A Long Way Back

One year ago many draft experts questioned Sam Bradford's decision to stay in school for his junior season. Coming off a Heisman trophy winning year and a trip to the BCS National Championship game, Bradford seemed destined for greatness at the NFL level. Rather then chasing the money, Bradford felt that coming back to school would allow him and his teammates one last opportunity to get back to the championship game, this time winning it. His choice seemed out of the ordinary yet admirable.

The admirable decision quickly turned into a nightmare. In the first game against BYU Bradford hurt his right shoulder and had to leave the game. Three weeks later he attempted a comeback only to re-injure it against Texas. Both games resulted in Oklahoma losses and after the second injury Bradford's season was over.

Since then, Bradford has been training and readying himself for the upcoming NFL Draft. At February's NFL Combine, Bradford weighed in at an impressive 236 pounds to go along with his 6-4 frame. He had presumably taken care of his label as a frail Quarterback (In college he was closer to 210 pounds.) This past week Bradford underwent one of the last stages of the pre-draft process as NFL executives made their way to the University of Oklahoma's Pro Day. From all reports Bradford shined. He answered all questions about his right shoulder as he passed the ball with great arm strength to go along with his already great touch and accuracy. Scouts agreed that he had finally made it all the way back to his pre-injury form.

For the past year Bradford has listened to the questions about his decision to return to school. He claims he would make the same decision if he could do it all over. At this point however, none of that matters. Bradford has shown unbelievable determination and drive on his trail back to the top. Right now he is the heavy favorite to be the number 1 overall pick on April 22nd in New York City. He will be going to a team that has won a combined 6 games in the past 3 seasons. For Bradford, however, rebuilding the St. Louis Rams will not be too great a challenge. He has rebuilt his right arm and his draft stock so rebuilding a football team seems like a logical step 3.

Clock Ticking on McNabb in Philly

The city of brotherly love has never been especially kind to Donovan McNabb. He was greeted by a chorus of boos when his NFL career began at the draft in 1999. Those boos seemed to follow him throughout his 11 years as an Eagle, despite his many successes.

In the last few days all the reports have surfaced that McNabb's time in Philadelphia may be coming to an end. The Eagles hierarchy believes Kevin Kolb is the future. He was their 1st pick of the 2007 draft, and it appears his era as Eagles starting quarterback is upon us. Kolb has started two, count em, two NFL games in his career. He turned the ball over 3 times against New Orleans in defeat, and had an efficient day in a victory over the hapless Chiefs one week later. He has shown flashes, but then again so have a lot of NFL backups. This is the job resume that makes McNabb expendable?

Donovan McNabb has been one of the 5-10 best players of the past decade. He has led his team to 5 championship games, 7 playoff appearances, and 9 playoff victories. Obviously the glaring deficiency of his career has been that he has not won a Super Bowl. From Ron Jaworski, to Randall Cunningham, to Donovan McNabb, Eagles fans have been haunted by the fact that they have not won a Super Bowl. The problem is that Eagle Nation seems to always place unwarranted blame on McNabb.

As good as Brian Westbrook was, he was never a true threat in the running game. Andy Reid has always leaned heavily on the passing game, putting the entire onus of his offense on his quarterback. Not only did McNabb have plenty of success as the focal point of the offense, he has the lowest interception ratio of any quarterback in NFL history (1 interception per every 47 pass attempts.) Over his career he has averaged less then 10 interceptions per season. His record as a starting quarterback is 93-50-1 with 9 playoff game victories. All of this success in the passing game has come with a murders row of wide receivers. James Thrash, Todd Pinkston, Reggie Brown, and Freddie Mitchell were the type of receivers McNabb worked with for the majority of his career. The one year he did have a big time wide receiver in Terrell Owens, he threw 31 touchdown passes with only 8 interceptions and led the Eagles to the Super Bowl, where they lost 24-21 to the dynasty that was the New England Patriots. Just as he is about to have his second big time wide receiver in Desean Jackson, the Eagles are ready to ship him off.

