Not so wild in the West

I like this article from Kansascity.com the Kansas City Star.

ORLANDO, Fla. — In Denver, the Broncos decided the best way to defend their AFC West championship was to retain their own free agents rather than raid the rosters of other teams.

But the Chiefs, who followed the same strategy after winning the division in 2003, know this method isn’t foolproof. They haven’t been back to the playoffs since.

In San Diego, the Chargers allowed the departure of quarterback Drew Brees, a former Pro Bowler who at 27 is headed into the prime of his career. They will replace him with promising youngster Philip Rivers, but they should know this: None of last season’s AFC’s playoff teams used a first-year starting quarterback.

In Oakland, the forlorn Raiders traded one journeyman quarterback for another. They hired an old hero, Art Shell, to coach the team only after other candidates turned them down.

In Kansas City, the Chiefs hired a new coach in Herm Edwards and then viewed these developments with interest. But, like their division rivals, the Chiefs have done little or nothing to improve.

Doesn’t anybody here want to win this division?

“We watch their cap situations, their acquisitions and losses in player personnel, their strengths and weaknesses,” Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said. “That’s important. That’s who we have to beat.

“It seems that all of us in the AFC West this year have taken a deep breath in free-agency.”

There’s still time in free-agency for teams to make improvements. The late-April draft affords another opportunity. The Raiders (seventh pick) and Broncos (15th) have choices in the first half of the opening round. The Broncos have an additional pick later in the first round.

But, based on recent activity, all four teams are content where they are. The division is the only one not to have even one major free-agent signing, though Denver’s addition of defensive end Kenard Lang could become significant if he regains the pass-rush punch he lost in Cleveland last year.

Meanwhile, the losses except in Oakland were significant. The Chargers also lost linebacker Ben Leber and pass rusher DeQuincy Scott. The Broncos will move on with defensive lineman Trevor Pryce. The Chiefs will play without starting cornerback Eric Warfield and fullback Tony Richardson.

This could spell the start of a down period for the AFC West. The division put two teams in the playoffs in 2003 and 2004. Only one made the postseason last year, though the Chiefs and Chargers were strong contenders.

That playoff team was the Broncos. They upgraded their defense with the addition of former Browns Gerard Warren and Courtney Brown, finally received steady play from quarterback Jake Plummer and won the AFC West for the first time since 1998.

“Jake settled down, did some things we wanted him to do,” general manager Ted Sundquist said. “We ran the ball well, which we’ve always done. On offense, we forced more turnovers. We found some depth on the defensive line and in the defensive backfield. We looked at all that and felt we had a good nucleus. We decided we needed to hang on to some of the players who got us there.

“We kind of knew we weren’t going to be big players in free-agency this year. We felt like re-signing some of our own guys would be our free-agency.”

The Broncos re-signed several of their own players, including Brown, Warren and running back Ron Dayne. Lang could help the pass rush, perhaps Denver’s biggest weakness.

But the loss of Pryce, running back Mike Anderson and tight end Jeb Putzier could hurt.

“You look at our club and the big-name players are older guys, but the core of our club is really in its prime, right in that four-, five-, six-year period,” Sundquist said. “We’re not as old as we appear on the surface because of Rod (Smith), because of John Lynch, because of Tom Nalen. A lot of the defensive guys we brought in last year, it seems like they were with the Browns forever, but they’re still young guys.”

The Chargers are young and talented, and Rivers is full of potential. But seldom are quarterback transitions seamless.

The free-agent loss of Brees to New Orleans has the potential to rip apart the organization. Coach Marty Schottenheimer and general manager A.J. Smith quarreled publicly last month over the decision to let Brees walk.

Schottenheimer never favored young quarterbacks, as any Chiefs fan remembers. So he wanted to keep Brees.

Instead, the Chargers will ask others like running back LaDainian Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates to carry the load instead of Rivers.

“We’re going to have to have upgrades in areas like the offensive line,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got arguably one of the best running backs ever. We’ve got a tight end that’s as good as any tight end in football. We want to be more physical in the running game because you can’t throw it all on the quarterback’s plate.”

The Raiders cut starting quarterback Kerry Collins and replaced him with former Saint Aaron Brooks. The move appears to be a lateral one, at best.

So Oakland is asking a lot of Shell, the former Raiders player and coach. The Raiders have offensive talent in wide receiver Randy Moss and running back LaMont Jordan, but they haven’t finished out of last place in the division since reaching the Super Bowl in 2002.

