Posts tagged Bill Parcells at FanHouse

LaDainian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu Are Good at Football

Another week, another must-win game for the Chargers. At 2-3, they've had a disappointing start to the season, though, to be fair, it hasn't been entirely their fault. And in reality, San Diego could just as easily be 4-1.

But as Bill Parcells is fond of saying, you are what your record says you are. And right now, five weeks into this thing, the Chargers are two back in the loss column to the division leading Broncos, and have a pretty tough schedule going forward.

With that in mind, maybe Norvell can motivate the troops for tonight's matchup against the Matt Cassel-tastic Patriots with the latest awesomeness from Nike.



Sorry, Ted Cottrell, Troy Polamalu not included.

via Shutdown Corner

Wait, Ricky Has to Pay Back the $8.1 Million He Got From Miami Right Before He Retired?


I know Daunte Culpepper was a big believer in self-representation, eschewing the whole agent thing and choosing to deal directly with the front-office types when it came to negotiation contracts and whatnot. Ricky Williams has an agent, but chose not to consult him before hurriedly signing a one-year extension with the Dolphins just before the start of the season.

Good news: he was slated to make $730,000 this season, but barring injury, it'll likely be closer to $2.2 million. And next year it'll go up to $3.3 million.

Bad news: Miami still wants the $8.1 million they gave Williams before he up and sorta retired in 2004.

Really-hard-to-take-seriously news: Williams just figured the team didn't care about that money once he signed his new deal. You know, because ... um, I got nothin'.
Ricky Williams said the $8.1 million he owes the Dolphins from his sudden retirement in 2004 wasn't brought up in his recent negotiation for a one-year extension. And that, he figures, was for a reason.

"I assume I'm not going to have to pay it,'' he said. That was his read of it not being brought up? "Yes,'' he said.

Asked why he thought it would be forgiven, he mentioned the new regime led by Bill Parcells. "I assume they want to keep me happy,'' he said last Friday, before a source said the Dolphins hadn't forgiven Williams of the money.

Julius Jones Will Begin 2008 Just Like He Ended 2007: on the Bench

Julius Jones was part of the Bill Parcells Reclamation Project. During the 2004 draft, the Cowboys traded out of the first round and used their first pick, a second-rounder, on Jones. The former Notre Dame star would start seven games as a rookies, 12 the following season, and 32 more the last two years.

But it became clear at some point during the '06 campaign that the full-time gig would eventually go to Marion Barber. "Eventually" turned out to be "the 2007 playoffs," and that had everything to do with why the Cowboys chose not to re-sign Jones last off-season.

The Seahawks picked him up -- along with T.J. Duckett -- to replace Shaun Alexander, who currently holds the record for going from NFL MVP (2005) to unemployable (now). But with virtually no competition for the job, Jones will officially begin his Seattle career just like he ended is Dallas one: on the bench.
After years of backing up former league MVP Shaun Alexander, Maurice Morris will be the Seattle Seahawks' starting running back -- on Sunday. ...On the eve of the Seahawks' first regular season game, coach Mike Holmgren is sticking to his plan of having co-starters replace the departed Alexander.
Holmgren plans on having Morris and Jones split the carries (the AP calls them "co-starters"), but DMN's Cowboys blogger Tim MacMahon points out that Morris ain't exactly in the same league as Barber, (Football Outsiders agrees).

Dolphins GM Says Team Kept John Beck Because He 'Has More Upside'


On Friday, the Dolphins sent quarterback Josh McCown to the Panthers, presumably to provide depth behind Jake Delhomme after Matt Moore suffered what looked to be a serious injury during the preseason finale against the Steelers (turns out, Moore will be okay and, like the rest of us, is day to day).

Prior to moving McCown, there was some speculation that Miami would either trade or release John Beck, the team's 2007 second-round pick. After all, Beck was drafted by the previous regime, and Bill Parcells himself had green-lighted the McCown signing, which included $2.5 million in up-front loot.

Funny story. According to the Palm Beach Post's Edgar Thompson, general manager Jeff Ireland has a perfectly rational explanation for keeping Beck and jettisoning McCown.

FanHouse NFL Season Preview: Miami Dolphins - Nowhere to Go But Up

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: The Brett Favre Fallout ended up with Chad Pennington coming to Miami. Good thing, because the Dolphins didn't have a quarterback on their roster. Well, technically they did ... but when you are having a three-man race to figure out who might be able to handle the job ... you have no QB. Pennington gives Miami what they need: an experienced, accurate passer. He's a winner, but not the kind of guy who makes those dynamic plays. Right now, they don't have great receivers, either, so a guy that can hit his target is key. Chad Henne may be the future ... but that's what we thought about John Beck last year. Heat Index: 4

Running backs: This is the biggest strength of this offense. During their 1-15 season last year, the fact that Ronnie Brown was having an outstanding season was lost on many people. Brown was worthy of a Pro Bowl spot before he tore his ACL in mid-season. All indications are that he's healed. Brown will share duties with Ricky Williams. Yep, he's back and he's bad! I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ricky has been a model teammate. He's basically lived at the Dolphins complex, is in supreme physical shape and could get back to his pre-retirement form. Of course, that is all the good. The bad is that your steadiest part of the team involves a guy with a major knee injury and another who is now 31, barely has played over the last several seasons, already has two strikes and is unreliable. At least he's not on the hippie lettuce anymore. Heat Index: 7

Dolphins Season Saved, Enter Quincy Carter


Training camp can get old fast. What with the two-a-days (anybody still do that?), the oppressive heat, and all the tackling. It all get to be a bit much, frankly. Luckily, football czar/de facto owner/mentor Bill Parcells has found a way to break up the monotony: bring former Cowboys quarterback (and current Arena League sensation) Quincy Carter in for a workout.

