Following Sunday’s Stanford commencement, the rookie tight end hopped on a cross-country redeye flight so that he would be in Philadelphia bright and early to report to the NovaCare Complex. The Eagles’ second-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, Ertz received a taste of life in the NFL during the team’s rookie camp before NFL rules banished him from any and all offseason activities until Stanford’s graduation.

Five weeks later, with a degree in Management Science & Engineering now to his name, Ertz is ready to finally dive head-first into his NFL career.

“It was tough to see all my teammates out here doing football activities, but at the end of the day there was nothing that I could really do about it,” Ertz said. “So I kind of took it with a grain of salt and studied the playbook as much as I can and I’m just really excited to be out here now.”

Ertz was not allowed to have contact with the coaching staff, though he did exchange a few friendly text messages with fellow tight end James Casey. The majority of Ertz’s time away was spent studying the playbook and working out with a group of Cardinal teammates also destined for the NFL.

“It was a good experience but at the end of the day I’m really happy that I’m here in Philadelphia right now doing all the workouts,” said Ertz.

Upon arriving in Philadelphia Monday morning, Ertz and his teammate Jordan Poyer also held back while waiting for Oregon State’s graduation, were shuttled directly to the practice facility before 8 AM where they joined the rest of the Eagles rookies to participate in the team’s conditioning program.

As you would expect of a Stanford grad, Ertz has already proved to be a quick learner. When asked about his goals for his rookie season, Ertz replied with the response of a longtime NFL veteran.

“I just want to help the team win in any way I can, whether that’s special teams or on offense,” said Ertz. “I think there’s enough talent on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball to be a winning team and make the playoffs. That’s my only goal right now.”

Like most recent college graduates, Ertz’s long-term goals are filled with optimism and idealism.

“I want to bring a Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles,” he said. “I mean, I think that’s the goal of everybody in this organization and I’m really looking forward to working with everybody.”

Finally, he can.

***

Bo Wulf, PhiladelphiaEagles.com

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Ertz-Finally-Back-To-Work-/062b1878-297b-43d7-ad23-518918002f24

The post Zach Ertz Gets Back To Work appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

The others were, according to the Tampa Tribune, quarterback Josh Freeman, receiver Mike Williams, linebacker Mason Foster, kicker Connor Barth, and safety Ahmad Black.

“I’m long overdue for a haircut and there’s no better feeling than to get your hair cut to help kids who are battling cancer,’’ Freeman said.  “It makes you feel awesome.  It’s a great deal.’’

Recently, several Bears did the same thing, in support of six-year-old Gavin Waterman.

It’s a great gesture.  Given the crazy things veterans do to the hair of rookies in training camp, it’s great to see players willing to shed their own hair in support of an important cause.

***

Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/07/several-bucs-shave-heads-to-support-fight-against-pediatric-cancer/

The post Mason Foster Shaves Head For Cancer appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

The first significant change in the starting defensive unit of the B.C. Lions has been favorable for first-year cornerback Cordelius (Cord) Parks, and around a CFL team that values classroom time at training camp, has also resulted in the football equivalent of musical chairs.

One of the ways coach Mike Benevides has attempted to build cohesion during film study in the teaching rooms at Thompson Rivers University this year has been to have his players position their tables and chairs in such a way as to form a huddle.

Second-stringers have their own group, which up until the weekend was home to Parks, a 26-year-old who is literally among the last of his kind, having graduated from Northeastern University a year before the football program folded.

A four-year NFL veteran who attended coach Pete Carroll’s first training camp with the Seattle Seahawks and was cut twice last year by the New Orleans Saints when they were without suspended coach Sean Payton, the engaging Parks has earned the wide-side cornerback spot occupied last year by Byron Parker.

It’s perhaps because of the absence of NFL drama with the Lions that has enabled Parks to make a quick adjustment to the wide-open spaces of his new position. But by taking only a week to convince Benevides to at least examine the change, Parks is practicing what he also preaches.

A regular part of off-season life last year at home in Atlanta for Parks was talking at schools to kids about the merits of making a good first impression.

“It was about letting them know the first look is sometimes the only look you’re going to get,” said Parks. “It’s taking that first impression and getting another.”

It means with Parks sitting in class and on same side of the field with Ryan Phillips, the Lions will have two newcomers in a secondary that had been static among imports for some time.

