Cultural Cuisinart

A few comments on the recent activity around the NFL this week:

1. It's good to see that that asshole T.O. has finally been released - Now to see which team is going to be stupid enough to actually sign him. Rumor has it that the Cowboys may be angling to pick him up (since they recently released Keyshawn Johnson). I certainly won't mind having another reason to hate the Cowboys. Then again, I like Drew Bledsoe, and there's the possibility that if there's any coach who might reform T.O. (or at least get him to behave like a semi-decent human being), it's probably The Tuna. We'll see. Personally, I hate big jerks, so I'm hoping T.O. fails miserably and goes on to become a cautionary tale for other athletes considering being big selfish jerks.
   
2. Big shuffles happened today. To wit: Culpepper goes to the Dolphins, Brees is off to the Saints and Edgerrin James is headed to Arizona. That's some pretty significant movement right there.
3. Culpepper should fit in well in Miami - they started looking pretty good last season, which was essentially a rebuilding year for them, and for once they have a potent weapon at the running back position. If they make some smart moves and shore up their receiving core, Culpepper could return to form next year. Is it too early to start predicting a playoff run for the Dolphins? Probably.
   
4. The Saints acquiring Brees is intriguing for several reasons. Popular opinion had them drafting either Matt Leinart or Vince Young with the second pick. Now that's sort of up in the air - do they count on Brees recovering from his surgery and returning to Pro Bowl form and spend the first round draft pick filling another gap, or do they go ahead and draft Young or Leinart anyway? Both are enticing picks and would be a nice ace in the hole in case Brees doesn't work out. We all know that Brees didn't really step up his game until Phillip Rivers appeared on the scene and theatened his job. Maybe a first tier rookie will push Brees to perform. Then again, why pay big bucks (as the Chargers did) drafting a high-profile pick, only to have him sit the bench, possibly indefinitely? Sports Illustrated seems to think the Saints might trade the #2 pick to the Jets for the #4 pick, and use it to draft the best defensive end in the draft. That makes sense to me, and I can see it playing out that way. Whatever happens, good luck to Brees, who I've always liked as a player (and who single handedly saved my fantasy team a few times last year)
   
5. We'll also see what happens with the Chargers next year. LaDanian Tomlinson is still one of the best running backs in the league (and was a legitimate MVP candidate, probably ending up #2 behind Alexander), so it's not like the Chargers are without any weapons. The big question is how Phillip Rivers will perform. He's had 2 years to learn the Chargers system. Then again, he's had 2 years of sitting on his ass, and you've got to think that might affect him too. Lord knows that Chargers fans won't be very patient with him - look for the boos to come quickly if he doesn't perform well in the first few games. The specter of Ryan Leaf still hangs over this franchise, so the GM is pretty much betting his job on whether or not this kid can perform.
6. James going to the Cardinals could be big. Then again, after last year (when everyone picked the Cards to go far into the playoffs), I'm not betting anything on the Cards until I see some solid proof they have improved. Acquiring James could be the first step towards that. Then again, I said that when they got Kurt Warner, so what the hell do I know?
7. Antwaan Randle-El to the Skins... eh. With no real offense to speak of, what's he really going to do there? Trick plays only work if you have some sort of viable offense.

All of this is making the upcoming NFL draft even more interesting than before (if that's possible). There are some serious players available in the draft this year, and combined with the free agency shuffle, the NFL playoff landscape could look a LOT different next year than this year. However, the one thing we can count on probably is that the Bills will continue to be miserable as usual.