Sports March 11, 2012

A massive trade occurred in the NFL, as the Washington Redskins acquired the 2nd pick in the draft from the St. Louis Rams in exchange for 3 1st round picks and a 2nd round selection. In my opinion, the Rams got the better end of this deal. Sure, the Redskins are going to get RG3, but will he really take the Redskins to the playoffs? Everyone will say Cam Newton's season was a success and compare Newton and RG3 all you want, but in the end, the Panthers missed the playoffs and were never really in contention. Historically, the Redskins have traded picks for veterans, and while they are now trading picks of a pick, the volume of talent they are receiving from the draft is small. Super Bowls are not necessarily won with immediate high draft picks or signing big name veterans. Instead, Super Bowls are won through drafting and developing players. Look no further than the other teams in the NFC East. The Giants have won two Super Bowls in recent years in which their important players (Eli Manning wasn't technically drafted by the Giants but he might as well have been, Ahmad Bradshaw, Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz (an undrafted free agent but the Giants should get credit for scouting and developing him), Mario Manningham, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre- Paul, Corey Webster etc) were all taken by the Giants and have spent their entire careers with one team. Even the Cowboys and Eagles, in their more successful recent seasons, developed contending teams through the draft. In fact, last year when the Eagles deviated from this strategy and went after big name free agents, they struggled. In effect, while RG3 may end up being a great player, the Redskins would have been better off if they had kept the picks and acquired more talent through the draft. For this same reason, I think this trade is good for the Rams because now they have 2 first round picks in each of the next 3 drafts and if recent history tells us anything, those picks will be relatively high.

Another team that got effected by this trade was the Cleveland Browns. The Browns also want RG3, but will likely not get him at this point. With the 4th pick, if no trade had taken place, the Browns would have been in prime position to take RG3 (the Colts would take Luck, the Rams don't need a QB, and the Vikings would take Matt Kalil). Giving up picks to move up would not make sense. However, the Browns would have made a trade to prevent the Redskins from making the move. Therefore, the logical course of action for the Browns would have been to engage the Rams in discussion for the pick to keep them interested and to prevent the Redskins from making a trade, and then make no trade in the end. The other alternative, one that I find particularly risky, would be to give up quite a bit to get the pick from the Rams and then "resell" it to the Redskins for even more picks. However, this might backfire if the Redskins don't agree to the trade, but the reward is an immense amount of talent and the consolation is one of the best quarterback prospects in a long time. But, none of these alternatives played out, and the Browns must either stick with McCoy or go after a free agent like Campbell or Flynn.

The big name free agent quarterback this year is Peyton Manning (I didn't mention him with the Browns because I see no reason for him to go to Cleveland). The landing spots for him look decent. If he were to go to Arizona, he would be able to hook up with Larry Fitzgerald, and think of all the monster numbers those two would put up. If he were to go to Miami, he would be able to play Brady twice a year. The Chiefs have an immense amount of talent to put around him. But the place where I think he will do the most damage is Denver. I say this for several reasons. The most prominent of these reasons are simply the environmental factors: the air is thin a mile above sea level. Because of this, he will be able to get addition zip on his balls. The Bronco receivers also have talent. Eddie Royal had good years with Cutler as his quarterback though not so good recently, Dontarious Thomas was a high draft pick who torched a top ranked Steelers pass defense in the playoffs, and Eric Decker just had a breakout season. The downside to this, for both Denver and football, would be that Tim Tebow would likely end up on the short end of this stick. While Denver might be the best spot for Manning, lets hope he choses not to go there.

Sports March 4, 2012

Everyone has their two cents on Greg Williams, and I am no different. It has recently been revealed that Williams, not too long ago considered one of the premier defensive coordinators in the league, set up a bounty system in which his players got bonuses for injuring key players on the other team. This most recently happened when Williams was with the New Orleans Saints in a tenure that included a Super Bowl victory. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with rewarding players for good play. A bounty system in which statistics such as sacks and interceptions are rewarded are innocent and improve camaraderie among teammates. However, a line has to be drawn when it comes to injuring other players. I do agree football is a violent sport and should be treated as such. Yet, there is a difference between making a big hit and making a big hit with the intent to injure a player. The latter should be discouraged as many football players are having health issues later in life. While bounty systems are fine to implement, injuring players for money should not be taken lightly.