Bill Belichick doesn't speak much in the off-season, but even he wanted the NFL world to know that the New England Patriots would never consider trading a talented, rugged player like TE Daniel Graham for Denver receiver Ashley Lelie, who is a star only in his own mind. Yes, the Broncos want to dump Lelie, who had one touchdown reception last season. The Bears could use Lelie's speed to help open up their running game.
No place like home
It wasn't the hospital food, because Big Ben really isn't eating solids quite yet. No, Ben Roethlisberger simply wanted out of Pittsburgh's Mercy Hospital in order to rehabilitate at home with the help of his sister and stepmother. It makes sense. You don't have to pay for TV service at home, either, plus there's more privacy.
A Trojan horse
Although there has been a lot of public posturing by USC, the university will be happy to play in a refurbished Los Angeles Coliseum as long as their rental agreement is a fair one. The Trojans have been the main tenant ever since the Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995 and have played before sellout crowds during Coach Pete Carroll's national-championship run. Granted, as many as 20,000 fans will be displaced in a "new" Coliseum, but the university can use the VIP and luxury box seating. What the Trojans want, though, is to receive a percentage of those revenues, something the NFL may not want to totally share.
Let him go
Isn't it time for Bengals coach Marvin Lewis to simply release troubled receiver Chris Henry? The kid may have some talent, but now that he has been charged for buying alcohol for underage females, I think he's proven to be the worst of role models. Lewis needs to take a stand and prove to his players and fans that character does count for something.
If ashley lelie is smart, he will go for the gold and sign with the bears. Althought the bears didn't strike gold last year they are poised for the big comeback this year. All in all lelie would be a cornerstone in the bears offense. Which they lacked some what last year.
The versitile Graham for the one dimensional Lelie..not going to happen..did Shanahan think that the Pats were so desperate for receivers that they would give up one of their best ones for a guy who has had one good year. They may have beat the Pats on the field last year but he will not trick them on the transaction wire.
I don't think Shanahan really thought that Belichick would be stupid enough to trade Graham for Lelie. I'm a Broncos fan and if Lelie was smart, he would keep his mouth shut and prove his worth on the field. Right now, he is mediocre at best and has done nothing to warrant a sniff on the trade wire. The Bears should think real hard before pulling the trigger for a Lelie trade.
The Pats would be lucky to have a WR like Lelie. Does no-one else realize he led the AFC West in yards per catch for 2 years now (Moss who?)? Team him with a QB like Brady instead of the "snake" and watch out. As for him not going over the middle-I watched the Oakland game and saw a man who went where he was sent. If we (Denver) only had a QB that could hit a man deep and a coaching staff that did not tunnelvision on the great Rod Smith, Ashley would have grown even more this year.
Last edited by 10000feethigh on June 17th at 1:15 AM.
I'm sure the bengals would like to cut Henry but they arent allowed to. The NFL has a policy that says you cant cut a player for non skill reason and since he hasnt been to camp and he had a great season last year the NFLPA would be all over the bengals.
I couldn't agree with you more on your comments about Henry. I am a very forgiving person, willing to overlook someone's mistakes, but four arrests in a very short period of time shows exactly what you said, he is not a good role model. Not only that, but he obviously doesn't have a grasp on the proper conduct for an adult and a pro football player. The classy thing to do is to let him go. The Bengals don't need somone like that in their organization.
I believe the Bengals will let him go, they just need to let "due process" handle itself. Plus he is "injured" and you can't cut a guy who is under contract and injured.
For someone who is a supposed "NFL CZAR" this guy has zero understanding of the CBA. First off Chris Henry is injured. So simply cutting him is not an option. Secondly none of his arrests have gone to trial yet. So cutting him prematurely really is not the American way. Remember in this country you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, not the court of public opinion.
The following quote is from the NFLPA's general counsel:
“If a team were to terminate a player after it’s been alleged he was involved with authorities, that would fall under the league’s jurisdiction and it would have to be considered double jeopardy,”
Here is an excerpt from bengals.com regarding the issue at hand:
The Bengals fear a grievance because why would they want to pay a player they cut? But beyond that, if the Bengals don’t follow due diligence in dealing with Henry, they could be dealt a sanction themselves from the NFL. The ultimate indignity for cutting a problem player would be paying with another draft pick.
Hey John do some research before you just blindly decide on what course of action teams should take regarding anything. In fact I will give you the link where most of this research can be obtained.
To use Leonard Little as a comparison is way out of line. MAN that Happened so long ago. NOT to mention that he paid for what he did. Henry is acting nothing short of a total child and should be cut by the bengals no matter what the players union thinks. Any other man that bought alchol for under age girls would have been locked away already.
You cannot argue what the Bengals are doing... THEY ARE WINNING! Would you rather have the same ole' Bengals when they were winning 4 games or this version?
