Obligatory Super Bowl XLIII (That’s 43) Post

Whew!  Fortunately Mike Tomlin and the Steelers were able to beat the Chargers (and more importantly Norv Turner) handily and end the possibility of a Chargers – Cardinals Super Bowl.  I earlier confessed I’ve got a glass of Haterade out for the Cardinals, but that’s nothing compared to the 50 gallon drum of Haterade I have for any Norv Turner coached team.

We got a nice round of Conference Championship games eight days ago.  The NFC Championship featured a match-up of contenders for not just the Giants’ NFC title, but also the 2007-8 Giants’ role as plucky upstarts on a roll.  Ultimately, the Arizona nee’ Phoenix previously St. Louis and before that Chicago Cardinals as the disrespected, limping Champion of the rotten NFC West and making their first Championship game appearance in sixty years, prevailed over the hot Wild Card Philadelphia Eagles, led by their talented but often failing QB and HC combo, making their fourth Championship Game appearance in five years.  Final score Cardinals 32 Eagles 25.  Highlight here was the lethal sharp performance of the Kurt “It’s like I took off 2002-06 to rest” Warner to Larry Fitzgerald combination.  Warner’s bizarre and inspirational road to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH continues with a third Super Bowl apperance.  Fitzgerald started the season as the slightly better half of Arizona’s super WR duo (with the disgruntled Anquan Boldin) but has broken away as the best, having broken playoff receiving records (mostly Jerry Rice’s) for receiving yardage, receptions and TDs.

The AFC Championship game featured a more definitive favorite in the AFC North Champion Pittsburgh Steelers taking on their division rivals and runner-up the Baltimore Ravens.  The Steelers 23-14 victory featured the Steeler defense bringing Joe Flacco’s magic run as the first rookie QB to win two playoff games to an end.  Admittedly, Flacco’s postseason numbers were pretty grim even in victory over the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans, but the Steelers made him look like a rookie, with three INTs, two to SS Troy Polamalu.  The game’s other notable moments were a terrible roughing the punter penalty against the Ravens and the brutal tackle by Steeler FS Ryan Clark on Ravens RB Willis McGahee.

On the penalty, Steeler P Mitch Berger had slipped and fell after punting the ball, and on the way down brushed against Ravens’ TE Daniel Wilcox.  As P often do, he rolled bounced away from the contact, hoping the draw a penalty.  Strangely, the Steelers got the fifteen yard “Roughing” penalty as opposed to the more plausible “Running into the Punter” for five yards.  Fortunately the Steelers failed to score, depriving Sports Talk radio hosts and sports bloggers nationwide of one more topic to grind on.  As for the tackle, McGahee caught a swing pass and was hit by Clark, knocking both men out.   Clark eventually got up and walked off the field while McGahee was carted off, but left the hospital the day after.   Clark, who was noted during his Redskins tenure for his intelligence and cover skills, not hitting ability, came in with his shoulder on to knock the ball out of McGahee’s arms.  McGahee lowered his head to try to get under the hit, but instead his head met Clark’s shoulder.

It’s but Day One of Super Bowl Hype Week and nothing goofy has happened yet.  The Steelers are the Steelers.  Even when they have maniacs on the team, those guys don’t do anything to embarass the team.   On the Cards side, hopes that Edgerrin James would recall whining about his role the week before the  Wildcard game, or that Anquan Boldin would elaborate on his supposed early, huffy departure from the locker room after the Championship Game were dashed as neither did anything of the sort during the serious sports media interviews today.  I think tomorrow is the general, “open” media day happens, when the sports journalists sit back and report on the various publicity stunt lunatics dispatched by radio shows and entertainment programs harrass the athletes and coaches with truly random questions.

I’m going to make a completely illogical prediction and give the wacky Cardinals the win over the better Steelers team.  Really, the facts tell me Pittsburgh should smash the Cardinals, but I’m feeling capricious in making this guess.

The Road to the Unaccept-a-Bowl

Yesterday’s NFL Divisional Playoff games, as well as today’s NFC game between Philadelphia and New York, have seen victories by the all the visiting teams.  A single road victory playoffs isn’t in of itself surprising; having so many in the same season is.  However a closer look at the Baltimore Ravens – Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles – New York Giants match-ups makes those upsets less surprising.  The Giants had been sputtering a bit down the stretch, while the Eagles were, with the weird exception of their sleepy 10-3  defeat by the Washington Redskins, hot and lucky to close the 2008 season.  Only the margin of victory (12 points, as Bad Eli Manning returned to the Meadowlands after being away all year) is really suprising.  The Titans and Ravens are fairly similar squads; ferocious defense, run-heavy offense and good special teams.  Games between those kinds of teams tend to be close.  That Baltimore does this with a rookie QB and HC is surprising, but having the classically dangerous Raven defense knock Titans RB Chris Johnson out of the game helps a lot.