Eagles fans will argue that McNabb is in the last year of his deal and its just "time to move on." Lets look at this. Eagles fans want to win a Super Bowl yet they want to get rid of their Pro Bowl calibre quarterback? It just doesn't add up. The NFC is wide open. In the last 10 years the only team to make a return trip to the Super Bowl from the NFC has been the New York Giants (2000 and 2007.) The Eagles went 11-5 in 2009 so logically with McNabb at quarterback the team will be right in the thick of things next year. With Kevin Kolb? Not so much.

When the Eagles finally do trade McNabb there will be cheers in Dallas, New York, and Washington. Kolb will come in and suffer through the struggles of most young quarterbacks and Eagles fans will realize they had it good with McNabb. From perennial Super Bowl contenders to 6-10. Enjoy the downgrade Philadelphia.

Jets to be Featured on HBO's Sports Series Hard Knocks

During the 2009 season Rex Ryan seemed to never shut up. HBO hopes he takes the same approach this summer when the Jets are preparing for the 2010 season.

HBO announced yesterday that they have chosen the Jets to be the team the show revolves around this summer. The show goes behind the scenes in every aspect of training camp. From players working out in the gym, to the coach sitting down a player and telling him hes been cut, the show gives fans front row seats to an NFL training camp.

From an entertainment standpoint the Jets seem like a perfect fit. They have arguably the most entertaining coach in all of sports, one of the biggest trash talkers in football in Bart Scott, and a bunch of interesting story lines to go along with it. LaDainian Tomlinson is a future Hall of Fame running back who will be trying to figure out his role with his new team. Mark Sanchez is coming off the best postseason a rookie QB has ever had. The possibilities seem endless.

Some argue that Hard Knocks is a distraction for players as they prepare for the season. The show began in 2001 and no team that it has followed has ever won a Super Bowl that same season. The Bengals were featured last year and all they did was win their first division title since 2005 (they swept a very tough AFC North.) The Jets players are in the biggest media capital in the world. A few extra cameras at training camp is not going to be the reason they don't win the Super Bowl.

Love him or hate him, Rex Ryan is controversial. The viewers are guaranteed "F" bombs, a hard hitting defense, and Braylon Edwards dropping passes. The entertainment though? No need to worry about that. Would the son of bad boy Buddy Ryan deliver anything less?

Day 4 Review

The first week of March Madness 2010 is officially in the books. We were treated to a lot these last few days. Four overtime games, mid-majors upsetting perennial powerhouses, and the fall of the mighty Jayhawks to little known Northern Iowa Panthers.

Day 4 of the tournament had blowouts and three close calls. Duke, Syracuse, Ohio State and West Virginia all flecked their muscles, advancing to the Sweet 16 relatively easy. For all the negatived they received going into the tournament, Duke has looked very impressive in their first 2 games. Even on an off day for standout guard Jon Scheyer (1-11 from the field), the Blue Devils were able to totally control a California team that surprised a lot of people by blowing out Louisville on Friday.

The day wouldn't be complete without a highly ranked Big East team losing. Pittsburgh came into the tournament as a number 3 seed, and they will now join the rest of their conference watching from home as they lost to Xavier. Thank God Syracuse and West Virginia have looked so good otherwise the conference would look like a complete joke.

Even though they have now taken a back seat to Northern Iowa, the Cornell Big Red continue to look like a Cinderella team that could go far. They dominated Wisconsin, shooting 61% from the field and an amazing 53% from downtown. Their showdown with top ranked Kentucky looks like it will be the most intriguing game of the Sweet 16.

Give Michigan State a lot of credit in their nail biting win over Maryland. Without Kalin Lucas the Spartans gave up a 16 point lead before Korie Lucious hit a game winning 3 pointer as the buzzer hit double 0. Tom Izzo continues to prove he is one of the best big game coaches in college basketball. The man has led the Spartans to the Final Four in 5 of the last 11 years. Impressive to say the least. Michigan State draws Northern Iowa next. Should be very interesting to see how the Panthers respond off their big win over Kansas.

