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HBO, NFL Films to tackle Cowboys training camp again
T.O. and maybe Pacman, Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson and, of course, smiling billionaire Jerry Jones. Put ‘em all together in a hotel an hour outside Los Angeles and you could have quite a soap opera. Or, HBO predicts, one heck of a reality series. The cable network is bringing its “Hard Knocks” franchise back to Cowboys training camp this summer, and HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg already is predicting best-ever ratings for his five-show series. Even with the Olympics as competition, he’s confident his weekly program will be overflowing with juicy story lines—with his cameras getting exclusive behind-the-scenes access. “It’s fair to say this thing should go through the roof,” Greenburg said Wednesday. Greenburg opened a news conference by joking about going to Cabo San Lucas or wherever else is necessary to tell the full story. It was an obvious reference to the getaway trip Romo and Simpson made during the bye a week before Dallas’ playoff game in January, a vacation that didn’t sit well with fans, especially after the Cowboys were upset by the New York Giants.
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Broncos hire Xanders, promote Jim Goodman
The Denver Broncos have named Jim Goodman vice president of football operations/player personnel and hired former Atlanta Falcons executive Brian Xanders as assistant general manager. Xanders spent the last 14 seasons in Atlanta. He’s in charge of the Broncos’ salary cap and will assist in personnel matters. Goodman served as Denver’s director of player personnel for the last two years and has worked in the club’s player personnel department for the last decade. He’ll oversee the day-to-day football operations and continue to run the Broncos’ scouting department. Xanders will work with assistant GM Jeff Goodman, who oversees pro personnel and handles contract negotiations. The Goodmans had their duties expanded after coach Mike Shanahan fired general manager Ted Sundquist this spring. The Goodmans and Xanders all report to Shanahan. The Broncos also named Anthony Kelly as assistant coordinator of pro and college scouting.
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Niners give thumbs-up to headsets for defensive players
Mark Roman is still getting used to that little voice in his ear telling him where to go and what to do. The San Francisco safety knows he’ll have to adjust to the NFL’s new way of calling defensive signals with the freshly installed communication device in his helmet. At the 49ers’ minicamp, Roman and three fellow safeties joined dozens of players across the NFL this weekend as the first to try out the league’s next technological step forward. Quarterbacks have used the sideline-to-field devices for years, allowing coaches to relay plays to the offensive huddle without elaborate hand signals or shuttling in the plays with substitutes. NFL owners only approved the headsets for defensive players at league meetings last month, overcoming a bit of dissent from offensive-minded head coaches. “I didn’t even know the rule had passed until they said we’re going to try it with the headset,” Roman said. “It’s cool. It’s going to help out because we aren’t going to have to be scrambling to get the calls.” Only one defensive player at a time can wear the helmets with the bright-green dot on the back. While many teams plan to put the headsets on linebackers who play every down and typically call the defensive signals in the huddle anyway, the 49ers passing the helmets around and familiarizing their safeties with the whole procedure first. Safeties Keith Lewis, Michael Lewis and Dashon Goldson also had the headset helmets Saturday, and secondary coach Vance Joseph relayed personnel groups and plays from his sideline headset.
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Police: Colts’ Harrison interviewed about Philly shooting
Indianapolis Colts star receiver Marvin Harrison was interviewed by police about a shooting near his North Philadelphia car wash this week. Lt. Frank Vanore said the investigation of Tuesday’s shooting was continuing. Harrison has not been arrested or charged. “He was interviewed,” Vanore said Friday. “Why he was interviewed, that is all part of the investigation. No one is a suspect.” Vanore told WCAU-TV the shooting occurred near 25th and Thompson streets, near a car wash owned by Harrison and about a half-mile from a bar also owned by the All-Pro receiver. Earlier, radio station WIP, citing unidentified sources, reported the alleged shooting victim argued with Harrison at Playmakers bar. The victim left and headed to his car, Harrison followed and gunfire broke out, the station reported. The alleged victim was shot in the hand and did not identify the shooter, according to the radio station.
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Football Game TicketsThe Seattle Seahawks ticket is one of high demand ticket sales with its great playoff in 2006 and a history of sold out sales. 2007 is even a more exciting season with QB Matt Hasselbeck and with outstanding additions like DT Brandon Mebane, DB Josh Wilson, DE Patrick Kerney and SS Brian Russel. Another of the high selling tickets is the Indianapolis Colts. The team is based in Indianapolis, Indiana and founded in 1953. In 1958, the Colts (coached by Weeb Ewbank, a Hall of Famer) defeated the New York Giants in the NFL championship game and became the “Greatest Game Ever Played”. And off course not to mention, they were the glorious champion of the 2006 season. The Steel City’s Pittsburgh Steelers failed to reach the playoff last season with their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffering from injuries. But the Steel City is more than ready and the Pittsburgh Steelers tickets are getting more and more sales. It is well known that the wait list for Steelers season tickets will take you 10 years to reach the top of the list, unbelievable but true. The NFL playoff schedules can be easily found on the Internet. Just go to google and search for NFL schedule and you will find season-by-season schedules. Here is a snapshot of the January to February 2008 playoffs.
