NFL free agency, and a cautionary tale
NFL free agency starts in less than a week.
But the reports have surfaced and some trades have already been accomplished. Let's start with a couple of trades that happened Wednesday.
The Seahawks sent Michael Bennett and a seventh-rounder to Philadelphia for some wide out and a fifth-rounder. Of all the things Philly did well on its way to the Super Bowl, it was mediocre in sacking the quarterback. (The Eagles finished tied with Dallas for 15th in the league with 38 sacks last season.) The Eagles return their top five defensive linemen from last year, will be a read-made replacement (and improvement) over Vinny Curry, the lone Eagles starter not signed for 2018, and could rotate among ends Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Chris Long and Bennett. Rich getting richer. We'll discuss more on this from the Seattle side in a moment.
The Giants acquired Alec Ogletree from the Rams for picks in round 4 and 6. Ogletree, a former Georgia star and first-round pick, is an athletic specimen. And new Giants GM Dave Gettleman came to the Big Apple from Carolina, which has been built defensively on athletic linebackers named Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. Plus the Giants were dreadful covering opposing tight ends, something Ogletree has excelled doing in his career. That said, it's understandable why the Rams tired of Ogletree's immense potential and limited production. According to ESPN.com's Bill Barnwell, Ogletree was in on 16.1 percent of the tackles against running plays; that figure was 60th in the league among players with at least 200 snaps. As free agency approaches, this deal was addition by subtraction for the Rams, who have created enough cap space to potentially resign Mark Barron and Sammy Watkins now.
As for addition by addition in L.A., the Chiefs traded Pro Bowl corner Marcus Peters to the Rams for a couple of picks, including a 2019 second-rounder. The Rams got a 25-year-old No. 1 cover corner with an affordable contract for the next two years. It also allows the Rams to let Trumaine Johnson walk, since he will likely command $30 million guaranteed as a free agent next week.
There are several guys who will make a lot of news next week as they search for new contracts. Here's a list from CBSsports.com of the top 50 free agents.
Five of the names on that list are quarterbacks: Drew Brees (1st), Kirk Cousins (2nd), Case Keenum (7th), Teddy Bridgewater (38th), and A.J. McCarron (43rd). We can all agree that Brees is going to resign with the Saints, right? Although Todd McShay's latest mock draft has New Orleans taking Lamar Jackson in round one as the quarterback of the future.
Kirk Cousins will command huge dollars, be it from Minnesota, the New York Jets or Denver.
The other guys will get looks, and we think McCarron should be ranked ahead of Bridgewater but that's us.
But to tie this back to the Seahawks, know this: Seattle dealt Bennett, it will allow defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, tight end Jeremy Graham and receiver Paul Richardson to leave via free agency, and likely will cut ties with Richard Sherman because of cap issues.
How long ago did the Seahawks look like the best roster in the NFL? They were a bad coaching decision from winning back-to-back titles. Now, they are completely rebuilding.
The most clear difference between then and now? When they had the most complete roster - remember those team included Beast Mode, too - and the best defense in the NFL, the Seahawks had a quarterback they trusted on a rookie pay scale.
Then they had to pay Russell Wilson - he signed a four-year, $87.6 million deal in July 2015 and will have a cap hit of almost $24 million next season - and everything else suffers.
That lesson is even more important as teams now are wondering whether they can afford a max deal for Kirk Cousins. Side question: If you are Kirk Cousins and you have made right at $44 million over the last two seasons, would you not lean toward taking less money to play with better talent in Minnesota than a cap-crippling deal with the Jets? Discuss.
What the C in NCAA actually stands for
There has been ton of hand-wringing about what will happen to the future of college basketball.
Yes, there may be some changes to the draft which players are eligible and when.
Yes, there may be a couple of wrinkles altered because the perception has finally matched the corruption.
But know this: Meaningful change will never happen as long as the NCAA remains as it is.
Why? Because meaningful change will mean meaningful losses for the governing body of college sports.
