2012-07-08

NFL Unsigned Draft Picks

The NFL is currently in the only real dead period of the offseason, with players, coaches, and executives alike taking vacations and getting away from the team facilities prior to the start of training camp and the 2012 season. With everyone escaping to much needed down time, teams are not working to sign their draft picks right now. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there are 32 players from last April's draft still needing to be signed.

The Miami Dolphins make up nearly ten percent of that list, needing to sign three draft choices still (one of two teams with three picks still needing to sign). First round pick, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and third-rounders, defensive end Olivier Vernon and tight end Michael Egnew, all remain unsigned heading to the start of training camp July 27.

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement has established a rookie wage scale, giving each player a salary based on where they were drafted. While this has dramatically cut the salaries for wages compared to salaries just two seasons ago, it has also led to shorter negotiations with the rookies. The only real negotiating point is the amount of the contract that is guaranteed. For a player like Tannehill, waiting to agree until fellow rookie quarterbacks Andrew Luck for the Indianapolis Colts and Robert Griffin III for the Washington Redskins sign their deals makes sense, if only to establish a negotiating starting point.

Below, you can see the list of players from the rest of the AFC East teams .

2012-07-03

NFL gives $600K to youth camps

NEW YORK -- The NFL Youth Football Fund has awarded a total of $600,000 to 214 players and coaches to support their free youth football camps.

The camps will reach more than 55,000 young athletes this summer. Among the coaches and players hosting camps are Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis.

Other former and current players include Isaac Bruce, Reggie Bush, Matt Forte, DeSean Jackson, Greg Jennings and Matt Ryan, along with coaches Jason Garrett of the Cowboys and Marvin Lewis of the Bengals.

The fund has awarded more than $4.3 million in player and coach camp grants since 1998.

2012-07-03

Matt Prater signs four-year deal with Denver Broncos

Franchise-tagged kicker Matt Prater signed a four-year contract with the Denver Broncos, the team announced Monday.

"I'm really excited just to see the offense, what they're going to be doing, because the offense can also make my job easier, too," Prater said during a conference call, referencing the Broncos' offseason signing of quarterback Peyton Manning. "Maybe I'll just have to kick a lot of extra points, which would be awesome."

Prater's contract is worth $13 million over four years and includes a $3 million signing bonus, The Denver Post reported. According to reports out of Denver last month, Prater and the team had been close on a contract that was expected to be worth around $3 million per season.

Prater missed all of the Broncos' offseason workout program as a result of the negotiating process, but he said he never really lost patience with the team.

Since joining the Broncos in 2007, Prater has connected on 90 of 112 (80.1 percent) field-goal attempts, including 12 of 16 (75 percent) from beyond 50 yards. In 2011, Prater was 19 of 25 on field-goal attempts, with seven makes coming in either the fourth quarter or overtime in four of the Broncos' eight wins.

Prater said he felt like he first demonstrated his value to the franchise when Josh McDaniels was the Broncos' coach.

"A couple years ago, when (I was) just kicking and seeing the other kickers, I realized I definitely had the talent and I knew I could do it," Prater said. "I just had to prove myself, and the Broncos saw that and rewarded me."

Including Prater, seven of the 21 players designated with the franchise tag this offseason have received multiyear extensions. Quarterback Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints), running backs Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens) and Matt Forte (Chicago Bears), wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (Kansas City Chiefs), defensive end Cliff Avril (Detroit Lions), safety Dashon Goldson (San Francisco 49ers) and kicker Josh Scobee (Jacksonville Jaguars) each has yet to sign his tender.

Prater's extension, along with the four-year, $13.2 million contract signed earlier in the offseason by franchise-tagged Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Connor Barth, could spur negotiations between Scobee and the Jaguars.

2012-06-29

Which Ravens Game In 2012 Worries You The Most?

After having one of the easiest schedules in the league last year, this year won't be nearly as soft for the Baltimore Ravens. With 8 match-ups against teams that made the playoffs last year, the Ravens will be facing the NFL cream of the crop.

Not only do we have an early rematch vs the New England Patriots, but we will also play the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants as well. Not to mention a rematch with the Houston Texans who hope to be a lot healthier then they were last time we played. Then there's our annual slugfests with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the up and coming Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens/Steelers games are always edge of your seat, down to the wire type games (...except that 35-7 blowout last year). And the Bengals have always been a thorn in our side as well, and it appears that will continue with QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green continuing to develop.

But even some of the teams we play that didn't make the playoffs last year aren't to be taken lightly. The Philly Dream Team in Week 2 will be an early test. Peyton Manning, a QB that's always had our number, will travel to M & T in Week 15 (if still healthy) to see if he can continue his dominance over Ray and Co. Then there's also the trip out west to face the San Diego Chargers, where we tend to not do so well. So tell me, what game this year has you the most concerned about?

