Tom Brady was almost a Jet, Hines Ward takes shot at Ben Roethlisberger
While Ward was busy blaming his former quarterback for the offensive woes in Pittsburgh, we learned that a Jets scout tried to convince Bill Parcells to draft Brady back in 2000.
Just what Jets fans were hoping to hear in the lead up to their Thursday night game against the Patriots: had they listened to a scout back in the 2000 draft, they would have Tom Brady in their offensive huddle on Thursday night.
According to a report by the New York Daily News, Jets scout Jesse Kaye implored then-head coach Bill Parcells to use a sixth-round pick on Brady. But Parcells, having already spent the No. 18 overall pick on Chad Pennington, instead selected North Carolina State defensive back Tony Scott.
Scott played 23 games without a start over two years and was waived. Brady, snatched up 20 picks later by the Patriots with a supplemental sixth-round pick ... well, you know what he did.
Hines Ward blames Ben Roethlisberger for Steelers offensive woes
Fans in Pittsburgh are gathering up the torches and preparing to run offensive coordinator Todd Haley out of town, but former Steeler Hines Ward thinks the blame’s being misappropriated. Interestingly enough, the legendary wideout is pointing the finger at his longtime quarterback.
“I put the blame on Ben Roethlisberger,” Ward said on NBCSN’s Pro Football Talk. “Todd Haley’s not calling the plays [in the no-huddle], Ben is.”
Pittsburgh’s increased use of the no-huddle does put more responsibility on Roethlisberger to make the correct calls at the line of scrimmage, but his preparedness to do so and the overall offensive game plan still falls on the shoulders of the coordinator.
Despite ranking sixth in the league in total offensive yards, the Steelers are 23rd with just 20.7 points per game.
Bucs fire coach after DUI
Buccaneers director of player development Isaiah Harris was arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges on Thursday morning. By the afternoon, he'd been handed his walking papers.
“Every member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is held to a high standard,” general manager Jason Licht said in a statement. “This type of incident, particularly for someone whose primary responsibilities are to mentor and develop our players off the field, cannot be tolerated. Due to the nature of his position and the expectations placed on our staff, we made the organizational decision to part ways with Isaiah.”
It's interesting to note that Harris was not granted the same leniency as a pair of Broncos executives who were arrested for DUI in the summer of 2013 and returned to the team after serving suspensions. However, the fact that part of Harris' job was to help players with off-field issues would have made his continuing employment awkward at best.
Jimmy Graham back at practice
Jimmy Graham returned to Saints practice on Thursday and head coach Sean Payton is "still optimistic" that the star tight end will be able to suit up against the Lions this Sunday, according to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com.
Graham, who suffered a sprained shoulder against the Buccaneers two weeks ago, was a limited participant in practice. Initial reports of the injury indicated a two- to three-week recovery period.
Vontaze Burfict appealing fine
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict plans to appeal the $25,000 penalty levied against him by the NFL for allegedly twisting the ankles of two Panthers players last week, according to ESPN.
The league handed out the penalty this week after Burfict appeared to grab and twist the foot of both Cam Newton and Greg Olsen last Sunday. You can check out a GIF of the play here.
Burfict had eight unnecessary roughness calls against him last season and has been warned by the NFL that his next offense will result in a summons to the league offices in New York City.
