Every night before I go to bed and every morning when I wake up, I go to my phone, go to my online Football Section of the Baltimore Sun, and read the football news of the day. So imagine my surprise this morning when I read the title, "Skins, DT Haynesworth agree to seven year deal".



Really?!


Like seriously?!

I posted a blog not too long ago showing each team's cap space going into free agency, which officially starts today. The last time I checked, the Redskins were $3 million over the cap, not much room to do anything. Now, I don't follow them at all, so it's quite possible that some contracts were restructured and more money was available. But enough to pay this monster contract???

Did I fail to mention, they also re-signed DeAngelo Hall to a 6 year, $54 million contract as well?



This leads to my number 1 question of the off season: What's The Purpose Of Salary Cap???

When the CBA fell through and we were told that, if a new agreement doesn't come up, that there will be an uncapped season after the 2010 season, I was concerned. I root for a mid market team that uses the cap wisely, for the most part, and allows us to stay afloat and try and compete year end and year out. I thought to myself, an uncapped year meant the NFL was going to turn into MLB, with the Redskins and Cowboys buying up all of the top free agents available that year.

But after seeing a deal like this being made and no salary cap available to handle such a contract, I'm starting to think we are already in an uncapped NFL.

I've gone to numerous message boards, asked my most knowledgeable football friends and family, and I get nothing but *crickets*.


Apparently I'm not the only one that is a little confused by this.

I know that there is a such thing as cash over cap, which allows some wiggle room, but this is down right ridiculous.

I think I know the answer to the question, though. The NFL allows such deals for certain teams that have a lot of value to the league. Think about it... the Redskins are the NFL's most valuable franchise. They never have cap space, yet are always allowed to bring in high profile players. The team's success under owner Daniel Snyder has been dismal at best under this logic, but nonetheless he gets a pass because of the team's worth to the league.



This allows valued franchises like the Redskins and Cowboys to basically, do whatever they want, with mid and smaller markets playing by the rules, including the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

The salary cap is a facade, nothing more or less. It doesn't hold weight. If it did, we wouldn't see this happen every year.

The owners are in a fraternity, of sorts. They tend to be buddy buddy with each other, so no one wants to challenge this to the commissioner. If they do, then they could face "payback" if they need leverage or support for future issues.

Maybe I'm way off with my scenario, but if anyone has the answer for this madness, then I'd love to hear it.

The salary cap is a joke...... unless someone can give me answers

I recently found out that former Cowboys RB-turned-NFL analyst Emmitt Smith was let go by ESPN, as his contract had expired and was told he would not receive a new one.

Am I the only person excited about the news??




Listen.... while I think Emmitt was a great NFL player, and an even greater dancer, his analytical skills were sub par at best. He constantly mispronounced names, misinterpreted stats and even his views/opinions of teams or games made a person say, "huh??".

Now, ESPN has been declining for some time in my opinion. So the fact that they are letting him go isn't a bad thing at all.....it's a very good thing. But ESPN could make some other adjustments. Here's what I think they should do:

Bring Back NFL Primetime on Sunday Evenings- I know that they had to end the popular show due to NBC starting their "Football Night In America" (which I really don't care for, by-the-way). But I really enjoyed this program with Chris "Boomer"Berman and Tom "TJ" Jackson.


I know that most folks can't stand Boomer's antics and cliches. But I love them personally. I love to here him say, "WHOOOP", or when he and TJ sing, "San Diego... Super Chargers". It's fun and it's entertaining, at least to me. It could also give NFL's GameDay a little competition, as there is none right now. NFL Network has the best highlights coverage. But Once Upon A Time, In A Place Called Bristol, CT..... There was NFL Primetime, and it ruled the cable world!!!!!


Do NOT Bring Steve Young Back To Sunday NFL Countdown- Now, Young's cute little segment, Young Is Restless, or whatever it's called, is okay. I don't mind listening to Young for 30 seconds to a minute, once a week. But is it just me, or does Young act like he's on a high dosage of Zoloft???



He's very high strong, and if you get him started, it's hard to make him stop. At the end of Super Bowl XLIII, ESPN did a post game interview with Steelers QB Ben Roethlsherieuiwdgw (just kidding, I know how to type out Big Ben's name, by-the-way). Steve Young was kissing up so much, I thought I was watching a bad version of Fatal Attraction. When Young feels like you're wrong on a topic, he attacks you like a pitbull. We like passionate analysts, but he's beyond that. He's way too emotional. Please don't bring him back.

Start A "The Sport Thugs" Segment With Michael Irvin, Jamal Anderson, and Adam "PacMan" Jones-




Imagine these 3 guys doing a segment every Sunday with a set up similar to "The Sports Reporters". The segment would be about current topics around the league, with the song, "Bad Boys" playing in the background as their theme song (sirens included). It'll be great for TV and I would definitely watch.

Irvin was good on ESPN and in my opinion, shouldn't have been let go to begin with. But I believe that Irvin was let go more for image purposes than work related. He was good at it, he had the personality and unless the topic was about about the Cowboys, T.O. or Ray Lewis, he was unbiased and does bring a different element to the table (something Keyshawn Johnson has tried, but can't emulate). That being said, he fits the bill for this segment because of his past endeavors with drugs and court appearances.

Jamal Anderson was recently on ESPN as an analyst, until someone found him sniffing drugs off a toilet seat (When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong, Vol.1). He was alright, but having Irvin on his segment would bring out his raw talent (no pun intended). And Pacman Jones would be a perfect final piece to the puzzle. He needs a job anyway. Michael and Jamal will be the 2 most vocal, with Pacman being visibly quiet until the end of each segment, when he blurts out, "I didn't do it!!"

