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One of the interesting nuggets to come out of the annual league meetings in
Orlando earlier this week was the admission by New York Jets coach Herm
Edwards that he plans to play two-year veteran quarterback Chad Pennington
for at least one series every game in 2002.
|  | | Chad Pennington has thrown only 25 passes in two NFL seasons. |
The third of the Jets' four first-round choices in the 2000 draft,
Pennington has thrown just 25 passes in his first two NFL seasons, and
Edwards suggested in camp last year that the former Marshall star actually
needs to think a little less in the pocket and be more reactive to what he
sees in front of him. Now he will get that opportunity, at least on a
limited basis.
The venerable Vinny Testaverde will turn 39 in mid-November and the time has
come now for the Jets to assess exactly what they've got in Pennington, to
decide if it's time to look elsewhere for their quarterback of the
not-too-distant future. Testaverde will be entering his 16th season, isn't
going to play forever, and is coming off a subpar campaign in which he
wasn't allowed to throw the ball very much at all.
The choreographed playing time for Pennington in 2002 certainly seems like a
good idea on paper. But in application, on the field, it's a bit stickier.
They tried the same thing with Michael Vick last season in Atlanta and
starter Chris Chandler didn't handle the mid-game temporary benching very
well at all. In fact, the experiment was so disruptive to the flow of the
Atlanta offense that coach Dan Reeves scuttled it just a month into the
season. Except for those occasions when Chandler was injured, Vick became
simply an afterthought for much of the season, and the team gave up the idea
of spoon-feeding him a little bit of the offense at a time.
It will be interesting to see if Testaverde, who is overly sensitive at
times and territorial about his playing time, has the same problems with it
that Chandler did.
There may be no other viable way, however, for Edwards and offensive
coordinator Paul Hackett to accurately analyze the potential of their No. 2
quarterback. New York officials and the staff of Al Groh seemed far more
confident of Pennington's long-term viability during his 2000 rookie season
than the new regime did in 2001.
No one doubts the cerebral qualities of the youngster, but his arm strength
remains in doubt, and the Jets can ill afford to go another season without
answering some questions about him.
Around the league
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| Bledsoe |
Cincinnati blues: Apparently beggars can be choosers at times, as indicated by the fact New
England backup quarterback Drew Bledsoe has no intention of allowing himself
to be traded to Cincinnati, one of the few teams with legitimate interest in
him. Bledsoe has informed agent David Dunn of his adverse feelings for
Cincy, and Dunn has passed them along to Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who is
particularly fond of the quarterback and unlikely to cut a deal he doesn't
want. The ironic thing is that the Bengals aren't exactly the worst team for
a quarterback of Bledsoe's ilk. For openers, the offensive line, anchored by
right tackle Willie Anderson, does a pretty good job of protecting the
passer. And there is a strong running game, led by tailback Corey Dillon, to
help lighten the load on the quarterback. But the Bengals are still battling
the longtime stigma that Cincinnati is the Siberia of franchises, and
Bledsoe clearly hasn't taken much of a look at the positives. He also hasn't
discerned yet that few teams are beating down the Patriots' door to make a
deal for him. There are a number of clubs that feel Bledsoe will eventually
be released, and they won't have to trade for him, but New England officials
insisted this week that won't happen.
Backup plan: On the quarterback front in other places, it now appears the most likely
land spot for Atlanta free agent Chris Chandler is in Chicago, which is
seeking a viable backup to Jim Miller. Agent Frank Bauer spent plenty of
time in Orlando this week meeting with Bears general manager Jerry Angelo.
He presented Angelo with a contract proposal worth about $1.9 million
annually, and with cap values below those of Miller, but which also rewards
Chandler if he becomes the starter in 2002 or later. It may take a while
longer to complete a deal but the structure Bauer proposed is in line with
what the Bears are thinking. Chandler, who has matured mightily in recent
years, will accept his backup role and not make waves. And he's a terrific
insurance policy for the Bears, who would like to deal No. 2 quarterback
Shane Matthews to the Redskins before the draft.