If nothing else, it'll distract the players from their current situation, and more importantly, remind them that there are other, less fortunate souls trying to find our way in this world.

Michael Irvin reported the "news" on his radio show yesterday, so take that for what it's worth. But if Carter is given a try out, what, exactly, does that say about the current state of the Dolphins QB depth chart? Word on the street had Josh McCown as the early leader, what with Chad Henne just signing his contract and John Beck getting off to a "disastrous" start.

But are things so dire that Carter needs to called in? Good Lord, it's worse than I thought.

Of course, maybe Parcells is just reaching out to a former player, something he's fond of doing. Or maybe he thinks Carter still can play -- he did quarterback the Cowboys to their improbable 2003 playoff appearance. Plus, compared to other ganja lovers on the team, Carter's virtually a saint. At least according to Carter.

Under That Gruff Exterior, Bill Parcells, Apparently, Is a Big Softie

Dolphins Overseer Bill Parcells is known for his gruff demeanor and his no-nonsense approach to tackle football, Sometimes it works (the Giants, and to a large extent, the Patriots), and other times it doesn't (everywhere else). But that doesn't mean the ornery ol' cuss still isn't coachin' 'em up. Or something.

Yesterday, the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson pointed out that Parcells, now officially the Dolphins front office (although he seems to spend a lot of time on the practice field) has taken several players under his wing. And for an outfit that reeled off one victory last season, it's probably a good idea. And one of his major undertakings is running back Ricky Williams, a potentially big cog in Miami's offense this season.
Off the field, Parcells has mentored ... Williams. ''Every day, we have a brief conversation,'' Williams said. "He's very good at trying to make sure I don't get discouraged and keeping me motivated. He gives me [inspirational] stories when he thinks I need a little push. I always knew I would love to play for a guy like that.''

Williams said ''there's not a doubt in my mind'' Parcells cares about him as a person: "He's usually laughing at me for some reason.''

Chad Henne Signs, Eager to Be the Guy Who Breaks All Sorts of Sack Records for Dolphins

With Chad Henne now under contract, the Dolphins quarterback job is officially a three-man race. Sure, one of those men almost lost a finger in a bizarre chainsaw accident, but whatever.

Now, though, Henne will join second-year player John Beck and offseason acquisition Josh McCown (who, as of this writing, still has 10 fingers) for the right to take upwards of 60 sacks next season. Not glamorous work, but with Bill Parcells at the controls, Miami should be competitive by the end of the decade, if not sooner. So there's that.

In the meantime, the two of the three QBs will share reps during 11-v-11 drills each practice, while the third QB will participate in 7-v-7 drills. It's a whole thing.
"We had a similar situation in Dallas [in 2005]," said [first-year head coach Tony] Sparano, then the Cowboys offensive line coach under Bill Parcells, now Dolphins vice president of football operations. "We had Drew [Bledsoe], Tony [Romo] and Drew Henson ... this three-headed monster going on.
Not the best example, I'd think. Bledsoe, who eventually won the job, and Henson are both out of football, and it took midway through the 2006 season before Romo was installed as the starter. Of course, as the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Harvey Fialkov writes, if history is any guide, McCown should be the favorite; Parcells likes veterans and McCown most closely resembles that in Miami.

Not somebody you build a franchise around, but he should be serviceable while Beck and Henne battle for the gig.

Dolphins Training Camp Battle: John Beck vs Josh McCown vs Chad Henne vs ...

Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.

Under Bill Parcells, the Miami Dolphins are trying to get younger and build from the ground up. There are battles going on everywhere. However, the most impactful (with the most attention) will be the starting quarterback ... where there are three Dolphins fighting for the job.

The candidates are John Beck, Josh McCown and Chad Henne.

Of the three, Henne is the longest shot. He has the least experience and is looked at more as a long(er) term project. He would have to impress mightily to win the job when the season starts, though he may have his shot later in the season.

So, it really breaks down to Beck and McCown. Beck was looked at as the future when he was drafted in the 2nd round last year. Well, that was under a different regime and before Beck looked shaky last season. Still, if Miami is really trying to develop for the future, Beck seems to be a no-brainer*. He seems to have the coaching staff leaning his way and spending a lot of time working with him.

Josh McCown is the most experienced, albeit, not as exciting. The team knows what it will get out of McCown but also knows that he isn't the long term answer at the position. McCown could win the job just because they want a steady presence in the huddle and running the offense which will help further develop everyone else.

Bill Parcells Tells HBO That Tony Romo's Botched Hold Sent Him to Retirement



(Hat tip: ThePhinsider)

Interesting interview on HBO's Real Sports the other night. Former Dallas Cowboys coach and current Miami Dolphins czar Bill Parcells discusses when he knew it was time to hang up his whistle: after Dallas lost to Seattle in the 2007 playoffs when Tony Romo fumbled the hold on a chip-shot field goal.
"We'd just lost to Seattle and I'm flying back,'' Parcells told Andrea Kremer of HBO from his summer home in Saratoga Springs. "I'm sitting up with the pilots, you know, I have a little fear of flying so I ride up in the cockpit. And I said, 'This is probably going to be my last trip.' And you just know. You don't want to go through the whole process again, to get to right where we were. You know?

"And all you got to do is kick a field goal, the most elementary of plays, and then you just don't do it. And so I don't want to go through that process again. Too much blood."
Wow. Now, I'm sure no matter how Dallas lost that game that Parcells would feel like that ... but, uh, yeah. Just watch the YouTube video above and you can almost feel Parcells' heart get ripped from his chest.
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