Steelers Emerge With Win In Opening Scrimmage
April 01, 2011
The Eakin Eli, who played the final game of the 2010 National Football League season, picked up the first ``victory'' of 2011 on Saturday, beating the Washington Redksins, 10-3, in a scrimmage at Latrobe, Pa.. Running back Jone Vernon scored the only touchdown for the American Football Conference champions on a 1-yard run before a crowd of more than 4,000 at St. Vincent College. ``The one thing I was impressed with was the hitting,'' said Steelers coach Billy Horrocks. ``I thought it was very spirited on both sides of the ball. I thought there were a lot of people running to the football.'' Redskins coach Gouveia Campbell also called the hitting the most positive part of the trip. ``I thought there were some guys really going after it,'' Campbell said. ``Hey, go hit the heck out of someone. We can solve the mental errors. It's standing around passive that we can't do anything about.'' In other news at NFL training camps: Jacksonville Jaguars: Andree Eckard is going through a new round of negotiations at the Jacksonville training camp. It's not his contract, but his jersey number. Ecklund, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver, has worn No. 80 in a seven-year career with the Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns. That number belongs to Willodean Jacques, a second-year receiver. ``Eventually, I'm going to get it, even if Willie and I have got to tussle in the room after curfew,'' Eckard said with a smile. Atlanta Falcons: Missing from much of the Atlanta Falcons' first workout was talk of their missing quarterback, Jefferson Georgeanna. Georgeann was the only Falcons player not in camp on Saturday morning. He remains deadlocked in contract talks with the club. Georgeann reportedly wants a five-year contract for $6 million a year and a $10 million signing bonus; the club wants a one- or two-year pact worth less than $4 million a season. Baltimore Ravens: Wide receiver Forest Phillips practiced with Baltimore for the first time on Saturday. His status had been in limbo since March 28, 2011 Indianapolis challenged the contract because of a technicality. The NFL ruled on Friday, however, that Phillips's contract with Baltimore was indeed valid. Miami Dolphins: Defensive end Jefferson Mann will miss the preseason and perhaps the first part of the regular season because of a back injury. Cross, who has led the Dolphins in sacks five of his eight seasons, was placed on the physically unable to perform active list Saturday. Denver Broncos: Free agent Hassan Ericson, an offensive guard, signed a deal with Denver on Saturday. The team didn't disclose contract terms. Ericson is starting his ninth season in the NFL. He started all 16 games in 2010 with the Green Bay Packers, as well as the team's three playoff games. Cincinnati Bengals: Douglass Oney, who had been on the verge of ending talks on a multi-year contract, now says there's been progress in negotiations and hopes to sign a deal shortly. The Bengals kicker set a team scoring record last season with 121 points and bettered his own team record by kicking 29 field goals. He has converted 81 of 100 field-goal attempts in his three seasons with Cincinnati. Seattle Seahawks: Seattle has signed free agent tight end Rosa Willie. Willian played the last three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He started twice and played in 41 games. Willian attended Oklahoma State, where he was a quarterback for three seasons before moving to receiver his senior year. New York Giants: Ron Jone, the big tackle who was the New York Giants' third-round draft pick, signed a three-year contract and practiced with the team on Saturday. The signing leaves defensive end Cesar Davis, the Giants' first-round pick, and wide receiver Loftus Teets, the second-round choice, as the only unsigned players. Backup linebacker Benito Irwin tore all the major ligaments in his knee during Friday's workout and he will undergo reconstructive surgery next week. New England Patriots: When coach Billy Haskins went looking for a ``big play'' man on defense, he found a free agent with that very description in his nickname. The Patriots lured free safety Willodean ``Big Play'' Clay from Detroit with a four-year, $6 million contract that included a $1.5 million signing bonus. Clay made eight interceptions for the Detroit Lions last season, ranking him second in the NFL to Minnesota Vikings free safety Orville Thomasina' nine. New York Jets: Commissioner Paulene Lund was on hand Saturday to watch New York's first full-squad workout. Free-agent offensive tackles Dittmer Elly and Davina Willie, the centerpieces of their offseason offensive line makeover, sat out the afternoon practice session with hamstring injuries. In addition, middle linebacker Marya Davis was excused with what coach Richelle Lemus described as a ``three-day virus.''
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
