Trade Waters Rising . . . Again
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
April 27, 2007 8:33 PM
IRVING, Texas - Who's trading up, who's trading out, all because of what they might need or don't want to pay for.
Welcome to the NFL Draft, where every Friday and then again early Saturday morning these trade rumors rise to flash-flood proportions before dissipating as the clouds began to clear once the draft begins.
As of early Friday evening, the Cowboys have not been swept up into these swelling rumors, which surely will at least wet their toes by Saturday morning when the Cowboys officials assemble in the war room for a long weekend, having 10 picks over the seven rounds. And while you can be sure Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been burning the phone lines, setting up possible scenarios for beaucoups of what-ifs, there really is nothing he will - nor should - do until this draft begins unfolding at 11 a.m. (CDT) Saturday.
Why, at this point, no one really is sure what the Oakland Raiders will do, and for heavens sakes, if they don't know - or at least aren't saying, and you know Al Davis has to be loving this - then how is anyone else really know what they are going to do? I mean come on, of the top 10 teams, we could make a case for eight of them needing either JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn.
And for sure, the Raiders do. Look, I read this in the morning, and didn't believe it: The Raiders scored 12 offensive touchdowns last year. Twelve! You kidding me? I looked it up. That's correct. They finished seven games with no touchdowns, not even from any sort of return. And for the entire season, only three times did they score more than 14 points. Like, did they play 16 games?
Who's kidding who here? The Raiders desperately need a quarterback, but again, Davis isn't saying. But let's give him a pass on this since it's the first time since the merger he's had to deal with the first pick in the draft. He just might not know how to do.
Well, let's move on quickly. It's almost time for the Cowboys to pick . . . .
Really, really starting to get the feeling that the cottage-industry draft experts have overvalued the likes of wide receivers Robert Meacham and Dwayne Bowe. They might not even be first-round picks, and if they are, really late, like after the Cowboys at 22. Maybe that's why Cowboys owner Jerry Jones keeps saying you can get a really good receiver capable of playing in the second round . . . . I'm guessing the Raiders know this about JaMarcus Russell, that he had a 25-4 starting record at LSU and that he led the Tigers to eight fourth-quarterback comeback victories . . . .
Let's not get all hot and bothered over recent reports citing complications with Adrian Peterson's collarbone. This is nothing new to team officials, including those from the Cowboys, and you know what, no one is really overly concerned with the findings.
Guarantee you if Peterson starts tumbling out of the top 10, the Cowboys will be going crazy trying to move up. And if they should snag him, they ought to immediately send him to a public speaking class. In a maybe five-minute interview Friday on Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket, Peterson said "you know" at least 100 times. Not exaggerating. Maybe that class is available only to seniors at OU . . . . One story I read today quotes Browns GM Phil Savage as saying of Peterson's shoulder, "Reports haven't affected our opinion of him for the draft." Here's the only thing that would affect me: In three seasons at Oklahoma, his per-carry-averages were 5.7, 5.0, 5.4. Sign me for a little A.P. please . . . .
Speaking of running backs, San Diego's Michael Turner signed his $2.3 million restricted free-agency tender, meaning the Chargers now can more easily trade him. And evidently they still are talking with the likes of Tennessee and Buffalo . . . . Let's stay with the RB's. Agent Leigh Steinberg says Ricky Williams has successfully completed his one-year suspension for repeated violations of the NFL's substance abuse program and is eligible for reinstatement. Williams, who turns 30 next month, must go before the Commish after his files are reviewed before anything can be happen. Hmmm, if the Cowboys were willing to work out Trung Canidate, who has not played the past two seasons, would they even consider . . . naw, they wouldn't, or, uh, would they? . . . .
And let's see, one trade rumor just won't die: Houston, which denies having any interest in this, trading the 10th pick to Denver for the 21st spot in the first round and then some . . . . Neither will the notion of Washington swapping picks in the first round with Chicago, the Redskins' sixth for the Bears' 31st and linebacker Lance Briggs. Sources are now saying there is a 50-50 chance of the deal being consummated on draft day . . . .
