Surgery to shelve Eagles' Runyan for 4 to 6 months
JON RUNYAN went to sleep in the Birmingham, Ala., operating room of Dr. James Andrews last week, knowing he could wake up to either of two outcomes.
If Andrews' arthroscope showed Runyan's right knee needed only a cleanout, following Runyan's 13th NFL season, "I could be up and walking in 2 or 3 days," Runyan recalled yesterday from his South Jersey home. But if Andrews found damage that needed to be repaired, "I'd be on crutches for 8 weeks."
When Runyan awoke, he learned that Andrews had performed microfracture surgery, which will keep the right offensive tackle off the field for 4 to 6 months. That might not be such a big deal, with training camp still 5 1/2 months away, except that Runyan becomes an unrestricted free agent Feb. 27. There are better ways to make a great first impression than by swinging into a prospective employer's practice facility on crutches, a doctor's note in hand. Especially when you're 35 years old.
"I think there's enough of a track record out there that it's not going to totally kill me," said Runyan, whose streak of 192 successive games played was third among active players at the end of the 2008 season. "The doctor says I should be as good as new. But I'm not going to be able to prove it until time to play."
Results of microfracture surgery on pro athletes have been mixed. Generally, it seems, the younger you are, the better it works. The idea of the surgery is to create cartilage to replace what was damaged and had to be removed. The surgeon drills holes in the bone. As the holes heal, blood clots form that include cartilage. This cartilage is different from the original cartilage, however - it's denser and doesn't hold up as well under strenuous activity. In older players, the new cartilage sometimes lasts only a few years.
It's hard to say whether Runyan's value as a leader and as an example of the purest form of the NFL's warrior ethic will inspire a team to take a chance on him, crutches and all. He said yesterday he still hasn't heard anything from the Eagles, his employer the past nine seasons. Both Runyan and 34-year-old left offensive tackle Tra Thomas are about to hit the free-agent market. The Eagles are unlikely to keep both. Thomas might have a little more mileage left, and be harder to replace, as the crucial guardian of the quarterback's blind side.
While all that gets sorted out, Runyan is "bored off my [bleep]."
One week on crutches down, he faces 7 more. He had to cancel a planned trip to Tampa for a Franco Harris charity event a few days before Super Bowl XLIII. He's been catching up on movies: "Slumdog Millionaire" got the Big Jon thumbs-up, while the ending of "Doubt" left him hanging.
"Hence the title, I guess," he said.
Runyan's wife, Loretta, and their three children are pretty busy, he reported; they have little time to hang out with the knee patient. So Runyan's options are limited.
"My cell phone dies by 3 p.m. every day," he said.
Prospective employers probably should call early in the day, then. *
philly.com
Broncos C Wiegmann will not retire, agent says
The Denver Broncos can scratch the idea of needing a center off their list as they begin the Josh McDaniels era.The Denver Broncos can scratch the idea of needing a center off the list as they begin the Josh McDaniels era.
Casey Wiegmann will return. Wiegmann said at the end of the season that he was considering retirement. However, his agent said the Pro Bowl player will return to the team in 2009.
"Casey will play at least a couple more years," agent Joe Linta said Sunday. "He is playing his best football and he feels really good. He will be back."
Wiegmann, who will be 36 in July, has one more season remaining on his Denver contract. Wiegmann became a great steal for Denver who signed him to a modest contract late in the offseason as an insurance policy for longtime standout center Tom Nalen who missed the last 11 games of the 2007 season with a arm injury. Nalen ended up missing the entire 2008 season with a knee injury and he is planning to retire.
Wiegmann nearly retired after playing for the past seven years with Kansas City. He ended up having a strong season for the Broncos and was named to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for the Titans' Kevin Mawae. Wiegmann was the first alternate on the AFC team.
Copyright (c)2009 ABC Inc
How does Eagles coach Andy Reid stack up against his peers
PHILADELPHIA - Here's a head coaching resume for you: In 11 years, coaching three franchises, this guy reached one Super Bowl and lost. After that, he had a 1-3 record in the years his teams made the playoffs.
The coach was Bill Parcells, a sure Hall of Famer for the two Super Bowls he won with the New York Giants - the most recent of which was almost two decades ago.
Then there's a guy who won a Super Bowl in his fifth season - his first with Tampa Bay - then failed to win another playoff game in his next six seasons before getting fired this month.
