National Football League Fan Blog

Bears Spend Frivolously

cochise — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:22:51 +0000

After reaching the Super Bowl in 2006, the Chicago Bears have progressively regressed. They have averaged under eight wins a year in the three years since their loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the big game. So, for the second year in a row, the Bears have once again became the big story of the free agency period.

Last year, the team made its big move by trading for disgruntled Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler. Unfortunately, Cutler turned out to be a turnover machine in Chicago and the team stumbled to a third-place finish in their division. But it wasn’t just Cutler who failed the team. Matt Forte’s steady runs of his rookie year seemed like a distant memory, as he faltered in a sophomore slump. And the team’s defense suffered injuries all year, none more critical than the season-ending one suffered by Brian Urlacher.

Perhaps with all these problems on the back of his mind, Chicago general manager Jerry Angelo signed Julius Peppers, the prize defensive end of the summer, Chester Taylor, a running back who thrived in a backup role in Minnesota for the past three years, and Brandon Manumaleuna, a tight end mainly known for his pass blocking.

Now the Peppers signing was addressed earlier, and if the Bears did indeed tamper it will be a costly contract for them. But the other two moves were both good, and somewhat underrated, moves. The offense should be vastly improved by an improved running game and better blocking.

But the Bears have yet to address their most pressing issue; which is to find Cutler a reliable wide receiver. In Denver, Jay had both Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. Cutler’s struggles were not caused by a lack of help, but it sure didn’t help him to go from that pair to Devin Hester and Johnny Knox.

If there is anything clear about Cutler, it is that he cannot thrive in a short-pass offense. He gets too impatient and throws bad passes. Rather than trying to change his mentality, which is very difficult to do, the Bears should bring in personnel to help him. The aforementioned Marshall is on the trading block and available. And even without a first-round pick, the team could find help in the draft as well.

But for now, this is a good start.

This post is from the National Football League Fan Blog

Bears Spend Frivolously

Bears Sign Peppers, Perhaps Tampered In just about every sports league there are rules that...

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Ravens Add Boldin

cochise — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:08:55 +0000

In 2004, the Baltimore Ravens reached an agreement to trade for then-49er Terrell Owens. Owens was entering the peak of his career and was widely thought to be the solution to the largely inept Ravens offense. But, because of Owens refusal to play for Baltimore, the deal fell through.

That was six years ago. Flash-forward to the present and the Ravens may finally have found the big target for their passing game they’ve needed all along, Anquan Boldin. Boldin is a huge improvement over the receiving corps Baltimore featured in 2009 and should help quarterback Joe Flacco continue his improvement.

In Arizona, Boldin was often overshadowed by teammate Larry Fitzgerald. But it was Anquan who was having the banner year in 2008, the year in which the Cardinials reached the Super Bowl. Only a scary, career-threatening injury stopped Boldin from keeping his pace of more than one touchdown a game going. But with his new team, Anquan should have the chance to shine in his own spotlight like he did as a rookie.

The simple fact is for the cost of only two picks, a third and fourth rounder, the Ravens may have vastly improved their squad. Their offense had already shown signs of development with dynamic runnig back Ray Rice and Flacco, and Boldin should only continue the improvement.

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Ravens Add Boldin

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Bears Sign Peppers, Perhaps Tampered

cochise — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:43:51 +0000

In just about every sports league there are rules that govern the contact a player can have with management for other teams. In short, teams are not allowed to talk to players on other rosters to try and entice them to force a trade or sign with them. The problem with this rule, however, is that it is very difficult to enforce. There is no telling what sort of contact a general manager has with a player or his agent. In this day, almost no one is dumb enough to put an under-the-table deal in writing.

Just last year, the Redskins completed a free agent deal with Albert Haynesworth so quickly that tampering was thought to have occured. Haynesworth’s contract had such complicated stipulations, it was next to impossible for Washington to have negotiated and drafted the agreement between the start of free agency and the time he was signed. But, unable to prove anything beyond a doubt, the Tennessee Titans had to eventually let the matter drop.

The truth is that Haynesworth’s and, now, Julius Peppers’ deals are commonplace. Tampering is an offense that I would believe every team in the league is guilty of, that’s just what happens when the rules can’t be enforced. In Peppers’ case, the Chicago Bears were said to have met with his agent, Carl Carey. This wouldn’t be suspicious if Carey had more NFL clients other than Peppers, but he doesn’t. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what, or who, the Bears and Carey were discussing. And the fact that Peppers signed a six-year deal with Chicago on the first day of free agency, despite being a marquee player that many teams were interested in, should be particularly damning.

