Real Football - We. Are. Back.

It's over.  Finally.  In the words so excitedly spoken by the immortal Roger Goodell: "Football is back."  After 2 years of hushed, foreboding conversation more suited for discussing some one's cancer behind their back and something like a million (or 130, we lost count) days of The Situation Room:  NFL Lockout, the "people walking" clips have been replaced with calendar graphics, recycled trade rumors and hypothetical deals.  You can almost hear the sounds of players crashing into each other (only once a day of course) and smell the fresh cut grass (just a little less in the offseason that before). It's simply magical.

And to think, it almost didn't happen.  After the cancellation of the "Hall of Fame" game, a contest representing the biggest disparity between name and interest in the history of American sport, football almost disappeared forever.  We were so, so scared.  To fill the unfillable void, we even invented a new game called "Not Football."  The rules were essentially the same as football excepts players were required to tackle properly, wear sufficient protective padding and didn't have to watch their brains leak out of their noses at 45.

Luckily for the NFL, they got their shit together before the NNFL took it's place.  In celebration of the NFL's return, we decided to jot down our thoughts on some of the deals and potential deals going down during this 2 week frenzy.

Hate to be clamatic but ...

We.  Are.  Back.

The Panthers Spend the GDP of a Small County to Keep Several Players

Charles Johnson for 6 years and $72 million with $32 million guaranteed.  DeAngelo Williams for 5 years and $43 million with $21 million guaranteed.  Plus a bunch of other money for guys like James Anderson and Thomas Davis.  That's alot of cash.  Hate to pick nits but maybe $50 million guaranteed is a bit much to lock up a DE with one good year and a 28-year old running back who can't stay healthy (particularly in light of Grantland's great piece on "Free Agents You Meet in Hell").  But this really isn't about the numbers, it's about the effect the new CBA's lower salary cap and higher salary floor (a promise to spend like 99% of revenues during the first years).  Teams close or over the reduced cap are having to cut key players (hello Giants) while teams like Carolina (and soon Tampa Bay and others) are essentially forced to give out ridiculous contracts just to get the the floor.  Fun times.

Tavaris Jackson to Seattle; Matt Hasselbeck to Tennessee; Kyle Orton to Somewhere

Need more proof that quarterback is the most important position in sports?  Look at all the discussion over 3 mediocre quarterbacks changing from one non-playoff team to another (no, Seattle is not a playoff team).   Speaking of mediocre signal callers, this probably ends the reign of Clipboard Jesus.  Guess we'll have to wait for the second coming.

Donovan McNabb to Minnesota

Jim McMahon.  Warren Moon.  Randall Cunningham.  Jeff George.  Brett Favre.  What do all those guys have in common?  They each were considered various degrees of done when they came to the Vikes but they all won more than 9 games with the team and, except for McMahon, made the playoffs.  Sounds familiar Donovan?  McNabb looked every bit as as cooked as any of those guys last year in D.C. but he gets another chance to start over in Minny.  It's a good move for the Vikes, for all his faults - accuracy, stomach, etc. - McNabb's pedigree and age (he's only 34) make it seem like last year was more a product of circumstance than him losing it.  We'd expect him to be better than he was last year, particularly when he gets a chance to play with real running game for the first time in his career, but the loss of Sidney Rice (replaced by our biggest personal fantasy bust ever - Devin Aromashodu) and the improvement of a team like Detroit will probably keep them out of the playoffs.  It least he's not you know who.

Brett Favre to Philadelphia

Ahhh, he won't go away!!  This one petered out just about as fast as it got started but nothing could excite us more than the thought, even if it's just a thought, of the Dongmeister bringing his crock-wearing circus to Philly and giving Eagle fans another way to second guess Andy Reid the first time Vick struggles.  Fingers crossed.

Kevin Kolb to Arizona for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a draft pick

Speaking of second guessing Andy Reid, there's no way this can turn out well.  If he trades Kolb and Vick gets hurt, or Kolb is awesome, he's screwed.  If he doesn't and Vick stays healthy, he looks like a worrying idiot.  And if he holds out too long for more value and Arizona goes another direction, he looks greedy.  Still, the Eagles have to make this deal.  Insurance is nice if you're set everywhere else but there's no sense in keeping a player who you hope never sees the field when your defense is putrid.  DRC isn't the answer alone but he's a starting caliber corner with size, athleticism and is still only 25 so the upside is there to be a Top 7-type. 

As for Kolb, there is an awful lot of excitement over a guy with 11 career TD passes, right?  Did we miss the season when he was awesome?  Seemed like his struggles last season after he was handed the job and a new contract were real to us.  Dammit.  Anyway, Arizona is desperate and needs Kolb to reach his potential is they are to have any hope of keeping Fitzgerald happy.  Kolb and Fitz apparently played catch or something, so yeah.  They just better hope he's more Matt Hasselbeck than Rob Johnson or Scott Mitchell. 

