NFL Ramblings...

Alright, there’s enough going on here now in the NFL that I can’t really do an entire article on it but I think I can patch together some of my ideas for a coherent rambling. At least I hope it’s coherent. I don’t think much of anything I do could/would be described as coherent. Yet, I digress…
First and foremost are my boys with their resigning of James Harrison. I have to admit I thought they’d offer him a short term deal that he’d have better odds of finishing out. And honestly I feel like he’s a stopgap kinda player. The Steelers go through linebackers like they’ve been drafting them well since the 70s. (Oh, wait…) You’ve got the kids Timmons and Woodley right there nipping at their heels and this is definitely a corps in transition. You’ve got some of the vets who are doing it off muscle memory, albeit still performing at a high level. I guess they think Harrison is worth the deal. And I don’t hate it, though he is going to be 31 as of kickoff this season. Remember, this dude was on practice squads and getting cut for years before he caught on with the Steelers. That’s a few years of wear and tear he saved on his body by not taking the punishment at a young age. To be honest, this jury member is hung (that’s what she said) on this subject. I hope it ends well, but in the long run I don’t know...
I think the Mark Sanchez saga is going to have a bizarre twist come draft day. He was invited as they’ve expanded the field of invites. I don’t know if they did this to cut down on the Brady Quinn factor or heighten it. Kiper and McShay oscillate between his placement in and out of the top ten picks. And the latest has him going to Frisco with the 10th pick. It was odd to me at the time how off put Pete Carroll was when Sanchez declared for the draft. That seems like something that could be a sign to the pro guys about his preparation for this. From a business stand point it’s a good idea though because next year’s draft should feature all the Big 12 guys coming out. So I get his notion to strike while the iron’s hot, but I hope it’s not the Niners that take him. Who knows what size his hands are…
Greg Paulus was the epitome of a quarterback when he was in high school, the second coming of Johnny Unitas, Steve Young and Kyle Boller, if you listen to the sports broadcasters. Yet the Duke football coach said he won’t accept Paulus into his system. I guess it’s the years of national prominence that allow him to make such sweeping declarations. I get his point, it’s a pro-style offense that took Peyton and Eli years to learn. Though I wonder how fast either of them could pick up Su Doku, aw gee shucks, ma’am, I just wanna th’ow a foo’ball. (Sorry I tend not to trust things south of the Manson-Nixon line.) But that has made for some interesting drama. First reports indicate he worked out for the Green Bay Packers. I’m glad they’re putting forth a good show of faith with Aaron Rogers. Next came word that Rich Rodriguez had him into Ann Arbor. I suppose he’s hoping the sideshow of having a cast asunder point guard will make everyone forget that his team had 3 wins last year. All’s well that ends well I guess…
Now there are two wide receivers who are allegedly on the market. Anquan Boldin and his contract issues with the Cardinals and Braylon Edwards and his catching issues with the football appear to be on the move. I get that AZ can afford to let Boldin go because they have Larry Fitz, but it’ll definitely hurt Fitzy’s production. Wait, what am I saying – I have no clue if it will hurt him. He’s a machine and he might be able to do better with three guys on him than two. But what is Cleveland doing in parting with Brady Quinn’s only potential weapon. I say potential because I wonder how many takes they needed to get that 5-hour energy boost commercial. And now the New York Football Giants are interested in Braylon for his Plaxico-ness. Big guy, go-getter, free up the underneath. I’d agree that he’d be good for Steve Smith, Mario Manninham and Sinorice Moss, IF he could actually strike fear in the heart of defenses. I’d hope to see the NYG go after ‘Quan but with what happened last time he was in New York, I wouldn’t blame him for not wanting to play in Giants Stadium…
I’m sure there’s something I missed in there that I was thnking about earlier but I can’t remember what it was. So it’s with God now. Good luck deciphering my rambling. I hope it was quasi-coherent...