Eagles' Williams preaches on life outside of football

By John McMullen,

Philadelphia - Organized team activities are described as "voluntary" in the NFL.

Of course if you are a bubble player or a rookie free agent trying to catch a coach's eye, those "voluntary activities" quickly morph into mandatory ones, sort of like being "on time" to a Tom Coughlin meeting means getting there 10 minutes early.

The NFL's collective bargaining agreement forbids teams from ordering players to attend these offseason workouts but attendance sure is impressive throughout the league, and when players don't show, it's a story in the local media.

A few Philadelphia Eagles have had high-profile absences during their OTAs and veteran left tackle Jason Peters and free agent cornerback Cary Williams were both a little ornery when asked about their recent absences at the team's mandatory minicamp on Tuesday.

"It's a personal issue," the massive Peters, who missed all of last season after tearing his Achilles twice, said as he stared down a reporter. "I'm not talking about that. I'm healthy and I'm here to practice."

Williams, who signed a three-year, $17 million contract with the Eagles this offseason after winning a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens, took a different tact when explaining his spotty attendance record, one which included "excused" absences for getting married, dental work, real estate (he's building a new house) and a recital for his daughter.

"It's a transition," Williams explained when talking about joining a new team. "There is life outside of football and I am trying to balance work and my free time. I'm sorry I wasn't here during OTAs. You want me to do that during the season? We don't have any days of during the season, except for Tuesday."

Williams seemed particularly upset about some media members questioning whether attending his 3-year-old daughter's recital was a prudent decision.

"If I was a guy that had three kids with three different women and I was a womanizer, you'd be reporting that," Williams said. "Now I'm a guy that wants to go see his girl's recital and I'm a bad guy. Like, come on, man.

"I grew up as a kid who didn't have two parents in a household. I definitely take pride in being a father and a husband. I take pride in being there for my daughter because I didn't have that when I was younger."

The fans in Philly, one of football's most ravenous media markets, don't necessarily see their warriors on Sunday as ordinary people with everyday problems though.

"It's just funny. I mean, fans, I love y'all, but jeez, give me a break," Williams said.

At the end of the day, though,  it's not about how the media or fans feel about Williams, it's about Chip Kelly and whether Philadelphia's new coach thinks his high-priced cornerback is doing everything he needs to do in order to be a part of a revamped secondary which could include four new starters.

"I don't want to sound like it's disrespect. I love my job," Williams said. "I'm sorry people make such a big deal about something that's so small."

On one hand you can see Williams' point. A veteran, even one who is with a new team, will have plenty of time to get things down in training camp. Conversely, it's also about leadership and setting an example to the younger players in an organization. It's a tight rope every NFL veteran walks and one Williams has had trouble navigating so far.

"I haven't gotten in trouble in years," he stated. "I've learned my lessons. I've been through so much scrutiny in previous years and things like that. If I was doing something negative, then report it. I'm not doing anything negative. I'm just trying to be a great dad, I'm just trying to be a great family man. I'm just trying to live my life outside of football. Life happens."

And so do minicamps -- mandatory ones.

This week Williams was forced to turn down an invitation to attend the Ravens' scheduled White House visit on Wednesday -- the second day of Philadelphia's minicamp.

"It just so happens (minicamp) fell on a day that the Ravens are going to see the President. it's not necessarily a big deal, but I wish I was there. I just have to deal with what I have to deal with."

Eagles sign CB Chris Hawkins

The Eagles have signed CB Chris Hawkins.

Hawkins (6-foot-1, 184) played in nine games with the Tennessee Titans in 2011 and ranked third on the team with eight special teams tackles, while also recording 11 tackles as a cornerback. Originally a rookie free agent signing of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010, Hawkins was released prior to the start of the season by the Jaguars and the Ravens, but joined the Titans practice squad in December of that season. He was released by Tennessee as part of the team’s final roster cut down in 2012.

A native of Baton Rouge, LA, Hawkins played in 51 games at LSU during his collegiate career, registering 110 tackles, 19 pass breakups and five interceptions.

North America to get heaping helping of Flyers this season

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

The National Hockey League on Thursday afternoon released its national television schedule for the 2011-12 season, and the Philadelphia Flyers will be no stranger to the broadcasts.

Peter Laviolette's reconstituted squad is featured 13 times on the NBC family of sports networks, beginning with their season opener, October 6 at Boston, which will be broadcast on the soon-to-be-renamed Versus.

Here are the remainder of games Flyers fans will be able to see beyond the boundaries of their local broadcast outlet:

Wed. Nov. 2 Philadelphia at Buffalo 7:30 PM (Versus)

Wed. Nov. 9 Philadelphia at Tampa Bay 7:30 PM (Versus)

Wed. Dec. 7 Philadelphia at Buffalo 7:30 PM (Versus)

Wed. Dec. 21 Philadelphia at Dallas 7:30 PM (Versus)

Mon. Jan. 2 NY Rangers at Philadelphia 1:00 PM (NBC)

Sun. Jan. 22 Boston at Philadelphia 3:00 PM (NBC)

Mon. Mar. 26 Tampa Bay at Philadelphia 7:30 PM (Versus)

A different wrinkle in the new contract between NBC and the NHL is that selected games from certain teams will have the option to be broadcast either on the Sunday "Game of the Week" with a bump-up to that particular time slot, or be shown on basic cable at their originally-scheduled times. The Flyers have five such games on the docket:

Sun. Feb. 12 Philadelphia at Detroit 7:30 PM NBC/VS

Sun. Mar. 4 Philadelphia at Washington 7:00 PM NBC/VS

Sun. Mar. 18 Pittsburgh at Philadelphia 3:00 PM NBC/VS

Sun. Apr. 1 Philadelphia at Pittsburgh 7:30 PM NBC/VS

Sat. Apr. 7 Philadelphia at Pittsburgh 4:00 PM NBC/VS

Flyers 2011-12 schedule is released

As suspected from last night's report, the Flyers will begin their 2011-12 regular season in Boston, on Thursday, October 6.

That, and other treasures to be found along an 82-game circuit were revealed as the NHL unveiled its master schedule along with the individual skeds for all 30 teams.

From the club's web site:

The defending Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia Flyers will open their 45th season in the National Hockey League on Thursday, October 6 at Boston.  The home opener will take place on Wednesday, October 12 when the Flyers host the Vancouver Canucks at the Wells Fargo Center, and the 82-game season concludes on Saturday, April 7, 2012 at Pittsburgh. 

"We're looking forward to getting the 2011-12 season started," said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. "We know our fans are just as excited as our players are to get back onto the ice."

The NHL regular season schedule format still sees each Club play the teams in its own division a total of six times (three times at home; three times on the road) and a total of 24 division matchups. The Flyers compete in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference along with the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Flyers posted a 17-4-3 record against teams in the Atlantic Division in 2010-11, which was the second-best record in the NHL for a team against the other teams in its own division.  The Flyers were also 38-18-8 against the Eastern Conference last year, which tied for the fourth-best record in the NHL for a  team against the other teams in its own conference.

The Flyers will also face off in four games (twice at home; twice on the road) against the remaining 10 non-division teams in the Eastern Conference, which consist of the five teams in the Northeast Division (Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs) and five teams in the Southeast Division (Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and the recently relocated Winnipeg franchise).

The remaining 18 games make up the team’s slate against the Western Conference.  The Flyers will play a home-and-home series with three Western Conference foes this year – Nashville, Phoenix and Detroit – and will play a single game against 12 other Western Conference opponents. 

Find the whole megillah over here.