Now the Cardinals are shopping Boldin again and will take less in a trade, just one year later. Boldin is an unrestricted free agent next off-season and has publicly said he wants to leave Arizona for the past two seasons.
After a season of injuries and one year left on his deal, Boldin's trade stock has dropped. Last off-season, the Cardinals wanted a first and a third round pick for Boldin. Now, sources say, they want a second but teams may be able to get him for a third and some change.
The Cardinals don't have a need for Boldin now that Steve Breaston has emerged as a reliable starter. Boldin is seeking Larry Fitzgerald money, four-year $40 million.
Boldin, 29, has struggled to stay healthy his whole career. The Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins are the top teams rumored to be interested in acquiring Boldin.
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ESPN insider Adam Schefter has made his official prediction for the No. 1 overall pick in April's 2010 NFL Draft, and he says he is confident the St. Louis Rams will pick Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford.
"On the basis of what I've talked to people around the league [about], everything I've heard," Schefter said on a St. Louis ESPN radio spot. "And at some point, it's gonna shift to this guy, and I don't know whether it'll be now or late March."
He also stated that he has yet to talk to anyone inside of the Rams headquarters, but he would take any and all bets on this prediction right now.
Even though the draft is still two months away, Schefter's ability to find and locate insider information may be better than any other sports broadcaster in the business.
Schefter also took a friendly shot at fellow ESPN colleagues Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay for not even including Bradford in their top five.
"I notice that Sam Bradford is not in their top five," said Schefter. "I can promise you that's wrong."
Once his Pro Day comes, Schefter says Bradford will be 100 percent healthy and ready to impress—and a month before the draft, mocks will swing toward Bradford going No. 1, and everyone will say, "Wow. Would and could the Rams take with the No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford?"
Schefter said he is certain that teams are scared about Bradford's shoulder injury, but he also reminded everyone that no one would have thought that four years after a bad shoulder injury, Drew Brees would win a Super Bowl.
Schefter is one of the top insiders in the business, but remember when everyone thought Reggie Bush was a lock as a No. 1 pick.
Schefter is right probably 98 percent of the time with his deep connections in the NFL, but there is always that two percent that looms and can take effect at any time.
Bill Polian recently commented that no team will ever do what the Bills did in the early 90's: Four back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.
Polian may be right, but the Colts are primed to do something that hasn’t been done since 2005: Make back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.
The reason the Colts stand a great chance at making another Super Bowl run this season is because of the incredible amount of depth on the roster, and the talent they developed last season because of injuries.
All of a sudden rookie players became full time starters, and played well beyond anyone’s expectations.
A big factor in the Colts ability to make another run is due to the uncapped year. It is going to be a huge advantage for the Colts since their idea of free agency is to re-sign their own players. Ironically, given this fact, the rule for the final four will have no impact on them.
The Colts only have two unrestricted free agents: 1) Gary Brackett and 2) Matt Stover. Bill Polian has made it quite clear that re-signing Brackett is a priority. In fact, don’t be surprised if a deal is not worked out before the start of free agency. Whether Stover is back will depend on the health of Vinatieri, and whether the Colts are considering drafting a kicker.
The Colts also have a lot of restricted free agents to re-sign, and owner Jim Irsay’s intent to extend Manning’s contract and make him the highest paid QB in the league; however, given the rule changes the Colts could set themselves up in a great position for years to come.
By paying Manning a lot of his money this year, whether it’s in salary or a signing bonus, it would allow them to pay him less in future years when the CAP comes back. This would free up money to keep the core players together for years to come.
An uncapped year will also allow the Colts to keep all of the restricted free agents that they want to keep. This means that players like Antoine Bethea will be back next season.
When the Colts get to the draft they can finish what they started last year which is continuing Larry Coyer’s plan of getting the front seven bigger on defense. The Colts will probably pick up a couple of linebackers in the draft. Also, given Polian’s recent attack on the offensive line, and the retirement of offensive line coach Howared Mudd, the Colts will probably draft some bigger offensive lineman. This is almost a foregone conclusion when you factor in the ages of Jeff Saturday (35), and Ryan Diem (31).
With the expected return of Marlin Jackson, Anthony Gonzalez, Tyjuan Hagler, and Bob Sanders—if the Colts decide to keep him—this team will have some big-time playmakers returning, and probably the best receiving corps that Manning has had since he was drafted.
