NFL - Are you ready for some Football - Draft and Off Season

[Donegeal]

My... that report doesn't look to good...

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by ColdWizard
I wasn't surprised that Detroit didn't take Mendenhall. It would have made too much sense for them to pick him.

That's exactly what they needed to do; so of course, they didn't.

[-Jrabbit]

Ushering in the Matt Forte era...

Cedric Benson arrested
Police use pepper spray during arrest

By Vaughn McClure | Tribune reporter
8:14 AM CDT, May 4, 2008

Bears running back Cedric Benson was arrested late Saturday night near Austin, Texas, and charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest, both Class B misdemeanors.

According to a sergeant from the Travis County Sheriff's office, Benson, who played at the University of Texas in Austin, was arrested by the Lower Colorado River Authority. A LCRA spokesperson said that Benson, who failed a sobriety "float test" (an abbreviated version of a field sobriety test) on the boat, argued over taking a follow-up test on land and refused to put on a life jacket. LCRA police attempted to arrest Benson at that time but he refused to cooperate and was pepper sprayed. He was booked at 11:24 p.m. Saturday and later bonded out, the sergeant said.

Benson, who had his 2007 season cut short by a broken leg, was in jeopardy of losing his starting spot even before the arrest. The fourth-overall pick of the 2005 draft has struggled through his first three seasons with the Bears, failing to post a 1,000-yard campaign while averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. Benson averaged a career-low 3.4 yards per carry last season, finishing with 674 yards on 196 carries with four touchdowns in 11 games started. He missed the final five games with the leg injury.

The Bears sent a clear sign that they wanted more production from their running back by selecting Tulane's Matt Forte in the second round of this year's draft. Forte's ability to get to the outside and catch the ball out of the backfield were dimensions the Bears missed with Benson in the lineup, although Benson showed flashes against Seattle and Denver last season.

Benson had a couple of brushes with the law during his college days.

He was arrested for marijuana possession in May of 2002 in his hometown of Midland, Texas. The charges were dropped when he passed a drug test and other evidence surfaced to clear him.

In October of 2003, he was arrested for criminal trespassing after kicking down an apartment door in Austin, believing his $15,000 plasma television was inside. He received an eight-day jail sentence but never went behind bars because of time served on the day of the arrest, good behavior, and the lack of available beds at the local prison.

On Saturday, Benson was on his 30-foot boat with 12 to 15 others but Benson was the only person to be arrested, police said.

[Theben]

That should help make the "competition" for the slot a little less fierce...

[asleepathewheel]

This Harrison report is very unfortunate. such a reserved guy, its very shocking.

[SlowwHand]

Mendenhall got robbed at gunpoint last night.

[Ming]

And Cedric Benson fires back...
From The Chicago Tribune

By Vaughn McClure | Tribune reporter
May 5, 2008

Cedric Benson fully intends to fight misdemeanor charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest stemming from a Saturday night incident near Austin, Texas, during which police used pepper spray to detain him.

Lower Colorado River Authority police arrested the Bears running back, who played at the University of Texas in Austin, on Lake Travis during a random safety inspection. An LCRA spokesman said Benson, who failed a sobriety "float test" (an abbreviated version of a field sobriety test) on his 37-foot yacht, argued over taking a follow-up test on land and refused to put on a life jacket. LCRA officers said they attempted to arrest Benson at that time but that he refused to cooperate and was pepper-sprayed. He was booked at 11:24 p.m. Saturday at the Travis County Jail and was out early Sunday morning on $14,500 bond.

Benson denied the charges.

"There was no resistance on my part," Benson told the Tribune on Sunday night. "Was I drunk? No."

Benson said there was alcohol on his boat but that he was not intoxicated and the boat was stationary when police arrived. He said he fully cooperated with officers and that this was the sixth time he had been questioned by lake police in the year that he has owned the boat.

"They gave me a field sobriety test, told me to say my ABCs and told me to count from 1 to 4 up and down," Benson said of Saturday's incident. "I'm thinking, I passed all the tests, did everything right. Then the officer told me we needed to go to land to take more tests. I politely asked him why we needed to go to land to take more tests when I took every test. Then he sprayed me with mace, on his boat.

"I'm not handcuffed. I'm not under arrest. I'm not threatening him. I'm not pushing him. I'm not touching him. And he sprays me right in my eye."

Benson said by that time, he was far removed from the family and friends left on his boat, a group that included his mother.

"Nobody saw what he did to me," Benson said. "I started screaming for my mother to come. That's when they put me under arrest. And the officer threw a life jacket over my head.

"Once we got to land, the Travis County police grabbed me and kicked my feet from under me. So I landed on my back while I was handcuffed. They held me down and held the water hose over my face. I couldn't breathe, I'm choking, I'm begging the cops, 'Please stop. Please stop.' Then they picked me up and dragged me backward toward their car. And I'm still being polite, asking them, 'Sir, could you please allow me to walk like a man to your cop car?' They just kept dragging me on."

