Fantasy Football

So the first day of free agency is usually fairly eventful, we figured it would be wise to hold off on posting about it and wait until today, so as to be able to complete a full recap of yesterday’s events…

I’m just kidding, we were too lazy to write and procrastinated until this afternoon.

But that doesn’t diminish the day’s events. It appears the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were cleaning house in order to bring in a troubled, inconsistent and injury prone tight end in exchange for a good portion of their draft picks. Bang up job, guys. Everyone knows once you have the tight end position situated, the quarterback, offensive line, receiver and running back positions just sort of…fall into place.

I’m not saying that Winslow is completely unfit to warrant such a trade (especially since we have no idea what Tampa gave up for him), he’s a remarkable talent. Probably the most so at his position. And he was definitely undermined with the entire staff-infection thing by his employer. But despite how talented he may be and how wronged he may have been, they’re looking to replace staples of their offensive lineup with a tight end — even with all his athleticism — that is virtually unknown.

On the Browns side of things, it definitely looks like they’re trading away a valued asset for pennies on the dollar. But lets just cut the bullshit and realize that it was never going to work with Kellen Winslow in Cleveland. He was a great draft pick based on sheer value for where they got him (10th overall I believe), but he doesn’t exactly embody the Cleveland Browns mindset. It seemed like he was always at odds with the fans, the front office, teammates, etc. The allegedly swollen balls incident was just the natural progression of two parties that couldn’t stand each other. As a result, the Browns did the best thing they could for their franchise (assuming there is at least a second round pick in there).

The Albert Haynesworth signing has caught the most buzz, and I’m still on the fence as to whether or not he’s worth $100,000,000. Well, with Daniel Snyder it isn’t about worth but about capability. As in, I am completely capable of potentially overpaying one of the most dominant defensive players in the league, so I’m going to do it. At least they’re getting an asset. Its not like the Redskins are shelling out nine figures for Damon Huard. But it just isn’t going to impact their team in the right way. In other words, its not going to help the offense beyond improved field position.

That said, if everyone stays healthy, with that secondary and a run stopper like Haynesworth, the Redskins should have at least a top five NFL defense up their with Pittsburgh and Minnesota. And yes, Haynesworth switching teams does put rank them in front of Tennessee, who doesn’t have the luxury of being so lax as to what they pay their roster. For a team that insists (either by volunteering or force) on being cap conscious, they offered Haynesworth about what I would have: make him the highest paid player on the team, not in the entire league.

The Eagles seem to be clearing cap space to acquire a new receiver, but I think they may be overcompensating. After letting Brian Dawkins go to the Broncos, they’re now supposedly trading Lito Sheppard for draft picks. Umm, draft picks are the only necessary variable for success in this league, but the secondary has been the staple of that franchise for the past decade or so. If you veer too far from what you know and what has worked, there’s going to be a learning curve for the rest of the team. As an Eagles fan, I understand the Brian Dawkins release (as much as I may hate it), but I hope the Lito Sheppard departure is the end of their hits on defense.

And finally, Matt Cassel is reportedly being traded to the Chiefs (which means that the Patriots probably have closure on Brady’s knee). Cassel had an impressive second half of the season and all, but I can’t recall a quarterback with so many question marks around him after putting up those kinds of numbers. Actually, it is eerily similar to the 49ers letting Elvis Grbac and Steve Bono skip town after promising starts in San Fransisco. In another jersey with less savvy coaching and a depreciation in talent surrounding them, I don’t think either quarterback really impressed anyone. Naturally, Cassel is going to the one team that once harbored both of those quarterbacks.

Alright, that’s all that really warrants mentioning at this juncture. We’ll try to keep up with these signings a little better in the future.

A few headlines with a couple days of absolute nothingness, that is unless you’re referring to sports at large, in which either steroids or Tiger Woods has kept you entertained. “ooh, Tiger Woods is restarting tour play. Watching him walk around on a grassy lot and swing a metallic club is so much more entertaining than watching several other men walk around on a grassy lot and swing a metallic club because…he does it with style.”

But football news has been uninspired and the opposite of noteworthy, whatever that may be. Passe? I guess. I don’t know. But a few items came across the newswire that may have a tangible effect on the fantasy season.