But, like other cases before it, there is little doubt in mind that this matter will be forgotten and filed away by the NFL soon enough. Because when it comes to enforcing tampering rules, the league just does not care enough to make an example of an organization. And until they do, the trend of the last few years will continue.

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Bears Sign Peppers, Perhaps Tampered

Bears Spend Frivolously After reaching the Super Bowl in 2006, the Chicago Bears...

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Rookie Salary Control On The Horizon?

cochise — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:31:42 +0000

NFL rookies drafted in the first round make way too much money. It’s a fact. In no other profession does a largely inexperienced new hire make what the top performers in their company are making right away. A finance student wouldn’t go from graduating business school to making upper six-figures for an investment bank. They would pay their dues first, gain firsthand experience of their profession, and then eventually be compensated for good performance. In the NFL, this process is reversed.

With such an illogical system in place for compensating players who have proven nothing on Sundays, it’s no wonder the league is talking about a potential lockout right now. Rookies given that much cash so early are like children who are given cookies before finishing their chores. You can’t expect them to be fully motivated to earn their treat if you reward them before the work is done. As an added side effect, veterans who have earned the right to be paid top salaries find themselves underpaid compared to their young teammates, thus creating contract disputes over value.

The draft is supposed to help bad teams rebuild and become better. But in the NFL, the worst teams have to consistently gamble that the prospect they are overpaying is a franchise player. And when they are wrong, which is more often than not, they are stuck with paying their draftee a ridiculous amount of money.

In the NBA, the system in place is much more reasonable. Rookies are paid a set amount of money based on where they are drafted (first overall gets about four million, second pick gets a little less, and so on) for a set amount of years, usually three with a team option for a fourth season. If LeBron James, already anointed a superstar before entering the NBA, could live with making a rookie salary for four years, then how can Matthew Stafford claim he is worth more guaranteed money than anyone else in league history before taking one snap?

Thankfully, the out-of-control rookie salaries are one item that the new collective bargaining agreement is said to resolve. Frankly, it is about time. As a football fan, I don’t want to see the Detroit Lions shelling out a $72 million contract for an unproven quarterback. I don’t want to see them paying any rookie that much money, or even half of that much money. They, as a group, are just not worth it.

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Rookie Salary Control On The Horizon?

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Myron Rolle, Potential Steal

cochise — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:52:51 +0000

For two years, Myron Rolle parlayed his excellent athletic abilities onto the football field at Florida State. While performing for the university, Rolle helped his team win on the field, and performed well enough to be named to the 3rd team All-American squad in 2008.

But even more impressive than his on-the-field contributions were his accolades as a student. Where most collegiate athletes fail to care enough, Rolle worked hard. He graduated in under three years with a grade point average over 3.7. And he was able to secure a Rhodes scholarship, one of only thirty-two handed out to students in America each year.

But far from seeing these accomplishments, many NFL scouts have questioned Rolle’s commitment to the game of football. Maybe because Myron has openly stated that he wants to one day become a neurosurgeon. Or perhaps because he took a year off of football to study at Oxford University.

One would think that NFL teams would want someone like Rolle on their roster. A hard-working, well-spoken young man with terrific potential on the field. A player who has both the brain and the brawn to play one of the most important positions in a team defense (safety). Instead they seem to reject the advantages a smart athlete would bring.

The difference between a successful draftee and a bust often comes down to the intangibles. It seems that every year an undersized running back or short-armed quarterback proves naysayers wrong simply by working harder than their peers. On that basis alone, Rolle should be an excellent candidate for the first round. Add in his skill set and it should be a no-brainer.

Instead Rolle is seen as a late second-rounder. No doubt to an organization like the New England Patriots who are smart enough to snatch up talent that falls that far. I hope the Lions, my team, drafts Rolle in the second round if he is there. Every team should hope for the same.

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Myron Rolle, Potential Steal

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Rams Ponder Bradford, McCoy For Top Pick

cochise — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:24:04 +0000

At the end of the 2009 NCAA football season, Ndamukong Suh seemed to be the surefire pick for the top selection in the upcoming NFL draft. His stock had never been higher, as his play down the stretch in big games had impressed fans and scouts alike.

But with two months left before the draft, most reports seem to indicate that the Rams are going in another direction. St. Louis is one of the growing number of teams that feels that the best defensive tackle in the draft isn’t Suh, but rather Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma. And positive reports about Sam Bradford’s build have brought him back into the picture as well.

First things first, the Rams should not take Sam Bradford. Putting a quarterback in that offensive system would be a disaster. As described in my last post, teams that draft quarterbacks without having a solid foundation first often flounder with their selection.

