Quick-Hits: Haynesworth and Bush’s big moves, Dolphins building winner and are Texans in lead for Asomugha? Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/28/2011 @ 11:52 am) New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush gives a stiff arm to New England Patriots cornerback Darius Butler on a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on August 12, 2010. UPI/Matthew Healey In today’s quick hits, Albert Haynesworth and Reggie Bush have new homes, the Dolphins could be ready for big things this season and are the Texans now the new front-runners for Nnamdi Asomugha? – Can I sing the praises of Bill Belichick for a moment? Ah what the hell, I’m going to do it anyway – with or without your permission. Has the man ever been had in a deal? He traded a second round pick for Corey Dillon, who helped him win a Super Bowl. He traded Richard Seymour, who was due a raise, for a first round pick and netted a potential starting offensive lineman in Nate Solder. He traded a fourth round pick for Randy Moss, who helped him reach the Super Bowl. He then traded an older, more disgruntled Moss for a third round pick. And now in his latest move, Belichick landed Albert Haynesworth, who is undoubtedly one of the best interior defensive tackles in the game when his head is on straight, for a messily fifth rounder. Granted, in the end the Patriots are just acquiring talent, much like any team would. But they’re not like any other team because they have Belichick, a man players like Dillon, Moss and now Hanyesworth will fall into line for in exchange for the chance to win. The man never ceases to amaze me. – The Jets and Patriots will still get the bulk of the attention in the AFC East but I really like what the Dolphins have done the past two offseasons. They hired a solid defensive coordinator in Mike Nolan, signed the most versatile linebacker in the league in Karlos Dansby, acquired a No. 1 receiver in Brandon Marshall, have drafted good young talent in Mike Pouncey and Daniel Thomas, are on the verge of trading for the underrated Kyle Orton, and on Thursday nabbed Reggie Bush for a late round pick. Bush has proven that he isn’t an every-down back but he’s the type of game-changer that Miami needs. (How good will Bush look out of the Wildcat?) Assuming Thomas pans out, the Dolphins now have more explosiveness in their backfield and will soon reunite Marshall with Orton, a duo that worked well together in Denver. The Dolphins are slowly building a winner, folks. – I want to see the incriminating photos that Carolina GM Marty Hurney and head coach Ron Rivera have on Steve Smith in order to get the 32-year-old receiver to back off his desire to be traded and essentially state that he wants to remain a Panther for life. Not that Smith has been making a big fuss about being traded, but if there were one player I thought was a shoe-in to be dealt this summer, it was Donovan McNabb. But if there were two players I thought were a shoe-in to be dealt this summer, it was McNabb and Smith. – NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi tweets that the Texans have “moved into the lead” for free agent Nnamdi Asomugha. Considering their defense was scored on more times than Jenna Haze last season, I would like to think that the Texans would be aggressive in their pursuit of Asomugha. – The Cardinals and Eagles are getting close to completing the Kevin Kolb deal according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Arizona has to be stoked to get a quarterback that can actually play. Wait, Kolb can play can’t he? Ah whatever, the Cardinals will worry about that later… 2011 NFL Free Agency Predictions: Where will Nnamdi Asomugha land? Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/26/2011 @ 1:04 pm) Seattle Seahawks Golden Tate (81) can’t hold on to a Matt Hasselbeck pass as Oakland Raiders Nnamdi Asomugha (21) defends in the second quarter at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California on October 31, 2010. The Raiders defeated the Seahawks 33-3. UPI/Terry Schmitt With the lockout in the rearview mirror, NFL fans can now put away their “Lawyer Jargon for Dummies” textbooks and start hitting the rumor mill once again. Since I’m a fun guy who likes to have some fun and enjoys a little fun, I’ve decided to have a little fun by trying to predict where some of the top free agents will land over the next two weeks. Remember, this is all for fun and is not to be taken too seriously. If you’re the asswipe who reads these things and immediately gets in a tizzy because you disagree, then be aware of my one and only rule when it comes to predictions: Don’t criticize me if you don’t have the stones to leave your own predictions in the comments section. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s have some good ol’ fashion family fun! (Have I overused that word yet? Did the joke land? It wasn’t funny in the first place? All right…) Here are 10 free agents and my predictions for where they might land. In the “Hedging my bet with” section, I list an alternative to where I think said free agent may wind up. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB: Tampa Bay Buccaneers It has been reported that the 2011 NFL salary cap will (roughly) be around $120 million, which leaves the Bucs with (roughly) $60 million to spend in free agency. Of course, that doesn’t mean that cheapo Malcolm Glazer will open his wallet, but we do know that the new CBA comes with a salary cap floor. Thus, teams like the Bucs will have to spend something in free agency. The Bucs have built a solid, young core centered around quarterback Josh Freeman. With Aqib Talib’s legal situation up in the air, they have a definite need at corner and if teams like the Eagles, Cowboys and Jets feel as though Asomugha’s price tag is too steep, maybe the Bucs will step in and shell out big money to land the top free agent on the market. (And if you’re wondering about whether or not Asomugha is a fit for Raheem Morris’ defensive scheme, don’t worry about it because the man is a fit for every defense.) Hedging my bet with: New York Jets DeAngelo Williams, RB: Carolina Panthers The emergence of Mike Goodson and Jonathan Stewart make Williams expendable but the Panthers are still the frontrunners to retain him in my eyes. He says he wants to stay in Carolina and while he’d be a fool to not at least test the market, I think he’ll eventually stay put. The Panthers realize they need a good stable of running backs no matter who starts at quarterback this season, so re-signing Williams is still a priority despite expanding rolls for Goodson and Stewart. Hedging my bet with: New York Giants. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: NFL Tags: Ahmad Bradshaw, Anthony Stalter, DeAngelo Williams, Matt Hasselbeck, NFL free agency, NFL Free Agency News, NFL free agency rumors, Nnamdi Asomugha, Santonio Holmes, Sidney Rice, Vince Young
NFL Lockout Update: Rookies can sign Tuesday, free agents on Friday Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/25/2011 @ 12:42 pm) NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (C) breaks from a league owners meeting, held in College Park, Georgia July 21, 2011. National Football League (NFL) players and owners were preparing to review a proposed collective bargaining agreement on Wednesday that could lead to the end of a fourth-month-old work stoppage, according to a report on the league’s website. REUTERS/John Amis (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL) The NFL Netwrok reports that the new CBA will allow teams to sign rookies on Tuesday and free agency will officially open on Friday at 6:00PM ET. This news is slightly different from what Mike Freeman reported on Sunday, in that the NFL league will not start until five days after the new CBA is ratified. Per Freeman’s report, the CBA will be signed today and free agency will officially begin on Saturday. But I’m just splitting hairs; the good news is that the lockout is essentially over and free agency will begin this week. Per the NFL Network, the players can apparently report to their facilities for voluntary conditioning on Tuesday and beginning at 10AM tomorrow, all rookie draft picks and unsigned rookie free agents can begin signing with teams as well. On Thursday, teams can begin releasing players (hello Vince Young) and then signing unrestricted free agents on Friday evening. Needless to say, this will be a busy week in the NFL. And speaking of free agency, here are a couple of rumors to help wet your appetite for this week: Seahawks in on Kolb? Adam Caplan of FOX Sports tweets that the Seahawks have interest in quarterback Kevin Kolb and are expected to pursue him once free agency begins. The Cardinals are still the frontrunners to land Kolb, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Eagles handle things if more teams get involved. Asomugha to land back in Oakland? While he may just be getting Raider fans’ hopes up, the Contra Costa Times’ Steve Corkran believes there’s still a chance that Nnamdi Asomugha could wind up back in Oakland this season. Personally, I see Asomugha donning green and white this year, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he chose to stay in Oakland. Redskins to target Santonio Holmes? The New York Daily News reports that signing Santonio Holmes will be the Redskins’ top priority heading into free