How about the Purdue Boilermakers? They looked dead in the water once they lost forward Robbie Hummel for the season. Now they will be going to the Sweet 16. Many people didn't think they would even make it past Siena. However, their run probably comes to an end next week when they match up with Duke.

Well now the country gets to relax for a few days until we start things up again next Thursday. If the current pace keeps up then March Madness 2010 could be one of the most entertaining of all time. It certainly had arguably the most entertaining first weekend. Lets keep the party rolling. Stay tuned.

Day 3 Review

Before tipoff, the most any knowledgable sports fan would have know of Northern Iowa is that it is Kurt Warner's alma mater. When the clock hit double zero Saturday, Northern Iowa will now forever be linked to the historic upset that took place in Oklahoma City.

The Kansas Jayhawks were the number 1 team in the nation for the majority of the year and a concensus #1 overall seed. Northern Iowa were the winners of the Missouri Valley Conference who had never made it to a Sweet 16. Make no mistake about it, even though Northern Iowa was a #9 seed their victory over Kansas is one of the greatest of all time. The school has never had an alum play in an NBA game while Kansas has at least 3 future NBAers currently on the squad. Kansas is able to acquire the top high school talent in the country while 95% of the students at Northern Iowa are from in-state so the recruiting isn't exactly nationwide.

The game was close throughout and in its final moments it appeared that Northern Iowa would crumble under the pressure. Up 7, the Panthers commited 3 straight turnovers to allow Kansas to close the gap to 1. The country watched in horror as David began to appeared overmatched in the pressure situation against Goliath. However, senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh broke lose down the right side of the court and delivered a blow that even Sherron Collins and his fellow Jayhawks could not overcome. Farokhmanesh was all alone and still with over 30 seconds on the shot clock, he put up a 3 pointer that sealed the deal. That shot will forver be linked to the all time great NCAA tournament moments. Even with all the upsets that have taken place, Northern Iowa reminded the country why the tournament is still referred to as "March Madness."

On a day when the number 1 team in the nation lost, the Villanova Wildcats stunning loss to St. Marys has taken the back seat. Villanova barely squeaked by Robert Morris in the first round but the general belief was that the game would be somewhat of a wake up call. That wake up call must have never happened because the Wildcats looked just as bad against an inferior St. Marys team. Out of the 7 Big East teams that made the tournament only 3 remain. Only Lousiville had a ranking lower then 6 so these have been highly regarded Big East teams that have been losing these early round games.

Bracket Update

• Finished with the bracket. Had Kansas winning not only their region, but the championship game as well. According to ESPN, 42% of the nation had Kansas winning the whole thing as well. Good job Northern Iowa, you've reuined almost half the country's bracket.

Day 2 Review

After a historic Day 1 it was furtually impossible for Day 2 to hit the same levels of excitement. Syracuse, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh were able to show off whats left of the Big East strength as they pounded inferior opponents. Wisconsin survived a scare to knock off #13 seeded Wofford. The Dukies had a good start to the tournament by decimating Arkansas Pine-Bluff. All in all, the big boys flecced their muscles today.

Obviously the story of the day was the Cornell Big Red. They had an enornous burden to carry, attempting to be the first Ivy League team to win a NCAA tournament game since 1998. They lived up to the moment and then some, shooting 56% from the field and hitting crucial 3 pointers late in the 2nd half to put the game out of reach. After the scare Wisconsin recieved today from Wofford, they should be very worried about playing a hot Cornell team this Sunday. Not only do the Big Red shoot very officiently, senior center Jeff Foote is a 7 foot force in the middle. Cornell just reeks of "Cinderella" in this years tournament. Stay tuned to see how their story unfolds.

