Can't Trust Anyone

On the morning of the 2007 NFL Draft I woke to the news that the broken clavicle of Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson wasn't healing properly. He might need further surgery. He might miss some of the 2007 season. His rookie training camp was certainly an uncertainty. The worries this news caused likely dropped Peterson into the lap of the Minnesota Vikings with the #7 pick in the draft. I still believe that the Vikings were the source of those Peterson injury rumors. They were the only team that benefited from them. And, once the Vikings had Peterson in Minnesota there was not a thing wrong with that clavicle.

The 2007 NFL Draft was the first Vikings draft for Rick Spielman. He's the general manager and decision maker now. He wasn't the sole decision maker in 2007. The main decider of things was likely head coach Brad Childress. He was just starting his power grab. If there was anything devious going on in the Vikings War Room in 2007, I have a hunch that it came from Spielman. You can't trust anything that guy says. And, I love it. Last year, no one could really put a finger on what exactly the Vikings were going to do with the #3 pick in the draft. Everyone knew about Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. The draft really seemed to start with the Vikings pick. Most thought that Matt Kalil would be the choice. Spielman left enough doubt about the Vikings interest in Kalil, Oklahoma St. receiver Justin Blackmon, and LSU corner Morris Claiborne that no one knew for sure. The fact that all three played positions of significant need for the team only added to the mystery. Spielman played up this uncertainty to such a point that the Cleveland Browns traded a several picks to Minnesota to move up one spot. The Vikings still got Kalil with the #4 pick and got some extra picks as a bonus. Those extra picks made it possible to trade back into the first round and draft Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith. Based on their rookie seasons Kalil and Smith look like difference making football players. In fact, those two were the start of what looks like a franchise changing draft. A little doubt as a result of Rick Spielman being something less than truthful made that draft possible.

Those are just a couple of examples from the team that I know best. You can not believe anything that you hear this time of the year. The month before the draft it filled with little lies, big lies, and way too many maybe's to put anything down in ink. Some teams are better at hiding their intentions. I like that Spielman really seems to shine at this draft game. I don't really care that I can't figure out what he's doing. I only care about the other 31 NFL teams not having a clue as to what he's up to.

Talented Chiefs

Offense
QB  Alex Smith
RB  Jamaal Charles
WR Dwayne Bowe
WR Jonathan Baldwin/Donnie Avery
TE  Tony Moeaki
TE  Anthony Fasano
LT  Branden Albert
LG  Jeff Allen
C    Rodney Hudson
RG Jon Asomoah
RT  Donald Stephenson

Defense
LE  Mike DeVito
NT Dontari Poe
RE Tyson Jackson
LB Tamba Hali
LB Derrick Johnson
LB Cory Greenwood
LB Justin Houston
CB Brandon Flowers
CB Sean Smith
FS Dunta Robinson
SS Eric Berry

The Kansas City Chiefs are the most talented team to earn the top pick in the NFL Draft that I can recall. It's stunning that head coach Romeo Crennel couldn't get more out of this team. That's why Andy Reid is now head coach of this team. General manager Scott Pioli was fired too but not before he stocked the Chiefs with a lot of talent. Reid must be pretty happy right now. So to is quarterback Alex Smith. Bowe, Baldwin, Avery, and Moeaki can be real playmakers in the passing game. Charles is a terrific running back. Reid brings a very quarterback friendly system. So friendly that he made a quarterback like Kevin Kolb a rich quarterback in Arizona. The Chiefs may not lead the league in scoring but they should be in the top half. That should be plenty seeing as the Chiefs talent isn't only on the offensive side of the ball. The new Kansas City decision makers have done a great job addressing their defensive issues. That starts with the cornerback play opposite Flowers. They added not one but two effective corners in Robinson and Smith. Robinson is listed at free safety but he will likely move up to nickel on passing downs. Corner is now more than solid. Hali and Houston are terrific pass rushers. Berry is one of the best young safeties in the league. Johnson is a Pro Bowl linebacker. Poe can be dominant in the middle. This is a really talented defense. They have to be as the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos are threatening to walk away with the AFC West. The Chiefs can tighten that gap if the play on the field matches the talent on paper. And, they still have that top pick in the draft.

The Curious Case Of Manti Te'o

With the Minnesota Vikings fairly glaring hole at middle linebacker, I've been thinking quite a bit about one of the best college players at the position in recent years. In November of this past year Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was considered one of the best college football players and a certain top-10 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. As it stands now, he's hanging out at the end of the first round. Ray Lewis was drafted around there. What went wrong? Well, pretty much everything went wrong.

When a soon to be professional football player is being interviewed by Katie Couric rather than Mike Mayock something is wrong. Te'o became tabloid fodder because he was naive. Some might call it stupid. Naive sounds better. People once fell in love through letters having never met. Some still do.With the technology today the same thing can happen but just a bit faster. I know many people through internet message boards. I even think of some as friends. I really know nothing about them. I can see how some of the more trusting (naive or stupid?) can view these relationships as something more than they truly are. Some of the more devious prey upon that trust. It's really no surprise that some may be "catfished." You don't even have to be stupid to fall for it. Just trusting or hopeful will do. Some of those that laughed at Te'o may have been caught themselves. Fortunately for most, it's not played out on a national stage. Manti Te'o became a joke. Perhaps laughing at him made us feel better for the times that we were made the fool. Perhaps we also believed something on the internet that never proved to be true.

The "catfishing" of Manti Te'o doesn't bother me. The coverage bothered me more than his mistake. His play in the BCS Championship game against Alabama bothered me more. Tide coach Nick Saban clearly saw neutralizing Te'o as a key to the game. The supremely talented Alabama line went after the Notre Dame leader. Big time players still find a way. His instincts still showed but he didn't finish plays. Despite the size of that game, I'm not going to let one game wipe out his entire college career. I've seen enough of Te'o to know that the Alabama game was an exception but it does cause some concern. I was disappointed that he skipped the Senior Bowl. It would have been good to see him on the field in that environment. The week of practices can be the setting for an outstanding draft statement. Perhaps the circus surrounding him had gotten too great. Even non-football fans couldn't get enough of Te'o's woes. He raised even more football concerns when he ran a slower than expected 40 at the Scouting Combine. None of that really bothered me. Pretty much the only thing that has bothered me about Manti Te'o's unfortunate past few months were his excuses. I can't recall now if Te'o made excuses for his play in the BCS Championship game. I recall that excuses were made for him. Some said that the drain of the postseason awards tour had gotten to him. The internet hoax was at full boil heading into the game. He had plenty of distractions. Maybe he tossed out those excuses but I can't recall for sure. I do know that he tried to explain away his 40 time with the pressure and stress that he was under to perform well. I pretty sure that every football player in Indianapolis is under pressure and stress to perform well at the combine. That bothered me. That pressure didn't prevent him from turning around and performing very well in the field drills. I thought that his talk show tour was pathetic but that may have been more his advisers choice. The last couple months of Manti Te'o's college football career was a disaster. That's too bad because the previous four years were terrific.

As a football player, there's a lot to like about Manti Te'o. His emotion, drive, and leadership are unique. His Notre Dame team wasn't always the most talented team on the field each week. Yet, this past season they won every week until the last. Te'o was the difference. His team believed in him and followed him. That's why Nick Saban targeted him that last week. With Te'o, it's mostly his intangibles that intrigue me. He's a good athlete but his play is greater than his athletic ability would indicate. It's a mistake to compare any college linebacker to Ray Lewis. It's not fair to Lewis or the kid. Lewis fell to the lower third of the first round for many of the same reasons that some use to describe/knock Te'o. Not athletic enough. Not fast enough. It's difficult to measure accurately the intangibles that some players bring. When I think of Manti Te'o as an NFL player, something close to Ray Lewis is certainly my hope. Especially if the Minnesota Vikings draft him.

Throwback Thursday: 2005 NFL Draft

The 2005 NFL Draft often wakes me up at night, shaking. Like this year, the Minnesota Vikings traded a supposedly troubled receiver to acquire an additional first round choice. This year the Vikings traded Percy Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks for that first round pick. In 2005, they traded Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders for the 7th overall pick. That gave them the 7th and and 18th selections in the 2005 NFL Draft. The results were terrifying.

1.  San Francisco 49ers  Alex Smith  QB  Utah
2.  Miami Dolphins  Ronnie Brown  RB  Auburn
3.  New York Jets  Braylon Edwards  WR  Michigan
4.  Chicago Bears  Cedric Benson  RB  Texas
5.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers  Cadillac Williams  RB  Auburn
6.  Tennessee Titans  Adam "Pac-Man" Jones  CB  West Virginia
7.  Minnesota Vikings  Troy Williamson  WR  South Carolina
8.  Arizona Cardinals  Antrell Rolle  S  Miami
9.  Washington Redskins  Carlos Rogers  CB  Auburn
10. Detroit Lions  Mike Williams  WR  USC
11. Dallas Cowboys  DeMarcus Ware  LB  Troy
12. San Diego Chargers  Shawne Merriman  LB  Maryland
13. New Orleans Saints  Jammal Brown  T  Oklahoma
14. Carolina Panthers  Thomas Davis  LB  Georgia
15. Kansas City Chiefs  Derrick Johnson  LB  Texas
16. Houston Texans  Travis Johnson  DT  Florida St.
17. Cincinnati Bengals  David Pollack  LB  Georgia
18. Minnesota Vikings  Erasmus James  DE  Wisconsin
19. St. Louis Rams  Alex Barron  T  Florida St.
20. Dallas Cowboys  Marcus Spears  DE  LSU
21. Jacksonville Jaguars  Matt Jones  WR  Arkansas
22. Baltimore Ravens  Mark Clayton  WR  Oklahoma
23. Oakland Raiders  Fabian Washington  CB  Nebraska
24. Green Bay Packers  Aaron Rodgers  QB  Cal
25. Washington Redskins  Jason Campbell  QB  Auburn
26. Seattle Seahawks  Chris Spencer  C  Mississippi
27. Atlanta Falcons  Roddy White  WR  UAB
28. San Diego Chargers  Luis Castillo  DT  Northwestern
29. Indianapolis Colts  Marlin Jackson  CB  Michigan
30. Pittsburgh Steelers  Heath Miller  TE  Virginia
31. Philadelphia Eagles  Mike Patterson  DT  USC
32. New England Patriots  Logan Mankins  G  Fresno St.

