UFC 133 takes place in Philadelphia Saturday night. The card is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former light heavyweight champions Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz. Evans with a win will compete for the championship in his next bout, while Ortiz looks to continue an improbable comeback story following an upset win over Ryan Bader. Stay tuned for results throughout the evening.
--Todd Martin
The Jets completed the dramatic refashioning of their receiving corps Saturday, signing Derrick Mason to be their third receiver with Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress.
Mason chose the Jets over the Tennessee Titans, where he played for the first eight seasons of his career (he still lives in Nashville), and the Baltimore Ravens, where he played the last six seasons. He is familiar with Jets Coach Rex Ryan, linebacker Bart Scott, safety Jim Leonhard and defensive lineman Trevor Pryce, from their shared days with the Ravens.
“Going from one young gun to another,” Mason wrote on his Twitter feed, referring to jumping from playing with quarterback Joe Flacco in Baltimore to Mark Sanchez with the Jets.
At 37, Mason is no longer the primary receiving threat he used to be, when he had eight 1,000-yard seasons. As recently as 2007, he caught 103 passes. But he remains consistently productive. Last season, he caught 61 passes, his lowest total since 2000. But he scored seven touchdowns, and he averaged 13.1 yards per reception.
With the departures of Jerricho Cotchery, who asked to be released, and Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith to free agency, signing Mason became imperative for the Jets. The talent in the available wide receiver pool drops off considerably with him off the market. Because of the uncertainty surrounding Burress’s return to football after more than two years out of the game and in prison, the Jets were in need an experienced receiver who could pair with Holmes if necessary. If all three are on the field together, Mason will probably play in the slot, where he still excels at running routes in traffic.
Mason’s choice came as a bit of a surprise after Ryan indicated on Friday that Mason would likely have to take less money to join the Jets and it became clear the Ravens wanted Mason to return, after cutting him in a salary-cap move last week. Mason attended the Jets’ practice on Thursday, but left without making a decision – usually a sign that the player will land elsewhere. The terms of Mason’s Jets contract were not disclosed, although it is believed to be a one-year deal.
“I would like to thank my family for supporting this difficult decision I made today!” Mason wrote on Twitter. “For 14 yrs they have been by my side and they chose to do it yet again even though this time it was hard for them!! Also I would like to thank all of Baltimore for supporting me for the last 6 Years!! U guys and gals have been my football family and I will forever appreciate that support and love!”
Sunday’s surfing is set in Huntington Beach.
Kelly Slater, ranked No. 3 in the world, qualified Friday for the U.S. Open of Surfing quarterfinals, and Saturday morning No. 4-ranked Taj Burrow posted a winning score to join him. The matchup between two of the world’s top 10 will highlight the final three rounds of the men's surfing competition, which is set to run all day Sunday.
Hours later Saturday, the women took to the water in a battle of champions for a spot in the semifinals. Freshly crowned ASP world champion Carissa Moore narrowly knocked out Santa Ana native Courtney Conlogue in what is becoming a budding rivalry. Moore will face Santa Barbara’s Lakey Peterson in the semifinals while No. 6-ranked Coco Ho will battle No. 2-ranked Sally Fitzgibbons.
Ho pulled an upset over four-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore to advance. Gilmore, Fitzgibbons and Moore were all semifinalists in the Roxy Pro Biarritz competition in July, where Moore emerged as world champion based on accumulated points.
Men’s quarterfinals
Dusty Payne vs. Tanner Gudauskas
Kelly Slater vs. Taj Burrow
Dane Reynolds vs. Kolohe Andino
Royden Bryson vs. Yadin Nicol
Women’s semifinals
Lakey Peterson vs. Carissa Moore
Sally Fitzgibbons vs. Coco Ho
--Matt Stevens
Marshall Faulk, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, said he was happy to see the lockout end, if only so he could return to his job as an analyst on the NFL Network and avoid losing another Madden NFL video game to his son.
“My son is a teenager now,” said Faulk, who is featured on the cover of the game’s Hall of Fame Edition. “And he’s playing high school football. Before, he would never stand a chance. Not anymore. I can’t beat him. And he even knows how to talk football now — Cover 1, Cover 2 — from playing Madden.”
