Random Thoughts

by Drew Boylhart 

 

I am loosing respect for College Head Coaches.  I see tremendous character problems now and in the future.  I see coaches not honoring contracts, Programs not honoring coaches, alumni having too much power.  I thought that the purpose of going to college was to get an education and prepare a person to deal with the trials and tribulations of life by developing character!  

 

To all the sports announcers, journalist and former NFL players and coaches. When the Patriots were caught cheating most of you considered it to be a non-issue and a joke.  You said, “This is not a big deal because everybody cheats”.  So I guess you feel that the Florida State players who got caught cheating on their exams should be allowed to play and this is not a big deal either!  If you feel that filming teams illegally is not a big issue then I would think that you would feel the same way about taking steroids.  I mean after all doesn’t everybody do it?  Let me explain something – only the people who cheat think it’s all right to cheat because everybody else does it.  Its how they justify cheating for themselves.  

 

If I were a GM and had the choice between taking over the Falcons or the Dolphins I would pick the Falcons.  They have a lot more young talent on the squad right now than the Dolphins have.  The players who don’t want to be there have trade value.  If Bill (I never finished out a contract) Parcells really were interested in turning a team around then I think the Falcons had the potential to do it faster than the Dolphins.  I think old Bill was looking for easy money that has no pressure attached to it so that he can finally finish out a contract. 

 

This year you will not see many QB’s go very high in this draft.  That is because not many teams in the top ten need a QB.  But don’t be fooled - this draft is loaded with some excellent QB’s and developmental QB’s that can be picked later on in the draft.  Matt Ryan, John David Booty, Matt Flynn, Denis Dixon all have as much 1st round talent as any former 1st round QB’s picked in any other drafts.  Add to that Andre Woodson and Brian Brohm who many feel are 1st round - this draft could produce as many as six QB’s in the first round.  Later in this draft there are even more developmental QB’s – Sam Keller, Kevin O’Connell, Taylor Tharp, Colt Brennan, Chad Henne, Eric Ainge, Joe Flacco.  All of these QB’s have solid down the road potential to be starting QB’s for the next level.  That’s a lot of QB’s.   

 

Are you ready?  Without thinking too much - I want you to compare two Rookie QB’s and tell me who you feel has the better long range potential.  JaMarcus Russell QB Oakland Raiders and Trent Edwards QB Buffalo Bills.  Just give me your impression of their potential from what they both did last week and not from any other games. 

Veteran QB Moves in 2008

by Aaron Freeman 

Okay, I discussed some of this in October, but now I want to revisit the issue. Mainly about Donovan McNabb’s future in Philadelphia.

At the beginning of October, I said that it’s doubtful that he is shipped off after this season, but now almost three months later, it’s bordering somewhere much closer to probable.

I really think Donovan wants to be traded, but won’t outright say it since the little support he already gets in Philadelphia will evaporate completely. So I think during the course of this off-season, something will be said between him and management that will facilitate them looking to move him around.

Now there are four teams that I think are good possible destinations. The first two are Atlanta and Baltimore. But it seems both of these teams will look to use a high first round pick at this position. But I know both teams would much rather have an experienced veteran moreso than a rookie. Especially Billick in Baltimore, since he’s on the hot seat. I don’t think he’s going to get fired after this season, but he will definitely get the memo that he needs to have a similar year as the Ravens did a year ago to keep his job beyond 2008 at the very least. Whether the Falcons pursue McNabb will depend a lot on who takes over the coaching position next year.

But the two teams I think will be most interested are the Bears and Vikings. Okay, you’re saying “No DUH!” Aaron. Yeah, I know not quite a revelation. But I do expect one of these two teams to make a serious push for McNabb.

Then it comes down to what compensation the Eagles are looking for. Right now, I would say the best the Eagles can hope for is a 2nd round pick and another middle round pick (like a 4th or 5th rounder) for McNabb. Both the Bears and Vikings can offer that, but I’m sure if McNabb could choose which of the two he goes to (and thus negotiates a new contract with), it’ll be the Vikings.

What are the Bears left with? Well, they’ll probably have to settle for a player like Chad Pennington, who I suspect the Jets will shop this off-season as well. Pennington doesn’t really fit Ron Turner’s offense, but he’s probably the most viable candidate this off-season besides Grossman or Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper would certainly fit their offense, but he’s still only a shell of his former self, and at this point, unless he makes significant improvements he is not a better option than even a weak-armed Pennington.

I don’t expect any team to be able to lure either Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn out of Cleveland. For both players, the Browns will be looking for a 1st round pick, and I don’t see any of the teams that need a QB willing to offer such a high ransom.

