Jason J Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Have a listless showing in a preseason game? Enter LB Robert McCune, G Pat Murray, RB Chris Jennings, and WR Paul Raymond, in two and a half days. The "my way or the highway" movement is well underway in Berea. This is an old Parcells tactic. Bring in guys with fresh (er) legs to push guys who are getting camp weary. Look for another interior DL to show up in a matter of hours, especially with the potential loss of Purcell. Mangini is not about to play the enemy for the last days of camp. It's like feeding raw meat to the junkyard dog. Here's what the enemy smells like! These are the new guys that are here to take your jobs. I don't believe that any one of these guys makes the 53. But they may make 65... and a lot of veterans very, very nervous. Mangini is f'ing serious about this. You will execute or you'll play elsewhere. I'll just paraphrase the quote attributed to Scott Pioli (another Parcells disciple)... "I can get 53 guys off the street and go 4-12." It ain't gonna win you Mr. Congeniality, but I love the approach. -jj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownIndian Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Does anyone have details on how good Chris Jennings is ? Is he just for RB depth ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DestinFunk Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 you are thinking of Rashad Jennings..drafted round 7 (i think) by jacksonville... this guy is in because all they had was noah herron with JD running slow and JH on the sidelines...also they want to save JL...lots of J's here... i did read the jennings was cutting it up in camp..but it seems to be a fresh legs thing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browns2405 Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 I like the idea of bringing in fresh guys to help push those left on the team. Competition is nothing but positive. I do believe that Maurice Jones Drew was quoted in a sporting news magazine as saying "When you are satisfied with where you are, imporvement stops" and I like that quote a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 I'll take this approach over Crennels strategy (or lack of effort or lack of anything) anyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solon16 Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Have a listless showing in a preseason game? Enter LB Robert McCune, G Pat Murray, RB Chris Jennings, and WR Paul Raymond, in two and a half days. The "my way or the highway" movement is well underway in Berea. This is an old Parcells tactic. Bring in guys with fresh (er) legs to push guys who are getting camp weary. Look for another interior DL to show up in a matter of hours, especially with the potential loss of Purcell. Mangini is not about to play the enemy for the last days of camp. It's like feeding raw meat to the junkyard dog. Here's what the enemy smells like! These are the new guys that are here to take your jobs. I don't believe that any one of these guys makes the 53. But they may make 65... and a lot of veterans very, very nervous. Mangini is f'ing serious about this. You will execute or you'll play elsewhere. I'll just paraphrase the quote attributed to Scott Pioli (another Parcells disciple)... "I can get 53 guys off the street and go 4-12." It ain't gonna win you Mr. Congeniality, but I love the approach. -jj LOVE IT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Should be interesting to see what kind of message Mangini delivers in response to this: Cox, Leonard Go Toe-to-Toe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradyQuinnisBeast Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 What is the 65? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AdaM Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 What is the 65? active roster + practice squad I'm guessing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aloysius Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 The cuts are made in stages. Before the final cuts, the roster is trimmed is 65. (at least I think) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZBrowns Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Does anyone have details on how good Chris Jennings is ? Is he just for RB depth ? U of A resident here... He had one good game in his career at Arizona and it was agaisnt Stephen F Austin. He had 201 yards on the ground that game. His next highest total was 89 later that year against Stanford, who might as well have been a D-II team that year. Other than those games his three highest run totals in college were 53, 41, and 41. He averaged 2.9 YPC as a senior and lost his job to then-freshman Nicolas Grigsby. Quite frankly, he wasn't very good then and I can't imagine how he has improved enough to get an invite to an NFL camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffer X Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Should be interesting to see what kind of message Mangini delivers in response to this: Cox, Leonard Go Toe-to-Toe I can't be the only one a little perplexed on the high praise Cox seems to get as a coach. As a player, he was close to being a nutjob. Hey, maybe this team needs guys like him, and the fact Mangie loves the guy has to mean something. However, I am wary of more issues involving Cox and his emotions. Leonard seems to be a cool guy, but we don't know what really happened. The Smith incident doesn't count, he is a nutjob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mz. Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 It ain't gonna win you Mr. Congeniality, but I love the approach. I like Mangini's approach. A far cry from the codling we're used to seeing. It's not like he's going Tom Cable on anyone.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason J Posted August 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 The cuts are made in stages. Before the final cuts, the roster is trimmed is 65. (at least I think) Yeah... I'm not even sure they do that anymore. It's more of an expression. The traditional first cut was always to 65. And, I always think of it that way. It was more of a description of the difference separating slot fillers, udfa's, and guys that aren't really NFL talents from the legitimate prospects, journeymen, and vets who lost jobs in competitions. The guys who made "the 65" before getting cut often ended up being claimed off waivers, or signed to someone's practice squad. I think actually this year they cut to 75 then down to 53. I can't remember exactly... I think they changed that a couple of years ago. Somewhere Sept. 1st is sticking in my head... 75 by September 1st. I think that's right. -jj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 It is what this team has needed for a long time....some fire and desire. We aren't talking about some crap ass job that can be had anywhere...we are talking about the best paying job most of these guys could ever possibly hope to hold. Let them know there is a real chance they won't hold it much longer and it brings out the 100% rather than the 90%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason J Posted August 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Should be interesting to see what kind of message Mangini delivers in response to this: Cox, Leonard Go Toe-to-Toe You know, it' funny really. This might actually work in Louis' favor. If he's lacked anything in his brief NFL career, it's intensity. I'm not going conspiracy theory here, but I would not be surprised if the staff IOK, Cox and Mangini) wasn't riding him just to see where he breaks. Just to see where he starts to fight back. I feel like I keep saying this... but it worked for Parcells, it's worked for Belichick. Of course, it could just be that everyone's getting a little frayed around the edges. -jj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I agree. If he gets cut, it won't be because of this, it is simply because he isn't good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canton Mike Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 It is what this team has needed for a long time....some fire and desire. We aren't talking about some crap ass job that can be had anywhere...we are talking about the best paying job most of these guys could ever possibly hope to hold. Let them know there is a real chance they won't hold it much longer and it brings out the 100% rather than the 90%. Yep! Most have the ability....with THIS regime, we'll find out who has the desire & pride! If that's not there, neither will their paycheck...no more "easy money". Once again, we are heading in the right direction. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradyQuinnisBeast Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 active roster + practice squad I'm guessing. The practice squad is limited to 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffer X Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I got my eye out on Cox, I ain't drinking the kool aid just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I got my eye out on Cox, I ain't drinking the kool aid just yet. I agree. He was always a loud mouth player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegasdogg Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I agree. He was always a loud mouth player. But he was always the most intense. You can't coach talent but you can coach intensity and how to play full tilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. T Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Sounds like we finally found ourselves a coach. Mangini knows how to get the most out of his players. Lets see which veterans fold under pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencyguy Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 But he was always the most intense. You can't coach talent but you can coach intensity and how to play full tilt. There's coaching intensity, and there's coaching with stupid machismo. If he's Dick Vermeil (trying to think of a non-crazy vocal coach), that's one thing. If he's Tom Cable, that's another. Dennis Assuming that Quinn isn't the only guy people would object to being punched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndneighbor Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 Who is Bryan Cox ? A circa 1996 SI article http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/art...08579/index.htm August 19, 1996 A Real Bear Outspoken Bryan Cox has made himself right at home as the new leader in Chicago Peter King A little past seven last Friday morning, the NFL's most misunderstood player sat in the cafeteria of the Chicago Bears' training-camp complex in Platteville, Wis., looking nothing like the quarterback terrorist his new coach, Dave Wannstedt, hopes he will be. He looked placid, actually, a man happy with his job and his stature and what he considers his ridiculous wealth. Well, there was one thing bothering him. "You know," said this complex man, his brow wrinkling on his round face, "I went to Coach Wannstedt the other day, and I asked him, 'Nothing against this camp, but can we get the f—-out of here early?' I've been a month without seeing my wife, six weeks without seeing my kids. Man, I