NFL Free Agency Comes Out Hot.

The NFL free agency period started yesterday and of course, a lot happened in the first day. We will be doing these sort of recaps until it starts slowing down. Enjoy.  

Denver makes a statement - Broncos were embarrassed in the Super Bowl six weeks ago, and it is pretty clear they are pissed off about it. They add T.J. Ward to bolster their secondary and getting a big hitter to add some toughness. Even if Ward was the only signing of the day, Denver would be on the rise a bit, but then they add Aqib Talib shoring up the Broncos secondary issues. I am not sure about the contract they gave Talib. Remember Tampa Bay chased him out by releasing him mid-season, and New England revitalized his career so are we sure it will continue with Denver? I do not think it is a given we will see the same things from Talib as we did with New England, but right now, adding Talib and Ward plus possibly getting DeMarcus Ware up front looks like a dream team defense.

#SAINTSCLAUSE - One of the more cash-strapped teams in all of the National Football League going into the free agency period was New Orleans Saints. The assumption would be they stay silent during this period and make some little moves. NOPE. Saints blew the door open by signing Jairus Byrd to a six year 54 million dollar deal with a stunning 28 million dollars guaranteed.  I started saying New Orleans got a special clause to get the money to work, but in reality, Saints will move a ton of money plus possibly cutting a couple notable players. New Orleans' secondary has officially become scary with Kenny Vaccaro and Byrd plus two solid corners. I will be interested to see how Byrd handles the bright lights after playing for Buffalo for multiple years.

Packers miss out on Houston and Jones - Who knows what Green Bay's involvement was with these two players, but they expressed interest in both Lamarr Houston and Arthur Jones for defensive line help. Houston went to Chicago for 35 million over five years where he will replace Julius Peppers spot, and like I thought, he would probably prefer to stay in the 4-3. Jones is a young up and coming player that heads to Indianapolis for a little over six million dollars a year. Jones with Robert Mathis will be a scary combination. I would not fret about things Green Bay. They are panicking because many teams around them are making moves yet the season is not won on Day 1 of Free Agency (CLICHE, DRINK).

Southern Style Free Agency - One of the big narratives of Day 1 is how Tampa Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta spent a ton of money while Carolina saw some dudes leave, other retire and just twiddled their thumbs. Atlanta is moving to a 3-4 which reflected their signings adding Paul Soliai and Tyson Jackson for their defensive line.  I don't really know about Jackson, but I definitely think Soliai could do some things in an attempt to rebuild Atlanta's defense. Tampa Bay added Michael Johnson to provide off the edge rush, added a defensive tackle Clinton McDonald and Alterraun Verner at cornerback meaning it is curtains for Darrelle Revis. It is evident Lovie Smith wants more of 'his guys' versus the old regime trying to take this team back to the playoffs.

Johnathan Martin moves to San Fran - I am not sure if Johnathan Martin will be a factor for San Francisco. I know why it is a big story, and the fact he gets to come back to the Bay Area where he played college football plus playing for his college coach. Out of college, people were critical of Martin's toughness and felt like he did not really have a mean streak in him. This is a big deal for him to move on, but for him being an NFL athlete, there is nothing really to discuss until we see how Martin does on the field.

Safety Day - Besides Ward and Byrd, four other safeties made changes to different teams. Donte Whitner heads to Cleveland to replace Ward, San Francisco gets Antoine Bethea from Indianapolis to replace Whitner. Philadelphia added Malcolm Jenkins which in comparison to the other guys looks like Taco Bell compared to eating at four or five star restaurant.

Um Oakland - I wish I could tell you what Oakland Raiders were doing on Day 1.  They lose out on Jared Veldheer to Arizona and they replace him with Rodger Saffold who did not really pan out tackle, more so a guard but it appears he is heading back to tackle with Oakland. They also added Austin Howard from New York and he might be a better signing than Saffold because he is a raw talent. There is a greater chance he could really become something for this team or fizzle out quickly making 2013 just an aberration.

Charlie.

