Oh hello! It’s finally (or only, depending on how your week is going) Wednesday. Let’s blitz!

That’s Michelle Obama Kaepernicking, with Colin Kaepernick. AMERICA!

Speaking of American Idols, it was announced yesterday that Carrie Underwood will replace Faith Hill as NBC’s Sunday Night Football singer.

The biggest part of this news, according to NFL.com, is that Underwood’s first regular-season appearance on the show comes before a Dallas Cowboys game, home of her ex, Tony Romo. We Americans love our drama.

And what’s more dramatic than ex-NFL players being arrested, and then arrested some more?

3. That’s how many times ex-New York Jet Cliff Harris has been arrested in the last 9 days: a marijuana charge, a fight with his girlfriend in the Buffalo Wild Wings parking lot, and finally, arriving late in court because he was stopped for a speeding ticket. It’s safe to call this a downward spiral.

2. That’s how many times ex-Detroit Lion Titus Young was arrested in the last 15 hours: a DUI charge and then a burglary charge when Young tried to steal back his impounded car. Was he still drunk?

1. That’s the number of misconducts ex-San Francisco 49er Jose Cortez had, causing him to lose his job with the Oregon State Police. Cortez is accused of fondly a woman while she was pulled over on suspicion of a DUI.

Well, that’s depressing. Here, have a picture of Tom Brady holding a goat:

Thank you, random guy on a Patriots chat board, for pointing out that Tom Brady might be afraid of GOATS, not GHOSTS, as Steelers safety Ryan Clark claims. You saved me five minutes on Paint, drawing a really terrible-looking ghost next to Tom Brady. What’s that, you want me to draw this anyway? Okay:

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Emily Ritter is a contributing writer to Aerys Offsides.  She would like to see a goat Kaepernicking, but her Paint skills are obviously not up to the task. You can follow her on Twitter @ebritter2.

On Monday, outspoken Vikings punter Chris Kluwe parted ways with the Minnesota Vikings as the team announced his release. It seemed like a move that was coming after the team selected UCLA punter Jeff Locke in the fifth-round of the NFL Draft.

“So long, Minnesota, and thanks for all the fish!” Kluwe wrote on Twitter. “Thank you to all the fans, my teammates, and the Wilf family for the past 8.5 years. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.”

Kluwe ends his Vikings career as the leader in career punting average (44.4 yards per kick). He also had a franchise-best 198 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.

“Chris has meant a great deal to the Vikings both on and off the field in his eight seasons here,” said Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman. “He contributed to many victories and we wish Chris and his family the best and thank him for his contributions to the Vikings organization. Out of respect to Chris, we decided to release him now and allow time for him to sign with another team.”

Kluwe most became known for his outspoken ways, especially in the past year for being an advocate for gay rights. Special teams coach Mike Preifer made it known last season that Kluwe’s outspoken ways was “getting old,” although it’s unclear if it played any role in the release.

On the field, Kluwe, 31, registered a career best 39.7 net average last season, but only ranked 17th in the league.

Jags petition for Tebow
For some reason, Jaguar fans believe President Obama and the White House care about where Tim Tebow signs.

A petition on  Whitehouse.gov asked Obama to “Call NFL Jacksonville Jaguars GM David Caldwell and tell him to stop ignoring the Jaguars fans and sign Tim Tebow! If the Jaguars sign & START Tebow, home games will be sold out, sales will spike, the team will win and the fans will be happy.”

However, WhiteHouse.gov took down the petition on Monday morning because it violated the site’s term of participation, which, I believe, also means, WE HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT.

Other News

• New Texans safety Ed Reed, who had surgery to repair a small labral tear in his hip, should be ready to go for training camp, according to owner Bob McNair (via Houston Chronicle).
• Geno Smith addresses the criticism he has received recently by saying “I don’t worry about what people say — my skin is pretty thick.”
• Tim Tebow was named the most influential athlete in America by Forbes.
• Aaron Rodgers will make a cameo on The Office, where he’ll play a judge in an a capella signing contest.
• Tom Brady reportedly won $25,000 at the Kentucky Derby after betting on Orb to win.

Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida

Time to sit back, insert that IV of your favorite caffeinated beverage and check out some NFL headlines! Happy Monday Morning, my friend!

The Miami Dolphins quite possibly lost out on a big opportunity to host Super Bowl L. Want to know why? The Florida legislature opted not to approve a deal that would publicly fund improvements to aging Sun Life Stadium.

According to NFL.com:

Dolphins CEO Mike Dee said Sunday on Miami’s CBS affiliate that the team will not provide any upgrades to Sun Life Stadium without the help of public funding. The Dolphins have canceled all renovation plans and say stadium improvements cannot be made without public-private partnership.