It's always funny, scary might be best, to look back at an NFL Draft. There is a lot of, "what the hell were we thinking?" The Vikings aren't alone. There aren't too many teams that look back on this draft and smile. The Green Bay Packers are still smiling. I've always wondered if the Washington Redskins were so shaken by Aaron Rodgers almost falling to them that they took Campbell simply because they were frozen on the QB page. Other happy teams feeling the glow of this draft are the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New England Patriots. The Panthers are seeing signs of life from Thomas Davis. His career looked over with back-to-back ACL tears. He's a very good football player. That's not many happy teams for a draft not too far distant. Injuries torpedoed the promising careers of Cadillac Williams, Merriman, and Castillo. Pac-Man was simply a mess but he's still kicking.

This draft was a disaster for the Vikings. Something good has to come from two first round picks. They got nothing. They wanted to replace the speed of Moss so they felt forced to draft Troy Williamson. He could outrun the wind be he couldn't catch a thing. He was, without a doubt, one of the worst pass catchers that I've ever seen spend more than a handful of games in the NFL. It was stunning. Terrible. Erasmus James just never seemed to care. He was unblockable at times at Wisconsin. He did nothing in the NFL and it never seemed to bother him one bit. I don't think that any player from the 2005 NFL Draft was on the Vikings roster by 2009. I sure hope that 2013 is nothing like 2005.

State Of The Vikings

As I see it, here's how the Minnesota Vikings roster stands about a month before the draft.

WR  Greg Jennings
   T   Matt Kalil
   G  Charlie Johnson
   C  John Sullivan
   G  Brandon Fusco
   T  Phil Loadholt
TE   Kyle Rudolph
WR Jerome Simpson
QB  Christian Ponder
FB   Jerome Felton
RB  Adrian Peterson
 K   Blair Walsh

DE  Jared Allen
NT  Letroy Guion
UT  Kevin Williams
DE  Brian Robison
LB   Chad Greenway
MLB
LB   Erin Henderson
CB  Chris Cook
CB  Josh Robinson
  S   Harrison Smith
  S   Robert Blanton
  P   Chris Kluwe

On paper, on the field too, the most obvious hole is middle linebacker. Jasper Brinkley started last year but he moved to Arizona in free agency. Marvin Mitchell was Brinkley's backup. He was re-signed yesterday. If the Vikings had to take the field today Mitchell would likely get the nod but he's more of a role player and special teams contributor. This void at middle linebacker has me wondering if Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o might be the choice with one of their two first round picks, #'s 23 and 25. He's probably the linebacker most ready to be the man in the middle of an NFL defense. He's started at Notre Dame since the fourth game of his senior year. He was the leader, captain and the heart of a solid Irish defense. The Vikings approach to this vacancy at a pretty important position leads me to think that they are expecting a rookie to start from the day the rookie is drafted. They let Brinkley walk. As far as I know, they haven't pursued a replacement through free agency. It was reported that they had some discussions with free agent Brian Urlacher but that never seemed likely. Too old and broken. Quarterbacking the defense is a tall task for a rookie and I see Te'o as the most likely to accomplish the task. The Vikings have a unique insight on the naive Notre Dame youngster. Safeties Harrison Smith and Robert Blanton were in the Irish defensive huddles with Te'o. Tight end Kyle Rudolph was a team mate. Center John Sullivan was in South Bend when Te'o was recruited. The Vikings have up close and personal scouting resources in their building. I really like linebackers like Kansas St.'s Arthur Brown, LSU's Kevin Minter, Florida's Jon Bostic but they might need some seasoning before they lead and play middle linebacker in the NFL right away. Te'o is likely the one most capable of leading and playing from the start.

Receiver and defensive tackle, I feel, are the next biggest needs. Fortunately, both positions run pretty deep in this draft. I see receiver as a slightly greater need because I have more faith in the Vikings interior line rotation of Kevin Williams, Letroy Guion, Fred Evans, and Christian Ballard than in the receivers that the Vikings trot out beyond Jennings. I can see either position being taken in the first round. I like Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins and Cal's Keenan Allen best among the possible first round possibilities at receiver. I like Ohio St.'s Jonathan Hankins, North Carolina's Sylvester Williams, and Purdue's Kawann Short among the defensive tackles.

In this passing league, cornerback is always a need. I like the potential of possible starters Chris Cook and Josh Roninson but both have some issues. Cook has shown top talent but he's missed a bunch of time in his three NFL seasons. He has to stay on the field. Robinson had some real nice moments as a rookie but he had some difficulties toward the end of the season. I really hope that the Vikings can bring back Antoine Winfield. He can still bring it at 36. I hope that he brings with the Vikings.

Heading into the draft, I see the Vikings most significant needs at middle linebacker, receiver, defensive tackle, and corner. Guard and outside linebacker are needs as well. Of course, every team needs general depth pretty everywhere. Things change pretty quick in the NFL. Teams have to be ready with the next man up.

I'll probably change my mind on all of this by tomorrow.

Moving Slots

The movement of slot receivers Wes Welker and Danny Amendola was one of the more interesting moves of the first week of free agency. It was certainly one of the most talked about. When the Amendola signing was announced seemingly moments after the Welker signing, many felt that the New England Patriots made a knee jerk reaction to losing quarterback Tom Brady's security blanket. The Patriots, of course, said that they had come to an agreement with Amendola the day before. The order and the timing really doesn't matter. The Patriots and Welker had months to settle their differences. They couldn't and there was little doubt that they were going their separate ways. Despite the possible little tantrum thrown by Brady, I really think that this is a win-win-win-win situation for Welker, Amendola, the Broncos, and the Patriots.

Wes Welker may have had to really battle to establish his presence in the NFL but once he did he has led a pretty charmed football life. He catches a lot of passes from Brady for six years and when that comes to an end he moves on to Peyton Manning. If you're a receiver and you can pick any two quarterbacks of this generation with which to play, Brady and Manning are likely the choices. No offense to Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Plus, Welker joins a terrific Broncos receiving duo in Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker. Throw in tight ends Joel Dressen and Jacob Tamme and the Broncos passing offense goes from damn good to a real life nightmare. There may not be a better three receiver set than Thomas, Decker, and Welker. 

Danny Amendola is definitely happy. He goes from a St. Louis Rams team that has seen little but struggles the past few years to an annual Super Bowl contender in the Patriots. He gets to catch passes from Tom Brady! Sam Bradford has real nice potential but this is Tom Brady. Every time that I've seen Amendola play, I come away even more impressed. The Rams drove the much more talented San Francisco 49ers nuts this past season. Amendola was one of the main reasons, especially in the first game between the division foes. He's a tough little sucker. That toughness often gets him into trouble. If there is any negative to Amendola's game it's his injury history. He lost pretty much the entire 2011 season with significant elbow and triceps injuries. That was terrible in terms of time lost. His injury last season was downright frightening. In early October he suffered a dislocated clavicle. Instead of it popping out, the clavicle popped in. It was millimeters from puncturing his trachea and aorta. This could have killed him. It didn't and he returned to the field with his dynamite game against the 49ers. While Amendola has missed some significant time with injuries, some, especially the last one, have been of the unusual variety. It's not like he's had several recurring injuries. I really like this addition for Patriots. Amendola may not have the resume' of Welker but he's got real similar talent. Plus, he's about five years younger than Welker. He could start building his own Welker-like resume'. I really think that the Patriots will like this exchange of slot receivers but Amendola obviously has to stay on the field. 

If Amendola has left the injury bug in St. Louis, this is a win for all parties involved. I love watching receivers like Welker and Amendola work their magic in finding the holes in the defense. They're fighters and their paths to the NFL are similar. Some might even call their paths identical. Both played at Texas Tech. Both went undrafted. Both fought through being cut from NFL teams and finally sticking in the league. Both established themselves with struggling teams and moved on to the Patriots. When they finally got a shot on the field, they shined. Both are examples of never giving up. You can see their fight in every moment that they are on a football field. This is a win for everyone involved. 

New VP

It wasn't exactly headline news when the NFL announced Dean Blandino as the Vice President of Officiating. He takes over for Carl Johnson, who will become the NFL's first full-time game official. You never hear from the Vice President of Officiating if everything is going beautifully. Johnson might have been front and center a little more than he would have liked last season due to the replacement officials. I like what I've seen of Blandino in his first months on the job. He's popped up some this past week to to help explain some of the recent rule changes. He's done a good job with those explanations. He seems much more comfortable in the role than Carl Johnson ever did.

Blandino has spent his entire professional career in football officiating. After graduating in 1993 from Hofstra University, he joined the NFL for the 1994 season as an officiating intern. Following the 1994 season he was hired full-time as an officiating video assistant and then was promoted to special projects coordinator. From 1999-2009, Blandino has worked with video replay in various capacities. The last two years of that period he was the #2 man to VP Mike Pereira.

Blandino formed his own company in 2009 called "Under the Hood," which provided training and evaluation for replay officials. His clients included the NFL plus the Big 10, Mid-American, Pac-12, Big 12, and Mid-West college football conferences. He directed instant replay clinics for the NFL and NCAA and served as liaison to the NFL Competition Committee. He returned to the NFL in 2012. Perhaps to get ready for his current role.

As VP of Officiating Dean Blandino reports to Executive VP of Football Operations Ray Anderson. That guy is everywhere. Almost as everywhere as Roger Goodell is everywhere.

I really like the little bit that I've seen and heard from Blandino. The one curious aspect of his career and promotion is that he has not spent a day as an on field official. This is an observation much more than a criticism. I feel better about the VP of Officiating than I have since the days of Jerry Seeman and Art McNally.

