Secondary Overhaul

The recent overhaul of the Minnesota Vikings cornerback position has been even more dramatic than that of the defensive line. Just two years ago, the Vikings corner depth chart looked like this:

2012
Antoine Winfield
Chris Cook
Josh Robinson
Marcus Sherels
Brandon Burton
AJ Jefferson

Now it looks like this:

2014
Xavier Rhodes
Captain Munnerlyn
Josh Robinson
Derek Cox
Shaun Prater
Marcus Sherels
Robert Steeples
Kip Edwards

It's amazing to think that Marcus Sherels is now the senior member of the group. Fitting as his football story is pretty amazing. He was undrafted in 2010. He wasn't even signed in the wave of undrafted free agency signings following the draft. He earned a training camp invite as a result of his performance at a local tryout. He earned a spot on the team as a reliable punt returner. He's become a very effective, sometimes dangerous, punt returner. He's also provided some depth at corner. Marcus Sherels is one of those high effort, scrappy players that you love having on your football team. Now, he's the senior member of the Vikings cornerbacks. I think that new head coach Mike Zimmer will love Sherels high football effort but the senior corner is probably going to have to show that he can do more that. The next most senior member of the group is Josh Robinson. He showed some nice potential as a rookie in 2012. The Vikings tried him at nickel last season and it was a complete disaster. He never looked comfortable covering all the ground that's required of a nickel corner. He should be better off if he's allowed to stay on the outside where the sideline is your friend. As a rookie last season, Xavier Rhodes was terrific by the end of the year. If he continues to progress, his future is very bright. He looks like a franchise cornerstone. Captain Munnerlyn was an excellent free agency signing. He should provide the physical play on the outside that the Vikings have missed since Antoine Winfield was let go. Munnerlyn should start opposite Rhodes in the base defense and slide to the slot in the nickel. The wildcard in the cornerback equation is Derek Cox. Four years of solid play with the Jacksonville Jaguars earned him a big free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers last year. His one season with the Chargers was terrible. He was benched and then released. If the Vikings coaches can get him back on track, back to the promising play that he showed in his first four years in the league, they might have an impact corner. Shaun Prater was added to the roster late last season. He actually had some nice moments. Something that was rarely seen from any Vikings corner outside of Rhodes. Prater also has some previous experience with a Mike Zimmer defense. Robert Steeples and Kip Edwards spent most of the 2013 season on the Vikings practice squad.

You can never have enough corners. Rhodes and Munnerlyn make this a much better corner group than last year. A return to form of Cox could make the group a strength. I still expect the Vikings to look at corners in the draft. Perhaps even with their first round pick. Michigan St.'s Darqueze Denard and Oklahoma St.'s Justin Gilbert could have real nice value at #8. You can never have enough corners. Better players and better coaching should make this group much better.

Damage Done

I got this little nugget from Peter King on his Monday Morning Quarterback website. This is a terrific website, by the way.

"From the Remnants of Jamarcus Russell Dept:

In wake of the recent trade of Matt Schaub from Houston to Oakland, and assuming Schaub starts at least one game for the Raiders in 2014, this will be the sixth consecutive year a non-homegrown quarterback will start for the Raiders.

In order: Charlie Frye (2009), Bruce Gradkowski (2009, 10), Jason Campbell (2010,11), Carson Palmer (2011,12), and Matt Flynn (2013). If Schaub does start, that means six imported quarterbacks starting in six seasons."

To be honest, homegrown quarterbacks Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin started some games for the Raiders last year. As King further points out, many football people have said that if you draft a quarterback high and he bombs, it sets your franchise back five years. Drafting Jamarcus Russell with the #1 pick in the 2007 NFL Draft may have set the Raiders back seven years. The Raiders haven't done a lot of great drafting before or after they selected Russell so there's no shortage of reasons for the team's recent difficulties. Russell is a special case. Few, if any, #1 picks have failed as miserably as Jamarcus Russell. It's real easy to poke fun at the Raiders for that selection but there are quite a few teams that would have made the same selection. Russell is a big reason for the rookie-wage scale that came out of the new CBA.

Jamarcus Russell did a lot of damage to Oakland. He did nothing as their #1 pick. That failing forced the team to find a veteran starter. Obviously, that didn't work. He may have also made the team gun-shy in drafting another quarterback with a high pick. Drafting a quarterback isn't the only way to find a quality quarterback. Look at Denver and New Orleans. It's still the most effective way. Russell was a bust in 2007 and he forced the Raiders to scramble. That was a disaster. If Matt Schaub can regain his confidence, maybe he can give the Raiders a couple of decent seasons. That would be a nice change from the recent past.

Problem Child

I wasn't at all surprised that the Philadelphia Eagles decided that they'd had enough of receiver DeSean Jackson. The release of the talented, yet troublesome, football player brought back the unfortunate memories of the 2007 University of California football team. The team started the season on fire. They were a play away from an early season #1 ranking in the nation. Something rarely seen in Berkeley. A freshman quarterback mistake resulted in a shocking loss to Oregon St. and a tantrum from Jackson. The season fell apart from there. Head coach Jeff Tedford lost the team and Jackson was a big reason. It's probably not too much of a stretch to say that the beginning of the end of the Tedford era started that night with the loss to Oregon St. and the explosion of a selfish receiver. A receiver that only cared about his Heisman hopes and his own goals. It was probably a relief within the Cal football world when the junior receiver declared for early entry into the NFL Draft at the end of the 2007 season.

When DeSean Jackson dropped to the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft he blamed Tedford and Cal. He could never admit to himself that his piss-poor attitude at Cal and his "me-first" approach to everything was the reason for his drop to the second round. I was surprised that he didn't drop further. NFL teams tend to find out about issues like this when they prepare for the draft. DeSean Jackson has always frustrated me. I watched his high school press conference to announce his college choice. There was a Cal cap. A brutal USC cap. There was an Oregon cap. Chip Kelly would have been his offensive coordinator. The man that would find no other choice but to cut Jackson. There was even a California Angels cap on that table. I was ecstatic when he chose that Cal cap. Watching from the Memorial Stadium stands, the freshman DeSean Jackson was everything that I had imagined. Then little emotional outbursts started to appear. Tantrums. He was always upset about something. Eventually, the outbursts became more frequent than the big plays. He simply became annoying to watch. Here is a player that is so naturally skilled that he can do pretty much anything that he wants on a football field. Yet, I grew so tired of him being on my college team and didn't want him anywhere near my professional team. It was frustrating to watch someone so entertaining, so talented be such a pain-in-the-ass. 

Some of Jackson's stunts with the Philadelphia Eagles were comical. I once watched him dart out-of-bounds on a punt return rather than challenge the punter. The punter! I've never seen a supposed football player cower in front of a punter. Another time, he took a detour through the Vikings bench area to confront head coach Brad Childress for something that he had said in the days leading up to the game. In describing Jackson's unique athletic skills Childress had referred to him as a "pogostick." Oooh, burn. That truly warrants an in-game visit on the sidelines. Jackson signed a new contract in 2012. It made him one of the best paid receivers in the league. He started bitching about needing a new contract as soon as the 2013 season ended. He'll get a new contract now. With a new team.

The only thing that surprised me about the Philadelphia Eagles' release of DeSean Jackson was that it didn't happen earlier. 

Football Meets Circus

It seems that everyone is in agreement that Johnny Manziel's Pro Day went well. I don't think that should have been a surprise to anyone. Most people that care about stuff like a Texas A&M Pro Day probably saw at least a game or two of Manziel's two-year college career. He was pretty difficult to miss. He even won the Heisman Trophy after that first season. His ability to play football should never have been in question after those two college seasons. He can throw the football. He can throw on the run. He can throw in awkward positions. He can throw in the safety of a comfortable pocket. He can do all of that against a defense. He should be able to do all of that against no defense at a Pro Day. If anything, yesterday's performance should have served as nothing but a reminder of what Johnny Manziel can do with a football. The only real question about the quarterback is his size. Can he stand up to the size and speed of an NFL defense? If they can catch him, they might break him. If Manziel were a careful, nailed to the pocket quarterback, his slight frame might not be as much of a concern but he doesn't play football that way. He plays on the edge. He's got rare physical gifts that allow him to play quarterback in a manner that's rarely been seen. Can he survive in the NFL? Can he reel in some of his spontaneity for the sake of his NFL survival? Those are questions that can't be answered until he's in the NFL. Some team will take him in the first round. Likely, top-10. Possibly, top-5. First pick? Maybe. All of that should have been the case before the "sideshow" that was his Pro Day.

The Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears were the only teams not at Johnny Manziel's Pro Day. Maybe the they got lost. The Bears have a quarterback. They also have two giant receivers so Mike Evans may be of no interest to them. Evans was also on display during Manziel's day. The Browns could use a quarterback. They do have a private workout with Manziel next month so it's not like the quarterback-needy team just lost their minds. Which they have done a few times this offseason. This was the Johnny Manziel show. It was a circus. 350 people were in attendance. Eight NFL head coaches. Eight general managers. 30 of 32 teams. Of the 350 in attendance only 75 represented NFL teams. I guess that the media, Texas A&M people, and others there simply for giggles made up the remaining 275. Former President George H.W. Bush, along with wife Barbara, made an appearance. That doesn't happen often with college Pro Days. I even saw a picture of Mrs. Bush walking their dogs on the sideline. I've never seen that at a college Pro Day. The governor of Texas was there as well. Manziel even asked for some music to liven up the atmosphere. The quarterback tried to make the workout as real as possible by wearing helmet and pads. I can't recall ever seeing that. When asked about the helmet and pads, he replied: "Isn't the game played with them on?" Nice.

The Minnesota Vikings were well represented with general manager Rick Spielman, head coach Mike Zimmer, offensive coordinator Norv Turner, and quarterback coach Scott Turner. Zimmer was chatting with Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin during a portion of the workout. They might have just been catching up as they were both at Washington St. for a couple of years in the early 1990s. Zimmer shrugged when asked about the workout: "It was was different." It was a different workout." Also called it a "sideshow." Any college workout that can bring a visit from a former President and his dogs should be considered a "sideshow." The Vikings delegation took Manziel out for dinner last night and will have a more formal, individual workout today. Clearly, there's some interest there. The Vikings need a quarterback. There should be interest there. Now, will Johnny Manziel be there when the Minnesota Vikings select at #8.

