And So Begins The Decimation of The Superbowl Arizona Cardinals
A lot going on in the past few days that we’ve neglected to write about: NFL schedules being announced (Note: we like Adrian Peterson this year), John Madden just recently retired (we understand he’s something of an icon to your NFL loyalist, but it’s time for some new blood) and a bunch of people resigned with their current teams that shouldn’t really have any impact on the upcoming season that it didn’t have on the last (Jones-Drew & Harrison most notably).
It was against the Broncos, but still, that catch was sick.
Or these are the three teams who seem to have surfaced, at least. He’ll probably end up playing for the Dolphins or something. But of the three the Giants are the team that not only need him the most, but the team he could improve the most, despite the fact they went 13-3 last season and won the Superbowl the year before it. Personally, though, I don’t see it happening. The Giants have little to offer in the way of draft picks (fairly low), there defense is stretched too thin, and they have no viable quarterback that they will be willing to trade that the Cardinals would probably put some value in. All they have to offer is running backs, and even then it’s only Bradshaw, who the Cardinals probably feel they can draft better than, much less give up a top five receiver for.
The Browns, on the other hand, have already thrown it out there that they would love for someone to take Braylon Edwards off their hands. Which seems insane to me, since they traded away the most talented tight-end in the league, their second wideout is facing a DUI manslaughter charge, and they’re starting a brand new quarterback who no one in the organization seems to like. I mean, right now if you’re a Browns fan, you have to be wondering if they’re cleaning house or sabotaging the team from the top down.
Bringing in Boldin would be a step in the right direction. Unload some draft picks in a weak draft, maybe throw them a bone with a utility receiver, keep Edwards, and you have a top three receiving corps. for the next five years. I know much of the Cleveland faithful want Edwards gone because he does have a penchant for dropping passes at costly points in the game, but he has top-five pure, god-given talent (behind Moss, Fitzgerald, Calvin & Andre Johnson). You don’t mortgage that because he played college ball in Ann Arbor (which I think has a lot to do with the antipathy for him). In short, I don’t see Cleveland pulling the trigger because off all this talk about Eric Mangini wanting to bring in “his own guys”.
What kind of narcissistic bullshit is that? “Whatever success I may experience, I can’t have any of the credit going to my predecessor who is also presumably my friend as we were coordinators together for one of the greatest franchise runs of all time.” Honestly, I defended the Mangini hiring and condemned his firing at the time, but he does seem like a bit of an asshole. The good news for Cleveland is, assholes tend to thrive in the NFL, especially at the coaching position.
Or maybe bringing in a free agent is considered “his own guy” because he was brought in under his clock, I don’t know. But what I do know is that Philly, all things considered, is the best and most likely fit of the three teams. For starters, they have multiple first round picks, meaning they could offer a first and a third (the same thing the Cowboys gave up for Roy Williams, which kind of set the market value for standout receivers) and not sacrifice an entire draft for the benefit of one offensive weapon.
The only setback would be if the Eagles haven’t recovered from their Terrell Owens hangover, which has prevented them from acquiring and hanging onto a legitimate first option at the wideout position. I can understand the trepidation, Anquan Boldin could have represented himself better in the playoffs, but I can also assure you that they are not making the playoffs without Boldin, even in the weak, weak NFC West.
That said, I think one aspect of this trade all three of those teams might want to take note of: Anquan Boldin does not operate well in cold weather. He’s not Kurt Warner bad, but he’s not Larry Fitzgerald good, either. Boldin played at Florida State, and went straight from their to the desert, playing at Sun Devil Stadium (which has to have the highest average temperature of any college stadium in the country) and later in a fucking dome at University of Phoenix. If you recall the Thanksgiving game, which was blistering cold in Philly, he dropped numerous passes and played a large hand in costing his team the game. If any of these teams are going to consider a move with this many potential consequences, they might want to make sure games like that are anomalies and don’t speak to a pattern of ineptitude.
If I am the Titans, however, I get the Bidwell’s on the phone post-haste.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Interesting stuff! I’m just getting started with blogging and trying to gain some insight into writing articles. I like your style!