Johnathan Martin's Texts Paint a Bad Picture

How many major stories get beaten into the ground? Almost all of them really. At some point, you say "I am so sick of seeing x, we know everything.'  This could be a major cable news story, Tim Tebow on ESPN, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Armstrong, the names go on forever and really the news networks tend to exhaust every angle. Currently, the story with that title is Johnathan Martin and Richie Incognito bullying scandal. The topic will not die. Martin made an appearance on the Today Show to explain what happened and then a bomb dropped as the texts between the two were finally released saying more about Martin's character and what it comes with always be the bad guy.

The Big Lead had the story detailing all the texts between the two guys. As you will read, these are the type of things you hear from guys all the time. I do not text my friends this sort of explicit stuff, but when I am around them, I will say things that I would never say around my mother although nothing this intense usually. These two really sound like two big frat boys trying to get laid almost every night by random strange.  Being vulgar is how many people interact whether they are male or female. While I am not condoning everything Martin and Incognito talked about, I hope everyone realizes this is par for the course when dealing with two jocks in the National Football League. 

It truly makes Martin look like he tried to set up Incognito. There are some things where you can tell Martin is getting pressured into a friendship; most of the time these two are acting like best friends. Who doesn't text their friends to see what plans are for the evening?  Would you check that out with a guy whose been picking on you at the office?  Probably not. Same goes with recaps of how their night was if the two were not together. You do not talk with a bully about this sort of thing.  The jokes were pretty even on what's the worst thing that could be said along with making fun of the other person. Martin acts like a victim when really he was a playful participant in the whole things rendering his whole case against Incognito meaningless. 

The more I think about it, the more I overreacted when I first heard the news about the topic. Much of it had to do with Incognito being known around the league as a complete and utter asshole. He is not a likable players in the NFL or the media. When his name gets brought up around bullying? It is to believe he is a bully rather than flush out the topic due to his demeanor and overall attitude since college. If this were say Russell Wilson accuses of bullying, would people rush to criticize him like they did Incognito? Probably not rather they would try to find all of these facts out right away before burning him on the stake. I do not think Martin ruined Incognito's career, but this at least provides some solace for him in the upcoming years.   

The last page of the whole thing is truly sad. Incognito seemed blindsided by the whole thing and wanted Martin to help him except for he was too chicken shit to fix what he had done. Martin believed Incognito to be a bully versus a friend whom might take things a little too far every now and again. Most of the time, actions speak louder than words, but in this case, the words provide nearly most of the context needed to figure out and end this story. 

Charlie. 

The Tap Ten: 2013 NFL Stories

This is the beginning of our 2013 end of the year lists for sports.  I know we will do one for MLB, CFB, CBB, NBA, PGA and NFL. I probably will do a top 20 list of overall moments and if we get real frisky, maybe top 20 figures in sports giving away our first annual Tapper of the Year or something dumb like that. Also as always, these are my lists and I can imagine you have a different one, cool story. 

10. Josh Freeman drama - Remember this happened earlier this football season? People were thinking Greg Schiano was going to get fired because of it, and everyone went to Freeman's aid thinking he had every right to be mad. Both sides overdid it to the extreme with leaks coming from all corners of the Tampa Bay organization. Once Tampa Bay released Freeman, they became a better football team, and people seemed to rally around Schiano again. Buccaneers are currently 4-3 since their 0-8 start with Freeman being around for much of it. Was he the problem?  We will likely never know the answer.

9. Atlanta and Houston goes from first to worst - Both the Falcons and Texans are model franchises for why NFL is filled with parity. Kansas City too for that matter. But I think Atlanta and Houston's struggles are much more drastic. Both teams made the playoffs in consecutive years, Falcons in the last four out of the five. Honestly, I could see Houston bouncing back with a couple additions on their defense, and a new quarterback (Hello Jay Cutler or Teddy Bridgewater) plus their division is not good besides Indianapolis for the short-term. Atlanta is in big trouble with a horrible defense, a retiring tight end and a ton of money tied up at one position plus NFC South is loaded including Tampa Bay who have many more pieces than Atlanta.

8. Colin Kaepernick hits the big stage - I do not know why Green Bay decides to pull this shit, but they do with young quarterbacks in the playoffs. Kaepernick had a great game against the Packers to lead San Francisco into the NFC Championship game and then the Super Bowl. Even though I am a Packer fan, I could not have been more impressed with how easy it looked for Kaepernick for the entire game. It looked like his moment to the big stage and truly, it probably ensure him endorsement deals that very night. People starting to make assumptions Kaep would be one of the best in the league, and he struggled mightily to begin the year as he was without Michael Crabtree and others throughout it. He seems much better in the last month, but we will see whether Green Bay-San Francisco is the start of it all, or just an aberration.