Who Got Better?

With NFL Free Agency slowing down considerably it's not without precedent to look back and see which teams got better. Here's four that I think that improved themselves, in no particular order.

Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks got better with one move. They traded for Minnesota Vikings do-everything football player Percy Harvin. The Seahawks had proven themselves to be a talented team before they even did anything to get better. With quarterback Russell Wilson, they are a team on the rise. Wilson ended his rookie season playing like a 5-year veteran. With his leadership, preparation, and drive, he's only going to get better. So are the Seahawks. Harvin isn't just a receiver. He might be the most dangerous football player in the league. Adding Harvin to an offense with Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and Sidney Rice is scary. Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell worked with Harvin for two years in Minnesota. The coach has a head start on finding new ways to get the ball in the hands of his versatile new player. The Seahawks' additions of defensive ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett got decent amount of attention but they don't really do much for me. Avril always seemed to be on the verge of taking off with the Deteroit Lions but never quite doing so. Bennett? The Seahawks had him early in his career and cut him. They do improve the depth on the defensive line which will be a good thing over the grind of a long season. So, they do help but the team's improvement for me is all about the addition of Percy Harvin. The Seahwks and the San Francisco 49ers have the best rivalry in the league right now. Their meetings next season will be must see viewing.

Kansas City Chiefs. A lot of "experts" predicted that the 2012 Chiefs would challenge for the AFC West title. They didn't come close. Having the top pick in the 2013 NFL Draft is an indication of how their 2012 season went. The predictions were due to the talent on the Chiefs roster. Despite the obvious problems of the last two seasons, this team does have some talent. New coach Andy Reid and a nice free agency add greatly to that talent. Those additions started with the trade for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. Keeping receiver Dwayne Bowe and tackle Branden Albert helped too. Before free agency really got started, the Chiefs got better. Adding cornerbacks Dunta Robinson and Sean Smith to Brandon Flowers and the Chiefs might be the best equipped team to go against the always present 3-receiver sets in this passing league. The Broncos now might have a challenge in the AFC West. And, the Chiefs have that first pick in the draft.

Denver Broncos. Peyton Manning has probably been smiling nonstop. The Broncos kept their best football player not named Manning or Von Miller in offensive tackle Ryan Clady. They further improved the protection and happiness of their quarterback by signing guard Luis Vasquez. They really got Manning smiling by adding receiver Wes Welker. Plus, they took Welker from New England. The Broncos decided to get better on defense with the signing of defensive tackle Terrence Knighton and corner Dominique Rogers-Cromartie. The Broncos improvement will be sealed if they can right "faxgate" and bring back defensive end Elvis Dummervil.

Philadelphia Eagles. One of my favorite signings of free agency was the Eagles signing of tight end James Casey. He is one of the most uniquely skilled players in the league. I've been a fan of his since his college days at Rice. He never could get on the field enough playing behind Owen Daniels in Houston. He'll get his chance in Philadelphia. I think that new Eagles coach Chip Kelly will find all kinds of ways to get Casey in the game plan. I also like the overhaul of the secondary with the signings of corners Carey Williams and Bradley Fletcher and safeties Kenny Phillips and, in particular, Patrick Chung. I really like the addition of defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga to the line. The reunion of quarterback Dennis Dixon and Kelly could be interesting. The Eagles improvement is similar to that of Chiefs. Both teams have some nice talent, even before they added to it, despite their recent problems. Plus, a new coach usually brings some juice.

While I don't think that the New England Patriots necessarily got better on paper, I really like their additions of safety Adrian Wilson and receiver Danny Amendola. Retaining corners Kyle Arrington and Aqib Talib helped too.

I can't leave this topic without touching on the Minnesota Vikings. It's real difficult to say that they improved when they no longer have the dynamic Percy Harvin but adding Green Bay Packers receiver Greg Jennings could be an improvement for their offense. Not only will Jennings be an on the field impact player he will mentor an extremely young group of receivers. I also think that he might compliment running back Adrian Peterson better than Harvin. Peterson has encountered 8/9 defenders in the box since he's been in the league. While Harvin was a tremendous offensive threat the Vikings mostly ran plays that kept him around the line of scrimmage. Handoffs, quick passes, screens, etc. In defending Peterson by keeping players close to the line the defense was also defending Harvin. The threat of Jennings doing damage intermediate and deep should open things up for Peterson. Jennings getting open at those distances will also help quarterback Christian Ponder. Adding veteran quarterback Matt Cassel will also help the Vikings.

Where'd The Money Go?

The first week of free agency was much like any other year. There was a flurry of signings and a bunch of richer players. This past week it seems that everyone has taken a nap. The drop off in action from the first week to the second week just feels greater than past years. The salary cap has stayed pretty much the same for the past couple of years so there's only a few bucks to spend on a bunch of hungry football players. A handful of teams had a ton of salary cap space. The Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent a lot and signed several new players. For whatever reason, Mike Brown and the Cincinnati Bengals are just sitting on their big pile of gold. Maybe he thinks that he can take it with him. Basically, there's a lot of pretty happy, newly signed football players on new teams or even their former teams. There's a lot more football players looking for work. There's a few that might still get lovely contracts like defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Elvis Dumervil. Most will get contracts far less than they expected. Owners win again. There are still some very good football players out there. Karlos Dansby, Andre Smith, Sebastian Vollmer, Osi Umenyiora, Brent Grimes, Shaun Phillips, Fred Davis, and many more. A lot of those players are going to have to swallow their pride and settle for far less money than they expected if they want to keep playing football. Especially the older players. Somehow the owners put the brakes on the salary cap after the lockout. With most teams having little available money they are going to be relying more on rookies. With the new CBA event he first round picks are fairly inexpensive. Certainly far less expensive than those greedy veterans.

A tremendous salary imbalance is forming on NFL teams. More and more we are finding that a handful of players are taking up a greater percentage of the salary cap. This is especially true for the teams that have extremely well compensated quarterback. Just look at the Super Bowl champs. The Baltimore Ravens lost about half of the their team to free agency. Retirement hit too. They lost most of those players so that they could pay Joe Flacco. They couldn't afford many of their defensive players and Flacco too. Football is a team sport but the salaries certainly don't show it. I understand that it's a passing league now but no one player should take up a quarter of the cap. But, that's just me. I just see problems with five or six players taking up about 3/4 of the cap. Teams are heading that way. Some are already there. The level salary cap didn't end the huge salaries. It just cut down on the number of them. Some players like Mike Wallace, Paul Kruger, Percy Harvin, and DaShon Goldson still got them. Nearly all the rest signed for far less than they would have only four or five years ago. Many more are still looking for work. They're still looking for that money.

Rule Changes

As a great lover of football I often wince at suggestions of changes to the existing rules. The game seems perfect as it is. Well, maybe not perfect but pretty damn good. No matter how good or great football is, the competition committee gets together at the annual owner's meetings to discuss and change the rules of the great game of football. They've just finished doing that this week.

The competition committee comes up with the rules changes and the owner's decide whether to implement them. Most rule changes now are made to promote player safety. Most of this year's changes fell in line with that. Teams can no longer overload one side of the formation in an attempt to block field goals and extra points. Teams can now have only six or less players on each side of the snapper at the line of scrimmage. More significantly, peel-black blocks were outlawed anywhere on the field. Previously, they were only illegal inside the tackle box. A player makes a peel-back block when he is moving toward his goal line, approaches  an opponent from behind or the side and makes contact below the waist. Those proposed rule changes passed easily. Another to enhance player safety took a little work. Ball carriers can no longer make contact with the crown of the helmet. It only seems fair seeing as the defense is similarly penalized. At some point a line has to be drawn. Instead of throwing more penalty flags, the players have to start playing smart. For far too long football players have been lowering their helmet to make tackles, inflict damage, even to protect themselves. It's never safe, never efficient, never smart to take your eyes off the action. It's an instinctive game but self-preservation  has to become a natural act. There are better and more efficient alternatives to protecting yourself and tackling others than using the top of you helmet.

A couple of stupid existing rules were tossed out this week. The first, made famous last Thanksgiving, was the rule penalizing a coach for throwing a red flag to challenge a call that is going to be reviewed anyway. This was one of the most stupid rules ever forced on football. That's saying something. I don't understand why anyone would have thought that there was a need for this rule. I never would have thought that a coach would be so stupid as to challenge a call that everyone knows is going to be reviewed anyway. Then along came Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz and his decision on Thanksgiving. It made a mockery of that game and showed the great need to get rid of the rule. Despite what it often seems, the objective is to get the call right on the field. This stupid rule prevented that and was tossed. The other rule tossed was the always stupid "Tuck Rule." As soon as it wrongly impacted the AFC Championship game over a decade ago this rule should have been shitcanned. I have no idea how it lasted this long. Simple common sense usually picks up whether a quarterback has ceased having any intention to throw the ball. Stupid rule. Glad it's gone. It's pretty funny that the New England Patriots were the one team that voted against the tossing of the "Tuck Rule."

Good or bad, football has been constantly evolving since it first stepped away from rugby over 140 years ago. Just the thought of the flood of annual changes scares me. The game seems so right so why change it? Fans of the game in 1906 thought that the game was pretty great. Then the decision makers decided that throwing the ball would be a pretty good thing to do. That was a more drastic change than anything that we've ever seen. Sometimes change is good. Even the most crazy or stupid rule change now may end up being terrific.

Throwback Thursday: The Summer of '36

Sid Gillman, Paul Brown, and Woody Hayes are three of the most influential football coaches in the history of the game. All three got their football coaching start in Ohio. All three lived together in the summer of 1936. Paul Brown had established himself as a very successful coach at Massillon High School. Sid Gillman had just started his coaching career at Dennison University. Woody Hayes hadn't settled on coaching just yet. He had enrolled in the graduate school of education at Ohio St. He had plans to become a principal or school superintendent. That summer might have gone a long way to steer him toward football. As they worked and studied, all three were housed temporarily in the Sigma Chi fraternity house on the Ohio St. campus. All would impact each other and the game of football.