Roaf-ing around: The way things are going with New Orleans offensive left tackle Willie
Roaf, it might be around Christmastime before we know where the seven-time
Pro Bowl performer will continue his career. The newest deadline for
striking a deal with Kansas City is midnight next Monday, the third time the
drop-dead timetable has been moved back. New Orleans general manager Randy
Mueller keeps insisting to anyone who will listen that, if he can't trade
Roaf, he'll simply pay the roster bonus due the tackle and keep him. But if
he really wanted Roaf back, why does Mueller keep pushing back the deadline?
Agent Peter Schaffer, who is always quick to criticize his peers when they
strike bad deals, is backed into a corner because the Chiefs are offering a
below market proposal worth only about $3 million annually. The latest
delay, it appears, was made so that Shaffer could have more time to see if
he can attract any more suitors. The guess here is that he won't be
successful in doing so. At some point, here's hoping, this charade will
conclude.
Anderson's injury: This is hardly the kind of news that first-year Carolina coach John Fox
wanted to hear, but it appears that third-year cornerback Rashard Anderson
will miss all of the team's mini-camps and possibly the entire preseason as
well. The team's first-round draft choice in 2000 will require surgery to
repair a bulging disk in his neck, ESPN.com has confirmed through the team
and agent Ben Wilson, and no one is certain about his timetable for recovery
after that. Anderson was key to the Panthers' plans for 2002 and his stature
was enhanced when Carolina released both 2001 starters, Doug Evans and Jimmy
Hitchcock, for salary cap reasons. The Panthers have signed a pair of free
agent corners, DeRon Jenkins and Terry Cousin, but were counting on Anderson
to have a breakout year in 2002. Instead the season may be a fractured one
for him. There is some chance, sources noted, that free safety Deon Grant
could move to cornerback. The second-round pick in the 2000 draft played
well as a starter in 2001 and has some college experience on the corner.
It's a move, though, Fox would prefer not to make.
In your face: He may not be the most popular guy among his peers but no one can deny the
effectiveness of agent Drew Rosenhaus over the past three weeks. In a
sluggish free agent market, he vowed that he would negotiate $100 million
worth of contracts, and has now gone over that benchmark. The crowing jewel
was the five-year, $23 million agreement with the Arizona Cardinals for
corner Duane Starks that he hammered out earlier this week. Truth be told,
despite the fact Starks was the premier cornerback in free agency, there
wasn't as much interest in him as people thought there would be. But the
four-year veteran got a deal that will pay him $8.6 million this season and
which has a static cap number for all five years of the contract. While some
other agents have sat on their hands and bemoaned the slow nature of the
market, Rosenhaus has gone out and landed deals for his clients. He worked
the corridors of the combine hard, made sure he was conspicuous at the
league meetings in Orlando, and was always prepared to do business. No one
buttonholed more general manager or personnel directors and it paid off for
him and, even more important, for his free agent clients.
Riley's market: Look for unrestricted free agent offensive tackle Victor Riley, viewed as
one of the top players at his position when the signing period began three
weeks ago, to sign a short-term offer with a team in the next week or so.
The market hasn't been as kind to Riley, who played the first four seasons
of his career with Kansas City, as he had hoped. When the Jets re-signed
Jason Fabini to a deal that included a $6.5 million signing bonus and the
Falcons overpaid by awarding upfront money of $5.5 million to one-year
starter Todd Weiner, it looked like Riley was going to cash in big-time. But
that hasn't happened and one reason might be that he faces a one-game
suspension for a domestic abuse incident that occurred in 2001. Riley has
also battled tonnage issues during his career (his original contract with
the Chiefs included weight clauses) and that could be yet another reason the
market has gone south on him. But if a team wants to see how effective he
can be when everything is clicking, all they need do is turn on a tape of
his 2001 performance against Michael Strahan, where he stoned the
Giants star rusher. Among the teams interested in signing Riley to a one- or
two-year contract are Jacksonville, Cleveland, Buffalo the New York Giants
and Baltimore, which recently contacted agent Pat Dye. The idea of a
one-year deal, in which he can rehabilitate his image and demonstrate to
teams that he is a top-shelf tackle, appeals to Riley because it would
permit him to go back into the free agent market again next spring.