It’s a decision not taken lightly by Benevides, who knows Parks and fellow newcomer Josh Bell must mesh with veterans Phillips, Dante Marsh and Korey Banks. But Benevides sees three attributes in Parks, at least in the absence of game action, that he feels are similar.

“I will not sacrifice work ethic, character and intelligence,” said Benevides. “If you speak to [Parks] he’s got all three. When you talk to the grandpas in the secondary, they’ve got it too.”

Grandpas?

“I said grandpas,” said Benevides, smiling. “[Parks] will sit in the meeting rooms and talk with the veterans. You can see he’s engaged.”

The switch means Lin-J Shell has a new seat in the classroom but a familiar role with the Lions that Benevides hopes will make him as effective as he was last year playing several spots.

It also requires a reassessment of the April trade to Toronto of tackle Khalif Mitchell, which now lowers the Lions’ average age, with Parks now starting ahead of the 31-year-old Shell. If the deal gives Mitchell a new life, the Lions will say they came out even because Parks feels the same way.

“I was up for the challenge of coming up here and fighting for a position,” said Parks. “But here, it’s totally different. I feel like a family.”

Closeness in the classroom undoubtedly also works well on the field.

***

Lowell Ullrich, The Province

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Lions+defensive+newcomer+Cord+Parks+settling+with/8506490/story.html

The post Cord Parks Settling In With First-String Secondary appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

All-Pro LeSean McCoy and last year’s stud rookie Bryce Brown make up one of the best running back duos in the NFL. Former first-round draft choice Felix Jones was signed as a free agent and the former Cowboys‘ bust will look to revive his career in a fast-paced offense.

That leaves Chris Polk in an uphill battle to make the team. Don’t count him out though. Last year’s third running back has reportedly lost 15 pounds this offseason, according to PhiladelphiaEagles.com, and is working harder than ever to earn a spot on the crowded depth chart at running back.

***

Bryn Swartz, Bleacher Report

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1660777-philadelphia-eagles-players-whose-stock-is-on-the-rise-after-otas/page/3 

The post Chris Polk’s Stock On The Rise After OTAs appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

That same day, the grieving defensive back said he received a phone call from his agent, informing Parks that he had been signed by the B.C. Lions.

“They called while I was still in the room with his body,” he explained Wednesday. “It was a sign to me.

“My dad was my No. 1 supporter. Now, he’s the angel looking over me. I’m playing with a chip on my shoulder this year. I’m starting fresh, with a new team, and a great bunch of vets. We’re going to make something special happen.”

Parks, who spent time with four NFL teams before joining the Lions, is one-half of the compensation the team received in the Khalif Mitchell trade to the Toronto Argonauts. The other half, defensive end Adrian Awasom, has yet to report because of passport problems and is on the suspended list.

Mitchell can be a game-changer, when he’s in the mood, but he also presents a dilemma. While the defensive tackle can play beyond the capabilities of other players to contain him, his free-spirited personality, his sometimes reckless actions, result in a price to be paid for the Mitchell experience. The Lions decided his off-the-wall uniqueness was detrimental to team chemistry and bundled him off to Toronto.

It’s too early to weigh the merits of the trade — especially with Awasom’s status still in limbo — but Parks delivered on one promise Wednesday in training camp. That chip on the shoulder? Marco Iannuzzi felt it during a scrimmage, when drove Parks drove his shoulder into the receiver on a sideline pass and sent him sprawling. Iannuzzi quickly popped up and seemed ready to rumble before the two thought better of it.

On the sidelines, Lion defenders howled in approval. Parks is no rec football player.

“He can strike you,” explained defensive backs coach Mark Washington. “He has aggression. And yet, he’s not stupid. He could have hit him (Iannuzzi) so much harder than he did. It was an aggressive football play.”

Parks’ arrival in Lions’ camp is the end game of a process that began in 2009, when Washington was invited to the camp of the St. Louis Rams by his former position coach at Rutgers, Steve Spagnuolo, then the Rams’ head coach. Parks had been signed by the Rams as an undrafted free agent following his college career at Northeastern, the Boston university where he made 171 defensive tackles, returned kicks and ran track.

“I knew Steve well from college,” Washington explained. “I went down there to study some defensive schemes. When I was there, I saw Cord. I liked the way he played. I kept his name in the back of my head. If he became available, I said to myself, ‘I’d like to get ‘im.’”