Gillman and Brown had come to Ohio St. that  summer to learn from innovative, yet nutty, Buckeyes coach Francis Schmidt. They learned from Schmidt while Hayes took his education classes. In the evening, the three would come together at the fraternity and talk football. Sometimes they would argue. Sometimes they would "steal" each other's ideas. For Hayes it was the equivalent of a football laboratory. Much of his coaching philosophy can be traced back to those evenings at Ohio St. If nothing else, Hayes dropped the education path and picked up the football path.

Many consider Sid Gillman the "father of the passing game." His innovations changed offensive football. He was the first to make significant use of game film. Paul Brown revolutionized the position of head coach. His organization, testing, and use of assistant coaches changed the game. He certainly changed the structure of coaching in the NFL. Hayes, while not the innovator of Gillman and Brown, was one of the greatest college football coaches.

Ara Parseghian had some decent success as a football coach. He also has perhaps the best perspective on the three housemates. He played for Gillman at Miami University, played for Brown at Great Lakes Naval Training Center during World War II and with the Cleveland Browns, and coached with Hayes at Miami. He saw the three like this:

"Paul Brown was a constant organizer with a terrific ability to place the personnel, motivate the personnel, and innovate. Sid was so passionate about the game, and he was still an innovative guy. And Woody was a people person. He was a great recruiter and he could talk football stuff with anybody. I wouldn't rate him up with Brown and Sid, but he got things done with his ability to deal with people....I was the beneficiary of playing or coaching with all three of them. You talk about doing post-graduate doctoral work."
   -Ara Parseghian

Despite spending that summer of football together in '36, the coaches didn't get along too well. More accurately, Brown and Hayes didn't get along with Gillman. With his intense focus on football and his "win at all cost" ways, Gillman pissed off a lot of people throughout his coaching career. When Gillman and Brown later faced each other as professional coaches the games had extra meaning. They did not get along. Their families did not get along. Unfortunately, it would never change. Gillman and Hayes would become coaching rivals in the college game. Recruiting rivals too. Gillman at Cincinnati and Hayes at Miami, and later at Ohio St. Many years after the football and recruiting wars, Gillman and Hayes would make amends. They just happened to run into each other and Hayes asked his past rival to explain the Gillman passing offense. Eight hours later they left as friends, certainly no longer enemies. Hayes said later of their talk, "You know, I still don't know what the hell he was talking about."

I love hearing about the intersecting paths of influential football coaches. Most of these intersections aren't as fleeting as three coaches living together for a short while during a summer long ago. Most of these intersections involve working together for a year or more. Seeing as Brown, Gillman, and Hayes all got their coaching starts in Ohio, it shouldn't have been too much of surprise that their paths crossed. I still find it fascinating that this summer spent living together so early in their respective careers might have been the launching point for all that would come. I grew up hearing about those three coaching giants. As exciting as it was to hear of this time that they spent together it was as disappointing to learn that their continued relationship wasn't exactly peachy. At least Gillman and Hayes made amends. Gillman and Brown never really tried. It seems that Paul Brown, Sid Gillman, and Woody Hayes got along well enough to live together and talk football. For a brief time in the summer of '36 the future of football was determined in a fraternity house on the Ohio St. campus.

Flea Flicker Mock Draft v2.0

Here's another one of these damn things. I had to do another when the Minnesota Vikings added another first round pick when they sadly traded away Percy Harvin. But, they happily added Greg Jennings! Besides, teams needs change daily during the offseason.

1. Kansas City Chiefs  Luke Joeckel  OT  Texas A&M
2. Jacksonville Jaguars  Sharif Floyd  DT  Florida
3. Oakland Raiders  Geno Smith  QB West Virginia
4. Philadelphia Eagles  Chance Warmack  G  Alabama
5. Detroit Lions  Dee Milliner  CB  Alabama
6. Cleveland Browns  Ziggy Ansah  DE  BYU
7. Arizona Cardinals  Matt Barkley  QB USC
8. Buffalo Bills  EJ Manuel  QB Florida St.
9. New York Jets  Dion Jordan  LB  Oregon
10. Tennessee Titans  Star Lotulelei  DT  Utah
11. San Diego Chargers  Lane Johnson  OT  Oklahoma
12. Miami Dolphins  Eric Fisher  T Central Michigan
13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  Xavier Rhodes  CB  Florida St.
14. Carolina Panthers  Sheldon Richardson  DT  Missouri
15. New Orleans Saints  Jarvis Jones  LB  Georgia
16. St. Louis Rams  Jonathan Cooper  G  North Carolina
17. Pittsburgh Steelers  Cordarrelle Patterson  WR  Tennessee
18. Dallas Cowboys  Kenny Vaccaro  S  Texas
19. New York Giants  Tyler Eifert  TE  Notre Dame
20. Chicago Bears  Alec Ogeltree  LB  Georgia
21. Cincinnati Bengals  Barkevius Mingo  DE LSU
22. St. Louis Rams  Tavon Austin  WR  West Virginia
23. Minnesota Vikings  DeAndre Hopkins  WR  Clemson
24. Indianapolis Colts  Bjeorn Werner  DE Florida St.
25. Minnesota Vikings  Arthur Brown  LB Kansas St.
26. Green Bay Packers  Eddie Lacy  RB Alabama
27. Houston Texans  Keenan Allen WR Cal
28. Denver Broncos  Desmond Trufant  CB  Washington
29. New England Patriots  Matt Elam  S  Florida
30. Atlanta Falcons  Datone Jones  DE  UCLA
31. San Francisco 49ers  Margus Hunt  DE  SMU
32. Baltimore Ravens  Manti Te'o  LB  Notre Dame

Compensatory Picks

Compensatory Picks were awarded to half of the teams in the league yesterday.

Under the rules for compensatory draft selections, a team losing more or better free agents than it acquires in the previous year is eligible to receive compensatory draft picks. The number of picks a team receives equals  the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. Compensatory free agents are determined by a formula based on salary, playing time and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. This formula is kept secret but some have become pretty adept at predicting the outcome. Which is actually pretty remarkable seeing as the awarding of compensatory picks frequently makes little sense. A total of 32 compensatory picks are awarded each year. The picks are at the end of rounds 3-7. Some years some teams are awarded picks despite not suffering a net loss of free agents the year before. This is done in order to fill out the 32 available picks. This year the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants were each awarded a pick to make it 32. The decision makers decided that those two teams lost better free agents than they added.

This year the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens were each awarded the maximum four picks. The Ravens will likely be in the same boat next year. Successful teams are routinely raided. The San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans each received three. The Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, and Seattle Seahawks each were given two selections. The Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers each received one pick.

I have a few problems with the compensatory pick process. First of all, I don't think that the new salary of the free agent should be a factor. Too often the contracts signed as a result of these bidding wars have little to do with the player's ability. It has even less to do with how the players often play after signing that huge contract. The 49ers receiving three picks is a perfect example of this issue that I have with the process. The 49ers lost special teams player Blake Costanzo, safety Madieu Williams and Joshua Morgan. They signed only Mario Manningham. The 49ers compensation is mostly due to the Washington Redskins overpaying for Morgan and Williams. In my opinion, Manningham and Morgan are a push. Their performance during the season were pretty even. The Redskins are more deserving of compensation for signing Williams than the 49ers are for losing him. Second of all, I don't think that the league should have to award 32 picks. If the free agent losses of all the teams total 10 picks, award 10 picks.

16 teams got a nice little gift yesterday. Most deserved it.

Receiving Changes

What a difference a week makes. This time last week, the receiver depth chart for the Minnesota Vikings looked a little something like this:

Percy Harvin
Jarius Wright
Stephen Burton
Greg Childs

That should throw a scare in the defensive backs of most NFL teams. Once the new league year opens with the start of free agency and other transactions, the lineups for all teams become pretty fluid. That was certainly true with the Vikings receivers. After the first week of the offseason, the Vikings receiver depth chart turned into this:

Greg Jennings
Jerome Simpson
Jarius Wright
Stephen Burton
Greg Childs

This group actually has some potential. The Vikings received a first round pick from Seattle in the Harvin trade. They now have two. I'm guessing that one will be a receiver. I'm hoping for either Cal's Keenan Allen or Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins. If one of those is the choice and plays like I think that they will, the Vikings receiving could become a strength. Jennings will be a terrific leader, teacher, and mentor for this very young group. The wild card is Childs. He's recovering from a freaky injury suffered in his rookie training camp last summer. He tore the patella tendon in each knee. He has great size and skills. If he comes back healthy and 3rd-year quarterback Christian Ponder will have a whole flock of nice receiving targets.

What a difference a week makes.

Enjoy the Rest, Steve Hutchinson

I can't let this go another day. Offensive linemen rarely get the attention that they deserve. I don't think that Steve Hutschinson ever wanted any. At least he probably never wanted any from outside his team. That might have been why he announced his retirement from football at the same time that free agency was grabbing all the news. He just wanted to walk away from the game. Well, he's going to get some attention here. Even if it is later than he deserved.

