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NFL News - Sports News | Archive January 27, 2009
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NFL: Super Bowl security to be tight in Tampa
By MITCH STACY
January 27, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — At least 20 federal agencies will help local police secure Raymond James Stadium for Sunday's Super Bowl, with duties ranging from protecting airspace and the port to arresting peddlers of counterfeit souvenirs, officials said Monday.
Because of the massive security effort, the stadium "is one of the safest locations you can possibly be on Super Bowl Sunday in the United States of America," said Milton E. Ahlerich, the NFL's vice president for security.
The heavy security will be typical of every Super Bowl since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Ahlerich said at a news conference. There is no evidence of any nefarious plans by terrorists, he said, but the high profile of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals makes it "an attractive target."
Officials declined to say how many personnel will be involved in protecting the stadium and fans.
The security plan has been nearly two years in the making.
Virginia O'Brien, special agent-in-charge of the Tampa office of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said some of the people working the game were also involved in last week's presidential inauguration in Washington and last year's World Series.
"Like every team that makes it to the Super Bowl, we've all been working together and we've been planning and training for almost two years to work together," O'Brien said.
Ahlerich cautioned fans to watch out for counterfeit tickets, which is a problem at every Super Bowl. They need to get to the game early and bring very little with them. Security will be similar to airports — long lines, metal detectors, a bag check and a pat-down.
Tampa police Maj. John Bennett noted that the city hosted the last Super Bowl before the 2001 terrorist attacks. The security plan and presence has had to change right along with the increased threat.
"The event has become so large and so glamorous, it just has a unique footprint that we didn't see in 2001," he said.
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NFL's wildest week is PR chief's time to shine
By Robert Trigaux
January 27, 2009
For a PR chief charged with making sure the biggest TV event on the globe goes off without a hitch, Brian McCarthy acts like it's just another Monday.
He's at Tampa's Westin Hotel on Harbour Island, where he's about to chat with a local gathering of the Public Relations Society of America. So it's a high-profile PR guy talking to local PR people eager to hear tips from a pro — but who are keen to hear some behind-the-scenes tales of pulling off Super Bowls year after year after year.
So whether it was the anecdote of prepping tirelessly for a function with NFL Hall of Famer and Green Bay Packers linebacker Ray Nitschke (only to be caught speechless when Nitschke asks, "Where's the bathroom?"), or politely telling halftime entertainer "Sir" Paul McCartney that his fly is down just before stepping out for a press conference, McCarthy delivers.
McCarthy is 40 but looks closer to 26, his age when he joined the National Football League in public relations. He reminds me of actor Michael Fox in the TV sitcom Spin City, in which Fox as deputy mayor spends his time trying to make his boss, the mayor of New York, look good. Like Fox's character, McCarthy, as NFL vice president of corporate communications, is good at his job.
There are 633 media organizations and nearly 4,400 journalists accredited to cover Sunday's Super Bowl of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Arizona Cardinals.
Once a sports reporter himself, McCarthy heads a PR group of 20 at NFL headquarters on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Their expertise is split among walking football statisticians and those specializing in entertainment, business and community relations. It's all about the game, McCarthy insists, but it's really about selling football as a major American (and increasingly global) entertainment venue.
In some ways, McCarthy suggests, the Super Bowl is more important in such a down economy. "It's a great escape," he says.
As a corporation, the NFL has 1,000-plus employees and annual revenue of $7-billion. But not all is first and 10, despite Forbes magazine last fall calling football the "strongest sport in the world."
Last month, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent an internal memo telling employees the staff would be cut 10-15 percent in the next 60 days, and that a plan to expand into China would be halted.
"The current recession has presented severe financial challenges for our fans, business partners and clubs," Goodell's memo began. "I would like to be able to report that we are immune to the troubles around us. But we are not."
Last week, a PricewaterhouseCoopers report said reduced corporate and household spending, including fewer visitors and shorter stays, will mean Super Bowl XLIII will generate about $150 million in direct spending primarily in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. That's less than Super Bowls in 2008 or 2007, but more than those in 2006, 2005 or 2004.
So enjoy the game and parties. Just remember that even the NFL is not invulnerable to an all-out economic blitz.
