AFC East Archive: September 2008
Around the AFC East: Must-win for Jets already?
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham
New York Jets
- Sporting News writer Vinnie Iyer rates the teams that must win their openers, and the Jets are No. 1.
- Newsday writer Erik Boland checks around to gauge how the Jets feel about playing old friend Chad Pennington on Sunday.
- New York Post reporter Mark Cannizzaro writes about the return of special teams coach Mike Westhoff, who has been battling bone cancer.
- Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News reports the Jets are interested in free-agent S John Lynch.
- The Newark Star-Ledger's Dave Hutchinson takes a tour of the Jets' new headquarters in Florham Park, N.J.
Buffalo Bills
- San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Jerry Magee writes a wistful take for Pro Football Weekly on the Bills' tenuous future in Western New York.
- Rochester Democrat & Chronicle writer Sal Maiorana explains there are plenty of items to be worried about heading into Sunday's season opener.
- John Wawrow of the Associated Press checks in with CB Ashton Youboty now that roster cuts are over.
- South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde curbs the enthusiasm, telling Dolfans "Let's not get carried away with August's hope."
- Associated Press reporter Steven Wine examines the Dolphins' state of mind as they go about trying to erase a 1-15 season.
- Andy Kent of MiamiDolphins.com lays out the story lines for Sunday's season opener against Brett Favre and the New York Jets.
- Palm Beach Post reporter Ben Volin takes a look at how RB Ricky Williams' extension affects the rest of the backfield.
- The Post's Edgar Thompson writes about Joey Porter's status among other notes.
- Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero notes the Jets have just re-hired a coach who was invited to observe Dolphins training camp up close.
- Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley doesn't think there's any chance QB Tom Brady won't start Sunday's season opener.
- Associated Press reporter Howard Ulman provides the latest updates on Brady's status.
- Glen Farley of the Quincy Patriot Ledger digests CB Deltha O'Neal's free-agency signing.
- Pro Football Weekly's spies say the Patriots are worried their OL problems will hurt their running game.
Dolphins rototill roster like nobody else
DAVIE, Fla. -- Another journalist was marveling at the attitude he encountered on our first day in the Miami Dolphins' locker room since they cleaned out their stalls after a 1-15 debacle.
The writer was struck by the naked optimism of a team that, across the board, is being picked to finish fourth in the AFC East.
Naiveté, was my response. Not that the Dolphins lack experience. There just aren't enough of them still around from last year's embarrassment to know how bad things were.
Sure enough, I later discovered the Dolphins lead the NFL in new blood. ESPN's John Clayton informed me 26 players, essentially half the roster, weren't on the team last year. They didn't experience rookie coach Cam Cameron and his proclamation that he wanted his players to "fail forward fast."
The massive overhaul was imperative to changing the Dolphins' culture.
It's much easier to believe with Bill Parcells as the architect and his hand-picked GM and coach carrying out the plan. The players also see veteran QB Chad Pennington as their leader, not Cleo Lemon or John Beck.
All four co-captains from last year -- QB Trent Green, LB Zach Thomas, DE Jason Taylor, K Jay Feely -- are gone.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons are tied for second with 20 new players apiece on their current rosters. The Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens have 18 newcomers each.
The rest of the AFC East underwent far less turnover. The New York Jets added 15 new players, the New England Patriots 14 and the Buffalo Bills 12.
The Dallas Cowboys have the fewest new players with eight. The San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints have added only 10.
The Dolphins' 26 new players include 11 rookies, fourth-most on rosters as of Monday. The Chiefs have 15 rookies, the Indianapolis Colts and Ravens have 12 rookies each.
Of the 43 players who started at least one game for Miami last year, 18 remain on the roster.
Deltha dawns quickly in Pats' memories
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| O'Neal |
The New England Patriots didn't need to do much research when it came to Deltha O'Neal.
They have his highlight films playing in their heads.
"We got killed by him, yes," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday at his daily news conference when asked about his new CB. O'Neal, cut by the Cincinnati Bengals over the weekend, signed today with Patriots.
O'Neal, 31, played his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos and his past four with the Bengals. The two-time Pro Bowler has 30 career interceptions, including a career-high 10 in 2005.
O'Neal intercepted Patriots QB Tom Brady twice in an Oct. 28 victory for the Broncos.
"Yeah, I remember -- very well," Brady said. "There were four picks in the second half ... actually in the fourth quarter. He made a diving catch that was pretty awesome.
"You don't want to mess around with him that much. He has great ball skills. In college [California], he could do everything. He was a receiver, defensive back and he returned kicks. Hopefully, he can add some of that play-making ability to our team."
