49ers Lose Draft Pick for Tampering

by | Mar 25, 2008 | NFL Draft

The San Francisco 49ers have lost a 5th round draft pick in this year’s draft, and will exchange 3rd round picks with the Chicago Bears after being found guilty of tampering with Bears LB Lance Briggs last season.

Briggs, who was designated as the Bears franchise player last season and initially held out over the issue, eventually signed his one year tender and reported to the team. Sometime during the season, the Bears filed charges that the 49ers had made contact with Briggs’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Despite making threats of leaving last year, Briggs signed a 6-year, $36 million contract with the Bears early in free agency this year, meaning the 49ers lose a draft pick, and give the Bears a better pick in the third for…doing nothing that resulted in them getting an advantage over another NFL team.

At the same time, I wonder if the penalty would have been tougher had they actually landed Briggs–the Patriots did have to give up a first round pick (but only one of theirs, not the one they got from the 49ers) for Spygate.

Oh, and by the way, if you want to read about how great Drew Rosenhaus is, I highly recommend his book A Shark Never Sleeps. He’ll fill you in on how smart he is, how great he is with women, and how important he is. It definitely is an…interesting read.

Bills Considering Losman as Backup Plan

by | Mar 12, 2008 | Fantasy Football

We read on ProFootballTalk.com (who linked to BuffaloBills.com–which appears to have lost their site somehow?  That can’t be good) this morning that the Bills are considering keeping JP Losman around as the backup to second year QB Trent Edwards next week.

If this is true, and not just a negotiating ploy by the Bills, I’d push any expectations for Buffalo down a couple pegs.

Yes, it gives them a nice backup situation if Edwards goes down–but it also means that Edwards could be looking over his shoulder all offseason, preseason, and regular season, worried that if he screws up, he’ll get the hook. 

The crowd might react the same way–if the Bills get out of the gate slowly, and Edwards doesn’t excel, you can always expect them to want the backup. 

Given Edwards is a second year player, it would also be nice to have a veteran QB who can serve as a mentor, to help him through rough spots.  And given where Losman is in his career, I doubt he’d be the happiest camper in the world if he’s expected to play the mentor role (and I’m not sure I would want him as the mentor in the first place).

Given the season that Losman had in 2006, I’m not sure I would hold it against him for being upset about the decision to make him a backup, as long as he isn’t a d—–bag about it. 

From the statistics, it looks like he largely outplayed Edwards in 2007 as well, despite Dick Juaron constantly going back and forth.  To be fair to Juaron, both Losman and Edwards were injured at times–but I don’t see how Losman lost the job while injured with Edwards playing ok but not great and the team going 3-2, while Edwards retained his starting job through injury after Losman played ok but not great and the team went 3-2.

In the end, regardless of who ends up at QB in Buffalo in 2008, it shouldn’t have a significant fantasy impact, other than maybe a bye week filler.  With an average at best receiver corps, the Bills QB can expect to hand off to Marshawn Lynch a fair amount–and Lynch can expect to face a lot of stacked fronts to stop him, unless they are able to get Lee Evans involved in the game early and often.

Let’s Retire the Favre Retirement Talk

by | Mar 10, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Are we the only ones getting sick of the Favre coverage?

* Sports Illustrated is issuing a special edition Brett Favre issue this week.  Maybe I’m just not remembering, but did they do this when Joe Montana retired?  John Elway?  Wayne Gretzky?  Michael Jordan (for which retirement)?  Maybe they did for Jordan, maybe even Gretzky, but they were generally regarded as the best in their sport when they played–possibly all time.  I have not heard one rational person (read: someone not in Wisconsin) make an argument that Favre is the best in the game.