7. Johnathan Martin/Richie Incognito saga - Honestly, this would have been higher on my list if it imploded Miami's season, but they have a chance to make the playoffs in the final week of the season thus making it just a story between these two men versus their entire team. I have no idea if this story will ever be more than a player felt like he was picked on while the supposed bully felt like it was two friends just giving each other shit with Richie being the guy whom takes it too far more often than not. I am curious to see what Miami does with Martin as he is still under team control, and I can almost guarantee someone gives Incognito a job again.

6. Robert Griffin hurts knee again; hits the sophomore slump - I think we will always remember Robert Griffin III's knee injury because he led Washington back from 3-6 record on an incredible run only to rip up his knee. A lot like Kaepernick in the following week, everyone believed Griffin III would be a part of the next generation. Instead, Mike Shanahan and Washington rushed him back from injury leading to an awful Redskins season as well as criticism for Griffin III grew rapidly. I have no idea how Mike Shanahan kept his job for the entire season, but here we are. RGIII's microscope will continue to be big until he starts winning again. Media is a cruel world, and it will be curious if anything changes. They need to get deeper as a team and a defense.

5. Peyton Manning... Another divisional round home loss, breaks records - Whirlwind year for Peyton Manning. He came back in 2012 leading Denver to the number one seed in the AFC and then a home playoff overtime loss against Baltimore in what was the game of the year. Manning made his presence in his second year with Denver breaking the touchdown record and is 266 yards away from breaking the passing record. We did make mention earlier in the week on how Manning's numbers are a little easier to obtain given today's rules yet he still needs to get there with consistently big performances almost every time Manning went out there this season. He will be the Most Valuable Player for 2013. Denver is not a great team, but there are not many good teams this season either. It might be the year for Manning to get his second ring.

4.  Baltimore Ravens win the Super Bowl amid a blackout - I think I remember this football game more for the blackout, and how Baltimore thought the whole thing was a conspiracy to make the game closer when really Baltimore should have blown out San Francisco rather than nearly Exorcism puking all over their shoes in the third quarter. The game was over at halftime, but San Francisco came back to nearly tie in the fourth quarter at 31 but they missed a two-point conversion. My assumption is people will always remember it for the blackout rather than it being a pretty solid football game. This was also one of the most chippy Super Bowls I can remember in quite some time which is appreciated and need more of it.

3. Aaron Hernandez arrested for murder - With more information coming out about this case, it is still crazy one of the biggest players on one of the most public teams was arrested for murder. When the news first broke my assumption was one of Hernandez's good friends made the murder and somehow he became an accessory to it yet that did not end up being the case as Hernandez would be charged with murder. We would soon find out more and more information about Aaron Hernandez's life as well as watch people connected to the case die off with three people dying since Hernandez's arrest. This will be a great movie when we find out all the details about what happens with him. I do not think we will have all the answers until early 2015.

2. Player's safety concerns reaches an all-time high - This year featured a year where the NFL settled a concussion lawsuit and more times than not, people are cringing with big hits instead of reacting like it is the best thing since Napster. Every time a player goes down with what looks like a head injury more times than not, it is indeed a concussion. Wes Welker had two in three weeks. Jermichael Finley might never play football again.  Additionally, there are many people writing columns, blog posts and talking about how they will not let their son or future son play football. I do not really know where this is going yet. I feel like it can go many ways, and we have not seen all of them just yet. I do think the more we try to protect players from concussions, the better it will get in years to come.

1. Aaron Rodgers breaks his collarbone - Easily, the biggest story in the state of Wisconsin for the last
couple of months.  It is at a 'Derrick Rose' stage where people are waiting and wishing he will come back only to get disappointed. I have no idea where this is headed for the Packers quarterback. I feel like if Green Bay had Dan Marino, Jim Kelly instead of Brett Favre, Rodgers would not be insecure about having to explain this is not his fault he is sitting out with a broken bone injury. It is kind of a shame. Rodgers' collarbone and Braun's PED stuff being number one kind of sums things up for Wisconsin fans in 2013.

Charlie.