Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles / Image: Zuma Press

What’s even more interesting about Michael’s return is the state of the quarterback situation in Philly. Starter Donovan McNabb is nursing a broken rib and the team signed Jeff Garcia as a backup. With Kevin Kolb expected to start this weekend against New Orleans, there’s plenty of ammo for a full blown quarterback controversy before too long.

Source: PhiladelphiaEagles.com

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Michael Vick Added to Eagles Roster

As far as free agent QBs are concerned, I was very surprised to see Jeff continue unemployed this far into the offseason. I mean, last season he had 2,712 yards passing, a 90.2 rating and 12 touchdowns to just six interceptions. Those are impressive numbers. But with no better offer on the table yet, this was a no-brainer for Jeff. And after what has been a very long and productive 15-year career (Calgary-CFL, 49ers, Browns, Lions, Eagles, Bucs), he returns home to most likely finish his NFL playing days (he’s a native of Gilroy, CA). Yes, you can call him an old journeyman, but in the right offense with a clean bill of health, he can still be a very effective quarterback.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Oakland Raiders Sign Jeff Garcia

The Minnesota Vikings defensive line — and the strength of their entire team (sorry Adrian) — is in jeopardy of being completely dismantled. Defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams are scheduled to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell tomorrow to discuss testing positive for a weight-loss diuretic (aka StarCaps) that is on the list of substances banned by the league. They’re both looking at possible four-game suspensions. And defensive end Jared Allen will also meet with Commissioner Goodell to talk about his recent questionable hits on quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (Packers) and Matt Schaub (Texans). He’s facing possible suspension time. To make matters worse, the Vikes other starting defensive end, Ray Edwards, will most certainly be fined this week and possibly suspended (eventually) for a blatant late hit on Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia yesterday.

If any combination of the aforementioned happens (especially Williams, Williams and Allen), the Vikings defense will be severely hindered and any hopes of a division crown (they’re tied for the NFC North lead right now) and subsequent playoff berth will be all but finished. Vikings fans are hoping Commissioner Goodell is in a good mood tomorrow.

Source: NFL.com

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Vikings Defensive Line in Trouble?

When you run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense, you’re supposed to win football games. It’s a tried-and-true recipe for success in the National Football League. The Minnesota Vikings have been very good at both over the past couple seasons, but their record would not indicate that. After this afternoon’s heartbreaking 18-15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts to start this 2008 season 0-2, Vikings fans are exasperated. And the team isn’t very happy, either. So what’s the problem? Let’s spread the blame around:

• Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has not developed into the player the Vikings had hoped he would. The team traded up to get him in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft and thus far — uggh. Head coach Brad Childress keeps preaching progress (progress that has not been very evident to me) with Tarvaris. I used to think he had unlimited potential, but I’m beginning to wonder if his days as an NFL quarterback are numbered.
• Maybe Tarvaris should complain to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and coach Childress that they aren’t putting him in the best position to succeed. The team is calling plays like they don’t have any confidence in their quarterback. And they don’t. It’s no big secret. The Vikings are completely one-dimensional. Against the Colts, Adrian Peterson ran the ball 29 times. While he’s certainly built to handle that kind of workload at this stage of his career, teams will eventually load up the box to stop the run knowing full well the Vikings can’t beat anyone through the air.
• Dropped passes (especially in the endzone) don’t help matters. Whether it’s Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice or Visanthe Shiancoe, throwing and catching are the basics the Vikings haven’t mastered yet. Tarvaris isn’t always on the money. When he is, his receivers need to receive.

Here’s a wild idea. Jeff Garcia is on the hot seat in Tampa (even if Bucs head coach Jon Gruden says otherwise). I think the Vikings should cut their losses with Tarvaris, salvage what’s left of this season before it’s too late and trade a low round Draft pick for a guy they know can run their West Coast system. One could just argue for backup Gus Frerotte. But Jeff Garcia could be the guy. Maybe Tarvaris and the Vikes will somehow find a way to successfully coexist. But is it worth sacrificing more games or maybe another season for?

Source: NFL.com

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Feeling Minnesota: Who’s to Blame?