Nnamdi Asomugha to the Jets?

The thought of the two best cornerbacks in football (no debate) playing behind all the chaos created by Rex Ryan is intriguing and would give the Jets the offseason championship belt.  But, without additional moves, the Jets are going to need that type of coverage to generate a pass-rush, a prerequisite for any Super Bowl team.  If they convince Awesome-o to take enough of a discount to prevent them from having to gut the roster, they should do it.  While it's a ton of money to sink into the cornerback position, it makes them better and Nnamdi's size could allow him to move to safety in a few years and mitigate any long-term risk.

It's still a long shot right now and an interesting one.  But would it be unprecedented?

Nnamdi and Revis were both first team All-Pro last season, so we looked back as far as 1980 to see if there were any other teammates who both made All-Pro (1st or 2nd team) in the same season.  We used Wikipedia's compilation of the various All-Pro teams, not just the AP, to widen the search.  Not surprisingly, having two corners of that caliber is quite rare (unless of course it's 1987).

2002 - Philadelphia Eagles - Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor.

1990 - Kansas City Chiefs - Kevin Ross and Albert Lewis.

1987 - Cleveland Browns - Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield.  Washington Redskins - Darrell Green and Barry Wilburn.
 
1986 - L.A. Rams - Jerry Gray and LeRoy Irvin.

1984 - L.A. Rams - Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes.

We're certainly not football historians, but have you ever heard of most of these guys?  Obviously, Darrell Green is an all-timer and the Vincent/Taylor combo is known in these parts, but most of these guys don't seem to have had the long-term sustained success (check out some of the other names on the All-Pro list like Delta O'Neal, Patrick Surtain and Lito Sheppard for further evidence).  Make of that what you will.

The best comp seems to be the L.A. Rams combination of Haynes and Hayes.  Haynes, a Hall of Famer, was a perennial pro bowler and one of the best corners in the league with New England before coming to the Raiders at age 30 (same as Nnamdi), joining Hayes, another perennial pro-bowler and HOF finalist, and promptly winning the Super Bowl.  That's music to Jet fans ears.  and maybe enough to keep the Evil Genius up at night.

Albert Haynesworth to New England

Or make him trade for a disgruntled and potentially unmotivated veteran.  Not that long ago, Haynesworth was the best defensive player in football and the recipient of a $100 million contract.  Unfortunately, he is also without a heart.  But this is a perfect Pats move so you fully expect them to take the biggest free agent bust in history and turn him back into a productive to dominant player.  If it doesn't work, all it costs them is a 5th round pick and a few million dollars.  There is a reason why they're still on top.

The Holdouts

Let's make it clear, we have no problem with holdouts in the NFL.  With the lack of guaranteed contracts, players have to get what they can, when they can.  But when it comes to the respective holdouts of DeSean Jackson and Frank Gore, it's leverage vs. no leverage. 

Gore, one of the league's more productive backs, apparently wants to make sure he gets another payday before his body falls apart like every running back before him.  The problem?  What brand new NFL coach really wants start his tenure by throwing a boatload of money at a 28 year old coming off a broken hip?  No leverage.

As for Jackson, aside from Vick, he's the Eagles most important player and, as much as we HATE him, one of the best playmakers in the league.  If the Eagles fancy themselves Super Bowl contenders, they need him.  Plus, at less than $1 million a year, he's violently underpaid.  That's leverage.  The problem?  At 6', 178 lbs (and that's being incredibly generous), he's painfully small and with several concussions already under his belt, the Eagles are are understandably reluctant to want to commit SanAntonio Holmes money (upwards of $50 million with the most ever guaranteed to a WR.  We don't get all the Holmes love) to a guy who could be one hit away from being broken.  He'll get his money, but it's not as easy a decision as you might expect.

Plaxico Burress back to New York?

It's never a good idea to chase the the past.  Things end, people change and trying to recapture old glories never works.  Even the most dramatic thing to ever happen in history ever didn't work out.  So why are we psyched about the fact that our G-Men might bring back Plax?  Because we're stupid.  And there's really no downside.  After two years in jail no one can say what he has left but with Steve Smith returning from microfracture surgery the Giants have a need on the outside, and, if nothing else, Burress has the size to be effective in the redzone (a place the Giants struggle) and, perhaps most importantly during this short offseason, knows the playbook and has chemistry with the quarterback, Eli Manning.  If he's realistic about both the money and his role on the team, a combination of Nicks, Manningham and Burress leaves us with only one thing to say ... Goodness Gracious!!