Now we're hearing how Detroit might be trading out of the No. 2 spot so Tampa Bay can move up from No. 4, presumably for Calvin Johnson. Probably means the Bucs don't feel comfortable about staying put to land the Georgia Tech wide receiver at No. 4 for fear of someone else trading with the Lions to land Johnson . . . .
Now here is a name to remember over the weekend: Walter Thomas, and if you catch yourself saying, "Who?" don't feel bad. Ol' Walter, from Galveston, Texas, played for Les Miles at Oklahoma State as a freshman, but apparently didn't study much, flunking out before his sophomore season began. He went off to Northwest Mississippi Junior College in Senatobia, Miss., but played in only two games there before getting arrested on a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery and never played another down of football. But get this, Walter is 6-5, 370 pounds. Yes, a nose tackle. He can bench 475 and squats 800. He ran a workout 40 recently in 4.9. And the dude can do a standing front flip - and land on his feet - thank goodness. In a recent NY Times piece, the head coach at Northwest Mississippi says, "The guy is a dadgum Russian gymnast." Hey Jerry, take a shot. You got three sevenths . . . .
And let's conclude with more trade talk. Maybe Buffalo indeed wants out of No. 11 if guys it covets are gone. One would be linebacker Patrick Willis. The other? Well, if Peterson slips by Houston. Imagine that, the Texans passing on Vince Young one year and Adrian Peterson the next? Nawwww . . . . Might the Raiders really be shopping Randy Moss? Wonder what you would get for him? Maybe they are, too . . . . And then there is Minnesota, which everyone figures will take Peterson, talking to teams about trading out of No. 7. Could the Cowboys . . . look, here's the deal. The No. 7 pick is worth 1,500 points on the value chart. The Cowboys' 22nd pick is worth 780. My subtraction tells me that's 720 points the Cowboys would have to compensate the Vikings, and maybe some more for good measure if anyone remembers the Herschel Walker deal up there. If the Cowboys gave them their second, third, fourth and fifth, they'd still be 75 points short - like a mid-fourth. Maybe next year's? That would be a heavy bundle now . . . . Lot cheaper to stay put.
OK, have fun Saturday, and don't get your feet wet.
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
April 27, 2007 8:33 PM
IRVING, Texas - Who's trading up, who's trading out, all because of what they might need or don't want to pay for.
Welcome to the NFL Draft, where every Friday and then again early Saturday morning these trade rumors rise to flash-flood proportions before dissipating as the clouds began to clear once the draft begins.
As of early Friday evening, the Cowboys have not been swept up into these swelling rumors, which surely will at least wet their toes by Saturday morning when the Cowboys officials assemble in the war room for a long weekend, having 10 picks over the seven rounds. And while you can be sure Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been burning the phone lines, setting up possible scenarios for beaucoups of what-ifs, there really is nothing he will - nor should - do until this draft begins unfolding at 11 a.m. (CDT) Saturday.
Why, at this point, no one really is sure what the Oakland Raiders will do, and for heavens sakes, if they don't know - or at least aren't saying, and you know Al Davis has to be loving this - then how is anyone else really know what they are going to do? I mean come on, of the top 10 teams, we could make a case for eight of them needing either JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn.
And for sure, the Raiders do. Look, I read this in the morning, and didn't believe it: The Raiders scored 12 offensive touchdowns last year. Twelve! You kidding me? I looked it up. That's correct. They finished seven games with no touchdowns, not even from any sort of return. And for the entire season, only three times did they score more than 14 points. Like, did they play 16 games?
Who's kidding who here? The Raiders desperately need a quarterback, but again, Davis isn't saying. But let's give him a pass on this since it's the first time since the merger he's had to deal with the first pick in the draft. He just might not know how to do.
Well, let's move on quickly. It's almost time for the Cowboys to pick . . . .
Really, really starting to get the feeling that the cottage-industry draft experts have overvalued the likes of wide receivers Robert Meacham and Dwayne Bowe. They might not even be first-round picks, and if they are, really late, like after the Cowboys at 22. Maybe that's why Cowboys owner Jerry Jones keeps saying you can get a really good receiver capable of playing in the second round . . . . I'm guessing the Raiders know this about JaMarcus Russell, that he had a 25-4 starting record at LSU and that he led the Tigers to eight fourth-quarterback comeback victories . . . .