For starters, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut their entire roster (Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, and two of their starting receivers (Galloway and Hilliard). These are all veteran players and this is kind of what you’re supposed to do to keep your team fresh, not to mention Tampa’s local economy is kind of in the shitter, but do they have a couple dozen draft picks I’m unaware of. As far as I know, you still have to field a team to actually be considered an NFL franchise.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re an NFL franchise and their owner, Malcolm

Glazer, bough Manchester United in 2005 and is estimated to be worth around 2 billion. So as long as Glazer wants that team in Tampa, it will be in Tampa. But cutting five mainstays (especially Derrick Brooks) seems a tad presumptuous. It makes you wonder why if they thought their roster was so marginal (which it is) then why they fired Jon Gruden, unless they just assumed that everyone was at fault.

At least someone is prospering in this market. Albeit, that person is a professional athlete that plays for a New York team, so I’m not sure if it’s indicative of an upswing in the economy. But I could be wrong. What do I know? I write a football blog for Christ sakes.

Anyways, congrats to Brandon Jacobs. You maybe the over-sized version of Brian Westbrook (because he’s always “questionable”) and split a back field with two other running backs, but you’re totally worth the $25 million because you’re bigger than most linebackers. I’m looking forward to totally passing on you in the fourth round for both of those reasons.

The Marvin Harrison saga continues, as the Colts officially cut him and he begins to play the market. We said before that he should play the loyalty card and bilk the Colts for more money than he could get anywhere else. But like 90% of all professional athletes he overestimates his market value and his agent couldn’t talk him off the ledge. So, the question is where to now. The Eagles seems to be a popular speculated destination, mainly because that’s his hometown and “where he registers his gun” as Tony Kornheiser so charmingly put it a couple days ago on PTI.

However, as an Eagles fan, while I would take him in lieu of being able to attract either Houshmenzadeh or more importantly Anquan Boldin, I really don’t think the Eagles need another receiver under six feet tall. They already have that market cornered with DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis, who are extremely viable 2nd and 3rd receivers respectively. But at 1 and 2 where they currently reside, the Eagles are stretching and they know it; even if it is their best receiving corps. in six years.

Alright, we hope to post tomorrow to close out the week.

A few news items relevant to fantasy football.

-The running back corps. for the 2009 draft class is disappointing at the combines. Most notably Knowshon Moreno (as opposed to the other Knowshon) and Chris Wells. This means that instead of being drafted in the top fifteen, they could potentially be looking at a late first or early second placing. In terms of what that would mean for the team that takes them, they might be a tad hesitant to put them in the regular rotation at the start of the season. But if 2008 is any indication that’s not necessarily true. Tim Hightower was drafted in the 7th round and was among the league leaders in touchdowns. In other words, there’s a good chance that their fallen draft status has absolutely no bearing on their rookie season.

-In today’s disgruntled NFL wide receiver news, Marvin Harrison wants out of Indy. Or rather, he wants more money than they’re willing to pay him (or anybody is willing to pay him, I imagine). I like Harrison despite my seething disdain for the team he plays for, but his agent might want to clue him in here, and bring him up to speed about his current market value. What does one think an aging, under-sized and now injury prone wide receiver generally go for on the open market? He might want to rely on the loyalty that Indy has towards him for as big of a contract as he can garner.

That said, I would love for the Eagles to sign him.

-And finally, Kurt Warner wants to go back to the Cardinals and the Cardinals want Kurt Warner back, but there’s a staunch disagreement as to how many years he should get out of the deal (one or two, I’ll let you figure who wants which). I can understand both sides here, Arizona doesn’t want to commit too much to a 38 year-old and the 38 year-old wants as much security as possible. But what I can’t understand is why Arizona doesn’t just agree to Warner’s terms, and then cut his ass when they no longer want to honor it? I imagine they owe him a percentage of that money he was going to make in that second year, but it’s called a compromise. Warner, unlike Harrison, could probably start a bidding war if he was unrestricted.

Arizona has a lot of options here, they still have Matt Leinart who hasn’t taken enough snaps to be considered a bust or a prodigy. They’re coming off a Super Bowl appearance and since they are the Arizona Cardinals, they’re probably fairly concerned about falling back to the NFL basement. But at some point they’re going to have to give Leinart a shot at the QB1 position, so if they really do not want to sign him just start the Matt Leinart era two years later than expected instead of three or four years later.

That’s about all that’s circulating that isn’t overly-analytical op-eds coming out of the combines, and we’re not about to delve into that. Back tomorrow with something.