Parks was moved on and off the Lions’ negotiation list as he went from the Rams to the Seahawks to the Vikings to the Saints in search of regular employment in the National Football League. His CFL rights were picked up by the Argos somewhere along the journey. As a result, he became a bargaining chip when Lions GM Wally Buono brokered the Mitchell trade.

“It’s definitely mentally taxing,” Parks said of his decision to abandon the NFL dream. “Especially when you have family and friends suggesting, ‘Maybe you should just forget about it and get a regular job.’ But nobody knows what you’re feeling in your heart. James Butler and Chris Draft, two vets who were my mentors in St. Louis, always told me, ‘Just keep doing what you’re doing. Never give up, leave it on the field, because you never know if somebody is watching you.’ It was a surprise to learn the Lions had been following me for four years.”

While this is Parks’ first time in Canada, he’s not totally in the dark about the CFL, since he trains in the offseason with a group of football-playing residents of Atlanta, among them Korey Banks, Dante Marsh and former Lions receiver Dobson Collins, now with the Edmonton Eskimos.

“I was the first to call Benny (head coach Mike Benevides) and let him know, ‘This guy you signed is kind of special,’” Banks explained. “You can tell Cord’s from the NFL. He’s soaked up a lot of information and coaching. When you get cut from your dream, it humbles you. It makes you say, ‘I’m never going to let go of my next opportunity, if I get one.’ You can tell that he and Josh Bell (who competes with Parks at the same halfback position) are those kind of guys.”

Parks is also quite sure the Lions will get another hungry refugee from the NFL, if they can arrange to get Awasom into camp.

“We were with the Vikings for a while, and in the UFL, for one game, before the team (Las Vegas Locomotives) folded,” he explained. “Very fast, physical guy, knows the game, plays with intensity. Great motor. He brings it on every single play. I know he’ll be coming up here ready to play some ball.”

Parks has wasted no time in showing he is.

***

Mike Beamish, The Vancouver Sun 

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/football/lions/Cord+Parks+will+playing+Lions+with+angel+shoulder/8484718/story.html

The post Cord Parks Plays to Honor His Father appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

Jim O’Neil followed Pettine to Buffalo from New York, and the team also plucked former Rice defensive coordinator Chuck Driesbach to coach up the position, as well. Pettine’s defense is linebacker-intensive, and with players rotating between multiple positions so frequently, having two teachers on hand should help.

They’ll have their work cut out for them, too: not only are they teaching a brand new defense, but their two projected starters on the inside are a rookie and a second-year pro with less than a season’s worth of starting experience.

Kiko Alonso

• Age: 22 (23 in August)
• Contract: Signed through the 2016 season. Scheduled to make $405,000 in base salary in 2013.

Alonso, a second-round pick out of Oregon, is the Bills’ big-name addition to replace the departed Nick Barnett, released in February.

One of the more instinctual linebackers to come into the league within the past few years, Alonso has good athleticism and play-making ability, and he’s got enough length and strength to play multiple positions for the Bills.

He projects very well into this type of defense, but clearly, he faces very high expectations as a rookie that’s supposed to walk into a starting lineup and anchor a defense from day one. How he fares early in his career could make or break the Bills defensively in the early portions of the 2013 season.

Nigel Bradham

• Age: 23 (24 in September)
• Contract: Signed through the 2015 season. Scheduled to make $480,000 in base salary in 2013.

There’s no reason to question Bradham’s athletic ability; he’s very fast, moves well in space and can really lay the lumber when things line up right. That athletic ability gives Bradham the upside of a NFL-caliber starter. There was some buzz on Bradham toward the end of the 2012 season when his playing time increased, and he put enough good film on tape to reasonably assume that he’ll win a starting job this summer. Keep in mind, however, that Bradham still hasn’t been a three-down defender at the NFL level, and has a lot to prove in terms of being consistent with his run fits and handling a likely increase in coverage responsibilities should he indeed win a starting job. Expect growing pains.

Bryan Scott

• Age: 32
• Contract: Signed through the 2013 season. Scheduled to make $940,000 in base salary in 2013.

Scott was the recipient of a one-year contract extension yet again this off-season, but we won’t know exactly how much playing time he’s in line for within the new defense until the games are played. We can, however, reasonably expect Scott’s role to expand beyond the simple nickel and dime linebacker, package-specific role he played for the team’s last two defensive coordinators. He’ll still play those responsibilities, but we may also see him play a bit more of his natural safety position this season, as well.

