Browns Mangini Won’t Name Starting QB Until Gameday

Most NFL head coaches place a priority on naming a starting QB before the regular season begins. Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini hasn’t named his starting QB yet. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson will find out if they’re the starting QB in the next couple of days, but the first public confirmation their coach will give is when they trot out on the field after the NFL regular season begins.

Mangini stressed that he’d already made his choice, and that hell meet with both Quinn and Anderson individually to inform them of his decision:

“In terms of announcing it publicly, that’s not something I plan to do. It will be internal. I understand everybody has a different opinion on it. I respect that. I understand the excitement in relationship to that and I respect that as well. But that will be something that will be internal.”

As of Sunday, both quarterbacks were still in the dark and not saying much. Derek Anderson said he didnt have a clue:

“I know as much as you guys know.

While Quinn suggested that it wasnt a big concern for him:

“I’m not worried about it. You guys are more worried about it than I am.”

Mangini may be trying to gain a strategic advantage over the Browns opponents in the opening week of the NFL regular season, the Minnesota Vikings:

“It is more difficult to plan for two quarterbacks than it is to plan for one. I’m not saying that’s going to be the difference or not the difference, but I know that there is time allotted to that and you can’t put the same amount of time into focusing on one player.”

Vikings coach Brad Childress said that it really didnt make a difference in how hed approach his preparation for the contest:

“Just schematically, you’re going to go back and look at tape and see what you’ve seen. And then I know, as do our guys, that there will be unscouted looks. They certainly haven’t showed their whole hand, offensively and defensively. So you’re just going back and looking at formation-wise where they’re putting people and what kind of players they are. It will be more about us deploying to what they do.”

The Browns coach concluded his comments by emphasizing that hes happy with the play of both quarterbacks:

“I have been happy with the progress that both guys made. I’m happy with the way they’ve worked. I’m happy with the way they approached this competition, and it’s not always easy to approach a competition in a team fashion, and I respect the way they’ve handled it.”

After hosting the Vikings in their opening game of the 2009 NFL regular season, Cleveland will play their next two games on the road. They’ll head to Denver for a game against the Broncos on September 20th and then play another away game in week 3, taking on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, September 27.

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Browns Mangini Won’t Name Starting QB Until Gameday

Most NFL head coaches place a priority on naming a starting QB before the regular season begins. The idea is that it helps the chemistry on the team, as well as helping the quarterback define himself as a team leader. Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini hasn’t named his starting QB yet. Nor will he, at least not publicly. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson will find out if they’re the starting QB in the next couple of days, but the coach won’t divulge that information to the public until game day.

Mangini stressed that he’d already made his choice, and that hell meet with both Quinn and Anderson individually to inform them of his decision:

“In terms of announcing it publicly, that’s not something I plan to do. It will be internal. I understand everybody has a different opinion on it. I respect that. I understand the excitement in relationship to that and I respect that as well. But that will be something that will be internal.”

As of Sunday, both quarterbacks were still up in the air and not saying much. Derek Anderson said he didnt have a clue:

“I know as much as you guys know.

While Quinn suggested that it wasnt a big concern for him:

“I’m not worried about it. You guys are more worried about it than I am.”

Mangini may be trying to gain a strategic advantage over the Browns opponents in their opening game:

“It is more difficult to plan for two quarterbacks than it is to plan for one. I’m not saying that’s going to be the difference or not the difference, but I know that there is time allotted to that and you can’t put the same amount of time into focusing on one player.”

On the other hand, Vikings coach Brad Childress said that it really didnt make a difference in how hed approach preparing his gameplan:

“Just schematically, you’re going to go back and look at tape and see what you’ve seen. And then I know, as do our guys, that there will be unscouted looks. They certainly haven’t showed their whole hand, offensively and defensively. So you’re just going back and looking at formation-wise where they’re putting people and what kind of players they are. It will be more about us deploying to what they do.”

The Browns coach emphasized that regardless of who is eventually named the starting QB that hes happy with the play of both:

“I have been happy with the progress that both guys made. I’m happy with the way they’ve worked. I’m happy with the way they approached this competition, and it’s not always easy to approach a competition in a team fashion, and I respect the way they’ve handled it.”

After hosting the Vikings in their opening game of the 2009 NFL regular season, Cleveland will hit the road for their second game as they take on the Broncos at Denver.

Ross Everett is a well known freelance writer specializing in travel, casino gambling and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Colts’ QB Manning To Get Record Contract Extension

In what has to be one of the least difficult front office personnel decisions in sports history, Indianapolis Colts’ owner Jim Irsay has confirmed that the team will sign quarterback Peyton Manning to a contract extension that could make him the highest paid player in NFL history. Manning’s current deal will expire after the end of the 2010 season, with the final two years having been voided due to his meeting a number of performance based criteria. The decision was made before the Colts’ Superbowl loss to the New Orleans Saints.

You can tell that an owner is adamant about resigning a player when he tells the media that he wants to make him the highest paid player in league history, and Irsay did just that at the NFL’s Superbowl media day:

“You know it’s going to get done. I think it’s clear, and we’ll start on it this summer. That’s been the way we do things [to hammer out an extension when a player is entering the final year of his contract]. And it’ll be the biggest [contract] in history; there’s not much doubt about that.”

Not exactly the most advantageous negotiating position to make public that you’re committed to breaking the bank to resign a player. Then again, it’s not like Manning is a quarterback that can easily be replaced as Irsay emphasized:

“It simply comes to one question, and that’s replaceability. Everything is based on the replaceability factor. You make decisions based on who you can afford to target and keep. … Other guys you really want to [re-sign] you might have trouble doing it, because of what it costs you, and how much attention they’re getting [from other teams in free agency]. We don’t have that luxury and we’ve had to work hard.”