The outlier for me this weekend (so far) is the Arizona Cardinals 33-13 beat-down of the Carolina Panthers.  I knew of only two football pundits, USA Today’s Jim Corbett and ESPN’s Keyshawn Johnson, who picked the Cardinals.  I was among the many who considered the Cardinals frauds.  They won a pathetic NFC West with a mere 9-7 record.  They used a pass-heavy but run-incompetent offense, always a risky balance for the post-season.  Their two December losses were ass-whoopings by playoff contenders: 35-14 from the Minnesota Vikings (whom I also considered frauds) and 47-7 from the New England Patriots.

What the Cardinals had going best for them was their lethal passing offense and a defense that was pretty good at generating turnovers, if not so good against the run.  This was a bad situation against the Carolina Panthers.  The 2008 Panthers were a typical Carolina playoff team: good pair of RBs, solid defense, QB-play a bit above Strangleball levels.  Offensively, the strength of the DeAngelo Williams – Jonathan Stewart RB combination compensated for a rather yo-yo-like season from QB Jake Delhomme.  Typifying this was Delhomme’s performance against the Cardinals going into the Panthers’ bye week (20-28-248-2TD-0INT, 1 fumble) and his game after the bye versus the anarchic Oakland Raiders (7-27-72-1TD-4INT) which the Panthers won anyway.  Furthermore, the Cardinals had some comically bad record playing on the East coast of the USA.  All this pointed to a methodical 20-6 beating by the Panthers.

Saturday night, however, the Cardinals defense used its’ ball-hawking (cardinaling?) skills and got Delhomme to put up a game much like the Raider game, (17-34-205-1TD-5INT, 1 fumble) on the way to victory.  This combined with the Eagles 23-11 defeat of the defending Super Bowl champions has lead to the unthinkable (for anyone not a blind Cards homer or bizarre contrarian) NFC Championship game in Glendale, Arizona.  I’m picking the Eagles; I’ve got my glass of NFC Playoff Haterade out for the Cardinals and haven’t been convinced to pour it down the drain.

Over in the AFC we could have a similar scenario should the San Diego Chargers (and more unacceptable, Norv Turner) beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and host the AFC Championship game against the Ravens.  The Chargers also won their crappy conference with a 9-7 record.  They also slid down the stretch, but did so in November.  They went 4-0 in December, strangely eeking out a 22-21 over the Arena League-quality Kansas City Chiefs but otherwise pounding their opponents.  They took advantage of a 1-3 December by the Denver Broncos, culminating with the Chargers crushing the Broncos 52-21 at the end of the season for the AFC West title.   Rather unlike the Cardinals, they have a balanced offense and, on paper, good RBs.  However, LaDanian Tomlinson is likely at the end of his superstar years in the NFL and I’m unsold on Darren Sproles as a full-time back.  Sure, Sproles was a starter in college, ran the ball a lot and was good.  Yet that was college; some of the defenders Sproles faced in the Big-12 are in the NFL, but they’re now working with the best guys over the last ten years from every college in the U.S. and Canada.

Getting back to the point, the Chargers were my AFC Fraud team, mostly due to my Norv Turner hatred, but managed to beat the previously surging Indianapolis Colts on the road last week.  Now I’m envisioning a Super Bowl with my two remaining Fraud teams (with the Vikings early and proper dismissal from the playoffs) playing for the Lombardi Trophy.  In abstract, it actually could be a good game, but this hypothetical Unaccept-a-Bowl will likely pass the previous Tampa Super Bowl, joyless Super Bowl XXXV, as the one I mostly ignore.  At least watching the horrifyingly awesome 2000 Ravens defense maul the Giants was a bit entertaining, as was the awkward feeling of Ray Lewis winning MVP.

As I post this, it is halftime and the Steelers are up 14-10 over the Chargers.  Go Mike Tomlin and the gang!

Halfway remembered

It’s been two and a half months since my last post.  I’ve relocated to Brooklyn, NY, where the radio in my apartment, on my wrist or in my office delivers WFAN, and a lesser extent ESPN 1050 on a continual basis.  Now that we’ve reached the halfway point for the NFL season and the three-quarters point for the NCAA BCS/Division I-A season lets take a quick look at my favorite squads:

James Madison University Dukes (8-1, 6-0 in CAA) – The Dukes have been ranked #1 in FCS/Division I-AA for like seven weeks in a row.  They’ve snowplowed a good number of their opponents; QB Rodney Landers is now a legitimate Payton Award hopeful and S Rodney Landers a legitimate Buchanan Award hopeful.

