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Lenny P's Insider Tip Sheet (3/30)

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  • Lenny P's Insider Tip Sheet (3/30)

    Supplemental payments can make difference

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    By Len Pasquarelli
    ESPN.com

    From about the halfway point of Dawan Landry's rookie season in 2006, by which time the fifth-round strong safety had clearly established himself as an impact player in the Baltimore Ravens' secondary, linebacker Bart Scott kept teasing the former Georgia Tech star about all the money he was apt to make in the NFL's "performance based pay" (PBP) program.
    And Landry, the attentive rookie, would nod and smile, tell himself that, if he earned a small bonus for his efforts in transforming himself from a late-round long shot into a safety who delivered regular shots to tight ends and wide receivers every week, it would be nice.

    Not until Landry's check from the PBP fund arrived recently in the mail, however, did he know just how nice it would be.

    "My initial reaction when I opened (the check)?" said Landry, who earned a league-high $366,017 in performance based pay for 2006, the nifty reward for having started in 15 of 16 games as a rookie. "What else? I mean, I thought, 'Wow!' I couldn't believe it. It was so much more than I thought it would be. I mean, (agent) Todd France first told me about the program, and throughout the season, veterans would say to me, 'You're going to make a lot from that program.' But I never thought it would be anything close to this."

    Implemented in 2002 as part of that year's extension to the collective bargaining agreement, the PBP program established a fund from NFL revenues to supplement the salaries of guys whose playing time in a given season is disproportionate to their base salary compensation for the year. Those who benefit the most are primarily young players earning the minimum base salary. Every player in the league who participates in even one snap receives something from the PBP pool, which does not impact a player's salary-cap charge.

    The pool to fund the supplemental payments is deducted from the overall league salary cap funds, and was essentially created by slowing the annual increases in base salaries and blunting the increases in the annual rookie allocation pool. While it won't ever replace an NFL compensation system that often rewards player with lucrative contracts before they ever set foot on the field, and is based solely on playing time and not statistical comparisons by positions, the program has been extremely effective over the past five seasons.

    Total compensation for 2006 under the "performance based pay" program increased by 21 percent, from $79.4 million to $96 million, the league announced earlier this week. The fund will grow by five percent each year under the current collective bargaining agreement. Teams received $3 million each in 2006, and that will increase to $3.15 million per franchise for 2007 and $3.307 million per team in 2008. Not bad for a program that in its first year, 2002, paid out $472,000 per franchise.

    In 2002, three players received supplements of $40,000 or more. The following season, 82 players earned bonuses of $50,000-plus. In 2004, 56 players banked $100,000 or more in 2004. This year, nearly 200 players received $100,000 or more and the top 25 earners in the PBP program got checks in excess of $200,000. Of these 25 players, 13 were rookies and most of the first-year players were, like Landry, low-round draft choices.


    Of the 25 highest earners, eight were offensive linemen, a position where players often make minimum salaries, but where injuries can exponentially increase playing time. But nine were safeties, another position where the pay scale is typically modest, but where teams count on younger players to contribute quickly.

    "I've found out first-hand how much that (performance base pay) money can mean," said Houston second-year safety C.C. Harris, who has banked nearly $500,000 in his two years in the league because of the supplemental payments. "It's big, man, big."

    Not surprisingly, the payment to Landry, who was the 146th prospect selected in the 2006 draft, but quickly nailed down a starting spot in training camp, was the largest ever rewarded under the PBP program.

    His $366,017 supplement represented a near-35 percent increase from what the 2005 leader, Dallas offensive tackle Rob Petitti received. And it was nearly $100,000 more than Landry's rookie base salary of $275,000, the league minimum. As a fifth-round choice, Landry signed a three-year, $1.209 million contract that included a $129,000 signing bonus. But the bonus from the PBP fund dwarfed that and nearly floored Landry when he opened it.

    "It does take your breath away a little bit, sure, man," said Landry, who plans to make good use of his windfall.

    Petitti invested in a hot tub. Landry, the older brother of LaRon Landry, the LSU star who is rated as the top safety prospect in this year's draft, is looking instead for some hot stocks. He plans to stash the money away in investments and eschew, at least for now, any material trappings from his new-found riches.

    "Really, it's like 'found money,' you know?" Landry said. "I worked hard for that money and now I want that money to work for me. When veteran guys and (France) told me about the existence of the fund, I didn't think much of it. But now, every rookie who comes into camp with us this year, I'm going to tell them all about it. Hopefully, I can be some kind of example to guys who get taken a little lower in the draft, and example that, if you work and play hard, things are going to pay off for you."



