TENNESSEE TITANS ARMCHAIR QUARTERBACK BUTTON

Tennessee Titans WR O.J. Murdock committed suicide.  Police in Tampa found Murdock, still alive, around 8:30 a.m. inside his car with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident took place in front of Middleton High School, where Murdock made a name for himself as a football star and state champion sprinter in track and field.

According to an article in the Atlanta Black

Star, He was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead. The Titans reported that Murdock did not report to training camp over  because of what it called a “personal issue.”

Various outlets have reported that the reserve WR had spent the last year battling back from an Achilles injury as he prepared for this year’s training camp. 

However, there was no official word about possible reasons for O.J. Murdock to take his own life.

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THE TEBOW-SANCHEZ QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY

Anxious to see how things develop between Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow at Jets camp this summer up there in Cortland, NY. I have no doubt Sanchez is (and will continue to be) the 'starter', with Tebow listed as the number two,  but playing in certain packages under various circumstances. The number and frequency that those packages are employed will be the thing to watch.  That at least is how things are currently configured at the end of July, and how things will go throughout the season barring injury.

There was a lengthy article in the New York Times this Sunday, presumably intended to stir up a quarterback controversy where by all other accounts there isn't any.  The article is actually a good accounting of NFL quarterback controversies in the past, some even remotely relevant to the situation in New York today.  Rest assured that head FOOT-ball coach Rex Ryan has spent considerable time kicking around his options.  He and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano will be employing some semblance of a two-quarterback system, so there is already an expectation that the two will be routinely seeing a fair amount of playing time.  I suspect that the quarterback controversy in New York is simply much ado about nothing.

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PEYTON MANNING MILESTONE REACHED

Peyton Manning met a milestone Saturday, practicing in full pads for the first time in nearly 18 months.

This marked his first real practice since coming back from a nerve injury that prevented him from playing all last season,  and was a major factor in the noodle-necked QB being released from the Indianapolis Colts.

It has only been a couple of days since the start of Broncos training camp, so it is really far too soon to know whether Manning's health will prove to be a liability to either himself or the team.  Both players and coaches have suggested that Peyton Manning is fully recovered.

Now that number 18 has put on the pads, the next big test will be how he and his neck respond to the first significant hit.  There is no way of knowing when that will be.  Could be in preseason or could come a lot sooner from some rookie desperate to make the team.  The Chicago Bears will get the first opportunity at testing out his neck on August 9th in an exhibition game.  The Pittsburgh Steelers will get their chance on September 9th when the games count.

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GONZO CLOSE TO RETIREMENT FROM FALCONS

Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez is nearly certain he will be retiring from the NFL sometime after the 2012 season.  At least he said that he is 95% sure that the upcoming season will be his last, but also said that he wasn't ruling out playing in 2013 either.  He didn't come right out and say it, but rest assured that he is eyeing up his future days as an Atlanta Armchair Quarterback.

"I've had a great run," he said. "I don't want to be one of those players toward the end of their careers — and nothing against guys that have done it like that in the past — but I want to make sure that I'm at the top of my game when I do go out."

Some of those players in the past have made their early retirement proclamations after a long season, typically players don't announce retirement plans a couple of days into training camp.  That said, maybe Gonzo is sincerely planning on making this his farewell tour.

"Sometimes you have to call it quits, and I'm just one of those type of guys that I can't handle being average at this sport because I've been at the top for a while," Gonzalez said. "I hope that's not coming off as cocky, but it's just the way I operate. I don't want to come out there and be somewhat of a role player."

After dropping that surprise announcement, Gonzalez insisted that he didn't want to publicly discuss retirement again until the end of the season.

"I don't want to be a distraction to myself, first and foremost," he said. "I don't want to play games in my head. I'm sticking to it, and we'll know at the end of the season. We have a long time before that day even comes."

If and when he retires, Gonzalez will  undoubtedly be a first ballet Hall Of Famer.  Of the eight modern-era tight ends that have already been inducted, only one played longer than Gonzalez, and that was Jackie Smith of the Dallas Cowboys.  Smith played until he was 38 and like Gonzalez, stayed around in the hopes of winning a championship.  

To the delight of Steelers fans, Smith dropped a touchdown pass from Roger Staubach in the end zone as the Cowboys loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers by four points in Super Bowl XIII.