Instead, a team is going to probably have to look at a J.P. Losman-type player instead to acquire via trade. The Bills probably will want to keep Losman as insurance in case Edwards has a sophomore slump, but if a team offers them a 3rd or 4th round pick for him, they would at least have to listen, since it’s unlikely they would get any better offers in the future.

Another trade candidate will be Sage Rosenfels. He hasn’t been great in Houston, but has been pretty solid in Gary Kubiak’s system. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him wind up back in Miami after this season.

The dark horse player I like is Chris Simms. If he’s 100% and back to his ‘05 form, he’d be a surprisingly good starter for some team. But obviously those are big question marks. But considering that the Bucs probably won’t seek much more than a 4th or 5th round pick as far as compensation goes, he might be worth the risk.

Random Thoughts

by Drew Boylhart

• Some of you have a misconception about what I think of the New England Patriots.  For the record, I think they’re a great team.  I think Belichick is a hell of a coach and right now, is the best coach in the game.  My problem is with the penalty handed down by the commissioner for the Patriots cheating.  It should have been handled just like a player who was proven to have taken steroids.  It should have been a four game suspension — not a fine and some draft choices.  My problem is with the commissioner, not with the Patriots. 
  

• I think the Atlanta players have to take as much blame for the coach leaving as much as the coach does.  The players quit on the coach after the fourth game of this season.  Hall has done nothing all season but complain and advertise that he wants out of Atlanta; the rest of the players mailed it in for almost every game this year!  The only person who did not deserve this sort of treatment from the players and the coach was the owner.  The truth is, to get this franchise back on the road to success, the owner is going to have to get himself a set of balls. 

• What is it with ESPN? Why do they have the Spanish report done in English?  That’s not even the worst part!  They also have this extremely hot woman who speaks English so fast I can’t understand her.  Does this make any sense to anybody else?

• I’m so glad that the Miami Dolphins won at least one game this year.  The last few games, the Dolphins have been giving it their all.  One of the best games of the year, in my opinion, was the game they played against the Steelers in some of the worst field conditions I’ve ever seen.  They never mailed it in and I doubt anyone would have blamed them if they did.  The score at the end of the game was Steelers 3, Dolphins 0 — one of the hardest fought games of the year. 
  

• It looks like the Patriots are going to win all sixteen games and I want to say right here before it happens (or for that matter, even if it doesn’t happen), congratulations.  But in the back of my mind, I can’t help feeling what a dreadful thing this is going to be for us fans out here in TV-land.  ESPN will ruin it for us all because they will never stop talking about it for the rest of our lives and we will start to hate the Patriots and forget what a great season this has been in the history of sports.  It will never stop!  ESPN will have programs comparing the Patriots to teams in the past, coaches in the past, and players in the past.  They will announce them as the greatest franchise ever and other crap that will go on and on and on until all of us will not be able to enjoy what they have accomplished.  It will be tough, but I will try my hardest to look past it and appreciate what the Patriots have done this year.  For any team to be 14-0 at this point of the season is a hell of an accomplishment.  Of course, they still have to go all the way to the Super Bowl and win to really break the record the Dolphins hold!

Random Thoughts

By Drew Boylhart

 

• Now that everyone has reacted to the death of Sean Taylor, all I have to say is this:  it does not matter who he hung out with.  It does not matter what he has done in his past.  What matters is that this man died protecting his family.  Not out in a bar, not out late at night, not involved in a drug deal — just trying to protect his family.  Sean Taylor did not deserve to die because of his past.  Nobody deserves that.  Trying to make sense and excusing what happened is just most people’s way of trying to feel safe.  Nobody wants to think that something like this could happen to them. 

• Ray Lewis making sure a camera was on him as he talked to his teammates about the shooting of Sean Taylor and using it to pump up his teammates was disgusting to me.  That should have been done in private.  

12-0…a coincidence? I don’t think so!

By Drew Boylhart

 

Bill Belichick has done it again.  He has broken the rules once more by advertising for a safety to replace Rodney Harrison who is a shell of the player he used to be.  Belichick has announced to the football world how much he loves Ed Reed (S - Baltimore Ravens).  I have never seen Belichick talk so glowingly about an opponent as he did about Ed Reed.  Do you really think that it’s a coincidence that Rodney is not the player he once was and that Bill is talking about a player who plays the same position?  That is as much of a coincidence as the Patriots being 12-0 and everyone believing that Bill “voluntarily” turned over all the tapes.  Belichick has tampered with another team’s player publicly, and he doesn’t care if the NFL fines him for it.

 

Index Rankings and Picks Week 13

Week 13 Index Rankings and Picks