miss seeing my kids when I go home at night. Do you know what that's like?" Cuddly and forthright and rebellious, all at the same time. That sums up what the Bears got for their $13.2 million when they signed free-agent defender Bryan Cox to a four-year deal in February. Cox made his Soldier Field debut on Sunday in Chicago's 24-21 preseason victory over the Miami Dolphins, his former team, and Bears fans had to be happy with what they saw. The ebullient Wannstedt certainly was. "He's everything we thought he'd be," Wannstedt said. "And more." Cox made but two tackles in two quarters, but twice he snuffed out drives with impact plays. On fourth-and-one from the Miami 44 late in the first quarter, Cox the middle linebacker stood up lead blocker and fullback Stanley Pritchett, allowing five teammates to stop running back Irving Spikes for no gain. In the second quarter Cox the defensive end—that's where he'll play on most passing downs—was scrumming with Dolphins left tackle Richmond Webb when quarterback Dan Marino fired a bullet toward the left sideline. Cox extended his right arm and deflected the pass into the arms of defensive end Al Fontenot. "Sure was funny seeing him in that black uniform," Webb said afterward. "We didn't see that competitive rage today, but it'll come." To be sure. Cox plays with a fire few players have, and the preseason is no time to ignite it. Come October he'll blow a gasket at a referee's call or a misplay by a teammate, and every football fan in every bar and den will think he's seeing a replay of one of the five or six memorable occasions during Cox's five years in Miami, when defensive line coach Joe Greene or even coach Don Shula had to hold Cox back from doing something stupid, like attacking a teammate or an official. Unfortunately, when that happens, Cox's talent as a football player will be overshadowed. Cox brings it on himself, this out-of-control tag. Three seasons ago in Buffalo he was fined $10,000 by the NFL for making obscene gestures to the crowd at Rich Stadium. That incident is vivid in the minds of many fans, but the two death threats Cox says he received on the eve of the game were never widely reported. He says that the league failed to provide adequate security for him that day, which put him on edge, and that his outburst was a response to vulgar taunting by Bills fans. Ten months later Cox sued the NFL for undisclosed damages for forcing him to play in a racially hostile environment; the sides eventually settled out of court, with the league paying Cox's legal fees. Leashing his fury, Cox contends, isn't an option, because it would hinder him as a player. Whatever his excesses, he's an important player in a league all too concerned with conformity. Cox isn't afraid to speak his mind. Ask him how he gets mentally prepared for a game, and he says, "I make up things, like the guy I'm playing against has just done something evil to my wife or my kids or my mom. If somebody has just kidnapped your kids, what are you going to do? You're going to try to kill his ass." Ask him if he's crazy, and he says, "That's what people don't understand. You know you're crazy for playing this game anyway. If I lose that edge, I can't compete. This is a violent game." Ask him about the responsibility of black players outside football, and he says, "Black players in this league are suckers. They don't know how to be accountable and stand up and be a man about nothing. The one thing that this league can use to keep black athletes, especially, in check is to talk about fining them. 'Oh, I ain't losing no money,' they say. If I believe in something, you can take my whole paycheck, because I'm going to fight you tooth and nail." He says he is embarrassed when he sees his outbursts on TV. He says there is "no damn way" he's worth the $3.3 million a year he's earning, which ranks him among the highest-paid defensive players in the league. If salaries were measured solely on statistics, he wouldn't be. He doesn't figure to be among the league leaders in sacks; the Bears would be happy if he finished with 10 or 11, which would be a healthy increase over the 7.5 he had with the Dolphins last year. And he will get pushed around occasionally because, at 250 pounds, he's no match for Nate Newton-sized offensive linemen. But in comparative terms he's a bargain. When guys without pedigrees, guys like Marco Coleman of the San Diego Chargers and Alonzo Spellman of the Bears, are making $3 million or more a year, then what is Cox, a three-time Pro Bowl player at 28, worth? Wannstedt saw Cox as a leader, and that was a big reason he was on the phone to him at 7 a.m. on Feb. 16, the first day of the free-agent signing period. Wannstedt phoned Cox three times that day and placed another 15 calls to Cox's agent, Clifford Brady. The Chargers, the Denver Broncos, the Green Bay Packers and the St. Louis Rams were also interested, but Chicago moved quickly to sign its man. The deal was done within five days, before any other team had a chance to make a serious offer. "We've never really had a leader here," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "Until now." The Chicago players liked what they saw of Cox in off-season workouts, but they didn't know much about him. Early in camp even Cox was worried his teammates might think he was overrated. "I had the lowest vertical leap among the linebackers and the slowest time in the 40," he says. "I think guys were starting to look at me funny." Then two things happened. First Cox ran a series of 110-yard conditioning sprints in nothing but spikes and a jockstrap. "Gave the secretaries a thrill," says quarterback