That would be Jon Gruden, who joined Mike Shanahan and Rod Marinelli at the NFL coaches' unemployment office, which keeps its ceremonial offices in Mobile, Ala., site of the annual job fair otherwise known as the Senior Bowl.
As the sting fades from the Eagles' fifth tumble from near the top of the mountain, it's worth looking around the NFL to see what we can learn about Andy Reid and his prospects for defying the odds and eventually winning that elusive Super Bowl.
With the retirement of his mentor, Mike Holmgren, in Seattle, Reid stands alone as the second-longest-tenured head coach in the NFL. Tennessee's Jeff Fisher _ zero championships, one Super Bowl appearance, 0-2 in the playoffs in the last five years _ is No. 1. Fisher has coached the Houston/Tennessee franchise since 1994, through three cities and two team names.
Reid has a better winning percentage _ regular season, postseason and overall _ than Fisher. Except for the lack of that Lombardi Trophy (and that is a very big lack, to be sure), Reid has the best all-around resume of any active head coach except for New England's Bill Belichick.
Really.
A week from Sunday, a coach with a lesser overall body of work than Reid will add a Super Bowl title to his resume. Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt and Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin may go on to long-term greatness, but they're just as likely to go the one-hit-wonder way of Gruden and Brian Billick.
Some Eagles fans appreciate the year-in, year-out competitiveness of Reid's teams. Others would trade seven years of getting close for one championship surrounded by years of losing. It's a matter of personal preference, but really it's not something you can choose in advance.
The Detroit Lions might win a Super Bowl before the Eagles do. In that case, their 0-16 season and decades of futility might seem worthwhile to fans. Or the Lions just might continue to stink.
You can't plan for a pop-up season. If you're an NFL owner, your goal has to be finding a coach who can build and sustain a contending program.
When you see the Lions firing Marinelli and counting on Jim Schwartz or Cleveland hiring Eric Mangini to replace fellow Belichick acolyte Romeo Crennel _ well, there's something comforting about having a known quantity like Reid at the helm.
The counter-argument, of course, is that familiarity without a parade breeds a kind of coach fatigue. A decade of Reid has meant years of very good football and plenty of big games for fans to enjoy. It also has meant years of very bad news conferences and plenty of big-game disappointments for fans to agonize over.
This isn't about whether Reid should be back or whether Jeffrey Lurie should consider a change. That question became academic when the Eagles reached the NFC championship game for the fifth time in eight seasons. The big man will be back.
This is about all the change around the league and what it says about Reid's accomplishments and shortcomings.
Steve Spagnuolo (Rams) and Josh McDaniels (Broncos) go into tough situations as heralded coordinators from recent Super Bowl winners. Schwartz, Jim Caldwell (Colts), and Raheem Morris (Bucs) are not likely to stir the passions of their teams' loyal fans. But history says they are more likely to reach a Super Bowl than some big-name retread.
Reid was barely known when Lurie hired him. Whisenhunt and Tomlin aren't exactly household names.
But if Shanahan and Gruden can get fired, then Reid certainly doesn't get a free pass forever. The Bill Cowher argument - he was in his 14th season as Steelers head coach before finally winning the Super Bowl - goes only so far. It shows there is rare precedent for Reid delivering a championship.
It doesn't guarantee anything.
There is greater precedent (Gruden, Billick, others) for Whisenhunt or Tomlin to win a title in his second season. There is even more precedence for a new coaching hire to be fired after two or three or four years of futility.
Reid can't be a Gruden. He could still be a Cowher. But at least he isn't Rod Marinelli or Scott Linehan or any of the coaches who washed out without achieving anything.
(c)Copyright by the Boston Herald and Herald Media
Draft Advice For Eric Mangini and The Cleveland Browns
It's another championship Sunday in the NFL. And, like almost every championship Sunday, I'm wearing a Browns jersey (this year, it's Brady Quinn) and remaining hopeful for the future. I intend to go through the same routine in a couple weeks.
Like many of you, I would rather choose death over rooting for either Baltimore or Pittsburgh, I thought it'd be worth while to discuss the next important hurdle in fixing another Browns disaster; the 2009 NFL Draft.
I've Googled my fair share of NFL Mock Drafts, and so far there are some positives, but a notable amount of negatives. With our next coaching staff in tow, I thought I'd offer the newbies a few pieces of draft advice so they can start their Cleveland tenure on the right foot. With so much doubt already surrounding Eric Mangini, it'd be tragic if he started his Browns career with an awful draft.
