I'm in Santa Monica all this week for reasons that have nothing to do with football. I'll posts some pics when I get them. That way, WCB and InBradyWeTrust can be jealous of me seeing me soak up the sun and fun in SoCal. Onto more Colts news!
CBS Sportsline's Clark Judge wrote an outstanding recap of the free agency period thus far. He cited Carolina and Cleveland as the big winners in free agency, and New England as the big loser. His comments about the Patriots are very similar to what's been written about here:
OK, OK, so the Patriots demonstrated long ago that they don't spend zillions on free agents and will stock their team after everyone is finished cashing in the big bucks. The system worked in the past, and it may work in the future. I say "may" because the gulf that once separated New England and Miami has shrunk. Miami took giant steps in the offseason; New England stood still. No, the Pats went backward. They lost linebacker Willie McGinest; they lost wide receiver David Givens; they lost kicker Adam Vinatieri; they lost offensive lineman Tom Ashworth. In return, they signed Reche Caldwell, a seldom-used receiver from San Diego. That's what you call an imbalance of trade. Yes, New England is still the team to beat in the AFC East because the Pats still have Tom Brady, but there are cracks in the foundation.
I have to agree completely with this. Even though Dante Culpepper is a total yutz when it comes to protecting the football, Dante has never had a coach like Saban work with him. His former coaches, Dennis Green and Mike Tice, stunk! Green's record in Arizona is self explanitory, And Tice? HA! I'll miss his idiotic statements after games, like the "Randy Ratio" idea he cooked up. Under Saban, Culpepper might actually get better. The Dolphins have enough to win their division.
Also, according to Judge, the biggest free agent acquisition of the offseason thus far was (drumroll please) Adam Vinatieri.
All I know about Vinatieri is that he nailed every big field goal of his career and was the most important specialist in the game. More than that, he was a security blanket for the Patriots, a club that knew it could win every close game because it had a can't-miss kicker. Well, now he's gone, and, for the life of me, I still can't figure out why.
I can't figure it out either Clark. You'd think the Patriots would make a stronger effort to re-sign one of the cornerstones of their championship franchise. Fortunately for us, they didn't.
The last part of Judge's article is really the best. He compares Edgerrin James leaving Indy to Ricky Watters leaving San Francisco after they won the S to sign with the Eagles for a huge free agent contract. It's an interesting but flawed comparison. One similarity is both backs left winning clubs for one reason: money.
I remember when I ran into him [Watters] at training camp in August 2000, and we were talking about why he left the 49ers. I believed he traded a chance to be something special, to be a Hall of Fame back, for money. He believed he was a Hall of Fame back.
He wasn't. But he could've been had he stayed in San Francisco. He was perfectly suited to what the 49ers were doing on offense, and he would've had four more years with Steve Young, Jerry Rice and the playoffs.
Edgerrin James was a perfect fit for Indianapolis, too. He was on a Hall of Fame track. Now, I don't know.
Personally, I think Edgerrin James is far and away a better RB than Ricky Watters ever was. Watters didn't run the ball well, but was very good out of the backfield as a receiver. Edge can do it all, and even if his numbers end up not quite the same in Arizona as in Indy, I think Edge could become a HoFer.
Check out the rest of Judge's article. It's worth a read.
