tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

NFL News

News on the status of talks between the NFL and the players has more twists and turns than a road up in the Smokey Mountains.  There had been considerable talk that an agreement will be reached by next Tuesday.  Drew Brees came out and said that they were working on small points and that they were real close.  But NFL.com reported last night that the talks were far from ending and that core issues had still not been resolved.  As we get closer to the dates for when training camps were suppose to open, both the players and the owners are getting antsy.  Peyton Manning and Tom Brady both came out saying that a deal needs to get done.  It will be interesting over the next couple of weeks to see what happens.

James Harrison is at it again.  Yesterday he called out Commissioner Roger Goodell calling him a punk, a puppet and used a homophobic slur.  He went on to say that if Goodell was on fire he wouldn't p*%s on him to put it out.  Harrison didn't stop there as he went after Ben Roethlisberger calling him out for the 2 interceptions Big Ben threw in the Super Bowl and to quit thinking he was Peyton Manning even though he's paid like Manning.  These gems from Mr. Harrison came from an article in a magazine in which Harrison posed shirtless with a gun in both hands.  Great image James.  It's jerks like Harrison that gets me aggravated with the NFL.  Harrison is a thug plain and simple.  Being critical of Goodell is one thing but do you have to sound like a jerk doing it.  As far as crticizing a teammate, it's totally uncalled for.  Curious to see what the Steelers do about this.

Plaxico Burress says that he would be interested in signing with the Chicago Bears.  Burress had a lot of nice things to say about Jay Cutler and would look forward to playing with him.  Burress is a big playmaking receiver that would help the Bears.  However, reports out of Chicago indicate that if the Bears had interest, Burress would have to agree to a significantly lower contract than the one that he had with the Giants.  Not sure about this one.  There's a part of me as seeing this could be a good thing for the Bears.  On the other hand, not sure about Burress' character issues.  Tough call here but maybe a short-term incentive laden contract might be the answer.

If and when this lockout gets settled, the free agent frenzy is going to be fun to watch.  It will be interesting to see where certain players end up and what will be the time frame for when free agents must be signed.  A lot of uncertainty.  Thank you NFL owners and Roger Goodell.