Bracket Update

• Did very well today after an awful day 1, hitting on 14 out of 16 games (87.5%)
• After the first two days I have 23 out of 32 games correct. Still kicking myself after all the buzzer beaters that killed me on Day 1.
• The Saturday schedule does not appear nearly as appealing as Sunday, but we'll see what happens.
• Watch out Villanova. After an awful performance in Round 1 the Wildcats will be facing a St. Mary team that just surprised alot of people by upsetting Richmond.

Day 1 Review

March Madness has officially arrived. In late March the sports world is all about college basketball. The NBA is on cruise control until the playoffs, the start of baseball season is still 2 weeks away, and the NFL draft is still over a month away. Day 1 of the tournament proved to be well worth the wait. What a day for college basketball.

Three overtime games and countless buzzer beaters made the 2010 tournament start with a bang. Five double digit seeds will be advancing to the second round, one shy of the record (6 double digit seeds advanced in 1991.) The unanimous feeling is that the Big East is the strongest conference in college basketball. They had an amazing 8 teams make the tournament. Day 1 couldn't have gone worse for the powerhouse conference. Georgetown became the first number 3 seed to lose in the first round since 2004, getting dominated by Ohio, a team that finished with a losing record in the MAC conference. Marquette lost on a buzzer beater to Washington, winners of the lousy Pac-10 conference. Though they will never be confused with serious contenders, Notre Dame was expected to defeat Old Dominion. They didn't. Number 2 seed Villanova barely avoided making history as they held off Robert Morris in overtime. The big, bad Big East went 1-3 on Day 1. Their one win took overtime to defeat a number 15 seed. Syracuse, Lousiville, West Virginia, and Pitt, you've been warned.

There was plenty of other heart stopping action as well. BYU-Florida went to double OT before the Cougars pulled away. Murray State knocked off number 4 seed Vanderbilt as time expired. Northern Iowa booked an invitation to face Kansas by defeating UNLV in the final seconds. Last but not least, Wake Forest sent home Texas by hitting a game winning shot with 1.7 seconds left. Tough to believe Texas was once ranked number 1 in the country.

It seems unbelievable to see so many great games on a single day, especially the first of the tournament. Americans are letting out sighs of disappointment as they check their brackets. Nothing has gone as planned and it has only been 24 hours. We'll see what happens going forward but if today is any indication, March Madness 2010 is going to be a very memorable event.

Bracket Update

• Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Marquette, and Texas all lost just as the clock hit double 0. Yes, I picked all four of them to advance.
• Had Georgetown facing Kansas in the Elite 8, ouch.
• Picked Vanderbilt and Marquette to make it to the Sweet 16, again ouch.
• Day 1 ends with 9 correct picks and 7 wrong. At least I'm above .500

Quick Thoughts on the 2010 March Madness Bracket

• Kansas was easily voted the unanimous #1 team going into the tournament. Then they are rewarded by being placed in the brual Midwest Region? What gives? Besides Kansas, the Midwest consists of quality teams such as Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State, Big East tournament runner up Georgetown, Tennessee (The only team to defeat Kentucky and Kansas), and last year's championship game losers Michigan State. Kansas will have an easy time getting to the Sweet 16 but after that its going to be a dogfight.
• Duke is widely thought to be the most unimpressive #1 seed. Luckily for them they have what should be a cake walk to the Final Four. The South Region is made up of a struggling Villanova, an unproven Baylor, a Purdue team that has been downright awful since losing forward Robbie Hummel, and very weak cast after that. Duke has been facing questions about their legitimaticy all season. If they want any type of credit they better be in Indianapolis on April 3rd.
• Kentucky and West Virginia will meet in the East Regoin Finals. Bank on it
• Syracuse, coming off two straight losses, better regroup fast. Their first game is against a Vermont team that beat them in the first round only a few years ago. If Syracuse can defeat a few decent opponents they will find Kansas State waiting for them in the West Region Final.
• Its safe to say that most people want to see a Kansas-Kentucky National Championship Game.
  Kentucky might have six 1st round draft choices in the upcoming NBA Draft, and Kansas is a veteran group that plays sound team basketball. This game would be a toss up between two storied College Basketball programs.
• Lastly, unlike many years, there will not be many upsets in this year's tournament. Its strong at the top but there is a big dropoff after that. Let the madness begin....

