Well, it's April. NFL Free Agency has come with its usual quick bang and the cupboard is almost empty. The NFL Draft is at the end of the month, leaving fans to read countless mock drafts that mean absolutely nothing - but still offer up debate and hope for everyone. But before we get to the draft let's take a second and reflect on how exciting and interesting the NFL off-season has been so far. Here are some quick thoughts:
- I wrote earlier this year that I thought Rex Ryan and the Raiders needed each other. Well, it turns out Rex didn't need them as he decided to go to Buffalo instead - leaving the oh so attractive Raiders job to Jack Del Rio. I'm sure Rex simply didn't want to work in a division that didn't include his buddy Bill Belichick, but that's besides the point. Rex is going to ruin the Buffalo defense. He's a 3-4 guy, they've assembled players for and play a 4-3. Rex should take the example of Mike Tomlin (another defensive guy who went to a team that employed a different defense than he was use to) and not mess with the system. True there's no Dick Lebeau in Buffalo, but Mario Williams didn't have fun playing outside linebacker his last season in Houston. Why make him do it again? No need to fix what isn't broken. Try finding a quarterback, Rex.
- It's been a relatively quiet off-season on the legal front. There have been a few arrests - mostly for drunk driving - and thankfully so after last year. Are players finally realizing there could be repercussions if they break the law? Ray Rice is seemingly shunned by the league, though is also an aging, less effective running back. Though Greg Hardy got paid nicely even though he's facing a lengthy suspension and there's plenty of interest in Adrian Peterson if the Vikings can't convince him to come back. It's still early in the off-season, but let's hope that NFL players (and let's include executives and owners) have learned the lesson that they are not above the law. For some reason Jameis Winston is coming to mind as I typed that last sentence...
- Speaking of Winston, reports have come out that the Buccaneers are leaning towards him with the #1 overall pick because they don't like how quiet and reserved Marcus Mariota is. Wait. What? How does that make any sense? Mariota is the better player, though he'll probably need some time to adjust to the NFL. But that shouldn't stop teams from taking him. Who cares if he needs to sit a season or two? The new CBA has locked in rookie contracts so that they aren't a burden on the team. Carson Palmer and Aaron Rodgers both sat on the bench for a couple of seasons after being drafted. Palmer has done pretty well for himself despite his knee issues and Rodgers is the best QB in football. Lovie Smith clearly knows nothing about quarterbacks. Good luck to them when they screw up the first pick of the 2015 NFL Draft.
- Speaking of Mariota, with more and more reports coming out about it, I'm believing the hype that Cleveland will trade up for him - possibly with the Titans though Washington remains a possibility since I don't believe the Titans will take a QB at #2. This offers more proof that Ray Farmer has no idea what he is doing. Did he go to the Matt Millen school of NFL General Managers? I think the Justin Gilbert pick last year will turn out ok, but he wasted his second first round pick on Manziel. Manziel is not an NFL QB and should just be cut - no one should ask for him to be included in a draft pick deal. It's not out of the question to consider that Farmer will give up more picks in an attempt to finally find a franchise QB for Cleveland. What they should do is stay where they are, draft a WR and another defensive piece in the first round, and then add someone like Brent Hundley from UCLA in the second round. But poorly run teams don't like doing what they should and instead think they're going to outsmart everyone by constantly reaching on players. Is there something in the water in Cleveland that causes people to make bad decisions?
- Getting away from the draft, this has been a very exciting off-season. Why? PLAYER TRADES! Trades involving players actually on NFL rosters rarely happen in the NFL and thankfully this off-season has been full of them! Philly has been the most active jettisoning LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles, but a bunch of other teams are getting in on the action as well. Keep it up, NFL! Trades generate a ton of interest from fans - just look at the MLB. The rising salary cap has helped make trades possible so teams can absorb bad contracts, which in turn generates buzz in every NFL market. There's also the issue of teams locking up their best players preventing them from hitting free agency. Less quality free agents means more trades! Please, please, please let this be a continuing trend in the NFL!
- The other interesting major development has been the retirement of four talented players. Well, ok, three talented players and Jake Locker. And all for very different reasons. Locker "lost his passion", though actually was barely good enough to be a back-up - though back-up QB in the NFL is not a bad gig. Patrick Willis has foot issues. Jason Worilds has decided to pursue other opportunities. The most interesting case is Chris Borland. He would be entering his second NFL season and was an excellent linebacker last year. He's leaving the game due to future potential health issues. He did his research, consulted with former players, and came to the conclusion that playing in the NFL wasn't worth possibly suffering from CTE later in life. This is somewhat reminiscent of Robert Smith retiring at the age of 28 while still productive, and playing with a young Randy Moss and a still effective Dante Culpepper. All of these players have people scratching their heads and questioning their decisions, but all should be applauded. Especially Borland. Here's to hoping that Chris Borland leaving the game because of potential brain trauma issues gets and keeps the conversation going about player safety in the NFL.
Please share your thoughts/questions about any of these topics or on this NFL off-season in general below.