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| Holmes |
Price isn't right for Holmes: Another unrestricted veteran on whom the market has fallen through the
floor is Pittsburgh middle linebacker Earl Holmes, who isn't generating the
big-money offers he felt he would. The Cleveland Browns wouldn't mind
getting Holmes, but at their price, and they seem willing to wait him out.
Agents Tom Condon and Ken Kremer are among the best in the business at
pulling out a lucrative deal when it appears things are headed south --
witness the $4.5 million per year contract they negotiated two weeks ago for
free agent defensive tackle La'Roi Glover -- and you never say never where
those two are concerned. But the Steelers helped to poison the market on
Holmes, by telling anyone who would listen that he was clearly in decline,
and there just isn't big action right now at the middle linebacker position.
Browns defensive coordinator Foge Fazio felt Holmes had an off-year in 2001,
that he "floated too much" instead of stepping up into the hole, but liked
him immensely when the veteran 'backer visited with team officials. The
Browns are keeping a candle lit for Holmes and seem to be the team most
likely to sign him. Cleveland execs acknowledged at the league meetings they
have only spent about half the money they felt they would invest in free
agents, so there's something left in the coffers.
Getting offensive: It was certainly fun to watch new Colts coach Tony Dungy gush over how much
better the Indianapolis offense might actually be in 2002, especially with
the team seemingly going to a three-wide receiver set in most instances.
Dungy never enjoyed the luxury of a high-powered offense during his tenure
in Tampa Bay, and some of that was his own fault, given his choice of
coordinators. But he was genuinely enthusiastic about the weapons in
Indianapolis, especially if tailback Edgerrin James returns 100 percent from
knee surgery. Coordinator Tom Moore should have some fun conjuring up sets
for his pair of 1,000-yard rushers, James and Dominic Rhodes. The addition
of wide receiver Qadry Ismail earlier this week provides another proven deep
threat. And minus the released Ken Dilger, the Colts will work on ways to
get the ball upfield to tight end Marcus Pollard more. "I cringe, really, to
think about what we can be," Dungy said. "If it's possible, this offense can
be ever more productive. I think Peyton (Manning) is excited about it, too.
I know I am." Dungy continues to contend his famed "cover two" defensive
scheme will enhance the skills of players like tackle Ellis Johnson and end
Chad Bratkze. And he allowed that the strength of his defense is the young
linebacking trio -- Mike Peterson (weakside), Rob Morris (middle) and Marcus
Washington (strongside) -- which will be freed up to run more to the ball in
the new design.
Chasing Bill: It never came close to happening but, more than a month after the fact, the
story is still a good one: Tampa vice president Joel Glazer admitted this
week that, the day after he and his family scuttled the hiring of Marvin
Lewis as head coach, he sat in the New Jersey home of Bill Parcells and
tried one more time to convince "The Tuna" to join the franchise. Glazer
even tossed out the possibility of simply working in the front office
instead of as head coach. Parcells was unmoved.
Gruden tackles defense: Interesting that the first major personnel move promulgated by new Tampa
Bay coach Jon Gruden was on the defensive side of the ball. When the Bucs
lost starting middle linebacker Jamie Duncan in free agency three weeks ago,
the conventional wisdom was that two-year pro Nate Webster would simply be
elevated to the starting lineup. But after watching tape, and talking the
situation over with holdover defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin several
times, Gruden had a different take on things. And so strongside starter
Shelton Quarles, a solid but often underrated five-year veteran, will move
into the middle linebacker spot. And Alshermond Singleton, a part-time
starter during his career, takes the strongside position. Gruden noted the
shuffle isn't so much an indictment of Webster as an endorsement of the
other two players. For the record, Quarles said he is very much looking
forward to the switch, of which he was told only a few days ago. But
privately he is fretting a bit over the move and questioning how well he can
hold up in the middle at just 220 pounds.
Drafting a plan: There is still a month remaining until the draft, but the Kansas City
Chiefs seem to have focused in on two players as the candidates mostly
likely to be their first-round choice. One is Ryan Sims, the North Carolina
defensive end, and the other is Tennessee wide receiver Donte Stallworth.