The Atlanta Falcons are not likely to get to the Super Bowl and probably won't get a sniff of the playoffs either.  That said, we probably won't be treated to any infamous high-profile missteps or drops in the post season from this soon-to-be-legendary player. 

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CLEVELAND BROWNS CLOSE TO BEING SOLD

In an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mary Kay Cabot reported that Cleveland Browns are close to being sold to Tennessee businessman Jimmy Haslam, a minority owner of the Steelers.  Lucky for Cleveland Armchair Quarterbacks, there appears to have been an unconditional guarantee that the team would not be moved out of Cleveland that had to be met before negotiations could even be initiated.


Browns President (and losing coach in Super Bowl XL) Mike Holmgren confirmed that owner Randy Lerner "will give up controlling interest in the team."    


Cleveland Armchair Quarterbacks the world over, are being encouraged to buy Armchair Quarterback products as a sign of solidarity during these uncertain times for the franchise.

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FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRAFT DRUNK

Millions of Fantasy Football 'players' across the nation are gearing up as the hectic NFL offseason, one chock full of lawyers, litigation and Goodell capturing numerous headlines, is coming to a close.

This is a striking contrast to 2011 where 'lockout' was the operative word. Lucky for us there has been plenty of talk about Manning, Tebow, RG III and most recently, some asinine (or drunken?) statements from Michael Dick about a 'dynasty' in Philth-a-delphia.  I'm sure there will be more on that in the coming days.  To be fair, this has been a summer with plenty of talk about replacement refs and rules changes too.

Speaking of rules, from a very grounded Joe-Six Pack perspective, in the Fantasy Football world, there is one golden rule that hasn't, and most assuredly won't ever change; friends don't let friends DRAFT drunk. Please remember it. That is, unless you're like me and heavily rely on this strategy for a successful draft night, or use it to explain the inexplicable on your league's draft night.


 FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRAFT DRUNK

ROLLING STONES GOING ON TOUR - AGAIN?

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Reuters recently reported that the Rolling Stones will be marking the band's 50th anniversary by way of an "...exhibition photos and an accompanying book".  The 352 page book will be hitting stores today (12 July 2012), and selling for around $50.00.  More importantly,  according to the article (which appears in it's entirety here) there are also rumors of a tour.  Some excerpts from the article:  

• Guitarist Richards said this week that the Stones have met up for "a couple of rehearsals", fanning the fire of rumors that a new world tour may be in the works.  "We're playing around with the idea and had a couple of rehearsals - we've got together and it feels so good."

• The exhibition photos and an accompanying book track the rise of a group of fresh-faced British boys who played their first gig at Oxford Street's Marquee Club in 1962, became the scourge of the establishment in the 1960s, the titans of 70s music and finally the elder statesmen of rock n' roll in the 21st century.

• "There was no sort of master plan," Richards says on the band's official website rollingstones.com. "We were flying by the seat of our pants. That is what amazes me, that the whole thing was improvised."

Hard to believe the Stones are marking fifty years.  Some argue that Ian Dury was the person who coined the phrase, "Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll", but no other band epitomized the phrase or lived the lifestyle like the Rolling Stones.

PISSED ABOUT PISTORIUS IN THE OLYMPICS

Call me a grouch, but I'm a little pissed that the Olympic committee and national track federation granted their approval to double-amputee Oscar Pistorius to compete in both the individual 400 meter and the 4x400 merter relay at the London Olympics.  What the hell?  We're not talking about the "Special" Olympics or some other patronizing event or spectacle, but the $@#% Summer Olympics!

According to the Associated Press, Olympic committee chief executive Tubby "Tele" Reddy admitted that the carbon fiber footed Pistorious is being permitted to run even though he hadn't met established qualifying criteria.  It wasn't exactly clear, at least to me, what that criteria is exactly, but suffice to say that a special case has been made for this five-ring circus performer.

Questions abound, like for example, is Oscar just a bit faster not being burdened with the added weight of his lower extremities? Do those high tech flippin' flipper-feet provide additional spring and bounce that mere muscle and tendon couldn't possibly supply?  How do other athletes, particularly those that he will be competing against feel about this?   I know this probably sounds a bit naive, or insensitive to others, but do these devices give Pistorious an unfair advantage?  What if otherwise healthy runners strapped on some similar carbon fiber contraptions?  In any event, I'll be tuning in to check out the five-ring circus this summer.