NFLaccess

<img hspace=”8″ src=”http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nfl_experts__12/ept_sports_nfl_experts-665584030-1235765429.jpg?ym1yd3ADkNLt_kjO” style=”width: 272px; height: 394px; float: right” vspace=”8″ />I
feel like I just stole the title to Maurice Clarett’s eventual
autobiography or perhaps a Lifetime movie about him. If that ends up
being the case, I’m sorry.

But yes, former <a href=”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/den/”>Denver Broncos running back Maurice Clarett has a blog that he updates from prison. It’s called "The Mind of Maurice Clarett," and he seems to be happy expressing himself there. Hopefully, he can become known for saying something other than "I gotta get my goose on." Here’s the entire text of a recent post entitled "It."

I
don’t have a lot of words to say today because words can’t express what
I’m feeling today. I’m optimistic and I am fortunate. Those two words
do not exactly describe my innate feeling but they were the best I
could come up with. I looked through a thesaurus to see if it could
help and to my surprise, there was nothing. I’m fortunate to be LIVING.
I don’t have the exact science of learning to appreciate the now but if
you’re out and you see a book, whose title describes in essence what I
am describing, pick it up and apply what you read.

I’ll be honest with you … I don’t think I’m gonna find that book.

But
in all seriousness, I’m happy for Mo. He’s doing his time, it doesn’t
sound like he’s miserable, and he doesn’t report any incidents of large
men named "Bruno," "The Shower Master," or "Rae Carruth" forcing
themselves upon him.

Self-expression’s important for a prisoner,
and I’m happy he’s found an outlet with the blog. Oh, and do him a
favor: Don’t tell him in the comments that Mike Shanahan got fired. He
might still be harboring dreams of getting out and rushing for 1,000
yards with the Broncos in 2010. Let’s let him hold on to that dream.

Gracias, Deadspin.

<img hspace=”8″ src=”http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nfl_experts__12/ept_sports_nfl_experts-796902293-1235762184.jpg?ymIAd3ADuf5f2PYW” style=”width: 272px; height: 358px; float: right” vspace=”8″ />According to the New York Daily News, <a href=”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/6165/”>Bart Scott has agreed in principle to become a member of the <a href=”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/nyj/”>New York Jets, for five years and about $40 million.

So the Ravens can keep <a href=”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/3542/”>Ray Lewis now, right? Perhaps not. <a href=”http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/02/27/jets-expected-to-sign-lb-scott/”>Let’s turn to Adam Schefter for more information:

…
sources close to Lewis were adamant Friday that one of the game’s
greatest defensive players will not return to Baltimore and his career
with the team is over. For some reason, Lewis has been rubbed the wrong
way in the lengthy negotiations that have occurred between he and the
Ravens. Now, Lewis is determined to move on, even if there is no
obvious suitor.

Schefter goes on to quote a friend of Lewis he says that Ray was extremely adamant about not returning to the Ravens.
And is there anyone out there who doesn’t think Ray might be the kind
of guy to be the victim of some tiny little perceived slight, and then
hold it against an organization forever? Didn’t think so.

Talk
about a team entering a whole new era. If the Ravens lost either Scott
or Lewis, I could see the other one returning alongside <a href=”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/6346/”>Terrell Suggs,
and the Ravens defense keeping their identity. But with both of them
gone? It wouldn’t even feel like the Ravens anymore. They’d be just a
bunch of guys in purple.

Somewhere, <a href=”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/6770/”>Ben Roethlisberger is following these developments with glee.

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Seahawks, NFC West, NFL Draft, NFL Coaching, FanHouse Previews, NFL

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Mike Holmgren has long been one of the primary identities of the Seattle Seahawks. He took them to the Super Bowl and made them a perennial winner of the NFC West. Then last year happened. As Holmgren’s retirement tour rolled along, more and more injuries piled up, Seneca Wallace had to start at quarterback for a few games, and the Seahawks stumbled to a 4-12 record.

Seattle Seahawks: PLAYOFFS?!?, Junior originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by JJ Cooper

Filed under: Steelers, NFL Free Agency

If you pay any attention to the Steelers, you probably know that guard Kendall Simmons has struggled with pass blocking, run blocking and staying healthy. But even with that, the Steelers’ decision to cut Simmons on Thursday is pretty shocking considering how thin the Steelers are at guard.

Just two years after the Steelers signed Simmons to a five-year, $24 million deal, they cut him on Thursday. It leaves Pittsburgh with only one guard (Darnell Stapleton) on the current roster who has ever started a game. One would hope that this means the Steelers plan on bringing in a guard in free agency, even if Jeff Saturday, their likely No. 1 target, has re-upped with the Colts.

