EVEN ON EASTER, THE NFL MAKES BIG NEWS.............WOW
While most of the population was pushing away from the dinner table, savoring that last bite of their Easter dinner, some NFL executives were swilling down their 15th cup of coffee of the day while continuing to hammer out a mega trade in the NFC East. Then tonight, it was official, the Philadelphia Eagles traded 6-time Pro Bowl quarterback to the Washington Redskins. They traded McNabb within their own division! In the words of Frank Barone "Holy crap!" The Eagles got the Redskins offer this morning & after a last check with the other teams that had feigned interest in the QB & finding no better offer, they pulled the trigger with the Redskins. Washington will surrender the 5th pick in the 2nd round, #37 overall plus a conditional 3rd or 4th round pick in the 2011 draft. The Eagles will now go forward with Kevin Kolb & Michael Vick as their quarterbacks & for Andy Reid's sake, it better work. Playing McNabb twice a year could prove very messy for Reid & the Eagles. He said tonight "we have total confidence in Kevin Kolb." They better, because on paper, it looks like new Redskin boss, Mike Shanahan, took Reid to school.
This trade will have a major impact on the Chiefs as well. I don't have any doubt that Washington will select which ever tackle, Russell Okung or Bryan Bulaga, is left when the 4th overall pick rolls around. Replacing the now-retired Chris Samuels at left tackle will be job #1 for Shanahan. Just for fun, let's speculate a little. St. Louis takes Sam Bradford, Detroit takes either Ndamakong Suh or Okung, Tampa takes Gerald McCoy, supposedly #1 on their draft board, Washington takes Okung or Bulaga & the Chiefs take..........? Beats the hell out of me, what if Suh is still there? If the Lions take Suh, K.C.'s choice will be between the Okung/Bulaga survivor & Tennessee safety Eric Berry. Let the arguments begin.
The Cowboys released Flozell "The Hotel" Adams Saturday. He had been their starting left tackle since 1999. The 34-year old Adams played in 177 games for Dallas, starting 173. He was due to make $5 million in 2010 & Jones & Co. couldn't see that as an option, so they let him go. He was a solid, dependable left tackle, but last season his play began to slip, he was out-quicked quite a few times. The Cowboys will install 3rd year pro Doug Free in Adams' old spot. QB Tony Romo didn't seem to approve, when asked about the move he said "no comment, it's too soon, give me about ten days." Buck-up Romo, you're playing for Jerry Jones.
Wedding bells were ringing for former combatants, Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall & Michi Nogami-Campbell. It was just 13 magical months ago that the loving couple was arrested for "kicking & punching each other" in a restaurant. An off-duty policeman broke up the fracas & slapped 'em in cuffs. Good to see those crazy kids put the dual arrest & the resulting civil litigation behind them. Isn't love grand?
With spring football comes spring football injuries. Texas Tech has lost their top-2 quarterbacks to injury & neither will return before summer camp. Steven "Sticks" Sheffield finally had surgery for a re-occurring foot injury. Taylor Potts suffered a severe laceration to his throwing hand banging it into another player's helmet during their first scrimmage. The webbing between his middle & ring finger was torn & required "6 large stitches." He was told to not even grip a football for ten days. Alabama's DeQuan Menzie, a starting cornerback, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon & will be lost for the entire season. Purdue's leading rusher from a year ago, Ralph Bolden, sustained a blown ACL making a sharp cut Saturday & he won't be able to play until 2011. Bolden's 935 yards will have to be made up by sophomore A-Terek McBurse. I've never heard of him, I just like his name. UCLA cornerback Brandon Sermons suffered a broken femur on Saturday & will be lost for the season.
The campus police blotter got a workout in the last few days. Georgia linebacker Montez Robinson was arrested early Saturday morning for the third time in six months! At what point does Mark Richt cut his losses & give this kid the heave-ho? Robinson's charge yesterday was misdemeanor domestic violence. This goes nicely with his battery charge from October 20th & a 2nd degree criminal damage charge from November 26th. I don't see Montez wearing a UGA uniform much longer. In more good news for the Bulldog program, a married couple, both UGA students, is charging 4 yet-unnamed Georgia football players for harassing them in a taxi & slapping them both. Florida, with 27 arrests since Urban Meyer took over, leads the SEC in the police blotter sweepstakes, but now the Georgia Bulldogs are making a run at their dominance. Both of Marshall's starting cornerbacks, DeQuan Bembry & J.J. Drakeford were arrested Friday night for assaulting a police officer, public intoxication & obstructing an officer during an off-campus incident in Huntington West Virginia.
