'Random Musings and Tidbits from the NFL'

As the NFL Draft approaches, there is a pile of various things that have occurred since the end of the season that are worth discussing. Free agent moves.. Or lack thereof... the pending draft..Chad Johnson acting like a virgin who get felt up at the prom...The Tuna in Miami.. and so on. Really I just miss football, any excuse I can find to talk about it works for me.

In Free Agency we saw a ton of money thrown at mediocre to good players. Asante Samuel and his almost 60 million dollar contract from the Philadelphia Eagles comes to mind. He’s a decent corner back no doubt about it, but he is not 60 million dollars worth of good. True he had a ton of interceptions with the Pats, but I firmly believe that’s a product of the defensive system that the Pats and ‘Hoodie’ have implemented. Look at the division that Samuel now plays in.. Multiple times a year he will be lining up against the likes of Plaxico Buress, T.O., Amani Toomer, and so on. These are all big receivers.. Samuel is a small guy..not even 6ft. He is going to get pushed around a bit and be susceptible to jump balls. The Eagles defense is good but he is not going to be the lock down corner back in the NFC. The Jets loaded up with a bunch of mid 30's players with the exception of LB Calvin Pace. They threw a ton of money at Alan Faneca.. A lot for an offensive lineman anyway. Calvin Pace may be a nice pick up...but he has been hurt a lot in his career and does not warrant the big money the Jets gave him. This is a make or break year for the not so ‘Mangenious’ Eric Mangini. If that team does not make the playoffs or back doors into the playoffs and gets bounced in the 1st round, he is a goner. The Patriots did very little in free agency, they let a lot of guys go (especially in the secondary), but the biggest priority on their off season list was taken care of, re-signing Randy Moss. True to their nature they got him at 75 cents on the dollar. 3 yrs, 27 million. It’s a steal. They also still have Wes Welker, and Jabaar Gaffney to keep the most lethal parts of their passing game in play. Still in need of a number one corner and some youth at the LB position..perhaps in the draft. Thats ok they have the 7th pick in this years draft...thanks SF.

I am very intrigued, as well as wary, to see Bill Parcells in Miami. Parcells no longer wants to deal with the grinds of being an NFL head coach. He still however knows how to evaluate talent, especially defensive talent, and that is his primary role as VP of Player Personnel and whatever the hell else he wants to do. The Dolphins are a total mess on both sides of the ball (sorry Meester Jeff), so Parcells needs to build this team from the ground up basically. He pretty much threw out all the trash, including long time favorite Zach Thomas. One thing that Bill Parcells believes in is that, your team is only as good as your offensive/defensive lines let them be. He will build this team from the lines out. I think he will use the 1st draft pick to get a dominating defensive lineman like a Chris Long or Glenn Dorsey. Solidify the lines and then work out into role players like running backs, receivers, Qb’s, linebackers, and so on. My bet? In about 3 years the Dolphins will back in contention and vying for playoff spots, playing Parcells football. Tough defense, solid special teams, and a deceptively good offense.

Last and certainly least in my mind, is Chad Johnson. What is this guys deal anyway? He’s a great receiver, a great talent, but his attitude sucks giant donkey balls. He is the stereotype for prima donna athletes (include T.O. who, in fairness, did seem to settle down a touch last year) who have great on-field accomplishments but let their mouth and ‘me!me!me!’ attitudes overshadow it all. Johnson is pissed at the Cincinnati Bengals because the team sucks and he really wants to win. Thats a fair point to be sure. Coach Marvin Lewis does not have the authority and backing from the front office to really assemble the team that he wants. Owner Mike Brown still has final say on all draft picks on personnel and draft picks. His record sucks, filled with David Klinglers, Ki-Jana Carters, Dan Wilkinsons, and so on. The offense on the Bengals is not the problem..it’s the defense. Its awful. Half the defense has pending court cases and the other half are just plain old not good. Let Marvin Lewis have more of a say in personnel matters and I promise you that team gets better. He is not a bad coach. So I understand Johnson’s frustration. The answer, however, is not to run around all off season, whoring yourself out to any team that will take you, while throwing the Bengals (and subsequently his team mates) under the bus. He has made this a very VERY public process and that is just lack of class. You don’t think Carson Palmer, TJ Houshmazolli :), Rudy Johnson, and the other non felons on the team, want to win? Of course they do. Take your issues to ownership, privately, and make whatever veiled threats and demands you want and see how it plays out. The only thing he is accomplishing right now is killing his team and making himself look like a horses ass in the process.

Back on Thursday with the start of my MLB preview.