Diner Morning News: NFL Notes

FROM MICHAEL LOMBARDI:

11 MAY 2009

QUOTE:  “We in our turn have an assured confidence that we shall be able to leave this heritage unwasted and enlarged to our children and our children's children. To do so we must show, not merely in great crises, but in the everyday affairs of life, the qualities of practical intelligence, of courage, of hardihood, and endurance, and above all the power of devotion to a lofty ideal”.  Inaugural Address of Theodore Roosevelt 4 March 1905

Drew Rosenhaus via his Twitter account writes: “While the Cardinals insist they won't trade him, I feel several teams would give up a first round draft pick for defensive tackle Darnell Dockett.”

I love how Rosenhaus can create a story, (with his request for a trade of Dockett) and I love how he can drive a story playing GM—while telling us that several teams would give up a first round pick for Dockett.  Well, of course teams would give up a one for Dockett and his existing contract, something that Drew failed to mention in his post.  Actually, teams would give up a one for Anquan Boldin as well, but they are not willing to meet his price of a new contract.  Trades are not one singular event, (they have two and sometimes three parts to work out), and in the case of Dockett, the contract is a bigger issue then the cost of the draft choice. 

With regard to tampering rules in the NFL, Rosenhaus is not allowed to be discussing trades for his client, nor he is allowed to be discussing his client to other NFL teams, as he is still property of the Arizona Cardinals.  However, this generic claim that someone would be willing to pay a first round fee is only his opinion, and therefore skirts the tampering issue.  Rosenhaus’s real motivation is to get under the skin of the Cardinals’ front office—acting as a thorn in their side—hoping his sideshow will prompt a move by the Cardinals.  One thing is for sure, Rosenhaus has used this method multiple times, and as long as the Cardinals ignore him, he will not be able to get anything done. 

Why would the Cardinals get rid of one of their best players for a pick that will not help them until next year?  How dumb does Drew think the Cardinals have become?  However, Rosenhaus’ ploy is not aimed at the Cardinals’ intelligence, but rather being the public voice that will create news—and now he has Twitter to help him.  May has become the month of Drew complaining. It started with the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson, and it continues with the Cardinals’ locker room.

A FEW MORE THOUGHTS ON THE HOUSTON TEXANS

Love the reaction to my Texans piece, and by the amounts of emails I have received complaining about my article, there are many of you that are siding with Mr. Bowen on his love of the Texans.  Those WWE Divas are nice, but are they the reason all of you are coming over to his side of the argument? 

In 2007, the Texans won 3 of their last 4, prompting me then to believe that they would be a team who could build off that strong finish in the 2008 season.  However, Houston started the ’08 season with four consecutive road games—because of Hurricane Ike—and found themselves in a deep hole that they couldn’t recover from.  But, Houston did finish strong again, winning five of their last six games in ’08, prompting many to believe (Mr. Bowen being one of them) that they can build off yet another impressive finish.  I am not the type of person who believes that the Texans let me down last year, so this year I am going to be against them regardless of what they did this off-season.  I am just being realistic here, and the more tape I watch on them, and the more I study their entire team, the more I am now convinced that they lack the physical power and toughness to make the next jump. 

For me, the Texans and the New Orleans Saints are very similar teams—both have exceptional ability to throw the ball with very creative offensive schemes.  Yet, both teams suffer from the same issues when I turn on the tape: they fail to impress me with their physical ability to win tough games on the road.  When facing physical opponents, both Houston and New Orleans struggle to handle the volume of physical play and at some point breakdown over the course of the game.  The Texans loss to the Raiders at the end of the year was not a fluke. Although the Raiders have many problems, playing a physical game is not one of them.  The more I analyzed that tape, the less I liked the Texans and their ability to handle the bigger, physical teams.  The win against the Titans late in the season did not impress me as a solid win, because the Titans had very little to play for in that contest.

In the effort of being fair, I will wager Mr. Bowen if he accepts an all paid trip to his favorite WWE event—if the Texans make the playoffs.  However, if we don’t see the Texans playing football in the postseason, then Mr. Bowen has to pay for me to attend one of Bruce Springsteen’s shows this fall in the city of my choice.  Hotel and Bud Heavies are all included in the bet...are you game Mr. Bowen? 

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