Okay, so that was kind of mean. I meant to no harm to the Irvin, Anderson and Pacman fans of the world. But that was not as mean as Smith's unnatural analytical skills. It was hard to watch and listen to. I, for one, am glad he's gone.

Dancing With The Stars- Great.



NFL Analyst- Not So Much.




ESPN, you got it right..... for once.

Even though this is a football blog, I love to discuss all sports. And the hot story at the moment is none other than, Alex Rodriguez and his admittance to steroid use.

Let's be honest.... this story is big because it's A-Rod. The 1/2 billion dollar boy. If this was some backup catcher or a player on the Kansas City Royals, no one would care. But A-Rod was the highest paid player ever and has since become a NY Yankee. And everyone is all over this because of who it is and who he plays for. And now I'm jumping on the bandwagon (shoot why not?!).

Yesterday, A-Rod held a press conference explaining his reasons why he decided to take steroids. He advised that his cousin, which he didn't name, introduced him to them and at the time was at least 25 years old, stating that he was "young and naive" (I'm sorry, but at 25, you aren't that young and while being naive is possible, he knew exactly what he was doing.).


ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote an article regarding the press conference and concluded that A Rod wasn't totally honest because his story changed from the original story he told 9 days prior. This raises eyebrows, but nothing the American public wasn't already thinking.

Personally, while I think A-Rod may feel sorry about taking steroids, I hardly believe anything more than that. This has "PR patchwork job" written all over it, with him giving details on what allegedly happened between 2001-2003 as a Texas Ranger.



Because the stories have changed in such a short period of time, it leads me and a lot of the public to believe that these stories are exaggerated and the press conference was held simply to shut the media up.

I believe that A-Rod's a smart man. While he's a very rich man already, he knows that this could very well hurt his image, which has already taken blow from his MLB peers (he's been known throughout the league as a "diva"). He knows that , if the public eye isn't interested in him any longer, he loses out in endorsements, appearances and anything else that could stockpile his worth in the future. While he could probably quit baseball today and still be filthy rich until he dies, I truly believe he cares about the perception the public has of him and he wanted to make peace by coming up with a half true story regarding this whole ordeal.

The problem with that is, the media and the public aren't dumb. And we follow these types of stories a lot closer than folks think. So anytime we find a situation where the same story isn't told twice, we think someone is pulling a fast one on us.



In a Newsday poll asking what the public reaction was to the press conference, 36.2% of the voters said he's a cheater and nothing he says can change their minds. The second response with the most votes?? 22.7% saying he was too vague and they weren't impressed.

With the public mind already made up, A Rod's best defense should have been, "I made a terrible decision. I set high standards for myself to be the best and by doing so, I used steroids to help me achieve that goal. For that, I am deeply sorry" and left it alone. But it seems as though he was advised to do otherwise, and as of right now the public hasn't been totally receptive to his response.

He's a New York Yankee and will be for quite a while, so this will go away at some point. But not anytime soon. He's too much of a household name for folks to disregard right now.

Shame on you, A-Rod. This could have gone away much faster if you told the truth, or if you said nothing at all.

I just got word that one of the most controversial Ravens has been let go. No it's not Ray Lewis... and No it's not Jamal Lewis either, he's gone already.

Mr. CB himself, Chris McAlister AKA C Mac has been given his walking papers today, and to no surprise to many Ravens fans in the Baltimore area. As a fan of the team, this was the inevitable.



McAlister was a great talent. He was an asset to the team coming straight out of Arizona. McAlister was one of the last current Ravens players to play in Super Bowl XXXV, with Ray Lewis and Matt Stover the only 2 remaining players.

With great talent also came a great big headache. The 10 year vet was always known as a rebellious player who followed his own rules. During former head coach Brian Billick's tenure, McAlister was suspended and sent home from a game against the San Diego Chargers, allegedly for going to visit his family in his hometown in nearby Pasadena and not telling anyone of his plans do to so, or his whereabouts.

Once Billick was fired and John Harbaugh took over the team, it was no secret that C Mac and the new coach did not see eye to eye on many things, which led to Harbaugh's benching of him during Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins. McAlister ended up going on Injured Reserve shortly after and it was then that speculation starting swirling, wondering if C Mac would return following the 2008 season.



While the relationship wasn't always a smooth one, it was a pretty consistent one. His best year in my memory( and ironically his contract year) was the 2003 season, when he dominated at the CB position. He shut down about every wide receiver he played against that year, including 49ers Terrell Owens and the Rams' Torry Holt, both ver ygood players during that time.


With the Ravens looking to sign at least 2 of their 3 starting LBs who are all up for free agency next week, along with other players, the Ravens could use the $8 million they save with the release of McAlister

When asked today by a local media personality, C Mac stated,

"I'm still dealing with the shock of the whole thing," McAlister told 105.7 FM today. "I can't imagine this happened. I never thought it would happen."

He was a great player, but it was clear his time to leave had come. I'm not saddened at all, mainly because I didn't have a real fan connection to McAlister like I do with the Reeds, Lewises, and Suggs' of the team.

While the Ravens have NO real depth at CB at the time of his release, it's the right thing to do. The Ravens know they can't allow one player to derail what their plans are, and that's to be Super Bowl Champions. C Mac will find another job and do well for a couple more years, IF he is motivated to do such.

Hopefully, his time in Charm City was one he won't forget. Bye Bye, C Mac.... Nice knowing you!!!!