Throwback Thursday: Viking Coaches Reflections

Since the January hiring of Mike Zimmer, I've spent a lot of time, too much time, reflecting on the head coaching history of the Minnesota Vikings. For a team that has never won it all the Vikings haven't had many coaches in their 54-year history. Zimmer is the ninth head coach. A big reason for the small number is that Bud Grant coached the team for 18 years. He might have coached the Vikings even longer if he had accepted the job the first time that it was offered to him. He was offered the job to coach the expansion Vikings in 1961. He decided to stay with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League. Grant was actually offered the head coaching job three times. He accepted it twice. In 1967 and again in 1985. He had retired following the 1983 season. Les Steckel was hired to replace him. The 1984 season was an absolute disaster. Grant came back in 1985 to get the team and the franchise back on track. He then handed the team over to long-time offensive coordinator Jerry Burns in 1986. About a decade ago, then owner Red McCombs reached out to Grant to see if he had any interest in returning as the Vikings head coach. Grant has remained as a consultant since his coaching days and has an office at Winter Park so McCombs didn't have to reach far. So, the coach may or may not have been offered the job for a fourth time.

One of the things that has always struck me as interesting about the Vikings nine head coaches is that not one of them had any NFL head coaching experience when they were initially hired. Bud Grant had been a head coach in the CFL. Jerry Burns had been the head coach at the University of Iowa. Dennis Green had been the head coach at Northwestern and Stanford. Leslie Frazier had been the head coach at Trinity International University. He was actually the first head coach at the small school. So, he had the added task of actually jump-starting the entire program. Les Steckel had been an assistant coach in college and the NFL. Mike Tice had been an assistant coach with the Vikings. Brad Childress had been an assistant coach in the college ranks and the NFL for nearly 30 years before the Vikings finally gave him a shot. Mike Zimmer beat that wait. He had been working as an assistant in college and the NFL for 35 years. It's simply stunning that no NFL team had the smarts to hire Zimmer before this. Just because the Vikings hired him this time doesn't mean that they are free from blame. The team has had only nine coaches in their history but five have coached since 2000. There was ample opportunity to hire Mike Zimmer prior to 2014. Despite all those coaches in recent years this most recent coaching search was the first real coaching search. I think that they finally got this one right. I'm a big Zim fan! The Vikings first coach was Norm Van Brocklin in 1961. He had absolutely zero coaching experience. In fact, he was the MVP of the league as the quarterback of the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles in 1960. He stepped right off the field and into the head coaching job of the Minnesota Vikings. He was as new to the job as the team was to the game.

Of the nine head coaches in Vikings history, four were hired from within. In 54 years the Vikings have only performed five coaching searches. Of those five, two barely count. Bud Grant was already a target in 1967 since he was offered the job in 1961. In 2006, the Vikings hired Brad Childress after really no search at all. I can't even recall another coach being interviewed. Norm Van Brocklin, Dennis Green, and Mike Zimmer are the only coaches that were hired after some time was invested in looking for a coach.

Every team in the NFL has their coaching curiosities. These are just a few of the Vikings.

RIP Mr. Wilson

The NFL has lost one of their "good guys." Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr. passed away yesterday at the age of 95. Wilson was one of the eight brave soles that challenged the NFL in 1959. Those eight men became known as the "Foolish Club." The NFL wouldn't let them in their little club, so Lamar Hunt, Bud Adams, Ralph Wilson and the rest formed their own little club. The American Football League. And, they weren't going away. I've always had a fondness for the resourceful men that started the AFL. Especially Lamar Hunt and Ralph Wilson. I'm not so sure that the AFL would have survived without the leadership, vision, and strength of Hunt and Wilson. The Oakland Raiders wouldn't have made it. Wilson floated the Raiders $400,000 to survive those early years. The AFL did what no other league could. Force the NFL to give in. The NFL may have absorbed the renegade league but the AFL really won the war. Hunt, Adams, Wilson, and the rest got what they wanted from the beginning. Acceptance at the big league table. Ralph Wilson was the last of the "Foolish Club" that stayed in the game. Bud Adams passed away last fall. Barron Hilton still survives but he sold the San Diego Chargers in 1966.

Even as a little kid I noticed something different about Ralph Wilson, Jr. He seemed to nice to be involved in such a violent game. Some considered him the "conscience" of the NFL. Someone had to be and Wilson was perfect for the job. He set an example that all the owners would be wise to follow. They are all in this game together. Among very competitive men, Wilson always thought of the health of the league first.

RIP Ralph Wilson, Jr.

Compensatory Picks

The NFL awarded 32 compensatory choices in the 2014 NFL Draft to 13 teams yesterday. Up to 32 picks are awarded every year to teams losing more or better compensatory free agents than it acquires in the previous year. The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four. The picks are positioned at the end of rounds 3-7. The awarding of the picks is determined by a "secret" formula based on salary, playing time, and postseason honors. The formula was developed by the NFL Management Council. Some have figured out this formula. Others find it flawed.

Here are the Compensatory Picks for the 2014 NFL Draft:

3rd round picks:
Pittsburgh
Green Bay
Baltimore
San Francisco

4th round picks:
Detroit
Baltimore
Houston
Detroit
New York Jets
Baltimore
Atlanta
New England

5th round picks:
Pittsburgh
New York Giants
Baltimore
Green Bay

6th round picks:
New York Jets
New York Jets
Houston
Cincinnati
New York Jets
St. Louis
Pittsburgh

7th round picks:
Dallas
St. Louis
St. Louis
Dallas
Cincinnati
Atlanta
Dallas
Atlanta
Houston

There are some things that bother me about the awarding of these compensatory choices. The Baltimore Ravens were rewarded with four picks for basically dismantling their Super Bowl Championship team. Especially their defense. They lost linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger, corner Cary Williams, and safety Ed Reed simply because they were shuttling a lot of their funds to their quarterback. It wasn't like the Ravens were inactive in free agency. They added Chris Canty and Elvis Dumervil but neither qualified as compensatory free agents. If they could afford Canty and Dumervil, you'd think that they might make an attempt to retain some of the players from that championship team. Instead, they are rewarded for letting them go. For a while I didn't really like that salary was factored into the compensatory formula. It's pretty common to see some of these free agents get way overpaid in free agency. I've always felt that a player's value was wrongly inflated by these crazy contracts. Some owners (little Danny Snyder) seemed to overpay simply because they could without ever once considering whether they should. I didn't like that the former team was rewarded because there was an owner out there that was out of his mind. I've since come around to the thinking that maybe the former team should be rewarded for not paying the astronomical, comical amounts. Because of the ridiculous dollars flying around in free agency I hate to see salary play a significant role in the compensatory process. Unfortunately, it's these ridiculous dollars that results in a team losing a player to free agency. The former team knows the player best and best knows his worth. I just think that on-the-field performance should play the greatest role in the compensation formula. Maybe I'm just pissy because the Minnesota Vikings rarely get any of these picks. They've been awarded 17 over the last twenty years. The Vikings have historically been, at best, casual participants in free agency. They've also done a pretty good job of keeping their own free agents. At least, they've done a pretty good job of keeping their own free agents that might interest other teams. The Ravens, on the other hand, have received 41 compensatory picks over the last twenty years. Ozzie Newsome likes those extra picks.

Come On!

Haven't the Seattle Seahawks filled their quota of former Minnesota Vikings players? This goes all the way back to Carl Eller. The Seahawks are attempting to bring it full circle by adding another former Vikings defensive end. Jared Allen may one day join Eller in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For now, he might be playing for the Seattle Seahawks. They've made him an offer. He said that he'd take the weekend to think about it. This is really getting tiresome. If there's one team in the league that I'd rather not see populated by former Vikings, it's the Seattle Seahawks. Pete Carroll is just creepy. That's probably the USC influence. Seattle can't even come up with an original moniker for their fans. They have to buy one from Texas A&M. Personally, I think that the Seahawks are still pissed about losing Ahmad Rashad and Steve Hutchinson to the Vikings.They gave away Rashad. They simply forgot where they had placed Hutchinson and left him unattended.

Jared Allen would be seeing some familiar faces in Seattle:
Percy Harvin
Heath Farwell
Tarvaris Jackson
Sidney Rice might be back with the Seahawks after being released by them.
offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell

Even head coach Pete Carroll spent some time with the Vikings but that was in the 1980s. If he has any redeeming qualities, it's from his time with the Vikings.

I think what bothers me most about these defections is that Harvin, Rice, and Allen were three of my favorite players on the Minnesota Vikings. Harvin and Rice should have gotten their Super Bowl rings with the Vikings in 2009. It doesn't sit right that they got them with the Seahawks last year. Allen could be getting one of his own next year. The Seahawks already had a Super defense. Allen makes it even better. I question whether he's going to like the manner in which the Seahawks rotate their defensive linemen. He never liked coming off of the field in Minnesota, ever. He even wanted to play offense. The Seahawks rotate their linemen more than most. We'll see. Winning games usually keeps even frustrated players happy.

Hopefully, Jared Allen doesn't join the Viking westward migration. One was too many.

Flawed Brackets

NFL.com, certainly inspired by March Madness, is asking fans "Who is the Greatest Quarterback of All Time?" They have selected 32 quarterbacks from four different eras and set up brackets. The 32 quarterbacks are separated as such:

Right Now:
Tom Brady
Eli Manning
Drew Brees
Ben Roethlisberger
Aaron Rodgers
Philip Rivers
Peyton Manning
Russell Wilson

Millenials:
Brett Favre
Rich Gannon
Kurt Warner
Donovan McNabb
Steve Young
Steve McNair
Troy Aikman
Drew Bledsoe

Generation X:
Joe Montana
Boomer Esiason
Jim Kelly
Warren Moon
John Elway
Dan Fouts
Dan Marino
Phil Simms

Baby Boomers:
Johnny Unitas
Bob Griese
Roger Staubach
Joe Namath
Bart Starr
Fran Tarkenton
Terry Bradshaw
Otto Graham

These things are done in fun. I shouldn't let it bother me. I just get frustrated when great players are ignored because they played before most fans were born. Most people seem to think that the NFL started with Super Bowl I. Nearly half of the NFL's history came before the Green Bay Packers played the Kansas City Chiefs. The problem with the NFL.com "greatest quarterback" quest is the brackets. It forced them to include quarterbacks that really shouldn't be a part of the debate. Russell Wilson may one day be considered the greatest quarterback to ever play. He's had a real nice start to his career but he isn't in the debate right now. These manufactured brackets forced the inclusion of very good quarterbacks like Wilson, Rich Gannon, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Drew Bledsoe, Boomer Esiason, and Phil Simms. These are high quality quarterbacks. Simms won a Super Bowl and was one of the most efficient throwers of the 1980s. None of these quarterbacks should be in the debate as the greatest ever. Even in a fun little contest like this. They shouldn't be included at the expense of Sammy Baugh, Sid Luckman, Y.A. Tittle, and Bobby Layne. Baugh and Luckman, in particular, should be a part of every "greatest quarterback" discussion. Baugh is one of the greatest football players of all time.

