As Day Three of NFL Free Agency 2006 passes into afternoon here on the West Coast, time has come to comment on some of the occurences thusfar.
A very under-rated transaction but one of the very best of the weekend was SF's excellent exchange of stingbean acrobat Brandon Lloyd for a pair of Washington draft selections. Receiving a three and a four (in 2007) for Lloyd constitutes maximum return on one with disdain for appearing within the hashes. It is therefore realistically possibly the Niners will secure two commodities of equal or greater value.
Easily the worst move regards the sport's premier OG, Seahawks' Steve Hutchinson. Why the 'Hawks merely transition-tagged him when franchising him brought greater protection is inunconscionable, and something for which they'll be answering for years. No way such a talent is permitted to leave without compensation. The transition tag allowed right to match, but a "poison pill" could preclude that option. Minn has included one and can expect to position the Mich star between its two best returning OL: center Matt Birk and tackle Bryant McKinnie. These three will ultimately achieve more for that club than did the tandem of Moss and Culpepper. It was foolish for Sea to lock up RB Shaun Alexander if it meant losing Hutch. Steve could make another back approximate Shaun sooner and surer than Shaun will make another guard approximate Steve. Furthermore, Steve's work benefits every offensive Hawk; Shaun does little without a lot of assistance.
StL is doing things right. Reconfiguring its defense with intelligent, astute, instinctive, cerebral leaders like La'Roi Glover, Will Witherspoon and Corey Chavous is a means to improving every defensive position. The Rams will actually have something worth identifying as a defense, particularly with Jim Haslett coordinating. Look for Clemson CB Tye Hill to be the club's choice at 11. A shutdown corner such as he will solidify a re-done secondary and assist a formidable pass rush.
A thusfar under-reported explanation for the Saints' interest in Charger QB Drew Brees may concern his background. Should the franchise relocate to San Antonio or LA, Brees helps sell tickets by providing a familiar face. He was born in the Texas town and has played most recently just south of the latter location.
The parade of OLTs Kevin Shaffer has now joined obscures one of the more remarkable personnel statistics in pro football history. From 1946-1984, only three men handled the post for the Cleveland Browns: Lou Groza, Dick Schafrath and Doug Dieken. Since 1999, however, the cast has been ever-changing, from Lomas Brown through Roman Oben, Ross Verba, Barry Stokes, LJ Shelton to Shaffer. The spot might've been stabilized and solidified had not Butch Davis alienated Tony Jones when the latter was unable to commit to regular practice sessions, due in combination to a personal loss and chronic knee aches. But that is just another of the hidden costs associated with hiring hubris. Jones did most of the starting at the position between Dieken and the move.
That 1995 relocation itself obscured one of Bill Belichick's greatest professional errors. Much was made of the tantrum the former Cleveland coach pitched upon learning the Jets had beaten him to Penn State TE Kyle Brady. But so profound was the loss of composure, Belichick overlooked the availabilities of Warren Sapp, Ruben Brown and Derrick Brooks---each a subsequent perennial Pro-Bowler---to deal his tenth-overall selection to SF, so that Bill Walsh could draft UCLA WR JJ Stokes. Belichick ended up with the SF pick at 25, used on forgettable OSU OLB Craig Powell, and a pair of later choices which turned out to become Georgia QB Eric Zeier and Virginia DE Mike Frederick. Bill also received the Niners' top choice in the following spring's draft. Unfortunately, that one was spent on behalf of the relocated Browns in Baltimore. It became MLB Ray Lewis. In the aftermath of Belichick's fit, the '95 Browns finished badly enough that its own top selection became OLT Jonathon Ogden. As badly as Modell typically drafted in Cleveland (He would not entrust a fully-empowered GM until Ozzie got the job in Baltimore), 1996 was actually the third draft in which his club chose a pair of future Hall of Famers. In the championship season of 1964, Art nabbed both Paul Warfield and Leroy Kelly. In '78, it was Clay Matthews and Ozzie Newsome. Yes, it is true that Clay has yet to be elected; but neither has guard Gene Hickerson and we all know they are both deserving.
Now that LeCharles Bentley has been added to the Browns' roster, it should be remembered the man for whom the franchise is named, Paul Brown, was such an advocate of the center position, he made Tenn pivot Bob Johnson the Bengals' first-ever draft selection. That was not too surprising to those who knew how he felt about the late Frank "Gunner" Gatski, a Hall of Famer who never missed as much as a practice and was there to help Otto Graham to ten championship game appearances in as many career seasons, seven which ended favorably for the Brown and Orange. What has gone under-acknowledged is Brown's influence on two of his primary disciples, Chuck Noll and Don Shula. Both copied the master and launched their own Hall of Fame coaching careers by featuring premier centers on their physically-dominant offensive lines. Shula began winning once he installed Browns' castoff Jim Langer between Larry Little and Bob Kuechenberg. Langer was succeeded by Dwight Stephenson, who also followed him into the Hall. Stephenson was succeeded by frequent Pro-Bowler Tim Ruddy, who the club has yet to adequately replace, losing seasons resulting. Pitt's run also began once Noll installed a system which eventually featured Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermonti Dawson and now converted OG Jeff Hartings. Many are the championships won by this assemblage. Another of PB's disciples, Bill Walsh---who learned under the master innovator when the pair was together in Cincinnati---joins Noll and Shula in dominating the titles in the modern era of professional football. Walsh, in turn, gave root to Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Andy Reid, Steve Mariucci, John Gruden, et al. It is great to see the Cleveland Browns remembering what is was they understood so well at the very beginning.