MORE ON THE PALMER TRADE, TWO NEW NFL STARTING QB'S & WHY IS THE DENVER-MIAMI GAME SUCH A BIG DEAL?
After letting the Carson Palmer-to-the-Raiders trade sink in, I had a few more thoughts on it's cost, what "conditional" really means & who got the best of this deal. The Raiders, by trading their 1st round pick in next April's draft, don't have a pick until the 5th round. They had already traded their second round pick last April to New England for an order shuffle. Their third-round pick was used in the supplemental draft to select QB Terrelle Pryor & the 4th round pick was traded to Washington for QB Jason Campbell. By trading all four early round picks, the Raiders are essentially going "all in" with this deal. They'll have no picks to trade before/during next April's draft. The roster they have right now is going to have to get the job done, there's no other way to improve it or bring in depth for injured players. They've also traded their 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft, but it is a "conditional" pick. Conditional meaning there are conditions that can change the value of this pick. If the Raiders make the playoffs this season or next & win a divisional playoff game(week after the wildcard round), the pick goes from a 2nd to a 1st rounder. Obviously the Raiders want to win as many playoff games as possible, so they are expecting to be minus both 1st round selections.
Carson Palmer, decked out in Raider gear, signs the paperwork that finalizes the trade.
If you already have a great team, risking so many picks on a 31-year old quarterback is still questionable. The Raiders have to reach the divisional round both seasons in my eyes for this to be worth that risk. If they reach that level, anything can happen, they could make it to the Super Bowl. This team has to be be successful because they won't have the draft picks to bolster their current roster. With their salary cap already stretched to the limit, acquiring talent thru free agency will be a tall order. The other question is what do they do with Jason Campbell when he returns from injury & what about Terrelle Pryor? Just because you got Carson Palmer, you can't ignore quarterbacks you've surrendered draft picks to acquire.
Finally, who got the vest of this deal? I never thought I would say this, but Bengals owner & GM Mike Brown, made a great deal. He already has his franchise quarterback in Andy Dalton & the best young receiver in the game, A.J. Green. Cincinnati also has Mike Zimmer's stingy defense. With 2 first round picks in each of the next two drafts, they could make a move on the division's toughest opponents, Baltimore & Pittsburgh. If Oakland gets to the Super Bowl this season or next, the trade was worth it, but right now, I'd say the Bengals will be a better team than Oakland in three years, much younger too.
In the only other trade before yesterday's deadline(this should be at mid-season, not 6 weeks in) the Detroit Lions traded a 7th round draft pick & running back Jerome Harrison back to Philadelphia for RB Ronnie Brown. With Jahvid Best absorbing another concussion, a better alternative at the backup spot was a smart move.
It's official, Donovan McNabb is out as the Vikings' starting quarterback. Coach Leslie Frazier made the announcement yesterday afternoon & added he does not intend to go back & forth between new starter, rookie Christian Ponder & McNabb. That means it's Ponder's job, at least for 5-6 games. Also stepping into the starter's shoes, Redskins quarterback John Beck will replace Rex Grossman. The four interceptions Grossman threw in less than three quarters Sunday reminded too many people of "Bad Rex," the QB we saw way too often for the Bears. Beck played the 4th quarter against the Eagles & rallied the Skins late, but had too far to go as Washington dropped the contest 20-13.
In injury news, St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford will start despite a high ankle sprain. Bradford will welcome newly acquired WR, Brandon Lloyd & WR Mark Clayton, eligible to come off the PUP list. Steeler safety Troy Polamalu passed his concussion test, so he can play Sunday, but Detroit RB Jahvid Best is still being evaluated for the same injury.
Here's one that truly puzzles me. The Tennessee Titans lost their best WR, Kenny Britt, for the season. They're pretty desperate for an impact player at that position. Brandon Lloyd is floated as trade bait by Denver & the Titans make no move to outbid the Rams for his services. Today, coach Mike Munchak told the local press Tennessee would be interested in Terrell Owens when he is completely healthy, which should be around November 1st. Really????? You pass on a perfectly healthy 30-year old receiver who led the league in yardage last season for a locker room cancer who is mending a torn ACL & turns 38-years old the first week of December? Really????? The thing that made me question Munchak was T.O. was the only receiver he mentioned as a possibility. As crummy as this division(AFC South) is in 2011, grabbing Lloyd for QB Matt Hasselbeck seemed like a no-brainer to me. But you're interested in T.O.? Wow.
I doubt this game is very high on anyone's list for football viewing excitement, but the Denver-Miami game could be one of the most important games of the season. Why you ask? "Suck for Luck" might just be on the line here. IMO this pair, along with Minnesota & Arizona, are the front runners for the first overall selection next April, which should be Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. If Denver doesn't win this game, with Tim Tebow starting at QB & minus their best receiver, Brandon Lloyd, I'm not sure they'll win a second game. Their other major contest will be later, when they play at Minnesota. The Dolphins are horrible & could very easily lose again this Sunday. Their remaining schedule would make 0-16 or 1-15 a real possibility. The other two winless teams, Indianapolis & St. Louis have 2nd half schedules that should allow both to win at least 2-games. I see no way St. Louis would select Bradford even if they finish 0-16, they'd trade the pick for a load of premium selections. The Colts would select Luck but like Brett favre, don't expect Peyton Manning to be a mentor to Luck, he intends to play 3-4 more seasons. Minnesota & Arizona are real possibilities because holding at one win & having difficult 2nd half schedules, they could struggle enough to cross the finish line as winners in the Luck sweepstakes. You know what part of this Luck derby that bothers me the most? Denver & Miami are my forecasted leaders & these franchises had two of the top all-time quarterbacks in John Elway & Dan Marino. Just doesn't seem fair, maybe I should start an "Occupy Mile High" movement or "Occupy Sun Life Stadium" demonstration so we make sure they don't take more top quarterbacks when the rest of us are left with non-Hall of Fame prospects.
