411's NFL Round Up 2.12.08

Posted by Emmett Wilks on 02.12.2008

The NFL trade that needs to happen, massive rebuilding in Dolphin Land, and keeping natural grass alive in the Steel City. All this and more in the Round Up.

So now is the time when that terrible, sad, empty feeling can really take full effect. The NFL season is officially over until August. I know this is going to be a difficult journey. It is every off-season. But with a little patience, I think we will all be able to manage. The NFL has amazingly made itself watchable even during the off-season, with free-agency and of course, THE DRAFT. But we will all come to that during the course of the year. As for now, we have a whole host of questions going into the off-season about what we will have in store for next season.


QUICK NOTES

Watched about 5 minutes of the Pro Bowl before I shut it off. Just so utterly boring and unnecessary. It is the worst of all the major sports All-Star games. NBA has all the contests, as with NHL. Baseball has a greater history and mystic to the game, and even the stupid home field advantage rule in the World Series for the winning league. Pro Bowl just has nothing to offer, and the "sellout" crowd of 55,000 always seems as bored as we are.

Not so sure what to think about the hiring of Jim Zorn as the new head coach of the Redskins. This has been a strange franchise the last few seasons. The team has been so talented loaded by free agency and drafting, yet even Joe Gibbs, one of the NFL's greatest coaches ever, could never really make the ship sail. Zorn, at 54, is getting his first head coaching job and could work some solid magic with this talent laden group. His rookie season is likely going to be a tough road, with the NFC East looking again to be the NFL's most competitive division.

The Giants should start looking to trade or cut TE Jeremy Shockey. A major fan favorite since his rookie season in 2002, Shockey broke his leg in week 15 against the Redskins and was placed on IR for the remainder of the season. I don't believe the talk that the run the Giants made was made possible without the presence of Shockey. But the facts speak for themselves. The Giants were a excellent unit without him and simply don't need his services for the price tag he comes with. With tight end the new en vogue position in the NFL, I would be hard pressed to imagine some team not willing to give a 2nd round draft pick for Shockey, if healthy.

The Pittsburg Steelers organization, with apparently a great deal of feedback from players, has agreed to keep Heinz Field a natural grass stadium. The players stated that they are convinced that natural grass reduces injuries, and as a former player, I couldn't agree more. Though the numbers do not show a dramatically higher number of injuries on artificial turf, natural grass is still the best for players. To be honest though, I still have a bit of old-school in me that love's the sight of natural grass. While some folks, my dad especially, hate any semblance of sloppy games, I find them to be an essentially part regarding the mystic of the game of football. Pittsburg's mud drenched game against the Dolphins on November 26th, which Pittsburg won by a score of 3-0 was entertaining, not sloppy. And special kudos to the Rooney family for taking serious consideration into the players opinions. This is why the Steelers are contenders almost every season for the last 30 years.

My favorite story going into this off-season right now is the question the Browns face at quarterback with Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. This is one that I am going to let play out before I can make any real judgment, because I really, I don't know what the brain trust in Browns-land is thinking with this one. Fact is, Anderson is the first Pro-Bowl quarterback the city has seen in years, and for a town starving for gridiron success, it would be a big problem to tell them to wait a few more years and let this Quinn guy develop. Honestly, let's just wait and see.


A BAD IDEA FOR ALL INVOLVED

The proposed trade of Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb to Baltimore seems right now to be just a rumor. Neither side seems fully committed to making that move, which would be a negative proposition for all sides involved. Firstly, for the Eagles, that would put the quarterback job in the hands of 2nd year quarterback Kevin Kolb or journeyman AJ Feely. While Feely is a veteran of the Eagles system, the thought of him as a true, full-fledged starter was already dashed by his time in Miami. And Kolb may as well be a rookie with little to no playing time last season. So the Eagles would trade away the face of the franchise and put it into the hands of two completely unproven commodities. I think not. The Eagles starting QB in 2008 will be Donovan McNabb. He still gives them the best chance to win, and they know it. It is easy to see why Baltimore is so keen on McNabb, but without a chance to get him. Ozzie Newsome is my favorite GM in all of football. He has drafted three Hall of Fame players (Ray Lewis, Jonathan Ogden, Ed Reed) and knows how vital a draft can be. He can't afford to lose a top 10 on a risky quarterback venture, not with his great record of drafting. Also, the Ravens have only about 5 or 6 million to play with under the cap, which gives them enough to resign LB/DE Terrell Suggs and not much else. The move just doesn't make sense.