There is an L.T in New York Once Again

Two years ago the Jets acquired a future Hall of Fame Quarterback. On Sunday they decided to sign a tailback who will one day be in Canton as well. Lawrence Taylor, the original LT, was once the king of New York. Now LaDainian Tomlinson will attempt to don the LT nickname in the Big Apple as well.

At first glance most would think LT is done. His numbers have been declining and he seems to be a shell of his former self. Thomas Jones had over 1400 yards last season while Tomlinson only had 730. Jones averaged 4.2 yards per carry and LT averaged an awful 3.3. The numbers suggest this is a substantial downgrade. Upon closer observation however it is obvious the Jets feel differently. Though Jones was great in 2009 he faded down the stretch, averaging under 3 yards per carry in 5 of the last 6 games. In the AFC championship game against Indianapolis, the Jets running game was finished the minute Jones took over for the injured Shonn Greene. Jones was due close to $6 million dollars next year in salary and bonuses next season. The Jets weren't willing to pay that for a player who appeared to be done only 2 months ago.

Even if you agree that it was smart for the Jets to dump Jones it is still fair to ask why they would replace him with another declining 30 plus year old running back. Before we criticize lets picture Tomlinson with the Jets this upcoming season. He will be playing with a vastly superior offensive line and he will not be expected to be "the guy" as he was in San Diego. LT is quicker, faster, and a much better receiving threat then Jones (Tomlinson has more career receptions then Jones, Leon, and Shonn Greene combined.) Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer became very familiar with LT during their days together in San Diego. He must of pushed hard for the Jets to sign his former co-worker. Tomlinson will be a part time player in New York and he will have the chance to flaunt whatever big play ability still remains in his 31 year old frame. The expectations will be small and the doubters will be many, but behind arguably the best offensive line in football LT will be given chances in the open field that he hasn't experienced in San Diego the last few years.

Nobody remembers that Emmit Smith ended his career as a Cardinal or that Franco Harris finished as a Seahawk. In 10 years no one will remember that LT was a Jet either. In 2010 however, his production will be meaningful and he will show that he has something left in the tank. Even if it doesn't work out it can't be worse then 2008 Brett Favre. Can it?

The never ending story that is Michael Vick has taken another interesting turn here in the 2010 off season. After the Eagles season ended in Dallas on Wild Card Weekend it was widely assumed that it would be the last game of Michael Vick's Philadelphia Eagles career. In what has so far been a shocking development, the Eagles are putting out the message that they intend to keep Vick under contract for the 2010 season. Vick will receive his upcoming $1.5 million dollar bonus and will presumably be in Eagles training camp this summer. Vick's contract will pay him $5.2 million dollars this upcoming season.

Lets break this down. The Eagles are actually considering paying their 3rd string quarterback $6.7 million dollars to play football in 2010? Almost 7$ million dollars to a player who just came back from a 2 year ban and had little to no impact on the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles. For all the Michael Vick hype we endured last summer one would think we were getting the 2009 Brett Favre. This past season Vick was able to pass for 86 yards and 1 touchdown and rush for 95 yards with 2 more scores. Hardly impressive. Add in the fact that most of his production came against backups at the end of a week 13 demolition of the Atlanta Falcons and you find yourself asking "Did Michael Vick even play in 2009?"

We all know the Wildcat has been a hot topic for NFL teams since Ronnie Brown went wild in 2008. The Eagles looked at Vick as a Wildcat option and the final piece to a Super Bowl team. It was painfully obvious last year that Vick has lost his once elite athleticism and is no longer the running threat that once terrorized defenses. Though Donovan McNabb never openly expressed frustration, it was apparent that the Vick Wildcat package was more of a nuisance then a productive sequence. Andy Reid wanted to incorporate Vick into the offense and it just never seemed to fit from the start.

