The NFL is a smorgasbord of awesome storylines. Some are analytical, others are critical, and some are just down right stupid. It’s the stupid ones I live for – they make my day. Welcome to Quick Slant.
Like you, I peruse headlines and tickers in search of the stories written by credible writers who have some form of credentials and at least a few real “inside sources”. After all, the NFL is a serious business requiring serious reporting. I also like to have a little fun, which is why I created Quick Slant. At its core, this column is my way of sharing with you the headlines from around the NFL that I feel are most interesting. I try to offer my own take on the story in as few words as possible – some of us have a wife, kids and a job and don’t have time to read 5000+ word novels! So, without further ado, I give you today’s version of Quick Slant:
How would you like to be Elvis Dumervil? I don’t know if I feel worse of him or for the idiot who screwed up the paperwork for the Broncos in not getting it in the 4pm deadline. For his sake, I hope Denver steps forward and ponies up. He fired his agent, obviously….. I hate to bring up James Harrison being let go again by Pittsburgh, but I am – again. It’s not even that I disagree, if management feel he is no longer a valuable piece of their defence (actually, I do disagree with that, but whatever). For me, you don’t get rid of a piece unless you have one ready to step in and take his place……So NFL free agency is obviously in full swing as evidenced by the billions of tweets, likes, plusses, articles and radio shows. Basically here’s what you need to know: EVERYONE is visiting another team, there is NO ONE left in Baltimore except Joe Flacco, everyone other than Joe has either signed, is signing, or is visiting Seattle or San Francisco, and the Bills and Bengals have committed to not committing…… Has anyone told the Giants that they haven’t signed Victor Cruz yet? Perhaps Cruz has the same agent as Dumervil? Either way, come on Giants, don’t be that team!….. It was Percy Harvin out, and a lot of picks (from Seattle) and Greg Jennings in for the Minnesota Vikings. Impressively, the Vikes tore Jennings away from the comfort of his long time home at Lambeau and his sure-arm quarterback Aaron Rogers for the greener (warmer) pastures in Minnesota with unproven quarterback Christian Ponder and his band of merry men……Reggie Bush seems very proud of his 1000 yard seasons. 1000 yards divided by 16 games = 62 yards per game. Just putting that in perspective……This was the weekend where teams had to either pony up for bonuses or release players. The Patriots decided to release Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd would have been a bargain if not for the $3mill bonus he would have been owed if not released by this weekend. On a brighter note for Pats fans, they re-signed Talib who was the Pats’ best corner – that seemed like an obvious move……The Arizona Cardinals have released QB Kevin Kolb. At $9mill due this year, plus a $2mill bonus if still on the roster this weekend, that is quite a hefty price for mediocrity……I’ll leave you on a bit of a light-hearted note today: Now that I know Stallworth is in good shape, I feel okay in poking fun at his escapades in hot air ballooning. Dante’s hot air balloon hit an electrical wire and “zzzzzzz”. Drew Rosenhaus, his agent, assures us he will be back better than ever. Gotta love agents…kinda.
That does it for today. Check back tomorrow and I’ll have sifted through the day’s headlines and give you what you need to know.
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photo credit: Jeffrey Beall via photopin cc
