said Manning told Irsay a five-year, $100-million proposal that was heavily back-loaded in the final two years was not necessary to give him a $20 million average that no NFL player has ever attained. Manning is content with a salary equal to or less than what Patriots quarterback Tom Brady received in an $18 million a year deal in 2010. Irsay is trying to persuade him otherwise.
Manning met with Irsay and team president Bill Polian on Thursday to communicate his feelings on the new contract and encouraged them to spend money saved on his potential deal to re-sign Colts free agents while building the teamâs talent level and depth chart.
âWhile I appreciate Jim Irsay offering to make me the highest-paid player,â Manning told The Indianapolis Star, âI told him Iâd rather he save that money and keep whoever it is ⌠(running back) Joe Addai, (left tackle) Charlie Johnson⌠whoever that may be. Iâm willing to take less than theyâve offered if they are going to take that money to keep players we need to keep and go get other players. All I want is for them to have the cap and the cash to keep the players they want to keep and to sign other players.â
The four-time league MVP backed up his words when he further redirected agent Tom Condon to be more conservative in negotiations in meetings with Polian about the contract, sources said. The two sides expect to exchange proposals during the weekend and Manning was emphatic that he wants the contract finished by Sunday, before the Colts open training camp, even though he will not practice because of offseason neck surgery.
Manning also acknowledged uncertainty in his meeting with Irsay and Polian about his specific return to normal football activity as he rehabilitates from neck surgery May 23 to remove a portion of a bulging disk that was causing nerve malfunctions and pain.
That uncertainty could impact the amount of up-front guaranteed money Manning will receive from the team, though it is possible a formula to expand those guarantees will be built into the contract once both sides are comfortable his recovery is complete.
Manningâs goal is to be ready for the Coltsâ regular season opener as he enters the 2011 season with the NFLâs longest active playing regular-season starting streak of 208 games.
Irsay originally said doctors expected Manningâs rehab to take 6-8 weeks from his May 23 surgery; however, sources say Manning still has âquite a ways to goâ to be ready for a full practice regimen, let alone play in a preseason game. One source said Manning has been rehabbing diligently but getting his nerves to regenerate completely, as well strengthening his neck, shoulder and arm, is a process that doesnât always satisfy his lack of patience for healing.
Colts coach Jim Caldwell expressed confidence Friday when he was asked how he expected Manning to approach the uncertainty of his injury.
âLike a professional, like he always does, in a first-class manner, work harder than any man on the planet to get himself ready faster than anybody, (but) heâs not ready right now,â Caldwell said. âNobody works any harder, nobody is more diligent, more dedicated and he certainly has great faith in our staff that works with him here and at some point in time heâll be ready to go and when that is, weâll turn him loose.â
Manning was frustrated that the NFL did not make medical exceptions during the ownersâ lockout for players to rehab directly with team therapists and trainers who were recovering from surgeries and/or injuries. The league allowed communication between team medical personnel and doctors and therapists but disallowed direct contact and rehab activity with players.
Nevertheless, sources close to Manning said the quarterback is sincere in his gesture to accept a lesser salary because of the teamâs needs to re-sign some of its own key players. In addition to mentioning Addai and Johnson, a left tackle, Manning also is aware the Colts would like to negotiate a new contract for defensive end Robert Mathis.
During two contracts over 13 years since the Colts made Manning the No. 1 pick in the 1998 draft, Manning has given the Colts a variety of options and clauses to automatically lower his salary cap number. He said he will do the same with his new contract but under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams are working with an estimated $5 million less in cap space than they were in 2009 before the uncapped year in 2010.
As a pending free agent, Manning was given the maximum franchise tag in February that would have guaranteed him an estimated $23.1 million in 2011, but he did not sign it while allowing his name to be utilized as one of 10 plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL. That lawsuit was settled as part of the recent agreement between the league and players.
Behind the scenes, for more than a year, Polian has been preaching Manningâs next deal as a âlegacy contractâ that would enable to team to build their team around the quarterback with more cash and salary cap space; consequently, giving Manning an opportunity to build his legacy with another Super Bowl ring or two.
Manning said he has never had to be convinced that being flexible with his salary was the right thing to do for the team.
Condon was unavailable for comment but sources say the renowned agent was prepared to justify a salary that exceeded the $20 million average mark because of Manningâs value to the teamâs sustained success that arguably allowed the Colts to remain in Indianapolis with new Lucas Oil Stadium, which was constructed with heavy public funding. Indianapolis also will be the host city of its first Super Bowl in February.
Instead, Manning would like to provide the franchise the best opportunity to be the first team to ever play in a Super Bowl that it hosted.
I see Ochocinco has made a deal to get the 85 jersey from Aaron Hernandez, probably less hassle than changing his name by deed poll again.