agency. Considering Washington’s utter lack of explosive offensive playmakers, this news is hardly surprising. Dan Snyder won’t be able to whip out his checkbook fast enough on this one. Favre comeback talk just speculation Brett Favre’s agent tells ESPN that the recent rumors about his client returning for another season are just speculation. Of course, this is Lord Favre were talking about. I’ll believe he isn’t coming back the moment I don’t see that goofy grin of his being shown on television while he’s standing on the sidelines. Pryor won’t be eligible for supplemental draft? Alex Marvez of FOX Sports reports that the NFL could end up ruling that former Ohio State quarterback Trerrelle Pryor is ineligible for this year’s supplemental draft. Says NFL spokesman Greg Aiello: “(The supplemental draft) is for players whose circumstances have changed in an unforeseen way after the regular (college) draft. It is not a mechanism for simply bypassing the regular (draft).” So uh, Canadian League anyone? NFL free agency expected to kickoff on July 28 Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/18/2011 @ 1:14 pm) The NFL logo is seen on a trailer parked near the New Meadowlands Stadium where the New York Jets and New York Giants NFL football teams play home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey, March 14, 2011. The NFL has officially announced a lockout of players by team owners following the move by the players’ union to dissolve themselves and pursue court action against the league. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL BUSINESS) Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal tweets that NFL free agency is expected to begin roughly one week after the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has been signed. From Rotoworld.com: For now, the expectation is that an agreement will be done this Thursday. Teams will get three days to study the new labor rules, followed by three days to sign undrafted rookies and “keep their own.” Free agency should start on the seventh day, now estimated at July 28 (not July 25). Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post describes free agency as “a fire drill. … Packing four months of moves into about four days.” The month of August will be jam-packed with NFL news.
This is why teams with new coaching staffs or ones that will be relying on rookies to contribute will have a tough time competing this year. Usually teams have months to get new players up to speed, and now this year they’ll only have weeks. It wouldn’t surprise me if the majority of teams that made the playoffs last year do so again in 2011. (Assuming of course that those teams’ rosters only need minor tweaking.) Does anybody want L.J. Smith? Posted by Anthony Stalter (03/17/2009 @ 9:14 am) 
At the start of the NFL free agency period, it appeared that free agent tight end L.J. Smith had two potential candidates to acquire his services: the Falcons and Lions. In early March, Smith visited the Lions, but left Detroit without a contract. He then traveled to Atlanta and this past weekend, ESPN reported that Smith had chosen the Falcons and that a deal would be worked out soon. But now the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that the Falcons have ended their talks with the free agent and won’t pursue Smith going forward. Smith’s options were down to Detroit and Atlanta. It seemed like the Falcons would easily be the winner. But Smith dragged his feet and the Falcons had a change of heart. In the end, they are a running team and Smith doesn’t block. That’s what football teams call “a bad scheme fit.”
Ironically, on the same day the Falcons decided to end contract negotiations with Smith, the Lions signed tight end Will Heller, formally of the Seahawks. Chances are, Smith was asking for too much and the Falcons balked. There’s no sense overspending on a soon-to-be 29-year old tight end who doesn’t block and who comes with major injury concerns. Atlanta would love to give quarterback Matt Ryan a nice receiving target at tight end, but the draft is deep at that position this year so expect the Falcons to target one at some point next month. (Many will buy into the notion that the Falcons will go with Brandon Pettigrew in the first round if he’s available, but don’t forget that they have more pressing needs on the defensive side of the ball.) So where will Smith wind up? The Lions could still be an option, but they seemed to have moved on after Smith snubbed them for Atlanta. As of right now, there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for the free agent, even though he’s currently the best tight end on the market. Update: Apparently the Ravens wanted L.J… |