texasPHINSfan
Pro Bowl
as quoted from NFL.com:
For all of those who frown on Dan Marino entering the front-office world of the NFL, lighten up. It's not molecular biology. It's football. Marino knows football. And he can learn the details of finding good players, scouting and the business side of things. There are a lot of qualified people in the NFL who started their careers as high school coaches. Does Marino know more about the NFL game than a high-school coach? Give the guy a chance. If he turns into Matt Millen, then he deserves the rips. If he becomes Ozzie Newsome, a former player who knows how to find good football players, then heap the praise. But for the first couple of years, give him a little slack. Marino won't be making player decisions because those will rest with Rick Spielman, the new GM. Word is owner Wayne Huizenga wanted Spielman to be his GM all along, which is why he strongly considered bringing Ron Wolf on as a consultant. But Wolf didn't know Spielman, who was the team's player personnel director before his promotion, and therefore Wolf was uncomfortable working with a guy he didn't know. That's when Marino became a reality. First order of business for Marino is to help find a quarterback, which could very well be Brunell, the man who beat him in Marino's final game as a player.
...and to put Warner totally out of the equation:
Remember all those stories about how Kurt Warner would be playing elsewhere next season. Forget it. The Rams were never going to let Warner go, not even if Marc Bulger had played to a high level this season, and into the playoffs. The reason is the cap hit to trade or release Warner would have been too high. So unless he gave back some of that bonus money he received last year, there was no way he was going anywhere. And forget giving back bonus money. His wife and agent would strangle him if that were to happen. The Rams paid him an option bonus of $6 million last spring, with $3 million of that deferred until this spring. Warner has a cap figure of $9.46 million this season, and would count about the same if he were to be traded or released. So why not just keep him and let him compete for the job?
....to arouse some more eyebrows, Bledsoe will most likely be available:
The Bills have a major decision to make regarding quarterback Drew Bledsoe, a decision that new coach Mike Mularkey has to be watching closely. According to NFLPA figures, Bledsoe is set to have a cap figure of $6 million this season, which isn't bad by quarterback standards. But the Bills will either have to give him a $7 million option payout by November of 2004 to trigger the contract years for 2005-07 or pay him $2 million not to exercise the option. That means he will cost them $13 million this season if they decide to keep him and exercise the option. If they keep him and don't, it will cost them $8 million. If they release him, it won't cost the team a penny. So why keep him?
... and finally regarding collegiate juniors entering the draft:
With Jan. 15 the last day juniors can enter the draft, we have already seen an abundance of name players make their intentions to enter the draft known. This junior class could feature several top 10 picks. Among the possibilities are Miami of Ohio quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a trio of Miami players in defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, safety Shaun Taylor and tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., Oklahoma defensive tackle Tommie Harris, USC defensive end Kenechi Udeze, Virginia Tech running back Kevin Jones, Oregon State running back Steven Jackson, LSU receiver Michael Clayton, Washington receiver Reggie Williams, Arkansas tackle Shawn Andrews and Ohio State cornerback Chris Gamble. The bet here is that more juniors go in the first 15 picks than seniors.
hmmmm......
For all of those who frown on Dan Marino entering the front-office world of the NFL, lighten up. It's not molecular biology. It's football. Marino knows football. And he can learn the details of finding good players, scouting and the business side of things. There are a lot of qualified people in the NFL who started their careers as high school coaches. Does Marino know more about the NFL game than a high-school coach? Give the guy a chance. If he turns into Matt Millen, then he deserves the rips. If he becomes Ozzie Newsome, a former player who knows how to find good football players, then heap the praise. But for the first couple of years, give him a little slack. Marino won't be making player decisions because those will rest with Rick Spielman, the new GM. Word is owner Wayne Huizenga wanted Spielman to be his GM all along, which is why he strongly considered bringing Ron Wolf on as a consultant. But Wolf didn't know Spielman, who was the team's player personnel director before his promotion, and therefore Wolf was uncomfortable working with a guy he didn't know. That's when Marino became a reality. First order of business for Marino is to help find a quarterback, which could very well be Brunell, the man who beat him in Marino's final game as a player.
...and to put Warner totally out of the equation:
Remember all those stories about how Kurt Warner would be playing elsewhere next season. Forget it. The Rams were never going to let Warner go, not even if Marc Bulger had played to a high level this season, and into the playoffs. The reason is the cap hit to trade or release Warner would have been too high. So unless he gave back some of that bonus money he received last year, there was no way he was going anywhere. And forget giving back bonus money. His wife and agent would strangle him if that were to happen. The Rams paid him an option bonus of $6 million last spring, with $3 million of that deferred until this spring. Warner has a cap figure of $9.46 million this season, and would count about the same if he were to be traded or released. So why not just keep him and let him compete for the job?
....to arouse some more eyebrows, Bledsoe will most likely be available:
The Bills have a major decision to make regarding quarterback Drew Bledsoe, a decision that new coach Mike Mularkey has to be watching closely. According to NFLPA figures, Bledsoe is set to have a cap figure of $6 million this season, which isn't bad by quarterback standards. But the Bills will either have to give him a $7 million option payout by November of 2004 to trigger the contract years for 2005-07 or pay him $2 million not to exercise the option. That means he will cost them $13 million this season if they decide to keep him and exercise the option. If they keep him and don't, it will cost them $8 million. If they release him, it won't cost the team a penny. So why keep him?
... and finally regarding collegiate juniors entering the draft:
With Jan. 15 the last day juniors can enter the draft, we have already seen an abundance of name players make their intentions to enter the draft known. This junior class could feature several top 10 picks. Among the possibilities are Miami of Ohio quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a trio of Miami players in defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, safety Shaun Taylor and tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., Oklahoma defensive tackle Tommie Harris, USC defensive end Kenechi Udeze, Virginia Tech running back Kevin Jones, Oregon State running back Steven Jackson, LSU receiver Michael Clayton, Washington receiver Reggie Williams, Arkansas tackle Shawn Andrews and Ohio State cornerback Chris Gamble. The bet here is that more juniors go in the first 15 picks than seniors.
hmmmm......
).