Well, the condensed period of NFL Free Agency has certainly provided some interesting moves, some risky moves and some trades and acquisitions that are downright shocking. Let's take a look at a few trades that caught my eye:
Chad Ochocinco to New England: Chief among the what the? category of trades is this one, sending the man formerly known as Chad Johnson to New England, there to presumably be a favourite target of perennial All-World QB Tom Brady, who has made lesser WRs seem like Hall of Fame contenders during his amazing career.
The question is, how will Chad's 'it's all me' personality, and his desire to be the biggest guy on and off the field, mesh with the understated environment that Coach Bill Belichick and Brady have built, with great success, at Gillette Stadium? It could be Randy Moss all over again. On the other hand, Coach B might be exactly the sort of person that can reign in the personality of #85 and turn him into a solid team player with a strong work ethic. Time will tell, but Chad still has the talent to be good, and he should shine with Brady at a team where there aren't as many dysfunctional players in New England as he was used to in Cincinnati.
Kevin Kolb to Arizona: The man annointed this time last year as the guy in Philadelphia went out with a concussion in the first game and lost his starting job to Michael Vick. So Kolb was the odd man out in the City of Brotherly Love, even more now that the Eagles have signed former Tennessee Titans disappointment Vince Young to be Vick's back-up, thankfully squashing those Brett Favre rumours. So Kolb and his strong arm became a favourite target for many teams needing a solid quarterback for this season.
The move to Arizona is a risky move, for Kolb and for Arizona. The Cardinals haven't exactly set the world on fire since Kurt Warner left - their QB carousel last year featured, among others, Max Hall and Derek Anderson - and Kolb is definitely going to be taking a step backwards from the Eagles to the Cards. On the flip side, the Cardinals have really no idea what they're getting in Kevin Kolb. They believe he's the guy to lead them back to a Super Bowl, but we haven't seen enough of him in a real game situation at the professional level to know for sure. But, I guess he can't be any worse than the QBs who were shuffled through the Arizona team last year. Kolb might surprise us all.
Matt Hasselbeck to Tennessee: I assumed that Hasselbeck would play one more season in Seattle and retire as the franchise's leading QB, but, instead, he's off to the Titans, who jettisoned Vince Young, and will now rely on Hasselbeck to mentor former University of Washington standout Jake Locker, the Titans' first round (eighth overall) pick in the Draft.
Not a bad move for the Titans, in that they now have a solid guy like Hasselbeck, a proven winner and a smart player, to tutor the untested Locker through at least his first season as a professional. It's probably a releif to a lot of Titans fans that the ill-advised Vince Young Era is finally over and done, as VY heads to Philadelphia as Vick's back-up, a one-year contract. Hasselbeck is a good stop-gap between Young and Locker. Smart move!
Albert Haynesworth to New England: The Pats pull another stunner, plucking Haynesworth, the overweight and lazy DT who moved from Tennessee to Washington amid great fanfare last year, then had some sort of issue with new 'Skins coach Mike Shanahan, which drastically reduced his playing time.
Now the giant man - too giant, at the moment, apparently - heads north to get a dose of Bill Belichick, who will definitely not let Haynesworth sulk or drag his feet or moan in any way, shape or form. It's uncertain whether Haynesworth can recapture his past form, but if there's anyone who can coax out the old Albert, it's Coach Belichick, whose track record for reforming - or, at least, partly reforming - misfits and controversial players is well-noted. He has a chance to do a double act this year: Chad Ochocincho and Haynesworth, and, at least as far as Albert goes, it's a relatively cost-free exercise, so if he implodes, it's not a major disaster. Not like it was for Washington.
If it all works well, the Patriots defensive line is going to be beastly, with Vince Wilfork playing the best football of his career. Running the football against New England could be nigh on impossible this year. Opposing quarterbacks should also be afraid. The Patriots might just be early Super Bowl favourites!
Reggie Bush to Miami: So, the Saints finally gave up on their former first round pick, who was a sporadic performer at RB and a fairly handy receiver out of the backfield, too. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Saints, and scored a wonderful receiving TD in an NFC Championship Game vs. Chicago, but he was never the star running back, nor the biggest star in the city, which was undoubtedly what the Saints were hoping he would be when he was drafted.
Let's be honest, it was perhaps an ill-advised pick for the Saints. But everyone was high as a kite on Bush coming out of college. It's far to say that Reggie has shown flashes of brilliance during his pro career, but clearly not enough to convince New Orleans to keep him around, and certainly nothing near the sort of take-game-by-scruff-of-neck performances that he put while wearing the cardinal and gold of the USC Trojans. The less said about his USC tenure the better, probably.
It will be very interesting to see just how much playing time Bush will get in Miami.
Nnamdi Asomugha to Philadelphia: The guy with the hardest-to-pronounce name in the NFL has a new home after spending time in Oakland - and attracting league-wide interest - with the Philadelphia Eagles. This one came out of left field. It was a nice pick-up for the Eagles, and to go with their earlier acquisition of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for QB Kevin Kolb, there is now a fantastic one-two punch that will make quarterbacks wary of airing out the long ball. It may be that the Eagles made the best acquisition of the free agency frenzy.
Tavaris Jackson to Seattle: Really? You get rid of Matt Hasselbeck to throw the competition to start at QB open between Charlie Whitehurst, Carroll's former QB at USC Matt Leinart and former Minnesota Vikings back-up Tavaris Jackson, a guy who looked less than stellar in a handful of league starts?
Well, that's one way to ensure a three-win season, I guess. For mine, this is the strangest move of the off-season. I really thought Pete Carroll and the Seattle front office would've thought it smarter to have Hasselbeck remain in place, at least for one more season, with an eye to developing in-house talent or drafting a QB in next year's draft. Whoever wins the competition to start in Seattle is going to have a very long season, and the starting quarterback job might be a merry-go-round before too long.
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