Forget his reputation as a team destroyer. I really believe that the impact of his personality is minimal here. Certainly, his history of being a me-first guy would scare some teams away. But, more often than not people are willing to completely look past those character flaws if you have the kind of talent that Terrell Owens does.
I am living proof of this phenomenon, as I sit here hoping that somehow Plaxico Burress will get off on his gun possession charges so that I can get back to the good old days when he would show up late to practice, skip workouts, and butt heads with the coaching staff and front office on a regular basis. I should not want him anywhere near the Giants training facility. But I do, because what he does on Sunday afternoon totally makes up for his behavior during the rest of the week (accidental self-inflicted gunshot wounds included).
Historically, Owens has been able to draw suitors regardless of what he might have done to tear apart his previous locker rooms. Someone was always willing to give him another shot. He makes his team better on the field. Nobody can dispute that. You can't coach height and you can't coach speed. That's what they say about guys like this, and it's true. Unfortunately for TO, you also can't coach youth, and that is why the 35 year old receiver has very little leverage in this situation.
The kind of contract that TO will be looking for is typically backloaded pretty heavily. I can see a team dumping a lot of money into TO for one season, but Drew Rosenhaus will no doubt be trying to get his volatile client something more long term. But, if you're a GM, how in the world can you justify pledging a large sum of money to a 37 or 38 year old Terrell Owens? I know the guy is a freak, but all the hyperbaric chambers in the world won't keep his speed from diminishing as he approaches 40. And, as his skills diminish, so to will his role in the offense. And then....once his physical skills are less of a factor.....his personality suddenly seems so much more important. This is not a guy who is going to be willing to take a lesser role for the team, and he's certainly not the kind of guy (a la Vinny Testaverde or Sam Madison) that you bring in to help mentor your younger players. There is just nothing positive that an almost 40 year old TO can bring to your franchise.
This whole thing reminds me of the Manny negotiations in a way. Teams will be happy to pay big bucks in the short term, but are going to be hesitant to fork over long term money. Drew Rosenhaus (like Scott Boras) will drag it out because he will be completely unwilling to accept any reasonable offer (which I have no problem with. These two are very good at their jobs). In the end, TO will end up settling for something less than he wanted and more than what he really should be getting. And, because teams already know that they either want a happy and motivated TO or no TO at all, they are not even going to bother entering the sweepstakes.
There are really only three teams stupid enough(yes, I have a group of smart teams and dumb teams) to pay TO the way he might want. The first one just cut him. So I guess they're out.
The second is the Raiders. Al Davis has no fucking idea what's going on in terms of the cap, and he clearly has no concept of how age can affect one's performance at work. It's hard for me to believe they have cap room to make this happen after all the contracts they took on last season, but if he wants it bad enough, it can happen. All he has to do is give the order. People will make cap space or heads will roll. He's just crazy enough to do it. He loves players with character issues. He loves the long bomb down the field and refuses to incorporate the principles of the West Coast offense into his team's offensive system. TO would be a nice fit here.
The third is the Redskins. Nothing they do ever makes football sense (except signing Albert Haynesworth. I'm surprised they knew that was a good idea). It's all about increasing ticket sales. They also have a long and well-documented history (at least over the past 8-10 years) of dishing out huge amounts of money for old veterans that are clearly past their prime. It started with Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders is probably the most memorable, and most recently it was Jason Taylor. TO could be the next link in the long line of washed up veterans to receive handouts from Dan Snyder.
I was 11-5 last week (but, in my defense, I couldn't have seen that Miami win coming and I conceded one game by predicting a tie).
Tennessee over Minnesota: It’s hard to have the type of success that people expected the Vikings to have without a balanced offensive attack. Remember, this isn’t just a team that runs a lot. This is a team that CANNOT THROW THE BALL. All you have to do to beat the Vikings is keep their ground game at bay. Tennessee can do that.