So I apologize for failing to post yesterday. It’s just that, when you write a fantasy football blog and you’re trying to make your efforts solely dedicated to fantasy football, that can be a little trying in the middle of February. There just isn’t that much happening. We still have about a month before the draft heats up, at least for semi-normal people. Those who follow draft combines in the middle of February and aren’t getting paid for it really need to be committed. Just watch college football if you’re that fucking curious. Honestly. It’s much more entertaining than watching people exercise.

But this might be how things are for the next couple weeks because unless we completely transform this into a general NFL blog (which we kind of did during the playoffs), there just isn’t that much to comment on.

For today however, there is a bit of news that might be cause for concern as it pertains to the Titans defense: Albert Haynesworth is going to be testing the free agent market. I’m not sure if anyone recalls what the Titans defense looked like in the weeks during and shortly thereafter his injury, it was still pretty impressive but they lost three of four games from week fifteen if you include their playoff game against the Ravens. The one game they did win during that stretch was, naturally, The Steelers.

But if their team is so vulnerable to lose that many games because of an either absent or banged up defensive tackle, it should definitely make you reconsider drafting them. They’re well coached, and whether or not Haynesworth comes back they’re still loaded with talent. But let’s be honest, that offense generally got by with the skin of their teeth last season. They’re not going to be able to keep from turning the ball over with such a non-productive passing game again. And more turnovers makes for better field position makes for more points allowed in 2009 vs. 2008.

It’s not absolutely imperative that they bring him back, but I’m feeling a lot better about them fantasy wise if they do. I’m always hesitant to draft my defense too early, and I generally pull the trigger when the best available defense is ranked significantly higher compared to the remaining skill players.

For example, a couple years ago I drafted Baltimore’s defense in the eighth round because there was so little separation on the board from the highest running back and receiver to the 20th running back and receiver. So why not draft (at the time) what was considered to be a top three defense? It does warrant mentioning that in hindsight this didn’t exactly work out (for the same reason I am hesitant on Tennessee’s defense in 2008 actually: unreliable quarterback play). But I did win the playoffs that year and came in second during the regular season.

In stark contrast, I waited until about the 12th round to draft my defense in 2008 and ended up with (gulp) Seattle, who I knew wasn’t great but I thought would at least be serviceable (I had just drafted Hasselbeck in the 9th, after all). But for all the rounds leading up to it I thought that I could find either a receiver or running back that had too much value at where they were available. And, if you read this site, you are at least somewhat aware of the tribulations during my 2008 fantasy season. So…take that for what it’s worth.

But back to Tennessee’s defense, even if you do have a penchant for drafting one high, don’t you have to take into consideration the other prospects out there? Minnesota (though they need a new QB but seem prime to snatch up Garcia), Baltimore (though they’re getting old), Philly (occasionally inconsistent) and Pittsburgh (probably the most reliable but the least flashy, which means fewer fantasy points), are all viable candidates for best defense in 2009, not to mention Green Bay, Jacksonville, New England, Miami, etc. There is so much uncertainty from season to season, putting too much stock into an entire unit (as opposed to just one player) seems hasty and ill-advised.

On the flip side, if Haynesworth goes to the right team he could drastically alter their course of direction. Given the economy, the team is going to need deep pockets and a willingness to reach into them. That pretty much narrows it down to Washington (probably the most likely fit, as are all players looking to be overpaid), Dallas (though they might take that whole “head stomping with cleats while offensive player isn’t wearing helmet” thing personally from a few years back) and the two New York teams (the Jets might spring for him, the Giants won’t).

Point being, it’s rare you see a defensive tackle, as big of an asshole that he is, have such an effect on the makeup of the league. He’s reportedly looking for $12 million a year, and while I would be apprehensive to pay that to any one defensive lineman, this may be one of the exceptions to the rule. Besides, it beats the shit out of giving that to a running back.

Hopefully back with more tomorrow.

Another noteworthy axing today with the Saints letting go of long time backfield threat Deuce McAllister. This isn’t terribly surprising as Deuce was growing increasingly injury prone, and with all the money they have tied up in Reggie Bush, not to mention the stellar performance of Pierre Thomas, you end up with an released aging running back.

I don’t know what the intricacies are of why a team signs a running back and why they wouldn’t, but I imagine both McAllister and yesterday’s casualty of Fred Taylor will seek out a minimum one year deal a la Shaun Alexander. As to what condition they’re in compared to Alexander in his tinier with the Redskins I have no idea. But its not going to surprise me if neither of them get signed by the start of the 2009 season. The league itself is getting younger and younger and the running back position is at the forefront of this youth movement. They still might be able to contribute on a playoff team (see: Edgerrin James with the Cardinals) but there’s a plethora of aspiring rookies and early twenty-something journeymen who an NFL team will put more value in (even if it’s not reflected in the player’s salary).