Steve Hutchinson was one of the best offensive linemen of his generation. He was one of the best guards to ever play the game. Guards get even less attention than the other line positions. But, when you have a great one, you know it. After an All-American college career at Michigan, Hutchinson was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He paired with Walter Jones to form the best guard-tackle combination that I'd seen since Hall of Famers Art Shell and Gene Upshaw of the Oakland Raiders. That line, led by Jones and Hutchinson, drove the Seahawks to Super XL. The following offseason the Seahawks made a mistake that they will always regret. For unknown reasons, the team paid far more attention to the contract status of quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck, running back Shaun Alexander, and Jones. Despite the name recognition of those players, Hutchinson was as important to the team as any of them. Head coach Mike Holmgren knew it. The front office apparently didn't. Instead of signing him outright or using their franchise tag, the Seahawks placed the much less secure transition tag on Hutchinson. The Minnesota Vikings took advantage. They signed Hutchinson to a creative contract using a "poison pill" clause that made it virtually impossible for the Seahawks to match. Steve Hutchinson took his grand football skills to Minnesota. The difference that he made on the Vikings line and their offense was immediate. Flanked by tackle Bryant McKinnie and center Matt Birk, the left side of the Vikings line was dominant. It was a line that could have been even better if McKinnie cared even a little about football. The Vikings have been fortunate to have had two of the greatest guards that I've ever seen. Randall McDaniel was one of the best to ever play and is in the Hall of Fame. Hutchinson will join him. I hate seeing great Vikings players end their career elsewhere. It happens far too often. Hutchinson was released by the Vikings in a cost saving move following the 2011 season. He played his final season with the Tennessee Titans.

Not many players are voted to the all-time teams of two teams. Steve Hutchinson was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Vikings honoring the team's fifty years in the league. He was also named to the Seahawks 35th Anniversary Team. Five years with Seattle. Six years with Minnesota. One final year with Tennessee. I wish that he could have experienced a championship in his career. I really wish that he could have experienced that with the Vikings. He made it to the Super Bowl with the Seahawks in 2005. He should have made it there with the Vikings in 2009. It's the only thing missing from a tremendous NFL career. All-Time teams, All-Pros, Pro Bowls, 1,000-yard runners, 4,000-yard passers. As a lineman and as a football player, he's got all the hardware. If not all the attention. I loved watching him play football. I feel fortunate to have seen him play for the Vikings. He was one of the best. Thanks to the team's "Vikings Weekly" television program I feel fortunate to have gotten a little bit of a glimpse of Steve Hutchinson, the person. He comes across as a big, grumpy giant, but you can tell that he's really got a huge heart. He's earned his time of rest. I wish Steve Hutchinson and his family all the best in their years ahead. I thank him for the incredible football that he brought every week. He left no doubt, that he was one of the best.

Taking The Plunge

The Minnesota Vikings had been active in free agency. They did a terrific job of keeping their own free agents. It took until the last few minutes before the opening bell but they got it done. The biggest one was their biggest player. They re-signed right tackle Phil Loadholt. Offensive line continuity is extremely important. It's especially important when you have a running back like Adrian Peterson being the engine of the offense. It's as important when you have a young quarterback like Christian Ponder trying to get comfortable and maintain consistency. The Vikings also re-signed Pro Bowl fullback Jerome Felton, safety and special teams ace Jamarca Sanford, linebacker Erin Henderson, receiver Jerome Simpson, and versatile lineman Joe Berger. It was critical to retain Loadholt, Felton, Sanford, Henderson, Simpson, and Berger and the Vikings did it. But, most think that signing your own free agents is boring. That was easily seen in the large number of fans in Vikings Nation going ballistic over the perceived inactivity of the team in the early days of free agency. That inactivity changed yesterday. The Vikings dove into free agency.

When Ponder wasn't able to play in the Vikings' playoff game against the Green Bay Packers it became obvious that they needed a proven backup. Joe Webb is a phenomenal athlete and he has shown some nice quarterbacking when called upon in the past but he played poorly in that playoff game. He was forced into a tough situation but ineffective quarterback play can't happen in that situation. You go home. The Vikings first signing of a player from another team was former Kansas Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel. He understands that Christian Ponder is the starter but he will compete. Cassel is a proven veteran and has been a better than solid starter for most of his career. He was solid enough in his one year of starting for the New England Patriots that the Chiefs thought that he could be their franchise quarterback. He had some nice moments in Kansas City. He had some rough times too. An incredible number of injuries destroyed the Chiefs 2011 season. This past season was just a mess. Cassel became expendable when the Chiefs traded for Alex Smith. The Vikings scooped him up. Then came the big addition.

When Percy Harvin was traded to the Seattle Seahawks at the start of the new league year the Vikings receiver corp when from pretty thin to pretty crappy. Bringing back Simpson helped a bit. Before that re-signing, Jarius Wright, a rookie last year, was the leading returning pass catcher. After yesterday, the position got a whole lot better. The Vikings signed former Packers receiver Greg Jennings. He immediately became the most accomplished receiver in Minnesota since Randy Moss' first stint with the team. That was nearly a decade ago. Jennings signed a 5-year $47.5 million contract. Not only is he an excellent receiver and football player, Jennings will have a tremendous impact off the field. He will be a mentor to a very young group of receivers and a young quarterback. As he walked down the hall of the Vikings headquarters, Jennings greeted and hugged the staff. I'm not saying that something like that has never happened. I've just never heard of a player making a gesture like that. He's a classy guy. He's also a terrific receiver.

The Vikings got much better yesterday. Matt Cassel will help. He'll help in Ponder's development and his ability to come in and provide solid quarterback if needed will bring a piece of mind. Greg Jennings will help a lot. Especially after the trade of Harvin.

The Minnesota Vikings finally took the plunge and got better.

Early Free Agency Thoughts

The steady salary cap of the past couple of years has kept the number of explosive contracts down. The teams with a ton of salary cap room like the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, and Miami Dolphins were particularly active. The Denver Broncos kept finding a way to be. The contract signed by Mike Wallace might have been the biggest in numbers but it was far from the biggest surprise. You'd expect the top difference-making receiver to get one of the biggest contracts. No, the biggest surprise, for me, were the contracts signed by a couple of offensive tackles. The Chicago Bears signed Jermon Bushrod to a 5-year $36 million contract. The Colts signed Gosder Cherilus to a similar 5-year $34 million contract. In comparison, the Minnesota Vikings re-signed right tackle Phil Loadholt to a comparatively modest 4-year $25 million contract. The Bears were desperate for offensive line help. Quarterback Jay Cutler was getting killed behind that Chicago line. The Bushrod contract showed that desperation. The only thing that I ever saw Cherilus do that stood out in Detroit was when he tried to end the career of Jared Allen with a helmet to the knee. That hardly warrants a big payday. Cherilus was a first round pick that had warn out his welcome with the Lions. I don't think that they even made an attempt to re-sign him. Who knows, maybe the Colts coaches can bring out of him the talent that the Lions must have seen when they drafted him. Despite this signing, I mostly liked the players that the Colts added during the early days of free agency:

T   Gosder Cherilus
CB Greg Toler
S   Laron Landry
LB Erik Walden
G   Donald Thomas
DE Ricky Jean-Francois
-I especially like the Toler, Landry and Thomas signings. Walden was terrific for the Packers against the Vikings in the playoffs. The next week he spent the entire game staring at the back of Colin Kaepernick's jersey.

A couple others that I liked:

Broncos
WR Wes Welker
DT  Terrence Knighton
G    Luis Vasquez
CB  Dominique Rogers-Cromartie
LB   Stewart Bradley
-Manning and Welker. Oh my. Vasquez might have been one of the best lineman bargains. This group becomes awesome if Bradley can get back to the way that he played in Philadelphia.

Eagles
TE James Casey
S   Patrick Chung
DT Isaac Sopoaga
CB Bradley Fletcher
LB Jason Phillips
CB Cary Williams
S   Kenny Phillips
LB Connor Barwin
-I like this group a whole lot better than the "dream team" crap of a couple of years ago. Casey could be a monster in Chip Kelly's offense.

The Wes Welker out, Danny Amendola in, transaction in New England was interesting. Now, the word is that the Patriots had already signed Amendola when Welker bolted for Denver. I think that this is a win, win for both teams. Welker and Manning is scary. So is Brady and Amendola. The key to both teams winning is Amendola staying healthy. That guy is a little beast if he can stay on the field.

Salary cap room rarely means a thing. The Detroit Lions added Reggie Bush, Jason Jones, Glover Quinn and re-signed Chris Houston with about $6 million in salary cap space.

Throwback Thursday: Cradle of Coaches

In 1959, Bob Kurz was in charge of publicity for Miami University(OH). He was tasked with writing a news release each week that would preview the upcoming football game. Every preview seemed to convey the exact same thought and he needed a new angle. "I searched and searched and searched," Kurz said. "And of a sudden it hit me." Cradle of Coaches.

Most people probably think of Ben Roethlisberger long before they think of the simply amazing line of coaches that called Oxford home. The impact of some of the coaches still live today. The schemes of those that are gone and the coaching of those that are still around. The list is incredible: Earl Blaik, Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Bill Arnsparger, George Little, Weeb Ewbank, Sid Gillman, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, John Pont, Carmen Cozza, Bill Mallory, Jim Tressel, Joe Novak, Ron Zook, Dick Crum, Paul Dietzel, Randy Walker, John Harbaugh, Gary Moeller, Larry Smith, Dick Tomey, Sean Payton, Terry Hoeppner. Amazing.

Sid Gillman and Paul Brown influenced football as much or more than any other coach in history. A Mt. Rushmore of coaches would include those two. Brown, Weeb Ewbank, Sean Payton, and now John Harbaugh have won NFL titles. Earl Blaik, Woody Hayes, Ara Paraseghian, Jim Tressel, and Paul Dietzel combined for about a dozen national collegiate titles. Gillman, Brown, and Ewbank are honored in Canton, not far from the school that they once called home. 

One would think that a school that has been part of the lives of some of the greatest coaches that the game has ever seen would be better known. Unfortunately, this Mid-American Conference school is too small to be a destination for talented football coaches. The coaches may love the place but their skills are screaming for a bigger stage. We know of these coaches for where they ended up not for where they'd been. Miami University should be proud to be the Cradle of Coaches. 