    Around The League


    • Free-agent quarterback David Carr, released by the Houston Texans after the team dealt for former Atlanta backup Matt Schaub, will begin visiting with prospective new employers this week, trying to ascertain the best place to continue his career. No one should be surprised if Carr, the top overall selection in the 2002 draft, strongly considers Seattle as a temporary landing place. Some of Carr's advisors have pitched him on the idea of signing with Seattle for one year, taking advantage of the expertise of a respected coach like Mike Holmgren, then moving on next spring as a free agent. They've also reminded him that, while Seahawks' starter Matt Hasselbeck is projected to be fully rehabilitated by the start of training camp, the shoulder surgery the eight-year veteran underwent in the offseason can result in a dicey recovery. Carr is also scheduled to visit with Carolina officials, who are seeking a backup to Jake Delhomme, and Miami has indicated interest as well. But even while Seattle, at first glance, appears to be the least attractive of all his options, given the presence of Hasselbeck, don't discount Carr seriously considering the Seahawks.
    • One of the most popular people at the annual NFL meetings in Phoenix this week was San Diego general manager A.J. Smith, and with good reason. The Chargers have a commodity in backup tailback Michael Turner, who interests a lot of teams in need of a feature runner. And Smith in recent days has demonstrated some inclination to at least listen to offers for the talented backup to LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers tendered Turner, who averaged a gaudy 6.3 yards on 80 rushes in 2006, a one-year restricted free-agent qualifying offer of $2.3 million. Any team that signed Turner to a restricted free-agent offer sheet would have to compensate San Diego with first- and third-round draft choices, provided the Chargers did not match the offer sheet. But Smith might settle for a little less, although probably not much less in a trade. Atlanta got a pair of second-rounders, and moved up two spots in the first round in this year's draft, for Schaub, who was also tendered at the highest level. Turner has started one fewer game in his career than Schaub's two starts, but his resume might be more impressive, and there is no shortage of suitors. At least three teams -- Buffalo, Tennessee and the New York Jets -- are thought to have made inquiries about Turner during the league meetings. It's not believed that Green Bay, which needs a starting tailback and has been linked in various reports to Turner, has demonstrated any interest at all. Given that Turner can play for the one-year qualifying offer in 2006, and then leave as an unrestricted free agent next spring, with the Chargers getting nothing in return for him, Smith clearly will have to consider trade offers. Other teams know that, which is why Smith typically had another general manager by his side this week as he strolled the grounds of The Arizona Biltmore, the resort at which the league meetings were held.

    • Sometimes you've got to be lucky. Sometimes you've got to be good. And sometimes, as Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy explained earlier this week, you've got to be lucky enough to have good team doctors in order to win a Super Bowl title. On Nov. 26, when Colts' tight end Dallas Clark damaged his right knee against the Philadelphia Eagles, the initial prognosis was a torn anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that would have prematurely ended the season for the four-year veteran. The next day, as the Colts prepared to place Clark on injured reserve for the year and begin the search for a replacement, team doctors phoned at 3:50 p.m. It was just 10 minutes before the league close of business that day and 10 minutes before Indianapolis officials would have shut down their tight end until 2007. After examining the MRI results again, the doctors were calling to report that the injury might not be so dire. "Less than 10 minutes and we would have sent the (transaction) to the league offices and Dallas would have been done," recalled Dungy. "You never know, really, but do you think we win the Super Bowl without him?" Probably not. Clark missed four games while rehabilitating the knee injury, returned for the season finale, and caught four passes for 56 yards against Miami. In the Colts' four postseason victories, he became the "go-to" receiver for Peyton Manning, catching 21 passes for 317 yards. The yardage was the most of any receiver in the playoffs and the catches ranked only behind Colts' tailback Joseph Addai, who had 22 postseason receptions. Without diligent teams physicians, there is a pretty good chance Clark would have watched the playoffs from the sidelines, and some other team would have represented the AFC in Super Bowl XLI.