Washington Redskins – After being hopelessly confused in the season opener against the Giants, Jim Zorn has largely figured out how to be a NFL head coach.  He got the team playing over its’ head and in second place in the vicious 2008 NFC East.  My years of barstool and couch-based experience tell me that running a West-coast offense with two short WRs shouldn’t work at all, but here it is working.  RB Clinton Portis is having his best post-Denver year.  QB Jason Campbell still looks confused at times, like he’s thinking a bit too much, but overall has been very efficient.  All this despite a shaky punting situation (rookie Durant Brooks proved to be worse than the embittered Derrick Frost, now ex-Seahawk Ryan Plackemeier has the job) and a mere ten sacks (poster boy Jason Taylor has only one) by the defense.   I won’t be surprised if these good times don’t last, but I hope they do.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs are treading water in the game, if sloppy NFC South.  Earnest Graham has been a steady featured RB, with Carnell WIlliams nowhere in sight.  Jon Gruden created a little bit of QB drama early in the season, resting Jeff Garcia in weeks 2-4 for Brian Greise, before benching Greise for Garcia in week 5.  Healthy and perhaps disciplined by Gruden, Garcia has been in good form.  The defense is still very good, rookie CB Aqib Talib has 3 INTs, DE Gaines Adams has 2 INTs and 4 sacks.  Though at this moment they’re losing to the not quite CFL talent level Kansas City Chiefs.

University of Michigan Wolverines (2-7, 1-4 Big Ten) – My hazy memories tell me that HCs with radically different systems unsuited for the present roster usually go one of two ways in college football: Overachievement or flaming disaster.  Michigan under Rich Rodriguez is going with the latter for 2008.  Given the shady circumstances of Rodriguez recruitment by Michigan, the results look like just desserts for both the Wolverines and their coach.  Anyway, Michigan is guaranteed their first losing season in like 40 years and their 33 year bowl attendance streak is broken.  They’ve even made ESPN’s Bottom 10 list.  Again.

On the upside, RBs Brandon Minor (from Richmond!) and Sam “One of them YouTube stars” McGuffie have looked good.  McGuffie’s got that Warrick Dunn thing going.

Retiring Greats, Released, Partial Attendees

I suspect the timing is linked to ensure maximum salary cap benefits, but two more likely future Pro Football Hall of Famers retired this week.  First Giants DE Michael Strahan retired on Tuesday.  Most recently remembered for an embarrassing public divorce, wishy-washiness on retirement last year and his somewhat dubious breaking (with fellow 2008 retiree Brett Fav-re’s help) of Mark Gastineau’s single season sack record, I had to stop and remember what a great general-purpose DE Strahan was.  He was a great pass rusher and an excellent run-stopper from the LDE spot, which usually is a run-stoppers only position.   As a Redskins fan I’m glad to see him go, though when healthy Jon Jansen usually did a very good job of neutralizaing Strahan.

Then Ravens LT Jonathan Ogden retired yesterday.  He was one of the four great LTs who entered the NFL in the mid-1990s, those being Ogden, Tony Boselli, Orlando Pace and Walter Jones.  Oddly, one of the things I remember about Ogden was a crappy commercial he did for a local no-name insurance company.  I was baffled that the only commercial I would see with one of the NFL’s greatest players involved him dancing around a convertible with a community college dance troup while he talked about how Gebco insurance would give you a chance when other companies wouldn’t.  Then I remembered the only TV commercial Redskins LT Joe Jacoby had during his playing days, a similarily sub-amateur production for Theatervision projection televisions (very fancy for the 1980s) and realized this is the OL’s lot in endorsements.

Less likely for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, barring a spectacular comeback, is now former Bears RB Cedric Benson.  Benson got arrested on land this time, for driving a car under the influence.  Unsurprisingly, Benson was waived by the Bears and no one tried to claim his rights as he is still in legal trouble, could subsequently be suspended by the NFL and has been pretty awful on the field.  I still expect him in Oakland once his legal issues, which I think he has a decent chance of winning, are completed.

If there is a sign of how replaceable the RB position is in the NFL it’s the list of former regular-duty starters looking for work: Benson, Shaun Alexander (I thought the Saints were going to sign him?), Travis Henry, Kevin Jones and perhaps soon LaMont Jordan.  For now, the Bears RB hopes are to be pinned on the Other Adrian Peterson and Senior Bowl standout Matt Forte from Tulane.

Also released is former Browns C LeCharles Bentley.  Bentley, who played at Ohio State and was born in Cleveland, signed a big deal in 2006 with the Browns to come back from New Orleans.  He suffered a brutal tendon injury on the first day of Browns training camp that year and subsequently got a nasty staph infection which has sidelined him until Browns mini-camp this year.  To hear USA Today’s Larry Weisman tell the story, Bentley arrived at camp, was surprised that he wasn’t listed as the starter on the depth chart after two years out with serious medical issues and asked for his release.  The Browns obliged him.  Despite his injury problems, he also missed a bunch of time with injuries in New Orleans, Bentley should find work again soon. 