Erik Kramer. It also told his teammates, We can have fun out here while we're killing ourselves. Next Cox showed his teammates he could play. Wannstedt puts his players through what he calls the middle drill, in which the offensive line faces the defensive front seven and a back tries to run up the gut. Helmets crack, grown men brawl, coaches measure toughness. On Cox's first middle drill as a Bear he burst through a gap and leveled former Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam. Cox got up screaming and helmet-banging. On the third play of the drill third-year fullback Raymont Harris met Cox. The collision sent Harris flying backward and the defense into a celebratory frenzy. "Who? What? Who hit me?" a dazed Harris said later. Says linebacker Vinson Smith, "That did it. If anybody doubted Bryan before that, nobody did anymore." The Bears need that kind of physical presence; last year only seven teams allowed more points than the 22.5 per game that Chicago gave up. Against Miami on Sunday the Bears jetted to a 19-0 lead and thoroughly frustrated the Dolphins' attempts to establish a running game before Marino rallied his team to within five points at half-time. Miami coach Jimmy Johnson came to Soldier Field determined to run the ball with Spikes, rookies Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Jerris McPhail and Terry Kirby, who was being showcased for a potential late-August trade. In the first half the Dolphins' first-team offense ran the ball 12 times against the Bears' first-team defense and gained but 35 yards. "If we're going to be a good football team—and we are—it's not going to come by us throwing the ball 50 times a game," Johnson said afterward. "We've got to build a running game." Johnson is tearing down the House That Shula Built. Aside from Marino, who are these guys? Johnson's opening-game lineup will include as many as 15 starters who are different from the players in the 1995 opening-day lineup. This is how wild and crazy the situation in Miami is: Johnson brought in 33-year-old Jack Del Rio to play middle linebacker. He viewed Del Rio as a trusted veteran around whom a bunch of rookies could grow and learn. Del Rio, however, was released after one preseason game and replaced by 5'11", 231-pound Zach Thomas, a fifth-round pick from Texas Tech. Thomas is one of four or five rookies ticketed to start. "I love Jack Del Rio," Johnson said last Saturday, "but Zach's making more plays. Period. And young legs make more plays than old legs in December and January. I keep telling the players I'm going to put the best players out there. Pedigree means nothing to me. What can they do for me now?" Johnson remains his old wheeling-and-dealing self. Offer him a third-or fourth-rounder in the 1997 draft, and you can have either Kirby—Vinny Cerrato, director of player personnel for the running back-needy 49ers (page 54), was at the game scouting the fourth-year back—or Pete Stoyanovich, the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history. Johnson scoffs at the notion that he is making a rash judgment on Stoyanovich, who's on the block because unknown Joe Nedney has shown a strong leg. "In Dallas [place-kicker] Lin Elliott won for us one year," Johnson says. "When he wasn't going good the next year, we fired him and got a guy off the street [Eddie Murray] and won the Super Bowl. Big deal." After Sunday's game, while not quite blowing a gasket, Cox was going off again. This time his target was 72-year-old Soldier Field. "This is the raggiest, lousiest stadium in the league," he said. "This must be the last stadium left in the league without a damn Jumbotron to see highlights. I wish the politicians in this city would get off their asses and get us a stadium built." Cox screwed in his $2,000 diamond-stud earrings. As he walked from the locker room in the stadium he hates, he listened to another question: What's the most misunderstood thing about you? He stopped. "Nothing," he replied. "Nothing?" "Nothing," Cox said. "Because I don't care what people think, and people outside of my world don't know me. My wife loves me. My kids love me. I do my job the best I can, and I do what I think is right. Isn't that enough?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTBH Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 LB Robert Mccune is built like a brick shithouse. It'll be interesting to see if he has an impact in camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 But he was always the most intense. You can't coach talent but you can coach intensity and how to play full tilt. I am thinking it is the other way around. Intensity and heart are pretty much the same thing...either you have it or you don't. You can't coach talent?? I don't understand that comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Masters Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 You can't coach talent?? I don't understand that comment. I think he means you can't teach/coach a player to have talent. You either have talent or you don't. You can certainly teach/coach a player to be able to play above his natural talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solon16 Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I think he means.....Speed, explosiveness, drive and instincts. If I'm not mistaken, I believe you think you can coach catching the football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegasdogg Posted August 21, 2009 Report Share Posted August 21, 2009 I'm just excited that I remembered that!!! lol) Nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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