Whispers from around the NFL

[ch19079]

London Fletcher

Fletcher

 

According to our St. Louis sources, if you ask Mike Martz what his biggest regret is as the team's head coach, near the top of the list would be his decision to let MLB London Fletcher escape to Buffalo as a free agent. We hear Martz couldn't be more frustrated with former first-round pick Robert Thomas' inability to replace Fletcher, and that Thomas could be sent packing after seeming to regress this season.

 

i always thaught M. Martz was a moron. now he thinks so too...

 

John Abraham

Abraham

 

Word from New York is that DE John Abraham's absence from the last six games of the season due to a knee sprain will not deter the Jets from slapping the franchise tag on him for 2005. And the team is still hopeful of working out a long-term deal for the Pro Bowler.

[BillsGuyInMalta]

Somewhere...right now...Bobby April is laughing at Mike Martz too. As much as Martz was a mental midget for letting Fletcher go, how about his stupidity for blaming the special teams on Bobby April, now considered to be the best special teams coach in the NFL? And yet...Martz still has a job. Go figure.

 

And hey, I say we stick it to Martz even further by taking WR Dane Looker off his hands in FA. Martz had Looker in the doghouse for most of the season until the playoffs where he was forced to play Looker and the guy ended up having the best hands on the field. He's still young, and I think a guy with such great hands would make an excellent option as a 3rd WR in Buffalo. Would come pretty cheap too.

 

Hey, St. Louis' garbage has become our treasure the last two times with Fletcher and April...(and our garbage of Fisher and Flowers have in turn become their...garbage).

[ch19079]

the whole thing. I stole this from another message board...

 

# Word is DT Chris Hovan, who has fallen out of favor with the Vikings, hopes to sign with Arizona and play for former coach Dennis Green.

 

# Don't be shocked if the Rams spend one of their first-day draft picks on a running back because of concerns about 2004 first-rounder Steven Jackson's durability.

 

# According to our Niners' sources, a noteworthy side to the hiring of Mike Nolan as the team's new head coach was the involvement of co-owner John York's 23-year-old son, Jed, who we hear could be on a faster-than-expected track toward grabbing the ownership reins from his father. Interestingly, one team insider tells us: "Jed has a little 'Eddie D' in him" - a reference to Jed's uncle, former free-spending 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

 

# The way we hear it, the Ravens were ready to promote Rex Ryan's candidacy for other defensive coordinator jobs around the league if Mike Nolan stayed on with the team beyond the 2005 season. The team realized Ryan was more than capable of being a coordinator, a role he now holds in Baltimore with Nolan having taken the Niners' head-coaching position.

 

# Texans strength and conditioning coach Dan Riley told PFW he wants RB Tony Hollings to get some rest before the team's offseason conditioning program, as he didn't "know that (Hollings) ever completely healed up" from hamstring problems that nagged him for much of the season.

 

# New Bengals defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan told PFW the defense's "major objective" is to be more stout vs. the run. "We've got to get to the point now where we can force teams to throw and take advantage of those playmakers we have up front as far as (the) pass rush and in the back as far as creating those interception and turnover opportunities," he said. The Bengals were 26th vs. the run in 2004.

 

# With Ravens ILB coach Mike Singletary moving on to San Francisco to serve as LB coach and assistant head coach, our sources say that Ravens OLB coach Jeff FitzGerald could be promoted to the coach of all linebackers. FitzGerald is said to be a good teacher.

 

# We hear new Browns general manager Phil Savage may be limited in the changes he can make to the scouting department for the time being, with so many scouts' contracts running through the draft. Niners director of player personnel Bill Rees continues to be mentioned as a potential Savage hire.

 

# Before he left the Titans to become the Jets' new offensive coordinator, replacing Paul Hackett, we hear Mike Heimerdinger's sometimes abrasive manner with players ultimately ruled him out of the 49ers' head-coaching derby.]

 

JMAC SEEMED TO LIKE HIM?

