Every year my letdown from football season is softened by spring training for baseball. Some would call it a rebound chick, but baseball is my number one love, so it’s like having a first wife, getting a divorce, then realizing after about five years you had it right the first time. Full circle friends.
I’ll keep tabs on NFL free agency just so I know what’s happening, but I normally have several reasons to not give a crap: A) The Steelers are never active in free agency, so it’s not like I ever particularly cared that anyone was available, they weren’t coming to Pittsburgh B) 99% of the signings are never worth it, and you know they don’t make sense (see: Albert Haynesworth meets Washington Redskins). And that is where the 2010 free agency period has thrown me through a freaking loop, I’m confused, intrigued, and probably in need of a drink.
Where to start, well, since it’s in the headline, batter up for …
Jake Delhomme to Cleveland Browns/Brady Quinn to Broncos/Kyle Orton’s beard getting a little uncomfortable
My gut reaction to this, uh, what? Don’t get me wrong, I look forward to Delhomme personally doubling the Steeler’s turnover total in only two games next season. But, what? Delhomme is coming off a career worst year, a team cutting him one year after signing him to a long term contract (hey Cleveland, you do know that the Panthers are paying Jakey, Jakey About to Make a Big Mistakey $12.5 million not to play this year, right?) and is replacing a quarterback that got cheered when an opposing team destroyed his knee. Derek Anderson probably needed to go, but Delhomme is the only quarterback who can actually say that he played worse than Anderson last year. Cleveland, we get it, you like torturing your city, but really? Red Sox fans were depressed for a long time, but what you are doing is essentially handing you fans razors, a “Suicide for Dummies” book, a fifth of crappy bourbon and a Dashboard Confessional CD and saying let the good times roll. I now understand Cleveland’s frustration, Mike Holmgren, your “genius” label just got removed because your thinking is “hey, we didn’t suck enough last year.”
The Quinn move makes this even more interesting. Three years ago the Brown rolled the dice by drafting Joe Thomas with their first selection, then praying that Quinn would slip through the cracks and be available by the late first round. The gamble worked, so how do they reward the man responsible for turning around this ####pile of a franchise? 12 starts, 14 games and 353 pass attempts. way to really evaluate what you’ve got. A quarterback doesn’t start to develop in the NFL until a second season. That’s why Mark Sanchez played better in the playoffs, he had season one under his belt. Cleveland never even gave Quinn a shot before shipping him off to Denver classified as “failed draft pick.” Quinn might just be a pretty face, but why even draft him if Anderson was going to be a roadblock? Why ship off a young prospect for a well past his prime geezer? WHY? WHY? WHY? My head hurts, oh yeah, Orton.
The quarterback carousel in Denver has been anyone’s guess since last March. And last season, quarterback play was not the problem in Denver. After Orton beat out Chris Simms (tough assignment … ) for the starting position, Orton was instrumental in that 6-0 start. Not great, but key. Orton is basically a rich man’s Trent Dilfer. But why in the name of all things holy, do you bring in Quinn to this equation? Not only are you now overloaded on mediocre quarterbacks, but you bring in a guy with 14 career games in three seasons after being taken in the first round? JaMarcus Russel at least got to prove he was a bust, but maybe Cleveland knew something that none of the rest of us do: Quinn sucks. If qb is your problem, draft someone and make a poor decision on your own terms.
Let’s kick out the old guy that can still play and bring in the old guy who can’t
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 New York Jets! Someone explain to me how you justify a decision that removes 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns, and replaces it with 700 and 12. Bad move by the Jets and LaDainian Tomlinson.
Thomas Jones was the heart of that New York locker room. A guy whose style of play replicated the hard nosed defense that became the identity of the team last year. And believe me, everyone on that team is pissed about Jones being gone. So Jones just waltzed on down to New England Mid-West in Kansas City and is going to be laughing his ass off when the Chiefs are in the playoffs, and the last image we will have of LT is him moping on the bench with a trench coat over him. The guy has no passion or drive anymore, Phillip Rivers may have listened to him pine about the good old days, Bart Scott is going to smack the crap out of him.
How does LT get swayed into this? Can’t be money, he’s already made all he will ever need. But the perfect situation was Minnesota. If all Tomlinson cared about was winning a Super Bowl, how is New Jersey your best option. It’s like having a shot with Brooklyn Decker then saying “you know what, I’m going to go for Salma Hayek, but only if she stays dressed up as Frida Kahlo. Because when I finally get some distance from the situation, it’s the right choice.” The Jets have a football unibrow, and the Vikings will win the Super Bowl next year.
Active or reactive?
If you’re looking for Pittsburgh Steelers news that doesn’t involve sexual assault, look no further than free agency. In a weird twist, Pittsburgh, the team least active during free agency, have re-signed safety Ryan Clark to a multi-year deal, brought back linebacker Larry Foote from a one year stint in Detroit, welcomed back prodigal son Antwaan Randle El from Washington and placed the franchise tag on kicker and paper towel dispenser attacker Jeff Reed.
This leaves everyone wondering, what the hell? Welcome back ghosts from Super Bowls past! I guess I understand bringing back players from previously successful runs at reduced rates, but really? The Foote and Clark signings are really the only ones I understand. The rest of it just sounds like a friend justifying getting back with an ex because “it really might work this time. No, and um … no. Some things are better left in the past, but looks like Pittsburgh is going to find out the hard way.