SB Nation - Terrence Metcalf

Drew Stanton to Have Surgery; Lions Sign Brooks Bollinger

Sean Yuille — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:57:48 -0000

3 months ago: Detroit Lions quarteback Drew Stanton throws against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter of an exhibition NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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Drew Stanton just can't seem to make it through an entire preseason healthy. In his rookie season, Stanton suffered a knee injury and was placed on the injured reserve. The injury probably wasn't serious enough that Stanton had to go on the IR, but that's what the Lions decided to do with him. Then, after playing well in the first couple of preseason games last year, Stanton suffered a freak injury on the last snap of practice, hitting his thumb on a helmet.

Yesterday we found out that Stanton had an MRI done on his left knee, and today we learned that he will have arthroscopic surgery on it (done by Dr. James Andrews). The injury will likely keep Stanton out for "several weeks," but the Lions aren't going to put him on the IR just yet, instead waiting to see what happens.

In the meantime, the Lions have signed quarterback Brooks Bollinger. Offensive guard Terrence Metcalf was released to make room for Bollinger, who will probably see significant playing time on Thursday despite only having a couple days to learn the playbook. Bollinger worked out for the Lions last month alongside a couple other free agent quarterbacks, likely just in case a situation like this happened. That is why it's good to be prepared.

Tuesday Notes: Hanson Has Surgery; Lions Make a Few Roster Moves

Sean Yuille — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:21:07 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

4 months ago: Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson kicks a 47-yard field goal, held by punter Nick Harris, with three seconds remaining to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 27-26 in an exhibition NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009 in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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Linebacker Cody Spencer has been placed on the injured reserve after tearing his ACL during a kickoff in the Falcons game.
Kicker Swayze Waters has been re-signed, filling Spencer's spot on the roster. The reason the Lions need a kicker is because Jason Hanson had "minor" knee surgery this morning. Jim Schwartz made it sound like the surgery was nothing major, but anytime a kicker has something done to his knee, concern is only natural, especially when that kicker is Hanson. Hopefully he will be able to return sooner rather than later, as it would hurt to lose Hanson for an extended period of time.
Yesterday, the Lions released wide receiver Bobby Sippio and put offensive tackle Kirk Barton on the waived/injured list. To fill those two spots on the roster, the Lions signed wide receiver Dane Looker and offensive guard Terrence Metcalf. Looker played for the Rams for the last seven years, so he has a connection to Scott Linehan. Metcalf was on the Bears for the past seven seasons.
Jim Schwartz is shutting Brandon Pettigrew down, as his quad injury isn't healing very quickly.
A group of local high school football players attended the Lions' practice this morning.
Peter King thinks Matthew Stafford has an "A-minus NFL arm."
The Lions benefited from a bad call in the Falcons game.
John Niyo has a list of the Lions' injuries going into this past Saturday's Falcons game.
The full Outside The Lines piece on Charles Rogers is now on the Internet.
Tom Kowalski thinks the Lions will go 3-13 this coming season.

NightLinks: Bears Responsible With Their Money

Dane Noble — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:50:10 -0000

The Chicago Bears have always been known for different things from a financial perspective. On one hand, we have people who say the Bears are tight with their wallet. On the other hand, we have seen time and time again that our own players will get rewarded if they produce on the football field.

Tonight's NightLinks both pertain to the current state of the Bears financial situation, both coming from Bradd Biggs at the Sun Times. The first article talks about "dead space"- money that is tied up in players that are no longer on the roster.

According to the most recent figures, the Bears are carrying $6,535,640 in dead cap space. That might sound like a lot but consider that it is just 4.8 percent of the total pie which is more than $135.9 million. That number will go up. The Bears have 80 players under contract right now and as they work toward a final 53-man roster, players will be released that add money to that but as best as we can tell there aren't any players in jeopardy of losing their job that would add a big number to that figure.

Players with the highest dead space on the roster:

Cedric Benson $2,509,000
Terrence Metcalf $1,291,520
Kyle Orton $700,000
John Tait $500,000
Mark Bradley $460,000
Dan Bazuin $382,000
Mike Okwo $308,750

The next article discusses the cap space that the Bears currently have and where the $17+ million could go.

A check on Wednesday afternoon of the most recent figures indicates that the Bears remain $17.67 million under their adjusted salary-cap figure of $135.9 million. That means the organization has committed 86.99 percent of its cap to this point and there is plenty of room left over for spending.

