As the clock ticks down to less than 24 hours before the start of NFL free agency is to begin, there is a lot of ground to cover. A lot happened here in Houston and around the league over the weekend.
The big news out of Houston today sports wise is something I talked about in the last blog; it's the formality to end all formalities, the release of seven-time Pro Bowler Andre Johnson. It comes as even less of a surprise when you consider that the Texans re-signed right guard Derek Newton and cornerback Kareem Jackson to long-term deals. Andre can still help a team for sure, but the feeling here is he's not an 80-catch guy anymore. His best days have come and gone.
Texans have been busy elsewhere in free agency as well, signing Ryan Mallett to a two year deal and reaching an agreement with former Browns QB Brian Hoyer. It's the ultimate prove it situation for both men. Mallett will probably be the front-runner to win the job, and Hoyer now has a chance to prove himself potentially with him being out of Cleveland. No matter who wins that job, either one is better than Fitzpatrick.
One of the bigger stories in the league has been the Philadelphia Eagles. It's a team that's been wheeling and dealing, and in my opinion it has not been for the better. LeSean McCoy; traded to Buffalo. Jeremy Maclin; gone to Kansas City. One thing is for sure, Chip Kelly is pushing all of his "chips" (yes, pun intended) to the center of the table. Because he didn't get faster with these deals; for a team that plays so fast, his team just got a lot slower. Especially since they went ahead and signed Frank Gore.
Now, the question is, will he take a HUGE swing and take a shot at trading up for his former quarterback Marcus Mariota. At this point, I think I'd be surprised if he didn't do that. Kiko Alonso, the former Bills linebacker who was traded to Philadelphia, became the ninth Oregon Duck currently on the Philadelphia roster. One thing is for sure; Chip Kelly values his system over any player he might have.
On Buffalo, it's clear that Rex Ryan is going to do what he did with the Jets; put his eggs in one basket for his running game because the Bills signed Matt Cassel to compete with E.J. Manuel for the starter job. If Chip Kelly is stubborn about his system being the star (and for sure he thinks it is), then Rex is just as stubborn in the sense that he feels he doesn't need a great quarterback to win. He's hoping that Shady has a good season, and for Rex's sake he'd better or the Bills Mafia is going to grow tired of Rex's act real quick.
In the last take, I mentioned that Jeremy Maclin is on the way to Kansas City to be reunited with his former coach Andy Reid. Obviously, Kansas City is hoping that Maclin can be the home run receiver threat they need. He is familiar with Andy Reid as they both played in Philly.
Niners have had a disastrous offseason, haven't they? Harbaugh, gone. Frank Gore, gone. Patrick Willis and Justin Smith, retiring. Crabtree, not expected to return. No doubt the Niners are committed to winning, but that's going to be an awfully steep, uphill climb.
Not exactly a great week for the Patriots either; they locked up Devin McCourty, but decided to not pick up the option on Revis Island and Vince Wilfork. I do not see a decline coming in the Patriots as long as Brady and Belichick are coaching, but it's interesting that they are willing to put both of those guys on the market.
On the Ndamukong Suh move to the Dolphins, that is a massive deal. It's a 114 million dollar deal with 60 mil of it guaranteed. He's now getting paid more than JJ Watt, for heaven's sake. No doubt Suh is a dominant player, and can change games defensively, but the Dolphins still have Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, who I think will not be taking Miami to the promised land any time soon.
Couple of quick basketball notes; I'll save my NCAA tournament predictions for next week by the way. First, I'll go to college and Syracuse. They got hit hard with some significant sanctions on Friday after investigation by the NCAA. The sanctions include Boeheim being suspended for the first nine games of next year's ACC season, the loss of three scholarships per season through 2018-19 and Syracuse being forced to vacate wins for five different seasons in the last decade.
I'm not going to get into what my personal thoughts are on the Syracuse program (they aren't favorable, that's my only hint). I will say though, that those are sanctions that will be very difficult to come back from especially since Syracuse is losing three schollies per season over the next several years.
One quick NBA note: As always, if you wish to throw dirt on the San Antonio Spurs, do so at your own peril. Just a couple of weeks ago, there was chatter that Tony Parker really didn't have it anymore. He's dinged up and hurt, but he's still giving it a go, as the Bulls found out yesterday. He scorched them for 32 points and the Spurs hammered the Bulls for their fifth straight win.
Keep in mind that it was right about last year at this time that the Spurs went on a tear and went on to win the NBA title. The way the Spurs are playing, the Rockets may need to get the 2 or 3 seed to avoid playing the Spurs in a 4/5 first round matchup.
On to baseball real quick; the big news here in Texas is that Yu Darvish, the star pitcher for the Rangers, may need Tommy John surgery. It's been a rough year or so for Rangers fans; finished with the second worst record in baseball last year (only the Diamondbacks were worse) and now, their best pitcher may need Tommy John as they are trying to recover from that disastrous season.
In the Cactus League, Alex Rios has three home runs in nine spring training games for the Royals, who have come out like gang busters in spring training by winning each of their first five. Is this going to be a scenario where the Royals blow their load in spring training, then have nothing left for the 162 game grind which awaits? We'll have to wait and see.
Until next time...
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