Vick has stated that he wants to be a starting quarterback again in this league, and it would seem logical to give him that chance. There are plenty of bad starting quarterbacks in today's NFL so why not let Vick attempt to win a job somewhere?. He definitely still has the rocket arm to get the ball down field. However, I'm sure Vick is going to be plenty happy to collect $6.7 million dollars next season as a 3rd string quarterback.

It would seem apparent that either Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb is the future in Philly. The debate over those two quarterbacks is fair and reasonable. Vick is not a starting option in Philly so why pay him like he's one of the team's better players. Even in an uncapped year Vick does not deserve nearly $7 million dollars. I thought the economy was bad enough for teams to not waste $7 million dollars. Fortunately, its still early and the Eagles still have time to move Vick. If not, it will be the easiest $7 million dollars he has ever made.

The biggest free agent acquisition of the 2010 free agency period has been taken care of. On Friday, former Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers signed a whopping 6 year, $91.5 million dollar contract with the Chicago Bears. $42 million is guaranteed and $20 million will be paid to Peppers in the first year. Wow.

Now before we look to the future we cannot forget the past. Since coming into the league in 2002 Peppers has been a perenial All Pro and 5 time Pro Bowl selection. Hes 6'7, close to 300 pounds, and is a monstrous presence on the field. He has had double digit sacks almost every year of his career and he can take over football games by himself. The accolades seem to never end.

Upon closer observation however Peppers does not seem like a 92 million dollar investment. Hes 30 years old and we know that 30 seems to be the age when players decline, especially in todays ruthless NFL. The Chicago Bears are a team desperate for success. Since their Super Bowl 41 loss to the Indianapolis Colts they have yet to return to the playoffs. It appears that 2010 is do-or-die for Lovie Smith and his coaching staff and they think Julius Peppers is key to their success this upcoming season. Is signing Peppers really the answer though? We are talking about a guy who is not known for his run stopping abilites and he seems to not only take plays off, but games as well. He was playing for a new contract this past season yet members of the Carolina Panthers coaching staff openly questioned his desire and heart. If Peppers had trouble motivating himself before he recieved a big payday how will he do it after he recieved 42 million dollars guaranteed? Theres a reason Peppers is not mentioned with the upper elite pass rushers in todays NFL. Dwight Freeney, Jared Allen, and DeMarcus Ware are the top 3 pass rushers in football and Peppers does not deserve to take place in their company, yet his contract would make you believe he was the best in the business.

The cardinal sin of free agency is to pay a player for what he has done in the past rather then what he will accomplish in the future. The Chicago Bears have alot of holes on their team but is getting a headcase like Pepppers what they really needed? Does anyone really expect him to be the dominant force he is percieved to be in 2 or 3 years? His production can easily decline but those checks will still be coming in and that signing bonus will remain just as sweet.

Peppers made it very clear that he was chasing the dollar this offseason. Its fine for a player to want a big payday, thats the goal of being a professional athlete. Congratulate Peppers on his deal but question the Bears and their decision to throw the bank at him. The Bears big move of 2009 included a quarterback who led the league in interceptions this past season. Their 2010 acquistion will face equal amounts of pressure in the Windy City, but how motivated will he be to live up to that contract? My money says 92 million dollars could have gone elsewhere.

Joba vs Hughes....the battle has been waging for 3 years and we've still gotten nowhere

In the last 12 months we've seen USC football play in the Emerald Bowl, now we're about to see UNC and UConn left out of the NCAA tournament

Jets trade Kerry Rhodes for a 2010 4th round draft pick and a 2011 7th round pick....thank God

Legendary Florida State University's football coach Bobby Bowden announces a book deal with ESPN

The New York Jets announced today that they will release veteran running back Thomas Jones on Friday when the NFL's free agency period commences