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Podcast: Eli Manning on Peyton

Matt Mosley — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 16:07:32 EDT

New York Giants QB Eli Manning talks about how he and his family are feeling leading up to this year's Super Bowl. Plus, he talks about the strengths of his brother, Peyton, as the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts.

The scout who fought for Emmitt

Matt Mosley — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 15:40:50 EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- One of the most famous scouting reports in the history of the Dallas Cowboys organization went missing several years ago, but there are eyewitnesses who remember the final line. It was written by former Cowboys southeast area scout Walt Yaworsky, a man who played center for Bear Bryant at Kentucky before a career in the pros.

"Emmitt Smith will someday make Cowboys fans forget about Tony Dorsett," read the final line of Yaworsky's report, according to a couple scouts who asked not to be identified in this story.

The statement sounds plausible in the aftermath of Smith's illustrious career, but it raised eyebrows at Valley Ranch in 1990. Yaworsky, not a man to mince words, was prepared to stake his reputation to the 5-9, 210-pound running back out of Florida. Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, a man highly regarded for recognizing talent, made it no secret that he hoped to draft Baylor linebacker James Francis. Johnson was reportedly prepared to move all the way up from No. 21 to No. 13 to select Francis, but the Bengals foiled his plans by picking him at No. 12.

The Cowboys eventually moved up to No. 17 and considered a group of players that included Rodney Hampton, Steve Broussard, Darrell Thompson and Smith. Yaworsky, who was also instrumental in scouting Michael Irvin, was adamant that Smith was the right player to replace Herschel Walker, who had been traded to the Vikings six months earlier. Described by those who knew him best as an "Archie Bunker type personality," Yaworsky said to hell with 40-yard dash times and informed Johnson and Jerry Jones that Smith had the best vision of any running back he'd ever scouted.

I finally tracked down Yaworsky in Cleveland, Tenn., on Wednesday. He was very modest about his role in the process and kept deferring to "the talented coaches from Miami" in reference to Johnson and his staff.

"He was unique because he wasn't real tall," Yaworsky finally said after some coaxing. "I thought he was in Jimmy Brown's class from the start. He just had this peripheral vision and he seemed to know exactly where his linemen were going to be without ever having to take a peek."

Yaworsky thought Smith was the perfect type of back because most of his weight was in the lower body and he did a superb job of keeping his pad level low. Smith had an uncanny knack for making his body go limp at the moment of impact so that he never took a lot of clean shots. Old-school scouts such as Yaworsky knew that 40-yard dash times, while instructive, shouldn't define players.

Smith never ran better than a 4.5 40-yard dash, but it was his ability to change direction on a dime without losing speed that made him so special. Football isn't played on a straight line and that's why it's not a given that a 4.3 40-yard dash will translate to great rushing numbers.

I'm not even sure if Smith himself knows how much Yaworsky fought for him leading up to the draft. Time has a way of obscuring the facts and that's why you'll hear other scouts' names come up in relation to Smith. But the guys who looked at that old report know the truth. On Saturday here in Fort Lauderdale, it's pretty much a given that Smith will be voted into the Hall of Fame. He and Jerry Rice are virtual locks.

Before I hung up the phone Wednesday, I asked Yaworsky if he ever wondered what happened to that report. Maybe it might be worth something.

"Oh I cleaned out the garage a while back," he said. "So that probably rules out any hope of it surfacing."

The logo for Super Bowl XLV has arrived

Matt Mosley — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 14:02:12 EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The North Texas Super Bowl Committee and the NFL unveiled the logo for Super Bowl XLV on Thursday morning. And the least surprising aspect of the design was the prominence of Jerry Jones' $1.1 billion stadium.

"It's a unique mixture of icons that represents what this whole thing is all about. It's well done," said Bill Lively, the President and CEO of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host committee. "We've approached our mission not just for 45 but for many, many [Super Bowl] games to come."

The Beast blog will be heading out this evening with the North Texas Super Bowl Committee, which is headlined by Hall of Famer Roger Staubach. I'll file a full report Friday.

