Is Kellen Winslow, Jr. sensing his professional mortality?
None of us can know what it is the player is feeling concerning his oft-injured body. But recent indicators suggest he may be glimpsing his own premature end.
Not only has he requested a new contract, which, if granted, would place instantly-guaranteed sums into his hands, but he delayed however many surgeries he will undergo again this off-season to remain available for the Pro Bowl, to which he had been voted an alternate. Of course it came to pass that Kent State's Antonio Gates (San Diego) bowed out and Kellen replaced him, catching a single pass for 11 yards.
Some have questioned the wisdom of both moves, especially the latter, inasmuch as an injured player would seem to opt for as much rehab time as possible. Perhaps it was Winslow's way of acknowledging an invitation to Hawaii may never come his way again, so ravaged are his legs.
Quite likely there were a number of so-called fans who wished ill upon the former Miami Hurricane once it became known he'd damaged himself performing impulsively foolish motorcycle stunts, jeopardizing his professional future before he had done a damn thing to justify his hype, hefty rookie contract and lofty draft position. (In fact, then-head coach Butch Davis dealt a second-round choice to move up a single slot to nab Kellen at six in 2004.)
Winslow promptly went out and incurred a serious knee injury in Game Two of his rookie season, defending against an onside kick in Dallas. To follow that missed campaign with cycling stunts did Winslow's reputation no favors.
Now many of those same critics are hoping against the seemingly inevitable likelihood that the player's career will be remarkably shortened. As good as he's been the past two seasons, Winslow and the fans all recognize no one will ever have seen the real talent the kid once possessed, lost forever to too many unfortunate and debilitating events.
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Before leaving the Browns, let this be a formal challenge to the individual widely considered the club's best defensive talent, OLB Kamerion Wimbley. It is time for him to step up into becoming a more complete football player. There is so much more to being a starting NFL OLB than getting after the oppositional passer.
Much as Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards more fully emerged in their third professional seasons, Wimbley needs to elevate his overall performance for 2008 and become, among other things, far more stout and reliable against the run.
Wimbley needs to close off his side of the field to opposing offenses---nothing given whether they run, screen, draw or swing pass. Down after down he needs to exhibit his being Cleveland's premier defensive asset, forcing the opposition---as Clay Matthews once did so casually to have been apparently taken for granted---to go elsewhere for its daily bread.
Should he do so, the team's overall defensive efficiency would take an understandable quantum leap. Yes, he needs assistance, but he is capable of doing what many other NFL backers before him have accomplished. He won't be seeing Hawaii as a participant until he does.
This is all said fully expecting Kamerion, as conscientious and hard-working as they come, to make the necessary adjustments and improvements.
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The downstate Bengals made some profound news today, when it was announced backup OL Stacy Andrews would be franchised by that organization. This is the brother of Eagles' Pro-Bowl ORG Shane Andrews, who played with him at Arkansas, where Stacy also viewed the action primarily from the sidelines.
Stacy is now Cinn's insurance against age, injury and decline at the OT spot, where Willie Anderson is graying and Levi Jones is limping. Andrews has also played some OLG, as the replacement for free-agent defector Eric Steinbach, now with the Browns.
Nonetheless, to assure such an unheralded and still-green prospect $7.5/yr. is no small decision for an historically tight-fisted franchise. Yet, it underscores the value placed upon OL continuity. Perhaps Cinn should simply have done whatever it might've taken to retain Steinbach, thereby preserving this year's franchise tag for departing DE Justin Smith, who reportedly may be headed to Pitts.
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This is a petty matter, but draft prognosticators need to remember the process has been reduced to two rounds on Day One, beginning with this year's event. This is mentioned to caution against referring to a player as a Day One pick if it is meant to communicate the expectation he'll go in one of the first three rounds.
Round Three henceforth makes one a Day Two draftee.
This is especially bad news for fans of the Browns and GM Phil Savage, who historically wastes the first pick of his second day, heretofore a fourth-round selection. Whereas that round for many has produced favorable dividends---perhaps attributable to a good night's sleep and the opportunity to re-evaluate the draft board with staff members before resuming the action the next morning---Phil maybe over-sleeps, over-reaches or over-analyzes, as non-factor draftees Antonio Perkins and Isaac Sowells suggest.
In fact, only FB Lawrence Vickers and CB Brandon McDonald have paid off as Day Two draftees selected by Savage in his three year's atop the personnel ladder.
Should Phil maintain his customary pattern, the Browns will essentially be without two of their top three draft picks this year, as the 22nd-overall choice will belong to Dallas as payment for the right to grab Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn last spring. Furthermore, Savage currently figures to have one fewer opportunity on Sunday, as a choice is heading to Phila to pay for center Hank Fraley's arrival.
Before leaving the subject of Round Four draft misses, Savage surely seems to have missed on Cleveland Heights native and Northwestern product Barry Cofield, who now sports a Super Bowl ring as a member of the New York Giants.