Denver over Kansas City: Where do you even start with this game? So far this season, the Chiefs have scored a combined total of 32 points. The Broncos have scored more points than that in each of their three games. The Broncos have looked good against stiff competition, knocking off San Diego and New Orleans in the past two weeks (and completely dismantling the Raiders in week 1). Meanwhile, the Chiefs made the Raiders and Falcons look like playoff contenders. Jay Cutler may still be a long way away from becoming the next John Elway, but he’s certainly becoming a household name in 2008. The Broncos currently rank second in the NFL in total offense, which is 26 spots ahead of the Chiefs. The last line I saw had Denver giving 9.5 in this one. Lay it down! They will cover. This is not a trap game. It’s a division game, and the Broncos will not take any matchup lightly as long as they can feel San Diego breathing down their necks.
San Francisco over New Orleans: I love the Niners. I’ve picked them every week, and they’ve made me look good most of the time. I’m taking them again here. The Saints are banged up badly. Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Randall Gay, Scott Fujita…this is not good. Jamar Nesbit’s suspension could not have come at a worse time. The Niners seem to have everything clicking right now. I think that they are for real (remember....I’m talking NFC West so “for real” means “surprisingly, not below average”). People will pay more attention after this week.
Cardinals over Jets: This is a tough pick for me to make. The Cards are traveling across the country and playing at 1 o’clock EST. That, on its own, could do them in. But, I can’t ignore the fact that I like the Cards on paper. The Jets have been turning the ball over a lot, and Arizona has the firepower to make them pay.
Green Bay over Tampa Bay: Green Bay’s passing attack gives them the edge here.
Carolina over Atlanta: Don’t be tricked into respecting the Falcons. You can respect the fact that they are not a complete fucking mess like last year. But, they are a year or two away from where they need to be to win this game.
Jacksonville over Houston: I expected much more from the Texans than what they have shown. Matt Schaub is looking much less like the answer to their troubles, and they just seem to lack whatever it was they had last season that made them so intriguing.
Cleveland over Cincinnati: How does Marvin Lewis still have a job? Really, can we think about this? This has been the most consistently disappointing team on AND off the field for too long for him to keep his job. I am 100% sure that this team is never going to accomplish anything with the core that they have now. Sure, there is a lot of talent. And, I think that all of these guys are capable of reaching great heights on their own in different environments. But, as currently constructed, this team is going nowhere.
San Diego over Oakland: I won’t waste my breath explaining this pick: the Bolts always beat up on the silver and black. Instead, I’d like to talk a little bit about the Lane Kiffin situation.....
I think that, given the circumstances, Kiffin has done a great job. Last year was really just a throwaway year. But, I love what I see in this team right now. Granted, they will most likely be 3-1 after this week. But, you have to like that they went on the road to Buffalo and almost pulled that game out. They have a legitimate core of young and talented skill players. The future is bright if these goods are handled properly (highly unlikely). But, this team is so young on offense. Al Davis has to understand this, and he has to understand that these guys need time to develop. That’s more important than any single game this season. On top of that, Al Davis seems particularly upset about the team’s defense. But, he’s ready to make the defensive coordinator the new head coach. That makes no sense. And, while I will grant that the Broncos torched Oakland’s defense (along with every other defense that they have faced), this unit held Kansas City to 6 points and didn’t look bad on the road against the Bills.
Buffalo over St. Louis: How many times can we possibly see Trent Green being carted off the field with a season-ending injury? Why is he still playing? And why for the Rams?
Dallas over Washington: People all over the country have been talking about how strong the NFC East is. I love it. I cannot get enough of reading about how sick the division is. The high level of competitiveness makes everything so much more exciting. Adding to that excitement is the fact that all four of these teams have long and storied rivalries with each other. There is perhaps no more storied rivalry in the division than the one between the Cowboys and Redskins. Dallas will win. I’m sure of that. And, I’m willing to admit that as good as the whole NFC East is, the Cowboys are a step above the rest this season. Take a look at their wins: on the road at Cleveland, home against Philly, and the Packers in Lambeau Field. The game against Philly was close, but there has not been a single second of action this regular season when the Cowboys have not appeared to be in total control. I expect the Cowboys to win, but I’m hoping that the Redskins can elevate their level of play and give us another classic NFC East heavyweight battle.