The knock on O'Neal in Cincy was that he wasn't compatible with new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's high-pressure system. The Bengals' CBs need to have excellent man-to-man skills, and O'Neal has lost a step.
But Belichick apparently didn't think that was enough reason to ignore O'Neal once he hit the street.
"We played him last year in Cincinnati, and I did some work on him going into that game and saw him the rest of the season and in preseason this year," Belichick said. "He is a very athletic corner, good ball skills, pretty big guy that goes up and plays a lot of press coverage.
"[He is] a physical player, good tackler, good interceptor, returner. We have seen the back of his jersey on that a couple of times."
The New York Jets have revealed their practice squad. All eight players were at training camp on Long Island, and a few would create a lot of problems if they were "Wheel of Fortune" puzzles.
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| O'Neal |
The New England Patriots have announced a slew of roster moves, highlighted by the signing of two-time Pro Bowl CB Deltha O'Neal.
O'Neal was brought in because the Patriots were unsatisfied with their CB play through the preseason. They surprisingly cut one of their biggest offseason acquisitions on Saturday when they decided to not move forward with Fernando Bryant. They also released free-agent CB Jason Webster, another newcomer who was supposed to help them replace Asante Samuel.
O'Neal is a nine-year vet who started only 15 games over the past two seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals. Last year, first-round pick Leon Hall beat him out for a starting role. O'Neal didn't fit into the plans of new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer because of faded man-to-man coverage skills and was cut this weekend despite being their No. 1 punt returner in camp.
In an Aug. 8 Cincinnati Enquirer article about how O'Neal had lost a step, he discussed his willingness to accept a lesser role for greater team success. Little did he know then ...
"I'm just looking to add depth this year and help out as much as I can," O'Neal said. "I have a positive look at it. I went to two Pro Bowls. I want a Super Bowl ring. I'm not tired of going [to the Pro Bowl], but given my choice I'd rather go to the Super Bowl."
The Patriots also added OL Mark Levoir and TE Jason Pociask off the waiver wire, released TE Stephen Spach and signed OL Jacob Bender and TE Tyson Devree to their practice squad.
Pociask and Bender were among the last New York Jets cuts. Levoir spent two seasons on the Chicago Bears practice squad before the St. Louis Rams added him to their active roster in November, but didn't play him. The Patriots released Devree, an undrafted rookie, on Saturday.
The Buffalo Bills have added two rookies to their practice squad: WR C.J. Hawthorne and TE Jonathan Stupar.
The Bills signed Hawthorne, who wasn't drafted out of Hawaii, in August when LT Jason Peters didn't report, leaving a spot open on the 80-man camp roster. Hawthorne began his college career as a CB, but was converted to give Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan another target. Hawthorne had 61 catches for 859 yards and six touchdowns.
Stupar is an undrafted rookie from Virginia who spent the preseason with the New England Patriots. He had three catches for 11 yards in exhibition play.
Around the AFC East: Pats host Deltha O'Neal
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham
New England Patriots
- Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe reports the Patriots are entertaining CB Deltha O'Neal at Gillette Stadium.
- Boston Herald writer John Tomase brings up former Patriots CB Ty Law as a worthy addition to the secondary.
- Reiss runs down a busy Sunday in which the WR Randy Moss did a rare interview, all eyes were on QB Tom Brady's footwork and the Patriots cut S John Lynch and WR Chad Jackson.
- Providence Journal reporter Shalise Manza Young predicts possible roster additions with two spots open, and one of them could be re-signing Lynch.
- Manza Young checks in with RB LaMont Jordan now that he's officially a Patriot.
Buffalo Bills
- Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News takes inventory on the first day of regular-season practice and doesn't see Archibald Leach, Lucille LeSueur or Jason Peters.
- Rookie T Demetrius Bell wants people to wait and see before passing judgment, Gleason writes.
- Olean Times Herald sports editor Chuck Pollock breaks down the decisions that went into the final 53.
Miami Dolphins
- Miami Herald reporter David J. Neal writes about the Dolphins' decision to grant RB Ricky Williams a contract extension and other notes.
- Palm Beach Post columnist Greg Stoda doesn't recognize the Dolphins anymore -- and that's a positive development.
New York Jets
- New York Daily News reporter Rich Cimini checks the pulse of the Jets locker room in advance of Sunday's matchup with old friend Chad Pennington and the Dolphins.
- Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post examines the impact of OLB Calvin Pace on the defense.
- Newsday writer Erik Boland takes a look at LBs Kenwin Cummings and Marques Murrell, two apparent long shots who made the team.
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James Walker
Walker joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the NFL and NBA for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. He's a Temple graduate and Hyattsville, Md. native who lives in Miami.