Dee left the door open that the stadium issue could lead to the Dolphins’ eventual exit from southern Florida.

“The Dolphins are one of the only franchises in the NFL that don’t have a long-term lease with their community,” Dee said, according to The Palm Beach Post. “At some point, somebody’s going to buy the franchise from (Dolphins owner Stephen Ross), and clearly the stadium is the first thing they would need to address.” » Continue reading “Monday Morning Blitz: Miami Stadium Drama And More”

Happy Sunday! It is that time once again for another edition of the Sunday Morning Blitz. Believe it or not, things have quieted down since the NFL Draft last weekend.

One of the more interesting stories to pop up Saturday was that of former wide receiver Terrell Owens. NFL.com reported Owens is now bowling (semi) professionally. (Video at top, as well as at NFL.com link)

Over at Reddit, Brian Billick, the former Baltimore Ravens Head Coach and current FOX NFL Sunday analyst, did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Friday. He answered a lot of questions. And yes, that includes questions on Kyle Boller, Elvis Grbac and Trent Dilfer.

Speaking of Baltimore, the Ravens hired former Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnulo to be a defensive assistant on the staff.

The Dallas Morning News has a story about a former Rugby cheerleader attending the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders tryouts. The cheerleader was one of hundreds trying out for the team.

Staying in Texas, former Philadelphia Eagles defensive player William Thomas was elected to the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame. Thomas playhed for Palo Duro High School in Amarillo.

In Denver, Von Miller has been doing stuff this offseason. The Broncos linebacker purchased chickens for his acreage near Dallas, according to USA Today’s Lindsay H. Jones. Chickens are quite interesting. I don’t know if he has any hens. If he does, you can’t beat those farm fresh eggs.

It was a busy Saturday for Washington’s Chris Cooley and Pierre Garcon. Both were in Winchester, Va. for the Wells Fargo Sports Breakfast Saturday, according to the North Virginia Daily.

Our feature story comes courtesy of the Miami Herald and is about Dolphins first round draft pick Dion Jordan. The story is about the challenges Jordan has faced over time. It is definitely a good read.

Another feature we have comes from Myrtle Beach Online. It’s about former Clemson player Jonathan Willard, who will be at rookie camp for the Tennessee Titans.

Finally, for our shopping item of the day. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, which is a popular drinking holiday, you can purchase these NFL shot glasses online.

Jim-Harbaugh

Jim Harbaugh Plays Favorites

It looks like the San Francisco 49ers fourth round pick Quinton Patton was a little excited to be drafted. He purchased a plane ticket to San Francisco to be with the team. There’s just one problem. Rookies aren’t allowed in the facility until rookie minicamp on May 10. Patton was told to go home.

Jim Harbaugh was asked about this incident and he said, ““He is already my favorite guy. Isn’t that awesome?”

You can read more on this story here.

49ers Sign Olympian

The San Francisco 49ers have signed Olympic discus finalist Lawrence Okoye as an undrafted free agent. Funny thing is that Okoye has never played football before. The 49ers plan to train him as a defensive lineman.

You can read more on this story here.

Robert Griffin III injured his knee in the Redskins Wild Card game last season, but remained in the game. Later on, he ended up tearing his ACL. After the loss, and the injury, RGIII said he would have been “highly upset” if the Redskins removed him from the game.

Now-a-days, Griffin has had time to reflect on the injury after three months of rehab and views it differently.

“I don’t feel like playing against the Seahawks was a mistake. But I see the mistake IN IT,” Griffin said, via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post (via ProFootballTalk). “With what happened and how everything was running — you take me out. If that happened again next year, I’d come out of the game and sit until I was 100% healthy.”

Although in the heat of the moment, most athletes probably wouldn’t have come out, it is nice to see Griffin learn from mistakes.

AD’s bold prediction
So, there’s been a lot of talk about Adrian Peterson wanting to run for 2,500 yards next season. I mean he did surpass 2,000 less than a year after reconstruction in his knee.

But I mean, let’s be real. There’s no way Peterson actually believes he can rush for that many yards, right?

“It’s not something I’m going to focus on early. I’ll let the chips fall where they may. I’ve got my bar set for 2,500 yards,” Peterson told SI.com recently (via NFL.com). “If I can go over that, the record will be shattered. But ultimately I want a couple rings. You gotta start at one.”

I wouldn’t put it past Peterson to accomplish this feat though. He seems to enjoy proving his doubters wrong — just look at this past season.