    • It was reported by several media outlets this week that the Atlanta Falcons are interested in acquiring Cincinnati cornerback Deltha O'Neal in a trade, to pair him with two-time Pro Bowl performer DeAngelo Hall in the secondary. The reports indicated the Falcons would surrender a third-round choice in the deal. But the odds of such a swap, sources from both franchises insisted to ESPN.com this week, are pretty slim. While the Bengals' staff was less than thrilled with O'Neal's performance in 2006, when he had just one interception after grabbing 10 pickoffs in 2005, Cincinnati seems to have settled on keeping the seven-year veteran around. There was perhaps a time, earlier in the offseason, when that wasn't the case. But the truth is, Cincinnati plans to move second-year veteran Johnathan Joseph into the lineup this year to replace Tory James, an unrestricted free agent the Bengals don't plan to re-sign, and they want an experienced cornerback opposite him. O'Neal groused last year when the Bengals didn't renegotiate his contract, following his 10-interception season in '05, but he's due to make $2.4 million in base salary this year, and chances are the Falcons wouldn't pay that much for a 30-year-old cover guy in decline. For whatever reason, the Bengals feel like O'Neal, even though his contract grievances have yet to be addressed, will produce a rebound-type season. About the only chance O'Neal has of being traded is if the Bengals decide to move free safety Madieu Williams to cornerback, an idea the coaches have considered. But such a switch doesn't appear to be in the cards for now. As for the Falcons, first-year coach Bobby Petrino said this week that second-year pro Jimmy Williams, the second-rounder who was actually the team's top pick in the 2006 draft (Atlanta surrendered its first-round selection to snag defensive end John Abraham in a trade), will line up at cornerback with the No. 1 defense when minicamps begin. There have been rumblings that, like the former staff, the current Atlanta coaches weren't certain if Williams' best position was cornerback or safety. And whispers, too, that the former Virginia Tech star might be an early candidate for the "bust" tag. But Petrino said his staff likes Williams' explosiveness, that he has dropped some weight to add more quickness, and deserves a shot at the starting job. That might not bode well for oft-injured Jason Webster, a favorite of deposed head coach Jim Mora, but now without any kind of loyal advocate on the staff. Webster is due a base salary of $2 million in 2007. That might be a steep price for the Falcons to pay if Webster isn't starting. Webster hasn't play a full 16-game schedule since 2002, and has averaged just 10 starts per year since signing with Atlanta as a pricey unrestricted free agent in 2004.

    • Of the top 30 unrestricted free agents as ranked by ESPN.com, only one, Chicago defensive tackle Ian Scott, remains available a month into the signing period. Teams continue to hold the financial line on Scott, who has drawn interest from Minnesota and Atlanta, because they feel the four-year veteran won't return to the Bears. Chicago added former San Francisco starter Anthony Adams to their tackle corps last week. Team officials have remained in contact with Scott, though, and have insisted there is still a place on the roster for him. It's not inconceivable that Scott, who played well in 2006 after star tackle Tommie Harris went down with a hamstring injury, will re-sign with the Bears on a short-term deal that gets him back into the free-agent market again in a year or two. He would prefer to do that, sources said, than accept a below-market contract with another franchise.

    • Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell continues to move up draft boards around the league, and a few scouts now actually have him pegged as a fringe first-round prospect. Harrell isn't the lone Vols' front four defender, though, getting a lot closer scrutiny of late. Keep an eye on versatile defensive lineman Turk McBride, who only started full-time for Tennessee in his senior season, but whose ability to line up at a lot of different positions has made him an intriguing prospect. "Some of the things that a few teams see as a negative, like the fact he played all over the line, we see as a plus," said the personnel director of one team whose defensive coordinator makes liberal use of both the 4-3 and 3-4 fronts. "He's kind of a late-bloomer, but it's not like he just popped up on the radar screen. There's something there, definitely, and he can keep getting better." McBride was kind of the fix-it man for the Vols during his four seasons, filling in wherever the staff needed him. He started 12 games at left tackle, three at left end and two at right tackle, but demonstrated playmaking skills no matter where he was aligned. Some teams project McBride as a quick, rotational-type tackle, but others feel he can also play end, especially in a 3-4 front. There were some questions about McBride's weight, which was 277 pounds at the combine in late February, but was up to 288 pounds by his pro day workout. Yet the additional bulk didn't seem to cost him any of his quickness. McBride has consistently run in the low- to mid-4.8s. Given the lack of depth at the defensive tackle position in the draft, a few teams have nudged McBride up closer to the second round now. He might not have the long-term potential of Harrell, but is working his way outside of his more celebrated college teammate's shadow.

    • Another defensive lineman to watch over the next few weeks is end Ikaika Alama-Francis of Hawaii. Coach June Jones' program characteristically turns out a few offensive line prospects every spring, and this year is no different, with center Samson Satele, and tackles Tala Esera and Dane Uperesa all likely to be drafted. But Alama-Francis, who auditioned for scouts earlier this week in Carson, Calif., could be the best defender the Hawaii program has produced in several years. The son of former NFL quarterback Joe Francis, who served as a backup to Bart Starr during the Packers' glory days, Alama-Francis was a basketball player in high school and originally joined the Hawaii football program as a walk-on. He's still raw, but very explosive, and at 6-foot-5, 276 pounds, bulkier than many of the better known end prospects in the 2007 draft class. Alama-Francis had five sacks in each of the last two seasons, and really comes hard off the edge. He still needs to learn to use his hands better and has to refine his techniques. At his workout this week, he ran 4.85 and 4.88 in the 40, on a slow track, and displayed terrific athleticism. Some teams feel Alama-Francis is athletic enough to stand up and play linebacker in a 3-4. The Kansas City Chief actually asked him to perform tight end drills at his workout, and he did well.



