The legal teams and staffs for NFL owners and players met for 7½ hours Tuesday in Manhattan, with the pace quickening and deadlines approaching as the lockout nears its fifth month. Among the headliners were NFL Players Association outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler and general counsel Richard Berthelsen, and NFL outside counsel Bob Batterman and senior vice president of law and labor policy Adolpho Birch. The parties filtered in before 10 a.m. ET and left in the 5 p.m. hour, with league officials staying behind and working into the early evening to prep for Wednesday’s meeting, which will take on a similar format to Tuesday’s session. The idea is clear away some of the underbrush, taking
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Pressure mounts as legal teams return to labor negotiations
Marty Mornhinweg spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator of the 49ers, with Steve Young running his offense. Now Mornhinweg has the same title in Philadelphia, with Michael Vick running his offense. Young is a Hall of Famer and one of the NFL’s all-time great quarterbacks, but Mornhinweg thinks Vick can be better. “I thought he could be a Steve Young-type player,” Mornhinweg told Philly.com. “Mike’s got a long way to go, but, you know what? I think he can be better than Steve.”
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Marty Mornhinweg: Michael Vick can be better than Steve Young
At one point Thursday, the condition of the NFL labor talks — or at least the perception of them — had frayed to the point where word was the dispute could be “going back to the courts.” Then some dirty work by U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan led to a late-night negotiation session that went until 1 a.m. CT. Boylan wanted the owners and players to stay even later, but they convinced him they were too tired and met Friday morning instead, and the talks were saved. So, what can we learn from all of that entering this week’s talks in New York? First, there clearly is a deal to be done between these parties, because if there wasn’t, then reasons to continue talking after five weeks would
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Nearing preseason puts pressure on parties to seal labor deal
While the ink was drying on his new Nike contract last Friday, Eagles QB Michael Vick was speaking at a youth football camp run by former Falcons teammate Keion Carpenter in Baltimore. “I probably should have known better,” Vick told kids at Woodlawn High School of his involvement with dogfighting, which led to his incarceration in federal prison for nearly two years. “I put my family in a bad situation, I put myself in a bad situation, and I had to deal with it.”
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Eagles’ Michael Vick speaks at youth football camp in Baltimore
All Jason Babin ever wanted to be while growing up in Paw Paw was a member of the Navy Seals. He developed asthma at an early age, putting an end to that dream. Now, Babin just wants to know who he will be playing football for this season … if there even is one. Babin, 31, is coming off a Pro Bowl season as a high-energy, 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive end where he earned a career-high 12.5 sacks for the Tennessee Titans. He replaced Kyle VandenBosch, who moved on to the Lions. Babin finished sixth in the NFL in sacks, second-best among defensive ends, and should be up for a big pay day. He was ranked 85th-best player in the league by his peers. It was his lone season with the Titans, but
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Jason Babin exploring all of his options
Connection or coincidence? While perusing Twitter on this Fourth of July, we came across a blog post (thanks Eagles Insider) from Iggles Blitz, which could shed some light on the Birds’ new defensive scheme. One of the criticisms of Sean McDermott’s defense was its complexity. His replacement, Juan Castillo, is expected to simplify the scheme. “We’re here to teach,” head coach Andy Reid said in February after promoting Castillo. “We’re here to take complex things and make it simple so guys can play fast. You won’t find a better teacher than Juan.” Or maybe Juan’s son. Castillo’s son Greg is a cornerback for the Iowa Hawkeyes, whose defense has been coordinated by Norm Parker since 1999.
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Will Birds’ defense resemble Iowa’s?
Connection or coincidence? While perusing Twitter on this Fourth of July, we came across a blog post (thanks Eagles Insider) from Iggles Blitz, which could shed some light on the Birds’ new defensive scheme. One of the criticisms of Sean McDermott’s defense was its complexity. His replacement, Juan Castillo, is expected to simplify the scheme. “We’re here to teach,” head coach Andy Reid said in February after promoting Castillo. “We’re here to take complex things and make it simple so guys can play fast. You won’t find a better teacher than Juan.” Or maybe Juan’s son. Castillo’s son Greg is a cornerback for the Iowa Hawkeyes, whose defense has been coordinated by Norm Parker since 1999.
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Will Birds’ defense resemble Iowa’s?
The NFL and NFL Players Association aren’t taking the weekend off, according to league spokesman Greg Aiello. According to Aiello, talks are ongoing even though they aren’t face to face over the weekend before negotiations resume Tuesday in New York.
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NFL, decertified union keep working over the weekend
Andy Reid has spent six of his last 12 first selections in the draft on defensive linemen. Twice he traded up in the first round to do so. He’s also used a second-round pick and four third-round picks on defensive linemen. So how come the Eagles still need defensive linemen? Because of all of those picks, only Corey Simon, Reid’s first-round pick in the 2000 draft, has ever made it to a Pro Bowl. The rest have either been busts – Jerome McDougle, Victor Abiamiri, Bryan Smith; just OK – Brodrick Bunkley and Trevor Laws; or haven’t done enough yet to make a judgment – last year’s No. 1 pick, Derrick Graham. Mike Patterson, the No. 1 pick from 2005, kind of fits in the category of good
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Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line is subject of scrutiny in 2011, as always
On the day it was reported that Nike had signed him to a new endorsement deal after dropping him four years ago because of dogfighting, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick spoke to children at a youth football camp in Baltimore. During his appearance at former Falcons teammate and Baltimore native Keion Carpenter’s camp at Woodlawn High School on Friday, Vick answered questions from the youths attending. He spoke about his involvement in a dogfighting ring that cost him nearly two years in a federal prison and led Nike to dump him as a product endorser in 2007. He returned to the NFL last season with the Philadelphia Eagles and has resurrected his career. Vick took the blame for
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Michael Vick speaks to youth football camp in Baltimore
Michael Vick got to write his comeback story on the field. Now, he has seen his image come full circle off of it. CNBC has learned that, in a remarkable move, Nike, which severed Vick’s contract in 2007 after he admitted to his involvement in a dogfighting ring, has re-signed the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback. “Michael acknowledges his past mistakes,” said Nike spokesman Derek Kent. “We do not condone those actions, but we support the positive changes he has made to better himself off the field.” Vick’s longtime agent Joel Segal told CNBC that “Michael is excited to have a long-term and strong relationship with Nike.” The deal was done by Chicago-based attorney Andrew Stroth. Nike [NKE
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Nike Re-Signs Michael Vick
Michael Vick is back in Nike’s good graces. “We have re-signed Michael Vick as a Nike athlete,” Megan Saalfeld, a Nike spokeswoman, confirmed to CNN in an e-mail. The Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback, who lost his lucrative endorsement deals after serving 20 months in a federal prison because of his involvement in a dogfighting ring, was the NFL’s comeback player of the year in 2010. He has been active in speaking out about against dogfighting “Michael acknowledges his past mistakes,” Saalfeld said. “We do not condone those actions, but we support the positive changes he has made to better himself off the field.”
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Eagles quarterback Michael Vick makes a comeback with Nike, too
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