2012-06-25

Flames face free-agent decisions

Summer fun will have to wait for the Calgary Flames braintrust.

It will still be a couple of weeks before things slow down enough for GM Jay Feaster, assistant GM of player personnel John Weisbrod and the rest of those running the team to be able to enjoy the season.

(Then again, why should they be any different than the rest of us who are wondering whether the arrival of the summer solstice will actually mean warm temperatures?)

The now completed 2012 NHL Entry Draft is the kickoff to the coming season, so the race to the Stanley Cup title has already started.

In fact, amateur scouting director Tod Button headed to Rochester, N.Y., Sunday to attend the U.S. development team’s under-17 camp.

But coming fast and furious are more tangible events which will greatly impact the club’s on-ice product for the 2012-13 season.

Monday is the deadline to have qualifying offers for pending restricted free-agents filed with the league.

It’s hard to believe the Flames would make the same mistake made by the Chicago Blackhawks a few years ago and be late delivering notices, so it’s most likely that paperwork is done. However, Feaster has been unwilling to publicly divulge any information, so we have to guess what the Flames will do.

It’s hard to believe the club won’t keep the rights to ’07 first-round draft choice Mikael Backlund, ’06 first-round pick Leland Irving and fellow forwards Akim Aliu, Paul Byron and Blair Jones.

However, don’t be alarmed if the club allows a trio of potential RFAs to walk in the likes of Blake Comeau and minor-leaguers Logan MacMillan and Ryley Grantham.

Comeau, who the club claimed off waivers in late November, is a serviceable NHL player, but he’s coming off a season in which he collected just five goals and 15 points — well off the 24-goal, 46-point campaign he garnered the previous season with the New York Islanders. The Flames aren’t likely to guarantee the 26-year-old winger another season with a salary of US$2.5 million.

Should Comeau be willing to sign a lower salary, the Flames should listen.

As for MacMillan and Grantham, neither have proven they are anything more than career minor-leaguers.

MacMillan, whose father, Bob, is a Flames scout, was the Anaheim Ducks first-round draft choice in ’07 — 19th overall — but has fallen behind pretty much any other of the club’s prospects. He spent the bulk of the year with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies and managed just 10 goals and 24 points.

Meanwhile, Grantham — a sixth-round pick in 2008 — spent the season in the ECHL, with teams not even affiliated with the Flames organization.

The real buzz will come July 1, when the free-agency season opens.

The Flames have a lengthy list of pending unrestricted free agents, led by veterans Olli Jokinen, Cory Sarich, Lee Stempniak, David Moss, Tom Kostopoulos and Scott Hannan.

A case can be made to cut ties with all of their pending UFAs, who may either command more salary or longer term than their worth — Jokinen, Sarich and Stempniak would appear to be candidates for this category — or coming off injury issues, as is the case with Moss.

That’s not to say the Flames would be best served to not try keeping any of those players in the mix. But unless the price is right, they should turn the page.

The need for a rebuild is obvious, and if the club not’s willing to burn it down and jettison the big-ticket faces of the franchise in Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff, then refusing to re-sign the pending UFAs add up to the moves needed to get that ball rolling.

randy.sportak@sunmedia.ca

On Twitter: @SUNRandySportak

The potential free-agents

Pending restricted free-agents

*Flames must provide a qualifying offer or they become unrestricted free-agent

Player 2011-12 salary USD

LW Blake Comeau $2.5 million

RW Akim Aliu $815,000

C Mikael Backlund $787,500

*C Logan MacMillan $787,500

*G Leland Irving $600,000

*C Paul Byron $570,000

*LW Ryley Grantham $550,000

C Blair Jones $525,000

Pending unrestricted free-agents

Player 2011-12 salary USD

D Cory Sarich $3.3 million

C Olli Jokinen $3 million

LW Lee Stempniak $2.3 million

RW David Moss $1.3 million

RW Tom Kostopoulos $1.1 million

D Scott Hannan $1 million

*D Jordan Henry $600,000

LW Raitis Ivanans $600,000

*D Bryan Connelly $525,000

*LW Guillaume Desbiens $525,000

LW Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond $550,000

LW Stefan Meyer $525,000

*Two-way contract. Spent most of the season in minors

2012-06-20

Oshiomogho Atogwe to sign with Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are in the process of signing free-agent safety Oshiomogho Atogwe to an undisclosed contract, according to multiple reports.

The deal was initially reported Tuesday by Sportsnet's Arash Madani. Atogwe later confirmed the report via a text message sent to Chris Russell of ESPN 980 in Washington, D.C., the flagship station of the Washington Redskins, with whom Atogwe spent the 2011 season.

The Eagles have yet to announce the signing, which will require a corresponding transaction as the Eagles currently are at their 90-man offseason roster limit.