Hey gang,

Got this from a great website, www.draftsharks.com where they break down each teams' salary cap situation for the coming NFL season. Take a peak and start pretend-building your 2009 team, with draft and free agency. Good luck!

** All 32 teams ranked by current salary cap space against the 2009 limit of $123 million per club. They are ranked from most cap room (Tampa) to least (NY Jets). These figures are not exact, but after weeks of exhaustive research at the NFLPA website, NFLMedia, ESPN, FOX, & local newspaper sites, they are pretty close. Detailed free agency & contract info included.

by John Miller, Draftsharks.com

1. Tampa Bay -- $42m under – New GM Mark Dominik steps into the fallout from one of the worst collapses in history. The Bucs were 9-3 and cruising. They finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs, losing in Week 17 to ex-coach Jon Gruden’s ex-team, the Oakland Raiders. Every team since 1993 that started 9-3 had made the playoffs until now. Time to get younger. DE Kevin Carter, LB Derrick Brooks, and CB Ronde Barber are turning 36, 36, and 34. Can they lock up free-agent WR Antonio Bryant now that his mentor Gruden was canned? He’ll test the market. QBs Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, and Luke McCown will all be gone. Classic rebuilding mode here.

2. Arizona -- $41m under – Charley Casserly quoted this astounding figure on CBS last week. It’s kind of deceiving because few teams have as many big names to re-sign. They only have 37 players under contract this year. QB Kurt Warner, DE Bert Berry, DE Antonio Smith and LB Karlos Dansby are free agents. Would Warner stay on a discount so he can stay with Larry Fitzgerald? Obviously WR Anquan Boldin wants more money. WR Steve Breaston warrants an extension. They can cut RB Edgerrin James and DE Chike Okeafor and free up $7m. Overall there’s no reason why Arizona can’t sign studs like DE Terrell Suggs (who went to ASU), C/G Jason Brown (another stud Raven), and maybe RB Darren Sproles (change-up for Hightower?).

3. Denver -- $34m under – New coach Josh McDaniels has needs everywhere, primarily on defense. This unit could see a massive slash-fest that frees up another $15m or so, giving them near $50m to spend! S Marlon McCree, S Marquand Manuel, LB Nate Webster, LB Boss Bailey, DE Ebenezer Ekuban, & DT Dewayne Robertson are just 6 of maybe 10-12 defense cap-cuts. McDaniels won’t leave offense off his wish list since he’s holding a platinum credit card. Free-agent RB Derrick Ward is a perfect fit. They have 2 great WRs in Brandon Marshall & Eddie Royal, but what about adding WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh? McDaniels witnessed T.J. burning New England for 26 catches, 340 yards and 1 TD in the last 3 meetings.

4. Kansas City -- $33m under – The youngest club in the league last year, and the stingiest too. “Astonishingly, the Kansas City Chiefs elected to not carry forward almost $22m of available cap room to 2009, preferring to leave their money on the table in 2008, never to be used again,” writes Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post. New GM Scott Pioli has complete control of operations & personnel and only answers to owner Clark Hunt. You can bet Pioli has the green light to spend – and this cap money plus the 3rd overall pick attracted him to the job. The real question is: What does he do with Larry Johnson?

5. Tennessee -- $31m under – DT Albert Haynesworth is this year’s big prize. They can’t franchise him again because of incentive clauses. Insiders say Haynesworth likes Nashville and might stay on a hometown discount but that’s unlikely. 2-3 other teams will offer tongue-dropping cash and he will leave. QB Vince Young’s cap figure is a manageable $4.6m but it jumps to $14.2m in 2010. If they cut Young it’s a $7.7m cap hit. Owner Bud Adams won’t give up on the flaky kid. Overall the Titans are not big shoppers so don’t look for major splashes. Note: C Kevin Mawae is 38. You know the Titans would love to pry free-agent C Jeff Saturday away from Indy.

6. Miami -- $28m under – Free-agent DE Julius Peppers is linked to the Dolphins in trade rumors. Miami has the cash and also an extra 2nd-rounder (from sending DE Jason Taylor to the Skins) so it’s possible. However, they’d have to part with their 1st rounder - 26th overall - this year too. Miami has some free agents to re-sign like S Yeremiah Bell, LB Channing Crowder, & CB Andre Goodman. OT Vernon Carey is also a free agent but he’ll be offered more money by someone else, if only for his versatility. S Renaldo Hill will probably walk too.

7. Buffalo -- $27m under – They can free up at least $10m more by slicing off some defensive fat, guys like S Ko Simpson, DE Chris Kelsay, DT John McCargo, etc. The Bills have a lot of UFAs to consider re-signing, however: C/G Duke Preston, CB Jabari Greer, LB Angelo Crowell, G Jason Whittle, and T Kirk Chambers. RB Fred Jackson is an exclusive rights free agent, which means they can keep him affordably – though he deserves a nice extension right now. They still gotta hammer out a mega-deal with OT Jason Peters.

8. Detroit -- $26m under – New coach Jim Schwartz is no dummy. The Lions have nowhere to go but up from 0-16. They have two 1st rounders, two 3rd rounders, and 5 of the top-82 picks overall. Owner William Clay Ford will spend money. And they could have way more than $26m in cap room – after trimming off CB Leigh Bodden, QB Daunte Culpepper, S Dwight Smith, TE Dan Campbell & G Edwin Mulitalo. This roster is in for a major overhaul and could be loaded with stud rookies and free agents.