“I don’t mind a challenge,” Shell said. “But the Raiders … that’s home to me. That’s where I grew up. I spent 27 years in that organization before I left. So to come home and try to be a part of bringing that team back to its winning ways was exciting for me.”

Shell coached the Raiders from 1989 through 1994 and took them to one AFC championship game and two other playoff appearances. Oakland’s cantankerous owner, Al Davis, went through five coaches since firing Shell.

“What he did in Oakland, they’re just figuring it out now that he did a heck of a job,” Edwards said. “He’s going to bring stability there again. The one thing Art knew … The Nation was the Nation. He was part of the Nation. He was a part of the Raider Nation. He was an integral part of that. He was there as a player. He understands how the system works, and the players will respect that. He knows where all the ghosts are.”

All of this leaves an opening for the Chiefs, but their productivity in free-agency was limited to the signing of former Buffalo defensive tackle Ron Edwards and former Denver cornerback Lenny Walls. Edwards is depth, and Walls missed the last half of last season with a groin injury.

They still have a hole in their starting lineup at cornerback and would like to add some help in a pass rusher and a wide receiver. A backup quarterback wouldn’t hurt, either.

All for another day, evidently.

“We’re going to continue to look for players,” Peterson said. “We said we were going to wait until this first wave of free-agency was finished. We’re picking and choosing as much as we can. We’ll sign some players.

“I feel good where we are. I know Herm does. We have some positions of need, but we have seven picks in the draft coming up.”

AL Davis

One of the most intriguing developments to come out of this week's NFL owners meeting near Dallas, where the owners approved a collective bargaining agreement extension, was the role Raiders owner Al Davis played in the process.
According to reports out of the meetings, the Raiders' owner was less of a maverick and more open, even to the point of shaking hands with league executives and making himself accessible to other owners and the media.


"I wanted it, and we had to have it," Davis told reporters at the meetings. "We do have the greatest game in the world, and we got what we wanted."
In Hawaii, where he was conducting a meeting, NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw said he was pleased with the 30-2 vote by owners to go forward with an CBA extension. He also gave "additional thanks" to Davis for being the first to applaud the announcement and leadership of Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

This wasn't the equivalent of a recluse going on "Dr. Phil," mind you, but the camaraderie was something of a revelation.

During interviews between sessions, Davis, 76, explained that it was important for him to be present, despite his physical limitations and his unpopular stance among owners, because vital financial decisions had to be made.

"The other owners don't particularly love me," Davis told reporters, "because I'm going to go my own way and do what I think is right. I've fought them. But I also love the league and what's best for football, for the players and the owners. This needed to get done."

From all indications, Davis helped get the CBA crisis on a path to labor peace. It was important to the league to avoid chaos with the players and certainly important to the Raiders. As one of the low-revenue teams, the Raiders will now get a bigger share of the proceeds from the high-end franchises under the new deal.

This is not to say Davis hasn't wielded his expertise before with peers.

Love him or loathe him, fellow owners, even league brass, have learned not to ignore Davis because of his deep background. He is, after all, the only owner in professional football who has been a coach, administrator and commissioner (of the old AFL before its merger with the NFL).

"I think that Al had a great impact on the meeting because he does have tremendous perspective, and when he comes in and says it's time to make the decision for the good of the game, it has a lot of impact, and he reinforced what I had said (during the meetings)," Tagliabue told the NFL Network.

According to reporters at the meetings, it was unusual to see owners interacting with Davis, even picking his brain. Davis usually is considered an outcast because of all of his legal disputes with league.

That Davis decided to be more engaging wasn't surprising.

Late last season, Upshaw, a Hall of Fame offensive lineman for the Raiders, said that whenever he talked with Davis, a prime topic was how critical revenue sharing was to the survival of small-market teams.

And so now the have-nots will get that influx of dough. For the Raiders, it comes during a critical phase in their return to Oakland.

Ohio State came close to matching that with five first-round picks in Saturday's draft - linebacker A.J. Hawk (fifth to Green Bay), safety Donte Whitner (eighth to Buffalo), linebacker Bobby Carpenter (18th to Dallas), wide receiver Santonio Holmes (25th to Pittsburgh) and center Nick Mangold (29th to the New York Jets).

Miami's six first-rounders in 2004 were safety Sean Taylor, tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., linebackers Jonathan Vilma and D.J. Williams, guard Vernon Carey and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork.

Miami had five first-round picks in 2002 - tackle Bryant McKinnie, tight end Jeremy Shockey, cornerback Phillip Buchanon, safety Ed Reed and cornerback Mike Rumph. Running back Clinton Portis was a second-round pick.

