Back in the Bay Area

Only two years ago cornerback Nnambi Asomugha was the biggest free agent in the shortened 2011 offseason. The Philadelphia Eagles signed him to a huge 5-year, $60 million deal. At least $25 million was guaranteed. Things didn't exactly go very well for Asomugha or the Eagles in the two years since that big day. It was a puzzling signing as Asomugha never quite fit in the Eagles zone-based secondary. The Eagles were in the process of putting together their "Dream Team." Instead of accomplishing that the team pretty much lost their minds. It's showed on the field ever since.

This past week the San Francisco 49ers signed Asomugha to a much smaller contract than the one that he signed two years ago. This one is only a one-year deal that could be worth as much as $3 million. In this era of greed it's remarkable that Asomugha wanted no guaranteed money. These days it seems that guaranteed money is the only thing that players want. Nnambi Asomugha is a classy guy. He must be ecstatic to be back in the Bay Area. His college days were spent in Berkeley. The first seven years of his professional career were spent in Oakland. There he established himself as the best corner in the game. Now, he's on the other side of the bay. Big plus, he's no longer in Philadelphia.

I'm happy for Nnambi Asomugha. The 49ers are, by far, the best team that he's ever been on. It's his best chance for a championship. Asomugha is one of my favorite Cal football players. He's been a fantastic player on the field. He's been even better off of the field. His impact in the community has always been great and far reaching. The Asomugha Foundation operates two primary programs. Orphans and Widows In Need (OWIN) and the Asomugha College Tour for Scholars (ACTS). Through OWIN, Asomugha and his family provide food, shelter, medicine, vocational training, literacy efforts, and scholarships to widows and orphans victimized by poverty and abuse in Nigeria. For ACTS, Asomugha teams up with students from Bay Area and Los Angeles area high schools on college tours across the country. About the time that Asomugha reached an agreement with the 49ers he was keeping himself busy by driving Bay Area students to tours of Cal and Stanford. Since 2009, Asomugha has participated in former President Bill Clinton's Global Initiative. Nnambi Asomugha is a difference maker in all that he does.

I think that Asomugha will be a nice fit for the 49ers defense. It will certainly be a better fit than he found in Philadelphia. The 49ers got better with the signing and Asomugha got closer to that Super Bowl ring than he's ever been before.

Concussion Litigation

Months ago, Brett Romberg, Patrick Chukwurah, and Pat White had all signed on to the always growing ex-player concussion litigation against the NFL. More recently, each has signed an NFL contract to play football again. It's pretty clear that if given the choice of fighting the NFL over concussions in professional football or playing professional football, a football player will accept the risks of playing the game.

The head trauma litigation against the NFL really should be dropped. Everyone that has ever strapped on the pads and put a helmet on their head has known the risks That's why they were strapping on the pads and putting the helmet on their head. For over 150 years, everyone associated with the game has known the risks. Football was nearly banned in the early 1900's. The reason was mostly due to all the damn head injuries. To say that the overseers of the game were ambivalent to the dangers of the game is naive. As the game has evolved so has the helmet. Unfortunately, the players took it upon themselves to use that evolving helmet as a weapon. While the NFL owners are guilty of being greedy. They really aren't stupid. Well, most aren't. They know that any threat to the game is a threat to their money. Head trauma is a serious threat to the game. NFL owners have known it for nearly 100 years. So have the players. Despite all that we know now about the lasting effects of head trauma, players will still play with concussions if the decision is theirs. They should accept some of the blame rather than putting it all on the owners in the form of a lawsuit.

If the NFL is guilty of anything in this mess, it's not providing enough after-football assistance to the players but they're never going to part with some of their money unless they're forced to. NFL Players Association is guilty of this neglect as well. They failed to look after the former players. I've never understood how former head of the NFLPA Gene Upshaw could do so little for his fellow former players. He was sitting pretty with a huge, multi-million dollar salary while his former teammates and opponents suffered. No wonder there was relative labor peace during the '90s. The owners didn't have to pay much in player benefits. Even if they weren't forced to assist with the post playing career issues of the players they should have. The players really did give their bodies and minds so that the owners could make money. If they had, the owners might not be in this pickle.

Even before Romberg, Chukwurah, and White signed their new contracts, I didn't think that the player's lawsuit was a strong one. Player's will play if given the choice. I'm not sure how they are victims when they gladly accept the risks. The specifics of head trauma are still being researched but the dangers of banging the brain around have been known since the first Roosevelt was President. It's not new and neither is the player's willingness to play.

