Soden: NFL Notebook

Dan Soden

I’d like to start this weekly NFL Wrap Up by giving my condolences to the family and friends of legendary Steelers coach Chuck Noll. Noll who had been dealing with an undisclosed illness died in his sleep Friday night at the age of 82.

---

Falcons to be featured on Hard Knocks

For the first time ever the Atlanta Falcons will be featured on HBO’s hit documentary series Hard Knocks. The series will debut on August 5 on HBO, and will feature an insider’s look at the Falcons all the way through the end of training camp.

It appears that this decision by Falcons’ management was voluntary as they had the ability to opt out of appearing. The way the NFL has set it up is if a team has made the playoffs within the last two year (which the Falcons did), hired a new head coach, or appeared on the show in the past ten years said team has the ability to opt out of doing the show just like the Cleveland Browns did.

I can’t wait for all the Roddy White sound bites that will come out of this.

Beast Mode to Retirement Mode?

Last season fans around the league flew on to Marshawn Lynch’s “Beast Mode” bandwagon even though his yards per carry had actually fallen and his numbers were far from the NFL’s best.  With that being said it looks like the Skittle popping running back is looking for a new deal and is will to throw around the idea of retirement as leverage.

It was reported that Lynch had made some comments last year that if the Seahawks had won the Super Bowl he would be fine with walking away from the game, but many think it’s just a tactic by Lynch. At 4.2 ypc last season I’m sure the Seahawks will call his bluff, especially with all the clamor about Christine Michael during OTA’s this year.

Chiefs Cuts a Flower

The Kansas City Chiefs released cornerback Brandon Flowers on Friday. A few years back the Chiefs had signed Flowers to a six-year, $50 million extension. Currently the Atlanta Falcons are being talked about as a likely landing spot. Another possible destination for Flowers is the Houston Texans, both teams have personal that tie them to Flowers from his days with the Chiefs.

Detroit Cuts Ties with Chris Houston

The cornerback free agency market saw its share of talent come flying in on its selves this weekend with Flowers released by the Chiefs and Chris Houston by the Lions.  Houston had gotten a pretty serious procedure done this off season and it seems like the Lions felt it was better to let Houston rehab away from the team and save themselves some money in the meantime.

Giants LB Jon Beason Out for 12 Weeks

Jon Beason came to the Giants last year and changed a putrid looking defense into something you could at the very least cheer for. The Giants were hoping that Beason could be the middle linebacker they’ve been looking for, but its looks like he has fallen victim to the injury bug yet again. A Sesamoid fracture in his right foot will require surgery and it’s believed he could need up to 12 weeks of recovery time.

Vince Young Retires, Calls out Jeff Fisher

Vince Young decided to hang em up today, but doesn’t seem to want to do it quietly. Young is putting the blame on his former head coach Jeff Fisher.

“I had my ups and downs. I made the mistake of getting in to it with my coach and that kind of hurt me a whole lot. When you go to different teams, they already have a bad perception of you. When that’s out there, there’s nothing you can do,” he said.

“That’s what everyone else focuses on, I don’t focus on that. It wasn’t too bad,” Young said of his struggles in the NFL. “I’m very happy and thankful for living the dream I had as a kid.”

I always felt like Young was never able to get the backing from his coaching staff that he needed to take over a team as a leader, and after a while that can start to mess up your game. I’m sure his struggles with Fisher wasn’t the entire reason he never caught on, but you have to think it played a role at some point

---

Table Scraps

The Seahawks have added another veteran defensive linemen to their team. Longtime Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams signed a one-year deal worth around $2 million with the Super Bowl champs.


It looks like J.J Watt is joining his new teammate Jadeveon Clowney on the injury boat. Clowney is suffering from a sports hernia while Watt has hyperextended his knee.  Watt is said to be fine and would miss a day or two at most.

Former Patriots wide receiver Derrick Johnson is positive that he’ll re-signed with the team once his left knee sprain has healed.

Look for Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley to see an expanded role this season. Receivers coach Derek Dooley suggested that we might see more of Beasley on the outside this coming season.

Colts have added safety Mike Adams, who is infamous for his “I’ll walk to my home in Patterson, New Jersey in full uniform if the Broncos win the Super Bowl” line.

The Colts have placed both safety Corey Lynch and Fili Moala on IR this past week.

The Vikings have waived receiver Lestar Jean with an “injured” designation on Thursday.

---

More WBOB Sports

• Redskins Respond to Trademark Revocation, Will Appeal
  
• Audio Blog: Patriots Mini Camp
  
• The Passing of the Padre
  
• Sports Audio Blog: The Easily Manipulated
  

More From The Author