Steelers Get Rid of Simmons, Smith originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Will Brinson

Filed under: AZ Cardinals, NFL Free Agency, NFL Rumors

Logic dictated that, after the Cardinals hit Karlos Dansby with the franchise tag, Arizona had some sort of unspoken agreement to sign Kurt Warner quickly after he became a free agent.

Additionally, it’s widely known that Warner told the team he wanted to stay with the Cardinals after this year. But that didn’t stop the Arizona from, presumably, leveraging Warner’s wishes into him taking less money. One problem: Warner hasn’t caved. And now Adam Schefter is reporting that there won’t be anything done by midnight either, making the quarterback an unrestricted free agent.

Kurt Warner Headed to Free Agency originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Dolphins, AFC East, NFL Free Agency, NFL

Well, that didn’t take long. Just about a week after being released by the Oakland Raiders, it appears Gibril Wilson has already sewn up a new job. The safety signed a five-year contract with the Dolphins Thursday. After a one-year hiatus from the NFL, he’s back in the league. Wilson had spent the first four years of his career with the Giants, garnering a Super Bowl ring in the process, but was exiled to Oakland last season.

The Raiders needed to slash payroll, and Wilson was one of the slashees — despite racking up solid tackle totals and a couple picks along the way.

Miami Dolphins Sign Gibril Wilson originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By J.E. Skeets

I originally thought this was a Pistons’ dunker based on Detroit’s dreadful week (see: eight consecutive losses, line-up issues, angrily thrown towels), but nope, I’m told this is a member of the Hornets’ trampoline dunk team eating some rim. I really should have known better, given the Hornets’ previous halftime woes …

I love how the clip makes it look as though Rasheed Wallace is throwing his towel because of the poor dude’s face plant. In fact, if I squint real hard, I can almost hear ‘Sheed’s post-game comments now …

“It was (expletive), man! It was (expletive)! Sometimes we drop to the level of our opponent’s trampoline dunk team. That cat had that dunk easily, knowing good and well he shouldn’t have lost his concentration, but he still made a fool of himself on TV. Same thing with our losses this season. But I tell you, if we can find our consistency, if that guy bounces right back up, we’ll be fine, man. Everyone will be fine.”

On November 2, Wayne Burdick (not pictured) was aboard a cruise ship in Miami waiting to depart on a Caribbean cruise. While still docked at the port, he set up his laptop and wireless card and accessed his Slingbox device which allowed him to watch a <a href=”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/chi/”>Chicago Bears game via an Internet connection. When the game was over, Burdick closed his computer, embarked on the cruise and returned home to find a bill from AT&T charging him over $27,000 for the three hours of Internet usage.

Apparently, AT&T had charged Brudick the international rate for the access. At two cents per kilobyte, the total charge was $27,788.93 for the time spent watching the game, which breaks down to about $6,500 per Rex Grossman interception.

Burdick pled his case to AT&T, saying he was still at the port and not in roaming territory. After speaking with nearly a half-dozen people at the company, he managed to get the bill down to $6,000, even though he provided documentation that he was still technically in Miami at the time he used his wireless card.

Eventually, the whole matter was settled after Burdick contacted Team Fixer at the Chicago Sun-Times and they contacted the phone company. AT&T acknowledged its mistake, saying that Burdick’s device was picking up a signal it shouldn’t have been.

At least Burdick’s efforts were worth it. The Bears beat the Lions that afternoon, 27-23.

by Ryan Wilson

Filed under: Chiefs, AFC West, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

After winning just twice in 2008 and six times in two seasons, the Chiefs have decided to blow up the whole operation and start over. Scott Pioli and Todd Haley have replaced Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards, and the rebuilding process is currently underway.

Conventional wisdom suggests that such turnarounds might take a couple seasons, but after what the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins were able to accomplish, expectations are almost certainly higher — which means that Kansas City could be just a few personnel moves from returning to the playoffs. The issue, of course. is which personnel moves will give Kansas City the best chance to make a postseason run in ‘09.

Kansas City Chiefs: Can They Turn Things Around in ‘09? originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Ryan Wilson

Filed under: NFL Draft, NFL Fans, NFL

The draft has become one of the biggest events of the year for NFL fans. Maybe because everybody’s a winner on draft day, or maybe because hope springs eternal and all that. Whatever the reason, we’re fully trying to horn in on the action. Round 2 of the FanHouse mock draft follows. And we’d like to stress “mock.”

NFL FanHouse Mock Draft 2.0 originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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