What happens if Lewis does release Henry and he's proven not guilty? Than Lewis would look like a disloyal ####. Could you imagine what would have happened if Billick had followed your advice and released Ray Lewis after he was charged with murder?
big difference form murder to being a total screw up. bmore is living in the past..bmore is happy other players are in trouble in the division instead of theirs......
i might remind those who defend leonard little that even after his charges he still continued to drink and drive and has been caught doing so.. so to say it was a long time ago and he learned his lesson ??? hhhhmmmm
For those people who say it would be un-american to cut Chris Henry, you lack logic. In congress, you can be removed from committee posts and Leadership posts WITHOUT being convicted. Also, if someone is arrested ONCE, you can give them the benefit of the doubt. BUT FOUR TIMES!!!!! An innocent person DOES NOT get arrested for FOUR different violations. The ONLY reason they can't cut him is because he is injured. But honestly, to those who say he "may" be innocent, you are stupid. An innocent person who FALSELY gets arrested would MAKE SURE that there is NO WAY he gets falsely arrested again ( by staying away from ANY kind of trouble) Chris Henry is 100% guilty. He always was, always will be.
Also, to the person who thanked the Constitution for Chris Henry not being cut, you do not understand the constitution. PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS can punish ANY ONE, AT ANY TIME without that person being convicted. The constitution only deals with AMERICAN LAW. The AMERICAN GOVERNMENT cannot punish him without being convicted. But the Bengals can. The fans can. His family can. His Church can (doubt he goes).
One last note, if Henry was NOT injured, the Bengals could EASILY make their case to cut him. The NFL has claimed that it wants to crack down on the criminal image that it has earned. there is something called PERSONAL CONDUCT CLAUSES which allows teams to cut players for ACTIONS DETRIMENTAL TO THE TEAM (or its image). The only UN-American thing about this situation is that Henry still has a job. Any other american would be in jail right now. Even if a person has NOT
Henry should go!!! This kid is "off the chain" and he doesn't realize what kind of chance he has gotten to be able to play at this level. If I am not mistaken he was drafted well into the late rounds, so him going will be no big loss.
I don't understand why there is even a discussion about Chris Henry. The NFL and the Bengals are not a government agency, so forget the "right" to keeping your job unless you are convicted. It just so happens that the NFL has a rule about that, which Chris Henry should be thanking his lucky stars that he still at least has his NFL job. If he were a stocker at Safeway, and had been arrested 4 times, he would be gone even without conviction just due to the fact that although you can be falsely arrested once, even twice to stretch it, but four times shows a pattern. Remember the old saying "Where there is smoke, there is fire"? Well, this situation is exactly what the saying is referring to. Usually, an employee works at the will of the employer. May sound unfair, but it is true, and it is the rules. If you don't like it, find another job is the American way.
I read your most recent article for Fox Sports and you didn't have an email so I figured I'd respond here. It is about your assessment of TO and the Bledsoe. You say that as long as Bledsoe is there and has the current protection that they have, the Cowboys will have no big play ability. You say that he spent 49 times on his back last year. But are you going to try and tell me that a player like Owens isn't going to take pressure off of him? You think teams are still going to be so willing to blitz with a player like TO receiving? The answer is no. Bledsoe will face much less pressure. And if you remember, most of those sacks and poor decisions late in the game came after Flozell Adams' injury. With him at LT, Bledsoe had the best passing efficiency in the NFC. Adams will be back this season and the O-Line will be fine. Mark my words.
Denver should have thrown Lelie into the Packer deal for Javon Walker but since that didn't happen they should trade him to the Rams who need to eventually replace Isaac Bruce. The Bears don't need Lelie, they need a tightend.
Lelie to the Bears? They need speed? Did you not see Bernard Berrian in the playoff loss? That guy has speed to spare. Plus, with Mark Bradley returning from an injury (he was starting to "get it" and perform well before he went down), the Bears have very capable people to fill that No. 2 spot behind "Moose". Besides, Lelie would get one taste of Lovie's discipline and go home and wish he wasn't born.
As for the Lelie to the Bears rumor, why would the Bears want yet another wide receiver that can't catch from a quarterback that can't throw...when he isn't injured of course.
John Czarnecki, a former sportswriter with over 20 years experience covering the NFL, has been the editorial consultant for the Emmy Award-winning FOX NFL Sunday since its 1994 inception. Prior, he provided exclusive information to CBS Sports' The NFL Today program from 1991 to 1993, holding a similar position.
Prior to joining CBS Sports, Czarnecki was a pro football writer for The National Sports Daily (1989-91), The Dallas Morning News (1989), and The Los Angeles Herald-Examin er. An archive of work can be found here.
