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My World In Sports: Football is Awesome
2007-09-11 08:12:00 Right now my sports life is almost completely dominated by football right now. What else do you expect me to talk about? I've been taking a lot of notes this week so I'm goin' bullet format tonight. College Football Michigan's sucks and their only hope is winning the Big10.Hawaii's schedule might not be easy enough!Matt Flynn might be able to manage his way to the national championship gameVirginia Tech shows that Offense wins games and... victories lead to championships?If Appalatian State goes undefeated (they will) they could crack the top 25.Oregon -along with the Pac10 in general- is overratedJake Locker is a stud on the field and will bring Washington back to the promise land (plus he's 6'3" and runs a 4.5 40 yrd. dash - that's nearly Reggie Bush-esque) I hope USC vs. Nebraska is a close gameNotre Dame vs. Michigan will be a highly contested suck-festMy Weekend I'm pretty pumped about my weekend. First I'm getting up and going to watch the Central Washington Wildcats...
By: The Sports Flow
Kickers have a good night
2007-08-12 23:16:00 The Green Bay Packers will have to make one of their toughest cuts of training camp when they decide which kicker to keep."Both kickers did nothing to hurt their causes in their battle for the starting job," according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Dave Rayner made a 32-yard field goal on the last play of the first half and hit the kickoff opening the second half to the back of the end zone for a touchback. He later had a second kickoff for a touchback and a third kickoff that went to the goal line. Rookie Mason Crosby made a 52-yard field goal in the second half."Which NFL team out there needs a kicker. Trade the Packers a late round draft pick and you got yourself a steal.Welcome to the Railbird feed. Eat up.
Dougherty can kickoff
2007-08-08 15:05:00 Newly acquired punter Ryan Dougherty can do more than just punt."With Dave Rayner or Mason Crosby expected to win the kicking job, the Packers have little need for another kickoff man," writes Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "However, free agent Ryan Dougherty might be able to do the job if something were to happen to Jon Ryan and he became the punter."Dougherty kicked off for East Carolina while he was in college.He must have some strength behind his kicks.Tom Silverstein said of him, "The 6-foot-1, 233-pound Dougherty looks like a linebacker."
Having a good time
2007-08-03 14:02:00 It's a training camp tradition for practices to end with field goal kicking contests. They don't happen every practice, just once in a while. And that's what makes them special."Night practice ended with a spirited place-kicking session. McCarthy cut it short because players were dumping too much water on Dave Rayner and Mason Crosby," according to Tom Pelissero of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.Each kicker has been nearly white-hot since training camp opened. It's no surprise players were excited to root them on.
Crosby impresses on kickoffs
2007-07-30 23:02:00 Mason Crosby (pictured during his college days at Colorado) helped his cause in trying to win the Green Bay Packers' kicking job at training camp practice on Monday through his booming kickoffs.Kickoff duties will certainly play almost as big a part in winning this battle as field goals despite being less glamorous.Incumbent kicker Dave Rayner is no slouch at kickoffs either. He may have set an unofficial NFL record last season for the longest kickoff hangtime.Crosby might have gotten a slight advantage at the Packers' most recent practice."Crosby showed off his big leg this afternoon with a booming kickoff that went 78 yards, or 8 yards deep into the end zone," reports Tom Pelissero of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.Crosby averaged 71.5 yards on four kickoffs. Rayner reportedly wasn't far off the pace with a 70 yard average on four kickoffs.Photo credit: CU Athletics
Keeping an eye on the kickers
2007-07-30 14:31:00 As has been mentioned before on Railbird Central, one NFL team is going to get really lucky when one of the these two players gets cut."Incumbent Dave Rayner may have gained the first advantage in the kicking competition," reports Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "During the night practice, Rayner went 6-for-6, making field goals of 25, 25, 30, 33, 38 and 43 yards. Rookie sixth-round draft pick Mason Crosby went 5-for-6 on the same distances, missing wide right from 30 yards."It would be nice to see the Packers trade one of these guys later in training camp.
