I mean, from a comedic point of view, it’s really easy to get all over the Patriots because, well, they haven’t won anything since Spygate. However, I don’t know if their championships are necessarily tainted just because of it. I heard someone make a good point the other day. It’s ok to steal signs in the NFL, as long as you don’t tape them. Well, by that rationale, everybody is probably stealing signs on some level, don’t you think?
Baltimore Ravens
Coby Fleener was picked up by the Colts early in the second round. Presumably, this is the perfect thing for Andrew Luck, who I believe the Colts want to be as comfortable as possible. I think it’s a wise move, but it is not a move that we should be surprised by. The Colts are being very smart about this draft. Rather than pretending that they can simply throw together a roster, they are leaning in the direction of the comfort of Andrew Luck. I like that. It makes more sense than trying to put together a roster that looks good on paper but may not satisfy Luck. After all, he’s the new golden boy. Isn’t he?
So here is what we, as football fans, are looking at so far this year; a pretty good Super Bowl, a god among men leaves his team, new coaches everywhere, “Bounty-Gate” and the always revolving debate on who should go number one. This has been a ride so far and it’s just heating up.
Joe Flacco has either got steel stones or he’s deranged. I am not sure which it is. Once again, Flacco claims he is the best quarterback in the NFL. Seriously Joe?
Flacco has said in the past few months that he is an elite quarterback. That he is a top 5 quarterback. Now, he’s the BEST quarterback in the entire NFL. Flacco is a mediocre quarterback. His record with the Ravens in four years is 44-22. That’s just over .500. I am not sure how that translates into best in the league.
Franchise tag season is underway and several teams have made their intentions known with a few surprises in the mix.
In the not surprising category, the Saints have franchised QB Drew Brees. Even though there had been reports of some frustration on Brees side with the Saints on contract issues, the Saints decided to put an exclusive tag on Brees. It is clearly not surprising that they would do this in order to keep Brees from being able to talk to any other teams. The going rate for QBs is 16 to 17 million a year and Brees looks to receive that come contract time.
This is the off season of mal-content for the New York Jets. Wide receiver complaints about the quarterback, complaints on the offensive coordinator, the head coach no longer issuing bold and brash predictions. Now the defense will be heard from.
Not the defense arguing its case, but the actual defensive side of the ball. This time it’s coming from All-pro linebacker Bart Scott.
It seems Scott is concerned with the way he is being used. Scott is frustrated with regularly being removed from the field on third downs and the Jets plummeting to an 8-8 record after they were expected to be in the Super Bowl. Instead it was the Giants representing New York by winning the title and that doesn’t make Jet fans happy.
For the first time in years, the Pittsburgh Steelers are at a crossroads in the off season. Over the salary cap, the Steelers must not only try and renegotiate several contracts, but make decisions on what players, if any, they take a chance on losing.
The prime threat of leaving the Pittsburgh organization could be wide receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace is one of the premier pass catchers in the NFL, but his contract is up, making him a restricted free agent. That means any team that wants to sign Wallace would have to give a first round pick to the Steelers in order to do so.
ESPN had a great idea. They took a poll of writers and used only current players as examples. They wanted to know who, if anybody, the writers felt could play in any era. As we all know, football has gotten faster, but it used to be more brutal. So, who could hack it in any era? Lots of guys. However, Ray Lewis was the top vote-getter. Uh, duh!
Kickers miss field goals all the time. But we remember the kicks missed that mean the most to us. Which means Baltimore Raven fans will be lamenting Billy Cundiff’s 32 yard miss Sunday forever.
Cundiff’s missed field goal would have sent the AFC title game into overtime against the Patriots in New England. There was no guarantee the Ravens would have won the game. But that means nothing to Ravens fans. All they understand is Cundiff missed a kick he normally makes that cost the Ravens a game that could have sent them to the Super Bowl. A lot of “coulds” were negated by that missed kick.
As I’m trying to decide who I actually think will win the AFC and NFC title games, I am drawn to the idea of the Har-Bowl. You know, the Harbaugh brothers coaching against one another in the Super Bowl. I know, it sounds kind of old-fashioned, but I’d rather the lifelong football family take over the game than have to listen to one more boring presser from Bill Belichick. And the Harbaughs like football. I don’t even know that Bill Belichick likes anything.
