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Cowboys owner thinking of using Pacman on offense too
ESPN.com news services
May 22, 2008
Owner Jerry Jones said that Jones might be asked to play some wide receiver next season, according to a Fort Worth Star Telegram report on Thursday.
"In my mind there isn't a player out there in a given game or looking at next year, that could make a bigger impact to take some of the heat off of Terrell [Owens] than Terry Glenn," Jones said. "I think potentially we could get some of those offensive plays that Adam 'Pacman' Jones ran over at Tennessee -- he had 15, 20 of them, got in the slot. That could help us there, too."
Although Jones showed running skills as a return man, the Tennessee Titans didn't employ him much on offense. He has run the ball twice for eight yards and caught two passes for 31 yards in his two-year NFL career, but he could be a viable option considering Glenn missed 15 games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last fall.
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Tucker agrees with Walsh: Patriots practiced with IR players
ESPN.com news services
May 22, 2008
Ross Tucker, a former offensive lineman who played for five teams in a seven-year NFL career, reiterated Thursday that he believes that New England used players on the injured reserve list in practices, which violates league rules.
Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh, in a meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week, said that a Patriots player on injured reserve practiced when he wasn't allowed to in 2001. The NFL said it would investigate the claim.
Tucker continued to contend the Patriots used injured players illegally during an interview on ESPN's "NFL Live." He first wrote about it last week on SI.com.
Tucker told "NFL Live" that Patriots coach Bill Belichick will do anything he can "to get an advantage." He also added that using a player on injured reserve in practice was of "minimal" benefit.
Last Friday, in an article published on SI.com, Tucker wrote that: "I had heard the Patriots did this before I signed with them in 2005 and I saw it firsthand during my time there. I asked veteran receiver Troy Brown about it one time and he responded, 'Every team in the league does that.' I quickly let him know none of the three teams I played for previously had done so.
"Basically, the Patriots would put a player on IR, knowing it meant he couldn't play in a game or practice with the team for the remainder of the season. By skirting the rules and practicing him anyway, it allowed them to develop his skills during the year. A side benefit is that they were also able to give some of the older players less repetitions and, therefore, additional rest."
Goodell said the NFL would investigate the IR allegations, The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Mass., reported.
Tucker played with Washington, Dallas, Buffalo, New England and Cleveland during his career. He currently writes for SI.com and hosts a show on Sirius satellite
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Steriods dealer names players to NFL security officials
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
May 22, 2008
DALLAS - A convicted steroids dealer met with NFL security officials in the Dallas area Wednesday and gave them names of players he said bought steroids from him, his lawyer said.
Hank Hockeimer, the lawyer for convicted steroids dealer David Jacobs, declined to reveal which players bought steroids from Jacobs.
"The general topic was his knowledge of steroid and human growth hormone use by current and former players," Hockeimer said in a story on The Dallas Morning News website Wednesday night. "They were thorough in their questioning. David provided them with documents corroborating what he was telling them."
Jacobs, who lives in Plano, declined to discuss the meeting, referring questions to his lawyer.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello also declined to comment on the meeting, but told the newspaper the league was not paying Jacobs for any information.
Jacobs was sentenced to three years probation and fined US$25,000 earlier this month after pleading guilty last year in federal court to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids.
Jacobs told the newspaper that the day after his sentencing, NFL security officials came to his home in Plano home asking for the names of players who bought steroids. Jacobs said he turned them away because he did not want to speak without his lawyer present.
Jacobs has publicly said he sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of performance-enhancing drugs to former Dallas Cowboys lineman Matt Lehr in 2006 and 2007. Lehr has also played for Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
Lehr's lawyer, Paul Coggins, has said the player hasn't used banned substances since he was suspended for four games during the 2006 season while playing for Atlanta, and has since passed NFL drug tests. The lawyer has also said Jacobs' allegations are retaliation because Lehr wouldn't pay Jacobs' legal fees.
Prosecutors have told Coggins that Lehr will not be indicted in the Jacobs case, Coggins said.
Coggins told the newspaper he was unaware of the Wednesday meeting that Jacobs had with NFL security.
"Matt's playing in the NFL next year, and for many years to come," Coggins said.
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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to fine teams for player misbehaviour
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tue May 20, 2008
ATLANTA - The NFL put more teeth in its personal conduct policy on Tuesday when commissioner Roger Goodell announced he would fine teams whose players were suspended for disciplinary reasons.
"We want to continue to emphasize personal conduct and personal responsibility," he said at the end of a one-day league meeting. "One way to do it is to hold teams responsible for the conduct of their players.
Goodell instituted a tougher policy during the 2006 season, his first as commissioner, after a series of arrests, nine alone affecting the Cincinnati Bengals.
Two Bengals, wide receiver Chris Henry and linebacker Odell Thurman, received lengthy suspensions - Thurman for two years. Both were cut by the team after being reinstated.
Goodell also said he would meet soon with another major offender, cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, who was suspended for all of last season following a series of run-ins with the law. Jones was traded last month from Tennessee to Dallas and has petitioned for the right to work out with his new team, something he will need permission from the league to do.
In other items:
-The league tabled the proposal, first made by the Kansas City Chiefs, that would bar players from taking the field with hair below their shoulders. "I want to get more from the players on how they feel about it," said Goodell, who discussed the matter recently with his players council.
-Goodell said he is working with the teams on a policy to curb rowdy fan behaviour, although he acknowledged that the ways to do that varied from stadium to stadium. The commissioner, who attended a game in Foxborough last year as a fan along with his 13-year-old niece, said he wanted to find ways to make games a pleasant experience for all fans.
-The league announced a schedule of visits to the Hall of Fame for rookies from all 32 teams. They will run for five weeks until the end of June with Colts and Redskins rookies visiting in August, when their teams participate in the Hall of Fame Game. The idea was suggested to Goodell by former Dallas Cowboy Michael Irvin when he was inducted into the Hall last summer.
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