Football Blog

Boise State Graduate and Green Bay Packers fullback Korey Hall puts on kids football camp.

Bodybuilding.com teamed up with Korey to supply everyone with some camp shirts. The kids had a blast and really enjoyed being able to learn and play with a pro like Korey.

A message from Korey Hall:

Thanks to bodybuilding.com for sponsoring our football camp. It was a great way for kids in the surrounding areas to compete in a free camp and have the opportunity to learn from quality coaches and players. We were able to provide these young athletes with valuable skills on and off the field. Hopefully the camp will be a success in many years to come.

- Korey Hall

Have you ever thought to yourself, "dam T.O. is one amazing athlete". How does he do it? Here are a few videos so you can see a little bit how T.O. stays on top of his game.

New Football Uniforms

You’ll want to bookmark BroncoSports.com for next Monday morning, June 1 at 10:00 am, as the first photographs of the 2009 Boise State football home and away uniforms will be released.

Senior All-American candidate Kyle Wilson will be in full uniform for the photos, showing off the new look the Broncos will sporting when they take the field on September 3rd against the  University of Oregon in the season opener.

The new uniforms were designed and manufactured by Nike.  Replica jersey pre-orders will be available beginning Monday morning.

Only at broncosports.com

Check out this awesome Bears coverage from Yahoo Sports

Bears Team Report
Yahoo! Sports

Inside Slant

Judging by the way Jay Cutler’s(notes) passes traveled from his right hand to his intended receivers, almost as if connected by a clothesline, the Bears’ new quarterback is already getting in sync with his targets, but that’s just part of his role as the new field general.

“A quarterback’s got to be a coach on the field,” Cutler said after his first OTA practice Wednesday (May 20) at Halas Hall. “And you’ve got to get the best out of every single player. It’s a delicate process. I can yell at some guys, and you can lightly push other guys. It’s a tiptoe act. I’ve got to feel out the guys and kind of see what their pressure points are and how much you can push them, and that’s going to come in time. I’ve tried to do as much on the field and hang out off the field with these offensive guys and just get a feel for what makes them tick.”

The on-the-field stuff doesn’t figure to be a concern. Of Cutler’s first 40 or so passes, only one ball hit the ground, and that was a drop by Rashied Davis(notes), his only one of the day. Most of the routes were being run against air, but even on throws to the far sideline or 50 yards downfield, receivers rarely had to break stride, and they never had to wait very long for the ball.

“His arm strength is incredible,” Devin Hester(notes) said. “The first couple days (during voluntary workouts) everybody’s eyes were wide open and saying, ‘Wow.’ We’re getting used to it.”

Even on the deep balls, Cutler doesn’t need to put much air under his throws to get them there, like the one he flipped 60 yards in the air to Hester behind the secondary in seven-on-seven drills.

“He’s got a lot of velocity on it, and there’s not a lot of trajectory,” offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. “The ball gets there in a hurry. Just his arm strength, I’ve never been around anything like that before, and he’s shown very good accuracy the little bit I’ve been around him.”

That’s the idea, and that’s why the Bears gave up their own starting quarterback, Kyle Orton(notes), two first-round draft picks and a third-rounder to get Cutler. Bears receivers have already learned that his passes arrive with plenty of giddy-up on them.

“It takes a little time to adjust,” Turner said. “They know they better get their head around and get their hands up because that ball’s going to be there. Receivers want that, coaches want that, everybody wants that.”

And they all expect Cutler to provide it, which is fine with him. The 26-year-old has been making the rounds of the city’s hot sports spots and maintaining a busy social schedule, so he’s aware of the great expectations that arrived with him from Denver.

“I knew coming into it,” he said. “Anytime a team wants to make a trade like that and give up what they gave up, it’s going to be a lot of pressure, a lot of high expectations, and I welcome it. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a good challenge. I’ve got a lot of time to work with the guys and get ready for Game 1.”

Leading the Bears to a victory in that one would shoot Cutler’s popularity through the roof. The opener is a Sunday night against the Packers in Green Bay.

Vick has been released from prison finally, but unlike most felons released from federal prison he gets to go home instead of a halfway house. Not a bad deal having to stay at your mansion instead of a halfway house.

He will have on an electronic monitoring device aroung his ankle so his movements will be watched by the feds.

But honestly who would care if there were on house arrest if you lived in a house like Vicks?

Check out his article to find out more about Vicks return home.