Arthur Moats

• Age: 25
• Contract: Signed through the 2013 season. Scheduled to make $1.323 million in base salary in 2013.

Most assumed that Moats would move back to outside linebacker under Pettine – he was a defensive end in college, after all – but instead he’s stayed inside as a second-team inside ‘backer this spring. That added versatility as a pass rusher will help Moats in his bid to make the team (as will his special teams ability), but unless a guy like Bradham crashes and burns this summer, it’s hard to envision Moats competing for a starting gig.

Chris White

• Age: 24
• Contract: Signed through the 2014 season. Scheduled to make $555,000 in base salary in 2013.

No Bills player is on the field for special teams snaps more than White, who covers kicks and punts and blocks on punt and kick returns – and does all of these things very well. It will be interesting to see how the Bills use him defensively this pre-season; he may not have the same level of versatility as some of the other names at this position, and his special teams ability alone isn’t enough to guarantee him a roster spot.

Greg Lloyd

• Age: 24
• Contract: Signed through the 2013 season. Scheduled to make $480,000 in base salary in 2013.

The Bills added Lloyd to the practice squad last season when injuries struck, and by the end of the season he was on the active roster logging some special teams snaps (five of them, to be exact). The Connecticut product played against Marrone’s Syracuse teams collegiately, so there will be some familiarity here. He’ll need a very strong summer to crack the final roster.

Brian Smith

• Age: 24
• Contract: Signed through the 2014 season. Scheduled to make $405,000 in base salary in 2013.

A former undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, Smith was signed to a reserve/future contract in January and faces long odds of making the 53-man roster this summer. He spent part of last season on the Bills’ practice squad.

Outlook

It’s tough to figure how many of these players the Bills will want to keep on the roster this year, given that positions bleed into one another; you’ll see safeties and perhaps even outside linebackers taking snaps away from names on this list in 2013.

The best way to rationalize it, to our eye, is to try to identify the best football players, and there may not be more than two mortal locks (Alonso and Bradham) for the roster on this list. Scott, Moats and White also add tangible value to the roster, but for some or all of those players (but especially White), they may need to prove themselves versatile enough to hang in Pettine’s defense as a deep reserve.

As for the level of performance we can expect from this group: that all depends on how quickly Alonso and Bradham can assimilate to the defense and play the game fast. Even if they’re slow out of the gate, if there is significant progress by year’s end, that will be a win for an organization that has been very bad at this position for a number of years now.

***

Brian Galliford, Buffalo Rumblings

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/buffalo-bills-roster/2013/5/30/4377812/kiko-alonso-to-shoulder-the-load-for-buffalo-bills-linebackers

The post Kiko Alonso To Shoulder The Load For Buffalo Bills Linebackers appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

It was, however, just the last day of May, and the heat didn’t stop head coach Chip Kelly from backing off from his up-tempo, full steam-ahead approach.

“Yeah, it definitely feels like training camp,” said quarterback Michael Vick. “That’s what it’s all about. That’s why you prepare, have a strength and conditioning program. We play in the NFL.”

Added running back Chris Polk, “We weren’t working as hard (last year). Now we’re more conditioned, smarter, we’re stronger, faster, just overall we’re a better football team. People are good mentally. We bought in.”

No one complained, nor would you expect them to. Although maybe there was at least one dissenting vote lobbed Kelly’s way from running back LeSean McCoy, who skipped Friday’s OTA for what the team called “personal reasons,” which is reportedly what has kept offensive tackle Jason Peters away from the last two weeks of practices.

Not that the Eagles had to provide an excuse. The OTAs were voluntary, unlike next week’s three-day minicamp, which begins Tuesday. That one is mandatory, meaning a player can be fined should he choose not to attend.

Still, the Birds let it be known that cornerback Cary Williams was absent Friday to attend his daughter’s recital and safety Kenny Phillips was excused to await the birth of his first child.

As for McCoy, the team said he lifted weights in the morning, went to meetings, then left. Too hot, maybe?

Certainly the competition is heating up in the running back battle, and Polk is plugging away at winning some playing time. He is doing so in an offense he is falling in love with.

“We try to get a defense running one way and we go the other, but the first hole you see, hit it and hit it hard, no second guessing, no tiptoeing, so you know if you make a mistake, you make it at 100 miles an hour,” he said. “It’s great to be part of a running scheme like this.”

It’s an offense, he said, that “can run like six plays in less than a minute.”