Defense, Defense, and More Defense
The Cleveland Browns glaring weakness is the same as it was last year; our Swiss cheese defense couldn't strike fear into a troop of girl scouts. Shaun Rogers is a start, and corners Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald hopefully got their inexperience out of the way, but there's still a load of work to be done.
The biggest area of weakness, linebackers, should be addressed with the early picks, especially if Mangini insists on keeping the 3-4 defense. With zero depth at the most important aspect of a 3-4 defense, this suggestion is so obvious that the only thing left to do is to fear the Browns ignoring it.
The good news is this year's draft squad is pretty stacked at the linebacker position. If you ask me, the the two biggest names to go after are Wake Forest's Aaron Curry or USC stalwart Rey Maualuga.
There's a lot to like about Aaron Curry. He's got both the size and speed necessary to be a dominant pass rusher, while also being a solid run stopper. And with his ability to tackle effectively, he could give more than a few lessons to the majority of our defense.
A huge upside to Curry is his durability. Curry started for three straight years and never once missed a game due to injury. So, instead of watching Courtney Brown's annual season-ending injury routine, Browns fans could actually see a defensive draft pick show up consistently on game day.
Maualuga doesn't really present much of a downside either. The USC All-American and Chuck Bednarik Award winner is being compared by many scouts to Troy Polamalu. Even though Polamalu is a Steeler, Browns fans should put their hatred aside and realize how badly our team needs a hard-nosed, aggressive player like him, and Maualuga could be just that.
B/R Ticket Guide Powered by FanSnap.comPicking either of these two with our first-round selection would be the best way to go, but it can't stop there. The Browns should take as many defensive picks as they can, so as to build depth and slowly, but surely create a talented defensive squad. Perhaps even bringing in a new generation and drafting Clay Matthews III with a late round pick to see if he can pick up where his father left off might be a novel idea.
Be Wary of Drafting from Ohio State
Let me first state that I, myself, am an Ohio State fan, and I'm still healing from watching Colt McCoy do his best John Elway impression to hand the Buckeyes yet another BCS loss. Be that as it may, I'm incredibly hesitant about the idea of drafting some of the big names from OSU this April.
I saw one mock draft which had the Browns selecting running back Chris "Beanie" Wells with their first pick. This is a very bad idea.
Look, I loved watching Wells torch Michigan year after year, but he comes with more than a few areas of concern. He is very injury prone, and has stated he is still not quite 100% healed from his foot injury suffered earlier this season. Being in the Big Ten Conference also shows he wasn't going up against the toughest defenses college football had to offer.
But my biggest qualm with taking Wells first is the hesitation I get when thinking, "Would drafting Chris Wells be the best thing we could do with a top five draft pick?" The answer is no, because there are much bigger holes to deal with. Worst case scenario, Jamal Lewis shares carries with Jerome Harrison and slowly tutors him into becoming a starting back.
Other than Wells, I'm also hesitant about bringing home linebacker James Laurinaitis. He's incredibly tough and has a motor that never seems to stop, but he doesn't seem to have the size of your ideal inside linebacker. With this position being the biggest need, we can ill-afford to go awry by drafting the wrong players.
The only player from Ohio State I'd draft with the first pick would be cornerback Malcom Jenkins. Jenkins was a standout this year for the Buckeyes, and looks as if he could be a solid pro in the NFL. If Wright and McDonald have better seasons in 2009, Jenkins would add some talented depth and the Browns could ship Terry Cousin back to whatever nursing home they picked him up from.
If You're Going to Draft Offensively, Grab a Running Back
Yes, I already said not to draft Beanie Wells or any running back in the first round. However, it is an area I'd consider in later rounds.
Jamal Lewis doesn't have too much time left as a starting halfback. And while Jerome Harrison earned the 2008 All-Unappreciated Award, he still lacks the size to be an inside rusher.
Coach Mangini has been known to try and build a team through the draft, so it wouldn't be terribly surprising if he does some draft day wheeling and dealing. With tradable assets like Kellen Winslow and Derek Anderson, Mangini might already be planning draft moves.
Running backs I'd consider worthy of a draft pick trade would be Pittsburgh's LeSean McCoy or Georgia's Knowshon Moreno. Both are incredibly fast and athletic, and each could eventually be a solid NFL back.
Other possible offensive picks could be a good right tackle (Kevin Shaffer was severely abused this year) or maybe a decent receiver. This isn't a big need, but Braylon Edwards was sketchy last year, Joe Jurevicius is rebounding from about 80 knee surgeries, and Donte Stallworth is...well, nobody really knows where he is.