And here is why both teams should just do it.

For the Eagles and McNabb, if you are going to make a break, just make now and get it over with. This whole thing feels like that high school relationship that seeps into your freshman year of college. You know it won't last, but you keep on staying together for some strange reason like loyalty or fear of starting new. That is what the Eagles have become, a relationship where Donovan needs to go off to somewhere else, but the two sides are still clung together. For Donovan, it will end fresh start to the second half of your career. Nothing has gone well for him since the Super Bowl XXXIX loss to New England. From TO, to feeling inferior to Jeff Garcia, to injury, and the drafting of Kolb, it hasn't been a pretty road. Just get out while you still can. As for the Eagles front office, its time to play with the card you choose. The only way to tell if Kolb is the guy of the future is to let him play, not watch from the sidelines for 3 or 4 seasons. Does anyone think Aaron Rogers in Green Bay has gotten a lick better sitting of the bench for the last 4 years. The best time for the future is now. Waiting has been beneficial for some players, but Kolb does not seem like he should be such a project. This isn't Steve McNair out of Alcorn State from D I-AA who needed bigger transition. Kolb is a four year starter from a NFL style offense at the University of Houston. His transition should be less difficult than most. He has three Pro Bowl level players on the line (Shawn Andrews, Jon Runyan, William Thomas) and of course Brian Westbrook, who is now officially one of the NFL's elite backs.


The time for McNabb and Philly to part ways has come

Similar arguments can be said for the Ravens as well. Your division has become very, very tough. Cincinnati and Cleveland are getting stronger and Pittsburg constantly fields good to great teams. The Kyle Boller experiment is officially done, and Steve McNair gave you your shot in 2006, but he just doesn't have much left in the tank. If they could somehow get McNabb and keep their second round pick (no chance to hold onto their first round pick) they would still be in a position to grab a solid receiver or offensive tackle. New coach John Harbaugh is a former Eagle coach, and knows McNabb as well as anyone in the NFL. I don't know if a first year head coach could ask for much more than to be given all of those pieces to start rebuilding with. McNabb could also provide an excitement at the QB position that Ravens fans have never had. McNair was regulated to being a good game manger (nothing wrong with that) on there 13-3 runs in 2006. McNabb still has some legs to move in him, and Ravens fans would likely embrace him quickly.

Unfortunately, the dollar issues are going to keep this from coming to fruition. McNabb will probably not want to take the pay cut necessary to make the deal happen, and the Eagles are still too scared of life without him. The Ravens are going to use that top pick to find Ogden's replacement and won't pull the trigger.


THAT IS ONE WAY TO DO IT


Bill Parcells house cleaning has been swift...and thorough.

Bill Parcells is not joking around in his remodeling of the Miami Dolphins. On Tuesday, the Fins parted ways with QB Trent Green, defensive tackle Keith Traylor WRMarty Booker and offensive tackle LJ Shelton, all of whom were opening day starters for Miami last season. Five other back-up players were also released, which was not unexpected. Along with new GM Jeff Ireland and Head Coach Tony Sparano the Dolphins are going into a bold off-season. Rebuilding teams is a very difficult undertaking in any sport. With a team as disastrous as the Dolphins last year, huge changes are just appropriate; they are also a complete necessity. Mass changes like this can be a useful reminder that 1.) No ones job is secure 2.) Change the dynamic of what was obviously a down trodden locker room and 3.) Make room for new additions that will fit into your philosophy. The NFL life is unforgiving. You can lose your job at any time, even in occasions where there is little fault of your own. Parcells knows that he needs to totally remake the team that is still more or less the creation of ex-GM Jeff Mueller and former coaches Dave Wannstedt and Nick Saban. This is not an easy undertaking, but one that will ultimately prove successful. This is a team that is going to be rebuilt through the draft. Don't expect to see Miami make any big time free agent moves this year. They are going to build a new team in the image of the Parcells regime. With 3 draft picks in the top 60 slots this April, Parcells is hoping to bring in a collection of players that could very well prove to be a new core for the team going into the next decade. The Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor era is fast dwindling, and while they will be important components to the team in the next season, they are not the future. Parcells knows this, and will rebuild his team as such. What players or positions they will pick is still a mystery. The process though, is well underway.


Add your thoughts or comments down below. Hope everyone has a great week. See you next time.