Days like Friday, when the star back is out for whatever reason, Polk and others, such as free agents Felix Jones and Matthew Tucker and holdover Bryce Brown, get a chance for more reps.

Polk, for one, welcomes the chance, no matter how hot, no matter how hard Kelly pushes.

“It’s been a few hard weeks, but I’m still thinking straight,” said Polk. “I’m kind of used to it. We’re just trying to get better, especially with all the running backs and the competition. We’re just making each other better.”

To make himself better, Polk dropped 15 pounds, and is checking in at a leaner 215.

“I didn’t lose muscle, I lost fat,” he said. “I’m still strong if not stronger, but add that speed element and agility to my game it more helps than hurts.”

Asked if that would change his bowling-ball style of running, which is to say that he typically prefers to run defenders over rather than around them, Polk said: “That’s my style, man, you know. The most important thing about a running back is to stay true to your identity. Whether you’re ground-and-pound or you out-hip the guy. You can’t try to run like someone else, because doing what you do is what got you here. Doing what you do is what’s going to keep you here.”

Part of the weight loss was Kelly’s demanding offense. Another part was just how he looked when he put game film into the DVR.

“I was like, ‘Man, I don’t look too good,’ especially with those tight-fitting jerseys,” he said. “I knew I had to shed a few pounds.”

Polk arrived last year with the Eagles as a free agent, undrafted despite a record-setting career at the University of Washington. Shoulder concerns by many are believed to be the reason he wasn’t picked by a single team during the draft.

Yet it was a serious turf toe injury that kept him inactive for the season’s final eight games, after not recording a single carry or catch in the first eight, playing only on some special teams.

Play. That was Polk’s answer to what his goals are for the season. Then he added, “I don’t want to sit down no more. I didn’t come to this league to be a cheerleader, I just have to take care of my body. I just want to play.”

He said he is 100 percent healthy, and that going through an injury may have been a blessing in disguise because he said he saw what it takes to be a great NFL player.

“I feel differently physically because I lost 15 pounds,” he said. “I’m where I want to be at, especially with this high-paced offense. You have to make people miss, run in space, catching, you have to have your wind. It (losing weight) was the best thing to fit this scheme, get down lighter, be faster, get your wind up. I feel faster, not as fast as Bryce or LeSean yet, but I’ll get there. I’m optimistic.”

***

Ed Kracz, Burlington County Times

http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/leaner-polk-earning-reps-as-eagles-mccoy-skips-final-ota/article_4a0a7290-cf8f-5a58-bef7-e35cd5bd847d.html

The post Polk Earning Reps as McCoy Skips Final OTA appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

Still, J.T. (James Tipton) Fitzgerald from Bellingham, Wash. is thrilled to be included among other rookie brethren in Kamloops on Thursday as they begin the urgent process of showing they might belong in the Canadian Football League.

Packing three weeks’ worth of clothes that might not be needed, their Bibles and laptop computers, 35 rookies from the CIS, NCAA, NAIA, Canadian junior and NFL ranks get down to three days of practice sessions at Hillside Stadium before the B.C. Lions’ main camp opens on Sunday, the day after veterans report.

Fitzgerald, 22, is a defensive back from tiny Rocky Mountain College (Billings, Mont.) who was noticed at Rainier high school in south Seattle, the last of the Lions’ tryout camps in various regions of the U.S. He went through the exact process a year ago at the same school and came away empty. This time he received an invitation to Lions’ rookie camp, helped along by Ryan Rigmaiden, a Lions regional scout and GM of the Arena League’s Spokane Shock, who put in a good word for him.

“I had a shoulder injury before the tryout camp last year and I wasn’t able to train very much,” Fitzgerald explained. “I ended up going to Spokane and I trained with the Shock for the rest of the season. I’m still a little wet behind the ears, but I’m more mature than I was a year ago. I have more of a chance this time.”

Fitzgerald grew up just across the Canada-U.S. border in Sumas, Wash., and spent his formative years in Bellingham, a favourite destination for British Columbians looking for cut-rate shopping, gas and airline flights.

Despite that geographic proximity, however, Canadian football is game that is mostly foreign to Fitzgerald. He was recruited by Simon Fraser University, when the Burnaby school played in the CIS under Canadian rules, but the unaccustomed concept of playing three-down football persuaded him to stay stateside. Western Washington University, Bellingham’s largest post-secondary school, dropped its football program in 2009 to protect 15 other sports from budget cuts.