Eagles hire Savage as consultant

Matt Mosley — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 13:46:03 EDT

New Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has been busy overhauling the club's scouting department this week. On Thursday, Philadelphia hired former Browns general manager Phil Savage as a player personnel consultant. And apparently Savage has already been on the job.

"I’ve always admired the work Phil Savage has done,” Roseman said in a statement. “And after spending time with him this past year, I realized how well we could work together. Phil is an excellent talent evaluator and having an extra set of eyes for us to utilize will definitely help our scouting staff as we prepare for the draft. He’s spent time working on the 2010 draft class already, so [player personnel director] Ryan [Grigson] and I thought it is was a slam dunk when the opportunity was there for us to add him to our staff.”

Added Savage: "This is a great opportunity for me to get back in the NFL. I’m really excited about the role the Eagles have afforded me and I’m ready to help Howie and the rest of their scouting staff in the best way I possibly can."

Savage, 44, spent nine seasons with the Ravens before joining the Browns. He was the toast of the town in Cleveland after landing quarterback Brady Quinn via a draft-day trade, but things soured in a hurry. He'll bring some much-needed experience to a scouting staff that is now led by the 34-year-old Roseman.

Cowboys should part ways with Anderson

Matt Mosley — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 10:31:13 EDT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Just when you thought Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had chased off the troublemakers at Valley Ranch, starting fullback Deon Anderson has been charged with misdemeanor deadly conduct for allegedly pulling a gun during a dispute at a Dallas area restaurant early Tuesday morning.

Anderson

Anderson was actually arrested at the scene over traffic warrants issued by the city of Irving, Texas, but the gun charge obviously takes this situation to a different level. A restaurant employee who filed a criminal complaint said Anderson retrieved a handgun from his car and threatened him with it, according to the police report. Police who were called to the scene of the disturbance retrieved a gun from some nearby shrubs and discovered it was loaded with a round chambered.

Anderson told ESPNDallas.com on Tuesday that his car wouldn't start after using the restauraunt's valet service and he wanted to know why. He said he did not put his hands on anyone and did not use profanity. But from the sound of these allegations, whether or not Anderson used foul language is the least of his worries.

I think the Cowboys should move quickly to cut Anderson. No matter how this ends up in the judicial system, it appears that Anderson used extremely poor judgment. He faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

Osi says he'll retire before he sits

Matt Mosley — Thu, 4 Feb 2010 08:56:48 EDT

All had been quiet on the Osi Umenyiora front -- until he appeared on New York's WFAN radio Wednesday. Umenyiora told Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts that he was enduring the worst offseason of his life and that he vowed to take extreme measures if he's not back in the starting lineup in 2010.

"I’m not going to be a backup player, I can promise you that,” Umenyiora said. “I’ll stop playing football before I do that ever again. This has been just the worst offseason of my entire life. I can’t even think of a time when things were this bad during the offseason. You’re supposed to be relaxing, but I can’t relax because all I can think of is the things that took place last season. So for me, it’s not something that I’m going to do. And if I’m asked to come back there and do that then I’ll just stop playing football.”

For the record, I don't think Umenyiora's posturing is helping his cause. Like several Giants defenders, Umenyiora wasn't playing up to his potential in '09 and coach Tom Coughlin decided to bench him. It's pretty obvious that the coach was attempting to send the rest of the team a message with his willingness to take a star player off the field. Umenyiora's pride was injured in the process and he continues to nurse his wounds in a very public manner.

I don't think the Giants have any intention of trading Umenyiora. New defensive coordinator Perry Fewell will sit down with him at some point and let him know how important he is to the defense. Jeremy Shockey was willing to pretty much make a nuisance of himself on the way out of town a couple years ago.

That's not in Umenyiora's nature to make a spectacle of himself. In fact, I think you'll see him back off these comments pretty quickly. Here's what he said when the guys from WFAN asked if his time with the Giants might be coming to an end:

"Did it go through my mind? Obviously, yes,” said Umenyiora. “Obviously, you come through a situation where you’ve been here for a long time and you’ve won a Super Bowl, you’ve been to the Pro Bowl a couple of times and then things like that start happening, you start being benched and they say you’re coming in on the third-down rush. It almost seemed as if the writing was on the wall at that particular time. I felt like I had worn out my welcome, because once teams start doing things like that, it seems like you’ve obviously worn out your welcome. For certain people, no matter what happens, they’ll never take them out of the lineup. ... But you never know, man. I hope it’s not. I hope things can be rectified and things can be resolved. But we’ll see."