In a 12-year career with the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams, Faulk gained more than 12,000 yards rushing and more than 6,000 yards receiving, the only N.F.L. player to do both.
Faulk, who last played in 2005, spends much of his time working with the Marshall Faulk Foundation, which helps underprivileged youth. He recently made a promotional appearance in Manhattan.
Q. What players in the Hall of Fame were an inspiration for you?
A.
Walter Payton and Tony Dorsett. Before they played, it was all about the Franco Harrises and Jim Browns. The league was full of backs that were big. John Riggins and Larry Csonka. Payton and Dorsett paved the way for guys like me. They were my size and carried the load as an every-down back.
Q. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
A. How long I played. The durability I had at the running back position. It’s a contact sport. You have contact just about on every play. And winning the Super Bowl. That’s what you play for. That’s what it’s all about. Those are the two things I’m most proud of.
Q. Who gave you the most trouble on defense?
A. Not a player, but any time I played against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they gave me trouble. It was because of how sound and dedicated they were to playing team defense. Those Buc teams in the late ’90s and early 2000s had a defense that was obscene.
Q. Do you think the Rams will make the playoffs?
A. I think they can, when you consider the addition of Josh McDaniels [offensive coordinator] on offense, along with what Steve Spagnuola brings to the defense. Steve’s defense helped the Giants win the Super Bowl. I look for Sam [Bradford] to have a great year. I think the challenge is for McDaniels, who won’t have the time to implement his whole system to Sam. But he took the time to learn the Rams system so he can be up to speed and not have Sam have a huge learning curve for the things that he wants him to do.
Q. What players do you enjoy watching?
A. I’m from New Orleans, I grew up a Saints fan and I like to watch Drew Brees. I enjoy watching how much of a leader he is.
I love watching Peyton Manning because of how hard he studies, his dedication to the game. And we don’t have many players who are coaches on the field like Manning. He puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense and defensive coordinator.
Q. What player reminds you of yourself?
A. I don’t know. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of full-time guys. Teams don’t have one back to do what I did anymore. I don’t see what I did in the N.F.L. It’s running back by committee.
Q. Do you have a sleeper team this year?
A. I like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A Giants defensive end announced that his holdout was over and that he was looking forward to getting back on the field on Saturday.
No, not that Giants defensive end.
“I’ve ended my holdout,” Dave Tollefson joked, speaking at Giants team headquarters while wearing a Pete Maravich throwback basketball jersey. Tollefson, a backup defensive end and special-teams standout, was not really holding out: he was a free agent who signed a one-year contract on Saturday.
There were no new developments on the Osi Umenyiora front, unless you count the signing of Tollefson, who plays the same position. Coach Tom Coughlin said there was nothing new to report about Umenyiora, who is seeking a trade or a new contract and has been sitting out practices with what is described as a sore ankle. Justin Tuck said that he endorsed the Tollefson signing but had little to say about his disgruntled teammate.
“We don’t talk about Osi,” Tuck said of his discussions with coaches and management. “If they ask me about Osi, I will give them an honest opinion.”
Which is?
“Which is what I will tell them if they ask me that.”
Tollefson said he was comfortable being back with the Giants; he has played 46 games for the team in four seasons, recording five sacks. Teammates welcomed him back.
“These are some of the best friends I have,” he said. He was content to sign a one-year contract, noting that he has played under one-year deals for his entire career. “Guys like me, you got to know your role,” he said.
Despite the timing of his arrival, Tollefson did not feel that he was part of some Osi-related roster strategy.
“You could argue that if they brought someone else in,” he said. “But I’m just Dave, man.”
Coughlin agreed with that assessment in his new conference.
“Dave is Dave,” he said.
And Dave is not Osi.
If you thought the N.F.L. lockout was tough as a fan, imagine being a head coach.
These men are accustomed to 20-hour workdays and sleeping in cots at team headquarters. They are not the kind of people who kick back with Angry Birds for an hour. Down time is not something they handle well.