Sat Jan5: AFC/NFC Wild Card Game (NBC) Sun Jan 6: AFC/NFC Wild Card Game (CBS/FOX)
Sat Jan 12: AFC/NFC (CBS/Fox) Sun Jan 13: AFC/NFC (CBS/Fox)
Sun Jan 20: AFC/NFC (CBS/Fox)
Sun Feb3: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona AFC vs NFC championship (Fox)
Sun Feb10: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii AFC vs NFC (Fox) The College Football schedules are also readily available in the Internet. A lot of websites feature the schedule for viewer’s reference. Here is the snapshot of the January 2008 schedule. Jan 1 11am: Outback Bowl (Tampa) – Southeastern vs Big Ten Wisconsin vs Tennessee Jan 1 11:30am: Cotton Bowl (Dallas) – Big 12 vs Southeastern Missouri vs Arkansas Jan 1 1pm: Capital One Bowl (Orlando) – Big Ten vs Southeastern Michigan vs Florida Jan 1 1pm: Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) – Big 12 vs Atlantic Coast Texax Tech vs Virginia Jan 1 4:30pm: Rose Bowl (Pasadena) – Big Ten vs Pacific-10 Illinois vs USC Jan 1 8:30pm: Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) – Western Athletic vs Southeastern Hawaii vs Georgia Jan 2 8pm: Fiesta Bowl (Glendale) – Big East vs Big 12 Oklahoma vs West Virginia Jan 3 8pm: Orange Bowl (Miami) – Big 12 vs Atlantic Coast Virginia Tech vs Kansas Jan 5 12pm: International Bowl (Toronto) – Big East vs Mid-American Rutgers vs Ball State Jan 6 8pm: GMAC Bowl (Mobile) – Mid American vs Conference USA Bowling Green vs Tulsa Jan 7 8pm: BCS Championship (New Orleans) – Southeastern vs Big Ten LSU vs Ohio State Again you can easily get the schedules at ESPN and other sports websites. If you want to read more on the college football teams, well there are many forums and blogs for you to join and chat with the college football fanatics. .Texas Football - The Spread Offense
The spread offense has quickly become one of the most common schemes in Texas High School football. I have always maintained that scheme is secondary to execution. The scheme really is less important than the players who have to execute the system coaches put into place. The spread gives coaches hands on control right to the snap of the football. But to really be efficient at the spread, personnel is critical.
Like most offenses the quarterback is the key. But in no offense is it more important than the spread. The offense relies on the quarterback to read pre-snap as well as in many cases post-snap. There are two ways to run the spread huddle and no- huddle. The no-huddle really gives coaches more control but places an additional burden on the quarterback. The spread also can vary as to whether it is designed around the run or the pass. Most people think because it is designed to “spread” people out that it is a pass first offense. That is not necessarily true though. Often the ability to spread people out can be just as important to the running game. Let’s talk about the no-huddle spread. First of all in a perfect world you would love to have an athletic and intelligent quarterback. One who can throw the ball but also make plays with his feet. Intelligence is important too. There are certain things though that can be taught to a quarterback of average intelligence. Usually the coaches and quarterback will count the number of players in the box, seven means I need to throw, six means I can run or throw, and five means run it till the cows come home! Secondly, the quarterback receives formation, motion, and the play from the sideline. In some cases the coach may send in a “no play” signal that gets his team lined up just to read the defensive alignment. Then the QB will check and relay the play to his teammates. And while most people think of no-huddle teams as being fast paced this is not always the case. A good team will vary the speed of the game. Sometimes it is fast break style sometimes in will work the clock. After counting the box and a run or pass is selected the quarterback will generally get a pre-snap read on the secondary to identify where the soft is or will be. If it is a run play the quarterback may read on the run. If a defensive end closes then the quarterback will keep it and can make big plays out the back door. This also prevents the backside from closing and making plays on inside run plays. In my opinion the two most important skill positions are the quarterback and running back. If your team is average or below at either position then the spread offense may not be for you. Most of the time the offense line must be able to execute three different schemes, inside zone, outside zone, and the counter trey. Again if you have an undersized offensive line that does not move well the spread can expose that and the scheme may not fit your personnel. By nature when zone blocking offensive lineman can end up absorbing much of the contact. If you don’t have a few big boys up there that can maintain the line of scrimmage then penetration will kill the spread’s timing. There are many facets to the spread offense that I won’t cover here today, three-step passing, five-step passing, the jet sweep and so on. While this offense has enjoyed much success I think slowly there will be a migration back to some of the other schemes as coaches learn that personnel is so critical. As defense coordinators continue to see the spread and no-huddle they will become more proficient at handling the scheme as well. Texas High School football continues to change and adapt and nothing has marked that change more than the spread offense. Daniel Shipman is a freelance writer and entrepreneur and high school football coach. Texas Football Guide is a news and opinion web site that focuses on Texas football. For information visit my site at http://www.texasfootballguide.com
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