The soldiers expressed their gratitude over and over to the NFL coaches who made the trip to Iraq. "They kept thanking us," said the Tennessee Titans' Jeff Fisher. "We kept thanking them." Fisher, the New York Giants' Tom Coughlin, the Baltimore Ravens' John Harbaugh, former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden are...
By ALAN SAYRE and MARY FOSTER Associated Press Writers
Following the lead of the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Chicago Bears appear to have ended...
A lawyer for Ryan Leaf says a fugitive action filed against the former NFL quarterback in Washington state has been dismissed. The Whatcom County prosecutor had filed an interstate fugitive case against Leaf after he was arrested by federal Customs agents as he crossed the border from Canada in mid-June on his way to face drug and burglary charges in Texas.
ppPlaying golf Monday morning to help raise more than $100,000 to grant the wishes of 16 seriously ill children who are served by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Clinton Portis had his own less critical wish. The Washington Redskins' star running back wishes that people would stop talking about a rift between him and second-year coach Jim Zorn. /p
p"How this story came about, I have no idea," Portis said of a ProFootballTalk.com report that he had disrespected Zorn in front of his teammates earlier this month during the organized team activities that ended on June 11. "There's nothing going on. There's no beef between me and Coach Zorn. We're on good terms at this present moment. There's no problem."/p pThe unpredictable Portis had a well-publicized spat with Zorn after he was benched...
ppQuarterback Patrick Ramsey signed with the Tennessee Titans, knowing he would have to enter training camp as the third-stringer./p
pBut from the comments he made, Ramsey has no intentions of staying in the No. 3 spot. He has his sights set on winning a battle with Vince Young to claim the second spot behind starter Kerry Collins./p
p"That's the situation I'm faced with," Ramsey said. "Honestly, what I intend to do is come in here and play as well as I can and let that take care of itself./p
p"They just said come in and the best players are going to be moved up. Obviously, Kerry is the starter, and I'm going to be competing for the second job," Ramsey said./p pRamsey has the added benefit of having played in Denver for Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger in...
ppJosh Freeman is the Bucs' quarterback of the future. But is the future now?/p
pThat's the question the Bucs were wrestling with at the end of minicamp./p
pFreeman, the 17th overall pick from Kansas State, entered the draft as a true junior./p
pThe Bucs' initial plan was to bring Freeman along slowly. But first-year head coach Raheem Morris and first-year Mark Dominik might have about a two-year window to turn the team into winners again after ridding the team of many veterans, including linebackers Derrick Brooks and Cato June and running back Warrick Dunn./p pThe sooner Freeman gets on the field and proves he can be a franchise quarterback, the better the odds Morris and Dominik will plant roots in their current positions./p pBucs officials will decide a week...
ppWhen Billy Devaney took over as general manager of the Rams and started his search for a new head coach, he knew whoever he hired would be dealing with a roster that needed a major overhaul./p
pCoach Steve Spagnuolo has spent the offseason getting the roster younger and trying to fill as many holes as possible. They also knew everything necessary wouldn't happen in one offseason./p
pWith training camp approaching, the area that appears to be in most need of upgrading is at wide receiver. Releasing Torry Holt and Drew Bennett, along with the decision not to re-sign Dane Looker and Dante' Hall, left the Rams with a group headed by second-year players Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton, Laurent Robinson, who was acquired in a trade from Atlanta, Derek Stanley, who is battling back...
ppDuring the final day of minicamp offensive tackle Walter Jones ran wind sprints and worked out of a three-point stance at the end of practice. It was the first, significant work Jones had done on the field since opting for microfracture knee surgery to alleviate pain in his left knee that shortened his 2008 season./p
pJones is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for training camp at the end of July. However, at 35 years old, Jones is coming to the end of an impressive career as one of the top tackles in the game. If Jones cannot return to the field healthy, Seattle will have to resort to Plan B, which is move right tackle Sean Locklear to left tackle and play Ray Willis at right tackle./p pThe Seahawks signed Locklear to a five-year, $32 million deal with an eye...
ppCoach Mike Singletary says the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback competition is too close to call./p
pHowever, he acknowledges that if it's too close to call, the job will likely go to Shaun Hill, who finished the second half of last season as the team's starter and might be the person most responsible for Singletary getting the job as the 49ers' full-time coach./p
pThe 49ers probably feel a lot better about their quarterback situation now than when the offseason began. The 49ers appeared ready to offer Arizona Cardinals free agent Kurt Warner a contract in the neighborhood of $15 million a season to leap to the 49ers./p
pBut Warner remained with the Cardinals, and the 49ers had no other choice but to stick with Hill and Smith.