For at least one coach, idle hands were the devil’s playbook. Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy added 47 new “schematic concepts” to his playbook during the lockout. Anyone who watched the Packers use everything from empty backfields to T-formations last year must wonder how many more schematic concepts there can possibly be: all that’s left is for receivers to stand on one another’s shoulders and fullbacks to dangle from trapezes.
At least McCarthy did not tattoo the innovations all over his body like Queequeg. Rex Ryan’s right leg is proof that the Jets coach spent a little too much of his forced leisure time in the tattoo parlor. Ryan has a frustrating talent for beating his critics to their own jokes, referring to his prominently displayed fractured fractal as “midlife hieroglyphics.” Ryan’s explanation of the meaning of the new ink was less than explanatory.
“You’ve got the mountains, you’ve got the waves and the shark tooth down there,” he said. “You’ve got it all working.”
It sounds as if somebody was working without a schematic concept. Or maybe with 47 of them.
Rob Ryan has lived in the shadow of Rex, his twin, for years, but he will now receive more attention as Dallas’s defensive coordinator. He took a thinly veiled swipe at the Eagles, whom the newly signed backup quarterback Vince Young called a “dream team” in his first mental error of the season. Philadelphia has signed so many high-profile players that all that’s left is to hire Anthony Bourdain to make team lunches and David Sedaris to type roster sheets.
“I don’t know if we win the all-hype team,” Ryan said from Cowboys camp, a well-known bastion of humility. “I think that might have gone to somebody else.”
He colorfully promised that the Cowboys would beat the “all-hype” team, a challenge that made Eagles Coach Andy Reid chuckle.
“You know, I would have been pretty upset if he said it was a hot-dog-eating contest,” Reid said. “I would have been ready then.”
There you have it: the lockout gave coaches time to increase their competitive-eating readiness. Luckily, a Reid-Ryan wiener throwdown is probably outlawed by the new collective bargaining agreement or the Geneva Convention.
Mike Shanahan might not be your first choice as a shadchen, but he tried to use his matchmaking skills to help Washington Redskins punter Sav Rocca. Rocca has had difficulty getting a work visa, so he spent the first week of training camp in his native Australia.
“I told him to get married to an American and that will make it easier,” Shanahan joked Wednesday. Rocca is married, but it is best not to argue with Shanahan, even when he mistakes the plot of an old Gérard Depardieu-Andie MacDowell movie for reality.
For Rocca, the holdout is not over until United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says it’s over, but a resolution was expected by Sunday.
“He’s got a job here in the U.S.,” Shanahan assured. And what a job it is. With John Beck as the Redskins’ starter, Rocca is going to be the busiest man on two continents once the season starts.
Rocca may be better off at home for now. A woman is suing Rocca and the Eagles, his former team, claiming she suffered “severe, diverse and permanent injuries” after he punted a football into the crowd a during fan-appreciation event in 2009. Rocca directed a fan who caught his punt to throw it back to him, and the errant pass struck the claimant, who is seeking $75,000 in damages. The fan who threw the dangerously inaccurate pass is not named in the suit, but he will not go unpunished. He is third on the Redskins’ quarterback depth chart.
Some coaches were so eager to get back to work that they could barely control their emotions. Mike Martz’s reaction to seeing Jay Cutler’s off-season progress sounded more appropriate for a Justin Bieber concert than a football field.
“I was kind of giddy, to be honest with you,” Martz, the Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator, said, without adding if he made a little shrieking sound.
The return of football warmed even the dourest souls.
“After more than 35 years in the profession, Bill Belichick still loves coaching,” William Bendetson of CBSSports.com reported. “He often throws a blocking pad at the quarterback to mimic defensive pressure.”
Who wouldn’t get a kick out of throwing things at Tom Brady for a living? With Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth now in New England’s camp, Belichick’s assistants may soon have to provide heavier projectiles.
Detroit Coach Jim Schwartz may have watched a little too many Turner Classic Movies, judging by his reaction when veteran free agents returned to the practice field Thursday.
“I’ve never been in the Army, but when the cavalry comes, you feel good,” Schwartz said. Yes you do, if it is 1864.