Michael Vick returns to Va. home from prison
By Associated Press

HAMPTON, Va. — Suspended NFL star Michael Vick arrived at his Virginia home in a car with blackout curtains this morning after being released from federal prison to begin home confinement and try to resume his pro football career.

Four cars pulled up to Vick’s five-bedroom brick home at the end of a cul-de-sac at about 8:25 a.m, about 28 hours after he left Leavenworth, Kan. The caravan was led by a black Kia Sedona with curtains in the back and sunshields on the front side windows. Vick was in the Sedona, along with his fiancee, Kijafa Frink, said Chris Garrett, a member of Vick’s support and legal team.

“He’s happy to be reunited with his family,” Garrett said 10 minutes after the cars arrived.

Prior to the statement, a man had gotten out of the lead vehicle and moved aside orange cones blocking the driveway, then the Sedona drove into a garage on the side of the house and out of sight of the street. The other three cars followed into the driveway. Two men, presumably security guards who were part of the traveling party, stood in the driveway and three others took up posts near the front door as though to prevent anyone from approaching. The guards also walked around to the back yard, checking the in-ground pool area surrounded by a wrought-iron fence for intruders.

Vick spent 19 months in federal prison after his conviction for financing a dogfighting operation. Once released at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Vick traveled the 1,200 miles in about 28 hours to get to the home, which he will share with Frink and their two children — the youngest of whom, London, was born just before he went to prison.

He will spend the next two months under home confinement wearing an electronic monitor and working a $10-an-hour job as a laborer for a construction company. He’s scheduled to be released from federal custody on July 20, and then faces three more years of supervised probation.

Vick’s construction job is part of his probation, and he will find out more about the restrictions he faces in home confinement when he meets with his probation officer Thursday or Friday, a meeting that could take place in Vick’s home. He also will be equipped with an electronic monitor.

His ultimate goal is a return to the NFL. Chief among his challenges is rehabilitating his image and convincing the public and Commissioner Roger Goodell that he is truly sorry for his crime, and that he is prepared to live a different life.

“It goes beyond, ’Has he paid his debt to society?’ Because I think that from a legal standpoint and financially and personally, he has,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said at an NFL owners’ meeting Wednesday.

Part of Vick’s problem was the company he kept, Blank said, and weeding out the bad influences and associating with people who have his best interests at heart will be a key to redemption and a possible return to the NFL.

“There’s the expression ’you are what you eat.’ To some extent, you are who you hang with too, and that does have an effect on lives for all of us,” he said.

Vick’s NFL future remains a mystery, but former Falcons receiver Roddy White says his teammate should be allowed to return to the league.

“Mike’s already paid his dues,” White said Wednesday. “He wants to play football. I think if he gets reinstated before the season, there’ll be a couple of teams that will be after him and give him a chance to play.”

Vick has said he will partner with the Humane Society of the United States assisting the animal rights group in a program to eradicate dogfighting among ubran teens.

Billy Martin, one of Vick’s attorneys, said Wednesday that his client wanted to work the humane society because “they were probably one of the harshest critics (of Vick) pre-indictment.”

Martin added that it’s time for Vick to stop talking about what his plans are.

[ Read More ]

Wildcat offense might be Michael Vick’s ticket back to NFL
By Dan Pompei / Chicago Tribune

When Michael Vick cashes the first paycheck from his NFL comeback, perhaps he should offer a percentage to Dan Henning and David Lee.

The Dolphins assistants have been credited with the latest offensive mini-craze in the NFL: the Wildcat.

And the Wildcat, it seems, is Vick’s ticket back into the league.

The Chicago Tribune spoke with four front-office executives and two offensive coordinators about Vick, who was released from prison last week. Each said Vick was not an option for his team. But they agreed Vick could fill a role with another team as a "package player" in the Wildcat.

With his combination of speed, passing skill and athleticism, Vick would be the ultimate Wildcat weapon. An NFC offensive coordinator pointed out Vick is probably a better passing threat than any of the players who ran the scheme last year, and every bit the runner.

The Falcons used Vick in a package that was similar to the Wildcat starting in 2006. It didn’t get as much notoriety only because the Falcons didn’t give it a cute nickname, and it was perceived as an offense that was unique to Vick.

"The Wildcat offense will guarantee him an opportunity because he can come in and contribute quickly in a specific package without a lot of learning," one NFC general manager said.