So, where could the money go? First player listed is an obvious one...

Jay Cutler. We wrote here previously that the Bears will look to do something long term with Cutler, perhaps during the season. They'll need to make that move in October probably in order to take advantage of the cap room and apply money to this season. It makes perfect sense. Yes, Cutler remains under contract for three more seasons. But he has a $12 million roster bonus in 2012 that the team would probably like to avoid

And moving along to other players:

Anthony Adams. The defensive tackle is entering the third year of a modest four-year contract. If Adams emerges from training camp as the starting nose tackle, perhaps he merits a modest extension at some point. He's proven to be valuable every time he's been called on, which makes it a wonder why the coaching staff has gone away from him on occasion.

Mark Anderson. The defensive end is entering the final year of his rookie contract. If a new CBA can be hammered out he will become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Anderson could either be a hot commodity by the end of the season or just another guy who is another season removed from his breakout 2006 rookie year. It might be prudent for the Bears to wait until season's end to fully evaluate him and not pay him by midseason to apply money to the 2009 salary cap.

Adewale Ogunleye. He turns 32 next month which means he'll be 33 when the 2010 season begins. We're not ready to say whether or not the Bears should re-invest in Ogunleye, but if he performs well and is willing to come back at the right price, it would take some of the gamble out of trying to replace him with an unknown. We'll see how rookies Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton fare this season. Gilbert will be worked as a tackle but might eventually find himself at left end.

Kevin Payne. If Payne had remained at strong safety for the entire season, he just might have led the Bears in tackles. He's expected to be back in that role this season. If he can improve in his second season as a starter, perhaps he's worth looking at in terms of an extension. But, again, that's a decision best made at this time next year, not in the middle of the season.

Brandon Rideau. If the Bears buck the trend at wide receiver and find a hidden talent here, securing him with a modest deal would make a lot of sense. There's a big difference between running with the first team on occasion in OTA's and running with the ones in preseason. Let's see how this pans out.

Yes, Brad Biggs listed Brandon Rideau. And while this one leaves me scratching my head a bit, it's Bradd Biggs, and I take everything he says as solid gold.

Will the Pioli/Parcells/Haley Connection Bring Any Remaining Free Agents to the Chiefs?

Joel Thorman — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:37:19 -0000

Note: Primetime did the leg work on the tables and I did the writing. -Chris

If you're been reading Arrowhead Pride for a little while now, you know that Scott Pioli and Todd Haley are big on bringing in coaches and players that they've worked with before. Which makes perfect sense. It's a natural human instinct to take the known over the unknown.

It's gotten to the point where as soon as we hear of a new player the Chiefs have signed or are interested in, we look for the Pioli/Parcells/Haley connection and it's inevitably there.

Why look for a Bill Parcells connection in addition to a Pioli/Haley connection?

Well because the legendary coach has had some big time influence on the Chiefs current GM and head coach.

Todd Haley began his career as the New York Jets' wide receivers coach under Parcells in 1997. Haley also coached under Parcells from 2004 to 2005 as the wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, while Parcells was the head coach.

Todd is the son of Dick Haley, who is the current Player Personnel Analyst for the Miami Dolphins and former Director of Player Personnel for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets. Haley, his father Dick and Parcells all worked together in New York from 1997 to 1999. Haley was the Jets wide receiver coach; Parcells was the head coach; and Dick Haley as the Personnel Director.

Haley and Scott Pioli worked together from 1997 to 2000, when Pioli was the Director of Pro Personnel for the New York Jets.

As far as Parcells and Pioli go, both worked together in New York for the Jets in the late 1990s while Parcells was the head coach there. Oh, and Scott Pioli also married Bill Parcells' daughter. They're probably pretty tight.

So it's one big happy family over there at One Arrowhead Drive nowadays.

Every single coach hired by the new Kansas City Chiefs' brass has had some sort of Scott Piloli/Todd Haley/Bill Parcells connection.