With all of the binge eating, trash talking, giddiness and midlife hieroglyphics, it’s not surprising that some coaches turned to self-help. Minnesota Coach Leslie Frazier invited Al Franken to Vikings camp on Thursday. Franken played the therapy guru Stuart Smalley on “Saturday Night Live.” He is also a United States senator, but let’s stick with the positive. Franken told Joe Oberle of CBSSports.com that he and Frazier talked about strategy. Perhaps, in a rare instance of bipartisan consensus, Franken drew up the same play Richard Nixon supposedly called for the Redskins in the 1971 playoffs.
Franken’s services were needed more elsewhere. His Smalley character could counsel Miami quarterback Chad Henne, whose tenuous grasp on a starting job was underscored by the Dolphins’ public pursuit of Denver quarterback Kyle Orton. Fans even chanted, “We want Orton!” during practices.
“Deep down inside, it does hurt,” Henne said.
Fans later changed to “We want Henne!” though it might have been ironic chanting.
It’s O.K., Chad: you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.
We’re entering Year Three of what has been a top-to-bottom youth movement in Tampa Bay. So far, most would agree, it’s going better than planned. The team’s starting quarterback, running back, wide receivers, defensive ends, defensive tackles, middle linebacker and strong safety enter the season with less than three years of league experience. Yet no eyes rolled when Raheem Morris – who, at 35 on opening day, will still be the youngest head coach in the league – declared this year’s goal to be to win the N.F.C. South.
The Buccaneers were 10-6 last year. Still, Morris’s lofty ambitions of reaching the postseason fell short (in part because the N.F.L. insists that a team that wins seven games but finishes atop the worst division in history is more deserving of a postseason berth than a team that wins 10 games).
The Bucs are the N.F.L.’s version of ”The Sandlot” – watchable for blending sports and youth. Of course, this Sandlot gang faces actual major league competition. Last season, the more “major” the competition, the more callow the Bucs seemed. They were 2-5 against playoff teams, with those two victories coming in Weeks 16 and 17 against the Seahawks and the Saints, neither of whom had anything to play for at the time.
But considering that giving games away is part of most young clubs’ learning experience, it’s impressive that Tampa Bay went 8-1 against non-playoff opponents. It suggests that Morris’s players performed to their potential week in and week out.
It helps that the Bucs’ “Benny the Jet Rodriguez” plays the most important position on the field. At this albeit extremely early stage, 23-year-old quarterback Josh Freeman appears destined to become a smarter, more mature version of Ben Roethlisberger. A cog like this makes building the rest of the roster much, much easier.
Forty-year-old general manager Mark Dominik has been straightforward about his approach since right out of the gate in ’09 when he dumped a handful of veterans and sang the first lines of his now familiar song about rebuilding the franchise from the ground up. This low-cost monogamous commitment to the draft may be influenced by the well-documented financial woes of the Glazer family and poor home attendance figures brought about by an ailing Florida economy. Dominik and Morris insist it comes strictly from a desire to groom their own talent. We may never know the truth; the N.F.L.’s new salary floor does not go in effect on a team-by-team basis until 2013. By then, the Bucs hope to be using their funds for re-signing their own players.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Intriguing as it is to see a young team have early success, there’s no certainty that this is indeed a 10-win quality club. Let’s face it: aberrational seasons happen. And while it’s always iffy to tie a pro team’s record to the difficulty of its schedule, one could argue that last season wasn’t about the Bucs playing up to their potential week in and week out – it was about them getting to play the Panthers twice and the two futile teams from Ohio.
So is Tampa’s youthful lineup a result of having a surplus of young talent or a shortage of veteran talent?
Offense
There’s no better embodiment of this chicken-or-egg type question than the paradox that is LeGarrette Blount. The undrafted running back from Oregon joined the team last September, cracked the starting lineup in late November and surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in January. Blount was among the league leaders in various broken tackle statistics and finished the season averaging an impressive 5.0 yards per carry.
And yet, put on the tape and it’s easy to see why Blount went undrafted (no, character concerns were not the primary reason – they almost never are in the N.F.L.). A roundly built 247-pounder, Blount is far from fast. More damning is he’s not powerful. Blount can’t seem able to lower his shoulder and deliver a great blow. At times, he even stops his feet and braces for contract. His timing and vision are unrefined, and his blocking and receiving skills are poor.
