2005 NFL Training Camp And Pre-Season Games

[connoisseur series500]

SoulStation, don't worry about the Steelers.  Our guys will be back for the regular season.  We're going to win the division again and then be playing long into January.

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Steelers should be favored to win their dlivision, but the Ravens will give them some trouble this year.

Steel Curtain defence looks as tough as ever, but the lack of offence is going to cost them this year.

As a Pat fan, I believe the Colts will pose us the greatest challenge. If the Steelers had a better offence, I'd put them there as well. Jax is on the way up too; but I think the Colts will be our greatest threat.

[Soulstation1]

anyone see the ending of the browns/lions game?

the lions tried the old "cal-stanford" trick and the browns picked it off and ran it in for a game ending td

Edited August 22, 2005 by Soulstation1

[Aggie87]

Ricky Talks About Marijuana, Mighty Mouse

DAVIE, Fla. (AP) -- Marijuana's out, and so is military service, although President Bush is nice. Football is hard work but could become fun and leads to freedom. Shaving is vain, money's not a problem and that Mighty Mouse tattoo on the left arm stirs memories of walking Venice Beach with a girl at age 16.

Ricky Williams may have set an NFL record Wednesday for most topics tackled in a 15-minute interview. He smiled frequently during his weekly media session, an indication that all is well in Williams' universe, which makes the Miami Dolphins happy.

"I was sitting at home last night and thinking if there was anywhere in the world I'd rather be or anything I'd rather be doing," he said. "And the answer was there was nothing.

"I've gotten to a point where I realize that happiness doesn't come from the outside. So whether I was back in California or had $10 million or whatever I was doing, it wouldn't make me any happier than I am now."

Motivated at least partly by the need for a paycheck, the 2002 NFL rushing champion ended his one-year retirement and rejoined the Dolphins on July 25.

Williams has rushed for only 56 yards in three exhibition games, and because he must sit out the first four regular-season games for violating the NFL substance abuse policy, it'll be nearly eight weeks before he plays when it counts. Maybe that's why few of the questions at his interview session involved football.

Another factor in the wide range of subjects was the presence of a 60 Minutes camera crew and Mike Wallace, who did a story on Williams late last year. This time Williams declined a one-on-one interview with CBS, so Wallace took part in a group session with a roomful of reporters and cameramen.

Wallace had to ask Williams how to pronounce Dolphins coach Nick Saban's name, but did inspire expansive comments from the mercurial running back, such as on the subject of Bush.

"When I was in school, at the time he was the governor of Texas," said Williams, who won the 1998 Heisman Trophy at the University of Texas. "Sometimes he would work out in our weight room. I had a chance to talk to him a couple of times. I was lifting, he was just riding a bike. I think he's a nice person."

The interview had the flow of a Dolphins offensive series, meaning it proceeded fitfully, but Williams moved gamely from topic to topic:

• He said he doesn't miss marijuana.

"I can't do that anymore. I get tested twice a week."

• He owes the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract by retiring last year, but said he doesn't know his financial situation.

"I have no idea. The way I live my life, if I have a place to stay and I have food on the table, I'm not broke."

• He said he doesn't think about the war in Iraq and won't join the military.

"There's a war outside, but I think there's also a war inside all of us. When you talk about world peace and people doing all these things for peace, and they want peace and want to be treated fairly, I think it really starts with yourself and looking for the peace inside yourself. When each of us can do that, then the peace spreads outward."

• He said he's not having fun since returning to football, but doesn't mind.

"You look across from fun and you see work. The fun is the result of hard work. If you work hard you get to the fun. ... The process of coming to work every day gives me more and more freedom."

• Teammates tease him about his scruffy beard, saying he looks homeless, but he sees no reason to shave.

"Some people have a job, some people's wives don't like it, some people are uncomfortable with it. But I don't have a reason to shave."

• His first tattoo was Mighty Mouse in green and gold, his San Diego high school's colors.

"I was at Venice Beach with my girlfriend at the time, and I said it would be cool to get a tattoo. The way I look at them, they're somewhat of a map. You see a tattoo, and you think back to a time in your life."

Mike Ditka and Dave Wannstedt invested heavily in Williams, and both are now out of the NFL, earning him a reputation as a coach killer. But he has hit it off with Saban, who said Williams' work ethic ranks with the best on the team.