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Jon Gruden has the quarterbacks. He might as well use them. Coach Gruden named Brian Griese the team’s starting QB for this weekend’s game against the Atlanta Falcons:

“We’re going to start Brian Griese in the game (against Atlanta). It’s just my opinion, and we’ve talked about it a lot with our coaches, (that) Jeff right now is not himself. We’re going to give him a week off and try to get him ready to go. Brian Griese’s a guy that’s had a good training camp. We’re going to give Brian the ball and we’ll rally around him. Hopefully Jeff can get back ready to roll soon.”

He said he wants to give Jeff Garcia time to heal from his recent string of injuries, but I really think it comes down to winning. And Jeff (24-of-41 passing, 221 yards, one touchdown, one interception) didn’t do that on Kickoff Weekend last Sunday in a loss to the Saints. I was impressed from what I saw of Brian Griese’s preseason performances. The team ran like a well-oiled machine with Brian at the helm. We’ll see if he can translate that into a regular season win. If yes, I expect Jeff Garcia will be given longer than one week to recuperate.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom

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Brian Griese Named Starting QB for Bucs

Rumors are heating up over Brett Favre’s potential trade to the Tampa Bay Bucs. But keep in mind these are merely rumors and with the way this whole Brett Favre “unretirement” fiasco has gone, I’m not taking anything I hear — from any source — as the next great possibility to end this slow motion train wreck that has been the divorce of Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. Brett and his wife Deanna left Green Bay today and Brett’s agent, James “Bus” Cook, confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the Bucs and Jets were emerging as the most likely trade destinations for Brett.

In Tampa, Bucs head coach Jon Gruden didn’t have anything to say specifically about Brett, but stated:

“When you’re the coach and you’re a quarterback in this league, there is speculation about you, there’s speculation about me, there’s speculation about all of us. Our number one objective is to win and we’ll do anything we can to get the best football team we can. That’s all I can say. That’s something that will not change. We feel like we have a very good work ethic. We are a good football team and we’re trying to become a great one. We’ll do anything we can to get better, and if that involves looking at other players — by George, that’s our job. That’s our responsibility.”

You can bet if Brett is traded to the Bucs, the first players to get their walking papers will be QBs Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms and probably Brian Griese. But if it’s going to happen, it better be soon. Brett has a new playbook to learn.

Source: ESPN NFL Nation, ESPN.com

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Brett Favre to Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

The Tampa Bay Bucs collect quarterbacks like football cards. It seems to be something of a hobby for head coach Jon Gruden. In taking a look at the Bucs’ current roster with the release of Bruce Gradkowski a couple days ago, there are now six QBs listed — Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Josh Johnson, Luke McCown, Jake Plummer and Chris Simms. The team will probably keep three. So who gets the ax next? Well, Jake Plummer is semi-retired and hasn’t played since 2006. He’s a good candidate. But Chris Simms recently told the Bucs he no longer feels he is part of their future and asked to be released or traded. The Bucs have been slow to accommodate because they aren’t sure, after months of inactivity, what his trade value is. Or whether he still has value to them.

Chris is definitely a keeper among this group, but he’s obviously unhappy with a second- or more likely third-string role. And I can’t say that I blame him. I think Chris has plenty of potential to flourish with another organization and I hope he gets that chance.

Sources: Buccaneers.com, Tampa Bay Online, Photo: Newscom

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Chris Simms Wants Out of Tampa Bay

I don’t really know what to make of the Pro Bowl anymore. My email inbox was so flooded with Pro Bowl alternate announcements last month, I lost track of them all. I guess I had better things to think about — like the Super Bowl. But I can tell you there are 41 first-timers in Hawaii for the practices/vacation and game tomorrow. That’s the most since the year 2000 when there were 44. I realize it’s mostly due to injury that a player would not participate in this event after being awarded with Pro Bowl recognition, but it makes the game less than what it could be. I would’ve liked to have seen Tom Brady vs. Brett Favre. In their places — Derek Anderson and Jeff Garcia. I realize these guys are excellent QBs, but this game does not feature the “best-of-the-best” anymore. The list goes on. I’ll watch the game but I really could care less.