A starter for NY from Day One, Cofield was one of the few DL who entered the 2006 draft projected as a fit in an NFL 3-4, probably at DE, where Savage is still looking for a longterm solution. Wasn't key Giant DL Justin Tuck also bypassed in Round Two by Savage for safety Brodney Pool, who, like Perkins and under-performing WR Travis Wilson, attended Oklahoma?
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A testimony as to how poor an NFL QB was former Saints and Raiders starter Aaron Brooks is that he was signed by no one last year, despite the many injuries and woeful performances around the league at his position.
The state of things at the QB post around the sport causes one to wonder if former Bronco Jake Plummer will reconsider his retirement, as he was doubtlessly encouraged to do several times last season. Traded by Den to Tampa after the 2006 campaign, Plummer elected not to report but to quit the game instead.
Trent Green, Byron Leftwich and Daunte Culpepper comprise a partial list of others currently outside employment within the league.
What is amazing is how quickly the NFL abandons athletes at the QB position who'd formerly evaluated as must-have pieces. How can it be that scouts and personnel types deem a talent worthy of Round One selection, only to have that same young man outside the sport within 2-4 years, sometimes before they even reach the age of 25?!
Admittedly, players like David Carr, Joey Harrington, Akili Smith, Cade McNown and, to a lesser degree, Tim Couch demonstrated they absolutely were not deserving of top-ten---or even first-round---consideration, how can it be the sport has so little use for them after so brief a test drive?
Is it due to league rules governing the practice squads? Is it about agents who demand unreasonable assurances disserving their clients? Is it all about faulty evaluative processes that fail to uncover their coachability, competitiveness, intelligence, adaptability, preparedness and/or work habits?
Whatever it is, it speaks badly about the sport at so critical a position. And merits study by those assigned to protect the integrity of the game.
At the very least, these realities should suffice to discourage an organization from spending so high a pick and allocating so much of its salcap on so dubious a performance record.
It seems advisable the league mandate---in the best interest of the sport in general---that all clubs employ at least four QBs at all times, given the dearth of candidates at the critical position and the damage injury can do to a team, its fans, the value of sold tickets and its legitimacy once a starter goes down.
The Pro Bowl alone testifies that one needn't be highly-drafted to become elite at the QB position. All three of the NFC's passers entered the sport in the sixth round (Sea's Matt Hasslebeck and Tony Romo) or later (undrafted Jeff Garcia). The AFC had sixth-rounders, as well, in NE's Tom Brady and Cleveland's Derek Anderson.
Marc Bulger, Jake Delhomme, Kurt Warner, Mark Brunell, Todd Collins, Jon Kitna, Shaun Hill, Damon Huard, David Garrard, Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfelds are just a few of other lowly-rated draftees contributing significantly in the NFL at QB---certainly far moreso than are Carr, Harrington, and too many of the others upon whom riches have been bestown.
The point is, drafting a kid passer extremely high seems ill-advised and wasteful---on several counts. As the drafting of Joe Thomas and the signing of guards like Steinbach and Steve Hutchinson attest, more of the cash should go toward constructing around linemen.
Without question, this year's class will again produce at least one highly-drafted clunker QB this April. And that kid will be long-forgotten in short order, except by critics of his drafting team's personnel staff---much as Phil Savage must repeatedly hear the names of Perkins, Sowells and Wilson.
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It was during training camp of 2006 when OL Ryan Tucker and CB Daylon McCutcheon missed practice time to have supposedly minor surgical adjustments made to their respective knees. Tucker returned on schedule and started most of that year, as well as most of this past season. McCutcheon was never seen in uniform again.
Given the demand for athletes at his position, might this summer mark the return of the former USC star? If only to cover the slot, as 'Cutch did so well here in Cleveland, Daylon would figure to have a future yet in the sport. One can only surmise his knee damage was far more extensive than had been anticipated.
Whereas a hulking lineman like Tucker can perform with impaired movements in the joint, a CB must have his quickness, burst, cutting abilities and speed to survive at so challenging a post.
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Hutchinson led all OL vote-getters in the Pro Bowl selection, by the way. It was just two years ago this space warned the Seahawks to invest in him rather than in RB Shaun Alexander, who was also heading into free agency. Alexander had run for 1880 yards and a then-record 27 rushing TDs, averaging 5.0 per rush.
Since, Alexander's average has dropped to 3.5 and he is but a shell of his former self, likely headed toward the garbage heap this off-season, where he could be joined by Edgerrin James, LaMont Jordan, Dominic Rhodes, Travis Henry and more than a few others dependent upon quality blocking for their successes.
Meanwhile, Hutch has represented the Vikings twice in Hawaii after assisting Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson to 1,000-yard campaigns---and a Pro Bowl MVP for the rookie latter.
Quite possibly these facts influenced Cinn's decision concerning Stacy Andrews. I'm certain the agent for Alan Faneca has awareness of them, too.
Read the complete post at http://www.xanga.com/MALeonard/643041321/nfl-notes-and-nuggets.html