Saban also said he respects Williams' enigmatic views.

"With differences in people and personalities, I don't think we're in a business where one size fits all," Saban said. "In this day and age, your ability to get different kinds of people to play well together and develop chemistry and enjoy what they're doing is probably a key to being successful."

[Soulstation1]

TO's first catch of the pre-season goes for a 64 yard td

TO has over 120 yards in the first half

PAY TO

[LennyH]

TO's first catch of the pre-season goes for a 64 yard td

TO has over 120 yards in the first half

PAY TO

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They already paid him. As you know, he's in the 2nd year of a 7 year contract. When his agent spouts off about how TO's salary this year isn't in the top 10 receivers in the league, he conveniently forgets about the $7.5 mil bonus that TO would get at the end of this year.

The Eagles won't pay. I believe that at the end of this year, they'll part ways. And TO can kiss the $7.5 mil bonus goodbye.

[nmorin]

NFC North

I think my Packers will be, if not bad, unimpressive this year. Favre's improvisation, arm strength, and willingness to take chances will win the Pack a few games that they shouldn't, but it will cost them a couple games, too. Ahman Green is a fine runner, but he's still a fumbling machine (three times so far in preseason, for God's sake!). Their defense just plain sucked last year, and does not appear to be better this year.

Minnesota, despite losing Moss, made some nice acquisitions and should win the division; Detroit should be better, and will likely give the Pack a run for second. The Bears will suck again.

Minnesota should be the only team in the division that makes the playoffs.

Edited August 28, 2005 by nmorin

[Soulstation1]

besides urlacher does anyone have any sort of defense in the nfc north?

favre will be in for a long season

Edited August 28, 2005 by Soulstation1

[nmorin]

besides urlacher does anyone have any sort of defense in the nfc north?

favre will be in for a long season

←

Detroit has a good D-line, I think. Other than that, the Bears are it for defense in the NFC North, that is true. But the Vikes and the Pack, and this year maybe the Lions, have enough offense to cover for their defenses--enough for the Vikes to win the division (probably) and for the Pack and the Lions to be maybe a touch above .500 this year.

[connoisseur series500]

besides urlacher does anyone have any sort of defense in the nfc north?

favre will be in for a long season

←

Detroit has a good D-line, I think. Other than that, the Bears are it for defense in the NFC North, that is true. But the Vikes and the Pack, and this year maybe the Lions, have enough offense to cover for their defenses--enough for the Vikes to win the division (probably) and for the Pack and the Lions to be maybe a touch above .500 this year.

←

Detroit also has good linebackers. It's the secondary which needs to be tested.

I think Detroit should surprise this season.

[Aggie87]

After 3 preseason games, I can say I am really liking Dallas' defense. And that D is still without Jason Ferguson and 1st rd pick Marcus Spears. I think they'll only get better. Terence Newman seems to be back, Roy Williams is HITTING people again too. Alot of the rookies on defense will make significant contributions this year i think - esp. Demarcus Ware, but also Burnett & Canty.

However, the offense is going to be a concern again this year. I don't think the offense line will give Bledsoe enough time to get his passes off. Bledsoe's not mobile at all at this point, if he ever really was. And it doesn't look like he's established much of a rapport with Keyshawn, or any other receiver not named Terry Glenn for that matter.

They might almost be better off with Tony Romo back there...at least he can run around a bit. And he seems to be settling down and playing pretty well, too. Drew Henson hasn't shown anything to the coaches to show that he's ready to be a player yet.

[Soulstation1]

fantasy fb league draft tonight

[Soulstation1]

i picked the #1 pick out of the hat last night

my new # 1 running back

my team

qb jake delhomme

qb chad pennington

rb ld thomlinson

rb domnick davis

rb mike anderson

rb stephan davis

wr torry holt

wr reggie wayne

wr anquin bouldin

wr donald driver

k mike vanderjaht

k josh reed

d carolina

d bucs

ir todd heap

i am weak in qbs on my team

my other team, i own 50 % and is a very strong team

qb peyton

qb david carr

rb rudi johnson

rb lee suggs ( i gotta have a browns player)

rb duce staley

rb kevan barlow

wr marvin harrison (we have a deadly duo, with marv and pey-dawg)

wr tony gonzalez

wr nate burleson

wr jerry porter ( could be a big year with moss on the other side)

k david akers

k jeff wilkens

d ravens

d cowgirlzzzz

ir larry johnson (had a 90+ yard td run over the weekend and priest will get hurt)

what do you think of my teams??

i should have 1 more draft on wednesday

Edited August 29, 2005 by Soulstation1

[Aggie87]

Cowboys signed WR Peerless Price to a 1 yr deal today. Hopefully getting away from the Falcons will allow a return of his solid #2 WR skills that Atlanta never saw.

