Ex-Eagle, Giant admits failing to file tax returns (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 15:39:19 PDT)
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say a former New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles player has admitted he intentionally failed to file federal income tax returns for several years.

Ex-NFL player admits failing to file tax returns (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 14:16:21 PDT)
CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) Federal prosecutors in New Jersey say a former NFL player admitted that he intentionally failed to file federal income tax returns for several years.

San Francisco 49ers Sign Punter Andy Lee to Contract Extension: Fan’s Reaction (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 14:07:00 PDT)
With so much emphasis placed on special teams by head coach Jim Harbaugh, the San Francisco 49ers locked up one of their biggest and best weapons in the field position battle by agreeing to a six-year contract extension with punter Andy Lee as first reported by Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Now signed through the 2018 season, Lee is expected to earn around $4 million a year, a sizeable upgrade from the last extension he signed back in March 2007 that paid him an average of $1.18 million annually.

Colts swap linebackers as part of defensive change (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 12:12:35 PDT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts have signed outside linebacker Jerry Browns and waived outside linebacker Brandon Peguese.

Right move: OLB Matthews to switch from left side (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 07:31:28 PDT)
Outside linebacker Clay Matthews collected most of his 29.5 sacks lined up on the left side, but he's on the move to make room for rookie Nick Perry.

Broncos' restocked secondary gets high marks (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 17:27:45 PDT)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) Peyton Manning and Champ Bailey are giving the Denver Broncos' restocked secondary two thumbs up.

Set to erase 2011, eager Eagles get back to work (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 17:03:36 PDT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Vince Young, Ronnie Brown and Steve Smith are gone.

NFL to mandate knee and thigh pads for players (Shutdown Corner)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 12:30:53 PDT)
If the NFL has its way, players will be forced to wear knee and thigh pads beginning in 2013. The NFL might not get its way. The competition committee will discuss the impending rule with the NFL Players Association and there is some expected backlash from players who may believe the additional padding will affect their mobility. The pad rule wouldn't go into effect until 2013 so equipment manufacturers can refine the design for speed and comfort. [Related: Tom Brady's dad would think twice about letting son play in concussion era ] Rich McKay, the Atlanta Falcons president who chairs the NFL's competition committee, explained the rule change at an owners meeting: "There's no downside, they have to add some sort of protection," he said. "In our football system, everyone wears them up to our game. Common sense tells you it has to be safer for (protection against) thigh injuries and knee bruises. If players have worn it in Pop Warner, high school and college ... from a safety standpoint it is time to put it back in." There are valid arguments for the adoption of new leg padding. McKay hits on none of them. Instead, he cites "common sense" instead of actual data and breaks out the "but high schools and colleges do it" argument, as if the NFL is usually in the habit of following the lead of the Iowa High School Athletic Association. McKay also suggests there's no downside, a claim that's both wrong and frivolous. Of course there's a downside; they can make players run slower. The benefits may outweigh the drawbacks, the same way wearing a seatbelt and being slightly uncomfortable is better than not wearing a seatbelt and going through your windshield. But "no downside"? That's Rich. Former Philadelphia Eagles safety Troy Vincent, now an NFL vice president, was equally confusing in his support of the new rule. "It's psychological," he said, according to the Associated Press. "Less pads you are faster, skinnier, that's just the way I was introduced to the game. It's a culture shift. They will adjust." So it is psychological or do less pads make you faster? More NFL news from the Yahoo! Sports Minute: Other popular content on the Yahoo! network: • Peyton Manning shows some zip in first OTA with Denver Broncos • Company gets death threats over Oklahoma City Thunder T-shirts • omg!: Bruce Jenner named 'Father of the Year'

Eagles sign third-round pick, QB Nick Foles (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 14:30:01 PDT)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Eagles on Monday agreed to terms with quarterback Nick Foles on a four-year contract.

Skins QB Griffin says he 'can help this team win' (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 13:52:07 PDT)
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) The question put to Washington Redskins receiver Santana Moss by a reporter after Monday's first full-squad workout made no reference to Robert Griffin III by name: ''What were your impressions of the kid?''

Bills' Williams could be latest rushed to left end (The SportsXchange)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 11:21:17 PDT)
Not since 2003, when the New York Giants' Michael Strahan registered 18.5 quarterback takedowns, has a defender who played predominantly on the strong side led the NFL in sacks.