Draft Invites

For the past couple of drafts the NFL has invited a whole flock of the draft prospects to be on hand at in New York City. In the league's eyes the more players holding up jersey's, putting on caps, and sharing awkward man hugs with Commissioner Goodell the better. This year is no different. Nineteen have RSVPed. Oregon defensive end Dion Jordan and USC quarterback Matt Barkley have yet to commit. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o didn't want the chaos that's been following him to follow him to New York. Despite the tears shed by the NFL it was probably a good decision by Te'o.

The following players will be at Radio City Music Hall April 25th, waiting to hear their name:

Texas A&M tackle Luke Joeckel
Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd
West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith
Florida St. quarterback E.J. Manuel
Alabama guard Chase Warmack
Florida St. defensive end Bjoern Werner
North Carolina guard Jonathan Cooper
Tennessee receiver Cordarrelle Patterson
Florida St. cornerback Xavier Rhodes
West Virginia receiver Tavon Austin
SMU defensive end Margus Hunt
LSU defensive end Barkevius Mingo
Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner
Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson
BYU defensive end Ezekiel Ansah
Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro
Alabama tackle D.J. Fluker
Central Michigan Eric Fisher
Florida St. Menelik Watson

No running backs are invited. That doesn't seem quite fair. Besides the lack of backs the one thing about this list that jumps out at me is the number of players from Florida St. There was a time when many Seminoles were drafted in the first round but that was a while ago. With a 12-2 record, a top-10 ranking, and four players expected to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, the Seminoles might be back.

With the first round being the only round on the first night of the draft not going in the first really sucks. Here's hoping that none of the draft attendees are still waiting to be called on April 26th.

Throwback Thursday: Greatest NFL Draft Class

It's about ten years too early to truly judge the Minnesota Vikings 2012 NFL Draft. Based on their rookie year, the class looks terrific. Nine of the ten picks made the team. Six of the nine started some or all of the games. Two, tackle Matt Kalil and kicker Blair Walsh, ended their rookie season in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl. Having two first round picks certainly helped the talent level. Kalil and safety Harrison Smith look like cornerstone players. As great as that class seems right now, it has a long, long way to go before it can stand next to the best draft classes. It's hard to imagine any class matching the greatest of all time.

I've thought about great draft classes when I realized that the Chicago Bears added Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers in the 1965 NFL Draft. They pulled two Hall of Famers in one draft. Incredible. Both players are in any conversation of the greatest players at their respective positions. The Bears didn't add much beyond Butkus and Sayers in that draft. Jim Nance and Frank Pitts made their impact in the American Football League having never played for the Bears. The Baltimore Ravens 1996 NFL Draft brought in Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis. Ogden was just elected to the Hall of Fame. Lewis will be there in five years. There are probably other drafts by other teams that were highlighted by a couple of Hall of Famers. None of those come close to what the Pittsburgh Steelers did in the 1974 NFL Draft. The Steelers had a few terrific drafts around that time. Four Super Bowl titles were the result of some super drafting. What they did in 1974 was beyond super. It should have been illegal.

Rd

  1  Lynn Swann

  2  Jack Lambet

  4  John Stallworth

  4  Jimmy Allen

  5  Mike Webster

Swann, Lambert, Stallworth, and Webster are honored in Canton. None of the other players drafted beyond round 5 played more than a season with the Steelers. They didn't need to. The Steelers did add safety Donnie Shell as undrafted free agent. He may not have received the honors of his classmates but he had a real nice career with the Steelers. The four drafted stars of 1974 were added to a young core of Steelers that included fellow future Hall of Famers Joe Greene, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Jack Ham, and Mel Blount. With that kind of talent it's no surprise that the Pittsburgh Steelers would win four of the next six Super Bowls. These drafts were incredible. None more than the class of 1974. If there was ever a greater draft, I haven't seen it. Perhaps the Vikings 2012 class will one day challenge it. 

The First Guru

Everyone is a draft guru these days. If they aren't one they rely on one that claims to be. There was a day when there was only one. Mel Kiper, Jr. came from humble football beginnings. It's pretty common now for someone to turn a hobby into a business. It wasn't as common in the early '80s. It was even more rare to see it happen in football. Outside of being a fan, Mel Kiper, Jr. really had no background in football. Being a fan was all that it took. He watched every game that he could. There was no satellite television then. Cable television was just getting started. There was no youtube. His hands were tied compared to today. He did it all on his own. He created something pretty great. He created hope in every football fan that couldn't throw a pass or tackle a back. Because of Mel Kiper, Jr. there's now draft gurus everywhere.