Looks like this means the end of Quincy Morgan's time in Dallas. He's the guy they traded away Antonio Bryant to the Browns for. Bryant is apparently the #1 WR in Cleveland this year, and Morgan couldn't make the top 4 for the Cowboys.

I think the biggest question left in Dallas is how the O-Line will perform. That will make or break Dallas' season, what with the Statue of Bledsoe playing QB. If they give him time, Cowboys will be a solid playoff contender. Their D is gonna be VERY good again this year.

[Soulstation1]

the browns finished 3-1

[Shawn]

Seattle grabbed up Peter Warrick the second he became available after being released by the Bengals. Good move.

After trimming down to 53 players, the Hawks kept 7 Wide Receivers on their roster!

Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram, Peter Warrick, Joe Jurevicius, D.J. Hackett, Jerheme Urban, Alex Bannister (punt returner).

I have this strange feeling they are going to be throwing the ball this year.

[Shawn]

Speaking of the Bengals..don't count 'em out...they are my "sleeper" pick this year....

Edited September 5, 2005 by Shawn

[Noj]

The Raiders begin the season playing the Pats, Chiefs, and Eagles. Gee, thanks NFL.

An 0-3 start would make a playoff run unlikely. With Oakland's defense...well, the offense better score 40 points a game.

[Soulstation1]

if you ain't down with the browns

then you ain't nothin'

[Soulstation1]

anyone want to do a weekly pool for fun?

pick the winners for all the games

tie breaker is total points on the monday night game

WEEK # 01

___ OAKLAND @ NEW ENGLAND __

___ CHICAGO @ WASHINGTON ___

___ CINCINNATI @ CLEVELAND___

___ DENVER @ MIAMI ___

___ HOUSTON @ BUFFALO ___

___ NEW ORLEANS @ CAROLINA ___

___ NY JETS @ KANSAS CITY ___

___ SEATTLE @ JACKSONVILLE ___

___ TAMPA BAY @ MINNESOTA ___

___ TENNESSEE @ PITTSBURGH ___

___ ARIZONA @ NY GIANTS___

___ DALLAS @ SAN DIEGO ___

___ GREEN BAY @ DETROIT ___

___ ST LOUIS @ SAN FRANCISCO ___

___ INDIANAPOLIS @ BALTIMORE ___

MONDAY NIGHT GAME

___ PHILADELPHIA @ ATLANTA __

TIE BREAKER

MONDAY NIGHT GAME TOTAL COMBINED POINTS

____ NO ½ POINTS

IF EVEYONE IS OVER THE POINT TOTAL, THAN CLOSEST OF ALL THE OVER PICKS, WINS

[Soulstation1]

jerry rice is retiring

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2152365

he should sign with s/f for one day and retire a niner

[Shawn]

WEEK # 01 - My Picks

NEW ENGLAND

WASHINGTON

CINCINNATI

DENVER

BUFFALO

CAROLINA

KANSAS CITY

SEATTLE

MINNESOTA

PITTSBURGH

ARIZONA

SAN DIEGO

DETROIT

SAN FRANCISCO

BALTIMORE

MONDAY NIGHT GAME

ATLANTA

[Soulstation1]

you already missed one game the browns game

[connoisseur series500]

Here's mine:

NEW ENGLAND

CINCINNATI

DENVER

BUFFALO

JETS

JACKSONVILLE

MINNESOTA

PITTSBURGH

ARIZONA

SAN DIEGO

DETROIT

ST LOUIS

INDIANAPOLIS

PHILADELPHIA

Upset pick of the week:

NEW ORLEANS takes out CAROLINA as emotions spill out over Katherine...

Ss1?

[Soulstation1]

let's try and get 10 people entered and each week post your picks

at the end of the season we'll crown a champ will the best winning %

3 people so far

ss1

[Soulstation1]

ps

ya'll are both minus one on the browns game