9. San Francisco -- $26m under – In 2007 and 2008 the 49ers were top-3 in cap room, so they’re still hanging in there nicely. They can cut QB Alex Smith and OT Jonas Jennings and free up $7.3 million more. Smith is coming off the busted shoulder and simply isn’t a great player. Jennings has missed all or parts of 47 games the last 4 years. DE Justin Smith’s big contract last year has a bloated cap figure for 2009 - $10.5 million – but they’ll let it ride. Ninersnation.com is clamoring for the team to land free-agent DE Terrell Suggs at all costs.

10. Houston -- $25m under – Cutting S Will Demps, RB Ahman Green, LB Morlon Greenwood and DE Anthony Weaver could add more space to this figure. Defense and offensive line are always the big need, despite using six 1st-round picks on these two areas since 2004. The fans want free-agent DE Julius Peppers but he wants to be in a 3-4 scheme so that rules Houston out. Plus they don’t want to give up the 15th pick. DE Chris Canty (Cowboys) and LB Bart Scott (Ravens) are great fits. S Brian Dawkins could be a sneaky grab who lends valuable leadership to a young defense.

11. Philadelphia -- $25m under – The big question is what do they do with Donovan McNabb? He counts $10.3 million on the cap. If they trade him it would free up $9.2 million in cap space (with only $1.1m left on the books). S Brian Dawkins, OT Tra Thomas, OT Jon Runyan, RB Correll Buckhalter and S Sean Considine are free agents. They can cut TE L.J. Smith and CB Lito Sheppard to free up $5m. Bust WR Reggie Brown is staying because they take a $3m hit if they release him.

12. Cincinnati -- $22m under – Owner Mike Brown must be overcome with grief. QB Carson Palmer, WR Chad Johnson, and OT Levi Jones were all in the top-6 highest paid at their positions – and the Bengals were last in scoring, yards, and yards per play. They franchised RT Stacey Andrews last season after failing to sign him to a long-term deal for the 2nd straight year. This year they might franchise WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh at $7.85m guaranteed for 1 year. Overall none of this cap stuff matters to Cincy if Carson Palmer’s elbow is trashed. Stay tuned.

13. New England -- $21m under – This figure doesn’t count the (gulp) $14.8m one-year tender for Matt Cassel. If they tag Cassel they’ll have $28 million cap dollars tied up in 2 quarterbacks. However, they can make it work. DE Richard Seymour, OT Matt Light, WR Randy Moss, LB Adalius Thomas, and DE Jarvis Green have a combined $65m in cap charges – if 3 or 4 of those guys restructure it frees up $15m easily.

14. Minnesota -- $20m under – Last year the Vikings gave up a 1st & two 3rd-rounders for DE Jared Allen, then tossed him a whopping $31m in guaranteed money. Allen had 14.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and a league-high 52 QB hurries. Cha-ching! This kind of aggressive management approach should set an example for flaccid clubs like Cincinnati and St. Louis. Go get your guy. Sign a true game-changer. This year the Vikings are rumored to be after QBs Matt Cassel or Donovan McNabb.

15. Atlanta -- $20m under – Some old reliables must go, including former superstar LB Keith Brooking. He’s scheduled to count $7m but his contract is voidable. Brooking’s fate was sealed when he got beat by Cardinals TE Stephen Spach in the wild-card game. GM Thomas Dimitroff isn’t afraid to make tough decisions – he cut franchise legends Alge Crumpler & Warrick Dunn last year. Fan favorite LB Michael Boley might be cut too. When they release Michael Vick he’ll still eat up $7.1m in cap space.

16. Pittsburgh -- $19m under – Supposedly a frugal club, the Steelers spent $128m in payroll last year, 6th highest in football. The product bears out that spending. And when they did Roethlisberger’s extension last March they pro-rated his $25m signing bonus over the 8 years of the deal, and his 2009 salary is “only” $4.75m, so his 2009 cap hit is a manageable $7.9m. The big question is will they re-sign G Chris Kemoeatu, T Max Starks, and T Marvel Smith, all free agents?

17. Baltimore -- $19m under – CBs Samari Rolle & Chris McAlister count a combined $17m. Pay cuts or both hit the road. The Ravens are a relatively low payroll club who’s squeezed the most they could out of what they have. 3 of the top-6 defensive free agents on the 2009 market are Ravens: DE Terrell Suggs, LB Bart Scott, and LB Ray Lewis. They can’t keep all three. Maybe only one. TE Todd Heap already took a pay cut once so they might just cut him. It would free up $3.6m. The big rumor is a straight-up trade: Terrell Suggs for Anquan Boldin. Wow!

18. Chicago -- $19m under – Key defensive studs like CB Nathan Vasher, CB Charles Tillman, and LB Brian Urlacher count a combined $20m. Re-do their deals. Yikes, there’s $5.4m in dead money for Cedric Benson, Muhsin Muhammad, and Brian Griese. They can free up $8m by cutting OT John Tait, FB Jason McKie, DE Adewale Ogunleye, DT Dusty Dvoracek, and WR Marty Booker. The Bears are rumored to be after safety O.J. Atogwe in free agency (if he isn’t franchised by St. Louis) and DE Terrell Suggs.

19. Green Bay -- $18m under – Getting rid of Brett Favre and his $12 million salary for a 3rd-round pick turned out to be the right move. Then they signed Aaron Rodgers to a cap-friendly 6-year, $65 million deal on Oct. 31 – shoveling $12 million onto the 2008 cap before the league deadline. If they waited another 24 hours the entire pay increase would have to be treated as a signing bonus -- and pro-rated over the length of the contract for cap purposes. Now they have cap room to extend WR Greg Jennings, S Nick Collins, and S Atari Bigby.

