Madden finalist for Hall
John Madden, a legendary coach and one of the NFL’s best-known television personalities, was named a finalist on Wednesday for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with former Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Rayfield Wright.
The two, chosen by the Hall’s seniors committee, will be joined by 13 other candidates from the modern era. The selection vote will be on Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl in Detroit.
Three to six from that group of 15 will be elected to next year’s class.
Madden had a record of 112-39-7 with the Raiders between 1969 and 1978. His winning percentage of .739 is second among coaches with 100 or more wins behind Vince Lombardi at .750. Madden’s team won the Super Bowl following the 1976 season.
But he has gained more fame as an analyst on NFL telecasts and more recently for the football video game that bears his name.
Wright, one of the premier left tackles of his day, played for Dallas from 1967-79 and was on two Super Bowl winners. He narrowly missed being elected in the regular phase of the voting two years ago, his last shot before going into the seniors pool. He played in six Pro Bowls and was All-Pro three times.
Franks agrees to long-term deal with Packers
Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Bubba Franks has some big plans to match his new contract.
“Before all is said and done, I want to be known as the best tight end in (Green Bay) Packers history, hands down,” Franks said. “Actually, I want to be known as the best tight end in the NFL. It’s just a matter of being put in the right situation. Hopefully, we can get things started in the right direction this year.”
The deal Franks signed after missing all of training camp was for $28 million over seven seasons, according to a person familiar with the contract who requested anonymity.
Franks, the 14th overall pick in 2000 out of the University of Miami, complained after he was a forgotten man in the team’s offense for the first half of last season. A strong finish gave him 34 catches for 361 yards and seven touchdowns, down considerably from his career highs of 54 catches for 442 yards in 2002 and his career-best nine TD receptions in ‘01.
Rogers, Cundiff among six cut by Cowboys
Dallas got back to work at team headquarters with plenty of changes.
Two key players returned to practice from injuries, two notables were missing, a newcomer arrived and six guys were told to turn in their playbooks, including several who went to training camp likely to make the team.
Injuries were at least partly to blame for the departure of Billy Cundiff, their kicker the last three seasons; offensive lineman Jacob Rogers, a second-round pick last year; fullback Darian Barnes, who played every game last season and started 10 times; and free safety Izell Reese, signed in June to add experience at a position manned by mostly unproven players.
The Cowboys essentially replaced Reese with Rich Coady, who played the last six seasons for St. Louis and Tennessee and was cut a few days ago by Atlanta. He can play both safety spots, but with Roy Williams on the strong side, the need is at free safety, where special teams standout Keith Davis and sixth-round pick Justin Beriault are battling to be the starter.
As for Cundiff, who hurt his hip on the final full day of training camp, Parcells said he couldn’t keep around a kicker who can’t kick. The injury takes at least three weeks to heal and Parcells feared that waiting it out would give Cundiff a built-in excuse if anything went wrong.
Browns’ Suggs sidelined again
The bulky walking boot on Lee Suggs’ right ankle couldn’t do anything to help heal the pain he’s feeling all over.
Suggs again finished a Cleveland Browns training camp watching from the sideline after sustaining a high ankle sprain during practice last week.
It’s the second straight year that Suggs, who rushed for 744 yards in 10 games last season, has been injured toward the end of camp. A year ago, Suggs had won the starting job but hurt his neck and missed the first three games of the regular season.
He also sat out three games later in the year with an injured toe.
Buckhalter will miss year following knee surgery
A couple of framed jerseys sat on the floor inside Correll Buckhalter’s locker, and a few others hung underneath a motivational quote typed on a white piece of paper.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ star-crossed running back won’t be getting much use out of those jerseys and he’ll certainly need more encouragement after having season-ending knee surgery for the third time in four years.
Buckhalter, who missed nearly all of training camp, underwent surgery to repair a torn patella tendon in his right knee Tuesday. Last year, he had season-ending surgery on the same tendon after he injured it in a preseason game.
Buckhalter was injured in practice on Aug. 5, but initial MRI tests were inconclusive. Dr. James Andrews, the same surgeon who operated on Buckhalter’s knee last year, performed the surgery Tuesday in Alabama.