NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Just a brief follow-up to the posting from a few days ago.

It's been acknowledged from the team and Head Coach John Harbaugh that Jared Gaither did not practice the last two days due to his foot.  Gaither should have an MRI completed today and he will see a specialist this week. So for now the story is as simple as an injury. Stay tuned for the results.

Oneil Cousins has stepped in for Gaither as the starting Right Tackle.

Meanwhile, Ozzie Newsome made it very clear that there is no deal pending for Gaither or any other players at this juncture.

So in just a few days a potential issue seems to have been sqaushed, at least for now.

Brace yourselves, Bengal faithful.  Word has surfaced today through our old pal Len Pasquerelli at ESPN that the team's decision to sign DB Adam "Pacman" Jones was, quoted, "Hardly unanamous."

I'll give you a moment to let this groundbreaking revelation sink in…

Done?  Good.  As the next few days progress, people like PFT and NFP and other NFL observers will chew over this like its some kind of big deal.  I'm sure Doc and Chick and Hobson will all feel the need to weigh in as well.  It'll be the controversy du jour for fifteen minutes.

They'll openly wonder if this reveals some division inside the organization; if this is one of the "issues" Marvin Lewis talks about when he discusses his contract status; and those with no real knowledge of the situation will develop the overriding opinion that this is new evidence that Owner Mike Brown still calls the shots in the Queen City, nothing has changed,  coaches have no autonomy, not enough scouts, blah..blah..blah.

Let me get ahead of the curve and take a moment to provide the "official" Bengals Gab viewpoint on the matter:

Who cares?  I've got a great big "Frankly Miss Scarlett…" for this fake hub-bub.

I know that certain elements in the "mainstream" NFL media absolutely love an opportunity to rip on the Bengals, particularly when it comes to their compunction for signing players with a "checkered" past.  Mike Brown, (who, make no mistake, is no hero in this space) gets a bum rap on this point.  Everybody loves getting their digs in on the Bengals and Brown, and this will doubtlessly serve as another convenient reason to line up and do it again.

Here are some admittedly radical and controversial viewpoints on the matter, that I feel our readers should keep in mind while reading the tripe about to be flung all over the intergoogle:

1. No signing on ANY NFL team is "unanimous".  From the number one draft pick, to the last college free agent, scouts, coaches, and front office personnel will disagree.  Why is this especially important in the case of Pacman?  (Hint:  It isn't).
2. Opinions be as they may, here's a fun fact:  Mike Brown, turns out, is the Owner of the team, and thereby he's earned the right to make whatever decisions he darn well pleases.  Thus, IF (and its a big 'if') Marvin Lewis was against the signing, it really doesn't matter.
3. There is a precedent.  Mike Brown allegedly signed Chris Henry against Marvin Lewis' wishes.  I emphasize the "allegedly" because we really don't know (more on that later).  and by the way now all we can talk about is how the offense in 2009 tanked after Henry got injured.  Seems like the old man might have been right after all on that one.
4. Every Bengal fan wants to give Mike Zimmer sainthood.  I don't blame them.  The guy took our 27th ranked defense and got it up to number 4 in two seasons using cast-offs and draft picks.  Some want him to ascend to the head coaching  job before someone else steals him away. The point is, its an unquestioned fact that the guy knows what he's doing.  He's on record as saying he likes what he's seen from Pacman.  What more do you want?  That's enough of an endorsement for me.
5. Take this stuff with a grain of salt.  We all know that trying to decipher what the front office is doing is harder than figuring out the formula for cold fusion or Coca-cola.  Trusting these jESPN "sources" is dangerous at best.  Only a small group of individuals know what's really going on at PBS.

So there you have it.  Much ado about nothing.  Whether the organization voted 100-0 to get Pacman, or it was 1 to 99 against, it really doesn't matter.  He's here now.  He provides talent at a very low risk.  He wants to be here, and he's motivated.

Pasquerelli can frame it however he wants.  The world can discuss and decide for themselves.  In the meantime, its a done deal.

I, for one, am glad.

Alex Barron's days in a Rams uniform have gone from numbered to really numbered to rumored to be over to confirmed that eventually he will be gone.  The Rams are likely to get outside linebacker Bobby Carpenter from Dallas in the deal.

The Rams were never going to be successful with Alex Barron at left tackle.  He was prone to lapses in concentration that led to penalties, missed assignments and more penalties.  His reputation for false starts preceded him, but soon turned into a predilection toward holding penalties.  Holding is another symptom of Barron's inability to consistently concentrate.  He would lose his concentration and lose his man and then have to tackle him to prevent a free shot on the Rams quarterback.  Barron allowed 7 sacks, 15 QB hits and 24 QB pressures in 2009.  He also got called for 17 penalties, 3 were declined.  Barron's only skill seemed to be staying on the field, but as badly as he played… it is probably better off for the Rams he was not on the field.

However, that is not to say that he could find inspiration in a change of scenery in Dallas.  He still has talent, but has trouble consistently harnessing it.  Barron could find that inspiration in Dallas on a good team.  At this point, nothing that happens with the enigma that is Alex Barron would surprise me.

Here is a series of quotes from Mike Wise of The Post that I think perfectly sums up the sentiments most of us have and recognize the Redskins players most definetely have with Albert Haynesworth's abscence from voluntary practices — there ultimately is no excuse to miss team practice if your goal is to win games this season.

For those of you that need the rest of the story – here it is.  And here are some of Daniels' quotes that dismantle whatever's left in your Big Al Optimism tank:

"There is no room for negotiation at 4-12. I'm here, [London] Fletcher's here, everybody's here. He's got to understand that. We need him to come here, be here and show these young guys that the veterans have bought in and that we want to win games."

"Albert carries so much weight with him, there's a lot of young guys that look up to him. But you got to be here. . . . He's a grown man. With that comes responsibility. I think a lot of people say, 'Hey, you have a responsibility to this team.' There are a lot of other guys here that would like to be home. But obviously not, because there is a responsibility we have to this team."

"This is the type of game you have to buy in or get out. There's nothing I can really say to [Albert] except the more that we're here together, the more that we're working together — not just from a team standpoint but from a chemistry standpoint."

"If LaRon [Landry] wasn't here and we're working on first team, we're not working together. There are a lot of nuances of the games beside just Xs and Os, like trusting each other on the field. Like today, I know everything on paper. But you get out here, they start motioning and start checking — you make a few mistakes. Those are the things we're trying to get cleaned up. You come into camp just learning the Xs and Os, we don't got a chance."

"It says this is voluntary, but for us, what we went through last season after a 4-12 season, it's mandatory. He should definitely be here. And it's a shame he's not."

What an excellent summary of what it means to the team for Haynesworth to be absent.  You know we've touched upon it here at the Gab many times, and the fact that Daniels echoed it here again tells me this is reaching a tipping point, and I doubt this is the last series of comments we'll hear from a player such as this.  And even though its all over the Washington market in the media, and its certainly in the collective consciousness of every football fan out there that wants to see their team win, it bears repeating in big bolded text:

"There is no room for negotiation at 4-12…We need him to come here, be here and show these young guys that the veterans have bought in and that we want to win games."

End of story!

Current Redskins Gab odds that Haynesworth is traded elsewhere before the first preseason game are currently 2-1.