As a personnel director pointed out, Vick probably will have no off-season to learn a complicated playbook. He might not be reinstated by the league until August. And then he could face a suspension at the start of the regular season. So he really isn’t a viable candidate to be a starting quarterback.

Even as talented as Vick is, or was, he should not be expected to immediately pick up where he left off. He has not played in a game that counted since December 2006, so there is concern about his skill level, his conditioning and his timing.

"Two years away from it, and he might not be the same athlete," the general manager said. "If he loses 10 percent, he’ll still be an above-average athlete. But he won’t be a deluxe athlete."

The aging process might be cruel to the soon-to-be 29-year-old because his game is so dependent on speed and quickness. "His best asset is his legs," said an NFC West front-office man. "If he loses that, he loses what he is. His problem as a passer always has been accuracy. Either you have it or you don’t, and he doesn’t. He’s not accurate. So he needs to have that dimension of running the ball."

At the very least, Vick should be given a grace period in which he can re-acclimate to the game.

"No matter how gifted you are, you can’t just stroll off the street after two years away and get back to where you were," a second general manager from an NFC team said. "It could take a while."

The Wildcat could ease Vick back in the game. He wouldn’t be under the same kind of scrutiny as he would be as a starting quarterback.

"I think you think about him as a package guy," said the NFC offensive coordinator. "Maybe he’s not even listed as a quarterback."

Quick hits: Jon Gruden is John Madden — plus blue eyes and blond hair and minus 100 pounds and 28 years. He will be a great addition to "Monday Night Football."

[ Read the Full Article ]

Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Refrigerator Perry was released from the hospital after a month long stay.

He was being treated for the rare nervous system disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

Fans will always remember The Fridge for his 9 year NFL career which included becoming a Super Bowl XX Champion with the 1985 Bears

To leartn more about William Perry click here.

GO BEARS!

For all you football fans the preseason isn’t too far away. One game I can’t wait to see in preseason is the Bears vs Broncos.

For many reasons this will be a good game but the biggest thing I think everyone will have on their mind is Jay Cutler playing his old Broncos. The Bears have made some significant changes this year such as adding Pro-bowl QB Jay Cutler. They have also expanded their receivers line up and are very confident in the promising young wide receivers, not to mention Hester and Cutler will make a great duo.

Cutler received a rousing ovation at his introduction at the annual Bears Expo, but Lovie still insists the Bears will still rely on thier defense and special teams just as they have the last few years.

With everything shaping up for the Bears this could turn out to be a great season for Bears fans.

For a look at the Bears full schedule for 2009 click here.

Animal-rights activist meets with Michael Vick
The disgraced quarterback might join the Humane Society in its campaign against dogfighting.
By Sam Farmer, Los Angels Times

As one of the country’s leading animal-rights advocates, Wayne Pacelle never imagined he would be here — eye to eye with Michael Vick, engaged in a heartfelt and productive conversation with the disgraced quarterback.

But Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, made two trips in the last month to meet with Vick in the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. Vick, who has served 23 months for his involvement in a dogfighting conspiracy, is expected to be released as soon as Wednesday to begin serving two months of home confinement.

"Nobody was tougher on Michael Vick than we were," Pacelle said today in a telephone interview. "I did not imagine 23 months ago that I would be sitting opposite from Michael Vick at a small table and contemplating the idea of him joining our campaign against dogfighting."

Pacelle said he has not been in contact with the NFL about the situation, and that his organization was contacted by the quarterback’s representatives. He and Vick tried to meet once in April but could talk only on the phone because of logistical problems. They met face to face on Pacelle’s second visit.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has made it clear that Vick’s only possible path back to playing in the league is by showing sincere remorse.

"Michael’s going to have to demonstrate to myself and the general public and to a lot of people, did he learn anything from this experience?" Goodell said today at the league’s meetings in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "Does he regret what happened? Does he feel that he can be a positive influence going forward? Those are questions that I would like to see when I sit with him."

Goodell did not give a timetable for meeting with Vick except that it will not occur until at least July 20, after Vick has completed his sentence.

Pacelle said he did not talk specifics with Vick about how he might participate in an anti-cruelty campaign, but that it would probably involve public-service announcements, participating in youth programs and the like.

"There are no successful dog fighters; it is a dead-end activity," Pacelle said. "More than anybody, he can tell the story about how it set him back in his life in a very dramatic way."

Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier Discusses BCS System With Congress
Courtesy: Associated Press
    

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tackling an issue sure to rouse sports fans, lawmakers pressed college football officials Friday to switch the Bowl Championship Series to a playoff, with one Texas Republican likening the current system to communism and joking it should be labeled "BS," not "BCS."