Philadelphia over Chicago: I can’t get behind this Bears team. As good as that defense is, they couldn’t knock off the Bucs last week, and now it seems as if people around the nation may have put a little too much stock in the week 1 victory over Indianapolis. Philadelphia will put pressure on Kyle Orton. He will throw interceptions. The Eagles will capitalize.
Baltimore over Pittsburgh: This should be an exciting game to watch, but I don’t expect a lot of scoring. Give the under some thought here. Pittsburgh has a nice arsenal of skill players, but they can’t protect Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens defense will get to him early and often, and this will create the field position their offense needs to pull it out.
College Pick of the Week:
Mississippi State +24 to LSU. Mississippi State only lost 3-2 to Auburn two weeks ago. Then LSU had to come back to beat Auburn. This line just seems to big for me. My advice: throw them into a teaser with South Florida (-9.5 to NC State) and Wisconsin (-6.5 to Michigan).
I don't like to put much stock in pre-season football games. As Ted Gilbert wisely told me one day "the pre-season makes good players look worse than they are and marginal players look better than they are." As much as I try to keep these words in mind, I can't help being excited about the way the Giants played in the first quarter tonight. Eli Manning looked great, and he did it without his normal receivers. Of course, Domenik Hixon might only score three touchdowns, his total from the first quarter of tonight's game, throughout the rest of the entire year. And, after the first quarter this game melted away into nothing. I'm also aware that if I'm going to argue to you that you should only take into account the first quarter, then I'm admitting that this means nothing.
The one thing I am sure of after watching pre-season football is that JaMarcus Russell is nasty. He performed exceptionally well. I could not have been more impressed with him, even if he was dialing up long TD bombs all night (because that would have had that "pre-season flukiness" feel to it). But, what he did showed that he has the foundations to be very successful for a long time. He moves well. Even when on the run, he squares his body up before he throws. He throws bullets despite a delivery that looks virtually effortless, and (at least from what we've seen) those passes are very accurate. The experts report that the Raiders (who averaged the most rushing attempts per game last season) will be looking to ease Russell into the offense during the early half of the year. This will allow him to work within his comfort zone and build his confidence, which should foster long-term success. Expecting him to bite off more than he can chew right now, which would be more typical of this Raiders franchise, would most likely lead to a lot of mistakes and interceptions.
I said in my AFC West preview that I believed Oakland would be a surprise team this year and finish second in the division. They could also slide into a wild card spot by virtue of the weakness of their division. I also wrote earlier this summer about why Al Davis may end up looking like a genius if the NFL's next Collective Bargaining Agreement does not include a salary cap (with the understanding that if it does include a salary cap, then he's been spending very irresponsibly this off-season).
Nevertheless, the point of all this Raiders talk is that after much deliberation, I've decided to choose Oakland as my franchise for Madden 09. This is not a decision that I take lightly, and I spend the better part of the day weighing my options and checking out the individual player ratings for this year. Just to give you an idea of my process, here are some examples of teams that I eliminated:
Giants: When it comes to playing franchise mode with your favorite team, people often feel very strongly one way or the other. I don't do it. I never have and I never will.
Patriots: Considering that both Tom Brady and Randy Moss are rated 99, New England was probably the best option. The only reason I even considered it as a possibility for any period of time (about half a second) was because Randy Moss is my favorite player. But, I just couldn't do it.
Cardinals: The Cardinals are a great Madden team because Fitzgerald and Boldin are both rated above 95, and Edge is a 92. But, there are two major problems. First, this was my 08 franchise, and I can't see the sense in starting all over in 09 with a team that I already took another decade ahead. Essentially, it would mean that all my hard work last season was for not. I already won the 09 super bowl with Arizona, and 2010, and 2111, you get the idea. Second, Anquan Boldin is still requesting a trade and I wouldn't feel right about throwing to him if that trade happens (I don't think it will, but Problem #1 renders Problem #2 meaningless anyway).
Cowboys, Eagles, and Redskins: Please.
Indy: Too easy
Minnesota: Adrian Peterson makes this attractive, but I like to throw a lot as well. Plus, I have a feeling that this is going to be everyone's pick.
San Diego: LaDainian is a 99, but this would make me want to lose on purpose.