Not-so-optional Organized Team Activities and Mini-camps continue.  A rather long list of guys have been doing these partial hold-outs where they show up but don’t do drills, mostly to protest their contracts.  If anybody is doing this to protest the quasi-mandatory nature of OTAs, good for them.  The notable dissenters include Bengals WR Chad Johnson, Bears LB Brian Urlacher, Giants WR Plaxico Burress, Giants TE Jeremy Shockey and Bills OT Jason Peters.  On the reverse of it, the Raiders told RB LaMont Jordan not to practice when he showed up at their mini-camp.

Ugggh.

Good thing I don’t do this for a living. In the intervening weeks between my snarky Cedric Benson – Eric Steinbach Boating While Intoxicated post, all kinds of bloggable football stories came out, as well as some stuff from before that I didn’t get around to blogging.  If I were serious about this, I’d blog it in nearly real-time, but really, this is just an excuse to keep my writing skills busy for my own enjoyment.

NFL

The Patriots Spygate came and went. Former team video assistant Matt Walsh met with NFL Commisioner Robert Goodell and turned over his videos of various other team’s signals. The Boston Herald retracted its’ earlier story with the insinuations that there was footage of the Rams pre-Super Bowl XXXVI walk-through. Goodell declared that the NFL done enough and would levy no further penalties on the Patriots. The Patriots insisted they got no extra benefit from the illegal footage. Walsh, interviewed by the New York Times and HBO: Real Sports insists the team did get an advantage from the footage. Senator Arlen Spector (PA) wants an independent investigation. I hope nobody’s taxpayer dollars go into that.

Adam “Pac-Man” Jones got traded from the Titans to the Cowboys and a number of pointless stories, including idle speculation about letting him play some WR emerges.

The NFL owners opted out of the current labor agreement with the NFLPA, opening the possibility of 2010 being an salary-cap free year or a lockout year if no new deal is inked. Details here.

The various mini-camps and (Not That) Optional Team Activities are in process. A variety of guys miss part or all of these to protest various contract and job related things. Most amusingly, Redskins rookie TE Fred Davis oversleeps and misses the Sunday portion of mini-camp.

Former Panthers LB Dan Morgan retired. Former Bucs’ RB Michael Pittman signs with the Broncos for a shot at being the 2008 1K Bronco RB. Overhyped Boston College QB Matt Ryan signs bizarrely early for the top QB and number three overall pick with the Falcons.

Saints DE Charles Grant is indicted for involuntary manslaughter after a February bar fight. Grant was stabbed in the neck during the fight.  The Bengals released long-time knucklehead LB Odell Thurman. It seems a bit unfair, supposedly he missed mini-camp to be at his grandmother’s funeral, but he should be able to find work elsewhere.

The Dolphins and Jason Taylor are surly with each other. Taylor finishes, I think second, on Dancing with the Stars.  The Redskins trade a conditional seventh round pick to the Vikings for DE Erasmus James.

Former Bucs OL Tom McHale, who last played with them in 1992, the year I arbitrarily chose Tampa Bay as my ‘B’ team, dies after using Xanax and cocaine.  Steelers rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall gets mugged in Chicago.

Indianapolis gets the Super Bowl XLVI (46).

College

The BCS quietly passed on a limited playoff system.  Yawn.

Clemson gives Terry Bowden a new contract good through 2014.

The West Virginia – Rich Rodriguez legal war goes to mediation.  Should that fail, the case returns to the judge on November 10.

The NCAA approved applications for two badly needed bowl games to take up late December air-time on ESPNU.  They take place in the homes (but not stadiums) of my two favorite NFL teams: The St. Petersburg Bowl (Big East vs. C-USA) at Tropicana Field, home of MLB’s Rays and the Congressional Bowl (Navy vs. ACC), at either RFK Stadium or Nationals Park.

I didn’t think such a thing was possible, but the NCAA actually rejected an application for a bowl in Salt Lake City.

CFL

Marcus Allen’s younger brother, QB Damon Allen, who had been playing in the CFL for like 800 years, announced his retirement.  Much like Steve DeBerg in the NFL, I think Allen played for most teams in the CFL and probably a couple that have gone out of business.

Arena

Huey Lewis and the News are your Saturday Night entertainment for the Arena Bowl XXII.  The league used pink-striped footballs on Mother’s Day, I guess like MLB used pink bats to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.

In an odd game I actually watched back on like May 1, Philadelphia Soul DB Eddie Moten intercepted Dallas Desperadoes QB/OC Clint Dolezel three times.  Moten’s previous three INT game was also against Dolezel, back in 2006.  IIRC the broadcasters said Moten has eight career INTs against Dolezel.  Dallas should try to trade for Moten.

