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John Clayton said it. This isn't Spuds or the Eagles "bragging"

I'm sure the Giants and Cowboys are staying up at night, thinking, "How will we contain the backup tight end on the Eagles? The backup tight end has always been a source of chain movement with the NFL."

Show some respect. He's also the FB.

Chad Johnson interview. "That's it?"
Maybe this should be in the awkward moments thread.

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3326416&categoryId=2459789

Matt Birk...

He is in the last year of his contract with Minny. At 31, he has plenty of years left in the tank. He may be the best Center in the league and could probably be had for a 3rd rounder.

Any chance the eagles take a shot at him? Talk about an upgrade.

Thomas, MJG/Herr, Birk, Andrews and Runyan.

that would be a pretty sick team of horses.


I would really like them to take a serious look at this situation. Birk and the Vikings are really on the outs and he may skip mini camps.

Anyone else think the eagles should really take a long, hard look at this?

No.

To expand on that, I like Jamal Jackson quite a bit and think a 3rd rounder is an astronomical price for a 31 year old center.

I think the price tag is too high and the position is already filled, essentially.

Speaking of offensive lines, SI has an interesting article on the cost-benefit factor of lines. I'll post it since I had an odd error message the first time I tried to load, so others might also have problems clicking a link.

Differences are small between elite, average linemen

As a former offensive lineman, I am thrilled with the increased value the position has been given over the past couple of years. The multi-million dollar contracts once reserved for skill-position players have slowly made their way into the trenches, with players like Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Eric Steinbach and others setting a new bar for the importance placed on the interior linemen in the NFL. My enthusiasm, however, is tempered by a painful reality that I cannot escape:

I do not think they are worth that money.

As much as I love my big-bellied brethren and enjoy the increase in salary they have been given, I cannot honestly say I would pay a lineman these types of contracts. I just am not convinced the amount of cap room they eat up is equal to their ability to go a long way towards definitively determining the outcome of a game. I think there is a much greater likelihood that a cornerback or wide receiver, not to mention a quarterback or kicker, will ultimately have a greater impact on the final score.

• Value Added?

Earlier this month, Faneca received a five-year, $40 million contract, including $21 million in guaranteed money, to play left guard for the Jets. Rick DeMulling, another left guard and former starter for the Colts and Lions who finished last season with the Redskins, is still a free agent drawing sparse interest. He is likely to sign a one-year deal for the veteran minimum, if he is even offered a contract by a team. What is the difference between Faneca and DeMulling, other than their bank accounts? About one or two plays a game.

One of the things I tell fans that often blows them away is how minute the differences are between average players and great players. Teams have clearly shown a willingness to pay a premium for that increased performance, but the question often becomes how much that performance increase is really worth to them.

I believe NFL teams put too much emphasis on a player's reputation and their desire to "upgrade" a certain position and not nearly enough time trying to quantify what that increased performance will provide in terms of value to their team. Football is not a purely statistical game -- there are intangible qualities a player can bring to a team in addition to his on-field production that need to be considered. That being said, there is room in the NFL for a more Moneyball-type quantitative analysis of what a given player's value will be to a franchise, especially at some of the positions like the line, where numbers are not a huge part of the equation.

In 2004, I started eight games and played most of two others at left guard for the Bills. In assessing my performance, Buffalo coaches credited me with giving up 1.5 sacks and five pressures during that time. For argument's sake, let's round up and prorate my performance over the course of a 16-game slate and assume I would have given up three sacks and 10 pressures over the course of the season. I was fairly solid in the running game, and typically there is not that much separation among lineman in the running game in terms of actual production. The greatest separation among offensive linemen is typically related to their work in the passing game.

As a matter of comparison, an elite player like Hutchinson may go through an entire season and only give up one sack and five pressures, assuming he has an outstanding season. In addition, let's factor into the equation the reality that Hutchinson may be able to use his talent to make one more block in the running game every other Sunday than I would have.

Strictly by the numbers, that means that an upper echelon player would give up two fewer sacks and five fewer pressures, and probably make one more block in the running game in eight games over the course of the season. That means the difference between one of the highest paid guards in the league like Hutchinson and a journeyman interior backup like me is approximately 15 plays over the course of the season, give or take a few.

Let's take similar numbers and project them on the more current example of Faneca and DeMulling. Offensive linemen are often given grades by their position coaches after games -- plusses for good plays, minuses for bad plays. A guy like Faneca might have four minuses a game out of 65 plays. DeMulling would likely have five or six.