New Age Info

"Historically great pairings: Peanut Butter & Jelly. Joe Montana & Jerry Rice. Twitter & Free Agency."
     -tweet from NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah

I was slow to join the Twitter world. I was always hearing about way too many irresponsible tweeting. I was in no rush to be a part of that. Despite joining the masses I still think that people need to think more before they tweet. You aren't just talking to yourself when you're send something out into the social media world. When used properly Twitter is a tremendous resource for football information. Especially during the chaos of the early days of free agency. Daniel Jeremiah is right on the money. Twitter and free agency is a perfect pairing. All the people with their fingers on the pulse of the NFL like Adam Schefter, Jason La Canfora, Albert Breer, Ian Rappaport tweet constantly. All the movement of free agency flows through Twitter. As soon as they hear, we hear. In all the years that I've followed free agency this is the best and easiest source of all the crucial information. Even the players themselves take to Twitter to announce their news. I learned right from Jerome Simpson, Jamarca Sanford, and Jerome Felton that they'd just signed contracts to remain with the Minnesota Vikings.

As soon as 4pm EST hit, the tweets started coming in. Martellus Bennett is a Bear, Mike Wallace struck gold in Miami, Paul Kruger moved to division foe Cleveland, the Dolphins were signing every player with a heart beat, Tony Gonzalez continues his terrific career, it goes on and on. Twitter had it all in easy to read, compact little bits of info. Links for more details are often provided. It's all so beautiful.

Another benefit to relying on Twitter for information rather than a message board is that I don't have to swim through all the fans going apeshit over their team doing or not doing the right thing or what they consider the right thing. It's ridiculous. Fans can't seem to understand that their team not signing players doesn't necessarily mean that their team isn't trying to sign players. They can't seem to wrap their little heads around the fact that freedom of choice is a major factor in free agency decisions.  It's nice to get away from all of that. Thank you Twitter.

Say It Ain't So

I felt bad for fans of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008 when their team traded away Jared Allen. I couldn't really know how they felt to lose a young, talented player that was just hitting his stride in the NFL. Now, I know. I never thought that the Minnesota Vikings would trade receiver Percy Harvin. I suppose that it was always my eternal optimism that spoke louder to me than reality. I just never believed that the relations between the team and player could be so bad that a player as talented as Harvin would be traded. I believe that general manager Rick Spielman never would have made that trade if he thought that the issues could be settled. Clearly, the Vikings and Harvin couldn't mend their differences. Sadly, they had to make this trade. The best thing about the trade is that the Vikings added a first round pick in the upcoming draft. A seventh this year and a third next year were also included. The worst thing about the trade was that Harvin was sent to the Seattle Seahawks. Come on! I hate that team. I hate that team mostly because of their idiot coach. Their secondary, Richard Sherman in particular, talks nonsense way too much. A very annoying team now has two of my favorite Vikings players of the last decade. First, Sidney Rice. Now, Percy Harvin. My goodness, the Vikings are desperate for receivers and two of the best that they have ever had are now in Seattle. The Seahawks have become a very dangerous football team. Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Sidney Rice, and Percy Harvin give that damn team a lot of juice on offense.

Where does this leave the Vikings. Receiver was a mess. Now, it's a hot mess. With 22 receptions in his rookie season, Jarius Wright is now the most accomplished receiver in Minnesota. That's rough. They were looking at receiver this offseason even before trading Harvin. Now the need at the position is simply screaming. I can hear that scream half a continent away. They'll likely add a couple in free agency. It would be nice if Greg Jennings is one of them. Not only is he a tremendously skilled receiver his experience and locker room presence would be among plus around this way too young group of receivers. Mike Wallace is an explosive but much more expensive option. One of the two first round picks is sure to be a receiver. Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins would be nice with one of those picks. Maybe the Vikings bring back Jerome Simpson as well. The Vikings entire receiver group is undergoing a complete makeover. None of the current receivers were on the roster only two years ago.

Beyond the mess at receiver, the Vikings have to get right tackle Phil Loadholt signed by the time free agency opens this afternoon. They can always sign him after the opening but it's never a good idea to let a player that you want to keep become available to all the other teams. Same goes for fullback Jerome Felton and safety Jamarca Sanford.

Seattle can suck it!

Who's Throwing?

Just to get away from the boredom of the NFL's 3-Day "legal tampering" window I went back to school to see what's up at Cal. Not since Aaron Rodgers' one full year of quarterbacking in 2004 has there been such excitement over who's throwing the ball at Cal. Well, I'm excited about it. Some of that excitement comes from the unknown. No one really knows what new coach Sonny Dykes' "Bear Raid" offense is going to look like in Berkeley. No one really knows which quarterback is even going to lead that offense. One thing that everyone knows is that the quarterbacking can't get any worse than it's been the last several seasons. Another thing that everyone knows is that Dykes' offense is going to be quarterback friendly. For one thing the quarterback doesn't even have to worry about calling the plays or even the cadence. The center has those responsibilities covered. This is one aspect of this new offense that truly intrigues me. A new coach often brings open competition at many, if not all, positions. Every quarterback on the roster signed on before Sonny Dykes was named the coach. It's open. Who's throwing the ball for the Golden Bears?

It's still early but judging from the scrimmage held this weekend there's three youngsters in the race. Not one of them has even thrown a collegiate pass. Junior Austin Hinder, redshirt freshman Zach Kline, and true freshman Jared Goff looked the most ready for the starting gig. According to one report, Goff looked the best of those three. He was the only one to lead multiple scoring drives (3 in his 4 possessions). Kline and Hinder each had one scoring drive. Kline had the biggest play of the scrimmage in that his scoring drive came on one play. He threw a 98-yard touchdown pass to Joel Willis. Goff has a ton of talent. I have a hunch that Dykes would have no problem starting a true freshman. I also have a hunch, just a hunch, that Kline wins the starting job. It's just little things that receivers have said about Kline throwing the ball, leading the team. His redshirt year gives him an edge over Goff. Kline's been around for a while. The players are more familiar with him. If the decision does actually come down to Goff or Kline, it'll be a tough decision. Each has four years of eligibility. Quarterbacks that are used to starting don't much care for sitting. Now matter what happens the starter is going to like the receivers catching his throws. Cal has some terrific young receiving talent. Bryce Treggs, Chris Harper, Darius Powe and Maurice Harris all made impacts as freshmen this past season. They could make up the best receiving groups in the conference. Perhaps one of the best in the entire nation. A quarterback friendly offense, terrific receivers, the center making all the play calls. It all makes for a real happy quarterback. Now, who's it going to be?

One interesting development during the scrimmage was that Cal ran some plays for the Pistol. Hinder was the only one to run plays from the formation.

3-Day Window

I'm not sure what the NFL intended or expected when they came up with this three-day window of "legal tampering" prior to the start of free agency. Everything that the NFL does is done to build excitement and thus profits. This new twist for free agency must have been added with excitement in mind. If so, it's failing. It's actually kinda boring. As midnight Friday approached the league start rifling out memos telling teams that silence is best. No contracts, no news, no leaks. In this time of media, social and legitimate, overload, there are no secrets. Knowing that, everyone expected some juicy news as soon as we saw the earliest moments of Saturday morning. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio had taken a power nap and was caffeinated and ready for news in those wee hours. He found nothing. The NFL teams actually listened to the orders of the league. Whatever they are doing during this window of negotiating, and they must be doing something, is being done on the down low. It's actually no different from the days of "illegal tampering."

The NFL must be hoping for some big "signing day" on Tuesday. They must be hoping that all the annoying, time consuming leg work of  contract negotiating to be done during this window of silence. This window wasn't the only change to free agency this year. They also changed the opening of free agency from midnight to the much more convenient 4pm EST. This works so nicely for televised, prime time press conferences. If the NFL wanted everything to come on Tuesday to be a huge surprise, it's working. If they wanted the trickle of news during this window in order to build excitement for Tuesday, it's failing. Either way, Tuesday will be interesting. Either way, the NFL wins. They always do. No matter what the NFL expected to happen with this window of "legal tampering" it's nothing like everyone else expected. Just ask Florio.

Gotta Grow Up Fast

The Minnesota Vikings depth chart at receiver currently looks like this:

Percy Harvin
Stephen Burton
Jarius Wright
Greg Childs
Chris Summers

It's quite a group. Harvin is the old man at 24. Since they first took the field in 1961, the Vikings have had a real nice run of receivers. Paul Flatley, Gene Washington, John Henderson, John Gilliam, Sammie White, Ahmad Rashad, Anthony Carter, Hassan Jones, Cris Carter, Jake Reed, and Randy Moss. Hell, they could really use Matthew Hatchette right about now. Since Cris Carter retired and Moss was traded the Vikings have been desperately looking for a sustained presence at receiver. Nate Burleson and Sidney Rice showed a lot of promise but they both left in free agency. Bernard Berrian was signed to be a deep threat and he was for a year. He's gone now. In the last decade the Vikings had a serious passing threat for a single year. That was the year when Brett Favre was throwing the ball. Sidney Rice was dominant, Berrian still seemed interested in football, and Percy Harvin provided some explosion as a rookie. Only Harvin remains. Quarterback Christian Ponder needs Harvin and so much more.

There is some potential in the five receivers on the Vikings roster. Harvin is not only staying in Minnesota he's one of the most dangerous weapons in all of football. It drops off fast after Harvin. Burton was a 7th round pick out of West Texas A&M in 2011. He's very raw but he's got some skills. At 6'1" and 221 lbs he's got real nice size. He uses that size well. He's a tough, physical receiver. An effective blocker. If he can pull it all together he's got a game that could be similar to that of Anquan Boldin. At least that's my hope. As a rookie last year, Wright didn't play at all until week 10. He flashed. He's quick, fast too. His first NFL catch went for about 50 yards. He did it again when it mattered most against the Green Bay Packers in a win that clinched the playoffs. He's got a bright future. The future of Childs is in the balance. A college teammate and long time friend of Wright, Childs is a big, downfield threat. He looked terrific in training camp. During a scrimmage he went up for a pass and came down with a torn patella tendon in EACH knee. Freakish, terrible injury. His rehab has been great but it's a long road back. If he can make it and stay healthy, the Vikings receiver talent increases greatly. Like Burton, Summers is another small school, Liberty, receiver with intriguing size, 6'5" 213 lbs. He spent most of the season on the Vikings practice squad. He showed enough in practices for the Vikings to sign him to a futures contract.