With an ever improving defense, an incredible set of targets for Manning to throw to, two very good running backs in the backfield, and a revamped offensive line, the Colts are in a strong position to be the first team to go to back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did it in ’04 and ’05.
Hopefully Bill Polian is right, and the Colts don’t repeat what the Bills did in the early 90’s: Lose four Super Bowls in a row.
Check out 2011 Super Bowl Betting odds at football betting section.
2011 Super Bowl odds at sportsbook online has released and the Saints listed with +800 odds of winning the 2011 Super Bowl. Such odds would pay out $800 for every $100 bet.
The Saints odds coming into the 2009 regular season were set at anywhere from 16/1 to 20/1 and quickly got slashed down to 3/1 by the halfway point with an undefeated record. It is the team they defeated, the Indianapolis Colts, who come in as the 6/1 favorites to win the 2011 Super Bowl.
The big question: Can the New Orleans Saints repeat and win the 2011 Super Bowl?
Bradford plans on going with the drills on OU pro day March 25th. Bradofrd is currently recovering from a shoulder that was injured on 2 seperate occasions during the football season. Bradford had his throwing shoulder seperated during the first game of the season against BYU in Arlington, Texas. He returned 3 weeks later to play against Baylor without incident, but was reinjured in the game at the Cotton Bowl against Texas. Bradford has not thrown a pass since. All indications are Bradford is in full recovery mode after his surgery by reknowned Doctor James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama 2 months ago. In fact, many folks feel the March 25th date is very agressive comeback deadline.
Bradford is projected to be a top 10 draft choice.
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Lewis was let go with one year remaining on his contract. His season ended Dec. 2 when he was placed on injured reserve with post-concussion symptoms, but he doesn't want his career to end with an injury.
First, he must be cleared to return.
"If Jamal wants to play and he's cleared to play, I think he's got a lot of football he can bring to the table to help an organization," said his agent, Mitch Frankel. "He can be a significant contributor to the right organization. Jerome Bettis and some other guys at the end of their careers took on a different role, and I think Jamal can do that."
Lewis, 30, said after the Browns' season finale that he was still suffering from headaches and blurred vision as a result of the concussion, which he suffered in the opener against Minnesota. Frankel said he wasn't sure if Lewis was still having the problems.
Lewis carried 143 times last year for 500 yards and has rushed for 10,067 yards in his career.
Lewis' release leaves Jerome Harrison as Cleveland's apparent starter. The former Washington State player rushed for 862 yards last season, but ended with a flurry. He rushed for 561 yards and five touchdowns over the final three games — all wins — as Cleveland closed the season by winning its final four.
Ravens sign Stallworth
Desperate for a playmaking receiver, the Ravens granted disgraced former first-round draft choice Donte' Stallworth a second chance.
The ball is now officially in his court. Will the 29-year-old Stallworth finally fulfill the promise he held as the 13th pick in the 2002 draft? Or will his last chance continue the decline of an injury-strapped seven-year career?
The NFL suspended Stallworth for the 2009 season after he pleaded guilty last June to manslaughter while driving drunk in Miami Beach, a second-degree felony in Florida. He struck and killed a 59-year-old construction worker March 14, one day after he cashed a $4.5 million bonus from the Cleveland Browns.
The Ravens signed Stallworth to a one-year contract reportedly worth $900,000 with $300,000 in incentives after a Tuesday workout.
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The Super Bowl champ has hosted the season opener since 2004. Besides the Vikings, other possible opponents on the Saints' home schedule are the Falcons, Panthers, Buccaneers, Rams, Seahawks, Browns and Steelers.
Here are the 2010 NFL Predictions at Football Betting section.
Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, citing league sources, said the 49ers are poised to use the tag on Franklin if no multiyear agreement is in place by the Feb. 25 deadline for the franchise designation. The price tag for franchised defensive tackles is $7 million for 2010.
Franklin has long appeared headed for franchise-tag status. He acknowledged the possibility as he packed his belongings after a season-ending victory against the St. Louis Rams.
"I'd like to be back here, but me and my agent are going to sit down and talk and look at the possibilities of the franchise tag,'' Franklin said. "We'll figure out the possibilities. "... I enjoy playing with these guys, and I feel like we have a really good defense."
