Cowboys tried to bring Keyshawn Johnson back
Lenny P Tipsheet Blurbs
At several junctures of Thursday night's negotiations with Keyshawn Johnson, the Carolina Panthers' brass feared that it might not be able to close the deal with the 10-year veteran wide receiver, despite his publicly stated preference to play for them. How come? Because Johnson, even during his discussions in Carolina, was being courted by another team. And that team was (drumroll, please) the one that had released him less than two weeks earlier.
Sources close to the negotiations confirmed for ESPN.com that, even as Johnson closed in on a four-year, $14 million agreement (including a $5 million signing bonus) with the Panthers, the Dallas Cowboys were trying hard to lure him back. So ardent were the Cowboys, in fact, that Carolina management at one point was convinced Johnson was close to walking out and considering a return to Dallas, to team with Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn in a potent wide receiver trifecta.
General manager Marty Hurney eventually sealed the agreement with Johnson, though, and the Panthers might finally have the complementary wideout their offense lacked each of the last two seasons. Beyond the strong No. 2 receiving presence that he will provide, and the proven alternative to Steve Smith that he will give quarterback Jake Delhomme, the Panthers feel Johnson will help their running game, too. Although it's often an overlooked component in his skill set, Johnson is a terrific downfield blocker for the run. Carolina lost that element of toughness when Muhsin Muhammad was released following the 2004 season and signed with the Chicago Bears. Now the Panthers think Johnson can give it back to them.
Henson
Dallas backup quarterback Drew Henson didn't exactly light things up in his NFL Europe League debut last weekend, completing just 5 of 11 passes for 58 yards in the Rhein Fire's offensively uninspiring 10-6 victory over Frankfurt.
Henson has embraced the European experience, and has a terrific attitude about the chance he has to actually get live reps in a game, but one has to wonder how much longer Dallas will stick with the former Michigan star if he doesn't demonstrate considerable progress in training camp. The Cowboys' college scouts have shown a keen interest in one quarterback prospect in particular over the last month or so, Charlie Whitehurst of Clemson, and might be tempted to choose him in the second or third round of next month's draft. Whitehurst is the son of former Green Bay quarterback David Whitehurst, and he's got prototype pocket stature and plenty of arm strength. He has bounced back nicely from shoulder surgery and had a solid pro day outing on campus.
At some point, it seems, the Cowboys are going to have to develop a young quarterback for the long-term future, instead of just going with stop-gap veterans such as Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe. It won't be too surprising if, in the next few weeks, Dallas begins to strongly consider whether Whitehurst might be that guy.
Vanderjagt
Much has been made this week during the game of place-kicker musical chairs about how Adam Vinatieri and Mike Vanderjagt will perform in their new venues.
Obviously, there are doubts about whether Vanderjagt, who moved from Indianapolis to Dallas, can maintain his status as the most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history now that he will be forced to play most of his games outside. Surprisingly, though, Vanderjagt actually has a better conversion rate outdoors (88.8 percent) than he does in domed stadiums (86.8 percent). Even more surprising is that his success rate outdoors is better than that of Vinatieri (80.4 percent). On the flip side, Vinatieri has converted 94.4 percent of his attempts in domed stadiums, far better than his outdoor rate, and better than Vanderjagt's indoor success rate.
Vinatieri could be mind-boggling in the RCA Dome. He has made all 10 of his field-goal tries there and is 34-for-36 indoors in regular-season games. His only misses came at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Nov. 23, 2003. He did, however, kick the winning field goal, a 28-yarder to lift the Patriots over the Texans, 23-20 in overtime. Oddly enough, in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium only about two months later, Vinatieri missed two field goals early in the game and then nailed a 41-yarder with four seconds left to give New England a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
At several junctures of Thursday night's negotiations with Keyshawn Johnson, the Carolina Panthers' brass feared that it might not be able to close the deal with the 10-year veteran wide receiver, despite his publicly stated preference to play for them. How come? Because Johnson, even during his discussions in Carolina, was being courted by another team. And that team was (drumroll, please) the one that had released him less than two weeks earlier.
Sources close to the negotiations confirmed for ESPN.com that, even as Johnson closed in on a four-year, $14 million agreement (including a $5 million signing bonus) with the Panthers, the Dallas Cowboys were trying hard to lure him back. So ardent were the Cowboys, in fact, that Carolina management at one point was convinced Johnson was close to walking out and considering a return to Dallas, to team with Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn in a potent wide receiver trifecta.
General manager Marty Hurney eventually sealed the agreement with Johnson, though, and the Panthers might finally have the complementary wideout their offense lacked each of the last two seasons. Beyond the strong No. 2 receiving presence that he will provide, and the proven alternative to Steve Smith that he will give quarterback Jake Delhomme, the Panthers feel Johnson will help their running game, too. Although it's often an overlooked component in his skill set, Johnson is a terrific downfield blocker for the run. Carolina lost that element of toughness when Muhsin Muhammad was released following the 2004 season and signed with the Chicago Bears. Now the Panthers think Johnson can give it back to them.
Henson
Dallas backup quarterback Drew Henson didn't exactly light things up in his NFL Europe League debut last weekend, completing just 5 of 11 passes for 58 yards in the Rhein Fire's offensively uninspiring 10-6 victory over Frankfurt.
Henson has embraced the European experience, and has a terrific attitude about the chance he has to actually get live reps in a game, but one has to wonder how much longer Dallas will stick with the former Michigan star if he doesn't demonstrate considerable progress in training camp. The Cowboys' college scouts have shown a keen interest in one quarterback prospect in particular over the last month or so, Charlie Whitehurst of Clemson, and might be tempted to choose him in the second or third round of next month's draft. Whitehurst is the son of former Green Bay quarterback David Whitehurst, and he's got prototype pocket stature and plenty of arm strength. He has bounced back nicely from shoulder surgery and had a solid pro day outing on campus.
At some point, it seems, the Cowboys are going to have to develop a young quarterback for the long-term future, instead of just going with stop-gap veterans such as Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe. It won't be too surprising if, in the next few weeks, Dallas begins to strongly consider whether Whitehurst might be that guy.
Vanderjagt
Much has been made this week during the game of place-kicker musical chairs about how Adam Vinatieri and Mike Vanderjagt will perform in their new venues.
Obviously, there are doubts about whether Vanderjagt, who moved from Indianapolis to Dallas, can maintain his status as the most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history now that he will be forced to play most of his games outside. Surprisingly, though, Vanderjagt actually has a better conversion rate outdoors (88.8 percent) than he does in domed stadiums (86.8 percent). Even more surprising is that his success rate outdoors is better than that of Vinatieri (80.4 percent). On the flip side, Vinatieri has converted 94.4 percent of his attempts in domed stadiums, far better than his outdoor rate, and better than Vanderjagt's indoor success rate.
Vinatieri could be mind-boggling in the RCA Dome. He has made all 10 of his field-goal tries there and is 34-for-36 indoors in regular-season games. His only misses came at Reliant Stadium in Houston on Nov. 23, 2003. He did, however, kick the winning field goal, a 28-yarder to lift the Patriots over the Texans, 23-20 in overtime. Oddly enough, in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium only about two months later, Vinatieri missed two field goals early in the game and then nailed a 41-yarder with four seconds left to give New England a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:26 PM
<< Home