As for the McCoy vs. Suh debate, I personally don’t know enough about either to choose between the two. My impression was that Suh had more upside, but now I’m reading McCoy is like “Warren Sapp only bigger and faster.” While I somehow doubt that McCoy is better than one of the best defensive tackles ever, I can see why the Rams would take him.

As a Lions fan, I’m happy to leave the tough decision to another team. And happy that no matter whether it is Suh or McCoy, Detroit’s defensive line will be bolstered by a unique talent (barring an unforeseen selection of Dez Bryant or Golden Tate, of course.)

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Rams Ponder Bradford, McCoy For Top Pick

Why Drafting Quarterbacks Early Can Be A Mistake For bad teams in the NFL, one solution seems to...

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Why Drafting Quarterbacks Early Can Be A Mistake

cochise — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:27:58 +0000

For bad teams in the NFL, one solution seems to come to all; draft a quarterback with your first-round pick and everything will solve itself. This belief, however, has proved itself to be incorrect year after year, with many teams struggling to improve with their highly-selected, and well-paid, passers. The crux of the problem? Drafting a quarterback is just not as important to team improvement as general managers and draft experts perpetuate them to be.

Most seasoned football fans should realize that the best teams are built from the lines out. Meaning that once the offensive and defensive lines have been solidified, then only will the specialty players perform at their best. A quarterback, in particular, depends on many other of his teammates for success. He cannot complete passes without a reliable receiver to catch them. He cannot fool defenses with play action passes without a steady running game to support him. And most of all, he won’t have enough time to make plays without an offensive line able to protect him consistently.

So why is it, then, that terrible teams with holes all across the board decide to stick inexperienced and young passers into a flawed system? Last year, the Detroit Lions, a team that finished 0-16 in 2008, selected Matthew Stafford with the first pick despite having a terrible offensive line. What happened? Stafford throws twenty interceptions and misses six games, at two different points in the season, due to injuries. In other words, he was hung out to dry and paid for it.

The point here is when a team decides to make an investment in such an important position, they should be sure they can protect it first. It is no coincidence that the teams that have success with first-round quarterbacks (such as the Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and San Diego Chargers) are teams that were fringe playoff teams that suffered one down year because of injuries. Those teams had the personnel to win games before they drafted their passers. Teams like the Lions and the Cleveland Browns don’t.

And it isn’t like the only way to acquire a franchise signal-caller is through the first round either. The Houston Texans traded for Matt Schaub after their first-round fiasco, David Carr, failed to pan out and found success.

So my advice to the St. Louis Rams and Browns, the two teams most likely to erroneously select a quarterback, is don’t do it. Focus on your other weaknesses and fill all the holes you have, and success should eventually come.

This post is from the National Football League Fan Blog

Why Drafting Quarterbacks Early Can Be A Mistake

Rams Ponder Bradford, McCoy For Top Pick At the end of the 2009 NCAA football season, Ndamukong...
Myron Rolle, Potential Steal For two years, Myron Rolle parlayed his excellent athletic abilities...

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A Word On Brian Westbrook

cochise — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:47:16 +0000

In the last few days, two longtime stalwarts of their organizations, LaDanian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook, were released. The moves were made because both players had passed their prime and seen a decline in production, as well as an unfortunate increase in injuries. But while most of the attention thus far has been on the expected release of Tomlinson, Westbrook’s is the one that resonates deeper with me.

As a fan of the miserable Detroit Lions, I eagerly jumped onto the Philadelphia Eagles bandwagon when, by chance, my sophomore roommate in college was from the area. This was the same year the team was the best in the NFC. The year in which both Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens posted ridiculous offensive statistics to help the team reach the Super Bowl. But even still, Westbrook remained our favorite player.

I was won over by a story of Westbrook’s heroics early in his career. As recounted by my roommate, the Eagles trailed the Giants 10-7 in a critical game in 2003. Their offense had been shut down to such a degree that my roommate’s father gave him permission to skip school the next day if the team somehow won the game. With only a few minutes to go, the Giants punted the ball to the ever-dangerous Westbrook and the rest is history. Eagles win the game, make the playoffs. My friend got a day off of school that he still remembers vividly eight years later.

Brian Westbrook was always one of the best running backs in the NFL, only he never got credit because of his team’s offensive style. His rushing yard totals only topped 1000 twice, and journalists lost sight of his total yard contributions, which regularly was over 1500 yards. He was the perfect weapon for the pass-happy offense of the Philadelphia Eagles. But even harder to replace than just his on-the-field contributions will be his ability to resonate with his fan base.

So farewell to a true Eagle. Even if he chooses to sign with another team to end his career with, he will always be just that.

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A Word On Brian Westbrook

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