As for the Saints, they’re going to have an explosive offense. If Pierre Thomas is left as the lone traditional running back he’s going to be an asset. Reggie Bush was having a phenomenal year before his injury in 2008 and his return was rather unimpressive. Should Bush actually overcome whatever it is that’s mentally/physically ailing him, he will also be a viable third or fourth round fantasy pick (any higher is just too great of a risk).

In other words, the Saints will be fine from a fantasy standpoint and if they have half a brain they won’t waste early draft picks (if any at all) on the backfield. Obviously, when you have statistically the best offense in the NFL, your quarterback throws for over 5,000 yards and you finish the season 8-8…it leads one to assume that your defense could use some improvement. Outside of Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith, every other player on that defense is someone they overpaid because they either A) played on a well run team that could mask their liabilities (Randall Gay); or B) The player had one notable playoff run that the Saints put too much stock in (Jason David).

In short, Deuce McAllister’s career could very well be over and if the Saints do what they should the team should only get better as a result of cutting him. I know it’s commonplace for your average adolescent American male to aspire to be a professional athlete, but if that is the case I recommend going for baseball (more employment opportunities) or basketball (more money). The career is too short and you’re thrown out on your ass faster than you were welcomed.

My apologies for the lack of attention around here lately. We’ve been rather busy and there just hasn’t been much noteworthy stories across the wire as of late, so we didn’t trouble ourselves with it on Friday. But there is some news today that barring what happens in the draft, should have an impact on the first round of most competent fantasy leagues.

That news being of course that the Jacksonville Jaguars have finally cut Fred Taylor. Why? The same reason anyone in the NFL does anything: Cap space. And unfortunately for Taylor it makes all too much sense from a business perspective. His better days are about three years behind him and although he’s had a pretty successful run with the Jags (in north Florida, basically), the team is better off spending that money to load up the offensive line.

So this opens the flood gates for Maurice Jones-Drew to see the predominant amount of carries. Assuming they do not draft anyone too high at the running back position and that passing game stays as anemic as it has been the past year, Drew should be top five potential in just about any competent draft. He was starting to show a tendency to fumble the ball away against good defenses but I imagine that will be remedied if he’s going to be getting 80% of the carries (they still have Greg Jones).

I had Jones last year and his week-to-week performances fluctuated like nobody else in the NFL, but the 20+ point weeks far outweighed 10 and below. Again, barring what happens in the draft and he stays healthy, I’m ranking him just below Tom Brady, Adrian Peterson (though the looming death rattle of a season ending injury is always prevalent) and Brian Westbrook. He’s right in the mix with DeAngelo Williams (splitting carries), Michael Turner (also splitting carries) and Larry Fitzgerald (might see a change at quarterback).

So while the Jags are a longshot to make the playoffs (but really, what’s a long shot in the NFL these days?), they have at least one viable fantasy player for the 2009 season. Maurice Jones-Drew is basically the Calvin Johnson of running backs: He’ll be able to amass top five at his position numbers but his team is most likely staring down the barrel of a 6-10 season, assuming things keep treading downward for the once hopeful Jags.

As I’m sure you have heard by now (and if you haven’t then you’ve probably never heard nor intend to read this website, so I don’t need to worry about you), Brett Favre is retiring for the tenth time from the NFL, though this time it appears to be permanent because no legend has ever been worse at the end of his career, so we’re all taking it a little more seriously. I mean, after all, he won as many Super Bowls as Trent Dilfer. He’s a legend.

Alright, I’m being a little shortsighted, admittedly. But mainly because I’ve loathed the way the media has treated Favre for the past decade (when he really wasn’t all that great except for the 2007 regular season). That is, they’ve been overtly kind whereas someone like Donovan McNabb or Ben Roethlisberger can’t flinch in the pocket without be crucified for it. But it’s time to get down to brass tax: What does this mean in terms of the fantasy season for the Jets?

As I have mentioned before, Thomas Jones was a severe disappointment in 2007, when they had Kellen Clemens and Chad Pennington splitting time. As bad as Favre was the second half of the season, you still had to take him into consideration when designing a defensive game plan against them, which opened up the offense Thomas Jones and to a lesser extent, Leon Washington. Not to mention all the receivers saw an increase in productivity from 2007 to 2008. Really, the only persons statistics that were adversely effected by the acquisition was Brett Favre himself.

