I guess it's about time I share my thoughts on recent happenings in the NFL's offseason.

Today's topic: Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers

I think San Diego is taking the biggest gamble of anyone this year. Before the Brees defection, I felt the Chargers (despite missing the playoffs last season) legitimately were capable of making a strong SuperBowl push this coming year. Now I don't think that happens. I said it during the season and I'll say it now. If they choose Rivers over Brees it will be a decision they regret. They are banking (or rather G.M. A.J. Smith is) on Philip Rivers making a Carson Palmer like transition. Good luck with that. If I was Tomlinson and Antonio Gates, I wouldn't hold my breath. Now if Rivers impresses or Brees shoulder makes him into another Chad Pennington, then obviously they made the right move but if your going to gamble, don't you take the higher odds? The odds would say that Brees has a better shot of rehabbing and continuing his rise as a Pro-Bowl caliber QB than Rivers has of becoming as good as Brees . And even if he does, it will most likely take at least 2 seasons as a starter for him to really become that good. Even Carson Palmer had a one year transition (albeit a pretty decent one) before he broke out. More often than not it turns into a situation of continually waiting for the light to turn on (Joey Harrington, Kyle Boller, etc.). With the Chargers looking better the last couple of years than they have since their SuperBowl year of 1995, fans aren't going to be patient with a step backward.


The interesting question in my mind is what would A.J. Smith have done if Brees hadn't got hurt. Would he still have thought Drew's price tag was too high? Would both quarterbacks still have been around this next season? Would he trade Rivers or would he still have wanted to develop him because he drafted him? Logic says that the Pennington-like horror scenario coupled with the nightmare of trading Rivers who then turns into Carson Palmer would be what drove him to let Brees walk. But pride often trumps logic. I'm not so sure Brees wasn't gone no matter the circumstances.


I also have to question Brees' choice of New Orleans. I know they made him feel all warm and fuzzy and he really hasn't gotten that with the Chargers but could he have gone with the Dolphins or stayed with the Chargers for just a little less guaranteed money? Unless it was an eye-popping amount there is no reason to go to a re-building club with a winning history worse than the team you just left. The Dolphins are ready to win now and Brees could have been the missing link. Plus it's Florida for Hell's sake. Other than some hurricanes what's not to like? Again unless his other offers were significantly and ridiculously low then joining the Saints will be something he might regret in a year as well.

I'll have more to say on other off-season moves next week

  I was actually pretty annoyed with the tournament this weekend. The games I wanted to watch were not shown and the ones I cared about as much as I do a rectal exam were CBS's games of choice in my area. I'm looking forward to this tourney whittling down just for the fact that if there is a game I want to watch, I can.

-Teams that I picked that are still in the Sweet 16:
Duke, LSU, West Virginia, Texas, Memphis, Gonzaga, UCLA, Connecticut, Villanova, Boston College, Florida & Georgetown. Most of those were pretty easy to pick and most of you probably have the same teams in. Georgetown was a bit of surprise for me but I picked them based soley on my Hoya obsession when I was in 9th grade. Sometimes those 14-year old loyalties work out I guess. 12 out of 16 is not too bad but I didn't see Bradley, George Mason, Washington, & Wichita St. standing after the weekend was done. Still, I see this as Mid-Major validation. This has been happening the last few years and still Billy Packer and Nantz cry like my 3 year old when they feel too many of these "unworthy" teams get in. Well screw you Packer and Nantz. Yes, sometimes the best as well as the 2nd, 3rd, and even the 4th best teams in a Mid-Major conference are better than the bottom feeders of the major conferences. Hell, occasionally they are better than some of the top teams. Deal with it dumbasses.

My Utah State Ags didn't come through but George Mason beating North Carolina was one of the finer moments in the tournament. The Final Four still belongs to the Big Guys but on this first weekend it's all about upsets.

-Also, as you can tell I'm not the critic of the tournament committee that some were after the field was announced but what the hell were they thinking giving Tennessee a 2 seed. That was the easiest upset to call in the whole tourney so far. I'm confused as to how they got this ranking. They ended their regular season by blowing serveral games. They got ousted in their own conference tournament early, had a worse record than several teams with better resume's and they still managed to get the 2 seed. Huh?