* In an article I’m shocked the hype creators editors at ESPN allowed to go live,  Paolantonio actually points out that Favre’s career (specifically the second half of it) is overhyped.  THANK YOU FOR SOMEONE USING SOME LOGIC.  Now, if only Paolantonio didn’t start it off with “the most durable player in NFL history.”  I don’t care what some people may say, that honor is still Jim Marshall’s, at 282 games started (Jeff Feagles can claim the record all he wants, but punters and kickers don’t count).  Some say that Favre’s streak is more impressive because he played a more vulnerable position–yeah, getting hit 10-15 times a game is way more vulnerable than colliding with a 260-270 pound (back in Marshall’s days) offensive lineman for 60-70 plays a game isn’t vulnerable at all.  Especially when you’re at the bottom of a pile and he’s trying to break your fingers or gauge an eye out.

Fortunately, it seems to be dying down some.  We can only hope that this is the week that we get back to what we should be discussing right now–only 7 weeks until the NFL Draft…

Favre Media Circus Continues…

by | Mar 4, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Well, the local sports radio guy who supposedly doesn’t even talk sports was all about Favre today, and I cringe to think what kind of a Favre love-fest ESPN is putting on right now (I’m guessing at least 2 of their channels are devoted to it already, and ESPN Classic is probably lining up the old tapes as we speak–the first time I’ve been glad that Comcast and DirecTV canned it), so why not have ZoneBlitz be All-Favre All Day too?

So here are my questions, some of which have been carried elsewhere, but if the world was all about original thought, Hollywood would have folded years ago:

1) Is Favre really retiring, or is this just a desperate plea for attention to whine about the Packers not getting Randy Moss (again)? And does that make sense? Seriously, Randy Moss couldn’t have caught that last pass against the Giants. As much as I don’t like Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and James Jones, I have to admit, it’s a pretty good trio.

2) What’s with Favre’s agent Bus Cook telling the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that Favre wanted to play another year? I know it comes off as Cook speculating:

“I think he wanted to play, I think he’s still got it. He knows he’s still got it. I think he felt he could play one more year. I don’t know if they told him they really wanted him to play. That’s just the feeling I got.”

But come on, like Favre hasn’t talked to Cook about his decision? His trusted agent? Hell, his office is in Mississippi.

“Nobody pushed Brett Favre out the door, but then nobody encouraged him not to go out that door, either,” Cook said by phone.

So what, after 3-4 years of the Packers being forced into an annual waiting game with Favre, they’re supposed to roll out the red carpet to Kiln, and beg for Brett to come back? Just check their self respect at the door?

What’s with Favre/Cook trying to make the Packers look like the bad guys here? Especially when you consider…

3) The Chris Mortenson voicemail, in which Favre says he’s simply worn out. So with the voicemail saying one thing, and Favre saying another, he’s already playing both sides of the fence here. Not sure where that leads.

4) Speaking of the voicemail, I have to wonder how his (former?) teammates would even feel about playing for him if he WERE to decide to come back at this point:

“…the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl,” Favre said in the voicemail. “To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful. I know it shouldn’t feel unsuccessful, but the only way to come back and make that be the right decision would be to come back and win a Super Bowl and honestly the odds of that, they’re tough. Those are big shoes for me to fill, and I guess it was a challenge I wasn’t up for. “

I wonder how his teammates feel, knowing that Favre is admitting that the odds are that long? I know that realisitically, the odds ARE long–1 in 32, to be technical. Especially at the time of year where all the records are cleared, and no one has even had a mini-camp yet. But don’t you think, especially coming off of a 13-3 season and a NFC Championship appearance that the leader of the Pack should have a little more confidence in the team than that? I’d kind of feel like Favre just threw me under the Bus…meaning the one that the Packer fans moon as it leaves the stadium, not the one that is Favre’s agent.

Browns or Vikings: Who Got the Better Deal?

by | Mar 3, 2008 | 2008 NFL Free Agency

Was looking through some of the signings over the first few days of free agency, and noticed one that somehow slipped through the cracks (at least at ZoneBlitz HQ):

The Cleveland Browns signed Donte Stallworth to contract, reportedly worth $35 million over seven years, with $10 million guaranteed (although ProFootballTalk is reporting it as a five-year deal).

Compare that to the deal that Bernard Berrian got from the Vikings, reported at six-years for $42 million, with $16 million guaranteed.

So who got the better deal?

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