The charges are punishable up to six months in jail and $2,000 each. No court date has been set. The BWI charge carries the same weight as a DWI in Texas.

Benson's lawyer, Brian Carney, said he believes the police were unjust in dealing with Benson.

"Right now it's one-sided, and I would like to know exactly what they're basing their allegations on," Carney said. "It's very, very early. And we still haven't had a chance to evaluate what exactly they think that they have.

"Those allegations are untrue. I think it's a shame that they proceeded the way they did. I can tell you right now that we're going to resolve this. We're going to work through it. And we're going to maintain our position that this was inappropriate and that he's not guilty of any of these things. Cedric was extremely cooperative with these officers. He complied. He performed their tests that they asked him to do."

Bears coach Lovie Smith said he wanted to get the complete story before commenting on Benson's status.

"I haven't had a chance to speak with Cedric yet, but anytime we're talking about one of our players getting arrested, you're disappointed in it," Smith said at the conclusion of rookie mini-camp Sunday afternoon. "What we're going to do from here, I'll go back and try to get as much information as I possibly can and go from there."

A spokesman for the NFL said the league was aware of the situation and is investigating.

Benson said he talked to Smith on Sunday afternoon.

"He knows I'm going to take care of my business," Benson said. "I always handle anything that I'm dealt with. He just stressed the fact that whenever anything like this comes up to call him first."

Benson, who had his 2007 season cut short by a broken ankle, was in jeopardy of losing his starting spot heading into the '08 season. The fourth overall pick of the 2005 draft struggled through his first three seasons with the Bears, failing to post a 1,000-yard campaign while averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. Benson averaged a career-low 3.4 yards per carry last season, finishing with 674 yards on 196 carries with four touchdowns in 11 games started. He missed the final five games with the ankle injury.

The Bears sent a clear sign that they wanted more production from their running back by selecting Tulane's Matt Forte in the second round of this year's draft. Forte's ability to get to the outside and catch the ball out of the backfield were dimensions the Bears missed with Benson in the lineup, although Benson showed flashes against Seattle and Denver last season.

"I have no control over what they decide to do," Benson said of the Bears drafting Forte.

"If they want to bring a running back in, OK, no problem. I love competition."

Benson was arrested twice during his college days. He was arrested for marijuana possession in May 2002 in his hometown of Midland, Texas. The charges were dropped when he passed a drug test and other evidence surfaced to clear him.

In October 2003, he was arrested for criminal trespassing after kicking down an apartment door in Austin. He said he believed his $15,000 plasma television was inside. He received an eight-day jail sentence but never went behind bars because of time served on the day of the arrest, good behavior, and the lack of available beds at the local prison.

Benson said he intends to be back in Chicago on Tuesday. He said he is about 98 percent healed from the ankle injury. But his latest off-the-field battle might leave a scar.

"This is tough to deal with because you're guilty until proven innocent," he said. "My name is blasted out there like I was fighting these police officers or something. That totally was not the deal. I'm not stupid."

[Theben]

And the Archuleta project is over...

[-Jrabbit]

[SlowwHand]

Ex-Patriots employee Walsh sends eight videotapes to league

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh sent the NFL eight videotapes that show New England violated league rules by recording opposing coaches' play-calling signals.

The tapes include signals by coaches of five opponents in six games from 2000-02, but don't include video from the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI.

The NFL said it received a letter from Michael Levy, the lawyer for Walsh, detailing the tapes that were scheduled to arrive Thursday at the league's New York offices.

The tapes sent to the NFL show the Patriots recorded signals in regular-season games against Miami, Buffalo, Cleveland and San Diego, and against Pittsburgh in the 2002 AFC championship game.

"This is consistent with what the Patriots had admitted they had been doing, consistent with what we already knew," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press.

The New York Times first reported the story on its Web site Wednesday night.

Walsh, who worked for New England from 1997 to 2003, agreed to turn over the tapes and other evidence by Thursday. He's scheduled to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell next Tuesday about New England's taping of opposing teams.

"We're not going to comment," said Stacey James, the Patriots' vice president for media relations. He added he expected the team will wait to issue a statement until after Walsh meets with Goodell.

Walsh's name first surfaced just before this year's Super Bowl, nearly five months after the Patriots were sanctioned for illegally taping the New York Jets in the season opener -- resulting in a $500,000 fine for coach Bill Belichick, a $250,000 fine for the organization, and the loss of a first-round draft pick.

At that time, the Boston Herald also reported an unnamed Patriots employee illegally taped the Rams' final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI, when New England, a major underdog, upset St. Louis 20-17.

Goodell previously has said he was fully prepared to crack down again on the Patriots if his meeting with Walsh uncovered a tape made of the Rams' walkthrough practice.

"Mr. Walsh has never claimed to have a tape of the walkthrough," Levy told The New York Times. "Mr. Walsh has never been the source of any of the media speculation about such a tape. Mr. Walsh was not the source for the Feb. 2 Boston Herald, article."