Even with the draft on the horizon and free agency yet to kick off, in all likelihood the Jets are going to be back with Clemens, who has shown flashes of promise but is ultimately a disappointment to date. The offensive line has improved so the skill players should see an uptick in statistics from 2007. For example, Thomas Jones should get in the end zone more than twice (like in 2007), but it will be much closer to that production than his 2008 season (17). If Clemens doesn’t play better than he did in 2007 (or in college, for that matter), expect every other player on the Jets to look just as mediocre as he will.

Or maybe everything will be on the up and up. After all, everybody knows it was Eric Mangini’s fault that they didn’t make the playoffs.

Busy today, back with more tomorrow.

It’s exceedingly difficult to find a sports headline that doesn’t involve steroids and/or Alex Rodriguez, and you are fortunate enough to it’s some kitschy pun about Michael Phelps and his bong. Man, it’s a good thing no NFL players do steroids or smoke weed, can you imagine the negative press?

Wait, what?

But there is some news, as discrete as it may be. Actually, the most notable news item as it might pertain to your fantasy season in 2009, is Josh McCown being re-signed by the Buccaneers. I kid of course, I think they’re now sporting about a dozen quarterbacks on payroll. Which include Trent Dilfer’s return from office and Jeff George’s return from the arm wrestling circuit. When he wears his hat backward, that means he’s ready to compete.

But in all honesty, if you’re actually considering drafting any players high off this Tampa team (and for the sake of your fantasy season, we sincerely hope this isn’t the case) that you take their current prospects into consideration. Right now, they have at best average receivers (you’re not going to be able to sell me on the reliability of Antonio Bryant. At least not highly), a tentative running back situation (which sports about three average at best options) and, as has been eluded too, about the worst quarterback situation in the league (sans every team in the NFC North that doesn’t call Wisconsin home).

Basically, if you have a hunch about any one player and that he might seem productive, he’ll be rendered a disappointment because even if you’re right about his potential he’ll have so little help that teams will just load up on him. This, I think, is where Jon Gruden was valuable. Even if he was at least partly responsible for the nothing they sported on offense, he at least was able to make something out of it. I can’t say the same will be true for whoever their new coach is.

They have the draft coming up and free agency always opens up a lot of doors (especially in this economy), but if this team is making the playoffs they’re doing it on the back of their defense. In fact, assuming they find a quarterback that isn’t an interception machine, their defense is probably your best alternative. You’d be better off drafting any backup running back than what the Bucs are offering at any of the three primary positions.

Back tomorrow with something equally random and mailed in.

Alright, after a day longer than expected hiatus as the result of the website malfunctioning like HAL 9000, very little is happening in NFL news. Well, a couple things actually. Namely:

1) Anquan Boldin confirmed everyone’s suspicions that he wants out of Arizona, and has formally asked for a trade. Can’t say I blame him. I mean, shit, all they did in Arizona this year was come within forty seconds of winning a Super Bowl for one of the worst franchises in the history of professional sports (the only ones that might be worse are the Los Angeles Clippers, the Charlotte Bobcats & some baseball teams I can’t really quantify right now). So yeah, he’s gone and it will be costly. But between Fitzgerald, Breaston, Urban and whoever they pick up via the draft or free agency, they’re still well-suited at the position.

2) Semi-related, Todd Haley, the Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator infamous for his sideline screaming match with Mr. Boldin during the NFC title game, was hired as the Chiefs new head coach. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really understand this hire. Is it really noteworthy to reach the Super Bowl with the best receiving corps — potentially ever — and Kurt Warner in peak condition. The last time a coordinator built a career off a Kurt Warner led offense was Mike Martz and, well, we all know how that went. Luckily for him the Chiefs are much closer to a playoff team than anyone will admit.

3) Speaking of disgruntled receivers, TJ Houshmenzadeh wants out of Cincinnati. Or rather, that’s what everyone says. That is, everyone except for TJ, who’s claiming the Bengals aren’t interested in resigning him. Both are likely because the Bengals are notoriously cheap and who would want to play for them in the first place, but one thing is certain, no one seems to give a shit if Housh decides to leave for greener pastures. I know I just claimed that the Bengals are cheap, but I really can’t understand this, why the hell would the Bengals want to give up there only viable star who isn’t a washed-up nuisance (Chad Johnson), injury prone (Carson Palmer) or an off-the-field head case (presumable everyone else)? Maybe instead of pissing off their fan base with sheer ineptitude, they’re now going out of their way to drive down ticket sales.