The Chiefs were well represented at Stallworth's scintillating workout in
Knoxville and coach Dick Vermeil and general manager Carl Peterson, who
aren't particularly comfortable at schmoozing people, spent plenty of time
with the wide receiver's family. Team officials are scheduled to have dinner
with Sims next Monday, the night before his workout. Sims' college head
coach is John Bunting, who was once Vermeil's defensive coordinator with the
Rams.
Bills looking to tackle draft: While the Bills retain moderate interest in Riley and Denver unrestricted
free agent tackle Trey Teague, look for Buffalo to use its first-round pick
in next month's draft on either Mike Williams of Texas of Miami's Bryant
McKinnie, the two highly-regarded tackle prospects in this year's lottery.
General manager Tom Donahoe personally scouted the campus workouts of both
players and, on Wednesday, he and coach Gregg Williams spent extra time with
Williams. A right tackle for the Longhorns, there is some question as to
whether Williams can switch to the left side in the NFL, and the Bills made
him do several drills with a left-handed stance. Buffalo would prefer to rid
itself of 10-year veteran left tackle John Fina after June 1, when the
impact of releasing him would be somewhat ameliorated on their salary cap.
They could move second-year right tackle Jonas Jennings to the left side or
draft one of this year's two top prospects. What they almost certainly will
not do, despite rumors to the contrary, is use the fourth overall choice in
the draft on Oregon quarterback Joey Harrington. One more note on Teague: He
is all but certain to re-sign with the Broncos, probably a five-year deal
with a two-tiered signing bonus. That structure would permit Denver coaches
to get another look at him as a starter, for the second season in a row,
then make a decision next spring about picking up the option for the
remaining four years of the contract. Agents Jimmy Sexton and Kyle Rote Jr.
have proposed such a contract and the team, which now is out of the Willie
Roaf trade sweepstakes, seems amenable.
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| Wilson |
Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mark Duffner desperately wants
unrestricted free agent end Reinard Wilson, who had nine sacks a year ago,
to return to the Bengals. Even with 2001 first-round draft choice Justin
Smith seemingly ready to become a monster performer at right end, Wilson
still provides the team its most consistent outside pass rush threat. So why
might Bengals officials step up efforts to retain Wilson with a multi-year
contract? Because the team respects the opinion of Duffner, who is probably
a head-coach-in-waiting. When former coach Bruce Coslet resigned three games
into the 2000 season, owner Mike Brown first approached Duffner about taking
over the team. After some time, Duffner declined, ostensibly out of respect
to Dick LeBeau. But if the Bengals don't win this year, LeBeau could be
gone, and Duffner definitely would be a strong candidate to replace him.
That's why Cincinnati officials are listening hard to his lobbying efforts
on behalf of bringing Wilson back to the team.
Vikings try to land big catch: Minnesota is trotting in 6-8 unrestricted wide receivers over the next few
days as they accelerate the search for a Cris Carter replacement and partner
for Randy Moss. Make no mistake, though, the guy who rates at the top of the
Vikings wish list is Jerome Pathon, formerly of Indianapolis. The four-year
veteran is coming off foot surgery that limited him to four games in 2001,
but he has a huge patron in Scott Linehan, the new Minnesota offensive
coordinator. Linehan was the receivers coach, then coordinator, at the
University of Washington when Pathon played there and has spent the past
several days personally recruiting him by phone. Pathon is intrigued by the
possibility of playing opposite Moss, and working against single coverage
most of the time, and having Daunte Culpepper throwing to him. The Houston
Texans and Kansas City Chiefs also are hot on Pathon's trail. Pathon
recently had the surgical screws removed from his broken foot and should be
able to start jogging next week.