A couple of thoughts today:

First, what would we do without NBA players like Stephon "Starbury". I love guys like this. They continue to help idiots like myself feel less idiotic. The self proclaimed "best point guard in the league hands down" feels he has attempted to pass the ball enough this season and will now get back to what he does best. Shooting every time he comes down the floor.
In case you missed his quote here it is in all it's glory:
"I went into this year trying to do something, to put myself in a situation where we can win, OK?" To help the team win games. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So, what do I do now, as far as the way I play? I go back to playing like Stephon Marbury, aka Starbury. I haven't been Starbury this year. I've been some other dude this year."

So what's funnier, the fact that he calls himself "Starbury", or that he actually feels like the last few years he has helped his team win games and been the best point guard in the league? I guess that would be why he has already been traded 3 times. He's in huge demand.


Other thoughts today involve the NCAA tournament.

I'm pleasantly surprised with my alma mater Utah State making the field. It was unexpected considering how many times they have been hosed in the past. They had no reason to believe this year was any different. I guess the game against Nevada in the WAC tourney final helped. They should have won but a blown layup with no time left forced the game into overtime where Nevada pulled out a squeaker. I think they'll get beat by Washington this week but you never know. After all the Aggies are a 12 seed and 12 seeds have had some success in the first round historically.

Some may have gripes (or just get purple and nearly pop a blood vessel like Billy Packer) over the fact that some mid-majors like Utah St. and Air Force made the field when Florida St. and Cincinnati didn't get in. No sympathy from me. Mid-majors consistently get screwed in the selection process (Two years ago Utah St. was ranked in the top 25 for the last month of the season, was 17-1 in league play, won 25 games and still didn't get in) so I could care less if some mediocre ACC or Big East team doesn't get in.

As far as seeding goes, I thought like everyone else that Tennessee got a gift with a 2 seed. Maybe they prove the naysayers wrong in the tourney but it doesn't change the fact that this was one of the worst high seed decisions ever.

I'm picking Memphis and Connecticut to make it to the finals with Memphis cutting down the nets.

The NCAA has some real geniuses at work. You know that right? This is the organzation that brings us the BCS after all. I'm continually amazed by some of their punitive sanctions as well. Sometimes NCAA justice is more comedic than a Dave Chapelle appearance. You may know that Ohio State basketball has now been placed on 3 years probation for using an ineligible player under coach Jim O' Brien from 1999-2002. Penalties include having to payback tournament revenues from that time period. Fair enough. I don't see the problem with that. Where it gets a little weird and really ridiculous is when they take away wins from seasons that have already been played. They are even being forced to forfeit their 1999 Final Four appearance and take down the Final Four banner in their own arena. It never happened. Seriously. Wipe it from your memory. Actually,  Michael Redd might want to forget this photo of him and Scoonie Penn ever occured. Thanks to the NCAA he is assured that it didn't.  Additionally, if you happen to own any memorabilia concerning this event that was not real, some nice gentlemen in shades and suits will be arriving shortly to dispose of it properly. You've been warned.

- I don't see the POY candidates Reddick and Morrison getting to the title game of the NCAA tournament and producing the game that the media and television would slobber over. If you shut either of them down then their teams don't have another go to guy. Besides Gonzaga nearly lost in the semi-final of their conference tournament and then should have lost in the finals to a Loyola team that was 12-18 at the time. Only a blown layup prevented the shocker. That is two near losses to San Diego and Loyola Marymount! Now San Diego has won 18 games this year so they are not a gimmee but Gonzaga is ranked in the top 5 of the nation! Too many close games this year to inferior teams. No way Gonzaga makes the Final Four.
I think Duke will be upset as well, although I could see Duke possibly making the Final Four and then losing. Sheldon Williams can be awesome at times so he could pick up the slack if Reddick has an off night. But I think Connecticut or Villanova should be the favorite for this tournament. They don't rely as much on one guy and they just seem like better teams.


-On a football note, I have mixed emotions about Rams long-time standout wide receiver Isaac Bruce getting released from the team. He was great for a long time and defined Ram football. He was a good guy and had great hands. He had some clutch catches over the years that can never be forgotten by Ram fans. But the Rams needed the salary cap space and it isn't shocking that Bruce was a casualty of cost-cutting measures. The spectacular play of Torry Holt over the last few years and the emergence of Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald really have made Bruce a luxury but not a necessity. It's a sad move for Ram fans but one that realistically needed to be made.