Footballguys Blog

August 20, 2008

AZ WR Corps - Acrimony Between Boldin and Cards Grows Stronger

Filed under: Anquan Boldin, Arizona, Training Camp, Mind games, Rant, Trade Chatter, WR, News, Coaching, NFC West, Cardinals — Mark Wimer @ 9:41 am

About a month ago, I alerted readers to the bad attitude that Anquan Boldin arrived to training camp projecting - he was slagging the organization whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Well, as the team has not caved into Boldin’s contract demands (he wants to be paid as well as (or better than) Larry Fitzgerald - a $10-million a year contract), Boldin has gotten even more vocal about his anger with the front office. In fact, he has started calling for a trade to another team - just about any other team, it appears:

This past Monday and Tuesday, Boldin called team officials “liars” and blasted head coach Ken Whisenhunt for attempting to get involved in the contract situation:

Coaching and negotiating should be “completely separated,” Boldin said. “I think that’s why we have a department that deals with that.”

Regardless of who is in the right (Boldin and agent Drew Rosenhaus or the Cardinals’ management, take your pick), this ugly situation is impacting Boldin’s focus on football. In addition, he missed a significant chunk of training camp due to a hamstring injury (brought on in part due to lack of conditioning, which resulted from skipping OTAs during the opening stages of this contract dispute - see the vicious cycle developing?).

Now, the question for fantasy owners is this: how much do we think Boldin’s lack of focus and disgruntled attitude is going to degrade his performance on the field this year? At what point in the draft does he become worth the additional downside risk caused by the contract dispute?

The answer to the above questions may mean that you pass on Boldin during your upcoming drafts, or that you view him as a great bargain due to him dropping down draft boards in light of the ongoing argument.

You make the call. Happy Drafting!

Comments (0)

July 24, 2008

NO TE Shockey - Is He Cracking Up? Some Giants Think So

Filed under: FBG, Trade Terms, Jeremy Shockey, Rant, Training Camp, New York, Trade, NFC South, TE, Saints, Fantasy, News, NFC East, Footballguys, Giants — Mark Wimer @ 1:31 pm

A new perspective on the Jeremy Shockey trade was published in the New York Post (article by Paul Schwartz) on Thursday, suggesting that Shockey was suffering from some sort of mental breakdown prior to his exit from the team.

What became painfully evident to the team is that Shockey - always high-maintenance - had gone off the deep end, imagining conspiracies and persecution that never existed. Despite his incessant grumblings, all concerned believed the relationship could and would be repaired. Then Shockey, coming off leg and ankle surgery, showed up at the mid-June veteran mini-camp and his bizarre actions and ranting convinced the organization that he had to go.

Teammates who once enjoyed - or at least tolerated - Shockey’s edgy persona because they respected his work ethic and talent came to realize he was losing touch with reality. He accused players of leaking private information about him to the media, he got into a verbal confrontation with GM Jerry Reese and showed little regard for the urgings of Coughlin to at least make an appearance on the practice field along with the other injured players.

While it is possible that the team is simply trying to defend their decision to trade Shockey by smearing him in the press, the altercation with GM Jerry Reese was widely reported at the time of the confrontation, and it is a fact that Shockey refused to attend practices while physically present at the Giants facility.

We’ll see how Shockey behaves/integrates with his new team mates in New Orleans, but keep the above tidbit in mind while you work on your draft list at TE. Some of the behavior described in the article sounds quite ominous regarding Shockey’s mental health. As we saw with Ricky Williams during his years in New Orleans, mental problems can adversely affect a player’s ability to function within the high-pressure environment that is the NFL.

If he is losing his grip on reality, Shockey would definitely be a riskier pick at TE than other, more stable individuals - time will tell if he is really “going off the deep end” or if Shockey was simply working to speed his exit from New York. In fantasy circles, it is better to be forewarned rather than ignorant - forewarned is forearmed. Consider yourself warned…

Comments (0)

July 21, 2008

Dan Snyder At It Again

Filed under: Rant, Radio, Dan Snyder, Washington, Footballguys — Jeff Pasquino @ 9:49 am

Those of us in the DC area already know what I’m talking about, but the DC Dictator has reached out now to squash a part of the local radio market.

That’s right, Danny Snyder has purchased the DC Sports Talk Radio station - Formerly Sports Talk 980, and this morning I turn it on and find it is “ESPN 980″.

Yeah, that was me in my car this morning with the confused look on my face.

That’s right, like many in the Maryland area who can get Baltimore and DC radio, now we can get Mike and Mike’s national show (hard-hitting as usual) on TWO stations and now have zero alternative.

For those not familiar with 980, it is also (or was also) the primary station for Fox Sports Radio’s Morning Show with Steve Czaban (”The First Team on FOX”). Can you imagine being a national show host and having your local station rip you off the air? I can’t, and Steve does his best to hold his tongue (something he’s NOT known for, thankfully) at The Daily Czabe.

Other local radio hosts (not a fan of them) are now gone as well, but I just couldn’t believe that they took FSR’s morning show off the air.

Every time a local market gets less diverse, there is a problem - but to lose a national radio host seems like a big hit, especially in a big market like the DC Metro area.

Local sports fans are not that happy with the decision either, as you can imagine, as all local hosts were nuked except for The Sports Reporters (also with Czaban) in the afternoon. Yeah, I’m sure that will be uneventful once Czaban blasts management again.

Fans of FSR’s Morning Show can still listen on XM Satellite radio (and possibly Sirius down the line after XM and Sirius merge), but to make everyone hunt for another option seems like a bad move. Which leads me back to the owner of the Redskins, so I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised.

Comments (0)