Every NFL team would prefer to have Faneca as their starting left guard, that much is clear. What is significantly less clear is how much more a team should be willing to pay to have Faneca. How much is 10-15 plays over the course of the season worth?

To the Jets, the number is $21 million in guaranteed money.

• It could be the difference. Or not.

It is up for debate how much of a difference those plays could make over the course of a season. DeMulling could give up a sack or pressure at a critical time and cost his team a game or two. Or, those plays could be inconsequential and not have any major impact on the outcome of a game the entire season. Could the Jets be paying a guy $8 million a year to not make a significant difference between wins and losses?

It is not difficult to quantify how many more productive plays a given player will give you over another player when evaluating their body of work over the years. It is difficult to attempt to gauge when those plays might take place and the impact they will have on a game or season. Theoretically they could have a decided influence on several games. My gut tells me they actually make the difference in very few.

Most teams currently evaluate all of the potential free agents and assign arbitrary grades to them based on film study. They subsequently identify positions of need and make attempts to fill that position with the best player possible at that position based on their previous evaluations. Market conditions determine the compensation that player commands as multiple suitors drive up the price necessary to get a deal done.

If personnel people around the league could somehow determine the probability that one of those 10-15 plays over the course of a season definitively determines the outcome of a game or two, they would have a much greater idea of what exactly they are paying for when they dole out the big free-agent dollars.

• More than just numbers.

Even though I firmly believe that NFL teams could incorporate a more quantitative analysis in assessing players, football remains a team game in which there is an intrinsic value that must be placed on a player's intangibles, such as leadership, intelligence and work ethic. These qualities are vital to a team's success and cannot be overstated. It is much more ambiguous, however, what the value of those intangibles are.

There is no doubt in my mind that Faneca's durability and locker room reputation had a big impact on the Jets decision to pay him as well as they did. They are surely thrilled to place him between the first-round investments they made two years ago in Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson. His presence will hopefully add additional value by improving their performance as well.

Looking strictly at the on-field numbers does not necessarily lead one to the conclusion that this is money well spent. The Jets are hoping Faneca's intangibles create the real value proposition for the 2008 season and beyond.

So, no pressure, Alan. The Jets only have $40 million riding on it.

Um, what if one of those"10-15" plays is a season-ending sack of your star QB?

Having said that, I still think Faneca was overrated and good luck to the Jets with that

Thanks to "Google Alerts" I have been inundated withe Roy Williams to the Cowboys Rumors. Of the 7 or so articles/blogs written daily about Williams, I would say 6 of 7 are about the cowboys trading the 28th pick of the draft and maybe a player for williams.


Im not sure the chances of Williams to Dallas, but it would be a fucking nightmare. Anyone else heard about this?

That rumor has been around for months

Owens
Wiliams
Glenn
Crayton

Ouch.

It would certainly suck to see Roy Williams go to the Cowboys...

the Eagles will be forced to respond with throwing even more fastballs at Romo!

That would be a potentially devestating WR corps- assuming Owens hasn't "diminished" significantly

Not to mention Witten over the middle

double kick to the nutz for birds fans...you see a #1 WR that the team needs desperately go to the cowboys.

That would be a potentially devestating WR corps- assuming Owens hasn't "diminished" significantly

I'm confident he'll dominate in at least 70% of the 14 games he's likely to play in (provided he doesn't suffer an injury for the 4th time in 5 years).

Go T.O.!
He'll also continue to dominate the "drops" category and we're all rooting for him to get his first playoff win since 2003, as well.

somebody's a hater,

somebody's a hater...

Speaking of the cowchips, did the trade for Pacman fall through or are they waiting for draft weekend?

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Johnson says he won't attend team functions, demands trade

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By John Clayton
ESPN.com

Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson left no room for doubt Wednesday: He wants out of Cincinnati as fast as possible and he doesn't plan on reporting for any future Bengal function -- mandatory or voluntary.

What spurred Johnson's immediate reaction was a statement made by quarterback Carson Palmer that indicated Johnson had told Palmer he would be at the team's mandatory minicamp in mid-June. Johnson said that wasn't true.


"I want to make this very clear,'' Johnson said Wednesday. "I don't know where he got that. I made no assertion to Carson that I would do that. Nothing has changed from what I've been saying for three months that I don't want to play for the Bengals.''


