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.

JERSEY GRADES: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going through major changes. They have a new head coach and now they have brand new uniforms. Twitter hates the look of these ones from Tampa Bay. I must say they are a little too busy for my liking, but when things are too busy, I usually want to see what they look like on television versus just looking a picture. The helmet looks completely ridiculous now though meaning I would downgrade it yet I do like the cream orange cut on the shoulders. The numbers I could do without but any time a team adds black, I usually like it a little more than others. GRADE: C+ - There are some good and bad things about it making it around a C. 

Charlie.

First Taste: Grading Tampa Bay's New Logo/Helmet

Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to go a new direction with their helmet and logo. I am sorry to disappoint people, but they did not go back to the Creamsicle look of the 1980's. Instead, they made the Buccaneer look more upset and changed the color to more of a chrome finish versus pewter. I actually really liked the pewter but the chrome is not bad. What I take issue with is the size of the logo. This thing is completely massive nearly covering the whole helmet. If the logo was a little understated, I think we would have a pretty good look.

GRADE: B

Charlie.

Catching up on NFL Coaching Hires

National Football League does not sleep nor does really any professional sport. Two coaches were hired during the holiday season, and another coach added today.  There are still three spots left to be filled in the NFL meaning more dominoes will fall in the coming month. But right now, we will look at the coaching hires made and make some opinions on how the hire will go for that team. We might as well give each coach a star rating because that's what we do at Sportandfashion-news. Rate and grade all sorts of shit. .

Bill O'Brien, Houston Texans 
Unlike some of the other coaching trees in the National Football League, Bill Belichick's coaching tree has been a flat out disaster for almost everyone. Bill O'Brien had the most success in two years at Penn State where he kept the team winning even under brutal circumstances. This team is not far off from being a playoff team. They need a couple more playmakers on defense especially in the backfield.  O'Brien brought on Romeo Crennel which he is not a great head coach yet proven to be a solid defensive coordinator. I am curious to see what they do at quarterback whether it is make a trade for one or draft either Teddy Bridgewater or Blake Bortles. Arian Foster's health would concern me slightly with this offense too. I would give this hiring three stars out of five. O'Brien is an impressive coach with what he did at State College, but I need to see something in the pros before I am convinced he is different than any of the other Belichick coaches.

Lovie Smith, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The thing about Lovie that I came to realize is Jeff Fisher and him are the same in the regard where they will always get you to seven or eight wins, no matter what. But there are more pieces in place here than what he had with Chicago when Lovie began there.  The defense alone was already good under Greg Schiano, and now they have a combination of Lovie and Leslie Frazier coaching this defense, it could be really special next year and no reason to think this team could be right back into the playoffs. They have weapons with Darrelle Revis, Mark Barron, Lavonte David and Gerald McCoy.  I would not worry about Revis playing in a Cover 2 defense because Frazier and Smith are too smart not to use him to the best of his ability. Buccaneers also have a young offense with Mike Glennon and Doug Martin plus a pretty stout offensive line with two good receivers. Smith's rating is five stars out five.  

Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins 
There is obvious reason why people are cautious of this hire given what happened with Andy Dalton in Cincinnati. Many people believe he got the job because who is brother is but as we saw a bit with Chicago, it is not a bad idea to take a chance on someone versus a retread in the NFL. Many might describe Washington as 'toxic' with Dan Snyder as an owner and someone who has hired now his eighth coach in 14 years of being an owner. Everyone will watch how the relationship goes with Robert Griffin III and Gruden. He did not really set the world on fire with Dalton, but Gruden may have made Dalton the best player he could be meaning he is not really that good. This is the shakiest hire thus far given how little we know about Gruden as a head coach in professional or collegiate football.  Gruden's rating is two stars out of five.

Charlie.