Still, Blount is able to produce, mainly as a lumbering runner who’s difficult to bring down in the open field (think of a bear that’s been just shot with a tranquilizing dart). But this kind of style makes for an inconsistent rushing attack. Blount might put up yardage, but defenses have no reason to fear him. And it’s still to be determined whether such a punishing style can be sustained for an entire 16-game slate (Blount played in 13 games last season, starting seven).
The Bucs are prepared to ride the mudder because they have no other options (i.e. there’s a shortage of veteran talent). Cadillac Williams washed up last year and is now gone. The penciling of Earnest Graham’s name at fullback seems to have been written over permanent ink. Thus, the top backup is Allen Bradford, a sixth-round rookie who, at 242 pounds, figures to have a similar between-the-tackles style as Blount. Before Labor Day, expect the Bucs to acquire a third-down back. Last season, Josh Freeman completed 46 passes to Cadillac Williams, almost all of which were dumpoffs.
As Freeman develops, the dumpoff passes will become less frequent. His remarkable attributes – such as the size to shed would-be sackers, or the athleticism and arm strength to make stick throws downfield while on the move – are a reminder of Roethlisberger. But unlike Roethlisberger, Freeman seems to have a grasp for winning the down before the snap. His diagnostic acumen has improved with each start, which is equally as important as his penchant for conjuring big plays in critical situations.
A key in the passing game’s growth will be Freeman and his receivers becoming more cohesive at reading blitzes. Too often the Buccaneers get caught in five-and seven-step-drop play designs when they should be executing three-step hot routes. These are things that get fixed with experience, though if the Bucs are going to rely on two second-year starters out wide (Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn), it’s on coordinator Greg Olson and receivers coach Tim Berbenich to help accelerate the learning process.
As with Blount, there seems to be a national movement to declare Williams a star. Williams is better than his fourth-round draft status, but he doesn’t have the explosive elevation or straight-line speed of a true No. 1. The original plan was for the second-rounder Benn to become the No. 1. However, Benn struggled to grasp the system before blowing out his knee late last year. He has been able to fully partake in the start of training camp, so don’t expect hit-or-miss playmaker Michael Spurlock or the moderately shifty Sammie Stroughter (whom coaches prefer to use in the slot) to capture the other starting job. The Bucs will most likely be a little patient with Benn.
Tampa’s best receiving weapon is clearly tight end Kellen Winslow. It would be wise for Olson to make a more concerted effort at featuring the fluid, versatile eighth-year veteran. (Winslow led the team with 66 catches last season but was too often an afterthought in the game plan.)
Winslow is a willing but underwhelming blocker, which could be a problem considering that veteran backup tight end John Gilmore is gone and new fourth-round rookie tight end Luke Stocker figures to be somewhat of a project in this realm. Edge blocking assistance will be crucial on the right side, where tackle Jeremy Trueblood has seemingly made “getting beat” a form of art. The reason he’s back in the starting lineup is because the only player on the team who’s seemingly less confident happens to be his backup, James Lee. Filling in for holdout left tackle Donald Penn last season, Lee admitted to not feeling qualified to start. He backed up those words in a cameo appearance down the stretch when coaches sent Trueblood to the pine. Penn, of course, is under contract long-term this season and can handle the left side adequately. He’s a decent pass-blocker and needs to become a better run-blocker (he’s a good downhill mover for someone shaped like a workout ball).
Re-signing Davin Joseph was Dominik’s top priority this past off-season, even though the right guard uncharacteristically struggled before his season-ending foot injury. Left guard Ted Larsen has some trouble sustaining power but shows decent short-area mobility in the run game. It’s critical he get plenty of reps with gritty veteran center Jeff Faine; injuries killed the cohesion of this interior offensive line last season, which was part of the reason the Bucs were so vulnerable to fire-X and other A-gap blitzes.