Carson Palmer, decked out in Raider gear, signs the paperwork that finalizes the trade.
If you already have a great team, risking so many picks on a 31-year old quarterback is still questionable. The Raiders have to reach the divisional round both seasons in my eyes for this to be worth that risk. If they reach that level, anything can happen, they could make it to the Super Bowl. This team has to be be successful because they won't have the draft picks to bolster their current roster. With their salary cap already stretched to the limit, acquiring talent thru free agency will be a tall order. The other question is what do they do with Jason Campbell when he returns from injury & what about Terrelle Pryor? Just because you got Carson Palmer, you can't ignore quarterbacks you've surrendered draft picks to acquire.
Finally, who got the vest of this deal? I never thought I would say this, but Bengals owner & GM Mike Brown, made a great deal. He already has his franchise quarterback in Andy Dalton & the best young receiver in the game, A.J. Green. Cincinnati also has Mike Zimmer's stingy defense. With 2 first round picks in each of the next two drafts, they could make a move on the division's toughest opponents, Baltimore & Pittsburgh. If Oakland gets to the Super Bowl this season or next, the trade was worth it, but right now, I'd say the Bengals will be a better team than Oakland in three years, much younger too.
In the only other trade before yesterday's deadline(this should be at mid-season, not 6 weeks in) the Detroit Lions traded a 7th round draft pick & running back Jerome Harrison back to Philadelphia for RB Ronnie Brown. With Jahvid Best absorbing another concussion, a better alternative at the backup spot was a smart move.
It's official, Donovan McNabb is out as the Vikings' starting quarterback. Coach Leslie Frazier made the announcement yesterday afternoon & added he does not intend to go back & forth between new starter, rookie Christian Ponder & McNabb. That means it's Ponder's job, at least for 5-6 games. Also stepping into the starter's shoes, Redskins quarterback John Beck will replace Rex Grossman. The four interceptions Grossman threw in less than three quarters Sunday reminded too many people of "Bad Rex," the QB we saw way too often for the Bears. Beck played the 4th quarter against the Eagles & rallied the Skins late, but had too far to go as Washington dropped the contest 20-13.
In injury news, St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford will start despite a high ankle sprain. Bradford will welcome newly acquired WR, Brandon Lloyd & WR Mark Clayton, eligible to come off the PUP list. Steeler safety Troy Polamalu passed his concussion test, so he can play Sunday, but Detroit RB Jahvid Best is still being evaluated for the same injury.
Here's one that truly puzzles me. The Tennessee Titans lost their best WR, Kenny Britt, for the season. They're pretty desperate for an impact player at that position. Brandon Lloyd is floated as trade bait by Denver & the Titans make no move to outbid the Rams for his services. Today, coach Mike Munchak told the local press Tennessee would be interested in Terrell Owens when he is completely healthy, which should be around November 1st. Really????? You pass on a perfectly healthy 30-year old receiver who led the league in yardage last season for a locker room cancer who is mending a torn ACL & turns 38-years old the first week of December? Really????? The thing that made me question Munchak was T.O. was the only receiver he mentioned as a possibility. As crummy as this division(AFC South) is in 2011, grabbing Lloyd for QB Matt Hasselbeck seemed like a no-brainer to me. But you're interested in T.O.? Wow.
I doubt this game is very high on anyone's list for football viewing excitement, but the Denver-Miami game could be one of the most important games of the season. Why you ask? "Suck for Luck" might just be on the line here. IMO this pair, along with Minnesota & Arizona, are the front runners for the first overall selection next April, which should be Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. If Denver doesn't win this game, with Tim Tebow starting at QB & minus their best receiver, Brandon Lloyd, I'm not sure they'll win a second game. Their other major contest will be later, when they play at Minnesota. The Dolphins are horrible & could very easily lose again this Sunday. Their remaining schedule would make 0-16 or 1-15 a real possibility. The other two winless teams, Indianapolis & St. Louis have 2nd half schedules that should allow both to win at least 2-games. I see no way St. Louis would select Bradford even if they finish 0-16, they'd trade the pick for a load of premium selections. The Colts would select Luck but like Brett favre, don't expect Peyton Manning to be a mentor to Luck, he intends to play 3-4 more seasons. Minnesota & Arizona are real possibilities because holding at one win & having difficult 2nd half schedules, they could struggle enough to cross the finish line as winners in the Luck sweepstakes. You know what part of this Luck derby that bothers me the most? Denver & Miami are my forecasted leaders & these franchises had two of the top all-time quarterbacks in John Elway & Dan Marino. Just doesn't seem fair, maybe I should start an "Occupy Mile High" movement or "Occupy Sun Life Stadium" demonstration so we make sure they don't take more top quarterbacks when the rest of us are left with non-Hall of Fame prospects.
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