 

# Word is the Niners were seriously considering Leslie Frazier, who was fired as the Bengals' defensive coordinator by head coach Marvin Lewis, for a position on Mike Nolan's new staff.

 

# We keep hearing the names of Tom Condon and St. Louis-based Rocky Arceneaux as the top candidates to become Rams OLT Orlando Pace's new agent.

 

London Fletcher

Fletcher

 

# According to our St. Louis sources, if you ask Mike Martz what his biggest regret is as the team's head coach, near the top of the list would be his decision to let MLB London Fletcher escape to Buffalo as a free agent. We hear Martz couldn't be more frustrated with former first-round pick Robert Thomas' inability to replace Fletcher, and that Thomas could be sent packing after seeming to regress this season.

 

# We hear the rumors that the Cardinals might consider trading for Vikings WR Randy Moss are ridiculous, since there's no way they would consider trading any of the defenders being mentioned on the rumor mill (Bertrand Berry, Adrian Wilson and Darnell Dockett) and they already have a ton of money invested in WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. On the other hand, the possibility that Arizona might go after QB Brad Johnson in free agency is a different story altogether.

 

SMART MOVE BY THE CARDS!

 

# We hear the Falcons were a little concerned with all the attention that was heaped on RS Allen Rossum leading up to the NFC title game because one of the reasons Rossum has been so effective over the past couple of years is that he has flown under the radar.

 

# The Panthers may look to bring in a punter who also specializes in kickoffs if they decide to cut P Todd Sauerbrun loose this offseason.

 

# There is speculation in Tampa that the Bucs could face a situation of too many cooks spoiling the stew on offense if the group of head coach Jon Gruden, new senior assistant Aaron Kromer and offensive coordinator Bill Muir – plus possibly former Jets offensive coordinator Paul Hackett as QB coach – try to run the show.

 

# Terry Robiskie has been mentioned as a possible RB coach in New Orleans.

 

# Word is the Saints will make a strong push to bring fired Packers DB coach Kurt Schottenheimer to New Orleans, and the rumor that it will be to take over as defensive coordinator won't go away.

 

Rod Gardner

Gardner

 

# Tampa Bay is a strong possibility for WR Rod Gardner, according to Redskins observers, and the price the team might ask in a trade would be a mid-round draft pick.

 

# Outgoing Cowboys kicking coach Steve Hoffman was the final remaining member of Jimmy Johnson's coaching staff he brought from the University of Miami in 1989. Special-teams coach Bruce DeHaven now will coach the kickers. Expect DeHaven to put pressure on PK Billy Cundiff, whose mental toughness was questioned by Bill Parcells last season. And the team likely will bring in another kicker to challenge Cundiff.

 

# Expect Redskins OLB LaVar Arrington and his agents, Carl and Kevin Poston, to drop their arbitration hearing with the team over a disputed $6.5 million roster bonus in 2006. Arrington recently said he "might just look towards the future."

 

# Rumors circulated toward the end of the season that Giants head coach Tom Coughlin had soured on first-year offensive coordinator John Hufnagel and would replace him at season's end. No such move has taken place, and sources close to the team predict Hufnagel will be back calling plays next season.

 

John Abraham

Abraham

 

# Word from New York is that DE John Abraham's absence from the last six games of the season due to a knee sprain will not deter the Jets from slapping the franchise tag on him for 2005. And the team is still hopeful of working out a long-term deal for the Pro Bowler.

 

 

# The Vikings would save $500,000 by trading WR Randy Moss, but they won't make a deal just for the sake of finances. Not only are they more than $25 million under the salary cap for 2005, Moss is scheduled to count $9.5 million against the '05 salary cap, which becomes $9 million if Moss is traded. The Vikings won't necessarily require that a defensive player come to Minnesota in return for Moss. In fact, one front-office man said the Vikings would consider taking another No. 1 wide receiver and a first-round draft pick in return.