It's simple: The NCAA wants to avoid conflict and change and controversy and anything that resembles anything different.
That's because the current model, no matter how corrupt or deceived or unbalanced or unfair is making the NCAA record-setting revenues.
According to the USA Today, the NCAA generated $1.1 billion in revenue in 2017, topping the billion-dollar mark for the first time ever. The NCAA, again according to USA Today, made $105.1 million operating surplus and had right at $400 million in assets on Aug. 31, 2017.
That 'C' in NCAA currently stands for cash, and that will not change unless the NCAA is forced to. How can they be forced to?
Well, first remember the Feds are now involved and that can lead to meaningful and magnified differences going forward.
The other way is with a very real competition moving forward. Maybe that's the NBA G-League, which could in a generation devalue college hoops as the training ground for basketball stars of the future.
There also could be competition for attention if the Power 5 schools decide to break away and cut out the middle man (some could say "Pimp") that is the NCAA.
So there's that.
Baseball moment to smile
OK, we need to be a little baseball-inclusive around these parts. Hey, spring training brings the eternal optimism.
We will offer these two things for those looking for a little hardball.
First, you can not help but smile at this video.
Yes, that is Angels suprt hot prospect Shohei Ohtani whiffing so badly at a Clayton Kershaw hook that even Ohtani recognized the humor in it.
Relax Shohei, the team picture of guys Kershaw has made look silly is as big as a phone book.
Then there's the Braves' young college of kids that are swinging the handles off the bats right now. Check these numbers:
Non-roster invitee Danny Santana (27 years old) is hitting .500 with an OPS of 1.227.
Everyone's hot shot rookie Ron Acuna (20) us hitting .423 with an OPS of 1.038.
Ozzie Albies (21) will not classify as a rookie this year - he has 217 career MLB at-bats - but dude is hitting .360 with three steals and an .829 OPS.
That's something to smile about, right Braves fans?
This and that
- Did you see Roy Williams lose it on the side line against Syracuse last night? Here's more, and he tried unsuccessfully to rip his jacket in half. Egad. That said, think if one of his players acted like that for a moment. That's a lesson all coaches at all levels should try to remember. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/roy-williams-tried-failed-rip-jacket-half-win-syracuse-060153639.html
- One of the least impressive 30-for-30s was "Broke" in our opinion. This reboot with Alex Rodriguez interviewing Joe Smith has promise. Smith, a former No. 1 overall pick, made more that $58 million in NBA salary but says he is busted financially.
- Here's a report of the happenings at Alabama's pro day from TFP SEC ace David Paschall that included some familiar faces in attendance. While everyone was a buzz about Lyle Jones being there - and can you imagine the thoughts Bill Belichick had talking to Lyle? - it's important to note that Minkah Fitzpatrick notched a 4.46 40. That dude is going to be a stud duck in the league.
- LeBron James said he's playing at all-time high level after scoring the final nine points last night in a 113-108 win over Denver. His stat line Wednesday: 39 points (15-of-25 form the field and 5-of-8 from 3), 10 assists and eight rebounds. In the 10 games since the Cavs overhauled the roster, James is averaging 30 points, 9.8 assists and 9.7 per rebounds a game.
- Should be interesting to watch Missouri, which won 20 games this season after getting all of two minutes of action from five-star recruit Michael Porter Jr., today against Georgia. Porter returns to action for the first time since November and his presence could make Missouri a really tough out.
Today's question
Would you give Kirk Cousins a max contract? Discuss.
On this day in 1817, the New York Stock Exchange was founded.
On this day 70 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that religious instruction in public school was unconstitutional.
Joe DiMaggio died on this day in 1999.
Bill the Butcher (the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis in "Gangs of New York") was killed on this day in 1855.
As for a Rushmore let's go here: On this day in 1787 Karl Ferdinand von Graefe was born. If you are saying, "Who?" well you're likely not alone. Ol' Karl is one of the founding fathers of modern-day plastic surgery.
Rushmore of most famous plastic surgeries? Go.