John Swofford, the coordinator of the BCS, rejected the idea of switching to a playoff, telling a House panel that it would threaten the existence of celebrated bowl games. Sponsorships and TV revenue that now go to bowl games would instead be spent on playoff games, "meaning that it will be very difficult for any bowl, including the current BCS bowls, which are among the oldest and most established in the game’s history, to survive," Swofford said.

Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, who has introduced legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a game a national championship unless it’s the outcome of a playoff, bluntly warned Swofford: "If we don’t see some action in the next two months, on a voluntary switch to a playoff system, then you will see this bill move."

After the hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee commerce, trade and consumer protection subcommittee, Swofford told reporters: "Any time Congress speaks, you take it seriously."

Yet it is unclear whether lawmakers will try to legislate how college football picks its No. 1 before the first kickoff of the fall season. Congress is grappling with a crowded agenda of budgets, health care overhaul and climate change, and though President Barack Obama favors a playoff, he hasn’t made it a legislative priority.

College football’s multimillion-dollar television contract also could be an obstacle.

The BCS’s new four-year deal with ESPN, worth $125 million per year, begins with the 2011 bowl games. That deal was negotiated using the current BCS format. While ESPN has said it would not stand in the way if the BCS wanted to change, the new deal allows the BCS to put off making major changes until the 2014 season.

Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington University, said the legislation could result in a court challenge.

"This is a rare effort by Congress to prevent people from using what is a common description of sporting events," he said in a telephone interview. The legislation, he said, "may run afoul of the contractual agreements between parties, wiping out benefits that have already been paid for by companies."

Barton, the top Republican on the committee, said at the hearing that efforts to tinker with the BCS were bound to fail.

"It’s like communism," he said. "You can’t fix it."

He quipped that the BCS should drop the "C" from its name because it doesn’t represent a true championship.

"Call it the ‘BS’ system," he said to laughter.

The current system features a championship game between the two top teams in the BCS standings, based on two polls and six computer rankings.

Under the BCS, some conferences get automatic bids to participate while others do not. Conferences that get an automatic bid — the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC — get about $18 million each, far more than the non-conference schools. Swofford is also commissioner of the ACC.

"How is this fair?" asked the subcommittee chairman, Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois, who has co-sponsored Barton’s bill. "How can we justify this system … are the big guys getting together and shutting out the little guys?"

"I think it is fair, because it represents the marketplace," Swofford responded.

Craig Thompson, commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, which does not get an automatic bid, called the money distribution system "grossly inequitable."

The MWC has proposed a playoff and hired a Washington firm to lobby Congress for changes to the BCS. The proposal calls for scrapping the BCS standings and creating a 12-member committee to pick which teams receive at-large bids, and to select and seed the eight teams chosen for the playoff. The BCS has previously discussed, and dismissed, the idea of using a selection committee.

The four current BCS games — the Sugar, Orange, Rose and Fiesta bowls — would host the four first-round playoff games under the proposal.

Valero Alamo Bowl chief executive Derrick Fox, representing the 34 members of the Football Bowl Association, said that a playoff "is rife with dangers for a system that has served collegiate athletics pretty well for 100 years."

But Gene Bleymaier, athletic director at Boise State University, noted that his school’s football team went undefeated several times, yet never got a chance to play for the national championship under the BCS.

Asked by Rush whether Congress should intervene, Bleymaier responded, "The only way this is going to change is with help from the outside."

In the Senate, Utah Republican Orrin Hatch has put the BCS on the agenda for the Judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee this year, and Utah’s attorney general, Mark Shurtleff, is investigating whether the BCS violates federal antitrust laws.

Fans were furious that Utah was bypassed for the national championship despite going undefeated in the regular season. The title game pitted No. 1 Florida (12-1) against No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1); Florida won 24-14 and claimed the title.

USA TODAY PROJECTS KYLE WILSON A FIRST ROUND PICK IN THE NEXT NFL DRAFT
Courtesy: Boise State Sports Information

BOISE, Idaho – With the 2009 NFL Draft completed just last month, USA Today is already working on next year’s pro football draft and has selected Boise State University cornerback/punt returner Kyle Wilson as a first round pick.

