It's been so long since I last wrote a post I don't even know where to pick up. Imagine a co-worker abruptly taking a year off from work, then out of the blue he shows up, briefcase in hand, plops down in front of his computer and start sifting through all his unread messages. Like...what?
The point of this analogy is it's pretty hard to go a year without doing something, then expect the transition back into doing that thing not to be awkward. (Some notable exceptions are riding a bycicle, eating thanksgiving dinner, and watching Brett Favre throw interceptions).
Although, one could argue Andy Reid has gone a couple years without coaching yet he continues to show up to work each day like nothing's different, except maybe his waist size. Call it an "Andy Reid Leave of Absence" if you will. The opposite happened for Joe Gibbs.
Nevertheless, if for some reason you're scrolling down and you notice a significant time gap between articles, it's not that something got deleted (like when Roger Goodell decided to destroy all the video tapes from Spygate or when there's a shady NBA call and David Stern has all replays erased from the internet).
That didn't happen. I just took an Andy Reid Leave of Absence.
1. The Giants and Packers have both built their teams "The Patriot Way." Find a franchise QB, draft really well and don't overspend in free agency. It's fitting they're the two teams playing for the right to play the Patriots.
2. Regardless of what happens Eli Manning can be proud of his performance heading into this offeseason. But this Sunday he has a chance to permenantly step out of Big Brother's shadow.
3. I hope Vincent Jackson can keep his head #### on right because he has a chance to be a really special player.
4. Does Shawn Merriman, Shaun Phillips or any of the Charger’s DL ever drop into coverage? If I always know who San Diego's rushing don't you think Tom Brady will too?
5. The 49ers were supposed to be good this year and the Cleveland Browns bad. The Cowboys or Bears win the NFC and the Giants and Packers not even close. That's what's great about football. It's a team sport where it's having the better players is not the same as having the better team. Don't believe me? Just ask Wade Phillips.
Not going to grade every team (I'll leave that to the draft-niks who don't have a life), but here's a quick mention of a couple of teams I thought did great. Also, hard to grade who were the losers until 3 years down the line, unless you're Mel Kiper who likes to criticizes the teams who made his mock drafts look foolish. So here a several teams I thought did very well:
#1 Minnesota Vikings - Not bad when you get potentially the best offensive player (Adrian Peterson), and WR with 1st-Round talent in the 2nd (Sidney Rice). I also think they got a steal in the 3rd with CB Marcus McCauley from Fresno State. If you flip his junior and senior seasons, he could have been a top-10 pick. Before the year, alot of people had him rated as the top corner in the draft. WR Andrae Allison in the 5th round could also be a steal. Could be this year's Demetrious Williams.
#2 Carolina Panthers - able to trade down and still fill their #1 priority by drafting their best LB available, Jon Beason. With Dan Morgan and Chris Draft questionable, this was a position the needed to address. Also, Beason paired with Thomas Davis and Nail Diggs gives the Panthers a couple of fast, heat-seeking missiles who pack a whallop. Plus they held on to Kris Jenkins. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make.
They also got great late round talent. Ryan Kalil will be their starting center for the next decade. Charles Johnson is a tremendously talented pass-rusher who could eventually replace Mike Rucker.
This leads to my favorite draft moment, involving Keyshawn Johnson. After tooting fellow USC WR Dwayne Jarrett's horn merclissly, so much that Steve Young had to intervene to prevent Keyshawn and Mel Kiper Jr. from having a BIll O'Reiley/Jeraldo Rivera type moment (If you haven't seen it, heres the link, pretty funny: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tLPuGuaZTx8) I can already picture Keyshawn pointing his finger in Mel's face and saying "Speed doesn't matter! IT DOESN"T MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!"
Anyway, after repeatedly saying Dwayne Jarrett is a huge talent who is the next Keyshawn Johnson, how funny/awkward was it when the Panthers picked him in an obvious move to eventually be Keyshawn's ultimate replacement? I love the draft and I kept waiting for Mel Kiper to get some digs in about the Panthers' looking to get younger at the WR position.
I love the draft.
#3 Indianapolis Colts - while Anthony Gonzales might have been a reach, he's the perfect slot receiver and replacement for Brandon Stokely. Tony Ugoh in the 2nd is great value at a position the Colts must be solid at. Daymeion Hughes is another corner who was one of the top players at his postion entering this year and is a proven playmaker. He'll make the loss of Jason David absolete.
*While many fans and experts alike will argue the Browns are the big winners, acquiring tackle Joe Thomas along with Brady Quinn and a potential steal in CB Eric Wright, I don't like what they did quite as much as other teams. I like the Brady Quinn pick for Clevelend, he's better than anything they could sign or draft next year, whether they have a top-5 pick or not.
If Eric Wright can stay clean off the field, the I agree he'll be a good pick. However, with the way the NFL and Roger Goodell has handled things, I think that's a big risk.
While Joe Thomas will solidify their OL for the next 10 years, I didn't like this pick for them. Just last year they gave Kevin Schaeffer $40 million to play LT. That's an awful lot of money to pay a RT. Combine that with the money thrown at Eric Steinbach and the injury plagued LeCharles Bentley, I think the money they've invested in their offensive line (plus the $18 million or so guarenteed to Joe Thomas) is a big risk to take given Thomas's durability questions as well.
With the NFL draft quickly approaching there is bound to be a least a few (I expect atleast one major move) trades of teams looking to jump into the top 3 to get their hands on one of the elite talents (Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, JaMarcus Russell - if Raiders pass). NFL teams beware. While it may be great from a immediate marketing aspect and look good on paper, upon further review you just might be the sucker a bad franchise needs to get going.
The perfect Example is the San Diego Chargers.
Flashback to 2004. San Diego Chargers: Bad Team. So bad the #1 Quarterback in the draft says he doesn't want to play for them, even if it means he'd be the #1 overall pick. Ouch. So you find someone who wants him more, and trade him to them for a ransom of draft picks.
Back to the Now. San Diego Chargers: Best runningback in the NFL (LaDanian Tomlinson). Best offensive line. Best tight end (Antonio Gates). Best defensive lineman (Jamal Williams). Best pass-rusher (Shawn Merriman). Not too bad.
Years from now we might be looking back to the Eli Trade as the modern-day Herschell Walker trade. The Chargers didn't make out quite as well as the Cowboys (who made out like bandits) but in this era they did just fine.
Ask Mike Dikta how the "Ricky Williams for his entire draft" deal went.
Would you risk your team's future for a runningback who's taken the beating Peterson already has and still can't even stay healthy at the collegiate level?
So when Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson are both still on the board at #2 and the Lions are on the trade phones, just be hoping your team isn't on the same line.
Sliceman is an under the radar closet sports writer and sportsjunkie. Read his blog now before it becomes the next big thing and there's no room left on the bandwagon.