“I guess I wasn’t very educated about Canadian football,” Fitzgerald admitted. “It was kind of the unknown for me. I guess I felt a little more comfortable sticking with American football.”

At Bellingham High, Fitzgerald played football and wrestled. He reached the state semifinals twice in the 140-pound division as a grappler and graduated to Rocky Mountain College (enrolment: 1,000) not sure of which athletic discipline he wanted to make his mark. Ultimately, he settled on football.

He’s now listed at six-foot-one, 201 pounds — which is a good thing, since professional football doesn’t put a lot of stock in 140-pound defensive backs.

“Wrestling is a building block for other sports,” said Fitzgerald, who was a strong safety for RMC’s Battlin’ Bears. “It’s certainly made me into a better football player.”

A rookie, especially one new to the Canadian game, must be assertive but differential at the same time. Nic Grigsby, a highly touted running back from Arizona with NFL experience, showed up at last year’s Lions camp with a little too much swagger and quickly got on the wrong side of the coaching staff. He was released before the first pre-season game.

As a first-year player from a small school, Fitzgerald is aware that his presence in Lions camp is as transitory as a nameplate made with athletic tape and FITZGERALD scrawled in black marker. It can be ripped away in a blink.

But the truth is making a pro camp is an accomplishment in itself, even if it turns out to be one and done.

“I’m excited to be here,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s been a long road. Coming from a small high school and a small college it’s hard to get a serious look. I finally got one.”

FIVE ROOKIES TO WATCH

1. QB Chris Hart Jr.

Webber International (Florida)

He’s no Russell Wilson. That became apparent last year when Hart attended a Seattle Seahawks rookie camp and all eyes were on Wilson, who would lead the Seahawks to a wild-card playoff win in his first year as a starter. Still, the 25-year-old Hart is the quintessential strong-armed quarterback who can stretch the field vertically and put extra zip on sideline passes. He was signed by the Lions following an April free-agent camp in Florida. Either Hart or Jarrett Brown will move on from rookie camp to the main camp on Sunday. Not both. “I hope it’s a very tough decision (between Hart and Brown),” Lions GM Wally Buono said. “We wouldn’t have brought Chris Hart here unless we didn’t think he had great potential.”

2. DB Cord Parks

Northeastern

When the Lions traded Khalif Mitchell to the Argos on April 2, their return was defensive lineman Adrian Awasom and “a player on Toronto’s negotiation list.” That unnamed individual was Cordelius — better known as “Cord” — Parks. But he’s no throw-in. Parks pursued regular employment with four NFL teams after signing with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2009. The Lions had him on their radar for most of that time and finally got him in the Mitchell trade.

“This year he decided he wanted to try the Canadian Football League,” said player personnel coordinator Neil McEvoy. “Cord’s got good size and he runs really well. I was under the impression he ran a 4.5 (in the 40-yard dash). But he runs a 4.3, which is phenomenal.”

3. DE Adrian Awasom

North Texas

A native of Cameroon, the three-time All Sun Belt defensive lineman has a Super Bowl ring from his time with the New York Giants (2005-07), playing mostly on special teams. The six-foot-four, 270-pound defensive end was with the Minnesota Vikings and two teams in the United Football League before the Argos signed him last December. The defensive line is far from being the most pressing need of the Lions, but the team probably will come up with a creative way to keep Awasom, either on the PR or IR. “We have a pretty deep defensive line, but I think Awasom can add to our depth,” McEvoy said. “The two players we got in the Mitchell trade are not just warm bodies. They’re players we’ve been aware of for some time.”

4. OT Andre Ramsey

Ball State

Protection concerns are the

reason offensive line coach

Dan Dorazio was included in the travelling party for all of the Lions’ free-agent camps, which netted Ramsey at the team’s March 26 tryout in Atlanta. Ramsey, 25, comes to the Leos after spending the previous four years on the practice rosters of various NFL teams (Seahawks, Bills, Jets, Ravens, Panthers, Dolphins). He is in the mix with Tavaris Jeffries (Oklahoma), Levi Horn (Montana) and Ben Ossai (Washington) to push incumbents Ben Archibald/Jovan Olafioye at the starting tackle spots. “I believe this will be our best crop of American tackles,” Buono said. “If there’s an injury or a problem, there’s a short list of guys we can use. Dan’s recruited and worked with all

of them.”