20. Cleveland -- $17m under – The Browns will probably cut Jamal Lewis. They’d be saving a cash payout of $6.4m in salary & roster bonus. RT Kevin Shaffer is a bust, but he only counts $4.4m on the cap so he might stay. WR Donte Stallworth has a roster bonus of $5m due – he’ll fly out to fleece his 5th team in March. The Browns can free up $12m in cap room by cutting QB Derek Anderson, DE Shaun Smith, LB Willie McGinest, LB Andra Davis, DT Robaire Smith, and G Ryan Tucker.

21. Jacksonville -- $16m under – Owner Wayne Weaver got burned last year, giving out $23m in guaranteed dollars to WR Jerry Porter and CB Drayton Florence. He spent $122m in total payroll, 8th most in the league. They’ll let OT Khalif Barnes walk in free agency. S Gerald Sensabaugh, LB Mike Peterson, and C Brad Mester might walk too. Only Meester seems to be on their list of priorities. WR Reggie Williams’ contract is voidable. He’s gone.

22. San Diego -- $14m under – Time for semi-rebuilding on both sides of the ball. Not a complete housecleaning, but GM A.J. Smith knows he has to shake it up. But first he has to extend Philip Rivers, Shawne Merriman and Vincent Jackson, all going into the last year of their deals. As crazy as it seems, ending it with LaDainian Tomlinson makes sense. He’s 30 and his body is breaking down. Dumping him off frees up $6.725m in cap space. They also want to re-sign Darren Sproles, who was their MVP in December & January.

23. New York Giants -- $11m under – The first order of business is to lock up Brandon Jacobs, but can (will) they? He’ll want to test the open market and plenty of teams could offer more money. Rumor has it the Giants want free-agent DT Albert Haynesworth (imagine that defensive line with Osi Umenyiora returning from injury) but they’re actually set with DTs Fred Robbins & Barry Cofield. If Plaxico Burress is cut before June 1st he only counts $4.4m in dead money.

24. Dallas -- $10m under – Owner Jerry Jones will always empty his pockets and spend cash-over-cap so it doesn’t really matter how much room Dallas has. The first order of business is Terrell Owens. The reports that his release/trade would cause a massive cap charge are true – but the “net” hit is only $680,000. In other words, he already counts $8.99 million if stays. He counts $9.67m if he leaves. They have until June 1st when his $3.1m roster bonus is due. All-World LB DeMarcus Ware is entering a contract year and deserves to be one of the 5 highest-paid defenders in the NFL. Overall, every offensive starter is signed for at least 2 more years. Cutting QB Brad Johnson, G Montrae Holland, and S Roy Williams frees up $6m.

25. Carolina -- $9m under – Jake Delhomme counts $11m on the cap. Cut him and get $6m in net cap savings. Or accept his apology for the 6 turnovers vs. Arizona, re-do his deal and free up a few million. Ask CB Ken Lucas ($6m cap charge) to restructure too. Cut WR D.J. Hackett, RB Nick Goings, LB Landon Johnson, OG Keydrick Vincent, and CB Ricardo Colclough to free up $8m. Carolina could franchise-tag DE Julius Peppers and trade him for a 1st round pick (they currently don’t have a 1st rounder in this draft). We hear Cleveland and Miami are the most interested.

26. Seattle -- $9m under – The Seahawks can free up $14m in cap space by cutting QB Matt Hasselbeck, OG Mike Wahle, WR Bobby Engram, RB Maurice Morris, and WR Koren Robinson. Robinson might actually stay if his knee gets right. “He's been the key blocker on three of our four longest plays from scrimmage this year, and the receiver in our longest (90 yarder),” says Seahawks beat blogger Chris Sullivan. LB LeRoy Hill will likely be franchise-tagged at $8 million for one year. LT Walter Jones and WR Deion Branch count $17m combined by themselves. Pay cuts, fellas.

27. St. Louis -- $8m under – They could be releasing the last 3 players from their Super Bowl winning team in 1999 – WR Torry Holt, DE Leonard Little, and OT Orlando Pace. It would free up $14m and give them a chance to sign a couple free agents. WR Drew Bennett (coming off a broken foot) might not be back, though cutting him causes a $2.5m cap hit. Rams HC Steve Spagnuolo is rumored to be interested in free-agent DT Albert Haynesworth and DE Terrell Suggs. Who isn’t?

28. Oakland -- $4m under – Ouch, CB DeAngelo Hall counts $5m in dead money after being cut. To make it worse he suddenly played like a Pro Bowler again in Washington. WR Javon Walker has a $5m roster bonus due next month. He’ll actually collect it because of an injury guarantee – and his cap hit is $14m if they cut him. Stupid contracts, Al. OT Robert Gallery will have to rework his deal to shave off his $9.2m cap charge.

29. Indianapolis -- $2m over – Peyton Manning counts a massive $21m by himself, the 2nd biggest cap charge in NFL history behind Steve McNair’s $23m in 2006. The Titans ended up locking McNair out of team headquarters that summer. Indy won’t do anything quite that drastic, but they do need to discuss money with Peyton. They can free up $6m by cutting Marvin Harrison. Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday, CB Kelvin Hayden and RB Dominic Rhodes are free agents. They could franchise-tag Saturday at $8.6m on the 2009 cap. Not too bad. Lots of work to do here, though.