Eagles sign QB Foles (Pro Football Weekly)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 06:40:10 PDT)
Updated 4:10 p.m. ET, Monday, May 21

Beyond the Shutdown 50: Juron Criner, WR, Oakland Raiders (Shutdown Corner)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 17:38:39 PDT)
Now that the 2012 NFL draft is in the can, it's time to take the Shutdown 50 scouting format forward and get a closer look at some of the surprising and fascinating selections from this year's draft -- the guys we missed in the original 50, but who could be impact players now or down the road. Our next entry: Arizona receiver Juron Criner, selected by the Oakland Raiders with the 33rd pick in the fifth round (168th overall). Overview: While most of the talk about Pac-12 passing attacks in 2011 focused on the offenses led by Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley, the Arizona passing  game has been one of the more productive in the nation in recent seasons -- and receiver Juron Criner may be the primary reason for that. If you're in the group who believes that former Arizona and current Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles hurt that aerial attack as much as he helped it with his inaccuracy and questionable decision-making, Criner stands out in sharper relief. After catching seven passes for 88 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman, Criner moved up to 45/582/9 in 2009, and made a name for himself in 2010, when he caught 82 passes for 1,233 yards and 11 touchdowns. He repeated that touchdown figure last year, and the rest of the numbers almost matched up (75 for 926). Criner further set himself on the radar with an exciting week at the Senior Bowl. From our own Mike Tanier's report : Criner has probably helped his stock more than any other player during Senior Bowl practices this week ... [He] does not have breakaway speed, but he appears to have the rest of the package. "I'm very agile for a man my size," Criner said after Thursday's practice. That agility was evident earlier in the week, when he made smooth cuts and adjusted to poorly thrown balls in live practices. Criner has also been demonstrating good hands and pass-catching technique, and he looks more fluid and comfortable running routes than some of the other big receivers on the South squad. Janoris Jenkins (CB, North Alabama), the likely first-round pick who transferred from Florida because of personal issues, singled Criner out as the hardest South receiver to cover this week during his Thursday press conference. "He's kinda got ball skills," Jenkins said. "If you hit his hand, he'll catch it. And he's tall." So, there's that. When he's thrown to by good quarterbacks, Juron Criner tends to make plays. And even when he's thrown to by quarterbacks who couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat, he's going to do some interesting things. Now a proud member of the Oakland Raiders, Criner has a shot at doing what Tennessee wideout Denarius Moore did in 2011 -- come out of nowhere as a late-round pick and impress the NFL. Moore went off the hook in a relative sense in his rookie campaign, catching 33 passes for 618 yards and five touchdowns. Could Criner be the next guy on the Raiders' late-draft boards to flash that same kind of long-term potential? Strengths: Shows an impressive burst for an alleged "possession receiver" -- Criner gets up to speed quickly off the line and in end-arounds. Fires upfield with an impressive second gear. Good catch radius and fine hands in space -- Criner often contorted his body to make catches when Foles was throwing with questionable accuracy. Will adjust his body to catch deep balls without losing too much speed after he's already beaten the corner or safety down the seam. Made a lot of catches despite the fact that Foles was clearly targeting him as the first read, which allowed opponents to time their jumps on the ball. Will fight to get through contact before he's wrapped up and occasionally gets free to make a big play. Senior Bowl performances showed what he could do when targeted by quarterbacks with a clue, as has his brief performances in Raiders minicamp. Frequently listed as a possession receiver, but he's got more downfield speed than the title might imply. Weaknesses: Tends to lose control of the ball when contact is coming -- doesn't have alligator arms, per se, but has trouble bringing the ball in and securing it when a defender is bearing down on him. Will lose the ball too often upon contact, leading to fumbles and incompletions. Not an especially physical player when fighting for balls with defenders in short spaces.

Michael Vick running hitch pattern (National Football Post)
(Sat, 19 May 2012 09:36:03 PDT)
Eagles QB getting married next month

Colts claim OG Taylor off waivers (Pro Football Weekly)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 17:10:45 PDT)
The Colts have signed their third former Eagles offensive guard, claiming Zane Taylor off waivers from Philadelphia on Friday.

NFL: Packers waiting before retiring Favre's jersey (The SportsXchange)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 15:50:12 PDT)
The Green Bay Packers will wait at least another season to hold a ceremony to retire Brett Favre's No. 4.

Colts claim Taylor, waive Murphy (The SportsXchange)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 15:20:09 PDT)
The Indianapolis Colts claimed offensive guard Zane Taylor off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles and waived offensive guard Matt Murphy on Friday.

Indianapolis dabbles with changing of guard (The Associated Press)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 13:41:57 PDT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts are making a change at guard.

Pasquarelli: Pittsburgh completes overdue overhaul of O-line (The SportsXchange)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 11:50:07 PDT)
With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger now 30, and the team's most valuable player sacked an average of 43.5 times over the last six seasons -- including 40 or more sacks in all but one of those campaigns, and coming off an ankle injury last year -- Pittsburgh has drastically retooled its blocking unit.

McCoy's deal, gets attention of franchised Forte, Rice (The SportsXchange)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 11:30:12 PDT)
The five-year, $45 million extension signed by Philadelphia tailback LeSean McCoy on Thursday -- with the raw numbers provided by "a league source" otherwise known as agent Drew Rosenhaus, seeming to check out as accurate -- merited considerable attention.

Ravens undecided on docking Suggs' pay (The SportsXchange)
(Fri, 18 May 2012 11:20:10 PDT)
Unlike the Philadelphia Eagles, who reportedly have decided to dock offensive tackle Jason Peters for his offseason Achilles ruptures -- technically regarded as non-football injuries -- Baltimore officials have made no decision about adjusting the salary of linebacker Terrell Suggs, who is due a salary of $4.9 million and roster bonus of $4.6 million for 2012.