Following an exciting first round, we break down the favorite picks, most pleasant and biggest surprises, most under-appreciated pick, worst move and more.
Peyton Manning, Mario Williams, Mike Wallace and Carl Nicks headline an intriguing free agent class that can shift the balance of power this offseason.
The Eagles seemingly came out of nowhere to sign Nnamdi Asomugha as they eye a trip to the Super Bowl.
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$.01- I generally disregard preseason outcomes, but I do pay attention to the 3rd preseason game each team plays, when the starters usually go for a full half. And a couple of teams really stood out for just how much better they could be: the Bengals and the Eagles. Donovan McNabb is back, and he looks motivated and sharp. Ditto Carson Palmer, and he?s got much better weaponry to work with.
$.02- I watched all of the Colts preseason games, and that team is perilously thin across the board. Their second unit was annihilated by the second units of some decidedly inferior teams. It was like watching the freshman team playing the varsity, especially when the Colts? second string offensive line was on the field. The Colts? starters are as good as any, but if they get any kind of injury bug, they are in serious trouble. Without Peyton Manning at QB they might not score more than 10 points in a game.
$.03- Bears Coach Lovie Smith made a potential season-saving decision in naming Thomas Jones his starting RB over Cedric Benson. The Bears locker room was almost 100% behind Jones, a battler who won the team over while playing hurt (and playing well) last season. The down side is that the whole fiasco has probably cost the Bears any chance at getting much out of Benson, the #4 pick in the 2005 draft. For a team with such limited firepower, a lost pick like that is the difference between a playoff win and a bitter loss.
$.04- I respected the heck out of Junior Seau, but his 24 hour retirement stinks to high heaven. When you say you?re done, you?re done. To make such a huge deal out of moving on from football and all the verbal bouquets he tossed to the Chargers, and then to turn around and sign with the Patriots is completely classless. I know most don?t see it that way, but they are letting their admiration of Seau and their unending slurping of the Patriots cloud their judgment. It?s a bad karma move and I hope it bites both Seau and the Patriots in the end.
$.05- Lost amid all the TO chicanery in Dallas is two very important revelations about the Cowboys. First, Terry Glenn is back as a top 10 wide receiver. He hasn?t run routes this sharp or had such quick acceleration since his New England heyday. Secondly, the speed of the Cowboys defense appears unprecedented and is going to give fits to teams that cannot effectively run the ball up the middle or pick up blitzes. They might not need TO at all to be a legit Super Bowl contender.
$.06- Early picks for rookie awards:
Offensive ROY- Greg Jennings, WR, Green Bay, though Jets C Nick Mangold is already one of the best C in the AFC
Defensive ROY- Kamerion Wimbley, LB, Cleveland. He?s clearly learned a lot from Willie McGinest. Danieal Manning of the Bears is ready much sooner than expected too.
Best rookie contributor to a playoff team- DeAngelo Williams, RB in Carolina, where he will also return kicks. He should be starting by Week 6.
Biggest disappointment- LB Chad Greenway in Minnesota, out for the season in his first series of the preseason
$.07- The rush to bash the new Monday Night Football crew has been both vicious and premature. I?ll cop to being a huge Mr. Tony fan, but so many expected instant greatness from Kornheiser and Theismann. How quickly they forget that Kornheiser has for years cringed at interviewing athletes and poked unfriendly barbs at Theismann, whose arrogance towards sports writers (like Kornheiser) makes TO seem humble. Like all rebuilt teams, give them half a season before burying them.
$.08- Two other good teams for which you can halve (or more) the expected win total should the starting QB go down: Washington and Minnesota. That?s not a good thing when the combined age of the two starters on those teams is 73. For the Redskins, Jason Campbell is at least another year away, and we learned why Todd Collins has taken about a snap a year in his 10 seasons. In Minnesota, they realized Mike McMahon was a poor man?s Jeff Garcia and cut him. But they quickly signed Brooks Bollinger, who is basically McMahon with less speed. Rookie Tavaris Jackson is intriguing, but at this point he?s not even Spurgeon Wynn.
$.09- I am so freaking sick of the litany of fantasy football gurus and advice everywhere. It?s actually rubbed me so much the wrong way that I only have one team this season, and that was only after some arm twisting. I?ve never had less than 5 teams since I started avidly playing about 12 years ago, but my interest is almost completely gone now that it?s a national obsession. Save your money from all the ?experts? and trust your gut. Oh, and make sure you revise your ?Do not draft? list all the time so you don?t get stuck with injured or suspended players.
$.10- Switching to college football for a cent?This weekend?s Ohio State-Texas clash is a great example of why no polls should be taken until conference play begins. I?m a die-hard Buckeye fan and I hope they run the season as the #1 team, but I?ve seen enough to know this is the worst Ohio State team since Coach Tressel?s first season in Columbus. Texas is only deserving of the #2 ranking based on last season, not this season?s thumping of hapless North Texas. If either of these two teams winds up in the national championship game, it?s a real down year for college football. Neither of these units would have finished in the top 10 last season.
