The NFL is comfortably settling into a quiet month of May that doesn’t have all that many headlines, but it’s still important to go around the league and get a roundabout picture of news.
Here is some of the latest buzz on a relatively mum May 17, 2012.
Drew Brees Upset About Contract Situation
After tearing down Dan Marino’s record for passing yardage in a single season, Saints quarterback Drew Brees understandably wants a new contract.
New Orleans, however, is dealing with a number of internal issues. Teaming the ongoing BountyGate scandal with a sticky salary cap situation isn’t exactly a winning formula for any ballclub. The last thing the team needs is for their quarterback to be unhappy. Brees complains that the Saints haven’t communicated with him and he’s probably not far off.
In the meantime, New Orleans’ backup quarterback Chase Daniel is making the most of his opportunity at training camp by taking the lion’s share of reps in Brees’ absence.
Nachmany’s Spin: I don’t know if the Saints have the financial wherewithal to make a splash here. Going forward, this story should be interesting.
Justin Blackmon Practicing at ‘Z’ Receiver Position
New head coach Mike Mularkey is certainly making his presence felt in Jacksonville, as he’s already encouraged a number of big splashes.
Mularkey was the former offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons and played receiver Roddy White in the ‘Z’ position at receiver. He plans to do the same with Blackmon.
As a ‘Z’ receiver, Blackmon will run more shallow routes and focus more on volume of production than big plays. It’s quite possible he becomes the No. 1 receiver in Jacksonville.
Nachmany’s Spin: I saw this tidbit on ProFootballTalk, actually, and was mildly intrigued. I figure this means that Lee Evans ends up as the ‘X’ receiver and runs a lot of deep patterns, so he may have something left in the tank that we don’t know about.
Tim Tebow Impressive at Jets Minicamp
Surprise, surprise. The New York Jets are signing praises about new backup quarterback Tim Tebow.
Star cornerback Darrelle Revis noted how impressive Tebow’s been at camp and went on to talk about the quarterback’s innate leadership qualities.
In fact, Chris Herring contemplates whether or not the Jets could get away with playing both Tebow and Mark Sanchez at the same time. It’s an interesting read.
Nachmany’s Spin: I think the Jets are just trying to push incumbent starter Mark Sanchez to work hard. Tebow is a good football player, but the Jets can’t afford to abandon Sanchez now.