5. WR Korey Williams

Northwest Oklahoma State

Where’s the Beef? They’re in Omaha, one of two Indoor Football League teams which have used Williams’ “complete football talents” to advantage. He was a RB, KR and WR last season for the Sioux Falls Storm and whirlwind to tackle in tight quarters, averaging 133 all-purpose yards and 1.8 TDs in 10 games. Lions signed him after a free-agent workout in Los Angeles. “Korey’s out of the IFL, the same league where we got (kick returner) Tim Brown,” McEvoy explained. “Tim was like a joystick, making people miss on a small field. Williams is exactly like that. He was elusive and so quick in our workout, the DBs had trouble covering him. We’re excited to see if he can make that transition to our bigger Canadian field.”

***

Mike Beamish, The Vancouver Sun

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/football/lions/crunch+time+rookies+show+their+stuff+camp/8452432/story.html

The post Cord Parks Named Rookie To Watch For BC Lions appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

With the signing of his rookie deal last Wednesday, the team officially has the talented linebacker under contract.

At 6’3” 238 lb., the California-native has 4.68 speed and is effective in coverage and stopping the run as a middle linebacker.

“I think he can play two (positions),” said head coach Doug Marrone after Alonso was drafted. “He’s a big kid. You see it on the clips. He can play man-to-man, he has good zone awareness, has a bunch of pass breakups. You see it from a coverage standpoint and then you also see him coming downhill making plays and he has a lot of tackles for losses. So he can make big plays from that linebacker position in both coverage and the running game.”

Alonso’s playmaking ability is not the only asset the team is impressed with. The coaching staff has also expressed confidence in Alonso’s play calling, something he gained experience with in college. At Oregon, Alonso called out the defensive signals, and he has been handed that responsibility once more with the Bills.

“It gives me lots of confidence [knowing the coaches trust me],” said Alonso. “I feel like I fit into [this defense] because I know what I’m doing and that way I can make plays.”

Running the show can be a difficult prospect, especially for a rookie, but Alonso is unfazed by the challenges of leading players with far more NFL experience.

“No [it’s not weird leading more seasoned players],” said Alonso. “I’m confident doing it.”

Alonso’s coverage and rush abilities, in conjunction with his signal calling, make him a well-rounded linebacker and the rookie could see time on all three downs. In Monday’s practice Alonso took first team reps for the first time with the veterans in OTAs.

“When you look at Kiko as a linebacker, he can be not necessarily a nickel or third down linebacker, but a three down backer potentially in the system,” said Marrone.

Throughout rookie minicamps and OTAs, Alonso has operated out of the ‘mike’ linebacker spot, but coaches believe he can be moved around and can be impactful in multiple roles.

“A young player who probably has not played as much as maybe the other players we’ve had, but he’s shown that he can play multiple positions,” said Marrone. “He’s shown that he can play on teams. He’s shown that he’s instinctive and from the standpoint of developing him there are things that he has to develop which is our job as coaches when he comes in here that are correctable. And we are excited about that.”

Alonso has been just as excited with his short time in Buffalo and the work he has put in.

“It’s been awesome, better than I expected,” said Alonso. “It’s been awesome. I think I’m a very aggressive player and that’s what they want here so I should be a fit.”

Alonso was a two-year starter at Oregon after sitting out the 2010 season due to off-field issues. With his personal life under control, Alonso had his best season in 2012 where he posted 81 tackles, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and a sack.

His best single-game came on one of the biggest stages in college football: the 2012 Rose Bowl. In that game, Alonso had five tackles, two and a half for losses, and one and a half sacks. In the third quarter, Alonso came up with a diving interception that allowed Oregon to take the lead.

Like many other new Bills, Alonso is impressed with the atmosphere at One Bills Drive and believes success lies ahead.

“Yeah I like it,” said Alonso. “I think we have a chance to be really good.”

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Mark Armstrong, BuffaloBills.com

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-2/LB-Alonso-already-making-a-move/e8620b09-b762-49d7-a48c-9357a319bb12

The post Kiko Alonso Already Making a Move appeared first on Caric Sports Management.

Brandon tells us about his journey to the NFL & what he thinks about how the talent the Jags picked in the 2013 NFL Draft.

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by SportsMan Radio

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sportsmanradio/2013/05/16/eps-156-brandon-marshall-interview-nflnba-playoffs-chat

The post SportsMan Radio Interviews Brandon Marshall appeared first on Caric Sports Management.