I would create brackets that include quarterbacks that are legitimately in the discussion of the greatest ever. Of the current quartebacks, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are certainly in the conversation. Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers are welcome. Brett Favre, Steve Young, and Troy Aikman from the "Millenials." From "Generation X," Joe Montana, John Elway, and Dan Marino are certainly included. Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, and Jim Kelly deserve some consideration. All of the "Baby Boomers are in the Hall of Fame and all will get some mention in the discussion. Unitas and Graham should both get a lot of mention in the discussion. Either one could walk out of the discussion with the grand recognition of "greatest ever." Throw in Baugh, Luckman, Tittle, and Layne and there's 25 quarterbacks. I'd throw in Dutch Clark, Ace Parker, and Paddy Driscoll. They played quarterback in an entirely different era but they were great quarterbacks. All-time greats. Add Sonny Jurgensen, Norm Van Brocklin, and Bob Waterfield and maybe Kurt Warner to fill out your brackets with 32 great quarterbacks. With these quarterbacks you might be missing the cute little brackets but you have a much better representation of the greatest quarterbacks.

Note: This is simply one football fan's opinion.

New Rules?

The annual NFL league meetings kick off tomorrow in Orlando. Several things may or may not be discussed at these meetings. What will be discussed are 13 rule change proposals. 7 Bylaw proposals. And 1 resolution proposal.

Here are the 13 rule change proposals. I read somewhere that as many as ten of these proposals were proposed by the Washington Redskins. Little Danny Snyder is never happy.

1. Move the kickoff to the 40-yard line.
-This is ridiculous. Nearly every kick would be a touchback. Most kickers are booting it out of the endzone on a regular basis from the 35-yard line. If they want to get rid of the kickoff return, get rid of it. I'm against that as well but at least the Competition Committee and the owners would be honest about their intentions. It seems that the only thing keeping the kickoff in the game is the possibility that it provides for an onside kick. The kickoff return can be one of the more exciting plays in football. It's not more important than player safety but legislating it out of the game is missing the real problem. The momentum built up in kick coverage isn't much different than that built up in punt coverage.  Yet, the league singles out kickoffs. There are high speed collisions all over the field. It's pretty much part of the game. The biggest problem isn't the kick return or the punt return. It's the desire of the players for that big hit. Players on kick and punt coverage are usually found at the bottom of a roster. A big hit is their big chance for the spotlight. Blowing up an opponent will put them on the highlight show. Better tackling fundamentals will do far more than moving the spot of the kickoff.

2. Expand instant replay to include personal foul penalties.
-I'm o.k with this. I worry about every call being taken from the officials but getting the call right is the top priority.

3. Eliminate overtime in the preseason
-This should have been done long ago. This should have done as soon as a preseason game ended tied.

4. Extend the goal posts an additional five feet above the crossbar.
-I actually laughed a little when I saw this proposal. I guess that it would be a nice change.

5. Move the scrimmage for one-point extra point kicks to the defensive team's 25-yard line. Two-point conversion attempts would still be snapped from the 2-yard line.
-I don't like it. I've never had a problem with nearly automatic one-point kicks. I hadn't even thought them as being a burden until some people started bitching about them.

6. Put six cameras on all boundary lines-sideline, goal line, end line, to guarantee coverage for replays.
-Seems like an excellent idea.

7. Permit a coach to challenge any official's decision, except scoring plays which are automatically reviewed.
-I'm for this simply to get rid of the discussions between the officials and the coaches as to whether a decision can be challenged.

8. Protect players from getting the sides of their legs rolled up on-the rule already says a blocker can't hit an opponent in the back of the legs, this proposal will add "or side" to the rule.
-It's nice to see defenders get some love.

9. Allow the referee to consult with members of the NFL officiating department during replay reviews. The referee would be able to speak with the command center in New York to help in reviewing a play.
-Anything that helps the officials get the call right is fine by me.

10. Re-organize the rules about what can be reviewed and what can not be reviewed, including making the recovery of a loose ball in the field of play reviewable. This has been called the Navorro Bowman Rule.
-This should be automatic.

11. Don't stop the clock on a sack.
-I never understood why it was stopped.

12. Modify pass interference so that it can be called within one yard of the line of scrimmage.
-With the 5-yard "chuck rule," I can see this one causing issues.

13. Enforce defensive fouls behind the line of scrimmage from the previous spot, rather than from the end of the run or from the spot of the foul.
-Works for me.

Bylaw Proposals:

1. Raise the number of active players on game day from 46 to 49 for regular-season games played on a day other than Sunday or Monday, excluding Week One.
-I see this as a pathetic attempt by the league to show that they care about the players well-being. Turning around and playing a Thursday NFL game on three days rest is brutal. Adding three active players doesn't change that. The NFL should get rid of the Thursday games. Except Thanksgiving.

2. Raise the practice squad limit from eight players to 10 players.
-Excellent idea.

3. Permit the clubs to trade players prior to the start of the league year.
-Fine by me. Teams agree on trades before the start of the new year anyway. Randy Moss to Oakland was known to all about three weeks before it was allowed.

4. Eliminate the cut-down to 75 players during training camp and instead just have one cut-down from 90 players to 53 players.
-There's something about cutting 37 players at once that sounds a bit extreme.

5. Permit more than one player to return to the active list from injured reserve so that any player on injured reserve could return after six weeks.
-Excellent idea.

6. Permit each club to time and test up to 10 draft-eligible players at its facility, and allow any club that wishes to attend timing and testing at another team's facility.
-I'm not so sure about having other teams attending a personal workout.

7. Adjust the time of the roster reduction from 53 after the fourth preseason game from 6pm Eastern to 4pm Eastern. All teams would have to have their list of final cuts in by 4pm.
Fine by me.

Resolution proposal:
1. Permit a home team with a retractable roof to open or close its roof at halftime, instead of having to determine at the start of the game whether it is open or closed.
Initially, I din't like the idea of changing the conditions during the game. However, I guess that it's really no different than the weather changing during the course of an outdoor game.

Apparently there will also be some discussion on playoff expansion. This topic is more a matter of "when" there will be playoff expansion rather than "if" there will be playoff expansion. I don't like the idea of diluting the playoffs. In this case, less is better than more. There will also be discussion on whether to penalize players for using the "n-word" during a game. I hate to think that we've come to the point where a flag has to be thrown to enforce respect on the football field.

Defensive Line Makeover

When an NFL team hires a new head coach, one can expect to see some changes. Since the Minnesota Vikings hired Mike Zimmer in January we have seen a near complete makeover of the defensive line. Last year, the defensive line looked like this:

DE Jared Allen
DT Letroy Guion/Fred Evans
DT Kevin Williams
DE Brian Robison

Each day it becomes more apparent that Allen and Williams have played their last games in Minnesota. It's a fact that's very hard to accept. Each has been among the best players that the franchise has ever seen. The moves that the Vikings have made in free agency all but assure that both won't be back. The team is looking to get younger and Allen and Williams are on the wrong side of 30. So is Robison but he's had less NFL wear on his body and got a contract extension a few months ago. The Vikings have had several terrific defensive lines in their history. The line of Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, and Robison/Ray Edwards was one of the best. It was never the same after Pat Williams played his last game in 2010. That big man in the middle was gone. Guion and/or Evans never came close to filling that hole. Instead of a wall, runners found an interior Vikings defense that was more like a sieve. That hole in the middle impacted the entire defensive line. Even if the Vikings hadn't hired a new coach there was likely to be changes. The changes now were made with Mike Zimmer's vision in mind. Here's the Vikings new (likely) defensive line:

DE Everson Griffen
DT Linval Joseph
DT Sharrif Floyd
DE Brian Robison

It seems strange to think of Robison as the leader and most tenured member of the Vikings defensive. I think that he will do fine in that role. The Vikings got younger, bigger and faster. Joseph is the Vikings one, fairly big free agent addition. He's certainly physically big. He provides the interior presence that the Vikings have lacked since Pat Williams. Griffen has played behind Allen for a few years and is ready to explode on the NFL. His talent is immense. Floyd was the team's top draft pick last year. He's skilled but has to fill the huge shoes of Kevin Williams. The Vikings have added six players in free agency. All are on defense. Half are on the defensive line. Joseph, tackle Tom Johnson, and end Corey Wootton. After losing Allen, Kevin Williams, and Guion, the Vikings defensive line was dangerously thin. The additions have added starters and provided depth. In only a couple of months the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings has been re-made.

Throwback Thursday: The 2004 NFL Draft

It's hard to believe that this draft was ten years ago. I remember the Eli Manning trade as if it was only yesterday.

