Friday, June 13, 2008
The 10 NFL Off-Season Moves With The Biggest Potential Of Impact
In one of the most active, exciting NFL off seasons in quite some time, the 2008 free agency period gave all of those suffering football withdrawals plenty to whet their appetites. Or at least it did for me. Please tell me I’m not the only one who suffers from football withdrawals..
What follows is a nice concise list of the 10 off season events which have the biggest potential to impact everything in which they’ve come into contact with. It’s not a top ten because I figured it wouldn’t behoove me to try and rank things that haven’t happened yet and then try and pass it off as fact. History has a tendency to be unkind to people who try that sort of thing.
Brett Favre’s and Michael Strahan’s retirements..
Why did I bunch these two’s retirements together you ask? Well, not only are their respective retirements likely to have a huge impact on their former teams, but they are also out of work at precisely the same time. And what do we know about NFL pre-game shows and recently retired players? That’s right, they facking love them!
Favre and Strahan are both the kind of people who have always tried to find the funny in life and I believe it would be a monumental moment should both of them land on the same pre-game show. It would change millions of American’s Sunday mornings for the better. Even if the two of them never team up, I’m confident at least one of them will try their hand in TV.
Sure, the guy’s off the field decisions have made many wonder if he’s somehow related to the Vick brothers, but try and take yourself back to when he was still playing football. He was electric, he made big plays and made everyone around him play better. He had such a natural ability playing the game of football, I was certain he would eventually become one of the best corners and all around playmakers in the league.
We all know what happened, but it seems a lot of people have forgotten just what he used to bring to the table. Although not until he suits up again will we see whether or not a year off making it rain has decremented his athletic ability or not.
Donte Stallworth to the Browns..
Yes, he was the third best receiver on his team last year. But he was the third best receiver on the best offense, behind two other wide outs who had all-decade type years. Even if Stallworth plays average by his standards, his presence on the field will open it up for Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards. Or vice versa.
While his talent can only help the team, Stallworth’s multiple personalities/alter egos might have the potential to do some harm in the locker room. Do you really expect Jamal Lewis to stand by idly while Donte is speaking in third person, pretending he’s an alien?
Asante Samuel to the Eagles..
The Eagles have taken some flack for not dealing Lito Shephard during the draft or in it’s aftermath. Now, they have three top-tier cornerbacks. True, there are only two starting positions at corner, but how is having three top-tier cornerbacks a bad thing? What’s the worst thing that can happen? They start a CB by committee trend? That would be a good thing! One gets tired, spell in the other one. The Eagles may be onto something here..
Alan Faneca to the Jets..
I wish I was there when Thomas Jones first heard about the Faneca signing. I wouldn’t have been surprised in the least had he done a cartwheel, hugged the nearest person, then began pouring shots for everyone. He is after all the same guy who had one rushing touchdown last year. That’s right, just the one.
Although he was partially to blame, the Jets offensive line also played a key role in Jones’ failing his quests’ for six. Faneca was an integral piece in a Steelers offensive line that was great year in and year out and looks to fill one of the biggest weaknesses for the Jets last year.
Jared Allen to the Vikings..
Even if Allen ends up dislocating a knee cap (Is that even possible?) in week one, his impact on the Vikings and it’s nation has been palpable. Barring such a catastrophic injury, it’s hard to imagine a world in which Allen doesn’t take the Vikings defense to another level. Now they have two of the best in the game on either side of the ball. Adrian ‘All Day’ Peterson on offense and Jared ‘I don’t have a cool nickname’ Allen on defense.
And don’t worry Vikings fans, I’ve never jinxed a thing in my life. They aren’t even real, save for the legendary ‘Jinx you owe me a Coke, bitch’ gem. So you should be good.
Randy Moss returning to the Patriots..
Had Moss taken the money and went to the Eagles, it very well could have changed the landscape of the entire universe.
1.) The Patriots lose Moss, Stallworth and Samuel and drop from their former ‘Elite’ level down to the ‘Well, they still have Tom Brady’ level. This would have caused all who dislike the Patriots to throw all night celebrations, a la every single state that’s not in New England. Vermont probably would have turned, too. Traitors.
2.) Having acquired a player of Moss’ caliber to pair with McNabb, Philly fans may have begun to think positive thoughts about the upcoming season. As we all know, that will probably never happen. Ever.
Michael Turner to the Falcons..
I actually subscribe to the belief that Turner, while a good back, will not live up to all of the hype. Not to mention I was bullshit the Falcons didn’t try and roll the dice with J-Norwood, who has a ton of potential and just so happens to be on my fantasy team. If the Falcons QB situation plays out like it should next year, meaning... shitty (Barring a Matty Ice coming out party. Quick side note: What are the odds that Matt Ryan likes Natty Ice with a nickname like Matty Ice? Isn’t it an absolute certainty? Is Matty Ice selling Natty Ice on television not a genius idea? Is anyone still reading this?), than Turner will have a hard time maintaining his career 5.5 yards per carry with eight men in the box every play.
On the other hand, Turner could be the next big thing and have fantasy owners everywhere punching themselves in the nuts next November because they didn’t take him.