The Chicago Rush have filmed a This is SportsCenter commercial for their “parent” company, ESPN.  There have actually been a lot of ads featuring Arena League players, only shown during AFL games of course.  It’s like all the African-American only cast ads I see when I watch the Bayou Classic.

af2

Somehow the af2’s National Conference, Southwest Division has become a pool of mediocrity.  That or the teams are really good and killing each other in division play.  The Corpus Christi Sharks (had some 400 lbs. OL on the roster) and Rio Grande Valley Dorados are tied for first place at 4-4, trailed by the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings (best af2 team name) and Austin Wranglers (which I think used to be an AFL franchise) both at 3-5.  Dreadfully bringing up the rear of the division are the Texas Copperheads at 1-8.  Good work at having played one more game than the rest of the division and losing it anyway.

Cedric Benson goes BWI (not the airport.)

Must be a slow news day in sports for the offseason arrest of an underachieving NFLer to be somewhat prominent: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-bears-bensonarrested&prov=ap&type=lgns

No word on whether Cleveland Browns OG Eric Steinbach has offered any words of support for Benson. Steinbach was arrested not quite two years ago for drunk boating on the Ohio River while with the, you guessed it, Cincinnati Bengals. Unlike Benson, Steinbach appears not to have resisted arrest nor got himself pepper-sprayed. For some reason I thought Steinbach also got a domestic violence charge at the same time, though I appear to have confused him with then teammate Frostee Rucker.

The 2008 NFL Draft

I was busy on Saturday with a wedding and picking my mother up at the airport, so I spent Day One of the NFL Draft trying to pick up the signals of various sports radio stations between Washington DC and Martinsburg, WV broadcasting the draft.  No existing players (Shockey, Taylor, Johnson) were traded, but teams swapped picks right and left to reposition themselves.  I spent part of Day Two flipping between the ESPN and the NFL Network coverage to take in the differences when I wasn’t watching the Wizards lose to the Cavaliers.  So for my spambot readers, my takes on what happened:

Washington Redskins – I’m not as bent out of shape about the Redskins burning their first three picks on two WRs and a pass catching TE.  Thomas Boswell in The Washington Post and Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin on Clear Channel’s Sports Talk 980 were quite angry about the moves, particularly the repetition of filling needs, or spending a higher pick for depth only.  If one of those picks had been in the first round (the Redskins traded their first round #21pick to move back), I might be as upset.

Michigan State WR Devin Thomas and Southern California TE were decent “value” picks where they were taken.  I would have preferred Notre Dame DT Trevor Laws in place of Thomas, but whatever.  It’s worth noting that two guys I would have liked to seen drafted by Washington, Clemson DE Philip Merling and Laws, were drafted two picks and one pick, respectively, ahead of the Redskins spots.  Perhaps this is what passes for Plan B for them.  The selection of Oklahoma WR Malcom Kelly was gratuitous, but well, these are the Redskins.  I’m just happy they didn’t trade all the picks for old kick return specialists.  Even this is a great improvement.

The only Day Two picks I want to talk about are Georgia Tech P Durant Brooks and University of Hawaii QB Colt Brennan.  The Redskins just resigned their meh quality P Derrick Frost, but he’s disposable.  My real hope if Brooks beats out Frost for the job, is that Brooks can kickoff.  Ever since Chip Lohmiller appeared in a McDonald’s commercial and his career fell apart, the Redskins have had neither kicker nor punter capable of consistently deep kickoffs.  PK Shawn Shuisham’s kickoffs are dreadful.  During the short time Frost had
the kickoff job he was a little bit better, but his mediocre punting degenerated into bad.

I don’t like Brennan as an NFL QB.  I dislike his arm strength and decision making.  The decision making can be fixed and combined with his mobility (which should not be confused with actual running ability) that might make him a serviceable CFL QB.  It’s not a guarantee though, June Jones’ previous disciple at Hawaii, Timmy Chang, was quickly benched after starting for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year.  A 34.7 QB rating (on 89 attempts) will do that to you.  If all Brennan does is hold a clipboard, do good work on the scout team and get the Redskins a player from the British Columbia Lions in a few years, it’s OK.  What, NFL and CFL teams can’t trade?  Ohh, maybe not.  In all seriousness, I wouldn’t be surprised if former Maryland QB Sam Hollenbach, currently on the roster as a minicamp arm, beats out Brennan during training camp.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - First rounder CB Aqib Talib (University of Kansas), fourth rounder DT Dre Moore (University of Maryland) and sixth rounder LB Geno Hayes (Florida State) are typical athletic Buc reloads for the defense.  I have no other comments of worth.

WR Dexter Jackson of Evil Appalachian State was the Bucs second round pick.  He’s the classic 5′9″ kick-returning, reverse running, screen pass catching, Hell-on-Earth-with-the-ball-in-space guy.  The Bucs need all kinds of competent WR help, so if he can do any of that at the NFL level (embarrassing last year’s bewildered University of Michigan team is only a start) he’ll have been a good pick.