 

 

# Packers FS Darren Sharper has been mentioned as a player whose cap number (more than $8 million) is too restrictive for his team, but Packers officials say not to expect much movement from Sharper. With no safety depth, Sharper has the Packers in a difficult position. He isn't likely to take a reduced salary, and Packers general manager Ted Thompson is one of Sharper's biggest fans.

 

# Word is Titans OT Jason Mathews is planning to retire. He's a free agent who spared Tennessee multiple times this season by filling in at three different OL positions and even at tight end during the regular season.

 

Fred Taylor

Taylor

 

# The Jaguars won't know if RB Fred Taylor can fully participate in offseason minicamps until he is re-evaluated late next month. Taylor had arthroscopic surgery to repair the partially torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee last week.

 

# Team observers say Bears general manager Jerry Angelo has indicated that Chicago already knows the player it covets in the upcoming draft. Speculation, based on comments made by Angelo, is that the Bears are focused on the WR position.

 

# Jaguars sources advise not to read into the contract extension S Nick Sorensen signed on Jan. 22. Immediate dot-connecting in the local media was that Sorenson and restricted free agent Deke Cooper would combine to replace SS Donovin Darius, an unrestricted free agent, but Jacksonville will speak to Darius in the next few weeks about a long-term deal.

 

# The Chiefs figure to find themselves severely hamstrung in free agency because of the extensions they granted to their own veterans like Jerome Woods, Greg Wesley, Eric Hicks, John Browning and William Bartee last offseason. One place they will have to focus on when the market opens, regardless of money available, is a veteran presence at the CB position.

 

# Though everyone in San Diego feels the team can ill afford to lose out on the services of OL coach Hudson Houck, he indicated last week that he plans to exercise the right to talk to other clubs when his contract expires this week. The Dolphins and new head coach Nick Saban appeared to be in hot pursuit of Houck.

 

# After reviewing film from late in the year, one league scout told PFW he considers Broncos CB Champ Bailey to be one of the league's best tacklers coming out of the secondary.

 

Jerry Porter

Porter

 

# Though contract talks continue, it would be considered a real surprise if WR Jerry Porter re-signed with the Raiders before free agency opens in March. The feeling is he really would like to see what kind of market there is for hime, and the Raiders, at least presently, appear content with that.

 

# Big surprise – expect the Raiders to be proactive again this season in terms of exploring the free-agent pool. Al Davis won't be caught sitting on his hands after nine wins the last two seasons, especially if Rich Gannon and Charles Woodson aren't back and they have that salary-cap allotment to spend.

 

# Second-year OLB Sam Williams has showed enough promise to be penciled in for a starting job next season, but his inability to stay healthy is a major concern. The same holds true for young RB Justin Fargas, which probably will force the Raiders to look elsewhere for help during the offseason.

[zow2]

I always feel like London does not get the credit he deserves here. The guy makes like 20 tackles a game, but when he has one bonehead penalty people trash him. The Bills D would not be nearly as good without him.

[d_wag]

and our garbage of Fisher and Flowers have in turn become their...garbage).

219067[/snapback]

 

fisher really turned it around this year and was solid........bills made a mistake cutting him and i'm sure they'd love to have that move back.........

[Dante]

I always feel like London does not get the credit he deserves here.  The guy makes like 20 tackles a game, but when he has one bonehead penalty people trash him.  The Bills D would not be nearly as good without him.

219170[/snapback]

I agree with that totally. It's a mystery to me why fans get on him. To me it's obvious he is one of the most dominent Bills on the field. I think some of his "bonehead" moves are just due to him being so aggressive. The same thing that makes him effective. I like the guy allot.

[The Jokeman]

fisher really turned it around this year and was solid........bills made a mistake cutting him and i'm sure they'd love to have that move back.........

219190[/snapback]

Fisher had 8.5 sacks this season (.5 sack more then Schobel but still think Aaron's a better player) and due to be an UFA. I think he'd be a nice addition as a 3rd down/pass rush specialist but imagine he'll re-sign with the Rams or go somewhere to be a starter. Although it might be tough for him to reproduce that sack total year in year out.