Defense
Raheem Morris is willing to go after the quarterback out of Tampa Bay’s three-man sub-packages, but many of the basics in his defensive philosophy are still those of a traditional Cover 2. A Cover 2 requires generating pressure from a four-man defensive line. This explains why Dominik spent his first two draft picks in ’10 on tackles (Gerald McCoy and Brian Price) and the first two draft picks this season on ends (Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers).
The jury is still out on McCoy, though the early prognosis is “good pick.” Even while struggling to learn multiple positions last season, McCoy flashed the powerful initial quickness to justify his No. 3 overall status. His wish to work out of just one position this season has been granted, so assuming his surgically repaired left biceps holds up, he could emerge as a star. Price, on the other hand, is still a mystery after injuries, and the stellar play of nose tackle Roy Miller kept him out of the lineup for most of 2010.
Equally mysterious is Bowers, once projected as the top pick of the draft. He plummeted all the way to Pick 51 because of a knee problem. If Bowers, who figures to be a three-down end, can’t stay on the field, the Bucs will fall back (way back) on last year’s starter, Michael Bennett. There’s also third-year pro Kyle Moore, though he can’t hold ground against the run.
Because of the nature of the zone coverage techniques in a Cover 2, cornerbacks are considered part of the defensive run front. This affords the defense the option of letting runs bounce outside. But it also requires the linebackers to get to the ball quicker than in most schemes, as there’s very little time to read and react. It’s a tall order, and one the Bucs, frankly, don’t have the linebacking personnel to fill.
Outside linebacker Quincy Black has the raw speed and open-space tackling aptitude to operate in this scheme, but his smaller stature (6’2”, 240) is problematic for getting off blocks. Despite this, and a vulnerability to injuries, Black was re-signed to a five-year, $29.5 million contract over the off-season. He’ll continue to start opposite Geno Hayes, a fourth-year pro with questionable instincts.
Don’t listen to the people who express shock that middle linebacker Barrett Ruud was not re-signed. His lack of physicality and Buddhist-like willingness to just sit back and let the ballcarrier come to him were the primary reasons this run defense ranked in the bottom two for yards allowed per carry each of the past two years. There’s no guarantee that either Tyrone McKenzie, an oft-injured third-round pick of the Patriots in ’09, or Mason Foster, an out-of-position third-round pick of the Bucs this past April, will be able to fill Ruud’s old position. But any change at this spot is worth a shot.
An examination of each player’s skills might lead one to conclude that the Bucs have five linebackers in their starting lineup. But two of those linebackers – Sean Jones and Cody Grimm – are actually safeties. Both are emphatic in traffic and iffy in space, which presents the exact pluses and minuses you’d expect. At one time there were whispers about moving 36-year-old corner Ronde Barber to safety. Though he’s lost a step in man coverage, Barber is too valuable as an X-factor in the slot to play in center field. The only better blitzing cornerback in football is Charles Woodson.
In nickel, Barber will slide inside and either E.J. Biggers (who can be surprisingly effective in deep man coverage) or Myron Lewis (who was drafted in Round Three last year to hopefully become the long-term No. 2 corner) will align outside.
Shadowing the opposing team’s top receiver will be Aqib Talib, who could be facing a major suspension after his felony assault charges from an off-season shooting (the trial is set for 2012). It was initially presumed that the Bucs would cut the troubled Talib. The reason the team hasn’t is they simply don’t make enough 6’1” ball hawks with such fluid change-of-direction ability.
Special Teams
Connor Barth is an everyman kicker: accurate inside of 40 yards, hit-or-miss beyond that. Michael Koenen comes over from Atlanta to punt and share secrets about his former team. (You’ll never believe it: Matt Ryan doesn’t actually shave with Gillette Fusion in the shower!) Return specialist Michael Spurlock is capable of occasional magic but doesn’t quite have the wiggle to create his own space on punts.
Bottom Line
This young team will be better than it was a year ago because, if nothing else, of the laws of nature. But improvements may not translate into victories given the harder schedule, shortened off-season (which hurt young players most) and higher expectations.
Predicted Finish: 3rd N.F.C. South
Andy Benoit is the founder of NFLTouchdown.com and covers the N.F.L. for CBSsports.com. He can be reached at andy.benoit@NFLtouchdown.com.