4) Pacman’s officially been cut by the Cowboys, making there defense safe to acquire for the 2009 season. Or rather, it will be someone other than Pacman who’s responsible for that liability on one side of the field. Unless they can get Lito Sheppard out of Philly, who would actually get them into the playoffs.

That’s about it for now. We’ll try and keep up to date with all the gripping melodrama that is the NFL off-season. In case you were wondering, this is by all means hyperbole. No one gives a shit about any of this, including myself.

Alright, we’ve mulled over the decision a couple times now, and we’re going to take the rest of the week off. Unless NBA Superstars dropping 50+ points on the Knicks suddenly becomes pertinent to fantasy football, there just isn’t much happening right now and we’re too busy the rest of the week to write anything creative in lieu of anything analytical. And yes, we’re pretending the Pro Bowl doesn’t exist. My apologies.

But we should be back on Monday, refreshed and rejuvenated for the foreseeable future and prepared to tackle the NFL’s premiere event in testing people’s boundaries: The NFL Draft.

Until then, I hope constant breakdown of college basketball’s revolving door of #1 seed’s through various media outlets will tide you over.

So now that the Super Bowl and we stare down a dreadful eight months before the next regular season NFL game, we can finally get to the business of dismantling the two teams who reached the promise land. Historically, the Cardinals and the Steelers have been notoriously…thrifty, shall we say.

Well, that’s not entirely fair and I didn’t mean to relate the Steelers history in any way to that of the Cardinals. We’ll say this, the Cardinals have been cheap (though they opened up the wallet recently) and the Steelers have been savvy and efficient.

Pittsburgh has always prioritized the team when it came to bringing in new players, but rarely over-extend themselves financially so as to keep the team young. The first examples of this I can recall are with Kevin Greene and Rod Woodson, who were integral to their Super Bowl run in 1995 but were cut shortly thereafter. It might seem crass and heartless, but the Steelers have been run like a well-oiled machine because they treat their franchise like they should: a business. They’ve only had three coaches in about forty years and for good reason, They’re patient and they hire the right people. Basically, they were the Patriots before the Patriots. They aren’t going to make any errant moves before next season.

Arizona/Phoenix, on the other hand, has rarely been willing to extend a contract acquire a new free agent or take a risk with a high profile trade, mainly because the Bidwell’s have never wanted to spend any money that would put them in the black. They’ve typically drafted with the intention of drawing fans to the stadium but rarely ever to improve the team.

So now, as both teams come out of the jubilation/funk of Super Bowl 43, it’s time to start assessing how they will approach the 2009 season. And right now, the highest touted commodity that appears to be in limbo is Anquan Boldin. And the two teams vying for his wide receiving capabilities appear to be the Eagles and Giants.

Now let me just provide a couple caveats for what I am about to say. 1) This is all speculation, nothing is founded. It wouldn’t be a proper blog if the status of Boldin with the Cardinals wasn’t just some blurb I heard from John Clayton on Mike and Mike yesterday morning and saw in these two posts. And 2) I am well aware that I’ve been harping on the parity of the NFL for the past four months, so I know full well that predicting a Super Bowl team three days after the season ends is generally a losing proposition.

With that said, if the Giants or Eagles do end up with Anquan Boldin, that is going to be Super Bowl team from the NFC in 2010.

Now usually I would expect the Giants to wrap him up and the Eagles to hope to skate by with DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis. Actually, the Eagles have better receivers than the Giants now, so they could actually use him more and might be willing to overpay him. But the Eagles have two first round draft picks after trading the rights to Jeff Otah to the Panthers during the 2008 draft. So if the Cardinals are looking to build on 2008’s post-season success and feel like they’re sufficient with Breaston & Fitzgerald, they might try to barter for one or both of those picks.

The Eagles would probably go for the former and not the latter, and while I think they have better receivers than the Giants they are still a long way from an elite receiving corps. Sure, Jackson and Curtis are both playmakers to varying degrees, but I don’t think either one of them is over 6′1. A physical presence like Boldin is just what they need to open up the deep passes for DeSean Jackson, because you can’t exactly be throwing jump balls to someone whose basically the Darren Sproles of wide receivers. I’m not even going to bother making the obvious comparisons to Terrell Owens and that they went to the Super Bowl the one year they had him.