Chad Johnson staying with the Bengals..
Apparently, Ocho Cinco has decided to take one for the team and actually participate in his teams off season workouts. What a guy! No matter your opinion on guy’s ego and love of money, the man has skills and his participation in the Bengals 2008 campaign can only bring good things. Unless he goes all 2005 T.O. on them and single handedly destroys their entire season. It should be interesting to watch..
Steely McBeam’s release by the Steelers..
Out of everything on this list, this is perhaps the most surprising. McBeam, regarded by some as the best mascot ever created was let go by the Steelers as we neared the start of the 2008 season. Everything about him was supposed to be symbolic about the city of Pittsburgh. The Mc was for the city’s Irish heritage and the Beam because Pittsburgh loves it some Jim Beam. Even the first name Steely is a reference to the city and it’s history with steel! Genius! Nothing says Pittsburgh like alcoholic Irish steel workers, after all.
How will the fans react to this? Either they will be calling for his return by week two, or the 98% of the city who are not Irish, alcoholic steelworkers will learn to live without such a polarizing, potentially homosexual mascot. Take your pick, but all kidding aside I think it’s safe to say: R.I.P. Steely McBeam, you truly were a legend.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
State of the Franchise: The Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns came out of nowhere in 2007.That’s it. That is the only way to describe their 2007 season. I don’t care where you're from (with Cleveland excluded of course), you did not predict they would be as good as they were. Sure, their defense had it’s moments … but compared to the abysmal 2006 campaign, it wasn’t half bad. 
To go on a tangent, I would like to express my fondness for Romeo Crennel. Yes, being a Patriots fan I’d come to love him more than most -- but you have to respect someone who in the face of being fired led his team to a performance that can only be described as… well, very well coached. Don't even start about the defense, nobody could have turned that squad into a respectable unit. Sure, the Browns had some breakout stars surface in 2008 (See: Derek Anderson) but one thing is for certain... we can finally come to a conclusion on one thing: Romeo Crennel is a fantastic football coach.
It’s a topic for another day and another article, but sometimes great coaches are put in impossible situations (See: Bill Belichick in Cleveland, Steve Spurrier in Washington, and dare I say Bobby Petrino in Atlanta? [Just kidding, he was just a quitter]) and we are entirely too quick to judge on their merits as a coach. I don’t care if Vince Lombardi was the coach of the 2007 Miami Dolphins, they weren’t getting anywhere near the post season.
Derek Anderson started Week 2 against the Bengals and never looked back. Although it’s interesting that starting Week 14, when the Browns needed him most in order to make the playoffs -- he couldn’t keep up his standard play. Was it that defensive coordinators finally had enough film to counter him? Or was it that he just crumbled under the pressure of leading an NFL franchise, one that had been the laughing stock of the NFL just a year earlier, to a playoff berth? The answer to that question won’t really be answered until 2008 but I for one believe that the whole thing put the Browns in an impossible situation (at least in regards to the mass media).
Do you no re-sign Anderson, have him to go on and continue his success and once again return the Browns to the lower class of the NFL? What if Brady Quinn turned out to be a bust? Would Cleveland ever recover?
Or do you sign Anderson, hope he continues his breakout performance from last year and hope Cleveland fans aren’t calling for his head and cheering for Quinn to start mid season? Isn't that a coaches nightmare? A QB controversy in a situation like this?
No matter what will turn out to be the correct choice, (the Browns chose the latter) I’m sure many NFL teams would kill for a proven QB such as Anderson and a potential superstar such as Quinn to both grace their depth chart come pre-season, so there's no need to focus on that as a potential fault, really.
Every team has an Achilles heel and the weakness for the 2007 Browns was easily their defense. During the first half of the year, the Browns let up a horrific 30 points per game. During the last half they at least got it down to league standard, letting up a respectable 24 points per game.
Unfortunately, the off season saw the departure of Leigh Bodden, a promising young corner who signed with the Detroit Lions. The off-season was not wrought with disappointment however. WR Donte Stallworth, DT’s Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams both signed with the new-look Browns.
Will Shaun Rogers continue to underachieve in Cleveland?
RB Jamal Lewis, who had a resurgence of sorts in 2007 isn’t getting any younger (he’s fast approaching the magical RB age of 30) however he still provides a capable running back in what is largely a passing offense. With not many picks in the 2008 NFL draft, the Browns will likely have to wait until next year for their heir apparent in the backfield. Jason Wright will be left to spell Lewis and although he doesn’t have breathtaking speed, he is a suitable compliment to Lewis’ power.
With no picks until the fourth round, the Browns are obviously hoping the free agents they signed will be worth basically their entire 2008 draft. Under achiever Shaun Rogers takes nothing off the table in terms of the Browns defense and should improve it greatly. Donte Stallworth will prove an excellent compliment to Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow in what could prove to be the best WR1-WR2-TE1 trio in the league. Edwards and Winslow should continue right where they left off in 2007, and establish themselves as elite players at their respective positions.
If the Browns’ secondary can limit game changing mistakes and Jamal Lewis can continue his steady, powerful play, the Browns should get what they just missed out on in 2007. A playoff bid.