Overall, Draft Smart
I wasn't a terribly big fan of Phil Savage, but he handled the 2007 Draft like a pro. This was because he didn't go after the "sexy" pick, but instead made the smart picks.
Brady Quinn went from Cleveland's worst enemy to the heralded future of the team in the span of three hours that day. Nobody wanted him with the third overall pick, and Savage avoided the big name and went with the least sexy pick of all first-rounders; the offensive lineman.
However, after Savage grabbed a franchise left tackle in Joe Thomas, he realized Quinn was still available, got on the horn, then made a deal with Dallas that brought Brady home. And the peasants rejoiced.
The lesson here is to do what's best for the team. This may seem easy enough, but with all the big names floating around, it's tough to follow.
All the Mangini Crew has to do is fill the right holes with the right people so as to make the Cleveland Browns a talented team again.
Oh, and he should also avoid any player who calls himself "Big Money." We've struggled in that department.
Copyright (c) 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc
McNabb, Eagles beat Giants, reach NFC title game
Donovan McNabb and his Philadelphia Eagles get another week to keep chasing that elusive Super Bowl crown. Eli Manning and the New York Giants get a whole offseason to wonder what went wrong.
McNabb made all the big plays that Manning did not, and the Eagles eliminated the Super Bowl champions 23-11 Sunday to reach the NFC title game for the fifth time in eight seasons.
Throw in Philadelphia's hard-hitting, ball-hawking defense, and these NFL playoffs are now for the Birds _ the underdog Eagles, Cardinals and Ravens all won on the road this weekend.
McNabb lunged for one touchdown, threw for another and converted several key third downs to move the sixth-seeded Eagles (11-6-1) into next Sunday's title game at Arizona (11-7). Philadelphia beat the Cardinals 48-20 on Thanksgiving night.
"It feels like it was years ago," McNabb said.
A year after road success fueled the Giants' route, the Eagles are taking the same path. They opened the postseason by winning at Minnesota and, after their sixth victory in seven tries, look nothing like a team that needed several breaks on the final day simply to make the playoffs.
David Akers added three field goals _ extending his NFL record to 18 straight in the postseason _ to fend off the top-seeded Giants (12-5).
Manning never looked like the quarterback who won last year's Super Bowl with that one perfect spiral to Plaxico Burress. MVP of that huge upset over New England, Manning was in trouble from the start. His first pass wobbled out of his hand, got caught in the wind and missed a wide-open receiver.
Manning ended up 15-for-29 with two interceptions, often overthrowing his targets as the Giants lost for the fourth time in five games.
By the final two minutes, more than half the crowd had left; Big Blue hasn't won a playoff game at Giants Stadium since 2000. Philly fans, meanwhile, headed down the New Jersey Turnpike after another big win for their city _ the Phillies won the World Series in October.
"In the locker room, there was so much energy in there. We were ready to play early in the week," McNabb said. "The city of Philadelphia is buzzing; this team is buzzing."
Playing in freezing temperatures with a swirling wind, it was the kind of game many people expected from teams meeting for the eighth time in three seasons. Several skirmishes broke out early and the bruising hits lasted all afternoon.
McNabb, however, kept Philadelphia moving. Benched in late November for half a game, he never has acknowledged that the slight hurt him. He has, however, seemed to play with a huge chip on his shoulder, to the Eagles' benefit.
McNabb converted a third-and-20 set up Akers' 34-yard kick for a 13-11 lead in the third quarter. Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, he made a perfect play-action fake for a 1-yard TD toss to Brent Celek.
It was the Eagles' second win at the Meadowlands this season. They were the only team to win on Giants' turf.
(c)2009 by The Southern Ledger
I Take My Hat Off To The San Diego Chargers: As Colts Lose 23-17 in Overtime
I'm always the first person to say that something always happens when the Colts face the Chargers. After watching Saturday Night's game, that tradition certainly did not disappoint.
Of course, my team was on the wrong end of things.
The Colts' Cinderella season came to a crushing end after being defeated by the San Diego Chargers in overtime no less.
The final score was 23-17.
Ironically, the same score the Colts defeated the Giants by in the 1958 NFL Championship game all but 50 years ago.
Now, I could complain that a 12-4 team had to go on the road to play an 8-8 team we already beat.