1. San Diego Chargers  Eli Manning, QB  Mississippi
2. Oakland Raiders  Robert Gallery, OT  Iowa
3. Arizona Cardinals  Larry Fitzgerald, WR  Pitt
4. New York Giants  Philip Rivers, QB  North Carolina St.
5. Washington Redskins  Sean Taylor, S  Miami
6. Cleveland Browns  Kellen Winslow Jr., TE  Miami
7. Detroit Lions  Roy Williams, WR  Texas
8. Atlanta Falcons  DeAngelo Hall, CB  Virginia Tech
9. Jacksonville Jaguars  Reggie Williams, WR  Washington
10. Houston Texans  Dunta Robinson, CB  South Carolina
11. Pittsburgh Steelers  Ben Roethlisberger, QB  Miami(OH)
12. New York Jets  Jonathan Vilma, LB  Miami
13. Buffalo Bills  Lee Evans, WR  Wisconsin
14. Chicago Bears  Tommie Harris, DT  Oklahoma
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  Michael Clayton, WR  LSU
16. Philadelphia Eagles  Shawn Andrews, G  Arkansas
17. Denver Broncos  D.J. Williams, LB  Miami
18. New Orleans Saints  Will Smith, DE  Ohio St.
19. Miami Dolphins  Vernon Carey, OT  Miami
20. Minnesota Vikings  Kenechi Udeze, DE  USC
21. New England Patriots  Vince Wilfork, DT  Miami
22. Buffalo Bills  J.P. Losman, QB  Tulane
23. Seattle Seahawks  Marcus Tubbs, DT  Texas
24. St. Louis Rams  Steven Jackson  RB Oregon St.
25. Green Bay Packers  Ahmad Carroll, CB  Arkansas
26. Cincinnati Bengals  Chris Perry, RB  Michigan
27. Houston Texans  Jason Babin, DE  Western Michigan
28. Carolina Panthers  Chris Gamble, CB  Ohio St.
29. Atlanta Falcons  Michael Jenkins, WR  Ohio St.
30. Detroit Lions  Kevin Jones, RB  Virginia Tech
31. San Francisco 49ers  Rashaun Woods, WR  Oklahoma St.
32. New England Patriots  Ben Watson, TE  Georgia

The Oakland Raiders might say differently but this draft doesn't have as many busts as most drafts. There's two quarterbacks, Manning and Roethlisberger, that have four Super Bowl titles between them. A third quarterback, Rivers, that has produced during the regular season as well as any quarterback since 2004. Larry Fitzgerald is the one player of this draft that will certainly be in Canton one day. The quarterbacks, at least the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, will probably follow him. Sean Taylor might have followed them to Canton if his life wasn't cut short far too soon. Kenechi Udeze's survived leukemia but his football playing career was cut short. He's remained in the game as a coach. No offense to Udeze but I would have preferred that the Vikings selected the player that followed  Udeze. Vince Wilfork has been one of the best nose tackles of his generation. This might have been the last draft that was dominated by players from the University of Miami. Six in this one.

It's usually fun to look at back at drafts. Sometimes it can be depressing but it's mostly fun. This one is mostly fun.

Another Mock

After a week of free agency, let's see what we've got.

1. Houston Texans  Jadeveon Clowney  DE  South Carolina
2. St. Louis Rams  Sammy Watkins, WR  Clemson
3. Jacksonville Jaguars  Kahlil Mack, LB  Buffalo
4. Cleveland Browns  Johnny Manziel  QB  Texas A&M
5. Oakland Raiders  Teddy Bridgewater  QB  Louisville
6. Atlanta Falcons  Greg Robinson, OT  Auburn
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  Blake Bortles, QB Central Florida
8. Minnesota Vikings  Justin Gilbert, CB Oklahoma St.
9. Buffalo Bills  Mike Evans, WR  Texas A&M
10. Detroit Lions  Darqueze Dennard  CB  Michigan St.
11. Tennessee Titans  Anthony Barr, LB  UCLA
12. New York Giants  Jake Matthews, OT  Texas A&M
13. St. Louis Rams  Ha Ha Clinton Dix, S  Alabama
14. Chicago Bears  Timmy Jernigan  DT  Florida St.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers  Taylor Lewan, OT  Michigan
16. Baltimore Ravens  Eric Ebron, TE  North Carolina
17. Dallas Cowboys  Dee Ford, DE  Auburn
18. New York Jets  Brandin Cooks  WR  Oregon St.
19. Miami Dolphins  Zack Martin  OT  Notre Dame
20. Arizona Cardinals  Aaron Donald, DT  Pitt
21. Green Bay Packers  Calvin Pryor, S  Louisville
22. Philadelphia Eagles  C.J. Mosley, LB  Alabama
23. Kansas City Chiefs  Odell Beckham Jr.  WR  LSU
24. Cincinnati Bengals  Kyle Fuller  CB  Virginia Tech
25. San Diego Chargers  Jason Verrett CB  TCU
26. Cleveland Browns  Xavier Su'a-Filo, G  UCLA
27. New Orleans Saints  Kony Ealy, DE  Missouri
28. Carolina Panthers  Marqise Lee, WR  USC
29. New England Patriots  Louis Nix III DT  Notre Dame
30. San Francisco 49ers  Steven Tuitt  DE  Notre Dame
31. Denver Broncos  RaShede Hageman  DT  Minnesota
32. Seattle Seahawks  Kelvin Benjamin  WR  Florida St.

I really can't see Jake Matthews available at #12. Or, C.J. Mosley at #22. This draft is deep. The 2014 second round is going to look like the first rounds that we often see.

Free Agent Winners

Free agency is far from over. As long as Jared Allen is out there it isn't over. The fast and furious spending of the first week of free agency is just about over. So, let's take a Flea Flicker look at some terrific signings and some signings that weren't so terrific. This is about as accurate and as significant as grading a draft as soon as that draft ends. We won't know how terrific or shitty these signings are until we see the players play some football with their new teams. We'll start with the terrific signings of the Minnesota Vikings.

DT Linval Joseph, Minnesota Vikings (5 years, $31.25 million) The Vikings have been looking for this type of defensive tackle since Pat Williams played his last game in Minnesota. That was in 2010. Running backs haven't found much resistance in the middle of the Vikings defensive line since 2010. Joseph should change that. With the re-signing of defensive Everson Griffen, the likely starting of Sharrif Floyd, and the signing of Joseph, the Vikings defensive line got much younger, bigger, and quicker.

CB Captain Munnerlyn, Minnesota Vikings (3 years, $15 million) The Vikings secondary was horrible last year. Munnerlyn has a lot of the same qualities of former Vikings corner Antoine Winfield. Tough, feisty, versatile. Those qualities were missed last year. The Vikings secondary should be greatly improved with very promising 2nd-year corner Xavier Rhodes, safety Harrison Smith, and Munnerlyn.

The new defensive ends of the Chicago Bears. For less than the amount than they would have paid Julius Peppers, the Bears added Lamarr Houston (5 years, $35 million) and Willie Young (3 years, $9 million). They certainly got younger. They probably got better. I really like the signing of Houston. He's so versatile.

CB Alterraun Verner, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4 years, $25.5 million) There are few, if any, corners that fit the defense that new coach Lovie Smith wants to run as perfectly as Verner. He'll fit in there like Rhonde Barber did for so long.

CB Darrelle Revis, New England Patriots (1 year, $12 million) Revis actually signed a two-year deal but this contract is expected to be for only one year. I would gladly trade Aqib Talib for Revis, as the Patriots basically did, without hesitation. Revis was good last year with the Buccaneers. He should be even better this year, two years removed from a torn ACL. Healthy, he's still the best corner in the NFL. I think that he returns to that form.

DT Arthur Jones, Indianapolis Colts (5 years, $33 million) Jones was near the top of my free agency wish list for the Vikings. Like Lamarr Houston, I think that Jones is a versatile lineman. He should get up to speed quickly as a result of his reunion with Chuck Pagano's defensive scheme. I think that he will thrive.

CB Nolan Carroll, Philadelphia Eagles (2 years, $5.2 million) I was very intrigued by Carroll in free agency. He seemed like one of those under-the-radar, about-to-break-out-type players. I think that the Eagles will be signing Carroll to a longer contract next year.

S Antoine Bethea, San Francisco 49ers (4 years, $23 million) I like this addition because I see it as a trade of Donte Whitner for Bethea. I like that trade, a lot, for the 49ers. He's cheaper than Whitner and I think that he's better than Whitner. I really like Bethea paired with talented second-year safety Eric Reid.

S Jairus Byrd, New Orleans Saints (6 years, $54 million) Huge contracts, as a result of free agency, rarely appeal to me as smart moves. Byrd's contract with the Saints was one of the biggest of the 2014 signing season. I like this signing for the same reason that I like the 49ers signing of Bethea, the safety-pairing that results. Byrd at the back of the Saints defense with Kenny Vaccaro should be one of the best safety tandems in the league for several years. It's also a minor miracle that the Saints were able to fit Byrd's huge contract when they had about $3 million available in cap space.

It's really not right to criticize a free agency signing before we see the player on the field with his new team but we still do. Here's some signings that, until I see otherwise, I question.

Donte Whitner, Cleveland Browns (4 years, $28 million) Whitner is a fine player but this signing bothered me for a couple of reasons. First of all, the Browns let a better safety go in T.J. Ward. If it was money that kept the Browns from re-signing Ward, it makes no sense that they signed Whitner for more money than the Denver Broncos paid to sign Ward. Second of all, the 49ers let Whitner walk and improved with his replacement. So, the Broncos are better off with the player that the Browns allowed to leave and the 49ers are better off because they let their player leave for the Browns.

Aqib Talib, Denver Broncos (6 years, $57 million) Talib is an excellent corner. He's also a very unpredictable corner and person. I think that this was the largest contract handed out in free agency. That's pretty pricey for a player that's often done some stupid stuff. If he can stay on the field and keep his wits about him, he's one of the best corners in the game. Steve Smith completely took Talib out of his game last year. I've rarely seen a player come unglued like that. This contract strikes me as a huge gamble. It could pay off huge. Or, it could be one of the worst free agent contracts in history. The Broncos did leave themselves some outs after the first and second seasons.

Sam Shields, Green Bay Packers (4 years, $39 million) A lot of the free agent corners owe a great deal of thanks to Shields. Re-signed before the start of free agency, he and his agent set the bar too high. I really like Shields as a football player but I never would have ever guessed that he'd sign for nearly $10 million/year.

Slim Pickings?

Most of the top NFL free agents found new homes in the first six days of free agency. Looking at NFL.com's list of the top-31 remaining free agents shows just that. There's still some big names on that list. Just a few years ago, they would have been huge names. Teams would have gone nutty over the chance to sign Jared Allen, Michael Vick, Maurice Jones-Drew, Antonio Cromartie, Miles Austin, Kevin Williams, and Santonio Holmes. Those players should still find some work. Allen won't be finding work anytime soon if his expectations of $12 milllion/year are true. There are still some fine players that are still available.

