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Gonzalez staying put: FOXSports.com was told by Chiefs TE Tony
Gonzales that he is very close to a six-year deal to remain in Kansas City
rather than become an unrestricted free agent. The deal reportedly includes $16
million in bonus money and averages more than $6 million per year. The Chiefs
announced that it's a five-year contract extension, but wouldn't provide any
details. Chiefs President Carl Peterson said, "It will, in all essence,
allow Tony Gonzalez to finish his career with the Kansas City Chiefs. The
obvious is he’s been a very, very productive player for us. I think for our
fans in Kansas City it was important for us to get this done. He’s done a
marvelous job for us both on and off the football field."
Quotable: "...the main thing we
have to do is bring the energy and intensity that we played with last
week." -- Colts starting safety Antoine Bethea regarding Saturday's
matchup with the Ravens. Scout.com
subscribers can check out this exclusive playoff preview interview with Bethea
to see what else he had to say about the Ravens and the Colts defense.
Money to spend, but on who? Our Vikings
site says that the team has close to $23 million in cap money heading into free
agency, but will the talent be out there for them to spend it on? "...this
year's free-agent class does not shape up to be as strong as last year's in part
because the cap will increase by about $7 million in 2007, enabling teams to
retain players," according to their report. Find out what they're thinking
about their options in this
article.
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| Ravens CB Samari Rolle (David Maxwell/Getty Images) |
I remember you... Aaron Wilson at our
Ravens site looks at one of the big matchups for the Ravens defense against the
high-powered Colts offense -- Baltimore CB Samari Rolle vs Indy WR Reggie Wayne.
"Rolle is extremely familiar with covering Wayne from his time with the
Tennessee Titans, one of the Colts’ chief rivals in the AFC South," he
says. "In six seasons, Wayne has caught 390 passes for 5,474 yards and 37
touchdowns and it appears that he's only getting better. When asked if he’s looking forward to this matchup, Rolle replied: 'You have
to. If you don’t, you might as well not even be out there.' " Scout.com
subscribers can read the complete article here.
Pats not the biggest threat: At our Patriots site, they posed some questions to Chargers insider Michael Lombardo about this
weekend's matchup and to dig out some info about San Diego's prospects for a
Super Bowl run. Patriots fans surely won't like his answer to the question of
which team is the biggest threat to San Diego. "I think the Colts pose the
most match-up problems for San Diego," he says. "The Indianapolis
receivers can get open so quickly they don't give the Chargers pass rush much
time to get to Peyton Manning. And although their porous run defense would seem
primed for a shredding by Tomlinson, their team speed actually neutralizes much
of what he likes to do." Check
out this great pregame Q&A feature at our Patriots site.
Go west: With former Falcons offensive
coordinator Greg Knapp as a possible candidate for the same position with the
Browns, it could mean some significant changes for Cleveland. Greg Hensley at
our Browns site takes a look at how a switch to the West Coast Offense would
impact the current talent on the Cleveland Browns roster and the direction the
team would go in the draft. Scout.com
subscribers can learn more here.
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| Eagles DB Rod Hood (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) |
Hopes are high: Chuck Hixson at our
Eagles site reports that Rod Hood will take the place of the injured Lito
Sheppard in the Philly secondary this weekend. So will New Orleans' QB Drew
Brees be able do exploit the backup in this weekend's matchup? "Reid didn't
seem concerned about his secondary's ability to defend the pass Saturday,"
says Hixson. Find out more about
this development here.
Grading them out: ...and I do mean out!
Harry Sydney uses his unique grading system to rate every member of the Green
Bay offense, telling you which ones are keepers and which ones need to be
replaced. And he's brutally candid with his assessment of each player, good or
bad. Take this one on TE Bubba Franks, for example: "The coaches
didn't use Franks right, but he made enough mistakes to make me want to give him
an F because the way he played he was stealing from the organization. I don't
care about all the good stuff he does off the field. They pay him to produce on
the field and he didn't get it done, plain and simple." Ouch. Even if
you're not a Packers fan, this has high entertainment value. Scout.com
subscribers can check out his analysis here.
GameScout: Get the details on this
weekend's Bears-Seahawks matchup in
this game preview at our Seahawks site.
Key playoff matchup: Greg Talmage at our
Colts site provides you with some great analysis on the matchup this Saturday
between Ravens tight end Todd Heap and the Colts' zone defense. "The Colt
to watch who will have a big impact on Heap's results on Saturday is Bob
Sanders," he says. "If the Colts are forced to bring him down into the
box to help support against the run frequently, it will mean more room in which
Heap can operate in the secondary. Last week the Colts were able to get away
with putting an extra man in the box. That just might not be the case this week,
and Heap's the reason why." Scout.com
subscribers can check out his detailed analysis of this matchup here.
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