30. Washington -- $3m over – Nothing new for owner Daniel Snyder, he’s from the Jerry Jones Cash-Over-Cap School. Boy, they’ve given out some stupid contracts over the years. Heck, WR Brandon Lloyd still counts $5.5m in dead money from 2007, plus they gave away 3rd & 4th rounders for him that year. We hear the Skins have their eye on 1 stud free agent – Panthers OT Jordan Gross, who could replace the declining Jon Jansen on the right.

31. New Orleans -- $5m over – They just got the credit card bill from their 2005-2008 shopping spree. Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, DE Will Smith, DE Charles Grant, CB Mike McKenzie, huge bonuses thrown around the room. It worked on offense, not so well on defense. Brees counts $14m on the cap but that’s 33% less than Peyton Manning’s rate. Smith counts $9.4m in 2009 so he needs to step it up under new DC Gregg Williams. They can cut RB Aaron Stecker, WR Devery Henderson, WR David Patten, DT Hollis Thomas, and CB Jason David to free up $11m in cap space.

32. New York Jets -- $7m over – Whew, last year they doled out over $100 million in guaranteed dollars. Those bonuses are pro-rated out over the next 4-5 years so they’re going to be in and out of cap jail for a while. Laveranues Coles counts $7m and they need him to accept a pay cut, which he won’t. Leon Washington deserves a big extension. Ks Jay Feely and Mike Nugent are both free agents – Nugent was hurt and Feely might have stolen the gig.

So my main man, Brett Favre, retires AGAIN. But this time most people, like myself, think this is for real.

When most successful players retire, people usually have good things to say. But Favre has always been more complicated than that. With everything that happened starting from last offseason, folks are bashing Favre right about now.

"He should've stayed retired as a Packer last year"

"He's selfish"

"He's old and can't play anymore"

I'm not here to argue with those points. I'm here to praise him for his career. Without him, I'm not the avid football fan that I am today.

The reason why? Well, if you like my blog and think I'm the football goddess I claim to be, then thank Brett Lorenzo Favre for that (I'm kidding, by-the-way... well, kinda lol). I started becoming interested in the game because of him.

Football is in my blood. My grandfather played football, my father was a high school standout that after college, had former Chiefs coach Hank Stram call him personally to ask him to join the practice squad. So the love of the sport runs deep in my family.

However, I was a "late bloomer" with my genetic ties to the sport. Whenever I tried to get my grandfather and father to teach me what was going on, they would usually get frustrated with me and I would always say, "Forget it then....." and walk away.

The Baltimore Colts left town when I was 4 1/2 years old, so I had no real connection to football.

But here comes this guy that wears #4 for the green and gold team with fans wearing cheeseheads. I can remember Brett Favre on my TV screen, and saying to myself, "Who IS that guy??? He's a rebel... I like him".


I didn't know much about him. I thought his name was pronounced "Fav-ray", like they way it's spelled. But once I got to know him from a football perspective, I fell in love with the game and they way he played. I wanted to know more.

The very first Super Bowl that I actually paid attention to was SB XXXI, between the Packers and Patriots.

My favorite moment of Favre's? When his dad passed away and he played the next night against the Oakland Raiders throwing for 4 TDs and 399 yards. Best performance I've ever seen under such horrible circumstances. I can still hear his postgame interview like it happened yesterday, "I knew that my dad would have wanted me to play. I love him so much and I love this game. It's meant a great deal to me, to my dad, to my family, and I didn't expect this kind of performance. But I know he was watching tonight."


Although Favre has had an overall successful career, he did run into some issues along the way.


He has a gunslinger mentality that is frowned upon.

He holds the NFL record for interceptions.

He once had an issue with pain killer addiction.

And at times me made the craziest throws to make you wonder what was going on in his head when he threw that.



We can discuss for days what Favre did wrong, but he's also done a whole lot that was right. I'm here to celebrate Favre. No matter how you feel about him, most will agree that he played with passion that was seen by few.



Never have I seen a player make ME want to get on the field as much as Brett Favre did. He'll be looked at as an NFL great, and rightfully so.

Here are a few of my favorite Favre moments throughout his career.










See you in Canton in 5 years, Brett. Thank you for everything! You will be missed!!

Okay, so I did something I said I wouldn't do and watched the Pro Bowl, or at least tried to (I say every year that I won't watch. But like a train wreck... you want to turn away but simply can't).

Once the Pro Bowl was over, I turned my attention to the 2009 Grammy Awards. I wanted to see what the hype was about. I'm sure many of you football fans, like myself, watched both just to stay occupied.

So let's look at what was the better entertainment for the evening.


Pro Bowl Highlights of the Evening- There weren't many, really. The AFC came out strong with Peyton Manning as the General in the 1st half. But with every AFC QB that followed, the quality went down a notch. Manning continues to show that he is in a class of his own (well, you can add Brady to that list, but he wasn't there, now, was he?!).


Once he left the game, the NFC slowly started to find their rhythm.

One of the best highlights was Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald. With the 1st half closing, Drew Brees threw a 46 yard pass and to no surprise, Fitzgerald caught it with stride. It was a really good play that let the NFC catch up to the AFC, 14-10.

The 2nd TD pass that Fitzgerald caught was just as good. The ball sat in mid air which seemed like, forever. He jumped up right over Titans CB Cortland Finnegan's head and got the 2 yard TD. He was definitely deserving of the MVP title he received in the end, as the NFC defeated the AFC 30-21.