I could complain that an overtime system that gives a huge advantage to one team that is lucky enough to win a coin-toss might not be fair to both teams.
But, I'm not going to do that.
We could have just as well lost in Indianapolis and I'm confident that had the Colts won the coin-toss that they would have won in overtime, not the Chargers.
Sometimes, you have to just except the rules for what they are and if the Colts managed to beat the Chargers in the first 60 minutes, they would have nothing to complain about.
Of course it was a heartbreaking loss, but I'm no selfish fan. Instead of drowning myself in the negativity of postseason defeat, I would rather enjoy all of the great moments this season had to offer.
I'll cover such things in a future article.
In the mean time I feel that it is only fair to take my hat off to the San Diego Chargers. They played an excellent football game and did everything they needed to do to win. They deserve credit for beating a very good football team.
I respect the Chargers as both a team and an organization. They are a class act worthy of advancing in the postseason. They certainly have the potential, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
In the meantime, I will be reflecting on the moments this 2008 season had to offer.
Copyright (c) 2008 Bleacher Report, Inc
Jets' hopes riding on Favre's right arm
Welcome to Brett Favre's last stand, and hanging on his creaking, 39-year-old right arm is only the entire season, the bold gambit to make him a Jet, his New York legacy, and perhaps the careers of the men who coach him.
Welcome to A Wing and A Prayer.
One legendary old quarterback's tattered wing.
One tortured franchise's prayer to the cruel football gods.
Patriots at Buffalo, 1 p.m.: Will Favre take the field with a real chance to author a Miracle of the Meadowlands - against Chad Pennington and the Dolphins - in what very well could be his last appearance as Broadway Brett?
Jacksonville at Baltimore, 4:15 p.m.: Or will Favre take the field inside an anxiety-wracked and tension-filled stadium that will have one unblinking eye on him and one on the scoreboard?
And here comes Pennington, intent on showing up today as the football Terminator who would love nothing better than to vanquish the man whose riotous arrival ended his Jets career, and send him into retirement
With revenge and redemption hidden just for these 60 minutes of football inside his giant heart, Pennington comes back to Giants Stadium for a division title and the chance to eliminate the team that unceremoniously dumped him over the summer. And if it should cost coach Eric Mangini his job, so be it.
If the Patriots and Ravens win, Favre can throw six touchdown passes for all it will matter - the Jets do not make the playoffs and the season is a failure.
Though Favre has gone from the toast of the town to toast this month, he, more than anyone, has the power to determine Mangini's fate, first with his play today, and then with a possible offseason play. If Favre has not already decided - until he changes his mind - that it is over for him, he can make it clear to Woody Johnson that there is no way he even thinks about coming back to play for a new head coach if he likes this one as much as he has been claiming he does.
Favre still can make all the throws, just not all the time, and he still makes the reckless decisions that always have accompanied the breathtaking package he brings to the party. But he's been fun to watch, as always, and sure has been fun for the Jets to market, with all those PSLs to sell and "4" jerseys flying off the racks. But when you move heaven and earth to add a Hall of Fame quarterback, no matter what his age, it is playoffs-or-bust, especially after a $140 million offseason makeover. Especially once you have the whole town talking about a Subway Super Bowl. Especially if Pennington is able to resurrect a 1-15 team.
But with Favre suddenly going public for some reason about a shoulder all too eager to betray him, Mangini will need to help him today to help himself. If he can motivate his team to deny Pennington the glory of embarrassing the franchise and finish 10-6, he should get a stay of execution and return next season, with Romeo Crennel as his new defensive coordinator, because only a Bill Cowher would be worth starting over.
Then maybe, should Favre somehow get to play the part of Cinderella Man today, and get the Jets to the playoffs, and makes some kind of January run, maybe the smell of the Super Bowl and the thrill of the chase will stay with him this time, and the conflicted little voice in his head will implore him to come back for one more year if he still thinks he has more to give.
It will take A Wing And A Prayer, because these are, after all, the Jets, champions of Murphy's Law. No one will be surprised if it is Pennington who lights a fire under his improbable team and wills it into the playoffs.
No one will be surprised if, at around 7:15 tonight, Favre is walking across the field to shake Pennington's hand and congratulate him, then, perhaps with tears in his eyes, trotting toward the tunnel, followed by the horde of photographers and the flashing of camera lights
No matter how it turns out, even if you don't want to cheer him for this season, cheer him for the 18 seasons that will take him to Canton one day, just in case you never see him again.
(c)2008 Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC
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