Let's not get all hot and bothered over recent reports citing complications with Adrian Peterson's collarbone. This is nothing new to team officials, including those from the Cowboys, and you know what, no one is really overly concerned with the findings.
Guarantee you if Peterson starts tumbling out of the top 10, the Cowboys will be going crazy trying to move up. And if they should snag him, they ought to immediately send him to a public speaking class. In a maybe five-minute interview Friday on Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket, Peterson said "you know" at least 100 times. Not exaggerating. Maybe that class is available only to seniors at OU . . . . One story I read today quotes Browns GM Phil Savage as saying of Peterson's shoulder, "Reports haven't affected our opinion of him for the draft." Here's the only thing that would affect me: In three seasons at Oklahoma, his per-carry-averages were 5.7, 5.0, 5.4. Sign me for a little A.P. please . . . .
Speaking of running backs, San Diego's Michael Turner signed his $2.3 million restricted free-agency tender, meaning the Chargers now can more easily trade him. And evidently they still are talking with the likes of Tennessee and Buffalo . . . . Let's stay with the RB's. Agent Leigh Steinberg says Ricky Williams has successfully completed his one-year suspension for repeated violations of the NFL's substance abuse program and is eligible for reinstatement. Williams, who turns 30 next month, must go before the Commish after his files are reviewed before anything can be happen. Hmmm, if the Cowboys were willing to work out Trung Canidate, who has not played the past two seasons, would they even consider . . . naw, they wouldn't, or, uh, would they? . . . .
And let's see, one trade rumor just won't die: Houston, which denies having any interest in this, trading the 10th pick to Denver for the 21st spot in the first round and then some . . . . Neither will the notion of Washington swapping picks in the first round with Chicago, the Redskins' sixth for the Bears' 31st and linebacker Lance Briggs. Sources are now saying there is a 50-50 chance of the deal being consummated on draft day . . . .
Now we're hearing how Detroit might be trading out of the No. 2 spot so Tampa Bay can move up from No. 4, presumably for Calvin Johnson. Probably means the Bucs don't feel comfortable about staying put to land the Georgia Tech wide receiver at No. 4 for fear of someone else trading with the Lions to land Johnson . . . .
Now here is a name to remember over the weekend: Walter Thomas, and if you catch yourself saying, "Who?" don't feel bad. Ol' Walter, from Galveston, Texas, played for Les Miles at Oklahoma State as a freshman, but apparently didn't study much, flunking out before his sophomore season began. He went off to Northwest Mississippi Junior College in Senatobia, Miss., but played in only two games there before getting arrested on a charge of conspiracy to commit robbery and never played another down of football. But get this, Walter is 6-5, 370 pounds. Yes, a nose tackle. He can bench 475 and squats 800. He ran a workout 40 recently in 4.9. And the dude can do a standing front flip - and land on his feet - thank goodness. In a recent NY Times piece, the head coach at Northwest Mississippi says, "The guy is a dadgum Russian gymnast." Hey Jerry, take a shot. You got three sevenths . . . .
And let's conclude with more trade talk. Maybe Buffalo indeed wants out of No. 11 if guys it covets are gone. One would be linebacker Patrick Willis. The other? Well, if Peterson slips by Houston. Imagine that, the Texans passing on Vince Young one year and Adrian Peterson the next? Nawwww . . . . Might the Raiders really be shopping Randy Moss? Wonder what you would get for him? Maybe they are, too . . . . And then there is Minnesota, which everyone figures will take Peterson, talking to teams about trading out of No. 7. Could the Cowboys . . . look, here's the deal. The No. 7 pick is worth 1,500 points on the value chart. The Cowboys' 22nd pick is worth 780. My subtraction tells me that's 720 points the Cowboys would have to compensate the Vikings, and maybe some more for good measure if anyone remembers the Herschel Walker deal up there. If the Cowboys gave them their second, third, fourth and fifth, they'd still be 75 points short - like a mid-fourth. Maybe next year's? That would be a heavy bundle now . . . . Lot cheaper to stay put.
OK, have fun Saturday, and don't get your feet wet.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:54 AM
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