Center Alex Mack is at the top of NFL.com's list of 31. The Cleveland Browns placed their transaction tag on Mack so he's not as available as the other players on the list. The Browns have the option to match any offer made to Mack. The transaction tag hasn't been used in a while as it's not much of a deterrence to other teams. The Browns are writing their own script on how to run an NFL organization.

Defensive tackle Henry Melton, tight end Jermichael Finley, and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie can be impact football players. Despite still being available, they have drawn some significant interest. The Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Dallas Cowboys have all had serious visits with Melton. All three teams seem to be involved in more than cursory negotiations with the defensive tackle. Rodgers-Cromartie has had at least a little contact with pretty much every cornerback-needy team in the league. That list includes just about every team in the league. Finley would have a new home if not for his back injury last season. He's been cleared to play. If he clears team physicals, he'll make a team real happy soon.

It's surprising that receiver James Jones hasn't gotten more attention. Maybe he's being very selective about possible visits. Maybe his agent is having "behind-the-scenes" talks with teams. The Carolina Panthers were receiver-needy before they lost Brandon LaFell, Ted Ginn Jr., and released Steve Smith. I could see Cam Newton loving the addition of James Jones. The availability of defensive tackle Pat Sims surprises me. He can be a dominant interior football player. I thought he'd be snapped up in the first few days.

Offensive linemen Donald Penn, Zach Strief, Davin Joseph, and Travelle Wharton can start for a lot of teams. Running backs Knowshon Moreno and LeGarrette Blount can help many teams. If someone can straighten out receiver Kenny Britt, they could have a star. The Houston Texans released tight end Owen Daniels after the start of free agency. He can still be an impact football player.

There were so many signings at the start of the 2014 edition of free agency that it felt like the available talent was pretty much picked clean. There's still more talent than I had expected. There's usually a second wave of free agency. I'm not so sure that there's enough talent, in quantity, out there to create a wave but there's enough quality to make an impact. There's certainly enough teams that aren't even close to being cap-strapped (Oakland!) that there could still be some bidding wars. We don't see second-week bidding wars too often since all of the money is usually spent in the first week.

Draft, And More Draft

The growth in the interest of the NFL Draft has been amazing. The coverage of the draft has obviously grown with it. If there's attention in something the media is inevitably going to cover it. Usually in excess. I remember the days when the draft was on Monday and Tuesday. There was no coverage. No internet. No television! It was pretty much impossible to find any information until the newspaper arrived the following morning. The local radio stations might provide the picks of the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders. That was of no help for a Minnesota Vikings fan growing up in northern California. I might get lucky if the Vikings drafted a local player. I lived for that newspaper delivered  hours later. It sucked. ESPN became a savior in 1980. It was the most incredible thing. The NFL Draft on TV! What an idea!?!

Now, the Draft is a monster. It's televised by two networks. ESPN still has it. NFL Network now has it. Two networks! Brilliant! I'm with NFL Network now but I so appreciate what ESPN did in 1980 and every year since. It's hilarious to see clips of the coverage of those early days. See those awkward graphics next to the glossy production of today. The Draft is even in prime time now. I still prefer the weekend event but I'm slowly warming to the three-day prime time event. I'm assuming the viewing numbers have grown with the move to prime time. We'd be back on the weekends if they hadn't grown.

People are nuts for the draft. There was a time when Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News were the only publications that produced a mock draft. Maybe, Sport. You had to wait by the mailbox or the newsstands to find them. Now, they are everywhere. Everyone has one. Publications, websites, fans. There's even mock draft contests. Here a mock, there a mock, everywhere a mock, mock. The draft is a monster.

We are just over 50 days from the 2014 NFL Draft. We have to wait until the end of the first week in May this year. About two weeks longer than usual. Brutal. NFL Network just kicked off the their "Path to the Draft" series. Thursday was the first day and it will continue every single weekday until the draft. Then NFL Network will kick off their "Path from the Draft" series. "Path to the Draft" is a terrific series. Charles Davis and Daniel Jeremiah are excellent as the hosts and draft commentators. Mike Mayock is awesome as the "draft guru." I even look forward to the appearances of Charley Casserly. All of the NFL Network personalities are informative and fun. They know the draft and the players. Great show. Great coverage. Can't get enough of that draft stuff.

Filling Holes

An NFL team with a three-win and a five win season in the last three seasons has many needs. That's how it was for the Minnesota Vikings as they approached free agency. Those needs numbered at least these: A veteran quarterback that would likely start but also compete with Christian Ponder and a rookie, or two. A defensive end. A defensive tackle. Cornerbacks. It's been said that you can never have enough cornerbacks. For far too long the Vikings have rarely had more than one NFL-quality starting corner. There's been a few years when they didn't have even that. There are some other areas of concern but those needs topped the list as the Vikings try to get to a more respectable level of football.

Before free agency started on Tuesday, the Vikings re-signed quarterback Matt Cassel and defensive end Everson Griffen. Within the first couple of hours of free agency they signed former New York Giants defensive tackle Linval Jospeh. Last year, the Vikings defensive line of Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Fed Evans, and Brian Robison were all over or near thirty years of age. Their defensive line heading into the 2014 season of Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph, Sharrif Floyd, and Brian Robison is bigger, quicker, and much younger. Outside of Robison, they are under 26. The Vikings have missed a large, run-stuffing presence in the middle of the line since Pat Williams played his last game in 2010. It's taken four years and Williams' replacement has finally been found in Linval Joseph. He should keep the linebackers clean and happy. The Vikings then turned their attention to cornerback. On Thursday they signed former Carolina Panthers corner Captain Munnerlyn. The nice thing about Munnerlyn, besides his name, is that he can start opposite Xavier Rhodes in the base defense and slide inside in the nickel defense. The Vikings secondary was a mess last year. Part of the problem was forcing Josh Robinson into the nickel role. It was a disaster. A slot receiver can go in so many more directions than an outside receiver. Nickel corners have a lot of ground to cover so the transition from the outside to the inside is not so easy. It definitely wasn't for Robinson. He's far more capable, even promising, on the outside. If the Vikings had to play a game today, Rhodes and Munnerlyn would start in the base defense. Rhodes, Munnerlyn, and Robinson would likely be the three corners in the nickel. With the passing in today's NFL, teams are in the nickel a lot of the time. Shortly after Munnerlyn was signed, the Vikings added former San Diego Chargers corner Derek Cox to a one-year "prove it" contract. This is a low risk, high reward signing. Cox showed a lot of promise in his first four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. That promise translated into a nice contract from the Chargers in free agency last year. For some reason, his game completely fell apart last season. He was benched and then released at the end of the seaon. If head coach Mike Zimmer and secondary coach Jerry Gray can put Cox's game back together, this could be a terrific signing. Besides, you can never have enough cornerbacks.

Besides Cassel and Griffen, the Vikings also re-signed corner/punt returner Marcus Sherels, linebacker/special teams standout Larry Dean, offensive lineman Joe Berger, defensive tackle Fred Evans, receiver Jerome Simpson, and former Vikings and more recently former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jasper Brinkley. It's always good to re-sign your own free agents.

It's amazing what only a few additions and the retention of your own free agents can do for a team. The Vikings have set themselves up nicely for the draft. They haven't fixed everything in the first four days of free agency but they've filled the most significant holes. The draft should fill the rest and provide some depth.

Free Agency Puzzles

It's never puzzling to see a whirlwind of signings on the first day of NFL Free Agency. This year was more crazy than any other. Over $1 billion in in signed contracts. The owners aren't too worried about those numbers as many of the players will be cut before all of that money can be paid. About twenty players signed contracts in the first 30 minutes. It was a crazy first day. Adam Schefter, Jason LaCanfora, Ian Rapoport, and Albert Breer probably required medical attention by the end of the day. The activity wasn't surprising. The salary cap shooting up $10 million can explain some of the activity. In all of that craziness there were some puzzling transactions.

Let's start in Oakland where just about everything being done there is puzzling. They kind of rivaling the front office insanity of the Cleveland Browns. At the start of free agency, the Raiders had over $60 million in cap space. They could do pretty much anything they like in free agency. Either players simply don't want to play there no matter how much the Raiders can pay or the Raiders think that they can save that cap  space for...something. Oakland had a promising, young left tackle in Jared Veldheer. They let him leave as a free agent for the Arizona Cardinals. The Raiders make their first dive into free agency by signing St. Louis Rams tackle Roger Saffold to replace Veldheer. Soild move. The next day, Saffold is no longer part of the picture when he fails his physical in Oakland. Saffold has had a shoulder issue since college. The Rams are cool with whatever caused Saffold to fail the Raiders physical and re-sign him immediately. At the critical left tackle position, the Oakland Raiders failed to sign their own promising, young player  in Jared Veldheer. They replace him with a solid player in Roger Saffold who then fails their physical before the transaction could be finalized. The Raiders are now without either left tackle and it's day three of free agency. Maybe they'll be using their #5 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft to fix that problem. Maybe they'll sign Donald Penn.

The Cleveland Browns had a talented safety in T.J. Ward. A rising star in the NFL. He's a free agent. The Browns don't re-sign him. It seemed to be about money but who really knows what goes on between the player and the team. He signs with the Denver Broncos. The Browns sign Donte Whitner for more money than the Broncos paid Ward. I'd rather sign Ward.

It's not really fair to criticize the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for releasing Darrelle Revis after only one season. A previous regime had paid the steep price to acquire and pay Revis last year. While I think that a corner as skilled as Revis can play in any system, he's not as great of a fit for a Lovie Smith/Leslie Frazier predominately cover-2 defense. Recent Buccaneers addition Alterraun Verner is a much better fit. Bye bye Revis. It just seems strange, even foolish, to spend 1st and 4th round picks and a huge salary for what is basically a one-year rehab assignment. The New England Patriots are sure happy about it.

The Denver Broncos have added safety T.J. Ward and corner Aqib Talib on that crazy first day. If they had stopped there, that would be a free agent great haul. Then they add defensive end DeMarcus Ware. My goodness. Where'd they get the money. I actually think that it was the Broncos defense that fell apart in the Super Bowl.

Perhaps the most puzzling of all was how the New Orleans Saints managed to fit safety Jairus Byrd under the salary cap. They only had enough room for a contract of about $3 million.

