NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

When you thinking shaving, you think Gillette, not those other brands that do a sub-par job at giving us a close shave while protecting our skin. Something that's always been a hurdle for product makers in the past has been the "tug and pull" dilemma. The ProGlide, part of Gillette's ProSeries, packs significant enhancements, that not only address the skin, but the hair as well. So what separates this new razor from the Gillette Fusion or other ones from years past?

First, and perhaps most importantly, the blades have been re-engineered to be thinner, with finer edges and have been given an advanced low-resistance coating, allow the razor to cut effortlessly through hair with less tug and pull compared to other leading razors on the market. Other enhancements include a larger Lubrastrip for an even smoother layer of protection even when on repeat strokes, as well as the addition of a Microcomb, which helps to guide hair directly to the blade.

The Fusion ProGlide goes on sale in a manual and Power option next month, but Gillette's actually been kind enough to give some of you guys out there the opportunity to grab one for free. A total of 500 razors are up for grabs, which you can grab below. It's pretty simple, hit the widget, follow the instructions and get yours for free. No gimmicks!

Even though his bid for the Rams is still in doubt, Stan Kroenke is talking like he has everything locked up for the full 100% Rams ownership.  However, we knew going into it that he would not have submitted his bid unless he knew that he was going to get certified by the NFL and complete his bid.  Kroenke knows what he is doing and continues to play his cards right in the press and with the other owners.  He is profiled by the Denver Post:

"Although no final decisions have been made, we are pleased with the progress we have made to this point. We will continue to respect the Rosenbloom family and the league and its processes as we work to finalize a transaction in the coming months."

This sounds like a man who is just waiting until the paperwork gets sorted out.  "Finalize a transaction" is pretty firm wording and you know what?  I like it.  Kroenke is firm in his knowledge that he is going to own the Rams and he is not afraid to say so.  He has often played it very close to the vest during this whole process, but the fact that he is surfacing more frequently can only mean that this situation is close to being resolved.

Additionally, the current scuttlebutt has him giving the ownership of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his 30-year old son, who has already been involved with the running of both teams.  It seems like this would be the best way to keep in compliance with the NFL's cross ownership rules since there seemed to be problems giving or selling the franchises to his wife.

WPXI is reporting that authorities will be releasing the DVD collection of the Ben Roethlisberger sexual assault case. Now you won’t be able to get them at your local Blockbuster, but if you want to fly to Georgia to check them out, be my guest.

According to WPXI reporter Rick Earle, authorities in Georgia will release more than 50 DVDs containing audio and videotaped interviews and photographs from the prior investigation into allegations that Ben Roethlisberger sexually assaulted a 20-year-old college student on Wednesday. On the DVDs are photos from inside the Capital City Club in Milledgeville, where the woman told police she was sexually assaulted by the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Earle said.

Police made an audio recording of the accuser’s first interview and videotaped her second interview. WPXI plans to air both interviews, along with the questionings of other college students who were with the accuser, as well as those who were in Roethlisberger’s group, those interviews include fellow Steelers player Willie Colon and one of Roethlisberger’s body guards, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Ed Joyner. The district attorney ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to file criminal charges against Roethlisberger and closed the case, but under Georgia law, investigators are required to release evidence gathered in the case.

The Roethlisberger investigation DVDs are being made available through the GBI’s Open Records Unit and will be released at 10 a.m. in Milledgeville, Ga.

It's no secret that there were some ongoing problems with the Eagles defense last season. They weren't the worst group in the league, but they definitely had a lot of room for improvement. When the 2009 season ended, you hoped that they would make some moves to improve their holes on defense for 2010. Let's take a look at what the Eagles did to improve and where there are still concerns.

On the defensive line, the Eagles needed to find someone else to consistently rush the quarterback opposite Trent Cole. This turned out to be a high priority for the team as they attacked the defensive end position hard in the draft. There are now plenty of options to line up opposite Cole, and the Eagles are hoping that Brandon Graham turns into a star.

In the middle of the line, the Eagles have been set for a while with Broderick Bunkley and Mike Patterson. There are some guys who will rotate in behind them but those two will see the most action and will look to continue their dominance up front.

The linebacker position was one the Eagles had terrible trouble with last season. When Stewart Bradley went down, it had an immediate affect on the team. However, I don't think the team realized that it was an affect that would just keep getting worse as the season progressed. With Bradley back this year and the addition of Ernie Sims, the Eagles should see vast improvement from their linebackers.

So where should we really be concerned? The secondary. In 2009, we saw many players fail to fill the shoes of Brian Dawkins. To address the situation, the Eagles signed Marlin Jackson and drafted Nate Allen. Jackson is already out for the year so Allen now has a lot of pressure on him to step up and be the starter. If that doesn't work, we will more then likely see a carousel effort to try and fill the spot.

Safety was an obvious concern in 2009, but when the Eagles traded Sheldon Brown after the season, the cornerback position became a big concern as well. Many thought the Eagles would draft a corner early, but they failed to do so in the top rounds. They've moved Macho Harris over to corner, a more natural spot for him, and have a group of other corners who will battle for the starting spot.