Special teams coach Steve Hoffman (Parcells)
WR coach Dedric Ward (Haley, Parcells and Pioli)
Defensive quality control coach Pat Perles (Haley)
Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast (Haley)
Offensive line coach Bill Muir (Pioli and Haley)
LB coach Gary Gibbs (Parcells and Haley)
Joel Collier (Pioli)

It's the same thing with the free agents the Chiefs have signed this off season:

LB Monty Beisel - Played for Arizona in 2008 under Chiefs' DC Clancy Pendergast
QB Matt Cassel - Former New England Patriot under Pioli
WR Terrance Copper - Signed to the Cowboys by Bill Parcells when Todd Haley was working with the wide receivers
CB Travis Daniels - Former Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel, who coached under Belichick and Pioli in New England, traded for him prior to the 2008 campaign
WR Bobby Engram -Played for the Bears when Todd Haley worked with wide receivers
LB Darrell Robertson - New England practice squad in 2008 and a former Georgia Tech player under Chan Gailey
TE Sean Ryan - Played last year in Miami for Bill Parcells and for Haley and Parcells in Dallas from 2004 to 2005
TE Tony Curtis - Played for Haley and Parcells in Dallas from 2005 to 2006

Is that enough evidence that these guys prefer working with people they've worked with before?

It makes sense to take a look at who the top remaining free agents and see where the Pioli/Haley/Parcells connection is. It's likely that any future free agent signings will come from this group.

The top offensive and defensive free agents connected to Pioli, Haley and Parcells are after the jump.

Offense
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Pioli	Haley	Parcells
Rex Grossman	QB	6'1"	222	28		CHI 03-04
Lorenzo Neal	FB	5'11"	255	39		NYJ 97	NYJ 97
Marty Booker	WR	6'0"	212	32		CHI 01-03
Kelley Washington	WR	6'3"	218	29	NE 07-08
Jerame Tuman	TE	6'4"	255	33		AZ 08
Brandon Gorin	RT	6'6"	308	30	NE 03-05
Rob Petitti	RT	6'6"	347	26		DAL 05	DAL 05
Terrence Metcalf	G-T	6'3"	325	31		CHI 02-04
Evan Mathis	G	6'5"	304	27			MIA 08
Grey Ruegamer	G-C	6'4"	310	32	NE 00-02
Matt Lehr	G-C	6'3"	300	30			DAL 03-04
Edgerrin James	RB	6'0"	219	30		AZ 07-08

Back on Monday, I asked you what was the biggest positional need for the Chiefs after the draft. You responded by saying that wide receiver, offensive tackle and outside linebacker were the Chiefs' biggest needs.

WR Marty Booker has already had a workout with the Chiefs and left without a contract offer (We assume).

Former 3rd round pick Kelley Washington is an option too I guess, although I'm not sure what he would bring to the table considering his poor career numbers.

At best, I think any of the offensive line free agents out there would be back ups to our current crop of linemen.

The defensive free agents are pretty slim pickings as well. Check them out.

Defense
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Pioli	Haley	Parcells
La'Roi Glover	DT-NT	6'2"	285	34		DAL 05	DAL 03-05
Chris Cooper	DT-DE	6'5"	275	31		AZ 07	DAL 04
Vonnie Holliday	DT-DE	6'5"	290	33			MIA 08
Rosevelt Colvin	DE-LB	6'3"	250	31	NE 03-08	CHI 01-02
Ebenezer Ekuban	DE	6'3"	265	32			DAL 03
Derek Smith	ILB	6'2"	245	34			MIA 08
Junior Seau	ILB	6'3"	250	40	NE 06-08
Willie McGinest	OLB-DE	6'5"	270	37	NE 00-05
Mike Brown	S	5'10"	210	31		CHI 01-04
Rodney Harrison	S	6'1"	220	36	NE 03-08
Lawyer Milloy	S	6'0"	210	34	NE 00-03
Roy Williams	S	6'0"	235	28		DAL 05-06	DAL 03-06
Keith Davis	S	5'10"	193	30		DAL 05-06	DAL 03-06
Terrence Holt	S	6'2"	208	29		AZ 07
Cameron Worrell	S	5'11"	199	29		CHI 03-04
Mike Green	S	6'0"	195	32		CHI 01-04
Deltha O'Neal	CB	5'11"	194	32	NE 08
Jason Webster	CB	5'9"	187	31	NE 08
R.W. McQuarters	CB	5'10"	198	32		CHI 01-04
Lewis Sanders	CB	6'1"	190	29	NE 08
Aaron Glenn	CB	5'9"	185	36		NYJ 95-00, DAL 05-06	NYJ 97-99, DAL 05-06
Roderick Hood	DB	5'11"	198	27		AZ 07-08
Travis LaBoy	DE	6'3"	250	27		AZ 08

Considering that the top remaining linebackers are all over 34-years old and that the Chiefs have already signed two veteran LBs, I don't see the Chiefs signing Junior Seau, Willie McGinest or Derek Smith. McGinest could theoretically fill at defensive end in addition to linebacker but his age prohibits most investments in him.

