Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Klein: NFL Offseason Winners and Losers

For my first blog post I am going to take you through the 2009 NFL Offseason and give you the teams that "did work" and the teams that...well...hurt themselves.

WINNERS
New York Jets
Before I begin writing I need to let all our readers know something, I am a Jets fan. I take the fact that I am a Jets fan very seriously but I can promise that I will NEVER be biased on our blog. Just had to get that out there so now I shall begin. After last years Favre roller coaster ride (the Jets began 8-3 and finished the season 9-7...do the math) the Jets fired Mangini and hired defensive genius Rex Ryan. The additions of Bart Scott, Lito Sheppard, and Jim Leonhard will bolster this already stacked defense and help in Ryan's blitz schemes. In the draft the Jets traded up with the Browns to snag QB Mark Sanchez who is thought as the future of this franchise, both on the field and economically. Expect Sanchez to start off a bit slow but I think he will turn the team around in the middle of the season and lead them to a Wild-Card slot. In the draft they also took 2008-2009 Big-10 player of the year RB Shonn Greene, who is thought of as a Michael Turner type of back. The only negative I see is that they did not address the wide receiver position. Now they are left with Cotchery, Stuckey, and Clowney (look out for a breakout season) to lead the offense but I feel that the signing of a vet like Marvin Harrison can help the wide receivers mature. Sign him to a one-year contract and put your team in a WIN NOW situation. Besides that, it is always a successful off-season when you add 4 starters to your squad and one of them being a franchise quarterback. The J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS can be a contender in years to come.
Grade: A-

Philadelphia Eagles
After reaching the NFC Championship last year the Eagles come out this off-season hungry for more. They began by stealing the other Patriots cornerback, Ellis Hobbs, to make the Eagles defense into an absolute powerhouse. Eagles GM Tom Heckert went back out and signed underrated safety Sean Jones to a 1 yr/3 mil contract. With Samuel, Hobbs, and Jones the Eagles will be known as a defensive threat. On offense, they traded for Pro-Bowl tackle Jason Peters and sent the Bills their 2009 first-round pick and a few late round picks. I think that was a very reasonable trade for them if you think about it. If you are sitting at pick #28 (when you also own the 19th pick) in this years draft you will NOT get a player that is at the same level as Jason Peters...good move Iggles. In the draft they got probably the steal of the first round in Jeremy Maclin at pick #19. This was due to stupidity when the Raiders drafted Darius Heyward-Bey 7th overall, which led to people passing on Maclin due to no one needing a WR(and by stupidity I mean Al Davis...the guy is senile). So already the E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles are in pretty good shape. Then in the 2nd round they drafted RB Lesean McCoy from Pitt to carry the ball when Mr Questionable, Brian Westbrook, is either injured or needs to take a down off. All in all, the Eagles made huge moves this offseason and will be a contender come playoff time.
Grade: B+

LOSERS
This is when you think I am biased...
New England Patriots
Thats right, I said it. The Patriots were one of the biggest losers of this offseason and I have plenty of valid points to back it up. Yeah yeah I know that Brady guy is back but so often someone returns from a torn ACL and is not the same player they used to be (ie: Deuce McCallister, Kellen Winslow Jr., and Joey Galloway). Regardless, they picked up nothing useful this offseason on both offense and defense. Heres the bottom line. I don’t care if you add a 37-year-old Joey Galloway, a 33-year-old Fred Taylor, and a garbage 29-year-old WR Greg Lewis. Those aren't offensive upgrades. Why don't you address the running back position in the draft?! You have Sammy Morris and Laurence Maroney back there. Maroney gets injured every year (NEVER draft him in fantasy) and Morris is not a reliable #1 back. But apparently the Patriots feel that FRED TAYLOR is going to save their running game. No chance. I had to get that out of me, sorry. Here is when it gets really funny. In the past two offseasons they have traded both of their starting cornerbacks, Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs. Tell me what the logic in that is. Here is their starting secondary for this season: CB Jonathan Whilite, S James Sanders, S Brandom Meriwether, and CB Leigh Bodden. This is one of the youngest secondaries in the NFL with an average age of 25. Get ready for the aerial exploitation when a team plays the Patriots. Trading away Ellis Hobbs killed their secondary. The only positive I see in their secondary is rookie safety Patrick Chung who I think has a lot of promise. I still beleive their defense will not be strong this year.
Grade: C

Denver Broncos
Any sports fan can tell you that the Broncos trading Jay Cutler was one of the worst moves in NFL history. Here is what you need to understand. A Pro-Bowl QB does NOT come along that often so when you have one it is probably in your best interest not to trade the guy. Well, when Josh McDaniels was hired by the Broncos to be the Head Coach after he had several successful seasons as the Patriots OC he felt it would be smart to publically announce that he wanted Matt Cassell to follow him to Denver and manage his offense. This obviously pissed off Cutler and that is the reason he wanted out of Denver. Regardless of if he wants to be there or not...YOU DO NOT TRADE HIM FOR KYLE ORTON AND A 1ST ROUND PICK! Not only did they lose their franchise QB but they now have a disgruntled receiver in Brandon Marshall. Kyle Orton and an angry Marshall does not sound like a good combination. They did make a bold move in signing 35-year-old safety Brian Dawkins to a 5-year contract. This will be beneficial for a year or two but it is very clear that B-Dawk the Hawk is on his way out. They also signed Correll Buckhalter and drafted Knowshon Moreno (who they drafted wayyyyy too high). These two moves can really go either way. Regardless, they traded their franchise QB and that was enough to make them a loser this offseason.
Grade: D

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