Time is now for Jones: The likely loss of talented but troubled tailback Michael Pittman, the best
young back remaining in free agency, means the Arizona Cardinals must get
2000 first-round draft choice Thomas Jones to play up to his enormous
potential. The seventh player selected overall in 2000, and viewed by many
as the premier tailback in that draft, Jones has rushed for only 753 yards
while battling a series of nagging injuries his first two seasons. But coach
Dave McGinnis made it clear this week at the league meetings that the grace
period is over now for the former Virginia standout. "I need him and he
knows it," McGinnis said. "He's a guy who just hasn't had a lot of luck so
far. There is no doubt he works hard, wants to be good, but something always
happen. But he's got to be our guy this year. I need him. I really need
him." There is next to nothing behind Jones on the depth chart. The No. 2
tailback right now is Marcel Shipp, an undrafted free agent last year, who
logged zero carries as a rookie. The suddenly proactive Cardinals might sign
a veteran free agent, but not a big-name guy, so the onus is on Jones to
produce. Arizona made some free agent waves this week in adding cornerback
Duane Starks and tight end Freddie Jones, and their next target may well by
San Francisco safety Lance Schulters.
Schedule change: With the expansion Houston Texans beginning play this season and the league
again back to an even number of franchises, at 32 teams, the "bye" weeks are
much easier to concentrate. Instead of having "byes" nearly every weekend of
the season, as the NFL was forced to do the past three years with 31 clubs,
the off-weeks will be bunched together now. There will be no "byes" the
first two weeks of the season and none in weeks 11 through 17. All of the
off-weeks will fall between weeks 3 and 10, which should make for even
better competition in the playoff stretch run, and a better and more
seamless product for the fans.
The way some general managers at the league meetings saw it, the New
Orleans addition of cornerback Dale Carter makes him kind of the "rubber
match" in the game being played out by Saints officials. In 2000 the team
signed wide receiver Joe Horn as a free agent, and while he was hardly a
choir boy, he hasn't gotten into any documented trouble in The Big Easy yet.
That is, of course, if one ignores the published rumors he might be the
father of Willie Roaf's child. Last year, the Saints brought aboard
problem-child wide receiver Albert Connell, and were forced to release him
after it was alleged he stole money from the pants pockets of teammates. And
now comes Carter, suspended by the NFL for 18 months recently, after a
repeat violation of the NFL substance abuse policy. Noted one personnel
director: "They aren't exactly trying to live up to that Saints nickname,
are they?"
Punts: Give new Atlanta owner Arthur Blank his props for quickly learning
how to parse semantics with the media. On Monday night, he denied a report
by ESPN and ESPN.com that he had officially offered the general manager post
to Ron Wolf, on a four-year, $16 million deal. The next morning, in a
statement, Wolf rejected the offer. Yeah, you know, the one that Blank
denied he had made. . . . Don't be surprised, even given their more glaring
needs, if the Dallas Cowboys use their first-round pick on a tailback next
month. Some team officials believe that it's time to bring aboard the
eventual successor to Emmitt Smith. And some feel his name is William Green,
the Boston College standout. . . . Last week in this space we noted that
Georgia defensive end Charles Grant is on the rise. Now we can tell you the
San Francisco 49ers, who need an end in the draft, have set up a personal
workout with him. . . . There continue to be persistent rumors that St.
Louis team president John Shaw is about to depart the Rams for an intriguing
venture. The rumors are that Shaw, who still spends most of his time on the
West Coast, will become the point man for the San Diego Chargers purported
move to Los Angeles. . . . Rams coach Mike Martz would love to sign former
Detroit wide receiver Johnnie Morton, surprisingly released by the Lions last
week. But the Rams have some competition from Tampa Bay for Morton, and both
teams are setting up fallbacks. If Morton goes to St. Louis, look for the
Bucs to pursue another former Lions wideout, Germane Crowell. If he goes to
the Bucs, the Rams probably will try to sign New York Giants free agent Joe
Jurevicius. . . . Why did Oakland owner Al Davis miss the league meetings
this week? He flew to Denver on Sunday but arrived too late to make his
schedule connection there. So he simply turned around and went back to
Oakland. Good move, Al, since you didn't miss anything. . . . There are few
players more pursued in free agency right now than Arizona cornerback Corey
Chavous, who is being sought by several teams as a safety.
The last word: Oakland senior assistant Bruce Allen, when informed by
Raiders chief executive Amy Trask on Wednesday morning that she was
departing the NFL meetings and heading home: "What, you mean there's nothing
left going on in there for us to abstain to?"
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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