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| A member of the Cleveland Browns since 1999, Phil Dawson went to his second Pro Bowl in 2012 and is currently rated as the NFL's 7th most accurate kicker. Photo credit to SB Nation. |
The NFL got very quiet over the weekend, just in time for
everyone to turn their attention to March Madness. There was plenty of news in
the first half of Week 7 though, so let’s get to it.
Major Additions
Most of the big additions this week came in the AFC. The
lone exception was Phil Dawson signing with the 49ers. David Akers struggled
mightily in 2012, just a year removed from a historic season in which he set
the NFL record for field goals converted in a season. It just goes to show how
short a kicker’s career is once he starts missing.
Tennessee nabbed a former Ravens in Bernard Pollard, but the
bigger addition in my mind is Ryan Fitzpatrick. He will not be taking Jake
Locker’s job, but he will provide competition. Locker progressed rather nicely
in his second season but with Matt Hasselbeck out, the Titans would like to
speed up the process.
Former Raven Ed Reed is headed to Houston. He visited the
Texans last week but when he left without a deal we weren’t sure where he was
headed next. Turns out they just needed to talk money and contract length.
With all these Ravens players leaving, it is nice that
Baltimore finally got some good news
Sunday afternoon when Elvis Dumervil signed with them. This comes a week after
he signed a contract with the Denver Broncos that was voided because the
document arrived via fax after the league’s deadline.
Rule Changes
The Tuck Rule is gone. Praise the Lord, right? It only came
about a decade late. One rule was put into place, however, that most people are
not too happy about.
The League’s new Crown-of-the-Helmet rule states that any
player three or more yards downfield may not deliver a blow with the crown of
his helmet. It isn’t a popular new rule, and I myself am not looking forward to
a new slew of fines to come this season because of the change. However,
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh made an excellent point when he said,
“Anybody that has played the game knows that when you’re going in on a higher
hit you tackle with your eyes up. You see what you hit.”
We Have Football!
Well, not quite. But at least we know when we will have football again. The Dallas Cowboys and Miami
Dolphins will meet in Canton on August 4 for the NFL’s annual Hall of Fame
Game, which kicks off the preseason.
The game will be played the day after the 2013 Hall of Fame
Induction is held. This year’s class includes former greats such as Larry Allen
and Jonathan Ogden. Bill Parcells will be inducted in his second year on the
ballot and Cris Carter will also be inducted after being slighted for several
years.
Opening On the Road
The Super Bowl victor traditional hosts the NFL’s Kickoff
Game on the Thursday (or Wednesday) following preseason to officially begin the
regular season. A scheduling conflict with the Baltimore Orioles, who share a
parking lot with the Ravens, will force the city’s NFL franchise to open their
season on the road. There is no word yet on which team they will visit. The New
England Patriots believed they will play the Ravens in Baltimore but perhaps
the NFL will look kindly on Baltimore and not force them to visit such a difficult
opponent in their first game of the season.
If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to
hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to
contact me via my blog’s Facebook page or my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.
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