            A senior from Piscataway, N.J., Wilson was one of 32 players the national newspaper selected as the top collegiate seniors to watch during this upcoming season.  In its brief commentary on each of the players, USA Today stated “Not only does he have excellent coverage skills, but last year Wilson averaged 14.2 yards on punt returns with three touchdowns”.  

            Wilson is coming off a stellar junior season earning second team All-American honors as a punt returner from Sporting News & SI.com when he returned 33 punts for 470 yards and three touchdowns.

He also received first team All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) honors on defense in 2008 leading the Broncos in interceptions with five.  Wilson also broke up 10 passes and made 35 tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage.

Boise State has had only one player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft when offensive tackle Ryan Clady was picked by the Denver Broncos as the 12th overall selection in 2008.  Clady, who will be starting just his second year with Denver, was recently named by Sporting News as the top offensive tackle in the NFL.

The Broncos open the 2009 season on Sept. 3 (Thursday) at Bronco Stadium against the University of Oregon in a nationally televised ESPN game.

May 30-31, 2003
Rocky Mountain High School
Meridian, ID

Who Will Start for the Broncos in 2009?
By: Ryan Ayars

With all of the surprising changes and moves that highlighted this year’s offseason reports, the Broncos’ training camps look to be quite exciting.

There are a bunch of new names on Denver’s roster this year.  For some new players, training camp symbolizes the start of a new career. For others. it’s just another long day under the Colorado sun.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the current and possible starters for each position for the 2009 campaign.  Part one of this two part series, will focus on the offensive side of the team.

Quarterback

The leader of the pack.  The brains behind the brawn.  The “Big Cheese” as they would say in Green Bay.  The quarterback is the most important position in football.  No other player touches the ball as much as the quarterback and who ever has the ball, has the power.

For the Denver Broncos, there are three new faces at quarterback; Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, and rookie Tom Brandstater.

As of now Kyle Orton is the front runner to be this year’s starter.  Orton is a good game manager and positive locker room personality.  As long as he stays level headed and follows the coach’s plan, he should do just fine as the starter this year.

Chris Simms is definitely a dark horse in this competition.  He has an NFL pedigree and played very well in his first years at Tampa Bay.  However, Simms suffered a season-ending injury in game three of the 2006 season, in the form of a ruptured spleen.  Simms hasn’t been the same since.  Could a change in scenery restart his career?

Tom Brandstater was a sixth round pick in this year’s draft.  He has a lot of upside and will look to compete for the second string spot in this year’s Bronco offense.  However, it’s more likely that he will become the third string quarterback and walk the sidelines with a clipboard this year.

If he doesn’t show any potential, the Broncos will send him to the practice squad and give him another chance to show up next year.

Offensive Line

Offensive line has always been a source of constant production for the Broncos.  Their zone blocking scheme has become the scourge of the NFL, with many challengers and champions.  Regardless the perception is of this scheme, it works.  McDaniels looks to capitalize off of the success of the zone blocking scheme and infuse it into his own spread offense scheme.

May 11, 2009
Bears agree to terms with tight end Michael Gaines
By: Larry Mayer

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears on Monday agreed to terms on a one-year contract with tight end Michael Gaines.

The 6-4, 277-pounder has appeared in 73 games with 41 starts in five NFL seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2004-06), Buffalo Bills (2007) and Detroit Lions (2008).

Gaines is a strong inline blocker who’s athletic enough to also line up at fullback. He is similar in playing style to ex-Bears tight end John Gilmore and could fill the same type of role.

“It’s an unreal moment for me right now, just because of who the Bears are, what the organization is and the winning tradition,” Gaines said. “It feels good in that aspect.”

Gaines has caught 79 career passes for 810 yards and 5 touchdowns. Last season he had 23 receptions for a career-high 260 yards and 1 TD in 16 games with six starts for the winless Lions.

Gaines, who entered the NFL in 2004 as a seventh-round pick (232nd overall) with the Panthers, was also drawing free-agent interest from the New York Jets. But he chose to sign with the Bears, even though he will be behind Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen on the depth chart.

“I never thought I’d be playing for Chicago because of the situation they have,” said Gaines, a 29-year-old Central Florida product. “But this is a privilege that they see me in so many different ways.

“The Bears had a plan for me. You can’t beat that when people have a goal and a plan mapped out for you at your position. If you put both [the Bears and Jets] together and looked at them on paper, the Jets made sense. But like I said, the Bears had a plan for me and there was just something about Chicago.”

Check out this video clip of the Denver Dream.

For more info and footage click here.