UK to get another NFL Game

So Wembley 07 has sparked some interest in another trip to this side of the pond and if this article is to be believed then its going to be the Saints and the Chargers that will be making the trip. This has all the makings of a great game, if the weather decides to be better than the Fins Giants game. So will Shawne Merriman get to do his “Lights Out” sack dance on the hallowed Wembley turf. An official announcement is due sometime this week.

The Chargers will play the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium in London on Oct. 26, sources confirmed today.
“We want to go,” Chargers president Dean Spanos said. “I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Sources said the Chargers have been speaking with the league for more than two months about the game. Spanos is a member of the league’s International Committee.

This will be the second regular-season NFL game played outside North America. The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins played at Wembley Stadium this past October.

The game will be the Chargers’ eighth next season, and they will have a bye the next week. New Orleans will be the home team, so the Chargers still will have eight regular-season home games at Qualcomm Stadium.

Will we see Merriman dance at Wembley ? 

Latest Mock Drafts

So with only one game to go in the 2007 season the pundits attention seems to have turned to the 08 Draft as there are a plethora of Mocks that have sprung up. Choices of note is that of Mel Kiper. He’s taken a punt on Felix Jones. Certainly it’s doubtful that Cadillac Williams will be back in ’08 and there are rumours that it could be longer. However with Graham, Pittman, Bennett and Darby already on the roster I can’t see us spending a round 1 pick on a RB.Heres a quick take on the some of the picks for the Bucs

SI.com – Don Banks

OT – Sam Baker

ESPN Insider – Mel Kiper

RB – Felix Jones

Yahoo Sports

CB – Aqib Talib

NFLDraftCountdown.com

OT – Sam Baker

Footballs Future

OT – Sam Baker

FoxSports

WR – DeSean Jackson

Mike Alstott Retires

All Buc fans knew it was coming and today is that day.

At a news conference at One Buc Place, Mike Alstott has officially announced his retirement from football. Alstott’s career sadly ended with a whimper,being placed on IR, rather than the bang that we have all grown used to as he ploughed his way through opposition players.

Alstott, was the 35th player picked in the 1996 Draft, few knew that the former Boilermaker would go on to such heady heights. Not quick enough to be a pure RB and not big enough to be a true FB, Mike was best described as a Tweener. An all around talent, he certainly made the most of his natural talents and the Bucs profited from having him in the backfield.

I’m not going to ramble on about his stats as this YouTube clip shows what Mike is all about

It’s hard to put into words what Alstott means to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A true fan favourite, a leader on the field, his playing style excited fans and players alike and his presence will be sorely missed. We are sure to see Mike around One Buc Place however, I’m sure that he’ll find a role with the Bucs.

Mike, thanks for all the memories, you’ll be missed

Valero sticks knife in on way out

Art Valero decided to have a swipe at Jon Gruden as he left the Bucs for a new role with the St Louis Rams.

Art Valero said he is anxious to leave and work for a coach he “can trust” in St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan. Valero had hoped to take over as the team’s offensive line coach after Bill Muir retired, but head coach Jon Gruden hired Aaron Kromer to coach the offensive line instead. Valero added, “To appease me, Jon was going to allow me to call the plays and call the game at the Senior Bowl. That was when [running back Cadillac Williams] was there, and I never got the chance to. I was prepared. I was ready to go, but he called the plays. I don’t know why I wasn’t allowed to. I told him my displeasure with how they were doing it [with Kromer] and he said, ‘Well, you know that you’re going to be the coordinator here.’ I knew right there that he was B.S.ing me.”

Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune has a more balance view on the situation

Had Valero left for a better job or a better opportunity, it would be one thing. He left for a better situation. That’s not a good sign. It makes you wonder if others would do the same if they could. The good news is that Gruden has bent before. His treatment of Galloway, who has a practice schedule unlike most players, is an example of how he has adapted in the past.Now he needs to adapt again. He needs to make his coaches feel like their opinions matter; he needs to make his players feel like he’s working for them as much as they are working for him; he needs to take no for an answer once in a while.The flaws in Gruden’s coaching game aren’t worth cutting him loose. They will be, though, if he refuses to accept ownership and fix them. Looking at it that way, Valero seems to have done his former boss a favor. The fact that Valero and Gruden didn’t see eye to eye on some issues is not what matters most here. What matters most, especially now, is that Gruden acknowledge the problems and eliminates them.

We have already known that Gruden has an autonomous style of coaching and it’s his way or the highway. However, sometimes Gruden needs to take on board what his team around him are saying. His coaching of the past 2 Giants sum this up. In a windswept Giants stadium, he tried get a QB with noodle arms to pass the Bucs to victory, in this years playoff game we abandoned the run far too quickly despite taking an early lead.I doubt Gruden will take this onboard and it can be seen as sour grapes but it does seem to strike a chord.