I think it's safe to say that the secondary is by far the most most concerning part of the Eagles defense. There will definitely be some battles in camp for starting spots in the secondary that should be interesting to watch. I'm hoping there are some guys who are ready to take their game to a whole new level.

What is your biggest concern with the Eagles defense?

Restricted free-agent linebacker Thomas Davis has signed his one-year, $3.268 million tender hours after he appeared to tweak his surgically repaired right knee. The starting outside linebacker had been participating in optional workouts this month under an injury waiver.

He fell to the turf Tuesday while backpedaling and grabbed the same knee in which he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in November. Davis walked off the field, but didn’t return to the practice. A team spokesman says Davis was undergoing tests and they could know more Wednesday.

Starting cornerback Richard Marshall also signed his one-year, $1.759 million tender on Tuesday. The Panthers made no attempt to ink either player to a long-term deal.

When defensive coordinators and their players brainstorm this season on ways to shot down Seattle’s rookie receiver Golden Tate, they might want to consider a little sticky, glazed piece of dough we all know as a maple bar.

According to TMZ and ProFootballTalk, police in Bellevue, Wash. caught Tate chowing down on doughnuts early Saturday morning.  The catch?  The doughnut shop, Top Pot, wasn’t open.

According to TMZ’s report, Tate was issued a “trespass warning” and nothing else.

The trespass warning comes on the heels of remarks made by Tate in April to a Pittsburgh radio station (thanks to ProFootballTalk for the link):

“Being at Notre Dame, you’re used to being under the microscope, so I’m used to having all eyes on me,” Tate told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.  “Anything I do, anywhere I go.  My mother and my father taught me what’s right and what’s wrong, so I don’t think I have a problem making any tough decisions.”

UPDATE: Accroding to a report by the Associated Press, Tate apologized Tuesday for entering Top Pot, which turns out to be conveniently located in the bottom of the building he lives in:

“Freshly baked. I made the mistake of — a buddy made the mistake going in grabbing a couple. We ate them,” the former Notre Dame star said after an organized team activity. “This is the wrong type of media I want to bring to the organization.”

In the same AP report, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll commented on the issue:

“No, I’m not disappointed at a guy being at a doughnut shop at 3 in the morning when they got maple bars like Top Pot has,” Carroll deadpanned.  “However, under the circumstances, I think they were closed or something like that, trying to close, or whatever,” the coach said. “That’s definitely wrong. We’ve talked about it, addressed it. He’s remorseful and all that. I do understand the lure of the maple bars.”

When the Cowboys announced that they were drafting Oklahoma State wide-out Dez Bryant, Patrick Crayton's heart fell to the pit of his stomach. Crayton had been battling for a receiver spot since he was drafted by the Cowboys in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL draft.

Crayton is a student of math. He knew with the money the Cowboys had invested in fellow receiver Roy Williams, the rise of Miles Austin, and now the drafting of Dez Bryant, the Cowboys had a lot invested in the receiving corp of the Cowboys and he just might end up being the odd man out.

After doing those equations, Crayton decided that his only option was to display his displeasure of the situation by avoiding the Cowboys facility and skipping voluntary Organized Team Activities, all the while working out at, former olympian, Michael Johnson's Training Center. Crayton had boycotted the Cowboys spring activities under protest, saying he wanted assurance or to be cut early so he can acclimate himself to a new team and city in time for the new season.

Well, on Tuesday, that boycott came to an end. Crayton was back in Dallas practising with his teammates. Maybe he realized it would be nice to see everyone and get some reps in, maybe he thought he was doing more harm than good by missing out on practice, or maybe his agent just thought it would be a better business decision. Whatever the reason, Crayton was back and looking rather sharp.

While this week's practices remain voluntary until Friday when the first mandatory mini-camp takes place, Crayton thought it would be good to get back into the rhythm early. "You don't come into a minicamp cold," Crayton said. "You've got to get back into the function and the swing of things before you just jump into a ring."

Crayton was pestered by reporters trying to get him to answer about his future in which he stayed rather calm and collected, but refrained from taking the bait. "Right now I'm not worried about being released," Crayton announced. "I'm not going to sit here right now and complain about things I can't control. If I go out there and give it my all and bust my tail and do what I'm capable of doing, I'll be here…If that's not the case when it comes down to it, and the numbers get crunched and everything and I'm not here, I don't know what to tell you. But you're going to get my all everyday."

Crayton's attitude and demeanor was no shock to most of the Cowboys, including Dez Bryant who tweaked his hamstring in practice but it is not expected to be serious.

Head coach Wade Phillips and the rest of the team were just glad to have him back. "I told him it was good to have him back, and that's it," Phillips said. "He's a pro. They decide what they want to do. It's voluntary and I'm glad he volunteered to come back today."

A sentiment shared by most, if not all, the Cowboys.