Other news

• 49ers rookie Quinton Patton was super anxious to be a 49er, he bought his own way out to San Francisco. The 49ers response, “Go back home” because league rules prohibit rookies to be with the team before rookie mini-camp.
• The Kansas City Chiefs have traded CB Javier Arena to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for FB Anthony Sherman, according to Kenny Somers of the Arizona Republic
• LT Bryant McKinnie, who was with the Ravens last season, has an offer on the table from the Chargers, and negotiations are “ongoing,” according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
• Al Harris, who last for the Dolphins in 2011, will retire as a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Welcome to Wednesday morning absurdity!

Let’s start off with one of my favorite QBs, because he always does news-worthy absurd things early in the week, just for me.

Yes, I’m talking about RG3. SORRY! According to a snippy remark by Dan Snyder, it’s Robert, not RG3. (Can we pause for a second and comment on how well he rocks a headband? Just look how jealous that guy in the background is!) RG3 (what? we are on a nickname basis, he and I!) did not show up for his appearance at the White House Correspondence Dinner, or the elite pre-dinner party with the president. The worst part? Bradley Cooper was there too! Talk about a dream date.

Speaking of incorrect names, the D.C. council is preparing to introduce a bill to change the name of the Washington Redskins to the Washington Redtails. While I’m all for a transition to something politically correct and unoffensive, I’m not sure this will get the necessary team and fan support. After all, D.C. isn’t a city known for its flexibility.

Not to be out-done by D.C., Atlanta recently unveiled some of its own potential changes. Namely, a new Falcons stadium which doubles as an alien landing pad:

Tweet of the week time!

I can’t even say anything snarky about this. It’s too perfect.

Did I say the word perfect? You probably heard  the words “Tim Tebow” instead. Apologies for taking so long to get around to our my other favorite overly-hyped QB! The big news yesterday (other than that whole lingerie league thing) was that an indoor football team, the Omaha Beef, offered Tebow a whole $75 a game to play for them. Let’s be honest, beef is not what’s for dinner here.

And because no Wednesday Morning Blitz is truly complete without a silly video, here’s John Green (writer and soccer fan extraordinaire) critically analyzing animals interrupting sporting matches.

Happy Wednesday, and DFTBA.*

Emily Ritter is a contributing writer for Aerys Offsides. She’s obsessed with cows and you can find her lamenting over the lack of Te-cow nicknames on Twitter @ebritter2.

*Don’t forget to be awesome

Offseason? What offseason? If you thought the end of the NFL draft meant that conversation about the National Football League was going to take a back seat, you were wrong.

Here’s the latest news from around the league:

Jets Release Tim Tebow

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely already heard the BREAKING NEWS that the New York Jets released high-profile quarterback Tim Tebow on Monday morning. It’s sort of old news by now, but in case you missed it (and not sure how that is possible), you can read all the details on Tebow’s release here.

Lots of people had a lot of things to say about Tebow’s release (just search “Tebow” on Twitter for the Cliff’s Notes), including The New York Times, ESPN and Buzzfeed.

As for where Tebow will be headed next, early reports have suggested that Jim Popp, GM of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, could be interested in adding Tebow to the team in a role similar to the one he had with the Jets last season.

Outside of a few times that inquired about Tebow making the move to TE, the NFL seems mostly uninterested in the quarterback. The Jaguars have already said that Tebow is not an option for their team, as have the Philadelphia Eagles, though, like Lions GM Martin Mayhew said in an interview yesterday, “never say never.”

But hey, if things don’t work out for Tebow in the NFL – or the CFL – there’s always the Lingerie Football League. According to TMZ (*vomits*), the quarterback has been offered a gig as the league’s national football coach.

And, in EVEN MORE TEBOW NEWS, according to the Tampa Bay Tribune, the quarterback plans to invest in three PDQ restaurants in Florida. PDQ is a popular chicken sandwich chain based in Tampa, with an name that stands for “People Dedicated to Quality.”

NFL Players React to Jason Collins Coming Out

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Mike Wallace made headlines yesterday courtesy of a rather ill-timed and somewhat controversial tweet about NBA player Jason Collins, who came out in a personal Sports Illustrated article on Monday.

“I’m not bashing anybody don’t have anything against anyone I just don’t understand it,” Wallace tweeted. “All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH…”

Both tweets were quickly deleted. Wallace later followed up, ”Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don’t understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended.”

Plenty of other NFL players tweeted their support for Collins, including gay right’s activists Brendon Ayanbadejo, Scott Fujita and Chris Kluwe, Connor Barwin, Michael Strahan and active tweeter Gerald Alexander, among others.

A few other players, like the Bears’ Lance Briggs, decided to take the passive agressive route with their commentary.