The Hurricanes did not have any picks in the top 30 on Saturday. The Seattle Seahawks took the first player from Miami with the 31st pick, selecting cornerback Kelly Jennings. Three more Hurricanes went in the second round - linebacker Rocky McIntosh (35th to Washington), wide receiver Sinorice Moss (44th to the New York Giants) and returner Devin Hester (57th to Chicago).

Florida State finished behind Ohio State with four first-round picks - all coming in the top 19 and all on defense. Linebackers Ernie Sims (ninth overall to Detroit) and Kamerion Wimbley (13th to Cleveland) were followed by defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley (14th to Philadelphia) and cornerback Antonio Cromartie (19th to San Diego).

As far as positions go, North Carolina State had three of their defensive linemen selected in the first round. End Mario Williams was the stunning No. 1 overall pick of the Houston Texans, end Manny Lawson went 22nd overall to San Francisco and tackle John McCargo was picked 26th by Buffalo.

USC TANDEM: Heisman Trophy winners and Southern California backfield mates Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart were top-10 picks. Bush, the 2005 Heisman winner, was picked second overall by New Orleans and Leinart, the 2004 Heisman winner, went 10th to Arizona.

Last year, Auburn running backs Ronnie Brown and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams were picked second and fifth, respectively. In 1995, the Penn State tandem of running back Ki-Jana Carter and quarterback Kerry Collins were picked first and fifth, respectively.

The highest tandem of backfield mates to be selected was quarterback Vinny Testaverde and running back Alonzo Highsmith of Miami in 1987. Testaverde was the first overall pick and Highsmith was selected third.

Ironically, Leinart would have probably been the top pick if he declared as a junior last year. But he didn't and San Francisco took Utah quarterback Alex Smith, who struggled as a rookie.

Leinart crashed to 10th in this draft. Even the Oakland Raiders passed on the West Coast celebrity with the seventh overall pick and they have Aaron Brooks as their starter.

Could teams have passed on Leinart for his Hollywood image?

"If teams passed on me for that reason, that's their problem, not mine," Leinart said. "I don't think there's a Hollywood image. That's just the way my life has become, because USC has become so big out in LA. So that never affected my play on the football field for three years."

Leinart was 37-2 as a starter, but the tabloid image hardly matters to NFL scouts. They were just concerned about his arm strength and lack of mobility.

"To say there's a chip on my shoulder, I don't think there is, but I'm very excited about these opportunities that lie ahead," Leinart said.

Two of Leinart's offensive linemen - tackle Winston Justice and guard Taitusi Lutui - were taken in the second round along with running back LenDale White.

Justice was selected 39th by Philadelphia and Lutui was picked 41st and joins Leinart in Arizona.

The 6-foot, 237-pound White missed pro day at USC with a partially torn right hamstring and is not expected to be 100 percent until mid-May. If not for that injury, he certainly would have been picked in the first round.

White shared time in the backfield with Bush last season and rushed for 1,302 yards on 197 carries. In 39 career games at USC, White set a Pac-10 Conference record with 52 rushing touchdowns.

JAVON'S GONE: Javon Walker got his wish.

Imploring the Green Bay Packers for a trade after failing to get his contract renegotiated, Walker was shipped to the Denver Broncos on Saturday for the 37th pick in the draft.

Last month, Denver flirted with wide receiver Terrell Owens, who signed a three-year, $25 million deal with Dallas. But Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was determined to add an impact receiver and ended up parting with just a second-round pick for Walker, who made the Pro Bowl in 2004 after catching 89 passes for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Walker believed he deserved a new contract after his 2004 season, but the Packers adhered to their policy of not renegotiating with any player. That did not sit well with Walker, who threatened to hold out.

Walker reported and then tore his right ACL in the Packers' 2005 season opener - a 17-3 loss to Detroit. That turned out to be his last game with Green Bay.

WIDE RECEIVER DROUGHT: There were no wide receivers selected until the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up to take Ohio State's Santonio Holmes 25th overall.

The last time no receivers were selected in the first round was 1990.

DEFENSE DOMINATES: The first round of the draft produced 19 players on defense and 13 on offense. Eight of the picks were defensive linemen and seven were defensive backs.

Tied for third was linebackers and running backs with four picks apiece.

MICHIGAN MADNESS: Is this for real? Michigan did not have any players selected in the first two rounds while Western Michigan had two players picked in the second round - wide receiver Greg Jennings (52nd to Green Bay) and tight end Tony Scheffler (61st to Denver).

