Now they are letting LJ float around in space. He is arguably the second best RB in the NFL and definitely the second best in the AFC.
Call me a sucker but I believe in loyalty. If a RB leads the team in attempts and yards and has as many receptions as my No.2 Wideout he deserves a raise. I think that is common sense and I think it shows appreciation.
Larry Johnson is the entire Chiefs offense. He was the reason they won 9 games last season.
This off-season (of course this has happened previous off-seasons) there have been many instances where veteran pro-bowl players have been cut, shortchanged, or left incommunicado with GM’s and team owners. The Bears, Chiefs, Jacksonville, Miami, Steelers, and even my beloved Jets have dealt with players indecently. In corporate if a worker performs they reward him or her with a bonus and a raise, but in the cut-throat NFL a player that performs has to hope that they are on the team the next season (forget about the bonus or raise). Larry Johnson is probably the biggest name player with the problem of not being amply provided for. The guy ran the ball over 400 times; what the heck do you want him to do run it 500 times? Give the guy a raise his current salary is half of Chester Taylor’s, and let us all be serious he is better than Taylor in every aspect of the RB position, by far.
Owners and GM’s need to show more loyalty to players that have performed for them. I understand that football is a business, but a million, two million, 5 millions dollars extra is not a big deal, at least to the owners of these football teams they have hundreds of millions of dollars if not a few billion. Stop being cheap.
Why do so many people wish that Brady Quinn went to Miami? Perhaps because most of them are not Dolphins fans and do not really care what happens to them.
The Dolphins should not have drafted Ginn first round, for they have so many other needs - like QB. But, Trent Green is a quality QB and will do well in a perhaps the second or third toughest division in the NFL (AFC West is the scariest division).
Considering that Brady Quinn has reportedly been having a tough time making routine passes against much faster defenses, how could he help the Dolphins who are in need of a quality QB NOW and not later? And he would not have a chance in the AFC East he would only get injured going up against the Jets and Patriots.
Brady Quinn may be a good player in the league because he is very talented, but remember David Carr is very talented and he can not do anything with his team because the O-line could not block a D-line made up of high school football players.
I love reading analysts’ predictions of the NFL’s season to come. The funny thing is they are usually wrong, but hey it is exciting so keep them coming guys.
Remember the Jets were supposed to win no more than 4 games, and the Dolphins were expected to dominate (maybe with the exception of the Patriots) the AFC East? Well we all know what happened, but hey I am a Jets fan. I was ecstatic!
This year everyone has been saying the Jets have no shot because their schedule is comprised of teams that are serious contenders. SIX different teams in their schedule made the playoffs, THREE came off of solid seasons, but missed the playoffs because they cooled toward the end of the season or heated up too late, and the remaining teams had magnificent drafts where many of the players are potential starters.
For these reasons I am not concerned about the Jets going (let us say) 8-8. I do not think there will be a team that wins more than 11 games next season in the AFC.
The AFC West is going to slaughter each other, and if the Johnson and Bowe are as productive as I think they will be, and if the Raiders are as solid defensively as last season, then both the Chargers and the Broncos will not have any divisional sweeps under their belts.
The AFC South looks weak, but only time will tell. Many doubt that Young can lead his team, but I must say he has a way of winning when there is little going his way. If Young’s line holds up he will be fine, and with the addition of a solid receiver in the free agent market then Young doubters will find he does not go down so easily. The Colts’ D held up in the playoffs, but will it hold up next season? Nothing has given me reason to think that it will. The heal of the Texans is their O-line because they had a good QB in Carr, but if Schaub is solid, and with the addition of Black (former Chiefs OT), Schaub may be able to get things done. Ahman Green and Andre Johnson (a top 5 receiver) will be very productive, and their solid young DB, Danta Robinson, will now have some help on in the secondary and the Williams has a young DT to help out, and there is now some depth in the LB position.
The AFC North is up in the air. The Ravens will be good there is no doubt about that (if the lose of Thomas does not impact their D). I do not know what will happen to the Bengals, for as long as players keep getting arrested the team will suffer, and last season they really lost a lot of steam. The negative end of last season for the Bengals may impact them this year, and Palmer will be frustrated once again. The Browns had an excellent draft. And Tomlin is a serious coach with a solid receiving core (Ward and Holmes) and an solid running back in Parker.
The AFC East have two excellent teams (Patriots and Jets). The Bills have potential and the Dolphins have a solid team, but they never seem to get it together. The Patriots are a potential bust.
And for all of the above reason the AFC will be hell every week for every team. There really are no holes in the AFC this year. The NFC will be tough to I might write on that later.