The Giants are just in a world of hurt at receiver and are probably willing to max out a contract for him, but what do they have/are they willing to offer the Cardinals for rights to him? I mean, they could mortgage their defense but that seems unwise since it’s been their catalyst for the past two seasons. They could offer up some running backs as they run three deep at the position (Jacobs/Ward/Bradshaw), but does Arizona really need or want another utility running back to split carries with Hightower and Aarington (I’m assuming James is leaving and that the Giants are not giving up Brandon Jacobs)? Do they really think Derrick Ward is that much better than someone they can pick up in the third round of the 2009 draft? (Note: they did sign Edge to that ridiculous contract so they might, hopefully they’ve been Hightower-ed into thinking straight about the running position) The Giants are not trading Manning or any offensive lineman. That leaves two options: draft picks and future draft picks.

This upcoming draft the Giants do not have much to offer in the way of trade bait. A low first round pick than pretty much the same thing everyone else has, so if they want Boldin and the Arizona plays its cards properly, they might be able to get some 2010 picks out of the situation. Neither has been substantiated so we’re not optimistic this will happen.

But we are confident in the prospects of 2009 for either team should they land a top five receiver in the game (After Moss, Fitzgerald & Andre Johnson). Sure this isn’t full proof, both teams would have to stay healthy (Which has been a tall order for the Eagles for every season since 2002), not to mention Steve Spagnuolo is leaving New York for the higher profile pastures of head coaching in St. Louis. There is also reason to suspect that Boldin might not work out for either franchise. Namely, he doesn’t seem comfortable in cold weather (remember that Eagles game on Thanksgiving? He made Braylon Edwards look like Jerry Rice with all of his dropped passes).

But the Giants should still retain their core defensive unit and are not going to completely abandon a system that has been so immensely successful because they lost a coordinator. And while Boldin might now struggle in colder climates, he will also have a chance to adjust to it (something that isn’t likely to happen with someone who grew up and played college ball in Florida and now plays in a fucking desert with housing) and can still contribute until October and in certain road games.

All I know is that I desperately want to see jim in an Eagles jersey. The fantasy/real impact he would have on everyone if he went to Philly (receivers, running backs and quarterback alike) would be almost invaluable. Though I will admit, it’s difficult to bank so much on the health of such an injury prone back field, but I think Boldin has the talent to make even Kevin Kolb look respectable.

So a few follow up comments that seem to be lingering from the Super Bowl. We meant to get to this yesterday, but as we mentioned over at Grid Effect we were at work until 7PM and that means two things: 1) We were actually busy and couldn’t get around to posting anything, and 2) we were too tired when we got back from work to be hassled with it. So, here we are. And its almost good we got the extra day to get a general picture of how everyone is reacting to everything.

For anyone complaining about the lack of a review on Arizona’s final play of the game: There were five seconds left and you had roughly half the field to go. While I think you were robbed of the opportunity for a win and the audience for an even more satisfying conclusion (as it looked like an incomplete pass to me), the refs certainly didn’t steal the game from you. Santonio Holmes and Ben Roethlisberger took the liberty of doing that.

Much like every year in the Super Bowl, there are a plethora of players on the winning team who could be awarded MVP. Harrison took himself out of it with that personal foul on the punt that pinned them even closer to their own end zone, so it was between Roethlisberger and Holmes. Considering Big Ben threw an interception and Holmes was his primary target the entire game (though Heath Miller may have been for the first half), I am content with Holmes being awarded the MVP. As great as Roethlisberger was on that last drive, the degree of difficulty on Holmes’ TD catch warrants the award on its own. Not to mention his cumulative stats (something David Tyree lacked last year and why it was default awarded to Eli Manning).

If you noticed that we haven’t mentioned the commercials and were wondering why, it’s quite simple: We can’t find a lot of humor in people trying to con us into buying their products. Even if we did, the creativity is sorely lacking. Can we get something other than nut shots, attractive women and animals afflicted with sentient problems? If you want me to buy your product and are going to spend millions of dollars throwing together and advertising campaign, it would stand to reason that you would invest more than one work weekend into it.

Also, for at least half of the advertisers I can’t think of a single, solitary reason they have to invest that much money into a series of commercials. Is Budweiser still in such heated competition with anyone that throwing millions of dollars into TV spots is necessary? Same with Career Builder and Monster.com. Not only does their net worth pale in comparison to that of Budweiser, isn’t everyone going to their sites anyways? I know when the economy and American way of life is in peril, I’m supposed to root for commerce, but I would have been perfectly fine with fewer commercials.

