Fryingpan Sports By Bill Smith
Best Email this week:
from TheonlyJustice on Mangini seems to be eliminating the leaders on the Browns.
I would feel a little better if Mangini was at least talking to the media a little .I can understand a new coach wanting to keep quiet a little bit about the off season and pre-draft goings-on, but all we have heard here in the Cleveland area is very little and less.
He has already turned off our best defensive player from last year Shaun Rogers. And he isn’t sure if he should use the 3-4 or 4-3 defense , has he looked at the films from last season? We DO NOT have the right linebackers or speed at D-End to keep the same D as Romeo used. And he is saying Derek and Brady will have to compete for the #1 QB, we in C Town are fed up with QB completions after one has had a chance to prove himself and for most of the time didn’t pass the test, Derek fooled the other teams for the first half of the 2007 season, and looked terrible last season. Anderson has a strong arm, but he CAN NOT throw the touch pass, so unless the Browns are trying to trade Derek they are going down the wrong path if they are seriously thinking about keeping Derek over Brady. After all the last regime went through to get Brady it would be terrible to trade Quinn before he gets the real chance to prove himself here.
You are exactly correct about the total lack of touch by Anderson. Given the number of teams that are starting stiffs, the “QB contest” is an attempt to build up the perceived value of Anderson. GM’s may be dumb but they are not stupid. It won’t work and if the Browns find a candidate for a trade, Anderson’s value will be a late 2 or 3 with a 2010 conditional choice based on performance.
Updates on previous columns:
The NFL and NBA should be brought before the Supreme Court.
There have been a couple of comments about the Bill of Rights applying only to government actions. That was true until the 1930′s and that was exactly what the founding fathers had intended. With the progressives taking over the court, the actual text and original intent of the Constitution has not mattered. They consider the Constitution a “living” document that must be expanded and contracted to address the political ends of these judges. Recent court decisions have added rights to the Constitution. For example, the right of privacy is nowhere in the text of the Constitution.
Because the individuals that have been denied entrance to the NFL and NBA are minority, the issue of racial discrimination is one area that should be explored. Frankly the education that public schools give to inner city kids is a violation of their civil rights. No amount of money spent on bad teachers and worse schools will make up for that. Until the inner city parents are given vouchers to allow them to pick a private school for their children, forcing athletes to go to college even for a year is unfair. The educational disadvantage forced on the players by government is a legitimate argument for striking down the rules.
The NFL shot itself in the foot when it allowed 19 year old DT Amobi Okoye into the league a couple of years ago. Okoye has proved that a 19 year old can not only compete but succeed in the NFL. He was a 1st round draft choice. Based on the Okoye case, age discrimination is another area that could be challenged. While it is normally the older people that use this aspect of civil rights law, this is another possibility.
The market for Owens will tell the Browns a lot about the trade value of Edwards.
It looks like Cleveland will trade WR Braylan Edwards to the Giants. After the Giants cut Plaxico “shoot me now!” Burress, the team really needs at least one and probably 2 WRs. Typically it takes a WR rookie two to three years to become productive. That is why they want Edwards. The Browns are asking for a 1st (29th overall) and a 3rd (91st overall). The reason that the deal has not been done is that the Giants are trying to get in on the action for Cardinal WR Anquan Boldin. Despite the fact that he has 2 years remaining on his contract, he wants the same 10 mil a year deal that his running mate Larry Fitzgerald who signed a 10 mil a year deal earlier. Both Fitzgerald and QB Kurt Warner have offered to give up 1 mil each to help get Boldin a new deal with Arizona.
My analysis: Boldin would likely cost more draft choices and money than Edwards but is much less of a head case. Chad Johnson (Cincinnati) is also available. One of them will be a Giant before the draft day 1 ends. The Titans and Ravens are also interested in a veteran wr.
The analysis of the Cutler trade.
Several draft prognosticators have Seattle taking QB Marc Sanchez (USC) with the 4th pick. It is looking more and more like the Seahawks will take Sanchez to replace an aging QB Matt Hasselbeck. There are several reports indicating that including one from respected NFL analyst Todd McShay, of ESPN. Now the Broncos have announced they will bring Sanchez in for a workout. They have 2 1st round picks 12 (1200 value) and 18 (900 value). They may be interested in trading up to get Sanchez. While many mock drafts show Sanchez falling to the Broncos at 12, that is not likely to happen.
My analysis: It would have been impossible for the Bears to trade up to get to #3 to get him. As I said in my column, the price for Cutler was not at all excessive. If you are going to be sure to get Sanchez, you have to trade into the 3rd pick worth 2200 points. Denver can do that with both 1s and a 3rd because they have an extra 3. No other team is in a position to trade up that high. I predict that no trade will happen and Sanchez will be taken in the 4th spot by Seattle or 8th by Jacksonville.
You draft out of fear of failure and you will fail.
You never have enough good big men.
It happens ever year around this time. The big guys are moving up the draft board. The reason this happens so frequently is fear. O line are the “safest” picks in the draft normally. If you draft a guy as a LT and he doesn’t have the feet to play there, try RT or G. That can protect a 20-30 million dollar guarantee. D line is somewhat more risky but both groups are far safer than QB or WR.
Fresh niblets:
The Bills trade LT Jason Peters to the Eagles.
The deal will send Peters, a multiple year pro bowl player, to the Eagles for their 2nd 1st round pick (28th), a 4th this year and a 4th to a 6th next year according to John Clayton. ESPN.com reported that the 2010 choice is a 6th. Peters will get a new extension of 4 years for 60 million added to his current 2 year deal. That deal includes 53 mil in new money.
My analysis: Peters played much better in 07 than he did in 08. Like several O linemen, he earned his pro bowl in 08 on rep. When he is interested, he is an outstanding tackle. A former TE, he has very good feet but went undrafted. He was signed by the Bills and converted to LT.
Derek Anderson (QB Cleveland) refused to have surgery on his injured knee.
Last year Anderson hurt his left MCL after the being hit more than a baseball in an Indians game. Eric “the silent” Mangini has refused to answer questions about Anderson’s condition (or anything else for that matter). EM has said that Anderson and Quinn will battle for the starting spot. GM George Kokinis said “Derek’s 100 percent.”
My analysis: The Browns will need both of them and 3 or 4 more unless the O line plays better in 09.
The Bills sign RB Rhodes.
The Bills signed former RB of the Colts Dominic Rhodes to a contract. He will have to fill in for suspended RB Marshawn Lynch who may be out 3 games due to a plea bargain on a gun charge.
That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.
Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://NFLDraftDog.com and edits http://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on http://www.eBooks-Library/Contemporary/Author.cfm?AuthorID=1003 and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com.
My email is wesmith2001@hotmail.com.
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