Johnson made one of his strongest statements in saying he is not planning on reporting to any team functions because he wants to be traded.


"I want to be traded before the draft, and if that doesn't happen, I want to be traded as soon as possible,'' Johnson said. "I don't intend on reporting to anything.''


The Bengals said they have no comment in response to Johnson's statements. A team spokesman pointed to coach Marvin Lewis' statement at the owners meeting that he has fully discussed the Johnson situation and didn't feel it was productive to talk about it again.


Johnson is skipping the team's offseason workouts as he tries to push for a trade. But the Bengals have also made it clear that they have no plans of trading him.


Lewis has said repeatedly that the team has no plans to deal Johnson, despite the wide receiver making the rounds of radio and television talk shows to voice his displeasure about his situation in Cincinnati.


In a February interview with Jim Rome, Johnson said he felt he was being blamed for the Bengals' problems and disappointing showing last season.


"I'm not allowed to say. I get the blame; the so-called best player, I'm the problem," he said. "Someone in-house is spreading this. Maybe they want me to quiet down [and] stop being me. That is not going to happen. I can't function that way. I tried it. It sucked. There was no excitement."


Last month, on ESPN's First Take, Johnson again hinted at wanting a trade.


"I want to continue my career wherever I have the opportunity to win a playoff game and get to the Super Bowl. That's where I want to be," he said.


Wednesday, the Pro Bowl wide receiver said he was surprised by Palmer's comments about his possibly reporting to mandatory camp.


"I wish he would stay out of my business,'' Johnson said.


John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com

Yeah, I'll go ahead and say no thanks to Chad.

Not that the Birds would take him anyway.

Get that guy here ASAP.

If my options are:

1.Chad Johnson, Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown

or

2.Kevin Curtis, Reggie Brown and a WR picked in the 2nd round


I say, hell yeah for Chad Johnson


Its "all in" this year boys. And if he is traded, he will go to a team in the NFC East. Id prefer it to be the Eagles. The guy is a top5 WR with great spead, and big play ability. How any fan would be against having this guy around for #5's last hoorah is beyond me. With Johnson, the Eagles become the cream of the crop in the NFC.

They would have added one of the best CB in the league, one of the best wr in the league, a solid DE with great potential, a good TE (since LJ really didnt play last season) and sured up the offensive line (assuming they take a tackle in the first round).


Thats one hell of an offseason. If someone can give me a better option than Chad Johnson (like Roy), fine. Since I think this is the most realistic option, I say full steam ahead.

Exactly. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that McNabb has, at most, 2 years left in Philly. Load it up and go for it, even if it means taking on another batshit WR.

How any fan would be against having this guy around for #5's last hoorah is beyond me.

Because he's an asshole?

Maybe i should clarify. If they can trade for him and restructure his deal TO HIS LIKING NOW OK, but I don't want to see another T.O. style whinefest after 1 year.

Unless they win the super bowl in which case I don;t care who whines because I'll be happy.

I could give a shit if its TO v2.0

This team has 1, MAYBE 2 years left of...
-a dominating Tackle tandem
-Healthy Westy
-A QB with top 5 potential
-Dawk


this is not 2004, when the window was WIDE open. This is do or die. If and when johnson goes bonkos, it will probably only be the 3rd or 4th biggest issue the team will be dealing with in 2 years.

The last time they got a whacko WR, they went 13-3 and lost the SB by three points.

Ill take my chances...


BTW...
Chad Johnson-WR-Bengals Apr. 16 - 2:45 pm et

After reading that Carson Palmer said he plans to report to the Bengals "when he has to," Chad Johnson called ESPN's John Clayton, denied saying that, and reiterated that he wants to be "traded before the draft."

"I want to make this very clear," Chad said. "Nothing has changed...I don't want to play for the Bengals. I don't know where (Palmer) got that. I wish he would stay out of my business. I don't intend on reporting to anything." NFL Network's Adam Schefter adds that a few teams have approached the Bengals about a trade, and one even offered two first-day picks. But the team is holding firm. We'll see how long that lasts on draft day.
-----


If someone really has offerred 2 first day picks (rounds 1 and 2 are considered first day picks now) and the Bengals rejected the offer, their is no way the Eagles will offer enough to get him. If that is true, Dallas is the only team in a position to give 2 first day picks. They probably offered their late one and and second rounder. That has to be bullshit. I cant imagine anyone giving that much up for 31 year old Ocho.

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