Throwback Thursday: The Oakland Raiders vs The Hell's Angels

The Oakland Raiders of the 1970s were a different sort of football team. They fielded very good, if not great, football teams but they were a little bit different. Al Davis put those teams together in his image and little else really needs to be said. The Raiders of that era were renegades and you could tell that from the company that they kept. Off the field as well as on. Many of the Raiders were friendly with Huey Newton, Bobby Seale and the rest of the Black Panthers. Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels could be found on bar stools next to Ken Stabler, John Matuszak, and Phil Villapiano. You might even find Barger on the sideline of a Raiders football game. It wasn't always beers and fun with the Oakland Raiders and the Hell's Angels. They nearly went to war.

Most NFL teams of the 1970s still held training camp at small colleges. They stayed in the dorms. For at least a month, they lived a decent distance from most of civilization. The Oakland Raiders were, of course, a bit different. They were housed at the El Rancho Tropicana Hotel in Santa Rosa, CA. It wasn't a lovely place. They practiced on nearby fields. As soon as they were free of the daily practices and meetings the rowdy Raiders would scatter to the bars that dotted the area. The Bamboo Room was the first and frequent stop on the rounds. The players would fly to the bars as soon as they could and then fly back to the Tropicana to make their 11pm curfew. One night linebacker Phil Villapiano didn't make it back for that curfew. There were many hell-raisers on those Raiders teams but they were all pretty good at meeting the few rules that the team had. It was unusual for any of the Raiders to miss curfew. Villapiano was drinking off a particularly rough day on this night that he missed curfew. He was being switched to inside linebacker. He had also suffered a pulled muscle. When he finally ventured outside the Bamboo Room he found some gentlemen leaning against his car. He didn't take too kindly to their actions. They didn't take too kindly to his reaction. Villapiano was hit in the head with a hammer before he discovered that he was in a fight with some of the Hell's Angels. The fighting ceased when Villapiano was able to relay that he was friends with Sonny Barger. He thinks that association probably saved his life. By the time that the tardy linebacker had finally made his way back to the Tropicana his teammates were gathered in the courtyard. After hearing the tale, the Oakland Raiders wanted to go to war with the Hell's Angels. The coaches and Villapiano were able to calm the rest of the team before a Bay Area War could erupt. It all ended well. About a week after the incident, the Raiders were practicing when the air was filled with the roar of several Harley motorcycles. The noise and interruption didn't please John Madden too much but the Oakland Raiders and the Hell's Angels had made their peace.

Free Agent Flurry

NFL Free Agency started at 4pm EST yesterday. Within the first thirty minutes about twenty football players "agreed to terms" on new contracts. I'm not sure if that's any kind of record but it seems like a flurry of activity like none that I can recall. Even the Minnesota Vikings got into the action. They weren't part of the first thirty minutes much to the annoyance of many fans. They weren't even part of the first hour. Before the clock hit two hours, the Vikings had signed former New York Giants nose tackle Linval Joseph. This is a real nice addition to the Vikings defensive line. Ever since Pat Williams played his last game in 2010, the Vikings have been looking for a big man to take up blocks, plug running lanes, and generally make life happy for the linebackers. Linval Joseph can do all of that. I've been curious as to what sort of defensive tackles would interest new head coach Mike Zimmer. I wasn't sure if he wanted a big guy in the middle of if he wanted smaller, more active tackles. This signing answers that question. Joseph will now pair with 2013 first round pick Sharrif Floyd in the interior of the Vikings defensive line. With the re-signing of defensive end Everson Griffen over the weeked, the Vikings defensive front has gotten younger real quick. At 30, end Brian Robison is the old man of the group. Griffen, Joseph, and Floyd are all under 26 years of age. The Vikings showed an interest in a lot of players during the three-day "legal tampering" period. I was curious to see if that would translate into early free agent activity. I can't recall if the Vikings have ever signed a player on the first day of free agency. They signed Antoine Winfield early in 2004. I think that might have been late on the first day. I definitely can't recall the Vikings signing a player within the first two hours of free agency. While the signing of Linval Joseph was, most certainly, the biggest signing of day one, it wasn't the only signing of day one.

The Atlanta Falcons were especially active. They added defensive tackle Paul Soliai, defensive end Tyson Jackson, and guard Jon Asamoah. Obviously, the Falcons felt that they needed to bolster their lines. Several teams went after lineman in the early hours of free agency. It seemed like, at least, half of the early signings were offensive or defensive linemen. The Cleveland Browns popped up often. They addedd linebacker Karlos Dansby, safety Donte Whitner, and signed Cincinnati Bengals restricted free agent receiver Andrew Hawkins to an offer sheet. The Bengals have a week to match. The Browns signing of Whitner was probably the strangest signing of the day. They had their own free agent safety in T.J. Ward. They signed Whitner for more than it cost the Denver Broncos to sign Ward. I'd rather have Ward than Whitner. Maybe, Ward had zero interest in continuing his career in Cleveland. The Broncos got a terrific football player in T.J. Ward. They found another in the evening when they added cornerback Aqib Talib. The Broncos are also hosting the recently released DeMarcus Ware. I'd say that the Broncos are trying like mad to get back to the Super Bowl. If I recall the past Super Bowl correctly, the Broncos offense was more of a problem than the defense. The New York Giants might have lost Linval Joseph but I liked their additions in the free agent flurry. They added running back Rashad Jennings, guard Geoff Schwartz, and linebacker O'Brien Schofield. I think that Schwartz is a terrific, versatile lineman. The Vikings had him in 2012. I wish that they still did. The Schofield was a free agent that intrigued me. I think that he's an under-the-radar player that could really take off. The Pittsburgh Steelers signing of safety Mike Mitchell was another signing that I really liked. Mitchell and Troy Polamalu is a real nice combo. Another nice safety combo is the one that the San Francisco 49ers now have. The 49ers lost Donte Whitner to the Browns. They added Antoine Bethea. I'd rather have Bethea. I really like Eric Reid and and Bethea at the back of the 49ers defense. Speaking of safety combos. The New Orleans Saints now have a terrific one as well. They added Jairus Byrd to pair with Kenny Vaccaro. It's a copy cat league and the Seattle Seahawks sure showed the benefits of having a couple of terrific safeties.

One of the miracles of the day was how the New Orleans Saints, with about $2 million in cap space, managed to fit the contract of Jairus Byrd.

Names were flying off of the board all afternoon. About a third of the NFL.com's top 100 free agents have signed new contracts. There's still a lot of talented players available. What will they do?

Vikings Free Agency Plan

NFL free agency is almost upon us. We are at the end of the legalized tampering window. New contracts with new teams can finally be signed today at 4pm. After some housecleaning last week, the Minnesota Vikings brought their available salary cap room to more than $40 million. They can be very active in free agency. I think that their spending will be more restrained than many would like but I do think that they'll make some significant moves. Some new players might even have a little experience with new Vikings new coaches.

The Vikings re-signed quarterback Matt Cassel and CB/PR Marcus Sherels on Friday. Then they went big and re-signed defensive end Everson Griffen on Sunday. After his one-year sabbatical in Arizona, linebacker Jasper Brinkley returned to Minnesota. The Vikings re-signed linebacker/special teams standout Larry Dean yesterday. That was an excellent start. It's always a good sign when you can bring back your own. Those signings likely left the Vikings just under $30 million.

I'd like to see the Vikings also re-sign:
CB Chris Cook
WR Jerome Simpson
OL  Joe Berger
DT  Fred Evans
DT  Kevin Williams

Now, we have my ideas for the Minnesota Vikings free agency plans:

CB Alterraun Verner, Tennessee Titans
LB Vincent Rey, Cincinnati Bengals
DT Arthur Jones, Baltimore Ravens
RB Darren Sproles, New Orleans Saints
-maybe a guard and/or safety

That spending isn't too outrageous. A bunch of the talking-heads have pegged Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson as a Vikings free agent target for a while. They feel that the connection to Zimmer makes this automatic. I don't always buy into the coach-player connections that the media routinely makes but this one I do buy. It's tough see this happening with Everson Griffen re-signed. I don't see the Vikings spending the money that it took to keep Griffen and add Johnson. If they did, it would make for a real nice rotation on the edge of the line. Typically, 25-year old corners as skilled as Verner don't become available. Vikings secondary coach Jerry Gray was Verner's defensive coordinator with the Titans. That's no guarantee that Verner wants to continue his career with Gray but it does mean that Gray knows the dedication and long-term potential of Verner. Pairing Verner opposite Xavier Rhodes would be outstanding. Rey is a restricted free agent so the Bengals have the opportunity to match any contract offered to him. They put the lowest tender on him. I think that was a mistake. As an undrafted free agent, the Bengals would get no compensation if Rey signed with another team. If Vincent Rey is ready to start, Zimmer would know. All I know is that Rey was terrific when the Bengals played the Vikings in week 16 last season. Jones is a player that has intrigued me for a couple of seasons. Players like Jones, that play in a defense like the Ravens, seem to get pigeon-holed as a 3-4 defensive end. Some people simply refuse to see them as 4-3 tackles. I think that he could be a dynamic presence next to last year's top draft pick Sharrif Floyd. Until I see the Vikings make some personnel moves with Zimmer at the helm, I'm not convinced that the new defense needs a big-body tackle in the middle of the defensive line. It's not like Jones is small. He's about 6'3" and 320 lbs. If Zimmer does want that big body, Linval Joseph of the New York Giants would be an excellent addition. The Saints released Sproles on Friday. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner has been known to rave about the comfort that Sproles provided Philip Rivers as an outlet receiver. Sproles could provide a similar comfort for Cassel, or whoever is under center next season.

Guard and safety are positions of concern for the Vikings but the players to fill those spots might already be on the team. The fact that no one has a firm grasp on the positions means that the team could look outside of the organization. With the draft still ahead, I don't think that those positions are as much of a concern in free agency as some of the other positions.

Outside of Sproles, the players that I have the Vikings signing in free agency play defense. It makes sense as the defense was horrible last year. With Mike Zimmer running the show now. the defense will improve. I think that these players will further improve the defense.

The fun and games start today.

RIP Mr. Ford

Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. died yesterday morning at the age of 88. He was the last surviving grandchild of automotive pioneer Henry Ford. Williams Clay Ford had been involved with the Detroit Lions since the early 1960s. He bought the team for $4.5 million in the fall of 1963 and has run the team ever since. His son William Clay Ford Jr. has taken a more active role with the team in recent years.