And finally, after any entertaining Super Bowl, especially one with a climactic finish, there is a groundswell of people quick to proclaim it the Best. Ever. I suppose if you’re going to have this conversation then it’s definitely a part of it, but on the list of Super Bowls we drummed up that only dated back to Green Bay’s first title in 1996, I’d probably rank it fourth behind last year’s game, the Packers-Broncos in 1997 and the Rams-Titans game in 1999. It’s generous to put it at fourth in front of the first two Patriots titles as well, we’ll call it a dead heap between those three for fourth place.

When you are trying to quantify something like “Greatest Ever” in sports, you have to take everything into consideration: Back story, historical significance, star power, efficiency, execution, entertainment level, etc. And while Sunday’s fourth and second quarters were wildly entertaining, I thought I was staring down the barrel of another Seahawks-Steelers game before Arizona got rolling. The star power was fairly high in this game, but there were eighteen total penalties many of which came during pivotal points of the game (Adrian Wilson running over the place holder, the aforementioned Harrison penalty, pass interference on the Cardinals last touchdown drive, etc).

So while we’ll look back on it fondly because the last seven or eight minutes were so eventful (and that’s all that really matters), when I recall that game it’s more along the lines of, “the emotional fluctuation was immense” more so than “Never at any moment was I not entertained”. You’re going to tell me that it was fascinating to watch the Steelers just peeling minutes off the clock in the first and third quarters, capped by them being unable to get in the end zone? Fine, but I beg to differ.

Maybe back with some news and notes later.

So you may have heard there was an NFL contest on last night. Not sure if any of you watched it, but it turned out to pretty competitive. Who would have thought that the Arizona Cardinals would stand a chance.

Alright, that’s total bullshit. Everyone has been so inconsistent (read: terrible) with their picks ( I knew my ploy would work) that no one was willing to completely write them off for fear of looking ill-informed. So basically, everyone was saying they had a chance, if not out and out picking them to win. Turns out, everyone’s trepidation towards predicting this game was warranted, because it has been over for close to half a day now, and I still cannot commit it to memory that the Steelers won.

(Note: Please note that when I say “everyone”, I am speaking in generalities. So spare me the emails with examples of how wrong I am).

The Cardinals more than had their chance, after holding Pittsburgh scoreless for the entire fourth quarter (and only giving up three in the third), all they needed was one more stop to earn what most would consider one of the more unexpected (some say undeserved) Super Bowl titles in history. But Roethlisberger, on a quest to redeem himself from that craptastic performance in 2006 against the Seahawks, marched his team down field with the help of Santonio Holmes breaking down the secondary.

Going into that final drive, however, you knew there would be fireworks. If you’re a Browns fan you just hoped they would be set off for the Cardinals. But the veteran and playoff experienced team kept their poise and made the game one for the ages after Larry Fitzgerald finally lived up to the hype. It wasn’t exactly storybook considering the favorite prevailed in the end (and seem to be the beneficiary of several questionable calls/penalties. Again.), but it means that the Steelers are officially the best franchise in the Super Bowl era and if the Cardinals hadn’t proved themselves worthy just by reaching the Super Bowl, they certainly did with their performance in it. They’re now relevant in the NFL landscape. It might be the thinnest of silver linings today for you run of the mill Cardinals fan, but it will have to do for now.

As for the Steelers, what can you really say? While they might have been the beneficiaries of moderately favorable officiating they deserved to win that game. Sure, they kind of blew all the momentum they had in the fourth quarter and damn near pissed the game away. Actually, most probably assumed that epic change in momentum pick six to end the first half was going to seal it. But they earned this win on that last drive. Santonio Holmes, whom any fantasy owner of his is acutely aware that he was under-utilized during the regular season, and finally broke out of his shell to win Super Bowl MVP. This was starkly impressive, because anyone whose anyone knows that he went to OSU, and OSU doesn’t produce any athletes. Or at least that’s what every college football pundit tells me.

All in all it was a memorable game with several memorable performances (including halftime). The parity being what it is in the NFL these days, it’s a rarity to see the top-tier players actually deliver in the clutch. Larry Fitzgerald, Jerome Harrison, Kurt Warner, Ben Roethlisberger and Willie Parker all lived up to expectations. In a season where their weren’t any real upsets, the outcome wasn’t surprising, but the efficiency perseverance by both teams that got us to 27-23 most definitely was.

Much more on this later.