Manning’s agent, Tom Condon, has already had preliminary discussions with the Colts’ management about a new deal. Condon also represent’s Peyton’s brother Eli Manning, and negotiated a $97.5 million contract extension from the New York Giants for him last year. Peyton’s contract will almost certainly exceed those figures, with some speculating that he could receive $20 million per year with a $50 million signing bonus up front.

Ross Everett is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports and one of the world’s foremost experts on NFL football handicapping. He is a widely published freelance writer specializing in soccer, fencing, harness racing and fantasy role playing games. He provides daily free sports picks to a number of broadcast media outlets. Ross lives in Las Vegas with an Asian houseboy, three dogs and a retired racing wombat.

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NFL’s Richard Seymour No-Shows After Trade To Raiders

While NFL players may not always be happy with a trade to a new team, more often than not they willingly accept their new assignment and try to make the best of it. Thats apparently not the case with the Oakland Raiders newly acquired defensive end Richard Seymour. Seymour was acquired by the Raiders on Sunday and as of yet has not reported to his new team.

The trade surprised NFL observers, with the Patriots sending Seymour to Oakland for a 2011 first round draft pick. He had been expected to report on Monday, but was a no-show. When he failed to report again on Tuesday, it became something of a major story in the NFL sports media. There is some speculation that hes doing a de facto hold out in hopes of getting the Raiders to re-work his contract but this hasnt been confirmed by anyone involved.

For the time being, Raiders coach Tom Cable is being vague about the situation. He informed the media that hed spoken to Seymour earlier in the week then added:

I really have nothing to report on that. Nothing has changed at this point.”

He also declined to comment on questions about a potential new contract, which makes it more likely that is the sticking point with Seymour joining the team:

“I don’t want to comment about anything of that until we have something that’s done and concrete.

Seymours former coach in New England, Bill Belichick also gave his version of a no comment:

“Because we don’t have rights to Richard, there really isn’t anything I can say about him or his situation. So I’ll have to pass on those questions at this time. There’s a lot of things that Richard did well but that’s the way it is and we’re moving forward and our team’s moving forward.”

Pats defensive coordinator Dean Pees also refused to comment:

“This is not going to be an interview about Richard. It’s really about Buffalo and whoever we have here to face the Bills.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello likewise declined to comment on the situation:

“Any comment at this time would have to come from the teams.

Most NFL observers think that the Patriots made the move in order to free up money to negotiate with defensive lineman Vince Wilfork. There is now concern that New Englands defense has quickly become very young and lacking a strong leader on that side of the ball. Belichick isnt concerned:

“We have a lot of good leaders on our team and especially on the defensive side of the ball. No doubt about it, it’s different, but I think it’s good.”

The Patriots open their 2009 NFL regular season on Monday night at home against the Buffalo Bills. The Raiders will also kick off their campaign on Monday night as they host their hated rivals the San Diego Chargers.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer experienced in travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Detroit Names Matthew Stafford As Starting QB

Matthew Stafford has yet to play a regular season NFL game and hes already the Detroit Lions starting quarterback. First year coach Jim Schwartz named Stafford as his starter for as the NFL regular season gets underway. Stafford beat out veteran Daunte Culpepper for the spot, though Schwartz went out of his way to stress that the rookie won the job as opposed to Culpepper losing it.

In announcing Stafford as the starting QB for the Lions, Schwartz made clear that hes very confident with his personnel at the position including third stringer Drew Stanton:

“I’ve had a lot of very tough decisions in the last few days — guys making the 53-man roster or not making it — but none more difficult than at quarterback. We announced to our team this morning that Matt Stafford is going to be our starting quarterback.”

“I’m very, very comfortable with the quarterback position here, not just one and two, but also three. What made this decision difficult was that I think we can win with Daunte Culpepper, I think we can with Matt Stafford, and I think we can win with Drew Stanton.

Stafford indicated that while hes always been confident that he’d get the nod there was still a lot of uncertainty up to the time Schwartz made the announcement:

“I definitely thought I was going to be the guy, but as competitive as Daunte is, I’m sure he thought he was going to be the guy, too. Coach Schwartz called me in this morning and told me, and I went out and practiced with the first team. That was exciting.”

Despite the Lions dismal 0-16 record a year ago, Stafford stressed that he wants to win:

“I’m going to try to win football games. I think, just like everyone else on this team, that we can go out on Sunday and be competitive against the Saints and give ourselves a chance to win the game. That’s our job.”

Schwartz said that he plans to give his quarterback the opportunity to work through rookie mistakes:

“This isn’t an internship. This isn’t a trial basis. He’s our starting quarterback. We said that, to win the job, he had to be ready, and he had to be our best quarterback, and that’s what he has shown.”

He went on to praise Culpepper:

“Daunte Culpepper is back — there’s no doubt in my mind and there’s no doubt around this league. He’s going to be back as a starting quarterback in this league, and with a high level of success.”

Stafford had some props for Culpepper as well:

“I’m sure it is tough for him, but Daunte’s been great for me and he will continue to be. I can’t think of a better guy to learn from and to have in my corner.”

The Lions will start the NFL regular season at New Orleans on Sunday. Theyll play the following two games at home, hosting the Minnesota Vikings in week #2 and the Washington Redskins on Sunday, September 27.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, casino gambling and NFL football handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.

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