Franklin, 29, is coming off his finest season since signing as an unrestricted free agent from Baltimore in 2007. A stalwart against the run, Franklin helped the 49ers finish sixth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed.
More important to his teammates is Franklin's willingness to do the dirty work. The 6-foot-1, 317-pound lineman eats up blockers, which allows linebackers such as Patrick Willis to roam free. Willis campaigned hard for the 49ers to find a way to secure Franklin's return for 2010.
"I pray to God that they keep Aubrayo,''
Willis said. "The coaches already know where my heart is. I say he's the best nose in the game.
"People say, 'Man, Pat, you make a lot of plays.' But I make a lot of plays because of those three guys up front, especially Aubrayo."
It's possible the 49ers will continue to work on a long-term contract for Franklin until the Feb. 25 deadline. But a source told Schefter that it's doubtful any such deal could be struck.
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As the last piece of tickertape settled at the end of an unforgettable night at Miami's Sun Life Stadium, one sound continued to resound through the stairwells and across the parking lots. It sounded suspiciously like booing and yet its message was quite the contrary. "Who Dat?"
The words belonged to 19th-century minstrel songs, and were later reprised in the jazz numbers that filled the French quarter in the Thirties. Exultant Saints supporters, not daring to believe that a city under water five years ago could ever reach a day like this, kept up the refrain almost until their lungs burst.
Drew Brees, the winning quarterback and all-American boy who has thrust himself to the heart of the city's relief efforts since Hurricane Katrina, put it best when he dedicated their first Super Bowl to "the entire Who Dat Nation."
Jonathan Vilma, the Saints linebacker, felt a more powerful sense of accomplishment than most. As a man of Haitian descent, he had the aftermath of not one natural catastrophe, but two, weighing on his mind in the mayhem of Sunday. Drained of emotion, he looked squarely into the camera and asked: "Who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?" The answer was no one, not this year.
To defy all predictions, the Saints outgunned the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. It seemed fitting, too, that cornerback Tracy Porter, as a Louisiana boy, produced the decisive fourth-quarter score when he jumped in front of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's intended receiver, Reggie Wayne, before returning the interception 74 yards for the touchdown.
Expect Porter to assume a prominent role when the Saints ride their hometown floats today. Do not be surprised, either, if he and his team-mates are honoured with a tea party at the White House – President Obama is an avowed fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers but he, like all in attendance in Miami, remains acutely sensitive to the plight of New Orleans.
The plaudits will be bestowed mostly upon Brees, who eclipsed Manning, his far more celebrated contemporary, by completing all eight passes that gave the Saints their lead in the final quarter. It would be wrong to overlook, though, the inspiration of Sean Payton, the head coach whose calls galvanised his players to rally from 10-0 down. It was Payton, too, who took the gamble of ordering a short kick-off to start the second half, triggering a mêlée from which the Saints, somehow, emerged with the ball, before Brees picked out Pierre Thomas to score.
"Everybody in New Orleans gets a piece of this," Payton called out as he held aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the first in Saints history. The moment completed an astonishing run by his team – they won three post-season games this year, having managed just two in their previous 42. It also signalled the emergence of Payton as a master tactician on the grandest stage, far removed from his struggle to carve out a living in Leicester in the late Eighties, in Britain's now-defunct Budweiser League.
Hollywood royalty were out in force to watch a story of Hollywood pathos unfold: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jamie Foxx and Adam Sandler were in the sky boxes, all apparently cheering for the Saints. They witnessed the thwarting of Manning, by common consent the finest quarterback of his generation, but this was not the narrative of the night.
The story lay in how the Saints managed to engineer a decisive second-half shift in momentum. Such was the threat of Manning, they needed the clear water of a seven-point margin before they dared dream. Jeremy Shockey's touchdown gave the opportunity, but Payton's boldness allowed it to be converted.
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The men's and women's shoe sells for $105 online through Thursday with 10% of the price of each pair sold going to Haitian relief effort Mercy Corps. Bush also designed a companion pair featuring the Saint's black and gold with the "Help Haiti" inscription.
"Partnering with Adidas and Mercy Corps to design this shoe is just one way to raise awareness, raise money and do my part to help the people of Haiti," Bush said.
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