As speculated before the draft, the Bucs got University of San Diego QB Josh Johnson in Round 5.  I didn’t know that San Diego’s program had jumped up to Division I-AA, but against that competition Johnson put up insane (68.8% completion rate, 113TDs to 16 INTs) numbers and had the best 40 yard dash time (4.55 seconds) and vertical leap (33.5″) of any QB at the combine.  Interestingly, Johnson was not listed as a top performer for the 20 yard shuttle run or the three cone drill.  Anyway, the downside for Johnson is that he is in Tampa and might get forgotten along with the three other youngish QBs nominally on the Bucs roster.  One of the draftheads on TV said Gruden knows how to develop QBs.  Whom has he done that with since ascending to HC?  As a HC, Gruden’s best QBs have been Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Brad Johnson and Brian Griese, all veterans with previous success.

Back to Johnson, he may be a bit scrawny (height is 6′3″ but weight is anywhere from 198 to 213 lbs.) and he’ll have to adjust from playing “low” I-AA ball in the Pioneer League.

Stupid Jets - Ownership, coaches, management changes, but for the fourth time in sixteen years the Jets saw fit to spend a first round draft pick on a TE, Purdue’s very fast and formerly (IIRC he was 6′1″ at the combine, now he’s 6′3″?) very short Dustin Keller.  It was the 30th pick, so at least it wasn’t a high pick, like Kyle Brady with the 9th pick back in 1995.  The Jets got modest, if useful play out of the TE spot last year from Chris Baker, so adding the second coming of Byron Chamberlain (20 more catches, 3 more TDs, 200 more yards?) doesn’t seem worth a first round pick.

Anecdotally, I remember driving up to New York at the end of the Jets appalling 1996 season when it was obvious the number one overall pick (ultimately Keyshawn Johnson) was headed their way.  WFAN wise-guy host Steve Summers said the obvious choice was “the All-American from Rutgers, TE Marco Battaglia.”

Better Run Bastards Up North (Ravens) - Ozzie Newsome is a Hall of Fame TE and a great GM.  His main inability is (in conjunction with “genius” ex-HC Brian Billick) finding QBs.  After spending the 19th pick in the 2003 draft on a QB who should be a H-back, Kyle Boller, the Ravens reached a bit to get the University of Delaware’s cannon-armed Joe Flacco.  Flacco is very talented, but will have to make a multi-level adjustment to NFL defender speed, and my worthless gut instincts thought he was a second rounder.  Hue Jackson, once upon a time saddled with the thankless job of OC for the Steve Spurrier Redskins, gets to “coach up” Flacco to the NFL game.  In the meantime, some combination Kyle Boller (probably too slow these days to be returning kicks) and Troy Smith (anonymous Heisman trophy winner) will hold things down in Baltimore, meaning handoff and pitch to Willis McGahee.  Flacco is growing, I think ESPN.com College Football had him at 6′4″ at the end of the season, ESPN.com Scouts Inc. had him at 6′6″3/8 for the draft and now NFL.com and the Washington Post have him at 6′7″.  How long before he starts challenging Mark McGwire’s brother Dan (6′9″) for tallest QB to play in the NFL?

The Purple and Black Birds also drafted two interesting safeties, Notre Dame’s Tom Zbikowski in round three and University of Cincinnati’s Hideki Nakamura in round six.  Zbikowski was previously mentioned on this blog as a guy I thought graduated two years ago.  He’s a pretty good punt returner, a ferocious hitter and I think a Golden Gloves boxer and minor league baseball player.  Nakamura I only saw once last year and I can’t recall anything special about his play.  I’m a humorously sad that he’s not some Japanese guy who hopped off a plane to play football in Cincinnati, but just some guy with a Japanese father who grew up in Ohio.

In the Navy Army – Finally, the Lions used a seventh round pick on West Point S Caleb Campbell.  Campbell is large (6′2″ 223lbs.), fast (4.5 allegedly) and the U.S. Army is giving him an exemption from service to play in the NFL.  It’s actually described over at Campbell’s NFL.com draft profile as a reserve recruiter assignment with an option for buyout.  The deal sounds vaguely similar to that given by the U.S. Navy to David Robinson for the NBA and Napoleon McCallum for the NFL.  The theory is that Campbell’s on field work, if he makes the team, will help Army recruiting enough to compensate for his absence in the actual officer corps.  He’s the subject of piece on ESPN’s maudlin E:60 news magazine, which I’ll have to watch some time.

