Archive for the ‘Links’ Category

Since the rumors of an Alex Smith trade being complete started to circle last night, a process of elimination has knocked off two of the 49ers’ potential trading partners after Jason La Canfora reported that a deal is “effectively complete” — a meaningless phrase in late February, but whatever — even though he didn’t know where the quarterback is headed. Two possibilities were the Jaguars and Browns, but Jags general manager David Caldwell said “not us“, while a source tells Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Browns aren’t the mystery team either.

Of course there’s always a chance none of this is true (again, consult your calendar). Oh hey look, a 49ers beat guy is reporting there’s no trade in place. Neat.

But for now let’s entertain the likelihood that a trade will happen, and that when it does Smith will be the Chiefs’ new quarterback since they make the most sense, and it’s the only potential QB-needy destination where Smith won’t suck.

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Maybe it’s something in their diet, like an abundance of passion fruit. Yeah, I dunno, or maybe they’re all going on too many late night/early morning Jonathan Baldwin style runs. But it seems this year’s crop of free agent wide receivers has contracted some kind of viral disease that leads to both inflated self esteem, and also an inflated perception of financial value.

In short, they’re acting like wide receivers. Odd, yes.

First, earlier this week there were reports that Mike Wallace will likely seek a contract worth $60 million. You know, the same Mike Wallace who had 548 fewer receiving yards than Vincent Jackson in 2012 after the Bucs wide receiver signed a contract worth $55 million last spring. Nothing about that makes sense.

So what say you, Greg Jennings? How unrealistic are your expectations?

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Player valuation has always been and will always be a process based around the most recent and most memorable accomplishments. That’s why Joe Flacco is about to make bank with a lucrative multi-year commitment, a paycheck based largely on his playoff performance. If we use the same linear, often narrow thinking with Tony Romo, then surely he deserves much less than the $20 million-ish big Joe will reel in after his Cowboys finished 8-8, yes? All we care about is wins, baby.

Such is the debate that’s beginning now somewhere in an elaborate Cowboys office lined with marble. Romo is set to enter the final year of his contract and earn $11.5 million next year, and Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said today that watching as the contract of their franchise quarterback expires isn’t something his team does. Hence, extension talks have started, and they’re now in the informal stage.

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In a blissful utopian society in which we could eat copious amounts of ice cream without feeling pain (yes, that’s the first thing I think of while imagining the perfect world…what of it?), the young, aspiring football players of our universe would be judged almost solely by their play and on-field production, with the content of their character a lesser concern that’s far in the background.

But our brave new world is littered with immensely talented yet deeply flawed characters who are seeking NFL employment. Mostly, these flaws come in criminal form. A year ago we were planting figurative red flags in Janoris Jenkins, which led to his plummeting draft stock. Then all he did was form one of the league’s best young cornerback tandems in St. Louis alongside Cortland Finnegan, and he finished with four interceptions, three of which resulted in pick sixes.

Then there’s the always creative combination of legal battles and general douchebaggery which has been pioneered by Titus Young, who was selected as an early second-round pick by the Lions in 2011, and he’s since been jettisoned after multiple incidents both on and off the field. Following that, a trial run with the Rams lasted, oh, nine days.

Manti Te’o doesn’t have a record that’s buried somewhere in a legal binder. He’s not a jerk, and is in fact just the opposite. Maybe too much the opposite, actually, as even though he’s not a punk, he got punked. In the eyes of draft evaluators, that still carries significant baggage, which is why while Te’o's request to be judged solely by his on-field play and not his fake dead girlfriend when the Scouting Combine begins Wednesday is quite reasonable and logical, it won’t happen.

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Reggie Bush is difficult to project during any given season, mostly because even now after seven seasons, he hasn’t handled a full workload, or been asked to be a featured back. Hell, we can even go back to his USC days (SCANDALOUS), and see a time when LenDale White was the boom to his flash.

Due to both injuries and an inability to run between the tackles consistently, Bush still hasn’t logged a 250-carry season. He makes up for that as a steady option in the passing game, with his single-season receptions peaking at 88 during his rookie year. Still, as he prepares to likely, almost definitely leave Miami, the question of durability is a difficult one. He’s missed 21 games, and is much better suited for the higher end of a platoon situation.

That’s why Detroit may be the ideal landing spot.

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Forgive a bit of repetition here, but this is sort of a big deal. We’re very much entering the time of the calendar when major player movement or potential movement is monitored with the kind of devotion that’s matched only by those who are members of a cult and drink a whole lot of Kool Aid. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I guess.

Anywho, earlier this week we dutifully informed you that the Titans intend to pay the man, and in this case said man is Chris Johnson, their running back who’s sometimes awesome, sometimes horrendously frustrating, and never anything in between. Specifically, that means they’ll pick up his $10 million option which is automatically triggered Saturday if he’s still on the roster, and $9 million of that is guaranteed. If they wanted to cut Johnson and begin anew in their backfield, they could simply choose to not pay him that cold cash, and save $9 million.

We’ve laid out the likely motivations behind the Titans’ decision to pay Johnson. Without repeating too much of that here, it’s this: he may be expensive, and he may be inconsistent, but at his best and most explosive, he’s still a vital piece of backfield support for the developing Jake Locker.

That’s great, and wonderful. There’s just one minor detail that remains: someone should tell Chris Johnson that Chris Johnson isn’t going anywhere.

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