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Patriots add NFL front-office veteran Reese as senior advisor
By Mark Humphrey
January 27, 2009
Longtime NFL executive Floyd Reese has been out of the league the past two seasons.
Needing to fill the front-office void left by Scott Pioli's departure, the New England Patriots announced Tuesday that they have hired Floyd Reese as senior football advisor.
Reese, who has 31 years of NFL experience, will have various responsibilities in football operations, including negotiating player contracts.
Nick Caserio, who just finished his first season as the Patriots' director of player personnel, will work closely with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on all personnel matters. Pioli previously held that role, but he took the Kansas City Chiefs' general manager job earlier this month after spending seven seasons as New England's vice president of player personnel.
"We consider ourselves fortunate to have the opportunity to add someone with Floyd Reese's NFL experience and expertise to our staff," Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said in a statement released by the team. "Floyd will be a tremendous asset serving Coach Belichick in an advisory role."
Said Belichick in the statement: "Floyd and I go back a long way, practically to the beginning for both of us. He has handled as much as one person can possibly handle in this league, and to a certain extent, so has Nick. In Nick and Floyd, we have two outstanding men who each bring a wealth of knowledge and flexibility to this organization. I look forward to joining with both of them and working toward the common goal of our team's improvement and success."
Reese entered the NFL as the strength and conditioning coach for the Detroit Lions in 1975 and worked with Belichick on that staff in 1976 and 1977.
Reese joins the Patriots after serving 13 seasons as the executive vice president and general manager of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise from 1994 to 2006. He also served as assistant GM of the Oilers (1990-93) and as an assistant coach with the Lions (1975-77), San Francisco 49ers (1978), Minnesota Vikings (1979-85) and Oilers (1986-89).
Reese also served as an assistant coach at UCLA (1971-73) and Georgia Tech (1974). He was an All-America defensive lineman for UCLA from 1966 to 1969 and played one season (1970) for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.
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Will White stand Pat as NFL QB?
By Tommy Hicks
January 26, 2009
It seemed almost unanimous that Pat White should give up any thoughts of playing quarterback in the NFL, prepare to move to another position and try to make it as a professional football player.
That was the advice coming from almost everyone evaluating White's work at practices this week for the Senior Bowl.
If White is to have a future in the NFL, most have said, it will be as a wide receiver or kickoff/punt returner or slot back or all of the above. Rarely is it suggested he has a future in the NFL as a quarterback.
He's heard that talk before. When he was leading Daphne High to success, recruiters for several top college football programs wanted him to sign with their team, but most weren't interested in him playing quarterback. He was told he didn't have a future at that position on the college level.
It seemed the only people who truly believed he could play quarterback in college were White himself and the West Virginia coaching staff.
Now, when he is hearing the same words again, will White listen to the advice of others or will he listen to his heart and stick it out at QB?
The NFL is the ultimate cookie-cutter business. It's as though they have one of those amusement park cutout characters outside the league office with a sign that reads "If you're not this size, you can't go on this ride." For the most part, quarterbacks must be a certain size and have certain skills. At 6-foot, White doesn't fit the bill.
The same size issue can be true for running backs and defensive linemen, cornerbacks and tight ends.
Yet every once in a while, a Darren Sproles comes along and proves size doesn't matter as much as talent and determination. Will Pat White be another exception to the rule?
Many analysts said last week that White made a mistake at Senior Bowl practices by not taking some snaps at a different position to give scouts a look at his versatility. Reviews of his practices, for the most part, weren't encouraging.
Yet in Saturday night's game — which to be fair, isn't given as much credence by NFL coaches and scouts as the practice sessions — White earned most valuable player honors.
His statistics weren't staggering. He was 4-of-10 for 95 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown throw. He also carried three times for another 31 yards. But he was productive. And his team won.
Whether or not the game convinced an NFL team or two to give him a shot at quarterback remains to be seen. As one scout this week noted, it only takes one team believing in him at the position for him to get his shot.
In White's favor is the simple fact he proved his point on the college level.
West Virginia coach Bill Stewart called his star QB the biggest winner in college football. When the Mountaineers needed a big play, White usually made it.
Now, the next call is his. Make a position change or keep the faith at quarterback.
Decision time is rapidly approaching.
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