“Neglect Among the Action” – NFL Edition

So I’ve been neglecting this blog while busily re-establishing my career as the best fifth-rate computer programmer in Northern Virginia.  I’m sure my sporadic readers arriving by search engine and the many spam bots linking back to my posts have missed my commentary on the many things that have happened in the NFL since my last post, weeks ago.  Off the top of my head:

• The Dolphins reached an agreement with University of Michigan OT Jake Long, making him the 1st overall pick in the 2008 draft.  The next team, the St. Louis Rams, are forbidden from similar early contract negotiations with whomever it is they want to draft.
• The Titans reach a trade agreement to send CB Adam “Pac-Man” Jones to the Cowboys pending his reinstatement by the NFL.  Terms are a conditional fourth-round pick.
• The alleged gunman in the Las Vegas strip club fight that got Jones in the most trouble has been arrested.
• Surly, but not in court nearly as much CB DeAngelo Hall is dealt by Atlanta to the most logical place for NFL malcontents, Oakland.
• DE Jared Allen and his DUI problems are traded from Kansas City to Minnesota.  The Vikings, despite changes in management since the Herschel Walker trade, still send a pile of draft picks (1 and pair of 3’s) to Kansas City for Allen and his many, many sacks.
• Golf pro and former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh reaches an indemnity agreement with the NFL, which will result in him meeting with Commissioner Roger Goodell as Belichik Spygate continues.
• The Redskins are the most public of several suitors trying to trade for Bengals WR Chad Johnson.  The published offer was a 1 and a conditional 3 that becomes a 1 if Johnson plays well.  The Bengals would take a $8 million dollar cap hit if Johnson is traded, so declined the offer and saved Vinnie Cerrato from himself.  Washington has also had a trade offer for the more useful Anquan Blodin rejected by Arizona.
• Once not so long ago all-purpose super RB Shaun Alexander is cut by the Seahawks.  He’s a usable RB2 somewhere.  If Washington hadn’t gone ahead and re-signed Rock Cartwright, I could see them being bored enough to trade Ladell Betts and bring in Alexander to back-up Clinton Portis.
• Once very good Panthers DE Mike Rucker retires.
• Bengals LB Odell Thurman’s drug rehabilitation has gone well enough that he has been reinstated by the NFL.
• Bengals problem child WR Chris Henry was cut after another arrest.  I can’t remember for what.
• The Steelers cut so-so scrub WR Cedrick Wilson after an arrest for domestic battery.
• Latest rumor I saw on NFL Network has Daunte Culpepper being considered as the veteran relief QB in Green Bay for Aaron Rodgers.  Culpepper still has useful mobility and his game loosely matches what I imagine Rodgers skills are.

Perhaps more blogging once I got more stable.

Arrh! Who the Bucos be acquiring…

This time of year is usually busy in the far-ish western Virginia suburbs of Washington DC, with the Redskins bringing in everyone and their cousin for workouts, dinners and signing press conferences. However, this year’s fiscally-restrained Redskins have done little more than re-sign a bunch of their own guys. Danny Snyder’s team got brief mention in the rumors for Lance Briggs, Adam “Pac-Man” Jones and Chad Johnson. Yet Briggs re-signed with Chicago, Dallas is the leading contender to trade for Jones with no mention of Washington and there have been no recent rumors about any team talking to Cincinnati about Johnson. Only D.J. Hackett came in to Ashburn and he signed with Carolina. So with the Burgundy and Gold (or Maroon and Black if you’re Coach Zorn) relatively inactive let us see what the Pewter and Red is doing.

Incoming: C Jeff Faine (New Orleans) , DE Marques Doulgas (San Francisco), RB Warrick Dunn (Atlanta), TE John Gilmore (Chicago), TE Ben Troupe (Tennessee), QB Brian Griese (Chicago), LB Leon Joe (Buffalo), LB Matt McCoy (New Orleans), LB Teddy Lehman (Detroit), DE Jimmy Wilkerson (Kansas City), DB Eugene Wilson (New England).

Faine, who was signed a few hours after the open of the free agency period, was the subject of indirect tampering accusations against the Buccaneers by Chiefs’ HC Herm Edwards. I’m not smart enough to grade OL play unless its glaringly good or bad, so I can’t say whether he’s an improvement over John Wade. Douglas (a Howard guy!) is a serviceable addition to the Buc’s DL rotation. Dunn I blogged about earlier; he should be fine in the likely Bucs’ RB platoon. Gilmore and Troupe are just guys at TE.

Griese’s acquisition is further driving me to the conclusion that Jon Gruden may be insane with QBs. Griese’s best days are likely behind him, he was a Pro Bowler once, though it wouldn’t be impossible for him to have a Chris Chandler-like renaissance for a season or two. He was very shrug worthy in Chicago last season, but nobody looks good lining up with Cedric Benson, a man who really needs to be in a platoon to be a good NFL RB. My semi-educated opinion is that Griese is not starter material, but a long relief QB. He’s better over 10 games replacing your starter, than he would be over 3-5 games.