    • There is still considerable re-evaluation to be done, but Cincinnati officials are increasingly confident that David Pollack, the team's first-round choice in the 2005 draft, will return from surgery to repair the fractured c-6 vertebra in his neck. Pollack, 24, has appeared in only 16 games in two seasons. If the former University of Georgia star does return, he is likely to play defensive end, his position in college, and not linebacker. The Bengals should know more about Pollack's status in the next month or so.
    The list: Since the NFL realigned for the start of the 2002 season, 22 of 32 franchises have won at least one division title. The 10 teams that haven't claimed a crown under the eight-division format: Arizona, Buffalo, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Minnesota and Washington.



    Stat of the week: Linebacker Joey Porter faces misdemeanor battery charges in the March 18 incident in which Cincinnati tackle Levi Jones was beaten up in a Las Vegas casino. If the allegations prove true, it represents the biggest whipping the former Pittsburgh star has exacted on a Bengals offensive lineman in a long time. In his last five outings versus the Bengals, Porter, who signed with the Miami Dolphins shortly after the Steelers released him, posted only one-half sack.
    Punts: Second-year veteran lineman Willie Colon, the former Hofstra standout who started the final two games of the season for Pittsburgh as a rookie in 2006, has been impressive so far in offseason work. Colon will be given the opportunity, it appears, to unseat incumbent right offensive tackle Max Starks. ... The Cowboys are encouraged by the rehabilitation of veteran pass-rusher Greg Ellis, who missed seven games in 2006 after rupturing his Achilles tendon. Ellis originally balked at making the move from 4-3 defensive end to linebacker in the 3-4, and had 4½ sacks before the season-ending injury. ... The Indianapolis Colts struck gold last year with sixth-rounder Antoine Bethea, who stared the entire season at strong safety, and now the Colts are among the teams that have been checking out another Howard University defensive back. With 40-yard times under 4.3 seconds, Howard cornerback Geoffrey Pope has jumped onto the radar screens of several teams, Indianapolis included, and could follow Bethea into the league. ... Seattle wide receiver Darrell Jackson, a solid seven-year veteran whose career has been slowed by injuries, remains on the trade block. San Francisco and New Orleans are among the teams that have shown interest. ... Arizona will move offensive tackle Oliver Ross from the right side, which he has played virtually his entire career, to the left side. The goal: Improved protection for second-year quarterback Matt Leinart, a southpaw. "With Matt at quarterback, the left side becomes the blindside, and we just think Oliver is our best option there right now," Cardinals first-year coach Ken Whisenhunt said. Of course, Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm are both familiar with Ross from their days together in Pittsburgh. There is still a chance the Cardinals will use a high-round pick, possibly even their first-rounder, on a tackle. ... The Philadelphia coaching staff is keeping an open mind about where and how it will use Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes, acquired from Buffalo via a trade this week. The most likely scenario is that Spikes will supplant strongside linebacker Dhani Jones in the lineup. But one possibility the Eagles have discussed is sliding Spikes inside to middle linebacker, where the coaches were disappointed with the performance of two-time Pro Bowl player Jeremiah Trotter in 2006.

    The last word: "Hitler and then me, in that order. Unfortunate, but it is."
    -- New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin, on the criticism he has received


    Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer at ESPN.com.

  • #2
    THis caught my eye because I posted something about it earlier today on the EMB, as follows:

    "The Indianapolis Colts struck gold last year with sixth-rounder Antoine Bethea, who stared the entire season at strong safety, and now the Colts are among the teams that have been checking out another Howard University defensive back. With 40-yard times under 4.3 seconds, Howard cornerback Geoffrey Pope has jumped onto the radar screens of several teams, Indianapolis included, and could follow Bethea into the league."


    " CB Geoff Pope,Howard ran 4.27 March 27 for the Browns and Eagles. He has a private workout for the Panthers March 28 and will be working out for the Colt, Titans, and Patriots on Friday, March 30."

    copied from Football.com
    http://www.football.com/cgi-bin/posters ... aft1.shtml

    Comment


    • #3
      If Spikes is truly 100% healthy, it will be interesting to see how our LB corp shapes up for next year.
      The Shack - Santa Monica, CA - LA's Home for Philadelphia Eagles Football

      Comment


      • #4
        Pope is starting to get alot of play. He is 5ft 11 and he ran that legit 4.27. That said he still played at Howard and is still a raw prospect. I don't see him going any higher than the 4th round
        Were from Philly F in Philly no one likes us we DON'T CARE!

        Comment


        • #5
          You have to hand it to Pasquarelli, he puts out columns chock full of info in even the slowest parts of the NFL offseason. He often makes a fool of himself when he plays analyst (usually during the season), but when he sticks to reporting he's one of the best around.

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