Signed to a five-year, $26 million contract by the Redskins last March, Atogwe appeared in 13 games, including eight starts, totaling 60 tackles and three interceptions. Atogwe, who spent the first six seasons of his career with the St. Louis Rams, has 450 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 25 interceptions in his career.

This move is not a major surprise; secondary coach Mike Zordich had previously anticipated the team adding a veteran to a group that is projected to start Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman in 2012. Atgowe has the versatility to play either strong or free safety and adds veteran depth behind Allen, Coleman and Jaiquawn Jarrett, a second-round pick in 2011.

2012-06-10

Now it’s a series. Devils win away from getting even with Kings

NEWARK, N.J. - The Los Angeles Kings are suddenly doing things for the first time in these playoffs, and none of them are good.

Yes, the Kings are hoping to claim the Stanley Cup for the first time, but they have gone 0-for-2 in that department. The latest setback on Saturday night, a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils, cut Los Angeles' lead to 3-2 and left the Kings with only two chances to claim the championship.

For the first time in this post-season, the Kings have lost two straight, have lost twice in the same series, and are dealing with a road defeat. Los Angeles had won a record 10 in a row away from home in these playoffs, and 12 consecutively on the road, dating to last year's playoffs―also an NHL mark.

They still have a share of the record with 10 road wins overall in a single playoff year, but for the Kings to own that mark themselves, they will have to return to New Jersey for Game 7 and more negative history staring them in the face.

"We definitely don't want to come back here," defenceman Rob Scuderi said.

They won't have to if they can win Monday night at home in front of their fans, who have been waiting since the team began play 45 years ago for a title. The Kings dropped a 3-1 decision at home in Game 4 in their first shot at the crown, and they are determined not to let a second chance slip away.

"The game before we certainly weren't good enough," forward Justin Williams said of Game 4. "Tonight we weren't good enough by a little hair. It's a game of inches. There are battles going on all over the ice that just us players see. We're losing just a few more than we're winning."

___

STRONG FINISHES: As has been their trademark throughout the playoffs, the New Jersey Devils are becoming more formidable as series get deeper and deeper.

The Devils gained life with a win in Game 4, and built on it with another victory Saturday night in front of their fans, who were appreciative that their season didn't end in a sweep.

New Jersey is 10-1 in Games 4 through 7 of their four series in this year's playoffs after going 4-8 in Games 1 through 3. Though an 0-3 hole is nearly impossible to dig out of, it has happened before―including in the 1942 finals when the Toronto Maple Leafs won four straight to shock the Detroit Red Wings.

"We're still alive," winning goalie Martin Brodeur said. "We have a chance. It's not a difficult thing to get yourself ready for games like that. Now it's been two in a row. It drains you a lot. It takes a lot out of you. But it's worth it.

"That's what the guys are concentrating on, getting themselves ready, leave everything out there. We'll see where everything's going to fall. We were able to pull two tight games on our side, like they did in Game 1 and 2. So it's a matter of us now going into a tough environment in L.A. to try to ruin the party again. I think they're so close to winning the Stanley Cup that I'm sure it's getting to them a little bit, to be able to have all these chances and not capitalize on them. We're looking to just stay alive. Got to win one more game."

___

CLOSE CALLS: The Devils' 2-1 win in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night was the 50th one-goal game in this year's playoffs―just one shy of the mark set during the 2007 post-season.

Three of the first five games in the series between New Jersey and the Los Angeles Kings were decided by one goal, with all three games on the Devils' home ice settled by 2-1 scores. Games 1 and 2 of the series were won by Los Angeles in overtime.

The only one-sided game of the series was the Kings' 4-0 home victory in Game 3, but that one was still 2-0 in the third period. New Jersey's Game 4 win that kept the Devils alive would've been a one-goal victory if not for Ilya Kovalchuk's late empty-netter that provided some breathing room.

___

STEPPING UP: The New Jersey Devils are used to big performances from Martin Brodeur in playoff wins. Getting big-time production from defensive-minded defenceman Bryce Salvador is totally different.

Salvador was credited with the winning goal in New Jersey's 2-1 victory over Los Angeles, that cut the Devils' series deficit to 3-2, when his shot caromed into the net off of Kings defenceman Slava Voynov in the second period.

Salvador has four goals and 10 assists in 23 playoff games this year, and his 14 points are tied with the Kings' Drew Doughty for the post-season lead among defencemen. Salvador had only nine points―all assists―in 82 regular-season games. His playoff point total is the most by a player who recorded fewer than 10 during the regular season.

"You're seeing a bunch of individuals having success because the team is having success. Not just me," Salvador said. "There's a lot of guys contributing. Right now everyone's enjoying it because we're getting some momentum.

"I went 82 games without scoring, so any goal I can take, I'm taking it. Whenever you can contribute on the score sheet, you enjoy it."