VIKINGS QB PREFERENCE: The Minnesota Vikings moved up to take a quarterback with the last pick in the second round. Many believed they would take either Brodie Croyle of Alabama or Charlie Whitehurst of Clemson. Instead, they went for Alabama State's Tarvaris Jackson.

New coach Brad Childress will groom Jackson as perhaps the quarterback of the future. Brad Johnson turns 38 in September and Mike McMahon is the backup.

The 6-2, 225-pound Jackson originally attended Arkansas before transferring to Alabama State in 2003. Known for his rifle arm, Jackson completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,940 yards and 29 touchdowns with five interceptions last season.

On Tuesday, the Oakland Raiders were one of several teams that were "granted permission" by Detroit Lions’ president Matt Millen to talk with quarterback Joey Harrington. Putting it that way, though, almost makes it seem like the team was given some exclusive license to access a premier offseason prospect. But that’s not the case.

The list of top candidates for Harrington is currently piloted by Miami, Dallas, and Cincinnati. However, Oakland, Kansas City, and Seattle all have an equal opportunity to acquire the 6’4", 220-pound quarterback.

But, there is a reason Harrington is still quietly roaming the open market. And the same reason can be used to explain why he was replaced in Detroit this offseason—twice.

He simply did not produce, especially for a third overall pick in an NFL Draft.

If you’re a Raiders fan out there who believes Harrington could add nice depth to the team, you could be in support of a highly precarious business venture.

For one, the Oakland Raiders do not need depth, unless it comes at running back, offensive line, or anywhere on the defense. Aaron Brooks seems the early frontrunner to start at quarterback and Andrew Walter could put up a fight to start sometime in the near future, especially if Brooks struggles early on in the season. And, if Marques Tuiasasopo can keep his cheery "backup face" on for one more season, the Raiders seem deep enough at the quarterback position.

Perhaps you still think Aaron Brooks is much too inconsistent to hold a starting job and Marques Tuiasasopo will never win a game in the NFL.

But what makes you think Joey Harrington will be any better than the team’s third option, Andrew Walter? Harrington, in four seasons with Detroit, posted a high quarterback rating of 77.5. But even so, this 2004 career high number ranked 22nd out of the 33 eligible quarterbacks that year.

And he can’t win. You could argue that his supporting cast has been weak since he was drafted. But that case has become less and less true, especially on the offensive side of the ball for the last two years. Despite the additions of Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Roy Williams, and Kevin Jones, the Lions’ offense has underachieved greatly over the last two seasons with Harrington at the helm. Last season, Detroit went 5-11, while in 2004 they went 6-10. In 11 starts last year, Harrington led the offense to 20+ points in just two games—in week five against Baltimore and in week ten against Arizona. In his first two years, Harrington disappointed fans, going 3-13 as a rookie and 5-11 as an NFL sophomore.

Maybe Harrington’s offensive line was an enormous letdown over his last four seasons. But the Raiders certainly do not possess a brick wall for Harrington to lounge behind.

Shouldn’t adversity bring the best quarterbacks to the forefront of the NFL elite? Tom Brady made due with a fairly talent-deprived offense to win three Super Bowls; Eli Manning bounced back from a nightmarish rookie season; and Drew Brees kept fighting in San Diego until he finally posted a 104.8 quarterback rating in 2004.

True, Harrington likely wouldn’t even start for Oakland. But if he isn’t good enough to start, he should not be worth Oakland’s prized offseason time just to inherit an unneeded backup role—especially with so many holes on the opposite side of the ball. And last time I checked, the opposing defense keeps their starting players in when a backup quarterback enters the game.

And will the ruffians in the Black Hole do justice to their spiked shoulder pads and painted warrior faces if they have to chant the name "Joey, Joey, Joey…" all game?

It just won’t look right.

On another note:
Four months ago, Southern California was chasing an unprecedented third straight national championship. Who knew that a Vince Young touchdown scramble with 19 seconds left would set off -- symbolically at least -- a ticking time bomb?

Wednesday's arrest of quarterback Mark Sanchez was the latest stain on a program that, until recently, was Southern California's real magic kingdom.


A female student reported that Mark Sanchez sexually assaulted her. (AP)
Everyone was young, hip and No. 1. Pete Carroll's program won back-to-back national titles and 34 consecutive games. Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush won consecutive Heismans.

One of the game's most storied programs was not only back; it had reached the pinnacle of its existence.