The Ford name is so synonymous with Detroit that there was a time when I simply assumed that the family had owned the Lions since they arrived in Detroit in 1935. It was something of a surprise to learn that the Ford relationship with the team didn't begin until the 1960s. I've always liked that Ford hired people to run his team and let them do just that. He didn't get in the way. Too often, we see more of the owner than those that actually make the football decisions. I don't think that's ever a good thing. Most owners know little of football. That's why they hire people that do. Ford let his football people do their job. Unfortunately, it was rarely successful. His Lions teams lost often. The Lions won just one playoff game in his tenure, a 38-6 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in January of 1992. If William Clay Ford was guilty of anything as owner of the Detroit Lions, it was that he was loyal to a fault. Russ Thomas spent 22 years as the general manager and made one playoff appearance. Wayne Fontes is both the winningest and losingest coach in franchise history. And then we have the Matt Millen era. As general manager, Millen amassed a league-worst 31-84 record from 2001-08. Millen wouldn't have seen four years with most NFL teams. He was finally fired in September of a 2008 season in which the Detroit Lions won zero games. I always thought that Millen might have been better suited as coach of the Lions than the general manager. He understands the x's and o's of the game. His passion for the game is obvious, even infectious. I just don't think that the business side of putting a football team together was something that he enjoyed. His love of the game and his relationship with William Clay Ford kept him going. I think that Ford saw it the very same way. He couldn't fire his friend that so obviously loved football. It's so difficult to ever think of loyalty as a bad thing.

RIP Mr. Ford.

Active Vikings

The NFL salary cap jumped to $133 million this year. An increase of $10 million. With so many teams having so much money to spend in free agency there's little doubt that 2014 will be far more active 2013. The Minnesota Vikings have rarely been serious players in the free agency market. It's been far more likely that they pursue bargain free agents than get in a bidding war for the top football players. In 2006, Brad Childress' first year as head coach, the Vikings were very active. They signed running back Chester Taylor, linebacker Ben Leber, kick Ryan Longwell, and guard Steve Hutchinson in the first few days of free agency. That sort of activity has rarely been seen since in Minnesota.

The Vikings have about $40 million in cap room this year. Judging by their activity in the first 24 hours of the league-approved, three-day tampering period, the Vikings might be looking to use a significant amount of that available cap room. It's been reported that they have contacted the agents of the following free agents:

CB Alterraun Verner, Tennessee Titans
DE Michael Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals
DT Paul Soliai, Miami Dolphins
DT Arthur Jones, Baltimore Ravens

Those football players would go a long way in improving the Vikings horrible defense of a year ago. They aren't alone in the interest in those players. The St. Louis Rams, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Detroit Lions have also called about Verner. Seven teams, probably more, have also contacted the representatives of Johnson. The Vikings can compete in bidding war with pretty much any team. It's just unusual for them to do so. Most of those players also have former coaches on the Minnesota Vikings new coaching staff. Johnson's defensive coordinator with the Bengals is now the head coach of the Vikings, Mike Zimmer. Verner's defensive coordinator with the Titans is now the Vikings secondary coach, Jerry Gray. While Vikings defensive coordiantor George Edwards didn't directly coach Soliai, he was the Dolphins linebacker coach. Coaching connections such as these can go either way. The players could be a terrific relationship with the coach. Or, it could be a shitty relationship. If the Vikings are reaching out to these players, it's likely that the players and coaches are on decent terms. There could be a comfort level that allows the Vikings the first interview. Getting that first interview is a very good thing.

The Vikings re-signed defensive end Everson Griffen today. It's reported as a "huge" 5-year deal. Despite this unusual free agency activity I really can't see the Vikings signing both Griffen and Johnson. Griffen has spent all of his four years in the league playing behind Jared Allen. I doubt that he'd be signing this deal only to share time with Johnson. Who knows? You can never have too many defensive ends that disrupt the passing game. It would still be a lot of money to tie up in the defensive end position. Brian Robison signed a new contract only a few months ago.

It's kinda funny. Free agency hasn't even started yet and the Minnesota Vikings are already more active than they have ever been. We'll see how it shakes out.

Tamper, Tamper

All 2013 NFL player contracts expire this Tuesday at 4pm EST. That is the official start of the free agency signing frenzy. The unofficial start of free agency may or may not have been at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The unofficial start of free agency officially starts today with a three-day window for teams to legally tamper with the soon-to-be free agents of other teams. The NFL implemented this window of tampering last year and they are keeping it alive this year.

During this three-day window, teams can contact the agents for players but not the players themselves. Players without agents can not negotiate with teams. That means you, Jon Beason. This window of tampering applies to unrestricted free agents only. Not restricted free agents or exclusive rights free agents. Teams can set and negotiate parameters of a deal, but they can not actually execute the contract until free agency officially begins Tuesday at 4pm EST. So, free agency, in some ways, starts today.

The NFL initiated this tampering period because of the fairly large number of contracts that were miraculously negotiated and agreed to moments after the start of free agency. It was clear that something fishy was taking place. Now, that "fishy stuff" takes place within the rules of the NFL. It's still a joke. Teams and agents have been talking since everyone was together in Indianapolis. It's nearly impossible to police these conversations. Most agents represent players on every team team in the league. They can be seen talking to a general manager or coach for legitimate reasons and just slip into a conversation about a player that he represents from another team. Oops! Teams and, most certainly, the agents have no reason to curb this behavior. So, all the NFL is really doing is saying that we know this "fishy stuff" is going on so we're going to control it, just a little bit.

Free agency starts Tuesday but it kinda starts today.

Changes

Supposedly, change is good. Sometimes, change can be a little sad. Free agency and the salary cap has made keeping an NFL together a fairly difficult task. For struggling teams that can be considered a very good thing. Successful teams see it differently. The Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl and half of their defense is gone about a month later. It costs a lot of money to keep a good team together. That Ravens team decided that keeping quarterback Joe Flacco was more important than keeping a bunch of other players. In a quarterback-driven league they probably made the right choice. It's still tough to see a good/great team taken apart because it costs too much to keep it together. Sometimes age plays as much of a role. That Ravens defense, even the team, was never going to be the same after linebacker Ray Lewis retired.

2009 was one of the great seasons of Minnesota Vikings football. That team should have faced the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. They thoroughly outplayed the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game yet found a few too many ways to give the game away at the end. Much of the Vikings success that season was due to the incredible play of quarterback Brett Favre. There was a great deal of hope for 2010 once Favre finally decided that he wouldn't retire again. With the old thrower in the fold, all 22 of the Vikings starters from the 2009 season were back. 2010, despite all that hope, was an absolute disaster and that terrific team gradually fell apart. Each year more players were gone. Five years later, only Adrian Peterson, John Sullivan, Phil Loadholt, Brian Robison, and Chad Greenway remain from that team that could have won it all. Five years is a very long time in football years but that roster turnover started in earnest in 2011. Now, it's nearly complete.

Defensive tackle Kevin Williams and defensive end Jared Allen will become free agents next Tuesday. Those two have been team leaders and defensive stalwarts for years. As well as two of my all-time favorite Vikings players. Jared Allen since he was obtained in a blockbuster trade in 2008. Kevin Williams since he was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. There's always a chance that one or both might be back in 2014 but it may, unfortunately, be time to move on. They will be following the departures of Jim Kleinsasser, Antoine Winfield, Pat Williams, E.J. Henderson, Steve Hutchinson, Matt Birk, Chester Taylor, Ben Leber, and Cedric Griffin. That was a very talented core of players that hit it's peak in 2009. Favre's stellar play that season really brought it all together. It sure showed what decent quarterbacking can do for a football team. That team was also a fun team. They had a bunch of characters that really seemed to enjoy playing football together. On the field success will certainly promote happiness on the field and off but this went beyond that. I think that the success of the 2009 Minnesota Vikings was a product of the camaraderie of the team. That and some fine quarterback play. It's been difficult to see the players from that team move on or retire but it's part of the game.

As long as Adrian Peterson is carrying the football in Minnesota he will be the face of the franchise. Hopefully, he will be carrying the football for many more years. It's still hard to believe that he's now one of the older players on the team. There are never enough seasons for a football player like Adrian Peterson. The Vikings are now surrounding Peterson with a new core of football players. Kleinsasser, Winfield, Hutchinson, and Henderson have been replaced by Kyle Rudolph, Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Matt Kalil, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Sharrif Floyd. They are still missing a quarterback which is the worst possible position to be missing a player. Many of the players that are thought to be the future of the Minnesota Vikings were in high school in 2009. It's pretty much a new Vikings team. Most of the change has been gradual. It's barely noticed until you sit down and actually think about all of the players no longer on the team. Losing Jim Kleinsasser, to retirement, and Antoine Winfield, to stupidity, was difficult. The likely loss of Jared Allen and Kevin Williams will be as difficult. The evolution of that Vikings team from 2006-09 provided some of the most enjoyable football that I've seen played in Minnesota. It's been sad to see those players fade away over the years. Peterson's incredible 2012 season led to a surprising playoff appearance. Other than that outlying year, the Vikings football played from 2010-13 left a lot to be desired. Recent strong drafts have brought talent and potential. Hiring Mike Zimmer as head coach has brought hope. Maybe in five years I'll be looking back at the changes now and the changes of the last few years as the beginning of something never seen in Minnesota. A Super Bowl championship. Hopefully, multiple Super Bowl championships. Well, I'll start with one Super Bowl championship and go from there.