New Orleans: Of all the teams in this game, the Saints might be the most fun on offense. But, the Shockey situation makes them off-limits. That's not my style.
Pittsburgh: I can't stand Ben Roethlisberger or Pittsburgh fans.
Anyways, you get the point. By the time everything was said and done, I had narrowed things down to two finalists: Cincinnati and Oakland.
The Bengals might have made more sense here, and I had essentially settled on them by early this afternoon. Their offense is incredibly explosive, and you'd think that their off the field issues and all of their yelling at each other on the sidelines last season wouldn't matter. You'd thing that right? You'd think that because it's a video game? Me too. But, apparently in the year 2009 video games take these things into account. Check out the morale ratings for some of the Bengals players. Rudi Johnson, 70. Levi Jones, 50. Carson Palmer, 75. Chad Johnson, 20. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, 30. Dexter Jackson, 70. I can't have low morale scores like that from my stars! I don't know exactly what type of impact it can have. But, it's part of the overall equation, and no other team has such low morale scores listed among all of their key players (except maybe Dallas, I didn't look them up because I never considered them). The Bengals are out.
And so it will be Oakland. I can tend to JaMarcus Russell and Darren McFadden and make sure that they are able to flourish and restore the pride of the Oakland faithful.
Commitment to Excellence:
The point of all of this is that it's that time again. We're not out of the woods yet, but we're preparing to get there. We're adjusting our views on pre-season football to fit exactly the way our teams perform. We're starting our Madden franchises. We're tinkering with our fantasy football draft boards. I've already checked out all the week 1 lines several times. It's hard to even think straight right now (I realize I still owe the readers 5 more players to watch in college football. It's coming). We're on the verge of greatness once again, and you need to be prepared.
And, if you're wondering, yes I did DVR women's volleyball against Brazil tonight. I know they won convincingly, but I'll still check it out once the Giants are over.
In honor of our site returning to its full-blown glory during football and basketball season, I give you these sick Baroness videos:
I just want to go on record now as saying that I want no part of Cory Maggette. There are reports out there that the Celtics have offered contracts to both Maggette and James Posey, but that they will only be able to afford one. The Spurs and Magic have also reportedly offered a deal to Maggette, and San Antonio is especially interested. Well, they can have him. When I wrote my post last week saying that the Celtics would be smart to let Posey walk rather than offering him the mid-level exemption deal, I can assure that offering that same contract to Maggette instead was the furthest thing from my mind.
If the Celtics are set on giving that deal to one of these guys, it has to be Posey. Now, you can certainly make an argument for Maggette. He's about two years younger than Posey. He averaged 22 points and 5 boards last year (compare to Poseys 7 and 4). He says that he's hungry to get back to the playoffs and win. Throw in his impressive athleticism, his nose for the basket, and his ability to get to the line, and you certainly have a talented player that could help any team.
But, think about it. What does Maggette do well? Get to the rim. Get to the line. Shoot from the outside. It's all about offense, which the Celtics have plenty of. The Celtics are LOADED on offense. Now, I have to admit that I don't watch the Clippers ALL THAT OFTEN, but everything that I've seen and all the scouting reports that I have read tell me that Maggette's greatest shortcomings are on the defensive end. He doesn't always give great effort on defense, and even when he does he is an average defender at best.
But, what would really help the Celtics? Energy off the bench. Guys that work on defense. Versatile players that can lock down another team's best scorer, therefore allowing the big three to expend more energy on offense. It's hard to really put it into words, but all the things that the Celtics need are the things that James Posey does. As far as I can tell, Maggette does none of these things. On top of that, Posey has learned to relish the role of sixth man. This would be a change for Maggette, and it's hard to know how he would handle it.
I'll end this segment with a final thought. (and, feel free to call bullshit on this). I'm very wary of taking on players that have played well for perpetually mediocre teams. Maggette epitomizes this type of player. How many years have you looked at the Clippers roster heading into the season and thought "Wow, they have a lot of talent. I bet they'll be the surprise team this year." A lot of people have. I'd parallel it to the way that everyone has picked the Arizona Cardinals to be the surprise team of the NFL in each of the past 6 seasons or so. Well, the Clippers never deliver. Sure, they made it to the second round in 06, but it was the first time they had done so in 30 years!
