| Andrew |
| 0 Comments | 1376 Read | Mar 01, 2009 |
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No F***ing Loyalty? Or is it just me? By my count, three (possibly four) future Hall of Famers were dumped by their team in the last two weeks. Marvin Harrison, Derrick Brooks, Brian Dawkins and Fred Taylor will all have new uniforms next season. Does this sicken and sadden anyone else? Now, I'm not here to argue whether or not Dawkins and Taylor are Hall of Famers (they clearly are in my mind). Regardless, you can't argue that these four have been the face of their respective franchises. I think at this point we all undestand football is as much a business as it is a sport and/or entertainment. But God, can't a team show a player some loyalty? Any team? About the only team I've seen do it this offseason is the Detroit Lions, who re-upped kicker Jason Hanson for four years. Hanson has played his entire 17-year career with the Lions.
I'm not even talking about guys like Ray Lewis (likely leaving Baltimore), Keith Brooking (signed with the Cowboys after 11 years with the Falcons), Warrick Dunn (let go by the Bucs for the second time in his career) and Chris McAlister (10 years, three Pro Bowls with Ravens) that have been shown the door by their respective team. I know teams are always looking for the young, up-and-coming stars. But reading about Brooks getting cut, or Dawkins getting low-balled in negotiations just makes me feel dirty. It hurts me not only as a football fan, but as a human being. You're telling me that, with the league heading toward an uncapped year, the Eagles couldn't pony up the extra few million for Dawkins? For all he's done and all he means to that team and city? It just seems incredibly cheap to me. But hey, what do I know? I'm just a writer after all. Anyway, some quick thoughts on the first two days of free agency:
- I like what Denver has done early (Dawkins, Jabar Gaffney, Renaldo Hill, J.J. Arrington, and others) EXCEPT the reports coming out that they were (and still could be) shopping Jay Cutler. Whoa. WHOA. How can you possibly shop a guy like that? Let's see, a 25-year-old stud, with a cannon arm, accurate as anyone in the league, has thrown 45 touchdowns in the last two seasons and is locked-in with one of the best receivers in the league in Brandon Marshall. How could you even think about breaking that duo up? They could break all kinds of records. Look, I think Matt Cassel is a fine quarterback. But I think Jay Cutler is better. Actually I think he's much better. Denver would be wise to keep Cutler for a very long time.
- Did the Redskins overpay for Albert Haynesworth? Of course they did. There's no way the guy is worth $100 million. But someone had to do it. That's what it was going to cost to get him, and they stepped up to the plate. Ridiculous salary or not, Redskins fans should be pumped about his signing. I've read a lot of negativity toward it, and I can't figure out why. So the guy doesn't play all three downs. So what. How many players actually do nowadays? The quarterbacks, offensive line, middle linebackers and secondary. Everyone else subs in and out, especially defensive lineman. And when Haynesworth is in, he's a monster. He immediately makes that defense better JUST because of the attention he draws. Even if he turns in a season of 50 tackles, 3 or 4 sacks in 12-13 games, that's fine. Ask London Fletcher or Rocky McIntosh or even Jason Taylor how excited they are about the Haynesworth pickup. They'll tell you "very," because they know his complete impact can't be measured in numbers. And, the last argument: he's injury prone. Well, really, what player isn't? Especially along the offensive and defensive lines, where the carnage is paramount. Just relax Skins fans. You got the best player in free agency. The other 31 teams would kill for that.
- I think Bart Scott will be good for the Jets, but I think the Texans are sorely mistaken on Antonio Smith, late of the Cardinals. He just doesn't impress me. I do, however, like the addition of Fred Taylor to the Patriots. He will be Corey Dillion 2.0.
Now that the Combine is complete and teams are starting to add pieces, it's definitely time for another mock draft. Look for that in the next day or so.
Tags:
Combine, Cardinals (NFL), Texans (NFL), Redskins (NFL), Patriots (NFL), Jaguars (NFL), Falcons (NFL), Ravens (NFL), Free agency, Lions (NFL), Colts (NFL), Buccaneers (NFL), Broncos (NFL), Eagles (NFL), NFL , NFL Draft, NFL Combine, NCAA FB , Boston College (NCAA FB), NCAA FB , Marshall (NCAA FB), NCAA FB , Eastern Michigan (NCAA FB), NCAA FB , Nevada (NCAA FB) |