Throwback Thursday: First Commissioner

The NFL elected Elmer Layden to be the league's first commissioner on March 1, 1941. It seems a bit odd that the NFL would be around for twenty years before they decided to finally elect a commissioner. That's because the post was renamed upon Layden taking the job. Prior to 1941, the owner-elected leader of the NFL was called the President of the NFL. Jim Thorpe gave the new league a big name when he became the first president in 1920. He was president in name only as he spent most of his time playing football for the Canton Bulldogs. Thorpe fronted the new league for only one year. The first "real" president came in 1921 when Columbus Panhandles manager Joe Carr was elected. It can be argued that Joe Carr is the most significant figure in the history of the NFL. The new league, and all of it's teams, struggled mightily to survive the 1920s only to enter the Depression Era of the 1930s. Carr somehow managed to guide the NFL through those tough, long years. The league more than survived those early years. It got stronger. Carr cleaned up much of the "seedy" side of the game. That improved the league's reputation from sideshow circus to a legitimate sport. He pushed for more stable ownership in bigger cities. The still new league had a future. When Carr died suddenly in 1939, long-time league treasurer Carl Storck stepped in as interim president. For some reason, he remained in the role as interim president for nearly three years. I've never quite understood the lack of appreciation for Carl Storck. He was one of the league's founding fathers as he represented the Dayton Triangles at that first meeting in Canton. He was right there with Carr for nearly twenty years as the league's treasurer. I've always felt that Storck's presence was kind of taken for granted by the rest of the league. They were comfortable with him but were never quite sold on him. They appreciated his service to the league but he was just keeping the seat warm following Carr's passing. I've read that Storck stepped aside in 1941 due to health reasons. I've also read that the health issues started after his NFL friends elected Elmer Layden to be the NFL's first commissioner instead of him.

Elmer Layden gained football fame as one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame. I used to think that Layden was elected to be a name and a face for the league much like Thorpe. Unlike Thorpe, Layden had some administrative experience. He had been a coach and Athletic Director at Notre Dame prior to his election as NFL commissioner. He had the name but he also had the qualifications. He faced significant challenges almost immediately as the country was soon involved in World War II. Layden was the first head of the league to not be a founding father of the league. Maybe the owners wanted an "outsider" at that time. Who knows? It is interesting to note that every commissioner elected since Layden has come from within the league or team offices. The owners decided not renew his contract in 1946. Layden's five years in office is the shortest stint of any commissioner. When the owners elected Bert Bell to replace Layden in 1946 they once again elected one of their own. Bell brilliantly guided the league to the top of the professional food chain. Those heights were taken even higher by Pete Rozelle, in particular, Paul Tagliabue, and now Roger Goodell.

Throughout it's history, the NFL has truly been blessed by tremendous leadership at the top. Pete Rozelle gets a ton of much deserved credit. Joe Carr and Bert Bell did the hard work through extremely tough times to set an unbelievably stable stage for Rozelle. Elmer Layden probably gets the least amount of credit among the league's leaders through history. Jim Thorpe may have done the least to lead but his name made headlines. His name brought much needed attention. Carl Storck only had a couple of years to lead but he'd been a significant NFL figure for the first two decades of the league's history. He's one of the founding fathers. He was an asset for Carr in the league offices. While Layden gets little to no credit for the building of the NFL to the powerhouse that it is today, the first commissioner did guide the league through the difficulties of World War II. That's pretty significant. He's still better known as one of the Four Horseman than the NFL's first commissioner.

Post-Combine/Pre-Free Agency Mock Draft

Hot damn, these are fun. So many possibilities.

1. Houston Texans  Jadeveon Clowney  DE  South Carolina
2. St. Louis Rams  Greg Robinson  OT  Auburn
3. Jacksonville Jaguars  Blake Bortles  QB  Central Florida
4. Cleveland Browns  Johnny Manziel  QB  Texas A&M
5. Oakland Raiders  Teddy Bridgewater  QB  Louisville
6. Atlanta Falcons  Jake Matthews  OT  Texas A&M
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  Sammy Watkins  WR  Clemson
8. Minnesota Vikings  Khalil Mack  LB  Buffalo
9. Buffalo Bills  Eric Ebron  TE  North Carolina
10. Detroit Lions  Darqueze Dennard  CB  Michigan St.
11. Tennessee Titans  Justin Gilbert  CB  Oklahoma St.
12. New York Giants  Anthony Barr  UCLA
13. St. Louis Rams  Mike Evans WR Texas A&M
14. Chicago Bears  Timmy Jernigan  DT  Florida St.
15. Pittsburgh Steelers  Taylor Lewan  T  Michigan
16. Baltimore Ravens  Marqise Lee  WR  USC
17. Dallas Cowboys  Aaron Donald  DT  Pitt
18. New York Jets  Brandin Cooks  WR  Oregon St.
19. Miami Dolphins  Zack Martin  OT  Notre Dame
20. Arizona Cardinals  Derek Carr  Fresno St.
21. Green Bay Packers  Ha Ha Clinton Dix  S  Alabama
22. Philadelphia Eagles  Calvin Pryor  S  Louisville
23. Kansas City Chiefs  Odell Beckham Jr.  WR  LSU
24. Cincinnati Bengals  Kyle Fuller  CB  Virginia Tech
25. San Diego Chargers  Jason Verrett CB  TCU
26. Cleveland Browns  C.J. Mosley  LB  Alabama
27. New Orleans Saints  Dee Ford DE  Auburn
28. Carolina Panthers  Jason Verrett  CB  TCU
29. New England Patriots  Louis Nix III DT  Notre Dame
30. San Francisco 49ers  Steven Tuitt  DE  Notre Dame
31. Denver Broncos  RaShede Hageman  DT  Minnesota
32. Seattle Seahawks  Kelvin Benjamin  WR  Florida St.

The more I look at the players involved in the 2014 NFL Draft the more impressed I am with the depth of the draft. I like C.J. Mosley a lot. I think that he would be a terrific pick for the Vikings at #8 if Mack is gone. I could also see him dropping to where I have him in this mock draft simply because there are so many quality football players. In this mock, BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy and Ohio St. linebacker are still available in the second round. Incredible. If that could be guaranteed, I would love to see the Vikings draft Justin Gilbert at #8 and Shazier in the second. My goodness. That sure would be nice. Draft Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray in the third. Championship!

Spending Spree?

NFL free agency begins one week from today at 4pm EST. The salary cap jumped from $123 million last year to $133 million this year. That's quite a jump. A lot of teams didn't need it. Eight teams have more than $30 million to spend. The Oakland Raiders have the cap space to spend over $60 million. The Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars have nearly that amount. Teams used to be sitting pretty if they had $15 million in available cap space. This year, there are only twelve teams that have less than that. Teams are so flush with available spending that it's actually shocking that two teams still have work to do to get under that new $133 million salary cap. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys are probably thrilled with that extra $10 million. The Steelers are about $6 million over the cap. The Cowboys are about $16 million over. Each has a week to get under the cap. The Raiders could pay off the debt of both teams and still be in great shape.

Teams have to spend a lot of that available money. Gone are the days when NFL teams could spend little in an effort to make a lot. With the new CBA, teams are mandated to spend a combined 95% of the salary cap on players in the 2013 through 2016 seasons. Each team must spend, at minimum, 89% of the cap money available or face a stiff penalty in 2017.

With so many teams with so much available cash, will we see some crazy contracts tossed out to players this year? Who knows? There are no free agent quarterbacks available that are deserving of boatloads of cash. Quarterbacks that deserve that kind of payday rarely hit the open market. There are a bunch of cornerbacks and pass rushers available this year. Those players typically get some big contracts. New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham and Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy are probably the top two free agents. Each is among the best in the league at their position. Each received their team's franchise tags. If they can come to terms on long term deals, those contracts will be huge. Pass rushers Michael Bennett, Michael Johnson, Brian Orakpo, and Jason Worilds should come out of free agency as very wealthy football players. Orakpo received the franchise tag from the Washington Redskins yesterday. Worilds received the rarely used Transition tag from the Steelers. If Orakpo and Worilds don't come to an agreement with their teams on a long-term contract each will get the hefty one-year contract that comes with those tags. Corners Alteraun Verner, Aqib Talib, Vontae Davis, and Dominique Rodgers Cromartie should do well for themselves in free agency. Brent Grimes just did. Skilled offensive tackles are always in demand and there are a few of those in Branden Albert, Eugene Monroe, and Jared Veldheer. There will be a lot of money spent in the next few weeks. Much more than was spent last year. Teams have much more money to spend this year and this free agent class is better and deeper.

I really liked what the Philadelphia Eagles have done over the past few days. The NFL Draft will always be the primary means of building a team. Second to that is retaining the players that have progressed nicely in the team's system. Retaining your own free agents has always made a greater impact than signing other team's free agents. In 2011, the Eagles went nuts in free agency. They brought in Nnambi Asomugha, Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Vince Young, Ronnie Brown, Evan Mathis, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. That spending spree did absolutely nothing for the team. Only Mathis is still with the team. In the past few days, the Eagles have re-signed Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, and Cedric Thornton. All are players that have already made an impact with the team. All should continue to make an impact with the team. In 2011, it seemed that the Eagles spent for the sake of spending. In 2014, they have, so far, spent with team success in mind.

Before free agnecy starts, I hope that the Minnesota Vikings can do what the Eagles just did. I'd like to see them keep some of their own free agents before they start spending on others. I'd like to see them re-sign defensive end Everson Griffen before other teams have a chance to court him. Griffen should be pre-free agency priority #1. It's been rumored that Vikings new head coach Mike Zimmer will bring Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson to Minnesota. Zimmer is the only defensive coordinator that Johnson has ever known in the NFL. I can't see the Vikings signing both Griffen and Johnson. If the rumors are true, I guess that the Vikings are willing to let Griffen walk. My guess is that Johnson is an option only if the Vikings are unable to sign Griffen. Corner Chris Cook is the other unrestricted free agent that I'd like to see the Vikings retain. He gets a lot of grief from the fans and the media. He has no interceptions in his four years in the league which is really kind of sad. Supposedly, he gets beat a lot. I don't think that he gets beat a lot. I think that his coverage is terrific far more often than not. I just think that his ball skills are terrible right now. When the ball is in the air he's usually right there but the timing of his jump is usually off. He's either going up or coming down while the receiver is at his peak, catching the football. I'm hoping that the new coaching staff can work on Cook's timing. He's got everything else that you hope for in a cornerback. If they can't improve that timing, Cook's future in the NFL is pretty bleak. There's a few other free agents that I'd like to see the Vikings retain but I don't think that they will have much difficulty doing so. Long-time team leaders and defensive linemen Jared Allen and Kevin Williams are two free agents that should generate quite a bit of debate. Allen's price tag will be the highest of the two so I think that he's least likely to return. I'd like to see Williams return but he'll be 34 in August. It's hard to imagine the Vikings defensive line without Williams and/or Allen.

The Vikings, and the 31 other teams, have some work to do before the chaos and fun of free agency kicks off one week from today.