The Vikings have to improve the receiver position. Some help could come from within. Wright has had a couple moments of brilliance and Burton had one moment of sheer luck but only Harvin has done, literally, anything in the NFL. The Vikings have to add to this young group now. That improvement starts with free agency. They could pursue the big name receivers like Mike Wallace and Greg Jennings. There are some rumors that they are interested in Wallace. He does fit the profile that general manager Rick Spielman prefers. Young and coming off a rookie contract. I just have my doubts that they will get into a bidding war. The price for Wallace is going to be steep. But, you never know. Spielman could surprise. It's important that Ponder gets some real weapons. More likely, I see the Vikings pursuing a receiver like Ramses Barden and in particular Brandon Gibson. Maybe both. Any player(s) that the team adds in free agency would immediately become the receiving group elder. Unless the Vikings land Wallace or Jennings, I really think that the receiving help that they need will come from the draft. Then the group gets even younger. Right now, my choice would be Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins in the first round. Maybe, Cal's Keenan Allen but I'm liking Hopkins more at the moment. I like Robert Woods, Quinton Patton and Markus Wheaton in the second, or later, if they don't grab a pass catcher in the first. Fortunately, there's some nice receiver depth in this draft.

With the Vikings receiving past it's a little depressing to see their receiving present. It has to change. They have a lot invested in Christian Ponder. They need to confirm that investment by giving him the receivers to succeed. Fortunately, they have Adrian Peterson running the ball. The passing game could be dynamite with that kind of running threat.

Talking Sherman

"It's obvious that Richard's got a lot of free time on his hands. I haven't read one word that he's said. I just see the pictures with his mouth open and I know what's going on."
     -Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll

I've never much cared for Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman. That often happens when a Stanford player is viewed by someone from Cal. I was never really impressed with his play at Stanford. It didn't seem that the NFL was too impressed either seeing as he wasn't drafted until the fifth round of the 2011 Draft. Much of that lack of respect was due to Stanford shuttling him back and forth from offense to defense. He never seemed to have a position in college even though corner always seemed to be his future. When he was brutally beaten for a long touchdown in one of the college all-star games I figured that I'd probably seen the last of Richard Sherman. I was so wrong. A 6'3" corner will get a shot and Sherman took advantage of his.

He goes from Stanford to Seattle. There aren't many teams that have less appeal for me than those two. I blame Pete Carroll for half of that. Richard Sherman is one of the most chatty players in the league right now. I wish that he'd tone it down. He's a bright guy but he sure doesn't sound like it much of the time. And, he's talking a lot of the time. On the field, he's quickly become a fantastic football player but it's really pathetic of him to start ripping Darrelle Revis. Sherman needs a few more seasons before he can legitimately challenge Revis as the best corner in the league. Unfortunately, he's well on his way to doing just that. I just wish that he'd let his football do more of his talking. If Sherman has to do all this talking at least he's doing some of it for something good. He's taking his message to his hometown of Compton, CA as part of the "Excellence in Education"  Tour in partnership with "Students With a Goal" (SWAG). Sherman had a goal in high school and it took him to Stanford. He believed academic excellence was just as important as excellence on the field. It's served him well. It's more than a little sad that such a view is considered out of the ordinary. Despite being pretty annoying most of the time, Richard Sherman is doing some excellent work. On and off the field.

Throwback Thursday: The Dream Team

Free agency in the NFL has been around for about twenty years. This open bidding on football talent has seen mixed results. There have been a few hits but there have been a whole bunch of misses. Even the most aggressive of teams show some restraint. They might drop a ton of money on a player or two. Then they might add a few lower tier players. Basically, they don't go all in and sign every player with a pulse. Even the most aggressive teams don't attempt an entire team makeover. Perhaps due to the inactivity of an offseason shattered by the lockout, the Philadelphia Eagles showed absolutely no restraint when it came to the free agency class of 2011. It was the most ridiculous bit of team-building that I've ever seen. General manager Howie Roseman should have been tested for drugs. If nothing else, owner Jeffrey Lurie should have taken away the keys to his team. Vince Young said that his new team was a "Dream Team." This new Eagles team was more like a nightmare.

The end of the lockout condensed the NFL offseason in 2011 to about two weeks at the end of July. It was a frantic time and the Eagles seemed to be announcing a new signing each hour. It was nuts. Free agency is usually an exciting time for the fans of NFL teams. When the dust cleared even Eagles fans were probably wondering what the hell their team was doing. In a matter of a few days, seemed like a few hours, the Philadelphia Eagles signed the following:

QB  Vince Young

CB  Nnambi Asomugha

DE  Jason Babin

DT  Cullen Jenkins

TE  Donald Lee

G    Evan Mathis 

RB  Ronnie Brown

T    Ryan Harris

S    Jarrad Page

Traded for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Young was the first signing but the spending spree really started with Asomugha. The Eagles let other teams court the All-Pro corner before they swooped in and grabbed him. In one of the most publicized free agency tours in recent memory the Eagles really seemed to come out of nowhere to land Asomugha. Then they went after seemingly every free agent available. Babin, Jenkins and Lee all signed two days later. The media was probably called back to the team facilities before they even got to their cars. It probably got to the point where they just didn't bother leaving. 

Asomugha was the biggest signing but he never really fit into the Eagles defense. His impact has been slight during his two years in Philadelphia. The only player that did much of anything is Babin. He was terrific in 2011 earning Pro Bowl recognition and racking up 18 sacks. It didn't last. The Eagles released him during this past season. Babin wasn't alone. Out of that great free agency frenzy only Asomugha and Mathis are still with the team. Asomugha may not be there much longer. 

I didn't understand then and I certainly don't understand now what Roseman was possibly thinking. That's it, really. He wasn't thinking. Asomugha is the most obvious example but it doesn't seem that there was much thought involved as to how all these players would fit with their new team. It's not like the Eagles were lacking in talent. They were 11-5 and a playoff team the year before. They might have needed an upgrade or two on defense but they didn't need to bring in an excess of seemingly random players. There was absolutely nothing dreamy about this attempt at building a team. The man that brought the "dream team" notion to Philadelphia, Vince Young, is so far removed from the NFL that he's taking part in the upcoming Texas Pro Day. He's pretty much begging for some football attention. The Eagles have fallen off at much the same rate as Young. From 11-5 to 8-8 to 4-12 since the 2010 season. Head coach Andy Reid lost his job. So did Roseman. That was probably about two years too late. It might be a stretch to blame all of the Eagles' recent troubles on that free agency spending spree but things haven't been the same since. It's mostly been a mess. The Eagles showed then that it might always be best to approach free agency with some restraint.

Free For All

NFL free agency opens next Tuesday at 4pm ET. Players will get richer. Fan will get too excited. This year will be a little different as agents can start negotiating with teams this Saturday, three days early. They can't sign a contract until Tuesday but they can come to an "agreement." This new twist was added to get rid of the ever present tampering. Players had been signing with new teams moments after the opening bell. Something shady had to be going on to hammer out an agreement that fast. This new twist hasn't slowed anything. There's been several mentions of tampering since the scouting combine. Anyway, now teams and agents can do some some legal tampering a few days before signing day. That should be interesting.

Free agency rarely brings the impact that teams and fans expect. Everybody wants the stars but the stars rarely remain stars with their new team. Defensive end Mario Williams was the big fish last year. Buffalo landed him and got little in return. A new coaching staff could change things for Williams and the Bills this year. The high-priced talent that free agency brings rarely puts a team over the top. Reggie White and Deion Sanders certainly did that in the early days of free agency. Sanders did it twice. Shannon Sharpe provided a little pop to a plodding offense in Baltimore. That helped bring a championship. Drew Brees certainly turned the fortunes around in New Orleans. Some teams likely regret it now, Miami, but Brees wasn't getting a lot of calls from teams when he was looking for a team. A significant shoulder injury was mostly to blame for that. Still, Brees wasn't exactly a star in San Diego. The Chargers were so thrilled with him that they had spent a ton to add Philip Rivers in the draft. Brees became a star in New Orleans and is still writing one of the few free agency success stories. One of my favorite free agency stories is that of Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield in 2004. He'd just finished his rookie contract with the Bills and was looking for that big second contract as a free agent. His first visit was with the New York Jets. Short of an actual kidnapping, teams do all that they can to keep a player from leaving their facility. The Jets were pulling out all the stops and thought that they had Winfield. Most in the media were calling it a done deal. The Jets had even scheduled a press conference. Fortunately for the Vikings Winfield wasn't as sold on the Jets as the Jets were sold on him. Vikings head coach Mike Tice arranged for a private plane to whisk Winfield away from New York and to Minneapolis. Winfield never left Minneapolis. Still hasn't. Because of this story I've never quite believed any report of a signing until there's actually a signing.

The problem with free agency is that the expectations are so high. Every new player, especially the big name players, are supposed to be the new team's savior. He's always the missing piece. The money that is usually involved brings much of the attention. It's often a bidding war and the winning team has to overspend. The spotlight is always on the new, rich guy. There's almost no way that he can live up to these expectations. Even a good season will be a disappointment. It has to be a great season. A great season that ends with the player holding a Lombardi Trophy. Teams are better served building through the draft. I've always liked the way that Bill Polian built the Indianapolis Colts. Granted, having Peyton Manning leading the team fills a bunch of holes. The Colts rarely played around with free agency. Polian built through the draft and did a good job of keeping the team's players. The Colts had great, sustained success for over a decade. It's an approach favored by Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. He wants to build through the draft and be smart in free agency. It's always fun to add the big name players but it's always better to not have to add them . Free agency should be for plugging holes not building a team.

The Tagging Is Done

Yesterday was the last day that NFL teams could use the franchise tag on one of their upcoming unrestricted free agents. Only eight teams did. That came after a record 21 teams used the franchise tag last year.