Other News:

• The Indianapolis Colts have traded linebacker Jerry Hughes to the Buffalo Bills. The Colts will receive linebacker Kelvin Sheppard as part of the trade.
• Tyrann Mathieu’s agent Patrick Lawlor has responded to a report suggesting that the Arizona Cardinals are planning to demand that his client accept a deal with no guaranteed money, denying that any discussions have happened or that such a deal would be agreed upon.
• On Monday, the NFL distributed a document re-emphasizing the league’s anti-discrimination policy on sexual orientation. The league reminded teams that any questions about a prospective draft pick or free agent’s sexual orientation are not permitted.

Kristine Reese is the NFL editor and lead Jets writer for Aerys Sports. You can follow her on Twitter @KristineReese.

The Jets have had quite the week.

Star cornerback Darrelle Revis was traded to the Tampa Bay Bucs last Monday, Geno Smith was drafted on Friday night and this morning, the Jets released backup quarterback Tim Tebow.

That’s right, the Tim Tebow era in New York is over.

No more shirtless photos in the rain, no more punt protecting magic, no more Jockey underwear billboards atop the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel, and no more epic Skip Bayless rants on First Take (on second though, who am I kidding? That will never end).

Will this stop the New York  Post/New York Daily News/tabloids from using the circus narrative in conjunction with the New York Jets? Probably not, but it’s a start.

Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan addressed the high-profile quarterback’s release in an official statement:

We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow. Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped.  Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward.

Pretty well said.

In what can only be assumed is in response to his release, Tebow tweeted the following on Monday afternoon:

Tebow’s  release did not come as a huge surprise. Not long after the Jets’ 2013 season wrapped, reports surfaced the Jets were planning to try and trade Tebow for compensation, ideally a 2013 draft pick. While the general population is not privy to all the conversations between John Idzik, Woody Johnson and other NFL teams, we can only assume they did not get the kind of offers they were hoping for, and after the Jets drafted young Geno Smith in the third round of the draft on Friday – adding a 6th quarterback to the roster – Tebow’s fate was sealed. (And it could potentially do the same for Mark Sanchez). 

But wait, there’s more: According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets also “granted Tim Tebow permission this off-season to seek a trade.” Adds Schefter, “more than one team asked if were willing to play TE, but he was not.” Tebow has always made it clear that he wants to play the quarterback position, but his unwillingness to move positions currently is and could potentially keep him out of the NFL.

As for where Tebow will be headed next, early reports have suggested that Jim Popp, GM of the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes, could be interested in adding Tebow to the team in a role similar to the one he had with the Jets last season.

“If he wants to come to Canada he would be in the same situation as the one he was in with New York. He can come here and compete to be the backup to Anthony Calvillo and learn the game, just like Jeff Garcia did (behind Doug Flutie). And one day he might be the guy; that’s our vision. He can learn from the best. If (Tebow) wants to come to Canada he will reach out to us. And if he wants to come to Canada we would take a look at him.”

If things don’t work out for Tebow in the NFL – or the CFL – there’s always the LFL, otherwise know as the Lingerie Football League. According to TMZ (*vomits*), the quarterback has been offered a gig as the league’s national football coach.

For a tongue n’ cheek look at the Tebow’s time as a Jet, check out Buzzfeed’s top 11 “lowlights.”

Kristine Reese is NFL editor and lead Jets writer for Aerys Sports. You can follow her on Twitter @kristinereese.

The Cincinnati Bengals had an impressive 10 draft picks this year, and used every single one of them, unlike division rival (and my team) the Cleveland Browns who traded three away for picks next year, and traded two for a player and two picks next year. But I digress. Lets have a breakdown of who the Bengals drafted.

In Round #1 the Bengals drafted Tyler Eifert, a TE out of Notre Dame. He’s a solid player who has the size to have a huge impact on the Bengals offense. If you want to read more about Eifert, check out this article announcing his selection.

Coach Marvin Lewis is super excited about his 2013 NFL Draft selections.

The Bengals had two picks in round two and they chose RB Giovani Bernard and DE Margus Hunt.  Bernard spent two seasons with North Carolina and in the 2012 season had 184 attempted rushes for 1228 yards, averaging 6.7 yards per carry and had 12 touchdowns. He also received 47 passes for 490 yards, averaged 10.4 yards per reception and had five TD’s. He’s a solid player who clearly can run as well as catch. Maybe the Bengals will get him more involved in the passing game, or maybe they’ll try to focus him more on the run game. Either way, he’s bound to be an impact player. The Bengals other Round #2 pick was DE Margus Hunt, a senior from Southern Methodist University. He’s 6’8” and comes in at 277 lbs., which is a good size for a DE, and ran a 4.73 40-yard dash. In the 2012 season he had 32 tackles, 8 sacks, and one interception. He did well in college but isn’t a household name, so we’ll see how Head Coach Marvin Lewis uses him in the 2013 season. » Continue reading “The Cincinnati Bengals 2013 NFL Draft Wrap-up”