The last highlight that I thought was pretty interesting was the trickery play from the AFC in the 4th quarter. Most call it the "fumble rooski", regarding the play that put Ravens FB Le'Ron McClain in the end zone. Nonetheless, it was creative and fun to watch. If you missed it, here it goes:




Grammy's Highlights of the Evening- There were a few, and it was pretty good. First off, Whitney Houston came out and looked GREAT! I love Whitney (or as my friends and I call her, Whitty Hutton, from the TV show "Martin"), so to see her looking great and healthy was a highlight for me.



There were also some great performances. Jennifer Hudson did very well, I enjoyed her set. I also enjoyed Al Green and Justin Timberlake singing Green's songs.


Coldplay had a good performance, which included Jay Z as a special guest during their performance (I love that song Viva La Vida, by-the-way).

But the highlight of the night is a split decision for me. Adele was very persuasive and why she won the Best New Artist with her perfomance. The other performance that I appreciated was Jaime Foxx and Ne-Yo alongside Smokey Robinson and Duke Fakir. I'm a sucker for "old school music" and I think old schoolers still know how to jam like they did in their prime. Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo both are very good performers themselves. The combo was a perfect fit.



Pro Bowl Lowlights of the Evening- Oh goodness, where do I begin??? Let's start with those lame interviews from Tiki Barber and Andrea Kramer. Now Kramer is excusable. She was trying to make something out of nothing, because the Pro Bowl sucks and has no real story lines. But Tiki asking his brother Ronde if he thought he felt more accomplished than him? I could care less.


You guys are twin brothers. Discuss this petty conversation over Sunday dinner. But don't waste my time, please and thanks.

Another thing that bother me was every interview was mainly to free agents asking them where did they want to go next year. And the players kept giving the same diplomatic answers, "Well, I want to stay here, so we'll see. But anyone that wants me..." Bullcrap. You know you want to really say, "Screw you [insert team here] for not signing me before my contract expired. But I'll show you, I'm about to get PIZZ-AIIDD". Please save it.



Other lowlights of the game.... Ummm, pretty much everything. Defenses at the Pro Bowl can't blitz, they can't stunt... they can't do anything interesting. No sighting of Polamalu's hair whisking in the wind at the line of scrimmage (which is something that is out-of-character, almost). Oh and the halftime show with Enrique Iglesias and Ciara was a great bathroom break for most folks. The game was a snoozer!


Grammy's Lowlights of the Evening- Oh, the Grammys did have it's bad moments, mixed up with the good ones. First off. Kanye.... What the hell is wrong with you??? He reminds me of a Full Force reject from the 80's with that Jheri Curl mullet.


I'm sorry but wherever he dropped his mind off, I'm going to need him to go back and get it. Clearly he's lost something. His partner-in-crime Estelle looked even worse with both of them looking like 2 disco balls. One wrong spotlight angle and they could've blinded the whole theater


As bad as Kanye looked, I don't know if he was worse than artist M.I.A. With her dude date the day of the Grammy's, she still found a way to perform with T.I., Jay Z, Lil Wayne and Kanye for the "Swagger Like Us" song. She looked like a ghetto Tele Tubbie. I think pregnant women are beautiful, but I thought her outfit was dumb. And her red carpet outfit was just as bad. Please someone, get this woman a stylist and a hospital bed!!!




Last but not least, Stevie Wonder and the Jones Brothers. It was like mixing oil and vinegar.Sorry, i thought it sucked

While the Grammys lowlights were very noticeable, they win this battle by a landslide. Honestly, The only reason why I added the Grammys to this equation is because this is a football blog and the Pro Bowl was so dead, a blog about nothing but the game couldn't live on its own. It needed another program to prove, yet again, how lame the Pro Bowl is and how pointless it is to use airtime for it.


Guess you'd have to be in Hawaii to enjoy it. Oh well........ better luck next year in Miami, NFL.....






Okay, who am I kidding.............

Okay, so I'm sure the NFL is liked by many outside of the US. But it's clear that the other type of football AKA soccer, is a HUGE phenomena throughout the rest of the world.

However I received a great email from an Aussie with some great info regard a fellow Aussie that played in this past weekend's Super Bowl. I'm a huge fan of learning the intangibles in sports, so I just thought that I would share. Anyway, here is some of the email sent to me. It's an interesting story. Hope you enjoy:

"I'm an Australian sportscaster who loves my NFL, and just stumbled across your blog.

Look, I want to point out a stat for you to tell all your football-loving friends and foes.

In this year's Super Bowl, for the first time in history, an Australian is participating.

Yep, a fully-fledged Aussie, not someone born here, that moved to America when they were like 2, an actual, dinky-di, "fair dinkum", true blue Aussie.

His name is Ben Graham, and he is from my home town of Geelong, Australia.

Ben is the punter for Arizona, having been recruited by the Cardinals late in the regular season.



"Graham hails from the Geelong suburb of Leopold and is 35 years of age. He began his NFL career in 2005 with the New York Jets, where upon making his debut, he was the eldest NFL opening day rookie in history at 31 (that record has since been taken by Saverio Rocca).

Ben is extremely well-known here in Australia, as he played professional Australian Rules football for the Geelong Cats until 2004, when he shocked the Aussie football world by quitting prematurely to head to America and try his luck in a professional punting career.

Graham was attempting to follow in the footsteps of Australian NFL punting trailblazer, Darren Bennett, who played for San Diego and Minnesota between 1995-2004. Bennett also played professional Australian Rules football prior to heading Stateside.

Ben Graham's opposing punter in the NFC Championship game last weekend was another Aussie, Philadelphia's Saverio Rocca, who again had a storied career in professional Australian Rules football.