A note I forgot earlier on in this post, if the Rams select Sam Bradford with their 1st round pick, it will mark the first time they've done so since their first round pick of Roman Gabriel in 1964.
Thanks to Martin Manley at The Kansas City Star, I will be writing 5 articles about the Chiefs & their draft possibilities for their "Upon Further Review" site. The 1st one will run a week from Monday, April 12th & run for 5 consecutive days. I'll remind you next week so you can take a look at them, if you haven't visited this site except when I'm on there, you're missing some excellent analysis & writing.
Any comments or questions? Please submit them thru the comments forum or email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com
This trade will have a major impact on the Chiefs as well. I don't have any doubt that Washington will select which ever tackle, Russell Okung or Bryan Bulaga, is left when the 4th overall pick rolls around. Replacing the now-retired Chris Samuels at left tackle will be job #1 for Shanahan. Just for fun, let's speculate a little. St. Louis takes Sam Bradford, Detroit takes either Ndamakong Suh or Okung, Tampa takes Gerald McCoy, supposedly #1 on their draft board, Washington takes Okung or Bulaga & the Chiefs take..........? Beats the hell out of me, what if Suh is still there? If the Lions take Suh, K.C.'s choice will be between the Okung/Bulaga survivor & Tennessee safety Eric Berry. Let the arguments begin.
The Cowboys released Flozell "The Hotel" Adams Saturday. He had been their starting left tackle since 1999. The 34-year old Adams played in 177 games for Dallas, starting 173. He was due to make $5 million in 2010 & Jones & Co. couldn't see that as an option, so they let him go. He was a solid, dependable left tackle, but last season his play began to slip, he was out-quicked quite a few times. The Cowboys will install 3rd year pro Doug Free in Adams' old spot. QB Tony Romo didn't seem to approve, when asked about the move he said "no comment, it's too soon, give me about ten days." Buck-up Romo, you're playing for Jerry Jones.
Wedding bells were ringing for former combatants, Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall & Michi Nogami-Campbell. It was just 13 magical months ago that the loving couple was arrested for "kicking & punching each other" in a restaurant. An off-duty policeman broke up the fracas & slapped 'em in cuffs. Good to see those crazy kids put the dual arrest & the resulting civil litigation behind them. Isn't love grand?
With spring football comes spring football injuries. Texas Tech has lost their top-2 quarterbacks to injury & neither will return before summer camp. Steven "Sticks" Sheffield finally had surgery for a re-occurring foot injury. Taylor Potts suffered a severe laceration to his throwing hand banging it into another player's helmet during their first scrimmage. The webbing between his middle & ring finger was torn & required "6 large stitches." He was told to not even grip a football for ten days. Alabama's DeQuan Menzie, a starting cornerback, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon & will be lost for the entire season. Purdue's leading rusher from a year ago, Ralph Bolden, sustained a blown ACL making a sharp cut Saturday & he won't be able to play until 2011. Bolden's 935 yards will have to be made up by sophomore A-Terek McBurse. I've never heard of him, I just like his name. UCLA cornerback Brandon Sermons suffered a broken femur on Saturday & will be lost for the season.
The campus police blotter got a workout in the last few days. Georgia linebacker Montez Robinson was arrested early Saturday morning for the third time in six months! At what point does Mark Richt cut his losses & give this kid the heave-ho? Robinson's charge yesterday was misdemeanor domestic violence. This goes nicely with his battery charge from October 20th & a 2nd degree criminal damage charge from November 26th. I don't see Montez wearing a UGA uniform much longer. In more good news for the Bulldog program, a married couple, both UGA students, is charging 4 yet-unnamed Georgia football players for harassing them in a taxi & slapping them both. Florida, with 27 arrests since Urban Meyer took over, leads the SEC in the police blotter sweepstakes, but now the Georgia Bulldogs are making a run at their dominance. Both of Marshall's starting cornerbacks, DeQuan Bembry & J.J. Drakeford were arrested Friday night for assaulting a police officer, public intoxication & obstructing an officer during an off-campus incident in Huntington West Virginia.
A note I forgot earlier on in this post, if the Rams select Sam Bradford with their 1st round pick, it will mark the first time they've done so since their first round pick of Roman Gabriel in 1964.
Thanks to Martin Manley at The Kansas City Star, I will be writing 5 articles about the Chiefs & their draft possibilities for their "Upon Further Review" site. The 1st one will run a week from Monday, April 12th & run for 5 consecutive days. I'll remind you next week so you can take a look at them, if you haven't visited this site except when I'm on there, you're missing some excellent analysis & writing.
Any comments or questions? Please submit them thru the comments forum or email me at rich@richsfootballreport.com
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