The Bucs now have six QBs. Jeff Garcia is the starter, but just turned 38. He’s pretty durable, so I don’t think the long relief role for Griese makes sense. Griese is the QB2 unless he trips on Cadillac Williams’ dog or something. Luke McCown (5 years) and Bruce Gradkowski (3 years) are both youngish QBs with decent limited starter potential who will compete for the QB3 job. Chris Simms, currently opting out of voluntary team workouts, is likely gone, though the Bucs keep holding out for a trade instead of an outright release. I’m not sure even the Redskins would trade for a mediocre QB coming off a spleen injury. Then last off-season, for reasons I cannot fathom, the Bucs got Jake Plummer or at least his signing rights. The White Aaron Brooks retired after the 2006 season, sparing us more of his brilliant fourth quarter comebacks partially caused by his well-timed fumbles and interceptions earlier in the game. Plummer, like Kerry Collins, DeShaun Foster, Rashaan Salaam, Brodie Croyle and well, Aaron Brooks, is one of those guys I just have it in for as pros. I’m too lazy to search engine this, but I remember hearing Plummer was burned out on football. To top things off the Bucs are interested in adding University of San Deigo QB Josh Johnson in the draft. Go for seven! Maybe Gruden can have his brother Jay bring Shane Stafford with him from Orlando once the Arena League season is over for the Predators? Go for eight!

Joe and McCoy I know nothing about. Lehman was a bad-ass at Oklahoma, who had a great rookie year with the Lions and has had injury problems since. Wilkerson seems a tad heavy for a 4-3 DE at 290 lbs., but knowing the Bucs, he’ll probably rotate in at DT and DE. Wilson was a S for the New Evil Empire of the NFL, but will switch to CB in Tampa.

Retained: RB Michael Bennett, DE Kevin Carter, LB Antonie Cash, CB Sammy Davis.

Bennett was a good RB when younger. He hasn’t had a lot of scrimmage work the last few years and was out the middle of last season with an injury. I don’t like his odds in the platoon with Dunn and Earnest Graham. It gets worse for him if Cadillac Williams comes back healthy. Carter re-signed after being cut, he’s OK at this winding-down point in his career. Wow, he’s gotten hefty at 305 lbs. Cash I know nothing about and I’ll defer on joking about Davis.

Outgoing: TE Anthony Becht (St. Louis), CB Brian Kelly (Detroit), S Kalvin Pearson (Detroit).

Becht was the last of three TE’s drafted by the Jets’ in the 1st round between 1992 and 2000. Becht’s receiving numbers are even worse than the previously criticized Kyle Brady and both their Jets catch totals are pathetic compared to Johnny Mitchell. I’m sure Becht threw some good blocks though. Becht was just a guy in Tampa, of whom little was expected outside of blocking. I’m sure Al Saunders is eager to add Becht’s annual 12 catches to his high power offense. Nah, he just wants him to block for Steven Jackson. Kelly is a good pro who should help the comical Detroit secondary. I know nothing of Pearson, maybe he can help too.

Unsigned: DE Jovan Haye (RFA), WR Mark Jones, G Matt Lehr, RB Michael Pittman, DE Greg Spires, TE Jerramy Stevens, LB Jeremiah Trotter, C John Wade.

Haye should be re-signed by the Bucs. Lehr could help the Redskins. I understand system continuity and all that, but I think (based on my near zero knowledge) that he would have been an improvement over Jason Fabini as a back-up OG. He’s certainly younger. Pittman has been on the receiving end of much scorn from me for his domestic abuse history, though he’s apparently been on good behavior since arriving in Tampa. He’s 33, coming off an injury and has been little more than a decent pass catching RB the last three seasons. This might be it for him. I don’t have much to say about the other guys right now.

Maybe It Isn’t Restraint…

Free agent WR D.J. Hackett signed a fairly humdrum contract with the Carolina Panthers yesterday. Casually, I figured it was a near lock he would sign in Washington; new coaches always love to bring a few guys from their old team with them, the Redskins need taller WRs and he wasn’t going to be all that expensive. In his blog last week, Washington Post Redskins beat writer Jason LaCanfora had the Redskins at $7.7 million in cap room, not counting money for draft picks and injury signings. Hackett’s reported $3.5 million for two years deal, would seem to fit under that.

Perhaps the Redskins are, after years of avoiding it through contract restructurings, in cap hell? Fox Sports Radio morning host Steve Czaban, has been speculating on his local afternoon drive time show that Dan Snyder’s troubles with his other high profile entertainment venture, Six Flags Amusement Parks, is at least some of what’s driving the new, restrained Redskins. I doubted Czaban, seeing as how Redskins fans continue to be suckers for Snyder’s marketing (even I may soon cave in and buy a Sean Taylor Pro Bowl jersey) and the franchise continues to generate big piles of our cash. However, if the team can’t make a modest free agent signing of one of the head coach’s old players, I have to wonder.