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CINCINNATI BENGALS +4 Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos +3.5 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Buffalo Bills +5.5 DALLAS COWBOYS
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS +3.5 Houston Texans
Tennessee Titans +3.5 CAROLINA PANTHERS
ATLANTA FALCONS even New Orleans Saints
CLEVELAND BROWNS -2.5 St. Louis Rams
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES -12 Arizona Cardinals
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SEATTLE SEAHAWKS +7.5 Baltimore Ravens
Detroit Lions +3 CHICAGO BEARS
SAN FRANCISCO 49ers -3 NY Giants
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NEW YORK JETS even New England Patriots
by R.B. Fall Strom – Associated Press
ST. LOUIS – The lockout didn’t bother Michael Vick. It simply left him with fresh legs for the season opener.
The Eagles quarterback was in dazzling form and the other Philly game-breakers were hard to catch, too, as the team opened its self-proclaimed Super Bowl drive with a 31-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
“It felt great to know that I can go out and play lights out, not have to worry about anything,” Vick said. “I feel better than I’ve ever felt before and I give a lot of credit with the situation with the CBA, giving us a lot time to get rest and to prepare ourselves. Read the rest of this entry »
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid confirmed yesterday that the team is entertaining offers for quarterback Donovan McNabb.
The latest rumor has McNabb headed to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for the #33 overall pick in the draft and FS OJ Atogwe according to beat writer Jeff McLane. According to McLane’s sources, McNabb is willing to go St. Louis if he can reach a contract extension with the team.
Adding credence to the report are recent comments from Andy Reid regarding the new draft format in which only the first round occurs on day one. ”I’d love to have that first pick of the second day,” Reid said, referring to the 33d overall pick. “Where you can sleep on it, regather your thoughts, which you normally don’t get to do.”
A league source said that it was “not yet completed,” in reference to whether or not a deal was in fact on the table between the Rams and Eagles. The comment leads one to believe that not only is a deal on the table but that it is close to being consummated. Rams G.M. Billy Devaney, however, went on record and called the report “utterly false” and “absolutely ridiculousl!”
If this transaction were to go down, McNabb would be reunited with Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, his former quarterbacks coach with the Eagles and St. Louis head coach Steve Spagnuolo who was a defensive coach (secondary, linebackers) for the Birds.
PCPTAKE: In my opinion, late first round and early second round picks are the most valuable selections in the draft, considering the obscene amount of money that goes to the unproven players at the top of round 1. As Reid intimated, the 33rd pick holds even more value, since you’re essentially on the clock overnight. This gives you the ability to not only consider your own pick but evaluate trade offers to move out of the pick for a much longer period of time. Throw in OJ Atogwe, one of the leagues top free safeties (and a need position for the Eagles) and this deal makes a lot of sense.
UPDATE: In a recent segment of PFTV, Mike Florio made two very strong statements regarding the McNabb situation.
#1 He know believes that it is inevitable that McNabb will be traded.
#2 He believes that the Eagles fabricated the Rams trade scenario in order to drum up some trade offers from other clubs.
According to Jay Glazer of FOX, the Philadelphia Eagles have acquired middle linebacker Will Witherspoon from the St. Louis Rams for receiver Brandon Gibson and a 2010 draft pick. Adam Schefter of ESPN later reported that the pick is a fifth rounder.
Witherspoon spent his first four seasons with the Carolina Panthers before becoming a member of the Rams, where he has spent the past three years. He is signed through 2011 with a current base salary of $2.5 million, $5 million for 2010, and $5 million for 2011.
After losing Stewart Bradley to injury in the preseason, the Eagles had moved Omar Gaither back inside to middle linebacker. Gaither was adequate but not spectacular before injuring his foot in Sunday’s fiasco in Oakland. Jeremiah Trotter was brought back to the team just last week in order to help on rushing downs. Witherspoon is far more talented than both men and should be a valuable addition to the Birds staff. He can play both the WILL and MIKE positions and rarely comes off the field. Eagles head coach Andy Reid has already indicated that he intends to keep Witherspoon on the field in nickel situations.
by Michael DeLuca
With less than two months until the start of the 2009 NFL season, it’s about that time to start looking forward to your fantasy football drafts. The magazine stands are packed with fantasy football mags and I’ve assembled a composite first round for a 12 team league from some of the more reputable sources. These results in no way reflect may personal opinions of where to draft players, I’ll provide my thoughts for each selection.
1. Adrian Peterson – RB, Minnesota Vikings – Peterson is pretty much the consensus #1 and rightfully so. Capable of putting up a 2000 yard season and 20 td’s. If your drafting #1, don’t overthink it, AP’s your man.
2. Maurice Jones Drew – RB, Jacksonville Jaguars – Fantasy owners are salivating over
the chance to own Jones Drew now that Fred Taylor is no longer in town. After the team handed Jones Drew a 5 year $31 million deal, coach Jack Del Rio said, “We want Maurice on the field more often. We believe he’s a feature guy and it’s his time. We’re excited about that. I’m very confident this is the type of young man that will go out and continue to display the things that have made him so popular to begin with. He’s gonna get plenty of work. We’re excited about getting him the ball more often.” It sure sounds like a recipe for success.