"Australian punters will only become a growing phenomena in NFL football, as there are now specific academies set up here in Melbourne to help fledgling young punters hone their crafts, with scholarships to America on offer to the best of the bunch.

Australian Rules football is very similar to the way an American football is punted, and thus kids grow up here learning to kick an oval-shaped ball in the same vein as an American punt kick.

This also has allowed Australians to innovate when it comes to needing to punt shorter distances, with Darren Bennett introducing what is known in America as the "Aussie" punt, a punt that travels end-over-end. The Australian terminology for such a punt is a "drop punt", the most common form of kicking in Australian Rules.

I hope you find this information useful, and hopefully we can get some airtime for what will be a huge rarity in American football."

Thanks to AJ Brady for a great NFL story.

VS.



Hello boy and gals. The Super Bowl has come and gone and it was probably one of the best games of the season, and more. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals gave everyone watching a great show, with Pittsburgh ultimately hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game.

Some have already dubbed this game the Super Bowl for the ages. But it seems that we have already forgotten about the game that was played almost to the day, of a year ago. While I do agree that was a very good game, I cannot forget the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, when the New York Giants beat the then-undefeated New England Patriots in a thriller.

So I decided to break down each production in categories and try to figure out in fact, which Super Bowl was better. Let’s take a look at how both games compare against each other

Singing Of The National Anthem- Jennifer Hudson was nothing short of incredible. Her version of the Star Spangled Banner was one I would never forget. With the tragic passing of her mother, brother and nephew, this was Hudson’s first performance since the horrible ordeal. And she did not disappoint. I was in tears by the end of her performance.

Not since Whitney Houston’s rendition have I felt such a way about the National Anthem. Jordin Sparks sang last year’s anthem… I wasn’t impressed. But shout out to American Idol for producing star power from both ladies, who can thank the show for their claim to fame. However SB43 wins this by a landslide. There was no competition



Best Story Line Leading up to Game- There were so many story lines for last night’s game. Would Hines Ward play with a bad knee? Would Pittsburgh get their 6th Super Bowl title? Would Kurt Warner get his AARP card before he wins another Super Bowl?

These were good story lines and all. But none was greater than New England’s, "path to perfection", being only the 2nd undefeated team along with the 1972 Miami Dolphins going into the Big Game. This was the perfect David and Goliath story, with David… I mean the New York Giants slaying the Mighty Men of Boston. New England will never be able to shake that off, even with 3 other Super Bowl wins this decade. This one will be the dark cloud over their glory. SB 42 wins this one easily



Commercials- This year's commercials really struggled to be consistently good. With a recession in the economy, there was a noticeable decline in creativity and production. There were a few moments, though. The Doritos Crystal Ball commercial was hilarious. The Denny's commercial was good also. But the WTF Commercial Award goes to the Sobe commercial with Ray Lewis in a white leotard dancing. That commercial had "suspect" written all over it.

The E Trade commercial with the new baby was kinda funny, but not as good as last years. Much better commercials from the 2008 SB were Justin Timberlake's Pepsi commercial, the Sobe commercial with Naomi Campbell doing the Thriller dance and even the Will Ferrell commercial for Bud Light were better. SB 42 gets my vote on this one




Halftime Show- Bruce Springsteen vs Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.. Hmmmm. One comment about Tom Petty... It gave me the best 20 minute power nap ever.

Now, let me say that I can only think of about 3 Springsteen songs. “Born in the USA” being the most recognizable. But last night, he ripped it. He was great! The last time I was anywhere near entertained for the Halftime Show, Janet’s boob popped out, and my mouth fell to the floor.

Prince’s performance 2 years ago was good. But it was expected, because Prince is the man. Every video he does is like a performance anyway. So he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Last night’s performance was strong and full of life. I couldn’t ask for a better performance. SB 43 by a MILE!



Best Clutch Play-



Ben’s TD pass last night to Santonio Holmes will go down as one of the greatest TD catches in a SB. But I saw first hand Holmes' ability to make plays like that on any occasion. He has really blossomed into a very good WR for his team. However, the Manning to Tyree catch in the 4th quarter will always be the greatest play ever in a Super Bowl. Manning should have been sacked, and the game should have been over. But he somehow finds a way out of no way to get the completion to Tyree, who was basically a no name to anyone outside of New York. While I loved the dynamic of both plays, the Giants catch beats this one by a hang nail.



Yes Larry..... Yes!


Overall Performance of Game- Last year’s game had its moments, but it was a defensive struggle for a while there. I'm a big fan of defensive games (I'm used to having an inept offense and a defense that carries the team), but when I watch the Super Bowl, I want excitement for 60 minutes. And last night’s game was a nail biter. If anyone told me that Arizona would put up 400 total yards and lose, I would say to them, "The devil is a LIAR!!". Even until the end, there was over 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter after a Cardinals score, I told my colleague, “There’s way too much time on the clock for Ben to score. I’ve seen him do this too many times before…”. I’m gonna go with SB43 on this one, it had more exciting moments than the Pats-Giants game



After tallying up the votes, this was a close one. But in the end, Super Bowl XLIII won by a close margin of 3-2. I don't want to take anything away from last year's game. It's still a Top 5 in my book. But with so many different angles in story lines leading up to the game, the outcome of the game and the consistent excitement of the game, Super Bowl XLIII turned out to be a great production. Kudos to the NFL for having another successful season. Games like last night's is why this is America's Game!





OT Special- Mike Tomlin.. I think I like you. *blush*