Wednesday Why's

Why aren’t the Jets interested in signing Jeff Garcia?

It’s time for the Jets to get on with their future at their most important position.  They delayed that future a year by acquiring Brett Favre for a one-year stint.  To prolong the inevitable by bringing in another veteran such as Garcia would not make sense and would set them back another year.  In the event the Jets pursue a veteran capable of starting, it will belie all their comments about the two quarterbacks they presently have under contract.

Why is Patriots linebacker Larry Izzo on the witness list in the upcoming Barry Bonds trial? Izzo is expected to be called by the prosecution, although not specifically against Bonds.  He will reportedly confess that he received banned substances from Greg Anderson, Bonds’ longtime trainer, and the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, now commonly known as BALCO.

The involvement of Izzo again points out the dichotomy between baseball and football in terms of the potential stain to one’s reputation, appearing to be much more of a stigma in baseball than football, with a possible reasoning outlined in this space last week.

Why are we hearing about teams possibly acquiring Michael Vick if/when he is eligible to play again?

I’m not sure.  Vick appears to be a polarizing figure who will generate headlines whenever there’s even a hint of a possible story.  Now it’s the 49ers being mentioned as a potential destination, although no one is sure if or when the NFL will reinstate him.  Vick obviously moves the meter with the media similar to other ratings-grabbers such as Terrell Owens and Pacman Jones.  However, his situation is as speculative as can be.  The Falcons would like to trade his rights. Good luck with that.

Why are the Saints and Jaguars parting with their longtime star running backs, Deuce McAllister and Fred Taylor? The shelf life of a running back is short in the NFL.  As mentioned yesterday in this space about the Giants and Brandon Jacobs, there are graveyards of bad contracts for running backs once they have reached a certain age.  Both teams have younger – and cheaper – options in Pierre Thomas (New Orleans) and Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville). The teams will say all the right things about these players, almost making it sound like they’re giving them raises rather than terminating their contracts.  In the case of the Saints, they desperately needed the Cap room as well. 

Farewell to two players who have been synonymous with the teams that are now shedding them, players who were cornerstones of these teams a couple of short years ago.  As I said in this space on both the players’ and the team side, it’s business time in the NFL, not team time.

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