Kiper's draft publications have been the draft bible for so many for nearly 35 years. For much of that time it was the only draft publication on the market. Now, every sports magazine seems to have one. Most suck but that's due to a lack of passion. It takes about ten seconds of viewing to see that most of these poser magazines are spewing the words of others. Maybe even the word's of Kiper. Most of these draft magazines are just thrown together knowing that many draft fans grab everything that they see. They do so for one simple reason. They absolutely can not get enough. I've always respected Kiper's work because he puts so much into it. I've read his work consistently over the years. I check his mock drafts and player profiles. I've never purchased his publications. I frequently disagree with his opinions. But, heres the thing, there is no consensus on football player projections. There never will be. People simply see different things. Five people can report on the performance of a player's Senior Bowl practice and you'll hear five wildly different, even opposing, views. It's pretty crazy. I really like Mike Mayock, Charles Davis, and several of the other NFL Network draft guys but I don't always agree with them. I watch the draft on the league's network because I prefer the personalities there. Despite my somewhat frequent disagreements with Kiper, he's the only personality that I miss from ESPN's coverage. His hair is remarkable. Still.

I've heard rumors that Kiper's publications are coming to an end. ESPN is apparently demanding more of his time. He could have others do the leg work to keep his "draft bible" running. With his name, it would sell. My guess is that he if he can't do the work that those little books require he won't do them at all. I respect that as I've always respected his work. For the first time, I purchased his draft publication. Every year, for over 30 years, I've debated buying his publications. I just never have. I guess that the thought of it coming to end made it seem like the thing to do now. I look forward to reading his little blue book. I'll watch the NFL Draft on NFL Network but Mel Kiper, Jr. will be there by my side.

Quarterback Shuffle

Most quarterback draft classes would look weak compared to the Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill, Matt Weadon, and Russell Wilson draft class of a year ago. Perhaps due to the perceived weak draft class this year there has been significant shuffling of quarterbacks in the NFL this offseason. It all started with the San Francisco 49ers trading Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs. The dynamic emergence of Colin Kaepernick made the former top pick in the 2005 NFL Draft expendable. The 49ers replaced the backup Smith with backup Colt McCoy from Cleveland. Smith's arrival in Kansas City made previous starter Matt Cassel expendable. Cassel moved to Minnesota. He'll back up young Vikings starter Christian Ponder. A proven, veteran starter backing up a young, developing quarterback will also cut down on the sleepless night of head coach Leslie Frazier and the rest of the Vikings coaching staff. With Cassel gone the Chiefs added former New Orleans Saints backup Chase Daniel to back up the newly acquired Smith. The Buffalo Bills cut ties with Ryan Fitzpatrick only a couple of years after signing him to a nice extension to be their franchise quarterback. That didn't work so Fitzpatrick is now the backup to the young, developing Jake Locker in Tennessee. That sounds similar to the situation in Minnesota. With Fitzpatrick, the Titans no longer needed veteran backup Matthew Hasselbeck. Unwanted in Tennessee, Hasselbeck is now backing up Andrew Luck in Indianapolis. Drew Stanton was the backup to Luck but he's in Arizona now. With former Cardinals starter Kevin Kolb signing with Buffalo, Stanton could be the starter but then again maybe he won't. The Cardinals might trade for Oakland Raiders starter Carson Palmer. Palmer became available when the Raiders traded a couple of picks to the Seattle Seahawks for Matt Flynn. That left Russell Wilson as the only passer on the Seahawks roster. Free agent Tyler Thigpen could be headed there as the backup to the young Wilson.

I'm not sure how any of this shuffling will affect the draft prospects of West Virginia's Geno Smith, USC's Matt Barkley, Florida St.'s E.J. Manuel, NC St.'s Mike Glennon, Syracuse's Ryan Nassib or any of the other newbies. Perhaps, not at all. Proven veterans Alex Smith and Carson Palmer might keep Kansas City and Arizona from spending a top-10 pick on a quarterback but those teams still might look for one that slips through the first round. The Chiefs would have to wait for round three as they gave up their 2nd for Smith. Kolb and Flynn might not prevent the Bills or the Raiders form spending their top-10 picks on a quarterback. Flynn has never been a starter. Kolb was shaky, at best, as the Cardinals savior.

It's all fun and games and a lot of shuffling right now.

Flea Flicker Mock Draft v3.0

Here's another one of these damn, addicting things. I don't do them to be accurate. I do them to pass the time until April 25th.

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