Here are those eight teams, the players tagged, and the one-year tender offer that comes with that player's position:

Buffalo  S Jairus Byrd  (6,916,000)
Chicago  DT Henry Melton  (8,450,000)
Cincinnati  DE Michael Johnson  (11,750,000)
Dallas  LB Anthony Spencer  (9,619,000)
Denver  T Ryan Clady  (9,828,000)
Indianapolis  P Pat McAfee  (2,977,000)
Kansas City  T Branden Albert  (9,828,000)
Miami  DT Randy Starks  (8,450,000)

A punter! It's really not that shocking. There were several kickers tagged last year. The franchise tags for kickers and punters are fairly reasonable. If you have a good one, you want to keep him.

Those are some pretty nice one-year salaries. Still, players usually hate the tags. It keeps them from signing those long-term contracts and mostly importantly it keeps them from receiving those gigantic signing bonuses. Teams only use these tags as a last resort. They'd prefer to sign these players to a long-term contract that allows them to spread the all important signing bonus over the length of the contract. The cap hits are usually lower than the large franchise salary. Teams and players can still negotiate a long-term contract later in the offseason.

One player likely more upset than most is Anthony Spencer. Last year, he played at outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense run by then Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Dallas is switching to the 4-3 and moving Spencer to defensive end. He's losing over $2 million being tagged at a position that he isn't going to play.

It's Kinda Historic

The NFL is hoping to find the next Vince Papale. Anything to create a story. The league debuted its regional scouting combine concept back in 2011. This year ten cities will hold a regional combine from January to March. The best players will then move on to the Super Regional in Dallas in April. These regionals have found some players in its two short years. Four players were drafted, all in the sixth round, last year. 72 other players signed as undrafted free agents. 21 players were signed in 2011. The system works. Now, it's historic.

The just completed New Jersey regional marked a first in the regional combine process, and a pretty significant event in NFL history. A female player competed.

Lauren Silberman, of New York City, participated as a kicker. A club soccer player at Wisconsin, she wasn't aware that she was the first female registrant. Said Silberman, "I was actually hoping that the 2012 historic milestone rule, to allow women to play, would prompt more women to attend tryouts this year. But for me what's important is to finally have a chance to fulfill my dreams by trying out to play in the world's most competitive football league."

Since college, Silberman has maintained a connection to sports. She wrote a Master's thesis at MIT about how athletes use video games to enhance their own performance. She then founded a consulting company Double Play that helps athletes use video games for virtual training purposes. Now, she can use her work to help herself.

Well, Lauren Silberman was always a long shot to impress an NFL team enough during a regional combine that they would end up inviting her to their training camp. Her historic shot at the NFL ended early with an injury.  She landed awkwardly after her first kickoff. Then asked to see a trainer after her second kickoff attempt. She would come back on the field once more but had a noticeable limp. She never kicked again before the end of the session. That would be a disappointing end for the first woman to participate in a league-sponsored tryout. Still, her invite and participation is historic. Congratulations Lauren Silberman!

Share Some Of That Pie

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco just signed the latest, greatest quarterback contract. It's only going to get worse. Or, better if you're a quarterback. Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, even Tony Romo will be raking in great sums of money in the coming years. Flacco, while a terrific quarterback with a Super Bowl title, is still working toward elite status. He doesn't have to lead the Ravens to another Super Bowl championship to join the elite group. Rogers, Brees, and Manning each have only one title. Flacco still has to show the consistency and and continued production that the truly elite quarterbacks do as a matter of routine. Despite his position, in my opinion, on the outside of elite status, Flacco deserves the big contract. It's what quarterbacks get. Unless he gets fat and lazy with his successes and new riches, he's well on his way to joining the elites. It's only a matter of time.

There's only so much pie to go around. All NFL salaries are going up. The quarterback salaries are simply going up faster than the rest. With the salary cap holding way too steady to support such increases the quarterbacks are eating far too much of the money pie. Stafford, benefiting greatly from a pre-CBA contract, is eating up more than 16% of the Detroit Lions pie. That doesn't seem fair when Calvin Johnson has to eat too. Hell, just that pass-catch combination probably takes up about a quarter of the team's cap space. That's too much even for the most dominant passing combination in the league. The current quarterback salaries may end up turning NFL teams into something more like college teams. Nearly every position but the quarterback is turned over every four years. Free agency made it difficult enough for teams to keep their players. With so much invested in the quarterback position teams have little left even for the players that they could have kept a decade ago. The NFL is a passing league and there's no danger in that slowing. It's only growing. Quarterbacks are going to get paid. All the other players have to tighten their belts and count their pennies. The Minnesota Vikings are more fortunate than most teams, for now. The team is one of the few, maybe only, run-first teams. Running back Adrian Peterson drives them. Quarterback Christian Ponder is struggling to survive on his post-CBA rookie contract. With Peterson grinding out the yards, Ponder may not put up the gaudy passing numbers that usually brings a huge second contract. By then the gigantic TV money might finally boost the salary cap up enough to afford all the quarterbacks.

One of the great draws of football is it's team play. When players start getting paid to play this incredible team sport, I'd prefer to see those players share that pie a little more equally. The quarterback can't do squat without the big guys up front and the fast guys out wide. It's a team game. Share the ball. Share the pie.

Vikings Moves

My free agent and draft ideas for the Minnesota Vikings rumble through my head daily. They change as often. The one part that always remains the same is that the Vikings need to start with signing their own free agents. Fortunately, that's been the policy of general manager Rick Spielman. He has 11 days to sign right tackle Phil Loadholt (priority #1), fullback Jerome Felton (priority #1a), and safety Jamarca Sanford. It would be nice to have receiver Jerome Simpson and one/both of linebackers Erin Henderson and Jasper Brinkley back. The New York Giants recent signing of tackle William Beatty may have set the market price for Loadholt. Hopefully, that signing and the others come soon. It would be nice to have all the signings done before other teams can get their hands on them.

As for the free-for-all of free agency, I think that it starts at receiver for the Vikings. Big name guys like Mike Wallace and Dwayne Bowe will likely find their big name money in places other than Minnesota. Greg Jennings might be more realistic but I still don't really see that happening either. I just don't see the Vikings getting into any serious bidding wars. I'm thinking that they are more likely to pursue receivers along the lines of Ramses Barden of the New York Giants and Brandon Gibson of the St. Louis Rams. Brian Hartline might fit in there too but I can't see the Miami Dolphins letting him walk. They're as desperate for receivers as the Vikings. Barden and/or Gibson would be nice additions in Minnesota. I think that the Vikings might look to a an NFC North foe to find some help for the defense. Green Bay Packers linebacker Brad  Jones would fit in nicely. He has the speed to make plays in coverage. That's something that they've lacked at middle linebacker for way too long. Linebacker and defensive tackle are right with receiver as significant needs for the Vikings. I haven't quite figured out if the Vikings are still looking for a big-bodied run-stuffer at defensive tackle since Pat Williams retired. If they are still looking Sammie Lee Hill of the Detroit Lions could be that guy. He's young and huge. With the nice dept at defensive tackle in the draft they might wait until then to find help for the interior of the defensive line. Barden, Gibson, and Jones aren't splashy and shouldn't be too expensive but they'd be real terrific additions. If the Vikings do spend big on a free agent, I'm thinking that free agent could be Miami Dolphins corner Sean Smith. You can never have enough corners and Smith is just hitting his stride. Realistically, I don't see it happening.

The draft. This is the offseason event that does most of the dancing in my head. I had the Vikings selecting Cal receiver Keenan Allen in my recent mock draft. I'd still love that pick but I'm now thinking about a different direction. No matter what they do in free agency receiver, linebacker, defensive tackle and the secondary remain needs. To turn that around, I'm currently liking the idea of drafting Kansas St. linebacker Arthur Brown, Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and Missouri Southern State defensive tackle Brandon Williams. I really think that Brown is going to be a fantastic football player. Maybe even Derrick Brooks fantastic. I question the availability of Hopkins in the second but I can hope. USC receiver Robert Woods would be a nice alternative. This isn't to say that I would be disappointed if Sheldon Richardson, Quinton Patton, and Jon Bostic were the Vikings first three picks. I wouldn't. I wouldn't be disappointed if a corner or safety was thrown in there somewhere. This is a great draft for the Vikings. It's more deep than top heavy. There's no clear-cut #1 choice. The sixth player isn't really that different from the thirty-sixth. The Vikings are going to get a great player at #23. This draft is also really deep at receiver and defensive line. It sets up nicely for the Vikings. Right now, it's Brown, hopefully Hopkins, and Williams with their first three picks. Tomorrow might be different. It'll be like that until April 25th.

Just Clowning

It sure would be fun to have Barkevious Mingo and Jadeveon Clowney as bookend defensive ends on your team. Names that fun are rarely brought together. LSU's Mingo is a likely first round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. As a true sophomore at South Carolina, Clowney isn't eligible for this draft. If he was in this draft, he'd be the very first player selected. He'll be the first pick in any draft in which he puts himself. He's that good. Defensive end is often one of the flashy positions in any draft. In a passing league, pass rushers are crucial. You can't have enough of them. You probably have to go back to Julius Peppers and Mario Williams to find drafts with a defensive as solidly set at the top. You probably have to go all the way back to Reggie White to find a defensive end as truly dominant as Jadeveon Clowney. That's pretty significant company.

"God took his time when he made Clowney."
     -the consensus of his South Carolina teammates

At 6'6" and anywhere from 255-270lbs, Clowney is a physical freak. He's too fast and too strong. When he gets to the NFL he could put an end to the rise of the read option. His reach, speed, and strength is likely enough to tackle both the quarterback and the running back and kill the play before it starts. If Clowney can stay motivated and not cruise through a series of plays each game there's little to stop him. When I heard about this beast in high school, I couldn't wait to see him in college. After seeing him a few times in two years of college, I can't wait to see him in the NFL.

The odds are slight that Jadeveon Clowney will be drafted next year by the same team that drafts Barkevious Mingo this year. But, that would sure be fun.