My head is about to explode after the flurry of activity Friday. Let's take a quick hit look at the major developments of the day ...

Josh McCown seems like a really bad idea in Miami. Even as a stopgap, they could have done better. Bad news for their running backs, and newest starting receiver Ernest Wilford. Miami shelled out a lot of money for other guys with questionable track records: Justin Smiley and Randy Starks.

Pro Bowl quality defenders with questions (Kris Jenkins, Jonathan Vilma, and Shaun Rogers) are only worth mid-round draft picks.

Javon Walker will get a lot more interest as a free agent than he did as a trade target. A classic risk-reward at this point in his career.

Continue reading "FA Skinny Posts" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 06:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Asante Samuel gambles and he usually wins. That's his style on the field, and that was his style in negotiations with the Patriots last summer, only ending his holdout in exchange for a promise that New England would not use the franchise tag on him again.

The gamble paid off Friday, when the Eagles awarded him a six-year, $54 million contract, with $6 million in incentives. As a Patriots fan, I have watched Samuel's ups and downs. His play was occasionally brilliant but highly inconsistent for his first three and a half seasons. He was often hurt. Then he went on a well-timed (helloo contract) interception binge in the second half of 2006.

Continue reading "Can Samuel live up to his contract?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I would have liked Jerry Porter a lot more in 2008 if he didn't sign with Jacksonville. He fits their mold as a physical receiver who can block and excel in the run game, but he's unlikely to run up stats in a spread-the-wealth offense.

Porter made a lot of tough grabs last year despite playing on a miserable passing game, and he's a capable starter. In Jacksonville, he's their nominal "number one." But the Jaguars have finished in the bottom six in pass attempts in successive years and have a few too many rotation options for David Garrard to throw to.

Continue reading "Porter helps Jags, not his fantasy stock" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Isaac Bruce, 35, was released today by the Rams. In most cases, that would spell the end of his relevancy in the NFL. Bruce could be the exception.

Continue reading "Bruce isn't done yet" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 05:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

On days like this, I'm going to spend most of my energy on the news page, (20 posts since 3:00PM), which is what this site is all about.

Big takeaways so far: Tommy Kelly, a player coming off a torn ACL that most people have never heard of, is now the richest defensive tackle in the league. Kudos to the Raiders because Kelly probably would have earned more elsewhere.

Marion Barber isn't going anywhere after getting the first and third-round tender from Dallas. He's a great player, but that's just not going to happen.

Continue reading "Free Agency Eve skinny posts" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Spent the morning at a rare meeting of minds between our .Com crews (NBC and Rotoworld) and the network. Hopefully we can use it to improve the sort of information we provide at Rotoworld.

I was eating lunch as the Favre fiasco broke. The Sporting Blog has a nice looking screenshot if you are interested. These sort of dummy pages are fairly common; huge mistakes sending them live are less so. I don't think it says anything about Favre's plans, but I do find it interesting Favre is taking so long to decide when most people thought it would be a slam dunk. Perhaps that playoff loss is tough to shake.

***

Speaking of dummy pages

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Muhsin Muhammad is a decent signing for the Panthers if they are looking for leadership in the locker room. Hopefully they don't see him as a final solution to their lack of wideout depth.

Muhammad can help as a slot receiver, but they still need someone else to push Dwayne Jarrett, who showed next to nothing as a rookie. Jarrett might be the guy, you just can't count on it yet without insurance. My guess is they will bring in another mid-round draft pick or a mid-level veteran not far off Muhammad's level and let them all battle it out. Their offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson comes from the Patriots school, where receivers are somewhat fungible and quantity can be just as important as quality.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

At least Tim Couch had multiple shoulder surgeries as an excuse. If this is the end of the line for David Carr, it was his confidence, not his body, that broke down.

It is strange to think a number one overall pick at quarterback could be out of the league before he turns 30. But the damage Carr suffered in 2007 will not be ignored league-wide, and Carr may not want to press on anyway. With a 4.7 yards-per-attempt average, it's no stretch to say Carr was the worst quarterback in the NFL last year.

He was soundly outplayed by 44-year-old (Vinny Testaverde) who joined the Panthers off the couch. Undrafted rookie Matt Moore started the last three games, and looked like Johnny Unitas in comparison to Carr.

Continue reading "Carr's career could be over" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

It was sad to hear that Myron Cope passed away today. I can't think of a non-player that is more beloved by a city than Cope is by Pittsburgh.

Cope is best known as the voice of the Steelers, but a lot of people forget he was one of the preeminant sportswriters of the 50's and 60's before going on the radio.

Continue reading "Pittsburgh loses a legend" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (73)

A few teams got a head start on roster cuts yesterday, highlighted by a trio of once useful receivers. Let's take a quick look to see if any of them have any future value.

Justin McCareins, Jets - Hard to believe the Jets gave up a second-round pick for this one-time fantasy sleeper. Find a painful Jets loss in the last few years, and McCareins probably dropped a pass towards the end of it.

If McCareins is smart, he'll take a small deal to return to Tennessee, where offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger helped make him a success. With a little confidence, he could earn a starting job and eventually get back on the fantasy radar.

Continue reading "Sorting through the Flotsam" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)