When the National Football League owners and players agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement recently, ending the lockout that wiped out the off-season and the Hall of Fame preseason game, it set off an unprecedented frenzy of team activity involving trades, cuts, and signings of both undrafted college grads and unrestricted free agents. It was almost impossible to keep up with the comings and goings, and with training camps being shortened, along with two-a-day practices in those camps being reduced, it will force teams to be focused and try to put together clubs that play together in a short period of time. Personally, I think this phenomenon will result in a better brand of football being played once the regular season starts, because teams will be forced to simplify their schemes in order to let new players get comfortable. Players will get a chance to play instead of being overcoached and forced to play schemes they don’t understand. There’s one thing I like about the new CBA – the rookie wage scale. Almost all of the 32 teams were able to sign all their draft picks within a week of the agreement being ratified. That never even came close to happening under the old system.
In looking at the trades and signings, the Philadelphia Eagles made the most spectacular moves. They snuck in at the last moment and signed the top FA prize, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, inked defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins, running back Ronnie Brown, traded backup QB Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominic Rogers-Cromartie, and brought in Vince Young as their new backup QB. The New York Jets hoped to sign Asomugha, but instead remade their wide receiver corps, signing veterans Derrick Mason and Plaxico Burress and letting Braylon Edwards leave for the 49ers. Some other good receivers changed addresses, with Sidney Rice leaving Minnesota and signing with Seattle, and Steve Breaston leaving Arizona to sign with the Chiefs.
New England made a couple of eye-opening trades, acquiring DL Albert Haynesworth from Washington and WR Chad Ochocinco from the Bengals. The Cardinals, who self-destructed after Kurt Warner retired, tried to bolster the QB position by trading for Kolb, while the Vikings looked to replace Brett Favre by dealing for another aging QB, Donovan McNabb. Miami lost Ronnie Brown, an average back but a key component of their “wildcat” formation, and is still considering trading for Denver’s Kyle Orton to challenge starting QB Chad Henne. They also brought back DE Jason Taylor but I’ll be surprised if he even makes their final roster. Locally, the Bills watched Paul Posluszny and Donte Whitner, both defensive starters, sign elsewhere. Considering their defense was horrible last season and both players had huge contracts, those losses shouldn’t hurt that badly. Re-signing CB Drayton Florence was a good move, and signing Nick Barnett to replace Poz was a positive. Signing versatile Brad Smith from the Jets is intriguing. He seems to fit the Bills’ team profile of unsung players perfectly. Tyler Thigpen didn’t do much in Miami last year, but he’s familiar with Chan Gailey’s offense, has experience and is a definite upgrade at the backup QB position over Brian Brohm.
Margaret
August 17, 2011 at 2:12 pm
With very little time in training camp, team chemistry and unity will be important to every team. Glad the Bills don’t have a super-sized ego to disrupt things and here’s hoping there are a few unsung heroes in the mix 🙂
Louise
August 8, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Glad the frenzy is almost over. Let the games begin!