Eagles make Jauron hire official

Matt Mosley — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 14:58:35 EDT

The Philadelphia Eagles announced Wednesday that Dick Jauron will be a senior assistant/defensive backs coach for the club. The story was first reported by NFL.com, but the Eagles didn't confirm it until this afternoon.

“Long before he became a defensive coordinator and head coach in this league, Dick Jauron was considered to be one of, if not the best defensive backs coaches in the game,” said coach Andy Reid in a press release. “We welcome his experience and knowledge of the game and look forward to adding him to our defensive coaching staff."

Added defensive coordinator Sean McDermott: “First and foremost, Dick Jauron is a person with tremendous integrity and his football background speaks for itself. I’m excited about his addition to the team and look forward to utilizing his experiences in the way of adding value to our defensive staff.”

Jauron has coached in the NFL for 25 years, including 10 years as a head coach at three different stops. He and Reid coached together with the Packers from 1992-94.

He's obviously overqualified to be a secondary coach, but I still think he'll be an excellent fit. He'll provide McDermott with an excellent sounding board and he should work well with the Eagles mix of veteran and young defensive backs.

Brian Stewart did a nice job with the secondary under some tough circumstances but he had higher aspirations. Jauron's days of being a head coach are likely behind him. But he definitely has a chance to be a valuable assistant.

Podcast: Ex-Cowboy D. Johnston; Steelers' Swann

Matt Mosley — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 14:01:58 EDT

Former Dallas Cowboy Daryl Johnston talks about what the Saints offense is going to do on the ground against Indianapolis, why Saints running back Reggie Bush has improved recently and why the Saints have to force turnovers to be successful.

Hall of Famer Lynn Swann reminisces about the great plays he made over his career.

Video: Burress vows to play again

Matt Mosley — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 13:21:51 EDT

John Clayton doesn't like Plaxico Burress' chances of playing in the NFL again.

The plot thickens with Vick

Matt Mosley — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 12:08:03 EDT

In the great Philadelphia Eagles quarterback debate, the one thing most of us have essentially taken for granted is that Michael Vick won't be on the roster in 2010. The Eagles hold a $5.25 million team option on Vick for 2010, but it's hard to imagine committing that type of cash to a Wildcat quarterback/local humanitarian.

Vick has been pretty clear about his desire to start in the NFL next season, so it's not like he's clamoring for another opportunity to serve as Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb's backup. In fact, he told the Dan Patrick radio show Monday that he considered himself a "top 10" quarterback in the league.

But on Tuesday, the ubiquitous former scout Michael Lombardi said on NFL Network that the Eagles would like for Vick to return in 2010 and that they've already started to expand his role in the offense.

"They have no intention this offseason of trading Michael Vick," said Lombardi. "Many people around the league feel like that's a lot of false bravado, [and] they're going to release him, because he has a [$1.5 million] roster bonus due in March. Not the case."

This of course flies in the face of previous reports out of Philly that Andy Reid has already informed Vick the club plans to trade him. No matter what the organization is saying, it's hard to imagine the Eagles paying $5.25 million to a role player. And even with an expanded role (six to 10 plays per game), I don't see Vick making some huge impact in 2010. Reid has a hard enough time remembering to mix in an occasional running play. Trying to allot 10 plays per game to the Vick project seems like too much to ask.

The Eagles simply need a team such as the Rams to get overly excited about Vick's potential and give up a decent draft pick. I've never for one minute thought the Eagles were going to bring Vick back in 2010 -- and that thought hasn't changed.

Vick was apparently the consummate teammate in his return to the league. But we're talking about a former superstar who appears to have some tread left on his tires. Do you think he's going to embrace being a backup in 2010 as well as he did in '09? Yeah, I don't either.