S Keith Davis left KC without a contract offer after a private visit to KC back in March.

DE Travis LaBoy, like Primetime wrote this morning, really does seem to be the most viable option for the Chiefs on this list, although I'm not sure what the odds of him coming to KC truly are.

Last year, we would have crossed off any one on this list that was over the age of 27 but that's no longer the case. Now, with the draft over and compensation for many of these players at a minimum, we could be looking at more signings.

Would you like to see any of these free agents signed by the Kansas City Chiefs?

Poll

How many of these free agents will the Chiefs sign?

0

52 votes

1

108 votes

2

212 votes

3

154 votes

4

71 votes

5+

86 votes

683 votes | Poll has closed

John St. Clair and Offensive Linemen in the Draft

Adam T — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:21:54 -0000

Some days John St. Clair overachieved on other days he way underachieved or played how we thought he would depending on your viewpoint, but many think St. Clair has shown enough to warrant a new contract.

The question is where to put him. He had too many games where Kyle Orton was getting blasted all day, but he may have some value at left guard or as this article puts it:

Mayock had plenty to say about this year’s crop of offensive line talent, and the Bears could use another lineman. Williams should start at left tackle next season. If the Bears can re-sign John St. Clair, he’ll likely start at right tackle with aging veteran John Tait in the rotation. The Bears are happy with the progress of left guard Josh Beekman but need insurance behind declining Roberto Garza at right guard. Backup guard Terrence Metcalf might not be back next season.

We knew this would be coming eventually. Tait's skills have gone down little by little each year, maybe rotating St. Clari in can prolong his shelf life and give him a few more servicable years.

So far as an offensive linemen in the draft NFLN's Mike Mayock says this isn't the best year to pick up a guard.

``Andy Levitre (6-2, 306) was Oregon State’s left tackle. He will kick inside to play guard, and I believe he’s NFL-starting-guard caliber. Some teams like Duke Robinson (6-5, 335) from Oklahoma, a massive, tough guy. He struggles a little bit in space so he’s probably going to be a second-round pick. For the teams that like the real big, massive offensive lineman, he’s going to be a starter for them.’’

He is impressed with two of the bigger guys Herman Johnson out of LSU (6-7, 386) and Kraig Urbik (6-6, 332).

Bears Trade For Dan Buenning

Adam T — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:14:43 -0000

It seems like as soon as I am just ready to open up a good can of rant on the Bears for not addressing some particular need, they make a move.

The Bears have traded for Dan Buenning from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The left guard came to the Bears for an undisclosed 2009 draft pick.

To make room on the roster, the Bears waived rookie cornerback Zackary Bowman, a fifth-round draft pick from Nebraska. The trade is contingent on Buenning, a 26-year-old Green Bay native, passing a physical.

Buenning was a 16 game starter as a rookie. His second year he started 9 games before tearing his right ACL. The Bucs picked up two more first round linemen, Devin Thomas and Arron Sears, making him despensable.

I'll work on getting some more info from our Bucs blogger, if anything else this gives the Bears depth. With second year man, but first time starter Josh Beekman currently at that position and Terrence Metcalf coming off an injury and not really being a quality full time answer this is a good move.

Thanks to thecoolest for first pointing this one out.

Bears Looking At Willie Anderson

Adam T — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 03:21:25 -0000

I don't know what the Bears currently think of their offensive line situation, but it appears that they are not 100 percent content with it.

The Bears along with the Chargers, Giants, Bucs and Rams have contacted the agent of Bengals recent cast off Willie Anderson.

Anderson by name alone would be an improvement over Fred Miller, who still has not decided what team he wants to join.

The Bears also get a little bit of a boost with Terrence Metcalf returning to practice.

The Bears need to do something to bolster this line and Anderson might be a good start.

On a side note fellow recently cut Bengal Rudi Johnson is reportedly going to join the Detroit Lions.