An interesting Pro Bowl factoid: The N.Y. Giants won the Super Bowl and have one Pro Bowler in Hawaii — Osi Umenyiora. The Dallas Cowboys have 12 players there. What’s wrong with this picture?

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First-Timers, Alternates Fill Pro Bowl Rosters

Buffalo Bills TE Kevin Everett is just one of many fantastic stories of courage and achievement that make up the 2007 class of The Ed Block Courage Awards.

It’s well-known that Kevin suffered a spinal cord injury covering a kickoff in the Bills’ season opener against the Broncos. The injury was life-threatening, but the outstanding work of the Bills’ training staff and team doctors saved his life. Kevin was told that he may never walk again. Through hard work and determination not only was he able to walk again, he was able to visit his teammates in Buffalo before their last home game of the year against the New York Giants.

Kevin is just one of many great stories of courage in this year’s class. Baltimore Ravens CB Samari Rolle gathered the courage to return to the football field after being diagnosed with epilepsy. Detroit Lions RB Kevin Jones was honored by his teammates for returning to action after suffering a season ending foot injury. When Kevin spoke at the Lions Courage House dinner, he told the crowd of a different hero. His stepfather, who had the courage to take-in Kevin, his brothers and sisters, and his mom when he was young. And how his real father was shot and killed when he was eight years old.

This year’s class also boasts three playoff quarterbacks. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, Tampa Bay’s Jeff Garcia, and Seattle Seahawks back-up QB Seneca Wallace will all represent their teams. Listed below are all the 2007 winners:

• Arizona Cardinals, Bertrand Berry
• Atlanta Falcons, Alge Crumpler
• Baltimore Ravens, Samari Rolle
• Buffalo Bills, Kevin Everett
• Carolina Panthers, Mike Rucker
• Chicago Bears, Tommie Harris
• Cincinnati Bengals, Reggie Kelly
• Cleveland Browns, Gary Baxter
• Dallas Cowboys, Jay Ratliff
• Denver Broncos, John Engleberger
• Detroit Lions, Kevin Jones
• Green Bay Packers, Chris Francies
• Houston Texans, Anthony Weaver
• Indianapolis Colts, Ryan Lilja
• Jacksonville Jaguars, Greg Jones
• Kansas City Chiefs, Eddie Kennison
• Miami Dolphins, Andre Goodman
• Minnesota Vikings, Chad Greenway
• New England Patriots, Steve Neal
• New Orleans Saints, Roman Harper
• New York Giants, Amani Toomer
• New York Jets, Laveranues Coles
• Oakland Raiders, Justin Fargas
• Philadelphia Eagles, Montae Reagor
• Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger
• San Diego Chargers, Darren Sproles
• San Francisco 49ers, Eric Heitmann
• Seattle Seahawks, Seneca Wallace
• St. Louis Rams, Dane Looker
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jeff Garcia
• Tennessee Titans, David Thornton
• Washington Redskins, Marcus Washington

I’ll be posting more on these stories here at EMQB and talking with some of the players for the BPR NFL Podcast leading up to the award ceremony March 11. In the meantime, check out my interview with Cleveland Browns DB Gary Baxter.

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Kevin Everett Highlights Courage Awards

If you’re a Raven fan, you’re left wondering how you lose perhaps your best player. Of all the stars on that team’s defense last season, I would claim Adalius Thomas and Ed Reed as my most valuable players. Adalius Thomas would have certainly been a priority in my off-season plans. Other important free agent signings included:

• The scrappy Jeff Garcia, signed by the Bucs, will try to pick up where he left off in Philadelphia. The Eagles took their chances that Donovan McNabb will be back at 100% and let Garcia go to Tampa where he will compete for the starting job alongside Chris Simms and maybe Jake Plummer if he doesn’t retire. The Bucs obtained the rights to Plummer from Denver.
• Fred Smoot is on his way back to Washington after two tumultuous seasons in Minnesota. Smoot had off-the-field issues, a variety of injuries on it, and eventually lost his starting spot alongside Antoine Winfield to rookie Cedric Griffin. The Vikes weren’t too upset about letting him go.

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Patriots Sign Adalius Thomas