3. Michael Turner – RB, Atlanta Falcons – Michael “The Burner” Turner was quite simply a beast last year. 1699 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns are the type of stats that fantasy championships are made of. There’s talk in Atlanta that they’d like to lighten his load and get Jerious Norwood more involved in the offense but we’ve been hearing that for years. Don’t believe the hype, Turner will get his share of carries and td’s and will warrant a high selection on draft day. The offseason acquisition of TE Tony Gonzalez will only increase Turner’s value as teams will be less inclined to stack the box. Read the rest of this entry »
by Michael DeLuca
Chris Wesseling of Rotoworld.com has speculated on the possibility that, with a new pay raise in tow for Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, the team may be willing to entertain offers for backup QB Kevin Kolb. Both 
McNabb’s and Kolb’s contracts are set to expire following the 2010 season. Wesseling suggests that a second rounder might get the job done and that the St. Louis Rams would be a good fit, pointing out that Rams Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur was Kolb’s QB coach in Philly and that incumbent starter Marc Bulger’s time is running short.
PCPTAKE: Again, this is purely speculation and highly unlikely. While the Rams might be a good fit, the Eagles would be unlikely to deal Kolb. A second round selection is intriguing though, since the Rams could very well be the worst team in the league this year and that pick could be #33 overall!
by John Schlupf
The Top 10 things to do before entering a NFL locker room.
Number 10: Watch the movie Airplane. Joey, “you ever seen a grown man naked”? NFL players are big. Towels are small. Put a belt around your torso next time you come out of the shower. Look in the mirror. That’s what you are going to see.
Number 9: Practice nodding. Are you really going to disagree with what an NFL player says as he stands before you? “Umm, sorry Antonio, you didn’t block him at all, he pancaked you”. Yea, right.
Number 8: Keep in mind it is not your house. Even a beautifully carpeted state-of-the-art locker room can look like Pigpen’s bedroom in a manner of a few short minutes. Be prepared to step over and ignore dirty, sweaty socks, jock straps, tee shirts, doo rags, bandanas, and anything Under Armor. Read the rest of this entry »
The City Of Brotherly Love
Now that my hangover has officially ended and Bill Conlin has been revived and Ruben Amaro’s lips are removed from David Montgomery’s ass, I feel compelled to spill out thoughts on the past 25 years, as well as some current thoughts on whats going on ’round here. So grab a beer and stay a while: Read the rest of this entry »
by Michael DeLuca
Last week I got ballsy and told you to forget Brandon Lang and Bob Valentino. I went so far as to tell you that the “experts” at Sportsline were laughable. You’d have to figure that bout of detestable bravado would result in a losing week for The Duke’s Picks. Well it didn’t and The Duke’s picks is now a miraculous 27-19 against the spread thus far this NFL season with just one losing week on the entire season! Last week, I gave you the Bills over the Chargers, told you the Titans would roll over the Chiefs, and told you no matter how atrocious the Lions may be, that the Texans laying nine would be too much. So, once again, forgot calling that 1-900 number. Put your credit card away. The Duke’s here and he’s got the best picks on the planet…or at least the cheapest. Home teams are in caps, Duke’s Picks are in bold.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS -3 NY Giants- This is the type of game that can really piss off a defending Super Bowl Champion. The Steelers’ are the current flavor of the month, recently eclipsing the Giants on the majority of major media Power Rankings. Look for the Boys In Blue to make this a statement game. No Santonio “Panama Red Zone” Holmes will help. The Giants defensive front is the best the Steelers’ depleted offensive line will face all season. Expect Roethlisberger to be running for his life.
DALLAS COWBOYS -4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - In the interest of full disclosure, Tampa Bay has historically been The Duke’s kryptonite. I can’t bet with or against them. That being said, the Cowboys have been atrocious the last couple weeks and Brad Johnson definitely did not seem to gel with the offense in his start last week against the lowly Rams defense. Tampa, on the other hand, seems to have gotten into a nice rhythm with Jeff Garcia back at the helm. It may be close, but if Dallas pulls it out, I don’t see it being by more than a field goal. Read the rest of this entry »
by Michael DeLuca
Forget Brandon Lang. Who needs Bob Valentino. And those quote unquote experts over at Sportsline…laughable. The Duke’s picks is an amazing 23-16 against the spread thus far this NFL season with six winning weeks out of seven. Last week, I gave you the Cardinals over Dallas, told you Green Bay would roll over the Seahawks, and of course the Jets were going to cover against the Bengals. So, forgot calling that 1-900 number. Put your credit card away. The Duke’s here and he’s got the best picks on the planet…or at least the cheapest. Home teams are in caps, Duke’s Picks are in bold.
San Diego Chargers -2 BUFFALO BILLS - You may not know who Jyles Tucker is, but that doesn’t make him any less important. You see, Tucker is the guy who replaced Shawne Merriman, and he’s good. He is, however, most likely going to miss his third consecutive week and the defense will continue to suffer as a result. Chris Chambers and Craig Davis are both out on the offensive side of the ball, while Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson remain hobbled. The Bills are home and should be angry after their defeat to the Arizona Cardinals in week 5. Trent Edwards appears ready to return. Read the rest of this entry »
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