Some team could get lucky
2007-07-28 23:49:00 The competition for the place kicking job has begun in earnest today at the first Green Bay Packers training camp practice.It's unfortunate that one of the kickers will most likely get cut. Some team around the NFL could find themselves with a decent kicker in early September."Dave Rayner went five-for-five, making two field goals from 27 yards, one from 32 yards and two from 37," reports Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Jon Ryan was his holder.""Rookie Mason Crosby went four-for-four with all of his field goals from 32 yards," writes Demovsky. "David Lonie and Ruvell Martin each held for two of Crosby's kicks."
Rookie salary update
2007-07-28 16:16:00 Details of the recently signed rookie contracts have just become available.According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The four-year deal wide receiver James Jones signed Friday was worth $2.407 million and included a signing bonus of $742,250."In addition Silverstein writes, "Here are the signing bonus amounts for some of the most recently signed Packers draft choices: sixth-round fullback Korey Hall, $94,450; sixth-round linebacker Desmond Bishop, $94,200; and sixth-round kicker Mason Crosby, $93,950."
Packers sign entire sixth round
2007-07-24 16:08:00 The Green Bay Packers have signed all three of their sixth round draft choices as of Tuesday morning.Fullback Korey Hall (pictured), linebacker Desmond Bishop and kicker Mason Crosby all agreed to deal with the team just before players report to training camp on Friday.The Packers have only their top three draft choices remaining to sign including defensive tackle Justin Harrell, running back Brandon Jackson and wide receiver James Jones.If you're a reader of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, don't be confused. In Tuesday's edition, it is reported that the Packers had only signed Bishop and Crosby. But the Green Bay Press-Gazette confirms Hall had been signed as well.Rob Demovsky of the Press-Gazette writes, "According to a source with access to NFL Players Association contract information, all three signed four-year contracts that include minimum salaries for the first three years ($285,000 in 2007, $370,000 in 2008 and $460,000 in 2009) with the possibility in the fourth year the...
Six draft choices still unsigned
2007-07-16 15:50:00 There's ten days until the Green Bay Packers report to training camp and six of the team's 11 draft choices are still unsigned.Fox Sports notes, "Still left to be signed in time for the start of training camp July 28 are first-round defensive tackle Justin Harrell, second-round running back Brandon Jackson, third-round receiver James Jones and the sixth-round trio of fullback Korey Hall, linebacker Desmond Bishop and kicker Mason Crosby."While ten days may not seem to be a long time, expect a flurry of draft choices to sign contracts within the next week and a half.History tells us that the lower round draft picks will be signed in the next couple of days while the first day choices may not be signed until the days leading up to training camp.It's possible that first round draft choice and defensive tackle Justin Harrell could even miss a couple days of training camp as he awaits his first professional contract. Although fellow NFC North counterpart Greg Olsen has already signed ...
Special teams becomes offseason priority
2007-06-29 16:50:00 If you're a regular reader of Railbird Central, you may have heard this before but it bears repeating. It is amazing how much emphasis the Green Bay Packers put on special teams during the 2007 draft.As early as the second day of the draft, Railbird Central noted how general manager Ted Thompson's drafting of special teams standouts was becoming a common thread.Special teams always seems to be the oft-ignored yet crucial aspect of football that people just take for granted.The Green Bay Packers have finished dead last in the NFL in special teams the past two seasons according to the Dallas Morning News's special teams rankings, which factor in 22 categories including all aspects of kick returns, kick coveage, punt returns, punt coverage, field goals, and extra points.Is it any wonder the Packers haven't made the playoffs the past two seasons?In the 2007 draft, the Packers first two draft choices were spent on defensive tackle Justin Harrell and running Brandon Jackson. Obviously...
Mason Crosby bio
2007-04-29 23:35:00 After Railbird Central talked about the Packers possibly drafting Mason Crosby a little over a week ago, the Green Bay Packers made it a reality on Sunday.NFL Draft Countdown says, "Has an outstanding leg...Can hit from well beyond 50 yards and has a career long of 60...Accurate and rarely misses the ones he's supposed to make...Phenomenal on kickoffs and creates a lot of touchbacks...Clutch and doesn't let pressure affect him...Has a lot of experience...Intangibles are excellent...Can also punt in a pinch."Photo credit: Dailytexanonline.com |
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