After more than two months of negotiations, lawyers for the league and Walsh finally reached an agreement on April 23 on terms that will allow him to talk with Goodell. They include an agreement by the Patriots not to sue Walsh and to pay his legal expenses and his airfare to New York from Hawaii, where he is now a golf pro.

[Lord Avalon]

Hmmmm....

NFL owners could opt out of CBA with union as early as Tuesday

Updated: May 16, 2008, 8:00 PM ET

NFL owners might opt out of the existing labor agreement as soon as Tuesday when they hold their next meetings in Atlanta, according to league sources.

One management source called it a "high likelihood" that the owners will exercise their option to terminate the agreement, which will trigger a number of alternatives, including a potential work stoppage by 2011. Another source said "be prepared" for the action, although it was "not a 100 percent proposition yet."

An NFL Players Association source said, "We expect it to happen."

A league spokesman said the NFL had no comment.

The decision to exercise the option is not expected to have any significant impact on the next two seasons, 2008 and 2009.

However, by opting out of the agreement that was struck on March 9, 2006, the NFL would play 2010 without a salary cap, unrestricted free agency for players would be increased from four years to six years and the orderly selection of college players in the annual draft would not exist after 2011. These "poison pills" are designed to motivate both the owners and the union to work toward a new collective bargaining agreement.

When the current CBA was agreed upon amid much acrimony between high- and low-revenue clubs, the deal included options for both the owners and players' union to terminate the terms early in either 2008 or 2009. The deadline for opting out this year is Nov. 8 but league sources say many owners want to pull the trigger now.

Three owners contacted by ESPN.com declined to comment, with one joking, "The fine is so high for speaking a word about this that you would have to buy my children's shoes."

The players' association will not be caught off guard by an early opt out.

NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw had his first official meeting with NFL management leaders two weeks ago as a "feeling out" session. Upshaw made it clear to league officials that the union is not about to "give back" what it has gained in collective bargaining.

During the NFLPA's annual meeting in mid-March, much of the union's agenda was spent discussing the options of a looming labor battle. Upshaw warned of the possibility of an owners' lockout in 2011.

The NFL has not had a work stoppage since 1987, when an ill-fated union strike resulted in three regular-season games being played by "replacement players" before the union broke ranks.

Upshaw took over as the NFLPA executive director and decertified the union, which led to an anti-trust lawsuit that the players won in federal court. That ultimately led to the breakthrough 1993 labor agreement which led to unrestricted free agency for players and a salary cap.

Upshaw has told his player ranks that decertification is again a possibility, along with other options, although the union is not inclined to strike because football careers are relatively brief.

Chris Mortensen is an NFL reporter for ESPN.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3399645

[Lord Avalon]

NFL owners vote unanimously to opt out of labor deal

ATLANTA -- The NFL officially notified its players union on Tuesday that it will opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, which could lead to a season without a salary cap in 2010 and a possible lockout in 2011.

Owners voted unanimously Tuesday morning to opt out of the deal, which was extended in March, 2006. The NFL had until November to opt out of the deal, but decided to do it early instead of waiting for the deadline.

"A collective bargaining agreement has to work for both sides," the NFL said Tuesday morning. "If the agreement provides inadequate incentives to invest in the future, it will not work for management or labor. And, in the context of a professional sports league, if the agreement does not afford all clubs an opportunity to be competitive, the league can lose its appeal."

According to the NFL, clubs are obligated by the collective bargaining agreement with the National Football League Players Association to spent almost $4.5 billion on players costs in 2008. Players received around 60 percent of league revenues. Growing costs of stadium construction and operations also figured into Tuesday's decision.

"The current labor agreement does not adequately recognize the cost of generating the revenues of which the players receive the largest shares; nor does the agreement recognize that those costs have increased substantially -- and at an ever increasing rate -- in recent years during a difficult economic climate in our country," the NFL said.

NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw had been anticipating the early termination of the agreement. He met with owners two weeks ago and from that meeting, he asked for audited financial reports from owners to document their economic problems.

"Roger [Goodell] e-mailed me this morning told me they had a unanimous agreement to terminate the deal," Upshaw told ESPN's Chris Mortensen. "My response back to him? 'What a surprise.'

"It was exactly what we expected. I'm glad they did it now because we knew it was coming," Upshaw said. "But this is no surprise and the process will move forward. We'll have more to talk about later."

There will be a salary cap in 2008 and 2009. The league said it will continue negotiations with the union.

"We are resolved to do our best to achieve a fair agreement that will allow labor peace to continue through and beyond the 2011 season," the league said Tuesday.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3404596

[SlowwHand]

This should get interesting.

[-Jrabbit]

Labor contract negotiations for major league sports are far from interesting.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Its amusing because the NFL probably has the best labor deal of any of the three major sports (from the POV of the owners).