The point here is that guys like Maggette, who has been a pretty consistent 20 point per night guy for this bad team, start to take on a certain aura after a while. Let's call it a cloak of mediocrity. Once saddled with this cloak, very few guys are ever able to free themselves from its clutches. Not all players on bad teams end up wearing the cloak, because some players are too great to ever reach that level of mediocrity. Kevin Garnett never wore the cloak in Minnesota. Ray Allen wore a cloak of obscurity, which is much easier to shed. Strangely, the Celtics star that came to the closest to dawning the COM was Paul Pierce (see ejection and bandaged press conference in round one of the playoffs, 2005. We still love you Paul, it seems funny now.) Maggette has been wearing the cloak for some time, and I just don't know if he can provide the Celtics with what they need. Sure, he's a great shooter, but do you really want him taking big shots for us? I don't, and I think his defensive shortcomings could show up in the most pressing of circumstances (a signature of a player wearing the cloak of mediocrity).
Sadly, I think Big Al is destined to wear the cloak
James Posey, on the other hand, wears a full suit of championship armor. Now sporting two rings from different franchises, this armor helps him provide teams with all the intangible qualities that they will need to win in the playoffs. I've stated my position. I'm not willing to risk the future on Posey. But, if the Celtics are hell-bent on signing one of these guys with that mid-level exemption, Posey has to be the guy.
I was shocked to read about the Baron Davis signing. I never thought that Donald Sterling would shell out the money to land such a talent. It's clearly the right move. If I lived in LA, I'd be on the phone right now ordering season tickets. The Celtics are proof that if you want to really increase your revenue, you have to be willing to spend. This could be the turning point for the Clippers franchise. I think a lot of that will depend on whether or not the Davis signing will convince Elton Brand to re-sign with the Clips rather than going with the max offer from Golden State.
It won't be an easy decision for Brand. At this point, he must feel like the Clippers are a doomed franchise. But, if nobody floors him with an offer, I'm sure the prospect of playing with Davis and seeing this thing in LA through will be very tempting.
I'd like to echo some of the sentiments of sadness that I have read all over the Internet today about Davis leaving Golden State. I stated in my playoff preview that I took on the Warriors as my temporary team during the playoffs of 2007. I have never had so much fun watching an NBA team that wasn't the Celtics. They were so loose, and they played with such abandon, it was incredible to watch. It certainly wasn't fundamental, and I have a hard time believing that a team built like them would ever win a championship. But, their aesthetic quality was through the roof. Seeing the Jazz knock them out of the second round affirmed everything I know to be true about the NBA and yet temporarily shredded a part of my soul at the same time. I loved watching that team.
On a final Clippers note, I just want to say that I really would love to see Shaun Livingston come back and play well this year. I'll never put a clip of that injury up on this site. It was just too gruesome.
Let's quickly recap three of the Oakland Raiders off-season acquisitions:
DeAngelo Hall- 7 years, 70 million, 24.5 million guaranteed
Gibril Wilson- 6 years, 39 million, 16 million guaranteed
Javon Walker- 6 years, 55 million, 16 million guaranteed
Let's remember that these contracts come one season after the Raiders inked JaMarcus Russell to a six year 61 million dollar deal with 32 million guaranteed. And, they also agreed to terms with Darren McFadden on a 6 year-60 million dollar deal with 26 million dollars guaranteed.
Those are a lot of numbers to take in. The Raiders current spending situation brings up many questions that will be at the core of the settlement of the NFL's next collective bargaining agreement. This article does a good job of summing up everything that you need to know.
The first issue, and I believe the most pressing, is whether or not the league will continue to operate with a salary cap. As the article states, Gene Upshaw has said that he is not going to push a salary cap on the players in any way. I've been extremely critical of Al Davis over the past year or so, but clearly he has reason to believe that the league's current salary cap restrictions are at this point nothing more than a temporary hindrance. The league's current agreement only lasts for three more seasons. If the salary cap is eliminated after that, Davis will have already have his franchise on the fast track to success.