We all should have known the luster couldn't last in January, when offensive line coach Pat Ruel looked around Heritage Hall. Bush was making the announcement that he was turning pro. The veteran coach couldn't believe all the strange faces -- 10 or 15 of them.

Then he figured it out. Agents. He threw them all out -- with extreme prejudice. All except one went with nothing more than a grumble. Ruel couldn't determine why this guy kept protesting.

Then Bush was asked his choice of agent.

It was Joel Segal, the stubborn guy Ruel had just thrown out.

Welcome to life at the top in La-La Land, where you need more than a script to tell the bad guys from the good. So many people want a part of the Trojans that Carroll, the school and the administration can't even begin to patrol their turf.

The situation might be exacerbated at USC, where fame and opportunity are literally right around the corner.

Is anyone surprised at Bush being embroiled in a possible extra-benefit controversy? Ruel had a hard time keeping agents out of Trojan Central -- Heritage Hall. Carroll read the riot act to NFL scouts and agents last month during an on-campus workout for the program's pro prospects.

"Stay away from my players."

Raiders should shy away from Joey Harrington

Below is what Anthony Carroll wrote for RealFootball365.com, I couldnt agree more with him on this point. I would love to see the Raiders somehow trade up to get Reggie Bush. I dont think they need to go with a non producing Joey Harrington. If Joey was a producer he would have been picked up way before now.

On Tuesday, the Oakland Raiders were one of several teams that were "granted permission" by Detroit Lions’ president Matt Millen to talk with quarterback Joey Harrington. Putting it that way, though, almost makes it seem like the team was given some exclusive license to access a premier offseason prospect. But that’s not the case.

The list of top candidates for Harrington is currently piloted by Miami, Dallas, and Cincinnati. However, Oakland, Kansas City, and Seattle all have an equal opportunity to acquire the 6’4", 220-pound quarterback.

But, there is a reason Harrington is still quietly roaming the open market. And the same reason can be used to explain why he was replaced in Detroit this offseason—twice.

He simply did not produce, especially for a third overall pick in an NFL Draft.

If you’re a Raiders fan out there who believes Harrington could add nice depth to the team, you could be in support of a highly precarious business venture.

For one, the Oakland Raiders do not need depth, unless it comes at running back, offensive line, or anywhere on the defense. Aaron Brooks seems the early frontrunner to start at quarterback and Andrew Walter could put up a fight to start sometime in the near future, especially if Brooks struggles early on in the season. And, if Marques Tuiasasopo can keep his cheery "backup face" on for one more season, the Raiders seem deep enough at the quarterback position.

Perhaps you still think Aaron Brooks is much too inconsistent to hold a starting job and Marques Tuiasasopo will never win a game in the NFL.

But what makes you think Joey Harrington will be any better than the team’s third option, Andrew Walter? Harrington, in four seasons with Detroit, posted a high quarterback rating of 77.5. But even so, this 2004 career high number ranked 22nd out of the 33 eligible quarterbacks that year.

And he can’t win. You could argue that his supporting cast has been weak since he was drafted. But that case has become less and less true, especially on the offensive side of the ball for the last two years. Despite the additions of Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Roy Williams, and Kevin Jones, the Lions’ offense has underachieved greatly over the last two seasons with Harrington at the helm. Last season, Detroit went 5-11, while in 2004 they went 6-10. In 11 starts last year, Harrington led the offense to 20+ points in just two games—in week five against Baltimore and in week ten against Arizona. In his first two years, Harrington disappointed fans, going 3-13 as a rookie and 5-11 as an NFL sophomore.

Maybe Harrington’s offensive line was an enormous letdown over his last four seasons. But the Raiders certainly do not possess a brick wall for Harrington to lounge behind.

Shouldn’t adversity bring the best quarterbacks to the forefront of the NFL elite? Tom Brady made due with a fairly talent-deprived offense to win three Super Bowls; Eli Manning bounced back from a nightmarish rookie season; and Drew Brees kept fighting in San Diego until he finally posted a 104.8 quarterback rating in 2004.

True, Harrington likely wouldn’t even start for Oakland. But if he isn’t good enough to start, he should not be worth Oakland’s prized offseason time just to inherit an unneeded backup role—especially with so many holes on the opposite side of the ball. And last time I checked, the opposing defense keeps their starting players in when a backup quarterback enters the game.

And will the ruffians in the Black Hole do justice to their spiked shoulder pads and painted warrior faces if they have to chant the name "Joey, Joey, Joey…" all game?

It just won’t look right.