Jerry Jones seems to be taking a route similar to Davis. His roster is already loaded up with big-name talent. On top of that, I scratched my head numerous times this off-season thinking to myself "How the hell could Dallas possibly be in the running for Randy Moss? There's no way they can afford him." I thought the same thing when I heard they had interest in Chad Johnson. You can assure yourself that if the salary cap is lifted, Jerry Jones is going to emerge as the George Steinbrenner of the NFL. Even during the salary cap era, he has kept America's Team loaded up with some of the league's biggest names.
I, for one, am a firm believer that having a salary cap is in the best interest of the league. I understand the argument that Dallas and Oakland and New England are bringing in huge amounts of revenue, and therefore their owners shouldn't be restricted in their spending. I understand that asking owners to curb the amount of money that they spend on talent seems counter-intuitive to the ultimate goal of the league, making money through marketing its stars. But, in my mind, you can't argue that the NFL and the NBA have not both been much more exciting since the salary cap was put into effect. You can look up and down the list of NFL teams, and it's virtually impossible to figure out who is going to emerge as the Super Bowl champion. In fact, in many cases, it's impossible to even figure out who is going to win their division. That's a great thing for this league. It brings in fans from all over the country. And, on top of that, it adds a whole nother (there it is again, nother)........... a whole new element to the league. Any stiff can step in to a GM's position and put together a great team if they have no limit on their spending. Managing the cap while you put together a competitive team is very challenging. And, for the hardcore sports fan, breaking down the cap can be very exciting.
As a world, we are facing a lot of issues in the future. Whether or not the NFL has a salary cap is certainly not of them. But, as an NFL fan, I think the lifting of the cap would be a cataclysmic event that would hurt the overall excitement of the league. And, once it's gone, I don't think it will ever be back. For now, it's still pretty far off, so I'll just hope for the best.
The second major issue that teams will face is the issue of rookie contracts. Now, I believe that the Raiders overpaid for all three of the veterans that I have listed. But, at least these guys have had success in the league. As a Giants fan, I know that Gibril Wilson's health is too much of an issue to warrant the money that he will get from the Raiders. But, he's a huge hitter, AND he's coming off a Super Bowl championship. And yet, you'll see that the two players making the most money of the five that I have listed are Russell and McFadden, both of whom were yet to play a single snap in the NFL at the time that they inked their deals.
When I first heard the rumblings about the issue of rookie contracts, I just sort of ignored it. "The game is changing, deal with it", I thought. But, the more I think about this issue, the more I think that something needs to change. The NBA has a rookie pay scale, which regulates the amount of money unproven players can make. I think that this system would work well for the NFL, but it would need some tweaking. For starters, I think that NFL rookies should make more than NBA rookies currently do. Rajon Rondo made less than 1 million dollars this season (in which he was the starting point guard for the world champs). Rondo was a late first round pick in 2006. He has played well enough to ensure that his second contract will be much larger, but NFL rookies have to have bigger deals than that. The risk that they will get hurt is just too great.
I'm not suggesting that top-level rookies should be making peanuts compared to their veteran equals. But, the fact that they are allowed to completely handcuff their teams' cap situations is absurd. Jake Long has 30 million dollars guaranteed coming to him from Miami. And, his contract is good for almost 58 million over 5 years. Now, he may be great. He certainly grades out well as a prospect. But, so did Robert Gallery, and I think we can all agree that he hasn't been worth the 70 million dollar deal that he signed. I want these guys to make their money. But, they also should have to prove themselves before they make top dollar. I hear fans criticize Alex Rodriguez all the time for hurting his team by having such a big contract. His sport doesn't have a salary cap. Take that same argument, and apply it to a league where there is a spending limit and the biggest contract goes to guys that are unproven. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Gallery has been alright since being moved to guard, but at this point I think he has a better chance of joining the band Slipknot than he does of ever making it to Canton.
So, again, I realize that the short average duration of NFL careers makes it tough, but I'd like to see this issue fixed. And, I think it would help with the salary cap issue as well. A team that commits 10-11 million a year with 30 million guaranteed to a guy that turns out to be a bust has just completely fucked their cap situation. Eliminating this risk might make more teams open to keeping the cap.
